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Mental Health in College and University 1st Edition Dana
L. Farnsworth Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Dana L. Farnsworth
ISBN(s): 9780674189249, 0674189248
Edition: 1
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Year: 2013
Language: english
Mental Health
in College and University
Mental Health
in College and University
D A N A L . F A R N S W O R T H , M.D.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
H A R V A R D U N I V E R S I T Y PRESS
1 9 5 7
© Copyright 1957 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
Distributed in Great Britain by Oxford University Press, London
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 57-11656
Printed in the United States of America
For Peggy
Foreword
This book on mental health in institutions of higher
learning is an attempt to convey a point of view about the
interaction of psychiatry and education derived from two
decades of experience in colleges of widely different charac-
ter. It is not meant to be a survey of the entire field. My
early experiences in the care of students convinced me that
a health service which does not consider their emotional life
is missing many of its best opportunities for helping them.
Not only this, but I believe as well that a college faculty
and administration that do not take emotional factors into
serious account in planning their program are leaving out
one of the vital aspects of education. After all a college
should try to develop in a student a sense of responsibility
for his own intellectual development not only while he is
in residence but thereafter. No group of persons in our so-
ciety are in a better position to influence favorably the at-
titudes of our young people toward learning than the teach-
ers and administrators of our colleges. A mental-health pro-
gram should serve to bring into focus the many ways by
which members of the college community can improve the
quality of learning and of living, not only at the moment
but later.
The concept of mental health outlined in this book is,
of course, concerned with value judgments. It is also con-
cerned with such abstractions as maturity, independence,
responsibility, and freedom. Ralph Barton Perry has said
that the conditions for freedom include learning, imagina-
tion, sympathy, dignity, and civility. Mental health is in-
terested in the problem of helping the individual to free
vii
himself from disabling internal conflicts as well as from
paralyzing or inhibiting external discord. Mental health
is not something that just happens. It is a vital ingredient
of good living, and the better it is the less aware one is of its
existence.
Out total efforts in the direction of developing good men-
tal-health programs in our colleges and universities are at
best feeble when measured against the need. I hope that
this volume will serve as a stimulus for the improvement
of those health services already in existence and for the de-
velopment of such services where none now exist.
The contents of this volume are derived in large part from
a series of eight lectures given under the auspices of the
Lowell Institute of Boston in February and March 1956. To
this Institute, and especially Mr. Ralph Lowell and Dr.
Richard M. Gummere, I am grateful for the impetus to get
my thoughts and experiences expressed in the form of public
lectures.
Those who help in the writing of a book are always more
numerous than appear at first glance. All sorts of fortuitous
events contribute in one way or another. Ideas come from a
wide variety of sources, often not credited because their
origins are not remembered. Among the many persons who
have been helpful in various ways I should pay especial
thanks to Doctors Henry H. Babcock, Leo Berman, Gay-
lord P. Coon, James M. Dunning, Joseph J. Michaels, Augus-
tus Thorndike, and Mr. John B. Butler for reviewing parts
or all of the manuscript in various stages. Mrs. Mary Claire
Adams and Mrs. Mary L. Billings worked on the manuscript
and proofreading as well as on compilation of the index,
always with patience and understanding. To the late Clem-
ents C. Fry I owe the stimulation of countless hours of plan-
ning and sharing of a lifetime of experience in helping
students become independent of their fears and conflicts.
To the publishers of various journals should go my thanks
viii
for the use of material and ideas published in their pages,
in a modified form. Among these are: The Harvard Educa-
tional Review, Mental Hygiene, Phi Delta Kappan, The
Rhode Island Medical Journal, and the Harvard Alumni
Bulletin.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to Harcourt, Brace and
Company, Inc., and Faber and Faber, Ltd., Publishers, for
permission to use lines from T. S. Eliot's The Confidential
Clerk, and to Prentice-Hall, Inc., for permission to quote
from Erwin R. Goodenough's Toward a Mature Faith. Mr.
William H. L. Anderson has graciously permitted me to use
his Commencement Address at Williams College in 1955.
I should also express my appreciation to the John and
Mary R. Markle Foundation which gave me a six-month's
fellowship at the Austen Riggs Foundation in Stockbridge,
Massachusetts, to enable me to begin my studies of die
mental health of college students.
