Preparations for a Start to Chihuahua -- Ineptness of Married Men for
the Santa Fé Trade -- The Chihuahua Trade -- Annoying Custom-house
Regulations -- Mails in New Mexico -- Insecurity of Correspondence
-- Outfit and Departure -- _Derecho de Consumo_ -- Ruins of Valverde
-- 'Towns without Houses' -- La Jornada del Muerto -- Laguna and Ojo
del Muerto -- A Tradition of the _Arrieros_ -- Laborious Ferrying
and Quagmires -- Arrival at Paso del Norte -- Amenity of the Valley
-- _Sierra Blanca_ and _Los Organos_ -- Face of the Country --
Seagrass -- An accidental River -- Laguna de Encinillas -- Southern
Haciendas -- Arrival -- Character of the Route and Soil.
After passing the custom-house ordeal, and exchanging some of our
merchandise for 'Eagle Dollars'--an operation which occupied us
several weeks, I prepared to set out for [Pg146] the Chihuahua
market, whither a portion of our stock had been designed. Upon this
expedition I was obliged to depart without my brother, who was
laboring under the 'home fever,' and anxious to return to his family.
"He that hath wife and children," says Lord Bacon, "hath given
hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises,
either of virtue or mischief." Men under such bonds are peculiarly
unfitted for the chequered life of a Santa Fé trader. The domestic
hearth, {65} with all its sacred and most endearing recollections, is
sure to haunt them in the hour of trial, and almost every step of
their journey is apt to be attended by melancholy reflections of home
and domestic dependencies.
Before starting on this new journey I deem it proper to make a few
observations relative to the general character of the _Chihuahua
Trade_. I have already remarked, that much surprise has frequently
been expressed by those who are unacquainted with all the bearings of
the case, that the Missouri traders should take the circuitous route
to Santa Fé, instead of steering direct for Chihuahua, inasmuch as the
greatest portion of their goods is destined for the latter city. But
as Chihuahua never had any port of entry for foreign goods till the
last six or eight years, the market of that department had to be
supplied in a great measure from Santa Fé. By opening the ports of El
Paso and Presidio del Norte,[99] the commercial interest was so little
affected, that when Santa Anna's decree for closing them again was
issued, the loss was scarcely felt at all.
The mode of transmitting merchandise from the ports to the interior,
is very different from what it is in the United States. It is not
enough to have to pass the tedious ordeal [Pg147] of custom-houses on
the frontier, and we have not only to submit to a supervision and
repayment of duty on arriving at our point of destination, but our
cargo is subject to scrutiny at every town we have to pass through on
our {66} journey. Nor would it be advisable to forsake the main route
in order to avoid this tyrannical system of taxation; because,
according to the laws of the country, every _cargamento_ which is
found out of the regular track (except in cases of unavoidable
necessity), is subject to confiscation, although accompanied by the
necessary custom-house documents.
There are also other risks and contingencies very little dreamed of in
the philosophy of the inexperienced trader. Before setting out, the
entire bill of merchandise has to be translated into Spanish; when,
duplicates of the translation being presented to the custom-house, one
is retained, while the other, accompanied by the _guia_ (a sort of
clearance or mercantile passport), is carried along with the cargo by
the conductor. The trader can have three points of destination named
in his _guia_, to either of which he may direct his course, but to no
others: while in the drawing up of the _factura_, or invoice, the
greatest care is requisite, as the slightest mistake, even an
accidental slip of the pen, might, according to the terms of the law,
subject the goods to confiscation.[100]
The _guia_ is not only required on leaving the ports for the interior,
but is indispensable to the safe conveyance of goods from one
department of the republic to another: nay, the {67} simple transfer
of property from town to town, and from village to village, in the
same department, is attended by precisely the same proportion of risk,
and requires the same punctilious accuracy in the accompanying
documents. [Pg148] Even the produce and manufactures of the country
are equally subject to these embarrassing regulations. New Mexico has
no internal custom-houses, and is therefore exempt from this rigorous
provision; but from Chihuahua south every village has its revenue
officers; so that the same stock of merchandise sometimes pays the
internal duty at least half-a-dozen times before the sale is
completed.
