Kachina and the Cross (26 page)

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Authors: Carroll L Riley

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BOOK: Kachina and the Cross
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Page 130
Although unimpressive in the eyes of the Visitor, the Santa Fe of Domínguez's time was considerably larger than the seventeenth-century town. It stretched for two or three miles to the west along the Santa Fe River, extending to the village of Quemado (Agua Fria), and with Quemado had nearly fifteen hundred inhabitants. Although Domínguez tallies forty-two families of genizaros (the descendants of enslaved Apache or other nomadic Indians), there is no mention of Analco nor of central Mexican Indians. In fact, according to a study of Marc Simmons, few if any of these central Mexican natives returned after the reconquest of New Mexico in the 1690s. The last known mention of what could be a central Mexican at Analco was in 1728 by an Indian named Juan de León Brito, who petitioned the viceroy for lands in the Analco region "which had belonged to his father." Mentions of Analco during the eighteenth century indicate that genizaros were in occupation of that region, and Simmons thinks that such central Mexicans who did return were simply swamped by the newcomers.
One thing that seems to have been a factor in the founding of Santa Fe was that it had no nearby Pueblo population. This was in keeping with the
Ordenanzas de Descubrimiento
of 1573, promulgated by King Philip II, though of course the Spanish settlement at San Juan had pretty much violated these ordinances which prevented the Spaniards from impinging on Indian settlements. The competition for land that the Spaniards faced in the lower Chama drainage did not apply at Santa Fe. And this is a little surprising! Nestled at the edge of the mountains where the Santa Fe River flows from the Sangre de Cristo foothills, the area was once a region of considerable settlement. As late as early Classic or Pueblo IV times (see chapter 2) there were settlements in or near the present-day city; at Pindi Pueblo and the Schoolhouse site on opposite sides of the Santa Fe River in the Agua Fria area, the Arroyo Negro site in the southern part of the modern city, sites around the later Fort Marcy, at La Garita just north of the modern plaza, and at Arroyo Hondo south and east of the city. Not all of these sites were contemporaneous, but they were all deserted by the middle of the fifteenth century, and some, like the Fort Marcy Hill site, ceased occupation much earlier.
It is true that there was some falling off of population among various Rio Grande Pueblos after the middle decades of the fifteenth century. Several areas were partly or wholly deserted, including the middle Chama, Tijeras Canyon, Pottery Mound on the lower Puerco River, and sites in the Pecos region. But why these desertions involved the Santa Fe River is not clear, for it was a major stream flowing westward into the Rio Grande, and the mountains with their stands of trees and other natural resources were nearby. Possibly the heavy populations of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries had stripped off the vegetation
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coverbut by Peralta's time the area had been depopulated for at least a century and a half, and fresh stands of trees would have long since appeared. It may also be that the region was too wet; the Spaniards had to contend with swamps along the river itself. The coming of the "Little Ice Age," a cooling in northern latitudes that began in the thirteenth century, may have been a factor. This period lasted, with some fluctuations, for several hundred years, with maximum cooling in the period 1600-50 and a final flurry a bit before 1750. Possibly it was a slight difference in microenvironments that allowed the less-productive Galisteo River, a few miles to the south, to maintain a considerable population in its upper course throughout much of the seventeenth century.
As discussed in chapter 6, Juan Martínez de Montoya probably had an estancia on or near the site of Santa Fe by 1607 or perhaps a year or two before that. Since Benavides considered that Oñate had founded the villa, it may be that Santa Fe was originally established as a paraje, or stopping point, on the trail running from the south to the lower Chama. The son of one of Oñate's original settlers, Juan Griego II, claimed many years later that he was born in Santa Fe in 1605. Whatever the condition of this original settlement, Governor Pedro de Peralta was instructed in 1609 to make a formal foundation of the town. As part of this formalization procedure, Peralta followed detailed instructions set down in Mexico and Spain. There were supposed to be at least thirty families, and each settler should have breeding stock in cows and bulls, oxen, a broodmare, sows, hens and a rooster, and ewes. Presumably the population quota was met and at least some of the domesticated animals were available in the original settlement. In terms of human occupation, however, we have the names of only sixteen family heads, not including Peralta himself. The area chosen was on the north side of the Santa Fe River, and there were separate blocks for the settlers as well as a block for government buildings. These first citizens of Santa Fe were assigned two sections of land for house and orchard, plus additional land for gardens, vineyards, and olive groves (but see chapter 4). Each received a generous four
caballerías
(more than a hundred acres) of cultivatable land suited for irrigation. In the governmental square was the Casa Real, or government house (the present-day Palace of the Governors), and other governmental buildings, including an arsenal and a jail. The modern Palace of the Governors lies on the foundations of the seventeenth-century structure, though the earlier building probably extended farther to the east. The Palace has been so extensively modified over the centuries that it is impossible to reconstruct the original appearance.
