Colorado Weekly Chieftain, July
30, 1868 TAOS ITEMS. - The irrepressible grasshopper has made way with more than one half
the crops in the Taos Valley… Dr. R. Scheifman Bro., of Taos, have leased for a term
of years the celebrated hot springs below Taos, and will fit up the buildings pertaining
thereto, for the accommodations of invalids and pleasure-seekers… A Mexican boy
aged about twenty years, was arrested on the Rio Colorado, on the 16th inst., charged
with larceny. He is confined in the jail at
Taos. It is suspected
that the same boy is the murderer of the three brothers
Callen, on the divide last
spring. He is about five feet six inches in height,
weighs from 125 to 130 pounds, has regular features, is marked with a cross on the
forehead in Indian ink, and in like manner on the inside of his left arm, has
scars, one on the left thumb, one on the right hand and two on the right elbow. The boy
reads, writes and speaks the English language, and says he formerly belonged to the 2nd
Colorado cavalry. He is undoubtedly the same boy who was sentenced for larceny at the
spring term of the Pueblo court, and afterwards escaped from custody. He then gave his
name as Diego Fernandez. He will be kept in jail in
Taos long enough for our
Territorial authorities to claim him if they wish to do so.
Colorado Weekly Chieftain, July
30, 1868 Hon. Wm. G. Blackwood and Dr. R. Schiffmann, are our authorized agents
at Taos, N. M.
Colorado Weekly Chieftain,
August 13, 1868 THE PUEBLO INDIANS OF THE TAOS VALLEY. Having recently, in our
tour through Southern Colorado and New Mexico, visited the Pueblo Indians of the Taos
Valley, we will give to our readers the result of our observations as to their mode of life,
their religion, their education, conjugal relations,
As in a former number of
the CHIEFTAIN we described in detail the manner in which
their dwelling place, or
"Pueblo" is constructed, it is needless to allude to it
again. Their village is situated on their reservation on the Rio
Pueblo, three miles north of Fernando de Taos. THEIR RESERVATION, is three miles
square. Not content with so small a tract of land, they have bought other lands adjoining
their reservation. Having thus by donation and purchase obtained more land than they
as yet actually require for agricultural and pastoral purposes, they annually lease a
portion of it to Mexicans, living in the vicinity. THE NUMBER of the Pueblo Indians,
including men, women and children, is about five hundred. THEIR LANGUAGE. They still
cling with wonderful tenacity to their own peculiar, tribal dialect; but many of
them - perhaps half - have by associating with the Mexicans, become familiar with the
Spanish, which they speak as correctly as a majority of the Mexicans. THEIR EDUCATION. No
one of the tribe can read. Their laws are transmitted by tradition, and their
accounts are kept with beans or grains of corn, just as many of the Mexicans keep theirs - a
white grain a unit, and a red one representing a certain number of white
ones. They have a school open one or two months each
year, in which the
children are taught to memorize a few prayers and songs as
they are repeated to
them by their teachers. Letters and figures are not
taught. THEIR AGRICULTURE. Their agricultural implements are of the rudest
kind, such as are generally used by the Mexicans - purely primitive. They
are said to be more industrious and better farmers than the Mexicans, and owning a fine body
of the most fertile land, they raise abundant supplies of corn, wheat, beans, and
vegetables. They have also large numbers of horses, cattle, asses, sheep, goats, poultry,
and hogs. THEIR CIVIL GOVERNMENT, is administered by a Gobernador, an alcalde, an
aquacil, and senors (these being the Spanish names of their officers). The
first three hold their offices for life, and on their demise, their offices descend
respectively to their eldest sons. The senors consist
of a certain number of
the oldest men in the village. If a vacancy among the
senors is occasioned by
death or otherwise, it is filled by the oldest man of the
tribe, not before ranking
as a senor. All cases, civil and criminal, are tried
before an alcalde; but should a party feel aggrieved by his decision, he has
the right to appeal to the Gobernador, whose decision is final. In case either
of the parties to a suit should be a Mexican or an Indian
not belonging to the
Pueblo tribe, he may take his case before a Mexican
alcalde. The Indian in
such case is obliged to submit to the Mexican alcalde's
decision; but where both parties are Indians they are compelled to submit to the
authorities of their own tribe. It is also the alcalde's duty each day, but
particularly each Sunday morning, to announce the approaching feasts and fasts, and to
give the tribe moral advice. The Aquacil performs the constabulary duties, patrols the
village, and seeing or hearing on any violation of the laws,
or the order of the
Gobernador or alcalde, he arrests the offender, and becomes
the complaining witness,
in the absence of any other before the alcalde. The
senors act as advisers
to the Gobernador and alcalde, and approve of all new laws,
regulations, or orders.
The penalties inflicted for the violation of law among the
Pueblo Indians, consist of forfeiture of property, servitude, and corporal
punishment. Capital punishment is unknown to their laws. A few examples of
their trials and punishments may be interesting to our readers, and will go far to show the
stage of their civilization. 1st. A short time since a
young gentleman was
suspected of undue intimacy with a certain lady, who, by the
way, was many years his
senior. Strict vigilance was instituted, and about ten
days ago our hero was
detected, and immediately arrested, and taken before the
alcalde, who sentenced
the young gentleman to marry the female at once. He
obstinately refused, and appealed
to the Gobernador, who decided that he must either marry the
woman or transfer to her
a certain amount of land, and give her a blanket and a
dress, and in case she
should give birth to a child, he must support and educate
it. He accepted the alternative offered by the Gobernador,
transferred the land, gave her his own blanket, and went in debt - thus exposing himself
to the danger of peonage - to buy her a dress. The woman did not entirely escape
punishment. She was banished from the village and compelled to live without the village
walls, as unfit to associate with respectable ladies.
2d. Two men had
been to Fernando de Taos, where, having imbibed "one drink
too much aguardiente,"
they returned to the village in a state of
intoxication. They were immediately arrested, shackled with raw-hide
cords, confined in a subterranean room, and after the lapse of twenty-four hours were
severely whipped. THEIR RELIGION. They have all been converted to Christianity, yet many of
them still hold to the traditions of Montezuma. Some of them believe that he is still alive
and look faithfully for his return, when, they imagine, he will drive the white race from the
country, and make the Pueblo tribe a great nation. They
have a church edifice
(Catholic) and are very attentive to the wants of their
priest, who is a Frenchman. A
certain number of young men are detailed every day to keep
the priest in wood for
his parsonage and the convent, and in grass for his
horse. One young man is assigned to the constant duty of feeding,
watering, and taking care of his horse. On festive days, they approach the church singing
and dancing. The dancing is continued as long as the service lasts. When
remonstrated with by the priest, they replied: "What kind of
a religion would we have
without dancing on festive occasions, when you prohibit us
from dancing on days of
fasting?" He has, however, succeeded by telling them it
would be more pleasant
to dance in the open air, in pursuading them to dance
outside of the church door, instead of in the church. One day in each year
is devoted to the adoration of the sun, a relic of Montezumaism, but an
explanation of which they refuse to give. They have
also a number of large
subterranean rooms, in which they hold secret meetings, the
object of, and
proceedings in which, they keep to themselves with Masonic
fidelity. In one of these rooms there is constantly a fire, which they
propose to keep burning till the return of Montezuma. THEIR CONJUGAL RELATIONS.
