IT WAS THE LAST LAND GRAB BY THE
UNITED STATES IN THE LOWER 48.

THIS DESERT CONTAINED SOME
OF THE MOST DESOLATE,

UNKNOWN AND GOD-FORSAKEN
COUNTRY ON THE CONTINENT.

AT THE TIME, MOST PEOPLE
DIDN'T KNOW WHAT ALL

THE FUSS WAS ABOUT.

THEN, SLOWLY, THE LAND'S
RICHES BECAME ABUNDANT.

FUNDING FOR THE DESERT
SPEAKS IS PROVIDED BY

DESERT PROGRAM PARTNERS.

REPRESENTING CONCERNED VIEWERS
MAKING A FINANCIAL COMMITTMENT

TO THE EDUCATION ABOUT AND
PRESERVATION OF DESERTS

AND BY THE STONEWALL FOUNDATION.

♪ MUSIC

THE LAST PIECE OF
TERRITORY THAT THE UNITED

STATES ACQUIRED IN THE
CONTIGUOUS 48 STATES WAS

A CHUNK CALLED THE
GADSDEN PURCHASE.

ALMOST NOBODY KNEW WHAT
WAS CONTAINED INSIDE IT

AND MEXICO LET IT GO FOR A SONG.

THE PURCHASE WAS NOT
MADE BECAUSE OF THE

BEAUTY OF THE LAND.

WEST OF THE RIO
GRANDE IT'S BARREN,

UGLY AND EMPTY BUT
SOUTHERN POLITICIANS

WEREN'T CONCERNED WITH
HOW PRETTY IT WAS.

THE GADSDEN PURCHASE IS
KNOWN IN MEXICO ASEL

TRATADO DE LA MESILLA
OR THE MESILLA TREATY.

THIS IS THE
TOWN OF MESILLA.

IT WAS A BORDER TOWN
BEFORE THE PURCHASE IN 1853.

NOW THE MEXICAN BORDER IS ABOUT
30, 40 MILES TO THE SOUTH.

AT MESILLA, NEW MEXICO, I
MEET UP WITH MY MEXICAN BORN

AMERICAN FRIEND,
HISTORIAN, NATURALIST AND

MUSICIAN EXTRAORDINARY,
JESUS GARCIA.

HE KNOWS THE BORDER WELL,
FROM A MEXICAN VIEWPOINT.

THIS IS THE PERFECT PLACE TO SEE
WHERE GEOGRAPHY REALLY CHANGES.

ABSOLUTELY.

CAUSE THE RIO GRANDE COMES
DOWN AND HERE'S WHERE IT

MAKES THE BEND AND BECOMES
NOT THE RIO GRANDE.

IT'S THERIO BRAVO.

ANYWHERE IN MEXICO ON THE
MEXICO SIDE IT'S ALWAYS

KNOWN ASEL RIO BRAVO.

WELL, TO THE WEST,
LOOKING OUT HERE,

OUT HERE THAT'S THE
GADSDEN PURCHASE.

THAT'S THAT STRIP OF
LAND THAT CHANGED

THE HISTORY OF THE U.S.
ALL THE WAY TO YUMA.

SO HERE'S WHERE EL PASO IS.

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF
THAT ENORMOUS EXPANSE,

THAT'S CIUDAD JUAREZ.

YEAH, JUAREZ, CHIHUAHUA
AND IT'S A BIG,

BIG CITY AND IT'S BLENDED
IN WITH EL PASO EXCEPT THE

RIVER IN THE MIDDLE.

BUT THEY'VE BOTH PRETTY
MUCH FORMED THIS

MASSIVE URBAN AREA HERE.

1589, 1590 EL PASO IS
FOUNDED AND THEY CALLED IT

EL PASO DEL NORTE, THE
PASS OF THE NORTH,

CAUSE THIS IS THE
FIRST PLACE THEY

RAN INTO WATER COMING NORTH.

WATER WAS PROBABLY
AVAILABLE THEN.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE
REST OF THE DESERT HERE,

WHOLE DIFFERENT PICTURE HERE.

THIS IS THE VERY RAILROAD
THAT WAS PLANNED BY THOSE

WHO WERE INVOLVED IN
THE GADSDEN PURCHASE.

IN THOSE DAYS, THE BIG
CONTROVERSY WAS WHETHER

ANY RAILROAD WOULD BE
CONTROLLED BY SOUTHERN

SLAVERY OR NORTHERN
ANTI-SLAVERY INTERESTS.

