‘Lady In Blue’ Pictographs Detail Jumano History

This week at Fort Concho, listeners heard from CA Maegden and Tom Ashmore, of the West Texas Archeological Society, give a detailed report about their research of the Meyers Spring archeological site, south of Fort Stockton.

The springs lay along the historic migration corridor of the Jumanos and many other tribes, who would migrate between here and the Northern Pecos, hunting buffalo using their trained dogs, before Spanish horses reached North America. 

Originally there to study the campsite of soldiers from Fort Clark, near Del Rio, they began looking into the pictographs which lined the wall of the river channel. 

“We told the owner that we weren’t there to study the pictographs, which ended up being a big joke.” Said Ashmore, while describing the original study. 

The springs are on private property, and have been listed in the national historic registry since the 70s. The archeologists detailed finding evidence of campsites in this location that date back over 4,000 years. Only a few pictographs remain that date back to that time, as the Jumano added and painted over the older images during their travels. 

In May of this year, Bill Acosta, a leader in the Jumano tribe, visited the site, and there he told the archeologists about the significance of the pictographs by the Jumano: they depicted the ‘Lady in Blue’ story, a crucial part of Jumano history.  

Some of the pictographs were unfortunately shot off, especially segments of the wall where a circular bull’s eye like design appeared. This represents the Circle of Life or a physical manifestation of God. the symbol is of tremendous religious importance to the Jumano and many other tribes, and was used as a target by campers probably sometime in the 30s. 

The records of the Spanish communiques about the Jumano were obtained through the Vatican. But these were only from the Spanish perspective. The pictographic wall remains the only direct Jumano recording of the ‘Lady In Blue’.

The full history is available through the West Texas Archeological Society.

Next week, Fort Concho will host Rene Trevino, language and cultural preservation director for the Texas Kickapoo Indian Tribe presenting “Upcoming 161st Anniversary of the Battle of Dove Creek,” along with master naturalist Joyce Gray.