THE LOUIS SERNA BLOG

I FLEW AMERICA'S BEST PLANES - THE GIL MARTINEZ STORY

For many years I have been impressed by outstanding individuals who have done outstanding things for our country, their families and lastly, to satisfy their inner desires to excel in everything they do. When I have met, known, or learned of such individuals, I have tried to use my God-given talent of writing, to share their efforts with anyone who will take the time to read my articles and books. I am so impressed by these people that I am compelled to try to learn all I can and share their stories. This is one of those outstanding men.

Shortly before August of 2009, I had just finished researching the life of my friend, Alfred Dorrance, highly decorated veteran of WWII and I had finished the book I wrote about him titled; "The Alfred Dorrance Story". Alfred was my friend of many years and I was glad to have finished the book while he was still alive and able to enjoy the notoriety that came with the book. Among other places, the book is on a shelf of the Smithsonian Institute Library and he took great pride in knowing that.

Before he died, I had told Alfred that I would place copies of his book in the New Mexico Veterans Memorial Library just west of Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque. One day I went there, books in hand, intent on donating them to the library. I spoke with a very nice volunteer lady and explained what I was doing. She told me that it would be better if I spoke with another volunteer who was in charge of that section of the library. His name was Gil Martinez.

I met with Gil who was very gracious and professional... I got the impression that he was obviously a retired military man as he appeared to be in very good physical condition, clean shaven, clean cut and wearing a well clipped military haircut... he looked impressive. I told him who I was and what I was doing... he quickly picked up on the fact that both Alfred and I were from Cimarron in northern New Mexico and said that he was originally from Raton which is just 40 miles north of Cimarron. We exchanged common facts about the area and he said that he had left Raton when he was very young and that his family had moved to California where he grew up, but he had family in that area. We talked about Alfred, WWII, and all the brave men who served in that war and conflicts since then. Gil told me that he had enjoyed a career in the military and asked me if I knew about the SR-71 airplane? We were in a section of the library that I quickly learned housed quite a bit of information about the SR-71 and there was a picture on the wall of that mysterious, ominous, futuristic airplane known as "The Blackbird" due to its dark color and amazing profile of the huge engines mounted on either side of a sleek fuselage. To look at it causes one to marvel at its design and one can only imagine what its missions had been over its secretive years in flight. I said I knew of it, but I didn't know the details of it. I marveled at the design and function of the plane and he said, "Yes it is a marvelous plane and to fly in it is even more amazing. I asked if he had been lucky enough to have had a ride in it and he said, "Yes... I flew one for over five years during the Viet Nam war"...

More Gil Martinez...

I was, to say the least, awestruck that I was standing there talking to a man who actually flew the plane..! As I stood there looking awed, he said that he was not the pilot of the plane but was the Navigator of a two - man crew. The pilot flew the plane while Gil planned, plotted and navigated the plane to their destinations and back to their home base...! I quickly realized how important that job was as his orders came straight from the highest secretive offices, as his "spy plane flights" took him over Russia, China, Viet Nam and other countries that the United States needed to have first hand pictures and secretive data in order to make up-to-the-minute decisions for the war efforts..! They flew at such a high altitude that they were almost completely undetectable to the radar of that time so they flew in complete secrecy. In fact, few adversaries even knew that there was such a plane flying over their countries. Flying at such high altitudes required that they wear advanced space suits that protected them from the effects of flying in such deadly atmospheres, pressures, radiation and other hazards. These were truly the first spacemen exposed to the greatest dangers while doing their jobs..!

As I learned more about the SR-71 and Gil shared some of his stories, I was like a little boy listening to the first man who ever flew an airplane, much less a high altitude space craft..! Too soon, the clock moved ahead and Gil said that he would have to leave soon, off to another volunteer commitment he had at some school or meeting... I realized that he must have many places where he went to share some of his amazing career memoirs so we agreed to meet again soon as I told him that I would love to write an article about him for my website... I even had thoughts about a possible book about him in the future? He also said that he would be glad to work with me on a program that the library was working on, to highlight outstanding veterans. We said our goodbyes and I left so grateful for having met this amazing man..!

As I had other "projects" that I was working on at the time, I kept my notes about Gil in a folder, intent on meeting with him very soon. In the meantime, I went to my computer and found some interesting information about Gil Martinez. I discovered an article titled, "Elementary Teacher Flew SR-71 Blackbird", (The Story of Gil Martinez of Raton, NM), by Lloyd Jojola of the Albuquerque Journal. Following are facts from that article regarding Gil;

Gil was a retired Air Force Colonel who flew aboard the super-fast SR-71 Blackbird spy plane during the Vietnam War era as part of a long military career that ended with him holding the title of Air Base Wing Vice Commander at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, NM.

After his retirement from the Air Force in 1979, he managed a division of Circle K convenience stores, supervising more than 40 stores in New Mexico and Colorado and then later, entered the field of education. His wife, Regina told him, "You said you always wanted to be a teacher, so go back to school on your GI Bill and your teaching degree." "Gil went a step further and got his Master's Degree and then taught second through fourth grades". He taught for 13 years at several Albuquerque schools. His final teaching job was at Sombra Del Monte.In addition to teaching, he was also a volunteer with the AARP organization, on veteran's issues which included the development of the New Mexico Veterans Memorial Library.

Stan Cooper, the state director of the AARP at that time, said that "Gil was a really highly principled man and he was a giver." "He gave back to his community." Gil later became Chairman of the group's state legislative committee, and state President and Southwest Regional Volunteer Coordinator.

On Tuesday, August 18, 2009, his friend Mort Jarvis wrote that he had just received a phone call from Gil's daughter, notifying him that Gil had suddenly passed away that morning. He had gone for his morning walk, talked to his neighbor briefly, and when he returned from his walk he suddenly collapsed in his carport. Regina found him there, tried to revive him unsuccessfully, and called 911 but it was too late. A great man had passed away.

Regina later said that Gil had been born in a cemetery where his father had been the caretaker (in Raton), and they lived in a house in the cemetery. He had grown up in Fresno, CA. where his family had moved along with a few other Raton families when the mines closed down in Raton. Gil had studied for a time at Fresno State University, while working in the fields picking figs, apricots and doing whatever jobs were available at that time.

He entered the Air Force and tested for the Cadet Program where he was accepted. He moved to Houston where he met his wife Regina, where she was a freshman at a Catholic college for girls.

On completing flight school as a Navigator, Gil flew in the B-47 Stratojet, B-52 Strato-fortress bombers and then was selected to fly in the then hush-hush SR-71 spy plane program in 1967. Gil flew high-speed, high-altitude photo-reconnaissance missions along the borders of China, Russia, Korea and Viet-Nam! Gil said in a 2003 Journal interview that he was "the first Hispanic to cruise at three times the speed of sound in a jet aircraft, in a pressure suit at Mach 3, 2,200 miles per hour at 80,000 feet!" Of course, at that time, very few would have known that he was up there as his missions were so secretive. He said that he couldn't even tell his wife where he was going or how long he'd be gone..!

Perhaps his closed brush with disaster is detailed in a report that can be viewed at www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/sr-71~1.htm. The report states that on May 10, 1970, during a mission from Kadena, Okinawa, Japan, against Viet Nam;

"Shortly after air-refueling, the pilot, Major William E. Lawson, initiated a normal full power climb reaching above 40,000 feet. Heavy with fuel, the aircraft was unable to maintain a high rate of climb when it entered a turbulence and both engines flamed out. The RPM dropped to a level too low for restarting the engines and the Pilot and RSO, Major Gilbert Martinez, ejected safely after the aircraft stalled. The men were rescued near U-Tapao, Thailand and the plane crashed near Korat RTAFB, Thailand".

Although I only met with Gil Martinez once and our visit was all too brief, I saw enough in this man that I knew he was one of the most Outstanding People I would ever meet and it was my
honor and privilege to have done so.

Gary Decker

In 1992 I was teaching "Welding Fabrication for Divers" at Highline Community College in Midway, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, Washington. I taught the class "part-time" two evenings a week and on Saturdays. Although I was working full-time as Plant Engineer for Rogers Olympic Corp., I devised the class for divers at the request of the Highline Division Chairman, as the school had been approached by one of the local diving schools which was preparing a class of young "deep" divers who were already contracted to go to the North Atlantic Ocean to work on oil rigs and they needed a good basic class on metal fabrication both above and under water. As I was already a Certified Diver as well as a College instructor, everything went well. I must admit that although I was the "teacher"... some of my students were already seasoned, experienced divers with some basic welding skills, so the class flowed smoothly and I found myself doing a lot of one-on-one projects with some of the young men who wanted to build certain tools to use for their jobs. One of my top students was Gary Decker, a young professional diver who was already doing diving jobs in the Seattle Harbor, Lake Union and other places where he was needed. He was a serious student and we became friends... He asked me if he could build a "valve box" to use under water and I gave him specific instruction on how to proceed and he did an excellent job on the project. When he was done, I inspected his work thoroughly in view of the danger involved in the use of it "in the field". We were both satisfied with it and he was very grateful. Eventually, I "completed" the Class and the students, the school, and the diver's employer were all very pleased with my instruction.

A few weeks after the class ended, I was on my way to work at my "day" job after lunch, when an emergency bulletin came over the radio..! They reported that a local diver was in a serious predicament at Lake Union which is located in the middle of the city of Seattle. The report stated that emergency underwater crews were being requested and assembled to try to figure out how to "rescue" the diver who was trapped under some twenty feet of water next to a Navy steel hull ship called the "De Steigner". The time was 1:30 PM, on a mild sunny Friday afternoon in June of 1992. The diver along with others in a crew, were replacing a leaking eight inch port on the side of the ship, well below the water line. The job was quite routine. The diver and his partner were to tack-weld a steel plate patch over the port in order to stop the leak until the crew inside the ship could position a new port in place for the divers to weld outside the hull.

The divers surfaced to wait for the signal from the men inside the ship to let them know that the new port was ready for them to go back down to replace the old one. As they both came up
they heard the frightened supervisor yell at them that the patch they had just tacked in place, had blown and water was streaming into the ship's engine room. They all knew that if the room flooded, the ship could sink and men may be in harm's way..! Instinctively, the diver pulled his mask back on over his face and he dove back into the water to see what he could do to stop the torrent of water, streaming into the ship.! As he neared the keel of the ship where they had just put the patch on, he realized he had just made a fatal mistake! He felt the overwhelming power of the current and he was suddenly caught in the violent stream of water, as if a giant vacuum was sucking the lake into the ship..! The diver felt himself being sucked toward the hole in the hull and he fought the current in every way he knew but in the end, his hands just slipped along the hull toward the hole and suddenly his right arm disappeared into the hole all the way up to his shoulder..! Just then, his dive partner was at his side desperately trying to free him but both men knew that he was hopelessly trapped.! They exchanged signals that both understood and the partner surfaced as fast as he could. He burst through the surface and yelled at the supervisor... "Gary is trapped...!!! Call 911..!" Yes, the trapped diver was Gary Decker, my student..!

Meanwhile, inside the ship, the on-board supervisor saw Gary's arm sticking through the hole in the ship's hull as the water stopped flowing in. He went to the arm and squeezed Gary's handand Gary squeezed back... at least, he was in control of his arm and hand although he couldn't pull it out.

Fortunately, on that day, Gary had chosen to use his full body diving suit, thinking that he did not want to be cold and uncomfortable on that day's dive. He knew he was going to be submerged for a long time until the crew figured out how to free him..! He took a quick inventory of his situation and realized that if he kept calm and trusted his crew, they would find a way to get him free.., all he had to do was keep calm and make sure his air system was working properly... at this point his biggest concern was time... how would they free him and how long would it take...? It was Friday afternoon and he had promised his wife he would be home early for a nice supper..!

Gary's entire ordeal, trapped against the side of a ship like a cork plug, was one of sheer panic as it took hours to work the problem, yet the resourcefulness of professional men when lives are at stake can overcome even the most desperate situations..! All of them knew that although they could take fresh tanks of air down to Gary to maintain his vital air supply, but something had to be done and done quickly or Gary would be overcome by the cold and exposure. If he passed out, he was a dead man..!

The experienced supervisor inside the ship decided that he needed to quickly build a "cofferdam"..., a device made out of a length of steel pipe, larger than the diameter of the hole over Gary's arm... at the end of the pipe a cap with an air valve would be welded to the pipe. The other end of the pipe would be fitted over Gary's arm, held against the inside of the ship's hull, and welded to the hull. When it was firmly welded in place, air would be blown into the cofferdam until the air pressure inside, equaled the pressure outside the ship. Theoretically, Gary could then simply pull his arm out and come to the surface. After a few hours of frantic work, the pipe was in place and none too soon as Gary's arm, by then, had swollen to twice its size due to the suction of the water..! Finally, the air pressure was applied to the contraption and the pressure on Gary's arm was slowly equalized. By then, Gary's diver buddies outside the hull were desperate as Gary was showing signs of passing out and if he did... he was a dead man..! Suddenly, the divers outside felt Gary's arm slowly come free of the water pressure and he was hurriedly brought to the surface.. Gary, thanks to his professionalism and that of his work buddies, had saved his life..! An ambulance was already standing by, along with a huge crowd of longshoremen, seamen, ship hands, divers and others who had assembled, hoping that they might be able to do something to help one of their own..!

Gary's wife, who happened to be a Nurse, was immediately at his side and he was rushed to the hospital where he was treated and kept for several days as by then there was a real possibility that he might lose his arm. In time, Gary recovered, but his arm was quite handicapped for a long time.

I never saw Gary again after that, but like his buddies on the ship, and like the many men who left their jobs and rushed to the dock to see if and how they could help, I too was ready to do whatever I could do, if anything...

The radio announcers in Seattle all sighed a huge sigh of relief, several hours after Gary's ordeal and the port city was once again relieved to snatch one of their own from the water that provided a living for all of them, and which had taken too many of them to a watery grave....

(PS. Gary's ordeal was later presented in the September 1993 issue of the Reader's Digest under the heading; "IN DEATH'S COLD GRIP".... )

Gary was a good friend and another Outstanding Person I Have Known..!!!

