SALINAS "In the Midst of a Loneliness": The Architectural History of the Salinas Missions

LAS HUMANAS

Traveller's Tales

Las Humanas was not reoccupied in the same way as the other missions. The revival of interest in the land on the east slope of the Manzanos did not extend to the exposed, waterless country around that ruined mission and pueblo. Not until the danger of Apache raids began to fade after 1830 did even sheepherders and treasure hunters begin to visit the ruins. Because of this low level of human contact, the masonry and woodwork of San Buenaventura and its convento fared much better than that at the other Salinas missions.

By the 1830s, the stories associating Las Humanas with the tales and treasures of "Gran Quivira," as told to Coronado in the 1540s, were already old. [49] At first, treasure-hunting visits to the ruins were risky, and not many made the attempt. As the Apache hazard eased in the country east of the Manzanos, incidents of excavation increased. By the 1850s, treasure-hunting had left very noticeable marks on the hill of Las Humanas.

Some travellers who visited Las Humanas wrote descriptions of what they saw on the hilltop, and some made sketches or took photographs. These descriptions, sketches and photographs document the condition of the ruins in the mid-nineteenth century, and its final steps of decay before and after the National Park Service acquired the site.

David Wilson, 1835-36

In the winter of 1835-36, David Wilson and a group of six companions came across Las Humanas while looking for water between the Rio Grande and the Pecos. Wilson's description is brief. "We saw to the north of us . . . a large building; we went to the building and found it to be a large Church . . . the Church itself was built of stone, and stood almost in a perfect state of preservation, while all the other buildings had decayed." Later, in Santa Fe, when Wilson described the church, he was told that it was the "Grand Quivira." This is the earliest record of the use of the name in association with Las Humanas. [50]

Josiah Gregg, ca. 1839

Josiah Gregg travelled the Santa Fe Trail from 1831 to 1839, and in 1844 published Commerce of the Prairies, based on his observations. In this book, Gregg briefly described Las Humanas, under the name of "La Gran Quivira." He mentioned the walls of ruined stone buildings, including churches, still standing. He discussed cisterns for water collection, and described the "aqueducts" seen by a number of other visitors to the site. In his description, Gregg made a rather obscure reference to "the Spanish coat of arms" sculpted and painted on the facades of the buildings that appeared to be churches. Because of this remark, later visitors to the site, seeing no trace of such sculpture or painting, came to the conclusion that Gregg had not visited Gran Quivira himself, but had heard it described by others who had been there. Gregg narrated a brief version of the treasure-hunter's story in which all but one of the occupants of the town were killed during the Pueblo revolt, and the survivor later told the tale of "immense treasures" buried in the ruins. Gregg remarked that "credulous adventurers have lately visited the spot," searching for the treasure. Considering the dates of his travels and the preparation of his manuscript, Gregg probably talked to these "credulous adventurers" about 1839. [51]

Major James Henry Carleton, 1853

Major Carleton visited the ruins of Las Humanas 180 years after its abandonment. He noted the measurements of the church of San Buenaventura and said that the walls stood about thirty feet high. He also described the condition of the choir loft. The main viga and the two pillars that supported it were still up, although the pillars were badly decayed. Several of the secondary vigas were still in place, as were "entablatures" in the side walls. Carleton removed one of the secondary vigas by cutting it into three pieces. Carleton stated that the entablatures were about twenty-four feet long and 1/2 or two feet in width. The entablatures were carved "very beautifully, indeed, and exhibits not only great skill in the use of various kinds of tools, but exquisite taste on the part of the workmen in the construction of the figures." The secondary vigas had decorative carving on the bottom and sides, but not on the top.

The convento of San Buenaventura received little mention in Carleton's report. It was referred to only as a "monastery, or system of cloisters, which are attached to the cathedral."

Carleton briefly described San Isidro, which he called "the chapel." He gave its principal measurements, including a wall thickness of three feet eight inches, and remarked with puzzlement that the building was "apparently in a better state of preservation than the cathedral, but yet none of the former wood-work remains in it."

