Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1894-06-09
DE VARGAS COMING.
The Story of the Spanish Conquer0r's
Arrival in the Historic City
as Told in the Official
Archives.

Hon. Amado Chaves, superintendent of
public instruction in New Mexico, has
distributed to prominent educators and
others in different parts of the country
over fifty copies of the New MEXICAN
containing the extract from De Vargas
diary relating to his arrival at Santa Fe,
December /, 1893, and in order to supply
a demand for 100 extra copies this mat
ter is herewith reproduced:
December l, 1893.
Entry into this town of Santa Fe, by
said governor and captain general.
On the sixteenth day of the month of
December, date and year above, |, the
said governor and captain general, about
the eleventh hour of said day, made my
entry into this town of Santa Fe, and
coming in sight of the walled village
where the Teguas and Tanos reside, with
the squadron on the march and in com
pany of the very illustrious corporation
of this the said town and kingdom, its
high sheriff and colorbearing alderman
the captain, Dtn Bernardino Duran de
Chavez, carrying the standard referred to
in these acts and under which this land
was conquered, we arrived at the square
where we found the said natives congre
gated, the women apart from the men, all
unarmed and abstaining from any hostile
demonstration, but instead behaving them
selves with great composure, and on prof
fering to them our greeting, saying
"Praise to Him" several times, they an
swered "forever"; and seeing the approach
on foot of the very reverend father Gus
todlan, Friar Salvador de San Antonio
and IN his train the fifteen monks, priests
and reverend father missionaries and the
lay brothers of our father, st. Francis,
chanting on their march divers psalms
got down from my horse and my ex-
ample was followed by the said corpora
tion, corporals and officers of war and by
the ensign of the royal standard in com
pany with the said high sheriff and color
bearing alderman, all having gone out
with the purpose of receiving the said
reverend fathers, who, in union with their
very reverend father custodian, came sing
ing in professional order, and then made
due obeisance as l was passing on my
way to the entrance of said village and
town and the same thing was done by my
followers, and in the middle of the square
a cross had been raised, where all present
knelt down and sang divers psalms and
prayers including the TIE Deum, and in
conclusion the Litany of Our Lady, and
the said very reverend father custodian,
attuning his voice, sang with such Joy and
fervor that almost everyone without ex-
ception was deeply moved by the happi-
ness of hearing in such place the praises
of Our Lord God and His Most Holy
Mother. And after he had sung the hymn
three times / offered my congratulations
to said very reverend father and the rest,
telling them that notwithstanding that
last year at the time of my happy con-
quest had given possession to the very
reverend father, President Friar Francisco
Corvera, who was one of the fathers who
came at the time as chaplains to said
army, which said reverend father presi-
dent had witnessed and accepted, and in
this manner and in the name of this order
end in favor of his sacred religion would
do it again and would grant it to him
anew with great pleasure, considering the
great resignation with which all, together
with their very reverend father, do so
heartily and freely agree to employ them
selves in the administration of the holy
sacraments in this said newly con-
quered kingdom; to which the said
very reverend father answered, tender
ing his thanks for himself and all his
order, and that by the use of said grant,
invested and given by me, the said gov
ernor and captain general, they had
enough for the maintenance of their
rights, much more than when they entered
Immediately in the administration of the
missions above mentioned; and then
spoke to said corporation and told them
l restored to them the possession of their
town, and that likewise they ought and
should give me, the said governor and
captain general, testimonials of having
taken the same, entering again therein,
and of the pacitication of said Indians
and their submission to the Divine and
Humane Majesty; in the same maner, to
the said natives IN the plaza of said vii
lage, l told and repeated what our lord the
king had sent me on the news gave his
royal majesty of their surrender last year,
with orders that this kingdom should be
repeopled; that with the information
had given of my having pardoned them
and of their obedience which was the
cause of said pardon, all his d;spleasure
had vanished and he would call them
again his children, and for that reason he
had sent many priests in order that they
might be Christians as they were, and
that likewise he sent me with the soldiers