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Armijo Route, was the first route used but the last explored of several that became the Old Spanish Trail. It was explored and used by the expedition of Antonio Armijo who first established the trade between Nuevo Mexico and Alta California in 1829-1830. Unlike the other routes, Armijo's route was documented by him and published by the Mexican government in 1830.[1] This route of the Old Spanish Trail was not used very much in the 19th century because of hostilities between the Navajo and Mexico, but many parts of the western part of the Armijo route were later followed closely by the Main Route. Later roads in the territories and later the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California would follow parts of this route.

Armijo Route (Old Spanish Trail)

[edit]
Armijo Route of the Old Spanish Trail 1829 - 1830
from Abiquiú, Nuevo Mexico. [1] [2]
Date Location
November 8, 1829 Rio Puerco de Chama, Nuevo Mexico[3]
November 9, 1829 Arroyo de Agua, Nuevo Mexico[4]
Arroyo Del Agua, New Mexico
November 10, 1829 Capulin Peak, Nuevo Mexico [5] [6]
Gallina, New Mexico
November 11, 1829 Agua de la Cañada Larga, Nuevo Mexico [7][8]
November 12, 1829 Cañon Largo, Nuevo Mexico [9]
November 13, 1829 Cañon Largo, Nuevo Mexico [10]
November 14, 1829 Lake of Cañon Largo, Nuevo Mexico [11]
November 15, 1829 San Juan River, Nuevo Mexico [12]
Blanco, New Mexico
November 16, 1829 Stopping at San Juan River, Nuevo Mexico[13]
November 17, 1829 Rio Las Animas[14]
Aztec, New Mexico
November 18, 1829 La Plata River, Nuevo Mexico [15]
La Plata, New Mexico
November 19, 1829 San Lazaro River[16]
November 20, 1829 Stopping at San Lazaro River, Nuevo Mexico[17]
November 21, 1829 At the confluence of the San Juan
and San Lazaro Rivers, Nuevo Mexico [18]
November 22, 1829 Springs of the Navajo mountains, Nuevo Mexico.[19]
Teec Nos Pos, Arizona
November 23, 1829 River on the other side of Navajo Mountain, Nuevo Mexico [20]
November 24, 1829 Escondido Spring, Nuevo Mexico [21]
November 25, 1829 Little canyon of Celli Creek, Nuevo Mexico [22]
November 26, 1829 Stopped at Celli Creek, Nuevo Mexico [23]
November 27, 1829 Artenesales de Piedra, Nuevo Mexico [24] [25] [26]
November 28, 1829 At the lake of the Puerto de las Limitas, Alta California [27]
November 29, 1829 "At the Aguage del Cuervo, Alta California [28] [29]
November 30, 1829 Aguage del Payuches, Alta California [30] [31]
December 1, 1829 Laguna de las Milpitas, Alta California[32]
December 2, 1829 Picacho Springs, Alta California[33] [34]
December 3, 1829 Cañon Fragoso de los Padres, Alta California[35]
December 4, 1829 Stopping at Cañon Fragoso, Alta California[36]
December 5, 1829 Dominguez Butte, Alta California[37]
December 6, 1829 Crossing of the Fathers, Alta California[38]
December 7, 1829 Stopped at Crossing of the Fathers, Alta California [39]
December 8, 1829 Crossing at the Crossing of the Fathers, Alta California [40]
December 9, 1829 Blanco Canyon, Alta California [41]
December 10, 1829 artenejál of Ceja Colorado, Alta California [42] [43]
December 11, 1829 creek of Ceja Canyon, Alta California [44] [45]
December 12, 1829 Tree covered Ridge.[46] [47]
December 13, 1829 Colorado Pueblo[48] [49]
December 14, 1829 Carnero Creek[50] [51]
December 15, 1829 Agua de la Vieja[52] [53]
December 16, 1829 Coyote Plains[54]
December 17, 1829 Caloso Canyon[55] [56]
December 18, 1829 Stopping at Caloso Canyon: reconnaissance party went out.[57]
December 19, 1829 Cañon del Agua Hediondo[58] [59]
