USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Volume I > Part 8
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the Alleghanies to the Mississippi, and thence across the great plains and mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The hero of a hundred fights, he never received but one wound; his life seemed to be protected by some unseen power. He touched the spirit that animated the West at every angle. He was the companion and asso- ciate of Ewing Young, Fitzgerald, the Sublettes, Jim Bridger, Bill Williams, and others who have left their mark upon the history of that period. He acquired a knowledge of Spanish, and of the French patois as spoken by the Canadian trap- pers, besides a knowledge of eight or nine Indian dialects. He was known alike to the Blackfeet, the Cheyennes, the Sioux, the Utes, the Apaches and all the warlike tribes who inhabited this vast region. He knew all their signals, and could follow their trails as nobody but themselves could. Up to 1834 he trapped through New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, and along all the streams everywhere where beaver abounded. He married first an Indian woman, who died in giving birth to a child, and after- wards, in 1843, married in New Mexico, a Mexi- can woman of respectable family. He aban- doned trapping about the year 1834, and for eight years thereafter was employed as a hunter, supplying Fort Bent with its forty men with game.
When returning from his first visit to Mis- souri, he met Fremont upon a boat on the way up the Mississippi with his first exploring party, and entered the Government service under Fre- mont as official guide of the expedition. Of this
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incident Fremont says: "On the boat I met Kit Carson. He was returning from putting his little daughter in a convent school in St. Louis. I was pleased with him and his manner of ad- dress at this first meeting. He was a man of medium height, broad-shouldered and deep- chested, with a clear, steady blue eye and frank speech and manner-quiet and unassuming."
Carson, at this time, was less than thirty-three years old, and had already made a national repu- tation. Imagination would paint him as an athlete, six feet high, with long whiskers and long hair, loud-spoken and boastful, such being the usual physical development and characteris- tics of the trapper. Instead of this, he was a man of five feet six inches tall, under medium size, with little or no beard, a low-spoken voice as soft as a woman's, never boastful nor indul- ging in rough speech. One of his biographers, who knew him well, said that in all the years of his intercourse with Carson, he never knew him to tell an obscene story. Pure in mind as well as in morals, he had become a national character.
From this date until after the close of the Mexican war, Carson was closely identified with Fremont in all his explorations, and to him and not to the general belongs really the reputation of being the "Pathfinder," for it is of record that Fremont found no paths and no trails in the great Rocky Mountain region, except those which were shown him by Basil Lajeunesse and Carson.
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Throughout his life Carson never engaged himself permanently to any one man, or with any single enterprise. While trapping he would break away from large parties and with two or three companions go upon independent expedi- tions. On July 14th, 1843, he joined Fremont's second expedition near the headwaters of the Arkansas River, and accompanied him through- out his second trip into Oregon and the Northern California country, returning by way of Sutter's Fort and the southern route to Santa Fe.
After a year's absence, he reached Bent's Fort in the summer of 1844, having journeyed four thousand miles, where he settled down upon a ranch in Northern New Mexico, about fifty miles east of Taos, but not for long, for his home life was again interrupted by thrilling adventures. In the autumn of 1845, at the earnest request of Fremont, Carson conducted the former's third and most famous expedition into Oregon and California. On this trip the party had several clashes with the Klamath Indians, in one of which Lajeunesse was killed. During this trip Fremont attempted to pass with his pack ani- mals over a ridge covered by six feet of snow, and his expedition was only saved from disaster through the skill and energy of Carson.
In the meantime the Mexican War had broken out and Carson, pushing south with Fremont's command, shared with high distinction in the conquest of California, the details of which are told in the reports of Kearny, Stockton and Fre- mont.
