El Paso’s salt mines, located about a hundred miles east of the city, had long been used by local Indians and Chicanos.  In 1877, two local political factions struggled for control of the deposits; these were the so-called “Salt Ring” led by District Judge Charles Howard, the group that tried to gain private control of the mines, and the “Anti-Salt Ring” of Antonio Barajo and Luis Cardis, which opposed privatization.  Continue reading EL PASO SALT WAR, 1877