Cursed Gold of The Organ Mountains

Demetrio Valera was born in 1824, to family of poor farmers along the Rio Grande, near Las Cruces, New Mexico. He left home at 14 to work in the mines, where he labored for 22 years, always careful to send the bulk of his pay home to his struggling family. When the Valeras hit a rough patch during the Civil War, Demetrio returned home to help, but soon became bored with farming.

Modern Day Las Cruces and The Organ Mountains, Abraham Sonogo.

He soon began hanging out with an old Indian who worked as a rastreador. The rastreadores were in high demand for their skills in tracking down lost and stolen cattle, and commanded a respectable wage for their work. After some time learning the ropes, Demetrio began to go into business on his own, and worked for the local ranchers for several years. Soon his reputation flourished and he was hired as the foreman on one of the large ranches.

Owned by a widow called Doña Chonita, the ranch was quite prosperous for years, before it fell on hard times after several years of drought. Little by little the other workers were let go leaving Valera and the widow to tend the cows while the farm continued to lose money. Ready to quit and go back to the mines, Valera was approached by a neighboring rancher named Armijo, whose ranch had not been hit as hard by the drought. He needed Demetrio to go after some prize cattle that had just been stolen, and offered Valero an attractive sum to bring them home.