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A Winter
Trip

This webpage reproduces a section of
Adventures in the Santa Fé Trade, 1844‑1847

by
James Josiah Webb


Arthur H. Clark Company,
Glendale, California, 1931
As republished by Bison Books
1995

The text is in the public domain.

This page has been carefully proofread
and I believe it to be free of errors.
If you find a mistake though,
please let me know!

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A Prisoner
in Chihuahua
This site is not affiliated with the US Military Academy.

 p179  To Mexico Ahead of Kearny and Doniphan

On May 9, 1846, we left Independence on my third trip, with high hopes and bright prospects. We had charming weather and good roads, and traveled more rapidly than [on] any trip with a train that I ever made before or since. [We] made up a train sufficiently strong for protection, without any delay. Besides our five wagons, there were three of W. S. McKnight,​202 [Norris] Colburn, Juan Armijo (one of the governor's), J. B. Turley, and some others. Armijo had been reinstated as governor​203 and had a train of wagons ahead of us.

Some ninety or a hundred miles out an express passed us to the California emigrants who were ahead, and we were told a fight had taken place between our troops and the Mexicans somewhere in Texas, and the probabilities were there would be a war. We thought we  p180 would be so far in the interior that there would be no danger of trouble, and as the ports would be blockaded there would be a good demand for our goods and at war prices. So we traveled as expeditiously as we could, with good weather and roads and high hopes of profit to encourage us. We got no further news from either way until about half way up the Cimarrón. At the Arkansas a company was made up, and Mr. Doan went ahead, and the captain, or chief man, went with them; and the parties wished me to accept the charge of the train without going through the usual formalities of an election.

This year, having a little capital, good credit, and a fair prospect of business, we thought we could indulge in the luxury of an ambulance, and bought one in St. Louis, and a pair of horses on the frontier of a man named Lewis. Those were the sorrels spoken of previously, and they caused us a good deal of trouble and anxiety, as they got a fright and would quite often break loose, and we would have a hard chase to recover them. Twice we thought them gone, without hope of recovery: once on the Arkansas, when they got frightened and broke loose, and some of the mules followed them, but after a long chase they were brought back. Again, at Sand creek, while staked out grazing, some Comanche Indians came to camp, and they [the sorrels] became frightened and broke loose, when we thought them gone sure; but one of the men, well mounted, overtook them and brought them back. So notwithstanding we got a good price for them, we got no more than paid for the care and anxiety in taking them out.

About half way up the Cimarrón, Albert Speyer overtook us and gave us the certain information that  p181 war was declared and that the United States troops had followed him to Pawnee Fork to stop him from entering the country​204 with supplies of goods, as we then supposed, but as I afterwards learned, with arms and ammunition, of which he had two wagon loads in his train to fill an order received the year before from the governor of Chihuahua. He hurried on, and we hurried after him, and although he traveled, as he thought, very fast with mule teams, we with oxen were not far behind at any time and overtook him at Rock creek, between Point of Rocks and Whetstone Branch, and entered Santa Fé but half a day behind him — in forty-five days from Independence.

At Tecolote hill we overtook Armijo's train about noon, and the road was all occupied on the hill and many wagons at the foot. I thought it doubtful whether we would be able to get up that day, as they seemed to be making slow progress; but to be ready at short notice if we should have time to go up, [I] ordered the teams turned out in the yoke and to be kept near camp. We had just got turned out when we heard the noises of an approaching train, and soon George Peacock came up and, from his manner in selecting camp, I thought if he had a chance he would attempt to cut us out and go up ahead of us. Pruett was also in the train, and Rallston, the father-in‑law of Jesse James,  p182 also his [Peacock's?] father-in‑law. I could hardly see how the two should consent to travel in the same company, as I knew them both well and knew that the old man had very little respect for his son-in‑law and had on one or two occasions called my attention to a division fence between them, consisting of two high rail fences and on the land of each, which the old man insisted on, [so] that there should be no cause of difficulty on account of breachy cattle breaking the other's fence without first breaking down their owner's [fence].

