Dominguez and Escalante Journal
Source: Chavez, A. & Waner, T. (1995) The Dominguez and Escalante Journal,  University of Utah Press, SLC, UT
Disclaimer: Educational Material / Non-Commercial

October 13
We set out southward from the small river and campsite of Nuestra Señora del Pilar, accompanied by this Indian, to whom we had promised a hunting knife if he would guide us to where we might find other Indians. We traveled two and a half leagues south and arrived at the rancho mentioned, which belonged to him. In it there were an old Indian, a young man, several children and three women, all of them very good looking. They had very good piñon nuts, dates, and some little sacks of maize. We remained in conversation with the old man for a long time, but he told us only what the others had. We gave the promised hunting knife to the one who had conducted us to this place, and told them that if any of the three would accompany us to those who they said planted maize, we would pay him well. From the response we saw that they were still very suspicious and much afraid of us, but at the suggestion of the companions we put before them a hunting knife and some glass beads. The old man seized them, and impelled by his great fear, he offered to guide us, in order to get us away from there, as later became evident to us, and to give his family time to reach a place of safety by withdrawing to the nearby sierra. We continued on our way accompanied by this old man and the Indian who had passed the preceding night with us. We traveled a league and a half to the south, descended to the little Rio del Pilar, which here has a leafy cottonwood grove, crossed it, now leaving the valley of Señor San José, and entered a stony cut in the form of a pass between two high sierras. In the roughest part of this cut the two guides disappeared and we never saw them again. We admired their cleverness in having brought us through a place well suited to the sure and free execution of their plan, which we had already suspected not only because of their cowardliness, but also from the manner in which they had consented to guide us. We continued without a guide, and having traveled with great difficulty over the many stones for a league to the south, we descended a second time to the Rio del Pilar and halted on its bank in a pretty cottonwood grove, naming the place San Daniel - Today five leagues south.

The Valley of Señor San José through which we have just passed, in its most northern part is in 37° 33' of latitude. From north to south it is about twelve leagues long, and from east to west in some places it is more than three, in others two, and in still others, less. It has very abundant pasturage, large meadows, fair-sized marshes, and plenty of very good land for a settlement with seasonal crops, although there is not water in the two small rivers of Señor San José and Pilar to irrigate more than a few small areas. However, the great moisture of the land may supply this lack so that the irrigation will not be missed, because the moisture in all the valley is so great that not only the meadows and the flats, but even the high places at this season had green and fresh pasturage, like the most fertile meadows of rivers in the months of June and July. Round about the valley and very near at hand there is plentiful timber, firewood of spruce and piñon, and good sites for raising large and small stock. The Indians who live in the valley and in its vicinity to the west, north, and east are called in their language Hauscari. They dress very poorly, and eat grass seeds, hares, piñon nuts in season, and dates. They do not plant maize, and judging from what we saw, they obtain very little of it. They are extremely cowardly and different from the Lagunas and Barbones. On the northwest and north they border on the latter and speak the same language, although with some differences. The Sierra de los Lagunas ends in this place of San Daniel, having run directly south from the Valley of Las Salinas to here. From here to the Rio Grande all the land is poor, although it appears rich in minerals.

October 14
We set out from San Daniel going south by west along the west side of the river, swung a short distance away from it, and having traveled two leagues over hills of very brilliant white sand, very stony in places, we passed two large springs of good water which flow into the river. We swung south now over stony malpais (which is like slag although heavier and less porous) but not very difficult, now among small sandy stretches, now over sand banks, and having traveled two more leagues we descended a third time to the river and halted on its banks where there was a very good pasture. We named the campsite San Hugolino. Here the climate is very mild for although we felt great heat yesterday, last night and today the cottonwoods of the river were so green and leafy, the roses and flowers which grow here so flaming and undamaged that they showed that through here they had not yet been frozen nor frosted. We also saw mesquite trees, which do not grow in very cold lands. - Today four leagues south.

October 15
We set out from San Hugolino on the west bank of the river and along the slopes of some nearby hills, and having traveled two and one-half leagues to the south-southeast, we returned to the bank and to the grove along the river. Here we found a well made mat with a large supply of ears and husks of green corn which had been placed on it. Near it, in the small plain and on the bank of the river, there were three small corn patches with their very well made irrigation ditches. The stalks of maize which they had already harvested this year were still untouched. For this reason we felt especially pleased, partly because it gave us hope that we should be able to provide ourselves farther on with assured supplies, and principally, because it was evidence of the application of these people to the cultivation of the soil, and because of finding this preparation for reducing them to civilized life and to the Faith when the Most High may so will, for it is already known what it costs to get other Indians to do this, and how much their conversion is impeded by their aversion to this labor which is so necessary for living a civilized life especially in pueblos. From here downstream and on the mesas on either side for a long distance, according to what we learned, live Indians who sustain themselves by planting maize and calabashes16, and who in their language are called the Parussi. We continued downstream toward the south, and having traveled half a league, we swung southwest, leaving the river, but a high cliff without any way to get down forced us to go back more than a quarter of a league and return to the river which here runs southwest. Two other small rivers join it here, one which comes from the north-northeast, and the other from the east. The latter consists in great part of hot and sulphurous water, and for this reason we named it Rio Sulfúreo. Here there is a beautiful grove of large black cottonwoods, some willows, and wild grape vines. In the stretch where we retraced our steps there are ash heaps, veins and other signs of minerals, and many stones of reddish mica. We crossed the Rio del Pilar and the Sulfúreo near the place where they join, then going south we ascended a low mesa between crags of shiny black rock. Having reached the top, we came to good open country, crossed a small plain which toward the east has a chain of very high mesas and to the west, hills of chamiso (the plant which in Spain is called brezo) and red sand. In the plain we might have gone to the edge of the mesas and finished our day's march over good level country, but the men who went ahead changed the direction in order to follow some fresh tracks of Indians and led us over these hills and sand flats where our animals now became very much fatigued. After having traveled by the mesa and plain two leagues to the south we went three leagues southwest through the abovementioned hills. We now turned south a little more than two leagues and descried a small valley surrounded by mesas, from one of which we found ourselves unable to descend to the valley. On it there was neither water nor pasturage for the animals, which now were unable to go forward, so we were forced to descend from a high, rugged and very stony ridge. Having traveled threefourths of a league to the south, we stopped after sunset at an arroyo where we found large pools of good water with sufficient pasturage for the animals. We named the place San Dónulo, or Arroyo del Taray, because here there were some tamarisk trees or palo taray. -Today ten leagues, which in a direct line would be seven leagues south by west. We observed by the north star and found ourselves 36° 52' 30" of latitude.