Now, to procure this same _guia_, which is the cause of so much
difficulty and anxiety in the end, is no small affair. Before the
authorities condescend to draw a single line on paper, the merchant
must produce an endorser for the _tornaguía_, which is a certificate
from the custom-house to which the cargo goes directed, showing that
the goods have been legally entered there. A failure in the return of
this document within a prescribed limit of time, subjects the endorser
to a forfeiture equal to the amount of the impost. Much inconvenience
and not a little risk are also occasioned on this score by the
irregularity--I may say, insecurity of the mails.
Speaking of mails, I beg leave to observe, that there are no
conveniences of this kind in New Mexico, except on the route from
Santa Fé to Chihuahua, and these are very {68} irregular and
uncertain. Before the Indians had obtained such complete possession of
the highways through the wilderness, the mails between these two
cities were carried semi-monthly; but now they are much less frequent,
being mere expresses, in fact, dispatched only when an occasion
offers. There are other causes, however, besides the dread of
marauding savages, which render the transportation of the mails in New
Mexico very insecure: I mean the dishonesty of those employed in
superintending them. Persons known to be inimical to the post-master,
or to the 'powers that be,' and wishing to forward any communication
to the South, most generally either wait for private conveyance,
[Pg149] or send their letters to a post-office (the only one besides
that of Santa Fé in all New Mexico) some eighty miles on the way; thus
avoiding an overhauling at the capital. Moreover, as the post-rider
often carries the key of the mail-bag (for want of a supply at the
different offices), he not unfrequently permits whomsoever will pay
him a trifling _douceur_, to examine the correspondence. I was once
witness to a case of this kind in the Jornada del Muerto, where the
entire mail was tumbled out upon the grass, that an individual might
search for letters, for which luxury he was charged by the
accommodating carrier the moderate price of one dollar.
The _derecho de consumo_ (the internal or consumption duty) is an
impost averaging nearly twenty per cent. on the United States cost of
{69} the bill. It supplies the place of a direct tax for the support
of the departmental government, and is decidedly the most troublesome,
if not the most oppressive revenue system that ever was devised for
internal purposes. It operates at once as a drawback upon the
commercial prosperity of the country, and as a potent incentive to
fraudulent practices. The country people especially have resort to
every species of clandestine intercourse, to escape this galling
burden; for, every article of consumption they carry to market,
whether fish, flesh or fowl, as well as fruit and vegetables, is taxed
more or less; while another impost is levied upon the goods they
purchase with the proceeds of their sales. This system, so beautifully
entangled with corruptions, is supported on the ground that it
supersedes direct taxation, which, in itself, is an evil that the
'free and independent' people of Mexico would never submit to. Besides
the petty annoyances incidental upon the laxity of custom-house
regulations, no one can travel through the country without a passport,
which to free-born Americans, is a truly insupportable nuisance.
[Pg150]
Having at last gone through with all the vexatious preparations
necessary for our journey, on the 22d of August we started for
Chihuahua. I fitted out myself but six wagons for this market, yet
joining in company with several other traders, our little caravan
again amounted to fourteen wagons, with about forty men. Though our
route lay through {70} the interior of Northern Mexico, yet, on
account of the hostile savages which infest most of the country
through which we had to pass, it was necessary to unite in caravans of
respectable strength, and to spare few of those precautions for safety
which are required on the Prairies.
The road we travelled passes down through the settlements of New
Mexico for the first hundred and thirty miles, on the east side of the
Rio del Norte. Nevertheless, as there was not an inn of any kind to be
found upon the whole route, we were constrained to put up with very
primitive accommodations. Being furnished from the outset, therefore,
with blankets and buffalo rugs for bedding, we were prepared to
bivouac, even in the suburbs of the villages, in the open air; for in
this dry and salubrious atmosphere it is seldom that travellers go to
the trouble of pitching tents.[101] When travelling alone, however, or
with but a comrade or two, I have always experienced a great deal of
hospitality from the rancheros and villageois of the country. Whatever
sins these ignorant people may have to answer for, we must accord to
them at least two glowing virtues--gratitude and hospitality. I have
suffered like others, however, from one very disagreeable custom which
prevails {71} among them. Instead of fixing a price for the services
they bestow upon travellers, they are apt to answer, "_Lo que guste_,"
or "_Lo_ [Pg151] _que le dé la gana_" (whatever you please, or have a
mind to give), expecting, of course, that the liberal foreigner will
give more than their consciences would permit them to exact.
