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27 - Life and Adventures of Kit Carson by DeWitt C. Peters · Life and Adventures of Kit Carson

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Speaker 1: Section twenty six, Chapter fifteen, Part three of the Life
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Speaker 1: and Adventures of Kit Carson. This is a LibriVox recording.
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Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
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Speaker 1: by John Crean. The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson
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Speaker 1: by de Witt C. Peters, Section twenty six, Chapter fifteen,
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Speaker 1: Part three. The strength of the Apaches amounted to eight
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Speaker 1: lodges or two hundred and forty warriors, and as they
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Speaker 1: were on foot and without their families, they were entirely unencumbered.
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Speaker 1: Lieutenant Davidson's first maneuver was to send in advance a
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Speaker 1: small party whose duty it was to act as spies,
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Speaker 1: while at the same time time they endeavored to engage
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Speaker 1: the Indians in a talk of which they are usually
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Speaker 1: so fond. But the courage of the Red men was
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Speaker 1: apparently much elevated on seeing the smallness of the whole
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Speaker 1: force sent against them. Therefore they received the advance with
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Speaker 1: such coldness that the latter soon after gladly retreated to
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Speaker 1: their companion who were halted on the little creek that
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Speaker 1: runs by the foot of the mountains. Lieutenant Davidson now
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Speaker 1: saw that his only course was to commence the attack
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Speaker 1: and trust to fortune and the bravery of his men. Therefore,
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Speaker 1: he ordered the gallant fellows to dismount, and, after leaving
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Speaker 1: their horses with a small guard, they commenced the work
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Speaker 1: of scrambling up the rocks so that they might get
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Speaker 1: at and dislodge the enemy. In this they succeeded, notwithstanding
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Speaker 1: they met with a powerful and determined resistance. In the attempt.
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Speaker 1: Five soldiers were killed. When the dragoons had reached the
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Speaker 1: highest eminence of the mountain, they found, to their disappointment
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Speaker 1: that the apaches had not taken to flight according to
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Speaker 1: their anticipations, but instead they were scattering and surrounding them,
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Speaker 1: there being great danger, as already demonstrations were visible in
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Speaker 1: that quarter that the Indians would capture the horses of
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Speaker 1: the soldiers. Therefore, Lieutenant Davidson placed himself at the head
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Speaker 1: of his men and led them back to the spot
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Speaker 1: where the animals were congregated. In doing so, he was
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Speaker 1: obliged to fight his way, as every foot of ground
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Speaker 1: he passed over was stoutly contested. But at last he
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Speaker 1: arrived just in time to save them. The fight then
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Speaker 1: became desultory but desperate on the part of the soldiers.
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Speaker 1: For the Indians, by concealing themselves behind rocks, trees, and
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Speaker 1: whatever came in their way, were quite secured against injury
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Speaker 1: from the carbines and revolvers of the Whites, while from
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Speaker 1: their came a deadly fire that fast diminished the numbers
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Speaker 1: of their adversaries. In vain did the dragoons charge them
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Speaker 1: and cause the foremost of the enemy to retreat to
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Speaker 1: their friends in the rear. Lieutenant Davidson soon found his
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Speaker 1: party so much crippled in strength that he saw he
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Speaker 1: could no longer protect his horses and at the same
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Speaker 1: time carry on the combat against such great odds. When
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Speaker 1: there was little left that he could do except to
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Speaker 1: offer himself and men as targets to be shot at,
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Speaker 1: Lieutenant Davidson reluctantly ordered his men to retreat. In obeying
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Speaker 1: this command, the soldiers had not more than wheeled about
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Speaker 1: when down came the foe in full pursuit, making the
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Speaker 1: very air ring with their warhoops and unearthly shouts. So
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Speaker 1: bold did these Indians become from the victory which they
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Speaker 1: had achieved, that they charged so hotly and so near
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Speaker 1: the soldiers that the latter were compelled in self defense
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Speaker 1: to turn and in a hand to hand contest, beat
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Speaker 1: them off. After resisting a succession of these assaults, the
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Speaker 1: command finally gained the main road. Upon counting his men,
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Speaker 1: Lieutenant Davidson found that twenty of them were killed and
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Speaker 1: left behind on the battlefield, and that out of the
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Speaker 1: surviving forty, hardly one man had escaped being wounded. Thereby
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Speaker 1: showing considering the numbers engaged, how bravely the fight had
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Speaker 1: been maintained, and how gallantly each one had endeavored to
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Speaker 1: turn the tide of affairs to a more favorable result.
