After the Civil War settlers moved farther into the southwest and ranching became the principal industry throughout western Texas. The Southern Pacific Railroad, in keeping apace with this western movement, reached the present site of Alpine in 1882. Alpine was settled in 1883 and Marathon in 1886. [Illustration: GREEN GULCH—Visitors entering the basin, follow the road up Green Gulch. Rock outcroppings include Casa Grande of upper left and erosive spires of Pulliam Mountain on the upper right.] Following this period, southwestern Texas passed through an era of cattle rustling, bandits and outlaws, with much of the activity centering around the Big Bend country. Texas rangers wrote vivid pages in this phase of Texas history, which was truly the “Wild West.” Graphic accounts of the daring and bravery which these men portrayed in establishing law and order has been dramatized in hundreds of stories and motion pictures. The epic events of the “Old West” have contributed extensively to the popularity of the western cowboy, who might well be placed in the Hall of Fame with other American immortals. [Illustration: THE CHISOS MOUNTAINS—At a distance of ten miles across the plains, the Chisos Mountains form a bold outline against the sky. This mountain group reaches an elevation of 7,835 feet above sea level.] The story of Big Bend’s development into a National Park reflects the interest and enthusiasm of the people of Texas. It was through the diligent effort and unselfish action of these people that this new Park has been set aside by the Congress of the United States for the preservation of its many natural features and the enjoyment of the people. In 1933, through legislative action by the state of Texas, parts of the Big Bend area became Texas Canyons State Park. Later the same year another bill was passed which created Big Bend State Park. Congressman R. E. Thomason in 1934 introduced a bill to establish a National Park in the Big Bend country. In 1935 Senator Morris Sheppard suggested in a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the establishment of an International Park along the Texas-Mexican border. A copy of this letter was sent to the Secretary of the Interior for study and a report which was favorable to the International Park idea. The establishment of Big Bend National Park was authorized by Act of Congress June 20, 1935. [Illustration: SPIRES OF PULLIAM MOUNTAIN—Spires and rock formations jut skyward, revealing unique patterns of light and shadows. Pulliam Mountain is one of the dominant features of the Basin.] [Illustration: THE BASIN FROM LOST MINE PEAK—A magnificent panorama of mountains and plains unfolds from Lost Mine Peak. At the upper left is Casa Grande and Bailey Mountain is at the upper-right center.]