Expanded Diary of Father Pedro Font
Colonizing Expedition, 1775-1776
Wednesday, November 1 SP -- I said Mass, which was attended by some Gila Indians who were there. They gave close attention and kept strict quietude and silence, and tried to imitate the Christians in making the sign of the cross, and in other things, although they did it clumsily. We set out from La Laguna at half past nine in the morning, and at one in the afternoon arrived at the pueblo of San Juan Capistrano de Uturituc, having traveled four leagues to the west-northwest. Four leagues.
This is a pueblo fairly well formed by the little huts with the Gileños make. We were welcomed by the Indians, whom I estimated at about a thousand persons, arranged in two files, the men on one side and the women on the other. As soon as we had dismounted all came in turn to salute us and to shake hands with the commander and the three fathers, first the men and then the women, big and little, manifesting great pleasure at seeing us, putting their hands on their breasts, pronouncing the name of God, and giving other signs of good will. This hand-shaking took a long while, because nearly every one of them saluted us by saying, "Dios ato m'busibóy, " as the Christian Pimas of Pimería Alta do, meaning "May God help us," and it was necessary to return their salutations. They entertained us in a great arbor which they made for this purpose and in front of which they had erected a large cross, although they are heathen. Because the river is somewhat distant the governor ordered their women to bring us water and immediately they brought some to the camp for the people.
These Pima Indians of the Gila are gentle and of good heart, and to show their appreciation for our coming they begged permission from the commander to dance, and then they went from tent to tent of the soldiers dancing, the women linked together in their fashion. In short, these people manifested great pleasure at seeing us in their country, and some of them soon afterward offered their little children for us to baptize. We did not do so because we were merely passing through, but we tried to satisfy them by giving them good hopes.
In the afternoon I went with Father Garcés, accompanied by the Pápago governor of Cojat, to visit the pueblo and see the fields. The latter are fenced in with poles and laid off in divisions, with very good irrigating ditches, and are very clean. They are close to the pueblo and on the banks of the river. This stream is large only in the season of floods, and now it carries so little water that when an Indian waded in and crossed it the water only reached half way up his legs. This is the reason why they had not yet planted, according to what they told me, for the river was so low that the water could not enter the ditches. And they told me, moreover, that to remedy this they planned to assemble all together and fasten many logs in the middle of the river, and then many branches, to raise the water so that it would enter the ditches. This is proof of their applications to labor and that they are not wanderers like other tribes; for in order to maintain themselves in their towns by their crops, they themselves have discussed damming the river. I saw also how they wove fabrics of cotton, which they plant and spin, and which most of them know how to weave. They also have large sheep with good wool, and Castilian hens.
They are rather corpulent Indians and are very ugly and black, especially the women. And perhaps because they eat much péchita, which is the mesquite pod ground and made into atole, the tornillo, grass seeds, and other coarse things, when they are assembled together one perceives in them a very evil odor. This afternoon the commander gave presents of tobacco and beads to everybody, with which they were much pleased, the distribution lasting until night.
Thursday, November 2 SP -- Very early in the morning we began to say Mass. With the vestment which I brought and the one which Father Garcés brought from Tubac to keep with him at the Colorado River, we set up two altars, and we three friars said nine Masses because this was All Souls' Day, and they were attended by many Indians who maintained quiet and silence. This was a very special event, for it never before happened that in one day so many Masses should be said on the Gila River.
We set out from the pueblo of Uturituc at eleven o'clock in the morning, and about three in the afternoon halted on the banks of the Gila River near the Pueblo of La Encarnación de Sutaquison, having traveled some four leagues west by north. Four leagues.
The Indians of the pueblo, whom I estimated at about five hundred souls, came out to welcome us and salute us with demonstrations of great joy. On the way we passed through two smaller pueblos. To that small district is reduced nearly all the country occupied by the tribe of the Gila Pimas. Since the soil here is thin, a very sticky dust is raised, as a result of which, and of their coarse foods these Indians are very ugly, dirty, and evil smelling. The Gila River at this place was dry, and water was taken from it by making wells in the sand. Only in the time of floods is it useful for the grain fields and corn fields of the Indians. On its banks it has a continuous cottonwood grove, but the trees are not very large.
In the afternoon tobacco was distributed among the Indians and a promise was made that glass beads would be distributed to the women next day. The Indians were asked why they lived so far from the river, since formerly they had their pueblo on the banks, whereas now they had moved it to a place apart. They replied that they changed the site because near the river, with its trees and brush, they fared badly from the Apaches, but now being far away they had open country through which to follow and kill the Apaches when they came to their pueblo.
About noon an Opa Indian, with his face all daubed with red paint, and with his bow and mediocre arrows, such as the Gileños use, came to camp and began to make a very long harangue. We gathered by means of the interpreters that he was saying in substance that now the Opas were friendly to the Yumas, and had held a peace council with them at Agua Caliente. I may note that the Opas and Cocomaricopas are one and the same tribe. The Gileños said that Palma had sent a peace offer to the Opas and they had accepted it, replying to the message by sending them some crosses as a sign of amity.
