Chapter 4: Lieutenants Abert and Peck in New Mexico

After Emory set off to California with the Army of the West, Lieutenant James W. Abert, with the assistance of Lieutenant William G. Peck, embarked on a three month survey and examination of the newly acquired New Mexican territory. Guided by Emory's detailed instructions, the two topogs and their party rode out through the Rio Grande valley, taking topographic readings and making a meticulous inquiry into the uses and possibilities of the region. They constantly scrutinized and recorded their surroundings, going from town to town noting agriculture production, estimating the population, and examining mineral resources. Finishing their survey around Christmas of 1846, Abert and Peck returned to Washington via separate routes. The return trip proved much more severe than the work in New Mexico. In particular, Abert proved his mettle during that grueling winter.

During the first leg of Kearny's march from Fort Leavenworth Lieutenant Abert had become quite ill and remained behind at Bent's Fort to recuperate. Three weeks later he felt well enough to at least resume his journal. With a copy of Horace, a Greek testament, and his ever-ready sketch book, the topog optimistically wrote, "I served to make the hours of confinement pass pleasantly." By 27 August he felt well enough to make it down the stairs from his room without help. As time passed Abert regained his strength. He began making preparations to rejoin the Army of the West and purchased mules for the journey to Santa Fe. During his stay at the trading post, the residents of the fort, aware of Abert's

interest in natural history, provided the inquisitive officer with samples of plants and minerals and a wildcat hide-all of which he avidly added to his growing collection.1

Abert also displayed the same keen interest as Emory in the culture of the American Indians. While recuperating at Bent's Fort he took the opportunity to renew his friendship with the Cheyenne Chief Old Bark. When the topog later prepared his report he commended the Cheyennes, particularly because of the rare number of offenses committed against the whites and their honesty in trading. The report also reflected Abert's sympathy for the tribe's desperate condition at the time. The Cheyennes were beset with hunger, shortage of game, and severe epidemics of measles and whooping cough. Abert placed some of the blame for the Indians' plight on Washington:

As the people of the United States have been, and are, the greatest cause of the diminution in the quantity of game, by continually travelling through the country, by multiplying roads, and thus destroying the quiet ranges where the animals breed; by killing many of them, and by the immense numbers that they induce the Indians to destroy for their robes, it seems but fair that the United States should assist the Cheyennes. At this moment a very beneficial influence might be exerted upon them, as they have their minds now full of this plan of... forming permanent habitations, and of living like the whites, by tilling the ground and raising cattle.2

The Indian visitors to the trading fort, in turn, took an interest in Abert and his drawing skills. After seeing his plant sketches, they insisted that he draw their portraits. In return he had the Indians bring in more plant and wildlife specimens. With the aid of an interpreter, the topog began to take copious notes. One topic of interest, not surprising considering his own health at the time, included Indian folk medicine. He contrasted the Cheyenne's use of the juice of a root to treat rattlesnake bites with the typical cure of the frontiersmen who frequented the fort. "At Bent's Fort," Abert wrote, "the usual remedy is alcohol. They say that if they can make a person drunk, soon after the bite he is safe."3

Abert also compiled a Cheyenne dictionary during his stay at the fort. Unfortunately, this portion of his papers disappeared during his hard winter journey back to St. Louis later that year. His final report, however, did include several pages of the Cheyenne vocabulary based on letters he forwarded earlier to the Topographical Bureau and notes he kept in his sketch book.4

After a stay of over a month Abert felt well enough to travel. He set out on the afternoon of 9 September 1846 with a small party bound for Santa Fe. He seemed happy to be back on the open prairie again, and the party made eight miles the first day. Once encamped after a long day's journey, the stylistic Abert added more observations and insights to his journal. "At night," he recalled, "we had a serenade from a full choir of prairie wolves; they collected around our camp in great numbers, and broke forth in sudden bursts of their inimitable music."5

One week later the party approached Raton Pass. Excited by the increasing signs of wildlife, Abert moved quickly ahead of his companions, crossed over the pass, and left his ox team far behind. By now his growing specimen collection included a gopher, a horned lizard, and a centipede. Reunited the following day, the party continued to descend the pass over a rocky trail lined with the wreckage of wagons of earlier travelers.6

Several times the topographer and his companions met travelers passing in the opposite direction, and they passed on the latest news of Kearny's peaceful occupation of Santa Fe. As the party neared Las Vegas on the 23d, signs of civilization began to appear in the form of homes and grazing sheep and cattle. They arrived in the town the following day and immediately moved on in the direction of Santa Fe through a succession of small New Mexican towns. Abert, however, did find some time to investigate and describe the adobe construction and irrigation systems of the region they crossed. By the 27th they reached a point only 27 miles from Santa Fe and hurriedly pushed on to their destination. The ex-

hausted topog later noted that he was soon seated amongst my friends, who looked upon me as one awakened from the dead."7