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Speaker 1: The course pursued by, and even the bravery of Lieutenant
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Speaker 1: Davidson in this affair, has been unjustly assailed and questioned
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Speaker 1: by some persons who have probably been misinformed on the subject.
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Speaker 1: Judging from the evidence of his companions, there was not
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Speaker 1: a more courageous man on that ground than the officer
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Speaker 1: in command. Kit Carson refutes the accusation made against his
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Speaker 1: friend in the following strain. I am intimately acquainted with
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Speaker 1: Lieutenant Davidson, and have been in engagements with him where
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Speaker 1: he has taken a prominent part, and can testify that
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Speaker 1: he is as brave and discreet as it is possible
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Speaker 1: for a man to be. Nearly every person engaged in
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Speaker 1: and who survived that day's bloody battle has since told
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Speaker 1: me that his commanding officer never once sought shelter, but
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Speaker 1: stood manfully exposed to the aim of the Indians, encouraging
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Speaker 1: his men, and apparently entirely unmindful of his own life.
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Speaker 1: It was, however, in the retreat they say that he
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Speaker 1: acted the most gallantly, for when everything was going badly
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Speaker 1: with the soldiers, he was as cool and collected as
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Speaker 1: if under the guns of his forte. The only anxiety
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Speaker 1: he exhibited was for the safety of a remaining men.
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Speaker 1: The Indians must have lost many of their warriors in
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Speaker 1: this fight, but the exact number has never been ascertained.
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Speaker 1: The news of the defeat was brought by the retreating
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Speaker 1: soldiers themselves to the town of Tahos, where, on hearing it,
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Speaker 1: for a short time, consternation seized hold of its inhabitants,
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Speaker 1: But slowly they calmed down, and a party consisting of
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Speaker 1: Americans and Mexicans with wagons was sent out to bring
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Speaker 1: in the mutilated remains of the fallen. On reaching the field,
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Speaker 1: the dead were found, but they were all mutilated and
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Speaker 1: stripped of all their clothing. The Indians had left nothing
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Speaker 1: which they thought might be turned to the least account.
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Speaker 1: One poor fellow had escaped the rigid scrutiny of the
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Speaker 1: red men by crawling to an obscure place where he
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Speaker 1: had died from his wounds. On his body was found
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Speaker 1: a belt that contained three hundred dollars in gold, his
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Speaker 1: hard earnings that he had been saving up against a
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Speaker 1: day of need. Had the savages known of this money,
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Speaker 1: they would not have left it, for they are quite
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Speaker 1: familiar with the use, if not with the real value
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Speaker 1: of gold. A few days later, the Apaches made their
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Speaker 1: appearance in a small Mexican settlement, which was far distant
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Speaker 1: from the scene of their success. They were dressed in
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Speaker 1: portions of the uniforms and accouterments taken from the dead dragoons,
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Speaker 1: and as they sauntered about the town, they would salute
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Speaker 1: each other in military style and otherwise mock the actions
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Speaker 1: of the military men. Calling for a piece of paper,
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Speaker 1: one fellow with a bit of charcoal, pretended to write
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Speaker 1: on it and order no doubt by so doing he
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Speaker 1: thought he was imitating something of the kind which he
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Speaker 1: had seen done at a military post. After making a
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Speaker 1: few scratches on the paper, he handed it to one
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Speaker 1: of his red companions, and with a smile on his
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Speaker 1: rough count and addressed to him some directions in reference
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Speaker 1: to the document. Although the Mexicans were much amused at
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Speaker 1: these burlesque actions of the Indians, yet they did not
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Speaker 1: dare to show their mirth until the latter had departed
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Speaker 1: and left them in possession of their lives. The day
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Speaker 1: following the one on which the fight had taken place,
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Speaker 1: Kit Carson returned from Santa Fe and passed near to
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Speaker 1: the spot where the soldiers had been so roughly handled,
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Speaker 1: But he did not see a visage of an apache.
