[2] Juan de Oñate, the founder of the Spanish colony of New Mexico in 1598, was their uncle and second cousin.
[2][3] In 1595, Zaldívar was appointed Sargento mayor by his uncle, Juan de Oñate, in their colonization of New Mexico for the Spanish Crown.
On September 15, 1598, Zaldivar and his guide, Jusepe Gutierrez, led a group of 60 men onto the Great Plains to determine whether Bison, the American buffalo, could be domesticated.
Departing from Pecos Pueblo, Zaldivar journeyed 57 leagues eastward, about 250 kilometres (160 mi), probably to the Canadian River valley.
Zaldivar and his men constructed a large corral in which they attempted to capture several thousand buffalo.
[2] Poet Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá subsequently wrote a poem about his victory.