Making New Mexico: Then and Now

By Ed H Whorton

The state of New Mexico, in the United States was originally part of Texas and the land included in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The lands were purchased from the French and included portions of fourteen current U.S. states and two Canadian Provinces. These lands were under French control from 1682 - 1763 and from 1803 1804; the area was named in honor of King Louis 14th. A Spanish expedition, in 1540 by Francisco Vasquez Coronado was formed in an attempt to find the ancient Seven Golden Cities of Ci. The rumor began with Cabeza de Vacas visit to what is now southern New Mexico. It is rumored that seven priest fled the city of Merida, Spain taking vast amounts of gold and other treasures to a far away land later to be called the Americas. Coronado, however, was, unsuccessful and returned home. Another expedition led by Juan de Onate Salazar in 1598 explored north of the Rio Grande and claimed most of modern day New Mexico for Spain. Santa Fe became the capital city of the territory and remains the capital of the state.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 16, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465392442

Ed H Whorton

I was born in Clayton, New Mexico in 1943 while my father was serving in the United States Army Communications Corp. He laid communications lines from ship to shore at Saipan Island, in the Pacific, and was awarded the Bronze star for his dedication to the cause. I had one sister who lived in California who is now deceased. My parents moved back to Vernon, Texas when I was two years old and I was raised in Texas from that time on. My grandfather owned a furniture store there and my Dad worked in a cotton seed delinting plant. My mother loved to read and passed that desire down to me. As I grew older, I developed a great fondness for Texas. My parents, sister and I moved to Lubbock, Texas, while I was in the sixth grade. I met my wife in the eighth grade and we were married in 1964. I have four grandchildren, ages six months to 16 years old. I served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. We have two daughters, born while we were in the Navy. One of them has three children and lives in Virginia and the other lives in Missouri and she gave birth to her first child this year. Many of my relatives lived in New Mexico and Colorado. I am writing about and have fond memories of my adventures in New Mexico, the land of Enchantment.

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Copyright © 2011 by Ed H Whorton.

ISBN:          Softcover                                 978-1-4653-9243-5

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4653-9244-2

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

1. Native Americans of New Mexico

2. Pueblo Life and Times

3. Exploring North America

4. The Spanish Inquisition

5. The Land of Enchantment

6. My Younger Days

7. Railroading in New Mexico

8. Foreign Presence

9. Hidden Treasures

10. The Mexican-American War

11. The American Civil War

12. Bad Men and Law Breakers

13. Fictional Characters

14. Pistoleers and Shootist

15. Trail Ride Stories

16. Cattle Trails

17. Indian Hostilities

18. The Spanish-American War

19. New Mexico Statehood

20. The 19th Amendment

21. New Mexico Today

22. Other History Making Events

23. Interesting facts about New Mexico

New Mexico

The Land of Enchantment

History of the New Mexico State Flag

Flag.jpg

New Mexico’s distinctive insignia is the Zia Sun Symbol, which originated with the Indians of Zia Pueblo in ancient times. Its design reflects their tribal philosophy, with its wealth of pantheistic spiritualism teaching the basic harmony of all things in the universe.

Four is the sacred number of Zia, and the figure is composed of a circle from which four points radiate. These points made up of four straight lines of varying length personify the number most often used by the Giver of all good gifts.

To the Zia Indian, the sacred number is embodied in the earth, with its four directions North, South, East and West; in the year, with its four seasons; in the day, with the sunrise, noon, evening, and night; in life, with its four divisions—childhood, youth, and old age. Everything is bound together in a circle of life and love, without beginning, without end.

The Zia believe, too, that in this great brotherhood of all things, man has four sacred obligations: he must develop a strong body, a clear mind, a pure spirit, and a devotion to the welfare of his people.

Jacob Myers Potter was born in December, 1984 in Prairie Lee County Texas, in the town of Bastrop. His famous father Andrew Jackson Potter was an itinerant preacher for the Methodist Church for many years. The Potters moved to Kendall County, Texas, just 30 miles west of San Antonio.

His first trip north over the Western Trail, destination Dodge City, Kansas, was thwarted by illness, and he returned home. The New England Livestock Company hired Jack out in 1882, for which he worked for eleven years. He traveled two other cattle trails know as the Texas and Northern Trails; he then took charge of the companies breeding ranch near Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

The New England Livestock Company was sold to another outfit in 1983. Colonel Potter, as he was known then, moved into The Dry Cimarron Valley in Union County New Mexico. He purchased and named the Escondido Ranch which he ran until 1928 prior to moving to Clayton, New Mexico. Colonel Potter also served in the New Mexico legislature and he was also a writer of colorful tales of the Old West for the Union County Leader. His book, Cattle Trails of The Old West was published in 1935 for the first time and republished in 1939. He also served the Legislature for several years prior to his death in November 1950. His wife of many years, Cordelia Peace Potter preceded his death at the age of 84 in June, 1948. I was a boy of only five years old when Great Grandma died, however I remember them clearly to this day.

