Cuera
Max L. Moorhead. The soldado de cuera: Stalwart of the Spanish borderlands // Journal of the West. Vol. VIII, No. I. January 1969.
The condition of defensive and offensive armaments was even more alarming. As a case in point, the buckskin "armor" which distinguished the soldado de cuera from other troops might justifiably be considered in some detail. Customarily (although inaccurately) translated as a "leather jacket," the cuera was actually a heavy, knee-length, sleeve less coat. It was made of several thickness of well-cured buckskin (gamuza) bound at the edges with a strong seam and secured to the body of the wearer by encircling straps. In early-day Sonora the seams and pockets were decorated with a lining of filigreed leather and red cloth, which presented a striking contrast to the white buckskin garment itself. By regulation the cuera contained seven thicknesses of select hides, which officially were considered sufficient to resist the penetration of an Indian arrow, with the outer layer bleached to a uniform whiteness. However, individual preference and disinterest tended to rule otherwise.
At the company of Janos in 1766, for instance, the Marques de Rubi's inspection revealed that some of the cueras had been made with undersized hides or with mere fragments sewn together and that they were padded not only with mere scraps of buckskin but also with old blankets and coarse cloth. According to the captain, they had been of regulation manufacture when issued, but the soldiers had cut and pared the inner hides in order to make new boots for themselves and had sub stituted other materials for a protective thickness. All but three or four of the cueras at Janos were coming apart at the seams. At Buenavista Rubi found that they were padded with cotton and that the outer hides were not only dyed yellow but were also so stiff that the wearer had difficulty firing his musket from a kneeling position. At the presidios in Coahuila the inspector found that almost all of the cueras were padded with quilted cotton instead of additional layers of buckskin. This gave them an excessive weight, bulk, and warmth-producing effect. They were also dyed a cinnamon color, which Rubi considered distastfupl. At San Antonio de Bejar in 1781 they had four thicknesses of buckskin and a padding of six pounds of combed cotton enveloped in the folds of two blankets. This gave each cuera a total weight of from 18 to 20 pounds.
Few presidios had artisans close at hand who could manufacture a cuera, and the fine, well-cured buckskins were obtainable only from the Indian trade. As early as the 1760's these gamuzas were becoming so scarce that padding with other materials was sometimes a necessity. However, some officers actually preferred the cotton stuffing. Colonel Juan de Ugalde, military governor of Coahuila, insisted that they were not only more effective in spending the force of Indian arrows but they also provided a better mattress for the soldier. He also favored dyeing the outer buckskin a cinnamon color rather than bleaching them, for the darker hue would show less soil and present a less visible target for the enemy, especially at night.
There was also disagreement among the officers on the military value of the cuera, especially that which was substandard in manufacture. A test made at Chihuahua in 1778 demonstrated that cueras of only two or three layers and weighing from twelve to fifteen pounds failed to resist the penetration of arrows shot at ranges of from twenty to thirty paces or lances hurled from a distance of from eight to ten paces. The regulation seven-ply coat was undoubtedly more protective. Colonel Ugalde insisted that the heavier, cotton-stuffed ones used in Coahuila were indispensable for Indian fighting since they not only reduced casualties but also gave the wearer more courage and made the enemy less confident. Colonel Domingo Cabello, military governor of Texas, concurred with this view and declared that ten soldiers armed with the cuera accomplished more in battle with the Indians than twenty without it. This, he admitted , was especially true on the open plain where the trooper did not have to dismount to pursue his foe as was necessary for him to do in rugged terrain. Cabello contended that an Indian warrior could discharge at least ten arrows at a soldier while he was reloading his musket for a mere second shot and that his only protection under these circumstances was his leathern armor. On the other hand, Commandant General Croix so deplored the bulky cuera that in 1778 he created the less encumbered tropa ligera, which he hoped would some day replase the tropa de cuera completely.
Croix maintained that the cuera prevented the soldier from using his musket effectively and thus deprived him of his greatest advantage over the Indian. He also complained that its excessive weight handicapped both him and his horse and therefore increased the advantage the Indian already held in the rapidity of his strikes and withdrawals. As an added burden it also wore out more of his horses on long marches. In general, he felt that it made the trooper less aggressive and less depend ent upon his superior offensive arms. It was for these reasons, principally, that Croix had more confidence in his new light cavalry.
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Yet, the heavy equipment of the soldado de cuera sometimes proved his own undoing, for it often weighed as much as himself. According to the computation of one commander, his uniform weighed eighteen pounds, his massive cuera another eighteen, his shield four, musket and two pistols fourteen, musket case three, cartridge box with two dozen cartridges two, sword and belt three, lance three, saddle thirty-five, hanging leather leg aprons (armas de vaqueta) four, saddle blanket and pad twelve, bridle two, reins two, spurs one, and canteen of water two. To these 123 pounds of equipment were added the twenty-two pounds of biscuit, twelve of pinole, and a two-pound copper jar for heating water, all of which were carried on campaigns. This burdened his horse with a total of 159 pounds beyond the rider's own weight*.
It is no wonder that each soldado de cuera was required to take several horses for his major sorties and that those which returned were much the worse for wear. Until 1729 it was customary for each trooper to maintain a string of ten horses. Then the first Reglamento specified six horses and one mule, and the new Reglamento in 1772 required the same plus an additional colt. Even with this number, owing to losses suffered from fatigue, heavy snows, severe droughts, stampedes, and especially theft by the Indians, the armored trooper needed at least three new horses a year as replacements.
* Гр. Д. Остен-Сакен. Мысли об устройстве легкой конницы и некоторые общие замечания // Военный сборник. 1862. №1
P.S. Thomas A.B. After Coronado, Spanish exploration northeast of New Mexico, 1696-1727, documents from the archives of Spain, Mexico and New Mexico. 1935
1719-й год. In order to present opposition to the enemy, the soldiers and settlers should use them, prohibiting them firelocks of three-quarter caliber as no better than arrows because of their short range ... Generally, both the soldiers and settlers use large guns corresponding to those which the French and English carry. The firelocks of three-quarter caliber should be prohibited because they are of no use, as I said in the aforementioned letter, being no better than the arrows of the Indians because of their small caliber and range. ... Because up to now these companies may have been considered sufficient for the Indians, their discipline and arms makes them incapable of resisting trained troops because the firelocks which they commonly use are about five spans long and of such small caliber that they serve only for defense against arrows and not for firelocks and other guns of range, which must be considered with regard to any enemies other than Indians.