THE OLD SANTA FE TRAIL by COLONEL HENRY INMAN (best fiction novels of all time .TXT) 📕

Thundering among The Excited troopers And

Infantrymen.

 

 

 

On The 29Th An Express From Bent'S Fort Brought News To General

Kearney From Santa Fe That Governor Armijo Had Called the Chief Men

Together To Deliberate On The Best Means Of Defending The City;

That Hostile Preparations Were Rapidly Going On In all Parts Of

New Mexico; And That The American Advance Would Be Vigorously Opposed.

Some Mexican Prisoners Were Taken Near Bent'S Fort, With Blank Letters

On Their Persons Addressed to The General; It Was Supposed this Piece

Of Ingenuity Was Resorted to To Deceive The American Residents At

The Fort.  These Men Were Thought To Be Spies Sent Out From Santa Fe

To Get An Idea Of The Strength Of The Army; So They Were Shown

Everything In and Around Camp, And Then Allowed to Depart In peace

For Santa Fe, To Report What They Had Seen.

 

 

 

On The Same Date, The Army Of The West Crossed the Arkansas And Camped

On Mexican Soil About Eight Miles Below Bent'S Fort, And Now The

Utmost Vigilance Was Exercised; For The Troops Had Not Only To Keep

A Sharp Lookout For The Mexicans, But For The Wily Comanches, In whose

Country Their Camp Was Located.  Strong Picket And Camp Guards Were

Posted, And The Animals Turned loose To Graze, Guarded by A Large

Force.  Notwithstanding The Care Taken To Confine Them Within Certain

Limits, A Pack Of Wolves Rushed through The Herd, And In an Instant

It Was Stampeded, And There Ensued a Scene Of The Wildest Confusion.

More Than A Thousand Horses Were Dashing Madly Over The Prairie,

Their Rage And Fright Increased at Every Jump By The Lariats And

Picket-Pins Which They Had Pulled up, And Which Lashed them Like

So Many Whips.  After Desperate Exertions By The Troops, The Majority

Were Recovered from Thirty To Fifty Miles Distant; Nearly A Hundred,

However, Were Absolutely Lost And Never Seen Again.

 

 

 

At This Camp The Troops Were Visited by The War Chief Of The Arapahoes,

Who Manifested great Surprise At The Big Guns, And Declared that

The Mexicans Would Not Stand A Moment Before Such Terrible Instruments

Of Death, But Would Escape To The Mountains With The Utmost Despatch.

 

 

 

On The 1St Of August A New Camp Near Bent'S Fort Was Established,

From Whence Twenty Men Under Lieutenant De Courcy, With Orders To

Proceed through The Mountains To The Valley Of Taos, To Learn

Something Of The Disposition And Intentions Of The People, And To

Rejoin General Kearney On The Road To Santa Fe.  Lieutenant De Courcy,

In His Official Itinerary, Relates The Following anecdote:

          We Took Three Pack-Mules Laden With Provisions, And As

          We Did Not Expect To Be Long Absent, The Men Took No Extra

          Clothing.  Three Days After We Left The Column Our Mules

          Fell Down, And Neither Gentle Means Nor The Points Of Our

          Sabres Had The Least Effect In inducing Them To Rise.

          Their Term Of Service With Uncle Sam Was Out.  "What'S To

          Be Done?" Said The Sergeant.  "Dismount!" Said I.

          "Off With Your Shirts And Drawers, Men! Tie Up The Sleeves

          And Legs, And Each Man Bag One-Twentieth Part Of The Flour!"

          Having Done This, The Bacon Was Distributed to The Men Also,

          And Tied to The Cruppers Of Their Saddles.  Thus Loaded,

          We Pushed on, Without The Slightest Fear Of Our Provision

          Train Being Cut Off.

 

 

 

          The March Upon Santa Fe Was Resumed on The 2D Of August.

          As We Passed bent'S Fort The American Flag Was Raised,

          In compliment To Our Troops, And, Like Our Own, Streamed

          Most Animatingly In the Gale That Swept From The Desert,

          While The Tops Of The Houses Were Crowded with Mexican Girls

          And Indian Squaws, Intently Beholding The American Army.

 

 

 

On The 15Th Of The Month, The Army Neared las Vegas; When Two Spies

Who Had Been Sent On In advance To See How Matters Stood Returned

And Reported that Two Thousand Mexicans Were Camped at The Pass

A Few Miles Beyond The Village, Where They Intended to Offer Battle.