Finally, I wish to express my appreciation to my wife,
who set the conditions and provided the needed pressure to
get the book written.
Dana L. Farnsworth
Cambridge, Massachusetts
May 1957
ix
CONTENTS
1 Colleges Discover the Need for Mental Health i
2 Emotional Maturation of the College Student
3 Student Customs, Morale, and Attitudes 59
4 Emotional Stress in the College Student 86
5 Counseling and Psychotherapy 114
6 The Administration and the Psychiatrist 138
7 Development of College Mental-Health Programs 162
8 Emotions and the Curriculum 189
Appendix 217
Bibliography 227
Notes 231
Index 23g
Chapter
Colleges Discover the Need
for Mental Health
The principles and practices of mental health are no
different in institutions of higher learning than in other
communities. There is, however, a special opportunity in a
college setting to study causes and effects and to develop
modes of action more effectively than is possible in a more
heterogeneous group of people. Examination of mental-health
principles and practices in higher education may be more
rewarding if the general field is first surveyed and sum-
marized.
Variations in terminology are so numerous in the literature
in this field that the reader may well be puzzled. In this
book I have used the term mental health rather than mental
hygiene. Hygiene is, to be sure, a respectable term, referring
as it does to the science of health, but it has acquired certain
connotations in recent years that do not seem helpful to
me in the promotion of health. Some inconsistency, how-
ever, in the use of the terms is unavoidable; in general they
are interchangeable.
Interest in mental health on a large scale is relatively
new, confined largely to the last half-century. Up to the
present time this interest has been largely theoretical. There
have been spasmodic bursts of effort or indignation when
some particularly regrettable situation is discovered and
2 MENTAL HEALTH IN COLLEGE
publicized. Large-scale financial support of research or pro-
grams designed to develop and extend mental-health prin-
ciples has not yet been forthcoming. In some quarters the
movement has excited ridicule, in others anxiety, and more
often than not, it encounters mere inertia and apathy.
The advocates of mental health have been criticized for
their excess of ambition, their tacit assumptions of value
judgments, their tendency to embrace the cause with the
fervor of a religion, and their apparently uncritical use of
theoretical concepts derived from other fields, for instance,
psychoanalysis. In some quarters the mental-health move-
ment has even been attacked as representing a kind of left-
wing ideology.
Possibly the intensity of thought and feeling of those who
become interested in this field stems in large measure from
the great disparity between the scientific and technological
progress of the past century and the relatively slow advance
of the social and cultural disciplines. Historically, the men-
tal-hygiene movement which was the forerunner of the
mental-health organizations of today derived its impetus
from the shocking conditions in mental hospitals in the first
decade of this century so vividly described by Clifford Beers.1
Although Adolph Meyer is the person to whom credit is
given for introducing the term mental hygiene into common
usage in 1907,2 Austin Flint stated much earlier, in 1866, that
"A full consideration of nervous asthenia . . . belongs proper-
ly to mental hygiene, a subject of vast importance in its
pathological, social and moral bearings." 3 He may have
been familiar with Isaac Ray's book, Mental Hygiene, which
had appeared just three years earlier.4 At present the goals of
societies for the promotion of mental health cover a wide
range of interests, including not only the better care of the
mentally ill and a more enlightened attitude towards them,
but the whole field of social relations.
THE NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH 3
In the colleges and universities mental health is concerned
with this whole province. The immediate and urgent prob-
lems usually concern the students, faculty members, or em-
ployees who are handicapped by acute emotional disturb-
ances. The psychiatrist who considers his only responsibility
to be the treatment of the emotionally disturbed is missing
many of the most favorable opportunities for promoting bet-
ter conditions for teaching and learning on the campus. On
the other hand, if he never treats patients but works only
through faculty members, deans, or counselors, he will soon
lose touch with the realities of the situation.
A college mental-health program must of necessity keep in
mind the management of complicated and severe illnesses,
but to a far greater extent it is concerned with the "normal"
student, the one who may be working against unnecessary
handicaps. In short, it is concerned with education and
prevention even while it is involved with treatment. A typical
young student's quandary will serve to illustrate this point.