In about ten days' drive we passed the southernmost settlements of New
Mexico, and twenty or thirty miles further down the river we came to
the ruins of Valverde. This village was founded about twenty years
ago, in one of the most fertile valleys of the Rio del Norte. It
increased rapidly in population, until it was invaded by the Navajoes,
when the inhabitants were obliged to abandon the place after
considerable loss, and it has never since been repeopled. The bottoms
of the valley, many of which are of rich alluvial loam, have lain
fallow ever since, and will perhaps continue to be neglected until the
genius of civilization shall have spread its beneficent influences
over the land. This soil is the more valuable for cultivation on
account of the facilities for irrigation which the river affords; as
it too frequently happens that the best lands of the settlements
remain unfruitful for want of water.[102]
Our next camping place deserving of mention was _Fray Cristóbal_,
which, like many others on the route, is neither town nor village, but
a simple isolated point on the river-bank--a mere _parage_, or
camping-ground. We had already passed San Pascual, El Contadero, {72}
and many others, and we could hear Aleman, Robledo, and a dozen such
spoken of on the way, leading the stranger to imagine that the route
was lined with flourishing villages. The arriero will tell one to
hasten--"we must reach San Diego before sleeping." We spur on perhaps
with redoubled [Pg152] vigor, in hopes to rest at a town; but lo!
upon arriving, we find only a mere watering-place, without open ground
enough to graze the _caballada_. Thus every point along these
wilderness highways used as a camping-site, has received a distinctive
name, well known to every muleteer who travels them. Many of these
_parages_, without the slightest vestige of human improvement, figure
upon most of the current maps of the day as towns and villages. Yet
there is not a single settlement (except of very recent establishment)
from those before mentioned to the vicinity of El Paso, a distance of
near two hundred miles.
We arrived at Fray Cristóbal[103] in the evening, but this being the
threshold of the famous _Jornada del Muerto_, we deemed it prudent to
let our animals rest here until the following afternoon. The road over
which we had hitherto been travelling, though it sometimes traverses
upland ridges and undulating sections, runs generally near the border
of the river, and for the most part in its immediate valley: but here
it leaves the river and passes for nearly eighty miles over a
table-plain to the eastward of a small ledge of mountains, whose
western base is hugged {73} by the circuitous channel of the Rio del
Norte. The craggy cliffs which project from these mountains render the
eastern bank of the river altogether impassable. As the direct route
over the plain is entirely destitute of water, we took the precaution
to fill all our kegs at Fray Cristóbal, and late in the afternoon we
finally set out. We generally find a great advantage in travelling
through these arid tracts of land in the freshness of the evening, as
the mules suffer less from thirst, and move [Pg153] on in better
spirits--particularly in the season of warm weather.
Early the next morning we found ourselves at the _Laguna del Muerto_,
or 'Dead Man's Lake,' where there was not even a vestige of water.
This _lake_ is but a sink in the plain of a few rods in diameter, and
only filled with water during the rainy season. The _marshes_, which
are said by some historians to be in this vicinity, are nowhere to be
found: nothing but the firmest and driest table land is to be seen in
every direction. To procure water for our thirsty animals it is often
necessary to make a halt here, and drive them to the _Ojo del Muerto_
(Dead Man's Spring), five or six miles to the westward, in the very
heart of the mountain ridge that lay between us and the river. This
region is one of the favorite resorts of the Apaches, where many a
poor arriero has met with an untimely end. The route which leads to
the spring winds for two or three miles down a narrow cañon or gorge,
overhung on either side by abrupt precipices, {74} while the various
clefts and crags, which project their gloomy brows over the abyss
below, seem to invite the murderous savage to deeds of horror and
blood.
