Part 1

(_Forest Service, U.S.D.A., by John Whiteside_) COVER: Redondo Peak, from Jemez Canyon

_Scenic Trips to the Geologic Past Series:_

No. 1—Santa Fe, New Mexico No. 2—Taos—Red River—Eagle Nest, New Mexico, Circle Drive No. 3—Roswell—Capitan—Ruidoso and Bottomless Lakes State Park, New Mexico No. 4—Southern Zuni Mountains, New Mexico No. 5—Silver City—Santa Rita—Hurley, New Mexico No. 6—Trail Guide to Geology of the Upper Pecos, New Mexico No. 7—High Plains Northeastern New Mexico, Raton—Capulin Mountain—Clayton No. 8—Mosaic of New Mexico’s Scenery, Rocks, and History No. 9—Albuquerque—Its Mountains, Valleys, Water, and Volcanoes No. 10—Southwestern New Mexico No. 11—Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad No. 12—The Story of Mining in New Mexico No. 13—Española—Chama—Taos

SCENIC TRIPS TO THE GEOLOGIC PAST NO. 8

_Mosaic of New Mexico’s Scenery, Rocks, and History_

_edited by_ PAIGE W. CHRISTIANSEN _and_ FRANK E. KOTTLOWSKI

NEW MEXICO BUREAU OF MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES 1972

NEW MEXICO INSTITUTE OF MINING & TECHNOLOGY Kenneth W. Ford, _President_

NEW MEXICO BUREAU OF MINES & MINERAL RESOURCES Frank E. Kottlowski, _Director_ George S. Austin, _Deputy Director_

BOARD OF REGENTS Ex Officio Bruce King, _Governor of New Mexico_ Leonard DeLayo, _Superintendent of Public Instruction_

Appointed Steve Torres, President, 1967-1985, _Socorro_ Dave Rice, Secretary-Treasurer, 1972-1983, _Carlsbad_ William G. Abbott, 1961-1985, _Hobbs_ Judy Floyd, 1977-1987, _Las Cruces_ Owen Lopez, 1977-1983, _Santa Fe_

BUREAU STAFF Full Time

Marla D. Adkins, _Assistant Editor_ Orin J. Anderson, _Geologist_ Ruben Archuleta, _Technician I_ Robert A. Bieberman, _Senior Petrol. Geologist_ Steve Blodgett, _Assistant Editor_ Lynn A. Brandvold, _Chemist_ James Brannan, _Drafter_ Corale Brierley, _Chemical Microbiologist_ Ron Broadhead, _Petroleum Geologist_ Brenda R. Broadwell, _Assoc. Lab Geoscientist_ Jane A. Calvert, _Assistant Editor_ Frank Campbell, _Coal Geologist_ Richard Chamberlin, _Economic Geologist_ Charles E. Chapin, _Senior Geologist_ Jeanette Chavez, _Admin. Secretary I_ Richard R. Chavez, _Assistant Head, Petroleum_ Ruben A. Crespin, _Laboratory Technician II_ Lois M. Devlin, _Director, Bus.-Pub. Office_ Amelia Dondero, _Metallurgist_ Kathy C. Eden, _Editorial Technician_ Robert W. Eveleth, _Mining Engineer_ K. Babette Faris, _X-ray Lab. Manager_ Rousseau H. Flower, _Sr. Emeritus Paleontologist_ John W. Hawley, _Senior Env. Geologist_ Cindy Howell, _Staff Secretary_ Robert W. Kelley, _Editor & Geologist_ Arleen Lindsey, _Staff Secretary_ Mark Logsdon, _Industrial Minerals Geologist_ David W. Love, _Environmental Geologist_ Wess Mauldin, _Driller_ Virginia McLemore, _Geologist_ Lynne McNeil, _Staff Secretary_ Norma J. Meeks, _Department Secretary_ David Menzie, _Geologist_ Teresa Mueller, _Drafter_ Robert M. North, _Mineralogist_ Keith O’Brien, _Hydrologist_ JoAnne C. Osburn, _Coal Geologist_ Glenn R. Osburn, _Volcanologist_ Barbara R. Popp, _Lab. Biotechnologist_ Marshall A. Reiter, _Senior Geophysicist_ Jacques R. Renault, _Senior Geologist_ James M. Robertson, _Mining Geologist_ Gretchen H. Roybal, _Coal Geologist_ Amy Shacklett, _Asst. Lab Biotechnologist_ Jackie H. Smith, _Laboratory Technician IV_ William J. Stone, _Hydrogeologist_ Samuel Thompson III, _Senior Petrol. Geologist_ Judy M. Vaiza, _Executive Secretary_ Debra Vetterman, _Drafter_ Robert H. Weber, _Senior Geologist_ Betsy Wilson, _Receptionist/Clerk Typist_ Donald Wolberg, _Vertebrate Paleontologist_ Michael W. Wooldridge, _Scientific Illustrator_

