NINETEENTH ANNUAL
HONORAR A NUESTROS HÉROES
leyendas
C O U R T E S Y O F T H E N AT I O N A L M U S E U M O F T H E U . S . N AV Y
Allied forces land on Attu Island, May 11, 1943. ‘There was nothing fancy about this meal prepared by sailors in the Holtz Bay area on May 19, but the food was hot. Note the ski standing upright in the foreground. Snow can be found year-round on Attu Island,’ states the original caption.
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INTRODUCTION
‘After all, I believe that legends and myths are largely made of “truth,’” and indeed present aspects of it that can only be received in this mode; and long ago certain truths and modes of this kind were discovered and must always reappear.’ — J.R.R. Tolkien, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
LEYENDAS THE PEOPLE, PLACES AND LORE THAT LEGENDS ARE TRULY BORN FROM. THESE PAGES PRESENT THE BEGINNING OF THE 19TH ANNUAL INSTALLMENT OF TRADICIONES AND WITHIN THEM, YOU’LL READ ABOUT SOME OF TAOS COUNTY’S NOTABLE PEOPLE — AND A MYSTERY — THAT LEFT THEIR MARKS. Whether it be an 1865 murder gone unpunished; a young fur trapper captured by Mexican troops, imprisoned and then banished only to return to New Mexico as a territorial governor; a pair of seemingly outof-place stone pillars with possible ties to the Knights Templar; the unsung recusers of the real-life Smokey Bear; or a World War II Army private who was the first Hispanic American from the United States to receive the Medal of Honor, Taos is a book full of allure and pride. Leyendas (Legends) — the first in a four-part series spanning four consecutive weeks — is followed by Raices (Roots), Artes (Arts) and culminates with the Unsung Heroes/Citizen(s) of the Year publication on Oct. 10. By retelling stories and searching for more answers — more possibilities — our community continues to breathe this valley’s mystique into the lungs of future generations.
SCOTT GERDES, SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITOR
SEPT. 19, 2019
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CONTENTS
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Unleashing hell Taos-born private leads charge in World War II battle, awarded Medal of Honor B Y S C OT T G E R D E S A N D J E R R Y PA D I L L A
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‘Greek George’: a wanted man, a slippery escape Alleged hired killer of Alfred Bent over land grant concocts disappearing act, double-crosses desperado BY NOËL-MARIE FLETCHER
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Finding Smokey
Family. Friends. Community. We’re all in this together.
Taos Pueblo firefighters rescue bear who became an icon BY SCOTT GERDES
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We have a long tradition of being there. That’s one reason why I’m proud to support our community!
Unearthing New Mexico Investigator searches for answers behind strange stones BY DAVID LERNER
21 The trials and triumph of David Meriwether Taos fur trapper turned fugitive becomes New Mexico’s governor
Wanda Lucero 575.737.5433 wandalucero.com
P H O T O B Y K AT H A R I N E E G L I
BY NOËL-MARIE FLETCHER
S TA F F ROBIN MARTIN, OWNER CHRIS BAKER, PUBLISHER S TA C I M AT LO C K , M A N A G I N G E D I TO R SCOTT GERDES, SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITOR K A R I N E B E R H A R D T, C R E A T I V E D I R E C T O R C H R I S WO O D, A DV E RT I S I N G D I R E C TO R S E A N R A T L I F F, P R O D U C T I O N M A N A G E R AMY BOAZ, COPY EDITOR MORGAN TIMMS, PHOTOGRAPHER
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS N O Ë L- M A R I E F L E TC H E R , D AV I D L E R N E R , J E R R Y PA D I L L A
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Unleashing hell TAOS-BORN PRIVATE LEADS CHARGE IN WORLD WAR II BATTLE, AWARDED MEDAL OF HONOR B Y S C OT T G E R D E S A N D J E R R Y PA D I L L A
D
uring World War II on May 26, 1943, the 32nd Infantry Regiment was engaged in combat against Japanese troops in the vicinity of Fish Hook Ridge on Attu Island, Alaska. The regiment was pinned down by enemy fire. The terrain was snow-covered and craggy. The air was chilling. Success looked grim. But a Taos-born Army private name José “Joe” Pantaleon Martínez had a fire in his belly. On his own accord, he instinctively unleashed hell by leading two assaults. While ascending a slippery and rocky slope, dodging the spray of machine gun fire, he pulled the trigger on his Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) and threw hand grenades into the Japanese foxholes. The men of his unit followed. As the 22-year-old drafted rifleman approached one final foxhole after the second
assault, he was shot in the head. He died from the wound the following day. Martinez’s gallant and fearless actions, however, was instrumental in the destruction of this key strategic Japanese stronghold. The Battle of Attu may be a lesser known conflict in comparison to D-Day (June 6, 1944), but it was the main defensive clash of the Aleutian Islands Campaign. American and Japanese armies fought for control of this small, sparsely inhabited United Statesowned island at the far western end of Alaska’s Aleutian chain in the North Pacific. On June 7, 1942, Japan invaded the island and its neighbor Kiska and established garrisons. The reason for taking Attu and Kiska is speculated to have been to divert United States forces during Japan’s attack on Midway Island (June 4-7, 1942) in the central
Pacific. It’s also possible the Japanese believed holding the two islands would prevent the United States from invading Japan by way of the Aleutians. Conversely, the United States feared that the remote islands would be used as bases from which the Japanese could launch aerial attacks on the West Coast. The Japanese were the first invaders to set foot on American soil since the War of 1812. It became a matter of national pride to drive them out. In May 1943, U.S. troops finally retook Attu in large part due to Martinez’s bravery and leadership. In August, U.S. troops reclaimed Kiska. The Battle of Attu was the only land battle fought in North America during World War II. | continues on p. 6
Soldiers hurl their trench mortar shells over a ridge into a Japanese position on Attu Island, Alaska, June 4, 1943. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
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Allied forces landed on Attu Island, May 11, 1943. Americans examine a Japanese antiaircraft gun on a hill at head of the west arm of Holtz Bay on May 19, 1943. This was one of the strong Japanese positions from which Americans drove their troops. The barrel of the gun is on the ground, left foreground. The campaign ran from June 1942 to August 1943. C O U R T E S Y O F T H E N AT I O N A L M U S E U M OF THE U.S. NAVY
Below left: An unidentified casualty is lifted from a ramp boat to a ship during the Battle of Attu in May 1943; the same month, year and conflict that took the life of Taos hero Pvt. Joe Martinez. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Below: U.S. soldiers carry an unidentified casualty during the battle to recapture Attu from the Japanese in May 1943. C O U R T E S Y N AT I O N A L PA R K S E R V I C E
Together We Make A Powerful Difference photo credit: Jeff Caven
Taos Community Foundation is proud to serve the unique needs of our community by linking the charitable goals of donors to the causes that mean the most to them. Together we make a powerful difference. Taos Community Foundation has awarded over $1 million in grants and scholarships this year. We are honored with the trust bestowed upon us from so many who partner with us to make a difference.
