" To this last I beg to refer any
reader who desires accurate information respecting the Northern
Mexican provinces, presented in a straightforward common-sense
style.
In the possession of the writer of these notes is a map drawn in
1757, just one hundred years ago, presented by the Society of
Jesuits to the King of Spain. The original of this map is now in
the archives of the Mexican Government. It was copied, with the
notes relating to the Territory, and to Sonora, Chihuahua, and
Sinaloa, by Capt. C. P. Stone, late of the United States Army.
The map bears the inscription, "Carte levee par la Societe des
Jesuites, dediee au Roi d'Espagne en 1757."
The copy of the map and the accompanying notes are certified as
accurate by the officer of the Mexican Government in charge of
the archives.
My information, therefore, upon the early history of this
comparatively unknown domain, is accurate and reliable. As early
as 1687, a Jesuit missionary from the province of Sonora, which,
in its southern portion, bore already the impress of Spanish
civilization, descended the valley of Santa Cruz river to the
Gila. Passing down the Gila to its mouth, after exploring the
country, he retraced his steps, penetrated the country north of
the Gila river for some distance, and ascended the Salinas or
Salt river, and other northern branches of the Gila.
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