Among the Pueblo Indians the marital relation is held more sacred than it is among a
majority of Mexicans - a large portion of whom live in a state of concubinage,
and raise families illegitimately. Such a thing is unknown among the Pueblos. All
marriage ceremonies are performed by the priest, and none are countenanced unless
solemnized in accordance with the Catholic
religion. Lewd women
are discarded from the society of their more virtuous
sisters, and compelled to live outside of the walls surrounding their
village. Any man visiting them through impure motives, is fined, and for repeated
offences whipped. The Pueblos were among the most stubborn resistants of the United
States Government during the Mexican war - linking their destiny with the Mexican
Government. At their village a severe battle was fought
between the command of Gen.
(then Captain) Sterling Price and a Pueblo and Mexican force. The walls of the old
church, where the Mexicans and their allies were fortified,
are still standing, and
the spot in front of them where Capt. Burguin fell, is
marked by a little earthen
mound. The bullet holes made by Capt. Price's six
pound guns, are still plainly visible in the walls of the church.
Colorado Weekly Chieftain
3-1-1877 Taos, New Mexico On the 6th of this month, ( 6 Feb
1877) Jesus Santistevan
brutally murdered his wife. He had been living separated
from her and wanted to
be divorced so he could marry another woman. His wife had
borne him eight
children. On the day of the murder he skulked into the house
and hid in some part of it
and waited until a convenient opportunity occurred for him
to perpetrate his foul purpose. He shot her then kicked her in a most brutal
manner. She lived for three days after the assault. He escaped and is still at
large. It is said that the sheriff went down to his mother's
house, where he then was,
to arrest him. He was shown the room in which he was but the
sister of the murdered,
seeing the sheriff, shut the door in his face, and he
thereupon returned
without his man.
The New York Times, December
10, 1880 - The suit of Frederick Miller against the Allied Insurance Company, of Boston, has been
on trial in the United States Circuit court, before Judge Wallace, since Nov. 2, and was
closed yesterday. The plaintiff, who was represented by Mr. N.B. Hoxie as
counsel, is a resident of Fernando de Taos, New Mexico, and sued to recover the amount
of insurance by the company on a mill which he owned at that place, and which was
destroyed by fire. The jury rendered a verdict for the full amount claimed, with interest.
George W. Parsons appeared as defendants' counsel.
The New York Times, March 17,
1884 - MONUMENT FOR KIT CARSON'S GRAVE. The Grand Army posts and citizens of
New-Mexico have begun a movement for the erection of a fitting monument over
the grave of Kit Carson, at Taos. It is expected that all of the Grand Army posts west of the
Missouri will take part in the project. Col. W.S. Fletcher, of Carlton Post, Santa Fe,
who was appointed a committee on behalf of that post, said the other day that upon his
first visit to Taos he was surprised to find that Carson's grave was in such a neglected
condition. For this his friends and relatives are perhaps not to be blamed, as on
repeated visits it has been suggested by prominent officials that Congress could readily
be induced to make the necessary appropriation to erect a monument. This, however, has
not been done. Kit Carson died at Fort Lyon, Col., in the Spring of 1868, and in
accordance with his dying request his remains were removed to the cemetery in Taos, and were
interred in a lot in the American cemetery selected by himself. Carson's grave is surrounded
by a picket fence 5 feet by 9 feet, and has over it a wooden semblance of a monument without
a visible word or letter upon it. This woodwork is rapidly rotting away and will soon
entirely disappear.
The New York Times, May 4, 1888
A FAMOUS OLD SCOUT; THE MAN KILLED BY KIT CARSON'S SON. FORT GARLAND, Col., May
3.--Thomas J. Tobin, who was killed yesterday by Billy Carson, son of the famous
Kit Carson, was at one time as well known on the border as Kit. He was a
Government scout, renowned for his bravery, but his most famous deed was the capture of the
Espinosas brothers, notorious Mexican bandits, who were a terror in New Mexico. The
Government and Territory both offered large rewards, and one day, after two of Tobin's had
been killed, he started out after the Mexicans. He went alone, and after two months'
absence he arrived at Taos, New Mexico, with a gunny sack, out of which he rolled the heads
of the two bandits. His story was that he overtook the brothers when alone in camp in a
wooded country and shot one of them from ambush. A desperate fight ensued with the
remaining brother, which resulted in the death of the bandit. Tobin then cut off the heads
with his hunting knife, and put them into the gunny sacks and carried the bloody trophies
to Taos, Owing to some trouble Tobin never got the reward. When Kit Carson died, Billy,
his son, married Tobin's daughter, and in later years the olds scout has done little but eke
out a lazy existence on his ranch. Young Carson, his son-in-law, kept a store in Fort
Garland, and Tobin frequently visited the place. Yesterday they engaged in a quarrel, when the
old scout under the influence of liquor announced his determination to kill Carson. The
son-in-law, knowing that the old man has lost none of his remarkable ability in the use of his
rifle, did not give him much latitude, and shot him down.
Oct 25, 1889 Boston Evening
Transcript – A Singular Duel – Albuquerque, N.M. – The particulars of a very singular duel
recently fought in Taos County have just come to light. An Indian settler named Wankinshee and
Juan Verega, a wealthy Mexican cattleman, repaired to a spot about six miles
from the town of Taos, just at the break of day, to settle an old grudge. The weapons were
butcher knives, and by the method of fighting agreed upon each man was to submit his hand
to his opponent and have one finger cut off, the cutting to be done alternately, and
the man who first evinced any sign of pain to be stabbed to the heart. The Indian, by
toss, secured the first cut, and deliberately taking the hand of his enemy, with a quick stroke
severed his forefinger. The Mexican never uttered a sound. The Indian reached out his
hand and off came the thumb. This continued in silence the cattle man had lost four
fingers and the Indian four. When the Indian reached for his foe's left hand, the latter's
second, becoming frightened at the fearful flow of blood, sent a bullet through the Indian's
heart. It is thought the cattle man will die.
The New York Times, August 1,
1891 - A CHIP OF THE OLD BLOCK.; GERONIMO'S SON PROMISES TO BECOME AS BAD AS HIS
FATHER. El Monitor, a Spanish daily newspaper of Taos, New-Mexico, gives a
description of Dudoso, the young son of the famous Apache outlaw, Geronimo. This
phenomenally wicked youngster lives with some cowboys at Duncan, Arizona. He was
captured when he was nine months old in the Dudoso canon, and war dubbed with its
name. Dudoso is described as follows: The boy, who is now six years of age, is as
bright as a dollar, and very ugly. When he gets angry he is the most vicious and evil-minded
boy on earth. He has a very peculiar physiognomy. His head is the size of a man's, and his
ears are of enormous proportion, while his body and limbs are small, but with muscles like
steel. When he was only four years old the daughter of the man who adopted him angered him
by calling him names. With this provocation the precocious little savage seized a
knife and gashed her so severely that she was for some time at the point of death. Dudoso was
pitilessly flogged for this deed, and he suffered the punishment without a whimper. About
six months later he procured some powder and blew up a stable containing a number
of valuable horses. After the explosion he was caught laughing at the tortures of the
mangled animals. He chews tobacco, smokes cigarettes, and swears. He is the
terror of the children of his own age, and it will be a wonder if he is not a murderer before
he is twelve years old. He is the idol of the cowboys, who are educating him in every kind of
depravity. They take him to the saloons on Sunday, give him whiskey until he is
fighting drunk, and then provoke him. His Indian instincts become clearly defined at
such times, and he fights in true Apache style. He pretends to laugh with his tormentors,
and apparently forgets the injury which they have done him. But when they are off their
guard he will seize a glass or anything which is within reach and hurl it with all his
strength at the offender.