taoscf.org
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UNLEASHING HELL
continues from p. 4
A SOLDIER’S ROOTS Martinez was born in Taos on July 27, 1920. He was one of nine children of Juan and Dovijen Martinez of Talpa. He attended elementary school in Talpa, and there are still some who remember Joe Martinez and his family from when they lived here. In 1927, Martinez’s father, who was an agricultural laborer in need of work, decided to move the family from Taos to Ault, Colorado. Juan got a job with Oscar Salzburg in Ault and worked for him for 10 years, according to Padilla’s research. In August 1942, Joe was drafted into the United States Army and sent to Camp Roberts, California, where he received his basic training. He was assigned to K Company, the 32 Infantry Regiment of the Seventh Division. He was with his companions, including José de la Luz Romero of Llano Quemado, in the campaign of Attu Island. For his heroic efforts and supreme sacrifice, Joe was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. His posthumous award was the first act for combat heroism on American soil (other than the 15 at Pearl Harbor) since the Indian wars. He was also the first Hispanic American in World War II from the United States to receive the Medal of Honor; the first private in World War II to receive the Medal of Honor; and the first Coloradoan to be awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II. He was also awarded the Purple Heart. On April 13, 1945, the United States Navy named one of its ships, which served as a troop transport during the Korean War, the USNS Private Joe P. Martinez. The state of Colorado has honored his memory by naming a street and renaming a former base reception center and early officer’s club, which currently serves as the service center, after him. A Disabled American Veterans chapter in Colorado and an American Legion post in California are named in his honor. Three statues were erected with his likeness and are located in the Colorado cities of Ault, Greeley and Denver. The U.S. Army also named an Army Reserve military installation in Denver after Martinez. The 7th Infantry Division honored him in 1977 by naming the Fort Ord Welcome Center (originally the Post Headquarters) Martinez Hall. Although Fort Ord closed in 1993, Martinez Hall still serves as a Veterans Transition Service Center. Martinez was buried with full military honors at Ault Cemetery in Ault, Weld County, Colorado. In a past Taos News article, former El Crespúsculo editor Jerry Padilla wrote about a conversation he had with Vietnam War veterans for a Memorial Day story he was working on. One veteran was from Taos, and the other from a small town in Colfax County, among others. It was brought up that New Mexico has one of the largest numbers of soldiers who have received the Congressional Medal of Honor (15 to date, per newmexicohistory.org) in regard to the percentage of the state’s population. However, many of them received it only after they died, like Martinez.
“Some may remember others from the Vietnam War who were awarded from New Mexico, such as Louis R. Rocco (who was born in Albuquerque, but lived in California when he joined the military) and Daniel Fernandez (also from Albuquerque),” Padilla wrote. “We also have Hiroshi ‘Hershey’ Miyamura from Gallup who fought in the Korean War, as well as others from World War II.” During the conversation, these veterans discussed Martinez’s act, and the question raised was, “If he is of Taoseño origin, why is there not a statue, or something with his name recognizing the contribution to the defense of the nation? What is not fair is that a local hero isn’t recognized in the place where he was born.” Padilla’s literary effort to call attention to city leaders to see if it’s possible to inspire the erection of something, anything, in the memory of our local hero has gone unnoticed. Pvt. Martinez literally sacrificed his life defending our country; not for political reasons, or the American Dream or any one person’s ideals, but America herself.
C O U R T E S Y O F T H E N AT I O N A L M U S E U M O F T H E U . S . N AV Y
The Congressional Medal of Honor citation for Joe. P. Martinez from Oct. 27, 1943 reads: “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy. Over a period of several days, repeated efforts to drive the enemy from a key defensive position high in the snow-covered precipitous mountains between East Arm Holtz Bay N AT I O N A L A R C H I V E S and Chichagof Harbor had failed. On 26 May 1943, troop dispositions were readjusted and a trial coordinated attack on this position by a reinforced battalion was launched. Initially successful, the attack hesitated. In the face of severe hostile machine gun, rifle, and mortar fire, Pvt. Martinez, an automatic rifleman, rose to his feet and resumed his advance. Occasionally he stopped to urge his comrades on. His example inspired others to follow. After a most difficult climb, Pvt. Martinez eliminated resistance from part of the enemy position by BAR fire and hand grenades, thus assisting the advance of other attacking elements. This success only partially completed the action. The main Holtz-Chichagof Pass rose about 150 feet higher, flanked by steep rocky ridges and reached by a snow-filled defile. Passage was barred by enemy fire from either flank and from tiers of snow trenches in front. Despite these obstacles, and knowing of their existence, Pvt. Martinez again led the troops on and up, personally silencing several trenches with BAR fire and ultimately reaching the pass itself. Here, just below the knifelike rim of the pass, Pvt. Martinez encountered a final enemyoccupied trench and as he was engaged in firing into it he was mortally wounded. The pass, however, was taken, and its capture was an important preliminary to the end of organized hostile resistance.”
U.S. Army Pvt. Joe P. Martinez
A bronze statue of Joe P. Martinez sculpted by Emanuel Martinez was placed in the Colorado Veterans Memorial in Denver in 1988. FINDAGRAVE.COM
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
United States mortar crew and infantryman in action on a Chicagof Harbor ridge during the Battle of Attu in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, in July 1943. Just two months prior, Taos-born Army Pvt. Joe Martinez was killed in action after leading a charge to push back the Japanese from this enemy stronghold.
