USA > Arizona > History of Arizona and New Mexico, 1530-1888, Volume XVII > Part 33
USA > New Mexico > History of Arizona and New Mexico, 1530-1888, Volume XVII > Part 33
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22 The 8 names marked with a star in note 20 are those who did not come to the camp before Pike's departure. They were brought into Sta Fé a little later, but I find no definite record of what became of them. P. had 8 men with him. The map is taken from the French edition.
23 'As your interview with the Comanches will probably lead you to the head branches of the Arkansaw and Red rivers, you may find yourself approxi- mated to the settlements of N. Mex., and there it will be necessary you should move with great circumspection, to keep clear of any hunting or recon- noitring parties from that province, and to prevent alarm or offence; because the affairs of Spain and the U. S. appear to be on the point of amicable adjustmeut, and moreover it is the desire of the president to cultivate the friendship and harmonious intercourse of all the nations of the earth, and particularly our near neighbors, the Spaniards.' Pike's Acct. Exped., 108. The instruc. were given by Gen. James Wilkinson.
294
LAST YEARS OF SPANISH RULE.
Red River, but on the Rio del Norte, his camp being on the Conejos just above the junction; whereupon he at once lowered his flag, for he could but admit-
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32
PIKE'S EXPEDITION, 1806-7.
especially in the presence of 100 soldiers-that the Spaniards might have some legitimate claim to terri-
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295
PIKE ON THE RIO GRANDE.
tory occupied by them for over two centuries. The Spaniards were most courteous and kind, supplying the half-starved and half-naked explorers with food and blankets; but the officers presently admitted, what Pike had supposed from the first, that the Americans must go to Santa Fé. Accordingly, they started on the 27th, part of the Spanish force remaining behind to bring in the eight explorers who had not yet reached the fort.24
The route from the Conejos was across to the Chama and down that stream past Ojo Caliente and San Juan. The people were uniformly kind and hos- pitable in their treatment of the strangers, though their nondescript and ragged apparel, consisting of overalls, breech-cloths, and leather coats, without cov- ering for the head, prompted the inquiry if the Amer- icans were a tribe living in houses or wearing hats. Baptiste Lalande and another Frenchman tried to gain Pike's confidence, but were regarded by him as spies. Solomon Colly, one of the Nolan party, was liv- ing in New Mexico, and served as interpreter.25 The arrival at Santa Fé was on the 3d of March, and the adventurers were questioned by Governor Alencaster, whose conduct was courteous and dignified, but who said that Pike and his men must appear before Gen- eral Salcedo at Chihuahua. Pike denied that Dr
24 Pike accuses the Spanish lieut. of deceiving him, by claiming at first to have come from Gov. Alencaster simply to aid the unfortunate explorers and to escort them via Sta Fé to the real Red River. Possibly there was some foundation for the charge, but it is also probable that Pike, full of the preju- dices of his time and race, regarding himself as the victim of outrage on ac- count of an innocent blunder, exaggerates the matter. The fact is, that orders from the com. gen, of Provincias Internas required the gov., and very properly, to arrest and send to Chihuahua any Amer. who might be found in Span. territory, always avoiding, if possible, any violent measures. Pike's entry may have been, as he claims, an innocent error, yet the location of his fort, as already noted, even on the Red River theory, and Robinson's coming alone to Sta Fé as to a place not far off or very difficult to find, were suspi- cious circumstances strengthened by minor details of Pike's later conduct. We are told that, while the leader recognized the necessity of submitting, some of the men were disappointed at not being allowed to test the strength of their fort against the foe-or having a dust with the Spaniards. Commu- nication was chiefly in French, Pike knowing but few words of Spanish.
25 See Hist. North Mex. States and Texas for Nolan's adventures in Texas and Chih.
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LAST YEARS OF SPANISH RULE.