1899 The New Mexican Dec. 5,
1899: An old burro with his four legs pointing skyward has been lying on Don Gaspar Avenue near
the Capitol grounds for some time. The carcass should be removed.
1899 The New Mexican Dec. 5,
1899: "Jeff," the fine watchdog belonging to J.V. Conway of the Bon Ton restaurant, was
poisoned night before last and died this morning.
1899 The New Mexican Dec. 5,
1899: In addition to the two sheep herders from Taos frozen to death in the recent blizzard
in Colfax County, three herders were killed in a snowslide on the Sierra Grande.
1900 January 1, 1900: Frank
Becker, the jovial Santa Cruz merchant, is in the capital on
a business visit.
Carrizozo Outlook December 22
1904 Martinez Death
A Santa Fe dispatch of December
7th says: Owing to the isolated location of Llano, Taos county, news just reached this city
this evening telling of the gruesome murder of Jose Martinez, aged 74 years. He was found
dead in his doorway, four miles from Picuris pueblo. His son, Gabino Martinez
arrived today to lay the facts before District Attorney E. C. Abbott. The head of the murdered
man was terribly mangled. An eye was torn out of its socket, there was an ugly cleft in his
forehead and his skull was crushed. Three stones covered with blood were found near the
body. No arrest has been made.
Carrizozo Outlook June 8 1905
Liebert Death
A Santa Fe dispatch of May 24th
says: Word was received today that Aloys Liebert, one of the best known Americans in
Northern New Mexico, died at noon at Taos, where he was engaged in business. A widow and
several children survive him.
Carrizozo Outlook June 8 1905
Sanchez Death
A Santa Fe dispatch of May 23rd
says: Word was received today that Pedro Sanchez known as the Friend of the Poor and a
prominent character in New Mexico for fifty years had died at the age of 74 at Taos. A
native of Valencia county, but when 7 years old removed to Taos. In 1861 he raised a
company of volunteers that served under General Camby and was known as the Antelope
Hunters. The company distinguished itself at Valverda for which Sanchez was
breveted a major for gallant and meritorious service. He served as speaker of the legislature
and as president of the legislative council, having served 6 legislative terms. For three
terms he was probate judge of Taos county, was supervisor of the census for New
Mexico in 1890 and in 1900 and 1893 was agent for the Jicarilla and Pueblo indians, besides
serving in other financial positions. Sanchez gained the title "Friend of the Poor" by
raising 25 orphan children and endowing them with land and stock. Major Sanchez was an
eloquent speaker in Spanish. He was married twice.
Carrizozo Outlook October 12
1905 Former Deputy Sheriff's Murder Trial
The trial at Sante Fe of John
Conley, a former deputy sheriff and police officer at Denver
for the killing of James P.
Redding and Charles Purdy near Questa in Taos county last January ended September 28th in the
finding of a verdict of murder in the first degree. John H. Young gave the most damaging
testimony. He and Conley made a trip to Taos several months before the killing.
During the trip, Conley carried a revolver despite the remonstrances of Young. Conley said he
needed the weapon and said that if young Redding ever stuck his nose into his
business, he would blow the top of his head off, Young said. "you ought to be ashamed
to lay hands on a boy who is so slight that you could knock him over with your hand
and he would never cry" Conley answered: "I will give the ----no more a chance that a
snake". J. M. Phipps, deputy at Red River, testified that Conley, upon returning to Red
River after the killing, had sent Phillps for a bottle of whiskey. Upon his return with the
whiskey, Phipps told Conley, that two Mexicans had just arrived from Questa. Thereupon Conley
exhibited signs of nervousness. Phillps then asked him: Did you kill Purdy? Conley
replied "Some Mexicans killed Purdy and fired five or six shots after me". Later,
however, Conley acknowledged three times to Phipps that he had killed Redding and Purdy. "I'm up
against it and I will make the best of it" he said. Henry J. Cook a merchant at Cerro and
Questa testied that Conley is a drinking man and that the evening before the murder,
had imbibed freely in whiskey. In the afternoon Conley, Charles Purdy, one of the
victims and Young had been together in the store at Questa. Purdy reiterated again and
again that he was out of money. Shortly after noon Conley returned to Young's store and
bought a box of cartridges saying that he had two or three deer down the canyon. Conley
seemed serious and excited but was sober. Young testified that Charles Purdy was
apparently seventy years old, short, stockily built and weighed about 175 pounds. He also said
that he had never seen James Redding drunk. John Conley, the defendant was put on
the stand occupying it all day. He testified that he was a resident of Denver from 1882 to
1897 in which year he went to Red River, Taos county. In Colorado he followed the
occupation of prospector, miner and politician. He was elected constable in Denver and served
two years. For seven months he did special duty on the Denver police force and for
several years was deputy sheriff. He was active in Republican politics. Conley rose in
the chair and with animated gestures related the incident of the quarrel which led
Redding and Purdy to attack him with axes. Redding was only a few feet away, when Conley
fired, killing him. The third shot was fired at Purdy who was further away. This shot shattered
Purdy's cheekbone and carried away part of his ear. Conley then shouted to Purdy to
drop the axe, but Purdy made for the tent. Conley gave him the idea of giving him
assistance, but as he drew aside the flaps of the tent, he saw Purdy standing with uplifted axe.
It was too late to draw back, and Conley could only save himself by shooting Purdy in the
throat and killing him. The jury evidently disbelieved Conley's statement for they
unanimously agreed upon a verdict of murder in the first degree, the penalty for which is
hanging.
Carrizozo Outlook October 12
1905 Conley To Hang
At Santa Fe on the second, John
Conley, formerly of Denver was sentenced to hang at Taos on October 27th. Judge John R
McFle, who overruled the motion for a new trial pronounced sentence. Conley's
attorneys immediately gave notice of an appeal. This will act as stay of execution of sentence.
Carrizozo Outlook November 30
1905 Vargas Killed
Antonio Maria Vargas, the
soothsayer, medicine man and historian of the ancient Pueblo
Picuris, Taos County, forty
miles north of Santa Fe was accidently killed at a fiesta to
celebrate the bountiful
crops this year. In accordance with the ancient custom,
there was a liberal use
of firearms and a stray bullet from the gun of Antonio
Martines, a sheep herder who
recently graduatged from the Carlisle Indian school, struck
Vargas in the thigh, severing
an artery, death resulted in a few minutes. The entire
village immediately went into
mourning, the bucks and squaws loosing their hair and
continuing their lamentations day and night.
Albuquerque Morning Journal
July 16 1910 Runaway Team
Friday evening last F.C.
