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CHAPTER X.
RECONQUEST BY DON DIEGO DE VARGAS.
1692-1700.
Records of the reconquest, with its various entradas and complications
down to the end of the century, are comparatively complete and satisfactory,
containing naturally a large mass of petty though not uninteresting detail that
cannot be compressed within the limits of a chapter. The new governor and
captain-general had been selected with special reference to the regaining of
New Mexico; but on account of troubles with the Sumas and other tribes nearer
El Paso, over a year passed away before Vargas could give his attention to the
far north. Then so great was his impatience that he did not await the arrival
of a reinforcement of fifty men from Parral assigned
to this campaign by the viceroy, but leaving a note, in which he informed the
conde de Galve that he preferred “antes incurrir en la nota de osado que en la de receloso”, he set out from El Paso on August 21, 1692, with
a force of 60 soldiers and 100 Indian auxiliaries, accompanied also by padres
Francisco Corvera, Miguel Muñiz,
and Cristóbal Alonso Barroso.
The march up the valley of the Río Grande was uneventful; all the
pueblos up to Sandía, as we have seen, had been
destroyed years before; and no Indians were seen. On the 9th of September the
baggage was left at the Hacienda de Mejía with a small guard under Captain
Rafael Tellez; Santo Domingo and Cochití were found
entirely abandoned; and at dawn on the 13th Don Diego’s little army appeared
before Santa Fé, surrounding the town and cutting off
both the water supply and all communication with the outside. Here the Tanos of Galisteo were strongly fortified,
but were apparently taken by surprise. At first they were defiant, and declared they would perish rather than yield to the
invaders, or rather, that they would kill all the Spaniards, with any cowardly
natives who might join their country’s foes. But Vargas and the friars, while
preparing “like brave men and zealous Christians for battle”, also renewed
their offers of pardon for past offences and their entreaties for peaceful
submission; and before night the natives yielded without a blow. Next day they
were properly lectured and formally absolved from their apostasy; children were
presented for baptism; and thus Santa Fé became once
more a loyal Spanish villa.
Don Luis Tupatú, the most powerful of the
rebel chieftains since the death of Pope and Catiti,
presently made his appearance on horseback, clad in Spanish costume, to tender
his allegiance and that of the Tehuas. He said the
Pecos, Queres, Jemes, and
Taos had refused to recognize his authority and might resist the Spaniards; but
he offered to accompany the governor on his tour, and aid him to the best of his ability. The fifty soldiers from Parral arrived on the 21st, and joined Vargas at Galisteo.
Pecos was abandoned by the inhabitants, who in five days could not be induced
to return, though a few were captured, and released bearing offers of peace and
pardon. Returning to Santa Fé, Vargas started for the north on the 29th,
visiting all the pueblos in that direction. The people took their dose of
absolution with a good grace. Those of Taos ran away at first,
but were soon induced by Tupatú to return; and
they soon revealed a plot of the hostile nations to attack the Spaniards from
an ambush; but also joined the governor’s force in considerable numbers, as did
those of other pueblos, to act as warriors or messengers of peace, as occasion
might demand. Returning to Santa Fé on October 15th, Vargas wrote next day a
report to the viceroy, announcing that he had “conquered for the human and
divine majesties” all the pueblos for 36 leagues, baptizing nearly 1,000
children born in rebellion. To hold the province for the king he must have 100
soldiers and 50 families; and he recommended the sending of convict mechanics
from Mexican jails to serve as teachers and search for metals.
Next Pecos submitted on the 17th; but Galisteo and San Marcos were found
deserted. The people of Cochití, San Felipe, and San
Marcos were found together, and persuaded on the 20th to reoccupy their
pueblos. Those of Cia and Santa Ana had built a new pueblo on the Cerro
Colorado four leagues from the old Cia; and those of Jemes and Santo Domingo, with a few Apaches, were in
another three leagues from the old Jemes. All
submitted after some slight hostile demonstrations on the part of the Jemes. Cold weather and snow had now become troublesome;
and on the 27th, from the Hacienda de Mejia, Vargas despatched for El Paso his artillery, disabled horses, Indian auxiliaries, ten settlers,
and a party of rescued captives, with an escort of soldiers. A junta voted to
postpone the completion of the campaign to another year, but the leader refused
his assent.
