In the Shadow of the Chinatis : A History of Pinto Canyon in the Big Bend

368 Pages·26.792 MB·English

by  David W. Keller

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