The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957 Page: 530
616 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
distance from any other water on either side. From the Colo
Aquila pass to El Pasco, a distance of near loo miles along the
valley of the Rio Grande there are numerous gullies, ravines, and
sand hills-The looseness of the sandy soil, its miry nature, when
wet added to the considerations already mentioned, induced me
to abandon this route as unsafe for transportation and imprac-
ticable. On the 29th April I reached the Presidio San Eliazano
and encamped there for the convenience of procuring supplies-
I visited El Paso on the 2nd May, ascertained there was a well
watered road traversing the country from that place to the Pecos:
formerly used for the transportation of Mexican troops, and was
referred for further particulars to persons who had served in the
Army of Mexico.
Returning to San Eliazano I entered into a contract with Senor
Zambrano to conduct my party to the Pecos.-Having completed
my arrangement I left San Eliazano. On the evening of the 6th,
moving in a direction to intersect the old military road, which was
effected early the following morning I halted at the [Hueco]
Tanks, 8 leagues from El Pasco-this is an old camping ground
of the Mexicans and Indians. The largest tank-situated in a cave
contains an immense quantity of pure cold water, probably 50,000
gallons. Wood is found sufficient to answer culinary and other
purposes. The soil to El Paso is sandy but good for a road, from
this point to the Sierra Guadaloupe, the road passed over a high
rolling country-soil sandy, white, hard and firm with pebbles
upon the surface. There is very little wood at the Ojo-del-Alamo
and the Ojo-del-Cuerpo, at all the other watering places there is
no scarcity. Grass is tolerably good. From the Sierra Guadaloupe
to the Pecos, the country is hilly, but presents no difficulty to the
construction of a first railroad.-This mountain affords large pine,
savan and other trees, the surrounding valley affords nutritious
grass and much water. There are but two places from El Paso to
the Pecos requiring labor to render the road passable for wagons--
At the pass of the [Hueco] it will be necessary to remove some
stones, and in passing the spurrs of the Sierra Guadaloupe some
levelling will be required, though this can be avoided by passing
but a few miles further down the valley of the salt plain-The
valley of the Pecos has a soil similar to that already mentioned,
without a single impediment to the procurement of a good road.530
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957, periodical, 1957; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101163/m1/572/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.