| OCR Text |
Show - Bt ee $ ees 0-0 ens dee : en al ne ee eer ed ee tee * viii LEADING FACTS OF NEW MEXICAN HISTORY tado. It may safely be said that no writer in English, since the publication of Historiadores Primitivos, has contributed anything to the sum total of knowledge as to Alvar Nunez as recited in the Apuntes of Dr. de Vedia. The story of Coronado’s journey is taken from the Relacion of Castaheda and the monographs of General J. H. Simpson and George Parker Winship, both of which were published by the United States government. Much information, as has been stated, was compiled from the elaborate works of A. I’. Bandelier and Hubert Howe Bancroft. In all this work the writer believes that the principal duties of the historian have been faithfully performed. Ne quid falsi dicere audeat, ne quid veri non audeat. The reader will soon ascertain that few pretensions to what may be termed the philosophy of history have been advanced. ,*q } J oei th * =: 7 Cs a \e e| [eo? The novelist and writer of later day fiction alone enjoy the a) va! e'* ai I led = ae | Slee d , - > & >» * J SEE t_auren S CR felt) Wy privilege of an intimate acquaintance with the secret motives of those whose conduct or character is delineated. The historian, if he writes truthfully, knows no more than the authorities disclose or the facts suggest. He is not permitted to indulge in flights of the imagination. In so doing he is likely to impose even upon himself. Much research gives us the right to opinions, but the philosophical historian is quite often a perverter of truth. In his eagerness to establish a theory, or, perhaps, a reputation for some favorite, he often overlooks the weight of some troublesome authority or fact. When the extent of this work is considered, comprising as it does the transactions in New Mexican history during nearly four centuries, the writer would indeed feel flattered if some critic found no error in the entire narrative or a failure to credit some translator or writer whose information came from sources identical with those used in this work. Only those who are familiar with historical compos- PREFATORY NOTE Ix ition are aware how difficult it is in all work of this nature to guard against mistakes of omission and commission. At times we are misled by the very prejudices of the authori- ties consulted. The documentary history of New Mexico, prior to the American Occupation, is very limited. During the Mexican period no books of any consequence relative to events in New Mexico were published. The Santa Fé Archives are quite voluminous but fail to give much light on the events of the period. Subsequent to the American Occupation we find much material in the Reports of government officials in the War, Interior and Indian Departments. The reports of Governor Calhoun, while Indian agent, found in California and New Mexico Ex. Doc. 17, 31st Congress, 1st Session, are valuable. In the report of a congressional committee, which made a thorough investigation of the Indian question, Indian Affairs Report, Joint Special Commisston, 1867, there is a great wealth of material. The reports of the governors of New Mexico, the military commanders and Indian agents, are filled with information of great interest to the student of conditions existing in the Southwest at that time. It is unfortunate that so few books were written by those peculiarly qualified. The Spaniard, during his more than two centuries of control, wrote few books, but he preserved many records which are invaluable. This is peculiarly true of the records made by the Franciscans. Present day New Mexicans, cognizant of important events, should profit by the example of their Spanish predecessors. Alvar Nuifiez Cabeza de Vaca was no greater than any one of his companions. All would have passed into oblivion had it not been that he wrote his Relacion. Francisco Vasquez Coronado was a great figure in the days following the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. Only his |
