Antonio de Espejo
In February 1583, Espejo arrived at the territory of the Piros, the most southerly of the Pueblo villagers. From there the Spanish continued up the Rio Grande. Espejo described the Pueblo villages as "clean and tidy". The houses were multi-storied and made of adode bricks. "They make very fine tortillas," Espejo commented, and the Pueblos also served the Spanish turkeys, beans, corns, and pumpkins. The people "did not seem to be bellicose". The southernmost Pueblos had only clubs for weapons plus a few "poor Turkish bows and poorer arrows". Further north, the Indians were better armed and more aggressive. Some of the Pueblo towns were large, Espejo described Zia as having 1,000 houses and 4,000 men and boys. In their farming, the Pueblos used irrigation "with canals and dams, built as if by Spaniards". The only Spanish influence that Espejo noted among the Pueblos was their desire for iron. They would steal any iron article they could find.
Durango
As a rural, traditional state, agriculture is still the main economic activity for most of the population even though only ten percent of the land is suitable for crops and another fifteen percent can be used for pasture. The main crops include corn, beans, chili peppers, apples, alfalfa and sorghum. Fruits such as apples and pears are grown in Canatlán, Nuevo Ideal and Guatimapé; nuts in Nazas and San Juan del Rio: membrillo, apricots and peaches in Nombre de Dios. Most, and the most profitable, agriculture is concentrated in the Valleys region and this is concentrated in the municipalities of Guadalupe Victoria and Poanas. It is supported by its three main rivers: the Florida, the Alto Nazas and the Tunal-Mezquital, which have been dammed primarily for this purpose. Pastures in this area support large herds of cattle, much of which are exported to the United States. Sheep and goats are also raised here.