In 1776 Fathers Dominguez and Escalante traveled through this region seeking a route to the Spanish missions in Monterey. During the first 2½ weeks, their expedition moved northwest toward that objective, but after camping near Egnar it turned northeast for two weeks, away from Monterey, in a momentous decision that cost precious time and contributed to the expedition's failure to reach its goal. Several factors shaped that turn eastward: the party lost several days trying to pass through the difficult box canyon of Dolores Canyon and turned back, a setback that underscored their need for an Indian guide and their lack of knowledge of the country; they were also having increasing trouble finding enough water for the men and horses, and food shortages were becoming a concern. Although they knew virtually nothing of the region to the west, their Spanish guide knew the country to the east as far north as the Gunnison River from travels there eleven years earlier with Rivera, and Spanish traders had also brought back information. The Fathers therefore knew of a tribe of Sabuangana Utes to the east and hoped to obtain one of them as a guide. The expedition ultimately failed to reach Monterey, and the advance of winter and other difficulties forced a return to Santa Fe. The Franciscans, named for their founder St. Francis of Assisi, followed vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, wore coarse tunics tied with a cord whose three knots recalled those vows, and in New Mexico in the 1700s appear to have worn dark blue habits in honor of the Virgin Mary, along with wide-brim hats and, on long journeys, chamois mocassins called gamuzi; most friars also wore a tonsure. The first Franciscans came to the New World with Columbus, and for four centuries the order was instrumental in settlement, driven by a desire to spread Christianity and care for people on the frontiers of the Spanish empire. Francisco Dominguez, age thirty-six, headed all Franciscan missions in New Mexico, while twenty-six-year-old Escalante served as pastor of the Zuni mission; both were regarded as scrupulous, meticulous, and deeply faithful men who twice cast lots during their journey, believing God would guide the result, and whose faith was a cornerstone in the successful completion of their journey through the American southwest.