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SEPT. 19, 2019
‘Greek George’: a wanted man, a slippery escape
PHOTO BY NOËL-MARIE FLETCHER FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO CENTER FOR SOUTHWEST RESEARCH AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Peter Maxwell, born in Taos in 1848,
was the only son of land baron Lucien B. Maxwell, who acquired land previously owned by Alfred Bent, son of territorial Gov. Charles Bent. Due to their parents’ friendship and business partnership, Pete and Alfred would have been childhood acquaintances. Billy the Kid was killed in Pete’s home in Fort Sumner in 1881.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE S A N TA C R U Z P U B L I C L I B R A R Y
Notorious bandit Tiburcio Vásquez, an armed robber who led a gang in Southern California, was convicted and hanged in 1875 after being betrayed and trapped by Greek George.
Outlaw and frontier rogue Georges Xaralampo (Greek George), a camel driver who came to New Mexico before the Civil War with the U.S. military. He is believed to have murdered Alfred Bent in Taos and faked his own death before fleeing to safety in California. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
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Tradiciones LEYENDAS
ALLEGED HIRED KILLER OF ALFRED BENT OVER LAND GRANT CONCOCTS DISAPPEARING ACT, DOUBLE-CROSSES DESPERADO BY NOËL-MARIE FLETCHER
M
urder and betrayal marked the life of a Middle Eastern camel driver who made his way from California to Santa Fe to Taos, leaving behind a trail of mystery. “Greek George,” Georges Constantine (aka Caralambo), faked his death in 1865 and returned to California after allegedly assassinating the son of New Mexico Gov. Charles Bent in Taos. Bent was the first civil governor under American rule in the territory of New Mexico. He was appointed in September 1846 by Brigadier General Stephen Watts Kearny and killed in 1847 by an angry mob of local men and others from neighboring pueblos who opposed a United States takeover of the territory. Bent was attacked in his home and slain in the street. It was witnessed by his wife, Ignacio Jaramillo, and their three children. Bent’s son, Alfred (aka Alfredo), was 10 years old. In a later account by Charles’ daughter Teresina, during the chaos Alfred grabbed a shotgun, ran to his father’s side and said, “Papa, let us fight them.”
MURDER—, AND SUICIDE? Greek George, born in Smyrna (now Izmir) Turkey, was known as a notorious womanizer and gambler when he was allegedly hired to kill Bent by parties who owned stakes in what later became the famed 1.7-million-acre Maxwell Land Grant. Two months before Greek George leveled his revolver at Bent during a card game in a Taos saloon and gambling hall on Dec. 3, 1865, Bent was embroiled in a land dispute with Lucien B. Maxwell, Charles Beaubien and Guadalupe Miranda over the valuable acreage. Bent was a wealthy 28-year-old merchant, husband of Guadalupe Long and father of three young children.
C O U R T E S Y U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E W M E X I C O -T A O S R E S E A R C H C E N T E R
The Maxwell Land Grant — the reason behind the murder of Alfred Bent. Bent grew to be a respected community leader active in territorial politics. He inherited part of his father’s share in the disputed land grant. In 1859, Bent and others, children and heirs of the governor, “instituted a suit in chancery to ascertain their interest in what is generally known as the Maxwell Grant, a tract of 1, 700,00 acres of land, and for a partition of the same,” according to a story published in the Santa Fe New Mexican, Oct. 25, 1884. “Their claim was that by a verbal agreement between Gov. Bent and the original grantees,
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Beaubien and Miranda, Bent had become the owner of an undivided one-fourth part of the grant. In 1865, an interlocutory decree was rendered by Judge Benedict declaring that Alfred Bent and his two sisters were entitled to the one-fourth claimed, and appointing commissioners to make partition.” In an October 1865 meeting between landowners, Alfred Bent demanded $21,000 for his holdings, but Maxwell balked with a $18,000 counteroffer. | continues on p. 10
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GREEK GEORGE
continues from p. 9
B
y early December, Alfred Bent was dead. While he lay dying for six days from a gunshot wound to his right side, he and witnesses believed the crime was an assassination. “At the time the shot was fired, many thought it was accidental and, we believe, was so alleged to be by the murderer. But some of those who witnessed the transaction thought it was done with a design, and Mr. Bent, before his death, was of the same opinion. Subsequent events moved this to be true … Before the fatal shot was fired there were no angry words passed between the parties, nor, as we understand, was there any personal enmity existing between them,” noted the Santa Fe Weekly Gazette, on Dec. 23, 1865. Suspected of the murder and with a price on his head, according to the Santa Fe Weekly Gazette and New Mexican, Greek George fled to Santa Fe and launched a disappearing act. George commandeered a horse for escape and wrote a suicide note admitting to the “accidental” killing. He claimed he would commit suicide in the La Bajada, New Mexico, area. Somehow, the horse returned to its owner along with the suicide note. A few Peña Blanca villagers swore they found and buried Greek George’s body. The case was closed. Nearly
N E W S PA P E R S . C O M
A clipping from a story about Alfred Bent's legal wranglings over a family share of the Maxwell Land Grant, published in the Santa Fe New Mexican on Oct. 25, 1884.
all historical records maintained Greek George died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head by Dec. 22, 1865. However, Greek George turned up again in Los Angeles, where he lived until his death in 1913 at age 85. Months after Alfred’s death, his New Mexican widow, who spoke no English, was coerced into selling the land to Maxwell, according to family members who unsuccessfully waged court battles to retain their land rights.
THE RESURRECTION Months after the Alfred Bent murder, Greek George moved back to Los Angeles and became a United States citizen under the name George Allen. He knew the area because he had previously driven camels from Santa Fe to California for the U.S. Army’s Camel Corps and stayed there for a while. Greek George was one of nine camel drivers and 33 dromedaries who first arrived in Texas from the Middle East on the USS Supply in 1856. They were paid $15 a month to drive the camels used to transport the supplies to build the famed and short-lived Butterfield overland mail route. “The camels’ Army career ended with the outbreak of the Civil War, though not without providing Caralambo with a typically violent adventure,” wrote Los Angeles Times reporter Cecelia Rasmussen in an Oct. 19, 1997 article about Greek
NOËL-MARIE FLETCHER
Wilderness trail outside of Santa Fe toward La Bajada, showing the direction Greek George would have fled after allegedly murdering Alfred Bent. Greek George faked his suicide in La Bajada before escaping to California, where he spent the rest of his life as a minor Los Angeles celebrity.
