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NEW MEXICO
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NEW See also:MEXICO , a See also:south-western See also:state of the See also:United States, lying between 31° 20' and 37° N. See also:lat., and 1036 and 109° 2' W. See also:long. It is bounded N. by See also:Colorado; E. by See also:Oklahoma and See also:Texas; S. by Texas and Mexico; and W. by See also:Arizona. It has an extreme length N. and S. of 40o m., an extreme width E. and W. of 358 m., and a See also:total See also:area of 122,634 sq. m., of which 131 sq. m. are See also:water-See also:surface. Physiography.—New Mexico is a region of mountains and high plateaus. Broadly speaking, its surface is a vast tableland tilted toward the S. and E., and broken by parallel ranges of mountains whose trend is most frequently N. and S. About midway between the western boundary and the Rio Grande passes the See also:Continental See also:Divide, which separates the See also:waters entering the Gulf of Mexico from those that flow into the Gulf of See also:California. In the region E. of the Continental Divide, which embraces about three-fourths of the surface of the state, the See also:general south-eastern slope is very marked. Thus, at See also:Santa Fe, in the See also:north central See also:part of the state, the See also:elevation is 7013 ft.; at See also:Raton, in the N.E., 6400 ft.; at See also:Las Cruces, in the extreme S., 357o ft.; and at Red See also:Bluff, in the extreme S.E., 2876 ft. The Rocky See also:Mountain See also:system enters New Mexico near the centre of the See also:northern boundary; its See also:main See also:ridge, lying E. of the Rio Grande, extends as far S. as the See also:city of Santa Fe. It forms the water-parting between the upper waters of the See also:Canadian See also:river and the Rio Grande, and contains many of the loftiest peaks in New Mexico, among them being Truchas (13,275 ft.), Costilla (12,634 ft.) and Baldy (12,623 ft.). On the E. this ridge is bounded by the region of the See also:Great Plains, the dissected See also:topography of which is characterized by many broad valleys intervening. W. of the Rio Grande lies a See also:series of See also:lower ranges, also a part of the Rocky Mountain system, whose western slopes See also:merge almost imperceptibly with the See also:Plateau Region. The See also:San Juan, Gallinas and Nacimiento ranges are among the most notable in this See also:group. South of the Rocky Mountains lies the so-called See also:Basin Region, in which isolated, but sometimes lofty and massive, mountains, the result in many instances of a series of numerous parallel faults, rise from level plains like islands from the See also:sea and enclose the valleys with See also:bare walls of See also:grey and See also: The Plateau Region includes most of the area N.
of the Gila river and W. of the Rio Grande. Here volcanic activity i and powerful erosion have combined to produce a series of remarkable scenic effects. The eastern border of this area is formed by the valley of the Rio Grande and the western See also:foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains; the See also:southern boundary overlooks the Gila river; and on the N. and W. the plateau continues into Colorado, See also:Utah and Arizona. Near its southern and eastern See also:borders are many See also:lava flows and extinct volcanic mountains, one of the most imposing of those in New Mexico being the Mt. See also: During its course it changes from a mountain stream in the N. to a sluggish river turgid with See also:sand in the S. In the lowlands it loses much of its See also:volume through evaporation and absorption by the sands, and through See also:irrigation, and in its lower course in New Mexico its bed is frequently dry. In the See also:flood season it usually leaves its See also:banks and inundates the lowlands, spreading over the sands a See also:rich See also:deposit of silt; and on See also:account of this characteristic it is sometimes called " the See also:Nile of New Mexico." The stream next in importance is the Pecos river, which rises in See also:Mora county and flows southward into Texas, where it joins the Rio Grande. It has the same general characteristics as the latter river, being a mountain stream near its source, and after leaving the See also:highlands becoming sluggish and losing much of its water. Along the lower course many underground streams from the mountains break out as springs and empty into the Pecos. The Canadian river drains the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains and flows in a general south-easterly direction through Texas into Oklahoma, where it empties into the See also:Arkansas. Most of its course in New Mexico lies through a See also:canyon. The westward-flowing streams—the San Juan, Rio Puerco of the See also:West, Zuni, Rio San Francisco and Gila—are of only slight importance, though their flow is perennial. In the valleys there are many small streams whose waters never reach the ocean, but disappear by seepage or evaporation. See also:Fauna and See also:Flora.