Page 65 - Early Naturalists of the Black Range

Wright and Bartlett were not traveling through untrodden territory. Harsh and dangerous perhaps, but known. Even so, the area still had not been the subject of extensive scientific exploration. On this trip, Wright was to collect specimens of approximately 50 new species.
On August 1, Wright departed Cooke’s Spring and traveled to the Mimbres River, passing the Mimbres Mountains. On the 2nd he travelled from Mimbres to the Copper Mines, where he collected until August 27. From October 9 to October 23 he was, again, collecting at the Copper Mines. On the 25 and 27th he was collecting along the Mimbres River. On November 2 he was collecting around the hot springs (probably Faywood Hot Springs) and then along the Mimbres, then east to Cooke’s Spring. On the 3rd he was at Mule Creek and back in the Rio Grande valley by November 4. (Field Notes of Charles Wright for 1849 and 1851-52, relating to collections from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and adjacent Sonora and Chihuahua, transcribed by Ivan M. Johnston, 1940)
His collection from this trip was extensive and is now the basis of much of the botany of the area. On August 6, 1851, he collected what was to become the isotype for the Silverleaf Oak, Quercus hypoleucoides, shown here. It was one of many hallmark specimens that he collected that year.
Sometimes we are prone to imagine that traveling with official expeditions made
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everything easy. That was not always the case, especially if the expedition was led by military officers. These officers were not always enamored with the hangers-on. Everything depended on the good will of the officer in charge. Wright walked from San Antonio to El Paso, for instance - no favors for the botanist. Wright received ten cents for each specimen he collected.
Wright’s legacy is difficult to compare with others because his efforts were often an order of magnitude greater than others. In a time of “greats” he truly was.