About The rustler. (Cerrillos, N.M.) 1891-1???
Cerrillos, N.M. (1891-1???)

Los Cerrillos Rustler and The Rustler

Cerrillos was founded on the Rio Galisteo in 1880, just west of New Mexico highway 14 and 20 miles southwest of Santa Fe. Cerrillos, which translates as "little hills" received its name from the nearby uplands. Because of the minerals found in this region, Cerrillos was settled twice. The first settlement was before 1680 when Indians mined turquoise, which found its way into the crown jewels of Spain. A second mining boom occurred in 1879, when two prospectors from Colorado found promising deposits gold and silver ore in Cerrillos. Mining camps flourished briefly before the veins petered out. However, Cerrillos also had coal deposits, an incentive for the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railroad to extend its line to the town in 1880. Cerrillos has often been called Los Cerrillos, but the name accepted by the United States Board on Geographic Names in 1975 was simply Cerrillos.

The Cerrillos Rustler was published every Friday beginning on July 27, 1888, in English and ceased publication in 1898. The first editor was A.M. Anderson. An annual subscription cost $3, while single copies were 10 cents. The masthead of the Cerrillos Rustler, dated November 20, 1888, was printed in Old English font. During the mining boom, the paper stated, "Every man who has interest in mining property or land in the vicinity of Cerrillos, should be a subscriber to the Rustler." Advertising rates varied: a one-column, one-month ad cost $10, while a one-inch space cost $1. Sometimes, the masthead read Los Cerrillos Rustler, at other times The Rustler, the latter becoming the official title of the paper after 1891.

The Rustler reported on local, territorial, national, and international news. An early law had prohibited gambling in New Mexico, yet the territorial news media did nothing to end public gambling, although editors often addressed the negative behavior associated with gambling. Some newspapers believed the legislature should empower local communities to license gambling. The Cerrillos Rustler called for a repeal of the prohibition on gambling, and the Rio Grande Republican in Las Cruces also endorsed this position.

On September 18, 1891, an article appeared in the Rustler concerning the new poll tax. The Board of Trustees in Cerrillos had passed a law requiring every male citizen between the ages of 21 and 55, living within the town limits for three consecutive months to pay, on the first day of October, a tax of $1 for each year he resided in town. The poll tax was intended to help clean and repair the streets of Cerrillos.

The Rustler also endorsed statehood for New Mexico. An article appearing on September 5, 1890, stated that on October 7 a proposed constitution for the territory of New Mexico would be submitted to the people for adoption. Various statements were published in different editions of the Rustler in the 1890s concerning the benefits of statehood's. An example is: "As a matter of fact and justice there should be no such a thing as a territory of the United States, for such is virtually a disenfranchisement of American citizens. All should be states and recognized as parts of this great union." The following year, The Rustler also published a letter from President Benjamin Harrison, who had recently traveled through New Mexico, apologizing for not paying a visit to the town of Cerrillos, saying he would have enjoyed visiting the old mines that he read about.

And finally, the November 28, 1890 edition of the Rustler covered the incident that would later become known as the Wounded Knee Massacre. The paper reported that the Indians on the Pine Ridge Agency in South Dakota will wake up surrounded by a strong body of U.S. troops. These had been mustered troops in the Southwest by Gen. Nelson Miles after the surrender of Geronimo. "The paper opined that a threatening situation would not occur if the soldiers did not add to the excitement of the "redskins."

Provided by: University of New Mexico