—Of native animals the species are numerous, but their See also:numbers are small. Bison no longer roam the plains, and the See also:elk has been driven out; but among the larger mammals still to be found in certain districts are the See also:deer, prong-See also:horn (in small numbers), See also:puma, See also:coyote, See also:timber See also:wolf, See also:lynx (Lynx See also:rufus and Lynx Canadensis) and the See also:black and grizzly See also:bear. Badgers, See also:hares and rabbits are found everywhere, and See also:prairie-See also:dogs are so numerous in some places as to be considered a See also:nuisance. There are numerous species of aquatic birds: From See also:time to time upon the Rio Grande may be seen ducks, See also:wild geese, swans, See also:cranes, herons and gulls. Eagles are often seen, and in the arid and elevated regions crows and ravens are numerous. Gamble's See also:quail, bob-white, See also:grouse, See also:English pheasants and wild turkeys are the most important See also:game birds, and the mocking-See also:bird is See also:common throughout south-western New Mexico. Among the venomous reptiles and insects are the See also:rattlesnake, the Gila See also:monster (Heloderma suspectum), a poisonous See also:lizard, and the See also:tarantula (Mygale Heintzii), which, however, are common only in certain places and at certain seasons. New Mexico has such a great range of elevations that all four of the zones of vegetation into which the South-West has been divided according to See also:altitude are found within its limits; namely, the See also:zone of See also:cactus, See also:yucca and See also:agave (3000-3500 ft.), where grass is scanty; the zone of greasewood and See also:sage-See also:brush (3500—4900 ft.), where there is little grass, and the cactus species are less numerous; the zone of the See also:cedar (4900-6800 ft.) ; and the zone of the See also:pine and See also:fir (6800-10,80o ft.), in which grass is more abundant. The total woodland area has been estimated at 23,700 sq. m., or a little more than 19 % of the See also:land area. Only the higher ranges and plateaus are timbered, and even there the forests are not dense. The lower slopes are usually covered with the scrub See also:oak, See also:juniper and pinon; but some mountains, especially those along the eastern border of the Rio Grande Valley, are absolutely treeless. The See also:principal See also:forest areas are upon the southern end of the San Juan Range, upon the Sangre de Cristo Range and in Socorro county, W. of the Rio Grande. The See also:chief varieties of timber are the red fir, Engelmann's spruce and yellow pine. Up to 1910 the Federal See also:government had created eleven forest reservations in New Mexico, embracing an area of10,971,711 acres. In the valleys the only trees native to the See also:soil are the See also:willow and cottonwood, found along the water courses, and beyond the range of irrigation vegetation is limited to scanty grass, with sage-brush and greasewood in the N. and cactus and yucca in the S. See also:Climate.—As the winds that reach New Mexico have been desiccated while See also:crossing the plains of Texas or the mountains of the N.W., the climate is characterized by a lack of humidity. The sandy soil quickly absorbs the See also:sun's See also:heat and also quickly radiates it, so that there is great daily variation in the temperature. The See also:low humidity, high altitudes and southern See also:latitude all combine to make the climate salubrious and especially beneficial to persons suffering with pulmonary disorders. The highest temperature ever recorded was to° F. at Roswell; the lowest, -23° at Aztec. At Santa Fe, where mountain and plain meet, the mean See also:annual temperature is 490; the mean for the See also:winter is 31° and for the summer 67°; and the highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded were respectively 97° and -13°. At Fort See also:Bayard, in the S.W., the mean temperature for the See also:year is 55°; the mean for the winter is 39°, with an extreme recorded of -10; the mean for the summer is 720, with a maximum recorded of 103°. At Mesilla See also:Park, in the lower Rio Grande Valley, the mean annual temperature is 6o°; for the winter it is 43°, with a minimum of 1°, and for the summer 77°, with a maximum of 106°. In all parts of New Mexico except the N.W. there is a so-called wet. season, which begins See also:early in See also:July and lasts for a See also:month or six See also:weeks, the See also:rain coming in the See also:form of See also:short afternoon thunderstorms. About a third of the precipitation occurs during July and See also:August, but after August the monthly precipitation is steadily less until See also: Soils.—The prevailing type of soil on the higher lands is a sandy See also:loam, underlaid with See also:clay or clay loam, which stores water and is the typical soil of the basins. Along the river valleys there are limited areas of See also:fine sediment, and here with irrigation See also:good crops can be grown without the use of fertilizers. In the plains where drainage is poor, especially in the S., the soils contain too much alkali; but in the highlands most of this has been dissolved and carried away by the rains, and the soils are well adapted for grazing grounds. See also:Agriculture.