There is a tradition among the arrieros from which it would appear
that the only road known in ancient time about the region of the
_Jornada_, wound its circuitous course on the western side of the
river. To save distance, an intrepid traveller undertook to traverse
this desolate tract of land in one day, but having perished in the
attempt, it has ever after borne the name of _La Jornada del Muerto_,
'the Dead Man's Journey,' or, more strictly, 'the Day's Journey of the
Dead Man.' One thing appears very certain, that this dangerous pass
has cost the life of many travellers in days of yore; and when we at
last reached Robledo, a camping-site upon the river, where we found
abundance of wood and water, we felt truly grateful that the arid
_Jornada_ had not [Pg154] been productive of more serious
consequences to our party. We now found ourselves within the
department of Chihuahua, as the boundary betwixt it and New Mexico
passes not far north of Robledo.[104]
We were still some sixty miles above Paso del Norte, but the balance
of the road now led down the river valley or over the low bordering
hills. During our journey between this and El Paso we passed the ruins
of several settlements, which had formerly been the seats of opulence
and prosperity, but which have since been abandoned in consequence
{75} of the marauding incursions of the Apaches.
On the 12th of September we reached the usual ford of the Rio del
Norte, six miles above El Paso; but the river being somewhat flushed
we found it impossible to cross over with our wagons. The reader will
no doubt be surprised to learn that there is not a single ferry on
this 'Great River of the North' till we approach the mouth. But how do
people cross it? Why, during three-fourths of the year it is
everywhere fordable, and when the freshet season comes on, each has to
remain on his own side, or swim, for canoes even are very rare. But as
we could neither swim our wagons and merchandise, nor very comfortably
wait for the falling of the waters, our only alternative was to unload
the vehicles, and ferry the goods over in a little 'dug-out' about
thirty feet long and two feet wide, of which we were fortunate enough
to obtain possession.
We succeeded in finding a place shallow enough to haul our empty
wagons across: but for this good fortune we should have been under the
necessity of taking them to pieces (as I had before done), and of
ferrying them on the 'small craft' [Pg155] before mentioned. Half of
a wagon may thus be crossed at a time, by carefully balancing it upon
the canoe, yet there is of course no little danger of capsizing during
the passage.
This river even when fordable often occasions a great deal of trouble,
being, like the Arkansas, embarrassed with many quicksand {76} mires.
In some places, if a wagon is permitted to stop in the river but for a
moment, it sinks to the very body. Instances have occurred where it
became necessary, not only to drag out the mules by the ears and to
carry out the loading package by package, but to haul out the wagon
piece by piece--wheel by wheel.
On the 14th we made our entrance into the town of _El Paso del
Norte_,[105] which is the northernmost settlement in the department of
Chihuahua. Here our cargo had to be examined by a stern, surly
officer, who, it was feared, would lay an embargo on our goods upon
the slightest appearance of irregularity in our papers; but
notwithstanding our gloomy forebodings, we passed the ordeal without
any difficulty.
The valley of El Paso is supposed to contain a population of about
four thousand inhabitants, scattered over the western bottom of the
Rio del Norte to the length of ten or twelve miles. These settlements
are so thickly interspersed with vineyards, orchards, and corn-fields,
as to present more the appearance of a series of plantations than of a
town: in fact, only a small portion at the head of the valley, where
the _plaza pública_ and parochial church are located, would seem to
merit this title. {77} Two or three miles above the _plaza_ there is a
dam of stone and brush across the river, the purpose of which is to
turn the current into a dike or canal, which conveys nearly half the
water of the stream, during a [Pg156] low stage, through this well
cultivated valley, for the irrigation of the soil. Here we were
regaled with the finest fruits of the season: the grapes especially
were of the most exquisite flavor. From these the inhabitants
manufacture a very pleasant wine, somewhat resembling Malaga. A
species of _aguardiente_ (brandy) is also distilled from the same
fruit, which, although weak, is of very agreeable flavor. These
liquors are known among Americans as 'Pass wine' and 'Pass whiskey,'
and constitute a profitable article of trade, supplying the markets of
Chihuahua and New Mexico.[106]
As I have said before, the road from Santa Fé to El Paso leads partly
along the margin of the Rio del Norte, or across the bordering hills
and plains; but the _sierra_ which separates the waters of this river
and those of the Rio Pecos was always visible on our left. In some
places it is cut up into detached ridges, one of which is known as
_Sierra Blanca_, in consequence of its summit's being covered with
snow till late in the spring, and having all {78} the appearance of a
glittering white cloud. There is another still more picturesque ridge
further south, called _Los Organos_, presenting an immense cliff of
basaltic pillars, which bear some resemblance to the pipes of an
_organ_, whence the mountain derived its name. Both these sierras are
famous as being the strongholds of the much-dreaded Apaches.
