The Little Lion of the SouthwestManuel Antonio Chaves life straddled three eras of New Mexican history: he was born (1818) at the tag end of the Spanish colonial period, he grew to manhood in the rough and heady days of the Santa Fe trade during the quarter century of Mexican rule (18211846), and he spent his mature years under the territorial regime established by the United States. Manuel Chaves long career (died 1889) was interwoven with almost every major historical event which