Journey of the Dead Man

Journey of the Dead Man. . The mountains on the horizon (pictured below) are the start of the Jornada del Muerto (Journey of the Dead Man). This feared section of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro forced travelers to cross 90 miles of open desert. Travelers had followed the Rio Grande to this point. The river provided water and a gentle path. South of here, the river valley grows too rough for loaded carros (wagons) and carretas (carts) to pass through., The difficult terrain forced caravans to risk a desert crossing. The open lands offered few water sources and no protection from raiding parties. Southbound groups would begin crossing at night with hopes that summer storms had refilled water sources. Seeing these mountains assured northbound travelers that they had survived the crossing., Mesa del Contadero (Counter's Mesa) , Also known as Black Mesa or Mesa de Senecú. The trail passes the steep-sided mesa. Spanish caravans had a person stand on top to count livestock entering the Jornada, and survivors exiting the deadly crossing., Fra Cristóbal Mountain , Caravans built a paraje (camp) at the base of the mountain. This was the last chance to find water and graze livestock before starting the Jornada del Muerto., Captions , 1811 Map of El Nuevo Mexico by José Antonio Pichardo (Library of Congress) AD