USA > Arizona > The marvellous country : or, Three years in Arizona and New Mexico, the Apaches' home > Part 2
USA > New Mexico > The marvellous country : or, Three years in Arizona and New Mexico, the Apaches' home > Part 2
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CHAPTER XXIII.
The Zunis' Legend of the Creation. - Origin of the Nations of the Earth. - How they escaped from the Cave in which they were confined. " The four White Swans and their Mission. - IIow the Water was drained from the Face of the Earth. - The Mission of the Bear. - The Navajous first come forth. - What they did. - The Zunis next emerge. - The Pueblos follow. - The Americans bring up the rear, but immediately leave for the place where the Sun rises. -- The Confusion of Tongues. - What became of the Birds, and Beasts. - IIow the domestic Animals were ob- tained. - Size of the Earth. - The old Men decide to have a Sun, and who made it. - How the Heavens and the Moon were constructed. - Who made the Stars, and why there are so few Constellations. - Growth of the Earth. - The three Tenajas. - The Navajoes' Choice. - What the Zunis chose. - What the Pueblos got. - As you have
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CONTENTS.
chosen so shall it ever be with you. - The white Hen Turkey. - Where she came from, and what she brought. - How it was divided. - The old Man shot into the Clouds. - Death. - " All those who die must come down here and live with me in our first Home." - Sunset. - Our Return to Camp. - 345
CHAPTER XXIV.
What the Apostle said. - Visitors in Camp. - What they had, and how they got it. - Jimmy offers to settle the Bill. - Bridal Presents. - Jimmy and the Cacique. - A dark Prospect for Jimmy. - Supposed Settlement of the Difficul- ties. - Jacob's Well. - A most remarkable Freak of Nature. - A Death and Burial. - Singular Customs. - The Death- cry. - A Soul bereft of all Hope. - Jimmy anxious. - A Consultation. - Jimmy out. - The Midnight Attack. - Preparations for Battle. - Navajoes. - The Pits are found. - The Fight and the War-whoop. - I am wounded. - Twenty-three Shots. - The Navajoes leave us. - We don't care to follow them. - Jimmy absent. - Why we received no Assistance from the City. - Jimmy in the Distance. - He cometh like a Race Horse. - "Save her, save her! for
God's sake save her!" - A moonlight Stroll, and what came of it. - Jimmy forgets both Valor and Honor. - - What happened. - "Howly Mother! how thim Divils did rin, though." - A Warning to all young Damsels. - What Daylight brought. - The Story of the Fight and its Results. - The Zunis determine to follow the Foe. - The Volunteers. - Jimmy's Scruples. - How they were over- come. - His Mule " bucks."- He plays "Possum." - How he recovered. - Our Reception by the Zunis. - Jimmy is boastful, . · 360
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CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXV.
The Result of an Inspection. - We Start. - The Trail that we followed. - The Braves charge. - Jimmy attempts to follow them. - The Result of riding a playful Mule. - A remarkable Feat. - We sight the Navajoes. - The Dis- position of our Forces. - A complete Surprise. - The Result. - Our Return. - After the Battle. - The Celebra- tion of the Victory in the Pueblo. - The brave Man's Dance. - The Plaza by Moonlight. - The Eagle, the Turkey, the Duck, and the Crow. - Singular Superstitions. - A complete Description of the Dance. - Dr. Parker and myself congratulate ourselves with the others. - A Visit from the Cacique .- His Companions, and the Object of their Visit. - Jimmy summoned. - His Appearance. - The Charge. - Guilty or not Guilty ? - The Answer and De- fence. - The Judgment. - A Surprise. - " The White Man tells no Lies." - The Cacique vindicates his Judg- ment. - He speaks, not with a "forked Tongue." - " Howly Mother ! protict me characther." - Puzzled. - Zuni Maiden, " Requiescat in Pace." - The Scene of Coronado's Assault. - The Terraces. - " The Spaniards came, and all was changed." - Montezuma the Embodiment of Truth. - Eight Hundred Feet above the Plains. - Twilight and the Descent. - A fearful Fall. - The Sensa- tions experienced. - If you doubt me, try it yourself. - How I was saved. - A hair-breadth Escape, indeed. - The Doctor in Attendance. - Camp. -
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CHAPTER XXVI.
