The Santa Fe Trail
Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike - Agriculture - Mining - Population - Navajos - Irrigation - Albuquerque - Santa Fe - Military Government - Colly - James Pursley - - Governor Allencaster - First Expedition into Santa Fe - Succeeding Expeditions - Development of Santa Fe Trade - Troubles With Indians - Arrival of Caravan AT Santa Fe - Tariffs - Stage Route Established - Pioneers - Jedediah Smith - The Patties - Bill Williams - Felix Aubrey - Pauline Weaver - Kit Carson - Adventures of the Patties - Black Canyon OF the Colorado - William Wolfskill - Felix Aubrey's Famous Ride - Bill Williams' Mountain - Bill Williams' Fork - Fremont - Carson's Connection With Fremont - Mexican War - General Kearny - Captain Gillespie - Lieutenant Beale - Battle of San Pascual - Carrying OF Dispatches by Carson and Fights With Indians - Death of Kit Carson - Santa Rita Copper Mines - Massacre of Apaches by Johnson - Retaliation by Apaches - Benj. D. Wilson.
The opening of the Santa Fe Trail from Independence, Missouri, to Sant Fe,
has such a bearing upon the subsequent explorations in Arizona, that I think
it proper to give a short description of what is know as the "Commerce of
the Prairies," over this trail, and the causes which led up to it.
The first attempt to explore the western boundaries of the United States
after the Louisiana Purchase, was made by Lieut, Zebulon M. Pike, of the
Sixth U. S. Infantry, who, in 1806, was sent with 22 men to explore the
country of the Arkansas and Red Rivers, and to establish a good
understanding with the Indian tribes, particularly the Comanches. Of this
trip, extending as far as Santa Fe, he published a full account in 1810. His
book gave to Americans the first information in detail concerning that
isolated region of which nothing had been heretofore know. He describes the
territory inhabited by the Mexicans in New Mexico as being 400 miles in
length, and 50 miles in breadth, along the Rio del Norte, and broken by a
desert of more than 250 miles. The fertility of the country, as he regarded
it, is of special interest to those who inhabit this section at the present
day. ''The cotton tree," he says, "is the only tree of this province, except
some scrubby pines and cedars at the foot of the mountains. The former
borders the banks of the Rio del Norte and its tributary streams. All the
rest of the country presents to the eye, a barren wild of poor land,
scarcely to be improved by culture, and appears to be only capable of
producing sufficient subsistence for those animals which live on succulent
plants and herbage."
In reference to mining, he says: ''There are no mines known in the province,
except one of copper, situated in a mountain on the west side of the Rio del
Norte in latitude 34 degrees. It is worked and produces 20,000 mule loads of
copper annually. It also furnishes that article for the manufactories of
nearly all of the internal province. It contains gold, but not quite enough
to pay for its extraction; consequently it has not been pursued."
The population of New Mexico at that time, he estimated at 30,000 souls. Of
its commerce, he says: "The province sends out about 30,000 sheep annually,
tobacco, dressed deer and cabrie (goat) skins, some fur, buffalo robes,
salt, and wrought copper vessels of a superior quality. The journey with
loaded mules from Santa Fe to Mexico and returning to Santa Fe takes five
months."
"They manufacture rough leather, segars, a vast variety and quantity of
potters' ware, cotton, some coarse woolen cloths, and blankets of a superior
quality. All those manufactures are carried on by the civilized Indians, as
the Spaniards think it more honorable to be agriculturists than mechanics.
The Indians likewise far exceed their conquerors in their genius for an
execution of all mechanical operations. New Mexico has the exclusive right
of cultivating tobacco."
It is probably from these Indians that the Navajos learned the art of
manufacturing the Navajo blanket.
Lieut. Pike devoted considerable space to the irrigation process in the Rio Grande Valley, and says:
"They cultivate corn, wheat, rye, barley, rice, tobacco, vines and all the common culinary plants cultivated in the same latitude in the United States. They are, however, a century behind us in the art of cultivation; for. Not with standing their numerous herds of cattle and horses, I have seen them frequently breaking up whole fields with the hoe. Their oxen draw by the horns after the French mode. Their carts are extremely awkward and clumsily made. During the whole of the time we were in New Mexico, I never saw a horse in a vehicle of any description, mules being made use of in carriages as well as for the purposes of labor. "It can truly be said that in many parts of Mexico they have not improved on these methods of agriculture up to the present time.
Concerning the method of irrigation, he says:
"Both above and below Albuquerque, the citizens were beginning to open the canals to let in the water of the river to fertilize the plains and fields which border its banks on both sides; where we saw men, women and children of all ages and sexes at the joyful labor which was to crown with rich abundance their future harvest and insure them plenty for the ensuing year. The cultivation of the fields was now commencing and everything appeared to give life and gaiety to the surrounding scenery."
About the irrigation at El Paso, he says:
"About two miles above the town of the Paso del Norte, is a bridge over the river, where the road passes to the west side, at which place is a large canal, which takes out an ample supply of water for the purpose of cultivation, which is here carried on in as great perfection as at any place that I visited in' the province. There is a wall bordering the canal the whole way on both sides; to protect it from the animals, and when it arrives at the village, it is distributed in such a manner that each person has his fields watered in rotation. At this place were as finely cultivated fields of wheat and other small grain as I ever saw; also many vineyards, from which was introduced the finest wine ever drunk in the country, which was celebrated throughout all the province and was the only wine used on the table of the commanding general."
He thus described Santa Fe: ''Situated on the banks of a small creek, which runs west to the Rio del Norte. The length of the capital on the creek may be estimated at one mile; it is but three streets in width. Its appearance from a distance struck my mind with the same effect as a fleet of the flat bottomed boats which are seen in the spring and fall seasons descending the Ohio River. There are two churches, the magnificence of whose steeples forms a striking contrast to the miserable appearance of the houses. On the north side of the town is the square of soldiers' houses. The public square is in the center of the town; on the north side of which is situated the palace (as they term it) or government house, with the quarters for guards, etc. The other side of the square is occupied by the clergy and public officers. In general the houses have a shed before the front, some of which have a flooring of brick; the consequence is that the streets are very narrow, say in general 25 feet.