After they had turned out, I asked a couple of the boys to go and get up a game of euchre. And having a fiddler along, I asked him to go over and give them a musical entertainment, telling them to report that we should probably order up the cattle to unyoke; and when they heard the order to drive up the oxen, they might come up and take charge of their teams. In an interview with Governor Armijo's wagon master, I told him what might happen, and to keep cool, as [for] if we were the cause of getting him out of the road or so stalled that he was like to be detained, we would all turn in and help him out.

In due time I saw my opportunity and called to the herders to drive up the oxen to unyoke, which they leisurely proceeded to do. And when they arrived at the corral, all hands went to work to prepare [the] teams to start, as fast as possible, three or four men to a team for the first eight or ten wagons. And as soon as geared they formed in lines to block the road; so there were in a very short time four lines of wagons abreast at the foot of the hill, so completely blocking the road that it was impossible to pass us. Peacock was, however, very persistent, and in his efforts to pass us got  p183 two wagons so far off the road among the rocks that he had to unload them. The old man sitting [sat] on a rock and looking [looked] on like the wife in the bear fight, [and exclaimed]:

"Go it, husband! Go it, bear! I don't care which whips."

After the affair was over, he congratulated me and said he told them it was a mean trick, and he hoped Webb would be soon enough for them, and he guessed they had found he was. They got up the hill the next morning and again overtook us, but made no attempt to pass us.

On the plains or where the road is in good condition it was allowable to pass each other, but at a bad slough or in narrow or difficult passes in the mountains it was considered mean to take any undue advantage of each other in taking the road.

The Mexican soldiers did not meet us until we were near San Miguel. And one of our party had some doubt what might be done with his candlewick and powder, and was advised by one of the custom-house officers to take it from the wagons in the night and pack it on mules some three or four miles to a settlement on the river between Pecos and San José, and leave it with a person there until he could take it to the Placer where he was living. So one night when camped in the woods not far from Pajarito spring, we called on our fiddler to furnish music for a dance, and while the dance was going [on], on one side of the train, Noland and his men were busy on the other side taking out the goods and packing them for transportation to a place considered safe. He succeeded in accomplishing his object without suspicion or interruption, but he finally lost  p184 the goods, which would have been in no danger of confiscation if he had taken them along and made no attempt at concealment. Colburn also thought it best to take out a lot of the same class of goods at the Arroyo Hondo, six miles from Santa Fé, and take them in by night on pack mules. But the trick was discovered, and his men arrested, and goods and mules held by the authorities for some days; and he finally settled by paying a fine, and the goods were restored.

Perhaps both the cases were put up by old Durán, the custom-house officer, to make a little raise from his friends which he could get in no other way. It was by his advice the goods were unloaded and the concealment attempted, and very likely, knowing just when and how to operate, he got some outside parties to catch Colburn and divide the funds obtained by the compromise. The goods of Noland were confiscated by old Durán himself, but he made a show of necessity, and Mr. Noland had no recourse. Durán was a notorious gambler; and not long after the arrival of the train he went to San Miguel and got to gambling and lost all the money he had, pawned his mule and lost the proceeds, and confiscated Mr. Noland's contraband goods to redeem his mule and enable him to leave town.

Several years after, I met him [Durán] in Algodones, and he told me he had been there some days and did not know when he should be able to leave.

"What business detains you so long?" I[ asked].

"Oh, I am in pawn."

"In pawn? What do you mean, Don Agustín?"

"Why I am in pawn."

"A man in pawn, how?"

"Well, the night of my arrival they got up a fandango,  p185 and I went, took a little too much aguardiente, got to gambling, lost all the money I had, pawned the mule I rode, borrowed from a friend, lost that, and borrowed more money, giving my obligation not to leave town until I could redeem myself and mule from pawn. I have notified my friends of my circumstances, and expect to receive the money in a day or two to enable me to leave."

Don Agustín Durán, under the Mexican government, was a leading man in New Mexico, among the best educated and most talented men in the territory, and was much respected by, and had a great deal of influence with, the Mexicans. But owing to his vicious habits in drinking and gambling, [he] was liable at any time to get himself "in pawn," or to compromise the interests of his best friends, as well as his own.

