Inspired by Indian stories of settlements in present New Mexico and authorized by the Spanish viceroy, Fray Agustin Rodriguez led a missionary expedition from Santa Barbara, Mexico, on June 5, 1581, accompanied by Fray Juan de Santa Maria, Fray Francisco Lopez, nine soldiers, and nineteen Indian servants. The military escort, led by Francisco Sanchez, known as El Chamuscado, followed the Rio Grande to El Paso del Norte and went through the Pass of the North, then spent the rest of 1581 exploring the vast region from present western New Mexico to the Texas Panhandle. After Indians killed Fray Santa Maria in September 1581, plans were made to return and report to Spanish authorities. The two remaining missionaries chose to stay despite the hostile environment, while Chamuscado led the others back through the Pass of the North but died before reaching Santa Barbara. Believed to have been the first Spanish expedition to use the Pass of the North, this journey marked the beginning of Spanish influence in the area and opened the region, now the American Southwest, to later colonization.