BANCROFT LIBRARY THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA The Old Spanish Trail By JOSEPH J. HILL Reprinted from the Hispanic American Historical Review Vol. IV, No. 3, August, 1921 Bancroft [Jb, u iy Reprinted from THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW Vol. IV, No. 3, August, 1921 THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL A STUDY OF SPANISH AND MEXICAN TRADE AND EXPLORATION NORTHWEST FROM NEW MEXICO TO THE GREAT BASIN AND CALIFORNIA 1 SUMMARY The present study is but a chapter in the larger theme, "The Opening Of The Southern Trails To California". This entire subject has generally been minimized or entirely over- looked in the study of the opening and development of the West. There is usually but one trail from New Mexico to California marked on the maps dealing with the subject. This is the so- called "Old SpanishTrail to Calif ornia ", which is indicated as passing through Abiquiu and northwest down the Dolores and across Grand and Green rivers, thence west to the Sevier, and southwest to the Virgin and Mohave rivers and through Cajon Pass to Los Angeles. As a matter of fact, this trail was not opened until the region had ceased to be Spanish territory. The Old Spanish Trail, properly so-called led to the Great Basin only, and was developed as a result of the Spanish trade with the Yutas. This trade began with the first exploration of the region and con- tinued until after the country was settled by whites. During the decade between the time of the Rivera expedition to the Gunnison River (1765) and that of the Dominguez-Escalante exploration (1776) Spanish traders made frequent visits to the Yutas, remaining with them, in some cases, months at a time. These activities were possibly confined to the region east of the Colorado and south of the Gunnison. After Dominguez and Escalante had explored a route to the Great Basin, however, and 1 The writer wishes to acknowledge gratefully in the preparation of the follow- ing paper the suggestive help of Dr. H. E. Bolton under whose direction it has heen written. 444 THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL 445 had established friendly relations with the Timpanogos Indians in the vicinity of Utah Lake and the Bearded Yutas along the Sevier River; traders pushed into that region, also, and although no other official expeditions are known to have been made from New Mexico into the Great Basin during Spanish or Mexican dominion there, still Spanish traders continued to frequent that region for the purpose of obtaining pelts and Indian slaves until after the middle of the nineteenth century. Recent research has considerably increased our knowledge of this subject. Anza's campaign against the Comanches through the San Luis Valley (1779) has been missed hitherto by students of that section because Bancroft had erroneously referred to it as having gone northeast instead of northwest from Santa Fe. Documents relating to the activities of the Yuta interpreter, Mestas, who made a trip to the Timpanogos after stolen animals in 1805, indicate intercourse with those Indians not previously recognized. Another hitherto unknown expedition is the one which was led by Mauricio Arze and Lagos Garcia in 1813 to the Timpanogos and as far as the Bearded Yutas on what they called Rio Sebero (Sevier River). Even the Armijo expedition to California, 1829-30, seems to have been entirely overlooked by writers on the subject. Still another expedition which is not generally known is the one that was directed by Pedro Le6n in 1851 through Salt Lake, Utah, and Sanpete valleys for the pur- pose of obtaining Indian slaves The Spaniards even operated as far north as Spokane River, in the northeastern part of the present State of Washington, as late as 1853. The trail to California which has become known as the Old Spanish Trail apparently was not opened until 1829. The mis- nomer arose from the fact that parties going from New Mexico to California by the northern route naturally traveled as far as the Colorado River along the Old Spanish Trail, and were, there- fore, said to have gone to California by way of that trail. The name thus became applied to the entire trail to California instead of just to the first portion of it. The purpose of the present paper is to clarify this entire subject. An account of the various expeditions, their purposes and results 446 THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW and the routes traveled, will be given in some detail, showing the gradual extension of Spanish and Mexican activity northwest from New Mexico to the Great Basin and California. THE RIVERA EXPEDITION TO THE GUNNISON RIVER, 1765. Possibly the first expedition of white men northwest from New Mexico as far as the La Plata Mountains of today was the one led by Juan Maria de Rivera by order of Tomas Velez Cachupin, Governor of New Mexico, in the year 1765. 2 Although Rivera's journal of the expedition has been lost, its content is partly known to us by its having been known and used by Dominguez and Esca- lante, who seem to have followed it more or less closely as a guide on their expedition in 1776, referring here and there in their diary to places described by Rivera. By this means we are able to trace the general course of Rivera 's route from Santa Fe northwest to the San Juan River (possibly named in honor of Rivera) and across the southern spur of the La Plata Mountains, which seem to have been prospected to some 2 The date of the Rivera expedition, according to the printed copy of the Diario y derrotero of Dominguez and Escalante is 1761 (Documentos para la historia de Mexico, ser. 2, tomo 1, Mexico, 1854, p. 409). Dominguez and Escalante also speak of the region's having been explored under the orders of Tomas Velez Cachupin, governor of New Mexico, but without giving any date of the expedition (id., p. 389.) If these statements are both correct it would mean that there were two official expeditions over this territory within at least a few years of each other, since the date, 1761, falls between the dates of the two administrations of Velez (1749-1754 and 1762-1767). This of course is not impossible, but it sug- gests the question of error in the date of the Rivera expedition. As a further indication of the possibility of such an error, Cesareo Fernandez Duro, on the authority of a manuscript copy of the Domlnguez-Escalante diary in the Real Academia de la Historia, dates the Rivera expedition in the year 1765 (Fernandez Duro, Cesareo, Don Diego de Penalosa y su descubrimiento del reino de Quivira, Madrid, 1882, pp. 139, 142) . Philip Harry also gives 1765 as the date of the expedi- tion in his summary of the Dominguez-Escalante narrative based upon a manu- script copy then in the possession of Peter Force, now in the Library of Congress, and which apparently had been copied from what was regarded as the original in the archives of the City of Mexico (J. H. Simpson, Report of explorations across the Great Basin, 1859, Washington, 1876, p. 490). I have adopted this date because it seems to fit the general situation better than the other one does. Since writing the above note, a copy of the Dominguez-Escalante journal, made from a copy in the Seville archives, has been received in the Bancroft Library. In this copy the date of the Rivera expedition is given as 1765. THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL 447 extent and given their present name because of the finding in them of what appeared to be silver ore. 3 Continuing northwest the party descended either the Dolores or San Miguel River 4 (probably the Dolores) and, turning to the northeast, crossed the Uncompahgre Plateau and descended the Uncompahgre River to the Gunnison. 5 Here, after sending a couple of men across the river in search of Yutas, Rivera began his return journey, presumably retracing his previous route. PEIVATE TRADING EXPEDITIONS AMONG THE YUTAS, 1765-1776. Although no other official expeditions are known to have been made into that section for more than a decade, private individuals, among whom were members of Rivera's party, began to look with interest upon the region just explored. Thus- began a movement which was to last more than three-quarters of a century. It is a movement, however, that is most difficult to follow in detail because, unlike official expeditions, there were no records kept of these private ventures. In fact, owing to government restric- 3 Doc. para la hist, de Mex., ut supra, p 389. See also Juan Bautista Anza Diario in Doc. para la hist, de Nuevo Mexico, II. 874 Ms. in Bancroft Library. 4 While on the San Miguel, Dominguez and Escalante noted going down the same precipitous trail described by Rivera in his journal (Doc. para la hist, de Mex., ut supra, p. 401. Cf. W. R. Harris, The Catholic Church in Utah (1909), 140. 