This was not Oñate’s first visit to El Morro—on December 13, 1598, he passed here from Zuñi with a group of Spanish soldiers, enroute to the Rio Grande via Acoma.
Juan de Oñate inscription. 1605
Below the Oñate inscription, partly hidden by the yucca plant, is an inscription that reads:
“By here passed the Ensign Don Joseph de Payba Basconzelos, the year he brought the cabildo of the realm at his own expense the 18th of February, of the year 1726.”
What Basconzelos actually meant is not clear to us.
11.
Continuing along the cliff, among the many inscriptions and petroglyphs you will be able to locate a church, stars, crucifixes, a little cavalry guidon (flag) and the prominent inscription of R. H. Orton, who was the Adjutant-General of California after the Civil War. You may also be able to locate the names of Simpson and Kern (but more about them at [post #21].) The Indian Petroglyphs are higher on the rock because, through the centuries, erosion lowered the ground level.
12.
Begin here with the highest set of inscriptions. The ground level was higher then, as shown by this tree, which surely did not begin growing on top of a mound! Done by one of New Mexico’s most famous frontier governors, this inscription reads: