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~Gila Wilderness Expeditions~ |
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67 Double E Ranch Road Gila, NM 88038 866.242.3500 |
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Pre-Historic Cultures...
The Mimbres
Valley region is historically significant primarily because of
the Mimbres Indians who lived here almost a thousand years ago.
The Mimbres people are an enigma to archeologists, because they
can only speculate about their beginnings and especially about
their ultimate fate. The Mimbres culture was relatively
isolated in southwestern New Mexico and eastern Arizona. It
reached its zenith about C.E. 1050 in the Mimbres river valley
20 miles east of Silver City, New Mexico. Resource stress (sound
familiar?) caused by overpopulation, drought and pressure
(perhaps) from the emerging Chichimec Casas Grande power base,
100 miles to the south, put them
out of business by 1130 C.E. They appear to have been a peaceful bunch with regular contact with other Archeologists believe the Mimbres culture evolved from the Mogollon culture, which itself possibly evolved from the Anasazi and/or the Hohokam cultures. During the Mimbres phase, the move was made from pit houses, to semi-pit houses, and then to above ground pueblos. The dead were often buried under the floor inside the house, with a pot covering their head. The big puzzle is what happened to the Mimbres people. It is speculated that the original Mimbrenos moved away, and were integrated into other cultures, possibly to the south. It is not likely that they were driven from the area by warfare, as evidence points to an exodus extending over a period of years.
Apaches, Pioneers and Ranching... It has only been 114 years since the Apache Chief Geronimo's surrender permitted miners and homesteaders to explore and settle the Gila-Bear Creek region without fear of Indian attack. Geronimo, Cochise, Mangus Coloradas, and Victorio knew Bear Creek, the Gila River and the Gila Wilderness very well. The countless side canyons and adjoining peaks provided a vast natural safe haven during their People's fight. The roughness of the land probably contributed to the Apache cultural stability, keeping the push of newcomers to a minimum. Geronimo:
Born: 1829 or 1834 in the
region of Janos River in Mexico
Geronimo was a Apache Indian warrior who followed Mangas Colorado and Cochise with raiding parties. During the Apache Indian wars, Geronimo became a leader of the Chiricahua Apache Indians. Geronimo fled the reservation with his Apache Indian war party on numerous occasions. In his absence from the reservation Geronimo carried on his personal guerilla warfare against the white settlers with a small war party of Chiricahua Apache Indians. Geronimo was worn down by the Cavalry after years of skillful fighting. The Surrender of Geronimo regretfully took place in 1886. Soon to experience a fate worse than death to a Chiricahua Apache Indian, Geronimo was cruelly transported to Florida as a prisoner of war. In 1894 Geronimo and his band of Chiricahua Apache Indians were moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Geronimo remained a conquered prisoner of war deprived of freedom and the meaning of life till his death. Homesteaders and ranchers eventually moved into the Gila Valley near the turn of the century and the area was opened for exploration and settlement. In the late 1990s, the Ranch was acquired by Alan and Debbie Eggleston, your hosts for the Gila Wilderness Nature Ride. Join us at Double E Guest Ranch and let Gila Wilderness Nature Ride lead you on a nature-focused horseback riding adventure your senses will not soon forget. You're offered a rare opportunity to visit an extraordinary place in time.
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Directions to Double E Guest Ranch Accommodations at Double E Guest Ranch Cowgirl Camp at Double E Guest Ranch Cowboy College at Double E Guest Ranch A Dude's Typical Day at Double E Guest Ranch Dude News from Double E Guest Ranch Dude Comments about Double E Guest Ranch Articles about Double E Guest Ranch Old West History of Double E Guest Ranch Gila Wilderness Nature Rides at Double E Guest Ranch Dude Ranch Area Attractions Near Double E Guest Ranch Dude Ranch Holiday Specials at Double E Guest Ranch Stallions at RanchGeldings.Com Horses for Sale at RanchGeldings.Com ~ Gila Wilderness Expeditions ~ Accommodations at Gila Wilderness Expeditions Rates at Gila Wilderness Expeditions A Typical Day at Gila Wilderness Expeditions Other Adventures Offered by Gila Wilderness Expeditions Debbie and Alan Eggleston
Double E
Guest Ranch E-Mail: info@gilawildernessexpeditions.com Experience the Gila Wilderness and Gila National Forest on horse back. Ride through the canyons of the Gila region. View wildlife in the Gila region. Double E Guest Ranch adjoins the Gila National Forest. Indian culture, wildlife, horseback riding, in the Gila Wilderness on horse back at Double E Guest Ranch. |
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Updated June 2006 062205 |
Before
the Apaches, the region was home to the Mimbrenos, an advanced
pre-historic Indian culture. Highly artistic, they are known for
their exquisite black-on-white pottery featuring nature
motifs. The Mimbres made their homes farming and hunting
along the Gila River and Bear Creek, living in pit houses,
shallow caves and small cliff dwellings. Earlier Indian cultures
most certainly lived in the area.
Limited evidence of hunting by the earliest
inhabitants (9500-6000BC) has been found in several highland
areas. Widespread evidence of the Archaic Culture, which is
considered part of the Cochise Culture dating from 6000 BC to
300 AD, has been found in the region. The sites you will
visit are all located on 
contemporaneous
Southwestern cultures (Anasazi,
Mogollon Tularosa, Hohokam and the Chichimec trading cultures).
Mimbres pottery is the
most famous artifact of the Mimbres culture. Pottery was made in
plain and corrugated brown clay, polychrome, black and red, and
the famous black and white. The black and white pottery usually
depicted animals encountered in daily life, daily routines, or
geometric designs. Cranes, turkeys, fish, mosquitoes or
hummingbirds, small mammals, and humans often grace Mimbres
pottery. The expertise of the Mimbres potters is
considered superior to that of any other Native American
potters. A characteristic of pots found associated with a burial
is that of the "kill hole". A piece was broken out of the
bottom of the pot. It is postulated that this might have been to
release the soul of the deceased. Approximately
10,000 ceramic bowls have been unearthed and easily that many
remain buried in hundreds of small ruins located where ever
water was regularly found. 
A
Mimbreno Apache Indian known as Goyathlay, Geronimo revenged the
killing of his family by the Mexicans. This started a long trail
of blood and made famous the warning cry Geronimo is on
the war path.
