Ponds and Buffalo Wallows -- Valley of the Canadian, and romantic
Freaks of Nature -- Melancholy Adventure of a Party of Traders in
1832 -- Fears of being lost -- Arrival of a Party of _Comancheros_,
and their wonderful Stories -- Their Peculiarities and Traffic --
Bitter Water, and the _Salitre_ of New Mexico -- Avant-couriers for
Santa Fé -- Patent Fire-arms and their Virtues -- Ranchero Ideas of
Distance, and their Mode of giving Directions -- The Angostura, and
erroneous Notions of the Texans -- A new Route revealed -- Solitary
Travel -- Supply of Provisions sent back -- Arrival at Santa Fé --
Gov. Armijo, etc. -- A 'Flare-up' with His Excellency.
The Comanches having all disappeared, we resumed our march, and soon
emerged into an open plain or _mesa_ which was one of the most
monotonous I had ever seen, there being not a break, not a hill nor
valley, nor even a shrub to obstruct the view. The only thing which
served to turn us from a direct course pursued by the compass, was the
innumerable ponds which bespeckled the plain, and which kept us at
least well supplied with water. Many of these ponds seem to have grown
out of 'buffalo wallows,'--a term used on the Prairies to designate a
sink made by the buffalo's pawing the earth for the purpose of
obtaining a smooth dusty surface to roll upon.
{48} After three or four days of weary travel over this level plain,
the picturesque valley of the Canadian burst once more upon our view,
presenting one of the most magnificent sights I had ever beheld. Here
rose a perpendicular cliff, in all the majesty and sublimity of its
desolation;--there another sprang forward as in the very act of losing
its balance and about to precipitate itself upon the vale below;--a
little further on, a pillar with crevices and cornices so curiously
formed as easily to be mistaken for the work of art; while a thousand
other objects grotesquely and fantastically arranged, and all shaded
in the sky-bound perspective by the blue ridge-like brow of the _mesa_
far beyond the Canadian, [Pg133] constituted a kind of chaotic space
where nature seemed to have indulged in her wildest caprices. Such was
the confusion of ground-swells and eccentric cavities, that it was
altogether impossible to determine whereabouts the channel of the
Canadian wound its way among them.
It would seem that these mesas might once have extended up to the
margin of the stream, leaving a _cañon_ or chasm through which the
river flowed, as is still the case in some other places. But the basis
of the plain not having been sufficiently firm to resist the action of
the waters, these have washed and cut the bordering _cejas_ or brows
into all the shapes they now present. The buffalo and other animals
have no doubt assisted in these transmutations. Their deep-worn paths
over the {49} brows of the plains, form channels for the descending
rains; which are soon washed into the size of ravines--and even
considerable creeks. The beds of these continue to be worn down until
veins of lasting water are opened, and constant-flowing streams thus
established. Numerous were the embryo rivulets which might be observed
forming in this way along the borders of those streams. The frequent
isolated benches and mounds, whose tabular summits are on a level with
the adjacent plains, and appear entirely of a similar formation,
indicate that the intermediate earth has been washed away, or removed
by some other process of nature--all seeming to give plausibility to
our theory.
It was somewhere in this vicinity that a small party of Americans
experienced a terrible calamity in the winter of 1832-3, on their way
home; and as the incident had the tendency to call into play the most
prominent features of the Indian character, I will digress so far here
as to relate the facts.
The party consisted of twelve men, chiefly citizens of Missouri. Their
baggage and about ten thousand dollars in specie were packed upon
mules. They took the route of [Pg134] the Canadian river, fearing to
venture on the northern prairies at that season of the year. Having
left Santa Fé in December, they had proceeded without accident thus
far, when a large body of Comanches and Kiawas were seen advancing
towards them. Being well acquainted with the treacherous and
pusillanimous {50} disposition of those races, the traders prepared at
once for defence; but the savages having made a halt at some distance,
began to approach one by one, or in small parties, making a great show
of friendship all the while, until most of them had collected on the
spot. Finding themselves surrounded in every direction, the travellers
now began to move on, in hopes of getting rid of the intruders: but
the latter were equally ready for the start; and, mounting their
horses, kept jogging on in the same direction. The first act of
hostility perpetrated by the Indians proved fatal to one of the
American traders named Pratt, who was shot dead while attempting to
secure two mules which had become separated from the rest. Upon this,
the companions of the slain man immediately dismounted and commenced a
fire upon the Indians, which was warmly returned, whereby another man
of the name of Mitchell was killed.