6 It was while in abctat this location eleven years later that Dominguez and Escalasnte recorded: " There came to these two rivers in the year 1765 Don Juan Maria de Rivera, crossing the same sierra de los Tabehuachis, on the summit of which is the place that he named El Purgatorio, according to the description that he gives in his journal. The plain on whicii he camped for the purpose of fording the river and on which he says he cut a cross in a young poplar together with the initials of his name and the year of the expedition, are still found at the junction of these rivers on the southern bank, as We were informed by our inter- preter Andres Muniz, who came with the said Don Jt|an Maria the year referred to, as far as the Tabehuachis Mountains, saying that- although he had remained behind three day's journey before reaching the river, he had come the past year, 1775, along the bank of the river with Pedro Mora and Gregorio Sandoval who had accompanied Don Juan Maria through the whole of his expedition. They said that they had come as far as the river at thatftime 1 , and from that point they had begun their return journey; only two persons having crossed the river, beting sent by Don Juan Maria to look for Yutas on the bank opposite the plain on which they were camping, and from which they returned." (Doc. para la hist, de Mex. t (ut supra,) pp. 409-410. Cf. Harris, The Catholic Church in Utah, p. 146.) 448 THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW tions. on Indian trading, it was frequently to the advantage of the persons concerned to cover up all trace of their activities. It is only by occasional, incidental references, therefore, that one is able to get a glimpse of what seems to have been happening more or less continuously during this entire period. The first definite reference that we have to any of these private enterprises is the statement made by Dominguez and Escalante concerning the expedition of Pedro Mora, Gregorio Sandoval, and Andres Muniz who went as far as the Gunnison in the year 1775 where at the mouth of the Uncompahgre they examined the young cottonwood on which Rivera had cut a cross, together with the initials of his name and the year in which he was there. 6 All three had accompanied Rivera in 1765 and may have been on other expeditions into that region in the intervening decade, but of such activities we have as yet no specific record. That there were other expeditions such as this, however, is evidenced by statements in the diary of Dominguez and Escalante. That document states that while among the Sabuaganas (who lived on the headwaters of the North Fork of the Gunnison) the interpreter had misinterpreted a certain portion of the padre's speech either for the purpose of not offending the Indians, or in order that he might not lose their goodwill, which he had gained by traffic in pelts, which, the document adds, the Spaniards frequently carried on with those Indians even in violation of the prohibitions of the governors of the kingdom. 7 It further refers to the apparently rather common custom which the Spaniards had of going to the Yutas and remaining there a great while two, three, and four months at a time for the purpose of obtaining pelts. 8 By the time of the Dominguez-Escalante expedition (1776) the region east of the Colorado and as far north as the Gunnison seems to have been fairly well known to the Spaniards of New Mexico. This is clear from the fact that most of the more impor- tant physical features of the country were referred to in the diary 6 Doc. para la hist, de Mex., ut supra, p. 410. See ante note 5. 7 Ibid., p. 518. ^ Ibid. t p. 519. THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL 449 of Dominguez and Escalante by names that are still on the map, and in a way that would lead one to think that those names were in more or less common use at that time. It was also definitely stated by Nicolas de la Fora who accompanied the Marques de Rubi on his tour of inspection through the northern provinces in 1766-1767 that the country to the north along the Cordillera de las Grullas* was at that time known to the Spaniards for a hundred leagues above New Mexico. 10 DEMAND FOR OVERLAND COMMUNICATION BETWEEN NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. So far the movement might be considered purely local in character. But at this point it takes on a broader aspect. Urged on by the Russian advance down the Pacific coast, Spain had colonized Alta California. The first expeditions had been by water. But the need of an overland route was keenly felt both as a means of protection and as an economic saving in transpor- tation. From Sonora, Anza had led a party to California in 1774 and another in 1775-76. But the route was far from satisfac- tory. Even if the Colorado desert had proved less formidable there would still have been the desire of opening a direct road between New Mexico and California if that should prove possible. 9 La Sierra de Las Grullas (sometimes written La Grulla) was the name applied to that spur of the Rocky Mountains beginning in the vicinity of Marshall Pass at the northern end of San Luis Valley and running towards the southwest for about one hundred and twenty-five miles to the La Plata Mountains of today thus forming the western boundary of San Luis Valley and serving as the divide between the waters of that valley and those of the Colorado River. For a de- scription of these mountains by Dominguez and Escalante see Doc. para la hist, de Mex., ut supra, p. 407, and passim. 10 Relation del viaje que de or den del Excelentissimo Senor Virrey Marquez de Cruillas hizo El Capitdn de Ingenieros Dn Nicolas de la Fora, en compania del Mariscal de Campo Marqu z de Rubi, Comissionado por Su Magesstad, a la revista de los presidios internos, situados en la frontera de la parte de la America septen- trional perteneciente al Rey. Ms. transcript in Bolton Collection (original in Biblioteca Nacional, Mexico). 450 THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW THE DOMINGUEZ-ESCALANTE EXPEDITION TO THE GREAT BASIN, 1776. For this purpose, coupled with the desire of becoming acquainted with the Indians to the north and northwest and of exploring their country with the view to establishing missions, a company was organized under the leadership of two Franciscan friars Fran- cisco Athanasio Dominguez and Silvestre Velez de Escalante. 11 In addition to the two fathers the party consisted of the following members : Juan Pedro Cisneros, alcalde mayor of the pueblo of Zuni; Bernardo Miera y Pecheco, a retired captain and citizen of Santa Fe; 12 Joaquin Lain, a citizen of Santa Fe; Lorenzo de Olivares of the pueblo El Paso del Norte; the inter- preter and guide Andres Mufiiz of Bernalillo, who had been a mem- ber of the Rivera expedition of 1765; his brother Antonio Lucrecio Muniz of Embudo; Juan de Aguilar of Bernalillo; and Sim6n Luzero, a servant of Cisneros. 13 11 The official title given Dominguez was "Comisario visitador de esta custodia de la conversion de San Pablo del Nuevo Mexico". Very little is known of his previous or later life. Escalarite, whose name really should be written V61ez de Escalante except for the fact that he is so much better known simply as Escalante, was "ministro dodtrinero de la mision cfe Nuestra Sefiora de Guadalupe de Zuni." This position he occupied from 1774 to 1778. His various letters and reports during this period indicate that he was actively interested in opening a road between New Mexico and Alta California. In April, 1778, at the request of Father Morn, he wrote an historical account of New Mexico. Very little is known of his later activities. 12 There is some suggestion that the expedition was actually under the com- mand of Miera y Pacheco. Escalante, writing on the day that the party set out, says that he had recommended Miera as a useful member of the party "no para comandar la expedicion sino para construir un mapa del Terreno que se andu- biesse" (letter to Fr. Ysidro Murillo, in P. Otto, Maas, Viages de misioneros franciscanos a la conquista del Nuevo Mexico, Sevilla, 1915, p. 89.) 