The supposed population is 4,500 souls. The houses are generally only one
story high, flat roofs, and have a very mean appearance on the outside, but
some of them are richly furnished, especially with plate."
"The second cities in the province are Albuquerque and Paso del Norte. The
latter is the most southern city of the province, as Tons is the most
northern. Between the village of Sibillette and the Paso there is a
wilderness of nearly 200 miles."
The government, as described by Lieut. Pike, was:
''military in the pure essence of the word, for, although they have their alcaldes, or inferior officers, their judgments are subject to a reversion by the military commandantes of districts. The whole male population is subject to military duty, without pay or emolument, and are obliged to find their own horses, arms and provisions. The only thing furnished by the government is ammunition. There is but one troop of dragoons in all New Mexico of the regular force, which is stationed at Santa Fe, and is 100 strong. Of this troop, the governor is always the captain; but they are commanded by a first lieutenant, who is captain by brevet. The men capable of bearing arms in this province may be estimated at 5,000; of these probably 1,000 are completely armed, 1,000 badly, and the rest not at all."
Of the New Mexicans in general, Lieut. Pike says, "that owing to the fact of
their being on the frontier and cut off from the more inhabited parts of the
kingdom, together with their continual wars with some of the savage nations
that surround them, they are the bravest and most hardy subjects in New
Spain; being generally armed, they know the use of them. Their want of gold
and silver renders them laborious, in order that the productions of their
labor may be the means of establishing the equilibrium between them and the
other provinces where those metals abound. Their isolation and remote
situation also cause them to exhibit in a superior degree, the heaven like
qualities of hospitality and kindness."
Lieut. Pike found only two Americans from the States living in New Mexico.
At Santa Fe, he found a man named Colly, who was an interpreter for the
Governor, and had been a member of the ill fated Nolan expedition into
Texas. At Santa Fe, also, he discovered one James Pursley and accords him
the honor of being "the first American who ever penetrated the immense wilds
of Louisiana and showed the Spaniards of New Mexico that neither the savages
who surround the deserts which divide them from the habitable world, nor the
jealous tyrannies of their rulers, was sufficient to prevent the
enterprising spirit of the Americans penetrating the arcanum of their rich
establishment in the new world." Pursley was from near Bairdstown, Kentucky,
which he left in 1799. In 1805, he, and his two companions, and two Indians
were selected as emissaries of a large band of Indian hunters and traders to
go to Santa Fe and inquire if the Spaniards would receive them friendly and
enter into trade with them. "This being acceded to by the governor
(Allencaster) the Indian deputies returned for their bands; but Pursley
thought it proper to remain with a civilized people. He arrived at Santa Fe
in June, 1805, and had been following his trade, a carpenter, ever since, at
which he made a great deal of money, except when working for the officers,
who paid him little or nothing. He was a man of strong natural sense and
dauntless intrepidity. He was once near being hanged for making a few pounds
of gunpowder, which he innocently did, as he had been accustomed to do in
Kentucky, but which is a capital crime in these provinces. He was forbidden
to write, but was assured he should have a passport whenever he demanded it,
but was obliged to give security that he would not leave the country without
permission of the government."
Lieut. Pike and the publication of his book gave to Americans the first
detailed description of the great wilderness lying to the west of them, and
the advantages of establishing a trade with these distant provinces. From
his description of the New Mexican country, the attention of traders,
merchants and speculators was immediately attracted thereto. The first
expedition into Santa Fe was organized in 1812 by McKnight, Beard, Chambers
and eight or nine others, who fitted out a trading expedition and reached
Santa Fe over practically the same route described by Pike. They reached
their destination during the closing days of the revolutionary movement
which had been put down by the Royalists. They were seized as spies, their
goods confiscated and they were sent as prisoners to Chihuahua, where they
were confined for nine years. In 1821, two of the party returned to the
United States, and the reports they made of the country prompted others to
embark upon the same enterprise.
From this time may be dated the opening of what afterwards became known as
the Santa Fe trail.
About the year 1821, Capt. Becknell, with four companies, started from
Franklin, Missouri, fitted out with merchandise to trade with the Comanches.
He met a party of Mexican rangers who persuaded him to take his wares to
Santa Fe, where they were readily disposed of at an enormous profit.
Becknell returned east in the following winter, leaving his companions in
Santa Fe, but his accounts stimulated others to similar undertakings.
Col. Cooper, his sons, and a score of his neighbors, all Missourians,
started in May, 1822, with five thousand dollars' worth of merchandise,
which they transported on pack mules to Taos. Capt. Becknell accompanied by
about thirty men, in the month of June following, set out upon his second
westward trip. To avoid the circuitous route he had followed on the first
trip, he left the Arkansas River at "the caches," striking directly for
Santa Fe across the unknown desert. Unable to find water, they killed their
dogs, and cut off the ears of their mules, quenching their thirst by
drinking the hot blood of these animals. On the desert they separated in the
hope that some of the party might find water.
Little suspecting that they were almost on the banks of the Cimarron, they
determined to attempt to retrace their steps to the Arkansas ''when they saw
a buffalo, his stomach distended with water. The animal was immediately
killed, and they quenched their thirst by drinking the filthy water they
found in his stomach. Strengthened by this draught, some of the party
managed to reach the river, where they filled all the canteens. By degrees
the greater sufferers in the party were relieved of their distress, just
when death seemed imminent, and the journey was resumed."
The Santa Fe trade may be said to date from 1822. Two years thereafter,
merchandise was transported upon the backs of mules and horses. In the same
year, 1824, a company of about eighty missionaries set out with a trainload
of wares, including both pack mules and wagons, the latter being the first
wheeled vehicles to cross the plains. Colonel Marmaduke, afterwards Governor
of Missouri, was a member of this party, which carried about thirty thousand
dollars' worth of merchandise to Santa Fe.
