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NEW MEXICO
October, 1932
OLD "BIG CUT" NEAR AI.GODOXES, NOW REPLACED WITH AN OILED ROAD OF EASY GRADES
were driven to the south shore of the Rio Grande near El Paso.
Except for failing military expeditions the Camiiio remained in control of the Indians and was little used until the glorious reconquest under General Don Diego de Vargas in 1692, when the Indians were forever defeated by the Conquistadores and Spanish possession of New Mexico and the Camino Real remained undisputed until Mexico’s independence, gained in 1822—one hundred and thirty years later.
This in brief is the early history of the southern portion of “El Camino Real”.
The history of the northern part—the trail from Santa Fe to Raton Pass—is equally romantic and thrilling. Comparatively recent discovery of papers among the archives of State in Madrid, Spain, establish the fact that the intrepid explorer, Cabeza de Vaca, traveled what was later known as the Santa Fe Trail for many miles, crossed it where it intersects the Arkansas River a little east of Bent’s Fort, and went on westerly into New Mexico, following the famous highway as far, at least, as Las Vegas.
Cabeza de Vaca’s journey antedated that of Coronado’s eastward trek in search of the Gran Quivira by about five years. No definite movement developed toward the establishing of a definite highway from that time for more than 200 years, although undoubtedly many adventurous souls had touched at various points along the Trail during that time. Several fugitive trips were made from the Mississippi River to Santa Fe by small trapping and trading parties before 1800. In 1812, a small company, led by Baird, Chambers and Mc-
Knight, made the journey through to Santa Fe, but were thrown into prison where they remained for 10 years. When Mexico gained her independence in 1822, pioneering Americans saw the opportunity to trade with the new republic and to trap beaver in virgin country. Paltie’s Personal Narrative is the thrilling tale of a trapping and trading expedition from Missouri into New Mexico, down the Rio Grande and westward into Arizona. This took place about 1824-30. But Captain William Becknel! is known as the Father of the Santa Fe Trail. He made his first trip through to Santa Fe in 1820, and in 1822, with a party of 30 from Old Franklin, Missouri, definitely established the Trail which later was to be the scene of so many thrilling adventures and hair-raising exploits in the winning of the west.
Fired by accounts of the Becknell’s and other expeditions, and the possibilities of foreign trade, Senator Benton of Missouri, on January 25, 1S25, delivered a historymaking speech before the United States Senate, recommending that the trail be marked and made safe for travel and trade. A bill carrying an appropriation of $10,000 for marking the road and $20,000, to “sweeten” the Indians passed Congress the third of March, 1825. Joseph Brown was chosen engineer of the survey and marking expedition and his plat of the survey carries the date, October 27, 1827. While Brown’s route does not coincide exactly with the Santa Fe Trail as later generally used, it marks the beginning of that traffic into New Mexico. It remained for later trail-breakers to carry the route a little farther south to Las Vegas and thence into Santa Fe.
Thus were linked together at Santa Fe in New Mexico two famous historic highways, El Camino Real, the royal highway from Mexico City to the distant provincial capital at Santa Fe, the oldest continuously used road in the U. S. A., and the Santa Fe Trail, no less famous pioneering highway from the eastern states, penetrating into a foreign land and establishing those communications and relations which were later to result in the occupation and proprietorship of the entire region of New Mexico.
No less interesting than the history of the breaking and making of El Camino Real is the evolution of transportation taking place during the 390 years which have past since Cabeza de Vaca and Alvarado first trod parts of this famous road.
