Expanded Diary of Father Pedro Font
Colonizing Expedition, 1775-1776
Friday, September 29 SP -- The foregoing persons having been listed, the soldiers having passed review the day before, and everything being arranged for beginning the march to Monterey from the villa and royal presidio of San Miguel de Orcasitas where we were assembled, I sang Mass for the success of the journey in the presence of the people. After the gospel I made them a talk concerning the matter of the expedition, founded on the gospel of the feast of this day, exhorting everybody to have patience in the hardships of the journey, and above all concerning the good example which they must set for the heathen, as a mark of Christianity, without scandalizing them in any way.
I told them that the principal patroness of all the expedition during the journey was the Most Holy Virgin, our Lady of Guadalupe, who was chosen with singular applause and affection by unanimous consent and with the approval of myself and the commander. For we were as one in the thought, and even before speaking about it we both had already decided that our patroness must be the sovereign Virgin Mary, Mother of God, under the title of Guadalupe, as mother and patroness which she is of the Indians and of this America. And since it was the feast of San Miguel, and he being the holy prince whose picture is at the bottom of the image of our Lady of Guadalupe, we chose him as copatron of the expedition. And on my part and that of the commander, who was a brother of the holy College, we chose also as copatron our Seraphic Father San Francisco, under the title of his portentous wounds.
Mass having been said arrangements for the march were begun, but since there were so many people and such a train, and this being the first day, it was not possible to start until afternoon. We set out, then, from the royal presidio of San Miguel de Orcasitas at half past four in the afternoon, and a little after five halted near the river on the other side, having traveled a short league toward the northwest. One league.
I may note with regard to the observations which I was able to make on the road with the astronomical quadrant of the expedition, which was sent by the viceroy and carried by the commander, that I calculated the latitudes by some tables made by a friar, and especially by some tables of Don Jorge Juan which I was able to obtain just by accident (for I had been given no instrument, and no instructions whatever for the fulfillment of my charge), and which, because they are made for the meridian of Cádiz and for the years 1756, 1757, 1758, 1759, require two corrections. And so I shall first note down without any correction the latitudes according to the observations which I made, regulated by the tables of Don Jorge Juan, and then make in these tables the two corrections necessary for the calculation. And finally, for the satisfaction of experts, in all the observations which I made I shall record the meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun which the quadrant showed according to the horizontal wire of its glass.
I may note also that with regard to the directions of the route I may have made some errors, because I was not able to obtain a good compass, for only at San Xavier del Bac was I able to succeed in borrowing from that mission a very small and bad one which would scarcely work. Therefore, although with respect to the directions which I note down I took the greatest care, I am not all together satisfied with them for lack of an instrument. And I have even tried to correct them somewhat in order to make the map which accompanies this diary in keeping with the latitudes observed.
Finally, I may note with respect to the leagues which I record, that all the distances estimated during the journey I have calculated by a measured league which I walked according to marching pace. They are Mexican leagues of five thousand varas or three thousand geometrical paces, of which twenty-eight make a degree of latitude on the earth's surface, and twenty-three and a third in the air, corresponding to the twenty-one Spanish leagues on the earth's surface, and seventeen and a half in the air, which constitute a degree, according to Father Tosca (Tom. 8, Trat. 24, Lib. 1, Cap. 4, Prop. 23), a Spanish league consisting of four thousand geometrical paces of 6666 and 2/3 varas, or two feet, according to Father Flores in his Clave Geográfica (Cap. 3, Par. 3, Num. 125).
Saturday, September 30 SP -- We set out from near the river at nine o'clock in the morning, and after noon arrived at Chupisonora, which is a ranch of Militia-captain Mesa, having traveled some four leagues to the north-northwest. The road is somewhat; rough and stony, and because the mules are unbroken and the muleteers not very experienced, a pack train remained behind on the road with the packs scattered and the mules lost, and with so many setbacks that it was not able to reach camp during the whole day. Four leagues.
Sunday, October 1 SP -- We remained here because the pack train which fell behind yesterday had not arrived. Since it was Sunday and the day of the Most Holy Virgin of the Rosary, in the morning at a suitable hour I called the people to my tent, which served me as a church on the way, the commander's jar or tankard serving me as a bell; and since I was not able to say Mass we said the Rosary kneeling before the image of our patroness, the Most Holy Virgin of Guadalupe, which I was carrying, and I concluded with the singing of the Litany and the Alabado
My baggage was reduced to two packs. One consisted of a bag containing the tent with its poles and stakes, and a little box in which I carried some books and necessary papers. The other consisted of saddlebags called cantinas, with their seat, in which to carry the vestments for saying Mass, and the rest of the things necessary for administering and for the journey. On top of them was laid a portmanteau with my clothing, and my bed or blankets to sleep in.