On meeting my partner, he informed [me that] the United States troops were advancing on New Mexico under command of General Kearny​205 and that the  p186 advance guard were at the Rayado, and [that] spies had been sent to Taos and Santa Fé and conferred with Don Manuel Álvarez, the American consul, and had left for the Rayado only the day before. Talking over matters, we thought (as we should have to pay duties at the rate of seven hundred and fifty dollars​206 a wagon load, and free goods​207 being so near) that we would be at a great disadvantage to attempt to remain in New Mexico. And our goods​208 being adapted to the interior market, we concluded to go to Chihuahua, and on arrival in Santa Fé commenced making our arrangements. We had two mule teams and two ox teams. We sold our oxen to Mr. John Scolly and bought some mules of him or through him, and on his credit, but not enough to make up the two teams, and borrowed money of him to buy the balance in the Río Abajo. Some days were spent in making arrangements, taking out guías, or manifests, arranging teams, etc. Mr. Speyer had bought out General Armijo's goods; from which I infer the general, if not knowing the troops were on the way to New Mexico, thought they soon would be, and  p187 [that] his safest course would be to have as little property under his official guardian­ship as possible. We prepared to join him [Speyer] and travel together.

The night before the train was to start, Mr. Doan went to a fandango on the hill across the Río Chiquito; and on his return to Mr. Leitensdorfer's where we were stopping, immediately on turning a corner but a few yards from his home, was struck by a heavy stone on the face just below the forehead with such force as to fell him to the ground, insensible and his nose mashed flat. He was carried in the house and after some time revived sufficiently to tell in whose company he was and how the affair happened. The friends who were with him had no idea who committed the deed or the motive inducing it. But there was an old French doctor there from Chihuahua who was called, and on examination pronounced the wound, although serious, not necessarily dangerous, but [it] would render it impossible for him to proceed with the train. So I had to make such arrangements as I could under the circumstances for procuring teams and securing protection for our interests.

I consulted with Mr. Speyer, and he offered to take our wagons under his protection, as he traveled under the protection of a Prussian passport, and had also an English one if circumstances should arise making it more desirable. E. Leitensdorfer procured a Mexican who understood English to accompany me as interpreter and assistant, and we went on mule back, leaving the ambulance for Mr. Doan when he should recover sufficiently to follow. Dolly Spanker​a had been stolen from the herd at Agua Fría, and I left under rather discouraging circumstances on a new adventure, a new  p188 market, and doubtful about the reception I should meet among enemies. Our drivers were Americans, but the temptation of an enemy's goods for confiscation did not apply to them; and I had some doubts how effectual the cover of Mr. Speyer's passport might prove to be.

We started in the morning and traveled to the canyon below Cerillos, where we stopped and took a lunch and rested. This man [the Mexican interpreter and assistant] accompanied me to Albuquerque and assisted me faithfully, and I traveled with him alone for several days with considerable money in specie which could not be concealed. And I never suspected but what he was honest and reliable until my return to Santa Fé the following year, when I saw him in the chain gang on the square, and inquiring what he was there for, and was informed that he was charged with murder and robbery. Why did he allow me to escape and so soon after avail himself of an opportunity by no means superior to the one afforded by me?

I bought mules enough to make up teams, by retaining a yoke of oxen on each of two wagons as wheelers, and joined the train a short distance below Bernalillo. The train numbered thirty-eight wagons, about four hundred and fifty mules, and about fifty men. A Frenchman, named John Devoe,​b with two wagons took freight for Mr. Speyer, and acted as guide and assistant major domo, as he knew the country well to Chihuahua and through all the low country. Another man with three wagons, named Harmony, took freight for Mr. S. Mr. S. had a clerk named Oliver, a Spaniard who talked English and was a very agreeable and interesting gentleman. [There was] another man named Phoenix,  p189 a brother of J. Phillips Phoenix, a former Mayor of New York,​c traveling for health, as I understood.

