El Morro Trails: El Morro National Monument, New Mexico - free ebook by Southwest Parks and Monuments Association

El Morro Trails EL MORRO NATIONAL MONUMENT, NEW MEXICO

PRICE: 50 CENTS IF YOU TAKE THIS BOOKLET HOME Inscription Rock, El Morro National Monument...

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Introduction

In the year 1540, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado came up from Mexico with some 350 Spanish soldiers and crossed southeastern Arizona to Zuñi, a pueblo 30 miles west of El Morro. Breaking up into several groups, they went eastward 70 miles to Acoma Pueblo and thence to the Rio Grande. At least one of the groups probably passed El Morro enroute. The first known historical mention of El Morro is found in the journal of Diego Pérez de Luxán, chronicler of the Espejo expedition of 1583. Luxán stopped

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1.

If you look closely at the rock, about 12 feet above the ground, you will see some notches cut into the sandstone. These are footholds. Probably most Indians came to the pool by the long, safe way, but others, caring more for their thirst than their lives, came down from the mesa top through the high notch to the right and above you. Do not, under any circumstances, try coming down this short way—the rock is extremely slippery. If you go to the top, stay on the marked trail....

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2.

Now you see why travelers stopped here. There is no spring; the pool is fed largely by rain falling in July, August, and September, and by melting snows. When full it is about 12 feet deep and holds about 200,000 gallons of water. DO NOT THROW ANYTHING INTO THE POOL! If you look closely around the walls at about eye level, even on the far side, you can see names carved into the rock. Most of these date from 1850 to 1900, and were the work of emigrants and soldiers. How did they get over there? I

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3.

Along the base of the mesa are examples of the predominant types of trees found in the Southwest. From left to right these are: (1) One-seed juniper ( Juniperus monosperma ), which can be used for fenceposts and fuel. (2) Pinyon pine ( Pinus edulis ), noted for its edible nuts which are harvested in the fall. (3) Ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa ), which provides excellent wood for construction and building purposes. Watch for black sage ( Artemisia tridentata ) along the right side of the trail

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4.

In the desert varnish, the darker colored rock, note particularly a sequence showing hand prints, foot prints and a zig-zag trail going to a hole in the cliff. This could mean, “Follow the hand and foot trail to the pool of water.” The signature of Mr. Long is the most impressive one on the rock. It appears to have been carved between 1850 and 1862, probably with a knife after being sketched. Just to your right around the corner, note “Mr. Engle” in block print and “Mr. Bryn” in script. Engle wa

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5.

There is a good account of Mr. P. (Peachy) Gilmer Breckinridge from the Virginia Historical Society. He graduated from Virginia Military Institute, and as a young man rode across the continent to California. In 1857 Lt. Edward Beale was in charge of an expedition testing camels for use in the American deserts. Breckinridge was in charge of the 25 camels used by Beale when they passed El Morro. Remaining there only a short time, he rode back to Virginia just in time to get into the Civil War. He

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6.

Here you observe a number of very faint Spanish inscriptions which have never been completely studied. Note the word “año” (year) 1646. To the right is a lamp-blackened inscription reading “paso por aqui Miguel Alfaro.” (Passed by here, Miguel Alfaro). A date is not given, nor is the man yet known to us. Scholars, dating the inscriptions by letter style, say it was done about 1700. The round black discs along the bottom of the rock are section markers. Each one is lettered and they divide the fa

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7.

In Spanish, this inscription says: “A veinticinco del mes de junio, año de 1709 paso por aqui para Zuñi—Ramon Garcia Jurado.” Translated, it reads: “On the 25th of the month of June, of this year of 1709, passed by here on the way to Zuñi—Ramon Garcia Jurado.” Ramon Garcia Jurado inscription, 1709 You can find Señor Jurado’s name in old Spanish documents. In 1728 he was the “alcalde mayor” of the Keres district, not far south of Santa Fe. To your right is a blackened inscription which reads, tra

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8.

“By here passed Andres Romero, of the year 1774.” This Spaniard is unknown. The date is important because it is apparently the last Spanish inscription before the coming of the Americans in 1849....

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9.

Notice the petroglyphs here, in particular the four mountain sheep and what appears to be a bear paw. These are, of course, far older than the Spanish inscriptions above them. The Spanish inscription reads: “Pasamos por aquí el Sargento Mayor y el Capitan Jude de Archuleta y el Ayudante Diego Martin Barba y el Alferez Agustin de Ynojos año de 1636.” Translated, it reads: “We passed by here, the Sergeant Major and Captain Juan de Archuleta and Adjutant Diego Martin Barba and Ensign Agustin de Yno

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10.

Here is the oldest and most famous inscription at El Morro. It was done by the first governor of New Mexico, Don Juan de Oñate, in 1605, 15 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. In 1604, Oñate rode south with 30 men to the Gulf of California. On his return the next year, he made his inscription, which reads: “Paso por aquí el adelantado Don Juan de Oñate del descubrimiento de la mar del sur a 16 de Abril de 1605.” The translation reads: “Passed by here the Governor Don Juan de Oñate

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11.