Friday, November 3 SP -- I said Mass, and after it was over Fathers Garcés and Eixarch, together with the commissary, went to the pueblo to distribute glass beads to the women, afterward going forward to join us at La Laguna. We set out from the pueblo of Sutaquison at a quarter to ten in the morning, and, having traveled two leagues almost to the northwest, at noon we came to a lagoon of bad water, which, because some of us became sick while there, we called the Laguna del Hospital. Nearly due west of this place and nearby is a mountain called the Sierra de Comars, which comes from the Papaguería, runs to the north, and terminates three leagues from here. At the end of it, lower down, the Bila River joins the Rio de la Assumpción, which is a large stream, some three times the size of the Gila. When we were about to mount it began to rain and continued for a while, so that we became quite wet, and since the soil is so light the footing became very slippery. This is a place with little and bad grass, like all the rest, because the soil is very salty. Two leagues.
Saturday, November 4 SP -- This being the feast of San Carlos and the saint's day of our monarch, we chanted Mass with all the ceremony possible. It was sung by Father Garcés, and I assisted with my instrument. Before this Father Thomás and I had said Mass. After noon the march was arranged for, but we did not start because a woman became ill. After Mass in honor of the feast day, the commander decided to give some refreshments to the people of the expedition. This consisted in giving to each one a pint of aguardiente, as a result of which there was more than moderate drunkenness amongst the soldiers, and more than one man remained drunk until the next day.
Sunday, November 5 SP -- I said Mass, and in it made an exhortation in fulfillment of my ministry. We remained here because the sick woman was not able to travel, and at nightfall another woman became violently ill from pregnancy. I observed the latitude of this place, and without correction I found it to be in 33° 21 1/2', and with correction in 33° 14 1/2', and so I say: at the Laguna del Hospital, November 5, 1775, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 40° 40'. Today I occupied myself by drawing a ground plan of the Casa Grande de Moctezuma.
Monday, November 6 SP -- I said Mass. The sick women continued to be indisposed and we therefore remained here. At noon another fell ill from the same trouble, due to pregnancy, and I, besides the illness from which I had been suffering, today began to have the tertian ague which lasted all the time until after we crossed the Colorado River. This morning I went to the tent of the commander and spent the time in making for him a plan of the Casa Grande for which he had asked me. When I finished, before dinner, I felt i11, on account of the heat in the tent, and then I began to have the chill.
Tuesday, November 7 SP -- In the morning the patients were better and I also, and therefore it was decided to continue the march. The soil here is so salty that it gets as white as if flour had been sprinkled, and perhaps it was for this reason that the water was so bad that even the horses became sick. Perhaps because they are natives of these lands, the Gileños, whose tribe ends here, enjoy good health and are quite fat and robust, although in so large a concourse as assembled on our arrival I did not see many old men or old women. These people try to clothe themselves with the blankets of cotton which they raise and weave, and with some sayal which they acquire through the communication which they maintain with the Pápagos, and with the Upper Pimas and the presidios of Tubac (Tuquison now) and Altar. Of the sayal they make their cotton breeches, and those who do not have breeches supply their place with a blanket gathered up and tied, while the women cover themselves with deerskin.
The coiffure which the men practice with their hair is peculiar. They take a woolen cord, thin like the finger and long like a halter rope. Doubling it up they insert it in the hair. With the long end they tie it together and twist it over the head from the left side to the right, and then secure it with the loose end, giving it one or two turns around the head. In this way they carry on their heads a crest like a crown, in which they insert their feathers, little sticks, and other ornaments. The women wear their hair hanging down their backs and over their ears, banging it in front even with the eyes or the eyebrows.
Finally, I may say of these Gila Pimas that they are in a propitious condition for the founding of missions amongst them, not only because they are gentle, but also because they live in established pueblos, for in the district of some six leagues there are five towns, the four above mentioned on this side of the river, and one on the other side which Father Garcés called San Serafino de Nabcúb, and because with their fields they succeed in supporting themselves by their own labor. But since they are so close to the Apaches a good presidio is necessary for their protection. And aside from the expense of maintaining it, here is the difficulty, that all that country is so lacking in pasturage, as I have said above, not only for the horses but even for the cattle. Today a most clever Indian stole a China pot from the commander, but he made him restore it. This thievishness is a quality common to all Indians.
We set out from the Laguna del Hospital at one in the afternoon, and at a quarter past six halted at a dry arroyo, having traveled some six-leagues, one southwest, two west-southwest, and the rest to the west. This is a place with some pasturage but without water. The road today has been through level country and without so much dust as before, which was so bad, especially when the wind blew, that one could scarcely breathe, and whatever the cause it formed a cloud so thick that we were not able to see each other a short distance away. Six leagues.
