Document text
Simeon Tepid&
Taos,New Mexico
Translated by
Lorin W. Brown
April 17,1939
1,530 words
HISTORY OF A BUFFALO HUNTER
Submitted 3/31/59
Words
V)r 19315
r
Or
Don Manuel Jesus Vasques was born in the settlement of Chamisal,
Taos County on the 31st day of January of the year 1656. He himself
does not know how he came to live at the home of Don Juan Policarpio
Romero of the village of Name° but at the age of eight he was herd..
boy for a flolarof goats belonging to Don Juan Polioarpio Romero and
continued as such until he married Rosario Fresquez of Psaasce.
After he was married he practised carpentry, making coffins for
the dead, during the great smallpox plague of the year 1675. There were
days in which four or five deaths occured and Don Manuel could not
make coffins enough to supply the demand and there was no other carpen-
ter in ?shim. Some of the dead were placed on poles and dragged to
the cemetery by burros.
While the epidemic raged Don Manuel continued making coffins and
when it had aubsided in POnaseo, Don Juan Policarpio sent him to Oasts,
Chaoon and Santa Clara,now known as Wigon Mound, to make coffins at
those places.
In the year 1677 Don Policarpio sent Don Manuel Jesus Vasquez
in company with other men to the plains on a buffalo hunt. He left
',Risco with a,Nivajo Indian called Juan Jesus Romero, whom Don Poll
carpi° Romero had raised,. Alvino Ortega and Jesus Maria Ortega of the
settlement of El Llano do San Juan (Plains of Saint Jahn) as well as
some thirty other men want with them on the buffalo hunt. They took
with than fifteen ox drawn carts, the oxen's horns were tied securely
to the yokes with straps of ox -hide. This group of men met in Peiasco
on thel5th of November,1677 before setting out on thehunt. They set
the same day for Mora, there they were joined by more men and more carts,
-2
from there they went to Oeste and there also, they were joined by
more men and more carts. From this place they traveled as far at the
Colorado river which they crossed below what is now the town of
Springer in Colfax County, At that time there was not a single house
thereor at least they saw none, nor did they see any footprints and
there was no trail of any kind. They were traveling towards the
state of Oklahoma and reached Chieosalso in Colfax County. At this place
they camped for a few days in order to rest their oxen. A meeting was
called with len object of placing some one of them at the head of the ex-
pedition, votes were east and Don Alvino Ortega of the Llano de San
Juan received a majority of votes and was given the title of "Comandante:
Commander.
From this time on nothing was done except at the express commend
of Don Alvin° Ortega, he ordered the oxen to be yoked, he gave the or-
der to male camp, to water the animals, he also ordered mounted men to
ride ahead ko scoutefor signs of Indians who might cause them trouble,
and to reconnoiter ahead for water for since there was no road over the
prairies it was quite possible and dangerous that at any moment they
might suddenly come upon a deep canon or swollen stream which they
would not be able to cross. These scouts would ride ahead of the cara-
van, returning to the cam each night.
They passed close to the site of the city of Clayton by way of
a pring called El Ojo del Cibolo (Buffalo Spring) and continued across
Texas to enter Oklahoma at a point called Punta de Agua (Waterhole).
It took them a month to reach buffalo country. At a point called Pilares
a buffalo bull was killed which furnished them meat for a few days.
krom Pilares the expedition traveled for three or four daysmore
until it reached a river called Rio de las Nutrias (Beaver River).
They camped a short ways down the stream and began hunting buffaloes.
'NZ's
The hunt continued until they had killed enough buffaloes to
fill fifty carts with the meat. Only the meat which could be out in-
to large strips was used, that is, the hind quarters the hump The
buffalo fat was saved also.
The hunt was conducted on horseback and lances were the weapons
used. The commander would order the men to form a line placing the
hunters mounted on the swifter horses at each end no that when they ad-
vanced an a herd of buffalo the ends of the line would lead the rest
in an encircling movement of the beasts.
When the men were formed in line and before they launched them-
selves on the buffalo the Commander would ask that they all pray to..
gather and ask the Almighty God for strength fte the impending hunt.
when the Comnander was heard to say,"Ave Maria Purissima" Hail Holy
Mary) the line would move forward an one man the end men on their swift..
er horses outdietanoing the rest so as to encirile the herd which was
to be attacked.
ttome of the men designated as Skinners followed the hunt driving
burros before them. These men skinned the fat cows only for the dead an
male were so plentiful that they would ignore the bulls and lean cows.
