Adolph Ruth’s Third Trip Out West?

Discuss information about the Lost Dutchman Mine
novice
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Adolph Ruth’s Third Trip Out West?

Post by novice »

We are all aware of the two documented trips that bought Adolph out west. In 1919 he went to Anza Borrego in search of the Lost Pegleg Smith gold mine and in 1931 he came to Arizona searching for the Lost Dutchman Mine.

There are other “stories” about Adolph visiting the Superstitions during those early years but we have seen nothing yet that would verify any of those stories.

One item I received from Eleanor Clark was the second page of a letter. It was a loose scrap among the other items she sent. The first page was missing and since then I have asked about it and she could find nothing further. Below is the image. There is nothing to indicate the date or to whom it was from or to whom it was addressed.

Image

Paul Shimek and I compared the handwriting in this note with that of Adolph and we both believe it is Adolph Ruth writing the letter. The reference to my old German Atlas and given that the note came from Eleanor’s collection, it seems the letter was from Adolph and most likely to his family.

This answers the WHO question.

Joe Ribaudo was able to identify the two towns mentioned, Jal and Ochoa. They are in Lea County in the extreme southeast corner of New Mexico.

This answers the WHERE question.

We next tried to narrow the time frame down when Adolph might have been in New Mexico.

Researching these two locations mentioned, we came up with the following information from the internet.

Jal, Lea County, New Mexico

Four brothers named Cowden brought a herd of cattle branded JAL and established the JAL ranch in Monument Draw in 1886, six miles east of the present town. There are numerous speculations as to the origin of the name JAL. The first names of three of the brothers - James, Amos and Liddon or from a Texas cattleman named John A. Lynch are two of the possibilities.

Charles W. Justice applied for a post office in 1910 and named it for the ranch where it was located. Subsequently the post office was moved to town in 1916, taking the name JAL with it. Ranching was its primary economy until 1927 when oil was discovered. There were land feuds and those who laid out the town platted the streets so they would not meet. The El Paso Natural Gas Company is the largest employer. Jal became an incorporated town in 1928.

The existence of the post office and the 21 inhabitants in Adolph’s letter would indicate he was there after 1916 and before 1928.

Ochoa, Lea County, New Mexico

From the internet, Ochoa is listed as a present day ghost town and the following is about all that could be found.

Ochoa was a trading point on NM 256, 14 mi W of Jal. Said to be named for Ochoa, Tx. The name is more likely to be for a Spanish family who settled here in relatively modern times. Today only an old school and an abandoned oil plant remain.

A Post Office was in Ochoa from 1917 until 1940.

Again Adolph writes of a Post Office in Ochoa and this would put him there after 1917.

The 1920 census of both Jal and Ochoa precincts reflect a very sparsely populated area. A few ranchers and a Post Master but little else.

By the 1930 census Jal was booming and Ochoa remained much as it had been in 1920.

It would appear from the above that the note was written sometime between 1917 and 1927.

Erwin Ruth, Adolph’s son, also made reference to Adolph taking more than 2 trips west.

From Erwin’s manuscript, The Fervent Romances in Seithing Mexico, he writes about his father’s accident in 1919 in the Anza Borrego Desert.
This misfortune again thwarted the gold hunt and not until later years after Dr. A. Ruth had retired from the Government service did he again attempt to locate the secret and elusive gold mine. On this adventure the elder Ruth who is not in perfect health and with his shortened leg which resulted from the injury found an important clue, together with other disclosures, he feels satisfied that he is on the right track to the hidden mine virgin treasures.
Although Erwin’s second manuscript The Story of the Mexican Gold Mine was written in October of 1931, the Fervent Romances seems to have been written before Adolph came to Arizona and went missing. In this account Erwin notes that his father made a trip west after he retired. Here we have Erwin not only speaking of a third trip west but in this case he may be narrowing down the time frame for our trip. Adolph finally got his retirement and pension settled near the end of 1924.