Robinson was a member of his party; attempted by a ruse to prevent the examination of his papers, deem- ing himself sadly 'deceived' when the governor shrewdly prevented the success of his trick;26 and occasionally deemed it his duty as a free-born Ameri- can to be suspicious, independent, and disagreeable to the verge of insolence. It was never quite clear to any of Anglo-Saxon blood that a Spanish official might rightfully interfere with his personal freedom to do as he pleased. Yet Pike frankly admits the kindness with which he was treated, and says much in praise of the Spaniards in New Mexico. As men, he and his party were well treated; as Americans, they must needs have a grievance. Though assured he was not a prisoner, Pike insisted on receiving a cer- tificate that he was obliged to go to Chihuahua.
They left the capital on March 4th, after a dinner given by the governor in their honor, Alencaster tak- ing Pike in his coach drawn by six mules for three miles. Captain Antonio Almansa commanded the escort, and the route was by way of Santo Domingo and Alburquerque to a point below Isleta,27 where
26 Pike distributed the important papers among his men, showing his trunk containing the rest to the gov., who seemed satisfied and returned the trunk. Then P. collected the papers, fearing the men, who were drinking pretty freely, might lose them or give them up. But next morning the gov. called for the trunk again, and Zebulon was outwitted !
27 The places named by P. below Alburquerque are Tousac, S. Fernandez, Sabinez (Sabinal), Jacales, and Sibilleta (Sevilleta, or Cebolleta, acc. to Prince). These may be supposed to include Isleta, Tomé, and Belen, Sabinal being the only name which may be approximately correct. Sibilleta, on the east side of the river, is described as a fine and regular village, and such a place is mentioned in several Span. records as the starting-point of the caravans, sometimes garrisoned by 7 men. Of its founding I find no record, nor is it mentioned in statistical lists of '20-1.
At Sto Domingo rich paintings and images were noted in the church; at S. Felipe a fine bridge across the river. Here Padre Rubí was found to he a liberal and educated man, showing a valuable statistical table. Sandía is called St Dies. At Alburquerque P. Ambrosio Guerra was hospitable, though sadly disappointed that he could not make a Christian of Pike. Here a party of beautiful girls contributed to the entertainment, including two of English parentage, who had been rescued from Ind. captivity. Apparently at Isleta (not named) Dr Robinson was added to the party, and told the story of his adventures. They were welcomed with a dance at Tousac (Tome ?); and at S. Fernandez met Melgares, who sent out an order for the handsomest girls of the region to be sent in for a fandango, 'which portrays more clearly than a chapter of observations the degraded state of the common people.
297
THE AMERICANS IN CHIHUAHUA.
Lieutenant Facundo Melgares, returning southward with his dragoons, took charge of the party. For Almansa and Melgares Pike has nothing but words of praise. Starting on March 11th, they reached El Paso on the 21st and Chihuahua on April 2d. Here General Salcedo treated them much as Governor Alencaster had done, but insisted on retaining Pike's papers. The Americans were finally sent home through Coahuila and Texas under an escort, leaving Chihuahua at the end of April, and reaching Natchi- toches in July. Pike's book was published in 1810; he was promoted to brigadier-general, and lost his life at the taking of Toronto in 1813. His narrative was interesting, and at the time of its publication of much value. Naturally, it adds but little if anything to in- formation derived from Pino and the archive records, yet I shall have occasion to cite it on several points.28
Moved by Pike's account of the New Mexican country, and entertaining an idea, perhaps, that Hi- dalgo's revolution had removed the old restrictions on trade, Robert McKnight, with a party of nine or ten, crossed the plains in 1812, and reached Santa Fé. The result was that their goods were confiscated, and they were arrested, being held in Chihuahua and Durango as prisoners until 1822, when they were re-
28 Pike (Zebulon Montgomery). An account of expeditions to the sources of the Mississippi, and through the western parts of Louisiana to the sources of the Arkan- saw, Kans, La Platte, and Pierre Jaun, rivers; performed by order of the govern- ment of the United States, during the years 1805, 1806, and 1807. And a tour through the interior parts of New Spain, when conducted through these provinces, by order of the captain-general, in the year 1807. By Major Z. M. Pike. Illus- trated by maps and charts. Phil., 1810, Svo, with portrait. Parts ii., iii., con- tain the exped. to N. Mex. and Chih., from p. 107; also descriptive and documentary appendices to parts ii., iii., separately paged. Also an English edition, from a copy of the MS., with a few verbal corrections and notes by the editor, Thomas Rees, under the title Pike's Exploratory Travels, etc., Lon- don, 1811, 4to; and the French translation of M. Breton, Pike, Voyage au Nouveau Mexique. Paris, 1812, 8vo, 2 vol. See also Warren's Memoir, 20-1; Prince's Hist. Sk., 246-65; Pino, Expos., 14-15; Barreiro, Ojeada, 30 (Pike being 'Paykie' to the Span.); Sta Fe Conquest, 9; instructions in Annals of Cony., 1808-9, app. 1789-94; Sta Fé, N. Mex. Review, July 29, '83; Bingley's Travels, 228-39; also Meline, Gregg, and all the well-known writers on N. Mex. subjects. There is no other source of real information than Pike's origi- nal narrative.