—Because of the small amount of rainfall, agriculture is confined chiefly to the river valleys. In 1900 only 4.2 % of the land surface was included in farms, and less than •27 of i % was classed as improved See also:farm land. The total acreage, however, See also:rose from 787,882 in 1890 to 5,130,878 in 1900, an increase of 551'2%. Between 185o and i88o there was very little increase in farm area, The amount of improved land, though showing an See also:absolute increase between 188o and 1900, declined relatively to the total area in farms from 37.6 % in 188o to 6.4% in 1900. At the same time the average See also:size of farms (not including farms with an area of less than 3 acres, which reported an annual income of less than $500) increased from 124.9 acres in i88o to 433.6 acres in 1900. This decrease in the See also:pro-portion of improved acreage and increase in the average size of the farms is due to the increased use of lands for grazing purposes. , As regards See also:tenure, 9o.6% o of the farms in 1900 were operated by owners, 2.2 % by See also:cash tenants, and 7.2% by See also:share tenants. In this year 39.6% of the farms derived their principal income from See also:hay and See also:grain, 33.2 % from live stock, 5'5% from See also:dairy produce, 3.5% from vegetables, 2.8% from fruits. The most important See also:crop, as a result of irrigation, is See also:alfalfa, which is grown for See also:forage, requires little See also:attention, and improves the soil. See also:Wheat, Indian See also:corn and oats are the leading cereal crops; and S. of the latitude of Santa Fe vegetables and See also:deciduous fruits flourish where the water-supply is ample. A little See also:cotton has been grown near See also:Carlsbad in the Pecos Valley, and in 1909 See also:sugar See also:beets were introduced south of See also:Albuquerque and cantaloupes in the southern Rio Grande Valley. See also:Fruit, especially the See also:Bartlett See also:pear, is very successful. The total value of farm See also:property in 1900 was $53,767,824, and the value of the live stock, $31,727,400. The value of the farm products in 1879 was $1,897,974, in 1889 $1,784,824, and in 1899 $10,155,215. In 1909 the values of the principal farm products (according to the Year See also:Book of the U.S. See also:Department of Agriculture) were as follows: hay, $5,339,00o; wheat, $1,175,000; Indian corn, $1,915,000; oats, $634,000; and potatoes, $86,000. The values of the various classes of live stock on the 1st of See also:January 1910 were as follows: See also:sheep, $13,714,000; milch cows, $1,125,000; other neat cattle, $15,677,000; horses, $6,251,000; mules, $632,000; See also:swine, $272,000. Stock-raising is the most important See also:industry, and the growing of sheep for See also:wool takes a leading See also:place. The hills and mesas covered with the nutritious grama grass form excellent grazing grounds, which are most extensive in Bernalillo, Guadalupe, Rio Arriba, San See also:Miguel, See also:Union and Valencia counties. In See also:April 1907 (according to an estimate of the See also:National Association of Wool Manufacturers) New Mexico contained 2,600,000 sheep, the largest number in any state or Territory except See also:Montana and See also:Wyoming; and in April L909 there were 3,200,000 sheep of shearing See also:age in New Mexico, •: but this number was less than that in Montana or Wyoming at that time. Except in a few mountain valleys in the N., agriculture was long entirely dependent upon irrigation, which has been practised in New Mexico by the Pueblo See also:Indians since prehistoric times. In 1899 the. total irrigated area outside of Indian reservations amounted to 203,893 acres (67.2 % of all improved land)—an increase of 122.2 % in the preceding See also:decade. Of the total land in crops in that year 89.2 % was irrigated. After the passage of the Federal Reclamation See also:Act in 1902, a number of extensive irrigation worksin New Mexico were undertaken by the Federal government. The Carlsbad See also:reservoir and diverting See also:dam in Eddy county and the Rio Hondo canals and reservoir in See also:Chaves county were completed in 1907 and are capable of supplying water to tracts of 20,000 and to,000 acres respectively. In 1908 an irrigation reservoir in See also:McKinley county for the use of the Zuni Indians and the Leasburg project (Dona Ana county; 20,000 acres) were completed. The Rio Grande project was planned in 1907 for the storage of the flood waters of the Rio Grande near Engle, New Mexico, in See also:order to reclaim about 155,000 acres of land in New Mexico and Texas, and to deliver to Mexico above the city of See also:Juarez 6o,000 See also:acre-feet of water per year, as provided by a treaty (proclaimed on the 16th of January 1907) between that See also:republic and the United States. Other systems contemplated by the government were the Las Vegas project for reclaiming 10,000 acres near Las Vegas, the Urton Lake project for reclaiming 60,0oo acres in the Pecos Valley, and the La See also:Plata Valley project for irrigating about 40,000 acres in the north-western part of New Mexico, 35 M. S.W. of See also:Durango, Colorado. A See also:special irrigation See also:commission was appointed in 1897, and in 1905 the legislature created the See also:office of Territorial irrigation engineer. Irrigation by private companies is of some importance, especially in the San Juan Valley, the Rio Grande Valley and the Pecos Valley. In 1909 it was estimated that about 500,000 acres were irrigated. Dry farming has proved a great success in New Mexico, as elsewhere in the South-West, especially since 19o0; and in 1907 it was estimated that 2,000,000 acres were cultivated without irrigation. Manufactures.