USA > Arizona > History of Arizona and New Mexico, 1530-1888, Volume XVII > Part 46
USA > New Mexico > History of Arizona and New Mexico, 1530-1888, Volume XVII > Part 46
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22 U. S. Gov. Doc., 29th cong. 2d sess., H. Ex. Doc. 19. I have not seen this document in its original form. Most of the papers are reprinted in Cutts' Conq., and elsewhere, but not the organic law, which was not approved at Washington. Cooke, Conquest, 66, gives the date fixed for the election; also in Nales' Reg., Ixxii. 48, where it is stated that the whole doc. as printed filled 115 pages.
427
NEW MEXICO IN CONGRESS.
tection of Texan boundaries, the avenging of past wrongs, and the obtaining of indemnity for just claims. This brought the subject before congress, which body called on the president for all the instructions that had been given respecting civil government in New Mexico and California. In the debates this subject was utilized chiefly as a basis for attacks on the ad- ministration and denunciations of the war for conquest. Nobody cared what was done at Santa Fé except as it could furnish material for arguments on one side or the other of the great and complicated national strug- gle for political supremacy between the north and south. Belligerent rights were, however, pretty thoroughly discussed; and it was clearly shown that a temporary civil government might be, if the people were submissive and friendly, a legitimate and proper feature of a conqueror's military rule. This whole subject and others closely connected with it have been somewhat fully presented in the History of California, and repetition is not deemed necessary here.23 Gen- eral Kearny as a conqueror had absolute power, lim- ited only by the requirements of humanity and justice, or international usage. He might enforce strict mar- tial law, or protect the people's rights and interests by civil methods, as he saw fit. He had no power to make New Mexico a territory of the United States, or the people citizens, or non-submissive enemies traitors, nor could he in a sense exact an oath of allegiance to the United States. All these matters would be set- tled by the final treaty closing the war. But he might perhaps promise or threaten these things, or almost any others, and he might exact from officials any oath they could be induced to take. His promises the gov- ernment at Washington, if the treaty should code the territory, would be in equity under obligation to fulfil; but it would have no right to carry out his threats.
23 See Hist. Cal., v., chap. xxii., especially pp. 601 et seq. with ref. to U. S. Govt. Doc. and Cong. Globe. Cal. and N. Mex. were in precisely the same position, since the pretended rights of Texas were at this time practically ignored.
428
AMERICAN OCCUPATION OF NEW MEXICO.
The president in his reply of December 22d, furnish- ing the desired information, declared that Kearny's acts, so far as they purported to establish a permanent territorial government, and to give the inhabitants political rights as citizens, under the constitution of the United States, had not been recognized or approved; but that otherwise his acts, and the instructions on which they were based, "were but the amelioration of martial law, which modern civilization requires, and were due, as well as the security of the conquest, to the inhabitants of the conquered territory ;" and more- over, "it will be apparent that if any excess of power has been exercised, the departure has been the off- spring of a patriotic desire to give to the inhabitants the privileges and immunities so cherished by the peo- ple of our own country, and which they believed cal- culated to improve their condition and promote their prosperity. Any such excess has resulted in no prac- tical injury, but can and will be early corrected in a manner to alienate as little as possible the good feel- ings of the inhabitants of the conquered country." 24 As I have remarked, congress paid very little atten- tention to the matter, except as indicating the intention of permanent occupation, which the president did not pretend to deny. Respecting the actual operations of the civil government in 1846-7, practically nothing is recorded; probably there was very little to record.
From the first there had been occasional rumors of intended revolt among the natives as well as of attack by forces from the south, but such rumors could be traced to no definite foundation, and at the time of Doniphan's departure no danger was apprehended. Price had nearly 2,000 men with whose aid to keep the province in subjection, though many of them were on the sick-list. The main force was stationed at Santa Fé, but detachments were posted at other points, including the dragoons under Captain Burg-
24 U. S. Govt. Doc., and Cutts' Conquest, as in note 22.
429
TROUBLE IMMINENT.