Part Time

Christina L. Balk, _Geologist_ Howard B. Nickelson, _Coal Geologist_ Beverly Ohline, _Acting Director, Info. Services_ Thomas E. Zimmerman, _Chief Security Officer_

Graduate Students

Danny Bobrow James T. Boyle Gerry W. Clarkson Mike Davidson David R. Guilinger Terry Jensen Douglas L. Heath Adrian Hunt Ingrid Klich Ione Lindley Curtis Verpleough John M. Wakefield Mary Lynne Yates John Young

Plus about 50 undergraduate assistants

_Third edition, 4th printing_

Published by Authority of State of New Mexico, NMSA 1953 Sec. 63-1-4

Printed by University of New Mexico Printing Plant, Albuquerque, April 1982

Available from New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources, Socorro, NM 87801 $4.00

Contents

3 Of Indians, Spaniards, and Americans, _Paige W. Christiansen_ 16 The exotic plants of New Mexico, _Ross Calvin_ 26 Dwellers in the hills and plains, _Levon Lee_ 33 Rocks that shape the enchanting landscapes, _Frank E. Kottlowski_ 54 Before Coronado, _Robert H. Weber_ 64 Frontier forts of New Mexico, _Robert A. Bieberman_ 75 Our National Heritage 75 New Mexico’s big share of the National Park System, _H. V. Reeves, Jr._ 93 Forest lands above the desert, _Ruth Bush Jones_ 104 The State Also Preserves 104 New Mexico State Monuments, _Museum of New Mexico Staff_ 107 New Mexico State Parks, _The Editors_ 113 Angling in the desert’s waters, _Fred A. Thompson_ 119 The Indians of New Mexico, _Paige W. Christiansen_ 133 Reminders of the past, _Paige W. Christiansen_ 145 Derricks and mines, _George B. Griswold_ 154 Enchanting landscapes, _Frank E. Kottlowski_ 165 Index

Preface

Previous _Scenic Trips to the Geologic Past_ have emphasized scenic tours of local areas in New Mexico. This book lays out a mosaic of facts and fancies concerning the state’s landscapes, the rocks that underlie and make up the landscapes, and the history of the people now living or who have lived amid New Mexico’s exciting and varied scenery. We hope these short articles will help you enjoy our state, whether you are a tourist driving through at seventy miles an hour, a visitor with a little time to explore, or an old-timer who remembers the cattle drives.

The idea for this publication grew out of a booklet, _New Mexico Mosaic of Science and History_, that was written for the 1963 National Science Fair-International held in Albuquerque. The National Science Fair booklet was directed specifically to the Fair participants and emphasized their tours to famous scientific installations in New Mexico, areas of scenic geologic wonders, and points of historic and archeologic importance. The booklet had only limited distribution; subsequent interest in this kind of publication about New Mexico led to the preparation of this book.

Scenic Trips No. 8 is in two major parts. First, there are articles of general statewide interest to acquaint visitor and resident alike with the Land of Enchantment—its history, flora and fauna, geology, and scenic beauty. Second, there are articles describing specific scenic, geologic, historic, and recreational places to give a depth of understanding and a more intimate view of New Mexico. The entire mosaic of New Mexico thus presented is a permanent record to recall vistas of New Mexico’s enchanting land and fascinating history.

