L
Conservative *
plied that ho did , having been a
slave among thorn and having oven
been baptized. They engaged him to
guide thorn , ho hoping to secure his
liberty. Ho agreed to do so and they
travelled that day 25 miles to get
away from the Indians.
"On the 10th , they got sight of the
Spanish mountains , at a distance of
more than 25 miles from them , and
on the 12th they camped at the lirst
mountain. The 18th they camped
with three lodges of Indians to whom
they made a small present.
"On the 14th they found still an
other river , which they uamed Red
River , but which in all probability
is still another braucJi of the Arkan
sas , aud 58 miles from there they
found the first Spanish post , which is
a mission called Piquonris.
"Ou the 15th they had met three
Indians to whom they had giveu a
letter for the commandant at Taos ,
who had scut to them the next day
some mutton and very fine wheat
bread.
' ' While they were about three miles
from the first post , the commandant
aud the priest came out to them
with a crowd of people , who received
them very kindly aud evou enthusi
astically according to their story.
' ' On the 21st , they loft Piquouris
and at noon arrived at another mis
sion called St. Croix. After dinner
they passed by another one called
Cngnada , and they camped at a
country village called Saiuto Marie ,
where they wore very well received
by the Spaniards.
"Ou the 22nd they arrived at
Santa Fo , having made 662 miles
from the river of the Pauimahas.
The certificate hereto attached shows
how they wore received and how
they lived during the nine mouths
they were there while waiting
for word from the viceroy of Mexico ,
it is not strange that they had to
wait so long because ifc is 1,250 miles
by laud from Sauta Fo to Old Mexico ,
aud only one caravan a year makes
the journey.
"The reply of the viceroy was , '
according to the report of those
Canadians , to try to have them
remain in the country , and
they thought there was the de
sign to employ 'them in making the
exploration of a region , which , ac
cording to the tradition , true or
false , of the Indians of that land , is
distant three months travel to the'
west , where they said there wore
people dressed in silk who lived in
great cities upon the coast of the
sea. However that may bo , the !
Canadians preferred to return , and1
they wore permitted to leave with
the letters , copy of which is hereto ,
attached.
"Santa Fo , according to their re-
. -y w ' - \ *
* k..w > iv'i ,
port , is a city built of wood , and
without any fortification. It has
possibly 800 Spanish families or
mixed bloods , and round about arc a
number of Indian villages , in each
one of which is a priest who con
ducts the mission. There arc only 80
soldiers in the garrison , poorly
trained and poorly armed. There are
some mines very near there , which
are not worked. There are other ?
in cho province which are hold in
the name of the king of Spain , and
: from which the silver is transported
every year to Old Mexico by caravan.
"It seems by one of the letters at
tached , that the governors seize mer
chandise which comes there , and
carry on the little commerce which
is done there , which the priests and
others would like to carry on.
"Tho nation LalHane spoken of in
the journal is not Christian , like the
other neighboring nations , but it is
at peace with the Spaniards. The
Canadians assert that the little mer
chandise which they have distributed
to them has had a great effect there ,
and that this nation would bo en
tirely for us if wo had some trading
establishment in the country.
"May first , 1740 , the explorers ,
seven in number , one having married
in the country , set out from Santa
Fe , with the design of finding the
Mississippi , and returning to New
Orleans by a road opposite to that
one which they had taken.
"On the second they arrived at a
mission named Pequos , whore they
remained two days.
"On the 4th they sot out from
there and cainped/m a river of the
same name. They thought that the
river might bo a branch of the Red
River or the Arkansas. They fol
lowed it on the 5th and left it on the
6th. On the 7th they came to an
other stream running in the same di
rection as the first which tlioy named
River Jument [ Mare River ] , They
left that and struck across the coun
try , taking the direction which they
had iii mind , and on the 10th came tea
a third river which they thought
must flow into the Rod or Arkansas ,
and which they believed was the
same branch on which they had en
countered higher up , when going to
Santa Fe , the first evidences of the
Spaniards They wore then about
100 miles from that city , and they
thought one would have to go as far
as that place when they retained , in
order to make certain this discovery.
"On the llth , 12th , 18th , they fol
lowed this rivor. On this last day
throe of the seven took the resolution
to leave their comrades in order to
return by the route of the Panis ,
and thence to the Illinois , which they
have done , according to letters from
the last place by this post , and the
four others persisted in their resolu
tion to come hero. The same day
they mot a party of Laitancs with
whom they camped.
"On the 15th , following the same
river , they found a river of the Lait
ancs where they saw many horses.
There they camped. The Indians
made a feast for thorn and gave them
some horses in exchange for knives
and other trifles.
"They continued following the
stream until the 22nd. The night of
that day they lost six horses. From
the 22nd to the 80th they went into
the laud a little moro and this day
they met two male aud three female
Padokas , whom they shook hands
with , but a little time afterward ,
fear seized the Indians , who threw
away the moat with which they were
loaded and fled with their women
without it being possible to bring
them back.
"June 8th they returned to the
bank of the river , which they fol
lowed until the 14th. The 15th , 16th ,
17th , 18th , and 19th , they remained
in camp , and having deliberated
on the course which the river seemed
to take , they resolved to abandon
eighteen horses and to make canoes
of elm bark to travel in. This was
done , although they had only two
knives among the four. They had
travelled then 550 miles by laud from
Santa Fe.
"Ou the 20th they embarked in two
little canoes , and made 25 miles , the
river not having much current.
"Ou the 21st they made the same
distance. They saw two fine rivers
flowing into the stream they wore on ,
which might have boon the Pequos
and Jument which they had crossed
near Santa Fo. At length on the
24th they wore agreeably surprised to
find themselves on the headwaters of
the Arkansas. They had made then
105 miles with canoe. They found
below the fork a cabin of Canadians
who were hunting to procure meat
for salting. As they had nothing
left but their arms aud some ammu
nition , they went on the chase with
the others , and loaded a pirogue witli
salt meat , with which they wont
down to Arkansas Fort and from
there to Now Orleans. "
Arrival of the Eight Frenchmen at Santa
Fe , July 24 , 1739.
[ Copy of a certificate given at Santa
Fo to swell Frenchmen by General
Jeau Paoz Hurtado , mayor , major and
military captain of the capital city of
Santa Fo aud its jurisdiction , lieutenant
governor and captain general of the
kingdom of New Mexico and its prov
inces. ]
"I certify , so far as I am able , to Cap
tain Don Louis of Saint-Denis , who