Troubles with the Indians began at an early date, and a demand was made for
Government protection, which was met, and in the spring of 1829, Major Riley
accompanied an expedition as far as Choteau's Island in the Arkansas. This
escort, and one commanded by Captain Wharton in 1834, constituted the only
military protection granted the Santa Fe trade until 1843, when Captain Cook
commanded large escorts for two caravans as far as the Arkansas River.
The town of Independence, Missouri, was the center of this trade in 1831,
from which point to New Mexico, there was not a human abode on the trail or
near it. The "Commerce of the Prairies," by Gregg, thus describes the
entrance of a caravan into the city of Santa Fe;
"The arrival produced a great deal of bustle and excitement among the
natives:
Los Americanos!' 'Los Carros!' 'La Entrada de la caravana!' were
to be heard in every direction and crowds of women and boys flocked around
to see the new comers; while crowds of leperos hung about as usual to see
what they could pilfer. The wagoners were by no means free from excitement
at this occasion. Informed of the ordeal they had to pass, they had spent
the previous morning in 'rubbing up,' and now they were prepared with clean
faces, sleek combed hair, and their choicest Sunday suit, to meet the fair
eyes of glistening black that were sure to stare at them as they passed.
There was yet another preparation to be made in order to 'show off' to
advantage. Each wagoner 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 of the customhouse; 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 fandangoes, which are regularly kept up after the arrival of a
caravan. But the merchants generally were active and anxiously engaged in
their affairs - striving who should first get his goods out of the
customhouse and obtain a chance at the 'hard chink' of the numerous country
dealers, who annually resort to the capital on these occasions.
"The derechos de arancel (tariff imposts) of Mexico are extremely
oppressive, averaging about a hundred per cent upon the United States' cost
of an ordinary 'Santa Fe assortment.' Those on cotton textures are
particularly so. According to the arancel of 1837 (and it was still heavier
before), all plain woven cottons, whether white or printed pay twelve and
one 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 Fe established a tariff of his
own, entirely arbitrary - extracting five hundred dollars for each
wagonload, 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 or
coarse, heavy goods. As might have been anticipated, the traders soon took
to conveying 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'.
"The arrival of a caravan at Santa Fe changes the aspect of the place at
once. Instead of the idleness and stagnation which its street exhibited
before, one now sees everywhere the bustle, noise and activity of a lively
market town. Taking the circuit of the stores, I found that they usually
contained general assortments, much like those to be met with in the retail
variety stores of the west. The stocks of the inexperienced merchants are
apt to abound in unsalable goods - mulas, as the Mexicans figuratively term
them."
In his ''Commerce of the Prairies," from which the most of the above has been drawn. Dr. Gregg estimates the amount of merchandise invested in the Santa Fe trade from 1822 to 1843, inclusive, as follows:
1822 $ 15,000-- 1833 $180,000
1823 12,000---- 1834 150,000
1824 35,000---- 1835 140.000
1825 65,000---- 1836 130,000
1826 90,000---- 1837 150,000
1827 85,000---- 1838 90,000
1828 150,000-- 1839 250,000
1829 60,000---- 1840 50,000
1830 120,000--- 1841 150,000
1831 250,000--- 1842 160,000
1832 140,000--- 1843 450,000
In 1846 or 1847, passenger stages were placed in operation between Santa Fe
and Independence, Missouri, each month. A stage would start from Santa Fe
and Independence at the same time. Passenger traffic increased and trips
were then made semimonthly, then weekly, and, finally, three times a week.
The stages were drawn by six animals. As the demand for quicker trips
increased, the animals were changed more frequently, about every twenty
miles while crossing the mountain range. The trip, barring accidents, was
made in about two weeks. The fare was $250 for each passenger who was
permitted to carry forty pounds of baggage free. For every extra pound,
fifty cents was charged. Passengers were boarded en route. The fare was
rough; being chiefly hardtack and pork, and such wild game as could be
killed on the road. The stages ran day and night without interruption. The
only sleep possible was what might be obtained while seated in the rolling
vehicle. Later, stage stations were established at various points along the
route at which rough accommodations were provided. During periods when the
Indians were on the warpath, both the freight trains and passenger coaches
were accompanied by escorts of military over the portion of the trail where
the greatest menace existed. The Indians preferred to make their attacks
during the daylight, and for this reason the stage drivers aimed to cover
the most dangerous part of the road at night.
The opening of the Santa Fe trail made Santa Fe the mart for the exchange of
all the products of New Mexico, Northern Chihuahua, Sonora and what is now
Arizona, and also part of California, for immediately thereafter this
section of the country was scoured by adventurous men, trappers, who
explored every foot of the hitherto unknown country lying to the west.
Trails were made on to Arizona and into California by such men as Jedediah
Smith, the Patties, Bill Williams, Felix Aubrey, Pauline Weaver, Kit Carson
and others. The first and only published record we have is that of the
Patties, who obtained permission from the New Mexican Governor to trap along
the Gila River, and organized a small party for that purpose. Leaving Santa
Fe on November 22nd, 1824, they passed down the Rio del Norte to Socorro,
and then struck across the country to the Gila, visiting en route, the
famous copper mines of Santa Rita. This trip extended through nearly five
months, and these hunters, as far as is known, were the first Americans to
visit the upper Gila Valley. Many of the natives never having seen a white
man, fled at the approach of the party, but others more bold, viciously
attacked them with their arrows. They returned to Santa Fe, where, securing
supplies, the party set out to bring in their buried furs from the Gila,
only to find that the Indians had rifled their cache, and all their
hardships and suffering were without recompense. Returning to the mines,
they repelled an attack thereon by the hostile Apaches, which ended in a
treaty that insured the peaceful workings of the deposits.
Sylvester Pattie, the father of James, being acquainted with the American
method of reducing these ores, succeeded in obtaining a lease upon the
mines, which proved very profitable. The younger Pattie, finding life at
Santa Rita too monotonous, and despite the remonstrances of his father, on
January 26th, 1826, set out with a few companions for the Gila Valley, where
he had already suffered and lost so much. During the following eight months,
the range of the trappers' journey was wide. Passing down the Gila to its
junction with the Colorado, young Pattie ascended the banks of the latter
stream, seeing in its now world famed canyons only walls of highly colored
rock which debarred them from the water's edge. They crossed the continental
divide at South Pass, and emerged upon the plains, where once more they
hunted the buffalo in the "cow country."
