USA > Arizona > History of Arizona and New Mexico, 1530-1888, Volume XVII > Part 84
USA > New Mexico > History of Arizona and New Mexico, 1530-1888, Volume XVII > Part 84
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783
MORA COUNTY.
fourths in the east. These grazing lands resemble those of Colfax in a general way, but are more cut up by ravines and timbered belts affording good protec- tion from the winds. Thirty-eight thousand cattle and 78,000 sheep are noted by the assessor in 1883, but these figures are more than doubled by other authorities. The census of 1880 gives 576 farms, with an average extent of 101 acres, not only cereals but small fruits and sugar bects being successfully pro- duced. In agricultural products for 1880 Mora, with $301,190, stood second in the list of counties. The total assessment in 1883 was $1,540,451. Mineral resources, known to be considerable, have been but very slightly developed, because the deposits are all on the unsettled Mora grant of some 800,000 acres. The railroad crosses the county from north to south, the principal stations being Ocate, Evans, Wagon Mound, Tiptonville, and Watrous. The latter has about 500 inhabitants, a newspaper-the Pioneer, formerly published at Tiptonville-and is the point of distribution for stock-men in most parts of the county. Mora, the county seat and the oldest town-dat- ing from the issue of the land grant in 1835-had a population of 915 in 1880, probably scattered over a considerable area. Fort Union is one of the best known military posts of the territory, having been much of the time the military headquarters. The reader will recall the unsuccessful attempt of the con- federates to capture this fort in 1861-2.3
Taos county covers a tract of about 1,400 square miles in the upper Rio Grande valley, directly west of Colfax and Mora. It was one of the original Mexi- can counties, including, as bounded by the act of 1852,
$ The population of other towns in 1880 was, Coyote (upper and lower) 554, Ft Union 164, Guadalupita 428, Sirhuela (?) 179, Tiptonville 128, Watrous 100. A woollen mill, shut down and for sale, is reported in 1883. The rais- ing of horses is named as a prominent industry of the future. Wells are more needed than in many parts, a large part of the grazing lands being available only in the wet season. Ft Union is described in Worthington's Woman in Battle, 601, and there is a plan in Wheeler's U. S. Geog. Surv., ii. 491. Win Krönig's Report as to Mora County, Las Vegas, 1881, is the source of most that appears about the county in other works.
784
COUNTIES AND TOWNS OF NEW MEXICO.
all of the present counties of Colfax and Mora, a wide strip of Rio Arriba extending westward to the Ari- zona line, and all that part of the territory since an- nexed to Colorado. Thus, from being one of the largest it has become one of the smallest counties. It takes its name from the pueblo of Taos, one of the grandest found by Coronado's expedition of 1540, and still standing as the chief attraction of the region for visitors of to-day. Another of the ancient pueblos, that of the Picuries, still stands as in the past centu- ries. The chief town is also Taos-known as Fer- nandez de Taos or Don Fernandez de Taos, a corruption, I suppose, of San Fernando de Taos-situated several miles from the old pueblo, having a population of about 2,000, and having always been the county seat. The average altitude of the county is 6,000 feet, and it is one of the best watered and timbered regions of the territory, having always been famous for its agri- cultural excellence. That very much greater progress has not been made in this direction is due chiefly to the fact that four fifths of the 12,000 inhabitants are of Mexican origin, and cling to their primitive methods of cultivation; yet Taos produced $386,283 in agricul- tural products in 1880, standing first in the list of coun- ties. The assessment was $583,810 in 1883, when there were about 2,000 cattle and 83,000 sheep. There were in 1880, 888 farms, averaging 73 acres in size. The Taos mines have been more fully developed than others in the north, with good results from both quartz and placers, as elsewhere noted. The Denver and Rio Grande narrow-gauge railroad extends through the county, or along the western border, from north to south, affording easy access to what has been a compara- tively isolated region ; and the result in respects of im- migration from Colorado has already been felt. Taos seems destined to be in the future as in the past one of the garden-spots of the territory. There are no towns of much importance, outside of the county seat, not mentioned in the census of 1880; but among the small
785
RIO ARRIBA COUNTY.