—As New Mexico is primarily a See also:mining and stock-raising region, its manufacturing See also:industries are of comparatively small importance. The value of the manufactured products in 188o was $1,284,846; in 1890 $1,516,195; and in 1900 $5,605,795, an increase in the latter decade of 269.7%. In 1905 there were 199 establishments under the factory system (an increase of 14.4% over the number in 1900) ; the amount of See also:capital invested was $4,638,248, and the value of " factory" products was $5,705,880 (an increase of 40.5% over the value of the " factory " products in 1900). The leading industries in 1905 were the construction of cars and general railway See also:shop and repair See also:work by See also:steam railway companies (value of product, $2,509,845), the manufacture of See also:lumber and timber products '(value $1,315,364) and of See also:flour and grist See also: See also:Copper has been mined for many years, and in 1906 and 1908 constituted New Mexico's most valuable metallic product, the value of the yield in these years being $1,356,533 and $658,858 respectively. Nearly all the product comes from Grant county, and in 1908 nearly 98 % of the output was from Grant and Otero counties. In 1905–1908 the decrease in output was large. In the same years there was an increase in the output of See also:zinc, which in 1906 was valued at $67,710 and in 1908 at $168,096. Most of the zinc comes from Socorro county, where the mines of the Magdalena See also:District in 1908 yielded 93% of the entire product. A small amount of See also:lead is produced incidentally to the mining of zinc, being derived from mixed lead and zinc ores. Far the most important mineral product, however, is See also:coal, which is found in all forms—See also:lignite to See also:anthracite—and in widely distributed areas. The chief centres of production are the Raton See also: The largest of the old See also:Spanish See also:turquoise mines in the Cerillos District, 18 m. S. of Santa Fe, furnished a turquoise product between 1890 and 1900 valued at more than $2,000,000. Other mines are in Grant and Otero counties. The New Mexican garnets are found in McKinley county. The output of See also:precious stones in 1902 was valued at $51,100, in 1908 at $72,100.
Transportation.—The total railway mileage on the 31st of See also:December 1908 was 2,918.02, more than twice as much as that of 1890. The length of railway per inhabitant in New Mexico in 1907 was about five times as great as that for the whole country, but the amount of See also:line per square mile of territory was only about one-third as great as the average for the United States. New Mexico is traversed by two transcontinental lines, the See also:Atchison, See also:Topeka & Santa Fe, from See also:Chicago to San Francisco and the Southern Pacific, from New See also: The western See also:division of the El Paso & South-Western system, connecting El Paso and See also:Benson, Arizona, crosses New Mexico just N. of the Mexican boundary. Its eastern division (including the El Paso & North-Eastern, the El Paso & Rock See also:Island, the Alamogordo & See also:Sacramento Mountain and the See also:Dawson See also:railways) Connects with the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific at Tucumcari;"thus forming a connecting See also:link between that system and the Southern Pacific. The Santa Fe Central, extending southward from Santa Fe to Torrance, is a connecting link between the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the El Paso & South-Western systems. Branches of the See also:Denver & Rio Grande serve the northern parts of New Mexico. See also:Population.—The population of New Mexico consists of three distinct classes—Indians; Spanish-Americans, locally known as " Mexicans "; and the English speaking class called, in distinction from the others, " Americans." Of the Indians there are two types, both of the See also:Athapascan See also:family; in one are the See also:Pueblos, and in the other the Navahos, in the N.W. part of the state, and their near kinsmen, the Apaches, to the south. The Pueblo Indians live in See also:adobe houses, are quiet and usually self-sustaining, and have been converted to the forms of See also:Christianity. They See also:bad irrigated farms and dwelt in six-See also:storey communal houses long before the See also:advent of the white See also:man. By the treaty of Guadalupe-See also:Hidalgo, in 1848, the United States government recognized them as citizens. They lived in 19 villages of pueblos, the largest of which, Zuni, is more properly called a See also:reservation, as it has been enlarged from time to time by grants from the Federal government. The 18 pueblos and the Zuni reservation contained in 1900 a..population of 8127, and a total area of 1417 sq. m. The pueblos are held under Spanish grants which were confirmed by the United States. The terraced See also:architecture of the villages is very remarkable. Originally the Pueblo Indians lived in many-storeyed communal houses, built sometimes of See also:
dwellings, but the Laguna tribe, numbering, 1077 in 1900 and 1384 in 1905, now live mostly in their former summer villages on the plain. The other Indians live on reservations, of which there are three: the Mescalero See also:Apache reservation, in Otero county, containing 554 Indians in 'goo; the See also:Jicarilla Apache reservation, in Rio Arriba county, with a population of 829; and the See also:Navaho reservation, in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, which contains in that part of it situated in New Mexico a population of 2480.
