Page 42 - The Geology and Ore Deposits of Sierra County, New Mexico - Bulletin 10

GENERAL FEATURES 41
ing the dry seasons the winds continue to shift about the lighter silts and sands in the important process of scour and fill to which much of the present day topography of the region may be attributed.
HISTORY OF MINING IN SIERRA COUNTY
In the two centuries following the discovery of America, the Spanish governors of the newly acquired territory sent numerous expeditions into what is now the southwestern part of the United States. These expeditions were under the guise of spreading Christianity among the Indians, but in reality they were expe- ditions of conquest and attempts to find treasures that had been reported to exist in the region. They usually included several experienced miners or prospectors in addition to the soldiers and religious men.
What is now Sierra County was found by these early ex- plorers to be a particularly inhospitable region. On the route north along the Rio Grande (then called the Rio del Norte) the last well-established settlements of Indians were left behind about where El Paso now stands, and only small scattered vil- lages were seen, until near San Marcial in Socorro County the pueblos of another tribe, the Piros, were encountered. From there north the valley was thickly inhabited. Onate reported 10,000 to 12,000 inhabitants in pueblos between San Marcial and Socorro.
In the larger pueblos, turquoise, and in a few instances pearls from California (or mother of pearl), were used as orna- ments. Silver and copper mines were mentioned by the Span- iards of these early expeditions, which were visited by them, and specimens of the ore were taken back to New Spain. It is noteworthy, however, that although the Indians knew of these occurrences of mineral and were able to direct the explorers to them, no silver or copper implements or ornaments were appar- ently seen by the travelers. A small amount of gold obtained from placers may have been used by the Indians as ornaments.
It is believed that scouting parties from Coronado's main band penetrated as far east as Sierra County in 1541, and there is detailed record of the journeys into this area of Rodriguez in 1581, of the Espejo expedition in 1582-1583, and of the Onate expeditions and the founding of the Province of New Mexico, 1596-1605. These later explorers traveled northward in each instance through the Rio Grande valley. Interesting relics of these early ventures are to be seen at Hillsboro in the valuable collection of Mr. W. D. Slease, who has a set of six iron spoons and a sixteenth century spur found by him in the neighborhood. As far as is known to the writer, no missions were ever estab- lished in Sierra County.
During the period of the early Jesuit missions, some mining