hamlets may be mentioned Ranchos de Taos, with a fine flouring mill, Arroyo Seco, Arroyo Hondo, San Antonio Cerro, Castilla, Ojo Caliente, Red River Town, and Calabria.4
Rio Arriba, or ' Up the River,' county occupies an area of about 12,500 square miles in the north-western corner of the territory, lying west of Taos. It was one of the old Mexican counties, but originally and as organized in 1852 it did not include the northern strip along the San Juan. This strip was in 1861 cut off from Taos and organized as the county of San Juan, with the seat at Baker City ; but the act was repealed in 1862; and in 1880 the tract was added to Rio Arriba. (In 1887, as this goes into type, San Juan has been again created.) The county seat was in 1852 fixed at San Pedro Chamita; but moved to Los Luceros in 1855, to Alcalde in 1860, and finally, in 1880, to Las Nutrias, which was renamed Tierra Amarilla. The average altitude is nearly 7,000 feet. In the south- eastern parts, near the Rio Grande, this county re- sembles Taos, and has all the agricultural advantages of its neighbor in respect of soil, water, and produc- tions. Another fine agricultural tract, which in re- cent years is rapidly being filled up with settlers, is that in the valleys of the San Juan and Las Animas, in the north-west. In 1880 the county had 915 farms -heading the list-averaging 67 acres in size, and yielding $176,641 of farm products. In 1883, accord- ing to the assessor's report, its 80,054 acres were
+ Theo. C. Camp's Report on Taos Co., Sta Fé, 1881, contains nearly all that appears in modern publications on the subject. See also an article in the Las Vegas Revista Católica, 1881, p. 534 et seq. The county has no news- paper. The reader will find Taos often mentioned in the country's early annals. At Taos was, for many years, the home of Kit Carson, and here lie his remains. His career has been given in my History of California. No man was better known or more respected in N. Mex. than this famous scout and Indian-fighter, who became brevet-colonel of U. S. volunteers, and serve.1 also as Indian agent. He died in 1868 at Ft Lyon, and his wife, Josefa Jara- millo, the same year. He left 7 children living, and a considerable amount of property, as shown by his will and other documents among the Carson Papers, MS. Santiago Valdés, born and educated at Taos, gave me in 1884 a brief statement on Public Affairs in New Mexico, MS. He has been county clerk, many times member of the legislature, and probate judge. He names the famous Padre Martinez as his father as well as teacher.
HIST. ARIZ. AND N. MEX. 50
786
COUNTIES AND TOWNS OF NEW MEXICO.
valued at $87,282; there were 13,791 cattle and 171,107 sheep, not including the extensive flocks of the Navajos; and the total assessment was $788,180. Natural advantages for farming and stock-raising are excellent, but only to a comparatively slight extent utilized ; while the mineral resources, known to be large, have been still less developed, though in late years mines are successfully worked in several districts. In the extreme west the Navajos have their immense but somewhat barren reservation, as recorded in other chapters; while in the eastern regions, about Abiquiú and Tierra Amarilla, the Jicarillas and Utes formerly roved and had their agencies. The narrow-gauge railroad from Colorado has its terminus at Española ; while another branch extends through the northern borders to and beyond Amargo, where coal mines are worked. Tierra Amarilla, the county seat, is but a small village, and the county has as yet no towns of any special importance, or of more than a few hun- dred inhabitants, except Santa Cruz, which is said to have had 1,000 in 1883. The total population in 1880 was 11,023, but the number has since been con- siderably increased by immigration. It will be re- membered by the reader that Rio Arriba has played a prominent part in the country's early annals. Here are seen the wonderful cliff dwellings, built by the Pueblo tribes long before the Spaniards visited the province. Here are the aboriginal pueblos of San Juan, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara. Here Oñate in 1599 fixed his capital, at San Juan de los Caballeros, at the junction of the Rio Grande and Chama; and here he proposed to build the great city of his prov- ince, though circumstances required a change of plan, and the town was built at Santa Fé. Under Spanish rule Santa Cruz de la Cañada was a more or less prosperous villa, ranking among the first, with Santa Fé and Alburquerque, in population.5
5 The pop. of Rio Arriba towns is given in the census of 1880 as follows: Canoncito 147, Chimallo 175, El Cerro 228, Embudo 249, La Joya 347, Las
787
BERNALILLO COUNTY.