The WHEN is certainly getting dicey but unless Adolph made more than three trips, this might place the New Mexico trip and note as being between 1925 and 1927?

Hopefully additional information can be found that will further shed light on this little note. Until then it will continue to remain just another small mystery in the Adolph Ruth story.

The next Question of WHY Adolph was in SE New Mexico raises a plethora of additional questions.

Garry
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Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Garry,

My old eyes were having a hard time with the image, so I darkened it up a bit. Hope you don't mind.

Take care,

Joe

Image
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Cal Morse.......

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Garry,

"There are other “stories” about Adolph visiting the Superstitions during those early years but we have seen nothing yet that would verify any of those stories."

The Ruth association/friendship with Cal Morse is a tiny hint that Adolph Ruth might have spent some time in Arizona, and more importantly, close to the Superstition Mountains.........prior to 1931. If that is true, it really puts the "public" story of the history that surrounded Ruth's death in a seriously suspicious light.

I believe the evidence is out there to support a prior visit(s), and is being withheld out of consideration for the families involved. This "consideration" seems a bit over protective.......77 years after the fact. If the truth, would make any of the pioneer families look bad, at this late date, they will look just as bad when it finally comes out, which seems inevitable.

At least now, there are people still alive who can help to explain what took place, and why there was a need to fabricate the "facts" we have all taken for truth over all these years. Once those people who know the truth are gone, there will be no one left to defend those pioneers. I don't see how that hidden history can't be even more harmful coming out later, rather than sooner.

It will take someone with a lot of courage to step forward and place this subject in the light of day. Rumors have been allowed to circulate for 77 year now. The family has had to endure those rumors for all those years. Could the truth be more harmful than that? If the answer is yes, that's all the more reason why it needs to be exposed.

Greg Davis might consider transcribing the portion of his Brownie Holmes taped interviews that deal with the Adolph Ruth story and posting it on one or both of the Forums.

You need look no farther than Ron Feldman's historical novel to see how those rumors can continue to be voiced and written. Everyone knows that the "fiction" he wrote was heavily mixed with truths that were not public knowledge. There are people today who are using his scenario of the plot to kill Adolph Ruth as less than fictional in their conversations.

I can't help but believe that the family that survives today hears of those conversations. No matter where the truth comes down, it should be allowed to find it's own place in the history of the mountains. I should hope that people are not so delicate, that knowing something bad about their ancestors will destroy their lives.

Just my opinion, so I could be wrong.

Take care,

Joe
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Post by Cubfan64 »

Greg Davis might consider transcribing the portion of his Brownie Holmes taped interviews that deal with the Adolph Ruth story and posting it on one or both of the Forums.
Joe - While I'm in Arizona this October, I want to see if I can get a copy of those tapes. It's my intention (if Greg approves and allows) to put together a written transcript of the whole thing by the end of this year.

I know I asked Greg a bit about the tapes this past spring and his recollection was that the large majority of the conversations revolved around the history of his family, the pioneer days, etc... I believe Greg has mentioned a few times now that he was just beginning to record "interviews" and did not want to steer Brownie specifically at LDM stories out of concern that Brownie would get uncomfortable and simply stop talking.
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Mystery Note

Post by Ozarker »

Novice, Cubfan, and Joe:

"Regen arm" is a German phrase which translates to "with little rain; with low rainfall; dry". I believe that is what Adolph was referring to in his note, rather that the name of a region. That would certainly apply to the area aroun Jal and Ochoa.

Also, the note could be interpreted as he was currently writing from an area that was mountainous and rough and had not yet made it to the Jal area. For that matter, he may never have made it there, and was simply in the stages of planning for the trip when he wrote this note (from where ever he was).

Take care,

Ozarker
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Can't Get There From Here.........

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Larry,

I take the letter to be from the region he is discussing.

"There are no bad Indians now. This used to be Comanche Indian region."

I believe he is talking about the place he is writing from, and the only names we have are Jal and Ochoa. It may be that there was more information on the first page, but the that would be pure speculation.

