Hatch is a farming and ranching community using the fertile land along the Rio Grande River. The river provides water for raising hay for the ranches as well as farms raising, for the most part, Hatch Chilies. Unfortunately, by the time the river gets here, a whole lot of the water has been siphoned off upstream. Deepwater wells supplement as necessary, and provide domestic water for the town.
Hatch is pretty much a one-street town, and is lined with stores selling everything from fresh chilies in season to dried peppers fastened to hanging bunches of every size. One of the more well know shops is the Hatch Chile Sales store.
Also packed in bags, Hatch peppers come in all "heat ranges". These purple bags contain peppers guaranteed to be "hot" up to "XXX hot".
After a nice lunch at the Valley Cafe, a local spot operated by a mother and daughter team, and offering a two-table outdoor patio so that Sasha could enjoy a chip now and them. Primarily providing food with a Mexican bent, they also have a limited American menu. We chose combo plates that included Chili Rellenos, tacos, enchiladas, and the most interesting (and tasty) green chile with meat soup. I had ordered a cup of chili, and the soup is what I received. It was a wonderful misunderstanding!
The trip home was uninteresting and boring as only the desert can be, but we marveled at the isolated homes and ranches dotting the countryside. One wonders what prompts them to live so far from civilization.
Our last day in Deming took us south to the border town of Columbus. The town was founded in 1891 as a border crossing point, but moved north three miles to the railroad depot, where the population grew. Columbus' claim to fame revolves around the March 9, 1916, raid on Columbus by Pancho Villa and his band of "Villistas".
The reasons for the raid will forever remain clouded in history, but one theory says that Villa was angry about the support the United States was providing to one of his rivals in the Mexican Revolutionary War that was raging at the time. Another theory says that Villa needed to resupply his men, and chose Columbus as a source for food and material. In any case, some 100 of Pancho Villa's small army rode into town, shooting at everything, including the railroad depot. This clock was stopped at 4:11 am by a bullet.
Archibald Frost rose to the sound of the gunfire. With their six-month old son in Mrs. Frost's arms the family went to their furniture store located in the front of their residence, where Mr. Frost was shot in the right shoulder. Crawling along the floor, they got into their 1915 Dodge touring car and brazenly drove down the street among several bandits. Realizing they were attempting to escape, Villa's men began to fire upon them. Mr. Frost was driving without lights, but had to turn the lights on to negotiate curves in the road. This alerted the Villistas to their location and they were showered with bullets, one of which hit Mr. Frost in the left arm.
Weak from loss of blood, Mr. Frost had to turn the driving over to his wife Mary Alice, who had never driven any car, let alone the Dodge. She put the baby in the back seat and drove as quickly as she could, hitting a bump at one point that tossed baby Douglas into the air. He miraculously landed in the front seat unharmed! The family reached safety in Deming, Mr. Frost survived, and carried one of the bullets near his spine for the rest of his life. Happy 35th Birthday, Mr. Frost!
The Frost car is on display, complete with bullet holes, in the museum at the Pancho Villa State Park in Columbus, NM.
The battle between the local army post (undermanned and untrained) and the Villistas raged most of the day before the bandits left for Mexico. Six days later, General John "Blackjack" Pershing, at the head of 10,000 troops, left for Mexico in pursuit. It was to be the last Cavalry expedition for the United States. General Pershing used aircraft, newly built 2 1/2 ton trucks, and early version of tanks to scour the countryside for Pancho Villa. Ultimately unsuccessful, the expeditionary force returned to the United States, but not before transforming the future of ground warfare forever.
Pershing and Villa were friendly acquaintances, meeting several times in 1914 in El Paso, TX.
General Pershing and Pancho Villa even posed together in an interesting photo.
The museum has several restored vehicles used by the Pershing forces, as well as a "Jenny" airplane used in the area. This four-wheel drive truck was one of 58 shipped from Illinois to Columbus and were ready for use when General Pershing left on his journey into Mexico.
This photo of a tank used by Pershing shows how the vehicle on display might have been used.
These vehicles were called "Jeffery's", and even with the small wheels and tires, could negotiate the terrain quite handily. Of course, the cavalry had no experience with these mechanized contraptions, so civilian mechanics were brought in to teach maintenance and operation techniques.
It being the 5th of March, we were hoping for some special activities commemorating the 100th anniversary of the raid, but wouldn't you know, it's scheduled for next weekend, when we'll be gone. Recreations, addresses by members of the surviving Pershing family, and tours of the encampment are scheduled. Pancho Villa State Park has been built on the site of Camp Furlong, the name given to the tent city that housed General Pershing's army just before and after the trip into Mexico. Several structures remain, and give a sense of the immense size of a camp housing thousands of soldiers.
Well, we've been in Deming four nights. We came in from the west, day tripped to the north and south, so the only thing left is to head east. Tomorrow: new time zone and new state!
Amazing bits of history! Thanks!
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