In the middle of the forenoon the pack train arrived somewhat tired out on account of the hard day yesterday, and we remained here in order that it might rest, and to hunt for some animals which were missing. After midday a boy came and told us that the Apaches were running off some pack animals which he was guarding. Four soldiers and the lieutenant went out and discovered the pack animals but not t;he Apaches, for there were none. All that was found was the trail of those who a few days before had passed through this place on the way to San Miguel. I may note that because all this road is dangerous some citizens came from San Miguel as an escort for the expedition, going as far as the pueblo of Santa Ana, and from this pueblo others set out and escorted the expedition as far as the presidio of Tubac. These men are not included in the number given for the divisions which are listed at the beginning because they did not belong to the expedition and did not have to go with us all the way.
Monday, October 2 SP -- After eleven o'clock in the morning an order was given to load up. More than two hours were spent in this business, because with so many people there was much delay, and it was no small labor to raise the camp, especially at first. We set out from Chupisonora at two o'clock in the afternoon, and at six arrived at La Palma, having traveled five leagues to the north-northwest. This is a place with abundant and good pasturage, but without water, for there was only a little, hardly enough for the people to drink. The road today followed a valley somewhat wooded but not very rough. A pack train fell behind, arriving late and with some packs lost. As I was not very well, I needed someone to aid me in assembling things and setting up the tent when we halted, but. although the commander promised to assign me a servant, he did not furnish me one until we reached Tubac and after I had asked him several times, so I had to do this work myself. ?Five leagues.
Tuesday, October 3 SP -- We left La Palma at a quarter to eight in the morning, and a little before one in the afternoon we arrived at Charco del Canelo, having traveled six leagues to the north-northwest. This place and all this country, which is very level here and beyond, and is called the Llanos de 1a Virgen, has plentiful pasturage but is lacking in water, for all that is found is what is collected in pools when it rains. As soon as we halted the corporal, who was with the rear guard, came and reported that six Apaches had come out on the road and driven off a burro belonging to a soldier, which had strayed from the trail. The commander at once ordered ten soldiers and the lieutenant to go in pursuit of them. At sunset three soldiers who went yesterday to look for the loaded mule which was lost returned bringing her. After nightfall the ten soldiers and the lieutenant returned, and the story they told was merely that they found the tracks of some Indians, apparently Serys or Pimas who were hunting deer.Six leagues.
Wednesday, October 4 SP -- We set out from Charco del Canelo at half past seven in the morning, and at one in the afternoon halted at the Puerto de los Conejos, having traveled some six long leagues to the north-northwest. About half way on the road is the place called Querobabi, a permanent watering place with good water. The soldiers asked leave to go and kill the stray cattle which wander through these regions, and belong to the citizens of the pueblo of Nacameri and Santa Ana. Permission was granted them, and they killed some beeves, with which the people supplied themselves with meat. Six leagues.
Thursday, October 5 SP -- At half past eight in the morning we set out from the Puerto de los Conejos, and at two in the afternoon halted at Charco de Gauna, situated between the two places called La Piriguita and La Barajita, having traveled some seven long leagues to the north- northwest. The soldiers again went out to kill cattle the same as yesterday.Seven leagues.
Friday, October 6 SP -- Leaving Charco de Gauna at half past eight in the morning, at noon we arrived at the banks of the river of the pueblo of Santa Ana, having traveled five leagues to the north-northwest. This settlement consists of Spanish citizens who have their cattle ranches here. Three soldiers remained behind looking for some lost mules.Five leagues.
Saturday, October 7 SP -- We stopped here because three soldiers had fallen behind looking for some loaded mules. They came bringing one, three remaining lost with their packs, for they were not able to find them. I observed the latitude of this pueblo with the astronomical quadrant of the expedition, and, according to the tables of Don Jorge Juan, without correction I found it to be in 30° 461/2', and with correction in 30° 38 1/2'. For greater clarity and satisfaction in all the observations I shall record the meridian altitude of the sun over the horizon as shown by the quadrant, to which are to be added sixteen minutes, which constitute the radius of the solar body, and so I say: at the pueblo of Santa Ana, October 7, 1775, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 53° 28'.
Sunday, October 8 SP -- I said Mass. We set out from the pueblo of Santa Ana at half past nine in the morning, and at two o'clock in the afternoon halted at Santa Maria Madalena, a pueblo de visita of the mission of San Ignacio, having traveled some six leagues northeast by east. As soon as we arrived I sent word to Father Preacher Fray Francisco Zuniga, minister of the mission of San Ignacio, and before nightfall he came. Six leagues.
