USA > Arizona > History of Arizona and New Mexico, 1530-1888, Volume XVII > Part 22
USA > New Mexico > History of Arizona and New Mexico, 1530-1888, Volume XVII > Part 22
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Pope's first task was to obliterate Christianity with all its tokens. He ordered the destruction of all crosses and church implements; forbade the naming of Jesus or María; decreed that men should put away their wives and take others to their liking; that all be cleansed of baptism by water and soap-weed, baptis- mal names being dropped; that churches be destroyed and estufas reopened; that the Spanish language be abandoned for native dialects; and that none but native crops be raised. The new sovereign travelled from pue- blo to pueblo to superintend the execution of his de- crees. Assuming supernatural powers, he proclaimed that the Christian god was dead, having been made of rotten wood, and powerless, while the native gods were still potent to make the New Mexicans a pros- perous people. The Castillos were not to be feared, for he had built walls up to the skies to keep them away. On his tour Pope dressed in full Indian cos- tume, and wore a bull's horn on his forehead. Every- where he was received with honors similar to those formerly exacted by the governor and custodio, scat-
185
POPE'S RULE.
tering corn-meal upon the people as a token of his blessing. The destruction of Christian relics was at- tended by noisy demonstrations, processions, dances, offerings to heathen deities, and every conceivable profanation of all that the missionaries had held most sacred.
All this was good fun during the insane excitement of victory and freedom from restraint; but Pope's rule became oppressive. He not only threatened ven- geance of the gods on all who refused to obey his orders, but proceeded to execute that vengeance, often inflicting the death penalty. The most beautiful women were taken for himself and his captains. Ex- cessive tribute was imposed for the support of the central government. Civil discords and wars followed, supplemented by drought, which was less adequately provided against than of old. The pagan deities seem to have abandoned their worshippers, and caused some very strange phenomena. The Apaches and Yutas took advantage of the situation to renew their raids for plunder. Many pueblos were abandoned, sites of others were changed, and tribes were scattered. Bar- barism darker than that of aboriginal times settled down upon this northern land.13
13 Says Escalante, Carta, 122-3: 'The rebel pueblos began to quarrel and wage bitter war. The Queres, Taos, and Pecos fought against the Tehuas and Tanos; and the latter deposed Pope-on account of his despotism, etc .- electing Luis Tupatu in his place. He ruled the Tehuas and Tanos till 1688, when Pope was again elected; but died soon, and Tupatú was again chosen. Alonso Catiti died earlier; entering an estufa to sacrifice, be sud- denly burst, all his intestines coming out in sight of many Ind. Later each pueblo of the Queres governed itself. The Apaches were at peace with some of the pueblos, but in others did all the damage they could. The Yutas, as soon as they learned the misfortune of the Span., waged ceaseless war on the Jemes, Taos, and Picuries, and especially on the Tehuas, on whom they committed great ravages. Not only thus and with civil wars were the apostates afflicted, but also with hunger and pestilence. The Queres and Jemes destroyed the Tiguas and Piros remaining after Otermin's entrada (of '81, to be described presently), because they deemed them inclined to favor the Span. Of the Tiguas only a few families escaped and retired to the province of Aloqui (Moqui?); of the Piros none escaped." Davis and Prince give a good account of the developments of this period. Niel, Apunt., 103-6, says that for seven years it 'rained ashes,' while for nine years no water fell, and the streams all dried up. The Tompiros were exterminated; very few Tiguas and Jemes survived; somewhat more of the Tehuas, Taos, and Pecos were left; and the Queres, protected by the walls of Sta Fé, suffered least of all. Finally, by
186
A DECADE OF FREEDOM.
