Fray Marcos, upon his return, made a formal report of all his doings;[1418] and to this we must look for the first definite information in regard to the early exploration and history of the region with which we are now concerned, since Cabeza de Vaca’s narrative is too confused to furnish any sure indications of locality, and he has even been charged by Castañeda with “representing things very differently from what he had found them in reality.”[1419] The monk relates how they reached Petatlan, after having met with great kindness from the natives on their way; and while resting there for three days Fray Honoratus fell ill, and was obliged to be left behind. He himself continued his journey for some thirty leagues, still finding the natives most friendly, and even willing to share with him their supply of food, although it was but scanty, owing to no rain having fallen for three years. On his way he was met by some inhabitants of the island, which had previously been visited by Cortés, by whom he was assured that it was indeed an island, and not a continent as some had supposed. Still other people came to visit him from a larger island, but more distant, who informed him that there were still thirty islands more, but that they were only poorly supplied with food.[1420] These Indians wore shells suspended from their necks, like those in which pearls are found; and when a pearl was shown to them, they said they had an abundance of them, although the friar admits that he himself did not see any. After this his route lay for four days through a desert, during which he was accompanied by the Indians from the islands and the inhabitants of the villages through which he had passed. Finally he came to a people who were astonished to see him, as they had no intercourse with the people on the other side of the desert, and had no knowledge whatsoever of Europeans. Nevertheless, they received him kindly, and supplied him with food, and endeavored to touch his garments, calling him “a man sent from heaven.” In return, he endeavored, as best he might by means of interpreters, to teach them about “God in heaven, and his Majesty upon earth.” Upon being asked if they knew of any country more populous and civilized than their own, they replied that four or five days’ journey into the interior, in a great plain at the foot of the mountains, there were many large cities, inhabited by a people who wore garments made of cotton. When specimens of different metals were shown to them, they selected the gold, and said that this people had their common dishes made of this material, and wore balls of it suspended from their ears and noses, and even used “thin plates of it to scrape off their sweat.” However, as this plain was quite remote from the sea, and as it was his purpose never to be far away from it during his journeyings, the monk decided to defer the exploration of this country until his return.

Meanwhile Fray Marcos continued to travel for three days through the territories of the same tribe, until he arrived at a town of moderate size, called Vacapa, situated in a fertile region about forty leagues from the sea.[1421] Here he rested for several days, while three exploring parties were despatched to the coast with directions to bring back some of the natives dwelling there as well as upon the neighboring islands, in order that he might obtain more definite information about those regions. The negro was ordered to advance in a northerly direction fifty or sixty leagues, and to send back a report of what he should discover. In four days’ time a messenger came from him bringing news of “a country the finest in the world;” and with him came an Indian, who professed to have visited it, and who reported that it was a thirty days’ journey from the place where Stephen then was to the first city of this province. The name of this province was Cibola,[1422] and it contained seven great cities, all under the rule of one lord. The houses were built of stone and lime; some of them were three stories high, and had their doorways ornamented with turquoises, of which there was an abundance in that country; beyond this, there were still other provinces all greater than that of The Seven Cities. This tale was all the more readily credited by the monk, as the man appeared to be “of good understanding.” Nevertheless, he deferred his departure until the exploring parties should return from the coast. After a short time they came back, bringing with them some of the dwellers upon the coast and on two of the islands, who reported that there were thirty-four islands in all, near to one another; but that all, as well as the main land, were deficient in food supplies. They said that the islanders held intercourse with each other by means of rafts, and that the coast stretched due north. On the same day there came to Vacapa, to visit the monk, three Indians who had their faces, hands, and breasts painted. They said that they dwelt in the eastern country, in the neighborhood of Cibola, and they confirmed all the reports in regard to it.