Monday, October 9 SP -- I said Mass, and afterward another was said by Father Fray Francisco Zuñiga, at which I assisted with my instrument, the psalterio which I carried at the order of the commander, he persuading me that it would be very useful to please the heathen Indians on the way, especially the Yumas, who, he said, were very festive. We set out from Santa Maria Madalena at nine o'clock in the morning, and at half past ten arrived at the mission of San Ygnacio, having traveled two leagues northeast by east. Father Zuñiga having insinuated some remarks made to him by the commander about me, I again asked the latter for a servant to aid me in putting up the tent and the altar when we halted, and in whatever else might arise, but although he promised to give me one he did not do so.Two leagues.
Tuesday, October 10 SP -- I said Mass. We remained at this mission to make up some packs of provisions. I observed the latitude of the mission and found it without correction to be in 30° 55 1/2' and with correction in 30° 47 1/2', and so I say: at the mission of San Ignacio, October 10, 1775, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 52° 10'.
Father Fray Francisco Zuñiga loaned me all the equipment necessary for saying Mass and to administer, except the cruets. These I took from the mission of Tumacácori, where also I got a supply of hosts for the whole journey; the chrisms for the holy oils I obtained at the mission of San Xavier del Bac; and with these I was able thereafter to say Mass on the road, which I celebrated nearly every day
Wednesday, October 11 SP -- I said Mass. Before we started fathers Fray Phelipe Gluillen and Fray Manuel Carrasco, who had been ill and were going out to convalesce, arrived here. This mission is very good and productive, and it would be much better if it were not pestered by the Apaches, who come through these lands every little while, for which reason all the road ahead of us is very dangerous. We left the mission of San Ygnacio at half past ten in the morning, and at half past one in the afternoon halted on the banks of the river about a league beyond the pueblo of Ymuris, a visit of the mission of San Ygnacio, having traveled four leagues to the north-northeast.Four leagues.
Thursday, October 12 SP -- I said Mass, this being the first one which I said in my tent, which was the portable church of the expedition. We set out from near the pueblo of Ymuris at half past eight in the morning, and at one in the afternoon halted at El Guambút, before entering the canyon, having traveled four leagues to the north-northwest. A little before this place is the one called Los Alisos. The canyon of Guambút which follows is a very dangerous pass, where the Apaches and the wild Piatos have committed a number of murders. For this reason we halted here in order to go through the canyon tomorrow slowly, with all the people and the pack trains close together.Four leagues.
Friday, October 13 SP -- I said Mass. We set out from El Guambút at eight o'clock in the morning, and at one in the afternoon halted at El Síbuta, having traveled four leagues to the north, going very slowly in the canyon of El Guambút in order to keep together and so that the train of people and pack animals might not be cut in two.Four leagues.
Saturday, October 14 SP -- From El Síbuta we set forth at eight in the morning, and at three in the afternoon halted at the place called Las Lagunas, having traveled some eight long leagues, about four to the northwest and four to the north-northwest. About half way on the road is the place called Agua Zarca, which is a very small spring of water. All the way the road runs bearing on the right some high, thickly wooded sierras which, from the pueblo of Dolores and before, continue in a chain to a point beyond the pueblo and presidio of Tuquison, ending before reaching the Gila River. On the left run some low hills, and behind them there is a rather high and rough sierra which begins at the pueblo of Santa Maria Madalena and runs to Aribaca, Arizona, and the site of Las Bolas, a place so-called on account of the balls of virgin silver which that region produced, for all that sierra they say is mineral bearing. All these lands are very abundant in pasturage, and in them the San Ygnacio River rises. Eight leagues.
Sunday, October 15 SP -- Because this place is a region made dangerous by enemies, the commander did not permit Mass to be said in camp. And so, leaving the people without Mass, because it was Sunday I went ahead with four soldiers of the escort to say it at the pueblo of Calabazas, which was distant from the camp two leagues and a little off the road. In that pueblo, which is a visita of the mission of Tumacácori, and formerly was a sub-station of the mission of Huevavi, which was depopulated by the Apaches, I found the father preacher Fray Pedro Arrequivar. Having said Mass I returned to the road to rejoin the people of the expedition which was now coming. It left the camp of Las Lagunas at eight o'clock in the morning, and at two in the afternoon reached the royal presidio of Tubac, having traveled some eight leagues to the north.
I stopped at the mission of Tumacácori, which is on the road a league before reaching the presidio. Here I found fathers Fray Francisco Garcés and Fray Thomás Eixarch, who were to come with the expedition to remain at the Colorado River, and here I remained with them and fathers Fray Pedro Arrequivar and Fray Felix Gamarra during the days while the expedition halted at Tubac.Eight leagues.