The inhabitants of Spanish descent have been only slightly assimilated and cling tenaciously to their racial peculiarities. As a See also:rule, they live in low adobe houses built around a See also:court, and are poor and ignorant, but hospitable. They are more Americanized in the Rio Grande Valley than among the mountains, where English is rarely spoken. Many of them have intermarried with the Indians, creating the class of See also:half-breeds known as " Mestizos." Although the proportion of Spanish-See also:American and Indian inhabitants is steadily decreasing with the arrival of immigrants from other parts of the United States, it was nevertheless computed by the New Mexican authorities to be about 63 % in 1904. About one-tenth of the Spanish-American and Indian population habitually use the English See also:language.
The total population of New Mexico in 187o was 91,874; in 188o, 119,565; in 189o, 153,593; in 1900, 195,310, and in 191o, according to the U.S. See also:census, the figure was 327,301. Of the native white population in 1900, 17,917 were of See also:foreign parentage. Of the foreign-See also:born See also:element 6649, or about one-half, were Mexicans, 1360 were Germans and the See also:rest chiefly English, Irish, Canadians, Italians, Scotch and Austrians. The chief cities were Albuquerque (6238), Santa Fe (5603), Las Vegas (3552) and Raton (3540). Far the greater portion of the population (in 1906, 50.2% of the estimated population) are communicants of the See also:Roman See also:Catholic See also: Among Protestants there were_656o Methodists, 2935 Presbyterians and 2331 See also:Baptists. See also:Administration.—The executive See also:officers until 1911 were a See also:governor and a Territorial secretary appointed by the See also:President of the United States, and a treasurer, auditor, See also:superintendent of public instruction, See also:adjutant-general, See also:commissioner of public lands and other administrative officials appointed by the governor. The legislative department included a See also:council of 12 members and a See also:House of Representatives of 24 members, chosen by popular See also:vote. The sessions were biennial and limited to 6o days. All See also:laws passed by the See also:Assembly and approved by the governor had to be submitted to the Federal See also:Congress for its approval. The Territory was represented in Congress by a delegate, chosen by popular vote, with the right to speak in the national legislature but not to vote. The judicial department included a supreme court, district courts, See also:probate courts and See also:local justices of the See also:peace. The supreme court consisted of a chief See also:justice and six See also:associate justices appointed by the President. There were seven judicial districts, each with a court presided over by a justice of the supreme court. Each county had a probate court, and each See also:precinct a justice of the peace. For the purposes of local government New Mexico is divided into 26 counties, each being governed by a See also:board of county commissioners, chosen by the people. Each county is divided by the commissioners into precincts. Municipal corporations with a population of 3000 and over are cities, and are governed through a See also:mayor and board of aldermen; those with a population of between 1500 and 3000 are towns, and are governed through a mayor and trustees. A rather unusual institution within New Mexico is the mounted See also:police, who numbered I I in 1907, whose work was almost entirely m the cattle country, and who had authority to See also:patrol the entire Territory and to make arrests or to preserve order wherever their presence was needed, unhampered by the restrictions limiting the See also:jurisdiction of local police. A See also:homestead not exceeding $See also:I000 in value, and held by a See also:husband and wife or by a widow or widower with an unmarried daughter or an unmarried See also:minor son, may be held exempt from seizure and See also:sale by legal See also:process. The exemption may be claimed by either the husband or the wife, but may not be granted if each owns a See also:home-See also:stead; and it does not extend to judgments rendered against the debtor on account of a See also:mortgage, non-See also:payment of the See also:purchase See also:money or supplies and labour for See also:building and See also:repairs. In 1907 the legislature passed a See also:radical measure, meting the See also:penalty for operating See also:games of See also:chance six months' imprisonment in the county-jail, and, at the discretion of the court, a fine of not less than $See also:loo and not more than $500; this See also:law went into effect on the 1st of January 1908. Gambling had formerly been licensed—the gambling-house keeper paying $200 per annum for each gaming table or apparatus, this sum going to the district and county school funds. Revenues for the support of the government are derived chiefly from. the general property tax. There are also special See also:corporation taxes on See also:car companies, See also:express companies and foreign