13 The chief source of information concerning the expedition is the diary kept by Dominguez and Escalante. Manuscript copies of this dairy can be found in -the Archivo General, Mexico (Bolton, Guide to materials for the history of the United States in the principal archives of Mexico, pp. 28, 39), the Archivo General de Indias, Seville (Chapman, Catalogue of materials in the Archivo General de Indias for the history of the Pacific coast and the American Southwest, p 425), and in the British Museum (Pascual de Gayangos y Arce, Catalogue of the manuscripts in the Spanish language in the British Museum, p. 412). The first printed edition is that published as a part of Documentos para la historia de Mexico (ser. 2, tomo 1, pp. 375-558) Mexico, 1854. Recently P. Otto Maas published a portion of the THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL 451 Leaving Santa Fe July 29, 1776, the company, ten in number, directed its course northwest through the little town of Santa Clara on the Rio del Norte and Abiquiu on the Chama, across Rio Cebolla and Rio Nutrias to the Chama at about the point of the present El Vado. 14 On August 5, they arrived at the Navaj6 River where it turns from the southwest to the northwest about three leagues before it enters the San Juan. Passing on the com- pany camped three leagues below the junction of the two rivers near the present town of Caracas, naming the place NuestraSenora de las Nieves. Continuing to the northwest they crossed Rio Piedra, Rio Los Pinos, Rio Florida, Rio Las Animas, Rio La Plata (also mentioned by the name of San Joaquin), and Rio Mancos (which they also called San Lazaro). On August 12, they arrived at Rio Dolores at the place where it turns from the southwest to the northwest near the present city of Hogg. From here they followed the general downward course of the river but usually at some distance to the west of it. Upon touching it on the 17th, somewhere in the vicinity of Disappoint- ment Creek, they discovered recent signs of Yuta Indians whom, however, they were unable to locate. journal from a manuscript copy in the Archive General de Indias, in his Viages de misioneros franciscanos d la conquista del Nuevo Mexico (Sevilla, 1915), but unfortunately there is only a portion of the return trip included in this publication. Rev. W. R. Harris, in The Catholic Church in Utah (Salt Lake City, 1909), prints a translation of the diary. It is so poorly done, however, that the work is prac- tically worthless. Such mistakes as the following occur frequently : Septentrional is rendered "southern;" ochenta, "eight;" de, "to;" o, "and." Also entire phrases which are essential to the meaning of the context are frequently omitted altogether, and there is a complete confusion as regards directions. 14 Harris concludes that they crossed the Chama river at about the present site of Chama on the Denver and Rio Grande railroad and from there followed the present route of the railroad west. This however, seems improbable from the fact that they reached the Chama after traveling only three leagues from the Nutrias and at a point where the river was said to run to the south and from which point it turned to the east (de oeste). To the west they were told there were two lakes. Stinking Lake is directly west of El Vado and Boulder Lake is about six miles to the north. In going about four leagues to the northwest and north from their crossing they passed an opening in the mountains "in which is another lake." Boulder Lake satisfies this condition if the party crossed the Chama in the vicinity of El Vado (The Ford). 452 THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW An effort was now made to find a road leading to the west but after searching a day and a half nothing was discovered but a trail to the southwest which was seen to be soon obstructed by table-lands and canons. A council was then held in which each member of the party disagreed with each of the others as to the direction that should be taken. With this feeling of uncertainty prevailing, they finally decided to follow the trail to the Yutas and there endeavor to obtain a guide. Leaving the Dolores they pursued a northeasterly course crossing the San Miguel River, which they called Rio San Pedro, 15 and the Uncompahgre Plateau, which they referred to as the Sierra de los Tabehuachis, and finally on the 26th of August, "entered the pleasant valley and river of San Francisco, called by the Yutas the Ancapagari". From about thirty miles from the junction of the Uncompahgre with the Gunnison they descended to within about ten miles of its mouth when they turned north to the Gunnison, which they named San Xavier and which they said the Indians called the Tomichi. Going up the Gunnison and the North Fork of the Gunnison they came to some villages of the Sabuaganas Yutas. Here they met Indians belonging to the Timpanogos, or Lagunas, 16 tribe, "to whose country", the journal significantly states, " we were already intending to go. " 17 Thus far their course had led over territory fairly well known. The interpreter, Andre's Muniz, had been over most of it at least twice before, and probably other members of the party had also been over part of it. But from now on their route was to lead them into territory apparently never before explored by white men. Having secured the services of two Lagunas as guides, the party set out on September 2, intent upon finding the home of the Lagunas. Going generally to the northwest they crossed the Grand and White rivers and, on September 13, arrived at 16 The San Miguel is the first river to be referred to by a different name than that by which it is known today. 16 Also called Timpangotzis, Timpaiavats, etc. 17 "A cuya tierra intentabamos ya pasar". Doc. para la hist, de Mex., se"r. 2, tomo I, p. 411. THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL 453 the banks of Green River (called by them San Buenaventura) near the mouth of Brush Creek a little above the present site of Jensen, Utah. Crossing the river they directed their course to the southwest until they arrived at the junction of the Uinta and Du Chesne rivers. Going up the Du Chesne and Strawberry rivers and crossing the summit they seem to have descended along Diamond Creek and Spanish Fork River to the settlements of the Timpanogos on the eastern shores of Utah Lake, where they arrived September 23, 1776. 18 Of this region its geography, inhabitants, and possibilities of development the padres speak in considerable detail. They mention four rivers which flow into the lake, the first of which, beginning at the south, was named Aguascalientes on account of the hot springs that had been observed while descending it. This was Spanish Fork River, down which the party had just come. The second, three leagues to the north, was named San Nicolas, and corresponds fairly well to Hobble Creek except for the state- ment in the diary that it contains more water than the first one, which is hardly the case. However, they seem to have left the Aguascalientes shortly after it entered the open plain and to have struck the San NicoMs farther down in the valley which would make it appear relatively larger than if compared with the Aguascalientes at the same distance from the mountains. Three and a half leagues farther to the northwest was the third river, containing more water than the other two. This they named San Antonio de Padua. It is clearly the present Provo River. 18 There seems to be considerable disagreement as to the route followed by the party after leaving the summit. Bancroft has them coming down the Provo River which he imagines they called the Purisima. As a matter of fact the river they called the Purisima was on the east of the summit and, according to the diary, runs to the southeast (sueste). The company crossed it on September 21 and then climbed to the summit and, on the 23d, descended a stream running to the southwest which turned to the west as it joined another small stream. Just below the junction of the two were a number of hot springs which suggested the name of Aguascalientes for the river. They continued down the Aguascalientes to the open plain and then northwest six and a half leagues to the Indian villages. These various details and the daily routes traveled and the directions of the rivers seem to indicate that they came down Diamond Creek to its junction with Spanish Fork River and then on down that stream. The Castella Hot Springs just below the mouth of Diamond Creek seem to make this conclusion imperative. 454 THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW To the northwest they could see a fourth river which they were told carried as much water as the others. They named this the Rio de Santa Ana, but did not visit it. It was, evidently, the American Fork River of today. 