First came the Friars, on foot or mule back, carrying the banner of faith into a pagan land. Then the Cabelle-ros, those “gentlemen on horse back”. Later came the squeaking carretas of the Spanish colonists, the hooves of cattle and sheep with horsemen pounding down a trail that


Lr OIL-I ROCLSSED ALBUQUERQUE.SANTA FE SECTION OF V. S. 83 NEAR TIIE GALISTEO RIVER BRIDGE
October, 1932
has remained through history. Then came davs nf , !„ trade with the States pvn«,i,v_____ , . 7s °f pack
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,,,h te™ " *— «* Sffi2 “r;=	•	«-*»W
iO to inspect the work
and danger of death from starvation or
thirst. Days of Indian Scouts, such names as Kit Car-son, Jim Bridger,
Uncle Dick Woot-ton, builder of the toll road over Raton Pass, O 1 d Bill Williams, guide of caravans, Uncle John Smith, Tom Tobin and others who live forever in the annals o f the Santa Fe Trail.
Days of the Forty-niners and the gold conquest o f California which took s o many pioneers across New Mexico to the West Coast.
The coming of the railroad which followed closely the line of the Santa Fe Trail and El Camino Real, Days of military occupation when the dust of cavalry troopers filled the air;— Civil war days when cannon were dragged by mules over the dusty trails and history was made at Apache Canyon and Valverde—the former battle being on the Santa Fe Trail-—the latter on the Spanish Camino. Then came days of cattlemen, rustlers and six-shooter men intermediate days of horse travel, buck-board and stage—until me invention of the automobile.
This event created a new epoch in transportation and is , e e r a remembered 3est by most of „S- It is the age of . S°od roads” ^ c w p
GOVERNOR AND MRS. SELIGMAN, WITH FRANK HORN DRIVING A CAR OF THE VINTAGE OF 1912--BOTH CARS AND ROADS HAVE BEEN REVOLUTIONIZED SINCE THOSE DAYS--EVEN MOUSTACHES AND HATS HAVE CHANGED STYLE CONSIDERABLY. IT WILL BE NOTICED.
Thg'V t*lern today.
Fans
ageof rapid
sportation, develop-aient of
and
f • e s
s m a 1 th<
schools
communi-
DAVIS HIGHWAY MARKER. JUST GOV. SELIGMAN AT	BOUNDARY	AT	ANTHONY--THE
GOTT'Tir OF TIIE NE *	•	£jjQgg.STATE JOURNEY OF 520 MILES IN
ELEVEN HOURS.
SOUTH OF THE CLOSE OF THE DAYLIGHT
t°Urisfq 1 “ 6 .infux of„	T.	flav	of	airplanes.
It tnTand the gasollne l£x-, .T ® 20ydays to travel on v, t0° * twenty men with Rodriquez 2	)
^orseback from El Paso to Socorro
Pass ” r°,11 comfortabl7> raptdiy and eas ^e down the
fanm °n tbe northern border of the length of 520
Crr Red- throug5fUt	2	"5es	north
s to Anthony on the southern border,
o f highway l m -provement that has been accomplished.
In view of my announced i n t e n-tion at the time I assumed office t o push to completion this backbone highway of New Mexico, I was gratified to find that, although not entirely completed, EL. Camino Real or Highway 85, is rapidly nearly one hundred per cent improvement and the rein a i n i n g m i 1 e-age can be and should be properly surfaced and paved at the first moment that funds are available and it is humanly possible to do so.
The log of our trip from border to border of Highway 85 shows that there are 58 miles of concrete paving, 270 miles of oiled surface, 180 miles of modern gravelled surfacing and but 12 miles that is unsurfaced. This stretch of 12 miles, however, is graded and drained and is being well maintained until such time as it can be further improved.
It was but a few short years ago that none of this modern highway construction could be found. Those of us who have traveled the road year after year find continued improvement and it will not be long before the entire route traveled by the history-makers of New Mexico from the border north of Raton into the city of El Paso will be one ribbon-like stretch o f modern paY'ed highway. In our trip across the state we found that the newer construction has eliminated the dangerous curves and grades that were frequent m the old highway. Modern engineering does not avoid Nature’s obstacles but overcomes them, and so it is that the traveler of today can comfortably and safely make m LT oan of daylight the trip that once took weeks. a	Real today is truly the King’s Highway.