Acknowledgments

Many people have contributed their time and talents to this co-operative undertaking. We thank each of the authors of the articles; where their affiliation is not given, they are staff members of the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources division of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Professor Christiansen is a member of the Humanities Department of the Institute’s College division. This book would have been incomplete without the co-operation of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, the Museum of New Mexico, the New Mexico Department of Development, the State Park Commission, the U.S. Park Service, and the Forest Service, Southwestern Region, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Our special appreciation goes to Dr. Ross Calvin for his interpretative description of New Mexico’s unique flora.

Black and white photographs were contributed by Robert Bieberman, Roy Foster, and Teri Ray of the Bureau of Mines staff and by the authors or their agencies. Some of the drawings were made by David H. Moneypenny. Acknowledgment is also made to Mr. Elliott S. Barker and the Forest Service for their willing loan of color transparencies.

Among the numerous personnel of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology who aided in preparation of this book, appreciation is due Helen Waxler, Lois Devlin, Lola White, Mary Ann Grandjean, and Sharon Ballenger for typing of manuscripts and William Arnold, Robert Price, and Raymond Molina for drafting maps and figures. Teri Ray deserves special mention for her interest and editorial advice and for nursing the material from rough manuscripts into printed pages.

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

The kind reception given our attempt to provide a brief but comprehensive guide to New Mexico’s scenery, rocks, and history resulted in distribution of 5000 copies in two years, and led to this second edition. In this revision, we have incorporated changes that have occurred during these two years, especially the addition of State Parks, and Teri Ray has added an index to make the book more usable. Each author has re-edited his article and made changes where necessary. William Arnold added much material to the index map; typing of the revision manuscript was carefully done by Lois Devlin. Alfred Coulloudon and Wayne Bera supplied additional photographs. Teri Ray initiated revision of the first edition, worked with authors, and guided the manuscript from the authors to the final copy.

PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION

The first edition appeared in 1964, the second in 1967, and a reprint in 1968. In the present edition front matter has been re-styled, printed matter has been altered on the inside and outside of the covers, a footnote added to page 104, and a less bulky paper used.

Of Indians, Spaniards, and Americans

_by_ Paige W. Christiansen

In the world of the twentieth century with its tumultuous ovation for each discovery of science, with its language of non-Euclidian space, with new heroes who leave the earth, not discover it—sometimes it is refreshing to look back on other days, to see other heroes, and to seek romance and excitement which was equally spectacular in times past. Yet there is a close affinity and a spiritual link among the heroes of the past, the present, and the future, and the reaction of their contemporaries to their feats of glory is not so different. Heroes are those who seek the unknown, who risk life and position to expand the frontiers of man’s universe and mind. But heroes can only lead an age, never surpass it. History, then, is people and their catalyst, ideas.

The history of New Mexico, like twentieth century science, is multi-dimensional. Its complex cultural patterns fit with the intricate variety of its geologic wonders and its flora and fauna. In reality, New Mexico is a part of a broader concept, the Southwest. This vast region, which includes western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, southern California, part of southern Colorado, and southern Utah, has given rise to some of man’s greatest achievements. Here prehistoric man rose above his animal heritage to take control of these lands. Here, also, many millennia later, man achieved one of his greatest scientific wonders, the successful release of atomic energy. The story of the years between these events, so far separated in time, is a wondrous tale.

INDIAN BEGINNINGS

Before the coming of the white man, this land belonged to nature’s children, the Indian. Centuries before European nations came into existence, peoples from Asia, crossing by the Bering waters, had discovered, explored, and settled the American continents from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. They mastered the plains, the northern forests, the jungles of Central and South America, and the arid regions. In the deserts and mountains of the Southwest, they conquered elements and terrain, first to survive and then slowly to ascend the ladder of culture.

