Big Bend Administrative History

Once McDougall had prefaced his remarks with this disclaimer, he then spoke to the features of the Dead Horse Mountains that he found worthy of additional study. "The abundance of certain species here," he told his superiors, "is in marked contrast to their sparce [sic] occurrence in other parts of the proposed park site." Among these features were candelilla, "and a grama grass (Bouteloua ap) locally called Chino Grass." The NPS biologist reported that "the abundance of candelilla on some of the slopes of the valleys visited is undoubtedly due to the inaccessibility of the area." He had learned that "a few years ago wax factories were in operation in the Big Bend," and that "this plant was collected almost to the point of extermination in the more accessible places." Yet in the Dead Horse range, "it was apparently untouched." [42]

Equally striking to McDougall was the paradox of an abundance of chino grass, side-oats grama, "and other valuable forage and browse plants . . . due to the absence of water." The site of their encampment on October 16 "contained the only water we found anywhere in the mountains." McDougall surmised that "had water been available these valleys would have been overrun with domestic animals and the forage plants would have disappeared." McDougall, Maxwell, and the other survey party members learned of this when they rode to Ernst Tank in the valley of the same name. "This tank," reported McDougall, "with an area of nearly an acre, was constructed some thirty years ago and has contained water most of the time since." The result was that "the valley has been grazed by cattle and goats until very few forage plants are left." This contrasted sharply with "the valleys of the mountains that we visited on horseback." There the party found "no domestic animals and very few wild animals, all because of the lack of water." McDougall cited as an example the fact that "during the four days the only large mammals we saw were three mule deer and one peccary." [43]

In regard to fauna of the Dead Horse range, the party identified as characteristic the yucca, the creosote bush, and chino grass. This latter plant "is said to be an excellent forage for horses at all seasons of the year," wrote McDougall, "but cattle do not like it although they will eat it if necessary." Wildflowers like the blue and reddish-purple strains of Leucophyllum grew throughout the Dead Horse Mountains, and the party discovered the only location in the Big Bend area for desert willow, apache plume, sumac, Mexican buckeye, walnut, and persimmon trees. His findings led McDougall to conclude that "these parts of the Dead Horse Mountains visited would be excellent for wild animal life or for longhorn cattle provided that water were to be developed." Otherwise, said the NPS biologist, "the area is suitable only for plant life and some of the smaller animals." [44]

In tandem with McDougall's study of vegetation in the Dead Horse Mountains was Charles Gould's report of the area's geological phenomena. This marked Gould's fifth foray into the Big Bend area, but his first into the eastern end of the future national park. He described the range as "a series of parallel ridges composed of limestone, trending north to Persimmon Gap." He counted three mountains in an area "approximately thirty miles long [that] averages twelve miles wide, containing about 360 square miles, or approximately 230,000 acres." Gould connected the Dead Horse Mountains to the longer chain that ran from Colorado and New Mexico south to the Sierra del Carmen and the Sierra Madre. Their formation resulted from "a series of six to eight parallel, steep faults, which have tilted the formations to the west, so that the dip slopes are to the west while the scarp slopes face east." Much erosion had occurred over these faulted blocks, with the majority of the streams running north to south. Gould also calculated the lowest and highest points in the Dead Horse range as 1,800 feet at the Rio Grande, and 5,857 feet at Sue Peak. [45]

As a geologist, Gould found amusing the process used by the U.S. Geological Survey to identify prominent features of the Big Bend landscape. "One is lead to suspect," wrote Gould, "that the U.S. topographers who drew the map in 1903, drew on their imagination for such names as Val Verde, Margaret and Sue." He wrote of the Devil's River and its limestone formations, the Del Rio clays, the "Buda limestone," and the Boquillas flags. "These formations once probably covered the entire Dead Horse Mountain region," Gould stated, "but have been carried away by erosion." His guesswork resulted from the fact that "before the time of our reconnaissance no technician of the National Park Service had been in the region." Thus the survey crew needed to "learn something of the geology, botany and animal life of the area." Then Gould and his colleagues were to "find out if there was sufficient water and grass in the mountains to support a herd of longhorn cattle," on the chance that "it should be decided to undertake there the propagation and preservation of this fast-disappearing variety of cattle once so common on the Texas plains." Their conclusion echoed previous studies of Conrad Wirth's dream of a working cattle ranch in the Big Bend, as Gould reported: "Our investigations showed that there is no water, but plenty of grass." Gould further declared that "in our four-day trip in the mountains we did not see a single horse, cow or goat, and only three deer." [46]

