CHAPTER XVI
The Insurrection of 1837
For 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. Ever since the independence of Mexico the people of the territory had been governed by native New Mexicans, or by those who had become identified with their interests. Members of well-known families, as Baca, Chaves, Armijo, Sarraeino, and Abreu 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; and the highest pitch of excitement was reached when in April, 1837, the new Mexican constitution went into effect, which changed the territory into a department, 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 people considered a false charge; a large assemblage hurriedly gathered, released him by force, and raised the standard of revolution. This was on the 1st of August, 1837. Santa Cruz became the headquarters of the movement, and within two days a

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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 majority of the Pueblo Indians from the adjacent villages, except San Juan. On August 3d they issued the following 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 Canada, August 3d, 1837."
As soon as Governor Perez received news of this revolt, he assembled what troops he had at command, and called on the militia to report for duty; but this call received a very lukewarm response. The Indians of San Juan and Santo Domingo, however, remained apparently 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 Ildefonso, 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 Fe. Lieutenant Miguel Sena, Sergeant Sais, and Loreto Romero, who were among those who remained loyal, were killed by the revolutionists near the Puerto-cito, 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. Traveling on foot, the better to conceal his identity, Governor Perez reached the house of Salvador Martinez, about a league southwest of Santa Fe, and

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took refuge there, but was soon found by Indians from Santa Domingo, who were following his track, and almost instantly killed. The exact place of his assassination is now marked by a stone monument, erected in 1901 by the Daughters of the American Revolution. 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 headquarters of the insurgents, which were near the Rosario Church, in the western outskirts of Santa Fe. On the same day Jesus Maria Alarid, secretary of state, and Santiago Abreu, formerly governor, were taken together near the mesita of Santo Domingo, and killed; the latter with special cruelty. Ramon Abreu and Marcelino Abreu, brothers 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 Aponte was wounded, taken prisoner, and killed.
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. Jose Gonzales, of Taos, was elected governor, and duly installed in office in the palace; and the revolutionary army, having now accomplished its 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 Fe itself; and on August 27th and 28th a general assembly composed of the alcaldes and other influential citizens in the northern half of the territory, met at Santa Fe at the palace and ratified the acts of the revolutionists. Among those participating was Manuel Armijo, but almost immediately thereafter he left for the Rio Abajo or lower country, where he organized a counter-revolution and prepared to march to Santa Fe with a considerable force.
The sentiment against the Canton, as the revolutionists called their organization, was formulated in what is known as the

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Pronunciamiento de Tome, promulgated on September 8, 1837, in the name of the Citizens, Lovers of their Country, in Favor of the Constitution and the Laws. This declared that until other orders from the supreme government of Mexico they would recognize the prefect of the district of Albuquerque (southern district) as the legal authority in New Mexico; that an army be raised to be commanded by Manuel Armijo, with Mariano Chaves as second in command, and with Vicente Sanchez Vergara as secretary. This pronunciamiento was signed by Manuel Armijo, Francisco Ignacio Madariaga (the parish priest of Tome), Jose Salazar, Pablo Salazar, Jose Francisco Montoya, and Miguel de Olona. It was rapidly distributed throughout the country and met with an immediate response in all the Rio Abajo region.
When Gonzales heard that Armijo was inarching up from Albuquerque, he withdrew from the capital to Santa Cruz, which was the center of the revolutionary feeling. Armijo thereupon entered Santa Fe, assumed charge of the government and proclaimed himself commandant-general of the province. He immediately sent dispatches to the central government in 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 dispatched 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, 1838, and succeeded in defeating the entire rebel army and capturing all the leaders. Immediate punishment followed, no mercy being shown. On January 24th, the two brothers Montoya (Desiderio and Antonio Abad), Juan Jose Esquibel, and Juan Vigil were executed near the old Spanish fort or Garita on the little hill in the northern part of Santa Fe. Gonzales was killed by the immediate command of Armijo himself directly after the victory at Canada. The story is that Gonzales, on being captured, was brought before Armijo, who was then in the outskirts of the town, and on seeing the general, Gon-

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zales came forward with hand extended, saying How do you do, Companero ? as was proper between two of equal rank as governors. Armijo replied, How do you do, Companero? Confess yourself, Companero. Then turning to his soldiers, added, Now shoot my companero! - which command was immediately executed. This effectually ended the revolution of 1837.

