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Map of New Mexico
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I -Early French Explorers, Settlers, and Visitors
Chapter 1 – Marc de Nice and the Seven Cities of Cíbola
First European in New Mexico – Nice in 1495 – Youth of Fray Marcos de Niza – From Spain to Peru with Pizzaro – Execution of Atahualpa and killing of Indians – Fray Marcos in New Spain – First voyage – Large stone houses and turquoise – A cross the height of a man – Esteban reported killed – Fray Marcos sees the seven cities – Second voyage – Epilogue
Chapter 2 – The First French Settlers of New Mexico
Franco-Spanish rivalry – Louis XIV – Mapmakers – Diego Dionisio de Peñalosa makes proposals to Louis XIV – La Salle enters the scene – La Rochelle – La Salle’s expedition to Texas – From La Rochelle to New Mexico – The stories of L’Archevêque, Grolet, and Meusnier – La Salle murdered – Grolet found – More murders – Rescued by the Spaniards – An extraordinary document – Grolet and L’Archevêque sent to prison in Madrid – L’Archevêque, Grolet, and Meusnier reunited in Mexico – Santa Fe – Death of Jean L’Archevêque – Lives of Grolet and Meusnier in New Mexico – Epilogue
Chapter 3 – French Intrusions, 1695-1754
First intrusions – French in Pecos – Two little French girls – Town destroyed – Louis XIV’s grandson King of Spain – The Treaty of Utrecht – New Mexico’s riches – French engaging air – New Mexicans trade guns with Frenchmen – Governor Bustamante guilty of trading guns with French – Pierre and Paul Mallet hosted in governor’s home – Jean-Baptiste d’Alay settles in Santa Fe – Louis-Marie Colons executed – More Frenchmen – Keep the French out of New Mexico – Chapuis and Feuilli – The French and Indian War
Chapter 4 – Manitou
The Bourbon Reforms, Theodore de Croix, and Governor Juan Bautista de Anza – the San Miguel Chapel still stands – Pierre Vial “Manitou” – First road from Texas to Santa Fe – Three new routes – A monumental trip – An extraordinary adventure – Saved by French-speaking Indians – Left naked for two months – Frenchman in a pirogue – Attacked by Comanche – Arrest all Frenchmen – Domingo Labadie – Expeditions to the Pawnee – Stop Lewis and Clark – Americans will oust you from your lands – Attacked by a hundred Indians – Their men deserted – Vial returns to Santa Fe – Zebulon Pike brought to Santa Fe – Friendship brokered by French language changes the course of history – Epilogue
Part II – The Fur Trade and Trails to Santa Fe
Chapter 5 – The Fur Trade
Trappers of French origin – The Spanish trade – Near-extinction of beavers and buffalos – The rise of St. Louis – From St. Louis to New Mexico – French families dominate the fur trade – Lives and adventures remembered – Bodies hacked into pieces – California’s revolutions – He refused to fight at the Sand Creek Massacre – The shaft of the arrow remained in his body – Kit Carson nearly killed by a Frenchman – Comanche killed all the men – She died at age 107 – Bones found in the walls – One of those beauties – Report causes apprehension – Frenchman murders Frenchman – Cheyenne friends put an end to his misery – Native Americans of French origin at the Indian Market – French place names – Tools and guns – Epilogue – Fur trapping today
Chapter 6 – Trails to Santa Fe
A communications hub – The Santa Fe Trail – French pioneers – William Becknell’s journey – Alexander Le Grand – Something of Parisian life – Dead Corsican without a top hat – A French woman in the home of the savages – Bent’s Fort – Old Bill and Ed Gary – Chipita, Dick, and Rosalie – Dancing with French – John Frémont – A dark-eyed, languidly handsome woman – A polite and delicate Frenchman poisons a race horse – Parkman, Chatillon and others – F.-X. Aubry, bordering on the supernatural – The fastest crossing – Too much snow up there – Expedition a disaster – Frozen to death – They ate their moccasin soles -A morning cup of chocolate – Alexis Godey, formidable rival to Kit Carson – Chatillon, a man of extraordinary strength – Pierre-Antoine Sénécal – An arrow through the heart – The land without law – He spoke French to the mules – Little heretic – French Frank – Pigeon’s Ranch – An honest gambler – Priests on the trail – Scalped and shockingly mutilated – Triumphant arrival – French goods – Old Spanish Trail – Provost massacre – El Camino Real – Paris trumpets for children – Fort Bayard – Extraordinary surgery – Death of Alexandre Le Beau – Inscription on a rock face – Southern Trail – We shot them so fast – Gold bullets – Marcou controversy – Fifty-thousand sheep – 35th parallel – Aubry killed – The Church procrastinates – Railroads and French interests – Franglais