THE QUESTION BETWEEN THE U.S.
AND MEXICO WAS, HOW MUCH MONEY

WOULD THE U.S. PAY AND HOW BIG A
PARCEL WOULD MEXICO GIVE.

THE ADVANCE EXPLORATION
TEAM OF AMERICANS HAD NO

IDEA WHAT THEY WOULD FIND
AND THEY MAY EVEN HAVE

ENTERTAINED DELUSIONS
OF BEAUTY AND GRANDEUR.

COMING FROM EL PASO THEY
STRIKE OUT IN WHAT WILL BE

THE GADSDEN PURCHASE
AND IT'S THIS CREOSOTE,

LAVA HERE, A FEW SCRAWNY
GRASSES, NOTHING MORE.

WHO WOULD WANT IT?

PROBABLY NOBODY.

IT'S A PIECE OF LAND WITH
ALL THIS VERY DRY DESERT,

NO WATER AND AT THAT TIME
PROBABLY PEOPLE WANTED

WATER FOR CATTLE, MAYBE
AGRICULTURE AND EVEN

MINING REQUIRE WATER
IN SOME PLACES.

WELL, YEAH.

YOU LOOK HERE, A PROSPECTOR
ISN'T GOING TO FIND MUCH HERE.

PROBABLY NOT.

SO THE EASTERNERS
ARE GOING TO SAY,

IT'S NOT WORTH ANYTHING,
WE SHOULDN'T EVEN BUY IT.

BUT NOW WHAT ARE THE
MEXICANS GOING TO SAY?

WELL, HERE'S THE THING.

MEXICO HAD ALREADY
CLAIMED ALL THIS LAND,

NOT ONLY HERE BUT
ALL WAY UP NORTH,

MORE THAN 100 MILES NORTH
OF HERE AND THEN EVEN

THOUGH THERE WAS NOT MUCH
HAPPENING, A FEW SADDLERS,

LIVING ALREADY HERE, A
HUMONGOUS PIECE OF LAND

SOMEWHAT DISCONNECTED
FROM CENTRAL MEXICO.

BUT THEY'RE GOING TO PLAY
LIKE IT'S REALLY VALUABLE.

EXACTLY.

BUT IT WAS THEIRS.

BESIDES THIS MASSIVE
AMOUNT OF LAND,

THEY PROBABLY FOUND SOME
POCKETS LIKE THE SANTA

CRUZ RIVER AND SOME OF THE
MOUNTAINS NEAR ARIZONA,

IN NORTHERN ARIZONA.

SO THEY KNEW THERE
WAS SOME GOOD STUFF.

THERE WAS SOME GOOD STUFF
BUT COMPARED TO CENTRAL

AND SOUTHERN MEXICO, THIS
WAS PEANUTS I THINK.

THAT'S LUSH,
CORNFIELDS EVERYWHERE.

YOU AND I LIVE IN THE
SONORAN DESERT AND THIS IS

CHIHUAHUAN DESERT.

WE HAVE A LOT MORE
DIVERSITY OF VEGETATION.

IT'S VERY, VERY DIFFERENT.

NO CACTUS, NO BIG HUGE
CACTUS, NO SAGUAROS.

YOU'LL SEE LITTLE CACTI AND OF
COURSE PLENTY OF CREOSOTE.

BUT IT'S COLD HERE
IN THE WINTERTIME.

MUCH COLDER.

WE CAN FEEL IT RIGHT NOW
AS A MATTER OF FACT.

YEAH, RIGHT NOW AND YOU'LL
HAVE DAYS HERE WHEN THE

TEMPERATURE DOESN'T GET
ABOVE FREEZING

AND IT DOESN'T RAIN MUCH.

IT'S NOT AS LUSH AS
THE SONORAN DESERT,

DEFINITELY NOT THE DIVERSITY
OF PLANTS THAT WE HAVE THERE.

AND IT GOES ON FOR HUNDREDS
AND HUNDREDS OF MILES.

THE GADSDEN PURCHASE
CREATED A FEW TOWNS ALONG

THE NEW U.S./MEXICAN BORDER.

MOST OF THEM WERE QUIET,
DUSTY SETTLEMENTS

FOR THE FIRST HALF CENTURY.