_______________________________

TRIUNFADOR PATRICIO M. SERNA

By Daniel Rome Levine

When six-year old Patricio Serna got up that Christmas morning in 1945, his eyes searched excitedly under the small family Christmas tree. It wasn't much to look at--only two colored glass-ball ornaments and some icicles. He remembers his Christmas present very well: a roll of Life Savers.

He broke the first candy into four pieces and savored each one. The whole roll lasted him for over two months.

Home for the Sernas was a small three-room log cabin, in Reserve, New Mexico, with no running water or electricity, 200 miles southwest of Albuquerque. Patricio's father, Pablo, was a manual laborer with a third-grade education. He raised all eight of his children by himself as his wife had died of heart failure shortly before Patricio turned two.

There were few worldly goods in that log cabin, but plenty of love. Enough love, in fact, that it helped this youngster reach undreamed-of heights.

His journey began in a one-room elementary school. It was hard at first because Patricio could speak only Spanish and any child caught speaking Spanish got punished with a large ruler. He learned English, quickly and he excelled, getting straight A's.

Patricio's 15-year-old sister, Isabel, the eldest , was a voracious reader. She introduced him to inspirational books such as Norman Vincent Peale's "The Power of Positive Thinking" and the books of Dr. Napoleon Hill, who advised, "From each adversity you gain an equivalent or greater benefit."

"Pat, set in your mind a picture of where you want to be," Isabel told the boy while he read by the light of a kerosene lamp. "Don't worry about how you are going to get there. Just
picture yourself there."

But where would that be for a dirt-poor Spanish kid in a log cabin? A job in the local saw mill? Work in construction? What else could there be? Quite a lot, as it turned out.

One day Patricio was approached by Bob Kirsch, a young priest who knew him as an active participant in the local Catholic Youth Organization. Serna was a senior in high school then, a straight-A student and class president!

"Pat, are you going to go to college?" Kirsch asked. "No," responded Serna, no one from his family ever had.

Kirsch asked Serna to follow him and they walked to Reserve's only public phone. Kirsch called the president of the College of Saint Joseph on the Rio Grande in Albuquerque and he briefly told her about Serna. "I was wondering, Sister, if you could give him a scholarship?"

She said she could, for half tuition and a job to pay the other half.

Without consulting Serna, Kirsch immediately answered, "Thank you, sister, he will attend."

Says Serna, "I was mystified. It was such a foreign concept to me." But he went.

The college did not have a boys' dormitory so Serna had to live in the boiler room where he slept on a cot. He worked in the college library and did cleaning jobs around campus to earn extra money. He also fought forest fires alongside his father during summers in the Gila National Forest, sometimes working 20 hours a day.

Serna graduated with honors in 1962 and was promptly drafted into the Army. After his discharge two years later, he returned to New Mexico and took a job as a probation and parole officer in Santa Fe earning $375 a month.

He wrote pre-sentence reports. And then he noticed something. When judges asked attorneys for their sentencing recommendations they would answer, "I have nothing to add to the pre-sentence report. It covers everything."

He quickly realized that he was doing all the work while the lawyers were getting the big money. He vowed to become a lawyer himself.

He saw a newspaper ad for a program for Hispanic students at the University of Denver College of Law. He took a shot, enrolling in intensive law school preparatory classes over the
summer. He made it through and was offered a scholarship to stay on and earn a degree. He excelled, becoming the first Hispanic member of the Denver Law Journal.

That was only the beginning. Next was Harvard Law School, where he earned a master of laws degree, and from there it was on to Washington, D.C., where he became a Special Assistant to a Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

In 1975, he returned to New Mexico where he served as state assistant attorney general and thereafter worked in private practice. Still, Serna says, "I knew in the back of my mind I wanted to be a judge but I also knew I wasn't ready."

Some 10 years later, he was. Serna was appointed a district judge by then-Governor Toney Anaya and over the next 12 years rose to the position of chief judge. All the time he was
thinking of his next goal. "I knew I wanted to be on the Supreme Court."

In 1996 Serna says he "laid everything on the line", foregoing his district judge retention election and declaring himself a candidate in that year's election to fill a vacancy on the New Mexico Supreme Court. He won in a hottly contested statewide race.

On January 5, 2001, over 1,000 people filled a ballroom of the El Dorado Hotel in Santa Fe for Serna's swearing in as chief justice. Two days before, his four supreme court colleagues had picked him for the job. For the duration of his two-year term he would be the nation's only Latino Chief Justice of a State Supreme Court.

Said Serna in his speech: "For someone like me, without a heritage of wealth or social position, to have gone to college, law school, been a district court judge, supreme court justice and now Chief Justice, demonstrates so well that the American Dream is available to us and our children." His sister Isabel had been right. "With a positive focus and determination," he says today, "you can be whatever you want to be. It works. It really works."

Adds Serna: "The values, self confidence and determination that I learned from my family growing up in Reserve is what got me where I am today. Without that solid foundation of love and support I never would have come close."

Note; After Patricio became Chief Justice he called me one day, to say that he had received a copy of my Serna Newsletter and he really enjoyed it. He invited me to Santa Fe to have lunch and discuss our Serna origins. On the day I went, he greeted me at the receptionist's desk and invited me into his "chambers". We had a long enjoyable visit where I quickly saw in him, a down-to-earth common man who did not put on airs but came across as a man standing solidly on his own two feet, intelligent, and very much in control of what he was doing. After our discussion he asked, "Would you like to see the courtroom where the State Supreme Court convenes?" I said it would be my pleasure, so he took me around the courtroom and explained what took place there. Finally, we looked at the time and he said, "I'm afraid we've used up our lunch time so can we plan to do it again soon?" I said I would be glad to and I left the Court building, knowing that this was certainly the right man for the job..! Knowledgable, down-to-earth, a common man with the intelligence to make the right decisions... I left very proud to have met Patricio and knowing that he was a Serna, but most of all... The right man for the job..!

_____________________________

MARC SIMMONS LETTERS - To and From... Louis F. Serna

Like so many in New Mexico, I am fortunate to call Marc Simmons my friend.., and like a few, I have maintained a very enjoyable communication with Marc over many years. We have written back and forth entirely by U.S. mail as Marc has refused over the years to use computers and the internet and
still does. Per his latest letter to me, dated Feb. 15, 2012, he says; "I prefer to stay away from the Internet which helps keep me off the public radar...". He wrote that, in response to my letter asking him for an interview, using a questionnaire I developed for internet users.

Nevertheless, I would like to share some of the exchanges Marc and I have had over the years, so readers can see the professional and polite side of Mr. Simmons, when he is not actively engaged in doing research on his next book or historical project.

First, let's take a look at Marc's professional Biography, from the internet;

MARC SIMMONS, Ph.D.

Marc Simmons, is a professional historian and author of the Southwest. His writing, lectures and research focus on the
Indian and Hispanic heritages of New Mexico. He is also recognized as an authority on the Santa Fe Trail and is past president of the Santa Fe Trail Association.

Dr. Simmons received his higher education at the University of Texas, University of New Mexico and University of Guanajuato
(Mexico).

He has taught at several colleges and universities. He is a member of the Western Writers of America and the Writer's Guild. His writings include: more than 100 articles in scholarly and popular journals; a weekly history column in several New Mexico newspapers, and contributions to the "Encyclopedia Americana," the Smithsonian Institution's "Handbook of North American Indians," and the National Geographic Society's volume 'Trails West." He was also assistant editor of the "Calendar of the Spanish Archives of New Mexico, 1621-1821."
Three of his more than 35 books have received awards, including "Albuquerque, A Narrative History," given the Golden Spur Award by the Western Writers of America for the best nonfiction book on the West, 1983. "Murder on the Santa Fe Trail" received the 1986 C.L. Sonnichsen Book Award.
Dr. Simmons is a former Woodrow Wilson Fellow and a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship to carry out a study of
Hispanic agriculture in New Mexico.

In 1987 the New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities presented him with its Humanities Service Award. From the New Mexico Department of Agriculture he received the Rounders Award in 1991.

See Dr. Simmons articles in the Santa Fe New Mexican, Prime Time Magazine and other publications.

Our friendship goes back to February 1998, when I was producing my "Sernas of New Mexico Newsletter". I had written about the controversy surrounding the plans for placing a statue of Juan de Onate at Tiquex Park in Albuquerque and shortly after, Marc had appeared on the Larry Ahrens morning talk show, to discuss the issue. I sent Marc a copy of his book, "The Last Conquistador" to get his autograph and I also sent him a copy of my latest Serna Newsletter.

On Sunday, January 25th, (on my birthday), Marc called me at home to compliment me on my Newsletter and to say that he was very impressed by my writing and the number of Sernas throughout the state, and others who were responding to it. He said that if more people became more informed on the history of our state and people, there might be less controversy every time an issue like Onate comes up..! He asked me to place him on my mail list for future Newsletters and he said he wanted everyone to know that he felt that everyone's contribution would help make the Newsletter a success. We discussed other historical subjects and we agreed to keep in touch as we had much in common. Of course, at that time, I was an amateur historian compared to Marc who at that time, already had at least 35 published books to his credit and countless articles. His call that day was a great birthday gift and the beginning of a very enjoyable relationship.!

On March 15, 1998 Marc wrote to me and sent me a copy of his March issue of "TRAILDUST" in the Santa Fe Reporter. He had written an article titled, "Our Hispanic Renaissance" in which he highlighted Nasario Garcia, noted folklorist and author, and his book, "Mas Antes: Hispanic Folklore of the Rio Puerco Valley". Marc wrote of our Hispanic arts, crafts, culture, music, dance, folk drama and especially of the many Hispano authors and their very capable skills and unique first-hand experience. As he always has, Marc strongly supported Hispanic efforts to keep our culture and history alive and in the forefront.

On March 28, Marc wrote in response to an article I had done on La Bajada, the sharp rising.. or dropping..., road incline between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. He wrote how my article had brought great interest and nostalgia to him, as he was reminded of the May 1963 trek he made on foot from Santa Fe, south along the original Santa Fe trail, accompanied only by his faithful pack burro..! As an historian, he wanted to walk the trail, just as the early Spaniards had done in the 1600's. When he reached La Bajada, he made his way down the then difficult route to the placita down below, which was then a ghost town..! I had written about the Capela that Gloria and I had visited and Marc wrote that when he was there that day long ago, there were only the severely eroded walls left standing. The Capela that Gloria and I saw was a restoration of the old ruins. Marc said that when he got to the bottom, a rain storm brewed up and since it was late, he spend the night inside an old adobe ruin. Marc wrote that for those wanting more information on La Bajada, John H. Beadle wrote a book titled; "Five Years In The Territory" in which he writes about the place when there was a respectable adobe hotel there, that had an open plaza at it's center, with shade trees and a wash stand for it's guests and buffalo hide rugs in the sitting room. The food was "pretty good" in the old town of La Bajada and there is much more in Beadle's book. There was also much more in Marc's letter, too much for this article...!

on June 15, 1999, Marc wrote to say that he really enjoys the Serna Newsletter and that when he gets it in the mail he stops what he's doing and sits down to read it from front to back. He said he finds it "fascinating"...! He decided to write after reading the article I did on F.W. Cragin and the New Mexico people he wrote about years ago. The article I did was on Cragin's account of Teresita Sandoval, of the Taos area, who married Alexander Barclay, early entrepreneur of the late 1800's. Marc wrote that in 1974, Richard I. Luna of Colorado Springs, published a biography of Terecita, titled; "Lady of Taos". Marc is always quick to offer helpful information about anything having to do with New Mexico history..!

In February 2002, Marc wrote to say that he was delighted to again receive his copy of the Serna Newsletter.
He wrote to commend me on the article I did on "The Daughters of Francisco Esteban Jaramillo". Marc wanted to know if I knew when Francisco died, as there is curiously no information available on his death date. I replied that it was probably after 1830, as that was the year of birth of his last child, Luciano Jaramillo, my wife's great - great - grandfather. Marc also wrote to let me know that he was going to be the presenter of the annual Calvin P. Horn Western History and Culture award at their April 21st, conference at the Continuing Ed. Auditorium and he invited me to attend. He said he was going to speak on "Kit Carson, the Family Man". Of course, I attended and had a nice visit with Marc after his talk.

On June 16, 1998 Marc wrote in response to an article I had written on the Villasur Expedition of 1720 for my August issue of the Serna Newsletter.. I had asked Marc about a unique set of stirrups that were found in the area near the battle scene which was fought in what is now Nebraska. I had found the stirrups story in an old issue of the Nebraska Historical Society's publication dated in the early 1930's, which stated that the stirrups were found in a field being plowed for farming. Marc agreed that the stirrups were clearly early Spanish, with influence in their design, from the early Moors of Spain. Marc referred me to his book; "Southwest Colonial Ironworks", which I promptly went and checked out at my local library. As always, Marc was very helpful.

On July 21, 2002, Marc sent me a note that read;

Louis... "Don't know whether you would be interested in attending the Summer Festival at Rancho de las Golondrinas.
Sunday the 4th at 1:00 PM, John Carson, (great grandson of Kit Carson and his wife, Josefina) will speak, (in buckskins) under the trees behind the Gift Shop. I'll do a brief introduction, weather permitting."
Marc Simmons

His invitation to go see / hear John Carson was as a result of communications Marc and I had been having, regarding the family of Francisco Jaramillo and his daughters of Taos, NM.
At the time, Marc was gathering research materials for his book, "Kit Carson & His Three Wives", and I had given him some Jaramillo family history / genealogy as my wife's great great grandfather was Luciano Jaramillo, son of Francisco and brother of Josefa, his youngest daughter and last wife of Kit Carson. Marc published his book in 2003.

These have been but a few of the letters and notes that Marc and I have exchanged over the years and I am so honored to have had him as a friend and mentor in the time that I have known him....!"

There is no doubt that Marc Simmons is "One of the Most Outstanding People I Have Known"...!

