Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-10-22
THE OLD AZTEC SPRING.
hediscovered at Santa Fe Two Cen.
turtles After it Had Vanished.

-seiscoserou AT santa Fe Two Cen.
turtles After it Had Vanished.
The tradition concerning the spring,
which disappeared in 1850, to be- redis-
covered in 1885, is interesting. Long
before the Europeans had set foot in
New Mexico stories had reached the
Viceroy of Mexico of the white and
bright land" as what is now New
Mexico was then called. The stories
told of silver and gold, and of mineral
springs of marvellous curative power.
Less than a decade after the conquest
OF Mexico, CabeZa de Baca and his
party of explorers were wrecked on the
gulf coast and started to find their
countrymen in Mexico. During the
weary wanderings of this stout hearted
and persevering party. says writer,
they penetrated to the heart of the con-
tinent at a point nearly twenty degrees
of latitude north of the City of Mexico.
and nearly the same distance north of
the last settlement of the Spanish col
onists. And thus it was that the first
Europeans set foot upon the soil of
New Mexico and gathered information
which, when reported to the Viceroy of
Mexico. confirmed the wonderful stories
and traditions that had been previ.
Ouslv related of that s'white and brioht
lanG. and set on foot the expeditions
of Mia. Coronado, Ruiz and Espeio
After these expeditions stories of the
mineral springs were brought to Mex
leo by Jesuit priests and Franciscan
friars. The Spaniards resorted to the
springs until August 10. 1850, when the
Pueblo indians rose in revolt and drove
their Spanish oppressors out of the
country. As the surest method of pre-
venting their return. the Indians de-
stroyed everything on which the Span
iards had most set store. They filled
up the shafts of the mines and covered
up the springs. Thus the mines and
the spring gradually passed into tradi-
ton. The mines, as all know, were
worked again some time before now,
but tn. Aztec Spring had remained a
myth.
Captain Ayres heard the legend and
became interested. He examined care
fully the history of the settlement of
New Mexico and concluded that there
was good deal of foundation of fact
for the story of the spr ne, and also
that it must nave been located in the
neighborhood of Santa Fe. He at once
began his exploration for the spring in
spite of the poo-pooh ng of less sanguine
people Arguing that if it were stu
ated along the most frequented roads
leading from Santa Fe people would
probably have stumbled upon it despite
their disbelief In its existence, he Sc
lected for his prospecting the least trav-
eled road and made examinations of the
country on either side of it. going out
further upon the road every dav. He
found little to encourage him until one
day when he reached point in the road
about three miles from the plaza he came
upon mesa along which path might
easily have led. Following up the mesa
be came suddenly, when mile from
the road, upon stream flowing out
from among the rocks and stones. trav-
erSing for "a short distance bed of
stones and pebbles. and then suddenly
disappearing down crevasse. Captain
Ayres noticed that the stones and peb-
bles were mineral stained. For several
days he made experiments with the
water, finding out that clothes could be
washed clean in it without soap; that
on washing the face and hands in it,
they would feel soft and cool for hours
and that from day to day it preserved
uniformly warm temperature. This last
led him to the conclusion that the water
came from great depth and from a hot
spring, whose water was cooled in flow
ing from where it dubbed up to its exit
from the mountain side and that should
an excavation be made along it's course,
until its head was reached, the temper
AZURE of the water would be found to be
much higher-opinions which have been
confirmed.
The spring is picturesquely situated,
and from the mesa one obtains sue
cession of magnificent mountain views.
-SantG Fe Cor. ST. Louis Globe Demo-
Graf.