This book is included in the Outdoor Survival - Bio-Regional Environments section.
Preface
IN adding another to the list of works which have already
been published, appearing to bear more or less directly
upon the subject matter of these volumes, I am aware that
my labors make their appeal to the public under serious
disadvantages. Topics which have occupied the pens of
Irving and Murray and Hoffman, and more recently, of
Kendall, the graphic historiographer of the " Texan Santa
Fe Expedition," may fairly be supposed to have been so
entirely exhausted, that the entrance of a new writer in
the lists, whose name is wholly unknown to the republic
of letters, and whose pretensions are so humble as mine,
may be looked upon as an act of literary hardihood, for
which there was neither occasion nor excuse. In view of
this 'foregone conclusion,' I trust I may be pardoned for
prefacing my literary offering with a few words in its justification,
which will afford me an occasion to explain the
circumstances that first led to my acquaintance with life
upon the Prairies and in Northern Mexico.
For some months preceding the year 1831, my health
had been gradually declining under a complication of
chronic diseases, which defied every plan of treatment
that the sagacity and science of my medical friends could
devise. This morbid condition of my system, which originated
in the familiar miseries of dyspepsia and its kindred
infirmities, had finally reduced me to such a state, that, for
nearly a twelvemonth, I was not only disqualified for any
systematic industry, but so debilitated as rarely to be able
to extend my walks beyond the narrow precincts of my
chamber. In this hopeless condition, my physicians advised
me to take a trip across the Prairies, and, in the
change of air and habits which such an adventure would
involve, to seek that health which their science had failed
to bestow. I accepted their suggestion, and, without hesitation,
proceeded at once to make the necessary preparations
for joining one of those spring Caravans which were annually
starting from the United States, for Santa Fe.
The effects of this journey were in the first place to
re-establish my health, and, in the second, to beget a passion
for Prairie life which I never expect to survive. At
the conclusion of the season which followed my first trip, I
became interested as a proprietor in the Santa Fe Trade,
and continued to be so, to a greater or less extent, for the
eight succeeding years. During the whole of the above
periods I crossed the Prairies eight different times ; and,
with the exception of the time thus spent in travelling to
arid fro, the greater part of the nine years of which I speak,
were passed in Northern Mexico.
Having been actively engaged and largely interested in
the commerce of that country and across the Prairies,
for so long a period, I feel that I have at least had
opportunities for observation, upon the subjects of which I have
ventured to treat, superior to those enjoyed by any writers
who have preceded me. But not even an attempt has
before been made to present any full account of the origin
of the Santa Fe Trade and modes of conducting it
; nor of
the early history and present condition of the people of
New Mexico ; nor of the Indian tribes by which the wild
and unreclaimed regions of that department are inhabited.
1 think I may also assure my readers that most of the facts
presented in my sketch of the natural history of the Prairies,
and of the Indian tribes who inhabit them, are now
published for the first time. As I have not sought to make
a treatise upon these subjects, I have not felt compelled,
for the purpose of giving my papers symmetry and completeness,
to enter to any extent upon grounds which have
already been occupied by other travellers ; but have contented
myself with presenting such matters and observations
as I thought least likely to have come before under
the notice of my readers.
I am perfectly sensible, however, that, in the selection
of matter, and in the execution of my work, it is very
far from being what it should be, and what, in more capable
hands, it might have been. I only trust, that, with all its
imperfections, it may be found to contain some new and not
unimportant facts, which may be thought, in some measure,
to justify my appearance for once in the capacity of a bookmaker
; for which vocation, in all other respects, I am free
to confess myself very poorly qualified.