win at Alburquerque, a company under Captain Hendley in the Mora valley, and another near Cebolleta on the Navajo frontier. Soon after Doni- phan left the capital, disquieting rumors again became prevalent, and in December these became of so defi- nite a nature that many arrests were made. The result of an investigation is affirmed to have been the disclosure of a carefully devised plot to regain posses- sion of the country by killing the Americans and all natives who had espoused their cause. The leaders were Tomás Ortiz and Diego Archuleta, who under the new régime were to be governor and comandante general respectively; several of the priests were prominent in the plot, notably padres Juan Felipe Ortiz and José Manuel Gallegos; and many leading citizens of the northern sections were involved. Meetings were held at the house of Tomás Ortiz; plans were minutely discussed and arranged ; parts were assigned to the leaders, who secretly visited the different towns to incite the lower classes of Mexicans and pueblo Indians; and the 19th of De- cember was fixed for the rising. This date was sub- sequently changed to Christmas night, when the town would be crowded with natives, and the Americans, by reason of the festivities, would be off their guard. Before this time, however, the plot was revealed, perhaps by the mulatto wife of one of the conspira- tors, and many of the alleged leaders were arrested by order of Colonel Price, though Ortiz and Archu- leta escaped to the south.25
25 This version is given with a few unimportant variations in all the gen- eral narratives that have been cited. Among the best is that in Prince's Hist. Sketches, who, however, mainly follows Davis and Hughes. Prince says: 'It was agreed that on the night of the appointed day those engaged in the con- spiracy in Sta Fé were to gather in the parochial church, and remain con- cealed. Meanwhile friends from the surrounding country under the lead of Archuleta were to be brought into the city, and distributed in various houses where they would be nnobserved. At midnight the church bell was to sound, and then the men within the church were to sally forth, and all were to ren- dezvous immediately in the plaza, seize the cannon there, and aim them so as to command the leading points, while detachments under special orders were to attack the palace and the quarters of the American commandant, and make them prisoners. The people throughout the whole north of the terri- tory had bech secretly notified, and were only awaiting news of the rising
430
AMERICAN OCCUPATION OF NEW MEXICO.
From the meagre details of testimony extant, as repeated in substance by the different writers, from the fact that no positive evidence could be found against the parties arrested, and from the confidence felt by the authorities that all danger ended with the revela- tion of the plot, it would appear that not very much was brougth to light by the investigation, or rather that the conspiracy had not assumed any very for- midable proportions. There is no reason to doubt, however, from this testimony and later developments that Ortiz and Archuleta had really plotted a rising, and had found many adherents, though nothing like a general consent of the leading men of different sections and different classes had been secured. Perhaps the only wonder under the circumstances is, that the move- inent was not more wide-spread. No blame or taint of treason could be imputed to the New Mexican peo- ple- except to individual officials who had promised
at Sta Fé to join in the revolt and make it a sure success,' Says Col Price, in his report of Feb. 15, 1847: 'About the 15th of Dec. last I received infor- mation of an attempt to excite the people of this territory against the Ameri- can govt. This rebellion was headed by Thomas Ortiz and Diego Archuleta. An officer, formerly in the Mexican service, was seized, and on his person was found a list of all the disbanded Mex. soldiers in the vicinity of Sta Fé. Many other persons supposed to be implicated were arrested, and a full in- vestigation proved that many of the most influential citizens in the northern part of this territory were engaged in the rebellion. After the arrest above mentioned and the flight of Ortiz and Archuleta, the rebellion appeared to be suppressed; but this appearance was deceptive. Sta Fé, Conq., 27-8. On Dec. 26th, Gov. Bent writes: 'On the 17th inst I received information from a Mexican, friendly to our govt, that a conspiracy was on foot among the native Mexicans .... I immediately brought into requisition every means in my power to ascertain who were the movers in the rebellion, and have suc- ceeded in securing 7 of the secondary conspirators. The military and civil officers are now both in pursuit of the two leaders and prime movers .... So far as I am informed, this conspiracy is confined to the 4 northern counties of the territory, and the men considered as leaders cannot be said to be nien of much standing.' After securing information, etc., the gov. turned the the matter over to the military authorities. N. Mex. and Cal., Mess. and Doc., July 24, 1848; U. S. Govt Doc., 30th cong. Ist sess., H. Ex. Doc. 70, p. 17. The only definite and literally preserved testimony of the time is that of José Maria Sanchez. He says that on Dec. 15th (from other sources it appears that the Ist meeting had been held on the 12th) he was summoned by Miguel Pino to a meeting at the house of Ortiz. He found there Tomás Ortiz, Diego Archuleta, Nicolás and Miguel Pino, Santiago Armijo, Manuel Chavez, Domingo Vaca, Pablo Dominguez, and Juan Lopez. Tomás Vaca, Blas Ortega, and the priest Leiva are also named. (Prince says that several of these men proved their innocence, notably Chavez and the Pinos.) Then he narrates the plottings substantially as given above in this note. Sta Fé, Cong., 27.
