The purpose of this paper is to trace the development of the community of Guadalupe, Colorado. The close relationship between the towns of Conejos, Colorado, and Guadalupe has necessitated describing many of the happenings in Conejos that involved both communities.   

The historical account arbitrarily was limited to developments prior to about 1880.  Following  this time the influence of the Anglos became an important factor of change within the community.  This topic appeared to be outside the scope of this paper.  Although the major emphasis has been a narrative history, the writer has attempted to describe social, cultural, and economic conditions prior to 1880. 

The author was fortunate to gain information regarding the "Penitente" movement in the Guadalupe area. Parts of this description were learned by the writer during his adolescent years at Manassa, Colorado.  Very significant points in the section on the "Penitentes" were learned from a number of individuals interviewed by the author. Because of the secrecy imposed by the brotherhood, the writer agreed to divulge no names if he were to utilize the information given him.  These individuals felt that the fraternity was slowly disappearing, and they desired that some of the knowledge be perpetuated. 

In order to further clarify this thesis, it might be profitable to define a few terms. Guadalupe Grant, Conejos Grant, and Martinez Grant can be used interchangeably. "Tabeguache" Utes were a sub-tribe of the larger Ute organization.  They held claim to the San Luis Valley as their private hunting ground until the "white men" drove them out. The use of the word "gringo" signifies an unfriendly term for a person of Anglo-Saxon extraction. It is generally agreed that the word was not commonly used until after the Mexican War.  "Criados" was the term used by the Spanish-Americans to refer to the Indians they had purchased.  Although purchased, the Indians were not really chattel, making the use of the word "slave" improper.  "Criados" actually means servants, but a slightly different connotation was given the word when applied to the Indians living with the Spanish-American families. 

The writer found Pamphlet 349 at the Library of the State Historical Society in Denver, Colorado, to be invaluable in researching this study. The unpublished book is an assorted collection of historical materials concerning the San Luis Valley.  The documents in the collection were gathered as part of Works Progress  Administration project during the Great Depression.  Many of the documents are untitled and no author is listed for some.  Many of these docu_ments gathered during the Depression are the basis for the information related in prominent Colorado history books. 

Within the knowledge of the writer, no previous work of a historical nature has been done on this topic. Monsignor Patrick Stauter published in 1958 a booklet entitled "100 Years In Colorado's Oldest Parish."  It is limited to the history of the Church in the community and has not covered many of the topics concerning  the Church that are covered in this thesis.  Stauter's work probably comes closest to anything historical describing the Guadalupe community.

It is impossible to know the identity of the European, or "white man," who was the first to see and explore the San Luis Valley. Dr. Luther Bean has suggested that perhaps the first organized expedition was headed by Juan de Zaldevar who probably crossed the Valley in 1598-99 as part of an exploratory attempt. It is probable that the Spaniards were aware of the existence of the Valley throughout the seventeenth century.  While the Indians of northern New Mexico were fearful of the fierce Utes who controlled the Valley, the Utes were usually on friendly terms with the Spanish, considering them allies. 

The familiarity of the Spanish with the area is well indicated by the first recorded penetration of the Valley by the Spanish.  In 1680 the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico revolted and drove out the white men. In 1692 the Spaniards returned and, under Diego de Vargas, began the slow process of reconquest. It has been determined from de Vargas' campaign journal that he led a small expedition through the southern part of the Valley.

The group apparently spent several days north of the present New Mexico-Colorado line in the area between present-day San Luis and Antonito. The Vargas documents illustrate quite conelusively that there had been previous expeditions into the area. New Mexico frontiersmen indicate, by mention of geographical landmarks by name, that the Valley had been familiar ground to them at least prior to the revolt in 1680.  It is also demonstrated that a rather well-defined road or trail was followed between the area of present Antonito and Santa Fe.  This would indicate travel and commerce between the Utes and Pueblos. Interestingly enough, the trail follows generally the route taken by Highway 285.

Familiarity with the San Luis Valley is re-emphasized by the account of an expedition in 1779 led by Juan Bautista de Anza, governor of New Mexico. The purpose of the expedition was to punish a group of Commanche Indians led by the famous chief, Cuerno Verde. De Anza and his army of six hundred forty-five men left Santa Fe, crossed over the Rio Grande, and marched north toward the headwaters of the Arkansas . They were clearly familiar with the area, for a number of small streams are mentioned by name: Las Nutrias, San Antonio, Conejos, Las Jarras, Los Tumbres and San Lorenzo (Piedra Pintada Creek).  These expeditions were part of early Spanish explorations which furnished an informational background of the region that was shortly to draw the attention of the young, expansive United States government. 

There were a number of explorers in the Valley during the eighteenth century. However, none were to have the importance of the Pike expedition which was present in the Valley during the early part of 1807. Once again, evidence is given of a well-used road through the area.  Pike's encounter with, and subsequent capture by, fifty Spanish dragoons and fifty mounted militiamen indicated clearly that the Spanish would resist any encroachment on their territory.  But, the interest of the United States had been revealed.  It was only forty years later that the young Mexican nation lost better than half the total area it claimed.   

EARLY GRANTS. The system of settlement followed in the southern part of the Valley was somewhat different than that utilized in other parts of the United States. According to Spanish law, lands were given to citizens by federal tenure, not in fee as was the English custom. This meant that the title remained in the crown and all rights passed on to the crown upon forfeiture.  In the meantime the subject or grantee took all rents and profits.  After Mexico gained its independence, the republic succeeded to all rights of the Spanish crown. 

The new government began to encourage settlement along its frontiers to prevent Anglo encroachment. Grants to towns and settlements became quite generous. They usually consisted of irrigable lands and "vegas" which were held in common. These community grants were applied for by several individuals asking the local government for the privilege of establishing a settlement or colony. If all was appropriate, the governor would issue an order granting the land.  It was then parcelled out to the settlers for them to hold the land by authority of a decree of possession. 

According to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo by which New Mexico was acquired, the United States was bound to recognize the rights of landholders in accordance with established Mexican tradition.  In order to carry out this responsibility, Congress in 1854 passed a law whereby claimants could have their lands patented. It was as several individuals attempted to establish their rights to the Conejos (Guadalupe or Martinez) land grant that the early attempts at settlement came to light.  The grant never was approved. 

The various descriptions of the Conejos Grant generally picture it as an immense area, dwarfing such huge estates as the Tierra Amarilla Grant and the Sangre de Cristo Grant.  In all, it probably comprised some 3,600 square miles. As can be seen from the accompanying map, it was bounded on the east by the Rio Grande, and on the southwest by the San Juan Mountains; the northern boundary was a line parallel with Creede, and the southern boundary extended into New Mexico some fifteen miles. 

   

The first attempt at settlement came in 1832 or 1833 when Carlos Beaubien went to the Conejos River with Juan Antonio Lovato of Abiquiu under the authority of Don Santiago Abreiu, the territorial Governor, to allot lands to numerous grantees.  This is first shown in an affidavit signed by Carlos Beaubien, and dated August 4, 1855, before Jose Benito Martinez, Judge of Probate in the county of Taos, Territory of New Mexico.   

   ". . . in the year 1832 or 1833, when he (Beaubien) was senior councilman and Juan Antonio Lovato, deceased, was First Constitutional Alcalde here in this valley of San Geronimo de Taos, there was addressed to them both together and respectively an official communication directing them to proceed to the tract of Los Conejos and make the distribution of that tract to the persons who asked the donation and others, and that said official communication was sent by the governor; Santiago Abreiu deceased, as well as he can remember; -- that he had in his hands the donation to said tract at least eight days, and that he read the Same publicly to all the parties interested Several times when he was making the distribution -- that said donation was made in the Same terms and under the same Condition as the other donations of land he has seen in this country -- that after he had made the distribution he learned that the Colonists had withdrawn on account of the Indians, the Navajos, these being at war; but that afterwards they returned to endeavor to settle and Cultivate the lands donated them at said place and they have done the same two or three times, and that up to this time the Indians have always attacked." 

(Capitalization as in original)

This was given as evidence to the Court of Private Land Claims by Jose Maria Martinez, Antonio Martinez, Julian Gallegos, and Seledon Valdez.  It was testified that after the settlers had started to cultivate their plots, the Indians prevented the harvest by driving their horses across the fields.  It seems that the Indians were not actually at war with the settlers but simply terrorized them until they left. 

In another affidavit dated January 18, 1858, but not sworn to until February 25, 1861, Beaubien makes a slightly different statement. This document was not offered in evidence at the Court of Private Land Claims: 

"At the request of Mr. Seledon Valdes and his associates I state, that, in the year 1832 or 1833, I being Senior Councilman of the Board of Magistrates of Taos, I received a letter from His Excellency the Governor of New Mexico who I think was Acting Governor Santiago  Abrieo  (sic), in which he requested me to accompany the Alcalde of Taos, Juan Antonio Lovato, to the Conejos river to assist him in distributing  to the petitioners the lands on that river in accordance with a donation there­  of made by the Mexican government with all the formality observed in other donations I had seen made by the Spanish and Mexican governments. In compliance with the letter of the governor aforesaid I accompanied the Said  Alcade to the place mentioned, and under his directions and in accordance  with the terms of the granting document which I read at least four times, I distributed the land on said  river to about eighty men. We reached the Conejos on the second of September; and we spent two days in the distribution and delivery of the lands.

From the foregoing is seen what I know respecting the donation mentioned; and for the purpose desired by parties interested I have given this Certificate, at Taos, on the 18th day of January 1858."

(Capitalization as in original)

 

On February 21, 1842, a renewal of the grant was requested of Juan Andres Archuleta, Prefect for the District of Taos, by Jose Maria Martinez, Antonio Martinez, Julian Gallegos, and Seledon Valdez:

"We, the undersigned, citizens of Taos, of Rito Colorado and of Abiquiu, for ourselves and in the name of the individuals set down in the accompanying list, present ourselves before your Honor, and state, that under date of February 8, 1833, the accompanying document of donation of land on the Conejos river was executed to us, and that on account of the war declared with increased vigor by the Navajo tribe, and which did not cease until last  year; we could not proceed to the Cultivation of the land; as however; said tribe is now at peace we have determined to begin the Cultivation this year; but, as the prescribed time has expired and as we have been prevented from commencing for so potent a reason , we ask your Honor to be pleased to renew Said decree of possession, without we, the grantees, being burthened with the payment of a new title fee, for this we paid at that time, and the reason we give for not having cultivated the land is a sufficient and true one.  The Said lands, having been marked off on Said tract, are yet wholly undisturbed, and therefore nothing is necessary to be done except only what we request of your Honor; and as for those of the grantees in Said grant who have died, let them be Substituted by other worthy applicants, for there are such, and let the same be done in like manner to those who are Still alive and have not done anything towards cultivation, all of which may be done by the Justice to whom it belongs to act in the premises, that is to Say, the Justice of the First Demarcation of Taos, as per order to that effect by the Departmental Deputation of that time, and the Same authority may dispose of the Surplus mentioned in said grant as above the quantity of land that there were at that time applicants for The individual, the said Justice who Executed and carried out Said donation, going upon the spot, was Juan Antonio Lovato, the same who is now ready to go with and point out to the Justice that may now go the land he measured off and distributed, in order that the latter  may determine as well in regard to the Surplus as to the Substitution to be made for the non­existents, and also in regard to the then vacant land. 

In possession of the renewal which we ask of your Honor, for it is within your power; the Justice, under your order and direction, can proceed to the Spot and perfect the list of the grantees and applicants, and we can begin planting this year; for we are prepared to carry on the cultivation.

We therefore earnestly pray your Honor to accede to our petition, for we believe it is founded in strict justice.  We protest our good faith." 

(Capitalization as in original.) 

Juan Andres Archuleta, Senor Prefecto del Leer Districto de Taos, decreed on the twenty-third of February, 1842, that the territory could again be granted since there was no one to oppose the move:

"Rio Arriba, February 23rd 1842.  According to the representation of those who petition in regard to the donation made to them on the Conejos river, and which they did not cultivate at that time on account of the barbarous tribes depreciating then at the place petitioned for, these petitioners had certainly lost their right under the law, having abandoned the land granted them, although they set forth the motive they had for not cultivating it.  But, as said tract has not been denounced by any other individual or individuals, the Justice of the Peace to whom that section pertains will proceed to place the grantees in possession, and will place the petitioners in possession of the overplus, provided the donation does not interfere with third parties -- presuming that the Justice who executed the act of possession may have the same in his hands, retained for the purpose of preventing disputes between the grantees."

