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New Mexico Territory

Territory of the United States, originally struck as the Congressional Compromise of 1850 organized the Utah and New Mexico Territories and defined the modern boundaries of Texas on September 9, 1850. The creation of the Arizona Territory on February 24, 1863 established the modern boundaries of New Mexico.[1]

Trail West to Fury: During their service as Galvanized Yankees[2] in 1865 and 1866, the Maverick Brothers patrolled and fought along the Santa Fe Trail as far south as Fort Union. In 1867,[3] the Miller cattle drive and Bart Maverick's tracking of the Tall Man took the Maverick Brothers along two separate routes through the New Mexico Territory, both ultimately to Fort Adobe in the Arizona Territory.[2]

In the mid-1870s, the notorious outlaw Cliff Sharp carried a price on his head for robbery and murder in New Mexico Territory.[4]

The Jeweled Gun: In April of 1876, Bret and Bart Maverick rode from the gold fields of the Colorado Territory into New Mexico Territory along the Rio Chama. Upon reaching the Rio Grande,[3] they split up... Bret taking the northern trail and then east to Clayton to visit Adelaide, and Bart on the southern trail for his first visit to Santa Fe. In Santa Fe, Bart met Daisy Haskell, who hired him to pose as her husband, John Haskell, and escort her by stage to Laramie, Wyoming Territory.[5] They spent nights in Las Vegas, Loma Parda and Cimarron before reaching La Mesa in May.[3] In La Mesa, Daisy attempted to kill Bart to make it appear her husband had been killed along the route to Laramie, rather than by her lover, Henrique Fillipe, in Santa Fe. Bart was able to expose her plan, leading to the arrest of Daisy and Fillipe. After Bret's visit with Adelaide in Claytion, he took the northbound stage, meeting Bart in La Mesa, from where the brothers continued north together back into Colorado Territory.[5]

The Day They Hanged Bret Maverick: In September, Bret and Brother Bart were back in New Mexico Territory.[5] Probably spending Bart's birthday together in Cimarron,[3] they let a coin toss decide each of their trails when they decided to move on.[5] Bart traveled west into Arizona Territory while Bret headed east, towards his beloved river country.[3] His first night out, Bret stopped in Elbow Bend, New Mexico Territory, where he was framed and arrested for Cliff Sharp's robbery of the Hallelujah Wells Fargo office and killing its clerk. He was taken to Hallelujah to stand trial, was found guilty and sentenced to hang. But Bret managed to escape and caught up with Sharp's wife, Molly, on her way to Santa Fe to meet up with her husband. Bret traveled with her by stage to Santa Fe, where he killed Sharp in self-defense and recovered the stolen Wells Fargo money. Molly returned with Bret to Hallelujah to return the money. He collected the $5,000 reward and continued on his journey,[5] north along the Santa Fe Trail[3] out of New Mexico Territory[5] and then east to St. Louis.[3]

Relic of Fort Tejon: In July of 1878,[3] Bret Maverick traveled[5] from Sweetwater, Arizona Territory[3] to Silver Springs,[5] New Mexico Territory[3] to expose Carl Jimson's Square Deal Saloon as a brace joint. Along the way, he visited Clayville, where he was duped into buying a full-blooded Arabian mount, which turned out to be a camel named Fatima. The camel eventually saved Bret's hide when appearing out of nowhere while Bret was chasing Jimson across the  desert from Silver Springs with no water.[5]

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