December 20, 1829 Rio Severo[60] [61] [62]
December 21, 1829 Stopping at Severo River: reconnaissance party went out.[63]
December 22, 1829 Rio de las Milpas[64] [65]
December 23, 1829 Calabacillas Arroyo [66] [67]
December 24, 1829 Beyond the Milpas River.[68] [69]
Summit Spring[70]
December 25, 1829 Severo River again, reconnaissance party sent out.[71] [72]
December 26, 1829 Down the Severo River.[73]
December 27, 1829 Rio Severo. Settlement of Indians with rings in their noses.[74]
December 28, 1829 Rio Severo.[75]
December 29, 1829 At the slough of the Rio Severo.[76] [77]
December 30, 1829 At the Rio Severo.[78] [79]
December 31, 1829 At the Rio Severo. Reconnaissance party returned.[80] [81]
January 1, 1830 Rio Grande[82] [83]
(Junction of the Virgin and Colorado Rivers)
January 2, 1830 Down the Rio Grande: rugged trail.[84] [85]
(Cottonwood Spring)[86]
January 3, 1830 Again down the Rio Grande: rugged trail.[87]
(Mouth of Callville Wash)[88]
January 4, 1830 Stopping on the Rio Grande. Party went in search of Rivera.)[89]
January 5, 1830 Stopping on the Rio Grande. Party returned without Rivera. [90]
January 6, 1830 Yerba del Manso Arroyo [91]
January 7, 1830 Stopping: waiting for the reconnaissance party. Rivera returns.[92][93]
January 8, 1830 Stopping. Reconnaissance party returned and went out again.[94]
January 9, 1830 Salado Arroyo[95] [96]
January 10, 1830 laguna sin agua[97] [98]
January 11, 1830 Ojito del Tortuga [99] [100]
January 12, 1830 Pass without water[101] [102]
January 13, 1830 Little Salty Springs[103] [104]
January 14, 1830 River of the Payuches[105] [106]
January 15, 1830 Down the same river.[107]
January 16, 1830 Rio Salitroso[108] [109]
January 17, 1830 "A day's journey without water."[110]
January 18, 1830 Laguna del Milagro[111][112]
January 19, 1830 Ojito del Malpais[113] [114]
January 20, 1830 A day's journey without any water. [115]
January 21, 1830 Arroyo de los Hayatas[116] [117]
January 22, 1830 Up the Arroyo de los Hayatas[118]
January 23, 1830 Up the Arroyo de los Hayatas, ate a horse. [119]
January 24, 1830 Up the Arroyo de los Hayatas, ate a horse.[120]
January 25, 1830 Up the Arroyo de los Hayatas, ate a horse.[121]
January 26, 1830 Up the Arroyo de los Hayatas, ate a mule.[122]
January 27, 1830 Along the Arroyo de la Hayatas we met the party with
supplies and men from the ranch of San Bernardino.[123] [124]
January 28, 1830 Cañon de San Bernardino [125] [126]
January 29, 1830 Paraje de San Jose [127]
January 30, 1830 la Fuente[128] [129]
January 31, 1830 San Gabriel Mission, Alta California [130] [131]

History

[edit]

A route linking the Mexican territory Nuevo Mexico to that of Alta California, combining information from many explorers, was opened in 1829-30 when Santa Fe merchant Antonio Armijo led a trade party of 60 men and 100 mules to California. Using a short cut discovered by one of Armijo's scouts, Rafael Rivera the previous year, the Armijo party was able to stitch together a route that connected the routes of the Rivera and Dominguez–Escalante Expeditions through southwestern Utah and northern Arizona and north western New Mexico with those of the Jedediah Smith explorations along the Virgin River and Colorado River and those of Smith and those of other fur trappers that had reached California, with the approach to San Gabriel Mission along to the Mohave Trail that crossed the Mojave Desert from the Colorado River and followed the course of the Mojave River up river to the San Bernardino Mountains and into the coastal plains of Southern California.