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George’s land holdings and thuggish history in California. “While leading the herd of camels back to Los Angeles from Fort Mojave, his Homeric beard stopped an arrow fired by a Mojave Indian — who, unimpressed by camels, C O U R T E S Y PA L A C E resented the trespassing on OF THE GOVERNORS OF NEW MEXICO NEG. his land.” N O. 0 0 7 0 0 4 The project failed mostly due to the fact that Army horses and mules stampeded at the sight of camels. The beasts were equally unpopular among the military despite their ability to carry heavy loads and travel long distances whose son Alfred without water. Eventually was allegedly asthe camels were set loose sassinated during in Arizona. a land dispute with Greek George needed stakeholders of another way to make a the Maxwell living. He caught gold Land Grant. fever and set his sights on Holcomb Valley in the San Bernardino Mountains. “He quickly established himself as kingpin of a particularly rowdy saloon,” wrote Rasmussen. “For Caralambo, one day’s work involved shooting a bystander who cheered when Caralambo’s horse ran second in a race, gunning down a cheat caught filing off the horn tips of a bull about to fight a grizzly bear and shooting a cook. The motive for the latter assault remains obscure.” Then in 1865, Greek George brought his brutal tendencies to New Mexico. No one ever connected Greek George to the murder and no conspirators were ever named. Instead, he was praised for his military service. It was even reported in newspapers that he deserved a medal, and President Theodore Roosevelt was among those sympathetic to the cause for his decoration. In 1874, numerous newspaper articles celebrated Greek George for his alleged role in catching an infamous California desperado named Tiburcio Vásquez.
Portrait of Gov. Charles Bent (1846-1847),
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THE SPIDER SPINS A WEB For his seven years of military service, Greek George attempted to get a government grant but, instead, in 1867 was given many acres of worthless land in Bolton Canyon, California. Greek George and his wife, Cornelia Lopez, built a shack on the Bolton Canyon property and at the same time operated the La Brea Waystation. Their first house guest was the local bandido and his girlfriend Rosario, which lead to a tipoff that resulted in Vásquez’s capture in hopes of getting a $15,000 reward. While his wife screamed due to labor pains, Greek George rode off — not in search of a doctor — but to tell Los Angeles County Sheriff William “Billy” Rowland where to find the wanted outlaw. Los Angeles newspapers from the time reported that Vásquez was tricked into leaving his weapons in a different room while having breakfast with George’s daughter in the kitchen. On May 15, 1874, the sheriff and seven others hid inside a buckboard delivery wagon and ambushed Vásquez. After a failed escape attempt out a window, the 39-year-old outlaw was wounded in the shoulder and backside, dragged to San Jose without medical treatment and hanged — despite protests that he was not a murderer and appeals for clemency. Greek George never received the reward. By the turn of the century, Greek George’s wife had died and he sold the Bolton Canyon property for $500. Flirting with indigence, Greek George unsuccessfully applied for a government pension. He ended up living the rest of his life in poverty. He died alone in a shack at La Mission Vieja in Montebello, California (forerunner of Mission San Gabriel). For his role in the Vásquez affair, he became a minor celebrity praised by local media for decades. He was feted by Los Angeles literati. However, he never got his medal for serving in the Army’s Camel Corps — President Roosevelt was unable to assist owing to the fact that driving camels was not quite military service. To the end of his days, Greek George escaped responsibility as the assassin of Alfred Bent, and others involved in the Maxwell Land Grant conspiracy have become lost souls of history. Editor’s note: Obtaining an image of Albert Bent proved to be futile. S A N TA F E N E W M E X I CA N / CO U RT E SY O F E VA TO R R E S A S C H E N B R E N E R
Guadalupe Lopez Bent in her later years. No photograph of her husband, Alfred Bent, has ever surfaced.
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WHAT WE [DREAM] CHANGES THE WORLD.
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U N I T E D S TAT E S F O R E S T S E R V I C E , 1 9 5 0 . C O U R T E S Y O F T H E PA L A C E O F T H E G O V E R N O R S P H OTO A R C H I V E S ( N M H M / D C A ) , N E G . N O. 0 2 9 6 7 1
Forest Service personnel inspect damage on Capitan Mountain, Lincoln National Forest, which burned 17,000 acres in 1950. During the blaze, the Snowballs crew from Taos Pueblo rescued a tiny bear cub that became Smokey Bear.
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Finding Smokey TAOS PUEBLO FIREFIGHTERS RESCUE BEAR WHO BECAME AN ICON BY SCOTT GERDES
I T
WA S
A
T Y P I C A L
S P R I N G
day in 1950 for a fire tower operator in New Mexico’s Capitan Mountains in Lincoln National Forest near Alamogordo. He spotted smoke wafting above the tree tops. He called the location in to the closest ranger station. The first crew marched into a blazing wildfire racing along the ground propelled by those notorious gusting New Mexico winds. More crews had to be called in to help. Forest rangers, crews from New Mexico and Texas and the New Mexico State Game Department geared up to gain control of the flames. One of those New Mexico crews was the newly formed Snowballs from Taos Pueblo. This would be just their second call to action, the first being a wildfire on the Gila National Forest near Silver City the month before. The Capitan Gap Fire that broke on May 4, 1950 would come to be known as the event that rescued the real-life Smokey Bear. And it was the Snowballs who saved the cub’s life. History, however, has failed to point out that fact. UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE, 1950. COURTESY OF THE PALACE OF THE GOVERNORS PHOTO ARCHIVES (NMHM/DCA), NEG. NO. 029671
| continues on p. 16
W I K I P E D I A CO M M O N S
Young Smokey on top of the front of a plane with Ranger Ray Bell in 1950.
