Santiago del Riego, 1596 
369 
[ Letter from Doctor Santiago del Riego to his Majesty with regard to the 
ait air of Juan de Oñate. Mexico, November 10, 1596.] 
Sir: By the [letters] which I wrote [and sent] by the fleet which left 
this year, if God has been pleased to grant its safe arrival, your Majesty 
will have learned of some things which I, up to that date, believed it 
would be advantageous to the service of your Majesty to provide for; 
what I have to say since with regard to this [matter] is contained in this 
letter. 
By command of your Majesty, with a special order for it which existed, 
Viceroy Don Luís de Velasco made arrangements for the undertaking 
of the expedition to New Mexico, not only for the purpose of converting 
the heathen, by which our Lord would be so greatly served, and the king¬ 
dom of your Majesty augmented, but also for the purpose of punishing 
those who recently made an unauthorized entrance 37 into those great 
provinces. And, although the viceroy, Don Luis, with the order which 
he held, could have gone on with the business which he had so well on the 
way, without waiting for the arrival of the viceroy, Count [of Monterey], 
yet, after the latter’s coming had been heard of, he deferred it until his 
arrival, and, with his agreement, put it into execution. The contract, 
election, and articles which Viceroy Don Luis had made with Don Juan 
de Oñate were approved, and the expedition entrusted to him, although 
afterwards the viceroy count, for just reasons, moderated and amended 
some of the articles, and, with this, directed Don Juan de Oñate to pre¬ 
pare for the expedition. It was understood and is certain that no one in 
New Spain could do it better than he or even as well, considering the 
qualities and conditions that were united in him, as, for instance, the 
virtue, merits, and nobility of his character, his good understanding, 
judgment, and management in providing the best machinery for collect¬ 
ing the people, through the many relatives among the important people 
whom he has in this kingdom and in Nueva Galicia, and the love of all 
the soldiers of the latter kingdom, from which the main part of the people 
were to come, which he had gained through having served in the army 
with them in that kingdom for some years and having lived there for many 
more, and the good deeds of his father Cristóbal de Oñate, who was the 
refuge of soldiers and poor gentlemen in this kingdom, as appears from 
records that exist in this royal Council. By this the journey, which in 
itself was so difficult in this respect, was facilitated, for, in the matter of 
providing the necessaries for the expedition, through finding and having 
on the road so many and such attached friends, he was as well fitted or 
better than any other to collect the provisions, carts, horses, and the rest 
that he had to take. In conformity with the order of both viceroys he 
began to get the peqple and the other things ready, assembling them in 
this city and in Los Angeles, 38 of some of which he made a proper muster 
here and of the rest in the kingdom of Galicia, with which he carried out 
the article of his agreement in regard to this. Although afterwards, 
through delays, some of the people failed him, the loss of them is of no 
consequence to anyone who knows what the expedition is, for it is rather 
better that fewer people should go at the beginning, considering the 
