The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 41, July 1937 - April, 1938 Page: 131
383 p. : maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Journey of Pedro De Rivera, 1724-1728
the exceptions of two days' travel across the territory within the
most westward angle of the river and two days' travel eastward
from the Rio Grande up its small tributary, the Santa F6 River,
to the city of that name. East of and parallel to the road, as far
up as a few leagues above Albuquerque, he saw daily the mountain
range which he called Sierra de los Mansos. Along the way were
some long, low hills and mesas, a few very sandy areas, several
dry creeks, and, more to his liking, large tracts of level pasture
land. He admired the mesquite trees and thickets of aromatic
rosemary, and most of all the cottonwoods and some cypresses
which grew along the river banks. For his two days' march across
arid, saline land that was more than ten leagues away from the
river he had to carry supplies of water and firewood. His stopping
places were Indian pueblos or else deserted villages, and he did
not tarry in passing through the town of Albuquerque. He found
that most of the citizens of that town lived scattered among ranches.
He was especially interested, like a tourist, in the ruins of former
pueblos along the way. These were the pueblos of San Pasqual,
Seneca, Socorro, Sevilleta, Sandia, "and many others," which, like
many ranch houses, had been destroyed during the "general rebel-
lion."9 At the pueblo of Santo Domingo, twelve leagues north of
Albuquerque, he met the governor of New Mexico, who was ex-
pecting him, having been told of his coming by Indians who had
seen him leave El Paso. At Santa F6, as at Albuquerque,
Rivera encountered a mixed population of Spaniards, mestizos, and
mulattoes.
On his return to El Paso in September, 1726, he collected his
notes and impressions of New Mexico into a clear description.
The northernmost province of New Spain, New Mexico, extended
seventeen degrees in latitude and six in longitude. Las Boquillas,
he declared again, was the southern point of entry. On every side
except the south New Mexico faced non-Christian Indian nations.
Its fertile lands, aided by the rivers and creeks, afforded abundant
wheat, corn, vegetables, grapes and other fruits, and "the liquors
of El Paso," as well as horses and cattle. A great asset to the
9This was the Pueblo revolt, 1680-1698, which almost destroyed the Span-
ish possession of New Mexico. C. W. Hackett (ed.), Pichardo's Treatise on
the Limits of Louisiana and Texas, I, 523-524. C. W. Hackett, "The Revolt
of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico in 1680," in The Quarterly of the
Texas State Historical Association, XV, 93-147.131
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 41, July 1937 - April, 1938, periodical, 1938; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101103/m1/147/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.