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Title: The Coronado Expedition, 1540-1542.
Author: George Parker Winship
Contributor: active 16th century Pedro de Castañeda de Nájera
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Juan Camilo Jaramillo
Antonio de Mendoza
Editor: John Wesley Powell
Release date: November 14, 2015 [eBook #50448]
Language: English
Credits: Credits: DP Project Manager for Bureau of American Ethnology Projects, RichardW, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. This file was produced from images generously made available by the Bibliotheque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at http://gallica.bnf.fr); high resolution illustrations were made available by The Internet Archive.
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CORONADO EXPEDITION, 1540-1542. ***
Credits: DP Project Manager for Bureau of American Ethnology Projects, RichardW, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. This file was produced from images generously made available by the Bibliotheque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at http://gallica.bnf.fr); high resolution illustrations were made available by The Internet Archive.
[p329]
THE CORONADO EXPEDITION, 1540–1542
BY
GEORGE PARKER WINSHIP
[p331]
CONTENTS
Introductory note … 339
Itinerary of the Coronado expeditions, 1527–1547 … 341
Historical introduction … 345
The causes of the Coronado expedition, 1528–1539 … 345
Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca … 345
The governors of New Spain, 1530–1537 … 350
The reconnoissance of Friar Marcos de Niza … 353
The effect of Friar Marcos’ report … 362
The expedition to New Mexico and the great plains … 373
The organization of the expedition … 373
The departure of the expedition … 382
The expedition by sea under Alarcon … 385
The journey from Culiacan to Cibola … 386
The capture of the Seven Cities … 388
The exploration of the country … 389
The Spaniards at Zuñi … 389
The discovery of Tusayan and the Grand canyon … 390
The Rio Grande and the great plains … 390
The march of the army from Culiacan to Tiguex … 391
The winter of 1540–1541 along the Rio Grande … 392
The Indian revolt … 392
The stories about Quivira … 393
The journey across the buffalo plains … 395
The winter of 1541–1542 … 399
The friars remain in the country … 400
The return to New Spain … 401
The end of Coronado … 402
Some results of the expedition … 403
The discovery of Colorado river … 403
The voyage of Alarcon … 403
The journey of Melchior Diaz … 406
The Indian uprising in New Spain, 1540–1542 … 408
Further attempts at discovery … 411
The voyage of Cabrillo … 411
Villalobos sails across the Pacific … 412
The narrative of Castañeda … 413
Bibliographic note … 413
The Spanish text … 414
Proemio … 414
Primera parte … 416
Capitulo primero donde se trata como se supo la primera
poblacion de las siete çiudades y como Nuño de guzman hiçoa
rmada para descubrirlla … 416
Capitulo segundo como bino a ser gouernador françisco uasques
coronado y la segundo relaçion que dio cabeça de uaca … 417
Capitulo terçero como mataron los de cibola a el negro esteuan
y fray marcos bolbio huyendo … 418
Capitulo quarto como el buen don Antonio de mendoça hiço
jornada para el descubrimiento de Cibola … 419
Capitulo quinto que trata quienes fueron por capitanes a cibola
… 420
Capitulo sexto como se juntaron en conpostela todas las
capitanias y salieron en orden para la jornada … 421
Capitulo septimo como el campo llego a chiametla y mataron a el
maestre de canpo y lo que mas acaeçio hasta llegar a culiacan
… 422
Capitulo otauo como el campo entro en la uilla de culiacan y
el recebimiento que se hiço y lo que mas acaeçio hasta la
partida … 423
Capitulo nueve como el canpo salio de culiacan y llego el
general a çibola y el campo a señora y lo que mas acaeçio …
424
Capitulo deçimo como el campo salio de la uilla de senora
quedando la uilla poblada y como llego a çibola y lo que le a
uino en el camino a el capitan melchior dias yendo en demanda
de los nabios y como descubrio el rio del tison … 425
Capitulo onçe como don pedro de touar descubrio a tusayan o
tutahaco y don garci lopes de cardenas bio el rio del tison y
lo que mas acaecion … 428
Capitulo doçe como binieron a çibola gentes de cicuye a ber los
christianos y como fue her^{do} de aluarado a ber las uacas …
430
Capitulo trece como el general llego con poca gente la uia de
tutahaco y dexo campo a don tristan que lo llebo a tiguex …
432
Capitulo catorce como el campo salio de sibola para tiguex y lo
que les acaeçio en el camino con niebe … 432
Capitulo quinçe como se alço tiguex y el castigo que en ellos
ubo sin que lo ubiese en el causador … 433
Capitulo desiseis como se puso çerco a tiguex y se gano y lo
que mas acontencio mediante el cerco … 435
Capitulo desisiete como binieron a el campo mensajeros del
ualle de señora y como murio el capitan melchior dias en la
jornada de tizon … 438
Capitulo desiocho como el general procure dexar asentada la
tierra para ir en demanda de quisuira donde deçia el turco
auia el prinçipio de la riqueça … 439
Capitulo desinueve como salieron en demanda de quiuira y lo que
acontecio en el camino … 440
Capitulo ueinte como cayeron grandes piedras en el campo y como
se descubrio otra barranca donde se dibidio el campo en dos
partes … 442
Capitulo ueinte y uno como el campo bolbio a tiguex y el
general llego a quiuira … 443
Capitulo ueinte y dos como el general bolbio de quiuira y se
hiçieron otras entradas debajo del norte … 445
Segunda parte en que se trata de los pueblos y prouincias de
altos y de sus ritos y costumbres recopilada por pedro de
castañeda ueçino de la çiudad de Naxara … 446
Capitulo primero de la prouincia de Culiacan y de sus ritos y
costumbres … 447
Capitulo segundo de la prouincia de petlatlan y todo lo poblado
hasta chichilticale … 448
Capitulo tercero de lo ques chichilticale y el despoblado de
çibola sus costumbres y ritos y de otras cosas … 450
Capitulo quarto como se tratan los de tiguex y de la prouincia
de tiguex y sus comarcas … 451
Capitulo quinto de cicuye y los pueblos de su contorno y de
como unas gentes binieron a conquistar aquella tierra … 452
Capitulo sexto en que se declara quantos fueron los pueblos que
se uieron en los poblados de terrados y lo poblado de ello …
454
Capitulo septimo que trata de los llanos que se atrabesaron de
bacas y de las gentes que los habitan … 455
Capitulo ocho de quiuira y en que rumbo esta y la notiçia que
dan … 456
Tercera parte como y en que se trata aquello que aconteçio a
francisco uasques coronado estando inbernando y como dexo la
jornada y se bolbio a la nueba españa … 458
Capitulo primero como bino de Señora don pedro de touar con
gente y se partio para la nueba españa don garci lopes de
cardenas … 458
Capitulo segundo como cayo el general y se hordeno la buelta
para la nueba españa … 459
Capitulo terçero como se alço Suya y las causas que para ello
dieron los pobladores … 460
Capitulo quarto como se quedo fray juan de padilla y fray luis
en la tierra y el campo se aperçibio la buelta de mexico … 461
Capitulo quinto como el canpo salio del poblado y camino a
culiacan y lo que aconteçio en el camino … 462
Capitulo sexto como el general salio de culiacan para dar
quenta a el uisorey del campo que le encargo … 463
Capitulo septimo de las cosas que le aconteçieron al capitan
Juan gallego por la tierra alçada lleuando el socorro … 464
Capitulo otauo en que se quentan algunas cosas admirables que
se bieron en los llanos con la façion de los toros … 466
Capitulo nono que trata el rumbo que llebo el campo y como se
podria yr a buscar otra uia que mas derecha fuese abiendo de
boluer aquella tierra … 468
Translation of the narrative of Castañeda … 470
Preface … 470
First Part … 472
Chapter 1, which treats of the way we first came to know
about the Seven Cities, and of how Nuño de Guzman made an
expedition to discover them … 472
Chapter 2, of how Francisco Vazquez Coronado came to be
governor, and the second account which Cabeza de Vaca gave …
474
Chapter 3, of how they killed the negro Stephen at Cibola, and
Friar Marcos returned in flight … 475
Chapter 4, of how the noble Don Antonio de Mendoza made an
expedition to discover Cibola … 476
Chapter 5, concerning the captains who went to Cibola … 477
Chapter 6, of how all the companies collected in Compostela and
set off on the journey in good order … 478
Chapter 7, of how the army reached Chiametla, and the killing
of the army-master, and the other things that happened up to
the arrival at Culiacan … 479
Chapter 8, of how the army entered the town of Culiacan and the
reception it received, and other things which happened before
the departure … 481
Chapter 9, of how the army started from Culiacan and the
arrival of the general at Cibola and of the army at Señora
and of other things that happened … 482
Chapter 10, of how the army started from the town of Señora,
leaving it inhabited, and how it reached Cibola, and of what
happened to Captain Melchior Diaz on his expedition in search
of the ships and how he discovered the Tison (Firebrand)
river … 484
Chapter 11, of how Don Pedro de Tovar discovered Tusayan or
Tutahaco and Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas saw the Firebrand
river and the other things that had happened … 487
Chapter 12, of how people came from Cicuye to Cibola to see the
Christians, and how Hernando de Alvarado went to see the cows
… 490
Chapter 13, of how the general went toward Tutahaco with a few
men and left the army with Don Tristan, who took it to Tiguex
… 492
Chapter 14, of how the army went from Cibola to Tiguex and what
happened to them on the way, on account of the snow … 493
Chapter 15, of why Tiguex revolted, and how they were punished,
without being to blame for it … 494
Chapter 16, of how they besieged Tiguex and took it, and of
what happened during the siege … 497
Chapter 17, of how messengers reached the army from the
valley of Señora, and how Captain Melchior Diaz died on the
expedition to the Firebrand river … 501
Chapter 18, of how the general managed to leave the country in
peace so as to go in search of Quivira, where the Turk said
there was the most wealth … 502
Chapter 19, of how they started in search of Quivira and of
what happened on the way … 504
Chapter 20, of how great stones fell in the camp, and how they
discovered another ravine, where the army was divided into
two parts … 506
Chapter 21, of how the army returned to Tiguex and the general
reached Quivira … 508
Chapter 22, of how the general returned from Quivira and of
other expeditions toward the north … 510
Second Part, which treats of the high villages and provinces
and of their habits and customs, as collected by Pedro de
Castañeda, native of the city of Najara … 512
Chapter 1, of the province of Culiacan and of its habits and
customs … 513
Chapter 2, of the province of Petlatlan and all the inhabited
country as far as Chichilticalli … 514
Chapter 3, of Chichilticalli and the desert, of Cibola, its
customs and habits, and of other things … 516
Chapter 4, of how they live at Tiguex, and of the province of
Tiguex and its neighborhood … 519
Chapter 5, of Cicuye and the villages in its neighborhood, and
of how some people came to conquer this country … 523
Chapter 6, which gives the number of villages which were seen
in the country of the terraced houses, and their population …
524
Chapter 7, which treats of the plains that were crossed, of the
cows, and of the people who inhabit them … 526
Chapter 8, of Quivira, of where it is and some information
about it … 528
Third Part, which describes what happened to Francisco Vazquez
Coronado during the winter, and how he gave up the expedition
and returned to New Spain … 530
Chapter 1, of how Don Pedro de Tovar came from Señora with some
men, and Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas started back to New
Spain … 530
Chapter 2, of the general’s fall and of how the return to New
Spain was ordered … 531
Chapter 3, of the rebellion at Suya and the reasons the
settlers gave for it … 533
Chapter 4, of how Friar Juan de Padilla and Friar Luis remained
in the country and the army prepared to return to Mexico … 534
Chapter 5, of how the army left the settlements and marched to
Culiacan, and of what happened on the way … 537
Chapter 6, of how the general started from Culiacan to give
the viceroy an account of the army with which he had been
intrusted … 538
Chapter 7, of the adventures of Captain Juan Gallego while he
was bringing reenforcements through the revolted country … 540
Chapter 8, which describes some remarkable things that were
seen on the plains, with a description of the bulls … 541
Chapter 9, which treats of the direction which the army took,
and of how another more direct way might be found if anyone
was going to return to that country … 544
Translation of the letter from Mendoza to the King, April 17, 1540
… 547
Translation of the letter from Coronado to Mendoza, August 3, 1540
… 552
Translation of the Traslado de las Nuevas … 564
Relación postrera de Sívola … 566
Spanish text … 566
Translation … 568
Translation of the Relacion del Suceso … 572
Translation of a letter from Coronado to the King, October 20, 1541
… 580
Translation of the narrative of Jaramillo … 584
Translation of the report of Hernando de Alvarado … 594
Testimony concerning those who went on the expedition with
Francisco Vazquez Coronado … 596
A list of works useful to the student of the Coronado expedition …
599
[p337]
ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE
XXXVIII. The New Spain and New Mexico country … 345
XXXIX. The Ulpius globe of 1542 … 349
XL. Sebastian Cabot’s map of 1544 … 353
XLI. Map of the world by Ptolemy, 1548 … 357
XLII. Battista Agnese’s New Spain, sixteenth century … 361
XLIII. The City of Mexico about 1550, by Alonzo de Santa Cruz … 365
XLIV. Zaltieri’s karte, 1566 … 369
XLV. Mercator’s northwestern part of New Spain, 1569 … 373
XLVI. Mercator’s interior of New Spain, 1569 … 377
XLVII. Abr. Ortelius’ Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, 1570 … 381
XLVIII. Dourado’s Terra Antipodv Regis Castele Inveta, 1580 … 385
XLIX. Western hemisphere of Mercator, 1587 … 389
L. Northern half of De Bry’s America Sive Novvs Orbis, 1596 … 393
LI. Wytfliet’s Vtrivsqve Hemispherii Delineatio, 1597 … 397
LII. Wytfliet’s New Granada and California, 1597 … 401
LIII. Wytfliet’s kingdoms of Quivira, Anian, and Tolm, 1597 … 405
LIV. Matthias Quadus’ Fasciculus Geographicus, 1608 … 409
LV. The buffalo of Gomara, 1554 … 512
LVI. The buffalo of Thevet, 1558 … 516
LVII. The buffalo of De Bry, 1595 … 520
LVIII. On the terraces at Zuñi … 525
LIX. Middle court at Zuñi … 527
LX. Zuñi court, showing “balcony” … 529
LXI. Zuñi interior … 531
LXII. Zuñis in typical modern costume … 534
LXIII. Hopi maidens, showing primitive Pueblo hairdressing … 536
LXIV. Hopi grinding and paper-bread making … 539
LXV. Hopi basket maker … 543
LXVI. Pueblo pottery making … 547
LXVII. Pueblo spinning and weaving … 551
LXVIII. The Tewa pueblo of P’o-who-gi or San Ildefonso … 555
LXIX. Pueblo of Jemez … 559
LXX. Ruins of Spanish church above Jemez … 562
LXXI. The Keres pueblo of Sia … 569
LXXII. The Keres pueblo of Cochití … 571
LXXIII. The Tewa pueblo of Nambe … 573
LXXIV. A Nambe Indian in war costume … 576
LXXV. A Nambe water carrier … 578
LXXVI. The Keres pueblo of Katishtya or San Felipe … 583
LXXVII. The south town of the Tiwa pueblo of Taos … 585
LXXVIII. The Tewa pueblo of K’hapóo or Santa Clara … 587
LXXIX. The Tewa pueblo of Ohke or San Juan … 589
LXXX. A native of San Juan … 592
LXXXI. A native of Pecos … 596
LXXXII. Facsimile of pages of Castañeda’s relacion … 456
LXXXIII. Facsimile of pages of Castañeda’s relacion … 442
LXXXIV. Facsimile of pages of Castañeda’s relacion … 466
[p339]
THE CORONADO EXPEDITION, 1540–1542
BY GEORGE PARKER WINSHIP
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
The following historical introduction, with the accompanying
translations, is the result of work in the Seminary of American
History at Harvard University. Undertaken as a bit of undergraduate
study, it has gradually assumed a form which has been considered
worthy of publication, chiefly because of the suggestions and
assistance which have been given with most generous readiness by all
from whom I have had occasion to ask help or advice. To Dr Justin
Winsor; to Professor Henry W. Haynes, who opened the way for students
of the early Spanish history of the North American southwest; to Dr
J. Walter Fewkes, who has freely offered me the many results of his
long-continued and minute investigations at Tusayan and Zuñi; and to
the careful oversight and aid of Mr F. W. Hodge and the other members
of the Bureau of Ethnology, much of the value of this work is due.
Mr Augustus Hemenway has kindly permitted the use of the maps and
documents deposited in the archives of the Hemenway Southwestern
Archeological Expedition by Mr Adolph F. Bandelier. My indebtedness
to the researches and writings of Mr Bandelier is evident throughout.
Señor Joaquin Garcia Icazbalceta—whose death, in November, 1894,
removed the master student of the documentary history of Mexico—most
courteously gave me all the information at his command, and with his
own hand copied the _Relación postrera de Sívola_, which is now for
the first time printed. The Spanish text of Castañeda’s narrative,
the presentation of which for the first time in its original language
affords the best reason for the present publication, has been copied
and printed with the consent of the trustees of the Lenox Library in
New York, in whose custody is the original manuscript. I am under
many obligations to their librarian, Mr Wilberforce Eames, who has
always been ready to assist me by whatever means were within his
power.
The subject of this research was suggested by Professor Channing
of Harvard. If my work has resulted in some contribution to the
literature of the history of the Spanish conquest of America, it is
because of his constant guidance and inspiration, and his persistent
refusal to [p340] consent to any abandoning of the work before the
results had been expressed in a manner worthy of the university.
Before the completion of the arrangements by which this essay
becomes a part of the annual report of the Director of the Bureau of
Ethnology, it had been accepted for publication by the Department of
History of Harvard University.
GEORGE PARKER WINSHIP
_Assistant in American History in Harvard University._
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS,
_February, 1895._
[p341]
ITINERARY OF THE CORONADO EXPEDITIONS, 1527–1547
1527
[Sidenote: June 17]
Narvaez sails from Spain to explore the mainland north of the Gulf of
Mexico.
1528
[Sidenote: April 15]
Narvaez lands in Florida.
[Sidenote: Sept. 22]
The failure of the Narvaez expedition is assured.
1535
Cortes makes a settlement in Lower California.
Mendoza comes to Mexico as viceroy of New Spain.
1536
[Sidenote: April]
Cabeza de Vaca and three other survivors of the Narvaez expedition
arrive in New Spain.
The Licenciate de la Torre takes the residencia of Nuño de Guzman,
who is imprisoned until June 30, 1538.
1537
Franciscan friars labor among the Indian tribes living north of New
Spain.
Coronado subdues the revolted miners of Amatepeque.
The proposed expedition under Dorantes comes to naught.
[Sidenote: April 20]
De Soto receives a grant of the mainland of Florida.
1538
[Sidenote: September]
It is rumored that Coronado has been nominated governor of New
Galicia.
1539
Pedro de Alvarado returns from Spain to the New World.
[Sidenote: March 7]
Friar Marcos de Niza, accompanied by the negro Estevan, starts from
Culiacan to find the Seven Cities.
[Sidenote: April 18]
The appointment of Coronado as governor of New Galicia is confirmed.
[Sidenote: May]
De Soto sails from Habana.
[Sidenote: May 9]
Friar Marcos enters the wilderness of Arizona.
[Sidenote: May 21]
Friar Marcos learns of the death of Estevan.
[Sidenote: May 25]
De Soto lands on the coast of Florida.
[Sidenote: July 8]
Ulloa sails from Acapulco nearly to the head of the Gulf of
California in command of a fleet furnished by Cortes.
[Sidenote: August]
Friar Marcos returns from the north and certifies to the truth
[Sidenote: Sept. 2] of his report before Mendoza and Coronado.
[Sidenote: October]
The news of Niza’s discoveries spreads through New Spain.
[Sidenote: November]
Mendoza begins to prepare for an expedition to conquer the Seven
Cities of Cibola.
Melchior Diaz is sent to verify the reports of Friar Marcos.
De Soto finds the remains of the camp of Narvaez at Bahia de los
Cavallos.
[Sidenote: Nov. 12]
Witnesses in Habana describe the effect of the friar’s reports.
1540
[Sidenote: Jan. 1]
Mendoza celebrates the new year at Pasquaro.
[Sidenote: Jan. 9]
Coronado at Guadalajara.
[Sidenote: Feb. 5]
Cortes stops at Habana on his way to Spain.
[Sidenote: February]
The members of the Cibola expedition assemble at Compostela, where
the viceroy finds them on his arrival.
[Sidenote: Feb. 22]
Review of the army on Sunday.
[Sidenote: Feb. 23]
The army, under the command of Francisco Vazquez Coronado, starts for
Cibola (not on February 1).
[Sidenote: Feb. 26]
Mendoza returns to Compostela, having left the army two days before,
and examines witnesses to discover how many citizens of New Spain
have accompanied Coronado. He writes a letter to King Charles V,
which has been lost.
[Sidenote: March]
The army is delayed by the cattle in crossing the rivers.
The death of the army master, Samaniego, at Chiametla.
Return of Melchior Diaz and Juan de Saldivar from Chichilticalli.
[Sidenote: March 3]
Beginning of litigation in Spain over the right to explore and
conquer the Cibola country.
[Sidenote: March 28]
Reception to the army at Culiacan, on Easter day.
[Sidenote: April]
The army is entertained by the citizens of Culiacan.
Mendoza receives the report of Melchior Diaz’ exploration, perhaps at
Jacona.
Coronado writes to Mendoza, giving an account of what has already
happened, and of the arrangements which he has made for the rest of
the journey. This letter has been lost.
[Sidenote: April 17]
Mendoza writes to the Emperor Charles V.
[Sidenote: April 22]
Coronado departs from Culiacan with about seventy-five horsemen and a
few footmen.
[Sidenote: April]
Coronado passes through Petatlan, Cinaloa, Los Cedros, [Sidenote:
May] Yaquemi, and other places mentioned by Jaramillo.
[Sidenote: May 9]
Alarcon sails from Acapulco to cooperate with Coronado.
The army starts from Culiacan and marches toward the Corazones or
Hearts valley.
[Sidenote: May 26]
Coronado leaves the valley of Corazones. He proceeds to
Chichilticalli, [Sidenote: June] passing Senora or Sonora and Ispa,
and thence crosses the Arizona wilderness, fording many rivers.
The army builds the town of San Hieronimo in Corazones valley.
[Sidenote: July 7]
Coronado reaches Cibola and captures the first city, the pueblo of
Hawikuh, which he calls Granada.
[Sidenote: July 11]
The Indians retire to their stronghold on Thunder mountain.
[Sidenote: July 15]
Pedro de Tovar goes to Tusayan or Moki, returning within thirty days.
[Sidenote: July 19]
Coronado goes to Thunder mountain and returns the same day.
[Sidenote: Aug. 3]
Coronado writes to Mendoza. He sends Juan Gallego to Mexico, and
Melchior Diaz to Corazones with orders for the army. Friar Marcos
accompanies them.
[Sidenote: Aug. 25 (?)]
Lopez de Cardenas starts to find the canyons of Colorado river, and
is gone about eighty days.
[Sidenote: Aug. 26]
Alarcon enters the mouth of Colorado river.
[Sidenote: Aug. 29]
Hernando de Alvarado goes eastward to Tiguex, on the Rio Grande, and
to the buffalo plains.
Pedro de Alvarado arrives in New Spain.
[Sidenote: Sept. 7]
Hernando de Alvarado reaches Tiguex.
Diaz and Gallego reach Corazones about the middle of September, and
the army starts for Cibola.
Coronado visits Tutahaco.
[Sidenote: September to January]
The army reaches Cibola, and goes thence to Tiguex for its winter
quarters. The natives in the Rio Grande pueblos revolt and are
subjugated. The Turk tells the Spaniards about Quivira.
[Sidenote: October]
Diaz starts from Corazones before the end of September, with
twenty-five men, and explores the country along the Gulf of
California, going beyond Colorado river.
Diego de Alcaraz is left in command of the town of San Hieronimo.
[Sidenote: Nov. 29]
Mendoza and Pedro de Alvarado sign an agreement in regard to common
explorations and conquests.
1541
[Sidenote: Jan. 8]
Diaz dies on the return from the mouth of the Colorado, and his
companions return to Corazones valley.
[Sidenote: March]
Alcaraz, during the spring, moves the village of San Hieronimo from
Corazones valley to the valley of Suya river.
[Sidenote: April 20]
Beginning of the Mixton war in New Galicia.
Coronado writes a letter to the King from Tiguex, which has been lost.
Tovar and perhaps Gallego return to Mexico.
[Sidenote: April 23]
Coronado starts with all his force from Tiguex to cross the buffalo
plains to Quivira.
[Sidenote: May]
The army is divided somewhere on the great plains, perhaps on
Canadian river. The main body returns to Tiguex, arriving there by
the middle or last of June.
De Soto crosses the Mississippi.
[Sidenote: June]
Coronado, with, thirty horsemen, rides north to Quivira, where he
arrives forty-two (?) days later.
[Sidenote: June 24]
Pedro de Alvarado is killed at Nochistlan, in New Galicia.
[Sidenote: August]
Coronado spends about twenty-five days in the country of Quivira,
leaving “the middle or last of August.”
[Sidenote: Sept. 28]
The Indians in New Galicia attack the town of Guadalajara, but are
repulsed.
[Sidenote: Oct. 2]
Coronado returns from Quivira to Tiguex and writes a letter to the
King.
[Sidenote: November]
Cardenas starts to return to Mexico with some other invalids from the
army. He finds the village of Suya in ruins and hastily returns to
Tiguex.
[Sidenote: December]
Coronado falls from his horse and is seriously injured.
The Mixton peñol is surrendered by the revolted Indians during
holiday week.
1542
Coronado and his soldiers determine to return to New Spain. They
start in the spring, and reach Mexico probably late in the autumn.
The general makes his report to the viceroy, who receives him coldly.
Coronado not long after resigns his position as governor of New
Galicia and retires to his estates.
[Sidenote: April 17]
De Soto reaches the mouth of Red river, where he dies, May 21.
[Sidenote: June 27]
Cabrillo starts on his voyage up the California coast. He dies in
January, 1543, and the vessels return to New Spain by April, 1544.
[Sidenote: Nov. 1]
Villalobos starts across the Pacific. His fleet meets with many
misfortunes and losses. The survivors, five years or more later,
return to Spain.
[Sidenote: Nov. 25]
Friar Juan de la Cruz is killed at Tiguex, where he remained when
the army departed for New Spain. Friar Luis also remained in the new
country, at Cicuye, and Friar Juan de Padilla, at Quivira, where he
is killed. The companions of Friar Juan de Padilla make their way
back to Mexico, arriving before 1552.
1544
[Sidenote: Nov. 30]
Promulgation of the New Laws for the Indies.
Sebastian Cabot publishes his map of the New World.
1547
Mendoza, before he leaves New Spain to become viceroy of Peru,
answers the charges preferred against him by the officials appointed
to investigate his administration.
[Illustration: XXXVIII. The New Spain and New Mexico Country]
[p345]
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION
THE CAUSES OF THE CORONADO EXPEDITION, 1528–1539
ALVAR NUÑEZ CABEZA DE VACA
The American Indians are always on the move. Tribes shift the
location of their homes from season to season and from year to year,
while individuals wander at will, hunting, trading or gossiping.
This is very largely true today, and when the Europeans first came
in contact with the American aborigines, it was a characteristic
feature of Indian life. The Shawnees, for example, have drifted
from Georgia to the great lakes, and part of the way back, during
the period since their peregrinations can first be traced. Traders
from tribe to tribe, in the days when European commercial ideas were
unknown in North America, carried bits of copper dug from the mines
in which the aboriginal implements are still found, on the shores
of Lake Superior, to the Atlantic coast on the one side and to the
Rocky mountains on the other. The Indian gossips of central Mexico,
in 1535, described to the Spaniards the villages of New Mexico
and Arizona, with their many-storied houses of stone and adobe.
The Spanish colonists were always eager to learn about unexplored
regions lying outside the limits of the white settlements, and their
Indian neighbors and servants in the valley of Mexico told them many
tales of the people who lived beyond the mountains which hemmed
in New Spain on the north. One of these stories may be found in
another part of this memoir, where it is preserved in the narrative
of Pedro Castañeda, the historian of the Coronado expedition.
Castañeda’s hearsay report of the Indian story, which was related
by an adventurous trader who had penetrated the country far to the
north, compares not unfavorably with the somewhat similar stories
which Marco Polo told to entertain his Venetian friends.[1] But
whatever may have been known before, the information which led to the
expedition of Friar Marcos de Niza and to that of Francisco Vazquez
Coronado was brought to New Spain late in the spring of 1536 by Alvar
Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca.
In 1520, before Cortes, the conqueror of Motecuhzoma, had made
his peace with the Emperor Charles V and with the authorities at
Cuba, Panfilo de Narvaez was dispatched to the Mexican mainland,
at the [p346] head of a considerable force. He was sent to subdue
and supersede the conqueror of Mexico, but when they met, Cortes
quickly proved that he was a better general than his opponent, and
a skillful politician as well. Narvaez was deserted by his soldiers
and became a prisoner in the City of Mexico, where he was detained
during the two years which followed. Cortes was at the height of his
power, and Narvaez must have felt a longing to rival the successes
of the conqueror, who had won the wealth of the Mexican empire.
After Cortes resumed his dutiful obedience to the Spanish crown,
friends at home obtained a royal order which effected the release of
Narvaez, who returned to Spain at the earliest opportunity. Almost as
soon as he had established himself anew in the favor of the court,
he petitioned the King for a license which should permit him to
conduct explorations in the New World. After some delay, the desired
patent was granted. It authorized Narvaez to explore, conquer, and
colonize the country between Florida and the Rio de Palmas, a grant
comprising all that portion of North America bordering on the Gulf of
Mexico, which is now included within the limits of the United States.
Preparations were at once begun for the complete organization of an
expedition suitable to the extent of this territory and to the power
and dignity of its governor.
On June 17, 1527, Narvaez, governor of Florida, Rio de Palmas and
Espiritu Santo—the Rio Grande and the Mississippi on our modern
maps—sailed from Spain. He went first to Cuba, where he refitted his
fleet and replaced one vessel which had been lost in a hurricane
during the voyage. When everything was ready to start for the
unexplored mainland, he ordered the pilots to conduct his fleet to
the western limits of his jurisdiction—our Texas. They landed him,
April 15, 1528, on the coast of the present Florida, at a bay which
the Spaniards called Bahia de la Cruz, and which the map of Sebastian
Cabot enables us to identify with Apalache bay. The pilots knew that
a storm had driven them out of their course toward the east, but they
could not calculate on the strong current of the gulf stream. They
assured the commander that he was not far from the Rio de Palmas,
the desired destination, and so he landed his force of 50 horses and
300 men—just half the number of the soldiers, mechanics, laborers,
and priests who had started with, him from Spain ten months before.
He sent one of his vessels back to Cuba for recruits, and ordered
the remaining three to sail along the coast toward the west and to
wait for the army at the fine harbor of Panuco, which was reported to
be near the mouth of Palmas river. The fate of these vessels is not
known.
Narvaez, having completed these arrangements, made ready to lead his
army overland to Panuco. The march began April 19. For a while, the
Spaniards took a northerly direction, and then they turned toward the
west. Progress was slow, for the men knew nothing of the country, and
the forests and morasses presented many difficulties to the soldiers
[p347] unused to woodcraft. Little help could be procured from
the Indians, who soon became openly hostile wherever the Spaniards
encountered them. Food grew scarce, and no persuasion could induce
the natives to reveal hidden stores of corn, or of gold. On May 15,
tired and discouraged, the Spaniards reached a large river with a
strong current flowing toward the south. They rested here, while
Cabeza de Vaca, the royal treasurer accompanying the expedition, took
a small party of soldiers and followed the banks of the river down
to the sea. The fleet was not waiting for them at the mouth of this
stream, nor could anything be learned of the fine harbor for which
they were searching. Disappointed anew by the report which Cabeza
de Vaca made on his return to the main camp, the Spanish soldiers
crossed the river and continued their march toward the west. They
plodded on and on, and after awhile turned southward, to follow down
the course of another large river which blocked their westward march.
On the last day of July they reached a bay of considerable size,
at the mouth of the river. They named this Bahia de los Cavallos,
perhaps, as has been surmised, because it was here that they killed
the last of their horses for food. The Spaniards, long before this,
had become thoroughly disheartened. Neither food nor gold could be
found. The capital cities, toward which the Indian captives had
directed the wandering strangers, when reached, were mere groups
of huts, situated in some cases on mounds of earth. Not a sign of
anything which would reward their search, and hardly a thing to eat,
had been discovered during the months of toilsome marching. The
Spaniards determined to leave the country. They constructed forges
in their camp near the seashore, and hammered their spurs, stirrups,
and other iron implements of warfare into nails and saws and axes,
with which to build the boats necessary for their escape from the
country. Ropes were made of the tails and manes of the horses, whose
hides, pieced out with the shirts of the men, were fashioned into
sails. By September 22, five boats were ready, each large enough to
hold between 45 and 50 men. In these the soldiers embarked. Scarcely
a man among them knew anything of navigation, and they certainly knew
nothing about the navigation of this coast. They steered westward,
keeping near the land, and stopping occasionally for fresh water.
Sometimes they obtained a little food.
Toward the end of October they came to the mouth of a large river
which poured forth so strong a current that it drove the boats out to
sea. Two, those which contained Narvaez and the friars, were lost.
The men in the other three boats were driven ashore by a storm,
somewhere on the coast of western Louisiana or eastern Texas.[2] This
was [p348] in the winter of 1528–29. Toward the end of April, 1536,
Cabeza de Vaca, Alonso del Castillo Maldonado, Andres Dorantes, and a
negro named Estevan, met some Spanish slave catchers near the Rio de
Petatlan, in Sinaloa, west of the mountains which border the Gulf of
California. These four men, with a single exception,[3] were the only
survivors of the three hundred who had entered the continent with
Narvaez eight years before.
Cabeza de Vaca and his companions stayed in Mexico for several
months, as the guests of the viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza. At
first, it was probably the intention of the three Spaniards to
return to Spain, in order to claim the due reward for their manifold
sufferings. Mendoza says, in a letter dated December 10, 1537,[4]
that he purchased the negro Estevan from Dorantes, so that there
might be someone left in New Spain who could guide an expedition back
into the countries about which the wanderers had heard. An earlier
letter from the viceroy, dated February 11, 1537, commends Cabeza de
Vaca and _Francisco_ Dorantes—he must have meant Andres, and perhaps
wrote it so in his original manuscript—as deserving the favor of the
Empress. Maldonado is not mentioned in this letter, and no trace of
him has been found after the arrival of the four survivors in Mexico.
All that we know about him is that his home was in Salamanca.[5]
[Illustration: XXXIX. The Ulpius Globe of 1542
in Possession of the New York Historical Society]
Cabeza de Vaca and Dorantes started from Vera Cruz for Spain in
October, 1536, but their vessel was stranded before it got out of the
harbor. This accident obliged them to postpone their departure until
the following spring, when Cabeza de Vaca returned home alone. He
told the story of his wanderings to the court and the King, and was
rewarded, by 1540, with an appointment as adelantado, giving him the
command over the recently occupied regions about the Rio de la Plata.
The position was one for which he was unfitted, and his subordinates
[p349] sent him back to Spain. The complaints against him were
investigated by the Council for the Indies, but the judgment, if any
was given, has never been published. He certainly was not punished,
and soon settled down in Seville, where he was still living,
apparently, twenty years later.[6]
While Dorantes was stopping at Vera Cruz during the winter of
1536–37, he received a letter from Mendoza, asking him to return to
the City of Mexico. After several interviews, the viceroy induced
Dorantes to remain in New Spain, agreeing to provide him with a
party of horsemen and friars, in order to explore more thoroughly
the country through which he had wandered. Mendoza explains the
details of his plans in the letter written in December, 1537, and
declares that he expected many advantages would be derived from this
expedition which would redound to the glory of God and to the profit
of His Majesty the King. The viceroy was prepared to expend a large
sum—3,500 or 4,000 pesos—to insure a successful undertaking, but he
promised to raise the whole amount, without taking a single maravedi
from the royal treasury, by means of a more careful collection of
dues, and especially by enforcing the payment of overdue sums, the
collection of which hitherto had been considered impossible. This
reform in the collection of rents and other royal exactions and the
careful attention to all the details of the fiscal administration
were among the most valuable of the many services rendered by Mendoza
as viceroy. The expedition under Dorantes never started, though why
nothing came of all the preparations, wrote Mendoza in his next
letter to the King, “I never could find out.”[7]
The three Spaniards wrote several narratives of their experiences
on the expedition of Narvaez, and of their adventurous journey from
the gulf coast of Texas to the Pacific coast of Mexico.[8] These
travelers, who had lived a savage life for so long that they could
wear no clothes, and were unable to sleep except upon the bare
ground, had a strange tale to tell. The story of their eight years
of wandering must have been often repeated—of their slavery, their
buffalo-hunting expeditions, of the escape from their Indian masters,
and their career as traders and as medicine men. These were wonderful
and strange [p350] experiences, but the story contained little to
arouse the eager interest of the colonists in New Spain, whose minds
had been stirred by the accounts which came from Peru telling of the
untold wealth of the Incas. A few things, however, had been seen and
heard by the wanderers which suggested the possibility of lands worth
conquering. “A copper hawks-bell, thick and large, figured with a
face,” had been given to Cabeza de Vaca, soon after he started on his
journey toward Mexico. The natives who gave this to him said that
they had received it from other Indians, “who had brought it from
the north, where there was much copper, which was highly esteemed.”
After the travelers had crossed the Rio Grande, they showed this bell
to some other Indians, who said that “there were many plates of this
same metal buried in the ground in the place whence it had come, and
that it was a thing which they esteemed highly, and that there were
fixed habitations where it came from.”[9] This was all the treasure
which Cabeza de Vaca could say that he had seen. He had heard,
however, of a better region than any he saw, for the Indians told him
“that there are pearls and great riches on the coast of the South
sea (the Pacific), and all the best and most opulent countries are
near there.” We may be sure that none of this was omitted whenever he
told the Spanish colonists the story of the years of his residence in
Texas and of the months of his journey across northern Mexico.[10]
THE GOVERNORS OF NEW SPAIN, 1530–1537
Don Antonio de Mendoza, “the good viceroy,” had been at the head of
the government of New Spain for two years when Cabeza de Vaca arrived
in Mexico. The effects of his careful and intelligent administration
were already beginning to appear in the increasing prosperity of the
province and the improved condition of the colonists and of their
lands. The authority of the viceroy was ample and extensive, although
he was limited to some extent by the audiencia, the members of which
had administered the government of the province since the retirement
of Cortes. The viceroy was the president of this court, which had
resumed more strictly judicial functions after his arrival, and he
was officially advised by his instructions from the King to consult
with his fellow members on all matters of importance.
Nuño de Guzman departed for New Spain in 1528, and became the
head of the first audiencia. Within a year he had made himself so
deservedly unpopular that when he heard that Cortes was coming
back to Mexico from Spain, with the new title of marquis and fresh
grants of power from the King, he thought it best to get out of the
way of his rival. Without relinquishing the title to his position
in the capital [p351] city, Guzman collected a considerable force
and marched away toward the west and north, determined to win honor
and security by new conquests. He explored and subdued the country
for a considerable distance along the eastern shores of the Gulf of
California, but he could find nothing there to rival the Mexico of
Motecuhzoma. Meanwhile reports reached Charles V of the manner in
which Guzman had been treating the Indians and the Spanish settlers,
and so, March 17, 1536,[11] the King appointed the Licentiate Diego
Perez de la Torre to take the residencia[12] of Guzman. At the same
time Torre was commissioned to replace Guzman as governor of New
Galicia, as this northwestern province had been named. The latter
had already determined to return to Spain, leaving Don Christobal de
Oñate, a model executive and administrative official, in charge of
his province. Guzman almost succeeded in escaping, but his judge, who
had landed at Vera Cruz by the end of 1536, met him at the viceroy’s
palace in Mexico city, and secured his arrest before he could depart.
After his trial he was detained in Mexico until June 30, 1538, when
he was enabled to leave New Spain by an order which directed him to
surrender his person to the officers of the Casa de Contratacion,[13]
at Seville. Guzman lost no time in going to Spain, where he spent the
next four years in urging his claims to a right to participate in the
northern conquests.
Torre, the licentiate, had barely begun to reform the abuses of
Guzman’s government when he was killed in a conflict with some
revolted Indian tribes. Oñate again took charge of affairs until
Mendoza appointed Luis Galindo chief justice for New Galicia. This
was merely a temporary appointment, however, until a new governor
could be selected. The viceroy’s nomination for the position was
confirmed by the King, in a cedula dated April 18, 1539, which
commissioned Francisco Vazquez Coronado as governor.[14]
Cortes had been engaged, ever since his return from Spain, in fitting
out expeditions which came to nothing,[15] but by which he hoped to
accomplish his schemes for completing the exploration of the South
sea. His leisure was more than occupied by his efforts to outwit the
agents of the viceroy and the audiencia, who had received orders from
the King to investigate the extent and condition of the estates held
by Cortes. In the spring of 1535, Cortes established a colony on the
opposite coast of California, the supposed Island of the Marquis, at
Santa [p352] Cruz,[16] near the modern La Paz. Storms and shipwreck,
hunger and surfeiting, reduced the numbers and the enthusiasm of the
men whom he had conducted thither, and when his vessels returned from
the mainland with the news that Mendoza had arrived in Mexico, and
bringing letters from his wife urging him to return at once, Cortes
went back to Mexico. A few months later he recalled the settlers
whom he had left at Santa Cruz, in accordance, it may be, with the
command or advice of Mendoza.[17] When the stories of Cabeza de Vaca
suggested the possibility of making desirable conquests toward the
north, Cortes possessed a better outfit for undertaking this work
than any of the others who were likely to be rivals for the privilege
of exploring and occupying that region.
Pedro de Alvarado was the least known of these rival claimants. He
had been a lieutenant of Cortes until he secured an independent
command in Guatemala, Yucatan and Honduras, where he subdued the
natives, but discovered nothing except that there was nowhere in
these regions any store of gold or treasures. Abandoning this field,
he tried to win a share in the conquests of Pizarro and Almagro.
He approached Peru from the north, and conducted his army across
the mountains. This march, one of the most disastrous in colonial
history, so completely destroyed the efficiency of his force that the
conquerors of Peru easily compelled him to sell them what was left
of his expedition. They paid a considerable sum, weighed out in bars
of silver which he found, after his return to Panama, to be made of
lead with a silver veneering.[18] Alvarado was ready to abandon the
work of conquering America, and had forwarded a petition to the King,
asking that he might be allowed to return to Spain, when Mendoza,
or the audiencia which was controlled by the enemies of Alvarado,
furthered his desires by ordering him to go to the mother country
and present himself before the throne. This was in 1536. While at
court Alvarado must have met Cabeza de Vaca. He changed his plans
for making a voyage to the South seas, and secured from the King,
whose favor he had easily regained, a commission which allowed him
to build a fleet in Central America and explore the South sea—the
Pacific—toward the west or the north. He returned to America early in
1539, bringing with him everything needed in the equipment of a large
fleet.
[Illustration: XL. Sebastian Cabot’s Map of 1544
After Kretschmer]
Mendoza, meanwhile, 1536–1539, had been making plans and
preparations. He had not come to the New World as an adventurer,
and he lacked the spirit of eager, reckless, hopeful expectation of
wealth and fame, which accomplished so much for the geographical
unfolding of the two Americas. Mendoza appears to have arranged his
plans as carefully as if he had been about to engage in some intrigue
at court. He [p353] recognized his rivals and their strength. Nuño
de Guzman was in disgrace and awaiting a trial, but he was at the
court, where he could urge his claims persistently in person. Cortes
was active, but he was where Mendoza could watch everything that he
tried to do. He might succeed in anticipating the viceroy’s plans,
but his sea ventures heretofore had all been failures. So long as he
kept to the water there seemed to be little danger. Mendoza’s chief
concern appears to have been to make sure that his rivals should
have no chance of uniting their claims against him. Representing the
Crown and its interests, he felt sure of everything else. The viceroy
had no ambition to take the field in person as an explorer, and he
selected Alvarado as the most available leader for the expedition
which he had in mind, probably about the time that the latter
came back to the New World. He wrote to Alvarado, suggesting an
arrangement between them, and after due consideration on both sides,
terms and conditions mutually satisfactory were agreed on. Mendoza
succeeded in uniting Alvarado to his interests, and engaged that
he should conduct an expedition into the country north of Mexico.
This arrangement was completed, apparently, before the return of
Friar Marcos from his reconnoissance, which added so largely to the
probabilities of success.
THE RECONNOISSANCE OF FRIAR MARCOS DE NIZA
Mendoza did not confine himself to diplomatic measures for bringing
about the exploration and conquest which he had in mind. In his
undated “première lettre” the viceroy wrote that he was prepared to
send Dorantes with forty or fifty horses and everything needed for an
expedition into the interior; but nothing was done.
About this time, 1537–38, Friar Juan de la Asuncion seems to have
visited the inland tribes north of the Spanish settlements. Mr
Bandelier has presented all the evidence obtainable regarding the
labors of this friar.[19] The most probable interpretation of the
statements which refer to his wanderings is that Friar Juan went
alone and without official assistance, and that he may have traveled
as far north as the river Gila. The details of his journey are
hopelessly confused. It is more than probable that there were a
number of friars at work among the outlying Indian tribes, and there
is no reason why one or more of them may not have wandered north
for a considerable distance. During the same year the viceroy made
an attempt, possibly in person, to penetrate into the country of
Topira or Topia, in northwestern Durango,[20] but the mountains and
the absence of provisions forced the party to return. It may be that
this fruitless expedition was the same as that in which, according
to Castañeda, Coronado took part, while Friar Marcos was on his way
to Cibola. It is not unlikely, also, [p354] that Friar Marcos may
have made a preliminary trip toward the north, during the same year,
although this is hardly more than a guess to explain statements, made
by the old chroniclers, which we can not understand.
As yet nothing had been found to verify the reports brought by Cabeza
de Vaca, which, by themselves, were hardly sufficient to justify the
equipment of an expedition on a large scale. But Mendoza was bent on
discovering what lay beyond the northern mountains. He still had the
negro Estevan, whom he had purchased of Dorantes, besides a number
of Indians who had followed Cabeza de Vaca to Mexico and had been
trained there to serve as interpreters. The experience which the
negro had gained during the years he lived among the savages made him
invaluable as a guide. He was used to dealing with the Indians, knew
something of their languages, and was practiced in the all-important
sign manual.
Friar Marcos de Niza was selected as the leader of the little party
which was to find out what the viceroy wanted to know. Aside from
his reconnoitering trip to Cibola, very little is known about this
friar. Born in Nice, then a part of Savoy, he was called by his
contemporaries a Frenchman. He had been with Pizarro in Peru, and had
witnessed the death of Atahualpa. Returning to Central America, very
likely with Pedro de Alvarado, he had walked from there barefooted,
as was his custom, up to Mexico. He seems to have been somewhere
in the northwestern provinces of New Spain, when Cabeza de Vaca
appeared there after his wanderings. A member of the Franciscan
brotherhood, he had already attained to some standing in the order,
for he signs his report or personal narration of his explorations,
as vice-commissary of the Franciscans. The father provincial of the
order, Friar Antonio de Ciudad-Rodrigo, on August 26, 1539,[21]
certified to the high esteem in which Friar Marcos was held, and
stated that he was skilled in cosmography and in the arts of the sea,
as well as in theology.
This choice of a leader was beyond question an excellent one, and
Mendoza had every reason to feel confidence in the success of his
undertaking. The viceroy drew up a set of instructions for Friar
Marcos, which directed that the Indians whom he met on the way should
receive the best of treatment, and provided for the scientific
observations which all Spanish explorers were expected to record.
Letters were to be left wherever it seemed advisable, in order to
communicate with a possible sea expedition, and information of
the progress of the party was to be sent back to the viceroy at
convenient intervals. These instructions are a model of careful and
explicit directions, and show the characteristic interest taken by
Mendoza in the details of everything with which he was concerned.
They supply to some extent, [p355] also, the loss of the similar
instructions which Coronado must have received when he started on his
journey in the following February.[22]
Friar Marcos, accompanied by a lay brother, Friar Onorato, according
to Mendoza’s “première lettre,” left Culiacan on March 7, 1539.
Coronado, now acting as governor of New Galicia, had escorted them as
far as this town and had assured a quiet journey for a part of the
way beyond by sending in advance six Indians, natives of this region,
who had been “kept at Mexico to become proficient in the Spanish
language and attached to the ways of the Christians.”[23] The friars
proceeded to Petatlan, where Friar Onorato fell sick, so that it was
necessary to leave him behind. During the rest of the journey, Friar
Marcos was the only white man in the party, which consisted of the
negro Estevan, the Indian interpreters, and a large body of natives
who followed him from the different villages near which he passed.
The friar continued his journey to “Vacapa,” which Mr Bandelier
identifies with the Eudeve settlement of Matapa in central Sonora,
where he arrived two days before Passion Sunday, which in 1539 fell
on March 23.[24] At this place he waited until April 6, in order to
send to the seacoast and summon some Indians, from whom he hoped to
secure further information about the pearl islands of which Cabeza de
Vaca had heard.
The negro Estevan had been ordered by the viceroy to obey Friar
Marcos in everything, under pain of serious punishment. While the
friar was waiting at Vacapa, he sent the negro toward the north,
instructing him to proceed 50 or 60 leagues and see if he could find
anything which might help them in their search. If he found any signs
of a rich and populous country, it was agreed that he was not to
advance farther, but should return to meet the friar, or else wait
where he heard the good news, sending some Indian messengers back to
the friar, with a white cross the size of the palm of his hand. If
the news was very promising, the cross was to be twice this size, and
if the country about which he heard promised to be larger and better
than New Spain, a cross still larger than this was to be sent back.
Castañeda preserves a story that Estevan was sent ahead, not only to
explore and pacify the country, but also because he did not get on
well with his superior, who objected to his eagerness in collecting
the turquoises and other things which the natives prized and to the
moral effect of his relations with the women who followed him from
the tribes which they met on their way. Friar Marcos says nothing
about this in his narrative, but he had different and much more
important ends to accomplish by his report, compared with those of
Castañeda, who may easily have gathered the gossip from some native.
[p356]
Estevan started on Passion Sunday, after dinner. Four days later
messengers sent by him brought to the friar “a very large cross,
as tall as a man.” One of the Indians who had given the negro his
information accompanied the messengers. This man said and affirmed,
as the friar carefully recorded, “that there are seven very large
cities in the first province, all under one lord, with large houses
of stone and lime; the smallest one-story high, with a flat roof
above, and others two and three stories high, and the house of the
lord four stories high. They are all united under his rule. And
on the portals of the principal houses there are many designs of
turquoise stones, of which he says they have a great abundance. And
the people in these cities are very well clothed. . . . Concerning
other provinces farther on, he said that each one of them amounted
to much more than these seven cities.” All this which the Indian
told Friar Marcos was true; and, what is more, the Spanish friar
seems to have correctly understood what the Indian meant, except
that the Indian idea of several villages having a common allied form
of government was interpreted as meaning the rule of a single lord,
who lived in what was to the Indians the chief, because the most
populous, village. These villages of stone and lime—or rather of
stone and rolls or balls of adobe laid in mud mortar and sometimes
whitened with a wash of gypsum[25]—were very large and wondrous
affairs when compared with the huts and shelters of the Seri and some
of the Piman Indians of Sonora.[26] The priest can hardly be blamed
for translating a house entrance into a doorway instead of picturing
it as a bulkhead or as the hatchway of a ship. The Spaniards—those
who had seen service in the Indies—had outgrown their earlier custom
of reading into the Indian stories the ideas of government and of
civilization to which they were accustomed in Europe. But Friar
Marcos was at a disadvantage hardly less than that of the companions
of Cortes, when they first heard of Moctecuhzoma, because his
experience with the wealth of the New World had been in the realm of
the Incas. He interpreted what he did not understand, of necessity,
by what he had seen in Peru.
The story of this Indian did not convince the friar that what he
heard about the grandeur of these seven cities was all true, and he
decided not to believe anything until he had seen it for himself,
or had at least received additional proof. The friar did not start
immediately for the seven cities, as the negro had advised him to
do, but waited until he could see the Indians who had been summoned
from the seacoast. These told him about pearls, which were found near
their homes. Some “painted” Indians, living to the eastward, having
their faces, chests, and arms tattooed or decorated with pigments,
who were perhaps the Pima or Sobaipuri Indians, also visited him
while he was staying at Vacapa and gave him an extended account of
the seven cities, very similar to that of the Indian sent by Estevan.
[p357]
[Illustration: XLI. Map of the World by Ptolemy, 1548]
Friar Marcos started on the second day following Pascua Florida, or
Easter, which came on April 6, 1539. He expected to find Estevan
waiting at the village where he had first heard about the cities.
A second cross, as big as the first, had been received from the
negro, and the messengers who brought this gave a fuller and much
more specific account of the cities, agreeing in every respect with
what had previously been related. When the friar reached the village
where the negro had obtained the first information about the cities,
he secured many new details. He was told that it was thirty days’
journey from this village to the city of Cibola, which was the first
of the seven. Not one person alone, but many, described the houses
very particularly and showed him the way in which they were built,
just as the messengers had done. Besides these seven cities, he
learned that there were other kingdoms, called Marata, Acus, and
Totonteac. The linguistic students, and especially Mr Frank Hamilton
Cushing, have identified the first of these with Matyata or Makyata,
a cluster of pueblos about the salt lakes southeast of Zuñi, which
were in ruins when Alvarado saw them in 1540, although they appeared
to have been despoiled not very long before. Acus is the Acoma
pueblo and Totonteac was in all probability the province of Tusayan,
northwestward from Zuñi. The friar asked these people why they went
so far away from their homes, and was told that they went to get
turquoises and cow skins, besides other valuable things, of all of
which he saw a considerable store in the village.
Friar Marcos tried to find out how these Indians bartered for the
things they brought from the northern country, but all he could
understand was that “with the sweat and service of their persons they
went to the first city, which is called Cibola, and that they labored
there by digging the earth and other services, and that for what they
did they received turquoises and the skins of cows, such as those
people had.” We now know, whatever Friar Marcos may have thought,
that they doubtless obtained their turquoises by digging them out of
the rocky ground in which they are still found in New Mexico, and
this may easily have seemed to them perspiring labor. It is not clear
just how they obtained the buffalo skins, although it was doubtless
by barter. The friar noticed fine turquoises suspended in the ears
and noses of many of the people whom he saw,[27] and he was again
informed that the principal doorways of Cibola were ceremonially
ornamented with designs made of these stones. Mr Cushing has since
learned, through tradition, that this was their custom. The dress of
these people of Cibola, including the belts of turquoises about the
waist, as it was described to the friar, seemed to him to resemble
that of the Bohemians, or gypsies. The cow skins, some of which were
given to him, were tanned and finished so well that he thought it was
evident that they had been prepared by men who were skilled in this
work. [p358]
At this point in his narrative Friar Marcos first uses the word
_pueblo_, village, in referring to the seven cities, a point which
would be of some interest if only we could be sure that the report
was written from notes made as he went along. He certainly implies
that he kept some such record when he speaks of taking down the
statements of the Indian who first told him about the seven cities.
It looks as if the additional details which he was obtaining
gradually dimmed his vision of cities comparable to those into which
he had seen Pizarro gather the golden ransom of Atahualpa.
Friar Marcos had not heard from Estevan since leaving Vacapa, but
the natives told him that the negro was advancing toward Cibola, and
that he had been gone four or five days. The friar started at once to
follow the negro, who had proceeded up Sonora valley, as Mr Bandelier
traces the route. Estevan had planted several large crosses along
the way, and soon began to send messengers to the friar, urging the
latter to hasten, and promising to wait for him at the edge of the
wilderness which lay between them and the country of Cibola. The
friar followed as fast as he could, although constantly hindered
by the natives, who were always ready to verify the stories he had
already heard concerning Cibola. They pressed him to accept their
offers of turquoises and of cow skins in spite of his persistent
refusals. At one village, the lord of the place and his two brothers
greeted the friar, having collars of turquoises about their necks,
while the rest of the people were all _encaconados_, as they called
it, with turquoises, which hung from their ears and noses. Here they
supplied their visitor with deer, rabbits, and quail, besides a great
abundance of corn and piñon seed. They also continued to offer him
turquoises, skins, fine gourds, and other things which they valued.
The Sobaipuri Indians, who were a branch of the Papago, among whom
the friar was now traveling, according to Bandelier, seemed to be as
well acquainted with Cibola as the natives of New Spain were with
Mexico, or those of Peru with Cuzco. They had visited the place many
times, and whatever they possessed which was made with any skill or
neatness had been brought, so they told him, from that country.
Soon after he encountered these people, the friar met a native of
Cibola. He was a well-favored man, rather old, and appeared to be
much more intelligent than the natives of this valley or those of any
of the districts through which the friar had passed in the course of
his march. This man reported that the lord of Cibola lived and had
his seat of government in one of the seven cities called Ahacus, and
that he appointed men in the other cities who ruled for him. Ahacus
is readily identified with Hawikuh, one of the present ruins near
K’iapkwainakwin, or Ojo Caliente, about 15 miles southwest of Zuñi.
On questioning this man closely, the friar learned that Cibola—by
which, as Bandelier and Cushing maintain, the Indian meant the whole
range occupied by the Zuñi people—was a large city, in which a great
many [p359] people dwelt and which had streets and open squares
or plazas. In some parts of it there were very large houses, which
were ten stories high, and the leading men met together in these on
certain days of the year. Possibly this is one of the rare references
in the accounts of these early visits to Zuñi, to the ceremonials
of the Pueblo Indians, which have been studied and described with
so much care by later visitors, notably by Mrs M. C. Stevenson and
by Dr J. Walter Fewkes of the Hemenway Southwestern Archeological
Expedition.
This native of Cibola verified all the reports which the friar had
already heard. Marata, he said, had been greatly reduced by the
lord of Cibola during recent wars. Totonteac was a much larger and
richer place, while Acus was an independent kingdom and province.
The strange thing about all these reports is not that they are true,
and that we can identify them by what is now known concerning these
Indians, but the hard thing to understand is how the Spanish friar
could have comprehended so well what the natives must have tried
to tell him. When one considers the difficulties of language, with
all its technicalities, and of radically different conceptions of
every phase of life and of thought, the result must be an increased
confidence in the common sense and the inherent intelligence of
mankind.
On his way up this valley of Sonora, Friar Marcos heard that the
seacoast turned toward the west. Realizing the importance of this
point, he says that he “went in search of it and saw clearly that
it turns to the west in 35 degrees.” He was at the time between 31
and 31-1/2 degrees north, just opposite the head of the Gulf of
California. If Bandelier’s identification of the friar’s route is
accepted—and it has a great deal more in its favor than any other
that can be proposed with any due regard to the topography of the
country—Friar Marcos was then near the head of San Pedro valley,
distant 200 miles in a direct line from the coast, across a rough and
barren country. Although the Franciscan superior testified to Marcos’
proficiency in the arts of the sea, the friar’s calculation was 3-1/2
degrees out of the way, at a latitude where the usual error in the
contemporary accounts of expeditions is on the average a degree and
a half. The direction of the coast line does change almost due west
of where the friar then was, and he may have gone to some point among
the mountains from which he could satisfy himself that the report
of the Indians was reliable. There is a week or ten days, during
this part of the journey, for which his narrative gives no specific
reckoning. He traveled rather slowly at times, making frequent stops,
so that the side trip is not necessary to fill this gap. The point
is a curious one; but, in the absence of any details, it is hardly
likely that the friar did more than secure from other Indians stories
confirming what he had already been told.
Friar Marcos soon reached the borders of the wilderness—the country
in and about the present White Mountain Apache reservation in
Arizona. He entered this region on May 9, and twelve days later a
young man [p360] who had been with Estevan, the son of one of the
Indian chiefs accompanying the friar, met him and told the story of
the negro’s death. Estevan had hastened to reach Cibola before the
friar, and just prior to arriving at the first city he had sent a
notice of his approach to the chief of the place. As evidence of his
position or authority, he sent a gourd, to which were attached a few
strings of rattles and two plumes, one of which was white and the
other red.
While Cabeza de Vaca and his companions were traveling through
Texas, the natives had flocked to see these strange white men and
soon began to worship them, pressing about them for even a touch
of their garments, from which the Indians trusted to receive some
healing power. While taking advantage of the prestige which was
thus obtained, Cabeza de Vaca says that he secured some gourds or
rattles, which were greatly reverenced among these Indians and which
never failed to produce a most respectful behavior whenever they
were exhibited. It was also among these southern plains Indians that
Cabeza de Vaca heard of the permanent settlements toward the north.
Castañeda says that some of these plains Indians came each year to
Cibola to pass the winter under the shelter of the adobe villages,
but that they were distrusted and feared so much that they were not
admitted into the villages unless unarmed, and under no conditions
were they allowed to spend the night within the flat-roof houses. The
connection between these Indian rattles and the gourd which Estevan
prized so highly can not be proven, but it is not unlikely that the
negro announced his arrival to the Cibola chiefs by sending them an
important part of the paraphernalia of a medicine man of a tribe with
which they were at enmity.
[Illustration: XLII. Battista Agnese’s New Spain, Sixteenth Century
After Kretschmer]
There are several versions of the story of Estevan’s death, besides
the one given in Friar Marcos’ narrative, which were derived from
the natives of Cibola. Castañeda, who lived among these people for
a while the next year, states that the Indians kept the negro a
prisoner for three days, “questioning him,” before they killed him.
He adds that Estevan had demanded from the Indians treasures and
women, and this agrees with the legends still current among these
people.[28] When Alarcon ascended Colorado river a year later, and
tried to obtain news of Coronado, with whom he was endeavoring to
cooperate, he heard of Estevan, who was described as a black man with
a beard, wearing things that sounded, rattles, bells, and plumes,
on his feet and arms—the regular outfit of a southwestern medicine
man.[29] Friar Marcos was told that when the messengers bearing the
gourd showed it to the chief of the Cibola village, he threw it on to
the ground and told the messengers that when their people reached the
village they would find out what sort of men lived there, and that
instead of entering the place they would all be killed. Estevan was
not at all daunted when this answer was reported to him, saying that
everything would be right [p361] when he reached the village in
person. He proceeded thither at once, but instead of being admitted,
he was placed under guard in a house near by.[30] All the turquoises
and other gifts which he had received from the Indians during his
journey were taken from him, and he was confined with the people who
accompanied him, over night, without receiving anything to eat or
drink. The next morning Estevan tried to run away, but was overtaken
and killed. The fugitives who brought this news to Friar Marcos said
that most of their companions also had been killed. The Indians who
had followed the friar forthwith began to mourn for three hundred
of their relations and friends, who had perished, they declared,
as a result of their confidence in his forerunner. This number was
undoubtedly an exaggeration. Castañeda heard that the natives of
Cibola kept a few lads from among those who were with the negro,
“and sent back all the rest, numbering about sixty.” The story of
Estevan’s death is reputed to have been preserved among the legends
of the Indians of Zuñi. According to this tradition, the village at
which the “Black Mexican” was killed was K’iakima, a village now
in ruins, situated on a bluff at the southwestern angle of Thunder
mountain mesa; but this is totally at variance with the historical
evidence, which seems to point quite conclusively to Hawikuh, the
first village encountered from the southwest, as the scene of
Estevan’s death.[31] One of the Indian stories of Estevan’s death
is that their wise men took the negro out of the pueblo during the
night, and “gave him a powerful kick, which sped him through the air
back to the south, whence he came!”
The killing of Estevan made it impossible for Friar Marcos, alone
and unprepared for fighting, to enter the Cibola region. The first
reports of the disaster, as is usually the custom, told of the
death of all who accompanied the negro, and in consequence there
was much wailing among the Indians who had followed the friar.
They threatened to desert him, but he pacified them by opening his
bundles and distributing the trinkets brought from Mexico. While
they were enjoying these, he withdrew a couple of stone-throws for
an hour and a half to pray. Meanwhile, the Indians began again to
think of their lost friends, and decided to kill the friar, as the
indirect cause of the catastrophe. But when he returned from his
devotions, reinvigorated, and learned of their determination, he
diverted their thoughts by producing some of the things which had
been kept back from the first distribution of the contents of his
packs. He expounded to them the folly of killing him, since this
would do him no hurt because he was a Christian and so would go at
once to his home in the sky, while other Christians would come in
search of him and kill all of them, in spite of his own desires to
prevent, if possible, any such revenge. “With many other words” he
[p362] succeeded at last in quieting them and in persuading two of
the chief Indians to go with him to a point where he could obtain
a view of the “city of Cibola.” He proceeded to a small hill, from
which he saw that it was situated on a plain on the slope of a round
height. “It has a very fine appearance for a village,” he writes,
“the best that I have seen in these parts. The houses, as the Indians
had told me, are all of stone, built in stories, and with flat roofs.
Judging by what I could see from the height where I placed myself to
observe it, the settlement is larger than the city of Mexico. . . .
It appears to me that this land is the best and largest of all those
that have been discovered.”
“With far more fright than food,” the friar says he retraced his way
toward New Spain, by hasty marches. During his journey to Cibola, he
had heard of a large and level valley among the mountains, distant
four or five days from the route which he followed, where he was told
that there were many very large settlements in which the people wore
clothes made of cotton. He showed his informants some metals which
he had, in order to find out what there was in that region, and they
picked out the gold, saying that the people in the valley had vessels
made of this material and some round things which they hung from
their ears and noses. They also had some little shovels of this same
metal, with which they scraped themselves to get rid of their sweat.
On his way back, although he had not recovered from his fright, the
friar determined to see this valley. He did not dare to venture into
it, because, as he says, he thought that those who should go to
settle and rule the country of the seven cities could enter it more
safely than he. He did not wish to risk his own life, lest he should
be prevented from making the report of what he had already seen. He
went as far as the entrance to the valley and saw seven good-looking
settlements at a distance, in a very attractive country, from which
arose a great deal of smoke. He understood from the Indians that
there was much gold in the valley, and that the natives used it for
vessels and ornaments, repeating in his narrative the reports which
he had heard on his outward journey.
The friar then hastened down the coast to Culiacan, where he hoped,
but failed, to find Coronado, the governor of the province. He went
on to Compostela, where Coronado was staying. Here he wrote his
report, and sent the announcement of his safe return to the viceroy.
A similar notification to the provincial of his order contained a
request for instructions as to what he should do next. He was still
in Compostela on September 2, and as Mendoza and Coronado also were
there, he took occasion to certify under oath before them to the
truth of all that he had written in the report of his expedition to
Cibola.
THE EFFECT OF FRIAR MARCOS’ REPORT
In his official report it is evident that Friar Marcos distinguished
with care between what he had himself seen and what the Indians had
told him. But Cortes began the practice of attacking the veracity
and [p363] good faith of the friar, Castañeda continued it, and
scarcely a writer on these events failed to follow their guidance
until Mr Bandelier undertook to examine the facts of the case, and
applied the rules of ordinary fairness to his historical judgment.
This vigorous defender of the friar has successfully maintained his
strenuous contention that Marcos neither lied nor exaggerated, even
when he said that the Cibola pueblo appeared to him to be larger than
the City of Mexico. All the witnesses agree that these light stone
and adobe villages impress one who first sees them from a distance as
being much larger than they really are. Mexico in 1539, on the other
hand, was neither imposing nor populous. The great communal houses,
the “palace of Montezuma,” had been destroyed during or soon after
the siege of 1521. The pueblo of Hawikuh, the one which the friar
doubtless saw, contained about 200 houses, or between 700 and 1,000
inhabitants. There is something naïve in Mr Bandelier’s comparison of
this with Robert Tomson’s report that the City of Mexico, in 1556,
contained 1,500 Spanish households.[32] He ought to have added, what
we may be quite sure was true, that the population of Mexico probably
doubled in the fifteen years preceding Tomson’s visit, a fact which
makes Niza’s comparison even more reasonable.[33]
The credit and esteem in which the friar was held by the viceroy,
Mendoza, is as convincing proof of his integrity as that derived from
a close scrutiny of the text of his narrative. Mendoza’s testimony
was given in a letter which he sent to the King in Spain, inclosing
the report written by Friar Marcos, the “première lettre” which
Ternaux translated from Ramusio. This letter spoke in laudatory terms
of the friar, and of course is not wholly unbiased evidence. It is
at least sufficient to counterbalance the hostile declarations of
Cortes and Castañeda, both of whom had far less creditable reasons
for traducing the friar than Mendoza had for praising him. “These
friars,” wrote Mendoza of Marcos and Onorato, “had lived for some
time in the neighboring countries; they were used to hard labors,
experienced in the ways of the Indies, conscientious, and of good
habits.” It is possible that Mendoza felt less confidence than is
here expressed, for before he organized the Coronado expedition, late
in the fall of this year 1539, he ordered Melchior Diaz to go and see
if what he could discover agreed with the account which Friar Marcos
gave.[34]
However careful the friar may have been, he presented to the viceroy
a report in which gold and precious stones abounded, and which
stopped just within sight of the goal—the Seven Cities of Nuño de
Guzman and of the Indian traders and story tellers. Friar Marcos had
[p364] something to tell which interested his readers vastly more
than the painful, wonderful story of Cabeza de Vaca. The very fact
that he took it for granted, as he says in his report, that they
would go to populate and rule over this land of the Seven Cities,
with its doorways studded with turquoises, was enough to insure
interest. He must, indeed, have been a popular preacher, and when
the position of father provincial to the Franciscans became vacant,
just now, brother Marcos, already high in the order and with all the
fresh prestige of his latest achievements, was evidently the subject
for promotion. Castañeda, who is not the safest authority for events
preceding the expedition, says that the promotion was arranged by
the viceroy. This may have been so. His other statement is probable
enough, that, as a result of the promotion, the pulpits of the order
were filled with accounts of such marvels and wonders that large
numbers were eager to join in the conquest of this new land. Whatever
Friar Marcos may have sacrificed to careful truth was atoned for, we
may be sure, by the zealous, loyal brethren of blessed Saint Francis.
[Illustration: XLIII. The City of Mexico about 1550, by Alonzo de
Santa Cruz]
Don Joan Suarez de Peralta was born, as Señor Zaragoza shows in his
admirable edition of the Tratado del Descubrimiento de las Yndias y
su Conquista, in Mexico between 1535 and 1540, and probably nearer
the first of these five years. In the Tratado, Suarez de Peralta
gives a most interesting description of the effect produced in Mexico
by the departure and the return of the Coronado expedition. He can
hardly have had very vivid personal recollections of the excitement
produced by the reports of Friar Marcos, yet his account is so clear
and circumstantial that it evidently must be the narrative of an
eyewitness, though recorded, it may be, at secondhand. He tells us
that “the country was so stirred up by the news which the friar
had brought from the Seven Cities that nothing else was thought
about. For he said that the city of Cibola was big enough to contain
two Sevilles and over, and the other places were not much smaller;
and that the houses were very fine edifices, four stories high; and
in the country there are many of what they call wild cows, and sheep
and goats and rich treasures. He exaggerated things so much, that
everybody was for going there and leaving Mexico depopulated. . . . .
The news from the Seven Cities inspired so eager a desire in every
one that not only did the viceroy and the marquis (Cortes) make ready
to start for there, but the whole country wanted to follow them so
much that they traded for the licenses which permitted them to go
as soldiers, and people sold these as a favor, and whoever obtained
one of these thought that it was as good as a title of nobility at
the least. For the friar who had come from there exaggerated and
said that it was the best place in the world; the people in that
country very prosperous, and all the Indians wearing clothes and the
possessors of much cattle; the mountains like those of Spain, and the
climate the same. For wood, they burnt very large walnut trees, which
bear quantities of [p365] walnuts better than those of Spain. They
have many mountain grapes, which are very good eating, chestnuts, and
filberts. According to the way he painted it, this should have been
the terrestrial paradise. For game, there were partridges, geese,
cranes, and all the other winged creatures—it was marvelous what was
there.” And then Suarez adds, writing half a century later, “He told
the truth in all this, because there are mountains in that country,
as he said, and herds, especially of cows. . . . . There are grapes
and game, without doubt, and a climate like that of Spain.”[35]
Second-hand evidence, recorded fifty years after the occurrence,
is far from conclusive. Fortunately, we are able to supplement it
by legal testimony, taken down and recorded under oath, with all
the formalities of the old Spanish law customs. When the news of
Friar Marcos’ journey reached Spain there was much rivalry among
those who claimed the privilege of completing the discovery. Much
evidence was presented and frequent pleas were entered by all the
men who had an active part and leadership in the conquest of the
northern portion of the New World. In the course of the litigation
the representative of the adelantado Hernando de Soto, presented some
testimony which had been given in the town of San Cristobal de la
Habana de la Isla Fernandina—Habana and Cuba—dated November 12, 1539.
There were seven witnesses, from a ship which had been obliged to
put into this port in order to procure water and other supplies, and
also because some persons aboard had become very sick. Each witness
declared that a month or more before—Friar Marcos arrived back in
Mexico before the end of August, 1539—he had heard, and that this
was common talk in Mexico, Vera Cruz, and in Puebla de los Angeles,
that a Franciscan friar named Fray Marcos, who had recently come
from the inland regions, said that he had discovered a very rich
and very populous country 400 or 500 leagues north of Mexico. “He
said that the country is rich in gold, silver and other treasures,
and that it contains very large villages; that the houses are built
of stone, and terraced like those of Mexico, and that they are high
and imposing. The people, so he said, are shrewd, and do not marry
more than one wife at a time, and they wear coarse woolen cloth and
ride on some animals,” the name of which the witness did not know.
Another testified that the common report was that this country “was
very rich and populous and had great walled cities, and that the
lords of the cities were called kings, and that the people were
very shrewd and use the Mexican language.” But the witness to whose
deposition we are most indebted was Andrés Garcia. This man declared
that he had a son-in-law who was a barber, who had shaved the friar
after he came back from the new country. The son-in-law had told the
witness that the friar, while being [p366] shaved, had talked about
the country which he had discovered beyond the mountains. “After
crossing the mountains, the friar said there was a river, and that
many settlements were there, in cities and towns, and that the cities
were surrounded by walls, with their gates guarded, and were very
wealthy, having silversmiths, and that the women wore strings of gold
beads and the men girdles of gold and white woolen dresses; and that
they had sheep and cows and partridges and slaughterhouses and iron
forges.”[36]
Friar Marcos undoubtedly never willfully told an untruth about the
country of Cibola, even in a barber’s chair. But there seems to be
little chance for doubting that the reports which he brought to New
Spain were the cause of much talk as well as many sermons, which
gave rise to a considerable amount of excitement among the settlers,
whose old-world notions had been upset by the reputed glory of the
Montezumas and the wealth of the Incas. Very many, though perhaps
not all, of the colonists were stirred with an eager desire to
participate in the rich harvest awaiting the conquerors of these new
[p367] lands. Friar Marcos was not a liar, but it is impossible to
ignore the charges against him quite as easily as Mr Bandelier has
done.
Pedro Castañeda makes some very damaging statements, which are
not conclusive proof of the facts. Like the statements of Suarez
de Peralta, they represent the popular estimation of the father
provincial, and they repeat the stories which passed current
regarding him, when the later explorations had destroyed the vision
that had been raised by the reports of the friar’s exploration.
The accusations made by Cortes deserve more careful consideration.
Cortes returned to Spain about the time that the preparations for the
Coronado expedition were definitely begun. Soon after his arrival
at court, June 25, 1540,[37] he addressed a formal memorial to the
King, setting forth in detail the ill treatment which he had received
from Mendoza. In this he declared that after the viceroy had ordered
him to withdraw his men from their station on the coast of the
mainland toward the north—where they were engaged in making ready for
extended inland explorations—he had a talk with Friar Marcos. “And
I gave him,” says Cortes, “an account of this said country and of
its discovery, because I had determined to send him in my ships to
follow up the said northern coast and conquer that country, because
he seemed to understand something about matters of navigation. The
said friar communicated this to the said viceroy, and he says that,
with his permission, he went by land in search of the same coast and
country as that which I had discovered, and which it was and is my
right to conquer. And since his return, the said friar has published
the statement that he came within sight of the said country, which I
deny that he has either seen or discovered; but instead, in all that
the said friar reports that he has seen, he only repeats the account
I had given him regarding the information which I obtained from the
Indians of the said country of Santa Cruz, because everything which
the said friar says that he discovered is just the same as what
these said Indians had told me: and in enlarging upon this and in
pretending to report what he neither saw nor learned, the said Friar
Marcos does nothing new, because he has done this many other times,
and this was his regular habit, as is notorious in the provinces of
Peru and Guatemala; and sufficient evidence regarding this will be
given to the court whenever it is necessary.”[38]
This is a serious charge, but so far as is known it was never
substantiated. Cortes was anxious to enforce his point, and he was
not always scrupulous in regard to the exact truth. The important
point is that such charges were made by a man who was in the position
to learn all [p368] the facts, and that the accusations were made
before anyone knew how little basis there was for the stories which
were the cause of the whole trouble. Without trying to clear the
character of Cortes, it is possible to suggest the answer to the
most evident reply to his accusations—that he never published the
stories which he says he received from the Indians. Cortes certainly
did persist in his endeavors to explore the country lying about the
head of the Gulf of California. If he ever heard from the Indians
anything concerning the Cibola region—which is doubtful, partly
because Cortes himself complains that if Mendoza had not interfered
with the efficiency of his expeditions, he would have secured this
information—it would still have been the best policy for Cortes
to keep the knowledge to himself, so that possible rivals might
remain ignorant of it until he had perfected his own plans. It may
be questioned how long such secrecy would have been possible, but
we know how successfully the Spanish authorities managed to keep
from the rest of the world the correct and complete cartographical
information as to what was being accomplished in the New World,
throughout the period of exploration and conquest.
The truce—it can hardly be called a friendship—between Mendoza and
Cortes, which prevailed during the first years of the viceroy’s
administration, could not last long. Mendoza, as soon as he was
fairly settled in his position in New Spain,[39] asked the King for
a license to make explorations. Cortes still looked on every rival
in the work of extending this portion of the Spanish world as an
interloper, even though he must have recognized that his prestige at
the court and in the New World was rapidly lessening. The distrust
with which each of the two regarded the other increased the trouble
which was inevitable so soon as the viceroy, urged on by the
audiencia, undertook to execute the royal orders which instructed
him to investigate the extent of the estates held by Cortes, and
to enumerate the Indians held to service by the conqueror. Bad
feeling was inevitable, and the squabbles over forms of address and
of precedence, which Suarez de Peralta records, were only a few of
many things which reveal the relations of the two leading men in New
Spain. [p369]
[Illustration: XLIV. Zaltieri’s Karte, 1566]
We can not be certain what the plans of Cortes were, nor can we tell
just how much he did to carry his schemes into execution, during
the years from 1537 to 1540. Shortly after the men whom Cortes had
established at Santa Cruz were recalled, a decree was issued, in the
name of the audiencia, to forbid the sending of any expedition for
exploration or conquest from New Spain. Cortes declared that he had
at this time, September, 1538, nine good ships already built. He
was naturally unwilling to give up all hope of deriving any benefit
from his previous undertakings, as would be inevitable if Mendoza
should succeed in his projects for taking advantage of whatever good
things could be found toward the north. The danger must have seemed
clear so soon as he learned of the departure of Friar Marcos and the
negro on their journey toward the Seven Cities. There is no means of
knowing whether Cortes had learned of the actual discovery of Cibola,
when he suddenly ordered Francisco de Ulloa to take three vessels
and sail up the coast toward the head of the Gulf of California. The
friar may have sent Indian messengers to the viceroy so soon as he
heard the native reports about the seven cities of Cibola, and it is
possible that the news of his approaching return may have reached New
Spain before the departure of Ulloa, which took place July 8, 1539,
from Acapulco.[40] It seems clear that this action was unexpected,
and that it was a successful anticipation of preventive measures.
In the statement of his grievances, Cortes declares that Mendoza
not only threw every possible obstacle in his way, seizing six or
seven vessels which failed to get away with Ulloa, but that even
after Ulloa had gone, the viceroy sent a strong force up the coast
to prevent the ships from entering any of the ports. When stress
of weather forced one of the ships to put into Guatulco, the pilot
and sailors were imprisoned and the viceroy persistently refused
to return the ship to its owner. About the same time, a messenger
who had been sent to Cortes from Santiago in Colima was seized and
tortured, in the hope of procuring from him information about the
plans of Cortes.[41]
After Friar Marcos came back from the north and filled the people
in New Spain with the desire of going to this new country, Cortes
realized that he could do nothing, even in the city which he had won
for his King and for Europe, to prevent the expedition which Mendoza
was already organizing. Early in 1540—we know only that he was on
his way when he wrote to Oviedo from Habana[42] on February 5—the
conqueror of Motecuhzoma’s empire left Mexico for the last time, and
went to see what he could gain by a personal application at the court
of His Majesty the Emperor, Charles V. [p370]
Mendoza had guarded against rival expeditions from his own territory,
and so soon as he knew that Friar Marcos had succeeded in his quest,
he took precautions to prevent the news of the discovery from
reaching other portions of the New World. His chief fear, probably,
was lest De Soto, who had recently received a license to explore the
country between the Rio de las Palmas, in the present Texas, and
Florida,[43] might direct his expedition toward the western limits
of his territory, if he should learn of the rich prospects there.
Although Mendoza probably did not know it, De Soto had sailed from
Habana in May, 1539, and in July, sending back his largest ships, he
began the long march through the everglades of Florida, which was
to end in the Mississippi. Mendoza, with all the formality of the
viceregal authority, ordered that no vessel sailing from New Spain
should touch at any port in the New World on its way back to the
home peninsula, and this notice was duly served on all departing
shipmasters by the secretaries of the viceroy. By the middle of
November, however, despite all this care, a ship from Vera Cruz
sailed into the harbor of Habana. The master declared, on his oath,
that he had been forced to put in there, because sickness had broken
out aboard his vessel soon after the departure from New Spain and
because he had discovered that his stock of provisions and water was
insufficient for the voyage across the Atlantic. Curiously enough,
one of the crew, possibly one of those who had been seized with the
sickness, had in his possession some letters which he had been asked
to deliver to Hernando De Soto, in Habana. Apparently the agent or
friend of De Soto living in Mexico, one Francisco de Billegas, did
not know that the adelantado had left Cuba, although he had arranged
to have the letters carried to Spain and given to the representative
of the adelantado there if De Soto was not found at Habana. De Soto
had taken care that his interests should be watched and protected, in
Spain as well as in the New World, when he started on his search for
the land of wealth north of the Gulf of Mexico, the search on which
Ayllon and Narvaez had failed so sadly.
It was the regular practice of all the governors and successful
explorers in the colonies of the empire to maintain representatives
in Spain who should look after their interests at court and before
the administrative bureaus. When the news of Friar Marcos’ discovery
reached Europe, accompanied by reports of the preparations which
Mendoza was making for an expedition to take possession of the new
territory, protests and counterclaims were immediately presented in
behalf of all those who could claim any right to participate in this
new field of conquest. The first formal statements were filed with
the Council for the Indies, March 3, 1540, and on June 10, 1541, the
factor or representative of Cortes, whose petition is first among
the papers relating to the case, asked for an extension of six days.
This ends the [p371] documents concerning the litigation, so far
as they have been printed.[44] Petitions, testimony, narratives of
explorations and discoveries, acts taking possession of new lands,
notifications and decisions, appeals and countercharges, were filed
and referred, each claimant watching his rivals so closely and
objecting to their claims so strenuously that the fiscal, Villalobos,
in his report on the case, May 25, 1540, gives as one of the most
conclusive reasons in favor of the advice which he offers to the
Council, that each of the parties has clearly proved that none of the
others have any right to claim a share in the newly discovered region
by virtue of any grants, licenses, or achievements whatsoever.
Of the various claimants, the representative of the adelantado
Hernando De Soto offered perhaps the best argument. The territory
granted to De Soto extended on the west to the Rio de las Palmas,
and this grant was the same as that previously made to Narvaez.
The discovery had grown out of the expedition of Narvaez, to whose
rights De Soto had succeeded, through the reports which Cabeza
de Vaca carried to New Spain. The newly discovered region was
evidently inland, and this fact disposed of the two prominent
rivals, Cortes and Alvarado. The adelantado had expended large sums
in preparing for this undertaking—a claim advanced with equal vigor
by all the parties, and usually supported by specific accounts,
which unfortunately are not printed—and it was only right that he
should be given every opportunity to reap the full advantage from
these outlays. Most important of all was the fact that De Soto was
already in the country north of the gulf, in command of a large and
well equipped force, and presumably on his way toward the region
about which they were disputing. Because De Soto was there, urged
his representative with strong and persistent emphasis, all other
exploring expeditions ought to be kept away. It was clearly probable
that great and notorious scandals would ensue unless this was guarded
against, just as had happened in Peru. If this precaution was not
taken, and two expeditions representing conflicting interests should
be allowed to come together in the country beyond the reach of the
royal restraint, many lives would inevitably be lost and great damage
be done to the Spaniards, and to the souls of the Indians as well,
while the enlargement of the royal patrimony would be hindered.[45]
Cortes reached Spain some time in April, 1540,[46] and was able to
direct his case in person for much of the time. He urged the priority
of his [p372] claims under the royal license, dating from 1529.[47]
He told of his many efforts to enlarge the Spanish domain, undertaken
at great expense, personal sacrifice and danger, and resulting in
the loss of relations and friends. From all of this, as he carefully
pointed out, neither His Majesty nor himself had received any proper
benefit, though this was not the result of any fault or lack of
diligence on his part, as he hastened to explain, but had been caused
by the persistent and ill-concealed hostility of the audiencia and
the viceroy in New Spain, “concerning all of which His Majesty must
have been kept heretofore in ignorance.”
Nuño de Guzman presented his case in person, though perhaps this was
not so much because it was more effective as because his resources
must have been limited and his time little occupied. He was able,
indeed, to make out a very good argument, assuming his right to
the governorship of New Galicia, a province which had been greatly
enlarged by his conquests. These conquests were toward the north,
and he had taken possession of all the land in that direction in
behalf of His Catholic Majesty. He would have extended the Spanish
territory much farther in the same direction, if only his zealous
efforts had not been abruptly cut short by his persecutors, through
whose malicious efforts he was even yet nominally under arrest. Nor
was this all, for all future expeditions into the new region must go
across the territory which was rightfully his, and they could only
succeed by the assistance and resources which would be drawn from his
country. Thus he was the possessor of the key to all that lay beyond.
The commission or license which Pedro de Alvarado took with him
from Spain the year before these proceedings opened, granted him
permission to explore toward the west and the north—the latter
provision probably inserted as a result of the reports which Cabeza
de Vaca brought to Spain. Alvarado had prepared an expedition at
great expense, and since the new region lay within his grant, his
advocate pleaded, it would evidently pertain to him to conquer it.
Moreover, he was in very high favor at court, as is shown by the ease
with which he regained his position, in spite of the attack by the
Mexican audiencia, and also by the ease with which he obtained the
papal permission allowing him to marry the sister of his former wife.
But Alvarado figures only slightly in the litigation, and he may
have appeared as a party in order to maintain an opposition, rather
than with any hope or intention of establishing the justice of his
claims. Everything seems to add to the probability of the theory that
Mendoza effected an alliance with him very early. It is possible that
the negotiations may have begun before Alvarado left Spain, although
there is no certainty about anything which preceded the written
articles of agreement. Some of the contemporary historians appear to
have been ignorant even of these. [p373]
[Illustration: XLV. Mercator’s Northwestern Part of New Spain, 1569]
The Council for the Indies referred the whole matter of the
petitions and accompanying evidence to the fiscal, the licentiate
Villalobos, April 21, 1540. He made a report, which virtually
decided the case, May 25. The parties were given an opportunity
of replying to this, and they continued to present evidence and
petitions and countercharges for a year longer. The final decision,
if any was made, has not been printed, so far as I know, but the
Council could hardly have done anything beyond formally indorsing
the report of Villalobos. The duty of the fiscal was plain, and his
report advises His Majesty not to grant any of the things asked for
by the petitioners. He states that this discovery ought to be made
by and in behalf of His Majesty, since the region was not included
in any previous grant. Although the Crown had forbidden any further
unlicensed explorations, this would not prevent expeditions being
undertaken on the part of the Crown, which is always at liberty to
explore at will. In effect, of course, the report sanctioned the
exploration by Mendoza, who represented the royal interests and
power. An objection was at once entered in behalf of De Soto, using
the very good argument that Mendoza’s expedition would be sent out
either at the expense of the Crown or of his private fortune. If the
former, it was claimed that as the explorer would have the glory in
any event, the Crown ought to save the expense by allowing De Soto,
who had already undertaken the same thing at his own cost, to make
these discoveries, which he promised should redound to as great an
extent to the glory and advantage of the Emperor. If Mendoza was
undertaking this at his own expense, it was evident that he would
desire to recover his outlay. Here he was merely on the same footing
as De Soto, who was prepared to make a better offer to his Royal
Master than Mendoza could possibly afford. In either case there was
the danger of scandal and disaster, in case the two expeditions
should be allowed to come together beyond the range of the royal
oversight. No answer to this appeal is recorded, and the parties
continued to argue down their opponents’ cases, while the viceroy
in New Spain started the expedition which, under the command of
Francisco Vazquez Coronado, discovered the Pueblo Indians of New
Mexico, the Grand canyon of the Colorado, and the bison of the great
plains.
THE EXPEDITION TO NEW MEXICO AND THE GREAT PLAINS
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE EXPEDITION
Two classes of colonists are essential to the security and the
permanent prosperity of every newly opened country. In New Spain
in the sixteenth century these two classes, sharply divided and
almost antagonistic—the established settlers and the free soldiers
of fortune—were both of considerable importance. Cortes, so soon
as he had conquered the country, recognized the need of providing
for its settlement by a stable population. In the petitions and
memorials which he wrote in [p374] 1539 and 1540 he continually
reiterates the declaration of the pains and losses sustained on
account of his efforts to bring colonists from Spain to populate the
New World. Whether he accomplished all that these memorials claim is
doubtful, for there are comparatively few references to this class
of immigrants during the years when Cortes was in a position to
accomplish his designs. Mendoza declared that the increase of the
European population in New Spain came largely after his own arrival
there, in 1535, and this was probably true. The “good viceroy”
unquestionably did more than anyone else to place the province on a
permanent basis.[48]
Mendoza supervised with great care the assignment of land to the
newcomers, and provided tools and stock for those who had not the
means of equipping their farms. As a royal decree forbade the
granting of land to unmarried men, besides directing an increase of
royal favor and additional grants proportionate to the increase of
children, the viceroy frequently advanced the money which enabled
men who were desirous of settling down to get married. When he
came from Spain in 1535, he brought with him a number of eligible
spinsters, and it is quite probable that, after these had found
husbands, he maintained the supply of maids suitable to become the
wives of those colonists who wished to experience the royal bounty
and favor. Alvarado engaged in a similar undertaking when he came out
to Guatemala in 1539, but with less success than we may safely hope
rewarded the thoughtfulness of Mendoza.[49] A royal order in 1538
had decreed that all who held encomiendas should marry within three
years, if not already possessed of a wife, or else forfeit their
estates to married men. Some of the bachelor landholders protested
against the enforcement of this order in Guatemala, because eligible
white women could not be found nearer than Mexico. To remove this
objection, Alvarado brought twenty maidens from Spain. Soon after
their arrival, a reception was held, at which they were given a
chance to see their prospective husbands. During the evening, one
of the girls declared to her companions that she never could marry
one of these “old fellows, . . . who were cut up as if they had just
escaped from the infernal regions, . . . for some of them are lame,
some have only one hand, others have no ears or only one eye, and
some of them have lost half their faces. The best of them have one
or two scars across their foreheads.” [p375] The story is that one
of the “old fellows” overheard this outburst, reported it to his
friends, and promptly went off and married the daughter of a powerful
cacique.
Besides assisting his colonists to get wives, Mendoza did a great
deal to foster the agricultural interests of the province. He
continued the importation of cattle, which Cortes had begun, and
also procured horses and sheep from Spain. He writes in one of his
letters of the especial satisfaction that he felt because of the
rapid increase of his merino sheep, in spite of the depredations
of the natives and of wild animals. The chief concern of the
officials of the audiencia had been the gold mines, which yielded
a considerable revenue in certain districts; but Mendoza, without
neglecting these, proved how large and reliable was the additional
revenue which could be derived from other sources. The viceroy’s
success in developing the province can not be shown more clearly
than by repeating the description of New Spain in 1555, written by
Robert Tomson, an English merchant engaged in the Spanish trade. In
the course of a business tour Tomson visited the City of Mexico. His
commercial friends in the city entertained him most hospitably, and
did their best to make his visit pleasant. He refused, however, to
heed their warnings, and his indiscreet freedom of speech finally
compelled the officials of the Inquisition to imprison him, thus
adding considerably to the length of his residence in the city. After
he returned home, he wrote a narrative of his tour, in which he says
of New Spain:
“As for victuals in the said Citie, of beefe, mutton, and hennes,
capons, quailes, Guiñy-cockes, and such like, all are very good
cheape: To say, the whole quarter of an oxe, as much as a slaue
can carry away from the Butchers, for fine Tomynes, that is, fine
Royals of plate, which is iust two shillings and sixe pence, and
a fat sheepe at the Butchers for three Royals, which is 18. pence
and no more. Bread is as good cheape as in Spaine, and all other
kinde of fruites, as apples, peares, pomegranats, and quinces, at
a reasonable rate. . . . [The country] doth yeeld great store of
very good silke, and Cochinilla. . . . Also there are many goodly
fruits, whereof we haue none such, as Plantanos, Guyanes, Sapotes,
Tunas, and in the wildernes great store of blacke cheries, and other
wholsome fruites. . . . Also the Indico that doeth come from thence
to die blew, is a certaine hearbe. . . . Balme, Salsaperilla, cana
fistula, suger, oxe hides, and many other good and seruiceable
things the Countrey doeth yeeld, which are yeerely brought into
Spaine, and there solde and distributed to many nations.”[50]
The other class among the colonists of New Spain in the second
quarter of the sixteenth century “floated like cork on the water” on
those who had established their homes in the New World.[51] The men
[p376] who made it possible to live in security on the farms and
ranches of the province had rendered many and indispensable services,
and there was much that they might still do to enlarge its boundaries
and make the security more certain. They were, nevertheless, a
serious hindrance to the prosperity of the settlements. For the
most part they were young men of all sorts and degrees. Among them
were many sons of Spanish noblemen, like Mendoza the viceroy, whose
brother had just succeeded his father as Marquis de Mondejar. Very
much of the extension of the Spanish world by discovery and conquest
was due to the sons of men of rank, who had, perhaps generally, begun
to sow their wild oats in Spain and were sent across the Atlantic
in order to keep them out of mischief at home, or to atone, it may
be, for mischief already done. In action, these young caballeros
were most efficient. By personal valor and ability, they held the
positions of leadership everywhere, among men who followed whom
and when they chose, and always chose the man who led them most
successfully. When inactive, these same cavaliers were a most trying
annoyance to any community in which they happened to be. Armed
with royal letters and comprehensive introductions, they had to
be entertained, at heavy charges. Masters of their own movements,
they came as they liked, and very often did not go away. Lovers
of excitement, they secured it regardless of other men’s wives or
property.
[Illustration: XLVI. Mercator’s Interior of New Spain, 1589]
There had been few attractions to draw these adventurers away from
Mexico, the metropolis of the mainland, for some time previous to
1539. Peru still offered excitement for those who had nothing to gain
or lose, but the purely personal struggle going on there between
Pizarro and Almagro could not arouse the energies of those who were
in search of glory as well as of employment. A considerable part
of the rabble which followed Nuño de Guzman during the conquest
of New Galicia went to Peru after their chief had been superseded
by the Licentiate de la Torre, so that one town is said to have
disappeared entirely from this cause; but among these there were few
men of good birth and spirit. Mendoza had been able, at first, to
accommodate and employ those who accompanied him from Spain, like
Vazquez Coronado, “being chiefly young gentlemen.” But every vessel
coming from home brought some companion or friend of those who were
already in New Spain, and after Cabeza de Vaca carried the reports
of his discoveries to the Spanish court, an increasing number came
each season to join the already burdensome body of useless members
of the viceregal household. The viceroy recognized the necessity
of relieving the community of this burden very soon after he had
established himself in Mexico, and he was continually on the watch
for some suitable means of freeing himself from these guests. By 1539
the problem of looking after these young gentlemen—whose number is
determined quite accurately by the two hundred and fifty or three
hundred “gentlemen on horseback” who left New Spain with Coronado in
the [p377] spring of 1540—had become a serious one to the viceroy.
The most desirable employment for all this idle energy would be, of
course, the exploration and conquest of new country, or the opening
of the border territory for permanent settlement. But no mere work
for work’s sake, no wild-goose chase, would do. These young gentlemen
had many friends near to Charles V, who would have resented any
abuse of privilege or of confidence. A suitable expedition could
be undertaken only at considerable expense, and unless the cost
could all be made good to the accountants in Spain, complaints were
sure to be preferred against even the best of viceroys. So Mendoza
entertained his guests as best he could, while they loafed about
his court or visited his stock farms, and he anxiously watched the
reports which came from the officials of the northwestern province of
New Galicia and from the priests who were wandering and working among
the outlying Indian tribes. When, late in the summer of 1539, Friar
Marcos returned from the north, bringing the assurance that Cibola
was a desirable field for conquest, the viceroy quickly improved the
opportunity for which he had been waiting. Within a month and a half
Mendoza had begun to organize the force which was to conquer this new
country.
Compostela, on the Pacific coast, was announced as the place at which
the force should assemble. The viceroy desired to have the army begin
its march so soon as the roads were passable in the spring, and he
wished also to relieve the Indians living in the districts between
Mexico and the coast from as much as possible of the annoyance and
loss which would be inevitable if the army started from Mexico and
marched through this territory in a body. How much this forethought
for the Indians was needed appears from Mendoza’s reply to the
accusations against him filed during the visita of 1547, which
showed that all his care had not saved the Indians of Michoacan from
needless injury at the hands of those who were on their way to join
the gathering at Compostela. Incidentally, this arrangement also gave
the capital city an earlier relief from its unwelcome guests.
Popular as was the expedition to the Seven Cities, there was a little
opposition to the undertaking. When it became evident that a large
force was about to leave the country, some of those who were to
remain behind complained that all New Spain was being depopulated,
and that no one would be left to defend the country in case of an
Indian uprising. When Mendoza reached Compostela, by the middle of
February, 1540, Coronado asked him to make an official investigation
of these complaints. The formal request is dated February 21, and on
the following day, Sunday, the viceroy held a grand review of the
whole array, with everyone ready equipped for the march. As the men
passed before the viceregal party the secretaries made an exact count
and description of the force, but this document is not now known. Its
loss is partly supplied by the sworn testimony of the officials who
were best acquainted with the inhabitants of all parts of New Spain,
[p378] recorded a few days after the departure of the expedition.
They declare that in the whole army there were only two or three men
who had ever been settled residents in the country; that these few
were men who had failed to make a living as settlers, and that, in
short, the whole force was a good riddance.[52]
The men who assembled at Compostela to start for the Seven Cities
numbered, Mendoza stated at the time of the visita in 1547, “about
two hundred and fifty Spaniards on horseback, . . . and about three
hundred Indians, a few more or less.” Mota Padilla, who must have
used documents of the very best authority, nearly all of which have
since disappeared, gives the number of the force as “two hundred and
sixty horsemen, . . seventy footmen, . . and more than a thousand
friendly Indians and Indian servants.” Herrera, who used official
documents, says that there were one hundred and fifty horsemen and
two hundred footmen. Mendoza’s statement of the number of Indians may
be explained, if we suppose him to have referred only to the friendly
Indians who went on the expedition as native allies. His statement is
made in the course of a defense of his administration, when he was
naturally desirous of giving as small a number as possible. Castañeda
says that there were three hundred horsemen, and this number occurs
in other early narratives.
Mendoza spared neither pains nor expense to insure the success of the
expedition. Arms, horses, and supplies were furnished in abundance;
money was advanced from the royal chest to any who had debts to pay
before they could depart, and provision was made for the support
of those who were about to be left behind by fathers, brothers, or
husbands. The equipment of the force was all that the viceroy could
desire. Arms and military supplies had been among the things greatly
needed in New Spain when Mendoza reported its condition in his first
letters to the home government. In 1537 he repeated his request
for these supplies with increased insistence. The subject is not
again mentioned in his letters, and we may fairly suppose that he
had received the weapons and munitions of war, fresh from the royal
arsenals of Spain, with which he equipped the expedition on whose
success he had staked so much. It was a splendid array as it passed
in review before Mendoza and the officials who helped and watched
him govern New Spain, on this Sunday in February, 1540. The young
cavaliers curbed the picked horses from the large stock farms of the
viceroy, each resplendent in long blankets flowing to the ground.
Each rider held his lance erect, while his sword and other weapons
hung in their proper places at his side. Some were arrayed in coats
of mail, polished to shine like that of their general, whose gilded
armor with its brilliant trappings was to bring him many hard blows
a few months later. Others wore iron helmets or vizored headpieces
of the tough bullhide for which the country [p379] has ever been
famous. The footmen carried crossbows and harquebuses, while some
of them were armed with sword and shield. Looking on at these white
men with their weapons of European warfare was the crowd of native
allies in their paint and holiday attire, armed with the club and the
bow of an Indian warrior. When all these started off next morning,
in duly ordered companies, with their banners flying, upward of a
thousand servants and followers, black men and red men, went with
them, leading the spare horses, driving the pack animals, bearing the
extra baggage of their masters, or herding the large droves of “big
and little cattle,” of oxen and cows, sheep, and, maybe, swine,[53]
which had been collected by the viceroy to assure fresh food for the
army on its march. There were more than a thousand horses in the
train of the force, besides the mules, loaded with camp supplies and
provisions, and carrying half a dozen pieces of light artillery—the
pedreros, or swivel guns of the period.
After the review, the army assembled before the viceroy, who
addressed to them an exhortation befitting the occasion. Each
man, whether captain or foot soldier, then swore obedience to his
commander and officers, and promised to prove himself a loyal and
faithful vassal to his Lord the King. During the preceding week the
viceroy had divided the force into companies, and now he assigned
to each its captain, as Castañeda relates, and announced the other
officers of the army.
Francisco Vazquez Coronado—de Coronado it is sometimes written—was
captain-general of the whole force. “Who he is, what he has already
done, and his personal qualities and abilities, which may be made
useful in the various affairs which arise in these parts of the
Indies, I have already written to Your Majesty,” writes Mendoza
to the Emperor, in the letter of December 10, 1537. This previous
letter is not known to exist, and there is very little to supply the
place of its description of the character and antecedents of Vazquez
Coronado. His home was in Salamanca,[54] and he came to America in
the retinue of Mendoza in 1535. His relations with his patron, the
viceroy, previous to the return of the expedition from Cibola, appear
always to have been most cordial and intimate. In 1537 Coronado
married Beatrice de Estrada, a cousin by blood, if gossip was true,
of the Emperor, Charles V. Her father, Alonso, had been royal
treasurer of New Spain. From his mother-in-law Coronado received as
a marriage gift a considerable estate, “the half of Tlapa,” which
was confirmed to him by a royal grant. Cortez complained that the
income from this estate was worth more than 3,000 ducados, and that
it had been unduly and inconsiderately alienated from the Crown.
Coronado obtained also the estate of one Juan de Búrgos, apparently
one of those who forfeited [p380] their land because they persisted
in the unmarried state. This arrangement likewise received the royal
approval.[55] When, however, “the new laws and ordinances for the
Indies” came out from Spain in 1544,[56] after Coronado’s return
from the northern expedition, one of the sections expressly ordered
an investigation into the extent and value of the estates held by
Francisco Vazquez de Coronado, since it had been reported to the King
that the number of Indians held to service on these estates was very
excessive. Mendoza had to answer the same charge at his visita in
1547.
Mendoza sent Coronado, in 1537, to the mines at Amatepeque, where the
negroes had revolted and “elected a king,” and where they threatened
to cause considerable trouble. The revolt was quelled, after some
fighting, with the help of the Indians of the district. A couple of
dozen of the rebels were hung and quartered at the mines or in the
City of Mexico.[57]
In the following August, Coronado was legally recognized as a citizen
of the City of Mexico, where he was one of three witnesses chosen
to testify to the formal recognition by Cortes of the royal order
which permitted De Soto to explore and conquer Florida.[58] A month
later, September 7, 1538, the representative of De Soto, Alvaro
de Sanjurjo, summoned Coronado himself to recognize and promise
obedience to the same royal order, “as governor, as the said Sanjurjo
declared him to be, of New Galicia.” Coronado readily promised his
loyal and respectful obedience to all of His Majesty’s commands,
but observed that this matter did not concern him at all, “since he
was not governor, nor did he know that His Majesty desired to have
him serve in such a position; and if His Majesty should desire his
services in that position, he would obey and submit to the royal
provision for him whenever he was called on, and would do what was
most serviceable to the royal interests.” He adds that he knows
nothing about the government of Ayllon or that of Narvaez, which were
mentioned in the license to De Soto. This part of his statement can
hardly have been strictly true. The answer was not satisfactory to
Sanjurjo, who replied that he had received information that Coronado
was to be appointed governor of New Galicia. The latter stated that
he had already given his answer, and thereupon Sanjurjo formally
protested that the blame for any expenditures, damages, or scandals
which might result from a failure to observe the royal order must be
laid at the door of the one to whom they rightfully belonged, and
that they would not result from any fault or omission on the part
of De Soto. Sanjurjo may have received some hint or suggestion of
the intention to appoint Coronado, but it is quite certain that no
definite steps had yet been taken to supplant the licentiate, De la
[p381] Torre, as governor of New Galicia. Coronado’s answer shows
plainly that he intentionally refused to commit himself when so many
things were uncertain, and when nothing was definitely known about
the country of which Cabeza de Vaca had heard. Mendoza may have
suggested his appointment at an earlier date, but the King apparently
waited until he learned of De la Torre’s untimely death before
approving the selection. The confirmation was signed April 18, 1539,
and at the same time Coronado was appointed to take the residencia of
his predecessor. The King agreed to allow the new governor a salary
of 1,000 ducats from the royal treasure chests and 1,500 more from
the province, with the proviso that the royal revenues were not to
be held responsible for this latter sum in case New Galicia proved
too poor to yield so large an amount. Coronado probably went at once
to his province when he received the notice of his nomination, for
he was in Guadalajara on November 19, 1538, where he approved the
selection of judges and magistrates for the ensuing year by the city
of Compostela, which had held its election before his arrival. At the
same time he appointed the judges for Guadalajara.
[Illustration: XLVII. Abr. Ortelius’ Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, 1570]
Coronado probably spent the winter of 1538–39 in New Galicia,
arranging the administration and other affairs of his government. He
entertained Friar Marcos, when the latter passed through his province
in the spring of 1539, and accompanied the friar as far as Culiacan,
the northernmost of the Spanish settlements. Here he provided the
friar with Indians, provisions, and other things necessary for the
journey to the Seven Cities. Later in the spring, the governor
returned to Guadalajara, and devoted considerable attention to the
improvement and extension of this city, so that it was able to claim
and obtain from the King a coat of arms and the title of “city”
during the following summer.[59] He was again here on January 9,
1540, when he promulgated the royal order, dated December 20, 1538,
which decreed that inasmuch as it was reported that the cities in the
Indies were not built with sufficient permanency, the houses being of
wood and thatched with straw, so that fires and conflagrations were
of frequent occurrence, therefore no settler should thereafter build
a house of any material except stone, brick, or unbaked brick, and
the houses should be built after the fashion of those in Spain, so
that they might be permanent, and an adornment to the cities. Between
these dates it is very likely that Coronado may have made some
attempt to explore the mountainous regions north of the province, as
Castañeda says, although his evidence is by no means conclusive.
About midsummer of 1539, Friar Marcos came back from Cibola.
Coronado met him as he passed through New Galicia, and together they
returned to Mexico to tell the viceroy what the friar had seen and
heard. Coronado remained at the capital during the autumn and early
[p382] winter, taking an active part in all the preparations for
the expedition which he was to command. After the final review in
Compostela, he was placed in command of the army, with the title of
captain-general.
THE DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION
Monday, February 23, 1540, the army which was to conquer the Seven
Cities of Cibola started on its northward march from Compostela.[60]
For 80 leagues the march was along the “much-used roads” which
followed the coast up to Culiacan.[61]
Everyone was eager to reach the wonderful regions which were to be
their destination, but it was impossible to make rapid progress.
The cattle could not be hurried, while the baggage animals and the
carriers were so heavily laden with equipments and provisions that it
was necessary to allow them to take their own time. Several days were
lost at the Centizpac river, across which the cattle had to be [p383]
transported one at a time. At Chiametla there was another delay. Here
the army camped in the remains of a village which Nuño de Guzman had
established. The settlers had been driven away by a pestilence caught
from the Indians, and by the fierce onslaught of the natives who came
down upon them from the surrounding mountains. The food supply of
Coronado’s force was beginning to fail, and as the tribes hereabout
were still in rebellion, it became necessary to send a force into
the mountains to obtain provisions. The army master, Samaniego,
who had been warden of one of the royal fortresses,[62] commanded
the foraging party. The men found themselves buried in the thick
underbrush as soon as they passed beyond the limits of the clearing.
One of the soldiers inadvertently, but none the less in disregard of
strict orders, became separated from the main party, and the Indians,
who were nowhere to be seen, at once attacked him. In reply to his
cries, the watchful commander hastened to his assistance. The Indians
who had tried to seize him suddenly disappeared. When everything
seemed to be safe, Samaniego raised his visor, and as he did so an
arrow from among the bushes pierced his eye, passing through the
skull. The death of Samaniego was a severe loss to the expedition.