________________________

TOM HILTON - Adventurer / Author

By
Louis F. Serna

Tom Hilton lived in Cimarron, NM for most of his adult life. In Cimarron, in the early 1950's, he could be found almost any time of day, at the St. James Hotel where he was a ombination caretaker / maintenance man of the Hotel and a “partner” of the hotel owner, Vera Campanela. Theirs was a very discreet relationship, although everyone in town knew they were "an item". He was a tall, muscular, well tanned fellow with blue eyes and curly hair. From the standpoint of any man "sizing him up", he looked like a man not to be messed with. In fact, there was an air about him that was very intimidating... almost a dangerous sense about him that seemed to say "keep your distance from me", and yet he was always a gentleman, polite, and always kept to himself. As is the case in every small town, there are always rumors that get started about anyone who doesn't fit the mold and Tom was no exception.., except that in his case, nobody seemed to know anything about him., only that he showed up in Cimarron one day and "attached" himself to the St. James Hotel and Vera.

I first saw him in 1955 when at my age 14, my family moved to Cimarron from Springer, NM. At the time, he was 27. I had no reason to meet him so he was just someone in town who I earned about. Even then, I learned from the boys my age, to keep my distance from him as he was a very private man.

Many years later, after my wife Gloria and I graduated from Cimarron High School, went off to the military service and later married in 1961, we left NM to take a job in Seattle, WA. My wife's mother, Tessie Maxwell - Turner had died of cancer in 1966 at the young age of 44. Tessie had a very interesting family history, she being of the Maxwell Land Grant family of northern NM. Tessie had an envelope of family pictures and before she died, she asked me to find out who the people in the pictures were and share that information with all her children as she was very proud of who she was. I agreed to do so and over the years since her death, I research the family history and by 1969 had enough information that I put it all together in a book I titled, "Tessie Maxwell of the Maxwell Land Grant Family". I sent copies to all the family members, to the Cimarron Library and to outlets in Cimarron. The word got around about the book and it became quite popular among the people of Cimarron since everyone had known Tessie.

About 1970, Gloria and I brought our family from Seattle, to visit the rest of our families in Cimarron and by chance, I was walking out of the local mercantile store and came face to face with Tom Hilton. He stopped me and asked if I was Frank Serna and I said yes. He said, "That's a really nice thing you did for Tessie. I think your book is very well done and is certainly a tribute to Tessie's family. I knew Tessie and she was a very good woman." He then asked for my address in Seattle and said that he had some local history information that he would like to send me if I was interested. Of course, I said yes as by then I was very impressed with Tom who was a published author of many magazine articles and a book, "Nevermore Cimarron, Nevermore". He gave me his mailing address and said that he would like to see more of my writings, if I cared to share them with him. Again, I was very flattered as Tom was very selective of the people he took into his confidence". He said goodbye, and I felt that this might be the beginning of a very interesting "relationship".

Over the years, we wrote back and forth and true to his word, he sent me various items of historical information, suggesting that I write about them. I took his advice and started a bi-weekly historical newsletter I called, "The Sernas of New Mexico NEWSLETTER". I mailed it out to family and friends and they liked it so well that they made copies and sent it to their family and friends. Before long, I had a very large mailing list and it kept growing..! Tom sent me stories about people and events in New Mexico and with his permission, I printed his stories under the alias; "Don Tomas" as he didn't want me to use his name. He got a kick out of that and we continued to write back and forth. Some stories he shared with me with the request that I not put them in print "while he was still around". I kept those stories to myself and although he passed away in 2010, I have not published those communications. As our letters passed back and forth, I could not help but wonder why this mysterious man who kept to himself so exclusively, chose me to take in confidence...? I assume that somehow, for whatever reason, he trusted me to keep his "secrets" and I did and still do.

In 1991, Gloria and I moved back to NM due to a bad case of asthma that had been bothering me for many years while we lived in Seattle. My health improved immediately, and I continued to write my stories and articles in a newsletter I created on the internet in a blog I titled, http://www.cimarronpublishing.net/.

Gloria and I visited our families in Cimarron often and when we went there, we made it a point to stop and visit with Tom and Vera who lived in the outskirts of Cimarron. We had many visits and Tom shared many stories with me that had their basis during his early years as a young man when he hiked all over the Sangre de Cristo mountains all the way down deep into old Mexico. He said he was gone for as long as a year at a time with nothing but his backpack and survival gear. By himself, he explored ancient Native American places he had read about and discovered places that he was sure no one knew about. He told me he "saw" things out in the wilderness that he wouldn't repeat because he felt no one would believe him and he didn't care if they did or not. He research and "uncovered" treasure maps among the stored Spanish documents in the old Records and Archives Library in Santa Fe and from other sources. He also had Spanish silver treasure maps he explored in old Mexico. He gave me one of those maps and told me I could be a rich man if I dared go into old Mexico and retrieve the Spanish silver bars that were there! Of course I wouldn’t dare..!!

His stories were fascinating and amazing as I was acquainted with some of the early Spanish stories he told me about. Our visits were always exciting and ended with Tom giving me more materials to read about. In our later visits he shared some of his ideas with me and one day he showed me a working model he had built in his shop, of what he called his "rejuvination machine". This was an electronic device that created what he called a "flux" of electrical current that he directed right at his body..! The first time I saw him do it I was alarmed as I could see and hear electrical discharges and power surge and vibrations and I thought surely he was going to electrocute himself and maybe even me..! He seemed to suffer no ill effects from it and I wondered how the electrical current could possibly be good for him but he seemed completely confident in what he was doing. Sometime later, Tom gave me the schematic drawings he had made of the device, saying that he was too old to produce the device for sale. He said, “Louis, if you want to market my machine, you can make a lot of money..!” I have never done anything with the information.

Tom also had a burning curiosity about the origins of the universe, the earth and the people on it. He read all of Zacharia Sitchen's books and loaned some to me to read along with the Dead Sea Scrolls. I found the books fascinating! There was so much more to Tom Hilton and it seemed that every time we visited, he had some new "project" he was working on and some new historical research he was trying to prove or disprove. He was a fascinating man.

As the years went by, Tom complained to me that his back was giving him a lot of trouble and the doctors he saw weren't doing anything for him. One day in 2010, he called me to ask if I would accompany him to see his doctor in Albuquerque as he was unsure of his ability to get to his appointment. I picked him up his motel and took him to see his doctor and I was shocked at how much he had physically detereated. After his appointment he told me he did not know what he was going to do about his back pain. We said our goodbyes and a few months later, in June of 2010, at age 82, he committed suicide. When his niece called me to notify me, I couldn't believe that the vibrant, self-confident man I had known would end his own life..! But then I think back to the times he told me how painful his back problem had become and I imagine how much pain it must have taken for him to end his own life!

My friend of so many years was gone.

I think of Tom often and I give thanks that I knew this man who was so selective about the company he kept and even more selective of what he shared with me.

I'm sure that as I grow older, I will reflect on the many things we discussed and I know that I will never meet another man like Tom.

______________________________

MY CHINESE, RUSSIAN, JEWISH, AND OTHER FRIENDS

By

Louis F. Serna

There was a period of time in my life when I felt that I was somehow under the control of some mysterious "energy" that seemed to be bringing people and events into my life that were somehow out of my control. These people and events appeared to be coming to me systematically and even at that time, as it was happening, I began to think that someone or something was orchestrating my life, much like an international mystery movie..! Perhaps this has happened to others and if so, then you can relate to this...

It all started when in 1961, I responded to an employment ad from the Boeing Company in Seattle, WA. My wife Gloria and I were in our early twenties, and we and our three little boys were living in Albuquerque, NM at the time. I responded to the ad, got the job, and off we went to this far off place in the Northwest corner of the country. For the next several years, I trained and worked as a machinist, working on airplane parts. Later, I trained and worked as a welder, working on Boeing's commercial and military projects. I was fortunate to learn a lot about metals and manufacturing in the airline, military and aerospace industries.

As time went on, I became involved in several other industrial projects around the city of Seattle and the Community College system where I became a teaching professor. By then, I had also worked in the Seattle shipyards as a welder and combined my employment at the shipyards with the local Colleges where I prepared young men and women for employment in the shipyards as welders. I eventually found myself employed as a Plant Engineer for the largest foundry on the West coast, Rogers Olympic Corp. which made MA-1 Tanks for the NATO forces. To avoid the many employment layoffs at that time, I remained employed by "switching" my employment from aerospace work, to shipyards, the foundry, and teaching sometimes fulltime and sometimes part-time. As I was in my "prime" years, I soon earned a good reputation among the many employers I worked for and key individuals in Seattle at that time.

While I was making a good name for myself in industry, I also enjoyed as much time with my family as I could as we had no relatives in the area so we were a "tight" family unit with many friends who we met over the years. Among my wife's and my personal interests, were our bowling league and the local fitness and spa where we enjoyed spending time during the week. I have had a lifelong love of the arts and so I pursued artwork in oils and acrylic on canvas in my spare time. I became involved with an area art club, joined, and soon was elected Vice President of the club, one of the largest in the area. My wife Gloria and I were very happy in Seattle among our many friends and activities and I was very proud of the good reputation I had developed in the area industries over the years.

It was then that "events" began to happen that became so interesting for my wife and me. The time was in the late 1980's during the time that the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. and China were at odds with each other and President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev were trying to resolve some serious differences.

One day, while my wife was at the health spa, she was approached by a nice Chinese young lady who asked her if she was Mrs. Serna? She replied that she was and the young lady introduced herself as "Shay-shay", (I am using a phonetic spelling of her name as we only knew her by that name.). She asked if she could meet with me as she had heard that I was an officer in an art club and she was interested in joining as a member. Gloria told me about her new friend and we made arrangements to meet her at her apartment where she wanted to show me her artwork. Gloria and I were very interested in our new friend's artwork and we were soon at her door.

Shay-shay met us at the door with a big smile and she welcomed us into her home. She and some of her friends were already celebrating a Chinese holiday, so there were others there already. We introduced ourselves and were soon greeted by all and we began a most interesting evening.

At the time, Shay-shay seemed to be in her mid-thirties, as we were, and she said she would like to tell us about herself as we only knew that she was an artist. Everyone took a seat as she told us that she had been a journalist in communist China, married to an influential man, also in the Newspaper business. Her father had been a well known artist who had developed a technique of combining colored glass with nickel based metals like silver, brass, copper and other metals to produce beautiful sought after jewelry. He too had also been a top journalist and suddenly one day, the communist regime arrested him and he was "taken away". It seems he had said or done something that was seen as "criminal" and he immediately lost all favor. He had anticipated that this was going to happen and had warned Shay-shay that she should get out of the country immediately, as her husband was somehow involved in his and her betrayal..! She said she barely escaped in time but left with only some of her father's artwork and some of her own. The same jewelry she had shown at the club meeting. She arrived in the U.S. and settled in Seattle where she had people that she "knew"... It was then that she introduced her friend "Judy"" who stood and began telling us about herself...

I assumed she was doing this for our benefit as they all knew each other already.

"Judy" was a Chinese lady who seemed to be in her forties and she was there with her husband, Frank Best (who was Anglo) and their daughter who was about six or seven. (More about Frank Best later). Judy told us that she had been a top rocket fuel scientist in the communist military and aerospace program where she helped develop some of the latest propellant used to launch Chinese missiles at that time. Something went wrong with a project she was working on and she and others were accused of sabotage..! One of the others was her brother. Currently, Judy was working for a Seattle based company called Rocket Research Inc., a top rocket fuel company in the U.S.

Judy grew very solemn and told us that she, her brother, and a few others of the project had received a message from a friend that the military were coming to arrest them and they all jumped into a car and drove for the mainland beach. They got there and as it was already getting dark, they could see the lights of Singapore in the distance as it is only eight miles from where they were... Behind them they could hear trucks coming and knew that it was Chinese soldiers coming after them. They ran out to the water and jumped in swimming as hard as they could away from the soldiers who were already yelling at them to stop. Judy and her brother were swimming side by side when the soldiers started firing and Judy saw her brother throw his hands in the air and yell at her to keep swimming! She could see that he was mortally wounded and she swam on, crying and gasping for air..! The firing continued until she saw in the darkness that she was the only one left alive..! She said she was numb from the cold and fear but she swam on. She started to feel pain all over her body and feared that she had been shot and didn't know it in her panic... She kept on until in the distance she could see lights and people calling to her to keep coming.. She had made it to the Singapore shore and men were waiting for her to come out of the water. She said she was exhausted and in pain and couldn't understand why no one was in the water to help her. It was then that she realized that there were stinging jellyfish in the water and that she had been stung all over her torso... She dragged herself onto the shore and men helped her to a waiting ambulance which took her to a hospital where she spent many weeks recovering from the jellyfish stings. At that point, she raised the sweater she was wearing and showed us the terrible scars criss-crossed around her body. She said that as soon as she recovered, she was approached by U.S. agents who helped her get to the U.S. and she was brought to Seattle to work for Rocket Research Inc. She said that she had never been as happy as when she realized that she could stay in the U.S. and no longer had to fear the communists.

It was while she was working for Rocket Research that she met her husband, Frank Best. Frank was very shy and didn't speak much so Judy told us that Frank had been working on a secret project for the Boeing Aerospace division, developing a fuel source. He had been "loaned" to Rocket Research to work with Judy on the project and they fell in love and married. At the time, Frank had a very unique job with Boeing. He was an "Inventor" and held many patents for processes and devices that he had developed for Boeing. They let him work on his own, wherever he wanted as he was a very valuable employee. Almost all his work was secretive and he never spoke as long as I knew him. He sat on the couch ever watchful of his little girl.

By this time, Gloria and I were dumbstruck..! Starting to realize that we were in very exclusive company, I began to wonder about the group..! (Understand that this was in the 80's when relations with the U.S.S.R. and China were quite strained and anything "communist" was considered quite dangerous..! As I was thinking about what I had just heard, Shay - shay introduced her "boyfriend", Michael Givens.

Michael was a tall Anglo young man, who was quite jovial and ready for a laugh... I could see that he was very fond of Shay-shay and I wondered what the attraction was. Michael introduced himself as part of the shoe manufacturing Givens family from back East, but asked that we no hold it against him..! We laughed and he went on to say that he had been lucky to have received a "good" education and that the government had asked him to work for them. He said he was working on several projects that he couldn't talk about and that currently he was at the University of Washington on a "dual - project" with the Russian government... He introduced a young man who was at his side throughout the night and I had already noticed that he was speaking only Russian. The other young man was named Alexi and Michael said they were working together. Michael said he spoke Russian, some Chinese, and some Hebrew as he said he was Jewish. Alexi spoke only Russian so he communicated everything to me through Michael and I responded to Alexi through Michael who interpreted for me. As I learned more about Michael from Shay-shay, I came to realize that Michael and Alexi were part of a "team" of mathematicians at the U.W., working on futuristic projects having to do with mathematics as a medium of communication among world mathematicians. I learned that at the highest level of communication among scientists, the communication is through formula mathematics..! I also learned that both Michael and Alexi were nuclear physicists..!