A college sophomore came to the health center of his
college complaining of pain in his stomach and difficulty in
thinking while taking examinations. The latter symptom was
the more troublesome as far as getting adequate grades was
concerned, but the pain caused him the most anxiety. He
feared that perhaps he had some serious disease. He had
made several visits to the doctor during his second year at
college, but each time physical examination revealed no evi-
dence of disease. Since the symptoms persisted, the phy-
sician asked the student to consult the college psychiatrist
to see if there were any emotional stresses that might ac-
count for his difficulty. The student himself reported that he
got along well both at home and at college, belonged to a
social group that was of good standing, but was worried
about his pain which kept him from doing well on quizzes
and examinations.
4 MENTAL HEALTH IN COLLEGE
Investigation by the psychiatrist revealed that the student
had the capacity for college work but was not brilliant.
His father and his older brother had attended the same col-
lege and had made splendid records, one in sports, the other
in academic activities. Both had obtained good grades.
When the student was in high school, considerable pressure
was put on him to make high grades, and by extra effort
he managed to do so. When he left for college, his parents
indicated in various ways that they expected him to get all
A's. "The Smiths always make A's." On arriving at college
he found the competition much more severe than he had
anticipated, his early quiz grades were disappointing, and he
barely scraped through the first year with a low C average.
This was very disturbing to him. He felt guilty and
ashamed that he had let his family down. His ability to con-
centrate became impaired. Exhortations from home were
renewed, and he was urged to work harder. Gradually he
became more and more worried, and his worry was aug-
mented by the stomach distress.
After a consultation with the parents it was decided to
let the student work at his own rate. The parents developed
sufficient insight into his difficulty to assure him that they
would understand and think just as much of him whether
his grades were high or low. With the pressure removed and
occasional help from his teachers and the psychiatrist, he be-
gan to relax, his symptoms gradually disappeared, and during
his last two years in college he made a B average. This level
was lower than that which was demanded of him in the
beginning but higher than he could have accomplished
while under pressure from home. Furthermore, it was con-
sistent with his intellectual ability, which was good but not
exceptional.
The case may also serve to illustrate a very important
guiding principle in the work of a college physician or
THE NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH 5
psychiatrist, namely, that he does not try so much to decide
whether a student is sick or well but rather what are the
causes of his symptoms or the reasons for his behavior. There
is no sharp dividing line between sickness and health.
Although no two situations confronting a student are ever
exactly alike, this one presents many of the difficulties that
face a freshman in a strongly competitive college. The di-
version of good students from possible failure to success
is one of the fundamental reasons for the existence of a
college mental-health program. Because so many of the
situations are much more complex than the relatively simple
one I have just described and are beyond the competence
of the teacher and administrator, college mental-health pro-
grams have gradually come into existence to meet such
needs.
Paul Lemkau, Professor of Public Health Administration
and Mental Hygiene at Johns Hopkins University, has raised
the question as to why we are interested in mental health.
As answers, he gives these convincing reasons: "Mental
illness is very expensive. We believe that medicine can cure
diseases. We believe that medicine can prevent disease.
Mankind shall not suffer unnecessarily. If man must suffer,
he should have the support of his neighbors in his travail.
When relief is in our power to give, we must give it. Man is
healthier and happier if he faces his problems squarely." 5
Mental health in the individual is capable of many defini-
tions, depending upon one's point of view and social philos-
ophy. Some working definition is desirable for those in-
terested in the problem even though it may not be entirely
"scientific." Dr. Sol W. Ginsburg, a psychoanalyst much
interested in mental health, states that he and his co-workers
have settled for very simple criteria: "the ability to hold
a job, have a family, keep out of trouble with the law, and
enjoy the usual opportunities for pleasure." 6
6 MENTAL HEALTH IN COLLEGE
Recently I saw a rather good, and certainly workable,
definition of mental health in this same vein in a letter
from a faculty member to a parent who wanted the college
to do something he himself did not want to do or could
not persuade his son to do: "In Harvard College we try to
give undergraduates a maximum of personal responsibility
and allow them to follow their own bents so long as they
maintain a decent academic record, mind their own business,
are civil to their neighbors, pay their bills, and keep out of
the hands of the police. On this theory a man is free to use
his leisure time playing football, painting portraits, singing
18th Century choral music, or playing pool, if his tastes run
in that direction. With this approach to undergraduate life,
I think you will see that it would be difficult for us to try
to chase [your son] into sports if his inclinations did not
naturally lead him there." This local definition would, of
course, differ greatly in various kinds of institutions.