As fresh messengers had now come from Stephen, urging the monk to hasten his departure, he sent the natives of the coast back to their homes and resumed his journey, taking with him two of the islanders—who begged to accompany him for several days—and the painted Indians. In three days’ time he arrived among the people who had given the negro his information about Cibola. They confirmed all that had been said about it; and they also told about three other great kingdoms, called Marata, Acus, and Totonteac. They said they were in the habit of going to these countries to labor in the fields, and that they received in payment turquoises and skins of cattle. All the people there wore turquoises in their ears and noses, and were clad in long cotton robes reaching to their feet, with a girdle of turquoises around the waist. Over these cotton garments they wore mantles made of skins, which were considered to be the clothing best suited to the country. They gave the monk several of these skins, which were said to come from Cibola, and which proved to be as well dressed and tanned as those prepared by the most highly civilized people. The people here treated him with very great kindness, and brought the sick to him to be healed, and endeavored to touch his garments as he recited the Gospels over them. The next day he continued his journey, still attended by the painted Indians, and arrived at another village, where the same scenes were repeated. He was told that Stephen had gone on four or five days’ journey, accompanied by many of the natives, and that he had left word for Fray Marcos to hasten forward. As this appeared to be the finest country he had found thus far, he proceeded to erect two crosses, and to take formal possession of it in the name of the Emperor, in accordance with his instructions. He then continued on his journey for five days more, passing through one village after another, everywhere treated with great kindness, and receiving presents of turquoises and of skins, until at last he was told that he was on the point of coming to a desert region. To cross this would be five days’ march; but he was assured that provisions would be transported for him, and places provided in which he could sleep. This all turned out as had been promised, and he then reached a populous valley, where the people all wore turquoises in greater profusion than ever, and talked about Cibola as familiarly as did the Spaniards about Mexico or Quito. They said that in it all the products of civilization could be procured, and they explained the method by which the houses were constructed of several stories.

Up to this point the coast had continued to run due north; but here, in the latitude of 35°, Fray Marcos found, from personal examination, that it began to trend westward. For five days he journeyed through this fertile and well-watered valley, finding villages in it at every half-league, when there met him a native of Cibola, who had fled hither from the governor of that place. He was a man advanced in years, and of good appearance and capacity; and from him were obtained even more definite and detailed accounts of Cibola and the neighboring kingdoms, their condition and mode of government; and he begged to be allowed to return home in the friar’s company, in order to obtain pardon through his intercession. The monk pursued his way for three days more through this rich and populous valley, when he was informed that soon another desert stretch, fifteen long days’ march in extent, would begin. Accordingly, as he had now travelled one hundred and twelve leagues from the place where he had first learned of this new country, he determined to rest here a short time. He was told that Stephen had taken along with him more than three hundred men as his escort, and to carry provisions across the desert; and he was advised to do likewise, as the natives all expected to return laden with riches. But Fray Marcos declined; and selecting only thirty of the principal men, and the necessary porters, he entered upon the desert in the month of May, and travelled for twelve days, finding at all the halting-places the cabins which had been occupied by Stephen and other travellers. Of a sudden an Indian came in sight, covered with dust and sweat, with grief and terror stamped upon his countenance. He had been one of Stephen’s party, and was the son of one of the chiefs who were escorting the friar. This was the tale he told: On the day before Stephen’s arrival at Cibola, according to his custom, he sent forward messengers to announce his approach. These carried his staff of office, made of a gourd, to which was attached a string of bells and two feathers, one white and one red, which signified that he had come with peaceful intentions and to heal the sick. But when this was delivered to the governor, he angrily dashed it to the ground, saying he knew the strangers, and forbade their entering the city, upon pain of death. This message was brought back to Stephen, who nevertheless continued on, but was prevented from entering the city. He was conducted to a large house outside the walls, where everything was taken from him; and the whole party passed the night without food or drink. The following morning, while the narrator had gone to the river which flowed near by, to quench his thirst, suddenly he saw Stephen in full flight, pursued by the people of Cibola, who were slaying all of his companions; whereupon he hid himself under the bank, and finally succeeded in escaping across the desert. When they heard this pitiful story, the Indians began to wail, and the monk to tremble for his own life; but he says he was troubled still more at the thought of not being able to bring back information about this important country. Nevertheless, he proceeded to cut the cords of some of his packages, from which he had as yet given nothing away, and to distribute all the contents among the chief men, bidding them fear nothing, but continue on with him still farther; which they did, until they came within a day’s journey of Cibola. Here there met them two more of Stephen’s Indian companions, still bleeding from their wounds, who told the same story about his death and the destruction of his company, supposing that they alone had escaped, by hiding themselves under the heaps of those who had been slain by flights of arrows.[1423]