The mountains from El Paso northward are mostly clothed with pine,
cedar, and a dwarfish species of oak. The valleys are timbered with
cottonwood, and occasionally with _mezquite_, which, however, is
rarely found higher up than the lower settlements of New Mexico. In
the immediate vicinity [Pg157] of El Paso there is another small
growth called _tornillo_ (or screw-wood), so denominated from a spiral
pericarp, which, though different in shape, resembles that of the
mezquite in flavor.[107] The plains and highlands generally are of a
prairie character, and do not differ materially from those of all
Northern Mexico, which are almost everywhere completely void of
timber.
One of the most useful plants to the people of El Paso is the
_lechuguilla_, which abounds on the hills and mountain sides of that
vicinity, as well as in many other places from thence southward.[108]
Its blades, which resemble those of the palmilla, being mashed,
scraped, and washed, afford very strong fibres like the common Manilla
sea-grass, and equally serviceable for the manufacture of ropes, and
other purposes.
{79} After leaving El Paso, our road branched off at an angle of about
two points to the westward of the river, the city of Chihuahua being
situated nearly a hundred miles to the west of it. At the distance of
about thirty miles we reached _Los Médanos_, a stupendous ledge of
sand-hills, across which the road passes for about six miles. As teams
are never able to haul the loaded wagons over this region of loose
sand, we engaged an _atajo_ of mules at El Paso, upon which to convey
our goods across. These Médanos consist of huge hillocks and ridges of
pure sand, in many places without a vestige of vegetation. Through the
lowest gaps between the hills, the road winds its way.
What renders this portion of the route still more unpleasant and
fatiguing, is the great scarcity of water. All that is to [Pg158] be
found on the road for the distance of more than sixty miles after
leaving El Paso, consists in two fetid springs or pools, whose water
is only rendered tolerable by necessity. A little further on, however,
we very unexpectedly encountered, this time, quite a superabundance of
this necessary element. Just as we passed Lake Patos,[109] we were
struck with astonishment at finding the road ahead of us literally
overflowed by an immense body of water, with a brisk current, as if
some great river had suddenly been conjured into existence by the aid
of supernatural arts. A considerable time elapsed before we could
unravel the mystery. At last we discovered that a freshet had lately
occurred {80} in the streams that fed Lake Patos, and caused it to
overflow its banks, which accounted for this unwelcome visitation. We
had to flounder through the mud and water for several hours, before we
succeeded in getting across.
