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Show 114 VIII. BILAGAANA NINAAD^' The severe winter of 1855-1856 tested the peace. The Navajos crowded south to find shelter from the biting cold, and food to add to their short supplies. As spring broke, some Navajos turned to raiding. Reports came in that many sheep had been stolen and three sheepherders killed. Meriwether demanded the return of the sheep and the surrender of the raiders. The Navajos denied that so many sheep had been stolen but agreed to pay back what they could. They refused to capture the raiders, however. They told Dodge that those men had fled to the Utes, north of the San Juan River. Many sheep were returned in late May. When New Mexicans killed two Navajos in June, the Navajo leaders refused to do any more. Governor Meriwether also learned that the New Mexicans had lied about their sheep losses. Navajo anger and distrust increased. The government was making impossible demands while New Mexicans took their stock farther and farther into Navajoland to graze. To make matters worse, some groups in New Mexico stopped Congress from passing the Meriwether treaty because they thought it favored the Navajos. They wanted still more limits on Navajoland. Manuelito, among others, began letting the whites know that he had been pushed far enough. He grazed his stock on lands set aside by the Meriwether treaty for Fort Defiance. When the post commander objected, Manuelito told him that the land had been his since he was a child. He dared the officer to try and run him off. Agent Dodge saw that the post did not have enough troops to control the Navajos, so nothing was done. Minor clashes continued between Navajos and New Mexicans during the summer of 1856. As 1856 progressed, a fragile peace returned to the region. During November, though, Apaches killed Henry Linn Dodge while he was hunting south of Zuni. Dodge had done more than any other American to build trust among the Navajos. With his death, it was only a matter of time before fighting returned, leaving New Mexico without a man who could calm the tensions. Other problems threatened the peace: Ute-Navajo fighting, New Mexican trespassing, and Navajo raiding. The grazing rights around Fort Defiance remained in dispute. Fighting almost broke out over grazing land during the summer of 1857. Still most of the Navajos worked to maintain the peace until 1858. Events during the early months of 1858 brought New Mexico back to its normal state of off-and-on warfare. In February and March, New Mexicans made surprise attacks upon the Navajos. |