146 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES 
The highway to Douglas and the Southwest leaves the railroad a 
short distance east of Steins (locally pronounced steens) and reaches 
the south line of the railroad at Rodeo. There has 
poles oe been considerable mining at several places north and 
Population 40.* south of Steins. The Carbonate mine, about 3 miles 
saa! oormen 1355 south, is on the eastern slope of the Peloncillo Moun- 
tains. These mountains, made up of lavas, form a 
long, narrow ridge which extends far to the north and south along 
the western margin of New Mexico. The jagged crest line presents 
many conical peaks, each resembling a pel6n (Spanish for a cone of 
raw sugar). Peloncillo (pay-lone-see’yo) is the diminutive form of 
pelén. 
The gap through which the railroad crosses this range is known as 
Steins Pass, but the divide is at Steins station, a short distance east 
of the rocky gateway. The pass has high walls on the north side and 
rocky slopes to the south, all consisting of lavas that were erupted in 
early Tertiary time, part of a succession of flows 1,200 feet or more in 
thickness which have been tilted gently to the north and northeast; 
on the east are two old volcanic cones from which doubtless some of 
the lava flows originated. In the large stone quarry in the north 
wall of the pass a contact of two flows of the lava (andesite on rhyolite 
tuff) is strongly marked by difference in color. Here both rocks have 
been quarried for ballast for the railroad and for other uses. In the 
quarry a dike cutting the lava is well exposed. Vertical jointing is a 
very conspicuous feature, especially on the west slope of the mountain. 
From Steins Pass there is a magnificent view to the west across the 
wide San Simon Valley (see-moan’ ) to the Chiricahua (an Indian name 
pronounced nearly like cheery cow) and Dos Cabezas Mountains, 
which are separated from each other by Apache Pass. In the high 
crest of the Chiricahua Mountains is a profile of a huge face directed 
skyward, known as Cochise Head, from the famous Apache chief 
Cochise (co-chee’say). The prominent straight nose is easily recog- 
nized; the chin is to the north. 
Steins Pass has long been an avenue of access into eastern Arizona 
by way of the San Simon Valley and thence west by Apache Pass or 
by Railroad Pass at the north end of the Dos Cabezas Mountains. 
This region with its wide adjacent valleys was the scene of many 
Apache depredations in the early days of travel and settlement. 
Much blood was shed during Cochise’s outbreak, especially when the 
frontier troops were called east for the Civil War. The stages then 
ceased to run, and a large proportion of the white settlers left the 
country. Many ant vee killed. The Apache Indians raided 
ranches, mines, travelers, sallying forth from hiding places inac- 
cessible to riders less skilled than themselves, where a oe di 
could resist many times their number. They were difficult to fight, 
Steins. 
