From: hkelly@edsr.eds.com (Kelly Shuldberg)
Newsgroups: rec.skiing
Subject: Re: Beginner's silly questions (!)
Date: 1 Sep 92 20:01:19 GMT
Organization: EDS Research

>>In response to all the Texas bashing done by certain citizens of the great
>>state of Colorado, may I remind you that most of the prime ski areas currently
>>located in your state are only a part of your state because Texas gave them to
>>you when it joined this Union.  And if you're not good, we might take it back.

Oh, pluuueeeaaase!  Will you darn Texans ever get off this claim to points
west and north of El Paso?  

The entire Rio Grande corridor was claimed by Spain (along with Arizona and
California, and yes--Texas) as part of their new world explorations in the
1500s.  Juan de On~ate and a few companions settled San Gabriel at the
junction of the Rio Grande and the Chama river (close to present-day
Espanola, north of Santa Fe) in 1598, and subsequently began to explore and
settle most of New Mexico and much of southern Colorado.  The very name,
"New Mexico," should give you a clue as to who governed the area.  Santa Fe
was established in 1610, and except for a period where the local native
residents had taken enough abuse at the hands of the "good fathers" and
decided to drive the Spaniards out (and were successful, I might add!  They
still live basically where they have for hundreds of years.), the entire
area was under the control of Spain/Mexico.  Trade with the emerging US was
forbidden by Spain because it was feared that once American traders got a
foothold, they would wrench the northern lands from Spain/Mexico's grasp
(Pretty astute politicians, if you ask me).  After Mexico won independence
from Spain, trade routes were opened and trade with the Americans was
welcomed.  This trade turned out to be a very profitable enterprise, and
Texas, under the governorship of Mirabeau B. Lamar and only a couple of
years old as an independent republic, decided to politely annex New Mexico
in 1841.  This was before Texas became a member of the US (that happened in
1845).  The expedition-to-annex was a complete failure, however, because of
poor leadership, the fact that they got lost on the vast Llano Estacado in
eastern NM and western Texas, and because of harrassment by Indians, most
notably, the Comanche.  The expedition-to-annex split into fragments over
route disputes.  New Mexican governor Maunuel Armijo easily disrupted the
scattered expedition members and sent many of them to lockup in Mexico
city.  New Mexico remained under Mexican control until the US government
stole it away in the war of 1848.  None of this had anything to do with
Texas.

The only other Texas expedition to try to take New Mexico was during the
civil war when a group of Texans under the leadership of Major Henry Sibly
decided that the conferacy could use a southern belt that extended to
California.  He was able to get all the way up the Rio Grande Valley to
Goliad (near Santa Fe), where he was deprived of his entire supply train by
a couple of Union soldiers and some sneaky locals who knew the Pecos
mountains better than Sibly did.  He was forced to retreat.  While the
local residents probably didn't like the Union soldiers a whole lot, they
had been treated well by the conquering armies of the 1848 conflict, trade
had been expanded, and they were still a little sore about the 1841 Texas
effort.

New Mexico became a state quite late in the the 48-state process.  Not
until 1912 was it admitted as the 47th state of the union.  The long-lost
territories to the north had been admitted in 1876 because of the
tremendous ore deposits (Jeeze, nothing changes over time, does it?).  

So don't give me this stuff about how Texas used to "own" New Mexico and
Colorado!  In M. B. Lamar's dreams, maybe.

Incidentally, there is still a dispute about land along the Texas/NM border
north of El Paso.  Now, why anyone would worry about such land is beyond
me.  Certainly there is no tax base there.  Maybe they're trying to give it
back to each other ("It's yours!"  "No, no, take my land, please!").  In
any case, New Mexico still has this grudge against its would-be conquerers,
and it takes every chance to deprive Texans of tourist bucks whenever they
cross the border.

Ski Red River, Apache, and Angel Fire!

Boy, the summer do be long and hot, don't she!  Or maybe it's the WEC couse
I just finished.

h. kelly shuldberg
hkelly@edsr.eds.com
Albuquerque, NM
Newsgroups: rec.skiing