Juan Fernández de la Fuente

  Noted events in his life were:

• Background Information:
He was a Capitán stationed at Casas Grandes in 1681-84, in the company of New Mexicans from Guadalupe del Paso, like Francisco Ramírez de Salazar and Alonso García de Noriega.

• Information: Juan Fernández de la Fuente.
Captain Juan Fernández de la Fuente and Captain Don Domingo Teran led a small force of 70 soldiers and 60 Native American allies through the Guadalupe Mountains to San Bernardino in June 1695. A temporary base camp was established there while the Spanish pursued a group of Native Americans into the Chiricahua Mountains. The encounter was brief and ended in temporary peace. Fernandez and Teran detoured south to assist the Presidio of Cucurpe in subduing a Native American uprising but returned to the Chiricahua Mountains to continue their search for Apache rancherias. A large force of friendly Pimas accompanied Fernández as far as the Dos Cabezas Mountains (then called the Animas Mountains and not to be confused with Las Animas). With sickness spreading through the ranks of the main Native American and Spanish forces, the expedition moved slowly. Finally, at the springs of San Simon, the campaign formally ended with the death of Captain Teran. The route taken back to Janos by the detachment carrying Teran and by the force led by Fernández is unclear, but mention of the Alamo Hueco Mountains by Fernández suggests that he may have passed north of the Animas range and through the Playas Valley.

Citation
Madsen, John H. 2006. Appendix D. Additional observations on the early history of the borderlands. In: Fish, Paul R.; Fish, Suzanne K.; Madsen, John H. 2006. Prehistory and early history of the Malpai Borderlands: Archaeological synthesis and recommendations. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-176. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 109-112