The writing assumes that a lot of context is familiar to the reader, which is not too surprising given the source: the Texas State Historical Association, so li

The writing assumes that a lot of context is familiar to the reader, which is not too surprising given the source: the Texas State Historical Association, so likely written by Texas historians for a generally Texan audience. The Wikipedia entry is much more detailed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Elizario_Salt_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Elizario_Salt_War and provides context for the trans-Pecos region, and most of the things you ask about.