19 The valleys of these rivers, it was said, contained wide-spreading meadows of rich irrigable land with plenty of water for irriga- tion so that there might be established in the region as many pueblos of Indians as there were in New Mexico. The Indians were said to be good featured. They spoke the Yuta language but with a noticeable variation of accent. They were docile, living principally upon fish, rabbits, wild fowls, seeds, and herbs. They were but poorly clothed; their most decent dress being a shirt or jacket of buckskin with moccasins and leggings of the same material. For cold weather they had blankets made of rabbit skins. Their dwellings were huts made of willow brush. The Spaniards were told of a larger lake of salt water to the north with which this one connected, but they did not visit it. Obviously, this was Great Salt Lake. After spending three days visiting the tribes on the eastern shore of the lake as far north as Provo River, the party resumed its journey towards Monterey. Taking a course south-southwest 19 Bancroft identifies the four rivers flowing into the lake as follows: "Their Aguascalientes", he says, "is Currant Creek; the second, their San Nicolas though more than three leagues from the first, and not corresponding in every other particular, is the Spanish Fork River; the San Antonio de Pudua is the Provo; and the Santa Ana, the River Jordan" (History of Utah, p. 14). But the diary distinctly states that the party entered the valley along the Aguascalientes. How they could have done this if Currant Creek were the Aguascalientes Bancroft does not explain. Furthermore Spanish Fork River is at too great a distance from Currant Creek to be the San Nicolas if Currant Creek be the Aguascalientes and Provo River is too far from the Spanish Fork to be the third if the Spanish Fork be the second. Also looking to the northwest from Provo River the com- pany certainly would have seen the American Fork instead of the Jordan. More- over, they regarded all four as flowing into the lake whereas the Jordan flows out of it. Harris identifies the four rivers as follows: The Aguascalientes, he con- cludes, was the Spanish Fork; the San Nicolas, the Provo; the San Antonio de Padua, the American Fork; and the Santa Ana, the Jordan (The Catholic Church in Utah, p. 248). The objections to this arrangement is the fact that the Provo is at too great a distance from the Spanish Fork, Hobble Creek is ignored, and the Jordan flows in the wrong direction. THE OLD SPANISH TKAIL 455 they arrived on the 29th, unexpectedly, on the banks of the Sevier River, named by them the Santa Isabel. Here they made special note of meeting Indians having extra thick beards "much thicker", they said, "than those of the Lagunas", by which circumstance these Indians were said to be differentiated from all others hitherto known. 20 From the statement that the territory of these bearded Indians began at this Santa Isabel (Sevier) River it is possible to trace more definitely the routes of later expeditions which refer to these Indians as the Bearded Yutas. Crossing the Santa Isabel (Sevier) River near the site of the present town of Mills they traveled south about five leagues and then west until they again reached the Sevier in the vicinity of the present Oasis and Desert. Here they turned to the south- west, taking the course at present followed by the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad through the valley of Beaver River. On October 5, when in the vicinity of the present town of Blackrock, their Laguna guide, whom they had secured before leaving Utah Lake, left them after a quarrel with members of the party. To add to their difficulties, a heavy snow storm set in, which brought very forcibly to their minds the nearness of the approaching winter. Being snowbound and out of provi- sions, on October 8 they recorded: "The winter had now set in with great rigor, and all the mountain ranges that we could see were covered with snow. " They began to realize that long before they could reach Monterey the mountain passes would be closed, and they feared that they would be obliged to remain some two or three months on some mountain where they would be unable to provide themselves with the necessary food to sustain life. Under these conditions it was finally decided to give up the project and return to Santa Fe by way of the Cosnina, Moqui, and Zuni Indians. It was hoped that in this way a better road might be discovered by a more southern route. But without a guide the return trip was no simple matter. Directing their course to the south through Cedar Valley, down Ash Creek, and across the Virgin River they soon reached the 20 Doc. para la hist, de Mex., ser. 2, tomo 1, pp. 473, 476. 456 THE HISPANIC AMEEICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW high tablelands of the canon of the Colorado. For a month they wandered over extremely difficult trails seeking a crossing of the great river. Finally after much tribulation, the river was crossed, November 7, at a point about thirty miles below the mouth of the San Juan just north of the Utah-Arizona line. Concerning the crossing, which has subsequently been known as the Crossing of the Fathers, the record says: The ford of this river is very good; it is a little more than a mile wide at this point and here the Navajo and Dolores come incorporated with all the others that we have mentioned in this diary as flowing into either of them. 21 The effort was now made to find the Cosnina Indian villages, which, however, were discovered to be empty when they were finally reached on November 14 the Indians apparently being away in search of pine-nuts in the adjacent mountains. On the 16th the party arrived at the town of Oraybi, one of the Moqui villages. The Moquis both here and at the towns of Xongopabi, Mossanganabi, and Gualpi were willing to supply the Spaniards with provisions and help them on their way but were not willing to treat with them on other matters, saying that they wished to be friends of the Spaniards but not Christians. Leaving the Moqui towns on November 20, the priests with three companions hurried on to the Zuni settlements leaving the rest of the company to follow more leisurely with the weaker animals. 22 After two or three weeks stay at Zuni they continued their journey, passing through San Esteban de Acoma, San Jose de la Laguna, Alamo, San Agustin de la Isleta, San Francis- co Xavier de Albuquerque, Nuestra Senora de los Dolores de Sandia, Santo Domingo, 23 and, finally, on January 2, 1777, arrived at the city of Santa Fe. So far as opening a road to California was concerned the Dominguez-Escalante expedition was a failure. But by means 21 Id., p. 535. 22 At Zuni the priests forwarded a report of their travels to governor Pedro Fermln de Mendinueta. See Bolton, Guide, p. 37, and Chapman, Catalogue, p. 434. 23 All the stops between Zuni and Santa Fe were referred to as missions except Alamo. THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL 457 of it a large portion of the interior of North America was explored for the first time by white men, the Great Basin was visited and, the Indian tribes about Utah Lake and the Sevier River were made friends of the Spaniards. When at the Timpanogos settlements, Dominguez and Esca- lante had promised to return the following year and establish a mission. Indeed this was given as one of the reasons for not going on to Monterey, as that would delay the establishment of the mission too long. 24 But it seems that the priests were unable to convince the authorities of the necessity of such a move, and so the promise was not fulfilled. No mission was established in the Great Basin, but, as we shall see later, Spaniards from New Mexico continued to visit that region for the purpose of trading with the Indians. ANZA'S EXPEDITION THROUGH THE SAN LUIS VALLEY, 1779. Up to this time travel north from New Mexico and west of the continental divide seems to have taken a northwesterly route around the southern spur of the La Plata Mountains and then northeasterly along the western slope of those mountains to the Gunnison River. 25 So far as is known no white man had passed through the San Luis Valley until Juan Bautista de Anza led an expedition there in 1779. 26 The occasion , for this expedition was Indian disturbances. The Comanches had been especially troublesome for some time. One of their chiefs, Cuerno Verde, (Green Horn) whose father had been killed in an encounter with the Spaniard, had taken it 24 Doc. para la hist, de Mex., se"r. 2, tomo 1, p. 484. 25 East of the continental divide there had been a number of expeditions north from New Mexico previous to this time. In 1706, Juan de Uribarri led a company over the mountains from Taos, and north along the eastern foothills through Jicarilla, thence north and east to El Cuartelejo in what is now southeastern Colorado. In 1719 Valverde, governor of New Mexico, led an expedition over very much the same ground except that he did not go as far east as El Cuartelejo. And in 1720 the fateful Villasur expedition made its way along the eastern foot- hills to about the vicinity of Fort Morgan on the South Platte. 26 Our authority for this expedition is Anza's dairy Ms. in the Archive General de Mexico, Secci6n de Historia, Tomo XXV, no. 36, a copy of which is in the Ban- croft Library (Doc. para la historia de Nuevo Mexico. II. 861-922). 