About the Zúñiga Expedition - page 2 of 2
As indicated above, the captain placed 51 of his enlisted men in care of the “main body.” These men were probably escorting a caravan of horses and mules transporting the bulk of the provisions. Zúñiga was instructed by Echeagaray to carry enough provisions to last for 55 days. Zúñiga instructed the caravan to leave the San Pedro River three days after his departure from the presidio of Santa Cruz. The main body caught up with the fatigue party on April 22 and for three days they camped at the side of “Santa Leogarda”. During this respite the troops and scouts were busy fixing their horses’ shoes. Some rotation of men also occurred at this time and the Captain appointed new men to the fatigue party. Ensign Don Manuel de Arbizu and 46 soldiers remained with the main body and were instructed to approach the slopes of the San Francisco Mountains eight days after the captain's departure from Santa Leogarda. The captain continued his journey on April 25 with 119 men. The fatigue party did not see the main body again until 19 days later.
Passing over the San Francisco Mountains the fatigue party entered forested country and found a “beaten path” descending into a landscape of prairies, sinks and scattered volcanic mesas. By following “beaten paths” over the plateau, Zúñiga found his way to Zuni Salt Lake and eventually to the pueblo of Zuni. Zúñiga had expected to escort a contingent from Santa Fe back to Tupson. Weather discouraged a lengthy stay at the pueblo and after a few days waiting for a pack train from Santa Fe, the expedition retreated south and reunited with the main body in the valley of the San Francisco River on May 14.
On May 29, 1795, Zúñiga arrived back in Tupson. He sums up the two-month endeavor by saying, “In fulfilling my duty, I have stepped on ground entirely unknown to those of our men led by the Apache Stoci in the first exploration, and I am ashamed of the very small results of my campaign.” (Hammond 1931:25) No further attempts were made by the Spanish Government to open a formal road from Sonora to Santa Fe by way of Zuni, but there is little doubt the trail(s) along the San Francisco River continued to be used throughout the Mexican and early American periods.