In the Shadow of the Chinatis the texas experience books made possible by Sarah '84 and Mark '77 Philpy the texas experience Books made possible by Sarah ’84 and Mark ’77 Philpy Map by Tish Wetterauer and David Keller. In the Shadow of the Chinatis A History of Pinto Canyon in the Big Bend David W. Keller TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY PRESS COLLEGE STATION Copyright © 2019 by Center for Big Bend Studies All rights reserved First edition This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/N ISO Z39.48–1992 (Permanence of Paper). Binding materials have been chosen for durability. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Keller, David W., author. Title: In the shadow of the Chinatis : a history of Pinto Canyon in the Big Bend / David W. Keller. Other titles: Texas experience (Texas A & M University. Press). Description: First edition. | College Station : Texas A&M University Press, [2019] | Series: Texas experience | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018043502| ISBN 9781623497354 (book/cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781623497361 (e-book) Subjects: LCSH: Pinto Canyon (Tex.)—History. | Canyons—Texas—Presidio County—History. | Big Bend Region (Tex.)—History. | Chinati Mountains (Tex.)—History. | Natural history—Texas—Big Bend Region. | Ranchers—Texas—Pinto Canyon—History. Classification: LCC F392.P7 K45 2019 | DDC 976.4/93—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018043502 Contents Preface ...................................................vii Acknowledgments ........................................ ix Chapter 1. The Fault Line ...................................1 Chapter 2. The Terrible Mountains: The Natural and the Early History of Pinto Canyon ......................6 Chapter 3. Cañon del Pinto: The Settling of Pinto Canyon ......42 Chapter 4. Signal Fires in the Chinatis: Bandit Raids and the Mexican Revolution ........................73 Chapter 5. El Camino Afuera: Adjustments and Departures ....100 Chapter 6. Sangre del Cordero: Drought, Depression, and Texas Rangers ..........................120 Chapter 7. Madre Patria: Mexico, Family, and Ranching in the 1940s ...............................153 Chapter 8. Tierra Seca: A Parched Land for Lost Dreams .......187 Chapter 9. Tierra Perdida: A Lost Land ......................217 Chapter 10. No Ranch for Old Men: Changing Times .........236 Chapter 11. Only the Land Remains ........................269 Notes ...................................................273 Bibliography ............................................319 Index ...................................................345 Preface THIS BOOK WAS born by a chance confluence of events that would find an East Coast businessman going native in the outback of Far West Texas. When Jeff Fort bought the Pinto Canyon Ranch, it was a defining moment in the history of the canyon, for he soon found evidence of a far more distant past, which brought him to the offices of the Center for Big Bend Studies, launching a collabora- tion now sixteen years long. By the time I met Jeff, he had already been working with and providing support for the center for nearly a decade. With me in the mix, the project expanded to include the historical record. My role was to write the history of the Pinto Canyon Ranch and to record the historic sites it contained. For a time I threw my research net over a much broader area—one that eventually embraced the entire Sierra Vieja. But I had gone too far. I discovered there was more history contained within the canyon alone than could fit into a single book. I ended up right back where I started. Limiting the book to Pinto Canyon would allow me to produce a more cohesive narrative and a more pronounced and meaningful boundary. Unlike ranch or county boundaries, the natural borders of the Rimrock and the surrounding mountains are more geograph- ically meaningful. As such, this book may be the deepest historical look at the smallest piece of the greater Big Bend yet written. How- ever, to assume it is therefore definitive would be wrong. As with any history, the availability of source materials determined the limits of the book, and these sources consisted almost entirely of public records and oral histories once or twice removed. Since nearly the viii Preface entire cast of characters have long since passed, it fell to descen- dants to tell the stories of their parents and grandparents. But not every person who owned or leased land in Pinto Canyon over the years appears within these pages. Their absence is less an indicator of significance than a result of the limitations of the extant record. I feel especially fortunate, however, to have had the pleasure of detailing the history of José Prieto, the most enduring resident of Pinto Canyon and the person whose story—bearing the hallmarks of an epic tragedy—eclipses all others. Because the book relies heavily on narrative storytelling, I have embellished some scenes in an effort to convey stories without sac- rificing their descriptive power. Even so, I went to considerable lengths to maintain fidelity to the historical record. So while the details are sometimes conjecture they are informed conjecture and not simply fabricated fancy. For those who prefer a more objective treatment, the remainder of the book—the vast majority of it—is more conventional in approach. My goal in writing this book was simply to reveal the stories behind the crumbling rock and adobe ruins tucked within this remote canyon. Who lived here? When did they come? What were their lives like? Why did they leave? The answers, as I discovered, were far more complex than I could have known. My hope is that this story offers readers more than simply a case study of ranching in the Big Bend borderlands. I hope that it will also offer context to this dramatic and mysterious landscape, to imbue the land with deeper meaning in a way that fosters a stronger sense of place. Acknowledgments THE BEST PART of writing a book is having the opportunity to thank all those who played a role in creating it. I owe a debt of grat- itude to a great many but none more than Jeff Fort, who generously funded the project and opened his ranch to my colleagues and me. More than that, Jeff served as a source of information, a personal guide, and—not least of all—a friend. I would also like to thank Bob Mallouf for bringing the two of us together and Andy Cloud, direc- tor of the Center for Big Bend Studies, for helpful editorial advice and unflagging support. Office manager Susan Chisholm not only keeps the center functioning, she is also a bastion of common sense, reminding us all that we should relax and eat more chocolate. Of course, she is right. This work greatly benefited from the able assistance of Mattie Matthaei, who served as my right hand throughout most of the proj- ect. She conducted a great many of the interviews, made some of the most important contacts, and discovered some of the richest sources. I would also like to thank Dawnella Petrey, Ashley Baker, and Jim Miller, who waded through mounds of newspaper articles and tax records, which helped immensely in informing the story. The histo- rian Glenn Justice was more than generous with his vast storehouse of knowledge on the history of the Mexican Revolution and remains the preeminent scholar of the Sierra Vieja. In addition to the insights he offered while reviewing my chapter on the Mexican Revolution, he helped shape my understanding of the history and significance of the larger Sierra Vieja region. I would similarly like to thank rancher