Part 10

The oldest dated inscription at El Morro was made in 1605 by don Juan de Oñate, first governor of New Mexico. Returning from an expedition to the mouth of the Colorado River, he camped at El Morro and carved this inscription in Spanish: “Passed by here the Adelantado Don Juan de Oñate from the discovery of the Sea of the South, the 16th of April of 1605.” The “Sea of the South” was the Gulf of California.

If don Diego de Vargas, the most famous Spanish governor of New Mexico, seems boastful in the message he left at El Morro, who can blame him? His words, in English, read, “Here was the General Don Diego de Vargas, who conquered for our Holy Faith and for the Royal Crown all of New Mexico at his own expense, year of 1692.” Twelve years earlier, the great Pueblo Indian Revolt had driven the Spaniards from New Mexico. More than 400, including 23 priests, had lost their lives, and the surviving Spaniards, some 1100, had fled to El Paso del Norte. De Vargas restored order, without further bloodshed, in 1692.

After the occupation of Santa Fe by the army of Gen. Stephen W. Kearny in August 1846, details of United States troops were dispatched to explore various parts of New Mexico. Probably the first to visit El Morro was Lt. J. H. Simpson, accompanied by the artist R. H. Kern, who copied some of the early inscriptions in September 1849. Then the names of other soldiers, traders, Indian agents, surveyors, emigrants who were traveling westward, and settlers were added to the rock.

Since the establishment of the Monument by Presidential proclamation in 1906, inscribing on the face of the cliff has been prohibited. If the Monument had not been established and the law not passed, this fascinating part of the history of the Southwest would surely have been lost.

Fort Union National Monument

Fort Union National Monument, twenty-six miles northeast of Las Vegas and on the route of the old Santa Fe Trail where the mountains meet the plains, preserves the ruins of a famous frontier Army post. As a base of operations for military and civilian ventures in New Mexico from 1851 to 1891, Fort Union helped to direct the course of events in the formative years of the Southwest. More than 11,000 visitors come to the Monument each year.

Five years after the conquest of New Mexico by the United States in the war with Mexico, Col. E. V. Sumner moved some of his troops from Fort Marcy, in Santa Fe, to the site of Fort Union and there began construction of log buildings on the west side of Coyote Creek. This was the first Fort Union.

The first post took an active part in protecting settlers and traders from Indian raids during the 1850’s. Mounted patrols of dragoons made many expeditions into the mountains against the warring Apaches and Utes and out onto the plains to pursue Comanche war parties.

Fort Union was also charged with supply and support of many outlying military posts, such as Fort Defiance and Fort Craig. The Quartermaster Depot at Fort Union in later years came to be the hub of all Army supply services in the Southwest.

During the first three decades of its life, Fort Union saw the great Conestoga wagons and prairie schooners of the Santa Fe Trail caravans pass in increasing numbers. By the outbreak of the Civil War, enterprising traders were hauling more than ten million dollars’ worth of goods from Missouri each year. The fort provided escorts for caravans and when requested by apprehensive company or postal officials, escorts for stage-coaches of the Independence-Santa Fe Mail. Century-old tracks of the Santa Fe Trail can be still seen near Fort Union.

The start of the Civil War in 1861 brought new activity to the fort. Immediate invasion of New Mexico by Confederate forces from Texas was expected. Gen. E. R. S. Canby, commanding Union troops in the territory, began construction of an earthwork fortification in a defensive position about a mile from the original fort. The ditches, parapets, and bomb-proofs of this redoubt were completed late in 1861.

The Texas column was not slow in coming. By March 1862, these invaders under Gen. Henry H. Sibley had defeated a Union force at Val Verde, had frightened the defenders from Albuquerque and Santa Fe into inaction, and were marching eastward across the mountains toward the final stronghold, Fort Union. On March 10, the First Regiment of Colorado Volunteers, under Col. J. P. Slough, arrived at Fort Union as reinforcements. And on March 22, Colonel Slough led his 1342 men out of the fort to meet the advancing Confederates. In a two-day battle fought in Apache Canyon and Glorieta Pass, the Union forces defeated the Confederates, thus saving Fort Union for the federal cause.

