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The Old SPANIShThe Old SPANIShThe Old SPANIShThe Old SPANIShThe Old SPANIShTRAIl ASSOCIATIONTRAIl ASSOCIATIONTRAIl ASSOCIATIONTRAIl ASSOCIATIONTRAIl ASSOCIATION

6Th ANNuAl NATIONAl CONfeReNCe6Th ANNuAl NATIONAl CONfeReNCe6Th ANNuAl NATIONAl CONfeReNCe6Th ANNuAl NATIONAl CONfeReNCe6Th ANNuAl NATIONAl CONfeReNCe

JuNe 5, 6, & 7, 1999 - lAS VegAS, NV

The people - the price- the program - the loca-tion- together these things make a conference asuccess. Our conference was a success.OSTA’s thanks go to:

THE PEOPLEHal Steiner and Liz Warren of Las Vegas fordoing all the leg work setting up the conferencesite and program. Charles & Judy Querfeld(OSTA President and wife) and Willard Lewis(Conference Chair) for being responsible for theoverall accomplishment of having the confer-ence.

Col. Harold Steiner Liz Warren

Our program lecturers: Dr. Joe Sanchez, CliffWalker, Liz Warren, Kim Zukosky, GregSeymour, Col. Harold Steiner, Bill Helmer,Alice Baldrica and Charles Querfeld.And, we want to thank Dr. Harry Godshall andhis wife, Jo, for inviting us to his ranch, Rest-ing Springs, on the Old Spanish Trail.

THE PRICE$45 for 2 days per OSTA member including twomeals, an all day program and coach tour ofOST sites was a deal. The Silverton was rea-

& Mon.) and the buffet was good—who amongus did not eat our weight in crab legs andshrimp.

THE LOCATIONLas Vegas—one word: entertaining.

THE PROGRAM - SATURDAY, JUNE 5

Registration: (The coffee went as fast as itcould be provided.) Richard and Marie Greenename-tagged our attendees and welcomed thewalk-ins.

Judy Querfeld opened the OSTA store and wasbusy selling OST thermal mugs, OST Logo Tsand denim shirts.

Willard Lewis had books for sale and sold allcopies of Dr. Joe Sanchez’ book “Explorers,Traders, and Slavers- Forging The Old SpanishTrail, 1678-1850.” Special thanks are due toPaul Spitzzeri for giving OSTA the conferencesale proceeds for reprints of his article “ToSeduce And Confuse: The Rowland-WorkmanExpedition of 1841” published in the SouthernCalifornia Quarterly.

President Charles Querfeld made the introduc-tions and welcomed everybody. He turnedthings over to the Las Vegas coordinators, LizWarren and Hal Steiner. They gave us survivaland comfort tactics for Las Vegas and theforthcoming Conference activities. The pro-gram was soon underway.

Dr. Joe Sanchez presented his keynote addr-ess, “The Old Spanish Trail Mosaic: His-tory and Concept - Cultural Landscapes.”sonably priced ($50-59 Fri. & Sat., $27-29 Sun.

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rating winter weather. Garces’ southern routewas forgotten.

Between 1777 and 1821 neither Spain norMexico developed the land route from NewMexico to California. However, mountain menlike Jedediah Smith were exploring the South-west and finding the way to California. By1822, Mexico had won independence fromSpain, California had become prosperous andMexico had a new attitude on trade with for-eigners and access to California. In 1829Antonio Armijo took the first trade caravanfrom New Mexico to California. It was the startof trade and eventually migration. The routefrom New Mexico to California eventuallybecame known as the Old Spanish Trail.

Bill Helmer, OSTA’s Historian, followed Dr.Sanchez. Bill presented a slide show accompa-nied by taped music (Bill on the harmonica—afriend sang and played guitar—nice music).The slides showed scenes from Bill’s 500-milehike on the OST. Bill talked about the impacton the Timbisha Shoshones who were and arestill impacted by the migration of westerncivilization. In fact, the tribe is in negotiationswith the U.S. for the restoration of tribal lands.

