The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-01-02
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN UTAH
Continued from page ~

to the Rio Colorado, they (the Indian runners) had
with deep interest this letter; now as to the state
ment made by the Cosnina Indian to the reverend
father, assert that what he calls the Rio de los
Misterios is the Colorado river. The protestation
that the river impossible and that the Cosmos
did not know if there were people on the other side
was an exaggeration of the Indian, for it is GER
tain that there people and friends of theirs on
the other side of the river. 1t is true, the river
may be difficult to cross for as have already writ
ten, from the village of the Jamajabo upwards the
banks very steep and the sides exceedingly
| rough"
During his visit to the Moquis Escalante at
tempted to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado
and failed. In his "lnforme Diario que in Junic
de 1775 hizo en- la Provincial de Moqui"-his diary
kept while among the Moquis--he recounts the OBJ,
stacles he encountered when he essayed the cross
ing of the tremendous chasm. lie describes the
Moqui pueblos, adding there were seven of them
perched on three mesas, carrying population of
1900 souls. That Oraibe was the largest town and
held almost two-thirds of the people. His journal
dated Oct. %. 1775, is full of interesting details
he recounts incidents of his long and perious trip
from Zuni, what occurred during his eight days
stay among the Moquis the difficulty of converting
them to the faith owing to the opposition of the
Shamans and the possible necessity of the Span
iards being compelled to force to subdue them.
He says the Moquis or Moquinos as they were then
spoken of, well disposed towards Christianity
and the Spaniards, but the medicine men or sor-
corers, fearing their power and influence would be
permitted to dwell permanently in their villages,
we're bitterly hostile.
This Moqui Diario gives us an insight into the
tribal life of the occult race and is full of curious
and interesting information.
Accompanying the Diario was a map of the
routes he had taken and delineation of the fea-
lures of the land and the general lay of the coun-
try. His map he finished at Santa Fe, to which
place he summoned by the viceroy of New
Mexico, Pedro Firmin de Mindinueta, to enter with
Father Atanasio Dominguez upon a tour of explo-
ration toward the Pacific ocean.
Returning from his now famous expedition Es-
caante completed from his voluminous notes his
Diario and Itinerary, now translated and given to
the public in this history A map of the route fol-
lowed by the explorers from Santa Fe to the Colo
RADIO and the Moqui pueblo was attached to the
original Diario, but it is presumably lost or de-
stroyed for the assistant librarian of the national
library Mexico City, writes us that he has not sue
ceeded in finding any trace of it. That this map
existed in 1777 we know from the letter written by
the Marques de Croix, from Mexico City to the
viceroy of New Mexico, Mindinueta The Marques
dates his letter 30th July 1777 and thanks Mindin
ueta for having forwarded to him the journals and
map (Diarios Mapa) of the two priests.
Scarcely giving himself time to recover from
the exhaustion of his wanderings over mountains
and deserts the tireless missionary sets out on foot
for the pueblo of Santa Anna of the Beneme, high
up near the headwaters of the Rio Grande, where
a mission had been opened some years before by
Fathr Jose Oronso.
We next hear of him in the Zuni mission vii
lage of San Ildefonso, where he dwells four
months catechizing and instruetng the Indians
From the Zuni country he is called by his pro-
vinca religious superior, Juan Morf, to collect
and examine the documents and archives found in
Santa Fe, and codify them.
Unfortunately the most important records and
were destroyed in the uprising and
massacre of 1880. The issue of his researches, be-
gun in April, 177s, and extending over period of
some years, resulted in the publication in Spanish
of his "Carta" or episte and his "Archivo de Neu-
evo Mexico" These invaluable works are printed
in the third series of the Documentary History of
Mexico and the original manuscripts are to be
found among the general archives of Mexico
In the Carta or letter to his ecclesiastical SUI
perior, Father Escalante says that the Navajo
Apaches came to Santa Fe in the month of July
every year from their hunting grounds the upper
Chama to barter dried meat, skins and captiFes Ia