American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1916-12-28
SKETCHES.

-
The terrors OF war lowered over
svery person in the Mexican misunder-
standing OF seventy years ago. There
we're the usual conspiracies and trea-
o skulked in the dark recesses Of
every orner After General Stephen
w. kearney had modified his three
divisions at a point nine miles east
OF Fort Bent or the Arkansas in Col
srado on the second of August, 1876,
tbe combined army hurried on to San
Ia Fe. Manuel Armijo was holding
forth there as the last OF the Spanish
governors and IL was easy for Kearney
% capture the town In the name of
she United States. The country was
SLED with an ignorant class OF natives
mostly OF Indian blood who could not
understand the white mans invasion
Of their lazy land and they naturally
their welfare.
The priests were In close cahoots
With these benighted simpletons and
did much In a covert way to stir I'D a
fuss prejudiclal to the gringo occupa-
ton. The natural outcome was a con-
spiracy against the hated Americans
That Lead to much grief, although the
principal outbreak was averted In a
rather peculiar manner One OF the
pueblo leaders In the intrigue had a
young mulatto woman living with him
and understanding the language of
fhe tribe she learned all about the plot
M time to save the army from utter
humiliation. The plan was to spring
q great uprising on Christmas eve and
massacre all the whites and their
sympathizers while the annual fiesta
was on. They calculated reasonably
enough for designing s~trategists that
che soldier boys would all be at the
%fandangos dancing with the senoritas
and being unarmed II would be no
trick at all to seize the cannon In the
plaza and then catch the unarmed
soldiers at the bailies. s.
The natives had been worked I'D to
fever heat by the leaders exhortlng
Them In their secret estufas to fight for
their affairs and their fires, for the
green graves of their slres, God and
their native land" and that It would
have to be done with fire and with
sword In the cunning stealth of the
old Indian way. The plot looked so
foasible that they fell for II as a mon
strous religious duty to their wal god.
The slaughter would have been a
spectacular success In turning the
festivities into an awful tragedy had
n not been for the sagaclty OF the de-
spised Pachons. a mulatto slave girl
10 n OF the conspiring families. She
went to Colonel Sterling Price, he
s~ommandant whom Kearney and DON
iphan had Left In charge. and told him
all about the reasonable scheme to
Hi everybody at the post and eat their
sarcasses In a Christmas stew.
AT first he placed no credence on
the gypsy's warning but finally inves-
tigated 1t and nipped the deal In the
Bud by arresting as many OF the ring
leaders as he could pick up before
most OF them took to the hills. There
were therefore no great bailie inos In
Santa Pc seventy years ago this natal
The soldier boys. mostly fresh
young M%issourians. more interested in d,
the victories of social conquest than
In the terrors of war. had to do their
waitzing with their muskets instead a
oil their muchachas as had been ar =
ranged. The complot however did not +
die out with the auelling OF the riot O
n Santa Fe but resulted finally In the S
faos maccacre In which Governor Bent +
and many Americans lost their lives. /
but this is another story that has al 1.
ready been told oft many a time be- 8
'ore.-Denver Field and Farm. II
EDUCATIONAL LEGISLATION, 1