Pedro Vial facts for kids

Pedro Vial, also known as Pierre Vial, was a brave French explorer. He was born around 1746 in Lyon, France, and passed away in October 1814 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. For many years, Pedro lived among the Comanche and Wichita Native American tribes. Later, he worked for the Spanish government. His jobs included being a peacemaker, a guide, and someone who could translate different languages.

Vial was famous for creating new paths across the Great Plains. These paths connected Spanish and French settlements in places like Texas, New Mexico, Missouri, and Louisiana. He also led three Spanish trips that tried to stop the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition, but they weren't successful.

Living with Native American Tribes

The Wichita, including the Taovaya, lived in grass-thatched beehive shaped houses. They were excellent farmers.

Pedro Vial first appears in historical records around 1779. At that time, he visited Natchitoches and New Orleans, Louisiana. Spanish officials described him as a "gunsmith" who often lived among Native American groups.

Vial had already spent several years with the Taovaya, a Wichita tribe. They lived in two villages on the Red River, near what is now Spanish Fort, Texas and Jefferson County, Oklahoma. Vial could speak French, Wichita, and some Spanish. He even spoke to the Comanche in Wichita, as many of them understood it. The Spanish government was a bit suspicious of Vial because he was French. They tried to stop him from living with the Native Americans, but they didn't succeed.

Working for Peace

The Comanche were often at war with the Spanish colonies in Texas and New Mexico. They were nomads who traded buffalo meat to farming tribes such as the Wichita and Pueblo for agricultural products.

In the autumn of 1784, Vial traveled to San Antonio, the capital of Spanish Texas. He came with two other Frenchmen and four Wichita leaders. Their goal was to improve the difficult relationship between the Wichita and the Spanish. After they succeeded, the Spanish governor asked Vial to go on a peace mission to the Comanche. The Comanche often attacked Spanish settlements in Texas.

Vial chose a 22-year-old Spaniard named Francisco Xavier Cháves to go with him. Cháves was born in New Mexico. He had been captured by the Comanche when he was eight years old and grew up among the Wichita and Comanche. This meant he spoke both languages. In 1784, Cháves had escaped from the Wichita and met with Spanish officials.

Vial, Cháves, and two helpers left Natchitoches on July 23, 1785. They traveled to the Taovaya villages with two Taovaya leaders. They arrived on August 6. The Taovaya and Wichita tribes liked Vial's idea of making peace with the Comanche. So, they traveled together to meet different groups of the Eastern Comanche. These Comanche groups had recently suffered from smallpox. They met near the Little Wichita River in present-day Wichita Falls, Texas. Vial convinced several Comanche chiefs to go with him to San Antonio for peace talks with the Governor. They arrived on September 19 and signed a peace agreement. This peace lasted for about 35 years, with only a few small problems.

Blazing New Trails

After the peace agreement with the Comanche, Vial offered to find a route from San Antonio to the Spanish settlements in New Mexico. At that time, there was no direct way to travel between Spanish Texas and New Mexico. The governor also asked him to warn the Taovaya tribe for raiding Spanish horses in San Antonio.

Vial and a friend, Cristóbal de los Santos, left San Antonio on October 4, 1786. They reached the Taovaya villages on December 28. After warning the Taovaya that their friendship with the Spanish was in danger, Vial continued west. He followed the Red River upstream and spent the winter with the Comanche near Wichita Falls, Texas. In the spring, he kept going through the panhandle of Texas. He finally reached Santa Fe, New Mexico on May 26, 1787. This made him the first European to cross the Great Plains from San Antonio to Santa Fe.

The Spanish in Santa Fe quickly sent an expedition back to San Antonio. But Vial stayed in Santa Fe until June 24, 1788. Then, with several friends, he made another trip across the Great Plains, this time to Natchitoches. They arrived on August 20. Again, Vial had help from Comanche guides. From Natchitoches, he traveled to San Antonio again, and then returned to Santa Fe. He arrived on August 20, 1789, after a journey of more than 2,400 miles (4,000 km).

In 1792, Vial was asked to cross the Great Plains again. This time, his mission was to open communication between New Mexico and St. Louis, Missouri. He left Santa Fe on May 21, 1792, with two young men. East of the Pecos River, Vial met his old friend, Francisco Xavier Chavés. Chavés was on his way to Santa Fe to visit his parents, whom he hadn't seen since being kidnapped by the Comanche 22 years earlier. Chavés was now traveling with a group of Comanche.