Wednesday, November 8 SP -- We left camp at the Arroyo Seco at half past eight in the morning, and at four in the afternoon halted on the banks of the river at the settlement of the Opas called San Simón y Judas de Uparsoytac, having traveled some nine leagues, two west-southwest, one west to thread a pass through a range, which is the Sierra de Comars, and the rest to the west-southwest with some declination to the west. Nine leagues.
The enemies of these Opas Indians of Uparsoytac, who made war on them and obliged them to live closer than formerly, belong to the tribe called in the Pima language Nanexi. They are the Yabipays Tejua and border on the Apaches, or they are the Apaches. These Opas appeared to be very gentle, and gave us a friendly welcome, three or four of them coming out on the road on horseback to greet us. On the way I had first a chill and then the fever, as a result of which I finished the march with some difficulty. These Opas Indians support themselves from their fields of wheat, maize, and calabashes, and apparently they do not eat so much péchita and tornillo as the Gileños. Because they live near their fields, the settlement or rancherías embrace a stretch about a league long on the bank of the river. From it they do not run irrigating ditches, because from near the end of the Sierra de Comars, near the Laguna del Hospital, the Gila River and the Assumpcíon come united; and since the channel is very wide and carries a large amount of water now, and more during the time of the floods, for then it spreads out a long distance and waters a large area of level land, by means of this irrigation they obtain their harvests.
These Indians live mixed with some Pimas, use the same coiffure as the Gileños, and go dressed in their blankets of cotton and likewise others of black wool with white stripes, which they obtain from E1 Moqui. They are accustomed also to paint their faces and bodies, even though it may be with soot, as they cannot obtain red hematite. They decorate the painted parts with various stripes, and this is their gala dress. They are very fond of beads for collars, and for pendants which they wear in the ears and also in the nose, whose middle cartilage they usually have pierced. They have good bodies and are well formed, and are brave like the Pimas, with little difference, although their bows and arrows are somewhat inferior.
Thursday, November 9 SP -- I said Mass. The saddle animals arrived very badly used up by yesterday's journey, because when they left the Laguna del Hospital they were so sick that three died and others were left behind unable to follow; and so it was decided to rest today. In the afternoon the distribution of glass beads and tobacco to the Indians was made. I estimated that there must have been assembled about a thousand persons, and with the concourse the stench caused by their foul habits was by no means slight. Here we began to see the women with little skirts such as the Yumas wear, which they make from the inner bark of cottonwood and willows. This, with a deerskin which they tie and wear from the waist down, is their attire. The men go somewhat covered with blankets, and very heavily laden with beads and pendants around their necks and in their ears; indeed I did not see a single woman with so much adornment, a situation which it seems to me ought to be just the reverse. Since we were camped on the bank of the river the people were able to wash their clothing. It seemed to me that for founding a mission there is a better site on the other side of the river at the foot of some small hills somewhat apart from the stream, but this would require a closer examination.
Friday, November 10 SP -- I said Mass. We remained here because a woman was very ill this morning from childbed, having given birth to a dead child on the 2d of the month. Likewise, a soldier who had been somewhat under the weather for a few days had an acute attack last night, and I, after noon, was taken with chills and fever worse than formerly, and with vomiting which lasted until night.
It is with very little reason that the river from here forward keeps the name of the Rio Gila, for the greatest volume of its water comes from the Rio de la Assumpción. This, in turn, according to what the Indians say, is made up of two streams, one which they call the Rio Azul (and the Rio Verde) and the other the Rio Salado, which comes from far away in the Apache country, and into which the Gila River flows about ten leagues above this place, as I have said. Above these rancherías of Uparsoytac a branch separates from the river and flows near the little hills which I mentioned yesterday. For this reason the river does not have as much water here as farther down, and it appeared to me that it would be possible to make an acequia from it.
Saturday, November 11 SP -- We set out from the settlement of Uparsoylac at ten in the morning, and about noon came to some villages of Opas situated on the banks of the river, having traveled some two short leagues toward the west. We halted here because there was some pasturage and some stubble in the fields for the saddle animals. As soon as we stopped it began to mist and continued to do so all day until nightfall. Two leagues.
Sunday, November 12 SP -- I said Mass and spoke a few words of exhortation to the people. We left the villages of the Opas at half past nine in the morning, and at two in the afternoon halted on the banks of the river at some ranchos which, because it was the feast of San Diego, we called Ranchería de San Diego, having traveled five leagues west by north. The road is over country not so bad or so salty as the hitherto, and a few mesquites are seen, but there is very little grass. I went ahead, because it was my bad day. On the road my chill began, and when I arrived at the camp site I went to bed and the fever lasted until night. Here the river was very deep and ran very slowly. Five leagues.