The adventurers then turned north and pursued an ill defined course, coming
back upon the upper Arkansas, and crossing to Santa Fe, where Pattie was
again deprived of the harvest of furs gathered with such wearisome labor,
the Spanish governor claiming that the young man's former license did not
extend to this expedition. Thereupon young Pattie joined his father at Santa
Rita.
The winter and spring were spent in occasional hunting expeditions and
visits to the Spanish settlements. In the spring, a new turn was given to
the fortunes of the Patties by the embezzlement and flight of a Spanish
subordinate, through whom they lost the savings of several years. They
abandoned mining operations and the father and son sought to rehabilitate
themselves by another trapping expedition, and set forth with a company of
thirty, again in the direction of the Gila. Engagements with hostile Indians
were of frequent occurrences. Early in November, 1828, many of their party
having deserted, and all of their horses having been stolen by the Yumas,
the remainder built canoes and embarked upon the Colorado River. The only
way of communicating with the Indians was through the sign language, and our
adventurers understood the Indians to say that Spanish settlements existed
at the mouth of the Colorado. In expectation of finding succor there, they
continued down that waterway to its mouth, but found nothing but deserted
shores and tidal waves, which alarmed and disturbed these freshwater
voyagers. Finding it impossible to ascend the swift current, they buried
their stores and furs, and struck across the rugged peninsula of Lower
California, to the Spanish settlements on the Pacific Coast. The story of
their sufferings in the salt lakes and deserts of this barren land is told
in vigorous language by the younger Pattie. Arriving at a Dominican mission
on the western slope of the mountains, the travellers were received with
suspicion, placed under surveillance and forwarded to San Diego, then the
residence of the governor of the Spanish settlements of California. Their
residence in California under the Mexican regime makes a very interesting
story. According to Pattie 's account, he and his companions were treated
with severity, being imprisoned at San Diego for lack of passports, and
there detained for many months. The elder Pattie died in his cell without
being permitted to see the son, for whose presence he piteously pleaded in
his last hours. Young Pattie, in recognition of his services as an
interpreter and that he might vaccinate the natives at the missions, among
whom a smallpox epidemic was prevailing, was released. He gives a graphic
picture of the pastoral life of the neophytes and rancheros at each mission
and presidio along the coast where he traveled upon his northern journey. He
arrived at San Francisco and pushed on to the Russian fort at Bodega Bay,
returning to Monterey in time to participate in the Solis revolt of 1829. He
declined Mexican citizenship and, upon the advice of his new found friends,
he was induced to make a formal statement of his injuries and the losses
which he had sustained by the refusal to permit the securing of his furs.
Pattie embarked for Mexico in May, 1830, with the revolutionists who were
being sent to the capital for trial. The companions of this long and
adventurous journey he left settled among the Mexicans, most of them making
California their permanent home.
In the city of Mexico, Pattie applied to the American diplomatic
representative, also to the President of the Republic, but failed to obtain
redress for his losses and injuries. He made his way to Vera Cruz, and there
obtained passage to New Orleans where, through the kindly help of
compatriots who loaned him money to pay for his boat passage, he ascended
the Mississippi to Cincinnati and his early Kentucky home. Here the
narrative closes. The only clue we have in reference to his after life is
one given by Bancroft, who thinks he was again in San Diego after the
American advent. (Bancroft, Hist, of California, iii, p. 171, note 44.)
Dellenbaugh says that the younger Pattie, in his trapping expedition of
1828, down the Gila River to its junction with the Colorado, up the Colorado
to the Grand Canyon, was the first white man who ever discovered the Black
Canyon of the Colorado. Continuing, he says: "they made the first extended
trip along the Grand Canyon and the other canyons of the Colorado, but
whether they passed up by the north or the south, I am unable to determine.
My impression is that they passed by the north, as they would otherwise have
met with the Havasupai in their canyon, with the little Colorado, and with
the Moki."
Captain Jedediah S. Smith was the first white man to enter Arizona from the
north. In August, 1826, he started from Salt Lake, passed south by Utah
Lake, and keeping down the west side of the Wasatch and the High Plateaus,
reached the Virgin River in Arizona, near the southwestern corner of Utah.
This he called, in honor of the President of the United States, "Adams
River." Following it southwest through the Pal Ute country, in twelve days
he came to its junction with the Colorado. He entered the country of the
Mohaves, who gave him a friendly reception, and he and his companions
remained with them for some time, recuperating their stock. Leaving the
Mohaves, he crossed the desert to the California coast, where he had
troubles with the authorities, which, however, did not prevent him from
returning again, after a visit to his northern rendezvous. While crossing
the Colorado, the Mohaves who, it is said, had been instigated by the
Spaniards to harass the Americans, attacked his expedition, killing ten men
and capturing everything. Smith escaped and was afterwards killed on the
Cimarron by the Comanches.
In 1830, William Wolfskill and a party of trappers, opened a route to
California, going north from Santa Fe, crossing the headwaters of the San
Juan, then crossing Grand and Green Rivers, the latter in what is now known
as Gunnison Valley, thence across the western base of the Wasatch Range, and
south through Mountain Meadows and across the Beaver Dam Mountains. Thence
they followed down the Virgin River almost to the Colorado, where they
struck across the desert to Los Angeles. For many years afterwards, this
route was used and known as the "Old Spanish Trail." Wolfskill afterwards
settled in Los Angeles, and planted a vineyard, which became famous. Bell
says: ''he was a hero. A man of indomitable will, industry and self denial;
an American pioneer hero; one who succeeds in all he undertakes, and is
always to be trusted. Lie died in 1866, leaving a very large fortune."
