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Show [ 7 J 26 be becau5e you prove the . trongest in battle. I sucrcrcsl to you to slop a.l the Sapillo, and l will march to the Veo·as. b'C'We wifl meet and negotiate on the plains between them." b , , ~ h e art i 11 c t} w c r c d e t n in e d om c t i m c . in pass i n g l h c ~ 'a p i 11 o . lh1 kept us exp~~ed to the ~un on the pla1ns for four hours, but it gave the colone l ttme to reflect on the messacr with which hr should (lismis the la.n~ers; as l~1er~ was some apprt•hen~ion that Captain Cook was clc Uu n cd, th etr d 1 ·charge be ' <lln e ma llcr for reflccti on. Sixteen m ilcs brought us in s ight of the V cgas, a village on the stream of the same name. ' A halt \Yas made at thi ~ point, and the colonel call ed up the lieutenant and lan t: eJ s ancl s<ud to tb ·m, "The road to Santa li'{~ i now as frcc.to you a~ lo myscl~·. ay lo .Gcn<'ral' Armijo, I shall soon meet huu, anll I hope 1t wt1l be as fncnds." .At parting, the lieutenant embraced the colonel, Captain Turner and my.elf, who happenccl to be standing ncar. ' Th? c.ountry to-day was rolling, almost mountainou~ and cov~ red 111 plaC'cs .with scoria.•. Grass began to how itself, and was 1nt e r_~per~cd w1 th. mal va pecla~a, 1 i pp ia cu ncf o lia, and several new spectes of p;eramaca~, b{lrton1a, and convolvulus. The soil was good. enough ~~ p parcn tly, bu L vegrla.lion was stun ted from the want of ram. A's we em c rge<l from th e hi 11. s in to ~he valley of the V cgas, our eyes "'ere grrctecl for the ftrst tune ·w1th wavinrr corn. The ~tr~am wa fl ooded, an_tl the little drains by which tl~'c fields were nrtgat.ec~, full. to tbe ?nm. The dry soil seemed to drink it in with the avul~ty of our tlu~ ty h?rscs .. The village, ala short distance, lo.okccl Idee an exten~tve bnck-ktln. On approac.hing, it~ outline presented a. squa_re wtth some arrangemen ts for defence. Into this squ_are the mhab1tants arc sometimes compelled to retreat, with all th e1r ~toc k, to avoid the attack of t.he Eutaws and Navahoes, who p ounce ~ po n them .and carry off theu women, chi lei rcn, a.n c.l call l e. C?nly a few days since, they made a dcs<'cnl on th e town and carned off 120 sheep and other stock. As Captain Cook pas cd through the town some ten <lays' since, a murder h acl just bc·en cornmittcd 0 ~ these helpless.pcople . .Our camp cxtcndecl for a mile down the v~ll.cy; o:t on8 s1de was·the ·tream, on the other the cornfie lds Wl:h n.o fence or lt e.dge interposing. What a tantali:r.ing pro.pec~ for ~lll hungry and .JCHled nag~; the water was free, but a. ehaiu of stnll_nel~ was posted t.o protect the corn, and strid orders given t1at 1t ~ h ould not be dt tu rbc.:d. th Capt a in Tu 1:n er was sent t.o the Yi] I age to inform the a1 eal cl e that e coJon.cl w1shed to sre hlln and the lwacl men of the town In a .short tunc down carne the alcalde ancl two c8ptains of militia :With numerous servants, prancing and careering their little nacr~ mto camp. b . 0-bservations.-9 altitudes of pobris in the north 7 of nrcturus 111 the. east, and 7 of alpha aquila• in the east. ' Lalltucl e 35° 35' 05". Longitude 7h. OOm. 4Gs Height, by the baromcl~r, 6 418 feet. .llu o· { r 12 ' ' . . o us D.- o clock last n1ght lllformation was received that • 27 [ 7] 600 m?n hac~ colleclc1l at the pass whi ·h debouches into the Vcg~s, two mtlcs d1stant, 8ncl were to OJ)pose our march. Iu the mornincr 1 . b' ore ers were ~tvcn to prepare to meet the enemy. At 7, the army mo~cd, and .JUSL as we made the roall leading throuo-h the town, MaJOr ~worcls, ~f the quartt"rma. trr's department, Lieutenant Giln~ er, of the engmeers, and Captain vVcighlman joined us, from } ort Leavenworth, and pre ent ll Colonel J carny with l1is comm iss ion as b rig ad i c· r g c n c r a 1 in l b c army of t h c U n it e d S tate s. Th~y had hrarcl we were to have a battle, and rode sixty miles durlllg the night to be in it. At eight, precisely, the general was in the public ~quare, where he \~as met by the alcalde and people; many of whom were mounted, for th e e people seem to live on hors 'bade. ~'he ~eneral pointed to the top of one of their hou cs, whi ch are built of one story, and suggc. ted to the alcalde that if he would go to that place he and his staif would follow, and from that point, where all could hear and ee, he would speak to them· which he did, as follow~: ' "Mr. Alcalde ancl people of Ne\v :Mexico: I ha\·c come amongst you by the orders of my government, 1 o take poc:sc~~ion of your country, and extend over it the laws of the United States. We consider it., and -have done so for some time, a part of the territory of th~ Untted States. 'vV e come amongst you as friends-not as cnem1es; as protectors-not as conquerors. We come among you for your bcnef1t-not for your injury. "Ilenceforth I absolve you from all allegiance to the Mexican government, and from all obedience to General Armijo. IJe is no longer your governor; r great sensation.] I am your governor. I shall not expect you to take up arms and follow me, to fight your own peop~c who may oppose me; but I now tell you, that tho·e who remaw peacenbly at hotne, allcncling lo their crops and their herds, ~hall _b~ protected by me in their property, th<'ir persons, and thc1r rel1g10n; and not a pepper, nor an onion, shall be disturbed or tak<•n by my troop \vithout pay, or by the consent of ~he owner .. But li. ten! h who promi es to be quiet, and is f@und In arms agamst m(', I will hancr. • ".r ~ rom ,t,11 e l1H\/fC XI• <:an govcrnmh (•nt you have neYer recet· vcd pro-tectiOn. lhe Apache and the Na,· ;,jhoe· come down from the mountains and carry off your sheep, ancl ev n your women, wheneyer they please. 1\'Iy government will corr d all this. Tt \viii keep off the Jndians, protect you in your persons and property; and, l rrpeat ag11in, will lHOtccl yon in your religion. I know you are all great Catholics; that some of your pric.-ts have told you all sorts of stories-that we shoulcl ill-treat your worncn, ancl brant! them on the check as you do your mules on the hip. It is all false . M ~ ~overn m nt re~peds your religion as much as the Protcstan t rel1g10_n, ~nd allows ach man to worship his Creator as his heart tells hun 1s be L · Its laws protect the Catbolic a well as the Prot~ stan t; the wra k as well a. tlte ~t rong; the poor as wcl I as the n~h. I am not a Catl10lic mysclf'-I was not brought up in that fatth; but at least one-third of my army arc Catholics, and I re· spect a good Catholic as much as a goou Protestant. |