In the spring of 1776 Dominguez met with Velez to discuss the prospect of an expedition to fulfill the third portion of his assignment. The decision was made to begin exploring in the summer. Dominguez ordered Velez to accompany him. He was trusted by Dominguez and reportedly was “able to attend to urgent matters.”Don Bernardo Miera y Pacheco, retired militia captain and citizen of La Villa de Santa Fe was sought to accompany the two Franciscans and act as cartographer. Miera was a man with an independent nature who loved the land. A man of diverse interests, he lived the frontier life for twenty years. He was once a captain at El Paso, serving in four campaigns against native inhabitants. An engineer, artist, and active participant in government, it is documented that, “he lived as though each breath were his last and he threw himself into life with the urgency of a soldier going into battle.” According to one source Velez didn’t seem to like Miera, feeling he was only useful as a map maker and critical of his works (Miera did, in fact, prepare maps of the regions they passed through on their expedition and his comments were said to be very interesting).The fourth member of the expedition was Muniz Andrez. Andrez had been as far as Gunnison River (with Spanish Explorer Juan Miria de Rivera). Andrez was well liked and he spoke Yute. Andrez's interests in the expedition were not unselfish, knowing that natives offered women to those they trusted, and being an opportunist he also brought items along to trade with the Indians (pots, wool, knives) for pelts. The remaining members of the party were made up of Don Joaquin Lain, citizen of La Villa de Santa Fe, Lucercion Muniz, Juan de Aguilar, and Simon Lucero (details and information about the other members of the party were sketchy – I hope I have not missed anyone). Later, a couple of runaway slaves were added to the group. As a whole the group members became familiar with one another, though not particularly friendly or trusting. The party’s original plan to leave on the 4th of July was delayed due to an Indian attack earlier in June. And although Velez was ill with kidney problems (which would effect him the rest of his life), the party set out from Santa Fe, New Mexico on July 29, 1776 to establish an overland route to Monterey, carrying with it a crusader’s message. After its delayed start the team met with obstacle after obstacle. They encountered quicksand, followed trails that led nowhere, were blocked by herds of buffalo, were barricaded at times by thick shrubs and scrub oak, and followed rivers to impassable places. Though they did find places of beauty and bounty they also found hostile conditions. Temperatures ran to extremes in both directions and water was either plentiful or almost impossible to reach; it was either too dry or too stormy. Each encounter with natives cost them supplies and their reserves began to dwindle. Having set out in summer with the expectation of reaching their destination before winter the team did not prepare for the harsh conditions they faced as the days past into weeks and weeks to months – summer to fall, fall to winter. The team had strength going into their project. They researched, collected information, and enquired as much as they could. They had a reasonable and clear objective and they compiled a qualified group of individuals for the task. They were well funded and had ample supplies.
What fault could be found in their initial efforts? Having read myself about a few expeditions it seems critical, even a matter of life and death, to know when to give up an expedition and go home. Being able to read the signs seems to be the fundamental key to the mystery of knowing when to quit. Typically, delays, bad weather, diminishing supplies and illness were good indicators that a mission must be abandoned. The decision was made to abandon this mission by the casting of lots. God was consulted frequently on this expedition (Velez had to frequently ask God for patience) and His apparent wisdom was heeded. Had this group gone on they would have likely expired and all the information they gathered would have been lost with them.The team's journey was recorded from July 29, 1776, to January 3, 1777. They were in Utah from September to November and decided to abandon their mission October 11th. During the first three weeks of their expedition the explorers covered territory fairly well known, through northwestern New Mexico and the southwestern corner of Colorado. They went on northward when they reached the Gunnison River and encountered the Sabuaganas Yutas where they added a native man to their party and employed him as a guide. They entered present day Utah on September 11th, 1776, and proceeded westward reaching the Green River (about one mile south of Dinosaur National Monument). After crossing the Green River they turned and proceeded southwest (passing present-day Roosevelt, Duchesne, Fruitland and Strawberry Reservoir). Then they headed south down Diamond Fork and on down to Spanish Fork. Here, finding the valley to be hospitable, they encountered area natives who urged them to linger. Feeling a need to press on they promised the locals they would return; however, were never able to fulfill that promise. The party went on from Utah Valley in a south/southwest direction. By this time they had spent too much time in the area and had given much of their supplies away. To survive at this point they ate buffalo and fish (later they would resort to eating their horses). They began to count the costs of continuing on, realizing that they had no news of the Spaniards in the west and they were facing snow-packed mountains. The team was already suffering from the effects of the cold and was well aware of its lagging supplies. It was at a spot between present-day Milford and Cedar City that they made the decision to return to Santa Fe, perhaps to try again the following summer. Not wanting to shake the faith of their new converts in the Utah Valley by letting them know of their inability to forge ahead in their mission, the fathers decided to return to New Mexico from the Cedar Valley. They wandered for a month (still enduring harsh conditions) seeking a place to cross the Colorado, eventually crossing three miles north of the Utah-Arizona line – “Crossing of the Fathers” – historical site. Once across they traveled south/southeast back towards the Hopi who provided them with supplies. They went on to Zuni, and finally reached Santa Fe on January 2, 1777. The expedition was viewed as a failure by Dominguez’s’ superiors. Additionally, he was under review due to the nature of his critical reports of the missions prior to his leaving with the expedition. Desiring to clarify his position Dominguez headed to Mexico where he met up with his replacement. Dominguez was then assigned to serve at successive missions throughout New Mexico and northern Mexico. He died in 1805 in Sonora at the age of sixty-five, never recognized for his accomplishments. While Dominguez went his way to Mexico, Velez was appointed by him to take his place in his absence. Velez determined to make his brethren accountable for their conduct, which Dominguez had reported to his superiors. He also went about the task of surveying the Spanish Archives of New Mexico in Santa Fe (carrying out Dominguez’s second assigned task) and wrote a history of New Mexico from 1692-1715 (published in 1865). He was then assigned to a pueblo as friar where he served faithfully and worked hard. Authorities continued to seek his reports until the day, struggling with pain and illness from his kidneys he requested permission to return to Mexico for treatment. Velez died on his way to Mexico City in April 1780.

After doing research it became apparent to me that no one person was more valuable to the 1776 expedition than any other. Though there were roughly 10 members of the expedition team, there was but one party. Dominguez, the senior official of the expedition historically has received less credit for his role in the expedition than deserved, while Velez’s role seems to have earned him more credit than he was due. The journal that was presented to the governor of New Mexico after their journey was signed by both men. The failure of the Spanish Catholics to further explore the area mapped by the expedition party and establish missions and towns worked to the advantage of the latter Mormon Pioneers who discovered Utah to be their place seventy-one years later. Had the Spaniards returned and established missions in the Utah Valley along the Wasatch Front, perhaps Spanish military forts would have sprung up and towns would have been established by merchants, traders and the families of soldiers. Institutions, religion, and Spanish culture would have flavored the area. Utah might have been another occupied portion of the Spanish empire.

Brigham Young may not have thought this was the place under those conditions.

This exploration was an expansion of knowledge. The first recorded maps of land above and west of the north border of New Spain were first recorded by
Miera. Forty years later the information would be used by traders. Theirs was a mission to establish rapport, uncommon in Western American History.

The trip took 157 days on horseback, and covered 2,000 miles across challenging terrain. The Franciscans completed life’s most difficult Journey leading from the unknown to the known, from ignorance to knowledge, doubt to belief in Behalf of the Light.

In Behalf of the Light - The Dominguez and Escalante Expedition of 1776, by Joseph Cerquone.

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