"The quiet of the dawn was rent by the screams of war. Scores,
perhaps hundreds, of Quechan and Mohave warriors leaped from
concealment, rushing the plaza from all sides. Painted for battle
and brandishing lances, bows, and war clubs, the Indians killed
every Spaniard they could catch."
The route from the Spanish presidial settlements in upper Sonora
to the Colorado River was called the Camino del Diablo, the "Road
of the Devil." Running through the harshest of deserts, this route
was the only way for the Spanish to transport goods overland to
their settlements in California. At the end of the route lay the
only passable part of the lower Colorado, and the people who lived
around the river, the Yumas or Quechans, initially joined into a
peaceful union with the Spanish. When the relationship soured and
the Yumas revolted in 1781, it essentially ended Spanish settlement
in the area, dashed the dreams of the mission builders, and limited
Spanish expansion into California and beyond.
In "Massacre at the Yuma Crossing," Mark Santiago introduces us to
the important and colorful actors involved in the dramatic revolt
of 1781: Padre Francisco Garces, who discovered a path from Sonora
to California, made contact with the Yumas and eventually became
their priest; Salvador Palma, the informal leader of the Yuman
people, whose decision to negotiate with the Spanish earned him a
reputation as a peacebuilder in the region, which eventually caused
his downfall; and Teodoro de Croix, the Spanish commandant-general,
who, breaking with traditional settlement practice, established two
pueblos among the Quechans without an adequate garrison or mission,
thereby leaving the settlers without any sort of defense when the
revolt finally took place.
"Massacre at the Yuma Crossing" not only tells the story of the
Yuma Massacre with new details but also gives the reader an
understanding of the pressing questions debated in the Spanish
Empire at the time: What was the efficacy of the presidios? How
extensive should the power of the Catholic mission priests be? And
what would be the future of Spain in North America?
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