[Granville-Hough] 22 Nov 2009 - British Guns for Spanish Horses

[Trustees for Granville W. Hough]

Date: Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:23:46 -0800
From: Granville W Hough <gwhough at oakapple.net>
Subject: Apache Horses, British Guns, 22 Nov 2009

British Guns for Spanish Horses

The eighteenth century in Northern Mexico and the Spanish Empire west of 
the Mississippi River was a period of rapid change for the Indian 
tribes, especially after the Seven Years War (French and Indian War). 
One could write books on the experiences of some thirty tribes as they 
struggled to reconcile their traditional ways of life with the new 
technologies introduced by the European settlers. Heading these new 
technologies were the introduction of the horse and the introduction of 
guns, powder, and ball.
The horses came from Spain, primarily, and their markings generally 
showed they were former cavalry horses of the Spanish presidios. One 
could write whole books on how horse ranches in Central Mexico provided 
horses to the Presidios from Texas to California, then how the Apaches, 
for 150 years, watched these horse herds as they were moved to pastures 
more and more distant from the Presidios in order to find sufficient 
grazing. When the herds were far enough from the Presidios, the Apaches 
would strike and frequently get away with whole herds. The presidial 
soldiers could not give chase when they had lost their horses. The 
Apaches learned how to move these horses northward, then trade them to 
other tribes for all the things Apaches needed for a good life. What the 
Apaches eventually wanted more than anything else were guns and 
ammunition. The northern neighbors to the Apaches wanted horses so they 
could hunt buffalo and wage war on other tribes more effectively. So the 
Apaches said, for generations, ôWe can get horses. You can get guns. We 
can trade.ö
A thousand miles away, the other facet of this trade was taking place. 
The French of the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys wanted furs. They 
eventually were willing to let tribes have guns in exchange for furs, 
buffalo hides, and other luxuries of the plains. They did not mind at 
all if the guns were eventually used against the Spanish, one of their 
traditional enemies. When the British took over the French domains east 
of the Mississippi River in 1763, they located the center of their trade 
at Detroit and continued the French practices. Tories and renegade 
Americans such as Simon Girty and his brothers worked out of Detroit as 
Indian agents for various tribes and expedited the flow of guns during 
the Revolutionary War years. These northern tribes at first gradually 
traded the guns south for horses and other goods. By the time of the 
Revolutionary War, this trade network had been perfected and new guns 
could be traded for new horses in periodic trading fairs on the plains.
So, did the British furnish guns through trade or other ways to their 
Indian allies? Yes, they did. Did these Indian allies trade their guns 
to other tribes for horses and other goods? Yes, they did. Where did the 
horses come from? From the Apaches, the professional horse thieves, who 
in turn got the horses from Spanish Presidios and Mexican ranches. Did 
the British provide guns directly to the Apaches? No! the British in 
Detroit probably never heard of the Apache bands. The typical Apache 
probably never heard of the British in Detroit. But the British in 
Detroit did know the plains Indian tribes all the way into Canada had 
Spanish horses. And the bi-lingual Girty brothers and others who lived 
and traded with the Indian tribes surely knew how the trades were made, 
tribe to tribe. Of course, they were on the British side and could only 
encourage and expedite the trades.
(Note: This is not what some wanted to hear, but it is a summary as I 
see it of the situation by which Apaches on the Rio Grande were able to 
trade horses to the Red River tribes of Texas for British guns. They 
also traded horses to other tribes for whatever these tribes had. The 
scope of the Apache trade fairs for their horses was enormous. In mid 
1782 they arranged for a horse and gun swap in West Central Texas with 
the Norte±os (the Red River tribes), who had the guns. They brought in 
3000 horses, hoping to get 1000 guns. The participants consumed 4000 
cattle, both branded from all over Texas and unbranded. The Norte±os 
only had 270 guns for exchange, but they got 1000 of the horses. The 
Apaches took the rest back to Apacheria for smaller scale trading and 
eating. )