Pedro Vial
Pedro Vial | |
---|---|
Born | Pierre Vial 1746 Lyon, France |
Died | October 1814 | (aged 68)
Occupation | Explorer |
Pedro Vial, or Pierre Vial (c. 1746 in
Blacksmith with the Indians
Vial comes to the notice of history in 1779 when he visited
Diplomacy with the Comanche
In Autumn 1784, Vial came to
Vial and Cháves and two servants began their mission at Nacogdoches, Texas on July 23, 1785. They journeyed to the twin Taovaya villages on the Red River in company with two Taovaya leaders. The party arrived at the Taovaya villages (near present day Spanish Fort, Texas) on August 6. Vial's expedition to make peace with the Comanches found favor with the Taovaya and their close relatives, the Wichita, and they journeyed to meet the various bands of the Eastern Comanche (Cuchanees or Kotsoteka) on the Little Wichita River near present-day Wichita Falls, Texas. Vial persuaded several of the Comanche chiefs to accompany him to San Antonio for peace talks with the Governor. They arrived there on September 19 and concluded a peace agreement which lasted, with occasional lapses, for 35 years.[5]
Blazing trails
Building on the peace agreement with the Comanche, Vial volunteered to find a route from San Antonio to the Spanish settlements in
The Spanish in Santa Fe immediately sent a return expedition to San Antonio, but Vial remained in Santa Fe until June 24, 1788 when he undertook with several companions another crossing of the Great Plains, this time to Natchitoches, arriving on August 20. Once again, Vial benefited from Comanche guides. From Natchitoches, he traveled to San Antonio again, and then returned to Santa Fe, arriving on August 20, 1789 after a journey of more than 2,400 miles (4,000 km).[7]
In 1792, Vial was ordered to cross the Great Plains again, this time to open communications between New Mexico and
Vial roughly followed the route of the later
Chasing Lewis and Clark
In 1795, Vial, suspected of being disloyal to Spain, was arrested in Santa Fe, but was soon freed and dispatched again to the Pawnee to make peace between them and the Comanche. He did so but on his return to Santa Fe he was re-arrested. He escaped and with Comanche help made his way across the Great Plains and took up residence for the next few years in the St. Louis area. He returned to Santa Fe again in 1803 and was pardoned and given back pay for his services.[10]
When the Spanish heard that the Lewis and Clark Expedition was traversing territory claimed by Spain, they attempted to halt the expedition. Vial and another French frontiersman, Jose Jarvet (Chalvert) led a force of 52 soldiers, Spanish settlers, and Pueblo Indians to find and arrest the Americans. Leaving Santa Fe on August 1, 1804, Vial reached a Pawnee village in central Nebraska where they heard that Lewis and Clark had already passed that way, and were about 100 miles (160 km) distant and proceeding up the Missouri River. Vial made no effort to catch the Americans, but returned to Santa Fe on November 5.[11]
The next year, departing Santa Fe on October 5, 1805, Vial and Jarvet with 100 men were sent out again to seek an alliance with the Plains Indians tribes to prevent the return of Lewis and Clark, who were by this time on the Columbia River, far to the northwest. Near present-day Las Animas, Colorado, Vial was attacked by about 100 well-armed and mounted Indians whose persistence caused him to return to New Mexico. Despite his expertise and experience, he was unable to identify the tribe or language of the Indians attacking him.[12]
On April 19, 1806, Vial and Jarvet departed Santa Fe northward with yet another force, this time with 300 men, to secure treaties with the plains tribes and thwart the efforts of the Americans. The expedition was soon abandoned due to desertions and Vial was back in Santa Fe by May 30.[13]
The Spanish made one last effort to intercept Lewis and Clark. In June 1806, Lt. Facundo Melgares departed New Mexico with 600 men—105 soldiers, 400 militia, and 100 allied Indians—with the objective of making a peace treaty with the Pawnee and halting American incursions into what the Spanish considered their territory. Melgares left one-half his men on the Arkansas River and proceeded with the other 300 to the Pawnee villages in Nebraska. Although his talks with the Pawnee appeared successful, they also raided his horse herd. If Melgares had continued his journey another 100 miles (160 km) east to the Missouri River he might have intercepted Lewis and Clark on their return journey. The Melgares expedition was the largest military force ever dispatched by the Spanish to the Great Plains. Melgares returned to New Mexico in November 1806.[14]
Later life
Vial, now being called "Old Vial," apparently accepted the U.S. rule of the Louisiana Purchase. On September 14, 1808, he was given a license by Meriwether Lewis to trap on the Missouri River. He also continued to serve the Spanish in New Mexico as an interpreter and guide. On October 2, 1814, Vial signed his will in Santa Fe, stating that he had neither wife nor children, and leaving his meager belongings to Maria Manuela Martin. He presumably died shortly thereafter.[15]
Pedro Vial was the first European to make "the first overland trip from San Antonio to Santa Fe; the man who made the first overland trip from Santa Fe to Natchitoches, the man who made the first transit of the Santa Fe Trail between Santa Fe and St. Louis." It was, however, the United States rather than the Spanish who benefited most from his explorations. The historian,
It is possible that Vial's travels were even more extensive than those recorded. In 1787, he gave a map of "territories transited by Pedro Vial" to Spanish authorities. It depicts with fair accuracy the area from the Mississippi River westward to the Rocky Mountains, including the Missouri River. It is the first known map to depict the Three Forks of the upper Missouri River in Montana, the discovery of which are usually attributed to Lewis and Clark in 1805. He has the Three Forks located at approximately their correct location 700 miles north of Santa Fe.[17]
References
- ^ Loomis, Noel M. and Nasatir, Abraham P. Pedro Vial and the Roads to Santa Fe Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1967, p. 264
- ^ Chipman, Donald E. and Joseph, Harriet Denise, Notable Men and Women of Spanish Texas Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999, p. 213-215
- ^ John, Elizabeth A. H. (July 1994). "Inside the Comancheria, 1785". The Southwestern Historical Quarterly. 98 (1): 29.
- ^ John, "Inside the Comancheria", pp. 27-28
- ^ John, Elizabeth A. H., Storms Brewed in Other Men's Worlds, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1975, pp. 662-668
- ^ Loomis and Nasatir, pp. 268-286
- ^ Loomis and Nasatir, pp. 316-368
- ^ Loomis and Nastir, pp. 372-373
- ^ Loomis and Nasatir, pp. 372-404
- ^ Loomis and Nasatir, pp. 408-418
- ^ Buescher, John. "Trailing Lewis and Clark" http://www.teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/24290, accessed 12 January 2013
- ^ Buescher, Loomis and Nasatir, p. 436
- ^ Buescher; Loomis and Nasatir, pp 446-447
- ^ Buescher; Loomis and Nasatir, p. 445
- ^ Loomis and Nasatir, pp 535-540
- ^ Loomis and Nasatir, pp. x, 540
- ^ Loomis and Nasatir, pp. 382-386, map following page 290