March 2, 2008
Revisiting the Boundary Survey, 1894-96
March 1, 2008
Naturally, it was something that happened just south of Arivaca that caused the redrawing of the U.S.-Mexican boundary in the1890s. Last month we talked about how the border was surveyed in 1855 and the markers placed erratically along the diagonal azimuth line between Nogales and Yuma. In the late 1850s, U.S. miners began working the mineralized areas around Arivaca and south into California Gulch and Holden Canyon (not named yet). Also in the area were a large number of Mexican miners. No one really knew where the border was, and there was an 18-mile span between Tres Bellotas Road and a point south of (what is now) Peña Blanca Lake where there were no markers at all. This wasn’t the greatest unmarked span along the whole border—in one case there was over a hundred miles between markers. No wonder there was trouble.This country had been vacant and undeveloped in the 1850s, but by the 1870s, the Apache being on the reservations, U.S. citizens were beginning to move into the area, mostly for mining. In 1873 the Oro Blanco Mine was “discovered” by American citizens. By early 1874 there were reportedly some 400 Mexican miners working the area also. (It is likely that this area had been mined since Spanish times.) The new owners were from Tucson, so they soon had the Sheriff out to run off the Mexicans. The Mexicans begged to clarify, saying they were in Mexico. This incident led to an agreement between the two states to appoint engineers to determine the location of the border in relation to the mine. Carlos Federico Seelé of Sonora and John W. Hopkins of Arizona conducted a survey and found the Oro Blanco Mine to be about 2.5 miles inside the U.S. line. The governor of Sonora, Ignacio Pesqueira, did not question the survey. However, the subsequent governor, Vicente Mariscal, disputed the survey. Hopkins had actually been a stockholder in the company that owned the Oro Blanco and some others in the vicinity, and so his opinion could be called into question. The Mexican governor even had some questions about Seelé.
Backcountry Almanac
March 1, 2008
Tree: willow Flower: delphinium Color: violet Stone: aquamarine Metal: tin
Gender equality month: time to honor both genders
Pisces
March 1, 2008
Pisces, the sign of the fish, is the twelfth and final sign of the zodiac. The last day of Pisces is he last day of winter, the closing of the zodiacal year. Pisces also brings us to the end of our spiritual journey, our reunion with creative source. Some call this God.
Agua Linda Farm Journal
March 1, 2008
Yesterday afternoon, Stewart, Jesse and I worked together cultivating the fields. We were using push plows to scrape the surface of the soil and lift out tiny weeds that had sprouted along the sides of the crops and in the furrows between the rows. Seeing the pesky little seedlings crumble and then looking back at a well groomed row after each pass is very satisfying. Jesse had a three-pronged rake that has a large bicycle-like wheel on the front (high wheel cultivator). His job was to push down the furrows, a less delicate task than mine, as I had to get as close to the plants as possible. Soon he had passed me and was very proud of his speed. He is not the most willing worker in the family to say the least, but he was pretending that he was racing on a motorcycle – and winning! That was satisfying for him. I had reflective moment while catching my breath at the end of one row. The sun was setting and here we were, my husband, my son and me beneath the view of the Santa Rita Mountains and Elephant Head, tending our spring fields by hand. No tractors were running. I heard only the sounds of lambs calling their mothers, and the scraping of the push plows across dirt. In fact, other than the occasional “motorcycle revving” noises coming from Jesse, this could have been a scene on a farm from 100 years ago. Then my blackberry hummed to let me know that I had received a text message from my daughter. The incongruousness of this did not escape me.
Bridge Over Troubled Borders
March 1, 2008
The monumental sculpture standing in the desert has a broad scope of inspiration and meaning. According to the artist that created it, Neil Bernstein, it is to stand as a memorial to the plight of migrants and as it reaches into the heavens, it serves as a golden talisman of spirituality - yet earth-bound in its function as a beacon and water source for travelers.