Preface

The state of New Mexico, in the United States was originally part of Texas and the land included in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The lands were purchased from the French and included portions of fourteen current U.S. states and two Canadian Provinces. These lands were under French control from 1682-1763 and from 1803-1804; the area was named in honor of King Louis 14th. Texas, the subject of my first published book Taming Texas was also a part of this expansion westward. A Spanish expedition in 1540 by Francisco Vasquez Coronado, Cibola was formed in an attempt to find the ancient Seven Golden Cities of Ci The rumor began with Cabeza de Vaca’s visit to what is now southern New Mexico. It is rumored that seven priest fled the city of Merida, Spain taking vast amounts of gold and other treasures to a far away land later to be called the Americas. Coronado was, however, unsuccessful and returned home. Another expedition led by Juan de Onate Salazar in 1598 explored north of the Rio Grande and claimed most of modern day New Mexico for Spain. Santa Fe became the capital city of the territory and remains the capital of the state.

I was born in Clayton, New Mexico in 1943 while my father was serving in the United States Army Communications Corp. He laid communications lines from ship to shore at Saipan Island, in the Pacific, and was awarded the Bronze star for his dedication to the cause. I had one older sister who lived in California who is now deceased. My parents moved back to Vernon, Texas when I was two years old and I was raised in Texas from that time on. My grandfather owned a furniture store there and my Dad worked in a cotton seed delinting plant. My mother loved to read and passed that desire down to me. As I grew older, I developed a great fondness for Texas. My parents, sister and I moved to Lubbock when I was in the sixth grade. I met my future wife in the eighth grade and we were married in 1964. I have been married to the one I love for forty seven years this August, 2011. I have two daughters and one of them has three children and lives in Virginia and the other lives in Missouri; she gave birth to her first child, Rebekah Nicole this year.

Although I have lived most of my life in Texas, I often visited my aunts, uncles, and Grandparents. They lived in New Mexico and Colorado. My love for all three states is everlasting.

The Land of Enchantment, New Mexico, has always been on my mind. I can trace my ancestry to Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. Great, Great Grandpa A.J. Potter was a traveling preacher in Texas and his son, my great grandfather; Colonel Jack M. Potter was a trail rider, statesman, and author. He wrote extensively about cattle trails and the men who rode them. He even plotted out the Potter/Bacon trail (a branch of the Western Trail) with his father. I can remember seeing my great grandmother, Cordeelia, sitting with Grandpa Potter on the porch in Clayton. The house was two stories tall and was painted green with yellow trim; the style in those days was attractive carved wood accents covering the fascia of the roof line and wide porches across the front.

My Great grandfather was a large man sporting sandy colored hair and a large mustache. He wore a Stetson cowboy hat on a regular basis. He looked like a hard man; however, he was as gentle and loving as possible. His wife, in contrast, was petite but strong and she was totally devoted to him. He was never in the military but most people called him Colonel. My other grandparents lived in Capulin, New Mexico at the time but would return to Colorado in later years. I was not very old then, but I remember them fondly. I was about 7 years old when Great Grandma and Grandpa passed on to a better world. I am writing about the magic of New Mexico as I remember it and as it is today. I hope that you will be enchanted also and feel New Mexico’s magic as you read my latest book.

Native Americans of New Mexico

The population of New Mexico currently consists of forty three percent of the Hispanic people in America. The third highest percentage of Native Americans after Alaska and Oklahoma live in New Mexico. Other states having a large percentage of American Indians is California, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Texas. The result of these demographics and culture are unique for their strong Spanish, Mexican, and Native American cultural influences. Over 28 percent of the people age five and older speak Spanish and 4.07 percent speak Navajo. The heritage of New Mexico is considered to be Spanish in origin however English is spoken in all parts of the state.

The first American Indians began their ocean migration to North America in 620 A.D., from the Inca Empire in Peru to the Aztec land in Southern Mexico. Other Indians migrated across the Bering Strait land bridge twenty to thirty-five thousand years ago during the Ice age. This ancient culture centered primarily on the plateau or table land of Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas.

The waves of newcomers to the Americas possessed a series of traits that were relatively ancient and were shared by most peoples of Africa and Eurasia. These included the use of fire and the fire drill;