Agricultural Pioneers

Agricultural Pioneers Bringing the New Faith to Uncivilized Arizona Included Farm Practices Of Which the Mission Was the Center

OF ARIZONA citizens, and especially to those of us in the southern part of the state, any reference to the work of the early Spanish missionaries immediately calls to mind the kindly Father Kino. His influence among the Indians, both religious and secular was unquestionably greater than that of any man of his day. His work in the promotion of agriculture will be taken up in detail later. Without detracting in any way from the credit due to Kino, but because it is an interesting historical fact and further because it has some relation to the agriculture of Arizona, it seems fitting to briefly review the activities of missionaires who labored in Arizona before missions were contemplated in the South.

It should be remembered that Fra Marcos de Niza was a Franciscan Father and is generally acknowledged now by the historians as the first white man to enter what is now Arizona. Unfortunately he was the advance scout of the ambitious Conquistador, whose purpose was conquest for riches. Gold and land of slaves were their objectives. The alluring legendary tales that had filtered down to them lead to the expectation of great stores of gold and a rich and prosperous country. Marcos de Niza saw but little of the legendary cities of Cibola, and that little from a distance that lent enchantment. His glowing reports of what he had seen, which later proved much over-rated, resulted in severe criticism by Coronado and his followers. That his report was due to over-enthusiasm was not taken into consideration. He was the first white man to make direct contact with Arizona Indians.

Probably he may have told the Indians, presumably Sobaiquris, Papagos and Pimas about wheat, of fruits, of cattle, sheep and horses from European countries, with which they were not familiar. That he had with him seed of wheat or fruits is doubtful. That he was keenly alert for agricultural land is certain from his report. This was in 1539, more than

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150 years before Kino came into Arizona.

In 1540, just a year later, Coronado began his famous expedition, which resulted in an exploration of what is now Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Five Franciscan friars accompanied Coronado's army. Three remained in New Mexico and farther north to establish missions. All, so far as is known, suffered violent deaths at the hands of the Indians. Coronado took with him cattle, sheep and horses, and possibly seeds of grain and fruit.

Little data is available to indicate the influence from an agricultural standpoint of these friars of the Coronado expedition. For the most part they served largely on such expeditions to make the lot of the conquered people lighter. Primarily, the purpose of the Church was to convert the Indians to Christianity. An essential part of the general plan was to use a twentieth century expression to raise the standard of living. Obviously this could only be done through improving agricultural activities. After Coronado, the next explorer to enter Arizona was Antonio Espejo, a wealthy citizen of Mexico. His principal interest was in minerals. His expedition was made without the usual sanction of the crown of Spain, as it was organized to attempt to locate two Franciscan friars that had attempted to establish missions among the Indians along the upper Rio Grande in New Mexico. Considerable progress had been made in establishing settlements along the Rio Grande by the time of this expedition in 1582. The route followed by Coronado through Arizona was abandoned for a more direct route east of the Sierra Madre mountains down the Conches river to its junction with the Rio Grande, and then up that river. The expedition was hurriedly outfitted and after reaching the Zuni village, and becoming convinced that the missing friars had been murdered by Indians, Espejo pushed on west in search of minerals. Several friars who had started with the expedition turned back at the Zuni villages and Espejo with some few soldiers and adventurers went on. It is believed he went as far as the north fork of the Bill Williams river where he found rich silver ore, samples of which he took back with him.

Nothing much in the way of development of Arizona, and especially of the development of Agriculture ever became of this expedition. It was however, the inspiration for the later exploration of Juan de Onate in 1604-05. This was a much larger expedition and was accompanied by a military escort and a number of friars. They followed the same route blazed by Espejo more than twenty years previous, found the silver ore bodies described by him. They then followed down the Bill Williams to the Colorado and from the junction of these two rivers to the Gulf of California, and took possession of the country for the Spanish crown. He mentioned a number of Indian tribes along the Colorado, among these which he mentioned were the Ozaras, which Bolton, "Spanish Explorations in the Southwest," states were believed by Bandelier to be the same as the Maricopas. Assuming that this is true, it seems probable that the influence of the missionaries of the Onate expedition might have inspired the movement of the Maricopas from their home on the Colorado to migrate to the Gila where in In later years they were found established as neighbors of the Pimas, and with the Pimas shared the distinction of being the foremost farmers of all Indian tribes of the Southwest. It is a well known historical fact that the first settlers of New Mexico, early established trade with the Pimas along the San Pedro and the Gila. It is at least, a logical conclusion that the story of the Pima tribes, the crops they grew, and exchanged with the Indians and Mexicans of the Rio Grande for hides and merchandise, was told by these grey robed friars of the Onate expedition to the Indians along the Colorado. Perhaps too, these same missionaries who did not remain long enough to build churches, may have brought seeds of wheat or other grains, then unknown to the Yuman tribes.(Continued on Page 20)