Upon the return of Antonio Armijo, Manuel Armijo, the governor of New Mexico, immediately announced the success to his superiors in Mexico City. As a reward, the governor officially named Armijo “Commander for the Discovery of the Route to California.” Armijo's route was documented by him in a report to the governor and published by the Mexican government in June 1830.[1]

Reference

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Diario que formo yo el ciudando Antonio Armijo, como comandante, para el descubrimiento del camino para el punto de las Californias (Diary made by citizen Antonio Armijo as commandant for the discovery of the route to the Californias), Official Register of the Government the United States of Mexico, 1830, pp. 205-206 from Old Spanish Trail Association website, oldspanishtrail.org, accessed February 14, 2016 Cite error: The named reference "Armijo" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ LeRoy R. Hafen and Antonio Armijo, Armijo's Journal,Huntington Library Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Nov., 1947), pp. 87-101, Published by: University of California Press, DOI:10.2307/3816035
  3. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.92, n.22-21, "The 7th of November of 1829, I left the jurisdiction of Abiquisi advanced as far as the Puerco River, stopping at said place on the 8th."
  4. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.92, n.22, "At Arroyo de Agua." [Water Wash]. The place is not definitely identified. To avoid the Chama Canyon, the party made its way to the south of the canyon and apparently took the general course of the modern road No. 96, leading westward.
  5. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.92, n.23, "At Capulin"[Choke Cherry]. Capulin Peak...
  6. ^ This camp would have been located in the valley at the foot of Capulin Peak, along the Rio Capulin tributary of the Rio Gallina, near Gallina, New Mexico.
  7. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.93, n.24, "At Agua de la Cañada Larga [Water of the Long Canyon]." This is the head spring of Cañada Larga. During the day the party has crossed the high sage plain plateau which is the continental divide, and has left the drainage of the Rio Grande and entered that of the Colorado River.
  8. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cañada Larga
  9. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.93, n.25, "At the mouth of Canon largo [Long Canyon]." This is the mouth of Cañada Larga at its confluence with the upper end of Cañon Largo, which they will follow along its northwest course until it enters the San Juan River.
  10. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.93,"On Cañon Largo."
  11. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.93, n.26 "At the lake of Cañon Largo, at this point we found a settlement of Navajos."
  12. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.93, n.27 " At the San Juan River." They now have traveled eight days from Abiquiu, four days to Cañon Largo and four days down that long canyon. They have made about 12 miles a day in a straight line along their course and probably traveled from fifteen to twenty miles a day along the winding route of their trail.
  13. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.93, "Stopping at said river."
  14. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.93, n.28, "At Las Animas River." They doubtless crossed the San Juan and took a northwest course to reach the Las Animas in about fifteen miles, near the site of the present town of Aztec.
  15. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.93, n.29, "At the springs on the bank of the Plata River". Another day's journey in the same direction would take them to the La Plata River in the vicinity of the present village of La Plata.
  16. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.93, n.30, "At San Lazaro River." This is the Mancos River of today. Father Escalante in the journal of his famous 1776 expedition uses both names for the stream. Armijo has crossed a spur of the La Plata Mountains and reached the Mancos River south of Mesa Verde, where it turns from its southward course to run almost directly westward. The route of travel here indicated, to the north of the San Juan River, is the one later shown by Gunnison and Beckwith on the map of their railroad survey of 1853 and labeled "lower trail traveled during the rainy season." It is the only route that would have brought the party from the La Plata to the Mancos in a day's travel. If one followed along the San Juan from the mouth of the La Plata to the mouth of the Mancos he would have to travel some fifty miles. Left the main branch of the Old Spanish Trail.
  17. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.93 "Stopping at San Lazaro River."
  18. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.94, n.31 "At the San Juan River again, at this juncture we found six Navajos but nothing happened." They return to the San Juan, presumably at or near the mouth of the Mancos, in the area of the Four Corners.
  19. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.94, n.32 "At the springs of the Navajo mountains." This was probably the Mission Spring at the north base of the Carrizo Mountains.
  20. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.94, n.33 "At the river which comes down on the other side of the Navajo Mountain." Presently Walker Creek, which flows west and northwest from the Carrizo Mountains.
