Bent, St. Vrain & Co., 1830-1849 a Dissertation Submitt

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Bent, St. Vrain & Co., 1830-1849 a Dissertation Submitt UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE BUSINESS IN THE BORDERLANDS: BENT, ST. VRAIN & CO., 1830-1849 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By DAVID C. BEYREIS Norman, Oklahoma 2012 BUSINESS IN THE BORDERLANDS: BENT, ST. VRAIN & CO., 1830-1849 A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY BY ______________________________ Dr. Albert L. Hurtado, Chair ______________________________ Dr. Paul A. Gilje ______________________________ Dr. Sterling Evans ______________________________ Dr. Catherine E. Kelly ______________________________ Dr. Sean O‟Neill © Copyright by DAVID C. BEYREIS 2012 All Rights Reserved. To My Dissertation Committee Acknowledgements Without financial support, this dissertation would not exist. Therefore, my first acknowledgements must go to those who helped support my work. Special thanks to the Department of History at the University of Oklahoma for providing me with five years of funding as a teaching assistant, research assistant, and instructor. The Anne Hodges Morgan and H. Wayne Morgan Dissertation Fellowship funded a transcontinental research junket. Finally, Cliff Hudson‟s generosity helped bring me to Norman, aided my research trips, and allowed me to attend national and regional conferences. Archivists and librarians make the work of historians possible, and I have had the good fortune to work with many fine individuals in repositories across the nation. On the East Coast, the staff at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University initiated me into the mysteries of archival work. In California, I wish to acknowledge the efforts of the staffs at the Braun Research Library, the Huntington Library, and the Bancroft Library. In Santa Fe, the staff at the New Mexico State Records Center and Archive put up with my questions for two weeks, and provided me with access to the original Manuel Alvarez Papers. Those at the Starsmore Center for Local History in Colorado Springs, and at the Denver Public Library proved equally accommodating. The staff at the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis are, bar none, the quickest and most efficient archivists I have ever worked with. Closer to home, the employees at the Western iv History Center at OU spent a good deal of one summer shuttling dozens of books from the stacks to my table in the reading room. One of the joys of travelling and research is discovering how generous complete strangers can be. Doctor Tanis C. Thorne of the University of California, Irvine provided me with a copy of her master‟s thesis when I dropped the request upon her out of thin air. Coloradans proved wonderfully accommodating. In Littleton, Cecil and Annette Evans gave me a bed to sleep in, fed me, did my laundry, and hustled me at pool while I worked in Boulder and Denver. In Grand Junction, Jim Pearce provided me with a couch to sleep on, and played a pivotal role in outfitting me for my plunge into the Utah wilderness. At Bent‟s Old Fort National Historic Site, John Carson gave me a personal tour of the establishment, rousted the peacocks, and alerted me to a critical source I did not know existed. The park staff generously duplicated a copy of the source for me. Mark L. Gardner spent the better part of an hour discussing his work with me over the phone in the winter of 2011. Family and Friends helped keep me sane through seven years of graduate school. My parents kept encouraging me, expressed interest in my work, and provided a good deal of financial and moral support. Rob was always willing to listen to me complain and was always willing to give me advice. Don and I spent countless hours traversing the American West, philosophizing, and raising all kinds of hell. At OU, Matt Bahar, Michele Stephens, Emily Wardrop, Brandi Hilton- Hagemann, Josh Hagemann, and Ariana Quezada were wonderful colleagues and v outrageously entertaining friends. Adam Eastman provided me with key tech support. Rhonda George was always ready to answer any question I might have about paperwork, departmental deadlines, travel budgets, and life in general. Special thanks to Matt Pearce, whom I have been friends with since Dr. Gilje‟s Historical Methods class in the fall of 2007. Matt and I watched football, drank beer, camped, ascended the loftiest peak in Oklahoma, and shared an appreciation for Ed Abbey, Bernard De Voto, and John Nichols since we first me five years ago. My dissertation committee was composed of fine historians who happen to be even better people. For years, they have answered countless questions, assuaged innumerable doubts, eviscerated pages of prose, strengthened arguments, and written letters of recommendation, often on short notice. Al Hurtado allowed me to go ahead with this project, and provided me with a great deal of perspective. Sterling Evans proved to be one of the most enthusiastic backers any graduate student could ask for. Cathy Kelly asked extraordinarily difficult and enlightening questions that never failed to make my work better. Paul Gilje hammered into me the importance of clear prose, and provided innumerable lessons about how historians should conduct themselves. Sean O‟Neill asked pointed questions during my dissertation defense. I offer these acknowledgements as paltry thanks for all of your hard work on my behalf. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgements / iv Abstract / ix Introduction / 1 Chapter 1: Peoples in Motion, Trails to Everywhere: The Southern Plains to 1821 / 19 Chapter 2: Apprenticeship in Western Enterprise: The Bents and St. Vrain to 1828 / 41 Chapter 3: Nations, Roads, and Private Interests: Bent, St. Vrain & Co., 1829-1834 / 63 Chapter 4: Bent, St. Vrain & Co. and the Indian Trade / 90 Chapter 5: War and Peace on the Great Plains: Bent, St. Vrain & Co. and Intertribal Politics / 114 Chapter 6: Rivals and Rapprochement: Bent, St. Vrain & Co. and the South Platte Trade / 145 Chapter 7: Bent, St. Vrain & Co. and the Sinews of Trade / 166 Chapter 8: To Santa Fe and Beyond: Bent, St. Vrain & Co. and Business along the Mexican Road / 189 Chapter 9: Texan Troubles: Bent, St. Vrain & Co. and the Filibusters, 1841-1843 / 216 Chapter 10: Taos: Many Tender (and Tenuous) Ties / 236 Chapter 11: Traders and Raiders: Bent, St. Vrain & Co., the Indian Trade, and the New Mexico Frontier / 261 vii Chapter 12: Apogee: 1846 / 301 Chapter 13: Backlash: 1846-1847 / 333 Chapter 14: Collapse: 1847-1849 / 371 Conclusion / 407 Bibliography / 417 viii Abstract During the 1830s and 1840s, a unique set of economic, social, political, and environmental factors contributed to the rise and fall of Bent, St. Vrain & Co. as the preeminent American trading firm in the Southwest Borderlands. Between the company‟s founding around 1830 and the destruction of Bent‟s Fort in 1849, the Bent brothers and Ceran St. Vrain conducted a wide-ranging, multifaceted trade with the United States, Mexico, and the Native American tribes of the Southern Plains. Geographical and political isolation made it imperative for the partners to adhere to a strict set of social and economic protocols, especially the cultivation of business patronage and intermarriage with their clients. The most important factor in the company‟s strategy was the weak presence of the State – either American or Mexican – in the borderlands. The weakness of the State simultaneously presented the partners with both opportunities and challenges. On the one hand, they were in a precarious position - unable to call upon the American government for protection, they went out of their way to avoid alienating the powerful tribes of the region. On the other hand, the weakness of the Mexican State allowed the Bents and St. Vrain to circumvent national trade laws, become smugglers, and acquire land grants, all of which alienated the nationalist faction in New Mexico. The arrival of the American State in the borderlands in 1846 set in motion a chain of events that ultimately brought down the company. The conquest of New Mexico unleashed a wave of violence that destroyed the conditions that had allowed the partners to prosper. By 1849, Bent‟s Fort – the symbol of company power – went up in ix flames, abandoned by its proprietors. Far from the centers of State power, Bent, St. Vrain & Co. flourished for nearly two decades. American expansion rendered the company‟s position within the borderlands untenable. x Introduction During the 1830s and 1840s, Bent, St. Vrain and Company (hereafter Bent- St. Vrain) became the most prominent American trading firm in the Southwest Borderlands due to a unique set of geographic, economic, and political factors.1 By studying the activities of Bent-St. Vrain, historians can gain a better understanding 1 Borderlands literature is enormous, and defies precise categorization. Studied by historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, political scientists, sociologists, and literary critics, the field of borderlands study has spawned its own, enormous, argot. Theorists speak of “borderlands,” “bordered lands,” middle grounds, native grounds, alienated borderlands, coexistent borderlands, interdependent borderlands, integrated borderlands, intermediate borderlands, outer borderlands, infant borderlands, adolescent borderlands, adult borderlands, declining borderlands, defunct borderlands, quiet borderlands, unruly borderlands, rebellious borderlands, zones of interaction, “membranes of contact,” metropoles, peripheries, linear borders, zonal borders, paradigms of power, paradigms of negotiation, spheres of influence, strategic borderlands, nonstrategic borderlands, and ecumenes. The only common denominators seem to be that borderlands are places of both violence and accommodation, as well as zones of interaction where people consistently utilize to border to benefit their own interests either by calling upon national power or ignoring it as the situation dictates. Were I to define “borderlands,” I would chose Elizabeth Jameson‟s definition. She calls them “zones – sometimes around borders – where diverse peoples come together to mingle.” They can be social, political, or economic – or all three at once. Furthermore, she notes that they assume importance proportional to the group in question.