CHAPTER XVII
The Santa F6 Trail
Though Mexico was settled early in the sixteenth century, and the Spaniards soon after penetrated over 1,500 miles to the north and occupied the valley of the Rio Grande as far as northern New Mexico, and another colonization from England and France had populated the eastern shores of what is now the United States and Canada early in the seventeenth century, and had extended westward to the Mississippi Valley, yet it was left for the nineteenth century to see any communication whatever between these two populations, situated on the same continent, yet separated by mountains and by the great expanse of desert plain.
The French and Spaniards had successively been the rulers of the vast territory extending westward from the Mississippi, then all included under the name of Louisiana; yet the people of neither of those nationalities had displayed the enterprise requisite to cross the intervening space between themselves and New Mexico, and brave the hostility of the tribes which roamed over the plains between.
It was not until after the acquisition of Louisiana by the United States that such a journey was accomplished, or even attempted. In 1803 President Jefferson completed the negotiation for the purchase of Louisiana from the Emperor Napoleon, and the sovereignty of that vast domain was transferred from the French to the Americans. The chief city of the Mississippi Valley, in the newly acquired territory, was St. Louis; the principal settlement on the easterly side of the river, within the old boundaries of the United States, was Kaskaskia. Each of these places claims the credit of sending the first adventurers across the plains to meet

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the tide of Spanish, colonization coming from the south, at Santa Fe; and it is difficult to say which has the prior right.
In 1804, Mr. Morrison, an enterprising merchant of Kaskaskia, sent a man called Baptiste La Lande, a French creole from Louisiana, to the headwaters of the Missouri and Platte, and furnished him with goods with which to trade with the Indians. With little idea of distance, the astute Kaskaskia merchant directed La Lande, if it should be possible, to press on to Santa Fe. La Lande was evidently a man of energy, though we cannot admire some of his other qualities; and succeeded finally in sending in some Indians to the Spanish borders, who gave a report of the arrival of this stranger from the far and almost unknown east. A party of Mexicans on horseback conveyed him and his goods into the northern settlements near Taos, from where he traveled on to Santa Fe, selling his merchandise as he went. Pleased with the country, in which he obtained far higher prices than he had dreamed of elsewhere, and where the hospitable people offered him land and other inducements if he would stay; and captivated by some of the bright-eyed brunettes of the city, he concluded to return no more, not even to account to Mr. Morrison for his goods; and so, with the proceeds thus simply obtained, he settled down in the capital of the province.
Two years before La Lande left the banks of the Mississippi, James Pursley, or Purcell, an enterprising Kentuckian, who was by turns a hunter, trapper, and trader, and a fair type of the pioneers of those early days, left St. Louis on a hunting expedition to the headwaters of the Osage river, in what is now southwestern Missouri, with two companions. His varied adventures during three years of wanderings, which covered most of the country between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, cannot be narrated here. After much travel and many adventures, he finally reached the northern border of New Mexico, in company with a great party of Indians, fully 2,000 in number. Wishing to ascertain whether the Spaniards would receive them in a friendly way and enter into trade, the Indians sent Pursley, with a small escort, to Santa Fe as a kind of ambassador. The

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governor (Alencaster) acceded to the request, and shortly afterward the whole band followed its advance guard, and after some time spent in trading, set out on its return to the north.
But Pursley, tired of life among the savages, concluded to remain in Santa Fe. He arrived there in June, 1805 - over three years after his departure from St. Louis - and settled down to the pursuit of his trade as a. carpenter; at which, we are told, he made a great deal of money, except when working for the officers, who paid him little or nothing. Here Pike found him in 1807, and had the celebrated conversation which has given to Pursley the fame of being the first discoverer of the gold of Colorado - more than half a century before the discovery which brought so many thousands to Pike's Peak and the canons and mountains of the Centennial State. He assured me, says Pike, that he had found gold on the head of La Platte, and had carried some of the virgin mineral in his shot-pouch for months; but that being in doubt whether he should ever again behold the civilized world, he threw the sample away.
These two adventurous traders may be called the fathers of the Santa Fe Trail, although the route which they traveled was far from direct, and their final arrival in New Mexico more the result of chance than of any calculation. The visit of Lieutenant Pike and his unfortunate party to Santa Fe in 1807 was rather involuntary than otherwise, yet from it flowed important results; for the descriptions which he published of his travels on his return created much interest throughout the west, and many of the adventurous sons of the border yearned to follow the path which led to the city whose very isolation gave it an air of romance.
The first real expedition was undertaken in 1812 by a company of about a dozen enterprising men of St. Louis, who fitted out a party under command of Robert McKnight, which followed nearly the route described by Pike. They arrived after various hardships, in safety, at Santa Fe, but only to encounter unexpected troubles. Unfortunately, their appearance at the capital was exactly at the wrong time. The attempted revolution under Hidalgo had just been put down, and every American adven-

