those of you who have been following the progress of mxus between
1848 & 1853 with us this past week may have noticed the passage on
p28 in the bible
under the heading of
first mexican session
which tells of an abortive first survey of the south boundary of new
mexico westward from the rio grande along latitude 32d22m

this line is shown in fig 47 on p162 too

well
along my route from the university to the hot springs each night
after reading & rereading this & related passages
i had been passing an almost completely defaced new mexico historical
marker near the village of dona ana

& since new mexico historical markers
& defaced ones in particular
are almost always worth a look
i finally stopped on saturday to try to decipher this one
& lo & behold
it says something about the initial point of this very boundary
survey being near that very place
etc etc

& tho it is unclear why someone so carefully obliterated the entire
text of the historical marker almost beyond decipherment
it may have been out of a concern for historical authenticity
since the survey had after all been invalidated almost as soon as it
was begun in 1851
& its correction finally obviated in 1853 by the gadsden purchase

but anyway i scoured the right bank of the rio for about a mile near
there
hoping against hope that i might find the actual relic
since i realize erroneous rocks are routinely pulled rather than
allowed to stand & cause further confusion

& i will look again this afternoon even more carefully
exactly where the topo shows this latitude crossing the river
with a final careful beating of the bushes
just in case the surveyors got that part exactly right
& just in case the rock wasnt pulled after all

but basically i think this report of a ghost memorial to a ghost rock
from an abortive 1851 mxus survey is already as complete as it will
ever be