COLUMBUS, NEW MEXICO,
HAS THE DISTINCTION OF

BEING FAMOUS FOR A
MEXICAN, PANCHO VILLA.

PANCHO VILLA.

VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.

HERE IS THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION
TAKING PLACE AROUND 1916.

PANCHO VILLA ATTACKS THE
UNITED STATES AND INVADES

THE UNITED STATES RIGHT HERE
IN COLUMBUS, NEW MEXICO.

DESTROYS THE TOWN.

KILLS A BUNCH
OF AMERICANS.

AMERICANS COULDN'T MAKE
ANY RESPONSE BECAUSE THERE

WERE SOLDIERS HERE,
ALL THEIR ARMS

WERE LOCKED IN THE GARRISON.

SO WHEN PANCHO VILLA IS GONE,
EVERYBODY IS FURIOUS, THEY

RECRUIT GENERAL PERSHING TO
FOLLOW THEM INTO MEXICO.

AND HERE IS WHEN ANOTHER
PART OF THE HISTORY OF

MEXICO IS VERY IMPORTANT.

WE LEARN WHEN THE UNITED
STATES INVADES MEXICO,

FIRST TIME THE UNITED
STATES USING AIRPLANES IN

WAR AND IT'S TO LOOK FOR PANCHO
VILLA DOWN INTO MEXICO.

AND I LEARNED
THAT IN ACORRIDO,

A SONG THAT TELLS YOU THE
STORY OF WHAT HAPPENED,

THE ACTUAL HISTORICAL
POINTS IN ACORRIDOAND WE

LEARNED IT IN SCHOOL.

THIS BORDER, WHICH IS
ESTABLISHED BY THE GADSDEN

PURCHASE, THIS IS A
STRAIGHT SHOT 100 MILES TO

THE RIO GRANDE.

IT'S AMAZING.

IT'S A PRETTY STRAIGHT
SHOT AND THEN THIS

FLATLAND GOES A LONG WAY.

FOREVER.

AND NOWADAYS EVEN THOUGH TALL,
TALL WALL RIGHT HERE,

VERY STRONG METAL FENCE
HERE, THE ACTIVITY

CONTINUES ON A REGULAR BASIS.

LEGAL ACTIVITIES GOING ALL
THE TIME, PEOPLE FROM BOTH

SIDES OF THE BORDER
EXCHANGING BUSINESS AND...

AND ILLEGAL.

AS WELL AS LEGAL ACTIVITY
GOING ON ALL THE TIME

DESPITE THIS BIG FENCE.

FROM COLUMBUS IT'S A LONG, EMPTY
60 MILES TO THE NEXT SETTLEMENT,

IF YOU CAN CALL IT THAT.

IT APPEARS THAT TODAY
THERE ARE MORE DEAD PEOPLE

THAN LIVING IN HACHITA.

THE FIRST PART OF LIFE WE
SEE HERE APART FROM THE

BORDER PATROL IS A CEMETERY.

HACHITA WAS CLEARLY NOT AN
AFFLUENT TOWN AND THIS IS

NOT AN AFFLUENT CEMETERY.

NO, YOU CAN SEE SOME VERY,
JUST VERY SIMPLE GRAVES HERE.

YEAH, THEY LOOK A LITTLE DULL.

NOT EVEN A CROSS.

PROBABLY USED TO BE A CROSS.

YEAH, JUST IN A MOUND OF DIRT.

BUT HERE WE HAVE A
MUSICIAN VERY LIKELY.

YEAH.

SO HE'S JUST GOT A MOUND
TOO AND THE GOPHERS ARE

DOING QUITE A JOB THERE.

BARBED WIRE.

A LITTLE BIT OF BARBED
WIRE, A LITTLE BIT OF

THE RANCHING TRADITION.

THAT MOTIF.

LOOK, HERE'S MORE BARBED WIRE.

MORE BARBED WIRE.

THERE'S A LITTLE GIRL NAMED
INESRA VEGA THAT LIVED

ONLY ONE MONTH, FROM JANUARY
2ND TO FEBRUARY 2ND, 1918.

VERY NICE
ORNAMENTS IN A WAY,

SIMPLE BUT VERY NICE
METAL ORNAMENTS.

NOW THIS ENCLOSURE SEEMS
TO HAVE THREE DIFFERENT ERAS.

SO WE'VE GOT WORLD WAR I
AND THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.

DO YOU SEE A THIRD ONE?