Carleton remarked that he had met men in the Manzano area who had herded sheep in the area of Las Humanas "in their youth," and discussed the legends of buried treasure associated with "Gran Quivira," as the ruins had come to be known. He mentioned treasure-hunters' pits in San Isidro and San Buenaventura, "every room" in the convento, the ruins of the pueblo, and here and there around the ruins. He also referred to Gregg's description of the "Spanish coat of arms" on the buildings, and concluded that Gregg had not, in fact, visited the ruins. [52]

Robert B. Willison, 1872

Deputy Surveyor Robert B. Willison of the United States Surveyor General's Office surveyed the base line for New Mexico public surveys across Las Humanas in early 1872. In his field notes, prepared in April, Willison wrote a lengthy description of the structures he saw. He gave the measurements of the church, and said that "the carved timbers in the church are still in a good state of preservation; a portion of the roof [the choir loft] still remains." In the convento, he saw window frames in place, on which "the mark of the carpenter's scribe is still plainly visible." Willison saw a number of excavations made by treasure hunters in the ruins of the village, but did not specifically mention digging in the church. He did not describe San Isidro at all. [53]

Lieutenant Charles C. Morrison, 1878

Lieutenant Charles C. Morrison of the United States Army visited Las Humanas in mid-1878. He wrote a detailed description of the ruins and drew several sketches, reproduced by lithograph in the published report. [54] Morrison's work is of great value because he supplied the earliest visual records of the church and convento, as well as the only drawing of the choir loft woodwork. He also provided the earliest detailed description of the convento. Morrison said that the convento walls were two feet thick, and that he could see the remains of a plastered surface on them. He had the impression that the woodwork in the convento had been painted. "Many of the window-frames were intact," he says, "one door-frame, showing that the door turned on wooden pivots for hinges, was well preserved." His plans of the church and convento are quite accurate and were not improved upon until the 1930s. The sketch of the ruins as seen from the southeast shows that the three windows along the front of the convento had their lintels intact, while the lintels of the windows and doors of the south side, the sacristy storeroom (room 16), the choir loft stairwell (room 1) and the patio walls had collapsed. With the collapse of the lintel above the doorway from the kitchen (room 4) into the second-story storeroom (room 5), the entire southeast corner of the building had fallen outward, as well as the entire east wall of the storage building (rooms 5 and 6). No frames survived in most of the windows and doors of the second level of the church. Morrison showed the ruins of the second courtyard as far lower than they actually were, apparently to get them out of the way of his view of the main convento rooms.

In his description and sketch of the choir loft, Morrison supplied more details than had previous observers. The central section of the main beam and the western ends of most of the secondary vigas had fallen, but enough remained for Morrison to work out the appearance of the structure. The secondary vigas were "squared beams, eleven by thirteen inches, placed about three feet apart, the sides exposed to view being finished with the squares and diagonals marking the type of the best of the ornamental work." The floor of the choir loft "consisted of small split poles laid in juxtaposition diagonally" from one secondary viga to the next. "On these diagonals was a heavy, rudely woven matting or thatching of straw." Apparently none of the earth covering above the matting survived. His sketch shows the intricacy of the carving on the entablatures described by Carleton, although his depiction of the shape of the corbel beneath the main viga is not entirely accurate. He showed the length of the corbel about twice what it actually was, as seen in later photographs.

Figure 38. San Buenaventura in 1877, as sketched by Morrison. Morrison's plan of the church and convento are quite accurate, much more so than Bandelier's plan made six years later. Morrison's plan of the pueblo and churches is distorted, but not much worse than Bandelier's map. Morrison's major contribution, however, is the perspective drawing of the church ruins and the detailed sketch of the choir loft woodwork. Although a comparison with surviving fragments of the choir beams in later photographs shows that Morrison did not depict the shape of the corbel with complete accuracy, he still was able to capture the intricacy of the entablature carving and the complex interconnections of the various pieces of woodwork.