Tales of Aztlan; The Romance of a Hero of Our Late Spanish-American War, Incidents of Interest from the Life of a Western Pioneer and Other Tales

by George Hartmann

  CHAPTER VI.

  INDIAN LORE. THE WILY NAVAJO

  The principal source of the money supply was the United StatesGovernment, which maintained many forts and army posts in theTerritories as a safeguard against the Apache and Navajo Indians.During the Civil War, the Navajo Indians broke out and raided theMexican settlements along the Rio Grande and committed many outragesand thefts. The Government gave these Indians the surprise of theirlives. An army detachment of United States California volunteersswooped suddenly down on the Navajos and surprised and conquered themin the strongholds of their own country. The whole tribe was forced tosurrender, was disarmed, and transported to Fort Stanton by theGovernment.

  This military reservation lies on the eastern boundary of New Mexico,on the edge of the staked plains of Texas. Here the Navajos were keptin mortal terror of their hereditary enemies, the Comanche Indians, forseveral years, and they were so thoroughly cowed and subdued by thisstratagem that they were good and peacable ever after. The Governmentallowed them to reoccupy their native haunts and granted them areservation of seventy-five miles square. These Indians are bloodrelatives to the savage Apaches. They speak the same language, as theyare also of Mongolian origin. They came originally from Asia in anunexplained manner and over an unknown route. They have always been theenemies of the Pueblo Indians, who are descendants of the Toltec andAztec races. Unlike the Pueblo Indians, who live in villages andmaintain themselves with agricultural pursuits, the Navajos are nomadsand born herdsmen.

  The Navajo tribe is quite wealthy now, as they possess many thousandsof sheep and goats, and they are famed for their quaint and beautifulblankets and homespun, which they weave on their hand looms from thewool of their sheep. They owned large herds of horses, beautifulponies, a crossed breed of mustangs and Mormon stock, which latter theyhad stolen in their raids on the Mormon settlements in Utah. As saddlehorses, these ponies are unexcelled for endurance under rough service.

  Mentally the Navajo is very wide awake and capable of shrewd practices,as shown by the following incident, which happened to my personalknowledge.

  A tall, gaudily appareled Indian, mounting a beautiful pony, came totown and offered for sale at our store several gold nuggets the size ofhazelnuts. He took care to do this publicly, so as to attract theattention of some Mexicans, who became immensely excited at the sightof the gold and began to question him at once in order to ascertain howand whence he had obtained the golden nuggets. They almost fought forthe privilege of taking him as an honored guest to their respectivehomes. The Indian was very non-committal as regarded his gold mine, butvery willing to accept the sumptuous hospitality so freely renderedhim. He was soon passed on from one disappointed Mexican to another,who in turn fared no better and invariably sped the parting guest tothe door of his nearest neighbor. When the Indian had made the circuitof the town in this manner he looked very sleek and happy, indeed, butthe people were no wiser. The knowledge of having been shamefullybuncoed by an Indian and disappointed in their lust for gold made theMexicans desperate. They held an indignation meeting and resolved tocapture the wily Navajo and compel him, under torture, if necessary, todivulge the secret of his gold mine. Consequently, they overcame theIndian, and when they threatened him with torture and death, he yieldedand said that he had found the gold in the Rio de San Francisco, amountain stream of Arizona. He promised to guide them to the spot wherehe obtained the nuggets, saying that the bottom of the stream wasliterally covered with golden sand, which might be seen from adistance, as it shone resplendently in the sun. Then every able-bodiedMexican in town who possessed a horse prepared to join a prospectingexpedition to the wild regions of mysterious Arizona. They organized acompany and elected a captain, a man of courage and experience. Thecaptain's first official act was to place a guard of four armed menover the Navajo to prevent his escape, otherwise they treated theirprisoner well.

  The women of the town cooked and baked for the party, and undoubtedlyeach lady reveled in the hope to see her own man return with a sackfulof gold; and as a result of these fanciful expectations they were inthe best of spirits, laughing and singing the livelong day.

  At last the party was off, and what happened to them I shall relate, astold me by the captain, Don Jose Marie Baca y Artiaga, and in his ownwords as nearly as I can remember them. "Valga me, Dios, Senor! What anexperience was that trip to Arizona! It began and ended withdisappointment and disaster. All the men of our party seemed to havelost their wits from the greed of gold. They began by hurrying. Thosewho had the best mounts rushed on ahead, carrying the Indian along withthem, and strove to leave their companions who were not so well mountedbehind. The first night's camp had of necessity to be made at a pointon the Rio Puerco, distant about thirty-five miles. As the last menrode into camp, the first comers were already making ready to leaveagain. In vain I remonstrated and commanded. There was a fight, and notuntil several men were seriously wounded came they to their senses andobeyed my orders. I threatened to leave them and return home, for Iknew very well that unless our party kept together we were sure to beambushed and attacked. I cautioned my companions as they valued theirlives to watch the Navajo and shoot him on the spot at the first signof treachery. This devil of an Indian led us over terrible trails,across the roughest and highest peaks and the deepest canyons of awild, broken country. He seemed to be on the lookout ever for anopportunity to escape, but I did not give him the chance. Our horsessuffered and were well-nigh exhausted when we finally sighted thecoveted stream from a spur of the Mogollon range which we were thendescending. The stream glistened and shone like gold in the distance,under the hot rays of a noonday sun and my companions would have made adash for the coveted goal if their horses had not been utterlyexhausted and footsore. As it was, I had the greatest trouble to calmthem. Arriving at the last and steepest declivity of the trail, Isucceeded in halting the party long enough to listen to my words.'Companions,' I said, 'hear me before you rush on! I shall stay herewith this Indian, whom you will first tie to this mesquite tree. Nowyou may go, and may the saints deliver you from your evil passion andfolly. Mind you, senores, I claim an equal share with you in whatevergold you may find. If any one objects, let him come forth and say sonow, man to man. I shall hold the trail for those among you who wouldhaply choose to return. Forsooth, companions, I like not the actions ofthis Indian. Beware the Apache, senores; remember we are in the Tonto'sown country!'

