The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 95, July 1991 - April, 1992 Page: 226
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
a portion of the ravine can be seen at the bottom, and the "general wa-
tering trough" flowed in front of the highlighted row of houses at cen-
ter.'" Intended in part to provide potable water to the neighborhood,
the open channel was also favored by local women for laundering. If
Saltillo was like other Mexican cities of the time, the ditch was probably
also used as a convenient receptacle for wastes."
In 1847 the barrio pictured in the daguerreotype was the south-
ernmost neighborhood of Saltillo."' A close examination of the view re-
veals that several of the houses were in advanced states of dilapidation,
with collapsed roofs and walls, while other structures show every sign
of inhabitation. "Saltillo seems to be rather on the decline," mused an
Indiana correspondent in early 1847. "Many of the buildings look very
old and are going to ruin." " Another scribe in Saltillo, though describ-
ing conditions in Monclova, Coahuila, pinpointed the reason for so
much decay: "This town, like most others, has many deserted houses,
which are going to destruction. The workings of a few rainy seasons
make them a mass of rubbish, and often fill the adjacent street a foot or
two in depth." 1
Coursing transversely through the barrio (though visible only at the
prominent intersection at center) was the main highway to San Luis
Potosi, which had been a major link in the Camino Real (Royal High-
way) system during the Colonial epoch. The portion of the route
within the daguerreotype was variously known as Calle Real or Calle
de San Juan Nepomuceno. A short distance to the south of the previ-
ously mentioned intersection (though probably outside of the view
to the left) was the Garita de Mexico, a combination city gate and
customhouse.'"
"'The spring and aqueduct were out of the daguerreotype to the bottom right; the "general
watering trough" was along former Calle de la Atarjea, now Calle Felix U Gomez. Cuellar Val-
des, Historia de la Ciudad de Saltillo, 186.
'5 Ibid , Josiah Gregg, The Commerce of the Praires (2 vols.; New York. Henry G. Langley,
1844), II, 87-88.
16Peck, "Plan of the City of Saltillo." Compare a map by the Cuerpo Nacional de Ingenmeros,
Plano de la Ciudad de Saltillo, Capital del Estado de Coahula, ca. 1835, in Vito Alessio Robles,
Coahuila y Texas Desde la Consumacion de la Independencia Hlasta el Tratado de Paz de Guadalupe
Hzdalgo (2 vols.; Mexico: [Talleres GrAfico de la Naci6n], 1945-1946), I, opp. 448. This map,
probably drafted under the supervision of Col. Luis Tola, is particularly valuable because it
includes the names of all city streets. Ibid , II, o02
17Oran Perry (ed), Indiana in the Mexican War (Indianapolis, Ind.. William Burford, 19o8),
142
'8Nzles' Natzonal Register (Baltimore), Apr. 1o, 1847, p. 86.
'9Cuerpo Nacional de Ingemneros, Plano de la Ciudad de Saltillo The route of the Camino Real
through the city of Saltllo coincides with present-day Calle Hidalgo. Compare a map by Javier
Ehzondo Karam, Saltillo (Saltillo: J.E.K., 1985)226
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 95, July 1991 - April, 1992, periodical, 1992; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117153/m1/272/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.