Michael put me at ease, as we found ourselves talking and visiting with each other, mainly because everyone else was speaking Chinese or Russian..! I continued to be amazed at the company I was in...! Meanwhile, Gloria, Judy and Shay-shay were talking girl talk around a table full of Chinese cookies and treats.

Michael then introduced me to a man in his 50's who he said was a minister from Central America... He greeted me in Spanish and we exchanged courtesies in Spanish. I don't recall his name but he introduced me to his wife who was a portly woman, appearing to be of Middle Eastern origins. She was Jewish and greeted me in Spanish. She then told me that she spoke Spanish as it is a common language in Israel. The Minister, to my knowledge, was just a minister but I always felt there was more to this man who didn't say much. His wife, was one of the team of mathematicians at the University of Washington who was working with Michael and Alexi.

Finally, another Chinese lady was introduced to me as "Mary". She was in her 50's and she was there with her son whose name I don't recall. Michael said that Mary was the senior mathematician and that she was there on loan from the U.S.S.R., even though she was Chinese...

By now, I was completely amazed and I began to wonder why Gloria and I were really here in this amazing intellectual group..!!! I thought that my help in getting Shay - shay into the art club could not possibly warrant introduction into this amazing group of people..! As the night wore on, we had a great time and I found myself talking to Michael and Alexi in great detail. They opened up to me that they were both on "mutual loan" between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S., as there was a great need for both countries to work together on several projects that were "outside" the "diplomatic" mode of communications. They told me that communist China was also a part of their work, but not as openly as the U.S.S.R. and the U.S. (Here I will remind the reader that this was the time that President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev were having their "talks" that were getting quite heated).

We finally said our farewells to everyone and Gloria and I left the apartment completely in amazement...!

We had perhaps two or three more get-togethers at Shay-shay's apartment over the next several months and in conversation, I found myself telling Michael and Alexi quite a bit about my experience at Boeing and in particular, my work with "exotic" metals such as the nickel based metals and others. They were very interested in my work with metals and in the foundry where I was Plant Engineer. By then I had also worked on a project for Pratt Metals in Auburn, Washington, where I personally built an azimuth mount for the "Black Box" project that Boeing was developing as part of President Reagan's "Star Wars" project... None of it was secret except the Black Box project and they were very interested in that... I did not feel I was giving away any information that was secretive and I was learning more from them than they were from me.., and it was fascinating. Our "talks" would become items of great interest later.

Politically, the politics between President Reagan and Mr. Gorbachev were becoming very interesting as it appeared that they genuinely seemed to like each other and tensions were relaxing, at least in the press.

About this time, Michael informed me that he and Alexi were going to be gone for a few months and he would be looking forward to visiting again when they returned. Also about this time, I received a call from Shay - shay one day, asking me if she could introduce a friend to me who was interested in the Art Club. We talked on the phone and she introduced me to her Russian friend artist, Elena Bolotskik. Elena, about 35 years of age, was already a known artist in Russia as she had studied art under the leading Russian artists at that time and she had been "allowed" to show her work in an international show in Stockholm, Sweden. She was now in the U.S. and she said that she would be returning to Stockholm soon and she was trying to sell some of her artwork while she was in Seattle. I invited her to show her work to the club and she did. She came with her husband, Sasha who was also an artist and she put on a demonstration of her techniques using paints and mediums from Russia and she gave us a fascinating talk about conditions in Russia at the time and she sounded quite guarded about what she was saying and the membership hung on her every word..! After the meeting, she sold some of her art work and she thanked me profusely for helping her show her work. About a month later she called me to say that they were leaving for Stockholm and invited me to her apartment to give me a farewell gift. I went and she and her husband, said their farewells and she gave me one of her paintings which I cherish. I remember that she and Shasha were very concerned about their trip to Stockholm as "things" in the U.S.S.R. were becoming very tenuous as there was more and more talk in the press about dissolving the Soviet Union at that time.

A few months later, I got a call one day and it was Michael Givens. He asked if Gloria and I wanted to get together as he and Alexi were back and they were anxious to visit. Michael said he had something to show me. Gloria and I went to visit and as it turned out, it was the Chinese New Year and Shay-shay and Judy had prepared "Moon-cake" for the occasion. The cake was great and we had a very nice visit. As usual, Michael, Alexi and I huddled around a coffee table and visited... By then, I had made it a point to have a good and difficult question for them, that required their extraordinary intelligence. Since I was nowhere near their level of intelligence, I dreamed up questions that I thought they would enjoy. On this occasion, I asked them to help me understand how I could find out, "where in the universe" I was born...? I gave them my birthday and said that on that day, as the earth revolved around the sun, and the sun moved about our galaxy, where was that point in space, where I was born? I remember Alexi almost jumped out of the couch when Michael asked him the question in Russian. He sputtered and gestured with his hands talking to Michael a hundred miles an hour...! Finally they both started conversing in Russian and they started writing on a piece of paper and finally Michael said to me, "you've asked a tough question... we'll have to get back to you on this one. As you know, there is no "up", "down", North or South in space...!".

After we had a laugh about my question, Michael said he had something to show me. He pulled a ring out of his pocket and put it on his ring finger. It appeared to me to be silver and it was the image of a frog, crouched on it's stomach. I admired the ring and he let me hold it to take a better look. He then told me that He and Alexi had been two of thirteen invited guests at a meeting with the Dalai Lama and that's where they had been for the past several months! I expected them to burst out laughing with the joke on me, but they didn't. He said that at the end of their meeting with the Dalai Lama he had given each of them a ring... the ring I was holding. The frog had some significance to him and the group of which I don't know. Michael then went on to explain that they had been invited as representatives of the University of Washington mathematics group I spoke of earlier, along with others from other countries from around the world, to meet and discuss their progress on the project. I don't remember if he said where the series of meetings were held. He didn't explain what the Dalai Lama had to do with mathematics, only that he had been the host of the meeting..! Of course, I was once again totally amazed and I had no doubt as to what Michael and Alexi had shared with me..!

We discussed the world news, President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev and the situation in the U.S.S.R. and Alexi expressed his great concern over the situation in his homeland and he said things were not good.

We ended our visit and Gloria and I left, and as always, amazed at these strange friends we had made.

Over the next several months, Michael and I kept in touch with an occasional visit at Shay-shay's with the usual friends there... Michael and Alexi had gotten involved somehow in the very highly publicized "atom-smasher" project at Washington's Tri-Cities area, (Hanford, Kennewick, Richland and Pasco Washington). I assume their involvement was through their nuclear physicist duties and although we discussed the project there was not much they could tell me that wasn't already in the local newspapers, nevertheless, it was great talking to them from their perspective!

I remember that by this time in the late 80's, Alexi started talking one night, about how the Soviet politicians, scientists, and others were scrambling to control the illegal flow of rare and expensive metals used in their nuclear and aerospace manufacturing, out of the country. He said that high level "smugglers" were "acquiring" the metals, melting them and were producing farm implements, tools and other objects out of the metals to try to disguise them as harmless items to get them out of the U.S.S.R., before the government collapsed. He said that these smugglers were selling the metals to unscrupulous foreign buyers wherever they could find them. Alexi even asked me if I knew anyone high up in the Boeing Company who might be interested in the rare metals and I quickly said no..! By this time, it was obvious that there were great problems in the Soviet Union and it was near collapse..! Once again, Michael told me that he and Alexi were going to be gone for awhile and I bid them good luck but didn't ask questions as to where they were going.

Over the years, living in Seattle, I had been very healthy until about 1980 when I suddenly started having trouble with my breathing. I went to my family doctor who diagnosed me with asthma and said that I might want to think about moving to a dryer climate as the asthma in the coastal city of Seattle was only going to get worse, what with the fog, constant rain, and the daily air pollution of a big city. I put up with my asthma as I continued to with my daily duties but it seemed to get worse as the years went by. By the late 80's, I was spending more and more time in the local hospital, getting treatments on an emergency basis. Gloria and I discussed our situation and since our three sons and one daughter were already grown and gone, we started thinking about a possible move from Seattle back to New Mexico which is what my doctor was recommending. The decision was made for me in 1991 when I found myself in the hospital with asthma and a bad case of pneumonia..! Suddenly everything in our lives started to change dramatically. While I was in the hospital, Gloria told Shay-shay what was happening and Shay-shay said she would like to visit me in the hospital as she wanted to talk to me and Gloria told her to feel free to do so. Later that same day, Shay-shay came to see me and brought me a Chinese remedy that she said was good for my asthma. She then told me that she had some bad news. Michael had died of a brain aneurism somewhere out of the country and Alexi had been "recalled" back to the Soviet Union which was in the state of collapse..! She said that her friends at the University of Washington in the mathematics program had also been recalled to Russia and that she herself was leaving Seattle to live somewhere in Texas that very week! I expressed my sincere concern for her and she left saying that she would keep in touch with us. We never heard from her again. I laid in bed that day feeling that we had lost some great friends so strangely. I wondered about Michael's death as I felt that Shay-shay had seemed more upset than sorrowful over his passing. I didn't know what to think in view of his association with such secretive and deadly governments.

When I finally left the hospital, Gloria and I made arrangements and we sold our home of some nearly twenty years within a few days and we moved back to New Mexico where we now live. In Albuquerque, my health improved dramatically and we often think of our Chinese, Jewish, Soviet and other friends who we spent such wonderful times with and we are grateful that we had those friends and experiences that are such fond memories for us. We think back on how we all became acquainted, almost by chance, and we doubt that we could ever plan to have such friendships ever again. At our age now in our 70's, we are grateful for the wonderful friends we have had over the years, in so many places.

Louis & Gloria Serna

December 2011

_______________________________

Robert Mossman - Flying Leatherneck

New Mexico’s Flying Leatherneck

As a fighter pilot, Robert Mossman’s career spanned 28 years, including action in 2 wars..!

By: John Whitcomb

Reprinted in 2017 By Louis F. Serna sernabook@comcast.net

You just thought that was John Wayne piloting the menacing, black Corsair fighter through the hostile skies over the South Pacific in the late night movie staple called, “Flying Leathernecks”. The popular actor, a fixture in all manner of action films from the 1940’s well into the 1970’s, portrayed Major Dan Kirby, a tough-as-nails squadron commander whose by-the-book leadership alienated him from his fellow fliers.

Although it was John Wayne who climbed grimly from the cockpit after losing one of his pilots during a strafing run on Japanese ground troops at Guadalcanal, it was a New Mexico native who, in all probability, did the actual flying scenes… Robert Mossman..!

Robert Mossman, born in the long-since-deserted gold mining town of Baldy, in Colfax County, (just up the Cimarron Canyon from Cimarron, NM), is listed on the film credits as one of the pilots in “Flying Leathernecks”.

While the film is still available on video tape, it is usually shown only in late-night programming on New Mexico’s television stations. As a movie, “Flying Leathernecks” is vintage John Wayne, crammed with hard-bitten dialogue and showing the late actor as a tough loner consumed only by doing the job at hand. In this case, the Marine Corp pilots dodge enemy artillery, fly fighter planes only marginally ready for aerial combat and toast their fallen comrades with saki left behind by retreating Japanese.

But for New Mexicans, the story has to be about Robert Joseph Mossman, decorated fighter pilot, career Air Force man and genuine local hero. His story was suggested to “Enchantment” by Don Fitzner of Estancia, a U.S. Army veteran of Vietnam, a history buff and a distant relative of Robert Mossman through marriage.

Robert Mossman first saw the light of day on January 17, 1918 when he was born to Charles and Frances Jaramillo Mossman in their home at the base of Baldy Peak in northern New Mexico. His father was a rough-and-tumble miner, his mother a descendant of an established northern New Mexico Spanish family.

Not much is known of those early years in Mossman’s life, but from the age of 1 until he was 15, he was raised by a pair of aunts, Lizzy Mossman and Josie Campos. At 15, he went to live with an elderly stonemason in Cimarron. While learning the masonry trade, young Mossman attended Cimarron High School, graduating in 1935.

On the 13^th of December in 1937, at age 19, Robert Mossman enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in Los Angeles, CA. After basic training in California, he was shipped to Hawaii and was on the island of Oahu that fateful day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Eight days after the attack, on Dec. 15, he re-enlisted for four more years. It would be nearly a quarter century before he donned civilian clothes for good.

At the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, Mossman was a master technical sergeant and a rated Naval aviation pilot. Such men were a rare breed. These flying sergeants were pressed into service because the military was woefully short of seasoned pilots.

As the American war machine steadily cranked up to meet enemies on two fronts – Europe and the Pacific – Robert Mossman was ordered to the Pacific Theater where pilots and technicians were in great demand but in short supply. Through 1942, he served with Major Gregory “Pappy” Boyington’s Black Sheep Squadron, alternating as airplane mechanic and fighter pilot.

Major Gregory “Pappy” Boyington

(December 4, 1912 – January 11, 1988). Boyington was an American combat pilot who was a United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II. He received both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross.

Boyington was initially a P-40 Warhawk fighter pilot with the legendary "Flying Tigers" (1st American Volunteer Group) in the Republic of China Air Force in Burma at the end of 1941 and part of 1942, during the military conflict between China and Japan, and the beginning of World War II.

In September 1942, he rejoined the Marine Corps (he had been an aviator before the war). In early 1943, he deployed to the South Pacific and began flying combat missions as a Marine F4U Corsair fighter pilot. In September 1943, he took command of U.S. Marine Corps fighter squadron VMF-214 ("Black Sheep"). In January 1944, Boyington, outnumbered by Japanese "Zero" planes, was shot down into the Pacific Ocean after downing one of the enemy planes. He was captured by a Japanese submarine crew and was held as a prisoner of war for more than a year and a half. He was released shortly after the surrender of Japan, and a few days before the official surrender documents were signed.

