USA > New Mexico > Historical sketches of New Mexico : from the earliest records to the American occupation > Part 12
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Several days' journey further up the river, Espejo came to another large and populous province; the in- habitants of which were dressed in well-tanned cham- ois - skins, and had many beautifully-made feather or-
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naments, and striped cotton stuffs, which they offered in trade for the trinkets of the Spaniards. Beyond this, was another province still more important, where Espejo stopped for three days, while the Indians held a con- tinual festival-performing dances and other ceremo- nials in manifestation of their joy. The Spaniards then came to a long stretch of uninhabited country, covered with piñon-trees, and which occupied fifteen days of their journey; at the end of which they found a few small houses roofed with straw. About thirty miles above this they began to see some more important towns; and found the river bordered with cottonwoods and walnuts, the timber being in some places as much as ten miles wide. After being for two days in these groves, the expedition arrived at a province containing ten towns, situated in the valley of the Rio Grande, and on both sides of the river. The houses here were four stories high, and well constructed; and the people much more civilized than those below. They wore clothing of cotton and deer-skins-and what was the cause of much surprise, boots and shoes, with soles made of the strongest and best leather. They were idolaters-hav- ing images which they worshiped, although the chief objects of their adoration were the sun and heavenly bodies; and besides public chapels, which were hand- somely painted and ornamented, each residence had an oratory for the private worship of its own household. The people were industrious and thrifty. One chief gave Espejo no less than 4,000 bolls of cotton. Appar- ently they had not been visited by any expedition be- fore, as they had never seen horses; and at first sight were inclined to treat them as superior beings. This province was situated a short distance below Albuquer- que, in the vicinity of the Pueblo of Isleta, which may be identical with one of the towns.
After remaining here for four days the Spaniards resumed their march, and in a short time came to the
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first of the towns of the Tegua nation, which was within a few miles of Puara, the scene of the labors and martyr- dom of the Franciscan missionaries. Here for the first time they received news of the death of the Friars, and were greatly disheartened to find that they had arrived too late to be of service in protecting them. About the same time the people of Puara heard that an army of Spaniards was approaching, and supposing that they had come to avenge the death of the priests, they deserted their homes and fled into the mountains. With the news of the martyrdom of the Franciscans, the avowed object of the expedition was at an end. A consultation was therefore held to determine on the course to be adopted, and after some discussion it was decided that the surrounding country should be visited, as many "flattering accounts were heard of its richness and the wealth of its cities. The first expedition was made by Espejo himself, with only two men, who travelled west for two days and visited a province containing eleven towns and estimated to have 40,000 inhabitants, which lay in the direction of Cibola. The people lived com- fortably, having great herds of cattle, and raising cotton . and many articles of food. The Spaniards also found that the wealthier classes had considerable silver and gold in their houses. They were well received by the natives, who welcomed them both in words and more substantially with supplies of provisions.
This encouraged Espejo to undertake a far more im- portant expedition. He proceeded up the river to the province of the Queres, where he found five towns, and estimated the people at 14,000. Continuing to march north, the next province reached was one called Cuna- mes, which also contained five towns-Zia being the most important. This town at that time contained eight market-places or plazas, and the houses were the best that the Spaniards had seen, being plastered and painted many colors. In all respects the people were well
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advanced in civilization, and among other manufactures had beautiful and curious mantles, some of which they presented to the Spaniards. Turning westerly, Espejo next visited a neighboring people called Amies, who numbered about 30,000 and lived in seven towns, which were similar to those of Cunames. Continuing on fifteen leagues further, he came to Acoma, the situation of which on the summit of its high rock particularly im- pressed the Spaniards. All along their route the people had received them most hospitably ; but Acoma exceeded all others in this respect, the officials bringing various presents, and the inhabitants in general endeavoring to entertain them with characteristic games and dances, which occupied three days.
