By ROBERT DRYJAThe Valles Caldera was known initially as the Baca Ranch, named after the original owners of it.
The Baca family had wanted it for sheepherding. Sheepherding grew in size after the 1880’s before declining in the 1940s. Up to 100,000 sheep were brought annually to the Valles Caldera to graze on its meadows.
What were the shepherds like who watched over the sheep? Assumedly most came from the small rural Hispanic villages in northern New Mexico. Their carvings on the aspen trees of the Valles Caldera provide some additional clues. The ideal carving done a by sheepherder involves three pieces of information:
- a sheepherder’s name;
- a date; and
- a name of a town.
As an example:
Picture A below shows a carving by a Jose Ines with the date of June 24, 1932. It also shows “SfE NM”, and this probably standing for “Santa Fe, NM”. It remarkable what more can be found based on this bit of information, thanks to the Internet. A genealogy search shows that a Jose Ines Martinez was born in 1876 and lived in Chimayo in 1930. He therefore may have been about 56 years old when he carved his name. (The “Martinez” part of his name reflects Hispanic culture in which names from the two sides of a marriage are combined.) He was buried at the El Potrero Cemetery in Chimayo. Another report identifies the specific location where his family owned land. Chimayo is located to the east of the Valles Caldera.
Picture B shows a carving of Jubecio Trujillo and Coyote. Coyote is a small village to the north of the Valles Caldera. An Internet report identifies a Juvencio Trujillo from Coyote who lived from 1904 to 1977 and is buried in the Coyote cemetery. The 1940 United States census reports a Juvencio Trujillo living in Youngsville and working in the sheep industry. Youngsville is four miles away from Coyote.
It is easy to assume that sheepherders probably were poorly educated, given that they lived in small communities in rural New Mexico. However the style of writing in a number cases indicates otherwise.
Picture C shows the name of “Daniel Martin” carved with cursive letters. Daniel Martin had a level of penmanship beyond block letters when he wrote his name.
Picture D shows the name of “Montoya” in which the M is written with a cursive flourish.
Picture E shows “Julio” written exceptionally well with cursive lettering.
Not only did these sheepherders know cursive writing, they also would put considerable effort into making them with curves.
Who may have taught sheepherders how to write with cursive letters? The carved crosses discussed previously in Part 1 provide a clue. Catholicism was a source for education as well as religious belief. Many small rural communities could not fully fund education and so looked to nuns to help teach in the schools, public or parochial. Carvings of crosses and cursive writing on aspen trees reflect the historic influence of Catholicism on the Hispanic sheepherders’ way of life.
Picture A: The carving shows June 24, 1932 Santa Fe NM Jose Ines. Courtesy photo
Picture B: The carving shows Jubecio Trujillo, Coyote, NM. Courtesy photo
Picture C: Cursive calligraphy is used for carving the name of Daniel Martin. Courtesy photo
Picture D: Calligraphy writing for Montoya in 1939. The ‘M’ is carved with a flourish. Courtesy photo
Picture E: The cursive curves and angles of the letters are particularly well done for ‘Julio’ and ‘Velarde’. Velarde is a village to the northeast of the Valles Caldera. Courtesy photo