Jimmy wants to know all about it. - The Doctor's Reply. - A narrow Escape. - The Bottle of Arnica. - The Nurse, and who obtained her. - The Cacique visits me, and entertains me with some of the Legends of the Zunis and their Tradi- tions. - Their Ideas of a Future State. - The Story of the
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CONTENTS.
Zuni Warrior. - The Death of his Betrothed. - His Grief. - The Country of Souls. - The Cabin by the Path. - The Old Man with White Hair and a Mantle of Swan's Down. - Come in : Sit down. - The Gulf. - The Island in the Dis- tance. - " You must leave your Body behind." - A sudden Transformation. - Shadows of the Material World. - The Abode of the Spirits. - The Lake and the Island of the Blest. - A Canoe of Crystal. - Ile meets his Bride. - The foaming, threatening Waves. - Hope and Fear. - The Master of Life. - The happy Shore. - The Decree. - The Warrior's Sorrow. - " She will remain here always young." - Jimmy eulogizes " the Girl he left behind him." - We ascertain who my Nurse is. - Jimmy cares more for his Scalp than his Honor. - IIe thinks his Mother-in-law a very fine Person. - " Garvies," and what they look like. - 414
CHAPTER XXVII.
Jimmy disappears again. - He is anxious to defend some one from the Navajoes. - The Green Corn Dance. - One of Montezuma's Festivals. - Ruins. - A Legend of Monte- zuma. - ITis Mother, who she was, and what the gentle Zephyr did to her. - The Birth of Montezuma. - The wonderful Ruins of the Cañon de Chaco. - Those of the Pueblo Pintado. - IIow constructed. - The Material un- known in the present Architecture of New Mexico. - A wonderful Combination of Science and Art displayed. - Mosaic Work. - Rubble Masonry without Lime. - Size of the Apartments, and their Numbers. - No Marks of Tools to be found. - The Ruins of Weje-gi. - Hungo Pavie .- Chettro Kettle and Peñasca Blanca. - Their Size. - Mason- ry. - Manner of Construction, &c. - No Chimneys or Fire- places. - No Iron. - Beautiful Pottery Ware. - The Ruins in the Cañon de Chelly. - The Estufas, and how con- structed. - Their Altars. - A Suggestion. - No Response. - Jimmy's Proposition. - In Love once more. - He wants
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CONTENTS.
to marry his Mother-in-law. - An old Definition for a new Idea. - " Ould Ireland." - Jimmy curses the " Bazaque." - " IIe's plidged." - We find the Mother-in-law in Camp. - " Thim illigint Garvies." - Jimmy's Mission to the Pueblo, and when he returned. - 432
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The Chase and the Game. - A Consultation. - A Diagnosis. - The Disease and its Cure. - The Prescription. - IIomæ- opathic Doses. - " Where Ignorance is Bliss, it's Folly to be wise." -Jimmy doesn't fold his Tent like the Arab, but silently steals away. - Anxiety in the Morning. - IIis great Love. - A reluctant Convert. - Gay and happy. - The Cacique entertains us with an Account of the Moquis. - Their singular Country. - Its Situation and Character- istics. - Their Villages. - Harro. - Its Population. - Won- derful Reservoirs, and how constructed. - Singular Facts. - The Population of the seven Villages. - Their Govern- ment. - Religion. - Superstitions. - The nine Races of Men. - The Deer Race. - The Sand Race. - The Water Race. - The Bear Race. - The Hare Race. - The Prairie Wolf Race. -- The Rattlesnake Race. - The Tobacco Plant Race. - The Reed Grass Race. - The Hereafter, and how we appear. - A very wonderful Fact. - A Day of Thanksgiving. - The Origin and Ilistory of the Green Corn Dance. - A beautiful Custom. - The Procession and the Costumes. - A full and complete Description of the Ceremo- nies. - Allegorical Representations. - The four Seasons. - The twelve Months. - The Music. - The boiling Maize. - An Offering to Montezuma. - Ashes. - Who may join in the Festivities. - Manner of Purification. - The Origin of the Festival. - Our Return to Camp. - What we do. - Jimmy returns with a most voracious Appetite. - We wait further Developments.