Continuing along the cliff, among the many inscriptions and petroglyphs you will be able to locate a church, stars, crucifixes, a little cavalry guidon (flag) and the prominent inscription of R. H. Orton, who was the Adjutant-General of California after the Civil War. You may also be able to locate the names of Simpson and Kern (but more about them at post #21 .) The Indian Petroglyphs are higher on the rock because, through the centuries, erosion lowered the ground level....

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12.

Begin here with the highest set of inscriptions. The ground level was higher then, as shown by this tree, which surely did not begin growing on top of a mound! Done by one of New Mexico’s most famous frontier governors, this inscription reads: “Aqui estuvo de General Don Diego de Vargas, quien conquisto a nuestra Santa Fe y a la Real Corona todo el Nuevo Mexico a su costa, Año de 1692.” or: “Here was the General Don Diego de Vargas, who conquered for our Holy Faith, and for the Royal Crown, all

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13.

The first emigrant train (mentioned in station 12 ) was led by Mr. L. J. Rose. He was born in Germany and moved to New Orleans in 1830. He later moved to Iowa where he became wealthy in the dry goods business. Rose was wounded by Mojave Indians in the attack mentioned by Udell. After recovering from his wounds he went to Los Angeles and became one of its leading citizens....

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14.

Some of the high carvings have the letters “U. P. R.” written after them. In 1868, the Union Pacific Railroad ran a survey through here, but the project was never carried out. The development of the Santa Fe Railroad 25 miles to the north effectively ended the use of El Morro as a stopping place. There is good reason to believe that practically all of the names you see here on the point date after 1850. Looking west along the rock, you will note that the inscriptions end about where the small ju

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15.

Slightly to your left, several miles away, is a multi-colored mesa. It is composed of the same material as El Morro, was formed about the same time, and is approximately the same height. The brighter colors are caused by thin films of iron oxide around the sand grains, which are not conspicuously present in El Morro. Lack of water kept the early travelers from stopping there....

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16.

As the saying goes, the writer of this inscription “counted his chickens before they hatched.” He tells us: “Year of 1716 on the 26th of August passed by here Don Feliz Martinez, Governor and Captain General of this realm to the reduction and conquest of the Moqui (Hopi) and (in his company?) the reverend Father Friar Antonio Camargo, Custodian and ecclesiastical judge.” Don Feliz Martinez inscription, 1716 Governor Martinez found the Hopis unwilling to accept Spanish domination, and after about

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17.

Because they were written on the same day and seemingly in the same handwriting, we presume that this inscription and the one to the west were written by the same man. The first one says: “The 28th day of September of 1737, arrived here the Bachelor Don Juan Ignacio of Arrasain.” The second reads: “The 28th day of September of 1737, arrived here the illustrious Señor Don Martin de Elizacochea, Bishop of Durango, and the day following, went on to Zuñi.” The good “Bachelor” was a Bachelor of Laws,

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18.

Inscriptions on the north side are difficult to photograph, because the sun shines around here only a couple of hours per day during the summer. Here is the only poem on the rock: “Aqui (llego el Señor) y Gobernor Don Francisco Manuel de Silva Nieto Que lo imposible tiene ya subjeto Su brazo indubitable y su valor Con los carros del Rey Nuestro Señor Cosa Que solo el puso en este efecto De Agostos 5 (Mil) Seiscientos Veinte Nueve Que se Bien a Zuñi pasa y la Fe lleve.” The poem, of course does n

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19.

If you are an enlisted man, you’ll appreciate this one. The first two lines of the inscription read: “The 14th day of July 1736 passed by here the General Juan Paez Hurtado, Inspector.” The second two lines, no doubt added when the good general’s back was turned, read: “And in his company, the Corporal Joseph Trujillo!” We wonder what ever happened to Corporal Trujillo!...

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20.

You are now looking at the longest and one of the most interesting inscriptions on the rock, supposedly done by Governor Eulate: “I am the captain General of the Providence of New Mexico for the King our Lord, passed by here on the return from the pueblos of Zuñi on the 29th of July the year 1620, and put them at peace at their humble petition, they asking favor as vassals of his Majesty and promising anew their obedience, all of which he did, with clemency, zeal, and prudence, as a most Christi

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21.

Lt. J. H. Simpson, an engineer for the army, and Mr. R. H. Kern, a Philadelphia artist who rode around with the army drawing pictures, were the first English-speaking people to make a record of Inscription Rock. Eulate inscription, 1620 Simpson and Kern inscription, 1849 They spent 2 days copying the inscriptions, and stated that when they were here, not a single English inscription could be found on the rock. Recall the word “gentleman” crossed out back at Stake No. 20 ? Mr. Kern’s drawing fait

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1.

The cave-like depressions in the side of the rock are created by water. Rain falling on the top of the mesa enters cracks in the rock, runs down the cracks (called joints), and comes out of small openings on the side of the mesa. The water seeping out of the opening gradually wears away the rock. The freezing of the water in winter and thawing in summer helps to weaken the sandstone. The tall trees in the vicinity of this stake are ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa ). They are readily identified

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2.