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turer was looked upon with suspicion. McKnight and his party found themselves arrested as spies, their merchandise seized and confiscated; and they were themselves soon sent to follow Pike to Chihuahua, in the prison of which city they languished in rigorous confinement until the success of the republican movement under Iturbide brought their release.
In 1815, Auguste P. Chouteau and Julius DeMunn, from St. Louis, went to the headwaters of the Arkansas to trade with the Indians and the next year penetrated southward to Taos and Santa Fe, where they were well received by Governor Maynez. But shortly afterwards Pedro Maria de Allande became governor, and a change of policy took place; and Chouteau and De Munn were arrested on the Animas River, brought to Santa Fe, imprisoned for fifty days, and finally deprived of all their property.
Shortly after, in 1819, David Meriwether, an Indian trader, was captured on the Arkansas River and imprisoned for some time at Santa Fe. These events naturally prevented any further attempt at traffic across the plains until the overthrow of the Spanish authority by the Mexican revolution in 1821. By a strange chance of fortune the same David Meriwether who was imprisoned in Santa Fe in 1819, reentered the city as American governor of New Mexico in 1853.
In 1821, an Ohio merchant named Glenn arrived in Santa Fe with a small caravan, having come by what appears still to have been the only known route - into the mountains of the present Colorado, and thence down the Rio Grande.
In the same year, 1821, Captain William Becknell, who is now called the founder of the "Commerce of the Prairies," a Missourian, who had made an expedition from Franklin to the Rocky Mountains, to trade with the Indians, concluded to seek the new Mecca of merchants to the south; and found at Santa Fe a far better market than among the Comanches. Returning that winter with the fruits of his enterprise, he raised a company of thirty friends, and with them and an assortment of goods which cost about $5,000, and was the largest venture of the kind yet made, started across the plains. They determined to try a more direct route, and so branched off from the Arkansas River at the

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point called the Caches, intending to march directly southwest to Santa Fe. But this daring enterprise came near costing them all their lives, for the unknown country into which they thus started as pioneers was utterly devoid of water. Their scanty supply was soon exhausted, and the horrors of thirst took possession of them. They killed their dogs and cut off the ears of their mules in order to endeavor to find a moment's relief by drinking the warm blood of the animals.
Early in May, Colonel Cooper, a neighbor of Captain Becknell, had left Missouri, about fifteen being in the party, and by pursuing the better known route up the Arkansas, had successfully made the journey. Down to this time, and indeed until 1824, all of the expeditions were on mule-back, and of course the amount of goods that could be transported was comparatively inconsiderable; but in the latter year a new departure was made by the employment of vehicles. The caravan which then started consisted of twenty-five wagons of different kinds, the largest part being what were then called Dearborn carriages, besides a number of the pack-mules which had usually been employed; and their success in making the trip, which presented fewer difficulties than had been anticipated, gave a great impetus to the Santa Fe trade. The original cost of the goods brought by this caravan was $25,000 to $30,000.
From this time the trips across the plains became more frequent. The profits made on American goods successfully transported were immense, because the only other route by which they could be received was by the sea to Vera Cruz, across the country to the city of Mexico, thence over the long and difficult road to El Paso, and finally by the semi-annual caravans up the Rio Grande, and crossing the Jornada, to Santa Fe. Plain domestic cottons sold as high as $2.00 or $3.00 per yard, on the plaza of the capital. It is not strange that the reports of such profits should have stimulated enterprise, and caused the adventurous merchant to esteem the Santa Fe market as better than a gold field.
The occurrence of murderous attacks by Indians caused the government in 1827 to furnish an armed escort, consisting of four

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companies of troops under Major Riley, which was to protect the caravan as far as Chouteau's Island, in the Arkansas, and the various traders consolidated their trains into one long caravan. But for some unexplained reason the government failed to furnish similar military protection the next year, and it was only repeated on special occasions thereafter, as in 1834, when Captain Wharton's dragoons were detailed for the service, and in 1843, when a formidable army under Captain Cooke escorted two large caravans past the principal points of danger.
As early as 1825 the government had taken the first steps in favor of encouraging the traffickers of the plains by appointing a commission, consisting of Messrs. Reeves, Sibley, and Matthews, to lay out a road from the border of Missouri to the confines of Santa Fe, but this work was never completed.
The first route followed, as we have seen, was by a line almost directly westward to the mountains of Colorado, and thence south to Taos. Afterwards, when the trade assumed importance, a road along the Arkansas, and thence southwest to the Raton Pass, following substantially the present line of the Atchson, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, was used; but another route which was a favorite one for a long series of years was that along the Arkansas, thence across to the Cimarron, and so entering New Mexico, proceeding in an almost direct line to the Wagon Mound - which made a conspicuous landmark - and thence to Las Vegas, San Miguel, and Santa Fe. A few trips were made by a more southerly route, starting from Van Buren, in Arkansas, instead of Independence; and Mr. Gregg pronounced this the most excellent natural line of travel. But it never became popular, or was more than an experiment.
In 1839 an attempt was made to establish a route from Chihuahua and El Paso to the east, without going to Santa Fe at all. This was undertaken chiefly by Mexican merchants, but Dr. Connelly took a leading part in the enterprise also. The expedition set out from Chihuahua, April 3, 1839, amid general acclamations, as the people saw in it the commencement of a great wholesale trade for their city. Seven wagons, with about $250,000 in bullion, constituted the caravan; and for lack of knowledge of