corporations producing, refining or selling See also:petroleum or coal oil; and a system of See also:licence-charges or business taxes. A See also:poll tax is levied by the state for school purposes and may also be levied by municipalities. The county and the municipal tax rates are limited respectively to 5 and to See also:mills on the See also:dollar. A special tax not exceeding 3 mills on the dollar may be levied on all taxable property for school purposes, and the proceeds apportioned among the school districts according to the number of school See also:children. The proceeds of the poll tax are distributed in the counties in which the tax is collected. Each school district may supplement the aid from the state by laying special taxes, and the Federal government has granted to each township 4 sq. m. of public land to aid in the support of the See also:schools. Land-grants amounting in 1907 to 1,343,080 acres had also been made for the benefit of various educational, charitable and correctional institutions, and for irrigation purposes. At the See also:close of the fiscal year ending on the 31st of May 1908, New Mexico showed expenditures of $721,272.81, receipts of $754,080.94 and a See also:balance in the See also:treasury of $378,653:63. The bonded See also:debt, amounting on the 31st of May 1908 to $788,000, was incurred partly in See also:meeting temporary deficits in the treasury and partly in the construction of public buildings. See also:Education.—At the See also:head of the public school system is a Board of Education of seven members, including the governor and the superintendent of public instruction; this Board apportions the school fund among the counties, selects the See also:text-books and prepares the See also:examinations for teachers. The superintendent of public instruction exercises a general supervision over the schools of New Mexico. There is also a superintendent of schools for each county, and the counties are divided into school districts, each having three See also:directors, who disburse the school funds and have the care of the school property. In incorporated cities and towns these functions are discharged by local boards of education. The school age is from five to twenty-one years, and for children between the ages of seven and fourteen school attendance for three months in each year is compulsory. The total enrollment for the year ending the 1st of August 1906 was 39,377, with an average daily attendance of 25,174; the average length of the school year was 5 months and 19 days. The use of English in the schoolroom is required by law; New Mexico has adopted a See also:uniform system of text-books. The state supports the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque; a See also:College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts1 (established 1889, opened 1890) at Mesilla Park, 40 M. from El Paso; a Normal School at Silver City (pop. 1900, 2735; county-seat of Grant county); a Normal University at Las Vegas; a School of Mines (at Socorro; pop. 1900, 1512; county-seat of Socorro county), which was founded in 1889, was organized and opened in 1895 when it received from Congress 50,000 acres of land, has in its library the private library of See also: de Vaca into Mexico after eight years of wandering across the See also:continent and related to his countrymen the stories he had heard of wonderful cities of stone in the north. He had not seen the cities himself, nor had he, as is frequently asserted, gone as far north as the present New Mexico, but his reports tended to confirm previous rumours and led the See also:viceroy, See also:Don See also:Antonio de See also:Mendoza, to send Fray Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan See also:friar, on a small and inexpensive expedition of See also:discovery. Fray Marcos (q.v.) was the first See also:European to enter the limits of what is now New Mexico. A glimpse of the terraced houses of an Indian village—now identified as Zuni—convinced him that he had seen one of the Seven Cities, and he hastened back with the good See also:news. The stories that he told See also:grew in their passage from mouth to mouth until the Spaniards believed that in the north were cities " very rich, having silversmiths, and that the women wore strings of gold beads and the men girdles of gold." Full of missionary zeal, and desirous that settlements should be planted in the new region in order that the See also:heathen might be converted, Fray Marcos did little to refute these exaggerations. The See also:con-quest of the Seven Cities was determined upon, and a See also:band of adventurers, led by Francisco Vasquez de See also:Coronado (q.v.) ,set out in 1J39. Following the route of Fray Marcos de Niza, Coronado reached the first of the alleged cities, and to his great disappointment found only an Indian pueblo. An exploring party sent eastward reached Acoma, and then proceeded to Tiguex on the Rio Grande, and finally to the Pecos river. The main See also:body of Coronado's' expedition remained in New Mexico on the Rio Grande while he pushed on to the fabled land of Quivfra,l only to meet with another