YES, AND THE THIRD ONE I
THINK THAT IS THE CIVIL WAR.

YEAH, THERE IT IS.

SO WE'VE GOT THREE
DIFFERENT WARS.

AND LOOK AT THE
ORNAMENTS IN HERE,

THEY LOOK MUCH OLDER.

THIS IS AN OLD TIME FENCE
SO WE'VE GOT REAL WAR

HISTORY HERE, RIGHT INSIDE THIS
TINY LITTLE ENCLOSURE.

IT'S AN ISOLATED PLACE RIGHT
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE

CHIHUAHUAN DESERT.

HACHITA ISN'T MUCH OF A
PLACE BUT ANTELOPE WELLS

CALLEDEL BERRENDOIN MEXICO, 45
MINUTES TO THE SOUTH,

IS EVEN LESS SIGNIFICANT.

IT IS THE LEAST USED
MEXICAN BORDER CROSSING.

50 YEARS AGO THE LOCATION
OF THE EXACT BORDER ON THE

GROUND WAS ANYBODY'S GUESS.

NOW, THERE'S NO QUESTION
WHERE THE BORDER.

IT'S FORTIFIED AS
THOUGH IT'S A WAR ZONE.

TRAFFIC HASN'T
INCREASED MUCH, THOUGH,

JUST THREE CROSSINGS
A DAY FROM THE SOUTH.

SO WHEN THE AMERICANS DID
THE BOUNDARY SURVEY FOR

THE GADSDEN PURCHASE THEY
ORIGINALLY ONLY MADE 50

SOME BOUNDARY MARKERS FOR SOME
600 MILES OF BOUNDARY.

THAT'S NOT ENOUGH.

THESEMOJONESBASICALLY,
THESE MARKERS ARE VERY UNIQUE.

IT'S JUST ONE LITTLE MARKER.

YEAH AND IT WASN'T ENOUGH.

IT WASN'T ENOUGH BUT THEY
DIDN'T NEED TO HAVE MORE

TO SHOW WHERE THE
BORDER WAS BECAUSE...

WELL, THEY DID THOUGH
BECAUSE THEY CAME BACK

AND THEY DID OVER 200.

THEY ADDED A BUNCH AND
THIS IS NUMBER 60.

EXACTLY AND I THINK THOSE
MOJONESOR THOSE MARKERS

WERE JUST A WAY TO LOOK AT IT.

IF YOU COULD SEE FROM
ONE TO THE OTHER ONE,

THAT WAS ENOUGH TO TELL YOU
THIS IS WHERE THE BORDER IS.

AND IF YOU DIDN'T LIVE
CLOSE ENOUGH TO SEE ONE,

WELL, IT PROBABLY
DIDN'T MATTER.

IT DIDN'T MATTER.

UNTIL IT CAME TO VOTING.

EXACTLY.

MAYBE IT DID MATTER THEN.

100 HIGHWAY MILES TO THE
WEST JUST INSIDE ARIZONA

THE LANDSCAPE CHANGES
DRAMATICALLY.

THE RUGGED AND FORESTED
CHIRICAHUA MOUNTAINS ARE A

SKY ISLAND OASIS ABOVE
THE DESERT FLOOR,

WET ENOUGH TO GROW LIMITED
CROPS AND RICH ENOUGH IN

WILD FOODS TO HAVE
SUPPORTED CHIRICAHUA APACHES.

FOR 200 YEARS THE APACHES
USED THE CONVOLUTED

TOPOGRAPHY TO GREAT
ADVANTAGE TO ESCAPE

MEXICAN AND AMERICAN
RETALIATION FOR THEIR

FREQUENT RAIDING PARTIES.

THE 1880S MARKED THE END
OF THESE SO-CALLED

UNITED STATES INDIAN WARS.

THIS IS THE MONUMENT TO
THE CAPTURE OF GERONIMO

BUT IT ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE
A GOOD 10 MILES OVER IN

THE PELONCILLOS IN
SKELETON CANYON.

THAT'S A GOOD PLACE.

YEAH, IT'S VERY
SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE THE

ENTIRE AREA HERE WAS
REALLY APACHE LAND AND I

THINK IT MAKES SENSE HERE
TO SEE IT IN FRONT OF THE

CHIRICAHUA MOUNTAINS ESPECIALLY.

OH, YEAH, WELL, HE WAS
A CHIRICAHUA APACHE.