Marching on the 30th the army of 89 men reached Acoma on November 3d. The people were ready for defence, slow
to believe they would be pardoned, and fearful of being killed for past
offences; they wished Vargas to pass on to Zuñi, and
give them time for deliberation; but finally they
yielded to persuasion, and the governor, padres, and fifteen men were admitted
to the peñol summit, where the ceremonies of
submission were performed, and 87 children baptized on the 4th. At Zuñi the inhabitants were found to have left their old
pueblo and built a new one on a lofty mesa. Here the Apaches made a dash, and drove off a band of the Spaniards’ cattle;
but Zuñi was restored to loyalty and faith on the
11th, about 300 children being baptized. Here the sacred vessels and all the
property of the martyr missionaries had been carefully preserved, and in one
room were found candles burning on a kind of altar, this being the only pueblo
that for the past twelve years had shown the slightest respect for
Christianity.
Finally, having left a guard at Zuñi, Vargas
went on to the Moqui towns, arriving at Aguatuvi on the 19th. The Moquis,
having been advised by the Navajos not to trust the Spaniards, came out in
hostile attitude 700 or 800 strong, but the chief Miguel was well disposed, his
people required but little persuasion, and the invaders were ceremoniously
welcomed on the 20th. Miguel said the other pueblos were hostile, yet they all
submitted without resistance except Oraibe, which was
not visited. These people had a kind of metallic substance, which was said to
come from a Cerro Colorado across the great river. The indications seemed to
point to a quicksilver mine, and specimens were brought away for the viceroy.
The horses were in bad condition, some alarming reports of Apache raids came
from Captain Tellez, and Vargas returned to Zuñi,
whence the whole army soon started for the east and south. On the way there
occurred two attacks by Apaches, who wounded a
soldier and secured some horses; but one of the gentiles was caught, exhorted,
baptized, and shot; Vargas reached El Paso on December 20th; and Captain Roque
de Madrid two days later with the rearguard of the army. Thus ended Vargas’
first entrada, in which, without shedding a drop of blood except in conflicts
with Apaches, he had received the nominal submission
of all the rebel pueblos, while the friars had baptized 2,214 children.
New Mexican submission was as yet but a
formality, as no Spaniards had remained in the north. On receipt of Vargas’
letter of October 1692, the viceroy and his advisers decided to supply the
soldiers and families asked for; but a little time was required to fit out the
colony, and the governor, as before, started before the reenforcement came. With about 100 soldiers, having collected all the volunteer settlers and
families he could at El Paso and in Nueva Vizcaya— 70 families with over 800
persons in all—he set out on the 13th of October, 1693, accompanied by seventeen friars under Padre Salvador de San Antonio as custodio. Preparations being inadequate, progress was slow,
and 30 persons died on the way from hunger and exposure. The start was in three
divisions. Lieutenant-general Luis Granillo was
second in command, and Captain Juan Paez Hurtado had
special charge of the colonists. From the deserted hacienda of Lopez, near
Socorro, Vargas had to press on in advance with his soldiers, leaving the
colonists to struggle forward as best they could. Details of the march present
little of interest. At the pueblos the Spaniards were received without
opposition, but with more or less coolness. Some
leading men said the people were afraid of being killed, founding their fears
on a pretended statement of an interpreter during the preceding visit. There
were signs of trouble, but the army was joined by the lagging immigrants, and
on December 16th, under Oñate’s original banner, made
a triumphal entry into Santa Fé.
The Tanos inhabitants of the villa were polite
but not enthusiastic; and the army encamped outside to avoid a rupture. San
Felipe, Santa Ana, and Cia were reported friendly, but the rest only awaited an
opportunity for hostility—except Pecos, which kept its promise of the year
before, revealed the plans of the malcontents, and even offered aid. Vargas
sent out many parties to reconnoitre, but the
Indians, though not very liberal with their corn, professed friendship, and in
turn sent their chiefs to Santa Fé. During their visit, Captain Arias of the
rearguard arriving, the governor announced the receipt of news that 200
soldiers were on the way to New Mexico. This made a good impression, and a
quantity of food was obtained. But the Tanos soon
began to show their independence by declining to furnish corn or to bring
timber with which to repair the San Miguel chapel. They offered, however, an
estufa—quite good enough they said for divine service until warm weather should
come.
