1788

1788. . , 1788 , Juan Lucero, a militia officer, frontiersman and one of New Mexico's soldados de cuero (leather clad soldiers) made 13 trips to the plains between 1788 and 1819. He explored the Texas panhandle, the Arkansas River valley and most of Colorado. This relatively obscure individual typifies the wide-ranging efforts of Spanish New Mexicans as they continued the tradition of exploration established by their ancestors. From 1540 until Mexican Independence in 1821, expeditions from New Mexico ranged north to document the geysers of Yellowstone, east to the Mississippi and west to the Pacific Ocean. By the end of the 18th century many rivers, mountains and landmarks in the west had a Spanish name. , Union Protectiva de Santa Fe de Nuevo Méjico. Fundada Octubre 4, 1916 , Por Marcelino Apodaca