Special Collections The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries Vol. XIX * No. 1 * Spring 2005

By Katherine R. Goodwin

The fall 2004 issue of The Compass Rose reported on the acquisition of the papers of Dr. Kenneth Franklin Neighbours, a noted Midwestern State University historian and author. Among the ninety-one record center cartons of materials bequeathed to Special Collections by the late scholar was a cache of 467 map reproductions acquired from a number of national repositories. The maps are photostatic copies acquired by Neighbours for research in preparation for his many publications, including books and journal articles on Texas history.

In the early- to mid-twentieth century, serious scholars like Neighbours searched not only in their own libraries and archives for original materials but also traveled to the major national and international repositories to search through catalogs and finding aids to locate materials on their topics. They usually ordered photostatic copies to take back for reference. The photostatic copies in the Neighbours papers were produced, in most cases, both as a positive and a negative and are not suitable for publication purposes. However, they provide a rich research source for students and scholars.

Many of the maps appear to have originated in the Library of Congress and the National Archives, as well as several other large repositories. The selection of reproductions can be divided into several categories, including a group of commercially produced maps, Mexican War and Civil War era maps, large scale nineteenth century maps of the Greater Southwest, eighteenth century Spanish-produced manuscript and printed maps of the region, as well as a large group of manuscript maps, drawings, and views pertaining to the frontier forts of Texas during the 1870s and 1880s.

Among the numerous items are many significant maps that are normally only available to researchers at the libraries and archives holding the original materials. The eighteenth century Spanish-produced items and the materials pertaining to the frontier forts of Texas in the 1870s and 1880s are examples. The Spanish materials include copies of the manuscript maps drawn from the expeditions into the Spanish Provincias Internas by the Marqués de Rubí and his engineer and map maker, Nicolás de Lafora. Rubí was the Spanish Army Field Marshal who was appointed by Charles III in 1764 to inspect and report on all defenses in northern New Spain. The collection also includes manuscript maps of José de Urrutia, Captain of the Presidio of San Antonio de Bexar in 1733. Also of note is the rare 1768 printed map of the region by Joseph Antonio de Alzate y Ramirez, the Mexican-born priest who made significant contributions to science in the fields of medicine, astronomy, mathematics, botany, and geography, and who was a member of the prestigious Royal Academy of Science in Paris. It is the only printed Spanish map of the region produced in the eighteenth century. The Spanish and Mexican manuscript copies not only depict early trails and crude roadways but locates presidios, cities, villages and pueblos, missions, ranches, and mining facilities on the North American frontier controlled by Spain in the mid- to late-eighteenth century.

The largest group of reproductions in the map collection is the late-nineteenth century material pertaining to the frontier forts of Texas. Marked as housed in the National Archives, Record Group No. 77, the selection includes plat maps and views of various forts as well as architectural drawings of typical fort buildings such as barracks, officer’s quarters, supply storage buildings, and hospitals. Of particular interest is the large selection of manuscript and sketch maps labeled "scouts." These are maps made of expeditions out of the forts, usually by a mounted patrol, to specific destinations. The patrol may have been ordered to locate water sources in the nearby mountains, to map the hills and valleys in the area, find a route to another fort, or lay out routes to any number of ranches in the region.

"Map of Scouts made by Co. H, 25 Infantry & detachments Co’s. C & H, 10^th Cavalry, July-Oct 1879" and "Sketch of Route of Company of 10^th Cavalry to San Elizario & Ysleta, Texas, per orders No. 170 HdQrs Fort Davis, 1879" are typical of the titles of the scout maps. The sketches usually are depictions of specific routes and include details of the immediate area. A few of the manuscript maps show longer routes with extensive details, for example, "Sketch of Scout of Company H 10^th Cavalry to Russell’s Ranch and its vicinity per Orders 32 HdQrs Fort Davis, Texas, Mar 12.78 drawn by L. H. Carpenter Capt. 10^th Cavalry." With a scale of 10 miles to the inch, there is a lot of information included on the map. The route of this particular map is from Fort Davis southwestward along the Road to Del Norte to Presidio del Norte on the Rio Grande, thence northward along the east side of the river to Russell’s Ranch. The map also depicts several side trips through the mountains to other local ranches. Captain Carpenter noted not only roads and trails but creeks, springs, watering holes, woods, mountain passes, and available camp sites.

Preliminary information indicates this group of scout maps may have been instrumental in producing the rare original manuscript map recently acquired by Special Collections, "Map of scouting expeditions from camps at the Chinati Mountains: from Jan 12^th to May 12 1880 under the direction of Captains L. H. Carpenter and C. D. Viele, 10^th Cavalry." [See Compass Rose, Fall 2004.] That map formed the basis of the military tactics that ended the depredations in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas by the Apache Chief Victorio in 1880. All of the scouting maps reflect the operations of the western forts in Texas and especially the frontier activities of the famed 10^th Cavalry, better known as the "Buffalo Soldiers."

All the photostatic copies are fairly clear and will be useful for students and researchers studying not only Dr. Kenneth Neighbors and his work but the history of this part of the world from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries as well. Publication rights to the maps, of course, will be directed to the repositories owning the originals.

Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries, is pleased to add these valuable resources from the Neighbours Papers to the Virginia Garrett Cartographic History Library. For more information about the maps, please contact Kit Goodwin, Cartographic Archivist, at 817-272-5329 or goodwin@uta.edu.

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