(Capitalization as in original.)

Cornelius Vigil, Jues Primera de Paz del Partido de Taos, arrived at the Conejos River on October 11, 1842, to carry out the above decree which had not been done before because the river had been too high. He proceeded to set down the precise conditions of the grant and to distribute the land:

"On this river of the Conejos, place of San Francisco de Padua, on the twelfth day of the month of October of the present year one thousand eight hundred and forty two, I, citizen Cornelio Vigil, First Justice of the Peace of the First Demarcation of Taos, in pursuance of the decree and directions of the Honorable the Prefect of this district, Juan Andres Archuleta, under date of February 23 of the current year, and which appears on the petition presented by the applicants asking that the Conejos river be given in possession to them, and I, the said Justice of the Peace having proceeded to the tract in company with the two witnesses in my attendance, who were the citizens Santiago Martinez and Eugenio Naranjo, and eighty three heads of families being present, some of them in person and some by attorney, produced and explained to them their petition, and informed them that to obtain said land, they would have to respect and comply in due legal form with the following conditions:

That the tract aforesaid shall be cultivated and never abandoned; and he that shall not cultivate his land within twelve years or that shall not reside upon it will forfeit his right; and the land that had been assigned to him will be given to another person -- that the pastures and watering places shall be in common for all the inhabitants -- that said land is donated to the grantees to be well cultivated and for the pasturing of all kinds of livestock, and therefore, owing to the exposed frontier situation of the place, the grantees must keep themselves equipped with firearms and bows and arrows in which they must pass review as well at the time of their settlement there as at any time the Alcade or Justice of the Peace in authority over them may deem proper to examine them -- the grantees being fully notified that, after the lapse of twelve   years after the act of possession, all the arms they may then have must indispensably be fire-arms in good condition, under the penalty that whosoever shall fail in this requirement shall forfeit his right in the Said grant -- that the towns they may build Shall be well walled around and fortified -- and in the meantime the Settlers must move upon said tract and build their Shanties there for the protection of their families.  And all, and each for himself having heard and accepted the conditions here­in before prescribed, they accordingly all unanimously replied that they accepted and comprehended what was required of them; where­upon I took them by the hand, and declared in a loud and intelligible voice, that, in the name of the sovereign Constituent Congress of the Union, and without prejudice to the national interest or to those of any third party, I led them over the tract and granted to them the land; and they plucked up grass, cast stones, and exclaimed in voices of gladness, saying, Long live the sovereignty of our Mexican nation; taking possession of said tract quietly and peaceably, without any opposition, the boundaries designated to them being:  on the north the Garrita Hill, on the South the San Antonio Mountain, on the East the Rio del Norte, and on the West the timbered mountain embraced by the tract, and, measuring off to them the planting lots from the Plato Bend, there fell to Each one of the Settlers two hundred varas in a straight line from the San Antonio river and its adjoining hills and its margins (Su ceja y margenes) to the Jarra river inclusive, there being Eighty four families, a surplus in the upper portion towards the canyon of said river remaining for the Settlement of others from where the two Separate upwards, and in the lower portion from the Bend aforesaid to the Del Norte river; notifying the Colonists that the pastures and watering places remain in Common as stated, and the roads for entering and leaving the town shall remain open and  free where ever they may be, without any one being authorized to obstruct them; and be it Known henceforth that Messrs. Antonio Martinez and Julian Gallegos are the privileged individuals, they having obtained the said grant to this land on the Conejos and they should be treated as they merit.

And in order that all the foregoing may in all time appear , I signed this grant with the wit­ nesses in my attendance, with whom I act by appointment for want of a public or national notary, there being none in this Department of New Mexico, to all of which I certify,

Cornelio Vigil

Attending:  Santiago Martinez

Attending:  Eugenio Naranjo"

(Capitalization as in original.)

 

Several comments are in order that may further clarify the above lengthy, but important quotation. The document speaks of land being distributed in bundles of two hundred ''varas."  A "vara" corresponds to our yard, being 1.86 feet".  A farm that was designated as being two hundred "varas" wide could easily be eight or ten miles long.  In the above case it extended from the San Antonio River to the La Jara River which was more generous than the usual plot.  In this way a man could have his farm land along the creeks, his grazing land on the benches above, and his wood lot on the ridges that ran between the rivers.   

It should be pointed out that there has been at some time in the past a little skullduggery involved in securing a basis for later claims on the area. In checking on the accuracy of the above translation, it was evident that the reference to the twelve-year period which the grantee had to settle his claim was originally a two-year period. The Spanish word for two, "dos," was clumsily altered to twelve, "dose."   This was apparently done prior to November 25, 1863, when the above translation was made. 

There is also a contradiction in the above document. At one place it is stated that there were representatives of eighty­ three families present; toward the last it is stated that there were eighty-four. These discrepancies may be some of the reasons why the Courts never recognized the Conejos Grant as being valid.

On October 5, 1846, Julian Gallegos, Manuel Manzanares, and Fernando Montoya made a third petition to the Senior Gobernador, Charles Bent, of New Mexico:

"His Excellency Charles Bent, Governor of the Territory of New Mexico

The undersigned citizens, residents of San Juan Nepomuceno del Rito Colorado and of Abiquiu, have been selected by a number of the inhabitants of the Same precincts for the purpose of laying before the gracious and up-right consideration of your Excellency in their name our petition that the accompanying documents relative to the matter be validated, or that we be placed in possession, in the  name of our worthy government of the United States, which may God preserve: of the spot or place (which is vacant) on the Conejos River, which possession is asked for by these inhabitants for the reason that they are compelled to do it; because for several years poverty and misfortune have come upon us, to the Extent that not even the seed that is sown do we reap, and we being men having our families to support, and being without any recourse Except above that of making our application for the possession of a piece of land So beautiful and fruitful as is considered the tract petitioned for, it being a piece of land quite desirable for all industrious men, as it would impart prosperity to them, as well from the produce of the Soil as the abundance of water afforded by that river:  for that spot affords as only fine accommodations both in regard to pasturage and wood, and indeed all those accommodations which the Lord our God has placed at that place for the use and benefit of man.

Should your Excellency therefore be pleased to provide in regard to, to make grant of or to validate Said possession, without we the grantees being burthened with a new requirement to pay title fees, we having done this at the time of the first and the Second distributions, and of the delivery of the land to the grantees,  we, as well those who here subscribe as that larger number of inhabitants who ask for the possession indicated, will, as soon as the great Kindness of your Excellency towards your subordinates Shall do us the favor we pray for; immediately move to that new possession with our families, and we promise this to do in order to acquire the right in and to cultivate Said land and formally to establish the Settlement, trusting that your Excellency will advise us of your Equitable provisions, so that we may live ever grateful for your superior orders and that the land may be delivered or distributed to us by the Justice of Ojo Caliente, inasmuch as he is the nearest Justice to the land, and inasmuch as these individuals believe that it would be most convenient for them to apply to this Justice, as well on account of his administration of justice as for other attending circumstances, and the road being always travelable, the road to Taos being difficult for us in times of high water; and as that road is better for any purpose and for any kind of vehicles that it may be desired to take to that place by way of Ojo Caliente.

We humbly pray your Excellency in justice to accede to our petition, which, on account of our poverty and our wants is made by the compulsions of necessity." 

Rito, October 5th 1846

Julian Gallegos

Manuel Mansanares

Frenando Montoya"

(Capitalization as in original.)

The governor replied in a letter suggesting that he had no jurisdiction over the matter at that time, but that the claimants could settle the land.  He implied that he would attempt to protect their rights thereafter:

"Santa Fe, November 2, 1846 Without the petitioners deeming themselves through this decree with a legal title to the possession they petition for; they may very well, by virtue of their former rights that they set forth, go and settle the Conejos river if they wish to do so, in the belief that they will be considered as privileged Should their title be declared not valid, for they are now going to settle under the present government -­ the land the new Colonists may cultivate to be treated among themselves as their own property. Charles Bent"

There have been several suggestions by historians as to the specific locations of some of the aforementioned abortive settlement attempts. One of the most frequent has been the account of a settlement at the confluence of the San Antonio and Conejos Rivers in about 1833. It is true that the survivors of Fremont's expedition in 1849 looked for aid in the vicinity of present Manassa and La Jara. They had evidently heard of civilized humans that had been in the area. However, accounts of settlement at the junction of the two rivers have been held in disrepute. Such stories were desperate attempts to substantiate claims to the area. No documentation that such settlement was effected was found. As the Honorable Wilbur F. Stone, member of the Private Land Claims Court, has said, "... the oral testimony of witnesses relating to occupation 'dates' back to a time when witnesses from seventy-five to one hundred years old testified to what, when children, they had heard told by their aged grandfathers."

It appears that no extensive settlement was made until the early 1850s when towns were founded upon the grant. Not until Fort Massachusetts afforded some protection from the Indians did settlement become safe, and numberous colonies were established, as noted later.

By that time legal ownership had become clouded. The original document no longer appears in public records.  It apparently was presented to the Prefect in 1842 because the petition of February 21, 1842 , states that, "under date of February 8, 1833 the accompanying document of donation of land on the Conejos was executed to us."  Crescencio Valdez testified in court that his father, Seledon Valdez, said that he gave the document to A.C. Hunt and Lafayette Head to be recorded in the surveyor general's office. It does not appear there. One should remember that the matter in contest involved the claims of the local people to their homes and property.   

It has become a legend among the people in the locale that evidence was uncovered at one time which conclusively supported some large land claims in the area. An individual set out on horseback to present this claim to the federal courts at Denver. As far as the legal authorities were able to determine he simply disappeared. The people, of course, were satisfied that he had been followed and disposed of, along with his evidence. Obviously, the factuality of such legends can never be determined..

 

IMPORTANCE OF THE GRANTS. The importance of the Spanish grants to the San Luis Valley must be given due emphasis.  As previously mentioned, they were part of a whole series of estates given to individuals and communities on the part of the Mexican government prior to 1846. They were the last desperate attempts by the Mexican nation to preserve its possessions from appropriation by the Anglos who were relentlessly expanding west of the Mississippi River..

The Mexican settlers were also attracted by the very nature of the San Luis Valley. The farmers in the Rio Arriba country had become poor and the area overpopulated. The recurrent droughts were mentioned in one of the above questions. It was also a comparatively simple matter for the highly mobile peasants to place their few belongings in their "carretas" and move on to more productive areas.  It appears that the Valley held a special attraction for these people that did not appeal to the peasants in southern New Mexico. Because of the true Spanish culture of the people centered in the Rio Arriba area, they based their economy on wheat rather than corn, as was the case in most of the Mexican economy. Thus, the higher altitude and shorter growing season were not the hindrances they might have been. Also, the main source of meat and clothing for these peasants was their sheep which could be herded more easily in the broad expanse of the Valley than in the heavily wooded hills surrounding their various "placitas." 

There had also been reports of gold and silver in the mountains surrounding the Valley, but it is impossible to know whether the first settlers were aware of these reports, or were interested if they did know of them.  In any case, this was to become a major attraction in later years. There was also a turquoise mine within the boundaries of the Conejos Grant that had been worked to some extent by the Indians. Again it is doubtful that the settlers were interested in this potential attraction. They were for the most part simple farmers who were only interested in their families and subsistence-level farms. It remained for the Anglos to exploit these resources.   

U.S. MILIATRY AND EXPLORATORY EFFORTS. The first efforts at settlement were not successful because of the resistance of the Indians who valued the San Luis Valley as a hunting area. The beginning of the subjugation of the Indians came when the United States seized the territory in 1846. On August 19, 1846, General Kearney proclaimed that United States forces were pledged to protect the inhabitants from Indian attacks.  This pledge was made more forceful on December 13, 1850, when President Fillmore officially extended the constitution and laws of the United States to the newly created territory. This pledge carried with it the duty of the government to protect the inhabitants from enemies both foreign and domestic. 