The rainy season came upon us about this time, and we traveled under great difficulties from bad roads and the number of wagons in the train. The way down the river to Fray Cristóbal was so bad that we could not travel more than two to ten miles a day with all day travel and very hard work.​209 We bought a few mules as opportunity offered. And I bought a mule one day of a stranger, and the following night it was lost and I had good reason to believe that [it] was stolen by the same parties who sold it to me. At Parida,​210 Mr. Speyer bought an old picture which he claimed was by one of the old masters and brought from Spain by the ancestors of the man from whom he bought it, and which, he afterwards informed me, proved a very fortunate speculation. So much for being a Jew and a judge of property and knowing a good thing wherever they see it. Parida hill​211 we had heard a good deal about as the worst piece of road between Santa Fé and Chihuahua, except a few miles of road of the same character through the sand hills below El Paso del Norte. And we had not yet concluded whether to take that as the shortest route or to follow down the river on a hard road and travel a longer distance and through two jornadas, one of fifty and one of seventy miles.

At Fray Cristóbal we lay by a day to rest and put everything in order to pass through the Jornada del Muerto,​212 ninety miles without water. Sometimes water  p190 is found at the laguna213 (being a depression in the prairie where surface water gathers and remains for some time), but as yet there had not been sufficient rain to fill it, and we found none and drove on, and on arriving opposite the Gallego spring,​214 concluded to drive off and water. The spring is at the right of the road, and the road is so bad and the water so poor and limited in quantity that we were almost sorry we had stopped, as it was almost as fatiguing to the animals as it would have been to have gone through without water.

Fray Cristóbal takes its name from a peak at the end of a mountain on the east bank of the del Norte where the river enters a gorge and passes for a long distance through a narrow valley; and the valley being much wider above this point and suddenly contracting, makes the end of the mountain quite prominent for a long distance up the valley. And it is claimed by the Mexicans that [because of] the resemblance to the handº and face of an old friar living among them in early times, they named the mountain for him. It requires but little imagination to see a resemblance to the face of an old man.

Socorro was the last settlement on the river on the west side and Parida on the east, until we came to Doña Ana.​215 We made the jornada through without any loss of animals, but both men and animals appeared greatly  p191 relieved when we got to the river and had plenty of water and a day's rest.

After a day's rest we proceeded on our journey down the river without passing any house or settlement (except Doña Ana) on either side of the river until we arrived at El Paso.​216 We crossed from the bottom, where the town of Franklin now is, to the west side, a little above the hill, where we camped. And a good many people from the town came to our camp to sell provisions, fruits, etc., to gratify curiosity, and others to show their hatred of the Texans and heretics, and still others to do a little legal work in the mule line.

This was a great trade in El Paso. The Apache Indians would steal mules in the state of Chihuahua and sell them in New Mexico, and they [the mules] would get into the hands of the traders, and on arriving in El Paso would be reclaimed by agents who held the brands of many haciendas to prove the owner­ship. No doubt many were reclaimed which had been sold by the  p192 parties reclaiming them. The stock of each hacienda was marked by a brand which signified owner­ship of the animal, and when stock was sold it was to be marked by another brand which signified that the animal had been legally disposed of. And all animals not having the sale brand were liable to be reclaimed by the owner or his agent wherever found.​217 The animals stolen by Indians, strayed from the owners, unlawfully disposed of by the Mexican servants and laid to Indians or other thieves, and those sold by the owners away from the hacienda without the means of fixing the sale brand on the animals, combined [to] make a large portion of the mules in New Mexico rather insecure property, especially when taken to the state of Chihuahua.

While crossing and arranging camp and turning out, there appeared a man with what appeared to be a load of old iron behind him, riding around camp and carefully examining every team as it arrived and was turned out. And when we had got all over and settled, he came up and informed us that he claimed four mules as stolen property, and we were notified to take them before the prefect's court for trial. Mr. Speyer asked the favor of a delay until the next day when we should pass through the town with the train, and we could take them along, and he would appear before the court with the property and his witnesses. This was consented to, and we thought we were getting along very well if no more mules were  p193 reclaimed than these, as the man left camp, and we saw no other persons whom we suspected of being there for the same business.

