USA > New Mexico > Historical sketches of New Mexico : from the earliest records to the American occupation > Part 21
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When the caravan finally arrived in sight of Santa Fé, great excitement prevailed both among those con- nected with the wagons, and in the city. To use the language of Mr. Bigelow : "It was truly a scene for the artist's pencil to revel in; even the animals seemed to participate in the humor of their riders, who grew more and more merry and obstreperous as they descended to- ward the city. I doubt whether the first sight of the walls of Jerusalem was beheld by the Crusaders with much more tumultuous and soul-enrapturing joy."
The arrival produced a great deal of bustle among the natives. "Los Americanos!" "Los Carros!" "La entrada de la Caravana!" were to be heard in every di- rection; and crowds of women and boys flocked around to see the new-comers. The wagoners were by no means free from excitement on this occasion. Each one must tie a brand-new cracker to the lash of his whip, for on driving through the streets and the plaza publica, every one strives to outvie his comrades in the dexterity with which he flourishes this favorite badge of his authority."
"Our wagons were soon discharged in the warerooms
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of the custom-house ; and a few days' leisure being now at our disposal, we had time to take that recreation which a fatiguing journey of ten weeks had rendered so necessary. The wagoners and many of the traders, particularly the novices, flocked to the numerous fan- dangoes, which are regularly kept up after the arrival of a caravan. But the merchants generally were anx- iously and actively engaged in their affairs, striving who should first get his goods out of the custom-house, and obtain a chance at the 'hard chink ' of the numer- ous country dealers who annually resort to the Capital on these occasions."
" The derechos de arancel (tariff imposts) of Mexico are extremely oppressive, averaging about 100% upon the United States' cost of an ordinary Santa Fé assort- ment. Those on cotton textures are particularly so. According to the arancel of 1837 (and it was still heavier before) all plain-wove cottons, whether white or printed, pay twelve and a half cents duty per vara, besides the derecho de consumo (consumption duty), which brings it up to at least fifteen. For a few years, Governor Armijo, of Santa Fé, established a tariff of his own, entirely arbi- trary,-exacting $500 for each wagon-load, whether large or small, of fine or coarse goods! Of course this was very advantageous to such traders as had large wagons, and costly assortments, while it was no less onerous to those with smaller vehicles of coarse heavy goods. As might have been anticipated, the traders soon took to carrying their merchandise only in the largest wagons, drawn by ten or twelve mules, and omitting the coarser and more weighty articles of trade. This caused the Governor to return to the ad valorem system, though still without regard to the arancel general of the nation." It was calculated that the amount col- lected each year at this time amounted to between $50,- 000 and $60,000.
The return trip usually commenced four or five
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weeks after the arrival at Santa Fé ; generally about the 1st of September. Usually the caravan consisted of only thirty or forty wagons, a large portion of those taken out being disposed of in the country. The return cargo, which was the proceeds of the venture, was silver bullion from Chihuahua-and in later years, gold-dust from the placers south of Santa Fé-buffalo-rugs, furs, coarse Mex- ican blankets and wool, the latter, however, hardly pay- ing a fair freight, but being used to fill wagons which would otherwise have been empty.
Stories of tragedies on the plains, during the early days, could be multiplied almost indefinitely. Generally they resulted from the carelessness or overconfidence of the traders The death of Captain Smith, in 1831, illus- trates this. He had for years been a pioneer in the In- dian country and the Rocky Mountains, and had the firmest belief in his knowledge of border affairs. In the spring of that year he concluded to enter the Santa Fé trade, and started off in a caravan numbering eighty- four men, under the general command of Captain Sub- lette. Strangely enough, no one among the eighty-four had ever been over the Santa Fé Trail ; and shortly after crossing the Arkansas the party became lost in the laby- rinth of buffalo-tracks which crossed the plains in every direction. After days of wandering the water was ex- hausted and none could be found. Parties went out in various directions in search of a stream or spring, and among them Smith started alone, in what he thought a promising direction. After long travelling he at length reached the goal of his hopes ; a small stream was before him, or rather the now dry bed of what had been a stream. Well versed in the nature of the western waters, he dug with his hands a hole in the center of the channel, and soon was rejoiced to see it become a little pool But as he stooped and was in the very act of assuaging his long-continued and burning thirst, he fell a victim to the deadly arrows of the Comanche.