  "From my position I witnessed the exciting race to the banks of thestream, and saw plainly how eagerly my companions worked with pick andpan. Hard they worked, but not long, for soon they assembled in theshade of a tree, and after a conference I saw them make the usualpreparations for camping. Several men looked after the wants of thehorses, others built fires, and four of the party returned toward me.'What luck, Companeros!' I hailed them when they came within hearingdistance. 'Senor Capitan, we have come for the Indian,' said thespokesman of the squad. 'And what use have you for the Indian?' Iasked. 'We shall hang him to yonder tree,' they said, 'as a warning toliars and impostors.' Bueno, Caballeros, he deserves it. I deliver himinto your hands under this condition, that you grant him a fair trial,as becomes men who being good Catholics and sure of the salvation oftheir souls may not, without just cause, consign a heathen to theeverlasting fires of perdition.'

  "Silently, stoically, the Indian suffered himself to be led to theplace of his execution. After the enraged Mexicans had placed him undera tree with the noose of a riata around his neck, they informed himthat he might now plead in the defense of his life if he had anythingto say. 'Mexicans,' said the Navajo, 'I fear not death! If I must die,let it be by a bullet. I call the great Spirit, who knows the hearts ofhis people, to witness that I beg not for my life. I have not a splittongue nor am I an impostor. I have guided you to the place of gold. Ihave kept my promise. You Mexicans came with evil hearts. You foughtyour own brothers. You abandoned your sick companions on the trail tothe coyote. You have broken the law of hospitality toward me, yourguest, as no Spaniard has
ever done before. Therefore, has your Godpunished you. He has changed the good gold of these waters toshimmering mica and shining dross. Fool gold He gives to fools! As youserve me now, so shall the Apaches do to you. Never more shall youtaste of the waters of the Rio Grande, so says the Spirit in my heart!'

  "The Indian's dignified bearing and his inspired words on the thresholdof eternity moved my conscience and caused a feeling of respect andpity for him in my breast as well as in others of our party. When Juande Dios Carasco, who was known and despised by all for being agood-for-nothing thieving coward, drew his gun to shoot the Navajo inthe back, I could not control my anger. 'Stop,' I shouted, 'youmiserable hen thief, or you die at my hands, and now. This Indianshould die, but not in such a manner. Senores, you have made me yourcapitan. Now I shall enforce my orders at the risk of my life's blood.Give that Indian a knife and fair play in a combat against the prowessof the valiant Don Juan de Dios Carasco.'

  "Although greatly disconcerted, Juan de Dios had to toe the mark. Therewas no alternative for him now, as I was desperate and my orders wereobeyed to the letter, for death was the penalty for disobedience. Thefight between the Mexican and the Indian ended by the Navajo, who wassorely wounded, throwing his knife into the heart of his enemy. It wasa fair fight, although we accorded Juan de Dios, he being a Christian,this advantage against the Indian (who was better skilled in the use ofweapons) that we allowed him to wrap his coat about his left arm as ashield, while the Indian was stripped to his patarague, or breechclout.We buried the body and allowed the Indian to shift for himself. Iobserved him crawling near the water's edge in quest of herbs, which hemasticated and applied to his wounds with an outer coating of mud fromthe banks of the stream. During the following night he disappeared. Isuspect that the golden nuggets which caused all our troubles weretaken from the body of a prospector who had been murdered in thelonesome mountains of Arizona.

  "We allowed our horses several days' rest to recuperate before startingon our return trip. You saw, senor, how we arrived. Starved, sore, anddiscouraged, we straggled home, jeered at and ridiculed by wiseacreswho are always ready to say, 'I told you so!' and by enemies who had noliking for us. But the women, may Santa Barbara keep them virtuous!they who loved their husbands truly rejoiced to welcome us home,although we failed to bring them chispas de oro.

  "As concerns the wife of Juan de Dios, and who was now his widow,pobrecita, she was not to be found at her home. She had taken advantageof her man's absence to decamp to the mountain of Manzana with astrapping goat-herder, a very worthy young man, whom she loved and isnow happily free to marry."