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In the beginning of the traffic across the plains, those engaged in it were nearly all Americans or French, from the western states; but gradually New Mexicans of wealth began to take part in the business, until in 1843 the greater part of the traders were New Mexicans, and they bid fair to secure a monopoly.
While the time occupied in making the passage, of course, varied considerably according to circumstances, yet an average trip to Santa Fe, with loaded wagons, occupied about seventy days, and the return trip about forty days. The eastward loads were comparatively light, usually from 1,000 to 2,000 pounds, and the approaching winter compelled haste. On one occasion F. X. Aubrey, a young man of Canadian descent, rode, on a wager, from Santa Fe to Independence in five days and ten hours; his own mare Nellie carrying him 150 miles of the distance.
Gregg, in his Commerce of the Prairies, gives a graphic account of the way in which the movements of the caravan were managed. The first business was to elect a "Captain of the Caravan," who directed the order of travel and designated the camping-grounds. The proprietors furnished a full list of the wagons and men, and the caravan was then apportioned into about four divisions, each with a lieutenant in command, as they generally marched in four lines abreast.
The place of rendezvous for the caravan was usually Council Grove, the wagons leaving Independence at somewhat different times.
It was the custom when about 200 miles from Santa Fe to send a party of couriers, composed generally of proprietors or agents, ahead to that city, with a view to procuring provisions, securing good storehouses, and if possible arriving at an understanding with the custom-house officials. At the crossing of Red River, some part of the caravan frequently left the main body to proceed westerly to Taos; and a little further on they were met by the custom-house guard, who came to escort the caravan into Santa Fe to prevent smuggling.
When the caravan finally came in sight of Santa Fe, great excitement prevailed both among those connected with the wagons,

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and in the city, and the arrival produced a great deal of bustle among the natives.
The wagons were soon discharged in the warerooms of the custom-house; and the weary travelers had time to take that recreation which a fatiguing journey of ten weeks had rendered so necessary.
The derechos dc arancel (tariff duties) of Mexico were extremely oppressive, averaging about 100% upon the United States' cost of an ordinary Santa Fe assortment. Those on cotton textures were particularly so. According to the arancel of 1837 all plain-wove cottons, whether white or printed, paid twelve and a half cents duty per vara, besides the derecho de comumo (consumption duty), which brought it up to at least fifteen. For a few years, Governor Armijo established a tariff of his own, entirely arbitrary - exacting $500 for each wagon-load, whether large or small, of fine or coarse goods! Of course this was very advantageous to" traders having 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 used only the largest wagons, drawn by ten or twelve mules, and omitted 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 collected each year at this time amounted to between $50,000 and $60,000.
The return trip usually commenced four or five weeks after the arrival at Santa Fe; 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 Fe - buffalo-rugs, furs, coarse Mexican blankets and wool, the latter, however, hardly paying 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

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be multiplied almost indefinitely. Generally they resulted from the carelessness or over-confidence of the traders.
After the year 1831, however, Indian attacks on the regular route ceased; but soon after, new difficulties arose. The treatment of the Texan "Santa Fe Expedition," 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 Fe 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. 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 War-field. On the way he met Don Antonio Jose Chavez, of New Mexico, traveling 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 Mc-Daniel'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 determined to murder Chavez, and soon after carried their cruel design into execution - taking 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 Chavez belonged to a very influential family, who had done all that kind hearts could dictate to alleviate the sufferings of the Texan prisoners, on their march down the Rio Grande.
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 par-

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ticipation 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 Fe trade. They soon after encountered a Mexican caravan, containing about 100 men, attacked it, and killed eighteen besides five who subsequently 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; but by others it has been held to be beyond the proper limits of belligerency.
The occurrence of such events determined President Santa Ana to close the north of the Mexican republic against any further commerce; which for a time ended the business of the Santa Fe Trail. The decree is dated at Tacubaya, August 7, 1843, and was to take effect in forty-five days. The next spring, however, the custom-houses were reopened 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 occupation the business of the Santa Fe 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 XVIII
Spanish and Mexican Governors
SPANISH GOVERNORS AND CAPTAINS-GENERAL OF NEW MEXICO
Juan de Onate, 1598-1608.
Pedro de Peralta, 1608.
Felipe Zotylo, 1621-8.
Manuel de Silva, 1629.
Fernando de Arguello, 1640.
Luis de Rosas, 1641.
Valdez, 1642.
Alonso Pacheco de Heredia, 1643.
Fernando de Arguello, 1645.
Luis de Guzman, 1647.
Hernando de Ugarte y la Concha, 1650.
Juan de Samaniego, 1653-4.
Enrique de Avila y Pacheco, 1656.
Bernardo Lopez de Mendizabal, 1660.
Diego de Penalosa Briceno, 1661-4.
Fernando de Villanueva.
Juan de Medrano.
Juan de Miranda.
Juan Francisco de Trevino, 1675.
Antonio Otermin, 1679-83.
Domingo Jironza Petriz Cruzate, 1683-6.
Pedro Reneros de Posada, 1686-9.
Domingo Jironza Petriz Cruzate, 1689-91.
Diego de Vargas Zapata Lujan Ponce de Leon, 1691-7.
Pedro Rodriguez Cubero, 1697-1703.
Diego de Vargas Zapata Lujan Ponce de Leon, 1703-4.
Juan Paez Hurtado, acting, 1704-5.

