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SCO.90.gentsut ofin uem 10 a ricn Mexican, and, not being able to pay the debt, the rich man would have the unfortunate one summoned before the ‘Alcalde* of the precinct and the facts of the case laid before that official. He would order the delinquent to go to work for the complainant, and the next morning the debtor would be installed as a full-fledged ‘peon’ in the family of the rich man. He would work on, getting articles from the store as they were neei-ed by himself and family, and at the end of the month would be more in debt than when he commenced. Each month he would be in the same condition and then his wife would become a ‘peon;* then his children, one after the other, until finally the whole family were such. According u the law these persons could become free by paying the amount of their debt, but, during my seven, years* residence in the Territory, i never knew a single ‘peon’ to get his free papers by suchcourse.“The other way 'peons’ were obtained by the rich people was this: Everyfall there would be war parties organized from each village in tha Rio Grande Valley who would start out to the Xavaho country. These parties would consist of from fifteen to forty men, usually mounted on burros, with provisions for thirty days and such arms as could be gathered together. After reaching the Navaho country they would select a village or ‘rancheria’ which they thought could be taken without loss to themselves and, waiting for the early hours of the morning would descend upon it. They would kill or drive off the “bucks”, make prisoners of the women and children, and, after collecting such plunder as they could carry on their burros, would return to their homes. The prisoners would then be sold to the rich Mexicans of the neighborhood and would become ‘peons’ for all time to come. The proceeds of these sales and the plunder wrould be divided among the members of the foraging parrty. These parties were extremely careful about attacking large villages in the Indian country and such as they thought they could not capture were given a wide berth. Sometimes, however, they made mistakes, and there were instances when the war parties returned to their homes, less in number than when they started and without prisoners or plunder.Ien A. t C. S Cl E. S Sul 1 lin, ] Win and charNlt;M. I Fk S. Brillo Ron J. IV gan GaliNo(Continued on Paae Elaht.)
Newspaper Details
Santa Fe New Mexican
Santa Fe, New Mexico, US
Sat, Jul 15, 1905
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Texas A.
TX, USA 13 Jan 2023
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