OCR Text |
Show THE COMING OF THE SPANIARDS 79 Apache and Navajo threat. A common enemy brought new unity to the settled peoples of New Mexico. Groups of hostile Indians might be persuaded to find safety in this union. Thus the alliance gave the Spaniards the fighting power they had needed. As a result, the feeling of the Navajos toward the Pueblos changed. If the Navajos were at war with the Spaniards, then they also had to be at war with the Pueblos. Pueblo towns had fewer defenses against attacks than Spanish towns did. And so the Pueblos felt the pressure of Navajo power more than their Spanish allies did. The Spaniards tried hard to defeat the Navajos in August and September 1705. The soldiers went deep into Navajoland, where they found Navajos living on mesa tops in houses made of stone and wood. The Navajos had begun to defend the mesas with round watch towers and other fort-like structures. Pressed by the troops, many of them moved south out of Largo and Blanco canyons to the fortress-like region of Big Bead Mesa at the north end of the Cebolleta Mountains. There they were out of reach of the soldiers. The Spanish army came back to Santa Fe with many captives and livestock. They had killed some Navajos and destroyed many of their crops. Of more importance, the Spaniards had gained new knowledge of Navajo lifestyles. The Navajos were raising "corn, beans, squash, and all sorts of seeds and grains, such as chile and other plants." They also made wool and cotton blankets, raising both the sheep and the cotton themselves. Thus, by the eighteenth century, they had started their important sheep flocks. At some point, they had begun to herd, rather than just eat, the animals they had taken from the Spaniards. The People had probably gained large herds when the Spaniards left New Mexico in 1680. After the 1705 campaign, the Navajos asked for peace. The Spaniards, who could not afford the constant fighting, agreed to the truce. During the next few years of peace, the Navajos traded with the Pueblos once again. They went to favorite Pueblos like Santa Clara and Jemez to trade. They also came to the yearly trade fairs held by the Spaniards at places like Taos. But, late in 1708, the Navajos ended the peace. The raids began again. The Spaniards conducted six campaigns during the next year but still could not control the Navajos. Raids had helped the People in at least one respect. By 1709 they had many horses and sheep. The horses gave them far more power. They could |