Following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo there had been an immediate demand in the East and also in the West for the establishment by the government of a military fort to quell the activities of the Indians. In 1851 plans were made for such an outpost in the San Luis Valley.  Fort Massachusetts was the first United States army post in what is now Colorado. It was built of juniper logs by a unit of the United States 7th   Dragoons during the summer of 1852, and was located near the base of Mount Blanca so as to be close to firewood, timber and water. It was abandoned in 1857 when the Army constructed Fort Garland six to eight miles further south. Both forts were in a position to offer protection to travelers following routes through Mosca Pass and La Veta Pass. They were also sufficiently near the settlements in the southern part of the Valley, enabling the Army to send aid within five or six hours. However, the main importance of the forts was that the cavalry seemed to intimidate the Indians, rather than forcefully control them. This intimidation was successful, as shown by the Indian trouble in the winter of 1853-54 when the fort was temporarily abandoned .

The San Luis Valley was now under the third flag in less than thirty years, even though the Indian tribes were still effectively autonomous. In 1850 the area was on the brink of being "civilized" by the poor people of northern New Mexico whose attempts thus far had been unsuccessful.

SECURING LOS CONEJOS. Depending on the assurances of protection by the United States government, adventurous farmers began to push northward from the Taos and Abiquiu areas into the San Luis Valley, then a part of New Mexico Territory.  Anastasio "Tata" Trujillo and his son came from El Rito to the vicinity of Los Rincones in 1847. After harvesting their crop, they returned to El Rito and came north again in 1849, this time   with their families . Costilla was settled in 1848.  In 1851 a colony was settled on the Culebra River near the present town of San Luis, Colorado.  The settlements of San Pedro and San Acacio in the same area soon followed. 

GUADALUPE. The first permanent town west of the Rio Grande in the San Luis Valley was on the north bank of the Conejos River.  It was named Guadalupita, or more commonly Guadalupe.   

A paper owned by Vicente Velasquez (one of the original settlers) listed the purported heads of families who first came to settle in Guadalupe in the summer of 1854 and from whence they came:

Jose Maria Jaquez (Leader)                    Llanito, New Mexico

Vicente Velasquez (15 years)                  Llanito, New Mexico

Jesus Velasquez                               La Cueva, New Mexico

Jose  Manuel Vigil                            La Cueva, New Mexico

Jose Francisco Lucero                         La Servilleta, New Mexico

Juan Nicolas Martinez                         La Servilleta, New Mexico

San Pedro Manchego                            La Cueva, New Mexico

Juan de Dios Martinez                         La Cueva, New Mexico

Antonio Jose Chavez                           La Servilleta, New Mexico

Juan Antonio Chavez                           Ojo Caliente, New Mexico

Ilario Atencio                                Ojo Caliente, New Mexico

Juan de la Cruz Espinoza                      Ojo Caliente, New Mexico

 

The paper continues, indicating that the above named persons came to settle on the Conejos River in August of 1854. They stopped about five miles west of Guadalupe at a place they named El Cedro Redondo .  They built a ditch about eight to ten miles in length that carried water to a place named Servilleta (in honor of one of their native "placitas" in New Mexico). 

After completing this task, they returned to their homes to gather their belongings and sufficient provisions to effect their settlement along the Conejos River.  Most of these possessions were carried on their burros and ox-drawn "carretas."  They brought wheat, corn, flour, beans, and also cattle, hogs, horses, sheep, and chickens. 

During this time Major Lafayette Head (Rafael Cabeza), who then lived at Servilleta, New Mexico, decided to join the group of settlers.  He was the only "gringo" among the original pioneers of the Conejos Grant. Although not the original leader of the group, he was later to assume a place of dominance. 

When the settlers returned to the San Luis Valley in October of 1854, they colonized a previously designated site on the north bank of the Conejos River. They named the place Guadalupe in honor of "Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe" (also patron saint of Mexico).  During the ensuing fall and winter the people were kept busy building the small settlement, that was actually little more than a fort, to provide protection against the Indians.   

The perimeter was probably built of cottonwood and poplar logs in the form of a large "jacal".  The logs were placed upright, tied, and the chinks filled with mud.  The Guadalupe settlers built their town as a large rectangular "plaza", with two entrances which were closed at night.  The structure was to prove impregnable to the marauding Indian bands that roamed the countryside.

INDIAN TROUBLE. Apparently other settlers in the area moved to Guadalupe because of the safety offered by the stout walls and increased numbers. One account of such a move has been recorded.  Juan Maria Garcia had settled in 1852 near the present site of Manassa where there were large meadows.  After bringing his family from San Jose, New Mexico, he moved to Servilleta, on the Conejos River.  When the new, enclosed plaza was completed at Guadalupe, the entire  Servilleta population moved there for the winter.  Undoubtedly, there were a number of others whose isolation made them helpless in case of an Indian attack. Many of them gathered at Guadalupe Plaza during the winter of 1854-55. 

Probably, the settlers were especially fearful of the Indians during this winter, for the newly erected Fort Massachusetts  had been temporarily abandoned.  Their fears were well founded. 

It was necessary for the people to drive their livestock into the plaza at night and to post several guards to prevent theft by the Indians. On the morning of March 13, 1855, just as the settlers were driving their stock out to pasture, a band of Utes and Apaches came from ambush and drove away all the animals.  The poorly armed settlers were no match for the Indians as long as they were outside the "jacal"; the Indians made their getaway with all the livestock. 

The Indians then apparently attempted to take the small fortress. Kaneache, a Ute leading the Indians, had a thick leather shield that bullets could not penetrate; they would merely glance off. Armed with this protection he could lead the Indians into close quarters with little danger to himself.  It was Major Head who put an end to this maneuver. Exposing his hat on a stick, he took careful aim at where Kaneache's head should appear if he raised above his protective shield.  The ruse was successful, for when the Indian peeked up to see the effect of his shots at the Major's hat, Head severely wounded him. Apparently, this demoralized the Indians sufficiently to cause them to withdraw. 

A story is told of another Indian attack on the community that took place in August of 1855.  Kaneache had planned a general campaign against the white men, beginning with Guadalupe. As a chief among the Utes, Kaneache commanded Ouray, then only a warrior, to join his band of marauders. Ouray disobeyed and gathered his own small group of warriors to foil Kaneache's plans.  He first sent two runners to "Uncle Kit" Carson who was with a detachment of troops near Raton Pass to warn him of Kaneache's plans.  Traveling by way of Wolf Creek Pass, Ouray added more than twenty men to his band by the time he reached Guadalupe. 

After warning the settlers, the little band of Utes concealed themselves in some trees along the river, awaiting the attack by their fellow Utes. Kaneache finally arrived with some two hundred warriors and immediately attacked the small village.  They were met by the expected volley of arrows and bullets from the village wall.  During this barrage, Ouray's small band began firing upon their exposed rear. At this unexpected development Kaneache's braves faltered and ran, not knowing the small strength of the enemy forces. 

Ouray singled out Kaneache as his opponent and pursued him. He eventually wounded the Chief in his right arm and captured him.  This act disgraced Kaneache and was one of the factors increasing Ouray's power among the Utes.

Kit Carson and his troops arrived that afternoon.  By that time the battlefield had been cleared and the village had prepared a fiesta to welcome him and to celebrate the victory.  The battle was but another of the incidents that cemented the friendship and deep mutual respect between Ouray and "Uncle Kit" Carson. 

SETTLEMENT ALONG THE CONEJOS. As the settlement of Guadalupe became more secure, a number of "placitas" sprouted in the surrounding area.  Servilleta, where there had been previous settlement, and San Juan (now Mogote) were among the first. Servilleta was about two miles east of Guadalupe; all that remain today are ruins of buildings.  San Juan, several miles southwest of Guadalupe, is still a small village.  It is now on paved highway and not nearly so isolated as it once was. 

A steady influx of new settlers filled in a whole series of small towns along the river during the next few years.  The most westerly settlement was on the south side of the river where the canyon begins to narrow. It was named La Placita de las Maes, after its founder, Don Kerine Maes. It has disappeared entirely. 

Further east on the north side of the river is Mesitas, still inhabited.  A mile or so east is San Juan (now Mogote) named by its founder, Juan Jaramillo, for his patron saint.  A few miles east is San Rafael, only three miles west of Guadalupe. 

Some two miles downriver from Guadalupe are the remains of Servilleta, now entirely abandoned.  Further east, about six miles is the location of La Isla de Don Seledonio, a settlement founded by Seledon(io) Valdez. This district still retains the name of La Isla, but there is no town, only an abandoned one­ room schoolhouse that signifies the past existence of a community, 

The main offshoot of Guadalupe was Conejos, just across the river.  The site upon which the first settlers had built Guadalupe was on low, flat ground.  Owing to the menace of the raging waters of the river during the early summer run-off, a number of individuals moved to higher ground on the south bank and built their homes.  Major Head, among others, did so in 1855.  Guadalupe is still subject to recurring inundations in late spring and early summer.) 

The protective structure of Guadalupe was soon improved. An adobe wall replaced the wall of logs, and the permitter expanded. By 1856-57, Guadalupe was a barracks consisting of an adobe structure enclosing a hollow square instead of a rectangle.  A jail and lookout post was raised above the common wall.  This building was on the northwest corner and became something of a town hall.  The building was torn down in the 1890s to make room for a home that was later occupied by E.J.P. Valdez.   

FIRST SURVEY.  The extent of settlement along the Conejos River was indicated by the fact that the first government township survey in Colorado was in the San Luis Valley early in 1858, the year before the Pikes Peak gold rush brought miners swarming into Colorado.   

The survey notes made by A.P. Wilbar at the time of this survey provided additional insights into conditions in the area at that time.  He mentioned most of the above listed towns along the Conejos River as well as some others that were not, such as Brazos, San Antonio, and Canyon. He noted that the Rio Bravo del Norte (the Rio Grande) could easily be distinguished from a distance because of the heavy growth of timber along its banks. The banks along the river are now devoid of all but the smallest brushes because of the early pioneers' need for firewood. 

Wilbar also encountered bands of Ute Indians in the area that appeared peaceful, but he was extremely wary of them. He recorded that fear of the Indians caused three of his crew to desert him, but he employed Major Lafayette Head as "corner man" to replace them. It was Head's responsibility to place corner stones, a rather ignominious job for the later lieutenant-governor of Colorado. 

NEW MEXICO'S LOSS. The next major development concerning the population's relationship with the federal government came when the Colorado Territory was created by Act of Congress approved February 25, 1861. According to the boundaries designated by this act, the area of the San Luis Valley inhabited by Spanish-speaking people, which had been administered as a part of the New Mexico Territory, became a part of the new Colorado Territory.  This move caused a great deal of opposition on the part of the San Luis Valley residents and New Mexico politicians.  It also involved the question of slavery, coming as it did just prior to the Civil War. 

Congress was somewhat in the dark about settlements in the area.  Representative Grow of Pennsylvania, sponsor of the territorial bill, contended that there were only about 2,000 people in the San Luis Valley at the time.  The Territorial Representative from New Mexico, Miguel Antonio Otero, maintained from personal knowledge that the Spanish-speaking people in the area numbered some 7,000.  According to the Commission of Indian Affairs, non-Indians in the San Luis Valley in 1861 numbered some 6,000 people.   

The Representative from New Mexico argued that:

". . . The people living in that country are satisfied with their present government, and are not disposed to be included within any other organization.  They have lived under that territorial organization since they have been under the Government of the United States; and this Government is bound to give them their preference in that respect by treaty stipulations. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo expressly makes provision for their protection in this respect."

The portion of the Treaty to which reference was made is somewhat ambiguous.  It stipulated that the people "shall be free to continue where they now reside."  From this section, Otero concluded that their place of residence would be forcefully changed under the provisions of the pending bill, for they would be placed under a different governmental organization.  He could see very little force in the argument that the boundary should be as proposed to give "grace and beauty" to the geographical boundaries of the Colorado Territory.  He felt that this was insufficient reason to transfer a portion of New Mexico's "homogeneous people" to a new territory. 

Previously, on February 6, 1861, Senator Douglas had argued somewhat along the same lines in the Senate.  The land titles had been derived from the Mexican government; the inhabitants were mostly Mexicans; they were governed by Mexican laws and tradition that were incompatible with English common law; he could see no rational explanation as to why they should be separated from the Territory of New Mexico.  