Take care,

Joe
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Post by Ozarker »

Joe:

The area around Jal is relatively flat at about 3000 feet ASL, which was the reason I surmised he hadn't made it there yet. Guess I'm reading to much into the partial letter.

Larry
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Mountains.....

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Larry,

If you read about the history of the area, you will find that there was mining being done in the mountains, I believe, to the east of Jal and Ochoa. His statement was that he was going to make his "headquarters" in the towns. That makes eminent sense to me. Reading "too much" into that second page is all we've got.

Take care,

Joe
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Post by Ozarker »

All:

Headquarters sounds like a term that a government worker would use. Does anybody know if Adolph Ruth did field work while he was a meat inspector for the Department of Agriculture in KC (1916-1918) or Richmond, VA (1918-1924)?

Since the Jal/Ochoa area's economy was primarily based on ranching during the years we are interested in and ranchers were the only inhabitants, it seems possible that Adolph could have been there on assignment.

Novice's case study of the note found on Adolph Ruth's body mentioned that the Greg Davis collection has a massive collection of documents that relate to the employment of Adolph Ruth as a government worker. It's probably a long shot, but maybe the trip could be reconciled with something in his employment records?

If Adolph made a trip to the area for personal reasons, such as his hobby, we may never know what he hoped to accomplish there. There are lost treasure/stolen loot stories and theories throughout the southwest, but I haven't found anything that specifically mentions the area of interest. Nor have I seen anything about another lost mine associated with the area. Another possiblity is Ruth was searching for Peraltas or their records. Or he may have been trying to chase down Senora Gonzales or her story in order to ask about or research the map he didn't understand. We will just never know unless more evidence presents itself.

Thanks to Joe, Garry, and Paul for presenting the letter. For now it's a curiosity but may eventually lead to something important.

Larry
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Ruth’s Government Employment Record

Post by novice »

I have posted an overview of Adolph Ruth’s Government Employment Record on the LDM Documents Web site. Ozarker poses some interesting questions and I would love to hear anyone’s feedback in regard to the note after studying the employment file.

Did anything change in your mind? I have already painted my picture but I now see some things in a possibly different light after some of the previous posts.

Garry
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Post by Cubfan64 »

I didn't get a chance to read carefully through all the employment documents again, but I've often wondered about the "I expect to leave here soon but will write all my people as soon as located."

That part never sounded like he was talking about family members - it starts to fall in line more with what Ozarker said about possibly being there "on assignment" for work.
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Post by Ozarker »

Novice:

Thanks for archiving the employment chronology on your web page. It's a big help and eliminates a lot of guess-work. It must have been a major undertaking to go through all of those records and get it into its present form!

All:

I don’t see anything in the employment chronology that can be pointed to as a direct link between Adolph’s work and the Jal/Ochoa area. We are faced with the five year, four month gap in the records, but unless Adolph had occasion to write a “letter to management” while/if he was there, we still wouldn’t know for sure.

The gap covers the period of 26 April 1911 to 21 September 1916, and it is assumed he was in KC working as a meat inspector throughout this time. (Note: If that is the case, it would be a personal best for Adolph, who never seemed quite satisfied in his current assignment).

I think we need to back up and reset the window of opportunity for Ruth being in the Jal/Ochoa area beginning in 1910 (when the Jal post office was first established at the ranch) to late January 1917 when he learned his transfer back east had been approved. I say this not because of the gap in his employment records, but because of the population numbers he cites for Jal and Ochoa in his letter; and the assumption on my part that once he transferred east it is less likely the government would use him for field work out west.

As for the population numbers Ruth cites. He seems very specific. Exact numbers of 21 (Jal) and 14 (Ochoa). Where would he get this information? Had he been there before? Was he in contact with somebody in the area? Those questions cannot be answered, but we can take another look at the census data. The 1910 census does nothing for us since Jal and Ochoa weren’t “on the map” yet. However, the 1920 census lists 179 residents in Jal and 92 residents in Ochoa. Assuming that the populations grew to those numbers over time, it reinforces the idea that Ruth may have visited while he was still assigned out west.