At first they were foragers, living on what nature provided. At the time of Christ, several groups could be distinguished: In the Colorado River drainage, south of the Grand Canyon, were the Yuman Foragers; in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico were the Mogollon people; in the Four Corners area (where the states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico meet) and in the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico was a complex of cave sites that evidenced a forager type of culture. But, as man always aspires to rise above his environment, the Indian slowly and painfully learned to make tools, developed new techniques, and finally made the great step upward; he domesticated plants. Agriculture, based primarily on the growing of corn, came to the Four Corners before the Christian era. Gradually, out of the primitive foragers, there developed across the Southwest a complex pattern of agricultural societies; peaceful farmers intent upon harvesting the utmost from a harsh land. In Arizona, the Hohokam peoples created a culture based upon irrigation. In the valleys of the upper Gila and Mimbres rivers of southwestern New Mexico, several branches of the Mogollon culture grew and prospered. In the Four Corners area and in the upper Rio Grande Valley, the Mesa Verde, the Gran Chaco, and later the Rio Grande branches developed, at first in the cliffs of the high country, then in open villages along the main tributaries of the Rio Grande. That there were numerous and varied cultures is attested to by the ruins one finds scattered throughout the Southwest. Along now dry arroyos, on buttes overlooking rivers or dry river beds, among cliffs in the mountain fastnesses and in caves wherever they appear, there are thousands of sites whose people and history are lost in antiquity.

And these people were builders. They lived in caves at first, then in crude pit houses. Finally they moved above the ground and evolved building techniques and styles of architecture that stood the ravages of time and still serve the people of the Southwest. In the city of Santa Fe, the Palace of the Governors was built upon the ruins of an Indian pueblo (village), the name of which has disappeared even from tradition, and its massive walls of puddled adobe, laid down before the art of making bricks was introduced by the Spanish, may be seen under glass in some of the rooms of the Palace at the present time. Perhaps most spectacular are the great houses of Chaco Canyon, some of which must have sheltered from one to two thousand people each, and which as achievements in building, both from the standpoint of durability and graceful construction, rival the structures of the historic valleys and plateaus of the ancient eastern world.

In addition to agriculture and building, the Indian of the Southwest achieved great heights in artistic forms. The ceramics of the American Southwest become increasingly important when compared with products of the Old World. The Indians of America and the Southwest are a race of artists. Their aesthetic culture towers above anything achieved by the white man, with the general exception of ancient Greece and Renaissance Italy.

As impressive as his achievements in domesticating plants, in building massive structures, and in developing symbolism and aesthetic values to match his material advances, the Indian’s greatest heights were reached in his philosophy on nature and life. He conceived himself to be, not master of creation, but a single factor in the scheme of things. He shared with all things—beasts, birds, rocks, trees, everything in nature—a life principle which permeated all, a gift conferred by the mighty powers of earth and sky. He observed orderly procession of natural phenomena and ordered his own life in harmony therewith. His was no egocentric point of view which has become so much a part of the philosophic base of the European mentality. His natural philosophy entered into every facet of his life—his daily work, his art, his ceramics, his religion. In short, this singularly fine outlook upon the world helps to account for his success in conquering the diverse elements of earth and sky which constantly threatened his very existence.

But this fine culture did not survive in the fullness of its bloom. What eventually destroyed the vast and complicated agricultural system was not the rigors of Mother Nature but a migration of new people into the flow of Southwest history. Sometime after 1000 A.D., a nonfarming, nomadic, warlike people entered the Southwest. The peaceful farmers, weakened by drouth, were unable to cope with this new force. Gradually they fell back, leaving behind their homes, their fields, their culture. By 1300, only a small remnant remained, that located in the Rio Grande Valley of north-central New Mexico. Across the rest of the Southwest the nomadic tribes, technically called _Athapascan_ from their linguistic affiliation but better known by their modern name, _Apache_, had replaced the farming cultures. The picturesque Indian pueblos we see today in the valleys of northern New Mexico are the direct descendants of the great cultures that existed at Mesa Verde, Gran Chaco, Frijoles, and other centers of cultural achievement.