Barker's team ran away and a miraculous escape from severe injury or even death resulted. Mr. and
Mrs. Barker and Junior were in the vehicle, when below Las Cordovas the team became
frightened and started to run. They had gone but a short distance when Mr. Barker was
thrown out by a sudden swerve of the wagon and the team sped frantically on with Mrs.
Barker and Junior clinging to the seat. At the second turn in the road both were pitched
out, Mrs. Barker being thrown close to a barbed wire fence, her ankles striking the wire
and resulting in very painful lacerations, but not serious injury. Junior, as is the habit of
boys lit in comparative safety and suffered no damages.
Albuquerque Morning Journal
August 11 1910 Young Man Dragged At End Of Rope By Horse
Catching his foot in a slip
noose of a rope which was also tied about the neck of a
horse, Forest Remsburg ,
a young man living in the Moreno valley in Taos county was
dragged for a
considerable distance before the eyes of some twenty guests
who were unable to help
him. The party was on a camping trip and it was while trying
to harness the horse, Remsburg
became entangled in the rope. A member of the party ran for
a rifle intending to
kill the horse, but for some reason the animal stopped
before it was shot and Remsburg was released. Despite his severe experience he
was not seriously injured and suffered only bad bruises. He almost collapsed
after the experience was over however.
Albuquerque Morning Journal
August 12 1910 George Custer Committed Suicide
That General Custer, the hero
of Custer's massacre, believed to have been scalped and killed by the Sioux on the
battlefield, was not murdered by the Indians, but died as
the result of a gunshot
wound fired by his own hand is the startling addition
offered to history by
Robert Jackson of Costilla, Taos county NM. Jackson for nine
and a half years was a scout
and guide for the U.S soldiers, his service beginning in
1874 and ending in 1883. Jackson
served under General Otis, General Reno, Colonel Bentine,
General Miles, General
Custer and General Hazen. At the time of the battle in which
General Custer met his
death, Jackson was serving on the sixth US Infantry,
carrying dispatches to General Otis, then in command of the 22nd infantry.
Jackson was with the first company to reach the battlefield after the massacre and
gives in detail the scene as it presented itself to him. Jackson says that an examination of
Custer's body showed that the wound which caused his death was fired at close range,
the powder burns indicating plainly that the pistol was held against the head. Jackson was
commanded by General Reno to talk with the Indians after they had been subdued by the US
troops in the hopes of finding out how Custer was killed. The Indians told Jackson that
General Custer was the last man to fall in battle. They wanted to take him alive,
believing that with him as a prisoner they could force the government to terms. Realizing this
fact, Jackson says the Indians told him that Custer placed a gun to his head and fired.
According to Jackson, the Indians all loved Custer and called him The Long Haired Chief.
Jackson is a picturesque character and although he was in long and dangerous service is
not receving a pension from the government because he was not a regularly
enlisted soldier. Friends in Taos county are interesting themselves in his behalf and hope to
receive aid for him from the government to compensate him for valuable services
rendered. Jackson acted as scout for General Otis when he went to the relief of General
Miles then being on a detail along the Yellowstone river. Jackson also scouted for
General Miles when he was running down Lame Deer and his band. Jackson shot and killed Lame
Deer, scalped him and afterwards gave it to General Miles. After the Indians had
been driven into Canada, Jackson acted as a guide when General Miles burned a large
territory along the northern boundary of the US and drove south the buffalo so that the
Indians were forced to surrender the following winter.
Albuquerque Morning Journal
August 23 1910 Juan Aguilar Drowned
Juan Jesus Aguilar, aged
eighteen was drowned in the Rio Grande today. Aguilar lived
in Cosilla but was
engaged with a companion named Barela in herding sheep near
the base of Ute
mountain. He and Barela went to the river to bathe. The
water is very low but there are a number of deep holes, into one of which
Aguilar accidently stepped. He at once went in over his head and when he
failed to reappear his frightened companion ran for help. A party from Costilla twelve
miles away, at once started for the river and recovered the body.
Albuquerque Morning Journal
September 8 1910 Old Scout Dies
The recently published article
in the Morning Journal about Robert Jackson of Costilla, this county, in which a brief sketch
of the life of the old Indian scout was first made public, had serious and unexpected
consequences. After reading the article several times the
old man took the paper
and carried it from house to house showing it to his friends
with the greatest
satisfaction. The old man took to drinking and after a long
spree died Saturday afternoon
from the effects. Just before his death, Jackson stated that
the article was correct
excepting that he did not give the scalp of the Indian chief
to General Nelson A. Miles
but to another officer. Jackson's mother was a half-breed
Navajo Indian. For some years
he traveled with a bunch of Indians selling patent medicines
and for several years had
been practicing medicine in Taos county. He had no license
and was accordingly very careful
in his practice, refusing to take cases of a serious nature
unless he was under the influence
of liquor. He was twice married, his first wife, being an
Indian and his two children
live as wards of the government in Oklahoma. With his death
the west loses one of
its most picturesque and interesting characters of the old
days. There was a movement on foot to have the government give him a
pension for he had done valuable services as a scout and the part taken in the
government service by Jackson at the time of Custer's death was of more than ordinary merit.
Albuquerque Morning Journal
September 24 1910 Feared Woman Has Been Slain By Bear
That Mrs. Rael, mother of four
brothers who are well known ranchers in this county, has been killed by some of the bears which
are unusually numerous here this year is the fear of the sons of the missing woman who
have in vain searched the whole district for a trace of the woman. The Rael brothers have
ranches on a level plateau in the mountains east of here. Thse young men have business
interests in Questa and divide their time between that town and the ranches. On account
of the heay rainfall they cut large crops of hay and thus kept their large herds of cattle
through the winteer as the ranches are snowbound for several months. The mother, who is a
widow, has been in the habit of staying on one of the four ranches. Monday of this week
accompanied by a dog, she went out into the National forest which surrounds this
isolated place to drive in some stray cattle. For two days and nights her sons have been
hunting her all over the country but not the slightest trace of her has been found, inspite
of the fact that the sons have been aided in the search by a party of friends from
Questa.
Albuquerque Morning Journal
September 27 1910 Lost Woman Found
Mrs. Rael, mother of four well
known ranchmen in this county who disappeared from one of the ranches of her sons a few days
ago and of whom no trace could be found by a large searching party, has turned up at
Pino, twenty four mile north of her home after losing herself in the mountains and wandering
aimlessly seeking food and shelter. The woman who is suffering greatly from the
exposure of two nights and two days wandering in the hills will recover although in an
exhausted condition. She lost her way while seeking some stray cattle and losing her sense of
direction, wandered north instead of south. Her son, Solomon Rael offered a reward fo $200
to anyone who would find her. It was feared she had been attacked and killed by one of
the bears which are unusually numerous in this section this summer.
Capitan Mountaineer August 9
1916 Kit Carson Home To Be Restored
A press dispatch from Taos, the
old town where Kit Carson lived and died, says that the old Pioneer's home is to be restored.
The matter has been taken in charge by the Masonic order of Taos and the contract
let for building and restoring, as near as possible, the home to its earliest appearance.
That it is the intention of local ladies to make the house a rest room and museum. This
more is a credit to the people of Taos who have inaugarated it; it honors New Mexico
and keeps fresh in memory the name of its greatest citizen. It will be a spot where
tourists in all future time coming into the state will make
pilgrimages. There is no
greater pioneer character in American history than Kit
Carson and New Mexico in
particular should perpetuate his name and deeds in every way
possible.
