The Grand Canyon
5
Europeans in the Canyon
According to Joseph M. Bauman Jr., the first Europeans who reached the Grand Canyon were conquistadors who were led by Garcia Lopez de Cardenas, who met the Hopi Indians in 1540. After the Spanish visit, the Canyon was hidden from European eyes once again, up until 1776, when Francisco Garces, a missionary traveled to the place.
During these times, Native Americans could hold the Grand Canyon within their authority easily as there were barely people who visited the place. However, this situation was slowly changing during the Frontier era as there were several incidents between the Native Americans and the explorers. For example, John Wesley Powell launched an expedition in 1869 through the Canyon with only nine men.
They were exploring the area by traveling in small wooden boats on the Colorado River. During the expedition, they were attacked by Indians and three of them got killed by them while the remaining six could barely escape. Strangely, this did not let Powell down and he launched a second, successful expedition, which was followed by many others, starting the process of Europeans settling down near the Canyon areas, threatening the Native Americans who were living there since endless centuries.
Conquistadors arriving into
the Grand Canyon
Francisco Garces
The fierce John Wesley Powell