Before the final act, however, it is vital and necessary to set down the contribution of two hundred fifty years of Spanish occupation and rule. The coming of the Spaniard to the Southwest began a mixture of white and red races which resulted in a new mixed race. The first generation of those who came up from Mexico were Caucasians; their descendants were usually not. They came seeking wealth and security, but there was neither wealth nor security in New Mexico, and they remained poor, very poor. The society that evolved was to be based upon farming and stock raising, and its organization was to be feudal in nature. There would be no education; hence, there could be no intellectual advance. The world began to go ahead of the people of New Mexico. Only in the house of the rico was there any sign of the wealth and grandeur of Spain; everywhere else was poverty. Farming was left in the hands of the Indian, while the Spaniard chose to be a man on horseback, a cattleman, an aristocrat. In the final analysis, Spanish New Mexico would not develop as democratic and agricultural, but aristocratic and feudal. The hacienda was a part of old Spain in exile. The rico tried vainly to hold to his idea of chivalry and to a decorum suitable to his position. But what chance was there in the face of the increasing poverty, the constant danger to life and property, and time that did not move? While individual courage of the upper class remained, discipline and industry died. When the American army marched into the Southwest, the sons of the conquistadores could offer no armed resistance. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the society of the ricos in New Mexico was that it failed to contribute any lasting monument. It left no art, no music, no great highways, no adequate governmental system. But many elements of Spanish culture were to persist, and these arose from the collective consciousness of the people of New Mexico. Around the great haciendas were small villages with their artisans and workers. It was among these people that the heritage of Spain clung to this land. Many of these towns yet remain and are not much different from those of two hundred years ago. To a large degree, their Spanish culture seems hidden and undiscovered, but the people, their loves and hates, pleasures and hopes, beliefs and fears, are governed by tradition, a tradition that finds its roots deep in the soil of Spain. [Illustration: Old mission church at Isleta Pueblo]