CORONADO

And here’s what I know about the introduction of cattle to the America’s, from the same book and Exhibition.

Herman J. Viola, Carolyn Margolis, eds., Seeds of change: a quincentennial commemoration, (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991), p. 94:

On his second voyage in 1493, Columbus brought cattle from Spain and the Canary Islands to Santo Domingo (Hispaniola). The spotted, self-sufficient, all-purpose Castilian range cow formed the backbone of the ranching complex that the Iberians brought to the Americas. Fast and lean, Spanish range cattle would make a poor showing at the stockyards today, but they were the breed of choice in a variety of climates and against a variety of predators ...

p. 95:

"The most useful characteristic of Spanish cattle was their ability to ‘rustle’ or find forage under difficult conditions. Long-legged and hardy, they could stand long walks between water holes.

"From Cuba in 1521 Gregorio Villalobos and Hernán Cortés brought cattle to Mexico for breeding purposes. Within a decade scores of cattle ranches had been established in the central Mexican plains and valleys and even along the hot Gulf Coast.

p.97:

lt is very unlikely that cattle or horses became established in the region north and east of Mexico as a result of Spanish expeditions of Soto and Coronado…. The modern Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, and Zacatecas constituted the best cattle-raising region of New Spain, and from there New Mexico and Texas were initially stocked.

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