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In 1846, following the preliminary events in- cident to the California conquest, Carson was sent East as special Government messenger, bearing dispatches from Commodore Stockton to the Federal authorities in Washington. With a party of fifteen men, he started late in the summer, and proceeded to a point near Socorro, in New Mexico, where he m'et General Kearny in command of the Army of the West, on his way to California. Kearny assumed the re- sponsibility for the delivery of Carson's dis- patches, and ordered him to act as guide for his command to California. The command reached the Rancho Santa Maria, about sixty miles from San Diego, about December 5th, where they were joined by Captain Gillespie and Lieutenant Beale, with 35 men. On the following day, the combined forces fought the bloody battle of San Pascual, in which Carson bravely bore his part. Following this fight, and the ineffective skirmish at San Bernardo, Kearny's command was be- sieged by a superbly mounted force of Mexican cavalry. They were in a famished condition and immediate relief was demanded. A small party had been sent out by Kearny, but they were cap- tured. The situation was desperate. On the night of December 8th, Kearny sent out Kit Carson, accompanied by Lieut. Beale and a friendly Indian. They traveled at night. Crawl- ing through the enemy's lines, their sufferings were great. They were hungry and thirsty, their feet were lacerated by the cactus needles, but, under the lead of Carson, they reached San Diego, successfully, and secured the desired suc-
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cor. Beale did not recover his health for more than a year, but in a few days Carson was as good as ever. Nothing seemed to affect the iron nerve and constitution of this little giant.
In March, 1847, he was sent again with dis- patches to Washington. On this journey he fought his way through the Indians on and near the Gila, and pushed ahead, following the Santa Fe trail to the Missouri river. He reached Washington in June, having traveled about four thousand miles on horseback within the space of three months. Carson's continued services in winning the southwest had gained him wide recognition. President Polk appointed him sec- ond lieutenant in the United States Rifle Corps, which appointment, however, was never con- firmed by the Senate. One can easily imagine the excitement which the advent of Carson cre- ated in Washington. The statesmen of that day, Webster, Clay, Benton and their colleagues, were surprised to find in him, a man who had written his name indelibly upon the history of the West, a modest, retiring, diffident person, un- dersized, who took his whole life, which had been one of loyalty to friends and to country, as merely a part of the duty which he owed to him- self. He was ordered back to California again with dispatches. At the Point of Rocks on the Santa Fe trail, a noted landmark about 650 miles beyond Independence, he had a desperate fight with the Comanche Indians. He found there encamped a band of volunteers, en route for the Mexican war. The Indians made an early morn- ing raid and drove off the soldiers' livestock.
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The men, headed by Carson, made a counter at- tack upon the Indians, killed a number of them and managed to recover the cattle, but the sur- viving red men escaped with the horses. With a party of fifteen men, Carson was again at- tacked by three hundred Indians in the vicinity of Virgin River, Arizona, and successfully stood his ground. He reached Monterey without seri- ous mishap, and for a time was employed against the border Mexicans in California.
In the spring of 1848 he was again sent with dispatches from California to Washington. While on his way eastward he managed to spend a day with his family at Taos. His homecomings up to this time had been about three years apart. He made a safe trip to Washington and honor- ably discharged his duties. Returning to New Mexico, he decided to settle down once more in the ranch business with Lucien B. Maxwell as partner, but the quiet of domestic life was fre- quently interrupted. Several times he was called into the field to surprise and punish the Apaches and other wild tribes.
In 1851 Carson went to St. Louis, purchased a large stock of merchandise and started West. Upon reaching a village of Cheyennes upon the upper Arkansas river, he learned that the In- dians were swearing vengeance against all whites because an army officer had rashly whipped one of their chiefs. It so happened that Carson was the first white man to approach since the offense had been given. Years before, when a hunter at Bent's Fort he had become familiar with all the tribes and was esteemed by them as a friend.
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Now he was almost a total stranger to them. His local reputation had faded during his long ab- sence. While the Indians were holding their council, boldly he came among them. They, thinking he could not understand their language, talked without restraint in his presence. After he had heard them declare their intention to capture his wagon train and kill him, he quietly arose and made them a speech in their own lan- guage. He informed them who he was, and re- called to their minds many instances of kind- nesses he had extended to them. He expressed his desire to render them any further service he could, but said in conclusion that if they pro- posed to take his scalp, he might have a hand in the affair. When he had finished speaking, the Indians quietly left the council, while Carson re- joined his men.
His next unusual exploit was to select a few trusty companions and drive a flock of 6,500 sheep overland from New Mexico to Southern California, about 800 miles. This proved to be a highly profitable speculation. Carson realized about $5.50 a head for his entire herd.