George H. Preston, former Commissioner of Mental
Health in Maryland, keeps within cautious limits when he
defines mental health as "the ability to live: ( 1 ) within the
limits imposed by bodily equipment; (2) with other human
beings; ( 3 ) happily; ( 4 ) productively; ( 5 ) without being a
nuisance." 7
Mental health is that state of mind in which one is free
to make use of his natural capacities in an effective and sat-
isfying manner. The fact that a person can make use of his
abilities in a productive way does not imply that there is
only one way to become efficient; hence individuality must
be taken into account in judging mental health. Mental
health implies a moderate amount of self-understanding,
the capacity to be creative, the ability to love and to accept
love and to think in terms of other people rather than of
oneself only.
Dr. Ginsburg's words of caution to those who devote much
THE NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH 7
time and interest to this field are well worth considering.
He says the mental-health movement can point to the harm-
fulness of certain social conditions but is not qualified to
ameliorate them. Its first need is to make a realistic appraisal
of its goals, assets, and limitations. There is danger that
action will outstrip knowledge. No one discipline can hope
to encompass all the needed knowledges and skills, yet inter-
disciplinary approaches to the problem may be weak in in-
tegration. Ideally, Dr. Ginsburg believes, a mental hygienist
should be trained in psychology and psychoanalysis, sensi-
tive to the problems of community relationships, and skilled
in group techniques and in the techniques of mass com-
munication. Psychiatrists often speak on the subject of men-
tal hygiene with little knowledge of education or mass com-
munication. Educators who engage in mental-hygiene ac-
tivities often use psychiatric and psychoanalytic theory and
facts with little real awareness of their meaning or implica-
tions. A satisfactory training scheme for mental-health work-
ers is needed. The hands of those actively engaged in mental-
hygiene work need to be strengthened constantly. Ginsburg
considers the goal of mental-hygiene workers to be the trans-
formation of their whole variegated body of activities and
knowledge into a scientific discipline.8
Seeking mental health is in many respects equivalent to try-
ing to make life meaningful. The mental-health worker is con-
cerned with those things which produce trust, integrity, and
rich, meaningful relations among individuals, groups, so-
cieties, or nations. He tries to help the individual find
physical, social, and spiritual fulfillment through confidence,
love and affection, and effective accomplishment. Mental
health in a community is, of course, intimately tied up with
the emotional maturity of the individuals who comprise
it.
Under the most favorable circumstances, a college mental-
8 MENTAL HEALTH IN COLLEGE
health program is quite likely to be misunderstood by those
who have not had the opportunity to become familiar
with its goals and methods. For purposes of clarity the dis-
cussions in this book are based on these assumptions:
1. Intellectual activity on a high plane is worthwhile for
its own sake.
2. Scholastic standards should be kept high and increased
when possible.
3. Intellectual standards can be higher and learning will
progress faster when mental health is good than when it is
poor.
4. The individual can accomplish more when emotional
conflict is understood and kept under rational control than
when it is hidden and absorbs a large portion of his energies.
5. Thinking and thoughtfulness are equally basic in edu-
cational procedures. Power should be accompanied by re-
sponsibility.
6. Freedom can be at its greatest when necessary restraints
are understood and willingly assumed.
7. Human behavior is modifiable at all times but especially
so in the younger ages. At all stages it has meaning when all
the facts are understood.
8. Students (and faculty members) are both products of
their previous experiences and at the same time are capable
of responding to favorable influences. "The way to make a
man critical is to expose him to the first-rate until the in-
ferior ceases to attract." 9
9. Students achieve maturity at uneven rates, both as indi-
viduals and with respect to varying components of their in-
dividual personalities.
10. Character education is as much a function of colleges
and universities as the development of intellectual power.