By this time the traders had taken off their packs and piled them
around for protection; and now falling to work with their hands, they
very soon scratched out a trench deep enough to protect them from the
shot of the enemy. The latter made several desperate charges, but they
seemed too careful of their own personal safety, notwithstanding the
enormous superiority of their numbers, to venture too near the rifles
of the Americans. In a few hours all the animals of the traders were
either killed or wounded, but no personal damage was done to the
remaining ten men, {51} with the exception of a wound in the thigh
received by one, which was not at the time considered dangerous.
[Pg135]
During the siege, the Americans were in great danger of perishing from
thirst, as the Indians had complete command of all the water within
reach. Starvation was not so much to be dreaded; because, in case of
necessity, they could live on the flesh of their slain animals, some
of which lay stretched close around them. After being pent up for
thirty-six hours in this horrible hole, during which time they had
seldom ventured to raise their heads above the surface without being
shot at, they resolved to make a bold _sortie_ in the night, as any
death was preferable to the fate which awaited them there. As there
was not an animal left that was at all in a condition to travel, the
proprietors of the money gave permission to all to take and
appropriate to themselves whatever amount each man could safely
undertake to carry. In this way a few hundred dollars were started
with, of which, however, but little ever reached the United States.
The remainder was buried deep in the sand, in hopes that it might
escape the cupidity of the savages; but to very little purpose, for
they were afterwards seen by some Mexican traders making a great
display of specie, which was without doubt taken from this unfortunate
_cache_.
With every prospect of being discovered, overtaken, and butchered, but
resolved to sell their lives as dearly as possible, they at last {52}
emerged from their hiding-place, and moved on silently and slowly
until they found themselves beyond the purlieus of the Indian camps.
Often did they look back in the direction where from three to five
hundred savages were supposed to watch their movements, but, much to
their astonishment, no one appeared to be in pursuit. The Indians,
believing no doubt that the property of the traders would come into
their hands, and having no amateur predilection for taking scalps at
the risk of losing their own, appeared willing enough to let the
spoliated adventurers depart without further molestation. [Pg136]
The destitute travellers having run themselves short of provisions,
and being no longer able to kill game for want of materials to load
their rifles with, they were very soon reduced to the necessity of
sustaining life upon roots, and the tender bark of trees. After
travelling for several days in this desperate condition, with
lacerated feet, and utter prostration of mind and body, they began to
disagree among themselves about the route to be pursued, and
eventually separated into two distinct parties. Five of these unhappy
men steered a westward course, and after a succession of sufferings
and privations which almost surpassed belief, they reached the
settlements of the Creek Indians, near the Arkansas river, where they
were treated with great kindness and hospitality. The other five
wandered about in the greatest state of distress and bewilderment, and
only two {53} finally succeeded in getting out of the mazes of the
wilderness. Among those who were abandoned to their fate, and left to
perish thus miserably, was a Mr. Schenck, the same individual who had
been shot in the thigh; a gentleman of talent and excellent family
connections, who was a brother, as I am informed, of the Hon. Mr.
Schenck, at present a member of Congress from Ohio.[90]
But let us resume our journey. We had for some days, while travelling
along the course of the Canadian, been in anxious expectation of
reaching a point from whence there was a cart-road to Santa Fé, made
by the Ciboleros; but being constantly baffled and disappointed in
this hope, serious apprehensions began to be entertained by some of
[Pg137] the party that we might after all be utterly lost. In this
emergency, one of our Mexicans who pretended to be a great deal wiser
than the rest, insisted that we were pursuing a wrong direction, and
that every day's march only took us further from Santa Fé. There
appeared to be so much plausibility in his assertion, as he professed
a perfect knowledge of all the country around, that many of our men
were almost ready to mutiny,--to take the command from the hands of my
brother and myself and lead us southward in search of the Colorado,
into the fearful _Llano Estacado_, where we would probably have
perished.[91] But our observations of the latitude, which we took very
frequently, as well as the course we were pursuing, completely
contradicted the {54} Mexican wiseacre. A few days afterwards we were
overtaken by a party of _Comancheros_, or Mexican Comanche traders,
when we had the satisfaction of learning that we were in the right
track.