Monday, November 13 SP -- We set out from the Ranchería de San Diego at a quarter past nine in the morning, and about half past one in the afternoon halted at a place called Aritoac, a little after fording the river, having traveled some four leagues west by south. This is a place with very little grass and elsewhere there is none at all, but the road is not very bad. On leaving camp we ascended a small sierra formed of boulders and black, rough rocks piled up, but thereafter the country is level. They looked for a good ford across the river, which here has a large volume of water, reaching to the shoulder-blades of the horses. We forded it without mishap, but in the time of floods it is very formidable, as is shown by its channel and it's overflows.-Four leagues
Tuesday, November 14 SP -- I said Mass. We set out from Aritoac at nine o'clock in the morning, and about one in the afternoon came to Agua Caliente, having traveled four leagues to the west-south west. This place has a large spring of hot water and some small springs of cold water that are not very good. There is also grass, although not much and somewhat poor, as far as the river, which is distant from the hot springs about two leagues and appears to run about to the southwest. The place is open, with an expansive view, but it has very slender advantages for a settlement. When we set out from camp we climbed some small hills with black heaped-up stones and malpais until we descended to the river; then we went along its beaches or flood plains, which are very wide, traveling some distance from the stream. From the top of the small hills one sees far away the Sierra de la Cabeza del Gigante which the Indians call Bauquíburi. I went ahead, and before noon the chills and fever of the tertian ague came on and lasted until night.Four leagues.
Wednesday, November 15 SP -- It was decided to halt here today in order that the saddle animals might rest, for they were now in very bad shape for lack of pasturage. Many Cocomaricopa Indians assembled to see us. They are the same as the Opas, but are distinguished in name by the district which they inhabit. The commander, in the name of the king our sovereign, gave the cane and title of governor of all the tribe to an Indian whom they themselves elected and whom we called Carlos, and to another, chosen by them and called by us Francisco, he gave the cane of alcalde. After they were instructed in their new charges and duties, and as soon as they were confirmed in their offices, the rest of the Indians assembled, saluted them in turn, and shook hands with them, and then a distribution of tobacco and glass beads was made to all. This place and its jurisdiction were called San Bernardino del Agua Caliente. I took the latitude of the place, although the day was very cloudy, and found it to be without correction in 33° 8 1/2', and with correction in 33° 2 1/2' and so I say: at Agua Caliente, November 15, 1775, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 38° 4'. The Indians whom I saw assembled here I estimated at about two hundred souls, all unarmed and friendly. They remained until after midnight singing in their key, which is very funereal. It was now very cold, and although the water was very hot when it came out, it quickly became cold in the bags, and at night it even froze.
Thursday, November 16 SP -- We set out from Agua Caliente at half past nine in the morning, and at half past four in the afternoon halted near the river, having traveled some nine leagues to the west-southwest. Nine leagues.
As it was my bad day, in order that the fever might not catch me on the road, the commander decided that I should go ahead with two soldiers, my servant, and my two pack loads. With me came Father Fray Thomás for the same reason, for during the past few days he had been threatened with the quartan ague which he formerly had, and this likewise was his bad day. We journeyed about four leagues, it must have been, to the place which during the last expedition they called San Bernardino. It is a little island formed by the river however slightly it rises, where there is plenty of grass and some rancherías of Indians. But the soldier who came with me as a guide lost the bearings of the place, and missing it by a long distance we traveled at a good pace for about ten leagues.
Since I was afflicted with the fever, and seeing that it was after two o'clock in the afternoon, and that we were getting a long way from the river, and having remonstrated with the soldier several times because we were lost, I finally balked and said that I was not going another step, because it was impossible that the commander should wish to make so long a march. So I went toward the river, and as soon as I reached the cottonwoods I dismounted and declared that from that spot I was going neither forward nor back. The servant with my packs also became lost but finally he came upon us before sunset There arrived also the three soldiers sent ahead by the commander to reconnoiter the Colorado River and the bad roads of the sand dunes which follow on the other side of the river. The soldier who was guiding us went with them and we were left alone.
The commander, seeing that we had gone ahead, thought we had found a better camp site than the one which he had told us of, and so he continued with all the train. But seeing that night was coming on and that he did not find us, he halted at half past four in the afternoon in the alameda of the river not far from the water, at once sending the sergeant to look for us. Having found us about a league below the place where the camp halted, the sergeant returned to report, and the commander sent two soldiers to stay with us during the night, bringing some cakes of chocolate, some dried fruit and a little biscuit. Here we passed the night, Father Thomás and I, both suffering from fever.
The pack train and cattle arrived at the camp very late at night after having had many delays, the animals being tired. All the way is very level, but through a miserable country with much dust and without pasturage. The alameda of the river is now heavier and more extended, and according to signs left by the river, when in flood the stream must be a league wide and even more in places; but it is very lacking in fish, for it has only the very bony matalote and not much of that.