PART OF THE GADSDEN
PURCHASE HAD A PROVISION

THAT THE UNITED STATES HAD
TO INDEMNIFY MEXICO

FOR ANY DAMAGE THAT THE
APACHES DID AND

I EXPECT THE MEXICANS LIKE THAT.

ONCE THE GADSDEN PURCHASE WAS
DONE, IT TOOK A LONG TIME TO

REALLY, FOR MANY PEOPLE LIVING
HERE, PARTICULARLY THE APACHES,

TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHERE THE
BORDER WAS OR WHAT IT MEANT.

SO FOR THE APACHES THIS
LANDS WAS STILL THEIR VAST

LAND AND GOING INTO MEXICO
BACK AND FORTH PROBABLY

DIDN'T MEAN MUCH
TO THEM BECAUSE...

WELL, NO, AND THEY COULDN'T
UNDERSTAND WHY THE U.S.

CARED ABOUT THEM
ATTACKING MEXICO.

THE U.S. THEN HAD TO CLAMP DOWN
ON THE APACHES BECAUSE THEY

DIDN'T WANT TO KEEP PAYING
DAMAGES AND THERE WERE A LOT.

AND THEN A REALLY SAD PART
OF HISTORY COMES WHEN THE

APACHES THEN WERE PUT ON
RESERVATIONS AND GERONIMO

WAS SORT OF A HEROIC PROTEST
AGAINST THAT TREATMENT.

BUT AGAIN, IT'S 1886.

THIS IS THE LAST REALLY
NATIVE AMERICANS UPRISINGS

THAT THE UNITED STATES
HAD TO DEAL WITH,

IN THE FORM OF WAR AND
THERE IS GERONIMO DOING

THAT RIGHT HERE IN THIS AREA.

THE FIRST BORDER TOWN
INSIDE ARIZONA IS DOUGLAS

WITH IT'S FAMOUS HOTEL
NAMED AFTER THE SENATOR

WHO NEVER VENTURED HERE
EVEN THOUGH THE PURCHASE

WAS NAMED AFTER HIM.

SO YOU'VE STAYED IN THE
GADSDEN HOTEL, RIGHT?

ONE TIME.

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT GADSDEN?

NOT REALLY.

YOU WOULDN'T BE EXPECTED
TO BECAUSE THEY DON'T TELL

YOU ABOUT THAT IN MEXICO.

IT'S A DIFFERENT NAME.

NO, CERTAINLY NOT.

THE ONLY THING I'VE
KNOWN IS THAT HE

WAS EXPELLED FROM MEXICO.

RIGHT.

HE WAS A SOUTHERN PLANTATION
SLAVE OWNING GUY.

SO GADSDEN GETS THIS IDEA
OF GETTING A STRIP WHERE

THEY COULD BUILD A
RAILROAD TO BRING SLAVE

SYMPATHIZERS OUT WEST AND
OUTNUMBER THE ANTI-SLAVE

SENTIMENT, MAKE NEW CONFEDERATE
STATES OR SLAVE STATES.

THE ONLY PROBLEM WAS THE
NORTHERNERS SUSPECTED HIM

OF SOMETHING, THEY MADE
A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

PARCEL AND WHAT THE U.S.

WOUND UP WITH WAS NOTHING
LIKE WHAT GADSDEN HAD IN

MIND BUT STILL HAS HIS NAME.

YEAH, THE INTERESTING THING IN
MEXICO, THIS IS NOT KNOWN VERY

MUCH, ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTHERN
PART OF MEXICO AND OTHER THAN

THE GADSDEN HOTEL HERE IN
DOUGLAS, ALL I'VE HEARD IS THAT

HE BECAME A DIPLOMAT
AFTER THE PURCHASE.

BUT THEN HE WAS
EXPELLED FROM MEXICO.

HE WAS ACTING LIKE A BIG GRINGO.

PROBABLY.

YOU'RE OUT OF HERE, THEY SAID.

LONG BEFORE DOUGLAS BECAME A
TOWN, A NEARBY MEXICAN RANCH WAS

ESTABLISHED ALONG THE ONLY
RELIABLE SPRINGS FOR MANY MILES.

THE NORTHERN PART OF
THE RANCH STRADDLED THE

U.S./MEXICAN BORDER AFTER
THE GADSDEN PURCHASE

REDEFINED THE BORDER.