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Francisco Cuervo y Valdez, ad interim, 1705-7.
Jose Chacon Medina Salazar y Villaseiior, Marquez de la Periu-cla, 1707-12.
Juan Ignacio Flores Mogollon, 1712-15.
Felix Martinez, ad interim, 1715-17.
Juan Paez Hurtado, acting, 1717.
Antonio Valverde y Cosio, ad interim, 1717-22.
Juan de Estrada y Austria (?), ad interim, 1721.
Juan Domingo de Bustamante, 1722-31. Gervasio Cruzat y Gongora, 1731-6.
Enrique de Olavide y Michelefia, ad interim, 1736-9.
Caspar Domingo de Mendoza, 1739-43.
Joaquin Codallos y Rabal, 1743-9.
Francisco de la Rocha (appointed), 1747 (never acted).
Tomas Velez Cachupin, 1749-54. Francisco Antonio -Mar-in del Valle, 1754-60. Mateo Antonio de Mendoza, acting, 1760.
Manuel Portillo Urrisola, acting, 1761-2.
Tomas Velez Cachupin, 1762-7.
Pedro Fermin de Mendinueta, 1767-78. [Hereafter the title of captain-general is omitted.]
Francisco Trebol Navarro, acting, 1778.
Juan Bautista de Anza, 1778-89.
Manuel Flon (appointed), 1785 (never acted).
Fernando de la Concha, 1789-94.
Fernando Chacon, 1794-1805.
Joaquin del Real Alencaster, 1805-8.
Alberto Mainez, acting, 1807-8.
Jose Manrique, 1808-14.
Alberto Mainez, 1814-16.
Pedro Maria de Allande, 1816-18.
Facundo Melgares, 1818-22.
MEXICAN GOVERNORS
(With the title of jefe politico until 1837)
Antonio Viscarra, 1822.
Francisco Javier Chaves, 1823.

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Bartolome Baea, 1823 to September, 1825.
Antonio Narbona, 1825 to May, 1827.
Manuel Armijo, 1827-8.
Antonio Viscarra, acting, 1828.
Jose Antonio Chaves, 1828-31.
Santiago Abreu, 1831-3.
Francisco Sarracino, 1833-5.
Juan Rafael Ortiz, acting, 1884.
Mariano Chaves, acting, 1885, May to July.
Albino Perez, 1835-7 (assassinated). (Title of governor from 1837.)
Pedro Munoz, acting, 1837-8.
Jose Gonzales, revolutionary governor, 1887-8.
Manuel Armijo, 1838-40, and till 1846.
Antonio Sandoval, acting, 1841.
Mariano Martinez de Lejanza, 1844-5.
Jose Chaves, acting, 1845.
Juan Bautista Vigil y Alarid, acting, 1846.

CHAPTER XIX
The American Occupation
The commencement of a war between Mexico and the United States naturally caused great concern and excitement in New Mexico, not only because a part of the soil was directly in controversy as being within the boundaries claimed by Texas, but also because the news of the commencement of hostilities at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, in May, 1846, was almost immediately followed by information that an expedition was being fitted out in Missouri for an attack on Santa Fe.
This was the American "Army of the West," which was ordered to rendezvous at Fort Leaven worth, under General Stephen W. Kearny, for the conquest of New Mexico and California. This army was composed of the First Dragoons, U. S. A., of which Kearny was colonel; a Missouri regiment under Colonel Doniphan; a battery of light artillery, commanded by Major Clark; two companies of infantry, and the La Clede Rangers of St. Louis; the whole together comprising 1,658 men and sixteen pieces of ordnance.
Although intended to meet at Fort Leavenworth, the different parts of the little army did not really come together until they had crossed the plains and arrived at Bent's Fort, near the present village of Las Animas, and then the great rendezvous for western traders, at which point they found no less than 414 loaded wagons, awaiting protection. From here a small detachment was sent to the Taos Valley to ascertain the disposition of the people, the main body going on by way of the Raton Pass. The Taos party rejoined the army near the Ponil, with fourteen prisoners, and bringing the news that five thousand of the Pueblos