In this plain or little valley besides the tamarisk there is much hediondilla, which is a bush with very medicinal qualities, accord- ing to what has been learned in New Mexico. Tonight our supplies were completely exhausted, leaving us only two little cakes of chocolate for tomorrow.

October 16
We set out from San Dónulo with the intention of continuing south as far as the Rio Colorado, but after traveling a short distance we heard some people shouting behind us; turning around to see where the noise came from, we saw eight Indians on the hills near the campsite which we had just left, and which are in the middle of the plain, extend almost entirely across it, and abound in transparent gypsum and mica. We returned to them, giving orders that the interpreter, who had gone ahead, should come also. We arrived at the foot of the little hill and told the Indians to descend without fear because we had come in peace and were friends. Thereupon they took courage and descended, showing us for barter some sartas or strings of chalchihuite, each string having a colored shell. This gave us something to think about, for from below, the strings of chalchihuite looked to us like rosaries and the shells like medals of saints. We remained here with them a short time, but they spoke the Yuta tongue so differently from all the rest that neither the interpreter nor Joaquin, the Laguna, could make them understand clearly nor understand much of what they said. Nevertheless, partly by signs, partly because about some matters they spoke the Yuta tongue more like the Lagunas, we understood them to say that all were Parusis (except one who spoke more of an Arabic tongue than Yuta, and which we thought was Jamajab) and that they are the ones who plant the crops on the banks of the Rio del Pilar and live downstream for a long distance. We took them to be Cosninas but afterward we learned that this was not the case. They offered their chalchihuites for trade, and when we told them we did not havea thing there, but if they would come with us until we overtook the rest of the companions, we would give them what they asked for and would talk with them at length, all came very cheerfully though with great fear and suspicion on the part of those who appeared the most intelligent. We stopped and talked with them more than two and a half or three hours. They told us that in two days we would reach the Rio Grande, but would not be able to go the way we wanted to, because there was no watering place, nor would we be able to cross the river in this region because it ran through a great canyon and was very deep and had on both sides extremely high cliffs and rocks, and finally, that from here to the river the terrain was very bad. We gave them a present of two hunting knives and to each one a string of glass beads, and then told them that if one of them would guide us to the river we would pay him. They replied that they would go and put us on the trail through a canyon which was in the mesa east of the plain, and that from there we could go alone, because they were barefoot and could not travel very well. In spite of this explanation we did not wish to give up going south as far as the river, for we suspected that the Moquinos might have become unfriendly toward the Cosninas because they had escorted Father Garcés and that, fearful that they might lead other fathers and Spaniards to Moqui, they had tried to keep them back with threats; and that these people having heard the news, now, intended to lead us astray in order that we might not reach the Cosninas or their neighbors, the Jamajabas. But at the urging of the companions, to whom it was not desirable at present to make known our suspicions, we consented to go by the canyon. We offered these Indians soles of satchel leather for sandals if they would guide us. They said that two of them would go with us until they had put us on a good straight road. With them we entered the canyon mentioned, traveled through it a league and a half with extreme difficulty, the animals being hindered by the many pebbles and flint stones and the frequent difficult and dangerous stretches in it. We arrived at a narrow pass so bad that in more than half an hour we were able to make only three saddle animals enter it. This was followed by a rocky cliff so rough that even on foot it would have been difficult to ascend it. The Indians, seeing that we would not be able to follow them, fled, impelled doubtless by their excessive cowardice. Thereupon it was necessary for us to go back and turn once more to the south. Before doing so we stopped a short time in order that the animals might eat a little and drink some of the water which was here, but it was so bad that many of the animals would not touch it. In the afternoon we retraced the full length of the canyon, and having traveled half a league along the plain toward the south, we camped near the southern entrance of the valley, without water for ourselves or for the animals. This night we were in great need, having no kind of food, so we decided to take the life of a horse in order not to lose our own, but because there was no water we deferred the execution until we should have some. Today, in so difficult a journey, we advanced only a league and one-half south.