431
CAUSES OF REVOLT.
allegiance-had they chosen to rise in a body against the American invaders. The temptation for such a rising was strong. The national pride of many leading citizens had been deeply wounded by Armijo's dis- graceful surrender of their country without a struggle. High officials might naturally feel that in Mexico they would be regarded as implicated in the general's actions and regarded as traitors. The American occupation had as yet brought no benefit to the country. The natural bitterness of the lower and middle classes had been aggravated rather than appeased by recent occur- rences. The situation was somewhat similar to that in southern California just before the Flores revolt. We have no positive evidence of gross outrages or oppression of the natives; indeed, in a sense, the efforts of the American authorities were constant and gen- erally effective to protect them in their legal rights; but the volunteers were overbearing, abusive, and quarrelsome, taking no pains to conceal how much they despised all that was Mexican; and instances of indi- vidual insult and outrage were frequent. The natives were naturally revengeful, many of them vicious, ignorant, and ready to listen to the exaggerated charges and promises of the few reckless characters, who from motives of ambition or resentment were bent on stir- ring up a revolt. Moreover, the New Mexicans noted the inroads of sickness among their invaders, their difficulty in obtaining supplies, their comparatively small number, and their distance from reinforcements. Again, they probably received false news respecting Mexican successes and prospects in the south; and it is not unlikely that they heard of the Californian revolt. There was much jealousy against those natives who had been given office on the part of those who had lost their old positions; and it was asserted by Senator Benton that Archuleta's hostility arose from the fact that the Americans had not kept their prom- ises of leaving the western country to his control. Yet notwithstanding all this, so strong was the influ-
432
AMERICAN OCCUPATION OF NEW MEXICO.
ence of those who had directly or indirectly espoused the American cause, of those whose interest required a continuance of the new régime, and of those who realized the impossibility of a revolt that should be permanently successful, that the masses of the people looked with little favor on the movement, and it was practically abandoned, as I have no doubt, on the flight of Ortiz and Archuleta.
But the embers of revolt were left smouldering among the Indians of Taos, and they were fanned into flame by a few reckless conspirators, who trusted that once begun the revolt would become general. Governor Bent having on January 5th issued a proclamation in which he announced the discovery of the plot, the flight of the leaders, and also the victory of Doniphan at El Bracito26-believing that all danger was past, went on the 14th with Sheriff Lee and others to Taos, his home. On the 19th, the Indians came from their pueblo to demand the release of two pris- oners. On this being refused, they killed the sheriff and prefect; then attacked the governor's house, kill- ing and scalping Bent and two others.27 Messengers were at once despatched in all directions to announce that the first blow had been struck, and to urge a gen- eral rising. It does not clearly appear that the Taos outbreak had been definitely planned in advance, though most writers state that such was the case, as indeed it may have been. Many Mexicans at once joined the Indians. At Arroyo Hondo, some twelve miles away, eight men were attacked on the same day at Turley's mill and distillery, and seven of them killed after a desperate resistance of two days.28 Two
26 In Cutts' Conq., 218.
27 The victims were Charles Bent, gov .; Stephen Lee, sheriff; James W. Leal, circuit attorney; Cornelio Vigil, prefect; Narciso Beaubien, son of the judge; and Pablo Jaramillo, brother-in-law of Bent.
28 The victims were Simeon Turley, Albert Turbush (or Cooper), Wm Hatfield, Louis Tolque, Peter Robert, Joseph Marshall, and Win Austin. John Albert, though wounded, escaped, and reached a camp on the Arkan- sas. Ruxton, Adven., 203, 227-30, was encamped there at the time, and gives the most complete account of the fight as related by Albert. The two killed at Rio Colorado were Mark Head and Wm Harwood; at Mora, Waldo, Benj. Prewitt, R. Culver, Noyes, and others not named.
433
REVOLT OF 1847.
other Americans were killed at Rio Colorado; and at Mora, eight traders who had just arrived in a wagon from Las Vegas, including L. L. Waldo, brother of Captain Waldo of the volunteers. At Las Vegas the alcalde not only fulfilled his oath of allegiance, but induced the people to remain quiet.