  21. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.94, n.34, "At Escondido [Hidden] Spring." This may be Hogansaani Spring, located midway down Walker Creek to Chinle Creek.
  22. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.94, n.35, "At the little canyon of Celli Creek." The creek that rises in the Canyon de Chelly National Monument runs north, and is now known as Chinle Creek.
  23. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.94, "We stopped at this juncture."
  24. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.94, n.36 "At Artenesales de Piedra." Not identified.
  25. ^ Artenesales de Piedra = Sculpted or Crafted stone. From The Old Spanish Trail Documentation Project: Property Types or Trail Characteristics accessed February 8, 2016.
  26. ^ Variously thought to be either Church Rock (Navajo County, Arizona) or the long Comb Ridge (Arizona) both within a couple of miles of each other east of Kayenta, Arizona along Laguña Creek.
  27. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.94, n.37, "A la laguna del puerto de las Limitas [At the lake of the pass of the Boundary]." Limita Spring and a lake nearby are on the exploration route of Captain Walker of 1859, as shown on the map accompanying the Captain Malcomb Report, op. cit. These are about the right distances west of Chinle Creek to be reached in the two days of travel.
  28. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.94, n.38, "At the water hole of El Cuervo [The Crow]." This may be Chief Spring of today.
  29. ^ This may be Boiling Spring on Skeleton Mesa overlooking Long Canyon, in the Navajo National Monument.
  30. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.94, n.39, "At the water hole of the Payuches: three Indians were found, no trouble ensued, and it was necessary to scale a canyon for which purpose we had to carry the baggage in our arms." This was probably in Piute Canyon, or at the Upper Crossing Springs near the canyon.
  31. ^ Upper Crossing Spring in Piute Canyon
  32. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.94, n.40, "At the lake of Las Milpitas [The little corn patches]. On this day we had to work our way down the canyon." The route from here to the "Crossing of the Fathers" on the Colorado River cannot be determined with exactness. The Armijo party appears to be covering about the same territory, southwest of the crossing of the Colorado, where the Escalante party had such difficulty in finding a route through the rugged canyon country. See Escalante journal for November 8-11, 1776, in Aurbach, pp. 103-5.
  33. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.95, "At the Picacho [Peak] Springs: on this day I went out on reconnaissance with Salvador Maes."
  34. ^ Junction of the Navajo and Kaibito Creeks
  35. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.95, n.41, "At the rocky canyon with the decent and ascent trail of the padres." It was necessary to scale up one and down the other and carry our baggage in our arms.
  36. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.95, "Stopping: on this day I returned from the reconnaissance with nothing to report."
  37. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.95, "At the edge of the mesa of the Rio Grande, known in the Californias as the Colorado; a day's journey without water."
  38. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.95, n.42, "At the Rio Grande Crossing of the Fathers: on that day we reconnoitered the ford and it was found passable, and three individuals who forded it observed that there were three fresh tracks which they followed until dark without overtaking anyone." The Crossing of the Fathers was a passable ford where the Colorado was a mile wide. See Auerbach, p.102. It was a short distance above the Utah-Arizona boundary.
  39. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.95, "Stopping. The above mentioned individuals joined us, relating what has already been recorded."
  40. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.95, n.43 "We stopped the train and repaired the upgrade of the canyon, the same one which had been worked by the padres." Escalante's descent from the north side to the river on November 7 is reported in his diary: "To lead the animals down by their bridles to the canyon it was necessary to hew steps with the ax in a rock for a distance of about three yards or a little less. The animals could go down the rest of the way but without a pack or a rider."
  41. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.95, n.44, "At Blanco {White] Canyon: permanent water." This was probably Wahweap Canyon.
  42. ^ Hafen, Armijo's Journal, p.95, n.45, "At the artenejal of Ceja Colorada: on this day there was found a settlement of Payuches, with no mishap; it is a gentle and cowardly nation."
  43. ^ artenejál of Ceja Colorado,[sculpted Red Ridge] in Fivemile Valley
  44. ^ "At the creek of Ceja [Ridge] Canyon."