October 17
We continued on our way toward the south, threaded the aforesaid pass from the little valley along the bed of an arroyo in which we found a pool of good water where all the animals drank. We traveled south two leagues and swinging southeast two more, we found in another arroyo a large supply of good water, not only in one place but in many, and although it is rain-water which accumulates during the floods, it appears not to dry up in the course of the whole year. Here we found some of the herbs which they call quelites. We thought it possible by means of them to supply our most urgent need, but were able to gather only a few and these were very small. We continued southeast, and having traveled four and a half leagues over good level country, although it was somewhat spongy, we stopped partly to see if there was water in the washes from the mesa and partly to give Don Bernardo Miera some of these ripe herbs as food, for since yesterday morning we had not had a thing to eat and he was now so weak that he was scarcely able to talk. We ordered the bags and other containers in which we had brought the supplies ransacked, to see if there were any left-overs, but found only some pieces of calabash which the servants had obtained yesterday from the Parusis Indians, and which they had hidden to avoid having to share them with the rest. With this and a little sugar, which we also found, we made a stew for everybody and took a little nourishment. We did not find water so we could spend the night here and therefore decided to continue the journey toward the south. The companions, without telling us, went to examine the eastern mesa and the country beyond. Those who went to make the reconnaissance returned saying that the ascent of the mesa was very good and that afterward the land was level, with many arroyos in which there could not fail to be water, and that it appeared to them that the river was at the end of the plain which lay beyond the mesa. Thereupon everybody favored changing our direction, but we knew very well how they had been deceived on other occasions and that in so short a time they could not have seen so much; and we were of the opposite opinion because toward the south we had much good level land in sight, and had found so much water today, contrary to the story told by the Indians, and had traveled all day over good land. All of these facts increased our suspicion. But since now we were without food, and water might be far away, and so that the adoption of our plan should not make the thirst and hunger which (for our sake) they might endure on either route more intolerable for them, we told them to take the one they thought best calculated to take us southeast toward the mesa. We ascended it by a rough and very stony wash or arroyo in which there is very good gypsum rock of the kind which is used for white-washing. We had just finished climbing the mesa by a very rough black stone slope when night fell, and we camped there on the mesa in a small plain of good pasturage but without water, naming it San Ángel. - Today nine leagues.

We were very sorry to have changed our route because, according to the latitude in which we now found ourselves, by continuing to the south we would very soon have arrived at the river. As soon as we halted, those who had previously been on the mesa told us that at a short distance from here they thought they had seen water. Two of them went to bring some for the men, but they did not return all night, and the next day dawned without our having heard from them. Since we concluded that they had continued seeking Indian ranchos where they could relieve their hunger as soon as possible, for this reason, and since there was no water here, we decided to go forward without waiting for them.

October 18
We set out from San Angel to the east-southeast and haying traveled half a league, we swung to the east by south for two leagues over hills and extensive valleys with plentiful but very stony pasturage. Then, not finding water, we swung east by north for two more leagues, ascending and descending stony hills which were very troublesome for the animals. There were five Indians spying upon us from a small but high mesa, and as we two passed the foot of it, for we were following behind our companions, these Indians spoke to us. When we turned toward where they were, four of them hid, only one remaining in sight. We saw how terrified he was, but we could not persuade him to come down, and the two of us ascended on foot with very great difficulty. At each step we took toward him he wanted to run away. We gave him to understand that he must not be afraid, that we loved him like a son, and wished to talk with him. There upon he waited for us, making a thousand gestures which showed that he was greatly afraid of us. As soon as we had ascended to where he was we embraced him and, seating ourselves beside him, we had the interpreter and the Laguna come up. Having now recovered his composure, he told us that the other four were hiding near by and that if we desired it, he would call them in order that we might see them. When we answered in the affirmative, he laid his bow and arrows on the ground, took the interpreter by the hand, and went with him to bring them. They came and we remained about an hour in conversation, and they told us that we now had water near at hand. We begged them to go and show it to us, promising them a piece of woolen cloth and after much urging three of them consented to go with us. We continued with them a league to the southeast, much fatigued by thirst and hunger, and having traveled another league to the south over a bad and very stony road, we arrived at a little grove of cedar and at an arroyo where deep holes held two large pools of good water. We took enough for ourselves and brought the horses which, since they were now very thirsty, drained both pools. Here we decided to spend the night, naming the campsite San Samuel. Today six leagues.

The three Indians mentioned came with us so fearfully that they did not wish to go ahead nor to have us come near them until they questioned Joaquin, the Laguna, but with what he told them about us they quieted down. Greatly surprised at his valor, they asked him, among other things, how he had dared to come with us? He, wanting to rid them of their fears in order to relieve the privation which, greatly to our sorrow, he was suffering, answered them as best he could; and thus he greatly lessened the fear and suspicion they had felt. Doubtless it was because of this that they did not leave us before arriving at the watering place. As soon as we camped we gave them the promised woolen cloth with which they were greatly pleased. Learning that we came without provisions, they told us to send one of our men with one of theirs to their huts which were somewhat distant, and they would bring some food, the rest meanwhile remaining with us. We sent one of the genízaros with Joaquin, the Laguna, giving them the wherewithal to purchase provisions and pack animals on which to bring them. They left with the other Indian, and after midnight they returned, bringing a small supply of wild sheep, dried tuna made into cakes, and grass seeds. They also brought news of one of the two men who the preceding night had gone for water, saying he had been at this rancho. The other had arrived at camp about ten o'clock tonight.