A letter dated March 10, 1620, from Viceroy Fernández de Córdova to Governor Juan de Eulate is interesting in this regard. It seems that the settlers were opting to move the site of Santa Fe to a better location where they could
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construct four towers, a church, and government buildings. This was probably an attempt (one of the earliest of several) to shift Santa Fe to the higher ground south of the Santa Fe River. Peralta's original settlement in the swampy region north of the Santa Fe River suggests that the Franciscans had previously staked out a claim to the more desirable high ground to the south. It is possible that Analco was actually under construction before the formal founding of the villa. Even in the eighteenth century the high land south of the river was used mainly for genízaros, who had replaced the earlier central Mexicans.
A chapel was called for in the governmental building instructions, though there is some confusion as to just when and where such a building was constructed. Fray Angelico Chávez believed that the Spaniards used the San Miguel chapel until a permanent building for the settlers was constructed in the late 1620s by Benavides on the east side of the plaza, near the present cathedral. This building was destroyed in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Its size and shape are unknown, but Chávez thought it might have been similar to the eighteenth-century church that was built on the same site, segments of which are incorporated in the nineteenth-century cathedral. There is a problem, however, with this reconstruction. It seems very likely that the "church and friary," which according to Benavides "would merit admiration anywhere," were in fact the San Miguel church in Analco. San Miguel may have been utilized by the Hispanic settlers as well as the Tlaxcalans since Benavides says, "There the friars are already teaching the
Spaniards
[emphasis mine] and Indians to read, write, play musical instruments, sing, and to practice all the arts of civilized society."
Building of the St. Francis church is less clear. In the letter to Eulate mentioned above, the viceroy made the following statement: "And as to the parochial church which has been proposed to be founded in that Villa of Santa Fe and as to sending a curate vicar for it there is no occasion at present for it to be done, inasmuch as there is already there a church and a convent of Sant. Francisco [yglessia y conuento de Sant Fran
co
], which seems sufficient for the number of present residents." This statement seems to be contradictory. If the parochial church is only being proposed, then what of the "church and convent of San Francisco"? Although it makes for curious wording, the viceroy conceivably meant the Franciscan
order
rather than a specific church named St. Francis, and was actually referring to the mission-run San Miguel. Fernández de Córdova may have been trying to say something like "inasmuch as there is already there a church and convent
under the charge of the friars of San Francisco."
If such were the case, it suggests that the St. Francis church was actually still to be founded in 1620. Of course, an acceptable alternate meaning (and perhaps a more logical one) is that the settlers already had a church of San Francisco but wanted a larger one.
Page 133
The plaza area in the seventeenth century may have been longer than the modern plaza. Width of the plaza is somewhat in doubt, but certain scholars believe that it extended from Palace Avenue to Water Street, named for the Río Chiquito, which drained in a northwest to southeast direction into the Santa Fe River. If that was the case, it would have made a very unusual "split-level" plaza because of the natural terrace above the river. There is, however, some indication that the prominent (if unfortunate) Antonio Baca had a plot of land described as bordered by the plaza on the north and the Río Chiquito on the south. Unless Baca's family lost the plot after his 1643 execution in the Rosas affair and his steading was absorbed into Crown land, it would cast some doubt on the idea that the plaza was ever extended to the Río Chiquito.
