Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Jornada del Muerto Historical Marker: Doña Ana County

Before I begin telling about the Jornada del Muerto, it's important to discuss the history of the Camino Real. There are other "Camino Real" roads, the one I am referring to in this case and in the case of New Mexico history is El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, Spanish for "The Royal Road of the Interior Land". This heavily used road ran from Mexico City to Santa Fe from 1598 to 1882. This trail, which was in use locally prior to 1598, became the major trade route between the Mexican Capital and Santa Fe, the most important settlement in the northern lands, when Don Juan de Oñate's expedition came through. The Camino Real is responsible for much of the settlements along the route, including El Paso, Las Cruces, Mesilla, Albuquerque, Durango (Mexico), Chihuahua, Juarez, and of course, Santa Fe.

Along the Camino Real were rest stops, where travelers could get water, trade for food, rest, etc. Sometimes there were actual towns and villages to stop at, get water and food, and rest. Other stops, sometimes in the middle of nowhere, were known as "paraje," and there are many of these that have been marked off with historical markers, in fact, the site of this marker is also the site of Paraje San Diego (click the link to be taken to the post for that marker). Paraje San Diego was the last stop before leaving the safety of the Rio Grande River.

The danger of leaving the river was being away from water. However, at this point, some 10 miles north of Las Cruces, the route along the Rio Grande was full of dangerous cliffs and other perils. So the Camino Real stretched off to the west, and for 100 miles, leading up to Paraje Fra Cristobal (click the link to be taken to the post for that marker), had no reliable water source. This stretch of the trail, a "jornada", a dangerous trail between parajes that must be traveled in a single day due to lack of water, became infamously known as the Jornada del Muerto, or "Journey of the Dead Man."

The town of Socorro to the north of the Jornada got its name because of the sad state of many Pueblo travelers once they reached it (Socorro means "help" or "assistance" in Spanish). During the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, Spanish refugees retreated across the Jornada, losing over 800 of their group to the elements.

Today the Jornada del Muerto lives as a testament to the difficult conditions that our ancestors in the area endured to survive, and to show us the resolve they had to reach their destinations.

If you'd like to learn more about the Jornada del Muerto or the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, please check out the following links, my sources for this post:



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2 comments:

  1. VondiFebruary 13, 2015 at 5:36 AM

    Just reading over this post.... I'm wondering. You say: "However, at this point, some 10 miles north of Las Cruces, the route along the Rio Grande was full of dangerous cliffs and other perils. So the Camino Real stretched off to the west, and for 100 miles, leading up to Paraje Fra Cristobal "
    I believe you may have misspoken yourself. At Las Cruces the Rio curves to the WEST. In order to avoid the hazards of the river bank, the Camino proceeded NORTH from there. This took them across the jornado del muerto to the Socorro stop.
    I refer you to the map included on the website: http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/resourcesmag/spring96/camino.html

    The desert lies to the EAST of the river; for the travelers to have curved WEST would have meant that they crossed the Rio, swung way around and then back to Socorro.... I think you simply wrote West when you meant East. That would be vastly confusing to someone not familiar with the state of New Mexico but desiring to learn something of the state's history.

    Otherwise, good posts with lots of information.

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  2. RossMarch 14, 2015 at 8:53 AM

    Vondi,

    I've been delayed in getting back to you because I've been searching, without success, for a hardcopy map I was given that showed the original flow of the Rio Grande back in the Jornada era. Originally, the river flowed up along the eastern slopes of the Doña Ana Mountains, actually giving those early travelers a western trail from the river to the path of the trail heading off to Socorro. It wasn't until the later 1800's into the early 1900's when the path of the river was drastically changed. But again, I can't find my source, and it's obviously not online, I looked pretty exhaustively for that map, it was very educational. Thanks for your comment, if I can't find my source, I will amend my post to reflect the information you submitted.

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