It was not until the autumn of 1681 that Governor Otermin was ready; or, if not ready, was required by the viceroy's orders to attempt the recovery of the lost province. While the record is meagre, it is clear enough that there was much opposition to this at- tempt, there being two parties among the soldiers, officers, colonists, and even the friars. Many be- lieved that the opportunities for missionary work and colonization were better in the south than in the north ; they had lost their property and their families or friends, and had not yet recovered from the terror of the massacre; they were in favor of utilizing the funds and forces lately received to strengthen their position at El Paso, and of putting off the conquest to a more convenient season. Otermin himself may have been lukewarm in the cause, but if so the vice- roy's instructions left him no choice. Captain Juan Dominguez de Mendoza, who had served in New Mexico from his boyhood, had retreated from Isleta with García, and had succeeded the latter as lieu- tenant-general, was leader of the opposition, and legal proceedings had on that account been begun against him and others.14 Most if not all the friars favored an experimental entrada at least, hoping that the natives,
the sacrifice of a virgin, water was restored to the bed of the Rio Grande, and thus life was saved, and their 'stubborn, insolent apostasy' was confirmed. Niel also tells a curious story to the effect that of the Tanos after the revolt only half remained to quarrel with other nations for supremacy, while the rest-4,000 men, women, and children-went away with their Spanish plun- der to preserve themselves and let their cattle increase. They went via Zuñi to Moqui, and having induced that people to give them a home, gradually gained possession of the country and towns, reducing the original Moquis to complete subjection, extending their conquests far to the s. w., and seating their young king, Trasquillo, on the throne at Oraibe. They brought with them many who had served the Span., and learned from them all they could, instead of avoiding everything Spanish like the other nations. Certain lin- guistic and other peculiarities of the different pueblos are sufficient, if not to give plausibility to this story, at least to make it worth preserving here. Arricivita, Cron. Seráf., 199, tells us that the Tanos of Galisteo intrenched themselves at Sta Fé. Acc. to Arch. N. Mex., 129, a good authority, the Tanos of S. Cristóbal and S. Lázaro, south of Sta Fé, were forced by hostili- ties of Apaches, Queres, and Pecos to transfer their pueblos to the region of S. Juan, where the towns were rebuilt under the same names.
14 This is shown in the fiscal's report of '82. N. Mex., Doc., MS., 1623- 1704. Most writers say nothing of these troubles. Escalante says 'hubo algunas dificultades que causaron una dilacion muy nociva.'
187
OTERMIN'S ENTRADA OF 1681.
prompted to revolt and apostasy by the devil and a few sorcerers, had now seen the error of their ways, and would be eager for peace and pardon.
Otermin's army consisted of 146 soldiers, with 112 Indian allies, 975 horses, and a supply train of ox- carts and pack-mules.15 Juan Dominguez de Mendoza was lieutenant-general and maestre de campo; Fran- cisco Javier was civil and military secretary; and Padre Ayeta, the procurador general, accompanied the expedition with Padre Antonio Guerra, and per- haps one or two other friars.16
The start from Paso del Norte was on the 5th of November, and the march up the river past Estero Largo, Robledo, Perrillo, Cruz de Anaya, Fra Cris- tóbal, and Contadero, presents nothing of interest ex- cept these names.17 From November 26th to the 4th of December, Otermin visited the southern group of pueblos, Senecú, San Pascual, Socorro, Alamillo, and Sevilleta. All these towns had been abandoned by the native Piros, and all ranchos along the route had been pillaged. Everywhere there were clear traces of revolt against Christianity in burned churches and broken images, of a revival of pagan rites in re- built estufas, and of later devastation, perhaps by
15 Davis, 308, notes a petition of the old residents of Sta Fé that during their absence on the campaign their families be supported with the garrison at S. Lorenzo. This was dated Sept. 18th and was granted. An original MS. of the Pinart collection shows that on March 9, 1681, at 'Paso del Rio del Norte, conversion de Nra Sra de Guadalupe,' Gov. O. took testimony of 4 Ind. lately arrived from N. Mex., who said the Tiguas, Piros, and Apaches had formed a plot to attack El Paso. In an orig. doc. of the Arch. Sta Fé, the ayuntamiento of Paso del Rio del Norte is named, consisting of Fran. de Anaya Almazan, Cris. B. de Villanueva, J. Javier de Noriega, Fran. Romero de Pedraza, and Ant. de Monroy; escribano mayor, Ant. Lucero de Godoy.