IT BECAME THE SLAUGHTER RANCH.

THE SLAUGHTER RANCH STILL
LOOKS LIKE AN OLD RANCH

EVEN THOUGH IT'S A
NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.

AH, THIS IS SUCH A GREAT PLACE.

IT'S VERY UNIQUE.

IT'S RIGHT UP
AGAINST THE BORDER.

REALLY?

WELL, THAT'S GOTTA
BE THE BORDER THEN

RIGHT OVER AT THE EDGE
OF THE PASTURE.

I DON'T KNOW OF ANY OTHER
PLACE WHERE THE BORDER IS

MARKED BY THE END
OF A SHEEP PASTURE.

RIGHT THERE.

THERE'S MEXICO RIGHT THERE.

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT
FENCE RIGHT THERE IS MEXICO.

THERE'S MEXICO
RIGHT THERE, YEAH.

AND HERE WE ARE IN ARIZONA.

THIS WAS VERY DIFFERENT
FROM THE LAND THAT WE'VE

SEEN IN NEW MEXICO SO THIS
IS ANOTHER SECTION OF THE

GADSDEN PURCHASE THAT
PROBABLY MADE A LITTLE

DIFFERENCE FOR THE
PEOPLE AT THAT TIME.

YEAH, BUT IT WAS NOT
GREEN HERE IN 1853.

THESE FABULOUS ARTESIAN
WELLS WERE CREATED BY AN

EARTHQUAKE IN 1887.

AND IT'S BASICALLY AN OASIS.

AND THIS IS A VERY
IMPORTANT HISTORIC SITE

TOO BECAUSE ACTUALLY
PANCHO VILLA CAME THROUGH

HERE AT ONE POINT
IN THE EARLY 1900S.

THEY JUST CAME AND STARTED
HELPING THEMSELVES WITH

THE CROPS THAT THEY HAD
AND MR. SLAUGHTER WENT OUT

AND MET THEM AND TRIED
TO CONFRONT THEM.

THEN WHEN HE CAME BACK, HE HAD
HIS SADDLE BAGS WITH GOLD COINS.

SO THEY GOT PAID.

THEY PAID FOR THEIR STUFF.

THAT WAS NOT THE WAY
PANCHO VILLA ALWAYS OPERATED.

HE OPERATED BUT APPARENTLY
HE WORKED THAT WAY HERE.

THEN I GUESS SLAUGHTER
BOUGHT THE THING

AFTER THE GADSDEN PURCHASE.

HE BOUGHT IT IN I
THINK IT WAS 1884

AND MADE ALL THIS
LAKE OUT OF A POND.

HE JUST ENLARGED IT.

AND TO THIS DAY IT'S AN
OASIS THAT IN THE MIDDLE

OF THIS KIND OF ZONE
BETWEEN SONORAN DESERT AND

CHIHUAHUAN DESERT YOU HAVE
THIS WONDERFUL GREEN PLACE

AND WONDERFUL CATTLE RANCH.

YOU GREW UP IN MEXICO.

MM MM.

YOU SPEND A LOT OF
TIME IN MEXICO STILL.

YOU TELL ME WHY THE UNITED
STATES THOUGHT IT WAS

IMPORTANT IN 1911 TO
BUILD A FORT HERE.

1911.

WELL, FIRST OF ALL IN 1910
THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION STARTS,

BIG UNREST THROUGHOUT
THE COUNTRY AND

THE BORDER IS RIGHT HERE.

YOU GET A GOOD PERSPECTIVE HERE.

A GOOD PERSPECTIVE.

IT'S A GREAT SPOT RIGHT
HERE TO PROTECT THE U.S. BORDER.

AND HERE YOU HAVE THE U.S.

ARMY STATIONED FOR ALMOST
THE ENTIRE TIME OF THE

REVOLUTION LOOKING
DOWN INTO THIS VALLEY.

MR. SLAUGHTER ALREADY
WAS LIVING HERE.

AND DURING THAT TIME
BASICALLY THE ARMY WAS

STATIONED HERE AND THIS
TIME PROTECTING THE BORDER

FOR ANYTHING COULD HAVE
HAPPENED BECAUSE STILL

1910 THAT WAS A LONG
TIME OF UNREST AND

THE UNITED STATES WAS VERY
WORRIED ABOUT IT.

AND THERE WAS A LOT
OF BANDITRY GOING

ON AT THAT TIME, TOO, RIGHT?