The monk goes on to relate that he tried to comfort the weeping natives, by telling them that God would punish the people of Cibola, and the Emperor would send an army to chastise them; but they refused to believe him, saying no power could resist that of Cibola. He thereupon distributed everything he had left among them to appease them, and endeavored to persuade some of them to go nearer the city, in order to make sure of the fate of the party; and upon their refusal, he said that he should at all events endeavor to obtain a sight of Cibola. Seeing his determination, two of the chiefs consented to accompany him; and they came to a hill, from which they could look down upon the city. It is situated in a plain, he says, and seemed to be handsomer and more important than any city he had yet seen, and even larger than Mexico. The houses were built of stone, and were of several stories, as the natives had told him, and with flat roofs; and upon his expressing his admiration of it, his companions said that it was the smallest of The Seven Cities, and that Totonteac, one of the neighboring towns, was still larger and finer. With the help of the Indians he proceeded to raise a great pile of stones, upon which he planted a cross as large as he was able to make, and in the name of the Viceroy and Governor of New Spain, on behalf of the Emperor, he took possession of the Land of the Seven Cities, and the realms of Totonteac, Acus, and Marata; and to the whole country he gave the name of the New Kingdom of St. Francis. Upon retracing his steps across the desert, he failed to receive as friendly a reception as before, for all the people were in tears for the loss of their murdered relatives; so that he became alarmed, and hastened through the valley so rapidly that in three days’ time he had crossed the second desert. From this point he made a detour in the direction of the country lying to the East, about which he had been told on his first coming. Without venturing to penetrate into it, he contented himself with observing the approaches, when he found seven small villages in a verdant valley, but in the distance he could see the smoke of a fine city. He was informed that the country was very rich in gold, but that the inhabitants refused all intercourse with strangers. Nevertheless, he planted two more crosses here, and took formal possession of the country. From this point he retraced his steps as speedily as possible to Compostella, where he rejoined Coronado, and sent immediate notice of his return to the Viceroy.

While Fray Marcos had been absent upon his journey, Coronado had himself been occupied in searching for a province lying somewhere to the north of his own dominions, called Topira. After a toilsome march through a mountain region this was reached, and proved to be entirely different from what it had been reported; and he had just returned from this fruitless expedition, when the monk arrived. So glowing were the accounts he gave of what he had himself seen and what the natives had told him, as well as of the wealth to be found in the islands of the southern seas, that Coronado determined to take the monk at once with himself to Mexico and lay the matter before the Viceroy. There, on the 2d of September, 1539, according to the notaries’ attest, Fray Marcos presented a report in writing to Mendoza, by whom it was transmitted to the Emperor Charles V., accompanied by a letter from himself containing a brief narrative of the previous attempts that had been made for the exploration of the country.[1424] In a very short time Coronado began to proclaim openly what hitherto he had only whispered in strictest confidence to his most intimate friends,—that the marvellous Seven Cities had been discovered which Nuño de Guzman had sought for in vain; and he proceeded forthwith to make preparations and to collect a military force for their conquest. Meanwhile the Franciscans chose Fray Marcos for their general; and soon all the pulpits of that Order were resounding to such good purpose, that before long an army of three hundred Spaniards and eight hundred Indians of New Spain had been collected. So many gentlemen of noble birth volunteered for this service that the Viceroy was much embarrassed in selecting officers; but at last he decided upon the principal ones, and appointed Coronado, as was only his due, general-in-chief. Compostella, the capital of New Gallicia, was named as the place of rendezvous for the army; and in the mean time Hernando Alarcon received instructions to sail along the coast of the southern sea in order to accompany the march of the expedition. He was directed to transport the heavy stores and to keep up communications by means of the rivers that empty into it. This part of the plan, however, failed of success, as Coronado’s line of march soon led him to a distance from the coast.[1425]

AUTOGRAPH OF CORONADO.