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Tradiciones LEYENDAS
The orphaned black bear cub rescued by the Snowballs crew from Taos Pueblo who recovered from his burns to become the face of an ad campaign to prevent forest fires. U . S . D E P T . O F A G R I C U LT U R E / F L I C K R
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FINDING SMOKEY
continues from p. 14
COURTESY NEW MEXICO STATE FORESTRY/PHOTO BY HAROLD WALTER
‘Fire boss’ Dean Earl (left) and New Mexico Game Warden Ray Bell standing in the aftermath of the Capitan Gap Fire. Bell took the future Smokey Bear rescued by the Taos Pueblo Snowballs team and transported him to a Santa Fe veterinarian. Bell's wife and daughter were instrumental in the cub’s recovery.
CO U RT E SY B U RE AU O F I N D I AN AF FAI RS
Just two months after battling the Capitan Gap Fire and rescuing a bear cub that would become the face of preventing forest fires, the Taos Pueblo Snowballs participate in the St. Santiago Feast Day parade in Taos on July 25, 1950. THE WILDFIRE
RICK ROMA NCITO/ TAOS N EW S
Paul Romero, one of the Taos Pueblo Snowballs who located the original Smokey Bear, holds up the comic book distributed to schoolchildren depicting what he said was the incomplete story during a July 2008 ceremony and acknowledgment by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Snowballs' historic role.
COURT ESY BU REAU OF INDIA N A FFA I R S
The last of the remaining Snowballs, Paul Romero (left) and Adolph Samora.
There were no phones at the pueblo in 1950 so serving as the “village crier,” the warchief climbed to a high point and began yelling in Tiwa calling all available village firefighters to immediately gather in the Pueblo Plaza. Twenty-five volunteers boarded an old school bus and began an all-day journey south to the Lincoln National Forest. It was at the start of their trip to the Capitan fire that the Taos Pueblo volunteer firefighters adopted the name “Snowballs.” According to a story related by team member Adolph Samora (then 76) in 2005 to Bureau of Indian Affairs Prevention Coordinator Val Christianson for publication in the BIA magazine Smoke Signals, crew member Del Reyna looked at the white, wide-brimmed hard hats worn by his crew mates and then at Taos Mountain crowned with snow and proclaimed, “We all look like a bunch of snowballs.” Everyone laughed. The name stuck. The initial blaze in the forest was named the Los Tablos Fire, driven by 70-mile-per-hour winds blowing in sand from the southwest. It started when a cook stove overheated and spit sparks. By late morning on May 6, the Los Tablos Fire was under control after burning 1,000 acres. Fire personnel were beginning to demobilize. By early afternoon, the Snowballs were collecting their gear and personal belongings, thinking they would be heading home. Then a new alarm screamed through the base camp. Another wildfire had started upwind from their location — the Capitan Gap Fire. A United States Army crew from Fort Bliss, the Snowballs, the Mescalero Apache Redhats and community crews from Zia and Santo Domingo pueblos — according to information told to Christianson by Samora and crew mate Paul Romero — were on hand to battle the new blaze that was searing through Douglas and white fir and quaking aspen 10,000 feet up. Elk, bighorn sheep and the American black bear were in harm’s way. The Fort Bliss crew was the first unit to tackle the fire. Two days later, strong winds pushed the flames straight at the crew, forcing them to take cover in a rockslide. They lay face down, pushing their faces into the crevices’ cooler, smokeless air. The fire rumbled over them, singeing hair and clothing. Remarkably, no one was seriously injured. The Capitan Gap Fire destroyed 17,000 acres. It was also caused by humans.
THE CUB
U.S . DEPT. OF AGRICU LTU R E
Smokey Bear was not returned to the wilderness but, rather, lived the rest of his days at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. This photo was taken in 1975. Smokey Bear died a year later. He was buried at the Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan, New Mexico.
When another Native American and Fort Bliss crew were coming down from fighting the fire, the Snowballs were on their way up for mop-up duty — the act of extinguishing or removing burning material near control lines, felling snags and trenching logs to prevent rolling after an area has burned in order to make a recent fire zone safe or to reduce residual smoke. Team member Romero recalled in an interview with Taos Pueblo writer and artist Jonathan Warm Day Coming that they were told, “There’s a big bear up there. Better be careful.” Romero remembers the “warning” spoken as a joke. Apparently, a frightened, 5-pound cub had been spotted clinging to a charred tree. Other firefighters had tried to wrangle him, but with no success and a few scratches and bites. His hind legs and paws were badly burned. His mother was nowhere to be found. Upon hearing the news of a little bear caught in the fire line, fresh eyes began searching for the small animal. The Snowballs, according to Romero, suc-
cessfully secured the cub who had gotten down from the tree and was scampering atop glowing embers. A number of men had tried to grab the cub, but memories have faded about exactly which Snowball caught him. A rancher among the local crew agreed to take the cub home. Soon after, New Mexico Department Game Warden Ray Bell — who had been in a plane flying over the wildfire — heard about the cub when he returned to the fire camp. He drove to the rancher’s home and put the cub on a plane to Santa Fe. Once there, veterinarian Dr. Ed Smith treated the cub’s burns, but it was Ruth Bell (Ray’s wife) and daughter, Judy, who are credited for getting the little cub to eat and back on his feet. News about “Hot Foot Teddy” — as he was first named by the firefighters — spread quickly throughout the state. It wasn’t long before the United Press and Associated Press aired his story coast to coast. The public expressed its concern about the cub’s recovery. Bell wrote to the chief of the Forest Service, offering to give the cub to the agency as long as he would be dedicated to a conservation and wildfire prevention publicity program. It was agreed, and the little bear was transported to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., becoming the living symbol of Smokey Bear. The story of Smokey Bear, however, began well before the baby bear was discovered in the Capitan Gap Fire. In 1944, the image of a black bear was selected to speak for the forests, and he was named Smokey Bear. The first fire prevention campaign posters were created in 1943 and looked more like war propaganda than the Smokey images most of us are familiar with. The real-life Smokey was given his own ZIP code because of the countless packages of honey and piles of letters he received. He remained at the zoo until his death in 1976. Smokey is buried at the Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan. He would have turned 75 years old this year.