The Huntsville Daily Times,
March 18 1930, Extortion and Intimidation - Manby, Now Dead Is Accused of Being Head Of Sub
Rosa Society - Taos, N. M., March 18 (AP) – The mysterious cloud surrounding the
strange life and death of Arthur R. Manby was partly lifted today following the
charge that Manby was a leader in the Sub Rosa “United State secret service society,” an
alleged scheme for extortion and intimidation. Manby’s decapitated body was found in his home
here last July 3. After a jury decided that the man died from natural causes and that his
police dog, found in the room, had chewed the head from the body, a further investigation
by state and federal officers was started. The society has been revealed as nothing more than
a confidence game. Dissolution of the United States secret civil service society
mystery is believed to explain also the fabulous sums which were alleged in Manby’s private
papers to have been due Terecita Ferguson, known as “Princess,” including one of
$827,000,000. Manby spent nearly a half century dickering for old Spanish land grants.
One was a claim for Terecita of a $40,000,000 land grant in Southeastern Missouri.
Terecita, together with her common law husband, Carmel Duran and her nephew, George Ferguson,
have been charged with a series of robberies in Taos, among which was the looting
and burning of the studio home of Mr. and Mrs. John Younghunter, of New York.
Valuable household articles identified by the Younghunters as their property were
found buried in the back yard of Terecita’s residence near Taos.
1949 Dec. 5, 1949: Plans for
the erection of 52 new houses in Santa Fe were announced today by Santa Fe Housing Co., an
associate of New Mexico Housing Co.
1949 Dec. 5, 1949:The Santa Fe
Community Hospital, Inc., unanimously approved the tentative proposals recently made to
expand hospital facilities when the regular meeting was held Friday night.
1950 January 1, 1950: Census
Supervisor Pedro Sanchez is still confined to his bed at Taos from injuries received in the
railroad wreck on the Chama river. He is, however, reported to be slightly improved.
1950 January 1, 1950: Ignacio
Trujillo, a well known and respected citizen of this city,
died suddenly yesterday
afternoon in his little store on College Street.
1950 January 1, 1950: Manuel
Armijo of Santa Fe, state commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and an officer of the
state department of public welfare, resigned both positions Friday in favor of taking
the job in the Philippines with Georgia Lusk's federal War Claims Commission. Another Santa
Fean named for a job in the War Claims work is Paul Roessler, a Bataan veteran who
recently won a master's degree at Georgetown University. Georgia Lusk, member of
the commission, said he had been assigned to field work in the northeastern United
States.
2000 February 10: DURAN,
Margarito Margarita "Maggie" - Still sweethearts Every
day is Valentine's Day
for Durans
By Cara Lopez Lee, The Taos
News, February 10, 2000
The introductions can be
confusing, when you meet Maggie and her husband, Maggie. After 62 years together, people still
call them Los Dos Maggies, The Two Maggies. "And we have never been separated. We've
always been together," said Margarita Duran. Even though she's been at the Taos
Living Center since her stroke three years ago, her husband visits her every day. "When
she don't see me, she starts giving them hell. When is he coming, what is he doing?" said
Margarito Duran. A pair of flowers sit next to his wife's bedside, pink Annabels, a gift
from him. In the summertime he brings her flowers that he grows himself in their garden
at home in Talpa. The flowers sit next to the Valentine card she made for him. Even
though she doesn't quite remember decorating the glittery purple heart or writing the
words, "I love you, dear," she still remembers how handsome her Valentine was when she
first met him. They were both born in Talpa. He said she was about 12 and he was about
14 when they met. "I used to give her a ride on the little palomino horse," he said.
Shortly after that, the teen-age boy went traveling around the states. It was the
Depression, and he followed the jobs to Wyoming, Minnesota, New York, Maryland,
Philadelphia, Illinois and Colorado. He walked and hitchhiked from New York to Baltimore.
He picked tomatoes, picked peaches, thinned beets, broke horses. He did the bronco
breaking at a ranch in Aurora, Colo., where he made 75 cents a day. "I gathered
enough money to marry her," he said. Then he went home. He hadn't seen Maggie for about
three years. "When I came back she was still waiting for me," Margarito Duran said.
They went to a dance, and that was that. "At that time you couldn't even take a look at
a girl, because then you have to marry them," Duran said. He looked. They were married.
The groom was 19, the bride 17. Maggie married Maggie in 1937 at San Francisco de
Asis Church in Ranchos. Another couple was married at the same church on the same
day, Tino and Tina. "They used to kid us," Margarito Duran said in Spanish. "A
Tino married a Tina, and a Margarito married a Margara." He said his wife was always
happy and willing to go with him anywhere. They were stationed in California when he
was in the Navy during World War II. Back then, he loved taking her to the fun house at
the carnival in Oakland. "There was a fat lady who would come in. And they'd turn the
wind on and put the dress up over her head. She used to like to watch it." Duran said his
wife laughed a lot. The only Valentine's Day he could remember was the one when he didn't
make it home on time. He was a day late coming back to their home in southern
Colorado because he was hauling a heavy load of molasses and got stuck in a snowstorm.
It was a rare time apart. But she wasn't angry. "They were worried about me," he said.
The couple has five children, three sons and two daughters. How many grandchildren? Oh
... I've got a bunch of them," Duran said, waving his hand as if there were just too
many to keep track of. He said he's not sure what it takes to make a marriage last. "You
can marry someone and you wouldn't last a day, or you can marry someone and it can last
a lifetime. I don't know how I did it with Maggie. She gets pretty cranky," Duran
laughed. Kidding aside, for a couple like the Durans, it seems that every day is Valentine's
Day. Duran put it this way: "A special day ... has been for 62 years, every day." Contributed
by Patricia Keenan.
2000 February 10: THE FECHIN
FAMILY; Life centered around Russian-born artist whose multiple talents earned acclaim;
By Virginia L. Clark, For The Taos News
When 12-year-old Eya Fechin saw
Taos for the first time, she felt more at home in those few weeks than she had in four years
on the East Coast. That was in the summer of 1926, when she accompanied her famous
father, the Russian-born artist Nicolai Fechin, and her mother, Alexandra, to Taos to visit
English artist Jack Young-Hunter and his wife, Eve. Now in her 87th year and still living
in the Fechin Institute studio her father built, Eya said her life in Taos centered around her
father. "My experience of Taos entirely had to do with my father. (He) was a famous painter,
much more famous than any of the other painters. (And he had) a Russian education,
which is very different from American academics, which were pretty good at the time."
In October 1982, Eya published "Fechin: The Builder," a brief but thorough
catalogue and history of Fechin's multifaceted career as an
artist. In that book, she
explains that to earn the title of "artist" from the Art
Academy in Leningrad,
the candidate first had to take an architect's diploma, and
to be as fully intimate with
body structure as a human anatomist. "The same thoroughness
applied to the study of
theater design and chemistry," Eya wrote, that the Russians
consider architecture and theater to contain all the other arts. Such
exhaustive study partially explains Fechin's reputation as a Renaissance Man, a
master of many disciplines. "Home" for the Fechins had originally been Kazan, Russia,
where Fechin was a widely renowned national treasure. Born in Kazan in 1881,
Fechin died in Santa Monica, Calif., in 1955, at the age of 74. During the 1970s, Eya returned
to Russia a number of times and even now she said, "I can go and say (I'm Fechin's
daughter) in Russia and have no restrictions. Everything of the best is given to me
because of my father's name. Once you're a treasure in the arts, that's the way
you're treated."