From 1863 to 1869, the garrisons at Fort Union were chiefly occupied in a construction program that produced most of the adobe-walled buildings whose ruins may now be seen. Fort Union then returned to its earlier mission of a base for Indian fighting.

The usefulness of Fort Union was reduced with the final submission of the Indians and with the arrival of the railhead at Las Vegas in 1879. The huge fort was demoted to caretaker status in the 1880’s and was abandoned in 1891.

At each of these New Mexico units of the National Park System, as at other units throughout the nation, trained personnel of the National Park Service—archeologists, historians, naturalists, and park rangers—are on duty. Their purpose is to make the visitor’s trip rewarding. This they do through museum exhibits, guided walks and self-guiding trails, campfire talks, and publications.

Here in New Mexico, then, escape the irritations that seem to go with progress. Awaiting the traveler are unspoiled places where he can surround himself with the quiet majesty of nature, walk the paths made by prehistoric people, camp where the Spanish _conquistadores_ camped, stroll among the ruins of buildings erected by the men who helped to fashion the Southwest.

FOREST LANDS ABOVE THE DESERT

by Ruth Bush Jones[3]

Today, as in earlier times, people of New Mexico look to their mountains with a new and greater appreciation of their forest land heritage. Today, also, people seek aesthetic values of peace, beauty, and serenity found in nature’s solitudes, in addition to forest products for economic use. Basic to the enjoyment of the high country are the forest treasures of clear, pure water ... of wild game and birds ... of trees for shade and solitude, fuel, shelter, and forest products ... of grass and browse for cattle, sheep, horses, and wildlife ... of magnificent grandeur and panoramic vistas. These basic treasures coupled with understanding of the purposes and many benefits of the National Forests bring true recreation to the visitor.

The high country of New Mexico, much of it in the National Forests, is entrusted by law to the care and administration of the U.S. Forest Service, an agency of the Department of Agriculture. These vast public properties located in several sections of the state are administered as Carson, Santa Fe, Cibola, Lincoln, Gila, Apache, and Coronado National Forests, the latter two lying primarily in Arizona and being directed from there rather than from New Mexico. Visitors to New Mexico traveling along main highways see the high forest country outlining the horizon and often regard the lofty masses of rugged rock as unapproachable and lacking in friendliness.

“Not so,” says the Forest Ranger. There are broad highways welcoming the traveler into the high country where forest trees stretch to the sky. There are cool invigorating streams sparkling clear and clean from mountain fastnesses and developed campgrounds and picnic areas ready for use. Outdoor recreation from simple relaxing and picnicking under a pine tree to the most strenuous of wilderness backpacking or horseback riding, winter sports, and skiing awaits the visitor. There is fishing in mountain streams and in big open lakes or in precious, secluded mountain lakes. And for those who like their surroundings interpreted for them, there are nature trails and/or forest naturalists to explain local rock formations, vegetation, and the natural and human history of the immediate country.

The Forest Ranger asks only that each visitor do his share in cleaning up a camp or picnic site and being _sure_ that camp fires, matches, and cigarettes are thoroughly extinguished: “Keep Your National Forest Green and Clean!”

Carson National Forest

Located in north-central New Mexico, with headquarters at Taos, the Carson National Forest nurtures and cradles the Rio Grande as it leaves its birthplace in Colorado en route to the south. Carrying water from high country snow melt, the Carson adds precious, clear water from its high mountain streams and lakes to the Rio Grande in support of the prosperous communities along its way. The Carson includes some of the highest water-producing lands in the state and is the source of several permanent streams and lakes.

Named in honor of Kit Carson, the noted scout, Carson National Forest offers some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the Southwest, including the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Red River Canyon, and Wheeler Peak, which at 13,160 feet is the highest point in New Mexico. Part of the famed Pecos Wilderness Area and the Wheeler Peak Wild Area are included in this Forest and are available to those willing and able to hike, ride a horse, or pack into the rugged mountain country. For the winter sports enthusiast, the Red River Ski Area, Sipapu Winter Sports Area, and Taos Ski Valley operate in part within the Carson National Forest and offer some of the finest alpine skiing in the Southwest.