Sometime during that year, bad-boy Boyington hankered for a distinctive shoulder patch for his outfit, one that would reflect his own unique brand of leadership and the name of his squadron. During one of the few lulls in the action, Robert Mossman drew a singular assignment; sketch a shoulder patch that would be appropriate for the group.

His “Black Sheep” patch found favor with Major Gregory “Pappy”Boyington and he adopted it. Boyington refers to this in his autobiography, “Baa Baa Black Sheep”.

In January of 1943, Mossman was promoted to master sergeant. Later that year, he was sent to the U.S. Navy’s pre-flight school in Louisiana as an instructor of pilots heading into combat. His knowledge of dogfighting techniques was passed along to the next generation of combat aces.

After the war, Sgt. Mossman continued to fly, often for the U.S. Marine Corps’ Military Promotions program. It was evident at the Pentagon that America’s flight program could never be neglected as it was, in those years immediately before World War II. It was between wars that Mossman was called on by Howard Hughes and Edmund Grainger, the makers of “Flying Leathernecks”, to pilot fighter planes for the movie’s combat scenes. Much of the dogfighting and strafing footage in the film was taken during actual aerial combat. Most fighters had cameras mounted behind the pilot’s head in the cockpit.

Then dawned Robert Mossman’s second war. From August through December of 1951, he engaged regularly in intense air combat over Korea. Flying off the U.S. Aircraft Carrier, USS Sicily, Mossman and his unit flew missions in defense of the Pusan perimeter and provided close air support for the United Nations forces during the invasion of Wolmi-Do and Inchon. There’s no way to estimate the number of American lives saved by the unit’s air-cover heroics during the evacuation of Hung-Nam.

After the Korean police action, Robert Mossman returned home a hero! A grateful country awarded him a chest full of medals including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, the United Nations Medal and the China and Korean Service medals.

One citation, presented after the war, read;

“Flying through intense anti-aircraft and small arms fire, Master Sergeant Mossman made repeated attacks on and completely destroyed an artillery position and an automatic weapons position which contributed directly to the successful advancement of friendly troops. His outstanding courage and steadfast devotion to duty were in keep with the hightest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.”

The citation was presented by the Commander of the United States naval Fleet, Vice Admiral A.O. Struble. While the awards were made to Master Sergeant Robert J Mossman, in fact, the New Mexico pilot was wearing a major’s gold leaves! (It seems some younger officers took umbrage at being told what to do by a Sergeant, regardless of the number of stripes on his arm!)

The Bridges at Toko-Ri

The Bridges at Toko-Ri became a 1954 American war film about the Korean War and starred William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney, and Robert Strauss. The film, which was directed by Mark Robson, was produced by Paramount Pictures.

The screenplay was based on the novel, The Bridges at Toko-Ri by Pulitzer Prize winner James Michener. The real story, which closely follows the novel, is about the U.S. Navy pilots, including Mossman, assigned to bomb a group of heavily defended bridges in North Korea. It emphasizes the lives of the pilots and crew in the context of the Korean War; a conflict that seems remote to all except those who fought in Korea. Robert Mossman, who earned the citation above, was one of those top jet pilots.

In September of 1951, New Mexico got its chance to honor one of its own. Then Governor Edwin Mechem declared September 30^th that year as “Robert J. Mossman Day in New Mexico.” In his remarks, Gov. Mechem “asked the blessings of the Almighty on those members of the Armed Forces, both living and dead, who have fought aggression in order to preserve the independence and liberty of freedom loving peoples everywhere.”

During the “day” in New Mexico, Robert’s father, Charles received a personal invitation from Gov. Mechem to attend the showing of “Flying Leathernecks” in Santa Fe. It was one of the few times the father and son had been together in 30 years!

By this time, Robert Mossman had been promoted to Command Sergeant Major, the highest enlisted position attainable. Between occasional stints as a promotional pilot for the Marine Corps and member of the navy’s precision flying team, Mossman made sure America’s flying machines were in top shape.

The high regard the Marine Corps brass had for Sgt. Maj. Mossman was in evidence one day in 1962 when after old Charles Mossman died at his home in Questa, NM, Sgt. Mossman, stationed at the Yuma Air Station in Arizona, was granted exclusive use of a T-33 training jet, to fly to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque. He arrived in grand style to attend to the sobering task of finalizing his father’s affairs.

“When I picked him up in Albuquerque, the military personnel there were amazed to see a sergeant step down from that jet,” recalls Don Fitzner who drove Mossman to Questa. (A family cousin by marriage).

“They had never heard of a sergeant who could fly a jet. What they also didn’t realize was that Robert was qualified to fly anything the Marine Corps had.”

It’s been said that anybody could tell which plane Robert Mossman was flying. Instead of taking off in gradual regulation flight angles, Mossman would point the nose of his jet skyward and keep it there until the plane was out of sight!

Robert married Emma Vay Haught In late September of 1951. Robert Dwayne Mossman was born the following summer and Charles John Mossman followed in March of 1957. Erma was from the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. She and Robert moved there following his retirement on September 30, 1966.

The Flying Tigers Chinese Jacket Patch

Large patches were sewn on the backs of the Flying Tiger Pilots’ leather jackets, who were flying missions against the Japanese over China. If a “Tiger” were to be shot down over China, and be unconscious, the message in Chinese would alert whoever found him that he was an American and the Chinese would rescue him and return him to his unit.

The Flying Tiger Patch

The patch, made famous by the daring fighter pilots of the “Pappy” Boyington squadron, was worn by Robert Mossman, as well as the other pilots. There were other patches depicting the Flying Tigers.

The Hellcat

Originally designed as a carrier-based fighter, the Corsair's difficult handling and landing characteristics caused the Navy to rely on the Grumman Hellcat instead. The Marine Corps benefited from this policy change, and its land-based units eagerly adopted the "Bent-wing Bird." The famous Jolly Rogers, the Navy's VF-17, also flew the Corsair during its tour in the Solomons. Late in the war, as the handling problems were resolved, both Marine and Navy pilots operated F4U's from carrier decks. Its speed, firepower, maneuverability, and ruggedness caused many to rate it with the Mustang as the best fighter plane of World War II. This is the plane that Robert Mossman flew early in his flying career.

Baldy Mountain

High in the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range of northern New Mexico. Robert Mossman was born there at the base of the mountain at the gold town known as “Baldy”.

Robert Mossman died March 7, 1980 of natural causes.

GUNFIGHT IN THE ST. JAMES SALOON

By

Louis F. Serna
Copyright Nov 2011

Cimarron, New Mexico is a little town in northern New Mexico, on highway 64 between Raton and Ute Park. It is a scenic place, at the mouth of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range, at the bottom of what is now Cimarron Canyon.

To the east and south of Cimarron, lay the great high plains that flow out onto the Texas panhandle, and to the south are the cities of Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and El Paso. To the north is the treacherous snowy Raton Pass which shares a state line with Colorado along it’s high mountains and passes. Between the passage of the Raton Pass and the eastern plains, is the famous Santa Fe Trail that linked New Mexico with Bent’s Fort and eventually, St. Louis, Missouri and the Eastern states.

It was the lure of fur trapping and trading in the Sangre de Cristo range, that called to the eastern Fur-Trappers and Traders who found their way to northern New Mexico, by way of the Arkansas River and it’s tributaries in the early 1800’s. One of those Trapper / Traders was a man by the name of Lucien Bonaparte Maxwell, a brute of a man with the cunning business sense of a New York banker. It was in 1833 that he and Kit Carson hired on as scouts with John Freemont, The Pathfinder, on his early expedition from St. Louis to California. They followed the trail westward, laid out by earlier trappers who had been to Taos and even beyond, in their attempts to trade Eastern goods for Spanish silver and gold in the markets of Santa Fe, Chihuahua, and even, Mexico City. It was suspected by the Easterners that there was a rich market in trading with the Mexican Spaniards, and in 1821 when Mexico became a Republic and threw off it’s allegiance to the Spanish crown in Europe, the doors were open to trade.

Fremont was on a government mission to explore the expanse from St. Louis to the Californias along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. A wonderful prize to be had, if the United States government could find a way to acquire it..!! The biggest problem initially, was the threat of keeping one’s scalp on one’s head and keeping one’s self out of Mexican prisons..!

In time, Maxwell and Carson decided to settle down in a beautiful valley known as the Rayado. A Spanish word meaning “striped”. Some say the place was named for a now extinct tribe of Indians who lived there and identified themselves to others by painting stripes on their bodies, or in Spanish; “rayados” - the striped ones. The two mountain men built adobe homes for themselves, (Kit Carson’s home still stands as a museum on the Philmont Scout Ranch property), and settled in to raise crops and cattle. They both married Spanish Taos women and intended to settle down. As we know, fate stepped in and called Kit Carson to serve his country as a civilian and as a military man and over the next many years, he made quite a name for himself as one of America’s legendary heroes. Lucien Maxwell, on the other hand, had a different destiny…, A very rich destiny.

24 year old Lucien B. Maxwell had married Maria de la Luz Beaubien, the thirteen year young daughter of a rich and already famous frontiersman by the name of Charles Hipolyte Beaubien. He, thanks to his political connections with the Spanish / Mexican government, had acquired a huge grant in partnership with a Mexican politician named Guadalupe Miranda. Then governor, Manuel Armijo awarded them what became known as the Beaubien – Miranda Land Grant, which in size was supposed to be some 44,000 acres in the heart of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range, but Beaubien claimed it to be 100,000 acres or more. In 1847, Beaubien’s only son, Narciso, was killed in what became the Taos Rebellion of 1847, when Indians and Mexicans in Taos killed the new Territorial Governor, Charles Bent, along with Narciso Beaubien, only 13 years of age, and others. The insurrection was quickly put down and Maxwell soon found himself managing Beaubien’s huge land grant, when he too passed away. By then, Maxwell had seen the potential of this huge property and he immediately set about buying out the remaining family heirs. He soon found himself sole owner of what became known as The Maxwell Land Grant.

Maxwell decided that he needed a better location from which to manage his vast holdings, so he sent his employees and builders to a place just eight miles north of Rayado. There, he was to start building his new headquarters and several buildings to house his Mexican workers and some Anglo merchants to start a town to provide his needs. That town became Cimarron. Maxwell built himself a palatial home located right in the middle of Cimarron.

Maxwell ruled his kingdom like a monarch in Europe, taking and making money from every venture on his property. Cattle raising, farming, sheep raising, and gold mining..! His great wealth allowed him to be generous on the one hand, but cruel and firm on another. His undisputed control over his lands, led him to allow friends and favored acquaintances to “work” his lands on shares or other agreements, too many of them just on a handshake without the benefit of legal paperwork. A mistake that would haunt him and those who thought they had a “real” investment in what they thought were “their” lands.

Maxwell’s on-going battles with other large neighboring landowners, over grazing rights for their huge herds of cattle, soon caused Maxwell great concern and irritation. “Claims” by some whom he had generously allowed to use his lands became intolerable. As soon as Maxwell decided he had enough, he took the opportunity and he sold the huge land grant to a Dutch syndicate for $650,000 dollars. By then, Maxwell claimed his grant was over 2 million acres in size. A great many deceptions arose over the sale of the grant, it’s alleged size, and most of all, the perceived rights of the many settlers, miners, and others who were in actuality, “squatters” on the land. The new legal landowners proceeded to try to evict these “trespassers” and violence and bloodshed soon erupted in what became known as “The Colfax County War!”

It was in middle of that turmoil that a young man from Tennessee by the name of Robert Clay Allison arrived in the area, having driven a herd of cattle up from the south Texas scrublands. He, like so many other deserters and post Civil War soldiers, had gone to Texas where it was said there were thousand of wild longhorn cattle roaming loose for the taking. All one had to do was gather them up from the brushy plains, put a brand on them, and drive them to a market place where a profit could be had. The post civil war economy in the midwest and the former battle worn states, was poor in assets, but rich in it’s need for among many other raw materials, prime beef..!!! Allison cut himself a herd and drove them up through the Santa Fe Trail passage into the area northeast of Cimarron known as La Tenaja…. A dry wash area near water with good grazing grass. La Tenaja was some 20 miles south from the Stockton House near Raton and on the Trail, and about 30 miles from Cimarron, already a bustling and lively town. It wasn’t long before Clay Allison, a very determined man, was making a name for himself as a successful cattleman, a heavy drinking and dangerous man who settled his disputes with his fists and his gun, but he was a gentleman…., when not in his drinks…!

Some called him a “fighter for lost causes”, as he tended to take sides with what he thought were the defenseless or mismatched, against the bullies and scallawags..! One of those he admired and supported, was the man at the head of the fight for ranchers and settlers rights, the Reverand F.J. Tolby, a Methodist minister in Cimarron. When the Rev. Tolby was murdered in Cimarron Canyon, the fuse was lit for what would be war and bloodshed..! The fact that the Santa Fe Ring, was already involved in devious transactions regarding the embroiled Maxwell Land Grant, and maybe even in Tolby’s death, made Allison all the more angry and determined in what he saw as the downtrodden in need of help… his kind of help…!

The main suspect in the murder of the Rev. Tolby was the Cimarron Constable himself! Cruz Vega..! It was suspected that the Santa Fe Ring had conspired with him and another shady character, Florencio Donahue, a stone mason Lucien Maxwell had brought into the area to build his great stone mill. Donahue was apparently somehow related to Cruz Vega and somehow involved in the murder of Tolby. Also suspected, was another relative of Cruz Vega, a man by the name of Manuel Cardenas, who quickly high-tailed it out of Cimarron and headed for Taos.

The man believed to be the brains behind the conspiracy to murder the Reverand, was Pancho Griego, a bloodthirsty gunman who although a one-time sheriff of Santa Fe, was credited with at least 20 deaths of a most violent nature. He had killed with his guns, his knife, and some said with his bare hands..! At the time of the Tolby murder, Griego who was also a cousin of Cruz Vega, was a dealer of Monte at the St. James Saloon in Cimarron..! Recently, he had allegedly killed three Union soldiers from Fort Union, right there in the bar, shooting one in the back, dispatching another with his large Bowie knife, and the other with a gunshot as he tried to run out the door of the saloon! Griego then rode out to Fort Union soon after, and inexplicably returned to Cimarron where he met with the newly elected Justice of the Peace, E. H. Bergman, who took his statement in the presence of the local attorney, M.W. Mills. Mills was known to be a member of the Santa Fe Ring. Bergman held a closed door session with Mills and Probate Judge H. Longwill, and a verdict was handed to Pancho Griego of “justifiable homocide!!!”