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LAST YEARS OF SPANISH RULE.
leased by Iturbide's order. Efforts had been made in 1817 in their behalf, at the intercession of John Scott, the Missouri congressman, by Secretary Adams, through the Spanish minister Onis; but though the latter wrote on the subject both to king and viceroy nothing could be effected.23
In 1815 Auguste P. Choteau and Julius de Mun formed a partnership, and went with a large party to the upper Arkansas to hunt and trade with the In- dians. They claim to have confined their operations to American territory, which was perhaps somewhat elastic in their eyes; at any rate, we have only their version. Visiting Taos and Santa Fé in 1816 they were most favorably received by Governor Mainez, a very polite old gentleman, who said there would be no objection to their trapping and trading east of the mountains and north of Red River. He even thought he might get from the general for them a license to hunt beaver on the branches of the Rio Grande. Re- tiring to the north to await the desired permission, they were often visited by parties from the settlements, who came to trade. But early in 1817, after Gov- ernor Allande's accession, there was a decided change of Spanish policy. A force of 200 men under Lieu- tenant Francisco Salazar, marched out to search for an American fort, said to exist on the Rio de las Animas, with cannon and 20,000 men! This fort was not found, but in June Sergeant Mariano Bernal was sent out to arrest the Americans, and not only did he bring in Choteau, De Mun, and 24 men as prisoners, but opened their caches on the upper Arkansas, and
29 Sta Fé, Message from the president of the U. S., transmitting. . . information relative to the arrest and imprisonment of certain American citizens at Sta F'e. Wash., April 15, '18, 8vo, 23 p .; also Amer. St. Pap., xii. 435-52; U. S. Gort Doc., 15th C'ong. Ist Sess., 319, 471; Id., 18th Cong. 2d Sess., Sen. Doc. 7, p. 3; Annals of Congress, 1817-18, ii. 1954-66; Gregg's Com. of the Prairies, i. 19- 20; and other works on the Sta Fé trade. The names as given by Scott were Robert Mcknight, Benj. Shrive, James Baird, Alfred Allen, Michael M'Donough, Wm Mines, Samuel Chambers, Peter Baum, Thomas Cook, and Miers, an interpreter, with perhaps others. It is said that 2 of them escaped in a canoe down the Canadian in '21. Foster, Los Ang. in '47, MS., 3-4, says that in '45 Mcknight was one of the owners of the Sta Rita copper mines.
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TRADING PARTIES.
