Petition of Bartolome Olguin and companions
 for some lands bordering the Pueblo of Picuris
Compiled by Alberto Vidaurre 7-7-2011©
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Spanish Archives of New Mexico Series I. Microfilm Reel # 4, Twitchell Number 649, Frame Number 260.
Petition of Bartolome Olguin and companions for some lands bordering the Pueblo of Picuris.
Year of 1751

Governor and Captain General:

Bartolome Olguin, Bernardo Olguin, Francisco Mondragon, Juan Alonzo Mondragon, Juan Vasques, Isidro Barela, Calletano Rodriguez, Santiago Hurtado, Antonio Mondragon, Domingo Romero, Salvador Dela Cruz, Sebastian Mondragon, and Vicente Lucero, All residents of this Kingdom, for themselves and each one on his own, Appear before the Grandness of Our Lord in the best form which there is, and in our own right, present ourselves and say; That on finding ourselves with families and having no adequate wheat planting lands to sustain ourselves, We register a tract of land which is unappropriated, lies fallow and unsettled upriver from, and outside the boundaries of the Picuris Pueblo. The boundaries of said land are: On the East El Astillero; on the North, the boundaries of Diego Romero; on the West, those of said Pueblo; and, on the South, the said river. For Which our Lord should be pleased to give us a grant of said land in the Name of His Majesty, whom may God Guard, and that the Alcalde Mayor of that jurisdiction will give us the royal possession, (land) within the time limit provided by the Royal Laws. For this we ask and petition (that) our Lord be pleased to order it be carried out as we have asked for and (it be) received in mercy and goodness. We attest in due form that our petition is not malicious, (but) what is necessary. etc.

Juan Joseph Lovato (Rubric)
Procurador

Picuris, 24 July 1751

The Alcade Mayor of this Pueblo and its jurisdiction, Juan Joseph Moreno, will report to me within eight days if the place (paraje) which these parties refer to is royal domain and if their settling it would be prejudicial to the Indians of Picuris Pueblo and to (the settlers of ) Santa Barbara, also, what inconveniences or good results can come about as a result of the settlement of the referred to place (paraje), along with this, he should make certain that these parties do not have lands on which to subsist. I thus decreed, ordered and signed, Thomas Velez Cachupin, Governor and Captain General of this Kingdom, having taken notice of this in my general visit, with my secretary named for this visit.

Velez (Rubric)

By order of the Governor,
Manuel Sanz de Garvisu (Rubric)
Visiting Secretary

At this Pueblo of Picuris on the third day of the month of August of one thousand seven hundred and fifty one years (1751), I, Juan Joseph Moreno, Alcalde Mayor and War captain of it (Picuris) and its jurisdiction, in obedience to the foregoing superior order of Thomas Velez Cachupin, Governor and Captain General of this Kingdom, say: that the lands petitioned for by those herein mentioned are royal domain, but there have appeared before me the natives of said pueblo saying that they see it as noticibly prejudicial, because they find themselves surrounded, on all sides, by residents. On the West by those (residents) of Embudo, on the South and Southeast by those (residents) of Rio De Las Trampas and Santa Barbara; thus, the only land left for pasturing of their oxen and other stock is the place which is being asked for. To which I say, that it appears to be the truth; and the inconveniences that I find are that the place is one of the Comanche frontiers and so deep into the sierra that are at risk of invasions. Also, they who ask for the lands are men with few arms at present incapable of being able to purchase (arms) and maintain them. I also recognize that on (the part of ) the North they ask for superfluous lands, since they do not have livestock, or horse herds nor do even the majority of them having a beast on which to travel they go so far as to ask for boundaries as far as the lands of Diego Romero, Whose boundary is the Ojo Caliente, which is near the Rio De Las Trampas, being more than four leagues of land, and not wheat planting (farming lands). Although, what they ask for on the (part of the) South is bounded by the river, it is malicious, since the other side of the said river is the boundary of those (settlers) of Santa Barbara. Besides all that I have stated, the Indians of this said Pueblo have presented (themselves) and say that they are afraid of the damages which may result to them if the residents are allowed to settle at the place which they ask for, since said place is where they graze their animals, and said settlers, being as poor as they are, might become urgently needy and kill their cattle. As for having lands elsewhere, as I see it, they do not. For which, Our Lord will determine that which appears to him to be most convenient for him to do. Picuris, 3 August one thousand seven hundred and fifty one years.

Juan Joseph Moreno (Rubric)

Santa Fe 14 August 1751

Having seen the report of the Alcalde Mayor of Taos and Picuris, Juan Joseph Moreno. I, Thomas Velez Cachupin, Governor of this Kingdom of New Mexico, should deny and do deny (the petition), there being no place (space) for these petitioning parties, because of the inconveniences which are referred to.

Velez Cachupin (Rubric)

By Alberto Vidaurre