Cliff Walker then told us that “watering holes”naturally dictated the direction of the trailthrough the desert. Thus, when Indians ranaway from the California missions and mergedwith other desert tribes and began to steallivestock, the Indians used the “watering hole”

Dr. Joseph Sanchez

He sketched the history of the OST from itsorigins in Ute trails and trade with the PuebloIndians before Onate settled New Mexico in1598. After the Spanish entrada, trade withthe Utes continued and the eastern portion ofthe OST was extended into the Utah Lake areanear Provo. This illicit activity included a livelytrade of New Mexican horses and mules for,among other items, Ute captives, typicallyPaiute women and children. At that time offi-cial trade in New Mexico was limited to that onthe Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. In thiscontext it is important to remember that al-though Spain expanded settlements to nearTucson around 1700, in Albuquerque in 1706,and in San Antonio in 1718, California was notsettled until 1769.

Dr. Sanchez reminded usthat the settlement ofCalifornia happened muchlater than either NewMexico or Arizona. SanDiego was founded in 1769and missions and settle-ments as far north asMonterey followed soonafter. Other settlements,notably San Francisco andLos Angeles, came later in1776 and 1781, respectively.

The stage was now set for travel between NewMexico and California, but it was slow to de-velop.

Explorations for a land route between Califor-nia and New Mexico proceeded both ways. In1765, before California’s establishment, JuanDe Rivera reached the vicinity of Moab, Utah.In 1776, Father Garces toured, on foot, withonly an Indian guide, from San Gabriel to theHopi village at Oraibi where he left a note forFray Silvestre Velez de Escalante, theresident missionary. Shortly thereafter,Escalante and Fray Francisco AtanasioDominguez set out from New Mexico toMonterey, reached central Utah and thenreturned to New Mexico in the face of deterio-

Bill Helmer Cliff Walker

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where water flowed on one side—wagon tracksin an area but no mule tracks—Indian trails10-15” wide; mule trails are 22”- several OSTsites.

After lunch, we heard about the efforts topreserve the Las Vegas Springs—an OST campsite in the middle of Las Vegas.

Greg Seymour Kim Zukosky

Liz Warren, Greg Seymour (Archaeologist) andKim Zukosky (So. NV Water Authority Pre-serve Manager) presented the history andcurrent status of the Las Vegas Springs. Thereis evidence that the Springs were used byIndians long before their discovery by moun-tain men and Spanish traders. The Springswere the largest on the OST. Mormons re-marked that the Springs “formed a small creekthat spread out over the Las Vegas Valley toform meadows 2 ½ miles long and ½ milewide.” So what happened to this oasis? TheSprings have been capped to supplement thewater supply of Las Vegas. The meadows havedisappeared under roads and concrete. KimZukosky told us about the efforts to preservethe immediate area around the cappedsprings—the regrowth of native vegetation, thereturn of animals and birds and the effort tomaintain the vestiges of pioneers who used theSprings.

Liz, Greg and Kim primed us very well for theSunday visit to the Springs.

Charles Querfeld, OSTA President, updated uson the OST National Historic Trail FeasibilityStudy. The NPS now expects to issue theirPreliminary Report for public comment at theend of 1999. We are now waiting for its releasebefore filing comments.

Hal Steiner discussed “The OST Across TheMojave--Is It Worth Preserving?” The invasionof off-road vehicles, housing developments andhighways are all contributing to the disappear-ance of parts of the Trail. It was agreed weneed to start marking the Trail and erectingmarkers at significant sites.

Alice Baldrica, Nevada’s Deputy State HistoricPreservation Officer (SHPO), showed us howwe can work with the SHPO of any state to getapproval for protection of historic sites and

trails—as did the New Mexican traders whocrossed the desert. The New Mexicans raidedsmall Indian villages and traded their captivesin California and New Mexico. The 1853 BealeExpedition noted that the slave trade stillexisted. Walker showed us slides of a fault line

Register Sites should theNPS not designate theOST as a Historic Trail.OSTA is grateful to Alicefor taking the time tocome to the conferenceand for her enthusiasticpresentation.