Through intercepted letters from the rebels, calling for aid, Colonel Price at Santa Fé heard of the revolt on the 20th. Ordering reinforcements from Albur- querque, he marched northward on the 23d with 353 men, including Angney's infantry and a company of Santa Fé volunteers under Captain St Vrain,22 and four howitzers under Lieutenant Dyer. The enemy, 1,500 strong, as was estimated, and commanded by Jesus Tafoya, was encountered on the 24th near La Cañada, or Santa Cruz, and put to flight with a loss of 36 killed, including General Tafoya. Price lost two men. 30 Four days later, at Los Luceros, reën- forcements came up under Captain Burgwin; on the 29th the foe was again driven from a strong position at the pass of El Embudo, with a loss of twenty killed; and the 3d of February, after a hard march through deep snow, the army reached the pueblo of Taos, within whose ancient structures the rebels had forti- fied themselves. A hard day's fighting on the 4th, marked by a continuous cannonade and several as- saults, put the Americans in possession of the church and that part of the pueblo west of the stream. About 150 of the Indians are said to have been killed, including one of their leaders, Pablo Chavez; while the American loss of seven killed and 45 wounded-inany of them fatally-included Captain Burgwin. Next morning the Indians sued for peace,
29 Prince gives the muster-roll of this company. Capt. Ceran St Vrain, Lieut. Charles Metcalf and George Peacock; rank and file 65 men. There are several Spanish names.
3 Price's report of the campaign, dated Feb. 15th, as given in Cutts' Con- quest, 223-31, and in several of the narratives, is the best authority. Iu N. Mex. and Cal., Mess., July 24, 1848, pp. 18 et seq., are several reports and proclamations of Acting Gov. Vigil during the campaign. Prince, Hist. Sk., 319, tells us that the S. Juan Indians, who had joined the rebels under com- pulsion, surrendered before the fight.
HIST. ARIZ. AND N. MEX. 28
434
AMERICAN OCCUPATION OF NEW MEXICO.
which was granted on their giving up Tomás, one of the leading conspirators, who was soon killed in the guard- house by a private. Pablo Montoya, another leader, also fell into the hands of Price, and was hanged on the 7th, after which only one of the chief conspirators, Manuel Cortes, survived. The army returned to the capital, where, on the 13th, occurred the funeral cere- monies of Governor Bent and Captain Burgwin. 31
31 Price's report is found in Niles' Reg., lxxii. 121; and there is also another diary of the campaign in Id., 119-20. I have plans of the three battles of La Cañada, Embudo, and Taos, in Mex. War Col., v. no. 26. Rosters of troops in 1846-7, with losses, etc., in U. S. Govt Doc., 31st cong. Ist sess., H. Ex. Doc. 24. Also lists of casualties in Niles' Reg., Ixxii. 128. The remains of Burgwin, Hendley, and other officers were later in the year removed from Sta Fé to their homes in the states. Hughes, 397.
Unfortunately on the revolt as on the American occupation we have practically nothing of real value from Mexican sources. Most items in Mexican newspapers and other publications are mere inaccurate references to the fact that a revolt had taken place. Others dwell on and perhaps exaggerate the oppressive conduct of the Americans provoking the revolt; and generally exaggerate its success throughout the year 1747. Says Busta- mante, Invasion de los Americanos, MS., 66: 'Con bastante temor estoy respecto de N. Mex., donde se frustró un alzamiento que estaba á punto de realizarse y lo evitó un nuevo-mexicano denunciante; habian ya tomado dos cañones y tuvieron que devolverselos. Han cometido crímenes horribles exigiendoles tambien una contribucion de 80,000 pesos. El alma de esta sub- levacion fue el cura Ortiz de Sta Fé. Aquel pueblo ha recibido un triste disengaño de lo que son y deben prometerse de tales malvados, á quienes tenian afecciones por un comercio proveyendose de cuanto necesitaban, y que no son lo mismo comerciantes que conquistadores orgullosos.' Notice of Gov. Bent's death in Id., Mem. Hist., MS., March 11, 1847. In Id., 207, Apr. 13th, it is announced that the N. Mexicans had killed 1,200 of the Americans. 'Este es el verdadero modo de recobrar la libertad.' In Id., vii. 11-12, May 4th, the outbreak is said to have originated in the killing by a N. Mex. of his wife whom a Yankee had seduced and carried to the cuartel. A mob formed to support the native; the troops brought out 2 cannon, but did not fire them from fear of killing Amer. in the crowd, and made a charge; then a by-stander fired the cannon in their rear into the crowd of friends and foes; and the cibolos took advantage of the slaughter and fright to enter the cuartel, seize the arms, and kill 'á cuanto pintaba en Yankee.' 'It is added that Padre Ortiz is marching on Chihuahua with 4,000 Ind. and N. Mexi- cans'! In Id., May 8th, it is said that the Yankee invaders of Chih. (Doni- phan's army) are retreating on account of the news of a general slaughter in the north. The N. Mex. were aided by the Navajos. And on July 28th, I.l., 164, more of the triunfo en N. Mexico, where only 300 Amer. were left who would soon be exterminated. The Sonorense of March 5. 1847, copies from the Registro Oficial of Durango an account of the failure of the Ist plot, revealed by a friend of the 'infamous' Vigil y Alarid. However, a new movement was daily expected, which would wipe out the Yankees, who had lost their horses and wagons, and had no money. Conflicts are frequent, caused by the outrages of the soldiers, who, except 300 veterans (the dragoons), are chiefly Irish and Italians ! The N. Mexicans are very sad at being deemed allies of the Yankees, whom they detest. They carried off 2 cannon from the plaza, but had to give them up. See also Id., May 28th, Aug. 20th, Nov. 12th; El Razonador, Oct. 30th, Dec. 11th; Iris Español, May 8th, June 12th; Arco Iris, Aug. 7th.