11. Social institutions can be changed by education.
The earliest beginnings of interest in the emotional lives
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Big Bend
National Park: Land of Dramatic Contrasts and
Scenic Grandeur
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Title: Big Bend National Park: Land of Dramatic Contrasts and Scenic
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Most recently updated: October 18, 2024
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIG BEND
NATIONAL PARK: LAND OF DRAMATIC CONTRASTS AND SCENIC
GRANDEUR ***
Big Bend
National Park
Land of
Dramatic Contrasts
and
Scenic Grandeur
Story and Photography
by
W. RAY SCOTT
Published by
NATIONAL PARK CONCESSIONS, INC.
Copyrighted 1950 by National Park Concessions, Inc.
National Parks
ACADIA MAINE
BIG BEND TEXAS
BRYCE CANYON UTAH
CARLSBAD CAVERNS NEW MEXICO
CRATER LAKE OREGON
EVERGLADES FLORIDA
GLACIER MONTANA
GRAND CANYON ARIZONA
GRAND TETON WYOMING
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NORTH CAROLINA & TENNESSEE
HAWAII HAWAII
HOT SPRINGS ARKANSAS
ISLE ROYALE MICHIGAN
KINGS CANYON CALIFORNIA
LASSEN VOLCANIC CALIFORNIA
MAMMOTH CAVE KENTUCKY
MESA VERDE COLORADO
MOUNT McKINLEY ALASKA
MOUNT RAINIER WASHINGTON
OLYMPIC WASHINGTON
PLATT OKLAHOMA
ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLORADO
SEQUOIA CALIFORNIA
SHENANDOAH VIRGINIA
VIRGIN ISLANDS VIRGIN ISLANDS
WIND CAVE SOUTH DAKOTA
YELLOWSTONE WYOMING-MONTANA-IDAHO
YOSEMITE CALIFORNIA
ZION UTAH
2
Southwestern Texas, along the Big Bend of the Rio Grande, one of
the last scenic frontiers of America is located in a remote and
unspoiled setting. Vast stretches of plains and range land,
interspersed with numerous outcroppings of buttresses and ridges,
end abruptly against a mass of mountains near the Mexican border.
Etched and carved by the master hand of “Erosion” giant arroyos and
imposing gorges are spread through the area in wild abandon.
Towering, jagged peaks of the Chisos Mountains merge with the
desert, plains and valleys in Big Bend National Park to create a
kaleidoscopic pattern of dramatic contrasts and striking grandeur.
The northern approach to Big Bend is through Marathon. Leaving U.
S. Highway 90 from this point, the Park boundary at Persimmon Gap
is about forty miles over State Road 51. The Big Bend area is about
330 miles west of San Antonio and 220 miles southeast of El Paso.
Alpine, the western gateway to Big Bend is 118 miles from the Basin
of the Chisos Mountains, in the center of the Park.
Embraced in the gigantic curve of the Rio Grande, the Park lies just
across the river from Old Mexico, where many geological features
have a profound influence on the scenic aspects of this area. On the
east, majestically rising above the Boquillas Canyon, the Sierra del
Carmen Range provides a picturesque backdrop for the mesquite and
cactus covered plains. Two other canyons complete the international
features on the south and west. At the southernmost boundary of the
Park, and almost inaccessible, is the rugged Mariscal Canyon, where
the Rio Grande has carved its tortuous channel through more than
seven miles of limestone rock. Precipitous walls of this abyss are
almost sixteen hundred and fifty feet in height. The most imposing
and the most easily accessible of the three canyons is the Santa
Elena, along the western boundary of Big Bend.
3
SANTA ELENA CANYON—The majestic grandeur of the Big Bend area is
emphasized by the towering walls of the Santa Elena Canyon. Here,
where the Rio Grande emerges from the winding gorge, Mexico appears
at the left, the United States on the right.
Here, a deep gash in the mesa de Anguila and Sierra Ponce 4
marks the course of the river for eighteen miles. Through
millions of years, the silt and gravel laden waters have continued
their endless task of grinding away the limestone bit by bit until now
the walls of the canyon rise perpendicularly more than fifteen
hundred feet above the waters of the river.