Because the location of water sources was so critical to the success of Big Bend National Park, Gould pressed on for evidence of springs or intermittent pools in the Dead Horse Mountains. "The Devil's River limestone," said the geologist, "is notably cavernous and contains many crevices and solution channels." Rainwater would pass down these courses "and does not appear again as springs in the immediate area." Dr. C.B. Baker contended that "there are many strong springs, a few miles down the Rio Grande, farther east," leading Gould to speculate that "it is possible that the water which supplies these springs originally fell as rain in the Dead Horse Mountains." Gould then offered three solutions to the lack of surface moisture: "namely, wells, tanks and pumping." The first strategy also would be the cheapest, "provided that water is found to occur in the stream gravels of Ernst Valley or Heath Creek." Gould, however, had no evidence of any successful wells dug in either stream. "The only well which we found," the geologist noted, "had penetrated the stream gravel approximately thirty feet without finding water." Yet "if it ever becomes necessary to provide stock water in this area," said Gould, "my suggestion would be to dig a well in the gravel to bedrock, in each valley." He believed that an underground water source could be found, and "if so, this method would be more certain, and at the same time less expensive than any other." [47]

Despite being more expensive, Gould believed that the construction of "header tanks" in the Dead Horse range would be the "most feasible plan." The NPS geologist had seen "many places in the mountains where gulches or small canyons have cut narrow channels in the limestone." Thus "a concrete dam built at one of these places would form a reservoir to impound water." Gould warned, however, that "certain precautions should be taken," among these the location of the dam "at a place where no fractures or crevices appear in the limestone." In addition, the NPS would be wise to erect check dams above the reservoir "to collect gravel and other debris." His logic was that "the greater part of the rains in this area occur usually during the summer months as a few short but severe downpours." Gould surmised that "in most cases, a small reservoir would be filled by water from a single rain, and, unless drawn on too heavily, the water would probably last throughout the year." He cited examples of similar reservoirs in west Texas, like the one at the "old Knight Ranch southwest of Marfa." Gould's final recommendation to NPS planners for water in the Dead Horse Mountains was the pumping of stream flow from either Tornillo Creek or the Rio Grande itself. "Water might be raised to a large concrete tank built on one summit of Hubert Ridge," wrote Gould, "or on any one of several high peaks or ridges in the mountains." Then the water could be distributed by gravity flow to smaller tanks below "at various strategic points up and down the valleys." The geologist realized that "this method will be expensive, both as to installation and subsequent maintenance." [48]

The geological surveyors paid close attention to one area in particular with a history of grazing: Val Verde. "Because of the abundant water supply," wrote Gould, "this valley has been overgrazed for many years." He had been told that "at one time 8,000 goats watered at the Ernst tank." The best estimate of the surveyors was that "it will take at least five years, or more probably ten years, for grass to come back." This led Gould to state what he called "an axiom that throughout the greater part of the area of the proposed Big Bend Park good grass is found only in places where no water is available." Evidence included the Chisos Mountains, where goats and cattle threatened the landscape. "If all this stock were removed," recommended Gould, "on account of heavier rainfall, the grass would eventually come back, and this would make an ideal reserve for deer." [49]

Before closing his remarks to Region III officials on the Dead Horse Mountains, Gould noted that "there are two localities that I have not yet visited that should be inspected before a final decision regarding the longhorn pasture is made." The first included the Rosillos range, the Christmas Mountains, and the area between them along the headwaters of Tornillo Creek. "Both these mountains consist of volcanic igneous rocks," wrote Gould, "the soil from which usually produces good grass." Local ranchers also had informed Gould of "several good springs and considerable grazing in this area." The second area that Gould recommended for study was Mesa de Anguila, to the north of Santa Elena Canyon. "This is a high table land," reported Gould, "ten miles long and approximately three to four miles wide." Its principal drawback would be "securing water for stock." Gould noted "several tinajas on the Mesa," and thought that "header tanks might be constructed." He considered the drilling of wells to be "improbable." Yet he encouraged the NPS to send a pack train onto the Mesa de Anguila to give the area further study, a suggestion that extended to the Rosillos and Christmas mountains to the north and east. [50]

Gould's mention of the Mesa de Anguila intrigued Region III officials, who decided in late November to send Ross Maxwell into the western reaches of the future national park. Maxwell encountered much rain and fog that late in the season, and he wrote to Gould on December 2 that "between the weather and the hunters I didn't get into the field much." He considered his excursion to the Mesa de Anguila a "flop," in part because ranchers and hunters needed all available horses. Maxwell then followed the advice of a local rancher and drove to the foot of the mesa near Terlingua Abaja, only to have his vehicle stuck in the mud for sixteen hours. "On top of all that," Maxwell told Gould, "every time I get out something goes wrong with the old car." He then lost the services of Ardrey Borell, whose task had been to identify species of birds on the mesa. Maxwell also showed little enthusiasm for setting out "geologic markers and trailside displays." He feared that such publicity would attract vandals looking for petrified wood and dinosaur bones. He did agree to "show the location of the big oysters and markers pointing to the various geologic formations and topographic features." Maxwell anticipated a surge of visitation in the coming summer season, and asked if CCC employees could make these signs. He also sought Gould's advice on utilizing the camp facilities for polishing rocks and displaying the geologic specimens collected to date. Finally, the junior geologist needed help in completing his maps, and the CCC could provide assistants in the process of mounting these for display in the museum. [51]