Recommended publications
  • The Middle Rio Grande Basin: Historical Descriptions and Reconstruction
    CHAPTER 4 THE MIDDLE RIO GRANDE BASIN: HISTORICAL DESCRIPTIONS AND RECONSTRUCTION This chapter provides an overview of the historical con- The main two basins are flanked by fault-block moun- ditions of the Middle Rio Grande Basin, with emphasis tains, such as the Sandias (Fig. 40), or volcanic uplifts, on the main stem of the river and its major tributaries in such as the Jemez, volcanic flow fields, and gravelly high the study region, including the Santa Fe River, Galisteo terraces of the ancestral Rio Grande, which began to flow Creek, Jemez River, Las Huertas Creek, Rio Puerco, and about 5 million years ago. Besides the mountains, other Rio Salado (Fig. 40). A general reconstruction of hydro- upland landforms include plateaus, mesas, canyons, pied- logical and geomorphological conditions of the Rio monts (regionally known as bajadas), volcanic plugs or Grande and major tributaries, based primarily on first- necks, and calderas (Hawley 1986: 23–26). Major rocks in hand, historical descriptions, is presented. More detailed these uplands include Precambrian granites; Paleozoic data on the historic hydrology-geomorphology of the Rio limestones, sandstones, and shales; and Cenozoic basalts. Grande and major tributaries are presented in Chapter 5. The rift has filled primarily with alluvial and fluvial sedi- Historic plant communities, and their dominant spe- ments weathered from rock formations along the main cies, are also discussed. Fauna present in the late prehis- and tributary watersheds. Much more recently, aeolian toric and historic periods is documented by archeological materials from abused land surfaces have been and are remains of bones from archeological sites, images of being deposited on the floodplain of the river.
    [Show full text]
  • Bent's Old Fort
    final master plan interpretive prospectus development concept November 1975 tJATICINAL r.,\'?!< S~RV!Ct DENVE il s: .~'-.t:E C~NTE ll 8RANCH Gr r·icriOCRAPtUCi l.lBRARY COPY BENT'S OLD FORT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE I COLORADO RECOMMENDED John R. Patterson, Park Manager September 1975 Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site APPROVED Glen Bean, Acting Regional Director October 1975 Rocky Mountain Region United States Department of the Interior I National Park Service I master plan/interpretive prospectus/ development concept Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site/Colorado Americans had always devoutly believed that the superiority of their institutions, government, and mode of life would eventually spread, by inspiration and imitation, to less fortunate, less happy peoples. That devout belief now took a new phase: it was perhaps the American destiny to spread our free and admirable institutions by action as well as by example, by occupying territory as well as by practicing virtue.... For the sum of these feelings {was found] one of the most dynamic phrases every minted, Manifest Destiny. - Bernard de Voto CONTENTS BENT'S OLD FORT: AN INSIGHT INTO WESTWARD EXPANSION THE FO RT THROUGH TIME 9 PROPOSALS 23 management 25 development 29 interpretation 33 APPENDIXES 47 D I II 1 1 ---- ~----- /" / .' _,.~ ,_ ~.,. / ' _______-- / \ .... / ~ -- --- / -- -~ __.::::=:::-::=:----- - BENT 'S OLD FORT: AN INSIGHT INTO WESTWARD EXPANSION The 1963 master plan for Bent's Old Fort contains an admirable statement about the fort's historic significance. It is worth quoting, and reading with care. Its words are carefully chosen. Built in 1833-34 as the mountain-plains extension of St.