After arriving in Santa Fe Abert received new instructions to conduct another independent survey. Before Emory departed with Kearny's Army of the West on 25 September, he left instructions for Abert and Peck to continue the survey of New Mexico. Peck had also suffered an illness, and Emory decided after consulting with Kearny that both lieutenants should make the map of New Mexico based upon his preliminary observations. In addition, the two lieutenants were instructed to furnish "an account of the population and resources, military and civil, of the province."8

The population, number of cattle, horses, and sheep, and the quantity of grain and other agricultural products, the facilities and best localities for water power to propel machinery, and also the mineral resources of the country, it is very desirable to know. You will, therefore, give particular attention to acquiring all the information on these subjects which the present statistical knowledge in the country will afford.9

Before setting out on his next venture, Abert took time to explore Santa Fe and comment in his journal about the town's people and customs. He visited the marketplace and attended a local fandango, where the young officer noted the New Mexicans' love of music and display of good manners. "For a Mexican," he wrote, "never even lights his cigaritto without asking your consent."10

On 29 September Abert and Peck headed south to investigate the gold mining region along Galisteo Creek. There they found primitive mines, and within a week the lieutenants returned to Santa Fe with a variety of samples. Then they packed the mineral samples and wildlife specimens for shipment to Washington. Abert followed this with further exploration of Santa Fe. He drew sketches of the town and its churches. Along with a description of the town he also wrote a laudatory account of the construction of Fort Marcy. Abert liked to visit the marketplace for a daily promenade because as he noted, "one sees more of character displayed in the market place than at any other public assembly." He also began to compare his notes with those of Lieutenant Zebulon Pike, who explored the same region in 1807.11

On 8 October Abert and Peck and their small party set out to begin their topographic survey. Their survey lasted over two months until their return to Santa Fe on 23 December. Initially, the topogs followed the Rio Grande south as far as Valverde, a distance of 150 miles. Then they moved northwest of the river seventy-five miles opposite Albuquerque. In the final leg of their exploration the topographers turned eastward for the final fifty miles.12

spent two days in Laguna and Acoma, and on the 22d headed east again, about five miles north and parallel to the Laguna-Acoma road. They visited the ruins of Rito and encamped again on the Rio Puerco. By the 26th they were back in Albuquerque. 13

The so-called Seven Cities of Cibola did not impress the Americans. The disappointed topogs found Rito a pile of adobe ruins. The other towns were simple one- and two-story pueblos occupied by primitive Indians who practiced simple agricultural methods similar to those of Indians east of the Rio Grande. Acoma, located on a high limestone rock, appeared somewhat more pretentious. The topographers reached the town by a narrow stairway cut out of the rock face.14

Local officials and wealthy citizens usually greeted and provided quarters to the unescorted party. By the time an American escort did show up, Abert believed that his party had already ventured through the most dangerous areas. He elected to move on without troop protection. When Abert reached the Rio Grande, news of General Zachary Taylor's victory at the northern Mexican city of Monterrey began to reach New Mexico.15

The next leg of Abert's survey led his party to Valverde. Between 27 and 31 October the topographers traveled up and down the banks of the Rio Grande, crossing several times between Peralta and Padilla and again at the Canon Inferno and continuing eastward through the Sierra Blanca to Chilili. The party discovered Chilili abandoned and in ruins. Apparently a stream changed its course thereby forcing the inhabitants to establish a new settlement nearby. On 6 November the group again joined the Rio Grande at Casa Colorado and proceeded along the banks of the river south through La Joya de Ciboletta and Socorro. By the 15th they reached the American dragoon camps at Valverde, part of Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan's expeditionary force gathering for the move into northern Mexico to join forces with Taylor. While investigating the ruins of Valverde, Abert learned that Doniphan and his Missouri volunteers had encamped nearby in Socorro.16

Abert found Valverde a hub of American activity in anticipation of Doniphan's march to Chihuahua. Many trading wagons and their civilian teams had already gathered in town to support the assembling army. Abert and his party remained near Valverde for nearly a month to conduct astronomical observations, gather more specimens, and visit Doniphan and the nearby army camps. The topog lieutenant also took advantage of the army's communications link with Washington and forwarded several reports of his activities to the Topographical Bureau.17

