As we’ve been traveling along the Rio Grande, we’ve looked at how its changed from 1850 to the turn of the century: Texas becoming a state, western expansion, fights with Indians over land, military protecting the western expansion, the railroad to connect the East Coast with the West Coast, ranching in controlled areas rather than open ranges, windmills providing water for people and animals.
The different centers we’ve visited have concentrated on its place in history, but I’ve wondered, what led to what? What was the flow between the decades that led to change?
Why this thinking is important to me – if you don’t care, go on to the next section.
At the end of college in order to graduate with a degree in English Literature, I had to pass oral and written comprehensives over all I had studied. The written comprehensive didn’t worry me so much because I knew I could write well, and all the English majors were going to be answering the same questions. But the oral comprehensive was another matter. I’d be in front of all my professors and they could ask any question they wanted. How would I study for that? I ended up looking at each generation of authors and their writing, what was important for each group of writers, and how they were the transition for the generation before and the generation after.
When I got in front of my professors, my favorite teacher, because he challenged me to think deeper than any of the other teaches, gave me one topic: trace the use of the word “love” through the generations. This issue was just down my alley because of how I had studied.
This experience was the beginning of my love of seeing connections between ways of thinking and acting over time.
Back to “putting it all together”
The interpretative center at Seminole Canyon National Park had an amazing look at the area over the years, and it helped me put it all together. We started with 12,000 years ago.
Grasslands supported large herd animals and smaller animals.
Early hunters in the area knew that bison was crucial for their existence so figured out how to kill them so they could dry the meat and have food for many months.
Then 8500 years ago. a major climate change created the dry climate we have now. Natives had to hunt different animals in a different way. Here’s a picture of how they herded animals into a net.
And here’s a net made out of plant fibers.
The natives lived in the caves in the Seminole Canyon and drew pictures on the walls that are still there today for those willing to hike down to see them.
Here’s a look of how a family might have looked at their “home” in a cave. Dad with son, and mom with baby.
their view looking out of the cave 
inside the cave
The history of the natives in the area changed over the years. One tribe disappeared entirely. The Apaches adopted a raiding economy instead of providing for themselves, creating a real problem for everyone else.
goats and sheep
Following the war with Mexico in 1848, commerce and its need for roads took over.
Technology changed the entire landscape: railroad, barbed wire, and windmills.
With commerce as a driving factor and roads becoming safer, railroad men wanted to connect the southern United States from New Orleans to San Diego just as they had connected the northern U.S. from coast to coast. One group came east out of El Paso and the other came west out of San Antonio. The goal was to meet around the Pecos River, but the problem was that this river was too wide to build a bridge across it (until later). Part 6 has more detail on the railroad, but thought you’d like to see this information:
Here are the train routes for the first trestle bridge and the first high bridge.
crowded look of a mining town 
cost of meat
They needed a new way to cross the Pecos canyon and shorten the distance between towns.
103 days to build the high bridge–amazing!
This “traveler” allowed them to construct the high bridge. Men of this era always found a way to do what needed to be done.
With the railroad completed, the need for cattle drives came to an end. Barbed wire meant an end to open ranges.
Old Spanish herding system was based on open ranges and lots of workers for large ranches.
Fencing changed the landscape and the types of herds. Remember the King Ranch?
probably weren’t as much fun for them.
New types of stock could be raised in the Lower Pecos range since they didn’t have to drive them long ways to sell them.
Large-scale ranching has supported people of the Lower Pecos for 100 years. The families that moved here in 1880 to 1910 bought and lease landholdings for raising livestock in this rugged environment.
Remember the windmill that we saw in part 6 at the Judge Roy Bean center? It was ordered, shipped by railroad car, and built where it was needed. Now water for the livestock was taken care of.
new friends and moving on
As we were getting to move on to Big Bend, we met Bill and Jennifer camping next to us. They said they were from Nacogdoches, and when Barney heard that, he perked up. Barn asked if they knew Mike Eddings, a good friend from the Marine Corps who lived, and they said the name was familiar. Bill and Jennifer figured out that they had bought their house from him in the 1980s! Small world. Such a nice couple.
We drove through the inspection station one more time and said good-bye. Can you see the misting fan on the far left? The agent had his dog with him.
88 miles? Good thing we found gas before we saw the sign.
A working pay phone? Cell phone coverage is spotty!
On to Big Bend National Park!
