Devil's Hatband: A Story About a People's Struggle Against Land Theft and Racism [signed] [first edition]

By the 1800s, Spanish settlers all had one thing in common as they moved into the New Mexico territory: get as far away from the tyranny and oppression of the Spanish and Mexican governments as possible. But then tyranny came again in the form of American opportunism and prejudice--the uniquely American spirit of entrepreneurism that neither cared about nor understood the mexicanos or their way of life. Maybe it was just the breed of man attracted to the roughness of the territory and not the American way of life. But to the people who were faced with loss of their means of survival it made little difference. No, the New Mexican settlers did not resist the American culture. They only resisted the inequities and lack of fair play that seemed to come with it. In the midst of this turmoil is the true story of two brothers and their struggle to protect their land grants. While Juan Jose organized mexicanos to fight within the American system, Pablo led a group determined to tear down the encroaching barbed wire fences--the devil's hatband--and take the free range land back by force. The conflict is heightened when Juan José is accused of being the leader of the "fence cutters" and of using a group called the Knights of Labor as a front. The possible disastrous confrontation between Juan Jose and Pablo is avoided as political events in Santa Fe and a band of secret bandidos enter the picture. This struggle to defend the long-standing land grants against western expansionism is the story of political assassinations, murder, robbery, hangings, and United States government intervention in early Santa Fe and Las Vegas politics and the creation of the first Hispanic controlled political party in the United States.