Good roads lead the visitor to Spanish and Indian villages where life and culture are almost unchanged since the ancient and comparatively recent days of settlement. Towns with singing-sounding names like Picurís, Taos Pueblo, Las Trampas, Truchas, Santa Barbara, and Tres Ritos nestle along forest streams and add charm and beauty to a scenic trip in the northern Sangre de Cristo range (name given to the mountains by early Spanish settlers, meaning _Blood of Christ_. The analogy relates to the reddish glow that sometimes colors the mountains at sunset.). Radiating from Taos are roads leading into the eastern half of the Forest, bringing the traveler into fascinating and colorful country. Taos Canyon, Arroyo Hondo, Questa, and the Red River country abound in old mining ghost towns, Indian ruins, and legendary Spanish villages located in canyons and on mountain tops.

The high range rising between the Rio Grande and the Chama River to the west is the major part of the western half of the Carson National Forest. Tres Piedras, El Rito, La Madera, Canjilon, Lagunitas, and San Antonio are a few of the picturesque communities here. Farther to the west is the Jicarilla Division of the Carson, the high mountain country adjacent to the Jicarilla Apache Reservation. Bisected by State Highway 17 between Farmington and Chama, this section is a test of true pioneering skill for the traveler who is willing to follow dim tracks of roads and trails to enjoy the Forest. However, modern civilization is introduced by the 150 oil and gas wells in this area, even though the country is rugged and broken.

Carson National Forest is a trout fisherman’s delight. For the hunter, Rocky Mountain mule deer, elk, and antelope are found in all parts of the Forest. Small game is plentiful, and rabbits provide many hours of hunting pleasure. Beaver, muskrat, mink, weasel, marten, and skunk are the principal fur bearers, and turkey, grouse, ducks, geese, quail, and doves make up the game bird population. Predators include the mountain lion, bobcat, coyote, and fox.

More than 40 developed camp and picnic grounds, most of which are accessible year round, welcome the visitor. Among them, Echo Amphitheater picnic ground on U.S. Highway 84, south of Canjilon, is a striking natural echo chamber formed by centuries of wind and water erosion in the rugged sandstone rock. “If you stand near the chamber, you only have to whisper, and your words come back in a spooky echo.”

About five miles south on U.S. Highway 84 is the Ghost Ranch Museum, with live native Southwestern animals and conservation exhibits, including a living and growing display showing on-the-ground Forest Service Multiple Use Management of the mythical Beaver National Forest, the “smallest National Forest in the world.”

Ranger stations at Canjilon, El Rito, Gobernador, Penasco, Questa, Taos, and Tres Piedras provide local information and recreation maps.

Santa Fe National Forest

The Santa Fe National Forest, with headquarters in Santa Fe, lies directly south of the Carson National Forest on both sides of the Rio Grande and is the center of a region rich in natural resources as well as historic and geologic interests. The two divisions of the Forest contain the high mountains to the east and west in the central section of the state. The Pecos Division to the east of the Rio Grande is the location of the major part of the Pecos Wilderness Area, one of the earliest of such areas to be established.

The Pecos Division is so named because the Pecos River, which later joins the Rio Grande in Texas, heads among its towering mountains in a beautiful alpine basin sometimes called the _Pecos Horseshoe_. The Pecos River is one of the state’s largest streams and supplies some of its most important irrigation projects. This division of the Forest includes the southern part of the Sangre de Cristo range and was first known as the Pecos River Forest Reserve, established in 1892—the oldest National Forest in the Southwest. The division abounds in clear, cold mountain lakes and streams. Truchas Lakes, Pecos Baldy, Stewart Lake, Spirit Lake, and Lost Lake, as well as many mountain streams, lure not only the fisherman but the hiker and camper to their wilderness beauty.

Twenty-three developed campgrounds and picnic areas located in cool glades are ready for the visitor along roads leading into the Forest from Santa Fe, Pecos, Glorieta, Las Vegas, and other communities. Skiing and winter sports are available at the Santa Fe Ski Basin northeast of Santa Fe; the chair lift operates year around for those who wish merely to view the spectacular scenery. The Pecos Division watersheds of the Santa Fe National Forest, like the eastern section of the Carson, contribute generously to the water flow of the Rio Grande.

