CHAPTER VI
EXPLORATION OF THE BIG BEND AND PECOS COUNTRY, 1580-1605.
The spectacular attempt of Francisco Vazquez de Coronado to conquer Cibola had proved a dismal failure. Forty years elapsed before new efforts were made to reach the country of the sedentary pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona. During this time the frontier settlements of New Spain advanced slowly northward from Culiacan, on the western coast, all along the line to Panuco on the east. The discovery of mines, the estab- lishment of large cattle estates, and the ever present desire to convert the numerous Indians that inhabited the lands beyond the outposts were a constant urge to move onward towards the mysterious north. Thus by r 580 Zacatecas, Durango, San Luis Potosi, and San Bartolome, the last on the headwaters of the Mexican Conchos River, dotted the northern fringes of New Spain. 1 It was from the latter settlement that new efforts were destined to be made to reach the pueblos of New Mexico, to which Francisco Ibarra, the active and energetic governor of Nueva Vizcaya appears to have given the name as early as 1563, without having even seen it. 2 The Conchos River offered a natural and logical avenue to the Rio Grande and hence to New Mexico. This path was to lead Europeans once more to tread upon the soil of Texas and to come in contact with its natives. "Here, in the region corresponding to the later Allende and Jimenez, known then by the various names of San Bartolome, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbola, and San Gregorio, rich mines had been discovered, a flourishing settlement had sprung into existence, the Franciscan friars were striving with their accustomed zeal, and a small military force was maintained for the protection of miners, missionaries, and a few settlers from the ever-impending raids of savage tribes of the north and east." 3 But labor being scarce, it was not unusual for parties from this outpost to make expeditions as far as the Rio Grande and perhaps even beyond, to enslave the natives, who were sold at a good profit in Nueva Vizcaya. 1 For a detailed account of the northward advance during this forty years, see Hackett, Historical Docttme11ts Relating to New Mexico, I , 14-19; Bancroft, Nortli Mexican States and Texas, I, 102- II6; also see his History of ,Jfexico, II, 551-597. 2 Bancroft, History of Arizona amt New Mexico, 73. 3 /bid. , 74. [ 157]
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