The following day we reached the _acequia_ below Carrizal, a small
village with only three or four hundred inhabitants, but somewhat
remarkable as being the site of a _presidio_ (fort), at which is
stationed a company of troops to protect the country against the
ravages of the Apaches, who, notwithstanding, continue to lay waste
the ranchos in the vicinity, and to depredate at will within the very
sight of the fort.[110]
About twelve miles south of Carrizal there is one of the most charming
warm springs called Ojo Caliente, where we arrived the next day. It
forms a basin some thirty feet long by about half that width, and just
deep and warm enough for a most delightful bath at all seasons of the
year. Were this spring (whose outlet forms a bold little rivulet)
anywhere [Pg159] within the United States, it would doubtless soon be
converted into a place of fashionable resort. There appears to be a
somewhat curious phenomenon connected with this spring. It proceeds,
no doubt, from the little river of Cármen, which passes within half a
mile, and finally discharges itself into the small lake of Patos
before mentioned. During the dry season, this stream disappears in the
sand some miles above the spring; and what medium it traverses in its
subterranean passage to impart {81} to it so high a temperature,
before breaking out in this fountain, would afford to the geologist an
interesting subject of inquiry.[111]
After fording the Rio Cármen, which, though usually without a drop of
water in its channel, we now found a very turbulent stream, we did not
meet with any object particularly worthy of remark, until we reached
the _Laguna de Encinillas_.[112] This lake is ten or twelve miles long
by two or three in width, and seems to have no outlet even during the
greatest freshets, though fed by several small constantly-flowing
streams from the surrounding mountains. The water of this lake during
the dry season is so strongly impregnated with nauseous and bitter
salts, as to render it wholly unpalatable to man and beast. The most
predominant of these noxious substances is a species of alkali, known
there by the title of _tequesquite_. It is often seen oozing out from
the surface of marshy grounds, about the table plains of all Northern
Mexico, forming a grayish crust, and is extensively used in the
manufacture of soap, and sometimes by the bakers even for raising
bread. Here we had another evidence of the alarming effects of the
recent flood, the road for several miles along the margin of the lake
being [Pg160] completely inundated. It was, however, in the city of
Chihuahua itself that the disastrous consequences of the freshet were
most severely felt. Some inferior houses of _adobe_ were so much
soaked by the rains, that they tumbled to the ground, occasioning the
loss of several lives.
{82} The valley of Encinillas is very extensive and fertile, and is
the locale of one of those princely estates which are so abundant
further south, and known by the name of _Haciendas_. It abounds in
excellent pasturage, and in cattle of all descriptions. In former
times, before the Apaches had so completely devastated the country,
the herds which grazed in this beautiful valley presented much the
appearance of the buffalo of the plains, being almost as wild and
generally of dark color. Many of the proprietors of these princely
haciendas pride themselves in maintaining a uniformity in the color of
their cattle: thus some are found stocked with black, others red,
others white--or whatsoever shade the owner may have taken a fancy to.
As we drew near to Chihuahua, our party had more the appearance of a
funeral procession than of a band of adventurers, about to enter into
the full fruition of 'dancing hopes,' and the realization of 'golden
dreams.' Every one was uneasy as to what might be the treatment of the
revenue officers. For my own part, I had not quite forgotten sundry
annoyances and trials of temper I had been made to experience in the
season of 1837, on a similar occasion. Much to our surprise, however,
as well as delight, we were handled with a degree of leniency by the
custom-house deities, on our arrival, that was almost incomprehensible.
But the charm which operated in our favor, when understood, was very
simple. A caravan had left Chihuahua direct {83} for the United
States, the spring previous, and was daily expected back. The officers
of the custom-house were already compromised by certain cogent
arguments to receive the [Pg161] proprietors of this caravan with
striking marks of favor, and the _Señor Administrador de Rentas_,
Zuloaga himself, was expecting an _ancheta_ of goods. Therefore, had
they treated us with their wonted severity, the contrast would have
been altogether too glaring.[113]
We arrived at Chihuahua on the first of October, after a trip of forty
days, with wagons much more heavily laden than when we started from
the United States. The whole distance from Santa Fé to Chihuahua is
about 550 miles,--being reckoned 320 to Paso del Norte, and 230 from
thence to Chihuahua. The road from El Paso south is mostly firm and
beautiful, with the exception of the sand-hills before spoken of; and
is only rendered disagreeable by the scarcity and occasional ill-savor
of the water. The route winds over an elevated plain among numerous
detached ridges of low mountains--spurs, as it were, of the main
Cordilleras, which lie at a considerable distance to the westward.
Most of these extensive intermediate plains, though in many places of
fertile looking soil, must remain wholly unavailable for agricultural
purposes, on account of their natural aridity and a total lack of
water for irrigation.
FOOTNOTES:
[99] For El Paso, see Pattie's _Narrative_, in our volume xviii, p.
155, note 89.
Presidio del Norte is in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, at the mouth
of Los Conchos River; hence the town is sometimes called Presidio de
las Juntas (junction). It is one of the oldest posts in northern
Mexico.--ED.
[100] In confirmation of this, it is only necessary to quote the
following from the _Pauta de Comisos_, Cap. II., Art. 22: "Ni las
guias, ni las facturas, ni los pases, en todos los casos de que trata
este decreto, han de contener enmendadura, raspadura, ni
entrerenglonadura alguna"--and this under penalty of confiscation.
--GREGG.
[101] How scant soever our outfit of 'camp comforts' might appear, our
Mexican muleteers were much more sparely supplied. The exposure
endured by this hardy race is really surprising. Even in the coldest
winter weather, they rarely carry more than one blanket apiece--the
_sarape_, which serves as a cloak during the day, and at night is
their only 'bed and bedding.'--GREGG.
[102] The precinct of Valverde, on the east bank of the Rio Grande, a
few miles below Socorro, has now a population of three hundred.
Although of considerable importance in the early nineteenth century,
the town has never been rebuilt since Gregg's time. The site was,
however, the rendezvous for Doniphan's troops (1846) preparatory to
his march into Chihuahua. It was also the field for a battle in the
War of Secession (1862), wherein the Texans won a victory over the
Federal troops.--ED.
[103] Fray Cristobal was long an important station in New Mexico; but,
as Gregg says, never a town of any size, merely a camping place at the
beginning of the Jornada del Muerto. The latter is well described by
Gregg, and was the dreaded portion of the journey from north to south
until the building of the railway, which traverses the larger part of
the old caravan route, but leaves the river somewhat higher up and
returns to it at Rincon, some distance above Robledo.--ED.
[104] Robledo was on the Rio Grande at the site where the Americans
later erected Fort Selden.
El Paso and the district north had formerly been a part of New Mexico;
but the act of 1824, reconstituting the northern states, assigned El
Paso district to Chihuahua, hence the boundary here mentioned.--ED.
[105] This place is often known among Americans as '_The Pass_.' It
has been suggested in another place, that it took its name from the
_passing_ thither of the refugees from the massacre of 1680; yet many
persons very rationally derive it from the _passing_ of the river (_el
paso del Rio del Norte_) between two points of mountains which project
against it from each side, just above the town.--GREGG.
[106] There is very little wine or legitimate _aguardiente_
manufactured in New Mexico. There was not a distillery, indeed, in all
the province until established by Americans some fifteen or twenty
years ago. Since that period, considerable quantities of whiskey have
been made there, particularly in the vicinity of Taos,--distilled
mainly from wheat, as this is the cheapest grain the country
affords.--GREGG.
[107] For the ordinary mesquit, see Pattie's _Narrative_, in our
volume xviii, p. 94, note 56. The tornillo is _Prosopis pubescens_,
the fruit of which is often called the screw-bean, and used by the
Indians both for food and fodder.--ED.
[108] A particular species of _agave_, called _A. lechuguilla_,
abounding in the El Paso region. See J. N. Rose, "Useful Plants of
Mexico," in U. S. Herbarium _Contributions_, volume v, no. 4, p.
209.--ED.
[109] Lake Patos (Lake of Geese), in northern Chihuahua, is the outlet
for Rio Carmen.--ED.
[110] Carrizal was founded about 1750, and at one time considered a
part of the province of New Mexico. It was later made a presidio, or
frontier fort, with a surrounding wall.--ED.
[111] Wislizenus found the temperature of these springs 84°
Fahrenheit. There is now a station called Ojo Calientes, on the
Mexican Central Railway, but it is some distance from the
springs.--ED.
[112] The size of Laguna de Encinillas (Lake of Live-Oaks) varies
greatly with the season of drouth or rain.--ED.
[113] For a brief sketch of Chihuahua, see Pattie's _Narrative_, in
our volume xviii, p. 153, note 85.--ED.