Monday, October 16 SP -- In the morning I went with Fray Thomás Eixarch to the presidio of Tubac, but in the afternoon I returned to the mission, for although the commander had sent for me, I did not wish to remain at the presidio during all the days it was necessary to halt to provide what was needed for the continuation of the journey and to finish assembling the people who were to go with the expedition.
Tuesday, October 17 SP -- Today I became worse from my illness with flux, and was forced to remain in bed all day.
Wednesday, October 18. SP -- I continued to be ill in bed.
Thursday, October 19 SP -- I continued in the same condition, with very little improvment. Father Fray Thomás Eixarch went to the presidio and brought the astronomical quadrant to take the latitude of the mission, but because I was ill I was not able to make the observation.
Friday, October 20 SP -- I remained in bed all day without getting any better.
Saturday, October 21 SP -- The commander sent for us, and to me he sent a servant to assist me on the way, I having asked for one a third time. I therefore went to the presidio of Tubac with Father Preacher Fray Francisco and his companion, Father Preacher Fray Thomás Eixarch, who were going with us to remain at the Colorado River to ascertain the wishes of the tribes who live on its banks, and to await us there until our return from Monterey, according to the orders given by his Excellency the Viceroy. Father Preacher Fray Pedro Arrequivar came to accompany us and returned in the afternoon. I observed the latitude of this presidio and found it to be without correction in 31° 45 1/2' and with correction in 31° 38 1/2', and so I say: at the presidio of Tubac, October 21, 1775, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 47° 16'. But because the day was dark I was not satisfied with this observation.
Sunday, October 22 SP -- I said Mass for the success of the journey of the expedition, all the people attending, and Father Garcés assisted because in the presidio there were no other singers. After the gospel I made a talk or brief sermon suitable to the purpose. Choosing the text from the gospel of the day, which was Nolite timere pusillus grex, I exhorted everybody to show perseverance and patience in the trials of so long a journey, saying they ought to consider themselves happy and fortunate that God had chosen them for such an enterprise. And, comparing the journey of the children of Israel through the Red Sea to the Promised Land with the journey of the present expedition across the Colorado River to Monterey, I reminded them of the punishment which God might mete out to them if they mistreated the heathen on the way or scandalized them by their conduct, as He did with the Israelites who committed such excesses, or if they murmured at the commander of the expedition or his orders as did they at their leader, failing to render him due obedience. On the other hand, I assured them the help of God and of our patroness, the Most Holy Virgin of Guadalupe, the host which would protect us during the whole journey if we conducted ourselves as good Christians. And finally, after many benefits which God would show them in this life, although perhaps mixed with trials, I promised them the joy of eternal rest in the Promised Land and the true fatherland of glory.
Because the day was clear I again made an observation, and I found this presidio, without correction, to be in latitude 31° 50', and with correction in 31° 43', and so I say: at the presidio of Tubac, October 22, 1775, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 46° 50'.
At this presidio was finished the assembling of all the men and families of the expedition who were to go to Monterey and to the new settlement of the port of San Francisco, and here also was completed the collection of all the provisions necessary for the journey, pack animals, riding animals, and cattle, the numbers composing these contingents being as follows:
Persons
| In the first place, the Lieutenant-colonel of Cavalry and commander of the expedition, Don Juan Bautista de Anza | 1 |
| The father chaplain de propaganda fide of the In the first place, College of the Holly Cross of Querétaro. Fray Pedro Font | 1 |
| The fathers Fray Francisco Garcés and Fray Thomás Eixarch. These two are destined to remain at the Colorado River | 2 |
| The commissary of the expedition, Don Mariano Vidal | 1 |
| Lieutenant Don Joseph Joachin Moraga, who although married went alone and did not take his family, because his wife was ill and the family remained at Terrenate | 1 |
| Sergeant Juan Pablo Grijalba | 1 |
| Eight veteran soldiers taken from the presidios of Sonora | 8 |
| Twenty soldiers recruits for Monterey | 20 |
| Ten veteran soldiers from the presidio of Tubac who went as guard and escort of the expedition | 10 |
| Twenty-nine women, wives of the sergeant and twenty-eight soldiers | 29 |
| One hundred and thirty-six persons of both sexes belonging to the families of the same soldiers, and four other volunteer families, who are going to remain in Northern California or Monterey | 136 |
| Muleteers for three pack trains of the expedition and the baggage of the commander, the cook, ect | 20 |
| Three vaqueros for the cattle | 3 |
| Three servants of the three fathers (one servant, one arrimado, and one boy of Father Thomás) to whom was added another, who remained with the two fathers on the Colorado River | 4 |
| Three Indian interpreters of the three tribes, Yuma, Cajuenche, and Jalchedun | 3 |
| Total | 240 |
| Included in this number is the woman who died afterward on the road. |
Baggage
| There were taken one hundred and forty mules loaded with provisions, munitions of war, the baggage of the commander and all members of the expedition, other effects belonging to it, and presents in the name of his Majesty for the heathen on the way | 140 |
| About twenty-five pack loads belonging to members of the troop | 25 |
| Horses and some saddle mules belonging to the expedition and to some individuals | 500 |
| Some thirty mares, colts, and burros | 30 |
| Total of the horses and mules | 695 |
Cattle
| Three hundred and twenty-five beeves to provision the expedition on the way, those left over being designed for stock cattle for the new settlement and missions of the port of San Francisco | 325 |
| About thirty beeves belonging to individuals | 30 |
| Total of Cattle | 355 |
I may note that these items kept diminishing on the way because some animals died, others were lost, and others were traded as occasion offered.
