January 19, 1847; New Mexico: Former trapper Simeon Turley lived about a dozen miles north of Taos, on the banks of the Rio Hondo, where he had built a gristmill and distillery. His "Taos Lightning," a fiery wheat whiskey, was famous among the area's trappers, traders, and Indians. Adventurer George F. Ruxton, who visited Turley in mid-January 1847, described the place and its residents as prosperous and happy. Ruxton noted that Turley, along with his family members and Indian and Mexican employees, were always willing to feed the hungry and aid the poor. Ruxton left Turley's Mill on 16 January; three days later, the place was destroyed and most of its inhabitants were killed.
The people at Turley's Mill were victims of the Taos uprising. In August 1846, at the beginning of the Mexican War, American soldiers under Col. Stephen W. Kearny had seized and occupied New Mexico, but having met little resistance, Kearny moved most of the soldiers out a few weeks later. The conquered Mexicans and Indians plotted a revolt, and in January 1847 they rose up to kill or drive out the remaining Americans.
On 18 January in Taos, Mexicans, Pueblo Indians, and possibly some Jicarilla Apaches and Navajos killed New Mexico territorial governor Charles Bent and several other officials and ransacked the town. That evening, a rider sped by Turley's Mill with a warning. Turley considered himself a friend to the local Mexicans and Indians, and he even had a Mexican wife, but he was an American and had American employees, Just in case, Turley and his American men decided to barricade themselves in the distillery.
At sunrise the next morning, a mob of Mexicans and Indians appeared at the mill. Approaching the distillery, one of them called out to Turley, asking who was inside. Turley replied that there were eight other Americans with him. The mob leader said that they would spare Turley if he came out, but they were going to kill every other American in the valley. "I will never surrender my house or my men," he replied. "If you want them you'll have to come and get them."
With that, the Indians began shouting and dancing. John Albert, firing from an upper window, shot one down, and the battle was on. Billy Austin killed another warrior, and Albert shot a third, The Indians scattered. A moment later, however, the Mexicans and Indians encircled the two-story adobe building, taking cover in the trees and among the boulders of the surrounding canyon. From there they fired a barrage of bullets, which thudded into the distillery's thick walls but failed to hit any of the defenders. By nightfall, several Mexicans and Indians had been shot, but not one American had received a scratch. Though the besieging force had grown to more than 500, and some of them kept up an intermittent fire all night, the Americans held them off, pouring out bullets and keeping up their defense.
At one point some Indians crept up to the distillery and tried to chop through a wall, but it didn't work. As the warriors ran back across the open corral, an American fired through a loophole and hit one of them. When another Indian tried to drag the body away, he too was shot. Then a third was killed. Three more ran out after the bodies, but the Americans blasted them. Seeing six Indians lying dead in the corral, the attackers finally made a concerted rush. A hundred guns blazed. For the first time, two trappers were hit and mortally wounded.
At first light, there was a lull in the battle. By now the Americans were dangerously low on ammunition. In the midafternoon the fighting picked up, and Turley was hit in the shoulder. The Americans hoped to hold out until dark, then make a run for it, But when dusk fell, the Indians rushed up to the distillery and started several fires. The flames eventually took hold and spread over the wooden roof. As thick smoke poured into the building, the men on the second floor realized they had to go downstairs. Just then, part of the roof collapsed. The men raced down the stairs, but falling timbers blocked two of them. Tom Tobin, trapped in a back room, kicked out some loose bricks in the wall and squeezed out into the corral. Finding no Indians posted there, Tobin crept away into the night.
Downstairs, some Indians broke down the front door. After shooting the intruders, the remaining Americans rushed out into the yard with guns blazing and knives flashing. During the melee, all of the Americans were killed except one. Only John Albert broke through and disappeared in the dark, heading north to Colorado.
Meanwhile Tobin ran to his house to get his Mexican wife and his family. But his wife urged him to escape without them, assuring him that the insurgents would not harm them. Tobin mounted his best mule and took off for Santa Fe to alert the U.S. forces there. When Col. Sterling Price organized a punitive expedition, Tobin was among the first civilians to join up.
