Melchor DÃaz
Melchior Díaz ( * 1500; ? † 1541) was a captain in the army of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado. His year of birth is not known exactly. He was rumored that he was an able and popular officer.
Expedition
Díaz accompanied Coronado on his expedition to Cibola. When the expedition reached the place Corazones, Coronado sent his Captain Melchior Diaz with a small force to the northwest to find Hernando de Alarcón. He was with his ships on the west coast of New Spain (Mexico) sailed north into the Gulf of California. Díaz should support the expedition with weapons and stockpiles and bring the captured gold safely in the south. Alarcon and his men were the first Europeans who navigated the Colorado River with boats. They came around to Yuma in Arizona today. But the meeting between Melchior Díaz and Hernando de Alarcón did not materialize. Díaz had crossed vast deserts in a forced march, and in fact the Colorado found. But he found only a message that Alarcón had left behind. The naval support for the expedition had failed. Alarcón had to turn back long before Melchior Díaz was his message, and took the much-needed supplies with again.
Death
In a bizarre riding accident in the vicinity of this place Díaz was injured at the bar. He had thrown his spear for a dog that chased the sheep. His men tried to bring him back on a stretcher, but he died on the way and was probably buried on a small hill somewhere between Sonoita and Caborca in Sonora Desert. The grave was never found.