Pierre Vial
Pedro Vial, or Pierre Vial, (born ca. 1746, Lyon, France—died October 1814, Santa Fe, New Mexico), was a French explorer and frontiersman who lived among the Comanche and Wichita Indians for many years. He later worked for the Spanish government as a peacemaker, guide, and interpreter. He blazed trails across the Great Plains to connect the Spanish and French settlements in Texas, New Mexico, Missouri, and Louisiana. He led three Spanish expeditions that attempted unsuccessfully to intercept and halt the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Vial comes to the notice of history in 1779 when he visited and New Orleans, Louisiana. He was described by Spanish authorities as a "gunsmith...who usually lives among the savage nations." At that time, he had already lived for several years with the Taovaya, a Wichita tribe in their twin villages on the Red River at Spanish Fort, Texas and in Jefferson County, Oklahoma. Vial spoke French, Wichita and halting Spanish. He communicated with the Comanche in Wichita which many of them spoke The Spanish were suspicious about the activities of Vial, a Frenchman, and tried unsuccessfully to prevent him from living among the Indians.
In Autumn 1784, Vial came to San Antonio, the capital of Spanish Texas, with a delegation of two Frenchmen and four Wichita leaders to improve the strained relations between the Wichita and the Spanish. That being accomplished, the Spanish governor persuaded Vial to undertake a peace mission to the Comanche, who often raided Spanish settlements in Texas. Vial selected a 22-year-old Spaniard, Francisco Xavier Cháves (b. 1762—d. 1832) to accompany him. Cháves, born in New Mexico, had been captured by Comanche when he was eight years old and grew up among the Wichita and Comanche, speaking both languages. In 1784, Cháves had escaped from the Wichita and presented himself to Spanish authorities.
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