    [Show full text]
  • Crossroads in Eden: the Development of Fort Lupton, 1835-2000
    CROSSROADS IN EDEN: THE DEVELOPMENT OF FORT LUPTON, 1835-2000 A HISTORICAL CONTEXT Submitted to: Historic Preservation Board City of Fort Lupton, Weld County, Colorado Prepared by: Adam Thomas SWCA Environmental Consultants State Historical Fund Project 02-02-075, Deliverable 3: Fort Lupton Historic Survey and Context SWCA Cultural Resource Report 2003-141 October 2003 CROSSROADS IN EDEN: DEVELOPMENT OF FORT LUPTON, 1835-2000 A HISTORICAL CONTEXT Submitted to: Historic Preservation Board City of Fort Lupton, Weld County, Colorado Prepared by: Adam Thomas SWCA Inc. Environmental Consultants 8461 Turnpike Drive Suite 100 Westminster, Colorado 80031 Bill Martin, Project Manager Kevin W. Thompson, Principal Investigator State Historical Fund Project 02-02-075, Deliverable 3: Fort Lupton Historic Survey and Context SWCA Cultural Resource Report 2003-141 October 2003 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: Timeless Connections iv A Note on Sources v Chapter 1: South Platte River Basin Prehistory to 1860 1 European Exploration 2 • Fort Lupton and Early Settlers 6 Chapter 2: A City Develops 12 Commercial and Civic Development 14 • Residential Development 17 • Social Life and Entertainment 20 • Public Services and Utilities 22 • Churches 24 • Schools 26 Chapter 3: The Freighter’s Campground: History of Transportation in Fort Lupton 28 Stage Lines and Toll Roads 28 • Railroads 29 • The Automobile Age 33 Chapter 4: Bounty of the Earth: Agriculture, Food-Processing, and the Oil and Gas Industries 37 Ranching 37 • Farming and Irrigation 39 • Food-Processing Industry 41 • Oil and Gas 46 Chapter 5: A Town of Diversity: Ethnic Heritage of Fort Lupton 48 Germans from Russia 48 • Hispanics 50 • Japanese 55 Conclusion: A Historical Crossroads 58 Notes 59 Bibliography 66 FIGURES, MAPS, AND TABLES Fig.
    [Show full text]
  • The New Mexico Volunteers
    THE NEW MEXICO VOLUNTEERS In the American Civil War 1861-1862 By David Poulin Index Introduction page 2 Chapter One – Texan Invasions page 5 Chapter Two – The Stage page 21 Chapter Three – The First Regiment page 42 Chapter Four – Recruitment Continues page 64 Chapter Five – Five Percent! page 88 Chapter Six – The Battle of Valverde page 113 Appendix – Unit Listings page 136 Index – List of Biographical Sketches page 143 Cover drawing by _________. _______ depicts the First New Mexico guarding the left flank of the army on the morning of the Battle of Valverde. They are observing the progress of the battle from their position. Colonel Kit Carson is standing in front with Captain Louis Felsenthal on the left. 2 INTRODUCTION It’s possible that history students and Civil War buffs will not understand the American Civil War in New Mexico if they are not familiar with New Mexico itself - it’s history and cultural heritage, in short – what kind of people lived here. If we read only the popular histories available on the Civil War period we get the impression that the New Mexicans had never volunteered for military duty before….that they were untrustworthy, untried, and their very enlistment was a great experiment of sorts, almost amounting to the controversial use of black troops in the eastern states. This is not quite how it was. We cannot look at the situation in the southwest with the same political, religious and cultural points of view that existed in the ‘mainstream’ United States. People here did not have any real experience with the issues of Negro slavery, State’s Rights, and economics as they existed east of the Mississippi.
