Chapter VI: Part I (6)

[178] _Historical Sketch of Santa Fe_, pp. 22, 23, in the pamphlet on _Centennial Celebration_, 1876. It is the only printed report in existence, except a very short one by Judge K. Benedict, on the revolt of 1837.

[179] I have not as yet been able to consult the archives of San Miguel County, at Las Vegas, in regard to the different "Deeds" then executed. Therefore I forbear mentioning even the names of the grantees of which I was informed.

[180] The Hon. W. G. Ritch is in possession of a number of highly interesting data gathered from the Indians in relation to the sacred fire. All of these he has, in the kindest manner, placed at my disposal. I, however, defer their mention for a future report, in connection, as I hope, with the pueblo of Jemez. I shall but refer here to a single one. There were, formerly, several fires burning. One of these, that of the _cacique_, was never permitted to go out, so that, in case one of the others should accidentally become extinguished, it could always be rekindled from the "extra-holy" one.

[181] Even Ruiz affirmed that the tale, as far as the Pecos were concerned, was certainly true. He never could get to see the reptile, however. It is a rattlesnake (_cascabel_).

[182] I am informed by Mr. Miller that blocks or "chunks" of obsidian, as large as a fist or larger, are found in the Arroyo de Taos. This would be about 60 miles north of Santa Fe.

[183] In regard to the regular indentation of arrow-heads, I was informed by Mr. Debrant, then incidentally at Baughl's (on the 4th of September), that these were produced by contact with fire. Applying a glowing coal (the end of a burning stick) to the edge of the flint, and blowing on it steadily, after a few seconds a speck of the mineral will fly off, leaving a groove or indentation proportionate in size to the coal used and to the length of time applied. Thus, an arrow-head may be indented in a very short time, which would be impossible by chipping.

[184] Moss-agate is also found, but rarely.

[185] Compare W. H. Holmes, _U. S. Geographical Survey_, 1876, p. 404.

[186] That stones were used, both in offensive as well as in defensive warfare, is proven by Castaneda, ii. cap. v. p. 178; i. cap. xii. p. 69. It is possible that the pebbles used were kept on the roofs, as was the custom among the ancient Mexicans.

[187] Thus the probability of the destruction of a part of Pecos by the Tanos, on the 10th of August, 1680, is still further increased.

[188] Therefore the massacre of all their available men by the Comanches, already mentioned. I could not as yet find the date of the event. It is a well-known tradition, however. It occurred in the _moro_.

[189] That constant guard was kept on the housetops is stated by Castaneda, ii. p. 179.

[190] The defensive constructions of the pueblos, as late as 1540, were the houses. The wall of Pecos is an exception. Castaneda says (i. cap. xiv. p. 80): "As these villages have no streets, that all the houses are of the same height and common to all the inhabitants, these large houses must be captured first, because they are the points of defence."

[191] The church of Pecos, although it had lost all its former splendor, still was used till about 1840. Afterwards it was abandoned.

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Transcriber's Note | | Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as | | possible, including obsolete and variant spellings and other | | inconsistencies. | | | | Minor punctuation and printing errors have been corrected. | | | | The Google Print source suffers from numerous gaps in the text. | | A copy of the original text obtained from the library at the | | College of Santa Fe (New Mexico) enabled the transcriber to include| | all omitted pages and plates for this complete transcription. | | | | Footnotes occurring on each page of the original text are grouped | | at the end of the two major sections of the transcribed text, | | | | Hyphen use in directional terms is now consistent throughout the | | author's text. For example, occurrences of 'northeast' are now | | 'north-east', matching the predominant usage in the text. | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+