Pageant in the Wilderness: Miera's Report to the King of Spain

Utah Historical Quarterly

Vol. XVIII, 1950, Nos. 1-4

PAGEANT IN THE WILDERNESS - The Story of the Escalante Expedition to the Interior Basin, 1776

MIERA'S REPORT TO THE KING OF SPAIN October 26, 1777

Sacred Royal Catholic Majesty My Lord:

Because within me there burns a desire to spread our Holy Faith and to serve Your Majesty, the force of my loyal and sincere affection moves me to give you herewith a brief report, guiding myself by the experiences of many years, and by the services which I have rendered Your Majesty and which are on record in the archives of the viceroys of New Spain, during the time of the rule of the Conde de Revilla Gigedo and the Marques de las Amarillas; and finally, by the one I have just finished rendering Your Majesty, with such risk of my life, in company with the Franciscan Fathers, Fray Atanasio Dominguez, visitor and custodian, and Fray Silvestre Velez de Escalante. Indeed we were twelve persons in all [obviously an error for they add up to only ten], traveling over vast areas and through various tribes which are named in the Diary and Itinerary written by those Fathers, and shown on the map drawn by me and enclosed with the diary that we are sending to Your Majesty by order of Don Pedro Fermin de Mendinueta, Governor of New Mexico.

From that province we set out to the northwest and went inland as far as the forty-second degree of latitude, intending to reach the Port of Monterrey on our return by the circle we were making, but, to the great sorrow of my heart, we failed to reach it for the reasons that are set forth in the Diary.

It is certain, My Lord, that many tribes desire the water of baptism, especially the Timpanogos and the Barbones [Long Beards] of Valle Salado and Laguna de Miera, for those people, with tears in their eyes, manifested their ardent desire to become Christians. But in order to succeed in bringing about the salvation of these souls, some difficulties will have to be overcome, namely the great distance, and the obstacle imposed by the Apache nation, the one which at present ravages these provinces. But, by the will of God, the power of Your Majesty, and the righteous desires and deeds of your loyal ministers, all these difficulties will be overcome.

The basic and principal means of achieving the desired result is the strengthening of the port of Monterrey by two or three additional settlements in this vicinity, bringing the colonists by sea from the coast of Nueva Galicia, together with all the things necessary for a good pueblo. And, assuming that it is the intention of Your Majesty to facilitate the transit and communication between the two provinces of Sonora and New Mexico and the ports which are now established and in the future may be established on the coast of California, it will be necessary to provide those towns with large and small stock [cattle, sheep, and goats], and with horses to serve as mounts for the soldiers of the presidios. The animals will have to be brought by land as quickly as possible, and it can be done by way of the Pimeria Alta or of New Mexico.

Ever since the time of the first discoverer and colonizer of New Spain, Don Fernando Cortes, and of the subsequent viceroys who have governed it, efforts have been made to explore that coast of California, both by land and sea, but they have never been successful until the time of Your Majesty. What is worth much costs much. Expenses will be incurred that must be paid from the royal treasury, but your Catholic Majesty will not be deterred by them, for always your royal aim and intention is the conversion of souls.

With three presidios, together with three settlements of Spaniards, the door will be open to a New Empire which may be explored and colonized. The chief one, and the one that should be the first objective, should be on the shores of the lake of the Timpanogos, on one of the rivers that flow into it, for this is the most pleasing, beautiful, and fertile site in all New Spain. It alone is capable of maintaining a settlement with as many people as Mexico City, and of affording its inhabitants many conveniences, for it has everything necessary for the support of human life. This lake and the rivers that flow into it abound in many varieties of savory fish, very large white geese, many kinds of ducks, and other exquisite birds never seen elsewhere, besides beavers, otters, seals, and some strange animals which are or appear to be ermines, judging by the softness and whiteness of their furs. The meadows of these rivers produce abundant hemp and flax without cultivation. The sierra or mountains toward the east are likewise very fertile, having many rivers and springs, good pastures for raising all kinds of cattle and horses, timber, including royal and other pines, and lands for the planting of all kinds of grain in their valleys. The veins that are seen in the sierra appear at a distance to have minerals, and to the south of this sierra there are some hills of very fine mineral salt.

The river which the inhabitants say flows from the lake, and whose current runs toward the west, they say is very large and navigable. And if it is as they say, I conjecture that it is the Rio del Tizon discovered long ago by Don Juan de Ofiate, first colonizer of New Mexico. And it is said that from this river he turned back because he was not able to cross it on account of its great width and depth, after having traveled three hundred leagues northwest from the Villa de San Gabriel de Yunqui, which was the first settlement founded by him (and is the one now called Chama). They told him that on the other side of the river there were large settlements in which lived civilized Indians.