Part III – War, Conquest, and Upheaval
Chapter 7 – Turmoil in Mexico and Texas
Six decades of unrest – Six Flags over Texas – Prominent French – Governor with French servants and wife – Napoleon and the Mexican War of Independence – Joseph Bonaparte King of Spain – French fleeing the Revolution welcome in Mexico – French conspiracies – French of Louisiana flee to Texas Texas War of Independence – Home to rescue Napoleon from St. Helena – Frenchman is only survivor at Alamo – French Canadian signs the Texas Declaration of Independence – France first to recognize Texas – A French pastry cook starts the Pastry War with Mexico – “Napoleon of the West” Santa Anna loses his leg fighting the French – War ends
Chapter 8 – The Conquest of New Mexico
The Texas-Santa Fe Expedition – Famous Frenchmen of Texas Texas President Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, a Huguenot – The “Santa Fe Pioneers” – José Antonio Navarro, a Corsican hero – French-Mexican General Adrian Woll captures San Antonio – French against Texas annexation – Kearny’s Army of the West – Famous French in Kearny’s and Frémont’s Campaigns – California – The Saumur Cavalry school connection – Frenchmen in the Taos Rebellion – Trials and executions End of the United States-Mexico War – Conflicts with Indians and Bonneville Expedition
Chapter 9 – The Civil War in New Mexico
Origins of the Civil War – The Role of France – Civil War plan for New Mexico – French in the Civil War in New Mexico Murders in Mesilla – The invasion through the eyes of Peticolas: Valverde, advance to Glorieta, Pigeon’s ranch – The retreat Painting of Napoleon – French to finance Confederates reinvasion of New Mexico and Arizona – Set fire to property of southern sympathizers – Destroy Grandjean’s mill – Confederates’ policy to exterminate the Indian tribes – French weapons – The Alligator
Chapter 10 – A Painting of Napoleon Bonaparte
A large and magnificent painting – A strange interview Betting for Champagne – Confederate connections – Major Teel acquires the painting – Painting left behind – Mystery in the San Miguel Church in Socorro – Charles Longuemare acquires the painting – Major Teel sees the painting – Painting vanishes – Mystery at Malmaison – Troubling questions
Chapter 11 – The Franco-Mexican War and its Aftermath in New Mexico
Mexico’s civil war – British, Spanish and French alliance Troops in Mexico – Alliance collapses – French lose battle at Puebla French take Mexico City – Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico Napoleon III withdraws his troops – Maximilien executed “Deserters” in New Mexico – French musicians in Albuquerque Fort Bliss – Joseph Girard “El Francés” – Antoine Large – French John and others – Chaos in France – Influx of French entrepreneurs
Part IV – The Catholic Church and the French
Chapter 12 – The Catholic Church in New Mexico
The Catholic Church in America and New Mexico – Bishop Lamy begins six decades of French domination – French priests pour into New Mexico – Education and the Catholic Church French books banned by the Inquisition – Ninety French Christian Brothers – Prominent botanist and a miracle at the College of Santa Fe – Sisters of Loretto – Sixteen schools – Mother Francesca Sisters of Charity vetted by French bishop from Auvergne Sisters of Mercy – Bishop Lamy’s triumphal entry Magnificent dinner – Life of Bishop Lamy – Lamy’s successors: four French archbishops – Controversies – A hero and a saint Denied sacraments – Padre Martínez excommunication – Penitentes Protestants as heretics and fanatics – Statehood – Battalions of old maids – Wicked education will be forced upon us
Chapter 13 – Priests as Builders