Brave and skillful, he was beloved by all who were with him or under
him. He was buried in the little chapel of the deserted village. The
army postponed its departure long enough to capture several natives
of the district, whose bodies were left hanging on the trees in order
to counteract the bad augury which followed from the loss of the
first life.[63]
A much more serious presage was the arrival at Chiametla, as the
army was preparing to leave, of Melchior Diaz and Juan de Saldivar,
or Zaldivar, returning from their attempt to verify the stories told
by Friar Marcos. Melchior Diaz went to New Galicia with Nuño de
Guzman, and when Cabeza de Vaca appeared in that province, in May
1536, Diaz was in command of the outpost of Culiacan. He was still at
Culiacan, in the autumn of 1539, when Mendoza directed him to take
a mounted force and go into the country toward the north “to see
if the account which Friar Marcos brought back agreed with what he
could observe.” He left Culiacan November 17, with fifteen horsemen,
and traveled as far north as the wilderness beyond which Cibola was
situated, following much the same route as the friar had taken, and
questioning the Indians with great care. Many of the statements made
by Friar Marcos were verified, and some new facts were obtained,
but nowhere could he find any foundation for the tales of a wealthy
and attractive country, except in the descriptions given by the
Indians. The cold weather had begun to trouble his men seriously
before he reached the limit of his explorations. He pushed on as far
as Chichilticalli, however, but here the snows and fierce winds from
across the [p384] wilderness forced him to turn back. At Chiametla
he encountered Coronado’s force. He joined the army, sending his
lieutenant, Saldivar, with three other horsemen, to carry his report
to the viceroy. This was delivered to Mendoza on March 20, and is
embodied in the letter to the King, dated April 17, 1540.
Coronado did not allow Diaz to announce the results of his
reconnoissance to the soldiers, but the rumor quickly spread that
the visions inspired by Friar Marcos had not been substantiated.
Fortunately, the friar was himself in the camp. Although he was
now the father provincial of the Franciscan order in New Spain, he
had determined to accompany the expedition, in order to carry the
gospel to the savages whose salvation had been made possible by his
heroic journey of the preceding spring. The mutterings of suspicion
and discontent among the men grew rapidly louder. Friar Marcos felt
obliged to exhort them in a special sermon to keep up a good courage,
and by his eloquence he succeeded in persuading them that all their
labors would soon be well repaid.
From Chiametla the army resumed its march, procuring provisions from
the Indians along the way. Mendoza stated, in 1547, that he took
every precaution to prevent any injury or injustice being done to the
Indians at the time of Coronado’s departure, and that he stationed
officials, especially appointed for this purpose, at convenient
points on the road to Culiacan, who were ordered to procure the
necessary provisions for the expedition. There are no means of
telling how well this plan was carried into execution.
A day or two before Easter, March 28, 1540, the army approached
Culiacan. The journey had occupied a little over a month, but when
Coronado, from his lodging in the Cibola village of Granada, three
months later, recalled the slow and tedious marches, the continual
waiting for the lazy cattle and the heavily loaded baggage trains,
and the repeated vexatious delays, we can hardly wonder that it
seemed to him to have been a period of fourscore days’ journey.
[Illustration: XLVIII. Dourado’s Terra Antipodv Regis Castele Inveta,
1580]
The town of San Miguel de Culiacan, in the spring of 1540, was one
of the most prosperous in New Spain. Nuño de Guzman had founded
the settlement some years before, and had placed Melchior Diaz in
charge of it. The appointment was a most admirable one. Diaz was
not of gentle birth, but he had established his right to a position
of considerable power and responsibility by virtue of much natural
ability. He was a hard worker and a skillful organizer and leader.
He inspired confidence in his companions and followers, and always
maintained the best of order and of diligence among those who were
under his charge. Rarely does one meet with a man whose record for
every position and every duty assigned to him shows such uniform and
thorough efficiency. The settlement increased rapidly in size and in
wealth, and when Coronado’s force encamped in the surrounding fields,
the citizens of the town insisted on entertaining in their own
homes all of the gentlemen who [p385] were with the expedition.
The granaries of the place were filled with the surplus from the
bountiful harvests of two preceding years, which sufficed to feed
the whole army for three or four weeks, besides providing supplies
sufficient for more than two months when the expedition resumed its
march. These comfortable quarters and the abundant entertainment
detained the general and his soldiers for some weeks.[64] This was
the outpost of Spanish civilization, and Coronado made sure that his
arrangements were as complete as possible, both for the army and for
the administration of New Galicia during his absence.
The soldiers, and especially the gentlemen among them, had started
from Compostela with an abundant supply of luxurious furnishings
and extra equipment. Many of them were receiving their first rough
lessons in the art of campaigning, and the experiences along the way
before reaching Culiacan had already changed many of their notions of
comfort and ease. When the preparations for leaving Culiacan began,
the citizens of the town received from their guests much of the
clothing and other surplus baggage, which was left behind in order
that the expedition might advance more rapidly, or that the animals
might be loaded with provisions. Aside from what was given to the
people of the place, much of the heavier camp equipage, with some of
the superfluous property of the soldiers, was put on board a ship,
the _San Gabriel_, which was waiting in the harbor of Culiacan. An
additional supply of corn and other provisions also was furnished for
the vessel by the generous citizens.
THE EXPEDITION BY SEA UNDER ALARCON
A sea expedition, to cooperate with the land force, was a part
of Mendoza’s original plan. After the viceroy left Coronado, and
probably while he was at Colima, on his way down the coast from
Compostela, he completed the arrangements by appointing Hernando
de Alarcon, his chamberlain according to Bernal Diaz, to command
a fleet of two vessels. Alarcon was instructed to sail northward,
following the coast as closely as possible. He was to keep near the
army, and communicate with it at every opportunity, transporting the
heavy baggage and holding himself ready at all times to render any
assistance which Coronado might desire. Alarcon sailed May 9, 1540,
probably from Acapulco.[65] [p386]
This port had been the seat of the shipbuilding operations of
Cortes on the Pacific coast, and it is very probable that Alarcon’s
two ships were the same as those which the marquis claimed to
have equipped for a projected expedition. Alarcon sailed north to
Santiago, where he was obliged to stop, in order to refit his vessels
and to replace some artillery and stores which had been thrown
overboard from his companion ship during a storm. Thence he sailed to
Aguaiauale, as Ramusio has it, the port of San Miguel de Culiacan.
The army had already departed, and so Alarcon, after replenishing
his store of provisions, added the _San Gabriel_ to his fleet and
continued his voyage. He followed the shore closely and explored many
harbors “which the ships of the marquis had failed to observe,” as he
notes, but he nowhere succeeded in obtaining any news of the army of
Coronado.
THE JOURNEY FROM CULIACAN TO CIBOLA
Melchior Diaz had met with so many difficulties in traveling through
the country which the army was about to enter, on its march toward
the Seven Cities, and the supply of food to be found there was
everywhere so small, that Coronado decided to divide his force for
this portion of the journey. He selected seventy-five or eighty
horsemen, including his personal friends, and twenty-five or thirty
foot soldiers. With these picked men, equipped for rapid marching,
he hastened forward, clearing the way for the main body of the army,
which was to follow more slowly, starting a fortnight after his own
departure. With the footmen in the advance party were the four friars
of the expedition, whose zealous eagerness to reach the unconverted
natives of the Seven Cities was so great that they were willing
to leave the main portion of the army without a spiritual guide.
Fortunately for these followers, a broken leg compelled one of the
brethren to remain behind. Coronado attempted to take some sheep with
him, but these soon proved to be so great a hindrance that they were
left at the river Yaquimi, in charge of four horsemen, who conducted
them at a more moderate pace.
Leaving Culiacan on April 22, Coronado followed the coast, “bearing
off to the left,” as Mota Padilla says, by an extremely rough way,
to the river Cinaloa. The configuration of the country made it
necessary to follow up the valley of this stream until he could find
a passage across the mountains to the course of the Yaquimi. He
traveled alongside this stream for some distance, and then crossed
to Sonora river.[66] [p387] The Sonora was followed nearly to its
source before a pass was discovered. On the northern side of the
mountains he found a stream—the Nexpa, he calls it—which may have
been either the Santa Cruz or the San Pedro of modern maps. The party
followed down this river valley until they reached the edge of the
wilderness, where, as Friar Marcos had described it to them, they
found Chichilticalli.[67]
Here the party camped for two days, which was as long as the general
dared to delay, in order to rest the horses, who had begun to give
out sometime before as a result of overloading, rough roads, and
poor feed. The stock of provisions brought from Culiacan was already
growing dangerously small, although the food supply had been eked
out by the large cones or nuts of the pines of this country, which
the soldiers found to be very good eating. The Indians who came to
see him, told Coronado that the sea was ten days distant, and he
expresses surprise, which Mr Bandolier has reëchoed, that Friar
Marcos could have gone within sight of the sea from this part of the
country.
Coronado entered the wilderness, the White Mountain Apache country
of Arizona, on Saint John’s eve, and in the quaint language of
Hakluyt’s translation of the general’s letter, “to refresh our
former trauailes, the first dayes we founde no grasse, but worser
way of mountaines and badde passages.”[68] Coronado, following
very nearly the line of the present road from Fort Apache to Gila
river, proceeded until he came within sight of the first of the
Seven Cities. The first few days of the march were very trying. The
discouragement of the men increased with the difficulties of the way.
The horses were tired, and the slow progress became slower, as horses
and Indian carriers fell down and died. The corn was almost gone, and
as a result of eating the fruits and herbs which they found along the
way, a Spaniard and some of the servants were poisoned so badly that
they died. The skull and horns of a great mountain goat, which were
lying on the ground, filled the Europeans with wonder, but this was
hardly a sign to inspire them with hopes of abundant food and gold.
There were 30 leagues of this travailing before the party reached the
borders of the inhabited country, where they found “fresh grass and
many nutte and mulberrie trees.”
The day following that on which they left the wilderness, the advance
guard was met, in a peaceable manner, by four Indians. The Spaniards
treated them most kindly, gave them beads and clothing, and “willed
[p388] them to return unto their city and bid them stay quiet in
their houses fearing nothing.” The general assured them that they
need have no anxiety, because the newcomers had been sent by His
Spanish Majesty, “to defend and ayde them.”
THE CAPTURE OF THE SEVEN CITIES
The provisions brought from Culiacan or collected along the way were
now exhausted, and as a sudden attack by the Indians, during the last
night before their arrival at the cities, had assured the Spaniards
of a hostile reception, it was necessary to proceed rapidly. The
inhabitants of the first city had assembled in a great crowd, at
some distance in front of the place, awaiting the approach of the
strangers. While the army advanced, Garcia Lopez de Cardenas, who
had been appointed to Samaniego’s position as field-master, and
Hernando Vermizzo, apparently one of the “good fellows” whose name
Castañeda forgot, rode forward and summoned the Indians to surrender,
in approved Castilian fashion, as His Majesty commanded always to
be done. The natives had drawn some lines on the ground, doubtless
similar to those which they still mark with sacred meal in their
ceremonial dramatizations, and across these they refused to let the
Spaniards pass, answering the summons with a shower of arrows. The
soldiers begged for the command to attack, but Coronado restrained
them as long as he could. When the influence of the friars was added
to the pleas of the men—perhaps without waiting for the command or
permission—the whole company uttered the Santiago, the sacred war
cry of Saint James, against the infidels, and rushed upon the crowd
of Indians, who turned and fled. Coronado quickly recalled his men
from the pursuit, and ordered them to prepare for an assault on the
city. The force was divided into attacking parties, which immediately
advanced against the walls from all sides. The crossbowmen and
harquebusiers, who were expected to drive the enemy back from the
tops of the walls, were unable to accomplish anything, on account
of their physical weakness and of accidents to their weapons. The
natives showered arrows against the advancing foes, and as the
Spaniards approached the walls, stones of all sizes were thrown
upon them with skillful aim and practiced strength. The general, in
his glittering armor, was the especial target of the defenders, and
twice he was knocked to the ground by heavy rocks. His good headpiece
and the devotion of his companions saved him from serious injury,
although his bruises confined him to the camp for several days. The
courage and military skill of the white men, weak and tired as they
were, proved too much for the Indians, who deserted their homes after
a fierce, but not protracted, resistance. Most of the Spaniards had
received many hard knocks, and Aganiez Suarez—possibly another of the
gentlemen forgotten by Castañeda—was severely wounded by arrows, as
were also three foot soldiers.
[Illustration: XLIX. Western Hemisphere of Mercator, 1587
After Nordenskiold]
The Indians had been driven from the main portion of the town, and
with this success the Spaniards were satisfied. Food—“that which
we [p389] needed a great deal more than gold or silver,” writes
one member of the victorious force—was found in the rooms already
secured. The Spaniards fortified themselves, stationed guards, and
rested. During the night, the Indians, who had retired to the wings
of the main building after the conflict, packed up what goods they
could, and left the Spaniards in undisputed possession of the whole
place.
The mystery of the Seven Cities was revealed at last. The Spanish
conquerors had reached their goal. July 7, 1540, white men for
the first time entered one of the communal villages of stone and
mud, inhabited by the Zuñi Indians of New Mexico.[69] Granada was
the name which the Spaniards gave to the first village—the Indian
Hawikuh—in honor of the viceroy to whose birthplace they say it bore
a fancied resemblance. Here they found, besides plenty of corn, beans
and fowls, better than those of New Spain, and salt, “the best and
whitest I have seen in all my life,” writes one of those who had
helped to win the town. But even the abundance of food could not
wholly satisfy the men whose toilsome march of more than four months
had been lightened by dreams of a golden haven. Friar Marcos was
there to see the realization of the visions which the zealous sermons
of his brethren and the prolific ardor of rumor and of common talk
had raised from his truthful report. One does not wonder that he
eagerly accepted the earliest opportunity of returning to New Spain,
to escape from the not merely muttered complaints and upbraidings, in
expressing which the general was chief.[70]
THE EXPLORATION OF THE COUNTRY
THE SPANIARDS AT ZUÑI
Some of the inhabitants of Hawikuh-Granada returned to the village,
bringing gifts, while Coronado was recovering from his wounds. The
general faithfully exhorted them to become Christians and to submit
themselves to the sovereign over-lordship of His Majesty the Spanish
[p390] King. The interview failed to reassure the natives, for they
packed all their provisions and property on the following day, and
with their wives and children abandoned the villages in the valley
and withdrew to their stronghold, the secure fastness on top of
Taaiyalone or Thunder mountain.
As soon as he was able, Coronado visited the other villages of
Cibola-Zuñi, observing the country carefully. He reassured the few
Indians whom he found still living in the valley, and after some
hesitation on their part succeeded in persuading the chiefs to come
down from the mesa and talk with him. He urged them to return to
their homes below, but without success. He was more fortunate in
obtaining information regarding the surrounding country, which was
of much use to him in directing further exploration. Then as now
the rule held good that the Indians are much more likely to tell
the truth when giving information about their neighbors than about
themselves.
THE DISCOVERY OF TUSAYAN AND THE GRAND CANYON
A group of seven villages, similar to those at Cibola, was reported
to be situated toward the west, “the chief of the towns whereof they
have knowledge.” Tucano was the name given to these, according to
Ramusio’s version of Coronado’s letter, and it is not difficult to
see in this name that of Tusayan, the Hopi or Moki settlements in
northeastern Arizona.
As soon as everything was quiet in the Cibola country, about the
middle of July, Don Pedro de Tovar was ordered to take a few horsemen
and his company of footmen and visit this district. Don Pedro spent
several days in the Tusayan villages, and after he had convinced
the people of his peaceable designs, questioned them regarding the
country farther west. Returning to the camp at Cibola within the
thirty days to which his commission was limited, Tovar reported that
the country contained nothing to attract the Spaniards. The houses,
however, were better than those at Cibola. But he had heard stories
of a mighty river and of giant peoples living toward the west, and so
Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas was instructed to go and verify these
reports. Cardenas started, perhaps on August 25. He had authority for
eighty days, and within this term he succeeded in reaching the Grand
canyon of Colorado river, which baffled his most agile companions in
their efforts to descend to the water or to discover some means of
crossing to the opposite side. He returned with only the story of
this hopeless barrier to exploration westward.
THE RIO GRANDE AND THE GREAT PLAINS
The first expedition toward the east was sent out August 29 in
charge of Don Hernando de Alvarado. Passing the rock of Acuco or
Acoma—always a source of admiration—Alvarado reached the village and
river of Tiguex—the Rio Grande—on September 7. Some time was spent
in [p391] visiting the villages situated along the stream. The
headquarters of the party were at Tiguex, at or near the site of the
present town of Bernalillo, and here a list was drawn up and sent
to the general giving the names of eighty villages of which he had
learned from the natives of this place. At the same time Alvarado
reported that these villages were the best that had yet been found,
and advised that the winter quarters for the whole force should be
established in this district. He then proceeded to Cicuye or Pecos,
the most eastern of the walled villages, and from there crossed the
mountains to the buffalo plains. Finding a stream which flowed toward
the southeast—the Canadian river, perhaps—he followed its course
for a hundred leagues or more. Many of the “humpback oxen” were
seen, of which some of the men may have remembered Cabeza de Vaca’s
description.
On his return, Alvarado found the army-master, Garcia Lopez de
Cardenas, at Tiguex, arranging winter quarters sufficient to
accommodate the whole force in this region.[71] Coronado, who had
made a trip to examine the villages farther south, along the Rio
Grande, soon joined his lieutenants, leaving only a small force at
Cibola to maintain the post. The whole of the advance party was now
in Tiguex, and orders had been left at Cibola for the main body to
proceed to the eastern settlements so soon as they should arrive from
Culiacan and Corazones.
THE MARCH OF THE ARMY FROM CULIACAN TO TIGUEX
The main portion of the army remained at Culiacan, under the command
of Don Tristan de Arellano, when the general started for Cibola
with his small party of companions. The soldiers completed the work
of loading the _San Gabriel_ with their surplus equipment and with
provisions, and busied themselves about the town for a fortnight
after the departure of their general. Some time between the first and
middle of May, the army started to follow the route of the advance
party. The whole force marched on foot, carrying their lances and
other weapons, in order that the horses and other beasts, numbering
more than six hundred, might all be loaded with provisions. It had
taken Coronado and his party of horsemen, eager to push on toward
their destination, more than a month to make the journey to Corazones
or Hearts valley. We can only guess how much longer it took the
slowly marching army to cover this first half of the distance to
Cibola. The orders which the general had left with Arellano were that
he should [p392] take the army to this valley, where a good store
of provisions had been found by Melchior Diaz, and there wait for
further instructions. Coronado promised to send for his soldiers as
soon as he was sure that there was a country of the Seven Cities for
them to conquer and settle.
In the valley of Corazones, which had been given its name by Cabeza
de Vaca because the natives at this place offered him the hearts
of animals for food, Arellano kept the soldiers busy by building a
town on Suya river, naming it San Hieronimo de los Corazones—Saint
Jerome of the Hearts. A small force was sent down the river to the
seacoast, under the command of Don Rodrigo Maldonado, in the hope
of communicating with the ships of Alarcon. Maldonado found neither
signs nor news of the fleet, but he discovered a tribe of Indian
“giants,” one of whom accompanied the party back to the camp, where
the soldiers were filled with amazement at his size and strength.
Thus the time passed until early in September, when Melchior Diaz
and Juan Gallego brought the expected orders from the general.
Gallego, who carried the letter which Coronado had written from
Granada-Hawikuh on August 3, with the map and the exhibits of the
country which it mentions, continued on to Mexico. He was accompanied
by Friar Marcos. Diaz had been directed to stay in the new town of
San Hieronimo, to maintain this post and to open communication with
the seacoast. He selected seventy or eighty men—those least fitted
for the hardships and struggles of exploration and conquest—who
remained to settle the new town and to make an expedition toward the
coast. The remainder of the army prepared to rejoin their general at
Cibola, and by the middle of September the start was made.
After a long, rough march, in which little occurred to break the
daily monotony, the soldiers reached the pueblo settlements. The bad
weather had already begun, but the men were eager to continue their
journey in spite of the snow and the fierce, cold winds. After a
short rest, the force proceeded to Tiguex, where comfortable quarters
were awaiting them, and in these they quickly settled for the winter.
THE WINTER OF 1540–1541 ALONG THE RIO GRANDE
THE INDIAN REVOLT
The first winter spent by white men in the pueblos of New Mexico
was a severe one. Fortunately for the strangers, however, they were
comfortably domiciled in the best houses of the country, in which the
owners had left a plentiful supply of food, and this was supplemented
by the livestock brought from New Spain.
[Illustration: L. Northern Half of De Bry’s “America Sive Novus
Orbis,” 1596]
During the late autumn the Indians assumed a hostile attitude toward
their visitors, and were reduced to peaceful inactivity only after
a protracted struggle, which greatly aggravated the conquerors. The
Spanish story of this revolt is clear—that the Indians suddenly
surprised the Europeans by attacking the horses and mules of the
army, killing or driving off a number of them, after which the
natives [p393] collected their fighting force into two of the
strongest villages, from one of which they were able to defy the
soldiers until thirst compelled them to abandon the stronghold.
The defenders attempted to escape by stealth, but the sentries of
the besieging force discovered them and aroused the camp. Many of
the Indians were killed by the soldiers during the flight which
followed, while others perished in the icy waters of the Rio Grande.
During an attack on the second village, a few of the Spaniards who
had succeeded in making their way to the highest portion of the
buildings, escaped from their perilous position by inducing the
native warriors to surrender. The Indians received an ample promise
of protection and safety, but the captain of the attacking party was
not informed of this, and in obedience to the general’s orders that
no prisoners should be taken, he directed that the captives should
be burned as a warning to the neighboring tribes. This affair is
a terrible blot on the record of the expedition and of those who
composed it. In condemning it most severely, however, English readers
should remember that they are only repeating the condemnations which
were uttered by most of the men of rank who witnessed it, which
were repeated in New Spain and in old Spain, and which greeted the
commander when he led his expedition back to Mexico, to receive the
cold welcome of the viceroy.
The Spaniards have told us only one side of the story of what was
happening along the Rio Grande in the fall of 1540. The other side
will probably never be heard, for it disappeared with the traditions
of the Indian villagers. Without pretending to supply the loss, it
is at least possible to suggest that the preparations by which the
army-master procured the excellent accommodations for the force must
have appeared very differently to the people in whose homes Cardenas
housed the soldiers, and to those who passed the winter in these snug
quarters. Castañeda preserved one or two interesting details which
are as significant as is the striking fact that the peaceful natives
who entertained Alvarado most freely in September were the leaders of
the rebellion three months later.
As soon as Coronado’s men had completed the reduction of the
refractory natives, and the whole country had been overawed by the
terrible punishment, the general undertook to reestablish peaceful
relations and confident intercourse between his camp and the
surrounding villages. The Indians seem to have been ready to meet him
almost half-way, although it is hardly surprising to find traces of
an underlying suspicion, and a readiness for treacherous retaliation.
THE STORIES ABOUT QUIVIRA
While this reconciliation was being effected, Coronado heard from one
of the plains Indians,[72] held as a slave in the village of Cicuye
[p394] or Pecos, the stories about Quivira, which were to add so
much to the geographic extent of the expedition. When the Spaniards
were about to kill this Indian—“The Turk,” they called him[73]—he
told them that his masters, the people of Cicuye, had induced him
to lead the strangers away to the pathless plains, where water was
scarce and corn was unknown, to perish there, or, if ever they should
succeed in finding the way back to the village settlements, tired and
weak, to fall an easy prey to their enemies.
This plan was shrewdly conceived, and it very nearly succeeded.
There is little reason why we should doubt the truth of the
confession, made when the Indian could scarcely have hoped to save
his life, and it affords an easy explanation of the way in which
the exaggerated stories of Quivira originated and expanded. The
Turk may have accompanied Alvarado on the first visit to the great
plains, and he doubtless told the white men about his distant home
and the roving life on the prairies. It was later, when the Spaniards
began to question him about nations and rulers, gold and treasures,
that he received, perhaps from the Spaniards themselves, the hints
which led him to tell them what they were rejoiced to hear, and to
develop the fanciful pictures which appealed so forcibly to all
the desires of his hearers. The Turk, we can not doubt, told the
Spaniards many things which were not true. But in trying to trace
these early dealings of Europeans with the American aborigines, we
must never forget how much may be explained by the possibilities of
misinterpretation on the part of the white men, who so often heard
of what they wished to find, and who learned, very gradually and in
the end imperfectly, to understand only a few of the native languages
and dialects. And besides this, the record of their observations, on
which the students of today have to depend, was made in a language
which knew nothing of the things which it was trying to describe.
Much of what the Turk said was very likely true the first time he
said it, although the memories of home were heightened, no doubt, by
absence and distance. Moreover, Castañeda, who is the chief source
for the stories of gold and lordly kings which are said to have been
told by the Turk, in all probability did not know anything more than
the reports of what the Turk was telling to the superior officers,
which were passed about among the common foot soldiers.[74] The
present narrative has already shown the wonderful power of gossip,
and when it is gossip recorded twenty years afterward, we may
properly be cautious in believing it.
Coronado wrote to the King from Tiguex, on April 20, 1541, as he says
in his next letter, that of October 20. The April letter, written
just before the start for Quivira, must have contained a full and
official account of all that had been learned in regard to the
country toward [p395] the east, as well as more reliable details
than we now possess, of what had happened during the preceding fall
and winter. But this April letter, which was an acknowledgment and
answer to one from Charles V, dated in Madrid, June 11, 1540, has
not been found by modern students. When the reply was dispatched,
the messenger—probably Juan Gallego, who had perhaps brought the
Emperor’s letter from Mexico—was accompanied by Pedro de Tovar, who
was going back to Corazones valley for reinforcements. Many mishaps
had befallen the town of San Hieronimo during the year, and when
the messengers arrived there they found it half deserted. Leaving
Don Pedro here, Gallego hastened to Mexico, where he raised a small
body of recruits. He was leading these men, whose number had been
increased by some stragglers and deserters from the original force
whom he picked up at Culiacan, toward Cibola and Quivira, when he met
the expedition returning to New Spain. It was during this, probably
his fifth trip over the road from Mexico to our New Mexico, that he
performed the deeds of valor which Castañeda so enthusiastically
recounts at the very end of his book.
THE JOURNEY ACROSS THE BUFFALO PLAINS
April 23, 1541, Coronado left the Tiguex country and marched toward
the northeast, to the plains where lay the rich land of Quivira.
Every member of the army accompanied the general, for no one was
willing to be left behind when such glorious prospects of fame
and fortune lay before them. A few of the officers suggested the
wisdom of verifying these Indian tales in some measure before
setting the whole force in motion and abandoning their only sure
base of supplies. It seems as if there must have been other reasons
influencing Coronado beyond those revealed in Castañeda’s narrative;
but, if so, we do not know what they were. The fear lest he might
fail to accomplish any of the things which had been hoped for,
the absence of results on which to base a justification for all
the expense and labor, the thought of what would await him if he
should return empty handed, are perhaps enough to account for the
determination to risk everything and to allow no possible lack of
zeal or of strength to interfere with the realization of the hopes
inspired by the stories of Quivira.
Guided by the Turk, the army proceeded to Cicuye, and in nine days
more they reached the buffalo plains. Here began the long march
which was to be without any guiding landmarks. Just where, or how,
or how far the Spaniards went, I can not pretend to say. After a
month and more of marching—very likely just thirty-five days—their
patience became exhausted. A second native of the plains, who
accompanied the Spaniards from the pueblo country, had declared from
the first that the Turk was lying, but this had not made them trust
the latter any less. When, however, the Indians whom they found
living among the buffalo herds began to contradict the stories of
their guide, suspicion was aroused. The Turk, after much persuasive
cross-questioning, [p396] was at last induced to confess that he had
lied. Quivira, he still insisted, existed, though it was not as he
had described it. From the natives of the plains they learned that
there were no settlements toward the east, the direction in which
they had been traveling, but that toward the north, another good
month’s journey distant, there were permanent settlements. The corn
which the soldiers had brought from Tiguex was almost gone, while the
horses were tired and weak from the constant marching and buffalo
chasing, with only grass for food. It was clearly impossible for
the whole force to attempt this further journey, with the uncertain
prospect of finding native tribes like those they had already seen as
the only incentive. The general held a council of his officers and
friends, and decided to select 30 of the best equipped horsemen who
should go with him and attempt to verify the new information.
After Coronado had chosen his companions, the rest of the force was
sent back to Tiguex, as Castañeda relates. The Indians whom they met
on the plains furnished guides, who led the soldiers to the Pueblo
settlements by a more direct route than that which the Turk had
taken. But the marches were short and slow, so that it was the middle
of July before they were again encamped alongside the Rio Grande. So
far as is known, nothing of interest happened while they were waiting
there for the return of the general.
Coronado and his companion horsemen followed the compass needle
for forty-two days after leaving the main force, or, as he writes,
“after traveling across these deserts for seventy-seven days in all,”
they reached the country of Quivira. Here he found some people who
lived in permanent settlements and raised a little corn, but whose
sustenance came mainly from the buffalo herds, which they hunted
at regular seasons, instead of continuously as the plains Indians
encountered previously had done.[75]
[Illustration: LI. Wytfliet’s “Vtrivsqve Hemispherii Delineatio,”
1597]
Twenty-five days were spent among the villages at Quivira, so that
Jaramillo, one of the party, doubtless remembered correctly when he
said that they were there after the middle of August.[76] There was
[p397] nothing here except a piece of copper hanging from the
neck of a chief, and a piece of gold which one of the Spaniards was
suspected of having given to the natives, which gave any promise
of mineral wealth, and so Coronado determined to rejoin his main
force. Although they had found no treasures, the explorers were fully
aware of the agricultural advantages of this country, and of the
possibilities for profitable farming, if only some market for the
produce could be found.
Students of the Coronado expedition have very generally accepted
the location of Quivira proposed by General Simpson, who put the
northern point reached by Coronado somewhere in the eastern half of
the border country of Kansas and Nebraska. If we take into account
the expeditions which visited the outer limits of the Quivira
settlements, this is not inconsistent with Bandelier’s location of
the main seat of these Indians “in northeastern Kansas, beyond the
Arkansas river, and more than 100 miles northeast of Great Bend.”[77]
It is impossible to ignore the question of the route taken by
Coronado across the great plains, although the details chiefly
concern local historians. The Spanish travelers spent the summer
of 1541 on the prairies west of the Mississippi and south of the
Missouri. They left descriptions of these plains, and of the people
and animals inhabiting them, which are of as great interest and
value as any which have since been written. Fortunately it is not of
especial importance for us to know the exact section of the prairies
to which various parts of the descriptions refer.
From Cicuye, the Pecos pueblo, Coronado marched northeast until he
crossed Canadian river, probably a little to the east of the present
river and settlement of Mora.[78] This was about the 1st of May,
1541. From this point General Simpson, whose intimate knowledge
of the surface of the country thirty-five years ago makes his map
of the route across the plains most valuable, carried the line
of march nearly north, to a point halfway between Canadian and
Arkansas rivers. Then it turned east, or a trifle north of east,
until it reached one of the tributaries of the Arkansas, about 50
miles or so west of Wichita, Kansas. The army returned by a direct
route to Cicuye or Pecos river, striking that stream nearly east of
Bernalillo-Tiguex, while Coronado proceeded due north to Quivira on
the Kansas-Nebraska boundary.
Mr. Bandelier has traced a route for the march across the plains
which corresponds with the statements of the contemporary narratives
somewhat more closely than does that of General Simpson.[79] Crossing
[p398] Canadian river by a bridge, just south, of where Mora river
enters it, the Spaniards, according to Bandelier, marched toward
the northeast for ten days, until they met the first of the plains
Indians, the Querecho or Tonkawa. Thence they turned almost directly
toward the rising sun. Bandelier thinks that they very soon found
out that the guides had lost their reckoning, which presumably means
that it became evident that there was some difference of opinion
among the Indians. After marching eastward for thirty-five days or
so, the Spaniards halted on the banks of a stream which flowed in the
bottom of a broad and deep ravine. Here it was computed that they had
already traveled 250 leagues—650 miles—from Tiguex. They had crossed
no other large river since leaving the bridge over the Canadian, and
as the route had been south of east, as is distinctly stated by one
member of the force, they had probably reached the Canadian again.
There is a reference to crossing what may have been the North Fork
of the Canadian, in which case the army would now be on the north
bank of the main river, below the junction of the two forks, in the
eastern part of Indian Territory. Here they divided. The Teya guides
conducted the main force directly back to the Rio Grande settlements.
Coronado went due north, and a month later he reached a larger river.
He crossed to the north bank of this stream, and then followed its
course for several days, the direction being northeast. This river,
manifestly, must be the Arkansas, which makes a sharp turn toward
the northeast at the Great Bend, east of Fort Dodge, flowing in that
direction for 75 miles. Jaramillo states that they followed the
current of the river. As he approached the settled country, Coronado
turned toward the north and found Quivira, in northeastern Kansas,
not far south of the Nebraska boundary.[80]
The two texts of the Relacion del Suceso differ on a vital point;[81]
but in spite of this fact, I am inclined to accept the evidence of
this anonymous document as the most reliable testimony concerning
the direction of the army’s march. According to this, the Spaniards
traveled [p399] due east across the plains for 100 leagues—265
miles[82]—and then 50 leagues either south or southeast. The latter
is the reading I should prefer to adopt, because it accommodates
the other details somewhat better. This took them to the point of
separation, which can hardly have been south of Red river, and was
much more likely somewhere along the North Fork of the Canadian, not
far above its junction with the main stream. From this point the army
returned due west to Pecos river, while Coronado rode north “by the
needle.” From these premises, which are broad enough to be safe, I
should be inclined to doubt if Coronado went much beyond the south
branch of Kansas river, if he even reached that stream. Coronado
probably spent more days on his march than General Simpson allowed
for, but I do not think that he traveled nearly so far as General
Simpson supposed. Coronado also returned to Cicuye by a direct route,
which was about two-thirds as long as that of the outward march.
The distances given for various portions of the journey have a real
value, because each day’s march was paced off by a soldier detailed
for the purpose, who carefully recorded the distance covered.
THE WINTER OF 1541–1542
By October 20, 1541, Coronado was back in Tiguex, writing his
report to the King, in which he expressed his anxiety lest the
failure to discover anything of immediate material profit might
react unfavorably on his own prospects. Letters and dispatches from
Mexico and Spain were awaiting him at Tiguex. One of these informed
Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas of the death of his brother, by which
he became heir to the family estates. Cardenas had broken his arm
on the plains, and this injury was still troubling him when he
received permission to return to New Spain. He was accompanied by
the messengers carrying letters to the viceroy and by ten or twelve
other invalids, “not one of whom could have done any fighting.”
The party had no trouble, however, until they reached Suya, in
Corazones valley, the settlement which had taken the place of San
Hieronimo. Pedro de Tovar had reduced the already feeble garrison at
the latter post by half, when he took away the reinforcements six
months before. The town had been much weakened by desertions, as
well as by the loss of its commander, the invaluable Melchior Diaz,
before this. The Indians quickly discerned the condition of the
town, and its defenders were unable to maintain friendly relations
with the surrounding tribes. When Cardenas reached the place, he
found everything burned to the ground, and the bodies of Spaniards,
Indians, and horses lying about. Indeed, he seems barely to have
saved the invalids accompanying him from being added to the number
of the massacred. The party succeeded in making its way to Cibola in
safety, and from there they returned to Tiguex, where they found the
general seriously ill. By this time the winter was [p400] fairly
begun, but the season, fortunately, was much less severe than the
preceding one.
Two parties formed in the Spanish camp at Tiguex during the winter of
1541–42. The men who had seen Quivira can hardly have brought back
from there much hope of finding gold or other treasure by further
explorations in that country. But there were many who had not been
there, who were unwilling to give up the ideas which had been formed
during the preceding months. When the general parted from his army
on the plains, he may have promised that he would return and lead
the whole force to this land, if only it should prove to be such as
their inclination pictured it. Many persisted in the belief that a
more thorough exploration would discover some of the things about
which they thought the Turk had told them. On the other hand, there
were many besides the leader who were tired of this life of hardship,
which had not even afforded the attractions of adventure and serious
conflict. Few of them, doubtless, had wives and estates waiting to
welcome them home, like their fortunate general, but most of the
gentlemen, surely, were looking forward to the time when they could
win wealth and glory, with which to return to old Spain, and add new
luster to their family name. Castañeda gives a soldier’s gossip of
the intriguing and persuading which resulted in the abandonment of
the Pueblo country, and Mota Padilla seems to support the main points
in his story.
THE FRIARS REMAIN IN THE COUNTRY
When it was determined that the army should return to Mexico, the
friars who had accompanied the expedition[83] resolved to remain in
the newly discovered regions and continue their labors among the
people there. Friar Juan de Padilla was the leader of the three
missionaries. Younger and more vigorous than his brethren, he had
from the first been the most active in constantly maintaining the
oversight and discipline of the church. He was with Tovar when the
Tusayan country on the west was discovered, and with Alvarado during
the first visit to the Rio Grande and the buffalo plains on the
east. When Coronado and his companion horsemen visited the plains
of Kansas, Friar Juan de Padilla went with him on foot. His brief
experience in the Quivira country led him to decide to go back to
that district, when Coronado was preparing to return to New Spain.
If the Indians who guided Coronado from Quivira to Cicuye remained
in the pueblo country during the winter, Padilla probably returned
with them to their homes. He was accompanied by Andres Docampo, a
Portuguese, mounted on a mare according to most accounts, besides
five Indians, negroes or half-bloods, two “donados” or lay brethren,
Indians engaged in the church service, who came from Michoacan and
were named Lucas and Sebastian, a mestizo or half-blood boy and two
other servants from Mexico. [p401]
[Illustration: LII. Wytfliet’s New Granada and California, 1597]
The friar was successful in his labors until he endeavored to enlarge
the sphere of his influence, when the jealousy, or possibly the
cupidity, of the Indians led them to kill him, rather than permit
the transference to some other tribe of the blessings which he had
brought to them.[84]
Friar Juan de la Cruz is not mentioned by Castañeda nor by Jaramillo,
but Mendieta and Mota Padilla are very clear in their accounts of
him. He was an older man than the others, and had been engaged in
missionary work among the natives of the Jalisco country before he
joined this expedition. Coronado left him at Tiguex, where he was
killed, according to Mota Padilla. The date, in the martyrologies,
is November 25, 1542. Many natives of the Mexican provinces stayed
in the Pueblo country when Coronado abandoned it. Some of these were
still at Cibola when Antonio de Espejo visited it in 1583, while
others doubtless made their way back to their old homes in New Spain,
and they may have brought the information about the death of Friar
Juan.
Friar Luis Descalona, or de Ubeda as Mota Padilla calls him, was
a lay brother, who selected Cicuye or Pecos as the seat of his
labors in New Mexico. Neither the Spanish chronicles nor the Indian
traditions which Mr Bandelier was able to obtain give any hint as to
his fate or the results of his devotion to the cause of Christianity.
THE RETURN TO NEW SPAIN
The army started on its return from Tiguex to Cibola and thence
to Culiacan and Mexico early in the spring of 1542. The march was
without interruption or diversion. As the soldiers reentered New
Galicia and found themselves once more among settlements of their
own race, beyond the reach of hostile natives, the ranks dwindled
rapidly. The men stopped to rest and to recruit their strength at
every opportunity, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that
Coronado was able to keep together the semblance of a force with
which to make his entry into the City of Mexico. Here he presented
his personal report to the viceroy. He had little to tell which could
interest the disappointed Mendoza, who had drawn so heavily on the
royal treasure box two years before to furnish those who formed the
expedition with everything that they might need. Besides the loss in
his personal estate, there was this use of the royal funds which had
to be accounted for to the [p402] officials in Spain. It is the best
proof of the strength of Mendoza’s able and economical administration
that no opposition ever succeeded in influencing the home government
against him, and that the failure of this expedition, with the
attendant circumstances, furnished the most serious charge which
those who had displayed hostility toward him were able to produce.
When Coronado reached the City of Mexico, “very sad and very weary,
completely worn out and shamefaced,” Suarez de Peralta was a boy on
the streets. We catch a glimpse of him in the front rows of a crowd
watching an execution, this same winter of 1542–43, and we may be
sure that he saw all that was going on, and that he picked up and
treasured the gossip of the city. His recollections give a vivid
picture of the return of the expedition, when Coronado “came to kiss
the hand of the viceroy and did not receive so good a reception as he
would have liked, for he found him very sad.” For many days after the
general reached the city the men who had followed him came straggling
in, all of them worn out with their toils, clothed in the skins of
animals, and showing the marks of their misfortunes and sufferings.
“The country had been very joyous when the news of the discovery of
the Seven Cities spread abroad, and this was now supplanted by the
greatest sadness on the part of all, for many had lost their friends
and their fortunes, since those who remained behind had entered into
partnerships with those who went, mortgaging their estates and their
property in order to procure a share in what was to be gained, and
drawing up papers so that those who were to be present should have
power to take possession of mines and enter claims in the name of
those who were left behind, in accordance with the custom and the
ordinances which the viceroy had made for New Spain. Many sent their
slaves also, since there were many of these in the country at this
time. Thus the loss and the grief were general, but the viceroy felt
it most of all, for two reasons: Because this was the outcome of
something about which he had felt so sure, which he thought would
make him more powerful than the greatest lord in Spain, and because
his estates were ruined, for he had labored hard and spent much
in sending off the army. Finally, as things go, he succeeded in
forgetting about it, and devoted himself to the government of his
province, and in this he became the best of governors, being trusted
by the King and loved by all his subjects.”
THE END OF CORONADO
We do not know what became of Vazquez Coronado. The failure of the
expedition was not his fault, and there is nothing to show that he
ever sought the position which Mendoza intrusted to him. Neither is
there any evidence that Mendoza treated him with any less marks of
friendship after his return than before. The welcome home was not
cordial, but there are no reports of upbraiding, nor any accusations
of negligence or remissness. Coronado soon gave up his position
as [p403] governor of New Galicia, but we need not suppose that
he was compelled to resign. There was every reason why he should
have desired to escape from a position which demanded much skill
and unceasing active administration, but which carried with it no
hope of reward or of honor. It is pleasant to believe that Coronado
withdrew to his estates and lived happily ever after with his wife
and children, spending his leisure in supervising the operations on
his farm and ranch, and leading the uneventful life of a country
gentleman. The only break in the monotony of which we happen to
know—and this is the only part of this belief for which there is
the slightest evidence that it is correct—came when he was accused,
in 1544 and again in 1547, of holding more Indians to labor on his
estates than were allowed by the royal regulations. We do not even
know the outcome of this accusation. Vazquez Coronado sinks into
oblivion after he made his report to the viceroy in the autumn of
1542.
SOME RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION—1540–1547
THE DISCOVERY OF COLORADO RIVER
THE VOYAGE OF ALARCON
Coronado found no gold in the land of the Seven Cities or in Quivira,
but his search added very much to the geographical knowledge of
the Spaniards.[85] In addition to the exploration of the Pueblo
country of New Mexico and Arizona, and of the great plains as far
north as Kansas or Nebraska, the most important subsidiary result
of the expedition of 1540–1542 was the discovery of Colorado river.
Hernando de Alarcon, who sailed from Acapulco May 9, 1540, continued
his voyage northward along the coast, after stopping at the port of
Culiacan to add the _San Gabriel_ to his fleet, until he reached
the shoals and sand-bars at the head of the Gulf of California. The
fleet which Cortes [p404] had sent out under the command of Ulloa
the previous summer, turned back from these shoals, and Alarcon’s
sailors begged him not to venture among them. But the question of a
passage by water through to the South, or Pacific, sea, which would
make an island of the California peninsula, was still debated, and
Alarcon refused to return until he had definitely determined the
possibility of finding such a passage. His pilots ran the ships
aground, but after a careful examination of the channel, the fleet
was floated across the bar in safety, with the aid of the rising
tide. Alarcon found that he was at the mouth of a large river, with
so swift and strong a current that it was impossible for the large
vessels to make any headway against it. He determined to explore
the river, and, taking twenty men in two boats, started upstream on
Thursday, August 26, 1540, when white men for the first time floated
on the waters of the Colorado. Indians appeared on the river banks
during the following day. The silence with which the strangers
answered the threatening shouts of the natives, and the presence
of the Indian interpreters in the boats, soon overcame the hostile
attitude of the savages. The European trifles which had been brought
for gifts and for trading completed the work of establishing friendly
relations, and the Indians soon became so well disposed that they
entirely relieved the Spaniards of the labor of dragging the boats
up the stream. A crowd of Indians seized the ropes by which the
boats were hauled against the current, and from this time on some of
them were always ready to render this service to their visitors. In
this fashion the Spaniards continued northward, receiving abundant
supplies of corn from the natives, whose habits and customs they
had many excellent opportunities for observing. Alarcon instructed
these people dutifully in the worship of the cross, and continually
questioned them about the places whose names Friar Marcos had heard.
He met with no success until he had traveled a considerable distance
up the river, when for the first time he found a man with whom his
interpreter was able to converse.
This man said that he had visited Cibola, which was a month’s journey
distant. There was a good trail by which one might easily reach
that country in forty days. The man said he had gone there merely
to see the place, since it was quite a curiosity, with its houses
three and four stories high, filled with people. Around the houses
there was a wall half as high again as a man, having windows on each
side. The inhabitants used the usual Indian weapons—bows and arrows,
clubs, maces, and shields. They wore mantles and ox hides, which
were painted. They had a single ruler, who wore a long shirt with
a girdle, and various mantles over this. The women wore long white
cloaks which completely covered them. There were always many Indians
waiting about the door of their ruler, ready in case he should wish
for anything. They also wore many blue stones which they dug out of a
rock—the turquoises of the other narratives. They had but one wife,
and when they died all their effects were buried with them. When
[p405] their rulers ate, many men waited about the tables. They
ate with napkins, and had baths—a natural inference from any attempt
to describe the stuffy underground rooms, the estufas or kivas of the
Pueblos.
[Illustration: LIII. Wytfliet’s Kingdoms of Quivira, Anian and Tolm,
1597]
Alarcon continued to question the Indian, and learned that the lord
of Cibola had a dog like one which accompanied the Spaniards, and
that when dinner was served, the lord of Cibola had four plates
like those used by the Spaniards, except that they were green. He
obtained these at the same time that he got the dog, with some other
things, from a black man who wore a beard, whom the people of Cibola
killed. A few days later, Alarcon obtained more details concerning
the death of the negro “who wore certain things on his legs and arms
which rattled.” When asked about gold and silver, the Indians said
that they had some metal of the same color as the bells which the
Spaniards showed them. This was not made nor found in their country,
but came “from a certain mountain where an old woman dwelt.” The
old woman was called Guatuzaca. One of Alarcon’s informants told
him about people who lived farther away than Cibola, in houses made
of painted mantles or skins during the summer, and who passed the
winter in houses made of wood two or three stories high. The Indian
was asked about the leather shields, and in reply described a very
great beast like an ox, but more than a hand longer, with broad feet,
legs as big as a man’s thigh, a head 7 hands long, and the forehead
3 spans across. The eyes of the beast were larger than one’s fist,
and the horns as long as a man’s leg, “out of which grew sharp points
an handful long, and the forefeet and hindfeet about seven handfuls
big.” The tail was large and bushy. To show how tall the animal
was, the Indian stretched his arms above his head. In a note to his
translation of this description, Hakluyt suggests, “This might be the
crooke backed oxe of Quivira.” Although the height and the horns are
clearly those of a buck deer, the rest of the description is a very
good account of the bison.
The man who told him all this was called ashore, and Alarcon noticed
an excited discussion going on among the Indians, which ended in
the return of his informant with the news that other white men like
himself were at Cibola. Alarcon pretended to wonder at this, and
was told that two men had just come from that country, where they
had seen white men having “things which shot fire, and swords.”
These latest reports seemed to make the Indians doubt Alarcon’s
honesty, and especially his statements that he was a child of
the Sun. He succeeded in quieting their suspicions, and learned
more about Cibola, with which these people appeared to have quite
frequent intercourse. He was told that the strangers at Cibola called
themselves Christians, and that they brought with them many oxen
like those at Cibola “and other little blacke beastes with wooll and
hornes.” Some of them also had animals upon which they rode, which
ran very swiftly. Two of the party that had recently returned from
Cibola, had fallen in with two of the [p406] Christians. The white
men asked them where they lived and whether they possessed any fields
sown with corn, and gave each of them little caps for themselves and
for their companions. Alarcon did his best to induce some of his men
to go to Cibola with a message to Coronado, but all refused except
one negro slave, who did not at all want to go. The plan had to be
given up, and the party returned to the ships. It had taken fifteen
days and a half to ascend the river, but they descended with the
swift current in two and a half. The men who had remained in the
ships were asked to undertake the mission of opening communication
with Coronado, but proved as unwilling as the others.
Much against the will of his subordinates, Alarcon determined to make
a second trip up the river, hoping to obtain further information
which might enable him to fulfill the purposes of his voyage. He took
“three boats filled with wares of exchange, with corne and other
seedes, hennes and cockes of Castille.” Starting September 14, he
found the Indians as friendly as before, and ascended the river, as
he judged, about 85 leagues, which may have taken him to the point
where the canyons begin. A cross was erected to inform Coronado,
in case an expedition from Cibola should reach this part of the
river,[86] that he had tried to fulfill his duty, but nothing more
was accomplished.[87]
While Alarcon was exploring the river, one of the ships was careened
and repaired, and everything made ready for the return voyage.
A chapel was built on the shore in honor of Nuestra Señora de
Buenaguia, and the river was named the Buenaguia, out of regard for
the viceroy, who carried this as his device.
The voyage back to Colima in New Spain was uneventful.
THE JOURNEY OF MELCHIOR DIAZ
In September, 1540, seventy or eighty of the weakest and least
reliable men in Coronado’s army remained at the town of San
Hieronimo, in the valley of Corazones or Hearts. Melchior Diaz
was placed in command of the settlement, with orders to maintain
this post and protect the road between Cibola and New Spain, and
also to attempt to find some means of communicating with the fleet
under Alarcon. After he had established everything in the town as
satisfactorily as possible, Diaz selected twenty-five of these men
to accompany him on an exploring expedition to the seacoast. He
started before the end of September, going into the rough country
west of Corazones valley, and finding only a few naked, weak-spirited
Indians, who had come, as he understood, from the land on the farther
side of the water, i. e., Lower [p407] California. He hurried
across this region and descended the mountains on the west, where
he encountered the Indian giants, some of whom the army had already
seen. Turning toward the north, or northwest, he proceeded to the
seacoast, and spent several days among Indians who fed him with the
corn which they raised and with fish. He traveled slowly up the coast
until he reached the mouth of a river which was large enough for
vessels to enter. The country was cold, and the Spaniards observed
that when the natives hereabouts wished to keep warm, they took a
burning stick and held it to their abdomens and shoulders. This
curious habit led the Spaniards to name the river Firebrand—Rio del
Tizon. Near the mouth of the river was a tree on which was written,
“A letter is at the foot of this.” Diaz dug down and found a jar
wrapped so carefully that it was not even moist. The inclosed papers
stated that “Francisco de Alarcon reached this place in the year ’40
with three ships, having been sent in search of Francisco Vazquez
Coronado by the viceroy, D. Antonio de Mendoza; and after crossing
the bar at the mouth of the river and waiting many days without
obtaining any news, he was obliged to depart, because the ships were
being eaten by worms,” the terrible _Teredo navalis_.[88]
Diaz determined to cross the river, hoping that the country
might become more attractive. The passage was accomplished, with
considerable danger, by means of certain large wicker baskets, which
the natives coated with a sort of bitumen, so that the water could
not leak through. Five or six Indians caught hold of each of these
and swam across, guiding it and transporting the Spaniards with
their baggage, and being supported in turn by the raft. Diaz marched
inland for four days, but not finding any people in the country,
which became steadily more barren, he decided to return to Corazones
valley. The party made its way back to the country of the giants
without accident, and then one night while Diaz was watching the
camp, a small dog began to bark and chase the flock of sheep which
the men had taken with them for food. Unable to call the dog off,
Diaz started after him on horseback and threw his lance while on the
gallop. The weapon stuck up in the ground, and before Diaz could stop
or turn his horse, which was running loose, the socket pierced his
groin. The soldiers could do little to relieve his sufferings, and he
died before they reached the settlement, where they arrived January
18, 1541. A few months later, Alcaraz, who had been placed in charge
of the town when Diaz went away, abandoned Corazones valley for a
more attractive situation on Suya river, some distance nearer Cibola.
The post was maintained here [p408] until late in the summer,
when it became so much weakened by dissensions and desertions that
the Indians had little difficulty in destroying it. The defenders,
with the exception of a few who were able to make their way back to
Culiacan, were massacred.
THE INDIAN UPRISING IN NEW SPAIN, 1540–1542
Of the arguments advanced by those who wished to hinder the
expedition which Mendoza sent off under Coronado, none was urged more
persistently than the claim that this undertaking would require all
the men available for the protection of New Spain. It was suggested
by all the parties to the litigation in Spain, was repeated by Cortes
again and again, reappeared more than once during the visita of
1547, and was the cause of the depositions taken at Compostela on
February 26, 1540. These last show the real state of affairs. The men
who were withdrawn constituted a great resource in case of danger,
but they were worse than useless to the community when things were
peaceful. The Indians of New Spain had been quiet since the death of
De la Torre, a few years before, but signs of danger, an increasing
restlessness, unwilling obedience to the masters and encomenderos,
and frequent gatherings, had been noticed by many besides Cortes.
There were reasons enough to justify an Indian outbreak, some of
them abuses which dated from the time of Nuño de Guzman, but there
is every reason to suppose that the withdrawal of Coronado’s force,
following the irritation which was inevitably caused by the necessity
of collecting a large food supply and many servants, probably brought
matters to a crisis. Oñate, to whom the administration of New Galicia
had again been intrusted during the absence of his superior, began to
prepare for the trouble which he foresaw almost as soon as Coronado
was gone from the province. In April he learned that two tribes had
rebelled and murdered one of their encomenderos. A force was sent to
put down the revolt. The rebels requested a conference, and then,
early next morning, surprised the camp, which was wholly unprepared
for defense. Ten Spaniards, including the unwary commander, and
nearly two hundred native allies were killed. Thus began the last
and the fiercest struggle of the Indians of New Spain against their
European conquerors—the Mixton war.
[Illustration: LIV. Matthias Quadus’ Fasciculus Geographicus, 1608
After Nordenskiold]
Oñate prepared to march against the victorious rebels, as soon as
the news of the disaster reached him, but when this was followed by
additional information from the agents among the Indians, showing
how widespread were the alliances of those who had begun the revolt,
and that the Indians throughout the province of New Galicia were
already in arms, he retired to Guadalajara. The defenses of this
town were strengthened as much as possible, and messengers were
dispatched to Mexico for reenforcements. The viceroy sent some
soldiers and supplies, but this force was not sufficient to prevent
the Indians—who were animated by their recent successes, by their
numbers, by the knowledge of the weak points as well as of the
strong ones in their oppressors, and [p409] who were guided by
able leaders possessing all the prestige of religious authority—from
attacking the frontier settlements and forcing the Spaniards to
congregate in the larger towns.
There was much fighting during the early summer of 1540, in which
the settlers barely held their own. In August, the adelantado Pedro
de Alvarado sailed into the harbor of La Natividad. As the news of
his arrival spread, requests were sent to him from many directions,
asking for help against the natives. One of the most urgent came
from those who were defending the town of Purificacion, and Alvarado
was about to start to their assistance, when a message from Mendoza
changed his plans. The two men arranged for a personal interview
at Tiripitio in Michoacan, where the estate of a relative afforded
Alvarado a quasi neutral territory. After some difficulties had
been overcome, the terms of an alliance were signed by both parties
November 29, 1540. Each was to receive a small share in whatever
had already been accomplished by the other, thus providing for any
discoveries which might have rewarded Coronado’s search before this
date. In the future, all conquests and gains were to be divided
equally. It was agreed that the expenses of equipping the fleet and
the army should offset each other, and that all future expenses
should be shared alike. Each partner was allowed to spend a thousand
castellanos de minas yearly, and all expenditure in excess of this
sum required the consent of the other party. All accounts were to be
balanced yearly, and any surplus due from one to the other was to be
paid at once, under penalty of a fine, which was assured by the fact
that half of it was to go into the royal treasury.
Mendoza secured a half interest in the fleet of between nine and
twelve vessels, which were then in the ports of Acapulco and of
Santiago de Colima. Cortes accused the viceroy of driving a very
sharp bargain in this item, declaring that Alvarado was forced to
accept it because Mendoza made it the condition on which he would
allow the ships to obtain provisions.[89] Mendoza, as matters turned
out, certainly had the best of the bargain, although in the end it
amounted to nothing. Whether this would have been true if Alvarado
had lived to prosecute his schemes is another possibility. Alvarado
took his chances on the results of Coronado’s conquests, and it is
very likely that, by the end of November, the discouraging news
contained in Coronado’s letter of August 3 was not generally known,
if it had even reached the viceroy.
The contract signed, Alvarado and Mendoza went to Mexico, where
they passed the winter in perfecting arrangements for carrying out
their plans. The cold weather moderated the fury of the Indian
war somewhat, without lessening the danger or the troubles of the
settlers in New Galicia, all of whom were now shut up in the few
large towns. Alvarado returned to the Pacific coast in the spring
of 1541, and as soon as [p410] Oñate learned of this, he sent an
urgent request for help, telling of the serious straits in which he
had been placed. The security of the province was essential to the
successful prosecution of the plans of the new alliance. Alvarado
immediately sent reinforcements to the different garrisons, and
at the head of his main force hastened to Guadalajara, where he
arrived June 12, 1541. Oñate had received reports from the native
allies and the Spanish outposts, who were best acquainted with the
situation and plans of the hostile Indians, which led him to urge
Alvarado to delay the attack until he could be certain of success.
An additional force had been promised from Mexico, but Alvarado
felt that the glory and the booty would both be greater if secured
unaided. Scorning the advice of those who had been beaten by savages,
he hastened to chastise the rebels. The campaign was a short one. On
June 24 Alvarado reached the fortified height of Nochistlan, where he
encountered such a deluge of men and of missiles that he was not able
to maintain his ground, nor even to prevent the precipitate retreat
of his soldiers. It was a terrible disaster, but one which reflected
no discredit on Alvarado after the fighting began. The flight of the
Spaniards continued after the Indians had grown tired of the chase.
It was then that the adelantado tried to overtake his secretary,
who had been one of those most eager to get away from the enemy.
Alvarado was afoot, having dismounted in order to handle his men and
control the retreat more easily, but he had almost caught up with his
secretary, when the latter spurred his jaded horse up a rocky hill.
The animal tried to respond, fell, and rolled backward down the hill,
crushing the adelantado under him. Alvarado survived long enough to
be carried to Guadalajara and to make his will, dying on the 4th of
July.
This disaster did not fully convince the viceroy of the seriousness
of the situation. Fifty men had already started from Mexico,
arriving in Guadalajara in July, where they increased the garrison
to eighty-five. Nothing more was done by Mendoza after he heard
of the death of Alvarado. The Indians, emboldened by the complete
failure of their enemies, renewed their efforts to drive the white
men out of the land. They attacked Guadalajara on September 28, and
easily destroyed all except the chief buildings in the center of
the city, in which the garrison had fortified themselves as soon as
they learned that an attack was about to be made. A fierce assault
against these defenses was repulsed only after a hard struggle. The
miraculous appearance of Saint Iago on his white steed and leading
his army of allies, who blinded the idolatrous heathen, alone
prevented the destruction of his faithful believers, according to
the record of one contemporary chronicler. At last Mendoza realized
that the situation was critical. A force of 450 Spaniards was raised,
in addition to an auxiliary body of between 10,000 and 50,000 Aztec
warriors. The native chieftains were rendered loyal by ample promises
of wealth and honors, and the warriors were granted, for the first
time, permission to use horses and Spanish [p411] weapons. With the
help of these Indians, Mendoza eventually succeeded in destroying or
reducing the revolted tribes. The campaign was a series of fiercely
contested struggles, which culminated at the Mixton peñol, a strongly
fortified height where the most bitter enemies of the Spanish
conquerors had their headquarters. This place was surrendered during
the Christmas holidays, and when Coronado returned in the autumn of
1542, the whole of New Spain was once more quiet.
FURTHER ATTEMPTS AT DISCOVERY
THE VOYAGE OF CABRILLO
Mendoza took possession of the vessels belonging to Alvarado after
the death of the latter. In accordance with the plans which the two
partners had agreed on, apparently, the viceroy commissioned Juan
Rodriguez Cabrillo to take command of two ships in the port of La
Natividad and make an exploration of the coast on the western side of
the peninsula of Lower California. Cabrillo started June 27, 1542,
and sailed north, touching the land frequently. Much bad weather
interfered with his plans, but he kept on till the end of December,
when he landed on one of the San Lucas islands. Here Cabrillo died,
January 3, 1543, leaving his chief pilot, Bartolome Ferrel or
Ferrelo, “a native of the Levant,” in command. Ferrel left the island
of San Miguel, which he named Isla de Juan Rodriguez, on January 29,
to continue the voyage. In a little more than a month the fleet had
reached the southern part of Oregon or thereabouts, allowing for an
error of a degree and a half in the observations, which said that
they were 44° north. A severe storm forced the ships to turn back
from this point.
The report of the expedition is little more than an outline of
distances sailed and places named, although there are occasional
statements which give us valuable information regarding the coast
Indians.[90] Among the most interesting of these notes are those
showing that the news of the expeditions to Colorado river, and
perhaps of the occupancy of the Pueblo country by white men, had
reached the Pacific coast. About September 1, 1542, a party from
the fleet went ashore near the southern boundary of California.
Five Indians met the Spanish sailors at a spring, where they were
filling the water casks. “They appeared like intelligent Indians,”
and went on board the ships without hesitation. “They took note
of the Spaniards and counted them, and made signs that they had
seen other men like these, who had beards and who brought dogs and
cross-bows and swords . . . and showed by their signs that the other
Spaniards were five days’ journey distant. . . . The captain gave
them a letter, which he told them to carry to the Spaniards who they
said were in the interior.” September 28, at San [p412] Pedro bay,
Ferrel again found Indians who told him by signs that “they had
passed people like the Spaniards in the interior.” Two days later,
on Saturday morning, “three large Indians came to the ship, who told
by signs that men like us were traveling in the interior, wearing
beards, and armed and clothed like the people on the ships, and
carrying cross-bows and swords. They made gestures with the right arm
as if they were throwing lances, and went running in a posture as
if riding on horseback. They showed that many of the native Indians
had been killed, and that this was the reason they were afraid.” A
week later, October 7, the ships anchored off the islands of Santa
Cruz and Anacapa. The Indians of the islands and also of the mainland
opposite, near Santa Barbara or the Santa Clara valley, gave the
Spaniards additional descriptions of men like themselves in the
interior.
The rest of the year 1542 was spent in this locality, off the coast
of southern California, and then the voyage northward was resumed.
Many points on the land were touched, although San Francisco bay
quite escaped observation. Just before a severe storm, in which one
of the vessels was lost, forcing him to turn back, Ferrel observed
floating drift and recognized that it meant the neighborhood of a
large river, but he was driven out to sea before reaching the mouth
of the Columbia. The return voyage was uneventful, and the surviving
vessel reached the harbor of Natividad in safety by April 14, 1543.
VILLALOBOS SAILS ACROSS THE PACIFIC
Cortes and Alvarado had both conceived plans more than once to equip
a great expedition in New Spain and cross the South sea to the isles
of the Western ocean. After the death of Alvarado, Mendoza adopted
this scheme, and commissioned Ruy Lopez de Villalobos to take command
of some of the ships of Alvarado and sail westward. He started on
All Saints day, the 1st of November, 1542, with 370 Spanish soldiers
and sailors aboard his fleet. January 22, 1547, Friar Jeronimo de
Santisteban wrote to Mendoza “from Cochin in the Indies of the King
of Portugal.” He stated that 117 of the men were still with the
fleet, and that these intended to keep together and make their way as
best they could home to Spain. Thirty members of the expedition had
remained at Maluco, and twelve had been captured by the natives of
various islands at which the party had landed. The rest, including
Ruy Lopez, had succumbed to hunger and thirst, interminable labors
and suffering, and unrelieved discouragement—the record of the
previous months. This letter of Friar Jeronimo is the only published
account of the fate of this expedition.
The brief and gloomy record of the voyage of Villalobos is a fit
ending for this story of the Coronado expedition to Cibola and
Quivira, of how it came about, of what it accomplished, and of what
resulted from it. Nothing is the epitome of the whole story. The
lessons which it teaches are always warnings, but if one will read
history rightly, every warning will be found to be an inspiration.
[p413]
THE NARRATIVE OF CASTAÑEDA
BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE
A perusal of the narratives of the expeditions of Coronado and of
Friar Marcos of Nice, which were translated by Henri Ternaux-Compans
for the ninth volume of his Collection de Voyages, convinced me
that the style and the language of these narratives were much
more characteristic of the French translator than of the Spanish
conquistadores. A comparison of Ternaux’s translations with some
of the Spanish texts which he had rendered into French, which were
available in the printed collections of Spanish documents in the
Harvard University library, showed me that Ternaux had not only
rendered the language of the original accounts with great freedom,
but that in several cases he had entirely failed to understand what
the original writer endeavored to relate. On consulting Justin
Winsor’s Narrative and Critical History of America, in the second
edition, I found that the Spanish manuscript of the Castañeda
narrative, from which most of our knowledge of Coronado’s expedition
is derived, was in the Lenox Library in New York City. The trustees
of this library readily granted my request, made through Dr Winsor,
for permission to copy the manuscript. The Lenox manuscript is not
the original one written by Castañeda, but a copy made toward the end
of the sixteenth century. It contains a number of apparent mistakes,
and the meaning of many passages is obscure, probably due to the
fact that the Spanish copyist knew nothing about the North American
Indians and their mode of living. These places I have pointed
out in the notes to my translation of the narrative, and I have
called attention also to the important errors and misconceptions in
Ternaux’s version. Diligent inquiry among the custodians of the large
Spanish libraries at Simancas, Madrid, and at Seville where the Lenox
manuscript was copied in 1596, has failed to bring me any information
in regard to the original manuscript. The Lenox copy is the one used
by Ternaux.
The Spanish text of the Relación Postrera de Sívola is printed now
for the first time, through the kindness of the late Señor Joaquin
García Icazbalceta, who copied it for me from a collection of papers
in his possession, which formerly belonged to the Father Motolinia,
the author of a very valuable description of the Indians of New
Spain. In the preface to this work, dated 1541, Motolinia says that
he was in communication with the brethren who had gone with Coronado.
The Relación Postrera appears to be a copy made from a letter written
to some of the Franciscans in New Spain by one of the friars who
accompanied Coronado. [p414]
In the bibliography are the references to the exact location of the
Spanish texts from which I have translated the other narratives. I am
not aware that any of these have been translated entire, although Mr
Bandelier has quoted from them extensively in his Documentary History
of Zuñi.
There is one other account of the Coronado expedition which might
have been included in the present volume. Mota Padilla wrote his
Historia de la Nueva Galicia two centuries after the return of
Coronado, but he had access to large stores of contemporary documents
concerning the early history of New Spain, most of which have
since been destroyed. Among these documents were those belonging
to Don Pedro de Tovar, one of the captains in Coronado’s army.
Mota Padilla’s account of this expedition is nearly if not quite
as valuable as that of Castañeda, and supplements the latter in
very many details. The length of the narrative and the limitations
inevitable to any work of this nature forced me to abandon the idea
of translating it for the present memoir. Much of the text of Mota
Padilla will be found, however, in the notes to the translation of
Castañeda, while the second half of the historical introduction is
based primarily on Mota Padilla’s narrative, and a large portion of
it is little more than a free rendering of this admirable work.
THE SPANISH TEXT[91]
Relacion de la Jornada de Cibola conpuesta por Pedro de Castañeda
de Naçera. Donde se trata de todos aquellos poblados y ritos, y
costumbres, la qual fue el Año de 1540.
Historia del Conde Fernando Gonzales impressa.
PROEMIO.
Cosa por sierto me parece muy magnifico señor liçeta y que es
exerçiçio de hombres uirtuosos el desear saber y querer adquirir
para su memoria la noticia berdadera de las cosas acasos aconteçidos
en partes remotas de que se tiene poca noticia lo qual yo no culpo
algunas personas especulatiuas que por uentura con buen çelo por
muchas ueces me an sido inportunos no poco rogadome les dixese y
aclarase algunas dudas que tenian de cosas particulares [~q] al
bulgo auian oydo en cosas y casos acontecidos en la jornada de
cibola o tierra nueba que el buen uisorey que dios aya en su gloria
don Antonio de Mendoca ordeno y hiço haçer donde embio por general
capitan a francisco uasques de coronado y a la berdad ellos tienen
raçon de querer saber la uerdad porque como el bulgo muy muchas ueces
y cosas que an oydo y por uentura a quien de ellas no tubo noticia
ansi las hacen mayores o menores que ellas son y las que son algo
las hacen nada y las no tales las hacen tā admirables que pareçen
cosas no creederas podría tan bien [p415] causarlo que como aquello
tierra no permanecio no ubo quien quisiese gastar tienpo en escrebir
sus particularidades porque se perdiese la noticia de aquello que no
fue dios seruido que gosasen el sabe por que en berdad quien quisiera
exercitarse en escrebir asi las cosas acaeçidas en la jornada como
las cosas se bieron en aquellas tierras los ritos y tratos delos
naturales tubiera harta materia por donde pareçiera su juiçio y creo
que no le faltara de quedar relaçion que tratar de berdad fuera tam
admirable que pareciera increyble.
y tambien creo que algunas nobelas que se quentan el aber como a
ueinte años y mas que aquella jornada se hiço lo causa digo esto
porque algunas la haçen tierra inabitable otros confinante a la
florida otros a la india mayor que no parece pequeño desbario pueden
tomar alguna ocaçion y causa sobre que poner su fundamento tambien
ay quien da noticia de algunos animales bien remotos que otros con
aber se hallado en aquella jornada lo niegan y afirman no aber tal
ni aberlos bisto otros uariã en el rumbo de las prouincias y aun en
los tractos y trajes atribuyendo lo que es de los unos a los otros
todo lo qual a sido gran parte muy magnifico señor a me mober aunque
tarde a querer dar una brebe noticia general para todos los que se
arrean de esta uirtud especulatiua y por ahorrar el tiempo que con
inportunidades soy a quexado donde se hallaran cosas por sierto
harto graues de crer todas o las mas bistas por mis ojos y otras
por notiçia berdadera inquiridas de los propios naturales creyendo
que teniendo entendido como lo tengo que esta mi pequeña obra seria
en si ninguna o sin autoridad sino fuese faboreçida y anparada de
tal persona que su autoridad quitase el atrebimiento a los que sin
acatamiento dar libertad a sus murmuradores lenguas y conoçiendo yo
en quanta obligacion siempre e sido y soy a v[~r]a md humilmente
suplico de baxo de su anparo como de berdadero seruidor y criado
sea recebida esta pequeña obra la qual ba en tres partes repartida
para que mejor se de a entender la primera sera dar noticia del
descubrimiento y el armada o campo que hiço con toda la jornada con
los capitanes que alla fueron la segunda los pueblos y prouinçias que
se hallaron y en que rumbos y que ritos y costumbres los animales
fructas y yerbas y en que partes de la tierra. la terçera la buelta
que el campo hiço y las ocaciones que ubo para se despoblar aun
que no licitas por ser el mejor paraje que ay para se descubrir
el meollo de la tierra que ay en estas partes de poniente como se
uera y despues aca se tiene entendido y en lo ultimo se tratara de
algunas cosas admirables que se bieron y por donde con mas facilidad
se podra tornar a descubrir lo que no bimos que suelo mejor y que no
poco haria al caso para por tierra entrar en la tierra de que yba
en demanda el marques del ualle don fer^{do} cortes de baxo de la
estrella del poniente que no pocas armadas le costo de mar plega a
n[~r]o señor me de tal graçia que con mi rudo entendimiento y poca
abilidad pueda tratando berdad agradar con esta me pequeña obra
al sabio y prudente lector siendo por v[~r]a md aceptada pues mi
intincion no es ganar gracias de buen componedor ni retorico salbo
querer dar berdadera [p416] noticia y hacer a v[~r]a md este pequeño
seruicio el qual reciba como de berdadero seruidor y soldado que se
hallo presente y aunque no por estilo pulido escrebo lo que paso lo
que a oydo palpo y bido y tratrato.
siempre beo y es ansi que por la mayor parte quando tenemos entre
las manos alguna cosa preciosa y la tratamos sin inpedimento no
la tenemos ni la preçiamos en quanto uale si entendemos la falta
que nos haria si la perdiesemos y por tanto de continuo la bamos
teniendo en menos pero despues que la abemos perdido y carecemos del
benefficio de ella abemos gran dolor en el coraçon y siempre andamos
ymaginatibos buscando modos y maneras como la tornemos a cobrar y
asi me pareçe acaeçio a todos aquellos o a los mas que fueron a la
jornada quel ano de n[~r]o saluador jesu christo de mill y quinientos
y quarenta hico francisco uasques coronado en demanda de las siete
ciudades que puesto que no hallaron aquellas riqueças de que les
auian dado notiçia hallaron aparejo para las buscar y principio de
buena tierra que poblar para de alli pasar adelante y como despues
aca por la tierra que conquistaron y despoblaron el tiempo les a dado
a entender el rumbo y aparejo donde estaban y el principio de buena
tierra que tienan entre manos lloran sus coracones por aber perdido
tal oportunidad de tiempo y como sea sierto que ben mas lo honbres
quando se suben a la talanquera que quando andan en el coso agora que
estan fuera cognoçen y entienden los rumbos y el aparejo donde se
hallauan y ya que ben que no lo pueden goçar ni cobrar y el tiempo
perdido deleytanse en contar lo que bieron y aun lo que entienden
que perdieron especial aquellos que se hallan pobres oy tanto como
quando alla fueron y no an dexado de trabajar y gastado el tienpo sin
probecho digo esto porque tengo entendido algunos de los que de alla
binieron holgarian oy como fuese para pasar adelante boluer a cobrar
lo perdido y otros holgarian oy y saber la causa porque se descubrio
y pues yo me ofrecido a contarlo tomarlo e del principio que pasa asi.
PRIMERA PARTE.[92]
_Capitulo primero donde se trata como se supo la primera poblacion
de las siete çiudades y como Nuño de guzman hiço armada para
descubrirlla._
en el año y quinientos y treinta siendo presidente de la nueba españa
Nuño de guzman ubo en su poder un indio natural del ualle o ualles
de oxitipar a quien los españoles nombran tejo este indio dixo que
el era hijo de un mercader y su padre era muerto pero que siendo el
chiquito su padre entraua la tierra adentro a mercadear con plumas
ricas de aues para plumages y que en retorno traya un mucha cantidad
de oro y plata que en aquella tierra lo ay mucho y que el fue con el
una o dos ueçes y que bido muy grandes pueblos tanto que los quiso
comparar con mexico y su comarca y que auia uisto siete pueblos muy
grandes donde auia calles de plateria y que para ir a ellos tardauan
desde su tierra quarenta dias y todo despoblado y que la tierra por
do yban no [p417] tenia yerba sino muy chiquita de un xeme y que
el rumbo que lleuaban era al largo de la tierra entre las dos mares
siguiendo la lauia del norte debaxo de esta notiçia Nuño de guzman
junto casi quatrosientos hombres españoles y ueinte mill amigos de
la nueua españa y como se hallo a el presente en mexico atrabesando
la tarasca que es tierra de mechuacan para hallandose el aparejo
quel indio deçia boluer atrabesando la tierra hacia la mar del norte
y darian en la tierra que yban a buscar a la qual ya nombrauan las
siete ciudades pues conforme a los quarenta dias quel texo decia
hallaria que abiendo andado doçientas leguas podrian bien atrabesar
la tierra quitado a parte algunas fortunas que pasaron en esta
jornada desque fueron llegados en la prouincia de culiacan que fue
lo ultimo de su gouernaçion que es agora el nueuo reyno de galiçia
quisieron atrabesar la tierra y ubo muy gran dificultad porque la
cordillera de la sierra que cae sobre aquella mar estan agra que por
mucho que trabajo fue inposible hallar camino en aquella parte y a
esta causa se detubo todo su campo en aquella tierra de culiacan
hasta tanto que como yban con el hombres poderosos que tenian
repartimientos en tierra de mexico mudaron las boluntades y de cada
dia se querian boluer fuera de esto Nuño de guzman tubo nueua como
auia benido de españa el marques del ualle don fernando cortes con el
nueuo titulo y grandes fabores y prouinçiones y como nuño de guzman
en el tiempo que fue presidente le ubiese sido emulo muy grande y
hecho muchos daños en sus haciendas y en las de sus amigos temiose
que don fer^{do} cortes se quisiese pagar en otras semejantes obras
o peores y determino de poblar aquella uilla de culiacan y dar la
buelta con la demas gente sin que ubiese mas efecto su jornada y de
buelta poblo a xalisco que es la çiudad de conpostela y atonala que
llaman guadalaxara y esto es agora el nuebo reyno de galicia la guia
que lleuaban que se decia texo murio en estos comedios y ansi se
quedo el nombre de estas siete ciudades y la demanda de ellas hasta
oy dia que no sean descubierto.
_Capitulo segundo como bino a ser gouernador françisco uasques
coronado y la segunda relaçion que dio cabeça de uaca._
pasados que fueron ocho años que esta jornada se auia hecho por Nuño
de guzman abiendo sido preso por un juez de residençia que uino de
españa para el efecto con prouiçiones bastantes llamado el lic^{do}
diego de la torre que despues muriendo este juez que ya tenia en
si la gouernaçion de aquella tierra el buen don Antonio de mendoça
uisorey de la nueua españa puso por gouernador de aquela gouernaçion
a francisco uasques de coronado un cauallero de Salamanca que a
la sacon era casado en la çiudad de mexico cõ una señora hija de
Alonso de estrada thesorero y gouernador que auia sido de mexico uno
por quien el bulgo dice ser hijo del rey catholico don fernando y
muchos lo afirman por osa sierta digo que a la sacon que francisco
uasques fue probeydo por gouernador andaba por uisitador general de
la nueua españa por donde [p418] tubo amistad y conuersaçiones de
muchas personas nobles que despues le siguieron en la jornada que
hiço aconteçio a la saçon que llegaron a mexico tres españoles y
un negro que auian por nombre cabeça de uaca y dorantes y castillo
maldonado los quales se auian perdido en la armada que metio pamfilo
de narbaes en la florida y estos salieron por la uia de culiacan
abiendo atrabesado la tierra de mar a mar como lo beran los que lo
quisieren saber por un tratado que el mismo cabeça de uaca hiço
dirigido a el principe don phelipe que agora es rey de españa y
señor n[~r]o y estos dieron notiçia a el buen don Antonio de mendoça
en como por las tierras que atrabesaron tomaron lengua y notiçia
grande de unos poderosos pueblos de altos de quatro y çinco doblados
y otras cosas bien diferentes de lo que pareçio por berdad esto
comunico el buen uisorey con el nuebo gouernador que fue causa que
se apresurase dexando la bisita que tenia entre manos y se partiese
para su gouernaçion lleuando consigo el negro que auia bendido con
los tres frayles de la orden do san fran^{co} el uno auia por nombre
fray marcos de niça theologo y saserdote y el otro fray daniel lego
y otro fray Antonio de santa maria y como llego a la prouincia de
culiacan luego despidio a los frayles ya nonbrados y a el negro que
auia por nombre esteuan para que fuesen en demanda de aquella tierra
porque el fray marcos de niça se prefirio de llegar a berla por que
este frayle se auia hallado en el peru a el tienpo que don pedro de
albarado passo por tierra ydos los dichos frayles y el negro esteuan
pareçe que el negro no yba a fabor de los frayles porque lleuaba las
mugeres que le daban y adquiria turquesas y haçia balumen de todo y
aun los indios de aquellos poblados por do yban entendiasen mejor con
el negro como ya otra uez lo auian uisto que fue causa que lo ubieron
hechar delante que fuese descubriendo y pacificando para que quando
ellos llegasen no tubiesen mas que entender de en tomar la relacion
de lo que buscauan.
_Capitulo terçero como mataron los de cibola a el negro esteuan y
fray marcos bolbio huyendo._
apartado que se ubo el esteuan de los dichos frayles presumio ganar
en todo reputacion y honra y que se le atribuyese la osadia y
atrebimiento de auer el solo descubierto[93] aquellos poblados de
altos tan nombrados por aquella tierra y lleuando consigo de aquellas
gentes que le seguian procuro de atrabesar los despoblados que ay
entre cibola y lo poblado que auia andado y auiase les adelantado
tanto a los frayles que quando ellos llegaron a chichieticale ques
principio del despoblado ya el estaua a cibola que son ochenta
leguas de despoblado que ay desde culiacan a el principio del
despoblado docientas y ueinte leguas y en el despoblado ochenta que
son trecientas diez mas o menos digo ansi que llegado que fue el
negro esteuan a cibola llego cargado de grande numero de turquesas
que le auian dado y algunas mugeres hermosas que le auian dado y
lleuauan los indios que le acompañauan y le seguian [p419] de todo
lo poblado que auia pasado los quales en yr debajo de su amparo
creyan poder atrabesar toda la tierra sin riesgo ninguno pero como
aquellas gentes de aquella tierra fuesen de mas raçon que no los que
seguian a el esteuan aposentaronlo en una sierta hermita que tenian
fuera del pueblo y los mas uiejos y los que gouernauan oyeron sus
raçones y procuraron saber la causa de su benida en aquella tierra
y bien informados por espaçio de tres dias entraron en su consulta
y por la notiçia quel negro les dio como atras uenian dos hombres
blancos embiados por un gran señor que eran entendidos en las cosas
del cielo y que aquellos los uenian a industriar en las cosas diuinas
consideraron que debia ser espia o guia de algunas naçiones que los
querian yr a conquistar porque les pareçio desbario decir que la
tierra de donde uenia era la gente blanca siendo el negro y enbiado
por ellos y fueron a el y como despues de otras raçones le pidiese
turquesas y mugeres parecioles cosa dura y determiaronse a le matar
y ansi lo hicieron sin que matasen a nadie de los que con el yban y
tomaron algunos muchachos y a los de mas que serian obra de sesenta
personas dexaron bolber libres a sus tierras pues como estos que
boluian ya huyendo atemorisados llegasen a se topar y ber con los
frayles en el despoblado sesenta leguas de çibola y les diesen la
triste nueba pusieron los en tanto temor que aun no se fiando de
esta gente con aber ydo en compañia del negro abrieron las petacas
que lleuaban y les repartieron quanto trayan que no les quedo salbo
los hornamentos de deçir misa y de alli dieron la buelta sin ber la
tierra mas de lo que los indios les deçian antes caminaban dobladas
jornadas haldas en sinta.
_Capitulo quarto como el buen don Antonio de mendoça hiço jornada
para el descubrimiento de Cibola._
despues que francisco uasques coronado ubo embiado a fray marcos de
niça y su conpaña en la demanda ya dicha quedando el en culiacan
entendio en negocios que conbenian a su gouernaciō tubo sierta
relaçion de una prouinçia que corria en la trabesia de la tierra de
culiacan a el norte que se decia topira y luego salio para la ir a
descubrir con algunos conquistadores y gente de amigos y su yda hiço
poco efecto por que auian de atrabesar las cordilleras y fue les
muy dificultoso y la notiçia no la hallaron tal ni muestra de buena
tierra y ansi dio la buelta y llegado que fue hallo a los frayles
que auian acabado de llegar y fueron tantas las grandeças que les
dixeron de lo que el esteuan el negro auia descubierto y lo que ellos
oyeron a los indios y otras noticias de la mar del sur y de ylas que
oyeron deçir y de otras riquesas quel gouernador sin mas se detener
se partio luego para la ciudad de mexico lleuando a el fray marcos
consigo para dar notiçia de ello a el bisorey en grandesiendo las
cosas con no las querer comunicar con nadie, sino de baxo de puridad
y grande secreto a personas particula res y llegados a mexico y
bisto con don Antonio de mendoça luego se començo a publicar como ya
se abian descubierto las siete çiudades [p420] que Nuño de guzman
buscaba y haçer armada y portar gente para las yr a conquistar
el buen birrey tubo tal orden con los frayles de la orden de san
françisco que hicieron a fray marcos prouincial que fue causa que
andubiesen los pulpitos de aquella orden llenos de tantas marabillas
y tan grãdes que en pocos dias se juntaron mas de tresientos hombres
españoles y obra de ochocientos indios naturales de la nue (ua)
españa y entre los españoles honbres de gran calidad tantos y tales
que dudo en indias aber se juntado tan noble gente y tanta en tam
pequeño numero como fueron treçientos hombres y de todos ellos
capitan general francisco uasques coronado gouernador de la nueba
galiçia por aber sido el autor de todo hico todo esto el buen uirey
don Antonio porque a la saçon era fran^{co} uasques la persona mas
allegada a el por pribança porque tenia entendido era hombre sagaz
abil y de buen consejo allende de ser cauallero como lo era tenido
tubiera mas atençion y respecto a el estado en que lo ponia y cargo
que llebaua que no a la renta que dexaba en la nueba españa o a lo
menos a la honra que ganaba y auia de ganar lleuando tales caualleros
de baxo de su bando pero no le salio ansi como a delante se bera
en el fin de este tratado ni el supo conserbar aquel estado ni la
gouernacion que tenia.
_Capitulo quinto que trata quienes fueron por capitanes a cibola._
ya quel bisorey don Antonio de mendoça bido la muy noble gente que
tenia junta y con los animos y uoluntad [~q] todos se le auian
ofreçido cognoçiendo el ualor de sus personas a cada uno de ellos
quisiera haçer capitan de un exerçito pero como el numero de todos
era poco no pudo lo que quisiera y ansi ordeno las conductas y
capitanias que le pareçio porque yendo por su mano ordenado era tam
obedecido y amado que nadie saliera de su mandado despues que todos
entẽdieron quien era su general hiço alferez general a don pedro
de touar cauallero mançebo hijo de don fernando de tobar guarda y
mayordomo mayor de la reyna doña Juana n[~r]a natural señora que
sea en gloria y maestre de campo a lope de samaniego alcayde de
las ataraçanas de mexico cauallero para el cargo bien sufiçiente
capitanes fueron don tristan de arellano don pedro de gueuara hijo de
don juan de gueuara y sobrino del conde de oñate don garçi lopes de
cardenas don rodrigo maldonado cuñado del duque del infantado diego
lopes ueinte y quatro de seuilla diego gutierres de la caualleria
todos los demas caualleros yban debajo del guion del general por
ser peronas señaladas y algunos de ellos fueron despues capitanes y
permanecieron en ello por ordenaçion del birey y otros por el general
francisco uasques nombrare algunos de aquellos de que tengo memoria
que fueron françisco de barrio nuebo un cauallero de granada juan de
saldibar françisco de auando juan gallego y melchior dias capitan y
alcalde mayor que auia sido de culiacan, [~q] aunque no era cauallero
mereçia de su persona el cargo que tubo los demas caualleros que
fueron sobresalientes fueron don Alonso manrique de lara don lope de
urrea cauallero aragones gomes suares de figueroa luis ramires de
uargas [p421] juan de sotomayor francisco gorbalan el factor riberos
y otros caualleros de que agora no me acuerdo y hombres de mucho
calidad capitan de infanteria fue pablo de melgosa burgales y de la
artilleria hernando de albarado cauallero montañes digo que con el
tiempo e perdido la memoria de muchos buenos hijos dalgo que fuera
bueno que los nombrara por que se biera y cognoçiera la racon que
tengo de decir que auia para esta jornada la mas lucida gente que sea
juntado en indias para yr en demandas de tierras nuebras sino fueran
desdichados en lleuar capitan que dexaba rentas en la nueba españa y
muger moça noble y generosa que no fueron pocas espuelas para lo que
bino a haçer.
_Capitulo sexto como se juntaron en conpostela todas las capitanias y
salieron en orden para la jornada._
hecho y ordenado por el birey don Antonio de mendoça lo que abemos
dicho y hechas las capitanias o capitanes dio luego a la gente
de guerra socorros de la caxa de su magestad a las personas mas
menesterosas y por pareçerle que si salia el campo formado desde
mexico haria algunos agrauios por las tierras de los amigos ordeno
que se fuesen a juntar a la ciudad de conpostela cabeça del nuebo
reyno de galicia ciento y diez leguas de mexico para que desde alli
ordenadamente comencasen su jornada lo que paso en este uiaje no
ay para que dar de ello relaçion pues al fin todos se juntaron en
conpostela el dia de carnes tollendas del año de quarenta y uno y
como ubo hechado toda la gente de Mexico dio orden en como pedro de
alarcon saliese con dos nauios que estaban en el puerto de la nabidad
en la costa del sur y fuese a el puerto de xalisco a tomar la ropa
de los soldados que no la pudiesen lleuar para que costa a costa
fuese tras del campo porque se tubo entendido que segun la notiçia
auian de ir por la tierra çerca de la costa de el mar y que por los
rios sacariamos los puertos y los nauios siempre tendrian noticia
del campo lo qual despues pareçio ser falso y ansi se perdio toda la
ropa o por mejor deçir la perdio cuya era como adelante se dira asi
que despachado y concluido todo el uisorey se partio para conpostela
acompañado de muchos caualleros y ricos honbres y tubo el año nuebo
de quarenta y uno en pasquaro que es cabeça del obispado de mechuacan
y de alli con mucha alegria y placer y grandes reçebimientos atrabeso
toda la tierra de la nueba españa hasta Conpostela que son como tengo
dicho çiento y diez leguas adonde hallo toda la gente junta y bien
tratada y hospedada por christobal de oñate que era a la saçon la
persona que tenia enpeso aquella gouernaçion y la auia sostenido y
era capitan de toda aquella tierra puesto que francisco uasques era
gouernador y llegado con mucha alegria de todos hiço alarde de la
gēte que embiaba y hallo toda la que abemos señalado y repartio las
capitanias y esto hecho otro dia despues de misa a todos juntos ansi
capitanes como a soldados el uisorey les hico una muy eloquente y
breue oraçion encargandoles la fidelidad [=q] debian a su general
dandoles bien a entender el probecho que de haçer aquella jornada
podia redundar a [p422] si a la conuerçion de aquellas gentes como
en pro de los que conquistasen aquella tierra y el seruicio de su
magestad y la obligaçion en que le auian puesto para en todo tiempo
los faborecer y socorrer y acabada tomo juramento sobre los euãgelios
en un libro misala todos generalmente asi a capitanes como a soldados
aunque por orden que siguirian a su general y harian en aquella
jornada y obedecerian todo aquello que por el les fuese mandado lo
qual despues cumplieron fielmente como se bera y esto hecho otro dia
salio el campo con sus banderas tendidas y el uirey don Antonio le
acompaño dos jornados y de alli se despidio dando la buelta para la
nueua españa aconpañado de sus amigos.
_Capitulo septimo como el campo llego a chiametla y mataron a el
maestre de canpo y lo que mas acaeçio hasta llegar a culiacan._
partido que fue el uirey don Antonio el campo camino por sus jornadas
y como era forçado lleuar cada uno sus aberes en cauallos y no todos
los sabian aparejar y los cauallos salian gordos y holgados en las
primeras jornadas ubo grande dificultad y trabajo y muchos dexaron
muchas preseas y las daban de gracia a quien las queria por no las
cargar y a el fin la necesidad que es maestra con el tiempo los hiço
maestros donde se pudierã ber muchos caualleros tornados harrieros y
que el que se despreciaba del officio no era tenido por hombre y con
estos trabajos que entonçes tubieron por grandes llego el canpo en
chiametla donde por fastar bastimentos fue forçado de tenerse alli
algunos dias en los quales el maestre de campo lope de samaniego con
sierta compañia fue a buscar bastimentos y en un pueblo por entrar
indiscretamente por un arcabuco en pos de los enemigos lo flecharon
por un ojo y le pasaron el celebro de que luego murio alli y
flecharon otros cinco o seis compañeros y luego como fue muerto diego
lopes ueinte y quatro de seuilla recogio la gente y lo embio a haçer
saber a el general y puso guarda en el pueblo y en los bastimentos
sabido dio gran turbacion en el campo y fue enterrado y hicieron
algunas entradas de dõde truxeron bastimentos y algunos presos de
los naturales y se ahorcaron a lo menos los que parecieron ser de a
quella parte a do murio el maestre de campo.
parece que a el tiempo que el general françisco uasques partio de
culiacan con fray marcos a dar la noticia ya dicha a el bisorey
don Antonio de mendoça auia dexado ordenado que saliese el capitan
melchior dias y juan de saldibar con una doçena de buenos hombres
de culiacan en demada de lo que fray marcos auia bisto y oydo los
quales salieron y fueron hasta chichilticale que es principio del
despoblado doçientas y ueinte leguas de Culiacan y no hallaron
cosa de tomo bolbieron y a el tiempo que el campo queria salir de
chiametla llegaron y hablaron a el general y por secreto que se trato
la mala nueua luego suena ubo algunos dichos que aunque se doraban no
dexaban de dar lustre de lo que eran fray marcos de niça cognociendo
la turbaçion de algunos deshaçia aquellos nublados prometiendo ser
lo que bieron lo bueno y que el yba alli y poruia el campo en tierra
donde hinchesen las manos y con [p423] esto se aplaco y mostraron
buen semblante y de alli camino el campo hasta llegar a culiacan
haçiendo algunas entradas en tierra de guerra por tomar bastimentos
llegaron a dos leguas de la uilla de culiacan uispera de pasqua de
resureçion a donde salieron los uecinos a reçebir a su gouernador y
le rogaron no entrase en la uilla hasta el segundo dia de pasqua.
_Capitulo otauo como el campo entro en la uilla de culiacan y el
recebimiento que se hiço y lo que mas acaeçio hasta la partida._
como fuese segundo dia de pasqua de resureçion el campo salio de
mañana para entrar en la uilla y en la entrada en un campo esconbrado
los de la uilla ordenados anso de guerra a pie y a cauallo por sus
exquadrones teniendo asẽtada su artilleria que eran siete pieças de
bronce salieron en muestra de querer defender la uilla estaban con
ellos alguna parte de n[=r]os soldados n[~r]o campo por la misma
orden comencaron con ellos una escaramuça y ansi fueron romprendo
despues de aber jugado el artilleria de ambas partes de suerte que
les fue tomada la uilla por fuerça de armas que fue una alegre
demostraçion y reçebimiento aun que no para el artillero que se llebo
una mano por aber mandado poner fuego antes que acabase de sacar el
atacador de un tiro tomada la uilla fueron luego bien aposentados y
hospedados por los ueçinos que como eran todos hombres muy honrados
en sus propias posadas metieron a todos los caualleros y personas le
calidad que yban en el campo aunque auia aposento hecho para todos
fuera de la uilla y no les fue algunos uecinos mal gratificado este
hospedaje por que como todos benian aderesados de ricos atabios y
de alli auian de sacar bastimentos en sus bestias y de fuerça auian
de dejar sus preseas muchos quisieron antes dar las a sus huespedes
que no ponerlas a la bentura de la mar ni que se las llebase los
nabios que auian benido por la costa siguiendo el campo para tomar
el fardaje como ya se dixo ansi que llegados y bien aposentados en
la uilla el general por orden del bisorey don Antonio puso alli por
capitan y tiniente a fernandarias de saabedra tio de hernandarias
de saabedra conde del castellar que fue alguaçil mayor de seuilla y
alli reposo el canpo algunos dias porque los ueçinos auian cogido
aquel año muchos bastimentos y partieron con la gente de n[~r]o campo
con mucho amor especial cada uno con sus huespedes de manera que no
solamente ubo abudançia para gastar alli mas aun ubo para sacar que a
el tiempo de la partida salieron mas de seiçientas bestias cargadas y
los amigos y seruiçio que fueron mas de mill personas. pasados quinse
dias el general ordeno de se partir delante con hasta sinquenta de
acauallo y pocos peones y la mayor parte de los amigos y dexar el
campo que le siguiese desde a quinse dias y dexo por su teniente a
don tristan de arellano.
en este comedio antes que se partiese el general aconteçio un caso
donoso y yo por tal lo quento y fue que un soldado mançebo que se
decia trugillo fingio aber bisto una biçion estando bañandose en el
rio y façiendo del disfigurado fue traydo ante el general adonde
dio a [p424] entender que le auia dicho el demonio que matase a el
general y lo casaria con doña beatris su muger y le daria grandes
thesoros y otras cosas bien donosas por donde fray marcos de niça
hiço algunos sermones atribuyendolo a que el demonio con embidia del
bien que de aquella jornada auia de resultar lo queria desbaratar por
aquella uia y no solamente paro en esto sino que tambien los frayles
que yban en la jornada lo escribieron a sus conbentos y fue causa que
por los pulpitos de mexico se dixesen hartas fabulas sobre ello.
El general mando quedar a el truxillo en aquella uilla y que no
hiciese la jornada que fue lo que el pretendio quando hiço aquel
embuste segun despues pareçio por berdad el general salio con la
gente ya dicha siguiendo su jornada y despues el campo como se dira.
_Capitulo nueue como el canpo salio de culiacan y llego el general a
çibola y el campo a señora y lo que mas acaeçio._
el general como esta dicho salio del ualle de culiacan en seguimiento
de su uiaje algo a la ligera lleuando consigo los frayles que ninguno
quiso quedar con el campo y a tres jornados un frayle llamado fray
Antonio uictoria se quebro un pierna y este frayle era de misa y para
que se curase lo bolbieron del camino y despues fue con el campo que
no fue poca consolaçion para todos el general y su gente atrabesaron
la tierra sin contraste que todo lo que hallaron de pax porque los
indios cognoçian a fray marcos y algunos de los que auian ydo con
el capitan melchior dias quando auia ydo el y juan de saldibar a
descubrir como el general ubo atrabesado lo poblado y llegado a
chichilticale principio del despoblado y no bio cosa buena no dexo
de sentir alguna tristesa porque aunque la notiçia de lo de adelante
era grande no auia quien lo ubiese uisto sino los indios que fueron
con el negro que ya los auian tomado en algunas mentiras por todos
se sintio mucho ber que la fama de chichilticale se resumia en una
casa sin cubierta aruynada puesto que pareçia en otro tiempo aber
sido casa fuerte en tiempo que fue poblada y bien se cognoçia ser
hecha por gentes estrangeras puliticas y guerras benidas de lejos era
esta casa de tierra bermeja desde alli prosiguieron el despoblado
y llegaron en quinse dias a ocho leguas de çibola a un rio que por
yr el agua turbia y bermeja le llamaron el rio bermejo en este rio
se hallaron barbos como en españa a qui fue adonde se bieron los
primeros indios de aquella tierra que fueron dos que huyeron y fueron
a dar mandado y otro dia a dos leguas del pueblo siendo de noche
algunos indios en parte segura dieron una grita que aunque la gente
estaba aperçebida se alteraron algunos en tanta manera que ubo quien
hecho la silla a el rebes y estos fueron gente nueba que los diestros
luego caualgaron y corrieron el campo los indios huyeron como quien
sabia la tierra que ninguno pudo ser abido.
otro dia bien en orden entraron por la tierra poblada y como bieron
el primer pueblo que fue çibola fueron tantas las maldiciones
que algunos hecharon a fray marcos quales dios no permita le
comprehendan. [p425]
el es un pueblo pequeño ariscado y apeñuscado que de lejos ay
estancias en la nueua españa que tienen mejor aparençia es pueblo de
hasta doçientos hombres de guerra de tres y de quatro altos y las
casas chicas y poco espaciosas no tienen patios un patio sirue a un
barrio auia se juntado alli la gente de la comarca porque es una
prouinçia de siete pueblos donde ay otros harto mayores y mas fuertes
pueblos que no çibola estas gentes esperarõ en el campo hordenados
con sus exquadrones a uista del pueblo y como a los requerimientos
que le hicieron con las lenguas no quisieron dar la pax antes se
mostraban brauos diese santiago en ellos y fueron desbaratados luego
y despues fueron a tomar el pueblo que no fue poco dificultoso que
como tenian la entrada angosta y torneada a el entrar deribaron a el
general con una gran piedra tendido y ansi le mataran sino fuera por
don garci lopes de cardenas y hernando de albarado que se deribaron
sobre el y le sacaron recibiendo ellos los golpes de piedras que
no fueron pocos pero como a la primera furia de los españoles no
ay resistençia en menos de una ora se entro y gano el pueblo y se
descubrieron los bastimentos que era de lo que mas necesidad auia y
de ay adelante toda la prouincia bino de pax.
el campo quo auia quedado a don tristan de arellano partio en
seguimiento del general cargados todos de bastimentos las lanças
en los onbros todos a pie por sacar cargados los cauallos y no con
pequeño trabajo de jornadas en jornadas llegaron a una prouinçia
que cabeça de uaca puso por nombre coraçones a causa que alli les
ofrecieron muchos coraçones de animales y luego la començo a poblar
una uilla y poner le nombre sant hieronimo de los coraçones y luego
la començo a poblar y bisto que no se podia sustentar la paso despues
a un ualle que llamã persona digo señora y los españoles le llamaron
señora y ansi le llemare de aqui adelante desde alli se fue a buscar
el puerto el rio abajo a la costa de la mar por saber de los nabios y
no los hallaron don rodrigo maldonado que yba por caudillo en busca
de los nabios de buelta truxo consigo un indio tam grande y tam alto
que el mayor honbre y tan alto quel mayor hombre del campo no le
llegaua a el pecho deciase que en a quella costa auia otros indios
mas altos alli reposaron las aguas y despues paso el campo y la
uilla señora por que auia en aquella comarca bastimentos para poder
aguardar mandado del general.
mediado el mes de otubre melchior dias y juan gallego capitanes
binieron de çibola el juan gallego para nueba españa y melchior dias
para quedar por capitan en la nueba uilla de los coraçones con la
gente que alli quedase y para que fuese a descubrir los nabios por
aquella costa.
_Capitulo deçimo como el campo salio de la uilla de señora quedando
la uilla poblada y como llego a çibola y lo que le a uino en el
camino a el capitan melchior dias yendo en demanda de los nabios y
como descubrio el rio del tison._
luego como fue llegado en la uilla de señora melchior dias y juan
gallego se publico la partida del campo para cibola y como auia de
[p426] quedar en aquella uilla melchior dias por capitan con ochenta
honbres y como juan gallego yba con mensaje para la nueba españa a
el bisorey y llebaba en su compañia a fray marcos que no se tubo por
seguro quedar en cibola biendo que auia salido su relaçion falsa
en todo porque ni se hallaron los reynos [~q] deçia ni ciudades
populosas ni riquesas de oro ni pedreria rica que se publico ni
brocados ni otras cosas que se dixeron por los pulpitos pues luego
que esto se publico se repartio la gente que auia de quedar y los
demas cargaron de bastimentos y por su orden mediado setiembre se
partieron la uia de çibola siguiendo su general don tristan de
arellano quedo en esta nueba uilla con la gente de menos estofa y
asi nunca dexo de aber de alli adelante motines y contrastes porque
como fue partido el canpo el capitan melchoir dias tomo uiente y
çinco hombres de los mas escogidos dexando en su lugar a un diego
de alcaraz hombre no bien acondicionado para tener gente debaxo de
su mando y el salio en demanda de la costa de la mar entre norte
y poniente con guias y abiendo caminado obra de çiēto y sinquenta
leguas dieron en una prouinçia de gētes demasiadamente de altos y
membrudos ansi como gigantes aunque gente desnuda y que hacia su
abitaçion en choças de paja largas a manera de sa hurdas metidas
debaxo de tierra que no salia sobre la tierra mas de la paja entraban
por la una parte de largo y salian por la otra dormian en una chosa
mas de cien personas chicos y grandes lleuaban de peso sobre las
cabeças quando se cargauan mas de tres y de quatro quintales biose
querer los n[=r]os traer un madero para el fuego y no lo poder traer
seis hombres y llegar uno de aquellos y leuantarlo en los braços y
ponerselo el solo en la cabeça y lleuallo muy liuianamente.
comen pan de mais cosidoso el rescoldo de la senisa tam grandes como
hogasas de castilla grandes. para caminar de unas partes a otras por
el gran frio sacan un tison en una mano con que se ban calentãdo la
otra y el cuerpo y ansi lo ban trocando a trechos y por esto a un
gran rio que ba por aquella tierra lo nōbran el rio del tison es
poderoso rio y tiene de boca mas de dos leguas por alli tenia media
legua de trabesia alli tomo lengua el capitā como los nabios auian
estado tres jornadas de alli por bajo hacia la mar y llegados adonde
los nabios estubieron que era mas de quinçe leguas el rio arriba de
la boca del puerto y hallaron en un arbol escripto aqui llego alarcon
a el pie de este arbol ay cartas sacaronse las cartas y por ellas
bieron el tiempo que estubieron aguardando nuebas de el campo y como
alarcon auia dado la buelta desde alli para la nueba españa con los
nabios porque no podia correr adelante porque aquella mar era ancõ
que tornaba a bolber sobre la isla del marques que diçen California y
dieron relaçion como la california no era isla sino punto de tierra
firme de la buelta de aquel ancon.
uisto esto por el capitan torno a bolber el rio arriba sin ber la
mar por buscar bado para pasar a la otra banda para seguir la otra
costa y como andubieron cinco o seis jornadas parecioles podrian
pasar con balsas y para esto llamaron mucha gente de los de la tierra
los quales [p427] querian ordenar de hacer salto en los n[=r]os y
andaban buscando ocaçion oportuna y como bieron que querian pasar
acudieron a haçer las balsas con toda prestesa y diligençia por
tomar los ansi en el agua y ahogarlos o dibidos de suerte que no se
pudiesen faboreçer ni ayudar y en este comedio que las balsas se
hacian un soldado que auia ydo a campear bido en un mõte atrabesar
gran numero de gente armada que aguardaban a que pasase la gente dio
de ello notiçia y secretamente se ençerro un indio para saber de el
la berdad y como le apretasen dixo toda la orden que tenian ordenada
para quando pasasen [~q] era que como ubiesen pasado parte de los
n[=r]os y parte fuesen por el rio y parte quedasen por pasar que
los de las balsas procurasen a hogar los que lleuaban y las demas
gente saliese a dar en ambas partes de la tierra y si como tenian
cuerpos y fuerças tubieran discriçion y esfuerço ellos salierã con
su empresa. bisto su intento el capitan hiço matar secretamente el
indio que confeso el hecho y aquella noche se hecho en el rio con una
pesga porque los indios no sintiesen que eran sentidos y como otra
dia sintieron el reçelo de los n[=r]os mostraronse de guerra hechãdo
roçiadas de flechas pero como los cauallos los començaron a alcançar
y las lanças los lastimaban sin piadad y los arcabuçeros tambien
hacian buenos tiros ubieron de dexar el campo y tomar el monte hasta
que no pareçio honbre de ellos bino por alli y ansi paso la gente a
buen recaudo siendo los amigos balseadores y españoles a las bueltas
pasando los cauallos a la par de las balsas donde los dexaremos
caminando.
por contar como fue el campo que caminaba para çibola que como yba
caminando por su orden y el general lo auia dexado todo de pax por
do quiera hallaban la gente de la tierra alegre sin temer y que se
dexaban bien mandar y en una prouinçia que se diçe uacapan auia
gran cantidad de tunas que los naturales haçen conserua de ellas en
cantidad y de esta conserua presentaron mucha y como la gente del
campo comio de ella todos cayeron como amodoridos con dolor de cabeça
y fiebre de suerte que si los naturales quisieran hicieran gran
daño en la gente duro esto ueinti y quatro oras naturales despues
que salieron de alli caminando llegaron a chichilticale despues que
salierõ de alli un dia los de la guardia bieron pasar una manada de
carneros y yo los bi y los segui eran de grande cuerpo en demasia el
pelo largo los cuernos muy gruesos y grandes para correr enhiestran
el rostro y hechā los cuernos sobre el lomo corren mucho por tierra
agra que no los pudimos alcançar y los ubimos de dexar.
entrando tres jornadas por el despoblado en la riuera de un rio
que esta en unas grandes honduras de barrancas se hallo un cuerno
quel general despues de aber lo uisto lo dexo alli para que los de
su canpo le biesen que tenia de largo una braça y tam gordo por el
naçimiento como el muslo de un hombre en la faieron pareçia mas ser
de cabron que de otro animal fue cosa de ber pasando adelante y a
quel canpo yba una jornada de çibola començo sobre tarde un gran
torbellino de ayre frigidissimo y luego se signio gran lubia de
niebe que fue harta [p428] con friçion para la gente de seruiçio
el campo camino hasta llegar a unos peñascos de socareñas donde se
llego bien noche y con harto riesgo de los amigos que como eran de la
nueba españa y la mayor parte de tierras calientes sintieron mucho
la frialdad de aquel dia tanto que ubo harto que haçer otro dia en
los reparar y llebar a cauallo yendo los soldados a pie y con este
trabajo llego el campo a çibola donde los aguardaba su general hecho
el aposento y alli se torno a jũtar aunque algunos capitanes y gente
faltaua que auian salido a descubrir otras prouinçias.