Cubfan:

I also have been looking at each of the sentences in the letter individually. The one where I get a sense of Adolph’s humor is “I expect to take a dog along to test the spring you know.” I get the feeling that the family member he was writing to had a fondness for dogs or the family pet and Adolph was having a little fun at their expense. Of course I have nothing to back that up and the sentence could be taken literally that there was a danger in drinking the spring water without first testing it, but later on in the letter he stresses there is no danger in the area, obviously trying to reassure them. Again, it is something we may never know.


Ozarker
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Post by Cubfan64 »

If only Adolph had used a "LOL" or smiley face after that statement about the dog (hehe).

You're right about the specifics he mentions regarding the populations - normally one would expect to see general numbers and not such absolute figures. If he was setting up shop near there and using the post office, that's a pretty likely place he could have gotten those exact population figures.

I might try to get ahold of some records from the two towns and try to find out their populations at different times - that kind of information has to be in some public records out there. If nothing else it would narrow down the time frame.

As you've said, we'll probably never know exactly what he was doing out there, but it makes for an interesting puzzle.
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Exact Numbers

Post by Ozarker »

Cubfan:

You are absolutely right and I should have mentioned that. Adolph may have known absolute population numbers because he was writing from the area as Joe proposed.

It really comes down to two possible scenarios. He was writing from there or getting ready to go.

If he was writing from there, I think it tends to posit the visit to the earlier part of the 1910-1917 window, unless the town of Jal sprang up quickly (possible). It could also be that his letter was talking about the number of people at JAL Ranch proper (four brothers, postmaster, ranch hands, plus family members) and similarly, he could have been specifying the number of people at the Ochoa ranch (for which the town may have been named?). If that is the case, it throws the window of opportunity wide open.

I'll also take a further look into the area's history and want to spend some more time with novice's work chronology. May get lucky, who knows.

Larry
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1920 census

Post by novice »

I don't want to impede the discussion at all. It is great.

I just wanted to make a comment on my take of the 1920 Census. When we say that Jal had a population of 179 and Ochoa had a population of 92, I don't believe that was the village. I believe that was the district which most likely included an area of 36 Square Miles in each precinct (Township). If you go through the census page by page noting headings I think you will find a couple of pages that note Jal Village. Note the occupations and you can kind of identify those people living in town. I don't believe the Ochoa precinct even identifys the village but we do find a post master and mail carrier. If there was a so called village they and their families would probably be there.

I know going through a census line by line is tedious but it may help to shed additional light on the area.

Also as far as sending a meat inspector to do field work, to me it seems unlikely. The field work had a different chain of command and if Adolph was used for field work he would have been officially transfered for that period. I believe it would be reflected in his employment file. They were pretty good record keepers.

Garry
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Post by Ozarker »

Novice: Thanks for explaining about the census numbers. I was citing the total township/district numbers for Jal and Ochoa. I don’t have a membership at ancestry.com so could not go through the records line by line.

I agree that it is doubtful that Adolph would be doing field work without there being some kind of paper trail. The five year four month gap in his records may contain that evidence or it may not. Do you know why there was a gap in the records? Do you feel strongly that he remained a meat inspector that entire time?

All:

I’ve done some reading on the area’s history and learned that the JAL Ranch, which grew to cover 1/4 of Lea County, was operated by six (6) Cowden brothers and two brothers-in-law. One of the brothers (Will) had 11 children, two of whom died in infancy. The Cowden’s operated the ranch for a little over 25 years (1886 to 1912) and their cattle herd eventually grew to some 40,000 head. The Ranch did not own much of the land where they grazed their cattle (they only bought and paid for about 40 acres surrounding the wells). After the turn of the century, homesteaders began arriving in the Lea County area and the JAL Ranch saw their rangeland reduced. By 1912, John Cowden had bought out his brothers and operated the ranch from Midland, Texas until all of the land was sold. (I’ don’t understand why they didn’t just buy the land themselves but it may have had something to do with politics?).