Douglas could also see other reasons why the separation should not take place.  Slavery existed in the San Luis Valley under the laws of the Territory of New Mexico.  A provision had been made that the territorial legislature should pass no law destroying the rights of private property.  Douglas alleged that members of Congress were attempting to extend slavery into the Colorado Territory by such indirect legislation. 

The further ignorance of Congress regarding the area in question is shown by the statements of several Senators that there was not a single slave in the San Luis Valley at the time.  This was true of Negro slaves, but there were a number of Indian slaves in the area.  The Senators may have drawn their local history that the public records were appropriated one night by a group of men and removed to Conejos where they were held until it was officially decided that Conejos would be the county seat. 

In any case, the last record of Guadalupe as the county seat is found in the court records of August 14, 1876.  The next page of the district court record is dated March 12, 1877, but the name of the county seat is not given.  This loss to the community was only one of the steps toward its oblivion.  Another loss, the church being built at Conejos, came even earlier.  There were valiant attempts to save the community, but they were largely ineffective.  Guadalupe had been incorporated July 26, 1869, with Jose Francisco Martinez, Nemecio Lucero, Diego Martinez, Jose de la Luz Martinez, and Lafayette Head as trustees. It is perhaps significant that at least one of these trustees, Head, was living in Conejos at the time.

This chapter has dealt mainly with the early settlement and political developments in the area.  There are many questions left unanswered.  What was the position of the Catholic Church in the community, and how did it develop?  What were some of the activities of Lafayette Head, especially in his role as Indian Agent?  Perhaps more important, how did the average individual actually conduct his affairs and what were his interests?

THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH. Catholicism traditionally enjoyed a position of power and status within the Spanish colonial system; the clergy were virtually members of the royal bureaucracy.  This religion, as interpreted by the Indians and the Spanish laity (as well as many priests), was quite primitive and virtually polytheistic with its prayers to the Virgin and the countless saints in the Christian calendar. 

The religious observance of the Spaniards in the New World included not only celebrations and "fiestas", but also the infliction and the suffering of pain.  Down into the nineteenth century there were convents where nuns tortured themselves in various ways. During Holy Week a similar acknowledgement of the sinfulness of human flesh was performed by the laity.  At night, after the priests had described how Christ had suffered, the congregations lashed themselves into a bleeding frenzy.  Self-flagellation appeared to be a common practice at least by the early seventeenth century.   

LOS HERMANOS PENITENTES.  The society of the flagellant brothers in the Southwest is an offshoot of the third order of St. Francis.  It has several names, most commonly being called "La Sociedad de Nuestro Padre Jesus" or "Los Hermanos Penitentes de la Tercora Orden de San Francisco".  The Order was originally under the direction of the Franciscan Fathers, offering to the laity opportunity for religious study and penitential life in accordance with rules laid down by St. Francis in 1221. Flagellation was not prescribed originally, but was apparently added by the Franciscans in Mexico and northern New Mexico as early as the sixteenth century.   

The breach between the fraternity and the Catholic hierarchy was a result of the secularization of the missions when the Spanish Franciscans departed in the early nineteenth century.  Losing the influence and guidance of the priests, the "Penitentes" began to drift away from the original intent of flagellation; losing their theology, their practices often became extreme and rather meaningless.  The typical "Penitente" by the mid-nineteenth century was a devout Catholic eager to serve his Church, although the Catholic hierarchy was beginning to denounce the ordeals carried out by some members.  The "Penitentes" were as sincere and devout in their Catholic beliefs as were their Catholic neighbors who made fun of the unsanctioned ceremonies. 

In almost every Spanish-speaking village in the San Luis Valley was a strange building that stood apart from the others, apparently deserted.  This was the "Morada," or chapter house of the local fraternity.  These buildings were actually small chapels equipped with church furnishings in the Spanish-American tradition. They contained from two to four rooms, the largest of which served as the oratory. The "Moradas" were usually distinguished from all other buildings by having few, if any, windows. This rendered the secrets of the society inaccessible to the public. Rites that no alien eye has seen  are still enacted in the "Moradas," despite the endless prying of the public. 

It is said that the Penitent Brothers had secret rites on many saints' days, and that they adopted an elaborate and hidden system of meetings and benefits similar to other secret fraternities. It was only during the Lenten season that they came before the public as penitents. The curious could then see the flagellant processions, but only at a respectful distance. 

In the oratory, the only part of the "Morada" which select non­members could enter during the semi-public acts of devotion, there was an altar on which rested images of Jesus, the Virgin, and other saints.  These images were usually crude hand-carved statues that appear rather grotesque in the modern world.  These fetishes, or "bultos", were usually carved by professional "santeros" who traveled around the countryside selling their carvings.  The large figures of Christ were constructed with handles so that they might be carried in the processions. 

Some distance from the "Morada" was what was known as "El Calvario" (Mount Calvary).  Here a huge wooden cross was implanted in the ground.  Many of the processions involved treks from the "Morada" to the cross and back again.   

An "hermano mayor" was elected to head the chapter.  Additionally, "mallordomos" were selected to help him organize the religious festivals during Holy Week.  Food was sometimes prepared in the homes of the "mallordomos" during the Lenten season and carried to the "Morada" to be consumed by the congregation.   

New members were initiated by swearing an oath of secrecy.  Various severe penalties were promised those who divulged secret information, accounting for some of the terrified expressions noted by the writer when interviewing people who obviously knew much about the fraternity.  The neophyte also had to perform certain humiliating acts such as bathing the feet of members and subjecting himself to a certain degree of pain.   

The instruments of self-punishment were varied, ranging from leather whips and chains to carrying huge "maderos" (wooden crosses). The "Penitente" usually whipped himself or carried the cross in the procession, although there are some accounts of people being hired to inflict punishment upon members unable to do so themselves.  There are many wild stories of babies being hung on crosses until they died and of members rolling in cactus and eventually dying from infection, but these cases were certainly not indicative of the usual practices. 

During the processions, the flagellants who were fairly new members would march barefooted and stripped to the waist wearing a black hood or cap over their heads.  The older members usually wore ordinary clothes, and many times engaged in no self-flagellation, but aided in the flogging of the newest members. 

As mentioned, the most important ceremonies came during the Lenten season.  On Fridays the Stations of the Cross were recited in some regular chapel or in the "Morada." The night ceremonies were secret and were conducted in the "Morada," except for an occasional procession to Calvary and back.  The Holy Week ceremonies began on Wednesday with a large procession between the "Morada" and Calvary.  Hymns were chanted through­out the procession, accompanied by a homemade "pito" or reed flute.  Similar processions were performed the following two days.  On Thursday a dramatization of Christ's seizure by the Roman soldiers was also performed, and on Holy Friday the meeting of Christ and the Virgin was portrayed.

A contemporary account of one of their most dramatic ceremonies gives an indication of the nature of the "Penitente" services:   

"When midnight (Holy Friday) comes, a very dramatic ceremony, "las tinieblas" (the Tenebrae), commemorates the three hours of darkness that prevailed over the earth when Our Lord died.  At the beginning of the ceremony, all the candles on a tenebrae candelabrum are lighted.  These are of yellow wax, with the exception of the candle at the top, which is white.  Two singers chant a strophe ..., and immediately after, another pair of singers answers with a stanza from some hymn dealing with the Passion, at the end of which two candles on the Tenebrae candelabrum are extinguished.  A second stanza is sung by each pair of singers, and two more candles are extinguished.  This continues until there remains only one, the white candle at the top.  The ceremony symbolizes the manner in which the apostles abandoned Jesus.  The white candle, which represents Jesus, is removed to another room so that there remains no light in the church.  When the church is dark, the "rezador" {prayer leader) shouts: "Salgan vivos y difuntos a acompanarnos por el amor de Dios"...  Immediately after, the "rezador " recites the Apostles' Creed three times in a low voice while the members of the congregation make all kinds of loud noises with wooden clappers, chains, drums, and flutes to symbolize the disturbances of nature when Our Lord died....  At a signal given by the "rezador" the lighted candle is brought into the church once more, and all the candles on the tenebrae candelabrum are lighted again from its flame.  After this the singing of hymns continues until dawn." 

In some years the members of the society reenacted the entire story of the capture, trial, and crucifixion of Christ.  Any worthy person wishing to sponsor this ceremony paid a fee to the brotherhood and was given the most important role of Jesus Christ.  Such combinations of religious celebrations and theatrical performances within the "Penitente" worship were characteristic of many of their services. 

Many of the "alabados" (hymns) were starkly beautiful and almost poetical in nature.  Some originated in Spain; others came from Mexico; some were entirely local, having been composed by native poets and minstrels.  They were usually sung without accompaniment, except for a reed flute used at times.  Many hymns are available on record or have been printed.  A few strophes from a rather common "alabado" will give an indication of the beauty of such hymns.  This one was recorded from various sources in the areas of Guadalupe, Manassa, Alamosa, Cerro, Espanola, and Santa Cruz.  A translation is also given so that the reader may fully appreciate the meaning of the hymn:

Por el Rastro de la Sangre                        Along the Trail of Blood

Por el reastro de la Sangre                       Along the Trail of Blood

que Jesucristo redama                             By Jesus shed,our Christ

                                                                  and Sire,

camina la Virgen pura                        Went Mary, Mother of Our Lord

en un fresca manana.                              Upon a  morning dire. 

 

De tan de manana que era                          So early was the morning

a la hora que caminaba,                                         hour

las campanas de Belen                            When Mary walked forlorn,

solas tocaban el alba.                         Only the bells of Bethlehem

                                                  were heralding the dawn.

 

  Encuentra a San Juan                           St. John the Baptist there

       Bautista                                                  she met 

y de esta manera de habla:                        and thus to him did say:

"No me has visto por aqui                       "Oh! Have you seen my

 al hijo de mis entranas?"                         precious Son

                                               Pass by this grievous way?" 

 The "Penitente" groups have perhaps received undue attention from journalists and writers, many of whom have wirtten sensationalized accounts.  Although it is estimated that the large majority of Catholics in the Guadalupe area were affiliated with the brotherhood, their usual worship was within the bounds of the traditional Catholic forms.  Some men merely joined the fraternity so as to enhance their political power and prestige.  Many other forms of worship involved the entire community.   

FIESTAS. The children of Spain carried with them their love of holidays.  It is not strange that even in the midst of colonization the people gave the "fiesta" a central place in the life of the community.  The holidays they celebrated were usually saints' days. 

On New Year's Eve almost the entire community would attend midnight mass.  A group of "cantadores" (singers) would go around the next morning to certain houses serenading their occupants.  Some years on January sixth, a play would be performed depicting the coming of the Wise Men to visit the Christ child. Violins and guitars were the only available musical instruments to accompany the players' chants and songs.  These performances usually took place in the patio of the village because no building was large enough to hold the people in attendance. 

Each community would celebrate its particular patron saint's day with special masses, processions, feasts, and dancing.  Often these "fiestas" would lose their religious significance and would end up in drunken brawls.  Perhaps, however, such accounts have become exaggerated over the years, for there are often contradictions within and between various stories of such affairs. 

The most significant portrayal of religious nature came just prior to Christmas when the bibilical story of the birth of Christ was enacted.  This performance, called "Los Pastores," was highly ritualized. Such intertwining of dramatics and worship can be traced back to Europe of the twelfth century when plays were utilized by the Church to instruct the laity in religious doctrines. 

The Church was a very central part of the lives of the people during this time.  The little formal schooling that appeared in the area was under the auspices of the local priest or nuns who were brought in expressly for that purpose.  The Church was also indirectly involved in politics at times.  The politician clearly realized that the sanction of the local Church official was invaluable in his bid for power.  Some of the most effective campaign speeches emanated from the pulpit.  As an economic force, the Church was never very powerful in the southern part of the San Luis Valley.  The people were poor and could not contribute great wealth to the Church, as often happened in Mexico and New Mexico.  Catholicism. quite properly, existed mainly as a moral and spiritual force among the people. 

EL JACAL. Father Montano came to Guadalupe in the summer of 1855, apparently coming from Tome or Santo Domingo where he served from April through May of 1855.  He too must have preferred the higher ground on the south side of the river, for it was there that his new flock erected the first Christian house of worship in what became Colorado.   

