How a single Comanche raid in 1775 doomed this ancient pueblo to extinction

The Last 17 Survivors’ Trek to Jemez

Pecos Pueblo once stood proud with 2,000 people and 1,000 rooms spread across two four-story buildings. When Spanish explorer Coronado first saw it in 1541, he called it the largest, best-fortified pueblo around.

Then came three centuries of slow death. First, Spanish diseases cut the population by 75%.

Next, Apache raids weakened them. Later, Comanche attacks in 1775 killed nearly every man.

Finally, smallpox and bad water left just 17 survivors by 1838.

These last few made an 80-mile trek to Jemez Pueblo, the only other place that spoke their Towa language. The ruins at Pecos National Historical Park tell this heartbreaking story of survival and loss.

Coronado Found a Thriving Community of 2,000 People

Spanish explorer Francisco Vazquez de Coronado found Pecos Pueblo in 1541. The pueblo was the largest in the area with over 2,000 people living in a well-protected community.

Locals greeted the Spaniards with music and gifts at their village, called Cicuye back then.

By 1450, Pecos had grown into a major trading center and fortress, with high walls and stepped balconies that let Pecos fighters see in all directions.

The impressive pueblo housed about 2,500 people by 1500 in a 5-story building made of clay, local stone, and mud.

After Coronado searched for the riches of Quivira but found nothing, he went back to Mexico, and the Pecos Indians returned to their normal lives.

Spanish Settlers Brought Dramatic Changes in 1598

Don Juan de Onate showed up in 1598 with settlers, animals, and 10 Franciscan friars to take the land for Spain.

He put Franciscan friar Francisco de San Miguel in charge of Pecos, who quickly upset locals by breaking their religious items and ruining sacred places.

These early mission attempts failed after the idol-breaking caused deep anger among the Pecos people.

Things got better when the Franciscans sent skilled missionary Fray Andrés Juárez to Pecos in 1621, known for his healing abilities and building skills.

Under his watch, the Pecos built a big adobe church south of the pueblo, which became the most striking of New Mexico’s mission churches with towers, supports, and huge pine logs.

The Pueblo People Fought Back in 1680

Po’Pay, a holy man from Ohkay Owingeh, planned a revolt after Spanish officials publicly whipped him in the 1670s. On August 10, 1680, Spanish leaders learned that rebels had killed a priest.

Most Pecos people joined their tribal elder in the uprising, killing their priest, burning the beautiful church, and building a kiva in the mission’s living quarters.

Pueblo fighters killed four hundred Spaniards during the revolt, including twenty-one of the thirty-three priests in New Mexico. This successful rebellion kept Spanish forces out of New Mexico for 12 years.

Peace Returned When Spaniards Came Back in 1692

The Spanish took back control of the area in 1692. The Pecos people became friends and trading partners in a more relaxed Spanish-Pueblo relationship.

Workers rebuilt the mission church to work for both Spanish colonial and Pueblo religious needs. This calm period in the region lasted until the 1780s.

Pecos kept its important role as a major trading center connecting Plains tribes with Rio Grande pueblos during this stable time.

Comanche Warriors Devastated the Pueblo After 1700

The pueblo suffered badly, first from Apache attacks and then from Comanche raids after 1700. A brutal Comanche raid in 1775 killed almost every man in the tribe.

Spanish records show the population dropped to 599 people by 1760 and fell further to just 152 by 1790. The Spanish signed a peace deal with the Comanche in 1785, which let Spanish communities set up east of Pecos.

This change reduced the importance of the Pueblo as a trading partner and further weakened its position.

Smallpox Swept Through the Community in 1780

The North American smallpox outbreak reached the Pueblos of present-day New Mexico starting in 1780. This disease spread through Pecos Pueblo with terrible effects.

The community’s drinking water became dirty, causing more sickness among survivors. Many people died in 1781 when the epidemic brought by the Spanish reached its worst point.

Over three generations, the community lost 75 percent of its people to disease, violence, and displacement.

Only 104 People Remained by 1805

Tensions grew between those following old spiritual practices and those taking up Catholicism, causing some members to leave for other pueblos. Counts showed only 152 people remained in 1790-93.

By 1805, just 104 people still lived at Pecos. Some Pecos folks chose to join the growing Hispanic communities along the Rio Pecos after about 1790.

Others moved to Santo Domingo and Cochiti pueblos, where the last name Pecos continues today.

The Once-Mighty Pueblo Could No Longer Survive

By 1811, the nearby town of San Miguel had more people than the shrinking Pecos Pueblo. That same year, workers finished the church at San Miguel, and the Pecos Pueblo priest moved there.

The population fell to a point where too few people remained to fill the jobs needed to keep the pueblo running.

From 1540 to 1838, Pecos shrank to about 1 percent of its original size, with only about twenty people left in the village. The once-powerful trading center simply couldn’t keep going anymore.

Seventeen Survivors Made a Heartbreaking Choice

By 1838, only 17 people remained at Pecos Pueblo. These last P`ǽ kish sadly decided to leave their ancestral home and seek safety at the Pueblo of Jemez.

They picked Jemez because it was the only other Towa-speaking pueblo still around.

The final group, numbering between seventeen and twenty-five people according to different stories, made this tough decision after almost three centuries of fighting neighboring tribes and battling various forms of disease.

An 80-Mile Journey Led to a New Beginning

The survivors traveled 80 miles northwest to reach Jemez Pueblo.

On August 2, 1838, 21 P`ǽ kish arrived at Jemez to ask for acceptance among their language relatives. Jemez leaders talked for a long time before welcoming the refugees as family.

The surviving families, including grandparents and cousins, came to Jemez hoping to stay until they could grow their numbers and eventually return to Pecos.

At Jémez pueblo, the Pecos refugees moved into homes and planted fields provided by their hosts, but they kept their distinct identity.

The Pecos Spirit Lives On at Jemez Today

Congress legally united the Jemez and Pecos peoples in 1936.

The Second Lieutenant Governor for Jemez Pueblo also serves as the Pecos Pueblo Governor, a leadership role created when the two communities merged in 1838.

Every year on the first Sunday after August 2, Jemez People return to Pecos Pueblo to celebrate the feast day for “Our Lady of the Angels of Porciúncula.”

The Pecos Repatriation of 1999 stands as the largest repatriation by any federally recognized Native American tribe in the United States.

On May 20, 1999, more than 200 Jemez tribal members walked from Jemez Pueblo plaza to Pecos Pueblo, following the same path their ancestors had traveled 161 years earlier.

Visiting Pecos National Historical Park, New Mexico

Pecos National Historical Park tells the tragic story of a pueblo that went from 2,000 residents to just 17-21 survivors who left for Jemez Pueblo in 1838.

You can visit for free at P.O. Box 418, Pecos, NM and walk the 1.25-mile trail through pueblo ruins and mission church remains.

Climb down wooden ladders into reconstructed kivas to see ceremonial rooms where the community once gathered before disease and raids destroyed their way of life.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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