Narrative of an Expedition Across the Great Southwestern Prairies

Book excerpt: The Texan Santa Fe expedition was conceived by Mirabeau B. Lamar in an attempt to open a trade route which would lure away some of the traffic hitherto utilizing the Santa Fe trade, and also to extend his greetings to residents of New Mexico, whom he wished to participate in Texas government as residents of territory claimed by Texas in an act of 1836. Due to poor navigation, faulty planning and harassment by Indians, the expedition lost most of its momentum. Upon their arrival in New Mexico, the entire force was taken captive under orders of Gov. Manuel Armijo. The prisoners were forcibly marched to Mexico City, and the affair brought relations between Texas, the United States and Mexico to a boiling point. Those who survived the march and imprisonment were released in April 1842, six and a half months after their capture. Kendall, editor of the New Orleans Picayune, accompanied the expedition as an observer.