Well then, all the people of the expedition being assembled and everything necessary being arranged, it was decided to continue the journey next day. I may note that the order observed on the march during the whole journey was as follows: At a suitable hour an order was given to drive in the cavallada, and that each one should proceed to catch his animals, the muleteers the mules, the soldiers and servants the horses for themselves and their wives and the rest. While they were being bridled and saddled it was my custom to say Mass, for which there was plenty of time. As soon as the pack trains were ready to start the commander would say, "Everybody mount. " Thereupon we all mounted our horses and at once the march began, forming a train in this fashion: Ahead went four soldiers, as scouts to show the road. Leading the vanguard went the commander, and then I came. Behind me followed the people, men, women, and children, and the soldiers who went escorting and caring for their families. The lieutenant with the rear guard concluded the train. Behind him the pack mules usually followed; after them came the loose riding animals; and finally all the cattle, so that altogether they made up a very long procession.
Then we began to march, I intoning the Alabado, to which all the people responded; and this was done every day both going and coming. When the campsite was reached, after all the people had dismounted the lieutenant came to report to the commander whether everything had arrived, or if something had remained behind, in order that he might give suitable orders. At night the people said the Rosary in their tents by families, and afterward they sang the Alabado, the Slave, or something else, each one in its own way, and the result was a pleasing variety. The number of people was so large that when we halted the camp looked like a town, with the barracks which the soldiers made with their capotes, blankets, and branches, and especially with the field-tents, which were thirteen in number, nine for the soldiers, one for the lieutenant, one for Fathers Garcés and Eixarch, one for me, and a larger one for the commander.
Monday, October 23 SP -- Having said Mass we set out from the presidio of Tubac at eleven o'clock in the morning, and at half past three in the afternoon halted at the place called La Canoa, having traveled some five leagues to the north-northwest. In the night the wife of a soldier gave birth to a fine boy, but the delivery was so irregular that the child was born feet first, and the woman died in childbed early in the morning. Next day in the afternoon she was taken for burial to the mission of San Xavier del Bac, and on the 25th in the morning she was buried by Father Garcés, who went ahead accompanying the body.Five leagues.
Tuesday, October 24 SP -- I said Mass. We set out from La Canoa at two in the afternoon, and at five halted at Punta de los Llanos, having traveled three leagues to the north-northwest. At the campsite and in the plains which follow there is grass but no water. As we marched along we bore on our left some hills, which are those of the Papagueria, and on the right ran the sierra which I mentioned on the 14th. On the way the people and I went saying the Rosary for the deceased, and I finished by singing the Salve of the Virgin of Los Dolores.Three leagues.
Wednesday, October 25 SP -- We set out from Punta de los Llanos at half past eight in the morning. and at one in the afternoon, having traveled six long leagues north by west, arrived at the mission of San Xavier del Bac of which Father Fray Francisco Garcés is minister. This is a pueblo of Sobaypuri Pima Indians. Once it was very large, but now it is much depleted by the hostilities of the Apaches, and more especially because of its waters, which are very injurious, for they are very turgid and salty, so much so indeed that a Jesuit father showed by experiment that a bottle of water distilled by alembic left two ounces of salt and sediment. In the afternoon Father Thomás baptized the boy who was born on the night of the 23d.- Six leagues.
Thursday, October 26 SP -- I said Mass. Before this I had solemnized three marriages of members of the expedition, and during the Mass I veiled the newly married couples. In order properly to publish the banns and the rest, I had previously appointed my servant as notary.
We set out from the mission of San Xavier del Bac at half past eight in the morning, and at one in the afternoon we halted a league beyond the pueblo of Tuquison, a visita of the mission of San Xavier del Bac, and the last Christian pueblo in this direction, having traveled four very long leagues on account of the detour which was made, the general direction being almost to the north. This pueblo of Tuquison is larger than that of San Xavier del Bac, and in the following year of 1776 the presidio of Tubac was moved there, where it now is and is called the presidio of San Agustín del Tuquison.
