Replies

A minor point of disagreement. The Navajos were much more numerous than the figure of 7,000 that you cite for the 1860s. The Carson expedition captured about 7,000 for internment at the Bosque Redondo but he did not get all of them by any means.

The Navajo were in a vast area and were adept at hiding. There were probably a dozen slaving expeditions out at the time he was there. I think that he rounded up only about 25-35% of the Navajo. The rest took to the hills. It was enough to break the back of the Navajo as a cohesive force. There are still numerous stories on the reservation of people watching from hiding as their brethern were dragged off to the Long Walk. There were also thousands of Navajo being held as slaves up and down the Rio Grande Valley.

To this day the mention of the name Kit Carson will draw you stares of bitter hatred from the old people on the Reservation. In some cases it is the only English name they know.

I won’t dispute your numbers. Surely quite a lot did hide out, plus some of them, like today, intermarried with Pueblo and Apaches. It’s possible that the ones that were “captured” were living more like Apaches, like raiders, while the ones they left alone were living more like the Pueblo farmers. As best as I can tell, the Army never bothered the Pueblos since they apparently never raided anyone.

I keep reading that Navajos and Apaches speak a similar language, meaning that in the past their tribes were the same or came from the same place, from up in Canada. While the Pueblos apparently descended from the local Anasasi, who descended from the more ancient local Indians who were here for thousands of years.

I NEVER mention the name Kit Carson out here. In fact, I can’t even mention “Columbus”.

There are still remote trading posts on the large Navajo reservation that use a barter system, the older Navajos don’t speak any English, and they trade rugs that they make and other stuff like mutton for regular food goods. You probably know this, but I’m saying it for the others.