FECHIN HOUSE
Eya's insistence on focusing on
her father, at the expense of her own impressions as a teenager in Taos, was, thankfully,
obviated 20 years ago when she published a partial memoir titled, "Teenage Memories of
Taos," in the "American West" journal (Nov.-Dec. 1984). The first Native American Eya
ever saw was Tony Luhan, husband of Mabel Dodge Luhan. She described him
visiting a party in New York City as, "dressed in a black topcoat with velvet lapels, his long
hair neatly bound with ribbon (Taos style) hanging down from under a black hat and,
incredibly, spats on his shoes. He changed clothes," Eya continued, "and there he was,
beating on a drum, a striped blanket around him, moccasins on his feet, singing Taos
Indian songs. He was so still and silent ... He was like a piece of a mountain come to life. I
was smitten." The Fechins were given one of Mabel Luhan's guest houses for the summer
and proceeded to fall in love with the countryside that reminded them so much of their
motherland and the rare collection of people who called Taos home. Travel from Lamy
(just outside of Santa Fe) to Embudo Station via a "tiny narrow-gauge train" is still
clear in Eya's mind. "At Embudo, they had limousines," she said, "with well-dressed
chauffeurs, and they knew their history. They would drive
you around where there
were accessible roads." In her teenage memoirs she writes
about Long John Dunn of
the Dunn House fame. " ... a big, black Ford with the
outstanding Western
character, John Dunn, at the wheel. Long John was, to me,
immensely tall and skinny.
He talked caustically through his nose, and you were more
concerned with John's good
opinion of you rather than the fright of the drive up the
canyon." Long John Dunn and
young Doc Martin figured largely in the town, she said,
"after an adventurous period in a gold-mining village, Elizabethtown near Red
River, where Dunn ran a saloon and did very well with gambling. A young
Eastern physician, Doc Martin, was there patching up bulletholes. When the gold gave out in
Elizabethtown, they gravitated here, that was the next step." Molybdenum mining was the
other industry of note in Taos at that time, Eya said. "There were only two moly mines
in existence in all of the United States. They needed that stuff for hardening steel.
But then it kind of fell out of favor. [The market] didn't want it. But Molycorp kept the
library alive in town by donating money. Otherwise they were going to have to close it."
Long John and Doc Martin used to sit outside Martin's place. Eya remembers that Martin's
primary medical "advice was always a slug of whiskey. And they had what they called
Taos Lightning. It was a knock-out home whiskey." In her memoir, she recalls
that Dunn set up his now-legendary livery business in which he carried passengers into Taos
"from 1902 to 1928 and U.S. mail from 1906 to 1938 ... He was in control of all
gambling in northern New Mexico, and no one in his care was ever robbed, killed or injured."
She said that those first few weeks she spent in the summer of 1926 passed all too quickly
for her. And while she was used to her father's celebrity, it seemed everything was
more intensified in Taos' mountain setting "where the air was so clear that everyone's
foibles or beauty, cruel gossip and back-biting, as well as
radiant originality, stood
out vividly." In regard to the tone of 1920s Taos, she said,
"There were the
Hispanics, staying in their own culture -- the Indians,
distinctly in their own community
-- and the Anglo-American rugged individuals, the original
hippies, who lived as
they chose and dressed to suit their style, but never in
groups, with no community feeling." While not reclusive, Taos artists in
the 1920s were not very social, Eya recalls. "The artists worked hard in those days
and mostly kept to themselves. They did not try to "sell themselves,' and were too busy
to socialize much. They did not paint to impress art dealers or only for big money. They
loved their work, and art was for art's sake." Wit, however, was never in short supply, it
seemed. "At the weekly silent movies, the main part of the show was Walter Ufer and
"Blumy" (Ernest Blumenshein) sitting at opposite sides of the theater, entertaining us with a
vivacious commentary throughout the movie. Leon Gaspard was a lovable storyteller who
never expected his stories to be believed, only enjoyed." The life of an artist was
not completely all work and no play. She wrote that her Taos group used Don Fernando Hotel
almost as a club. "It had a restaurant and a curio shop and a spacious lobby where many
artists hung their paintings. Since very few people had bathrooms, we would rent a room
for a few hours and take baths." Eya remembers the famous Arthur Manby as mysterious.
"Manby on a black horse with a long rifle by the saddle, a huge police dog following
... was an Englishman who settled in Taos, had a big house and considerable land near our
place, and gained fame by being murdered." A hint of her father's artistic irascibility
peaks through in a small entry by noted Southwestern author Frank Waters, in his memoir,
"Of Time and Change." Waters reports a scene where Fechin's wife, Alexandra,
interrupts the great artist with the news that someone is shooting at the studio. Fechin
replies, "Get out of here! Can't you see I'm working and can't be bothered? Go to the sheriff
or somebody else!" In 1933 Fechin and Eya left Taos to accommodate her mother's request
for a divorce. Eya wrote that Alexandra wanted to write, and also that her mother was
interested in a relationship with writer Spud Johnson. Apparently, that relationship never
did blossom as Alexandra had hoped. A couple years later, her father returned to Taos
briefly and wrote to his daughter about the current state of Taos society and the spruce trees
he had carried from the mountains and planted around the Fechin House. He wrote,
"The trees provided me with great joy -- they have grown so much during two years. Only
they, it seems, remembered me and tried to grow for my sake ... After having been away
from here, the whole Taos 'aristocracy' seems fiercely egotistical. All, like small
children, indulge themselves ad nauseum." Eya bore one child, Nikki Branham Donner, who
married Mark Donner. They have two children -- 13-year-old Kayla and 10-year-old
Rachel. The Donners now live at the Donner Ranch, where they hold Fechin Institute art
workshops. The ranch is located in San Cristobal, 18 miles north of Taos. In her article,
Eya wrote she could reminisce endlessly about her teen years in Taos and the variety of
people who affected her. Hopefully, she will and, hopefully, someone will be there to
record her stories. Contributed by Patricia Keenan.
GONZALES, Carmen Cisneros
Family, love of history served 92-year-old El Prado woman
By Kathy Cordova, For The Taos
News
EL PRADO -- The eight-room
house of Carmen Cisneros Gonzales is filled with photos of her family -- school photos, family
groups, weddings, First Holy Communions, graduations and other occasions. A complete "photo
wall" occupies a sitting room. An area in her living room includes several photo albums,
complete with newspaper clippings of grandchildren in basketball games, obituary
announcements, student news and other notes of family history. The albums serve to chronicle
several generations of the Cisneros and Gonzales families. At times, youngsters glance
through the books and learn something about the family that they did not know. Carmen
has painstakingly labeled the areas around the photos with dates, places, names and
other pertinent facts. Matriarch Carmen Gonzales was born March 22, 1909, to the late
Melissia Garcia Cisneros and the late Nerio Cisneros. Ironically, her current home
also served as her birthplace 92 years ago. Her late husband's grandfather, then owner of
the property, rented the home to the Cisneros family. The grandfather later left the
home to his grandson and wife as an inheritance. Childhood included life with siblings
Cristobal Cisneros, Emma Jeantete and Julia Romero. A tragedy that changed their
lives struck when the children were young. Mother Melissia became paralyzed and died.