From here Espejo marched directly west to Zuñi, where he found, still living, three of the Mexican In- dians who had accompanied Coronado, and who on the return march had concluded to remain at Cibola. Their names were Andrew, of Culiacan, Gaspar, of Mexico, and Antonio, of Guadalajara. They had been so long (forty years) among the Cibolans that they had nearly entirely forgotten their original language; but their meeting with the new expedition of Spaniards was a most inter- esting one.' Among other things they gave Espejo in- formation of a rich and populous country to the west- ward, which bordered on a great lake, and in which the precious metals abounded. They said that Coronado had endeavored to reach it, but had been forced to turn back for want of water. Espejo was not to be deterred by the ill success of his predecessor, and so, taking but nine soldiers with him, and leaving the remainder of the army at Cibola, he started on the march. At a dis- tance of twenty-eight leagues he came to the most pop- ulous province which he had yet visited, as he estimated its inhabitants at 50,000, and which was no doubt the modern Moqui. Here the chiefs, pursuing somewhat the same course which they adopted in the time of Cor-
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onado, warned the Spaniards not to approach their towns under penalty of death; but after being assured that the visit was altogether friendly and pacific, this policy was entirely changed, and they were not only al- lowed to enter, but received with special honor. No less than 2,000 natives came out from the first town to wel- come the strangers, and exchanges of presents of all kinds took place, the festivities continuing a number of days.
But Espejo was anxious to visit the mining district near the great lake of which he had been told, and so taking fresh guides he set out again to the westward, and penetrated the country for forty-five leagues, until he came to a mine containing a vein of silver of great width, from which he took a number of rich specimens with his own hands. This was situated in a mountain- ous region, beyond which the Indians said was a mighty river, whose width-in their usual style of exaggeration- they stated to be eight leagues! This was no doubt the Colorado; but the constant allusions to the "Great Lake " it is difficult to explain, as there is now no large body of water in that region. Whether it existed only in the imagination of the natives, or whether at that time there really was an inland sea in some of the de- pressed portions of Arizona, we shall probably never know. It is to be observed, however, that Espejo did not see the lake, and none of the other early travellers allude to it.
Satisfied now of the mineral wealth of the country, the commander returned to Zuñi, where he found his army in good health and spirits, the natives having treated them with great kindness and generosity. The conduct of the troops had also been without reproach, so that when they set out on their homeward march, the Indians not only expressed great regret, but urged them to return and bring other Spaniards with them. Re- turning once more to the valley of the Rio Grande, the
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main body of the army marched south to Mexico, leav- ing Espejo with a small number of chosen companions to prosecute his explorations. This time he went to the northeast, and found a province containing a popu- lation of about 25,000 people, living in a mountainous country covered with pines, or piñons, and in which mines abounded. It is impossible now to fix with pre- cision the location of this province, as we do not know the point from which the explorer started on this last expedition ; but it is not unlikely that it included the Placer mountains, with possibly the Cerrillos to the north, and part of the Sandias to the south. Unfortu- nately the narrative does not even state what kind of mines they were that were thus abundant. From this point Espejo continued his march to another province of which he heard, which was said to contain about 40,000 people, called Taños. But here, contrary to the pleasant experience he had heretofore enjoyed, the In- dians refused to allow him to enter a town, or to supply him with any provisions.
This cold reception seems to have discouraged him, or at all events led him to realize how powerless he would be with his handful of followers in the midst of populous Indian nations, should they for any reason become hostile. So he determined to return to Mexico, well satisfied however that the country was far too rich and inviting to be neglected in the future. He started early in July, 1584, and by the advice of guides took the homeward route by the Pecos, instead of the Rio Grande, finding in its valley the same great herds of buffaloes which had before given to it the name of the "Rio de las Vacas." He followed the Pecos Valley down into what is now north-western Texas, and crossed the Rio Grande to the Conchos, and so on to New Biscay ; whence he sent a full account of his discoveries and ad- ventures to the Spanish court. The reports brought back by the members of the expedition spread through-
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out the country, and aroused a new and strong interest in the settlement of the regions to the north, which soon developed itself in more important enterprises and the permanent colonization of the country.