Bernalillo county lies south of Rio Arriba, having an area of some 6,500 square miles, a width of over 70 miles in the great valley, extending westward to the Arizona line, and eastward in an absurd little strip, far enough to make an entire length of about 250 miles. This was one of the original counties of 1852 and earlier, but its boundaries were changed in 1870. The county seat in 1854 was changed from the ranchos to the town of Alburquerque, where it has since remained, though in 1878 an election for a change was authorized. The north-eastern portion was formerly Santa Ana, with seat at Santa Ana and later Peña Blanca; but this little county-also one of the original ones-was merged in Bernalillo by act of 1876. In wealth and population this has always been one of the leading sections of the territory. The rich alluvial lands of the Rio Grande bottom, having for 80 miles an average width of five miles, furnish unsurpassed advantages for agricultural operations; and the region is especially noted for its grapes and small fruits. In 1880 there. were only 112 farms, with 3,821 acres of improved land, producing $94,730. In 1883 the acreage is given as 116,037, valued at $1,160,370. Thus the farming lands have not yet been very fully utilized. Back from the river are the mesa tracts, from ten to twenty miles in width, on which, in 1883, grazed 475,000 sheep and 41,700 cattle, this county heading the list in the item of sheep. Mines are successfully worked, especially in the Sandía Mountains, at the New Placers on the Santa Fé borders, and in the Nacimiento or Jemes district. The total assessed value of property in 1883 was $4,328,605. The population in 1880 was 17,225,
Truchas 220, Los Sirceros (Luceros?) 155, Alcalde 168, Puente 195, Sta Cruz 196. Figures of 1883 are: Aztec 200, Española 150, Sta Cruz (1,000), Chama 300, Chamita (500), El Rito (1,000), Embudo (1,500), Porter City (Bloomfield) 300, Tierra Amarilla (1,200); but in case of the larger figures, including Sta Cruz, I suppose the pop. is that of the township, and includes the scattered farmers. Samuel Eldodt's Report as to Rio Arriba County, Sta Fé, 1881, is the foundation which other writers have for the most part followed. See also Las Vegas Revista Católica, 1881, p. 488 et seq.
788
COUNTIES AND TOWNS OF NEW MEXICO.
but has considerably increased in later years. Here, in that part of the great valley adjoining the town of Bernalillo, was Coronado's Tiguex, where he spent the winter of 1540-2. Of the ancient pueblos, the county contains Jemes, Cia, Santa Ana, Cochití, Santo Domingo, and Isleta; and the most of the towns of the great valley are settlements with which the reader is familiar from Spanish times, very slight improvement being noted in modern times, notwith- standing their exceptional advantages. Alburquerque, the county seat, is, however, a notable exception. It was founded in 1706, named for the viceroy of Mex- ico, and was in Spanish times a flourishing town, often mentioned in the earlier chapters of this volume. New Mexicans usually write the name Albuquerque, incorrectly, claiming the duke as governor, and being greatly at sea respecting the early annals of the villa. The modern city is of very recent growthi, though ad- joining the old one, dating from 1880, when the first locomotive arrived over the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé Railroad. Its growth has been remarkable, the population in 1880 being 2,315, in 1883 about 3,500, and now claimed to be 10,000, making this the metropolis of the territory. It is at the junction of the two main lines of railroad, is looking for the ar- rival of divers other lines, and bases its faith in future greatness on its position as a railroad centre, as well as on the surrounding country's resources. The new town has many solid brick blocks, good hotels, fine residences, several manufacturing establishments, be- sides the railroad shops; and it takes especial pride in its schools, including the Alburquerque Academy and the Indian school, and above all in its clearly mani- fested spirit of progress. The second town is Berna- lillo, with some 1,800 inhabitants; and the third Golden, with about 1,000.8
6 The pop. of towns by the census of 1880 was: Alameda 570 (650), Albur- querque 2,315 (10,000), Algodones 376 (500), Barelas 350 (400), Bernalillo 1,273 (1,800), Cañon de Jemes 196, Casa de Salazar 200 (400), Corrales 664 (600), El Rancho 400 (300), Guadalupe 161, La Ventura 122 (400), Los Griegos
789
SANTA FÉ COUNTY.
