The first white people in Utah

• This is Old News, where we trace the map of Utah's past.

Zoom in: On Sept. 23, the entourage was greeted by the Timpanogos Utes near Spanish Fork Canyon.

• A Ute guide was tasked with explaining Roman Catholicism 101 to the community, and Escalante wrote that people asked to be baptized immediately.

Reality check: Escalante's journal should probably be taken with a grain of salt; he also claims the Utes "offered the Spaniards all their land so they might build their houses wherever they pleased."

Between the lines: His account suggests an alliance with Spain against the Comanche was a big factor in their enthusiasm.

• They were surprised the expedition had passed through Comanche lands without violence, "thus verifying what the [priests] had said: Namely, that God would deliver us from all our enemies," Escalante wrote.

Yes, but: Even the priests hit the brakes on formal conversion.

• "We told them that after finishing our journey we would return with more fathers … to baptize them."
• In the meantime, they told the Ute people to "say only 'Jesús Maria! Jesús Maria!'" to earn God's favor.
• They also asked for "tokens" of the Utes' faith to share with Spanish authorities. The Utes produced figurines of tribal leaders and painted little crosses on them.

The bottom line: It took the better part of a century for Catholicism to return and establish a permanent presence.

Caveat: For a while, the Spanish-Mexican explorer Juan Rivera was thought to be the first European to reach Utah, in 1765.

• But the historian who first mapped Rivera's journey later found evidence that he probably stayed east of the now-state line.