Kearny's Dragoons at the Pima Villages

CAVALCADE GENERAL KEARNY'S DRAGOONS AT THE PIMA VILLAGES

On May 12, 1846, the Congress of the United States declared war on Mexico. The military assignment of wresting New Mexico and California from Mexican control fell to the newly formed Army of the West, commanded by Brig. Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny. After taking control of Santa Fe and Albuquerque, Kearny, with 100 men of the First Dragoons and the seasoned guide Kit Carson, entered what is now Arizona by following the course of the Gila River.

In those days the Gila was a bold, clear stream perhaps 50 feet wide and 2 to 3 feet deep over much of its length. In places it flowed through rugged, rocky canyons; often its banks were lined with dense vegetation.

Carson, who knew the Gila route well, warned that the way was rough and full of obstacles that would make wagon passage impossible. The command was outfitted with sturdy saddle and pack mules as well as horses, but the terrain was so difficult the dragoons walked more than they rode, to spare the animals.

While struggling along the banks of the Gila, Brevet Maj. W. H. Emory recorded in his journal that "no one surveying our cavalry at this moment would form notions favorable to the success of our expedition.... [Every] animal in camp is covered with patches, scars, and sores, made by the packs in the unequal motion caused by the ascent and descent of steep hills."

On November 10, in the midst of the bruising 36-day journey across Arizona, Kearny and his men neared the Pima villages, a refreshing oasis of Native American civilization and hospitality in the desert wilderness. Once the Indians were sure the approaching horsemen were not Apaches, they reacted with "unaffected joy." Soon the soldiers' camp was filled with friendly Pimas loaded with food supplies-corn, beans, honey, watermelons-and eager to trade.

Wrote Emory: "We were at once impressed with the beauty, order, and disposition of the arrangements for irrigating and draining the land.... To us it was a rare sight to be thrown in the midst of a large nation of what [are] termed wild Indians, surpassing many of the Christian nations in agriculture, little behind them in the useful arts, and immeasurably before them in honesty and virtue. During the whole of yesterday, our camp was full of men, women, and children, who sauntered among our packs unwatched, and not a single instance of theft was reported."

The chief, Antonio Llunas, distinguished among all the Pimas by the cast-off Mexican toggery he wore, was given a letter by Kearny stating that the Pima leader was a good man and directing all United States troops passing this way to respect him, his people, and their property.

The pleasant interlude was soon over. The Americans pushed on westward toward California, where further hardship for all and death for many lay in store before the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo would end the war.