During the afternoon I wandered around and visited the old mill, which appeared to be in a very dilapidated condition; but the dam across the river was used to afford a sufficient head of water for purposes of irrigating the large valley below. In this old mill I saw the first sample of that ancient instrument of punishment and sometimes of torture — the stocks. . . Following down the main acequia218 for some distance towards the town, I was surprised to see beaver signs so near a large town. The bank was set with cottonwood trees, and many of them were completely girdled by the beaver, others cut entirely down, and others only partially girdled, but the sign of their presence and labor was plainly visible to within a quarter of a mile of the town. The next day we drove through town and [to a point] some three or four miles below to camp, as we wanted to remain long enough to lay in some stores, attend court, and I wanted to exchange two yoke of oxen for mules. The trial was short, and all the mules were taken. And before we were through the first trial, there was another arrival from the new camp, and it was short work to produce the iron to fit the brand, and turn the mule over to the claimant. And the new arrivals were so frequent that the court and all interested were transacting business with despatch, if not to the satisfaction of all parties. At last Mr. Speyer, disgusted and alarmed, gave orders to stop the game.

 p194  "Tell White," said he, "to gear up and travel, and allow no more mules to be brought away, even if he has to fight. Keep traveling till we overtake you."

We finally cleaned the docket, and they had taken fifteen mules from Mr. Speyer and three from me. I swapped the two yoke of oxen for two mules, and bought one or two; so I kept the number good, and under the circumstances was glad to get off so. We started and overtook the train.

Mr. Speyer concluded to take the route through the sand hills,​219 being shorter and not so long a journey without water as following down the river and by Cantarecio. The sand was very deep, and the hills steep, for some six or eight miles, and it was with great difficulty and labor that we passed them. This route was but little traveled by wagon trains, and I should not like to make more than one trip over that route.​220 The first town we  p195 came to was Carrizal,​221 which we passed without annoyance of any kind. A few miles below we came to the Warm spring,​222 where we camped, and all took a bath and had a good time. This is a very bold spring at the foot of a small mound apparently of volcanic origin, the water boiling up through the sand over a large space some two or three rods across, and apparently walled up, raising the water to some four feet in depth, the temperature​223 being just right for a comfortable warm bath, and a stream of water flowing from it sufficient to run a mill.

The next drive was to a dry creek in which I never saw running water except this trip. The road was very bad, and although we had no rain that day near us, we saw clouds overhanging the mountains to the west which indicated heavy showers in that direction. The first wagons arrived in camp about eleven o'clock in the forenoon, and camped without crossing, on the north side of the creek. The last wagons did not get in camp until near dark on account of delays by miring down. The drivers arriving in camp first, had large and almost incredible stories to tell about the rattlesnakes which they commenced killing when they first arrived in camp. And as the wagons arrived they would stir them up in the grass while driving in and unharnessing, and  p196 they said by honest count they had killed over fifteen within the circle of the camp fires. During the night the water rose to such a depth that we were unable to cross, and had to lay by three days for it to fall so we could ford.

A doctor from St. Louis, named Wislizenus,​224 [who] was traveling with Mr. Speyer for health, pleasure, and, I think, with a view to some scientific explorations,​225 concluded to leave us here and proceed to Chihuahua. As soon as the water fell so we could get his  p197 ambulance across, he left us with his servant and arrived in Chihuahua ten or fifteen days ahead of us. The morning after his arrival, his servant took all their arms to a corral near the hotel to fire them off and clean them up. They had several repeating arms, rifles, and pistols, and of course the firing was rapid and continued for some time. Very soon a crowd gathered about the hotel, and continued increasing in numbers and violent demonstrations until the Americans in town were compelled to close their stores, and such as could do so sought shelter in the hotel for mutual defense and protection. Those too far away secreted themselves from the excited mob as best they could. The Americans knew no cause for such an excitement, and as soon as they could get a confidential interview with a Mexican friend, they learned that the Battle of Monterey had been fought, the Mexicans defeated, and the city taken, and it was supposed the Americans were rejoicing over the news and firing a salute.​226 The mob was prevented from doing any especial damage by the cool and determined manner of the Americans in showing their determination to defend themselves to the last extremity.​227 In a day or two, an order was issued that all the Americans of influence in town, except A. C. Anderson,​228 should leave and go to Cosuhuiriachi, a  p198 small mining town in the mountains, and there remain during the pleasure of the governor, Don Angel Trias.​229


The Author's Notes:

202 William S. McKnight, of St. Louis, was an old Santa Fé trader. In 1849 he was appointed postmaster at Santa Fé. Returning to St. Louis in the fifties, he continued to transact business under the name of William S. McKnight & Co. Daily Missouri Republican, May 19, 1841, Sept. 3, 1846, Oct. 16, 1849, Sept. 8, 1851, Oct. 6, 1859.