Friday, November 17 SP -- About ten o'clock in the morning the train set out from the camp near the river, and halted at noon on the bank of the river, having traveled some two leagues to the west-southwest. Because the commander found himself in a place with very little pasturage he decided to make this short journey, and halted here because the place had some coarse grass which the soldiers call galleta. In the morning we were somewhat refreshed, although very numb from the cold, which in this season is already very severe in this country, so cold indeed that our water froze in the bags. In the middle of the forenoon I decided to go to the camp, but I had scarcely set out from my stopping place when I met the cattle, which were coming along the road, and the men told us that the train was now coming. We awaited it, and meantime I ate breakfast of a little boiled rice which the commander sent us, and a little later we joined him and the people.Two leagues.
Saturday, November 18 SP -- I said Mass. We set out from the camp on the bank of the river at ten o'clock in the morning, and about two in the afternoon, having traveled some four leagues to the southwest, we halted near the river at the foot of the Cerro de San Pasqual, which is a very rough and rocky range of medium height coming from the Papaguería to which in the last expedition they gave this name. Halfway on the journey we forded the river a second time. The road is very sandy, having sand dunes in places, and after crossing the river the land is very saline, so much so, indeed, that near camp the soldiers found much granulated salt, with which the people were supplied to some extent. The camp site is very short of pasturage, as there is only some bad carrizo in a flat formed by the river. I went ahead because it was my bad day. On the road I was taken with chills and then the fever continued until night. Four leagues.
Sunday, November 19 SP -- I said Mass. Last night a woman successfully gave birth to a boy, and for this reason we remained here today. After Mass I solemnly baptized the new-born infant and named him Diego Pasqual, because it was the octave of San Diego and because the place where we were was called San Pasqual. From here a very rough sierra is seen in the distance, but this vicinity is very level for the most part. Looking at it to the north the range runs almost from east to west, inclining to the southwest. The Indians said that on the other side of this sierra is the tribe of the Jalchedunes, who live on the banks of the Colorado River. The governor and alcalde who were appointed as justices at Agua Caliente came to the camp, accompanied by other Indians of their tribe, to join us and go with us to visit the Yumas, and by our mediation to confirm the peace treaties with them. The governor said that he was content only because he was going with us, for otherwise he greatly mistrusted the word of his enemies, because they were bad, for the Indians are usually suspicious of their former foes.
The Opa or Cocomaricopa tribe, which extends from the Gileños downstream nearly to this place, is so small, according to what is inferred from the number who have come to see us, attracted by the novelty and the glass beads, that it apparently does not reach three thousand persons. This is a small number considering the extensive district which it occupies, for in more than fifty leagues in all directions there is no other tribe. This is proof of the poverty of the country, for since it is so unfruitful and sterile it is almost uninhabitable. The same thing is proved by the misery and poverty in which these Opas live. From this I infer that with two missions all of this heathendom would be provided for, one at Uparsoytac, where there could be a fairly good one, and another at Agua Caliente, or in a better place if one can be found, which I do not think very easy; and this will be a mission with few people and few advantages With these and with the establishment of two others at Sutaquison and Uturituo for the Gileños, all the heathen living along this great river will be provided for.
Because of the delay a place was sought in which to pasture the animals, since the grass or carrizo which was here did not serve. But God wished that on the other side of the river there should be found a large patch of grass or coarse pasturage about a league from the camp, and to it the riding animals and cattle were taken. I made an observation at this place and found it to be without correction in 32° 54', and with correction in 32° 48', and so I say: at the Cerro de San Pasqual, November 19,1775, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 37° 20'.
Monday, November 20 SP -- I said Mass. We remained here because the woman recently delivered was unable to travel, and we experienced very raw and cold weather. I felt it in my feet and legs very intensely from early morning, after which the cold increased and at noon I was taken with the fever, which, together with the flux, now more excessive, and very unpleasant, greatly prostrated me today.
Tuesday, November 21 SP -- We did not travel today because the mother of the child was not even yet able. I made another observation at this place in order to compare it with the preceding one, and I found it to be in the same latitude as on the 19th, and so I say: at the Cerro de San Pasqual, November 21, 1775 meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 36° 52'. Today a soldier found on the other side of the river a saline of foamy white salt like snow, from which, together with that found on the previous day, which was granulated, the soldiers supplied themselves with an abundance of salt. This shows how salty the river and all this country is. In fact, it does not produce another thing, not even enough firewood to relieve the cold, which here is very intense.
Wednesday, November 22 SP -- I said Mass. The mother was better this morning and so it was decided to continue the march. We set out from the Cerro de San Pasqual at half past eleven in the morning and at half past four in the afternoon halted on the banks of the river at the foot of a little hill called by the Indians Cerrito del Metate, and by us Cerro de Santa Cecilia, having traveled some six long leagues to the southwest. Six leagues.