THE SNOWBALLS “They were revered at the pueblo,” said Warm Day Coming, who remembers the crew when he was a boy. “They had a box in the middle of the pueblo where they stored their equipment. No one dared mess with it.” Only two of the original Snowballs team survive: Samora and Romero. Both men were teenagers when they boarded that school bus with 23 other men from Taos Pueblo for the day-long trip to fight two disastrous fires. Samora was 18 and Romero was 16. Reuben Romero, retired from the Pueblo Forestry Office, told Patricia Chambers for the Taos News in 2008 that the Snowballs “spent 28 days fighting the fire at Capitan Gap with very little equipment or protections and brought honor to the tribe.” The story of Smokey Bear’s rescue was repeated in publications, including a 1950s’ comic book, giving credit for the cub’s rescue to the Army troop, not the Snowballs. That blunder brings “tears to [Paul] Romero’s eyes,” said Warm Day Coming. And while many websites about Smokey Bear still don’t give the Snowballs due credit for saving the beloved bear, the BIA did. On July 9, 2008, at Taos Pueblo the BIA formally acknowledged the part played by the Snowballs in the real-life rescue of an injured, orphaned bear cub that became one of America’s best-loved icons.
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Smokey Bear’s first appearance on a Forest Fire Prevention campaign poster, released on Aug. 9, 1944. Art by Albert Staehle. WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Postage stamp circa 1984 commemorating the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Forest Service mascot, Smokey Bear. SHUTTERSTOCK
Images, from top: Artist E. L. Blumenschein with the legendary “broken wheel,” an 1898 incident that helped launch the Taos Art Colony; Painter E. I. Couse, center, with his favorite models, Jerry Mirabal (left) and Ben Lujan; The original six members of the Taos Society of Artists on the portal of the Couse home, 1915
Bringing legends to light
The LUNDER RESEARCH CENTER, under development at Couse-Sharp Historic Site, will be dedicated to the study of the Taos Society of Artists. Beginning in 2021, the center will welcome scholars, students, and artists who wish to conduct research on the storied TSA and the local cultures that influenced their work. Visit our website to learn more about how you can support this new treasure for Taos!
y r a d n e Leg ons Creati
575.776.3333 sabrosotaos.com Located on Ski Valley Road, 470 State Highway 150 in Arroyo Seco
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Unearthing New Mexico INVESTIGATOR SEARCHES FOR ANSWERS BEHIND STRANGE STONES BY DAVID LERNER
O
n July 6, 2013, Louis Serna was attending his mother’s annual birthday dinner at the historic St. James Hotel in Cimarrón, New Mexico. Serna, now 78, was born and raised in Colfax County, and has written more than 15 books about the people, places and events of Northern New Mexico. His bibliography ranges from detailed genealogies to esoteric lore, and includes a compendium titled “All the Times I Could Have Died,” which is exactly as advertised. While strolling through the hotel — a former haunt of Wild West legends like Wyatt Earp, Jesse James and Buffalo Bill Cody — Serna was intrigued by an incongruous item he found on display in the lobby. Standing about 42 inches high was a weathered pillar of pale stone, each of its four sides carved with arcane symbols such as parapets, a sun sign more Egyptian than Zuni, a chalice and, most prominently, the eight-pointed cross familiar to occultists as the insignia of the Knights Templar, a long-defunct medieval order associated with the Crusades, global finance and countless conspiracy theories. Serna, a veteran investigator of other local archaeological mysteries such as the Los Lunas Decalogue Stone, was at a loss to explain the strange W I KIP EDIACOMMONS pillar’s origin. When he asked a hotel clerk Louis Serna sees about it, he was told evidence of the the stone was either a legendary Knights Santa Fe Trail marker Templar on the pilor a gravestone. He lar stones found in knew both explanations the Valle Vidal. The were incorrect. The Knights Templar was stone was not inscribed a large organization with any names or of devout Christians dates as would be from western Europe typical of a headstone, during the medieval and although the era who protected mountain branch of the European travelers Santa Fe Trail passed visiting sites through Cimarrón, the in the Holy Land. stone did not resemble The knights also other markers found carried out military along that route. operations. Uncovering the truth about this enigmatic object has since appropriated much of Serna’s time and energy. According to research published on his web site, sometime in the 1980s a hunter from Texas discovered the St. James pillar at an unknown spot in the Valle Vidal (Valley of Life), a vast expanse of rugged wilderness north of Cimarrón. Allegedly, the hunter broke the stone loose by tying one end of a rope around its base, affixing the other to the trailer hitch of his pickup and lurching forward. Seeking permission to keep the stone as a souvenir, the hunter approached Milton McDaniel, a prominent local rancher who owned grazing land in the Valle. McDaniel told him no, stating the pillar should stay in Colfax County in his possession. The pillar remained in McDaniel’s home until he sold his property and left Cimarrón some years later, at which point he entrusted the stone to Ed Sitzburger Jr., then the proprietor of the St. James. In the interim, McDaniel sought information from several sources including the Smithsonian Institute, to no avail. The stone garnered little fanfare and yielded no clues until Serna chanced upon it decades later.
