Drawing the line: the Mexican Boundary Survey, Part 3
February 1, 2008
Return to the boundary between the U.S. and Mexico, 1853. When we last left the boundary story, a stalemate had been created and no acceptable boundary line had been successfully surveyed from 1848, when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, until 5 years later. Political reasons for this abounded.
One concrete reason was that the United States needed a southern railroad route to the Pacific. The Treaty line was along the Gila River, not a particularly suitable path. However, further south of the Gila was a less mountainous area, which the boundary explorers recommended.
The new Secretary of State appointed James Gadsden, a railroad man from South Carolina, to be the new envoy to Mexico. The Mexican government was having serious trouble. Into the fray came General Lopez de Santa Anna, whom you may remember was the former president and General who lost at the Battle of San Jacinto, many years before. Anyway, Mexico under Santa Anna was declining rapidly from its already weakened position, and money was needed. When Gadsden arrived, he had permission to go so far as to offer $50,000,000 for another large chunk of Mexico. He had various proposals to attempt, with increasingly smaller amounts of land. One proposal included the whole of Baja California, and they all included a port on the Gulf of California. President Santa Anna, however much he needed the money, would only cede to the U.S. enough land for a railroad route and would not give up a land connection with Baja California. The Mexican minister negotiated the line with U.S. politicians and they settled on $10 million dollars for about 29,650 square miles worth of territory.
Once the Gadsden Purchase treaty was signed on June 24, 1854, the Secretary of the Interior had to assign a new Boundary Commissioner to oversee the drawing of the new line. Major William S. Emory was chosen. Emory was very qualified for the position, having been with General Stephen Kearney’s Army of the West during the Mexican War, as well as with the previous Boundary Commission. He knew the territory. Emory assigned Lt Nathaniel Michler of the Topographical Engineers to start east from San Diego, while he worked west from El Paso. He would not see Michler for another year.
On the Mexican side, Commissioner Jose Salazar Ylarregui took up again the work he had been doing under the previous boundary commission. He assigned Captain Francisco Jiménez to work with Lt. Michler. I will focus on their story since they did the survey work between Nogales and Yuma, including the area south of Arivaca.
This time the Americans were better organized and funded, while the Mexicans suffered from lack of money. Both commissions had excellent surveyors. Before the surveyors had even started, the Mexican government had just about run out of the $10 million they had received for the Purchase. They were unable to fund their surveying crew in the manner that it needed. At one point Salazar Ylarregui, who was spending some of his own money on the project, was even arrested by his own government for complaining too much. But, back to surveyors…
Lt. Michler proceeded to the junction of the Gila and the Colorado to start running the diagonal line southeastward towards Nogales, where the 111° meridian met 31° 20’ north latitude. The initial part of this line ran through a most disagreeably overgrown part of the Colorado River valley and then difficult sand, the most inhospitable part of the Sonoran desert, sometimes called the Camino del Diablo. Few water sources were available. Captain Jiménez arrived in Yuma some months later and found that Michler had no orders to cooperate with him. Fortunately they worked things out to the satisfaction of each side. When they had determined the initial point in the middle of the Colorado River, they focused on the azimuth line, which they would trace to the 111th meridian where it met 31° 20’ north latitude.