October 19
Twenty of these Indians came to camp with some cakes or loaves of tuna and several bags of the seeds of various herbs to sell to us. We paid them for what they brought and told them that if they had meat, piñon nuts or more tunas, they should bring them and we would buy them all, especially the meat. They said they would do so but that we must wait for them until mid-day. We agreed and they went away. One of them promised to accompany us as far as the river if we would wait until afternoon, and we agreed to this also. After mid-day many more Indians came to camp than those who previously had been with us, among them being one who was said to be a Mescalero Apache, and to have come with two others from his country to this one, crossing the river a few days previously. His features were not very pleasing, and he was distinguished from the rest of the Indians by the disgust which he showed at seeing us here and by the greater display of animosity which we noticed he was purposely making. They told us that these Apaches were their friends. They did not bring meat but many bags of the seeds mentioned and some fresh tunas, partly exposed to the sun, and dried ones made into cakes. We purchased from them about a fanega of seeds and all of the tunas. We talked a long while concerning the distance to the river, the road to it, their numbers and mode of living, the neighboring peoples, and the guide for whom we were asking. They showed us the direction we must take to the river, giving confused reports of the ford, and saying that in two or three days we would arrive there. They told us they were called Yubuincariris and that they did not plant maize; that their foods were seeds, tunas, piñon nuts, of which they gathered very few, judging from the small quantity they gave us, and what hares, rabbits and wild sheep they hunted, adding that on this side of the river only the Parusis planted maize and calabashes; that on the other side just across the river were the Ancamuchis (who, we understood, were the Cosninas) and that they planted much maize. Besides these, they gave us the names of other people, their neighbors to the southsouthwest, on this west bank of the river, saying these were the Payatammumis. They also told us of the Huascaris, whom we had already seen in the Valley of Señor San José. Concerning the Spaniards of Monterey they did not give us even the least indication that they had ever heard them mentioned. One of the Indians who had spent the preceding night with us gave us to understand that he had already heard of the journey of the Reverend Father Garcés, which, together with the denial by all these that they knew the Cosninas (unless they know them by the above name of Ancamuchi), seems to verify what we have already said we suspected. Having finished the conversation, they began to leave, and we were unable to get any of them to consent to accompany us as far as the river.

Today Don Bernardo Miera was sick at his stomach, so we were unable to leave here this afternoon. A little farther away we found other pools of water for tonight.

October 20
We set out from San Samuel toward the northnortheast, directing our way toward the ford of the Rio Colorado, avoiding a low wooded sierra with many stones on this side of it. Having traveled a little more than two leagues, we swung northeast, entering a level country without rocks, and traveled four leagues, when we found in an arroyo several pools of good water. Then traveling a league to the east-northeast, we camped on the bank of the arroyo between two little hills in the plain nearby, where there was a large supply of water and good pasturage. We named this place Santa Gertrudis, whose latitude we observed by the north star, finding it is in 36° 30'. - Today seven leagues.

October 21
We set out from Santa Gertrudis toward the east, and after traveling half a league we swung to the northeast. Several times we crossed the Arroyo de Santa Gertrudis, which in most places had large pools of water, and wound our way along the twists and turns over very poor terrain for five and a half leagues to the northeast. Then we went a little more than four leagues to the east-northeast through some not very troublesome chamise thickets and good land, and camped after nightfall near a little valley with good pasturage but without water even for the men. Lorenzo Olivares, driven by his thirst because he had eaten too many of the seeds, piñon nuts, and tuna which we had bought, went looking for water in the nearby arroyos as soon as we camped and did not appear all night, causing us much worry. We named the campsite Santa Bárbara. - Today ten leagues.

October 22
We set out from Santa Bárbara toward the north-northeast looking for Olivares, and after going about two leagues we found him near a pool with a small amount of water, there being only enough for the men to drink and to fill a little barrel which we carried in case we should not find water tonight. We continued through the plain, and having traveled four leagues northeast, we saw a trail which ran to the south, and when the interpreter said the Yubuincariris had told him this was the one we ought to take to go to the river, we took it. But having traveled along it a league to the south we found that the interpreter was uncertain about the signs because, after going a little distance, the trail turned back. And so, going east, we ascended the low Sierra which we were intending to avoid. It runs from north to south the whole length of the eastern side of this plain. We crossed it with great labor and fatigue for the animals because, besides having many canyons, it is very stony and full of pebbles. Night overtook us as we were going down the other side of a very high ridge from which we saw below us several fires on the far side of a small plain. We thought the interpreter, Andrés, and the Laguna, Joaquin, who had gone ahead seeking water for the night, had made them in order that we might know where they were. But having finished the descent, and having traveled five leagues to the east-northeast from the place where we left the trail mentioned, making several turns in the mountain valleys, we arrived at the fires where there were three little Indian huts and where we found our interpreter and Joaquin. We decided to spend the night here because nearby on both the east and the west there were water and pasturage for the animals which were now almost completely worn out. We named the campsite San Juan Capistrano - Today twelve leagues.

Since it was night when we arrived at these huts, and the Indians were unable to distinguish the number of men who were coming, they were so afraid that in spite of the coaxing by the interpreter and the Laguna, Joaquin, most of them fled on our arrival, there remaining only three men and two women, who, greatly disturbed, said to our Laguna, "Little brother, you are of the same race as ourselves. Do not permit these people with whom you come to kill us." We embraced them and tried by every possible means which occurred to us to remove the suspicion and fear which they felt toward us. They quieted down somewhat, and trying to please us, they gave us two roasted hares and some piñon nuts. Besides this two of them went, although with great fear, to show the servants the watering place in order that the animals might drink. This campsite is east of the northern point of the small sierra mentioned, near a number of small hills of red earth, to the south of which, very close by, on some rocky hills having some piñon and juniper trees, are two good pools of rain water. Nearer to them in a small arroyo there are also some pools of water, but these are small and not very good. To the west-southwest of the same little hills, at the foot of the sierra, there is also a small permanent spring.

These Indians are called Pagampachi in their language, and their immediate neighbors along the north and northwest, Ytimpabichi.

