Here Coronado awaited the arrival of the main body of his army before attempting to penetrate farther into the country; and from this place he transmitted to the Viceroy, under date of Aug. 3, 1540, a report of what he had already accomplished, in which his disappointment about the character of the region through which he had journeyed was very plainly expressed, as well as his entire disbelief in the truth of the reports which Fray Marcos had brought back respecting the rich and powerful kingdoms lying at a distance. He shows that he had discovered the inherent defect of the country by laying particular stress upon the “great want of pasture;” and says that he had learned that “what the Indians worship is water, for it causeth their corn to grow and maintaineth their life.”[1430] With this despatch he sent specimens of the garments worn by the natives and of their weapons, and also “two cloths painted with the beasts of the country;” he also reports that the natives possessed a certain amount of gold and silver, but that he could not discover whence they procured it.
While waiting at Cibola the arrival of the main body of the army, Coronado sent out a small party under Pedro de Tobar to explore a province lying some twenty leagues or more to the northwest, called Tusayan,[1431] where there were said to be seven cities, with houses built like those of Cibola, and inhabited by a warlike people. Tobar succeeded in approaching close to the first of these without being observed, as the natives now seldom ventured far from their houses on account of the fear inspired by the rumors spread abroad that Cibola had been captured by a fierce people mounted upon animals that devoured human flesh. However, as soon as the Spaniards were discovered, the natives showed a bold front, advancing to meet them in good order, and well armed. Drawing a line in the sand, they forbade the Spaniards crossing it, and wounded the horse of a soldier who ventured to leap over it; whereupon a friar named Juan de Padilla, who had been a soldier in his youth, urged the captain to make an onslaught upon them, and the natives were soon put to flight and many of them slain. In a short time all this province gave in its submission, and peaceable relations were once more established. The natives brought as gifts to the Spaniards turquoises, tanned skins, maize, and other provisions, and especially cotton stuffs, which were regarded by them as the choicest present, since it did not grow in their own country. They also gave information about a large river lying farther to the west, on whose banks, at some days’ journey down the stream, there dwelt a race of very large men. Tobar returned to Cibola with this report, and Coronado immediately despatched a second exploring party to verify it, under García Lopez de Cardenas. These were well received on their way by the people of Tusayan, who supplied them with guides and provisions for the journey. For twenty days their march lay through a desert, at the end of which they came to the banks of a river which seemed to them to be elevated “three or four leagues in the air.” So steep were these banks that it was impossible to descend to the water, which appeared so far away as to seem to be only an arm’s-length in width, and yet their guides assured them that it was over half a league broad. Although it was summer time, it was quite cold, and the country was covered with a growth of stunted pines. For three days they followed the bank in search of a passage; and some volunteers who made the attempt returned with the report that they had only been able to accomplish a third of the descent, and that rocks which had seemed scarcely as high as a man, were found to be loftier than the towers of Seville Cathedral. For three or four days more they continued on; but at length they were forced to return by want of water, which they had been obliged to seek for every night a league or two back from the river, and retraced their steps to Cibola.[1432]
CORONADO’S EXPEDITION.
The map given in Ruge’s Das Zeitalter der Entdeckungen, p. 417. With slight corrections, this is as accurate as our present information permits. Melchior Diaz penetrated farther north, and crossed the Colorado. Tiguex should be placed west of the Rio Grande, between Acoma and Quirex. The Rio “Sangra” is probably a mistake for “Sonora.”
In the mean time the main body of the army, which had been left at Culiacan under the command of Tristan d’Arellano, with orders to follow Coronado in a fortnight, set out, and slowly advancing reached at length Cabeza de Vaca’s province of Corazones. Here it was thought best to attempt to establish a colony; but owing to the difficulty of procuring a sufficient supply of food, it was subsequently transferred to the spot in the valley of the river which is now called Sonora. From here Don Roderigo Maldonado was despatched down the river in the hope of finding Alarcon’s vessels. He returned without having accomplished his purpose, but brought back with him a native of huge stature, and reported that a nation of still larger men dwelt farther down the coast. The whole army now transferred itself across the river to the new colony, and there waited for further orders from Coronado.
About the middle of September, 1540,[1433] Melchior Diaz and Juan Gallegos arrived from Cibola with instructions for the army to proceed thither at once. Gallegos continued on to Mexico, carrying to the Viceroy an account of the discoveries; and with him went Fray Marcos, who dared not remain any longer with the army, so incensed were they with him for his gross misrepresentations. Diaz was ordered to remain at the new colony in the capacity of governor, and to seek to put himself in communication with Alarcon’s vessels. Immediately the army took up its march for Cibola, but Arellano remained behind. As soon as they had departed, Diaz set out to explore the sea-coast, leaving Diego d’Alcarraz in command in his stead, who turned out to be very poorly fitted to exercise authority, so that disorders and mutinies broke out. Diaz himself, after marching one hundred and fifty leagues in a southwesterly direction (as Castañeda reports),[1434] struck the Tizon at some distance from its mouth, at a place where it was at least half a league wide. Here he found a race of huge men dwelling together in large numbers in underground cabins roofed with straw, from whom he learned that the vessels had been seen three days’ march down the stream. Upon reaching the spot indicated, which the natives told him was fifteen leagues from its mouth, he came upon a tree with an inscription upon it, and buried under it he found a writing stating that Alarcon had come so far,[1435] and after waiting there awhile had returned to New Spain. It also contained the information that this supposed south sea was actually a gulf which separated the mainland from what had been called the Island of California. With the intention of exploring this peninsula, Diaz proceeded up the river five or six days’ march in the hope of finding a ford, and at length attempted to cross by means of rafts. The natives, whose assistance he had called in to help construct them, proved treacherous, and laid a plot to attack the Spaniards on both banks of the river, while a portion were in the act of crossing. When this was detected, they made their assault boldly, but were speedily put to flight. Diaz then continued his journey along the coast, which took here a southeasterly direction, until he reached a volcanic region where farther progress became impossible. While retracing his steps, he met with an accident which put an end to his life; but the rest of his party returned to Sonora in safety.
While Diaz was making these explorations, the main body of the army had continued on to Chichilticalli without having encountered any other peril than being severely poisoned from having eaten preserved fruits that had been given to them by the natives. Castañeda records their falling in with a flock of large mountain sheep, which ran so swiftly that they could not be captured. When within a day’s march of Cibola they were overtaken by a terrible storm, accompanied by a heavy snow-fall, which caused the Spaniards great suffering, and nearly cost the lives of their Indian allies, natives of a warm country. But on arriving they found comfortable quarters provided by Coronado, and the whole force was now reunited, with the exception of a detachment which had been sent upon an expedition in an entirely different direction.