The road traveled today is almost level, but very tiresome because the soil is sandy and light and because of its hills and stretches of sand dunes. On the right the river runs at a greater or less distance, spreading out wide in these plains, and on the left a short distance away a sand dune runs from Cerro de San Pasqual to the camping place. All this country is like the rest, without grass or anything of value, for only at the camp site was there a little galleta grass and such as grows on the sand dunes. And of this same quality, apparently, is all the country that is seen on the other side of the river, which here at the camp site runs in somewhat narrower channel. Today I had my fever, though it was not very severe, perhaps because the wife of a soldier day before yesterday gave me a potion.
Thursday, November 23 SP -- I said Mass. After the pack animals had started they were ordered to come back, because it was now past eleven o'clock, and it had not yet been possible to assemble the saddle animals, which had become widely scattered for lack of grass. For this reason, and because at this time the cattle which remained behind on the road yesterday arrived tired out, we remained here today. Some saddle animals died from weariness and the severe cold weather and for lack of pasturage.
Friday, November 24 SP -- I said Mass. A pregnant woman was ill this morning, and so we remained here today. She got better after the commander aided her with a delicacy which he had, namely a plate of food. I observed the latitude of this place and found it without correction to be in 32° 44 1/2', and with correction in 32° 39', and so I say: at the Cerro de Santa Cecilia del Metate, November 24, 1775, meridian altitude of the lower limb of the sun, 36° 24'. After noon I was taken with the fever, but not so hard as formerly, and I felt some alleviation later.
Saturday, November 25 SP -- I said Mass. We set out from the Cerro de Santa Cecilia del Metate at a quarter to ten in the morning, and about two in the afternoon, having traveled some five leagues to the west by north, we halted on the banks of a salty lagoon distant about a league from the river, although it is an overflow from it. A Yuma Indian came out on horseback to meet us, having been sent by Captain Palma to tell us that he was waiting with all his Yuma people, and likewise with the Jalchedunes, who had come down to the junction of the rivers to see us in consequence of a message which was sent them from Agua Caliente. During the whole journey we traveled through land which the river overflows when it rises, and only at the camp was any grass found. There were also great rubbish heaps or mountains of logs and debris which the river brings in its formidable floods. Five leagues.
Sunday, November 26 SP -- I said Mass, in which I made a talk, reprimanding especially an abuse which I had noticed in some of the soldiers, who were so jealous of their wives that besides not permitting them to talk to anybody, they even prohibited them from coming to hear Mass. We set out from the Laguna Salobre at a quarter past ten in the morning, and at two in the afternoon halted on the bank of the river, having traveled some four leagues to the northwest. Four leagues.
Yesterday's road was bad but that of today has been worse. The river continued in sight close by or far away, and we traveled through sandy lands like sand wastes, which the river inundates during its floods. From the river today Father Thomás caught a matalote of fairly good size, and a boy caught a larger one, but it appears that no other species of fish grows in this river. At this place there was found a patch of coarse grass for the riding animals. From the signs it was seen that some Yumas had been camping here a short time before, having perhaps come to eat péchita, of which there is a little and to enjoy themselves according to their custom. This country has no other timber than the alameda of the river, and as it appears to me it has nothing of value. On this side of the river there runs a somewhat high, rough, rocky and arid sierra which comes from the Papaguería, with-various branches, ending on the banks of the river. On the other side runs another range of the same qualities and somewhat red, in which, in front of the camp, there is seen an almost square peak with four points, which we called El Bonete.
Monday, November 27 SP -- I said Mass. We set out from camp on the bank of the river at half past nine in the morning, and having traveled some two leagues to the west-northwest, about twelve o'clock we halted in a pass, through which the Gila River runs in a narrow channel, formed by the sierra which I mentioned yesterday on this side and another one which is on the other side. Two leagues
A relative of Captain Palma came out on the road to welcome us, and as soon as we halted, while we were eating, Captain Salvador Palma himself and another captain, whom we named Pablo, came to see us, accompanied by several Yuma Indians. They saluted us with many demonstrations of pleasure, especially Captain Palma, who embraced all of us and gave the commander a few orimuni beans. In the afternoon the commander took him through the camp that he might visit the people, and he went about saluting everybody, giving an embrace to each, men, women, and children alike, as a sign of good will.
This Captain Palma is the one who at present rules au the Yuma tribe, which he has come to dominate because of his intrepidity and verbosity, as is usually the case among Indians, and especially because of the esteem which the Spaniards have shown him recently, now in the time of Captain Ansa and formerly in that of Captain Urrea For this reason he is recognized by the other captain, Pablo, whom we gave this name because he is captain of the rancherias near the little hill which Father Garcés formerly called San Pablo; although the former expedition called him Captain Feo because of his homely features. The people of the villages of this Captain Pablo Feo are more numerous than those of the Villages of Captain Palma, and he appeared to me to have much spirit, indeed, quite as much or more than Palma, although he is subordinate to him. He is a great orator, with a heavy voice, and they say that he is also a wizard. At night he gave a great sermon and a long harangue to his people, which consisted in telling them that they must not steal from the Spaniards or do them any damage because they were friends and would do no harm.
