Truth Or Consequences, NM 87901(Sierra County)

COMMENTS: The Mescal Springs Ranch is a 42-section working cattle ranch with four mild seasons, good water and a nice private headquarters. This high desert ranch includes beautiful draws, springs, cottonwood trees and rolling hills, canyons and rock formations. There is rich history on this ranch including pictographs, cavalry camps, the ghost town of Marion, multiple partial rock and adobe dwellings, and an old army fort with a wood framed gun slit built on the top of a mountain with 360-degree views just above Paloma Gap. There are stories that say the gold is hidden here! Views include seven different mountain ranges: San Mateo mountains and Magdalena mountains to the NW, Cristobal mountains to the north, Caballo mountains and Black Range to the west, and San Andres and Oscura to the east. The ranch overlooks the new Space Port to the south. It is only 10 miles to fishing and boating at the recreational Elephant Butte Lake. From the ranch, it is a short drive to T or C, which has all the modern amenities.

IMPROVEMENTS: The headquarters has a beautiful 1800 sq ft 2-bedroom 2.5-bathroom with vaulted ceilings, Saltillo tile, kiva fireplace, vigas and a loft. There is also an adobe 1-bedroom 1 bath bunk house with 360-degree views. They both have a metal roof with porches. There is forced air heat as well as evaporative cooling system in the main house.

: Metal shop is 700 sq ft with electricity, full size door, and a cement floor on half.

: Restored 100-year-old Brick Barn is 800 sq ft with electricity, 2 large wooden barn doors, and a cement floor.

:Hay shed, and corrals made from highway guardrail and pipe located at headquarters.

:Ranch includes all furnishings and a dozer.

WATER: Multiple adjudicated water rights. Year-round springs, eight wells, and 20 miles of pipeline with storages. Wells include: Highline, South Nelson, Red Canyon, Bootlegger, Solar, House, Parker, and Caballo well varying in depth from 60 to 600 feet.

WILDLIFE: There are mule deer, javelina, mountain lion, coyotes, coatimundi, marmot, badger, gamble quail, dove, and antelope. Desert Mountain Sheep and Oryx have been seen on the ranch. Located in Game Management Unit 20.

ELEVATION: The ranch ranges from 4,600 to 6,700 feet.

VEGETATION: Grasses include blue grama, black grama, side oats-grama, vine mesquite, sacaton, Arizona cottontop, wheatgrass, tobosa and many other varieties of cool season grasses. Browse plants include winter fat, chamise, Apache plume, blue sage and mormon teal. Early summer provides a large crop of yucca blooms and a moderate crop of mesquite beans.

The ranch is divided into five pastures and three centrally located traps around the headquarters. Exterior fences are in fair condition.

CLIMATE: According to US climate data the annual average precipitation is 8.4 inches. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 32F to 95F and is rarely below 23F or above 101F .

SCHOOLS: T or C Municipal School is the public school system that is only 18 miles from the ranch.

HISTORY:

Pictographs-In Ash and Mescal Canyons are pictographs done by Indians several hundred years ago. An anthropologist has identified one pictograph of a black buffalo as being about 1000 years old. Buffalo disappeared from here 800-900 years ago during the great drought.

Pottery-Shards of ancient pueblo Indian pottery have been found on the ranch. Ancient Anasazi or Mimbres tribes disappeared about a thousand years ago.

Spanish culture-A small silver ingot was found in Ash Canyon Spring in 1980. Spanish settlers traveled to Jornado Del Muerto (Journey of Death) Which lies eight to nine miles east of the ranch. The only waters for miles around were the springs in Ash Canyon and Mescal Canyon. Evidences of the Spanish journey have been discovered on and around this ranch.

Military-After the Civil War, the U.S. Cavalry fought the Apache Indians in this area. In Ash Canyon, a stone wall barricade was built. Dozens of empty military caliber cartridges have been found around the barricade. Ash Canyon Spring is the closest ever-flowing water to the Jornado Del Muerto, so it is likely Indians and Spanish came there and later the Cavalry.

Mines-The mines around Paloma Gap started in 1906 and continued until 1932. At one of the 600-foot long mine shafts, $100,000 in copper ore was removed. Miners looked for gold and silver first, and later mined copper, vanadium, and feldspar. Vanadium was used as a hardening agent in steel prior to W.W.I. A town named Marion developed at the mine sites. The name of the town came from the Marion Copper Company. At the Oohoo vein, in addition to copper, gold and silver were produced at a value of $3 to $4 dollars a ton at that time. Dozens of mines, some vertical others horizontal, still scar the landscape around the ghost town of Marion. An old iron ore wagon still sits at one of the mines. Several hundred people lived and worked at the town of Marion.

Paloma Gap-The railroad came through the town of Engle in the 1880's. At the time, the mines in the Hillsboro area were active. However, there was not a pass through the Caballo Mountains, so mining companies and others dynamited a road above the gap. Ore wagons and stage coaches crossed on this road. Names from the 1880's are carved into the steep side of the gap road. This cliff road is passable to horses and hikers, but it is only 9-10 feet wide and goes straight down hundreds of feet, so it is not recommended for motorized vehicles. It is a thrill to walk and one can view the Rio Grande from above the gap.

Mine Water- All the water on the ranch was in the north half in Mescal and Ash Canyons. The miners mined coal in Coal Mine Canyon on the ranch and used this coal to create steam to push the water four miles south to the mines at Marion. Structures still exist at the sites from this pumping operation.

Treasure Hunting-The history of this area has always provided treasure hunters reason to seek treasure and artifacts. Many items have been discovered which prove the presence of various cultures.

Geology- The Caballo Mountain area was once covered by a great lake or sea. In some ancient time, the earth's crust was pushed up creating these mountains. Many rocks in this area contain fossils of plant and marine life from that period. The area around the city of Truth or Consequences aka Hot Springs, is full of geothermal activity. The area is known for its hot mineral baths. On the north side of this ranch sits a volcanic cone around which is strewn volcanic slag and dozens of pieces of petrified wood. This whole area is a haven for rock hunters.

Mining information and the town of Marion is from 'The Geology and Ore Deposits of Sierra County' from the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources-1934 Edition.