16 The sargentos mayores amd captains named in N. Mex., Doc., MS., 1500, are Juan Dominguez, Pedro Leiva, Nicolás Rodriguez, Juan and Diego Lucero de Godoy, Luis de Granillo, Alonso del Rio, Sebastian de Herrera, Diego Lopez Zambrano, Luis de Quintana, Pedro de Marquez, Roque de Madrid, Diego Dominguez, Ignacio and Cristóbal Vaca, Felipe Romero, José Narvaez, Fran. Anaya, Fran. Madrid, Antonio Marquez, Gonzalo Paredes, Salvador Olguin, Antonio Dominguez, Ant. de Avalos, Don José Chavez, and José Padilla. Escalante is the only authority for the exact force.
17 Diary in Otermin, Extractos, 1207 et seq., followed by Davis, Span. Conq., 308 et seq., with some slight errors. Escalante, 120, gives but a brief out- line. The stretch of 32 1. without water, from Robledo to Fra Cristobal, is noted; since known as La Jornada del Muerto.
188
A DECADE OF FREEDOM.
northern rebels but probably by Apache raiders. The Spaniards completely destroyed all that was left.
Isleta, in the Tiguas province, was the first pueblo whose inhabitants had remained, and it was taken by assault on the 6th of December, after a slight resist- ance. Next day, the 1,511 inhabitants formally re- newed their allegiance, received pardon with much advice, and offered many children for baptism. Here the walls of the burned church served as a corral for cattle ; but the people had plenty of excuses to offer, attributing all that was unchristian to the northern apostates, who had come to attack their town and force these faithful subjects of the Spanish king to feign a relapse to idolatry. Indeed, they regarded Otermin's arrival as a most fortunate event, for they had plenty of corn, and were expecting an attack from the famine- stricken rebels of the north. A few Indians had es- caped before the town was taken, and had gone north with news of the Spaniards' arrival; and now others were sent out by the governor to notify the rebels of his friendly intentions if they would return to their allegiance.
From Isleta on the 8th, Dominguez was despatched with seventy men to make a reconnoissance of the northern pueblos; and a few days later the governor and his army followed up the river, in a snow-storm, encamping from the 16th to the 23d at a point in sight of Alameda, Puaray, and Sandía.18 These pueblos, whose inhabitants had fled, were found in the same condition as those below Isleta, except that they con- tained large stores of maize, all of which, with the towns themselves, was burned by the governor's orders. Dominguez rejoined Otermin on the 18th,
18 Alameda seems to be represented as 6 1. above Isleta, with the Etsancia de Dominguez (not far from Alburquerque) half-way between. The 3 pueblos in the order named were near together. This is the best possible proof that Coronado's Tiguex, Rodriguez' Puara, and Espejo's Tiguas prov. have been correctly located in the region of the still standing Sandía, and Alameda above Alburquerque, though of course it is not certain that either Isleta, Alameda, or Sandía stands exactly ou its original site. Everything indicates, however, that they all stood in the same district as now.
189
ATTEMPTED RECONQUEST.
having visited San Felipe, Santo Domingo, and Co- chití, which he had found abandoned, like the rest with stores of maize, but which he had not burned. At Cochití he met a large force of Indians, who ap- proached in hostile array, but finally consented to parley. Catiti, their chief, professed deep penitence for his sins, shedding tears, and promising in a day and a half to bring in all the rebels of the three towns to accept pardon and renew their allegiance. He failed to keep his agreement; the hostages held were strangely allowed to depart; and much evidence was obtained to show that Catiti's penitence was but a ruse, to gain time for the Moquis and other distant tribes to join the rebel force at Cieneguilla for a com- bined attack on the Spaniards. Accordingly, Domin- guez returned south to rejoin the governor, who severely criticised his management of the expedition, blaming him for not having burned the pueblos, for not having sent reports, and for various other short- comings.
