Then the Spaniards almost cried with anger and disappointment. The houses were really made of stone, but there were no jewels, no gold, no treasures of any kind—nothing, in fact, but a poor, miserable Indian pueblo, or village, built upon a high ledge of rocks, miles away from the fields of corn, beans and squashes, upon which they lived. All the Indians in that part of the United States built their houses in pueblos, or villages, but not one of them had any treasures. They irrigated the dry, sandy soil and tilled their fields, and were a simple, kindly people, until the greedy Spanish soldiers drove them into rebellion which has left their country bare and desolate, even to this day.
"FRAY MARCOS"
The Kingdom of Quivera
THE air was full of the chill and blast of winter, and with the first snow-flakes great discontent broke out in camp, and Coronado realized that he must find a place to make his men more comfortable.
"There are ten big community houses on top of that spider-shaped rock," he said, one morning to a squad of soldiers who had been drilling on parade ground, "and I want possession of it for the troops. Some one must go ahead first and report the situation."
"The rock is so high that our bullets scarcely reach to the top," said the scout, who had galloped over to the pueblo to spy out a way of doing what Coronado commanded. "But there are four winding paths leading up the sides, and we can ascend in single file."