This work has been prepared chiefly from a journal
which I have been in the habit of keeping from my youth
upward, and in which I was careful to preserve memoranda
of my observations while engaged in the Santa Fe*
Trade, though without the remotest intention of ever appropriating
them to the present purpose. In addition, however,
I have embraced every opportunity of procuring authentic
information through others, upon such matters as
were beyond my own sphere of observation. From materials
thus collected I have received much assistance in the
preparation of the chapters from the sixth to the fifteenth
inclusive, of the first volume, which are chiefly devoted to
the early history of New Mexico, and the manners, customs
and institutions of its people. For favors thus conferred,
I beg in particular to make my acknowledgments
to ELISHA STANLEY, Esq., and Doctors SAMUEL B. HOBBS
and DAVID WALDO, whose names have been long and favorably
associated with the Santa Fe Trade.
Though myself cradled and educated upon the Indian
border, and familiar with the Indian character from my
infancy, I am yet greatly indebted, for information upon
that subject, to many intelligent Indian traders, and others
resident upon our border, with whose ample experience 1
have been frequently favored.
Yet, while I recognize my indebtedness to others, I feel
bound, in self-defence, to reclaim in a single case, at least,
the waifs of my own pen, which have been dignified with
a place in the pages of a cotemporary writer. During the
years 1841 and 1842, I contributed a number of letters
upon the history and condition of the Santa Fe Trade, etc.,
to the Galveston "
Daily Advertiser" and the " Arkansas
Intelligencer," under the signatures of " J. G." and U
G.," portions of which I have had occasion to insert in the
present volumes. In Captain Marryat's recent work, entitled
" Monsieur Violet," I was not a little annoyed
(when I presume I ought to have been flattered) to find
large portions of this correspondence copied, much of it
verbatim, without the slightest intimation or acknowledgment
whatever, of the source from whence they were procured.
The public are already so familiar with the long
series of literary larcenies of which that famous work was
the product, that I should not have presumed to emphasize
my own grievance at all here, but that the appearance
of the same material, frequently in the same words, in these
volumes, might, unless accompanied by some explanation,
expose me to a charge of plagiarism myself, among
those who may never have seen my original letters, or
who are not yet aware that " Monsieur Violet" was an
offering which had evidently been intended for the altar of
Mercury rather than of Minerva.
In my historical sketches of New Mexico, it might have
been naturally expected that some notice would be taken
of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition of 1841, the events of
which are so closely connected with the history of that
country. I declined, nowever, to enter upon the topic ;
for I considered that none who had seen Mr. Kendall's account
of that ill-fated enterprise, would have any inducement
to consult these pages upon the subject ; and for
those who had not, I felt sure the best thing I could do, was
to direct their attention at once to its attractive pages.
The maps which accompany the present work will be
found, I believe, substantially correct ; or more so, at least,
than any others, of those regions, which have been published.
They have been prepared, for the most part,
from personal observations. Those portions of the country
which I have not been able to observe myself, have chiefly
been laid down from manuscript maps kindly furnished
me by experienced and reliable traders and trappers, and
also from the maps prepared under the supervision of
United States surveyors.
The arrangement I have adopted seems to require a word
of explanation. That the reader may the better understand
the frequent notices, in the course of my personal narrative,
of the Santa Fe Trade, the first chapter has been devoted
to the development of its early history. And, though the
results of my observations in Northern Mexico and upon
the Prairies, as well as on the border, are sometimes interspersed
through the narrative, I have, to a great degree,
digested and arranged them into distinct chapters, occupying
from the sixth to the fifteenth inclusive, of the first
volume, and the seven last chapters, of the second. This
plan was resorted to with a view of giving greater compactness
to the work, and relieving the journal, as far as
possible, from cumbrous details and needless repetitions.
J.G.
New York, June 12, 1844.
