The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-02-13

by Escaante's predecessors, Rivera and Posada. il
their incursions into this part of Colorado Fathe
Escaante writes: at (Rio San Pedro) flows t.
the northwest; and to the west joins the Rio Do
lores near the small range of mountains named so
the Salt (Sierra de la Sab, because they hav
near them salt pits from which as they inform us
the Uutes who dwell near here provide themselve
with salt" Further along in his journal and I'm
der the heading, Description of the mountain
thus far seen" he again mentions these noun
talns, writing: about twenty leagues to the ives
of this range (San Miguel mountans) are the Sal
mountains, which, moreover, appear SMALL
1t will be further observed that these noun
tains, already named before they were viewed b,
named by reason of the salt deposits in their vicin
ity, On August %, 1776, the date on which it il
specifically stated that Escalante gave the name
to these mountains, he was travelling northwarc
along the eastern slope of the Uncompahgre pla
teau in southwestern Colorado on his way to Utal
lake
Neither was Father Escalante the first white
man to cross the Colorado river. Near the mouth
of the ella river it had already been crossed many
times by Spanish priests and explorers, and there
is specific record of the crossing by Father Fran
cisco Garces, Franciscan priest who crossed the
river below the mouth of Pyramid canyon, nea,
Fort Mojave, June ), 1776, when on his way tc
visit the Moqui Indians. This crossing antedates
by at least five months that effected by Escalante
which was made November s, 1916. at the upper
end of the canyon, and in the vicinity of the pres
ent Lees Ferry.
Unromantic. as it may seen, Father Escalantes
journey through western Colorado and into Utah
where he later discovered Ito white men) Utai
lake, not primarily, for the extensonGHf the
domains of Spain in North America, but for the
prosaic purpose of discovering and opening
a practicable route of travel between Santa Fe and
the then recently established mission Monterey on
the Pacific coast in California. Nor in any event
could it have been for the extension of those do
mains from the beginning made by De Soto in
Mexico" as De Soto's explorations at no time took
him into Mexico; and in this part of America were
confined entirely to that region east of the Mis-
sissipp and south of the Ohio rivers; his other
exploits on the Western Hemisphere consisting of
the part taken by him in the conquest of Nicara-
qua and his later operations with Pzzaro in Peru.
The Escalante river and Escalante valley,
as the latter is officially known on the maps of the
e. S. Geological Survey, the Escalante desert, both
in Utah, and named long after Escalante's journey
was completed, have no significance other than
their tribute to the memory of the prest-explorer,
who was the first white man to visit and pass
through the territory which now comprises Utah.
Escalante did not journey to the river which bears
his name; and when he passed along the eastern
border of the Escaante desert, October 1912 1776,
on his return to Santa Fe, he gave it the name of
the valley and Plain of Our Lady of the Light"
1t seems hardly possible that the president, in
making this executive order, could have been mis-
led into thinking the name of La Sal to be a cor
ruption of La Sale, and that it originated from
any visit of the latter to this portion of the west
The mostfcursory examination of the records of La
Sales travels would show his explorations to have
been confined to the Great Lakes, and to that ter
ritory east of the Mississippi river except when in
his attempt to locate colony at the mouth of the
Mississippi river. he sailed into Matagordos Bay,
Texas, under the msapprehension that it was
western outlet of the river; and it while re-
turning to Canada from this expedition, in order
to secure supplies that he was assassinated by his
followers.
If criticism is due for a perhaps silly consid-
cred executive act the criticism, when dealing with
facts, should be free from error. Per-
haps the whole discussion might be trivial did it
not come Just at a time when the researches of
impartial historians are discussing the voluminous
and invaluable records of their journeyings and ex
plorations in the southwest, which have been left
us by the Spanish priests, and which form one Of
descended to us from SPANS one-time occupation
of this great portion of our territory