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Editor's note: This is one in an occasional series exploring the history and geographic treasures of Do a Ana County.
LAS CRUCES - The Organ Mountains are not only the most spectacular geographical feature of the Las Cruces area, but have come to be the iconic identity of Las Cruces itself. However, had the earliest names for the mountains stuck, we might have ended up calling them the Mountains of Oblivion.
According to research by local historian Gordon Owen and published in his book, "Las Cruces, New Mexico 1849-1999: A Multicultural Crossroads," early Spanish colonizers referred to the local mountain range as Sierra del Olvido, which can be translated as either the Forgotten Mountains or the Mountains of Oblivion.
Another early name for the region's mountains, one found on maps made by early Spanish explorers, is the Sierra de los Mansos, according to Owen's book. The Manso Indians who lived in this area were said to have greeted Spanish explorers with one of two greetings (both were reported) - either "Manso, Manso, mico, mico" or "Manso, Manso y amigos" which the Spanish translated as "We are Mansos, we come in peace."
The present-day name, Los Orga os, is attributed to a Spanish governor who ruled the province in its early times, according to Owen's research. The name reflected the fact that to some people, the rugged peaks of the Organ Mountains resemble the pipes of a church organ.
In an interview, Owen said that much of what transpired during Don Juan O
"My understanding is that he sent messengers to report back to the Viceroy in Mexico City," he said. "In part, this was done in the hopes of keeping up the flow of funding (for the expedition)," he said.
O ate reached the Rio del Norte (Rio Bravo/Rio Grande) somewhere south and east of present-day El Paso on April 20, 1598. Ten days later, he claimed the land for Spain by saying, "I take possession, once, twice and thrice, and all the times I must, of the ... lands of the Rio del Norte, without exception whatsoever." The declaration was followed by a sermon, a great salute, rejoicing, and, later that day, a comedy, Owen writes.
On May 5, O ate's caravan "crossed the river and headed north along the west foothills of the Organ Mountains, east of the present site of Las Cruces," Owen continues.
The crossing point at what is now Las Cruces was well-known to explorers, settlers and local tribes, especially the Apaches. Owen said because travelers tended to congregate before crossing the river, the Las Cruces area became a "logical point of attack" for Apache raids.
The name Las Cruces may possibly have two origins, Owen said in an interview. One would be "the crossing," and the other would be "the crosses," as the popular river crossing later became covered with so many crosses that it was known as El Pueblo del Jard n de Las Cruces, or the Place of the Garden of Crosses.
Many different stories abound about who was killed there and when, Owen said. But clearly many people were killed there, as a large number of crosses at the river were documented in Susan Magoffin's 1850 diary.
"She traveled by covered wagon from Kansas to Mexico City for her honeymoon," Owen said. "That must have been some honeymoon."
Gold in them there hills?
Beginning in 1619, and every three years thereafter, the Spanish sent a 32-wagon train up and down the Camino Real from Mexico City to Santa Fe with royal banners flying. If one was standing in the foothills of the Organ Mountains at that time, one would have seen this colorful sight.
"They were saying, 'This is a Spanish-controlled colony,'" Owen said. "It was a symbolic action to remove any doubt."
It was O ate who gave the dry, 17-mile stretch along the Organs the name La Jornada del Muerto, which Owen translated as "Journey of Death" or "Journey of the Dead."
At least two people, including Pedro Robledo, died the first time O ate took his caravan through the dry land east of the river. In later times, travelers knew to stock up on water and supplies at the Las Cruces crossing before attempting the straight run through the Jornada del Muerto.
"They figured out how to get through there," Owen said. "It was a more direct route to the north, faster than going along the river."
The Organ Mountains later attained some renown as a center for mining, Owen said. From the 1850s until about 1906, millions of dollars of copper, zinc and silver were mined from Los Orga os. In Soledad Canyon, both silver and lead were found.
According to some legends, there was gold in the Organ Mountains. In an article for New Mexico magazine, local historian Theron M. Trumbo detailed the legend of the Lost Padre Mine, a supposed gold mine discovered by a missionary Catholic priest on a tip from the Apaches. According to the legend, the priest refused to give up the gold, even when confronted by another priest who was sent from Mexico City to collect the treasure. Trumbo writes that the legend said the Apaches later took back the mine by force. Its whereabouts are unknown.
"I don't think there's any gold out in the Organs," Owen said. "But among the papers of Albert Fountain, there was found some raw ore."
Once the ore was assayed, it was found to contain gold, he said. But where Fountain may have found this gold strike is unknown, he said.
Perhaps another name for the Organs could be Las Monta as del Oro. I don't know about you, but I'm getting a pickax and a prospector's pan.
Jeff Barnet can be reached at (575) 541-5476.
