Beginnings of the American Southwest

Beginning in the 16th and 17th centuries, the history of the American Southwest included foreign disputes, disagreements with Mexico, and all out war.  Before all that happened their were the Spanish, British and French...The Spanish who first roamed our Southwest were looking for gold (El Dorado) and found small Indian villages instead.  Spain therefore wasn't really interested in the region and basically gave up until the 16th century when Britain posed a threat.

Sir Francis Drake laid claim to central California in the name of the Queen in 1575. When the Spanish viceroy heard about that in Mexico City, he lost no time planning expeditions to secure northern lands and even wanted to go as far as the Phillipines (then owned by Spain).  Madrid, however didn't share his alarm and it would be two decades before Spanish ships were sent to California.

The first Spanish expedition was led by Juan de Onate in 1598.  Onate stopped in a small grove of cottonwoods near modern El Paso, calling the territory "New Mexico" which stretched from Texas to California.  Onate, with 150 settlers and their families, 8 Franciscan missionaries and 100 slaves, changed the culture of the native people. 

Next time - more of Onate's journey




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Today in Pioneer History:  "On May 23, 1701. at London’s Execution Dock, British privateer William Kidd, popularly known as Captain Kidd, is hanged for piracy and murder.

Walker vs. Mangas

Mangas Coloradas, the only Apache chief with enough influence and reputation to work with other
tribes, met with the calvary military at Apache Pass in Southeast Arizona.  Along with his son-in-law, Cochise, and 200 Apache, Mangas fought well.  After 6 hours of battle, he was wounded and forced to retreat.  By the time Captain Joseph Walker and his men came along, the Apache wanted revenge.

It was a human chess game between the two old veterans.  Walker wanted to get out of Apache territory and to the Continental Divide in southern Arizona.  Mangas wanted to harass and stop Walker altogether.  Both wanted as little bloodshed as possible.

Since Walker and his men were outnumbered 3:1, they were relatively safe in the open with their sharpshooters inflicting ocassional wounds, while Mangas tried to lure Walker into an ambush and raided his livestock. 

Walker's party went up and down New Mexico, staying to the east of the mountains and looking for a way through.  Constantly dogged by the Apache, they eventually ran out of water and had to travel through Apache territory to a spring.

In the end, they outwitted the Apache, made it to water and out again to present day Sioux City and Fort McLane in January 1863. 

Next time...Walker's New Plan

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Today in History: On January 19, 1847,  Mexicans, angered by the abusive behavior of American soldiers occupying Taos,  strike back by murdering the American-born New Mexican governor Charles Bent.  (refer back to earlier posts in Pioneer Pieces for Captain Joseph Walker in Taos)

Bullies of the Southwest

The Apache occupied most of south central New Mexico and Arizona and were the most dangerous in the SW as far as whites were concerned.  Their economy depended on robbery and they preyed on agricultural tribes like the Hopi, Pima, and Pagago.  They took supplies, women and children for slave markets, weapons, ammunition and particularly horses.  Unlike the plains Indians, they didn't keep large horse herds, nor did they value them as Indians in the north or east did - to the Apache a horse was disposable.  Even the Spanish and Mexicans couldn't deal with the Apache. 

In the first half of the 19th century (1850s), the American ranchers and settlers began arriving and the Apache turned on the settlers for profit - with the goal of ridding the area of all white men which they came very close to doing.  I
n 1861-1862, travel through the area was actually stopped and settlers fled to Tucson and Mesilla. 

Next Time...After the Gold Rush

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On This Day in History:  On January 8, 1877,  Crazy Horse and his warriors--outnumbered, low on ammunition and forced to use outdated weapons to defend themselves--fight their final losing battle against the U.S. Cavalry in Montana.

Apache!

Fort Craig, where Captain Walker's party camped, was the last military post on the river below Albuquerque. After a  gift of a whiskey party, Walker was ready to get serious.  They were entering dangerous Indian territory, so from now on campfires in the middle of the camp with the men's beds in a circle around it was the rule.  Saddles nearby to provide cover and horses would graze beyond the men and on the perimeter armed guards would patrol in shifts throughout the night.

Three days out from Fort Craig it happened.  Around midnight a group of Apache slipped through the guards, attempted to stampede the livestock - but it failed. The Apache escaped unseen but Walker gave the guards a piece of his mind and went back to bed.  In the morning light, smoke signals on the hills were visible and Walker explained to his greenhorn men that they were telegraph signals.

Next time....Bullies of the Southwest

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This Day in History...On January 5, 1846, the U.S. House of Representatives passes a resolution calling for an end to British-American sharing of the Oregon Territory,  boldly reversing its long-standing policy of "free and open" occupation.

The Great Cattle Wars

John Tunstall, a sporting Englishman with a General Store in Lincoln County, New Mexico, was shot in the saddle on day by henchmen assigned by the Mayor beginning the Great Cattle Wars that swept New Mexico for one-half of a generation.

Billy the Kid vowed to bring down all those implicated in Tunstall's murder, elevating Billy to "mad dog killer".
Within weeks, Kid had earned the title, having tracked down and killed four of the Mayor's deputies and turning Lincoln County into the bloodiest feud in the history of the cattle industry.

Billy himself was later killed by Pat Garrett (aka William Wright), Sheriff under a "Wanted Dead or Alive" poster than proclaimed Billy the Kid as 18 years of age, 5' 3" tall, 125 pounds, with light hair, and blue eyes.  The Reward for Billy?  $5000.

Next time...Heading Southwest to Tombstone