Volume 32

Table of Contents

First Glance? Caching at Jupiter Rockshelter, Presidio County, Texas
John D. Seebach

Jupiter, a small rockshelter in southwest Presidio County, was excavated in order to retrieve what was thought to be a flake cache. A small number of chipped stone tools were recovered, and though the deposit did not immediately bespeak a cached deposit, nor could such an interpretation be rejected outright. A consideration of the reasons for caching, and how such reasoning would be differentiated in the archaeological record, indicates the Jupiter assemblage is an insurance cache, and is most likely a complete or nearly complete hide-dressing kit. The initial confusion over whether or not the assemblage was a cache at all stemmed from archaeological “common sense,” in which caches are predominantly thought of as containing museum quality or ostentatious items. Jupiter shows such common sense understandings should be reevaluated in order to provide a more compelling picture of prehistoric life in the eastern Trans-Pecos and elsewhere.

An Investigation of an 1855 Drowning in The Rio Grande near Fort Duncan, Texas
Curtis Chubb

During my studies of the 1855 Callahan Expedition, I read a single comment about a US Army officer drowning in the Rio Grande in 1855 on the very same day that the Callahan Expedition started crossing the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas. That comment was the stimulus for the research leading up to this report focusing on why he drowned. The officer’s name was William Martin Davant; he was raised on the Davant Plantation near Gillisonville, South Carolina. In 1854 he graduated from the US Military Academy, and his first assignment was at a remote Army fort named Fort Duncan on the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, 1,300 miles from his home. One year later, Davant drowned in the Rio Grande at the age of 23 years and 11 months. Evidence is presented that Davant died while demonstrating that the flooding Rio Grande could be forded in order to assist the Callahan Expedition. My investigation also uncovered details about Davant’s life before Fort Duncan and how his body was returned to South Carolina due to the tenacity of his family. The report also highlights the frequent intersection of well-known West Point graduates with Davant and his family.

Ecotourism Potential in the Boquillas Border Village and Mexican Protected Areas of the Big Bend Region
Matthew D. Moran, Helena Abad and Allison Monroe

The border region of the United States and Mexico contains important scenic, biological, and cultural resources that either are already important ecotourism locations or are developing into economically valuable locations. The Big Bend region has six contiguous protected areas that conserve some of the most biodiverse North American desert environments. While the US side has a vibrant tourism industry, poor access and lack of infrastructure limits the Mexican side. Currently, the only convenient and legal way to enter the Mexican protected areas directly is a pedestrian crossing at the village of Boquillas, Mexico. We investigated the current and future economic impact of tourism in this border town surrounded by the protected areas. We found that current tourists, although numerous, spend a modest amount of money when visiting. However, interest in ecotourism and heritage activities shows that more economic activity could be generated through the development of additional options. If only 13 percent of visitors participated in their stated preferred activities, economic impact for Boquillas would be double its current level. Additional legal border crossings would also facilitate tourism development over larger areas of the protected lands, presumably increase local conservation interest, and perhaps strengthen cross border ties.

Making a Line in the Borderlands: The United States-Mexican Joint Boundary Commission
William V. Scott

At the close of the US-Mexico War, Article V of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo specified that a Joint Boundary Commission survey and finalize the new US-Mexico international boundary from San Diego Bay to the mouth of the Rio Grande. Both countries’ Commissions received very specific tasks and kept extensive journals for their respective governments. The United States-Mexican Joint Boundary Commission would also serve as a fact-finding mission in the fields of geology, geography, ecology, mineralogy; lay out a proposed transcontinental railroad route; and address issues of national defense. This massive operation saw many trials but completed surveying a lasting border between the United States and Mexico and produced a wealth of knowledge related to this borderlands region. In 1854, after extensive negotiations, the Gadsden Purchase settled the dispute of the Bartlett-García Conde line and added the task of redrawing the new boundary line. After expeditions from the Pacific Ocean through Big Bend country to the Gulf, this newly designated boundary was considered a success. The Joint Commission provided vital information regarding geography, flora, and fauna, while marking the boundary was often a secondary task to the observation of the region.

Cabeza de Vaca Slept Here
Margarito Jacques Garcia III

In Fort Stockton, Texas, at the west entrance to James Rooney Memorial Park, a State of Texas historical marker states, “Cabeza de Vaca and his three European companions possibly visited the Comanche Springs in Fort Stockton circa 1536.” The author of this article examined such a possibility by delving into historical research literature. The conclusion was that there was evidence for the possibility that such a trek could have happened, but at no point was there ever any concrete and irrefutable evidence that such did happen. In addition, the author examined the research of numerous respected writers who have also conjectured what the “most likely” trek through Texas was for de Vaca and his companions. The four explorers were shipwrecked at Galveston Island, spent some time there, and then got help from the indigenous natives, taking a boat ride from there to the mainland near present-day Galveston. In this article, however, the author looks at the possible route Cabeza de Vaca might have taken, starting from the point of their crossing at the Colorado River. The author predicts the de Vaca et al. route, which he thinks is the most li kely, from the Colorado River all the way to what is present-day El Paso.