To follow the exploits of these trappers, who were the early explorers of
the Great West, would require volumes. I have only room here to note those
who afterwards identified themselves ith Arizona history. The records of
many are incomplete. Pauline Weaver, as will be afterwards shown in the
progress of this history, identified himself with the prosperity of Arizona;
Felix Aubrey gave his name to localities in the State, probably in the early
30's. Of him we know little beyond the fact that he became identified with
the Santa Fe trail first in 1824; that after the discovery of gold in
California, he made several trips into that State through the northern
route, and first gave to the world the knowledge that a railroad could be
built over that country, as afterwards it was constructed, along the line of
the present Santa Fe railroad. In 1846 he made a famous ride from Santa Fe
to Independence, Missouri, an account of which is given by Major Henry
Romeyn, U. S. A., as follows:
''Felix Aubrey was a Canadian by birth, of French extraction, and prior to
the Mexican war had been in New Mexico as trapper and hunter with Beaubien,
Maxwell and others, and was well acquainted with the plains, as well as
along the mountains, from Winnipeg to Santa Fe; and even south of that
place. When Tobin's ride from Santa Fe to Fort Leavenworth, in August, 1846,
had made him known all over the territory, Aubrey asserted that the time he
had required could be reduced one third, and when doubts were expressed,
offered to back his opinion with his money. He soon found men who were
willing to accept his wager, and arrangements were at once made for the
attempt.
"No limits were fixed as to the number of mounts he might use - he was to
get there, and at his own limit of time; he must do so in seven days and
eight hours. Trains which had taken supplies for the army to the territory
were returning eastward, and Aubrey, selecting half a dozen good horses,
sent one by each train, to be led with it till he overtook it; the first one
leaving about two weeks before he started. For tbe first stage he rode a
beautiful blooded mare, which he kept as a racer, and, owing to the fact
that the empty train had travelled more rapidly than he had anticipated, he
did not get his first relay till he had passed Wagon Mound, about a hundred
and fifty miles from Santa Fe. He halted only long enough to change his
saddle to his fresh mount and procure some food, which he ate as he rode,
and he dared not halt for sleep on account of danger of too lengthy a delay,
and of being discovered by Indians, and only found another mount, food, and
a few hours for rest at the camp of the next train, at a ford of the
Arkansas, since named for him, and near where the west line of Kansas now
crosses that stream.
"There were plenty of Indians along the route, not only on the Arkansas, but
in the valley of the Kaw, after he had crossed the divide, between it and
the big bend of the Arkansas, and they wouldn't hesitate to lift the hair of
any lone white man, if opportunity offered, especially if he rode a good
horse. As he was to make the entire journey on horseback, he could sleep
with safety only when he found a train in camp, and he made only three halts
for that purpose, and in five days and fourteen hours from the time he left
Santa Fe, he rode into Independence, Missouri, about two miles east of where
Kansas City now stands, that place being the starting point at that time for
civilian trains for Santa Fe. He had ridden about 830 miles, had used seven
horses, and if he had taken no time for sleep and meals, would have ridden
about six miles an hour during the entire time. It was a wonderful test of
endurance for both man and beast. There were wagers on the actual time,
enough to give him something of a bonus above the main stake, of five
thousand dollars."
Bill Williams was another of the trail makers, and for him Bill Williams'
Mountain and Bill Williams' Fork are named, and bear his name to this day.
He was an old trapper, and knew every crook and turn of every river and
every mountain range west of the Missouri River. He was the pilot for
Fremont in 1848, when Fremont, against the advice of Williams, his guide,
attempted to cross, with his pack animals, a range of mountains covered with
snow, and lost a large portion of his command. The only account that I have
been able to find of Bill Williams is contained in Ruxton's "Life in the Far
West," which borders on the romantic, and is as follows:
"The leader of the party was Bill Williams, that old 'hard case' who had
spent forty years and more in the mountains, until he had become as tough as
the parfleche soles of his moccasins. Williams always rode ahead, his body
bent over his saddle horn, across which rested a long, heavy rifle, his keen
gray eyes peering from under the sloughed brim of a flexible felt hat, black
and shining with grease. His buckskin hunting shirt, bedaubed until it had
the appearance of polished leather, hung in folds over his bony carcass; his
nether extremities being clothed in pantaloons of the same material (with
scattered fringes down the outside of the leg which ornaments, however, had
been pretty well thinned to supply 'whangs' for mending moccasins or pack
saddles), which, shrunk with wet, clung tightly to his long, spare, sinewy
legs. His feet were thrust into a pair of Mexican stirrups made of wood, and
as big as coal scuttles; and iron spurs of incredible proportions, with
tinkling drops attached to the rowels, were fastened to his heels - a bead
worked strap, four inches broad, securing them over the instep. In the
shoulder belt which sustained his powder horn and bullet pouch, were
fastened the various instruments of one pursuing his mode of life. An awl,
with deer horn handle, and the point defended by a case of cherry wood,
carved by his own hand, hung at the back of the belt, side by side with a
worm for cleaning the rifle; and under this was a squat and quaint looking
bullet mould, the handles guarded by strips of buckskin to save bis fingers
from burning when running balls, having for its companion a little bottle
made from the point of an antelope's horn scraped transparent, which
contained the 'medicine' used in baiting the traps. The old coon's face was
sharp and thin, a long nose and chin hobnobbing with each other; and his
head was always bent forward, giving him the appearance of being humpbacked.
He appeared to look neither to the right nor left, but, in fact, his little
twinkling eye was everywhere. He looked at no one he was addressing, always
seeming to be thinking of something else than the subject of his discourse,
speaking in a whining, thin, cracked voice, and in a tone that left the
hearer in doubt whether he was laughing or crying. On the present occasion,
he had joined this band, and naturally assumed the leadership (for Bill ever
refused to go in harness), in opposition to his usual practice, which was to
hunt alone. His character was well known. Acquainted with every inch of the
Far West, and with all the Indian tribes who inhabited it, he never failed
to outwit his red enemies, and generally made his appearance at the
rendezvous from his solitary expeditions, with galore of beaver, when
numerous bands of trappers dropped in on foot, having been despoiled of
their packs and animals by the very Indians through the midst of whom old
Williams had contrived to pass unseen and unmolested. On occasions when he
had been in company with others, and attacked by Indians, Bill invariably
fought manfully, and with all the coolness that perfect indifference to
death or danger could give, but always 'on his own hook.' His rifle cracked
away merrily, and never spoke in vain, and in a charge - if ever it came to
that - his keen-edged butcher knife tickled the fleece of many a Blackfoot.