Vial generally followed the path that would later become the Santa Fe Trail as he crossed the plains. Near the Arkansas River in Kansas, Vial met a group of Kaw Native Americans. They captured him and his friends, threatened to kill them, and took them to their village on the Kansas River. There, a French trader rescued Vial. He then continued his journey by boat down the Missouri River to St. Louis, arriving on October 3, 1792. He stayed in St. Louis until June 14, 1793, because Osage raids made travel on the Missouri River unsafe. Vial returned to Santa Fe by roughly the same route, visiting the Pawnee along the way. He arrived in Santa Fe on November 15, 1793.

Chasing Lewis and Clark

In 1795, Vial was suspected of not being loyal to Spain and was arrested in Santa Fe. However, he was soon freed and sent to the Pawnee again to make peace between them and the Comanche. He succeeded, but when he returned to Santa Fe, he was arrested once more. He escaped and, with help from the Comanche, made his way across the Great Plains. He lived in the St. Louis area for the next few years. He returned to Santa Fe in 1803, where he was pardoned and paid for his past services.

When the Spanish learned that the Lewis and Clark Expedition was exploring land claimed by Spain, they tried to stop them. Vial and another French frontiersman, Jose Jarvet, led a group of 52 soldiers, Spanish settlers, and Pueblo Native Americans. Their goal was to find and arrest the Americans. They left Santa Fe on August 1, 1804. Vial reached a Pawnee village in central Nebraska, where they heard that Lewis and Clark had already passed through. The Americans were about 100 miles (160 km) away and moving up the Missouri River. Vial did not try to catch them and returned to Santa Fe on November 5.

The next year, Vial and Jarvet were sent out again with 100 men. They left Santa Fe on October 5, 1805. Their mission was to form alliances with the Plains Indians tribes to prevent Lewis and Clark from returning. By this time, Lewis and Clark were far to the northwest on the Columbia River. Near what is now Las Animas, Colorado, Vial was attacked by about 100 well-armed Native Americans on horseback. Their strong attack forced him to return to New Mexico. It's interesting that Vial, with all his experience, couldn't identify the tribe or language of the attackers.

On April 19, 1806, Vial and Jarvet left Santa Fe heading north with an even larger force, this time 300 men. Their goal was to make treaties with the plains tribes and stop the Americans. However, many men deserted, and the expedition was soon called off. Vial was back in Santa Fe by May 30.

The Spanish made one last attempt to stop Lewis and Clark. In June 1806, Lieutenant Facundo Melgares left New Mexico with 600 men. This group included 105 soldiers, 400 local fighters, and 100 allied Native Americans. Their goal was to make a peace treaty with the Pawnee and stop American groups from entering what Spain considered its territory. Melgares left half his men on the Arkansas River and continued with the other 300 to the Pawnee villages in Nebraska. Although his talks with the Pawnee seemed successful, they also raided his horse herd. If Melgares had traveled another 100 miles (160 km) east to the Missouri River, he might have met Lewis and Clark on their way back. The Melgares expedition was the largest military force the Spanish ever sent to the Great Plains. Melgares returned to New Mexico in November 1806.

Later Life and Legacy

Pedro Vial, often called "Old Vial" by this time, seemed to accept that the United States now controlled the Louisiana Purchase. On September 14, 1808, he received a license from Meriwether Lewis to trap animals on the Missouri River. He also continued to work for the Spanish in New Mexico as an interpreter and guide. On October 2, 1814, Vial signed his will in Santa Fe. He stated that he had no wife or children and left his few belongings to Maria Manuela Martin. He likely died shortly after that.

Pedro Vial was a very important explorer. He was the first European to make the overland trip from San Antonio to Santa Fe. He also made the first overland trip from Santa Fe to Natchitoches. And he was the first person to travel the route that would become the Santa Fe Trail between Santa Fe and St. Louis. Even though he worked for Spain, it was the United States that benefited most from his amazing explorations. The historian Abraham P. Nasatir called him the "greatest frontiersman of them all."

It's possible that Vial traveled even more than what is recorded. In 1787, he gave Spanish officials a map called "territories transited by Pedro Vial." This map shows the area from the Mississippi River westward to the Rocky Mountains, including the Missouri River, quite accurately. It is the first known map to show the Three Forks of the upper Missouri River in Montana. The discovery of these forks is usually credited to Lewis and Clark in 1805. Vial's map shows the Three Forks in roughly their correct location, about 700 miles north of Santa Fe.

See also

In Spanish: Pedro Vial para niños