Being A Spy In New Mexico During the Mexican/Fur Trapper Era, 1820 - 1846.

It was easy, very easy. Mexico in general and New Mexico in particular were easy targets, easy to spy against and easy and ready to be invaded.  There were a lot of spies. Most all of the "fur trappers" from the "states" were spies passing information back to the authorities in the United States, either personally during visits back or in many other ways. Some, if not all, of the traders associated with the "Santa Fe Trade" were also spies. How do we tell who were the trappers? Who were spies? Read the accounts of the folks who came with the Army of the West. Read some of the accounts of the trappers themselves, that is if they could read or write, which most could not. They were every bit as ignorant and unschooled and uneducated as those they were spying on, probably more so.

Christopher "Kit" Carson,
Samuel Magoffin,
Richens "Uncle Dick" Wooten,
"Governor" Charles Bent

The list of spies is actually quite large, I could go on and on. The spies included some of our New Mexican ancestors, the Oteros being the best example. Many of these spies were headquartered in Taos and they did pay the price for their treachery against New Mexico. The names of some are etched in history as some of the political appointees in the aftermath of the occupation and prior to the rebellion by the folks in Taos.

Bent's Fort just over the Arkansas River in what is now Colorado was a nest of spies, spying against New Mexico and also against the Indians. But that is another story altogether.

These spies were spying for the Unites States, it  really does not matter how a person looks at the conquering, occupation and annexation of the New Mexican province by the United States in 1846. It does not matter if, in retrospect, you agree or disagree with it, it does not matter if you think it was a good thing or a bad thing and it does not matter if you think it was a moral or immoral thing for the United States to annex the province.

The bottom line is that these folks mentioned were spies pretending to be friends of the Mexican Republic and New Mexicans. Some were even married to Hispanic New Mexican women, some were Mexican citizens and others even converted to the Catholic faith as part of their "cover". Christopher "Kit" Carson is THE prime example.

There were non New Mexicans, mostly German and French, in the province who were not spies, but very few of them. Maybe one or two of the American trappers were not carrying information back to the "states".

In all reality these folks were spies. Spies with a capitol S. As such, it really all depends on how you feel about spies, sneaks and outright liars. I imagine there are many things that come into play when looking at the subject.