Otermin spent the week of his stay near Sandía, chiefly in examining witnesses on the details of Do- minguez' expedition, and on the causes of the original revolt, the acts of the Indians during the past year, and their present disposition. Among the witnesses were two half-breeds, who claimed to have been forced into the rebellion, and who gave themselves up volun- tarily. The record is very voluminous,13 and many pages might be filled with details that would have more interest than real importance. On the 23d a junta de guerra was held, and radical differences of opinion were expressed; but the decision was that in view of the natives' bitter hostility, the inadequacy of the force for a military conquest, the bad condition of the men, and especially of the horses, the snow and intense cold of midwinter, and finally the news that the hostile natives under Tupatú were threatening
19 Otermin, Extractos, MS., 1227-1580. Davis, Span. Conq., 318-35, re- produces many particulars.
190
A DECADE OF FREEDOM.
the faithful Tiguas-it was best to retire to a point opposite Isleta, which was done on the 24th or 25th. Here other witnesses were examined, and evidence accumulated to the effect that the rebels were preparing to run off the horses and massacre the en- feebled Spaniards. Matters were still further com- plicated by the defection of a large part of the Isletas, who fled to join the rebel army. Though some were nominally in favor of remaining, it is clear that none, not even Otermin or Ayeta, was zealous in the cause; and that the chief anxiety was to fill the autos with evidence that should justify a retreat. Yet it must be admitted that this evidence, if somewhat highly colored, had much real force.
The final junta began on the last day of the year, and on January 1, 1682, it was decided to march southward. There were 385 Indians at Isleta who still remained faithful, and who could not fairly be left to the vengeance of the apostates; therefore they accompanied the army. The pueblo having been burned, with all the grain and other property that could not be carried, the retreat down the valley began on the 2d; and on the 11th of February Otermin reached Estero Largo, only a few leagues from El Paso.20 From this point the governor sent a general report to the viceroy, accompanied by the autos, to which he referred for details. In this document he made known his plans for settlement and missionary work in the El Paso region, asked for more stringent regulations to keep the colony together and bring back fugitives of the past few years, and also for leave of absence to visit Parral for medical treatment.21 On the 25th of June the fiscal of the audiencia in Mexico
20 On Jan. 15th they were opposite Socorro; on the 18th at Qualacu (one of Oñate's names, as will be remembered) and S. Pascual; 19th, Senecú; 21st, Fra Cristóbal; Feb. Ist, Robledo; 4th, Doña Ana; 11th, Estero Largo. Otermin, Extractos, MS., 1596-1612.
21 Otermin, Consulta at Virey, 11 de Feb., 1682, in Id., Extractos, MS., 1612- 23.
191
THE GOVERNOR BLAMED.
made a report, in which, after a careful résumé of the entrada from the autos, he commented in severe terms on the acts of Dominguez de Mendoza, recommending criminal prosecution of that officer; and he also blamed Otermin for not having made a stand at Sandía or some other convenient point, since the large stores of maize destroyed in the southern pueblos and left un- destroyed in the north would have sufficed to restore the horses and support the army until help or new orders could be received. The fiscal favored, however, the proposed settlement and presidio at El Paso, though the New Mexican soldiers should not be permitted to enlist in the southern presidial company; and he also approved strict measures to collect and keep together all fugitives of the colony, whether Spaniards or Indians. The governor's leave of absence was not granted.22
With the termination of Otermin's journal in the spring of 1682, the record again becomes fragmentary and meagre. We have, however, some items of mis- sion work in the El Paso region, the succession of governors, and a few attempts to regain lost ground in the north.23 With the 385 natives that had come with Otermin from Isleta, a few who had accompanied the original refugees of 1680, and some who came later, the padres proceeded to found three new mis- sion pueblos in the south. These were Senecú, So- corro, and Isleta.24 Not much is known of what was
22 Fiscal's report of June 25, 1682, in Otermin, Extractos, MS., 1623-1704. The copy consulted by Davis did not apparently include the two final docu- ments. On Jan. 1, 1682, news had reached Mex. that a civil war had broken out among the troops in N. Mex., the commander being killed, but P. Ayeta escaping. Robles, Diario, 334.