The death of the Reverand Tolby did not go unavenged, as the suspected murderer, Cruz Vega was confronted in the middle of the night out in Ponil Canyon and was found hanging from a telephone pole the next morning, his body riddled with bullets. Pancho Griego went into a drunken rage, swearing to take care of Allison whom he suspected of Vega’s hanging!

On the subject of Robert Clay Allison, sometimes called the “Gentleman Gunfighter”, there is much to know and enjoy reading about. To that end, I have written a book titled, “Robert Clay Allison and the Colfax County War” which covers the entire affair and the life of Clay Allison. The book is available from me as an E-Book on my website; www.cimarronpublishing.net for $10.00.

Clay Allison, finally met the challenge of Pancho Griego. The scene was in the St. James Saloon which also had a favorite eatery. It had been built and operated by another Cimarron character, Henri Lambert. What follows are the events that led up to the gunfight, which is the crux of this article;

Vega was buried by his kinsmen, on Monday morning of November 1st, 1875, not at the Mountain View Cemetery, which was considered the Anglo’s cemetery, but at the south-west slope of C-Hill.

That Monday evening, Allison rode into Cimarron by way of the stage road near where Vega had just been buried. He actually rode right into a still lingering group of men finishing up the burial site, headed up by Griego who immediately challenged Allison to a fight. Seeing that he was outnumbered, Clay rode away from the men who were on foot, to the other side of town. He knew he would soon be challenged again.

Lambert who owned the St. James, stated that Griego arrived for work at the Monte table, already quite drunk. His bravado was peaked high, but his senses were quite dulled. Not long after, Allison also arrived at the bar and headed into the main room, surveying all before him. Strange how on this occasion, he noticed the men who always moved away from him, but this time their eyes were on him longer, he saw the bar before him, noticed how high it stood, how long, and who was at the bar. He noticed the two swinging doors to the right that led to the poker rooms, and who was standing near them and what they were doing. On the far left, he saw the massive pot bellied stove, the fire wood piled against the wall and he looked around the floor for anything one might trip on. Finally, he filled his eyes with the Monte table to his left, and the seated form of Pancho Griego. His mind was registering everything, as if flashing back to a scene before a battle, during the Civil War.

Allison walked up to the bar, and as his elbow met the bar, a glass of whiskey slid in front of him. As he raised his glass to his lips he heard men’s feet shuffling away and in the same instant, Griego was suddenly at his side, causing Allison to quickly set the glass down. As Griego stepped up to the bar, he mumbled something to Clay, and they looked at each other long and hard, but then both men grinned at each other and slowly moved toward the dining area, not losing sight of each other.

Surprisingly, Griego had suggested that they enjoy a steak together, and Clay accepted! They seated themselves across from each other, each ever watchful where the other’s hands were. They ordered a steak, and were quickly served. It was hard to tell if they spoke, as everyone else cleared away from them. They sat staring at each other. They seemed to be enjoying their meal. Perhaps they were getting to know each other, if only in the glaring stares they exchanged. It was a strange drama being played out, and neither was going to appear to be flustered by the other. As they neared the end of their meal, Clay noticed that Griego’s eyes became clearer, less darting, more controlled, and his motions more deliberate. Had he masterfully stalled Clay long enough to have a good steak that would sober him slightly? Perhaps just enough to sharpen his wits and his hand speed? Was Clay breaking his own rule, a rule he himself had started long ago, never to give his opponent any kind of an edge? Perhaps Griego was displaying the craftiness that had earned him some twenty kills. Perhaps Griego had just taken away, whatever edge Clay had on him an hour ago! Did Griego now have the edge over Allison? Certainly all these thoughts entered both men’s minds, and so clearly that the wary observers could actually see what was happening, as if in a stage play… so much drama!

Finally, both men finished their meal and smiled almost instinctively, the smile of civilized men who had just finished a fully gratifying meal! Were they two men on business in a fine restaurant, they would probably light an expensive cigar and stretch their legs, hands across their girth. But not these two, they sat straight up, and began to tense slightly, as if waiting for the other to stand, and seemingly at the same moment they were both on their feet with their fingertips on the table, in plain sight of the other. Almost on cue, they both moved back toward the bar, disregarding the bill at the table, after all who would reach into their coats first, to retrieve a purse for payment? They arrived at the bar still fixed on each other’s eyes. Here were two dancers, very much engaged in a dance of death. At the bar, both were served drinks by very careful hands, as if the server would not be the one to offer an edge in any way. Both men tried to remain comfortable, although one can only stand at a bar in an awkward stance. Perhaps this was the first time in two hours, that either man had excuse not to mimic the other.

Griego’s hat had not come off his head since he had walked into the bar some hours earlier. Now it seemed, he wanted to adjust his hat and wipe his brow. He raised his eyebrows at Clay, as if asking for permission to remove his hat, and Clay’s response was a slow blink of the eyes. Clay was quick to notice that Griego was using his left hand on his hat, and for a moment he seemed clumsy doing it., as if not a natural thing for him to do. As Griego brought his hat down alongside his head, never taking his eyes off of Allison, he fanned it slowly as if to cool himself and continued to slowly move the hat downward, still awkwardly fanning, until he moved it over to his right side and it was at that moment that all expression left both men’s faces for just an instant. The moment of truth! The theatrics were over!

Griego had tried to hide his right hand slowly slipping his gun out of it’s holster, but now he jerked it hard, hoping to catch Allison unaware. Allison had seen the stealth developing, and was already reaching across his waist toward the pistol butt facing outward at his right side. Clay’s stance at the bar allowed for him to launch himself away from Griego and to his left. For an instant, Allison thanked his stars that he had measured the bar when he came in, perhaps instinctively, for he just cleared the bar’s edge while Griego’s gun-hand was trapped against the bar behind his hat! A fatal mistake, and in his last moments on earth, he seemed to curse himself for allowing himself to be in that position! Clay's hand was already clenched on his pistol and the trigger was jerked hard against it’s stop! Two loud explosions knocked the dust off the lamps and window sills, and off of Griego’s dusty vest as the force of the first round punched through Pancho’s skull, just over his right eye! Who knows where the second round went. Clay caught himself on the way down, just in time to see Pancho turn toward the door and actually stagger a couple of steps before he seemed to leap to the floor, face first! The drama was over, and Clay actually winced slightly, forcing back what might have been tears of relief..! His lower lip quivered uncontrollably! So glad it was over! So terribly glad to be alive.!! But then he caught himself, his eyes instinctively sweeping the room in case another might take the side of the hulk on the floor, but no one moved., no sign of further opposition. Clay slowly allowed himself to again slump slightly against the bar. He looked at the bartender who quickly poured him a glass of whiskey.

Clay was so glad to be alive.!

Pyramid on the Rio Grande

By

Louis F. Serna
Copyright Nov 2011

When I was a kid growing up in Springer, NM, one of my favorite places to be was along the Cimarron River which flowed right through Springer. It was more of a creek than it was a river as the water that originated from Eagle Nest Lake some 30 miles away, down the Cimarron Canyon, and meandered down into Springer Lake and finally, down through the little town of Springer was well controlled as far as how much water was allowed to flow along its ancient banks. In earlier times, long before dams, the river had flowed violently when the rain season was on. The flooding along the river had carved out high banks as it snaked its way through the town of Springer. The river and its high banks were the attraction that drew me to the river when I was a kid and enjoyed walking along and in the river carefully observing how the water at one time had carved the high banks. Even then, I marveled at the power of the rushing water and how the banks on both sides of the river, fell victim to whatever the flow of water did.

The picture above is the famous Taos Pueblo, nestled high in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico. High in the mountain behind the Pueblo is Blue Lake, the most sacred place of the Taos Indians

Many years later when I was old enough and had a family of my own, I took them to visit some of the wonders around the state of New Mexico as my vacations from employment allowed. I remember the first time I took them to see the amazing Taos Pueblo in northern NM. I flashed back to my memories of how destructive water had been to the soft soil in Springer and I wondered how this mud brick structure had survived hundreds of years without severe damage by the rain, snow and runoff water from the hills just behind it..!

To continue on the subject of the Taos Pueblo, I need to provide some information about myself to best expand on this subject.

By then, I had graduated from Cimarron High, got married and left NM to work for the Boeing Company in Seattle, WA. in 1966, where I trained for and became a machinist and later, a welder for the company. Later still, during one of the huge company's "strike / layoffs", I hired on with one of the largest foundries west of the Mississippi, as the company's Plant Engineer. The company was the "Rogers Olympic Corp." in Seattle and this became my much welcomed employment opportunity where I worked for some fourteen years. As such, I used all the skills I had learned until then and new skills I had learned which I used to repair, replace, re-design, and erect the company's equipment and new buildings. As the company Engineer, I was in constant touch with the City of Seattle, and the various city, state, and federal agencies that monitored and regulated everything the company and I did, with regard to structural and operational safety. I became well educated and knowledgeable about the safety requirements for designing large pieces of equipment and erecting industrial buildings.

It is from this base of knowledge and experience that I marveled at the sight of the Taos Pueblo the first time I saw it...! I was dumbfounded at the thought that somehow over a thousand years ago, and with little or no engineering training and / or background, some tribal member or group of individuals of the Taos Indian tribe had suddenly planned, designed and constructed this marvel of construction that essentially is a pile of mud bricks that is the multi-storied dwelling place of perhaps hundreds of people in the past and many in the present..! As we walked around the structure, questions kept popping into my head and I could only say "Wow..!" at everything I saw..! Questions rattled around in my head like popcorn in a popcorn machine..! I thought that when I got back to my office I would try to research how the Pueblo was built, by whom, how, why and the many other questions I had. I needed to know how this mud brick construction was still standing after a thousand years of nature's wear and tear..!

One website on the internet describes the Taos Pueblo briefly as such; "Taos Pueblo is the only living Native American community designated both a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and a National Historic Landmark. The multi-storied adobe buildings have been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years. We welcome you to visit our village when you travel to northern New Mexico."

Prehistory and history

Most archeologists believe that the Taos Indians along with other Pueblo Indians settled along the Rio Grande, having migrated from the Four Corners region. The dwellings of that region were inhabited by the Anasazi, ancestors of the Pueblo Indians. A long drought in the area in the late 13th century may have caused them to move to the Rio Grande where the water supply was more dependable.

The history of Taos Pueblo includes the return by President Nixon in 1970, of the Pueblo's 48,000 acres (190 km2) of mountain land taken by President Theodore Roosevelt and designated as the Carson National Forest early in the 20th century. Blue Lake, which the people of the Pueblo traditionally consider sacred. The Pueblo's web site names the acquisition of the sacred Blue Lake as the most important event in its history due to the spiritual belief that the Taos natives originated from the lake itself. An additional 764 acres (3.09 km2) south of the ridge between Simpson Peak and Old Mike Peak and west of Blue Lake were transferred back to the Pueblo in 1996.

The Structure

The North-Side Pueblo is the largest multistoried Pueblo structure still existing in the U.S. It is made of adobe walls that are often several feet thick. Its primary purpose was for defense. Up to as late as 1900, access to the rooms on lower floors was by ladders on the outside to the roof, and then down inside ladders. In case of an attack, outside ladders could easily be pulled up.

The homes in this structure usually consist of two rooms, one of which is for general living and sleeping, and the second of which is for cooking, eating, and storage. Each compartmental "home" is self-contained; there are no passageways between the compartments. Taos Indians had little use of furniture in the past, but today they have tables, chairs, and beds. Inside the Pueblo, electricity, running water, and indoor plumbing are prohibited.

A pueblo wall completely encloses the village except at the entrance as a symbol of the village boundaries. Now rather short, the wall used to be much taller for protection against surrounding tribes. The river running through the pueblo serves as the primary source for drinking and cooking water for the residents of the village. In the winter, the river never completely freezes although it does form a heavy layer of ice. Because the river moves so swiftly, the ice can be broken to obtain the fresh water beneath.

These brief descriptions of the Pueblo provide a brief overview of the structure and the people who live there. It does not however, answer many of the questions I have and surely questions others must have about the structure itself.

These are my most puzzling questions and I am providing answers as best I know them.

When was the Pueblo built? The pueblo dates from approximately the late 13th century.

Who built the Pueblo? Earliest records and the native's oral history indicate that the Anasazi ancestors of the pueblo people, left their tribal homes in the Four Corners region of New Mexico due to droughts and migrated to the place now called Taos. The Anasazi became the pueblo people and it was they who built the mud brick structure, although the current Taos people believe that they originally "came out" of their sacred Blue Lake. A strange contradiction.

Why was the Pueblo built? Probably drawing from their past experience of on-going attacks from neighboring hostile tribes, the builders decided to build a fortress-like dwelling for their defense, perhaps based on earlier dwellings their ancestors had built of stone in earlier times at different places. Some suggest that their earliest model may have been the Mayan and Aztec pyramid - like structures in ancient Mexico. They chose to use mud brick to build instead of stone, as it was more accessible in the Taos area.

Who decided where and how the Pueblo would be built? This is perhaps the most baffling question. One must assume that it was tribal leaders who decided where, how and when building was to occur. For centuries and from time immemorial, tribal information and knowledge has been passed on from generation to generation by oral "story-telling" and in some cases, by petro glyphs etched in stone. Certain tribal members are usually designated or through their wisdom, rise to the position of "Shaman" or tribal medicine man or healer. As well as the knowledge of healing and fortune telling, the Shaman is also a powerful man with great influence over the decisions of the tribal leaders regarding war, and the overall well-being of the tribe. Many of the Shaman's decisions are based on mystical information they develop by reading "signs" around their environment including animals and even astrological constellations in the sky, the movement of the sun, stars and the moon and other "signs". It must have been they or he, who made the decisions.

A sight that has always mystified all ancient people around the world is the ability of birds to fly in the sky. In ancient times, some associated the ability of flight to spirits and "extra-terrestial" beings sometimes referred to by Christians as "angels" and others as "gods" or messengers of gods. Anything associated with flight has always been seen by people as "omens" of either good or evil. The Taos people were no exception.