_Capitulo onçe como don pedro de touar descubrio a tusayan o tutahaco
y don garci lopes de cardenas bio el rio del tison y lo que mas
acaecion._
en el entre tanto que las cosas ya dichas pasaron el general franco
uasques como estaba en cibola de pax procuro saber de los de la
tierra que prouincias le cayan en comarca y que ellos diesen noticia
a sus amigos y uecinos como eran benidos a su tierra cristianos y que
no querian otra cosa salbo ser sus amigos y aber notiçia de buenas
tierras que poblar y que los biniesen aber y comunicar y ansi lo
hiçieron luego saber en aquellas partes que se comunicaban y trataban
con ellos y dieron notiçia de una prouincia de siete pueblos de su
misma calidad aunque estaban algo discordes que no se trataban con
ellos esta prouincia se diçe tusayan esta de cibola ueinte y çinco
leguas son pueblos de altos y gente belicosa entre ellos.
el general auia embiado a ellos a don pedro de touar con desisiete
hombres de a cauallo y tres o quatro peones fue con ellos un fray
juan de padilla frayle françisco que en su mosedad auia sido hombre
belicoso llegados que fueron entraron por la tierra tam secretamente
que no fueron sentidos de ningun honbre la causa fue que entre
prouincia y prouinçia no ay poblados ni caserias ni las gentes salen
de sus pueblos mas de hasta sus heredades en espeçial en aquel tienpo
que tenian noticia de que çibola era ganada por gentes ferosissimas
que andaban en unos animales que comian gentes y entre los que no
auian bisto cauallos era esta notiçia tam grande que les ponia
admiraçion y tanto que la gente de los n[=r]os llego sobre noche y
pudieron llegar a encubrirse se debajo de la barranca del pueblo y
estar alli oyendo hablar los naturales en sus casas pero como fue de
mañana fueron descubiertos y se pusieron en orden los de la tierra
salieron a ellos bien ordenados de arcos y rodelas y porras de madera
en ala sin se desconsertar y ubo lugar que las lenguas hablasen con
ellos y se les hiçiese requerimientos por ser gente bien entendida
pero con todo esto hacian rayas requiriendo que no pasasen los
nuestros aquellas rayas hacia sus pueblos que fuesen porte pasaronse
algunas rayas andando hablando con ellos bino a tanto que uno se
ellos de desmesuro y con una porra dio un golpe a un cauallo en las
camas del freno. el fray juan enojado del tiempo que se mal gastaba
con ellos dixo a el capitan en berdad yo no se a que benimos aca
bisto esto dieron santiago y fue tam supito que derribaron muchos
indios y luego fueron desbaratados y huyeron a el pueblo y a [p429]
otros no les dieron ese lugar fue tanta la prestesa con que del
pueblo salieron de pax con presentes que luego se mando recoger la
gente y que no se hiciese mas dano el capitan y los que con el se
hallaron buscaron sitio para asentar su real çerca del pueblo y alli
se hallaron digo se apearon dõde llego la gente de pax diciendo que
ellos benian a dar la obidençia por toda la prouinçia y que los
queria tener por amigos que recibiesen aquel presente que les daban
que era alguna ropa de algodon aunque poca por no lo aber por aquella
tierra dieron algunos cueros adobados y mucha harina y piñol y mais y
abes de la tierra despues dieron algunas turquesas aunque pocas aquel
dia se recogio la gente de la tierra y binieron a dar la obidençia
y dieron abiertamente sus pueblos y que entrasen en ellos a tratar
comprar y bender y cambiar.
rigese como çibola por ayuntamiento de los mas ançianos tenien sus
gouernadores y capitanes seria lados aqui se tubo notiçia de un gran
rio y que rio abajo a algunas jornadas auia gẽtes muy grandes de
cuerpo grande.
como don pedro de touar no llebo mas comiçion bolbio de alli y dio
esta notiçia al general que luego despacho alla a don garçi lopes
de cardenas con hasta doçe conpañeros para ber este rio que como
llego a tusayan siendo bien reçebido y hospedado de los naturales le
dieron guias para proseguir sus jornadas y salieron de alli cargados
de bastimentos por que auian de yr por tierra despoblada hasta el
poblado que los indios deçian que eran mas de ueinte jornadas pues
como ubieron andado ueinte jornadas llegaron a las barrancas del rio
que puestos a el bado de ellas pareçia al otro bordo que auia mas
de tres o quatro leguas por el ayre esta tierra era alta y llena de
pinales bajos y encorbados frigidissima debajo del norte que con
ser en tiempo caliente no se podia biuir de frio en esta barranca
estubieron tres dias buscando la bajada para el rio que pareçia de
lo alto tendria una braçada de trabesia el agua y por la notiçia de
los indios tendria media legua de ancho fue la baxada cosa inposible
porque acabo de estos tres dias pareçiendo les una parte la menos
dificultosa se pusieron a abajar por mas ligeros el capitan melgosa
y un juan galeras y otro conpañero y tadaron baxando a bista de
ellos de los de arriba hasta que los perdieron de uista los bultos
quel biso no los alcansaba aber y bolbieron a ora de las quatro de
la tarde que no pudieron acabar de bajar por grandes dificultades
que hallaron porque lo que arriba parecia façil no lo era antes muy
aspero y agro dixeron que auian baxado la terçia parte y que desde
donde llegaron parecia el rio muy grande y que conforme a lo que
bieron era berdad tener la anchura que los indios deçian de lo alto
determinaban unos peñol sillas desgarados de la baranca a el parecer
de un estado de hombre juran los que baxaron que llegaron a ellos que
eran mayores que la torre mayor de seuilla no caminaron mas arrimados
a la barranca de el rio porque no auia agua y hasta alli cada dia se
desbiaban sobre tarde una legua o dos la tierra adentro en busca de
las aguas y como andubiesen otras quatro jornadas las guias dixeron
[p430] que no era posible pasar adelante porque no auia agua en tres
ni quatro jornadas porque ellos quando caminauan por alli sacaban
mugeres cargadas de agua en calabaços y que en aquellas jornadas
enterraban los calabaços del agua para la buelta y que lo que
caminaban los nuestros en dos dias lo caminaban ellos en uno.
este rio era el del tison mucho mas hacia los nacimientos del que
no por donde lo auian pasado melchior dias y su gente estos indios
eran de la misma calidad segun despues pareçio desde alli dieron la
buelta que no tubo mas efecto aquella jornado y de camino bieron un
descolgadero de aguas que baxaban de una peña y supieron de las guias
que unos rasimos que colgauan como sinos de christal era sal y fueron
alla y cogieron cantidad de ella que trugeron y repartieron quando
llegaron en çibola donde por escripto dieron quenta a su general
de lo que bieron por que auia ydo con don garçi lopes un pedro de
sotomayor que yba por coronista de el campo aquellos pueblos de
aquella prouinçia quedaron de paz que nunca mas se biçitaron ni se
supo ni procuro buscar otros poblados por aquella uia.
_Capitulo doçe como binieron a çibola gentes de cicuye a ber los
christianos y como fue her^{do} de aluarado a ber las uacas._
en el comedio que andaban en estos descubrimientos binieron a
çibola siertos indios de un pueblo que esta de alli setenta leguas
la tierra adentro al oriente de aquella prouincia a quien nombran
cicuye benia entre ellos un capitan a quien los n[=r]os pusieron por
nombre bigotes por que traya los mostachos largos era mançebo alto y
bien dispuesto y robusto de rostro este dixo al general como ellos
benian a le seruir por la noticia que les auian dado para que se les
ofreçiese por amigos y que si auian de yr por su tierra los tubiesen
por tales amigos hicieron sierto presente de cueros adobados y
rodelas y capaçetes fue reçebido con mucho amor y dio les el general
basos de bidrio y quẽtas margaritas y caxcabeles que los tubieron en
mucho como cosa nunca por ellos uista dieron notiçia de uacas que por
una que uno de ellos traya pintada en las carnes se saco ser uaca
que por los cueros no se podia entender a causa quel pelo era merino
y burelado tanto que no se podia saber de que eran aquellos cueros
ordeno el general que fuese con ellos hernando de aluarado con ueinte
compañeros y ochenta dias de comiçion y quien bolbiese a dar relaçion
de lo que hallauan este capitan aluarado prosiguio su jornada y a
çinco jornadas llegaron a un pueblo que estaba sobre un peñol deciase
acuco era de obra de doçientos hombres de guerra salteadores temidos
por toda la tierra y comarca el pueblo era fortissimo porque estaba
sobre la entrada del peñol que por todas partes era de peña tajada
en tan grande altura que tubiera un arcabuz bien que haçer en hechar
una pelota en lo alto del tenia una sola subida de escalera hecha a
mano que comencaba sobre un repecho que hacia aquella parte haçia la
tierra esta escalera era ancha de obra de doçientos escalones hasta
llegar a la peña auia otra luego [p431] angosta arrimada a la peña
de obra de cien escalones y en el remate de ella auian de subir por
la peña obra de tres estados por agugeros dõde hincaban las puntas de
los pies y se asian con las manos en lo alto auia una albarrada de
piedra seca y grãde que sin se descubrir podian derribar tanta que no
fuese poderoso ningun exerçito a les entrar en lo alto auia espaçio
pa sembrar y coger gran cantidad de maix y cisternas para recoger
nieue y agua esta gente salio de guerra abajo en lo llano y no
aprobechaba con ellos ninguna buena raçon haçiendo rayas y queriendo
defender que no las pasasen los nuestros y como bieron que se les dio
un apreton luego dieron la plaça digo la pax antes que se les hiçiese
daño hicieron sus serimonias de pax que llegar a los cauallos y
tomar del sudor y untarse con el y hacer cruçes con los dedos de las
manos y aun que la pax mas figa es trabarse las manos una con otra y
esta guardan estos inbiolablemente dieron gran cantidad de gallos de
papada muy grandes mucho pan y cueros de benado adobados y piñoles y
harina y mais.
de alli en tres jornadas llegaron a una prouinçia que se dice triguex
salio toda de pax biendo que yban con bigotes hombres temido por
todas aquellas prouinçias de alli embio aluarado a dar auiso a el
general para que se biniese a inbernar aquella tierra que no poco
se holgo el general con la nueba que la tierra yba mejorando de
alli a cinco jornadas llego a cicuye un pueblo muy fuerte de quatro
altos los del pueblo salieron a recebir a her^{do} de aluarado y
a su capitan con muestras de alegria y lo metieron en el pueblo
con atambores y gaitas que alli ay muchos a manera de pifanos y le
hiçieron grãde presente de ropa y turquesas que las ay en aquella
tierra en cantidad alli holgaron algunos dias y tomaron lengua de un
indio esclabo natural de la tierra de aquella parte que ba hacia la
florida ques la parte que don fer^{do} de soto descubrio en lo ultimo
la tierra adentro este dio notiçia que no debiera de grandes poblados
llebolo hernando de aluarado por guia para las uacas y fueron tantas
y tales cosas las que dixo de las riqueças de oro y plata que auia
en su tierra que no curaron de buscar las uacas mas de quanto bieron
algunas pocas luego bolbieron por dar a el general la rica notiçia
a el indio llamaron turco porque lo pareçia en el aspecto y a esta
sacon el general auia embiado a don garcia lopes de lopes de cardenas
a tiguex con gente a haçer el aposẽto para lleuar alli a inbernar
el campo que a la sason auia llegado de señora y quando hernando
de albarado llego a tiguex de buelta de cicuye hallo a don garcia
lopes de cardenas y fue neçesario que no pasase adelante y como los
naturales les inportase que biesen digo diesen a donde se aposentasen
los españoles fue les forçado desamparar un pueblo y recogerse ellos
a los otros de sus amigos y no llebaron mas que sus personas y ropas
y alli se descubrio notiçia de muchos pueblos debajo del norte que
creo fuera harto mejor seguir aquella uia que no a el turco que fue
causa de todo el mal suseso que ubo. [p432]
_Capitulo trece como el general llego con poca gente la uia de
tutahaco y dexo el campo a don tristan que lo llebo a tiguex._
todas estas cosas ya dichas auian pasado quando don tristan de
arellano llego de señora en cibola y como llego luego el general
por noticia que tenia de una prouincia de ocho pueblos tomo treinta
hombres de los mas descansados y fue por la uer y de alli tomar la
buelta de tiguex con buenas guias que lleuaba y dexo ordenado que
como descansase la gente ueinte dias don tristan de arellano saliese
con el campo la uia derecha de tiguex y asi siguio su camino donde
le acontecio que desde un dia [~q] salieron de un aposento hasta
terçero dia a medio dia que bieron una sierra nebada donde fueron
a buscar agua no la bebieron ellos ni sus cauallos ni el seruicio
pudo soportala por el gran frio aun que con gran trabajo en ocho
jornadas llegaron a tutahaco y alli se supo que aquel rio abaxo auia
otros pueblos estos salieron de pax son pueblos de terrados como
los de tiguex y del mismo traje salio el general de alli bisitando
toda la probinçia el rio arriba hasta llegar a tiguex donde hallo a
hernando de aluarado y a el turco que no pocas fueron las alegrias
que hiço con tam buena nueba porque deçia que auia en su tierra
un rio en tierra llana que tenia dos leguas de ancho a donde auia
peçes tan grandes como cauallos y gran numero de canoas grandissimas
de mas de a ueinte remeros por banda y que lleuaban uelas y que
los señores yban a popa sentados debajo de toldos y en la proa una
grande aguila de oro deçia mas quel señor de aquella tierra dormia la
siesta debajo de un grande arbol donde estaban colgados gran cantidad
de caxcabeles de oro que con el ayre le dabã solas deçia mas quel
comun seruicio de todos en general era plata labrada y los jarros
platos y escudillas eran de oro llamaba a el oro Acochis diose le
a el presente credito por la eficaçia con que lo deçia y porque le
enseñaron joyas de alaton y oliolo y deçia que no era oro y el oro y
la plata cognoçia muy bien y de los otros metales no hacia caso de
ellos. embio el general a hernando de albarado otra bez a cicuye a
pedir unos brasaletes de oro que deçia este turco que le tomaron a
el tiempo que lo prendieron albarado fue y los del pueblo recibieron
como amigo y como pidio los bracaletes negaron los por todas uias
diciendo quel turco los engañaba y que mentia el capitan aluarado
biendo que no auia remedio procuro que biniese a su tienda el capitan
bigotes y el gouernador y benidos prendio les en cadena los del
pueblo lo salieron de guerra hechando flechas y denostando a hernando
de albarado diçiendole de honbre que quebrantaba la fee y amistad
her^{do} de albarado partio con ellos a tiguex al general donde los
tubieron presos mas de seis meseis despues que fue el principio de
desacreditar la palabra que de alli adelante se les daba de paz como
se uera por lo que despues suçedio.
_Capitulo catorce como el campo salio de sibola para tiguex y lo que
les acaeçio en el camino con niebe._
ya abemos dicho como quando el general salio de çibola dexo mandado a
don tristan de arellano saliese desde a ueinte dias lo qual se hiço
[p433] que como bido que la gente estaba ya descansada y probeydos
de bastimentos y ganosos de salir en busca de su general salio con su
gente la buelta de tigues y el primero dia fueron a haçer aposento
a un pueblo de aquella probinçia el mejor mayor y mas hermoso solo
este pueblo tiene casas de siete altos que son casas particulares que
siruen en el pueblo como de fortaleças que son superiores a las otras
y salen por encima como torres y en ellas ay troneras y saeteras
para defender los altos por que como los pueblos no tienen calles y
los terrados son parejos y comunes anse de ganar primero los altos y
estas casas mayores es la defença de ellos alli nos començo a nebar y
faboreçiose la gente solas las aues digo alaues del pueblo que salen
a fuera unos como balcones con pilares de madera por baxo por que
comunmẽte se mandan por escaleras que suben a aquellos balcones que
por baxo no tienen puertas.
como dexo de nebar salío de alli el campo su camino y como ya el
tiempo lo lleuaba que era entrada de diçiembre en diez dias que tardo
el canpo no dexo de nebar sobre tarde y casi todas las noches de
suerte que para haçer los aposentos donde llegaban auian de apalancar
un coldo de niebe y mas no se bio camino empero las guias atino
guiaban cognociendo la tierra ay por toda la tierra sauinas y pinos
haciase de ello grandes hogueras quel humo y calor haçia a la niebe
que caya que se desbiase una braça y dos a la redonda del fuego era
nieue seca que aunque cay medio estado sobre el fardaje no mojaba y
con sacudilla caya y quedaba el hato linpio como caya toda la noche
cubria de tal manera el fardaje y los soldados en sus lechos que si
de supito alguien diera en el campo no biera otra cosa que montones
de niebe y los cauallos aunque fuese medio estado se soportaba y
antes daba calor a los que estaban debajo.
paso el campo por Acuco el gran peñol y como estaban de paz hiçieron
buen hospedaje dando bastimentos y abes aũque ella es poca gente
como tengo dicho a lo alto subieron muchos compañeros por lo ber y
los pasos de la peña con gran dificultad por no lo aber usado porque
los naturales lo suben y bajan tam liberalmente que ban cargados de
bastimentos y las mugeres con agua y parece que no tocan las manos y
los n[=r]os para subir auian de dar las armas los unos a los otros
por el paso arriba.
desde alli pasaron a tiguex donde fueron bien recebidos y aposentados
y la tam buena nueba del turco que no dio poca alegria segun alibiaba
los trabajos aunque quando el campo llego hallamos alcada aquella
tierra o probincia por ocaçion que para ello ubo que no fue pequeña
como se dira y auian ya los n[=r]os quemado un pueblo un dia antes
que el campo llegase y bolbian a el aposento.
_Capitulo quinçe como se alço tiguex y el castigo que en ellos ubo
sin que lo ubiese en el causador._
dicho sea como el general llego a tiguex donde hallo a don garci
lopes de cardenas y a hernando de albarado y como lo torno a embiar
a cicuye y truxo preso a el capitan bigotes y a el gouernador del
pueblo que [p434] era un hombre ançiano de esta pricion los tiguex
no sintieron bien juntose con esto [~q] el general quiso recoger
alguna ropa para repartir a la gente de guerra y para esto hiço
llamar a un indio principal de tiguex que ya se tenia con el mucho
conosimiento y conbersaçion a quien los nuestros llamauan juan aleman
por un juan aleman que estaba en mexico a quien deçian pareçer a
queste hablo el general diciendo que le probeyese de tresientas
pieças de ropa o mas que auia menester para dar a su gente el dixo
que aquello no era a el haçer lo sino a los gouernadores y que sobre
ello era menester entrar en consulta y repartirse por los pueblos
y que era menester pedir lo particularmente a cada pueblo por si
ordenolo ansi el general y que lo fuesen a pedir siertos hombres
señalados de los que con el estaban y como eran doçe pueblos que
fuesen unos por la una parte del rio y otros por la otra y como fuese
de manos aboca no les dieron lugar de se consultar ni tratar sobre
ello y como llegaria a el pueblo luego se les pedia y lo abian de
dar porque ubiese lugar de pasar adelante y con esto no tenian mas
lugar de quitarse los pellones de ençima y darlos hasta que llegase
el numero que se les pedia y algunos soldados de los que alli yban
que los cogedores les daban algunas mantas o pellones sino eran
tales y bian algun indio con otra mejor trocabanse la sin tener
mas respecto ni saber la calidad del que despojaban que no poco
sintieron esto allende de lo dicho del pueblo del aposento salio un
sobre saliente que por su honra no le nombrare y fue a otro pueblo
una legua de alli y biendo una muger hermosa llamo a su marido que
le tubiese el cauallo de rienda en lo bajo y el subio a lo alto y
como el pueblo se mandaba por lo alto creyo el indio que yba a otra
parte y detenido alli ubo sierto rumor y el bajo y tomo su cauallo y
fuese el indio subio y supo que auia forçado o querido forçar a su
muger y juntamente con las personas de calidad del pueblo se uino
a quexar diçiendo que un hombre le auia forçado a su muger y conto
como auia pasado y como el general hiço pareçer todos los soldados
y personas que con el estaban y el indio no lo conoçio o por aberse
mudado la ropa o por alguna otra ocaçion que para ello ubo pero
dixo que conoçeria el cauallo por[~q] lo tubo de rienda fue lleuado
por las cauallerisas y hallo un cauallo enmantado hobero y dixo que
su dueño de aquel cauallo era el dueño nego biendo quel no abia
conoçido y pudo ser que se herro en el cauallo finalmente el se fue
sin aber en mienda de lo que pedia otra dia uino un indio del canpo
que guardaba los cauallos herido y huyendo diciendo que le auian
muerto un compañero y que los indios de la tierra se llebarian los
cauallos ante cogidos hacia sus pueblos fueron a recoger los cauallos
y faltaron muchos y siete mulas del general.
otro dia fue don garci lopes de cardenas a ber los pueblos y tomar de
ellos lengua y hallo los pueblos serrados con palenques y gran grita
dẽtro corriendo los cauallos como en coso de toros y flechandolos y
todos de guerra no pudo haçer cosa por que no salieron a el campo
que como son pueblos fuertes no les pudieron enojar luego ordeno el
general que don garçi lopes de cardenas fuese a çercar un pueblo con
toda la [p435] demas gente y este pueblo era donde se hiço el mayor
daño y es donde acaeçio lo de la india fueron muchos capitanes que
auian ydo delante con el general como fue juan de saldiuar y barrio
nuebo y diego lopes y melgosa tomaron a los indios tam de sobresalto
que luego les ganaron los altos con mucho riesgo porque les hicieron
muchos de los nuestros por saeteras que hacian por de dentro de
las casas estubieron los nuestros en lo alto a mucho riesgo el dia
y la noche y parte de otro dia haçiendo buenos tiros de ballestas
y arcabuçes la gente de a cauallo en el campo con muchos amigos
de la nueba españa y daban por los sotanos que auian aportillado
grandes humasos de suerte que pidieron la paz hallaronse aquella
parte pablos de melgosa y diego lopes ueinti quatro de seuilla y
respondieronles cõ las mismas señales que ellos haçian de paz que
es haçer la cruz y ellos luego soltaron las armas y se dieron a md
llebabanlos a la tienda de don garçia el qual segun se dixo no supo
de la paz y creyo que de su boluntad se daban como hombres benzidos
y como tenia mandado del general que no los tomase a uida porque
se hiciese castigo y los demas temiesen mando que luego hincasen
doçientos palos para los quemar biuos no ubo quien le dixese de la
paz que les auian dado que los soldados tan poco lo sabian y los
que la dieron se lo callaron que no hiçieron caso de ello pues como
los enemigos bieron que los yban atando y los començaban a quemar
obra de çien hombres que estaban en la tienda se començaron a haçer
fuertes y defenderse con lo que estaba dentro y con palos que salian
a tomar la gente nuestra de a pie dan en la tiẽda por todas partes
estocadas que los hacian desmanparar la tienda y dio luego la gente
de a cauallo en ellos y como la tierra era llana no les quedo hombre
a uida sino fueron algunos que se auian quedado escondidos en el
pueblo que huyeron a quella noche y dieron mandado por toda la tierra
como no les guardaron la paz que les dieron que fue despues harto mal
y como esto fue hecho y luego les nebase desampararon el pueblo y
bolbieronse a el aposento a el tiẽpo que llegaba el campo de cibola.
_Capitulo desiseis como se puso çerco a tiguex y se gano y lo que mas
acontencio mediante el cerco._
como ya e contado quando acabaron de gañar aquel pueblo començo a
nebar en aquella tierra y nebo de suerte que en aquellos dos meses no
se pudo haçer nada salbo yr por los caminos a les abisar que biniesen
de pax y que serian perdonados dandoles todo seguro a lo qual ellos
respondieron que no se fiarian de quien no sabia guardar la fe que
daban que se acordasen que tenian preso a bigotes y que en el pueblo
quemado no les guardaron la paz fue uno de los que fueron a les
haçer estos requerimientos don garcia lopes de cardenas que salio
con obra de treinta compañeros un dia y fue a el pueblo de tiguex
y a hablar con juan aleman y aunque estaban de guerra binieron a
hablalle y le dixeron que si queria hablar con ellos [~q] se apease
y se llegauan a el a hablar de paz y que se desbiase la gente de a
cauallo y harian apartar su gente [p436] y llegaron a el el juan
aleman y otro capitan del pueblo y fue hecho ansi como lo pedian y a
que estaba çerca de ellos dixeron que ellos no trayan armas que se
las quitase don garcia lopes lo hiço por mas los asegurar cõ gana
que tenia de los traer de paz y como llego a ellos el juan aleman lo
bino a abraçar en tanto los dos que con el benian sacaron dos maçetas
que secretamente trayan a las espaldas y dieronle sobre la çelada
dos tales golpes que casi lo aturdieron hallaron dos soldados de a
cauallo çerca que no se auian querido apartar aunque les fue mandado
y arremetieron con tanta presteça que lo sacaron de entre sus manos
aunque no puedieron enojar a los enemigos por tener la acogida çerca
y grandes rosiadas de flechas que luego binieron sobre ellos y a el
uno le atrabesaron el cauallo por las narises la gente de acauallo
llego toda de tropel y sacaron a su capitan de la priesa sin poder
dañar a los enemigos antes salieron muchos de los n[=r]os mal heridos
y asi se retiraron quedando algunos haçiendo rostro don garçia lopes
de cardenas con parte de la gente paso a otro pueblo que estaba
media legua adelante porque en estos dos lugares se auia recogido
toda la mas gente de aquellos pueblos y como de los requerimientos
que les hiçieron no hiçieron caso ni de dar la paz antes con grandes
gritos tiraban flechas de lo alto y se bolbio a la compañia que auia
quedado haciendo rostro a el pueblo de tiguex entonçes salieron los
del pueblo en gran cantidad los n[=r]os a media rienda dieron muestra
que huyan de suerte que sacaron los enemigos a lo llano y rebulbieron
sobre ellos de manera que se tendieron algunos de los mas señalados
los demas se recogieron al pueblo y a lo alto y ansi se bolbio este
capitan a el aposento.
el general luego como esto paso ordeno delos yr açercar y salio un
dia con su gente bien ordenada y con algunas escalas llegado asento
su real junto a el pueblo y luego dieron el combate pero como los
enemigos auia muchos dias que se pertrechaban hecharon tanta piedra
sobre los n[=r]os que a muchos tendieron en tierra y hirieron de
flechas çerca de çien hombres de que despues murieron algunos por
mala cura de un mal surugano que yba en el campo el çerco duro
sinquenta dias en los quales algunas ueces se les dieron sobresaltos
y lo que mas les aquexo fue que no tenian agua y hiçieron dentro del
pueblo un poso de grandissima hondura y no pudieron sacar agua antes
se les derrumbo a el tiempo que lo hacian y les mato treinta personas
murieron de los çercados doçientos hombres de dentro en los combates
y un dia que se les dio un combate recio mataron de los n[=r]os a
francisco de obando capitan y maestre de campo que auia sido todo el
tiempo que don garcia lopes de cardenas andubo en los descubrimientos
ya dichos y a un francisco de pobares buen hidalgo a francisco de
obando metieron en el pueblo que los n[=r]os no lo pudieron defender
[~q] no poco se sintio por ser como era persona señalada y por si tam
honrado afable y bien quisto que era marauilla antes que se acabase
de ganar un dia llamaron a habla y sabida su demanda fue deçir que
tenian cognoçido que las mugeres ni a los niños no haciamos mal que
querian dar sus mugeres y hijos por [p437] que les gastaban el agua
no se pudo acabar con ellos que se diesen de paz diçiendo que no les
guardaria la palabra y asi dieron obra de çien personas de niños y
mugeres que no quisieron salir mas y mientras las dieron estubieron
los n[=r]os a cauallo en ala delante del pueblo don lope de urrea
a cauallo y sin çelada andaba reçibiendo en los braços los niños y
niñas y como ya no quisieron dar mas el don lope les inportunaba que
se diesen de pax haçiendo les grandes promeças de seguridad ellos le
dixeron que se desbiase que no era su uoluntad de se fiar de gente
que no guardaba la amistad ni palabra que daban y como no se quisiese
desbiar salio uno con un arço a flechar y con una flecha y amenasolo
con ella que se la tiraria sino se yba de alli y por boçes que le
dieron que se pusiese la çelada no quiso diçiendo que mientras alli
estubiese no le harian mal y como el indio bido que no se queria yr
tiro y hincole la flecha par de las manos de el cauallo y en arco
luego otra y torno le a deçir que se fuese sino que le tirarian de
beras el don lope se puso su çelada y paso ante paso se uino a meter
entre los de a cauallo sin que recibiese enojo de ellos y como le
bieron que ya estaba en salbo con gran grita y alarido comencaron
arroçiar flecheria el general no quiso que por a quel dia se les
diese bateria por ber si los podian traer por alguna uia de paz lo
qual ellos jamas quisieron.
desde a quinçe dias determinaron de salir una noche y ansi lo
hicieron y tomando en medio las mugeres salieron a el quarto de la
modorra uelauan aquel quarto quarenta de a cauallo y dando aclarma
los del quartel de don rodrigo maldonado dieron en ellos los enemigos
derribaron un español muerto y un cauallo y hirieron a otros pero
ubieron los de romper y haçer matança en ellos hasta que retirandose
dieron consigo en el rio que yba corriente y frigidissimo y como
la gente del real acudio presto fueron pocos los que escaparon
de muertos o heridos otro dia pasaron el rio la gente del real y
hallaron muchos heridos que la gran frialdad los auia deribado en el
campo y trayan los para curar y siruirse de ellos y ansi se acabo
aquel çerco y se gano el pueblo aun que algunos que quedaron en el
pueblo se rrecibieron en un barrio y fueron tomados en pocos dias.
el otro pueblo grande mediãte de çerco le auian ganado dos capitanes
que fueron don diego de gueuara y ju^o de saldibar que yendo les
una madrugada a echar una çelada para coger en ella sierta gente
de guerra que acostumbraba a salir cada mañana a haçer muestra por
poner algun temor en n[~r]o real las espias que teniã puestas para
quando los biesen benir bieron como saliã gentes y caminaban haçia
la tierra salieron de la çelada y fueron para el pueblo y bieron
huir la gente y siguieron la haciendo en ellos matança como de esto
se dio mandado salio gente del real que fueron sobre el pueblo y lo
saquearon prẽdiendo toda la gente que en el hallaron en que ubo obra
de çien mugeres y niños acabose este çerco en fin de marco del año de
quarenta y dos en el qual tiempo acaecieron otras cosas de que podria
dar notiçia que por no cortar el hilo las he dexado pero deçir sean
agora porque conbienese sepan para entender lo de adelante. [p438]
_Capitulo desisiete como binieron a el campo mensajeros del ualle de
señora y como murio el capitan melchior dias en la jornada de tizon._
ya diximos como melchior dias el capitan auia pasado en balsas el rio
del tiçon para proseguir adelante el descubrimiento de aquella costa
pues a el tiempo que se acabo de ercollegaron mensajeros a el canpo
de la uilla de san hieronimo con cartas de diego de alarcon que auia
quedado alli en lugar del melchior dias trayan nuebas como melchior
dias auia muerto en la demanda que lleuaba y la gente se auia buelto
sin ber cosa de lo que deseaban y paso el caso desta manera.
como ubieron pasado el rio caminaron en demanda de la costa que por
alli ya daba la buelta sobre el sur o entre sur y oriente porque
aquel ancon de mar entra derecho al norte y este rio entre en el
remate del ancon trayendo sus corrientes debaxo del norte y corre
a el sur yẽdo como yban caminando dieron en unos medaños de çenisa
ferbiente que no podia nadie entrar a ellos porque fuera entrarse
a hogar en la mar la tierra que hollaban temblaba como tenpano que
pareçia que estaban debaxo algunos lagos parecio cosa admirable que
asi herbia la çenisa en algunas partes que parecia cosa infernal y
desbiando se de aqui por el peligro que parecia que llebauan y por
la falta del agua un dia un lebrel que lleuaba un soldado antojo se
le dar tras de unos carneros que llebauan para bastimento y como
el capitan lo bido arronjole la lança de enquentro yendo corriendo
y hincola en tierra y no pudiendo detener el cauallo fue sobre la
lança y enclabose la por el muslo que le salio el hierro a la ingle
y le rompio la begiga bisto esto los soldados dieron la buelta con
su capitan siendo teniendo cada dia refriegas con los indios que
auian quedado rebelados bibio obra de ueinte dias que por le traer
pasaron gran trabajo y asi bolbieron hasta que murio con buena orden
sin perder un honbre ya yban saliendo de lo mas trabajoso llegados a
señora hiço alcaraz los mensajeros ya dichos haciendolo saber y como
algunos soldados estaban mal asentados y procuraban algunos motines y
como auia sentenciado a la horca a dos que despues se le auian huydo
de la priçion.
el general bisto esto enbio a quella uilla a don pedro de touar para
que entresacase alguna gente y para que llebase consigo mensajeros
que embiaba a el uisorey don Antonio de mendoça con recaudos de lo
aconteçido y la buena nueba del turco.
don pedro de touar fue y llegado alla hallo que auian los naturales
de aquella probinçia muerto con una flecha de yerba a un soldado
de una muy pequeña herida en una mano sobre esto auian ydo alla
algunos soldados y no fueron bien recebidos don pedro de tobar embio
a diego de alcaraz con gente aprender a los prinçipales y señores
de un pueblo que llaman el ualle de los uellacos que esta en alto
llegado alla los prendieron y presos parecio le a diego de alcaraz
de los soltar a trueque de que diesen algun hilo y ropa y otras
cosas de que los soldados tenian necesidad biendose sueltos alsarose
de guerra y subieron a ellos y como estaban fuertes y tenian yerba
mataron algunos españoles y hirieron otros que despues murieron en el
camino bolbiendose retirandose para [p439] su uilla y sino lleuaran
consigo amigos de los coraçones lo pasaron peor bolbieron a la uilla
dexando muertos desisiete soldados de la yerba que con pequeña herida
morian rabiando rompiendose las carnes con un pestelencial hedor
inconportable bisto por don pedro de touar el daño pareçiendoles que
no quedaban seguros en aquella uilla la paso quarenta leguas mas
haçia çibola al ualle del suya donde los dexaremos por contar lo que
a bino a el general con el campo despues del cerco de tiguex.
_Capitulo desiocho como el general procuro dexar asentada la tierra
para ir en demanda de quisuira donde deçia el turco auia el prinçipio
de la riqueça._
mediante el çerco de tiguex el general quiso yr a cicuye llebando
consigo a el gouernador para lo poner en libertad con promesas que
quando saliese para quiuira daria libertad a bigotes y lo dexaria
en su pueblo y como llego a cicuye fue reçibido de paz y entro en
el pueblo con algunos soldados ellos reçibieron a su gouernador con
mucho amor y fiesta bisto que ubo el pueblo y hablado a los naturales
dio la buelta para su canpo quedando cicuye de paz con esperança de
cobrar su capitan bigotes.
acabado que fue el çerco como ya abemos dicho embio un capitan a chia
un buen pueblo y de mucha gente que auia embiado a dar la obidençia
que estaba desbiado del rio al poniente quatro leguas y hallaronle
de paz a qui se dieron aguardar quatro tiros de bronçe questaban mal
acondiçionados tambien fueron a quirix probincia de siete pueblos
seis compañeros y en el primer pueblo que seria de çien ueçinos
huyeron que no osaron a esperar a los n[=r]os y los fueron atajar
arrienda suelta y los bolbieron a el pueblo a sus casas con toda
seguridad y de alli abisaron a los demas pueblos y los aseguraron y
asi poco a poco se fue asegurando toda la comarca en tanto quel rio
se deshelaba y se dexaba badear para dar lugar a la jornada aunque
los doçe pueblos de tiguex nunca en todo el tiempo que por alli
estubo el campo se poblo ninguno por seguridad ninguna que se les
diese.
y como el rio fue deshelado que lo auia estado casi quatro meses que
se pasaba por ençima del yelo a cauallo ordenose la partida para
quibira donde decia el turco que auia algun oro y plata aunque no
tanto como en Arche [Arehe?] y los guaes ya auia algunos del campo
sospechosos del turco porque mediante el cerco tenia cargo del un
español que se llamaua seruantes y este español juro con solenidad
que auia bisto a el turco hablar en una olla de agua con el demonio
y que teniendolo el debaxo de llaue que nadie podia hablar con el
le auia preguntado el turco a el que a quien auian muerto de los
cristianos los de tiguex y el le dixo que a no nadie y el turco le
respondio mientes que çinco christianos an muerto y a un capitan y
que el çeruantes biendo que deçia berdad se lo conçedio por saber del
quien se lo auia dicho y el turco le dixo quel lo sabia por si y que
para aquello no auia neçesidad que nadie se lo dixese y por esto lo
espio y bio hablar con el demonio en la olla como e dicho.
con todo esto se hiço alarde para salir de tiguex a este tiempo
llegaron gentes de cibola a ber a el general y el general les encargo
el buen [p440] tratamiento de los españoles que biniesen de señora
con don pedro de touar y les dio cartas que le diesen a don pedro en
que le daba abiso de lo que debia de haçer y como abia de yr en busca
del campo y que hallaria cartas debajo de las cruçes en las jornadas
que el campo abia de haçer salio el campo de tiguex a çinco de mayo
la buelta de cicuyc que como tengo dicho son ueinte y cinco jornadas
digo leguas de alli lleuando de alli a bigotes llegado alla les dio
a su capitan que ya andaba suelto con guardia el pueblo se holgo
mucho con el y estubieron de paz y dieron bastimentos y bigotes y el
gouernador dieron a el general un mancebete que se deçia xabe natural
de quiuira para que del se informasen de la tierra este deçia que
abia oro y plata pero no tanto como deçia el turco toda uia el turco
se afirmaua y fue por guia y asi salio el campo de alli.
_Capitulo desinueue como salieron en demanda de quiuira y lo que
acontecio en el camino._
salio el campo de cicuye dexando el pueblo de paz y a lo que pareçio
contento y obligado a mantener la amistad por les aber restituydo
su gouernador y capitan y caminando para salir a lo llano que esta
pasada toda la cordillera a quatro dias andados de camino dieron en
un rio de gran corriente hondo que baxaba de hacia cicuyc y a queste
se puso nombre el rio de cicuyc detubieron se aqui por haçer puente
para le pasar acabose en quatro dias con toda diligençia y prestesa
hecha paso todo el campo y ganados por ella y a otras diez jornadas
dieron en unas racherias de gente alarabe que por alli son llamados
querechos y auia dos dias que se auian uisto uacas esta gente biuen
en tiendas de cueros de uacas adobados andan tras las uaças haçiendo
carne estos aun que bieron n[~r]o campo no hiçieron mudamiento ni se
alteraron antes salieron de sus tiendas a ber esentamente y luego
binieron a hablar con la auanguardia y dixeron que se a el campo y el
general hablo con ellos y como ya ellos auian hablado con el turco
que yba en la auanguardia cõformaron con el en quanto deçia era gente
muy entendida por señas que pareçiã que lo decian y lo daban tan bien
a entender que no auia mas necesidad de interprete estos dixeron
que baxando haçia do sale el sol auia un rio muy grande y que yria
por la riuera del por poblados nouenta dias sin quebrar de poblado
en poblado deçian quese decia lo primero del poblado haxa y que el
rio era de mas de una legua de ancho y que auia muchas canoas estos
salieron de alli otro dia con harrias de perros en que llebabã sus
aberes desde a dos dias que todauia caminaba el campo a el rumbo que
auian salido de lo poblado que era entre norte y oriente mas haçia el
norte se bieron otros querechos rancheados y grande numero de uacas
que ya pareçia cosa increibble estos dieron gradissima notiçia de
poblados todo a el oriente de donde nos hallamos a qui se quebro don
garçia un braço y se perdio un español que salio a casa y no aserto
a boluer al real por ser la tierra muy llana decia el turco que auia
a haya una o dos jornadas el general embio adelante a [p441] el
capitan diego lopes a la ligera con diez compañeros dandole rumbo por
una guia de mar haçia adonde salia el sol que caminase dos dias a
toda priesa y descubriese a haxa y bolbiese a se topar con el canpo
otro dia salio por el mesmo rumbo y fue tanto el ganado que se topo
que los que yban en la auanguardia cogierõ por delante un gran numero
de toros y como huyan y unos a otros serrenpugaban dieron en una
barranca y cayo tanto ganado dentro que la emparejaron y el demas
ganado paso por ençima la gēte de a cauallo que yba en pos de ellos
cayeron sobre el ganado sin saber lo que haçian tres cauallos de los
que cayeron ensillados y enfrenados se fueron entre las bacas que no
pudieron mas ser abidos.
Como a el general le parecio que seria ya de buelta diego lopes hiço
que seis compañeros siguisen una ribera arriba de un pequeño rio y
otros tantos la riuera abajo y que se mirase por el rastro de los
cauallos en las entradas o las salidas del rio porque por la tierra
no es posible hallarse rastro porque la yerua en pisandola se torna a
leuantar hallose por donde auian ydo y fue bentura que a las bueltas
auian ydo indios del campo en busca de fruta una gran legua de donde
se hallo rastro y toparon con ellos y ansi bajaron el rio abajo a
el real y dieron por nueua a el general que en ueinte leguas que
auian andado no auian uisto otra cosa sino uacas y çielo yba en el
campo otro indio pintado natural de quiuira que se deçia sopete este
indio siempre dixo que el turco mentia y por esto no haçian caso del
y aunque en esta saçon tambien lo deçia como los querechos auian
informado con el y el y sopete no era creydo.
desde aqui embio el general delante a don rodrigo maldonado con su
compañia el qual camino quatro dias y llego a una barranca grande
como las de colima y hallo en lo bajo de ella gran rancheria de gente
por aqui auia atrabesado cabeça de uaca y dorantes aqui presẽtaron a
don rodrigo un monton de cueros adobados y otras cosas y una tienda
tan grande como una casa en alto lo qual mando que asi la guardasen
hasta quel campo llegase y embio cõpañeros que guiasen el campo
haçia aquella parte porque no se perdiesen aunque auian ydo haçiendo
mojones de guesos y boñigas para que el campo se siguiese y desta
manera se guiaba ya el campo tras la abanguardia.
llego el general con su campo y como bio tan gran multitud de cueros
penso los repartir cõ la gente y hiço poner guardas para que mirasen
por ellos pero como la gente llego y bieron los companeros que el
general embiaba algunos hombres particulares con señas para que les
diesen las guardas algunos cueros y los andaban a escoger enojados de
que no se repartia cõ orden dan saco mano y en menos de quarto de ora
no dexaron sino el suelo limpio.
los naturales que bieron aquello tambien pusieron las manos en la
obra las mugeres y algunos otros quedaron llorando porque creyeron
que no les auian de tomar nada sino bendeçirse lo como auian hecho
cabeça de uaca y dorantes quando por alli pasaron aqui se hallo una
india tam [p442] blanca como muger de castilla saluo que tenia
labrada la barua como morisca de berberia que todas se labran en
general de aquella manera por alli se ahogolan los ojos.
_Capitulo ueinte como cayeron grandes piedras en el campo y como se
descubrio otra barranca donde se dibidio el campo en dos partes._
estando descansando el campo en esta barranca que abemos dicho
una tarde començo un torbellino con grandissimo ayre y graniço y
en pequeño espaçio bino tam grande multitud de piedra tam grandes
como escudillas y mayores y tam espesas como lubia que en parte
cubrieron dos y tres palmos y mas de tierra y uno dexo el cauallo
digo que ningun cauallo ubo que no se solto sino fueron dos o tres
que acudieron a los tener negros enpabesados y conseladas y rrodelas
que todos los demas llebo por delante hasta pegallos con la barranca
y algunos subio donde con grã trabajo se tornaron abajar y si como
los tomo alli dentro fuera en lo llano de arriba quedara el campo a
gran rriesgo sin cauallos que muchos no se pudieran cobrar rrompio
la piedra muchas tiendas y abollo muchas çeladas y lastimo muchos
cauallos y quebro toda la losa del canpo y calabaços que no puso poca
neçesidad porque por alli no ay losa ni se haçe ni calabaços ni se
siembra maiz ni comen pan salbo carne cruda o mal asada y fructas.
desde alli embio el general a descubrir y dieron en otras rancherias
[Sidenote: Alexeres] a quatro jornadas a manera de alixares era
tierra muy poblada adonde auia muchos frisoles y siruelas como las
de castilla y parrales duraban estos pueblos de rancherías tres
jornadas desiase cona desde aqui salieron con el campo algunos teyas
porque asi se deçian aquellas gentes y caminaron con sus harrias de
perros y mugeres y hijos hasta la prostera jornada de las otras donde
dieron guias para pasar adelante a donde fue el canpo a una barranca
grande estas guias no las dexaban hablar con el turco y no hallauan
las notiçias que de antes deçian que quiuira era hacia el norte y
que no hallauamos buena derrota con esto se començo a dar credito
a ysopete y ansi llego el campo a la prostera barrãca que era una
legua de borbo a bordo y un pequeño rio en lo bajo y un llano lleno
de arboleda con mucha uba morales y rosales que es fruta que la ay en
françia y sirue de agraz en esta barranca la auiã madura abia nueses
y galinas de la calidad de las de la nueba españa y siruelas como las
de castilla y en cantidad en este camino se bio a un teya de un tiro
pasar un toro por ambas espaldas que un arcubuz tiene bien que haçer
es gẽte bien entendida y las mugeres bien tratadas y de berguença
cubren todas sus carnes traen çapatos y borseguiez de cuero adobado
traen mantas las mugeres sobre sus faldellines y mangas cogidas por
las espaldas todo de cuero y unos como sanbenitillos con rapasejos
que llegan a medio muslo sobre los faldellines.
[Illustration: LXXXIII. Facsimile of Pages of Castañeda’s Relacion
From the Manuscript in the Lenox Library]
en esta barranca holgo el campo muchos dias por buscar comarca
hicieronse hasta aqui treinta y siete jornadas de camino de a seis y
de a siete leguas porque se daba cargo a quien fuese tasanda y un con
[p443] tando por pasos deçian que auian a el poblado do doçientas
y sinquenta leguas bisto ya y cognoçido por el general fran^{co}
uasques como hasta alli auian andado engañados por el turco y que
faltauan los bastimentos a el campo y que por alli no auia tierra
dõde se pudiesen probeer llamo a los capitanes y alferes a junta para
acordar lo que les paresiese se debiese haçer y de acuerdo de todos
fue quel general contreinta de a cauallo y media doçena de peones y
fuese en demanda de quiuira y quedõ tristan de arellano bolbiese con
todo el campo la buelta de tiguex sabido esto por la gente del canpo
y como ya se sabia lo acordado suplicaron de ello a su general y que
no los dexase de lleuar adelante que todos querian morir con el y no
bolber atras esto no aprobecho aunque el general les conçedio que les
embiaria mensajeros dentro de ocho dias si cõbiniese seguirle o no y
con esto se partio con las guias que lleuaba y con ysopete el turco
yba arrecando en cadena.
_Capitulo ueinte y uno como el campo bolbio a tiguex y el general
llego a quiuira._
partio el general de la barranca con las guias que los teyas le auian
dado hiço su maestre de campo a el ueinte y quatro diego lopes y
llebo de la gẽte que le pareçio mas escogida y de mejores cauallos
el campo quedo con alguna esperança que embiaria por el general y
tornaron se lo a embiar a suplicar a el general con dos hombres de
a cauallo a la ligera y por la posta. el general llego digo que se
le huyeron las guias en las primeras jornadas y ubo de bolber diego
lopes por guias a el campo y con mandado quel cãpo bolbiese a tiguex
a buscar bastimentos y a aguardar a el general dieronle otras guias
que les dieron los teyas de boluntad aguardo el campo sus mensajeros
y estubo alli quinçe dias haçiendo carnaje de bacas para lleuar
tubose por quenta que se mataron en estos quinse dias quinientos
toros era cosa increyble el numero de los que auia sin bacas perdiose
en este comedio mucha gente de los que salian a caça y en dos ni tres
dias no tornaban a bolber a el campo andando desatinados a una parte
y a otra sin saber bolber por donde auian ydo y con aber aquella
barranca que arriba o abaxo auian de atinar y como cada noche se
tenia quenta con quien faltaua tirauan artilleria y tocauan trompetas
y a tambores y haçian grandes hogaredas y algunos se hallaron tam
desbiados y abian desatinado tanto que todo esto no les aprobechaua
nada aunque a otros les balio el remedio era tornar adonde mataban el
ganado y haçer una uia a una parte y a otra hasta que daban con la
barranca o topaban con quien los encaminaua es cosa de notar que como
la tierra es tam llana en siendo medio dia como an andado desatinados
en pos de la caça a una parte y a otra sean de estar cabe la caça
quedos hasta que decline el sol para ber a que rumbo an de bolber a
donde salieron y aun estos auian de ser hombres entendidos y los que
no lo eran se auian de encomendar a otros.
el general siguio sus guias hasta llegar a quiuira en que gasto
quarenta y ocho dias de camino por la grande cayda que auian hecho
sobre [p444] la florida y fue reçebido de paz por las guias que
lleuaba preguntaron a el turco que porque auia mẽtido y los auia
guiado tam abieso dixo que su tierra era haçia aquella parte y que
allende de aquello los de cicuye le auian rogado que los truxese
perdidos por los llanos por que faltando les el bastimento se
muriesen los cauallos y ellos flacos quando bolbiesen los podrian
matar sin trabajo y bengarse de lo que auian hecho y que por esto
los abia desrumbado creyendo que no supieran caçar ni mantenerse
sin maiz y que lo del oro que no sabia adonde lo auia esto dixo ya
como desesperado y que se hallaba corrido que auain dado credito a
el ysopete y los auia guiado mejor que no el y temiendose los que
alli yban que no diese algun abiso por donde les biniese algun daño
le dieron garrote de que el ysopete se holgo porque siẽpre solia
deçir que el ysopete era un bellaco y que no sabia lo que se decia
y siempre le estorban ban que no hablase con nadie no se bio entre
aquella gente oro ni plata ni noticia de ello el señor traya al
cuello una patena de cobre y no la tenia en poca.
los mensajeros quel campo embio en pos del general bolbieron como
dixe y luego como no truxeron otro recaudo que el que el ueinti
quatro auia dicho el campo salio de la barranca la buelta de los
teyas a donde tomaron guias que los bolbiesen por mas derecho camino
ellos las dieron de boluntad porque como es gente que no para por
aquellas tierras en pos del ganado todo lo saben guiaban desta
manera luego por la mañana mirabã a donde salia el sol y tomaban el
rumbo que auian de tomar y tiraban una flecha y antes de llegar a
ella tirauan otra por ençima y desta manera yban todo el dia hasta
las aguas adonde se auia de haçer jornada y por este orden lo que
se auia andado a la yda en treinta y siete jornadas se bolbio en
ueinte y çinco caçãdo en el camino uacas hallaronse en este camino
muchas lagunas de sal que la auia en gran cantidad auia sobre el agua
tablones della mayores que mesas de quatro y de çinco dedos de grueso
debajo del agua a dos y tres palmos sal en grano mas sabrosa que la
de los tablones por que esta amargaba un poco era cristalina auia por
aquellos llanos unos animales como hardillas en gran numero y mucha
suma de cueuas de ellas uino en esta buelta a tomar el campo el rio
de cicuye mas de treinta leguas por bajo de ella digo de la puente
que se auia hecho a la yada y subiose por el arriba que en general
casi todas sus riueras tenian rosales que son como ubas moscateles
en el comer naçen en unas uaras delgadas de un estado tiene la oja
como peregil auia ubas en agraz y mucho uino y oregano deçian las
guias que se juntaba este rio con el de tiguex mas de ueinte jornadas
de alli y que boluian sus corrientes a el oriente creese que ban a
el poderoso rio del espiritu santo que los de don hernando de soto
descubrieron en la florida en esta jornada a la yda se hundio una
india labrada a el capitan juan de saldibar y fue las barrancas abajo
huyendo que reconoçio la tierra por que en tiguex donde se ubo era
esclaua esta india ubieron a las manos siertos españoles de los de la
florida que auian entrado descubriendo hacia aquella parte yo les oy
deçir quãdo bolbieron a la nueba [p445] españa que les auia dicho
la india que auia nuebe dias que se auia huydo de otros y que nombro
capitanes por donde se debe creer que no llegamos lejos de lo que
ellos descubrieron aunque dicen que estaban entonçes mas de dosientas
leguas la tierra adentro creese que tiene la tierra de trabesia por
aquella parte mas de seicientas leguas de mar a mar.
pues como digo el rio arriba fue el campo hasta llegar a el pueblo
de cicuye el qual se hallo de guerra que no quisieron mostrarse de
paz ni dar ningun socorro de bastimento de alli fueron a tiguex que
ya algunos pueblos se auian tornado a poblar que luego se tornaban a
despoblar de temor.
_Capitulo ueinte y dos como el general bolbio de quiuira y se
hiçieron otras entradas debajo del norte._
luego que don tristan de arellano llego en tiguex mediado el mes de
jullio del año de quarenta y dos hiço recoger bastimentos para el
inbierno benidero y enbio a el capitan francisco de barrio nuebo con
alguna gẽte el rio arriba debajo del norte en que bio dos prouinçias
que la una se decia hemes de siete pueblos y la otra yuqueyunque
los pueblos de hemes salieron de paz y dieron bastimentos los de
yuqueyunque en tanto que el real se asentaba despoblaron dos muy
hermosos pueblos que tenian el rio en medio y se fueron a la sierra
a donde tenian quatro pueblos muy fuertes en tierra aspera que no
se podia yr a ellos a cauallo en estos dos pueblos se ubo mucho
bastimento y loça muy hermoça y bedriada y de muchas labores y
hechuras tambien se hallaron muchas ollas llenas de metal escogido
reluciente con que bedriaban la losa era señal que por aquella tierra
auia minas de plata si se buscaran.
ueinte leguas adelante el rio arriba auia un poderoso y grande
rio digo pueblo que se decia braba a quien los n[=r]os pusieron
ualladolid tomaba el rio por medio pasabase por puentes de madera de
muy largos y grandes pinos quadrados y en este pueblo se bieron las
mas grandes y brabas estufas que en toda aquella tierra porque eran
de doçe pilares que cada uno tenia dos braças de ruedo de altura de
dos estados este pueblo auia uisitado hernando de aluarado quando
descubrio a çicuye es tierra muy alta y figridissima el rio yba hondo
y de gran corriente sin ningun uado dio la buelta el capitan barrio
nuebo dexando de pax aquellas prouinçias.
otro capitan fue el rio abajo en busca de los poblados que deçian los
de tutahaco auia algunas jornadas de alli este capitan bajo ochenta
leguas [Sidenote: Rio que se hundi.] y hallo quatro pueblos grandes
que dexo de paz y andubo hasta que hallo quel rio se sumia debaxo
de tierra como guadiana en extremadura no paso adelãte donde los
indios decian [~q] salia muy poderoso por no llebar mas comiçion de
ochẽta leguas de camino y como bolbio este capitan y se llegaba el
plaço en que el capitan abia de bolber de quiuira y no bolbia don
tristan señalo quarenta conpañeros y dexando el campo a fran^{co}
de barrio nuebo salio con ellos a buscar el [p446] general y como
llego a cicuye los del pueblo salieron de guerra que fue causa que se
detubiesen alli quatro dias por les haçer algun daño como se les hiço
que con tiros quese asentaron a el pueblo les mataron alguna gēte
por que no salian a el canpo a causa quel primer dia les mataron dos
hombres señalados.
en este comedio llegaron nuebas [niebas?] como el general benia y
por esto tambien ubo de aguardar alli don tristan para asegurar
aquel paso llegado el general fue bien reçebido de todos con grande
alegria el indio xabe que era el mançebo que auian dado los de cicuye
a el general quando yba en demanda de quiuira estaba con don tristan
de arellano y como supo que el general benia dando muestras que se
holgaba dixo agora que biene el general bereis como ay oro y plata en
quiuira aunque no tanta como deçia el turco y como el general llego y
bio como no auian hallado nada quedo triste y pasmado y afirmādo que
la auia hiço creer a muchos que era asi porque el general no entro la
tierra adentro que no oso por ser muy poblado y no se hallar poderoso
y dio la buelta por lleuar sus gentes pasadas las aguas porque ya por
alla llobia que era entrada de agosto quando salio tardo en la buelta
quarenta dias con buenas guias con benir a la ligera como bolbieron
decia el turco quando salio de tiguex el canpo que para que cargauan
los cauallos tanto de bastimētos que se cansarian y no podrian
despues traer el oro y la plata donde parese bien andaba con engaño.
llegado el general con su gēte a cicuye luego se partio para tiguex
dexando mas asentado el pueblo por que a el luego salieron de paz
y le hablaron llegado a tiguex procuro de inbernar alli para dar
la buelta con todo el campo porque deçia traya noticia de grandes
poblaciones y rios poderossissimos y que la tierra era muy pareciente
a la de españa en las frutas y yerbas y temporales y que no benian
satisfechos de creer que no auia oro antes trayan sospecha que lo
auia la tierra adentro porque puesto que lo negauan entendian que
cosa era y tenia nombre entre ellos que se deçia acochis con lo qual
daremos fin a esta primera parte y trataremos en dar relaçion de las
prouincias.
SEGUNDA PARTE EN QUE SE TRATA DE LOS PUEBLOS Y PROUINCIAS DE ALTOS Y
DE SUS RITOS Y COSTUMBRES RECOPILADA POR PEDRO DE CASTAÑEDA UEÇINO DE
LA ÇIUDAD DE NAXARA.[94]
_laus deo._
no me parece que quedara satisfecho el lector em aber bisto y
entendido lo que e contado de la jornada aunque en ello ay bien
que notar en la discordançia de las notiçias porque aber fama tan
grande de grandes thesoros y en el mismo lugar no hallar memoria ni
aparençia de aberlo cosa es muy de notar en lugar de poblados hallar
grandes despoblados y en lugar de ciudades populosas hallar pueblos
de [p447] doçientos uecinos y el mayor de ocho cientos o mill no se
si esto les dara materia para considerar y pẽsar en la bariedad de
esta uida y para poderlos agradar les quiero dar relaçion particular
de todo lo poblado que se bio y descubrio en esta jornada y algunas
costunbres que tienen y ritos conforme a lo que de ellos alcançamos
a saber y en que rumbo cae cada prouinçia para que despues se pueda
entender a que parte esta la florida y a que parte cae la india mayor
y como esta tierra de la nueba españa es tierra firme con el peru
ansi lo es con la india mayor o de la china sin que por esta parte
aya entrecho que la dibida ante es estan grande la anchura de la
tierra que da lugar a que aya tan grandes despoblados como ay entre
las dos mares por que la costa del norte sobre la florida buelbe
sobre los bacallaos y despues torna sobre la nuruega y la del sur
a el poniente haciendo la otra punta debaxo del sur casi como en
arco la buelta de la india dando lugar a que las tierras que siguen
las cordilleras de anbas costas se desbien en tanta manera unas de
otras que dexen en medio de si grandes llanuras y tales que por
ser inabitables sõ pobladas de ganados y otros muchos animales de
dibersas maneras aunque no de serpientes por ser como son esentos y
sin montes antes de todo genero de caça y aues como adelante se dira
dexando de contar la buelta quel campo dio para la nueba españa hasta
que se beã la poca ocaçion que para ello ubo començaremos a tratar de
la uilla de culiacan y bersea la diferençia que ay de la una tierra a
la otra para que meresca lo uno estar poblado de españoles y lo otro
no abiendo de ser a el contrario quanto a cristianos porque en los
unos ay raçon de hombres y en los otros barbaridad de animales y mas
que de bestias.
_Capitulo primero de la prouincia de Culiacan y de sus ritos y
costumbres._
Culiacan es lo ultimo del nuebo reyno de galiçia y fue lo primero
que poblo Nuño de guzman quando conquisto este reyno esta a el
poniente de mexico doçientas y diez leguas en esta prouinçia ay
tres lẽguas prinçipales sin otras bariables que de ella responden
la primera es de tahus que era la mejor gente y mas entendida y los
que en esta saçon estan mas domesticos y tienen mas lumbre de la
fe estos ydolatraban y haçian presentes a el demonio de sus aberes
y requeças que era ropa y turquesas no comian carne humana ni la
sacrificauan aconstumbraban a criar muy grandes culebras y tenian las
en beneraçion auia entre ellos hombres en abito de mugeres que se
casaban con otros hombres y les seruian de mugeres canonicaban con
gran fiesta a las mugeres que querian bibir solteras con un grande
areyto o bayle en quese juntaban todos los señores de la comarca y
sacaban la a baylar en cueros y desque todos abian baylado con ella
metian la en un rancho que para aquel efecto estaba bien adornado y
las señoras la adereçaban de ropa y braçaletes de finas turquesas y
luego entrabran a usar con ella los señores uno a uno y tras de ellos
todos los demas que querian y desde alli adelante no abian de negar a
nadie pagandoles sierta paga que estaba [p448] constituyda para ello
y aunque despues tomaban maridos no por eso eran reseruadas de cũplir
con quien se lo pagaba sus mayores fiestas son mercados auia una
costumbre que las mugeres que se casaban los maridos las compraban a
los padres y parientes por gran preçio y luego la llebaban a un señor
que lo tenian como por saserdote para que las desbirgase y biese si
estaba donçella y si no lo estaba le abian de bolber todo el preçio y
estaba en su escoger si la queria por muger o no o dexalla para que
fuese canoniçada haçian grandes borracheras a sus tiempos.
la segunda lengua es de pacaxes que es la gente que abitan en la
tierra que esta entre lo llano y las serranias estos son mas barbara
gente algunos comen carne humana que son los que confinan con las
serranias son grandes someticos toman muchas mugeres aunque sean
hermanas adoran en piedras pintados de entalladura son grandes
abuçioneros y hechiçeros.
la tercera lengua son acaxes aquestos pose en gran parte de la tierra
por la serrania y toda la cordillera y asi andan a caça de hombres
como a caça de benados comen todos carne humana y el que tiene mas
guesos de hombre y calaberas colgadas a el rededor de su caça es mas
temido y en mas tenido biben a barrios y en tierra muy aspera huyen
de lo llano para pasar de un barrio a otro a de aber quebrada en
medio que aunque se hablē no puedan pasar tam ligeramēte a una grita
se juntan quinientos hombres y por pequeña ocaçion se matan y se
comen estos an sido malos de sojuzgar por la aspereça de la tierra
que es muy grande.
an se hallado en esta tierra muchas minas de plata ricas no ban a lo
hondo acabãse en breue desde la costa de esta prouinçia comiença el
ancon que mete la mar debajo del norte que entra la tierra adentro
doçientas y sinquentas leguas y fenese en la boca del rio del tiçon
esta tierra es la una punta a el oriente la punta del poniente es
la California ay de punta a punta segun he oydo a hombres que lo an
nabegado treinta leguas porque perdiendo de bista a esta tierra ben
la otra el ancon diçen es ancho dentro a tener de tierra a tierra
çiento y sinquenta leguas y mas desde el rio del tiçon da la buelta
la costa a el sur haçiendo arco hasta la California que buelue a el
poniente haçiendo aquella punta que otro tiempo se tubo por isla por
ser tierra baxa y arenosa poblada de gente bruta y bestial desnuda
y que comen su mismo estiercol y se juntaban hombre y muger como
animales poniendose la hembra en quatro pies publicamente.
_Capitulo segundo de la prouincia de petlatlan y todo lo poblado
hasta chichilticale._
petlatlan es una poblaçion de casas cubiertas con una manera de
esteras hechas de causo congregadas en pueblos que ban a el luego de
un rio desde la sierras hasta la mar son gente de la calidad y ritos
de los tahues culhacaneses ay entre ellos muchos someticos tienen
grande poblaçion y comarca de otros pueblos a la serrania difieren en
la lengua [p449] de los tahues algun tanto puesto que se entienden
los unos a los otros dixose petlatlan por ser las casas de petates
dura esta manera de casas por aquella parte docientas y quarenta
leguas y mas que ay hasta el principio del despoblado de cibola desde
petlatlan hace raya aquella tierra cognoçidamente la causa porque
desde alli para adelante no ay arbol sin espina ni ay frutas sino son
tunas y mesquites y pitahayas ay desde culiacan alla ueinte leguas y
desde petlatlan a el ualle de señora ciento y treinta ay entre medias
muchos rios poblados de gente de la misma suerte como son sinoloa,
boyomo, teocomo, y aquimi yotros mas pequeños estan tambien los
coraçones ques nuestro caudal abajo del ualle de señora.
senora es un rio y ualle muy poblado de gente muy dispuesta las
[Sidenote: Nagues] mugeres bisten naguas de cuero adobado de benados
y sanbenitillos hasta medio cuerpo los que son señores de los pueblos
se ponen a las mañanas en unos altillos que para aquello tienen
hechos y a manera de pregones o pregoneros estan pregonando por
espaçio de una ora como administrando les en lo que an de haçer tienē
unas casillas pequeñas de adoratorios en que hincan muchas flechas
que las ponen por de fuera como un eriso y esto haçen quando asperan
tener guerra a el rededor de esta prouincia hacia las sierras ay
grandes poblaçiones en probincillas apartadas y congregadas de diez
y doçe pueblos y ocho o siete de ellos que se los nombres sõ com u
patrico, mochilagua y arispa, y el uallecillo ay otros que no se
bieron.
desde señora a el ualle de suya ay quarenta leguas en este ualle se
uino a poblar la uilla de san hieronimo que despues se alcaron y
mataron parte de la gente que estaba poblada como se bera adelante
en lo terçera parte en este ualle ay muchos pueblos que tienen en
su torno son las gentes de la calidad de los de señora y de un
traje y lengua ritos y costumbres con todo los demas que ay hasta
el despoblado de chichilticale las mugeres se labran en la barba y
los ojos como moriscas de berberia ellos son grandes someticos beben
bino de pitahayas que es fruta de cardones que se abre como granadas
hacen se con el bino tontos haçen conserua de tunas en gran cantidad
conseruanse en su sumo en gran cantidad sin otra miel haçen pan
de mesquites como quesos conseruase todo el año ay en esta tierra
melones de ella tam grandes que tiene una persona que lleuar en uno
haçen de ellos tasajos y curan los a el sol son de comer del sabor de
higos pasado guisados son muy buenos y dulces guardanse todo el año
asi pasado.
y por esta tierra se bieron aguilas candoles tienen las los señores
por grandeça en todos estos pueblos no se bieron gallinas de ninguna
suerte salbo en este ualle de suya que se hallaron gallinas como
las de castilla que no se supo por donde entraron tanta tierra de
guerra teniendo como todos tienen guerra unos con otros entre suya y
chichilticale ay muchos carneros y cabras montesas grandissimas de
cuerpos y de cuernos españoles ubo que afirman aber bisto manada de
mas de çiento juntos corren tanto que en brebe se desparesen. [p450]
en chichilticale torna la tierra a hacer raya y pierde la arboleda
espinosa y la causa es que como el Ancon llega hasta aquel paraje y
da buelta la costa asi da buelta la cordillera de las sierras y alli
se biene a trabesar la serrania y se rompe para pasar a lo llano de
la tierra.
_Capitulo tercero de lo ques chichilticale y el despoblado de çibola
sus costumbres y ritos y de otras cosas._
chichilticale dixose asi porque hallaron los frayles en esta comarca
una casa que fue otros tiempos poblada de gentes que rresquebraban
de çibola era de tierra colorado o bermeja la casa era grande y bien
pareçia en ella aber sido fortaleça y debio ser despoblada por los
de la tierra que es la gente mas barbara de las que se bieron hasta
alli biuen en rancherias sin poblados biben de casar y todo lo mas es
despoblado y de grandes pinales ay piñones en gran cantidad son los
pinos donde se dan parrados de hasta de dos a tres estados de alto ay
ençinales de bellota dulce y fanonas que dan una fruta como confites
de culantro seco es muy dulce como asucar ay berros en algunas fuẽtes
y rosales y poleo y oregano.
en los rios deste despoblado ay barbos y picones como en españa ay
leones pardos que se bieron desde el principio del despoblado siempre
se ba subiendo la tierra hasta llegar a çibola que son ochenta leguas
la uia del norte y hasta llegar alli desde culiacan se auia caminado
lleuando el norte sobre el ojo isquierdo.
çibola son siete pueblos el mayor se dice maçaque comunmente son de
tres y quatro altos las casas en maçaque ay casas de quatro altos
y de siete estas gentes son bien entendidas andan cubiertas sus
berguenças y todas las partes deshonestas con paños a manera de
serbilletas de mesa con rapasejos y una borla en cada esquina atan
los sobre el quadril bisten pellones de plumas y de pelo de liebres
mãtas de algodon las mugeres se bisten de mantas que las atan o
añudan sobre el honbro isquierdo y sacan el braço derecho por ençima
siriense las a el cuerpo traen capotes de cuero pulidos de buena
fayçion cogen el cabello sobre las dos orejas hechos dos ruedas que
paresen papos de cosia.
esta tierra es un ualle entre sierras a manera de peñones siembran a
hoyos no crese el maiz alto de las maçorcas desdel pie tres y quatro
cada caña gruesas y grandes de a ocho çiẽtos granos cosa no bista en
estas partes ay en esta prouincia osos en gran cantidad leones gatos
çeruales y nutrias ay muy finas tratan turquesas aunque no en la
cantidad que deçian recogen y entrogan piñones para su año no tiene
un hombre mas de una muger ay en los pueblos estufas que estan en
los patios o placas donde se juntan a consulta no ay señores como
por la nueba españa rigense por consejo de los mas biejos tienen sus
saserdotes a quien llaman papas que les predican estos son uiejos
subense en el terrado mas alto del pueblo y desde alli a manera de
pregoneros predican a el pueblo por las mañanas quando sale el sol
estando todo el pueblo en silençio asentados por los corredores
escuchando dicen les [p451] como an de bibir y creo que les diçen
algunos mandamientos que an de guardar porque entre ellos no ay
borrachera ni sodomia ni sacrificios ni comen carne humana ni hurtan
de comun trabajan en el pueblo la estufas son comunes es sacrilegio
que las mugeres entren a dormir en las estufas por señal de paz dar
cruz queman los muertos hechan con ellos en el fuego los instrumentos
que tienen para usar sus officios.
tienen a tusayan entre norte y poniente a ueinte leguas es prouinçia
de siete pueblos de la misma suerte trajes ritos y costumbres que los
de çibola abra en estas dos prouinçias que son catorçe pueblos hasta
tres o quatro mill hombres y ay hasta tiguex quarenta leguas o mas la
buelta del norte ay entre medias el peñon de acuco que contamos en la
primera parte.
_Capitulo quarto como se tratan los de tiguex y de la prouincia de
tiguex y sus comarcas._
tiguex es prouincia de doçe pueblos riberas de un rio grande y
caudaloso unos pueblos de una parte y otros de otra es ualle
espaçioso de dos leguas en ancho tiene a el oriente una sierra nebada
muy alta y aspera a el pie de ella por las espaldas ay siete pueblos
quatro en llano y los tres metidos en la halda de la sierra.
tiene a el norte a quirix siete pueblos a siete leguas tiene a el
nordeste la prouincia de hemes siete pueblos a quarenta leguas tiene
a el norte o leste a Acha a quatro leguas a el sueste a tutahaco
prouinçia de ocho pueblos todos estos pueblos en general tienen unos
ritos y costumbres aunque tienen algunas cosas en particulares que
no las tienen los otros gobiernanse por acuerdo de los mas uiejos
labran los edificios del pueblo de comun las mugeres entienden en
haçer la mescla y las paredes los hombres traen la madera y la
asientan no ay cal pero haçen una mescla de çenisa de carbon y tierra
ques poco menos que de cal porque con aber de tener quatro altos la
casa no hacen la pared de mas gordor que de media bara juntan gran
cantidad de rama de tomillos y corriso y ponen le fuego y como esta
entre carbon y çenisa hechan mucha tierra y agua y haçen lo mescla y
de ella hacen pellas redondas que ponen en lugar de piedra despues
de seco y traban con la misma mescla de suerte que despues es como
argamasa los mançebos por casar siruen a el pueblo en general y traen
la leña que se a de gastar y la ponen en rima en los patios de los
pueblos de donde la toman las mugeres para lleuar a sus casas su
abitaçion de los mançebos es en las estufas que son en los patios de
el pueblo debajo de tierra quadrados o redondos con pilares de pino
algunas se bieron de doçe pilares y de quatro por nabe de gordor de
dos braças los comunes eran de tres o quatro pilares los suelos de
losas grandes y lisas como los baños que se usan ẽ europa tienen
dentro un fogon a manera de una bitacora de nabio donde ensienden un
puño de tomillo con que sustentan la calor y pueden estar dentro como
en baño lo alto en pareja con la tierra alguna se bio tan espaciosa
que tendra juego de bola quando alguno se a de casar a de ser por
orden de [p452] los que gobiernan a de hilar y texer una manta el
baron y ponerle la muger delante y ella cubre con ella y queda por
su muger las casas son de las mugeres las estufas de los hombres si
el uaron repudia la muger a de ir a ello a la estufa es biolable
cosa domir las mugeres en la estufa ni entrar a ningun negoçio mas
de meter de comer a el marido o a los hijos los hombres hilan y
texen las mugeres crian los hijos y guisan de comer la tierra es tan
fertil que no desyerban en todo el año mas de para sembrar porque
luego cae la niebe y cubre lo senbrado y debajo de la niebe cria la
maçorca cogen en un año para siete ay grādissimo numero de guillas y
de ansares y cuerbos y tordos que se mantienen por los sembrados y
con todo esto quando bueluen a sembrar para otro año estan los campos
cubiertos de maiz que no lo an podido acabar de encerrar.
auia en estas prouincias grā cantidad de gallinas de la tierra y
gallos de papada sustentabanse muertos sin pelar ni abrir sesenta
dias sin mal olor y los hombres muertos lo mismo y mas tiempo siendo
inbierno los pueblos son limpios de inmundiçias porque salen fuera a
estercolar y desaguan en basijas de barro y las sacan a basiar fuera
del pueblo tienen bien repartidas las casas en grande limpieça donde
guisan de comer y donde muelen la harina que es un apartado o retrete
donde tienen un farnal con tres piedras asentado con argamasa donde
entran tres mugeres cada una en su piedra que la una frangolla y la
otra muele y la otra remuele antes [=q] entren dentro a la puerta se
descalçan los sapatos y cogen el cabello y sacuden la ropa y cubrē la
cabeça mientras que muelẽ esta un hombre sentado a la puerta tañedo
con una gayta al tono traen las piedras y cantã a tres boçes muelen
de una bez mucha cantidad porque todo el pan haçen de harina desleyda
con agua caliente a manera de obleas cogen gran cantidad de yeruas
y secan las para guisar todo el año para comer no ay en la tierra
frutas saluo piñones tienen sus predicadores no se hallo en ellos
sodomia ni comer carne humana ni sacrificarlla no es gente cruel
porque en tiguex estubieron obra de quarenta dias muerto a françisco
de ouando y quando se acabo de ganar el pueblo lo hallaron entero
entre sus muertos sin otra liçion mas de la herida de que murio
blanco como niebe sin mal olor de un indio de los nuestros que auia
estado un año catibo entre ellos alcanse a saber algunas cosas de sus
costumbres en especial preguntãdole yo que porque causa en aquella
prouinçia andaban las mugeres moças en cueros haçiendo tam gran
frio dixome que las donçellas auian de andar ansi hasta que tomasen
maridos y que en cognoçiendo uaron se cubrian trayan los hombres
por alli camisetas de cuero de benado adobado y ençima sus pellones
ay por todas estas prouincias loca bedriada de alcohol y jarros de
extremadas labores y de hechuras que era cosa de ber.
_Capitulo quinto de cicuye y los pueblos de su contorno y de como
unas gentes binieron a conquistar aquella tierra._
ya abemos dicho de tiguex y de todas las prouinçias que estan en la
costa de aquel rio por ser como son todos de una calidad de gente
y una [p453] condiçion y costumbres no sera menester en ellos
particulariçar ninguna cosa solo quiero deçir del açiento de cicuye y
unos pueblos despoblados que le caen en comarca en el camino derecho
quel campo llebo para alla y otros que estan tras la sierra nebada de
tiguex que tambien caen en aquella comarca fuera del rio.
cicuye es un pueblo de hasta quinientos hombres de guerra es temido
por toda aquella tierra en su sitio es quadrado asentado sobre peña
en medio un gran patio o plaça con sus estufas las casas son todas
parejas de quatro altos por lo alto se anda todo el pueblo sin que
aya calle que lo estorbe a los dos primeros doblados es todo çercado
de corredores que se anda por ellos todo el pueblo son como balcones
que salen a fuera y debajo de ellos se pueden amparar no tienen las
casas puertas por lo bajo con escaleras leuadisas se siruen y suben a
los corredores que son por de dentro del pueblo y por alli se mandan
que las puertas de las casas salen a aquel alto al corredor sirue el
corredor por calle las casas que salen a el campo haçen espaldas con
las de dentro del patio y en tiempo de guerra se mandan por las de
dentro es çercado de una çerca baja de piedra tiene dentro una fuente
de agua que se la pueden quitar la gente deste pueblo se preçiā
de que nadie los a podido sojuzgar y los sojuzgan los pueblos que
quieren son de la misma condiçion y costumbres que los otros pueblos
tambien andan las doncellas desnudas hasta que tomā maridos por que
diçen que si hacen maldad que luego se bera y ansi no lo haran ni
tienē de que tener berguença pues andan qual naçieron.
ay entre cicuye y la prouinçia de quirix un pueblo chico y fuerte
a quien los españoles pusieron nonbre ximena y otro pueblo casi
despoblado que no tiene poblado sino un barrio este pueblo era grande
segun su sitio y fresco parecia aber sido destruydo aqueste se llamo
el pueblo de los cilos porque se hallaron en el grandes silos de maiz.
adelante auia otro pueblo grande todo destruido y asolado en los
patios del muchas pelotas de piedras tan grandes como botijas de
arroba que pareçia aber sido hechadas con ingenios o trabucos con que
destruyeron aquel pueblo lo que de ello se alcanso a saber fue que
abria desiseis años que unas gentes llamados teyas en gran numero
auian benido en aquella tierra y auian destruydo aquellos pueblos
y auian tenido çercado a cicuye y no lo auian podido tomar por ser
fuerte y que quando salieron de aquella tierra auian hecho amistades
con toda la tierra pareçio debio de ser gente poderosa y que debiā de
tener ingenios para derriba los pueblos no saben decir de que parte
binieron mas de señalar debajo del norte generalmente llaman estas
gentes teyas por gentes ualiẽtes como diçen los mexicanos chichimecas
o teules porque los teyas que el campo topo puesto que eran ualientes
eran cognoçidos de la gente de los poblados y sus amigos y que se ban
a inbernar por alla los inbiernos debaxo de los alaues de lo poblado
porque dētro no se atreben a los reçebir porque no se deben fiar de
ellos y puesto que los reçiben de amistad y tractan con ellos de
noche no quedan en los pueblos sino [p454] fuera solas alaues y los
pueblos se belanabo çina y grito grito como las fortaleças de españa.
otros siete pueblos ay a la orilla deste camino hacia la sierra
nebada que el uno quedo medio destruydo de estas gentes ya dichas que
estan debaxo de la obidiençia de cicuye esta cicuye en un pequeño
ualle entre sierras y montañas de grandes pinales tiene una pequeña
riuera que lleba muy buenas truchas y nutrias crianse por aqui muy
grandes osos y buenos halcones.
_Capitulo sexto en que se declara quantos fueron los pueblos que se
uieron en los poblados de terrados y lo poblado de ello._
pareçiome antes que salga deçir de los llanos de las bacas y lo
poblado y rancheado de ellos que sera bien que se sepa que tanto fue
lo poblado que se bio de casas de altos en pueblos congregados y en
que tanto espaçio de tierra digo que çibola es lo primero.
çibola siete pueblos
tucayan siete pueblos
el peñon de acuco uno
tiguex doçe pueblos
tutahaco ocho pueblos
por abajo del rio estauan estos pueblos.
quirix siete pueblos
a la sierra nebeda siete pueblos
ximena tres pueblos.
cicuye uno pueblo.
hemes siete pueblos
aguas calientes tres pueblos.
yuqueyunque de la sierra seis pueblos.
ualladolid dicho braba un pueblo.
chia un pueblo.
por todos son sesenta y seis pueblos como parece tiguex es el riñon
de los pueblos ualladolid lo mas alto el rio arriba a el nordeste los
quatro pueblos a el rio abaxo al sueste porque el rio boltea haçia
leuante que desde la una punta de lo que se bio el rio abaxo a la
otra que se bio el rio arriba en que esta todo lo poblado ay çiento
y treinta leguas diez mas o menos que por todos los pueblos con los
de las trabesias son sesenta y seis como tengo dicho en todos ellos
puede auer como ueinte mill hombres lo qual se puede bien considerar
y entender por la poblaçion de los pueblos y entre medias de unos y
otros no ay caserias ni otra abitacion sino todo despoblado por donde
se be que segun son poca gente y tan diferençiados en trato gouierno
y poliçia de todas las naçiones que se an bisto y descubierto en
estas partes de poniente son benediços de aquella parte de la india
mayor que cae su costa debaxo del poniente de esta tierra que por
aquella parte pueden aber baxado atrabesando aquellas cordilleras
baxando por aquel rio abajo poblando en lo mejor que les pareçia
y como an ydo multiplicando an ydo poblando hasta que [p455] no
hallaron rio porque se sume debaxo de tierra haciendo sus corrientes
haçia la florida baxando del nordeste donde se hallaua notiçia
todauia de pueblos quese dexo de seguir al turco que lo deçiã sin
aquellas cordilleras do nace aquel rio se atrabesaran yo creo se
tomaran ricas noticias y se entrara en las tierras de donde aquellas
gentes proçeden que segun el rũbo es principio de la india mayor
aun que partes innotas y no sabidas ni cognosidas porque segun la
demostraçion de la costa es muy la tierra adentro entre la nuruega y
la china en el comedio de la tierra de mar a mar es grande anchura
segun de muestran los rumbos de ambas costas asi lo [~q] descubrio
el capitan uillalobos yendo por esta mar de poniente en demanda de
la china como lo que sea descubierto por la mar del norte la buelta
de los bacallaos que es por la costa de la florida arriba hacia la
nuruega.
ansi que tornado a el proposito de lo començado digo [~q] en espaçio
de setenta leguas en el ancho de aquella tierra poblada y de ciento
y treinta leguas al luego del rio de tiguex no se bieron ni hallaron
mas poblados ni gentes de los ya dichas que ay repartimientos en la
nueba españa no uno sino muchos de mayor numero de gentes en muchos
pueblos de ellos se hallaron metales de plata que los tenian para
bedriar y pintar los rotro.
_Capitulo septimo que trata de los llanos que se atrabesaron de bacas
y de las gentes que los habitan._
dicho abemos de lo poblado de altos que segun parese esta en el
comedio de la cordillera en lo mas llano y espaçioso de ella porque
tiene de atrabesia çiento y sinquenta leguas hasta entrar en la
tierra llana que esta entre las dos cordilleras digo la que esta a
la mar del norte y la que esta a la mar del sur que por esta costa
se podria mejor deçir a la mar de poniente esta cordillera es la que
esta a el mar del sur pues para entender como lo poblado que digo es
ba en el comedio de la cordillera digo que desde chichilticale que
es el principio de la trabesia a çibola ay ochenta leguas de çibola
que es el primer pueblo a cicuye que es el prostero en la trabesia
ay setenta leguas de cicuye a los llanos ay treinta leguas hasta el
prinçipio de ellos puede ser aberse atrabesado algo por trabesia o
a el sesgo por do parece aber mas tierra que si se atrabesara por
medio y pudiera ser mas dificultoso y aspero y esto no se puede biē
entender por la buelta que la cordillera haçe tras de su costa del
Ancon del rio del tizon.
agora diremos de los llanos que es una tierra llana y espaçiosa que
tiene en anchura mas de quatro cientas leguas por aquella parte
entre las dos cordilleras la una la que atrabeso francisco uasques
coronado a la mar del sur y la otra la que atrabeso la gente de don
fernando de soto a la mar del norte entrando por la florida lo que
de estos llanos se bio todo era despoblado y no se pudo ber la otra
cordillera ni çerro ni çierra que tubiese de altura tres estados con
andar doçientas y sinquenta leguas por ellos atrechos se hallauan
algunas lagunas redondas como [p456] platos de un tiro de piedra de
ancho y mayores algunas dulçes y algunas de sal en estas lagunas ay
alguna yerba cresida fuera de ellas toda es muy chica de un geme y
menos es la tierra de hechura de bola que donde quiera que un hombre
se pone lo çerca el çielo a tiro de ballesta no tiene arboleda sino
en los rios que ay en algunas barrancas que son tam encubiertas que
hasta que estan a el bordo de ellas no son bistas son de tierra
muerta tienen entradas que haçen las bacas para entrar a el agua
que esta honda por estos llanos andan gentes como tengo dicho en la
primera parte en pos de las bacas haçiendo caça y adobãdo cueros para
lleuar a bender a los poblados los inbiernos porque ban a inbernar a
ellos cada compañia a donde mas çerca se halla unos a los poblados
de cicuye otros haçia quiuira otros haçia la florida a los poblados
que estan haçia aquella parte y puerto estan gentes que los llamā
querechos y teyas dan relaçion de grandes poblados y segun lo que
de estas gentes se bio y de otros que ellos daban notiçia que auia
por otras partes ella es harto mas gente que no la de los poblados
mas dispuesta y mayores hombres de guerra y mas temidos andan como
alarabes con sus tiendas y harrias de perros aparejados con lomillos
y en xalmas y sincha quando se les tuerçe la carga aullan llamando
quien los aderese comen esta gente la carne cruda y beben la sagre no
comen carne humana es gente amoroso y no cruel tienen fiel amistad
son muy entendidos por señas secan la carne a el sol cortandola
delgada como una oja y seca la muelen como harina para guardar y
haçer maçamorras para comer que con un puño que hechan en una olla se
hinche por que creçe mucho guisan lo con manteca que siempre procuran
traer quando matan la baca uaçian una gran tripa y hinchen la de
sangre y hechan la a el cuello para beber quando tienen sed quando an
abierto la pança de la baca aprietan para abajo la yerua mascada y
el sumo que queda arriba lo beben que diçen que esto da la sustançia
de el bientre abren las bacas por el lomo y deshaçen los por sus
coyunturas con un pedernal grande como un dedo atado en un palito cō
tanta façilidad como si fuese con una muy buena herramienta dando
les los filos en sus propios dientes es cosa de ber y de notar la
presteça con que lo haçen.
ay por estos llanos muy gran cantidad de lobos que andā tras de las
bacas tienen el pelo blanco los sieruos son remendados de blanco el
pelo ancho y que muriendo ansi con la mano se pelan en caliente y
quedan como puerco pelado las liebres que son en gran numero andan
tan abobadas que yendo a cauallo las matan con las lanças esto es de
andar hechas entre las bacas de la gente de pie huyen.
_Capitulo ocho de quiuira y en que rumbo esta y la notiçia que dan._
quiuira es a el poniente de aquellas barrancas por el medio de la
tierra algo arrimada a la cordillera de la mar porque hasta quiuira
es tierra llana y alli se començan a ber algunas sierras la tierra
es muy poblada segun el principio de ella se bio ser esta tierra muy
aparente a la de [p457] españa en su manera de yeruas y frutas
ay siruelas como las de castilla ubas nueçes moras uallico y abena
poleo oregano lino en gran cantidad no lo benefficiā porque no saben
el uso de ello la gente es casi de la manera y traje de los teyas
tienen los pueblos a la manera como los de la nueba españa las casas
son redondas sin çerca tienen unos altos a manera de balbacoas por
baxo la techũbre adonde duermen y tienen sus aberes las techumbres
son de paja ay en su contorno otras prouincias muy pobladas en
grande numero de gente y aqui en esta prouinçia quedo un frayle que
se deçia fray ju^o de padilla y un español portugues y un negro y
un mestiso y siertos indios de la prouinçia de capothan de la nueba
españa a el frayle mataron porque se queria yr a la prouinçia de los
guas que eran sus enemigos el español escapo huyendo en una yegua y
despues aporto en la nueba españa saliendo por la uia de panuco los
indios de la nueba españa que yban con el frayle lo enterraron con
consentimiento de los matadores y se binieron en pos del español
hasta que lo alcançaron este español era portugues auia por nombre
campo.
[Illustration: LXXXII. Facsimile of Pages of Castañeda’s Relacion
From the Manuscript in the Lenox Library]
el gran rio del espiritu santo que descubrio don fer^{do} de soto en
la tierra de la florida lleua sus corrientes de aquesta tierra pasa
por una prouinçia que se diçe arache segun alli tubo por noticia
berdadera que no se bieron sus naçimientos porque segun deçian bienen
de muy lejos tierra de la cordillera del sur de la parte que desagua
a los llanos y atrabiesa toda la tierra llana y rompe la cordillera
del norte y sale adonde lo nauegaron los de don fernando de soto esto
es mas de treçientas leguas de donde el ba a salir a la mar y por
esto y por las grandes acogidas que tiene sale tam poderosa a el mar
que an perdido la uista de la tierra y no el agua de ser dulçe.
hasta esta tierra de quiuira fue lo ultimo que se bio y de lo que
ya puedo dar noticia o relaçion y agora me conbiene dar la buelta a
hablar del campo que dexe en tiguex reposando el inbierno para poder
pasar o bolber a buscar estos poblados de quiuira lo qual despues
no suçedio ansi porque fue dios seruido que estos descubrimientos
quedasen para otras gentes y que nos contentasemos los que alla
fuimos con deçir que fuimos los primeros que lo descubrimos y tubimos
notiçia de ello.
como hercules conoçer el sitio adonde jullio çesar auia de fundar
a seuilla o hispales plega a el señor todo poderoso se sirua con
todo que sierto es que si su uoluntad fuera ni fran^{co} uasques
se bolbiera a la nueba españa tan sin causa ni raçon ni los de don
fernando de soto dexaran de poblar tan buena tierra como tenian y
tambien poblada y larga mayormente abiendo tenido como tubieron
notiçia de nuestro campo. [p458]
TERCERA PARTE COMO Y EN QUE SE TRATA AQUELLO QUE ACONTEÇIO A
FRANCISCO UASQUES CORONADO ESTANDO INBERNANDO Y COMO DEXO LA JORNADA
Y SE BOLBIO A LA NUEBA ESPAÑA.[95]
_laus deo._
_Capitulo primero como bino de Señora don pedro de touar con gente y
se partio para la nueba españa don garci lopes de cardenas._
en el fin de la primera parte de este libro diximos como francisco
uasques coronado buelto de quiuira auia ordenado de inbernar en
tiguex y benido el inbierno dar la buelta con todo su canpo para
descubrir todos aquellos poblados en estos comedios don pedro de
touar que como diximos auia ydo a sacar gente de la uilla de san
hieronimo llego con la gente que traya y a la berdad considerando que
pa ir en demanda de su general a la tierra del indio que llemauan
turco le conbenia lleuar buena gente no saco de alla los cediçiosos
ni reboltosos sino los mas exprimentados y mejores soldados hombres
de confiança que pudo y llegados a tiguex aunque hallaron alli el
campo no les plugo mucho por que benian ya el pico a el biento
creyendo hallar a el general en la tierra rica del indio que deçian
turco consolaronse con la esperança de la buelta que se auia de haçer
y biuian en gran plaçer y alegria con la esperanca de la buelta que
se auia de hacer y de que presto yria el campo a quiuira con don
pedro de touar binieron cartas de la nueba españa ansi del uirrey don
Antonio de mendoça como de particulares entre los quales dieron una
a don garçia lopes de cardenas en que le hiçieron saber la muerte
de un su hermano mayorazgo llamandole fuese a heredar a españa por
donde ubo liçençia y salio de tiguex con algunas otras personas que
ubieron liçençia para se yr a reposar a sus casas otros muchos se
quisieran yr que lo dexaron por no mostrar flaqueça procuraba en
estos comedios a pasiguar algunos pueblos de la comarca que estaban
no bien asentados y llamar a los de tiguex a paz y buscar alguna ropa
de la tierra porque andaban ya los soldados desnudos y mal tratados
llenos de piojos y no los podian agotar ni deshechar de si.
el general francisco uasques coronado auia sido entre sus capitanes
y soldados el mas bien quisto y obedeçido capitan que podia auer
salido en indias y como la necesidad careçe de ley y los capitanes
que recogian la ropa la repartiesen mal tomando para si y sus amigos
y criados lo mejor y a los soldados se les repartiese el deshecho
comẽço a aber algunas murmuraçiones y desabrimentos unos por lo dicho
y otros por ber que algunos sobre salientes eran reseruados del
trabajo y de las uelas y mejor repartidos en lo que se repartia asi
de ropa como de bastimentos par do se cree praticaban y a no aber en
la tierra para que bolber a quiuira que no fue pequeña ocaçion para
lo de adelante como se uera. [p459]
_Capitulo segundo como cayo el general y se hordeno la buelta para la
nueba españa._
pasado que fue el inuierno se publico la buelta para quiuira y la
gente se comẽcaua a perçebir de las cosas necesarias y como ninguna
cosa esta en esta uida a la dispusiçion de los hombres sino a la
ordenaçion de dios todo poderoso fue su uoluntad que los n[=r]os no
se efectuasen y fue el caso quel general un dia de fiesta se salio a
holgar a cauallo como solia y corriendo parejas con el capitan don
rodrigo maldonado el yba en un poderoso cauallo y sus criados auian
le puesto una çincha nueba que del tiempo debia de estar podrida
en la carrera rebento y bino a caer de lado a la parte que yba don
rodrigo y a el pasar a el cansole el cauallo con el pie en la cabeça
de que llego a punto de muerte y su cura fue larga y temida.
en este comedio quel estaba en la cama don garci lopes de cardenas
que auia salido para salir a la nueba españa bolbio de suya huyendo
que hallo despoblada la uilla y muerta la gente y cauallos y ganados
y llego a tiguex y sabida la triste nueba como el general estaba en
los terminos ya dichos no se lo osaron deçir hasta que estubiese sano
y al cabo y a que se lebantaua lo supo y sintio lo tanto que ubo de
tornar a recaer y por uentura para benir a haçer lo que hiço segun
despues se creyo y fue que como se bio de aquella suerte bino le a la
memoria que en salamanca un mathematico su amigo le auia dicho que
se auia de ber en tierras estrañas señor y poderoso y abia de dar un
cayda de que no se auia de poder leuantar y con esta inmaginaçion
de su muerte le dio deseo de boluer a morir a donde tenia muger y
hijos y como del mismo fiçico y su surujano que lo curaua y seruia
tambien de chismoso suprese las murmuraçiones que andaban entre los
soldados trato secreta y ocultamente con algunos caualleros de su
opinion pusieron en pratica la buelta de la nueua españa entre los
soldados haçiendo juntas y corrillos y que se hiciesen consultas y
lo pidiesen con sus alferes a el general cō carteles firmados de
todos sus soldados lo qual ellos trataron muy por entero y no fue
menester gastar mucho tienpo segun ya muchos lo tenian en uoluntad el
general mostro des que se lo pidieron que no lo queria haçer sino lo
confirmauan todos los caualleros y capitanes dando su pareçer firmado
y como algunos eran en ello dieron lo luego y aun persuadieron a
los otros a haçer lo mismo y ansi dieron pareçer que se deuian de
boluer a la nueba españa pues no se auia hallado cosa rica ni auia
poblado en lo descubrierto donde se pudiesen haçer repartimientos a
todo el campo y como les cogio las firmas luego se publico la buelta
para la nueua españa y como no puede aber cosa encubierta comēçose a
descubrir el trato doble y hallaronse muchos de los caualleros faltos
y corridos y procuraron por todas uias tornar a cobrar sus firmas del
general el qual las guardo tanto que no salia de una camara haçiendo
su dolençia muy mayor poniendo guardas en su persona y camara y de
noche en los altos a donde dormia con todo esto le hurtaron el cofre
y se dixo no hallaron en el sus firmas que las tenia en el colchon
[p460] por otro cabo se dixo que las cobraron ellos pidieron quel
general les diese sesenta hombres escogidos y que ellos quedarian y
sustentarian la tierra hasta que el uirrey les embiase socorro o a
llamar o que el general dexase el campo y escogiese sesenta hombres
con que se fuese pero los soldados ni de una ni de otra manera no
quisieron quedar lo uno por aber ya puesto la proa a la nueba españa
y lo otro por que bieron clara la discordia que se auia de leuantar
sobre quien auia de mandar los caualleros no se sabe si porque
auian jurado fidelidad o por tener creydo que los soldados no los
faboreçerian aunque agrabiados lo ubieron de su fin y pasar por lo
determinado aunque desde alli no obedeçian al general como solian y
el era dellos mal quisto y haçia caudal de los soldados y honraba los
que fue a benir a el efecto de lo quel queria y que se efetuase la
buelta de todo el campo.
_Capitulo terçero como se alço Suya y las causas que para ello dieron
los pobladores._
ya diximos en el capitulo pasado como don garcia lopes de cardenas
bolbio huyendo de suya desque hallo alçada la tierra y que de deçir
como y porque se despoblo a la aquella uilla lo qual paso como
contare y fue el caso que como ya en aquella uilla no auia quedado
sino la gente ruyn entereçada honbres reboltosos y sediciosos puesto
que quedaron algunos honrados en los cargos de republica y para
gouernar a los demas podia mas la maliçia de los ruynes y cada dia
hacian munipudios y tratos diciendo que estaban bendidos y no para
ser aprobechados pues en aquella tierra se mandaba por otra parte mas
aproposito de la nueba españa que no aquella estaua y ellos quedaban
casi por derecho y con esto mouidos sierta compañia haciendo caudillo
a un pedro de auila se amotinaron y fueron la buelta de culiacan
dexando a diego de alcaraz su capitan con poca gente doliente en
aquella uilla de sant hieronimo que no ubo quiẽ los pudiese seguir
para los apremiar a que bolbiesẽ en el camino en algunos pueblos
les mataron alguna gente y al cabo [Sidenote: saabedra] salieron a
culiacan adonde hernando arias de saya bendra los detubo entretenidos
con palabras porque aguardaba a juan gallego que auia de benir alli
con gente de la nueua españa y que los bolberia algunos temiendolo
que auia de ser se huyan de noche para la nueba españa diego de
alcaraz que auia quedado con poca gente y doliente aunque quisiera
no podia alli sustentarse por el peligro de la yerua mortal que por
alli usan traer los naturales los quales sintiendo la flaqueça de los
españoles ya no se dexaban tratar como solian abian se ya descubierto
antes desto mineros de oro y como estaban en tierra de guerra y no
tenian posibilidad no se labrauan estando en esta confuçion no se
dexaban de belar y recatar mas que solian.
la uilla estaba poblada çerca de un rio pequeño y una noche a desora
bieron fuegos no usados ni acostumbrados que fue causa que doblaron
las uelas pero como en toda la noche no sintieron nada a la madrugada
se descuidarō y los enemigos entraron tan callados por el pueblo que
no [p461] fueron uistos hasta que andaban matando y robando algunas
gentes salieron a lo llano que tubieron lugar y a el salir hirieron
de muerte a el capitan y como algunos españoles se rehiçieron en
algunos cauallos bolbieron sobre los enemigos y socorrieron alguna
gente aunque fue poca y los enemigos se fueron con la presa sin
reçebir daño dexando muertos tres españoles y mucha gente de seruiçio
y mas de ueinto cauallos.
los españoles que quedaron salieron aquel dia a pie sin cauallos
la buelta de culiacan por fuera de caminos y sin ningun bastimento
hasta llegar a los coraçones adonde aquellos indios los socorrieron
de bastimentos como amigos que siempre fueron y de alli cõ grandes
trabajos que pasaron llegaron a culiacan adonde hernandarias de
saabedra alcalde mayor los reçibio y hospedo lo mejor que pudo hasta
que juan gallego llego con el socorro que traya para pasar adelante
en busca del campo que no poco le peso se obiese despoblado aquel
paso creyendo quel campo estaba en la tierra rica que auia dicho el
indio que llamaron turco porque lo parecia en su aspeto.
_Capitulo quarto como se quedo fray juan de padilla y fray luis en la
tierra y el campo se aperçibio la buelta de mexico._
ya quel general francisco uasques uido que todo estaba pacifico y que
sus negoçios se auian encaminado a su uoluntad mando que para entrado
el mes de abril del año de quinientos y quarenta y tres estubiesen
todos aperçebidos para salir la buelta de la nueba españa.
biendo esto un fray juan de padilla frayle de misa de la orden de los
menores y otro fray luis lego dixeron a el general que ellos querian
quedarse en aquella tierra el fray juan de padilla en quiuira porque
le parecia haria alli fructo su dotrina y el fray luis en cicuye
y para esto como era quaresma a la saçon predico un domingo aquel
sermon del padre de las compañas y fundo su proposito con autoridad
de la sagrada escritura y como su celo era combertir aquellas gentes
y traer los a la fe y como tubieron liçençia que para esto no era
menester embio el general con ellos una compañia que los sacasen
hasta cicuye donde se quedo el fray luis y el fray juan paso la
buelta de quiuira lleuando el portugues que diximos y el negro y el
mestiso y indios de la nueba españa con las guias que auia traydo
el general donde en llegando alla dentro de muy poco tiempo lo
martiriçaron como contamos en la segunda parte ca[~p] otauo y ansi se
puede creer murio martir pues su çelo era santo y bueno.
el fray luis se quedo en cicuye no se a sabido del mas hasta oy aun
que antes quel campo saliese de tiguex lleuandole sierta cantidad
de obejas para que se le quedasen los que las llebauan toparon
acompañado de gente que andaba uiçitando otros pueblos que estaban a
quinçe y a ueinte leguas de cicuye y no dio poca buena esperanca que
estaba en graçia del pueblo y haria fruto su dotrina aũque se quexaba
que los uiejos lo desamparaban y creyo al fin lo matarian yo para
mi tengo que como era hombre de buena y santa uida n[~r]o señor lo
guardaria y daria [p462] gracia que conbirtiese algunas gentes de
aquellas y dexase despues de sus dias quien los administrase en la
fee y no es de creer otro cosa porque la gente de por alli es piadosa
y ninguna cosa cruel antes son amigos o enemigos de la crueldad y
guardan la fee y lealtad a los amigos.
el general despachados los frayles temiendo no le dañase el traer
gente de aquella tierra a la nueba españa mādo quel seruiçio que los
soldados tenian de los naturales lo dexasen yr libres a sus pueblos
adonde quisiesen que a mi ber no lo a serto que mas ualiera se
dotrinaran entre christianos.
andaba ya el general alegre y contento llegado el plaço y todos
probeydos de lo necesario para su jornada el campo salio de tiguex la
buelta de cibola aconteçio en este camino una cosa no poco de notar
y fue que con salir los cauallos exerçitados a el trabajo gordos
y hermosos en diez dias que se tardo en llegar a cibola murieron
mas de treinta que no ubo dia que no muriesen dos y tres y mas y
despues hasta llegar a culiacan murieron gran numero de ellos cosa no
aconteçida en toda la jornada.
llegado que fue el campo a çibola se rehiço para salir por el
despoblado por ser alli lo ultimo de los poblados de aquella tierra
quedando toda aquella tierra pacifica y llana y que se quedaron
algunos amigos entre ellos de los nuestros.
_Capitulo quinto como el canpo salio del poblado y camino a culiacan
y lo que aconteçio en el camino._
dexando ya por popa podemos deçir los poblados que se auian
descubierto en la tierra nueba que como tengo dicho eran los siete
pueblos de cibola lo primero que se bio y lo prostero que se dexo
salio el campo caminando por el despoblado y en dos o tres jornadas
nunca dexaron los naturales de seguir el campo tras la retaguardia
por coger algun fardaje o gente de seruiçio porque aunque que dabā
de paz y auian sido buenos y le a les amigos todauia como bieron que
se les dexaba la tierra libre se holgauan de ber en su poder gente
de la nuestra a aunque se cre no para los enojar como se supo de
algunos que no quiseron yr con ellos que fueron de ellos inportunados
y rogados todauia lleuaron alguna gente y otros que se auian quedado
uoluntariamẽte de los quales el dia de oy abra buenas lenguas el
despoblado se camino sin contraste y como salieron en chichilticale
en la segunda jornada llego a el campo juan gallego que yba de la
nueba españa con socorro de gente y cosas neçesarias para el campo
pensando de lo hallar en la tierra del indio que llamaran turco y
como juan gallego bido que el canpo se bolbia la prime[ra] palabra
que dixo no fue deçir norabuena bengais y no lo sintio tan poco
que despues de aber hablado al general y llegados a el campo digo
a el aposento no ubiese algunos mobimientos en los caualleros con
aquel nuebo socorro que no con poco trabajo auian allegado tras ta
alli teniendo cada dia recuentros con los indios de aquellas partes
como se a dicho que estaban alcados ubo algunos tratos y platicas
de poblar por alli en alguna parte hasta dar relaçion a el [p463]
bisorey de lo que pasaba la gente de los soldados que uenian de la
tierra nueba a ninguna cosa daban consentimiento sino en bolber a la
nueba españa por donde no ubo efecto nada de lo que se proponia en
sus consultas y aunque ubo algunos alborotos al cabo se apasiaguarõ
yban con juan gallego algunos de los amotinados que despoblaron la
uilla de los coraçones asegurados por el y debajo de su palabra y
puesto que el general quisiera haçer algun castigo era poco su poder
porque ya era desobe desobedecido y poco acatado y de alli adelante
de nuebo començo a temer y haciase doliente andando con guarda en
algunas partes ubo algunas gritas y de indios y de heridos y muertes
de cauallos hasta llegar a batuco donde salieron a el campo indios
amigos del ualle del coraçon por ber a el general como amigos que
sienpre fueron y ansi auiā tratado a todos los españoles que por sus
tierras auian pasado probeyendoles en sus neçesidades de bastimentos
y gente si necesario era y ansi fueron de los n[=r]os siempre muy
bien tratados y gratificados en esta jornada se aprobo del agua
del menbrillo ser buena contra la yerba de estas partes porque en
un paso algunas jornadas antes de llegar a el ualle de señora los
indios enemigos hirieron a un español llamado mesa y con ser la
herida mortal de yerba fresca y tardarse mas de dos oras en curar con
el agua no murio puesto que quedolo que la yerba auia infiçionado
podrido y se cayo la carne hasta dexar los guesos y nierbos desnudos
con pestilençial hedor que fue la herida en la muñeca y auia llegado
la ponsoña hasta la espalda quando se uino a curar y todo esto
desamparo la carne.
caminaba el campo sin tomar reposo porque ya en esta saçon auia
falta de bastimentos que como aquellas comarcas estaban alçadas
las bituallas no auia adonde las tomar hasta que llego a petlatlan
haçiendo algunas entradas en las trabesias por buscar bastimentos
patlatlan es de la prouinçia de culiacan y a esta causa estaba de paz
aunque despues aca a bido algunas nobedades alli descanso el campo
algunos dias por se basteçer y salidos de alli con mayor presteça que
de antes procuraron pasar aquellas treinta leguas que ay el ualle de
culiacan donde de nuebo los acogieron como gente que benia con su
gouernador mal tratado.
_Capitulo sexto como el general salio de culiacan para dar quenta a
el uisorey del campo que le encargo._
ya parece que en aber llegado a el ualle de culiacan se da fin a los
trabajos de esta jornada lo uno por ser el general gouernador y lo
otro por estar en tierra de christianos y ansi se començaron luego
asentar algunos de la superioridad y dominio que sobre ellos tenian
sus capitanes y aun algunos capitanes de la obidencia del general y
cada uno haçia ya cabeça de su juego de manera que pasando el general
a la uilla que estaua de alli diez leguas mucha de la gente o la mas
de ella se le quedo en el ualle reposando y algunos con proposito
de no le seguir bien sintio el general que por uia de fuerça ya no
era poderoso [p464] aunque la autoridad de ser gouernador le daba
otra nueba autoridad determino llebar lo por otra mejor uia que
fue mandar prober a todos los capitanes de bastimentos y carne de
lo que auia en algunos pueblos que como gouernador estaban en su
cabeça y mostrose estar doliente haçiendo cama porque los que con el
ubiesen de negoçiar pudiesen hablarle o el con ellos mas libremente
sin enpacho ni obenpacion y no dexaba de embiar a llamar algunos
particulares amigos para les rogar y encargar hablasen a los soldados
y los animasen a salir de alli en su compañia la buelta de la nueba
españa y les dixesen lleuaba muy a cargo de los faboreçeran si con
el uisorey don Antonio de mendoça como en su gouernaçion a los que
con el quisiesen quedar en ella y desque ubo negociado salio con su
campo en tiempo reçio y principio de las aguas que era por san juan
en el qual tiempo lluebe brabamẽte y los rios de aquel despoblado que
se pasan hasta conpostela sõ muchos y muy peligrosos y caudalosos de
grandes y brauos lagartos en un rio de los quales estando asentado
el campo pasando un soldado de la una parte a la otra a bista de
todos fue arrebatado de un lagarto y llebado sin poder ser socorrido
el general camino dexando por todas partes gentes que no le querian
seguir y llego a mexico con menos de çien hombres a dar quenta a el
uisorey don Antonio de mendoça no fue del bien recebido aun que dio
sus descargos y desde alli perdio reputaçion y gouerno poco tiempo
la gouernaçion que se le auiã encargado de la nueba galiçia porque
el uisorey la tomo en si hasta que uino a el la audiençia como a el
presente lo ay y este fue el fin que ubieron aquellos descubrimientos
y jornada que se hiço de la tierra nueba.
quedanos agora deçir por que uia se podria entrar y por mas derecho
camino en ella aunque digo que no ay atajo sin trabajo y siempre es
lo mejor lo que se sabe porque prebienen bien los hombres lo que
saben que a de benir y necesidades en que ya otra uez se bieron y
decir sea a que parte cae quiuira ques el rumbo que llebo el campo y
a qual parte cae la india mayor que era lo que se pretendia buscar
quando el campo salio para alla que agora por aber uillalobos
descubierto esta costa de la mar del sur que es por esta uia de
poniente se cognoçe y be claramente que se auia de bolber estando
como estabamos debajo del norte a el poniente y no haçia oriente como
fuimos y con esto dexaremos esta materia y daremos fin a este tratado
como ay a hecho relaçion de algunas cosas notables que dexe de contar
por las tratar particularmente en los dos capitulos siguientes.
_Capitulo septimo de las cosas que le aconteçieron al capitan Juan
gallego por la tierra alçada lleuando el socorro._
bien se sufrira pues en el capitulo pasado pase en silençio las
haçañas quel capitan juan gallego hiço con ueinte compañeros que
lleuabase diga en el presente capitulo para que en los tiempos
benideros los que lo leyeren y de ello dieren notiçia tengan autor
sierto con quien aprobar y que no escribe fabulas como algunas cosas
que en n[=r]os tiempos [p465] leemos en los libros de cauallerias
que si no fuese por lleuar aquellas fabulas de encãtamientos ay cosas
el dia de oy acontesidas en estas partes por n[=r]os españoles en
conquistas y recuentros abidos con los naturales que sobrepujan en
hechos de admiraçion no solo a los libros ya dichos sino a los que
se escriben de los doçe pares de françia porque tanteado y mirado la
fatales fuerças que los autores de aquellos tienpos les atribuyen
y las lucidas y resplandesientes armas de que los adornan y las
pequeñas estaturas de que agora son los hombres de n[=r]os tiempos
y las pocas y ruynes armas de en estas partes mas es de admirar las
cosas estrañas que con tales armas los n[=r]os acometen y hacen el
dia de oy que las que escribē de los antiguos pues tambien peleaban
ellos con gentes barbaras y desnudas como los n[=r]os con indios
donde no dexa de aber hombres que entre ellos sõ esforcados y
ualientes y muy çerteros flecheros pues le abemos uisto derribar las
aues que ban bolando y corriendo tras las liebres flecharlas todo
esto he dicho a el fin que algunas cosas que tenemos por fabulosas
pueden ser berdaderas y pues cada dia bemos en n[=r]os tiempos cosas
mayores como an sido las de don fer^{do} cortes en los benideros
tienpos que con tresientos hombres osa se entrar en el riñon de la
nueba españa donde tan grande numero de gentes como es mexico y con
quinientos españoles la acabase de ganar y señorear en dos años cosa
de grande admiraçion.
los hechos de don pedro de aluarado en la conquista de guatimala y lo
de montejo en tabasco las conquistas de terra firme y del peru cosas
eran todas estas para que yo ubiera de callar y pasar en silençio lo
que agora quiero contar pero por que estoy obligado a dar relacion de
las cosas en esta jornada acontecidas e querido se sepan tambien las
que agora dire con las demas que tengo dicho.
y es ansi quel capitan juan gallego llego a la uilla de culiacan con
bien poca gente y alli recogio la que pudo de la que se auia escapado
de la uilla de los coraçones o por mejor decir de suya que por todos
fueron ueinte y dos hombres y con estos camino por toda aquella
tierra poblada en que andubo doçientas leguas y de tierra de guerra
y gente alçada que auian estado ya en el amistad de los españoles
teniendo cada dia o poco menos recuentros con los enemigos y siempre
caminaua dexando atras el fardaje con las dos partes de las gentes
lleuando continuamente la auangardia con seis o siete españoles sin
otros amigos que los lleuaban entrando en los pueblos por fuerça
matando y destruyendo y poniendo fuego dando en los enemigos tam
de supito y con tanta presteça y denuedo que no les daban lugar a
que se juntasen ni entendiesen de suerte que eran tan temidos que
no auia pueblo que esperar los osase que ansi huyan de ellos como
de un poderoso exercito tanto que les aconteçio yr diez dias todo
por poblado que no tenian ora de descanso y todo lo haciã con siete
compañeros que quando llegaua el fardaje con toda la demas gente
no tenian en que entender saluo en robar que ya ellas auian muerto
y preso la gente que auian podido auer a las manos y la demas auia
huydo y como no paraban aunque los pueblos de [p466] adelante tenian
algun abiso eran con ellos tam presto que no les daban lugar a se
recoger en espeçial en aquella parte donde auia sido la uilla de los
coraçones que alli mato y ahorco buena cantidad de gente en castigo
de su rebelion y en todo esto no perdio compañero sin se lo hirieron
saluo uno que por despojar a un indio que casi estaba muerto le hirio
en el parpalo del ojo quando le ronpio el pelejo y por ser con yerba
obiera de morir sino fuera socorrido con el agua del membrillo y
perdio el ojo fueron tales estos hijos digo hechos que aquella gente
tendra en memoria todo quanto la uida les durare en espeçial quatro
o cinco indios amigos que salieron con ellos de los coraçones que
quedaron desto tam admirados que los tenian mas por cosa diuina que
humana y si como nro campo los topo no los topara obieran de llegar
a la tierra del indio que llamauan turco do yban encaminados y lo
pasaran sin riesgo segũ la buena orden y gouierno lleuaba y bien
dotrinada y exerçitada en la guerra de los quales algunos quedaron en
esta uilla de culiacan donde yo a el presente escribo esta relaçion y
notiçia a donde ansi ellos como yo y los demas que en esta prouincia
paramos no nos a faltado trabajos apasiguando y sustentando esta
tierra tomando rebeldes y biniendo en probeça y neçesidad y en esta
ora mas por estar la tierra mas probe y alcançada que nunca lo fue.