Santa Fé county, lying east and north of Bernalillo, has an area of 1,250 square miles. It is one of the old counties, with seat of government always at the city of Santa Fé, though the boundaries were slightly changed by acts of 1864, 1869-70, and 1882. It is the smallest subdivision of the territory, of broken and mountainous surface, with a limited area of farming lands and still more limited supply of water; yet, like most other parts of New Mexico, blessed with a niost productive soil, with great agricultural possibilities in proportion to its extent. In 1880 there were 313 farms, of 42 acres average size, farm products being estimated at $59,107. In 1883 its 55,425 acres were valued by the assessor at $389,265; there were 3,415 cattle and 22,250 sheep; and the total assessment of property was $2,993,049. The population was 10,867 in 1880, and has since been largely increased. Min- ing has been more actively prosecuted here than in any other northern county, both in early and later times, the Old and New Placers, Los Cerrillos, and the turquoise mines being famous, as elsewhere re- corded. Manufacturing industry here, as everywhere, is yet dormant; but the invaluable beds of anthracite coal, with other natural advantages, promise to make Santa Fé a manufacturing centre of the future. The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé Railroad crosses the county from east to west, sending out a branch from Lamy station northward to the capital. The old Indian pueblos are Nambé, Tesuque, Pujuaque, and
300 (400), Los Ranchos 400, Madera 289, Nacimiento 350 (400), Padillas 350, Pajarito 400 (500), Peña Blanca 504 (600), Placitas 283 (200), Ranchos de Atrisco 740 (700), S. Francisco 130, S. Ignacio 152; and there are named in 1883, Golden 1,000, Chilili 500, and S. Antonio 600. Wm C. Hazledine's Report of New Mexico, N. Alburquerque, 1881, contains full information, gathered from leading citizens and writers. See also Bernalillo News, Oct. 7, 1881. See general descrip. of Alburquerque in the Alb. Evening Democrat, Dec. 3, '84; Alb. Morning Jour., July 4, '84. Other papers of the county are the Alb. Review, Revista, Miner, Bernalillo News, and Wallace Watchman. Wallace is a R. R. station with possibilities of future importance. The Ojo Caliente, above Jemes, is a resort of growing attractiveness for health and pleasure seekers. The Alburquerque Business Directory of 1883 should be noticed as containing an excellent presentment of the city in its modern phases, and as inaccurate a sketch of early history as can be imagined.
790
COUNTIES AND TOWNS OF NEW MEXICO.
San Ildefonso. The towns outside of the capital are small but flourishing villages in the mining districts, including Los Cerrillos, Bonanza, Carbonateville, and San Pedro.