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CHAPTER VIII.
COLONIZATION UNDER OÑATE.
T HE first result of the reports of the mineral riches of New Mexico, brought by the members of Espejo's expedition, was the departure of a small party, under a leader named Humaña, to search for gold in the New El Dorado. Nothing of permanent interest, however, was accomplished by them, for after exploring part of the country east of the Rio Grande, their captain and all but three of the men engaged in the expedition were killed by the Indians. Oñate, when he marched through the country a short time afterwards, saw two of the sur- vivors, a Mexican Indian, called José, and a mulatto girl; and the third remained with the New Mexican Indians, adopting their habits and manners, and being at length elevated to the dignity of a chief. The time was about to arrive, however, when a settlement on a. larger scale and of greater permanence than any which had preceded it was to take place; and this, also, was the direct result of the favorable accounts which were brought back to Mexico by Espejo and his companions.
Don Juan de Oñate was a wealthy and influential citizen of Zacatecas, in which city he was born; and his ambition was strongly excited by the opportunities oi great riches and aggrandizement which were presented by the reports brought from the almost unknown coun- try to the north. He made a formal application to the Viceroy of New Spain, Don Luis de Velasco, for authority to colonize New Mexico, offering to undertake the work with at least 200 soldiers, and with all the animals, tools, goods, and appliances necessary to make it a success. In return of course he asked for the usual
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rewards of discoverers and colonizers-authority, no- bility, and wealth in lands and money. The Viceroy, after due consideration, granted the authority applied for, so far as the colonization was concerned, and also most of the attendant requests of Oñate, on the condi- tion, however, that the country should be conquered, pacified, and colonized within five years; and this grant was afterwards confirmed by the king of Spain, in very ample form, in a decree dated July 8, 1602. Oñate did not wait, however, for this confirmation, but with characteristic energy made preparations for the work the moment he had secured this permission of the Viceroy. Like almost all enterprises of importance, this encountered opposition from various sources, which it required considerable time to overcome; and the delay added greatly to the expense, as a large number of those who originally enlisted became discouraged and returned to their homes before the preparations were fairly concluded. The expedition, as finally constituted, con- sisted of over 700 soldiers and 130 families for coloniza- tion, the latter carrying everything with them requisite for permanent settlement. Ten Friars of the Franciscan order accompanied the party, which consisted at its start of about 1,250 persons; but after the march com- menced and they began to appreciate the real hardships to be endured, while the glamour of romance gradually disappeared, desertions became numerous, so that when New Mexico was actually reached, scarcely more than half the original company remained; the desertions, however, being mainly among the troops, and not materially affecting the families.
The expedition set out in 1591, and proceeded northerly through the present States of Durango and Chihuahua until it reached the Rio Grande, and then marched up the valley of that river much as Espejo had done, encountering the same native nations and being uniformly well treated, until it arrived at a point
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further north than any to which its predecessors had penetrated, and finally selected as the center of the future colony the sheltered valley on the north side of the Chama, just above its junction with the Rio Grande, thus affording protection to the settlement of all of the fertile valleys which extend north, west, and south. The new town they called the City of New Mexico; and while it never grew to any great importance, and was outstripped in its growth by many places afterwards established, yet its site will never cease to be of interest to New Mexicans. Near by, at San Yldefonso, was founded the first permanent "convento" of the Fran- ciscan fathers, which for a considerable time was the center of their missionary activity and enterprise. The Indians in the vicinity of the new town were kind and disposed to welcome the new-comers, whom they assisted very materially in the building of their houses. They lived as did those previously described, in villages or community houses several stories in height, built around squares and containing many rooms; their food consisted principally of the beans, corn, and pumpkins which they raised, together with the products of the chase, and the fish of the Rio Grande and its branches; and they were comfortably and indeed becomingly dressed in the tanned skins of buffaloes and smaller an- nimals, and in fabrics of cotton of their own raising and manufacture, ornamented with feathers of the wild turkey and other birds.
