The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-04-07
HISTORIC TRAITS
IN MEXICO MARCH
lb0rlglnas, Spaniards and For
ty-nIn6rs Passed That Way.
ANCIENT RUINS ON ROUTE

Highway $50 Years Aeo-Mexican
Government Never Had Strong Hold
on That Section Of Country.
The American troops now are pass
LIZ through an interesting and historic
rgson In Mexico on their hunt after
VIVA, writes RI. D. Slater. an Ell Paso
elgmeer. who spent three years In the
cuntry to which villa has retreated
Z Is map OF the country now is in the
hlnds OF the United States army off,
cxs invading Mexico. Mr.. Slater's
knowledge OF the country, its peoples
and the history surrounding them prob
a,iy Is az complete as that Of any liv-
iii man.
General Pershing's column entered
Aex1co over a road known In late
yArs as the Mormon road, because the
srl1er established Mormon colonies
were reached over that Soute before
tile present Mexico Northwestern rail
rad was built" he says. But for
hiif q century before that the route
"a been known as the 'Smugglers'
ha1l'
Colonel Dodd's column from Hachi.
q passed over a read that dates back
ar beyond the earliest days Of the
SPANISH settlements In the southwest
II was q great Spanish highway $50
yars ago. For ages before the Span
Mh occupation the same road had been
rtnowed by the various tribes Of Pueb-
&c INDIANS OF the region and by their
prosecutors. the nomad Indians who
preceded the Apaches and Comancbes
ana other southwestern plains Indians
Of our day.
Mormens the Pioneers.
The FIRST investigations nv Mormo,
D oneers as to the possibilities of set.
usment In the Casas Grandes country
were made in the late seventies. before
us Mexican Central railroad was built
some years later, In the early eighties.
q nrst lands were taken up, and the
III ex1can Central railroad was used for
passage OF settlers and goods. although
al overland trip Of about 115 miles was
cessary to reach the first colonies.
Later the road from Columbus was
Qsned, and the colonies were reached
direct over a somewhat shorter and
q sier route Colonia Juarez was the
INST important colony. Diaz. Morefos.
Oixaca, Pacheco, Garcia, Chuichupa
ana others followed in the late eight
ieB and early nineties, with Dublan es
t. blfshed about the time the Mexico
Northwestern railroad (then the Rio
Gnnde, Sierra Madre and Pacifc) was
started out Of Cfudad Juarez QS96).
Before the Sierra Madre railroad
was built a syndicate of Mormon cap
nilists and others had promoted rail
read from Deming via Columbus to the
Cisas Grandes colony region. This was
tie John w. Young project. An effort
WAS made to interest the New York
owners Of the Corralitos ranch and the
SIN Pedro or Candelaria mines, but
h0e people later decided to build the
railroad themselves directly out of
Cudad Juarez to the mines and Casas
0:andes The Columbus project then
e psed. Part of the roadbed had been
graded. and the present wagon road
fellows the old grade for some dis
lance.
The Mexican government never had
a strong hold on the mountainous re-
gion inhabited by Independent end
wirlike tribes Of Indians. Tax insur-
re ctions' were frequent About TWEEN
u two years ago the Temochic Indians
rose IN revolt and made a raid clear to |
the border, taking Palomas. They
ware soon put down. but never fully
% cited. The Tarahumari Indians,
re mants Of the ancient tribes Of the
region, had considerable development
In the domestic arts, such as fabrics |
ara pottery. They were ardent hunt
ers, but were perhaps most noted for
th eir wonderful endurance as runners
The renegade Apaches.- driven out of |
Altoona and New Mexico, made their |
La t stronghold in the Sierra Madre, |
100 miles or so southwest of Casas |
Glandes, where probably a few scat |
te red remnants remain to this day.
Spaniards Built Roads.
The old road followed by Colonel |
Odds column south from Hachita is |
pc IT OF the ancient Spanish trail con-
meeting central Mexico with what Is
now New Mexico and Arizona and con.
ne citing New Mexico and Colorado
with California. A hundred years ago
copper ore from the Santa Rita mines,
new Chino, was packed over this an
Gent trail to the City Of Mexico After
the Santa Fe trail was opened up from
the Missouri river to Santa Fe this old
road became one OF the branches by |
wldch trade was carried on with west.
err Mexico. Another branch, also an
an Gent Spanish road, passed through
Ell Paso and down the valley to Guada-
lul,e, thence to chihuahua.
Before and during the war with
Mexico no other route from FL Paso
to California was known that this old
rold via Santa Rita, Hachita and
Ja1os, through Guadalupe pass to the
Sa alta Cruz valley and Tucson. The
lo1 6 detour into Mexico was made nee
ea airy by the lack OF water. or sup
n0 Al lack and suDnOSnd imnaSSa hilitp