Old Spanish Trail Old Spanish National Historic Trail / New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California National Park Service Bureau of Land Management Official Map & Department of the Interior Guide - Large Print Official Map and Guide Formatted for ADA standards at 11” x 17” print size. the longest, hats, shawls, and quilts. crookedest, most arduous pack mule route in the By this time Santa Fe history of America. is witnessing increased economic activity It is 1829, eight years brought on by successful after Mexico gained American and Mexican independence from trade. Large quantities of Spain. New Mexican manufactured products traders travel overland arrive in New Mexico to establish new from the eastern United commercial relations States along the Santa with frontier settlements Fe Trail. Many goods are in California. They also traveling along El carry locally produced Camino Real de Tierra merchandise to exchange Adentro to and from the for mules and horses. interior of Mexico. Items include serapes, blankets, ponchos, and Connecting Two socks; a variety of hides Mexican Provinces – gamuzas (chamois), In 1829, La Villa Real de Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis, provincial capital of buffalo robes, bear and New Mexico, was just a dusty frontier town beaver skins; as well as that sheltered a mix of Spanish colonial families, newer Mexican arrivals, displaced Rev. 02/06/13 Indians, and a small, but growing number Commerce along the Old Spanish Trail of Americans. Over 1,000 miles to the west, began as a legitimate barter for horses and the Pueblo de la Reina de los Angeles was mules, but some traders and adventurers an even smaller ranch town. Consisting of found it easier to steal livestock than to little more than a church and plaza, and a obtain it legally. Americans claiming to be few homes and government buildings, it beaver trappers, fugitive Indians from the was the largest Mexican community in an missions, gentile Indians from the frontier, area characterized by dispersed ranches, and renegade New Mexicans teamed decaying Spanish missions, and Indian together to gather horses and mules to take villages. illegally back to New Mexico. In reaction to these widespread raids, California During the winter of 1829-1830, Antonio authorities tried to recapture the stock and Armijo led a caravan of 60 men and 100 punish the thieves but were never able to pack mules from New Mexico to Mission control the illicit trade. San Gabriel in California, east of Los Angeles. The caravan carried woolen rugs The line of march of this strange cavalcade and blankets produced in New Mexico to occupied an extent of more than a mile... trade for horses and mules. Near this motley crowd we sojourned for one night...Their pack-saddles and bales had been Other trade parties soon followed. Some taken off and carefully piled, so as not only to found alternative routes that together protect them from damp, but to form a sort of became known as the Old Spanish Trail. barricade or fort for their owner. From one It took Armijo’s group about 12 weeks to side to the other of these little corrals of goods reach California and six weeks to return on a Mexican blanket was stretched, under the trail historians LeRoy and Ann Hafen which the trader lay smoking his cigarrito… called, “the longest, crookedest, most —Lieutenant George Brewerton, 1848 arduous pack mule route in the history of America.” Packing the Train Mules and Men Along the Old Spanish Trail sound animals, good packing equipment, and a capable The lands crossed by the Old Spanish Trail crew were the prerequisites of a successful were alluring. For decades missionaries, fur pack train. The success of the trip depended trappers, on the skills and abilities of those who American Indians, and others ventured packed and drove the animals that carried repeatedly into and across the vast territory the merchandise. between New Mexico and California. New Mexicans had a well-deserved By the time Armijo started his trip, New reputation as excellent horsemen and Mexican traders were familiar with the muleteers. American eyewitnesses routes others had followed and utilized the marveled at the dexterity and skill with cumulative geographic knowledge gained which they harnessed and adjusted packs from previous expeditions. of merchandise. Experienced travelers suggested that New Mexicans should always The trips were arduous. Dramatically be used as teamsters for they “can catch changing terrain and climate posed major up and roll up in half the time the average challenges. Caravans lost their way, suffered person does.” from thirst, and were forced to eat some of their pack mules when supplies ran out. Packers were always in demand and utilized Animals also suffered in the harsh desert a variety of skills. They secured loads with environment and endured severe weather. intricate knots, splices and hitches; they acted as veterinarians and blacksmiths. They