After we had retired, some of the companions, among them Don Bernardo Miera, went to one of the huts to chat with the Indians. They told him that Don Bernardo was ill, and an old Indian, one of those present, either because our men ordered it or because he wanted to, set about doctoring him with songs and ceremonies which, if not openly idolatrous (for such they might be) were at least entirely superstitious. All of our people permitted them willingly, and among them the sick man, and they applauded them as harmless compliments, when they ought to have stopped them as contrary to the evangelical and divine law which they profess, or at least they ought to have withdrawn. We listened to the songs of the Indian but did not know what their purpose was. Early in the morning they told us what had taken place. We were deeply grieved by such harmful carelessness, and we reprimanded them, telling them that at another time they must not sanction such errors by their voluntary presence nor in any other way. This is one of the reasons why the heathen who deal most with the Spaniards and Christians of these regions, more stubbornly resist the evangelical truth, making their conversion more difficult each day. When we were preaching to the first Sabuaganas we saw regarding the necessity of holy baptism, the interpreter either in order not to displease them nor to lose the ancient friendship which they maintain with them through the vile commerce in skins (even in violation of just prohibitions by the governors of this kingdom, by whom it has been ordered rerepeatedly that no Indian, genizaro, or citizen shall enter the lands of the heathen without having obtained a license for it from the governor of his province), translated for them in these very words: "The Father says that the Apaches, Navajós and Cumanches who do not become baptized cannot enter Heaven, but go to Hell, where God punishes them, and where they will burn forever like wood in the fire." The Sabuaganas were greatly pleased at hearing themselves thus exempted from and their enemies included in the inescapable necessity either of being baptized or of being lost and suffering eternally. The interpreter was reprimanded, and seeing that his foolish infidelity had been discovered, he reformed. We might give other examples from the lips of these same persons who have been among the Yutas and who perhaps had applauded and even cooperated in many idolatrous actions, but the two referred to above, of which we are obviously certain, will suffice. For if, in our company, after having many times heard these idolatries and superstitions refuted and condemned, they witness them, encourage them, and applaud them, what will they not do when they wander two, three or four months among the heathen Yutas and Navajós with nobody to correct and restrain them? Besides this, some of them have given us sufficient cause in this journey to suspect that while some go to the Yutas and remain so long among them because of their greed for peltry, others go and remain with them for that of the flesh, obtaining there its brutal satisfaction. And so in every way they blaspheme the name of Christ and prevent, or rather oppose, the extension of His faith. Oh, with what severity ought such evils be met. May God in His infinite goodness inspire the best and most suitable means17.

October 23
We did not travel today, in order to give time for the people here to quiet down and to enable those of the vicinity to assemble. The grass seeds and other things which we had purchased and eaten made us very sick, weakening instead of nourishing us. We were not able to induce these people to sell us any ordinary meat, so we had a horse killed and the flesh prepared so that it could be carried.

Today Father Fray Francisco Atanasio was very ill from a pain in the rectum so severe that he was not able even to move.

All day the Indians kept coming from the nearby ranchos, all of whom we embraced and entertained to the best of our ability. These people now gave us a clearer account of the Cosninas and Moquinos, calling them by these very names. They also told us where we had to go to reach the river, (which is twelve leagues from here at most) giving us a description of the ford. We bought from them about a fanega of piñon nuts and gave them as a present more than half a fanega of grass seeds.

Very early the next day twenty-six Indians assembled, among them being some who were with us yesterday afternoon, and others whom we had not seen. We told them of the Gospel, reprimanding and explaining to them the wickedness and idleness of their sins, especially in the superstitious doctoring of their sick. We admonished them to rely in their troubles upon the true and only God, because only He has at His command health and sickness, life and death, and is able to help everybody. And although our interpreter could not explain this to them clearly, one of them, who doubtless had dealt extensively with the Yutas Payuchis, understood it well and explained to the others what he had heard. Since we saw that they listened with pleasure, we told them that if they wished to be Christians, fathers and Spaniards would come to instruct and live with them. They replied that they would like this, and when we asked them where we would find them when we should come they said they would be in this little sierra and on the nearby mesas. Then to increase their affection for us, we distributed thirteen varas of red ribbon, giving to each one half a vara, with which they were very much pleased and grateful. One man had already agreed to go with us as far as the river to direct us to the ford, but after all the others had said goodbye, and he had traveled with us half a league, he became so frightened that we could not persuade him to continue. The com- panions, inconsiderately, wanted to use force to make him keep his word, but knowing his reluctance, we let him go freely.

October 24
About nine o'clock in the morning, or a little later, we set out from San Juan Capistrano toward the southsoutheast, through a valley and having traveled four leagues we turned to the southeast in the same valley. Here at the foot of the eastern mesa in the valley there are three pools of good water, but there was not enough for the animals. From the campsite to here we traveled over good country. Having advanced two more leagues to the southeast, we swung to the east-southeast for about three leagues over sandy and difficult country, and although we did not find water for the animals, we did find pasturage, so we camped because the horses were very tired and it was already nightfall. We named the campsite San Bartolomé. Here there is an extensive valley but the land is poor, for the part which is not sandy is a kind of earth which on the surface has about four fingers of gravel and beneath it loose soil of different colors. There are many deposits of transparent gypsum, some of mica and apparently there are also some of metals. - Today nine leagues.

Through this region the Rio Colorado flows from . northnortheast to south-southwest and runs through a deep canyon so that although the land might be good, the river banks are of no use for planting. This afternoon we thought we saw the canyons and cliffs of the river bed which, seen from the west side, look like a long row of houses, but we concluded that it was the canyon of one of the many arroyos which are in the plain.