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Speaker 1: They had by that time traveled to the west side
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Speaker 1: of the Rio del Norte. Indeed, he anticipated no danger
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Speaker 1: to himself, as he was well aware that the safest
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Speaker 1: time to travel through any section of an Indian country
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Speaker 1: is just after the savages had been guilty of some
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Speaker 1: high handed act. They are then instinctively, as some may say,
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Speaker 1: but as the fact appears to us, by use of
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Speaker 1: their reasoning powers, well aware that active measures will be
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Speaker 1: set on foot to repay them for their rascality. The trail,
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Speaker 1: which on this occasion Kit Carson traveled over in coming
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Speaker 1: from Santa Fe, is one of the most interesting routes
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Speaker 1: in safe times that a mere traveler can select. It
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Speaker 1: comprises some of the most beautiful scenery in New Mexico.
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Speaker 1: The length of the trail is about seventy five miles,
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Speaker 1: and so many windings and urns does it make through mountains, forests,
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Speaker 1: and groves that every hundred yards furnishes a suitable place
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Speaker 1: for an Indian and biscade. The largest part of the country,
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Speaker 1: which lies between Tahos and Santa Fe, is mountainous. Therefore,
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Speaker 1: this trail is one series of ascents and descents. The
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Speaker 1: greatest pitch is near the scene of the fight in
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Speaker 1: which Lieutenant Davidson and his command were engaged, where the path,
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Speaker 1: in order to avoid an almost perpendicular declivity, makes a
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Speaker 1: zigzag course. To accomplish the ascent of this mountain on
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Speaker 1: a good riding animal, it takes at least two hours. Therefore,
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Speaker 1: the height of the mountain can be easily imagined by
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Speaker 1: those accustomed to mountain climbing. On reaching some of these
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Speaker 1: immense eminences. The scenery is principally formed by the broken country,
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Speaker 1: studded here and there with mountains which appear as if
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Speaker 1: in miniature as well as real. Between are valleys, rivers, creeks, canyons,
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Speaker 1: et cetera, which render the views truly grand. There is
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Speaker 1: sufficient woodland, plenty of pure air, and different species of
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Speaker 1: game in great abundance, playing about and filling up the
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Speaker 1: picture with life. To use the words of romance, this
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Speaker 1: does not fail to make the scenery perfect. The trail
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Speaker 1: runs through hamlets and villages which come in at the
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Speaker 1: proper distances and form great auxiliaries to the traveler when
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Speaker 1: fatigued by horseback riding. For at most of these places
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Speaker 1: the traveler can find rest for the night, always provided
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Speaker 1: that he is willing to submit to a multitude of inconveniences.
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Speaker 1: The most desirable place at which to stop on this
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Speaker 1: trail is a town nearly midway between Tahos and Santa Fe.
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Speaker 1: It is called Rio Arriba. In this village the traveler
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Speaker 1: can obtain many comforts which are denied him even in
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Speaker 1: the larger towns. At the present time, it is a
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Speaker 1: very difficult matter for loaded caravans to pass direct from
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Speaker 1: Santa Fe to Tahos. But the United States government has
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Speaker 1: taken the matter in hand and has appropriated large sums
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Speaker 1: of money for making a good road between the two places. Therefore,
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Speaker 1: it will not be a long time before the transit
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Speaker 1: will be accomplished with ease and safety. Scattered over the
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Speaker 1: country adjacent to this trail now under consideration, there are
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Speaker 1: many hamlets and villages which are being greatly augmented by
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Speaker 1: new settlers yearly. Many of these have been seldom, if ever,
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Speaker 1: visited by white men, and the minute geography of this
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Speaker 1: tract of country is still in the embryo. Perhaps a
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Speaker 1: new El Dorado is there in store for mankind, and
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Speaker 1: that someday its resources will receive an impetus and be
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Speaker 1: developed by the sudden discovery of valuable minds therein. This
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Speaker 1: is no chimerical illusion. It scarcely rests upon an uncertainty.