One story of how the actual site for the main pueblo was selected is of an eagle that was seen flying over the tribe when they first arrived at their present location. The Shaman was asked to "talk" to the eagle and ask it for guidance. Just then, one of the eagle's tail feathers came off the bird and slowly floated down to earth. It fell at the feet of the Shaman and he immediately saw that as a sign that there was where their "home" or pueblo should be built. Here lies most of the mysteries that I have always found to be so troubling.

The eagle feather story aside, who actually decided where the first adobe brick should be placed? Water runoff from the mountains would have been a huge factor to be avoided, along with water seepage from snow, natural springs, etc.

Was the first brick placed directly on the ground? or was there some kind of foundation prepared on the ground to receive the huge weight that would follow on that spot and on the entire area that would become the base of the pueblo?

Who or what group of men with outstanding knowledge of engineering decided how big the base of the pueblo would be, that would bear the great weight of the many stories of living compartments?

How was the weight of the total amount of mud bricks themselves calculated? The weight of each brick would have to be known, then the total number of bricks required would have to be calculated. Was the structure built from the outside toward the center? Or from the center outward? Was each "layer" of living compartments finished as the structure arose? or were the compartments finished later? How did the inhabitants see in the dark recesses of each compartment to do their work? Fires or even oil lamps or candles would soon deplete the oxygen in a room and the people inside would die of asphyxiation..! If there were air "chambers" within the structure, how were they supported? What about wooden beam supports? They must have known that in time the wood would rot and need to be replaced. How would they be replaced?

The seasons would have to be taken into account as the weight of snow and/or rain and even the wind would be huge factors, both in construction and in living from season to season.

The weight of the total number of people living in the structure would have to be calculated, including their belongings, tools, ladders, and other amenities such as winter clothing, food, and every other item needed by them that would be brought onto the structure. The designer would have to know in advance, how many people would be living in the structure at any given time, before calculating where and how many wooden beams would be required, in addition to mud bricks, before construction.

Other factors such as the size, shape and quantity of wooden timbers used to support parts of the structure would have to be calculated as to their added weight.

Finally, the total weight of the structure and the people living in it would have to be calculated accurately, in order to "build" the support on and below the ground to carry the weight of everything evenly. If any part of the "base" foundation eroded or became softened by the weight of any part of the structure, the entire structure would collapse into itself much like a house of cards..!

In my own experience erecting a large modern industrial buildings all these factors had to be calculated and based on weight, a suitable foundation was necessary, on which to build any structure. In almost every case, the ground is "tested" to assure that it is dense enough to carry the weight of the structure to be built above it. In some cases, construction has to start on bedrock itself in order to avoid collapse. All of the above requires a careful architectural study to prevent any possibility of collapse. Blueprints and working drawings need to be in the hands of the various building teams to assure that the structure goes up evenly. Were there any trained engineers among the tribe who were capable of making these calculations and communicating their findings to those who would build the pyramid pueblo structure? This is very unlikely. How then was this structure built which has stood for a thousand years? These and many other questions remain to be clarified for me to understand how this magnificent structure still stands today..!

What is the expectation that the Taos people will continue to live in their Pueblo safely? Certainly, the Pueblo governing members have considered and are considering all of today's safety standards and requirements with regard to dwellings that are safe for occupancy. How do they calculate and rate the basic structure's framework? How can they test wall thicknesses, bearing capacities of wooden timbers within the mud structure that are now a thousand years old? How can they test the ground density at the bottom of the structure to assure that it is not compressing, eroding, or shifting? There are so many questions and with regard to occupant safety, who has the final say as to when the pueblo will become unsafe for occupancy?

Perhaps all these questions can be answered quite easily and if anyone asks a Taos Pueblo Indian these questions, they might respond by saying;

"The earth is our mother and we live in her bosom... she will tell us when it is time to go away again....."

For now, who can argue with a building that has stood successfully over a thousand years...!!!

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PLEASE NOTE; MOST OF MY BOOKS ARE NOW AVAILABLE AS E-BOOKS

E-BOOKS are full length books, in color, with pictures and text, just like any book, except that they are in PDF format which allows me to transfer the book to your computer, upon verification of payment at a very reduced price! You can pay by Credit Card or PayPal and as soon as the transaction is complete, the E-Book is downloaded to your computer. You can then view it on your computer or print it. If you wish, you can then have it spiral bound in book form at your local printer, such as Office Depot, at a very reasonable cost to you. E-Books are the books of the future..!

To purchase my books as E-Books, simply go to the Buy Now E-Book "Add to Cart" button under each book and make your purchase.

BOOK - A HISTORY OF THE SPANISH PEOPLE OF NORTHERN NEW MEXICO

This is a history of the Spanish people of northern New Mexico and why they live, where they live. As a kid growing up in Springer in the late 40's and 50's, and then living in Cimarron later in my youth, I was always puzzled as to why the Spanish people lived where they lived and how they got there. I wondered where did they come from? why do they all call each other "primo" (cousin). Why do some have blue eyes and blond hair? and others of dark complexion?

In 1966 I began a family history study of the Maxwell family of the Maxwell Land Grant and my Serna family of northern New Mexico. Over many years I researched the origins of my family and all the Serna families of New Mexico. I noted the migrations of people up the Rio Grande from Mexico in the early 1600's and their later migrations out to the villages and towns around northern New Mexico in the early 1800's.

In my book I include some history of the Maxwell Land Grant and the great influence the grant had on the settlements and people throughout northern New Mexico.

The book has enjoyed great reviews by the Raton Range, The Taos News, The Las Vegas Optic and those who have purchased the book and have requested copies of my other related books about northern New Mexico history.

The book is aproximately 100 pages.

The book is available as an E-Book in PDF format, for only $10.00. _________________________________________________________________________________________________

BOOK - ROBERT CLAY ALLISON AND THE COLFAX COUNTY WAR

This is the true and authentic life of Robert Clay Allison, famous character of the 1800's in the wild west town of Cimarron, New Mexico. Much has been written about Allison, mostly fictitious... this is the REAL life story..!

Clay Allison, as he was better known, was born in Tennessee and was unfortunate to live his young adult years in the middle of the Civil War..! His family and he suffered from the hardships of the War and it stayed with him throughout his life.

Late in the war he made his way to Texas, rounded up some "bush" cattle and headed north to the New Mexico territory to try to settle down and start a cattle ranch of his own. Destiny played him a cruel hand, as it did so many at that time, in that in order to survive, he had many confrontations with others as hard as he was, but not quite as deadly..! In spite of hia many confrontations, he tried to retain an air of politeness and civility which earned him the nickname, "The Gentleman Gunfighter"...! he himself was known to refer to himself as a "Shootist".... as if that somehow lessoned his deadly reputation..!

Arriving in northern New Mexico, he built himself a sod house on the bank of the Canadian River and from there started a life of highs and lows with regard to his personal activities in that time and place. He spent a great deal of time at Cimarron, at the St. James Hotel where many outlaws and famous characters came to rest, play, and often meet their maker..! Clay was in many scrapes from Cimarron all the way to Dodge City and confronted the likes of Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, and others and lived to tell about it. Others, he left in his wake..!

Destiny again played him a rough hand when he became embroiled in the aftermath of the sale of the huge Maxwell Land Grant which led to much bloodshed and turmoil in northern New Mexico... so much so that it became known as The Colfax County War..! Because of his many scrapes with the law and noted gunmen, he soon became the target of many "news" men, writers, and others who made up many tall tales about him. This book sets the story straight as to his real life story and his thoughts and activities.

The book is aproximately 318 pages.

The book is available as an E-Book in PDF format for only $15.00. _______________________________________________________________________________________________

NEW MEXICANS - Who Really Are We..???

Louis Serna is an author - historian who has written extensively of his and his wife's family's histories and about historical places, people, and events in New Mexico.

In this book, Louis is taking a bold step from the standpoint of southwest history, in that he is writing about ancient visitors to the Southwest and the United States, at a time when conventional history tells us that they should not have been here. He writes about evidence by way of petroglyphs, tools, weapons, artistic influence among Native American tribes such as the Zunis, and other proof that proves that early explorers and merchants from the Middle East, visited the "New World" long before Columbus, and in some cases, 2000 years B.C...! He offers additional proof by way of maps and books written by archaeologists and scientists that indicate that North American Indians and the early Spanish were influenced by these early sea-faring travelers and perhaps even left their genes among the people of the Southwest., thus begging the question... "Who really are we...?"

The book is 40 pages and can be ordered as an E-Book.

THE JEWS AND NEW MEXICO IS ONLY AVAILALE AS AN E-BOOK

This is a narrative of the earliest history of the Hebrew people in their homeland in the Middle East and their "connection" to the Spanish people in the period before Christ, as well as their connection to the Egyptians and Phoenicians, masters of the sea in that same period..! It is also a collection of articles, mostly from the internet, describing the many artifacts and petroglyphs around the southwest, clearly proving that ancient Hebrew / Phoenician / Egyptian explorers visited the New World as early as 1500 BC., long before Columbus or Hernan Cortes. It describes how these early visitors met with, and influenced the early Native American Indian tribes and left their influence among them. The articles contain many references and links where the reader can obtain more information on the subject.

The book also contains information about the Spanish Inquisition and the subject of southwest "Crypto Jews". It serves to help the reader understand the "association" Hebrews have had with the Spanish people since the earliest history of Spain, into the present.

In December of 2008, Louis Serna presented a well received lecture on the subject of the book to the Adat Yeshua Messianic Synagogue in Albuquerque and other lectures may be forthcoming.

The book is 291 pages and is available as an E-Book for $10.00 USD.

BOOK: THE SERNAS OF THE WORLD, A FAMILY HISTORY

Louis is a native of northern New Mexico in the United States. He was born in Springer, and lived in Cimarron during his High School years. Two years after graduating in 1959, he married his High School sweetheart, Gloria Martinez. In 1966, Gloria’s mother gave Louis a packet of old pictures, telling him that they were her ancestors and asking him to “find out who they were” as she was very proud of who she was. She asked Louis to tell her children who their ancestor's were. Many of the pictures were of her Maxwell ancestors, of the famous Maxwell Land Grant family of northern New Mexico. She died of cancer in March of that same year.

Louis started writing letters to the departments of Vital Statistics of several states, asking for help in determining who the people in the pictures were.

In 1975, Louis had amassed enough information about the Maxwell’s that he self published his first book, titled; “Tessie”, in memory of his mother in law. By then, he had become quite knowledgeable in the processes of family history study and in 1994, he had completed the history of his own Serna family and self published another book titled, “The Sernas of New Mexico, a Family History”. On completing these books he published several other books having to do with the history of northern New Mexico, including some of its “desperados’ such as Black Jack Ketchum, Clay Allison, and others.

The Sernas of the World, a Family History is a compilation of the original “Serna” book, and the latest information Louis has researched about the origins of Sernas (and other Spanish families), through their earliest migrations from the Middle East and the Celtic Isles which later became the British Isles and across Europe to what is now Spain. He covers their development through the Moorish occupation, their establishment of a united Spain, free of the Moors and their sailings to the New World., a period from before Christ to the present.

Louis has included a genealogy of his Serna’s and the De La Serna’s of Spain from 1360 to the present. He has included many Coats of Arms of De La Serna’s in Spain, and has included Interviews he has personally done with Sernas and De La Sernas from Spain, Argentina, the Ukraine, France, and others…, thus the title; “The Sernas of the World…..”

The book contains 230 pages of Serna history. There are 103 pictures including many Coats of Arms. Louis guarantees the book with a 100% money back guarantee if for any reason the reader is not satisfied.

The book is available as an E-Book in PDF format for only $10.00. The book will imediately download to your email address upon payment.
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Libro; Los Sernas de el Mundo, Una Historia de Familia

Os Mando Saludos a todos mis "Primos" en todos y cada uno de los rincones del mundo, donde el Castellano es nuestra lengua madre.

Durante muchos anos, he estado investigando y trabajando en un estudio de la historia de nuestros antepasados Espanoles...
hasta llegar al ano 1360 en Espana. He trazado la historia de nuestra familia de la Serna, tanto en Nuevo Mejico, Estados Unidos, donde resido, como en Espana, nuestro pais de origen.

Durante estos ultimos anos, he rasteado el origen de nuestra familia de la Serna, hasta el ano 1360, cuando el territorio Espanol no se conocia como Espana como se conoce ahora, y hasta la epoca en la que las tribus que por aquel entonces vivian en el Medio Oriente... sobre los anos de 1500 antes de
Cristo.

En mi libro, describo como esta gente oriunda del Medio Oriente y el Mar Negro, llego a Europa y decidio establicerse en Espana., y como se convirtieron en los Espanoles que hoy dia conocemos.

El libro es de 145 paginas. Contiene un gran numero de fotografias, dibujos, mapas, escudos de la familia, arboles genealogicos y entrevistas personales a varias ramas de la familia de la Serna en el mundo.

El libro esta disponible como libro electronico por el precio de $10.00 Dolares (USD), y se enviara sobre la marcha a vuestra direccion de email, una vez que se haya realizado previamente el pago del mismo. Por favor, no olvideis escificarme la direccion de email donde quereis que os llegue.

Para mas informacion sobre este libro u otros libros mios, por favor os ruego que visiteis mi email; sernabook@comcast.net.

Gracias y os mando mis mejores deseos..! Luis Serna

BOOK - TESSIE MAXWELL OF THE MAXWELL LAND GRANT FAMILY

This is the story of Tessie Maxwell of Cimarron, New Mexico, and her ancestral Maxwell family. She was the daughter of Teresina Maestas and Peter Menard Maxwell. She was born in 1924 in El Prado, Taos, New Mexico. Tessie led a difficult but productive life, typical of a young lady in Taos at that time.