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and other Indians had joined the Mexicans, who were determined to contest the entire route from San Miguel to Santa Fe.
The first habitations seen were on the banks of the Mora, on the ranch of James Bonney, who had recently settled there and who treated the officers with much hospitality. On August 15th the army entered Las Vegas, then a comparatively new and small town, and here stopped long enough for the general to make a proclamation of pacific intentions towards the people, and to administer the oath of allegiance to the United States to the alcalde, Juan de Dios Maes, who was then confirmed in his office. Tecolote was the next town reached, and here similar proceedings were had, as well as at San Miguel, then the county seat and principal town of the portion of New Mexico east of the mountains, on the next day.
Meanwhile General Armijo, the Mexican governor, after issuing a stirring proclamation calling on the people to rise and defend their homes, had marched from Santa Fe to the narrow pass at Canoncito, where he had encamped in an almost impregnable location, to prevent the passage of the American army. So strong was the position, that Kearny did not think of attacking it directly, but had arranged to take a circuitous route which would carry him around it without great danger, and encamped near the ruins of Pecos with that intent on the night of August 17th. But, during the night, the Mexican army, largely made up of inexperienced volunteers, poorly armed, had heard such exaggerated accounts of the force of the Americans, that it became demoralized; many left for their homes, and Armijo, after a council of war with his chief officers, concluded to retire with those who remained faithful to him, toward the south.
So the Americans, instead of a mountain trail, found the main road open, and proceeded toward the capital unembarrassed except by the breastwork of trees that had been thrown across the canon. Wishing, if possible, to reach there in one day, especially as their provisions were almost exhausted, they made a forced march, and arrived at Santa Fe before night-fall, raising the stars and stripes over the palace, and then retiring to the high

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ground in the southeast part of the town, for a camp. This was on August 18th. General Kearny and several officers came a little in advance and were received at the palace by the secretary and acting-governor, Juan Bautista Vigil, who formally delivered to them the government of the city.
Few marches in American history exceed in daring that of the little Army of the West across the plains. Consisting of less than two regiments of men, it marched nine hundred miles from its base of supplies, largely through a desert region, not seeing a habitation except Bent's Fort between Leaven worth and the Mora River; suffering greatly from lack of water, and with neither provisions nor money sufficient to procure them for so long a march. During the last part of the journey they were reduced to one-third rations, and even with this small allowance only enough remained for the least number of days possible to reach Santa Fe, by rapid and uninterrupted marching, so that they arrived at the capital entirely destitute. Even here their privations were not at an end, for the commissary was without money, and the people having been declared citizens of the United States, and therefore fully protected, no property could be taken without cash payment.
The first business of General Kearny, after taking possession of Santa Fe, was to commence the building of Fort Marcy, on the heights overlooking the city, in order to secure the fruits of his bloodless victory; and then to establish a provisional government. On the morning of the 19th, he assembled the people in the plaza, and addressed them in reassuring language, saying that the army came with peaceable intentions and kind feelings, that they would be secure in their persons, property, and religion; announcing that he had taken possession of all New Mexico for the United States, and that you are no longer Mexican subjects, you have become American citizens. I am your governor; henceforth look to me for protection. This address was received with general satisfaction, was replied to in fitting terms by Juan Bautista Vigil, who accepted the new sovereignty in the name of the people; and the governor then confirmed in their positions

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most of the former officers, administering to each of them the oath of allegiance to the United States.
Fearing that there might be a concentration of Mexican troops to the south, General Kearny marched with 725 mounted men down the Rio Grande valley as far as Tome; being everywhere well received by the people and finding no enemies of any kind. On the 22d of September, he established a regular civil government by the appointment of Charles Bent, of Taos, as governor, Donaciano Vigil as secretary, and Francis P. Blair as district attorney, together with judges and other officials. Governor Bent was an old resident, married to a New Mexican, and highly esteemed throughout the entire territory. Having thus provided for the government of the territory, General Kearny set out with his little army on September 26th for California, as a wider field for his energy and administrative ability, leaving Colonel Doniphan in command.
This latter officer had orders to march immediately to Chihuahua, where it was supposed that General Wool had arrived with a column from San Antonio; but just as he was starting news arrived of an attack by Navajos on Polvadera, which induced a change of programme, and an expedition against those Indians was determined on; so that the troops, which had come across the plains in hostility to the Mexicans, found their first active duty in their defense against their old enemies.
This was a matter difficult to explain to the Indian mind, which considered that the Americans and themselves were both at war with the same enemies, but Colonel Doniphan finally succeeded in having a treaty made by which they agreed to cease from all depredations. This accomplished he set out on his celebrated march to Chihuahua, on December 14th, leaving the remaining troops in command of Colonel Sterling Price.
Scarcely a day had passed after his departure before rumor became rife of an impending revolt by people of the territory. In judging of this we are to remember that these people were Mexicans, that their mother country was at war with the United States, and that the American troops had invaded and practically