458 THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW upon himself to avenge his father's death. He had led numerous attacks against the Spaniards, " killing hundreds and taking many prisoners who m he afterwards sacrificed in cold blood ". In an effort to quell these disturbances Anza, who had recently been made governor of New Mexico, organized an expedition against the Comanches. In making his attack he says that he selected a different route from that by which all previous expeditions against the Comanches had been made in order that he might not be dis- covered long before reaching the country inhabited by the enemy as had been the case with all former operations against them. With an army of 645 men he set out from Santa Fe on the 15th of August, 1779. Following the Camino Real to the north- west and north, they passed through San Juan, crossed the Rio del Norte, and continued to Ojo Caliente, some seven leagues from their crossing, where the Camino Real ended. Between Ojo Caliente and their next crossing of the Rio del Norte, the diary mentions passing to following six streams: Las Nutrias (Nutritas), San Antonio, Conejos, Las Jaras (La Jara), Los Timbres (Rio Alamosa), and San Lorenzo (Piedra Pintada Creek). While on the Rio del Norte, Anza took occasion to record a few items that throw light on the geographic information of the time. He says: This river, as is known, empties into the North Sea and the Bay of Espiritu Santo. It has its own source fifteen leagues or a little more from this place in the Sierra de la Grulla which is the same one on the skirts of which we have traveled since the 17th . . . , 27 The Yuta nation accompanying me, 28 who reside at the said source, and three civilians who have explored it, tell me that it proceeds from the interior of a great swamp, which is formed, ... by the constant melting of the snow on some mountain peaks that are very near it. The same persons tell me that after crossing fifteen leagues breadth of the land seven rivers come for very short distances, and after uniting 27 For a description of La Sierra de la Grulla (sometimes called La Sierra de las Grullas) see above, note 8. 28 On August 20, while on the Conejos, two hundred Yutas and Apaches had joined the expedition. THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL 459 they form one of considerable size which flows to the west. This river . . . I judge to be the river called Colorado, which, after uniting with the Gila, empties into the Gulf of California, where, among the nations which live on it and with whom I have communicated in my journeys there, I have received information quite circumstantial of the Yuta nation from which I infer that the two are not far distant from each other. 29 Anza further said that the three civilians mentioned above ex- plored the said seven rivers by order of Governor Don Tomas Velez. They were, therefore, probably members of the Rivera party. From the Rio del Norte the company proceeded north through the San Luis Valley, 30 and then crossed the mountains to the head waters of the Arkansas River, where, by coming upon the Comanches from the north Anza was able to surprise and defeat them. The location is still recorded in the name of the Greenhorn (Cuerno Verde) Mountains. He then recrossed the divide 31 and continued south along the foothills to Taos and Santa Fe". 29 Doc. para la Historia de Nuevo Mexico, II. 872. 30 It is difficult to trace the exact route of the expedition through the San Luis Valley. Judging from the course pursued from the time the company crossed the Rio del Norte near San Juan until they reached it again at the point they named El Paso de San Bartolome, the latter place must have been in the vicinity of the present Del Norte. From San Bartolome the journal states that they traveled four leagues to the north and then four to the north-northwest when they arrived at a beautiful lake (cienega) which they named San Luis. If the present San Luis lake is meant the direction traveled must be inaccurate. Fur- thermore, there is no place on the Del Norte from which they could have reached the San Luis Lake after traveling the given distance and directions. There seems to be a mistake in the direction given. San Luis Lake is about due east from where they must have crossed the river. But notwithstanding the confusion at this point, it is perfectly clear that they proceeded north until the mountains on the west (La Grulla) and the ones on the east (Sierra Almagre) approach each other so closely that there is nothing but a canon between them. It was here that the crossing was made to the waters of the Napeste (Arkansas). 31 There is confusion again at this point. The diary states that they reached the arroyo of La Sangre de Cristo on September 3, and that they crossed the divide the following day and at the foot of the mountains arrived at the place of the lake (al sitio de la cienega). It seems that they must have called one of the tributaries of Hue>fano River the arroyo of La Sangre de Cristo and that they must have crossed the mountains by either the Sand Hill or Mosca Pass and not by the Sangre de Cristo Pass as would naturally be supposed from reading the diary. 460 THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW This was the last official expedition north or northwest of New Mexico during the period in which Spain held control of which we have any record. The reason for this apparent lack of interest in the region may not be difficult to understand when one looks at the activities of Spain as a whole. The strained European condi- tions, the war with England which directed attention to the Mississippi valley and the Atlantic coast, and the increasing demand for protection of California and the Pacific northwest gave little time for further exploration of the Rocky Mountain region. The fact, also, that no important pueblos had been found tended to cool the ardor for governmental activity. CONTINUED ACTIVITY OF INDIAN TRADERS IN THE GREAT BASIN But the Indian trader usually knew or cared little about inter- national affairs. Nor was he dismayed by not finding Indian pueblos. He was frequently of that type of individual who cared little for settled life and was just as much at home with a tribe of roving Indians as in the more highly civilized pueblos. To him the Yutas along the tributaries of the Colorado and in the Great Basin offered opportunities for both a life and living which were highly suitable to his inclinations. As we have already seen, at least as early as the time of Domlnguez and Escalante traders were in the habit of visiting the Yutas and staying with them for months at a time for the purpose of gathering peltries. That these activities continued there can be but little doubt, although, for the next twenty-five years or so we have slender data on which to make any very definite statements At the end of that time, however, there are a few documents which enable us to pick up the thread again. On September 1, 1805, Joaquin de Real Alencaster who had but recently become governor of New Mexico, in writing to the com- mandant-general on the merits of a Yuta interpreter says : " Manuel Mestas, a Genizaro, seventy years old who, for approxi- mately fifty years has served as Yuta interpreter, was the one who reduced them to peace," and further in recounting Mestas 's virtues Alencaster says : THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL 461 In the short time that I have governed this province, he has recovered from the aforesaid heathen eight horses which he himself searched for and brought back. In the month of July he went back to the country of the aforesaid people and not only succeeded in bringing back eleven mules and horses, but, according to the report of other Yutas, called Jimpipas, shortly started out on a trip of about a month's duration for the purpose of retaking, not only the aforesaid eleven animals, but also twenty mules and eight horses, which among other things, had been stolen from men of this province last year in the country of the said Jimpipas, by Cumanches, and were retaken by the Yutas Timpanagos during a war with the aforesaid Cumanches. It seems from this that Mestas had set out for the land of the Timpanogos for the purpose of recovering the animal stolen from the Spaniards by the Comanches and retaken by the Timpano- gos. 32 On November 20, 1805, Alencaster again wrote to the com- mandant-general informing him that Mestas had returned without recovering more than nine animals, since the pack mules of which he went in search, as a result of the cruel war which the Caiguas (Kiowas) were waging against the Yutas Timpanagos, in an attack, had been captured by the Caiguas. 33 These communications suggest more or less continual inter- course between the Spaniards of New Mexico and the Yutas, some of which seems to have been carried as far as the Tim- panogos, that is, to the Utah Lake region of today. THE ARZE EXPEDITION TO RIO SEBERO (SEVIER RIVER), 1813 Recently I have discovered a document in the Spanish Archives of New Mexico, now located in the Library of Congress, which throws new light upon the activities of the period. It gives an account of a trading expedition to the Timpanogos and the 32 Alencaster to Commandant-General Saloedo, September 1, 1805 (Ms. Spanish Archives of New Mex., Library of Congress; photographic copy in Ban- croft Library; c/., Twitchell, Spanish Archives of New Mexico, II. 478 no. 1881). 