As in all other colonies, the first season was one of difficulty and privation. Houses had to be built, the virgin soil broken up for future planting, and many kinds of arduous labor encountered; but the land was fertile, the climate unsurpassed, and in much of the heaviest work they had the assistance of the natives, so that before very long contentment and prosperity pre- vailed. In the meantime, however, some had become discouraged ; those who had come expecting to find a
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land where riches were to be obtained without labor were dissatisfied, and so a considerable number, espe- cially of the soldiers, took such opportunities as were presented for returning to Mexico, where they spread reports of the barrenness and poverty of the country and the failure of the attempts at settlement.
As soon as the necessary means of livelihood were assured, by the building of houses and planting of fields, the Spaniards commenced extensive explorations for the precious metals, which had been a leading object of their coming. Mines were soon found in very many parts of the country, and in nearly every locality where they are now known, so wide-spread was the rude " pros- pecting" of those days. Gold or silver was discovered- the former sometimes in veins and sometimes in gravel- from Socorro on the south to the Picuris Mountains on the north, including the Sandias, the Placers, the Cer- rillos, etc., and also to the west in the mountains of Jemez. A little later they extended the area of mineral discovery and development even further north, as the shafts of their ancient mines are found as far up as the Rio Hondo and Colorado in New Mexico, and even be- tween the Culebra and Trinchera in southern Colorado.
Settlements were rapidly made in various parts of the country, fresh immigrants following those who com- posed the first expedition, and no opposition to their settlement being manifested by the resident natives. As soon as Oñate could leave the central town on the Chama, with safety, he undertook a series of peaceful expeditions to the various Indian nations, with the view of obtaining accurate information as to their char- acter and numbers, and also to insure amicable relations with them, and as far as possible to introduce Christian missionaries into their chief towns. After visiting most of the tribes of the Rio Grande Valley and its vicinity, he attempted a more ambitious journey, evi- dently wishing to emulate the example of Coronado,
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and resolved to cross the plains to the great city of Quivira, which, perhaps on account of its very distance and inaccessibility, seems to have filled the minds of all the early Spanish adventurers, for over a century, with the most romantic ideas. This expedition set out in the year 1599, and consisted of eighty soldiers, accompanied by two Friars named Francisco de Velasco and Pedro de Vergara, for spiritual duties, and as a guide by José, the Mexican Indian, previously mentioned as escaping from the ill-starred party of Humana, and who was found by the later Spaniards at the Pueblo of Picuris They marched as Coronado had done more than half a century before, and as Peñalosa was to do more than an equal period afterward, over the great buffalo-plains towards the east; finding the same bright, clear atmosphere, the same unvarying prairie, the same grapes and plums, the same enormous herds of buffaloes, and the same wandering tribes of Indians, which had no doubt been there from time immemorial. After travelling over 200 leagues, and just before reaching the settlement of Quivira, they met, as did Peañlosa, a tribe called Escansaques, on their way to make their annual foray into the cultivated country of the Quivirans, with whom they were in a state of perpetual war. Some difficulty arose between the Spaniards and this maraud- ing tribe, which resulted in a serious battle, in which we are told a thousand of the Indians were slain ; "a thousand" probably being a figure of speech, considered allowable when treating of expeditions to such far dis- tant dominions ; the old chronicler also giving as a reason for this destruction, a pious desire on the part of the Franciscan Commissary to teach the Escansaques a lesson of peace and honesty, which would lead them to abandon their attacks upon Quivira. However this may be, Oñate very soon approached the wonderful City of the East, which was situated on the further bank of a river ; and after some negociations, a treaty of perpetual
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peace and friendship was concluded between the Span- iards and Quivirans. The country was found to be thickly settled, great numbers of villages being seen ; and the people said that to the north it was even more densely populated. As in the days of Coronado, no silver nor gold was seen; but reports were heard that the precious metals were plentiful in the interior. Satisfied with the result of his journey, Oñate returned to New Mexico ; and a few years after, in 1606, a party of no less than 800 Quivira Indians came to Santa Fé to ask aid in their war with the Axtaos, which was then being fiercely waged. They gave glowing accounts of the wealth of their ememies, as an incentive to action on the part of the Spaniards; but nothing resulted from it, except that they left with Oñate an Axtao prisoner, who was in their hands, who was subsequently baptized by the name of Miguel, taken to Spain by Don Vicente De Saldivar, and presented to the king, attracting great attention wherever he went.