_Capitulo otauo en que se quentan algunas cosas admirables que se
bieron en los llanos con la façion de los toros_.
no sin misterio calle y dicimule en la segunda parte deste libro en
el capitulo septimo que habla de los llanos las cosas de que hare
mençion en este capitulo particular adonde se hallase todo junto
pues eran cosas señaladas y no uistas en otras partes y atrebome
a las escrebir porque escribo en tiempo que son oy biuos muchos
hombres que lo bieron y haran berdadera mi escriptura quien podra
crer que caminando por aquellos llanos mill cauallos y quinientas
uacas de las nuestras y mas de çinco mill carneros y obejas y mas
de mill y quinientas personas de los amigos y seruiçio que acabando
de pasar no dexaban mas rastro que si nunca por alli ubieran pasado
nadie tanto que era menester haçer montones de guesos y boñigas de
uacas a trechos para que la retaguardia guiase tras del canpo y no
se perdiesen la yerba aunque menuda en pisandola se enhiestaua tam
limpia y derecha como de antes lo estaba.
otra cosa que se hallo a la orilla de una laguna de sal a la parte
del sur un grande ayuntamiento de guesos de uacas que tenia de largo
un tiro de ballesta o muy poquito menos y de esto casi dos estados en
partes y en ancho tres braças y mas en parte donde no ay gente que lo
pudiese haçer lo que de ello se entendio fue que con la reseca que
debe de haçer el lago o laguna en tiempo de nortes los a juntado de
el ganado que muere dentro en la laguna que de uiejo y flaco entrando
no puede salir lo que se a de notar es que numero de ganado seria
menester para tanta osamenta. [p467]
[Illustration: LXXXIV. Facsimile of Pages of Castañeda’s Relacion
From the Manuscript in the Lenox Library]
pues querer contar la façion de los toros tambien es de admirar que
ningun cauallo ubo a los principios que los biese de cara que no
huyese de su bista porque ellos tienen el rrostro ancho y corto de
ojo a ojo dos palmos de frente los ojos salidos por el lado que yendo
huyendo ben a quien los sigue tienen barbas como cabrones muy grandes
quando huyen lleuan la cabeca baxa la barba arrastrando por el suelo
del medio cuerpo para atras son señidos el pelo muy merino como de
ouejas muy finas y de la sinta para adelante el pelo muy largo de
faicion de leon raspante y una grã corcoba mayor que de camello los
cuernos cortos y gordos que se descubren poco por cima del pelo
mudan el pelo de medio cuerpo atras por mayo en un bellon y quedan
perfectos leones para mudarse arrimã a algunos arboles pequeños que
ay en algunas barranquillas y alli se rrefriegan hasta que dexan el
bellon como la culebra el pelejo tienen la cola corta y un pequeño
y sopo a el cabo lleuan la quando corren alta a manera de alacrã es
cosa de ber que quando son beçerricos son bermejos y de la manera de
los nuestros y con el tiempo y la edad se mudan en color y faiçion.
ay otra cosa que todos los toros que se mataron tenian a la oreja
isquierda hendida teniendolas sanas quando chiquitos este fue un
secreto que no se pudo alcançar la causa de ello de la lana segun la
finesa se harian buenos paños aunque no de colores por ser ella de
color de buriel.
otra cosa es de notar que andan los toros sin bacas en tanto numero
que no ay quien los pueda numerar y tam apartados de las uacas que
desde donde començamos a ber toros jasta adonde començamos a ber
uacas auia mas de quarenta leguas y la tierra adonde andaban era tan
llana y esconbrada que por do quiera que los mirasen se bia el cielo
por entre las piernas de suerte que si estaban algo lejos pareçian
escombrados pinos que juntaban las copas por lo alto y si un solo
toro estaba pareçia quatro pinos y por serca que estubiese no se
podia mirando por encima ber tierra de la otra parte causaba todo
esto ser la tierra tam redonda que do quiera que un hombre se ponia
pareçia que estaba en la cumbre y uia el çielo a el rededor de si a
tiro de ballesta y por poca cosa que se le ponia delante le quitaba
la uista de la tierra.
otras cosas se bieron que por no ser de tanta calidad no las escribo
ni hago de ellas minçion aunque no parece es de callar el tener como
tienen en beneraçion en algunas partes de los poblados de altos la
señal de la cruz por que en acuco en una fuente que estaba en lo
llano tenian una cruz de dos palmos de alto de gordor de un dedo
hecha de palo con su peña de una uara de quadro y muchos palitos
adornados de plumas a el rededor y muchas flores secas desmenuçadas.
en tutahaco en un sepulcro fuera del pueblo parecia aber se enterrado
en el frescamente alguien estaua otra cruz a la cabeçera de dos
palitos atados con hilo de algodon y flores desmenusadas secas yo
digo que a mi pareçer por alguna uia tienen alguna lunbre de cruz de
christo nuestro redentor y podria ser por la uia de la india de do
ellos proçeden. [p468]
_Capitulo nono que trata el rumbo que llebo el campo y como se podria
yr a buscar otra uia que mas derecha fuese abiendo de boluer aquella
tierra._
mucho quisiera yo agora que para dar a entender lo que quiero deçir
ubiera en mi alguna parte de cosmografia o jumetria para que pudiera
tantear o compasar la bentaja que puede aber y ay si otra uez
saliesen de la nueba españa gentes en demanda de aquella tierra en yr
alla por el riñon de la tierra o seguir el camino quel campo llebo
pero ayudandome la graçia del señor dire lo que alcanso dandolo a
entender lo mejor que a mi sea posible.
ya me pareçe que se tiene entendido quel portugues campo fue el
soldado que se escapo quando los de quiuira mataron a fray juan de
padilla el quel uino a salir a la nueba españa por panuco abiendo
andado por la tierra de los llanos hasta que uino atrabesar la
cordillera de la mar del norte dexando siempre la tierra que
descubrio don hernando de soto sobre mano isquierda porque este
nombre nunca bio el rio del espiritu santo y quando bino acabar de
atrabesar la cordillera de la mar del norte cayo sobre panuco de
manera que si no se pusiera a demandar por la mar del norte ubiera de
salir por la comarca de la marca o tierra de los sacatecas de que ya
agora se tiene lumbre.
y para aber de boluer en demanda de quiuira seria aquella uia harto
mejor y mas derecha pues ay guias en la nueba españa de las que
binieron con el portugues aunque digo que seria mejor y mas derecho
por la tierra de los guachichules arrimandose siempre a la cordillera
de la mar del sur porque es mas poblada y abria bastimento porque
engolfarse en la tierra llana seria perderse por la gran anchura
que tiene y ser esteril de comidas aunque sea berdad que dando en
las uacas no se pasaria mucha necesidad y esto es solamente para yr
en demanda de quiuira y de aquellos pueblos que decia el indio que
llemauan turco porque yr por donde fue el campo de franc^{co} uasques
coronado el grandissimo rodeo porque salen de mexico a el poniente
siento y diez leguas y despues a el nordeste cien leguas y a el norte
docientas y sinquenta y todo esto es hasta los barrancos de las uacas
y con aber andado ochoçientas y sinquenta leguas por rumbo derecho
no se an desbiado de mexico quatro sientas leguas si es querer yr a
la tierra de tiguex para desde alli bolber a el poniente en demanda
de la tierra de la india a se de lleuar el camino quel campo llebo
porque aunque se quiera tomar otro camino no lo ay que no da lugar
el ancon de mar que entra por esta costa adentro hacia el norte sino
es que se ubiese de hacer armada de mar que fuese atrabesando este
ancon de mar a desembarcar en el paraje de la isla de negros y por
alli entrar la tierra adentro atrabesando la cordillera en busca de
la tierra do proçeden los de tiguex o de otras gentes que tengan
aquella poliçia porque aber de entrar por tierra de la florida por la
mar del norte ya se a uisto y conosido que quantas jornadas por alli
se an hecho an sido infeliçes y no bien afortunadas allende de ques
la tierra de aquella parte llena de cienegas y ahogadiça esteril y la
mas mala que calienta el sol sino ban [p469] a desembarcar pasado
el rio del espiritu santo como hiço don hernando de soto y con todo
me afirmo que aunque se pase mucho trabajo es lo mejor por la tierra
que aya andado y se sepan los aguajes porque se lleuauan las cosas
necesarias con mas façilidad y mas abundosamente y en las tierras
nueuas los cauallos es lo mas neçesario y lo que mas haçe temer a
los enemigos y los que son señores del campo tambien es temida el
artilleria donde no saben el uso de ella y para poblados como los que
fran^{co} uasques descubrio fuera buena alguna pieça de artilleria
gruesa para derribar porque el no llebo sino uersillos menores y no
hombre ingenioso para que hiciese un trabuco ni otra maquina que los
atemorisas el qual es muy necesario.
digo pues que con la lunbre que el dia de oy se tiene de los rumbos
que an corrido los nauios por esta costa de la mar del sur an andado
descubriẽdo por esta parte de poniẽte y lo que se sabe de la mar
del norte haçia la nuruega ques la costa de la florida arriba los
que agora entrasen a descubrir por donde fran^{co} uasques entro
y se hallasen en tierra de çibola o de tiguex bien sabrian a que
parte auiã de yr en demanda de la tierra quel marques del ualle
don hernando cortes buscaba y la buelta que da el ancon del tiçon
para tomar el rumbo berdadero y esto bastara para dar fin a nuestra
relaçion en todo lo demas probe a aquel poderoso señor de todas las
cosas dios omnipotente quel sabe el como y quando estas tierras seran
descubiertas y para quien esta guardada esta buena uentura.
_laus deo._
Acabose de tresladar sabado a ueinte y seis de otubre de mill y
quinientos y nouẽta y seis anos en seuilla. [470]
TRANSLATION OF THE NARRATIVE OF CASTAÑEDA
Account of the Expedition to Cibola which took place in the year
1540, in which all those settlements, their ceremonies and customs,
are described. Written by Pedro de Castañeda of Najera.[96]
PREFACE
To me it seems very certain, my very noble lord, that it is a worthy
ambition for great men to desire to know and wish to preserve for
posterity correct information concerning the things that have
happened in distant parts, about which little is known. I do not
blame those inquisitive persons who, perchance with good intentions,
have many times troubled me not a little with their requests that I
clear up for them some doubts which they have had about different
things that have been commonly related concerning the events and
occurrences that took place during the expedition to Cibola, or
the New Land, which the good viceroy—may he be with God in His
glory[97]—Don Antonio de Mendoza, ordered and arranged, and on which
he sent Francisco Vazquez de Coronado as captain-general. In truth,
they have reason for wishing to know the truth, because most people
very often make things of which they have heard, and about which they
have perchance no knowledge, appear either greater or less than they
are. They make nothing of those things that amount to something, and
those that do not they make so remarkable that they appear to be
something impossible to believe. This may very well have been caused
by the fact that, as that country was not permanently occupied, there
has not been anyone who was willing to spend his time in writing
about its peculiarities, because all knowledge was lost of that
which it was not the pleasure of God—He alone knows the reason—that
they should enjoy. In truth, he who wishes to employ himself thus
in writing out the things that happened on the expedition, and the
things that were seen in those lands, and the ceremonies and customs
of the natives, will have matter enough to test his judgment, and
I believe that the result can not fail to be an account which,
describing only the truth, will be so remarkable that it will seem
incredible. [p471]
And besides, I think that the twenty years and more since that
expedition took place have been the cause of some stories which are
related. For example, some make it an uninhabitable country, others
have it bordering on Florida, and still others on Greater India,
which does not appear to be a slight difference. They are unable to
give any basis upon which to found their statements. There are those
who tell about some very peculiar animals, who are contradicted by
others who were on the expedition, declaring that there was nothing
of the sort seen. Others differ as to the limits of the provinces
and even in regard to the ceremonies and customs, attributing what
pertains to one people to others. All this has had a large part, my
very noble lord, in making me wish to give now, although somewhat
late, a short general account for all those who pride themselves on
this noble curiosity, and to save myself the time taken up by these
solicitations. Things enough will certainly be found here which are
hard to believe. All or the most of these were seen with my own eyes,
and the rest is from reliable information obtained by inquiry of
the natives themselves. Understanding as I do that this little work
would be nothing in itself, lacking authority, unless it were favored
and protected by a person whose authority would protect it from
the boldness of those who, without reverence, give their murmuring
tongues liberty, and knowing as I do how great are the obligations
under which I have always been, and am, to your grace, I humbly beg
to submit this little work to your protection. May it be received
as from a faithful retainer and servant. It will be divided into
three parts, that it may be better understood. The first will tell
of the discovery and the armament or army that was made ready, and
of the whole journey, with the captains who were there; the second,
of the villages and provinces which were found, and their limits,
and ceremonies and customs, the animals, fruits, and vegetation, and
in what parts of the country these are; the third, of the return
of the army and the reasons for abandoning the country, although
these were insufficient, because this is the best place there is
for discoveries—the marrow of the land in these western parts, as
will be seen. And after this has been made plain, some remarkable
things which were seen will be described at the end, and the way by
which, one might more easily return to discover that better land
which we did not see, since it would be no small advantage to enter
the country through the land which the Marquis of the Valley, Don
Fernando Cortes, went in search of under the Western star, and which
cost him no small sea armament. May it please our Lord to so favor
me that with my slight knowledge and small abilities I may be able
by relating the truth to make my little work pleasing to the learned
and wise readers, when it has been accepted by your grace. For my
intention is not to gain the fame of a good composer or rhetorician,
but I desire to give a faithful account and to do this slight service
to your grace, who will, I hope, receive it as from a faithful
servant and soldier, who took part in [p472] it. Although, not in
a polished style, I write that which happened—that which I heard,
experienced, saw, and did.
I always notice, and it is a fact, that for the most part when we
have something valuable in our hands, and deal with it without
hindrance, we do not value or prize it as highly as if we understood
how much we would miss it after we had lost it, and the longer we
continue to have it the less we value it; but after we have lost it
and miss the advantages of it, we have a great pain in the heart, and
we are all the time imagining and trying to find ways and means by
which to get it back again. It seems to me that this has happened to
all or most of those who went on the expedition which, in the year
of our Savior Jesus Christ 1540, Francisco Vazquez Coronado led in
search of the Seven Cities. Granted that they did not find the riches
of which they had been told, they found a place in which to search
for them and the beginning of a good country to settle in, so as
to go on farther from there. Since they came back from the country
which they conquered and abandoned, time has given them a chance to
understand the direction and locality in which they were, and the
borders of the good country they had in their hands, and their hearts
weep for having lost so favorable an opportunity. Just as men see
more at the bullfight when they are upon the seats than when they
are around in the ring,[98] now when they know and understand the
direction and situation in which they were, and see, indeed, that
they can not enjoy it nor recover it, now when it is too late they
enjoy telling about what they saw, and even of what they realize that
they lost, especially those who are now as poor as when they went
there. They have never ceased their labors and have spent their time
to no advantage. I say this because I have known several of those who
came back from there who amuse themselves now by talking of how it
would be to go back and proceed to recover that which is lost, while
others enjoy trying to find the reason why it was discovered at all.
And now I will proceed to relate all that happened from the beginning.
FIRST PART.
_Chapter 1, which treats of the way we first came to know about
the Seven Cities, and of how Nuño de Guzman made an expedition to
discover them._
In the year 1530 Nuño de Guzman, who was President of New Spain,[99]
had in his possession an Indian, a native of the valley or valleys of
Oxitipar, who was called Tejo by the Spaniards. This Indian said he
was the son of a trader who was dead, but that when he was a little
boy his father had gone into the back country with fine feathers to
trade for ornaments, and that when he came back he brought a large
amount of gold and silver, of which there is a good deal in that
country. He [p473] went with him once or twice, and saw some very
large villages, which he compared to Mexico and its environs. He had
seen seven very large towns which had streets of silver workers. It
took forty days to go there from his country, through a wilderness
in which nothing grew, except some very small plants about a span
high. The way they went was up through the country between the two
seas, following the northern direction. Acting on this information,
Nuño de Guzman got together nearly 400 Spaniards and 20,000 friendly
Indians of New Spain, and, as he happened to be in Mexico, he crossed
Tarasca, which is in the province of Michoacan, so as to get into
the region which the Indian said was to be crossed toward the North
sea, in this way getting to the country which they were looking for,
which was already named “The Seven Cities.”[100] He thought, from
the forty days of which the Tejo had spoken, that it would be found
to be about 200 leagues, and that they would easily be able to cross
the country. Omitting several things that occurred on this journey,
as soon as they had reached the province of Culiacan, where his
government ended, and where the New Kingdom of Galicia is now, they
tried to cross the country, but found the difficulties very great,
because the mountain chains which are near that sea are so rough that
it was impossible, after great labor, to find a passageway in that
region. His whole army had to stay in the district of Culiacan for
so long on this account that some rich men who were with him, who
had possessions in Mexico, changed their minds, and every day became
more anxious to return. Besides this, Nuño de Guzman received word
that the Marquis of the Valley, Don Fernando Cortes, had come from
Spain with his new title,[101] and with great favors and estates, and
as Nuño de Guzman had been a great rival of his at the time he was
president,[102] and had done much damage to his property and to that
of his friends, he feared that Don Fernando Cortes would want to pay
him back in the same way, or worse. So he decided to establish the
town of Culiacan there and to go back with the other men, without
doing anything more. After his return from this expedition, he
settled at Xalisco, where the city of Compostela is situated, and
at Tonala, which is called Guadalaxara,[103] and now this is the
New Kingdom of Galicia. The guide they had, who was called Tejo,
died about this time, and thus the name of these Seven Cities and
the search for them remains until now, since they have not been
discovered.[104] [p474]
_Chapter 2, of how Francisco Vazquez Coronado came to be governor, and
the second account which Cabeza de Vaca gave._
Eight years after Nuño de Guzman made this expedition, he was put in
prison by a juez de residencia,[105] named the licentiate Diego de la
Torre, who came from Spain with sufficient powers to do this.[106]
After the death of the judge, who had also managed the government of
that country himself, the good Don Antonio de Mendoza, viceroy of New
Spain, appointed as governor of that province Francisco Vazquez de
Coronado, a gentleman from Salamanca, who had married a lady in the
city of Mexico, the daughter of Alonso de Estrada, the treasurer and
at one time governor of Mexico, and the son, most people said, of His
Catholic Majesty Don Ferdinand, and many stated it as certain. As I
was saying, at the time Francisco Vazquez was appointed governor, he
was traveling through New Spain as an official visitor, and in this
way he gained the friendship of many worthy men who afterward went
on his expedition with him. It happened that just at this time three
Spaniards, named Cabeza de Vaca, Dorantes, and Castillo Maldonado,
and a negro, who had been lost on the expedition which Pamfilo de
Narvaez led into Florida, reached Mexico.[107] They came out through
Culiacan, having crossed the country from sea to sea, as anyone who
wishes may find out for himself by an account which this same Cabeza
de Vaca wrote and dedicated to Prince Don Philip, who is now King
of Spain and our sovereign.[108] They gave the good Don Antonio de
Mendoza an account of some large and powerful villages, four and five
stories high, of which they had heard a great deal in the countries
they had crossed, and other things very different from what turned
out to be the truth. The noble viceroy communicated this to the new
governor, who gave up the visits he had in hand, on account of this,
and hurried his departure for his government, taking with him the
negro who had come [with Cabeza de Vaca] with the three friars of the
order of Saint Francis, one of whom was named Friar Marcos of Nice,
a regular priest, and another Friar Daniel, a lay brother, and the
other Friar Antonio de Santa Maria. When he reached the province of
Culiacan he sent the friars just mentioned and the negro, who was
named Stephen, off in search of that country, because Friar Marcos
offered to go and see it, because he had been in Peru at the time
Don Pedro de Alvarado went there overland. It seems that, after the
friars I have mentioned and the negro had started, the negro did
not get on well with the friars, because he took the women that
were given him and collected turquoises, and got together a stock
of everything. Besides, the Indians in those places through which
they went got along with the negro better, because they had seen him
before. This was the reason he was sent [p475] on ahead to open up
the way and pacify the Indians, so that when the others came along
they had nothing to do except to keep an account of the things for
which they were looking.
_Chapter 3, of how they killed the negro Stephen at Cibola, and Friar
Marcos returned in flight._
After Stephen had left the friars, he thought he could get all
the reputation and honor himself, and that if he should discover
those settlements with such famous high houses, alone, he would be
considered bold and courageous. So he proceeded with the people who
had followed him, and succeeded in crossing the wilderness which lies
between the country he had passed through and Cibola. He was so far
ahead of the friars that, when these reached Chichilticalli, which is
on the edge of the wilderness, he was already at Cibola, which is 80
leagues beyond. It is 220 leagues from Culiacan to the edge of the
wilderness, and 80 across the desert, which makes 300, or perhaps
10 more or less. As I said, Stephen reached Cibola loaded with the
large quantity of turquoises they had given him and several pretty
women who had been given him. The Indians who accompanied him carried
his things. These had followed him from all the settlements he had
passed, believing that under his protection they could traverse the
whole world without any danger. But as the people in this country
were more intelligent than those who followed Stephen, they lodged
him in a little hut they had outside their village, and the older
men and the governors heard his story and took steps to find out
the reason he had come to that country. For three days they made
inquiries about him and held a council. The account which the negro
gave them of two white men who were following him, sent by a great
lord, who knew about the things in the sky, and how these were coming
to instruct them in divine matters, made them think that he must be a
spy or a guide from some nations who wished to come and conquer them,
because it seemed to them unreasonable to say that the people were
white in the country from which he came and that he was sent by them,
he being black. Besides these other reasons, they thought it was hard
of him to ask them for turquoises and women, and so they decided to
kill him. They did this, but they did not kill any of those who went
with him, although they kept some young fellows and let the others,
about 60 persons, return freely to their own country. As these, who
were badly scared, were returning in flight, they happened to come
upon the friars in the desert 60 leagues from Cibola, and told them
the sad news, which frightened them so much that they would not even
trust these folks who had been with the negro, but opened the packs
they were carrying and gave away everything they had except the holy
vestments for saying mass. They returned from here by double marches,
prepared for anything, without seeing any more of the country except
what the Indians told them. [p476]
_Chapter 4, of how the noble Don Antonio de Mendoza, made an
expedition to discover Cibola._
After Francisco Vazquez Coronado had sent Friar Marcos of Nice and
his party on the search already related, he was engaged in Culiacan
about some business that related to his government, when he heard
an account of a province called Topira,[109] which was to the north
of the country of Culiacan. He started to explore this region with
several of the conquerors and some friendly Indians, but he did not
get very far, because the mountain chains which they had to cross
were very difficult. He returned without finding the least signs of
a good country, and when he got back, he found the friars who had
just arrived, and who told such great things about what the negro
Stephen had discovered and what they had heard from the Indians, and
other things they had heard about the South sea and islands and other
riches, that, without stopping for anything, the governor set off at
once for the City of Mexico, taking Friar Marcos with him, to tell
the viceroy about it. He made the things seem more important by not
talking about them to anyone except his particular friends, under
promise of the greatest secrecy, until after he had reached Mexico
and seen Don Antonio de Mendoza. Then he began to announce that they
had really found the Seven Cities, which Nuño de Guzman had tried to
find, and for the conquest of which he had collected a force. The
noble viceroy arranged with the friars of the order of Saint Francis
so that Friar Marcos was made father provincial, as a result of which
the pulpits of that order were filled with such accounts of marvels
and wonders that more than 300 Spaniards and about 800 natives of New
Spain collected in a few days.[110] There were so many men of such
high quality among the Spaniards, that such a noble body was never
collected in the Indies, nor so many men of quality in such a small
body, there being 300 men. Francisco Vazquez Coronado, governor of
New Galicia, was captain-general, because he had been the author of
it all. The good viceroy Don Antonio did this because at this time
Francisco Vazquez was his closest and most intimate friend, and
because he considered him to be wise, skillful, and intelligent,
besides being a gentleman. Had he paid more attention and regard to
the position in which he was placed and the charge over which he was
placed, and less to the estates he left behind in New Spain, or, at
least, more to the honor he had and might secure from having such
gentlemen under his command, things would not have turned out as they
did. When this narrative is ended, it will be seen that he did not
know how to keep his position nor the government that he held. [p477]
_Chapter 5, concerning the captains who went to Cibola._
When the viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza, saw what a noble company
had come together, and the spirit and good will with which they had
all presented themselves, knowing the worth of these men, he would
have liked very well to make every one of them captain of an army;
but as the whole number was small he could not do as he would have
liked, and so he appointed the captains and officers, because it
seemed to him that if they were appointed by him, as he was so well
obeyed and beloved, nobody would find fault with his arrangements.
After everybody had heard who the general was, he made Don Pedro
de Tovar ensign general, a young gentleman who was the son of Don
Fernando de Tovar, the guardian and lord high steward of the Queen
Doña Juana, our demented mistress—may she be in glory—and Lope de
Samamego, the governor of the arsenal at Mexico,[111] a gentleman
fully equal to the charge, army-master. The captains were Don Tristan
de Arellano; Don Pedro de Guevara, the son of Don Juan de Guevara
and nephew of the Count of Oñate; Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas; Don
Rodrigo Maldonado, brother-in-law of the Duke of the Infantado; Diego
Lopez, alderman of Seville, and Diego Gutierres, for the cavalry. All
the other gentlemen were placed under the flag of the general, as
being distinguished persons, and some of them became captains later,
and their appointments were confirmed by order of the viceroy and by
the general, Francisco Vazquez. To name some of them whom I happen
to remember, there were Francisco de Barrionuevo, a gentleman from
Granada; Juan de Saldivar, Francisco de Ovando, Juan Gallego, and
Melchior Diaz—a captain who had been mayor of Culiacan, who, although
he was not a gentleman, merited the position he held. The other
gentlemen, who were worthy substitutes, were Don Alonso Manrique
de Lara; Don Lope de Urrea, a gentleman from Aragon; Gomez Suarez
de Figueroa, Luis Ramirez de Vargas, Juan de Sotomayor, Francisco
Gorbalan, the commissioner Riberos, and other gentlemen, men of
high quality, whom I do not now recall.[112] The infantry captain
was Pablo de Melgosa of Burgos, and of the artillery, Hernando de
Alvarado of the mountain district. As I say, since then I have
forgotten the names of many good fellows. It would be well if I could
name some of them, so that it might be clearly seen what cause I
had for saying that they had on this expedition the most brilliant
company ever collected in the Indies to go in search of new lands.
But they were unfortunate in having a captain who left in New Spain
estates and a pretty wife, a noble and excellent lady, which were not
the least causes for what was to happen. [p478]
_Chapter 6, of how all the companies collected in Compostela and set
off on the journey in good order._
When the viceroy Don Antonio de Mendoza had fixed and arranged
everything as we have related, and the companies and captaincies had
been arranged, he advanced a part of their salaries from the chest
of His Majesty to those in the army who were in greatest need. And
as it seemed to him that it would be rather hard for the friendly
Indians in the country if the army should start from Mexico, he
ordered them to assemble at the city of Compostela, the chief city
in the New Kingdom of Galicia, 110 leagues from Mexico, so that they
could begin their journey there with everything in good order. There
is nothing to tell about what happened on this trip, since they all
finally assembled at Compostela by shrove-tide, in the year (fifteen
hundred and) forty-one.[113] After the whole force had left Mexico,
he ordered Don Pedro de Alarcon to set sail with two ships that were
in the port of La Natividad on the South sea coast, and go to the
port of Xalisco to take the baggage which the soldiers were unable
to carry,[114] and thence to sail along the coast near the army,
because he had understood from the reports that they would have to
go through the country near the seacoast, and that we could find
the harbors by means of the rivers, and that the ships could always
get news of the army, which turned out afterward to be false, and
so all this stuff was lost, or, rather, those who owned it lost it,
as will be told farther on. After the viceroy had completed all
his arrangements, he set off for Compostela, accompanied by many
noble and rich men. He kept the New Year of (fifteen hundred and)
forty-one at Pasquaro, which is the chief place in the bishopric of
Michoacan, and from there he crossed the whole of New Spain, taking
much pleasure in enjoying the festivals and great receptions which
were given him, till he reached Compostela, which is, as I have
said, 110 leagues. There he found the whole company assembled, being
well treated and entertained by Christobal de Oñate, who had the
whole charge of that government for the time being. He had had the
management of it and was in command of all that region when Francisco
Vazquez was made governor.[115] All were very glad when he arrived,
and he made an examination of the company and found all those whom
we have mentioned. He assigned the captains to their companies, and
after this was done, on the next day, after they had all heard mass,
captains and soldiers together, the viceroy made them a very eloquent
short speech, telling them of the fidelity they owed to their general
and showing them clearly the benefits which this expedition might
afford, from the conversion of those peoples as well as in the profit
of those who should conquer the territory, and the [p479] advantage
to His Majesty and the claim which they would thus have on his favor
and aid at all times. After he had finished, they all, both captains
and soldiers, gave him their oaths upon the Gospels in a Missal that
they would follow their general on this expedition and would obey him
in everything he commanded them, which they faithfully performed, as
will be seen. The next day after this was done, the army started off
with its colors flying. The viceroy, Don Antonio, went with them for
two days, and there he took leave of them, returning to New Spain
with his friends.[116]
_Chapter 7, of how the army reached, Chiametla, and the killing of the
army-master, and the other things that happened up to the arrival at
Culiacan._
After the viceroy Don Antonio left them, the army continued its
march. As each one was obliged to transport his own baggage and
[p480] all did not know how to fasten the packs, and as the horses
started off fat and plump, they had a good deal of difficulty and
labor during the first few days, and many left many valuable things,
giving them to anyone who wanted them, in order to get rid of
carrying them. In the end necessity, which is all powerful, made them
skillful, so that one could see many gentlemen become carriers, and
anybody who despised this work was not considered a man. With such
labors, which they then thought severe, the army reached Chiametla,
where it was obliged to delay several days to procure food. During
this time the army-master, Lope de Samaniego, went off with some
soldiers to find food, and at one village, a crossbowman having
entered it indiscreetly in pursuit of the enemies, they shot him
through the eye and it passed through his brain, so that he died on
the spot.[117] They also shot five or six of his companions before
Diego Lopez, the alderman from Seville, since the commander was dead,
collected the men and sent word to the general. He put a guard in
the village and over the provisions. There was great confusion in
the army when this news became known. He was buried here. Several
sorties were made, by which food was obtained and several of the
natives taken prisoners. They hanged those who seemed to belong to
the district where the army-master was killed.
It seems that when the general Francisco Vazquez left Culiacan with
Friar Marcos to tell the viceroy Don Antonio de Mendoza the news,
as already related, he left orders for Captain Melchior Diaz and
Juan de Saldivar to start off with a dozen good men from Culiacan
and verify what Friar Marcos had seen and heard. They started and
went as far as Chichilticalli, which is where the wilderness begins,
220 leagues from Culiacan, and there they turned back, not finding
anything important. They reached Chiametla just as the army was
ready to leave, and reported to the general. Although the bad news
was kept as secret as possible, some things leaked out which did not
seem to add luster to the facts.[118] Friar Marcos, noticing that
some were feeling disturbed, cleared away these clouds, promising
that what they would see should be good, and that the army was on
the way to a country where their hands would be filled, and in this
way he quieted them so that they appeared well satisfied. From there
the army marched to Culiacan, making some detours into the country
to seize provisions. They were two leagues from the town of Culiacan
at Easter vespers, when the [p481] inhabitants came out to welcome
their governor and begged him not to enter the town till the day
after Easter.
_Chapter 8, of how the army entered the town of Culiacan and the
reception it received, and other things which happened before the
departure._
When the day after Easter came, the army started in the morning to
go to the town and, as they approached, the inhabitants of the town
came out on to an open plain with foot and horse drawn up in ranks
as if for a battle, and having its seven bronze pieces of artillery
in position, making a show of defending their town. Some of our
soldiers were with them. Our army drew up in the same way and began
a skirmish with them, and after the artillery on both sides had been
fired they were driven back, just as if the town had been taken by
force of arms, which was a pleasant demonstration of welcome, except
for the artilleryman who lost a hand by a shot, from having ordered
them to fire before he had finished drawing out the ramrod. After
the town was taken, the army was well lodged and entertained by the
townspeople, who, as they were all very well-to-do people, took all
the gentlemen and people of quality who were with the army into their
own apartments, although they had lodgings prepared for them all
just outside the town. Some of the townspeople were not ill repaid
for this hospitality, because all had started with fine clothes
and accouterments, and as they had to carry provisions on their
animals after this, they were obliged to leave their fine stuff,
so that many preferred giving it to their hosts instead of risking
it on the sea by putting it in the ship that had followed the army
along the coast to take the extra baggage, as I have said. After
they arrived and were being entertained in the town, the general,
by order of the viceroy Don Antonio, left Fernandarias de Saabedra,
uncle of Hernandarias de Saabedra, count of Castellar, formerly
mayor of Seville, as his lieutenant and captain in this town. The
army rested here several days, because the inhabitants had gathered
a good stock of provisions that year and each one shared his stock
very gladly with his guests from our army. They not only had plenty
to eat here, but they also had plenty to take away with them, so that
when the departure came they started off with more than six hundred
loaded animals, besides the friendly Indians and the servants—more
than a thousand persons. After a fortnight had passed, the general
started ahead with about fifty horsemen and a few foot soldiers and
most of the Indian allies, leaving the army, which was to follow him
a fortnight later, with Don Tristan de Arellano in command as his
lieutenant.
At this time, before his departure, a pretty sort of thing happened
to the general, which I will tell for what it is worth. A young
soldier named Trugillo (Truxillo) pretended that he had seen a vision
while he was bathing in the river which seemed to be something
extraordinary,[119] [p482] so that he was brought before the
general, whom he gave to understand that the devil had told him that
if he would kill the general, he could marry his wife, Doña Beatris,
and would receive great wealth and other very fine things. Friar
Marcos of Nice preached several sermons on this, laying it all to the
fact that the devil was jealous of the good which must result from
this journey and so wished to break it up in this way. It did not
end here, but the friars who were in the expedition wrote to their
convents about it, and this was the reason the pulpits of Mexico
proclaimed strange rumors about this affair.
The general ordered Truxillo to stay in that town and not to go on
the expedition, which was what he was after when he made up that
falsehood, judging from what afterward appeared to be the truth. The
general started off with the force already described to continue his
journey, and the army followed him, as will be related.
_Chapter 9, of how the army started from Culiacan and the arrival of
the general at Cibola and of the army at Señora and of other things
that happened._
The general, as has been said, started to continue his journey from
the valley of Culiacan somewhat lightly equipped, taking with him
the friars, since none of them wished to stay behind with the army.
After they had gone three days, a regular friar who could say mass,
named Friar Antonio Victoria, broke his leg, and they brought him
back from the camp to have it doctored. He stayed with the army
after this, which was no slight consolation for all. The general
and his force crossed the country without trouble, as they found
everything peaceful, because the Indians knew Friar Marcos and some
of the others who had been with Melchior Diaz when he went with
Juan de Saldibar to investigate. After the general had crossed the
inhabited region and came to Chichilticalli, where the wilderness
begins, and saw nothing favorable, he could not help feeling somewhat
downhearted, for, although the reports were very fine about what
was ahead, there was nobody who had seen it except the Indians who
went with the negro, and these had already been caught in some lies.
Besides all this, he was much affected by seeing that the fame of
Chichilticalli was summed up in one tumble-down house without any
roof, although it appeared to have been a strong place at some former
time when it was inhabited, and it was very plain that it had been
built by a civilized and warlike race of strangers who had come from
a distance. This building was made of red earth. From here they went
on through the wilderness, and in fifteen days came to a river about
8 leagues from Cibola, which they called Red river,[120] because
its waters were muddy and reddish. In this river they found mullets
like those of Spain. The first Indians from that country were seen
here—two of them, who ran away to give the news. During [p483] the
night following the next day, about 2 leagues from the village, some
Indians in a safe place yelled so that, although the men were ready
for anything, some were so excited that they put their saddles on
hind-side before; but these were the new fellows. When the veterans
had mounted and ridden round the camp, the Indians fled. None of them
could be caught because they knew the country.
The next day they entered the settled country in good order, and when
they saw the first village, which was Cibola, such were the curses
that some hurled at Friar Marcos that I pray God may protect him from
them.
It is a little, unattractive village, looking as if it had been
crumpled all up together. There are mansions in New Spain which make
a better appearance at a distance.[121] It is a village of about 200
warriors, is three and four stories high, with the houses small and
having only a few rooms, and without a courtyard. One yard serves
for each section. The people of the whole district had collected
here, for there are seven villages in the province, and some of the
others are even larger and stronger than Cibola. These folks waited
for the army, drawn up by divisions in front of the village. When
they refused to have peace on the terms the interpreters extended to
them, but appeared defiant, the Santiago[122] was given, and they
were at once put to flight. The Spaniards then attacked the village,
which was taken with not a little difficulty, since they held the
narrow and crooked entrance. During the attack they knocked the
general down with a large stone, and would have killed him but for
Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas and Hernando de Alvarado, who threw
themselves above him and drew him away, receiving the blows of the
stones, which were not few. But the first fury of the Spaniards could
not be resisted, and in less than an hour they entered the village
and captured it. They discovered food there, which was the thing
they were most in need of.[123] After this the whole province was at
peace.[124] [p484]
The army which had stayed with Don Tristan de Arellano started to
follow their general, all loaded with provisions, with lances on
their shoulders, and all on foot, so as to have the horses loaded.
With no slight labor from day to day, they reached a province which
Cabeza de Vaca had named Hearts (Corazones), because the people here
offered him many hearts of animals.[125] He founded a town here and
named it San Hieronimo de los Corazones (Saint Jerome of the Hearts).
After it had been started, it was seen that it could not be kept up
here, and so it was afterward transferred to a valley which had been
called Señora.[126] The Spaniards call it Señora, and so it will be
known by this name.
From here a force went down the river to the seacoast to find the
harbor and to find out about the ships. Don Rodrigo Maldonado, who
was captain of those who went in search of the ships, did not find
them, but he brought back with him an Indian so large and tall that
the best man in the army reached only to his chest. It was said that
other Indians were even taller on that coast. After the rains ceased
the army went on to where the town of Señora was afterward located,
because there were provisions in that region, so that they were able
to wait there for orders from the general.
About the middle of the month of October,[127] Captains Melchior Diaz
and Juan Gallego came from Cibola, Juan Gallego on his way to New
Spain and Melchior Diaz to stay in the new town of Hearts, in command
of the men who remained there. He was to go along the coast in search
of the ships.
_Chapter 10, of how the army started from the town of Señora, leaving
it inhabited, and how it reached Cibola, and of what happened to
Captain Melchior Diaz on his expedition in search of the ships and
how he discovered the Tison (Firebrand) river._
After Melchior Diaz and Juan Gallego had arrived in the town of
Señora, it was announced that the army was to depart for Cibola;
that Melchior Diaz was to remain in charge of that town with 80
men; that Juan Gallego was going to New Spain with messages for the
viceroy, and that Friar Marcos was going back with him, because he
did not think it was safe for him to stay in Cibola, seeing that
his report had [p485] turned out to be entirely false, because the
kingdoms that he had told about had not been found, nor the populous
cities, nor the wealth of gold, nor the precious stones which he
had reported, nor the fine clothes, nor other things that had been
proclaimed from the pulpits. When this had been announced, those who
were to remain were selected and the rest loaded their provisions and
set off in good order about the middle of September on the way to
Cibola, following their general.
Don Tristan de Arellano stayed in this new town with the weakest men,
and from this time on there was nothing but mutinies and strife,
because after the army had gone Captain Melchior Diaz took 25 of the
most efficient men, leaving in his place one Diego de Alcaraz, a man
unfitted to have people under his command. He took guides and went
toward the north and west in search of the seacoast. After going
about 150 leagues, they came to a province of exceedingly tall and
strong men—like giants. They are naked and live in large straw cabins
built underground like smoke houses, with only the straw roof above
ground. They enter these at one end and come out at the other. More
than a hundred persons, old and young, sleep in one cabin.[128] When
they carry anything, they can take a load of more than three or four
hundredweight on their heads. Once when our men wished to fetch a
log for the fire, and six men were unable to carry it, one of these
Indians is reported to have come and raised it in his arms, put it
on his head alone, and carried it very easily.[129] They eat bread
cooked in the ashes, as big as the large two-pound loaves of Castile.
On account of the great cold, they carry a firebrand (tison) in the
hand when they go from one place to another, with which they warm the
other hand and the body as well, and in this way they keep shifting
it every now and then.[130] On this account the large river which is
in that country was called Rio del Tison (Firebrand river). It is a
very great river and is more than 2 leagues wide at its mouth; here
it is half a league across. Here the [p486] captain heard that there
had been ships at a point three days down, toward the sea. When he
reached the place where the ships had been, which was more than 15
leagues up the river from the mouth of the harbor, they found written
on a tree: “Alarcon reached this place; there are letters at the
foot of this tree.” He dug up the letters and learned from them how
long Alarcon had waited for news of the army and that he had gone
back with the ships to New Spain, because he was unable to proceed
farther, since this sea was a bay, which was formed by the Isle of
the Marquis,[131] which is called California, and it was explained
that California was not an island, but a point of the mainland
forming the other side of that gulf.
After he had seen this, the captain turned back to go up the river,
without going down to the sea, to find a ford by which to cross to
the other side, so as to follow the other bank. After they had gone
five or six days, it seemed to them as if they could cross on rafts.
For this purpose they called together a large number of the natives,
who were waiting for a favorable opportunity to make an attack on
our men, and when they saw that the strangers wanted to cross, they
helped make the rafts with all zeal and diligence, so as to catch
them in this way on the water and drown them or else so divide them
that they could not help one another. While the rafts were being
made, a soldier who had been out around the camp saw a large number
of armed men go across to a mountain, where they were waiting till
the soldiers should cross the river. He reported this, and an Indian
was quietly shut up, in order to find out the truth, and when they
tortured him he told all the arrangements that had been made. These
were, that when our men were crossing and part of them had got over
and part were on the river and part were waiting to cross, those who
were on the rafts should drown those they were taking across and the
rest of their force should make an attack on both sides of the river.
If they had had as much discretion and courage as they had strength
and power, the attempt would have succeeded.
When he knew their plan, the captain had the Indian who had confessed
the affair killed secretly, and that night he was thrown into the
river with a weight, so that the Indians would not suspect that they
were found out. The next day they noticed that our men suspected
them, and so they made an attack, shooting showers of arrows, but
when the horses began to catch up with them and the lances wounded
them without mercy and the musketeers likewise made good shots, they
had to leave the plain and take to the mountain, until not a man of
them was to be seen. The force then came back and crossed all right,
the Indian allies and the Spaniards going across on the rafts and
the horses swimming alongside the rafts, where we will leave them to
continue their journey.[132] [p487]
To relate how the army that was on its way to Cibola got on:
Everything went along in good shape, since the general had left
everything peaceful, because he wished the people in that region
to be contented and without fear and willing to do what they were
ordered. In a province called Vacapan there was a large quantity
of prickly pears, of which the natives make a great deal of
preserves.[133] They gave this preserve away freely, and as the men
of the army ate much of it, they all fell sick with a headache and
fever, so that the natives might have done much harm to the force if
they had wished. This lasted regularly twenty-four hours. After this
they continued their march until they reached Chichilticalli. The
men in the advance guard saw a flock of sheep one day after leaving
this place. I myself saw and followed them. They had extremely large
bodies and long wool; their horns were very thick and large, and when
they run they throw back their heads and put their horns on the ridge
of their back. They are used to the rough country, so that we could
not catch them and had to leave them.[134]
Three days after we entered the wilderness we found a horn on the
bank of a river that flows in the bottom of a very steep, deep gully,
which the general had noticed and left there for his army to see,
for it was six feet long and as thick at the base as a man’s thigh.
It seemed to be more like the horn of a goat than of any other
animal. It was something worth seeing. The army proceeded and was
about a day’s march from Cibola when a very cold tornado came up in
the afternoon, followed by a great fall of snow, which was a bad
combination for the carriers. The army went on till it reached some
caves in a rocky ridge, late in the evening. The Indian allies, who
were from New Spain, and for the most part from warm countries, were
in great danger. They felt the coldness of that day so much that it
was hard work the next day taking care of them, for they suffered
much pain and had to be carried on the horses, the soldiers walking.
After this labor the army reached Cibola, where their general was
waiting for them, with their quarters all ready, and here they were
reunited, except some captains and men who had gone off to discover
other provinces.
_Chapter 11, of how Don Pedro de Tovar discovered Tusayan or
Tutahaco[135] and Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas saw the Firebrand
river and the other things that had happened._
While the things already described were taking place, Cibola being
at peace, the General Francisco Vazquez found out from the people of
the [p488] province about the provinces that lay around it, and got
them to tell their friends and neighbors that Christians had come
into the country, whose only desire was to be their friends, and to
find out about good lands to live in, and for them to come to see
the strangers and talk with them. They did this, since they know how
to communicate with one another in these regions, and they informed
him about a province with seven villages of the same sort as theirs,
although somewhat different. They had nothing to do with these
people. This province is called Tusayan. It is twenty-five leagues
from Cibola. The villages are high and the people are warlike.
The general had sent Don Pedro de Tovar to these villages with
seventeen horsemen and three or four foot soldiers. Juan de Padilla,
a Franciscan friar, who had been a fighting man in his youth, went
with them. When they reached the region, they entered the country so
quietly that nobody observed them, because there were no settlements
or farms between one village and another and the people do not leave
the villages except to go to their farms, especially at this time,
when they had heard that Cibola had been captured by very fierce
people, who traveled on animals which ate people. This information
was generally believed by those who had never seen horses, although
it was so strange as to cause much wonder. Our men arrived after
nightfall and were able to conceal themselves under the edge of the
village, where they heard the natives talking in their houses. But in
the morning they were discovered and drew up in regular order, while
the natives came out to meet them, with bows, and shields, and wooden
clubs, drawn up in lines without any confusion. The interpreter was
given a chance to speak to them and give them due warning, for they
were very intelligent people, but nevertheless they drew lines and
insisted that our men should not go across these lines toward their
village.[136] While they were talking, some men acted as if they
would cross the lines, and one of the natives lost control of himself
and struck a horse a blow on the cheek of the bridle with his club.
Friar Juan, fretted by the time that was being wasted in talking
with them, said to the captain: “To tell the truth, I do not know
why we came here.” When the men heard this, they gave the Santiago
so suddenly that they ran down many Indians and the others fled to
the town in confusion. Some indeed did not have a chance to do this,
so quickly did the people in the village come out with presents,
asking for peace.[137] The captain ordered his force to collect, and,
as the natives did not do any more harm, he and those who were with
him found a place to establish their headquarters near the village.
They had dismounted here when the natives came peacefully, saying
that they had come to give in the submission of the whole province
and that they wanted him to be friends with them and to accept the
presents which they gave him. [p489] This was some cotton cloth,
although not much, because they do not make it in that district.
They also gave him some dressed skins and corn meal, and pine nuts
and corn and birds of the country. Afterward they presented some
turquoises, but not many. The people of the whole district came
together that day and submitted themselves, and they allowed him to
enter their villages freely to visit, buy, sell, and barter with them.
It is governed like Cibola, by an assembly of the oldest men. They
have their governors and generals. This was where they obtained the
information about a large river, and that several days down the river
there were some people with very large bodies.
As Don Pedro de Tovar was not commissioned to go farther, he returned
from there and gave this information to the general, who dispatched
Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas with about twelve companions to go to
see this river. He was well received when he reached Tusayan and was
entertained by the natives, who gave him guides for his journey.
They started from here loaded with provisions, for they had to go
through a desert country before reaching the inhabited region, which
the Indians said was more than twenty days’ journey. After they
had gone twenty days they came to the banks of the river, which
seemed to be more than 3 or 4 leagues above the stream which flowed
between them.[138] This country was elevated and full of low twisted
pines, very cold, and lying open toward the north, so that, this
being the warm season, no one could live there on account of the
cold. They spent three days on this bank looking for a passage down
to the river, which looked from above as if the water was 6 feet
across, although the Indians said it was half a league wide. It was
impossible to descend, for after these three days Captain Melgosa and
one Juan Galeras and another companion, who were the three lightest
and most agile men, made an attempt to go down at the least difficult
place, and went down until those who were above were unable to keep
sight of them. They returned about 4 oclock in the afternoon, not
having succeeded in reaching the bottom on account of the great
difficulties which they found, because what seemed to be easy from
above was not so, but instead very hard and difficult. They said that
they had been down about a third of the way and that the river seemed
very large from the place which they reached, and that from what they
saw they thought the Indians had given the width correctly. Those who
stayed above had estimated that some huge rocks on the sides of the
cliffs seemed to be about as tall as a man, but those who went down
swore that when they reached these rocks they were bigger than the
great tower of Seville. They did not go farther up the river, because
they could not get water. Before this they had had to go a league or
two inland every day late in the evening in order to find water, and
the guides said that if they should go four days farther it would not
be possible [p490] to go on, because there was no water within three
or four days, for when they travel across this region themselves they
take with them women loaded with water in gourds, and bury the gourds
of water along the way, to use when they return, and besides this,
they travel in one day over what it takes us two days to accomplish.
This was the Tison (Firebrand) river, much nearer its source than
where Melchior Diaz and his company crossed it. These were the same
kind of Indians, judging from what was afterward learned. They came
back from this point and the expedition did not have any other
result. On the way they saw some water falling over a rock and
learned from the guides that some bunches of crystals which were
hanging there were salt. They went and gathered a quantity of this
and brought it back to Cibola, dividing it among those who were
there. They gave the general a written account of what they had
seen, because one Pedro de Sotomayor had gone with Don Garcia Lopez
as chronicler for the army. The villages of that province remained
peaceful, since they were never visited again, nor was any attempt
made to find other peoples in that direction.
_Chapter 12, of how people came from Cicuye to Cibola to see the
Christians, and how Hernando de Alvarado went to see the cows._
While they were making these discoveries, some Indians came to Cibola
from a village which was 70 leagues east of this province, called
Cicuye. Among them was a captain who was called Bigotes (Whiskers) by
our men, because he wore a long mustache. He was a tall, well-built
young fellow, with a fine figure. He told the general that they
had come in response to the notice which had been given, to offer
themselves as friends, and that if we wanted to go through their
country they would consider us as their friends. They brought a
present of tanned hides and shields and head-pieces, which were
very gladly received, and the general gave them some glass dishes
and a number of pearls and little bells which they prized highly,
because these were things they had never seen. They described some
cows which, from a picture that one of them had painted on his
skin, seemed to be cows, although from the hides this did not seem
possible, because the hair was woolly and snarled so that we could
not tell what sort of skins they had. The general ordered Hernando
de Alvarado to take 20 companions and go with them, and gave him a
commission for eighty days, after which he should return to give an
account of what he had found.[139]
Captain Alvarado started on this journey and in five days reached a
village which was on a rock called Acuco[140] having a population of
about 200 men. These people were robbers, feared by the whole country
[p491] round about. The village was very strong, because it was up
on a rock out of reach, having steep sides in every direction, and so
high that it was a very good musket that could throw a ball as high.
There was only one entrance by a stairway built by hand, which began
at the top of a slope which is around the foot of the rock. There
was a broad stairway for about 200 steps, then a stretch of about
100 narrower steps, and at the top they had to go up about three
times as high as a man by means of holes in the rock, in which they
put the points of their feet, holding on at the same time by their
hands. There was a wall of large and small stones at the top, which
they could roll down without showing themselves, so that no army
could possibly be strong enough to capture the village. On the top
they had room to sow and store a large amount of corn, and cisterns
to collect snow and water. These people came down to the plain ready
to fight, and would not listen to any arguments. They drew lines on
the ground and determined to prevent our men from crossing these,
but when they saw that they would have to fight they offered to make
peace before any harm had been done. They went through their forms of
making peace, which is to touch the horses and take their sweat and
rub themselves with it, and to make crosses with the fingers of the
hands. But to make the most secure peace they put their hands across
each other, and they keep this peace inviolably. They made a present
of a large number of [turkey-] cocks with very big wattles, much
bread, tanned deerskins, pine [piñon] nuts, flour [corn meal], and
corn.
From here they went to a province called Triguex,[141] three days
distant. The people all came out peacefully, seeing that Whiskers
was with them. These men are feared throughout all those provinces.
Alvarado sent messengers back from here to advise the general to come
and winter in this country. The general was not a little relieved to
hear that the country was growing better. Five days from here he came
to Cicuye,[142] a very strong village four stories high. The people
came out from the village with signs of joy to welcome Hernando de
Alvarado and their captain, and brought them into the town with drums
and pipes something like flutes, of which they have a great many.
They made many presents of cloth and turquoises, of which there are
quantities in that region. The Spaniards enjoyed themselves here
for several days and talked with an Indian slave, a native of the
country toward Florida, which is the region Don Fernando de Soto
discovered. This fellow said that there were large settlements in the
farther part of that country. Hernando de Alvarado took him to guide
them to the cows; but he told them so many and such great things
about the wealth of gold and silver in his country that they did not
care about looking for cows, but returned after they had seen some
few, to report the rich news to the general. [p492] They called
the Indian “Turk,” because he looked like one.[143] Meanwhile the
general had sent Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas to Tiguex with men to
get lodgings ready for the army, which had arrived from Señora about
this time, before taking them there for the winter; and when Hernando
de Alvarado reached Tiguex, on his way back from Cicuye, he found
Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas there, and so there was no need for him
to go farther. As it was necessary that the natives should give the
Spaniards lodging places, the people in one village had to abandon
it and go to others belonging to their friends, and they took with
them nothing but themselves and the clothes they had on. Information
was obtained here about many towns up toward the north, and I believe
that it would have been much better to follow this direction than
that of the Turk, who was the cause of all the misfortunes which
followed.
_Chapter 13, of how the general went toward Tutahaco with a few men
and left the army with Don Tristan, who took it to Tiguex._
Everything already related had happened when Don Tristan de Arellano
reached Cibola from Señora. Soon after he arrived, the general, who
had received notice of a province containing eight villages, took
30 of the men who were most fully rested and went to see it, going
from there directly to Tiguex with the skilled guides who conducted
him. He left orders for Don Tristan de Arellano to proceed to Tiguex
by the direct road, after the men had rested twenty days. On this
journey, between one day when they left the camping place and midday
of the third day, when they saw some snow-covered mountains, toward
which they went in search of water, neither the Spaniards nor the
horses nor the servants drank anything. They were able to stand
it because of the severe cold, although with great difficulty. In
eight days they reached Tutahaco,[144] where they learned that
[p493] there were other towns down the river. These people were
peaceful. The villages are terraced, like those at Tiguex, and of
the same style. The general went up the river from here, visiting
the whole province, until he reached Tiguex, where he found Hernando
de Alvarado and the Turk. He felt no slight joy at such good news,
because the Turk said that in his country there was a river in the
level country which was 2 leagues wide, in which there were fishes
as big as horses, and large numbers of very big canoes, with more
than 20 rowers on a side, and that they carried sails, and that their
lords sat on the poop under awnings, and on the prow they had a great
golden eagle. He said also that the lord of that country took his
afternoon nap under a great tree on which were hung a great number of
little gold bells, which put him to sleep as they swung in the air.
He said also that everyone had their ordinary dishes made of wrought
plate, and the jugs and bowls were of gold. He called gold acochis.
For the present he was believed, on account of the ease with which he
told it and because they showed him metal ornaments and he recognized
them and said they were not gold, and he knew gold and silver very
well and did not care anything about other metals.
The general sent Hernando de Alvarado back to Cicuye to demand some
gold bracelets which this Turk said they had taken from him at the
time they captured him. Alvarado went, and was received as a friend
at the village, and when he demanded the bracelets they said they
knew nothing at all about them, saying the Turk was deceiving him and
was lying. Captain Alvarado, seeing that there were no other means,
got the captain Whiskers and the governor to come to his tent, and
when they had come he put them in chains. The villagers prepared to
fight, and let fly their arrows, denouncing Hernando de Alvarado, and
saying that he was a man who had no respect for peace and friendship.
Hernando de Alvarado started back to Tiguex, where the general
kept them prisoners more than six months. This began the want of
confidence in the word of the Spaniards whenever there was talk of
peace from this time on, as will be seen by what happened afterward.
_Chapter 14, of how the army went from Cibola to Tiguex and what
happened to them on the way, on account of the snow._
We have already said that when the general started from Cibola,
he left orders for Don Tristan de Arellano to start twenty days
later. He did so as soon as he saw that the men were well rested and
provided with food and eager to start off to find their general. He
set off with his force toward Tiguex, and the first day they made
their camp in the best, largest, and finest village of that (Cibola)
province.[145] This is the only village that has houses with seven
stories. In this village certain houses are used as fortresses; they
are higher than the others and set [p494] up above them like towers,
and there are embrasures and loopholes in them for defending the
roofs of the different stories, because, like the other villages,
they do not have streets, and the flat roofs are all of a height and
are used in common. The roofs have to be reached first, and these
upper houses are the means of defending them. It began to snow on
us there, and the force took refuge under the wings of the village,
which extend out like balconies, with wooden pillars beneath, because
they generally use ladders to go up to those balconies, since they do
not have any doors below.
The army continued its march from here after it stopped snowing, and
as the season had already advanced into December, during the ten
days that the army was delayed, it did not fail to snow during the
evenings and nearly every night, so that they had to clear away a
large amount of snow when they came to where they wanted to make a
camp. The road could not be seen, but the guides managed to find it,
as they knew the country. There are junipers and pines all over the
country, which they used in making large brushwood fires, the smoke
and heat of which melted the snow from 2 to 4 yards all around the
fire. It was a dry snow, so that although it fell on the baggage and
covered it for half a man’s height it did not hurt it. It fell all
night long, covering the baggage and the soldiers and their beds,
piling up in the air, so that if anyone had suddenly come upon the
army nothing would have been seen but mountains of snow. The horses
stood half buried in it. It kept those who were underneath warm
instead of cold. The army passed by the great rock of Acuco, and the
natives, who were peaceful, entertained our men well, giving them
provisions and birds, although there are not many people here, as I
have said. Many of the gentlemen went up to the top to see it, and
they had great difficulty in going up the steps in the rock, because
they were not used to them, for the natives go up and down so easily
that they carry loads and the women carry water, and they do not seem
even to touch their hands, although our men had to pass their weapons
up from one to another.
From here they went on to Tiguex, where they were well received and
taken care of, and the great good news of the Turk gave no little joy
and helped lighten their hard labors, although when the army arrived
we found the whole country or province in revolt, for reasons which
were not slight in themselves, as will be shown, and our men had also
burnt a village the day before the army arrived, and returned to the
camp.[146]
_Chapter 15, of why Tiguex revolted, and how they were punished,
without being to blame for it._
It has been related how the general reached Tiguex, where he found
Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas and Hernando de Alvarado, and how he
[p495] sent the latter back to Cicuye, where he took the captain
Whiskers and the governor of the village, who was an old man,
prisoners. The people of Tiguex did not feel well about this seizure.
In addition to this, the general wished to obtain some clothing to
divide among his soldiers, and for this purpose he summoned one
of the chief Indians of Tiguex, with whom he had already had much
intercourse and with whom he was on good terms, who was called Juan
Aleman by our men, after a Juan Aleman[147] who lived in Mexico, whom
he was said to resemble. The general told him that he must furnish
about three hundred or more pieces of cloth, which he needed to give
his people. He said that he was not able to do this, but that it
pertained to the governors; and that besides this, they would have to
consult together and divide it among the villages, and that it was
necessary to make the demand of each town separately. The general did
this, and ordered certain of the gentlemen who were with him to go
and make the demand; and as there were twelve villages, some of them
went on one side of the river and some on the other. As they were in
very great need, they did not give the natives a chance to consult
about it, but when they came to a village they demanded what they had
to give, so that they could proceed at once. Thus these people could
do nothing except take off their own cloaks and give them to make up
the number demanded of them. And some of the soldiers who were in
these parties, when the collectors gave them some blankets or cloaks
which were not such as they wanted, if they saw any Indian with a
better one on, they exchanged with him without more ado, not stopping
to find out the rank of the man they were stripping, which caused not
a little hard feeling.
Besides what I have just said, one whom I will not name, out of
regard for him, left the village where the camp was and went to
another village about a league distant, and seeing a pretty woman
there he called her husband down to hold his horse by the bridle
while he went up; and as the village was entered by the upper story,
the Indian supposed he was going to some other part of it. While he
was there the Indian heard some slight noise, and then the Spaniard
came down, took his horse, and went away. The Indian went up and
learned that he had violated, or tried to violate, his wife, and
so he came with the important men of the town to complain that a
man had violated his wife, and he told how it happened. When the
general made all the soldiers and the persons who were with him come
together, the Indian did not recognize the man, either because he had
changed his clothes or for whatever other reason there may have been,
but he said that he could tell the horse, because he had held his
bridle, and so he was taken to the stables, and found the horse, and
said that the master of the horse must be the man. He denied doing
it, seeing that he had not been recognized, and it may be that the
Indian was mistaken in the horse; [p496] anyway, he went off without
getting any satisfaction.[148] The next day one of the Indians, who
was guarding the horses of the army, came running in, saying that a
companion of his had been killed, and that the Indians of the country
were driving off the horses toward their villages. The Spaniards
tried to collect the horses again, but many were lost, besides seven
of the general’s mules.[149]
The next day Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas went to see the villages
and talk with the natives. He found the villages closed by palisades
and a great noise inside, the horses being chased as in a bull fight
and shot with arrows. They were all ready for fighting. Nothing could
be done, because they would not come down onto the plain and the
villages are so strong that the Spaniards could not dislodge them.
The general then ordered Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas to go and
surround one village with all the rest of the force. This village was
the one where the greatest injury had been done and where the affair
with the Indian woman occurred. Several captains who had gone on in
advance with the general, Juan de Saldivar and Barrionuevo and Diego
Lopez and Melgosa,[150] took the Indians so much by surprise that
they gained the upper story, with great danger, for they wounded many
of our men from within the houses. Our men were on top of the houses
in great danger for a day and a night and part of the next day, and
they made some good shots with their crossbows and muskets. The
horsemen on the plain with many of the Indian allies from New Spain
smoked them out from the cellars[151] into which they had broken, so
that they begged for peace.[152] Pablo de Melgosa and Diego Lopez,
the alderman from Seville, were left on the roof and answered the
Indians with the same signs they were making for peace, which was
to make a cross. They then put down their arms and received pardon.
They were taken to the tent of Don Garcia, who, according to what he
said, did not know about the peace and thought that they had given
themselves up of their own accord because they had been conquered.
As he had been ordered by the general not to take them alive, but
to make an example of them so that the other natives would fear the
Spaniards, he ordered 200 stakes to be prepared at once to burn them
alive. [p497] Nobody told him about the peace that had been granted
them, for the soldiers knew as little as he, and those who should
have told him about it remained silent, not thinking that it was any
of their business. Then when the enemies saw that the Spaniards were
binding them and beginning to roast them, about a hundred men who
were in the tent began to struggle and defend themselves with what
there was there and with the stakes they could seize. Our men who
were on foot attacked the tent on all sides, so that there was great
confusion around it, and then the horsemen chased those who escaped.
As the country was level, not a man of them remained alive, unless it
was some who remained hidden in the village and escaped that night
to spread throughout the country the news that the strangers did
not respect the peace they had made, which afterward proved a great
misfortune. After this was over, it began to snow, and they abandoned
the village and returned to the camp just as the army came from
Cibola.[153]
_Chapter 16, of how they besieged Tiguex and took it and of what
happened during the siege._
As I have already related, it began to snow in that country just
after they captured the village, and it snowed so much that for the
next two months it was impossible to do anything except to go along
the roads to advise them to make peace and tell them that they would
be pardoned and might consider themselves safe, to which they replied
that they did not trust those who did not know how to keep good
faith after they had once given it, and that the Spaniards should
remember that they were keeping Whiskers prisoner and that they did
not keep their word when they burned those who surrendered in the
village. Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas was one of those who went to
give this notice. He started out with about 30 companions and went to
the village of Tiguex to talk with Juan Aleman. Although they were
hostile, they talked with him and said that if he wished to talk with
them he must dismount and they would come out and talk with him about
a peace, and [p498] that if he would send away the horsemen and make
his men keep away, Juan Aleman and another captain would come out of
the village and meet him. Everything was done as they required, and
then when they approached they said that they had no arms and that he
must take his off. Don Garcia Lopez did this in order to give them
confidence, on account of his great desire to get them to make peace.
When he met them, Juan Aleman approached and embraced him vigorously,
while the other two who had come with him drew two mallets[154]
which they had hidden behind their backs and gave him two such blows
over his helmet that they almost knocked him senseless. Two of the
soldiers on horseback had been unwilling to go very far off, even
when he ordered them, and so they were near by and rode up so quickly
that they rescued him from their hands, although they were unable to
catch the enemies because the meeting was so near the village that
of the great shower of arrows which were shot at them one arrow hit
a horse and went through his nose. The horsemen all rode up together
and hurriedly carried off their captain, without being able to harm
the enemy, while many of our men were dangerously wounded.[155] They
then withdrew, leaving a number of men to continue the attack. Don
Garcia Lopez de Cardenas went on with a part of the force to another
village about half a league distant, because almost all the people
in this region had collected into these two villages. As they paid
no attention to the demands made on them except by shooting arrows
from the upper stories with loud yells, and would not hear of peace,
he returned to his companions whom he had left to keep up the attack
on Tiguex. A large number of those in the village came out and our
men rode off slowly, pretending to flee, so that they drew the enemy
on to the plain, and then turned on them and caught several of their
leaders. The rest collected on the roofs of the village and the
captain returned to his camp.
After this affair the general ordered the army to go and surround
the village. He set out with his men in good order, one day, with
several scaling ladders. When he reached the village, he encamped his
force near by, and then began the siege; but as the enemy had had
several days to provide themselves with stores, they threw down such
quantities of rocks upon our men that many of them were laid out, and
they wounded nearly a hundred with arrows, several of whom afterward
died on account of the bad treatment by an unskillful surgeon who was
with the army. The siege lasted fifty days, during which time several
[p499] assaults were made. The lack of water was what troubled the
Indians most. They dug a very deep well inside the village, but were
not able to get water, and while they were making it, it fell in and
killed 30 persons. Two hundred of the besieged died in the fights.
One day when there was a hard fight, they killed Francisco de Obando,
a captain who had been army-master all the time that Don Garcia Lopez
de Cardenas was away making the discoveries already described, and
also Francisco Pobares, a fine gentleman. Our men were unable to
prevent them from carrying Francisco de Obando inside the village,
which was regretted not a little, because he was a distinguished
person, besides being honored on his own account, affable and much
beloved, which was noticeable.[156] One day, before the capture was
completed, they asked to speak to us, and said that, since they knew
we would not harm the women and children, they wished to surrender
their women and sons, because they were using up their water. It was
impossible to persuade them to make peace, as they said that the
Spaniards would not keep an agreement made with them. So they gave up
about a hundred persons, women and boys, who did not want to leave
them. Don Lope de Urrea[157] rode up in front of the town without
his helmet and received the boys and girls in his arms, and when all
of these had been surrendered, Don Lope begged them to make peace,
giving them the strongest promises for their safety. They told him to
go away, as they did not wish to trust themselves to people who had
no regard for friendship or their own word which they had pledged. As
he seemed unwilling to go away, one of them put an arrow in his bow
ready to shoot, and threatened to shoot him with it unless he went
off, and they warned him to put on his helmet, but he was unwilling
to do so, saying that they would not hurt him as long as he stayed
there. When the Indian saw that he did not want to go away, he shot
and planted his arrow between the fore feet of the horse, and then
put another arrow in his bow and repeated that if he did not go away
he would really shoot him. Don Lope put on his helmet and slowly rode
back to where the horsemen were, without receiving any harm from
them. When they saw that he was really in safety, they began to shoot
arrows in showers, with loud yells and cries. The general did not
want to make an assault that day, in order to see if they could be
brought in some way to make peace, which they would not consider.
Fifteen days later they decided to leave the village one night,
and did so, taking the women in their midst. They started about
the fourth watch, in the very early morning, on the side where the
cavalry was.[158] The alarm was given by those in the camp of Don
Rodrigo [p500] Maldonado. The enemy attacked them and killed one
Spaniard and a horse and wounded others, but they were driven back
with great slaughter until they came to the river, where the water
flowed swiftly and very cold. They threw themselves into this, and as
the men had come quickly from the whole camp to assist the cavalry,
there were few who escaped being killed or wounded. Some men from the
camp went across the river next day and found many of them who had
been overcome by the great cold. They brought these back, cured them,
and made servants of them. This ended that siege, and the town was
captured, although there were a few who remained in one part of the
town and were captured a few days later.[159]
Two captains, Don Diego de Guevara and Juan de Saldivar, had
captured the other large village after a siege. Having started out
very early one morning to make an ambuscade in which to catch some
warriors who used to come out every morning to try to frighten our
camp, the spies, who had been placed where they could see when they
were coming, saw the people come out and proceed toward the [p501]
country. The soldiers left the ambuscade and went to the village and
saw the people fleeing. They pursued and killed large numbers of
them. At the same time those in the camp were ordered to go over the
town, and they plundered it, making prisoners of all the people who
were found in it, amounting to about a hundred women and children.
This siege ended the last of March, in the year ’42.[160] Other
things had happened in the meantime, which would have been noticed,
but that it would have cut the thread. I have omitted them, but will
relate them now, so that it will be possible to understand what
follows.
_Chapter 17, of how messengers reached the army from the valley of
Señora and how Captain Melchior Diaz died on the expedition to the
Firebrand river._
We have already related how Captain Melchior Diaz crossed the
Firebrand river on rafts, in order to continue his discoveries
farther in that direction. About the time the siege ended, messengers
reached the army from the city of San Hieronimo with letters from
Diego de Alarcon,[161] who had remained there in the place of
Melchior Diaz. These contained the news that Melchior Diaz had died
while he was conducting his search, and that the force had returned
without finding any of the things they were after. It all happened in
this fashion:
After they had crossed the river they continued their search for the
coast, which here turned back toward the south, or between south and
east, because that arm of the sea enters the land due north and this
river, which brings its waters down from the north, flowing toward
the south, enters the head of the gulf. Continuing in the direction
they had been going, they came to some sand banks of hot ashes which
it was impossible to cross without being drowned as in the sea. The
ground they were standing on trembled like a sheet of paper, so
that it seemed as if there were lakes underneath them. It seemed
wonderful and like something infernal, for the ashes to bubble up
here in several places. After they had gone away from this place, on
account of the danger they seemed to be in and of the lack of water,
one day a greyhound belonging to one of the soldiers chased some
sheep which they were taking along for food. When the captain noticed
this, he threw his lance at the dog while his horse was running, so
that it stuck up in the ground, and not being able to stop his horse
he went over the lance so that it nailed him through the thighs and
the iron came out behind, rupturing his bladder. After this the
soldiers turned back with their captain, having to fight every day
with the Indians, who had remained hostile. He lived about twenty
days, during which they proceeded with great difficulty on account
of the necessity of carrying him.[162] They [p502] returned in
good order without losing a man, until he died, and after that they
were relieved of the greatest difficulty. When they reached Señora,
Alcaraz dispatched the messengers already referred to, so that
the general might know of this and also that some of the soldiers
were ill disposed and had caused several mutinies, and that he had
sentenced two of them to the gallows, but they had afterward escaped
from the prison.
When the general learned this, he sent Don Pedro de Tovar to that
city to sift out some of the men. He was accompanied by messengers
whom the general sent to Don Antonio de Mendoza the viceroy, with
an account of what had occurred and with the good news given by
the Turk. When Don Pedro de Tovar arrived there, he found that the
natives of that province had killed a soldier with a poisoned arrow,
which had made only a very little wound in one hand. Several soldiers
went to the place where this happened to see about it, and they were
not very well received. Don Pedro de Tovar sent Diego de Alcaraz
with a force to seize the chiefs and lords of a village in what they
call the Valley of Knaves (de los Vellacos), which is in the hills.
After getting there and taking these men prisoners, Diego de Alcaraz
decided to let them go in exchange for some thread and cloth and
other things which the soldiers needed. Finding themselves free, they
renewed the war and attacked them, and as they were strong and had
poison, they killed several Spaniards and wounded others so that they
died on the way back. They retired toward the town, and if they had
not had Indian allies from the country of the Hearts, it would have
gone worse with them. They got back to the town, leaving 17 soldiers
dead from the poison. They would die in agony from only a small
wound, the bodies breaking out with an insupportable pestilential
stink. When Don Pedro de Tovar saw the harm done, and as it seemed
to them that they could not safely stay in that city, he moved 40
leagues toward Cibola into the valley of Suya, where we will leave
them, in order to relate what happened to the general and his army
after the siege of Tiguex.
_Chapter 18, of how the general managed to leave the country in peace
so as to go in search of Quivira, where the Turk said there was the
most wealth._
During the siege of Tiguex the general decided to go to Cicuye and
take the governor with him, in order to give him his liberty and
to promise them that he would give Whiskers his liberty and leave
him in the village, as soon as he should start for Quivira. He was
received peacefully when he reached Cicuye, and entered the village
with several soldiers. They received their governor with much joy
and gratitude. After looking over the village and speaking with the
natives[163] he returned [p503] to his army, leaving Cicuye at
peace, in the hope of getting back their captain Whiskers.
After the siege was ended, as we have already related, he sent a
captain to Chia, a fine village with many people, which had sent to
offer its submission. It was 4 leagues distant to the west of the
river. They found it peaceful and gave it four bronze cannon, which
were in poor condition, to take care of. Six gentlemen also went to
Quirix, a province with seven villages. At the first village, which
had about a hundred inhabitants, the natives fled, not daring to
wait for our men; but they headed them off by a short cut, riding at
full speed, and then they returned to their houses in the village
in perfect safety, and then told the other villagers about it and
reassured them. In this way the entire region was reassured, little
by little, by the time the ice in the river was broken up and it
became possible to ford the river and so to continue the journey.
The twelve villages of Tiguex, however, were not repopulated at all
during the time the army was there, in spite of every promise of
security that could possibly be given to them.
And when the river, which for almost four months had been frozen over
so that they crossed the ice on horseback, had thawed out, orders
were given for the start for Quivira, where the Turk said there was
some gold and silver, although not so much as in Arche and the Guaes.
There were already some in the army who suspected the Turk, because
a Spaniard named Servantes,[164] who had charge of him during the
siege, solemnly swore that he had seen the Turk talking with the
devil in a pitcher of water, and also that while he had him under
lock so that no one could speak to him, the Turk had asked him what
Christians had been killed by the people at Tiguex. He told him
“nobody,” and then the Turk answered: “You lie; five Christians are
dead, including a captain.” And as Cervantes knew that he told the
truth, he confessed it so as to find out who had told him about it,
and the Turk said he knew it all by himself and that he did not need
to have anyone tell him in order to know it. And it was on account
of this that he watched him and saw him speaking to the devil in the
pitcher, as I have said.
While all this was going on, preparations were being made to start
from Tiguex. At this time people came from Cibola to see the general,
and he charged them to take good care of the Spaniards who were
coming from Señora with Don Pedro de Tovar. He gave them letters
to give to Don Pedro, informing him what he ought to do and how he
should go to find the army, and that he would find letters under
the crosses which the army would put up along the way. The army
left Tiguex on the 5th of May[165] and returned to Cicuye, which,
as I have said, is twenty-five marches, which means leagues, from
there, taking Whiskers with them. Arrived there, he gave them, their
captain, who already went about freely with a guard. The village was
very glad to see him, and the people were peaceful and offered food.
The governor and [p504] Whiskers gave the general a young fellow
called Xabe, a native of Quivira, who could give them information
about the country. This fellow said that there was gold and silver,
but not so much of it as the Turk had said. The Turk, however,
continued to declare that it was as he had said. He went as a guide,
and thus the army started off from here.
_Chapter 19, of how they started in search of Quivira and of what
happened on the way._
The army started from Cicuye, leaving the village at peace and, as it
seemed, contented, and under obligations to maintain the friendship
because their governor and captain had been restored to them.
Proceeding toward the plains, which are all on the other side of
the mountains, after four days’ journey they came to a river with a
large, deep current, which flowed down toward Cicuye, and they named
this the Cicuye river.[166] They had to stop here to make a bridge
so as to cross it. It was finished in four days, by much diligence
and rapid work, and as soon as it was done the whole army and the
animals crossed. After ten days more they came to some settlements
of people who lived like Arabs and who are called Querechos in that
region. They had seen the cows for two days. These folks live in
tents made of the tanned skins of the cows. They travel around near
the cows, killing them for food. They did nothing unusual when they
saw our army, except to come out of their tents to look at us, after
which they came to talk with the advance guard, and asked who we
were. The general talked with them, but as they had already talked
with the Turk, who was with the advance guard, they agreed with what
he had said. That they were very intelligent is evident from the fact
that although they conversed by means of signs they made themselves
understood so well that there was no need of an interpreter.[167]
They said that there was a very large river over toward where the
sun came from, and that one could go along this river through an
inhabited region for ninety days without a break from settlement to
settlement. They said that the first of these settlements was called
Haxa, and that the river was more than a league wide and that there
were many canoes on it. These folks started off from here next day
with a lot of dogs which dragged their possessions. For two days,
during which the army marched in the same direction as that in
which they had come from the settlements—that is, between north and
east, but more toward the north[168]—they saw [p505] other roaming
Querechos and such great numbers of cows that it already seemed
something incredible. These people gave a great deal of information
about settlements, all toward the east from where we were. Here Don
Garcia broke his arm and a Spaniard got lost who went off hunting so
far that he was unable to return to the camp, because the country is
very level. The Turk said it was one or two days to Haya (Haxa). The
general sent Captain Diego Lopez with ten companions lightly equipped
and a guide to go at full speed toward the sunrise for two days and
discover Haxa, and then return to meet the army, which set out in the
same direction next day. They came across so many animals that those
who were on the advance guard killed a large number of bulls. As
these fled they trampled one another in their haste until they came
to a ravine. So many of the animals fell into this that they filled
it up, and the rest went across on top of them. The men who were
chasing them on horseback fell in among the animals without noticing
where they were going. Three of the horses that fell in among the
cows, all saddled and bridled, were lost sight of completely.
As it seemed to the general that Diego Lopez ought to be on his way
back, he sent six of his companions to follow up the banks of the
little river, and as many more down the banks, to look for traces of
the horses at the trails to and from the river. It was impossible to
find tracks in this country, because the grass straightened up again
as soon as it was trodden down. They were found by some Indians from
the army who had gone to look for fruit. These got track of them a
good league off, and soon came up with them. They followed the river
down to the camp, and told the general that in the 20 leagues they
had been over they had seen nothing but cows and the sky. There was
another native of Quivira with the army, a painted Indian named
Ysopete. This Indian had always declared that the Turk was lying, and
on account of this the army paid no attention to him, and even now,
although he said that the Querechos had consulted with him, Ysopete
was not believed.[169]
The general sent Don Rodrigo Maldonado, with his company, forward
from here. He traveled four days and reached a large ravine like
those of Colima,[170] in the bottom of which he found a large
settlement of people. Cabeza de Vaca and Dorantes had passed through
this place, so that they presented Don Rodrigo with a pile of tanned
skins and other things, and a tent as big as a house, which he
directed them to keep until the army came up. He sent some of his
companions to guide the army to that place, so that they should not
get lost, although he had been making piles of stones and cow dung
for the army to follow. This was the way in which the army was guided
by the advance guard. [p506]
When the general came up with the army and saw the great quantity
of skins, he thought he would divide them among the men, and placed
guards so that they could look at them. But when the men arrived and
saw that the general was sending some of his companions with orders
for the guards to give them some of the skins, and that these were
going to select the best, they were angry because they were not going
to be divided evenly, and made a rush, and in less than a quarter of
an hour nothing was left but the empty ground.
The natives who happened to see this also took a hand in it. The
women and some others were left crying, because they thought that the
strangers were not going to take anything, but would bless them as
Cabeza de Vaca and Dorantes had done when they passed through here.
They found an Indian girl here who was as white as a Castilian lady,
except that she had her chin painted like a Moorish woman. In general
they all paint themselves in this way here, and they decorate their
eyes.
_Chapter 20, of how great stones fell in the camp, and how they
discovered another ravine, where the army was divided into two parts._
While the army was resting in this ravine, as we have related, a
tempest came up one afternoon with a very high wind and hail, and in
a very short space of time a great quantity of hailstones, as big
as bowls, or bigger, fell as thick as raindrops, so that in places
they covered the ground two or three spans or more deep. And one hit
the horse—or I should say, there was not a horse that did not break
away, except two or three which the negroes protected by holding
large sea nets over them, with the helmets and shields which all the
rest wore;[171] and some of them dashed up on to the sides of the
ravine so that they got them down with great difficulty. If this had
struck them while they were upon the plain, the army would have been
in great danger of being left without its horses, as there were many
which they were not able to cover.[172] The hail broke many tents,
and battered many helmets, and wounded many of the horses, and broke
all the crockery of the army, and the gourds, which was no small
loss, because they do not have any crockery in this region. They do
not make gourds, nor sow corn, nor eat bread, but instead raw meat—or
only half cooked—and fruit. [p507]
From here the general sent out to explore the country,[173] and they
found another settlement four days from there[174] . . . The country
was well inhabited, and they had plenty of kidney beans and prunes
like those of Castile, and tall vineyards. These village settlements
extended for three days. This was called Cona. Some Teyas,[175] as
these people are called, went with the army from here and traveled
as far as the end of the other settlements with their packs of dogs
and women and children, and then they gave them guides to proceed
to a large ravine where the army was. They did not let these guides
speak with the Turk, and did not receive the same statements from
these as they had from the others. These said that Quivira was toward
the north, and that we would not find any good road thither. After
this they began to believe Ysopete. The ravine which the army had now
reached was a league wide from one side to the other, with a little
bit of a river at the bottom, and there were many groves of mulberry
trees near it, and rosebushes with the same sort of fruit that they
have in France. They made verjuice from the unripe grapes at this
ravine, although there were ripe ones.[176] There were walnuts and
the same kind of fowls as in New Spain, and large quantities of
prunes like those of Castile. During this journey a Teya was seen
to shoot a bull right through both shoulders with an arrow, which
would be a good shot for a musket. These people are very intelligent;
the women are well made and modest. They cover their whole body.
They wear shoes and buskins made of tanned skin. The women wear
cloaks over their small under petticoats, with sleeves gathered up
at the shoulders, all of skin, and some wore something like little
sanbenitos[177] with a fringe, which reached half-way down the thigh
over the petticoat.
The army rested several days in this ravine and explored the
country. Up to this point they had made thirty-seven days’ marches,
traveling [p508] 6 or 7 leagues a day. It had been the duty of one
man to measure and count his steps. They found that it was 250
leagues to the settlements.[178] When the general Francisco Vazquez
realized this, and saw that they had been deceived by the Turk
heretofore, and as the provisions were giving out and there was no
country around here where they could procure more, he called the
captains and ensigns together to decide on what they thought ought
to be done. They all agreed that the general should go in search of
Quivira with thirty horsemen and half a dozen foot-soldiers, and
that Don Tristan de Arellano should go back to Tiguex with all the
army. When the men in the army learned of this decision, they begged
their general not to leave them to conduct the further search, but
declared that they all wanted to die with him and did not want to go
back. This did not do any good, although the general agreed to send
messengers to them within eight days saying whether it was best for
them to follow him or not, and with this he set off with the guides
he had and with Ysopete. The Turk was taken along in chains.
_Chapter 21, of how the army returned to Tiguex and the general
reached Quivira._
The general started from the ravine with the guides that the Teyas
had given him. He appointed the alderman Diego Lopez his army-master,
and took with him the men who seemed to him to be most efficient, and
the best horses. The army still had some hope that the general would
send for them, and sent two horsemen, lightly equipped and riding
post, to repeat their petition.
The general arrived—I mean, the guides ran away during the first few
days and Diego Lopez had to return to the army for guides, bringing
orders for the army to return to Tiguex to find food and wait there
for the general. The Teyas, as before, willingly furnished him with
new guides. The army waited for its messengers and spent a fortnight
here, preparing jerked beef to take with them. It was estimated that
during this fortnight they killed 500 bulls. The number of these that
were there without any cows was something incredible. Many fellows
were lost at this time who went out hunting and did not get back to
the army for two or three days, wandering about the country as if
they were crazy, in one direction or another, not knowing how to get
back where they started from, although this ravine extended in either
direction so that they could find it.[179] Every night they took
account of who was missing, fired guns and blew trumpets and beat
drums and built great fires, but yet some of them went off so far
and wandered about so much that all this did not give them any help,
although it helped others. The only way was to go back where they had
killed an animal and start from there in one direction and another
until [p509] they struck the ravine or fell in with somebody who
could put them on the right road. It is worth noting that the country
there is so level that at midday, after one has wandered about in one
direction and another in pursuit of game, the only thing to do is to
stay near the game quietly until sunset, so as to see where it goes
down, and even then they have to be men who are practiced to do it.
Those who are not, had to trust themselves to others.
The general followed his guides until he reached Quivira, which took
forty-eight days’ marching, on account of the great detour they had
made toward Florida.[180] He was received peacefully on account of
the guides whom he had. They asked the Turk why he had lied and had
guided them so far out of their way. He said that his country was
in that direction and that, besides this, the people at Cicuye had
asked him to lead them off on to the plains and lose them, so that
the horses would die when their provisions gave out, and they would
be so weak if they ever returned that they could be killed without
any trouble, and thus they could take revenge for what had been done
to them. This was the reason why he had led them astray, supposing
that they did not know how to hunt or to live without corn, while
as for the gold, he did not know where there was any of it. He said
this like one who had given up hope and who found that he was being
persecuted, since they had begun to believe Ysopete, who had guided
them better than he had, and fearing lest those who were there might
give some advice by which some harm would come to him. They garroted
him, which pleased Ysopete very much, because he had always said that
Ysopete was a rascal and that he did not know what he was talking
about and had always hindered his talking with anybody. Neither gold
nor silver nor any trace of either was found among these people.
Their lord wore a copper plate on his neck and prized it highly.
The messengers whom the army had sent to the general returned, as
I said, and then, as they brought no news except what the alderman
had delivered, the army left the ravine and returned to the Teyas,
where they took guides who led them back by a more direct road. They
readily furnished these, because these people are always roaming over
this country in pursuit of the animals and so know it thoroughly.
They keep their road in this way: In the morning they notice where
the sun rises and observe the direction they are going to take, and
then shoot an arrow in this direction. Before reaching this they
shoot another over it, and in this way they go all day toward the
water where they are to end the day. In this way they covered in 25
days [p510] what had taken them 37 days going, besides stopping to
hunt cows on the way. They found many salt lakes on this road, and
there was a great quantity of salt. There were thick pieces of it
on top of the water bigger than tables, as thick as four or five
fingers. Two or three spans down under water there was salt which
tasted better than that in the floating pieces, because this was
rather bitter. It was crystalline. All over these plains there were
large numbers of animals like squirrels and a great number of their
holes. On its return the army reached the Cicuye river more than 30
leagues below there—I mean below the bridge they had made when they
crossed it, and they followed it up to that place. In general, its
banks are covered with a sort of rose bushes, the fruit of which
tastes like muscatel grapes.[181] They grow on little twigs about as
high up as a man. It has the parsley leaf. There were unripe grapes
and currants (?)[182] and wild marjoram. The guides said this river
joined that of Tiguex more than 20 days from here, and that its
course turned toward the east. It is believed that it flows into the
mighty river of the Holy Spirit (Espiritu Santo), which the men with
Don Hernando de Soto discovered in Florida. A painted Indian woman
ran away from Juan de Saldibar and hid in the ravines about this
time, because she recognized the country of Tiguex where she had been
a slave. She fell into the hands of some Spaniards who had entered
the country from Florida to explore it in this direction. After I got
back to New Spain I heard them say that the Indian told them that she
had run away from other men like them nine days, and that she gave
the names of some captains; from which we ought to believe that we
were not far from the region they discovered, although they said they
were more than 200 leagues inland. I believe the land at that point
is more than 600 leagues across from sea to sea.
As I said, the army followed the river up as far as Cicuye, which it
found ready for war and unwilling to make any advances toward peace
or to give any food to the army. From there they went on to Tigeux
where several villages had been reinhabited, but the people were
afraid and left them again.
_Chapter 22, of how the general returned from Quivira and of other
expeditions toward the North._
After Don Tristan de Arellano reached Tiguex, about the middle of
July, in the year ’42,[183] he had provisions collected for the
coming winter. Captain Francisco de Barrionuevo was sent up the
river toward the north with several men. He saw two provinces, one
of which was called Hemes and had seven villages, and the other
Yuqueyunque.[184] The inhabitants of Hemes came out peaceably and
furnished provisions. At Yuqueyunque the whole nation left two very
fine villages which [p511] they had on either side of the river
entirely vacant, and went into the mountains, where they had four
very strong villages in a rough, country, where it was impossible
for horses to go. In the two villages there was a great deal of food
and some very beautiful glazed earthenware with many figures and
different shapes. Here they also found many bowls full of a carefully
selected shining metal with which they glazed the earthenware. This
shows that mines of silver would be found in that country if they
should hunt for them.
There was a large and powerful river, I mean village, which was
called Braba, 20 leagues farther up the river, which our men called
Valladolid.[185] The river flowed through the middle of it. The
natives crossed it by wooden bridges, made of very long, large,
squared pines. At this village they saw the largest and finest hot
rooms or estufas that there were in the entire country, for they had
a dozen pillars, each one of which was twice as large around as one
could reach and twice as tall as a man. Hernando de Alvarado visited
this village when he discovered Cicuye. The country is very high
and very cold. The river is deep and very swift, without any ford.
Captain Barrionuevo returned from here, leaving the province at peace.
Another captain went down the river in search of the settlements
which the people at Tutahaco had said were several days distant
from there. This captain went down 80 leagues and found four large
villages which he left at peace. He proceeded until he found that the
river sank into the earth, like the Guadiana in Estremadura.[186] He
did not go on to where the Indians said that it came out much larger,
because his commission did not extend for more than 80 leagues
march. After this captain got back, as the time had arrived which
the captain had set for his return from Quivira, and as he had not
come back, Don Tristan selected 40 companions and, leaving the army
to Francisco de Barrionuevo, he started with them in search of the
general. When he reached Cicuye the people came out of the village
to fight, which detained him there four days, while he punished
them, which he did by firing some volleys into the village. These
killed several men, so that they did not come out against the army,
since two of their principal men had been killed on the first day.
Just then word was brought that the general was coming, and so Don
Tristan had to stay there on this account also, to keep the road
open.[187] Everybody welcomed the general on his arrival, with great
joy. The Indian Xabe, who was the young fellow who had been given
to the general at Cicuye when he started off in search of Quivira,
was with Don Tristan de Arellano and when he learned that the [p512]
general was coming he acted as if he was greatly pleased, and said,
“Now when the general comes, you will see that there is gold and
silver in Quivira, although not so much as the Turk said.” When the
general arrived, and Xabe saw that they had not found anything, he
was sad and silent, and kept declaring that there was some. He made
many believe that it was so, because the general had not dared to
enter into the country on account of its being thickly settled and
his force not very strong, and that he had returned to lead his army
there after the rains, because it had begun to rain there already,
as it was early in August when he left. It took him forty days to
return, traveling lightly equipped. The Turk had said when they
left Tiguex that they ought not to load the horses with too much
provisions, which would tire them so that they could not afterward
carry the gold and silver, from which it is very evident that he was
deceiving them.
The general reached Cicuye with his force and at once set off
for Tiguex, leaving the village more quiet, for they had met him
peaceably and had talked with him. When he reached Tiguex, he made
his plans to pass the winter there, so as to return with the whole
army, because it was said that he brought information regarding large
settlements and very large rivers, and that the country was very much
like that of Spain in the fruits and vegetation and seasons. They
were not ready to believe that there was no gold there, but instead
had suspicions that there was some farther back in the country,
because, although this was denied, they knew what the thing was and
had a name for it among themselves—acochis. With this we end this
first part, and now we will give an account of the provinces.
SECOND PART, WHICH TREATS OF THE HIGH VILLAGES AND PROVINCES AND OF
THEIR HABITS AND CUSTOMS, AS COLLECTED BY PEDRO DE CASTAÑEDA, NATIVE
OF THE CITY OF NAJARA.
_Laus Deo._
It does not seem to me that the reader will be satisfied with having
seen and understood what I have already related about the expedition,
although that has made it easy to see the difference between the
report which told about vast treasures, and the places where nothing
like this was either found or known. It is to be noted that in place
of settlements great deserts were found, and instead of populous
cities villages of 200 inhabitants and only 800 or 1,000 people in
the largest. I do not know whether this will furnish grounds for
pondering and considering the uncertainty of this life. To please
these, I wish to give a detailed account of all the inhabited region
seen and discovered by this expedition, and some of their ceremonies
and habits, in accordance with what we came to know about them, and
the limits within which each province falls, so that hereafter it
maybe possible to understand in what direction Florida lies and in
what direction Greater India; and [p513] this land of New Spain
is part of the mainland with Peru, and with Greater India or China
as well, there not being any strait between to separate them. On
the other hand, the country is so wide that there is room for these
vast deserts which lie between the two seas, for the coast of the
North sea beyond Florida stretches toward the Bacallaos[188] and then
turns toward Norway, while that of the South sea turns toward the
west, making another bend down toward the south almost like a bow and
stretches away toward India, leaving room for the lands that border
on the mountains on both sides to stretch out in such a way as to
have between them these great plains which are full of cattle and
many other animals of different sorts, since they are not inhabited,
as I will relate farther on. There is every sort of game and fowl
there, but no snakes, for they are free[189] from these. I will leave
the account of the return of the army to New Spain until I have shown
what slight occasion there was for this. We will begin our account
with the city of Culiacan, and point out the differences between
the one country and the other, on account of which one ought to be
settled by Spaniards and the other not. It should be the reverse,
however, with Christians, since there are intelligent men in one, and
in the other wild animals and worse than beasts.
[Illustration: LV. The Buffalo of Gomara, 1554]
_Chapter 1, of the province of Culiacan and of its habits and
customs._
Culiacan is the last place in the New Kingdom of Galicia, and was
the first settlement made by Nuño de Guzman when he conquered this
kingdom. It is 210 leagues west of Mexico. In this province there are
three chief languages, besides other related dialects. The first is
that of the Tahus, who are the best and most intelligent race. They
are now the most settled and have received the most light from the
faith. They worship idols and make presents to the devil of their
goods and riches, consisting of cloth and turquoises. They do not
eat human flesh nor sacrifice it. They are accustomed to keep very
large snakes, which they venerate. Among them there are men dressed
like women who marry other men and serve as their wives. At a great
festival they consecrate the women who wish to live unmarried,
with much singing and dancing,[190] at which all the chiefs of the
locality gather and dance naked, and after all have danced with her
they put her in a hut that has been decorated for this event and
the chiefs adorn her with clothes and bracelets of fine turquoises,
and then the chiefs go in one by one to lie with her, and all the
others who wish, follow them. From this time on these women can not
refuse anyone who pays them a certain amount agreed on for this.
Even if they take husbands, this does not exempt them from obliging
anyone who pays them. The greatest festivals are on market days. The
custom is for the husbands to buy the women whom they marry, of
their fathers and relatives at a high price, and then to take them
to a chief, who is considered to be a priest, to deflower them and
see if she is a virgin; and if she is not, they have to return the
whole price, and he can keep her for his wife or not, or let her be
consecrated, as he chooses. At these times they all get drunk.
The second language is that of the Pacaxes, the people who live in
the country between the plains and the mountains. These people are
more barbarous. Some of them who live near the mountains eat human
flesh.[191] They are great sodomites, and have many wives, even when
these are sisters. They worship painted and sculptured stones, and
are much given to witchcraft and sorcery.
The third language is that of the Acaxes, who are in possession of
a large part of the hilly country and all of the mountains. They
go hunting for men just as they hunt animals. They all eat human
flesh, and he who has the most human bones and skulls hung up around
his house is most feared and respected. They live in settlements
and in very rough country, avoiding the plains. In passing from one
settlement to another, there is always a ravine in the way which they
can not cross, although they can talk together across it.[192] At
the slightest call 500 men collect, and on any pretext kill and eat
one another. Thus it has been very hard to subdue these people, on
account of the roughness of the country, which is very great.
Many rich silver mines have been found in this country. They do not
run deep, but soon give out. The gulf of the sea begins on the coast
of this province, entering the land 250 leagues toward the north and
ending at the mouth of the Firebrand (Tizon) river. This country
forms its eastern limit, and California the western. From what I have
been told by men who had navigated it, it is 30 leagues across from
point to point, because they lose sight of this country when they see
the other. They say the gulf is over 150 leagues broad (or deep),
from shore to shore. The coast makes a turn toward the south at the
Firebrand river, bending down to California, which turns toward the
west, forming that peninsula which was formerly held to be an island,
because it was a low sandy country. It is inhabited by brutish,
bestial, naked people who eat their own offal. The men and women
couple like animals, the female openly getting down on all fours.
_Chapter 2, of the province of Petlatlan and all the inhabited
country as far as Chichilticalli._
Petlatlan is a settlement of houses covered with a sort of mats
made of _plants_.[193] These are collected into villages, extending
along a river from the mountains to the sea. The people are of the
same race and [p515] habits as the Culuacanian Tahues. There is
much sodomy among them. In the mountain district there is a large
population and more settlements. These people have a somewhat
different language from the Tahues, although they understand each
other. It is called Petlatlan because the houses are made of petates
or palm-leaf mats.[194] Houses of this sort are found for more
than 240 leagues in this region, to the beginning of the Cibola
wilderness. The nature of the country changes here very greatly,
because from this point on there are no trees except the pine,[195]
nor are there any fruits except a few tunas,[196] mesquites,[197] and
pitahayas.[198]
Petlatlan is 20 leagues from Culiacan, and it is 130 leagues from
here to the valley of Señora. There are many rivers between the two,
with settlements of the same sort of people—for example, Smoloa,
Boyomo, Teocomo, Yaquimi, and other smaller ones. There is also the
Corazones or Hearts, which is in our possession, down the valley of
Señora.[199]
Señora is a river and valley thickly settled by able-bodied people.
The women wear petticoats of tanned deerskin, and little san benitos
reaching half way down the body.[200] The chiefs of the villages
go up on some little heights they have made for this purpose, like
public criers, and there make proclamations for the space of an
hour, regulating those things they have to attend to. They have some
little huts for shrines, all over the outside of which they stick
many arrows, like a hedgehog. They do this when they are eager for
war. All about this province toward the mountains there is a large
population in separate little provinces containing ten or twelve
villages. Seven or eight of them, of which I know the names, are
Comupatrico, Mochilagua, Arispa, and the Little Valley.[201] There
are others which we did not see.
It is 40 leagues from Señora to the valley of Suya. The town of
Saint Jerome (San Hieronimo) was established in this valley, where
there was [p516] a rebellion later, and part of the people who
had settled there were killed, as will be seen in the third part.
There are many villages in the neighborhood of this valley. The
people are the same as those in Señora and have the same dress and
language, habits, and customs, like all the rest as far as the desert
of Chichilticalli. The women paint their chins and eyes like the
Moorish women of Barbary. They are great sodomites. They drink wine
made of the pitahaya, which is the fruit of a great thistle which
opens like the pomegranate. The wine makes them stupid. They make
a great quantity of preserves from the tuna; they preserve it in a
large amount of its sap without other honey. They make bread of the
mesquite, like cheese, which keeps good for a whole year.[202] There
are native melons in this country so large that a person can carry
only one of them. They cut these into slices and dry them in the sun.
They are good to eat, and taste like figs, and are better than dried
meat; they are very good and sweet, keeping for a whole year when
prepared in this way.[203]
In this country there were also tame eagles, which the chiefs
esteemed to be something fine.[204] No fowls of any sort were seen
in any of these villages except in this valley of Suya, where fowls
like those of Castile were found. Nobody could find out how they came
to be so far inland, the people being all at war with one another.
Between Suya and Chichilticalli there are many sheep and mountain
goats with very large bodies and horns. Some Spaniards declare that
they have seen flocks of more than a hundred together, which ran so
fast that they disappeared very quickly.
At Chichilticalli the country changes its character again and the
spiky vegetation ceases. The reason is that the gulf reaches as far
up as this place, and the mountain chain changes its direction at
the same time that the coast does. Here they had to cross and pass
through the mountains in order to get into the level country.
_Chapter 3, of Chichilticalli and the desert, of Cibola, its customs
and habits, and of other things._
Chichilticalli is so called because the friars found a house at this
place which was formerly inhabited by people who separated from
Cibola. It was made of colored or reddish earth.[205] The house
was large and appeared to have been a fortress. It must have been
destroyed by the people of the district, who are the most barbarous
people that have yet been seen. They live in separate cabins and
not in settlements. They live by [p517] hunting. The rest of the
country is all wilderness, covered with pine forests. There are great
quantities of the pine nuts. The pines are two or three times as high
as a man before they send out branches. There is a sort of oak with
sweet acorns, of which they make cakes like sugar plums with dried
coriander seeds. It is very sweet, like sugar. Watercress grows in
many springs, and there are rosebushes, and pennyroyal, and wild
marjoram.
[Illustration: LVI. The Buffalo of Thevet, 1558]
There are barbels and picones,[206] like those of Spain, in the
rivers of this wilderness. Gray lions and leopards were seen.[207]
The country rises continually from the beginning of the wilderness
until Cibola is reached, which is 85 leagues, going north. From
Culiacan to the edge of the wilderness the route had kept the north
on the left hand.
Cibola[208] is seven villages. The largest is called Maçaque.[209]
The houses are ordinarily three or four stories high, but in Maçaque
there are houses with four and seven stories. These people are very
intelligent. They cover their privy parts and all the immodest parts
with cloths made like a sort of table napkin, with fringed edges
and a tassel at each corner, which they tie over the hips. They
wear long robes of feathers and of the skins of hares, and cotton
blankets.[210] The women wear blankets, which they tie or knot over
the left shoulder, leaving the right arm out. These serve to cover
the body. They wear a neat well-shaped outer garment of skin. They
gather their hair over the two ears, making a frame which looks like
an old-fashioned headdress.[211] [p518]
This country is a valley between rocky mountains. They cultivate
corn, which does not grow very high. The ears start at the very foot,
and each large fat stalk, bears about 800 grains, something not seen
before in these parts.[212] There are large numbers of bears in this
province, and lions, wild-cats, deer, and otter. There are very
fine turquoises, although not so many as was reported. They collect
the pine nuts each year, and store them up in advance. A man does
not have more than one wife. There are estufas or hot rooms in the
villages, which are the courtyards or places where they gather for
consultation. They do not have chiefs as in New Spain, but are ruled
by a council of the oldest men.[213] They have priests who preach to
them, whom they call papas.[214] These are the elders. They go up on
the highest roof of the village and preach to the village from there,
like public criers, in the morning while the sun is rising, the whole
village being silent and sitting in the galleries to listen.[215]
They tell them how they are to live, and I believe that they give
certain commandments for them to keep, for there is no drunkenness
among them nor sodomy nor sacrifices, neither do they eat human flesh
nor steal, but they are usually at work. The estufas belong to the
whole village. It is a sacrilege for the women to go into the estufas
to sleep.[216] They make the cross as a sign of peace. They burn
their dead, and throw the implements used in their work into the fire
with the bodies.[217] [p519]
It is 20 leagues to Tusayan, going northwest. This is a province
with seven villages, of the same sort, dress, habits, and ceremonies
as at Cibola. There may be as many as 3,000 or 4,000 men in the
fourteen villages of these two provinces. It is 40 leagues or more to
Tiguex, the road, trending toward the north. The rock of Acuco, which
we described in the first part, is between these.
_Chapter 4, of how they live at Tiguex, and of the province of Tiguex
and its neighborhood._
Tiguex is a province with twelve villages on the banks of a large,
mighty river; some villages on one side and some on the other. It
is a spacious valley two leagues wide, and a very high, rough,
snow-covered mountain chain lies east of it. There are seven villages
in the ridges at the foot of this—four on the plain and three
situated on the skirts of the mountain.
There are seven villages 7 leagues to the north, at Quirix, and the
seven villages of the province of Hemes are 40 leagues northwest. It
is 40 leagues north or east to Acha,[218] and 4 leagues southeast to
[p520] Tutahaco, a province with eight villages. In general, these
villages all have the same habits and customs, although some have
some things in particular which the others have not.[219] They are
governed by the opinions of the elders. They all work together to
build the villages, the women being engaged in making the mixture and
the walls, while the men bring the wood and put it in place.[220]
They have no lime, but they make a mixture of ashes, coals, and dirt
which is almost as good as mortar, for when the house is to have four
stories, they do not make the walls more than half a yard thick.
They gather a great pile of twigs of thyme and sedge grass and set
it afire, and when it is half coals and ashes they throw a quantity
of dirt and water on it and mix it all together. They make round
balls of this, which they use instead of stones after they are dry,
fixing them with the same mixture, which comes to be like a stiff
clay. Before they are married the young men serve the whole village
in general, and fetch the wood that is needed for use, putting it in
a pile in the courtyard of the villages, from which the women take it
to carry to their houses.
[Illustration: LVII. The Buffalo of De Bry, 1595]
The young men live in the estufas, which are in the yards of the
village.[221] They are underground, square or round, with pine
pillars. [p521] Some were seen with twelve pillars and with
four in the center as large as two men could stretch around. They
usually had three or four pillars. The floor was made of large,
smooth stones, like the baths which they have in Europe. They have
a hearth made like the binnacle or compass box of a ship,[222] in
which they burn a handful of thyme at a time to keep up the heat,
and they can stay in there just as in a bath. The top was on a level
with the ground. Some that were seen were large enough for a game
of ball. When any man wishes to marry, it has to be arranged by
those who govern. The man has to spin and weave a blanket and place
it before the woman, who covers herself with it and becomes his
wife.[223] The houses belong to the women, the estufas to the men. If
a man repudiates his woman, he has to go to the estufa.[224] It is
forbidden for women to sleep in the estufas, or to enter these for
any purpose except to give their husbands or sons something to eat.
The men spin and weave. The women bring up the children and prepare
the food. The country is so fertile that they do not have to break up
the ground the year round, but only have to sow the seed, which is
presently covered by the fall of snow, and the ears come up under the
snow. In one year they gather enough for seven. A very large number
of cranes and wild geese and crows and starlings live on what is
sown, and for all this, when they come to sow for another year, the
fields are covered with corn which they have not been able to finish
gathering.
There are a great many native fowl in these provinces, and cocks
with great hanging chins.[225] When dead, these keep for sixty days,
and longer in winter, without losing their feathers or opening, and
without any bad smell, and the same is true of dead men.
The villages are free from nuisances, because they go outside to
excrete, and they pass their water into clay vessels, which they
empty [p522] at a distance from the village.[226] They keep the
separate houses where they prepare the food for eating and where they
grind the meal, very clean. This is a separate room or closet, where
they have a trough with three stones fixed in stiff clay. Three women
go in here, each one having a stone, with which one of them breaks
the corn, the next grinds it, and the third grinds it again.[227]
They take off their shoes, do up their hair, shake their clothes,
and cover their heads before they enter the door. A man sits at the
door playing on a fife while they grind, moving the stones to the
music and singing together. They grind a large quantity at one time,
because they make all their bread of meal soaked in warm water, like
wafers. They gather a great quantity of brushwood and dry it to use
for cooking all through the year. There are no fruits good to eat
in the country, except the pine nuts. They have their preachers.
Sodomy is not found among them. They do not eat human flesh nor make
sacrifices of it. The people are not cruel, for they had Francisco
de Ovando in Tiguex about forty days, after he was dead, and when
the village was captured, he was found among their dead, whole and
without any other wound except the one which killed him, white as
snow, without any bad smell. I found out several things about them
from one of our Indians, who had been a captive among them for a
whole year. I asked him especially for the reason why the young women
in that province went entirely naked, however cold it might be, and
he told me that the virgins had to go around this way until they took
a husband, and that they covered themselves after they had known man.