SOME OF THE BANDITRY COULD
HAVE HAD TO DO WITH THE

VAST AMOUNTS OF GOLD,
SILVER AND COPPER COMING

OUT OF THE MINE AT
BISBEE 30 MILES WEST.

BISBEE, ARIZONA IS LOCATED
ABOUT FIVE MILES NORTH OF

THE U.S./MEXICO BORDER.

IT WAS INCLUDED IN
THE GADSDEN PURCHASE.

AT THAT TIME OF COURSE,
NOBODY KNEW THE VAST

MINERAL RICHES THAT
LAY BENEATH THE SOIL.

ULTIMATELY, OUT OF THE
BISBEE MINE ALONE,

$25 BILLION WORTH OF
COPPER WAS EXTRACTED

COMPARED WITH THE $10
MILLION THAT THE UNITED

STATES PAID TO MEXICO.

WE ARE GOING TO THE
UNDERGROUND MINE TOUR IN

BISBEE, ARIZONA, AND
THIS IS OLD STUFF.

ALL RIGHT, I'LL PUT ONE OF
THESE, SHOULD I PUT IT ON

OVER THE PARKA?

SURE.

47 DEGREES.

WHERE I COME FROM, THAT'S COLD.

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE
ABOUT TO ENTER THE BOWELS

OF THE EARTH, CHUY?

WE'RE GOING TO GO
IN THE MINE HERE.

WE'RE GOING TO GO
DOWN VARIOUS LEVELS.

THE LOWEST LEVEL WE GO
DOWN TO IS 300 FEET.

I THINK IT WENT DOWN A
LOT MORE THAN THAT

WHEN IT WAS AN ACTIVE MINE.

THIS LEVEL HERE IS THE
300 LEVEL, THIRD LEVEL.

BACK INSIDE THERE'S
TWO LEVELS ABOVE US,

FOUR LEVELS BELOW US 100
FEET APART MAKING THIS

PARTICULAR MINE 700
FEET TOP TO BOTTOM.

ORIGINALLY THEY HOISTED IT ALL
THE WAY UP TO THE SURFACE.

WHEN THE RAILROAD
GOT HERE TO TOWN,

THEY DRILLED THIS TUNNEL
TO GET THE ORE OUT RIGHT

AT THE SAME LEVEL AS
THE RAILROAD IS AT.

OKAY, NOW WE'RE
CLIMBING THESE STEPS

UP INTO THE STOPE,
S-T-O-P-E.

THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF
THE ORE IS LOCATED,

PLAIN OLD WORKING PLACE.

THEY HAD A BUNCH OF THESE
SCATTERED OUT THROUGH THE MINE.

SO IT BECAME THE ORE
WAS NOT SUFFICIENTLY

CONCENTRATED TO MAKE IT
WORTH THEIR WHILE TO GO ON HERE.

EXACTLY, MINED OUT.

THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WITH MINES,
THEY RUN OUT, DON'T THEY?

YEAH, MM MM.

1975 IT WASN'T SUCH HIGH GRADE.

THE PRICE OF COPPER WENT
DOWN, EVERYTHING ELSE

IS STILL GOING UP.

THAT'S WHEN THEY
CLOSED THE MINES.

HOW MUCH COPPER
CAME OUT OF HERE?

SOMETHING LIKE EIGHT
BILLION POUNDS OF COPPER.

BILLION POUNDS OF COPPER.

AND AT TODAY'S PRICE
AROUND $3 A POUND.

I SAW IT WHEN IT GOT
DOWN TO $13 AND $17.

THAT'S WHEN THEY CLOSED A
LOT OF THE MINES IN 1949.

THIS IS CALCITE QUARTZ CRYSTAL
AND FROM TIME TO TIME IT WOULD

BE GOLD BEARING QUARTZ BUT I
THINK SOMEBODY GOT TO HERE FIRST

AND GOT ALL THE GOOD
STUFF OUT OF THERE.

PETE, SOMEBODY TOLD
ME THAT SOME OF THE

UNDERGROUND MINERS, IF
THEY FOUND A REALLY RICH

PIECE WITH MAYBE A LITTLE
GOLD IN IT OR PRETTY

TURQUOISE, THEY'D PUT
IT IN THEIR LUNCH PAIL.

