 These mail coaches provided a means for travelers to reach California in 27 days, if the passenger had the $200 for a one-way fare and was courageous enough to withstand the weather and dangers en route.Men from San Elizario and the other villages along the Rio Grande near El Paso had become dependent on the salt trade for their livelihoods.After the Civil War, they broke a road from Fort Quitman to the Salt Basin in northeastern Hudspeth County, but Anglo politicians tried to capitalize on this trade by asserting ownership of the salt lakes and levying fees on the traders.