By 12 December Abert had completed the survey and made preparations to return to Washington. Orders received from Colonel Abert directed the two lieutenants to return to the topographic headquarters to prepare a map and report of their New Mexico surveys. The two had accumulated information of great interest in the capital, and their orders insured that topographers would not accompany Doniphan's army. Apparently, neither Kearny nor Colonel Abert saw fit to assign Topographical Engineers to Doniphan, and he in turn did not make a request to assign even one topog to his staff. Abert considered joining Doniphan, but he did not know where that expedition, or another army assembling in Texas under Brigadier General John E. Wool, would go after reaching Chihuahua.18

trader who had crossed the prairies in the winter; and as he had done it, I did not see why it might not be done again, moreover, my orders to return had to be obeyed."19

Abert then organized a party for the return trip. During his stay at Valverde he hired eighteen men recently discharged from the trade caravans and interested in returning to the United States. On 23 December 1846, after a nine day trip, his party reached Santa Fe. Upon arriving they heard news of a planned New Mexican insurrection. Adding to the negative tone of his return trip, news had arrived of the latest Comanche depredations along the Canadian River. These dire warnings did not deter the intrepid topographer from spending the next five days preparing for the long journey. With his valuable notes and specimens packed, Abert and his party departed Santa Fe on the 28th amidst an ominous snow storm. Meanwhile, Peck had made separate plans to depart later along a slightly different route.20

Both of the topographers endured many trials and hardships on their return trips. The weather turned very cold on the prairie, and the snow at Raton Pass reportedly reached depths of five feet. In one instance Abert's foot froze to the stirrup on his mule. The cold and weary party also had to haggle over the price of corn with the inhabitants along the New Mexican portion of their route. Abert abruptly put a stop to this and made the New Mexicans accept the standard quartermaster rate. Wagons broke down and required expedient repairs. Fortunately, the wagons could be readily patched up because of the availability of materials from the many abandoned wagons along the route. They trudged on and along the way passed one party of wagoners who had decided to remain in one spot throughout the winter. Icy conditions also plagued the cold and fatigued travelers, particularly when crossing streams and climbing and descending the slippery banks. The descent to the fording sites usually resulted in wagons skidding down the slope, dragging men and ani-

mals into cold streams or across icy surfaces. Reluctant ox teams and mules had to be dragged through the freezing water.21

Such conditions began to take toll of Abert's party. The men riding either in the wagon boxes or on the mules exposed themselves to frostbite. To keep warm they trudged through the deep snow. In one instance, however, this effort so fatigued two members of the party that they could not walk any farther. Seven men contracted measles, and Abert noted, "Many of the men were getting sick and nearly all had dreadful coughs." It became increasingly difficult for the weakening group to hunt game. By the time the exhausted party reached Bent's Fort, on 20 January 1847, most of the men were very sick. Little did they realize that their ordeal had only begun.22

The harsh trip thus far did not convince the topog to hole up at the fort until spring. He hastily made plans to push on eastward across present-day Colorado and Kansas toward Fort Leavenworth. After exchanging wagons and obtaining provisions for forty days, Abert left the seven sick men and pushed on through Indian country. The smaller party proceeded along the Santa Fe Trail watchful for roving bands of Pawnees and Arapahos known to have raided wagon trains along the trail. The Cheyennes they encountered appeared friendly; however, in one instance Indians stole some axes but their chief returned the pilfered items. Although Abert remained on guard while passing through Arapaho country, he did accept an invitation to visit the lodge of Chief Long Beard for a feast. The topog nonchalantly observed that the dog meat being consumed was considered "bon bouche" for festive occasions. Considering the less than fastidious appetite of his men, Abert added, "It was well he kept his fat dogs under his eye, or some of my party might have been tempted to commit similar extravagances."23

By 1 February the weather took a turn for the worse. A blizzard struck their camp, and members of the party arose the next morning to discover several men buried in the heavy snowfall. Only by tracing cracks on the snow's surface did the searchers find their buried comrades. According to Abert these cracks were "caused by the movements of the restless sleepers; covered by a heavy mantle

of snow they had kept extremely warm, and now the chill air felt to them more intolerable." They also found three of the mules frozen to death. Abert speculated that the same fate would have befallen the remainder of the party if the storm had lasted much longer. When the party proceeded to dig out its belongings, one of the men suffering from snow blindness and sitting off to the side suddenly shouted an alarm. He felt something tugging at his buffalo robe, and panicking he somehow scared off some famished wolves. The following day a less fortunate mule wandered off, and this time the wolves succeeded in getting a meal.24

On the morning of the 6th Abert and his men discovered that all the mules were missing. Abert wrote angrily, "There was no doubt that the Pawnees had driven the animals off; we were on their hunting grounds, where no other tribe of Indians dare venture without fear." He knew it was impossible to track down the Indians, and now without pack animals Abert considered caching his collection of geological and wildlife specimens. He decided, however, against such a drastic course of action. Abert also had to overrule some members of the party who wanted to leave a sick man behind with provisions they hoped would last until another caravan came along. Fort Leavenworth still remained some 348 miles away.25

