FIRST COLONY. 117 



more wandering life, and possessing much 

 less knowledge of agriculture, arts, etc. 



The only paper found in the archives at 

 Santa Fe which gives any clue io the first 

 settlement of New Mexico, is the memorial 

 of one Don Juan de Oiiate, a citizen of Zaca- 

 tecas, dated September 21, 1595, of which I 

 have been furnished with a copy through the 

 pohteness of Don Guadalupe Miranda, Secre- 

 tary of State at Santa Fe. This petition 

 prayed for the permission and assistance of 

 the vice-regal government at Mexico, to esta- 

 blish a colony on the Rio del Norte in the re- 

 gion aheady known as New Mexico ; which 

 having been granted, it was carried into effect, 

 as I infer from the documents, during the fol- 

 lowing spring. 



This appears to have been the first kgcu 

 colony estabhshed in the pro-vine e ; yet we 

 gather from different clauses in Ofiate's me- 

 morial, that an adventurer known as Captain 

 Francisco de Leyva Boniho had previously 

 entered the pro\ince with some followers, 

 without the king's permission, whom Onate 

 "^as authorized to arrest and punish. Some 

 historians insist that New Mexico was first 

 visited by a few missionaries in 1581 ; and 

 there is a tradition in the country which fixes 



the first 



doubt to the party of 



ha^TUg 



Onate bound himself to take into JNew 

 Mexico two hundred soldiers, and a sufficien- 

 tly of pro\isions for the first year's support of 

 the colonv ; with abmidance of horses, black 