These men had been trading with the band of Comanches we had lately
met, and learning from them that we had passed on, they had hastened
to overtake us, so as to obtain our protection against the savages,
who, after selling their animals to the Mexicans, very frequently take
forcible possession of them again, before the purchasers have been
able to reach their homes. These parties of _Comancheros_ are usually
composed of the indigent and rude classes of the frontier villages,
who collect together, several times a year, and launch upon the plains
with a few trinkets and trumperies of all kinds, and perhaps a bag of
bread and may-be another of _pinole_, which they barter away to the
savages for horses and mules. The entire stock of an individual trader
very seldom exceeds the value of twenty dollars, with which he is
content to wander about for several months, [Pg138] and glad to
return home with a mule or two, as the proceeds of his traffic.
These Mexican traders had much to tell us about the Comanches: saying,
that they were four or five thousand in number, with perhaps a
thousand warriors, and that the fiery young men had once determined to
follow and attack us; but that the chiefs and sages had deterred them,
by stating that our cannons {55} could kill to the distance of many
miles, and shoot through hills and rocks and destroy everything that
happened to be within their range. The main object of our visitors,
however, seemed to be to raise themselves into importance by
exaggerating the perils we had escaped from. That they had considered
themselves in great jeopardy, there could be no doubt whatever, for,
in their anxiety to overtake us, they came very near killing their
animals.
It was a war-party of this band of Comanches that paid the 'flying
visit' to Bent's Fort on the Arkansas river, to which Mr. Farnham
alludes in his trip to Oregon.[92] A band of the same Indians also
fell in with the caravan from Missouri, with whom they were for a
while upon the verge of hostilities.
The next day we passed the afternoon upon a ravine where we found
abundance of water, but to our great surprise our animals refused to
drink. Upon tasting the water, we found it exceedingly nauseous and
bitter; far more [Pg139] repugnant to some palates than a solution of
Epsom salts. It is true that the water had been a little impregnated
with the same loathsome substance for several days; but we had never
found it so bad before. The salinous compound which imparts this
savor, is found in great abundance in the vicinity of the table-plain
streams of New Mexico, and is known to the natives by the name of
_salitre_.[93] We {56} had the good fortune to find in the valley, a
few sinks filled by recent rains, so that actually we experienced no
great inconvenience from the want of fresh water. As far as our own
personal necessities were concerned, we were abundantly supplied; it
being an unfailing rule with us to carry in each wagon a five-gallon
keg always filled with water, in order to guard against those
frightful contingencies which so frequently occur on the Prairies. In
truth upon leaving one watering place, we never knew where we would
find the next.
On the 20th of June we pitched our camp upon the north bank of the
Canadian or Colorado, in latitude 35° 24′ according to a meridian
altitude of Saturn. On the following day, I left the caravan,
accompanied by three Comancheros, and proceeded at a more rapid pace
towards Santa Fé. This was rather a hazardous journey, inasmuch as we
were still within the range of the Pawnee and Comanche war-parties,
and my companions were men in whom I could not repose the slightest
confidence, except for piloting; being fully convinced that in case of
meeting with an enemy, they would either forsake or deliver me up,
just as it might seem most conducive to their own interest and safety.
All I had to depend upon were my fire-arms, which could hardly fail to
produce an impression in my favor; for, thanks to Mr. Colt's
invention, I carried thirty-six charges ready-loaded, which I could
easily fire at the rate of {57} a dozen [Pg140] per minute. I do not
believe that any band of those timorous savages of the western
prairies would venture to approach even a single man, under such
circumstances. If, according to an old story of the frontier, an
Indian supposed that a white man fired both with his tomahawk and
scalping knife, to account for the execution done by a brace of
pistols, thirty-six shots discharged in quick succession would
certainly overawe them as being the effect of some great medicine.