Then the Picuríes and others bethought them of
a device to scatter the Spanish force, becoming much concerned for their own
spiritual welfare, and asking for an immediate distribution of the padres. On
December 18th, Padre San Antonio and his companions presented a formal protest against the distribution. While ready to sacrifice
their lives for the faith, they were not willing to go rashly and needlessly to
sure death. The governor acceded to their views. Another petition of the
colonists, through their cabildo, represented that they were suffering from
cold by reason of insufficient shelter, twenty-two children having died within
a few days, and asked that the Tanos be persuaded or
forced to vacate the casas reales and
dwellings of the villa in favor of the rightful owners. Though dreading a
conflict, the governor was obliged to call a junta de guerra,
which decided that the Tanos must be transferred to
their old pueblo of Galisteo. The natives had attributed Spanish forbearance to
fear; speakers in their juntas had urged war, claiming that the invaders were
few and weak, their governor an embustero, and
the story of approaching reenforcements a lie. The
order to quit the villa brought matters to a crisis. On December 28th the Tanos closed the entrance to the plaza and prepared for defence. Summoned to surrender, they demanded a day for
deliberation, and then, with shouts of insult, proclaimed their purpose to
resist. El Demonio they said could do more for
them than God or María; the Christians would be defeated, reduced to servitude,
and finally killed.
Don Diego caused prayers to be read for his kneeling soldiers, raised
the virgin’s picture on the battle flag, and then the army, shouting praises to
the Santo Sacramento, rushed in two divisions upon the capital. This was on the
29th, and the conflict lasted all day. Arrows, stones, and boiling water rained
upon the assailants from defensive works erected by the Spaniards years ago. At last the plaza gate was burned and the new estufa
captured; but Tehua reenforcements appeared. Twice did the cavalry charge and scatter this new foe, but night had come and Vargas could do no more than prevent the
interference of the enemy from abroad. Next morning the besieged surrendered,
their losses being severe and their wounded governor
having hanged himself. Seventy surviving warriors—only nine having been killed
in the fight—including Antonio Bolsas, their leading
spirit, were immediately shot, after an exhortation to penitence by Father Alpuente. The women and children, 400 in number, were
distributed as ‘hostages’, to serve until the viceroy should decide their
fate—that is, they were made slaves. This ended the year 1693 in New Mexico.
The Spaniards had now better protection from the cold and from the foe
in the dwellings and fortifications of the villa; moreover, they had acquired
slaves and a large quantity of corn; yet their prospects as colonists were
gloomy, as their occupation was limited to Santa Fé; all beyond was hostile,
raids on the cattle were frequent, arms were broken, and ammunition was scarce.
The season was not favorable for offensive operations with so small a force.
Pecos, Cia, Santa Ana, and San Felipe remained friendly, but had all they could
do to defend themselves against their angry neighbors. Early in January Juan
Ye, chief of the Pecos, applied for aid against the rebels and Apaches, and Captain Madrid was sent out with thirty men;
but it proved to be a false alarm invented to test the sincerity of Spanish
promises. On the 9th Vargas marched with ninety men to the abandoned pueblos of
Tesuque and Nambé, and thence to the mesa of San
Ildefonso, where the Tehuas of these three towns and
of Pujuaque, Cuyamanque,
Santa Clara, and Jacona, with the Tanos of San Cristobal and San Lázaro, were encamped. They
promised to come to the villa and make peace, but this was only a device to
gain time for a junction with the Jemes, Picuríes, Taos, and others.
On the 23d there came the viceroy’s letter, already mentioned, sent from
Cerro Gordo by Padre Farfán, the procurador,
who asked for an escort under which to send up his colony of seventy families
from El Paso. Vargas in reply explained the impossibility of sparing an escort, and urged Farfán to come on to Santa Fé with the
party, at the same time sending for ammunition. On the 28th he marched again to
the mesa with offers of peace and pardon. The natives professed repentance, but wished the governor and padre to come alone
and receive their submission, believing that if they could kill the leader the
rest of the Spaniards would leave the country. Failing in this, they paid no
heed to entreaties or threats, and Vargas returned to Santa Fé. Captain Madrid
attempted to get material for balls from a lead mine that had been worked by
his father near San Marcos; but the Indians had filled it up. Hostilities now
became frequent, and through messengers sent from the friendly pueblos, as from
occasional captives, always questioned and shot, news was often received of
what the rebels were doing. It seems there was a small element among the enemy
favoring surrender, but their arguments were always answered by a reference to
the seventy Tanos shot after the taking of Santa Fé.
