On to the topic of "Indians" and others' views of them:
Although the priest could have been "anti-female," it might be more likely that he was not particularly disposed toward some of the native peoples..."
Again, from Wislizenus' book:
"May 13. -- ...."I had been riding ahead this morning, and reached Pozo early, though not in time to take part in a skirmish between our vanguard and a party of Indianas. When I arrived, some Mexicans were engaged in lazoing several dead bodies of Indians and dragging them into a heap together. The skirmish had taken place under the following circumstances: Two days before, a party of
Lipan Indians, upon one of their predatory excursions, had stolen from a hacienda near
Parras several hundred mules and horses, and killed several men. The proprietor of the hacienda, Don Manuel de
Ibarra, applied to Captain
Ried, of our regiment, (who was then ahead of us with Lieut. Colonel Mitchell's party,) for aid against these Indians. The captain, one of our most gallant officers, took but eight men along, and, accompanied by the Don himself, went back to el Pozo, where the Indianas, on their march to the mountains, had to pass, being the only watering place in that neighborhood. There they hid themselves in a corral, to wait for the arrival of the
Indiana. Quite unexpected, about 20 men or our vanguard came very early this morning to el Pozo, and increased their party to 30 men. Soon afterwards the Indians appeared -- from 40 to 50 warriors. When our men rushed on horseback out of the corral to attack them, the Indians (probably supposing them to be Mexicans) received them with sneering and very contemptuous provocations, and their confidence in their bows and arrows was increased when the Americans, firing their rifles from horseback, killed none at the first charge. But as soon as our men alighted, and took good aim with their rifles, the Indians fell on all sides. Nevertheless, they fought most desperately, and did not retire till half of them were either dead or wounded. But at last they had to run for their lives, and to leave all their dead and all their booty behind. Besides the stolen stock, thirteen prisoners, Mexican women and children, whom they had carried along, were retaken and released from the brutality of their savage masters. Fifteen
Indiana were lying dead on the field... Most of the dead Indians had fine blankets; some even carried gold; all were armed with bows and arrow, and a few with elegant shields of leather; and the 'medicine man,' who was foremost in the action, and fought most bravely, wore a head-dress of feathers and horns. Our men, of course, took of these curiosities whatever they liked....The fallen Indians were all of medium size, but well proportioned and very muscular; their skulls and faces bore all the characteristics of the Indian race, but their skin looked whiter than I have ever seen it in Indians.... In relation to the tribe of Lipans, I could only ascertain from the Mexicans that they live in the mountains of the
Bolson [of Mapimi], extend their stealing and robbing excursions very far south, and have the reputation of being a most brutal and cruel set of Indians, though brave in battle."
So, it could be that these were the people referred to as "Yndios." This part of northern Mexico contained much bitter and brutal fighting between native peoples, displaced tribes, and Spanish/Mexican/American settlers as it was a land with few resources... said resources being needed by all of these groups at the same time. For a great history of the larger region, see Paul Horgan's "Great River: The
Rio Grande in North American History." You can use his index to skip around to find sections that describe life during various time periods, particularly if you check out "Coahuila" and then read a few pages before and after each citation.
Finally, although I am no fan of bloody fiction, for an indication of what life was like in the Texas/Mexico border in the 1850s (and it wouldn't have been any happier a century before), see Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian; Or the Evening Redness of the West." There was a reason that these parts of Mexico remained unsettled and "wild" for centuries.... and maybe why the
Priest wasn't too worried about listing a last name for poor
Razo.
Hope all this helps....