The men here wear little shirts of tanned deerskin and their long
robes over this. In all these provinces they have earthenware glazed
with antimony and jars of extraordinary labor and workmanship, which
were worth seeing.[228] [p523]
_Chapter 5, of Cicuye and the villages in its neighborhood, and of how
some people came to conquer this country._
We have already said that the people of Tiguex and of all the
provinces on the banks of that river were all alike, having the same
ways of living and the same customs. It will not be necessary to say
anything particular about them. I wish merely to give an account of
Cicuye and some depopulated villages which the army saw on the direct
road which it followed thither, and of others that were across the
snowy mountains near Tiguex, which also lay in that region above the
river.
Cicuye[229] is a village of nearly five hundred warriors, who are
feared throughout that country. It is square, situated on a rock,
with a large court or yard in the middle, containing the estufas.
The houses are all alike, four stories high. One can go over the
top of the whole village without there being a street to hinder.
There are corridors going all around it at the first two stories, by
which one can go around the whole village. These are like outside
balconies, and they are able to protect themselves under these.[230]
The houses do not have doors below, but they use ladders, which can
be lifted up like a drawbridge, and so go up to the corridors which
are on the inside of the village. As the doors of the houses open
on the corridor of that story, the corridor serves as a street. The
houses that open on the plain are right back of those that open on
the court, and in time of war they go through those behind them. The
village is inclosed by a low wall of stone. There is a spring of
water inside, which they are able to divert.[231] The people of this
village boast that no one has been able to conquer them and that they
conquer whatever villages they wish. The people and their customs are
like those of the other villages. Their virgins also go nude until
they take husbands, because they say that if they do anything wrong
then it will be seen, and so they do not do it. They do not need to
be ashamed because they go around as they were born.
There is a village, small and strong, between Cicuye and the province
of Quirix, which the Spaniards named Ximena,[232] and another village
almost deserted, only one part of which is inhabited.[233] This
was a large village, and judging from its condition and newness it
appeared to have been destroyed. They called this the village of the
granaries or silos, because large underground cellars were found
here stored with corn. There was another large village farther on,
entirely destroyed and [p524] pulled down, in the yards of which
there were many stone balls, as big as 12-quart bowls, which seemed
to have been thrown by engines or catapults, which had destroyed the
village. All that I was able to find out about them was that, sixteen
years before, some people called Teyas,[234] had come to this country
in great numbers and had destroyed these villages. They had besieged
Cicuye but had not been able to capture it, because it was strong,
and when they left the region, they had made peace with the whole
country. It seems as if they must have been a powerful people, and
that they must have had engines to knock down the villages. The only
thing they could tell about the direction these people came from was
by pointing toward the north. They usually call these people Teyas
or brave men, just as the Mexicans say chichimecas or braves,[235]
for the Teyas whom the army saw were brave. These knew the people
in the settlements, and were friendly with them, and they (the
Teyas of the plains) went there to spend the winter under the wings
of the settlements. The inhabitants do not dare to let them come
inside, because they can not trust them. Although they are received
as friends, and trade with them, they do not stay in the villages
over night, but outside under the wings. The villages are guarded
by sentinels with trumpets, who call to one another just as in the
fortresses of Spain.
There are seven other villages along this route, toward the snowy
mountains, one of which has been half destroyed by the people already
referred to. These were under the rule of Cicuye. Cicuye is in a
little valley between mountain chains and mountains covered with
large pine forests. There is a little stream which contains very good
trout and otters, and there are very large bears and good falcons
hereabouts.
_Chapter 6, which gives the number of villages which were seen in the
country of the terraced houses, and their population._
[Illustration: LVIII. On the Terraces at Zuñi]
Before I proceed to speak of the plains, with the cows and
settlements and tribes there, it seems to me that it will be well for
the reader to know how large the settlements were, where the houses
with stories, gathered into villages, were seen, and how great an
extent of country they occupied.[236] As I say, Cibola is the first:
Cibola, seven villages.
Tusayan, seven villages.
The rock of Acuco, one. [p525]
Tiguex, twelve villages.
Tutahaco,[237] eight villages.
These villages were below the river.
Quirix,[238] seven villages.
In the snowy mountains, seven villages.
Ximena,[239] three villages.
Cicuye, one village.
Hemes,[240] seven villages.
Aguas Calientes,[240] or Boiling Springs, three villages.
Yuqueyunque,[241] in the mountains, six villages.
Valladolid, called Braba,[242] one village.
Chia,[243] one village.
In all, there are sixty-six villages.[244] Tiguex appears to be in
the center of the villages. Valladolid is the farthest up the river
toward the northeast. The four villages down the river are toward
the southeast, because the river turns toward the east.[245] It is
130 leagues—10 more or less—from the farthest point that was seen
down the river to the farthest point up the river, and all the
settlements are within this region. Including those at a distance,
there are sixty-six villages in all, as I have said, and in all of
them there may be some 20,000 men, which may be taken to be a fair
estimate of the population of the villages. There are no houses or
other buildings between one village and another, but where we went
it is entirely uninhabited.[246] These people, since they are few,
and their manners, government, and habits are so different from all
the nations that have been seen and discovered in these western
regions, must come from that part of Greater India, the coast of
which lies to the west of this country, for they could have come down
from that country, crossing the mountain chains and following down,
the river, settling in what seemed to them the best place.[247] As
they multiplied, they have kept on making settlements until they
lost the river when it buried itself underground, its course being
in the direction of Florida. It comes down from the northeast, where
they[248] could certainly have found signs of villages. He preferred,
however, to follow the reports of [p526] the Turk, but it would have
been better to cross the mountains where this river rises. I believe
they would have found traces of riches and would have reached the
lands from which these people started, which from its location is on
the edge of Greater India, although the region is neither known nor
understood, because from the trend of the coast it appears that the
land between Norway and China is very far up.[249] The country from
sea to sea is very wide, judging from the location of both coasts,
as well as from what Captain Villalobos discovered when he went in
search of China by the sea to the west,[250] and from what has been
discovered on the North sea concerning the trend of the coast of
Florida toward the Bacallaos, up toward Norway.[251]
To return then to the proposition with which I began, I say that
the settlements and people already named were all that were seen
in a region 70 leagues wide and 130 long, in the settled country
along the river Tiguex.[252] In New Spain there are not one but many
establishments, containing a larger number of people. Silver metals
were found in many of their villages, which they use for glazing and
painting their earthenware.[253]
_Chapter 7, which treats of the plains that were crossed, of the
cows, and of the people who inhabit them._
We have spoken of the settlements of high houses which are situated
in what seems to be the most level and open part of the mountains,
since it is 150 leagues across before entering the level country
between the two mountain chains which I said were near the North
sea and the South sea, which might better be called the Western sea
along this coast. This mountain series is the one which is near the
South sea.[254] In order to show that the settlements are in the
middle of the mountains, I will state that it is 80 leagues from
Chichilticalli, where we began to cross this country, to Cibola; from
Cibola, which is the first village, to Cicuye, which is the last
on the way across, is 70 leagues; it is 30 leagues from Cicuye to
where the plains begin. It may be we went across in an indirect or
roundabout way, which would make it seem as if there was more country
than if it had been crossed in a direct line, and it may be more
difficult and rougher. This can not be known certainly, because the
mountains change their direction above the bay at the mouth of the
Firebrand (Tizon) river. [p527]
[Illustration: LIX. Middle Court at Zuñi]
Now we will speak of the plains. The country is spacious and level,
and is more than 400 leagues wide in the part between the two
mountain ranges—one, that which Francisco Vazquez Coronado crossed,
and the other that which the force under Don Fernando de Soto
crossed, near the North sea, entering the country from Florida. No
settlements were seen anywhere on these plains.
In traversing 250 leagues, the other mountain range was not seen,
nor a hill nor a hillock which was three times as high as a man.
Several lakes were found at intervals; they were round as plates, a
stone’s throw or more across, some fresh and some salt. The grass
grows tall near these lakes; away from them it is very short, a span
or less. The country is like a bowl, so that when a man sits down,
the horizon surrounds him all around at the distance of a musket
shot.[255] There are no groves of trees except at the rivers, which
flow at the bottom of some ravines where the trees grow so thick
that they were not noticed until one was right on the edge of them.
They are of dead earth.[256] There are paths down into these, made
by the cows when they go to the water, which is essential throughout
these plains. As I have related in the first part, people follow the
cows, hunting them and tanning the skins to take to the settlements
in the winter to sell, since they go there to pass the winter, each
company going to those which are nearest, some to the settlements at
Cicuye,[257] others toward Quivira, and others to the settlements
which are situated in the direction of Florida. These people are
called Querechos and Teyas. They described some large settlements,
and judging from what was seen, of these people and from the accounts
they gave of other places, there are a good many more of these people
than there are of those at the settlements.[258] They have better
figures, are better warriors, and are more feared. They travel like
the Arabs, with their tents and troops of dogs loaded with poles[259]
and having Moorish pack saddles with girths.[260] When the load gets
disarranged, the dogs howl, calling some one to fix them right. These
people eat raw flesh and drink blood. They do not eat human flesh.
They are a kind people and not cruel. They are faithful friends. They
are able to make themselves very well understood by means of signs.
They dry the flesh in the sun, cutting it thin like a leaf, and when
dry they grind it like meal to keep it and make a sort of sea soup of
it to eat. A handful thrown into a pot swells up so as to increase
very [p528] much. They season it with fat, which they always try to
secure when they kill a cow.[261] They empty a large gut and fill
it with blood, and carry this around the neck to drink when they
are thirsty. When they open the belly of a cow, they squeeze out
the chewed grass and drink the juice that remains behind, because
they say that this contains the essence of the stomach. They cut the
hide open at the back and pull it off at the joints, using a flint
as large as a finger, tied in a little stick, with as much ease as
if working with a good iron tool. They give it an edge with their
own teeth. The quickness with which they do this is something worth
seeing and noting.[262]
There are very great numbers of wolves on these plains, which go
around with the cows. They have white skins. The deer are pied with
white. Their skin is loose, so that when they are killed it can be
pulled off with the hand while warm, coming off like pigskin.[263]
The rabbits, which, are very numerous, are so foolish that those
on horseback killed them with their lances. This is when they are
mounted among the cows. They fly from a person on foot.
_Chapter 8, of Quivira, of where it is and some information about it._
Quivira is to the west of those ravines, in the midst of the country,
somewhat nearer the mountains toward the sea, for the country is
level as far as Quivira, and there they began to see some mountain
chains. The country is well settled. Judging from what was seen on
the borders of it, this country is very similar to that of Spain in
the varieties of vegetation and fruits. There are plums like those of
Castile, grapes, nuts, mulberries, oats, pennyroyal, wild marjoram,
and large quantities of flax, but this does not do them any good,
because they do not know how to use it.[264] The people are of almost
the same sort and appearance as the Teyas. They have villages like
those in New Spain. The houses are round, without a wall, and they
have one story like a loft, under the roof, where they sleep and keep
their belongings. The roofs [p529] are of straw. There are other
thickly settled provinces around it containing large numbers of men.
A friar named Juan de Padilla remained in this province, together
with a Spanish-Portuguese and a negro and a half-blood and some
Indians from the province of Capothan,[265] in New Spain. They killed
the friar because he wanted to go to the province of the Guas,[266]
who were their enemies. The Spaniard escaped by taking flight on a
mare, and afterward reached New Spain, coming out by way of Panuco.
The Indians from New Spain who accompanied the friar were allowed by
the murderers to bury him, and then they followed the Spaniard and
overtook him. This Spaniard was a Portuguese, named Campo.[267]
[Illustration: LX. Zuñi Court, Showing “Balcony”]
The great river of the Holy Spirit (Espiritu Santo),[268] which Don
Fernando de Soto discovered in the country of Florida, flows through
this country. It passes through a province called Arache, according
to the reliable accounts which were obtained here. The sources were
not visited, because, according to what they said, it comes from a
very distant country in the mountains of the South sea, from the part
that sheds its waters onto the plains. It flows across all the level
country and breaks through the mountains of the North sea, and comes
out where the people with Don Fernando de Soto navigated it. This is
more than 300 leagues from where it enters the sea. On account of
this, and also because it has large tributaries, it is so mighty when
it enters the sea that they lost sight of the land before the water
ceased to be fresh.[269]
This country of Quivira was the last that was seen, of which I am
able to give any description or information. Now it is proper for me
to return and speak of the army, which I left in Tiguex, resting for
the winter, so that it would be able to proceed or return in search
of these settlements of Quivira, which was not accomplished after
all, because it was [p530] God’s pleasure that these discoveries
should remain for other peoples and that we who had been there should
content ourselves with saying that we were the first who discovered
it and obtained any information concerning it, just as Hercules knew
the site where Julius Cæsar was to found Seville or Hispales. May the
all-powerful Lord grant that His will be done in everything. It is
certain that if this had not been His will Francisco Vazquez would
not have returned to New Spain without cause or reason, as he did,
and that it would not have been left for those with Don Fernando de
Soto to settle such a good country, as they have done, and besides
settling it to increase its extent, after obtaining, as they did,
information from our army.[270]
THIRD PART, WHICH DESCRIBES WHAT HAPPENED TO FRANCISCO VAZQUEZ
CORONADO DURING THE WINTER, AND HOW HE GAVE UP THE EXPEDITION AND
RETURNED TO NEW SPAIN.
_Laus Deo._
_Chapter 1, of how Don Pedro de Tovar came from Señora with some men,
and, Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas started back to New Spain_.
At the end of the first part of this book, we told how Francisco
Vazquez Coronado, when he got back from Quivira, gave orders to
winter at Tiguex, in order to return, when the winter was over, with
his whole army to discover all the settlements in those regions. Don
Pedro de Tovar, who had gone, as we related, to conduct a force from
the city of Saint Jerome (San Hieronimo), arrived in the meantime
with the men whom he had brought. He had not selected the rebels
and seditious men there, but the most experienced ones and the best
soldiers—men whom he could trust—wisely considering that he ought to
have good men in order to go in search of his general in the country
of the Indian called Turk. Although they found the army at Tiguex
when they arrived there, this did not please them much, because they
had come with great expectations, believing that they would find
their general in the rich country of the Indian called Turk. They
consoled themselves with the hope of going back there, and lived in
anticipation of the pleasure of undertaking this return expedition,
which the army would soon make to Quivira. Don Pedro de Tovar
brought letters from New Spain, both from the viceroy, Don Antonio
de Mendoza, and from individuals. Among these was one for Don Garcia
Lopez de Cardenas, which informed him of the death of his brother,
the heir, and summoned him to Spain to receive the inheritance. On
this account he was given permission, and left Tiguex with several
other persons who [p531] received permission to go and settle
their affairs. There were many others who would have liked to go, but
did not, in order not to appear faint-hearted. During this time the
general endeavored to pacify several villages in the neighborhood
which were not well disposed, and to make peace with the people at
Tiguex. He tried also to procure some of the cloth of the country,
because the soldiers were almost naked and poorly clothed, full of
lice, which they were unable to get rid of or avoid.
[Illustration: LXI. Zuñi Interior]
The general, Francisco Vazquez Coronado, had been beloved and obeyed
by his captains and soldiers as heartily as any of those who have
ever started out in the Indies. Necessity knows no law, and the
captains who collected the cloth divided it badly, taking the best
for themselves and their friends and soldiers, and leaving the rest
for the soldiers, and so there began to be some angry murmuring on
account of this. Others also complained because they noticed that
some favored ones were spared in the work and in the watches and
received better portions of what was divided, both of cloth and food.
On this account it is thought that they began to say that there was
nothing in the country of Quivira which was worth returning for,
which was no slight cause of what afterward happened, as will be seen.
_Chapter 2, of the general’s fall, and of how the return to New Spain
was ordered._
After the winter was over, the return to Quivira was announced, and
the men began to prepare the things needed. Since nothing in this
life is at the disposition of men, but all is under the ordination of
Almighty God, it was His will that we should not accomplish this, and
so it happened that one feast day the general went out on horseback
to amuse himself, as usual,[271] riding with the captain Don Rodrigo
Maldonado. He was on a powerful horse, and his servants had put on
a new girth, which must have been rotten at the time, for it broke
during the race and he fell over on the side where Don Rodrigo was,
and as his horse passed over him it hit his head with its hoof,
which laid him at the point of death, and his recovery was slow and
doubtful.[272]
During this time, while he was in his bed,[273] Don Garcia Lopez de
Cardenas, who had started to go to New Spain, came back in flight
from Suya, because he had found that town deserted and the people
and horses and cattle all dead. When he reached Tiguex and learned
the sad news [p532] that the general was near his end, as already
related, they did not dare to tell him until he had recovered, and
when he finally got up and learned of it, it affected him so much
that he had to go back to bed again. He may have done this in order
to bring about what he afterward accomplished, as was believed later.
It was while he was in this condition that he recollected what a
scientific friend of his in Salamanca had told him, that he would
become a powerful lord in distant lands, and that he would have a
fall from which he would never be able to recover. This expectation
of death made him desire to return and die where he had a wife and
children. As the physician and surgeon who was doctoring him, and
also acted as a talebearer,[274] suppressed the murmurings that were
going about among the soldiers, he treated secretly and underhandedly
with several gentlemen who agreed with him. They set the soldiers
to talking about going back to New Spain, in little knots and
gatherings, and induced them to hold consultations about it, and had
them send papers to the general, signed by all the soldiers, through
their ensigns, asking for this. They all entered into it readily,
and not much time needed to be spent, since many desired it already.
When they asked him, the general acted as if he did not want to do
it, but all the gentlemen and captains supported them, giving him
their signed opinions, and as some were in this, they could give it
at once, and they even persuaded others to do the same.[275] Thus
they made it seem as if they ought to return to New Spain, because
they had not found any riches, nor had they discovered any settled
country out of which estates could be formed for all the army. When
he had obtained their signatures, the return to New Spain was at
once announced, and since nothing can ever be concealed, the double
dealing began to be understood, and many of the gentlemen found that
they had been deceived and had made a mistake. They tried in every
way to get their signatures back again from the general, who guarded
them so carefully that he did not go out of one room, making his
sickness seem very much worse, and putting guards about his person
and room, and at night about the floor on which he slept. In spite
of all this, they stole his chest, and it is said that they did not
find their signatures in it, because he kept them in his mattress; on
the other hand, it is said that they did recover them. They asked the
general to give them 60 picked men, with whom they would remain and
hold the country until the viceroy could send them support, or recall
them, or else that the general would leave them the army and pick out
60 men to go back with him. But the soldiers did not want to remain
either way, some because they had turned their prow toward New Spain,
and others because they saw clearly the trouble that would arise over
who should have the command. The gentlemen, I do not know whether
because they had sworn fidelity or because they [p533] feared that
the soldiers would not support them, did what had been decided
on,[276] although with an ill-will, and from this time on they did
not obey the general as readily as formerly, and they did not show
any affection for him. He made much of the soldiers and humored them,
with the result that he did what he desired and secured the return of
the whole army.
_Chapter 3, of the rebellion at Suya and the reasons the settlers
gave for it._
We have already stated in the last chapter that Don Garcia Lopez de
Cardenas came back from Suya in flight, having found that country
risen in rebellion. He told how and why that town was deserted,
which occurred as I will relate. The entirely worthless fellows were
all who had been left in that town, the mutinous and seditious men,
besides a few who were honored with the charge of public affairs
and who were left to govern the others. Thus the bad dispositions
of the worthless secured the power, and they held daily meetings
and councils and declared that they had been betrayed and were not
going to be rescued, since the others had been directed to go through
another part of the country, where there was a more convenient route
to New Spain, which was not so, because they were still almost on the
direct road. This talk led some of them to revolt, and they chose one
Pedro de Avila as their captain. They went back to Culiacan, leaving
the captain, Diego de Alcaraz, sick in the town of San Hieronimo,
with only a small force. He did not have anyone whom he could send
after them to compel them to return. They killed a number of people
at several villages along the way. Finally they reached Culiacan,
where Hernando Arias de Saabedra, who was waiting for Juan Gallego
to come back from New Spain with a force, detained them by means
of promises, so that Gallego could take them back. Some who feared
what might happen to them ran away one night to New Spain. Diego
de Alcaraz, who had remained at Suya with a small force, sick, was
not able to hold his position, although he would have liked to, on
account of the poisonous herb which the natives use. When these
noticed how weak the Spaniards were, they did not continue to trade
with them as they formerly had done. Veins of gold had already been
discovered before this, but they were unable to work these, because
the country was at war. The disturbance was so great that they did
not cease to keep watch and to be more than usually careful.
The town was situated on a little river. One night all of a
sudden[277] they saw fires which they were not accustomed to, and
on this account they doubled the watches, but not having noticed
anything during the whole night, they grew careless along toward
morning, and the enemy entered the village so silently that they
were not seen until they began to kill and plunder. A number of men
reached the plain as well as [p534] they could, but while they were
getting out the captain was mortally wounded. Several Spaniards came
back on some horses after they had recovered themselves and attacked
the enemy, rescuing some, though only a few. The enemy went off
with the booty, leaving three Spaniards killed, besides many of the
servants and more than twenty horses.
The Spaniards who survived started off the same day on foot, not
having any horses. They went toward Culiacan, keeping away from the
roads, and did not find any food until they reached Corazones, where
the Indians, like the good friends they have always been, provided
them with food. From here they continued to Culiacan, undergoing
great hardships. Hernandarias de Saabedra,[278] the mayor, received
them and entertained them as well as he could until Juan Gallego
arrived with the reinforcements which he was conducting, on his way
to find the army. He was not a little troubled at finding that post
deserted, when he expected that the army would be in the rich country
which had been described by the Indian called Turk, because he looked
like one.
_Chapter 4, of how Friar Juan de Padilla and Friar Luis remained in
the country and the army prepared to return to Mexico._
When the general, Francisco Vazquez, saw that everything was now
quiet, and that his schemes had gone as he wished, he ordered that
everything should be ready to start on the return to New Spain by the
beginning of the month of April, in the year 1543.[279]
Seeing this, Friar Juan de Padilla, a regular brother of the lesser
order,[280] and another, Friar Luis, a lay brother, told the general
that they wanted to remain in that country—Friar Juan de Padilla in
Quivira, because his teachings seemed to promise fruit there, and
Friar Luis at Cicuye. On this account, as it was Lent at the time,
the father made this the subject of his sermon to the companies one
Sunday, establishing his proposition on the authority of the Holy
Scriptures. He declared his zeal for the conversion of these peoples
and his desire to draw them to the faith, and stated that he had
received permission to do it, although this was not necessary. The
general sent a company to escort them as far as Cicuye, where Friar
Luis stopped, while Friar Juan went on back to Quivira with the
guides who had conducted the general, taking with him the Portuguese,
as we related, and the half-blood, and the Indians from New Spain.
He was martyred a short time after he arrived there, as we related
in the second part, chapter 8. Thus we may be sure that he died a
martyr, because his zeal was holy and earnest.
[Illustration: LXII. Zuñis in Typical Modern Costume]
Friar Luis remained at Cicuye. Nothing more has been heard about him
since, but before the army left Tiguex some men who went to take
[p535] him a number of sheep that were left for him to keep,
met him as he was on his way to visit some other villages, which
were 15 or 20 leagues from Cicuye, accompanied by some followers.
He felt very hopeful that he was liked at the village and that his
teaching would bear fruit, although he complained that the old men
were falling away from him. I, for my part, believe that they finally
killed him. He was a man of good and holy life, and may Our Lord
protect him and grant that he may convert many of those peoples, and
end his days in guiding them in the faith. We do not need to believe
otherwise, for the people in those parts are pious and not at all
cruel. They are friends, or rather, enemies of cruelty, and they
remained faithful and loyal friends.[281] [p536]
After the friars had gone, the general, fearing that they might be
injured if people were carried away from that country to New Spain,
ordered the soldiers to let any of the natives who were held as
servants go free to their villages whenever they might wish. In my
opinion, though I am not sure, it would have been better if they had
been kept and taught among Christians.
The general was very happy and contented when the time arrived and
everything needed for the journey was ready, and the army started
from Tiguex on its way back to Cibola. One thing of no small note
happened during this part of the trip. The horses were in good
condition for their work when they started, fat and sleek, but more
than, thirty died during the ten days which it took to reach Cibola,
and there was not a day in which two or three or more did not die. A
large number of them also died afterward, before reaching Culiacan, a
thing that did not happen during all the rest of the journey.
After the army reached Cibola, it rested before starting across the
wilderness, because this was the last of the settlements in that
country. The whole country was left well disposed and at peace, and
several of our Indian allies remained there.[282] [p537]
[Illustration: LXIII. Hopi Maidens, Showing Primitive Pueblo
Hairdressing]
_Chapter 5, of how the army left the settlements and marched to
Culiacan, and of what happened on the way._
Leaving astern, as we might say, the settlements that had been
discovered in the new land, of which, as I have said, the seven
villages of Cibola were the first to be seen and the last that were
left, the army started off, marching across the wilderness. The
natives kept following the rear of the army for two or three days,
to pick up any baggage or servants, for although they were still at
peace and had always been loyal friends, when they saw that we were
going to leave the country entirely, they were glad to get some of
our people in their power, although I do not think that they wanted
to injure them, from what I was told by some who were not willing to
go back with them when they teased and asked them to. Altogether,
they carried off several people besides those who had remained of
their own accord, among whom good interpreters could be found today.
The wilderness was crossed without opposition, and on the second
day before reaching Chichilticalli Juan Gallego met the army, as he
was coming from New Spain with reenforcements of men and necessary
supplies for the army, expecting that he would find the army in the
country of the Indian called Turk. When Juan Gallego saw that the
army was returning, the first thing he said was not, “I am glad you
are coming back,” and he did not like it any better after he had
talked with the general. After he had reached the army, or rather
the quarters, there was quite a little movement among the gentlemen
toward going back with the new force which had made no slight
exertions in coming thus far, having encounters every day with the
Indians of these regions who had risen in revolt, as will be related.
There was talk of making a settlement somewhere in that region until
the viceroy could receive an account of what had occurred. Those
soldiers who had come from the new lands would not agree to anything
except the return to New Spain, so that nothing came of the proposals
made at the consultations, and although there was some opposition,
they were finally quieted. Several of the mutineers who had deserted
the town of Corazones came with Juan Gallego, who had given them his
word as surety for their safety, and even if the general had wanted
to punish them, his power was slight, for he had been disobeyed
already and was not much respected. He began to be afraid again
after this, and made himself sick, and kept a guard. In several
places yells were heard and Indians seen, and some of the horses
were wounded and killed, before Batuco[283] was reached, where the
friendly Indians from Corazones came to meet the army and see the
general. They were always friendly and had treated all the Spaniards
who passed through their country well, furnishing them with what
food they needed, and men, if they needed these. Our men had always
treated them well and repaid them for these things. During this
journey the juice of the quince was proved to be a good protection
against the poison of the [p538] natives, because at one place,
several days before reaching Señora,[284] the hostile Indians wounded
a Spaniard called Mesa, and he did not die, although the wound of the
fresh poison is fatal, and there was a delay of over two hours before
curing him with the juice. The poison, however, had left its mark
upon him. The skin rotted and fell off until it left the bones and
sinews bare, with a horrible smell. The wound was in the wrist, and
the poison had reached as far as the shoulder when he was cured. The
skin on all this fell off.[285]
The army proceeded without taking any rest, because the provisions
had begun to fail by this time. These districts were in rebellion,
and so there were not any victuals where the soldiers could get them
until they reached Petlatlan, although they made several forays
into the cross country in search of provisions. Petlatlan is in the
province of Culiacan, and on this account was at peace, although
they had several surprises after this.[286] The army rested here
several days to get provisions. After leaving here they were able to
travel more quickly than before, for the 30 leagues of the valley of
Culiacan, where they were welcomed back again as people who came with
their governor, who had suffered ill treatment.
_Chapter 6, of how the general started from Culiacan to give the
viceroy an account of the army with which he had been intrusted._
It seemed, indeed, as if the arrival in the valley of Culiacan had
ended the labors of this journey, partly because the general was
governor there and partly because it was inhabited by Christians.
On this account some began to disregard their superiors and the
authority which their captains had over them, and some captains even
forgot the obedience due to their general. Each one played his own
game, so that while the general was marching toward the town, which
was still 10 leagues away, many of the men, or most of them, left
him in order to rest in the valley, and some even proposed not to
follow him. The general understood that he was not strong enough
to compel them, although his position as governor gave him fresh
authority. He determined to accomplish it by a better method, which
was to order all the captains to provide food and meat from the
stores of several villages that were under his control as governor.
He pretended to be sick, keeping his bed, so that those who had any
business with him could speak to him or he with [p539] them more
freely, without hindrance or observation, and he kept sending for
his particular friends in order to ask them to be sure to speak to
the soldiers and encourage them to accompany him back to New Spain,
and to tell them that he would request the viceroy, Don Antonio
de Mendoza, to show them especial favor, and that he would do so
himself for those who might wish to remain in his government. After
this had been done, he started with his army at a very bad time,
when the rains were beginning, for it was about Saint John’s day,
at which season it rains continuously. In the uninhabited country
which they passed through as far as Compostela there are numerous
very dangerous rivers, full of large and fierce alligators. While the
army was halting at one of these rivers, a soldier who was crossing
from one side to the other was seized, in sight of everybody, and
carried off by an alligator without it being possible to help him.
The general proceeded, leaving the men who did not want to follow
him all along the way, and reached Mexico with less than 100 men.
He made his report to the viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza, who did
not receive him very graciously, although he gave him his discharge.
His reputation was gone from this time on. He kept the government
of New Galicia, which had been entrusted to him, for only a short
time, when the viceroy took it himself, until the arrival of the
court, or audiencia, which still governs it. And this was the end of
those discoveries and of the expedition which was made to these new
lands.[287]
[Illustration: LXIV. Hopi Grinding and Paper-bread Making
(From photograph of a model in the National Museum)]
It now remains for us to describe the way in which to enter the
country by a more direct route, although there is never a short cut
without hard work. It is always best to find out what those know who
have prepared the way, who know what will be needed.[288] This can
be found elsewhere, and I will now tell where Quivira lies, what
direction the army took, and the direction in which Greater India
lies, which was what they pretended to be in search of, when the
army started thither. Today, since Villalobos has discovered that
this part of the coast of the South sea trends toward the west, it
is clearly seen and acknowledged that, since we were in the north,
we ought to have turned to the west instead of toward the east, as
we did. With this, we will leave this subject and will proceed to
finish this treatise, since there are several noteworthy things of
which I must give an account, which I have left to be treated more
extensively in the two following chapters. [p540]
_Chapter 7, of the adventures of Captain Juan Gallego while he was
bringing reenforcements through the revolted country._
One might well have complained when in the last chapter I passed
in silence over the exploits of Captain Juan Gallego with his 20
companions. I will relate them in the present chapter, so that in
times to come those who read about it or tell of it may have a
reliable authority on whom to rely. I am not writing fables, like
some of the things which we read about nowadays in the books of
chivalry. If it were not that those stories contained enchantments,
there are some things which our Spaniards have done in our own day
in these parts, in their conquests and encounters with the Indians,
which, for deeds worthy of admiration, surpass not only the books
already mentioned, but also those which have been written about
the twelve peers of France, because, if the deadly strength which
the authors of those times attributed to their heroes and the
brilliant and resplendent arms with which they adorned them, are
fully considered, and compared with the small stature of the men
of our time and the few and poor weapons which they have in these
parts,[289] the remarkable things which our people have undertaken
and accomplished with such weapons are more to be wondered at today
than those of which the ancients write, and just because, too, they
fought with barbarous naked people, as ours have with Indians, among
whom there are always men who are brave and valiant and very sure
bowmen, for we have seen them pierce the wings while flying, and hit
hares while running after them. I have said all this in order to show
that some things which we consider fables may be true, because we see
greater things every day in our own times, just as in future times
people will greatly wonder at the deeds of Don Fernando Cortez, who
dared to go into the midst of New Spain with 300 men against the vast
number of people in Mexico, and who with 500 Spaniards succeeded in
subduing it, and made himself lord over it in two years.
The deeds of Don Pedro de Alvarado in the conquest of Guatemala, and
those of Montejo in Tabasco, the conquests of the mainland and of
Peru, were all such as to make me remain silent concerning what I now
wish to relate; but since I have promised to give an account of what
happened on this journey, I want the things I am now going to relate
to be known as well as those others of which I have spoken.
The captain Juan Gallego, then, reached the town of Culiacan with a
very small force. There he collected as many as he could of those who
had escaped from the town of Hearts, or, more correctly, from Suya,
which made in all 22 men, and with these he marched through all of
the settled country, across which he traveled 200 leagues with the
country in a state of war and the people in rebellion, although they
had formerly been friendly toward the Spaniards, having encounters
with [p541] the enemy almost every day. He always marched with
the advance guard, leaving two-thirds of his force behind with the
baggage. With six or seven Spaniards, and without any of the Indian
allies whom he had with him, he forced his way into their villages,
killing and destroying and setting them on fire, coming upon the
enemy so suddenly and with such quickness and boldness that they did
not have a chance to collect or even to do anything at all, until
they became so afraid of him that there was not a town which dared
wait for him, but they fled before him as from a powerful army;
so much so, that for ten days, while he was passing through the
settlements, they did not have an hour’s rest. He did all this with
his seven companions, so that when the rest of the force came up
with the baggage there was nothing for them to do except to pillage,
since the others had already killed and captured all the people they
could lay their hands on and the rest had fled. They did not pause
anywhere, so that although the villages ahead of him received some
warning, they were upon them so quickly that they did not have a
chance to collect. Especially in the region where the town of Hearts
had been, he killed and hung a large number of people to punish them
for their rebellion. He did not lose a companion during all this,
nor was anyone wounded, except one soldier, who was wounded in the
eyelid by an Indian who was almost dead, whom he was stripping. The
weapon broke the skin and, as it was poisoned, he would have had to
die if he had not been saved by the quince juice; he lost his eye
as it was. These deeds of theirs were such that I know those people
will remember them as long as they live, and especially four or five
friendly Indians who went with them from Corazones, who thought that
they were so wonderful that they held them to be something divine
rather than human. If he had not fallen in with our army as he did,
they would have reached the country of the Indian called Turk, which
they expected to march to, and they would have arrived there without
danger on account of their good order and the skill with which he
was leading them, and their knowledge and ample practice in war.
Several of these men are still in this town of Culiacan, where I am
now writing this account and narrative, where they, as well as I and
the others who have remained in this province, have never lacked
for labor in keeping this country quiet, in capturing rebels, and
increasing in poverty and need, and more than ever at the present
hour, because the country is poorer and more in debt than ever before.
_Chapter 8, which describes some remarkable things that were seen on
the plains, with a description of the bulls._
My silence was not without mystery and dissimulation when, in chapter
7 of the second part of this book, I spoke of the plains and of the
things of which I will give a detailed account in this chapter,
where all these things may be found together; for these things
were remarkable and something not seen in other parts. I dare to
write [p542] of them because I am writing at a time when many men
are still living who saw them and who will vouch for my account.
Who could believe that 1,000 horses and 500 of our cows and more
than 5,000 rams and ewes and more than 1,500 friendly Indians and
servants, in traveling over those plains, would leave no more trace
where they had passed than if nothing had been there—nothing—so that
it was necessary to make piles of bones and cow dung now and then,
so that the rear guard could follow the army. The grass never failed
to become erect after it had been trodden down, and, although it was
short, it was as fresh and straight as before.
Another thing was a heap of cowbones, a crossbow shot long, or a
very little less, almost twice a man’s height in places, and some 18
feet or more wide, which was found on the edge of a salt lake in the
southern part,[290] and this in a region where there are no people
who could have made it. The only explanation of this which could be
suggested was that the waves which the north winds must make in the
lake had piled up the bones of the cattle which had died in the lake,
when the old and weak ones who went into the water were unable to
get out. The noticeable thing is the number of cattle that would be
necessary to make such a pile of bones.
Now that I wish to describe the appearance of the bulls, it is to
be noticed first that there was not one of the horses that did not
take flight when he saw them first, for they have a narrow, short
face, the brow two palms across from eye to eye, the eyes sticking
out at the side, so that, when they are running, they can see who
is following them. They have very long beards, like goats, and when
they are running they throw their heads back with the beard dragging
on the ground. There is a sort of girdle round the middle of the
body.[291] The hair is very woolly, like a sheep’s, very fine, and in
front of the girdle the hair is very long and rough like a lion’s.
They have a great hump, larger than a camel’s. The horns are short
and thick, so that they are not seen much above the hair. In May they
change the hair in the middle of the body for a down, which makes
perfect lions of them. They rub against the small trees in the little
ravines to shed their hair, and they continue this until only the
down is left, as a snake changes his skin. They have a short tail,
with a bunch of hair at the end. When they run, they carry it erect
like a scorpion. It is worth noticing that the little calves are red
and just like ours, but they change their color and appearance with
time and age.
Another strange thing was that all the bulls that were killed had
their left ears slit, although these were whole when young. The
reason for this was a puzzle that could not be guessed. The wool
ought to [p543] make good cloth, on account of its fineness,
although, the color is not good, because it is the color of
buriel.[292]
[Illustration: LXV. Hopi Basket Maker
(From photograph of a model in the National Museum)]
Another thing worth noticing is that the bulls traveled without cows
in such large numbers that nobody could have counted them, and so far
away from the cows that it was more than 40 leagues from where we
began to see the bulls to the place where we began to see the cows.
The country they traveled over was so level and smooth that if one
looked at them the sky could be seen between their legs, so that if
some of them were at a distance they looked like smooth-trunked pines
whose tops joined, and if there was only one bull it looked as if
there were four pines. When one was near them, it was impossible to
see the ground on the other side of them. The reason for all this was
that the country seemed as round as if a man should imagine himself
in a three-pint measure, and could see the sky at the edge of it,
about a crossbow shot from him, and even if a man only lay down on
his back he lost sight of the ground.[293] [p544]
I have not written about other things which were seen nor made
any mention of them, because they were not of so much importance,
although it does not seem right for me to remain silent concerning
the fact that they venerate the sign of the cross in the region where
the settlements have high houses. For at a spring which was in the
plain near Acuco they had a cross two palms high and as thick as
a finger, made of wood with a square twig for its crosspiece, and
many little sticks decorated with feathers around it, and numerous
withered flowers, which were the offerings.[294] In a graveyard
outside the village at Tutahaco there appeared to have been a
recent burial. Near the head there was another cross made of two
little sticks tied with cotton thread, and dry withered flowers. It
certainly seems to me that in some way they must have received some
light from the cross of Our Redeemer, Christ, and it may have come by
way of India, from whence they proceeded.
_Chapter 9, which treats of the direction which the army took, and of
how another more direct way might be found, if anyone was to return
to that country._
I very much wish that I possessed some knowledge of cosmography or
geography, so as to render what I wish to say intelligible, and so
that I could reckon up or measure the advantage those people who
might go in search of that country would have if they went directly
through the center of the country, instead of following the road the
army took. However, with the help of the favor of the Lord, I will
state it as well as I can, making it as plain as possible.
It is, I think, already understood that the Portuguese, Campo, was
the soldier who escaped when Friar Juan de Padilla was killed at
Quivira, and that he finally reached New Spain from Panuco,[295]
having traveled across the plains country until he came to cross the
North Sea mountain chain, keeping the country that Don Hernando de
Soto discovered all the time on his left hand, since he did not see
the river of the Holy Spirit (Espiritu Santo) at all.[296] After he
had crossed the North Sea mountains, he found that he was in Panuco,
so that if he had not tried to go to the North sea, he would have
come out in the [p545] neighborhood of the border land, or the
country of the Sacatecas,[297] of which we now have some knowledge.
This way would be somewhat better and more direct for anyone going
back there in search of Quivira, since some of those who came
with the Portuguese are still in New Spain to serve as guides.
Nevertheless, I think it would be best to go through the country of
the Guachichules,[298] keeping near the South Sea mountains all the
time, for there are more settlements and a food supply, for it would
be suicide to launch out on to the plains country, because it is so
vast and is barren of anything to eat, although, it is true, there
would not be much need of this after coming to the cows. This is
only when one goes in search of Quivira, and of the villages which
were described by the Indian called Turk, for the army of Francisco
Vazquez Coronado went the very farthest way round to get there, since
they started from Mexico and went 110 leagues to the west, and then
100 leagues to the northeast, and 250 to the north,[299] and all this
brought them as far as the ravines where the cows were, and after
traveling 850 leagues they were not more than 400 leagues distant
from Mexico by a direct route. If one desires to go to the country
of Tiguex, so as to turn from there toward the west in search of the
country of India, he ought to follow the road taken by the army,
for there is no other, even if one wished to go by a different way,
because the arm of the sea which reaches into this coast toward the
north does not leave room for any. But what might be done is to have
a fleet and cross this gulf and disembark in the neighborhood of the
Island of Negroes[300] and enter the country from there, crossing the
mountain chains in search of the country from which the people at
Tiguex came, or other peoples of the same sort. As for entering from
the country of Florida and from the North sea, it has already been
observed that the many expeditions which have been undertaken from
that side have been unfortunate and not very successful, because that
part of the country is full of bogs and poisonous fruits, barren,
and the very worst country that is warmed by the sun. But they might
disembark after passing the river of the Holy Spirit, as Don Hernando
de Soto did. Nevertheless, despite the fact that I underwent much
labor, I still think that the way I went to that country is the best.
There ought to be river courses, because the necessary supplies can
be carried on these more easily in [p546] large quantities. Horses,
are the most necessary things in the new countries, and they frighten
the enemy most. . . . Artillery is also much feared by those who do
not know how to use it. A piece of heavy artillery would be very
good for settlements like those which Francisco Vazquez Coronado
discovered, in order to knock them down, because he had nothing but
some small machines for slinging and nobody skillful enough to make
a catapult or some other machine which would frighten them, which is
very necessary.
I say, then, that with what we now know about the trend of the coast
of the South sea, which has been followed by the ships which explored
the western part, and what is known of the North sea toward Norway,
the coast of which extends up from Florida, those who now go to
discover the country which Francisco Vazquez entered, and reach the
country of Cibola or of Tiguex, will know the direction in which they
ought to go in order to discover the true direction of the country
which the Marquis of the Valley, Don Hernando Cortes, tried to find,
following the direction of the gulf of the Firebrand (Tizon) river.
This will suffice for the conclusion of our narrative. Everything
else rests on the powerful Lord of all things, God Omnipotent, who
knows how and when these lands will be discovered and for whom. He
has guarded this good fortune.
_Laus Deo._
Finished copying, Saturday the 26th of October, 1596, in Seville.
[Illustration: LXVI. Pueblo Pottery Making
(From photograph of a model in the National Museum)]
[p547]
TRANSLATION OF THE LETTER FROM MENDOZA TO THE KING, APRIL 17,
1540.[301]
S.C.C.M.:
I wrote to Your Majesty from Compostela the last of February, giving
you an account of my arrival there and of the departure of Francisco
Vazquez with the force which I sent to pacify and settle in the newly
discovered country, and of how the warden, Lope de Samaniego, was
going as army master, both because he was a responsible person and a
very good Christian, and because he has had experience in matters of
this sort; as Your Majesty had desired to know. And the news which I
have received since then is to the effect that after they had passed
the uninhabited region of Culuacan and were approaching Chiametla,
the warden went off with some horsemen to find provisions, and one
of the soldiers who was with him, who had strayed from the force,
called out that they were killing him. The warden hastened to his
assistance, and they wounded him in the eye with an arrow, from which
he died. In regard to the fortress,[302] besides the fact that it
is badly built and going to pieces, it seems to me that the cost of
it is excessive, and that Your Majesty could do without the most of
it, because there is one man who takes charge of the munitions and
artillery, and an armorer to repair it, and a gunner, and as this is
the way it was under the audiencia, before the fortresses were made
conformable to what I have written to Your Majesty, we can get along
without the rest, because that fortress was built on account of the
brigantines, and not for any other purpose.[303] And as the lagoon is
so dry that it can do no good in this way for the present, I think
that, for this reason, the cost is superfluous. I believe that it
will have fallen in before a reply can come from Your Majesty.
Some days ago I wrote to Your Majesty that I had ordered Melchior
Diaz, who was in the town of San Miguel de Culuacan, to take some
horsemen and see if the account given by the father, Friar Marcos,
agreed with what he could discover. He set out from Culuacan with
fifteen horsemen, the 17th of November last. The 20th of this present
[p548] March I received a letter from him, which he sent me by Juan
de Zaldyvar and three other horsemen. In this he says that after he
left Culuacan and crossed the river of Petatlan he was everywhere
very well received by the Indians. The way he did was to send a
cross to the place where he was going to stop, because this was a
sign which the Indians received with deep veneration, making a house
out of mats in which to place it, and somewhat away from this they
made a lodging for the Spaniards, and drove stakes where they could
tie the horses, and supplied fodder for them, and abundance of corn
wherever they had it. They say that they suffered from hunger in many
places, because it had been a bad year. After going 100 leagues from
Culuacan, he began to find the country cold, with severe frosts,
and the farther he went on the colder it became, until he reached a
point where some Indians whom he had with him were frozen, and two
Spaniards were in great danger. Seeing this, he decided not to go any
farther until the winter was over, and to send back, by those whom I
mentioned, an account of what he had learned concerning Cibola and
the country beyond, which is as follows, taken literally from his
letter:
“I have given Your Lordship an account of what happened to me along
the way; and seeing that it is impossible to cross the uninhabited
region which stretches from here to Cibola, on account of the heavy
snows and the cold, I will give Your Lordship an account of what I
have learned about Cibola, which I have ascertained by asking many
persons who have been there fifteen and twenty years; and I have
secured this in many different ways, taking some Indians together
and others separately, and on comparison they all seem to agree in
what they say. After crossing this large wilderness, there are seven
places, being a short day’s march from one to another, all of which
are together called Cibola. The houses are of stone and mud, coarsely
worked. They are made in this way: One large wall, and at each end
of this wall some rooms are built, partitioned off 20 feet square,
according to the description they give, which are planked with square
beams. Most of the houses are reached from the flat roofs, using
their ladders to go to the streets. The houses have three and four
stories. They declare that there are few having two stories. The
stories are mostly half as high again as a man, except the first
one, which is low, and only a little more than a man’s height. One
ladder is used to communicate with ten or twelve houses together.
They make use of the low ones and live in the highest ones. In the
lowest ones of all they have some loopholes made sideways, as in
the fortresses of Spain. The Indians say that when these people are
attacked, they station themselves in their houses and fight from
there; and that when they go to make war, they carry shields and wear
leather jackets, which are made of cows’ hide, colored, and that they
fight with arrows and with a sort of stone maul and with some other
weapons made of sticks, which I have not been able to make out. They
eat human flesh, and they keep those whom they capture in war as
slaves. There are many fowls in the [p549] country, tame. They have
much corn and beans and melons [squashes]. In their houses they keep
some hairy animals, like the large Spanish hounds, which they shear,
and they make long colored wigs from the hair, like this one which I
send to Your Lordship, which they wear, and they also put this same
stuff in the cloth which they make.[304] The men are of small stature
[plate LXII]; the women are light colored and of good appearance,
and they wear shirts or chemises which reach down to their feet.
They wear their hair on each side done up in a sort of twist [plate
LXIII], which leaves the ears outside, in which they hang many
turquoises, as well as on their necks and on the wrists of their
arms. The clothing of the men is a cloak, and over this the skin of
a cow, like the one which Cabeza de Vaca and Dorantes brought, which
Your Lordship saw; they wear caps[305] on their heads; in summer
they wear shoes made of painted or colored skin, and high buskins in
winter.[306]
“They were also unable to tell me of any metal, nor did they say
that they had it. They have turquoises in quantity, although not
so many as the father provincial said. They have some little stone
crystals, like this which I send to Your Lordship, of which Your
Lordship has seen many here in New Spain. They cultivate the ground
in the same way as in New Spain. They carry things on their heads,
as in Mexico. [p550] The men weave cloth, and spin cotton. They
have salt from a marshy lake, which is two days from the province
of Cibola.[307] The Indians have their dances and songs, with some
flutes which have holes on which to put the fingers. They make much
noise. They sing in unison with those who play, and those who sing
clap their hands in our fashion. One of the Indians that accompanied
the negro Esteban, who had been a captive there, saw the playing
as they practiced it, and others singing as I have said, although
not very vigorously. They say that five or six play together, and
that some of the flutes are better than others.[308] They say the
country is good for corn and beans, and that they do not have any
fruit trees, nor do they know what such a thing is.[309] They have
very good mountains. The country lacks water. They do not raise
cotton, but bring it from Totonteac.[310] They eat out of flat
bowls, like the Mexicans. They raise considerable corn and beans
and other similar things.[311] They do not know what sea fish is,
nor have they ever heard of it. I have not obtained any information
about the cows, except that these are found beyond the province of
Cibola. There is a great abundance of wild goats, of the color of bay
horses; there are many of these here where I am, and although I have
asked the Indians if those are like these, they tell me no. Of the
seven settlements, they describe three of them as very large; four
not so big. They describe them, as I understand, to be about three
crossbow shots square for each place, and from what the Indians say,
and their descriptions of the houses and their size, and as these
are close together, and considering that there are people in each
house, it ought to make a large multitude. Totonteac is declared to
be seven short days from the province of Cibola, and of the same sort
of houses and people, and they say that cotton grows there. I doubt
this, because they tell me that it is a cold country. They say that
there are twelve villages, every one of which is larger than the
largest at Cibola. They also tell me that there is a village which is
one day from Cibola, and that the two are at war.[312] They have the
same sort of houses and people and customs. They declare this to be
greater than any of those described; I take it that there is a great
multitude of people there. They are very well known, on account of
having these houses and abundance of food and turquoises. I have not
been able to learn more than what I have [p551] related, although, as
I have said, I have had with me Indians who have lived there fifteen
and twenty years.
[Illustration: LXVII. Pueblo Spinning and Weaving
(From photograph of a model in the National Museum)]
“The death of Esteban the negro took place in the way the father,
Friar Marcos, described it to your lordship, and so I do not make
a report of it here, except that the people at Cibola sent word to
those of this village and in its neighborhood that if any Christians
should come, they ought not to consider them as anything peculiar,
and ought to kill them, because they were mortal—saying that they
had learned this because they kept the bones of the one who had come
there; and that, if they did not dare to do this, they should send
word so that those (at Cibola) could come and do it. I can very
easily believe that all this has taken place, and that there has been
some communication between these places, because of the coolness with
which they received us and the sour faces they have shown us.”
Melchior Diaz says that the people whom he found along the way do
not have any settlements at all, except in one valley which is 150
leagues from Culuacan, which is well settled and has houses with
lofts, and that there are many people along the way, but that they
are not good for anything except to make them Christians, as if this
was of small account. May Your Majesty remember to provide for the
service of God, and keep in mind the deaths and the loss of life and
of provinces which has taken place in these Indies. And, moreover, up
to this present day none of the things Your Majesty has commanded,
which have been very holy and good, have been attended to, nor
priests provided, either for that country or for this. For I assure
Your Majesty that there is no trace of Christianity where they have
not yet arrived, neither little nor much, and that the poor people
are ready to receive the priests and come to them even when they flee
from us like deer in the mountains. And I state this because I am
an eyewitness, and I have seen it clearly during this trip. I have
importuned Your Majesty for friars, and yet again I can not cease
doing it much more, because unless this be done I can not accomplish
that which I am bound to do.
After I reach Mexico, I will give Your Majesty an account of
everything concerning these provinces, for while I should like to do
it today, I can not, because I am very weak from a slow fever which
I caught in Colima, which attacked me very severely, although it did
not last more than six days. It has pleased Our Lord to make me well
already, and I have traveled here to Jacona, where I am.
May Our Lord protect the Holy Catholic Cæsarian person of Your
Majesty and aggrandize it with increase of better kingdoms and
lordships, as we your servants desire.
From Jacona, April 17, 1540.
S.C.C.M.
Your Holy Majesty’s humble servant, who salutes your royal feet and
hands,
D. ANTONIO DE MENDOZA.
[p552]
TRANSLATION OF THE LETTER FROM CORONADO TO MENDOZA, AUGUST 3,
1540.[313]
THE ACCOUNT GIVEN BY FRANCISCO VAZQUEZ DE CORONADO, CAPTAIN-GENERAL
OF THE FORCE WHICH WAS SENT IN THE NAME OF HIS MAJESTY TO THE NEWLY
DISCOVERED COUNTRY, OF WHAT HAPPENED TO THE EXPEDITION AFTER APRIL 22
OF THE YEAR MDXL, WHEN HE STARTED FORWARD FROM CULIACAN, AND OF WHAT
HE FOUND IN THE COUNTRY THROUGH WHICH HE PASSED.
_Francisco Vazquez starts from Culiacan with his army, and after
suffering various inconveniences on account of the badness of the
way, reaches the Valley of Hearts, where he failed to find any corn,
to procure which he sends to the valley called Señora. He receives an
account of the important Valley of Hearts and of the people there,
and of some lands lying along that coast._
On the 22d of the month of April last, I set out from the province
of Culiacan with a part of the army, having made the arrangements of
which I wrote to Your Lordship. Judging by the outcome, I feel sure
that it was fortunate that I did not start the whole of the army on
this undertaking, because the labors have been so very great and
the lack of food such that I do not believe this undertaking could
have been completed before the end of this year, and that there
would be a great loss of life if it should be accomplished. For,
as I wrote to Your Lordship, I spent eighty days in traveling to
Culiacan,[314] during which time I and the gentlemen of my company,
who were horsemen, carried on our backs and on our horses a little
food, in such wise that after leaving this place none of us carried
any necessary effects weighing more than a pound. For all this, and
although we took all possible care and forethought of the small
supply of provisions which we carried, it gave out. And this is not
to be wondered at, because the road is rough and long, and what with
our harquebuses, which had to be carried up the mountains and hills
and in the passage of the rivers, the greater part of the [p553]
corn was lost. And since I send Your Lordship a drawing of this
route, I will say no more about it here.
Thirty leagues before reaching the place which the father provincial
spoke so well of in his report,[315] I sent Melchior Diaz forward
with fifteen horsemen, ordering him to make but one day’s journey
out of two, so that he could examine everything there before I
arrived. He traveled through some very rough mountains for four days,
and did not find anything to live on, nor people, nor information
about anything, except that he found two or three poor villages,
with twenty or thirty huts apiece. From the people here he learned
that there was nothing to be found in the country beyond except
the mountains, which continued very rough, entirely uninhabited by
people. And, because this was labor lost, I did not want to send
Your Lordship an account of it. The whole company felt disturbed at
this, that a thing so much praised, and about which the father had
said so many things, should be found so very different; and they
began to think that all the rest would be of the same sort. When I
noticed this, I tried to encourage them as well as I could, telling
them that Your Lordship had always thought that this part of the
trip would be a waste of effort, and that we ought to devote our
attention to those Seven Cities and the other provinces about which
we had information—that these should be the end of our enterprise.
With this resolution and purpose, we all marched cheerfully along a
very bad way, where it was impossible to pass without making a new
road or repairing the one that was there, which troubled the soldiers
not a little, considering that everything which the friar had said
was found to be quite the reverse; because, among other things which
the father had said and declared, he said that the way would be plain
and good, and that there would be only one small hill of about half
a league. And the truth is, that there are mountains where, however
well the path might be fixed, they could not be crossed without
there being great danger of the horses falling over them. And it was
so bad that a large number of the animals which Your Lordship sent
as provision for the army were lost along this part of the way, on
account of the roughness of the rocks. The lambs and wethers lost
their hoofs along the way, and I left the greater part of those which
I brought from Culiacan at the river of Lachimi,[316] because they
were unable to travel, and so that they might proceed more slowly.
Four horsemen remained with them, who have just arrived. They have
not brought more than 24 lambs and 4 wethers; the rest died from the
toil, although they did not travel more than two leagues daily. I
reached the Valley of Hearts at last, on the 26th day of the month
of May, and rested there a number of days. Between Culiacan and this
place I could sustain myself only by means of a large supply of corn
bread, because I had to leave all the corn, as it was not yet ripe.
In this Valley of Hearts we found more people than in any part of
the country [p554] which we had left behind, and a large extent
of tilled ground. There was no corn for food among them, but as I
heard that there was some in another valley called Señora, which I
did not wish to disturb by force, I sent Melchior Diaz with goods to
exchange for it, so as to give this to the friendly Indians whom we
brought with us, and to some who had lost their animals along the way
and had not been able to carry the food which they had taken from
Culiacan. By the favor of Our Lord, some little corn was obtained by
this trading, which relieved the friendly Indians and some Spaniards.
Ten or twelve of the horses had died of overwork by the time that
we reached this Valley of Hearts, because they were unable to stand
the strain of carrying heavy burdens and eating little. Some of our
negroes and some of the Indians also died here, which, was not a
slight loss for the rest of the expedition. They told me that the
Valley of Hearts is a long five-days’ journey from the western sea. I
sent to summon Indians from the coast in order to learn about their
condition, and while I was waiting for these the horses rested. I
stayed there four days, during which the Indians came from the sea,
who told me that there were seven or eight islands two days’ journey
from that seacoast, directly opposite, well populated with people,
but poorly supplied with food, and the people were savages.[317]
They told me they had seen a ship pass not very far from the land. I
do not know whether to think that it was the one which was sent to
discover the country, or perhaps some Portuguese.[318]
_They come to Chichilticale; after having taken two days’ rest, they
enter a country containing very little food and hard to travel for 30
leagues, beyond which the country becomes pleasant, and there is a
river called the River of the Flax (del Lino); they fight against the
Indians, being attacked by these; and having by their victory secured
the city, they relieve themselves of the pangs of their hunger._
[Illustration: LXVIII. The Tewa Pueblo of P’o-who-gi or San Ildefonso]
I set out from the Hearts and kept near the seacoast as well as I
could judge, but in fact I found myself continually farther off, so
that when I reached Chichilticale I found that I was fifteen days’
journey distant from the sea,[319] although the father provincial
had said that it was only 5 leagues distant and that he had seen
it. We all became very distrustful, and felt great anxiety and
dismay to see that everything was the reverse of what he had told
Your Lordship. The Indians of Chichilticale say that when they go
to the sea for fish, or for anything else that they need, they go
across the country, and that it takes them [p555] ten days; and
this information which I have received from the Indians appears to
me to be true. The sea turns toward the west directly opposite the
Hearts for 10 or 12 leagues, where I learned that the ships of Your
Lordship had been seen, which had gone in search of the port of
Chichilticale, which the father said was on the thirty-fifth degree.
God knows what I have suffered, because I fear that they may have
met with some mishap. If they follow the coast, as they said they
would, as long as the food lasts which they took with them, of which
I left them a supply in Culiacan, and if they have not been overtaken
by some misfortune, I maintain my trust in God that they have
already discovered something good, for which the delay which they
have made may be pardoned. I rested for two days at Chichilticale,
and there was good reason for staying longer, because we found that
the horses were becoming so tired; but there was no chance to rest
longer, because the food was giving out. I entered the borders of
the wilderness region on Saint John’s eve, and, for a change from
our past labors, we found no grass during the first days, but a
worse way through mountains and more dangerous passages than we had
experienced previously. The horses were so tired that they were
not equal to it, so that in this last desert we lost more horses
than before; and some Indian allies and a Spaniard called Spinosa,
besides two negroes, died from eating some herbs because the food
had given out. I sent the army-master, Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas,
with 15 horsemen, a day’s march ahead of me, in order to explore
the country and prepare the way, which he accomplished like the man
that he is, and agreeably to the confidence which Your Lordship has
had in him. I am the more certain that he did so, because, as I have
said, the way is very bad for at least 30 leagues and more, through
impassable mountains. But when we had passed these 30 leagues, we
found fresh rivers and grass like that of Castile, and especially
one sort like what we call _Scaramoio_; many nut and mulberry trees,
but the leaves of the nut trees are different from those of Spain.
There was a considerable amount of flax near the banks of one river,
which was called on this account El Rio del Lino. No Indians were
seen during the first day’s march, after which four Indians came out
with signs of peace, saying that they had been sent to that desert
place to say that we were welcome, and that on the next day the tribe
would provide the whole force with food. The army-master gave them
a cross, telling them to say to the people in their city that they
need not fear, and that they should have their people stay in their
own houses, because I was coming in the name of His Majesty to defend
and help them. After this was done, Ferrando Alvarado came back to
tell me that some Indians had met him peaceably, and that two of them
were with the army-master waiting for me. I went to them forthwith
and gave them some paternosters and some little cloaks, telling them
to return to their city and say to the people there that they could
stay quietly in their houses and that they need not fear. After this
I ordered [p556] the army-master to go and see if there were any bad
passages which the Indians might be able to defend, and to seize and
hold any such until the next day, when I would come up. He went, and
found a very bad place in our way where we might have received much
harm. He immediately established himself there with the force which
he was conducting. The Indians came that very night to occupy that
place so as to defend it, and finding it taken, they assaulted our
men. According to what I have been told, they attacked like valiant
men, although in the end they had to retreat in flight, because the
army-master was on the watch and kept his men in good order. The
Indians sounded a little trumpet as a sign of retreat, and did not do
any injury to the Spaniards. The army-master sent me notice of this
the same night, so that on the next day I started with as good order
as I could, for we were in such great need of food that I thought we
should all die of hunger if we continued to be without provisions
for another day, especially the Indians, since altogether we did not
have two bushels of corn, and so I was obliged to hasten forward
without delay. The Indians lighted their fires from point to point,
and these were answered from a distance with as good understanding
as we could have shown. Thus notice was given concerning how we went
and where we had arrived. As soon as I came within sight of this
city, I sent the army-master, Don Garcia Lopez, Friar Daniel and
Friar Luis, and Ferrando Vermizzo, with some horsemen, a little way
ahead, so that they might find the Indians and tell them that we
were not coming to do them any harm, but to defend them in the name
of our lord the Emperor. The summons, in the form which His Majesty
commanded in his instructions, was made intelligible to the people
of the country by an interpreter. But they, being a proud people,
were little affected, because it seemed to them that we were few in
number, and that they would not have any difficulty in conquering us.
They pierced the gown of Friar Luis with an arrow, which, blessed
be God, did him no harm. Meanwhile I arrived with all the rest of
the horse and the footmen, and found a large body of the Indians on
the plain, who began to shoot with their arrows. In obedience to the
orders of Your Lordship and of the marquis,[320] I did not wish my
company, who were begging me for permission, to attack them, telling
them that they ought not to offend them, and that what the enemy was
doing was nothing, and that so few people ought not to be insulted.
On the other hand, when the Indians saw that we did not move, they
took greater courage, and grew so bold that they came up almost to
the heels of our horses to shoot their arrows. On this account I saw
that it was no longer time to hesitate, and as the priests approved
the action, I charged them. There was little to do, because they
suddenly took to flight, part running toward the city, which was near
and well fortified, and others toward the plain, wherever chance led
them. Some Indians [p557] were killed, and others might have been
slain if I could have allowed them to be pursued. But I saw that
there would be little advantage in this, because the Indians who
were outside were few, and those who had retired to the city were
numerous, besides many who had remained there in the first place. As
that was where the food was, of which we stood in such great need,
I assembled my whole force and divided them as seemed to me best
for the attack on the city, and surrounded it. The hunger which we
suffered would not permit of any delay, and so I dismounted with
some of these gentlemen and soldiers. I ordered the musketeers and
crossbowmen to begin the attack and drive back the enemy from the
defenses, so that they could not do us any injury. I assaulted the
wall on one side, where I was told that there was a scaling ladder
and that there was also a gate. But the crossbowmen broke all the
strings of their crossbows and the musketeers could do nothing,
because they had arrived so weak and feeble that they could scarcely
stand on their feet. On this account the people who were on top were
not prevented at all from defending themselves and doing us whatever
injury they were able. Thus, for myself, they knocked me down to the
ground twice with countless great stones which they threw down from
above, and if I had not been protected by the very good headpiece
which I wore, I think that the outcome would have been bad for me.
They picked me up from the ground, however, with two small wounds in
my face and an arrow in my foot, and with many bruises on my arms and
legs, and in this condition I retired from the battle, very weak. I
think that if Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas had not come to my help,
like a good cavalier, the second time that they knocked me to the
ground, by placing his own body above mine, I should have been in
much greater danger than I was. But, by the pleasure of God, these
Indians surrendered, and their city was taken with the help of Our
Lord, and a sufficient supply of corn was found there to relieve our
necessities. The army-master and Don Pedro de Tovar and Ferrando de
Alvarado and Paulo de Melgosa, the infantry captain, sustained some
bruises, although none of them were wounded. Agoniez Quarez was hit
in the arm by an arrow, and one Torres, who lived in Panuco, in the
face by another, and two other footmen received slight arrow wounds.
They all directed their attack against me because my armor was gilded
and glittered, and on this account I was hurt more than the rest,
and not because I had done more or was farther in advance than the
others; for all these gentlemen and soldiers bore themselves well,
as was expected of them. I praise God that I am now well, although
somewhat sore from the stones. Two or three other soldiers were
hurt in the battle which we had on the plain, and three horses were
killed—one that of Don Lopez and another that of Vigliega and the
third that of Don Alfonso Manrich—and seven or eight other horses
were wounded; but the men, as well as the horses, have now recovered
and are well. [p558]
_Of the situation and condition of the Seven Cities called the
kingdom of Cevola, and the sort of people and their customs, and of
the animals which are found there._
[Illustration: LXIX. Pueblo of Jemez]
It now remains for me to tell about this city and kingdom and
province, of which the Father Provincial gave Your Lordship an
account. In brief, I can assure you that in reality he has not told
the truth in a single thing that he said, but everything is the
reverse of what he said, except the name of the city and the large
stone houses. For, although they are not decorated with turquoises,
nor made of lime nor of good bricks, nevertheless they are very good
houses, with three and four and five stories, where there are very
good apartments and good rooms with corridors,[321] and some very
good rooms under ground and paved, which are made for winter, and
are something like a sort of hot baths.[322] The ladders which they
have for their houses are all movable and portable, which are taken
up and placed wherever they please. They are made of two pieces of
wood, with rounds like ours. [See plates LVIII, LVIX.] The Seven
Cities are seven little villages, all having the kind of houses I
have described. They are all within a radius of 5 leagues. They are
all called the kingdom of Cevola, and each has its own name and no
single one is called Cevola, but all together are called Cevola. This
one which I have called a city I have named Granada, partly because
it has some similarity to it,[323] as well as out of regard for Your
Lordship. In this place where I am now lodged there are perhaps 200
houses, all surrounded by a wall, and it seems to me that with the
other houses, which are not so surrounded, there might be altogether
500 families. There is another town near by, which is one of the
seven, but somewhat larger than this, and another of the same size
as this, and the other four are somewhat smaller. I send them all to
Your Lordship, painted with the route. The skin on which the painting
is made, was found here with other skins. The people of the towns
seem to me to be of ordinary size and intelligent, although I do not
think that they have the judgment and intelligence which they ought
to have to build these houses in the way in which they have, for most
of them are entirely naked except the covering of their privy parts,
and they have painted mantles like the one which I send to Your
Lordship. They do not raise cotton, because the country is very cold,
but they wear mantles, as may be seen by the exhibit which I send.
It is also true that some cotton thread was found in their houses.
They wear the hair on their heads like the Mexicans. They all have
good figures, and are well bred. I think that they have a quantity
of turquoises, which they had removed with the rest of their goods,
except the corn, when I arrived, because I did not find any women
here nor any men [p559] under 15 years or over 60, except two or
three old men who remained in command of all the other men and the
warriors. Two points of emerald and some little broken stones which
approach the color of rather poor garnets[324] were found in a paper,
besides other stone crystals, which I gave to one of my servants to
keep until they could be sent to Your Lordship. He has lost them, as
they tell me. We found fowls, but only a few, and yet there are some.
The Indians tell me that they do not eat these in any of the seven
villages, but that they keep them merely for the sake of procuring
the feathers.[325] I do not believe this, because they are very good,
and better than those of Mexico. The climate of this country and the
temperature of the air is almost like that of Mexico, because it is
sometimes hot and sometimes it rains. I have not yet seen it rain,
however, except once when there fell a little shower with wind, such
as often falls in Spain. The snow and the cold are usually very
great, according to what the natives of the country all say. This may
very probably be so, both because of the nature of the country and
the sort of houses they build and the skins and other things which
these people have to protect them from the cold. There are no kinds
of fruit or fruit trees. The country is all level, and is nowhere
shut in by high mountains, although there are some hills and rough
passages.[326] There are not many birds, probably because of the
cold, and because there are no mountains near. There are no trees
fit for firewood here, because they can bring enough for their needs
from a clump of very small cedars 4 leagues distant.[327] Very good
grass is found a quarter of a league away, where there is pasturage
for our horses as well as mowing for hay, of which we had great
need, because our horses were so weak and feeble when they arrived.
The food which they eat in this country is corn, of which they have
a great abundance, and beans and venison, which they probably eat
(although they say that they do not), because we found many skins
of deer and hares and rabbits. They make the best corn cakes I have
ever seen anywhere, and this is what everybody ordinarily eats. They
have the very best arrangement and machinery for grinding that was
ever seen [plate LXIV]. One of these Indian women here will grind as
much as four of the Mexicans. They have very good salt in crystals,
which they bring from a lake a day’s journey distant from here. No
information can be obtained among them about the North sea or that
on the west, nor do I know how to tell Your Lordship which we are
nearest to. I should judge that it is nearer to the western, and 150
leagues is the nearest that it seems to me it can be thither. The
North sea ought to be much farther away. Your Lordship may thus see
how very wide the country is. They have [p560] many animals—bears,
tigers, lions, porcupines, and some sheep as big as a horse, with
very large horns and little tails. I have seen some of their horns
the size of which was something to marvel at.[328] There are also
wild goats, whose heads I have seen, and the paws of the bears and
the skins of the wild boars. For game they have deer, leopards, and
very large deer,[329] and every one thinks that some of them are
larger than that animal which Your Lordship favored me with, which
belonged to Juan Melaz. They inhabit some plains eight days’ journey
toward the north. They have some of their skins here very well
dressed, and they prepare and paint them where they kill the cows,
according to what they tell me.
_Of the nature and situation of the kingdoms of Totonteac, Marata,
and Acus, wholly different from the account of Friar Marcos. The
conference which they had with the Indians of the city of Granada,
which they had captured, who had been forewarned of the coming of
Christians into their country fifty years before. The account which
was obtained from them concerning seven other cities, of which Tucano
is the chief, and how he sent to discover them. A present sent to
Mendoza of various things found in this country by Vazquez Coronado._
These Indians say that the kingdom of Totonteac, which the father
provincial praised so much, saying that it was something marvelous,
and of such a very great size, and that cloth was made there, is a
hot lake, on the edge of which there are five or six houses.[330]
There used to be some others, but these have been destroyed by war.
The kingdom of Marata can not be found, nor do these Indians know
anything about it. The kingdom of Acus is a single small city, where
they raise cotton, and this is called Acucu.[331] I say that this
is the country, because Acus, with or without the aspiration, is
not a word in this region; and because it seems to me that Acucu
may be derived from Acus, I say that it is this town which has been
converted into the kingdom of Acus. They tell me that there are some
other small ones not far from this settlement, which are situated on
a river which I have seen and of which the Indians have told me. God
knows that I wish I had better news to write to Your Lordship, but I
must give you the truth, and, as I wrote you from Culiacan, I must
advise you of the good as well as of the bad. But you may be assured
that if there had been all the riches and treasures of the world, I
could not have done more in His Majesty’s service and in that of Your
Lordship than I have done, in coming here where you commanded me to
go, carrying, both my companions and myself, our food on our backs
for 300 leagues, and [p561] traveling on foot many days, making our
way over hills and rough mountains, besides other labors which I
refrain from mentioning. Nor do I think of stopping until my death,
if it serves His Majesty or Your Lordship to have it so.
Three days after I captured this city, some of the Indians who lived
here came to offer to make peace. They brought me some turquoises
and poor mantles, and I received them in His Majesty’s name with as
good a speech as I could, making them understand the purpose of my
coming to this country, which is, in the name of His Majesty and
by the commands of Your Lordship, that they and all others in this
province should become Christians and should know the true God for
their Lord, and His Majesty for their king and earthly lord. After
this they returned to their houses and suddenly, the next day, they
packed up their goods and property, their women and children, and
fled to the hills, leaving their towns deserted, with only some few
remaining in them. Seeing this, I went to the town which I said was
larger than this, eight or ten days later, when I had recovered from
my wounds. I found a few of them there, whom I told that they ought
not to feel any fear, and I asked them to summon their lord to me.
By what I can find out or observe, however, none of these towns
have any, since I have not seen any principal house by which any
superiority over others could be shown.[332] Afterward, an old man,
who said he was their lord, came with a mantle made of many pieces,
with whom I argued as long as he stayed with me. He said that he
would come to see me with the rest of the chiefs of the country,
three days later, in order to arrange the relations which should
exist between us. He did so, and they brought me some little ragged
mantles and some turquoises. I said that they ought to come down
from their strongholds and return to their houses with their wives
and children, and that they should become Christians, and recognize
His Majesty as their king and lord. But they still remain in their
strongholds, with their wives and all their property. I commanded
them to have a cloth painted for me, with all the animals that they
know in that country, and although they are poor painters, they
quickly painted two for me, one of the animals and the other of the
birds and fishes. They say that they will bring their children so
that our priests may instruct them, and that they desire to know our
law. They declare that it was foretold among them more than fifty
years ago that a people such as we are should come, and the direction
they should come from, and that the whole country would be conquered.
So far as I can find out, the water is what these Indians worship,
because they say that it makes the corn grow and sustains their life,
and that the only other reason they know is because their ancestors
did so.[333] I have tried in every way to find out from the natives
of these settlements whether they know of any other peoples [p562]
or provinces or cities. They tell me about seven cities which are
at a considerable distance, which are like these, except that the
houses there are not like these, but are made of earth [adobe], and
small, and that they raise much cotton there. The first of these four
places about which they know is called, they say, Tucano. They could
not tell me much about the others. I do not believe that they tell
me the truth, because they think that I shall soon have to depart
from them and return home. But they will quickly find that they are
deceived in this. I sent Don Pedro de Tobar there, with his company
and some other horsemen, to see it. I would not have dispatched this
packet to Your Lordship until I had learned what he found there,
if I thought that I should have any news from him within twelve or
fifteen days. However, as he will remain away at least thirty, and,
considering that this information is of little importance and that
the cold and the rains are approaching, it seemed to me that I ought
to do as Your Lordship commanded me in your instructions, which is,
that as soon as I arrived here, I should advise you thereof, and
this I do, by sending you the plain narrative of what I have seen,
which is bad enough, as you may perceive. I have determined to send
throughout all the surrounding regions, in order to find out whether
there is anything, and to suffer every extremity before I give up
this enterprise, and to serve His Majesty, if I can find any way in
which to do it, and not to lack in diligence until Your Lordship
directs me as to what I ought to do. We have great need of pasture,
and you should know, also, that among all those who are here there
is not one pound of raisins, nor sugar, nor oil, nor wine, except
barely half a quart, which is saved to say mass, since everything is
consumed, and part was lost on the way. Now, you can provide us with
what appears best; but if you are thinking of sending us cattle, you
should know that it will be necessary for them to spend at least a
year on the road, because they can not come in any other way, nor
any quicker. I would have liked to send to Your Lordship, with this
dispatch, many samples of the things which they have in this country,
but the trip is so long and rough that it is difficult for me to do
so. However, I send you twelve small mantles, such as the people of
this country ordinarily wear, and a garment which seems to me to be
very well made. I kept it because it seemed to me to be of very good
workmanship, and because I do not think that anyone has ever seen in
these Indies any work done with a needle, unless it were done since
the Spaniards settled here. And I also send two cloths painted with
the animals which they have in this country, although, as I said, the
painting is very poorly done, because the artist did not spend more
than one day in painting it. I have seen other paintings on the walls
of these houses which have much better proportion and are done much
better.
[Illustration: LXX. Ruins of Spanish Church Above Jemez]
I send you a cow skin, some turquoises, and two earrings of the same,
and fifteen of the Indian combs,[334] and some plates decorated
with these turquoises, and two baskets made of wicker, of which the
Indians have a large supply. I also send two rolls, such as the women
usually wear on their heads when they bring water from the spring,
the [p563] same way that they do in Spain. One of these Indian
women, with one of these rolls on her head, will carry a jar of water
up a ladder without touching it with her hands. And, lastly, I send
you samples of the weapons with which the natives of this country
fight, a shield, a hammer, and a bow with some arrows, among which
there are two with bone points, the like of which have never been
seen, according to what these conquerors say. As far as I can judge,
it does not appear to me that there is any hope of getting gold or
silver, but I trust in God that, if there is any, we shall get our
share of it, and it shall not escape us through any lack of diligence
in the search.[335] I am unable to give Your Lordship any certain
information about the dress of the women, because the Indians keep
them guarded so carefully that I have not seen any, except two old
women. These had on two long skirts reaching down to their feet and
open in front, and a girdle, and they are tied together with some
cotton strings. I asked the Indians to give me one of those which
they wore, to send to you, since they were not willing to show me
the women. They brought me two mantles, which are these that I send,
almost painted over. They have two tassels, like the women of Spain,
which hang somewhat over their shoulders. The death of the negro is
perfectly certain, because many of the things which he wore have been
found, and the Indians say that they killed him here because the
Indians of Chichilticale said that he was a bad man, and not like the
Christians, because the Christians never kill women, and he killed
them, and because he assaulted their women, whom the Indians love
better than themselves. Therefore they determined to kill him, but
they did not do it in the way that was reported, because they did
not kill any of the others who came with him, nor did they kill the
lad from the province of Petatlan, who was with him, but they took
him and kept him in safe custody until now. When I tried to secure
him, they made excuses for not giving him to me, for two or three
days, saving that he was dead, and at other times that the Indians
of Acucu had taken him away. But when I finally told them that I
should be very angry if they did not give him to me, they gave him
to me. He is an interpreter; for although he can not talk much, he
understands very well. Some gold and silver has been found in this
place, which those who know about minerals say is not bad. I have
not yet been able to learn from these people where they got it. I
perceive that they refuse to tell me the truth in everything, because
they think that I shall have to depart from here in a short time, as
I have said. But I trust in God that they will not be able to avoid
answering much longer. I beg Your Lordship to make a report of the
success of this expedition to His Majesty, because there is nothing
more than what I have already said. I shall not do so until it shall
please God to grant that we find what we desire. Our Lord
God protect and keep your most illustrious Lordship. From
the province of Cevola, and this city of Granada, the 3d of August,
1540. Francisco Vazquez de Coronado kisses the hand of your most
illustrious Lordship. [p564]
TRANSLATION OF THE TRASLADO DE LAS NUEVAS[336]
COPY OF THE REPORTS AND DESCRIPTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN RECEIVED
REGARDING THE DISCOVERY OF A CITY WHICH IS CALLED CIBOLA, SITUATED IN
THE NEW COUNTRY.
His grace left the larger part of his army in the valley of Culiacan,
and with only 75 companions on horseback and 30 footmen, he set
out for here Thursday, April 22. The army which remained there was
to start about the end of the month of May, because they could not
find any sort of sustenance for the whole of the way that they
had to go, as far as this province of Cibola, which is 350 long
leagues, and on this account he did not dare to put the whole army
on the road. As for the men he took with him, he ordered them to
make provision for eighty days, which was carried on horses, each
having one for himself and his followers. With very great danger of
suffering hunger, and not less labor, since they had to open the way,
and every day discovered waterways and rivers with bad crossings,
they stood it after a fashion, and on the whole journey as far as
this province there was not a peck of corn.[337] He reached this
province on Wednesday, the 7th of July last, with all the men whom
he led from the valley very well, praise be to Our Lord, except one
Spaniard who died of hunger four days from here and some negroes and
Indians who also died of hunger and thirst. The Spaniard was one of
those on foot, and was named Espinosa. In this way his grace spent
seventy-seven days on the road before reaching here, during which God
knows in what sort of a way we lived, and whether we could have eaten
much more than we ate the day that his grace reached this city of
Granada, for so it has been named out of regard for the viceroy, and
because they say it resembles the Albaicin.[338] The force he led was
not received the way it should have been, because they all arrived
very tired from the great labor of the journey. This, and the loading
and unloading like so many muleteers, and not eating as much as they
should have, left them more in need of resting several days than of
fighting, although there was not a man in the army who would not have
done his best in everything if the horses, who suffered the same as
their masters, could have helped them.
The city was deserted by men over sixty years and under twenty, and
by women and children. All who were there were the fighting [p565]
men who remained to defend the city, and many of them came out,
about a crossbow shot, uttering loud threats. The general himself
went forward with two priests and the army-master, to urge them to
surrender, as is the custom in new countries. The reply that he
received was from many arrows which they let fly, and they wounded
Hernando Bermejo’s horse and pierced the loose flap of the frock
of father Friar Luis, the former companion of the Lord Bishop of
Mexico. When this was seen, taking as their advocate the Holy Saint
James,[339] he rushed upon them with all his force, which he had kept
in very good order, and although the Indians turned their backs and
tried to reach the city, they were overtaken and many of them killed
before they could reach it. They killed three horses and wounded
seven or eight.
When my lord the general reached the city, he saw that it was
surrounded by stone walls, and the houses very high, four and five
and even six stories apiece, with their flat roofs and balconies.
As the Indians had made themselves secure within it, and would not
let anyone come near without shooting arrows at him, and as we could
not obtain anything to eat unless we captured it, his grace decided
to enter the city on foot and to surround it by men on horseback,
so that the Indians who were inside could not get away. As he was
distinguished among them all by his gilt arms and a plume on his
headpiece, all the Indians aimed at him, because he was noticeable
among all, and they knocked him down to the ground twice by chance
stones thrown from the flat roofs, and stunned him in spite of his
headpiece, and if this had not been so good, I doubt if he would have
come out alive from that enterprise, and besides all this—praised be
Our Lord that he came out on his own feet—they hit him many times
with stones on his head and shoulders and legs, and he received two
small wounds on his face and an arrow wound in the right foot; but
despite all this his grace is as sound and well as the day he left
that city. And you[340] may assure my lord of all this, and also
that on the 19th of July last he went 4 leagues from this city to
see a rock where they told him that the Indians of this province had
fortified themselves,[341] and he returned the same day, so that he
went 8 leagues in going and returning. I think I have given you an
account of everything, for it is right that I should be the authority
for you and his lordship, to assure you that everything is going well
with the general my lord, and without any hesitation I can assure
you that he is as well and sound as the day he left the city. He is
located within the city, for when the Indians saw that his grace was
determined to enter the city, then they abandoned it, since they let
them go with their lives. We found in it what we needed more than
gold and silver, and that was much corn and beans and fowls, better
than those of New Spain, and salt, the best and whitest that I have
seen in all my life. [p566]
RELACIÓN POSTRERA DE SIVOLA[342]
ESTA ES LA RELACIÓN POSTRERA DE SIVOLA, Y DE MÁS DE CUATRO-CIENTAS
LEGUAS ADELANTE.
Desde Culhuacán á Sívola hay más de trescientas leguas; poco del
camino poblado: hay muy poca gente: es tierra estéril: hay muy malos
caminos: la gente anda del todo desnuda, salvo las mujeres, que de
la cintura abajo traen cueros de venados adobados, blancos, á manera
de faldíllas hasta los pies. Las casas que tienen son de petlatles
hechos de cañas: son las casas redondas y pequeñas, que apenas cabe
un hombre en pie dentro. Donde están congregados y donde siembran es
tierra arenosa: cogen maiz, aunque poco, y frisoles y calabazas, y
también se mantienen de caza, conejos, liebres y venados. No tienen
sacrificios. Esto es desde Culhuacan á Síbola.
Sívola es un pueblo de hasta ducientas casas: son á dos y tres y
cuatro y cinco sobrados: tienen las paredes de un palmo de ancho:
los palos de la maderación son tan gruesos como por la muñeca, y
redondos; por tablazón tienen cañas muy menudas con sus hojas, y
encima tierra presada: las paredes son de tierra y barro: las puertas
de las casas son de la manera de escotillones de navíos: están las
casas juntas, asidas unas con otras: tienen delante de las casas
unas estufas de barro de tierra donde se guarecen en el invierno
del frio, porque le hace muy grande, que nieva seis meses del año.
De esta gente algunos traen mantas de algodón y de maguey, y cueros
de venados adobados, y traen zapatos de los mismos cueros, hasta
encima de las rodillas. También hacen mantas de pellejos de liebres
y de conejos, con que se cubren. Andan las mujeres vestidas de
mantas de maguey hasta los pies: andan ceñidas: traen los cabellos
cogidos encima de las orejas, como rodajas: cogen maíz y frisoles
y calabazas, lo que les basta para su mantenimiento, porque es
poca gente. La tierra donde siembran es toda arena; son las aguas
salobres: es tierra muy seca: tienen algunas gallinas, aunque pocas;
no saben qué cosa es pescado. Son siete pueblos en esta provincia de
Sivola en espacio de cinco leguas: el mayor será de ducientas casas,
y otros dos, de á ducientas, y los otros á sesenta y á cincuenta y á
treinta casas.
Desde Sívola al rio y provincia de Tibex hay sesenta leguas: el
primer pueblo es cuarenta leguas de Sivola: llámase Acuco. Este
pueblo está encima de un peñol muy fuerte: será de duzientas casas,
asentado á la [p567] manera de Sívola que es otra lengua. Desde allí
al rio de Tiguex hay veinte leguas. El rio es cuasi tan ancho como
el de Sevilla, aunque no es tan hondo: va por tierra llana: es buen
agua: tiene algún pescado: nace al norte. El que esto dice vió doce
pueblos en cierto compás del río: otros vieron más: dicen el río
arriba: abajo todos son pueblos pequeños, salvo dos que ternán á
ducientas casas: estas casas con las paredes como á manera de tapías
de tierra é arena, muy recias: son tan anchas como un palmo de una
mano. Son las casas de á dos y tres terrados: tienen la maderación
como en Sivola. Es tierra muy fria: tiene sus estufas como en
Sivola; y hiélase tanto el río, que pasan bestias cargadas por él, y
pudieran pasar carretas. Cogen maiz lo que han menester, y frisoles
y calabazas: tienen algunas gallinas, las cuales guardan para hacer
mantas de la pluma. Cogen algodón, aunque poco: traen mantas de ello,
y zapatos de cuero como en Sívola. Es gente que defiende bien su
capa, y desde sus casas, que no curan de salir fuera. Es tierra toda
arenosa.
Desde la provincia y río de Tiguex, á cuatro jornadas toparon cuatro
pueblos. El primero terná treinta casas. El segundo es pueblo
grande destruido de sus guerras: tenía hasta treinta y cinco casas
pobladas: el tercero [_sic_] hasta. Estos tres son de la manera de
los del río en todo. El cuarto es un pueblo grande, el cual está
entre unos montes: llámase Cicuic: tenía hasta cincuenta casas con
tantos terrados como los de Sívola: son las paredes de tierra y
barro como las de Sívola. Tienen harto maiz y frisoles y calabazas
y algunas gallinas. A cuatro jornadas de este pueblo toparon una
tierra llana como la mar, en los cuales llanos hay tanta multitud de
vacas, que no tienen número. Estas vacas son como las de Castilla, y
algunas mayores que tienen en la cruz una corva pequeña, y son más
bermejas, que tiran á negro: cuélgales una lana más larga que un
palmo entre los cuernos y orejas y barba, y por la papada abajo y por
las espaldas, como crines, y de las rodillas abajo todo lo más es
de lana muy pequeñita, á manera de merino: tienen muy buena carne y
tierna, y mucho sebo. Andando muchos dias por estos llanos, toparon
con una ranchería de hasta duzientas casas con gente: eran las casas
de los cueros de las vacas adobados, blancas, á manera de pabellones
ó tiendas de campo. El mantenimiento ó sustentamiento de estos indios
es todo de las vacas, porque ni siembran ni cogen maiz: de los cueros
hacen sus casas, de los cueros visten y calzan, de los cueros hacen
sogas y también de la lana: de los niervos hacen hilo con que cosen
sus vestiduras y también las casas: de los huesos hacen alesnas: las
boñigas les sirven de leña; porque no hay otra en aquella tierra:
los buches les sirven de jarros y vasijas con que beben: de la
carne se mantienen: cómenla medio asada é un poco caliente encima
de las boñigas, la otra cruda, y tomándola con los dientes, tiran
con la una mano, y en la otra tienen un navajon de pedernal y cortan
el bocado; ansi lo tragan como aves medio mascado: comen el sebo
crudo, sin calentallo: beben la sangre, ansi como [p568] sale de
las vacas, y otras veces después de salida, fria y cruda: no tienen
otro mantenimiento. Esta gente tiene perros como los de esta tierra,
salvo que son algo mayores, los cuales perros cargan como á bestias,
y las hacen sus enjalmas como albardillas, y las cinchan con sus
correas, y andan matados como bestias, en las cruces. Cuando van á
caza cárganlos de mantenimientos; y cuando se mueven estos indios,
porque no están de asiento en una parte, que se andan donde andan
las vacas para se mantener, estos perros les llevan las casas, y
llevan los palos de las casas arrastrando, atados á las albardillas,
allende de la carga que llevan encima: podrá ser la carga, según el
perro, arroba y media y dos. Hay de este Síbola á estos llanos adonde
llegaron, treinta leguas, y aun más. Los llanos proceden adelante, ni
se sabe qué tanto. El capitán Francisco Vázquez fué por los llanos
adelante con treinta de á caballo, y Fr. Juan de Padilla con él: toda
la demás gente se volvieron á la población del río, para esperar á
Francisco Vázquez, porque ansi se lo mandó: no se sabe sí es vuelto
&c.
Es la tierra tan llana, que se pierden los hombres apartándose media
legua, como se perdió uno á caballo, que nunca más pareció, y dos
caballos ensillados y enfrenados que nunca más parecieron. No queda
rastro ninguno por donde van, y á esta causa tenían necesidad de
amojonar el camino por donde iban, para volver, con boñigas de vacas,
que no había piedras ni otra cosa.
Marco Polo, veneciano, en su tratado, en el cap. xv, trata y díce que
[ha visto?] las mesmas vacas, y de la mesma manera en la corcova;
y en el mesmo capitulo dice que también hay carneros tamaños como
caballos.
Nicolás, veneciano, dió relación á Micer Pogio, florentino, en el
libro segundo, cerca del fin, dice como en la Etiopia hay bueyes con
corcova, como camellos, y tienen los cuernos largos de tres codos, y
echan los cuernos encima sobre el espinazo, y hace un cuerno de estos
un cántaro de vino.
Marco Polo, en el capítulo ciento y treinta y cuatro dice que en la
tierra de los tártaros, hácia el norte, se hallan canes tan grandes ó
poco menos que asnos; á los cuales echan uno como carro y entran con
ellos en una tierra muy lodosa, toda cenagales, que otros animales no
podrian entrar ni salir sin se anegar, y por eso llevan perros.
[_Scripsi et contuli, México, Marzo 11, 1893.
Joaq^n. Garcia Icazbalceta._]
TRANSLATION
THIS IS THE LATEST ACCOUNT OF CIBOLA, AND OF MORE THAN FOUR HUNDRED
LEAGUES BEYOND.
It is more than 300 leagues from Culiacan to Cibola, uninhabited most
of the way. There are very few people there; the country is sterile;
the roads are very bad. The people go around entirely naked, [p569]
except the women, who wear white tanned deer skins from the waist
down, something like little skirts, reaching to the feet. Their
houses are of mats made of reeds; the houses are round and small, so
that there is hardly room inside for a man on his feet. The country
is sandy where they live near together and where they plant. They
raise corn, but not very much, and beans and melons, and they also
live on game—rabbits, hares, and deer. They do not have sacrifices.
This is between Culiacan and Cibola.
[Illustration: LXXI. The Keres Pueblo of Sia]
Cibola is a village of about 200 houses. They have two and three and
four and five stories. The walls are about a handbreadth thick; the
sticks of timber are as large as the wrist, and round; for boards,
they have very small bushes, with their leaves on, covered with a
sort of greenish-colored mud; the walls are of dirt and mud, the
doors of the houses are like the hatchways of ships. The houses are
close together, each joined to the others. Outside of the houses
they have some hothouses (or estufas) of dirt mud, where they take
refuge from the cold in the winter—because this is very great, since
it snows six months in the year. Some of these people wear cloaks of
cotton and of the maguey (or Mexican aloe) and of tanned deer skin,
and they wear shoes made of these skins, reaching up to the knees.
They also make cloaks of the skins of hares and rabbits, with which
they cover themselves. The women wear cloaks of the maguey, reaching
down to the feet, with girdles; they wear their hair gathered about
the ears like little wheels. They raise corn and beans and melons,
which is all they need to live on, because it is a small tribe. The
land where they plant is entirely sandy; the water is brackish; the
country is very dry. They have some fowls, although not many. They
do not know what sort of a thing fish is. There are seven villages
in this province of Cibola within a space of 5 leagues; the largest
may have about 200 houses and two others about 200, and the others
somewhere between 60 or 50 and 30 houses.
It is 60 leagues from Cibola to the river and province of Tibex
[Tiguex]. The first village is 40 leagues from Cibola, and is called
Acuco. This village is on top of a very strong rock; it has about 200
houses, built in the same way as at Cibola, where they speak another
language. It is 20 leagues from here to the river of Tiguex. The
river is almost as wide as that of Seville, although not so deep; it
flows through a level country; the water is good; it contains some
fish; it rises in the north. He who relates this, saw twelve villages
within a certain distance of the river; others saw more, they say, up
the river. Below, all the villages are small, except two that have
about 200 houses. The walls of these houses are something like mud
walls of dirt and sand, very rough; they are as thick as the breadth
of a hand. The houses have two and three stories; the construction is
like those at Cibola. The country is very cold. They have hot-houses,
as in Cibola, and the river freezes so thick that loaded animals
cross it, and it would be possible for carts to do so. They raise
as much corn as they need, [p570] and beans and melons. They have
some fowls, which they keep so as to make cloaks of their feathers.
They raise cotton, although not much; they wear cloaks made of this,
and shoes of hide, as at Cibola. These people defend themselves very
well, and from within their houses, since they do not care to come
out. The country is all sandy.
Four days’ journey from the province and river of Tiguex four
villages are found. The first has 30 houses; the second is a large
village destroyed in their wars, and has about 35 houses occupied;
the third about These three are like those at the river in every
way. The fourth is a large village which is among some mountains.
It is called Cicuic, and has about 50 houses, with as many stories
as those at Cibola. The walls are of dirt and mud like those at
Cibola. It has plenty of corn, beans and melons, and some fowls. Four
days from this village they came to a country as level as the sea,
and in these plains there was such a multitude of cows that they
are numberless. These cows are like those of Castile, and somewhat
larger, as they have a little hump on the withers, and they are more
reddish, approaching black; their hair, more than a span long, hangs
down around their horns and ears and chin, and along the neck and
shoulders like manes, and down from the knees; all the rest is a very
fine wool, like merino; they have very good, tender meat, and much
fat. Having proceeded many days through these plains, they came to
a settlement of about 200 inhabited houses. The houses were made of
the skins of the cows, tanned white, like pavilions or army tents.
The maintenance or sustenance of these Indians comes entirely from
the cows, because they neither sow nor reap corn. With the skins they
make their houses, with the skins they clothe and shoe themselves, of
the skins they make rope, and also of the wool; from the sinews they
make thread, with which they sew their clothes and also their houses;
from the bones they make awls; the dung serves them for wood, because
there is nothing else in that country; the stomachs serve them for
pitchers and vessels from which they drink; they live on the flesh;
they sometimes eat it half roasted and warmed over the dung, at other
times raw; seizing it with their fingers, they pull it out with one
hand and with a flint knife in the other they cut off mouthfuls, and
thus swallow it half chewed; they eat the fat raw, without warming
it; they drink the blood just as it leaves the cows, and at other
times after it has run out, cold and raw; they have no other means
of livelihood. These people have dogs like those in this country,
except that they are somewhat larger, and they load these dogs like
beasts of burden, and make saddles for them like our pack saddles,
and they fasten them with their leather thongs, and these make their
backs sore on the withers like pack animals. When they go hunting,
they load these with their necessities, and when they move—for these
Indians are not settled in one place, since they travel wherever the
cows move, to support themselves—these dogs carry their houses, and
they have the sticks of their houses dragging along tied on to the
[p571] pack-saddles, besides the load which they carry on top,
and the load may be, according to the dog, from 35 to 50 pounds.
It is 30 leagues, or even more, from Cibola to these plains where
they went. The plains stretch away beyond, nobody knows how far. The
captain, Francisco Vazquez, went farther across the plains, with 30
horsemen, and Friar Juan de Padilla with him; all the rest of the
force returned to the settlement at the river to wait for Francisco
Vazquez, because this was his command. It is not known whether he has
returned.
[Illustration: LXXII. The Keres Pueblo of Cochiti]
The country is so level that men became lost when they went off
half a league. One horseman was lost, who never reappeared, and two
horses, all saddled and bridled, which they never saw again. No track
was left of where they went, and on this account it was necessary
to mark the road by which they went with cow dung, so as to return,
since there were no stones or anything else.
Marco Polo, the Venetian, in his treatise, in chapter 15, relates and
says that (he saw) the same cows, with the same sort of hump; and in
the same chapter he says that there are sheep as big as horses.
Nicholas, the Venetian, gave an account to Micer Pogio, the
Florentine, in his second book, toward the end, which says that in
Ethiopia there are oxen with a hump, like camels, and they have horns
3 cubits long, and they carry their horns up over their backs, and
one of these horns makes a wine pitcher.
Marco Polo, in chapter 134, says that in the country of the Tartars,
toward the north, they have dogs as large or little smaller than
asses. They harness these into a sort of cart and with these enter a
very miry country, all a quagmire, where other animals can not enter
and come out without getting submerged, and on this account they take
dogs. [p572]
TRANSLATION OF THE RELACION DEL SUCESO[343]
ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAPPENED ON THE JOURNEY WHICH FRANCISCO VAZQUEZ MADE
TO DISCOVER CIBOLA.
When the army reached the valley of Culiacan, Francisco Vazquez
divided the army on account of the bad news which was received
regarding Cibola, and because the food supply along the way was
small, according to the report of Melchor Diaz, who had just come
back from seeing it. He himself took 80 horsemen and 25 foot
soldiers, and a small part of the artillery, and set out from
Culiacan, leaving Don Tristan de Arellano with the rest of the force,
with orders to set out twenty days later, and when he reached the
Valley of Hearts (Corazones) to wait there for a letter from him,
which would be sent after he had reached Cibola, and had seen what
was there; and this was done. The Valley of Hearts is 150 leagues
from the valley of Culiacan, and the same distance from Cibola.[344]
This whole distance, up to about 50 leagues before reaching Cibola,
is inhabited, although it is away from the road in some places. The
population is all of the same sort of people, since the houses are
all of palm mats, and some of them have low lofts. They all have
corn, although not much, and in some places very little. They have
melons and beans. The best settlement of all is a valley called
Señora, which is 10 leagues beyond the Hearts, where a town was
afterward settled. There is some cotton among these, but deer skins
are what most of them use for clothes.
Francisco Vazquez passed by all these on account of the small crops.
There was no corn the whole way, except at this valley of Señora,
where they collected a little, and besides this he had what he
took from Culiacan, where he provided himself for eighty days. In
seventy-three days we reached Cibola, although after hard labor and
the loss of many horses and the death of several Indians, and after
we saw it these were all doubled, although we did find corn enough.
We found the natives peaceful for the whole way. [p573]
[Illustration: LXXIII. the Tewa Pueblo of Nambe]
The day we reached the first village part of them came out to fight
us, and the rest stayed in the village and fortified themselves. It
was not possible to make peace with these, although we tried hard
enough, so it was necessary to attack them and kill some of them. The
rest then drew back to the village, which was then surrounded and
attacked. We had to withdraw, on account of the great damage they did
us from the flat roofs, and we began to assault them from a distance
with the artillery and muskets, and that afternoon they surrendered.
Francisco Vazquez came out of it badly hurt by some stones, and I am
certain, indeed, that he would have been there yet if it had not been
for the army-master, D. Garcia Lopez de Cardenas, who rescued him.
When the Indians surrendered, they abandoned the village and went to
the other villages, and as they left the houses we made ourselves at
home in them.
Father Friar Marcos understood, or gave to understand, that the
region and neighborhood in which there are seven villages was a
single village which he called Cibola, but the whole of this settled
region is called Cibola. The villages have from 150 to 200 and 300
houses; some have the houses of the village all together, although
in some villages they are divided into two or three sections, but
for the most part they are all together, and their courtyards are
within, and in these are their hot rooms for winter, and they have
their summer ones outside the villages. The houses have two or three
stories, the walls of stone and mud, and some have mud walls. The
villages have for the most part the walls of the houses; the houses
are too good for Indians, especially for these, since they are
brutish and have no decency in anything except in their houses.
For food they have much corn and beans and melons, and some fowls,
like those of Mexico, and they keep these more for their feathers
than to eat, because they make long robes of them, since they do not
have any cotton; and they wear cloaks of heniquen (a fibrous plant),
and of the skins of deer, and sometimes of cows.
Their rites and sacrifices are somewhat idolatrous, but water is
what they worship most, to which they offer small painted sticks and
feathers and yellow powder made of flowers, and usually this offering
is made to springs. Sometimes, also, they offer such turquoises as
they have, although poor ones.
From the valley of Culiacan to Cibola it is 240 leagues in two
directions. It is north to about the thirty-fourth-and-a-half degree,
and from there to Cibola, which is nearly the thirty-seventh degree,
toward the northeast.
Having talked with the natives of Cibola about what was beyond, they
said that there were settlements toward the west. Francisco Vazquez
then sent Don Pedro de Tobar to investigate, who found seven other
villages, which were called the province of Tuzan;[345] this is
[p574] 35 leagues to the west. The villages are somewhat larger
than those of Cibola, and in other respects, in food and everything,
they are of the same sort, except that these raise cotton. While Don
Pedro de Tobar had gone to see these, Francisco Vazquez dispatched
messengers to the viceroy, with an account of what had happened up to
this point.[346] He also prepared instructions for these to take to
Don Tristan, who as I have said, was at Hearts, for him to proceed
to Cibola, and to leave a town established in the valley of Señora,
which he did, and in it he left 80 horsemen of the men who had but
one horse and the weakest men, and Melchor Diaz with them as captain
and leader, because Francisco Vazquez had so arranged for it. He
ordered him to go from there with half the force to explore toward
the west; and he did so, and traveled 150 leagues, to the river
which Hernando de Alarcon entered from the sea, which he called the
Buenaguia. The settlements and people that are in this direction
are mostly like those at the Hearts, except at the river and around
it, where the people have much better figures and have more corn,
although the houses in which they live are hovels, like pig pens,
almost under ground, with a covering of straw, and made without any
skill whatever. This river is reported to be large. They reached it
30 leagues from the coast, where, and as far again above, Alarcon had
come up with his boats two months before they reached it. This river
runs north and south there. Melchor Diaz passed on toward the west
five or six days, from which he returned for the reason that he did
not find any water or vegetation, but only many stretches of sand;
and he had some fighting on his return to the river and its vicinity,
because they wanted to take advantage of him while crossing the
river. While returning Melchor Diaz died from an accident, by which
he killed himself, throwing a lance at a dog.
After Don Pedro de Tobar returned and had given an account of those
villages, he then dispatched Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas, the
army-master, by the same road Don Pedro had followed, to go beyond
that province of Tuzan to the west, and he allowed him eighty days in
which to go and return, for the journey and to make the discoveries.
He was conducted beyond Tuzan by native guides, who said there were
settlements beyond, although at a distance. Having gone 50 leagues
west of Tuzan, and 80 from Cibola, he found the edge of a river down
which it was impossible to find a path for a horse in any direction,
or even for a man on foot, except in one very difficult place, where
there was a descent for almost 2 leagues. The sides were such, a
steep rocky precipice that it was scarcely possible to see the
river, which looks like a brook from above, although it is half as
large again as that of Seville, according to what they say, so that
although they sought for a passage with great diligence, none was
found for a long distance, during which they were for several days
in great need of water, which could not be found, and they could not
approach that of the river, although they [p575] could see it, and
on this account Don Garcia Lopez was forced to return. This river
comes from the northeast and turns toward the south-southwest at the
place where they found it, so that it is without any doubt the one
that Melchor Diaz reached.
Four days after Francisco Vazquez had dispatched Don Garcia Lopez to
make this discovery, he dispatched Hernando de Alvarado to explore
the route toward the east. He started off, and 30 leagues from Cibola
found a rock with a village on top, the strongest position that ever
was seen in the world, which was called Acuco[347] in their language,
and father Friar Marcos called it the kingdom of Hacus. They came out
to meet us peacefully, although it would have been easy to decline
to do this and to have stayed on their rock, where we would not have
been able to trouble them. They gave us cloaks of cotton, skins of
deer and of cows, and turquoises, and fowls and other food which they
had, which is the same as in Cibola.
Twenty leagues to the east of this rock we found a river which runs
north and south,[348] well settled; there are in all, small and
large, 70 villages near it, a few more or less, the same sort as
those at Cibola, except that they are almost all of well-made mud
walls. The food is neither more nor less. They raise cotton—I mean
those who live near the river—the others not. There is much corn
here. These people do not have markets. They are settled for 50
leagues along this river, north and south, and some villages are 15
or 20 leagues distant, in one direction and the other. This river
rises where these settlements end at the north, on the slope of the
mountains there, where there is a larger village different from the
others, called Yuraba.[349] It is settled in this fashion: It has 18
divisions; each one has a situation as if for two ground plots;[350]
the houses are very close together, and have five or six stories,
three of them with mud walls and two or three with thin wooden walls,
which become smaller as they go up, and each one has its little
balcony outside of the mud walls, one above the other, all around,
of wood. In this village, as it is in the mountains, they do not
raise cotton nor breed fowls; they wear the skins of deer and cows
entirely. It is the most populous village of all that country; we
estimated there were 15,000 souls in it. There is one of the other
kind of villages larger than all the rest, and very strong, which is
called Cicuique.[351] It has four and five stories, has eight large
courtyards, each one with its balcony, and there are fine houses
in it. They do not raise cotton nor keep fowls, because it is 15
leagues away from the river to the east, toward the plains where the
cows are. After Alvarado had sent an account of this [p576] river
to Francisco Vazquez, he proceeded forward to these plains, and at
the borders of these he found a little river which flows to the
southwest, and after four days’ march he found the cows, which are
the most monstrous thing in the way of animals which has ever been
seen or read about. He followed this river for 100 leagues, finding
more cows every day. We provided ourselves with some of these,
although at first, until we had had experience, at the risk of the
horses. There is such a quantity of them that I do not know what to
compare them with, except with the fish in the sea, because on this
journey, as also on that which the whole army afterward made when
it was going to Quivira, there were so many that many times when we
started to pass through the midst of them and wanted to go through to
the other side of them, we were not able to, because the country was
covered with them. The flesh of these is as good as that of Castile,
and some said it was even better.
The bulls are large and brave, although they do not attack very much;
but they have wicked horns, and in a fight use them well, attacking
fiercely; they killed several of our horses and wounded many. We
found the pike to be the best weapon to use against them, and the
musket for use when this misses.
When Hernando de Alvarado returned from these plains to the river
which was called Tiguex, he found the army-master Don Garcia Lopez de
Cardenas getting ready for the whole army, which was coming there.
When it arrived, although all these people had met Hernando de
Alvarado peacefully, part of them rebelled when all the force came.
There were 12 villages near together, and one night they killed 40
of our horses and mules which were loose in the camp. They fortified
themselves in their villages, and war was then declared against
them. Don Garcia Lopez went to the first and took it and executed
justice on many of them. When the rest saw this, they abandoned all
except two of the villages, one of these the strongest one of all,
around which the army was kept for two months. And although after
we invested it, we entered it one day and occupied a part of the
flat roof, we were forced to abandon this on account of the many
wounds that were received and because it was so dangerous to maintain
ourselves there, and although we again entered it soon afterward, in
the end it was not possible to get it all, and so it was surrounded
all this time. We finally captured it because of their thirst, and
they held out so long because it snowed twice when they were just
about to give themselves up. In the end we captured it, and many of
them were killed because they tried to get away at night.
[Illustration: LXXIV. A Nambe Indian in War Costume]
Francisco Vazquez obtained an account from some Indians who were
found in this village of Cicuique, which, if it had been true, was
of the richest thing that has been found in the Indies. The Indian
who gave the news and the account came from a village called Harale,
300 leagues east of this river. He gave such a clear account of what
he told, as if it was true and he had seen it, that it seemed plain
afterward that it was the devil who was speaking in him. Francisco
Vazquez and all of [p577] us placed much confidence in him,
although he was advised by several gentlemen not to move the whole
army, but rather to send a captain to find out what was there. He
did not wish to do this, but wanted to take every one, and even to
send Don Pedro de Tobar to the Hearts for half the men who were in
that village. So he started with the whole army, and proceeded 150
leagues, 100 to the east and 50 to the south,[352] and the Indian
failing to make good what he had said about there being a settlement
there, and corn, with which to proceed farther, the other two guides
were asked how that was, and one confessed that what the Indian said
was a lie, except that there was a province which was called Quivira,
and that there was corn and houses of straw there, but that they were
very far off, because we had been led astray a distance from the
road. Considering this, and the small supply of food that was left,
Francisco Vazquez, after consulting with the captains, determined to
proceed with 30 of the best men who were well equipped, and that the
army should return to the river; and this was done at once. Two days
before this, Don Garcia Lopez’ horse had happened to fall with him,
and he threw his arm out of joint, from which he suffered much, and
so Don Tristan de Arellano returned to the river with the army. On
this journey they had a very hard time, because almost all of them
had nothing to eat except meat, and many suffered on this account.
They killed a world of bulls and cows, for there were days when they
brought 60 and 70 head into camp, and it was necessary to go hunting
every day, and on this account, and from not eating any corn during
all this time, the horses suffered much.
Francisco Vazquez set out across these plains in search of Quivira,
more on account of the story which had been told us at the river than
from the confidence which was placed in the guide here, and after
proceeding many days by the needle (i.e., to the north) it pleased
God that after thirty days’ march we found the river Quivira, which
is 30 leagues below the settlement. While going up the valley, we
found people who were going hunting, who were natives of Quivira.
All that there is at Quivira is a very brutish people, without any
decency whatever in their houses nor in anything. These are of straw,
like the Tarascan settlements; in some villages there are as many as
200 houses; they have corn and beans and melons; they do not have
cotton nor fowls, nor do they make bread which is cooked, except
under the ashes. Francisco Vazquez went 25 leagues through these
settlements, to where he obtained an account of what was beyond, and
they said that the plains come to an end, and that down the river
there are people who do not plant, but live wholly by hunting.
