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Combatting Cattle Theft on the Texas - Mexico Border 

This fine large map was issued with a rare and extensive Mexican report on Texas Border problems, especially Native American depredations by Apaches and other tribes coming into Mexico from Texas.  

This large scale and elegant mapping of the Rio Grande was made by Topographical Engineer M. J. Martínez. It shows the course of the Rio Grande from the Gulf of Mexico to San Vicente, Presidio Antiguo.   There is also a table listing the "Ranchos Mexicanos" and "Ranchos Americanos" along both sides of the Rio Grande. The location of Native American tribes (e.g. Kickapoos) is noted. (see Day, Maps of Texas, page 87). 

The map focused on the Rio Grande River and its surroundings, stretching from the river's mouth in the Gulf of Mexico up to the area of San Vicente and Presidio Antiguo.  The map and its notes were compiled using information from an expedition aimed at better understanding population distribution and the locations of ranches along the river, especially in relation to potential conflicts, land claims, and surveying efforts.

The notes list various Mexican and American ranches located along the Rio Grande, providing detailed coordinates and distances. There are 44 entries, each identifying specific geographic markers or landmarks. The document highlights important locations of ranches, towns, and natural features that were of interest to the Mexican authorities involved in demarcating and understanding territorial boundaries and land usage along the river. 

The note states that the purpose of the map is:

to provide knowledge about the population on both banks of the Rio Grande, so that it becomes evident that cattle theft cannot be committed without the connivance of criminals on both sides. It also demonstrates the ease of curbing such abuses if good policing laws are adopted. It also marks the places visited by the Commission, which traveled nearly a thousand leagues—seven hundred along the border, and two hundred thirty from Monterrey to this capital—to carry out its mission.