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CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXIX.
What the Developments are. - The Doctor has a Patient. -- Jimmy's Wedding Day. - A Misfortune. - A Visit from the Cacique. - A genuine Surprise. - An American, and in Trouble. - What the Moquis had done for him. - Parley Stewart, and his sad, sad Story. - Terrible Massacre of his Wife and seven Children. - Two Daughters taken captive. - Ashes and Desolation. - What we learn from the Mo- quis. - We conclude to leave Zuni. - Jimmy wants to bid his Mother-in-law good by. - The Doctor administers Dose No. 2. - " The best laid Schemes of Mice and Men gang aft agley." - The Result of the Doctor's Prescription. - Jimmy dying. - Old Man Stewart once more. -- The - 472 Graves in the beautiful Valley.
CHAPTER XXX.
A Striking Picture. - Is it the Work of Afreets? - We decide to take Old Man Stewart through to the Rio Grande. - Jimmy still alive. - We are confident that we put the Medicine " where it would do the most good." -- A parting Visit, and Present from the Cacique. - Our Departure. - Jimmy all right. - His "Complaychent Faylin'." - The Incidents of the Day. - We reach El Moro. - We deter- mine to ascend to its Summit. - What we see. - We find the Ruins of two large Pueblos. - The Pottery Ware. - Singular Facts. - Reflections. - The Aztecs in the twelfth Century. - What Baron Humboldt says of them. - The popular Theory regarding them. - What the Abbé Dom- enec thinks of them. - Scientific Theory regarding their Disappearance. - Their Descendants. - The general Indian Insurrection in the Year 1680. - The Overthrow of the Spanish Sway. - The Archives of the Territory entirely destroyed. - Return of the Spaniards in 1695. - A sad Lesson and its Teachings. -
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CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXXI.
We leave El Moro. - Our Camp at Agua Frio. - Don Rafael on a Hunt. - A Stranger in the Distance. - We prepare to welcome him .- Jimmy "protists."- Sam Bean. - Who he is, and the News that he brings. - Trouble Ahead. - Old Man Stewart anxious for Revenge. - Don Rafael arrives. - What he thinks of the Situation. - Preparations for the Attack. - Mr. Stewart as a Scout. - Sam's Opinion. - The Old Man fires the first shot. - Its Result. - The Attack. - Jimmy wants " hilp." - What he got. - Sam Bean on the Rampage. - A desperate Fight. - Final Result. - The Old Man's Scalps. - Sam leaves us. - Jimmy's Threats. - On the Road once more. - The Country between El Moro and the Rio Grande. - The Valley of the Rio Bravo del Norte. - In Camp. - Jimmy's Apostrophe to the River. - He hears a Noise, and adjourns to Camp. - He cautions Old Man Stewart. - " Painters in thim Woods." -The " Avenin' Air " has a bad Effect upon Jimmy's Health. - Don Rafael leaves us. - En Route for Fort Craig. - What Dr. Cooper thinks of Old Man Stewart. - We reach La Mesilla. - Death and Burial of the old Man. - The sad Fate of his two Daughters. - Blotted out. - The cowardly Assassi- nation of Mangus Colorado by United States Soldiers in 1863. - Cochise elected Chief of the Apaches. - He takes to the War-path to avenge the Death of Mangus. - IIe records a Vow, and how well he has kept it. - What the Historian Miguel Venegas says of the Apaches in 1758. - What the Arizonian says of them to-day. - Jimmy wants a "Saycret Interview." - Married at last. - Dr. Parker and myself leave for the "States." - Five Years after- wards, and what happened. - Safe in "Ould Ireland " at last. - Recapitulation, and Farewell to the Reader. 510
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1
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CHAPTER I.