At the time of first settlement, Santa Fe had a very well watered aspect. Around the area of original settlement was a series of swamps, called on the early maps
ciénegas
. North, east, and south of the old plaza area, the ciénega probably followed the 7,000 to 7,200 feet contour line. The swamps covered an area of thirty-five acres or more, there were a number of springs, and much of the region was probably woodland.
When the Europeans first arrived, it seems likely that the Santa Fe River had a heavier flow than it does today. As late as the eighteenth century the river was described as full of trout, which were certainly used to some degree as a food source. In 1610 there had been relatively little timber clearing and no overgrazing by sheep as in more recent times. In addition, from the tree-ring record it looks as if the two decades between 1610 and 1630 had above-average rainfall. As this was a Little Ice Age maximum, certain climatic effects might be expected, and this indeed does seem to have been a period of considerable snow and cold.
As the only villa in the province of New Mexico, Santa Fe was the seat of government and the hub of commercial and cultural activity. The Franciscan power center, however, remained at Santo Domingo Pueblo some twenty-five miles to the southwest. Considering the relations between the governors' party and the Franciscans throughout much of the seventeenth century, it was probably a wise move on the part of the order to keep somewhat apart from the secular authority.
Governors in New Mexico were paid by the viceregal authorities. Oñate received an annual stipend of a fraction more than 8,000
pesos
de
oro
común
(converting into approximately the same number of silver pesos). This was in the Crown's view overly generous, and subsequent governors, starting with Peralta, were given an annual salary of 2,000 pesos. This salary was never adjusted even though there was inflation during the course of the century. Travel allowances for the period 1609-83 averaged about 1,628 pesos per governor. The governors expected to profit from their office, howeverboth from
Page 134
trade and from the capture of nomadic Indians during the sporadic warfare that characterized the time and place. Occasionally, they stepped over the line and enslaved Pueblo Indian orphans, selling some of them in Mexico. In the early 1620s, Governor Juan de Eulate was forced by the viceroy to return a number of slaves sold in this way.
Trade was important in colonial New Spain, and there had been trading attempts in the Southwest as early as Coronado. In this area, however, large-scale profit-driven trade began with Oñate, who brought with him to New Mexico large amounts of trade goods, including tens of thousands of glass beads, hundreds of hawk bells, plus rings, earrings, needles, medals, mirrors, knives, whistles, rosaries, tassels for rosaries, children's musical toys, buttons, and other objects. Oñate's contract with the Crown called for 500 pesos in trade materials, and the adelantado fell short of this by more than 144 pesos. Nevertheless, the quantity of trade articles was impressive.
Subsequent governors and the more affluent settlers turned to trade, as did the missionaries. Salt was a commodity utilized by the Parral mines, and New Mexico had large numbers of saline areas, especially in the Tompiro district. As far as is known, the shipments of this commodity were private transactions, involving governors but also individual entrepreneurs. Goods produced by Pueblo Indians were also in demand. Governor Francisco Martínez de Baeza (1635-37) pressured the Indians to collect piñon nuts, to weave cotton
mantas
, and to re-trade hides obtained from the Plains Indians. According to one report, Baeza by 1636 had collected seven wagon loads of such goods to ship south to Mexico. Governor Francisco de la Mora y Ceballos (1632-35) sent knives to the missions with orders that they be traded for hides. Mora y Ceballos also was accused by Fray Esteban de Perea of shipping to Santa Bárbara "eight hundred cows, four hundred mares, and a quantity of 'ganado menor' [sheep and perhaps goats] to be sold in that market, and that as a result the citizens of New Mexico had nothing with which to sustain themselves." In spite of criticism, this shipping of stock animals to Nueva Vizcaya continued throughout the century.
Trade goods both to and from New Mexico were for the most part sent with the mission trains. It was possible to organize separate caravans outside this system, and this was sometimes done, but the dangers from hostile Indians, which became greater with each passing decade in the seventeenth century, made it desirable to have as large and well-protected a party as possible. This generally meant the missionary supply apparatus. The mission trains moved along the Camino Real, a road pioneered by Juan de Oñate in 1598, but following at least in part Indian trails that were already centuries old.

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