CONTENTS of Volume 1 CHAPTER I. Origin and progressive Development of the Santa Fe Trade - Captain Pike's Narrative - Parsley - La Lande - Expedition of McKnight and others - Glenn - Becknell - Cooper - Sufferings of Captain Becknell and his Companions - First Introduction of wheeled Vehicles - Colonel Marmaduke - Hostility of the Indians - Recriminations - Indian Ethics - Increase of Outrages - Major Riley's Escort - Annoyed by the Indians - Government Protection - Composition of a Caravan CHAPTER II. Head duarters of the Santa Fe Trade - Independence and its Locale - A Prairie Trip an excellent Remedy for chronic Diseases - Supplies for the Journey - Wagons, Mules and Oxen - Art of Loading Wagons - Romancing Propensity of Travellers - The Departure - Storms and Wagon-covers - Quagmires - Tricks of marauding Indians - Council Grove - Fancy versus Reality - Electioneering on the Prairies - The Organization - Amateur Travellers and Loafers - Duties of the Watch - Costumes and Equipment of the Party - Timbers for the Journey CHAPTER III. The 'Catch up' - Breaking up of the Encampment - Perversity of Mules - Under Way - The Diamond Spring - Eccentricities of Oxen - First Glance of the Antelope - Buffalo Herds and Prairie Novices - A John Gilpin Race - Culinary Preparations - A Buffalo Feast - Appetite of Prairie Travellers - Troubles in Fording Streams - Fresh Alarms and their Causes - A Wolfish Frolic - Arkansas River - Pleasing Scenery - Character of the Country - Extraordinary Surgical Operation - The 'Pawnee Rock' - Salutary Effects of Alarms - New Order of March - Prairie Encampment and 'Upholstery' - Hoppling and Tethering of the 'Stock' - Crossing the Arkansas - Great Battle with Rattlesnakes - A Mustang Colt and a Mule Fracas - 'The Caches' - Their Origin, and Signification of the Term CHAPTER IV. A Desert Plain - Preparation for a 'Water-Scrape' - Accident to a French Doctor - Upsetting of a Wagon and its Consequences - A Party of Sioux Warriors - The first real Alarm - Confusion in the Camp - Friendly Demonstrations of the Indians - The Pipe of Peace - Squaws and Papooses - An Extemporary Village - Lose our Track - Search after the Lost River - Horrible Prospective - The Cimarron Found at last - A Night of Alarms - Indian Serenade and Thieving - Indian Diplomacy - Hailstones and Hurricanes - Position of the Captain of a Caravan - His Troubles, his Powers and Want of Powers - More Indians - Hostile Encounter - Results of the Skirmish - The 'Battle-Ground' - Col. Vizcarra and the Gros Ventres CHAPTER V. A Beautiful Ravine - 'Runners' - Starting for Santa Fe - Fourth of July on the Prairies - The Cibolero or Buffalo hunter - Mournful News of Captain Sublette's Company - Murder of Captain Smith and another of the Party by the Indians - Carelessness and Risks of Hunters - Captain Sublette's Peril - Character and Pursuits of the Ciboleros - The Art of Curing Meat - Purity of the Atmosphere - The 'Round Mound' - The Mirage or False Ponds - Philosophy thereof - Extensive and Interesting View - Exaggerated Accounts by Travellers of the Buffalo of the Prairies - Their Decrease - A 'Stampede' - Wagon Repairing - Rio Colorado or Canadian River - Meeting between old Friends - Mexican Escort - Disorganizing of the Caravan - Dreadful Thunder-storm - First Symptoms of Civilization - San Miguel - Arrival at Santa Fe - Entry of the Caravan - First Hours of Recreation - Interpreters and Custom-house Arrangements - A Glance at the Trade, etc. CHAPTER VI. Sketches of the Early History of Santa Fe -First Explorations - Why called New Mexico - Memorial of Ofiate - His Colony - Captain Leyva's prior Settlement - Singular Stipulations of Ofiate - Incentives presented by the Crown to Colonizers - Enormities of Spanish Conquerors - Progress of the new Colony - Cruel Labors of the Aborigines in the Mines - Revolt of the