An account of native tribes and the first bison

The source of my topic is from the helpful website //www.americanjourneys.org/

The title of the encounter I chose is "Account of the discovery of the buffalo" by Onate de Juan, who was the son of a wealthy onquistador and miner named Cristobal de Onate. Onate was part of the Spanish influence in New Mexico which had a keen interest in the mineral wealth of the land there. The Spanish viceroy often attempted to liscence further expeditions, and after appointing Onate governor of New Mexico in 1595, he organised a "Great expedition" in which he attained much support through recruiting colonists by promising them priviliges and exemptions. Onate had managed to attain over four hundred settlers for his cause by spring of 1596 and explored Northward, effectively meeting with chiefs and representatives of Native American tribes and formally establishing the province of New Mexico on the 9th of September 1596.

It was at the Pecos River when Onate came across buffalo, to which he ordered to be hunted. He also visited local salt mines and discovered rich silver deposits.
In November 1598, his relative, Juan de Zaldivar was killed, and in retaliation Onate subdued a native camp called Acoma in two days of melee combat in which "the indians were punished by fire and bloodshed, and the pueblo was completely laid to waste and burned" (Pueblo meaning native american community.)
On the 15th of September 1598, sixty soldiers were sent to explore the bison herds on the lower Great Plains. Onate also spoke with the only survivor of the Humana expedition; an Indian named Jusepe, in order to discover the route they had taken. However Onate's group were beset by a large party of Indians. He offered them food and presents, to which the Indians returned the favour by providing them with a guide to aid their explorations.
The troupe continued for another week until they found their first bison, a solitary bull, and the next day discovered several hundred bison massed in large groups close to the Canadian River.
The paragraph that follows reveals how Onate tried to corral the bison by building a large enclosure to trap them, however this was unsuccessful and resulted in the deaths of three horses and the wounding of forty others.
I find the last three paragraphs particularly interesting as they reveal how the Spanish were able to negotiate with the local tribes in order to gain a greater understanding of the land. However this also tells us that not all native tribes were as willing to aid the europeans. Such examples as Acoma show that the preconceptions that Indians had "cannibalistic" or "evil" ways were not indifferent to the actions which Onate and his platoon had taken.

(Image of Onate de Juan from http://www.traditioninaction.org/)