New Mexico's Spanish Livestock Heritage by William W. Dunmire

Author:William W. Dunmire [Dunmire, William W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, United States, State & Local, Southwest (AZ; NM; OK; TX)
ISBN: 9780826350916
Google: fMSxVxkiq3YC
Publisher: UNM Press
Published: 2013-04-01T04:09:09+00:00

Comanche and Ute

The earliest documentary reference to these nomadic Indians was in 1706, when a party of Southern Utes and Comanches surrounded Taos Pueblo with the apparent aim of raiding it. No attack occurred, but the two tribes continued to roam and raid as allies until 1749, when they became enemies.50 The real enemy for the Comanches, however, was the Apaches, with whom they were continually at war. The Comanches are thought to have encroached on the Plains Indians, including the Mescalero Apaches, from the northeast, pushing them south and west.51

Both the Utes and the Comanches seem to have acquired horses and learned to ride sometime before the Pueblo Indian Revolt.52 The Comanches became known as the most expert Indian horsemen on the plains, and the horse became a defining element of their culture. Their role in New Mexico was somewhat incongruous. At times they traded with Pueblo Indians and colonists—particularly at the annual trade fair in Taos that had started in 1723. Most other times they carried out devastating raids across the province for horses and other loot.53 The tables were turned at least once when two Spanish New Mexicans stole twenty horses from a Comanche leader trading in Santa Fe. The Spaniards were arrested, tried, and found guilty.54

Except for stealing large numbers of horses and occasionally sheep and cattle, the two tribes had little direct impact on the history of livestock in New Mexico. Of course, the Comanches are long gone from the state, though the Ute Mountain Reservation does extend across our border from Colorado.

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