In the last days of February, 1540, the Viceroy himself came to Compostella, and from there he accompanied the army for two days on its march. But soon the difficulties of the route began to tell upon the inexperienced cavaliers, who were obliged each to carry his own provisions and baggage, so that when they had reached Chiametla, they were compelled to halt for several days in order to procure a supply of food. In doing this a collision with the natives occurred, in which one of the superior officers was slain; and in revenge, all who were believed to be inhabitants of the village where it happened were hanged. Soon after this, dissatisfaction began to manifest itself among the troops, which was heightened by the discouraging reports which were spread on the return of Melchior Diaz and his party, whom Coronado had sent by Mendoza’s orders on a reconnoitring expedition during his own absence in Mexico. They had penetrated two hundred leagues beyond Culiacan, as far as the edge of the desert, and they gave very different accounts from those of Fray Marcos. Very few inhabitants were seen, except in two or three little villages of some thirty huts, and everywhere was a great scarcity of provisions; while the mountainous nature of the country rendered it almost impassable.[1426] The friar, however, strove to encourage their drooping spirits, promising them that they should not return empty handed; and the march was continued to Culiacan, where the expedition was received with great hospitality by the Spanish colonists. Here Coronado left the main body of the army under the command of Tristan d’Arellano, with orders to follow him in a fortnight, while he himself set out on the 22d of April, 1540, with fifty horse and a few foot-soldiers and the monks who did not choose to be left behind. In somewhat more than a month’s time he came to the last inhabited place on the borders of the desert, having everywhere met with a friendly reception from the natives. At an intervening village, in the valley which Cabeza de Vaca had called Corazones, he had halted, and despatched messengers to the sea-coast, which was five days’ journey distant, and learned that a vessel had been seen passing by. The place which he had now reached bore the name of Chichilticalli, or The Red House, and it proved to be something very different from what Fray Marcos had reported. Instead of a populous town at a distance of five leagues from the sea, he found merely a single ruinous, roofless structure, at least ten days’ journey from the coast. Nevertheless, it bore the appearance of having once been a fortified work which had been constructed out of red earth by a civilized people, but had been destroyed in former times by some barbarous enemy.[1427] Here Coronado entered upon the desert, and proceeding in a northeasterly direction he came in a fortnight’s time to a river, to which the name of the Vermejo was given, on account of its turbid waters. This was only eight leagues distant from Cibola, where they arrived on the following day, sometime early in July, having only escaped by the general’s prudence from falling into an ambuscade of hostile natives.[1428]

Cibola turned out to be even a greater disappointment than the Red House, and many were the maledictions showered upon the monk by the soldiers. Instead of the great city which he had reported, it proved to be only a little village of not more than two hundred inhabitants, situated upon a rocky eminence, and difficult of access.[1429] From its resemblance in situation, Coronado gave the name of Granada to the village; and he states that the name Cibola properly belonged to the whole district containing seven towns, and not to any particular place. As the natives continued to manifest a hostile disposition, and the army was almost famished from lack of food, it was resolved to attempt to carry it at once by assault, in order to get at the abundance of provisions stored there. But the inhabitants made such a stout resistance with missiles and showers of stones, that it would have gone hard with the Spaniards if it had not been for the protection of their armor. As it was, Coronado himself was twice felled to the earth, and his life was only saved by the devotion of one of his officers, who shielded him with his own body. However, in less than an hour’s time the place was captured, though several of the horses of the Spaniards were killed, and a few of the assailants wounded. But when once possession of this strong point was secured, the whole district was speedily reduced to submission.