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After the year 1831, however, Indian attacks on the regular route ceased; but soon after, new difficulties . arose. The treatment of the Texan " Santa Fé Expedi- tion," in 1841, which is narrated elsewhere, aroused great indignation in the "Lone Star" Republic, and rumors were rife in 1842 that a band of Texans was preparing for an organized attack on any Mexicans whom they could find on the Santa Fé Trail. Early in the next year one Colonel Warfield, said to have held a Texan commission, formed a company, with which he attacked the town of Mora-then the most advanced settlement in that direction-killing five men and driving off a lot of horses. He was pursued, however, by a party of Mexicans, who succeeded not only in re- taking their own horses, but in capturing those of the Texans, so that Warfield's company had to go on foot to Bents' Fort. About the same time a Texan named John McDaniel, claiming to hold a captain's commission, raised a party of men on the border of Missouri, and started to join Warfield. On the way he met Don Antonio José Chavez, of New Mexico, travelling towards Independence with a small party, consisting of five servants, with two wagons and fifty-five mules, and $10,000 or $12,000 in specie and bullion. Although within the United States territory, the marauders did not hesitate to attack Chavez, and rifle his baggage, from which each member of McDaniel's party obtained about $500 as his share of the booty; and immediately after, seven of them left for the settlements, satisfied with this exploit. The remaining eight for some reason de- termined to murder Chavez, and soon after carried their cruel design into execution-carrying their victim a few rods from the camp and shooting him in cold blood. A considerable amount of gold was found on his person and in his trunk, and was divided among the murderers, who thereupon fled towards Missouri.
This outrage was the more abominable because
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Chavez belonged to a very influential family, who were not at all friendly to Armijo and his action in regard to the Texans, Don Mariano Chavez, the elder brother of the murdered man, and his wife, having done all that kind hearts could dictate to alleviate the sufferings of the Texan prisoners, on their march down the Rio Grande.
Before the perpetration of this murder a company of United States dragoons had started to intercept and capture McDaniel's party, but were not in time ; but as soon as the outlaws reached the borders of civilization, ten of them were arrested and sent to St. Louis for trial, five others escaping. Those of the prisoners who were found guilty of participation in the murder of Chavez, including Captain McDaniel, were executed according to law, and the others were convicted of robbery and sentenced accordingly.
About May 1st, of the same year, a company of 175 men was organized in northern Texas, under Colonel Snively, for operations against Mexicans engaged in the Santa Fé trade, and were soon after joined by Colonel Warfield and a few followers. They soon after encoun- tered a Mexican caravan, containing about 100 men, attacked it, and killed eighteen besides five who sub- sequently died, and captured nearly all of the remainder. This was in Mexican or Texan territory, and has been justified by some as a fair act of warfare, the two coun- tries being then engaged in the struggle which suc- ceeded the Texan declaration of independence ; but by others it has been held to be beyond the proper limits of belligerency. Snively, who had meanwhile moved to a point on territory claimed by the United States, was soon after met by Captain Cook, in command of 200 American dragoons, acting as escort to the annual cara- van from Independence; and the Texans were speedily disarmed by the United States troops.
The occurrence of such events, however, determined
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President Santa Ana to close the north of the Mexi- can Republic against any further commerce; which for a time ended the business of the Santa Fé Trail. The decree is dated at Tacubaya, August 7, 1843, and was to take effect in forty-five days. The next spring, how- ever, the custom-houses were re-opened and the trade renewed. In 1846 the number of wagons in the caravan was 414, and the value of the merchandise transported was estimated at $1,752,250. After the American occu- pation the business of the Santa F Trail still further increased ; new and large commercial establishments being founded at the capital city, from which a great part of northern Mexico as well as New Mexico and Arizona were supplied.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE INSURRECTION OF 1837.