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Speaker 1: For the mineral wealth of New Mexico, we are firmly
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Speaker 1: persuaded is still in its infancy to use trapper language.
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Speaker 1: Judging from signs which exists there in abundance, we shall
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Speaker 1: not be surprised to hear in time that this territory
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Speaker 1: has turned out to be a second California. Rumors of gold,
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Speaker 1: and even specimens of the article itself, are frequent in
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Speaker 1: many parts of the country, but the poverty of the
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Speaker 1: inhabitants keeps them from searching as they are in order
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Speaker 1: to make the discovery. The Americans find a more profitable
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Speaker 1: business in commerce and trade. Therefore they but seldom indulge
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Speaker 1: in speculations designed to develop the mineral wealth of the country.
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Speaker 1: But nevertheless they have faith that gold in immense quantities
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Speaker 1: exists there, and believe that in time, scientific men will
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Speaker 1: disclose the fact and position. We have seen quills full
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Speaker 1: of gold dust which has been collected there, and we
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Speaker 1: are well acquainted with men who have washed out from
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Speaker 1: several streams in the northern part of the territory the
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Speaker 1: value of two and a half dollars per diem. But
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Speaker 1: with the high prices of living, this rate of produce
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Speaker 1: cannot be made to pay unless the work shall be
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Speaker 1: carried on by the assistance of capital. On this trail
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Speaker 1: to Santa Fe, there are several small pueblos which are
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Speaker 1: inhabited by the descendants of the ancient Aztecs. These settlements
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Speaker 1: generally are quite thrifty and exhibit many external appearances of comfort.
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Speaker 1: To prepare and cultivate the soil, it takes much labor
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Speaker 1: in irrigating and bestowing other farming operations upon the land
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Speaker 1: in order to bring crops to perfection. Hence, these people,
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Speaker 1: like the New Mexicans, can realize from their toil, but
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Speaker 1: little beyond their own subsistence. This trail, as it approaches
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Speaker 1: Santa Fe, enters through groves of small pines, which are
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Speaker 1: many miles in extent. In such places, the ground is
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Speaker 1: sandy and the vegetation poor. In the extreme. It has
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Speaker 1: proved an exceedingly difficult problem for more than one mind
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Speaker 1: to solve the reason why the capital of the territory
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Speaker 1: should have been located in such a barren section of
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Speaker 1: the country. Perhaps it was because this was the most
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Speaker 1: central spot that could be selected, although such a reason
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Speaker 1: can hardly be offered in sober earnestness. The most charitable
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Speaker 1: reasoning which we can offer for it is because the
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Speaker 1: Mexicans knew no better. It is true there are valuable
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Speaker 1: silver mines nearby, but this could only cause a town
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Speaker 1: to be raised to suit the miners, and not to
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Speaker 1: form the attraction where the elite of New Mexican society
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Speaker 1: should for so many years congregate. Santa Fe is located
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Speaker 1: on a plateau of ground which is about seven thousand
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Speaker 1: feet above the level of the sea. The town itself
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Speaker 1: contains about five or six thousand inhabitants, which includes all races.
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Speaker 1: It is built of adobees or sun burnt brick, and
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Speaker 1: occupies both sides of a small stream, which is called
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Speaker 1: the Rio Chiquito and which flows into the Rio Grande,
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Speaker 1: nearly twenty miles from the town. The site of Santa
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Speaker 1: Fe is low when compared with the altitude of the
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Speaker 1: surrounding country, being bounded on nearly all size by lofty mountains.
