First Southwest Settlements

Juan Onate brought along to California with his settlers, slaves, and missionaries, grain and fruit tress, 7000 Spanish cattle (ancestors of the Texas Longhorn), sheep, goats, burros and most importantly a herd of horses.  The descendants of these horses transformed the culture of the Plains Indians.

As he moved east, Onate commandeered a native "pueblo" or town (the name gives the area's Indians their names) and here just south of the Rio Grande and Rio Chama, he established the first Spanish settlement in the Southwest - San Juan in 1599.

Onate was appointed governor and the settlers had trouble from the beginning like most farming settlers.  Instead of cattle, sheep seemed to survive better.  There were droughts and crop failures that forced them to move across the Rio Grande to San Gabriel where they were just as hungry and defeated.  Many settlers returned to Mexico without any gold, without any food either.

Onate was accused of mismanaging the colony.  He told the government to send him necessary supplies for the settlers or relieve him of his duty. And Madrid's answer arrived in 1609 as the new governor moving the entire colony to Santa Fe..  The new governor lead the settlement to such prosperity that it became a major Spanish outpost for decades.

Next time...Missionaries
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On this Day in Pioneer History: On May 26, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signs an act establishing the Montana Territory. Sidney Edgerton, the territory’s first governor, fled after suffering through several months of Indian raids.