Anyway, the town of Jal was founded at Muleshoe Camp (a line camp for the ranch) and named for the Cowden brand. Charles Justis (Justice in some accounts) moved to the area in 1906 and established a mercantile store. On July 6, 1910 he opened a US Post Office, naming it JAL. In 1916 (I’ve been unable to zero in on an exact date), the town moved six miles west to its current site. I am still looking for a reason why the town relocated, but by that time the Cowdens had moved on to other things and that may have had something to do with it. Another possibility is the new town site offered better access to water, which was a driving motivator in those days.

I hope I haven’t bored everybody to tears. I know this has nothing to do with the LDM but the area’s history may contain the key to why Adolph Ruth visited or planned to visit the area.

Ozarker
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Post by Cubfan64 »

Ozarker wrote:Novice: Thanks for explaining about the census numbers. I was citing the total township/district numbers for Jal and Ochoa. I don’t have a membership at ancestry.com so could not go through the records line by line.

I agree that it is doubtful that Adolph would be doing field work without there being some kind of paper trail. The five year four month gap in his records may contain that evidence or it may not. Do you know why there was a gap in the records? Do you feel strongly that he remained a meat inspector that entire time?

All:

I’ve done some reading on the area’s history and learned that the JAL Ranch, which grew to cover 1/4 of Lea County, was operated by six (6) Cowden brothers and two brothers-in-law. One of the brothers (Will) had 11 children, two of whom died in infancy. The Cowden’s operated the ranch for a little over 25 years (1886 to 1912) and their cattle herd eventually grew to some 40,000 head. The Ranch did not own much of the land where they grazed their cattle (they only bought and paid for about 40 acres surrounding the wells). After the turn of the century, homesteaders began arriving in the Lea County area and the JAL Ranch saw their rangeland reduced. By 1912, John Cowden had bought out his brothers and operated the ranch from Midland, Texas until all of the land was sold. (I’ don’t understand why they didn’t just buy the land themselves but it may have had something to do with politics?).

Anyway, the town of Jal was founded at Muleshoe Camp (a line camp for the ranch) and named for the Cowden brand. Charles Justis (Justice in some accounts) moved to the area in 1906 and established a mercantile store. On July 6, 1910 he opened a US Post Office, naming it JAL. In 1916 (I’ve been unable to zero in on an exact date), the town moved six miles west to its current site. I am still looking for a reason why the town relocated, but by that time the Cowdens had moved on to other things and that may have had something to do with it. Another possibility is the new town site offered better access to water, which was a driving motivator in those days.

I hope I haven’t bored everybody to tears. I know this has nothing to do with the LDM but the area’s history may contain the key to why Adolph Ruth visited or planned to visit the area.

Ozarker
Not boring at all - thanks for your research - I have some things to check on early next week that might shed some light hopefully.

I'm as interested in the following the history of events and things as I am reading about LDM stories, so this isn't boring at all.
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Post by novice »

Ozarker, I enjoyed the story. Thanks

When I looked through the Ochoa and Jal census earlier, these are some of the numbers I derived.

1920 Census Jal Precinct #15, Lea County, New Mexico
Typically a rural precinct was surveyed into a 6 Mile by 6 Mile square. In Jal, there were 44 families or heads of households enumerated. Of those, 32 were stock farmers or ranchers. Other occupations listed included 2 Trappers, 3 School Teachers, a Garage Owner, a Carpenter, a Mail Carrier and several stock farm or ranch laborers. The Village of Jal was noted but it was unclear which individuals were listed as residents. It was probably less than six families. All of the individuals listed in Jal precinct were born in the U. S.

1930 Census Jal Precinct #15, Lea County, New Mexico
District 15 included the Village of Jal and District 16 included the remainder of the Precinct.