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Speaker 1: One of the these mountains is quite famous. It is
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Speaker 1: the loftiest of all in that section of the country
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Speaker 1: and is capped during the greater part of the year
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Speaker 1: with snow, as is invariably the case with the large
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Speaker 1: majority of Mexican towns. There is but little regularity in
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Speaker 1: the streets of Santa Fe, but yet the plaza is
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Speaker 1: easily reached by several avenues. Santa Fe forms the grand
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Speaker 1: commercial emporium of the great interior continent of North America,
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Speaker 1: and its trade diverges to every point of the compass.
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Speaker 1: The extent of this trade can be realized when we
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Speaker 1: assert the fact that with the state of Missouri alone
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Speaker 1: it amounts annually to several millions of dollars. In the South,
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Speaker 1: it has overland communication even with the city of Mexico.
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Speaker 1: If the tariff between the two countries could be arranged
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Speaker 1: upon a more equitable footing than it now is, the
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Speaker 1: Mexican trade would swell into an enormous sum. Every acquisition
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Speaker 1: of a new territory in the far West and Southwest
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Speaker 1: aids in developing the commerce of Santa Fe. Therefore, until
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Speaker 1: steams shall cause a revolution in the course of trade,
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Speaker 1: this town must necessarily increase greatly in importance. The stores
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Speaker 1: in the town are mostly owned, and the mercantile business
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Speaker 1: chiefly carried on by Americans. These American speculators are celebrated
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Speaker 1: for the daring manner with which they launch out their
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Speaker 1: money upon various enterprises with them. The greater the risk
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Speaker 1: when their chances appear that the game will be large,
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Speaker 1: the more eager they are in facing the hazard. They
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Speaker 1: sometimes lose, but oftentimes realize large fortunes. The appearance of
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Speaker 1: these stores is captivating to the fancy and many of
17:51
Speaker 1: them would be ornaments to any of the larger cities
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Speaker 1: or towns of the East. The most expensive articles of
17:57
Speaker 1: luxury and dress are to be found in them. And
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Speaker 1: in these distant parts such property commands a price which
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Speaker 1: would startle and quite shake the nerves of a prince.
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Speaker 1: But when the people can obtain the money, they purchase
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Speaker 1: everything which their fancy dictates. A Santa Fe Senorita dashes
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Speaker 1: in her rich silks, which have cost hundreds of dollars,
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Speaker 1: with as much grace as does one of the Washington
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Speaker 1: or Fifth Avenue bells, clothed in the same luxuriant style.
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Speaker 1: In Santa Fe. We are sorry to say it requires
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Speaker 1: vice of the worst shade for women to support such
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Speaker 1: a style of living. But the morals of the Mexicans
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Speaker 1: are so loose in all classes that virtue is boldly
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Speaker 1: parted with by both sexes, in a spirit which the
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Speaker 1: triumphs of natural reason alone ought to prevent, and which
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Speaker 1: no lover of humanity can admire or tolerate. Gambling in
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Speaker 1: this town has long held its full sway, and many
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Speaker 1: is the victim which which this wretched, wickedness has prematurely
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Speaker 1: hurried into a vortex from which there has been no recovery.
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Speaker 1: The palmy days of gambling in San Francisco have been
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Speaker 1: rivaled in the little town of Santa Fe, and the
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Speaker 1: boldness with which the Mexican player will part with his
19:17
Speaker 1: last dollar shows the hardened state to which the man
19:22
Speaker 1: and what is perhaps worse, the woman, have been brought
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Speaker 1: by years of habitual playing for money. In olden times,
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Speaker 1: the Mexicans used to travel hundreds of miles and bring
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Speaker 1: their money with them in order to squander it at
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Speaker 1: their favorite game of monty. Not only this fact is true,
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Speaker 1: but men will often sell themselves into the slavery of
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Speaker 1: death in order to satisfy their craving desire to gamble.