The presidio could be placed in this Valle de Timpanogos (which is more than thirty leagues long from north to south and twelve leagues wide), for the protection of the missions of Indians whom they may convert, together with a settlement of a hundred families of Spaniards. And if among those who may go, there should be persons of all trades, and two skilled mechanics who know how to build barks and launches for sailing on this lake, and to transport whatever might present itself, they would serve also for fishing and for exploring its full extent, for visiting the tribes who live around it, and for learning whether or not the river mentioned is navigable and what tribes live on the other side of it. Thus, in a short time a very beautiful province would be formed, and it would serve to promote and supply the nearest ports of the coast of California.

The second presidio and the settlement of families attached to it also are very desirable, and should be founded at the junction of the river of Nabajoo with that of Las Animas, along the beautiful and extensive meadows which its margins provide for raising crops, together with the convenience of the timber, firewood, and pastures which they offer. There still remain in those meadows vestiges of irrigation ditches, ruins of many large and ancient settlements of Indians, and furnaces where apparently they smelted metals.

The region below these sites, from the place where the river is joined by the Rio de los Zaguaganas, now called Rio Colorado, is made uninhabitable because the river runs through a tremendous canyon between very high and steep red cliffs. Indeed not even the heathen live on this river for a distance of more than five leagues on either side, because of its extreme sterility, the terrain being rough and broken, and the canyon extending downstream through all the country of the Cosninas as far as the Jamajabas, Galchidunes, and Yumas. This presidio would serve as a way station for communication between New Mexico and the new establishments on the coast of Monterrey, and likewise for giving aid to the missions of the Cosninas, who for many years have clamored to receive our Holy Faith, and as a site to which to transplant the pueblos of Moqui, who rebelled and martyred their missionaries in the general uprising of the year [16] 80.

These Moquis, for many reasons (which I shall not set forth, in order not to make this narrative too long), should be brought down by force from their cliffs. I will say only that even though they do not make war, they are obnoxious to New Mexico, for they serve as an asylum for many apostates from the Christian pueblos of that province. On the other hand, they are Indians who are very highly civilized, much given to labor, and not addicted to idleness. For this reason, although they live in that sterile region, they lack nothing in the way of food and clothing, and their houses are built of stone and mortar and are two or three storeys high. They raise cattle, sheep, goats, and horses, and weave good fabrics of wool and cotton. They live on the tops of three high and steep mesas in six separate pueblos. But they would come down from them without the shedding of blood, with only the threat of a siege of the principal cliffs of Oraibe and Gualpi by a company of soldiers stationed at the waterholes which they have at the foot of the cliffs, and in less than a week they would surrender and be ready to do whatever might be required of them. If these six pueblos were established in the immediate vicinity of the mentioned settlement and presidio [on the Navajo River] within a few years there would be in that place a rich and strong province, adjoining New Mexico and expanding toward these new establishments [on Lake Timpanogos],

The third presidio is likewise very desirable, and it is most necessary that it also be built strong enough, and provided with both soldiers and settlers. And if it were placed at the junction of the Jila River with the Colorado, or in that vicinity, which offers conveniences for its firm establishment, it would be useful in many ways. It would serve as a way station on the road from Sonora; for communication with the above-mentioned establishments; to protect and aid the converted tribes in its vicinity; and to check the ravages of the hostile Jila Apaches who live toward the east. It would serve also to give assistance to the above-named presidio northeast of it and between it and New Mexico, thus facilitating communication with all parts.

If the establishment of these three presidios with their adjacent settlements is carried out, much benefit may result through the spread of our Holy Faith and the extension of the dominions of Your Majesty. The Divine Majesty would reward you in every way, disclosing superabundant riches to compensate for the costs to your royal treasury, and increasing the stability of your Empire. These three presidios would be three firm columns to strengthen by land the coast of California, which is the object that should be kept in mind, for the three provinces that might be founded would expand with all vigor and reach as far as that coast.

For the more complete success of these objectives it is necessary to make every effort to remove the very great obstacle of the hostile Jila Apaches, who intervene between the three provinces of New Mexico, Sonora, and Nueva Vizcaya; to establish settlements and reap the profits from the mines which are in their mountains, ridding them of the Jila Apaches, and driving the latter toward the east and to the Buffalo Plains, where are found the two most obnoxious tribes, the Cumanches and Apaches, who by their fighting would soon destroy each other.

For this purpose, and for the achievement of the greatest success, it is my idea, My Lord, to apply the remedy where the danger arises. The fact is that from the province of Jila which, as I have said, is a pocket intervening between these three provinces, these Apaches sally forth to ravage them, with damage to life and property that becomes worse and worse every day. For so fierce are these attacks and so great the consternation they cause, that the majority of the haciendas, Spanish settlements, and the pueblos of Christian Indians on those frontiers have been ruined and abandoned and all mining stopped, thus reducing the royal income and multiplying the cost for troops, without providing any remedy.

The presidios being placed in a line, the Indians go in and out between them to perpetrate their thieveries, making it necessary to conduct a campaign every year, from which the Indians suffer very little damage. They hide their stolen goods and their families in the mountains, and the soldiers, since most of them are cavalrymen, are not able to operate nor to succeed in punishing them, but can only cross their plains and valleys, returning without achieving their purpose, while behind them the enemies follow proudly and haughtily, and succeed in whatever ravages they undertake.

