Outlaws and Horse Thieves on the Old Spanish Trail

Outlaws and Horse Thieves on the Old Spanish Trail. . , Spanish Trail routes crossed deserts and mountain ranges far from Mexican settlements and government authorities. Horses and mules were in short supply to conduct the Santa Fe-Missouri trade opened in 1821 by Americans from Missouri. Outlaws and horse thieves met the demand by taking advantage of the remote, mostly unknown Spanish Trail routes to drive livestock stolen from California ranches to Utah and New Mexica where they brought high prices. , Raiders entered California from several passes over the Sierras and from the Mojave Desert. The thieves ran off huge herds of horses, driving them eastward from water hole to water hole. Thousands of horses were stolen. Most died on the desert, but enough survived to make a profit. The raids began as early as 1832, and grew to alarming proportions by 1836. They had major impact on the California ranchers. Mountain men and traders who participated include the chief Walkara, Chino Pando, Jean Baptiste Chalifoux, Jim Beckwurth, and Old Bill Williams. In 1840 Williams rested his share of booty at a well-watered spot in a canyon west of Las Vegas today called Spring Mountain Ranch. , (caption:) Jim Beckwourth was one of the Nevada mountain men and explorers who rustled horses from Southern California and drove them through the Las Vegas Valley on the way to sell them to Utah and Santa Fe. All these locations were then inside Mexico, but Beckwourth and the others were Americans, living off the land and the unfortunate Mexican ranchers.