BOQUILLAS, MEXICO AND SIERRA DEL CARMEN RANGE—The Village of
Boquillas is located in a picturesque setting along the Rio Grande and at
the base of the Sierra del Carmen Range.
5
SIERRA DEL CARMEN RANGE—One of the outstanding scenic features of
the eastern section of Big Bend National Park is Mexico’s picturesque
Sierra del Carmen Range, which exceeds 8,000 feet in elevation.
6
SPIRES AND PINNACLES IN THE GRAPEVINE HILLS—Erosion, like a
master sculptor, has carved many weird and grotesque forms throughout
the Big Bend area.
The geological story of Big Bend is vividly revealed in the rock strata,
the spires, buttresses, erosive remnants, arroyos and canyons. The
entire Big Bend area was submerged by an ocean millions of years
ago. Sediments of sand, mud and lime deposited on the floor of the
sea later hardened into rock. Common to all oceans, various types of
aquatic life abounded in these waters, many of which were fossilized
in the forming of the rock. Igneous action within the earth’s interior
caused an uplifting of the surface and receding of the ocean waters.
It was during this period that giant trees grew and later became
petrified. (Evidence may be noted on the Tornillo Flats.) Swamp and
shoreline vegetation provided food for the dinosaurs during this
period. As the igneous action increased, molten rock was deposited in
some sections and mountains were formed along the lines of 7
greatest pressure. This newly formed rock was soft and highly
susceptible to the processes of erosion, which gradually broke down
the softer portions of the mountains, making deposits in the valleys
and lowlands.
ROCK FORMATIONS IN THE GRAPEVINE HILLS—Fantastic shapes have
been created by erosive action in the Big Bend National Park. Here, the
massive boulders form a frame for the mountains in the distance.
Evidence of the tremendous force of erosion is very pronounced
throughout the Big Bend National Park. Here nature has carved 8
a cross section out of the earth leaving the rocks of various
geological eras etched in bold relief. The Big Bend country reveals to
the novice a greater understanding of the geological evolution
through which the earth has passed. Scientists, who have searched
the arroyos, buttresses and canyons, have obtained vital information
and substantiating facts which have contributed to the knowledge
and advancement of the science of geology.
Climatic conditions throughout the Big Bend region are mild and arid.
Here again, in this land of contrasts, it is possible to experience a
variation of temperatures and weather conditions. During the hottest
part of the summer the high altitudes of the Chisos Mountains remain
moderate and cool, while the temperatures are much higher along
the lower plains, the desert and river valleys. The annual rainfall is
light, varying from 8 to 20 inches. Although there is some snow and
freezing weather in the mountains during the winter months, extreme
temperatures normally are of short duration. In other sections of the
Park the temperatures rarely drop below freezing. Throughout the
winter the temperatures are mild along the Rio Grande.
9
ARROYO—Arroyos dip below the plains in appalling vistas of sand and
desert wasteland revealing the continuous processes of erosion. The
foothills of the Chisos Mountains are in the distance.
Outstanding in natural phenomena the scenic features of Big Bend
National Park comprise a variety of spectacular attractions. In
addition to the canyons of the Rio Grande, numerous colorful arroyos
dip below the plains in appalling vistas of sand, rock and scrub
vegetation of the desert. Buttresses push their towering masses into
the azure sky, revealing a graphic account of endless battles with the
elements. The uncovered strata opens the book of geologic history.
High in the Chisos Mountains, majestically reigning over the Basin,
Casa Grande, an erosive remnant of rhyolite, rises 7,300 feet above
sea level. This massive monolith is a conspicuous landmark,
photogenic in its moods of shifting lights and shadows. Climaxing the
mountain scenery are the outstanding vistas that unfold from the
South Rim of the Chisos Mountains. From this lofty plateau, more
than 7,000 feet above sea level and a mile above the sprawling valley
of the Rio Grande, the extensive awe-inspiring view reaches far into
Old Mexico. To the east, blue and purple in the distance, ranges of
the Sierra del Carmen and Sierra Fronterisa pose in their grandeur.