It is a surprising thing that, although all this road traveled as far as here is very dangerous from the Apaches, they did not come out to attack us, nor did we see them during the whole journey. This favor we ought to attribute to our patroness, the Most Holy Virgin of Guadalupe, because if the Apaches had sallied forth no doubt we should have suffered disasters, for the troops were few and green, and as they traveled they were so occupied with their little children that some of the soldiers carried two or three youngsters at a time, and most of them carried at least one little one. But God was guiding us and the Virgin María was our patroness, and with this everything is said.Four leagues.
Friday, October 27 SP -- I said Mass, and because we were now leaving the last pueblo of Christians and entering the country of heathen, after the gospel I gave the people a talk, exhorting them all to confess and to set the good example which as Christians and representatives of Spanish Christianity they ought to present to the heathen Indians through whose lands we were to travel. I observed at this place of Tuquison, and found it to be without correction in latitude 32° 30', and with correction in 32° 22', and so I say: near the pueblo of Tuquison, outside of it a league to the north, on October 27, 1775, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 44° 26'.
From the pueblo of Tuquison we set out at one o'clock in the afternoon and a little before six we halted at a plain in sight of a rugged and low sierra called by the Indians La Frente Negra, just before entering a pass which we called the Puerto del Azotado, and which we threaded the next day, having traveled five leagues, about two to the north-northwest, and the rest to the northwest. Before setting out two muleteers hid intending to run away on foot. Immediately the Indians of E1 Tuquison were informed, in order that they might pursue them, and at night eight Indians came with one of the fugitives under arrest, whom they had immediately found. The runaway was given twelve blows on the spot and imprisoned in the guardhouse, and for this reason they named the place the Puerto del Azotado.Five leagues.
Saturday, October 28 SP -- I said Mass. We set out from the plain of the Puerto del Azotado at a quarter past eight in the morning, and having traveled six long leagues west-northwest and at times almost west, at half past one in the afternoon we halted at some lagoons of rain water which the Indians call Oytaparts, site of a village of Pápago Pimas which the Apaches destroyed. Before reaching the Puerto del Azotado the sierra which we had kept on our right, as I mentioned on the 14th, comes to an end. Now we kept on our left at some distance a low and rough little range, that of the Papaguería; and on the right as we traveled we had a very level and open country, the land of the Apachería. Before mounting his horse Father Garcés reminded the commander concerning the saddle animals which he had asked for and which he had promised him. And the commander having replied that he was not able to give them because he had no animals to spare, Father Garcés spoke to him somewhat plainly, as a result of which the commander appeared very much offended, and although I tried to mollify him he refused to talk with us during the whole day.Six leagues.
Sunday, October 29 SP -- I said Mass, and in the course of it I made an exhortation to the people. Very early in the morning some Indians were sent ahead to report our coming to the Pimas of the Gila River, where they arrived at nightfall. After Mass a proclamation was read in which orders were given looking to the best conduct of the people, and then twenty-five blows were administered to the other runaway muleteer, whom the Indians of El Tuquison had brought under arrest.
We set out from the lagoons of Oytaparts at one in the afternoon, and at a quarter past five halted a little beyond a picacho or peak which the Indians call Tacca, having traveled some five leagues, two to the northwest and the rest to the north-northwest. This is a place with little pasturage and no water, and all the route is just like it; but it is very level and open country, the same as yesterday. Half a league beyond the place whence we set out there is an abandoned pueblo of Papagos, of some thirty huts, called Cuitoa, which at times they are accustomed to occupy, and a little farther on there is a lagoon which is the seepage or rising of the river of E1 Tuquison and San Xavier, which disappears and ends in these plains.Five leagues.
Monday, October 30 SP -- We set out from the Picacho de Tacca at eight o'clock in the morning, and at half past five in the afternoon, having traveled some twelve leagues, about six northwest, three north-northwest, and finally some three almost due north, we reached the vicinity of the Gila River and halted some distance from it at a lagoon which appears to be formed by the water which runs into it from the plains during the rainy season, or from the Gila River itself when it overflows and wanders from its channel. Twelve leagues.
The road from E1 Tuquison to the Gila River is through open and level country in the main, but it has scanty pasturage and very little water, for this is found only when it rains, and in pools in the flats where the Pápago Indians make something like canals for collecting it. The footing on today's journey was somewhat bad because of the squirrel mounds which abound. The region is without stones, and of whitish and very light soil, consequently such a cloud was raised by the trampling of so many horses and people that the dust gave more trouble than anything else. And of the same kind of soil is all the country which follows down the Gila River, through which we traveled with the same hardship. There are no trees in all this region, nor hardly a thing of value, for one sees only now and then a scrubby mesquite far in the distance. What is most abundant is the weed or shrub which they call the hediondilla, called in the out-country la governadora, and another scrubby and useless plant which, if the horses eat it, burns their mouths. In short, in all this land of the Papaguería which we passed through I did not see a single thing worthy of praise.