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Speaker 1: The town of Santa Fe is watered by azikieas, or
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Speaker 1: small canals, which are used in every section of the territory,
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Speaker 1: with which to irrigate the soil. Near the town, and
20:01
Speaker 1: on a hill adjoining stands the ruins of Fort Marcy,
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Speaker 1: which was used by the American volunteers during the conquest
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Speaker 1: of the country in the year eighteen forty six. This
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Speaker 1: fort commands the town, and for the purpose which governed
20:15
Speaker 1: its building, it answered very well, there are several good
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Speaker 1: boarding houses in Santa Fe, and one hotel, which is
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Speaker 1: well fitted up and well kept. It forms the rendezvous
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Speaker 1: for the whole town. The commanding General of the Military
20:30
Speaker 1: Department which comprises the territory of New Mexico, with his staff,
20:35
Speaker 1: makes this town his headquarters. There is also a garrison
20:38
Speaker 1: of American soldiers stationed in the town. The Governor of
20:43
Speaker 1: the territory, the judges, surveyor, and all the government officials
20:47
Speaker 1: of any importance make this place their home. The territorial
20:52
Speaker 1: buildings being the halls of Legislation, and such other buildings
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Speaker 1: as are necessary for the state and territorial purposes, both
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Speaker 1: finished and under process of erection, are located in Santa Fe.
21:06
Speaker 1: On one side of the plaza there stands a long,
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Speaker 1: low building known as the Palace. No one, however, would
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Speaker 1: be aware of the fact if not informed of it,
21:16
Speaker 1: for the building has more the appearance of having been
21:19
Speaker 1: intended for a rope walk than for the assemblage of
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Speaker 1: savants who were to discuss and arrange matters of state
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Speaker 1: and public interests. Notwithstanding the small pretensions in the way
21:30
Speaker 1: of architecture which the Palace presents, nevertheless, within it there
21:36
Speaker 1: have lived old Mexican governors who ruled their people with
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Speaker 1: a rod of iron, and whose fiery impulses went forth
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Speaker 1: as just and equitable law these tyrants, for it was
21:49
Speaker 1: very seldom that the poor and ignorant New Mexicans were
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Speaker 1: favored with a good, wise and just governor. Governed on
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Speaker 1: the principle of self aggrandizement. Being far separated from from
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Speaker 1: their home government, they took care to smother all evil reports,
22:05
Speaker 1: while the good only were allowed to circulate, and these
22:09
Speaker 1: so far as the home government was concerned, solely by
22:13
Speaker 1: their authority, in order to have the desired effect to
22:16
Speaker 1: retain them in office. In this they were usually successful,
22:20
Speaker 1: as they generally retained their lucrative positions until cut off
22:24
Speaker 1: by death or until they had amassed a fortune which
22:28
Speaker 1: made their tasks burdensome. Many of these men might have
22:31
Speaker 1: been envied by the richest among Americans so far as
22:35
Speaker 1: wealth is concerned, they were so envied by the wealthy
22:39
Speaker 1: men at the capital of the Republic. These provinces of
22:42
Speaker 1: Mexico were the indies where troublesome opponents were to be
22:46
Speaker 1: sent by the government to suck like leeches the public treasury,
22:51
Speaker 1: and thus obtain their fill to repletion. When the United
22:54
Speaker 1: States came into possession of the territory of New Mexico,
22:58
Speaker 1: affairs were somewhat tempered to the state of reason and justice.