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conquered New Mexico, which was occupied by a portion of the army; so that from their point of view, it was an act of patriotism to attempt to drive from their soil these invaders of their country and restore it to its old position.
The leaders in the contemplated revolt were Diego Arelmleta, who had been a member of the Mexican Congress, and Tomas Ortiz, who had been high in command under Armijo, both men of large influence, and they were supported by many of the leading Mexicans of the north of the territory and especially by two prominent priests, Padre Ortiz, the vicario, and Padre Gallegos. The first general meeting was held on the 12th of December, when it was decided that the rising should take place one week from that day, when all Americans, and all Mexicans who had consented to hold office under the American governor, should be killed or driven out of the territory.
Everything was carefully arranged, and the attempt might have been successful, but that, by the advice of some timid spirits, the time of action was postponed until Christmas eve. This delay was fatal to the project, for meanwhile information of the conspiracy was conveyed to the governor, who promptly arrested those suspected, and took such measures as rendered the attempt abortive.
Although thus quelled for a time, however, the spirit of revolt was far from destroyed, and suddenly developed itself in a most unexpected manner. Supposing all danger to be passed, Governor Bent left Santa Fe on January 14th, on a visit to his home in Taos, being accompanied by the sheriff and prefect of Taos county, the district attorney, and some others. On the night of the 19th, a large body of men, partly Mexicans and partly Pueblo Indians, attacked his residence and succeeded in killing not only the governor, but Sheriff Lee, Prefect Vigil, District Attorney Leal, Narciso Beaubien, a son of Judge Beaubien, and Pablo Jaramillo, a brother-in-law of the governor. At the same time attacks were made on the Americans at the Arroyo Hondo and Rio Colorado above Taos, and at Mora, a number being killed at each place. The intention evidently was to have a general rising all over the

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territory, as messengers came from Mora to Las Vegas bringing the news of the revolt and urging the people there to rise; but no action was taken there, owing to the loyalty of the alcalde and the timely arrival of a few troops.
The startling news of the assassination was swiftly carried to Santa Fe and reached Colonel Price the next day, quickly followed by tidings of the approach of a large Mexican and Indian force, down the valley of the Rio Grande, to attack the capital. The situation was extremely critical. Very few troops were in Santa Fe,- in fact the number remaining in the whole territory was very small, and they were scattered at Albuquerque, Las Vegas, and other distant points. Delay meant, destruction, and Colonel Price lost no time in taking such measures as were possible with his limited resources. Orders were sent to Albuquerque for the two companies stationed there to come northward, and Price himself determined to march immediately to meet the insurgent army.
All the force that he could muster was three hundred and ten men, including Captain Angney & company and a few other regular troops, and a volunteer company composed of nearly all the Americans in the city, under command of Colonel Ceran St. Vrain, who happened to be in Santa Fe at the time. In this latter company were also Manuel Chaves, Nicolas Pino, and some other prominent New Mexicans, who volunteered their services. They set out on January 23d, nerved by the belief that there was no alternative but victory or annihilation. Scarcely had the little army passed Pojoaque, when, in the narrow defile on the road., they met the advance guard of the Mexicans, and soon after found the main body drawn up on the high bank of the Santa Cruz River just east of the town of that name. They were commanded by General Montoya, aided by Generals Tafoya and Chavez. Here a fierce battle took place. The Mexican army was large, but undisciplined and poorly provided with arms. They had, however, a great advantage in their position and in the occupancy of a number of adobe houses, which were practically fortresses. Nevertheless, by a vigorous charge in front and a

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flank attack by St. Vrain's volunteers, they were finally dislodged and forced to retreat, leaving thirty-six dead on the field, General Tafoya being among the number.
At Los Lueeros the Americans were reen forced by the timely arrival of Captain Burgwin's company of cavalry, which had hastened up from Albuquerque, and much encouraged thereby they rapidly marched toward Taos. At Embudo the Mexicans made another stand, in a narrow canon, but were forced to abandon it, and retreated towards the north, finally concentrating at the pueblo of Taos, in the church of which, with walls from three to six feet thick, they fortified themselves, large numbers having deserted since the battle at Santa Cruz (often called the battle of La Canada) and returned to their homes.
Against this building the Americans, as soon as they arrived, directed their attack; but cannon-balls made little impression on the massive walls, in which they simply imbedded themselves, without doing any damage; so after two hours' bombardment they withdrew, towards evening, to the Mexican town of Fernandez de Taos, three miles distant. Early the next morning the attack was renewed, but was bravely met, and it was not until after a seven hours struggle, in which the cannon were finally brought up within sixty yards of the church, and one or two unsuccessful attempts were made to carry it by storm, that the stronghold was taken; and then with a loss of a number of soldiers and of the gallant Captain Burgwin, who was mortally wounded at the very wall. One hundred and fifty of the insurgents were killed, and the next day the entire pueblo surrendered.
This practically ended the revolt. General Montoya and fourteen others were tried for the murder of Governor Bent and the others killed on January 19th, and were convicted and executed. Others were sentenced to be hung for treason; but the President properly pardoned them on the ground that no Mexican could be - guilty of treason against the United States while war actually existed between the two countries. A few outbreaks occurred at isolated points soon afterward, but they seem to have been insti-

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gated rather for purposes of plunder than by any regular attempt to destroy the American authority, and later in the year the arrival in Santa Fe of large reinforcements made any future revolt futile. At the same time the people began to see that they had really more freedom and better protection from the Indians, under the American flag, than that of Mexico; and finding that the stories circulated about the new-comers generally proved to be untrue, they gradually became reconciled to the change in government.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded all New Mexico to the United States, at the same time constituting all of its people, except those who preferred formally to retain their Mexican citizenship, citizens of the United States, with the full rights and privileges belonging to that character; and thus the territory and its people became an integral part of the great American republic.