As we jogged merrily along, I often endeavored to while away the time
by catechising my three companions in relation to the topography of
the wild region we were traversing; but I soon found, that, like the
Indians, these ignorant rancheros have no ideas of distances, except
as compared with time or with some other distance. They will tell you
that you may arrive at a given place by the time the sun reaches a
certain point: otherwise, whether it be but half a mile or half a
day's ride to the place inquired for, they are as apt to apply _está
cerquita_ (it is close by), or _está lejos_ (it is far off), to the
one as to the other, just as the impression happens to strike them,
when compared with some other point more or less distant. This often
proves a source of great annoyance to foreign travellers, as I had an
opportunity of experiencing before my arrival. In giving directions,
these people--in fact, the lower classes of Mexicans generally--are
also in the habit of using very odd gesticulations, altogether {58}
peculiar to themselves. Instead of pointing with their hands and
fingers, they generally employ the mouth, which is done by thrusting
out the lips in the direction of the spot, or object, which the
inquirer wishes to find out--accompanied by _aquí_ or _allí está_.
This habit of substituting labial gestures for the usual mode of
indicating, has grown from the use of the _sarape_, which keeps their
hands and arms perpetually confined. [Pg141]
From the place where we left the wagons, till we reached the
_Angostura_, or narrows,[94] (a distance of 60 miles), we had followed
a plain cart-road, which seemed everywhere passable for wagons. Here,
however, we found the point of a table plain projecting abruptly
against the river, so as to render it impossible for wagons to pass
without great risk. The huge masses of solid rock, which occur in this
place, and the rugged cliffs or brows of the table lands which rise
above them, appear to have been mistaken by a detachment of the Texan
Santa Fé expedition, for spurs of the Rocky Mountains; an error which
was rational enough, as they not unfrequently tower to the height of
two thousand feet above the valley, and are often as rocky and rough
as the rudest heaps of trap-rock can make them. By ascending the main
summit of these craggy promontories, however, the eastern ridge of the
veritable Rocky Mountains may be seen, still very far off in the
western horizon, with a widespread and apparently level table plain,
intervening and extending in every direction, {59} as far as the eye
can reach; for even the deep-cut chasms of the intersecting rivers are
rarely visible except one be upon their very brink.
Upon expressing my fears that our wagons would not be able to pass the
_Angostura_ in safety, my comrades informed me that there was an
excellent route, of which no previous mention had been made, passing
near the _Cerro de Tucumcari_, a round mound plainly visible to the
southward.[95] After several vain efforts to induce some of the party
to carry a [Pg142] note back to my brother, and to pilot the caravan
through the Tucumcari route, one of them, known as Tio Baca, finally
proposed to undertake the errand for a bounty of ten dollars, besides
high wages till they should reach the frontier. His conditions being
accepted, he set out after breakfast, not, however, without previously
recommending himself to the Virgin Guadalupe, and all the saints in
the calendar, and desiring us to remember him in our prayers.
Notwithstanding his fears, however, he arrived in perfect safety, and
I had the satisfaction of learning afterward that my brother found the
new route everything he could have desired.
I continued my journey westward with my two remaining companions; but,
owing to their being provided with a relay of horses, they very soon
left me to make the balance of the travel alone--though yet in a
region haunted by hostile savages. On the following day, about the
hour of twelve, as I was pursuing a horse-path along the course of the
{60} Rio Pecos, near the frontier settlements, I met with a shepherd,
of whom I anxiously inquired the distance to San Miguel. "O, it is
just there," responded the man of sheep. "Don't you see that point of
mesa yonder? It is just beyond that." This welcome information cheered
me greatly; for, owing to the extraordinary transparency of the
atmosphere, it appeared to me that the distance could not exceed two
or three miles. "_Está cerquita_," exclaimed the shepherd as I rode
off; "_ahora está V. allá_"--"it is close by; you will soon be there."