They also gave an account of two other large villages, one of which
was called Tareque[353] and the other Arae, with straw houses at
Tareque, and at Arae some of straw and some of skins. Copper was
found here, [p578] and they said it came from a distance. From
what the Indian had said, it is possible that this village of Arae
contains more,[354] from the clear description of it which he gave.
We did not find any trace or news of it here. Francisco Vazquez
returned from here to the river of Tiguex, where he found the army.
We went back by a more direct route, because in going by the way we
went we traveled 330 leagues, and it is not more than 200 by that by
which we returned. Quivira is in the fortieth degree and the river
in the thirty-sixth. It was so dangerous to travel or to go away
from the camp in these plains, that it is as if one was traveling on
the sea, since the only roads are those of the cows, and they are so
level and have no mountain or prominent landmark, that if one went
out of sight of it, he was lost, and in this way we lost one man,
and others who went hunting wandered around two or three days, lost.
Two kinds of people travel around these plains with the cows; one is
called Querechos and the others Teyas; they are very well built, and
painted, and are enemies of each other. They have no other settlement
or location than comes from traveling around with the cows. They kill
all of these they wish, and tan the hides, with which they clothe
themselves and make their tents, and they eat the flesh, sometimes
even raw, and they also even drink the blood when thirsty. The tents
they make are like field tents, and they set them up over some poles
they have made for this purpose, which come together and are tied at
the top, and when they go from one place to another they carry them
on some dogs they have, of which they have many, and they load them
with the tents and poles and other things, for the country is so
level, as I said, that they can make use of these, because they carry
the poles dragging along on the ground. The sun is what they worship
most. The skin for the tents is cured on both sides, without the
hair, and they have the skins of deer and cows left over.[355] They
exchange some cloaks with the natives of the river for corn.
[Illustration: LXXV. A Nambe Water Carrier]
After Francisco Vazquez reached the river, where he found the army,
Don Pedro de Tobar came with half the people from the Hearts, and Don
Garcia Lopez de Cardenas started off for Mexico, who, besides the
fact that his arm was very bad, had permission from the viceroy on
account of the death of his brother. Ten or twelve who were sick went
with him, and not a man among them all who could fight. He reached
the town of the Spaniards and found it burned and two Spaniards and
many Indians and horses dead, and he returned to the river on this
account, escaping from them by good fortune and great exertions.
The cause of this misfortune was that after Don Pedro started and
left 40 men there, half of these raised a mutiny and fled, and the
Indians, who remembered the bad treatment they had received, attacked
them one night and overpowered them because of their carelessness
and weakness, and they fled to Culiacan. Francisco Vazquez fell
while running [p579] a horse about this time and was sick a long
time, and after the winter was over he determined to come back, and
although they may say something different, he did so, because he
wanted to do this more than anything, and so we all came together
as far as Culiacan, and each one went where he pleased from there,
and Francisco Vazquez came here to Mexico to make his report to
the viceroy, who was not at all pleased with his coming, although
he pretended so at first. He was pleased that Father Friar Juan de
Padilla had stayed there, who went to Quivira, and a Spaniard and a
negro with him, and Friar Luis, a very holy lay brother, stayed in
Cicuique. We spent two very cold winters at this river, with much
snow and thick ice. The river froze one night and remained so for
more than a month, so that loaded horses crossed on the ice. The
reason these villages are settled in this fashion is supposed to be
the great cold, although it is also partly the wars which they have
with one another. And this is all that was seen and found out about
all that country, which is very barren of fruits and groves. Quivira
is a better country, having many huts and not being so cold, although
it is more to the north. [p580]
TRANSLATION OF A LETTER FROM CORONADO TO THE KING, OCTOBER 20,
1541[356]
LETTER FROM FRANCISCO VAZQUEZ CORONADO TO HIS MAJESTY, IN WHICH HE
GIVES AN ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE PROVINCE OF TIGUEX.
HOLY CATHOLIC CÆSARIAN MAJESTY: On April 20 of this year I wrote to
Your Majesty from this province of Tiguex, in reply to a letter from
Your Majesty dated in Madrid, June 11 a year ago. I gave a detailed
account of this expedition, which the viceroy of New Spain ordered
me to undertake in Your Majesty’s name to this country which was
discovered by Friar Marcos of Nice, the provincial of the order of
Holy Saint Francis. I described it all, and the sort of force I
have, as Your Majesty had ordered me to relate in my letters; and
stated that while I was engaged in the conquest and pacification of
the natives of this province, some Indians who were natives of other
provinces beyond these had told me that in their country there were
much larger villages and better houses than those of the natives of
this country, and that they had lords who ruled them, who were served
with dishes of gold, and other very magnificent things; and although,
as I wrote Your Majesty, I did not believe it before I had set eyes
on it, because it was the report of Indians and given for the most
part by means of signs, yet as the report appeared to me to be very
fine and that it was important that it should be investigated for
Your Majesty’s service, I determined to go and see it with the men
I have here. I started from this province on the 23d of last April,
for the place where the Indians wanted to guide me. After nine days’
march I reached some plains, so vast that I did not find their limit
anywhere that I went, although I traveled over them for more than 300
leagues. And I found such a quantity of cows in these, of the kind
that I wrote Your Majesty about, which they have in this country,
that it is impossible to number them, for while I was journeying
through these plains, until I returned to where I first found them,
there was not a day that I lost sight of them. And after seventeen
days’ march I came to a settlement of Indians who are called
Querechos, who travel around with these cows, who do not plant, and
who eat the raw flesh and drink the blood of the cows they kill, and
they tan the skins of the cows, with which all the people [p581] of
this country dress themselves here. They have little field tents made
of the hides of the cows, tanned and greased, very well made, in
which they live while they travel around near the cows, moving with
these. They have dogs which they load, which carry their tents and
poles and belongings. These people have the best figures of any that
I have seen in the Indies. They could not give me any account of the
country where the guides were taking me. I traveled five days more
as the guides wished to lead me, until I reached some plains, with
no more landmarks than as if we had been swallowed up in the sea,
where they strayed about, because there was not a stone, nor a bit of
rising ground, nor a tree, nor a shrub, nor anything to go by. There
is much very fine pasture land, with good grass. And while we were
lost in these plains, some horsemen who went off to hunt cows fell in
with some Indians who also were out hunting, who are enemies of those
that I had seen in the last settlement, and of another sort of people
who are called Teyas; they have their bodies and faces all painted,
are a large people like the others, of a very good build; they eat
the raw flesh just like the Querechos, and live and travel round with
the cows in the same way as these. I obtained from these an account
of the country where the guides were taking me, which was not like
what they had told me, because these made out that the houses there
were not built of stones, with stories, as my guides had described
it, but of straw and skins, and a small supply of corn there. This
news troubled me greatly, to find myself on these limitless plains,
where I was in great need of water, and often had to drink it so poor
that it was more mud than water. Here the guides confessed to me that
they had not told the truth in regard to the size of the houses,
because these were of straw, but that they had done so regarding the
large number of inhabitants and the other things about their habits.
The Teyas disagreed with this, and on account of this division
between some of the Indians and the others, and also because many of
the men I had with me had not eaten anything except meat for some
days, because we had reached the end of the corn which we carried
from this province, and because they made it out more than forty
days’ journey from where I fell in with the Teyas to the country
where the guides were taking me, although I appreciated the trouble
and danger there would be in the journey owing to the lack of water
and corn, it seemed to me best, in order to see if there was anything
there of service to Your Majesty, to go forward with only 30 horsemen
until I should be able to see the country, so as to give Your Majesty
a true account of what was to be found in it. I sent all the rest
of the force I had with me to this province, with Don Tristan de
Arellano in command, because it would have been impossible to prevent
the loss of many men, if all had gone on, owing to the lack of water
and because they also had to kill bulls and cows on which to sustain
themselves. And with only the 30 horsemen whom I took for my escort,
I traveled forty-two days after I left the force, living all this
while solely on the flesh of the bulls and cows which we killed, at
the cost of several of our horses which they killed, [p582] because,
as I wrote Your Majesty, they are very brave and fierce animals; and
going many days without water, and cooking the food with cow dung,
because there is not any kind of wood in all these plains, away from
the gullies and rivers, which are very few.
[Illustration: LXXVI. The Keres Pueblo of Katishtya or San Felipe]
It was the Lord’s pleasure that, after having journeyed across these
deserts seventy-seven days, I arrived at the province they call
Quivira, to which the guides were conducting me, and where they had
described to me houses of stone, with many stories; and not only
are they not of stone, but of straw, but the people in them are as
barbarous as all those whom I have seen and passed before this;
they do not have cloaks, nor cotton of which, to make these, but
use the skins of the cattle they kill, which they tan, because they
are settled among these on a very large river. They eat the raw
flesh like the Querechos and Teyas; they are enemies of one another,
but are all of the same sort of people, and these at Quivira have
the advantage in the houses they build and in planting corn. In
this province of which the guides who brought me are natives, they
received me peaceably, and although they told me when I set out for
it that I could not succeed in seeing it all in two months, there
are not more than 25 villages of straw houses there and in all the
rest of the country that I saw and learned about, which gave their
obedience to Your Majesty and placed themselves under your royal
overlordship. The people here are large. I had several Indians
measured, and found that they were 10 palms in height; the women are
well proportioned and their features are more like Moorish women
than Indians. The natives here gave me a piece of copper which a
chief Indian wore hung around his neck; I sent it to the viceroy of
New Spain, because I have not seen any other metal in these parts
except this and some little copper bells which I sent him, and a
bit of metal which looks like gold. I do not know where this came
from, although I believe that the Indians who gave it to me obtained
it from those whom I brought here in my service, because I can not
find any other origin for it nor where it came from. The diversity
of languages which exists in this country and my not having anyone
who understood them, because they speak their own language in each
village, has hindered me, because I have been forced to send captains
and men in many directions to find out whether there was anything
in this country which could be of service to Your Majesty. And
although I have searched with all diligence I have not found or heard
of anything, unless it be these provinces, which are a very small
affair. The province of Quivira is 950 leagues from Mexico. Where I
reached it, it is in the fortieth degree. The country itself is the
best I have ever seen for producing all the products of Spain, for
besides the land itself being very fat and black and being very well
watered by the rivulets and springs and rivers, I found prunes like
those of Spain [_or_ I found everything they have in Spain] and nuts
and very good sweet grapes and mulberries. I have treated the natives
of this province, and all the others whom I found wherever I went,
as well as was possible, [p583] agreeably to what Your Majesty
had commanded, and they have received no harm in any way from me or
from those who went in my company.[357] I remained twenty-five days
in this province of Quivira, so as to see and explore the country
and also to find out whether there was anything beyond which could
be of service to Your Majesty, because the guides who had brought
me had given me an account of other provinces beyond this. And what
I am sure of is that there is not any gold nor any other metal in
all that country, and the other things of which they had told me are
nothing but little villages, and in many of these they do not plant
anything and do not have any houses except of skins and sticks, and
they wander around with the cows; so that the account they gave me
was false, because they wanted to persuade me to go there with the
whole force, believing that as the way was through such uninhabited
deserts, and from the lack of water, they would get us where we and
our horses would die of hunger. And the guides confessed this, and
said they had done it by the advice and orders of the natives of
these provinces. At this, after having heard the account of what was
beyond, which I have given above, I returned to these provinces to
provide for the force I had sent back here and to give Your Majesty
an account of what this country amounts to, because I wrote Your
Majesty that I would do so when I went there. I have done all that
I possibly could to serve Your Majesty and to discover a country
where God Our Lord might be served and the royal patrimony of Your
Majesty increased, as your loyal servant and vassal. For since I
reached the province of Cibola, to which the viceroy of New Spain
sent me in the name of Your Majesty, seeing that there were none of
the things there of which Friar Marcos had told, I have managed to
explore this country for 200 leagues and more around Cibola, and
the best place I have found is this river of Tiguex where I am now,
and the settlements here. It would not be possible to establish a
settlement here, for besides being 400 leagues from the North sea and
more than 200 from the South sea, with which it is impossible to have
any sort of communication, the country is so cold, as I have written
to Your Majesty, that apparently the winter could not possibly be
spent here, because there is no wood, nor cloth with which to protect
the men, except the skins which the natives wear and some small
amount of cotton cloaks. I send the viceroy of New Spain an account
of everything I have seen in the countries where I have been, and as
Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas is going to kiss Your Majesty’s hands,
who has done much and has served Your Majesty very well on this
expedition, and he will give Your Majesty an account of everything
here, as one who has seen it himself, I give way to him. And may Our
Lord protect the Holy Imperial Catholic person of Your Majesty, with
increase of greater kingdoms and powers, as your loyal servants and
vassals desire. From this province of Tiguex, October 20, in the
year 1541. Your Majesty’s humble servant and vassal, who would
kiss the royal feet and hands:
FRANCISCO VAZQUEZ CORONADO.
[p584]
TRANSLATION OF THE NARRATIVE OF JARAMILLO
ACCOUNT GIVEN BY CAPTAIN JUAN JARAMILLO OF THE JOURNEY WHICH HE MADE
TO THE NEW COUNTRY, ON WHICH FRANCISCO VAZQUEZ CORONADO WAS THE
GENERAL.[358]
We started from Mexico, going directly to Compostela, the whole way
populated and at peace, the direction being west, and the distance
112 leagues. From there we went to Culiacan, perhaps about 80
leagues; the road is well known and much used, because there is a
town inhabited by Spaniards in the said valley of Culiacan, under
the government of Compostela. The 70 horsemen who went with the
general went in a northwesterly direction from this town. He left his
army here, because information had been obtained that the way was
uninhabited and almost the whole of it without food. He went with the
said horsemen to explore the route and prepare the way for those who
were to follow. He pursued this direction, though with some twisting,
until we crossed a mountain chain, where they knew about New Spain,
more than 300 leagues distant. To this pass we gave the name of
Chichilte Calli, because we learned that this was what it was called,
from some Indians whom we left behind.
[Illustration: LXXVII. The South Town of the Tiwa Pueblo of Taos]
Leaving the said valley of Culiacan, he crossed a river called
Pateatlan (_or_ Peteatlan), which was about four days distant. We
found these Indians peaceful, and they gave us some few things to
eat. From here we went to another river called Cinaloa, which was
about three days from the other. From here the general ordered ten
of us horsemen to make double marches, lightly equipped, until we
reached the stream of the Cedars (arroyo de los Cedros), and from
there we were to enter a break in the mountains on the right of the
road and see what there was in and about this. If more time should
be needed for this than we gained on him, he would wait for us at
the said Cedros stream. This was done, and all that we saw there was
a few poor Indians in some settled valleys like farms or estates,
with sterile soil. It was about five more days from the river to
this stream. From there we went to the river called Yaquemi, which
took about three days. We proceeded along a dry stream, and after
three days more of marching, although the dry stream lasted only for
a league, we reached another stream where there were some settled
Indians, who had straw huts and storehouses of corn and beans and
melons. Leaving here, we went to [p585] the stream and village
which is called Hearts (Corazones), the name which was given it by
Dorantes and Cabeza de Vaca and Castillo and the negro Estebanillo,
because they gave them a present of the hearts of animals and birds
to eat.
About two days were spent in this village of the Hearts. There is an
irrigation stream, and the country is warm. Their dwellings are huts
made of a frame of poles, almost like an oven, only very much better,
which they cover with mats. They have corn and beans and melons for
food, which I believe never fail them. They dress in deerskins. This
appeared to be a good place, and so orders were given the Spaniards
who were behind to establish a village here, where they lived until
almost the failure of the expedition. There was a poison here, the
effect of which is, according to what was seen of it, the worst that
could possibly be found; and from what we learned about it, it is the
sap of a small tree like the mastick tree, or lentisk, and it grows
in gravelly and sterile land.[359] We went on from here, passing
through a sort of gateway, to another valley very near this stream,
which opens off from this same stream, which is called Señora. It
is also irrigated, and the Indians are like the others and have the
same sort of settlements and food. This valley continues for 6 or 7
leagues, a little more or less. At first these Indians were peaceful;
and afterward not, but instead they and those whom they were able
to summon thither were our worst enemies. They have a poison with
which they killed several Christians. There are mountains on both
sides of them, which are not very fertile. From, here we went along
near this said stream, crossing it where it makes a bend, to another
Indian settlement called Ispa.[360] It takes one day from the last of
these others to this place. It is of the same sort as those we had
passed. From here we went through deserted country for about four
days to another river, which we heard called Nexpa, where some poor
Indians came out to see the general, with presents of little value,
with some stalks of roasted maguey and pitahayas. We went down this
stream two days, and then left the stream, going toward the right to
the foot of the mountain chain in two days’ journey, where we heard
news of what is called Chichiltic Calli. Crossing the mountains,
we came to a deep and reedy river, where we found water and forage
for the horses. [p586] From this river back at Nexpa, as I have
said, it seems to me that the direction was nearly northeast. From
here, I believe that we went in the same direction for three days to
a river which we called Saint John (San Juan), because we reached
it on his day. Leaving here, we went to another river, through a
somewhat rough country, more toward the north, to a river which we
called the Rafts (de las Balsas), because we had to cross on these,
as it was rising. It seems to me that we spent two days between one
river and the other, and I say this because it is so long since we
went there that I may be wrong in some days, though not in the rest.
From here we went to another river, which we called the Slough (de
la Barranca.) It is two short days from one to the other, and the
direction almost northeast. From here we went to another river, which
we called the Cold river (el rio Frio), on account of its water being
so, in one day’s journey, and from here we went by a pine mountain,
where we found, almost at the top of it, a cool spring and streamlet,
which was another day’s march. In the neighborhood of this stream a
Spaniard, who was called Espinosa, died, besides two other persons,
on account of poisonous plants which they ate, owing to the great
need in which they were. From here we went to another river, which
we called the Red river (Bermejo), two days’ journey in the same
direction, but less toward the northeast. Here we saw an Indian or
two, who afterward appeared to belong to the first settlement of
Cibola. From here we came in two days’ journey to the said village,
the first of Cibola. The houses have flat roofs and walls of stone
and mud, and this was where they killed Steve (Estebanillo), the
negro who had come with Dorantes from Florida and returned with Friar
Marcos de Niza. In this province of Cibola there are five little
villages besides this, all with flat roofs and of stone and mud, as I
said. The country is cold, as is shown by their houses and hothouses
(estufas). They have food enough for themselves, of corn and beans
and melons. These villages are about a league or more apart from each
other, within a circuit of perhaps 6 leagues. The country is somewhat
sandy and not very salty (_or_ barren of vegetation[361]), and on the
mountains the trees are for the most part evergreen. The clothing of
the Indians is of deerskins, very carefully tanned, and they also
prepare some tanned cowhides, with which they cover themselves, which
are like shawls, and a great protection. They have square cloaks of
cotton, some larger than others, about a yard and a half long. The
Indians wear them thrown over the shoulder like a gipsy, and fastened
with one end over the other, with a girdle, also of cotton. From
this first village of Cibola, looking toward the northeast and a
little less, on the left hand, there is a province called Tucayan,
about five days off, which has seven flat-roof villages, with a food
supply as good as or better than these, and [p587] an even larger
population; and they also have the skins of cows and of deer, and
cloaks of cotton, as I described.[362]
[Illustration: LXXVIII. The Tewa Pueblo of K’hapóo or Santa Clara]
All the waterways we found as far as this one at Cibola—and I do not
know but what for a day or two beyond—the rivers and streams run into
the South sea, and those from here on into the North sea.
[Illustration: LXXIX. The Tewa Pueblo of Ohke or San Juan]
From this first village of Cibola, as I have said, we went to another
in the same province, which was about a short day’s journey off, on
the way to Tihuex. It is nine days, of such marches as we made, from
this settlement of Cibola to the river of Tihuex. Halfway between, I
do not know but it maybe a day more or less, there is a village of
earth and dressed stone, in a very strong position, which is called
Tutahaco.[363] All these Indians, except the first in the first
village of Cibola, received us well. At the river of Tihuex there are
15 villages within a distance of about 20 leagues, all with flat-roof
houses of earth, instead of stone, after the fashion of mud walls.
There are other villages besides these on other streams which flow
into this, and three of these are, for Indians, well worth seeing,
especially one that is called Chia,[364] and another Uraba,[365]
and another Cicuique.[366] Uraba and Cicuique have many houses two
stories high. All the rest, and these also, have corn and beans and
melons, skins, and some long robes of feathers which they braid,
joining the feathers with a sort of thread; and they also make them
of a sort of plain weaving with which they make the cloaks with
which they protect themselves. They all have hot rooms underground,
which, although not very clean, are very warm.[367] They raise and
have a very little cotton, of which they make the cloaks which I have
spoken of above. This river comes from the northwest and flows about
southeast, which shows that it certainly flows into the North sea.
Leaving this settlement[368] and the said river, we passed two other
villages whose names I do not know,[369] and in four days came to
Cicuique, which I have already mentioned. The direction of this is
toward the northeast. From there we came to another river, which the
Spaniards named after Cicuique, in three days; if I remember rightly,
it seems to me that we went rather toward the northeast to reach this
river where we crossed it, and after crossing this, we turned more
to [p588] the left hand, which would be more to the northeast, and
began to enter the plains where the cows are, although, we did not
find them for some four or five days, after which we began to come
across bulls, of which there are great numbers, and after going on in
the same direction and meeting the bulls for two or three days, we
began to find ourselves in the midst of very great numbers of cows,
yearlings and bulls all in together. We found Indians among these
first cows, who were, on this account, called Querechos by those in
the flat roof houses. They do not live in houses, but have some sets
of poles which they carry with them to make some huts at the places
where they stop, which serve them for houses. They tie these poles
together at the top and stick the bottoms into the ground, covering
them with some cowskins which they carry around, and which, as I have
said, serve them for houses. From what was learned of these Indians,
all their human needs are supplied by these cows, for they are fed
and clothed and shod from these. They are a people who wander around
here and there, wherever seems to them best. We went on for eight or
ten days in the same direction, along those streams which are among
the cows. The Indian who guided us from here was the one that had
given us the news about Quevira and Arache (_or_ Arahei) and about
its being a very rich country with much gold and other things, and
he and the other one were from that country I mentioned, to which we
were going, and we found these two Indians in the flat-roof villages.
It seems that, as the said Indian wanted to go to his own country, he
proceeded to tell us what we found was not true, and I do not know
whether it was on this account or because he was counseled to take
us into other regions by confusing us on the road, although there
are none in all this region except those of the cows. We understood,
however, that he was leading us away from the route we ought to
follow and that he wanted to lead us on to those plains where he had
led us, so that we would eat up the food, and both ourselves and our
horses would become weak from the lack of this, because if we should
go either backward or forward in this condition we could not make any
resistance to whatever they might wish to do to us. From the time
when, as I said, we entered the plains and from, this settlement of
Querechos, he led us off more to the east, until we came to be in
extreme need from the lack of food, and as the other Indian, who was
his companion and also from his country, saw that he was not taking
us where we ought to go, since we had always followed the guidance
of the Turk, for so he was called, instead of his, he threw himself
down in the way, making a sign that although we cut off his head he
ought not to go that way, nor was that our direction. I believe we
had been traveling twenty days or more in this direction, at the end
of which we found another settlement of Indians of the same sort and
way of living as those behind, among whom there was an old blind man
with a beard, who gave us to understand, by signs which he made,
[p589] that he had seen four others like us many days before, whom
he had seen near there and rather more toward New Spain, and we so
understood him, and presumed that it was Dorantes and Cabeza de Vaca
and those whom I have mentioned. At this settlement the general,
seeing our difficulties, ordered the captains, and the persons whose
advice he was accustomed to take, to assemble, so that we might
discuss with him what was best for all. It seemed to us that all the
force should go back to the region we had come from, in search of
food, so that they could regain their strength, and that 30 picked
horsemen should go in search of what the Indian had told about; and
we decided to do this. We all went forward one day to a stream which
was down in a ravine in the midst of good meadows, to agree on who
should go ahead and how the rest should return. Here the Indian
Isopete, as we had called the companion of the said Turk, was asked
to tell us the truth, and to lead us to that country which we had
come in search of. He said he would do it, and that it was not as the
Turk had said, because those were certainly fine things which he had
said and had given us to understand at Tihuex, about gold and how it
was obtained, and the buildings, and the style of them, and their
trade, and many other things told for the sake of prolixity, which
had led us to go in search of them, with the advice of all who gave
it and of the priests. He asked us to leave him afterward in that
country, because it was his native country, as a reward for guiding
us, and also, that the Turk might not go along with him, because he
would quarrel and try to restrain him in everything that he wanted
to do for our advantage; and the general promised him this, and said
he would be with one of the thirty, and he went in this way. And
when everything was ready for us to set out and for the others to
remain, we pursued our way, the direction all the time after this
being toward the north, for more than thirty days’ march, although
not long marches, not having to go without water on any one of them,
and among cows all the time, some days in larger numbers than others,
according to the water which we came across, so that on Saint Peter
and Paul’s day we reached a river which we found to be there below
Quibira. When we reached the said river, the Indian recognized it and
said that was it, and that it was below the settlements. We crossed
it there and went up the other side on the north, the direction
turning toward the northeast, and after marching three days we found
some Indians who were going hunting, killing the cows to take the
meat to their village, which was about three or four days still
farther away from us. Here where we found the Indians and they saw
us, they began to utter yells and appeared to fly, and some even
had their wives there with them. The Indian Isopete began to call
them in his language, and so they came to us without any signs of
fear. When we and these Indians had halted here, the general made an
example of the Indian Turk, whom we had brought along, keeping him
all the time out of sight among the rear guard, and [p590] having
arrived where the place was prepared, it was done in such a way that
the other Indian, who was called Isopete, should not see it, so as
to give him the satisfaction he had asked. Some satisfaction was
experienced here on seeing the good appearance of the earth, and it
is certainly such among the cows, and from there on. The general
wrote a letter here to the governor of Harahey and Quibira, having
understood that he was a Christian from the lost army of Florida,
because what the Indian had said of their manner of government and
their general character had made us believe this. So the Indians went
to their houses, which were at the distance mentioned, and we also
proceeded at our rate of marching until we reached the settlements,
which we found along good river bottoms, although without much
water, and good streams which flow into another, larger than the
one I have mentioned. There were, if I recall correctly, six or
seven settlements, at quite a distance from one another, among which
we traveled for four or five days, since it was understood to be
uninhabited between one stream and the other. We reached what they
said was the end of Quibira, to which they took us, saying that the
things there were of great importance.[370] Here there was a river,
with more water and more inhabitants than the others. Being asked if
there was anything beyond, they said that there was nothing more of
Quibira, but that there was Harahey, and that it was the same sort
of a place, with settlements like these, and of about the same size.
The general sent to summon the lord of those parts and the other
Indians who they said resided in Harahey, and he came with about 200
men—all naked—with bows, and some sort of things on their heads,
and their privy parts slightly covered. He was a big Indian, with a
large body and limbs, and well proportioned. After he had heard the
opinion of one and another about it, the general asked them what we
ought to do, reminding us of how the army had been left and that the
rest of us were there, so that it seemed to all of us that as it was
already almost the opening of winter, for, if I remember rightly,
it was after the middle of August, and because there was little to
winter there for, and we were but very little prepared for it, and
the uncertainty as to the success of the army that had been left,
and because the winter might close the roads with snow and rivers
which we could not cross, and also in order to see what had happened
to the rest of the force left behind, it seemed to us all that his
grace ought to go back in search of them, and when he had found out
for certain how they were, to winter there and return to that country
at the opening of spring, to conquer and cultivate it. Since, as I
said, this was the last point which we reached, here the Turk saw
that he had lied to us, and one night he called on all these people
to attack us and kill us. We learned of it, and put him under guard
and strangled him that night so that he never waked up. With the plan
[p591] mentioned, we turned back it may have been two or three days,
where we provided ourselves with picked fruit and dried corn for our
return. The general raised a cross at this place, at the foot of
which he made some letters with a chisel, which said that Francisco
Vazquez de Coronado, general of that army, had arrived here.
This country presents a very fine appearance, than which I have not
seen a better in all our Spain, nor Italy, nor a part of France,
nor, indeed, in the other countries where I have traveled in His
Majesty’s service, for it is not a very rough country, but is made up
of hillocks and plains, and very fine appearing rivers and streams,
which certainly satisfied me and made me sure that it will be very
fruitful in all sorts of products. Indeed, there is profit in the
cattle ready to the hand, from the quantity of them, which is as
great as one could imagine. We found a variety of Castilian prunes
which are not all red, but some of them black and green; the tree
and fruit is certainly like that of Castile, with a very excellent
flavor. Among the cows we found flax, which springs up from the earth
in clumps apart from one another, which are noticeable, as the cattle
do not eat it, with their tops and blue flowers, and very perfect
although small, resembling that of our own Spain (_or_ and sumach
like ours in Spain). There are grapes along some streams, of a fair
flavor, not to be improved upon. The houses which these Indians have
were of straw, and most of them round, and the straw reached down to
the ground like a wall, so that they did not have the symmetry or the
style of these here; they have something like a chapel or sentry box
outside and around these, with an entry, where the Indians appear
seated or reclining.[371] The Indian Isopete was left here where the
cross was erected, and we took five or six of the Indians from these
villages to lead and guide us to the flat-roof houses.[372] Thus they
brought us back by the same road as far as where I said before that
we came to a river called Saint Peter and Paul’s, and here we left
that by which we had come, and, taking the right hand, they led us
along by watering places and among cows and by a good road, although
there are none either one way or the other except those of the cows,
as I have said. At last we came to where we recognized the country,
where I said we found the first settlement, [p592] where the Turk
led as astray from the route we should have followed. Thus, leaving
the rest aside, we reached Tiguex, where we found the rest of the
army, and here the general fell while running his horse, by which
he received a wound on his head which gave symptoms of turning out
badly, and he conceived the idea of returning, which ten or twelve of
us were unable to prevent by dissuading him from it. When this return
had been ordered, the Franciscan friars who were with us—one of them
a regular and the other a lay brother—who were called, the regular
one Friar Juan de Padilla and the lay one Friar Luis de Escalona,
were told to get ready, although they had permission from their
provincial so that they could remain. Friar Luis wished to remain in
these flat-roof houses, saying that he would raise crosses for those
villagers with a chisel and adze they left him, and would baptize
several poor creatures who could be led, on the point of death, so
as to send them to heaven, for which he did not desire any other
company than a little slave of mine who was called Christopher, to
be his consolation, and who he said would learn the language there
quickly so as to help him; and he brought up so many things in favor
of this that he could not be denied, and so nothing more has been
heard from him. The knowledge that this friar would remain there
was the reason that many Indians from hereabouts stayed there, and
also two negroes, one of them mine, who was called Sebastian, and
the other one of Melchor Perez, the son of the licentiate La Torre.
This negro was married and had his wife and children. I also recall
that several Indians remained behind in the Quivira region, besides
a Tarascan belonging to my company, who was named Andrew. Friar Juan
de Padilla preferred to return to Quivira, and persuaded them to give
him those Indians whom I said we had brought as guides. They gave
him these, and he also took a Portuguese and a free Spanish-speaking
Indian, who was the interpreter, and who passed as a Franciscan
friar, and a half-blood and two Indians from Capottan (_or_ Capotean)
or thereabouts, I believe. He had brought these up and took them in
the habits of friars, and he took some sheep and mules and a horse
and ornaments and other trifles. I do not know whether it was for the
sake of these or for what reason, but it seems that they killed him,
and those who did it were the lay servants, or these same Indians
whom he took back from Tiguex, in return for the good deeds which he
had done. When he was dead, the Portuguese whom I mentioned fled, and
also one of the Indians that I said he took in the habits of friars,
or both of them, I believe. I mention this because they came back to
this country of New Spain by another way and a shorter route than
the one of which I have told, and they came out in the valley of
Panico.[373] I have given Gonzalo Solis de Meras and Isidore de Solis
an account of this, because it seemed to me important, according to
what I say I have understood, that [p593] His Majesty ordered Your
Lordship to find or discover a way so as to unite that land to this.
It is perhaps also very likely that this Indian Sebastian, during the
time he was in Quivira, learned about its territory and the country
round about it, and also of the sea, and the road by which he came,
and what there is to it, and how many days’ journey before arriving
there. So that I am sure that if Your Lordship acquires this Quivira
on this account, I am certain that he can confidently bring many
people from Spain to settle it according to the appearance and the
character of the land. [p594]
[Illustration: LXXX. A Native of San Juan]
TRANSLATION OF THE REPORT OF HERNANDO DE ALVARADO
ACCOUNT OF WHAT HERNANDO DE ALVARADO AND FRIAR JUAN DE PADILLA
DISCOVERED GOING IN SEARCH OF THE SOUTH SEA.[374]
We set out from Granada on Sunday, the day of the beheading of Saint
John the Baptist, the 29th of August, in the year 1540, on the way
to Coco.[375] After we had gone 2 leagues, we came to an ancient
building like a fortress, and a league beyond this we found another,
and yet another a little farther on, and beyond these we found an
ancient city, very large, entirely destroyed, although a large part
of the wall was standing, which was six times as tall as a man, the
wall well made of good worked stone, with gates and gutters like a
city in Castile. Half a league or more beyond this, we found another
ruined city, the walls of which must have been very fine, built of
very large granite blocks, as high as a man and from there up of very
good quarried stone. Here two roads separate, one to Chia and the
other to Coco; we took this latter, and reached that place, which
is one of the strongest places that we have seen, because the city
is on a very high rock, with such a rough ascent that we repented
having gone up to the place. The houses have three or four stories;
the people are the same sort as those of the province of Cibola; they
have plenty of food, of corn and beans and fowls like those of New
Spain. From here we went to a very good lake or marsh, where there
are trees like those of Castile, and from there we went to a river,
which we named Our Lady (Nuestra Señora), because we reached it the
evening before her day in the month of September.[376] We sent the
cross by a guide to the villages in advance, and the next day people
came from twelve villages, the chief men and the people in order,
those of one village behind those of another, and they approached the
tent to the sound of a pipe, and with an old man for spokesman. In
this fashion they came into the tent and gave me the food and clothes
and skins they had brought, and I gave them some trinkets, and with
this they went off.
This river of Our Lady flows through a very wide open plain sowed
with corn plants; there are several groves, and there are twelve
[p595] villages. The houses are of earth, two stories high; the
people have a good appearance, more like laborers than a warlike
race; they have a large food supply of corn, beans, melons, and fowl
in great plenty; they clothe themselves with cotton and the skins of
cows and dresses of the feathers of the fowls; they wear their hair
short. Those who have the most authority among them are the old men;
we regarded them as witches, because they say that they go up into
the sky and other things of the same sort. In this province there are
seven other villages, depopulated and destroyed by those Indians who
paint their eyes, of whom the guides will tell Your Grace; they say
that these live in the same region as the cows, and that they have
corn and houses of straw.
Here the people from the outlying provinces came to make peace
with me, and as Your Grace may see in this memorandum, there are
80 villages there of the same sort as I have described, and among
them one which is located on some streams; it is divided into twenty
divisions, which is something remarkable; the houses have three
stories of mud walls and three others made of small wooden boards,
and on the outside of the three stories with the mud wall they have
three balconies; it seemed to us that there were nearly 15,000
persons in this village. The country is very cold; they do not raise
fowls nor cotton; they worship the sun and water. We found mounds of
dirt outside of the place, where they are buried.
In the places where crosses were raised, we saw them worship these.
They made offerings to these of their powder and feathers, and some
left the blankets they had on. They showed so much zeal that some
climbed up on the others to grasp the arms of the cross, to place
feathers and flowers there; and others bringing ladders, while some
held them, went up to tie strings, so as to fasten the flowers and
the feathers. [p596]
TESTIMONY CONCERNING THOSE WHO WENT ON THE EXPEDITION WITH FRANCISCO
VAZQUEZ CORONADO[377]
At Compostela, on February 21, 1540, Coronado presented a petition
to the viceroy Mendoza, declaring that he had observed that certain
persons who were not well disposed toward the expedition which was
about to start for the newly discovered country had said that many
of the inhabitants of the City of Mexico and of the other cities
and towns of New Spain, and also of Compostela and other places in
this province of New Galicia were going on the expedition at his
request or because of inducements offered by him, as a result of
which the City of Mexico and New Spain were left deserted, or almost
so. Therefore, he asked the viceroy to order that information be
obtained, in order that the truth might be known about the citizens
of New Spain and of this province who were going to accompany him. He
declared that there were very few of these, and that they were not
going on account of any attraction or inducement offered by him, but
of their own free will, and as there were few of them, there would
not be any lack of people in New Spain. And as Gonzalo de Salazar,
the factor or royal agent, and Pero Almidez Cherino, the veedor or
royal inspector of His Majesty for New Spain, and other citizens of
Mexico who knew all the facts and had the necessary information, were
present there, Coronado asked His Grace to provide and order that
which, would best serve His Majesty’s interests and the welfare and
security of New Spain.
The viceroy instructed the licenciate Maldonado, oidor of the
royal audiencia,[378] to procure this information. To facilitate
the hearing he provided that the said factor and veedor and the
regidores, and others who were there, should attend the review of the
army, which was to be held on the following day. Nine of the desired
witnesses were also commanded by Maldonado to attend the review and
observe those whom they knew in the army.
On February 26[379] the licentiate Maldonado took the oaths of the
witnesses in proper form, and they testified to the following effect:
[Illustration: LXXXI. A Native of Pecos]
Hernand Perez de Bocanegra, a citizen of Mexico, stated that he had
been present on the preceding Sunday, at the review of the force
which the viceroy was sending for the pacification of the country
recently discovered by the father provincial, Fray Marcos de Niza,
and that he [p597] had taken note of the force as the men passed
before him; and at his request he had also been allowed to see the
list of names of those who were enrolled in the army; and he declared
that in all the said force he did not recognize any other citizens
of Mexico who were going except Domingo Martin, a married man,
whom he had sometimes seen living in Mexico, and provided him with
messengers; and one Alonso Sanchez, who was going with his wife and
a son, and who was formerly a shoemaker; and a young man, son of the
_bachiller_ Alonso Perez, who had come only a few days before from
Salamanca, and who had been sent to the war by his father on account
of his restlessness; and two or three other workmen or tradespeople
whom he had seen at work in Mexico, although he did not know whether
they were citizens there; and on his oath he did not see in the whole
army anyone else who was a citizen of Mexico, although for about
fourteen years he had been a citizen and inhabitant of that city,
unless it was the captain-general, Francisco Vazquez de Coronado, and
Lopez de Samaniego the army-master; and, moreover, he declared that
he felt certain that those above mentioned were going of their own
free will, like all the rest.
Antonio Serrano de Cardona, one of the magistrates of Mexico, who was
present from beginning to end of the review of the preceding Sunday,
testified in similar form. He said that Alonso Sanchez had formerly
been a citizen of Mexico, but that for a long time his house had
been empty and he had traveled as a trader, and that he was going
in search of something to live on; and one Domingo Martin was also
going, who formerly lived in Mexico, and whose residence he had not
known likewise for a long time, nor did he think that he had one,
because he had not seen him living in Mexico. He did not think it
would have been possible for any citizens of Mexico to have been
there whom he did not know, because he had lived in Mexico during the
twenty years since he came to Mexico, and ever since the city was
established by Christians, and besides, he had been a magistrate for
fifteen years. And besides, all those whom he did see who were going,
were the most contented of any men he had ever seen in this country
starting off for conquests. After the force left the City of Mexico,
he had been there, and had noticed that it was full of people and
that there did not seem to be any scarcity on account of those who
had started on this expedition.
Gonzalo de Salazar, His Majesty’s factor for New Spain, and also a
magistrate of the City of Mexico, declared that the only person on
the expedition who possessed a repartimiento or estate in New Spain
was the captain-general, Vazquez de Coronado, and that he had noticed
one other citizen who did not have a repartimiento. He had not seen
any other citizen of Mexico, nor of New Spain, although one of the
greatest benefits that could have been done New Spain would have been
to draw off the young and vicious people who were in that city and
all over New Spain. [p598]
Pedro Almidez Cherino, His Majesty’s veedor in New Spain, had, among
other things, noted the horses and arms of those who were going,
during the review. He had noticed Coronado and Samaniego, and Alonso
Sanchez and his wife, whom he did not know to be a citizen, and
Domingo Martin, who was away from Mexico during most of the year. All
the rest of the force were people without settled residences, who
had recently come to the country in search of a living. It seemed to
him that it was a very fortunate thing for Mexico that the people
who were going were about to do so because they had been injuring
the citizens there. They had been for the most part vicious young
gentlemen, who did not have anything to do in the city nor in the
country. They were all going of their own free will, and were very
ready to help pacify the new country, and it seemed to him that if
the said country had not been discovered, almost all of these people
would have gone back to Castile, or would have gone to Peru or other
places in search of a living.
Servan Bejarano, who had been in business among the inhabitants of
Mexico ever since he came to that city, added the information that he
knew Alonso Sanchez to be a provision dealer, buying at wholesale and
selling at retail, and that he was in very great need, having nothing
on which to live, and that he was going to that country in search
of a living. He was also very sure that it was a great advantage to
Mexico and to its citizens to have many of the unmarried men go away,
because they had no occupation there and were bad characters, and
were for the most part gentlemen and persons who did not hold any
property, nor any repartimientos of Indians, without any income, and
lazy, and who would have been obliged to go to Peru or some other
region.
Cristobal de Oñate had been in the country about sixteen years,
a trifle more or less, and was now His Majesty’s veedor for New
Galicia. He knew the citizens of Mexico, and also declared that not
a citizen of Compostela was going on the expedition. Two citizens of
Guadalajara were going, one of whom was married to an Indian, and
the other was single. As for the many young gentlemen and the others
who were going, who lived in Mexico and in other parts of New Spain,
it seemed to him that their departure was a benefit rather than a
disadvantage, because they were leading vicious lives and had nothing
with which to support themselves.
When these statements and depositions had all been duly received,
signed, and attested, and had been shown to his most illustrious
lordship, the viceroy, he ordered an authorized copy to be taken,
which was made by Joan de Leon, clerk of Their Majesties’ court and
of the royal audiencia of New Spain, the 27th of February, 1540,
witnessed by the secretary, Antonio de Almaguer, and sent to His
Majesty, to be laid before the lords of the council, that they might
provide and order that which should be most serviceable to their
interests. [p599]
A LIST OF WORKS
USEFUL TO THE STUDENT OF THE CORONADO EXPEDITION
The following list contains the titles of the books and documents
which have been found useful during the preparation of the preceding
memoir on the Coronado expedition of 1540–1542. The works cited have
helped, in one way or another, toward the formation of the opinions
expressed in the Historical Introduction, and in them may be found
the authority for the statements made in the introduction and in the
notes to the translations of the Spanish narratives. It is hoped that
no source of information of prime importance has been overlooked.
The comments on the various books, essays, and documents are such as
suggested themselves in the course of the examination of the works in
question.
References are given to the location of the more important documents,
so far as these are available in the various collections of printed
documents. The value of these sources has been discussed in the
preceding pages, and these opinions are not repeated in this list.
The titles of the printed books are quoted from the editions which
came nearest to the authors’ manuscripts, so far as these editions
could be consulted. Reference is made also to the most available
later editions, and to the English and French translations of
Spanish, Italian, and Latin works. With hardly an exception, the
titles are quoted from the volumes themselves, as they were found in
the Harvard College Library or in the John Carter Brown Library of
Providence. The Lenox Library of New York supplied such volumes as
were not to be found in Cambridge, Boston, or Providence.
Dr Justin Winsor and Mr F.W. Hodge have rendered very material
assistance in giving this list such completeness as it possesses. To
Mr Hodge especially are due many of the titles which relate to the
ethnological and archeological aspects of the subject.
Abelin, Johann Phillip; _pseud._ Johann Ludwig Gottfriedt.
Newe Welt vnd Americanische Historien.—Franckfurt, M. DC. LV.
Page 560. Beschreibung der grossen Landschafft Cibola.
Alarcon, Hernando.
De lo que hizo por la mar Hernando de Alarcon, que con dos
nauios andaua por la costa por orden de Visorrey don Antonio
de Mendoça.
_Herrera_, Dec. VI, lib. ix, cap. xiii.
— Relatione della Navigatione & scoperta che fece il Capitano
Fernando Alarcone per ordine dello Illustrissimo Signor Don
Antonio di Mendozza Vice Re della nuoua Spagna.
_Ramusio_, III, fol. 363–370, edition of 1556; III, fol. 303
verso, edition of 1606.
— The relation of the nauigation and discouery which Captaine
Fernando Alarchon made by the order of the right honourable
Lord Don Antonio de Mendoça vizeroy of New Spaine.
_Hakluyt_, III, 425–439, edition of 1600. This translation
is made from Ramusio’s text.
— Relation de la navigation et de la découverte faite par le
capitaine Fernando Alarcon. Par l’ordre de . . . don Antonio
de Mendoza.
_Ternaux_, IX (Cibola volume), 299–348. From Ramusio’s text.
— Relacion del armada del Marqués del Valle, capitaneada de
Francisco de Ulloa . . . y de la que el virey de Nueva España
envió con un Alarcon.
_Doc. de España_, IV, 218–219. A very brief, probably
contemporary, mention of the discovery of Colorado river.
Alvarado, Hernando de.
Relacion de lo que Hernando de Alvarado y Fray Joan de Padilla
descubrieron en demanda de la mar del Sur.—Agosto de 1540.
_Doc. de Indias_, III, 511–513. B. Smith’s _Florida_, 65–66.
Translated in the _Boston Transcript_, 14 Oct., 1893, and on
page 594 _ante_.
Alvarado, Pedro de.
Asiento y capitulaciones, entre el virey de Nueva España, D.
Antonio de Mendoza, y el adelantado, D. Pedro de Alvarado,
para la prosecucion del descubrimento de tierra nueva, hecho
por Fr. Márcos de Niza.—Pueblo de Tiripitio de la Nueva
España, 29 Noviembre, 1540.
_Doc. de Indias_, III, 351–362. Also in the same collection,
XVI, 342–355. See page 353 _ante_.
— Proceso de residencia contra Pedro de Alvarado, . . . sacadas
de los antiguos codices mexicanos, y notas y noticias . . .
por D. Jose Fernando [p600] Ramirez. Lo publica paleografiado
del MS. original el Lic. Ignacío L. Rayon.—Mexico, 1847.
A collection of documents of considerable interest; with
facsimile illustrations and portrait.
— _See_ Carta del Obispo de Guatemala.
Ardoino, Antonio.
Examen apologetico de la historica narracion de los naufragios,
peregrinaciones, i milagros de Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Baca, en
las tierras de la Florida, i del Nuevo Mexico.—Madrid, 1786.
Barcia, _Historiadores Primitivos_, I (VI), pp. 50. See note
under Cabeza de Vaca _Relacion_.
Ayllon, Lucas Vazquez de.
Testimonio de la capitulacion que hizo con el Rey, el Licenciado
Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon, para descubrir la tierra que está
á la parte del Norte Sur, de la Isla Española, 35 á 37
grados.—Valladolid, 12 Junio, 1523.—Presentó en Madrid, 31
Marzo, 1541.
_Doc. de Indias_, XIV, 503–515.
Bancroft, George.
History of the United States. Author’s latest revision.—New
York, 1883.
For _Coronado_ see Vol. I, 32–37. Written from the documents
translated in Ternaux, _Cibola_.
Bancroft, Hubert Howe.
History of the Pacific states of North America.—San Francisco,
1882–1890.
34 volumes. Vol. V, Mexico, II, 1521–1600. Vol. X, North
Mexican States, 1531–1800. Vol. XII, Arizona and New
Mexico, 1530–1888; pages 1–73 are devoted to Cabeza de Vaca
and Coronado. The range of Mr H. H. Bancroft’s extensive
literary labors has seriously interfered with the accuracy
in statement and the soundness of judgment which are so
essential to satisfactory historical writing. His volumes,
however, contain an immense number of references, often
mentioning documentary sources and manuscript materials
which are as yet practically beyond the reach of other
students.
Bandelier, Adolph. Francis (Alphonse)=.
Historical introduction to studies among the sedentary Indians
of New Mexico.—Santa Fé. N.M., Sept. 19, 1880.
_Papers of the Archæological Institute of America_, American
series, I, Boston, 1881. 2d edition, 1893, pp. 1–33.
Relates especially to the Coronado expedition. Cited in the
preceding pages as Bandelier’s _Introduction_.
— A visit to the aboriginal ruins in the valley of the Rio Pecos.
_Papers of the Archæological Institute of America_, American
series, I, 1881, pp. 37–133. In the same volume as the
preceding entry.
— Ein Brief über Akoma.
_Das Ausland_, 1884, No. XXIII, pp. 241–243.
— Report of an archæological tour in Mexico in 1881.
_Papers of the Archaeological Institute of America_,
American series, II, Boston, 1884.
— Report by A. F. Bandelier on his investigations in New Mexico
in the spring and summer of 1882.—Highland, Ill., Aug. 15,
1882.
_Bulletin of the Archæological Institute of America_, I,
Boston, Jan., 1883, pp. 13–33.
— The historical archives of the Hemenway southwestern
archæological expedition.
_Congrès International des Amérícanístes_, 1888, pp.
450–459.—Berlin, 1890.
— Contributions to the history of the southwestern portion of
the United States.
_Papers of the Archæological Institute of America_, Am.
series, V, and _The Hemenway Southwestern Archæological
Expedition_, Cambridge, 1890. Cited in the preceding pages
as Bandelier’s _Contributions_. An invaluable work, the
result of careful documentary study and of much experience
in field work in the southwest. It will always serve as the
foundation of all satisfactory study of the history of the
Spaniards in that portion of the United States.
— Quivira.
_Nation_. N. Y., 31 Oct. and 7 Nov., 1889. (Nos. 1270,
1271.) Letters dated Santa Fé, October 15, 1889.
— The ruins of Casas Grandes.
_Nation_, N. Y., 28 Aug. and 4 Sept., 1890 (Nos. 1313,
1314). Letters dated Santa Fé, Aug. 1, 11, 1890.
— The Delight Makers.—New York, 1890.
A story, in which Mr Bandelier has portrayed, with
considerable success, the ways of life and of thinking among
the Indians of the New Mexican pueblas, before the advent of
Europeans.
— Fray Juan de Padilla, the first Catholic missionary and martyr
in eastern Kansas. 1542.
_American Catholic Quarterly Review_, Philadelphia, July,
1890, XV, 551–565.
— An outline of the documentary history of the Zuñi tribe.
_Journal American Ethnology and Archæology_, III, Boston,
1892, pp. 1–115. This work remained in manuscript for some
years before it was printed. It contains many extracts
from the contemporary narratives, in translation; that of
Castañeda being taken from Ternaux’s version. See note on
page 389.
— Final report of investigations among the Indians of the
southwestern United States, carried on mainly in the years
from 1880 to 1885.
_Papers of the Archæological Institute of America._
Cambridge; Part I, 1890; Part II, 1892.
The most valuable of all of Bandelier’s memoirs on
southwestern history and ethnology. It bears the same
relation to the work of the American ethnologist as his
_Contributions_ do to that of the historical student.
— The “Montezuma” of the pueblo Indians.
_American Anthropologist_, Washington, Oct., 1892, V. 319.
— The Gilded Man.—New York, 1893.
This work contains much valuable material concerning the
early history of the southwest, but should be used with
care, as it was edited and published during the author’s
absence in Peru. [p601]
— La découverte du Nouveau-Mexique par le moine franciscain
frère Marcos de Nice en 1539.
_Revue d’Ethnographie_, V (1886), 31, 117, 193 (50 pages).
— The discovery of New Mexico by Fray Marcos of Nizza.
_Magazine of Western History_, IV, Cleveland, Sept., 1886,
pp. 659–670. The same material was used in the articles in
the _Revue d’Ethnographie_.
— Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, the first overland traveler of
European descent, and his journey from Florida to the Pacific
coast—1528–1536.
_Magazine of Western History_, IV, Cleveland, July, 1886,
pp. 327–336.
Barcia, Andres Gonzales.
Historiadores primitivos de las Indias: Occidentales, que juntó,
traduxo en parte, y sacó á luz, ilustrados con erudítas notas,
y copiosos indices, el ilustrissimo Señor D. Andres Gonzalez
Barcia, del Consejo, y Camara de S. M. Divididos en tres
tomos.—Madrid, año MDCCXLIX.
These three folio volumes are made up of very satisfactory
reprints of a number of the narratives of the early Spanish
conquerors of America. The _Naufragios_ and _Comentarios_ of
Cabeza de Vaca are in the first volume.
— Ensayo cronologico, para la historia general de la
Florida . . . desde 1512 hasta 1722, escrito por Don Gabriel
de Cardenas z Cano.—Madrid, MDCCXXIII.
The name on the title page is an anagram for that of S^r.
Gonzalez Barcia. Florida, in this work, comprises all of
America north of Mexico. The Ensayo was published with the
_Florida del Ynca_ of 1723.
Baxter, Sylvester.
The father of the pueblos.
_Harper’s Magazine_, LXV, June, 1882, pp. 72–91.
— An aboriginal pilgrimage.
_Century Magazine_, II (XXIV), August, 1882, pp. 526–536.
— The old new world. An account of the explorations of the
Hemenway southwestern archæological expedition.—Salem, Mass.,
1888.
Reprinted from the _Boston Herald_, April 15, 1888.
Begert, or Baegert, Jacob.
Nachrichten von der Amerikanischen Halbinsel Californien: mit
einem zweyfachen Anhang falscher Nachrichten. Gesehrieben
von einem Priester der Gesellschaft Jesu, welcher lang
darinn diese letztere Jahr gelebet hat. Mit Erlaubnuss der
Oberen.—Mannheim, 1773.
Translated and arranged for the Smithsonian Institution by
Charles Rau, of New York City, in the _Smithsonian Reports_,
1863, pp. 352–369; 1864, pp. 378–399. Reprinted by Rau in
_Papers on Anthropological Subjects_, pp. 1–40.
Benavides, Alonso de.
Memorial qve Fray Ivan de Santander de la Orden de san
Francisco, presenta á Felipe Qvarto, hecho por el Padre Fray
Alonso de Benauides, Custodio qve ha sido de las prouincias, y
conuersiones del Nueuo-Mexico.—Madrid, M. DC. XXX.
Translations of this valuable work were published in French
at Bruxelles, 1631, in Latin at Salzburg, 1634, and in
German at Salzburg, probably also in 1634.
Benzoni, Girolamo.
La historia del Mondo Nvovo.—(Colophon) Venetia, MDLXV.
Besides early Latin, Dutch, and German translations of
Benzoni, there is an old French edition (Geneva, 1579). An
English translation was published by the Hakluyt Society in
1857.
Blackmar, Frank Wilson.
Spanish institutions of the southwest.—Baltimore, 1891.
_Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and
Political Science_, extra volume, X.
— Spanish colonization in the southwest.
_Johns Hopkins University Studies_, VIII, April, 1890, pp.
121–193.
— The conquest of New Spain.
_Agora_, Lawrence, Kans., beginning Jan., 1896. This series
of papers is not yet completed.
Botero, Giovanni.
La prima parte delle relationi vniversali di Giovanni Botero
Benese.—Bergamo, MDXCIIII.
For _Ceuola_ and _Quiuira_, libro quarto (p. 277). The text
was considerably altered and amplified in the successive
early editions. In the 1603 Spanish edition, fol. 141.
Bourke, John Gregory.
Snake dance of the Moquis of Arizona.—New York and London, 1884.
Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Nuñez.
La relacion que dio Aluar nuñez cabeça de vaca de lo
acaescido . . en la armada donde yua por gouernador Pāphilo de
narbaez.—(Colophon) Zamora, 6 Octubre, 1542.
This was reprinted, with the addition of the
_Comentarios . . . del Rio de la Plata_, at Valladolid
in 1555. It was translated by Ramusio, III, fol. 310–330
(ed. 1556), and was paraphrased into English, from
Ramusio, by Purchas, _Pilgrimes_, Part IV, lib. VIII,
chap. I, pp. 1499–1528. There is a useful note regarding
the first edition of the _Naufragios_ and its author, in
Harrisse, _Bibliotheca Americana Vetustissima_, p. 382. The
_Naufragios_ and _Comentarios_ were reprinted at Madrid in
1736, preceded by the _Examen Apologetico_ of Ardoino (see
entry under his name), and it is this edition which was
included in Barcia’s collection of 1749, the 1736 title
pages being preserved.
— Relacion del viaje de Pánfilo de Narvaez al Rio de las Palmas
hasta la punta de la Florida, hecha por el tesorero Cabeza de
Vaca.
_Doc. de Indias_, XIV, 265–279. Instruccion para el factor,
por el Rey, pp. 265–269. Apparently an early copy of a
fragment of the _Naufragios_. [p602]
— Relation et naufrages d’Alvar Nuñez Cabeça de Vaca—Paris, 1837.
This French translation of the _Navfragios_ forms volume VII
of Ternaux’s _Voyages_. The _Commentaires_ are contained in
volume VI. The translation is from the 1555 edition.
— Relation of Alvar Nuñez Cabeça de Vaca, translated from the
Spanish by Buckingham Smith.—New York, 1871.
This English translation was printed at Washington in 1851,
and was reprinted at New York, with considerable additions
and a short sketch of the translator, shortly after Mr
Smith’s death. Chapters XXX–XXXVI were reprinted in an _Old
South Leaflet_, general series, No. 39, Boston.
— Relation of what befel the persons who escaped from the
disasters that attended the armament of Captain Pamphilo de
Narvaez on the shores and in the countries of the North.
_Historical Mag._ (Sept.–Dec., 1867), XII, 141, 204, 267,
347. Translated and condensed from an account printed in
Oviedo’s _Historia General_, Lib. XXXV, cap. i–vi, which was
sent to the Real Audiencia of Sancto Domingo by the four
survivors of the expedition. See Introduction, p. 349 _ante_.
— Capitulacion que se tomó con Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de
Vaca.—Madrid, 18 Marzo, 1540.
_Doc. de Indias_, XXIII, 8–33.
Cabrillo, Juan Rodriguez. _See_ Paez, Juan.
Camus, Armand Gaston.
Mémoire sur la collection des grands et petits voyages (de
Théodore de Bry).—Paris, Frimaire an XI (1802).
For “Cornado,” see p. 176.
Cartas de Indias. Publícalas por primera vez el Ministerio de
Fomento.—Madrid, 1877.
This splendid volume contains 108 letters, 29 of which are
reproduced in facsimile, written from various portions of
Spanish America during the XVI century. The indices contain
a large amount of information concerning the people and
places mentioned.
Cartas de Religiosos de Nueva España. 1539–1594.—México, 1886.
Volume I of Icazbalceta’s _Nueva Colección_. The 26 letters
which make up this volume throw much light on the early
civil and economical as well as on the ecclesiastical
history of New Spain. The second volume of the _Nueva
Colección_, entitled _Códice Franciscano Siglo XVI_,
contains 14 additional letters.
Castañeda, Pedro de.
Relacion de la jornada de Cibola conpuesta por Pedro de
Castañeda de Naçera donde se trata de todos aquellos poblados
y ritos, y costumbres, la cual fue el año de 1540.
Printed for the first time in the _Fourteenth Annual
Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_, pp. 414–469, from the
manuscript in the Lenox Library in New York. This narrative
has been known chiefly through the French translation
printed in 1838 by Henri Ternaux-Compans, the title of which
follows.
— Relation du voyage de Cibola entrepris en 1540; ou l’on traite
de toutes les peuplades qui habitent cette contrée, de leurs
mœurs eú coutumes, par Pédro de Castañeda de Nagera.
Ternaux, _Cibola_, 1–246.
Castaño de Sosa, Gaspar.
Memoria del descubrimiento que Gaspar Castaño de Sosa, hizo
en el Nuevo México, siendo teniente de gobernador y capitan
general del Nuevo Reino de Leon.
_Doc. de Indias_, vol. XV, pp. 191–261. The exploring party
started 27th July, 1590, and this report was presented to
the Council 10th November, 1592.
Cervántes Salazar, Francisco.
México en 1554: Tres diálogos latinos que Francisco Cervántes
Salazar escribió é imprimió en México en dicho año. Los
reimprime, con traduccion castellana y notas, Joaquin Garcia
Icazbalceta—México, 1875.
Invaluable for anyone who wishes to understand the early
social and economic conditions of Spanish America. The
bibliography at the end of the volume is not only of great
value as a guide to the study of this history, but it is of
interest as a partial catalog of the library of Sr Garcia
Icazbalceta.
Chapin, Frederick Hastings.
The land of the cliff-dwellers.—Boston, 1892.
Congrés International des Américanistes. Compte-rendu de la
premiére session.—Nancy, 1875; . . . Actas de la Novena Reunión,
Huelva, 1892—Madrid, 1894.
Many of the papers presented at the meetings of the _Congrès
des Américanistes_, have been of the very greatest interest
to the American ethnologist and to the historian of early
Spanish America. Several of the papers presented at Berlin
in 1888 are entered under the authors’ names in the present
list.
Coronado, Francisco Vazquez.
Svmmario di lettere del Capitano Francesco Vazquez di coronado,
scritte ad vn Secretario del Illustriss. Don Antonio di
Mendozza Vicere della nuoua Spagna, Date à Culnacan, MDXXXIX,
alli otto di Marzo.
_Ramusio_, III, fol. 354, ed. 1556. Translated in Ternaux,
_Cibola_, app. V, pp. 349–351. The special value of these
Italian translations of Spanish documents, to which
reference is made in the present list, is due to the
fact that in very many cases where Ramusio used original
documents for his work later students have been unable to
discover any trace of the manuscript sources.
— Copia delle lettere di Francesco Vazquez di Coronado,
gouernatore della nuoua Galitia, al Signor Antonio di
Mendozza, Vicere della nuoua Spagna, date in san Michiel di
Culnacan, alli otto di Marzo, MDXXXIX.
_Ramusio_, III, fol. 354 verso, ed, 1556. Translated in
Ternaux, _Cibola_, app. V, pp. 352–354. [p603]
— Relatione che mandò Francesco Vazquez di Coronado, Capitano
Generale della gente che fu mandata in nome di Sua Maesta al
paese nouamente scoperto, quel che successe nel viaggio dalli
ventidua d’Aprile di questo anno MDXL, che parti da Culiacan
per innanzi, & di quel che tronò nel paese doue andaua.—Dalla
prouincia di Ceuola &, da questa citta di Granata il terzo di
Agosto, 1540.
_Ramusio_, III, fol. 359 (verso)—363, ed. 1556. This letter
is translated on pages 552–563 of the present volume. See
note on page 386. An earlier English translation by Hakluyt
has the following title:
— The relation of Francis Vazquez de Coronado, Captaine generall
of the people which were sent to the Countrey of Cibola newly
discouered, which he sent to Don Antonio de Mendoça viceroy of
Mexico, of . . his voyage from the 22. of Aprill in the yeere
1540. which departed from Culiacan forward, and of such things
as hee found in the Countrey which he passed. (August 3, 1540.)
_Hakluyt_, III, 373–380 (ed. 1600), or III, 446 (ed. 1800).
Reprinted in _Old South Leaflet_, gen. series, No. 20.
Boston.
— Carta de Francisco Vazquez Coronado al Emperador, dándole
cuenta de la espedicion á la provincia de Quivira, y de la
inexactitud de lo referido á Fr. Márcos de Niza, acerca de
aquel pais.—Desta provincia de Tiguex, 20 Octubre, 1541.
_Doc. de Indias_, III, 363–369, and also XIII, 261–268.
Translated on pages 580–583 of the present volume, and also
in _American History Leaflet_, No. 13. There is a French
translation in Ternaux, _Cibola_, app. V, p. 355–363. See
note on page 580 _ante_.
— Traslado de las nuevas y noticias que dieron sobre el
descobrimiento de una cibdad, que llamaron de Cibola, situada
en la tierra nueva.—Año de 1531 [1541].
_Doc. de Indias_, XIX, pp. 529–532. Translated on pages
564–565 of the present volume.
— Relacion del suceso de la jornada que Francisco Vazquez hizo
en el descubrimiento de Cibola.—Año de 1531 [1541].
B. Smith, _Florida_, 147–154; _Doc. de Indias_, XIV,
318–329. Translated on pages 572–579 of the present volume.
See the notes to that translation. Also translated in
_American History Leaflet_, No. 13.
Cortés, Hernan.
Copia y relacion de los gastos y espensas que . . . Fernando
Cortés hizo en el armada de que fué por capitan Cristóbal
Dolid al Cabo de las Higueras . . . Se hizo á primero de
Agosto de 1523.—Fecho en México, 9 Hebrero 1529.
_Doc. de Indias_, XII, 386–403. This document is printed
again in the same volume, pp. 497–510.
— Título de capitan general de la Nueva-España y Costa del Sur,
expedido á favor de Hernan-Cortés por el Emperador Cárlos
V.—Dada en Barcelona, á 6 Julio, 1529.
_Doc. de Indias_, IV, 572–574, and also XII, 384–386.
— Título de marqués del Valle (de Guaxaca) otorgado á Hernando
Cortés.—Barcelona, 6 Julio, 1529.
_Doc. de Indias_, XII, 381–383.
— Merced de ciertas tierras y solares en la Nueva España,
hecha á Fernan Cortés, marqués del Valle, por el
Emperador.—Barcelona, 27 Julio, 1529.
_Doc. de Indias_, XII, 376–378. It is printed also in
Icazbalceta’s _Mexico_, II, 28–29.
— Testimonio de una informacion hecha en México por el
presidente y oydores de aquella audiencia, sobre el modo de
contar los 23,000 indios, vasallos del Marqués del Valle, de
que el Rey le habia hecho merced.—Temixtitan, 23 Febrero, 1531.
_Doc. de Indias_, XVI, 548–555.
— Real provision sobre descubrimientos en el mar del Sur, y
respuesta de Cortés á la notificacion que se le hizo de
ella.—México, 19 Agosto, 1534; y respuesta, México, 26
Setiembre, 1534.
Icazbalceta’s _Mexico_, II, 31–40.
— Traslado de una provision de la Audiencia de México, dirigida
á Hernan-Cortés, mandándole que no vaya á pacificar y poblar
cierta isla del mar del Sur, insertando otra provision que
con igual fecha se envió á Nuño de Guzman, gobernador de la
Nueva Galicia, para el mismo efecto, y diligencias hechas en
apelacion do la misma.—Fecho en México, 2–26 Setiembre, 1534.
_Doc. de Indias_, XII, 417–429.
— Carta de Hernan Cortés al emperador, enviando un hijo suyo
para servicio del príncipe.—Desta Nueva Spaña, diez de
Hebrero. 1537.
_Doc. de Indias_, II, 568–569.
— Carta de Hernan Cortés, al Consejo de Indias, pidiendo ayuda
para continuar sus armadas, y recompensa para sus servicios, y
dando algunas noticias sobre la constitucion de la propiedad
de las tierras entre los indios.—México, 20 Setiembre, 1538.
_Doc. de Indias_, III, 535–543.
— Carta de Hernan Cortés al Emperador.—De Madrid á XXVI de Junio
de 1540.
_Doc. Inéd. España_, CIV, 491–492.
— Memorial que dió al Rey el Marqués del Valle en Madrid á
25 de junio de 1540 sobre agravios que le habia hecho el
Virey de Nueva España D. Antonio de Mendoza, estorbándole
la prosecucion del descubrimiento de las costas é islas del
mar del Sur que le [p604] pertenecia al mismo Marqués segun
la capitulacion hecha con S.M. el año de 1529, á cuyo efecto
habia despachado ya cuatro armadas, y descubierto con ellas
por sí y por sus capitanes muchas tierras é islas, de cuyos
viajes y el suceso que tuvo hace una relacion sucinta.
_Doc. Inéd. España_, IV, 209–217.
— Memorial dado á la Magestad del Cesar D. Cárlos Quinto,
Primero de España, por el Sr. D. Hernando Cortés, Marqués del
Valle, hallándose en estos reinos, en que hace presentes sus
dilatados servicios en la conquista de Nueva España por los
que pide las mercedes que contiene el mismo.
_Doc. Inéd. España_, IV, 219–232. “No tiene fecha . . .
despues de 1541.”
— Peticion que dió Don Hernando Cortés contra Don Antonio de
Méndoza, Virey, pidiendo residencia contre él.
Icazbalceta, _Mexico_, II, 62–71. About 1542–43.
— Historia de Nueva-España, escrita por Hernan Cortés, aumentada
con otros documentos, y notas, por Don Francisco Antonio
Lorenzana.—México, 1770.
See page 325 and the map; “Domingo del Castillo Piloto me
Fecit en Mexico año . . . M.D.XLI.” This volume contains the
letters of Cortes to the Spanish King, for a bibliographic
account of which see Sabin’s _Dictionary of American Books_.
These dispatches may also be conveniently consulted in
volume I of Barcia, _Historiadores_.
The above entries are chiefly such as are of interest for
their bearing on the troubles between Cortes and Mendoza,
which were very closely connected with the history of the
Coronado expedition. The best guide to the study of the
personal history and the conquests of Cortes is found in
Winsor’s _America_, II, pages 397–430.
Cushing, Frank Hamilton.
Zuñi fetiches.
_Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_, 1880–81,
pp. 9–45.
— A study of pueblo pottery as illustrative of Zuñi culture
growth.
_Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_, 1882–83,
pp. 467–521.
— Preliminary notes on the origin, working hypothesis and
primary researches of the Hemenway southwestern archæological
expedition.
_Congrès International des Américanistes_, 7^{me} session,
1888, pp. 151–194. Berlin, 1890.
— Zuñi breadstuff.
The _Millstone_, Indianapolis, Jan., 1884, to Aug., 1885.
— Outlines of Zuñi creation myths.
_Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_,
1891–92, pp. 321–447.
Davila, Gil Gonzalez.
Teatro eclesiastico de la primitiva iglesia de las Indias
Occidentals, vidas de svs arzobispos, obispos, y cosas
memorables de svs sedes.—Madrid, M.DC.XLIX.
These two volumes are a valuable source of biographical and
other ecclesiastical information, for much of which this is
perhaps the only authority.
Davis, William Watts Hart.
The Spanish conquest of New Mexico.—Doylestown, Pa., 1869.
The first 230 pages of this volume contain a very good
outline of the narratives of the explorations of Cabeza de
Vaca, Fray Marcos, and Coronado.
— The Spaniard in New Mexico.
Papers of the _American Historical Association_, III, 1889,
pp. 164–176. A paper read before the association, at Boston,
May 24, 1887.
De Bry, Theodore. _See_ Abelin.
Diaz del Castillo, Bernal.
Historia verdadera do la conqvista de la Nveva, España, escrita
por . . . vno de sus conquistadores.—Madrid, 1632.
This interesting work, which counteracts many of the
impressions given by the dispatches of Cortes, was reprinted
in 1632 and again in 1795, 1837, 1854, and in volume XXVI
(Madrid, 1853) of the _Bibl. de Autores Españoles_. It was
translated into English by Keating, London, 1800, reprinted
at Salem, Mass., 1803; and by Lockhart, London, 1844.
Discurso y proposicion que se hace á Vuestra Magestad de lo
tocante á los descubrimientos del Nuevo México por sus capítulos
de puntos diferentes.
_Doc. de Indias_, XVI, 38–66.
Documentos de España.
Coleccion de documentos inéditos para la historia de
España.—Madrid, 1842 (-1895).
There are now (1895) 112 volumes in this series, and two or
three volumes are usually added each year. A finding list of
the titles relating to America, in volumes I–CX, prepared by
G. P. Winship, was printed in the _Bulletin of the Boston
Public Library_ for October, 1894. A similar list of titles
in the Pacheco y Cardenas Coleccion is in preparation. Cited
as _Doc. Inéd. España_.
Documentos de Indias. _See_ Pacheco-Cardenas.
Donaldson, Thomas.
Moqui Pueblo Indians of Arizona and Pueblo Indians of New
Mexico.
_Extra Census Bulletin_, Washington, 1893. This “special
expert” report on the numbers and the life of the
southwestern village Indians contains a large number of
reproductions from photographs showing the people and their
homes, which render it of very considerable interest and
usefulness. The text is not reliable.
Drake, Francis. _See_ Fletcher, Francis.
Emory, William Hemsley.
Notes of a military reconnoissance from. Fort Leavenworth, in
Missouri, to San Diego, in California.—Washington, 1848.
Ex. Doc. 41, Thirtieth Congress, first session. [p605]
Espejo, Antonio de.
Expediente y relacion del viaje que hizo Antonio de Espejo con
catorce soldados y un religioso de la órden de San Francisco,
llamado Fray Augustin Rodriguez; el cual debía de entender en
la predicacion de aquella gente.
_Doc. de Indias_, XV, 151–191. See also page 101 of the same
volume.
— El viaie qve hizo Antonio de Espeio en el anno de ochenta y
tres: el qual con sus companneros descubrieron vna tierra en
que hallaron quinze Prouincias todas llenas de pueblos, y de
casas de quatro y cinco altos, aquien pusieron por nombre El
nueuo Mexico.
_Hakluyt_, III, 383–389 (ed. 1600). The Spanish text
is followed by an English translation, pp. 390–396. A
satisfactory monograph on the expedition of Espejo, with
annotated translations of the original narratives, would be
a most desirable addition to the literature of the southwest.
Evans, S. B.
Observations on the Aztecs and their probable relations to the
Pueblo Indians of New Mexico.
_Congrès International des Américanistes_, 7^{me} session,
1888, pp. 226–230. Berlin, 1890.
Fernández Duro, Cesáreo.
Don Diego de Peñalosa y su descubrimiento del reino de Quivira.
Informe presentado á la Real Academia de la Historia.—Madrid,
1882.
On page 123 the author accepts the date 1531 as that of an
expedition under Coronado, from the title of the _Relacion
del Suceso_, misprinted in volume XIV, 318, of the _Doc. de
Indias_.
Ferrelo, Bartolome. _See_ Paez, Juan.
Fewkes, Jesse Walter.
A few summer ceremonials at Zuñi pueblo.
_Journal American Ethnology and Archæology_, I, Boston,
1891, pp. 1–61.
— A few summer ceremonials at the Tusayan pueblos.
Ibid., II, Boston, 1892, pp. 1–159.
— Reconnoissance of ruins in or near the Zuñi reservation.
Ibid., I, pp. 95–132; with map and plan.
— A report on the present condition of a ruin in Arizona called
Casa Grande.
Ibid., II, pp. 179–193.
— The snake ceremonials at Walpi.
_Journal American Ethnology and Archæology_, IV, 1894.
With map, illustrations, and an excellent bibliography of
this peculiar ceremonial, which Dr Fewkes has studied with
much care, under most favorable circumstances.
The four volumes of the _Journal of American Ethnology and
Archæology_ represent the main results of Dr Fewkes’ studies
at Zuñi and Tusayan, under the auspices of the Hemenway
Southwestern Archæological Expedition, of which he was the
head from 1889 to 1895. Besides the _Journal_, the Hemenway
expedition resulted in a large collection of Pueblo pottery
and ceremonial articles, which are, in part, now displayed
in the Peabody Museum at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
— The Wa-wac-ka-tci-na. A Tusayan foot race.
_Bulletin Essex Institute_, XXIV, Nos. 7–9, Salem,
July–Sept., 1892, pp. 113–133.
— A-wá-to-bi: An archæological verification of a Tusayan legend.
_American Anthropologist_, Oct., 1893.
— The prehistoric culture of Tusayan.
_American Anthropologist_, May, 1896.
— A study of summer ceremonials at Zuñi and Moqui pueblos.
_Bulletin Essex Institute_, XXII, Nos. 7–9, Salem,
July–Sept., 1890, pp. 89–113.
Consult, also, many other papers by this authority on all
that pertains to the ceremonial life of the Pueblo Indians,
in the _American Anthropologist_, Washington, and _Journal
of American Folk-Lore_, Boston.
Fiske, John.
The discovery of America, with some account of ancient America
and the Spanish conquest.—Cambridge, 1892.
_Coronado_ and _Cibola_, II, 500–510.
Fletcher, Francis.
The world encompassed by Sir Francis Drake. . . . Carefully
collected out of the notes of Master Francis Fletcher preacher
in this imployment.—London, 1628.
Reprinted in 1635 and 1652, and in 1854 by the _Hakluyt
Society_, edited by W. S. W. Vaux.
Gallatin, Albert.
Ancient semi-civilization of New Mexico, Rio Gila, and its
vicinity.
_Transactions American Ethnological Society_, II, New York,
1848, pp. liii–xcvii.
Galvano, Antonio.
Tratado . . dos diuersos & desuayrados caminhos, . . . & assi de
todos os descobrimentos antigos & modernos, que sāo feitos ate
a era de mil & quinhentos & cincoenta.—(Colophon, 1563.)
This work was reprinted at Lisboa in 1731. An English
translation was published by Hakluyt, London, 1601. The
Portuguese and English texts were reprinted by the _Hakluyt
Society_, edited by vice-admiral Bethune, London, 1862. For
Coronado’s expedition, see pages 226–229 of the 1862 edition.
Garcilaso de la Vega, el Ynca.
La Florida del Ynca. Historia del Adelantado de Soto . . . y de
otros heroicos caualleros Españoles è Indios.—Lisbona, 1605.
For an English version, see Barnard Shipp’s _History of
Hernando de Soto and Florida_, Philadelphia, 1881. There
were several early French editions. The Spanish was
reprinted at Madrid in 1723, and again in 1803.
— Primera parte de los commentarios reales, qve tratan del
origen do los Yncas, reyes qve fveron del Perv, de sv
idolatria, leyes, y gouierno en paz [p606] y en guerra: de
sus vidas y conquistas, y de todo lo que fue aquel Imperio y
su Republica, antes que los Españoles passaran a el.—Lisboa,
M.DCIX.
— Historia general del Perv. Trata el descvbrimiento del, y como
lo ganaron los Españoles. Las guerras ciuiles que huuo entre
Piçarros, y Almagros, sobre la partija de la tierra. Castigo y
leuantamiento de tiranos: y otros sucessos particulares que en
la historia se contienen.—Cordoua, 1616.
La II parte de los commentarios reales del Perú. Segunda
impresion; Madrid, 1721–23. The two parts were “rendred
into English, by Sir Pavl Rycavt, Kt.” London, 1688. A
new translation, with notes by Clements R. Markham, was
published by the _Hakluyt Society_, London, 1869 and 1871.
Gatschet, Albert Samuel.
Classification into seven linguistic stocks of western Indian
dialects contained in forty vocabularies.
_U.S. Geol. Survey West of the 100th Meridian_, VII,
399–485, Washington, 1879.
— Zwölf sprachen aus dem südwesten Nordamerikas.—Weimar, 1876.
Girava, Hieronymo.
Dos libros de cosmographia compuestos nueuamente por Hieronymo
Giraua Tarragones.—en Milan, M.D.LVI.
See p. 230 for _Ciuola_.
Gomara, Francisco Lopez de.
Primera y segunda parte de la historia general de las Indias con
todo el descubrimiento y cosas notables que han acaecido dende
que se ganaron ata el año de 1551. Con la cōquista de Mexico y
de la nueua España.—En Caragoça, 1553 (1552).
There were at least fifteen editions of Gomara’s three works
printed during the years 1552 to 1555. Before the end of
the century translations into French and Italian had been
reprinted a score of times. English translations of the
_Conquest of the Indies_ were printed in 1578 and 1596. For
_Coronado_, see cap. CCXII–CCXV of the _Historia de las
Indias_. Chapters 214–215 were translated by _Hakluyt_, III,
380–382 (ed. 1600), or III, 451 (ed. 1810).
Gottfriedt, Johann Ludwig. _See_ Abelin, Johann Phillip.
Guatemala, Obispo de.
Carta del Obispo de Guatemala á Su Magestad, en que se refiere
á lo que de México escribirán sobre la muerte del adelantado
Alvarado, y habla de la gobernacion que se le encomendó y de
los cargos de su mitra.—De Santiago de Guatemala 20 Febrero,
1542.
_Doc. de Indias_, XIII, 268–280.
Guzman, Diego.
Relacion de lo que yo Diego de Guzman he descobierto en la costa
de la mar del Sur, por Su Magestad y por el ilustre señor Nuño
de Guzman, gobernador de la Nueva Galicia.—Presentó en el
Consejo de Indias, 16 Marzo 1540.
_Doc. de Indias_, XV, 325–340. This expedition was made
during the autumn of 1533.
Guzman, Nuño de.
Provanza ad perpetuan, sobre lo de la villa de la Purificacion,
de la gente que alli vino con mano armada.—En Madrid á 16 de
Marzo de 1540 la presentó en el Consejo de las Indias de Su
Magestad, Nuño de Guzman.
_Doc. de Indias_, XVI, 539–547.
— Fragmentos del proceso de residencia instruido contra Nuño de
Guzman, en averiguacion del tormento y muerte que mandó dar á
Caltzontzin, rey de Mechoacan.
In Proceso. . . Alvarado (ed. Ramirez y Rayon) pp. 185–276.
The full title is entered under Alvarado.
Hakluyt, Richard.
The principal navigations, voiages, traffiqves and discoueries
of the English nation . . . Deuided into three seuerall
volumes.—London, 1598.
The third volume (1600) contains the narratives which
relate to Cibola, as well as those which refer to other
portions of New Spain. There was an excellent reprint,
London, 1809–1812, which contained all the pieces which were
omitted in some of the earlier editions, with a fifth volume
containing a number of rare pieces not easily available
elsewhere. The changes made by the editor of the 1890
edition render it almost a new work. The title is as follows:
— The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques, and
discoveries of the English nation. Collected by Richard
Hakluyt, preacher, and edited by Edmund Goldsmid.—Edinburg,
1885–1890.
Sixteen volumes. Vol. XIV; America, part iii, pp. 59–137,
contains the Cibola narratives.
Hakluyt Society, London.
This most useful society began in 1847 the publication of a
series of volumes containing careful, annotated translations
or reprints of works relating to the “navigations, voyages,
traffics, and discoveries” of Europeans during the period
of colonial expansion. The work has been continued without
serious interruption since that date. Ninety-seven volumes
have been issued with the society’s imprint, including the
issues for 1895. Several of these are entered in the present
list under the names of the respective authors.
Hale, Edward Everett.
Coronado’s discovery of the seven cities.
_Proceedings American Antiquarian Society_, Worcester, new
series I, 236–245. (April, 1881.) Includes a letter from
Lieut. John G. Bourke, arguing that the Cibola pueblos were
the Moki villages of Tusayan, in Arizona.
Haynes, Henry Williamson.
Early explorations of New Mexico.
Winsor’s _Narrative and Critical History of America_, II,
473–503. [p607]
— What is the true site of “the seven cities of Cibola” visited
by Coronado in 1540?
_Proceedings American Antiquarian Society_, Worcester, new
series, I, 421–435 (Oct., 1881).
The revival of interest in the early history of the
southwestern United States has been, in no slight measure,
due to the impetus given by Professor Haynes of Boston.
He was most active in furthering the researches of Mr
Bandelier, under the auspices of the Archæological Institute
of America, and to his careful editorial supervision a large
part of the accuracy and the value of Mr Bandelier’s printed
reports and communications are due.
Herrera, Antonio de.
Historia general de los hechos de los Castellanos en las islas y
tierra firme del mar oceano.—Madrid, 1601–1615.
There is a French translation of three Decades of Herrera,
printed between 1659 and 1671, and an English translation
of the same three decades, by Captain John Stevens, London,
1725–26, and reissued in 1740, in which the arrangement of
the work is altered. The most available and also the best
edition of the Spanish is the admirable reprint issued at
Madrid by Barcia, in 1730. Some titles are dated as early
as 1726, being altered as successive delays hindered the
completion of the work. For _Coronado_, see decada VI, libro
v, cap. ix, and dec. VI, lib. ix, cap. xi–xv.
Hodge, Frederick Webb.
A Zuñi foot race.
_Am. Anthropologist_, III, Washington, July, 1890.
— Prehistoric irrigation in Arizona.
Ibid., VI, July, 1893.
— The first discovered city of Cibola.
Ibid., VIII, April, 1895.
— The early Navajo and Apache.
Ibid., VIII, July, 1895.
— Pueblo snake ceremonials.
Ibid., IX, April, 1896.
Holmes, William Henry.
Report on the ancient ruins of southwestern Colorado.
_Tenth Annual Report of the (Hayden) U.S. Geol. Survey._
Washington, 1876.
— Illustrated catalogue of a portion of the collections
made . . . during the field season of 1881.
_Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_, 1881–82,
pp. 427–510.
— Pottery of the ancient Pueblos.
_Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_, 1882–83,
pp. 265–360.
Icazbalceta, Joaquin Garcia.
Coleccion. de documentos para la historia de México. (2
tomos).—México, 1858–1866.
Cited in the preceding pages as _Icazbalceta’s Mexico_.
— Nueva colección de documentos para la historia de México. (5
tomos).—México, 1886–1892.
Cited as _Icazbalceta’s Nueva coleccion_.
— Don Fray Juan de Zumárraga primer obispo y arzobispo de
México. Estudio biográfico y bibligráfico. Con un apéndice de
documentos inéditos ó raros.—México, 1881.
See also the entries under Cervantes de Salazar, Mendieta,
Mota Padilla, for works edited by Señor Icazbalceta.
Possessed of ample means and scholarly tastes, untiring
industry and great historical and literary ability, Señor
Garcia Icazbalceta will always be one of the masters of
Spanish-American history. The extent of his researches,
the accuracy and care which characterize all of his work,
and the breadth and insight with which he treated whatever
subject attracted him, leave little for future students to
desire. The more intimate the student becomes with the first
century of the history of New Spain, the greater is his
appreciation of the loss caused by the death of Señor Garcia
Icazbalceta.
Informacion del virrey de Nueva España, D. Antonio de Mendoza, de
la gente que va á poblar la Nueva Galicia con Francisco Vazquez
Coronado, Gobernador de ella.—Compostella, 21–26 Febrero 1540.
_Doc. de Indias_, XIV, 373–384. Partly translated on pp.
596–597 _ante_.
Informacion habida ante la justicia de la villa de San Cristóbal
de la Habana, por do consta, el visorey (Mendoza) haber mandado
é personado que navíos algunos de los quél embiaba [no] tocasen
en la dicha villa, á fin é causa que no diesen noticia del nuevo
descobrimiento al Adelantado (de Soto).—12 Noviembre, 1539 en
Habana. Presentó en Madrid, 23 Diciembre, 1540.
_Doc. de Indias_, XV, 392–398. See page 370 _ante_.
Jaramillo, Juan.
Relacion hecha por el capitan Juan Jaramillo, de la jornada
que habia hecho á la tierra nueva en Nueva España y al
descubrimiento de Cibola, yendo por general Francisco Vazquez
Coronado.
_Doc. de Indias_, XIV, 304–317. B. Smith’s _Florida_,
154–163. Translated on pages 584–593 _ante_. There is a
French translation in Ternaux, _Cibola_, app. vi, 364–382.
King, Edward; Viscount Lord Kingsborough.
Antiquities of Mexico: comprising facsimiles of ancient Mexican
paintings and hieroglyphics . . . illustrated by many valuable
inedited manuscripts.—Mexico and London, 1830–1848.
Nine vols. Besides the reproductions of Mexican hieroglyphic
writings, for which this magnificent work is best known, the
later volumes contain a number of works printed from Spanish
manuscripts. Despite the statement on the last page of many
copies, the work was never completed, Motolinia’s _Historia_
breaking off abruptly in the midst of the text. See the note
under _King_, in Sabin’s _Dictionary of American Books_.
[p608]
Kretschmer, Konrad.
Die Entdeckung Amerika’s in ihrer Bedentung für die Geschichte
des Weltbildes.—Berlin, 1892.
Festschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin zur
vierhundertjährigen Feier der Entdeckung Amerika’s. The
atlas which accompanies this valuable study is made up of
a large number of admirable facsimiles and copies of early
maps, some of which are reproduced in the present memoir. It
is certainly the best single book for the student of early
American cartography.
Ladd, Horatio Oliver.
The story of New Mexico.—Boston, (1892).
For _Niça_ and _Coronado_, see pp. 19–72.
Leyes y ordenanças nueuamēte hechas por su magestad pa la
gouernacion de las Indias y buen tratamiento y conseruacion
de los Indios: que se han de guardar en el consejo y
andiēcias reales [~q] en ellas residen: y por todos los otros
gouernadores, juezes y personas particulares dellas.—(Colophon)
Alcala de Henares, M.D.XLIII.
These “New Laws” were reprinted in 1585 and again in 1603. A
new edition, with English translation and an introduction by
Henry Stevens and F. W. Lucas, was issued in London, 1893.
The Laws are printed in Icazbalceta, _Mexico_, II, 204–227.
— _See_ Recopilacion.
Lummis, Charles F.
— Some strange corners of our country.—New York, 1892.
— The land of poco tiempo.—New York, 1893.
— The Spanish pioneers.—Chicago, 1893.
— The man who married the moon and other Pueblo Indian
folk-stories.—New York, 1894.
Mallery, Garrick.
Sign language among North American Indians compared with that
among other peoples and deaf mutes.
_First Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology_, 1879–80, pp.
263–552. Fully illustrated.
Matthews, Washington.
Human bones of the Hemenway collection in the United States Army
Medical Museum.
_Memoirs National Academy of Sciences_, vol. VI, pp.
139–286, LIX plates. Washington, 1893.
Mendieta, Fray Gerónimo de.
Historia eclesiástica Indiana; obra escrita á fines del
siglo XVI, . . . la publica por primera vez Joaquin Garcia
Icazbalceta.—México, 1870.
Mendoza, Antonio de.
— Lo que D. Antonio de Mendoza, virey y gobernador de la Nueva
Spaña y presidente en la nueva audiencia y chancillería real
que en ella reside, demas de lo que por otra instruccion se le
ha mandado hacer por mandado de S.M.—Barcelona, 17 Abril, 1535.
_Doc. de Indias_, XXIII, 423–425.
— Lo que D. Antonio de Mendoza visorey y gobernador de la
provincia de la Nueva Spaña, ha de hacer en servicio de Dios
y de esta república, demas do lo contenido en sus poderes y
comisiones, por mandado de S. M.—Barcelona, 25 Abril, 1535.
_Doc. de Indias_, XXIII, 426–445.
— Lo que don Antonio de Mendoza virey é gobernador de la Nueva
Spaña y presidente de la real audiencia, ha de hacer en la
dicha tierra, por mandado de S. M.—Madrid, 14 Julio, 1536.
_Doc. de Indias_, XXIII, 454–467.
— Carta de D. Antonio de Mendoza á la emperatriz, participando
que vienen a España Cabeza de Vaca y Francisco Dorantes, que
se escaparon de la armada de Pánfilo de Narvaez, á hacer
relacion de lo que en ella sucedió.—Méjico, 11 Hebrero 1537.
_Doc. de Indias_, XIV, 235–236.
— Provision dada por el virey don Antonio de Mendoza al
reverendo y magnifico señor Don Vasco de Quiroga, obispo
electo de Mechoacan y oidor de Méjico, para contar los
vasallos del marqués del Valle, Don Hernando Cortés.—Méjico, á
30 Noviembre, 1537.
_Doc. de Indias_, XII, 314–318.
— Carta de D. Antonio de Mendoza, virey de Nueva España, al
Emperador, dándole cuenta de varios asuntos de su gobierno.—De
México, 10 Diciembre, 1537.
_Doc. de Indias_, II, 179–211. B. Smith, _Florida_, 119–139,
with facsimile of Mendoza’s signature.
— Instruccion de don Antonio de Mendoza, visorey de Nueva
España, (al Fray Marcos de Niza).
_Doc. de Indias_, III, 325–328, written previous to
December, 1538. There is a French translation in Ternaux,
_Cibola_, 249–253. A modern English translation is in
Bandelier, _Contributions_, 109–112.
— Lettere scritte dal illvstrissimo signor don Antonio di
Mendozza, vicere della nuoua Spagna, alia maesta dell’
Imperadore. Delli cauallieri quali con lor gran danno si sono
affaticati per scoprire il capo della terra ferma della nuoua
Spagna verso tramontana, il gionger del Vazquez con fra Marco
à san Michiel di Culnacan con commissione à quelli regenti di
assicurare & non far piu schiaui gli Indiani.
_Ramusio_, III, fol. 355 (1556 ed.). There is a French
translation in Ternaux, _Cibola_, 285–290. This appears to
be the letter which Mendoza sent to the king to accompany
the report of Fray Marcos de Niza. [p609]
— Carta del virey Don Antonio de Mendoza al Emperador.—De
Jacona, 17 Abril, 1540.
_Doc. de Indias_, II, 356–362. A French translation is in
Ternaux, _Cibola_, 290–298. For an English translation, see
pp. 547–551 _ante_.
— Instruccion que debia observar el capitan Hernando de Alarcon
en la expedicion á la California que iba á emprender de órden
del virey D. Antonio de Mendoza.—México, postrero dia del mes
de mayo de myll y quinientos y quarenta é uno.
B. Smith, _Florida_, 1–6.
— Carta de D. Antonio de Mendoza á Juan de Aguilar, pidiendo
se la autorizase para avenirse con los portugueses, sobre la
posesion de territorios conquistados . . . para que dello haga
relacion á S. A. y á los señores de su consejo.
_Doc. de Indias_, III, 506–511. B. Smith, _Florida_,
7–10. “Acerca del descubrimiento de las siete ciudades de
Poniente.” Circa 1543.
— Carta de Don Antonio de Mendoza virey de la Nueva España,
al comendador mayor de Leon, participándole la muerte del
adelantado de Guatemala y Honduras, y el estado de otros
varios asuntos.—Mexico, 10 marzo, 1542.
_Cartas de Indias_, pp. 253–255, and in facsimile.
— Carta del virey Don Antonio de Mendoza, dando cuenta al
príncipe Don Felipe de haber hecho el reparto de la tierra de
Nueva España, y exponiendo la necesidad que tenia de pasar
á Castilla, para tratar verbalmento con S. M. de ciertos
negocios de gobernacion y hacienda.—Mexico, 30 octubre, 1548.
_Cartas de Indias_, pp. 256–257.
— Carta del virey Don Antonio de Mendoza al Emperador Don
Carlos, contestando á un mandato de S. M. relativo al
repartimiento de los servicios personales en la Nueva
España.—Guastepeque, 10 junio, 1549.
_Cartas de Indies_, pp. 258–259.
— Fragmento de la visita hecha á don Antonio de Mendoza.
Interrogatorio por el cual han de ser examinados los testigos
que presente por su parte don Antonio de Mendoza.—8 Enero,
1547.
XLIV cargos, 303 paragrafos. Icazbalceta’s _Mexico_, II,
72–140.
— See the _Asiento y Capitulaciones con_ Alvarado above.
Mindeleff, Cosmos.
Casa grande ruin.
_Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_,
1891–92, pp. 295–319.
— Aboriginal remains in Verde valley, Arizona.
Ibid., pp. 179–261.
Mindeleff, Victor.
A study of pueblo architecture: Tusayan and Cibola.
_Eighth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_, 1886–87,
pp. 1–228, CXI plates. The text and illustrations of this
admirable paper convey a very clear idea of the pueblo
dwellings of New Mexico and Arizona, and make it, on this
account, of great value to students who have never visited
these regions.
Molina, Alonso de.
Aqui comiença vn vocabulario en la lengua Castellana y
Mexicana.—(Colophon) Mexico, 1555.
Father Molina prepared a _Vocabulario_, _Arte_, and
_Confessionario_ in the Mexican languages, which are very
valuable as a means of interpreting the native words adopted
by the conquistadores. The originals, and the later editions
as well, of all three works are of very considerable rarity.
Morgan, Lewis Henry.
Houses and house life of the American aborigines.—Washington,
1881.
_Contributions to North American Ethnology_, vol. IV. Houses
of the Sedentary Indians of New Mexico, cap. VI–VIII, pp.
132–197.
— On the ruins of a stone pueblo on the Animas river, in New
Mexico, with a ground plan.
_Report of the Peabody Museum_, XII, Cambridge, 1880, pp.
536–556.
— The seven cities of Cibola.
_North American Review_, April, 1869, CVIII, 457–498.
Moses, Bernard.
The Casa de Contratacion of Seville.
_Report of the American Historical Association_ for 1894,
Washington, 1895, pp. 93–123. This paper is a very useful
outline of the legal constitution and functions of the Casa
de Contratacion, derived for the most part from Capt. John
Stevens’ English version (London, 1702) of Don Joseph de
Veitia Linage’s _Norte de la Contratacion de las Indias
Occidentales_. (Seville, 1672.)
There is an admirable account of the form of government
adopted by the Spaniards for New Spain, by Professor Moses,
in the _Yale Review_, vol. iv, numbers 3 and 4 (November,
1895, and February, 1896).
Mota Padilla, Matias de la.
Historia de la conquista de la provincia de la Nueva-Galicia,
escrita en 1742.—Mexico, 1870.
Published in the _Boletin_ of the Sociedad Mexicana de
Geografia y Estadistica, and also issued separately with
_Noticias Biograficas_ by Señor Garcia Icazbalceta, dated
Marzo 12 de 1872. It is an extensive work of the greatest
value, although there are reasons for fearing that the
printed text is not an accurate copy of the original
manuscript. Cited as _Mota Padilla_.
Motolinia, Fray Toribio de Benavente ó.
Historia de los Indies de la Nueva España.
Icazbalceta’s _Mexico_, I, pp. 249, with an introduction of
100 pp. by Sr José Fernando Ramirez; in _Doc. de España_,
LIII, 297–574; and also printed in Lord Kingsborough’s
_Antiquities of Mexico_, vol. IX. See note under King. [p610]
— Esta es la relación postrera de Sívola, y de más de
cuatrocientas leguas adelante.
A manuscript found among the “Memoriales” de Motolinia, now
in the archives of the late Sr Icazbalceta. Printed for the
first time in the present volume. See pages 566–571 _ante_.
Muriel, Domingo.
Fasti Novi Orbis et ordinationum apostolicarum, . . . opera D.
Cyriaci Morelli.—Venetiis, MDCCLXXVI.
See page 23 for a mention of events in 1539–1542.
Niza, Fray Marcos de.
Relacion del descubrimiento de las siete ciudades, por el P. Fr.
Márcos de Niza.—2 Setiembre 1539.
_Doc. de Indias_, III, 325–351. Translated into Italian by
_Ramusio_, III, fol. 350–359 (1556 ed.), and thence into
English by _Hakluyt_, III, 366–373 (1600 ed.). A French
translation is in Ternaux, _Cibola_, app. I and II, 249–284.
Nordenskiöld, Gustav.
The cliff dwellers of the Mesa Verde, southwestern Colorado,
their pottery and implements. Translated by D. Lloyd
Morgan.—Stockholm, 1894.
Chapter XIV, “The Pueblo tribes in the sixteenth century,”
pp. 144–166, contains a translation of portions of
Castañeda, from the French version.
Oviedo y Valdés, Gonzalo Fernandez de.
La historia general de las Indias.—(Colophon) Seuilla, 1535.
Reprinted at Salamanca in 1547, and at Madrid in 1851, as
follows:
— Historia general y natural de las Indias, por el Capitan
Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdés, primer cronista del
Nuevo Mundo. Publícala la Real Academia de la Historia, con
las enmiendas y adiciones del autor, é ilustrada . . por D.
José Amador de los Rios.—Madrid, 1851–1855.
These four volumes form the definitive edition of Oviedo.
They were printed from the author’s manuscript, and include
the fourth volume, which had not hitherto been printed.
Owens, John G.
Natal ceremonies of the Hopi Indians.
_Journal Am. Ethnology and Archæology_ (Boston, 1893), II,
163–175.
Pacheco-Cardenas Coleccion.
Coleccion de documentos inéditos relativos al descubrimiento,
conquista, y colonizacion de las posesiones españolas en
América y Occeanía, sacados . . bajo la direccion de D.
Joaquin F. Pacheco y D. Francisco de Cárdenas.—Madrid,
1864–1884.
In 42 volumes. The title-page varies much from year to year.
There is as yet no useful index in print. Cited as _Doc. de
Indias_.
Paez, Juan.
Relacion del descubrimiento que hizo Juan Rodriguez [Cabrillo]
navegando por la contracosta del mar del Sur al Norte, hecha
por Juan Paez.
_Doc. de Indias_, XIV, 165–191; B. Smith, _Florida_,
173–189. Partió 27 Junio 1542. This report, which was
probably written by the pilot Bartolome Ferrel or Ferrelo,
has been translated in the _Report of the U.S. Geol. Survey
West of the 100th Meridian_, VII, 293–314. See note on page
412 _ante_.
Peralta. _See_ Suarez de Peralta.
Prince, Le Baron Bradford.
Historical sketches of New Mexico from the earliest records to
the American occupation.—New York and Kansas City, 1883.
For _Cabeza de Baca_, _Marcos de Niza_, and _Coronado_, see
pp. 40–148.
Proceso del Marqués del Valle y Nuño de Guzman y los adelantados
Soto y Alvarado, sobre el descubrimiento de la tierra nueva—en
Madrid, 3 Marzo, 1540; 10 Junio, 1541.
_Doc. de Indias_, XV, 300–408. See page 380 _ante_.
Proctor, Edna Dean.
The song of the ancient people.—Boston 1893.
Contains preface and note by John Fiske and commentary by F.
H. Cushing.
Ptolemy, C.
La Geografia di Clavdio Ptolemeo, con alcuni comenti & aggiunti
fatteui da Sebastiano munstero, con le tauole non solamente
antiche & moderne solite di stāparsi, ma altre nuoue.—In
Venetia, M.D.XLVIII.
The maps in this edition of Ptolemy’s _Geography_ for the
first time present the results of Coronado’s explorations.
See plate XLI _ante_. The bibliography of Ptolemy has been
set forth with great clearness and in most convenient form
by Dr Justin Winsor in the _Bibliographical Contributions_
of the Harvard College Library, No. 18; and with greater
detail by Mr Wilberforce Eames, in volume XVI of Sabin’s
_Dictionary of American Books_.
Purchas, Samuel.
Pvrchas his pilgrimage. Or relations of the world and the
religions observed and places discouered . . .—London, 1613.
The eighth book, America, chap. VII, _Of Cibola, Tiguez,
Quivira, and Noua Albion_, pp. 648–653. There were two
editions of this work in 1614, one in 1617, and one, the
best, in 1626, forming the fifth volume of the _Pilgrimes_.
— Haklvytvs posthumus or Purchas, his pilgrimes. Contayning a
history of the world, in sea voyages, & lande-trauells, by
Englishmen & others . . . In fower parts, each containing fiue
bookes. By Samvel Pvrchas.—London, 1625.
Part (volume) IV, pp. 1560–1562, gives a sketch of the
discovery of Cibola and Quivira, abridged from Ramusio. The
best guide to the confused bibliography of Purchas is that
of Mr Wilberforce Eames, in vol. XVI of Sabin’s _Dictionary
of American Books_. [p611]
Putnam, Frederick Ward.
The pueblo ruins and the interior tribes. Edited by Frederick W.
Putnam.
_U.S. Geog. Survey West 100th Meridian_, VII, Archæology pt.
ii, p. 315, Washington, 1879. Appendix (p. 399) contains
Albert S. Gatschet’s classification into seven linguistic
stocks, etc.
Ramusio, Giovanni Battista.
Terzo volvme delle navigationi et viaggi.—In Venetia. MDLVI.
In this, the first edition of the third volume of Ramusio’s
collection, folios 354–370 contain the narratives which
relate to the discoveries in the territory of the present
southwestern United States. The volumes of Ramusio have
an especial value, because in many cases the editor and
translator used the originals of documents which have not
since been found by investigators. Ramusio’s Italian text
furnished one chief reliance of Hakluyt, and of nearly all
the collectors and translators who followed him, including,
in the present century, Henri Ternaux-Compans. The best
guide to the various issues and editions of Ramnsio is that
of Mr Wilberforce Eames, in Sabin’s _Dictionary of American
Books_. The most complete single edition of the three
volumes is that of 1606.
Recopilacion de leyes de los reynos de las Indias. Mandadas
imprimir, y pvblicar por la magestad catolica del rey don Carlos
II. Tomo I (-IV).—Madrid, 1681.
New editions were issued in 1756, 1774, and 1791.
Ribas, Andres Perez de.
Historia de los trivmphos de nvestra Santa Fee entre gentes
del nueuo Orbe: refierense assimismo las costvmbres, ritos,
y supersticiones que vsauan estas gentes; sus puestos, y
temples: . . .—Madrid, 1645.
The mass of facts collected into this heavy volume throw
much light on the civil as well as the ecclesiastical
history of New Spain.
Rudo Ensayo, tentativa de una prevencional descripcion geographica
de la provincia de Sonora, . . . compilada así de noticias
adquiridas por el colector en sus viajes por casi toda ella,
como subministradas por los padres missioneros y practicos de la
tierra.—San Augustin de la Florida, 1863.
Edited by Buckingham Smith. An English translation by
Eusebio Guitéras is in the _Records of the American Catholic
Historical Society_, Philadelphia, June, 1894.
Ruge, Sophus.
Geschichte des Zeitalters der Entdeckungen.—Berlin, 1881.
In _Allgemeine Geschichte_, von Wilhelm Oncken. _Coronado’s
Feldzug nach Cibola und Quivira_, pp. 415–423. The map
on page 417 is one of the best suggestions of Coronado’s
probable route.
— Die Entdeckungs-Geschichte der Neuen Welt.
In _Hamburgische Festschrift zur Erinnerung an die
Entdeckung Amerika’s_, Hamburg, 1892. I Band. _Coronado’s
Zug nach Cibola und Quivira_, pp. 87–89.
— Die Entwickelung der Kartographie von America bis 1570.—Gotha,
1892.
Festschrift zur 400 jährigen Feier der Entdeckung Amerikas.
Ergänzungsheft no. 106 zu “Petermann’s Mitteilungen.” An
admirable outline of the early history of the geographical
unfolding of America.
Salazar, Francisco Cervantes. _See_ Cervantes Salazar.
Santisteban, Fray Gerónimo de.
Carta escrita por Fr. Gerónimo de Santisteban á don Antonio
Mendoza, virey de Nueva España, relacionando la pérdida de la
armada que salió en 1542 para las islas del poniente, al cargo
de Ruy Lopez de Villalobos.—De Cochin, de la India del Rey de
Portugal. 22 Henero 1547.
_Doc. de Indias_, XIV, 151–165. See page 412 _ante_.
Savage, James Woodruff.
The discovery of Nebraska.
_Nebraska, Historical Society Transactions_, I, 180–202.
Read before the Society, April 16, 1880. In this paper Judge
Savage accepts the statements that Quivira was situated
in latitude 40 degrees north as convincing evidence that
Coronado’s Spaniards explored the territory of the present
State of Nebraska. This paper, together with one by the same
author on “A visit to Nebraska, in 1662” (by Peñalosa), was
reprinted by the Government Printing Office (Washington,
1893) for the use of the United States Senate, for what
purpose the resolution ordering the reprint does not state.
It forms Senate Mis. Doc. No. 14, 53d Congress, 2d session.
Schmidt, Emil.
Vorgesehichte Nordamerikas im Gebiet der Vereinigten
Staaten.—Braunschweig, 1894.
Die vorgeschichtlichen Indianer im Südwesten der Vereinigten
Staaten, pp. 177–216. Compiled in large part from
Nordenskiöld and V. Mindeleff.
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe.
Historical and statistical information respecting the history,
condition, and prospects of the Indian tribes of the United
States.—Philadelphia, 1851–1855.
For _Coronado’s expedition_ see vol. IV, pp. 21–40.
Schoolcraft’s map of Coronado’s route is opposite p. 38.
Shipp, Barnard.
The history of Hernando de Soto and Florida; or, record of the
events of fifty-six years, from 1512 to 1568.—Philadelphia,
1881.
For _Coronado_, see pp. 121–132.
Simpson, James Hervey.
Journal of a military reconnaissance from Santa Fé, New Mexico,
to the Navajo country.
_Senate Ex. Doc_. 64, 31st Congress, 1st sess., Washington,
1850, pp. 56–168.
— Coronado’s march in search of the “Seven Cities of Cibola,”
and discussion of their probable location.
_Smithsonian Report_ for 1869, pp. 309–340. Reprinted by
the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 1884. Contains an
excellent map of Coronado’s route. [p612]
Smith, (Thomas) Buckingham.
Coleccion de varios documentos para la historia de la Florida y
tierras adyacentes. Tomo I [1516–1794].—Londres (Madrid, 1857).
Only one volume was ever published. Cited as B. Smith’s
_Florida_. These documents are printed, for the most part,
from copies made by Muñoz or by Navarrete. See note to the
English translation of Cabeza de Vaca’s _Naufragios_, and
see also Rudo Ensayo and Soto.
Sosa, Gaspar Castaño de. _See_ Castaño de Sosa.
Soto, Hernando de.
Asiento y capitulacion hechos por el capitan Hernando de Soto
con el Emperador Carlos V para la conquista y poblacion de la
provincia de la Florida, y encomienda de la gobernacion, de la
isla de Cuba.—Valladolid, 20 Abril, 1537.
_Doc. de Indias_, XV, 351–363. B. Smith, _Florida_, 140–146.
— Narratives of the career of Hernando de Soto in the conquest
of Florida, as told by a Knight of Elvas and in a relation by
Luys Hernandez de Biedma, factor of the expedition. Translated
by Buckingham Smith.—New York, 1866.
Bradford Club series, V.
— Letter of Hernando de Soto [in Florida, to the Justice and
Board of Magistrates in Santiago de Cuba. July 9, 1539] and
memoir of Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda. Translated from the
Spanish by Buckingham Smith.—Washington, 1854.
This is not the place for an extensive list of the sources
for the history of de Soto’s expedition, and no effort has
been made to do more than mention two volumes which have
proved useful during the study of the Coronado expedition.
The best guide for the student of the travels of de Soto
and Narvaez is the critical portions of John Gilmary Shea’s
chapter in Winsor’s _Narrative and Critical History of
America_, vol. II, pp. 283–298.
Squier, Ephraim George.
New Mexico and California. The ancient monuments, and the
aboriginal, semicivilized nations, . . . with an abstract of
the early Spanish explorations and conquests.
_American Review_, VIII, Nov., 1848, pp. 503–528. Also
issued separately.
Stevens, John.
A new dictionary, Spanish and English. . . . Much more copious
than any hitherto extant, with . . . proper names, the
surnames of families, the geography of Spain and the West
Indies.—London, 1726.
Captain John Stevens was especially well read in the
literature of the Spanish conquest of America, and his
dictionary is often of the utmost value in getting at
the older meaning of terms which were employed by the
conquistadores in a sense very different from their present
use. Captain Stevens translated Herrera and Veitia Linage
(see note under Moses), taking very great liberties with the
texts.
Stevenson, James.
(Illustrated catalogues of collections obtained from the Indians
of New Mexico in 1879, 1880, and 1881.)
_Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_, 1880–81,
pp. 307–465; _Third Annual Report_, 1881–82, pp. 511–594.
