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Show 104 VIII. BILAGAANA NINAAD^A' protection. Though Bent thought the Navajos were "warlike," he also knew they were quite secure. They were smart, hard working, and able to provide for all their needs. Their numbers also kept on growing, and this increased his task. In September 1847, Colonel Newby led a new campaign against the Navajos. Newby's men did little more than push six miles into Canyon de Chelly, but they were the first Americans to enter the canyon. The Navajos had all fled to the San Juan River, taking their stock and harvest with them. Understanding what such armed invasions meant, some Navajo leaders went to Santa Fe in late November. There they agreed to keep the peace. Quiet returned to New Mexico until the spring. Then, in spring 1848, Navajo raids resumed. American officials began to doubt that they could bring peace to the frontier. They could not understand why this fearless tribe would not keep its promises of peace. Were the Navajos simply dishonorable? Would anything short of complete war control them? The American leaders thought they knew the answers to these questions, but they were wrong. They had seen only one side of the age-old conflict. They understood the complaints of the settled New Mexicans, whose lifestyle was like their own. But the Navajos' lifestyle and motives were hard for the Americans to understand. The Navajos were men of honor. They acted in a way which was true to centuries of tradition. They would defend their people, their homes, and their lands from old foes. If they also added to their wealth at the expense of the enemy, that was all the better, for such was the way of war. Such warfare had grown from the conflict between two lifestyles. The New Mexicans had tried to force all people to live the way they did. They had often killed or made slaves of those who resisted. The Navajos saw no need to give up their entire lifeway. They were Dine, and they would remain Dine. The theft of Navajo children, stock, and land had given the Navajos good reason to seek revenge. From time to time, some Navajo leaders had agreed to treaties. But each Navajo was a free man or woman, loyal first of all to family and clan. Besides, such "treaties of friendship" had been little more than temporary truces. They did not erase many years of anger or solve the old |
