Imperial Valley press., 1930-11-29

the Spanish explorers seeking new
route from Mexico City to Mon
terey General Kearny with his
men, including the Mormon Battal-
ion, had marched from Santa Fe
and entered California over the old
route to be attacked at San Pas
quail by the Meyicans under An
dreaS Pico. This historic battle
ground is near Escondido and is on
! va few miles off the proposed
route of the Imperial Highway. The
first overland mail, under contract,
to enter California, came over this
OLD route from st. Louis and Mem
phis. The four prospectors. the
Julian brothers, Mike and Webb.
and the Bailey brothers, D. D. and
James, came up out of the Colora-
do Desert to discover gold at Julian
on Washington's birthday, 1870"
Route Historical
Another writer, George Kellogg,
executive secretary of the Imperial
Highway Association in a recently
published article has this to say,
Another direct and practical
route to which the Imperial High
way committee has given consider
able time and study, is one around
which the glamo'W of the pioneer
days OF California still fingers. 1t
follows the route of the Old Butter
field Stage from Corona through
Elsinore, Temecule, Aguauga, War
ner's Ranch, San Felipe, Mason
Valley, Vallecitos, end Coyote Wells,
connecting there with U. S. Route
30 and on TO El Centro and Imper-
ial. This was the shortest and
most practical route in 1850 when it
is said that 100000 people came
over that trail to the gold diggings
of California and now after follow
ing this abandoned trail one re-
aliZes that distances do not vary
with time-it is still the shortest
distance to Imperial Valley. Along
this route are points of historical !
interest untouched by the hand of
man. Even the vandal has failed /
TO ply his trade where his anteced- |
ents the bandits OF the dim and |
distant past held up the Old Butter
field Stages and robbed the U. S. |
Mall carried thereon. Believe il or i
not dlligent searchers have recently |
found bits Of harness. broken wag- ;
ons and cooking utensils, aband-
oned over half century ago, even |
10 empty cartridge shells used in
the attacks upon or the defense OF |
these old stages or other overland |
wagon trains, while the adobe ruins /
Of no less than four Of the old !
stage stations are intensely inter-
esting TO the history lover Of Cali
fornia and should be preserved as
sacred landmarks OF this Golden
State"
One Of our local writer's. J. Will
son McKenny. of the Calexico 1.
Chronicle staff, will speak at to- j
nights meeting and give his I'M /
pressicns Of the Old Butterfield /
Stage route. He will tell of the ,
camels which, under Secretary Of |
War jefferson Davis were brought ,
from Africa and Arabia for the
of military supplies
across Imperial Valley. In describ-
ing the Butterfield Trail McKenny
stated in a recent interview: Wind
ing across the desert wastes. top |
ping sand-dunes and skirting buttes |
the Old Butterfield Trail remains !
as one Of the last vcstiges of the |
frontier age when man sought a
route into the newly discovered I
Southern California. The Butter
field Trail was probably the first
well-defined road across the Imper-
lal Valley After more than 30
years of desert cloudbursts and /
wind storms. portions of the road I,
still remain like forgotten relic I
of yesteryear.