The Indians of the Rio Grande Valley and the Apache who controlled most of the Southwest managed an uneasy coexistence. The Pueblo Indians remained basically farmers, holding fast to the cultural advances made by their ancestors during the millennium preceding 1300. The Apache, for the most part, remained nomadic predators, living off nature’s bounty, or better still, raiding the pueblos for food. The Apache groups began to take on names and traditional areas which they called their own. In northern New Mexico were the Jicarilla Apache and in the southeast, the Lipan, the Mescalero, and the Natage Apache. In northeastern Arizona were the Navajo and in the drainage of the Gila River, the Chiricahua, the Gila, and other groups of the Western Apache. Each of these groups made its mark upon the face of the land.

SPANISH CONTRIBUTIONS

This was the situation in the Southwest when the sixteenth century opened, but a new force was abroad which would grow and strengthen and leave a deep imprint on New Mexico. Beginning on the wild islands of the Caribbean and then fanning out into the heart of Mexico and the South American continent, this new force spread across the face of America. Europeans, more exactly, Spaniards, came bent upon conquest for its own reward, for the glory of God, and for gold. These sturdy men from the Iberian peninsula with weapons vastly superior to the Indians’, with the horse which made them highly mobile and devastating in battle, and with tactics and precision in warfare unknown among the Indians, were to sweep without serious setback across the great cultures of Mexico and Central and South America. By 1540, they were ready to take their next leap forward.

On the west coast of Mexico, at a place called Culiacan, a colorful host gathered. In their ears rang the words of the legend of the Seven Cities of Cibola, seven golden cities, a legend which had been popular in Spain for many generations. Mexico City had produced wealth, and the Spanish were ready to believe that other fabulous cities existed. One Spaniard had already crossed part of North America and had heard from the Indians tales of the rich cities. His name was Cabeza de Vaca, and the exuberance of his tales fired the imagination of the Spaniards.

The soldiers and adventurers gathering in Mexico, commanded by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, were the first Europeans to organize an expedition to the American Southwest. Leaving from Culiacan in 1540, they went up the west coast of Mexico into modern Arizona, then east into New Mexico. The seven golden cities turned out to be the pueblos around Zuni, New Mexico, and not golden at all. The expedition, although discouraged, marched into the Rio Grande Valley and visited most of the pueblos there. Still they failed to find the treasure they sought. In a final desperate attempt, they explored onto the Great Plains, eventually reaching central Kansas. Broken in spirit and body, they struggled back to the Rio Grande Valley, and then retraced their route to Mexico. In all, the expedition covered a two-year span. A failure? Yes, in terms of wealth and treasure found. Yes, in terms of conquest, for nothing had been conquered. No, in terms of human resources, for the Indians Coronado met were to be the incentive that would bring the Spaniard back to New Mexico. While the Spaniard did seek gold and glory, he also burned with a missionary zeal and sought souls for his deep-running religion, Roman Catholicism.

For fifty-five years after Coronado, interest in New Mexico and the Southwest was spotty. Other things occupied the Spanish—primarily silver discoveries in the central valleys of Mexico. But men did not forget New Mexico and saw there an opportunity for missionary activity and exploitation. Also, other nations of Europe were beginning to take an interest in the North American continent, and New Mexico began to look attractive to the Spanish as a frontier defensive outpost. The frontier line pushed ever northward from central Mexico. By 1595, the Spanish were ready to push a salient into New Mexico.

From among the mining communities of northern Mexico, a force of two hundred colonists was assembled by Don Juan Oñate who had a contract to colonize New Mexico. After countless delays due to politics and supply shortages, the Oñate expedition left Chihuahua in 1598. The route went north across the desert to the Rio Grande near El Paso del Norte (modern Juarez), thence up the Rio Grande into New Mexico. On August 18, 1598, they arrived at San Juan, and there founded the first capital of New Mexico, San Juan de los Caballeros. These lands of the Southwest so long colored by the Indian now received a new imprint, one that would alter the direction and flow of culture and change it from the Indian to the Spanish Southwest.

From San Juan, and later (1610) from Santa Fe, Oñate, his men, and his colonists brought New Mexico under the Spanish yoke. In co-operation with the Franciscan Order, which had been assigned the task of converting the Indian, Oñate supervised the building of missions and mission churches at many of the pueblos of New Mexico. At the same time, Spanish towns developed, the most important being the new capital at Santa Fe. By 1628, New Mexico was solidly in the hands of her new masters.