The Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas, between Fort Davis and Fort Bliss, was a place of extreme changes that made life hard for the Buffalo Soldiers working there. One day they'd be in a cool, green spring-fed canyon, but the next day they'd be working in a hot, dry desert with salty, flat land. Their animals suffered too, with little grass to eat, scarce water, sharp rocks and thorny plants. Even though the terrain made their work challenging, the Buffalo Soldiers patrolled and protected the San Antonio-El Paso Road, escorting travelers and mail while facing the harsh desert environment and threats from Native American raiding parties. They showed great strength and courage while doing their essential jobs in this important part of Texas.

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Mountain Trail Region

Historical Marker: Eagle Springs Stage Stand

Marker #1330 Text:

A station (1854-1882) for the stage coaches and wagon trains of the Overland-Chihuahua trails, which linked the East to the pioneer West, brought heartening mail and passengers, and supplies, and quickened the life of this remote region, then far out on the lonely fringes of frontier civilization. Erected by the State of Texas 1936.

** The Buffalo Soldiers 9th Calvary were most likely involved during the 1879 and 1880 time period. In 1862, during the Civil War, the Eagle Spring site was occupied by Union army troops, and in 1879 and 1880 a cavalry outpost was established there as part of the final campaign against the Mescalero chief Victorio.

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Mountain Trail Region

El Paso Salt War/​Salt Flats

The Salt Flats

West of the Guadalupe Mountains lies a stark and striking expanse known as the Salt Flats - remnants of a prehistoric lake that once filled the basin during the Pleistocene Epoch nearly two million years ago. Over time, streams carried minerals into the lowland graben formed by ancient faulting, leaving thick layers of salt as the lake gradually evaporated about 10,000 years ago. These natural deposits later became a vital and contested resource for the communities of the El Paso region.

The El Paso Salt War

Beginning in the late 1860s, conflict erupted over control of salt deposits near Guadalupe Peak, east of El Paso. Republican leaders W. W. Mills and Albert Fountain backed efforts to bring title of the salt lakes under U.S. or local control, but opposition came from Louis Cardis and Father Antonio Borrajo in San Elizario, who defended the Mexican community’s notion that the salt was public under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Tensions escalated through the 1870s. In 1877 Charles Howard (backed by Judge power) filed claims on the salt beds, triggering outrage among locals and riots. After various arrests and a siege in San Elizario, Howard ultimately was killed in El Paso in 1877, allegedly by Cardis’ allies. In December of that year, a mob in San Elizario executed Howard, his agents, and bondholders. U.S. troops and Texas Rangers intervened, but few perpetrators were ever held accountable.

Although legal claims continued, little changed until authorities allowed regulated commercial access to the salt without contest. The conflict had lasting effects on authority in the region and helped lead to the reactivation of Fort Bliss to restore order.

The El Paso Salt War of 1877 (also known as the San Elizario Salt War) was a violent struggle over control of valuable salt lakes at the base of the Guadalupe Mountains in far West Texas. What began as a political and legal dispute among Anglo businessmen and Tejano residents erupted into armed conflict when attempts were made to privatize the salt, long considered a community resource.

When local resistance rose, the Texas Rangers were sent to enforce the new claims, but their presence deepened tensions. The conflict reached its peak when a large force of Tejano and Mexican residents surrounded and captured twenty Rangers in the town of San Elizario. Order was eventually restored with the arrival of the African American 9th Cavalry and a New Mexico posse, whose presence forced hundreds of Tejanos to flee across the Rio Grande.

The Salt War ended with the establishment of private ownership over the salt lakes - marking both the end of community control and a turning point in the region’s social and political balance.

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Mountain Trail Region

Battle of Rattlesnake Springs

On August 6, 1880, elements of the 10th U.S. Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers) and a detachment of the 24th U.S. Infantry engaged Apache forces led by Victorio in the rugged Trans-Pecos region, about forty miles north of modern Van Horn.

Victorio’s band had been raiding across New Mexico, Mexico, and Texas, attempting to return to familiar ground and access water sources. Colonel Benjamin Grierson positioned his troops to deny the Apaches access to key springs and fortify water crossings—a strategy rooted in knowing that the harsh desert terrain made control of water vital.

During the fight, Apache warriors made repeated attempts to approach Rattlesnake Springs. The cavalry and infantry units held defensive positions at nearby canyons and approaches. When Victorio’s men attacked the cavalry’s flank or tried to disrupt the Army’s supply wagon, reinforcements and coordinated fire pushed them back into the hills.

While casualties were relatively light, the battle proved strategic. Victorio’s forces, unable to secure water or overcome the Army’s blockade, withdrew northward and eventually recrossed into Mexico.

The setback contributed to Victorio abandoning his campaign in West Texas; he would later be killed in October at Tres Castillos.

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Mountain Trail Region

On the Trail of Victorio

Victorio’s War

In 1879, Apache leader Victorio resisted forced removal from his homeland in New Mexico to the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona. Refusing to surrender, he and his followers launched a yearlong guerrilla campaign that swept across southern New Mexico, West Texas, and northern Mexico. Victorio’s band clashed repeatedly with U.S. troops, including the 9th Cavalry, and raided settlements along the borderlands before being surrounded and defeated by Mexican forces at the Battle of Tres Castillos in October 1880.

Victorio’s courage and tactical skill earned him a lasting place in frontier history. Historians remember him as one of the most capable guerrilla leaders of the Apache Wars, commanding respect even from his adversaries. After his death, leadership passed to his lieutenant, Nana, who continued the struggle the following year.

While little remains to be seen from the battles Victorio fought, travelers can see first-hand the type of terrain where the Apaches and US Army troops had to fight in Victorio Canyon. Victorio Canyon is a canyon located in Culberson County, Texas. Named for the Apache war chief Victorio, the canyon originates southwest of Victorio Peak and runs northeast for about eleven miles.

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