  45. ^ Apparently this was Paria Creek. It is the right distance for and average three day journey from the Crossing of the Fathers. (Creek of Ridge [Ceja] Canyon)
  46. ^ "At the top of the tree-covered ridge: no water."
  47. ^ (Crossed Cockcomb and the north end of Kaibab Mountain, Top of the tree-covered ridge)
  48. ^ "At Colorado Pueblo: no water, but we used snow instead."
  49. ^ (Colorado Pueblo)
  50. ^ "At Carnero [Ram] Creek."
  51. ^ Hafen, This must be Kanab Creek, three days journey from Paria. the crossing was probably in the vicinity of Fredonia, Arizona. (Reached Ram [Carnero] Creek = Kanab Creek)
  52. ^ "At Agua de la Vieja [Water of the Old Woman]."
  53. ^ Hafen, This could be Pipe Springs or Moccasin. Four more days are to bring Armijo to the Virgin River, and the determining factor in the identification of this route is the point at which he strikes this river. To reach a conclusion requires consideration of several matters. Going ahead to the mouth of the Virgin and working back from that definite point, as well as by taking the distance and the number of days travel from the Crossing of the Fathers, convinces me that Armijo reached the Virgin about half way between the present towns of Hurricane and Washington. I am the more certain because the day after reaching the Virgin he arrived at the Milpas River (identified as the Santa Clara). Also, an interception of the Virgin farther east is unlikely because of its involvement in deep canyons. The exact route from Kanab Creek to the Virgin River cannot be traced, but it did not make the dip far to the south which Escalante made. Armijo probably traveled by Cane Beds and Short Creek, Arizona. The old country road leading from Hurricane to Pipe Spring and Fredonia probably follows roughly the Armijo trace. The present editor drove over this route from St. George to Bright Angel Point, on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, in 1920. (At Water of the Old Woman [Agua de la Vieja] = Pipe Spring)
  54. ^ "At the Coyote Plains without any water."
  55. ^ "At Caloso [Limestone] Canyon: water from water holes."
  56. ^ (Limestone [Caloso] Canyon - Hurricane Cliffs)
  57. ^ "Stopping: reconnaissance party went out and returned with nothing to report."
  58. ^ "Al Cañon del Agua hediondo: Pemenente."
  59. ^ Hafen, At Stinkingwater Canyon: permanent. (Stinking Water Canyon)
  60. ^ "At the Severo River."
  61. ^ Hafen, The first and apparent identification of the Rio Severo would be the Sevier River of central Utah, as assumed by some students. (See J. J. Hill, The History of Warner's Ranch and its Environs [1927], pp.87-88.) A closer study, however, convinces one that this identification is incorrect. The Sevier River runs north, instead of south, and does not flow into the Colorado as does Armijo's Rio Severo. The Virgin River is the only stream that can be the Colorado affluent which the Spanish party follows; it meets all requirements. Armijo's is not the only confusion of the Virgin and Sevier rivers. Thomas J. Farnham, in the Pictorial Edition of his Life, Adventures, and Travels in California (1849), pp.318-20, tells of the adventures of an old trapper on the "Rio Severe," which was most likely the Virgin River of today. In fact, the Virgin is a much more severe stream than the Sevier River. The Virgin River had been given other names previous to Armijo's chistening of it. Escalante had called it the Rio Sulfureo (Sulphur River) from the sulphur springs by Hurricane, Utah, which enter the river and affect its waters near where the Escalante party crossed the stream. Jedediah Smith journeyed along the river in 1826 and gave it the name of the President of the United States - Adams River. When - sometime during the 1830's - it took on its present name has not been determined. Having been born and reared on this stream, I have a special interest if not affection for it, even though J. C. Fremont, who ascended it in 1844, characterized it as "the most dreary river I have ever seen" (his Report of the Exploring Expedition [1845], p.268.
  62. ^ (Junction of the Pearce Wash and Severe [Severo] = Virgin River)
  63. ^ "Stopping: reconnaissance party went out."
  64. ^ "At the Milpas [Corfield] River: at this point the reconaissance party rendezoused without mishap.