By 1930 the Village of Jal recorded 407 residents. Most were working in Oil Field related jobs or businesses. There were some railroad workers listed along with a Cotton Gin. It would appear the railroad had reached the area and cotton was one of the main crops. Oil was by far the main industry.

District 16 were those individuals outside the Village of Jal. There were an additional 302 residents listed in the Precinct. Again a large number were working in the Oil industry. There were numerous pipeline workers and again several railroad workers. There were 23 farms listed.

1920 Census Ochoa Precinct #16, Lea County, New Mexico
There were 26 families or heads of households enumerated. Of those there were 19 stock farmers or ranchers. Other occupations listed included a Post Master, a Mail Carrier and a Ranch Well Driller (Water). There was no village listed. There were two German families and a total of 96 people in the precinct.

1930 Census Ochoa Precinct #16, Lea County, New MexicoThe Oil boom had not reached as far west as Ochoa by 1930. The Precinct listed 64 residents and all were involved in Cattle ranching except there was now a general store. A Mail Carrier was also listed. There were 18 families living in the 36 square mile Precinct.

As far as the "break" in Adolph's employment?

I believe this was the only time Adolph was getting along for an extended period. If you look at the reasons an item appears in the employment record, it was either Adolph trying to get transferred, being reprimanded, changing positions, getting promoted or demoted, etc. Had it not been for the squeaky wheel aspect his employment record might have been minimal.

During the stable period, Adolph was living at his home in Kansas City with Clara and he was going to work everyday as a meat inspector. I have the information from the Kansas City Directories and he is listed there each of those years. No "squeaky wheel", no entries?

Ozarker,

I looked at the older New Mexico maps on the site you posted. This area that Adolph was either in (or going to) was the most nondescript area you can find. I just can't imagine what he would have been doing there. a couple of the maps are geologic maps and that area is blank.

When he speaks of setting up headquarters this is obviously his destination and he planned to spend some time there. Adolph did fancy himself as a bit of a geologist and possibly he thought he could find a likely area for oil. I could find no inkling that there was any mineralization in that area. No lost treasure stories, etc. The Guadalupe Mountains are still a long ways away and even there, it's not gold country??????

Garry
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Post by Ozarker »

I could find no inkling that there was any mineralization in that area. No lost treasure stories, etc. The Guadalupe Mountains are still a long ways away and even there, it's not gold country??????
Out of all the digging the past couple of days I finally found a reference to southeast New Mexico regarding lost treasure:

"During the Great Depression from 1936 to 1940 there was a WPA Writers' Project hiring local authors to interview older local citizens and write a report or "manuscript" of each interview. The goal was to collect and preserve oral history's of old-timer pioneer citizens. Georgia B. Redfield of Roswell worked for this Project, and on January 12, 1937, she interviewed Gorgonio Wilson of Roswell. The manuscript she wrote after her interview is now archived at the Library of Congress. Here is her report about buried treasure in New Mexico and about what Mr. Wilson told her.

Mrs. Redfield wrote:

Interest in New Mexico traditions of buried treasure has been greatly revived in the past few months, especially so in the southeast part of the state since the death of a very old Mexican woman of the Chihuahua-Spanish American settlement in the city of Roswell. It was generally known in that district, that the woman was in possession of a secret of fabulous riches buried by her ancestors during the Indians uprisings and stealings. There was excitement and hurrying of many neighbors to the bedside of the old woman who finally died without divulging her secret to any of the eager ones waiting around her, but only a few words came at the last with her frantic pointing west toward the mountains, "Gold!" she said, with her last struggling breath, "much gold, jewels, silver..." That was all but enough to renew frantic searching for the treasure.
"

From Wanderings in New Mexico

The story goes on but I think you get the picture. Another deathbed revelation which unfortunately points in the wrong direction from Roswell.

You're right about the lack of mineralization in the area. Southeast New Mexico is on the western edge of the Staked Plains, or Llano Escatado. It's flat. It's pretty much known for sandy loamy soil covering red clay and a lack of surface water. I hadn't thought about oil drawing Adolph to the area. Something else to think about.
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Pretty Good Digging.....