The narrative of the adventures of this extra- ordinary man would fill a large volume. I can only attempt to give a few notable incidents in his life, which stand out prominently as being of great importance to Arizona and the South- west in general.
In 1854 he was appointed by President Pierce Indian Agent for New Mexico, and thus he became the adviser and guide of those tribes whose determined foe he had previously been.
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In this position he revealed genuine statesman- ship, and his ideas of the treatment of Indians are now a part of the policy of the General Gov- ernment. He was the first to advocate the round- ing up of the Indians and teaching them to subsist upon the soil. As General Crook after- wards expressed it: "To raise corn instead of scalps." He became the firm friend of the Apaches, the Cheyennes, the Kiowas, the Utes and the Arapahoes, although at times he was forced to punish them because of their raids upon civilization.
From 1849 to 1865 the Government spent thirty millions in an effort to subdue the various wild tribes of Arizona and New Mexico, and Carson was prominently identified with this entire enter- prise.
Not only as an Indian fighter and scout did he help win the Southwest, but in the war between the States he helped to retain that region to the Union. At the battle of Val Verde in 1862, as commander of the First Regiment of New Mexi- can Volunteers, he gave efficient service to the Union arms. As we shall see later on, in the summer of 1863 he conquered the Navajos, who, since that time, have been at peace with the whites. At the close of the war he was brevetted brigadier-general. His last service was in 1865, when, in command of three companies of sol- diers, he attacked and destroyed a large Kiowa village near the Cimarron. His word was al- ways kept; he was the soul of honor and the Indians, knowing this, respected Kit Carson. They admired him for his fair dealings and
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called him "father," but it may be asserted here that their respect for him was inspired by the fear of his unerring aim and fighting blood.
About the year 1868, while in the mountains one day, he was thrown from a horse and re- ceived internal injuries, from which he never recovered. Otherwise in perfect health, says one of his biographers, he is said to have re- marked: "Were it not for this injury, I would live to be a hundred years of age." He did his work well, and with the full assurance that his life had been one of service to humanity and of loyalty to the Government which he loved; death had no terrors for him. Surrounded by friends who loved him, he faced with serenity the ap- proach of old age, conscious of having performed life's duties well. His end came on May 23d, 1868. While visiting a son at Fort Lyons, Colo- rado, General Carson attempted to mount a horse, resulting in the rupture of an artery in his neck. Surgical attendance was useless. His life quietly slipped away. A brief struggle, three gasping words: "Doctor, compadre, adios," ended his life. Thus ended the last of the great pathfinders of the West. His name is given to three cities, one lake, one river, and numerous peaks and canyons. His fame is per- petuated by a monument in the city of Denver, and also by a bronze tablet to himself and Lieu- tenant Beale in the Smithsonian Institution at Washington.
The Santa Rita Copper Mines (Santa Rita del Cobre), which for many years was the rally- ing point for the trappers and hunters of New
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Mexico and Arizona, are situated in the moun- tain range not far from the Mimbres River. They were profitably worked from 1804 up to 1838. Sylvester Pattie at one time had a lease of the property, and Christopher Carson had worked for several months in these mines. In 1838 the Mimbres Apaches were giving great trouble to the settlers in Chihuahua and Sonora, and the condition of affairs is described by Dunn in his "Massacres of the Mountains," as follows: "Chihuahua promulgated a law called the Pro- yecto de Guerra, or project for war, by which the State offered one hundred dollars for the scalp of an Apache warrior, fifty for the scalp of a squaw, and twenty-five for that of a child. Sonora was also paying a bounty for scalps, and both gave to the captor any booty he might take from the Indians. This liberality was produced mainly by the many atrocities of Juan Jose, a Mimbres chief, who had been educated among the Mexicans, and used his knowledge of their customs to great advantage in his warfare. One favorite scheme of his was robbing the mails, for the purpose of obtaining information as to the plans of the Mexicans. At this time there were several parties of trappers on the head- waters of the Gila, and the captain of one of these, a man named Johnson, undertook to secure a number of Apache scalps. It is said that in ad-