I set off at as lively a pace as my jaded steed could carry me,
confident of taking dinner in San Miguel.[96] Every ridge I turned I
thought must be the last, and thus I jogged on, hoping and
anticipating my future comforts till the shades of evening began to
appear; when I descended into [Pg143] the valley of the Pecos, which,
although narrow, is exceedingly fertile and beautifully lined with
verdant fields, among which stood a great variety of mud cabins. About
eight o'clock, I called at one of these cottages and again inquired
the distance to San Miguel; when a swarthy-looking ranchero once more
saluted mine ears with "_Está cerquita; ahora está V. allá_." Although
the distance was designated in precisely the same words used by the
shepherd eight hours before, I had the consolation at least of
believing that I was something nearer. After spurring on for a couple
of miles over a rugged road, I at last reached the long-sought
village.
{61} The next day, I hired a Mexican to carry some flour back to meet
the wagons; for our party was by this time running short of
provisions. In fact, we should long before have been in danger of
starvation, had it not been for our oxen; for we had not seen a
buffalo since the day we first met with the Comanches. Some of our
cattle being in good plight, and able, as we were, to spare a few from
our teams, we made beef of them when urged by necessity: an extra
advantage in ox teams on these perilous expeditions.
On the 25th of June I arrived safely at Santa Fé,--but again rode back
to meet the wagons, which did not reach the capital till the 4th of
July. We did not encounter a very favorable reception from 'his
majesty,' Gov. Armijo. He had just established his arbitrary impost of
$500 per wagon, which bore rather heavily upon us; for we had an
overstock of coarse articles which we had merely brought along for the
purpose of increasing the strength of our company, by adding to the
number of our wagons.
But these little troubles in a business way, were entirely drowned in
the joyful sensations arising from our safe arrival, after so long and
so perilous an expedition. Considering the character and our ignorance
of the country over which we had travelled, we had been exceedingly
successful. [Pg144] Instances are certainly rare of heavily-laden
wagons' having been conducted, without a guide, through an unexplored
desert; and yet we {62} performed the trip without any important
accident--without encountering any very difficult passes--without
suffering for food or for water.
We had hoped that at least a few days of rest and quiet recreation
might have been allowed us after our arrival; for relaxation was
sorely needed at the end of so long a journey and its concomitant
privations: but it was ordered otherwise. We had scarcely quartered
ourselves within the town before a grand 'flare-up' took place between
Gov. Armijo and the foreigners[97] in Santa Fé, which, for a little
while, bid fair to result in open hostilities. It originated in the
following circumstances.
In the winter of 1837-8, a worthy young American, named Daley, was
murdered at the Gold Mines, by a couple of villains, solely for
plunder. The assassins were arrested, when they confessed their guilt;
but, in a short time, they were permitted to run at large again, in
violation of every principle of justice or humanity. About this time
they were once more apprehended, however, by the interposition of
foreigners: and, at the solicitation of the friends of the deceased, a
memorial from the Americans in Santa Fé was presented to Armijo,
representing the injustice of permitting the murderers of their
countrymen to go unpunished; and praying that the culprits might {63}
be dealt with according to law. But the governor affected to consider
the affair as a conspiracy; and, collecting his ragamuffin militia,
attempted to intimidate the petitioners. The foreigners were now
constrained to look to their defence, as they saw that [Pg145] no
justice was to be expected. Had Armijo persisted, serious consequences
might have ensued; but seeing the 'conspirators' firm, he sent an
apology, affecting to have misconstrued their motives, and promising
that the laws should be duly executed upon the murderers.