F NOR the commencement of the causes which led to this outbreak, we must go back two years, to the time when Albino Perez, a Colonel of the Mexican army, was appointed Political Chief by President Santa Ana, in 1835. For some time before, the people of the ter- ritory had been governed by native New Mexicans, or by those who had become identified with their interests. Bacas and Chavez, and Armijos, had been among their recent rulers, and the last Spanish Governor, Melgares, was one of whose brilliant record they were all proud ; but Governor Perez was an entire stranger, sent from Mexico ; and even if he had been absolutely perfect, his appointment would have occasioned discontent. The feeling was increased during the next year by events connected with the trial of the disbursing officers of the territory, who were charged with peculation-two of the three judges of the Supreme Court, Nafero and Santiago Abreu, being among those accused as accom- plices ; and the highest pitch of excitement was reached when in May, 1837, the new Mexican constitution went into effect, which changed the Territory into a Depart- ment, centralized power in many respects, and imposed taxes to which the people had never before been subject. The opponents of the government exaggerated the bad features of the new system so as to render them still more obnoxious, until the people, especially in the north, were ready to break into revolt at the first signal. An occasion soon presented itself in the arrest and imprisonment of a local judicial officer on what the peo- ple considered a false charge ; a large assemblage hur-
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riedly gathered, released him by force, and raised the standard of revolution. This was on the 1st of August, 1837. Santa Cruz became the head-quarters of the movement, and within two days a large number of men dissatisfied with the government had collected there, embracing many Mexicans from the northern counties, especially from the vicinity of Chimayo, and the major- ity of the Pueblo Indians from the adjacent villages, except San Juan. On August 3d they issued the fol- lowing "Plan," which was published and circulated :-
"Viva! God and the Nation! and the faith of Jesus Christ ! For the principal points which we defend are the following :
"1st. To be with God and the Nation, and the faith of Jesus Christ.
"2d. To defend our country until we spill every drop of our blood in order to obtain the victory we have in view.
"3d. Not to admit the departmental ' plan.'
" 4th. Not to admit any tax.
"5th. Not to admit the disorder desired by those who are attempting to procure it God and the Nation !
" Encampment, Santa Cruz de la Cañada, August 3d, 1837."
As soon as Governor Perez received news of this re- volt, he assembled what troops he had at command, and called on the militia to report for duty ; but to this call received a very lukewarm response. The Indians of San Juan and Santo Domingo, however, remained ap- parently true, and accompanied by the warriors from those pueblos and his own soldiers, he marched to put down the rebels. These he met on the second day, near San Yldefonso, but upon approaching them, nearly all of the Governor's army deserted and fraternized with their opponents; leaving so few faithful to his standard that Perez was forced to move with all speed toward Santa Fé. Lieutenant Miguel Sena, Sergeant Sais, and Loreto
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Romero, who were among those who remained loyal, were killed by the revolutionists near the Puertocito, between Santa Cruz and Pojuaque. Finding that there was no security at the palace, the Governor left the city at 10 o'clock at night to escape to the south, but the roads were all blocked by squads of revolutionists, and his party was soon forced to retreat and again retire towards the capital. Travelling on foot, the better to conceal his identity, Governor Perez reached the house of Salvador Martinez,about a league south-west of Santa Fé and near Agua Fria, and took refuge there, but was soon found by Indians from Santo Domingo, who were following his track, and almost instantly killed. Before his pulse had ceased to beat, they cut off his head-compelling Santiago Prada, one of his own soldiers, to perform the deed-and carried it to the head-quarters of the insur- gents, which were now near the Church of our Lady of the Rosary (Rosario Church), in the western outskirts of Santa Fé. On the same day Jesus Maria Alarid, Secretary of State, and Santiago Abreu, formerly Gov- ernor, were taken together near the Mesita of Santo Do- mingo, and killed; the latter with special cruelty. Ramon Abreu and Marcelino Abreu, brother of the Ex-Governor, and Lieutenant Madrigal and another, were overtaken on the same road, at a place called " Las Palacias," between Cieneguilla and Agua Fria,and killed. Colonel Aponti was wounded at the same time, and taken prisoner.
