For centuries, the river and its valley have seen the activities of humankind that have long since vanished. 

      A few miles south of Quitaque and Caprock Canyons State Park flows Los Lingos Creek (pronounced LEEN-gwish by most West Texans).  In its literal translation, Los Lingos means The Tongues - in reference to the many languages that were once spoken here.

      After two hundred years, the land around Lingos and Quitaque Creek still holds the dubious title of Valle De Las Lagrimas or The Valley of Tears.

      Here, New Mexican Comancheros, first described by U.S. Army Captain Lemuel Ford in 1835 as being "the meanest looking race of people I ever saw," bartered whiskey, guns, staples, and just about anything else with the Plains Indians in exchange for livestock, horses, and an occasional hostage captured in a raid on a frontier settlement.

      Brought to the popular culture's attention by Larry McMurtry in his book, and later television mini-series, Lonesome Dove, the valley proved to be an attractive place in which to do business for the Comancheros.  In addition, its attractiveness remained for some time after increased settlement, and the U.S. Army, pushed the Comancheros out of this country.

      According to Dan Flores, in his book Caprock Canyonlands, a small waterfall on the creek and a sandstone labyrinth called The Narrows, were once considered as a candidate for a spot in the National Register of Historic Places or a park in the Texas state park system.

      Today's visitors can still get a glimpse of the Valle de Las Lagrimas.  Although nearly all of the land that is in the valley is behind private fence boundaries, a sliver cuts through the heart of Comanchero country via the Caprock Canyons Trailway. 

      Opened to the public in 1993, the former Burlington Northern rail line that ran from Estelline to South Plains was converted into a hiking and biking trail.  After the old track bed departs Quitaque, the line cuts a small swath through the Valley of Tears before it plunges through the only rail tunnel left in state.  Almost 800 feet later, Clarity Tunnel comes to an end as the trail climbs, almost imperceptibly, 600 feet through Quitaque Canyon until the caprock is conquered and flat lands are the rule at South Plains.

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      To be on the Pease River in the fall of the year is to be anywhere in Texas where the brilliant colors of blue sky and autumn foliage are heralded.  Seldom have I seen places that can equal the brilliance of what

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