23:02
Speaker 2: But a people who had so long been kept down
23:05
Speaker 2: could not at once appreciate the value of the changes. Consequently,
23:10
Speaker 2: they have been slow in elevating their heads to the
23:13
Speaker 2: proper standard of men. The legislature of New Mexico, as
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Speaker 2: it has been recognized under the Constitution of the United States,
23:21
Speaker 2: resembles other forms of territorial governments. This statement is true
23:26
Speaker 2: in theory, but not in practice, For it is impossible
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Speaker 2: to collect an uneducated people, unused to self government, and
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Speaker 2: allow them to steer their own bark as lawmakers without
23:38
Speaker 2: observing that they make many openings for serious mistakes to
23:42
Speaker 2: creep in which are and should be severely criticized. The
23:47
Speaker 2: pioneer laws, as they came from the first New Mexican legislature,
23:52
Speaker 2: were faulty in the extreme. They seemed to point out
23:55
Speaker 2: wickedness as a punishment for wickedness. If we desired to
24:00
Speaker 2: affoord our reader's a laugh, we should permit them to
24:03
Speaker 2: read many of these laws. The simple perusal of them
24:06
Speaker 2: would cause merriment equal to the most laughable comedy. Had
24:10
Speaker 2: it not been for the few white men, who, from
24:13
Speaker 2: time to time have found their way into the legislature
24:17
Speaker 2: of New Mexico, the whole body would long since have
24:20
Speaker 2: lost themselves in the depth of learning which their untutored
24:24
Speaker 2: minds had undertaken to engraft upon their statute books. The
24:29
Speaker 2: members of this body, for a long time turned their
24:32
Speaker 2: attention more to the emoluments which naturally accrued from their position,
24:37
Speaker 2: than to endeavors to steady the helm of government for
24:40
Speaker 2: the good of their country. In order to save their pay,
24:44
Speaker 2: they studied economy, which caused them to make a beggarly appearance,
24:48
Speaker 2: and in the eyes of the white men they were
24:51
Speaker 2: often contemptibly mean, greatly predominating in numbers. The Mexicans, of course,
24:58
Speaker 2: had no difficulty in ruling the bath country, and they
25:01
Speaker 2: naturally preferred their own countrymen in filling the lawmaking department
25:05
Speaker 2: of their government. The consequence was that they thus obtained
25:10
Speaker 2: a crowd of legislators who could hardly read. By the
25:14
Speaker 2: aid of a few schools, an enlightened press, and the
25:19
Speaker 2: examples of a few worthy Americans, they are gradually mending
25:23
Speaker 2: their ways in this respect, and the time will come
25:26
Speaker 2: in a few years when the legislature of New Mexico
25:30
Speaker 2: will compare favorably with its sister territories. But this not
25:35
Speaker 2: until education has made her indelible mark upon the people.
25:40
Speaker 2: The town of Santa Fe is provided with a Roman
25:43
Speaker 2: Catholic Church, which, under the judicious management of the present
25:48
Speaker 2: bishop and clergy, is doing what it can to improve
25:52
Speaker 2: the condition of the Mexican population. Other religious denominations have
25:58
Speaker 2: not yet been fully developed, although the attempt is being
26:02
Speaker 2: made to establish churches of the Protestant faith on a
26:06
Speaker 2: sure and permanent footing. But this, although we regard it
26:11
Speaker 2: as certain, will take time. For the majority of the
26:14
Speaker 2: people lean strongly to the Roman Catholic faith. It is
26:18
Speaker 2: a very singular fact that among a population of seventy
26:22
Speaker 2: thousand souls included in the limits of the territory of
26:26
Speaker 2: New Mexico, there have been such feeble and vain attempts
26:29
Speaker 2: made by Protestant missionaries to bring the people to their
26:33
Speaker 2: mode of thinking. The task might have been impossible when
26:36
Speaker 2: the country was under the jurisdiction of Old Mexico, but
26:41
Speaker 2: since it has changed masters, this excuse does not hold good.
26:47
Speaker 2: The Mexicans, as a body learn readily. They easily discern
26:52
Speaker 2: between right and wrong, and as the field for Christian
26:56
Speaker 2: enterprise to work in is large enough for all sects,
27:00
Speaker 2: it is strange that the Protestant Church is not found
27:03
Speaker 2: laboring in the good cause side by side with its
27:07
Speaker 2: Roman Catholic friends. It is true there are a few
27:10
Speaker 2: persons struggling on under the auspices of the Protestant Church,
27:14
Speaker 2: but there are so few that they are seldom met
27:17
Speaker 2: in the great expanse of the country. Santa Fe has
27:20
Speaker 2: long been celebrated as having a depraved population, but as
27:25
Speaker 2: honest and honorable men are now working with satisfactory success
27:30
Speaker 2: for a reformation, the day cannot be far distant when
27:34
Speaker 2: this town will redeem itself. It is true that not
27:38
Speaker 2: many years ago Santa Fe was filled with gamblers and
27:41
Speaker 2: desperadoes of all gray, but at the present time, law
27:46
Speaker 2: and order is beginning to predominate, and it is to
27:49
Speaker 2: be hoped that the next generation will see a better
27:52
Speaker 2: state of affairs. The vices which have characterized the inhabitants
27:57
Speaker 2: have not been confined by any means to the Mexicans,
28:01
Speaker 2: but rather they have been exemplified in those Americans with
28:04
Speaker 2: bad characters, who have from time to time crept in
28:09
Speaker 2: among the people. These men, in several instances, have set
28:13
Speaker 2: examples which the most debased Mexican would hesitate to follow.