23 Brevoort, N. Mex., 83, adds a discovery by the Franciscans of the Mina de los Padres, all traces of which they obliterated later when forced to give way to the Jesuits!
24 S. Ant. de Senecú, of Piros and Tompiros, 2 1. below El Paso (or Guada- lupe); Corpus Christi de Isleta (Bonilla, Apuntes, MS., 2, calls it S. Lorenzo del Realito), of Tiguas 1} I. E. of Senecú; and Nra del Socorro, of Piros, Tanos, and Jemes, on the Rio del Norte 7 1. from Isleta and 12 1. from El Paso. In '83 the Ind. of Socorro attempted to kill P. Antonio Guerra and a few Span. families. The plot was discovered, and those involved fled to N. Mex., the
192
A DECADE OF FREEDOM.
accomplished in the following years, and that little belongs mainly to the annals of Chihuahua and Texas; but there were many troubles with converts and gen- tiles, and most of those who came from New Mexico gradually disappeared from their new homes. During most of the decade Padre Nicolás Lopez, perhaps the same as Hurtado, held the office of custodio and pro- curador general.25 In 1687 there was a royal order that twenty new missionaries should be sent to the Rio del Norte.26
The rule of Governor Otermin ended in 1683, and he was succeeded the same year by Domingo Jironza Petriz Cruzat, though Bartolomé de Estrada Ramirez is named as an intermediate ruler.27 Cruzat, or Cru- zate as the name is also written. held the office four years, though involved in controversies with the gov- ernor of Nueva Vizcaya, and perhaps temporarily suspended in 1684-5.28 Captain Mange, the explorer
others being moved to a site nearer Isleta, where the pueblo still stood in 1778. In '83 also a mission of the Sumas was estab. at Ojito de Samalayuca, 8 1. below El Paso, but next year the converts apostatized and fled, the re- volt including Sumas, Janos, and the Mansos of Guadalupe, who killed P. Manuel Beltran and were not reduced till '86. It was also in '83 4 that the padres made a visit to the Tejas, and also founded the ill-fated mission at the junction of the Conchos. Escalante, Carta, 120-2. See also Hist. North Mex. St., i. 364-6.
25 N. Mex., Céd., MS., 14; Fernandez Duro, 48, 67-74. In '85 the vice- custudio and juez ecles. was P. Juan Muñoz de Castro, and the guardian of the convent of Guadalupe del Paso was P. Fran. de Vargas. Arch. Sta Fé, MS. Papers of indulgence for N. Mex. friars in 'S5. Robertson's Hist. Amer., ii. 1017. The Jumanas ask for padres in '84. Vetancur, Chron., 96-7. By Fernandez Duro, 134, is cited from Barcia a MS. Relacion que envió el gobr. de N. Mex. al virey de N. España de lox Ind. Xumanas que pedian religiosos, in '84. The same year, acc. to Espinosa, Chron., 92, the friars of the college of Sta Cruz de Querétaro wished to enter the N. Mex. field but did not succeed.
26 Cédula of Sept. 26, '87, in N. Mex., Ced., MS., 14-16. It was in reply to a request from P. Lopez.
27 Davis' list. 'Knight of the order of Santiago, gov. and capt. gen. of N. Mex.' 1683. Estrada may have ruled for a short time ad int., or may have been appointed and never have come. I am not certain that Otermin ruled after '82.