Stevenson, Matilda Coxe.
The religious life of the Zuñi child.
_Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_, 1883–84,
pp. 539–555.
— The Sia.
_Eleventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_,
1889–90, pp. 9–157.
Suarez de Peralta, Joan.
Tratado del descubrimiento de las Yndias y su conquista,
y los ritos . . . de los yndios; y de los virreyes y
gobernadores, . . . y del principio que tuvo Francisco Draque
para ser declarado enemigo.—Madrid, 1878.
See entry under Zaragoza and note on page 377 _ante_. This
very valuable historical treatise was written in the last
third of the XVI century.
Tello, Fray Antonio.
Fragmentos de una historia de la Nueva Galicia, escrita hácia
1650, por el Padre Fray Antonio Tello, de la órden de San
Francisco.
Icazbalceta’s _Mexico_, II, 343–438. Chapters viii–xxxix are
all that are known to have survived.
Ternaux-Compans, Henri.
Voyages, relations et mémoires originaux pour servir a
l’histoire de la découverte de l’Amerique publiés pour la
première fois, en français.—Paris, 1837–1841.
Twenty volumes. Volume IX contains the translation of
_Castañeda_, and of various other narratives relating to
the Coronado expedition. These narratives are referred to
under the authors’ names in the present list. It is cited as
Ternaux’s _Cibola_.
Thomas, Cyrus.
Quivira: A suggestion.
_Magazine of American History_ X, New York, Dec., 1883, pp.
490–496.
Tomson, Robert.
The voyage of Robert Tomson marchant, into Noua Hispania in the
yeere 1555, with diuers obseruations concerning the state of
the countrey: And certaine accidents touching himselfe.
_Hakluyt_, III, 447–454 (ed. 1600). See note on page 375
_ante_.
Torquemada, Juan de.
Los veynte i vn libros rituales y monarchia Yndiana, con el
origen y guerras de los Yndios Occidentales. Compvesto por
Fray Ivan de Torquemada, Ministro Prouincial de la orden de S.
Françisco en Mexico, en la Nueba España.—Seuilla, 1615.
This work was reprinted at Madrid in 1723 by Barcia. This,
the second, is the better edition. The first two volumes
contain an invaluable mass of facts concerning [p613] the
natives of New Spain. The comments by the author are, of
course, of less significance.
Ulloa, Francisco de.
A relation of the discouery, which in the name of God the fleete
of the right noble Fernando Cortez Marques of the Vally, made
with three ships; the one called Santa Agueda of 120. tunnes,
the other the Trinitie of 35. tunnes, and the thirde S. Thomas
of the burthen of 20. tunnes. Of which fleete was captaine the
right worshipfull knight Francis de Vlloa borne in the citie
of Merida.
_Hakluyt_, III, 397–424 (ed. 1600). Translated from Ramusio,
III, fol. 339–354 (ed. 1556).
— _See_ Alarcon.
Vetancurt, Augustin de.
Teatro Mexicano descripcion breve de los svcessos exemplares,
historicos, politicos, militares y religiosos del nuevo mundo
Occidental de las Indias.—México, 1698.
— Menologio Franciscano de los Varones mas señalados, quo con
sus vidas exemplares . . . ilustraron la Provincia de el Santo
Evangelio de Mexico.
This work forms a part of the second volume of the Teatro
Mexicano.
Villagra, Gaspar de.
Historia de la Nveva Mexico.—Alcala, 1610.
Villalobos, Ruy Lopez de. _See_ Santisteban, Fray Gerónimo de.
Ware, Eugene F.
Coronado’s march.
_Agora_, Lawrence, Kansas, Nov., 1895 [not completed.] A
translation of Castañeda’s narrative from the French of
Ternaux.
Whipple, A. W., _et al._
Report upon the Indian tribes [of Arizona and New Mexico].
_Pacific Railroad Reports_, vol. III, pt. 3, Washington,
1856.
Winship, George Parker.
A list of titles of documents relating to America, in volumes
I–CX of the Coleccion de documentos inéditos para la historia
de España.
_Bulletin of the Boston Public Library_, October, 1894.
Reprinted, 60 copies.
— The Coronado Expedition, 1540–1542.
_Fourteenth Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology_, Washington,
1896. Contains the Spanish text of Castañeda, and
translations of the original narratives.
— Why Coronado went to New Mexico in 1540.
_Papers of American Historical Association_, 1894,
Washington, 1895, pp. 83–92.
— New Mexico in 1540.
_Boston Transcript_, Oct. 14, 1893. A translation of the
_Relation de lo que . . . Alvarado y Padilla descubrieron_.
— Coronado’s journey to New Mexico and the great plains.
1540–1542.
_American History Leaflet_, No. 13, New York, 1894.
Contains a translation of the _Relacion del Suceso_, and of
Coronado’s _Letter to Mendoza_, 20 October, 1541.
Winsor, Justin.
Narrative and critical history of America, edited by Justin
Winsor (8 volumes).—Boston, 1889.
Besides Professor Haynes’ chapter in volume II, pp. 473–503
(see entry under Haynes), the same volume contains chapters
by Dr Winsor on _Discoveries on the Pacific Coast of North
America_, pp. 431–472; by Clements R. Markham on _Pizarro
and the Conquest and Settlement of Peru and Chile_, pp.
505–573, and by John G. Shea on _Ancient Florida_, pp.
231–298. The fact that special investigators in minute
fields of historical study have found omissions and errors
in this encyclopedic work only serves to emphasize the value
of the labors of Dr Winsor. There is hardly a subject of
study in American history in which the student will not, of
necessity, begin his work by consulting the critical and
bibliographical portions of Winsor’s _America_.
Wytfliet, Cornelius.
Descriptionis Ptolemaicæ Avgmentvm, siue Occidentis Notitia
Breui commentario illustrata Studio et opera Cornely Wytfliet
Louaniensis.—Lovanii, M.D.XCVII.
For _Coronado_, see p. 170, or p. 91 of the French
translation of 1611. Qvivira et Anian. See plates LI–LIII
_ante_.
Zamacois, Niceto de.
Historia de Méjico desde sus tiempos mas remotos.—Méjico,
1878–1888.
Nineteen volumes. For the chronicle of events in New Spain
during the years 1535–1546, see vol. IV, 592–715.
Zaragoza, Justo.
Noticias históricas de la Nueva España.—Madrid, 1878.
In this volume Señor Zaragoza has added much to the inherent
value of the Tratado of Suarez de Peralta (see entry above)
by his ample and scholarly notes, and by a very useful
“Indice geográfico, biográfico, y de palabras Americanas.”
These indices, within their inevitable limitations, contain
a great deal of information for which the student would
hardly know where else to look. This is equally true of the
indices to the _Cartas de Indias_, for the excellence of
which Señor Zaragoza was largely responsible.
FOOTNOTES
NOTES TO THE INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL, pp. 339–412
[1] The Indian’s story is in the first chapter of Castañeda’s
Narrative. Some additional information is given in Bandelier’s
Contributions to the History of the Southwest, the first chapter
of which is entitled “Sketch of the knowledge which the Spaniards
in Mexico possessed of the countries north of the province of New
Galicia previous to the return of Cabeza de Vaca.” For bibliographic
references to this and other works referred to throughout this
memoir, see the list at the end of the paper.
[2] The most important source of information regarding the expedition
of Narvaez is the Relation written by Cabeza de Vaca. This is best
consulted in Buckingham Smith’s translation. Mr Smith includes in
his volume everything which he could find to supplement the main
narration. The best study of the route followed by the survivors of
the expedition, after they landed in Texas, is that of Bandelier
in the second chapter of his Contributions to the History of the
Southwest. In this essay Bandelier has brought together all the
documentary evidence, and he writes with the knowledge obtained
by traveling through the different portions of the country which
Cabeza de Vaca must have traversed. Dr J. G. Shea, in his chapter
in the Narrative and Critical History of America, vol. ii, p. 286,
disagrees in some points with Mr Bandelier’s interpretation of the
route of Cabeza de Vaca west of Texas, and also with Mr Smith’s
identifications of the different points in the march of the main army
before it embarked from the Bahia de los Cavallos. Other interesting
conjectures are given in H. H. Bancroft’s North Mexican States, vol.
i, p. 63, and map at p. 67.
[3] Buckingham Smith collected in his Letter of Hernando de Soto, pp.
57–61, and in his Narrative of the Career of Hernando de Soto (see
index), all that is known in regard to Ortiz, one of the soldiers of
Narvaez, who was found among the Indians by De Soto in 1540.
[4] Mendoza to Charles V, 10 Diciembre, 1537. Cabeza de Vaca y
Dorantes, . . . despues de haber llegado aquí, determinaron de irse
en España, y viendo que si V. M. era servido de enviar aquella tierra
alguna gente para saber de cierto lo que era, no quedaba persona que
pudiese ir con ella ni dar ninguna razon, compré á Dorantes para este
efecto un negro que vino de allá y se halló con ellos en todo, que
se llama Estéban, por ser persona de razon. Despues sucedió, como el
navio en que Dorantes ibase volvió al puerto, y sabido esto, yo le
escribí á la Vera-Cruz, rogándole que viniese aquí; y como llegó á
esta ciudad, yo le hablé diciéndole que hubiese por bien de volver
á esta tierra con algunos religiosos y gente de caballo, que yo le
daria á calalla, y saber de cierto lo que en ella habia. Y él vista
mi voluntad, y el servicio que yo le puse delantre que hacia con
ello á Dios y á V. M., me respondió que holgaba dello, y así estoy
determinado de envialle allá con la gente de caballo y religiosos que
digo. Pienso que ha de redundar dello gran servicio á Dios y á V.
M.—From the text printed in Pacheco y Cardenas, Docs. de Indias, ii,
206.
[5] Some recent writers have been misled by a chance comma inserted
by the copyist or printer in one of the old narratives, which divides
the name of Maldonado—Alonso del Castillo, Maldonado—making it appear
as if there were five instead of four survivors of the Narvaez
expedition who made their way to Mexico.
[6] Besides the general historians, we have Cabeza de Vaca’s own
account of his career in Paraguay in his Comentarios, reprinted in
Vedia, Historiadores Primitivos, vol. i. Ternaux translated this
narrative into French for his Voyages, part vi.
[7] The Spanish text of this letter has not been seen since Ramusio
used it in making the translation for his Viaggi, vol. iii, fol.
355, ed. 1556. There is no date to the letter as Ramusio gives it.
Ternaux-Compans translated it from Ramusio for his Cibola volume
(Voyages, vol. ix, p. 287). It is usually cited from Ternaux’s
title as the “Première lettre de Mendoza.” I quote from the French
text the portion of the letter which explains my narrative: “. . .
Andrès Dorantès, un de ceux qui firent partie de l’armée de Pamphilo
Narvaez, vint près de moi. J’eus de fréquents entretiens avec lui;
je pensai qu’il pouvait rendre un grand service à votre majesté;
si je l’expédiais avec quarante ou cinquante chevaux et tous les
objets nécessaires pour découvrir ce pays. Je dépensai beaucoup
d’argent pour l’expédition, mais je ne sais pas comment il se fit que
l’affaire n’eut pas de suite. De tous les préparatifs que j’avais
faits, il ne me resta qu’un nègre qui est venu avec Dorantès,
quelques esclaves que j’avais achetés, et des Indiens, naturels de ce
pays, que j’avais fait rassembler.”
[8] Two of these are extant—the Relacion of Cabeza de Vaca and
Oviedo’s version of an account signed by the three Spaniards and sent
to the Real Audiencia at Santo Domingo, in his Historia General de
las Indias, lib. xxxv, vol. iii, p. 582, ed. 1853.
[9] See Buckingham Smith’s translation of Cabeza de Vaca’s Narrative,
p. 150.
[10] The effect of the stories told by Cabeza de Vaca, and later by
Friar Marcos, is considered in a paper printed in the Proceedings
of the American Historical Association at Washington, 1894, “Why
Coronado went to New Mexico in 1540.”
[11] The best sources for these proceedings is in Mota Padilla’s
Historia de la Nueva Galicia (ed. Icazbalceta, pp. 104–109). A more
available account in English is in H. H. Bancroft’s Mexico, vol. ii,
p. 457.
[12] An official investigation into the administration of an official
who is about to be relieved of his duties.
[13] The best account, in English, of the Casa de Contratacion is
given by Professor Bernard Moses, of Berkeley, California, in the
volume of papers read before the American Historical Association at
its 1894 meeting.
[14] See Fragmentos de una Historia de la Nueva Galicia, by Father
Tello (Icazbalceta, Documentos de Mexico, vol. ii, p. 369).
[15] Mendoza, in the “première lettre,” gives a brief sketch of the
efforts which Cortes had been making, and then adds: “Il ne put
donc jamais en faire la conquête; il semblait même que Dieu voulût
miraculeusement l’en eloigner.” Ternaux, Cibola volume, p. 287.
[16] On the maps it is usually designated as S. †.
[17] The details of this episode are given in the relations and
petitions of Cortes. H. H. Bancroft tells the story in his North
Mexican States, vol. i, p. 77. The Cortes map of 1536 is reproduced,
from a tracing, in Winsor’s Narrative and Critical History of
America, vol. ii, p. 442.
[18] This is the story which Garcilaso de la Vega tells in his
Commentales Reales, pt. II, lib. ii.
[19] Contributions to the History of the Southwest, pp 79–103.
[20] This region is identified by Bandelier in his Contributions, p.
104, note. The letter from which the details are obtained, written to
accompany the report of Friar Marcos when this was transmitted to the
King, is in Ramusio, and also in Ternaux, Cibola volume, p. 285.
[21] This certification, with the report of Friar Marcos and other
documents relating to him, is printed in the Pacheco y Cardenas
Coleccion, vol. iii, pp. 325–351.
[22] The instructions given to Friar Marcos have been translated by
Bandelier in his Contributions, p. 109. The best account of Friar
Marcos and his explorations is given in that volume.
[23] Herrera, Historia General, dec. VI, lib. vii, cap. vii.
[24] Bandelier, in his Contributions, p. 122, says this was “about
the middle of April,” but his chronology at this point must be at
fault.
[25] See F. W. Hodge, “Aboriginal Use of Adobes,” The Archæologist,
Columbus, Ohio, August, 1895.
[26] These are described in the Castañeda narrative.
[27] In lieu of turquoises the Pima and Maricopa today frequently
wear small beaded rings pendent from the ears and septum.
[28] Bandelier, Contributions, pp. 154, 155.
[29] There is an admirable and extended account, with many
illustrations, of the Apache medicine men, by Captain John G. Bourke
in the ninth report of the Bureau of Ethnology.
[30] This is precisely the method pursued by the Zuñis today
against any Mexicans who may be found in their vicinity during the
performance of an outdoor ceremonial.
[31] This question has been fully discussed by F. W. Hodge. See
“The First Discovered City of Cibola,” American Anthropologist,
Washington, April, 1895.
[32] Tomson’s exceedingly interesting narrative of his experiences in
Mexico is printed in Hakluyt, vol. iii, p. 447, ed. 1600.
[33] Compare the ground plan of Hawikuh, by Victor Mindeleff, in the
eighth annual report of the Bureau of Ethnology, pl. XLVI, with the
map of the city of Mexico (1550?), by Alonzo de Santa Cruz, pl. XLIII
of this paper.
[34] Diaz started November 17, 1539. The report of his trip is given
in Mendoza’s letter of April 17, 1540, in Pacheco y Cardenas, ii, p.
356, and translated herein.
[35] The Spanish text from which I have translated may be found
on pages 144 and 148 of Zaragoza’s edition of Suarez de Peralta’s
Tratado. This edition is of the greatest usefulness to every student
of early Mexican history.
[36] The depositions as printed in the Pacheco y Cardenas Docs. de
Indias, vol. xv., pp. 392–398, are as follows: Pedro Nuñez, testigo
rescebido en la dicha razon, juró segun derecho, é dijo: . . . que
estando en la ciudad de México, puede haber tres meses [the evidence
being taken November 12, 1539], poco mas ó menos, oyó decir este
testigo públicamente, que habia venido un fraile Francisco, que se
dice Fray Marcos, que venia la tierra adentro, é que decia el dicho
fraile que se habia descobierto una tierra muy rica é muy poblada; é
que habia cuatrocientas leguas dende México allá; é que dice que han
de ir allá por cerca del río de Palmas; . . .
Garcia Navarro, . . . oyó decir publicamente, puede haber un mes ó
mes y medio [and so all the remaining witnesses] que habia venido
un fraile, nuevamente, de una tierra, nuevamente descobierta, que
dicen ques quinientas leguas de México, en la tierra de la Florida,
que dicen ques hácia la parte del Norte de la dicha tierra; la cual
diz, que es tierra rica de oro é plata é otros resgates, é grandes
pueblos; que las casas son de piedra é terrados á la manera de
México, é que tienen peso é medida, é gente de razon, é que no casan
mas de una vez, é que visten albornoces, é que andan cabalgando en
unos animales, que no sabe cómo se llaman, . . .
Francisco Serrano, . . . el fraile venia por tierra, por la via
de Xalisco; é ques muy rica é muy poblada é grandes ciudades
cercadas; é que los señores dellas, se nombran Reyes; é que las
casas son sobradas, é ques gente de mucha razon; que la lengua es
mexicana, . . .
Pero Sanchez, tinturero . . . una tierra nueva muy rica é muy poblada
de ciudades é villas; . . . por la vía de Xalisco . . . hácia en
medio de la tierra. . . .
Francisco de Leyva . . . en la Vera-Cruz, oyó decir que habia venido
un fraile de una tierra nueva muy rica é muy poblada de ciudades é
villas, é ques á la banda del Sur, . . . Otrosí, dixo: que es verdad
que no embargante que no toca en este puerto, dejaba de seguir su
viaje; pero que entró en este puerto por necesidad que llevaba
de agua é otros bastimentos é de ciertas personas que venian muy
enfermos.
Hernando de Sotomayor . . . questando en la Puebla de los
Angeles . . . públicamente se decia . . . é que las casas son de
piedras sobradadas, é las ciudades cercadas, é gente de razon; . . .
é questa dicha tierra es la parte donde vino Dorantes é Cabeza de
Vaca, los cuales escaparon de la armada de Narvaez; é que sabe é vido
este testigo, que fué mandado al maestre por mandado del Virey é
con su mandamiento, que no tocase en parte ninguna, salvo que fuese
derechamente á España, con la dicha nao, é quel secretario del Virey
hizo un requirimiento al dicho maestre, viniendo por la mar, que no
tocase en este puerto ni en otra parte destas islas. . . . [This
statement appears in each deposition.]
Andrés Garcia, dixo: . . . questando en la ciudad de México, un
Francisco de Billegas le dió cartas para dar en esta villa, para
dar al Adelantado D. Hernando de Soto, é si no lo hallase, que las
llevase á España é las diese al hacedor suyo; é queste testigo tiene
un yerno barbero que afeitaba al fraile que vino de la dicha tierra;
é quel dicho su yerno, le dixo este testigo, questando afeitando
al dicho fraile, le dixo como antes que llegasen á la dicha tierra
estaba una sierra, é que pasando la dicha sierra estaba un río, é
que habia muchas poblazones de ciudades é villas, é que las ciudades
son cercadas é guardadas á las puertas, é muy ricas; é que habia
plateros; é que las mugeres traian sartas de oro é los hombres
cintos de oro, é que habia albarnios é obejas é vacas é perdices é
carnicerias é herreria, é peso é medida; é que un Bocanegra, dixo
á este testigo que se quedare, que se habia descobierto un nuevo
mundo. . . .
[37] The document, as printed in Doc. Inéd. Hist. España, vol. iv,
pp. 209–217, is not dated. The date given in the text is taken from
the heading or title to the petition, which, if not the original,
has at least the authority of Señor Navarrete, the editor of this
Coleccion when the earlier volumes were printed. This memorial
appears, from the contents, to have been one of the documents
submitted in the litigation then going on between the rival claimants
for the privilege of exploring the country discovered by Friar
Marcos, although the document is not printed with the other papers in
the case.
[38] Documentos Inéditos Hist. España, vol. iv, p. 211: Memorial
que dió el Marqués del Valle en Madrid á 25 de Junio de 1540. . . .
“Al tiempo que yo vine de la dicha tierra el dicho Fray Marcos
habló conmigo . . . é yo le dí noticia de esta dicha tierra y
descubrimiento de ella, porque tenia determinacion de enviarlo en
mis navíos en proseguimiento y conquista de la dicha costa y tierra,
porque parescia que se le entendia algo de cosas de navegacion: el
cual dicho fraile lo comunicó con el dicho visorey, y con su licencia
diz que fué por tierra en demanda de la misma costa y tierra que yo
habia descubierto, y que era y es de mi conquista; y despues que
volvió el dicho fraile ha publicado que diz que llegó á vista de la
dicha tierra; lo cual yo niego haber él visto ni descubierto, antes
lo que el dicho fraile refiere haber visto, lo ha dicho y dice por
sola la relacion que yo le habia hecho de la noticia que tenia de los
indios de la dicha tierra de Santa Cruz que yo truje, porque todo lo
que el dicho fraile se dice que refiere, es lo mismo que los dichos
indios á mí me dijeron; y en haberse en esto adelantado el dicho Fray
Marcos fingiendo y refiriendo lo que no sabe ni vió, no hizo cosa
nueva, porque otras muchas veces lo ha hecho y lo tiene por costumbre
como es notorio en las provincias del Perú y Guatemala, y se dará de
ello informacion bastante luego en esta corte, siendo necesario.”
[39] The request occurs in the earliest letters from the viceroy,
and is repeated in that of December 10, 1537. This privilege was
withdrawn from all governors in the colonies by one of the New Laws
of 1543. (Icazbalceta, Col. Hist. Mexico, ii, 204.) The ill success
of Coronado’s efforts did not weaken Mendoza’s desire to enlarge his
territory, for he begs his agent in Spain, Juan de Aguilar, to secure
for him a fresh grant of the privilege in a later letter. (Pacheco y
Cardenas, Doc. de Indias, vol. iii, p. 506; B. Smith, Florida, p. 7.)
[40] Ulloa’s Relation is translated from Ramusio in Hakluyt, vol.
iii, p. 397, ed. 1600.
[41] Memorial que dió al Rey el Marques del Valle, en Madrid, 25 de
junio, 1540: Printed in Doc. Inéd. España, vol. iv, p. 209. Compare
with this account that in H. H. Bancroft’s Mexico, vol. ii, p. 425.
Mr Bancroft is always a strong advocate of the cause of Cortes.
[42] Oviedo, Historia General, vol. iv, p. 19.
[43] The capitulacion or agreement with De Soto is printed in Pacheco
y Cardenas, Doc. de Indias, vol. xv, pp. 354–363.
[44] These documents fill 108 pages in volume XV of the Pacheco y
Cardenas Documentos de Indias. At least one other document presented
in the case, the Capitulacion . . . que hizo Ayllon, is printed
elsewhere in the same Coleccion. This, also, does not include the two
long memorials which Cortes succeeded in presenting to the King in
person.
[45] This much feared conjunction came very near to being realized.
A comparison of the various plottings of the routes De Soto and
Coronado may have followed and of their respective itineraries shows
that the two parties could not have been far apart in the present
Oklahoma or Indian territory, or perhaps north of that region. This
evidence is confirmed by the story of the Indian woman, related by
Castañeda. Dr J. G. Shea, in Winsor’s Narrative and Critical History,
vol. ii, p. 292, states that Coronado heard of his countryman De
Soto, and sent a letter to him. This is almost certainly a mistake,
which probably originated in a misinterpretation of a statement made
by Jaramillo.
[46] See his Carta in Doc. Inéd. España, vol. civ, p. 491.
[47] The Titulo, etc, dated 6 Julio, 1529, is in Pacheco y Cardenas,
Coleccion de Documentos Inéditos de Indias, vol. iv, pp. 572–574.
[48] Fragmento Visita: Mendoza, Icazbalceta’s Mexico, vol. ii, p. 90,
§ 86. “Porque antes que el dicho visorey viniese . . . habia muy poca
gente y los corregimientos bastaban para proveellos y sustentallos,
y como despues de la venida del dicho visorey creció la gente y se
aumentó, y de cada dia vienen gentes pobres á quien se ha de proveer
de comer, con la dicha baja y vacaciones se han proveido y remediado,
y sin ella hubieran padecido y padecieran gran necesidad, y no se
poblara tanto la tierra, y dello se dió noticia á S. M. y lo aprobó
y se tuvo por servido en ello. § 194 (p. 117): Despues que el dicho
visorey vino á esta Nueva España, continamente ha acogido en su casa
á caballeros y otras personas que vienen necesitados de España y de
otras partes, dándoles de comer y vestir, caballos y armas con que
sirvan á S. M.” . . .
[49] Garcilaso de la Vega, Comentarios Reales, part II, cap. i, lib.
ii, p. 58 (ed. 1722), tells the story of Alvarado’s experiment.
The picture of the life and character of the Spanish conquerors of
America, in the eyes of a girl fresh from Europe, is so vivid and
suggestive that its omission would be unjustifiable.
[50] Tomson’s whole narrative, in Hakluyt, Voyages, vol. iii, p.
447 (ed. 1600), is well worth reading. Considerable additional
information in regard to the internal condition of New Spain, at a
little later date, may be found in the “Discourses” which follow
Tomson’s Narrative, in the same volume of Hakluyt.
[51] The proof text for this quotation, as for many of the following
statements which are taken from Mota Padilla’s Historia de la Nueva
Galicia, may be found in footnotes to the passages which they
illustrate in the translation of Castañeda’s narrative. I hope
this arrangement will prove most convenient for those who study
the documents included in this memoir. I shall not attempt in the
introductory narrative to make any further references showing my
indebtedness to Mota Padilla’s invaluable work.
[52] The Testimonio contains so much that is of interest to the
historical student that I have translated it in full herein.
[53] Herrera, Historia General, dec. VI, lib. ix, cap. xi, vol. iii,
p. 204 (ed. 1730), mentions pigs among the food supply of the army.
For the above description, which is not so fanciful as it sounds,
see notes from Mota Padilla, etc, accompanying the translation of
Castañeda.
[54] Castañeda’s statement is supported by Herrera, Historia General,
dec. VI, lib. v, cap. ix, vol. iii, p. 121 (ed. 1730), and by Tello,
in Icazbalceta’s Mexico, vol. ii, p. 370.
[55] See the Fragmento de Visita, in Icazbalceta’s Doc. Hist. Mexico,
vol. ii, p. 95.
[56] The laws were signed at Valladolid, June 4 and June 26, 1543,
and the copy printed in Icazbalceta’s Doc. Hist. Mexico, vol. ii, p.
214, was promulgated in New Spain, March 13, 1544.
[57] See Mendoza’s letter to the King, December 10, 1537.
[58] The proceso which was served on Cortes is in Pacheco y Cardenas,
Doc. de Indias, vol. xv, p. 371.
[59] The grant, dated at Madrid, November 8, 1539, is given in
Tello’s Fragmento (Icazbalceta’s Doc. Hist. Mexico, vol. ii, p. 371).
[60] Before the end of the month Mendoza wrote a letter to the King,
in which he gave a detailed account of the preparations he had made
to insure the success of the expedition, and of the departure of the
army. This letter is not known to exist.
[61] This march from Compostela to Culiacan, according to the letter
which Coronado wrote from Granada-Zuñi on August 3, occupied eighty
days. The same letter gives April 22 as the date when Coronado left
Culiacan, after stopping for several days in that town, and this date
is corroborated by another account, the Traslado de las Nuevas. April
22 is only sixty days after February 23, the date of the departure,
which is fixed almost beyond question by the legal formalities of
the Testimonio of February 21–26. We have only Ramusio’s Italian
text of Coronado’s August 3 letter, so that it is easy to suspect
that a slip on the part of the translator causes the trouble. But to
complicate matters, eighty days previous to April 22 is about the
1st of February. Mota Padilla, who used material of great value in
his Historia de la Nueva Galicia, says that the army marched from
Compostela “el 1° de Febrero del año de 1540.” Castañeda does not
give much help, merely stating that the whole force was assembled at
Compostela by “el dia de carnes tollendas,” the carnival preceding
Shrove tide, which in 1540 fell on February 10, Easter being March
28. Mendoza, who had spent the New Year’s season at Pasquaro, the
seat of the bishopric of Michoacan, did not hasten his journey across
the country, and we know only that the whole force had assembled
before he arrived at Compostela. At least a fortnight would have
been necessary for completing the organization of the force, and for
collecting and arranging all the supplies.
Another combination of dates makes it hard to decide how rapidly the
army marched. Mendoza was at Compostela February 26. He presumably
started on his return to Mexico very soon after that date. He went
down the coast to Colima, where he was detained by an attack of fever
for some days. Thence he proceeded to Jacona, where he wrote a letter
to the King, April 17, 1540. March 20 Mendoza received the report
of Melchior Diaz, who had spent the preceding winter in the country
through which Friar Marcos had traveled, trying to verify the friar’s
report. Diaz, and Saldivar his lieutenant, on their return from the
north, met the army at Chiametla as it was about to resume its march,
after a few days’ delay. Diaz stopped at Chiametla, while Saldivar
carried the report to the viceroy, and he must have traveled very
rapidly to deliver his packets on March 20, when Mendoza had left
Colima, although he probably had not arrived at Jacona.
Everything points to the very slow progress of the force, hampered
by the long baggage and provision trains. Castañeda says that they
reached Culiacan just before Easter, March 28, less than thirty-five
days after February 23. Here Coronado stopped for a fortnight’s
entertainment and rest, according to Castañeda, who was present. Mota
Padilla says that the army stayed here a month, and this agrees with
Castañeda’s statement that the main body started a fortnight later
than their general.
The attempt to arrange an itinerary of the expedition is perplexing,
and has not been made easier by modern students. Professor Haynes,
in his Early Explorations of New Mexico (Winsor’s Narrative and
Critical History, vol. ii, p. 481), following Bandelier’s statement
on page 26 of his Documentary History of Zuñi, says that the start
from Compostela was made “in the last days of February, 1540.” Mr
Bandelier, however, who has given much more time to the study of
everything connected with this expedition than has been possible
for any other investigator, in his latest work—The Gilded Man, p.
164—adopts the date which is given by Mota Padilla. The best and the
safest way out of this tangle in chronology is gained by accepting
the three specific dates, February 23—or possibly 24—Easter, and
April 22, disregarding every statement about the number of days
intervening.
[62] Mota Padilla says, “warden of one of the royal storehouses in
Mexico,” which may refer to some other position held by Samaniego, or
may have arisen from some confusion of names.
[63] This is taken from Mota Padilla’s account of the incident,
without any attempt to compare or to harmonize it with the story told
by Castañeda. Mota Padilla’s version seems much the more reasonable.
[64] A note, almost as complicated as that which concerns the date
of the army’s departure, might be written regarding the length of
the stay at Culiacan. Those who are curious can find the facts in
Coronado’s letter from Granada, in Castañeda, and in the footnotes to
the translation of the latter.
[65] The complete text of Alarcon’s report was translated into
Italian by Ramusio (vol. iii, fol. 303, ed. 1556), and the Spanish
original is not known to exist. Herrera, however, gives an account
which, from the close similarity to Ramusio’s text and from the
personality of the style, must have been copied from Alarcon’s own
narrative. The Ramusio text does not give the port of departure.
Herrera says that the ships sailed from Acapulco. Castañeda implies
that the start was made from La Natividad, but his information could
hardly have been better than second hand. He may have known what the
viceroy intended to do, when he bade the army farewell, two days
north of Compostela. Alarcon reports that he put into the port of
Santiago de Buena Esperanza, and as the only Santiago on the coast
hereabout is south of La Natividad, which is on the coast of the
district of Colima, H. H. Bancroft (North Mexican States, vol. i, p.
90) says the fleet probably started from Acapulco. Bancroft does not
mention Herrera, who is, I suppose, the conclusive authority. Gen. J.
H. Simpson (Smithsonian Report for 1869, p. 315), accepted the start
from La Natividad, and then identified this Santiago with the port
of Compostela, which was well known under the name of Xalisco. The
distance of Acapulco from Colima would explain the considerable lapse
of time before Alarcon was ready to start.
[66] Coronado’s description of this portion of the route in
the letter of August 3 is abbreviated, he says, because it was
accompanied by a map. As this is lost, I am following here, as I
shall do throughout the Introduction, Bandelier’s identification of
the route in his Historical Introduction, p. 10, and in his Final
Report, part II, pp. 407–409. The itinerary of Jaramillo, confused
and perplexing as it is, is the chief guide for the earlier part
of the route. There is no attempt in this introductory narrative
to repeat the details of the journey, when these may be obtained,
much more satisfactorily, from the translation of the contemporary
narratives which form the main portion of this memoir.
[67] This “Red House,” in the Nahuatl tongue, has been identified
with the Casa Grande ruins in Arizona ever since the revival of
interest in Coronado’s journey, which followed the explorations in
the southwestern portion of the United States during the second
quarter of the present century. Bandelier’s study of the descriptions
given by those who saw the “Red House” in 1539 and 1540, however,
shows conclusively that the conditions at Casa Grande do not meet the
requirements for Chichilticalli. Bandelier objects to Casa Grande
because it is white, although he admits that it may once have been
covered with the reddish paint of the Indians. This would suit Mota
Padilla’s explanation that the place was named from a house there
which was daubed over with colored earth—almagre, as the natives
called it. This is the Indian term for red ocher. Bandelier thinks
that Coronado reached the edge of the wilderness, the White Mountain
Apache reservation in Arizona, by way of San Pedro river and Arivaypa
creek. This requires the location of Chichilticalli somewhere in the
vicinity of the present Fort Grant, Arizona.
[68] Hakluyt, Voyages, vol. iii, p. 375, ed. 1600.
[69] Hawikuh, near Ojo Caliente, was the first village captured by
the Spaniards, as Bandelier has shown in his Contributions, p. 166,
and Documentary History of Zuñi, p. 29. The definite location of
this village is an important point, and the problem of its site was
one over which a great deal of argument had been wasted before Mr
Bandelier published the results of his critical study of the sources,
which he was enabled to interpret by the aid of a careful exploration
of the southwestern country, undertaken under the auspices of the
Archæological Institute of America. It was under the impetus of the
friendly guidance and careful scrutiny of results by Professor Henry
W. Haynes and the other members of the Institute that Mr Bandelier
has done his best work. It is unfortunate that he did not use the
letter which Coronado wrote from Granada-Hawikuh, August 3, 1540,
which is the only official account of the march from Culiacan to
Zuñi. The fact that Bandelier’s results stand the tests supplied by
this letter is the best proof of the exactness and accuracy of his
work. (This note was written before the appearance of Mr Bandelier’s
Gilded Man, in which he states that Kiakima, instead of Hawikuh,
is the Granada of Coronado. Mr F. W. Hodge, in an exhaustive paper
on The First Discovered City of Cibola (American Anthropologist,
Washington, April, 1895), has proved conclusively that Mr Bandelier’s
earlier position was the correct one.)
[70] Marcos returned to Mexico with Juan de Gallego, who left
Cibola-Zuñi soon after August 3. Bandelier, in his article on the
friars, in the American Catholic Quarterly Review, vol. xv, p. 551,
says that “the obvious reason” for Marcos’s return “was the feeble
health of the friar. Hardship and physical suffering had nearly
paralyzed the body of the already aged man. He never recovered his
vigor, and died at Mexico, after having in vain sought relief in the
delightful climate of Jalapa, in the year 1558”—seventeen years later.
[71] Alvarado’s official report is probably the paper known as
the Relacion de lo que. . . . Alvarado y Fray Joan de Padilla
descubrieron en demanda de la mar del Sur, which is translated
herein. The title, evidently the work of some later editor, is
a misnomer so far as the Mar del Sur is concerned, for this—the
Pacific ocean—was west, and Alvarado’s explorations were toward the
east. This short report is of considerable value, but it is known
only through a copy, lacking the list of villages which should have
accompanied it. Muñoz judged that it was a contemporary official
copy, which did not commend itself to that great collector and
student of Spanish Americana. There is nothing about the document to
show the century or the region to which it relates, so that one of
Hubert H. Bancroft’s scribes was misled into making a short abstract
of it for his Central America, vol. ii, p. 185, as giving an account
of an otherwise unknown expedition starting from another Granada, on
the northern shore of Lake Nicaragua.
[72] Castañeda says that this Indian accompanied Alvarado on the
first visit to the buffalo plains, and this may be true without
disturbing the statement above.
[73] He was called “The Turk” because the Spaniards thought that he
looked like one. Bandelier, in American Catholic Quarterly Review,
vol. xv, p. 555, thinks this was due to the manner in which he wore
his hair, characteristic of certain branches of the Pawnee.
[74] This probability is greatly strengthened by Mota Padilla’s
statement in relation to the Turk and Quivira, quoted in connection
with Castañeda’s narrative.
[75] The Spaniards had already observed two distinct branches of
these pure nomads, whom they knew as Querechos and Teyas. Bandelier,
in his Final Report, vol. i. p. 179, identified the Querechos with
the Apaches of the plains, but later investigation by Mr James Mooney
shows that Querecho is an old Comanche name of the Tonkawa of western
central Texas (Hodge, Early Navajo and Apache, Am. Anthropologist,
Washington, July, 1895, vol. iii, p. 235). I am unable to find any
single tribal group among the Indians whom we know which can be
identified with the Teyas, unless, as Mr Hodge has suggested, they
may have been the Comanche, who roamed the plains from Yellowstone
Park to Durango, Mexico.
[76] I am inclined, also, to believe Jaramillo’s statement that the
day’s marches on the journey to Quivira were short ones. But when he
writes that the journey occupied “more than thirty days, or almost
thirty days’ journey, although not long day’s marches,”—seguimos
nuestro viaje . . . más de treinta dias ú casi treinta dias de
camino, aunque no de jornadas grandes—and again, that they decided to
return “because it was already nearly the beginning of winter, . . .
and lest the winter might prevent the return,”—nos paresció á todos,
que pues que hera ya casi la boca del inbierno, porque si me acuerdo
bien, jera media y más de Agosto, y por ser pocos para inbernar
allí, . . . y porque el invierno no nos cerrase los caminos de nieves
y rios que no nos dexesen pasar (Pacheco y Cardenas, Doc. de Indias,
vol. xiv, pp. 312, 314)—we experience some of the difficulties which
make it hard to analyse the captain’s recollections critically and
satisfactorily.
[77] Final Report, vol. i, p. 170.
[78] Ibid., vol. i, p. 178.
[79] Bandelier’s best discussion of the route is in his article on
Fray Juan de Padilla, in the American Catholic Quarterly Review,
vol. xv, p. 551. The Gilded Man also contains an outline of the
probable route. An element in his calculation, to which he gives
much prominence, is the tendency of one who is lost to wander always
toward the right. This is strongly emphasized in the Gilded Man; but
it can, I think, hardly merit the importance which he gives to it.
The emphasis appears, however, much more in Bandelier’s words than in
his results. I can not see that there is anything to show that the
Indian guides ever really lost their reckoning.
[80] Bandelier accounts for sixty-seven days of short marches and
occasional delays between the separation of the force on Canadian
river and the arrival at Quivira. It may be that the seventy-seven
days of desert marching which Coronado mentions in his letter of
October 20, 1541, refers to this part of the journey, instead of to
the whole of the journey from the bridge (near Mora on the Canadian)
to Quivira. But the number sixty-seven originated in a blunder of
Ternaux-Compans, who substituted it for seventy-seven, in translating
this letter. The mistake evidently influenced Bandelier to extend the
journey over more time than it really took. But this need not affect
his results materially, if we extend the amount of ground covered by
each day’s march and omit numerous halts, which were very unlikely,
considering the condition of his party and the desire to solve the
mystery of Quivira. If the Spaniards crossed the Arkansas somewhere
below Fort Dodge, and followed it until the river turns toward the
southeast, Quivira can hardly have been east of the middle part of
the state of Kansas. It was much more probably somewhere between
the main forks of Kansas river, in the central part of that state.
Bandelier seems to have abandoned his documents as he approached
the goal, and to have transported Coronado across several branches
of Kansas river, in order to fill out his sixty-seven days—which
should have been seventy-seven—and perhaps to reach the region fixed
on by previous conceptions of the limit of exploration. He may have
realized that the difficulty in his explanation of the route was that
it required a reduction of about one-fourth of the distance covered
by the army in the eastward march, as plotted by General Simpson.
This can be accounted for by the wandering path which the army
followed.
[81] See the note at the end of the translation.
[82] The Spanish (judicial) league was equivalent to 2.63 statute
miles.
[83] Castañeda implies that Friar Antonio Victoria, who broke his leg
near Culiacan, accompanied the main force on its march to Cibola.
This is the last heard of him, and it is much more probable that he
remained in New Galicia.
[84] Vetancurt, in the Menologia, gives the date of the martyrdom of
Fray Juan de Padilla as November 30, 1544, and I see no reason to
prefer the more general statements of Jaramillo, Castañeda, and Mota
Padilla, which seem to imply that it took place in 1542. Docampo and
the other companions of the friar brought the news to Mexico. They
must have returned some time previous to 1552, for Gomara mentions
their arrival in Tampico, on the Mexican gulf, in his Conquista
de Mexico published in that year. Herrera and Gomara say that the
fugitives had been captured by Indians and detained as slaves for
ten months. These historians state also that a dog accompanied the
fugitives. Further mention of dogs in connection with the Coronado
expedition is in the stories of one accompanying Estevan which
Alarcon heard along Colorado river, also in the account of the death
of Melchior Diaz, and in the reference by Castañeda to the use of
these animals as beasts of burden by certain plains tribes.
Mendiota and Vetancurt say that, of the two donados, Sebastian died
soon after his return, and the other lived long as a missionary among
the Zacatecas.
[85] The maps of the New World drawn and published between 1542 and
1600, reproductions of several of which accompany this memoir, give
a better idea of the real value of the geographical discoveries made
by Coronado than any bare statement could give. In 1540, European
cartographers knew nothing about the country north of New Spain.
Cortes had given them the name—Nueva España or Hispania Nova—and
this, with the name of the continent, served to designate the inland
region stretching toward the north and west. Such was the device
which Mercator adopted when he drew his double cordiform map in
1538 (plates XLV, XLVI). Six years later, 1544, Sebastian Cabot
published his elaborate map of the New World (see plate XL). He had
heard of the explorations made by and for Cortes toward the head of
the Gulf of California, very likely from the lips of the conqueror
himself. He confined New Spain to its proper limits, and in the
interior he pictured Indians and wild beasts. In 1548 the maps of
America in Ptolemy’s Geography for the first time show the results of
Coronado’s discoveries (see plate XLI). During the remainder of the
century Granada, Cibola, Quivira, and the other places whose names
occur in the various reports of the expedition, appear on the maps.
Their location, relative to each other and to the different parts of
the country, constantly changes. Quivira moves along the fortieth
parallel from Espiritu Santo river to the Pacific coast. Tiguex and
Totonteac are on any one of half a dozen rivers flowing into the Gulf
of Mexico, the Espiritu Santo, or the South sea. Acuco and Cicuye
are sometimes placed west of Cibola, and so a contemporary map maker
may be the cause of the mistaken title to the report of Alvarado’s
expedition to the Rio Grande. But many as were the mistakes, they
are insignificant in comparison with the great fact that the people
of Europe had learned that there was an inhabited country north of
Mexico, and that the world was, by so much, larger than before.
[86] See Castañeda’s account of the finding of similar message by the
party under Diaz.
[87] The account of this trip in Herrera (dec. VI, lib. ix, cap.
xv, ed. 1728) is as follows: “Haviendo llegado à ciertas Montañas,
adonde el Rio se estrechaba mucho, supo, que vn Encantador andaba
preguntando por donde havia de pasar, y haviendo entendido, que por
el Rio, puso desde vna Ribera à la otra algunas Cañas, que debian de
ser hechiçadas; pero las Barcas pasaron sin daño; y haviendo llegado
mui arriba, preguntando por cosas de la Tierra, para entender, si
descubriria alguna noticia de Francisco Vazquez de Cornado. . . .
Viendo Alarcon, que no hallaba lo que deseaba, i que havia subido por
aquel Rio 85 Leguas, determinò de bolver.” . . .
[88] Mota Padilla (p. 158, § 1). “Los Indios, para resistir el frio,
llevan en las manos un troncon ardiendo que les calienta el pecho, y
del mismo modo la espalda; siendo esto tan comun en todos los indios,
que por eso los nuestros pusieron á este rio el nombre del rio del
Tison, cerca de él vieron un árbol en el cual estaban escritas unas
letras, que decian: al pié está una carta: y con efecto; la hallaron
en una olla, bien envuelta, porque no se humedeciese, y su contenido
era: que el año de 40 llegó alli Francisco de Alarcon con tres
navíos, y entrando por la barra de aquel rio, enviado por el virey
D. Antonio de Mendoza, en busca de Francisco Vazquez Coronado; y que
habiendo estado alli muchos dias sin noticia alguna le fué preciso
salir porque los navíos se comian de broma.”
[89] The accusation was made by others at the time. H. H. Bancroft
repeats the charge in his Mexico, but it should always be remembered
that Mr Bancroft, or his compilers, in everything connected with
the conqueror, repeat whatever it may have pleased Cortes to write,
without criticism or question.
[90] The report or memorandum was written by Juan Paez, or more
probably by the pilot Ferrel. It has been translated in the reports
of the United States Geological Survey West of the One Hundredth
Meridian. (Appendix to part i, vol. vii, Archæology, pp. 293–314.)
The translation is accompanied by notes identifying the places named,
on which it is safe enough to rely, and by other notes of somewhat
doubtful value.
NOTES TO THE NARRATIVE OF CASTAÑEDA, pp. 413–598
[91] This text is, as far as possible, a copy of the Relacion in the
Lenox Library. No attempt has been made to add marks of punctuation,
to accent, or to alter what may have been slips of the copyist’s pen.
[92] The Primera Parte begins a new leaf in the original.
[93] This is a marginal correction of what is clearly a slip of the
pen in the text.
[94] The Segunda Parte begins a new page in the manuscript.
[95] The heading of the third part is written on the same page with
the preceding text of the second part, there being no break between
the end of the second part and the heading which follows it. The
following page is left blank.
[96] There were several representatives of the family of Castañeda
among the Spaniards in America as early as the middle of the
sixteenth century, but the only possible mention of this Pedro,
of the Biscayan town of Najera, which I have seen outside of the
present document, is the following item from a Relacion de los pesos
de oro quo están señalados por indios vacos á los conquistadores de
Nueva España y á sus hijos, cuyos nombres se expresan (año 1554),
in Pacheco y Cardenas, Doc. de Indias, xiv, 206: “A los nueve hijos
de Pero Franco, conquistador, é su mujer, que son: María de Acosta,
madre de todos, Pero Francisco de Castañeda, Juana de Castañeda,
Inés de Castañeda, Francisco de Castañeda, Lorenzo Franco, Marta de
Castañeda, Anton de Vargas y Juana de Castañeda, les están señalados
de entretenimiento en cada un año duzientos y setenta pesos. CCLXX.”
[97] Mendoza died in Lima, July 21, 1552.
[98] Ternaux renders this: “C’est ainsi que l’homme qui se place
derrière la barrière qui dans les courses des taureaux, sépare le
spectateur des combattants, voit bien mieux la position dans laquelle
il se trouvait lorsqu’il combattait, qu’alors même qu’il était dans
la carrière.”
[99] President, or head, of the Audiencia, the administrative and
judicial board which governed the province.
[100] The Segunda Relacion Anónima de la Jornada que hizo Nuño de
Guzman, 1529, in Icazbelceta’s Documentos para la Historia de Mexico,
vol. ii, p. 303, also implies that the name of the “Seven Cities” had
already been given to the country which he was trying to discover.
[101] Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca y Capitan General de la Nueva
España y de la Costa del Sur.
[102] Guzman had presided over the trial of Cortes, who was in Spain
at the time, for the murder of his first wife seven years previously
(October, 1522). See Zaragoza’s edition of Suarez de Peralta’s
Tratado, p. 315.
[103] The name was changed in 1540.
[104] The best discussion of the stories of the Seven Caves and the
Seven Cities is in Bandelier’s Contributions, p. 9, ff.
[105] A judge appointed to investigate the accounts and
administration of a royal official.
[106] A full account of the licentiate de la Torre and his
administration is given by Mota Padilla (ed. Icazbalceta, pp.
103–106). He was appointed juez March 17, 1536, and died during 1538.
[107] They appeared in New Spain in April, 1536, before Coronado’s
appointment. Castañeda may be right in the rest of his statement.
[108] This account has been translated by Buckingham Smith. See
Bibliography for the full title.
[109] Bandelier (Contributions, p. 104) says this was Topia, in
Durango, a locality since noted for its rich mines.
[110] Mota Padilla, xxii, 2, p. 111: “Determinó el virey lograr la
ocasion de la mucha gente noble que habia en México, que como corcho
sobre el agua reposado, se andaba sin tener qué hacer nī en qué
ocuparse, todos atenidos á que el virey les hiciese algunas mercedes,
y á que los vecinos de México les sustentasen á sus mesas; y asi, le
fué fácil aprestar mas de trescientos hombres, los mas de á caballo,
porque ya se criaban muchos; dióles á treinta pesos y prometioles
repartimientos en la tierra que se poblase, y mas cuando se afirmaba
haber un cerro de plata y otras minas.”
[111] See Mendoza’s letter to the King, regarding Samaniego’s
position.
[112] Mota Padilla, xxii, iii. p. 112, mentions among those who had
commands on the expedition D. Diego de Guevara and Diego Lopez de
Cardenas. The second error may be due to the presence of another
Diego Lopez in the party.
[113] The correct date is 1540. Castañeda carries the error
throughout the narrative.
[114] See the instructions given by Mendoza to Alarcon, in Buckingham
Smith’s Florida, p. 1. The last of them reads: “Llevareys ciertas
cossas que doña Beatriz de Strada embia para el Capitan General su
marido, y mandareys que en ello y en lo que mas llevaredes para
algunos de los soldados que con él estan que os ayan recomendado
amigos ó parientes sayos haya buen recaudo.”
[115] See the writings of Tello and Mota Padilla concerning Oñate.
Much of the early prosperity of New Galicia—what there was of
it—seems to have been due to Oñate’s skillful management.
[116] The following sections from the Fragmento de la Visita hecha
á don Antonio de Mendoza, printed in Icazbalceta’s Documentos para
la Historia de Mexico, ii, 72, add something to the details of the
departure of the expedition:
“199. Item, si saben &c. que la gente que salió de la villa de S.
Miguel de Culuacan, que es el postrer lugar de Galicia de la Nueva
España, para ir en descubrimiento de la tierra nueva de Cibola con
el capitan general Francisco Vazquez de Coronado, fueron hasta
doscientos y cincuenta españoles de á caballo, los cuales así
para sus personas, como para su carruaje, armas, y bastimentos, y
municiones, y otras cosas necesaries para el dicho viaje, llevaron
mas de mill caballos y acémilas, y así lo dirán los testigos, porque
lo vieron y hallaron presentes, y fueron al dicho viaje: digan lo que
saben &c.
“200. Item, . . . que asimismo con la dicha gente española salieron
de la dicha villa de S. Miguel de Culuacan hasta trescientos
indios, poco mas ó menos, los cuales fueron de su voluntad á servir
en la dicha jornada, y el dicho visorey les mandó socorrer, y se
les socorrió con dineros y provisiones, y á los que eran casados
y dejaban acá sus mujeres les proveyó de lo necesario para su
sustentamiento, y esto es público y notorio. . . .
“201. Item, . . . que el dicho visorey proveyó para la gente que
fué al dicho descubrimiento, demas de los socorros que les hizo en
dineros, y caballos, y armas y otras cosas, les dió mucha cantidad
de ganados vacunos y ovejunos, sin otra mucha cantidad de ganados
que llevaban los capitanes y soldados, que bastaron para proveorse
todo el tiempo que estuvieron al dicho descubrimiento; y asimismo el
dicho visorey les dió mucha cantidad de rescates que llevaba á cargo
el fator de S.M., para que con ellos comprasen maiz y las otras cosas
de bastimentos de la tierra por do pasasen, porque no se hiciese
molestia á los indios: . . .
“202. Item, . . . que el dicho visorey mandó y encargó al dicho
capitan general tuvieso especial cuidado que los indios que desta
tierra iban á servir en el dicho descubrimiento, fuesen bien tratados
y proveidos de lo que hubiesen menester, y los que se quisiesen
volver no fuesen detenidos, antes los enviase ricos y contentos, y el
dicho general así lo hizo y cumplió, . . .
“203. Item, si saben que por razon de los dichos caballos y carruaje
que llevaron los capitanes y españoles, los indios fueron reservados
de llevar cargas de los capitanes y españoles, y si algunos llevaron,
seria de su comida, y ropa y bastimentos, como otros españoles lo
hacian, que cargahan sus caballos y sus personas de bastimentos, . . .
“204. Item, . . . que de todos los dichos indios que fueron á servir
en la dicha jornada, murieron tan solamente hasta veinte ó treinta
personas, y si mas murieran, los testigos lo vieran y supieran: . . .
“205. Item, . . . que todos los tamemes que los indios dieron, . . .
se les pagó muy á su contento á los indios, por mandado del dicho
visorey:” . . .
The evidence of the Informacion, which was taken at Compostela just
after the army departed, is so suggestive that I have translated the
most valuable portions in full at the end of this memoir.
Mota Padilla, xxii, 3, p. 112: . . . “habiendo llegado la comitiva á
Compostela hizo el gobernador reseña de la gente y halló doscientos
y sesenta hombres de á caballo con lanzas, espadas y otras armas
manuales, y algunos con cotas, celadas y barbotes, unas de hierro y
otras de cuero de vaca crudio, y los caballos con faldones de manta
de la tierra; sesenta infantes, ballesteros y arcabuceros, y otros
con espadas y rodelas: dividió la gente en ocho compañias. . . .
Repartida, pues, la gente de esta suerte, con mas de mil caballos sin
acémilas, y otros de carga con seis pedreros, pólvora y municion, y
mas de mil indios amigos é indias de servicio, vaqueros y pastores de
ganado mayor y menor.”
[117] The account which Mota Padilla gives, cap. xxii, sec. 4, p.
112, is much clearer and more specific than the somewhat confused
text of Castañeda. He says: “Á Chametla . . . hallaron la tierra
alzada, de suerte que fué preciso entrar á la sierra en busca de
maiz, y por cabo el maese de campo, Lopez de Samaniego; internáronse
en la espesura de un monte, en donde un soldado que inadvertidamente
se apartó, fué aprehendido por los indios, dió voces, á las que, como
vigilante, acudió el maese de campo, y libró del peligro al soldado,
y pareciéndole estar seguro, alzó la vista á tiempo que de entre unos
matorrales se le disparó una flecha, que entrándole por un ojo, le
atravesó el cerebro. . . . Samaniego (era) uno de los mas esforzados
capitanes y amado de todos; enterróse en una ramada, de donde despues
sus huesos fueron trasladados á Compostela.”
[118] Compare the Spanish text.—The report of Diaz is incorporated
in the letter from Mendoza to the King, translated herein. This
letter seems to imply that Diaz stayed at Chichilticalli; but if such
was his intention when writing the report to Mendoza, he must have
changed his mind and returned with Saldivar as far as Chiametla.
[119] Compare the Spanish text for this whole paragraph. Ternaux
renders this clause “feignant d’être très-effrayé.”
[120] Bandelier, in his Gilded Man, identifies this with Zuñi river.
The Rio Vermejo of Jaramillo is the Little Colorado or Colorado
Chiquito.
[121] Mota Padilla, p. 113: “They reached Tzibola, which was a
village divided into two parts, which were encircled in such a way
as to make the village round, and the houses adjoining three and
four stories high, with doors opening on a great court or plaza,
leaving one or two doors in the wall, so as to go in and out. In the
middle of the plaza there is a hatchway or trapdoor, by which they
go down to a subterranean hall, the roof of which was of large pine
beams, and a little hearth in the floor, and the walls plastered.
The Indian men stayed there days and nights playing (or gaming) and
the women brought them food; and this was the way the Indians of the
neighboring villages lived.”
[122] The war cry or “loud invocation addressed to Saint James
before engaging in battle with the Infidels.”—Captain John Stevens’
Dictionary.
[123] Compare the translation of the Traslado de las Nuevas herein.
There are some striking resemblances between that account and
Castañeda’s narrative.
[124] Gomara, Hist. Indias, cap. ccxiii, ed. 1554: “Llegando a Sibola
requirieron a los del pueblo que los recibiessen de paz; ca no yuan
a les hazer mal, sino muy gran bien, y pronecho, y que les diessen
comida, ca lleuauan falta de ella. Ellos respondieron que no querian,
pues yuan armados, y en son de les dar guerra: que tal semblante
mostrauan. Assi que cōhatieron el pueblo los nuestros, defendieron
lo gran rato ochocientos hombres, que dentro estanan: descalabraron
a Francisco Vazquez, capitan general del exercito. y a otros muchos
Españoles: mas al cabo se salieron huyendo. Entraron los nuestros y
nombraron la Granada, por amor del virrey, [=q] es natural dela de
España. Es Sibola de hasta doziētas casas de tierra y madera tosca,
altas quatro y cinco sobrados, y las puertas como escotillones de
nao, suben a ellos con escaleras de palo, que quitan de noche y en
tiempos de guerra. Tiene delante cada casa una cueua, donde como en
estafa, se recogen los inuiernos, que son largas, y de muchas nienes.
Aunque no esta mas de 37-1/2 grados de la Equinocial: que sino fuesse
por las montañas, seria del temple de Sevilla. Las famosas siete
ciudades de fray Marcos de Niça, que estan en espacio de seys leguas,
ternan obra de 4,000 hombres. Las riquezas de su reyno es no tener
que comer, ni que vestir, durādo la nieve siete meses.”
[125] Oviedo, Historia, vol. iii, lib. XXXV, cap. vi, p. 610 (ed.
1853), says of Cabeza de Vaca and his companions: “Pues passadas las
sierras ques dicho, llegaron estos quatro chripstianos . . . á tres
pueblos que estaban juntos é pequeños, en que avia hasta veynte casas
en ellos, las quales eran como las passadas é juntas, . . . á este
pueblo, ó mejor diçiendo pueblos juntos, nombraron los chripstianos
la _Villa de los Coraçones_, porque les dieron alli más de
seysçientos coraçones de venados escalados é secos.” Cabeza de Vaca
describes this place in his Naufragios, p. 172 of Smith’s translation.
[126] It is possible that the persistent use of the form Señora,
Madame, for the place Sonora, may be due to the copyists, although
it is as likely that the Spanish settlers made the change in their
common parlance.
[127] This should be September. See the next chapter; also the
Itinerary.
[128] Bandelier, in his Final Report, vol. i, p. 108, suggests the
following from the Relacion of Padre Sedelmair, S.J., 1746, which
he quotes from the manuscript: “Sus rancherías, por grandes de
gentío que sean, se reducen á una ó dos casas, con techo de terrado
y zacate, armadas sobre muchos horcones por pilares con viguelos de
unos á otros, y bajas, tan capaces que caben en cada una mas de cien
personas, con tres divisiones, la primera una enramada del tamaño de
la casa y baja para dormir en el verano, luego la segunda division
como sala, y la tercera como alcoba, donde por el abrigo meten los
viejos y viejas, muchachitos y muchachitas, escepto los pimas que
viven entre ellos, que cada familia tiene su choza aparte.” These
were evidently the ancestors of the Yuman Indians of Arizona.
[129] Fletcher, in The World Encompassed by Sir Francis Drake, p.
131, (ed. 1854) tells a similar story of some Indians whom Drake
visited on the coast of California: “Yet are the men commonly so
strong of body, that that which 2 or 3 of our men could hardly beare,
one of them would take vpon his backe, and without grudging, carrie
it easily away, vp hill and downe hill an English mile together.”
Mota Padilla, cap. xxxii, p. 158, describes an attempt to catch
one of these Indians: “Quiso el capitan [Melchior Diaz] remitir
á un indio, porque el virey viese su corpulencia y hallando á un
mancebo, trataron de apresarlo; mas hizo tal resistencia, que entre
quatro españoles no pudieron amarrarlo, y daba tales gritos, que los
obligaron á dejarlo, por no indisponer los ánimos de aquellos indios.”
[130] Father Sedelmair, in his Relacion, mentions this custom of the
Indians. (See Bandelier, Final Report, vol. i, p. 108): “Su frazada
en tiempo de frio es un tizon encendido que aplicándole á la boca
del estómago caminan por las mañanas, y calentando ya el sol como á
las ocho tiran los tizones, que por muchos que hayan tirado por los
caminos, pueden ser guias de los caminantes; de suerte que todos
estos rios pueden llarmarse rios del Tizon, nombre que algunas mapas
ponen á uno solo.”
[131] Cortes.
[132] Mota Padilla, sec. xxxii, p. 158, says: Melchior Dias paso
el rio del Tison “en unos cestos grandes que los indios tienen
aderezados con un betum que no les pasa el agua, y asidos de él
cuatro ó seis indios, lo llevan nadando, . . . á lo que ayudaron
tambien las indias.”
[133] The Zunis make a similar sort of preserves from the fruit of
the tuna and the yucca. See Cushing in The Millstone, Indianapolis,
July, 1884, pp. 108–109.
[134] Compare the Spanish text for this whole description. Mota
Padilla, sec. xxii, 6, p. 113, says: “Chichilticali (que quiere
decir casa colorada, por una que estaba en él embarrada con tierra
colorada, que llaman almagre); aquí se hallaron pinos con grandes
piñas de piñones muy buenos; y mas adelante, en la cima de unas
peñas, se hallaron cabezas de carneros de grandes cuernos, y algunos
dijeron haber visto tres ó cuatro carneros de aquellos, y que eran
muy ligeros (de estos animales se han visto en el Catay, que es la
Tartaria.)”
[135] Compare chapter 13. These two groups of pueblos were not the
same.
[136] Compare the lines which the Hopi or Maki Indians still mark
with sacred meal during their festivals, as described by Dr Fewkes in
his “Few Summer Ceremonials,” in vol. ii of the Journal of American
Ethnology and Archæology.
[137] Compare the Spanish text.
[138] Compare the Spanish text. Ternaux translates it: “Les bords
sont tellement élevés qu’ils croyaient être à trois ou quatre lieues
en l’air.”
[139] The report of Alvarado, translated herein, is probably the
official account of what he accomplished.
[140] In regard to the famous rock fortress of Acoma see Bandelier’s
Introduction, p. 14, and his Final Report, vol. i, p. 133. The
Spaniards called it by a name resembling that which they heard
applied to it in Zuñi-Cibola. The true Zuñi name of Acoma, on the
authority of Mr F. W. Hodge, is Hákukia; that of the Acoma people,
Hákukwe.
[141] An error for Tiguex, at or near the present Bernalillo. Simpson
located this near the mouth of the river Puerco, southeast of
Acoma, but I follow Bandelier, according to whom Alvarado pursued a
northeasterly direction from Acoma. See his Introduction, p. 30, and
Final Report, vol. i, p. 129.
[142] Pecos. Besides his Final Report, vol. i, p. 127, see
Bandelier’s Report on the Pecos Ruins.
[143] The account which Mota Padilla (cap. xxxii, 5, p. 161) gives
of the Turk and his stories is very significant: Alvarado “halló un
indio en aquellos llanos quien le dijo, mas por señas que por voces,
ser de una provincia que distaba treinta soles, la cual se llamaba
Copala, y al indio se le puso por nombre el Turco, por ser muy
moreno, apersonado y de buena disposicion; y les dijo tantas cosas
de aquella provincia, que los puso en admiracion, y en especial que
habia tanta cantidad de oro, que no solo podian cargar los caballos,
sino carros; que habia una laguna en la que navegaban canoas, y que
las del cacique tenian argollas de oro; y para que se explicase,
le mostraban plata, y decia que no, sino como un anillo que vió
de oro; decia que á su cacique lo sacaban en andas á las guerras,
y que cuando queria, les quitaban los bozales á unos lebreles que
despedazaban á los enemigos; que tenian una casa muy grande, adonde
todos acudian á servirle; que en las puertas tenian mantas de
algodon.”
Gomara, Indias, cap. ccxiiii, adds some details: “Viendo la poca
gente, y muestra de riqueza, dieron los soldados muy pocas gracias
a los frayles, que conellos yuan, y que loauan aquella tierra de
Sibola: y por no boluer a Mexico sin hazer algo, ni las manos vazias,
acordaron de passar adelante, que les dezian ser mejor tierra. Assi
que fueron a Acuco, lugar sobre vn fortissimo peñol, y desde alii fue
don Garci lopez de Cardenas con su compañia de cauallos a la mar, y
Francisco Vazquez con los de mas a Tiguex, que esta ribera de vn gran
rio. Alli tuuieron nueua de Axa, y Quiuira: donde dezian, que estana
vn Rey, dicho por nombre Tatarrax, barbudo, canos, y rico, que ceñia
vn bracamarte, que rezaua en horas, que adoraua vna cruz de oro, y
vna ymagen de muger, Señora Del cielo. Mucho alegro, y sostuuo esta
nueua al exercito, aunque algunos la tuuieron por falsa, y echadiza
de frayles. Determinaron yr alla con intencion de inuernar en tierra
tan rica como se sonaua.”
[144] Coronado probably reached the Rio Grande near the present
Isleta. Jaramillo applies this name to Acoma, and perhaps he is more
correct, if we ought to read it Tutahaio, since the Tiguas (the
inhabitants of Isleta, Sandia, Taos, and Picuris pueblos) call Acoma
Tuthea-uây, according to Bandelier, Gilded Man, p. 211.
[145] This was Matsaki, at the northwestern base of Thunder mountain,
about 18 miles from Hawikuh, where the advance force had encamped.
[146] The Spanish manuscript is very confusing throughout this
chapter. As usual, Ternaux passes over most of the passages which
have given trouble, omitting what he could not guess.
[147] Dutch Jack, perhaps.
[148] The instructions which Mendoza gave to Alarcon show how
carefully the viceroy tried to guard against any such trouble with
the natives. Buckingham Smith’s Florida, p. 4: “Iten: si poblaredes
en alguna parte, no sea entre los yndios, sino apartado dellos, y
mandareys que ningun español ni otra persona de las vuestras vaya
al lugar ni á las cassas de los yndios sino fuere con expressa
licencia vuestra, y al que lo contrario hiziere castigalle eys muy
asperamente, y licencia aveys de dalla las vezes que fuere necessario
para alguna cossa que convenga y á personas de quien vos esteys
confiado que no hará cossa mal hecha, y estad muy advertido en
guardar esta orden, porque es cossa que conviene mas de lo que vos
podeys pensor.”
[149] Espejo, Relacion del Viaje, 1584 (Pacheco y Cardenas, Doc.
de Indias, vol. xv, p. 175), says that at Puala (Tiguex) pueblo,
“hallamos relacion muy verdadera; que estubo en esta provincia
Francisco Vazquez Coronado y le mataron en ella nueve soldados y
cuarenta caballos, y que por este respeto habia asolado la gente de
un pueblo desta provincia, y destos nos dieron razon los naturales
destos pueblos por señas que entendimos.”
[150] Ternaux says Diego Lopez Melgosa, and when Melgosa’s name
appears again he has it Pablo Lopez Melgosa.
[151] Evidently the underground, or partially underground, ceremonial
chambers or kivas.
[152] Compare the Spanish text.
[153] Gomara, cap. ccxiiii, gives the following account of these
events: “Fueronse los Indios vna noche y amanecieron muertos treynta
cauallos, que puso temor al exercito. Caminando, quemaron vn
lugar, y en otro que a cometieron, les mataron ciertos Españoles,
y hirieron cinquenta cauallos, y metieron dentro los vezinos a
Francisco de Onãdo, herido, o muerto, para comer, y sacrificar,
a lo que pensaron, o quiça para mejor ver, que hombres oran los
Españoles, ca no se hallo por alli rastro de sacrificio humano.
Pusieron cerco los nuestros al lugar, pero no lo pudieron tomar en
mas de quarenta, y cinco dias. Bouian niene los cercaños por falta
de agua, y viendose perdidos, hizieron vna hoguera, echaron en ella
sus mãtas, plumajes, Turquesas, y cosas preciadas, porque no las
gozassen aquellos estrangeres. Salieron en esquadron, con los niños,
y mugeres en medio, para abrir camino por fuerça, y saluarse: mas
pocos escaparon de las espadas, y canallos, y de vn rio [=q] cerca
estaua. Murieron en la pelea siete Españoles y quedaron heridos
ochẽta, y muchos cauallos, por[=q] veays quanto vale la determinacion
en la necessidad. Muchos Indios se boluieron al pueblo, con la gente
menuda, y se defendieron hasta que se les puso fuego. Elose tanto
aquel rio estãdo en siete y treynta grados de la Equinocial, que
sufria passar encima hombres a cauallo, y cauallos con carga. Dura la
nieve medio año. Ay en a[=q]lla ribera melones, y algodon blanco, y
colorado, de que hazen muy mas anchas mantas, que en otras partes de
Indias.”
Mota Padilla, xxxii, 6, p. 161: “Esta accion en tuvo en España por
mala, y con razon, porque fué una crueldad considerable; y habiendo
el maese de campo, Garcia Lopez pasado á España á heredar un
mayorazgo, estuvo preso en una fortaleza por este cargo.”
[154] Wooden warclubs shaped like potato-mashers.
[155] Mota Padilla, xxxii, 7, p. 161, describes this encounter: “D.
García pasó al pueblo mayor á requerir al principal cacique, que
se llamaba D. Juan Loman, aunque no estaba bautizado, y se dejó
ver por los muros sin querer bajar de paz, y á instancias de D.
García, ofreció salirle á hablar, como dejase el caballo y espada,
porque tenia mucho miedo; y en esta conformidad, desmontó D. García
del caballo, entrególe con la espada á sus soldados, á quienes
hizo retirar, y acercándose á los muros, luego que Juan Loman se
afrontó, se abrazó de él, y al punto, entre seis indios que habia
dejado apercibidos, lo llevaron en peso y lo entraran en el pueblo
si la puerta no es pequeña, por lo que en ella hizo hincapié, y
pudo resistir hasta que llegaron soldados de á caballo, que le
defendieron. Quisieron los indios hacer alguna crueldad con dicho D.
García, por lo que intentaron llevarlo vivo, que si los indios salen
con macanas ó porras que usaban, le quitan la vida.”
[156] But see the Spanish. Ternaux translates it: “Les Indiens
parvinrent à s’emparer de (d’Obando) et l’emmenèrent vivant dans leur
village, . . . car c’était un homme distingué qui, par sa vertu et
son affabilité, s’était fait aimer de tout le monde.”
[157] Ternaux substituted the name of Don Garci-Lopez for that of Don
Lope throughout this passage.
[158] Compare the Spanish text. Ternaux: “Ils prizent le parti
d’abandonner le village pendant la nuit: ils se mirent done en route:
les femmes marchaient au milieu d’eux. Quand ils furent arrivés à un
endroit où campait don Rodrigo Maldonado, les sentinelles donnèrent
l’alarme.”
[159] There is much additional information of the siege and capture
of Tiguex in the account given by Mota Padilla, xxxii, 8, p. 161:
“Habiéndose puesto el cerco, estuvieron los indios rebeldes á los
requerimientos, por lo que se intentó abrir brecha, y rota la
argamasa superficial, se advirtió que el centro del muro era de
palizada, troncos y mimbrea bien hincados en la tierra, por lo que
resistian los golpes que daban con unas malas barras, en cuyo tiempo
hacian de las azoteas mucho daño en los nuestros con las piedras y
con la flechas por las troneras; y quoriendo un soldado tapar con
lodo una tronera de donde se hacia mucho daño, por un ojo le entraron
una flecha, de que cayó muerto: llamábase Francisco Pobares; y á otro
que se llamaba Juan Paniagua, muy buen cristiano y persona noble,
le dieron otro flechazo en el párpado de un ojo, y publicaba que á
la devocion del rosario, que siempre rezaba, debió la vida; otre
soldado, llamado Francisco de Ovando, se entró de bruzas por una
portañuela, y apenas hubo asomado la cabeza, cuando le asieron y le
tiraron para adentro, quitándole la vida: púsose una escala por donde
á todo trance subieron algunos; pero con arte, los indios tenian
muchas piezas á cielo descubierto, para que se no comunicasen; y como
á cortas distancias habia torrecillas con muchas saeteras y troneras,
hacian mucho daño, de suerte que hirieron mas de sesenta, de los
que murieron tres: un fulano Carbajal, hermano de Hernando Trejo,
quien fué despuesteniente de gobernador por Francisco de Ibarra, en
Chametla: tambien muriõ un vizcaino, llamado Alonso de Castañeda, y
un fulano Benitez; y esto fué por culpa de ellos, pues ya que habia
pocas armas de fuego con que ofender, pudieron haber pegado fuego á
los muros, pues eran de troncones y palizadas con solo el embarrado
de tierra.
“9. Viendo el gobernador el poco efecto de su invasion, mandó se
tocase á recoger, con ánimo de rendirlos por falta de agua, ya que no
por hambre, porque sabia tenian buenas trojes de maiz. Trataron de
curar los heridos, aunque se enconaron, y se cicatrizaban; y segun se
supo, era la causa el que en unas vasijas de mimbre encerraban los
indios vívoras, y con las flechas las tocaban para que mordiesen las
puntas y quedasen venenosas; y habiéndose mantenido algun tiempo,
cuando se esperaba padeciesen falta de agua, comenzó á nevar, con
cuya nieve se socorrieron y mantuvieron dos meses, en los que
intentaron los nuestros muchos desatinos: el uno fué formar unos
ingenios con unos maderos, que llamaban vaivenes, y son los antiguos
arietes con que se batian las fortalezas en tiempo que no se conocia
la pólvora; mas no acertaron: despues, por falta de artillería,
intentaron hacer unos cañones de madera bien liados de cordeles á
modo de cohetes; mas tampoco sirvió; y no arbitraron el arrimar leña
á los muros y prenderles fuego: á mi ver entiendo que la crueldad
con que quitaron la vida á los ciento y treinta gandules, los hizo
indignos del triunfo, y así, en una noche los sitiados salieron y
se pusieron en fuga, dejando á los nuestros burlados y sin cosa de
provecho que lograsen por despojos de la plaza sitiada y se salieron
los indios con su valeroso hecho.
“10. Por la parte que salieron estaban de centinelas dos soldados
poco apercibidos, de los cuales el uno no pareció, y el otro fué
hallado con el corazon atravesado con una flecha; y traido el
cuerpo, le pusieron junto á la lumbrada comun del campo; y cuando
volvieron los soldados, que intentaron el alcance de los indios, al
desmontar uno de ellos del caballo, le pisó la boca al miserable, y
se atribuyó su fatal muerte á haber sido renegador y blasfemo. Luego
que amaneció, se trató de reconocer el pueblo, y entrando, se halló
abastecido pero sin agua, y se reconoció un pozo profundo en la plaza
que aquellos indios abrieron en busca de agua, y por no encontrarla,
se resolvieron á la fuga, que consiguieron.” . . .
[160] Ternaux translated this, “à la fin de 1542.” Professor Haynes
corrected the error in a note in Winsor’s Narrative and Critical
History, vol. ii, p. 491, saying that “it is evident that the siege
must have been concluded early in 1541.”
[161] Should be Alcaraz.
[162] Mota Padilla’s account of the death of Diaz is translated in
the Introduction.
[163] Compare the Spanish text. Ternaux: “Le général le rétablit dans
sa dignité, examina le pays, et retourna au camp.”
[164] Or Cervantes, as Ternaux spells it.
[165] Coronado says, in his letter of October 20, that he started
April 23.
[166] The Rio Pecos. The bridge, however, was doubtless built across
the upper waters of the Canadian.
[167] There is an elaborate account of the sign language of the
Indians, by Garrick Mallery, in the first annual report of the Bureau
of Ethnology, 1879–80.
[168] Mota Padilla, xxxiii, 3, p. 165, says: “Hasta allí caminaron
los nuestros, guiados por el Turco para el Oriente, con mucha
inclinacion al Norte, y desde entônces los guió vía recta al Oriente;
y habiendo andado tres jornadas, hubo de hacer alto el gobernador
para conferir sobre si seria acertado dejarse llevar de aquel
indio, habiendo mudado de rumbo, en cuyo intermedio un soldado, ó
por travesura, ó por hacer carne, se apartó, y aunque lo esperaron,
no se supo mas de él; y á dos jornadas que anduvieron, guiados
todavía del indio, pasaron una barranca profunda, que fué la primera
quiebra que vieron de la tierra desde Tigües.” Compare the route of
the expedition in the Introduction, and also in the translation of
Jaramillo.
[169] Compare the Spanish. Temaux: “Mais cette fois on n’avait pas
voulu le croire; les Querechos ayant rapporté la même chose que le
Turc.”
[170] Ternaux read this Coloma. The reference is clearly to the
district of Colima in western Mexico, where one of the earliest
Spanish settlements was made.
[171] The Spanish text is very confused. Ternaux says: “Les chevaux
rompirent leurs liens et s’échappèrent tous à l’exception de deux ou
trois qui furent retenus par des nègres qui avaient pris des casques
et des boucliers pour se mettre à l’abri. Le vent en enleva d’autres
et les colla contre les parois du ravin.”
[172] Mota Padilla, xxxiii, 3, p. 165: “A la primera barranca. . . .
á las tres de la tarde hicieron alto, y repentinamente un recio
viento les llevó una nube tan cargada, que causó horror el granizo,
que despedia tan gruesos como nueces, huevos de gallina y de ánsares,
de suerte que era necesario arrodelarse para la resistencia; los
caballos dieron estampida y se pusieron en fuga, y no se pudieran
hallar si la barranca no los detiene; las tiendas que se habian
armado quedaron rotas, y quebradas todas las ollas, cazuelas, comales
y demas vasijas; y afligidos con tan varios sucesos, determinaron en
aquel dia que fué el de Ascension del Señor de 541, que el ejército
se volviese á Tigües á reparar, como que era tierra abastecida de
todo.”
[173] Herrera, Historia General, dec. vi, lib. ix, cap. xi, xii,
vol. iii, p. 206, ed. 1728: “La relacion que este Indio hacia, de
la manera con que se governaban en vna Provincia mas adelante,
llamada Harae, i juzgandose, que era imposible que alli dexase de
haver algunos Christianos perdidos del Armada de Panfilo de Narvuez,
Francisco Vazquez acordò de escrivir vna Carta, i la embiò con el
Indio fiel de aquellos dos, porque el que havia de quedar, siempre le
llevaron de Retaguarda, porque el bueno no le viese. . . . Embiada
la Carta, dando cuenta de la jornada que hacia el Exercito, i
adonde havia llegado, pidiendo aviso, i relacion de aquella Tierra,
i llamando aquellos Christianos, si por caso los huviese, ò que
avisasen de lo que havian menester para salir de cautiverio.”
[174] A manera de alixares. The margin reads Alexeres, which I can
not find in the atlases. The word means threshing floor, whence
Ternaux: “autres cabanes semblables à des bruyères (alixares).”
[175] Bandelier suggests that the name may have originated in the
Indian exclamation, Texia! Texia!—friends! friends!—with which they
first greeted the Spaniards.
[176] Ternaux: “il y avait des vignes, des mûriers et des rosiers
(_rosales_), dont le fruit que l’on trouve en France, sert en guise
de verjus; il y en avait de mûr.”
[177] Captain John Stevens’s New Dictionary says the sanbenito was
“the badge put upon converted Jews brought out by the Inquisition,
being in the nature of a scapula or a broad piece of cloth hanging
before and behind, with a large Saint Andrews cross on it, red and
yellow. The name corrupted from Saco Benito, answerable to the
sackcloth worn by penitents in the primitive church.” Robert Tomson,
in his Voyage into Nova Hispania, 1555, in Hakluyt, iii, 536,
describes his imprisonment by the Holy Office in the city of Mexico:
“We were brought into the Church, euery one with a S. Benito vpon his
backe, which is a halfe a yard of yellow cloth, with a hole to put
in a mans head in the middest, and cast ouer a mans head: both flaps
hang one before, and another behinde, and in the middest of euery
flap, a S. Andrewes crosse, made of red cloth, sowed on vpon the
same, and that is called S. Benito.”
[178] The Tiguex country is often referred to as the region where
the settlements were. Ternaux says “depuis Tiguex jusqu’au dernier
village.”
[179] Compare the Spanish text.
[180] Herrera, Historia General, dec. vi, lib. ix, cap. xii, vol.
iii, p. 206 (ed. 1728): “Los treinta Caballos fueron en busca de la
Tierra poblada, i hallaron buenos Pueblos, fundados junto à Buenos
Arroíos, que van à dàr al Rio Grande, que pasaron. Anduvieron cinco,
ò seis dias por estos Pueblos, llegaron à lo vltimo de Quivira,
que decian los Indios ser mucho, i hallaron vn Rio de mas Agua, i
poblacion que los otros; i preguntando que si adelante havia otra
cosa, dixeron, que de Quivira no havia sino Harae, i que era de la
misma manera en Poblaciones, i tamaño. . . . Embiòse à llamar al
Señor, el qual era vn Hombre grande, y de grandes miembros, de buena
proporcion, llevò docientos Hombres desnudos, i mal cubiertas sus
carnes, llevaban Arcos, i Flechas, i Plumas en las cabeças.” Compare
Jaramillo’s statement and Coronado’s letter, as discussed in the
Introduction.
[181] Ternaux: “les rives, qui sont convertes d’une plante dont le
fruit ressemble au raisin muscat.”
[182] Compare the Spanish text; Ternaux omits this sentence.
[183] Castañeda’s date is, as usual, a year later than the actual one.
[184] Yuge-ning-ge, as Bandelier spells it, is the aboriginal name of
a former Tewa village, the site of which is occupied by the hamlet of
Chamita, opposite San Juan. The others are near by.
[185] Taos, or Te-uat-ha. See Bandelier’s Final Report, vol. i, p.
123, for the identification of these places.
[186] This rendering, doubtless correct, is due to Ternaux. The
Guadiana, however, reappears above ground some time before it begins
to mark the boundary of the Spanish province of Estremadura. The
Castañeda family had its seat in quite the other end of the peninsula.
[187] Mota Padilla, xxxiii, 4., p. 165: “Al cabo de dos meses, poco
mas ó ménos, volvió con su gente el general á Tigües, y dieron razon
que habiendo caminado mas de cien leguas. . . . Quivira se halló ser
un pueblo de hasta cien casas.”
[188] The Newfoundland region.
[189] Ternaux’s rendering. Compare the Spanish text.
[190] Compare the Spanish. Several words in the manuscript are not
very clear. Ternaux omits them, as usual.
[191] Omitted by Ternaux, who (p. 151) calls these the Pacasas.
[192] Compare the Spanish text. Ternaux (p. 152) renders: “Ils ont
soin de bâtir leurs villages de manière a ce qu’ils soient séparés
les uns des autres par des ravins impossibles à franchir,” which is
perhaps the meaning of the Spanish.
[193] Ternaux, p. 156: “couvertes en nattes de glaīeul.” The Spanish
manuscript is very obscure.
[194] An account of these people is given in the Trivmphos, lib. 1,
cap. ii, p. 6, Andres Perez de Ribas, S. J. “Estas [casas] hazian,
vnas de varas de monte hincadas en tierra, entretexidas, y atadas
con vejneos, que son vnas ramas como de çarçaparrilla, muy fuertes,
y que duran mucho tiēpo. Las parades que haziā con essa barazon las
afortanan con vna torta de barro, para que no las penetrasse el
Sol, ni los vientos, cubriendo la casa con madera, y encima tierra,
ó barro, con que hazian açotea, y con esso se contentauan. Otros
hazian sus casas de petates [=q] es genero de esteras texidas de caña
taxada.” Bandelier found the Opata Indians living in houses made with
“a slight foundation of cobblestones which supported a framework
of posts standing in a thin wall of rough stones and mud, while a
slanting roof of yucca or palm leaves covered the whole.”—Final
Report, pt. i, p. 58.
[195] The meaning of this sentence in the Spanish is not wholly
clear. Ternaux, p. 156: “Cette manière de bâtir . . . change dans cet
endroit probablement, parce qu’il n’y a plus d’arbres sans épines.”
[196] The _Opuntia tuna_ or prickly pear.
[197] _Prosopis juliflora._
[198] _Cereus thurberii._
[199] Sonora.
[200] Oviedo, Historia, vol. iii, p. 610 (ed. 1853): “Toda esta
gente, dende las primeras casas del mahiz, andan los hombres muy
deshonestos, sin se cobrir cosa alguna de sus personas; é las mugeres
muy honestas, con unas sayas de cueros de venados hasta los piés, é
con falda que detrás les arrastra alguna cosa, é abiertas por delante
hasta el suelo y enlaçadas con unas correas. É traen debaxo, por
donde están abiertas, una mantilla de algodon é otra ençima, é unas
gorgueras de algodon, que les cubren todos los pechos.”
[201] Ternaux, pp. 157–158: “une multitude de tribus à part, réunis
en petites nations de sept ou huit, dix ou douze villages, ce sont:
Upatrico, Mochila, Guagarispa, El Vallecillo, et d’autres qui son
près des montagues.”
[202] Bandelier, Final Report, pt. i, p. 111, quotes from the
Relaciones of Zárate-Salmeron, of some Arizona Indians: “Tambien
tienen para su sustento Mescali que es conserva de raiz de maguey.”
The strong liquor is made from the root of the Mexican or American
agave.
[203] These were doubtless cantaloupes. The southwestern Indians
still slice and dry them in a manner similar to that here described.
[204] The Pueblo Indians, particularly the Zuñi and Hopi, keep eagles
for their feathers, which are highly prized because of their reputed
sacred character.
[205] Chichiltic-calli, a red object or house, according to Molina’s
Vocabulario Mexicano, 1555. Bandelier, Historical Introduction, p.
11, gives references to the ancient and modern descriptions. The
location is discussed on page 387 of the present memoir.
[206] Ternaux (p. 162) succeeded no better than I have in the attempt
to identify this fish.
[207] Ternaux, p. 162: “A l’entrée du pays inhabité on rencontre une
espèce de lion de couleur fauve.” Compare the Spanish text. These
were evidently the mountain lion and the wild cat.
[208] Albert S. Gatschet, in his Zwölf Sprachen, p. 106, says that
this word is now to be found only in the dialect of the pueblo of
Isleta, under the form sibúlodá, buffalo.
[209] Matsaki, the ruins of which are at the northwestern base of
Thunder mountain. See Bandelier’s Final Report, pt. i, p. 133, and
Hodge, First Discovered City of Cibola.
[210] The mantles of rabbit hair are still worn at Moki, but those
of turkey plumes are out of use altogether. See Bandelier’s Final
Report, pt. i, pp. 37 and 158. They used also the fiber of the yucca
and agave for making clothes.
[211] J. G. Owens, Hopi Natal Ceremonies, in Journal of American
Archæology and Ethnology, vol. ii, p. 165 _n._, says: “The dress
of the Hopi [Moki, or Tusayan] women consists of a black blanket
about 3-1/2 feet square, folded around the body from the left side.
It passes under the left arm and over the right shoulder, being
sewed together on the right side, except a hole about 3 inches long
near the upper end through which the arm is thrust. This is belted
in at the waist by a sash about 3 inches wide. Sometimes, though
not frequently, a shirt is worn under this garment, and a piece of
muslin, tied together by two adjacent corners, is usually near by, to
be thrown over the shoulders. Most of the women have moccasins, which
they put on at certain times.”
Gomara, ccxiii, describes the natives of Sibola: “Hazen con todo esso
vnas mantillas de pieles de conejos, y liebres, y de venados, que
algodon muy poco alcançan: calçan çapatos de cuero, y de inuierno
vnas como botas hasta las rodillas. Las mugeres van vestidas de Metl
hasta en pies, andan ceñidas, trençan los cabellos, y rodeanselos
ala cabeça por sobre las orejas. La tierra es arenosa, y de poco
fruto, oreo [=q] por pereza dellos, pues donde siembran, lleua mayz,
frisoles, calabaças, y frutas, y aun se crian en ella gallipauos, que
no se hazen en todos cabos.”
In his Relacion de Viaje, p. 173, Espejo says of Zuñi: “en esta
provincia se visten algunos de los naturales, de mantas de algodon
y cueros de las vacas, y de gamuzas aderezadas; y las mantas de
algodon las traen puestas al uso mexicano, eceto que debajo de partes
vergonzosas traen unos paños de algodon pintados, y algunos dellos
traen camisas, y las mugeres traen naguas de algodon y muchas dellas
bordadas con hilo de colores, y encima una manta como la traen los
indios mexicanos, y atada con un paño de manos como tohalla labrada,
y se lo atan por la cintura con sus borlas, y las naguas son que
sirven de faldas de camisa á raiz de las carnes, y esto cada una lo
trae con la mas ventaja que puede; y todos, asi hombres como mujeres,
andan calzados con zapatos y hotas, las suelas de cuero de vacas,
y lo de encima de cuero de venado aderezado; las mugeres traen el
cabello muy peinado y bien puesto y con sus moldes que traen en la
cabeza uno de una parte y otro de otra, á donde ponon el cabello con
curiosidad sin traer nengun tocado en la cabeza.”
Mota Padilla, xxxii, 4, p. 160: “Los indios son de buenas estaturas,
las indias bien dispuestas: traen unas mantas blancas, que las
cubren desde los hombros hasta los piés y por estar cerradas, tienen
por donde sacar los brazos; asimismo, usan traer sobre las dichas
otras mantas que se ponen sobre el hombro izquierdo, y el un cabo
tercian por debajo del brazo derecho como capa: estiman en mucho los
cabellos; y así, los traen muy peinados, y en una jícara de agua,
se miran como en un espejo; pártense el cabello en dos trenzas,
liadas con cintas de algodon de colores, y en cada lado de la cabeza
forman dos ruedas ó circulos, que dentro de ellos rematan, y dejan
la punta del cabello levantado como plumajes y en unas tablitas
de hasta tres dedos, fijan con pegamentos unas piedras verdes que
llaman chalchihuites, de que se dice hay minas, como tambien se dice
las hubo cerca de Sombrerete, en un real de minas que se nombra
Chalchihuites, por esta razon; . . . con dichas piedras forman
sortijas que con unos palillos fijan sobre el cabello como ramillete:
son las indias limpias, y se precian de no parecer mal.”
[212] Ternaux, p. 164: “les épis partent presque tous du pied, et
chaque épi a sept ou huit cents grains, ce que l’on n’avait pas
encore vu aux Indes.” The meaning of the Spanish is by no means
clear, and there are several words in the manuscript which have been
omitted in the translation.
[213] Ternaux, p. 164: “ni de conseils de vieillards.”
[214] Papa in the Zuñi language signifies “elder brother,” and may
allude either to age or to rank.
[215] Dr J. Walter Fewkes, in his Few Summer Ceremonials at the
Tusayan Pueblos, p. 7, describes the Dā’wā-wýmp-ki-yas, a small
number of priests of the sun. Among other duties, they pray to the
rising sun, whose course they are said to watch, and they prepare
offerings to it.
Mota Padilla, cap. xxxii, 5, p. 160, says that at Cibola, “no se vió
templo alguno, ni se les conoció ídolo, por lo que se tuvo entendido
adoraban al sol y á la luna, lo que se confirmó, porque una noche que
hubo un eclipse, alzaron todos mucha gritería.”
[216] Ternaux, p. 165: “Les étuves sont rares dans ce pays. Ils
regardent comme un sacrilége que les femmes entrent deux à la fois
dans un endroit.”
In his Few Summer Ceremonials at Tusayan, p. 6, Dr Fewkes says that
“with the exception of their own dances, women do not take part in
the secret kibva [estufa] ceremonials; but it can not be said that
they are debarred entrance as assistants in making the paraphernalia
of the dances, or when they are called upon to represent
dramatizations of traditions in which women figure.”
[217] Mr Frank Hamilton Cushing, in the Compte-rendu of the Congrès
International des Americanistes, Berlin, 1888, pp. 171–172, speaking
of the excavations of “Los Muertos” in southern Arizona, says: “All
the skeletons, especially of adults [in the intramural burials],
were, with but few exceptions, disposed with the heads to the east
and slightly elevated as though resting on pillows, so as to face
the west; and the hands were usually placed at the sides or crossed
over the breast. With nearly all were paraphernalia, household
utensils, articles of adornment, etc. This paraphernalia quite
invariably partook of a sacerdotal character.” In the pyral mounds
outside the communal dwellings, “each burial consisted of a vessel,
large or small, according to the age of the person whose thoroughly
cremated remains it was designed to receive, together, ordinarily,
with traces of the more valued and smaller articles of personal
property sacrificed at the time of cremation. Over each such vessel
was placed either an inverted bowl or a cover (roughly rounded by
chipping) of potsherds, which latter, in most cases, showed traces of
having been firmly cemented, by means of mud plaster, to the vessels
they covered. Again, around each such burial were found always
from two or three to ten or a dozen broken vessels, often, indeed,
a complete set; namely, eating and drinking bowls, water-jar and
bottle, pitcher, spheroidal food receptacle, ladles large and small,
and cooking-pot. Sometimes, however, one or another of these vessels
actually designed for sacrifice with the dead, was itself used as the
receptacle of his or her remains. In every such case the vessel had
been either punctured at the bottom or on one side, or else violently
cracked—from Zuñi customs, in the process of ‘killing’ it.” The
remains of other articles were around, burned in the same fire.
Since the above note was extracted, excavations have been conducted
by Dr. J. Walter Fewkes at the prehistoric Hopī pueblo of Sikyatki,
an exhaustive account of which will be published in a forthcoming
report of the Bureau of Ethnology. Sikyatki is located at the base
of the First Mesa of Tusayan, about 3 miles from Hano. The house
structures were situated on an elongated elevation, the western
extremity of the village forming a sort of acropolis. On the
northern, western, and southern slopes of the height, outside the
village proper, cemeteries were found, and in these most of the
excavations were conducted. Many graves were uncovered at a depth
varying from 1 foot to 10 feet, but the skeletons were in such
condition as to be practically beyond recovery. Accompanying these
remains were hundreds of food and water vessels in great variety
of form and decoration, and in quality of texture far better than
any earthenware previously recovered from a pueblo people. With the
remains of the priests there were found, in addition to the usual
utensils, terra cotta and stone pipes, beads, prayer-sticks, quartz
crystals, arrowpoints, stone and shell fetiches, sacred paint, and
other paraphernalia similar to that used by the Hopi of today. The
house walls were constructed of small, flat stones brought from the
neighboring mesa, laid in adobe mortar and plastered with the same
material. The rooms were invariably small, averaging perhaps 8 feet
square, and the walls were quite thin. No human remains were found in
the houses, nor were any evidences of cremation observed.
Mota Padilla, cap. xxxii, 5, p. 160, describes a funeral which was
witnessed by the soldiers of Coronado’s army: “en una ocasion vieron
los españoles, que habiendo muerto un indio, armaron una grande
balsa ó luminaria de leña, sobre que pusieron el cuerpo cubierto con
una manta, y luego todos los del pueblo, hombres y mujeres, fueron
poniendo sobre la cama de leña, pinole, calabazas, frijoles, atole,
maiz tostado, y de lo demas que usaban comer, y dieron fuego por
todas partes, de suerte que en breve todo se convirtió en cenizas con
el cuerpo.”
[218] The pueblo of Picuris.
[219] Bandelier gives a general account of the internal condition of
the Pueblo Indians, with references to the older Spanish writers, in
his Final Report, pt. i, p. 135.
[220] Bandelier, Final Report, pt. i, p. 141, quotes from Benavides,
Memorial, p. 43, the following account of how the churches and
convents in the pueblo region were built: “los hā hecho tan solamēte
las mugeres, y los muchachos, y muchachas de la dotrina; porque entre
estos naciones se vsa hazer las mugeres las paredes, y los hombres
hilan y texen sus mantas, y van á la guerra, y a la caza, y si
obligamos a algū hombre á hazer pared, se corre dello, y las mugeres
se rien.”
Mota Padilla, cap. xxxii, p. 159: “estos pueblos [de Tigües y
Tzibola] estaban murados . . . si bien se diferenciaban en que los
pueblos de Tzibola son fabricados de pizarras unidas con argamasa de
tierra; y los de Tigües son de una tierra güijosa, aunque muy fuerte;
sus fábricas tienen las puertas para adentro del pueblo, y la entrada
de estos muros son puertas pequeñas y se sube por unas escalerillas
angostas, y se entra de ellas á una sala de terraplen, y por otra
escalera se baja al plan de la poblacion.”
Several days before Friar Marcos reached Chichilticalli, the natives,
who were telling him about Cibola, described the way in which these
lofty houses were built: “para dármelo á entender, tomaban tierra y
ceniza, y echábanle agua, y señalábanme como ponian la piedra y como
subīan el edificio arriba, poniendo aquello y piedra hasta ponello
en lo alto; preguntábales á los hombres de aquella tierra si tenian
alas para subir aquellos sobrados; reianse y señalábanme el escalera,
tambien como la podria yo señalar, y tomaban un palo y ponianlo
sobre la cabeza y decian que aquel altura hay de sobrado á sobrado.”
Relacion de Fray Marcos in Pacheco y Cardenas, Doc. de Indias, vol.
iii, p. 339.
Lewis H. Morgan, in his Ruins of a Stone Pueblo, Peabody Museum
Reports, vol. xii, p. 541, says: “Adobe is a kind of pulverized
clay with a bond of considerable strength by mechanical cohesion.
In southern Colorado, in Arizona, and New Mexico there are immense
tracts covered with what is called adobe soil. It varies somewhat
in the degree of its excellence. The kind of which they make their
pottery has the largest per cent of alumina, and its presence is
indicated by the salt weed which grows in this particular soil. This
kind also makes the best adobe mortar. The Indians use it freely in
laying their walls, as freely as our masons use lime mortar; and
although it never acquires the hardness of cement, it disintegrates
slowly . . . This adobe mortar is adapted only to the dry climate of
southern Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, where the precipitation
is less than 5 inches per annum . . . To the presence of this adobe
soil, found in such abundance in the regions named, and to the
sandstone of the bluffs, where masses are often found in fragments,
we must attribute the great progress made by these Indians in house
building.”
[221] Bandelier discusses the estufas in his Final Report, pt. i, p.
144 ff., giving quotations from the Spanish writers, with his usual
wealth of footnotes. Dr Fewkes, in his Zuñi Summer Ceremonials, says:
“These rooms are semisubterranean (in Zuñi), situated on the first or
ground floor, never, so far as I have seen, on the second or higher
stories. They are rectangular or square rooms, built of stone, with
openings just large enough to admit the head serving as windows, and
still preserve the old form of entrance by ladders through a sky hole
in the roof. Within, the estufas have bare walls and are unfurnished,
but have a raised ledge about the walls, serving as seats.”
[222] The Spanish is almost illegible. Ternaux (pp. 169–170) merely
says: “Au milien estun foyer allumé.”
[223] Mota Padilla, cap. xxxii, p. 160: “En los casamientos [á
Tigües] hay costumbre, que cuando un mozo da en servir á una
doncella, la espera en la parte donde va á acarrear agua, y coge el
cántaro, con cuya demostracion manifiesta á los deudos de ella, la
voluntad de casarse: no tienen estos indios mas que una muger.”
Villagra, Historia de la Nueva Mexico, canto xv, fol. 135:
Y tienen una cosa aquestas gentes,
Que en saliendo las mozas de donzellas,
Son á todos comunes, sin escusa,
Con tal que se lo paguen, y sin paga,
Es una vil bageza, tal delito,
Mas luego que se casan viuen castas,
Contenta cada qual con su marido,
Cuia costumbre, con la grande fuerça,
Que por naturaleza ya tenian,
Teniendo por cortissimo nosotros,
Seguiamos tambien aquel camino,
Iuntaron muchas mantas bien pintadas,
Para alcançar las damas Castellanas,
Que mucho apetecieron y quisieron.
It is hoped that a translation of this poem, valuable to the
historian and to the ethnologist, if not to the student of
literature, may be published in the not distant future.
[224] This appears to be the sense of a sentence which Ternaux omits.
[225] The American turkey cocks.
[226] A custom still common at Zuñi and other pueblos. Before the
introduction of manufactured dyes the Hopi used urine as a mordant.
[227] Mr. Owens, in the Journal of American Ethnology and Archæology,
vol. ii, p. 163 _n._, describes these mealing troughs: “In every
house will be found a trough about 6 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 8
inches deep, divided into three or more compartments. In the older
houses the sides and partitions are made of stone slabs, but in some
of the newer ones they are made of boards. Within each compartment is
a stone (trap rock preferred) about 18 inches long and a foot wide,
set in a bed of adobe and inclined at an angle of about 35°. This
is not quite in the center of the compartment, but is set about 3
inches nearer the right side than the left, and its higher edge is
against the edge of the trough. This constitutes the nether stone of
the mill. The upper stone is about 14 inches long, 3 inches wide, and
varies in thickness according to the fineness of the meal desired.
The larger stone is called a máta, and the smaller one a matáki. The
woman places the corn in the trough, then kneels behind it and grasps
the matáki in both hands. This she slides, by a motion from the back,
back and forth over the máta. At intervals she releases her hold
with her left hand and with it places the material to be ground upon
the upper end of the máta. She usually sings in time to her grinding
motion.”
There is a more extended account of these troughs in Mindeleff’s
Pueblo Architecture, in the Eighth Report of the Bureau of Ethnology,
p. 208. This excellent monograph, with its wealth of illustrations,
is an invaluable introduction to any study of the southwestern
village Indians.
Mota Padilla, cap. xxxii, 3, p. 159: “tienen las indias sus cocinas
con mucho aseo, y en el moler el maiz se diferencian de las demas
poblaciones [á Tigües], porque en una piedra mas áspera martajan el
maiz, y pasa á la segunda y tercera, de donde le sacan en polvo como
harina; no usan tortillas que son el pan de las indias y lo fabrican
con primor, porque en unas ollas ponen á darle al maiz un cocimiento
con una poca de cal, de donde lo sacan ya con el nombre de mixtamal.”
[228] See W. H. Holmes, Pottery of the Ancient Pueblos, Fourth Annual
Report of the Bureau of Ethnology; also his Illustrated Catalogue of
a portion of the collections made during the field season of 1881, in
the Third Annual Report. See p. 519 _n._, regarding pottery found at
Sikyatki.
[229] Bandelier, in his Visit to Pecos, p. 114, n., states that the
former name of the pueblo was Aquiu, and suggests the possibility of
Castañeda having originally written Acuyó. The Relacion del Sucoso,
translated herein, has Acuique. As may be seen by examining the
Spanish text, the Lenox manuscript copy of Castañeda spells the name
of this village sometimes Cicuyo and sometimes Cicuye.
[230] Compare Bandelier’s translation of this description, from
Ternaux’s text, in his Gilded Man, p. 206. See the accompanying
illustrations, especially of Zuñi, which give an excellent idea of
these terraces or “corridors” with their attached balconies.
[231] The spring was “still trickling out beneath a massive ledge of
rocks on the west sill” when Bandelier sketched it in 1880.
[232] The former Tano pueblo of Galisteo, a mile and a half northeast
of the present town of the same name, in Santa Fé county.
[233] According to Mota Padilla, this was called Coquite.
[234] These Indians were seen by Coronado during his journey across
the plains. As Mr Hodge has suggested, they may have been the
Comanches, who on many occasions are known to have made inroads on
the pueblo of Pecos.
[235] Ternaux’s rendering of the uncertain word teules in the Spanish
text. Molina, in the Vocabulario Mexicana (1555), fol. 30, has “brauo
hombre . . . tlauele.” Gomara speaks of the chichimecas in the
quotation in the footnote on page 529. The term was applied to all
wild tribes.
[236] Bandelier, Final Report, pt. i, p. 34: “With the exception of
Acoma, there is not a single pueblo standing where it was at the
time of Coronado, or even sixty years later, when Juan de Oñate
accomplished the peaceable reduction of the New Mexican village
Indians.” Compare with the discussion in this part of his Final
Report, Mr Bandolier’s attempt to identify the various clusters of
villages, in his Historical Introduction, pp. 22–24.
[237] For the location of this group of pueblos see page 492, note.
[238] The Queres district, now represented by Santo Domingo, San
Felipe, Santa Ana, Sia (Castañeda’s Chia), and Cochiti. Acoma and
Laguna, to the westward, belong to the same linguistic group. Laguna,
however, is a modern pueblo.
[239] One of these was the Tano pueblo of Galisteo, as noted on page
523.
[240] The Jemes pueblo clusters in San Diego and Guadalupe canyons.
See pl. LXX.
[241] The Tewa pueblo of Yugeuingge, where the village of Chamita,
above Santa Fé, now stands.
[242] Taos.
[243] The Keres or Queres pueblo of Sia.
[244] As Ternaux observes, Castañeda mentions seventy-one. Sia may
not have been the only village which he counted twice.
[245] The trend of the river in the section of the old pueblo
settlements is really westward.
[246] Compare the Spanish text.
[247] The Tusayan Indians belong to the same linguistic stock as the
Ute, Comanche, Shoshoni, Bannock, and others. The original habitat
of the main body of these tribes was in the far north, although
certain clans of the Tusayan people are of southern origin. See
Powell, Indian Linguistic Families, 7th Annual Report of the Bureau
of Ethnology, p. 108.
[248] The Spaniards under Coronado. The translation does not pretend
to correct the rhetoric or the grammar of the text.
[249] Ternaux, p. 184: “D’après la route qu’ils ont suivie, ils
ont dú venir de l’extrémité de l’Inde orientale, et d’une partie
très-inconnue qui, d’après la configuration des côtes, serait située
très-avant dans l’intérieur des terres, entre la Chine et la Norwège.”
[250] See the Carta escrita por Santisteban á Mendoza, which tells
nearly everything that is known of the voyage of Villalobos. We can
only surmise what Castañeda may have known about it.
[251] The Spanish text fully justifies Castañeda’s statement that he
was not skilled in the arts of rhetoric and geography.
[252] Compare the Spanish text. I here follow Ternaux’s rendering.
[253] In a note Ternaux, p. 185, says: “Le [dernier] mot est
illisible, mais comme l’auteur parle de certain émail que les
Espagnols trouvèrent, . . . j’ai cru pouvoir hasarder cette
interprétation.” The word is legible enough, but the letters do not
make any word for which I can find a meaning.
[254] More than once Castañeda seems to be addressing those about him
where he is writing in Culiacan.
[255] Ternaux omits all this, evidently failing completely in the
attempt to understand this description of the rolling western
prairies.
[256] Compare the Spanish. This also is omitted by Ternaux.
[257] Espejo, Relacion, p. 180: “los serranos acuden á servir á los
de las poblaciones, y los de las poblaciones les llaman á estos,
querechos; tratan y contratan con los de las poblaciones, llevandoles
sal y caza, venados, conejos y liebres y gamuzas aderezadas y otros
géneros de cosas, á trucque de mantas de algodon y otras cosas con
que les satisfacen la paga el gobierno.”
[258] Compare the Spanish.
[259] The well known travois of the plains tribes.
[260] Benavides: Memorial (1630), p. 74: “Y las tiendas las llenan
cargadas en requas de perros aparejados cō sus en xalmillas, y son
los perros medianos, y suelē lleuar quiniētos perros en vna requa vno
delante de otro, y la gente lleua cargada su mercaduria, que trueca
por ropa de algodon, y por otras cosas de [=q] carecen.”
[261] Pemmican
[262] Mota Padilla, cap. xxxii, 2, p. 165: “Habiendo andado cuatro
jornadas por estos llanos, con grandes neblinas, advirtieron los
soldados rastro como de picas de lanzas arrastradas por el suelo,
y llevados por la curiosidad, le siguieron hasta dar con cincuenta
gandules, que con sus familias, seguian unas manadas de dichas vacas,
y en unos perrillos no corpulentos, cargaban unas varas y pieles, con
las que formaban sus tiendas ó toritos, en donde se entraban para
resistir el sol ó el agua. Los indios son de buena estatura, y no se
supo si eran haraganes ó tenian pueblos; presumióse los tendrian,
porque ninguna de las indias llevaba niño pequeño; andaban vestidas
con unos faldellines de cuero de venado de la cintura para abajo, y
del mismo cuero unos capisayos ó vizcainas, con que se cubren; traen
unas medias calzas de cuero adobado y sandalias de cuero crudo: ellos
andan desnudos, y cuando mas les affige el frio, se cubren con cueros
adobados; no usan, ni los hombres ni las mujeres, cabello largo, sino
trasquilados, y de media cabeza para la frente rapados á navaja;
usan por armas las flechas, y con los sesos de las mismas vacas
benefician y adoban los cueros: llámanse cibolos, y tienen mas impetu
para embestir que los toros, aunque no tanta fortaleza; y en las
fiestas reales que se celebraron en la ciudad de México por la jura
de nuestro rey D. Luis I, hizo el conde de San Mateo de Valparaiso se
llevase una cibola para que se torease, y por solo verla se despobló
México, por hallar lugar en la plaza, que le fué muy útil al tabla
jero aquel dia.”
[263] Compare the Spanish. Omitted by Ternaux.
[264] Mr Savage, in the Transactions of the Nebraska Historical
Society, vol. i, p. 198, shows how closely the descriptions of
Castañeda, Jaramillo, and the others on the expedition, harmonize
with the flora and fauna of his State.
[265] Ternaux, p. 194, read this Capetlan.
[266] Temaus, ibid., miscopied it Guyas.
[267] Herrera, Historia General, dec. vi, lib. ix, cap. xii, vol.
iii, p. 207 (ed. 1730): “Toda esta Tierra [Quivira] tiene mejor
aparencia, que ninguna de las mejores de Europa, porque no es mui
doblada, sino de Lomas, Llanos, i Rios de hermosa vista, i buena para
Ganados, pues la experiencia lo mostraba. Hallaronse Ciruelas de
Castilla, entre coloradas, i verdes, de mui gentil sabor; entre las
Vacas se hallò Lino, que produce la Tierra, mui perfecto, que como
el Ganado no lo come, se queda por alli con sus cabeçuelas, i flor
azul; i en algunos Arroios, se ballaron Vbas de buen gusto, Moras,
Nueces, i otras Frutas; las Casas, que estos Indios tenian eran de
Paja, muchas de ellas redondas, que la Paja llegaba hasta el suelo, i
encima vna como Capitla, ò Garita, de donde se asomaban.”