Besides the incentives of justice and humanity, foreigners felt a deep
interest in the execution of this promise. But a few years previous,
another person had been assassinated and robbed at the same place; yet
the authorities having taken no interest in the matter, the felons
were never discovered; and now, should these assassins escape the
merited forfeit of their atrocious crime, it was evident there would
be no future security for our lives and property. But the governor's
_due execution of the laws_ consisted in retaining them a year or two
in nominal imprisonment, when they were again set at liberty. Besides
these, other foreigners have been murdered in New Mexico with equal
impunity:--all which contrasts very strikingly with the manner our
courts of justice have since dealt with those who killed Chavez, in
1843, on the Santa Fé road.[98]
FOOTNOTES:
[83] James Pollard Espy (1785-1860), a well-known meteorologist. His
collection of reports on the weather, while occupied in his
experiments, contributed towards the founding of the present United
States weather-bureau. His theory was, that storms could be produced
artificially by heating the atmosphere with long-continued fires. He
published _Philosophy of Storms_ (Boston and London, 1841).--ED.
[84] About the ninety-ninth meridian, the Canadian extends above the
thirty-sixth parallel, forming the Great North Bend. The Oklahoma town
of Taloga is on the southern curve of the bow.--ED.
[85] The Canadian and its North Fork approach very closely at this
point. The region between the North Bend and the one hundredth
meridian contains much gypsum. See James's _Long's Expedition_, in our
volume xvi, pp. 141-143.--ED.
[86] From subsequent observations, this point appears to have been
some miles west of the 100th degree of longitude.--GREGG.
_Comment by Ed._ See volume xix, p. 217, note 52 (Gregg).
[87] Kendall, _Texan Santa Fé Expedition_, i, p. 192.--ED.
[88] Camp Comanche would appear to have been in Lipscombe or Ochiltree
County, Texas.--ED.
[89] For Dr. John Sibley, see our volume xvii, p. 68, note 60. This
anecdote is found in his report in _American State Papers_, "Indian
Affairs," i, p. 724.--ED.
[90] Robert C. Schenck was born at Franklin, Ohio, in 1809, graduated
from Miami University, and practised law at Dayton. After one term in
the state legislature (1841-42), he was sent to Congress (1843-51),
which he left to become American minister to Brazil (1851-53). In the
War of Secession he attained a major-generalship, and resigned to
re-enter Congress (1863-70). For six years (1870-76) Schenck served as
minister to Great Britain, being one of the commissioners to adjust
the Alabama claims. He died in Washington in 1890. Another brother was
an admiral in the American navy.--ED.
[91] Colorado is the usual Spanish term for Red River, which Gregg
here intends. For Llano Estacado, see his description _post_, p.
239.--ED.
[92] Thomas J. Farnham, _Travels in the Great Western Prairie, the
Anahuac and Rocky Mountains, and in Oregon Territory_ (London, 1843),
reprinted in volume xxvii of our series.
Bent's Fort, sometimes called Fort William for its founder Colonel
William Bent, was situated on the north bank of the Arkansas, between
the present towns of La Junta and Las Animas, Colorado. Founded in
1829, it was an important fur-trade post, and base of supplies for the
mountain trail to Santa Fé. The United States army of occupation
(1846) passed by this post. In 1852, the government attempted to
purchase the post; but not satisfied with the terms, its owner
destroyed the stockade.--ED.
[93] Literally _saltpetre_; but the _salitre_ of New Mexico is a
compound of several other salts beside nitre.--GREGG.
[94] On the eastern border of San Miguel County, New Mexico, are three
peaks known as Los Cuervos, or The Crows. The river winding through
this high land, forms the narrows of which Gregg speaks. Consult
Kendall, _Texan Santa Fé Expedition_, i, p. 174.--ED.
[95] Tucumcari Mountain is in eastern Quay County, with a town of the
same name at its base--a junction on the Chicago, Rock Island, and
Pacific Railway. For an interesting description of this mound, which
he likens to the dome of the capitol at Washington, see report of
James H. Simpson (1849), in _Senate Doc._, 31 cong., 2 sess., vi, 12,
p. 14.--ED.
[96] For San Miguel, see our volume xix, p. 253, note 76 (Gregg).--ED.
[97] Among the New Mexicans, the terms _foreigner_ and _American_ are
synonymous: indeed, the few citizens of other nations to be found
there identify themselves with those of the United States. All
foreigners are known there as _Americanos_; but south of Chihuahua
they are indiscriminately called _Los Ingleses_, the English.--GREGG.
[98] See post, pp. 227-232.--ED.