They went north along the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo until they reached the Arkansas river near modern day Pueblo. From there they followed the Comanche down river as far as modern day Rocky Ford. The pages of Valverde’s diary describing the return journey were torn away.
Perhaps because he grew grapes near El Paso, Valverde recorded the ways they lived off the land. Armies on the move still scavenged as they went. Their commanders were responsible for maintaining the horse herds and providing materiel, but not with provisioning their men. When he ordered his men to leave unmolested the crops of Apache living near La Flecha, it wasn’t acts of maliciousness by his men that concerned him, but their effects on potential allies.
They left Taos on September 20. Two days later, Carlana arrived while Valverde was eating "boiled meat and vegetables." He gave the leader of the Sierra Blanca a plate, but the Apache would only eat the mutton, not the chicken, "which surprised all."
The next day Carlana returned the hospitality when he "gave them ears of green corn."
A week later, on 27 September, soon after crossing the Purgatorie river, seven soldiers and some settlers encountered the hitherto unknown poison ivy. He gave them "pinole and mutton" and had the barber, Antonio Durán de Armijo, attend them. A few days later, Valverde recorded they tried chocolate for relief. Many followed Francisco de Casados, who discovered rubbing saliva on the welts gave some relief.
The next day they arrived at the Canadian river, where they found "a grove of plum trees, many willows and many wild grapes, from which vinegar was made." There also were deer. The auxiliaries surrounded "them, drove them into camp, at which there was great glee and shouting." He adds, they "caught many deer so that the Indians were sufficiently provisioned with good fat meat."
Carlana told Valverde it was time to send out scouts, implying they had reached Comanche territory. The governor ordered "four squads of settlers formed as a guard, in whose custody the camp would be during the night." Since they would now begin traveling at night, he "ordered the sheep that were being driven killed and dressed, to be carried upon the pack animals."
The next day one of the Santa Cruz settlers, Cristóbal Rodarte, died. When Valverde was told the man was ill, he had him brought to his own tent and given "medicines that appeared proper for his case (these medicines and others he carried as a precaution.)" He then had the priest, Juan del Piño, administer the "sacrament of penitence."
After he died, the governor had the sergeant major, Alejandro Rael de Aguilar, "bring together all the settlers in order to provision them [...] they were already in considerable need, having sustained themselves the day before with nothing but meat from the deer which they had caught, and that no other governor of the past had done as much." That was the day he was having the sheep killed for himself.
The following day they passed a river junction with "many plums, which though wild are of fine flavor and taste. With these and many very delicious wild grapes the people satisfied themselves."
They were now in country teaming with game. On October 3, "they hunted and caught many deer and a lot of good fat prairie hens with which they made very delicious tamales." The next day they saw more "deer and prairie chickens which moved about in flocks." Valverde ordered a settler who "was very sick with a pain in his stomach" be given a "cup of tea."
They reached the Huerfano, a tributary of the Arkansas, on October 5. Soldiers gathered from the "large groves of plum trees and cherries" before crossing the next day onto grassy plains. They saw their first buffalo on the seventh. They killed more than twelve head, "so the whole camp was provided with meat."
They continued to find evidence of Comanche encampments. On October 10, they again saw many herds of buffalo, of which "the Christian Indians and the heathen Apaches killed about fifteen head." Valverde sent out two groups of soldiers to herd them toward the camp. "In this way they succeeded in provisioning the camp with meat."
They were now marching downstream. On October 13, "here were also many buffalo herds, walking about feeding and wandering in all directions on those plains." However, Carlana told him, the Comanche had altered their route to enter land with "few springs and those too scanty to support the horse herd."
They were around Rocky Ford on the fourteenth when Valverde realized they no longer had provisions to continue. He sent "the settlers, two squads of soldiers" along with "the Indian people, to kill some buffalo for meat."
Valverde began with 105 soldiers and settlers, then added 30 auxiliaries from the pueblos and 69 Sierra Blanca. More than 200 men, for there must have been uncounted servants. They had to be fed everyday. It hardly mattered if they shared food, or each group foraged for itself, they were an aggregated demand of calories to be extracted from the wilds.
While Valverde and his men debated the wisdom of returning to Sante Fé, the first representatives from El Cuartelejo arrived to say more were coming to meet them. They continued to live on buffalo while waiting for them.
Five days later, on 20 October, they had used up the meat they had prepared. Valverde sent the alcalde mayor of Taos, Miguel Tenorio y Alba, with a plea for the pueblo priest to send aid. He wrote Juan de la Cruz "of his great want, which made it necessary for them to eat buffalo meat and gruel made from corn meal, and for some this was scarce."
When the chief arrived the next day, Valverde listened when told the Paloma were now refugees evicted from their lands by "French united with Pawnee and Jumano." The camp expanded to include another thousand hungry people, and more were expected.
Two days later Valverde inspected the gun shot wound suffered by one. However, he said, they could no longer wait for the rest, but must return because their "supply of provisions had failed."
He promised they would return to "expel the French from it as the lands belong only to the majesty of our king." With this the homeless were "were consoled and pleased."
Notes: Current place names have been used. The Purgatorie was then called Río de las Animas. The Pawnee were probably the Skidi band of southern Pawnee.
Thomas, Alfred B. After Coronado, 1935.
Valverde y Cosío, Antonio. Diary of the campaign against the Ute and Comanche, 1719, reproduced in Thomas; not sure if tamale was in the original, or if this is a translator’s modernization.