Meanwhile, efforts were made by the hostiles to get aid from Acoma, Zuñi, and Moqui, and to form
alliances with Apache bands. Raids on the Spaniards’ live-stock were frequent, and sometimes slightly successful in February; while
Vargas, on the other hand, had sent out various raiding parties, taking a few
captives and obtaining large quantities of maize before the 24th, when the
natives began to destroy all the supplies they could not remove.
Late in February the governor, resolving on a vigorous offensive policy,
marched with about 100 soldiers and many settlers and Indians for the mesa of
San Ildefonso. Encamping at the pueblo of that name, he sent Captain Madrid
across to the west bank of the Río Grande to reconnoitre and recover stolen animals, and finally began the attack on the 4th of March,
his two pieces of artillery bursting at the first discharge. Charging up the
hill in two divisions, the Spaniards were met and repulsed in a fight of five
hours, fifteen Indians being killed and twenty Spaniards wounded, eight of
them seriously. Obtaining reenforcements and sending
his disabled back to the villa, Vargas repeated the assault on the 11th,
fighting six hours, without gaining any advantage. Next night the Indians came
down and made an attack, but were repulsed. The siege
was continued till the 19th, and then abandoned on account of bad weather, disabled
horses, and lack of ammunition. The army returned to Santa Fé, having killed
about thirty Indians, recovered 100 horses and mules, and taken a large store
of maize, of which 100 fanegas were sent south for the approaching families.
The friendly Queres now asked for help against
the rebels of Cochití, who were said to be intrenched
with others on the mesa of Cieneguilla, and to be
plotting an attack on the Spaniards and their allies. Accordingly, Vargas
marched on April 12th, joined the Queres under Ojeda
of Santa Ana—the man already named as one of Governor Cruzat’s captives of 1689, now a firm friend of the invaders—and on the 17th defeated
the foe at their new pueblo, capturing and shooting thirteen warriors, besides
the seven killed in battle, taking 342 women and children, with 70 horses and
900 sheep, and next day sending a provision train with a guard of twenty
soldiers to the villa, where on the 17th a band of raiding Tehuas had been repulsed by Lieutenant-general Granillo. The
governor remained at Cieneguilla with 36 men; and the
natives were now very penitent, desiring the release of their women and
children; but Vargas insisted on their burning the new pueblo, and returning to
their old home at Cochití. On the 20th or 21st the
Spanish camp was suddenly attacked, and 150 of the captives were lost, two
soldiers being killed, one of them accidentally, and Adjutant Francisco de
Anaya Almazan being drowned a few days later in
crossing the river. The mesa pueblo was burned, and the army returned to Santa
Fé in two divisions on the 25th and 27th.
Back at the capital, Don Diego gave his attention to the distribution of
slaves and live-stock, to the apportionment of lands,
and to the posting of guards, and other measures to protect the settlers and
friendly natives while putting in their crops.
On the 21st of May the hostiles of fourteen towns, or six nations, made
a raid on the real de caballada, or grazing camp, but
were repulsed by the guard; whereupon Vargas marched to the mesa of San
Ildefonso, where he had several skirmishes, taking 48 animals and a few
captives, and returning to Santa Fé. The Queres had
also sent in five Jemes prisoners, two of whom were
not shot—one because he promised to show the grave of a martyred friar, and the
other at the intercession of the Pecos chief Juan Ye. The families from Mexico
under Padre Farfán arrived on June 23d, and were
lodged in the villa until on the close of the war lands could be assigned
elsewhere. With the colonists or a little later came new stores of ammunition
and other needed articles.
The Queres had again applied for aid, but the
river was so high it could not be crossed. On June 30th Vargas marched
northward, killing eleven Tehuas of Cuyamanque the first day, finding Picture abandoned, and reaching
Taos on the 3d of July. This pueblo was also deserted, but the people had left
their property protected by crosses, which they supposed the Spaniards would
respect, as they did for a time. The Taos were in a canyon not far off, but
after a complicated series of negotiations, carried on chiefly through Juan Ye
and a band of friendly Apaches, nothing could be effected, and the pueblo was sacked, a large amount of maize
being taken. To reach Santa Fé the governor took a roundabout way northward
into the Yuta country, across the river, and thence southward to Ojo Caliente, Rio Chama, and San Juan. On the way he had
several skirmishes, and spent some days hunting
buffalo for meat. In the night of the 12th he was
attacked by the Yutas on a stream called San Antonio,
losing eight soldiers killed. The savages were repulsed, pardoned on the plea
that they mistook the Spaniards for hostile Indians who had often invaded their
country in Spanish dress, and became very friendly. Finally, having reconnoitred the mesa of San Ildefonso, where the rebels
were still strongly posted, he returned by way of Pujuaque and Tesuque to Santa Fé, arriving on July 16th.