33 Alencaster to Commandant-general Salcedo, November 20, 1805. (Ms. Spanish Archives of New Mex., Lib. of Congress; photographic copy in Bancroft Library; c/., Twitchell, Spanish Archives of New Mexico, II. 487 (no. 1925). 462 THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW Bearded Yutas west of the Sevier River in the year 1813. The company consisted of seven men under the command of Mauricio Arze and Lagos Garcia. They left Abiquiu on the sixteenth of March, 1813, and returned to that place after a trip of some four months, on the twelfth of July. On the first of September, the governor of New Mexico, having received information regard- ing the affair ordered the members of the party to appear before Manuel Garcia as alcalde of the " Villa de Santa Cruz de la Canada" and report what had taken place on the trip. Be- tween the sixth and tenth of the month affidavits were sworn to by the following five members of the party: Miguel Tenorio, Felipe G6mez, Josef Santiago Vejil, (Vigil), Gabriel Quintana, and Josef Velasquez. 34 In the main these affidavits duplicate each other, with only here and there a unique detail. None of the accounts give any particulars as to the route followed between Abiquiu and the lake of the Timpanogos, possibly because that route was so well known that nothing needed to be said. The company remained at the lake of the Timpanogos three days carrying on a little trade while waiting for the Indians of two rancherias to come together. When all were assembled a council was held, but, if we may rely upon the statements of the Spaniards in their affidavits, the Indians would trade nothing but Indian slaves, "as they had done on other occasions", 35 the documents add. This the Spaniards refused to do. Whereupon some of the Indians fell upon the horses of the Spaniards and began killing them. Before they could be stopped eight horses and a mule had been killed, when one of the chiefs succeeded in quieting his people and stopping the slaughter. Warned by this injury the Spaniards collected their remaining horses and, after standing guard over them all night, set out on the following day for Rio Sebero (Sevier River). Here they met a Yuta of the Sanpuchi (Sanpete) nation who promised to take them to a place where they could trade with a 34 The document has no title, but is listed by Twitchell as number 2511 in his Spanish Archives of New Mexico, II. 577. A photographic copy is in the Bancroft Library. 35 "Como lo abian verificado en otras ocasiones." THE OLD SPANISH TKAIL 463 tribe of Yutas as yet unknown to them. Two of the company, Felipe G6mez and Gabriel Quintana, were left in charge of the pack train while the other five, guided by the Sanpuchi, set out to the west. After traveling three days they came upon a tribe of Indians who were characterized as having heavy beards, clearly the bearded Indians of the Dominguez-Escalante journal, whose territory we -are there told began at the Rio Santa Isabel (the Sevier of today). 36 Dominguez and Escalante had found these Indians very gentle and affable, but now they met the Spaniards with u their arms in their hands, saying their trade would be arrows". They were finally quieted, however, and arrangements were made to trade on the following day. But in the evening the Spaniards over- heard the Indians discussing a plan by which they proposed to kill their visitors. Taking advantage of this information the Spaniard stole away travelling stealthily all night and day until they reached the place where their companions and pack train were. Thence they took the road to the Rio Grande, (Colorado) 37 on which they found the little rancheria of Guasache, who was waiting on the road to trade with them as was. his custom. At the rancherfa of Guasache the party met with the same sort of treatment that they had received on the other portions of their trip. At first they were treated kindly but when they re- fused to trade for the Indian slaves offered them, the Indians took offense. This time, however, the commandant, having been informed of the extremity of the resentment of the Indians, called his men together and gave them permission to purchase the slaves, "in order," as the affidavits state "not to receive another injury like the past one." As a result of this decision, twelve slaves were bought, after which the Spaniards continued their journey with no other incident worthy of note except the loss of a mule and a horse by drowning in crossing the Rio Grande (Colorado). 36 Doc. para la hist, de Mex., 2 se>. I. 473, 476. 37 The Rio Grande here, and usually during this period, refers to the Colorado, not the Rio Grande del Norte. 464 THE HISPANIC AMEKICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW Besides the slaves mentioned above, the Spaniards collected on their trip a total of one hundred and nine skins. This, however, was stated to be "but a few". None of the statements tell what kind they were. That the country over which the company had traveled was fairly well known seems to be implied from the fact that nothing to the contrary is stated and that no difficulties regarding the route are mentioned. The only place where they speak of having had a guide was from the Rio Sebero to the Bearded Indians. These, it was stated, were unknown to the traders which seems to imply that the traders were at least somewhat acquainted with the others whom they visited. AMERICAN TRADERS WITH THE SPANIARDS ON THE COLORADO 38 By 1824, Americans from Missouri were trapping and trading with the Indians in the mountains along the tributaries of the Colorado and Green rivers, and it is frequently supposed that the Spaniards had given way to the more aggressive traders from the United States. This is hardly a correct statement of the case, however. While it is true that American traders built up an ex- tensive industry on the waters of the Colorado with Santa Fe as a supply base and that they continued active in that region and from there to California for the next twenty years or more, it is also true that Spaniards from New Mexico carried on an important trade with the Indians of the same region all during that period. THE ARMIJO EXPEDITION TO CALIFORNIA, 1829 One of the factors of prime importance in the opening of the trails to the far west at this time was the Missouri-Santa F6 trade and its demand for mules. California had great numbers of mules which were noted for their size and quality. This led to the organization of numerous expeditions to that country in 38 A suggestive article on the activities of the Americans in this region was published by Dr. T. M. Marshall in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly for January, 1916 (XIX, 251-260.) THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL 465 the effort to supply the demand of the Missouri traders. Perhaps the first of these expeditions was the one led by Antonio Armijo. In the fall and winter of 1829- '30, a company of some sixty Mexican traders under the command of Antonio Armijo succeeded, in opening a road from New Mexico to California by a route north of the Grand Canon of the Colorado. The expedition set out from Abiquiu on November 7, 1829, and arrived at the mission of San Gabriel on January 31, 1830. After a month spent in California the return journey was begun March 1st and completed April 25 when the party reached Jemez, New Mexico. 39 Armijo, instead of following the Rivera and Dominguez-Esca- lante trail (the "Old Spanish Trail") northwest to the Navaj6, Dolores and Gunnison rivers took a more southerly route west from Abiquiu to Canon Largo and down that stream to its junc- tion with the San Juan. Crossing the San Juan he proceeded down the valley (a few miles to the north of the river) across Las Animas and La Plata rivers and as far as the Mancos, which he descended to its junction with the San Juan. Here he re- crossed the San Juan and directed his course to the west across Rfo de Chelly to the Colorado which he crossed on the eighth of December at the "Ford of the Fathers", apparently the one used by Dominguez and Escalante on their return from the Great Basin in 1776. Here the party turned to the north and on the twentieth reached "Rio Severo". For the next ten days they seem to have directed their course, in a general way, down the Sevier River to its outlet in SevierLake which their itinerary men- tions on December 29. On the first of January they reached what they supposed to be the Rio Grande (Colorado) but which prob- ably was the Virgin River. Here an item of more than ordinary interest occurred. Upon the return of the scouting party which had been out reconnoiter- ing it was learned that one, Rafael Rivera, was missing. Several days were spent h> search for him as the party moved down the 39 Antonio Armijo, Itineraire du Nord-Mexico a la Haute-California, parcouru en 1829 et 1830 par soixante Mexicains. (Bulletin de la societe de geographic, Paris, 1835, ser. 2, III. 316-323). This was first published in Spanish in the Registro oficial del gobierno de los Estados-Unidos mexicanos (Mexico, 1830). 