2 I 5
Explorations and Settlements A long t/1e Rio Grande
must have been opposite Reagan Canyon and somewhat above and opposite Maravillas Creek. Along this area on the Texas side is Carmen Mountain, which rises to a height of over fifty-eight hundred feet. On December 2, after going five leagues and inclining to the southwest, the expedition was able to descend to the bed of the Rio Grande at a point which they called Santa Rita. They probably were a few miles above Boquillas. At this point they crossed into Texas and established a camp near the river. The soil was sandy and the country extremely rough, filled with high hills. It was impossible to follow the river. Sixteen soldiers were ordered to reconnoiter the banks of the stream and a group of Indians was sent to explore the mountains that rose to the north. On the 3rd, the men at Santa Rita celebrated the feast of St. Francis Xavier. The Indian scouts reported many Indian trails in the mountains to the north and tracks of tent poles, as they dragged along the ground. They said this was a sign the Indians had gone to hunt buffalo. The party of soldiers reported that a camp site had been discovered twelve leagues upstream. On December 5, the march was resumed, on the Texas side, and after many hardships in trying to keep as close to the river as possible, the site discovered by the exploring party was reached. Here they found many abandoned rancherias of Apaches in the surrounding hills. Along the river bank there were several small hot springs which flowed into the stream and made the water hard. The next day they traveled five leagues, mostly west, over rough hills and deep ravines and came to an abandoned rancher1a where they halted. Here they found some pumpkins still growing near the river. The soldiers gathered a few and called the camp Real de las Calabazas (Pumpkin Camp). It seems they were at this time going across the tip end of the Big Bend where there are numerous deep ravines. From here they continued their march upstream between two mountain ranges, one running from west to north and another crosswise to the west. They were now in the Chizos Mountains, and very likely following the deep valley of Terlingua Creek. They continued with much difficulty until the 8th, when they halted to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It is interesting to note that on this day they set up a portable altar for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass somewhere in the very heart of the Big Bend and in the immediate area of the proposed International Park. By having the country carefully explored by vanguard parties the expedition moved on slowly, the march being retarded by frequent snow-
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