Governor Vargas marched on July 21st with 120 men to join the Queres under Ojeda in an attack on the Jemes,
who after his start assaulted Cia and killed five men, but whose new pueblo on
the mesa Don Diego carried by assault on the 24th, after a hard fight, in which
the allies of Santa Ana and Cia fought bravely, Don Eusebio de Vargas—perhaps a
brother of the governor—greatly distinguished himself, and the enemy lost 84
killed and 361 or 371 prisoners. The pueblo was sacked and burned, after 300
fanegas of maize had been sent to the villa, the rest of the plunder being
distributed among the native allies, except 106 animals given to Padre Alpuente for his proposed mission at Cia. Before returning,
Vargas went to the old pueblo of Jemes, where he
recovered the remains of Padre Juan de Jesús, killed in the revolt of 1680,
deposited with appropriate ceremonies in the chapel at Santa Fé on the 11th of
August. Six days later messengers came in to ask pardon for the Jemes, attributing all their bad actions to the influence
of the chief Diego, whom they were willing to give up; also promising to return
to their old pueblo and to render aid against the common foe. Their offer was
accepted, and Diego was brought in on the 26th to be sentenced to death—a
sentence which at the last moment, on the intercession of his people, was
commuted to ten years’ labor in the mines of Nueva Vizcaya. The Jemes were given some implements, promised their chusma when they should have proven their good
faith, ordered to be ready for a march against the mesa, and sent home to
rebuild their old town.
Vargas now felt the importance of striking a decisive blow against the Tehuas and Tanos before the
winter should set in. With all his available force, including 150 Queres and Jemes, he marched on
the 4th of September, assaulted the mesa of San Ildefonso, and was driven back
with a loss of 11 men wounded, including Captain Antonio Jorge of the Santa Fé
presidio. On the 5th the native allies with three soldiers and an arriero
marched up the slope, challenged the foe and were put to flight, the muleteer
and one soldier being killed. For several days Vargas now gave his attention to
the cutting-off of supplies. At sight, however, of their fields of corn in the
milk trampled by the Spaniards, and of their native foes dancing round the
scalp of a fallen warrior, the Tehuas several times
came down and engaged in desperate conflict; but they were repulsed, soon
became discouraged, and on the 8th began to treat for peace, sending trifling
gifts to appease the governor’s wrath. Peace and pardon were granted on
condition of return to their pueblos. Thus New Mexico at last, except the towns
of the extreme north and west—those of the south being annihilated—became once
more a Spanish province.
The Jemes, having proved faithful allies in
the last campaign, were now given their women and children at the politic intercession
of their destined missionary. On the 13th of September the chiefs of San Juan,
San Cristóbal, San Lázaro, and Santa Clara came in
with some mules which they had taken from the Apaches,
reporting that all the Tehuas and Tanos were hard at work rebuilding their pueblos. Vargas now appointed the regular
pueblo officials, and on the 17th he started on a tour
of inspection, which satisfied him that the natives had submitted in good
faith. Other tours followed, during which occurred the formal submission and
pardon of other pueblos. The vice-custodio was
notified that the missions were ready for their respective padres, and by the
end of 1694 the friars were distributed and at work, though obliged to content
themselves with very humble quarters while the Indians were rebuilding churches
and houses.
The several tours of the governor and custodian to inspect the pueblos
and settle the missionaries need not be described, though some particulars are
preserved in the records. The natives had made up their minds to submit to the
inevitable, and not to revolt again until a favorable opportunity should
present itself. The women and children taken from the different towns and
distributed as servants among the colonists and soldiers were now gradually
given up, not without much regret and opposition on the part of their masters.
