E-Book Overview
In 1849, the Corps of Topographical Engineers commissioned Lieutenant James H. Simpson to undertake the first survey of Navaho country in present-day New Mexico. Accompanying Simpson was a military force commanded by Colonel John M. Washington, sent to negotiate peace with the Navaho. A keen observer, Simpson kept a journal that provided valuable information on the party's interactions with Indians and also about the land's features, including important pueblo ruins at Chaco Canyon and Canyon de Chelly. His careful observations informed subsequent military expeditions, emigrant trains, the selection of Indian reservations, and the charting of a transcontinental railroad. Editor Frank McNitt discusses the expedition's lasting importance to the development of the West, and his research is enriched by illustrations and maps by artists Richard and Edward Kern. Military historian Durwood Ball contributes a new foreword.
E-Book Content
NAVAHO EXPEDITION The American Exploration and Travel Series NAVAHO EXPEDITION JOURNAL OF A MILITARY RECONNAISSANCE FROM SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO TO THE NAVAHO COUNTRY MADE IN 1849 BY Lieutenant lames H. Simpson Edited and ~nnotated by Frank McNitt Foreword by Durwood Ball UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS Norman THIS BOOK IN FRIENDSHIP, RESPECT, AND GOOD MEMORIES, IS FOR JUAN - John Arrington BY FRANK MCNITT Richard Wetherill: Anasazi (Albuquerque, 1957) The Indian Traders (Norman, 1962) (editor) Navaho Expedition, by Lieutenant James H. Simpson (Norman, 1964) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Simpson, J. H. (James Hervey), 1813-1883. [Journal of a military reconnaissance from Santa FB, New Mexico, to the Navajo country] Navaho expedition; journal of a military reconnaissance from Santa FB, New Mexico to the Navaho country made in 1849/ by James H. Simpson; edited and annotated by Frank McNitt; foreword by Dunvood Ball-Red River Books ed. p. cm. - (The American exploration and travel series) Originally published: Journal of a military reconnaissance from Santa F6, New Mexico, to the Navajo country. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo, 1852. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8061-3570-0 (alk.paper) 1. Simpson, J. H. (James Hervey), 1813-1883-Diaries. 2. Simpson, J. H. (James Hervey), 1813-1883-Journeys-New Mexico. 3. New MexicoDescription and travel. 4. Scientific expeditions-New Mexico. 5.Military topography-New Mexico. 6. Navajo Inlans. 7. Pueblo Indians. 8. New Mexico-Antiquities. g. New Mexico-Surveys. I. McNitt, Frank. 11. Title. 111. Series. Copyright 1964 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Publishing Division of the University. Composed and printed at Norman, Oklahoma, U.S.A., by the University of Oklahoma Press. First Edtion. First printing of Red River books edition, 2003. Contents Preface Introduction, by Frank McNitt Muster Roll Foreword, by Dunvood Ball Orders No. 32 The Journal Epilogue Appendices Sources Index This page intentionally left blank Illustrations James Hervey Simpson Colonel John M. Washington Benjamin J. Kern, Richard H. Kern, Edward M. Kern Edward M. Kern's Map of the 1849 Navaho Expedition xvii xviii xix xx Interior of Quartermaster's Corral, Headquarters, Department of New Mexico. facing page 32 Soldiers Quarters, Fort Marcy, Santa Fe. 33 "Northwest View of the Ruins of the Pueblo Pintado." 48 "Narbona, Head Chief of the Navahos." 49 "Mariano Martinez, Chief of the Navaho Indians." 96 "Restoration of the Pueblo of Hungo Pavie." 97 "Pueblo of Zufii." 160 161 "North Face of Inscription Rock." 166 "Pueblo of Jemez from the East." "Chapaton, Chief of the San Juan Navahos." 167 James S. Calhoun 176 Company Officers' Quarters, Fort Marcy. l77 vii This page intentionally left bla