The crude "El Jacal" (The Stockade) was built about five hundred feet south of Major Head's building and was dedicated to "Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe."  The sixteen by thirty foot church edifice was built of cottonwood posts placed upright with four large juniper logs set in the corners.  The tops of the posts were sharpened and the cracks between them chinked with mud.  Others say that the original building was of adobe   with the stockade surrounding it.  In any case, the construction was rugged because the settlers did not intend for the Indians to desecrate their place of worship. 

It is possible that the settlement along the Conejos did not gain the status of a parish until some time in late April or May of 1857.  A document inserted in the baptismal records for the years 1860-61 found in the parish rectory in Antonito indicates that "Father Montano was the first pastor of this new parish which was erected three years ago." Dated July 22, 1860 and signed by Bishop Lamy, it would give credence to the above date.   

However. there is another document in the same record book that contradicts the one above: 

                                                             "Jose Preyecto Machebeuf V. G.

                                                                                                                                                     Pedro Equillon

                                                                  J. B. Salpointe

La Parroquia de Nuestro Senora de Guadalupe VuIgo Los Conejos fue eregido el dia 10 de junio 1858.  El preb. V.S. Montano fue el primer Encargado.  El mismo ano de principio la iglesia y acabose el dia 12 de Diciembre de 1863 y fue bendicida por el Hno. Sr. Obispo de Santa Fe D. Juan Lamy."

This date is probably more accurate because according to the records of the parish at Arroyo Hondo, Gabriel Ussel was making frequent trips to the area to perform marriages, baptisms. etc.  The last record of such ceremonies is June 10, 1858, the same date mentioned above.   

FATHER MONTANO. Jose Vicente Saturnine Montano was the first resident priest in the parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  A member of the secular clergy, he had been serving in the priesthood at least twenty-five years before coming to Conejos.  The first record of his activities shows that he set up the parish in Tome on March 13, 1830.  His following assignments took him to various places in New Mexico: Tome (1830, November 1843 - July 1845, 1855); Isleta (February 1834 - December 1840, 1846, March 1849 - 0ctober 1852); Santa Clara Pueblo (October 1846 - March 1848, January - February 1853); Sandia (November 29 - December 1852); Belen (February - March 1854); Santo Domingo (April - May 1855).   

Little information has been available regarding Father Montano.  A letter was located in Santa Fe written by his sister, a nun in Mexico City. Dated August 23, 1842, it reveals nothing else of Montano's background.  It is apparent that he was well educated, considering the times, because a well written letter from him dated at Sandia in June of 1852 was encountered.  Again, it only concerns church matters and reveals nothing else about him. 

The parish records in Antonito indicate that Montano turned over the parish property to Gabriel Ussel on December 18, 1859.  He must have returned to the area from time to time, for it is recorded in the parish documents that he was in Conejos in March, 1860, when he sold two hundred "varas" of land and a house on the north side of the Conejos to J.B. Woodson. 

There is no mention of what happened to him after that.  This can only be surmised by probing into conditions within the Catholic hierarchy in New Mexico at the time. 

Following the Mexican War, the American hierarchy gained permission to create a vicariate apostolic in New Mexico and sent a French priest into the area to reorganize the affairs of the Church.  This was Rev. John B. Lamy who had been a priest in the diocese of Cincinnati. 

Lamy was faced with a tremendous task, for it was a well-known fact that some members of the priesthood were behaving in a scandalous manner.  He approached his job with great zeal, despite the criticism heaped upon him and the intense opposition of the politically powerful clergy in New Mexico.  Lamy proceeded to import a number of French and other European priests to displace the local "Mexican" clergy. 

One of the clergy eventually excommunicated by Lamy was the Reverend Antonio Jose Martinez of Taos, who, along with Father Lucero at Arroyo Hondo, openly opposed the policies carried out by Bishop Lamy.  They claimed the clergy had been instructed to exact excessive and oppressive tithes and fees for marriages, funerals, and such services.  They continued to offer such services free of charge to those lacking the necessary fee, arguing that it was wrong for a couple to be forced to live in sin merely because they were poor.  All this is noted in most historical accounts of New Mexico. 

A third priest was involved with Lucero and Martinez in their opposition to Lamy's policies.  A letter dated July 12, 1856, to Lamy from Father Taladrid, a French priest who had been sent to Taos to reorganize the church there, related that Father Montano had been out of line in his priestly behavior.  It also mentioned Montana's frequent associations with Father Martinez.  Another letter dated July 23, 1856, told how Lucero had been preaching false doctrines that were supported by Martinez and Montano.  However, Taladrid asked for more time to bring Montano around because his intentions were good and his "past record is good for a Mexican priest."

The close relationship of these priests with the "Penitente" brotherhood was indicated in a letter from Martinez to Lamy that complained of Taladrid's activities.  The role Montano played within the fraternity is best evidenced by the minutes of a meeting held in 1859 by members of the Church in Guadalupe, at which Montano served as president.  The minutes illustrate that such "Penitente" officers as the "Mallordomos" were serving in important positions within the Church.   

No record has been encountered as to what happened to Montano after he left the parish.  A document entitled "Nombres de los sacerdotes de la Diocesis de Santa Fe, New Mexico," reported that Vicente Montano was a "Padre sin jurisdicion."  This was  in Lamy's handwriting and dated 1867. 

Father Montano probably conducted the first school in the San Luis Valley, and perhaps the first in Colorado.  It was a church group of children mainly devoted to learning catechism, but some fundamentals of reading and writing must have been learned.  Public schools were not established until after the Colorado Territory was formed. 

THE NEW CHURCH.  The new church was built around the old one and was apparently begun while Montano was serving as parish leader.  A document kept in the Rectory in Antonito written by Lamy and dated July 22, 1860, mentions that "Since January, when Father Vigil came, the church has risen three ·varas' to the total height of four 'varas'."

Lamy mentioned that the structure was very large, but because of the poverty of the people, and because of their small numbers, it had not been possible to complete the church.  However, the Church advanced significantly under Vigil's leadership, for a home was purchased for the pastor, and in March of 1860, two hundred "varas" of land were obtained that apparently passed through the center of Conejos, bounded on the north by the river and on the south by a middle line between the Conejos and San Antonio rivers. The original bill of sale of this tract is also to be found in the Rectory in Antonito. 

Vigil had already made elaborate plans for the new church as shown by instructions given to the "fabriquero" (caretaker) concerning burial within the church.  The choice sections near the altar cost thirty dollars for a sepulcher.  The second section was priced at sixteen dollars, and those in the rear were priced at eight dollars for adults and four dollars for children.  This document is dated April 27, 1860, and remains in the parish records at Antonito. 

Lamy returned to the parish in 1862 and administered Confirmation, noting in the records that the chapel was not yet completed.  He dedicated it finally on December 12, 1863, but it was not finished until 1866, according to a letter from Lamy to Reverend Miguel Rolly who had been appointed parish priest early in the same year.  The Bishop expressed hope that it would be completely finished that year. 

It is recorded that the new chapel had a bell, of which the people were very proud.  It was rather crudely made by Francisco Lujan and Pedro Lobato of San Antonio.  Three of the most prominent men in the community, Lafayette Head, Seledonio Valdez, and Jesus Maria Velasquez canvassed their area for suitable metal for the casting. Many contributed their jewelry and other valuables for this purpose.   

LATER DEVELOPMENTS.  Father Vigil not only presided over the building of the new chapel, but also watched over the building of small chapels in Los Pinos and Rincones.  Father Miguel Rolly, one of the French priests brought over by Lamy served as parish priest from 1866 to 1871, after which he returned to New Mexico.   

The first Jesuit pastor, Salvatore Persone, S.J., arrived in the parish on December 9, 1871.  This began the Jesuit rule that was to last until 1920.  Persone was succeeded by James Diamare, S.J., who served from 1875 to 1879 in the parish. 

Bishop Machebeuf had dreamed of a college in the San Luis Valley as early as 1871, but this never worked out, despite the valiant efforts of the Jesuit missionaries.  Reverend Diamare was more realistic in his desires, for he only wanted a Church school taught by nuns.  This topic was discussed a great deal in various letters between Diamare and Machebeuf.  Machebeuf finally consented to secure sisters to staff the   school if Diamare would see to it that a convent was provided to house them.  A convent of ten rooms was built by the parishoners and stocked with furnishings and food.  In June of 1877, Father Diamare received a letter from Bishop Machebeuf indicating that the nuns, Sisters of Loretto, would arrive that fall.  Guadalupe Academy opened on September 17, 1877.  The sisters remained until 1913, providing the only formal education ever received by many of the older people in Conejos County today. 

The Church had followed the people into the new land and certainly had accomplished many noteworthy actions within the community.  In reading the communications preserved in the Rectory in Antonito, one comes away with the impression that as the  people became more prosperous and their homes more secure, they tended to become smug and self-satisfied.  The Church came to mean less to them than it had when the area was first being settled.  There are accounts of the Jesuits being forced to go from house to house in order to hear confessionals.  The most extreme account of this less religious attitude encountered in research for this paper was a letter found in the Rectory in Antonito.  It was written to the priest at Conejos from the priest in Las Vegas asking for confirmation that a certain marriage ceremony had been performed in Conejos.  It goes on to tell how the husband was hanged by a mob the previous day and that his widow already had asked the priest to marry her to another man.   

MAJOR LAFAYETTE HEAD.  Major Head was born in Missouri April 19, 1825.  His father had been a friend of Daniel Boone and had built Fort Head just across the river from Booneville during the early days of the Indian wars.  Lafayette's mother's maiden name was Heard.  At the age of seventeen he left his home at Head's Fort in Missouri because "his folds objected to his marrying a girl still younger than he, the objection being by both families that they were too young." 

He later enlisted in the United States Army and fought in the Mexican War. As a volunteer in Colonel Sterling Price's Missouri Regiment, he was wounded in the leg by an Indian at the historic battle of Taos in February, 1847.  At the end of the war he remained in New Mexico. 

There is record of his being in Santa Fe in late 1849 and early 1850, for he bought a house there from Juan N. Lopez on January 10, 1850.  This property was located in the "Barrio de Analco" district of Santa Fe.  The building was on what is now the south side of De Vargas Street, just west of Trader Arrowsmith.

While in Santa Fe, Head married a wealthy Spanish widow with one child.  Marina Martina Martinez was later  described as being "large and portly and used to having her own way."  She was quite young at the time of her second marriage, for her tombstone in Conejos lists her birth date as November 24, 1839.  No children were born into the family, but the Major and his wife raised and gave their name to a number of Indian servants.  It is also probable that they adopted several Spanish children. 

Head moved from Santa Fe to Abiquiu in about 1853 and opened a store there.  While there he served as U.S. Marshall.  He moved from Abiquiu to the small "placita" of Servilleta.  It has already been recounted how he joined the small colony from there that came and settled the San Luis Valley. 

While in Conejos he served as a member of the New Mexico territorial legislature in the terms of 1856-57, 1857-58, and 1858-59.  He was elected president of the Council in the last session.  After it was determined that the San Luis Valley was to be part of Colorado, Head was elected to the newly-formed territorial legislature.  When Colorado became a state in 1876 he helped to draft its constitution and was elected as the first lieutenant-governor of the state. 

In 1857-58 Major Head built a large residence in Conejos of the ancient, closed "plazuela" type.  The inner courtyard was about two hundred feet square.  Much like a fortress, the windows faced inward, and there was a lookout tower two stories up.  His home was apparently the largest and best in the area for it seemed to serve as a regional hostelry for prominent individuals traveling through the area. 

Head's influence was one of the leading factors causing the Indians and others in the area to remain loyal to the Union cause during the Civil War.  For these services he was given the title of Major of Volunteers in 1861.  The political situation must have been somewhat worrisome at times during the War, for a letter dated September 12, 1863, to John M.  Schofield from J. M. Chivington, Commander of the District of Colorado, mentions: 

"...  The civil officers of Conejos and Costilla Counties have all resigned, and there is only the United States Commissioner and the United States Marshall to carry on the affairs of government there.

The Commissioner has urged me to proclaim martial law in those counties, but, deeming this not best, I have assured him that he should have all needful protection to aid in the enforcement  of the law of the United States, and have instructed Lieutenant Colonel S.F. Tappan, commanding Fort Garland, accordingly."

