Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/332

 320 NEW MEXICO sors and directors for each county, consisting of three persons elected biennially, with the probate judge of the county as ex officio presi- dent of the board. The school fund consists of 25 per cent, of the entire tax on property, a poll tax of $1 on every male citizen above the age of 21 years, and any "surplus of more than $500 in the treasury of any county after paying the current expenses of such county." The statistics of the schools for 1873 are as follows : "3 a o CLASS OF SCHOOLS. H ! &^s 08 O 'far, J Income. Public schools supported by taxation. 183 5,625 186 w $29,721 57 Private schools 26 1,370 53 9 4 27,100 00 Pueblo schools 6 107 7 6 4,000 00 Total 164 7,102 196 $60,821 57 Of the public schools, 10 were taught in Eng- lish, 111 in Spanish, and 12 in both languages. The Pueblo schools were all English. Of those classed as private several are conventual and other Catholic schools; 7 were English and 19 mixed. According to the census of 1870, the number of schools of all kinds was 44, with 72 teachers, 1,798 pupils, and an in- come of $29,886. In the same year there were 116 libraries with 39,425 volumes, of which 83 with 29,805 volumes were private. Of those not private, 24 were church libraries, with 3,250 volumes ; 3 Sabbath school, 760 ; 2 school, college, &c., 1,200; 2 court and law, 210; 1 territorial, 4,000; and 1 circulating, 200. The number of church organizations was 158, with 152 edifices, 81,560 sittings, and property to the value of $322,621. Of these, 152 organizations, with 149 edifices, 80,710 sittings, and property to the value of $313,321, were Roman Catholic. There were also a Baptist, a Methodist, a Presbyterian, and three Episcopal organizations. In 1874 one daily (English and Spanish) and 11 weekly (5 Eng- lish and 6 English and Spanish) newspapers and one semi-monthly periodical were pub- lished. New Mexico was among the earliest of the interior portions of North America vis- ited by the Spaniards ; and distant as it is from the sea, the adventurous spirit of that people led them here nearly a century before the Eng- lish had landed on the shores of New England. Alvar Nunez (Cabeca de Yaca), with the rem- nant of those who accompanied Narvaez to Florida, reached New Mexico before 1537, and made a report to the viceroy of Mexico of what they saw. The expedition of Marco de Niza followed in 1539, and that under Coro- nado the next year. The latter traversed the country N. of the Gila occupied by the Pue- blo Indians, and pushed his way eastward beyond the Rio Grande to the country of the cibola, or bison, and is the first who speaks of that animal, which he calls " a new kind of ox, wild and fierce, whereof the first day they killed fourscore, which sufficed the army with flesh." The great prairies and desert plains of New Mexico are so truthfully described by Castaneda, the historian of the expedition, that no doubt remains of his having crossed the entire country. In 1581 other adventurers under Capt. Francisco de Bonillo reached the country, and on their return made known the mineral wealth existing there, which caused the name of New Mexico to be applied to it. About this period Agustin Ruiz, a Franciscan missionary, entered the country, and was soon after murdered by the Indians. A more suc- cessful official of the government was Don An- tonio Espejo, who took with him a body of men to protect the missions. The viceroy of Mexico sent Juan de Onate to take formal pos- session of the country in the name of Spain, and to establish colonies, missions, and forts there. The year of his arrival is by some wri- ters stated to be 1595, by others 1599. The missionaries met with great success in Chris- tianizing the native tribes. The Pueblo In- dians were more ready to adopt the new faith than the roving tribes ; and it is a singular fact that on rediscovering some of these Pueblos, when they had been without any priest for nearly a century, many of the Christian rites and doctrines were found among them, though strangely blended with their own religion. Espejo found the people considerably advanced in civilization. They wore garments of cot- ton of their own manufacture. Their arms were large bows, and arrows terminated with sharp-pointed stones ; their long wooden swords were also armed with sharp stones. They car- ried shields made of the raw hides of bisons. Some of the people lived in stone houses sev- eral stories high, the walls of which were or- namented with pictures; these lived in the valleys and cultivated the soil. In the villages were seen a great many idols, and in every house was a chapel dedicated to some evil ge- nius. Ofiate is said by historians to have been the most successful of all the officials sent to New Mexico. Many new missions were estab- lished, mines were opened and worked, and the country was in a flourishing state. But the enslavement of the Indians by the colo- nists, who compelled them to labor in the mines, was too much for them to bear. They made several ineffectual efforts to rid them- selves of their oppressors, and finally in 1680 drove out the Spaniards, and recovered the whole country as far south as El Paso del Norte. It was not until after several attempts that the Spaniards regained possession of the country in 1698. In 1846 Santa Fe was taken by a United States force under Gen. Kearny, who soon after conquered the whole territory from Mexico. In 1848 it was ceded to the United States by the treaty of Guadalupe Hi- dalgo. A territorial government was organ- ized by the act of Sept. 9, 1850. The region S. of the Gila river, known as the Gadsden