But, at the same time, if he saw that discretion was the better part of
valor, and affairs wore so cloudy an aspect as to render retreat advisable,
he would first express his opinion in curt terms, and decisively, and,
charging up his rifle, would take himself off and 'cache' so effectually,
that to search for him was utterly useless. Thus, when with a large party of
trappers, when anything occurred which gave him a hint that trouble was
coming, or more Indians were about than he considered good for his animals,
Bill was wont to exclaim:
''Do'ee hyar now, boys, thar's sign about! This boss feels like caching,'
and, without more words, and stoically deaf to all remonstrances, he would
forthwith proceed to pack his animals, talking the while to an old crop-eared,
rawboned Nez Perce pony, his own particular saddle horse, who in dogged
temper and iron hardiness was worthy companion of his self willed master."
Another account is that he was a Methodist preacher in Missouri in his early
life, after which he became a trapper and explorer. He was said to be rather
misanthropic in his manner, and did most of his trapping and exploring
alone. He was the indefatigable foe of the Indians.
The ''Prescott Miner" of August 13th, 1870, says: ''Bill Williams, for whom
Bill Williams' Fork and Bill Williams' Mountain were called, was killed by
Utes while trying to relieve the Fremont expedition which was searching for
Cochetope Pass, which both Senator Benton and Colonel Fremont thought was
the best pass for a railroad. Williams was 60 years old when killed. Dr.
Kent was with Williams and both were shot by Utes while quietly smoking in
camp, by a party of twelve bucks who entered the camp, professing
friendship. The Mexicans in camp were unarmed. This statement is from Dr. H.
R. Wirtz, Medical Director for Arizona, 1870."
Kit Carson, the greatest of the trail makers, was born in Madison County,
Kentucky, on the 24th day of December, 1809. His parents settled in Howard
County, Missouri, when he was an infant. When about sixteen years old he was
apprenticed to a harness maker, but, attracted by the wild stories of the
great West, he ran away from home and, in 1826, joined an expedition to
Santa Fe. At that time there had been little change in the western country
from the time of the explorations of Lewis and Clark and of Zebulon M. Pike,
except that the capital of Mexico had been transferred from Madrid to the
City of Mexico. All that territory comprised in the States of California,
New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, a large portion of Wyoming and Colorado, belonged
to Mexico. Oregon, Washington, Montana, and the major part of Wyoming and
Idaho were claimed by Great Britain, and remained in dispute until 1846.
Carson, for the next five years, was on the plains continually. He made one
expedition from Sante Fe to El Paso and from thence to Chihuahua and several
trips across the continent into California and Oregon. He became familiar
with other portions of this comparatively unknown country. He explored the
headquarters of the Columbia River, the Missouri River, the Arkansas River,
and almost every foot of what is now the States of New Mexico and Arizona.
Although from 1832 to the time of his death he made his home in New Mexico,
yet his name and fame and exploits are as much a part of Arizona and other
of the great Western States as of New Mexico itself. He was the soul
incarnate of that spirit of enterprise which carried the American flag
across the Alleghanies to the Mississippi, and thence across the great
plains and mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The hero of a hundred fights, he
never received but one wound; his life seemed to be protected by some unseen
power. He touched the spirit that animated the West at every angle. He was
the companion and associate of Ewing Young, Fitzgerald, the Sublettes, Jim
Bridger, Bill Williams, and others who have left their mark upon the history
of that period. He acquired a knowledge of Spanish, and of the French patois
as spoken by the Canadian trappers, besides a knowledge of eight or nine
Indian dialects. He was known alike to the Blackfeet, the Cheyennes, the
Sioux, the Utes, the Apaches and all the warlike tribes who inhabited this
vast region. He knew all their signals, and could follow their trails as
nobody but themselves could. Up to 1834 he trapped through New Mexico,
Arizona, California, Oregon, and along all the streams everywhere where
beaver abounded. He married first an Indian woman, who died in giving birth
to a child, and afterwards, in 1843, married in New Mexico, a Mexican woman
of respectable family. He abandoned trapping about the year 1834, and for
eight years thereafter was employed as a hunter, supplying Fort Bent with
its forty men with game.
When returning from his first visit to Missouri, he met Fremont upon a boat
on the way up the Mississippi with his first exploring party, and entered
the Government service under Fremont as official guide of the expedition. Of
this incident Fremont says: "On the boat I met Kit Carson. He was returning
from putting his little daughter in a convent school in St. Louis. I was
pleased with him and his manner of address at this first meeting. He was a
man of medium height, broad shouldered and deep chested, with a clear,
steady blue eye and frank speech and manner - quiet and unassuming."
Carson, at this time, was less than thirty-three years old, and had already
made a national reputation. Imagination would paint him as an athlete, six
feet high, with long whiskers and long hair, loud spoken and boastful, such
being the usual physical development and characteristics of the trapper.
Instead of this, he was a man of five feet six inches tall, under medium'
size, with little or no beard, a low spoken voice as soft as a woman's,
never boastful nor indulging in rough speech. One of his biographers, who
knew him well, said that in all the years of his intercourse with Carson, he
never knew him to tell an obscene story. Pure in mind as well as in morals,
he had become a national character.
From this date until after the close of the Mexican war, Carson was closely
identified with Fremont in all his explorations, and to him and not to the
general belongs really the reputation of being the "Pathfinder," for it is
of record that Fremont found no paths and no trails in the great Rocky
Mountain region, except those which were shown him by Basil Lajeunesse and
Carson.
Throughout his life Carson never engaged himself permanently to any one man,
or with any single enterprise. While trapping he would break away from large
parties and with two or three companions go upon independent expeditions. On
July 14th, 1843, he joined Fremont's second expedition near the headwaters
of the Arkansas River, and accompanied him' throughout his second trip into
Oregon and the Northern California country, returning by way of Sutter's
Fort and the southern route to Santa Fe.