OURTEEN HUNDRED NINETY-TWO gave to the world the startling announce- ment that a new world had been discovered; since which time, this later revelation of God to man has unceasingly developed to the inquirer new marvels of beauty, new forms of grandeur, new mines of wealth; and of no section of our vast dominion can this be more truly said, than of the Territory of Arizona.
It is a well-known fact that when, twenty-two years later, Cortez achieved the conquest of Mexico, he found the Aztecs in possession of immense quantities of gold, silver, and precious stones. So wonderful was this amount of treasure, that the Spaniards fully believed they had at last discovered (29)
30
EXPEDITION TO CIBOLA.
the "El Dorado" of their dreams, and every inducement was offered to Montezuma and his caciques to cause them to disclose the secret source from whence they derived so much of their wealth. The most brilliant promises, how- ever, availed them nothing. Montezuma's answer was ever the same, "From the Northwest." Actuated by the spirit of daring, which had manifested itself in so many different ways, Cortez's next movement was a bold one indeed. He conceived a plan to obtain by stratagem the knowledge which he had failed to gain by fairer means. Inducing the Emperor to visit him in the old palace of Azayacatl-the former residence of Montezuma's father, which had been assigned to the Spaniards as barracks,- he seized and placed him in irons, detaining him in prison for nearly six months. But even this audacious act failed of its purpose; for to the oft-repeated inquiry, the answer was still the same, "From the Northwest," with only the additional informa- tion, that the treasure came from a country known as Cibola, far beyond the boundaries of Montezuma's empire. Neither promises nor threats could induce him to reveal more than this, and Cortez was at last reluctantly obliged to accept these statements as truths.
The Spanish Conqueror now busied himself in fitting out an expedition to visit this land of Cibola; and though he could ill afford to spare a man, yet twenty of the most trustworthy of his little band were selected to start upon the
EARLY HISTORY. 31
voyage of discovery, under the leadership of one Francisco de Lujo, accompanied by nearly a thousand Tlascalan Indians,. whom he had secured as allies. This expedition, like the two which succeeded it, never returned, and their ultimate end is one of the many questions concerning the history of the Conquerors, which time has never solved.
The most reliable information to be obtained demonstrates pretty accurately that the present Territory of Arizona cov- ered a large portion of the country then known as the king- dom of Cibola, which extended south far enough to include the Mexican States of Chihuahua and Sonora of the present day; and which was, in truth, the land from which came by far the greater portion of Montezuma's coveted wealth.
Of the races that originally peopled Mexico, we have no written history. We know that the Toltecs were succeeded, somewhere about 1070, by the Chichimecas, who in their turn were succeeded by the Mexicans, or Aztecs, about the year 1170.
The only information to be obtained concerning these re- markable nations, is to be found in the traditionary legends of their descendants; and from them we know that as early as 1325, the Aztecs founded upon the shores of Lake Tez- cuco, the city of Tenochtitlan, now known as the city of Mexico.
These facts are found recorded in a copy of the Cronica de la Neuva España, published at Medina, in Spain, as
1
32
FATHER KINO.
early as 1553, and written by one Francisco Lopez de Gomara, who claimed to give an authentic history of the Aztec race, from the founding of the city of Mexico up to that time.
A few years later, one Bernal Diaz, a licentiate of the Cortez expedition, and its chief and only reliable historian, produced a volume covering the same ground gone over by Gomara. From these two authors we derive most of the knowledge we have concerning this wonderful nation, and its remarkable civilization.