As the only Anglo among the original settlers of Guadalupe, it was only natural that Head should emerge as a leader of the community when the United States government began to exert its control over the area more effectively.  Known at times by the name of Rafael Cabeza, he joined the Catholic Church and took an active part in its proceedings.  He was usually asked to keep the minutes of the various meetings he attended, although his writing knowledge of Spanish was far from perfect.  The Major also strengthened his political power by being an active member of the "Penitentes."

INDIAN AGENT.  Lafayette Head was appointed as an Indian Agent as early as the spring of 1853.  He was to administer to the needs of the Jicarilla Apaches and the Tabeguache Utes.  The Jicarillas were apparently attempting to settle down and become farmers near Abiquiu where Head had established his headquarters.  .

When the Territory of Colorado was organized in 1861, Lafayette Head was again made agent for the Tabeguache Utes, and the agency was established at his home.  Head thought that the Tabeguaches numbered some eight thousand, only a few of which had settled down to become farmers.  He was restricted by his lack of funds, and miners coming into the Ute lands caused him a great deal of trouble.  Soon after his appointment, Head was accused by some of the Utes of speculating in supplies intended for the Indians and of hiring an interpreter who would not speak Ute.  When federal charges were brought against him he was acquitted. 

In the spring of 1863, Head accompanied a delegation of Ute chieftains to Washington, D.C. to see Abraham Lincoln and to impress the Utes as to the great strength of the United States Army that was engaged in fighting Confederate forces near the capitol.  The group safely returned to the San Luis Valley after several close escapes from whites and the Plains Indians, both of whom were out to kill the Utes.

A council was called in October of 1863 at the Conejos Agency by Governor Evans.  John Nicolay attended as Lincoln's personal emissary and kept a record of the proceedings.  Some five thousand Utes were present, but for various reasons not all the leaders of the Ute sub-groups were in attendance.  Since all the leaders were not there, the commission decided to negotiate only with the Tabeguaches.  Ouray asserted that the President must be as potent to control and restrain his white as his red children; and while it was their duty to acknowledge obedience, it was also their right to claim protection.  After a great many gifts had been distributed, the Utes accepted the harsh terms presented by the whites.  They gave up claims to much of the area of white settlement in Colorado, including the parts of the San Luis Valley in which they had traditionally hunted.   

Head distributed two horses to each male Ute the following  year, and it seems that the Conejos Agency had no serious problems in 1864.  However, all was not peaceful, for on July 18, 1864, Evans requested that additional men be sent to Conejos because Agent Head had informed him that a band of Utes were preparing an attack. 

Friction developed between the local settlers and the Utes attached to the Conejos Agency.  As a result, Governor Evans decided to distribute goods promised to the Indians at a place known as "Salt Works" rather than at the Agency.  This heralded the end of Conejos as an Indian agency.  However, Head's advice on Indian affairs continued to be respected.  He was often called to Denver to confer with the governor and War Department regarding Indian questions. 

INDIAN "CRIADOS.  "Lafayette Head presented a very effective defense of the custom of buying Indian children from Indians who had captured or traded for them with other tribes.  The children were not slaves, according to Head, but were "adopted into the family of those who get them, are baptized and remain and (are) trusted as one of the family."  The head of the house served as their godfather.  If they were mistreated, the Prefect had the right to free them under Mexican law. 

Women were freed whenever they married, usually between the ages of fourteen and sixteen.  The men were also freed when they married, usually between the ages of eighteen and twenty.  They were automatically freed upon the death of their godfather.  The godfathers provided wives and husbands for the "criados," just as they would for their own children.  As soon as they were baptized, the "criados" could no longer be sold, for it would be contrary to the laws of the Church.  They were not "peones," for they had no debts to work out.  When first purchased, the "criados" were taught Spanish; they then memorized the Lord's Prayer and were baptized.

Conditions were not always as idyllic as Head pictured.  Finis E. Downing, Head's nephew, related that his mother freed "a captive Navajo Indian girl, who was held in punitive slavery during the day-working hours and locked up at night.  She was owned by my Aunt, but worked under tyrannical Mexican bosses and was often beaten severely."

As late as July, 1865, there were at least eighty-eight "Indian Captives acquired by purchase, and now in the service of the citizens of Conejos County, Colorado Territory."

The count was taken by Lafayette Head as part of his duties as Indian Agent.  One may assume that federal authorities were becoming concerned about such Indian servitude following the Civil War.  It is interesting to note that only one of the eighty-eight indicated a desire to return to his tribe.  Certain discrepancies with Head's description of Indian servitude also appear in his report.  Although none were listed as being married, four of the women were listed as having children.  Although most of the Indians were adolescents, twelve were nineteen or older. 

One of those listed was interviewed when he was an old man, still living with his owner's family.  The interviewer comments that Luis "stood by quiet and respectful, taking no part in the conversation, only replying to direct questions."  Despite his reserve he told of many episodes involving Indians in the "early days."  He told of Kiowas stealing horses and cattle and of the Indians' trick of hiding in a willow thicket along a stream where the sheep were grazing.  They would then reach out with a long stick having a fork on the end of it and twist it into the wool of the sheep; the Indians could then drag the sheep into their hiding place and go on their way undetected.  

Luis also remembered an incident that occurred when he was herding sheep along the Rio Grande. A party of Kiowas encountered a group of settlers on the opposite side of the river. The Indians, at a safe distance, were shouting threats and challenging the settlers to battle, when three Ute chieftains jumped out from behind some willows and in among the Kiowas. They laid about with their quirts and completely routed the ex­ belligerents.  

HEAD'S ECONOMIC VENTURES. It seems that Head incurred a certain amount of enmity within the community when he formed a partnership with Seledonio Valdez in an attempt to gain control of the entire Guadalupe Grant. If they had been successful, the people would not have been able to remain on their free parcels of land. Obviously, it would have enriched the two promoters.  

A leader of the community, Seledonio Valdez had been a member of the first territorial legislature of New Mexico, which met in Santa Fe on June 1, 1851. He came to the San Luis Valley in 1854 from San Jose, New Mexico. As one of the applicants for the Guadalupe Grant, he had a rather tenuous claim to at least part of the land in the area. He must have been comparatively wealthy for he owned most of the land in the "La Isla" district the settlement there being named "La Plaza de Don Seledonio," and was referred to as a "rich Mexican" by a man investigating the Guadalupe Grant.  

Valdez and Head attempted to sell to William Blackmore their claims to the Guadalupe Grant. Blackmore had just previously headed up a company that purchased the Sangre de Cristo Grant in the eastern part of the San Luis Valley. The partners originally asked $25,000, but quickly came down in price when Blackmore found how weak their claims were.  

Head must have dropped out of the deal, for in November of 1873 Valdez and Blackmore became equal partners in an attempt to monopolize the grant. Blackmore was quite optimistic about the grant, visualizing a profit of $50,000to $200,000 within one or two years on the deal. Their scheme must have fallen through in early 1874, for there is no further record of the plan. 

Lafayette Head built a flour mill in 1857 to replace the primitive "metates" used by the people in the area. The mill-stones for Head's mill were freighted in from Saint Louis, Missouri. Water for power was taken from the Conejos River through Head's Mill Ditch which was the second recorded appropriation taken from the river.

Head became a partner of the famous Otto Mears in 1865 when they opened a store and a combination planing and saw mill. The Major had a large ranch of some 2,500 acres about seven miles south of Alamosa and one of one hundred sixty acres adjoining his flour mill at Conejos. 

Following Head's term as lieutenant-governor, here turned to Conejos and lived a life of semi-retirement. On March 5, 1897, he again visited the Senate chamber and upon the invitation of Lieutenant-Governor Jared L. Brush, he occupied a chair behind the President's desk where he had wielded the gavel twenty years earlier. He suffered a stroke that same day which proved fatal on March 8, only three days later.  

Head's name is now largely forgotten by the old-timers living in the Guadalupe area. Most of them do not recall that the town square in which the Conejos courthouse now stands was once called Head Plaza. His tombstone at the Conejos cemetery is one of the most elaborate on the entire lot. Some eighteen to twenty feet in height, the marker seems to symbolize Head's outstanding service to his community. A powerful man, he once had the respect of the people, but his name is now only a small part of Western history. 

ECONOMICACTIVITIES AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS-- BUSINESSES. One of the first retail merchants in Guadalupe was Herman Schiffer who established a supply store shortly after the settlement was founded. Frederick Stollsteimer became Schiffer's competitor a little later. Juan F.Chacon and Simon Garcia established stores in 1858 across the river in Conejos. Thus within a few years a business community was established in the little pioneer community. 

In 1856 Jose Jaquez built the first grist mill several miles east of Guadalupe on the north bank of the Conejos River. The burrs of this mill were made of the native "Malpais" (lavastone). The lower burr is now in the possession of the State Historical Society in Denver. Although the rock is quite hard, it is somewhat porous. It was hardly ideal for the grinding process and undoubtedly did not successfully compete against Head's superior mill constructed the following year. When the mill-stones imported from Saint Louis by Head wore out, he too resorted to stone from the nearby hills. 

FARMING. One of the first tasks faced by the settlers of Guadalupe was to secure water for irrigation. The first such ditch was recorded March 1, 1855. With forty-eight co-holders, it apparently served most of the farms in the community. As previously mentioned, the second recorded ditch was Head's Mill Ditch some two months later.  

Irrigation was a vital necessity because of the sparse rainfall on the floor of the San Luis Valley. These first ditches were only crudely engineered, but were sometimes eight to ten miles in length. This construction was rather laborious, for the use of metal implements was unknown to the first settlers; their wooden spades and hoes must have been somewhat ineffective in the frozen soil during that first winter. 

Farming the virgin soil was extremely difficult. The plow was a crude wooden implement formed from a forked tree branch. Sometimes the point was made of oak, or the hardest wood available, which was strapped to the softer wood by thongs of raw, dry cowskin. Later on, the plowshare was sometimes made of iron, fashioned by the local blacksmith. The first steel plow used by the early settlers was owned by Jose Maria Jaquez prior to 1863.  

Homemade wooden hoes and spades were extensively used. Crops were harvested with hand scythes or crude hooks and were gathered by hand or with wooden forks made from tree branches. The grain was threshed by the hooves of the same oxen used to pull their plows and "carretas."

Many of the people ground their wheat and corn at home instead of taking it to the local flour mill. This preparation was carried out by the women who laboriously ground the kernels on "metates." Such grinding stones were usually formed from "Malpais." Each individual thus ate at least several pounds of rock during his lifetime, for the grinding gradually wore through the stone and mixed it in with the meal used for cooking.  

As the colony expanded and became more firmly established, agriculture also advanced. Beans, potatoes, peas, barley, and oats became common crops. The quality of sheep, goats, cattle, and horses also improved during the first few years of settlement.  

THE HOME. The first houses were small stockades or "jacales" made by setting posts upright and filling the crevices with mud. After the settlement was more firmly established, more permanent houses of adobe were built. These houses were joined together to form a square with an opening at each end. The enclosed "patio" was used initially to enclose the livestock at nights to prevent theft by the Indians. Later on the gates at the openings were removed and the "patio" was used for community gatherings and processions.  

A "plazuela" such as Major Head built in Conejos was the common structure for the more wealthy people. These were built in the form of a square or rectangle with only one opening. The family was thus shut off from the rest of the village.  

In both "plazas" and "plazuelas," windows and doors faced inward as a protection against the Indians and as a means of increasing family privacy. The outside walls were as much as three feet thick. This not only gave the people added protection, but seemed to cool the house in the summer and make it easier to heat in the winter. Most of the roofs were nearly flat, allowing only a slight slope for drainage. A "pretil" (wall)several feet high was built around the outside of the roofs to serve as a barricade for the defenders fighting off an Indian attack.    

Floors were of hard-packed dirt that was swept and then sprinkled every day. Windows were small and set high in the wall. Since glass could not be obtained, window panes were of parchment made from sheepskin. No hinges or locks were available, so doors hung from pins carved as part of the door and inserted into holes made in the doorframe. The few items of furniture were crude homemade replicas of that used today. Beds were only wool-filled mattresses placed on the floor at night and rolled up out of the way during the day.  

