DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. This is the story of the Salt War, out of El Paso County. Now, before you picture some Hollywood standoff, understand this — the trouble had been brewing for centuries.
Those salt lakes east of El Paso had been a free source of salt for local residents for as long as anyone could remember. Free. No deed, no toll, no man's name on them.
Just the land providing, the way land does when nobody's claimed it yet. Then came Charles Howard. Former county judge, and a man who apparently decided those lakes had an owner — and that owner was him.
Howard claimed the lakes as his property, and that claim put him on a collision course with just about everyone who'd ever walked out there and filled a sack for nothing. It also put him square against Luis Cardis, a political adversary who saw things differently. In 1877, that disagreement didn't end at a negotiating table.
Howard shot Cardis over the issue of the salt beds. Just like that, a political conflict became something bloodier. But here's the thing about this story — it wasn't done with Howard yet.
He ended up in San Elizario, under the protection of state troops. You'd think that'd be the end of it, a man shielded by soldiers. You'd be wrong.
A riotous mob descended, and Howard and several of those troopers were killed. The violence was severe enough that it couldn't just be buried in the West Texas dust. Federal and state investigations followed, and in 1878, Ft.
Bliss was re-established as a result. Those salt lakes started something that reshaped the military presence in the region. The land had always provided — turns out, it provided consequences too.
What the marker says
The Salt War rose from political conflicts in El Paso County and from controversies over control of the salt lakes east of El Paso that for centuries had been a free source of salt for local residents. In 1877 Charles Howard, a former county judge who claimed ownership of the lakes, shot political adversary Luis Cardis over the issue of the salt beds. While under the protection of state troops in San Elizario, Howard and several of the troopers were killed by a riotous mob. Federal and state investigations of the Salt War led to the re-establishment of Ft. Bliss in 1878. (1984)