It was through the Territory of Arizona that Marco de Niza made his explorations as early as 1535; and it was to ascertain the truth of the wonderful stories told by Niza concerning the wealth of the country, and its marvellous beauties, that Coronado's expedition was organized in 1540. It was not, however, until 1658, that any other expedi- tion was organized of which we have any authentic account. There are now in the monastery of Dolores, in Zacatecas, old records and parchments, which show that in that year an old Jesuit priest, by name Eusebius Francis Kino, in- spired solely by religious motives, set out, determined to visit and explore, in the name of the church, the country which had for so many years poured into the coffers of the Spaniards so much of its native wealth. Single and alone this brave old padre started forth from the mission Dolores to go, he knew not whither,- the cross his only protection,
33
THE INHABITANTS.
the wilderness through which he must pass his only pur- vcyor. Persevering in the face of the most trying diffi- culties, he succeeded in reaching a river,- supposed to be the Santa Cruz, in what is now the province of Sonora. He followed the course of this river until he reached its junction with the Gila. He then descended the Gila, examining the country as well as he could on his way. Crossing the Gila near its mouth, he retraced his steps, and ascended the river on the north bank, passing through a country the most wonderful ever seen by the eye of man.
He found it inhabited by a people who were kind, gener- ous, and hospitable in the extreme, the better class living in houses built of adobes, while the more common people built their houses of sticks set in the ground, and bound togethe. at the top by ropes made from the fibrous leaf of the mag uey, and thatched with bundles of long grass.
These houses, he declares, were well-constructed and com fortable. Their towns and villages he describes as situated upon the banks of the streams, and generally built upon. mesas, and well adapted for defence. He represents the population as vast, the settled portion of the country extend ing from river to river; the inhabitants frugal, industrious and contented. They manufactured a kind of cotton cloth from the leaf of the maguey, which grew in great profusion all over the country. He found them very expert in making
5
34
MANNER OF LIVING.
the most beautiful feather-work, which they colored with dyes, both mineral and vegetable, manufactured by them- selves. They were also well versed in the art of picture- writing, which they practised to a great degree, upon the walls of their dwellings-as also upon the walls of their estufas, or public buildings, which were very smooth and well-finished, where a kind of record was kept of the re- markable events in their history.
They used a kind of paper made of the cotton cloth above- mentioned, prepared with a coating of gum; they also pos- sessed nicely-dressed skins, or kind of Egyptian papyrus.
He found among them many beautiful specimens of pot- tery ware, as well as utensils and vessels made of gold and silver, of which they had great store. He says some of the articles manufactured were of fine design and elegant work- manship, made with tools fashioned from copper and tin amalgamated, which ores were found in great abundance in the surrounding mountains. They irrigated their ground, * and raised corn, beans, and cacao, from the berry of which they made a delicious beverage, called chocotatl. They also extracted from the stalk of the corn a saccharine mat- ter, from which they manufactured a very good sugar. He tells of a kind of liquor made from the fermented juice of the maguey, or Mexican aloe, which was most singular in its effects. The uses of this plant were truly wonderful,
* Irrigation is still practised in the Territory.
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4
FORM OF WORSHIP.
furnishing the natives with pins, needles, paper, rope, cloth, thatch for their dwellings, meat, and drink .*
Father Kino describes their flocks and herds as immense, although they had no horses or draught cattle, and says they understood mining to some extent,-not mere surface labor, but extracting the ore from veins which they opened in the solid rock, unearthing vast quantities of gold and silver, which they seemed to value only as it contributed to their comfort when made into articles of use or ornament.
Of their religion, he says they worshipped the sun as God; and upon all their altars kept a flame burning, which was never permitted to become extinguished, the simple- hearted people believing that to this fact they were indebted for the comfort and happiness they enjoyed as a nation.