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203 Manuel Armijo was reappointed governor of New Mexico on July 24, 1845, but did not enter upon the duties of his office until the following November 16. Shortly before his inauguration Armijo entertained a number of American traders at the Palace of the Governors. There, in a toast to his guests, he expressed himself in favor of peace between the United States and Mexico, and stated that if war were declared "there would be no fighting by the people of New Mexico." Daily Missouri Republican, Jan. 1, 1846. See also Bloom, "New Mexico under Mexican Administration," Old Santa Fé, II.249.

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204 On June 5, 1846, Colonel Stephen W. Kearny, then at Fort Leavenworth, despatched two companies of the First regiment of dragoons to detain the caravans of Speyer and Armijo, which he was informed were transporting arms and ammunition, as well as a large amount of merchandise, to New Mexico. Though Captain Benjamin D. Moore, in command of this detachment, traveled with great haste as far as the Cimarrón crossing, he was unable to overtake the caravans. Stephen W. Kearny to Roger Jones, June 5, 1846, Kearny Letter Book, MS., Missouri Historical Society; Stephen W. Kearny to Benjamin D. Moore, June 6, 1846, ibid.; Daily Missouri Republican, Aug. 3, 1846.

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205 Stephen Watts Kearny was born near Newark, New Jersey, August 30, 1794. At the age of sixteen he became an ensign in the New York City and County Militia. On March 12, 1812, he was commissioned first lieutenant in the Thirteenth regiment of infantry, and served with credit during the War of 1812. He remained in the army after the close of the war. His first experience as a soldier on the frontier was in 1820, when he accompanied an expedition that attempted to open a road from Council Bluffs to the mouth of the Minnesota river. During the next twenty‑six years he performed military service in many parts of the Far West. He accompanied General Atkinson to the Upper Missouri in 1825; he rebuilt Cantonment Towson on the Red river in 1831; and he commanded an expedition to the South pass in 1845. On July 4, 1836, he was commissioned colonel of the First regiment of dragoons, which was his rank at the outbreak of the Mexican war. Placed in command of the "Army of the West" on May 14, 1846, he marched westward over the Santa Fé trail and occupied New Mexico without firing a gun. He then proceeded to California and engaged the Mexicans in Battle of San Pascual, December 6, 1846. On June 30, 1846, he was commissioned Brigadier-general, and on the following December 6, Major-general. He died in St. Louis, October 31, 1848. Roger Jones to Stephen W. Kearny, May 14, 1846, MS., Adjutant-general's Office, War Department; Eudora Smith, "Stephen Watts Kearny as a Factor in the Westward Movement, 1812‑1834," MS., M. A. thesis, Washington University; Daily Missouri Republican, Nov. 1, 2, 1848; Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army (Washington, 1903), I.586; Louis Pelzer, Marches of the Dragoons in the Mississippi Valley (Iowa City, 1917), 14, 49‑60, 120‑160.

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206 This is an error. Webb paid a duty of five hundred dollars for each wagon load of merchandise brought to New Mexico. Webb & Doan, Daybook, 1846‑1847, Webb MSS.

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207 The Independence correspondent of the Daily Missouri Republican estimated that the caravans which left Independence for Santa Fé in 1846 consisted of three hundred and sixty-three wagons, fifty carriages, and seven hundred and fifty men, and transported 9,588 bales of merchandise valued at about $1,000,000. Daily Missouri Republican, Sept. 3, 1846.

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208 Webb & Doan's merchandise cost about $15,000. Webb & Doan, Daybook, 1846‑1847, Webb MSS.

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209 See Wislizenus, op. cit., 33‑37.

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210 The caravan camped near Parida on the night of July 26, 1846. Ibid., 36.

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211 Some of the wagons were upset while ascending this steep, sandy hill. Ibid.

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212 "Jornada del Muerto means, literally, the day's journey of the dead man, and refers to an old tradition that the first traveller who attempted to cross it in one day perished in it." Ibid., 38.