Indians in 1680 - Massacre of the Spaniards - Santa Fe Besieged - Battles - Remaining Spanish Population finally evacuate the Province - Paso del Norte - Inhuman Murder of a Spanish Priest - Final Recovery of the Country - Insurrection of 1837 - A Prophecy - Shocking Massacre of the Governor and other distinguished Characters - American Merchants, and Neglect of our Government - Governor Armijo: his Intrigues and Success - Second Gathering of Insurgents and their final Defeat CHAPTER VII. Geographical Position of New Mexico - Absence of navigable Streams - The Rio del Norte - Romantic Chasm - Story of a sunken River - Mr. Stanley's Excursion to a famous Lake - Santa Fe and its Localities - El Valle de Taos and its Fertility - Soil of New Mexico - The first Settler at Taos and his Contract with the Indians - Salubrity and Pleasantness of the Climate of New Mexico - Population - State of Agriculture - Staple Productions of the Country - Corn-fields and Fences - Irrigation and Acequias - Tortillas and Tortilleras - Atole, Frijoles and Chile - Singular Custom - Culinary and Table Affairs - Flax and Potato indigenous - Tobacco and Punche - Fruits - Peculiar Mode of cultivating the Grape - Forest Growths - Pinon and Mezquite - Mountain Cottonwood - Palmilla or Soap-plant - Pasturage CHAPTER VIII. The Mines of New Mexico - Supposed Concealment of them by the Indians - Indian Superstition and Cozenage - Ruins of La Gran Quivira - Old Mines - Placeres or Mines of Gold Dust - Speculative Theories - Mode of Working the Placeres - Manners and Customs of the Miners - Arbitrary Restrictions of the Mexican Government upon Foreigners - Persecution of a Gachupin - Disastrous Effect of official Interference upon the Mining Interest - Disregard of American Rights and of the U. States Government - Gambucinos and their System - Gold found throughout New Mexico - Silver Mines - Copper, Zinc and Lead - Salitias or Salt Lakes - Sulphurous Springs - Gypsum, and Petrified Trees CHAPTER IX. Indifference on the Subject of Horse-breeding - Caballos de Silla - Popularity and Usefulness of the Mule - Mode of harnessing and lading Mules for a Journey - Arrieros and their System - The Mulera or Bell-mare - Surprising Feats of the Muleteers and Vaqueros - The Lazo and its Uses - Ridiculous Usages of the Country in regard to the Ownership of Animals - Anecdote of a Mexican Colonel - The Burro or domestic Ass and its Virtues - Shepherds and their Habits - The Itinerant Herds of the Plains - Sagacity of the Shepherd's Dog - The Sheep Trade - Destruction of Cattle by the Indians - Philosophical Notions of the Marauders - Excellent Mutton - Goats and their Utility - Wild Animals and their Character - A 'Bear Scrape' - Wolves, Panthers, Wild Birds and Reptiles - The Honey-bee, etc. CHAPTER X. Condition of the Arts and Sciences in New Mexico - Neglect of Education - Primary Schools - Geographical Ignorance - Female Accomplishments - Imported Refinements - Peculiarities of Language, etc. - Condition of the Public Press - State of Medical Science - The Mechanical Arts - Carpentry and Cabinet Work - State of Architecture - Dwelling Houses and their Peculiarities - Rustic Furniture - Curiously constructed Vehicles - Manufacture of Blankets - Other Fabrics - Want of Machinery CHAPTER XI. Style of Dress in New Mexico - Riding-dress of the Caballero - Horse Trappings - The Rebozo - Passion for Jewelry - Apparel of the Female Peasantry - 'Wheeled Tarantulas' - General Appearance of the People - Tawny Complexion - Singular Mode of Painting the Human Face - Striking Traits of Character - Alms-giving - Beggars and their Tricks - Wonderful Cure of Paralysis - Lack of Arms and Officers - Traits of Boldness among the Yeomanry - Politeness and Suavity of the Mexicans - Remarks of Mr. Poinsett - Peculiarities observed in Epistolary Intercourse - Salutations