disappointment. See also:Forty years elapsed before the Spaniards again entered New Mexico. In 1581 Fray Augustin See also:Rodriguez, another Franciscan, explored the valley of the Rio Grande, and in 1582–1583 Antonio Espejo made extended explorations to the E. and W. of this stream. It was about this time, apparently, that the Spaniards in Mexico adopted the term New Mexico to designate the land to the north; Rodriguez had called the country San Felipe, and Espejo had named it Nueva Andalucia. Between 1583 and 1595 several attempts at the See also:conquest and occupation of New Mexico were made, but for various reasons they were unsuccessful. In the spring of 1598 Don Juan de Ofiate entered New Mexico with about 400 colonists, and choosing the pueblo of San Juan (30 M. N.W. of the See also:modern Santa Fe) as a temporary dwelling-place, made preparations for building a See also:town at the junction of the Rio Chama and the Rio Grande, to be known as San Francisco. In the following year the new See also:settlement was renamed San See also:Gabriel. Some years later a second settlement was made at Santa Fe, which has ever since been the seat of government of New Mexico. Although the Franciscan missionaries by 1617 had built seven churches and had baptized 14,000 Indians, there were in this year only 48 soldiers and settlers in the See also:province. The zeal of the friars in stamping out the religious See also:rites of the natives, the severe penalties inflicted for non-observance of the rules of the Church, and the heavy See also:tribute in See also:kind demanded by the Spanish authorities, aroused feelings of resentment in the Pueblo Indians and led in r68o to a general revolt, headed by a native named See also:Pope. Over 400 Spaniards were massacred, and the remnant, after enduring a See also:siege in Santa Fe, fled southward to a See also:mission near the present El Paso. For a decade the natives enjoyed their See also:independence, destroying nearly all vestiges of Spanish occupation, and venting their wrath particularly upon the churches. After several attempts at reconquest had failed, Don Diego de Vargas marched up the Rio Grande in 1692, and largely by moral suasion secured the surrender of Santa Fe, then held by the Indians. During the next four years the sub-mission of all the pueblos was secured, and the permanency of 1 Although the Quivira story was fabricated by an Indian See also:captive and its fraudulent character was fully exposed by Coronado in 1541, ignorant American treasure-seekers still See also:search for this mythical region. By a See also:strange perversion of names the deserted stone pueblo of See also:Tahiti., S. of Albuquerque in the vicinity of the Manzano Mountains, has received the appellation of " Gran Quivira," thereby causing many deluded persons to make a vain search among its ruins for treasure. European occupation was assured. The history of New Mexico in the 18th century was uneventful, being chiefly a story of See also:petty disagreements among the pueblos, and occasional forays of the more warlike tribes, the Navahos, Apaches and See also:Comanches. During the Mexican See also:War of Independence (1811–21) New Mexico was tranquil and little disturbed by events farther south; but when, near the close of the year 1821, the news of independence arrived it was received with See also:enthusiasm. Under the Mexican republic New Mexico was called a province till 1824, when it was united with See also:Chihuahua and Durango to form the Estado Interno del Norte. Several months later, however, it was separated from these two provinces and became a Territory; in 1836 it was officially designated as a department, and remained as such until ceded to the United States by the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, in 1848. Its government during this See also:period was only slightly changed from what it had been under See also:Spain. Of great importance to New Mexico during the first half of the 19th century was the development of its See also:trade with the United States. American traders had occasionally ventured as far as Santa Fe before the independence of Mexico, but they were frequently expelled and their goods confiscated by the Spanish authorities. After 1822 trading expeditions became larger and more numerous. From See also:Missouri caravans of See also:pack animals, and later See also:wagon trains, set out in May of each year on the 800 m. See also:journey to Santa Fe, along the route later followed in its general lines by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railway. The value of the products carried by these trains increased from $15,000 in 1822 to $450,000 in 1843. On their return trip the wagons often brought loads of wool, See also:fur and blankets. In 1841 the republic of Texas, claiming that its western boundary was the Rio Grande, sent a force of 300 men to New Mexico to enforce these claims. The Texans reached the frontier in a starved and exhausted See also:condition, were made prisoners by the New Mexican See also:militia, and were sent to Mexico, where after a short term of confinement they were released.