Of the Tanos chusma taken at Santa 45 ran away, whereat the vecinos complained bitterly; but the chieftains were ordered to bring back the
fugitives, and did so, which so pleased Vargas that he released the 45 and
promised to free the rest soon, proposing to settle with them the village of Cieneguilla, five leagues west of the capital. This policy
naturally pleased the natives, but it made for the governor many bitter foes
among the colonists. Padre San Antonio, who had gone to El Paso, resigned his
office, and Padre Francisco Vargas arrived as custodio on the 1st of November with four new friars. Meanwhile the governor sent south
an order to a friend to purchase and forward 3,000 fanegas of maize, wishing to
relieve the Indians of excessive taxation for a time until the old prosperity
should return.
In 1695 the seventy Mexican families who had come up with Padre Farfán
were settled in the new villa of Santa Cruz de la Canada, founded on the 12th
of April, under an alcalde mayor and a capitán de guerra, sergeant, four corporals, and
alguacil, with padre Moreno as the first minister. The new villa and the lands
assigned to the vecinos included the sites of
San Cristobal and San Lázaro, the Tanos of those pueblos being deprived of their homes and lands, very injudiciously as
the friars claimed later and perhaps now. Some of the exiles were attached to
San Juan, and others, after being scattered in different Tehua pueblos, were later united and sent to repeople Galisteo. This year the Picuríes and Taos were peaceably reduced to submission and
put in charge of missionaries; but hardly had the friars begun work when rumors
of new troubles began to circulate. The Indians had lost little of their hatred
for the invaders, and now that the padres were again at their stations and the
military force somewhat scattered, there were chiefs, especially among the
implacable Tehuas, who began to dream of a new revolt
and massacre like those of 1680, by which once more to rid their country of the
tyrant foreigners. The threatened dangers, however, took no definite shape this
year; although the natives of San Cristobal and San Lázaro,
chafing under the loss of their lands, ran away to the sierra in December. As the other pueblos did not join the movement, the Tanos were persuaded without much difficulty to come back
and be pardoned.
It appears that in 1695-6 there was a failure of crops, resulting in
serious privations, or even in a terrible famine, if we credit the highly
colored and partisan statement made in later legal proceedings against Vargas.
According to this authority, the people were forced to live on dogs, cats,
horses, mules, bull-hides, ‘foul herbs,’ and old bones; finally roaming over
the fields like wild animals, and many of them hiring themselves to the Indians
to carry wood and water, and grind corn, over 200 dying from the effects of
insufficient and noxious food. Of course, the governor's failure to distribute
properly the stores of maize was noted as one cause of the famine; and it is
also stated that four settlers, driven by their sufferings to desert, were
brought back and hanged without the last consolations of religion. To what
extent these statements were founded in fact it is difficult to determine, but
though doubtless exaggerated, they were supported by the sworn testimony of
many a few years later, as we shall see.
In the spring of 1696 the missionaries, who had the best opportunities
for knowing the real sentiments of the natives, found the indications so
alarming in various quarters that the custodio on
March 7th made known to Vargas in writing the imminent danger of a revolt, the defenceless condition of the missions, the risks taken by
the padres, and the incalculable damage that must result from a new disaster
like that of 1680. He concluded by begging for a guard of soldiers for each
mission. Two other petitions of like tenor were written on the 13th and 22d,
and from different directions came reports that the Indians had already
committed outrages in the new temples; but the governor, believing that the
natives had submitted in good faith, and that the complaints and fears had no
better foundation than idle rumor, either would not or could not furnish the
desired escoltas. He permitted the friars, if
they were afraid, to retire to Santa Fé, as some of them did. In his report of
March 28th to the viceroy he not only stated that all was quiet, and the danger
imaginary, but used language which the padres regarded as an imputation of
cowardice. Their pride was touched, and they returned to their stations quietly
to await the crisis. It came on the 4th of June, when the Taos, Picuríes, Tehuas, Queres of Santo Domingo and Cochití,
and the Jemes rose, killed five missionaries and 21
other Spaniards, in most cases immediately abandoning their pueblos and fleeing
to the mountains.
The governor started on the 7th for a tour among the deserted towns, and
“saw to regret what he ought to have believed to remedy”. Pecos, Tesuque, San
Felipe, Santa Ana, and Cia had remained faithful, but the Acomas, Zuñis, and Moquis had aided
the rebels, or at least were sheltering the fugitives, and were said to be
planning new attacks. The chief of Santo Domingo, a leading spirit in the
revolt, was captured and shot on the 14th; and several revolutionary agents
were also put to death at Pecos, with the governor’s consent. On the 23d of
July, a body of rebels was attacked and 10 of the number killed.