In June of 1855, when they realized that the nearest water was 125 miles away and after that it was even scarcer, they decided to go to Tucson and from there to Nogales where they would start back west. Emory had previously determined the 111th meridian point and placed a monument, actually a pile of stones. It so happens that he had erred and this monument was 4.5 miles west of the actual meridian. Neither Michler nor Jiménez corrected the error. The spring nearest the 111th meridian was called Ojo de los Nogales (the town of Nogales not being in existence yet). Michler and Jiménez began the westward survey on June 26. They placed a marker (XIX from the Colorado River) on the azimuth of the new line (69° 19’ 45.9”northwest). Three miles further on they placed XVIII. There they met the topographically challenging gulches and canyons that lie south of Atascosa Peak, and they set no more markers for 17 miles. The next one (XVII) was set on what they called the ‘Sierra de Sonora,’ near the trail to Tubutama (now known as Tres Bellotas Road.) Thus they avoided placing a marker anywhere near California Gulch. The location of Marker XVII was reached via a circuitous route to Arivaca, which Michler’s crew was using as a camp. In his report, he says: “Eighteen miles and a half from ‘Sopori’ (an Indian name) you reach a deserted Mexican rancho, in the valley of Aribaca; the latter is narrow, lying east and west, and bounded by high granite hills, limited on the east by the Sierra del Pais…
The valley was mantled with rich green pasturage; immediately bordering it are hills covered with fine grama grass and a low growth of mesquite. Numerous springs lie concealed among the tule, with here and there a willow or a cottonwood to mark their localities. A mule trail runs south from this place to Tubutama…To the northwest is a range of mountains crowned with a high peak of solid rock, called by the Papago Indians ‘Baboquivari,’ or “ Water on the Mountain;” in winter it is covered with snow and ice, although at its base lies the ‘Tierra Caliente.’
Michler writes: “Three days were occupied in traveling this short distance. (17 miles from Marker XVIII) The trail for the first two was over almost impassable mountains, massive rocks and steep precipices constantly impeded the progress of and turned the party out of its course, making the route circuitous as well as hazardous; rough ascents were surmounted, steep ravines followed down and deep gullies passed; the mules actually to be dragged along. At the end of the second day the party found some small springs—‘Los Ojos Escondidos’—on the trail to Tubutama, and encamped on them. On the third, the trail was still over high hills, but not so difficult; and some springs—‘Los Ojos de Granizo”—a short distance from the monument, were reached. The animals had become so injured and lame by the sharp angular rocks, that they had to be taken into Aribaca to be reshod and many of them to be replaced by others.” Monument XVI was placed a “league” (probably about 3 miles) from the last one. Crossing the “wide and rich valley, running north and south and extending along the east base of the Sierra Babuquivari” they erected Monument XV, on the “Sierra del Pozo Verde,” nine miles from XVI. Michler went on west across O’Odham land to Sonoyta (south of Ajo) where he was to meet the crew with Jiménez, who had gone ahead. Michler reported, “The town of Sonoyta is the door of the State of Sonora…It is a resort for smugglers and a den for a number of low, abandoned Americans, who have been compelled to fly from justice. Some few Mexican rancheros had their cattle in the valley near by. It is a miserable poverty-stricken place, and contrasts strangely with the comparative comfort of an Indian village of Papagos within sight.”
Michler met Jiménez near Quitobaquito Spring, about the midpoint of the azimuth line. They went on to finish their part of the survey, largely due to a good rainy season, which was still barely sufficient for their needs. After retreating to civilization in Sonora, they completed the paperwork for the survey in November of 1855 and Michler arrived back in Washington, D.C. in January of 1856. Emory’s report makes interesting reading, however, and Michler’s description of the country is fascinating. He had been accompanied by surveyor A.C.V. Schott, who recorded the natural history of the area and included many drawings of views from the Monument sites.
To make a long story short, the Gadsden Purchase line was drawn, but it was not marked at regular intervals and Emory’s 111th meridian point was inaccurate. This was to result in another survey, in the late 1890s, because by that time, with missing markers and whatnot, no one was really sure where the border was. That is another story, to be continued next time.
References: Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, Vol 1, 1857 by William H. Emory, and other documents, research material and photo courtesy of the late George Bradt, thanks to Diana Freshwater; The Imaginary Line: a history of the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, 1848-57 by Joseph Richard Werne, 2007
* See the Historical Atlas of Arizona by Henry P. Walker and Don Bufkin for detailed maps of the proposed purchases.
Copyright 2008 Mary Kasulaitis
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