Clothing was also homemade. Wool was carded, spun, and wove into dresses and other clothes. The men usually wore either deerskin outfits similar to those of the Indians or coarse woolen clothing. This was topped by a "tilma" which was similar to the "serape."  The women's counter part to the "tilma" was the "rebozo"(scarf) or "tapolo" (shawl). It served quite well as both coat and scarf. Shoes were light moccasins in the summer and heavier ones in the winter made of sheepskin with the wool next to the feet. 

The women made their own candles and soap, usually from sheep tallow. Very sensibly,cooking during the summer was done outside where it did not heat the house or dirty it with smoke. Fuel was whatever dry wood was available, although juniper and pinon were preferred. 

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES. During the winter there was little work to keep the men occupied, so there must have been a great deal of visiting and other social activities. There are many memories of friends gathered around a warm fireplace during a long winter evening. They would recount their experiences of the early days and discuss such topics as goblins and witches. There must have also been a great deal of gossip mixed in with their conversations. 

At times family or neighborhood groups would gather to listen to the reading of stories such as "Don Quixote." On other occasions one of the local people would relate tales he had concocted. Legends were often repeated of fabulous treasures and Indian goldmines. The lives of saints and the legend of Our Lady of Guadalupe were recounted. 

One local legend related the naming of Guadalupe. A man engaged in trading with the Ute Indians was camped overnight near the Conejos River. He was ready to be on his way the next morning but one of the burros in his packtrain refused to move. He became rather exasperated because of the animal's stubbornness until he noticed a medal of Our Lady of Guadalupe near the top of the animal's pack. In what must have been a rash moment, he made a vow to dedicate a church to Our Lady of Guadalupe at the site if the Virgin would intercede to persuade the recalcitrant animal to move. The burro then moved, thereby causing the future settlement to be named Guadalupe. 

During the daytime hours the older men would chat while the younger ones would engage in various activities.  There were many games: "la cazulejas" was a game similar to baseball; "las tejas" was a game similar to horseshoes, except that stones were pitched; "pitarilla" was similar to checkers, but played on the ground; "el canute" was a popular gambling game.  

"La Pelota" was much like field hockey or lacrosse. A ball covered with the lining of a sheep's stomach was hit and thrown with long hooks or rackets. It was also legal to kick, throw, or butt the ball. There were goals on each end of the field guarded by the teams, but there were usually no side boundaries. The players were afoot, but sometimes when one side was behind the rules would be broken and horses were brought onto the playing field to even the score. This of course would result in a good fight and the game would be over for that day.  

WEDDINGS. Weddings were occasions to be savored as a break in the monotony of rural life. The first step was the "pedimento" or ceremony of asking for the girl's hand. The young man would inform his parents of the girl of his choice; his parents would then write a formal letter to the girl's family asking their approval of the marriage. The girl's family would "consider" the proposal for eight to ten days before replying. 

If the answer were affirmative, the banns were read on the following three Sundays and arrangements were made for the wedding. A "fiesta" was held at the bride's home the day before the wedding. This gave the families a chance to become better acquainted and gave the groom occasion to present the bride with jewelry and a trunk of clothing. That evening a dance was held. The "Varsevana," "quadrilla", "redondo" and other traditional dances were performed to the music of violins and guitars. 

The wedding was performed in the church with suitable pomp and ceremony. A feast at the bride's home followed the wedding and another dance was held that night. Sometime after midnight another feast would be held for all those attending the dance. 

CONCLUSION. The people led a simple, peasant life that was similar in many ways to that of rural Spain. Their main concern was eking out a subsistence from the soil with their primitive methods. The climate was harsh, but the summers were warm and the earth was fertile.  

Despite their relations with the various Indian tribes, the Spanish-speaking settlers retained their culture intact until "gringos" moved into the San Luis Valley in large numbers. By 1880 this outside influence was becoming increasingly powerful. The newer settlers rapidly achieved economic and political power. The Spanish-speaking people, with some exceptions, were fast becoming dominated by the intruding "gringos." As Lafayette Head demonstrated, the Anglos had certain advantages as members of the new culture created by the merging of Spanish and Anglo cultures.  

 

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APPENDIX I

THE FIRST PERMANENT SETTLEMENT IN THE SAN LUIS VALLEY

 

The following document was found among the Church records at the parish rectory in Antonito, Colorado. Written in 1866 and since recopied several times, it is probably an accurate account of the first permanent settlement in the San Luis Valley.  The document relates the story of Atanacio Trujillo leading his people into the new land. After trapping beaver along the Conejos River in 1847, he returned home to El Rito, New Mexico, fully convinced that his community should leave their unproductive farms and come to live in the broad, fertile San Luis Valley.  

After much persuasion, a small group came north with him in 1849. They settled just east of the San Antonio River, forming what became known as Rincones. Largely because of "Tata" Atanacio's influence and friendship with the Ute Indians, the settlers were not prevented from establishing productive farms during that first summer of 1849.  

The original spelling and punctuation of the copy of this document found in Antonito has been preserved in the following copy:  

"September 20 de 1901.

Queinfue el primer colonisador del rio de Conejos, Atanacio Trujillo, enterpete de los Indio Yutas y guardian de los Hispanos Americanos, que ano entro Atanacio Trujillo a el rio de Conejos? El vino a casar nutrias al rio de Conejos en el ano de 1847 y se fue de vuelta para el Rito Colorado endone era su residencia y alli estaba hacienda un depositohacer y acresentar la poca agua del Rito,Colorado para que se suplieran las gentesque alli estaban viviendo ya residentes, y cuando el llego al Rito,Colorado llevo muches pieles de nutrias y el platico aquelloas gentes que el rio de Conejos,Seria uno de los mas hermoses y productivos valles, para colonisar y vivir y andaba antisipando ala gente para que se vinieran con el, pero que la gente temia mucho a los Indios, pero cuando el les dijo que al siguiente ano que era al ano de 1848 en Mayo iba a venir hacer un mediano propecto en las tierras del rio Conejos, Como vino, el dia 3 de Mayo 1848, y vinieron otros con el entre ellos vino un joven de la edad de 10 anos del nombre de Florentino Gallegos, y otros, y escojio lugar para sembrar al lado Oriental de los Cerritos endonde le llamo Rincones ,alli planto mais azul y trigo estas semillas las con.sigio del Rito Colorado y alli hizo un acequia del rio de San Antonio, con estaces de alamo, rallo la tierra y con un ramo de arbol de cedro tapo y el trigo y el maiz los sembro con estaca seste trabajo lo hacian los muchachos que vinieron con el por que el estaba todo mas del el tiempo cuidando a los Indios no llegaran de sorpresa a donde estaban sus piones y alli tubieron un verano muy bueno cosecharon trigo y maiz azul y no teniendo elmodo de poder llevar el grano para el Rito Colorado,vino hizo unos posos en la tierra y hay guardo trigo y maiz y el grano que pudieron lo levantaron en burritos y en los caballos y se marcharon para el Rito Colorado, por el lado Oriental del cerro de San Antonio, esto fue el 12 de Octubre de 1848 antesde llegar el arroyo que le llamaban el Aguaje, el se adelanto por malicias y sospechos que los Indios pudieran perjudicales acababan de pasar una rancheria de Indios Navajoses no se dio a vistar porque les temio y se volvio a encontrar a sus piones a alli la pasaron entre.el monte hasta el ver que la Indiada acababa de pasar como rumbo a la Petaca,pero el los alli durmieron y el siguiente dia se estuvieron porque bajo una lluvia de agua muy fuerte y no tuvieron los medios para crusar el arroyo del Aguaje, esto fue el dia 14 de Octubre de 1848 y el dia 16 de Octubre de 1848 llegaron al Rito Colorado las gentes de ese pueblo resibieron a Atanacio Trujillo y sus piones con grande aplausos y meritos, muy meresedore de ellos las gentes ensalsaban a Atanacio Trujillo, de un modo grande y carinioso los ninos gritaban viva tat Atanacio el del Rito. Alli el dividio el poco grano detrigo y maiz azul entre las gentes del Rito Colorado y les dijo desde que yo me vine de Abiquio a este lugar vide que el agua del Rito no era suficiente para el uso de regadio de nuestras siembritas me dedique a ser una retencion de agua arriba en el canoncito allado arriba la presa pero ahora yo confido a todos los habitante de aqui para ir a colonisar el rio de Conejos, es un rio muy grande tiene much agua mucho terreno y muy planiado lugar un valle muy hermoso, y alli no haynada gente solamente se encuentran ruinas de los Indios y mis deseos son de que toda esta gente se traslade a esos lugares que prometens er fertiles tanto para la siembra como pueden ser para la cria de animales borregas, bacas, bestias, cabras yeste lugar promete ser bueno para nosotros y para nuestra generacion futura entonces el les dijo no teman ni se acobarden siempre yo he estado con ustedes en todo y si ahora ustedes me siguen a poblar esos paises Dios tendra cuidado de nosotros Dios nos salvara de llas precucionesy de los Indios.   

