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.
[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]
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.
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]
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.
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.
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]
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]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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]
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]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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]
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