At the beginning of August an expedition was made to Cia, with a view to
operate either against the Acomas or Jemes; but Don Diego was recalled to the capital to
distribute 200 cattle, which now arrived from the south. On the 8th he marched
for Acoma, and attacked that pueblo on the 15th, capturing five natives, one of
them the chief, but failing to reach the peñol summit. Then he released the chief and resorted to persuasion, without success,
finally shooting the captives, ravaging the corn-fields,
and retiring. Subsequently, Adjutant Juan Ruiz was sent against the Jemes. In September Don Diego attacked the Taos in a canyon
not far from their town, and after several skirmishes they surrendered on the
8th of October, returning to live in the pueblo. The Picuríes and the Tehuas of San Juan feigned a desire for peace in order to save their crops; but Vargas discovered
their plans, and attacked them on October 26th, capturing 84 of their women
and children, to be distributed as servants among the soldiers on his return to
the capital, early in November. There were other campaigns, productive of but
slight results, as it was difficult to find any considerable number of the
rebels together. On the 24th of November, the date of the governor’s report to
the viceroy, all had been reduced to nominal submission except those of Acoma
and the west, Pujuaque, Cuyamanque,
and Santa Clara, with perhaps Santo Domingo and Cochití.
Yet many of the pueblos contained but a few families each. The rest of the
population was scattered in the mountains, among the gentile tribes, or in the
western pueblos. The surviving Queretaro Franciscans left the country in 1696.
A few officials of the year are named in a note.
The governor’s term of five years expired in 1696, and Pedro Rodriguez
Cubero had been appointed by the king to succeed him. Vargas had asked for
reappointment, but though the king was favorably disposed, the application came
too late. Overruling Don Diego’s objections, the viceroy sustained Cubero, who
came to New Mexico and took possession of the office on the 2nd of July, 1697. The king approved when after long delay the
matter reached him in 1699, but at the same time he thanked Vargas for his
services, gave him the choice of titles between marquis and conde, and granted
a reappointment, to take effect on the expiration of Cubero’s term in 1702, or
sooner if the office should become vacant. In the same cédula was approved all
that the viceroy had done in connection with the reconquest; and it was ordered
that the presidial force of Santa Fé should be raised
to 100 men, the Parral force retiring; that the force
at El Paso should not be reduced, as had been proposed; and that additional
families should be sent, not from Nueva Vizcaya, but from Mexico.
Meanwhile Vargas was involved in serious troubles; and indeed, at the
date of being thus highly honored by the king he had been two years in the
Santa Fé prison. There had been more or less misunderstanding between him and the cabildo from the first. Enjoying the
confidence of the viceroy, he had been given entire control of the expedition,
and attending in person or through his agents to all details financial as well
as military, he had ignored and offended the colony officials. Moreover, there
had been much dissatisfaction, as we have seen, at his policy in depriving the
settlers of their Indian slaves by restoring these captives to their pueblos as
a means of gaining the good-will of the natives. Cubero had a commission as juez de residencia, and though Vargas is
understood to have passed the ordeal successfully, he gave up his office
unwillingly and made of his successor a bitter foe; and the cabildo, with the
additional incentive of gaining favor with the new ruler, renewed the quarrel
in earnest.
Formal charges were presented before the governor, whose authority to
consider them was very doubtful. The ex-governor was accused of having
embezzled large sums of money furnished him for the recruiting and support of
the colonists; of having provoked, by shooting the Tanos captives at Santa Fé, and by other oppressive acts, all the hostilities of
1694-6; of having caused, by his mismanagement and failure to properly
distribute the small remaining portion of the food supply, which had been paid
for by the king but sold by Vargas in the south for his own profit, the deadly
famine of 1695-6; and of having driven away by his oppression the families
likely to testify against him in his residencia. Juan Paez Hurtado was also involved in the accusations, as Vargas’ accomplice, and as
principal in other serious charges. Cubero gratified his personal enmity and
that of the cabildo by treating Vargas in a most harsh and unjust manner. He
was fined 4,000 pesos for costs of the suit, all his property was confiscated,
and he was kept in prison for nearly three years. Few even of his own family
were allowed to see him, and every precaution was taken to prevent the sending
of any written communication to Mexico or Spain. Padre Vargas, the custodian,
visited Mexico and obtained an order for the prisoner’s release under bonds to
defend himself before the viceroy; but Don Diego refused to accept liberty on
such conditions, claiming that to give bonds would be degrading to a man of his
rank and services, especially in view of the king’s recent orders in his favor.