took goods to the value of $30,380.742. At Santa Fé the prisoners were tried by court-martial, kept for 48 hours in jail, and then dismissed without their property. In September they were back at St Louis appealing to congress for relief. In 1825-6 their claim for $50,000 damages was still being urged; and in 1836 the committee of foreign relations reported "that the demand ought to be made and pressed with an earnestness proportionate to the magnitude of the injury and the unreasonable delay which has arisen in making satisfaction for it." Ex parte testimony in such claims for damages must of course be taken with due allowances.30
With the independence of 1821-2 the Santa Fé trade proper-legitimate but for some liberties taken with Mexican custom-house regulations, and unobstructed except by difficulties and dangers of the journey across the plains-may be said to have begun; and it will be a prominent topic of later annals. Captains Glenn, Becknell, and Stephen Cooper were the men who in 1821-2 visited Sante Fé with small parties, making large profits on the limited quantities of goods they succeeded in bringing to market, and laying the foun- dations of future success. About these earliest trips we have but little information, except that the traders, uncertain as to the best route, endured terrible suffer- ings from thirst. Becknell made two trips. Major Cooper still lives in California, as I write in 1886; and from Joel P. Walker, one of his companions, I have an original narrative of their adventures.31
30 Sta Fé, Mess., etc., as in note 29, a larger part of the pamphlet being devoted to the Choteau claim than to the Mcknight affair. The doc. include a long narrative by Julius de Mun, at St Louis, Nov. 25, '17, and a sworn statement of 11 members of the party-French Canadians all signing with a 'X'-dated Sept. 25, '17. On the claim iu 1825-36, see U. S. Govt Doc., 24th Cong. Ist Sess., Sen. Doc. nos. 400, 424. Mention in Niles' Reg., xiv. 47; xvi. 272; xxvii. 312. There was another claim, for the imprisonment of J. Farro, but no particulars are given.
31 Walker (J. P.), Narrative of a Pioneer of '41, MS. For details of their adventures with Ind. and sufferings for want of water, I have no space. Capt. Joe Walker, brother of Joel, with a party of trappers, joined Cooper on the way and accompanied him to Taos. See also, on these exped., Gregg's Com. Prairies, i. 20-4; Escudero, in Pino, Not., 75; Niles' Reg., xxiii. 16, 177; xxvii. 315; xxviii. 299; Prince's Hist. Sk., 271-3.
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LAST YEARS OF SPANISH RULE.
The general subject of early exploration, hunting and trapping, and Indian trade and warfare, in the great interior, though one that is closely connected with the history of each of these Pacific States, can- not, of course, be fully treated in any one of my vol- umes. In each I note those expeditions that directly concern its territory, and refer the reader to the annals of other territories, as given in different volumes of this series. Some chapters on Colorado and the regions farther north will be found useful in connection with New Mexican history; and matter that is especially interesting may be found in my volumes on the North- west Coast.32
During these 22 years the population of gente de razon may be said to have increased from 19,000 to 30,000 in New Mexico proper, excluding the El Paso district; while the number of pueblo Indians remained practically unchanged, between 9,500 and 10,000. Offi- cial reports establish these figures with tolerable accu- racy, but afford no satisfactory basis for more detailed classification. 33 The capital villa of Santa Fé reached,
32 Coyner's Lost Trappers, Cin., 1859, is a little work containing many in- teresting and valuable details of the early trappers' experiences; but in the part concerning N. Mex. there is evidently a serious error in dates. Work- man and Spencer in 1807-9 are represented as having crossed from the upper Arkansas, south of Pike Peak, to the Colorado, descended that river to the ford, started on the Span. trail for Sta Fé, met a caravan from that town, accompanied it to Cal., and returned with it to Sta Fé in 1810, and lived there for 15 years, until the traders came often from the east. But no cara- vans crossed from N. Mex. to Cal. iu Span. times, or before '22, so that the date must be wrong, and much doubt is thrown on the general accuracy of this part of the narrative. The northern Sta Fé trail to Cal. was first fol- lowed by Wolf: 'till, in '31, and the trading caravans were of later date.
