The New Mexico Trail - page 2 of 4
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By dusk on April 19th the expedition had reached the high county south of the Mogollon Mountains and could have easily descended north into the grasslands towards the San Francisco River. But earlier in the day the infantry was sent ahead to follow tracks and had taken three Apaches captive. Later in the evening this action resulted in a skirmish between the infantry and Apaches.
The following day Zúñiga, guided by a scout familiar with the Mogollon Mountains crossed to the east in search of Apache rancherias. By nightfall the expedition was camped at the “Río de San Juan Nepomuceno”.
Hammond (1931) identified this river as the San Francisco based on a field communiqué written by Captain Echeagaray at San Marcial (the northern range of the Peloncillo Mountains) shortly before his own attempt to find a route to Zuni during a general campaign of 1788 (Provincias Internas, Tomo 128 October 4, 1788). It is with some confidence, although contrary to Hammond (1931: footnote 53 pg. 16), that I propose the expedition turned due east through easy canyons and rolling hills back to the Gila River above the modern Middle Gila Box near Cliff, New Mexico.
According to Zúñiga’s orders he was to reconnoiter both the San Francisco Mountains and San Juan Nepomucerno Mountains which are born at the Gila River (Echegaray to Zúñiga, Guadalahara 292 March 31, 1795). The San Juan Nepomucero was either the Gila or one of its tributaries near Cliff, New Mexico. Zúñiga was probably unaware that he was in the vicinity of Todos Santos a rendezvous point for troops during early to mid-18th century Apache campaigns (Kessell 1971).
On April 21st the infantry continued their reconnoitering and Zúñiga began his northward march resting at a spot he called “El Alamo” (perhaps the well watered vicinity of Buckhorn, New Mexico).
Zúñiga was far from breaking new ground at this point for he was in the Cañada de Todos Santos (modern Duck Creek). A number of Spaniards and Indian allies had passed through this place, or near to it, including Lieutenant Colonial Don Joseph Saenz Rico (no date), Alonso Victores Rubí de Celis and Juan Miguel Menchero 1747; Bernardo Antonio de Bustamante, Gabriel Antonio de Vildósola and Bartolomé Saenz 1756; the latter two men with Captain Anza 1757; Captain Pedro Garrido y Duran 1786; and Manuel de Echeagaray 1788. We know little about the actual numbers of Spanish forays into this spectacular country.
On the night of the 21st and without mention of hardships, the expedition camped at a cienega in the interior of “Sierra de Los Ayudantes”. I am confident that this sierra was the Mule Mountains, a small set of hilly peaks with interior water and nearby marshy creeks just west of Cañada de Todos Santos. On Zúñiga’s return trip he avoided El Alamo and San Juan Nepomucero, and from here, at Los Ayudantes, the retuning expedition dropped directly south-southwest into Carlisle Canyon.
The captain and his party reunited with the infantry and before noon on April 22nd they caught up with the main body that had departed from Terrenate seven days earlier as the captain had ordered. Here at the side of “Santa Leogarda” the entire expedition remained for three days resting and fixing the shoes of their horses and mules. It is likely that Santa Leogarda is the dark colored conjoined Sundial Mountain and Black Mountain and that the “ciénega of Santa Leograda”, was one of the wet areas at the junction of Dry and Little Dry Creeks.
Before his departure from Santa Leogarda, Zúñiga issued orders for the main body, now escorted by 46 men, to approach the slopes of the San Francisco Mountains eight days after his departure. Early on April 25, 1795 119 men led by the captain went northeast into the Sierra de Mogollon [Photo 4] in search of Apache camps. Traveling over the western bajada of the Mogollon Mountains, the captain and his party rested at “Los Janeros”. I place this resting spot in the narrows of Whitewater Creek a prominent stream with a reliable flow of water.
After a brief rest the captain crossed over an easy ridge and descended through present day Mineral Creek to the “Río de San Francisco” where he camped at the site of “Lucero”. This is an area of level pasture lands that stretch for over a league north of present day Alma, New Mexico. This is truly a bright spot, with a wide view west-southwest of the nighttime sky.
To the east, rhyolitic and andesitic formations protrude from the towering Mogollon Mountains and in certain light are white in color. One of the more prominent features is a large escarpment [Photo 5] with five prominent points that might have inspired Zúñiga to call his camp Lucero. Away from the river the landscape is dotted today (and probably then) with sparse juniper/scrub grasslands adding to the openness of the surrounding country.