The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 29, July 1925 - April, 1926 Page: 218
330 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
when they were at the summit, then invisible to the naked eye,
although we were directly at the foot of the mountain.
18th, after travelling about 6 miles we came to the Pass in
the mountains, and I would that I had the power of description
to give you an idea of the magnificence of the scene. We wound
round the mountain we were on to get into the valley below, on
the ledge for about a quarter of a mile, and then descended by
fastening a rope behind the wagon, and all hands talking hold to
back and keep the wagon from upsetting. In this way I suppose
we made a descent of at least a 1000 feet. After getting in the
valley below and looking up at the wagons winding around on the
ledge above, it would then almost make a persons head swim, but
the road is not as bad as it looks, for we were not detained with
our loaded wagons 2 hours in getting the wagons over it, and
there had been no work on it whatever, except throwing out the
largest of the rocks. Here we passed around the Guadalupe cliff
which has the appearance of a huge Cathedral. The base of it is
I suppose 5000 or 6000 feet high from the valley below, and
then the cliff rises above, something in the shape of a steeple (in
front) something like 1200 to 1500 feet perpendicular, of solid
rock. We have been in sight of this mountain since the 7th. On
the 19th, we came to a hole of bad water pretty strong of sulphur
and salt, but could be used. Here we learned that there was no
more water until we struck the Rio Grande, estimated to be be-
tween 80 and 100 miles. Here we were in rather an awkward
dilema.
The water here was doing our animals no good, and it was a
hard thing to go back to the next spring. Soon after we got in,
cattle, mules and horses by scores came from 25 or 30 miles ahead.
Murchison's, Thompson's and Thorn's companies having gone on
expecting to find water, they had to send their stock all back to
water. Murchison's company rushed on through to the river.
Thompson, Thorn, and a part of the Red River Company stopped
at the mountain. We determined to remain until it rained, unless
they succeded in getting water by digging, for which purpose we
sent out men after staying at the water hole three or four days
(it raining a little every evening after we arrived there), then
came up a heavy shower from the west, and we concluded it must
have reached the water rock, and we started, after filling every-
thing with water, after going five or six miles, we came where we218
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 29, July 1925 - April, 1926, periodical, 1926; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117141/m1/238/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.