33 A report of Gov. Alencaster in 1805, given in Meline's 2,000 Miles, 212, gives a total pop. of 20,626 Span. and 8,152 Ind., besides 6,209 Span. at El Paso; and reports of Gov. Melgares in '19-20 give Span. 27,214 and 28,436; Ind. 8,626 and 9,923. Arch. Sta Fé, MS. Reports of the custodio, P. José Pedro Rubin de Celis, for '20-1, not including the large towns, gives, Span. 17,401 and 19,174; Ind. 7,840 and 9,034. Id. These are the only exact re- ports that are reliable. There are general estimates, for the most part includ- ing El Paso and Ind., as follows: 1803, pop. 40,200, acc. to Humboldt, Essai Pol., 155, and other works, followed by a dozen or more writers; 1804, Gov. Chacon, in Arch. Sta Fé, followed by Pino; 28,798 in 1801. Prince's Hist. Sk., 230-1; 39,797. Soc. Mex. Geog., ii. 20. About 30,000, half Ind. Pike. 34,205 in 1810. Soc. Mex. Geog., vii. 138; 2da ép., i. 291. 40,000, perhaps 50,000, in 1811. Pino, Expos., 44-5; Not., 14-17. 30,825. Humboldt.
301
GROWTH OF POPULATION.
perhaps, a population of 6,000 in its immediate vicin- ity; but on account of the meagre records, frequent discrepancies, and irregular grouping of the settle- ments in partidos, local items of population have little significance. In number, location, and in all respects except an increase of Spanish population at certain points, the settlements remained as before, and I refer to the final note of the preceding chapter.34
Commercial methods continued as before. Pre- sumably, fairs were still held at Taos for trade with the Indians, though I find no direct indication of the fact in this period;35 each autumn the great caravan departed for the south; at El Paso, to a greater extent than before, the company was divided, small parties seeking different markets; and large flocks of sheep were now driven from the province. In 1805 the viceroy decreed that all goods bartered by New Mexi- cans at the annual fair in San Bartolomé valley from the 18th to the 23d of December should be free from the payment of taxes or duties.36 Down to about 1798
$+ According to the official reports cited in note 33, the Span. pop. of the leading towns, most or all including outlying ranchos, in 1805 and 1820 was as follows: Sta Fé, 3,741, 6,038; La Cañada, 2,188, 2,633; Alburquerque, 4,294, 2,564; S. Juan de los Caballeros, 1,888, 2,125; Abiquiú, 1,218, 2182 (3,029 in '21); Belen, 1,588, 2,103 (1,756 in '21); Taos, 1,337, 1,252; Sta Clara, 967, 1,116; Isleta, 378, 2,324; Picuries, 17, 1,041. In the report of '21 Socorro is given with a pop. of 1,580. The largest Ind. pueblos in "20-1 were: Taos, 751; S. Ildefonso, 527; Cochití, 653; Sta Ana, 527; Laguna, 950; Acoma, 829; Zuñi, 1,597; and Isleta, 513. Humboldt for 1803 gives Sta Fé a pop. of 3,600, Alburquerque, 6,000, Taos, 8,900; Pike in 1807, with a good descrip., gives Sta Fé 4,500 souls, and Pino in 1811 a pop. of 5,000. Pecos, acc. to Pino, was on its last legs, having but 30 fighting men in '11, and in '20 its pop. was 58. An official report of the ayuntamiento gives the pop. of El Paso in '22 as 8,384 souls, of which married couples 161, single men 2,267, single women 3,173, widowers 305, widows 417, farmers 2,072, artisans 681, laborers 269, teachers 8, priests 2, merchants 5, manuf. 6, retired soldiers 6, stu- dents 3, treasury officials 2; total value of property 8234,018. Arch. Sta Fé, MS. Pike describes Ojo Caliente as a town of 500 inhab. and a mill; and his mention of several unknown names iu the south has been noticed.
33 April 24, 1806, Gen. Salcedo orders the trade with Ind. at the settle- ments to be encouraged. Arch. Sta Fé, MS. Possibly the Taos trade declined, or was more scattered to other points.