In short, he found them resembling, in personal appear- ance and general characteristics, the Aztecs described by Gomara and Diaz, only differing from them in their more peaceful pursuits and disinclination for warlike strife. In his travels Father Kino passed to the south of the Fire Mountain, ¡ through a portion of the Black Forest, to the northeast, where, after many weary days of toil. and travel, he struck the head waters of the Mimbres. This stream he
* To this day the native Mexicans in Arizona, as well as in Mexico, use this plant for nearly, if not quite, all the productions obtained from it by the Aztecs.
+ Supposed to be the San Francisco Mountain.
36
FATHER KINO'S DETERMINATION.
followed until suddenly its waters were lost in the earth. After describing the astonishment with which he beheld the vast volume of water seemingly disappear before his very eyes, he says, "But I ought not to be astonished at anything I see, for it is a country full of all that is strange and wonderful, possessing more marvels than I could tell of, were I to write for a year."
After spending some months in this portion of the country, and trying in vain to instruct the people in the religion which he preached, he finally determined to retrace his steps. Commencing his weary journey homeward, he again passed through the same country that had so delighted him, only to become more determined than ever to plant the cross there, and teach the inhabitants the doctrines of the Catholic church. After an absence of more than four years, Father Kino found himself once more at the monastery from which he had set forth on his perilous undertaking, firmly resolved to enlist the aid and sympathy of the church to enable him to return, and, in the name of the cross, take possession of the country through which he had passed. This determination necessitated his making a journey to the city of Mexico, where he proposed to lay the matter before the head of the church. Fired with the thought of the beauties of the country, of its immense mineral wealth, of its industrious and peaceful inhabitants, his eloquence soon overcame any feeble opposition that he encountered,
37
A NEW EXPEDITION.
and he shortly received the authority necessary to enable him to return, and civilize and Christianize these civilized pagans of the sixteenth century. Unavoidable delays oc- curred, however, and it was not until seven years later, in 1665, that he finally succeeded in making the necessary and final arrangements to return, and spread the Gospel among the simple-minded natives of Cibola.
Late in the year 1670, he, in company with three other Jesuits, set out upon their mission through the wilderness. Of their long journey, the hardships which they endured, the trials and dangers which they passed through, or the difficulties which they encountered, we have no record; we only know that in the year 1672, they reached the Gila, and there commenced the establishment of a mission among the Yaquis. From this time until 1679, they established no less than five missions among the Yaquis, the Opotos, and the Papagoes, locating them in beautiful valleys, yielding rich treasures of precious stones, while the inow-clad peaks of the surrounding mountains furnished gold, silver, and copper in the greatest abundance.
The natives, simple and industrious as they were, were easily persuaded to labor upon the edifices there erected, and thus aided in forging the chains that afterward: helped so effectually to render them powerless to defend themselves from the attacks of foes beyond their boundaries, but upon whose territory the cupidity of the priests had led their to encroach.
38
WAR WITH THE APACHES.
Obedient to the wishes and commands of the Jesuits, the natives were induced to venture upon soil outside of their boundaries, and thus incurred the enmity of a large and powerful tribe of native Indians, who inhabited the country north of, and adjoining, their own.
The adventurous spirit of the Spaniards, as well as their avarice, manifested itself in so many ways, that the Apaches were roused to resistance, as well as to a desire to punish the invaders.
It was not, however, until the year 1680, that the Apaches made any open demonstrations of hostile intentions; but they then attacked the Spanish settlements in such over- whelming numbers, that resistance was useless, and the missionaries were obliged to flee for their lives. Gathering together such spoils as they could take with them, they abandoned their mission settlements, leaving the people to carry out the unequal contest alone, and bear the brunt of the burden which the cowardly Spaniards had, by their cul- pable avarice, incited. Again and again did they attempt to return, being extremely loth to yield the rich harvest of gold and silver annually received as tribute from the unsus- pecting natives, who still remained friendly to, and allies with, the men who had told them of their God, and taught them that they might extinguish the sacred flame that for generations had been kept burning upon their altars, ded- icated to the unknown God.
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