    [Show full text]
  • Checklist of New Mexico Publications
    New Mexico Historical Review Volume 26 Number 2 Article 5 4-1-1951 Checklist of New Mexico Publications Wilma Loy Shelton Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmhr Recommended Citation Shelton, Wilma Loy. "Checklist of New Mexico Publications." New Mexico Historical Review 26, 2 (1951). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmhr/vol26/iss2/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in New Mexico Historical Review by an authorized editor of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. CHECKLIST OF NEW MEXICO PUBLICATIONS By WILMA LOY SHELTON ' (Continued) Messages of the governor to the Territorial and State legis- ' latures, 1847-1949. 1847 Governor's message (Donaciano Vigil) delivered to the Senate and House of Representatives, Santa Fe, N. M., Dec. 6, 1847. '..'Hovey & Davies, Printers. ' First official document 'of its character following the Ameri­ can occupation. Broadside 24x40.5 em. Text printed in three columns. 1851 Message of His Excellency James S. Calhoun to the First terri­ toriallegislature of N. M., June 2d, 1851. (Santa Fe) 1851. 7,7p. (E&S) Message of His Excellency James S. Calhoun to the First Terri­ torial legislature of New Mexico, Dec. 1, 1851. Santa Fe, Printed by J. 'L. Collins and W. G. Kephard, 1851. '8, 8p. (E&S) , , ' 1852 Message of William Carr Lane, Governor of the Territory of N. M., to the Legislative assembly of the territory; at Santa Fe, Dec. 7, 1852.
    [Show full text]
  • The Western Services of Stephen Watts Kearny, 1815•Fi1848
    New Mexico Historical Review Volume 21 Number 3 Article 2 7-1-1946 The Western Services of Stephen Watts Kearny, 1815–1848 Mendell Lee Taylor Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmhr Recommended Citation Taylor, Mendell Lee. "The Western Services of Stephen Watts Kearny, 1815–1848." New Mexico Historical Review 21, 3 (1946). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmhr/vol21/iss3/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in New Mexico Historical Review by an authorized editor of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. ________STEPHEN_WATTS KEARNY NEW MEXICO HISTORICAL REVIEW VOL. XXI JULY, 1946 NO.3 THE WESTERN SERVICES OF STEPHEN WATTS KEARNY, 1815-18.48 By *MENDELL LEE TAYLOR TEPHEN WATTS KEARNY, the fifteenth child of Phillip and S. Susannah Kearny, was born at Newark, New Jersey, August 30, 1794. He lived in New Jersey until he matricu­ lated in Columbia University in 1809. While here the na­ tional crisis of 1812 brought his natural aptitudes to the forefront. When a call· for volunteers was made for the War of 1812, Kearny enlisted, even though he was only a few weeks away from a Bachelor of Arts degree. In the early part of the war he was captured at the battle of Queenstown. But an exchange of prisoners soon brought him to Boston. Later, for gallantry at Queenstown, he received a captaincy on April 1, 1813. After the Treaty of Ghent the army staff was cut' as much as possible.
    [Show full text]
  • Boys' Book of Indian Warriors
    FOREWORD Conditions and Terms of Use When the white race came into the country of the red Copyright © Heritage History 2010 race, the red race long had had their own ways of living and Some rights reserved their own code of right and wrong. They were red, but they This text was produced and distributed by Heritage History, an were thinking men and women, not mere animals. organization dedicated to the preservation of classical juvenile history books, and to the promotion of the works of traditional history authors. The white people brought their ways, which were different from the Indians' ways. So the two races could not The books which Heritage History republishes are in the public domain and are no longer protected by the original copyright. live together. They may therefore be reproduced within the United States without To the white people, many methods of the Indians paying a royalty to the author. were wrong; to the Indians, many of the white people's The text and pictures used to produce this version of the work, methods were wrong. The white people won the rulership, however, are the property of Heritage History and are subject to certain because they had upon their side a civilization stronger than restrictions. These restrictions are imposed for the purpose of protecting the integrity of the work, for preventing plagiarism, and for helping to the loose civilization of the red people, and were able to carry assure that compromised versions of the work are not widely out their plans. disseminated. The white Americans formed one nation, with one In order to preserve information regarding the origin of this language; the red Americans formed many nations, with many text, a copyright by the author, and a Heritage History distribution date languages.