The city of Santa Fe-or San Francisco de Asis de la Santa Fé-the county seat and territorial cap- ital, has been from the first the centre of the historical happenings recorded in this volume; and no retrospect is needed here. The town was founded shortly- perhaps several years-before 1617. Its oft-repeated claim to greater antiquity, or to be considered the oldest town in the United States, can rest only on the possibility that it was founded on the site of a small aboriginal pueblo, and is not a legitimate claim. The city is old enough and interesting enough without such exaggeration. In Spanish, Mexican, and Amer- ican times it has been the capital, metropolis, and commercial centre of the territory; though in the past few years it has, as is claimed, been surpassed in population by Alburquerque, its chief rival in the past. It had 6,635 inhabitants in 1880, and the population is now about 8,000. During the past decade its quaint old, Mexican, one-story adobes have given way to a considerable extent to brick blocks and resi- dences of modern style. It has gas and water works, good hotels, and fine churches and schools. The town is the archbishop's residence, and the catholics have three churches besides the cathedral, with the San Miguel college of the Christian Brothers, the convent and academy of Nuestra Señora de Luz. Other edu- cational institutions under protestant auspices are the Santa Fé academy and the university of New Mex- ico. At Fort Marcy, in the city, are the military headquarters. Among relics of antiquity the old adobe palacio holds the first rank, while the old foun- dations of the more modern capitol and penitentiary are also interesting ruins. The town has an altitude of 7,044 feet, and is noted as a sanitarium. With this advantage, its fascinating reminiscences of past centu-
791
CITY OF SANTA FÉ.
ries, its central position, its modern spirit of thrift, its extensive mercantile establishments, and its half- dozen newspapers, Santa Fé looks forward to a future of prosperity, and has not the slightest idea of ceding its supremacy, political, commercial, or in any respect, to either Alburquerque or Las Vegas, its most ambitious rivals.7
7 The census of 1880 names besides Sta Fé only Galisteo, with 506 inhab. In 1883 Los Cerrillos is said to have a pop. of 1,800, and Golden of 300. The Sta Fe newspapers are the New Mexican, Mining News, Nuevo Mejicano, Christian Advocate, Democrat, and Military Review; while at Golden is pub- lished the Retort, and S. Pedro has a weekly, the name of which is not given. Ritch's Aztlan gives the best sketch of Sta Fé; but there is hardly a work cited by me in these chapters that does not devote much space to the descrip- tion of this old city.
Major John Ayers, often named in other chapters as Indian agent, is a New Yorker, who after 10 years of sailor life went to Cal. in 1849. In 1861 he enlisted in the Cal. volunteers, and came to N. Mex. with Gen. Carleton, being promoted in the service to lieut. and quartermaster. He dates the real improvement of the native population from the coming of the soldiers; and in his Soldier's Experience in N. Mex., MS., 1884, he gives many valuable items on military and Ind. affairs, land grants, and events generally. The decoration of Sta Fé with trees began in 1866 at his instigation and under his direction. Hon. Elias Brevoort is a native of Mich., who came in 1850, after a long experience as trader among the Indians; and he has since travelled extensively in this and other territories and in Mexico. He takes pride in having ridden 300 miles from Doña Ana to Sta Fé in three days on one horse. A printed work from his pen is noted elsewhere; he has given me much aid in obtaining original material; and his Sta Fé Trail, MS., is an interesting narrative of his experience and observations. Judge Francis Downs, a promi- nent lawyer of Sta Fé since 1880, is a Canadian by birth, who served four years in the union army during the war of 1861-5, subsequently practising law in Arkansas, being twice elected to the bench, and also a member of the constitutional convention of 1874. He takes a deep interest in the early annals of New Mexico; gave me a brief Dictation in 1885; and has otherwise been of great service to me in obtaining items of information on various sub- jects. Samuel Ellison, territorial librarian, is another who has given me importaut aid in my researches, and has been named often in this volume. He is a Kentuckian, who went to Texas as a lieut. in 1837, served in the Mex. war as quartermaster, and came to this territory from Mex. in 1848 with Col Washington. Later he was secretary, interpreter, translator, legislator, and held various other positions before being made librarian and keeper of the archives in 1881. His History of N. Mex., MS., 1884, is not only a sketch of his own life, but contains his important testimony on early events and officials. Geo. W. Hickox is a native of Ohio, who came in 1880 and is engaged in the manufacture of the famous Sta Fé gold and silver filagree jewelry, employing 8 to 15 hands, and making annual sales of $75-110,000. Wm G. Ritch has also been frequently named in a variety of connections. He came as territorial sec. in 1873. He is a native of N. Y. For biog., see Chicago Inter-Ocean, June 2, 1883. No man has worked more actively or efficiently for the territorial welfare, especially in the cause of education, and in making known the country's resources. As secretary, acting gov., and president of the Historical Society and Bureau of Immig., he has played an important part from the first. His Hist. N. Mex., MS., contains some hasty notes of much interest and covering a wide range of topics. Lehman Spiegelberg, a prominent merchant of Sta Fé, is a Prussian, who came in
792
COUNTIES AND TOWNS OF NEW MEXICO.