Eighty-five churches and chapels – Santa Fe showpieces – Lamy takes custody – Show of force for La Castrense – Saint Francis Cathedral – Loretto Chapel –Centenarian sculptor in France remembers – donkey could power the clock – The bishop’s garden – The harmonium – The spiral staircase – Priest in love at the origin of canning chilies – Murder in Dog Canyon – 20,000 bricks a day – Father Lassaigne – The idol of his flock – Statue of San Michael goes missing – Another missing clock – A touching story – Father Anton Docher – Father Paulet wears two Colt revolvers – A very popular priest – He would knock their heads together – The life of Gaudias Plamondon – Wet blankets stop flaming arrows – Frenchman casts many church bells
Chapter 14 – Insanity at the Time of the Murder
The Exchange Hotel – Vibrant times – In a pool of blood – The victim and the murderer – Killings at that same hotel or nearby – Happy times – Hard times – Divorce proceedings – She had procured poison – Driven to desperation – Murder – She drank a vial of poison – Bishop Lamy in seclusion – Unhealthy character of the County jail – Defense pleaded insanity – Lived together for another half-century
Chapter 15 – Church Stories
The Lost Padre mine – Tres Piedras and French gold – Dinner in French – Victims of petty crimes – Under the umbrella – Poker game – Miguel Lamy kills a bear – Wild Carmela – Private lives – Dead upon arrival – Poisoned chalice – Arrows in the forehead and heart – Double hanging – Buggy accident – Jammed between railcars – The mysterious life of Jean-Baptiste Francolon – Missing crucifix – The bed of Josephine Bonaparte – Ghost apparitions
Part V – Across New Mexico
Chapter 16 – Las Vegas
Life after the American conquest – Civil War and conflicts with Native Americans – Dire times in France – Las Vegas at a confluence of trails – The French around the Plaza – French catholic priests a major presence – French families – Fred Desmarais and Black Jack Ketchum – First flour mill – A clearheaded and cold-blooded Frenchman – The skeleton of Billy the Kid – Sixteen-room house – Rival to archaeologist Adolph Bandelier – The Indians should be absolved – Donation of a pipe organ – A very charming young woman – Frenchman from Montauban leaves an impressive legacy – Guérin, Vaur and Rimbert families – Friend of legendary authors – Two Frenchmen active in the Lincoln County War – Miners and gold – Montezuma hotel closes – Git fer Vegas, Cowboy!
Chapter 17 – Love and the Good Life
On the deck of the steamer – An abundance of voice, a scarcity of years, and a handsome person – Money was no object – A grand piano – Pagoda looming like a lighthouse in a mist burned by cowboys – English valet – The Folies-Dramatiques – The young Monte Cristo – A cartload of flowers and $50,000 in gifts – A heavy unattractive dog – Marriage talk of the town for two years – Honeymoon at the Montezuma Hotel – Wins $21,000 at baccarat – Headed back East
Chapter 18 – Cimarron, Mora, and Ocate
Home of fur traders and early merchants – Maxwell’s mansion – Henri Lambert – Ghosts at the St. James – Godfather was Buffalo Bill – First gorilla ever seen here – St. Vrain’s family cemetery and stone flourmill – Frenchman builds the Walton Hotel – Pierre and Claude Balland – Louis Dorrance – Nathan Weil – A Midi-French rural flavor
Chapter 19 – Bloomfield, Taos, and Pecos
Oldest grave in Bloomfield – Frederic Le Clerc, physician, historian, and botanist – Son dies, hit by a bull – A French woman in the home of the savages – An arrow through the chest of a Corsican – Top hat missing – Derailments, falls over precipices – Shoot antelopes along the way – Memoirs from Fort Union – French and French-Canadians in Taos – Master cabinet maker – French and Kit Carson buy 6,500 sheep – Taos mayor son of a Frenchman – Gold – She starts her journal at 8 years old – French priest opens vault containing the bodies of a man and child – Pecos town genius – Veins rich in gold – Glow-in-the-dark painting of Jesus – A life with the Hopi Indians – Adolph Bandelier’s fieldwork in Pecos – From Quebec to New Mexico to Quebec again and back
Chapter 20 – Santa Fe
A strong community – Connections with the church – El Rancho de Bouquet – The Delmonico restaurant – Apples particularly noted for their fine fruit – On the Onderdonk goat ranch – The Claire Hotel – Most prominent liquor in France, Rumba Club, and La Joya Restaurant – Visitors – Migration across the Bering Strait – Engineers – Murals in St. Francis Auditorium – Frenchy’s Field – A prominent Santa Fe architect – A Native American composer, educator, author, artist, and journalist – Santa Fe’s first French restaurant
