More settlers came to the area because of the protection by the military  posts,(Ft Union, and Ft Hatch's Ranch) and the small town of Chaperito started to grow. Among the shops the town established was cantinas or whisky shops. The troops could go to the town and enjoy a cheap grade of alcohol and eat a homemade meal.

     The little town was made up of many adobe or rock houses and buildings. The adobe was made by the settlers pulverizing soil and adding water to make a thick paste they then could add straw and then formed the adobe bricks in a wooden mold making them from about four inches thick. They then laid the dried adobe bricks on a foundation of uncut stone. Each brick could weigh 40 to 50 pounds. The dried brick would then be stacked to form a wall and the wall would then have a coating of ocher colored plaster applied. The plaster was made up of mud and water and then milk was mixed into it to add durability. The roofs were made by laying pine log poles crisscrossed across and fastened onto the bond beams. The poles were then covered with brush and a thick coat of mud, plaster and earth.  The tamped dirt floors in the homes were soaked with animal blood to help them harden. The homes would often be multifamily dwellings as this was for protection. The inside of the home often had beautifully woven blankets hanging from the viga or roof beams. Long strings of chili and herbs also hung from the viga.  In the coroners were placed the adobe fire places that warmed the house and were used for cooking. A comal was used to prepare tortillas and corn cakes and was sometimes a sheet of copper. Wooden chest were used for storage instead of closets. Often people slept on the floor on Buffalo skin mattresses until beds became more widely used. Many of the homes had a nicho built into the walls to display their saints. The windows were not too big and often had a sheet of Mica covering them instead of glass. Colorful hand woven blankets and rugs, serapes could be seen being used as draperies to dress up the windows. Outside bee hive shaped ovens or ornos were used to roast chili and bake bread.

      The village was built in the shape of a “u”. This was for protection against the Indian threat. (In later years after the Indian threat was gone the home owners would build apart from each other as the protection gave way to privacy.) The center of the “u” was a plaza where there were several small gardens and an orchard.. The streets were dusty but hard packed and had many ruts from wagon wheels traversing its surface.

         With the exception of any small orchard, trees were few and were limited to the scrub oak, pinion trees, and Apache Pine. A few cotton woods grew closer to the river. Horse or mule drawn wagons were the mode of travel, but a few two wheeled carts could be seen outside the cantinas. This usually meant there were Comancheros in town to do their trading with the town’s people or visiting Indians.

      The town had a few shops and their keepers would set up their wares in their store fronts hoping to sell their novelties and various sundries to the folks that lived in the town or to the settlers and soldiers from Fort Hatch’s Ranch.   

      Chaperito was established in 1846 but grew rapidly after Fort Hatch military outpost was created in the year 1855. The town was along the Gallinas River about 33 miles south east of Las Vegas. The military outpost created a safer environment against the Indian threat in this part of the Gallinas Valley and soon the town thrived. 

     Many of the settlers that came to Chaperito shared the same history. They were a mixture of Spanish descendants and Mexican people from old Mexico as well as Mestizos who were of mixed Hispanic and Indian blood. Many of these people had lived in Texas but were forced west by the Tejanos who ran large cattle spreads in Texas.

     The Texas Cattle ranchers were forcing out the sheep herds. New Mexico was a fine place to raise sheep. There were various breeds of sheep. If a man owned Moreno sheep for instance, he was considered very fortunate. The Moreno sheep were highly coveted for their fine hair and high quality leather hides. These sheep were treasured and often the target of rustlers and Indians.

      The land was open and considered common land.  A man could take his flock throughout the valley with little or no confrontation from cattle people.

     Living among the sheep herders of Chaperito were small rancher, farmers and at times, Indians and Comancheros.