San Miguel county lies east of Santa Fe and Ber- nalillo, extending eastward to the Texas line, with an area of 10,600 square miles. It was one of the old organizations, the boundaries being slightly modified in 1882, and the county seat being changed from San Miguel to Las Vegas and back again in 1860-2, but finally fixed at Las Vegas from 1864. San Miguel had a population of 20,638 in 1880, which has been largely increased. Not only is it the most populous and one of the largest counties, but it is probably in most important respects-except that of mineral re- sources, which exist but have not been much developed -the best and richest. It is watered by the Pecos and Canadian, with their branches, and contains a large amount of the richest soil, well situated for irrigation, while certain considerable tracts will produce crops without artificially supplied water. In 1880 there were 622 farms, averaging 283 acres in size, and yielding $155,286 in products. In 1883 the valuation of farm property was $362,443. The mesas of the east and south furnish the best of grazing ranges, and stock-raising is the county's industry. In 1883 there were assessed 47,295 cattle and 385,799 sheep, San Miguel taking second rank in each item; but in later years there has been a very great development, and now this county probably heads the list. The western mountains are well wooded, and the lumber business has assumed comparatively large proportions. In climate and scenery this region is unsurpassed by any in the territory. The abandoned pueblo of Pecos -the Cicuye of Coronado in 1540-is an object of historic interest, and there are many older ruins; the
1858, being preceded by four brothers in 1844-54, and followed by another in 1861. His Commerce of Sta Fé, MS., is a sketch of his journey across the plains, and of his observations of trading matters in early times, and a gen- eral idea of the country's progress in other respects. J. H. Watts is a son of John S. Watts, one of the original justices of the supreme court. He is a native of Ohio, and came in 1857 at the age of 18. He has had much expe- rience as translator and surveyor in the military and land offices. His Sta Fé Affairs, MS., 1878, is devoted largely to pointing out the sources of historical information; also in part to his own observations in the country, and to his father's services.
793
SANTA FÉ COUNTY.
route of the old Santa Fe trading caravans was nearly identical with that of the modern railroad; here were fought the battles of the confederate invasion of 1861-2. Las Vegas, the county seat, though its his- tory dates back only to 1835, has grown steadily and become the third town in New Mexico, with a popu- lation of about 6,000, and with unlimited aspirations for the future. It is in all respects a 'live' town in its commerce and industries, and perhaps the most agreeable of all New Mexican towns as a place of residence. It has several good newspapers, fine pub- lic buildings and hotels, gas and water works, a street railroad, several churches, and exceptionally good educational institutions, headed by the Jesuit college. The city expects to be a railroad centre when divers inevitable lines shall have been built, is as well situated as any other town for business, is the distributing point for an immense stock and farming region in the east, has enterprising merchants, who already do a large trade, and will by no means yield the palm as commercial metropolis of the future either to Santa Fé or Alburquerque. Six miles away, with a branch railroad, are the Las Vegas Hot Springs, with fine and constantly increasing accommodations for pleasure- seekers and invalids. The waters are claimed to be unsurpassed, like the climate, and the property is for- tunately controlled by the railroad company, which has the means and disposition to make this the great resort of the south-western interior. Outside of Las Vegas the villages are as yet of small population and of no special importance. One of the smallest and least important of these is San Miguel del Vado, which in Spanish and Mexican times was the place most frequently mentioned, and which gave a name to the county.8
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