More than a hundred miles to the south the distant Sierra Madres
form the horizon line in Mexico and the Mesa de Anguila forms a
sharp outline to the west. Dropping sheer from the South Rim,
precipitous cliffs slope into the Lower Chisos, more than 1,000 feet
below the rim.
10
TULE MOUNTAIN—Erosion has carved innumerable spires and buttresses
out of Big Bend’s igneous rock.
12
WEST FACE OF THE SOUTH RIM—Dynamic and spectacular, the view from
the South Rim of the Chisos Mountains reaches across the Rio Grande
and far into Old Mexico.
13
THE SOUTH RIM OF THE CHISOS MOUNTAINS—Looking west along the
face of the South Rim where perpendicular cliffs drop more than 1,000
feet to the lower Chisos. The Rio Grande valley is in the middle distance.
14
SOUTH RIM VISTA—One of the most spectacular views in Big Bend
National Park is the amazing expanse that unfolds from the South Rim of
the Chisos Mountains. In the middle distance is the Rio Grande—and
Mexico beyond.
Among the lesser peaks of the Chisos Mountains, many of the names
are closely related to resemblance or legendary origin. Crown
Mountain, Pummel Peak and Mule Ear Peaks are formed in the image
of their namesakes. Legends of a lost silver mine center around Lost
Mine Peak, supposed to be the scene of mining operations by the
early Spanish explorers. Historical episodes of the Spanish 15
Conquistadors, legendary stories of the Apache Indians and the
drama of bandits, rustlers and Texas rangers of the Wild West, have
all made a definite contribution toward the fascination of the Big
Bend country.
PUMMEL PEAK—From the plains, Pummel Peak in the Chisos Mountains,
rises to form the replica of a massive saddle.
16
ANTELOPE—The natural habitat of the antelope is along the grassy slopes
of Big Bend’s foothills, while mule deer roam the plains and the flag tail
deer live in the higher elevations of the mountains.
The Chisos Mountains have been classed as a biological island due to
their isolation from other mountain groups or ranges. While the
Chisos are erroneously considered as the southern extremity of the
Rocky Mountains they are widely separated by a vast expanse of
desert and plains. This factor has influenced the types of wildlife that
are prevalent in this area and many species are more closely related
to the Sierra Madres in Mexico than to the environs of the Rockies.
The flagtail deer, mountain lion and black bear are found at the
higher elevations in the Chisos Mountains, while mule deer, antelope
and javalina frequent the foothills and plains. Due to excessive
hunting before Big Bend was established as a National Park, antelope
and big horn sheep had completely disappeared from the area. 17
Antelope have been restocked in recent years and are gradually
on the increase. Along the Rio Grande beaver and badger comprise
the principal types of wildlife. Many rare species of birds found in Big
Bend include the Colima warbler, aplomade falcon, Inca dove, white-
necked raven and golden eagle. More common types are the orioles,
tanagers, cardinals, hummingbirds, thrashers and wrens.
18
THE GOLDEN EAGLE—Rocky spires and crags in the high elevations of the
Chisos Mountains provide an ideal setting for the Golden Eagle.
Vegetation in Big Bend National Park has been influenced by climatic
conditions as well as the various elevations above sea level. These
factors, contributing to species and types of plant communities, have
provided for four separate groups—desert, foothills, mountains and
river valley types. Many of the desert plants are typical of the
vegetation of the desert and plains throughout the southwest. Some
of the more common varieties include mesquite, petaya (or
strawberry cactus), sotol, yucca, lechiguilla, prickly pear and cholla
cactus. In the foothills and along the mountain slopes, pinion 19
and juniper trees as well as maguey and lesser plants,
comprise the principal vegetation. Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir are
the dominant types of forest trees found in the ravines and canyons
of the higher mountains. Near the South Rim trees are sparse and
many are dwarfed and twisted as a result of the continuous battle for
survival. The trees and plants along the Rio Grande reflect the
influence of moisture—cottonwoods, willows and cane reeds being
common to this area.
BIG BEND VEGETATION—Typical vegetation of the Big Bend area includes
ocotillo, yucca, cactus, and mesquite.