The commander told me that this Captain Feo, at the time when he came with the first expedition, set about counting the soldiers, and seeing that they were not numerous he began to say to his men that it would not be difficult to kill them all and get possession of the horses and the rest of the things which the Spaniards had with them, and that this was his intention. Learning of this, the commander gave him to understand that if he wanted war he might assemble all his men and many more, and he would see how well they defended themselves and how he would punish them. Thereupon Captain Feo subsided, and now he is very obsequious and has shown himself very affectionate, whereas at that time he wished to oppose the passage of the expedition across the Colorado River.
Tuesday, November 28 SP -- I said Mass, which was attended by both captains with great quiet, modesty, and attention. We set out from the pass and banks of the Gila River at a quarter past nine in the morning, and at two in the afternoon halted on the beach of the Colorado River, after crossing the Gila a third time, and having traveled some five leagues to the west by south. Five leagues.
The Yumas entertained us in an arbor which Captain Palma had ordered erected here as soon as he learned of our coming, and many Indians of both sexes assembled to visit us, very festive and joyful and very much painted in various modes and colors. The Gila River joins the Colorado about a league below this site, which is the one called by the last expedition the Island of La Trinidad, because then this area was made an island by the Gila River and a branch of the Colorado. But now there was no such island, because of the shifting of the land effected by the rivers when in flood. On our arrival the soldiers were ordered to fire a few shots to reciprocate the pleasure manifested by these people at our coming. This pleased the Yumas greatly and they responded to the musket-shots with a great shouting and hullabaloo.
A little after we arrived, Carlos, the new governor of the Opas, came with his alcalde, Francisco, and others, to make the peace treaties. He began his harangue while on horseback, passing in front of the Indians. Captain Palma did not like this, and gave him to understand that if he came with a good heart to ratify the treaties he must dismount and talk to him on foot, as he was, and not go in front of everybody in that way. So he dismounted, and Carlos and Palma, sitting down on the ground with their canes, talked for a while, the rest of the people being all round about. Then Pablo, the preacher captain, took the helm. Getting up on his feet in the midst of them all, he delivered a great harangue, all of which amounted to saying that now they no longer wished war, for thus we had ordered it, pointing to the commander and to me and the other fathers, who were present. Then, pointing to the four winds and in all directions, he said many times in a very loud voice, with movements, gestures, and grimaces, and with much fervor, that now with all the tribes and people they wished to be relatives and friends or "Queyé," which means "fellow citizens." In conclusion, the commander ordered Captains Palma and Carlos to embrace. They did so, and in imitation of them the rest of the people likewise embraced.
This peace began to be established during the former expedition, when the commander told them that the king did not wish them to have wars, and that if any tribe injured another, Spaniards would come to avenge the wrong. Previously Father Garcés had urged them to the same end, and it was from this perhaps that they began to trade with each other; for last year there was scarcely an Indian seen with a blanket, and now we saw some with blankets of cotton which the Opas make, and a few with blankets of black wool of the kind they make in Moqui, and which the Jalchedunes and other friends obtain from the Moquinos. We went to dine, and Captain Palma, with permission obtained beforehand from the commander, took Governor Carlos and all his people to his house to eat, in confirmation of the peace treaties, and the next day he gave him a supply of beans, pechita, and other things such as they have, for his journey when he might wish to return.
At night the Yumas and the Opas remained until late around the fire, stretched out on the ground half buried in the sand, heaped up like pigs, as is their custom, singing in their funereal fashion, and playing on the drum with a corita. I remained with them for a short time. Then I took Captain Palma and an interpreter, and in the arbor I had with him a long conversation as to whether he wished that I and other fathers should come to live there with his people. To this he replied that he would be very much pleased by it, and all his people likewise. I continued by telling him that for this it was necessary that he should learn the doctrine in order that they might be Christians; likewise that they would have also to learn masonry and carpentry, and to till the soil, etc., and that they must live together in a pueblo, which would have to be formed by the people, in order that they might live close together in their houses and not scattered out as now; and that they would have to make a house for the father and a church.')
To all this Palma replied that they would do these things with great pleasure, although now his head was pretty hard for learning, and that he greatly wished that we would come now and not "soon." He said also that for building the pueblo there was on the other side of the river, a hill or mesa which the river does not reach, and which he had already examined with a view to our living there, and that this mesa was the one at the Puerto de la Concepción. I told him that I would have to return to report this opinion of his to the king, adding that now that he and his people wished to be Christians, and be friends with the Spaniards, no doubt next year the king would say that we must return to live with them, and that if I should come I would have to teach them to work and likewise to sing. To all of this Palma listened so pleased that he began to sing the Alabado with me. Then he bade me goodbye with many embraces and demonstrations of pleasure, saying in conclusion that now he was a Spaniard and I a Yuma, and Queyé. At all this conversation Captain Pablo Feo was present, very attentive, and assenting very gladly to everything.