  65. ^ Hafen, This must be the Santa Clara, which Jedediah Smith called "Corn Creek." Along it Indians were raising corn when the first white men came to this country, and there they have continued to farm ever since. On Jedediah Smith's journey down the Virgin in 1827 he turned up the Santa Clara to cross Beaver Dam Mountains by the same route the modern highway (U.S. 91) takes. On his trip of 1826, Smith had descended the Virgin west from the site of St. George, Utah, and found great difficulty in going through "The Narrows," cut throuh the mountain range by the stream. So on his second trip, in 1827, Smith found a more satisfactory route by ascending the Santa Clara some twelve miles and then turning west. In finding this trail he was doubtless assisted by the Indians. Very likely Armijo learned of the route and of Smith's traversal of it from the same Paiutes. Followed the Virgin River to the Cornfield [Milpas] = Santa Clara River; Reconnaissance party rendezvoused without mishap), Rio de las Milpas
  66. ^ "At Calabacillas [Little wild squash] Arroyo."
  67. ^ Hafen, The little, stripped, wild squashes, locally called gourds, still grow profusely along the Santa Clara River and at the arroyos that enter it. The wash named here was probably the one that enters the river just above the present Shivwit Indian village, where the road turns from the Santa Clara to effect a crossing of the mountain range to the west. (Headed up the Santa Clara River to Little Wild Squash [Calabacillas] Arroyo)
  68. ^ "Beyond the Milpas River."
  69. ^ Hafen, The camp of the 24th was probably west of the dividing ridge. (Beyond the Santa Clara River, Crossed over Utah Hill)
  70. ^ Beyond the pass of Utah Hill Summit is Castle Cliff Wash and Summit Spring Wash, with Summit Spring 4 miles from the pass. Calstle Creek Wash leads down to the Virgin River near modern Littlefield, Arizona.
  71. ^ "We hit the Severo River again, from which point the reconnaissance party went out."
  72. ^ Hafen, Descent of the long "Slope" would bring the party again to the Virgin River at the mouth of Beaver Dam Wash and near the present village of Littlefield, Arizona. They now follow the Virgin down to its junction with the Colorado.
  73. ^ "Down the same river."
  74. ^ "Ibid. We found a settlement of Indians with rings in their noses. Nothing happened for these Indians are gentle and cowardly."
  75. ^ "Down the same river."
  76. ^ "At the slough of the same river."
  77. ^ Hafen, During low water the Virgin frequently loses itself in the sand and terminates in wire-grass and tule slough.
  78. ^ "At the aforementioned river."
  79. ^ Hafen, The entrance of the Muddy affluent, below former St. Thomas (site now covered by Lake Mead), reinforces the Virgin.
  80. ^ "At the same river the reconnaissance party of the day before."
  81. ^ Hafen, Along the Virgin River, the reconnaissance party rendezvoused (missing Rivera).
  82. ^ "Again at the Rio Grande [Colorado]: Citizen Rafael Rivera is missing from the reconnaissance party of the day before."
  83. ^ Hafen, They have now reached the Colorado again, down which they will travel three days. In the meantime the guide, Rivera, had set out on December 31, to reconnoiter. He pushed ahead until he reached the Mojave Indian villages at the extreme southern point of Nevada's boundry. Upon his return to the main party, after having been gone seven days, he reported that he had found the ford of the Colorado which he had used the previous year in going to Sonora. This bit of information, revealed in the entry of January 7, indicates that Rivera was familiar with the route from the Mojave villages on the Colorado River to the Mojave River and thence to the San Bernardino region. He was probably the one who suggested leaving the river at its abrupt southward bend, a little above the present Hoover Dam, and taking a short cut across the desert to the desert to the Mojave River.
  84. ^ "Down the Rio Grande: rugged trail."
  85. ^ Hafen, They do not cross the Colorado at the mouth of the Virgin, as did Jedediah Smith, but instead make their way over the rough country to the north of the Colorado, probably along the general route later used by the Mormons in reaching their head-of-navigation warehouse at Callville. (Rugged trail along the Colorado River)
  86. ^ Cottonwood Spring is between the western end of Pinto Valley and the valley of Callville Wash.