All this was on the 9th of August; and the next day the insurgents entered the city without opposition, under command of General "Chopon," of Taos, and the Montoya brothers took possession of the palace, and offered up thanks in the parish church for their victory. José Gonzalez, a Pueblo Indian, of Taos, was elected Governor, and duly installed in office in the palace; and the revolutionary army, having now accomplished its
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object, immediately disbanded-its members returning to their homes.
There can be no doubt that the movement had the secret support and approval of many of the leading men of the northern counties, including Santa Fé itself; but in the end they seem to have been entirely out- generaled by Governor Armijo, who soon after organized a counter-revolution in the lower country, and prepared to march to Santa Fé with a considerable force. Mean- while, a General Assembly, composed of the alcaldes and other influential citizens in the northern half of the territory, met at Santa Fé in the palace, and ratified the acts of the revolutionists.
When Gonzales heard, however, that Armijo was marching up from Albuquerque, he withdrew from the capital to Santa Cruz, which was the center of the revolutionary feeling. Armijo thereupon entered Santa Fé, assumed charge of the government, and proclaimed himself Commandant-General of the Province. He im- mediately sent dispatches to the central government at Mexico, stating that he had overthrown the rebellion ; and as a result was appointed Governor of New Mexico -a position which he held for the greater part of nine years. At the same time the national authorities dis- patched troops from Zacatecas and Chihuahua to assist in the final suppression of the insurrection. With these and his own soldiers, Armijo made a rapid march to Santa Cruz, in January, and succeeded in defeating the entire rebel army, and capturing all the leaders. Im- mediate punishment followed, no mercy being shown. The two brothers Montoya, General "Chopon," and Alcalde Esquibel were shot near the old powder-house, or "Garita," on the little hill in the northern part of Santa Fé; Juan Antonio Vigil was executed near Cuya- mungué; and Gonzales was killed by the immediate command of Armijo himself. The story is that Gonza-
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lez, on being captured at Cañada, was brought before Armijo, who was then in the outskirts of the town, and on seeing the General, Gonzalez came forward with hand extended, saying "How do you do, Compañero?" as was proper between two of equal rank as governors. Armijo replied, "How do you do, Compañero? Confess yourself, Compañero." Then turning to his soldiers, added, "Now shoot my compañero !"-which command was immediately executed. This effectually ended the revolution of 1837.
CHAPTER XX.
THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION.
It is not necessary in this place to trace the causes which led to the war between the United States and Mexico, or to follow its history further than relates specially to the operations and results in New Mexico. Suffice it to say that the origin of the hostilities was found in the dispute as to the ownership of the ter- ritory between the Rio Grande and the Nueces River. When Texas declared its independence in 1836, it claimed all the region from the Sabine on the east to the Rio Grande on the west, and when the annexation to the United States took place ten years later, it trans- ferred that claim of course to the American Union. The latter therefore claimed the whole country east of the Rio Grande from its source to its mouth, including half of New Mexico, with Taos, Santa Fé, Albuquerque, San Miguel, etc., as well as the long strip of country to the south extending to the Gulf of Mexico.
This claim was stoutly resisted by Mexico, which insisted that the Territory of Texas had never extended farther west than the Nueces River, and determined to oppose any attempt of the United States to carry its authority beyond that line. General Taylor having been ordered into the disputed district, was met by the Mexican forces, under General Santa Ana, and the bat- tles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma on successive days in May, 1846, opened the bloody drama of war, and startled the American people, who had been at peace so long that more than a generation had heard no sounds of armed hostilities, except as echoed from the lands across the ocean.
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A formal declaration of war by the American Con- gress followed almost immediately, on the 10th of May; and so the war was formally and legally, as well as act- ually, begun. The first plan of operations looked to an invasion of Mexican territory at various points near the boundary line, General Taylor crossing the Rio Grande near its mouth, with Monterey as his first objective point, General Wool organizing a force at San Antonio to proceed westerly towards Chihuahua, and Colonel Stephen W. Kearney being ordered to march from Fort Leavenworth along the general line of the Santa Fé Trail, for the conquest of New Mexico and the region beyond, with what was denominated the Army of the West." Our interest, of course, is exclusively with the latter.