In response to the message which was sent yesterday, the governor of the villages of Cuytoa and Aquituni, settlements of Pápagos, who at times live on the Gila River, came out on the road to welcome us, and from the Gila Pimas came the governor and alcalde of Uturituc, a Gila River Pueblo, and the governor of Sutaquison, accompanied by eight or ten other Indians, all on horseback. They dismounted to welcome us, and presented to the soldiers the scalps of two Apaches whom they had killed the day before, for with them they have continual warfare. Then they at once mounted their horses and accompanied us to the camp. These Gila Pimas, like the rest of the Pimas of the Pimería Alta, are very black, but they have good bodies, and are brave, and are bitter enemies of the Apaches. They asked if we were now coming to live with them and to baptize their people, which it appears they greatly desire, for they have several times asked for fathers. They seemed to be very happy at our coming, and said that it was good that we should remain there to live, for then the soldiers could fight with them against the Apaches.
The climate appears to me to be very cold in winter and very hot in summer, and from what I saw the region does not offer the best of advantages. Only on the banks of the river and by the use of much water can harvests such as the Indians reap be obtained; for building there is no timber except that of the grove along the banks of the river, which is not very large; and for cattle and horses the land is very short of pasturage.
Tuesday, October 31 SP -- I said Mass, to which some Gila heathen listened very quietly. The commander decided that the people should rest today from yesterday's long journey, and so we had time to go to examine the Casa Grande de Moctezuma, as they call it, which is situated a league from the Gila River and is distant from the site of the Laguna some three leagues to the east-southeast. We went to it after Mass and returned after noon, accompanied by some Indians and the governor of Uturituc, who on the way recounted us the history or tradition which the Gila Pimas preserve from their ancestors concerning this Casa Grande. It all reduces itself to fables, confusedly mixed with some Catholic truths, which I shall relate hereinafter. I made an observation at the site of the Casa Grande, which is indicated by the letter A on the map which I afterward made; and I found it without correction to be in 33° 11' and with correction in 33° 3 1/2', and so I say: at the Casa Grande of the Gila River, October 31, 1775, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 42° 25'.
We very carefully examined this edifice and its remains, and I am inserting here an ichnographic plan of it. To make it more intelligible I give the following description and explanation: The Casa Grande, or Palace of Moctezuma, must have been built some five hundred years ago, according to the histories and the scanty notices of it which exist and are given by the Indians, for apparently it was founded by the Mexicans when in their migration they were led by the Devil through various regions until they reached the Promised Land of Mexico, and when during their stops, which were long, they established settlements and erected edifices.
The site where this house stands is level on all sides. It is distant from the Gila River about a league, and the ruins of the houses which formed the settlement extend more than a league to the east and in other directions. All this region is scattered with pieces of ollas, jars, plates, etc., some ordinary and others stained with various colors, white, blue, red, etc., an indication that it was a large settlement and of a people different from the Gila Pimas, for these do not know how to make such pottery.
We made a careful inspection of the edifice and of its site, and to save time we measured it with a lance. These measurements I afterward reduced to geometrical feet, and with slight error they are the following: The house is rectangular, and is perfectly oriented to the four cardinal points, east, west, north, and south. Round about there are some ruins which indicate some sort of fence or wall which enclosed the house and the other buildings, especially at the corners, where it appears that there was some sort of a structure like an interior castle or watch tower, for at the corner which lies at the southwest there is a piece still standing, with its partitions and an upper story.
The outer wall is four hundred and twenty feet long from north to south and two hundred and sixty from east to west. The interior of the house consists of five rooms, three of the same size in the middle, and a larger one at each end. The three rooms are twenty-six feet long from north to south and ten from east to west. The two rooms at the ends are twelve feet from north to south and thirty-eight from east to west. The rooms are all about eleven feet high. The doors between them are five feet high and two feet wide, and all are nearly equal, except the four outer ones, which appear to have been twice as wide. The thickness of the inner walls is four feet, and they are well plastered. The thickness of the outer walls is six feet. The exterior measurement of the house from north to south is seventy feet and from east to west fifty. The walls are slanting on the outside. In front of the eastern door, separate from the house, there is another room, which is twenty-six feet from north to south and eighteen from east to west, not counting the thickness of the walls.