  87. ^ "Ditto. (Rugged trail along the Colorado River)"
  88. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Callville Wash
  89. ^ "Stopping: on this day the reconnaissance party went in search of Rivera."
  90. ^ "Stopping: reconnaissance party returned and did not find Rivera."
  91. ^ "At Yerba del Manso [a curative herb] Arroyo, at which point the reconnaissance party goes out in search of Rivera." This was probably at the mouth of Las Vegas Wash, which enters the Colorado a little above the Hoover Dam and near where the river turns abruptly southward. This is the logical place to leave the river to take the desert short cut and also to avoid the Black Canyon and other gorges of the Colorado. This point is only about 20 miles in an air line from the mouth of the Virgin. This would seem a short distance to have made in three days, but the distance traveled was much greater than the airline mileage, and besides, Rivera was out on his exploring tour and the main party would naturally travel slowly while they were seeking him or awaiting his return.
  92. ^ "Stopping: waiting for the reconnaissance party. Citizen Rivera returned and announced that he had discovered the villages of Cucha Payuches and the Hayatas, and had recognized the ford where he had crossed the Rio Grande the previous year in going to Sonora."
  93. ^ Hafen, The Hayatas are probably the Mojaves, who still live in the valley of the Colorado, on the Fort Mojave Reservation.
  94. ^ "Stopping. Reconnaissance party looking for Rivera arrived with nothing to report and went out again."
  95. ^ "At Salado [Salty] Arroyo, with nothing new."
  96. ^ Hafen, The party has now left the river and set out across the desert. It will take them six days to reach the River of the Payuches. The only river which answers the descriptions - is in about the right location and is long enough for the party to follow it for a days journey - is the Amargosa. It is eighty-five airline miles from the setting out point on the Colorado and therefore could be reached in the six days. They probably traveled an almost due west course, one shown on the "General Map Showing Approximate Locaton of Better Known Springs and Wells in the Mojave and Adjacent Deserts, Southeastern California and Southwestern Nevada," accompanying Water Supply Paper No. 224, U. S. Geological Survey. The trail shown on this map goes from Callville on the Colorado, westward by present Arden, and some eight miles south of Las Vegas. It is almost certain that Armijo did not go by the large, impressive spring at Las Vegas. for such an excellent water supply would have called forth a recognizable description.
  97. ^ "At a lake without water."
  98. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Dry Lake
  99. ^ "At the little spring of the turtle"
  100. ^ Hafen, This was probably Cottonwood Spring, in the Spring Mountains, toward which the party would naturally direct its course in search of water. This spring, about seventeen miles from Las Vegas, later became a well known stopping place on the Old Spanish Trail and on the route from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles. There are many diaries of subsequent trips over the route from here to San Bernardino, but there are wide discrepancies in the names and locations of springs and the distances between them. J. C. Fremont, in his Report of the Exploring Expediton gives valuable information of his eastward trip over this trail in 1844. However, this his map and his journal do not correspond regarding the territory from the Amargosa to Las Vegas. The journal and map of G. H. Heap, Central Route to the Pacific (1854), better fit the geography. "The Diary of Dr. Thomas Flint, California to Maine and Return, 1851 - 1855," Hist. Soc. of So. Calif. Annual Publication 1923, pp.116-20, gives information on this section of the route. See also, "By Ox Team from Salt Lake to Los Angeles, 1850; a Memoir by David W. Cheeseman," ibid., 1930, pp.294-300; Howard Egan, Pioneering the West, 1846 to 1878 (1917), pp. 173-75; Jules Remy and Julius Brenchley, A Journey to Great Salt Lake City (1861), II, 416-41; the manuscript report by Lieutenant Sylvester Mowry of his military expedition over the route in 1855 (in the National Archives, Washington, D. C.); and various manuscript diaries in the Mormon Church archives in Salt Lake City.
  101. ^ "At the pass without water."