The OSTA AnnualBusiness Meeting

Charles Querfeld was pleased to mention theprogress that OSTA has made in a year—national membership has increased from lessthan 100 to its present level of 240 mailingaddresses—324 individuals (Hats off to ourMembership Chairman Richard Greene). A

trail segments and perhaps find funding forthe erection of markers. Alice’s comments gaveus a lot to think about when she said thatperhaps we could get segments of the OST

designated as National

Alice Baldrica

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Southern California Chapter has formed underJohn Robinson’s direction. Richard Greene,OSTA Treasurer presented the Treasurer’sReport: The Treasury has grown from a FiscalYear 97-98 Balance of $1,166 to $8,085 in Fis-cal Year 98-99 ( Revenues $13,375- Expenses$5290).

This ended the program for Saturday and wemoved to the reception.There was plenty to eatand drink and we all had a chance to mingle.The Silverton provided an excellent spread.

SUNDAY, JUNE 6

Our bus was comfortably packed even thoughthere was not a spare seat when we left theSilverton. We were grateful for the AC - thiswas June in Las Vegas. Hal Steiner and LizWarren took turns as our guides.

We cruised the Strip. There is nothing like theStrip—where else can you drive by replicas ofworld famous architecture collected in onespot.

After arriving at the Big Springs Preserve(“the” Las Vegas Springs), Kim Zukosky guidedus through this normally closed facility. First,you become aware that this is an enclave sur-rounded by housing and traffic. Yet, as youexplore, you become oblivious to the outsideworld. You focus on nature—vegetation, oldcottonwood trees, birds (especially the kestrels)and the gentle flow of water. Then, there isMan: pumps, old buildings, water collectiontanks, pathways, the now dry, spring caul-

drons. You are well aware of the heat and glareof the sun and that you are immersed in his-tory.

We went on to the Mormon Fort. This buildingis the oldest in Las Vegas and is the remnantof the fort built by Mormon settlers. There is apioneer garden here to put you in touch withpast life. The site was selected by the Mormonsbecause it was on a creek at the head of themeadows for which Las Vegas is named. Thefort subsequently became a ranch under O. D.Gass and Helen Stewart.

We proceeded to the outskirts of Las Vegas andbegan to get the feel for the Trail. The typicaldesert terrain rolled with the usual ups anddowns—some pretty steep slopes. Trail travel-ers went from spring to spring: CottonwoodSprings in Blue Diamond once had good waterholes and grass. Mountain Springs lay to thewest, uphill, in a gap not visible from LasVegas.

Mountain Springs was our lunch stop. Localsknow the “Saloon” just below MountainSprings summit (at 5502 feet the highest partof the OST in NV). It is also a watering hole forbikers. I don’t know which was more intimidat-ing: the bikers and their Harleys or our busload of OST folks. Hal Steiner had box lunchesfor everybody, but chance decided which flavorsandwich you would get. We had a pleasantlunch under the trees. Some people checked

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took us down into the arroyo where in the sandin certain areas you could dig down and getwater to surface. Reba Grandrud found a wetspot and was able to scoop out some water. Itwas deja vu for Bill because he had hikedthrough this arroyo some years ago and wasseeing some of the same willows. StumpSprings was a lonely place surrounded bybrush and if water were not so precious (nomatter how brackish), I am sure past travelerslike Fremont (1844), Orville Pratt (1848) andGwinn Harris Heap (1853) would have notmentioned it. The view of snow-capped Mt.Charleston was breathtaking - even Fremontremarked on it. Two miles beyond StumpSpring is California.

The community of Charleston View, on theNevada-California boundary, has cleared astretch of desert for an air strip. The OST wasclearly visible as it crossed the airstrip. RoseAnn Tompkins easily pointed out the trailwhen challenged by Hal Steiner. Communityroads have crisscrossed the area and impactedthe Trail.