Wednesday, November 29 SP -- I said Mass in the arbor, which was about four varas wide and eight long, and in which we set up an altar with the picture of the Virgin which Father Garcés was carrying. Since the Colorado River is so large and is so spread out over these plains, we now had no Island of Trinidad, nor the ford by which the expedition crossed the first time.[ Footnote 75] The Indians said that the ford of the Colorado was very deep, and since these two rivers, the Colorado and the Gila, rise so high every year and run through these level and soft lands so unbridled, it appears that they wash their beds somewhat and make barrancas, and break out in branches according to the greater or less force of the water in one place or another. What is clear is that in its greatest flood season the Gila alone is more than a league wide, and one can imagine what an area the Colorado must cover, for it is much larger. For this reason it was planned to cross the river on rafts; but the commander, considering that it was so long a task and so difficult to take such a train over on rafts, went with some soldiers to examine the river, and with some difficulty they found a ford over the Colorado River above the old one and above the place where we were. The ford having been found, a road was opened in the afternoon through the brush and the groves along the bottom lands, in order to cross over the next day.
Today many people of both sexes assembled, all very happy at our coming. They visited the Spaniards from tent to tent with an affability and a curiosity so unrestrained in wishing to see and examine everything, that they became even impertinent and tiresome. A Jalchedun also came to see us, and departed with a message to give his people concerning our coming and the ratification of the peace treaties. It was announced that in the afternoon the commander would give presents of glass beads to all those assembled, but he did not do so, reserving this until after the crossing of the river.
Thursday, November 30 SP -- I said Mass, which was attended by Governor Carlos and other Indians. Afterward he made a harangue in which he said that his heart was very content with the peace treaties that had been made, and at seeing that we were remaining amongst these Yuma people with such pleasure and satisfaction, and he and the alcalde agreed to send to Tubac some letters which Father Garcés delivered to him. After Mass, Carlos, this governor of the Cocomaricopas, who came with us to ratify the peace treaties with the Yumas, returned to his country very well content, and we went to the river, following a road which, to the surprise of Palma and the rest of the Yumas, the muleteers had opened the previous afternoon through the brush, which is very thick for a long stretch before reaching the river.
We set out from the beach of the Colorado River at nine o'clock in the morning, and at one in the afternoon the fording of the stream was finished by all the expedition, people, and pack animals, without any particular mishap. We crossed it where it is divided into three branches, not counting a little overflow, and stopped on the bank, having traveled about a short league to the north. One league.
The width of the river where we crossed it I judged to be some three or four hundred varas, and this is at the time when it is lowest, for when it is in flood it is leagues in width and extent through that land that is so level. It was our good fortune to find the river divided here into three branches, because this facilitated the crossing, which otherwise might have been difficult. The first branch was deep and wide, the second not so deep or so wide, and the third likewise deep and much wider than the first. All the people crossed over without mishap, although there might have been accidents, for when the animals left the ford that was found they had to swim. And one person, because he had no fear of the river, turned off in another direction, and immediately was so submerged that the water carried away from him a blanket and some baskets; and then a little girl which he had in front of him slipped out of his hands, but the Virgin wished that we should come out on the other side without any more damage than to get a little wet, for the water reached nearly to the backs of the horses, and even though they were tall, as mine was, nevertheless I got wet clear up to my knees.
Then we took over the pack animals by dividing the load, each mule carrying one tierce, and in this way all the cattle, the saddle animals, and the packs came out all right. The only pack that got wet was the one in which I was carrying the holy oils and the vestments. This was because so little attention was paid to me and to what I said, for I charged the muleteers to take great care that it should not get wet, and begged the same of the commander. But perhaps this is just the reason why this was the pack with which they took the least care.
Father Garcés was carried over on the shoulders of three Yumas, two at his head and one at his feet, he lying stretched out face up as though he were dead. I crossed over on horseback, and since I was ill and dizzy headed, three naked servants accompanied me, one in front guiding the horse, and one on each side holding me on in order that I might not fall. Since the train was long, we spent about three hours in fording the river, and in order to dry the things that got wet we halted on its very bank.
From what I have said of the ford of the Colorado River one may infer how enormous it is when it is in flood; for if this is the time when it falls to the lowest point, and we crossed it before it joins the Gila River, and forded it where it is divided into three branches, not counting another branch which we still had to cross and over which it was so difficult to find a ford where the horses would not have to swim, how formidable will it be farther down after it has joined the Gila and when it is in flood.
In the afternoon the Commander went with Father Garcés and Father Thomás to the house of Palma to see where to build a shed or cabin for the habitation of these two fathers, who came to remain at this Colorado River to catechize the Yumas and to ascertain the wishes of the other tribes, etc.