The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-04-14
N e w M EXICO.
Knocking at the Door.
She Desires Admission to the Union
as n State-Her Claims to the
Privilege-A Historical and
Descriptive Sketch.

Not very lO0G ago MT, OuaNeS, Iue lerrlLOrlal
delegate from New Mexico to the National Gov
ernment, made long argument before the
House Committee on Territories in favor of the
admission of New Mexico into the Union as
State. Within few days another argument has
been made on the subject before the same COM
mittee, and by the same gentleman. The COM
mittee have agreed to recommend bill
for the admission. In view of this fact sketch
of the history and present condition of this Ter
ritory will be of interest.
New Mexico was formerly one of the Mexican
States. 1t was conquered from that country and
ceded TO the United States by the treaty OF
Guadalupe Hidalgo, on February 3, tS4S.
1t, with q portion of Upper California and
Texas was constituted Territory on September
o, 1850 In 1854 portion of the country then
acquired from Mexico was added to the Terri
tory, and in this condition it remained until Feb
ruary "a, 1863 when nearly half of the territory,
the western part, was taken away to form the
new Territory of Arizona.
The area of New Mexico rs now divided is
121 POI square miles 1t is bounded on the north
by Colorado on the east by the Indian Terri
tory and Texas, on the south by Texas and
Mexico, and on the west by Arizona. 1t lies
between latitude 81 deg 10 min. aud 38 deg NJ,
and longitude 103 deg. and 100 deg. w. Its
| length is about 800 miles and its breadth from
by name Bern Alillo, Donna Anna, Rio Arriba,
San Miguel, Santa Anna, Santa Fe, Socorro,
| Toas Mesilla and Valencia.
That portion of the country in Mesilla dis
trict which is south of the river Gila aud west
! of the Rio Grande is q portion of what was
| known as the Gadsden purchase. This tract,
with the rest of the purchase now included in
| the southern part of Arizona, was the earliest
occupied by Americans and is still the best
known. The population, according to the cen
sus of 1850, when Arizona yet included, was
given as &C, 6,547, of which 66, 525 whites and
22 free colored persons. OF this number 5000
were given as Inhabitants of the Gadsden pur-
chase district, the most of which is not now in
New Mexico. The number of Indians was
| about A 900 additional. By the census of 1860
the population was 5000, which also included
the whole of Arizona The number of nha-
bitants of New Mexico itself, independently of
Arizona, is now estimated at about 100 600,
which, if the Territory is admitted as a State,
will give 1t q representative in Congress. If the
ratio of colored inhabitants has remained
the same that it was in 1850
no colored representative need be feared
and urged by the enemies of such representation
as reason for its non-admissiop. A copper
colored representative is more to he dreaded
should such thing ever be probable. The num-
from year to year, but the present number
cannot as yet be approximated. The Indian
population is composed of two classes-the wild
nomadc tribes who live by the chase and the
Pueblo or semi-civilized tribes who live In
communities, have fixed places of residence and
cultivate the soil. Among the first may be men
toned the tribes of the Apaches proper and their
allied tribes, the Nayajoes, the Utahs, the
| Cheyennes, and the Comanches. Among the
second the Toas, Picaris, San Juan, Santa Clara,
Pojodque, the Tesuque and about dozen other
| tribes. a IN r,rn -rnI -.sr.f. .c.a sf
New Mexicowas early settled by the Spaniards;
in fact it was one of the earliest of the interior
portions of North America which was visited
by that people. Notwithstanding its distance
from the sea, the adventurous Spanish spirit
led them here nearly q century before the Eng
lish had landed on the shores of New England.
Alvir Nunez (Cabeca de Vaca), with the REM
| nant of those who accompanied Narvaez to
Florida, reached New Mexico before 1887, and
made report of what they saw to the Vceroy
of Mexico. In 1889 the expedition under the
charge of Marco de Mia set out, and in the fol-
! lowing year that of Coronado. This last expe-
dition traversed the country north of the Gila,
then occupied by the Pueblo Indians and pushed
its way eastward of the Rio Grande into the
country of the buffalo, or ciboId. Coronado is
the UTbb WHO meutlOun LuuL unluilii WHICH, IN
calls "a new kind of OK, wild and fierce, whereof
the first day they killed fourscore, which suf
, feed the army with flesh" The historian Of
this party, Castaneda, SO truthfully describes
the peculiarites of this region that there
is no doubt as to his having crossed
the entire country. In 1881 party o.
adventures underi Captain Bouillo reached thu
country who on their return made known the
mineral wealth there existing, whereupon tn,
name of New Mexico was applied to it. Abou
) this time a Franciscan missionary, Augustir
Ruiz, entered the country, but he was soon afte
murdered by the Indians An official of tn,
Government, Don Antonio Espejo, who tool
with him a body of men to protect the missions
:, was more successful. In the year 1895 or 159
differently stated by different writers) the Vice
. roy of Mexico sen tJuan de Onate to take forma
q possession in the name of Span and to establish
colonies, missions, and forts. The mlssien
aries met with great success. The Pueblo In
dians were more ready to adopt the ney
faith than the rowing tribes. Several of thes
a Pueblo tribes have been redscovered within
few years, and 1t was found that though the
had been without priest or missionary for nearl
/ a century, many of the Christian rites and doc
trines were found among them, though strangel
|. mixed with their own religion. These Indians
:, at the time of their discovery by Espiio at th
end of the fourteenth century, were alread
> considerably advanced in civilization. The
h wore cotton garments of their own manufa,
frx.- n