Emigrant Pass: If you want to see one of thebest views and most graphic evidence of theOST, THIS is the place. You can drive andpark at the top of the Pass. From there you canlook over the valleys to each side and clearlysee a long segment of trail. On top of the passand on both sides of the slope is so much evi-dence of wagon wheel rust on rocks that youknow you have had one of those trail “experi-ences.” It was a great spot for lunch.

Stump Spring: Bill Helmer, OSTA Historian,

From Mountain Springs we retraced our wayback toward Las Vegas. Liz Warren pointedout the agave plants growing on the slopes.Agave, when cooked in pits, is edible and canbe stored . Liz pointed out the limestonemiddens that remained at several cooking pits.

We went to Cottonwood Springs. The springsare on private property. The communityaround it was an oasis. We stopped at the BlueDiamond store for further refreshment andtook in the OST marker there.

After passing the Wheeler Spring Preserve, wedrove to the entrance of the Red Rock CanyonRecreation Area. Because buses are not al-lowed in without special authorization, westopped and looked at the view from the en-trance area and headed back to the Silverton.

The bus tour was comfortable, the AC feltgood, the history was great.

MONDAY, JUNE 7

It was already sunny and warm when ten carsleft the Silverton under Hal Steiner’s leader-ship. We carpooled to minimize the number ofcars in our caravan.

The store at Blue Diamond, Nevada

We stopped at a small community just beforeMountain Springs to look at some wagontracks that the community had fought to pre-serve and then went on to see more trail besidea road cut just before the summit of MountainSprings. We drove down to the road toPahrump and looked at another possible OSTtrace. Then, it was on to Stump Spring.

an OST concrete pylon marker and a bronzethe springs close to the restaurant. There is

plaque here.

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Resting Springs is a genuine oasis. Dr. HarryGodshall and his wife, Jo, and their greatdanes welcomed us. Harry is an OSTA memberand offered Conference attendees the opportu-nity to visit Resting Springs. Harry gave us apamphlet on the history of Resting Springs.About 1850, the Mormons gave RestingSprings its name when their wagons regularlypassed and stopped here. Fremont called itAgua de Hernandez after the Hernandez fam-ily (killed by Indians). In the mid 1850s thearmy built a redoubt here to counter Indianattacks. California horse thieves passedthrough here.

About 1877, Jonas Osborne built the firstpermanent building. Other buildings were

erected: a stone hotel and three saloons amongothers. Water from the spring was piped 2 or 3miles via gravity flow in 3” pipe to a mill.Sections of rusty pipe can still be seen in thedesert. The spring flows at about one milliongallons per day and is excellent drinking wa-ter. It flows out of the ground from an extendedsource.

Dr. Harry Godshall and wife Jo visit with OSTA President Charlie Querfeld at Resting Springs

Resting Springs Ranch includes 520 acres andHarry inherited 1/20 of the ranch at the deathof his grandfather. He spent a few years buyingout the other 19/20 interests. Each succeeding1/20 interest became more difficult to buy. In1958, there were 18 cottonwoods left of allthose planted by Jonas Osborne, but they haveall died. The Godshall’s have planted all thegreenery on the ranch including an incrediblegrove of palm trees. When they moved onto theproperty in 1981 they could not walk from thehouse to the barns because of heavy brush andwire fences; pastures had to be cleared,plumbed for irrigation and fenced—theystarted from scratch and in their own words—“It’s been worth every sweaty moment.” It isindeed paradise.

Another concrete OST pylon is on the ranch.

Hike up Emigrant Pass

The OST mule trace lives on at Emigrant Pass

Resting Springs Ranch lies a few miles west.

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From Resting Springs we journeyed to ChinaRanch. It is reached by a pleasant drivethrough a canyon with interesting remnants ofpast mining ventures, natural arches, holesand hoodoos. The owner welcomed us. Theranch is famous for dates and the group en-joyed tasting date shakes out of the hot desertsun.

This was the end of the car tour except thatHal mentioned he was going to stop on the wayback to Las Vegas near Shoshone, CA to checkout a road cut with obsidian. We followed Halto the road cut . The obsidian was soft—almostlike coal.

We said “Bye” to Hal who was heading homeand the rest of us returned to the Silverton. Wehad a great day—thanks to Hal Steiner.

MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEET-ING OLD SPANISH TRAIL ASSOCIATION

President Querfeld called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.

REPORTS:

MINUTES OF THE 1998 ANNUAL MEETING:MOTION: Forgo the reading of the minutes. Made,seconded and approved unanimously.

TREASURERS REPORT: Richard GreeneFiscal Year 1998-1999 (June 1 - May 31)Revenues Expenses - ActualStarting Balance$1166 Spanish Traces $ 989Nat’l. Conf. $1505 Nat’l.Conf.Rpt. $ 122Dues $2655 Membership Exp. $ 465Gifts - general $1255 Board Mtgs. $ 41Gifts - markers $6612 CO Corp. Fee $ 45Promotions $ 60 LA Memorial $1494Spanish Traces $ 57 Pioneer Woman Plaque $ 100Interest $ 65 Postage $ 359Total $13375 Off. Supplies $ 130

Promotions $ 554Current Balance $ 8085 Nat’l. Conf. $ 991

Total $5290

MOTION: Accept the Treasurers Report as presented.Made by Pat Etter, seconded by Willard Lewis andpassed unanimously.

1998 ACTION ITEMS:Membership Growth - Richard Greene - Membership hasgrown continuously throughout the year, increasing fromapproximately 100 last year to a present 240. The president

thanked the Greenes for their major effort and a job well done.

New Chapters - Willard Lewis - A new Chapter, formed inSouthern California thanks to the efforts of John Robinson,has become our largest Chapter. 1999 Priorities are:

1. Chapter in Nevada2. Two Chapters in Utah - Ron Jewkes.3. Chapter in Durango, Colorado.

Chapter growth is not limited to these areas, but these arepriorities.

Newsletter - Due to the Querfeld’s production of “SpanishTraces” costs have been kept to a minimum. We need apermanent editor for Spanish Traces, although the Querfeldswill continue to do the layout. Spanish Traces needs articlesfrom the membership.

Bylaws - New bylaws are modeled on the Santa Fe TrailAssociation bylaws. The Board approved them, as amended,January, 1999. They were presented to the general member-ship, March 1999. Revisions include, Board composition (onefrom each of our six states), terms of office(Directors, threeyears, officers, one year), voting procedures (general member-ship will vote by mail rather than at the Annual Meeting).

MOTION: To approve Bylaws as presented. Made byReba Grandrud, seconded by Rod Stock, and approvedunanimously.

Election of Directors and Officers - The following slate ofOfficers and Board Members was presented for nomination.Past President - Ron KesslerVice President - Willard LewisDirector/Nevada - Elizabeth WarrenDirector/New Mexico - John CoffmanAll other Directors and Officers remain.

MOTION: To bring slate to vote. Made by RebaGrandrud, Seconded by Richard Greene, and approvedunanimously.

ONGOING PROJECTS:BLM Cooperative Agreement: - Board is in favor.ational Park Service Report - Need to prepare an officialresponse.Y2K Annual Conference: - proposed for Taos, NM or LosAngeles, CA.Publicity: - Need a committee chairman to work throughlocal and regional historical groups, create copy for publica-tion, and project OSTA into public view.Mapping & Marking: - Need to get organized and started.Clark Co. is leader in marking and mapping historical sites.We should all work with our own counties. Utah HistoricalSociety wants us to develop an official logo that is simple andrecognizable for use on signs.

MOTION: To adjourn meeting. Made by Judy Querfeld,seconded by John Robinson, and passed unanimously.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR IN TAOS

This annual conference report is produced for OSTA members. Narrative: Richard Greene; Photography: Marie and Richard Greene. Editing and Layout: Judy and Charlie Querfeld. We extend our thanks to all guest speakers and participants.

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Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDAngel Fire, NM

Permit No. 7

Old Spanish Trail AssociationP.O. Box 483Angel Fire, NM 87710

The plaque at Blue Diamond, Nevada near Cottonwood Springs.

Here is your OSTA 1999 NationalConference Report

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR IN TAOS