 

 

 

Upon Receipt Of This News, The General Immediately Formed a Line

Of Battle.  The United states Dragoons With The St. Louis Mounted

Volunteers Were Stationed in front, Major Clark With The Battalion

Of Volunteer Light Artillery In the Centre, And Colonel Doniphan'S

Regiment In the Rear.  The Companies Of Volunteer Infantry Were

Deployed on Each Side Of The Line Of March As Flankers.  The Supply

Trains Were Next In order, With Captain Walton'S Mounted company

As Rear Guard.  There Was Also A Strong Advance Guard.  The Cartridges

Were Hastily Distributed; The Cannon Swabbed and Rigged; The

Port-Fires Burning, And Every Rifle Loaded.

 

 

 

In Passing Through The Streets Of The Curious-Looking Village Of

Las Vegas, The Army Was Halted, And From The Roof Of A Large House

General Kearney Administered to The Chief Officers Of The Place

The Oath Of Allegiance To The United states, Using The Sacred cross

Instead Of The Bible.  This Act Completed, On Marched the Exultant

Troops Toward The Canyon Where It Had Been Promised them That They

Should Meet The Enemy.

 

 

 

On The Night Of The 16Th, While Encamped on The Pecos River, Near

The Village Of San Jose, The Pickets Captured a Son Of The Mexican

General Salezar, Who Was Acting The Role Of A Spy, And Two Other

Soldiers Of The Mexican Army.  Salezar Was Kept A Close Prisoner;

But The Two Privates Were By Order Of General Kearney Escorted

Through The Camp And Shown The Cannon, After Which They Were Allowed

To Depart, So That They Might Tell What They Had Seen.  It Was

Learned afterward That They Represented the American Army As Composed

Of Five Thousand Troops, And Possessing So Many Cannons That They

Were Not Able To Count Them.

 

 

 

When Armijo Was Certain That The Army Of The West Was Really

Approaching Santa Fe, He Assembled seven Thousand Troops, Part Of Them

Well Armed, And The Remainder Indifferently So.  The Mexican General

Had Written A Note To General Kearney The Day Before The Capture

Of The Spies, Saying That He Would Meet Him On The Following Day.

 

 

 

General Kearney, At This, Hastened on, Arriving at The Mouth Of

The Apache Canyon At Noon, With His Whole Force Ready And Anxious

To Try The Mettle Of The Mexicans In battle.  Emory In his

_Reconnoissance_ Says:

 

 

 

          The Sun Shone With Dazzling Brightness; The Guidons And

          Colours Of Each Squadron, Regiment, And Battalion Were

          For The First Time Unfurled.  The Drooping Horses Seemed

          To Take Courage From The Gay Array.  The Trumpeters

          Sounded "To Horse" With Spirit, And The Hills Multiplied

          And Re-Echoed the Call.  All Wore The Aspect Of A Gala Day.

          About The Middle Of The Day'S March The Two Pueblo Indians,

          Previously Sent To Sound The Chief Men Of That Formidable

          Tribe, Were Seen In the Distance, At Full Speed, With Arms

          And Legs Both Thumping The Sides Of Their Mules At Every

          Stride.  Something Was Now Surely In the Wind.  The Smaller

          And Foremost Of The Two Dashed up To The General, His Face

          Radiant With Joy, And Exclaimed:

 

 

 

          "They Are In the Canyon, My Brave; Pluck Up Your Courage

          And Push Them Out."  As Soon As His Extravagant Delight At

          The Prospect Of A Fight, And The Pleasure Of Communicating

          The News, Had Subsided, He Gave A Pretty Accurate Idea

          Of Armijo'S Force And Position.

 

 

 

          Shortly Afterwards A Rumour Reached the Camp That The

          Two Thousand Mexicans Assembled in the Canyon To Oppose Us,

          Have Quarrelled among Themselves; And That Armijo, Taking

          Advantage Of The Dissensions, Has Fled with His Dragoons

          And Artillery To The South.  It Is Well Known That He Has

          Been Averse To A Battle, But Some Of His People Threatened

          His Life If He Refused to Fight.  He Had Been, For Some

          Days, More In fear Of His Own People Than Of The American

          Army, Having Seen What They Are Blind To--The Hopelessness

          Of Resistance.