Chapter 21 – Cerrillos, Madrid, and Golden
Mining towns – French an integral part of the community – The largest barrel of whiskey – Frenchman runs largest mining operation in Real de Dolores – “Frenchy” of Golden – French priests – Tragically killed at age 23 – The Bonanza Creek Ranch – The Christmas Madrid light spectacle
Chapter 22 – Albuquerque
Five-hundred graves bearing French names – Railways – The Emperor of Chilili – Veterans of the Franco-Prussian War – From modest beginnings to banker – The elusive Louis Boucher – Shot at eight times while flying over Alameda – From alfalfa field to airstrip – Seferino and Fred Crollott – Alsatian Jewish Families – Not all were respectable citizens
Chapter 23 – The Girard Family of Albuquerque
An unexpected message – A trove of photos from a yard sale – A descendant in California – Journal in French – Family dating back centuries – Migration – Run over by a freight train – The Girard house – Pierre’s mill – The ocean crossing was an enjoyable experience – All three children died – Adolphe Didier, a prosperous merchant
Chapter 24 – Socorro
The French Quarter – Socorro’s early history – First Frenchmen to see Socorro – A 30-years record – Anti-Protestant activities – Sisters of Loretto – The tragic death of Captain Dumas Provencher – A legendary priest – Families of entrepreneurs – Little teacher on horseback – The Chambon fire – Wedding bells – The Basque connection – Urban Ozanne’s stage line – A Frenchman of noble birth – The French-Swiss and Canadians – The hanging of Frenchy Elmoreau – A victim of the Santa Fe Ring – They ate the soap – Léon Trousset, painter of the West
Chapter 25 – Western and Southern New Mexico
Gallup and the DeBusk, Bouvier, and L’Heureux connection – Secret marriage – Silver City – French mining copper and gold – George O. Perrault founds the Mimbres Colony – Other French families – Bad luck near Silver City – Frenchie’s Service Car – 1,200 volumes on anthropology – Las Cruces and Mesilla –Five Frenchmen among the founders of Las Cruces – The lost mine of Father LaRue – Dies after a bruise – Tycoons in Mesilla – Young priest from Brittany falls in love and founds canning industry – New Mexico not ready for statehood – El Llano Estacado – Clovis, a fortuitous French connection – Controversial survey – Jules Marcou and the Jurassic Controversy – Go ahead with your hanging – Étienne de Pélissier Bujac – King Kong – Lieutenant Colonel Charles M. de Brémond, war hero and founder of the Lower Pecos Valley colony – Two French officers die in flash flood – Pello Etcheverry in the Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame
Chapter 26 – The French-Swiss Colony in the Lower Pecos
Charles Eddy and The Pecos Valley Land and Ditch Company – On the shores of Lake Geneva – A businessman from Bern promises miracles – On the steamer La Gascogne – Arrival at Eddy – Men live in tents – The Gaullieur breeze – Deaths from typhoid and other scourges – Some settlers leave – Dissenting opinions in Switzerland – He was horrified by what he saw – The flood of 1893 – The end of a dream – Epilogue
Chapter 27 – A Short History of Wine in New Mexico
A short history of wine – Leading French families – Priests grow wine around Albuquerque – A priest with Colt revolvers – The most used hymnal – El Padre Eterno – Jesuits and Christian Brothers – Wine families – The tragic life of Louis Imbert – Ghosts in the T-House – The Fraissinets and Campredons in Socorro – Rebirth of the wine industry
Chapter 28 – World Wars
New Mexican war heroes in France – Epidemic spreads to New Mexico – End of French Catholic Church influence – Keep the home fires burning – Girls Scouts of Santa Fe first to adopt a French orphan – American people send $40m of goods to France – The Merci Train – Magic find at the Socorro library – French family reconnects with its gifts
Chapter 29 – Others who Spoke French in New Mexico
French as a second language – Famous New Mexicans who spoke French – Modern times – They came from Mount Lebanon
Chapter 30 – The French Today
World War I a turning point – Preparing for missions to Mars – Businesses in New Mexico – Families reunited with their distant cousins
Notes
Bibliography
Index
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