Yo tengo un gran suporte de los Indios Yutas, ellos me prometen resguardarme ami y a mi gente y estar en guardia para quelos demas Indios no nos perjudiquen cerca donde vamos a establecer nosotros, pasa una bereda que le llaman la bereda del puerto y es muy transitable para los Navajoses,los Apaches, y los Caiyguas. Pero no hay que temer hay que confiar en Dios y proseguir adelante piensen bien ustedes todos para el mes de Abrilyo deseo saber cuales son sus determinaciones, unos dias despues vinieronalgunos personas y le llamaron la atencion a Tata Atanacio prometiendole que le iban acompanar en en su venida al rio de Conejos el les comunico que el les diria para cuando seria el tiempo de salir del Rito Colorado yo les dijo tengo que ir primero solo al Norte a platicar con los Indios Yutas, para hacerles saber que voy a llevar familias a ese lugar ellos me han prometido defenderme de los otros Indios que me quierian estorbar o hacer mal perjudicarme en alguna cosa encontra de la familias que vamos alli al lugar, el dia 8 de Marzo de 1849 conferencio Atanacio Trujillo y Luis Rafael Trujillo el hijo mayor de tata Atanacio Trujillo con los Yutas haciendoles saberque el iba a venir a posecionar el Rio de Conejos y iba atraer algunas personas o familias tantas como el pudiera conseguir acolonizar alli en donde habia echo siembra el ano pasado que fue el ano de 1848 los Yutas le apreciaron mucho y les donaron a Tata Atencio y a Luis Rafael Trujillo gamusas de venado y un cuero de zibolo y le prometieron de que ellos Yutas lo resguardarian y tendrian buen cuidado de el de todas las familias que vinieran con el diciendoles Tata Tanacio a los Yutas que el saldria con su colonia para el Rio de Conejos eldia 16 de Abril de 1849 antes de decirles tata Tanacio a los Yutas Adios,los Yutas los dieron came seca de venado y pande maiz azul y por orden del capitan 12 Yutas montaron acaball y escoltaron a tata Tanacio ya Luis Rafael Trujillo el 10 de Marzo en la manama los Yutas fueron hasta enfrente del Cerro de Santonio al lado Oriental en Compania de tata Tanacio y su hijo mayor cuando los 12 Yutas le dijieron a tata Tanacio hasta aqui venemos contigo y tata Tanacio les hablo diciendoles en lengua Yuta -- "Bueno mis buenos amigos ustedes han cumplido con elmandato de su capital y les agredezco mucho Dios vuelva con ustedes y dios me han do prestar vida y salud para volverlos a ver esta primavera y les dijo estrechando sus manos y un Yuta le dice en espanol vete Tanacio no tengas cuidado nosotros contigo lomismo y tus hijos y tu lomismo mi padre con corazon y se volvieron los Yutas.  Entonces Tata Tanacio y Luis Rafael Trujillo llegaron al Rito Colorado eldia 12 Marzo de 1849 en la noche parte de la gente lo supo y parte no suphasta otrodia que fue 12 de Marzo ese mismomes la gente no cabia en la casa de tata Atancio y el hizo matar una baca para darles de comar a toda la gente que vino a visitar y les dijo que todas las familias que desiarian acompanarle para el Norte estuviera lista para el dia primero de Mayo de 1849 entre las gentes del Rito decian no hay duda que ese lugar esbueno porque tata Tanacio trujo muy buen grano el ano pasado pero dice que es bastante trio y nevoso en el invierno y otros decian nos vamos con tata Tanacio por el verano y nos venemos se va de este pais que vamos hacer el nos a echo trabajar en el tanque aqui en el canonsito y si el se ba perdemos el trabajo ninguno de nosotros tenemos la habilidad para sequir las ideas de tata Tanacio lo major sera irnos conel, y otros decian quien sabe si el nos lleve a un lugar que los Indios nos maten dicenque eselugar es muy abierto que queda en el mediodel llano que no hay montes serquita pero estando con el no hay miedo que los Indios no hagan mal al fin nada se le report ese dia a tata Atanacio en pocos dias despues le respondio Ignacio Trujillo y le dice hermano yo estoy listo para acompaniarlo al Norte y Antonio Trujillo le resevio le misma cosa esto fue en los primeros dias de Abil de 1849 desde ese dia tata Tanacio comenzo hacer carretas y hizo dos con alamos de encinode dos ruedos y se fue poco el primero de May de 1849 se despidio de la gente de amigos y parientes que tenia en el Rito Colorado diciendo les asi por anos me he estado con ustedes en este lugar mientras yo he estado aqui yo he hecho lo mejor que he podido para mi y cada uno de ustedes y sus familias hoy en mi partida con mi familia dos hermanos y otra familias a posecionar y colonizar el valle de Conejos uno de los mas hermosos valloes, y creo que sera muy productivo con el tiempo yo siento en mi corazon este hora en pedernida porque considero que yo he sido el tate de ustedes pero no porque me voy los olvidare prestandome Dios vida y sa lud yo volvere averles y a llevarmelos a todos conmigo y con esto les digo adios, alli pasaron hombre y mujeres y los ninos con lagrimas en sus ojos diciendo Dios mio, bendice el camino donde va tata Atanacio y el les dice no lloren que yo vendre a visitarlos amenudo y se marcho con su colonia el, su esposa Jesusita Valdez sus dos hijos Luis y Manuel Trujillo, Rufinita y Julianita Trujillo sus dos hermanos Ignacio y Francisco Antonio Trujillo y otras familias cargando sus caballos y burritos y dos carretas cada carreta con dos bueyes con collares de palo y coyuntas de duero un atajito de cabros y borregas dos bacas un boserro tambien un santo que siempre lo traia con el S. Rafael se estuvieron en el camino cinco dias el 5 de May de 1849 llegaron a el lugar donde tenian sus chosas y el poco grano que habian dejado el ano pasado ellos llegaron ya muy tarde ese dia y el dia 6 en la manana  decian los companeros qui es un desierto no se ve un alma nos volveremos al Rito Colorado.  Aqui no es para nosotoros pero tata Tanacio les dijo no miren esperense poco les aseguro que para el mes de octubre no van aquedar o a querer hir para e l paiz porque van haber la abundancia miren que rio tan rico de aqua que vegas tan grandes este rio tiene muchas truchas puedo decirles que hemos venido a un paraiso aqui ahora agarren sus achas y corten alamos para hacer jacales mientras ustedes hacen esto yo ago arados y palas de ensino el 7 de Mayo como alas 11 del dia se vido una polvodera al Norte delos Cerritos largos y las gentes gritaron tata Tanacio alli vienen los Indios tata Tanacio vienen acabar con nosotros en donde nos escondemos para escapar de los Indios tata Tanacio les dice no teman ustedes agan que comer atole que yo gobierno esos Indios pero siendo que las gentes estaban temrosas que los Indios les perjudicaran despues del medio dia llegaron los Indios y eran los Yutas que veniean avera tata Tanacio habia llegado como el les habia prometido ese ano antes devenir los Yutas tan pronto le hablaron a Tata Tanacio hicieron una salbacon rifle y pistoles asi al cielo y luego que paso sus comida casas de las gentes ellos empezaron a reglar de todas carnes y gamusas prendas de plata cuentas y muchas otras cosas caballos cias de modo que las gentes acabaron de creer que tata Tanacio er el favorito de los Yutas y de ese dia para adelante las gentes comenzaron a  trabajar con amplitud y gusto hicieron esa primavera siembras de maiz y de alberjon de trigo calabazas, cebollas y tuvieron muy buena cosecha muy buen invierno al ciguiento ano 1850 en la primaver comenzaron a venir gentes al de Conejos y asi fueron viniendo ese ano 1850 en enoro se escaso la harina much las gentes tenian trigo y maiz pero no tenian como molerlo y el invierno estaba nevoso y frio cuando tata Tanacio veo la necesidde la gente paso a sus dos hijos a ser un poso en el rio de Conejos en el medio del rio donde el llevo consistia como cuarto pies de gueso para a bujeraruna corriente muy fuerte trujo palos y dos piedras que tenia ya trabajadas para modificar en molinos al siguente puso los palos sobre el hielo y las dos piedras alli metio todos los trigos y maizes para toda la gente de alli todos fueron suplidos poco mas tiempo comenzo a venir mas a poblar en el 53 llegaron unos familias y tata Tanacio los lleve alla arriba y les dijo aqui hagan sus jacales y cuando lla llegaron acabaron de hacer sus estableciemientos. Yo vendre a decirles endonde tiene que hacer un capia quellevara el nombre de S. Rafael y yo tendre santo y se los presentare a ustedes y ese sera el patron de nuestra iglesia catolica y asi fueron viniendo mas gente ano por ano a colonizar el valle de Conejos en el ano de 1859 hubo un encuentro en la bereda del puerto del medio entre los Yutas y los Cayguas que alli tuvieron guerra resultando tres Yutas muertos y dos hombres y una Yuta vieja y cinco Cayguas jovenes los Indios Cayguas se treparon al cerrito al lado del sur de la bereda y hacieron una trinchera de piedras los Yutas no podian entrar hasta que una Yuta mujer muy vieja se acerco a la trinchera con una bara les derribo la trinchera y salieron los Indios Yutasasi lograron de mater cinco Cayguas jovenes ylos demas se safaron del rumboal Este Luis Rafael Trujillo y Ignacio Trujillo; Celedon Valdes, Victor Garcia fueron ordenados por tat Tanacio de sepultar a cinco Cayguas muertosa los tres Yutas para que los animales no se los comieran sobre la tierralos Cayguas fueron sepultados al lado Norte de la bereda y los tres Yutas allado sur de la bereda y concluiendo esta mediana historia de Tata Tanacio Trujillo fue escrita por Jose E. Trujillo en el ano de Dios de 1901 copiada del origian que fue escrita por Luis Rafael Trujillo en el ano de 1866 la placita de los rincones; Residencia de Tata Tanacio abiendo el nacido el ano 1801 el 26 de enero en el Ojo Caliente y murio en el ano 1889 en el Rio de Costilla en la casa de su hijo mayor siendo Luis Rafael Trujillo.   

No tiene el autor de esta pequena obra ni pretensiones de sabio ni haces alarde de erudito. Por lo tanto se excusa de hacer citaciones en notas la idea de este trabajo. No es excribir una historia critica o analitica del pais sino preguntar al pueblo una relacion veridica exacta hasta donde sea posible de los hechos durante la vida de Atanacio Trujillo quien nacio el ano de Dios de 1801 y Murio en al ano 1889. 

El objecto principal es el de recorder a los hispanos-americanos las glorias alcanzadas por nuestros antepasados; heroicos alimentos en su corazon. A que sentimiento altivo que nobles hijos, siempre deben tener nobles padres Sacad del olvido en que injustament yacen los grandes beneficios conferidos sobre esto suelo, formando uno do los gasgos mas generosos y valientes del universe. Recordad por aquellos quienes vinieron con los mas grandes sacrificios a clavar la cruz del cristianismo a este bendito suelo. 

Obra de Jose E. Trujillo, Costilla,New Mexico

24 de marzo de 1934"

 

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APPENDIX II 

PARISH PROPERTY TRANSFER  

Reverend Gabriel Ussel received the Church property at Conejos from Father V. S.Montano December18,1859. A translation ofthe list reads as follows: one set of white vestments, complete;one set of purple vestments, complete; one green cape with white vestments; one antipendium, multi-color; one amica and two albs, all linen; one altar linen; one cinture; one sacred stone; two missals; "los tres palabreros," one chalice for the Mission with its own box; three candlesticks; one broken cruet (one cruet with the plate); two small bells; one medium bell placed on top of the provisional stockade; one censer within cense boat; one monstrance; one metal cup, plated; Holy Oils in bottles; two candle stands and two crosses, all made of wood; one surplice. 

In January, 1860, Reverend J. M. Vigil took charge of the parish. He received everything listed above, except one small bell. His list also shows that he received some additional items not listed above.

 .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Books

Bean, Luther E., "Land of the Blue Sky People." Monte Vista, Colorado: Monte Vista Journal, 1962

"Biography of Mr. Head," "Colorado Blue Book," 1891

Burt, Olive, "Ouray the Arrow." New York: Julian Messner, Inc., 1953

 

Hafen, LeRoy R., and Hafen, Ann W., "The Far West and the Rockies Historical Series, 1820-75." Vol. I: "Old Spanish Trail." Glendale, California: Arthur H. Clark Co., 1954

 

Hawlett, W. J., "Life of the Rt. Rev. Joseph P   Machebeuf, D. D." Pueblo: 1908

 

Hodge, Frederick Webb, Hammond, George P., and Rey, Agapita, "Fray Alonso deBenavides' Revised Memorial of 1634." Albuquerque, New Mexico: The University of New Mexico Press, 1945

 

Parks, Henry Bamford, "A History of Mexico. "Cambridge, Massachusetts:  The Riverdale Press,1960

 

Rael, Juan B., "The New Mexico Alabado." The Stanford Univer­sity Press,1951

 

Stauter, Monsignor Patrick C., "100 Years in Colorado's Oldest Parish." Denver, Colorado: St. Cajetan'sPress,1958

 

Twitchell, R.C., "Leading Facts of New Mexico History," Vol.II. Albuquerque: Horn and Wallace

 

"War of the Rebellion." Series I, Vol. XXII, Part II, Correspondence

 

Newspapers

 

"Santa Fe Weekly Gazette." Number 36 (February18, 1865) Sierra, Rev. John, S. F., "En el Valle de San Luis,"  "SouthernColorado Register," November 29,1957

 

"Some Real Pioneers of the Fertile San Luis Valley," "La Jara Gazette,"January, 1926

 

Periodicals

 

Abel,Elois,Ph.D. (ed.),"Indian Affairs in New Mexico Under the Administration of William Carr Lane From the Journal of John Ward,""New Mexico Historical Review ," XVI(July , 1941). Item #27 from the journal, Friday, June 3,1853

 

Barland, Lois, "Relations With the Colorado Utes," "The Colorado Magazine, "XXVIII, 258-266

 

Cheetham, F.T., "El Camino Militar," "New Mexico Historical Review," XV, No.1 (January, 1940)

 

Downing, Finis E., "With the Ute Peace Delegation of 1863, Across the Plains and at Conejos," "The Colorado Magazine," XXII(September, 1945), 194-204

 

Espinosa, J. Manuel, "Journal of the Vargas Expedition into Colorado, 1694,""The Colorado Magazine," XVI (May, 1939), 81-90

 

Lopez, Olibama, "Pioneer Life in the San Luis Valley," "The Colorado Magazine," XIX(September,1942), 161-167

 

Parkhill, Forbes, "Colorado's First Survey," "The Colorado Magazine," XXXIII (July, 1956)

 

Sanford, Albert B., "Recollections of a Trip to the San Luis Valley in 1877," "The Colorado Magazine," X (September 1933)

 

Thomas, Alfred Barnaby, "Spanish Expeditions into Colorado," "The Colorado Magazine," I, No. 7, 299-300

 

Velasquez, Meliton, "Guadalupe Colony Was Founded in 1854," "The Colorado Magazine," XXXIV (October,1957), 264- 267

 

Government Documents

 

 

"Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs," Dec. 3, 1861, Senate Documents, No. 1, 37th Congress, 2nd Session, Vol. I

 

Indirect Index to Deeds and Property #1, TitleBook C. Bureau of Land Management Records, New Mexico State Archives, Santa Fe, New Mexico

 

Proceedings of the House of Representatives, "Congressional Globe," February 18,1861

 

Proceedings of the Senate, "Congressional Glove," Part11, 33rd Congress