| Notes: Nicolás Alfonso de Ochoa was one of the earliest Spanish settlers in the vicinity of San Ignacio prior to 1720. He was living at the Real de Agua Caliente as a prospector at the time of the famous silver discovery of 1736. He found several chunks of the silver, which he put in a large leather bag, or “tanate.” The same bag was used to weigh all of the more than two tons of silver that were taken from the site, fifty or sixty pounds at a time. Although he was illiterate, he spoke the Pima and Yaqui languages and served as an interpreter. Sometime after the silver rush he moved back to Santa Ana and lived there until his death in 1746. The earliest known record of his being in the Arizona area is dated April 1, 1720 at Tucubavia, just a few miles from where the ranchería of Arizona would spring up. Although he was illiterate, no one knew the area better than he. Surely, when he gave his sworn statement to Juan Bautista de Anza on December 15, 1736, if he had meant to say Arizonac, the scribe would have added the "c" to the word Arizona after the statement was read back to him and before his designated power of attorney signed it for him. This is not the case, however. He knew the area as, and called it, "Arizona." |