Some good fortune and spirit, however, persisted within the jaded company of travelers. They found two abandoned oxen and hitched them to the party's remaining wagon. Abert's journal vividly described how his men exerted incredible effort to move on. "Then attaching ourselves in a line with long ropes," he wrote, "we moved off from the scene of all our miseries, with more cheerful hearts, than for many a long day; the air was rent with shouts and laughter as we rejoiced in thus triumphing over our disasters." They moved off at a rate of two miles per hour during this "ne plus ultra" phase of the trek to their destination.26

Some of the topog's party, however, did not make it to the fort. They reached Pawnee Fork on the 12th, but one of the men became too ill to go on. He remained along the side of the road with two guards. Another blizzard struck the party a week later at Turkey Creek. After thirty-six hours of heavy snow Abert and his

men again dug themselves out. They found two men buried in six feet of snow. This time one of them did not survive.27

The worst was over. Abert made arrangements with another wagon train to ship most of the specimens and baggage to Washington. Leaving all but two of his men with the wagon train, Abert, now outfitted with a horse, rode swiftly eastward. Three weeks later he finally reached Washington, over two months after his departure from Santa Fe.28

Lieutenant Peck's return trip back to Washington also featured some excitement. He delayed his departure until the American army of occupation put down an insurrection in the northern New Mexican town of Taos in early 1847. A few days out of Santa Fe the topographer's small party lost ten horses and mules to Comanche raiders. The following day the Indians made off with the remaining thirty-five animals. In the ensuing gunfight a musket ball reportedly struck Peck's pistol at the point of the manufacturer's stamped impression, thus creating a similar impression on the ball. When the shooting ended one of the men next to the topog had been wounded, and Peck noticed his own uniform had several bullet holes.29

The trek to St. Louis held further adventures for the young topog. That evening, however, he had the good fortune to meet another party of Americans, including Kit Carson, now resuming his trek east after marching with Kearny to California. During the meeting Peck acquired several replacement horses. Farther along the Arkansas, another Indian attack, this time by Pawnees, attempting to capture the horses. This time they easily drove off the marauders. By the time Peck reached St. Louis on 16 May 1847, U.S. troops were being dispatched to secure the Santa Fe route.30

Peck did not submit a formal report of his return from Santa Fe, but his return trip did contribute to the geographic knowledge of the West. His change in routes allowed him to hastily survey the adjacent Cimarron route. "It is nothing but a reconnaissance," he

later wrote, "and was made in the same manner that all other reconnaissances have been made in that country, except that I had no means of establishing astronomical positions. The country is eminently favorable to a compass line, and I think it may give a fair idea of the route." Later the Topographical Bureau incorporated Peck's survey into Emory's map.31

In 1848 the Senate and House ordered Abert's "Report and Map of the Examination of New Mexico" printed. Because Abert and Peck had also incorporated the surveys of Emory and Warner, their's was an up-to-date, accurate, and significant report and map of the region. When the United States obtained the territory of New Mexico in 1848 by the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, a professional piece of cartography depicting terrain, settlements, waterways, and routes already existed. Along with the work done by Emory, the resultant map would serve as the framework for further surveys of the Southwest. In addition, the bureau incorporated Abert's map into Fremont's more complete 1848 map of the West. The written portion of Abert's report and map comprised 130 pages of printed text, two pages of comments on geology of New Mexico, and many beautiful sketches that included representations of Santa Fe, Indians, towns, the ruins of Pecos and Acoma, and natural wonders such as Canon Inferno.32

years, the two former topogs took on civilian college teaching careers- Abert as a professor of English literature at the University of Missouri at Rolla and Peck as a professor of physics and civil engineering at the University of Michigan and later as a professor of mathematics, astronomy, and mechanics at Columbia University. He authored several textbooks on mathematics and mechanics and translated a physics textbook from French to English. Abert died in 1897 at the age of 77 after a long and distinguished career. Peck died in 1892.33

The campaign in the Southwest resulted in the acquisition by the United States of the coveted southwestern region. Accompanying Kearny's Army of the Southwest, Emory, Abert, and Peck produced comprehensive reports of the region. Their maps and surveys would later serve as a solid foundation of geographic knowledge for later surveys made by the Corps of Topographical Engineers. In turn, the topographic surveys would provide valuable information to travelers and for the future development of the territory.

Drawing made by Lieutenant Abert during his convalescence at Bent's Fort in 1846, from his report. (National Archives)

View of Monterrey from Independence Hill in the rear of the Bishop's Palace. (Library of Congress)

Map of Buena Vista surveyed by Captain Linnard and Lieutenants Pope Franklin and drawn by Lieutenant Sitgreaves. (National Archives)