The early history of the Big Bend country is linked with Indian
legends and stories of the Spanish Conquistadors. In 1530 Cabeza de
Vaca traveled through Big Bend during his expedition and exploration
of the southwest. In his report on the area near the Rio Grande he
mentioned the beans and melons that grew along the river valleys.
20
YUCCA OR SPANISH DAGGER—The yucca grows throughout the lower
elevations of Big Bend National Park. During the spring blossoming
season, the yucca exhibits a rare floral display in Dagger Flats.
21
MAGUEY OR CENTURY PLANT—The golden yellow blossoms of the
Century Plant make their appearance during late spring and early
summer. This is one of the typical plants of the Big Bend area.
22
LOST MINE PEAK—As the road to the Basin winds up through Green
Gulch, colorful peaks rise majestically on all sides. The summit of Lost
Mine Peak, which is 7,000 feet in elevation, is reached by a trail from the
Basin.
For many years Indians of the Apache and Comanche tribes lived and
traveled through the Big Bend. They sought the seclusion and
protection of the Chisos Mountains after raids in the United States
and Mexico. The fighting Comanches of the Great Plains traveled
through what is now a part of the National Park, enroute to Mexico
where they raided and pillaged the ranches. The park entrance road
now follows closely the route of the historic “Comanche Trail” through
Big Bend.
23
EMORY PEAK—With an elevation of 7,835 feet above sea level, Emory
Peak is the highest mountain in Big Bend National Park. One of the
dominating features of the Basin, Emory Peak was named for Major
Emory.
24
THE WINDOW—From the Basin of the Chisos Mountains, the “Window”
provides the only vista of the lower plains. Unique and colorful rock
formations may be observed along the trail to the “Window.”
26
SANTA ELENA CANYON—The Rio Grande has carved its channel for
eighteen miles through the Mesa de Anguila and Sierra Ponce. Here at
the river’s exit, the walls of the canyon rise 1,500 feet above the Rio
Grande.
Legendary stories of the Apache Indians and of lost silver mines are
prevalent in the Big Bend region. A popular legend of Spanish and
Mexican origin is related to Lost Mine Peak. More than one hundred
years ago, when Texas was a part of Mexico, a prison was located at
San Vincente, on the south side of the Rio Grande. On many
occasions the prisoners were assigned to work in a mine located in
the Chisos Mountains. None of the prisoners ever returned to San
Vincente as those persons in command did not intend to divulge the
location of the mine. To this day Mexicans like to relate that on Easter
Sunday morning, if a person will stand in the doorway of the 27
San Vicente Mission and wait for the sun to rise, the first rays
of the sun will strike a cave in the side of Lost Mine Peak, indicating
the location of the mine. Many investigations and diligent searches
for the mine have been unsuccessful, and Lost Mine Peak retains the
secret of this legend in mute repose. Another phase of the lost mine
story is that the miners were about to be attacked by a hostile band
of Indians and blasted the opening of the mine, which was covered
by an avalanche of igneous rock. The group of miners were pursued
and killed by the Indians, carrying with them the secret of the mine’s
location.
Following the early explorations of Cabeza de Vaca, the history of the
Big Bend region is linked with Spanish Missionaries and the settlers
and ranchers who began to push westward in the 1800’s. The Big
Bend area was surveyed by Major W. H. Emory of the International
Boundary Survey Commission of the United States and Mexico in
1852. Emory Peak, with an elevation of 7,835 feet, the highest in the
Park, was named for Major Emory.
A later episode of historical significance is associated with the
expedition of Lt. Echols in 1859-1860. Lt. Echols was sent from Fort
Stockton to locate a site for an Army post in the Big Bend area, near
the Comanche War Trail. During this expedition, in which camels
were used to test their value in the desert southwest, Lt. Echols
traveled along the Comanche Trail through an extensive section of
the Park. In his report, which was published in Messages and
Documents, Lt. Echols described his visit to the Santa Elena Canyon.
He selected a site for a post near Castolon and reported favorably on
the use of camels in the southwest.
After the Civil War settlers moved farther into the southwest and
ranching became the principal industry throughout western Texas.
The Southern Pacific Railroad, in keeping apace with this western
movement, reached the present site of Alpine in 1882. Alpine was
settled in 1883 and Marathon in 1886.
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