October 25
We set out from San Bartolomé to the eastsoutheast and traveled less than a league and a half to the east. We did not try to reach the canyon which was really the channel of the Rio Grande, because we had crossed several arroyos which had canyons as large as that one. So we concluded that the river did not run there but in some other arroyo. Therefore, we turned toward the north-northeastern portion of the valley for it appeared to us that it was possible to avoid the mesas which surround it. Seeking water for the animals which were now tired out from thirst, we followed the bed of an arroyo, and having traveled along it two leagues to the northeast we were unable to get out so we went on westward climbing a very difficult slope. We turned again to the north-northeast and having traveled two leagues we saw some cottonwoods at the foot of the mesa. We went toward them and found there a good spring of water. Around its edges there was a substance something like saltpeter and we thought the water would be salty, but when we tried it we found it had a good taste. We camped here, naming the place San Fructo. - Today five leagues.

In the afternoon Don Juan Pedro Cisneros went to explore the northern corner of the valley to see if there was a pass and if he could find or get a glimpse of the river and its ford. He returned after midnight with the desired report that he had reached the river, but said that he did not know whether or not we would be able to cross some mesas and high crests which were on the other bank. Nevertheless, because he said the river appeared to him to be all right and to have a ford here we decided to go to it.

October 26
We set out from San Fructo toward the north, traveled three and a half leagues, and reached the place where previously we thought the northern exit from the valley was. It is a bend completely surrounded by very high cliffs and crests of red earth of various formations; and since the intervening plain below is of the same color, it has an agreeably confused appearance. We continued in the same direction with excessive difficulty because the animals, breaking through the surface gravel, sank to their knees in the ground, and having traveled a league and a half we arrived at the Rio Grande de los Cosninas. Here it is joined by another small river which we named Santa Teresa. We crossed this latter stream and camped on the banks of the Rio Grande near a high gray rock, naming the campsite San Benito Salsipuedes. All the terrain from San Fructo to here is very difficult and in places where a little moisture has been left from snow or rain it is entirely impassable. - Today five leagues.

We decided to reconnoiter this afternoon to learn whether, having crossed the river, we might continue from here to the southeast or east. On all sides we were surrounded by mesas and inaccessible heights. Therefore, two men who knew how to swim well entered the river naked, carrying their clothing on their heads. It was so deep and wide that the swimmers, in spite of their prowess, were scarcely able to reach the opposite shore, and they lost their clothing in the middle of the river, never seeing it again. Since they arrived very tired, naked, and barefoot they were unable to walk the distance necessary for the reconnaissance and returned after having eaten something.

October 27
Don Juan Pedro Cisneros went up the bed of the Rio de Santa Teresa to see whether by way of it he could find a pass by which to cross the eastern mesa and return to the Rio Grande in more open country where, being wider, the river might be fordable or at least where it would be possible for the horses to cross without the danger, encountered here, of being drowned in its waters. He traveled all day and part of the night without finding a way out. He saw an acclivity very near here by which it would be possible to cross the mesa but it appeared to him to be very difficult. Others went to reconnoiter in different directions but found only insuperable obstacles in the way of reaching the ford without going back a long distance.

October 28
We returned to the same undertaking, but all in vain. In a short time a raft of logs was constructed and with it Father Fray Silvestre, accompanied by the servants, attempted to cross the river. But since the poles which served for propelling the raft, although they were five varas long, failed to touch the bottom a short distance from the shore, the waves caused by the contrary wind drove it back. So it returned three times to the shore it had left, but was unable to reach even the middle o£ the river. Aside from being so deep and so wide, the river here has on both banks such deep, miry places that in them we might lose all or the greater part of the animals. We had been assured by the Yubuincariri and Pagampachi Indians that the river everywhere else was very deep, but not at the ford, for when they crossed it the water reached only a little above their waists. For this reason and on account of other landmarks which they gave us, we conjectured that the ford must be higher up, so we dispatched Andrés Muñiz and his brother Lucrecio with orders to travel until they found a place where we might cross the mesa mentioned above, and that, when they arrived at the river, they should seek a good ford, or at least some place where we could cross on the raft and the animals could swim without danger.

October 29
Not knowing when we might leave this place, and having consumed all the flesh of the first horse, and the piñon nuts and other things we had purchased, we ordered another horse killed.

October 30 and 31
We remained here awaiting the men who went to look for a pass and a ford.

November 1
They returned at one o'clock in the afternoon, saying that they had found a pass, although a difficult one, and a ford in the river. The pass over the mesa was the acclivity which Cisneros had seen, and since it was very high and rugged, we decided to approach it this afternoon. We set out from the bank of the Rio Grande and the unfortunate campsite of San Benito de Salsipuedes, followed the Rio de Santa Teresa, and having traveled a league northwest we camped on its bank at the foot of this acclivity. - Today one league.

This night, from sunset until seven o'clock in the morning, we suffered greatly from the cold.

November 2
We set out from Rio de Santa Teresa and climbed the acclivity, which we called Cuesta de las Animas and which must be half a league long. We spent more than three hours in climbing it because at the beginning it is very rugged and sandy and afterward has very difficult stretches and extremely perilous ledges of rock, and finally it becomes impassable. Having finished the ascent toward the east, we descended the other side through rocky gorges with extreme difficulty. Swinging north, and having gone a league, we turned northeast for half a league through a stretch of red sand which was very troublesome for the animals. We ascended a little elevation, and having traveled two and a half leagues also to the northeast, we descended to an arroyo which in places had running water which although saline was fit to drink. There was pasturage also, so we camped here, naming the place San Diego. - Today four and a half leagues.