At last came an order for his release without conditions, and he started for
Mexico in July 1700. Here the charges against him are said to have been fully
investigated by royal order; at any rate, he was exonerated from all blame, and
his reappointment as governor, as we shall see, remained valid. As we have no
original records in the case except the partisan charges, it would perhaps be
going too far to declare Don Diego entirely innocent; the cabildo, however,
later retracted its accusations, attributing all the blame to Cubero; and the
chronicler, a Franciscan who can hardly be suspected of prejudice in Vargas’
favor, states—doubtless reflecting the views of his order—that Don Diego, while
somewhat over-enthusiastic, disposed to promise more than he could perform, and
to ignore in his reports many of the difficulties and dangers in New Mexico,
never gave the Spaniards any just cause of enmity, but rather merited their
love as a protector.
Of Cubero’s rule, within and beyond the limits of this chapter, there is
little to be said. Father Vargas resigning the office of custodio was succeeded by padres Diego de Chavarria, Juan Muñoz de Castro, and Antonio
Guerra. A document of May 1697 indicates that the number of settlers, heads of
families, in the province, including new-comers, was
313. This did not include the soldiers; and the total of so-called Spanish
population was probably not less than 1,500. Early in the same year Santa Cruz
de Galisteo was resettled with Tanos; and later the
rebel Queres of Cieneguilla,
Santo Domingo, and Cochití formed a new pueblo four
leagues north of Acoma, on the stream called Cubero. In July 1698, it was
decided in a junta de hacienda at Mexico that the New Mexican colonists must in
future depend on their own exertions, since the aid then furnished would be the
last; yet this regulation was not strictly enforced, as agricultural implements
at least were afterward supplied. In July 1699, the governor Cubero made a tour
in the west. On the 4th the new pueblo of the Queres submitted, being named San José de la Laguna; two days later Acoma, now called
San Pedro instead of San Estevan, renewed its allegiance; and on the 12th La Purísima de Zuñi, formerly
Asuncion and later Guadalupe, followed the example of its eastern neighbors.
The Moquis, noting the submission of other
nations, and dreading war more than they feared or loved Christians, sent
ambassadors in May 1700 to treat with the governor, professing their readiness
to rebuild churches and receive missionaries. At the same time Espeleta, chief of Oraibe, sent
for Padre Juan Garaicoechea to come and baptize
children. The friar set out at once with Alcalde José Lopez Naranjo, and went
to Aguatuvi, where he baptized 73 young Moquis. On account of a pretended
rumor that the messengers to Santa Fé had been killed, he was not permitted to
visit Oraibe or the other pueblos at this time; but Espeleta promised to notify him soon when they were ready
for another visit, Garaicoechea returning to Zuñi and reporting to the governor on June 9th. In October
the Moquis were again heard from, when Espeleta came in person to Santa Fé with 20 companions, and
with somewhat modified views. He now proposed a simple treaty of peace, his
nation, like Spain, to retain its own religion! Cubero could offer peace only
on condition of conversion to Christianity. Then the Moqui chief proposed as an ultimatum that the padres should visit one pueblo each
year for six years to baptize, but postponed permanent
residence till the end of that period. This scheme was likewise rejected, and Espeleta went home for further deliberation.
There were in those days fears of French invasion. Padre Niel tells us
that among the captives whom the Navajos were accustomed to bring to New Mexico each year for Christian ransom, he rescued two little French
girls. In 1698 the French had almost annihilated a Navajo force of 4,000 men;
and in 1700 the Apaches reported that a town of the Jumanas had been destroyed by the same foe. Toward the
Spaniards the Navajos were friendly down to 1700, but in that year they committed some depredations, and the governor
started on an expedition against them, making peace, however, with the Navajo
chief at Taos. There was also a campaign against the Faraon Apaches, but of it we know only that nothing was
accomplished. This same year there was trouble at Pecos, resulting from the
execution by Don Felipe, the chief, of five rebels in the war of 1596. There
was an attempt to raise a revolt against that chief, but the ringleaders were
imprisoned at Santa Fe until they escaped and joined the Jicarilla Apaches. The pueblo became divided into two factions, which
often came to blows, until at last, Don Felipe’s party having the best of it,
the other asked permission to live at Pujuaque. It is
not recorded that the change was actually made.
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