SECRETS of the PECOS

SECRETS of the PECOS Mystic River of the West Jackye Havenhill Royal Fireworks Press Unionville, New York Also by Jackye Havenhill Texas Legends Copyright © 2012, Royal Fireworks Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved. Royal Fireworks Press First Avenue, PO Box 399 Unionville, NY 10988-0399 (845) 726-4444 FAX: (845) 726-3824 email: [email protected] website: rfwp.com ISBN: 978-0-88092-561-7 Printed and bound in the United States of America on acid-free, recycled pa- per using vegetable-based inks and environmentally-friendly cover coatings by the Royal Fireworks Printing Co. of Unionville, New York. THE RIVER •• El Rio Pecos, named by the early Spanish conquistadors, was a river of violent extremes, a river that transgressed the very laws of nature. During the early history of Texas, this mystic river of the West was known as both saint and devil to those who came to settle in the arid country. The river begins its journey as a clean mountain steam in the Sangre del Cristo Mountains northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and travels more than nine hundred miles before it joins the less stormy Rio Grande. As it flows through the se- rene mountains of New Mexico, it is peaceful and untroubled, watering the fields of many tiny villages and the thirsty pastures of larger ranches. But soon comes a metamorphosis, an unbe- lievable transformation. Before entering Texas, the river begins to lose its mountain coolness and purity. Soft alkaline soil re- places the rocky bottom. Both the river bed and the geographic surroundings become very different, as the Pecos flows through a vast, flat desert dotted with mesquite trees and greasewood bushes. Within the distance of only a few miles, the sweet water becomes salty. It becomes a tantalizing but useless brine that causes men to endure terrible thirst for miles without relief, for the salt water can be deadly to both man and his animals if drunk in abundance. 1 The once grassy banks have disappeared, which only brings more danger. Scattered along the now steep, barren banks are deceiving beds of quicksand that make the river even more treacherous to cross. A complete transformation has taken place. The once peaceful and friendly Pecos River has become hostile. Even though the river was a challenge for those who arrived at its banks, they still came. Settlers, cattlemen, cowboys, and travelers made their way to the river and crossed. Though many who crossed went on to a more compatible environment, a great number settled along the river, determined to tame the harsh land. Why? None seemed to have an answer, other than that they were captivated by the majesty of the land. It was the Comanche Indians who first crossed the often raging water of the Pecos. In their search for more and better horses, the Indians came from the high plains to plunder the villages along the Rio Grande and in northern Mexico. The Spanish Conquistadors followed the Indians, arriving in the new land in the early sixteenth century. Their explora- tion of the new country brought them to the banks of the river. Though filled with dread and superstition, they followed the violent river as it meandered its way through the Chihuahuan Desert. To them, both the river and land seemed unconquer- able. Defeated, they moved on, calling the measureless area el despoblado, the uninhabited place. The origin of the word Pecos is unknown, but many of the early settlers believed it may have come from the Spanish word pecaso, meaning freckled. The most often told story is that as Spanish explorers watched the sun flickering off the rolling water, the dancing sparkles reminded them of freckles. Another belief, and one more acceptable as fact, is that the word Pecos came from an Indian word meaning crooked. Cer- tainly the mystic river of the West is that. From its beginning, it twists and turns and then turns again as it moves toward its rendezvous with the Rio Grande. 2 In the early 1850s, many crossed the river. From their wag- ons they watched the dust devils dance before them; they saw buzzards soar lazily, high above in a blue sky filled with fleecy white clouds. They were enchanted by the beauty of the sky and the vastness of the land. Though many only traveled through the Trans-Pecos on their way to the gold fields in California, men with families came carrying dreams of eking out a life on the vast but sparse grazing land. The lure of the gold fields in California brought lumbering stagecoaches carrying mail and passengers across the Trans-Pecos. In time, Army posts were established throughout the region, bringing soldiers and scouts to challenge Comanche and Apache claim, on the rugged land. They all came to the river. In those days the river was described as one hundred feet wide and seven to ten feet deep. Its rapid current made it fordable at only a few sites, and at these points, crossings were established. All trails going west led to one of the crossings. Settlers often had to travel many extra miles to reach one. Traveling the eighty miles of dry desert from the Concho River to the Pecos often meant death. Yet those who arrived ready to accept the harsh reality of the river and the land en- dured and conquered. Through the years, tales of those who survived the many hardships along the Pecos River became legends. When cattle drovers sat around their campfires at night, and settlers camped at the end of a day, they talked of the events that happened along the river, and told tales of golden treasures buried along the banks of the river by the Spaniards and Mexicans. They shared legends of ghostly sights and unnatural happenings, stories of the bravery of lawmen, accounts of the ruthlessness of bandits, and the courage of the settlers who came to stay. It was around the campfires that Pecos Bill was born. Yarns of this popular folk hero were swapped by cowboys and cattle-men during the long cattle drives. However, this fabricated character’s deeds don’t ring true to those who came and conquered the far western frontier. One rancher is known to have 3 said, “Pecos Bill doesn’t have anything to do with the real Pecos country, because you see, Pecos Bill could do anything and everything real easy-like. Now that just can’t be the truth, ’cause nobody along the Pecos ever did anything easy-like. Believe me, everything out here west of the Pecos is hard.” These pages record the events that sprang to life along the banks of the mighty river of the West. Many have become a part of history, though the stories have been embellished in their retelling. Here are actual accounts of such men as Clay Allison, who was a gunfighter turned gentleman; trail drivers Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving, who lost cattle in the quicksand at Horsehead Crossing; the Butterfield Stage that battled the swift current at Pope’s Crossing; the death of one entire group of pioneers at Emigrant’s Crossing; ranchers who came to build cattle empires; the brave exploits of the famous Buffalo Sol- diers; and the story of Judge Roy Bean, who brought an unusual but appropriate type of justice to the land west of the Pecos. These are true stories of the hardships of those who came to the Trans-Pecos, those whose toughness matched that of the land and the river. Woven into accounts of their daily reality are their dreams and their fantasies. These are the secrets of the Pecos River, as it was in the beginning. 4 THEY CAME, SOME STAYED •• Men required both strength and stamina to live along the Pecos River. The flat, torrid land with its incessant wind, the dry burning sun and the lonely days and nights caused many to move on to distant places and others to turn back to their original homes. Even though the land was a desolate place of Indian massacres, of ghosts who wandered across the prairie, of lethal thirst and of madness, many settlers came and did stay, held captive by the vastness of the land and its mystic grandeur. Small villages sprang into being at the safe crossings, beginning at the river’s entrance into Texas and at following it down hundreds of miles until it vanished into the Rio Grande. Pecos, a little village given the same name as the river, was founded by the Spanish Conquistadors. For years it remained a tiny settlement on the banks of the river serving travelers at Pope’s Crossing. It became home to many who came to claim some land and gather up a herd from the numberless Longhorn cattle that roamed the open range. Indian migration, the pioneers’ westward movement, the arrival of the cavalry, and finally, the coming of the historic cattle drives, changed Pecos into a bustling, roaring Western town. Cowboys, seeking escape from their lonely days under a 5 searing sun, walked the dusty streets with their spurs jingling, and all too often, with their guns blazing. A number of saloons along with cattle pens and a few mercantile stores had quickly come into existence. In 1896, R.S. Johnson, a former Texas Ranger, wanting to improve the town, built a two-story building. The first floor was the famous Number 11 Saloon while the upper floor housed a number of decorated bedrooms for boarders and travelers. The saloon quickly became the gathering place for everyone in the area.

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