Wild game, game birds, and fishing attract visitors at all times of the year, while the golden hues of the aspen in the autumn tempt artists and photographers to record on canvas and film nature’s fall colors. A trip just before the winter snows to the aspen country of the Santa Fe National Forest is a must. Ranger stations are located at Santa Fe, Las Vegas, and Pecos.

West of the Rio Grande are the Jemez Mountains, which form the Jemez Division of the Santa Fe National Forest. The Jemez country is a favorite area for fishermen and hunters. For the sturdy hiker and picnicker, there are hundreds of fascinating points to visit and peaks to climb. Capulin Peak, Dead Man’s Peak, Nacimiento Peak, and Cerro Pedernal are a few of the exciting ones. The Jemez country contains the San Pedro Parks Wild Area, northeast of Cuba where San Gregorio Lake is waiting for the fisherman or hiker willing to walk or ride horseback. This section abounds in unique geologic formations—Battleship Rock, Tent Rocks, Teakettle Rock, to name a few.

Eighteen developed camping and picnicking areas welcome the visitor to the Jemez Division. Youth groups also favor the Jemez for their summer camping. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, YMCA, and others have camps adjacent to the Santa Fe National Forest. Timber production, wildlife habitat management, livestock grazing, and watershed protection are among the activities of the Jemez Division, while visitors and travelers enjoy the forest, the streams, and the unique scenery. Ranger stations are at Jemez Springs, Cuba, Espanola, and Coyote.

Cibola National Forest

A mountain playground for people who live or visit near U.S. Highway 66 is Cibola National Forest, with headquarters in Albuquerque. Embracing the Sandias, Manzanos, and Gallinas Peak areas east of the Rio Grande in central New Mexico, this Forest also includes most of the mountain ranges in the west-central section of the state, the San Mateo Mountains, with 11,389-foot Mount Taylor, and the Datil, Magdalena, and Zuni ranges.

Outdoor recreation is the fastest growing use of the Cibola National Forest and more than a million visits are made each year to this popular Forest. The name is a Zuni Indian word, pronounced SEE-bo-lah, meaning _buffalo_. Buffalo may have roamed the Cibola in years past, but today’s big game animals making the Cibola their home are the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, Rocky Mountain mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, antelope, and bear. Game birds include turkey, grouse, quail, and dove; spring and fall migrations of ducks and geese use the Cibola as a resting place. There are 18 campgrounds with 249 family units and 14 picnic grounds with 382 family units scattered through the vast domain of the Cibola National Forest.

Sandia Crest in the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque is a goal for many travelers. Here on this 10,678-foot mountain top, there is a breathtaking view of the middle Rio Grande Valley and the Estancia Valley—a jet age view of nearly 10,000 square miles. The visitor stands on rocks which in eons past were under the sea, as indicated by fossils found on the peak. Recent recreation developments have been made at the Sandia Ski Area where a new 7450-foot double chair lift will carry 700 riders an hour on a 1650-foot vertical rise to the restaurant and upper terminal on Sandia Crest. A tramway ascends the west face of the Sandias to meet the Ski Area chair lift at the Crest.

The fabled Manzano Mountains rising above the plains to the west of State Highway 10 and south of U.S. Highway 66 are fast becoming a haven for the camper, picnicker, or sightseer willing to follow secondary roads to find the perfect spot to enjoy the forest. Capillo Peak, 9368 feet high, Mosca Peak, Cerro Blanco, and Manzano Peak lure the mountain climber. Legends surrounding the old Spanish communities of Tajique, Torreon, and Manzano are exciting campfire stories after a day spent exploring the high country.

West of the Rio Grande, the San Mateo Mountains north of Grants and the Zuni Mountains forming the backbone of the Continental Divide southeast of Gallup can be a new experience in outdoor recreation. McGaffey Lake recreation area, not too far from the route of the _conquistadore_ Juan de Oñate, is a cool retreat after crossing the desert and lava flow.

