Somerton Yuma Arizona United States

Hernando de Alarcón had set sail on May 9, 1540, concurrent with Coronado’s expedition, with orders from the Spanish Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza to wait at a certain point on the coast the arrival of an expedition by land under the command of Coronado.

The meeting with Coronado had not been effected, though Alarcón had reached the appointed place and left letters, which are soon afterwards found by Melchior Diaz, another explorer.

Alarcón sails to the head of the Gulf of California and completes the explorations begun by the Spanish explorer Francisco de Ulloa the preceding year.

During this voyage, Alarcón proves to his satisfaction that no open-water passage exists between the Gulf of California and the South Sea.

Subsequently, on September 26, he enters the Colorado River, which he names the Buena Guia.

He is the first European to ascend the river for a distance considerable enough to make important observations.

On a second voyage, he probably proceeds past the present site of Yuma, Arizona.

A map drawn by one of Alarcón's pilots is the earliest accurately detailed representation of the Gulf of California and the lower course of the Colorado River.

Alarcón is almost unique among the conquistadores in that he treats the natives he meets with humanely, as opposed to behavior that is otherwise the norm.

Bernard de Voto, in his 1953 Westward the Course of Empire, observes: "The Indians had an experience they were never to repeat: they were sorry to see these white men leave."

Alarcón writes of his contact with the Yuma-speaking natives along the Colorado.

The information he compiles consisted of their practices in warfare, religion, curing, and even sexual customs.