Pinos Altos, the oldest Anglo settlement in Grant County, is a small
town in southwestern New Mexico. It lies across the Continental Divide
at an altitude of just over 7000 feet, between the Diablo Range to the
north and east and the Pinos Altos Mountains to the south and west. Bear
Creek begins in the Pinos Altos Mountains and flowing north divides the
town, joining the Gila River near the town of Gila, twenty miles away as
the crow flies. Whiskey Creek has its source in the Diablos, skirts the
town on the east and by devious means finds its way to the Rio Grande.
It is in a transitional zone where Ponderosa pine and junipers, pinon
and scrub oak meet. There was a time when the site was covered with tall
pines, when springs bubbled to the surface, and the arroyos ran with
water. Ruins of pit houses and the number of shards and artifacts found
in the vicinity indicate that a prehistoric people lived here before the
coming of the white man.
In the archives of the Mexican Government in Chihuahua, it is said,
there are records of the discovery of gold in the Pinos Altos Mountains
by General Pedro Almendaris, a commandant at Santa Rita, and of
shipments of gold received there from San Domingo Creek in 1837. The
laborers at Santa Rita were convicts for the most part and a small
garrison of soldiers was stationed there to guard the convicts and also
to protect them from the Indians. No doubt in the performance of their
duties they scouted this far afield.
There is a legend that Mexicans finding gold here built a small but
strong encampment of logs, rocks, and adobe which they called “Pinos
Altos”. The wall was built in the form of a horseshoe with the only
opening at the narrow end. Inside were shelters for men and animals and
a living spring at the foot of a large cottonwood tree. Men and animals
lived inside the enclosure but went outside every day and while the men
placered the animals grazed. At day’s end the workings were carefully
concealed and all returned to camp and barricaded the opening for the
night. Day by day more gold was added to the rawhide panniers. At last
the time came when the gold must be taken to Mexico. There is something
about the precious metal that incites greed and envy. The men disagreed
as to whom would take the gold to far away Chihuahua, and who would stay
to protect the camp and continue working. Each man distrusted the other.
The story does not tell what happened—whether all went and were ambushed
and destroyed by the unfriendly Indians, or whether while they quarreled
the Indians found them with their guards down. Perhaps like “the gingham
dog and the calico cat”, they “ate each other up”. The story simply ends
by saying that they disappeared and that nothing was left but the
horseshoe-shaped ruins around the spring at the foot of the cottonwood
tree. Such is the legend of Pinos Altos Primero.
[Illustration: Old Juan Esquijedo, “One-Armed Juan,” shows gold in his
pan. In one season Juan filled a large beer bottle with gold from Arroya
Rico. That was in the good old days.]