Today we camped about three leagues in a direct line northeast from San Benito Salsipuedes near a multitude of narrow valleys, little mesas and peaks of red earth which at first sight look like the ruins of a fortress.

November 3
We set out from San Diego to the east-southeast, and having traveled two leagues we came a second time to the river, that is to say, at the edge of the canyon which here serves it as a bed, whose descent to the river is very long, high, rough and rocky, and has such bad ledges of rock that two pack animals which went down to the first one were unable to climb up it in return, even without the pack saddles. The men who had come here previously had not told us of this precipice, and we now learned that they had neither found the ford, nor in so many days even made the necessary reconnaissance of such a short stretch of country, because they spent the time seeking some of the Indians who live hereabouts, and accomplished nothing. The river was very deep here, although not so deep as at Salsipuedes, but for a long distance it was necessary for the animals to swim. The good thing about it was that they did not mire, either going in or getting out. The companions insisted that we should go down to the river, but on the other side there was no way to go forward after having crossed the river, except by a deep and narrow canyon of another little river which here joins it. And not having learned whether or not this could be traveled, we feared that (if we descended and crossed the river) we should find ourselves forced to go back, which on this cliff would be extremely difficult. In order not to expose ourselves to this predicament, we stopped above and sent the genizaro, Juan Domingo, to cross the river to see if that canyon had an outlet. But if this afternoon he should not find one, he was to return in order that we might continue upstream on this bank until we should find the ford and trail of the Indians. We sent Juan Domingo on foot. Thereupon Lucrecio Muñiz said that with our permission he would go also, on a horse, bareback, carrying equipment for making a fire, and if he found an exit he would send up smoke signals for us, in order that upon this advice we might try to descend so that the delay would be less. We told him to go, but informed him that whether or not he found the exit we would wait for him this afternoon. They did not return, so we spent the night here, not being able to water the animals although the river was so close by. We named the campsite El Vado de los Cosninas, or San Carlos - Today two leagues east-southeast.

November 4
Day broke without our getting news of the two we sent yesterday to make the reconnaissance. We had used up the flesh of the second horse, and today we had not taken any nourishment whatsoever, so we broke our fast with toasted leaves of small cactus plants and a sauce made of a berry they brought from the banks of the river. This berry is by itself very pleasant to taste, but crushed and boiled in water as we ate it today it is very insipid. Since it was already late, and the two emissaries had not appeared, we ordered that an attempt should be made to get the animals down to the river, and that on its banks another horse should be killed. With great difficulty they got the animals down, some of them being injured because, losing their footing on the rocks, they rolled down long distances. Shortly before nightfall the genizaro, Juan Domingo, returned, declaring that he had not found an exit, and that the other emissary, leaving his horse in the middle of the canyon, had followed some fresh Indian tracks. Thereupon we decided to continue upstream until we should find a good ford and passable terrain on both banks.

November 5
We set out from San Carlos although Lucrecio had not returned. His brother Andrés remained with orders to await him only until afternoon, and to attempt to overtake us before morning. We traveled on this west bank over many ridges and gullies for a league and a half to the north, then descended to a dry arroyo and a very deep canyon, in which there was a great deal of copperas. In it we found a little-used trail, followed it, and by it left the canyon, passing a small bench of white rock, difficult but capable of being made passable. We continued on our way and having traveled a league and a quarter to the north northeast, we found sufficient pasturage and some water, although not much, and since it was almost night we camped near a high mesa, naming the campsite Santa Francisca Romana. - Today three short leagues.

Tonight it rained heavily here and in some places it snowed. At day break it was raining and continued to do so for several hours. About six o'clock in the morning Andrés Muñiz arrived, saying his brother had not appeared. This report caused us great anxiety, because by now he had traveled three days without provisions and with no more shelter than a shirt for he had not even worn trousers. Although he crossed the river on horseback the horse swam for a long stretch and where it faltered the water reached almost to its shoulders. And so the genizaro decided to go to look for him, following the trail from the place where he had last seen him, and we sent him off, giving him meat from our supply and instructing him that if the horse could not get out of the canyon he should leave it and follow on foot; that if he found Lucrecio on the other bank, from that side they should look for signs of us and follow us, and if on this side, they should try to overtake us as quickly as possible.

November 6
The rain having ceased we set out from Santa Francisca toward the northeast, and having traveled three leagues we were stopped for a long time by a heavy storm and a torrent of rain and large hail, with horrible thunder and lightning. We chanted the Litany of the Virgin in order that She might ask some relief for us and God was pleased that the storm should cease. We continued half a league toward the east and camped near the river because it continued to rain and our way was blocked by some boulders. We named the campsite San Vicente Ferrer. - Today three and a half leagues.

Don Juan Pedro Cisneros went to see if the ford was in this vicinity, and returned with the report that he had seen that here the river was very wide, and judging from the current it did not appear to him to be deep, but that we would be able to reach it only through a nearby canyon. We sent two other persons to examine the canyon and ford the river, and they returned saying that it was very difficult. But we did not give much credence to their report and decided to examine everything ourselves next day in company with Don Juan Pedro Cisneros. Before nightfall the genizaro arrived with Lucrecio.