36 Dec. 18, 1805, original decree of the viceroy in behalf of N. Mex. trade. Dispos. Varias, i. 131; Diario de Mex., i. 353. All duties were paid in the south, there being no custom-house in N. Mex. In 1803 Gov. Chacon made a report on the industries of N. Mex. Arch. Sta Fé, MS. He notes the divis- ion of the caravans, and the export of 25,000 sheep per year (Pike makes it 30,000). Interior trade is carried on by 12 or 14 merchants, only 2 or 3 of
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LAST YEARS OF SPANISH RULE.
no coin was known, but later the salaries of officers and soldiers were paid in money, furnishing a supply by no means adequate to provincial needs. The govern- ment estanco on tobacco, powder, and playing-cards, especially the first, was a great burden for the people. The total value of imports, as given by Pino from an official report of the Vera Cruz consulado in 1804, was $112,000 in a year; while the exports, chiefly wool, wine, and peltries, were only $60,000, leaving a bal- ance of trade of $52,000 against New Mexico. Ex- ports might easily be tripled, as Pino thought, by proper encouragement, including the opening of ports on the Texas and Sonora coasts. 37
There were no new developments in agricultural industries. Products in New Mexico proper were wholly consumed at home, and irrigation generally protected the inhabitants against drought, as in 1803 and 1820-2; and the Indians, as far as possible, tried to follow their old custom of storing the products of plentiful harvests, though the improvident settlers were sometimes caught napping and suffered from scarcity. All reports praise the agricultural, and especially the stock-raising, advantages of the prov- ince, under proper encouragement.33 Spanish artisans
them using their own capital. Everybody trades in his own way, often a very bad way. Pino describes the preparations and outfit of the caravans, starting 500 strong from La Joya de Sevilleta in Nov .; and he notes that a smaller force starting in 1809 was attacked by Ind., losing several killed and 300 horses. For Pike's statement that two caravans left N. Mex., one in the spring and the other in autumn, I find no foundation; and the same remark may be made of his assertion that 30,000 sheep are driven each year from the province. Pike gives some current prices as follows: flour, $2 per 100 lbs .; salt, $5 per mule-load; sheep, $1 each; pork, 25 cts per lb .; beeves, $5 each; wine del Paso, $15 per bbl .; horses, $11 each; mules, $30 each; superfine cloths, $25 per yd; fine do, $20; linen, $4; and other dry goods in proportion. And Pino: native tobacco, 4 reales per lb .; wheat and maize, $1 per fanega; cotton, $3 per fanega (!).
37 The imports included $61,000 of European goods, $7,000 Asiatic, $34,000 American, and-though N. Mex. was a stock-raising country-$10,000 of horses and mules. Yet the gov. in 1803 says that 600 horses and mules were annually sent away.
36 Chacon (Fernando), Informe del gobernador sobre Industrias del N. Mex., 1803, in Arch. Sta Fé, MS., dated Aug. 28th. Tobacco raised for home con- sumption even by the padres, and but for the estanco on cigars, snuff, etc., the product might be vastly increased. Books on agric. and stock-raising much needed. Wool, sheep, and a little cotton exported. No use made of timber.
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TRADE AND EDUCATION.
included a few carpenters and blacksmiths, but nearly all mechanical and other work was done by the In- dians, who still made pottery for home use, tanned leather, from which bridles were made, and wove large quantities of coarse blankets. They also made some progress in weaving cotton textures of low grade under an instructor from Mexico.39 Governor Chacon, in 1803, says that copper is abundant, and apparently rich, but no mines are worked, though there is much coal of good quality. Pino, in 1812, also notes the existence of rich deposits of copper, gold, and silver, of which no use is made; but Pike, in 1807, states that a copper mine west of the river, in latitude 34°, yields 20,000 mule-loads of metal annually, while ves- sels of wrought copper were among the country's ex- ports. Bartlett tells us that the Santa Rita mine- really just below 33°-was worked from 1804; and Prince gives more details, to the effect that the mine was discovered in 1800 by Lieutenant-colonel Carrisco, who sold it in 1804 to Francisco Manuel Elguea of Chihuahua, by whom work was at once begun, 100 mules being constantly employed to transport the metal to Mexico for use in the mint.40 I think there is room for some doubt as to the early working of this mine, though a beginning was probably made before 1822. Pino says that old silver mines were found closed up, with the tools inside, and doubtless the prospect-holes made by the Spaniards before 1680 were thus found occasionally; but there is little or
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