435
A GUERILLA WARFARE.
With the exception of Price's report of this cam- paign, there does not exist, and cannot be formed, any- thing like a continuous record of the insurrection, or of the subsequent annals of the year. After the defeat at Taos, it was only east of the mountains, and chiefly under the direction of Manuel Cortés, that hostilities were continued. At the first, as we have seen, Waldo and party had been killed at Mora, but Las Vegas had been kept in subjection by the efforts of the al- calde, and the presence of Captain Isaac R. Hendley with his company. He occupied Las Vegas on Janu- ary 20th, concentrated his grazing guards, and on the 24th appeared with 225 men before Mora, where he attacked several hundred insurgents, killing 25 or 30 and capturing fifteen prisoners, but was himself killed with a few of his men, and the party was repulsed. A little later Captain Morin renewed the attack, and drove the inhabitants into the mountains, destroying the town and a large supply of grain. In May a graz- ing party and also a wagon train were attacked, one or two men killed, and a large number of horses and mules driven off. Following the marauders' trail, Major Edmonson overtook them, 300 or 400 strong, in a deep cañon of the Red River, but after a fight of several hours, in which he killed many of the Mexicans and Indians, and lost only one man, he was forced to retire. Next morning the enemy had fled. Late in June there was trouble at Las Vegas. Lieutenant Robert T. Brown and three men, pursuing horse- thieves, were killed; whereupon Edmonson made an attack, killed ten or twelve men, found indications of a new revolt, captured the town, and sent some fifty prisoners to Santa Fé, also burning a mill belonging to the alcalde, who was charged with complicity. In July a party of 31 soldiers was attacked at La Ciénega not far from Taos, Lieutenant Larkin and five others being killed. On the approach of reinforcements, however, the enemy fled. In the same month, Ed- monson is said to have destroyed the town of Las
436
AMERICAN OCCUPATION OF NEW MEXICO.
Pias (?) with considerable loss to the foe, and to have marched by way of Anton Chico to La Cuesta, where were some 400 insurgents under Cortés and Gonzalez. Fifty captives were taken, the rest fleeing to the moun- tains, and many horses were recovered. After July we have no definite record of hostilities.
Of the prisoners brought to the capital by Price, and sent in later by his officers, some fifteen or twenty, perhaps more, were tried by court-martial, sentenced to death, and executed. These included six of the murderers of Brown, who were hanged on the 3d of August. Many others are said to have been flogged and set at liberty. Others accused of complicity ill the original plot were turned over to the civil author- ities. In March four of these were indicted by the grand jury for treason, 25 being discharged for want of evidence, and one of the four convicted and sen- tenced to death. This was Antonio María Trujillo, father-in-law of Diego Archuleta, an infirm old man of high standing, in whose behalf a petition for pardon was sent to Washington by Governor Vigil and others. At the same time District Attorney Blair asked for instructions, since the accused had pleaded lack of jurisdiction on the part of the court. In reply the sec- retary of war for the government took the ground that, while the New Mexican insurgents might prop- erly be punished even with the death penalty for their offence against the constituted authorities, they could not be prosecuted for treason against the United States, since they were not yet citizens. For similar reasons the president declined to pardon Trujillo, but counselled mercy in his case. Apparently, he and others con- victed at the May term were discharged or pardoned by Price or the governor; but not, as is stated by some writers, by the president.32
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