Page 83 - Early Naturalists of the Black Range

the Army in 1849 and served in New Mexico over the next several years. His perspective, that of an articulate enlisted man, was quite different from that of the officers who wrote, or were mentioned, in the official reports. His assignments took him throughout the state. On a few occasions he traveled through the Black Range, visited the Copper Mines, etc. The following excerpts, from his diary, give some insight into the natural history as it was discovered at that time. Bennett was not a naturalist, but his descriptions are often vivid.
Acknowledging different perspectives is an effective way to increase the accuracy of the reporting of any period. Bennett provides an alternative perspective. Along the same lines, Bartlett described differences of opinion about the proper use of alcohol (below).
WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE The Many uses of Maguay
“June 9th. In camp at Fronteras. The people crowded around us...some to see the doctor...(giving him) bottles of aguardiente...how shocked were the good people when they saw to what base purposes their precious aguardiente was converted. The doctor, although he received the liquor readily enough, had no idea of applying it to the purposes intended by the donors, but used it for preserving his beloved lizards, frogs, fishes, and other specimens in natural history. As it would have been useless to attempt explaining to his patrons his object in collecting and preserving these ill- favored reptiles, they were permitted to rest in the belief that he was making of them some decoction for medicinal purposes.” (Bartlett’s Personal Narrative, p. 292)
Ann Arbor Courier (Ann Arbor, Michigan) May 25, 1892

Wheaton was a surveyor, not a naturalist, but like many of his compatriots’, his graphic skills were regularly used to document the geologic features, flora, and fauna which were encountered during a survey. These graphic skills were an expected attribute of military officers at the time and did not diminish his perception amongst his peers - quite the contrary. Wheaton went on to a very successful military career and was brevetted as a Major General at the end of the war with the slave states.
James Augustus Bennett
The diary of James Augustus Bennett was edited by Clinton E. Brooks and Frank D. Reeve and published as Forts and Forays; A Dragoon In New Mexico, 1850-1856. James Bennett enlisted in
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