Other siblings passed away as children during times of high-infant mortality -- Don (8
years), Eutilia (12 years) and Eloy (16 years). Dad Nerio worked as a sheepherder in the camps
in Wyoming, so his lifestyle wasn't conducive to remaining in Taos with his children,
or for them to travel with him. "In those days, if a death like that occurred, relatives stepped
in and helped to raise the children," Carmen said, speaking in her native Spanish
language. Melissia's sister, Genoveva Garcia, helped to raise the children and the youngsters
received periodic visits from their father. Carmen refers to her late aunt as her mother,
or "Mi Veva." The extended family included the two Garcia sons (Carmen calls them her
brothers) and the remaining Cisneros children. Since she was older, Carmen helped take care
of the younger children. The Garcia family spent extended periods of time tending sheep
on their Tienditas property. The family also farmed -- mainly corn and beans.
Carmen beams as she recalls the naming of the Tienditas property. "Garcia Park was
named after my grandfather, Preciliano Garcia. He and four or five uncles (his brothers)
owned it. Eventually, the children and grandchildren inherited portions and some of the
family sold theirs." Carmen shared her portion of the property with her children. From
grades one through seven, Carmen attended "sister school" (Catholic school). "We helped
the Sisters clean and they gave us credit for our tuition," she recalled. Two
instructors, Sister Ursulita and Sister Angelica, stand out
in her memory. Then, for
two years, Carmen attended the public schools. She considers
herself a fortunate
student, for many females of the day did not receive the
opportunity to attend school
as far as the ninth grade. For the years following formal
schooling, she busied herself
helping the family. At age 20, Carmen married Nazario (Nick)
following a prearranged
agreement between both families. "That's the way things were
done in those days,"
explained son Lee Gonzales. The marriage took place May 5,
1930, at the home parish
of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Shortly after the marriage, her
younger sister, Julia, came
to live with the couple. Carmen's recollection of what
followed makes her grin. "My husband was a very strict man with my little
sister. When Julian (Julia's eventual husband) came to call on Julia, Nick expected
him to come in and ask permission. 'I don't want him out there honking for you,' he'd say
to Julia." The 52-year marriage of Carmen and Nick produced 11 children, plus 10 spouses,
34 grandchildren with 21 spouses, four great-grandchildren with three
spouses, and three great-great grandchildren. The extended Gonzales family consists of
125 members and crosses five generations. The Gonzales children are: Eloy (Juanita)
Gonzales; Teddie (Alfonso) Martinez; Alice (Arturo) Romero; Juan I., deceased, (Beatriz)
Gonzales; Ernesto (Edna) Gonzales; Dolores (Joseph) Rael; Simon (Rosalie)
Gonzales; Patsy Gonzales; Telesfor (Carmen) Gonzales; Lee (Adelita) Gonzales; and Joann
(Leroy) Trujillo. Being the mother of such a large family meant that Carmen spent her
time cooking, doing laundry and cleaning the small El Prado home of her birth. She also
assisted her husband with his fledgling business, hauling coal in a large dump truck
from Walsenburg, Colo., to Taos. Then, he sold the fuel-producing material to his
neighbors. In 1955, Nick founded Nick Gonzales and Sons Sand and Gravel Products. By 1959, he
added ready-mix concrete to the list of products and formed a partnership with his son,
Juan I. Gonzales. From 1961 until the '70s, the partners used the name Gonzales Sand
and Gravel. When the senior Gonzales decided to retire, Juan took over the
business. Beatriz, Juan Gonzales' widow, eventually sold the
business in later years.
Another enterprise, the Casa Loma Night Club, opened in
1964. Carmen became even
more active in the business. She collected cover charges at
the door and supervised
the cleaning activities. The younger children helped pick up
glasses and bottles left
at the tables. Members of the community rented the facility
for weddings, showers
and benefits. The proprietors sponsored dances. Grandson
Dale Romero and his band
members, Nick Branchal, Sammy Montoya, Carlos Romero and
Jerry Mondragon, enjoyed
a frequent guest spot on the stage. A private party after
New Year's Eve remained
a favorite. Aunts, uncles, neighbors, compadres, other
family members and employees
and their families received the special invitations for the
event. For about 10 years
the routine continued until the license reverted to son
Telesfor as El Prado Liquors. Father-in-law Francisco ("Chicho") lived with
the family. He and all the others loved to eat Carmen's beans, chili with meat, bread
and oatmeal cookies. The former justice of the peace solved disputes and performed
marriage ceremonies. He also loaned money to area residents. Grandpa Gonzales
wasn't the only politician in the family, however. His son, Nick, loved to campaign with the
likes of Manuel Lujan Jr. The family recalls when the patriarch ran for county commissioner.
Weekends included driving around the county in a vehicle equipped with a musical
recording announcing Nick's candidacy. In September 1982, tragedy struck. Carmen's husband
of 52 years passed away. The widow continued to devote herself to her family.
Activities include gardening in the summer and knitting and
crocheting in the winter.
She also began to travel more. A 1972 trip to Mexico City --
Leon (Guanajuato) and
Tehuacan (Puebla) -- whetted her appetite to see more of the
world. She visited Our
Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, the pyramids and the
anthropology museum. A
1985 20-day trip to Disney World and the East Coast never
tired her. Highlights include stops in Nashville, Loretta Lynn's mansion, the
White House, the Capitol and various Washington memorials. The Arlington National
Cemetery, Vietnam Memorial and the special Challenger exhibit at the Smithsonian
piqued her interest. When a granddaughter, Cathy, lived in Austin, Texas, Carmen
visited and enjoyed the LBJ Library. Several gambling trips to Las Vegas, Nev.,
provided entertainment for the matriarch and her family. Another bit of entertainment
included watching soap operas. Gonzales lists "The Young and the Restless" as her
favorite soap opera in English. When daughter Teddie Martinez worked for R.C. Gorman,
Gonzales benefited in a fun way. She attended parties at the Gorman home and met two of her
favorite soap-opera stars -- Jeanne Cooper (Kay Chancellor) and Terry Lester (Jack
Abbott). Her memoirs include an autographed photo of Cooper, which bears the
inscription, "Dearest Carmen -- May God sleep on your pillow
always -- Mrs. Chancellor."
Another favorite memory includes a photo of Carmen with Lester. Before her death (Sept. 13),
Carmen seldom left home. Her caretaker tended to her needs as she struggled with minor
eye and ear problems. A walker helped her move easier. However, a sharp, alert mind
enabled her to recall tidbits of family history and enjoy Spanish telenovelas (soap operas
or, loosely translated, novels for television) and religious programming. She received
the Holy Family in her home and reads prayer books and stories about the saints. In the
past, Carmen helped to raise several other children besides her own. These children and
many others fill her days with joy and are among the frequent visitors to her home. On
March 22 of this year, Rev. George Salazar presented the anciana with a special blessing
for her 92nd birthday. The special gesture offered the best wishes to one of the most elderly
residents of El Prado. It also included a wish that Carmen's work ethic and love of family
and history transcend to the younger people with whom she came in contact.