28:20
Speaker 2: The appearance of Santa Fe from an outside view is
28:23
Speaker 2: anything but striking. Its houses, like most Mexican buildings, are
28:29
Speaker 2: seldom higher than one story, and with few exceptions, they
28:33
Speaker 2: are entirely wanting in beauty. They are built after what
28:37
Speaker 2: may be styled a Mexican mode of architecture, and consist
28:41
Speaker 2: of a series of rooms which encircle an open square
28:45
Speaker 2: or court, the access to which is through a large portal.
28:49
Speaker 2: These buildings are usually huddled together towards the center or plaza,
28:54
Speaker 2: while in the outskirts of the town they are greatly scattered.
28:58
Speaker 1: The arrangement of the street appears as if there were
29:02
Speaker 1: mere matters of accident rather than matters of system or intention.
29:07
Speaker 1: The town is ornamented by few, if any trees, while
29:10
Speaker 1: the general appearance of the adjacent country, as has been seen,
29:15
Speaker 1: is barren. The markets of the town are but sparingly
29:18
Speaker 1: supplied with a variety, and those articles which are the
29:22
Speaker 1: most common bring comparatively speaking good prices. Not many miles
29:28
Speaker 1: from Santa Fe there are famous silver mines, which for
29:32
Speaker 1: many years were worked almost entirely by hand. Within a
29:36
Speaker 1: recent date, machinery has been introduced by some enterprising Americans,
29:41
Speaker 1: and the precious silver ore is being brought to light
29:45
Speaker 1: in large quantities. In point of amusement, the people still
29:49
Speaker 1: cling to the pleasures of the fandango, and as this
29:53
Speaker 1: town is much in advance of any other in the territory,
29:56
Speaker 1: the Santa Fe balls are carried on, sometimes times on
30:00
Speaker 1: a quite grand scale. The majority of them are the
30:05
Speaker 1: places of resort for the free classes of society. The
30:09
Speaker 1: more respectable people seldom attend them, and then only when
30:13
Speaker 1: they are certain that they will find the ceremonies conducted
30:16
Speaker 1: in the spirit which administers really to pleasure and not
30:20
Speaker 1: to access. The distance from Santa Fe to the Missouri
30:24
Speaker 1: River is in the neighborhood of nine hundred miles. The
30:28
Speaker 1: road for the first one hundred miles towards the Santa
30:31
Speaker 1: Fe terminus is rough and hilly, but after that it
30:35
Speaker 1: strikes out on the open plains and is as level
30:38
Speaker 1: as can possibly be for such an immense distance. It
30:42
Speaker 1: is over this beautiful road that we have several times
30:45
Speaker 1: described Kit Carson as he traveled to and from the
30:50
Speaker 1: United States, though more frequently, as has been seen, he
30:54
Speaker 1: preferred roots of his own selection, which enabled him, with
30:59
Speaker 1: his small escorts to elude the vigilant watch of hostile Indians.
31:04
Speaker 1: The rich merchandise which finds its market in New Mexico,
31:09
Speaker 1: passes over this road, and during the summer months the
31:13
Speaker 1: heavily ladened caravans are continually traversing it. End of Section
31:20
Speaker 1: twenty six, Chapter fifteen, Part three, recording by John Crane, Lilburn, Georgia,