466 THE HISPANIC AMEEICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW river, but without success. On January 7 he came into camp with the report that "he had examined the ford where he had crossed the Rio Grande the .preceeding year in going to Sonora }> . It would seem, therefore, that he had just made the trip from California to New Mexico by way of Sonora, but of his expedi- tion we have no other information. Nor is it stated what influence he had in directing the course of the present expedi- tion. The fact, however, that he was acting as one of the scouting party suggests that possibly he was more than just an ordinary member. The day following Rivera 's return was spent in reconnoiter- ing after which the party set out to the west across the Mohave Desert and along the Mohave River to the San Bernardino Mountains which they crossed through the "San Bernardino Canon" (Cajon Pass) on the twenty-eighth of January. Three days later they arrived at the San Gabriel Mission. Of their return journey, which was made in a month less time than the outgoing trip, nothing is known except that it began on the first of March and ended at Jmez, New Mexico, on the twenty-fifth of April. The expedition, as has been intimated, had been made for the purpose of trading New Mexican products for California mules. What the outcome was, is not stated but the inference is that it was fairly successful. It at least made clear the possibility of direct overland communication between the two provinces, each of which contained commodities such as to stimulate trade. AMERICANS OPEN ROAD TO CALIFORNIA ALONG SO-CALLED OLD SPANISH TRAIL, 1829 American traders soon followed the example of Armijo. In fact one company, led by Ewing Young of Tennessee, seems to have made the trip at about the same time that Armijo did. But we have no contemporary account of this expedition. J. J. Warner, writing some forty or fifty years later, says: In 1829 Ewing Young of Tennessee, who had traded in New Mexico, and had also trapped beaver in the northern part of that territory, THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL 467 fitted out a trapping party at Taos, traveled westerly to the tributaries of Grande River, and down that river and across Green River, entering California upon the Jedediah S. Smith trail. In the valley he found Ogden with his large party of trappers from Fort Vancouver. After spending some little time on the streams emptying into Tulare Valley lakes and upon the San Joaquin River and its affluents, he came into the settlements of California with his party. 40 Bancroft Library After remaining a few days at Los Angeles he returned to New Mexico reaching Taos in the summer of 1830. From this account of the expedition it appears that Young led his party over the trail which later became known as the "Old Spanish trail . to California' 7 . As already stated, this is evidently a misnomer. There was no old Spanish trail to California, through this region. Apparently the first expe- ditions to make their way from New Mexico to California by routes north of the Grand Qafion of the Colorado were made, as we have seen, in the fall and winter of 1829-1830, when the region was Mexican rather than Spanish territory. Even then, of the two expeditions making the trip at that time only one could be said to be really Mexican. The other was led by an American from Tennessee and, while it contained a number of native New Mexicans, it was perhaps more American than Mexican. Of these two companies it was the American com- pany that made its way over the so-called "Old Spanish Trail". The Mexican party went somewhat to the south of that trail. The confusion of names seems to have arisen from the fact that expeditions from New Mexico to California in the second quarter of the nineteenth century usually traveled to the vicinity 40 Reminiscence of Early California, in Hist. Soc. of Southern Gal., Annual publications, 1907-1908 (Los Angeles 1909), p. 184. See also An historical sketch of Los Angeles county, California (1876), by J. J. Warner, Benj. Hayes, and J. P. Widney. Here (p. 18) Warner says: "In 1828-1829 Ewing Young, of Tennessee, who had for some seasons been engaged in trapping beaver in the north of New Mexico, made a hunt in the Tulare Valley and on the waters of the San Joaquin." . . . If his statement, however, in his Reminiscences, namely, that he met Ogden in the San Joaquin Valley, be correct, his expedition must have been made in the fall and winter of 1829-1830 instead of 1828-1829, since the published journal of Ogden for 1828-1829 shows clearly that Ogden was not in the San Joaquin Valley that season. Cf. Oregon Historical Society, Quarterly, XI. 381-396 (1909). 468 THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW of the Colorado along the trail that had been used by the Span- iards since the time of Rivera (1765) in their trade with the Yutas in the Great Basin, and which had thus become known as the Old Spanish Trail. But the Old Spanish Trail, properly so- called, extended only to the Indians of the Great Basin and not to California. Upon the return of Ewing Young to New Mexico in 1830, he and William Wolfskill, a native of Kentucky but coming to New Mexico from Missouri, fitted out another party at Taos for the purpose of trapping on the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers from which Young had but recently returned. According to Warner, 41 they followed a westerly course from Taos to the headwaters of the San Juan River, which they descended a short distance and then, turning more northerly, they fell upon the tributaries of Grand River, which they followed until it turned nearly south. Here they left it and traveled westerly to Green River which they crossed and followed down to its junction with the Grand, where it takes the name of Colorado. Continuing down the Colorado fifty miles or more and finding that it ran into a canon and was so walled in as to be unapproachable, they left the neighborhood of the river and took a westerly course to the Sevier, from which their route led southwest toward California. But becoming entangled in the irregular mountains, enveloped in snow, and suffering from cold and scarcity of food, the company composed of various discordant elements New Mexicans, Ameri- cans, St. Louis Frenchmen, and Canadians became demoralized and disorganized and was forced to abandon its route for one farther to the south. They finally crossed the mountains through the Cajon Pass and reached the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Febru- ary, 1831. Some of the New Mexicans had taken a number of woolen blankets with them for the purpose of trading with the Indians, but which they now found they could dispose of to a very good advantage to the Calif ornians in exchange for mules. "The appearance of these mules in New Mexico", says Warner, "owing to their large size, compared with those at that time used in the 41 Reminiscences of Early California, p. 185. THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL 469 Missouri and Santa F trade, and their very fine form, as well as the price at which they had been bought in barter for blankets, caused quite a sensation in New Mexico, out of which sprang up a trade, carried on by means of caravans of pack animals, between the two sections of the same country, which flourished for some ten or twelve years. These caravans reached California yearly during the before mentioned time. They brought the woolen fabrics of New Mexico, and carried back mules, and silk and other Chinese goods." Los Angeles was the central point in California of the New Mexican trade. Coming by the northern or Green and Virgin River routes, the caravans came through Cajon Pass and reached Los Angeles. From thence they scattered themselves over the county from San Diego to San Jose, and across the bay to Sonoma and San Rafael. Having bartered and disposed of the goods brought, and procured such as they wished to carry back, and what mules they could drive, they con- centrated at Los Angeles for their yearly return. 