La Siesta CHAPTER XII. Government of New Mexico - The Administration of Justice - Judicial Corruption - Prejudices against Americans - Partiality for the English - Anecdote of Governor Armijo and a Trapper - Outrage upon an American Physician - Violence suffered by the American Consul and others - Arbitrary Impositions upon Foreigners - Contribution de Guerra - The Alcaldes and their System - The Fueros - Mode of punishing Delinquents and Criminals - Mexican System of Slavery - Thieves and Thieveries - Outrage upon an American Merchant - Gambling and Gambling-houses - Gaine of Monte - Anecdote of a Lady of Fashion - Chuza - Cockpits - Correr el gallo - El Coleo - Fandangoes - Cigarritos CHAPTER XIII. Military Hierarchy of Mexico - Religious Superstitions - Legend of Neustra Senora de Guadalupe - A profane Version of the Story - A curious Plan for manufacturing Water - Saints and Images - Processions - How to make it Rain - The Sacred Host - Fanaticism and Murder - Honors paid to a Bishop - Servility to Priests - Attendance at Public Worship - New Mexicans in Church - The Vesper Bells - Passion Week and the Ceremonies pertaining thereto - Ridiculous Penitencia - Whitewashing of Criminals - Matrimonial Connexions and Mode of Contracting them - Restrictions upon Lovers - Onerous Fees paid for Marriages and Burials - Anecdote of a Ranchero - Ditto of a Servant and of a Widow, illustrative of Priestly Extortion - Modes of Burial, and Burial Ground of the Heretics CHAPTER XIV. The Pueblos - Their Character for Sobriety, Honesty, and Industry - Traditional descent from Montezuma - Their Languages - Former and present Population - The Pueblo of Pecos - Singular Habits of that ill-fated Tribe - Curious Tradition - Montezuma and the Sun - Legend of a Serpent - Religion and government - Secret Council - Laws and Customs - Excellent Provisions against Demoralization - Primitive Pastimes of the Pueblos - Their Architecture - Singular Structures of Taos, and other novel Fortifications - Primitive state of the Arts among the Pueblos - Style of Dress, Weapons, etc. - Their Diet - The Guayave. CHAPTER XV. The wild Tribes of New Mexico - Speculative Theories - Clavigero and the Azteques - Pueblo Bonito and other Ruins - Probable Relationship between the Azteques and Tribes of New Mexico - The several Nations of this Province - Navajoes and Azteques - Manufactures of the former - Their Agriculture, Religion, etc. - Mexican Cruelty to the Indians and its Consequences - Inroads of the Navajoes - Exploits of a Mexican Army - How to make a Hole in a powder-keg - The Apaches and their character - Their Food - Novel Mode of settling Disputes - Range of their marauding - Excursions - Indian Traffic and imbecile Treaties - Devastation of the Country - Chihuahua Rodomontades - Juan Jose, a celebrated Apache Chief, and his tragical End, etc. - Massacre of Americans in Retaliation - A tragical Episode: Proyecto de Guerra and a 'gallant' Display - The Yutas and their Hostilities - A personal Adventure with them, but no Bloodshed - The Jicarillas CHAPTER XVI. Incidents of a Return Trip from Santa Fe - Calibre of our Party - Return Caravans - Remittances - Death of Mr. Langham - Burial in the Desert - A sudden Attack - Confusion in the Camp - The Pawnees - A Wolfish Escort - Scarcity of Buffalo - Unprofitable Delusion - Arrival - Table of Camping Sites and Distances - Condition of the Town of Independence - The Mormons - Their Dishonesty and Immorality - Their high-handed Measures, and a Rising of the People - A fatal Skirmish - A chivalrous Parade of the Citizens - Expulsion of the Mormons - The Meteoric Shower, and Superstition, etc. - Wanderings and Improprieties of the 'Latter-day Saints' - Gov. Boggs' Recipe - The City of Nauvoo - Contemplated Retribution of the Mormons.
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