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213 Pond. This pond, or lake, was usually called Laguna del Muerto, or Dead Man's lake. Gregg, op. cit., XX.153.

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214 This is an error. Webb refers to Ojo del Muerto, or Dead Man's spring. Ibid.

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215 Doña Ana was founded in 1842. Its houses were mostly jacals, or huts, which were built of upright sticks chinked with mud. By 1847 it had a population of about five hundred. Bartlett, op. cit., I.211‑212; Ruxton, op. cit., 171; Bloom, "New Mexico under Mexican Administration," Old Santa Fé, I.13.

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216 Paso del Norte, the modern Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, was founded by the Spaniards in the seventeenth century. Wislizenus, who traveled with Speyer and Webb, described the settlement as it appeared in August, 1846: "The Río del Norte, having escaped the mountain pass, runs here into an open, fertile plain, at the beginning of which el Paso is situated. The town is principally built on the right bank of the river; but few houses are on the left. Stretched out along the river to the length of many miles, all the houses surrounded by gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and rich settlements, with cornfields, as far as the eye can trace the stream, lining its green bank — such a scenery will always be attractive; but to a traveller who has passed over the loathsome plains and through the dreary Jornada del Muerto, it appears like an oasis in the desert. . . The valley of el Paso is the most fertile country that we have seen along the river. Besides maize and wheat, they raise a large quantity of fruits, as apples, pears, figs, quinces, peaches, etc., but especially an excellent grape, from which they prepare the celebrated 'el Paso wine,' and a liquor called by the Americans 'Pass whiskey.' . . The population of the town proper, which is but a small place, and of the long line of settlements that extend for twenty miles down the river, is estimated at from 10 to 12,000." Wislizenus, op. cit., 40‑41.

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217 Gregg wrote: "No matter how many proprietors a horse or mule may have had, every one marks him with a huge hieroglyphic brand, which is called the fierro, and again, upon selling him, with his venta, or sale-brand; until at least these scars become so multiplied as to render it impossible for persons not versed in this species of 'heraldry,' to determine whether the animal has been properly vented or not: yet any fierro without its corresponding venta lays the beast liable to the claim of the brander." Gregg, op. cit., XIX.320.

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218 A ditch, or canal, which diverted water from the Río Grande through the settlements along the river for purposes of irrigation. Ibid., XX.155‑156; John T. Hughes, Doniphan's Expedition (Cincinnati, 1848), 284.

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219 Wislizenus stated that Speyer took the river route. Wislizenus, op. cit., 42‑43.

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220 "Ahead of us were the much-dreaded sand hills," wrote Wislizenus on August 16, 1846, "an immense field of steep sand ridges, without shrub or vegetation of any kind, looking like a piece of Arabian desert transplanted into this plain, or like the bottom of the sea uplifted from the deep. . . Having arrived at the foot of the sand hills, we commenced travelling very slow. There was nothing around us but the deepest and purest sand, and the animals could only get along in the slowest walk, and by resting at short intervals. At last my animals were exhausted; they would move no more and we had not yet reached half our way. In this dilemma I put my own riding horse to the wagon. Mr. Jacquez lent me some additional mules, and forward we moved again. In the meanwhile dark night had come on, illuminated only by lightning, that showed us for awhile the most appalling night-scene — our wagons moving along as slow and solemn as a funeral procession; ghastly riders on horseback, wrapped in blankets or cloaks; some tired travellers stretched out on the sand, others walking ahead, and tracing the road with the fire of their cigarritos [cigarrillos]; and the deepest silence interrupted only by the yelling exclamations of the drivers, and the rolling of distant thunder. . . About midnight, at last we reached the southern end of the sand hills, and encamped without water." Ibid., 43‑44.

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221 Carrizal, the only town on the trail between Paso del Norte and Chihuahua, was the site of a presidio, or fort, where a number of soldiers were stationed to protect the inhabitants from the Indians. Formerly it had been a place of some size, but by 1846 it had a population of only three or four hundred. Ibid., 45; Gregg, op. cit., XX.158; Kendall, op. cit., II.60; Bartlett, op. cit., II.409‑410.

