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Show 96 vii. nahonzhoodAA' mountain and mesa tops and in canyon bottoms, where the Navajos could retreat in times of danger. In October 1832, the Navajos made two daring attacks on the army at Socorro. The raiders took the soldiers' horses, so the army could not chase them. At this time, New Mexico's frontier towns seldom had a day free of the fear of Navajo raids. The Pueblos suffered too. During this period, a Navajo leader on a trading visit to the Hopi Pueblos was killed in an argument. Hearing of his death, his sister led a war party in an attack on the Hopi town of Oraibi. The Navajos killed many of the people in the town. When the New Mexicans managed to organize troops to punish the raiders, the Navajos often defeated them. Late in 1835, a party of volunteer soldiers set out to fight the Navajos. But the People heard of their approach and were ready to meet them. As the poorly-organized troops came to a mountain pass, hidden warriors fired at them. The soldiers fled in mass confusion, leaving two or three of their comrades dead. The Navajos agreed to another peace treaty in 1835, but once again they soon learned that the New Mexicans could not be trusted. Two year later, the New Mexicans broke the treaty by destroying Navajo homes near Ojo del Gallo, Chuska, and Canyon de Chelly. In 1838 Governor Manuel Armijo killed 78 Navajos, took 76 prisoners, and stole 2,500 sheep and mules and 1,500 bushels of corn. In 1839 the Navajos led by Cayetano again sought a truce with the enemy. At Jemez they agreed to make peace, trade with New Mexico, and surrender all their captives. But the New Mexicans did not have to give up theirs. Both parties agreed to help each other in wars against other peoples. And the Navajos agreed to allow Mexicans the right to punish outlaws from either side. But this treaty had no more success than any of the others. New talks and treaties were needed in 1841 and 1844. Their terms did not differ a great deal from those of earlier ones. The question of whether New Mexicans as well as Navajos should return captives was still a major point of disagreement. The Endless Cycle Overall, from 1770 to 1846, the Navajos in New Mexico were part of an endless cycle of war, treaties, and more war. Heavy mutual raiding maintained the cycle. The New Mexicans, for their part, made many slave-raids. This angered the Navajos and led |