Sul Ross State University - Brand Yearbook (Alpine, TX)

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Comanche Springs C omanche springs has high, white walls of stratified limestone, that rise far above the limpid trickle of the springs. Geo¬ logically, this place is a marvel. Great dikes of one-time boiling quartz have thrust themselves up between huge flat-lying slabs of limestone. But it is as an Indian camping-place and battle¬ ground that Comanche Springs is most inter¬ esting. Here the Comanche and the Apache fought many battles for the possession of its priceless waters and for its wonderful shelter. Skeletons of the red men, with various imple¬ ments of warfare, have been found here, as mute testimony of its bloody carnage. And against the lower limestone walls, protected by an over¬ hanging ledge of rock, are row upon row of Indian paintings in red and black. Some por¬ tray the chief going into battle with his war¬ riors; others tell stories, doubtless, of important events in the Indian’s life, though the laymen can only guess at their meaning. Here and there may be found the imprint of a natural hand, as though the artist had chosen thus to sign his work. The waters of the spring flow placidly on¬ ward, unheeding the swift passing of time, and the going hence of the red men who drank here in the long, long ago.

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The Mission at Ojinaga A CROSS from Presidio, Texas, lies the Mexican 2 pueblo, Ojinaga. Here, in 1535, when Cabeza de Yaca crossed the Rio Grande, he found a thriving and prosperous Indian village. Later, in 1620, the Spanish padres built and maintained three flourish¬ ing missions, but today only one of these missions exists. Not far from Ojinaga and its sister village, Presidio, there is a mountain peak, named Santa Cruz. Under a notch of the peak is a cave where legend has had the devil quartered, these many years. The story goes that an old padre came up the Rio Grande Valley, many long moons ago. Above him, he saw a rope, stretched from peak to peak of the mountain, and upon this rope the devil pranced and swung. The horrified priest, with his sacred crucifix caught the wily one and drove him into the cave, seal¬ ing him securely within, using the power of his cruci¬ fix to guard the cave. But soon, the people of the surrounding country wanted the blessings of this holy crucifix bestowed upon their lands and crops. And so it is, that upon the third day of every May, the cruci¬ fix is removed from the cave. Great, leaping fires of mesquite and juniper are kindled upon Santa Cruz, to hold his Satanic Majesty within, while the sacred cross is taken out to bless the people, and their crops for the coming months.