In 1846 the Congress of the United States declared that war existed with Mexico, and on the 3rd of See also:June Brigadier-General See also:Stephen W. See also:Kearny was ordered to undertake the conquest of New Mexico and California and to " establish temporary See also:civil governments therein." Kearny reached Las Vegas on the 15th of August, assured the people of See also:protection if they remained peaceable, and three days later entered Santa Fe without opposition. Here he organized a civil government and compiled a See also:code of laws, some of which are still in force, thus exceeding his instructions and ignoring the territorial claims of Texas, out of which had grown the war. After Kearny's departure for California and See also:Col. See also: As originally constituted, the Territory included, besides most of its present area, nearly all of what is now Arizona, and a small portion of the present Colorado. By the terms of the Compromise See also:Measures of r85o Texas surrendered all claims to the portion of New Mexico E. of the Rio Grande, and was reimbursed for this loss of territory by the Federal Government. The See also:Gadsden Purchase (see GADSDEN, See also: H. Sibley, commanding a force of about 3800 Texans, marched into New Mexico, fought a successful engagement at Valverde, on the Rio Grande, against Union forces under Colonel, later General, See also:Edward R. S. Canby, and occupied Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The Union troops were reinforced from Colorado, however, and after a series of skirmishes the Confederates were compelled to See also:retreat to Texas, leaving behind about half their See also:original number in killed, wounded and missing. New Mexico furnished to the Union See also:army between 500o and 6000 men. The period following the American occupation of New Mexico was marked by See also:constant depredations of the Indians, chiefly the Navahos, Apaches and a few Utes, their main See also:object being See also:plunder. While the troops were occupied with the Confederate invaders the Indians had a See also:free See also:hand, but in 1863 an energetic See also:campaign was begun by General James H. See also:Carleton against the Navahos, who were subdued and placed on a reservation on the Pecos river, and later removed to the north-western part of the Territory. There they grew peaceful and prosperous, acquiring large flocks of sheep and gaining a reputation as makers of blankets. The Apache Indians, the most See also:savage of all, were placed on reservations somewhat later, but for many years bands of their warriors would escape and make raids into New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico. The most notable of the later outbreaks were those in 1879-188o and in 1885-1886 respectively of the Apache chiefs Victorio and Geronimo (c. 1834-1909). When the United States acquired See also:possession of New Mexico, the best portions of the Territory were held in private ownership under Spanish and Mexican grants, which were confirmed by the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. To determine the validity 9f these claims, which had been complicated by transfers and subdivisions, and to See also:fix their boundaries, which were often very vaguely described, proved a very formidable undertaking; and the slow process of See also:confirmation greatly retarded the development of the Territory. There was but little material progress before the advent of the See also:rail-way. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railway reached Albuquerque in 188o, and the Southern Pacific railway effected a junction with it at Deming in 1881, thus connecting the Territory with the eastern and western coasts of the United States. With the railway came capital and the development of mines, great cattle ranges and modern towns. Immigrants from the states, however, rarely 1 According to the historian H. H. See also:Bancroft, the See also:loyalty to the Union cause resulted " largely from the fact that the Confederate invasion came from Texas, the old hatred of the Texans being the strongest popular feeling of the natives, far outweighing their devotion to either the North or the South."settled beyond the zone of the railway, and in the remote rural regions the process of Americanization was slow. After the Civil War numerous attempts were made to secure the See also:admission of New Mexico into the Union as a state. In 1872 a state constitution was drafted, and it was proposed for a time to See also:call the new state Lincoln, but the movement came to nothing. In 1889 another constitution was drafted, but it was rejected when submitted to a popular vote. On the 6th of See also:November 1go6 the question of the See also:joint admission of New Mexico and Arizona as a single state bearing the name of the latter Territory was submitted to a vote of their citizens. The vote of New Mexico was favourable (26,195 to 14,735), but the measure was defeated in Arizona. In June 1910 the President approved an enabling act providing for the admission of Arizona and New Mexico as separate states. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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