They would pack the buffalo meat into camp where they would out
it into convenient sized strips after which they would slice it very t
thin and hang it up to dry on poles. The "cecina" or jerked meat was
prepared in the following manner; long strips were cut frai. the camisoles,
for thisolen expert at the job were selected. After the meat had cooled
it was spread on hides and tramped on until it was drained of blood and
then Zs we have alread7 stated the cecinas were hung on poles to dry in
the sun. After it had dried they would stack it up like cordwood, each
pile containing enoueh meat to load three or four carts.
As soon as the Commander thought that sufficient meat had been
prepared to fill all of the ox -carte he would give orders to cease
killing buffaloes. He then would assign three or four carts to each
pile of meat and he himself would divide the meat according to the cliff.
erent kinds, larger pieces* meat from the hump and the tallow,- the
smaller pieces were anybodies property in any quantity desired.
In loading the meat the same method was used as in loading fodder*
some would load the meat on the cart while the owner of theoart would
trample it down so as to get as much of a load on the cart as he possi..
bly could and all that the oxen would be able to haul home.
After the carts were loaded a party of ten plains Indians of the
Kiowa tribe suddenly rode into camp. The Indians asked for something
to eat and their request was complied with, after they had eaten some
of the party thought it would be a good idea to kill the Indians ar-
guing that they were only ten in number and could be safely dispatched
whereas if they were allowed to leave they might apprise others of their
tribe and return in larger numbers to kill the members of the hunting
party and steel the meat. Don Manuel J08118 Vasqueb opposed this plan,
the Indians were ordered Alt of camp. They retired a short distance but
followed the homeward bound caravan for a long distance.
The following morning on orders of the Commander the long trek home was
begun in earnest.
At the crossing of the Nutrias river the ccObeart belonging to the
only American in the party, became stuck in midstream. This American
lived in Coate. After all the rest of the ox -carts had safely crossed
the river, all of the party helped in extricating the American's cart
from the river and onto dry land. The actual hunting of the buffaloes
lasted one month, the trip to and from the hunting grounds recuired a
month's travel each so that the whole trip lasted three months. It took
three months of that winter for the entire trip.
This expedition was fret, of any dispute or fight of any kind,
whatever Don Manuel ordered was executed and the.liholeexped4ion 77
got. ale* Very.agreeably.
When Don Manuel Jesus Vasquez returned to Pegasco preparations
were being made for another expedition to the country of the Comanches
and Cayguas (Kiowas) to-rarda Kansas. Don :annel Jesus Vasques went on
this trip also. The object of this trip was the buying of horses from
the Apaches and Kiowas. On this trip burros loaded with bread were
Cakennalong. The bread was a certain kind of bread called Comanche bread.
This bread wav made of wheat flour but without yeast so that the bread
was as hard or harder than a rocki and was traded to the Indians for
horses. The Indians were Kiowas and Comanches. L "triaea" of bread
was ,S.ven ftr each horse. A "trinca" was half a sack of bread or in other
words a sack of bread for a pair of horses. At this time the Indians
already were receiving some aid from the government and they would feed
those who went to trade with them, they had plenty of coffee and sugar.
Twenty men went on this trading expedition and they brought fifteen
horses back to Peftasco with theme
The most of the :ion who went on this expedition worked for wages,
small wages however, no one of them ever nade more than 54 a day.
Yet Don Juan Policarpio Ilomero never ivid Don Yanuel Jesus Vaacines a
sinlc; cent for hls labors, as shepherd for his flock of goats nor for
the making of coffins, nor for his services as a buffalo hunter or
horse trwaer with the Indians, but he did keep Don Manuel and his fem..
ily. While his patron lived Don Manuel never held one single penny in
his hand.
Don Manuel Jesus Vasques who is alive today at the age of
83 says that he never recollects having seen the inside of a school
house, but that his patron taught him how to sign his name. Don
Juan Policarpio left or designated Don Manuel as one of his heirs and
the sons of Don Juan Policarpio Romero gave him four goats and asked
him to sign a paper which attested that he had received his share of
the inheritance, and he not knowing how to read signed. The Probate
Judge at Taos called him before him and asked Don Manuel if he was
content and satisfied and upon his answering that he was, he signed
the paper or document.
Fin
My Informant is the same Don Manuel Jesus Vaaques who is 83 years
old.
Pe&Imo N.M.