Gomara, cap. ccxiiii: “Esta Quinira en quarenta grados, es tierra
templada, de buenas aguas, de muchas yeruas, ciruelas, moras, nuezes,
melones, y vuas, que maduran bien: no ay algodon, y visten cueros de
vacas, y venados. Vieron por la costa naos, que trayan arcatrazes
de oro, y de plata en las proas, cō mercaderias, y pensaron ser del
Catayo, y China, por[=q] señalauan auer navegado treynta dias. Fray
Iuan de Padilla se quedo en Tiguex, con otro frayle Francisco, y
torno a Quinira, con hasta doze Indios de Mechuacan, y con Andres do
Campo Portugues, hortelano de Francisco de Solis. Lleuo caualgaduras,
y azemilas con prouision. Leuo ouejas, y gallinas de Castilla, y
ornamentos para dezir missa. Los de Quiuira mataron a los frayles, y
escapose el Portugues, con algunos Mechuacanes. El qual, aun que se
libro entonces de la muerte, no se libro de catinerio, porque luego
le prendieron: mas de alli a diez meses, que fue esclauo, huyo con
dos perros. Santiguaua por el camino con vna cruz, aque le ofrecian
mucho, y do quiera que llegaua, le dauan limosna, aluergue, y de
comer. Vino a tierra de Chichimecas, y aporto a Panuco.”
[268] The Mississippi and Missouri rivers.
[269] This is probably a reminiscence of Cabeza de Vaca’s narrative.
[270] Mota Padilla, cap. xxxiii, 4, p. 166, gives his reasons for the
failure of the expedition: “It was most likely the chastisement of
God that riches were not found on this expedition, because, when this
ought to have been the secondary object of the expedition, and the
conversion of all those heathen their first aim, they bartered with
fate and struggled after the secondary; and thus the misfortune is
not so much that all those labors were without fruit, but the worst
is that such a number of souls have remained in their blindness.”
[271] Or perhaps as Ternaux, p. 202, rendered it, “courir la bague.”
[272] Mota Padilla, cap. xxxiii, 6, p. 166: “así el [gobernador]
como los demas capitanes del ejército, debían estar tan ciegos de
la pasion de la codicia de riquezas, que no trataban de radicarse
poblando en aquel paraje que veian tan abastecido, ni de reducir
á los indios é instruirlos en algo de la fé, que es la que debian
propagar: solo trataron de engordar sus caballos para lo que se
ofreciese pasado el invierno; y andando adiestrando el gobernador
uno que tenia muy brioso, se le fué la silla, y dando la boca en el
suelo, quedó sin sentido, y aunque despues se recobró, el juicio
le quedó diminuto, con lo cual trataron todos de desistir de la
empresa.” Gomara, cap. ccxiiii: “Cayo en Tiguex del cauallo Francisco
Vazquez, y con el golpe salio de sentido, y deuaneuua: lo qual vnos
tuuierō por dolor, y otros por fingido, ca estanan mal con el, porque
no poblaua.”
[273] _Or_, During the time that he was confined to his bed, . . . .
[274] Compare the Spanish. Ternaux, p. 203: “Le chirurgien qui le
pansait et qui lui servait en méme temps d’espion, l’avait averti du
mécontentement des soldats.”
[275] Compare the Spanish.
[276] Compare the Spanish text.
[277] Ternaux, p. 209: “à une heure très-avancée.”
[278] Compare the spelling of this name on page 460 of the Spanish
text.
[279] The correct date is, of course, 1542.
[280] A Franciscan. He was a “frayle de misa.”
[281] General W. W. H. Davis, in his Spanish Conquest of New Mexico,
p. 231, gives the following extract, translated from an old Spanish
MS. at Santa Fé: “When Coronado returned to Mexico, he left behind
him, among the Indians of Cibola, the father fray Francisco Juan de
Padilla, the father fray Juan de la Cruz, and a Portuguese named
Andres del Campo. Soon after the Spaniards departed, Padilla and the
Portuguese set off in search of the country of the Grand Quivira,
where the former understood there were innumerable souls to be saved.
After traveling several days, they reached a large settlement in
the Quivira country. The Indians came out to receive them in battle
array, when the friar, knowing their intentions, told the Portuguese
and his attendants to take to flight, while he would await their
coming, in order that they might vent their fury on him as they ran.
The former took to flight, and, placing themselves on a height within
view, saw what happened to the friar. Padilla awaited their coming
upon his knees, and when they arrived where he was they immediately
put him to death. The same happened to Juan de la Cruz, who was
left behind at Cibola, which people killed him. The Portuguese and
his attendants made their escape, and ultimately arrived safely in
Mexico, where he told what had occurred.” In reply to a request for
further information regarding this manuscript, General Davis stated
that when he revisited Santa Fé, a few years ago, he learned that one
of his successors in the post of governor of the territory, having
despaired of disposing of the immense mass of old documents and
records deposited in his office, by the slow process of using them
to kindle fires, had sold the entire lot—an invaluable collection
of material bearing on the history of the southwest and its early
European and native inhabitants—as junk.
Mota Padilla, cap. xxxiii, 7, p. 167, gives an extended account of
the friars: “Pero porque el padre Fr. Juan de Padilla cuando acompañó
á D. Francisco Vazquez Coronado hasta el pueblo de Quivira, puso
en él una cruz, protestando no desampararla aunque le costase la
vida, por tener entendido hacer fruto en aquellos indios y en los
comarcanos, determinó volverse, y no bastaron las instancias del
gobernador y demas capitanes para que desistiese por entónces del
pensamiento. El padre Fr. Luis de Ubeda rogó tambien le dejasen
volver con el padre Fr. Juan de Padilla hasta el pueblo de Coquite,
en donde le parecia podrian servir de domesticar algo á aquellos
indios por parecerle se hallaban con alguna disposicion; y que pues
él era viejo, emplearia la corta vida que le quedase en procurar la
salvacion de las almas de aquellos miserables. A su imitacion tambien
el padre Fr. Juan de la Cruz, religioso lego (como lo era Fr. Luis
de Ubeda) pretendió quedarse en aquellas provincias de Tigües, y
porque se discurrió que con el tiempo se conseguiria la poblacion
de aquellas tierras, condescendió el gobernador á los deseos de
aquellos apostólicos varones, y les dejaron proveidos de lo que por
entónces pareció necesario; y tambien quiso quedarse un soldado,
de nacion portugues, llamado Andres del Campo, con ánimo de servir
al padre Padilla, y tambien dos indizuelos donados nombrados Lúcas
y Sebastian, naturales de Michoacan; y otros dos indizuelos que en
el ejército hacian oficios de sacristanes, y otro muchacho mestizo:
dejáronle á dicho padre Padilla ornamentos y provision para que
celebrase el santo sacrificio de la misa, y algunos bienecillos que
pudiese dar á los indios para atraerlos á su voluntad.
“8. . . . Quedaron estos benditos religiosos como corderos entre
lobos; y viéndose solos, trató el padre Fr. Juan de Padilla, con
los de Tigües, el fin que le movia á quedarse entre ellos, que no
era otro que el detratar de la salvacion de sus almas; que ya los
soldados se habian ido, que no les serian molestos, que él pasaba
á otras poblaciones y les dejaba al padre Fr. Juan de la Cruz para
que les fuese instruyendo en lo que debian saber para ser cristianos
é hijos de la Santa Iglesia, como necesario para salvar sus almas,
que les tratasen bien, y que él procuraria volver á consolarles:
despídese con gran ternura, dejando, como prelado, lleno de
bendiciones, á Fr. Juan de la Cruz, y los indios de Tigües señalaron
una escuadra de sus soldados que guiasen a dichos padres Fr. Juan
de Padilla y Fr. Luis de Ubeda hasta el pueblo de Coquite, en donde
les recibieron con demostraciones de alegría, y haciendo la misma
recomendacion por el padre Fr. Luis de Ubeda, le dejó, y guiado de
otros naturales del mismo pueblo, salió para Quivira con Andres del
Campo, donados indizuelos y el muchacho mestizo: llegó á Quivira y
se postró al pié de la cruz, que halló en donde la habia colocado;
y con limpieza, toda la circunferencia, como lo habia encargado, de
que se alegró, y luego comenzó á hacer los oficios de padre maestro y
apóstol de aquellas gentes; y hallándolas dóciles y con buen ánimo,
se inflamó su corazon, y le pareció corto número de almas para Dios
las de aquel pueblo, y trató de ensanchar los senos de nuestra madre
la Santa Iglesia, para que acogiese á cuantos se le decia haber en
mayores distancias.
“9. Salió de Quivira, acompañado de su corta comitiva, contra la
voluntad de los indios de aquel pueblo, que le amaban como á su
padre, mas á una jornada le salieron indios de guerra, y conociendo
mal ánimo de aquellos bárbaros, le rogó al portugues, que pues iba
á caballo huyese, y que en su conserva llevase aquellos donados y
muchachos, que como tales podrian correr y escaparse: hiciéronlo así
por no hallarse capaces de otro modo para la defensa, y el bendito
padre, hincado de rodillas ofreció la vida, que por reducir almas á
Dios tenia sacrificada, logrando los ardientes deseos de su corazon,
la felicidad de ser muerto flechado por aquellos indios bárbaros,
quienes le arrojaron en un hoyo, cubriendo el cuerpo con innumerables
piedras. Y vuelto el portugues con los indizuelos á Quivira, dieren
la noticia, la que sintieron mucho aquellos naturales, por el amor
que tenian á dicho padre, y mas lo sintieran si hubieran tenido pleno
conocimiento de la falta que les hacia; no sabe el dia de su muerte,
aunque sí se tiene por cierto haber sido en el año de 542: y en
algunos papeles que dejó escritos D. Pedro de Tovar en la villa de
Culiacan, se dice que los indios habian salido á matar á este bendito
padre, por robar los ornamentos, y que habia memoria de que en su
muerte se vieron grandes prodigios, como fué inundarse la tierra,
verse globos de fuego, cometas y oscurecerse el sol.
“10. . . . Del padre Fr. Juan de la Cruz, la noticia que se tiene
es, que despues de haber trabajado en la instruccion de los indios
en Tigües y en Coquite, murió flechado de indios, porque no todos
abrazaron su doctrina y consejos, con los que trataba detestasen sus
bárbaras costumbres, aunque por lo general era muy estimado de los
caciques y demas naturales, que habian visto la veneracion con que el
general, capitanes y soldados lo trataban. El padre Fr. Luis de Ubeda
se mantenia en una choza por celda ó cueva, en donde le ministraban
los indios, con un poco de atole, tortillas y frijoles, el limitado
sustento, y no se supo de su muerte; si quedó entre cuantos le
conocieron la memoria de su pefecta vida.”
When the reports of these martyrdoms reached New Spain, a number
of Franciscans were fired with the zeal of entering the country
and carrying on the work thus begun. Several received official
permission, and went to the pueblo country. One of them was killed at
Tiguex, where most of them settled. A few went on to Cicuye or Pecos,
where they found a cross which Padilla had set up. Proceeding to
Quivira, the natives there counseled them not to proceed farther. The
Indians gave them an account of the death of Fray Padilla, and said
that if he had taken their advice he would not have been killed.
[282] Antonio de Espejo, in the Relacion of his visit to New Mexico
in 1582 (Pacheco y Cardenas, Documentes de Indias, vol. xv, p.
180), states that at Zuñi-Cibola, “hallamos tres indios cristianos
que se digeron llamar Andrés de Cuyacan y Gaspar de México y Anton
de Guadalajara, que digeron haber entrado con Francisco Vazquez, y
reformándolos en la lengua mexicana que ya casi la tenian olvidada;
destos supimos que habia llegado allí el dicho Francisco Vazquez
Coronado.”
[283] There were two settlements in Sonora bearing this name, one
occupied by the Eudeve and the other by the Tegui division of the
Opata. The former village is the one referred to by Castañeda.
[284] Mota Padilla, cap. xxxiii, 5, p. 166, says that at Sonora . . .
“murió un fulano Temiño, hermano de Baltasar Bañuelos, uno de los
quatro mineros de Zacatecas; Luis Hernandez, Domingo Fernandez y
otros.”
[285] Rudo Ensayo, p. 64: “Mago, en lengua Opata [of Sonora], es
un arbol pequeño, mui lozano de verde, y hermoso á la vista; pero
contiene una leche mortal que á corta incision de su corteza brota,
con la que los Naturales suelen untar sus flechas; y por esto la
llaman hierba de la flecha, pero ya pocos lo usan. Sirbe tambien
dicha leche para abrir tumores rebeldes, aunque no lo aconsejara,
por su calidad venenoso.” This indicates a euphorbiacea. Bandelier
(Final Report, pt. i, p. 77) believes that no credit is to be given
to the notion that the poison used by the Indians may have been snake
poison. The Seri are the only Indians of northern Mexico who in
recent times have been reported to use poisoned arrows.
[286] Ternaux, p. 223: “On parvint ainsi à Petatlan, qui dépend de
la province de Culiacan. A cette époque, ce village était soumis.
Mais quoique depuis il y ait eu plusieurs soulèvements, on y resta
quelques jours pour se refaire.” Compare the Spanish.
[287] Gomara, cap. ccxiiii: “Quando llego a Mexico traya el cabello
muy largo, y la barua trençada, y contaua estrañezas de las tierras,
rios, y montañas, [=q] a trauesso. Mucho peso a don Antonio de
Mendoça, que se boluiessen, porque auia gastado mas de sesenta mil
pesos de oro en la empresa, y aun deuia muchos dellos, y no trayan
cosa ninguna de alla, ni muestra de plata, ni de oro, ni de otra
riqueza. Muchos quisieron quedarse alla, mas Francisco Vazquez de
Coronado, que rico, y rezien casado era con hermosa muger, no quiso,
diziendo, que no se podrian sustentar, ni defender, en tan pobre
tierra, y tan lexos del socorro. Caminaron mas de nouecientas leguas
de largo esta jornada.”
[288] Ternaux, p. 228: “il n’y ait pas de succès à espérer sans
peine; mais il vaut mieux que ceux qui voudront tenter l’entreprise,
soient informés d’avance des peines et des fatigues qu’ont éprouvées
leurs prédécesseurs.”
[289] The letters of Mendoza during the early part of his
administration in Mexico repeatedly call attention to the lack of
arms and ammunition among the Spaniards in the New World.
[290] Ternaux, p. 236: “l’on trouva sur le bord oriental d’un des
lacs salés qui sont vers le sud, un endroit qui avait environ une
demi-portée de mousquet de longueur, et qui était entièrement couvert
d’os de bisons jusqu’à la hauteur de deux toises sur trois de large,
ce qui est surprenant dans un pays désert, et où personne n’aurait pu
rassembler ces os.”
[291] Compare the Spanish. Ternaux, p. 237: “Ils ont sur la partie
antérieure du corps un poil frisé semblable à la laine de moutons, il
est tres-fin sur la croupe, et lisse comme la crinière du lion.”
[292] The kersey, or coarse woolen cloth out of which the habits of
the Franciscan friars were made. Hence the name, grey friars.
[293] The earliest description of the American buffalo by a European
is in Cabeza de Vaca’s Naufragios, fol. xxvii verso (ed 1555):
“Alcançā aqui vacas y yo las he visto tres vezes, y comido dellas: y
paresceme que seran del tamaño de las de España: tienē los cuernos
pequeños como moriscas, y el pelo muy largo merino como vna bernia,
vnas son pardillas y otras negras: y a mi parescer tienen mejor y mas
gruessa carne que de las de aca. De las que no son grandes hazen los
indios mātas para cubrirse, y de las mayores hazen capatos y rodelas:
estas vienen de hazia el norte . . . mas de quatrociētas leguas: y
en todo este camino por los valles por donde ellas vienē baxan las
gentes que por allí habitan y se mantienen dellas, y meten en la
tierra grande contidad de cueros.”
Fray Marcos heard about these animals when he was in southern
Arizona, on his way toward Cibola-Zuñi: “Aquí . . . me truxeron un
cuero, tanto y medio mayor que de una gran vaca, y me dixeron ques
de un animal, que tiene solo un cuerno en la frente y queste cuerno
es corbo hacia los pechos, y que de allí sale una punta derecha, en
la cual dicen que tiene tanta fuerza, que ninguna cosa, por recia
que sea, dexa de romper, si topa con ella; y dicen que hay muchos
animales destos en aquella tierra; la color del cuero es á manera
de cabron y el pelo tan largo como el dedo.”—Pacheco y Cardenas,
Documentos de Indias, vol. iii, p. 311.
Gomara, cap. ccxv, gives the following description to accompany his
picture of these cows (plate LV, herein): “Son aquellos bueyes del
tamaño, y color, que nuestros toros, pero no de tan grandes cuernos.
Tienen vna gran giba sobre la cruz, y mas pelo de medio adelante,
que de medio atras, y es lana. Tienen como clines sobre el espinazo,
y mucho pelo, y muy largo de las rodillas abaxo. Cuelgan es por
la frente grandes guedejas, y parece que tienen baruas, segun los
muchos pelos del garguero, y varrillas. Tienen la cola muy larga
los machos, y con vn flueco grande al cabo: assique algo tienen de
leon, y algo de camello. Hieren con los cuernos, corren, alcançan, y
matan vn cauallo, quando ellos se embrauecen, y enojan: finalmente es
animal feo y fiero de rostro, y cuerpo. Huyē de los cauallos por su
mala catadura, o por nunca los auer visto. No tienen sus dueños otra
riqueza, ni hazienda, dellos comen, beuen, visten, calçan, y hazen
muchas cosas de los cueros, casas, calçado, vestido y sogas: delos
huessos, punçones: de los nernios, y pelos, hilo: de los cuernos,
buches, y bexigas, vasos: de las boñigas, lumbre: y de las terneras,
odres, en que traen y tienen agua: hazen en fin tantas cosas dellos
quantas han menester, o quantas las bastan para su biuienda. Ay
tambien otros animales, tan grandes como cauallos, que por tener
cuernos, y lana fina, los llaman carneros, y dizen, que cada cuerno
pesa dos arrouas. Ay tambien grandes perros, que lidian con vn toro,
y que lleuan dos arrouas de carga sobre salmas. quando vã a caça, o
quando se mudan con el ganado, y hato.”
Mota Padilla, cap. xxxiii, p. 164, says: “son estas vacas menores que
las nuestras; su lana menuda y mas fina que la merina; por encima un
poco morena, y entre sí un pardillo agraciado, á la parte de atras es
la lana mas menuda; y de allí para la cabeza, crian unos guedejones
grandes no tan fines; tienen cuernos pequeños, y en todo lo demas son
de la hechura de las nuestras, aunque mas cenceñas: los toros son
mayores, y sus pieles se curten dejándoles la lana, y sirven, por su
suavidad, de mullidas camas; no se vió becerrilla alguna, y puede
atribuirse, ó á los muchos lobos que hay entre ellas, ó á tener otros
parajes mas seguros en que queden las vacas con sus crias, y deben
de mudarse por temporadas, ó porque falten las aguas de aquellas
lagunas, ó porque conforme el sol se retira, les dañe la mutacion del
temperamento, y por eso se advierten en aquellos llanos, trillados
caminos ó veredas por donde entran y salen, y al mismo movimiento
de las vacas, se mueven cuadrillas de indios. . . . y se dijo ser
desabrida la carne de la hembra, y es providencia del Altisimo,
para que los indios maten los machos y reserven las hembras para el
multiplico.”
[294] Scattered through the papers of Dr J. Walter Fewkes on the Zuñi
and Tusayan Indians will be found many descriptions of the páhos
or prayer sticks and other forms used as offerings at the shrines,
together with exact accounts of the manner of making the offerings.
[295] The northeastern province of New Spain.
[296] The conception of the great inland plain stretching between the
great lakes at the head of the St Lawrence and the Gulf of Mexico
came to cosmographers very slowly. Almost all of the early maps show
a disposition to carry the mountains which follow the Atlantic coast
along the Gulf coast as far as Texas, a result, doubtless, of the
fact that all the expeditions which started inland from Florida found
mountains. Coronado’s journey to Quivira added but little to the
detailed geographical knowledge of America. The name reached Europe,
and it is found on the maps, along the fortieth parallel, almost
every where from the Pacific coast to the neighborhood of a western
tributary to the St Lawrence system. See the maps reproduced herein.
Castañeda could have aided them considerably, but the map makers did
not know of his book.
[297] Captain John Stevens’ Dictionary says that this is “a northern
province of North America, rich in silver mines, but ill provided
with water, grain, and other substances; yet by reason of the mines
there are seven or eight Spanish towns in it.” Zacatecas is now one
of the central states of the Mexican confederation, being south of
Coahuila and southeast of Durango.
[298] Ternaux, p. 242, miscopied it Quachichiles.
[299] Ternaux, p. 243, reads: “puis pendant six cent cinquante
vers le nord, . . . De sorte qu’après avoir fait plus de huit cent
cinquante lienes.” . . . The substitution of six for two may possibly
give a number which is nearer the actual distance traversed, but the
fact is quite unimportant. The impression which the trip left on
Castañeda is what should interest the historian or the reader.
[300] The dictionary of Dominguez says: “Isla de negros; ó isla
del Almirantazgo, en el grande Océano equinoccial; grande isla
de la América del Norte, sobre la costa oeste.” Apparently the
location of this island gradually drifted westward with the increase
of geographical knowledge, until it was finally located in the
Philippine group.
[301] From the Spanish text in Pacheco y Cardenas, Documentos de
Indias, vol. ii, p. 356. The letter mentioned in the opening sentence
is not known to exist.
[302] Presumably the fortress of which Samaniego was warden.
[303] Buckingham Smith’s Florida gives many documents relating to the
damage done by French brigantines to the Spanish West Indies during
1540–41.
[304] In his paper on the Human Bones of the Hemenway Collection
(Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, VI, p. 156 et seq.),
Dr Washington Matthews discusses the possible former existence of a
variety of the llama in certain parts of the southwest.
[305] The headbands are doubtless here referred to.
[306] The Spanish text for the foregoing paragraph is as follows:
“Salidos deste despoblado grande, están siete lugares y habrá una
jornada pequeña del uno al otro, á los quales todos juntos llaman
Civola; tienen las casas de piedra y barro, toscamente labradas, son
desta manera hechas: una pared larga y desta pared á un cabo y á otro
salen unas cámaras atajadas de veinte piés en cuadra, segund señalan,
las cuales están maderadas de vigas por labrar; las más casas se
mandan por las azoteas con sus escaleras á las calles; son las casas
de tres y de cuatro altos; afirman haber pocas de dos altos, los
altos son demás de estado y medio en alto, ecebto el primero ques
bajo, que no terná sino algo más que un estado; mandánse diez ó doce
casas juntas por una escalera, de los bajos se sirven y en los más
altos habitan: en el más bajo de todos tienen unas saeteras hechas
al soslayo como en fortalezas en España. Dicen los indios que cuando
les vienen á dar guerra, que se meten en sus casas todos y de allí
pelean, y que cuando ellos van á hacer guerra, que llevan rodelas y
unas cueras vestidas que son de vacas de colores, y que pelean con
flechas y con unas macetas de piedra y con otras armas de palo que
no he podido entender. Comen carne humana y los que prenden en la
guerra tiénenlos por esclavos. Hay muchas gallinas en la tierra,
mansas, tienen mucho maiz y frisoles y melones, tienen en sus casas
unos animales bedijudos como grandes podencos de Castilla, los quales
tresquilan, y del pelo hacen cabelleras de colores que se ponen, como
esa que envio á V.S., y tambien en la ropa que hacen echan de lo
mismo. Los hombres son de pequeña estatura; las mujeres son blancas
y de buenos gestos, andan vestidas con unas camisas que les llegan
hasta los piés, y los cabellos parténselos á manera de lados con
ciertas vueltas, que les quedan las orejas de fuera, en las cuales se
cuelgan muchas turquesas y al cuello y en las muñecas de los brazos.
El vestido de los hombres son mantas y encima cueros de vaca, como el
que V.S. veria que llevó Cabeza de Vaca y Dorantes; en las cabezas
se ponen unas tocas; traen en verano zapatos de cuero pintados ó de
color, y en el invierno borceguíes altos.
“De la misma manera, no me saben dar razon de metal ninguno, ni dicen
que lo tengan; turquesas tienen en cantidad, aunque no tantas como el
padre provincial dice; tienen unas pedrezuelas de christal como esa
que envio á V.S., de las cuales V.S. habia visto hartas en esa Nueva
España; labran las tierras á uso de la Nueva España; cárganse en la
cabeza como en México; los hombres tejen la ropa ó hilan el algodon;
comen sal de una laguna questá á dos jornadas de la provincia de
Civola. Los indios hacen sus bailes y cantos con unas flantas que
tienen sus puntos do ponen los dedos, hacen muchos sones, cantan
juntamente con los que tañen, y los que cantan dan palmas á nuestro
modo. Aún indio de los que llevó Estéban el Negro, questuvo allá
cautivo, le vi tañer, que selo mostraron allá, y otros cantaban como
digo, aunque no muy desenvueltos; dicen que se juntan cinco ó seis á
tañer, y que son las flautas unas mayores que otras.”
[307] The same salt lake from which the Zuñis obtain their salt
supply today.
[308] Compare with this hearsay description of something almost
unknown to the Spaniards, the thoroughly scientific descriptions of
the Hopi dances and ceremonials recorded by Dr J. Walter Fewkes.
[309] The peaches, watermelons, cantaloupes, and grapes, now so
extensively cultivated by the Pueblos, were introduced early in the
seventeenth century by the Spanish missionaries.
[310] At first glance it seems somewhat strange that although Zuñi
is considerably more than 100 miles south of Totonteac, or Tusayan,
the people of the former villages did not cultivate cotton, but in
this I am reminded by Mr Hodge that part of the Tusayan people are
undoubtedly of southern origin and that in all probability they
introduced cotton into that group of villages. The Pimas raised
cotton as late as 1850. None of the Pueblos now cultivate the plant,
the introduction of cheap fabrics by traders having doubtless brought
the industry to an end. See page 574.
[311] “Y otras simillas como chia” is the Spanish text.
[312] Doubtless the pueblo of Marata (Makyata) mentioned by Marcos
de Niza. This village was situated near the salt lake and had been
destroyed by the Zuñis some years before Niza visited New Mexico.
[313] Translated from the Italian version, in Ramusio’s Viaggi, vol.
iii, fol. 359 (ed. 1556). There is another English translation in
Hakluyt’s Voyages, vol. iii, p. 373 (ed. 1600). Hakluyt’s translation
is reprinted in Old South Leaflet, general series, No. 20. Mr Irving
Babbitt, of the French department in Harvard University, has assisted
in correcting some of the errors and omissions in Hakluyt’s version.
The proper names, excepting such as are properly translated, are
spelled as in the Italian text.
[314] This statement is probably not correct. It may be due to a
blunder by Ramusio in translating from the original text. See note
on page 382. Eighty days (see pp. 564, 572) would be nearly the time
which Coronado probably spent on the journey from Culiacan to Cibola,
and this interpretation would render the rest of the sentence much
more intelligible.
[315] The valley into which Friar Marcos did not dare to enter. See
the Historical Introduction, p. 362.
[316] Doubtless the Yaquimi or Yaqui river.
[317] These were doubtless the Seri, of Yuman stock, who occupied a
strip of the Gulf coast between latitude 28° and 29° and the islands
Angel de la Guardia and Tiburon. The latter island, as well as the
coast of the adjacent mainland, is still inhabited by this tribe.
[318] As Indian news goes, there is no reason why this may not have
been one of Ulloa’s ships, which sailed along this coast during the
previous summer. It can hardly have been a ship of Alarcon’s fleet.
[319] Ramusio: “mi ritrouano lunge dal mare quindici giornate.”
Hakluyt (ed. 1600): “I found my selfe tenne dayes iourney from the
Sea.”
[320] It is possible that this is a blunder, in Ramusio’s text, for
“His Majesty.” The Marquis, in New Spain, is always Cortes, for whom
neither Mendoza nor Coronado had any especial regard.
[321] Hakluyt: . . . “very excellent good houses of three or foure or
fiue lofts high, wherein are good lodgings and faire chambers with
lathers in stead of staires.”
[322] The kivas or ceremonial chambers.
[323] See the footnote on page 564 in regard to the similarity of
names. The note was written without reference to the above passage.
[324] Many garnets are found on the ant-hills throughout the region,
especially in the Navajo country.
[325] The natives doubtless told the truth. Eagle and turkey feathers
are still highly prized by them for use in their ceremonies.
[326] It should be noted that Coronado clearly distinguishes between
hills or mesas and mountains. Zuñi valley is hemmed in by heights
varying from 500 to 1,000 feet.
[327] This accords perfectly with the condition of the vegetation in
Zuñi valley at the present time.
[328] See the translation of Castañeda’s narrative, p. 487.
[329] Doubtless a slip of Ramusio’s pen for cows, i. e., buffalos.
[330] Coronado doubtless misinterpreted what the natives intended
to communicate. The “hot lake” was in all probability the salt lake
alluded to on page 550, near which Marata was situated. Totonteac was
of course Tusayan, or “Tucano.”
[331] This is a form of the Zuñi name for Acoma—Hakukia.
[332] As clear a description of the form of tribal government among
the Pueblo Indians as is anywhere to be found is in Bandelier’s
story, The Delight Makers. Mr Bandelier has been most successful in
his effort to picture the actions and spirit of Indian life.
[333] Dr J. Walter Fewkes has conclusively shown that the snake
dance, probably the most dramatic of Indian ceremonials, is
essentially a prayer for rain. Coming as it does just as the natural
rainy season approaches, the prayer is almost invariably answered.
[334] Possibly those used in weaving.
[335] This whole sentence is omitted by Hakluyt. The conquerors, in
the literature of New Spain, are almost always those who shared with
Cortes in the labors and the glory of the Spanish conquest of Mexico.
[336] Translated from Pacheco y Cardenas, Documentos de Indias,
vol. xix, p. 529. This document is anonymous, but it is evidently
a copy of a letter from some trusted companion, written from
Granada-Hawikuh, about the time of Coronado’s letter of August 3,
1540. In the title to the document as printed, the date is given as
1531, but there can be no doubt that it is an account of Coronado’s
Journey.
[337] The printed Spanish text reads: “que como venian abriendo y
descobriendo, cada dia, camino, los arcabucos y rios, y malos pasos,
se llevaban en parte.” . . .
[338] A part of Granada, near the Alhambra. There is a curious
similarity in the names Albaicin and Hawikuh, the latter being the
native name of Coronado’s Granada.
[339] Uttering the war cry of Santiago.
[340] The printed manuscript is V. M., which signifies Your Majesty.
[341] Doubtless Thunder mountain.
[342] The source of this document is stated in the bibliographic
note, p. 413. This appears to be a transcript from letters written,
probably at Tiguex on the Rio Grande, during the late summer or early
fall of 1541.
[343] The Spanish text of this document is printed in Buckingham
Smith’s Florida, p. 147, from a copy made by Muñoz, and also in
Pacheco y Cardenas, Documentos de Indias, vol. xiv, p. 318, from a
copy found in the Archives of the Indies at Seville. The important
variations in the texts are noted in the footnotes. See page 398 in
regard to the value of this anonymous document. No date is given in
the document, but there can be no doubt that it refers to Coronado’s
expedition. In the heading to the document in the Pacheco y Cardenas
Coleccion, the date is given as 1531, and it is placed under that
year in the chronologic index of the Coleccion. This translation, as
well as that of the letter to Charles V, which follows, has already
been printed in American History Leaflet, No. 13.
[344] The spelling of Cibola and Culiacan is that of the Pacheco y
Cardenas copy. Buckingham Smith prints Civola and Culuacan.
[345] Buckingham Smith prints Tovar and Tuçan.
[346] See the letter of August 3, 1540, p. 562.
[347] The Acoma people call their pueblo Áko, while the name for
themselves is Akómë, signifying “people of the white rock.” The Zuñi
name of Acoma, as previously stated, is Hákukia; of the Acoma people,
Hákukia. Hacus was applied by Niza to Hawikuh, not to Acoma—_Hodge_.
[348] The Rio Grande.
[349] Evidently Taos, the native name of which is Tūatá, the Picuris
name being Tuopá, according to Hodge.
[350] The Spanish text (p. 323) is: “Tiene diez é ocho barrios; cada
uno tiene tanto sitio como dos solares, las casas muy juntas.”
[351] Identical with Castañeda’s Cicuyc or Cicuye—the pueblo of Pecos.
[352] Southeast, in Buckingham Smith’s Muñoz copy.
[353] Tuxeque, in the Muñoz copy.
[354] Or mines, as Muñoz guesses.
[355] And jerked beef dried in the sun, in the Muñoz copy only.
[356] The text of this letter is printed in Pacheco y Cardenas,
Documentos de Indias, vol. iii, p. 363, from a copy made by Muñoz,
and also in the same collection, vol. xiii, p. 261, from a copy in
the Archives of the Indies at Seville. There is a French translation
in Ternaux, Cibola volume, p. 355. See the footnote to the preceding
document.
[357] Coronado had apparently forgotten the atrocities committed by
the Spaniards at Tiguex.
[358] The text of this narrative is found in Buckingham Smith’s
Florida, p. 154, from a copy made by Muñoz, and in Pacheco y
Cardenas, Documentos de Indias, vol. xiv, p. 304, from the copy
in the Archives of the Indies. A French translation is given in
Ternaux-Compans’ Cibola volume, p. 364.
[359] The Spanish text reads: “Habrá como dos jornadas (;) en este
pueblo de los Corazones. (es) Es un arroyo de riego y de tierra
caliente, y tienen sus viviendas de unos ranchos que despues de
armados los palos, casi á manera de hornos, aunque muy mayores, los
cubren con unos petates. Tienen maiz y frisoles y calabazas para su
comer, que creo que no le falta. Vistense de cueros de venados, y
aquí por ser este puesto al parecer cosa decente, se mandó poblar
aquí una villa de los españoles que iban traseros donde vivieron
hasta casi que la jornada peresció. Aquí hay yerba y seguro (segund)
lo que della se vió, y la operacion que hace es la más mala que se
puede hallar, y de lo que tuvimos entendido ser, era de la leche de
un árbol pequeño, á manera de lantisco en cuasci, (, E Nasce) en
pizarrillas y tierra estéril.” This quotation follows the Pacheco y
Cardenas text. The important variations of Buckingham Smith’s copy
are inclosed within parentheses. The spelling of the two, in such
matters as the use of _b_ and _v_, _x_ and _j_, and the punctuation,
differ greatly.
[360] See Bandelier’s Gilded Man, p. 175. This is Castañeda’s
“Guagarispa” as mistakenly interpreted by Ternaux-Compans, the
present Arispe, or, in the Indian dialect, Huc-aritz-pa. The words
“Ispa, que” are not in the Pacheco y Cardenas copy.
[361] The Spanish text is either “ino mui salada de yerva” (B.
Smith), or “y no muy solada de yerva” (Pacheco y Cardenas). Doubtless
the reference is to the alkali soil and vegetation.
[362] The Spanish text (p. 308) is: “el vestido de los indios es de
cueros de venados, estremadísimo el adobo, alcanzan ya algunos cueros
de vacas adobado con quo se cobijan, que son á manera de bernias y de
mucho abrigo; tienen mantas de algodon cuadradas; unas mayores que
otras, como de vara y media en largo; las indias las traen puestas
por el hombro á manera de gitanas y ceñidas una vuelta sobre otra por
su cintura con una cinta del mismo algodon; estando en este pueblo
primero de Cibola, el rostro el Nordeste; un poquito ménos está á
la mano izquierda de él, cinco jornadas, una provincia que se dice
Tucayan.”
[363] Acoma. See note on page 492.
[364] Sia.
[365] Identical with Taos—the Braba of Castañeda and the Yuraba of
the Relacion del Suceso.
[366] Pecos. In Pacheco y Cardenas this is spelled Tienique.
[367] All references to hot rooms or estufas are of course to be
construed to mean the kivas or ceremonial chambers.
[368] Tiguex is here doubtless referred to.
[369] One of the villages whose names Jaramillo did not know was
probably the Ximena (Galisteo) of Castañeda.
[370] In Buckingham Smith’s copy occurs the phrase, “que decian ellos
para significarnoslo Teucarea.” This is not in Pacheco y Cardenas.
[371] The Spanish text (p. 315) of this description of the
Kansas-Nebraska plains is: “Esta tierra tiene muy linda la
apariencia, tal que no la he visto yo mejor . . . porque no es tierra
muy doblada sino de lo más (de lomas) y llanos, y rios de muy linda
apariencia y aguas, que cierto me contento y tengo presuncion que
será muy fructífera y de todos frutos. En los ganados ya está la
esperencia (inspiriencia) en la mano por la muchedumbre que hay, que
estanta cuanto quieran pensar: jallamos cirguelas de Castilla, un
género dellas que nī son del todo coloradas, sino entre coloradas y
algo negras y verdes. (,) El árbol y el fruto es cierto de Castilla,
de muy gentil sabor; jallamos entre las vacas, lino, que produce la
tierra, é brecitas (hebrecitas) arredradas unas de otras, que como
el ganado no las come se quedan por allí con sus cabezuelas y flor
azul, y aunque pequeño muy perfecto, natural del de nuestra España
(perfecto; zumaque natural . . . ). En algunos arroyos, uvas de
razonable sabor para no beneficiadas: las casas que estos indios
tenian, eran de paxa y muchas dellas redondas, y la paxa llegaba
hasta el suelo como pared que no tenia la proporcion y manera de las
de acá; por de fuera y encima desto, tenian una manera como capilla
ó garita, con una entrada donde se asomaban los indios sentados ó
echados.”
[372] The pueblos of the Rio Grande.
[373] This is the spelling of Panuco in both texts.
[374] The text of this report is printed in Buckingham Smith’s
Florida, p. 65, from the Muñoz copy, and in Pacheco y Cardenas,
Documentos de Indias, vol. iii, p. 511. See note on page 391. A
translation of this document was printed in the Boston Transcript for
October 14, 1893.
[375] Acuco or Acoma. The route taken by Alvarado was not the same
as that followed by Coronado, who went by way of Matsaki. Alvarado’s
course was the old Acoma trail which led directly eastward from
Hawikuh or Ojo Caliente.
[376] Day of the nativity of the Blessed Virgin, September 8. This
was the Tiguex or present Rio Grande.
[377] Translated freely and abridged from the depositions as printed
in Pacheco y Cardenas, Documentos de Indias, vol. xiv, p. 373. See
note on page 377. The statements of the preceding witnesses are
usually repeated, in effect, in the testimony of those who follow.
[378] Judge of the highest court of the province.
[379] Thursday.
INDEX
ACAPULCO, port on coast of New Spain … 385
—, rendezvous for Alvarado's fleet … 409
—, departure of Alarcon from … 403
—, departure of Ulloa from … 369
ACAXES indians of Culiacan … 514
ACHA pueblos … 519
ACOCHIS, indian name for gold … 493, 512
ACOMA, Jaramillo's name for … 587
—, Tigua name for … 492
—, Zuñi name for … 490
—, Alvarado's description of … 594
—, Castañeda's description of … 491
—, description of by companions of Coronado … 569, 575
—, reputation of, in Sonora … 357
—, visit of Arellano to … 494
—, visit of Spaniards to … 390
—, worship of cross at … 544
—, see ACUCO, ACUS.
ACORNS, use of, by indians as food … 517
ACOSTA, MARIA DE, wife of Pedro Castañeda … 470
ACUCO, location of … 519, 524
—, visit of Alvarado to … 490
—, cartographic history of … 403
—, see ACOMA, ACUS.
ACUCU, Coronado's comments on name of … 560
ACUIQUE, name for Cicuye … 523
ACUS, identified with Acoma … 357
—, Coronado's account of … 560
—, see ACOMA, ACUCO.
ADOBE, description of … 520, 562, 569
—, making of, described … 356
AGAVE, liquor made from … 516
— fiber, use of, for garments … 517
AGUAIAUALE, seaport of Culiacan … 385
AGUAS CALIENTES, pueblo of … 525
AGUILAR, JUAN DE, Mendoza's agent in Spain … 368
AHACUS, identified with Hawikuh … 358
ÁKO, native name for Acoma … 575
AKÓNË, native name for people of Acoma … 575
ALARCON, D. DE, confusion of, with Alcaraz … 501
ALARCON, H. DE, expedition by sea, under … 385,478
—, Colorado river discovered by … 403, 574
—, Estevan's death reported to … 360
—, message of, found by Diaz … 407, 486
—, Coronado's fears for … 555
ALBAICIN, similarity of, with Hawikuh … 564
ALCARAZ, DIEGO DE, lieutenant of Diaz … 485, 501
—, incompetence of … 502
—, death of … 533
ALEMAN, JUAN, inhabitant of Mexico … 495
ALEXERES, uncertain meaning of … 507
ALKALI soil, references to … 586
ALLIGATORS, danger from, in rivers of New Galicia … 539
ALMAGRO, struggles of, in Peru against Pizarro … 376
ALMAGUER, ANTONIO DE, secretary in New Spain … 598
ALMIDEZ CHERINO, PERO, royal veedor for New Spain … 596, 598
ALMIRANTAZGO, island of … 545
ALOE, Mexican, use of, for clothing by pueblo indians … 569
ALVARADO, HERNANDO DE, appointment of … 477
—, Coronado protected by, at Cibola … 483
—, expedition of, to Rio Grande … 390, 490, 575
—, report of discoveries by … 594
—, Pecos chiefs imprisoned by … 493
—, visit of, to Braba … 511
—, wounded by indians … 557
ALVARADO, PEDRO DE, lieutenant of Cortes, conqueror of Guatemala … 352
—, failure of expedition to Peru … 352
—, unites with Mendoza for exploration … 353
—, arguments before Council for the Indies … 372
—, efforts to provide wives for colonists … 374
—, arrival of, in New Spain … 408
—, expedition of, to Peru … 474
—, feats of … 540
—, death of, a Nochistlan … 410
AMATEPEQUE, revolt in, quelled by Coronado … 380
AMBUSH, use of, by Spaniards … 500
AMMUNITION, lack of, in New Spain … 540
ANACAPA ISLAND, visit of Ferrel to … 412
ANDREW TARASCAN remains in pueblo country … 592
ANGEL DE LA GUARDIA, island of … 554
ANIMALS of pueblo region … 518
— taken by Coronado for food supply … 553
ANTONIO DE CICDAD-RODRIGO, Franciscan provincial in Mexico … 354
ANTONIO BE SANTA MARIA, Franciscan friar … 474
ANTONIO VICTORIA, friar, leg of, broken … 482
APALACHE BAY explored by Narvaez … 346
ÂQUIU, name for Cienye … 523
ARACHE, province of great plains … 529, 588
ARAE, indian village on great plains … 577
ARAHEI, province of, on great plains … 588
ARCHE, province near Quivira … 503
ARELLANO, TRISTAN DE, lieutenant to Coronado … 508
—, appointment of, as captain … 477
—, command of, in Coronado's army … 391, 481, 572, 577, 581
—, at Corazones … 485
—, arrival of, at Cibola and Tiguex … 492, 494, 510
ARISPA, settlement of … 515
—, visit of Coronado to … 585
ARIVAYPA CREEK in Arizona … 387
ARIZONA, adobe of … 520
ARIZPE, see ARISPA.
ARKANSAS RIVER followed by Coronado … 397
ARROWPOINTS, in graves at Sikyatki … 519
ARTILLERY, substitutes for, devised by Spaniards … 500
—, use of, at Chiametla … 481
—, use of, by Indians … 524
—, use of, in exploring expeditions … 546
ATAHUALPA killed by Pizarro … 354
AUDIENCIA, definition of … 472
—, functions of the … 350
AUDIENCIA, expeditions into new territory forbidden by … 369
AVILA, PEDRO DE, ringleader in rebellion at Suya … 533
AXA, province in great plains … 492
AZTEC warriors allies of Spaniards in Mixton war … 410
BABBITT, IRVING, acknowledgments to … 552
BACALLAOS, name applied to Newfoundland, … , 526
BACHELORS forbidden to hold land in America … 374
BALCONIES, description of, in pueblo houses … 523
BALSAS, RIO DE LAS, crossed by Coronado on rafts … 586
BANCROFT, H.H., on Cabeza de Vaca's route … 348
—, mistake in dating Alvarado's report … 391
BANDELIER, A.F., researches in southwestern history … 339
—, discussion of indian legends … 345
—, on Cabeza de Vaca's route … 347
—, on Friar Juan de la Asuncion … 353
—, on route of Friar Marcos … 358
—, defense of veracity of Friar Marcos … 363
—, on date of Coronado's departure … 382
—, on Coronado's route from Culiacan … 386
—, identification of Chichilticalli by … 387, 516
—, identification of Hawikuh-Granada by … 489
—, identification of pueblos by … 511, 524
—, Querechos identified with Apaches by … 396
—, identification of Rio Vermejo by … 482
—, identification of Vacapa by … 355
—, use of sources of Coronado expedition by … 414
—, considers the Turk indian probably a Pawnee … 394
—, on Arizona indian liquor … 516
—, on Opata poison … 538
—, on indian government and estufas … 520
—, on pueblo indian life and government … 561
—, on name of Cicuye … 523
—, on name Teya or Texia … 507
—, on name Tutahaco … 492
—, on Indian giants … 485
—, on Acoma … 490
—, on Ispa and Guagarispa … 585
—, on location of Quivira … 397
—, on location of Tiguex and Cicuye … 491
—, on Matsaki … 517
—, on Petlatlan … 515
—, on the Seven Cities … 473
—, on Topira … 478
—, on Yuqueyunque … 510
BANNOCK, linguistic affinity of the … 525
BANUELOS, B., miner of Zacatecas … 538
BARBELS, native American fish … 517
BARK used in mat making … 259
BARRANCA, RIO DE LA, crossed by Coronado … 586
BARRIONUEVO, FRANCISCO DE, companion of Coronado … 479
—, explorations of … 510
—, adventure of, at Tiguex … 496
BATUCA, Opata settlement in Sonora … 537
BEADS found in graves at Sikyatki … 519
BEANS, stores of, kept by Indians … 584
—, wild, found by Coronado … 507
BEAR in pueblo region … 518, 560
BEJARANO, SERVAN, testimony of … 598
BENAVIDES, A. DE, on methods of building pueblos … 520
—, on use of dogs by plains indians … 527
BENITEZ, death of … 500
BERMEJO, See VERMEJO.
BERNALILLO, location of Tiguex at … 391, 491
BIBLIOGRAPHY of Coronado expedition … 599
BIGOTES, captain of Cicuye indians … 490
—, see WHISKERS.
BILLEGAS, FRANCISCO DE, agent for De Soto in Mexico … 366
—, correspondence of, with De Soto … 370
BIRDS of pueblo region … 521
BISON first seen by Coronado's force … 391
—, description of … 527, 541, 543
— described by Cicuye indians … 490
— described by Colorado river indians … 405
— described by companion of Coronado … 570
— described by Coronado … 580
— described by Jaramillo … 587
—, Alvarado's journey among … 576
—, Coronado's army supplied with meat of … 577, 581
— killed by plains indians … 504
BISON, pile of bones of … 542
—, skins of, found by Coronado at Cibola … 560
—, stampede of … 505
BITUMEN used by indians in making rafts … 407
BLANKETS of native American cotton … 517
BLIZZARD experienced by Coronado … 506
BOCANEGRA, HERNAND PEREZ DE, See PEREZ.
BOSTON TRANSCRIPT, translation of Alvarado's report in … 594
BOURKE, J.G., on Apache medicine-men … 360
BOYOMO, river and settlement of … 515
BRABA, pueblo of … 525
—, description of, by Alvarado … 505
—, village of, visited by Spaniards … 511
BRACELETS of Turk indian … 493
BREAD of pueblo indians … 522
—, use of, among Colorado river indians … 485
BRIDGE built by Spaniards across Canadian river … 397, 504
—, Indian, across Rio Grande … 511
BRIGANTINES, French, on the coast of New Spain … 547
BUENAGUIA, Alarcon's name for Colorado river … 406, 574
BUFFALO, see BISON.
BUFFALO SKINS given to Coronado … 505
— obtained through trade by Sonora indians … 357
BURGOS, JUAN DE, estates of, forfeited for bachelorhood … 379
BURIAL among pueblo indians … 518
— by Tiguex indians … 595
BURIEL, a variety of cloth … 543
BURNING of indian captives condemned by Spaniards … 393
— of indians at stake by Spaniards … 407
CABEZA DE VACA, ALVAR NUÑEZ, arrival of, in New Spain … 345, 474
—, royal treasurer on Narvaez' expedition … 347
—, narrative of Narvaez' expedition by … 349
—, narrative of, translated by Ternaux … 349
—, tells Alvarado of his discoveries … 352
—, indian traditions regarding … 539
—, efforts to verify reports of … 354
—, description of bison by … 543, 548
—, uses gourds of indian medicine-men … 360
—, traces of, found by Coronado … 505, 506
—, in Corazones valley … 484, 585
CABOT, SEBASTIAN, map of, cited … 403
CABRILLO, J.R., voyage of, along California coast … 411
CALIFORNIA, coast of, explored by Ferrel … 412
—, exploration of gulf of … 369, 514
—, peninsula of, mistaken for an island … 404, 486
—, natives of peninsula of … 514
CAMPO, ANDRES DO, Portuguese companion of Padilla … 400
—, remains in Quivira … 529, 535
—, return of, to New Spain … 401, 544
CANADIAN RIVER, journey of Alvarado along … 391, 576
—, crossed by Coronado … 397, 504
CANTELOUPES, introduction of, into pueblo country … 550
—, indian use of, as food … 516
CANYON OF THE COLORADO visited by Spaniards … 390, 489
CAPETLAN, see CAPOTHAN.
CAPOTHAN, province in New Spain … 529
CAPOTLAN or CAPOTEAN, indians from, accompany Padilla … 592
CARBAJAL, death of Spaniard named … 500
CARDENAS, DIEGO LOPEZ DE, name of, given by Mota Padilla … 477
CARDENAS, GARCIA LOPEZ, succeeds Samaniego as field-master … 388
—, appointment of, as captain … 477
—, confusion of, with Urrea … 489
—, visits Colorado river … 390, 489, 574
—, indian village attacked by … 496
—, Coronado protected by, at Cibola … 483, 557, 573
—, treachery of indians toward … 498
—, indians interviewed by … 497
—, interview of, with indians … 555, 556
—, at Tiguex … 492
—, preparations for winter quarters by … 576
—, accident to … 505, 577
—, death of brother of … 530
CARDENAS, GARCIA LOPEZ, recalled to Spain … 399, 578, 583
CARDONA, ANOTNIO SERRANO DE, See SERRANO.
CARTOGRAPHIC results of Coronado expedition … 403
CASA DE CONTRATACION, description of … 351
CASA GRANDE, attempts to identify with Chichilticalli … 387
CASTAÑEDA, ALONSO DE, death, of … 500
CASTAÑEDA, PEDRO DE, narrative of Coronado expedition by … 413, 417
—, manuscript of, in Lenox library … 339, 413
—, story of an indian trader … 345
—, explanation of troubles between Friar Marcos and Estevan … 355
—, story of Estevan's death … 360
—, says Friar Marcos' promotion was arranged by Mendoza … 364
—, accusations against Friar Marcos … 366
—, mistake regarding departure of Alarcon … 385
—, stories of revolt of Rio Grande indians … 393
—, credibility of his version of the Turk's stories of Quivira … 394
—, Spanish family name … 511
—, difficulties in manuscript of … 513, 514
—, peculiarities of style of … 525, 526
CASTILLO, ALONSO DEL, same as Maldonado … 348
CATTLE, imported into New Spain … 375
CAVALLOS, BAHIA DE LOS, site of Narvaez' camp … 347
CEDROS, ARROYO DE LOS, crossed by Coronado … 584
CENTIZPAC, a river in New Galicia … 382
CEREMONIAL meal, use of, on Moki trails … 488
CEREMONIES of pueblo indians … 544, 550, 573
—, pueblo, studied by Fewkes … 359
— of Tiguex indians … 595
CERECS THURBERH, see PITAHAYA.
CERVANTES, a Spanish soldier … 503
CEVOLA, see CIBOLA.
CHAMETLA, see CHIAMETLA.
CHAMITA, on site of Yuqueyunque … 510, 525
CHANNING, EDWARD, acknowledgments to … 339
CHERINO, PERO ALMIDEZ, see ALMIDEZ.
CHIA, indian village mentioned by Jaramillo … 587
—, mention of road to … 594
—, cannon deposited in villages of … 503
—, see SIA.
CHIAMETLA, appointment of Trejo in … 500
—, death of Samaniego at … 480, 547
—, desertion of … 383
CHICHILTICALLI, description of … 516
— described by Jaramillo … 584
— described by Mota Padilla … 487
—, limit of Diaz' exploration … 303
—, first sight of, by Coronado … 482
— visited by Coronado … 387
—, Coronado's description of … 554
—, visit of Diaz to … 480
—, visit of Friar Marcos to … 475
CHICHIMECAS, Mexican word for braves … 524
—, Mexican indians … 529
CHINA, coast of, connected with America … 513, 526
CIBOLA described by indians of Sonora … 356
—, extent of range of … 358
—, stories of, inspired by Friar Marcos … 364
— captured by Coronado lvii, 388, 556, 565, 573
—, Castañeda's description of … 482
—, Diaz' description of houses at … 548
—, Coronado's description of … 558
—, description of … 517, 565, 569, 573
—, description of houses at … 520
—, cartographic history of … 403
—, see ZUÑI.
CICUIC, see CICUYE, PECOS.
CICUIQUE, see CICUYE.
CICUYE, synonymous with Pecos … 391
—, description of … 523, 525
— described by companions of Coronado … 570, 575
— described by Jaramillo … 587
—, indians from, visit Coronado … 490
—, Alvarado's visit to … 491
—, visit of Coronado to … 502
—, treachery of indians at … 509
—, siege of, by Spaniards … 511
—, cartographic history of … 403
—, river of, crossed by Spaniards … 504, 510
CINALOA RIVER crossed by Coronado … 584
— north of New Galicia … 386, 515
CLIMATE of Cibola, Coronado's account of … 559
CLOTHING of the Hopi … 517
— of indians at Quivira … 582
— of indians at Sonora … 515
— of indians taken by Spaniards … 495
— of plains indians … 507
— of pueblo indians … 404, 517, 549, 562, 563, 569, 573, 586, 595
CLUBS, indian … 498
COAHUILA, a Mexican state … 545
COCHIN, letter from, to Mendoza … 412
COCHITI, pueblo of … 525
COCO, Alvarado's name for Acoma … 594
COLIMA, town in western New Spain … 385
—, illness of Mendoza at … 551
—, ravines of … 505
COLONISTS of New Spain, characteristics of … 373
COLONIZATION of New Spain … 374
COLORADO, adobe of … 520
COLORADO RIVER, discovery of … 403, 574
—, visit of Diaz to … 406, 485
—, visit of Cardonas to … 390, 489
COLUMBIA RIVER, drift of, seen by Ferrel … 412
COMANCHE, identification of, with Teya … 524
—, linguistic affinity of the … 525
COMBS, use of, in weaving … 562
COMPOSTELA, establishment of … 473
—, rendezvous of Coronado's army at … 362
—, review of Coronado's force in … 596
—, departure of Coronado from … 377, 478
COMUPATRICO, settlement of … 515
CONA, settlement of plains Indians … 507
CONQUISTADORES, meaning of term in New Spain … 563
COPALA, name of province in great plains … 492
COPPER found by Coronado at Quivira … 397, 509, 577, 582
— recognized by Colorado river indians … 405
— bell found among Texas Indians … 350
— mines, ancient, in Michigan … 345
COQUITE, pueblo of … 523
CORAZONES, settlement of, by Arellano … 572
—, river and settlement of … 515
—, description of, by Jaramillo … 585
—, food supply in … 553
—, kindness of Indians of … 534, 537
—, or valley of Hearts, in Sonora … 392
—, Coronado's army in valley of … 484
CORN, description of native American … 518
—, stores of, kept by Indians … 584
—, method of grinding, at pueblos … 522, 559
—, see MAIZE.
CORONADO, FRANCISCO VAZQUEZ, commission of, as governor of New
Galicia … 351
—, escorts Friar Marcos to Culiacan … 355
—, returns to Mexico with Friar Marcos … 362, 381
—, accompanied Mendoza to Mexico … 376
—, request by, for investigation of personnel of force … 377
—, marriage and history … 379, 474
—, quells revolt of miners at Amatepeque … 380
—, rumors of his appointment as governor … 380
—, wounded at Cibola … 573, 565, 388, 483, 557
—, departure of, for Quivira … 395, 577
—, return of, to Mexico … 401
—, end of career of … 402
—, appointment of … 474, 476
—, departure of, from Compostela … 478
—, Tutahaco visited by … 492
—, letter written by, to survivors of Narvaez' expedition … 507, 590
—, separation of, from main army … 508
—, cause of illness of … 531, 538, 579
—, departure of, from Culiacan … 552
—, regrets of, for failure of expedition … 583
—, petition from, to Mendoza … 596
CORONADO EXPEDITION, memoir on … 329–613
CORTES, HERNANDO, defeats Narvaez … 346
—, Marquis del valle de Oxitipar … 350
—, settlement at Santa Cruz … 351
—, declares Friar Marcos' report to be a lie … 367
—, troubles of, with Mendoza … 368, 409
—, expedition under Ulloa to head of gulf of California … 369
—, arguments before the Council for the Indies … 371
—, efforts to populate New Spain … 373
—, importation of cattle by … 374
—, name Nueva España given by … 403
—, rivalry of, with Guzman … 473
CORTES, HERNANDO, trial for murder of wife of … 473
—, feats of … 540
—, probably mistaken reference to, in Ramusio … 556
COTTON at Acoma, Coronado's account of … 569
—, cultivation of, on Rio Grande … 575
— found at Cibola by Coronado … 558
—, use of, by pueblo indians … 569
— blankets, native American … 517
— cloth at Tusayan … 489
COUNCIL FOR THE INDIES, investigates charges against Cabeza de Vaca
… 349
COWS, see BISON.
CRANES in pueblo region … 521
CREMATION among pueblo indians … 518
CROSS, sign of, among pueblo indians … 518
—, veneration for, among indians … 544, 548, 555
— raised by Coronado in Quivira … 591
CROW INDIANS, arrows of the … 279
CROWS in pueblo region … 521
CRUZ, BAHIA DE LA, explored by Narvaez … 346
CULIACAN, SAN MIGUEL DE … 547
—, foundation of, by Guzman … 473
—, description of … 513
—, arrival of Cabeza de Vaca at … 474
—, Coronado entertained at … 384
—, Coronado's departure from … 552
—, return of Coronado to … 538
CULUACAN, see CULIACAN.
CURRANTS, wild, found by Coronado … 510
CUSHING, F.H., on Acus, Totonteac, and Marata … 357
—, on indian burials … 518
—, on indian fruit preserves … 487
CUYACAN, ANDRES DE, indian ally of Coronado … 535
DANCES of the Tahus … 613
DANIEL, Franciscan friar and lay brother … 474, 556
DAVIS, W.W.H., on destruction of New Mexican documents … 535
DĀ´ WĀ·WÝMP-KI-YAS, Tusayan sun priests … 518
DEER at Cibola … 560
—, description of, by Colorado river indians … 405
— in pueblo region … 518
— of great plains … 528
DESCALONA, LOUIS, labors of, at Pecos … 401
DE SOTO, see SOTO.
DIALECTS among plains indians … 582
DIAZ, MELCHIOR, position of … 477
—, ordered to verify Friar Marcos' reports … 363
—, Niza's report investigated by … 547, 553, 572
—, on Niza's discoveries … 383
—, in command of San Hieronimo … 392
—, command of, at Corazones … 484
—, exploration by … 406, 480, 485, 574
—, death of … 407, 501
DIVORCE among pueblo indians … 521
—, see MARRIAGE.
DO CAMPO, see CAMPO.
DOGS, mention of, in connection with Coronado expedition … 401, 405, 407
—, use of, by plains indians … 504, 507, 527, 570, 579
DOMINGUEZ, quotations from dictionary of … 545
DONADO, ecclesiastical use of term … 400
DORANTES, ANDRES, survivor of Narvaez expedition … 348
—, remains in Mexico to conduct explorations … 349
—, travels of … 474
—, traces of, found by Coronado … 505, 506
DORANTES, FRANCISCO, mistake for Andres … 348
—, see CABEZA DE VACA.
DRAKE, FRANCIS, on indian giants … 485
DRUM at Pecos … 491
DRUNKENNESS, absence of, at Cibola 518
— among the Tahus … 574
DURANGO, a Mexican state … 545
—, province of New Spain … 353
—, mines in … 476
EAGLES, tame, kept by indians … 516
EAMES, WILBERFOECE, acknowledgments to … 339
EARTHENWARE of indians mentioned by Castañeda … 511
—, see POTTERY.
EARTHQUAKES near mouth of Colorado river … 501
ECLIPSE, effect of, at Cibola … 518
ENCACONADOS, Sonoran use of term … 358
ESPEJO, ANTONIO DE, Mexican indians found at Cibola by … 401, 536
—, on clothing of Zuñi indians … 517
—, on Coronado's attack on Tiguex … 496
—, on plains indians … 527
ESPINOSA, death of … 555, 564, 586
ESPIRITU SANTO river identified with Mississippi … 346
ESTEBANILLO, see ESTEVAN.
ESTEVAN, survivor of Narvaez expedition … 348
—, qualifications as a guide … 354
— proceeds to Cibola in advance of Niza … 355
—, travels of … 474
—, death of … 475, 551, 586
—, Coronado's account of the death of … 563
—, death of, described by Colorado river indians … 405
—, native legends of death of … 361
ESTRADA, ALONZO DE, royal treasurer for New Spain … 379
—, parentage of … 474
ESTRADA, BEATRICE DE, wife of Coronado … 379, 478
ESTREMADURA, Spanish province … 511
ESTUFAS, descriptions of … 520
—, description of, by Jaramillo … 587
—, reference to … 569
— at Cibola … 518
—, very large, at Braba … 511
—, see KIVA
EUDEVE, branch of Opata Indians … 537
EUPHOEBIACEA, name of Opata poison … 538
FEATHERS, Indian trade in … 472
—, use of, by pueblo indians … 544, 559, 570
—, use of, for garments … 517
FERDINAND, KING, family of … 474
FERNANDEZ, DOMINGO, Spanish soldier, death of … 538
FERREL, B. DE, pilot and successor of Cabrillo … 411
FETICHES, found in graves at Sikyatki … 519
FEWKES, J. WALTER, excavations by … 519
—, researches at Tusayan and Zuñi … 339, 359
—, on estufas … 520
—, on Hopi ceremonials … 544,550
—, on snake dance … 561
—, on sun priests and kiva ceremonies … 518
FIGUEROA, GOMEZ SUAREZ DE, companion of Coronado … 477
FIREBRAND, use of, by Indians in traveling … 485
FIREBRAND RIVER, see COLORADO, TIZON.
FLAX, river of … 554, 555
—, wild, on great plains … 528, 591
FLETCHER, FRANCIS, on indian giants … 485
FLORIDA explored by De Soto … 370
— explored by Narvaez … 340, 474
—, reputed bad character of country of … 545
FLOWERS, use of, in pueblo ceremonials … 544
FLUTES at Pecos … 491
FOOD of Acoma Indians … 491
—, supply of, in Acoma … 594
— of pueblo Indians … 506, 527, 549, 559, 569, 586, 593
— supply of Tiguex Indians … 595
— supply of Spanish army … 562
— of Tusayan Indians … 489
FOWLS, domestic, among the pueblos … 516, 521,559
FRANCISCANS, election of Niza by … 476
—, dress of … 543
— in New Spain … 474
FRIO, RIO, crossed by Coronado … 586
FRUIT, introduction of, into pueblo country … 550
—, wild, of great plains … 528
FUNERAL witnessed by Coronado … 519
GALERAS, JUAN, exploration of Colorado river canyons by … 489
GALICIA, NEW KINGDOM OF, in New Spain … 473
GALINDO, LUIS, chief justice for New Galicia … 351
GALISTEO, pueblo of … 523, 525
—, mention of, by Jaramillo … 587
GALLEGO, JUAN, companion of Coronado … 477
—, messenger from Coronado to Mendoza … 392,394
—, messenger from Mexico to Coronado … 533, 534
—, in Corazones … 484
—, meets Coronado on his return … 537
—, feats of … 540
GAME in pueblo region … 518, 521, 560
GARCIA, ANDRES, on effect of Marcos' report … 365
GARCIA ICAZBALCETA see ICAZBALCETA.
GARNETS found at Cibola by Coronado … 559
GATSCHET, A.S., on name of Cibola … 517
GEESE in pueblo region … 521
GEOGRAPHICAL results of Coronado expedition … 403
GIANTS, discovery of tribe of … 392
—, indian, finding of, by Maldonado … 484
—, indian, visit of Diaz among … 485
GILA RIVER, possible early visit to … 333
GOATS, mountain, in pueblo country … 550, 560
—, mountain, seen by Spaniards … 516
GOLD, discovery of, Suya … 533
— found by Coronado at Cibola … 503
—, reports of, from Quivira … 503, 501, 512
— found at Quivira by Coronado … 582
—, use of, in indian trade … 472
GOMARA, F.L. de, on Chichimecas … 524
—, on clothing of pueblo Indians … 517
—, description of bison by … 513
—, on illness of Coronado … 531
—, on return of Coronado … 539
—, on capture of Cibola … 483
—, on stories told by Turk indian … 492
—, on Quivira and Padilla … 529
GOOSE, see GEESE.
GORBALAN, FRANCISCO, companion of Coronado … 477
GOURD used by Estevan as sign of authority … 360
—, use of, for carrying water … 490
GOVERNMENT of pueblo indians … 356, 518, 561
— of Sonora indians … 513
GRANADA, Coronado's name for Hawikuh … 389, 558, 564
—, see HAWIKUH, CIBOLA.
GRAND CANYON, see COLORADO RIVER.
GRAPES, introduction of, into pueblo country … 550
—, wild, found by Coronado … 507, 510, 528, 582, 591
GREAT PLAINS, description of 527
—, description of, by companion of Coronado … 570
—, Coronado's description of … 580
—, dangers of traveling on … 578
GREY FRIARS, name of … 513
GUACHICHULES, Mexican native province … 515
GUADALAJARA, citizens of, in Coronado's army … 598
—, defense of, in Mixton war … 408, 410
—, election of magistrates at … 381
GUADALAJARA, ANTON DE, native ally of Coronado … 536
GUADALAXARA, name of, changed in 1540 … 473
GUADALUPE CANYON, pueblos in … 525
GUADIAINA, Spanish river … 511
GUAES, province near Quivira … 503, 529
GUAGARISPA, settlement of … 515
—, see ARISPA, ISPA.
GUAS, province of great plains … 503, 529
GUATEMALA explored by Alvarado 352
—, wives for settlers imported into … 374
GUATULCO, port of New Spain … 369
GUATUZACA, indian mythological personage … 405
GUEVARA, DIEGO DE, name of, cited by Mota Padilla … 477
—, indian village captured by … 500
GUEVARA, JUAN DE, appointment of son of … 477
GUEVARA, PEDRO DE, appointment of, as captain … 477
GUTIERRES, DIEGO, appointment of, as captain … 477
GUYAS, see GUAS.
GUZMAN, NUÑO DE, president of Mexican audiencia … 350
—, position of, in New Spain … 472
—, conquest of New Galicia by … 351
—, arguments of, before Council for the Indies … 372
—, Culiacan settled by … 513
—, expedition of, to Seven Cities … 473
—, result of abuses of … 408
—, imprisoned in Mexico … 351
HACUS, use of name by Niza … 575
HAILSTONES, effect of, in Coronado's camp … 506
HAIR-DRESS of pueblo women … 517
HAKLUYT, R., translation of Coronado's letter by … 552
—, omissions in translation by … 563
—, quotation from … 554, 558, 560
—, Zuñi name for Acoma … 490, 560, 575
—, Zuñi name for Acoma people … 490, 575
HANO, a Tusayan village … 510
HARAHEY, chief of, visits Coronado … 590
HARAL, see HAXA.
HARALE, description of, told to Coronado … 576
HAWIKUH former importance of … 358
—, scene of Estevan's death … 361
—, similarity of, with Albaicin … 564
—, Spanish namo for … 389
HAXA or HAYA, province near Mississippi river … 504, 505, 507
HAYNES, HENRY W., acknowledgments to … 339
—, error of Castañeda corrected by … 501
—, on date of Coronado's departure … 382
—, on identification of Cibola … 389
HEADBANDS of pueblo indians referred to … 549
HEARTS, of animals, use of, as food … 484
HEARTS VALLEY, named by Cabeza de Vaca … 392
—, See CORAZONES.
HEMENWAY, AUGUSTUS, acknowledgments to … 339
HEMENWAY EXPEDITION, bones in collection of … 549
HEMES pueblos … 519, 525
—, visit of Barrionuevo to … 510
—, see JEMEZ.
HENIQUEN FIBER used by pueblo indians … 573
HERBALISTS, see MEDICINE-MEN.
HERNANDEZ, Luis, Spanish soldier, death of … 538
HERRERA, A. DE, on Coronado's visit to Quivira … 509
—, on explorations by Diaz … 406
—, quotation from … 507
HODGE, F.W., acknowledgments to … 339, 599
—, identification of cities of Cibola … 361, 389
—, identification of plains indians … 396
—, on Zuñi name of Acoma … 490
—, on probable identification of Teyas … 524
—, on cotton at Tusayan … 550
—, on pueblo of Matsaki … 517
—, on native names for Taos … 575
HOLMES, W.H., on pueblo pottery … 522
HONDURAS, exploration of, by Alvarado … 352
HOPI, tribal name of indians at Tusayan … 390
—, natal ceremonies of … 517
—, paraphernalia found in graves at Sikyatki … 519
—, tame eagles among … 516
—, use of urine by … 522
—, see MOKI, TUSAYAN.
HORSES, epidemic among, in New Mexico … 536
—, utility of, in new countries … 546
HOUSES, of plains indians … 528
—, see ADOBE.
HUC-ARITZ-PA., see ARISPA.
IBARRA, FRANCISCO DE, mention of … 500
ICAZBALCETA, JOAQUIN GARCIA, acknowledgments to … 339, 413, 568
IDOLATRY among Tahus … 513
IMMIGRATION, early, into New Spain … 374
INCAS, effect of stories of wealth of … 350
INDIA, coast of, connected with America … 513, 526
INFANTADO, DUKE OF, appointment of brother-in-law of … 477
INQUISITION, badge of, described … 507
INTERMARRIAGE, see MARRIAGE.
INTERPRETERS, followers of Cabeza de Vaca trained as … 354
ISLAND OF THE MARQUIS, same as Lower California … 351
ISLETA, Coronado's visit to … 492
—, name of Cibola at … 517
ISOPETE, see YSOPETE.
ISPA, Indian settlement visited by Coronado … 585
—, see ARISPA.
JACONA, Mendoza's letter from … 551
JARAMILLO, JUAN, on the visit to Quivira … 396
—, translation of narrative of … 584
JEMES pueblos … 525
—, see HEMES.
JERONIMO DE SANTISTEBAN, letter of, to Mendoza … 412
JUANA, Queen of Spain … 477
JUAN ALEMAN, name given to pueblo indian … 495
—, treachery of … 498
JUAN DE LA ASUNCION, Franciscan friar in New Spain … 353
JUAN DE LA CRUZ, death of, at Tiguex … 401, 535
JUAN RODRIGUES, ISLA DE, Spanish name for San Miguel … 411
JUEZ DE RESIDENCIA, functions of … 474
KANSAS, Castañeda's description of … 528
—, location of Quivira in … 397, 591
—, see QUIVIRA.
KANSAS RIVER crossed by Coronado … 397
KERES pueblo, see QUERES.
K´IAKIMA, a pueblo of Cibola … 389
—, legend of Estevan's death at … 361
K´IAPKWAINAKWIN, location of … 358
KILLIKINIK, see TOBACCO.
KIVA, Coronado's description of … 558
—, described by Colorado river indians … 405
—, see ESTUFA.
KNIVES, stone, of plains indians … 528
LACHIMI RIVER mentioned … 553
—, see YAQUI, YAQUIMI.
LAGUNA, pueblo of … 525
LA NATIVIDAD, arrival of Alvarado at … 409
LAND assigned to Spanish settlers … 374
LANGUAGE, diversity of, among plains indians … 582
—, difficulties of interpreting indian … 394
LA PAZ, colony at, under Cortes … 352
LARA, ALONSO MANRIQUE DE, companion of Coronado … 477
LENOX LIBRARY, acknowledgment to … 339, 413
LEON, JUAN DE, copy of evidence made by … 598
LEOPARD, see WILDCAT.
LEYVA, FRANCISCO DE, on effect of Marcos' report … 366
LINGUISTICS, see LANGUAGE.
LINO, RIO DEL, reference to … 554, 555
LIONS, native American … 517
— in pueblo region … 518
—, mountain, found by Coronado at Cibola … 560
LITTLE VALLEY, settlement of … 515
LLAMA, former habitat of … 549
LOPEZ, DIEGO, appointment of, as captain … 477
—, appointment of, as army-master … 508
—, Samaniego succeeded by … 480
—, horse of, killed at Cibola … 557
—, adventure of, at Tiguex … 496
—, visit of, to Haxa … 505
LOPEZ DE CARDENAS, G., see CARDENAS.
LOS MUERTOS, excavations at, in Arizona … 518
LOWER CALIFORNIA, early name of … 351
—, colony in, under Cortes … 351
—, Cortes' colony recalled from … 369
LUCAS, native companion of Padilla … 400, 535
LUIS, a Franciscan friar … 556, 565, 579
LUIS DE ESCALONA, settlement of, at Cicuye … 592
LUIS DE UBEDA remains at Cicuye … 401, 534, 535
MACAQUE, a pueblo settlement … 517
—, see MATSAKI.
MAGO, Opata word for poisonous plant … 538
MAGUEY, use of, for clothing by indians … 569
MAIZE, description of … 518
—, see CORN.
MAKYATA, see MARATA, MATYATA.
MALDONADO, ALONSO DEL CASTILLO, survivor of Narvaez, expedition … 348
MALDONADO, RODRIGO, appointment of, as captain … 477
—, oidor in New Spain … 596
—, visit to seacoast by … 484
—, explores Gulf of California … 392
—, travels of … 474
—, camp of, attacked … 499
—, buffalo skins given to, by indians … 505
—, horse of, injures Coronado … 531
MALLERY, GARRICK, Indian sign language … 504
MALLETS, indian … 498
MALUCO, visit to, by Villalobos … 412
MANRICH, A. DE, horse of, killed at Cibola … 557
MANRIQCE DE LARA, ALONSO, see LARA.
MAP drawn by Coronado … 392
— showing results of Coronado expedition … 403
MARATA, Coronado's account of … 560
— identified with Matyata … 357
—, mention of, by Diaz … 550
MARCO POLO, quotation from … 571
—, stories of, compared with Castañeda … 345
MARCOS, see NIZA.
MARJORAM, native American … 517
—, wild, found by Coronado … 510
—, wild, of great plains … 528
MARKSMANSHIP of indians … 499, 507
MARQUÉS, ISLA DEL, name of, given to Lower California … 486
MARQUIS OF THE VALLEY, title of, given to Cortes … 473
—, see CORTES.
MARRIAGE among the Tahus … 513
— at Cibola … 518, 521
— of settlers favored by government … 374
MARTIN, DOMINGO, soldier with Coronado … 597
MÁTA, a pueblo millstone … 522
MATAKI, a pueblo millstone … 522
MATAPA, a settlement in Sonora … 355
MATS used in housebuilding … 514
MATSAKI, Cibola pueblo, description of … 493
—, ruins of pueblo settlement … 517
— visited by Coronado … 594
MATTHEWS, WASHINGTON, on llama in pueblo country … 549
MATYATA, forioer New Mexican pueblo … 357
MEAL, sacred, use of, at Tusayan … 488
MEDICINE-MEN, authority of … 360
MELAZ, JUAN … 560
MELGOSA, PABLO DE, companion of Coronado … 477
—, wounded at Cibola … 557
—, exploration of Colorado river canyons by … 489
—, adventure of, at Tiguex … 496
MELONS, native American … 516
—, stories of, kept by Indians … 584
MENDIETA, G. DE, cited on work of friars in New Mexico … 401
MENDOZA, ANTONIO DE, Cabeza de Vaca entertained by … 348
—, unsuccessful expedition of, under Dorantes … 349
—, effects of administration of … 350
—, plans of, for exploring expeditions … 352
—, instructions from, for Niza … 354
—, report of, on Niza's discoveries … 363
—, petitions by, for right of conquest … 368
—, endeavors to prevent Cortes' expeditions … 369
—, interference with navigation by … 370
—, right of, to explore confirmed … 373
—, importation of cattle by … 375
—, family of … 376
—, appointment of Coronado by … 474
—, friendship of, for Coronado … 476
—, address to soldiers by … 478
—, instructions of, to avoid trouble with Indians … 496
—, complaints of, regarding arms … 540
—, requests for arms by … 378
—, disappointment of, on Coronado's return … 401
—, investigation ordered by … 596
—, agreement with Alvarado … 409
—, illness of … 551
—, death of … 470
MERCATOR, G., map by, cited … 403
MESA, Spanish soldier, cured by quince juice … 538
MESCALI, native American liquor … 516
MESQUITE, native American fruit … 515
MEXICO, CITY OF, in 1556 … 363, 375
MEXICO, CASPAR DE, native ally of Coronado … 536
MICER POGIO, reference to … 571
MICHOACAN, province in New Spain … 473
—, journey of Mendoza across … 478
MIGRATIONS, extent of, of various tribes … 345
MILLS of pueblo women … 522
MINDELEFF, VICTOR, ground plan of Hawikuh by … 363
—, on pueblo mealing troughs … 522
MISSIONARIES, Spanish, early success of, among Indians … 551
—, Spanish, introduction of fruit by … 550
MISSISSIPPI RIVER described by Castañeda … 529
— described to Coronado … 504
—, description of … 493
—, Menomini name of … 218
—, mention of … 510
—, Narvaez wrecked at mouth of … 347
MISSOURI RIVER mentioned by Castañeda … 529
MIXTON PEÑOL, capture of … 411
— WAR, causes of … 408
MOCCASINS, use of, by pueblo women … 517
MOCHILA, settlement of … 515
MOCHILAGUA, indian settlement of … 515
MOKI, rabbit-hair mantles at … 517
—, name for pueblo settlements at Tusayan … 390
—, see HOPI, TUSAYAN.
MOLINA on name of Chichilticalli … 516
— on meaning of tlauele … 524
MONTCALM, Menomini at fall of … 16
MONTEJO, —, feats of, in Tabasco … 540
MONTEZUMA, see MOTECUHZOMA.
MOONEY, JAMES, on identification of Querechos … 396
MORA RIVER, tributary of the Canadian … 397
MORGAN, LEWIS H., on adobe … 520
MORTAR, substitute for, among pueblo indians … 520
—, see ADOBE.
MOSES, BERNARD, on Casa de Contratacion … 351
MOTA PADILLA, M. DE LA, acknowledgments to … 414
—, historian of New Galicia … 375
—, description of Cibola by … 483
—, on Chichilticalli … 487
—, on Coronado's route from Culiacan … 386
—, on death of Friar Juan … 401
—, on death of Samaniego … 480
—, on discovery of Colorado river … 407
—, on indian giants … 485
—, on stories told by Turk indian … 492
—, on Torre's administration … 474
—, quotations from writings of … 476, 477, 479, 480, 483, 486, 487,
492, 497, 498, 500, 504, 506, 511, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523,
530, 531, 535, 538, 543
MOTECUHZOMA conquered by Cortes … 345
MOTOLINIA, T. DE, correspondence of, with friars accompanying Coronado
… 413
MOUNTAIN GOAT, horns of, seen by Coronado … 387
MOUNTAIN LION, see LION.
MULBERRIES, wild, found by Coronado … 507, 528, 582
MUÑOZ, —, copy of Alvarado's report by … 594
—, documents copied by … 572, 580, 584
MUSIC of Pecos indians … 491
— of pueblo indians … 522, 550, 594
MUTINY of Spanish settlers at San Hieronimo … 502
NAJERA, birthplace of Castañeda … 470
NARVAEZ, PANFILO DE, ordered to conquer Cortes … 345
—, imprisoned in Mexico … 346
—, authority for explorations granted to … 346
—, expedition of … 349
—, loses vessel on voyage from Spain … 346
—, route of expedition of … 347
—, drowned off mouth of Mississippi … 347
—, loss of expedition of … 474
—, expedition, rumors of survivors of, heard by Coronado … 507, 590
NATIVIDAD, departure of Alarcon from … 478
NAVARRETE, —, cited on date of petition of Cortes … 307
NAVARRO, GARCIA, on effect of Marcos' report … 366
NEBRASKA, description of, by Castañeda … 528
—, location of Quivira in … 397
—, description of Quivira … 591
NEEDLE, use of, among Indians … 562
NEGRO slave, Estevan a purchaser of … 348
NEGROES, island of … 545
—, mention of, in New Spain … 348, 379, 402, 406
— with Coronado … 506, 592
—, death of, accompanying Coronado … 555, 564
NEWFOUNDLAND, Spanish name for … 513
NEW GALICIA, conquest of … 372
—, demoralization of Coronado's army in … 401
—, description of … 513
— explored by Nuño de Guzman … 351
—, uprising in, during Mixton war … 408
NEXPA RIVER followed by Coronado … 585
—, identification of … 387
NICHOLAS, the Venetian, quotation from … 571
NIZA, MARCOS DE, visit of, to Cibola … 353
—, career of, in Peru … 354
—, travels of … 474
—, visit of, to seacoast from San Pedro valley … 359
—, experience of, after Estevan's death … 360
—, visit of, to valley containing gold … 362
—, selection of, as provincial of Franciscans … 364, 476
—, effect of report of, in New Spain … 365
—, reports of, investigated by Diaz … 480, 547, 553
—, satisfies doubts raised by Diaz … 384
—, mistakes of, concerning Cibola … 573
—, description of bison by … 543
—, on indian pueblos … 520
—, sermon by … 482
—, return of, to Mexico … 389, 484
NOCHISTLAN, death of Alvarado at … 410
NUÑEZ, PEDRO, on effect of Marcos' report … 366
OATS, wild, of great plains … 528
OAXACA, MARQUÉS DEL VALLE DE, title of, given to Cortes … 473
OBANDO, FRANCISCO DE, killing of, by indians … 499, 500
—, see OVANDO.
OJO CALIENTE visited by Alvarado … 594
—, a Zuñi summer village … 358
OLD SOUTH LEAFLET, translation of Coronado's letter in … 552
OÑATE, CHRISTOBAL DE, acting governor of New Galicia … 351
—, Coronado entertained by … 478
—, testimony of … 598
OÑATE, COUNT OF, appointment of nephew of … 477
OÑATE, JUAN DE, reduction of pueblos by … 524
ONORATO, companion of Friar Marcos … 355
OPATA, a tribe of Sonora … 537
—, houses of the … 515
OPUNTIA TUNA. See TUNA.
OREGON, coast of, explored by Cabrillo … 411
ORTIZ, survivor of Narvaez' expedition … 348
OTTER in pueblo region … 518
OVANDO, FRANCISCO DE, treatment of, by indians … 522
—, companion of Coronado … 477
—, see OBANDO.
OVIEDO Y VALDEZ, G.F. DE, on Corazones … 484
—, on Indian clothing … 515
OWENS, J.G., on Hopi dress … 517
—, on Hopi mealing troughs … 522
OXITIPAR, district of, in New Spain … 472
PACASAS, Ternaux's name for Pacaxes … 514
PACAXES, indian tribe of Culiacan … 514
PADILLA, JUAN DE, leader of friars with Coronado … 400
—, visit of, to Tusayan … 488
—, accompanies Alvarado … 391
—, report of discoveries by … 594
—, journey of, to Quivira … 571, 579, 592
—, remains in Quivira … 529, 534
PAEZ, JUAN, report of Cabrillo's voyage by … 411
PAHOS, reference to … 573
PAINT found in graves in Sikyatki … 519
PAINTING of pueblo Indians … 558
PALMOS, RIO DE, probable identification of … 346
PANIAGUA, JUAN, miraculous recovery of … 500
PANICO, see PANUCO.
PANUCO, reference to … 592
— bay, location of … 346
PAPA, title of, given to priests at Zuñi … 518
PASQUARO, visit of Mendoza to … 478
PATEATLAN, see PETATLAN.
PAWNEE mode of hair dressing … 394
PEACE ceremonies at Tiguex … 496
—, form of making, at Acoma … 491
PEACHES, introduction of, into pueblo country … 550
PEARLS on coast of Gulf of California … 350
PECOS, labors of Friar Descalona at … 401
— visited by Spaniards … 391
—, see CICUYE.
PECOS RIVER crossed by Spaniards … 504
PEMMICAN used by plains tribes … 528
PENNYROYAL, native American … 517, 528
PEREZ, ALONSO, companion of Coronado … 597
PEREZ, MELCHOR, mention of slave of … 592
PEREZ DE BOCANEGRA, HERNAND, testimony of … 596
PEREZ DE RIBAS, ANDRES, see RIBAS.
PERU, Alvarado's expedition to … 352
PETATES, or mats, used for houses … 515
PETATLAN or PETLATLAN, Indian settlement in New Galicia … 355
—, description of … 514, 538
—, description of, by Jaramillo … 584
—, description of indians of … 568, 572
—, indian from, captive and interpreter at Cibola … 563
—, friendly indians at river of … 548
—, river of, in Sinaloa … 348
PETRATLAN, see PETATLAN.
PHILIP, King of Spain … 474
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS … 545
PICONES, native American fish … 517
PICURIS, pueblo of … 519
—, name for Acoma among … 492
—, name of Taos among … 575
PIMA, cultivation of cotton by the … 350
—, Friar Marcos among the … 356
PINE NUTS, use of, as food … 517, 518
PIÑON NUTS, use of, as food … 517, 522
PIPES found at Sikyatki … 519
PITAHAYA, native American fruit … 515
PIZARRO, FRANCISCO, purchases Alvarado's expedition … 352
—, struggles of, in Peru … 376
PLAINS, Spanish soldiers lost on … 508
—, descriptions of Indians of … 527, 578, 580
—, see GREAT PLAINS.
PLUMS of great plains … 528
POBARES, F., death of … 499, 500
POISON, native, of Sonora … 537, 541
—, use of, by indians … 500, 502
PORCUPINE found by Coronado at Cibola … 560
POTTERY found at Sikyatki … 519
— of pueblo indians … 522
POWELL, J.W., on indian linguistic stocks … 525
PRAIRIE DOGS seen by Coronado on great plains … 510, 528
PRICKLY PEAR, see TUNA.
PRIESTS of pueblo indians … 518
—, see MEDICINE-MEN.
PROSOPIS JULIFLORA, see MESQUITE.
PROSTITUTION among the Tahus … 513
PRUNES, wild, found by Coronado … 507, 582, 591
PTOLEMY, maps in geography of, cited … 403
PUALA, Espejo's name for Tiguex pueblo … 496
PUEBLO, use of term, by Niza … 358
— method of building … 520
— settlements, description of, by Colorado river indians … 404
— settlements, description of, by Sonora indians … 356
PUERCO RIVER, pueblos on … 491
PURIFICACION, defense of, in Mixton war … 409
QUACHICHULES, see GUACHICHULES.
QUAREZ, AGONIEZ, wounded at Cibola … 557
QUERECHOS, description of … 527, 578
—, description of, by Coronado … 580
—, description of, by Jaramillo … 587
— identified with Tonkawa … 396
—, manner of life of … 504
QUERES, PUEBLOS of the … 525
QUINCE JUICE, use of, as poison antidote … 537, 541
QUIRIX, Spaniards visit province of … 503, 519, 525
—, see QUERES.
QUIVIRA, causes for stories of Turk regarding … 588
—, cartographic history of … 403, 544
—, descriptions of, received by Coronado … 393, 576, 580
—, departure of Coronado for … 503
— visited by Coronado lvii, 508, 396
—, description of … 521, 577
—, description of, by Coronado … 582
—, description of, by Jaramillo … 589
—, mention of … 492
—, death of Friar Padilla at … 401
RABBIT skins, use of, for garments … 517
RAFTS made for Diaz by Colorado river indians … 407
—, use of, in crossing Colorado river … 486
RAIN, worship of, by pueblo indians … 561
RAMIREZ DE VARGAS, LUIS, see VARGAS.
RAMUSIO, G.B., translation of Mendoza's letter by … 349
—, translation of Coronado's letter by … 552
—, quotation from … 554, 556
RED RIVER, identification of, with Zuñi river … 482
—, possible southern limit of Coronado's route across plains … 399
RELIGION of plains indians … 578
— of pueblo indians … 573
— of the Tahus … 513
— of Tiguex indians … 575
RESIDENCIA, definition of … 474
REVOLT of pueblo indians … 392
RIBAS, ANDRES PEREZ DE, on Petlatlan … 515
RIBEROS, EL FACTOR, companion of Coronado … 477
RIO DE LA PLATA misgoverned by Cabeza de Vaca … 348
RIO GRANDE, disappearance of, underground … 511
—, discovery of, by Alvarado … 575, 594
—, ice of, crossed by Spaniards … 503
—, limit of Narvaez' territory … 346
—, pueblos near … 519, 524
— visited by Spanish soldiers … 390
ROSE-BUSHES, wild, found by Coronado … 507, 510, 517
RUDO ENSAYO, quotation from, on poison … 538
RUINS, discovery of, by Alvarado … 594
—, see PUEBLO.
SAABEDRA, FERNANDARIAS DE, appointment of, at Chiametla … 481
SAABEDRA, H.A. DE, mayor of Culiacan … 533, 534
SACATECAS, see ZACATECAS.
SALAZAR, G. DE, royal factor for New Spain … 596, 597
SALDIVAR, JUAN DE, companion of Coronado … 477
—, lieutenant to Diaz … 548
—, carries Diaz' report to Mendoza … 382
—, explorations by … 480
—, adventures of, at Tiguex … 496
—, Indian village captured by … 500
—, escape of indian woman from … 510
SALT among pueblo indians … 550, 559
— found at Zuñi … 389
— found by Spaniards on great plains … 510
—, natural crystals, finding of, in Arizona … 490
SAMANIEGO, LOPE DE, appointment of, as army-master … 477
SAMANIEGO, LOPE DE, death of … 383, 480, 547
—, testimony concerning … 597
SANBENITOS, description of … 507, 515
SANCHEZ, ALONSO, soldier with Coronado … 597, 598
SANCHEZ, PERO, effect of Friar Marcos' report … 366
SANDIA, name for Acoma at … 492
SAN DIEGO, pueblo of … 525
SAN FELIPE, pueblo of … 525
SAN FRANCISCO BAY overlooked by Ferrel … 412
SAN GABRIEL, vessel in Alarcon's fleet … 385
SAN HIERONIMO DE LOS CORAZONES, founding of … 484
—, settlement of, under Diaz … 406
—, description of town of … 515
—, events in, during Diaz' absence … 501
—, destruction of … 530
SAN JUAN, pueblo of … 510
SAN JUAN RIVER named by Coronado … 586
SANJURJO, ALVARO DE, representative of De Soto in Mexico … 380
SAN LUCAS ISLANDS, death of Cabrillo at … 411
SAN PEDRO BAY visited by Ferrel … 412
— RIVER in Arizona … 387
— VALLEY visited by Niza … 359
SANTA ANA, pueblo of … 525
SANTA BARBARA, visit of Ferrel to … 412
SANTA CLARA, visit of Ferrel to … 412
SANTA CRUZ, colony at, under Cortes … 351
— ISLAND, visit of Ferrel to … 412
— RIVER in Arizona … 387
SANTA CRUZ, ALONSO DE, early map of city of Mexico by … 363
SANTIAGO, use of, as war cry … 388, 483, 565
SANTO DOMINGO, pueblo of … 525
SAVAGE, JAMES, on natural products of Nebraska … 528
SCARAMOIO, name for a Spanish grass … 555
SEBASTIAN, native companion of Padilla … 400, 535
—, negro slave of Jaramillo … 592
SEDELMAIR, PADRE, on indian giants … 485
SEÑORA, see SONORA.
SERI, Coronado's account of … 554
—, use of poison by … 538
SERRANO, FRANCISCO, on effect of Marcos' report … 366
SERRANO DE CARDONA, ANTONIO, testimony of … 597
SERVANTES, see CERVANTES.
SEVEN CITIES, stories and legends concerning … 363, 553
—, expedition to, under Guzman … 473
—, see CIBOLA, ZUÑI.
—, see MEDICINE-MEN.
SHAWANO or SHAWNEE, migrations of the … 345
SHEA, J.G., on Cabeza de Vaca's route … 348
—, on possible conjunction of Coronado and De Soto … 371
SHEEP given to friars by Coronado … 592
—, merino, imported by Mendoza … 375
—, mountain, description of, by Castañeda … 487
—, native American … 516
— taken by Spanish soldiers for food … 501, 535, 542
—, see MOUNTAIN GOAT.
SHOSHONI, linguistic affinity of the … 525
SHRINES of Sonora Indians … 515
SIA, pueblo of … 525
— mentioned by Jaramillo … 587
—, see CHIA.
SIBOLA, see CIBOLA.
SIBU´LODĀ´, Isleta name for buffalo … 517
SIGNS, use of, by plains Indians … 504, 527
SIKYATKI, excavations at … 519
SILVER found by Coronado at Cibola … 563
— found by Spaniards at Yuqueyunque … 511
—, reports of, from Quivira … 503, 504, 512
— mines in Culiacan … 514
SILVER, use of, by pueblo indians for glazing … 526
—, use of, in indian trade … 472
— workers, stories of … 473
SIMPSON, JAMES H., on location of Quivira … 397
—, on location of Tiguex … 491
SINALOA, river and settlement of … 515
—, see CINALOA.
SKULLS used by Acaxes to decorate houses … 514
SLAVERY among pueblo indians … 548
— at Pecos … 491
SLAVES, captive indians used as, by Spaniards … 499–510
— in army of Coronado … 402
SMITH, BUCKINGHAM, Cabeza de Vaca's relation translated by … 347, 474
—, copy of Alvarado's report printed by … 594
—, documents printed by … 572, 584
—, quotation from document printed by … 590
SNAKE DANCE, significance of … 561
SNAKE POISON, use of, by indians … 500
SNAKES, absence of, on great plains … 513
—, worship of, among Tahus … 513
SOBAIPURI, Friar Marcos among the … 356
—, knowledge of Cibola among … 358
SODOMY, absence of, at Cibola … 518, 522
— among indians of Petatlan … 515
— among indians at Suya … 516
— among Pacaxes … 514
SOLIS, FRANCISCO DE … 529
SOLIS, ISIDORO DE, mention of, by Jaramillo … 592
SOLIS DE MERAS, GONZALO, mention of, by Jaramillo … 592
SONORA, description of … 515
—, description of, by Jaramillo … 585
—, food supply in … 554
— river and valley … 387
— valley, location of … 355
— valley, Spanish, settlement in … 484
—, settlement of, by Spaniards … 572
— traversed by Friar Marcos … 355
SORCERY among Pacaxes … 514
SOTO, HERNANDO DE, account of meeting with Ortiz … 348
—, soldiers of, hear of Coronado … 510
—, reputed route of … 515
—, discoveries of … 370, 491
—, on great plains … 529
—, right of, to Niza's discoveries … 371
SOTOMAYOR, HERNANDO DE, on effect of Niza's report … 366
SOTOMAYOR, JUAN DE, companion of Coronado … 477
SOTOMAYOR, P. DE, chronicler of Cardenas' expedition … 490
SPINOSA, see ESPINOSA.
SQUASH, see GOURD, MELON.
—, see PRAIRIE DOG.
STARLINGS in pueblo region … 521
STEPHEN, see ESTEVAN.
STEVENS, JOHN, quotation from dictionary of … 547
STEVENSON, MATILDA C., researches by … 359
STRADA, see ESTRADA.
SUAREZ, AGANIEZ, wounded at Cibola … 388
SUAREZ DE FIGUEROA, GOMEZ, see FIGUEROA.
SUAREZ DE PERALTA, JOAN, reminiscences of Coronado's departure … 364
—, on return of Coronado … 402
SUMAC, wild, in Quivira … 591
SUN priests at Tusayan … 518
— worship by plains indians … 578
SURGEON, mention of, in Spanish army … 498
SUYA, San Hieronimo removed to … 502
—, description of … 515
—, massacre of settlers at … 408
—, destruction of … 399, 533, 578
TĀAIYALONE, a stronghold near Zuñi … 390
—, see THUNDER MOUNTAIN.
TAHUS, a tribe in Culiacan … 513
TANO, a pueblo tribe … 523
TAOS, pueblo of … 525
— mentioned by Jaramillo … 587
— called Valladolid by Spaniards … 511
—, name for Acoma at … 492
—, visit of Alvarado to … 575
TARASCA, a district in Michoacan … 473
TAREQUE, indian village on great plains … 577
TARTARS, use of dogs by … 571
TATARRAX, name of Indian chief … 492
TATTOOED indians visit Friar Marcos … 356
TATTOOING among plains indians … 506
—, practice of, among indians … 516
TEGUI branch of Opata Indians … 537
TEJO, stories told by … 472
TEMIÑO, Spanish soldier, death of … 538
TENTS of plains Indians, description of … 504, 578, 581, 583, 588, 591
TEOCOMO, river and settlement of … 515
TEREDO NAVALIS, damage to Alarcon's ships by … 407
TERNAUX-COMPANS, HENRI, translation of Castañeda by … 413
—, translation of Coronado's letter by … 580
—, translation of Jaramillo by … 584
—, mistake in translating … 398
—, mistake of, regarding Ispa … 585
—, quotations of translation of Castañeda by … 472, 481, 489, 494,
496, 499, 501, 502, 503, 505, 506, 507, 508, 510, 511, 513, 514,
515, 517, 518, 521, 523, 524, 526, 527, 529, 531, 532, 533, 538,
539, 542, 545
TE-UAT-HA or TAOS … 511
TEULES, a Mexican term … 524
TEWA pueblos … 525
TEXAS, copper found in, by Cabeza de Vaca … 350
—, intended destination of Narvaez … 346
—, limit of De Soto's government … 370
TEYAS, Cicuye besieged by … 524
— met by Coronado … 507, 527, 578
—, description of, by Coronado … 581
— identified with Comanche … 396
THUNDER MOUNTAIN, mesa near Zuñi … 390
—, ruins at … 517
—, visit of Coronado to … 565
TIBEX, see TIGUEX.
TIBURON ISLAND in gulf of California … 554
TIENIQUE, possible printer's error in Pacheco y Cardenas for Cicuye
… 587
TIGERS found in Cibola by Coronado … 560
TIGUA, name of Acoma among the … 492
TIGUEX, cartographic history of … 403
—, description of … 519, 520, 524
—, description of, by companions of Coronado … 569, 575
—, description of, by Jaramillo … 587
—, discovery of, by Alvarado … 390, 491, 594
—, indians of, refuse to trust Spaniards … 499, 503
—, revolt of indians at … 576
—, siege of, by Spaniards … 497, 500
—, death of Friar Juan at … 401
—, river of, identified with Rio Grande … 390
TIRIPITIO, meeting of Alvarado and Mendoza at … 409
TIZON, RIO DEL, Spanish name for Colorado river … 407
—, reason for name of … 485
—, see COLORADO RIVER.
TLAPA, estate at, given to Coronado … 379
TLAUELE, Mexican word … 524
TOBAR, see TOVAR.
TOMSON, ROBERT, on Mexico in 1556 … 363, 375
—, quotation from … 507
TONALA, settlement of, by Guzman … 473
TONKAWA identified with the Querecho … 396
TOPIA or TOPIRA, in Durango … 353
TOPIRA, expedition of Coronado to … 476
TORRE, DIEGO PEREZ DE LA, appointed to replace Nuño de Guzman … 357
—, administration of … 474
—, mention of son of … 592
TORRES OF PANUCO, wounded at Cibola … 557
TOTONTEAC, cartographic history of … 403
—, Coronado's account of … 560
—, cultivation of cotton at … 550
— identified with Tusayan … 357
—, see HOPI, MOKI, TUSAYAN.
TOVAR, FERNANDO DE, position of … 477
TOVAR, PEDRO DE, appointment of, as ensign … 477
—, accompanies Gallego to Corazones … 395
—, journey of, from Tiguex to Corazones … 577
—, at San Hieronimo … 502
—, flight of, from Suya … 530,533
—, discovery of Tusayan by … 390, 488, 562, 574
—, wounded by Indians … 557
—, use of papers of, by Mota Padilla … 536
TRADE between plains and pueblo indians … 578
— among plains indians … 527
— of Sonora indians with Cibola … 357
— of Spaniards with Colorado river indians … 406
—, indian stories of … 472
TRAIL, method of marking, on great plains … 505, 509, 571
TRANSPORTATION, see DOGS, TRAVOIS.
TRAVOIS, dog saddle used by plains indians … 527
TREACHERY of indians in Mixton war … 408
— of indians toward Spaniards … 498
TREJO, HERNANDO, death of brother of … 500
TRUXILLO, adventure of, with devil … 481
TŬ·ATÁ´, native name of Taos … 575
TUÇAN or TUCANO, see TUSAYAN.
TUNA, native American fruit … 515
—, preserve made from … 487
TUOPÁ, Picuris name for Taos … 575
TURK, name of indian slave who described Quivira … 394
—, communications of, with devil … 503
—, stories of … 491
—, stories of, told by Castañeda … 492
—, Coronado's version of stories of … 580
—, reports of stories told by … 576
—, motive of, in misleading Coronado … 588
—, execution of … 509, 589, 590
TURKEY PLUMES, use of, for garments … 517
TURKEYS in pueblo region … 491, 521
TURQUOIS brought from north by Sonora indians … 357
—, collection of, by Estevan … 474
— of pueblo Indians … 480, 518, 549, 561, 573
—, presents of, made to devil … 513
TUSAYAN, ceremonials at … 544
—, cultivation of cotton at … 550
—, description of … 510, 524
—, description of, by Jaramillo … 586
—, description of, by Zuñi Indian … 488
—, known to Sonora indians … 357
—, visit of Tovar to … 390, 562, 593
—, Tucano identified with … 390
—, see HOPI, MOKI.
TUTAHACO pueblos … 519, 525
—, Coronado's visit to … 492
—, description of, by Jaramillo … 587
—, worship of cross at … 544
TUTAHAIO, Tigua name for Acoma … 492
TUTHEA-UÂY, Tigua name for Acoma … 492
TUXEQUE, indian village on great plains … 577
TUZAN, see TUSAYAN.
UBEDA, F. LUIS DE, see LUIS.
ULLOA, FRANCISCO DE, explores gulf of California … 369
—, limit of explorations of … 404
UPATRICO, settlement of … 515
URABA, indian village mentioned by Jaramillo … 587
—, see BRABA, TAOS, YURABA.
URINE, use of, as mordant … 522
URREA, LOPE DE, companion of Coronado … 477
—, Indians interviewed by … 499
UTE linguistic affinity … 525
VACAPA, identification of … 355
VACAPAN, province crossed by Coronado … 487
VALLADOLID, Spanish name for Braba … 511, 525
VALLE DE LOS VELLACOS, see VALLEY OF KNAVES.
VALLECILLO, settlement of … 515
VALLEY OF KNAVES, rebellious Indians in … 502
VARGAS, LUIS RAMIREZ DE, companion of Coronado … 477
VEGETATION of great plains … 527
— of pueblo country … 586
VERA CRUZ, port of New Spain … 348
VERMEJO, RIO, crossed by Coronado … 586
—, identified with Colorado Chiquito … 482
VERMEJO, HERNANDO, companion of Coronado … 565
—, see VERMIZZO.
VERMIZZO, HERNANDO, companion of Coronado … 556
—, with Coronado at Cibola … 388
VETANCURT, A. DE, on date of Padilla's martyrdom … 401
VIGLIEGA, horse of, killed at Cibola … 557
VILLALOBOS, R.G. DE, voyage of, across Pacific … 412, 526, 539
—, expedition, reports of, to Council for the Indies … 370, 371, 373
VILLAGRA, G., on marriage of pueblo indians … 520
VIRGINS among the Tahus … 514
—, treatment of, among pueblo indians … 522,523
WALNUTS, wild, found by Coronado … 507
WATER, worship of, by pueblo indians … 581
WATERCRESS, native American … 517
WATERMELONS, introduction of, into pueblo county … 550
WEAPONS, indian … 498
—, lack of, in New Spain … 540
— of pueblo indians … 404, 548, 563
WEAVING, see MATS.
WELL dug by besieged indians … 499
WHISKERS, name given to Cicuye indian … 490, 497
— taken prisoner by Alvarado … 493
—, release of … 503
WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE RESERVATION traversed by Niza … 359
— crossed by Coronado … 387
WICHITA, KANSAS, location of Quivira near … 397
WICKER BASKETS among pueblo indians … 562
WILDCAT, native American … 517
—, in pueblo region … 518
WINE, native American, of pitahaya … 516
WINSHIP, G.P., memoir by, on Coronado expedition … 329–613
WINSOR, JUSTIN, acknowledgments to … 330, 413, 599
—, quotation from … 501
WITCHCRAFT among Pacaxes … 514
WOLVES on great plains … 528
WOMEN, functions of, in pueblo ceremonies … 518
—, surrender of, by Indians … 499
WOOD-WORKING by the Menomini … 241
XABE, indian from Quivira, with Coronado … 501, 511
XALISCO, settlement of, by Guzman … 473
—, destination of Alarcon at … 478
XIMENA, pueblo of … 523, 525
—, name of, forgotten by Jaramillo … 587
YAQUI or YAQUIMI, river and settlement of … 515, 553
— river followed by Coronado … 584
— river north of Galicia … 386
YSOPETE, a painted plains indian … 505, 507
— supplants Turk in confidence of Coronado … 509
—, efforts of, to guide Coronado … 588
YUCATAN explored by Alvarado … 352
YUCCA FIBER, use of, for garments … 517
—, preserve made from … 487
YUGEUINGGE pueblo … 525
—, indian form for Yuqueyunque … 510
YUMA INDIANS, Coronado's account of … 554
—, description of … 485
YUQUEYUNQUE, pueblo of … 525
—, visit of Barrionuevo to … 500
—, see YUGEUINGGE.
YURABA, visit of Alvarado to … 575
—, see BRABA, URABA.
ZACATECAS, a Mexican province … 545
—, missionary work in … 401
ZALDYVAR, see SALDIVAR.
ZARAGOZA, JUSTO, editor of Suarez de Peralta … 364
—, on murder of Cortes' wife … 473
ZARATE-SALMERON on native American liquor … 516
ZUÑI, burial customs at … 519
—, ceremonials of … 544
—, fruit preserves made by … 487
—, name of Acoma among indians of … 490
—, salt supply of … 550
—, tame eagles among … 516
— treatment of Mexicans at ceremonies … 361
— RIVER crossed by Coronado … 482
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
This book is excerpted from the Fourteenth Annual Report of the
Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution,
1892–93, by J. W. Powell, Director; Publication Date 1896.
Original scanned images are available from archive.org, search for
"annualreportofbu19293smit".
Original printed spelling and grammar are retained, with a few
exceptions noted below. The transcriber created the cover image,
and hereby assigns it to the public domain. Illustrations have
been moved from their original locations to nearby places between
paragraphs. The Plates are shown herein in their original printed
order, but notice that Plates LXXXII to LXXXIV are located between
Plates LIV and LV. Footnotes have been renumbered 1–379, and changed
to Endnotes. The original index included references to other material
located on pp i–328 of the Fourteenth Annual Report Part 1. The
entries that reference pages 329–613 (_The Coronado Expedition_)
have been excerpted and inserted herein after the Endnotes. Original
italics _look like this_. Original small caps are all capitals.
There are five accented letters in the printed version that have no
Unicode equivalents. These are coded herein: “[~r]”—latin small r
with tilde above; “[~q]”—latin small q with tilde above; “[=q]”—latin
small q with macron above; “[=r]”—latin small r with macron above;
“[~p]”—latin small p with tilde above. The spanish section is full
of macrons and tildes, and it was sometimes difficult to distinguish
them in the scanned images available to the transcribers; some
mistakes of transcription are likely.
Page 380. Full stop was changed to comma in this phrase “A month
later. September 7, 1538, the representative”.
Page 396. Full stop was removed from the phrase “to select 30 of the
best equipped horsemen. who should go”.
Page 407. Changed _obaining_ to _obtaining_, in “without obaining any
news, he was”.
Page 444. Changed “bio entre aquellag ente” to “bio entre aquella
gente”.
Page 465. In “querido se sepan tambien las que agora dire”, the _que_
assumed herein was not printed clearly.
Page 523 first footnote. In “former name of the pueblo was Aquiu”,
there was a smudge atop the A, might have hidden an accent mark,
perhaps. There was also a big smudge atop the G in “Gilded Man”.
Page 564. The first footnote seems to have no anchor in the printed
text, but probably should be anchored to the chapter title—as shown
in this edition.
Page 570. There was a missing phrase between “the third about” and
“These three are like”. Nine spaces are included herein to indicate
this, as in the printed version.
Page 601, under heading Barcia, Andres Gonzales. The phrase
originally printed “1512 hasta 1722, escrito por Don Gabriel de
Cardenas z Cano.—Madrid, CIↃIↃCCXXIII” includes a scarcely supported
glyph, U+2183 ROMAN NUMERAL REVERSED ONE HUNDRED. The combination
CI[U+2183] means “M”=1000. The combination I[U+2183] means “D”=500.
Therefore, the text in this edition has been rendered “MDCCXXIII”.
Page 609. The phrase “November, 1895, and Febuary, 1896” was changed
to “November, 1895, and February, 1896”.
Page 627. Index entry "MATYATA, forioer New Mexican pueblo" was
retained despite the obvious spelling issue. In the entry "MENOOZA,
ANTONIO DE, Cabeza de Vaca entertained by", "MENOOZA" was changed to
"MENDOZA".
Page 628. Two consecutive entries read
"MONTCALM, Menomini at fall of … 16
MONTEJO, —, feats of, in Tabasco … 540"
The first entry pertains to an essay outside the scope of this book,
but has been retained so that the EM DASH in the second entry may be
interpreted properly. The transcriber hopes that the reader of this
book makes better sense of it than the transcriber has. Likewise, the
EM DASH in "MUÑOZ, —, copy of Alvarado's report by … 594" does not
seem to make sense. Again, on page 629, the meaning of the EM DASH
is not clear in "NAVARRETE, —, cited on date".
Page 636. "TUTHEA-NÂY" was changed to "TUTHEA-UÂY" to agree with the
reference in the note on page 492; the last A has been rendered with
a circumflex, but this is not clear in the scanned images.
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