Colonel Kearney was the commandant of the First Dragoons, U. S. A., and troops from that regiment con- stituted the nucleus of the army which was to start on the long and perilous trip across the plains. Volun- teers were called for from Missouri, and a regiment of cavalry was speedily organized, and on June 18th elected, as its Colonel, Alexander W. Doniphan, an eminent lawyer who had enlisted as a private. Missouri also furnished a battalion of light artillery, commanded by Major Clark, consisting of two companies, under Cap- tains Weightman and Fischer, two companies of in- fantry, commanded by Captains Angney and Murphy, and the LaClede Rangers from St. Louis, under Captain Hudson. It was also proposed to form a Mormon bat- talion from the Latter Day Saints who had recently been driven from their settlements at Nauvoo and had set out on their journey towards a new home in the wilderness of the far West, and Captain Allen was dispatched to Council Bluffs to meet the Mormon cara- van and endeavor to obtain volunteers for the purpose.
The companies which composed the regiment of dragoons, like most of our army in times of peace, were
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widely scattered ; two companies stationed on the Upper Mississippi, under Captain P. St. George Cooke and Cap- tain E. V. Sumner, were firstly ordered to New Orleans to join the more southerly expeditions, but at St. Louis found new orders to proceed with Colonel Kearney across the plains.
Kearney himself commenced his march from Fort Leavenworth in the latter part of June, 1846. The two companies just mentioned proceeded up the Missouri River in boats, and set out on July 6th. The troops, all told, consisted of six companies of the First Dragoons -who were all the regulars in the command-and the volunteers before mentioned, who, while possessing the high spirit, bravery, and love of adventure characteris- tic of the western soldier, yet had had little time for drilling or even the acquirement of discipline. Al- together, the "Army of the West," with its high sound- ing title, and which was expected to march across 1,000 miles of desert and conquer a whole province, consisted of 1,658 men and sixteen pieces of ordnance. The whole did not come together until the plains had been traversed and they had reached Bents' Fort, the most important and best known of frontier trading posts, and then the great point of rendezvous for the hunters and trappers of the mountain regions. This fort was situ- ated on the north bank of the Arkansas, about 650 miles west of Fort Leavenworth, in latitude 38°02' and long- itude 103°03'. It was 180 feet long and 135 feet wide, and the walls, which were of adobe, were fifteen feet high and four feet thick. Altogether, it was certainly the strongest post established by private enterprise in the country. Here the army found the most of the great caravan of traders' wagons which had started over the trail that year, the whole consisting of 414 loaded wagons.
From Bents' Fort Lieutenant DeCourcey was dis- patched with twenty men to the Taos Valley to ascertain
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the disposition of the people and report to the General at the most practicable point on the road. It may be added here that he rejoined the main body on the 11th of August, at the Poñil, bringing 14 Mexican prisoners, who reported that the Pueblos, Utes, and other Indians, to the number of 5,000, had joined the Mexican forces, and that the United States Army would be opposed at every point between San Miguel and Santa Fé.
After spending three days in greatly needed rest, the army resumed its march on August 2d, and Captain Cooke was sent in advance, as a kind of ambassador, to proceed under a flag of truce to Santa Fé and carry the proclamation of the General declaring the an- nexation to the United States of all the territory east of the Rio Grande as part of the old Republic of Texas. Cooke was accompanied by twelve picked men of his own company as an escort, and also by Mr. Jas. Magoffin, of Kentucky, and Señor Gonzales, of Chihuahua, two mer- chants extensively engaged in the trade of the Santa Fé Trail, and then bound for the New Mexican capital. They crossed the Purgatoire near where Trinidad now is, and passed through the Raton Mountains, following almost exactly the stage route of a later day, and not far from the present line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fé Railroad, finding the first habitations on the banks of the Mora River, the proprietor being Mr. James Bon- ney, who had settled there four years before.
On August 9th they came in sight of Las Vegas, which Cooke describes, as so many others have done both before and since, as resembling "an extensive brick-yard and kilns." It was then a comparatively new town, Don Miguel Romero, the father of the dis- tinguished family of that name, having been its virtual founder a little before the year 1840. Here the envoy met the Alcalde (Juan de Dios Maes), and enjoyed his hospitality, while the latter sent a swift express by the short trail across the mountains to carry the informa-
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