    [Show full text]
  • Maricopa County Regional Trail System Plan
    Maricopa County Regional Trail System Plan Adopted August 16, 2004 Maricopa Trail Maricopa County Trail Commission Maricopa County Department of Transportation Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Maricopa County Planning and Development Flood Control District of Maricopa County We have an obligation to protect open spaces for future generations. Maricopa County Regional Trail System Plan VISION Our vision is to connect the majestic open spaces of the Maricopa County Regional Parks with a nonmotorized trail system. The Maricopa Trail Maricopa County Regional Trail System Plan - page 1 Credits Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Andrew Kunasek, District 3, Chairman Fulton Brock, District 1 Don Stapley, District 2 Max Wilson, District 4 Mary Rose Wilcox, District 5 Maricopa County Trail Commission Supervisor Max Wilson, District 4 Chairman Supervisor Andrew Kunasek, District 3 Parks Commission Members: Citizen Members: Laurel Arndt, Chair Art Wirtz, District 2 Randy Virden, Vice-Chair Jim Burke, District 3 Felipe Zubia, District 5 Stakeholders: Carol Erwin, Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) Fred Pfeifer, Arizona Public Service (APS) James Duncan, Salt River Project (SRP) Teri Raml, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ex-officio Members: William Scalzo, Chief Community Services Officer Pictured from left to right Laurel Arndt, Supervisor Andy Kunasek, Fred Pfeifer, Carol Erwin, Arizona’s Official State Historian, Marshall Trimble, and Art Wirtz pose with the commemorative branded trail marker Mike Ellegood, Director, Public Works at the Maricopa Trail
    [Show full text]
  • RED000953.Pdf
    IDENTIFICACION Y RECONSTRUCCION DE LA RED DE APOYO A JOSE URREA EN SONORA DURANTE SU CONFLICTO ARMADO CON MANUEL MARIA GANDARA 1837-1845 Tesis que para obtener el grado de Maestro en Ciencias Sociales Línea de investigación: Estudios Históricos de Región y Frontera Presenta Ivan Aarón Torres Chon Directora de Tesis: Dra. Zulema Trejo Contreras Hermosillo, Sonora Febrero del 2011 INTRODUCCION I Planteamiento del problema III CAPITULO I. El SISTEMA DE GOBIERNO FEDERAL. I.1. Balance historiográfico sobre la pugna entre gobierno federalista y centralista. 1 I.2. El pronunciamiento por el federalismo-centralismo en la frontera norte. 5 I.3. José Urrea en la historiografía sonorense. 7 CAPITULO II. ANALISIS DE RED SOCIAL II.1. Análisis de redes en sociología, antropología e historia. 14 II.2 Marco Teórico referencial. 26 CAPITULO III. SONORA EN LA PRIMERA MITAD DEL SIGLO XIX. III.1.Descripción geográfica de Sonora en las décadas de 1830 y 1840. 34 III.2 Principales poblaciones sonorenses. 37 III.2.1 Población general de Sonora. 42 III.2.1.1 Arizpe. 43 III.2.1.2 Horcasitas y Ures. 44 III.2.1.3 Hermosillo. 45 III.2.1.4 Álamos. 46 III.3 Tribus y asentamientos indígenas. 46 III.3.1 Incursiones Apache y sublevaciones indígenas en Sonora. 52 III.4 El intercambio comercial en Sonora en la década de 1830. 54 III.4.1 Agricultura. 55 III.4.2 Ganadería. 56 III.4.3 Minería. 57 III.5 Sistema de gobierno Nacional. 59 III.5.1 Grupos representativos de la política regional. 62 III.5.2 Participación de los militares en la administración estatal.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 9 HYDRAULIC MINING in ARIZONA: Using the Giant Monitor in an Arid Territory
    Chapter 9 HYDRAULIC MINING IN ARIZONA: Using the Giant Monitor in an Arid Territory ©1998 Jim McBride Hydraulic mining, according to most sources, is the Arizona. Finding gold in the streams of the region one truly indigenous American mining technique, they established the Walker Mining District" Word originating in the placer camps of California. 1 of their find quickly spread and soon the mountains Although there is some disagreement among the and streams were filled with prospectors. Placer authorities as to the individual responsible for the claims lined the banks of Lynx, Big Bug, and invention (or development) of hydraulic mining, Groom Creeks.8 Timber was readily available, most accept Edward E. Matteson but, as with most water was plentiful for much of the year; the only inventions, it appears that hydraulicking was the problem was Indian activity. Despite persistent result of a series of contributions by Matteson, A. attacks and depredations by the Yavapai, the miners Chabot and Eli Miller while working a claim near persisted. For the next few years the pages of the Nevada City, California in 1852.2 Regardless, it was local newspaper are filled with accounts of success­ quickly apparent that hydraulicking dramatically es and new strikes along the streams of the increased the effectiveness of placer mining. Using Bradshaw Mountains. 9 The mining was typical of a rocker the average miner could work one cubic early placer mining; rockers and sluices were the yard of dirt a day, with a tom two cubic yards, with means of collecting the gold. Even lode mining a sluice four yards, hydraulic mining and a sluice, remained fairly simple, with water powered arras­ as much as one hundred cubic yards a day.