 

 

 

          As We Approached the Ancient Town Of Pecos, A Large Fat

          Fellow, Mounted on A Mule, Came Toward Us At Full Speed,

          And, Extending His Hand To The General, Congratulated him

          On The Arrival Of Himself And Army.  He Said With A Roar

          Of Laughter, "Armijo And His Troops Have Gone To H---Ll,

          And The Canyon Is All Clear."

 

 

 

On Reaching The Canyon, It Was Found To Be True That The Mexican

Troops Had Dispersed and Fled to The Mountains, Just As The Old

Arapahoe Chief Had Said They Would.  There, However, They Commenced

To Fortify, By Chopping away The Timber So That Their Artillery

Could Play To Better Advantage Upon The American Lines, And By

Throwing Up Temporary Breastworks.  It Was Ascertained afterward,

On Undoubted authority, That Armijo Had An Army Of Nearly Seven

Thousand Mexicans, With Six Pieces Of Artillery, And The Advantage

Of Ground, Yet He Allowed general Kearney, With A Force Of Less Than

Two Thousand, To March Through The Almost Impregnable Gorge, And On

To The Capital Of The Province, Without Any Attempt To Oppose Him.

 

 

 

Thus Was New Mexico Conquered with But Little Loss Relatively.

For The Further Details Of The Movements Of The Army Of The West,

The Reader Is Referred to General History, As This Book, Necessarily,

Treats Only Of That Portion Of Its March And The Incidents Connected

With It While Travelling The Santa Fe Trail.

Chapter VIII (The Valley Of Taos)

The Principal Settlement In new Mexico, Immediately After It Was

Reconquered from The Indians By The Spaniards, Was, Of Course,

Santa Fe, And Ranking Second To It, That Of The Beautiful Valle De Taos,

Which Derived its Name From The Taosa Indians, A Few Of Whose Direct

Descendants Are Still Occupying a Portion Of The Region.  As The

Pioneers In the Trade With Santa Fe Made Their First Journeys To

The Capital Of The Province By The Circuitous Route Of The Taos

Valley, And The Initial Consignments Of Goods From The Missouri

Were Disposed of In the Little Villages Scattered along The Road,

The Story Of The Trail Would Be Deficient In its Integrity Were The

Thrilling Historical Facts Connected with The Romantic Region Omitted.

 

 

 

The Reader Will Find On All Maps, From The Earliest Published to The

Latest Issued by The Local Railroads, A Town With The Name Of Taos,

Which Never Had An Existence.  Fernandez De Taos Is The Chief City,

Which Has Been Known So Long By The Title Of The Valley That Perhaps

The Misnomer Is Excusable After Many Years' Use.

 

 

 

Fernandez, Or Taos As It Is Called, Was Once Famous For Its

Distilleries Of Whiskey, Made Out Of The Native Wheat, A Raw, Fiery

Spirit, Always Known In the Days Of The Santa Fe Trade As "Taos

Lightning," Which Was The Most Profitable Article Of Barter With

The Indians, Who Exchanged their Buffalo Robes And Other Valuable

Furs For A Supply Of It, At A Tremendous Sacrifice.

 

 

 

According To The Statement Of Gregg, The First White Settler Of The

Fertile And Picturesque Valley Was A Spaniard Named pando, Who

Established himself There About 1745.  This Primitive Pioneer Of

The Northern Part Of The Province Was Constantly Exposed to The Raids

Of The Powerful Comanches, But Succeeded in creating a Temporary

Friendship With The Tribe By Promising His Daughter, Then A Young

And Beautiful Infant, To The Chief In marriage When She Arrived

At A Suitable Age.  At The Time For The Ratification Of Her Father'S

Covenant With The Indians, However, The Maiden Stubbornly Refused

To Fulfil Her Part.  The Savages, Enraged at The Broken Faith Of

The Spaniard, Immediately Swept Down Upon The Little Settlement And

Murdered everybody There Except The Betrothed girl, Whom They

Carried off Into Captivity.  She Was Forced to Live With The Chief

As His Wife, But He Soon Became Tired of Her And Traded her For

Another Woman With The Pawnees, Who, In turn, Sold Her To A Frenchman,

A Resident Of St. Louis.  It Is Said That Some Of The Most Respectable

Families Of That City Are Descended from Her, And Fifty Years