To Serna’s surprise, a reader of his blog shortly came forward with photographs of a second and nearly identical stone located in an abandoned logging and mining community called Ponil Park. The U.S. Forest Service now manages the ruins there, which include collapsed railroad trestles and dilapidated ranch dwellings. A reference to the Ponil Park stone appears in a 1994 Los Angeles Times piece exploring the area’s ghost towns. The author describes it as a “unique carved limestone obelisk with a cross made of four elongated hearts and topped by an eight-pointed sunburst or star,” and notes that the pillar is surrounded by grave markers dating to the late 1800s. The author does not specify that the pillar is itself a gravestone, and also mentions that USFS archaeologist Jon Young was unable to learn anything conclusive about the stone. Sadly, Young perished in an El Prado house fire earlier in 2019. All of his written records and archaeological treasures were lost. A break in the case, or at least a slight uptick in publicity, occurred in May 2017 when Albuquerque investigative reporter Chris McKee interviewed Serna. The segment, which aired on KRQE-TV, caught the attention of Scott Wolter, a forensic geologist and host of America Unearthed. The show (whose tagline is “history is not what you’ve been told”) specializes in dubious theories of preColumbian European contact with the New World, an enthusiasm Serna shares. In one episode, Wolter reexamines a cache of lead crosses once believed to be evidence of a Roman-Jewish colony called Calalus that flourished in Tucson, Arizona, from 775-900 A.D. Based on an analysis of mineral inclusions on one of the artifacts, Wolter proclaims the object authentic. However, in the peer-reviewed Journal of the Southwest, Don Burgess argues that the Tucson artifacts are among the greatest archaeological hoaxes ever perpetrated in the 20th century — a period rife with forgeries. Could Wolter’s forensic method shed light on these inexplicable artifacts — objects hoax-weary archaeologists were reticent to seriously consider? For now, an answer to that question has to wait, as production on the episode stalled in the preliminary stages. Finding myself increasingly embroiled in this conundrum, I contacted David E. Stewart, professor emeritus at the University of New Mexico, to ask how one might use the techniques of forensic geology to date the stones. Stewart replied that microscopic analysis could in fact determine the approximate age of the tools used to carve the symbols but cautiously COURTESY TRAVEL CHANNEL added, “most of the unlikely ‘artifacts’ found To aid in his search in the Southwest over for the truth about the last 150 years do the pillar stones, not prove as ancient as Louis Serna reached their finders hope,” a out to forensic statement that perhaps geologist Scott most succinctly explains Wolter, host of the why our best chance for TV show 'America sleuthing the stones’ Unearthed.' Wolter origin currently falls has expressed an on a conspiracy-bent interest. TV host rather than an academic researcher. Severin Fowles, a Barnard College archaeologist who does fieldwork in Taos, concurred that occult symbols such as Templar crosses are “part of the local folk Catholic iconographic repertoire.” Indeed, the consensus among the few professionals who cared to comment is that the pillars are no more than
150 years old, and were probably carved by a local artisan using stones quarried in the area. Serna disagrees. When we spoke, he used pillar replicas he constructed out of foam core to demonstrate their resemblance to the ancient Kilmartin stones of Scotland, the oldest of which CO U RT E SY LO U I S S E RN A date to the 13th century. He believes it is possible that Europeans, possibly Knights Templar, crossed the Atlantic, found on this stone navigated the Río in the Valle Vidal Grande and ported the is very similar to stones to their remote the crosses carved location in the forest, into the other pillar perhaps to mark sacred stones found there. ground or as a 3D treasure map. Serna’s thesis is an imaginative one to be sure, but in lieu of concrete proof it remains firmly in the speculative camp. Other clues to the stones’ origins may lie in the storied history of the Valle Vidal. The valley was originally part of the Maxwell Land Grant, one of the largest land grants in United States history. Adventurer Lucien Maxwell — of whom Serna’s mother-in-law, Tessie Maxwell, is coincidently a direct descendant — was granted the land in 1843. Maxwell sold it to a British firm for over a million dollars in 1870. The newly formed Maxwell Land Grant and Railway Company sought to exploit the land’s economic potential but clashed with homesteaders, precipitating the Colfax County War. In 1902, William Bartlett bought a portion of the land called Vermejo Park. Future owners of Vermejo Park would include the Pennzoil Corporation, the USFS and media mogul Ted Turner. The adjacent Philmont Ranch is currently operated by the Boy Scouts of America. An outdoor enthusiast’s paradise, the Valle Vidal has long been a playground for celebrities and bon vivants drawn to the spectacular scenery and abundant wildlife. Given the international mix of business interests and visitors passing through the Valle Vidal, it is conceivable the stones are ancient heirlooms that once belonged to some wealthy family or individual, deposited for an unknown reason. Dan Brown’s 2003 novel “The DaVinci Code,” posits an alternate history of Christianity in which Jesus and Mary Magdalene married and had children, creating a secret bloodline. Though rife with historical inaccuracies, the runaway bestseller tapped into a uniquely American zeitgeist — the yearning for ancient and holy roots. I have come to believe that Serna’s pillars may mediate a similar desire for some New Mexicans. Could the Sangre de Cristo (literally “blood of Christ”) Mountains have once harbored Merovingian kings, the direct descendants of Jesus? Could the stones contain clues? Alternately, might the chalice symbol carved in the stone represent the “divine feminine” principle and index a prepatriarchal period when men and women lived in harmony? Until the mystery of these stones is finally solved, such speculation can only proliferate. | continues on p. 20
The Knights Templar cross
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COURTESY LOUIS SERNA
The Ponil pillar in the Valle Vidal stands nearly 33 inches tall and is carved with symbols not typical of Northern New Mexico cultures. To prevent vandalism or theft, its exact location is highly guarded by Carson National Forest personnel.
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UNEARTHING NEW MEXICO
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JIM O’DONNELL
Author and researcher Louis Serna believes the pillar stones, one of which is still in an undisclosed location in the Valle Vidal (part of which is pictured above) resemble the ancient Kilmartin Stones of Scotland. He believes it’s possible that Europeans, possibly Knights Templar, crossed the Atlantic, navigated the Río Grande and ported the stones to their remote location in the forest, perhaps to mark sacred ground or as a 3D treasure map.
Louis Serna first spied this stone pillar, right, in December 2013, tucked away in a corner in the St. James Hotel in Cimarrón. The story goes that the hotel’s former owner says the pillar was left in the hotel in by a rancher who found it on nearby forest land.
COU RT ESY KRQE NEW S 13
Using foam replicas during a 2017 television interview with KRQE News 13, author and researcher Louis Serna discusses the symbols carved into the legendary and mysterious stone pillars that have led him to believe they are of Knights Templar origin.
Louis Serna’s bestselling book ‘The Knights Templar’ can be purchased in Taos at Op.Cit Books. His other books may be purchased on Amazon or at louisserna.com.