YEAH, THEY DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER
TO CHECK LUNCH BUCKETS WHEN

WE WERE GOING OFF A SHIFT
CAUSE THEY KNEW WE COULDN'T

FIND ANY SILVER OR GOLD AND YOU
FIND SOME OF THIS COPPER STUFF,

A WHOLE LUNCH BUCKET WOULD
BE ABOUT THREE CENTS WORTH

OF COPPER SO THEY DIDN'T
BOTHER CHECKING THEM.

I FEEL A VIBRATION IN THE TRACK.

I THINK WE'RE ABOUT TO
BE RUN OVER BY A TRAIN.

THE COAL THEY MINED ON TWO
LEVELS ABOVE THEY'D DUMP

IN THIS POCKET, THEN
THEY'D LOAD IT IN SOME

KIND OF MINE GUARD AND HAUL IT
OUT TO THE RAILROAD CARS.

SIMPLE, HUH?

OR TRANSFER.

OKAY, NOW WE GO BACK
HERE AND PASS UP SOME,

PASS BY SOME OF THE
DRILLS THEY USED HERE.

DRILL UP WITH THAT ONE.

HORIZONTAL WITH
THESE, MORE OR LESS.

THIS IS CALLED A
JACK LIGHT MACHINE.

IT'S LIKE A JACKHAMMER.

HE HOLDS IT UP AND PUSHES IT.

THIS IS THE PATTERN
OF HOLES WE DRILLED.

BLAST THAT ONE FIRST,
THEN THESE HERE SECOND.

THIS ONE HERE IS SECOND,
WE BREAK INTO THAT HOLE

YOU JUST BLASTED, KICK
OUT, DOWN THE HOLES,

WORK YOUR WAY RIGHT
AROUND LIKE THAT.

THAT RIGHT THERE IS CALLED, WHAT
DOES IT LOOK LIKE, A CAGE.

THAT'S AN ELEVATOR.

WE CALLED IT A CAGE BECAUSE
THAT'S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.

THAT'S THE WAY WE GOT
IN AND OUT OF THE MINE.

SOME OF THEM WE COULD GET
12 ON DOWN AT THE BOTTOM.

THEY HAD THREE DECKS
ON SOME OF THEM.

AND THEN THEY HAD A BUCKET
UNDERNEATH AND THEY'D PULL

THE ORE OUT OF A
CHUTE RIGHT HERE,

IT GOES RIGHT INTO THE
BUCKET AND HOISTED IT UP

AND DUMPED IT INTO
THE RAILROAD CARS.

WHAT STRIKES ME MOST IS
ALL OF THE IMMENSE AMOUNT

OF ORE THAT CAME
OUT OF HERE,

WHAT A TERRIFIC BARGAIN THE U.S.
GOT, 10 MILLION BUCKS.

YEAH.

I'VE HEARD A FIGURE OF
$25 BILLION JUST THIS ONE MINE.

THE EARLY MINERS FOUND
OUTCROPPINGS WITH GOLD OR

TURQUOISE OR SILVER,
FOLLOWED THEM UNDERGROUND

AND THUS THE FIRST MINES
WERE ALL UNDERGROUND.

WITH THE ADVENT OF MORE
SOPHISTICATED MACHINERY,

IT BECAME CHEAPER TO
REMOVE THE TOP OVER BURDEN

AND MAKE AN OPEN PIT MINE.

AT THE TIME OF THE
GADSDEN PURCHASE IN 1853,

NEITHER MEXICAN NOR
AMERICAN OFFICIALS KNEW

MUCH ABOUT THE LAND THAT
WAS INVOLVED IN THE

PURCHASE OTHER THAN WHAT
THEY SAW WEST OF THE RIO

GRANDE IN WHAT IS
NOW NEW MEXICO.

HAD THEY VENTURED FARTHER
WEST AND SEEN THE VARIETY OF

LANDSCAPES AND RESOURCES, THEY
BOTH WOULD HAVE REALIZED THAT

THE PURCHASE PRICE
PAID WAS FAR TOO LOW.

DURING THE 18TH CENTURY,
THIS PART OF MEXICO WAS A

FAR AWAY, DESOLATE LAND
THAT FEW PEOPLE CONSIDERED

WORTHY OF BECOMING PART
OF THE UNITED STATES.

THOUGH MOSTLY DESERT,
THE AREA IN THE GADSDEN

PURCHASE DID HAVE
ITS SHARE OF RIVERS,