Early Exploration of Big Bend Country, I68J-I7JI
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On his way to Santa Fe, Rivera stopped at Presidio del Paso del Norte, long enough to serve notice on Captain Antonio Valverde Cossio to appear in Santa Fe within a month to answer charges against him for the failure of the expedition to the country of the Pananas in 1720. 31 Captain Val- verde replied immediately with a long letter in which he pleaded not guilty. He declared that the orders of the viceroy clearly stated that the expedition was to be under his charge or that of his lieutenant governor. He explained that he had other more pressing matters to attend to at the time and that in placing the expedition in charge of his lieutenant, Captain Pedro de Villasur, he had done so fully aware of the ability, courage, and prudence of this officer. Villasur had been Alferez of Pre- sidio del Paso del Norte, having been promoted later to captain of this post, that he had been Alcalde lit/ayor and Capitan a Guerra of the Province of Santa Barbara, in Nueva Vizcaya, Inspector at Rosario, and Alcalde lit/ ayor and Capitan a Guerra of the Real de Minas of Chihuahua. His courage, ability, and zeal were well known and he had every reason to place full confidence in him. Villasur's Expedition. When the investigation was held in June, 1726, at Santa Fe, several witnesses who had been on the expedition were called to give testimony as to the entire expedition. Among these were Ildefonso Real de Aguilar and Phelipe Tamaris, both Spanish soldiers. From their declarations it appears that the expedition was undertaken as Valverde averred, at his instigation, and as a result of the information he had obtained from an Apache chief at the Napestle River. The force con- sisted of fifty men from the Presidio and Villa of Santa Fe, under the command of Captain Pedro de Villasur. They started from Santa Fe on June 14 and traveled approximately for sixty-three days, according to one of the witnesses, before they reached the river of Jesus Maria. According to the other witness they arrived at their destination on August 10. The general direction of the march had been east, with some deviations to the north. 35 If, as the witness stated, they had traveled from June 14 to August 10 from Santa Fe, in a general eastern direction, they must ha\'e co\'ercd 3 ~Notificazion, May 13, 1726. A. G. N., Provi11ci,1s /11ta11as, Vol. 37, Pt. 2. 35 Declaraciones de testigos. July 1 and 2, I 726. A. G. N., Pr<>;1i11ci,1s /,1/t:m,is, Vol. 37, Pt. 2. A good account of the eniire incident, ba~ed on the documentan· sources is found in Hackett, op. ci!., I, 191-213. See al~o Thomas, "The :\las:;ac~e of the Villasur Expedition at the Forks of the Platte Riwr. August I z, 17zo," in Nebraska History a11d Rt:cord of Pi,111;:;:r D,rys. \'ol. VIII, No. 3.
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