Here you can stop and catch your breath before beginning the steep climb. Look at the top of the mesa, to your right, just below the railing. You can see very clearly two different formations of rock. The lower is the sandstone called Zuñi formation and the higher is the Dakota formation. The line between these two formations represents a time interval of between 25 and 30 million years. More about this later. Behind the numbered stake near the base of the rock, you will see a Gambel oak ( Querc

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3.

The policy of the National Park Service is to keep the parks looking as natural as possible. Since it is natural for dead trees to be in a forest the ones you see in this area will not be cleaned up. When a tree falls in a National Park Service area it will lie where it fell and eventually will decay and supply nourishment for future trees....

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4.

Take a break here and look at the valley between the multicolored mesa and the higher parts of the Zuñi Mountains. This valley was formed by water gradually wearing away the softer rocks of the Chinle formation. The harder sandstones of El Morro and the adjacent mesa on the southwest and the sandstones and limestones of the higher slopes resisted such erosion. During the last few million years, while the Zuñi Mountains were being gradually pushed up to their present height, more than 10,000 feet

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5.

Here you can see at close hand the difference between the dark, upper layers of ocean sands and the light color of the lower and earlier stream and dune sands. Look here at the cliff above you and a little to the right. The lower is Zuñi sandstone, of the Jurassic period, and forms the bulk of El Morro. The upper is Dakota sandstone of Cretaceous period, representing beach deposits of the ancient sea which covered all the area. The contact surface between these two units represents a time interv

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6.

Look on the left side of the trail and a little behind you. You will see a dark green stake that marks one of the four corners of the unexcavated ruin. Let your eye follow along the top of the incline to your right and you will see another green stake, another corner. As you follow the trail on this side of the box canyon, look to your left for the last two stakes and you can tell how big this ruin is. Please do not leave the trail. This village was possibly two or three stories high, but after

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7.

Looking at the cliff wall across this little box canyon, you can see a definite horizontal line about half way down. The materials above and below the line were laid down about the same time, but the line represents a layer of softer material which has weathered away faster. The reason for the unevenness is that stream channels cut into the underlying sandstone, and then, as the land slowly settled to allow the sea to encroach, the channels filled up with sand. The sands were reworked by waves o

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8.

The boulders of mixed colors topping the pedestals of Zuñi sandstone are the Basal Conglomerate of the Dakota formation. This involved erosion and reworking of the old surface (Zuñi) plus the deposition of new materials. Thus some of the light colored particles in the Dakota are Zuñi sandstone. The steps cut in the rock were constructed by the National Park Service. They are not the work of prehistoric Indians....

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9.

The line, to the left of the post, extending through the rock on both sides of the mesa, is one of the principal causes of the development of the box canyon. After El Morro was buried by several thousand feet of younger rocks, some 60 million years ago, it was subjected to great pressures from the weight of the overlying rocks and the movements which caused the Zuñi Mountains to project so far above sea level. These pressures caused the sandstone to crack into the long openings which we call joi

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10.

The dark colored splotches are lichens. A lichen is composed of two different organisms, an alga and a fungus, living together and supporting each other. The fungus furnishes the moisture for the alga, and the alga the food for the fungus. This coexistence is known as symbiosis. As you walk from No. 10 to 11, you will pass several potholes that become pools of water after a rain. Some of these were artificially enlarged by the Indians who lived on the mesa top, to serve as supplementary sources

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11.

The dark color here is caused by carbonized remains from the plants which grew in the ancient swamps. Coal is formed in much the same way, but there is too much inorganic material in this seam to produce coal. This is the coal-like seam mentioned at No. 7 . On the very top, the dirt is from the Mancos formation of Cretaceous age, and is composed of marine shales deposited in the ancient sea which covered the area. It was originally much thicker, and is younger than any of the other rocks exposed

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12.

Atsinna, the larger of the two ruins, is approximately 200 by 300 feet, the size of some city blocks. Like the other village, parts of it probably were three stories high, mainly along the north side. It was terraced down toward the south, thus providing a southern exposure. You are standing on the second floor level about ten feet above the original ground level. The first floor was filled with debris from the collapse of the upper stories. The Indians obtained most of their water from the pool

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13.

This round room, is called a kiva . Kivas were built primarily for religious ceremonial reasons, but had other purposes, just as the large halls in cities today are used for exhibits, concerts, lectures, and other activities. In addition to religion, these rooms were used for workrooms, playrooms, general meeting places, fraternal society meetings, etc. A portion of Atsinna. Part of the square kiva is shown at lower left Now contrast this round kiva with the square kiva across the trail toward t

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14.

The stones you see at this station were used for grinding corn after it had been dried and stored. The corn was placed on the large stone called metate and ground with the smaller stone called mano ....

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15.

The trail now descends from the mesa top back to the Monument headquarters. We hope that you have enjoyed your trip over Inscription Rock. Should you have any questions, the ranger on duty will be happy to be of assistance. PUBLISHED IN COOPERATION WITH THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE BY SOUTHWEST PARKS AND MONUMENTS ASSOCIATION 221 NORTH COURT TUCSON, ARIZONA 85701 Southwest Parks and Monuments association was founded in 1938 to aid and promote the educational and scientific activities of the Nationa

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