CHAPTER XX
U. S. Provisional Government, 1846-51
As soon as peace was established the people of the territory began to desire a settled civil government, and this feeling was strengthened by a letter from Hon. Thomas H. Benton, then senator from Missouri, addressed to the people of California and New Mexico, advising them, in the absence of action by Congress, to organize governments for themselves. Captain W. Z. Angney, who had borne a conspicuous part in the American occupation, endeavored to have the people act on this, and a number of meetings were held, until the excitement ran so high that Colonel Washington, the civil and military governor, thought it necessary to issue a proclamation on the subject.
Meanwhile, under the provisions of the Kearny Code, the first legislature of New Mexico had been elected, and had held its regular session, beginning on December 6, 1847. The Council consisted of seven members elected by districts, with Antonio Sandoval, of Bernalillo county, as president; and the House of twenty-one members with W. Z. Angney as speaker.
This legislature could do little but local business, as the treaty of peace with Mexico was not yet signed, but it has been rendered famous by the bold and excellent character of the message delivered to the joint session by Governor Donaciano Vigil, especially relative to public education.
This legislature passed an act providing for a convention to consider a permanent form of government for New Mexico, and the delegates for this purpose were elected in 1848 and met on October 10th of that year. This convention continued in session four days, with Father Antonio Jose Martinez as president, and J. M. Giddings, secretary. It adopted a memorial to Congress

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asking for a regular territorial government, and declared against the introduction of domestic slavery.
Early in 1849 a number of citizens requested Hugh N. Smith to go to Washington, as an unofficial representative of the territory, in order to obtain immediate legislation, his expenses being-paid by private subscription. This, however, created some jealousy, and the military governor called an election of delegates to a convention to frame a territorial form of government. This convention met on September 24, 1849, and organized by electing Antonio Jose (Padre) Martinez as president, and James II. Quinn, secretary. By a vote of 15 to 4 Mr. Smith was elected as delegate to Congress, but failed to have the election recognized or to obtain a seat.
Meanwhile, Texas, which claimed all the territory east of the Rio Grande, sent Spruce M. Baird, as judge, to organize that district into a county to be called Santa Fe. But he was received with such opposition that he did not attempt to carry his instructions into effect. Soon afterward, early in the spring of 1850, they sent a second commissioner, Robert S. Neighbors, to organize counties of the state of Texas and to hold elections in them of local officers. This created some excitement, but produced no practical result. Almost at the same time, however, it became an "open secret" that the President and his cabinet at Washington desired the people of California and New Mexico to organize state governments without delay, in order by their own action to settle the question of slavery within their borders, and thus allay the great national excitement on the subject and relieve the administration of responsibility.
A convention was consequently called, which met on May-15th, and adopted a state constitution, which, among other things, prohibited slavery. This was submitted to the people on the 20th of June, and adopted with substantial unanimity. At the same time state officers and a legislature were elected, Henry Connelly being chosen governor, and Manuel Alvarez, lieutenant-governor. The legislature met on July 1, 1850, and elected as United States senators Francis A. Cunningham and Richard H. Weightman. Had this taken place a few months before, perhaps it might have

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been ratified by Congress, and New Mexico have taken her place in the sisterhood of states; but, while Mr. Weightinan was on his way to Washington to claim his seat in the senate the famous compromise measures of 1850 were passed, one feature of which was the act organizing New Mexico as a territory. This was passed September 9th. It created the state of California, and it erected New Mexico into a territory, with boundaries including the areas now embraced in New Mexico, Arizona, and southern Colorado, and with a form of government similar to the other territories. The act also provided for setting at rest all claims of Texas on any part of the United States.
During the preceding period the territory bad been presided over by governors, who were appointed by the military authorities/ or who were themselves officers of the army; Charles Bent having been appointed by General Kearny, and Donaciano Vigil, who was appointed secretary by Kearny, succeeding Governor Bent on the assassination of the latter. In 1848, the chief authority was devolved upon the commandant of the military department, Colonel J. M. Washington, being the first of such military governors. During the next year he was succeeded by Colonel John Munroe.
But, under the Organic Act of September 9, 1850, the territory had regular civil officers appointed by the president. The first of these were James S. Calhoun, governor; Hugh N. Smith, secretary ; Elias P. West, United States attorney; and John G. Jones, marshal. The judiciary was composed of Grafton Baker, chief justice, and John S. Watts and Horace Mower, associate justices. Under these officers, a regular civil government was inaugurated on the 3d of March, 1851, and a legislative assembly was elected, which met in June, Padre Martinez, of Taos, being elected president of the Council, and Theodore Wheaton, a prominent lawyer, speaker of the House.
From that time, the form of government was continued without any material change; the principal additional officer being the surveyor-general, appointed under an act of 1855, which delegated to him large powers in determining questions relating to Spanish and Mexican land grants.