The Old Santa Fe Trail | Page 9

taken to the statement of the
first-quoted writer in relation to the Palace, of which he says "It is
nothing more than the biggest mud-house in the town." Now this
"Palacio del Gobernador," as the old building was called by the Spanish,
was erected at a very early day. It was the long-established seat of
power when Penalosa confined the chief inquisitor within its walls in
1663, and when the Pueblo authorities took possession of it as the
citadel of their central authority, in 1681.
The old building cannot well be overlooked by the most careless visitor
to the quaint town; it is a long, low structure, taking up the greater part
of one side of the Plaza, round which runs a colonnade supported by
pillars of rough pine. In this once leaky old Palace were kept, or rather
neglected, the archives of the Territory until the American residents,
appreciating the importance of preserving precious documents
containing so much of interest to the student of history and the
antiquarian, enlisted themselves enthusiastically in the good cause, and
have rescued from oblivion the annals of a relatively remote
civilization, which, but for their forethought, would have perished from
the face of the earth as completely as have the written records of that
wonderful region in Central America, whose gigantic ruins alone
remain to tell us of what was a highly cultured order of architecture in
past ages, and of a people whose intelligence was comparable to the
style of the dwellings in which they lived.
The old adobe Palace is in itself a volume whose pages are filled with
pathos and stirring events. It has been the scene and witness of
incidents the recital of which would to us to-day seem incredible. An

old friend, once governor of New Mexico and now dead, thus
graphically spoke of the venerable building:[7]
In it lived and ruled the Spanish captain general, so remote and
inaccessible from the viceroyalty at Mexico that he was in effect a king,
nominally accountable to the viceroy, but practically beyond his reach
and control and wholly irresponsible to the people. Equally
independent for the same reason were the Mexican governors. Here met
all the provincial, territorial, departmental, and other legislative bodies
that have ever assembled at the capital of New Mexico. Here have been
planned all the Indian wars and measures for defence against foreign
invasion, including, as the most noteworthy, the Navajo war of 1823,
the Texan invasion of 1842, the American of 1846, and the Confederate
of 1862. Within its walls was imprisoned, in 1809, the American
explorer Zebulon M. Pike, and innumerable state prisoners before and
since; and many a sentence of death has been pronounced therein and
the accused forthwith led away and shot at the dictum of the man at the
Palace. It has been from time immemorial the government house with
all its branches annexed. It was such on the Fourth of July, 1776, when
the American Congress at Independence Hall in Philadelphia
proclaimed liberty throughout all the land, not then, but now embracing
it. Indeed, this old edifice has a history. And as the history of Santa Fe
is the history of New Mexico, so is the history of the Palace the history
of Santa Fe.
The Palace was the only building having glazed windows. At one end
was the government printing office, and at the other, the guard-house
and prison. Fearful stories were connected with the prison. Edwards[8]
says that he found, on examining the walls of the small rooms, locks of
human hair stuffed into holes, with rude crosses drawn over them.
Fronting the Palace, on the south side of the Plaza, stood the remains of
the Capilla de los Soldados, or Military Chapel. The real name of the
church was "Our Lady of Light." It was said to be the richest church in
the Province, but had not been in use for a number of years, and the
roof had fallen in, allowing the elements to complete the work of
destruction. On each side of the altar was the remains of fine carving,
and a weather-beaten picture above gave evidence of having been a
beautiful painting. Over the door was a large oblong slab of freestone,
elaborately carved, representing "Our Lady of Light" rescuing a human

being from the jaws of Satan. A large tablet, beautifully executed in
relief, stood behind the altar, representing various saints, with an
inscription stating that it was erected by Governor Francisco Antonio
del Valle and his wife in 1761.
Church services were held in the Parroquia, or Parish church, now the
Cathedral, which had two towers or steeples, in which hung four bells.
The music was furnished by a violin and a triangle. The wall back of
the altar was covered with innumerable mirrors,