BLM archaeologist uncovers story behind rock inscription

You have to listen hard, but the hills do tell stories, and archaeologists are listening. An archaeological survey report for a wood cutting area, prepared by a very thorough contractor, got the ball rolling. They recorded an inscription on a rock atop a small hill near Datil, New Mexico that bore the name José Armijo and a little stick figure. They looked for José in the census records and he didn't turn up. However, a sheep rancher by the name of Celso Armijo did appear in the 1890 census. They wondered, could Celso have had a son named José who inscribed the rock?

Her curiosity thoroughly aroused, the BLM Socorro Field Office archaeologist put out a note on the New Mexico Genealogical Society Facebook group asking if any members had an ancestor named Jose R. Armijo in Datil in the 1890s. Within a day came word from a great-great-grandniece of Celso Armijo that Celsos had a son named José who had died in 1892 at age one. Now the story had become one not of idle sheepherder graffiti, but of a grieving father's tribute to his lost infant son. Good job, Celso. If you wanted little José to be remembered, we're remembering him now – 126 years later.

Pulling out one more tool from the toolbox, General Land Office homestead records were searched. The records show that seven years after the loss of José, Celso proved up a homestead claim. It's four miles from that lonely hilltop, and it turns out it's adjacent to BLM's Datil Well Campground. Celso and his wife Margarita (Baca) Armijo were eventually blessed with six sons and five daughters.

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