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Show 112 VIII. BILAGAANA NINAAd^' his promise to listen to their complaints as much as he listened to those of the whitemen. Meriwether urged the Indians to keep the treaty of 1849. The Navajos said they would look for the murderer of Ramon Martin. The governor called Zarcillas Largo "head chief of the Navajos and gave him a medal as a badge of office. For the next two and a half years, the Navajos showed the world that, even in this old war zone, peace was possible. Although they had good reasons to fight, they avoided any act which would bring back war. But the New Mexicans did not show as much desire to prevent friction. In October 1853, a district court declared that there was no longer any Indian country in New Mexico Territory. This was intended to open Navajo lands to white use and settlement. Still the Navajos stayed at peace. When a Navajo killed a soldier near Fort Defiance in October 1854, the People sought out, captured, and turned over the accused man for the first time in their history. He was hanged at the fort in November. Such news revived Governor Meriwether's hopes, in spite of the court's decision. Perhaps, he thought, his plans for a treaty to define the limits of Navajoland could succeed. At Fort Defiance, Dodge went on working for peace. Among other things he brought a silversmith and a blacksmith to teach the Navajos. Navajo silverwork would be famous in years to come. But Dodge's work came under a severe test in 1855, when Utes asked the Navajos to join in a war against New Mexico. The Navajos refused, and Dodge rewarded them with hoes and shovels. Soon the Utes were attacking the Navajos, hurting their efforts to remain peaceful. Manuelito and the Final Years of Peace In July 1855, Governor Meriwether set out to sign the treaty he had hoped for. Peace talks with the Navajos got under way July 16 at Black Lake, near the western approach to Washington Pass. During the meeting, Zarcillas Largo returned the staff of office and medal Meriwether had given to him. He said that he was too old to be head chief. The Navajos replaced him with Hastiin Ch'il Hajini, better known as Manuelito. The key part of the treaty set boundaries for Navajoland. The western boundary ran south from the mouth of Chinle Wash on the San Juan River to the mouth of the Zuni River on the Little Colorado. Little was known about the western limits of Navajoland, so that border had little |