  102. ^ Hafen, There was a spring at the mountain pass west of Cottonwood Spring, but travelers frequently passed without noting it. See the David Cheeseman memoir, p.195.
  103. ^ "At the Little Salty Springs."
  104. ^ Hafen, This was probably Stump Spring, so called by Mowry and by later travelers, and listed by Heap, p.104, as Agua Escarbada. It may have been Resting Spring, or what Freemont called Hernandez Spring, from the tragedy enacted there just prior to Fremont's arrival.
  105. ^ "At the River of the Payuches, where a village was found: nothing happened for it was gentle."
  106. ^ Hafen, Identified as the Amargosa River, or Bitter Creek. This stream flows south, then west around the point of the Black Mountains, and then turns northwest toward Death Valley. The trail followed it for several miles.
  107. ^ "Down the same river."
  108. ^ "At the Salitroso [Alkali] River; where the reconnaissance party rendezvoused without mishap."
  109. ^ Hafen, This stream bed, generally dry, was a branch of the Amargosa (see Fremont, p.264). In it was the Salt Spring, near which were the Salt Spring Mines, worked in the early 1850's. See Heap, p.106; Flint, p.119; and the Mowry manuscipt.
  110. ^ "A day's journey without water."
  111. ^ "At the lake of El Milagro [Miracle]."
  112. ^ Hafen, This was probably the spring which Fremont called Agua del Tomaso, Heap labeled Agua del Tio Meso, and later travelers called Bitter Springs. One of the long, so-called jourdanas of the route extended the fifty desert miles from the Amargosa to this place. Red Pass Lake, may have had water in it.
  113. ^ "At the Ojito del Malpais",[little spring of the badlands]."
  114. ^ Hafen, Not identified, Bitter Spring.
  115. ^ "A day's journey without any water."
  116. ^ "At the arroyo of the Hayatas, at the end of which comes in the trail from Moqui, traveled by the the Moquis with the object of trading shells with the said Hayatas."
  117. ^ Hafen, The bed of the Mojave River. In subsequent years the trail struck it at various points. In the lower reaches, water was found in pools or could be dug for in the sand. The traffic across the desert from the Mojave villages on the Colorado and from the Moquis beyond was already well established at the time of the first visit of white men to this region. See On the Trail of a Spanish Pioneer, ed. E. Coues, p.237. The river was discovered by Father Garces on March 9, 1776, and by him named the Rio de las Martires (ibid., p238). The Armijo party is to travel six days up this stream. They are now on ground undoubtedly familiar to Rivera, if not to other members of the company. So a party is sent ahead for supplies, which come to the relief of the main group on January 27.
  118. ^ "Up the same arroyo."
  119. ^ "Along this same arroyo; we ate a horse.
  120. ^ "Ditto."
  121. ^ "Ditto."
  122. ^ "Ditto; we ate a male mule belonging to Miguel Valdes.
  123. ^ "Along said arroyo we met the reconnaissance party with supplies and men from the ranch of San Bernardino."
  124. ^ Hafen, The mission station or ranch of San Bernardino was started in 1819. See G. W. Beattie, "San Bernardino Valley in the Spanish Period," Hist. Soc. of So. Calif. Annual Publication 1923, pp.17-18. Jedediah Smith had secured supplies here in 1826 (ibid., pp. 23-24)
  125. ^ "San Bernardino Canyon."
  126. ^ Hafen, Beattie thinks that Armijo's San Bernardino Canyon is the canyon of Cajon Creek. It is probable that Armijo followed farther up the Mojave River than does the modern highway.
  127. ^ "Paraje [stopping place] of San Jose."
  128. ^ "Al la Fuente."
  129. ^ Hafen, At the fountain. Probably a typographic error or a confusion with Rancho La Puente, a place on the trail to the Mission, where a bridge "puente" over the San Gabriel River was located.
  130. ^ "At the San Gabriel Mission."
  131. ^ Hafen,(Arrived at the San Gabriel Mission.)
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Category:Old Spanish Trail (trade route)]]

Category:Armijo Route (Old Spanish Trail)]]

Category:New Mexico stubs]]

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