42 Warner seems not to have known of the Armijo expedition of 1829-30 but gives Young and Wolf skill the entire credit for inaugurating the growing trade between California and New Mexico. This may have been because Warner, at the time, was at Taos, and the expeditions to which he refers left that section, whereas Armijo left Abiquiii. The movement, however, was more or less general and was the outgrowth of the Missouri trade with New Mexico. The task undertaken by Dominguez and Escalante some fifty years before had at last been accomplished. Direct communica- tion between New Mexico and California had been established by way of the Great Basin. CONTINUED ACTIVITY OF THE MEXICANS AMONG THE YUTAS OF THE GREAT BASIN. For the next twenty years Santa F6 was a recognized supply base for the Rocky Mountain fur trade. Enterprising Americans like Robidoux carried on an extensive commerce along the trib- 42 An historical sketch of Los Angeles County, p. 18. 470 THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW utaries of the Colorado and Green Rivers, transporting a large portion of their furs to Santa Fe where they procured their out- fits and supplies. Miles M. Goodyear, in 1841, is supposed to have obtained a Mexican grant for the region now known as Ogden and to have stocked it as a rancho with sheep, goats, cattle, and horses from Mexico. But not all of the trade fell into the hands of Americans. Even after the Mormons estab- lished themselves in the Great Salt Lake Valley companies of Mexican traders continued to frequent that region. Friction between these parties and the Mormon authorities is responsible for a number of documents throwing light on the activities of the Mexican traders of the period. Some of these may be here noted. In the preamble of a law "for the further relief of Indian slaves and prisoners", passed by the Utah legislature January 31, 1852, 43 it was stated that From time immemorial, the practice of purchasing Indian women and children, of the Utah tribe of Indians by Mexican traders, has been indulged in, and carried on by those respective people, until the In- dians consider it an allowable traffic, and frequently offer their prisoners or children for sale; .... A little over a year later, under date of April 23, 1853, Brigham Young, as governor of Utah, saw fit to issue the following procla- mation : 44 Whereas it is made known to me by reliable information, from affida- vits, and various other sources, that there is in this Territory a horde of Mexicans, or outlandish men, who are infesting the settlements, stirring up the Indians to make aggressions upon the inhabitants, and who are also furnishing the Indians with guns, ammunition, etc., contrary to the laws of this Territory and the laws of the United States : 43 Utah, Laws , statutes, etc., Acts, resolutions and memorials (Great Salt Lake City, 1855), p. 171. 44 This proclamation appeared in the Deseret News of April 30, 1853, (see Ban- croft, History of Utah, p. 476) and from that was translated and published in an extended editorial, by La Crdnica de Nueva-York from which it was copied by El Siglo Diez y Nueve (Mexico) , in its issue of July 16, 1853. It is reproduced in O. F. Whitney, Hist, of Utah (Salt Lake City, 1892), I. 512. On July 20, 1853, El Siglo Diez y Nueve devoted its entire front page to the subject in opposition to the action taken by the Governor of Utah. THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL 471 And whereas it is evident that it is the intention of these Mexicans or foreigners to break the laws of this Territory and the United States, utterly regardless of every restriction, furnishing Indians with guns and powder, whenever and wherever it suits their designs, convenience, or purposes: Therefore, I, Brigham Young, Governor and Superintendent of In- dian affairs for the Territory of Utah, in order to preserve peace, quell the Indians and secure the lives and property of the citizens of the Ter- ritory, hereby order and direct as follows: 1st. That a small detachment consisting of thirty men, under the charge of Captain Wall, proceed south through the entire extent of the settlements reconnoitering the country and directing the inhabit- ants to be on their guard against any sudden surprise. 3rd. The officer and party hereby sent upon this service are hereby authorized and directed to arrest and keep in close custody every strolling Mexican party, and those associating with them . . . and leave them safely guarded at the different points of settlement to await further orders . . . 5th. All Mexicans now in the Territory are required to remain quiet in the settlements and not attempt to leave under any consideration, until further advised; and the officers of the Territory are hereby directed to keep them in safe custody, treating them with kindness and supplying their necessary wants SLAVE BUYING EXPEDITION TO THE GREAT BASIN LED BY PEDRO LE6N, 1851 A single specific case will serve to illustrate the practice which seems, from the documents quoted, to have been a rather common custom. On November 15, 1851, the Deseret News called atten- tion to the fact that one Pedro Le6n and a party of about twenty Mexicans were at Manti in Sanpete valley for the purpose of trading horses for Indian children and that he had a license dated Santa Fe* August 14, 1851, and signed by Governor James S. Calhoun. 45 Le6n and seven of his companions were arrested and tried before the Justice of the Peace at Manti during the 46 Bancroft, Hist of Utah, p. 475. Whitney, Hist of Utah, I. 508-510. 472 THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW winter of 1851-52. The case later came before Zerubbabel Snow as judge of the First District court. In summing up the case, Snow made the following statement : In September last, twenty-eight Spaniards left New Mexico on a trading expedition with the Utah Indians, in their various localities in New Mexico and Utah. Twenty-one of the twenty-eight were sever- ally interested in the expedition. The residue were servants. Among this company were the Spaniards against whom these suits were brought. Before they left, Pedro Leon obtained a license from the governor of New Mexico to trade on his own account with the Utah Indians, in all their various localities. Another member of the company also had a license given to blank persons by the Governor of New Mexico. The residue were without license. They proceeded on their route until they arrived near the Rio Grande, where they exchanged with the Indians some goods for horses and mules. With these horses and mules, being something more than one hundred, they proceeded to Green River, in this Territory, where they sent some five or six of their leading men to see Governor Young, and exhibit to him their license; and as the Spanish witness said if that was not good here, then to get from him another license. Governor Young not being at home, but gone south, they proceeded after and found him November 3rd at Sanpete Valley. Here they exhibited to the Governor their license, and in- formed him they wished to sell their horses and mules to the Utah In- dians, and buy Indian children to be taken to New Mexico. Governor Young then informed them that their licence did not authorize them to trade with the Indians in Utah. They then sought one from him, but he refused to give it, for the reason that they wanted to buy In- dian children for slaves. The Spaniards then promised him they would not trade with the Indians but go immediately home. Twenty of the number, with about three-fourths of the horses and mules, left pursuant to this promise and have not been heard from since. The eight who were left behind are the men who are parties to these proceedings. 48 Snow decided against the eight defendants, and the Indian slaves in their possession were liberated and the Mexicans sent away. 46 Whitney, Hist, of Utah, I. 510-511. THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL 473 SPANIARDS ON SPOKANE RIVER New Mexicans, of course, were, at this time, United States citizens, but that they were regarded still as Mexicans in language and sentiment not only by the Mormons but by them- selves and United States government agents is indicated by an incident narrated by Lieutenant R. Saxton in his " Report of the Route from the Columbia Valley to Fort Owen and thence to Fort Benton", in 1853. When in the vicinity of Spokane River in the northeastern part of the present state of Washington, Sax- ton found the Indians suspicious and almost inclined to be hos- tile.. As an explanation he recorded in his journal under date of August 2, 1853: The Indians told me that a Spaniard had been along a few days be- fore, and told them that a large body of American soldiers were coming to cut them off and take possession of their homes. 47 It is not stated that this Spaniard was from New Mexico, but it may, perhaps, be safely presumed that such was the case. Incidentally, this indicates the extent to which activity of Mexi- can traders was carried as late as the middle of the nineteenth century. JOSEPH J. HILL. Bancroft Library, University of California. 47 U. S. Engineer dept., Reports of explorations and surveys to ascertain the most practical and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. I. 256 (U. S. 33d cong., 2d sess , Senate, Ex. doc. 78).