November 7
We went very early to inspect the canyon and the ford, taking along the two genizaros Felipe and Juan Domingo, so that they might ford the river on foot since they were good swimmers. In order to lead the animals down the side of the canyon mentioned it was necessary to cut steps in a rock with axes for the distance of three varas or a little less. The rest of the way the animals were able to get down, although without pack or rider. We went down to the canyon and having traveled a mile we descended to the river and went along it downstream about two musket shots sometimes in the water, sometimes on the bank, until we reached the widest part of its current where the ford appeared to be. One of the men waded in and found it good not having to swim at any place. We followed him on horseback a little lower down, and when half way across, two horses which went ahead lost their footing and swam a short distance. We waited, although in some peril, until the first wader returned from the other side to guide us and then we crossed with ease, the horses on which we crossed not having to swim at all. We notified the rest of our companions, who had remained at San Vicente, that with lassoes and ropes they should let the pack saddles and other effects, down a not very high cliff to the bend of the ford, and that they should bring the animals by the route over which we had come. They did so and about five o'clock in the afternoon they finished crossing the river, praising God our Lord and firing off a few muskets as a sign of the great joy which we all felt at having overcome so great a difficulty and which had cost us so much labor and delay, although the principal cause of our having suffered so much since we reached the Parusis was our lack of someone to guide us through such bad terrain. For through lack of an experienced guide we went by a very roundabout route, spent many days in such a small area, and suffered hunger and thirst. And now, after having suffered all this, we learned the best and most direct route where there were water holes adjusted to an ordinary day's travel. Most of this we heard of as we traveled, especially after we left our southerly direction on the day we set out from San Dónulo or Arroyo del Taray. Because from that place we might have gone to the large water hole which we found in the next plain. From here we might conveniently have reached another water hole which is about three leagues to the northeast of San Angel. From this latter place we might have reached Santa Gertrudis. From here we might have gone on three leagues and stopped in the same arroyo with good water and sufficient pasturage, going on in the afternoon as far as possible to the northeast, following the same direction, avoiding the sierra entirely, and arriving next day at the Rio de Santa Teresa three or four leagues north of San Juan Capistrano. From this river we could have gone east-southeast to San Diego and from there to the ford without any special inconvenience and avoiding many windings, acclivities and bad stretches. But doubtless God disposed that we should not obtain a guide, perhaps as a benign punishment for our sins, or perhaps in order that we might acquire some knowledge of the people who live in these parts. May His holy will be done in all things and His holy name glorified.

The ford of the river is very good and here it must be a mile wide, or a little more. Before reaching this place the Navajó and Dolores rivers have united, together with all those which we have mentioned in this diary as entering one or the other. And in no place which we have seen along here is it possible to establish on the banks any settlement whatsoever, or even to travel on either bank a good day's journey either downstream or upstream with the hope that its water might serve for men and animals, because, aside from the bad terrain, the river runs in a very deep gorge. All the region nearest to the ford has very high cliffs and peaks. Eight or ten leagues to the northeast of the ford there is a high, rounded peak which the Payuchis, whose country begins here, call Tucané, which means Black Peak, and it is the only one hereabouts which can be seen close at hand from the river crossing.

On this eastern bank, at the very ford which we called La Purísima Concepción de la Virgen Santisima, there is a fair-sized valley of good pasturage. In it we spent the night and observed its latitude by the north star, and it is 36° and 55'.


BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE PEOPLE WHOM WE SAW, DEALT WITH, AND LEARNED OF BY REPORT, FROM THE VALLEY OF SEÑOR SAN JOSÉ TO THE FORD OF THE RIO GRANDE DE COSNINA, INCLUSIVE.
In this land, which, although we traveled in it one hundred long leagues counting the turns we made, must be sixty Spanish leagues from north to south, and forty from east to west, there live a large number of people, all of pleasing appearance, very friendly, and extremely timid. For this last reason, and because all whom we saw spoke the Yuta language in the same way as the western-most Payuchis, we call all these of whom we are speaking Yutas Cobardes. The particular names correspond to the country which they inhabit, and distinguish them as belonging to various provinces or territories, not as different nations, since all the Yutas known hitherto compose a single nation, or they might be called a kingdom divided into five provinces, known by the common name of Yutas: the Yutas Muhuachis, the Yutas Payuchis, the Tabehuachis, the Sabuaganas, and the Yutas Cobardes. These last are divided into the Huascaris, who live in the Valley of Señor San José and its vicinity; the Parusis, who follow them on the south and southwest, inhabit the banks and vicinity of the little river of Nuestra Señora del Pilar, and are the only ones among all these we saw who apply themselves to the planting of maize; the Yubuincariris, who live almost south of the Parusis and through here are the nearest to the Rio Grande; the Yutas Ytimpabichis, who live on the mesas and peaks which are near to and north of the campsite of Santa Barbara; the Pagampachis, who likewise live in the bad country of mesas and barren gorges, because although they have a spacious valley through which the Rio Grande runs, as we have already said, they are not able to utilize the waters of this river for irrigation. According to the account given by the Yubuincariris, to the south-southwest of them downstream there live other people whom they call Payatammunis. To the west and west northwest of the Huascaris, we learned also, there live other people of the same language as themselves. All the rest (and they are many) who live on this western or northern side, upstream, in all the sierra which runs down from the Lagunas, and the land which lies between it and the last northern rivers which we crossed before they joined, are, according to the reports which we obtained, of this same sort of Indians, and belong partly to the Yutas Barbones, partly to the Huascaris, and partly to the Lagunas, depending upon their proximity to each one of these groups, judging by the greater similarity with which those nearest speak the general language.
 

Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of the Uintah Basin Teaching American History (UB-TAH.)  We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Please, let us know if you find inappropriate information.