28 Escalante, Carta, 115, 121, says that Cruzat succeeded in Aug. '83. In the col. of M. Pinart is an original order signed by Gov. C. on Nov. 29th, giving instructions for an entrada about to be undertaken among the Juma- nas and adjoining nations. Davis' earliest date is '84. Vigil, in Simpson's Jour., 108, tells us that Garbaceo de Cruzat y Góngora succeeded Otermin in '81, retook Sta Fé the next year, extended his conquest till '83, and then re- turned to Sta Fé ! The troubles with the gov. of N. Vizcaya are indicated by an original order of the viceroy on Nov. 28, '85, that Cruzat be restored
193
RULE OF GOVERNOR CRUZAT.
and writer, nephew and eulogist of Don Domingo, tells us that he ruled con aplauso, chastised the apos- tates, routed a combination of ten nations, reduced some of them to pueblo life, made fifteen campaigns, ruled more as a father than as a governor, and in his final residencia was pronounced a "bueno, recto, y limpio juez," and thanked in the king's name;29 and indeed, much of this praise seems to have been well deserved.
In September 1683 the king approved all that had been done by the viceroy, including the establishment of a presidio of 50 men at El Paso; and he ordered that every effort should be made, with the slightest possible expense, to regain the lost province.30 In August 1684 a force of 50 Spaniards and 100 Indians was sent against a ranchería of apostate and gentile Apaches to kill the men and capture the women and children. 31 In September 1685 the governor issued strict orders for the arrest and return of all fugitives. It was perhaps in connection with this order that the troubles with Governor José de Neiva of Nueva Viz- caya occurred; and it is to be noted that in the same month the maestre de campo, Juan Dominguez de Mendoza-before involved, as will be remembered, in serious charges-ran away from El Paso with the in- tention of going to Mexico, accompanied by several other officers.32 Alonso García succeeded Dominguez as maestre de campo and lieutenant-governor.
and maintained in his office, with all its titles as held by his predecessor; while the gov. of N. Vizcaya must keep within the bounds of his own govt and not interfere with the gov. of N. Mex. Doc., in Pinart C'ol.
29 Mange, Hist. Pimeria, 228. Jironza had been sent by Carlos II. from Cádiz in '80 as visitador of the Leaward Isles, with a force of 50 men, rank of infantry capt., and instruc. to the viceroy to give him an office in reward for his services in the wars against Portugal. He was made alcalde mayor of Mestitlan, and soon promoted to be gov. of N. Mex.
3ª N. Mex., Cédulas, MS., 11-14. Orders of Sept. 4th. There had been a junta in Mex. on July 28, '82, and the viceroy had reported to king on Dec. 22d.
31 Aug. 16th. Arch. Sta Fé, MS. Sargt. Mayor Roque de Madrid was in com. Other officers named are Luis Granillo, Diego Copoz, Ign. Vaca, Felipe Romero, Sebastian Gonzalez, H. Dominguez, Alonso García, and Fran. de Anaya. Pedro Ladron de Guevara is named as sec. in '84-7, at dif. times.
32 Arch. Sta Fé, MS. The proceso shows many charges against Dominguez, but no result. The others were Sargt. Mayor Juan Lucero de Godoy, Regidor Láza.o de Mirquía, Baltasar Dominguez, Juan de Anaya, and the govt sec., HIST. ARIZ. AND N. MEX. 13
194
A DECADE OF FREEDOM.
In 1686, under circumstances that are not explained, but on which the despatches carried by Dominguez and his companions to Mexico would probably throw much light, Cruzat was succeeded by Don Pedro Reneros de Posada, who ruled till 1689.33 Of his rule noth- ing appears except that he seems to have made an en- trada to the towns of the Queres, and that according to Mange there were complaints of his inefficiency, resulting in the reappointment of Jironza de Cruzat.34 The latter in 1688 or 1689 renewed the entrada and fought the Queres, with other tribes fortified at Cia, killing 600 of the apostates and capturing over 70, who, except a few old men who were shot in the plaza, were with the king's license sold into slavery for 10 years, many of the natives having been burned to death in their dwellings rather than submit to cap- ture.35 Next year, or in 1690, the governor had his
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