In our state's Spanish archives preserved at Santa Fe can be found a couple of documents signed by Antonio Cordero. At the time he wrote and sent them to New Mexico, in 1808, he was the interim governor of Texas.

Twelve years earlier, however, Lt. Col. Don Antonio Cordero had been commander at the royal presidio in El Paso, which was then within the limits of New Mexico.

From a young age, he had been employed in military service, being assigned to various garrisons as a presidial soldier on the northern frontier of New Spain (Mexico).

It was written that Cordero had fought the Apaches for many years, learned to speak their language, and through close contact with them had become well-versed in their culture and habits.

For that reason, regional commander Gen. Pedro de Nava at Chihuahua City in 1796 ordered him to compile a descriptive report of the Apache people, which could be used by government and military officials.

After two centuries, the Spaniards were still at a loss
as to how to deal with the tribe. As one of them phrased the problem: "The Apaches are nothing but a constant and disastrous peril, who
have never been led to Christianity."

"Savages in their primitive form, they invade and wipe out our territory in devastating and continuous war. And we have no hope of destroying them either by means of arms or preaching."

Officialdom faced a true dilemma, it would seem. Cordero of all people understood that, but he manfully took up a quill pen and put together his small treatise.

"The Apaches," he began, "are one of the savage nations of North America, and they have spread out in a vast space over the continent."

This "nation" was divided into nine subtribes and Cordero gave the name for each one in the Apache language, and then the names used by the Spaniards.

About half of these groups still have at least some representatives within the state of New Mexico. Three are on the Mescalero reservation that shelters the Mescalero proper, a small number of Chiricahua, and a scattering of Lipan descendants.

The Llaneros, listed by Cordero, are now absorbed by the Jicarilla Apache who have an assigned reservation touching the Colorado border west of Chama.

The last group he mentions is the Navajo, first labeled Apaches de Navajú by Spanish explorers, but by 1796 already moving toward recognition as a distinct tribe.

Throughout his insightful report, Lt. Col. Cordero provides snippets of information about Apache customs and practices that are not found anywhere else. A few samples will make the point.

"The Apaches," he says, "recognize a Supreme Being, a Creator named Captain of Heaven. But this Captain lacks the idea of being a rewarder or punisher and the Indians give him no worship at all."

The report speaks admiringly of the robustness of the tribesmen, which allows them to ignore "the rigors of the seasons," that is extreme heat and bitter cold.

In a like manner, Apaches tend to be extremely gluttonous when they have plenty of food. Yet, in periods of calamity and scarcity "they bear hunger and thirst to an incredible degree."

Men's occupations are limited to two: hunting and making war. Those allotted to women are numerous and all involve heavy menial labor. Nor were they exempt from going with their husbands on raids to do camp chores, and ride stolen horses and mules.

Cordero treats at length the strategies Apaches used when attacking their enemies or fleeing pursuers. They were masters of the ambush, being skilled at stealing a few head of livestock from a party of travelers and when the owners gave chase perpetrating "a bloody butchery."

When tables are turned, however, and a war party is surrounded by enemies, the Apaches show true valor. Even though escape is impossible, they remain calm and fight to the last breath, refusing to surrender.

Cordero's judgment that the Apaches had peevish temperaments, causing them to be moody and distrustful, was confirmed by other writers. He also calls attention to intense factionalism within the tribal groups and even within families who seldom pardon each other.

That trait seemingly still exists as evidenced by recent news stories about the different lines of Geronimo's descendants arguing over his bones, whether they should be brought back to New Mexico or left in the original burial site at Fort Sill, Okla.

While a valuable historical document today, did Cordero's report serve its main purpose of helping Spaniards deal with the unpredictable Apaches? Probably not.

The original manuscript, curiously, ended up at the famed Bancroft Library at the University of California at Berkeley, where it can be viewed by scholars.

Historian Marc Simmons is author of numerous books on New Mexico and the Southwest. His column appears Saturdays.