Tahuundé

The Pecos River skirts a country of dry basins and mountain ranges frequented by the Mescalero Apaches, among them the Tahuundé. Mescal, prickly pear and mesquite pods supplement the hunt, while journeys across the Pecos lead towards the buffalo plains. In the eighteenth century, Comanche expansion pressed the Mescaleros towards the lands west of the river. Movement between mountain ranges, knowledge of scattered water sources and the gathering of desert plants sustained their communities in this contested country between New Mexico, Texas and northern New Spain.