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Ottr Catlioli& Heritage in Texas
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Mendoza reaches tl,e Pecos. On January 12 they continued their march without finding other water than a small spring which flowed from north to east, where there was a chain of low mesas. It seems that on this day they followed a northeastern direction, because Mendoza declares they inclined to the right, which if facing north, would be to the east. It was on the following day, January 13, that the expedition reached a large river which carried as much water as the Rio Grande and which they called Rio Salado (Salty River), because the water was brackish. Mendoza declares that this river has its source in New Mexico. There is no question that this was the Pecos. From their camp at Apostol Santiago, in the vicinity of Fort Stockton, to the Pecos, the expedition had traveled about twenty-seven leagues, or approximately seventy miles. Allowing for the shifting course followed, it is safe to assume that Mendoza and his men had traveled about fifty miles in a straight line to the banks of the Pecos River. If we take a compass and set one end either at Fort Stockton or Sanderson and find a place where the other end intersects the Pecos River on a modern map, it will be seen that the expedition struck the Pecos either in the vicinity of Sheffield, if it passed by Sanderson, or somewhere to the south of McCamey, if it passed near Fort Stockton. There were no trees, the chronicler noted, other than mesquite, and the waters of the river were muddy, and some- what alkali.u The following day they continued the march along the river for a distance of six leagues and halted at a place they called San Cristobal. The Pecos flows almost due east for a distance in the vicinity of either Sheffield or McCamey, although it is slightly more southeast at Sheffield. We may assume, therefore, that on January 14, the expedition followed an almost due east course. From the camp, a chain of low lying mesas was visible, one of which was directly opposite the line of march and seemed to be.separated from the others. The expedition spent all day here hunting buffalo, which had now become plentiful. The travelers succeeded in killing six bulls. While hunting, they discovered a saline with no water but considerable salt. It was on th·e north or east side of the river, about a league beyond, between a high hill and a flat mesa, or plateau. 13 lZBolton places the expedition slightly above Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos, decidedly northwest of the places suggested here. Bolton, o'f!. cit., 329, note 1. U/bid. Entry for January J s, J 684. The saline has been located in the vicinity of Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos: Bolton, o'f!. cit., 330.
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