Elbert County tribune., 1921-10-07
or EW G1R40D RlIS7e,

An interesting feature of the discussion of the
joint resolution was the bringing out of the his
tory of the Colorado river and the early American
Southwest in concise and accurate form. This
set forth in report furnished by George
Otis Smith. director of the geological survey on
the history of the naming of the Colorado, Grand
and Green rivers and of the state of Colorado
This report explains how the Colorado came to
bear less than nine names between 1910 and
1776 1t also forth how the Green river came
to be known as the "Ghost river" to geographers
Among the facts brought out are these:
1t the Coronado expedition of 1540-42. sent
out by Viceroy Mendoza, that first explored the
pueblo country of New Mexico and Arizona and
the Great Plains as far northeast central Kan
and discovered the Colorado river and the
Grand canyon. Alarcon discovered the Colorado
at It's mouth and gave 1t the name of Rio de
Buena Gua (good guide) because that was Men
doza's device" Diaz, travelling along the river
saw the Indians carrying burning brands with
which to warm themselves; he named 1t Rio
del Tizon (firebrand) Cardenas discovered the
Colorado at the Grand canyon but for
refrained from naming 1t, probably because
soon afterward 1t was Identified with the Rio del
Tizon So the Coronado expedition gave the Colo
RADIO its two first names.
The Coronado expedition was disappointing and
1t not until 1881 that expedition under
Rodriguez revisited the region. This revived in
terest In the conquering and settling OF New
Mexico.
The contract for the conquest and settlement
was finally awarded in 1895 to Juan de Onate
who made governor, adeantado and captain
general of the province of New Mexico. In 1893
Onate reached the Santa Fe region with an army
and colony of 400 men, of whom 100 had their
families. Onate ruled New Mexico until 1905
BY 1905 he and his subordinates' had reexplored
practically all the ground covered by Coronado
and opened new trails. In 1904 he made jour
ney from San Gabriel, his headquarters near Santa
Fe to the head of the Gulf of California. He
went by way of Zuni, MoQui and Williams river
to the Colorado and down the east bank of that
river to the gulf. Crossing the Colorado Chiquito
little Colorado 40 leagues" southwest of Moqui,
he named 1t "Rio Colorado because the
is nearly red" Be 1t noted that the name
Colorado is here given for the first time not to
the Colorado river but to one of Its branches the
Little Colorado. To the Colorado itself, Onate
gave the name "Rio Grande de Buena Esperanza'
(good hope)
AT some Indefinite time during the next hundred
years the Colorado was transferred from
the Little Colorado to the main river, and before
the end of the century had been pretty well estab
lished Father kino the great Piman apostle
16S3-1711, the name freely, as he does the
alternative name Rio del Norte and he even be-
slows upon 1t name, Rio de los Apostoles
revolt Of the Pueblo Indians in 1880 resulted
in the entire evacuation of New Mexico by the
Spaniards until Its reconquest by vergas In 1892.
"a, when most of the missions reestablished
also San Diego. the first of the California mis-
sions, was established in 1769 and in the next
30 years II others had been established. dotting
the from San Diego to San Francisco bay.
Father Silvestre velez de Escalante. then sta
toned at the Zun mission. spent eight days at
Moqui In June. 1775, trying to discover whether
there Indian trail across the Grand canyon.
He failed extract any information from the
Indians and concluded that the canyon i'm
passable. In n letter the subject written to
Father Garces August IS, 1775 he called the river
or the canyon Rio Grande de los Cosninos. The
Cosnna (Havasupai Indians were settled on
Cataract creek. The next year. 1776 Garces him
self Travelled from Mohave to Modui. and went