estimated the safe carrying capacity of The slave trade changed the lifeways of a mule, and identified and treated animals American Indians through depopulation suffering from improperly balanced loads. and loss of traditional knowledge. Human They timed the travel day to stop at a captivity was part of the reality of the West, meadow or creek bottom that provided affecting all who lived in the region. good forage. Packers also had to be able to lift heavy loads, be good farriers, and “accomplish marvels with the axe and screw The Railroad and the key and a young sapling for a lever.” End of the Trail Beginning in the mid-1840s, new routes Beasts of Burden such as wagon roads carried troops fighting Mules had incredible strength and in the Mexican- endurance, fared better than horses where American War, pioneers bound for water was scarce and forage poor, and California, miners joining the gold rush, recovered more rapidly after periods of and still more traders into the West. A few hardship. Their hard and small hoofs notable Americans used the trail. In 1847 withstood the shock and abrasion of rocky, and 1848, Kit Carson carried military boulder-strewn terrain. dispatches east along the Old Spanish Trail. Military attaché George Brewerton kept a detailed account of his trip. John C. The Equipment Frémont led U.S. government-sponsored exploratory survey trips to plan for the While the mule was the heart of the advent of railroads in the West. transportation system, the packing equipment played an equally significant By 1869, however, a rail route connected role. The aparejo (packsaddle) was the the plains of the Midwest and San Francisco central piece of gear and carried heavy, Bay. Portions of the Old Spanish Trail odd-sized items safely over long distances evolved into wagon roads for local travel, without injuring the animal. It was but the days of cross-country mule caravans described by one observer as “nearer to on the Old Spanish Trail had ended. what I consider perfection in a pack saddle, than any other form of pack saddle yet invented.” [photo caption] Red Pass, California Witness: Illegal Captivity [artwork caption] View of Santa Fe in 1846 by John W. Abert Long before traders ventured into this region, American Indians traveled and traded along many of the paths that the [artwork caption] Detail, San Gabriel Mission, 1832, by trade caravans later followed. Petroglyphs Ferdinand Deppe Courtesy Sánta Barbara show us that the mule caravans were Mission Archive Library witnessed by American Indians along the route. Indian guides had lengthy contact [photo caption] with Mexican and American traders. Courtesy Palace of the Governors Photo Archives (NMHM/DCA), 155329 Trade sometimes involved the illegal exchange of horses, mules, and even [photo caption] human beings. Some captives, including Courtesy Laws Railroad Museum American Indians, Spaniards, and Mexicans were ransomed at the frequent trade fairs [photo caption] that characterized the western economy. Jeanne Howerton [photo caption] 1821 Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Mexico gains independence from Spain. [photo caption] 1825 Ben Wittick, Palace of the Governors Antoine Robidoux builds Fort ncompahgre (Fort Robidoux) near resent-day Delta, [photo caption] Colorado, where Indians and traders Photo Archives (NMHM/DCA), 015870 bargained for goods. Exploring the Trail 1826 Jeddediah S. Smith leads a small party of Timeline fur trappers westward from Cache Valley, Utah. Early Explorations Trail Milestones 1598 Don Juan de Oñate establishes San Juan 1829 Antonio Armijo leads the first trade caravan de los Caballeros (near modern Ohkay from Abiquiú to Los Angeles, opening the Owingeh Pueblo), the first Spanish Old Spanish Trail. settlement in New Mexico. 1831 1610 William Wolfskill and George C. Yount Don Pedro de Peralta founds Santa Fe, the blaze a more northern route that ascends new capital of New Mexico. into central Utah before heading southwest into California. 1765 Juan María Antonio Rivera leads two parties from New Mexico to explore southwestern 1834 José Avieta and 125 men arrive at Los Colorado and southeastern Utah. Angeles carrying 1,645 serapes, 314 blankets, and other woolen goods. 1774 Father Francisco Hermenegildo Garcés sets out from southern Arizona to explore a 1837 José María Chávez and family settle in what path to the California missions. He follows became known as the Chávez Ravine in Los the Mojave River and reaches Mission San Angeles. Gabriel. 1839 1776 José Antonio Salazar arrives in California Franciscan priests, Francisco Atanasio at the head of a group of 75 men; Francisco Domínguez and Francisco Silvestre Vélez de Quintana carries domestic manufactures Escalante follow Rivera’s route to the Great worth $78.25. Basin in western Utah. 1841 1781 Francisco Estevan Vigil arrives at Los Spanish colonials establish El Pueblo de la Angeles and presents a passport and Reina de los Angeles in California.