    [Show full text]
  • EFFIGY MOUNDS NATIONAL MONUMENT NATIONAL MOUNDS EFFIGY a R Esource Assessment
    ® 9 00 July 2 EFFIGY MOUNDS NATIONAL MONUMENT A Resource Assessment ® Center for State of the Parks ® More than a century ago, Congress established Yellowstone as the CONTENTS world’s first national park. That single act was the beginning of a remarkable and ongoing effort to protect this nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage. Today, Americans are learning that national park designation INTRODUCTION 1 alone cannot provide full resource protection. Many parks are EFFIGY MOUNDS NATIONAL compromised by development of adjacent lands, air and water pollu- tion, invasive plants and animals, and rapid increases in motorized MONUMENT AT A GLANCE 3 recreation. Park officials often lack adequate information on the RATINGS 4 status of and trends in conditions of critical resources. The National Parks Conservation Association initiated the State of KEY FINDINGS 6 the Parks program in 2000 to assess the condition of natural and cultural resources in the parks, and determine how well equipped the RESOURCE MANAGEMENT National Park Service is to protect the parks—its stewardship capac- HIGHLIGHTS 8 ity. The goal is to provide information that will help policymakers, the public, and the National Park Service improve conditions in THE EFFIGY MOUNDS national parks, celebrate successes as models for other parks, and NATIONAL MONUMENT ensure a lasting legacy for future generations. ASSESSMENT 10 For more information about the methodology and research used in preparing this report and to learn more about the Center for State CULTURAL RESOURCES 10 of the Parks, visit www.npca.org/stateoftheparks or contact: NPCA, Rich History Protected and Center for State of the Parks, P.O.
    [Show full text]
  • Black-Robed Justice in New Mexico
    New Mexico Historical Review Volume 22 Number 2 Article 2 4-1-1947 Black-Robed Justice in New Mexico Arie Poldervaart Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmhr Recommended Citation Poldervaart, Arie. "Black-Robed Justice in New Mexico." New Mexico Historical Review 22, 2 (1947). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmhr/vol22/iss2/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in New Mexico Historical Review by an authorized editor of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. NEW MEXICO HISTORICAL REVIEW VOL. XXII APRIL, 1947 NO.2 BLACK-ROBED JUSTICE IN NEW MEXICO, 1846-1912· By ARIE POLDERVAART CHAPTER IV TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE HORTLY before the military occupation of New Mexico S gave way to the civil government of the Territory, an alcalde at Tome demanded the church keys from the Catholic priest who was stationed there and removed from the House of God its sacred vestments and consecrated vases, then turned them over to Nicolas Valencia, a former priest who had been suspended from the clergy for his non-conformist views. ( In Santa Fe Donaciano Vigil, acting governor of New Mexico following the assassination of Governor Bent, sus­ pended the Vicario, chief representative of the Church, from exercising ecclesiastical functions on the ground that his ministrations were inimical to the American institutions which were gradually being introduced. These and similarly unwarranted infringements upon the rights of the Catholic church soon caused threats of rebellion.
    [Show full text]