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Larry,

That's some pretty good digging. :) Here are a few more facts on JAL:

At 22%, mining was the top industry in Jal for 2006. The state average was less than 4%.

My guess would be coal, but I haven't really dug :roll: that far yet. :lol:

My memory faile me on the mountains to the east of Jal. Actually, they are about 80? miles northeast.

Take care,

Joe
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Post by Cubfan64 »

Lea County, New Mexico was created on March 17, 1917, five years after New Mexico was admitted to the Union as a State. At that time, the region had essentially nothing to offer except the vision of a handful of hardy settlers. The only thing connecting the sparse settlements were wagon roads and cattle trails. There were none of the communication conveniences of telegraph or daily newspaper and the mail was carried via horses. There was no railroad, no running streams or rivers, and no major city. Politicians in Santa Fe considered the area to be an immense, semi-arid pastureland on the southwestern corner of the state. Therefore, they found it hard to justify the creation of a county from such an arid, windswept place. The only natural resources for taxes that were know of were grass and water. However, a great wealth in gas, oil and potash was later discovered.
Change and growth has been part of Lea County's history. It's first settlers would find it difficult to believe that the County is now so populated and vital to the sources of energy for the nation.
Lea County now flourishes in oil and gas, agriculture, and the dairy business.
I found this reference to Lea County of which Jal is a part. The major mining done there is for potash (water soluble potassium salts) - over 75% of the US supply of potash comes from Eddy and Lea Counties and is used as an agricultural fertilizer.

I can't find anything else of significance as far as mining goes. I don't know that Adolph Ruth was really a "treasure hunter" per se - it seems he was focused mostly on mines/mining.

I found a reference to the "Capitan aquifer" which is or was apparently one of the major sources of drinking water for the area around Carlsbad and Lea and Eddy Counties. Because of Ruth's comment about having a dog along to check the water at the spring - is there any chance he was there for some reason to help determine drinking water sources for the area for the government?

All I could find for now.
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Post by Ozarker »

Okay Joe, I'll bite. Which mountains?
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Mountains........

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Larry,

If you travel northeast from Jal, at just under 85 miles you will find yourself on a 6,034' peak. You will be in the Lincoln National Forest, which has four mountain ranges within it's borders. Those mountain ranges are the Sacramento, the Sierra Blanca, the Guadalupe and the Capitan. The highest peak in that National Forest is around 11,500'. 8O

Jal is a little over 3,000'......as is everything around it. The only question might be, was there another town with what Ruth needed......closer.

My comment was not meant as a teaser, but I can see where it looked that way. I was just kind of done with the topic of Jal. :wink:

Take care,

Joe
Joe Ribaudo
Expert
Posts: 5453
Joined: Tue Sep 17, 2002 10:36 pm

Potash?

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Paul,

Perhaps we should be looking for a connection between potash and manganese.

Have a good night,

Joe
Cubfan64
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Posts: 537
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 3:20 pm

Got a response back from the Jal Library...

Post by Cubfan64 »

I had asked about the population numbers in the timeframe we were looking into and got this response.
Mr. Shimek,

I don't know if you'll be able to read the scanned article or not, but it
gives some information on the time frame you mentioned. There's nothing I could find that gave the statistics you mentioned, but they could be somewhat accurate. There was a post office in Jal in 1916, one at Cooper (6 mi. NW of Jal) in 1915, and one at Ochoa (14 mi. W of Jal) in 1914. Jal began to "boom" in the late 1920s with the discovery of gas and oil and grew in population to around 3,500. We're not quite half that size now at @2,000. I don't know if any of this helps or not.

Joyce Pittam
Woolworth Community Library
PO Box 1249
100 E Utah
Jal, NM 88252
The scanned article she mentions was a brief history of Jal and really didn't give any more information than what we've discovered already for the time frame in question.
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