JENKINS, Nancy Jenkins; We
trusted her with our most precious gift, our children, and she met to challenge; By Jerry A.
Padilla, The Taos News
It has been said that dynamite
comes in small packages. That adage is often used to describe a person who is short in
physical stature, but really outstanding, or big, when it comes to making a difference. Ask many
of her students and former students and you'll quickly understand why they think
Nancy Jenkins "is the greatest!" You're likely to hear such responses as: "She's my
favorite." "Her classes are cool." "She doesn't cut us any slack, but she brings out the best on
stage." "She's strict, but fair." "You can talk about anything with her," and the
often-heard, "She's like my second mom." The Taos High English and drama teacher has
certainly made a difference for countless Taoseño teens. Her name is synonymous with Taos
theater. Born in Long Beach, Calif., Nancy grew up in Los Angeles. The daughter of the late
Edna and Tommy Mason, she attended Burbank High. She has one brother, Jamie
Mason, a juvenile probation officer in Riverside, Calif. "I
went to Cal
State-Northridge, the one that was so damaged in the
earthquake," Nancy explained.
"It's still being rebuilt, and, you know, my transcripts are
still buried under the rubble."
On her first visit to Taos, Nancy admits she and her husband
had come for just a day
but never really left again. She had a friend in a commune
in Guadalupita whom they dropped
off. The Jenkinses wanted to come to see Taos. Checking into
the Taos Inn as newlyweds,
and spending a little time at La Cocina in the plaza, was
all it took. "We spent three
weeks here and knew we couldn't leave. We were taken by the
land, the people, the history
and got to know Dave Nesbitt, Levi Gonzales, Spencer
Sanders, Ralph Suazo, Jeri
and Bernadette Track, and R. C. Gorman, among others." They
returned to Los Angeles,
quit their jobs, and moved to Taos the summer of '69.
Speaking with Nancy, it is obvious why she is so beloved by her students.
Her dignified, yet relaxed, manner puts one at ease; her presence is
captivating as one hangs on to her every word. A teacher 33
years, with plans to
continue, Nancy and her husband, Ken, who is also a retired
English teacher, started
their careers in Los Angeles. "Ken and I got married in
1968, and I still adore
him," Nancy confided. "We've been married as long as I've
been teaching -- 33 years.
It was always my dream to be an English teacher, and by the
way, it's Ken who was the
drama person. I learned it all from him." Nancy explained
that Ken had worked extensively
in theater and acting for 19 years in California, and that
she didn't actually do any
theater with students until 1972. "He was my mentor, and it
was both of us when we first
started teaching drama in Taos," she said. "The first
production we worked on with students was 'Our Town,' at the Taos Community
Auditorium. We had 150 students try out. We didn't have any sets, but between
students, parents and volunteers, we did it all. Nat Simmons had done a play here with
someone else, and the interest started. The students asked Ken if we could do a
play, and we thought it was worth a try." Some of the students who were in that first school
production were Carmen Ledoux, Yost Burlingame and Kathleen Gutierrez. The next year,
the Jenkinses started a drama class. "Off and on, since 1972, Ken would help direct
after school, and I'd work with students in class. Judy Fritz did the class for two to three
years. After 10 years," Nancy said, "I continued on my own." Much of the credit of her
success goes to Ken. "When I first started, Ken would come and watch, and if I needed help,
he'd show me what I needed to do. If something needed attention, he'd would fix it.
He'd did this until he felt I knew what I was doing," she said. Very proud of her students,
Nancy is quick to acknowledge many who took drama, or English, with her and continued in
the performing arts. Her face glowed as she ticked off the names of those she knows are
still involved in theater -- Katalina Fernandez, who does flamenco in Spain and the U.S.;
Maya Chaffe, also flamenco in New York; Noel Kalom, theater in New York; Louise
Mingenbach, a costume designer in Hollywood who worked recently on "X Men" and "Usual
Suspects"; Dominica Cameron Scorsese, who does film; Garland Cunningham, a stage
manager in Las Vegas, Nev.; Collette Chiodo, who is doing film in Los Angeles;
Marcos Martinez, who is very involved with stage, was with La Compañía in Albuquerque and is
head of the drama department at U.C.-San Marcos; Timmy Trujillo, acting in
Austin, Texas; Sandra Bouche, got her master's at Temple University and is at UNM;
Estelle Miffrin; Steve Espinosa, who worked at Universal Studios as a film tech;
Augusta Allen Jones, who was doing Broadway; and Adrian Des Georges, who recently
graduated from a very prestigious performing arts program in Los Angeles. "I'm so proud
of my kids," Nancy said animatedly. "Dillon Kennon has worked in Los Angeles and at the
Edinburgh Theater Festival. Lisa De Caro went into film in Los Angeles and now teaches
lawyers how to be dramatic in court in Colorado. Megan Davis works in Louisville, at
one of the most prestigious theaters, and in Singapore. Holly Davis works at the
Mayo Clinic and is learning to be a surgeon in dance medicine. Gabrielle Schreiber Stokes
has done well. And Robert Mirabal was in my English class." Taking a book from a
shelf, Nancy started telling about one of her drama students, Goldberry Long, wrote
"Juniper Tree Burning," an acclaimed novel. "These kids have gone on to do amazing things,.
Oh, there's Amritta Bessin in New York acting and dancing; Lynn Del Margo is our new
librarian at Taos High School, and do you remember Tammy and Bethany Del Margo? They're
teachers now." What were her inspirations growing up in Los Angeles? Nancy said
her teachers and college professors inspired her the most. "I think about them every
day, and all they taught me, when I pass on the knowledge to someone who becomes a
teacher," she said. Her father, a pilot, was also a significant inspiration. "My father
gave me books. He gave me 'Don Quixote,' and I think that book was his favorite. Writers
were my heroes when I was a little kid ... Cervantes, Hemingway, poets. I read a lot of
poetry. My dad made me learn Spanish. He knew; he was a pilot and had traveled
extensively and taught me that it was a very functional language. And it's true, if you know
both Spanish and English, you can go anywhere in the world and find someone who will
understand you." One of the saddest things in Taos she's seen come about is that many residents
no longer seem to think being able to speak Spanish is important. The loss of
bilingual skills and certain survival skills among area youth trouble her. She worries that
the number of teens now who can still make adobes, skin and dress a deer, grow things in
a garden, or find and identify herbal remedies, edible plants, and fruits is dwindling. As
for why she became a teacher, Nancy said: "As a teacher, it is a rewarding experience
reading a former student's book; it's so beautiful and serious. Part of it is being in a
small town, to watch young people grow up, fall in love, raise their children, and then, get to
teach their children too. It's been the greatest to teach two generations of Taos children. It
has been my greatest gift, other than Ken, to be a part of this community, watching kids grow,
be their teacher and then teach their kids. "The community is so welcoming, so open and
has shared its kids with me," Nancy continued. "I got to play here and educate the
community's children. I can't imagine anything more precious but to have a community trust
you with their children."