Judging from what can be seen the timbers were of pine, although the nearest mountain which has pines is distant some twenty-five leagues. There is also some mesquite. The whole edifice is built of earth, and according to the indications it is of tapia made with molds of various sizes. From the river there runs for a long distance a very large irrigating ditch by which the settlement supplied itself with water, but it is now very indistinct. Finally, it is seen that the edifice had three storeys; and if what it was possible to learn from the Indians is true, and judging from the vestiges which were seen, it had four storeys, the lower one being below ground like a subterranean room. To furnish light to the rooms nothing is to be seen except the doors, and some round holes in the middle of the walls which face the east and west. The Indians said that through these holes, which are rather large, the prince, whom they call The Bitter Man, looked at the sun when it rose and set, in order to salute it. No signs of stairs were found, from which we conclude that they were of wood and were destroyed in the fire which the edifice suffered from the Apaches.
The history which the governor of Uturituc recounted on the way in his Pima language, and which a servant of the commander, the only interpreter of this language, translated as we went along, is as follows: A long time ago there came to that country a man who was called The Bitter Man because of his ill nature and his harsh rule. This man was old, but he had a young daughter. And there came in his company a young man who was not a relative of his or of anybody else, and married the daughter, who was very pretty as he was handsome. And this old man brought as servants the Wind and the Clouds.
When the old man began to build that great house he ordered his son- in-law to go and look for timber with which to roof it. The young man went a long distance, but since he had no ax or anything with which to out the trees, he was gone many days, and he finally returned without bringing any timbers. Now the old man was very angry, and he said that the son-in- law was good-for-nothing, and he would show him how he would bring the timbers. And so the old man went away to a sierra where there are many pines, and, calling on God to aid him, he cut many pines and brought many timbers for the roof of the house.
When this Bitter Man came, there were no trees in the country, nor any plants, but he brought seeds of all kinds and reaped very large harvests, with the aid of his two servants, the Wind and the Clouds, who served him. But because of his ill nature he became angry with the two servants, and discharged them, and they went a long way off. And then, for lack of servants, he was not able to reap the harvests, so he ate all that he had raised, for he was now dying of hunger. He then sent his son-in-law to call the two servants and bring them back, but he could not find them no matter how much he looked for them. Then the old man went to look for them, and having found them he took them again into his service, and with their aid he again reaped great harvests. And so they continued to live for many years in that country, but after a long time they went away, and they have heard nothing more about them.
He said also that after the old man there came to that country a man called The Drinker. He became angry with the people there and sent so much water that all the land was covered with it. Then he went to a very high sierra, which is seen from there and is called the Sierra de la Espuma, taking with him a little dog and a coyote. They call it Sierra de la Espuma because at the end of it, which is cut off with a cliff like the corner of a tower, one sees high up near the top a white ledge-like rock, which continues the same all along the sierra for a long distance. And the Indians say that this mark was made by the foam of the water which reached up to there. Well, The Drinker went up there and left the dog below so that he might tell when the water reached this ledge of the foam, and when it reached there the dog told The Drinker, for then the animals talked; and then he too went up.
After several days The Drinker sent to the Humming Birds and to the Coyote to have them bring him some mud. They brought it, and from it he made several men, some of whom turned out to be good and others bad. These men scattered out through the country, upstream and downstream, and after a while he sent some of his own people to see if the men upstream talked. They went and returned saying that although they talked they did not understand what they said. And so The Drinker became very angry because these men talked without his having given them permission. Afterward he sent other men downstream to see those who were there, and they returned saying that they had given them a friendly welcome and that they talked another language but that they had understood them. Then The Drinker said to them that the men who lived down the stream were the good men, these being the ones as far as the Opas, with whom they are friendly. And those who lived upstream he said were the bad men, these being the Apaches, toward whom they are hostile.
He said also that once The Drinker became angry with the people, and killed many of them and changed them into saguaros, and this is why there are so many saguaros in that country The saguaro has a green trunk, is watery, very tall and equally round, and straight from the bottom to the top, with rows of thick spines all the way up, and it usually has two or three branches of the same form, which look like arms.
Besides this he said that The Drinker at another time became very angry with the men, and made the sun come down to burn them, and so he finished them. The men begged him earnestly not to burn them, so he ordered the sun to go up, but not so high as it had been before, and told them that he was leaving it lower in order to burn them with it if they made him angry again; and this is why it is so hot in that country in the summer.
He said that he knew other stories, but could not relate them now because his time was up, but he promised us to tell them next day. But because we laughed a little at these yarns, which he told with great seriousness, we were never able to get him to tell us another thing, he saying that he did not know anything. All this narrative or little history I have told in the language here seen, as more suitable to the style in which the Indians express themselves.