For several years the Governor continued with a rare combination of energy and prudence to establish new settlements and strengthen those already existing; at the same time conciliating the natives, and preventing, during the period of his authority, any hostilities on the part of either race. He explored all parts of the country, and in 1611 made another trip to the eastward, discovering the Cannibal Lakes, which cannot well be identified at this day, and the deep canon of the Cana- dian River, which was appropriately called the " Palisade."
CHAPTER IX.
THE PERIOD FROM 1600 To 1680.
T THE period between the permanent settlement of New Mexico by Europeans, under Oñate, at the end of the sixteenth century, and the revolution of 1680, presents a few salient features which are illustrated by a multitude of lesser occurrences. The principal events of a general character were the increase and extension of the Spanish settlements, the introduction and propa- gation of Christianity among the natives, the estab- lishment and development of mining as an important industry, and the constantly growing feeling of aliena- tion and hatred on the part of the Pueblo Indians. Each of these had relation more or less to the others, so that they cannot well be treated separately ; and in any event, our knowledge of the history of those times is imperfect and fragmentary, as all of the regular records were destroyed during the years of Pueblo supremacy which succeeded. After the successful establishment of the first colonies on the Upper Rio Grande, Spanish communities quickly grew up in all the more accessible parts of the Territory, sometimes in connection with the native Pueblos, and sometimes as independent set- tlements Santa Fé, from its central position, between the upper and lower valleys, and on account in part, no doubt, of the charm of its situation and climate, early became the most important of the Spanish towns and the seat of highest authority. It is very likely that Oñate himself transferred his residence there from the banks of the Chama; and, at all events, it is certain that his immediate successors made it the Capital, and that the palace was built at a very early day. It was
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FROM 1600 To 1680.
the long established seat of power when Peñalosa con- fined the Chief Inquisitor within its walls, in 1663, and when the Pueblo authorities took possession of it as the citadel of their central authority, in 1681.
The Spanish settlers naturally found homes in the fertile and beautiful valley of the Rio Grande, and did not attempt to establish many towns far beyond the mountains which marked its boundaries on either hand; but the zealous missionaries of the Christian faith were not confined within any such narrow limits. As we have seen, ten Friars accompanied Oñate on his first expedition into the country, and their number was frequently increased from time to time by the arrival of new brothers from Mexico and Spain-all being of the order of St. Francis. Their first missionary station after San Yldefonso, was established at a place in the territory of the Tegua nation, and probably at one of their princi- pal pueblos, hence called in the early records "El Teguayo," and which has by many been considered identical with Santa Fé. A strong probability is lent to this from the propriety with which the name of the " La Ciudad de la Santa Fé de San Francisco," " the city of the holy faith of St. Francis," would have been given to the point selected for the earliest settled missionary effort of the Franciscan Fathers. The missionaries traversed the country in all directions, priests were stationed at all the principal villages, and churches erected as rapidly as possible at the important points. As early as 1608 it was reported that at least 8,000 Indians had been baptized. Twenty-one years later the number had in- creased to 34,650; and not less than forty churches had been built for the performance of the ceremonies of the Roman Church. The most celebrated of the monks who devoted himself to the missionary work during the intervening period was Geronimo de Zarate Salmaron, who established himself at Jemez ; and from the facility that he acquired in the use of the languages of the
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