dition to the scalp bounty, he was induced to this by pay from the owners of the Santa Fe copper mines. At any rate he made a feast and invited to it a number of Mimbreno warriors, who ac- cepted his hospitable bidding. To one side of
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the ground where his feast was spread, he placed a howitzer, loaded to the muzzle with slugs, nails and bullets, and concealed under sacks of flour and other goods. In good range he placed a sack of flour, which he told the Indians to divide among themselves. Unsuspicious of wrong, they gathered about it. Johnson touched his lighted cigarette to the vent of the howitzer, and the charge was poured into the crowd, killing and wounding many. The party of trappers at once followed up the attack with their rifles and knives. A goodly number of scalps were se- cured, that of Juan Jose among others, but the treachery was terribly repaid. Another party
of fifteen trappers was camped on a stream a few miles distant. The surviving Mimbrenos went to these unsuspecting men, and murdered every one of them. Their vengeance did not stop at this. The copper mines of Santa Rita were fur- nished with supplies from the city of Chihuahua by guarded wagon trains (conductas) that brought in provisions and hauled back ore. The time for the arrival of the train came and passed, but no train appeared. Days slipped away, pro- visions were almost exhausted. The supply of ammunition was nearly gone. Some of the min- ers climbed to the top of Ben Moore, which rises back of the mines, but from its lofty summit no sign of an approaching conducta was visible. Starvation was imminent. The only hope of escape for the miners and their families was in making their way across the desert expanse that lies between the mines and the settlements. They started, but the Apaches, who had destroyed the
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train, hung about them, and attacked them so persistently that only four or five succeeded in reaching their destination."
In addition to the trappers killed by the Apaches as above stated, another band was at- tacked by them, and several men were killed. Among the survivors of this band was Benj. D. Wilson, who afterwards became prominently identified with the early history of California. Up to the time of Johnson's treachery, the In- dians of that part of the country had been the white man's friend, but from this time on they killed Mexicans and white men alike.
This closes the history of Arizona under the Spanish and Mexican rule.
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CHAPTER VIII. CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA BY FREMONT AND SLOAT.
ANNEXATION OF TEXAS-TREATY WITH ENGLAND -CABRILLO-DISCOVERY OF CALIFORNIA-Es- TABLISHMENT OF FORTS-SAN DIEGO-SANTA BARBARA-MONTEREY-SAN FRANCISCO-Es- TABLISHMENT OF MISSIONS-CONVERSION OF NATIVES - CATTLE AND HORSES-TRADE IN HIDES AND TALLOW-OVERTHROW OF SPANISH POWER - IMMIGRATION OF WHITES-FRE- MONT DRIVES MEXICANS SOUTH-"BEAR FLAG"-COMMODORE SLOAT RECEIVES IN- STRUCTIONS FROM SECRETARY OF NAVY- DISPATCHES SURGEON WOOD TO MEXICO CITY TO OBTAIN INFORMATION-SLOAT ARRIVES AT MONTEREY-TAKES POSSESSION OF TOWN FOR UNITED STATES-INSTRUCTS CAPTAIN MONT- GOMERY TO TAKE POSSESSION OF SAN FRAN- CISCO-DISAPPOINTMENT OF BRITISH AD- MIRAL, SEYMOUR.
In the campaign of 1844, which resulted in the election of James K. Polk to the presidency over Henry Clay, the democrats had declared for two things, first, the annexation of Texas, and, sec- ond, the extending of their claims upon the Pa- cific to 59° 40'. The last official act of President Tyler was the signing of a joint resolution of both Houses of Congress for the annexation of Texas, and one of the first acts of President
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Polk was to officially notify the people of Texas of such annexation.
A treaty with England was made which de- fined the boundaries on the Pacific between the two countries as they are at present, leaving all south of the present State of Oregon Mexican territory, which England had claimed by right of discovery through Sir Francis Drake, who, they claimed, had first discovered California when he landed at Point Reyes near San Fran- cisco and hoisted the British flag on the territory. The Mexicans, it is said, were willing to cede this territory to England in cancellation of a debt of fifty millions which they owed to the British Government. This treaty with England, upon the advice of the Senate, was ratified by the President July 19th, 1846, ratifications were exchanged July 27th, 1846, and it was proclaimed August 5th, 1846.