At year's end, the work of the NPS scientists and survey crews had generated much knowledge about a part of America that would call itself "the last frontier" for the remainder of the twentieth century. This nickname would attract visitors once the new park opened its doors, but for park service professionals the mysteries of Big Bend had been confronted, if not resolved, with twelve months of rewarding research and fieldwork. Thus the words of Dr. Hermon C. Bumpus of the NPS advisory board pleased Region III officials when the former came once again to Big Bend in mid-December. After a tour from Santa Elena to Alpine with Everett Townsend, Bumpus offered Maier his conclusion that "the Big Bend National Park project is . . . justified and should be brought to a conclusion as soon as possible." He called the plans for the Chisos Basin "excellent," and he hoped that Glenn Springs could become "a rendezvous and lunch place" for visitors. "While the visitor is relaxed, at or in a properly landscaped area," wrote Bumpus, "trailside shrines could well tell the story . . . of the occurrence that resulted in the temporary occupation by the U.S. Army." Other interpretative features could include "the decline and fall of the wax industry," and the "flora of the desert and the quickening of plant life in the presence of water." Future park signs also could explain "the block sinking of the entire area and the significance of the surrounding escarpment." [52]

Bumpus then suggested to Maier that "another profitable day can be spent in picking up the Rio Grande at the oyster beds." From there visitors could return to the river at Boquillas and Hot Springs. The advisory board member wanted shrines and information media placed at both of these sites. Less attention should be paid to the "petrified tree" in the vicinity, as "those who have seen better would call it a 'flop.'" A visitor's third day in Big Bend "would be spent in the trip to Santa Helena, etc., at which place a proper rendezvous should be provided." Bumpus suggested that this include a climb to the top of the canyon walls. He then offered Maier his opinion "about the men," of whom Maxwell earned high praise. "Ross Maxwell is a corker," wrote Bumpus, "and has done a splendid job." He called Charles Gould "a stimulating companion, of wide experience and just the kind of a man to make a good 'back log.'" Bumpus considered Gould to be someone who "fits into the picture, frames the picture," but Maxwell "has the intimate stuff and can't help doing things." [53]

The advisory board chairman's thoughts paralleled those of Charles Gould, who filed his own report on December 18 with Region III's Herbert Maier. The party had covered much territory in three days, with a presentation to the CCC camp enrollees added for good measure. Gould noted that "during the three days we discussed many problems of the National Park Service." He found Bumpus "bubbling over with ideas and has a vast fund of practical experience, in both scientific and administrative matters." Gould echoed Bumpus's "highest praise" for the work of Ross Maxwell, but also appreciated the chairman's recommendations for improvement of the Big Bend park plan. Bumpus wanted the NPS to complete Maxwell's geologic mapping "as rapidly as possible," while "the collecting of rocks, minerals and fossils should be continued." He called for construction of "a central museum at headquarters, and this museum should become the chief study center for the park." Smaller "trail-side museums" could be placed at Glenn Springs, Santa Elena Canyon, Hot Springs and San Vicente. Bumpus told Gould that "a wayside shrine should be built on the banks of the Rio Grande a mile southeast of San Vicente, at which place unusually good specimens of petrified seashells occurs." He also wondered if "selected locations should be indicated where the public may be permitted to collect [shells]." Gould concurred that "the dominant idea should always be to make the story easily understandable to the tourist," and both he and Maxwell "are in most hearty accord with the ideas of Dr. Bumpus," promising Maier that "we will do everything in our power to attempt to see that these ideas are carried out." [56]

Gould's trip to Big Bend in December 1936 marked his sixth tour of the future national park in the short span of two years. It also symbolized the commitment of the park service's scientific professionals to discover all that they could about nature's way in the forbidding landscape of southern Brewster County. They had identified critical strategies for the protection of natural resources in the region, chief among these the end to overgrazing of stock. The survey work was difficult, as evidenced by Ross Maxwell's disappointing trip late in the fall to the Mesa de Anguila. In addition, the scientists had no clear boundaries to follow, as the land-acquisition program had no funds and little hope for a swift resolution. Yet they showed how important Big Bend would be to the larger goals of the park service to protect natural treasures, and to ensure that generations to come had access to the same wonders that Charles Gould, William McDougall, Ross Maxwell, and their colleagues admired as they charted and mapped the last frontier.

Figure 16: Superintendent Ross Maxwell, Leading a Geology Trip in the Park