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222 Ojo Caliente. "It is a clear, pure water, in a large basin of porphyritic rocks, with sandy bottom, out of which many warm springs come to the surface." Wislizenus, op. cit., 45.

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223 Wislizenus placed a thermometer in the spring and found that the temperature was 82° Fahrenheit. Ibid.

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224 Dr. Adolph Wislizenus was born in Königsee, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Germany, May 21, 1810. He studied medicine at the universities of Jena, Göttingen, and Tübingen, but in 1833 was forced to flee from Germany to Switzerland because of his liberal political opinions. He received the degree of doctor of medicine at the University of Zürich, and then removed to Paris. Coming to the United States in 1835, he settled in New York City, but a year later moved west to Mascoutah, St. Clair county, Illinois. After practicing there as a country physician for three years, he made his first journey to the Rocky mountains, traveling with a party of trappers from Westport, Missouri, to Fort Hall on the Snake river. On his return he made his home in St. Louis, where he resumed the practice of medicine. His avocation was the study of botany, geology, and meteorology. On May 14, 1846, he left Independence, Missouri, on a scientific tour of northern Mexico, and traveled most of the way with the trading caravan of Albert Speyer. He came back to St. Louis in July, 1847. After several years of travel in the United States and Europe, he returned to his medical practice in St. Louis, where he died, September 23, 1889. Wislizenus, Memoir of a Tour to Northern Mexico; Wislizenus, A Journey to the Rocky Mountains in the Year 1839 (Frederick A. Wislizenus, editor and translator, St. Louis, 1912).

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225 "The principal object of my expedition was scientific," wrote Wislizenus. "I desired to examine the geography, natural history, and statistics of that country [northern Mexico], by taking directions on the road with the compass, and by determining the principal points by astronomical observations. I made a rich collection of quite new and undescribed plants. I examined the character of the rocks, to gain insight into the geological formation of the whole country. I visited as many mines as possible, and analyzed some of the ores. I made barometrical observations, to ascertain the elevations above the sea. I kept meteorological tables, to draw general results from them for the climate, its salubrity and fitness for agriculture, and took memoranda in relation to the people — their number, industry, manners, previous history, etc." Wislizenus, Memoir of a Tour to Northern Mexico, 3.

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226 This is an error. The Mexicans thought that Wislizenus was celebrating the capture of Santa Fé by General Kearny, news of which had just arrived in Chihuahua. Ibid., 49.

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227 For a somewhat different version of this affair, see ibid., 48‑50.

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228 Alfonso C. Anderson engaged in the Santa Fé their at least as early as 1840. In 1848 he was vice-commercial agent of the United States at Chihuahua. American Merchants in Santa Fé to Manuel Álvarez, Dec. 8, 1840, Álvarez MSS., Benjamin M. Read Collection, Santa Fé; Twitchell, The Story of the Conquest of Santa Fé, Historical Society of New Mexico, Publications, no. 24, p60.

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229 On September 6, 1846, six American merchants — Messervy, East, Wethered, Stevenson, Douglas, and Litzleiter — left Chihuahua for Cosuhuiriachi under an escort of Mexican troops. A week later Wislizenus also departed for Cosuhuiriachi. All of them returned to Chihuahua, March 5, 1847, after the Battle of Sacramento. Wislizenus, Memoir of a Tour to Northern Mexico, 50‑54.


Thayer's Notes:

a Webb's favorite mule, to whom he was very attached. See pp59‑62.

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b One of the few personal names our editor does not footnote; probably, as elsewhere, because his research came up empty. Here again, Webb's spelling must be partly the reason. "Devoe" is not French, and we should call the man Jean Devaux — the commonest option, with the name occasionally found in the Southwest — or possibly Desvaux or Deveau. I've been unable so far to do any better than Bieber; on p230, Webb will tell us that the man was well known in Cerro Gordo, but that hasn't proved to be enough of a clue.

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c At the time of Webb's trip, Jonas Phillips Phoenix had been a New York City alderman and a United States congressman, and was or very soon would be a New York State assemblyman. By the time Webb wrote his book, Phoenix had served another term as United States congressman. But Phoenix was never mayor of New York.


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