West of Socorro on U.S. Highway 60, with Magdalena as headquarters, the high Datil, Gallinas, and Magdalena mountains and another San Mateo range rise above the San Agustin Plains, an ancient lake bed. Mt. Withington and Mt. Baldy, 10,787 feet high, dominate the landscape. Good roads and developed campgrounds are available. Hunting for wild game as well as for unusual gem stones and geologic finds are favored activities in this western section of the Cibola. District ranger stations are at Grants, Gallup, Magdalena, Mountainair, and Tijeras.

Lincoln National Forest

Named for the great president, the Lincoln National Forest, with headquarters at Alamogordo, has characteristics distinguishing it from all other National Forests in the state. The high mountains and canyons of the Sacramento, Guadalupe, Capitan, and White mountains, rising between the Tularosa and Pecos basins, were the backdrop and often the prize of the Indian and cattle wars. Stories and legends of early day happenings in the Tularosa Basin, mining operations, battles between rival cattle ranchers, large timber operations providing lumber, poles, mine props, and railroad ties are warp and woof of the Lincoln country. This Forest includes the high mountains north and south of the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation.

During the last decade, the Lincoln National Forest gained new fame as the birthplace of the world-renowned Smokey the Bear, symbol of forest fire prevention. In the Capitan Mountains, travelers like to visit Smokey’s birthplace near Capitan Pass, and in the community of Capitan on U.S. Highway 380 is a log museum which features the activities of the bear cub found near there during a disastrous fire.

For the outdoor enthusiast, the Forest offers superb beauty, graceful and majestic snow-covered peaks, and the peace and serenity of a forest sanctuary. Each year, thousands of visitors from the plains seek its cool refuge from desert heat in summer and its readily accessible sports area in the winter. Ten campgrounds with many picnicking and camping sites are provided. Canyons, mountains, and streams in many instances feature anglicized names—Big Dog Canyon, Mule Peak, Bug Scuffle Hill—though the influence of the early Spanish settler still remains in names such as Sacramento, Agua Chiquita, Ruidoso, and Rio Penasco.

Lincoln National Forest abounds in points of interest; Monjeau Lookout overlooks the headwaters of the Bonito, Eagle, and Ruidoso creeks as well as the tall slopes of Sierra Blanca to the southwest. Sierra Blanca, 12,003 feet high, is the most southerly mountain of that elevation in the continental United States. Just north of the peak is the Sierra Blanca Recreation Area, with one of the finest and best-equipped skiing facilities in the country. The restaurant and gondola lift operate during summer months, and from Lookout Mountain observation site, near the gondola’s upper terminal, the traveler can view White Sands, the Malpais (lava flow), and the 28,000-acre White Mountain Wild Area.

Hunters find deer of three distinct types in this Forest—the Rocky Mountain mule deer, the desert mule deer, and the Texas white-tailed deer—and, of course, black bear from which family Smokey the Bear came. Game birds like wild turkey, quail, and chukkar partridge challenge the hunter. Fishing the Lincoln’s lakes and streams is a recurring delight to the angler. Aspens and oaks flaunt their brilliant autumn coloring against the warm green of pines and spruces, heralding the advent of winter snows and provoking numerous aspencades for those who wish a share in this ever new pageant of nature’s beauty.

Like all the National Forests, the Lincoln is managed for the production and wise use of water, timber, and forage for livestock and wildlife and outdoor recreation. District ranger stations are at Cloudcroft, Carlsbad, Mayhill, Ruidoso, Sacramento, and Capitan.

Gila National Forest

The Gila National Forest, with headquarters in Silver City, is a big, wild, wonderful country in the southwestern section of the state. It has been scarcely affected by the hustle and bustle of modern living. Within its boundaries are 2.7 million acres of public-owned forest and range land, with almost a quarter of it devoted to wilderness and primitive areas. It includes the famous Gila Wilderness, the first such area set aside in the United States and the largest in the Southwest. Most of the Gila National Forest is north of Silver City, though part of it lies in the high country between Silver City and Lordsburg.