I believe this trail was one of the more difficult. It starts out at pretty good location but the water sources west of Coyote Lake are not real good. There are a couple of big salt lakes that would not have been good for people or livestock. Portales Springs was documented as having good water. From Portalas Springs to Tiban Mesa there was limited water resources and the terrain would have also been very sandy.
This trail went right along the south side of the sand hills that stretch from just north of present day Littlefield TX to west of Melrose NM. It would have been very difficult for carts to travel across these sand hills.
(click on the map for a larger view)
Ransom Canyon (named for the place where the Comancheros held and exchanged the captives they held for ransom). This area has several fresh water springs as well as other natural resources need for extended living needs.
Traveling up Yellow House Draw you can find several large lakes that should have been big enough to provide acceptable water for both people and livestock. The first of these is Yellow House Lake and Bull Lake. From there they would have traveled to the lakes at present day Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge just south of Needmore TX. Next is Coyote Lake. This location shows up in a couple of accounts of Comanchero trail history. These accounts then take the trail to Portales Springs.
The trail then would have traveled on to Tierra Blanca Lake (not connected to Tierra Blanca creek) and then on to Little Tule Lake Springs (not connected with Tule creek). From there they would have continued on moving north west to Stinking Springs and on to Tiban Springs. Once reaching this point they hooked up with the trail that went to Bosque Redondo and then north to Anton Chico or Chaperito.
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