Upon the annexation of Texas, which everyone knew must result in war with Mexico, California became a prize which both the United States and England were anxious to secure. Both nation- alities were largely represented in the immigra- tion into California.
Cabrillo, a Spanish navigator, in 1748 dis- covered Upper California. It was colonized by the Spaniards in 1768. Garrisoned forts were established, first at San Diego, and then at Santa Barbara, Monterey and San Francisco. Missions of Franciscans accompanied or imme- diately followed them. The first mission was established at San Diego, and from time to time, twenty more were established. They included
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handsome churches, some of them of stone, am- ple quarters, workshops, storehouses, granaries and courts. They gradually extended their claims to territory, and so came to include the whole country. The natives were not only converted to Christianity, but were instructed in agriculture and the mechanical arts. They became the hewers of wood and drawers of water for the priests. Their rancherias, or villages, were near the missions and they lived in thatched, conical huts. Small military detach- ments were located at each rancheria to preserve order. In 1822 the number of converts was esti- mated at twenty-two thousand, besides colonists settled near by.
There was some immigration from Mexico, the soldiers usually bringing their wives, but the im- migration was discouraged by the priesthood, who made it very difficult to obtain ownership to the land. The territorial government was irregular and weak, the head of it being the com- mandante general. There were no schools, and but little wheat and beans were raised by the families, whose diet was chiefly fresh meat. Milk was seldom used, and butter was a thing unknown. They lived on horseback, an indolent but active life, and were fine horsemen. Horse- racing, gambling and dancing were their chief occupations. Cattle and horses were introduced, the latter said to be of the Arabian breed, and their flocks and herds increased wonderfully upon the rich grasses in California's most favor- able climate, while horses soon overran the land, and, in 1826, it was common for men to join to-
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gether to drive them into great pens prepared for the purpose, and, when thus confined, after securing some of the finest animals, to slaughter the rest. Trade in hides and tallow was estab- lished in 1816; an annual ship came from Bos- ton, and, says one authority, "in 1822 near forty thousand hides and about the same number of arrobas (twenty-five pounds) of tallow were ex- ported. Hides became known as California bank notes, of the value of two dollars."
The Mexican revolution of 1822 overthrew the Spanish power in California. The missions began to decline in wealth and power in 1824, at which time a decree of expulsion against all na- tive Spaniards and their priests was enforced, and by 1836 the Mission fathers were stripped of their possessions. This wrong, however, had its compensating effects for the people at large. The lands were divided and came into individual ownership. Industry and enterprise were en- couraged and the mass of the population was no longer dependent upon the bounty and will of the priests.
In 1846 the white population of California was estimated at not higher than ten thousand, in- cluding about two thousand foreigners, chiefly from the United States; these last beginning to arrive so rapidly that their superior intelligence and energy aroused the jealousy of prominent natives. General Castro assumed command of the military and soon afterwards issued a pro- clamation requiring all Americans to leave the country, but no immediate measures were taken
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to enforce the order, and it was disregarded by the immigrants.
Lieutenant Archibald Gillespie arrived at Mazatlan in February, 1846, with dispatches for Consul Larkin at Monterey, and also for Fre- mont, and was sent forward by Commodore Sloat in the sloop of war Cyane, which arrived at Monterey, April 17th, 1846, where he delivered his dispatches to Consul Larkin, who provided means for him to reach Fremont, who, at that time, was at Klamath Lake in Southern Oregon, the dispatches to Fremont being oral and secret. The nature of these dispatches is not disclosed, but Fremont, with his command of sixty men, immediately returned to California, where the Americans, in the meantime, had organized under what was known as the "Bear Flag." The Mexicans were commanded by General Castro. The Americans joined Fremont's command and the Mexicans were driven south.
The following facts, which are taken from offi- cial documents and authentic records, are from the life of Commodore John Drake Sloat, written by Major Edwin A. Sherman, and I consider them reliable in all respects :
In 1844 Commodore Sloat was appointed com- mander of the American squadron in the Pacific waters, succeeding Commodore Jones. On June 25th, 1845, dispatches were sent by the Hon. George Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy, to Com- modore Sloat, which were delivered to him by Lieutenant Watson of the United States Navy on October 25th, at Honolulu. After stating that it was the earnest desire of the President to
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