After a year's absence, he reached Bent's Fort in the summer of 1844, having
journeyed four thousand miles, where he settled down upon a ranch in
Northern New Mexico, about fifty miles east of Taos, but not for long, for
his home life was again interrupted by thrilling adventures. In the autumn
of 1845, at the earnest request of Fremont, Carson conducted the former's
third and most famous expedition into Oregon and California. On this trip
the party had several clashes with the Klamath Indians, in one of which
Lajeunesse was killed. During this trip Fremont attempted to pass with his
pack animals over a ridge covered by six feet of snow, and his expedition
was only saved from disaster through the skill and energy of Carson.
In the meantime the Mexican War had broken out and Carson, pushing south
with Fremont's command, shared with high distinction in the conquest of
California, the details of which are told in the reports of Kearny, Stockton
and Fremont.
In 1846, following the preliminary events incident to the California
conquest, Carson was sent east as special Government messenger, bearing
dispatches from Commodore Stockton to the Federal authorities in Washington.
With a party of fifteen men, he started late in the summer, and proceeded to
a point near Socorro, in New Mexico, where he met General Kearny in command
of the Army of the West, on his way to California. Kearny assumed the
responsibility for the delivery of Carson's dispatches, and ordered him to
act as guide for his command to California. The command reached the Rancho
Santa Maria, about sixty miles from San Diego, about December 5th, where
they were joined by Captain Gillespie and Lieutenant Beale, with 35 men. On
the following day, the combined forces fought the bloody battle of San
Pascual, in which Carson bravely bore his part. Following this fight, and
the ineffective skirmish at San Bernardo, Kearny's command was besieged by a
superbly mounted force of Mexican cavalry. They were in a famished condition
and immediate relief was demanded. A small party had been sent out by
Kearny, but they were captured. The situation was desperate. On the night of
December 8th, Kearny sent out Kit Carson, accompanied by Lieut. Beale and a
friendly Indian. They traveled at night. Crawling through the enemy's lines,
their sufferings were great. They were hungry and thirsty, their feet were
lacerated by the cactus needles, but, under the lead of Carson, they reached
San Diego, successfully, and secured the desired succor. Beale did not
recover his health for more than a year, but in a few days Carson was as
good as ever. Nothing seemed to affect the iron nerve and constitution of
this little giant.
In March, 1847, he was sent again with dispatches to Washington. On this
journey he fought his way through the Indians on and near the Gila, and
pushed ahead, following the Santa Fe Trail to the Missouri river. He reached
Washington in June, having traveled about four thousand miles on horseback
within the space of three months. Carson's continued services in winning the
southwest had gained him wide recognition. President Polk appointed him
second lieutenant in the United States Rifle Corps, which appointment;
however, was never confirmed by the Senate. One can easily imagine the
excitement which the advent of Carson created in Washington. The statesmen
of that day, Webster, Clay, Benton and their colleagues, were surprised to
find in him, a man who had written his name indelibly upon the history of
the West, a modest, retiring, diffident person, undersized, who took his
whole life, which had been one of loyalty to friends and to country, as
merely a part of the duty which he owed to himself. He was ordered back to
California again with dispatches. At the Point of Rocks on the Santa Fe
Trail, a noted landmark about 650 miles beyond Independence, he had a
desperate fight with the Comanche Indians. He found there encamped a band of
volunteers, en route for the Mexican war. The Indians made an early morning
raid and drove off the soldiers' livestock.
The men, headed by Carson, made a counter attack upon the Indians, killed a
number of them and managed to recover the cattle, but the surviving red men
escaped with the horses. With a party of fifteen men, Carson was again
attacked by three hundred Indians in the vicinity of Virgin River, Arizona,
and successfully stood his ground. He reached Monterey without serious
mishap, and for a time was employed against the border Mexicans in
California.
In the spring of 1848 he was again sent with dispatches from California to
Washington. While on his way eastward he managed to spend a day with his
family at Taos. His homecomings up to this time had been about three years
apart. He made a safe trip to Washington and honorably discharged his
duties. Returning to New Mexico, he decided to settle down once more in the
ranch business with Lucien B. Maxwell as partner, but the quiet of domestic
life was frequently interrupted. Several times he was called into the field
to surprise and punish the Apaches and other wild tribes.
In 1851 Carson went to St. Louis, purchased a large stock of merchandise and
started west. Upon reaching a village of Cheyennes upon the upper Arkansas
River, he learned that the Indians were swearing vengeance against all
whites because an army officer had rashly whipped one of their chiefs. It so
happened that Carson was the first white man to approach since the offense
had been given. Years before, when a hunter at Bent's Fort he had become
familiar with all the tribes and was esteemed by them as a friend.
Now he was almost a total stranger to them. His local reputation had faded
during his long absence. While the Indians were holding their council,
boldly he came among them. They, thinking he could not understand their
language, talked without restraint in his presence. After he had heard them
declare their intention to capture his wagon train and kill him, he quietly
arose and made them a speech in their own language. He informed them who he
was, and recalled to their minds many instances of kindnesses he had
extended to them. He expressed his desire to render them any further service
he could, but said in conclusion that if they proposed to take his scalp, he
might have a hand in the affair. When he had finished speaking, the Indians
quietly left the council, while Carson rejoined his men.
His next unusual exploit was to select a few trusty companions and drive a
flock of 6,500 sheep overland from New Mexico to Southern California, about
800 miles. This proved to be a highly profitable speculation. Carson
realized about $5.50 a head for his entire herd.
The narrative of the adventures of this extraordinary man would fill a large
volume. I can only attempt to give a few notable incidents in his life,
which stand out prominently as being of great importance to Arizona and the
Southwest in general.
In 1854 he was appointed by President Pierce Indian Agent for New Mexico,
and thus he became the adviser and guide of those tribes whose determined
foe he had previously been.
In this position he revealed genuine statesmanship, and his ideas of the
treatment of Indians are now a part of the policy of the General Government.