The book is written by her son-in-law, whom she asked to develop her life story, while in her final stages of cancer. She died in 1966 and her son-in-law, Louis set about developing information which was on the backs of pictures she gave him before passing on. Louis researched the information and developed a wonderful story of Tessie and her Maxwell family which included the history of the huge Maxwell Land Grant, owned and operated by Lucien B. Maxwell, her uncle twice removed. Tessie's father Peter was the son of Ferdinand Maxwell of Kaskaskia, Illinois. Ferdinand and Lucien Maxwell were brothers, and sons of Hugh H. Maxwell and Marie Odile Menard of St. Louis, MO. The family was very prominent in business and politics. Marie Odile's father, Pierre Menard was very successful in the fur-trading business and his father, Jean Baptiste Menard was well-known to George Washington, as Jean Baptiste provided them with money and support from Canada during their American Revolution. The family's involvement in local and national politics is very interesting.

Tessie's story centers in Cimarron, New Mexico, headquarters for the huge Maxwell Grant and focal point for the Colfax County War that followed when Lucien sold his grant which he claimed to be 2 million acres! The intrigues of the sale and later conflicts that followed are in the book and much more.

Also included is a genealogy of the Maxwell family which includes very prominent and historical characters. In one way or another, the Maxwell Land Grant influenced all of northern New Mexico and beyond.

The book is 290 pages.

The book is available as an E-Book in PDF format for only $10.00. _________________________________________________________________________________________________

BOOK - LIVEN SERNA, FAMOUS BEARHUNTER OF THE RAYADO

This is the biography of Liven Serna of northern New Mexico. Liven (pronounced lee - ven), was a famous bear hunter and hunter of other big game in the mountains around the Rayado Valley in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the early 1900's.
In fact, he became a legend in his own time..!

He was born in 1871 at Rayado, NM., and as the youngest in the family the chore of hunting game for the table fell on him as his older brothers were too busy working their farm and livestock. At a very young age he became an expert at tracking and bagging deer, mountain lion, wolves, and especially bears. At that time, when there were no fences or "limits" on game, he discovered that he could make much needed money by hunting bears and selling their hides and meat. He had several harrowing close calls with the bears and became a living legend in his own time as he was in so much demand as a guide and hunter.

The book is aproximately 60 pages.

The book is available as an E-Book in PDF format for only $10.00. ________________________________________________________________________________________________

BOOK - THE SERNAS OF NEW MEXICO NEWSLETTERS - TEMPORARILY OUT OF PRINT..!!! SORRY..!!!

From 1997 until 2006, I produced a family history Newsletter about my family, the Sernas of New Mexico, other families, and people, places, and events in New Mexico. I had previously done some 40 years of research on my Serna family, taking that history back from me, through the years back to 1626 when my first ancestor, Luis Diego de la Serna came to what is now New Mexico in 1625. I then went back through the family's history in Spain when we were the "De La Serna" family, to 1360 in the mountains in the north of Spain.

I wrote a book titled: "The Sernas of New Mexico, a Family History" in which I documented that family history and included a genealogy of 20 generations, and much more. I wrote several other books about historical people, places and events that in many way affected the development of the state of New Mexico and even of the United States.

In 2005 I wrote another book titled: "The Sernas of the World" in which I included much of our family history, but also added a great deal of new information regarding the family's origins before 1360, into the region of the Middle East..! I also included many conversations and newly discovered family history from distant cousins in Argentina, Cuba, France, Spain, and even the Ukraine..!

The "Special Collection" of the Newsletters includes forty six issues, each eight pages, in a single bound book. _________________________

The Alfred Dorrance Story

Alfred Dorrance was a kid from Cimarron, New Mexico, who in the early days of World War II lost a brother in action in the Phillipines. He decided that he now must do his part in the war, so although small of stature.., he decided to join the Marines..! They turned him down.... too small..! Determined, he then tried the Navy... again, too small..! Now demoralized and dejected, he turned to the Army, who told him, "We need YOU...!"

His story of how he overcame his size, and became one of the highly decorated soldier / heroes of WWII is truly poignant..! Read how this young, small man from Cimarron, went on to earn the coveted Silver Star in combat and much more..!

The book is 99 pages, with full color pictures of landing maps, and various battle plans in which Alfred was engaged. The book also contains his various citations and medals, also in color.

The book is available as an E-Book in PDF format for $10.00.

MARIA DE AGREDA

The history of New Mexico is so amazing.., what with its majestic scenery, wonderful climate, centuries of humanity living in and passing through the region, and its seemingly endless chapters of incredible, almost unbelievable events..! One of those chapters is the incredible story of the "Blue Nun", her relationship with a nomadic tribe of Indians known as the "Jumanos" and the incredible events that took place in New Mexico, Texas and Arizona in the early years of the Spanish colonization of the region.

I was compelled to produce this article, thanks to a lengthy conversation I had on March 21, 2012, with Dr. Henry Casso who has organized a symposium on this subject, to be held at the National Hispanic Cultural Center on April 21st at 2:00 PM. It is free to the public and everyone is invited. Dr. Caso's primary subjects may be the Blue Nun and "whatever happened to the Jumano Indians?" who were the other half of the Blue Nun story.

There are many books, articles and on-line information that can be accessed, regarding the Blue Nun. This article by Louis Serna, is a summarization of that information, compiled for the edification of anyone who is interested. This article will follow in the form of brief questions and answers, in the interest of fitting as much information as possible in this blog format.

Who was the Blue Nun?

In the early years of the Spanish colonization of New Mexico and neighboring regions, on and about the years of 1620 through 1623, the Spanish were intent on first; gaining control
of the area and secondly; introducing their catholic faith to the natives they encountered, when and where they found them. During this time, in a quiet, secluded convent in the small town of Agreda, Spain, a teenage nun by the name of Maria Fernandez Coronel y Arana, born April 2, 1602, was devoutly practicing her faith under the name, Maria de Agreda. Maria had, since childhood, been an amazing child who had the ability to go into ecstatic trances during her prayer sessions and while in that state, she would communicate directly with Mary, mother of Jesus and she performed amazing and miraculous feats and "cures" such as healing the sick, levitating during prayer, and at the age of 22, transporting herself in full body to other locations, while still physically in the convent..! All these events were confirmed by her Bishop, Don Diego de Yepes, her biographer and last confessor and recorded by her family friend, Padre Marcilla who shared her abilities with his superiors, including the King of Spain himself, Felipe IV. The King held her in such high esteem that he asked her to serve as his spiritual and sometimes, political advisor for over twenty - two years..! There are some 600 letters that passed between them during this period, in the Spanish archives. The archives include fourteen books that she wrote, with her signature book, "Mystical City of God", being the most profound. It is the biography of Mary mother of Jesus, as dictated to her by Mary herself! Maria credited most of her abilities to Mary and said that she was always under the protection of Michael, the Archangel and Gabriel the Archangel.

Upon her death in 1665, Maria was granted the title of "Venerable" Maria de Jesus de Agreda, the first stage in the process of Beatification for sainthood, by then Pope Clement X. Her "incorrupt" body lies in the Church of the Concepcionistas Convent in Agreda, Spain. The physical body of Maria is said to be "incorruptable" because it is not subject to rot or decay since her death, 347 years ago..! Her bodily features today, appear as though she died yesterday..!

Very briefly, the above is the life of Maria de Agreda. Her life among the Jumanos of New Mexico follows below.

Who were the Jumanos?

The Jumano Indians were a prominent indigenous tribe or several tribes, who inhabited western Texas, adjacent to New Mexico, and northern Mexico, especially near the La Junta region in the 1600's. They were discovered by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, but had nearly disappeared as a people by 1750. Modern day Jumano Indians are attempting to receive state, national and UN status as a tribe.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to their nomadic lifestyle, Jumano history is difficult to re-create as they left no language of their own that can be researched. While their nomadic travels can be followed through their known contact with several other tribes during trading sessions, even their tribal lifestyle is difficult to trace as they lived near or with other friendly tribes and intermarried with them, often becoming part of the host tribes. In the case of the New Mexico Jumanos, they were known to have been among the Salinas Pueblo people, the Gran Quivira, and the Isleta Pueblo people. It is at the Isleta Pueblo that we learn of their association with Maria de Agreda, the Blue Nun.

The Jumanos of the period of 1620 to 1623, were a peaceful people, seemingly having everything they needed thanks to their life along the bountiful creeks and the Concho River where fish and game were plentiful. By then they were very aware of the Spaniards nearby, having early oral history of the tribes first encounter with four shipwrecked Spaniards who they had escourted through their nation on a journey to unite them with their compadres to the west. (Those Spaniards were Cabeza de Baca and others). By 1623, the Spanish had established themselves in New Mexico and their religious Franciscans were busy in the conversion of Natives to Catholicism. In that year, Fray Juan de Salas was met by a delegation of twelve Jumano Indians who showed up at the monastery, requesting to be baptized and asking for missionaries to be sent to their country so they could "continue" their Christian education..! The Fray was surprised and confused as to how these strangers knew about Baptism and why they would request "continued" education when he knew that no religious had been to that region to spread the faith? When he asked them how they knew so much about the faith, they replied that the "Lady in Blue" had been coming to them out of the sky, and had been teaching them wonderful stories about Jesus Christ, Mary his mother, and the many wonderful things about her religion and they wanted to continue to learn more about it. They said she was a beautiful young lady, dressed in blue and that she came to them regularly in full body and she spoke to them in their language! She showed them how to build crosses, how to worship and how to make rosaries. They said that she had urged them to come to the Spanish settlements and ask for the Franciscans to come to their lands.

Fray Juan de Salas, who spoke the Jumano language, heard their requests and regrettably, turned them away as at that time there was a serious shortage of Frays to service the existing Spanish population, let alone to go out into the wilderness. He reported the event to his superior, who was so taken with the Jumano's visit that he wrote a letter to the Archbishop of Mexico to see if the Blue Lady's description and events could be verified. The Archbishop, in turn, sent an urgent inquiry letter to Father Alonso de Benavides, the Superior of the Franciscan Missions of New Mexico. The letter arrived coincidently, when the annual trek of the Jumanos had arrived on July 22nd, 1629. Their chief, Capitan Tuerto, (who was blind in one eye), again recounted the latest visit of the Lady in Blue and they were taken into the convent where a portrait of a renowned nun from the Franciscan Order was on display. the Jumanos said that the Blue Lady looked like her but she was younger and prettier.

When the news was reported to Father de Benavidez, he went to see the Archbishop personally and he was so impressed that he sent de Benavidez to Spain to report directly to the King. The only thing de Benavidez or anyone in New Mexico did not know at the time, was the actual identity of the Blue Lady. He delivered his report in the form of a document titled, "Memorial of 1630". A copy is now in the Library of Congress. When his Memorial was delivered, the Minister General in Spain knew exactly who the lady was..! He directed de Benavidez to go visit Maria de Agreda at the convent and gave her instructions to tell him everything and answer all his questions. He visited her in 1631 and the whole amazing story unfolded for him, including details she gave him of the terrain, landmarks, the appearance of the Jumanos, descriptions of Capitan Tuerto and the various Friars who were ministering to the Jumanos and even details that only a first hand visit could have known. There was no doubt that the Blue Nun was the Lady in Blue. The entire story the Jumanos had told the religious in New Mexico was true and that only magnified the
incredibility of the events.

The Jumanos continued to visit the monastary and they continued to associate with the local tribes around Isleta, Salinas, and even the Jemez Pueblos until they began to become assimilated into the various tribes. Eventually, it was difficult to find them as an individual group as they became dispersed throughout the tribes in the region. In time, only small groups remained and their eventual fate became almost impossible to determine and that is their fate today.

Of course, there is much more to this story of the Blue Nun and the Jumanos. In the course of examining all the evidence and Maria's interviews, she stated that she "ministered" to other tribes at that time, not just Jumanos. She also offered amazing theories for that time, that she said she received from Mary the mother of Jesus, theories about astronomy, astrology, and the "view" of the earth from heaven and its beautiful round, blue shape..! Some of the details, suggested that Maria herself had seen the earth from an extremely distant place..! There is so much more to learn about the Blue Lady.

Sources for this article;

Ancient Jumano Indians meet "The Lady in Blue" by Tom Ashmore

Jumano Indians - Wikipedia

The Blue Lady by Thomas Hilton

Maria de Agreda - Wikipedia

Agreda, Maria de Jesus - New Mexico Office of the State Historian

Other research by Louis F. Serna

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SANTEROS OF NEW MEXICO

If you are from New Mexico..., (and even if you're not..!).., you must have heard of our famous and revered Santeros of New Mexico..? There are many excellent books about them, the stories of how they were determined to keep their Catholic faith alive through their carvings of saints and effigies during the early years of New Mexico's colonization period. They used the effigies to pray to their God and Savior and when they couldn't get the blessed statues of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and their patron saints from Spain and Mexico City, they began carving images of them using just their pocket knives and primitive tools..! A few of those who persevered were able to fashion crude but acceptable images of their saints which they blessed when possible and cherished in their homes and capellas. Some of those men became much in demand for their renditions of the saints that the Spanish people so revered. Men like Jose Rafael Aragon, (1796 - 1862) of Santa Fe became famous for their works which are displayed in books like "A Land So Remote" by Larry Frank, and are still being used as models for beautiful Bultos, Santos, Retablos and other effigies that can be seen annually at the Spanish Market held in Santa Fe, such as the one in July 28th and 29th of 2012.

Both men and women in New Mexico have learned to carve and paint "Santos" in order to continue the tradition of the early Santeros and the entire process is a lengthy learning experience which some have done since childhood.., learning from their grandfathers and those before them. It is a great honor to be a Santero and thanks to those faithful "collectors" of New Mexico Art, it can be quite profitable.

The Santeros of NM live in the small villages across the state and in the cities where each go about their lives while privately and in groups, continue to do their carving, preparations, and painting of santos in the early traditions, using natural gessos, pigments, and processes passed on over generations. As stated, it is truly an honor to be a Santero.

Those of you who know me, know that I love the Arts and when the opportunity to study under Arcario Otero and Adan Carriaga, was made available to me in March of 2012, I jumped at the chance to learn the difficult art of "Santerismo" from two of the top Santeros in New Mexico...! I have much to learn and know that it made be years before I can claim to be a Santero.!

My carvings below are for sale. If interested, contact me at (505) 933-3168 or sernabook@centurylink.net. I am also taking commissions for BULTOS of your choice.

THE LOUIS SERNA BLOG

BULTO - Our Lady of Guadalupe

BULTO of Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion