Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1921-10-13

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
was set forth in a report furnished by George
Otis Smith, director of the geological survey on
theI 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 no less than nine names between 1910 and
1776. 1t also sets forth how the Green river came
to be known as the "Ghost river" to geographers
Among the facts brought out are these
1t was the Coronado expedition of 1540-42, sent
out by VicerOy Mendoza, that first explored the
pueblo country of New Mexico and Arizona and
tile Great Plains as far northeast central Kan
sas and discovered the Colorado river and the
Grand canyon. Alarcon discovered the Colorado
at its mouth and gave 1t the of Rio de
Buena GuIa (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; so he named 1t Rio
del Tizon (frebrand) Cardenas discovered the
Colorado at the Grand canyon, but for some rea-
refrained from naming 1t, probably because
soon afterward it was identified with the Rio del
Tizon. So the Coronado expedition gave the .CUlo-
RADIO its two first names.
The Coronado expedition was disappointing and
1t was 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 was made governor, adelantado and captain
general of the province of New Mexico. In 1893
Onate reached the Santa Fe region with an army
and q colony of 400 men, of whom $50 had their
families. Onate ruled New Mexico until 1908.
BY 1906 he and his subordinates had reexpl0red
practically all the ground covered by Coronado
and opened new trails. In 1904 he made a jour
ney from San Gabriel his headquarters near Santa
To to tha haod of hp Mi 0f
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 10 leagues southwest of MOqu
he named it "Itio Colorado because the
water is nearly red." Be it noted that the name
Colorado is here given for the first time not to
the Colorado river but to 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 name Colorado 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 Pman apostle
1693-1711 uses the name freely, as he does the
alternative name Rio del Norte; and he even be-
slows upon it a new name Rio de los ApostoIes
revolt of the Pueblo Indians in 1880 resulted
in the entire evacuation of New Mexico by the
Spaniards until its reconquest by V:rgas In 1892
"a, when most of the missions were reestablished
also. San Diego, the first of the California mis-
sons, was established in 1859; and in the next
80 years II others had been established dotting
the coast from San Diego to San Francisco bay.
Father SIlvestre Velez de Escaante then sta
toned at the Zun mission, spent eight days at
Moqui in June, 1775, trying to discover whether
there was an Indian trail across the Grand canyon.
He failed to extract any information from the
Indians and concluded that the canyon was i'm
passable. In letter on the subject written to
Father GarcpS August IL 1775 he called no riv
the canyon Rio Grande de los Cosninos. The
Cosnlna (iavasupai) Indians were settled on
Cataract creek. The next year. 1776 Garces him.
self trSvsJed from Mohave to Moqui and went