Finished the [Domínguez-Escalante Journal] yesterday. Interesting, but long and repetitive. Not written to be a gripping tale, rather written to describe the land and natives as pertained to Spanish domination. It described the land in much detail, as to whether it had pasturage, water and arable land. Repetitive details. Also which direction they traveled, the landmarks they named (again, repetitive) and how many leagues they traveled each day. Sprinkled here and there were little tidbits of information about the traveling companions (mostly negative) and the natives they encountered (mostly positive). These particular monks took pains to not frighten, hurt or take advantage of the natives, as they passionately wanted them to convert to Christianity. The encounters were interesting and varied from fear to hostility to open and receptive. This gives an excellent perspective on what it was like to travel back then. They did not make their goal of Monterey, California, having no idea what the physical obstacles would be when they set out.

Due to the repetitiveness, and lack of personal knowledge of the area involved, I skimmed a lot, but read the bits like encounters with natives, and eating horses to avoid starving, and the various plants (bamboo!? I hadn't realized there was any native in the Americas, let alone that the Spaniards of that time, 1776 would know it by that name) that they found along the way.

The translators and editors added lots of footnotes. Some to explain the culture and times, most to tell the modern names of the physical areas traveled over. ( )

"[We thought] that one of [the Utes] might be able to guide us or furnish us with some hints for continuing our journey with less difficulty and hardship than the one we were now experiencing - for none of our companions knew the water sources and terrain..."


The Dominguez-Escalante expedition sought to map a route from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Monterey, Alta California. Although it eventually failed, Fray Escalante’s daily journals succeed in documenting the people, plants, animals, minerals, terrain and waterways of this region at the time. It documents the Colorado Plateau’s history, geography and settlements and is a very important piece of the region’s historical record.