The Ramah band of the Navajos are a separate group or "chapter", not totally connected or located with the main Navajo Nation. They have been living in this isolated state more or less since the middle 1500s when they came to the aid of the Zuni pueblo people who were struggling against Coronado and the Spanish. The name 'Ramah' comes from the Mormon settlement established under orders of Brigham Young in the 1870s.
All very interesting but I digress.
I'm supposed to be focusing on El Morro...a large rock outcrop that served as a landmark to travelers for centuries. The remoteness and dryness of the country made El Morro important because it was an oasis of sorts thanks to a perennial pool of water at the base of the cliffs. Prehistoric nameless Indians stopped at the pool of water and left petroglyphs on the face of the cliffs. These were pecked into the solid rock and depict various symbols and pictures of animals. There are human hand prints engraved on the rocks showing that people passed this way for centuries.
At the very top of the cliff there are two pueblo ruins...one partially excavated. Park Archaeologists think that there were as many as 1,500 people living at El Morro and farming the land many centuries ago. The country side was mostly a grass land at that time and it supported crops for the Indian population.
In the early 1500s the Spanish first pushed their way into this remote area. Coronado was looking for the cities of gold. They didn't find any but they did find a native population that they viewed as a source of labor and who were in need of salvation through conversion to Christianity. The Indians were less enthusiastic than the Spaniards and resisted cooperation and conversion. there were several groups sent north to convert the local Zunis but they wouldn't cooperate.
That didn't deter the Spanish -- they kept coming north from Mexico with priests and plans for missions and settlements. El Morro was important for the early exploration and conversion efforts because of the water and the fact that it was a landmark on the trail between the various Indian pueblos. The reliable water source made this a popular stop on the trail into the remote interior of New Mexico. Apparently the spot was sort of a resting place and the travelers stayed long enough to record their passing by engraving their names and various messages on the face of the cliff.
At least two Spanish governors of New Mexico passed this way and had their names and messages carved on the rock. This seemed to be a PR job of sorts with glowing accounts of their deeds and often that they were paying for the trip out of their own pocket. One had his deeds recorded and that he was a Christian gentleman...but someone came shortly afterward and scratched out the word "gentleman".
Some of the inscriptions are in poetry. Given that literacy was somewhat rare in the 1600s it is interesting that some inscriptions were from common soldiers. There are over 2,000 inscriptions on the face of the cliff -- some in Spanish and many in English.
As the American pioneers arrived in the area after 1850 they also camped at El Morro and recorded their passing. Most were on their way west toward California and many didn't make it. Indian raids were frequent as they moved into Arizona and a few names have been traced to people who were later casualties or survivors of Indian attacks. Miss Bailey was one traveler who was wounded but survived to eventually complete her trip to California.
The US Army sent expeditions into the area for exploration and peace-keeping purposes. One group was a cavalry troop travelling with camels as an experiment to see if they would be more reliable than horses in the dry climate. These military groups also stopped at El Morro and recorded their passing. The camels came and went without a trace, apparently. One group included an artist who recorded all of the inscriptions that he found on the face of the cliff...quite a task.
El Morro became a National Monument in 1906 and there was a change in attitude. Apparently, you can't carve your name on a national treasure. Some folks did from time to time but the Park Service has removed the offensive graffiti from the rock. They do have a couple of large boulders out in front of the visitor center where you are allowed to scratch your initials in stone.