JULIE OSMANSKI
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The trials and triumph of David Meriwether TAOS FUR TRAPPER TURNED FUGITIVE BECOMES NEW MEXICO’S GOVERNOR BY NOËL-MARIE FLETCHER
Find 65 perfect places to eat and drink
DiningOut ON NEWSTANDS EVERYWHERE TAOSMENUS.COM
MORGAN TIMMS/The Taos News
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D AV I D M E R I W E T H E R
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truggling with scant provisions through the rugged Taos wilderness, a 19-year-old Kentucky fur trapper and his African American servant wondered if they would ever reach American civilization alive after being freed in 1819 from imprisonment in Santa Fe. Finding themselves over 1,000 miles away from the nearest United States settlement, David Meriwether and his companion, Alfred, had ventured into New Mexico on an exploration that had taken a terrible turn. While fur trapping in the Taos area, the men had been ambushed by Mexican troops and witnessed the violent deaths of their companions in the attack. After a period of grim imprisonment, the pair braved the icy Taos wilderness again in search of refuge.
N OËL-M A R I E FL ETC H ER
New Mexico under three governments as dispayed in the Albuquerque Museum. New Mexico's government is both very old, and relatively young. Gov. David Meriwether also served as superintendent of Indian Affairs for the state.
G EN I . COM
New Mexico Territorial Gov. David Meriwether during his administration. President Franklin Pierce appointed Democrat Meriwether in 1853. He was the third governor of New Mexico Territory, serving from 1853 to 1857.
Little did Meriwether know that in 1853 he would return in triumph as governor of the Territory of New Mexico. Meriwether and Alfred had formed a trading party of 17 men, mostly Pawnee, sent out on behalf of the American Fur Company based in New York state. The group was interested in trading fur and other items for bullion as well as gaining permission to hunt and trap animals along waterways in colonial New Mexico. The young Kentuckian was a cousin of famed explorer Meriwether Lewis — of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the first American group to cross the western United States. Already an experienced hunter and trapper, Meriwether had worked for a year helping the American Fur Company achieve dominance of the entire United States fur trade. In the 1820s, the company began to expand its monopoly to the Rocky Mountains from the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. A glimpse at the workings of this ambitious business is shown in an October 1824 article in Niles’ Weekly Register, a popular Baltimorebased national news magazine. It noted that “the greatest quantity of furs ever before offered for sale at one time in the United States will be put up for auction” in New York City to be sold in lots to buyers. The trove consisted of: 10,000 buffalo robes, 12,500 pounds of beaver, 60,000 hare and nutria skins, 72,000 raccoon skins and 120,000 muskrat skins. Meriwether’s group ventured deep into New Mexico and explored the northern wilderness, known for its abundance of opportunities for trappers. While fur trapping in the region surrounding Taos, they were attacked by soldiers patrolling the frontier areas. The soldiers, likely from the garrison in Santa Fe, killed most of the Pawnee and captured Meriwether and Alfred. Both prisoners were escorted to Santa Fe where they were brought before Gov. Facundo Melgares, a former military officer. He accused them of being United States spies and placed them under arrest. At that time, tensions were at a height between the Spanish crown and the U.S. government over Florida, which was eventually ceded to America in 1819. Meriwether was incarcerated inside the Palace of the Governors. Alfred was held in custody at an undisclosed location in Santa Fe. During his imprisonment, the Kentuckian was questioned frequently about his motivation for coming into New Mexico. However, Meriwether was unable to communicate in Spanish. A local French-speaking Catholic priest intervened as an intermediary whom Meriwether, who had learned some French in Louisville, could partially understand. After a month, Meriwether was reunited with Alfred. Both were informed that they were free to return to the United States if they promised never to return to New Mexico. Banished, they were escorted beyond the city of Taos by three soldiers from Santa Fe. They were ordered to make their way to American civilization — and released into the cold. Approaching winter nipped at their heels as they traveled with only a mule, a gun and a small amount of ammunition through harsh terrain and lands populated by unknown Natives who had minimal contact with outsiders. Guided by the sun during the day and the stars at night, they traveled under constant fear of attack amid cold and starvation. They killed their mules to eat. A cave along the journey provided refuge from the snow. Eventually they found shelter in a trading post closer to American lands. After trekking for many months through the wilderness, Meriwether and Alfred reached safety. Grateful for his help and protection during their travels, Meriwether freed Alfred from slavery when they returned to Kentucky. Fate took Meriwether back to New Mexico under better fortunes. In fact, the former captive returned to the place of his imprisonment — the Palace of the Governors — as its lord. Meriwether became the third territorial governor of New Mexico, after being appointed in 1853 by President Franklin Pierce. The president was related to Meri-
wether as a cousin by marriage. It was one of those ironic twists of fortunes that rarely happens in history — some might have thought it destiny. In Santa Fe, thousands of people were on hand to cheer Meriwether, formerly a hounded refugee from New Mexican justice, as he took office. A local newspaper noted that Meriwether was greeted with shouts and huzzahs as he drove up to the Palace of the Governors to take up his post. He served until 1857 before returning to Kentucky, where he served in the legislature and later died in 1893. As strange as this tale may seem, another oddity connected to Meriwether and New Mexico caused many to wonder. On the evening of his triumphal return to the Palace of the Governors where he would make his home, a strange occurrence took place. While imprisoned, Meriwether had once been held captive in a room in the west section. As darkness fell upon the city, the roof of that very room fell in. Was that another stroke of destiny? Some said it was an omen.
It was one of those ironic twists of fortunes that rarely happens in history — some might have thought it destiny.
WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
President Franklin Pierce and Meriwether were cousins.
COURTESY KENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Democrat David Meriwether retired to his plantation near Louisville, Kentucky, where he died April 4, 1893.
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W I K I P E D I A CO M M O N S
From the birth of the United States until the 1800s, the fur trade was in the forefront of American industry. Beaver pelts were made into women’s coats, collars and hats. Trapper David Meriwether left Kentucky for Northern New Mexico to cash in.
Black is white, white is black INFAMOUS TAOS CROSSES CONNECT FAITH AND MYSTICISM WITH ART
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2019 Taos Pueblo Governor Richard Aspenwind, center, pictured with Tribal Secretary Harold Lefthand, left, and Lieutenant Governor Joe Romero, right. Photo by Rick Romancito, Taos News
Legendary: A people who have A people have fought for their Afought people who who have fought for for their culturetheir culture and land through decades of culture and land through decades of and land through challenges. challenges. decades of challenges
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Taos Pueblo War Chief, Richard Archuleta Taos Pueblo War Chief, Richard Archuleta