From this province of Jila, I repeat, comes the greatest damage, and the greatest obstacle to success in the conversion and the colonization desired. So I say, My Lord, that here the remedy should be applied, for from here comes the injury. So, for the purpose in view, and for success in everything, the remedy is to place in the center of the province [of Jila] three strong settlements with a sufficient force of mounted and leather-jacket soldiers, who by continuous war may succeed in dislodging the enemy from that province, the troops and leather-jackets from the presidios serving to protect and transport the supplies.

Of the places most suitable in which to establish them, and from which to make the war a continuous campaign, the first is on the Jila River in a valley at the exit of the canyon called San Pedro de Alcantara, from which the river flows; the second is on the Rio de Mimbres near the Sierra de Cobre Virgen, and the third is on the Rio del Norte opposite the place called San Pasqual. For this purpose the expense which would be added to the royal treasury would be in the establishment of families to settle in those places; in equipping three companies of militia of one hundred men each from the eight which are listed in New Mexico and its jurisdiction of El Paso; and in instructing them in the service of mounted infantry, with no other arms or impedimenta than a musket and a bayonet, two horses and one pack mule, and their salary of six and one-half reales daily as long as the war might last. Such would be the added cost of relieving the province of these enemies. And assuming that there should be four flying companies of leather-jackets and two pickets of dragoons, in addition to the presidios of the line, one of these companies with the pickets of dragoons might be trained by the same method as the mounted infantry so that they could continually aid in this service. From the Presidio of El Carrizal as far as El Altar, which make nine counting that of Buena Vista, twenty men might be detached from each one, and they could be alternated continually in the front ranks, to carry on the war in order to protect the settlements and to convoy supplies and other necessities.

After this province of Jila has been cleared of enemies the half line of presidios, which are the ones mentioned from El Carrizal to Tubac or El Altar, would cost the royal treasury less, and some troops could be moved up as needed and others could remain where it was most convenient. The other flying companies might reinforce the other half of the line from the Presido of Elceareo as far as that of San Juan Bautista, to ward off the incursions of the Apaches of the plains, who are the Carlanes, Natajees, and Lipanes. Since care would be taken to scout the land, these Indians would have no opportunity to enter the area between those presidios nor to take refuge in the Bolson, called by them the Mapimi, which is the place through which they penetrate to the interior as far as Parras near Durango and the hills of Nueva Vizcaya. It appears to be desirable to be on the defensive along this half line because it faces on the vast area of the Buffalo Plains. These offer no spiritual or temporal advantages, and there is little hope of converting the wandering tribes which live in them. They are the Cumanches and the Apaches, who are very hostile to each other and for this reason they will become less numerous.

I again repeat, Sir, that the only safeguard for this North America depends on the settlement described, and, in order to extend our Holy Faith and the dominions of Your Majesty, it is necessary to remove the aforementioned obstacle, which is and has been the said province of Jila. What thousands of souls may be left without conversion in those peaceful tribes which live to the north and northwest of this treacherous nation! What damage has been caused under the pretended and deceitful peace agreements on these frontiers!

Your Majesty is our King and universal father. Have mercy on these poor people, your frontier vassals, who are suffering many calamities and miseries. Do not mind the costs which may arise from increasing the troops. Plant one with the hope that God will return one hundred. Do not delay the execution of this plan, because the enemies are achieving many advantages, the many captive apostates being the worst, and the longer the delay the more difficult the remedy. This, My Lord, is my opinion (saving a better one), born of the great love and loyal affection which I have for Your Majesty, and being moved to it by the experience of many years and many services rendered at my own expense with great willingness, to which I refer in the accompanying memoir which I place at your feet.

The Divine Majesty, who is all powerful, many times uses vile instruments to manifest His power and grandeur. And since I regard myself as one of these, the fire of love which I have for Your Majesty and for the extension of our Holy Faith and for your royal dominions has caused me to strive, breathing my fervent desires for the greatest success. The one who writes this missive to Your Majesty likewise promises, as I do promise (God giving me life and health) that in the term of three years counting from the first day that I arrive at the site of Las Mimbres with the troops which I have mentioned, to give quiet and peace to that province and to have the three settlements established, and at least one mine of gold, silver, and copper discovered and in operation. With my fervent desires and my firm hopes, as far as is possible, my promises will be fulfilled.

It is my desire, Sir, that on the arrival at this Villa, of the commandant general-in-chief, Don Teodoro de la Crois, whom Your Majesty has sent to govern us in his royal name, I may present to him a copy of this plan for his use. I hope it may be entirely successful through the favor of the All Powerful, to whom, humble and prostrate, I beg and pray that He may preserve the most important life of Your Majesty with very robust health for many years, for the achievement of such happiness as we, your children and vassals, have need.

San Phelipe El Real del Chiguagua, October 26, 1777. Sir, the feet of Your Catholic Majesty are kissed by your loyal servant and vassal.

Bernardo Miera y Pacheco [Rubric]