| govern themselves. Also, the leadership of Pope which had been so vital to the revolt became tyrannical in the days which followed the September 1680 retreat of the Spaniards. In the attempt to rid themselves of the violent and demanding Spanish rule, the Pueblos had created in Pope a leader who proved to be ironically similar to the Spaniards in his hostile methods of controlling the people.
In the early days following the revolt, Pope ordered that all remaining Christian images, icons, and churches be destroyed. He demanded that the natives remove any crosses or rosaries which hung around their neck. He also forbade the use of any Christian names or references to the name of Jesus. The Indians were told that anyone who disobeyed these rules would be put to death. Members of the Pueblo Indian community who had been baptized were ordered to wash away the baptism with the juice of the yucca root. Other declarations made by Pope included the growing of only native crops, the casting off of Christian marriages, and the return to the exclusive use of native dialects.
Pope was eventually removed from his position by the people. Discord, renewed civil wars with other tribes, draught, and famine served to splinter the united Pueblo villages. The Pueblo Indians returned to their previous lives of independence. They never, however, fully recovered the more peaceful and |