He was the first to advocate the rounding up of the Indians and teaching
them to subsist upon the soil. As General Crook afterwards expressed it: "To
raise corn instead of scalps." He became the firm friend of the Apaches, the
Cheyennes, the Kiowas, the Utes and the Arapahoes, although at times he was
forced to punish them because of their raids upon civilization.
From 1849 to 1865 the Government spent thirty millions in an effort to
subdue the various wild tribes of Arizona and New Mexico, and Carson was
prominently identified with this entire enterprise.
Not only as an Indian fighter and scout did he help win the Southwest, but
in the war between the States he helped to retain that region to the Union.
At the battle of Val Verde in 1862, as commander of the First Regiment of
New Mexican Volunteers, he gave efficient service to the Union arms. As we
shall see later on, in the summer of 1863 he conquered the Navajos, who,
since that time, have been at peace with the whites. At the close of the war
he was brevetted brigadier-general. His last service was in 1865, when, in
command of three companies of soldiers, he attacked and destroyed a large
Kiowa village near the Cimarron. His word was always kept; he was the soul
of honor and the Indians, knowing this, respected Kit Carson. They admired
him for his fair dealings and called him "father," but it may be asserted
here that their respect for him was inspired by the fear of his unerring aim
and fighting blood.
About the year 1868, while in the mountains one day, he was thrown from a
horse and received internal injuries, from which he never recovered.
Otherwise in perfect health, says one of his biographers, he is said to have
remarked: ''Were it not for this injury, I would live to be a hundred years
of age." He did his work well, and with the full assurance that his life had
been one of service to humanity and of loyalty to the Government which he
loved; death had no terrors for him. Surrounded by friends who loved him, he
faced with serenity the approach of old age, conscious of having performed
life's duties well. His end came on May 23d, 1868. While visiting a son at
Fort Lyons, Colorado, General Carson attempted to mount a horse, resulting
in the rupture of an artery in his neck. Surgical attendance was useless.
His life quietly slipped away. A brief struggle, three gasping words:
"Doctor, compadre, adios," ended his life. Thus ended the last of the great
pathfinders of the West. His name is given to three cities, one lake, one
river, and numerous peaks and canyons. His fame is perpetuated by a monument
in the city of Denver, and also by a bronze tablet to himself and Lieutenant
Beale in the Smithsonian Institution at Washington.
The Santa Rita Copper Mines (Santa Eita del Cobre), which for many years was
the rallying point for the trappers and hunters of New Mexico and Arizona,
are situated in the mountain range not far from the Mimbres River. They were
profitably worked from 1804 up to 1838. Sylvester Pattie at one time had a
lease of the property, and Christopher Carson had worked for several months
in these mines. In 1838 the Mimbres Apaches were giving great trouble to the
settlers in Chihuahua and Sonora, and the condition of affairs is described
by Dunn in his "Massacres of the Mountains," as follows: "Chihuahua
promulgated a law called the Proyecto de Guerra, or project for war, by
which the State offered one hundred dollars for the scalp of an Apache
warrior, fifty for the scalp of a squaw, and twenty-five for that of a
child. Sonora was also paying a bounty for scalps, and both gave to the
captor any booty he might take from the Indians. This liberality was
produced mainly by the many atrocities of Juan Jose, a Mimbres chief, who
had been educated among the Mexicans, and used his knowledge of their
customs to great advantage in his warfare. One favorite scheme of his was
robbing the mails, for the purpose of obtaining information as to the plans
of the Mexicans. At this time there were several parties of trappers on the
headwaters of the G ila, and the captain of one of these, a man named
Johnson, undertook to secure a number of Apache scalps. It is said that in
addition to the scalp bounty, he was induced to this by pay from the owners
of the Santa Fe copper mines. At any rate he made a feast and invited to it
a number of Mimbreno warriors, who accepted his hospitable bidding. To one
side of the ground here his feast was spread, he placed a howitzer, loaded
to the muzzle with slugs, nails and bullets, and concealed under sacks of
flour and other goods. In good range he placed a sack of flour, which he
told the Indians to divide among themselves. Unsuspicious of wrong, they
gathered about it. Johnson touched his lighted cigarette to the vent of the
howitzer, and the charge was poured into the crowd, killing and wounding
many. The party of trappers at once followed up the attack with their rifles
and knives. A goodly number of scalps were secured, that of Juan Jose among
others, but the treachery was terribly repaid. Another party of fifteen
trappers was camped on a stream a few miles distant. The surviving Mimbrenos
went to these unsuspecting men, and murdered every one of them. Their
vengeance did not stop at this. The copper mines of Santa, Rita were
furnished with supplies from the city of Chihuahua by guarded wagon trains
(conductas) that brought in provisions and hauled back ore. The time for the
arrival of the train came and passed, but no train appeared. Days slipped
away, provisions were almost exhausted. The supply of ammunition was nearly
gone. Some of the miners climbed to the top of Ben Moore, which rises back
of the mines, but from its lofty summit no sign of an approaching conducta
was visible. Starvation was imminent. The only hope of escape for the miners
and their families was in making their way across the desert expanse that
lies between the mines and the settlements. They started, but the Apaches,
who had destroyed the train, hung about them, and attacked them so
persistently that only four or five succeeded in reaching their
destination."
In addition to the trappers killed by the Apaches as above stated, another
band was attacked by them, and several men were killed. Among the survivors
of this band was Benj. D. Wilson, who afterwards became prominently
identified with the early history of California. Up to the time of Johnson's
treachery, the Indians of that part of the country had been the white man's
friend, but from this time on they killed Mexicans and white men alike.
This closes the history of Arizona under the Spanish and Mexican rule.
Notes About Book:
Source: History Of Arizona Volume 1, By Thomas Edwin Farish, 1915, Printed
and Published by Direction of the Second Legislature of the State of
Arizona, A. D.
Notes about Online Publication: This manuscript has been ocr'd and heavily
edited. Many of the Native American words have been reproduced as clearly as
online publication will allow us, but not all are exactly the way they were
in the original work. The structure of this manuscript has been changed to
allow better online presentation.
