... at the end of all our toils, And labors with alternate weal and woe, We were at length approaching full of joy A graceful pueblo beautifully laid Out, and to which the name was given of “San Juan,” by many “de los Caballe- Ros,” to recall the mem’ry of those who First hoisted high, in these new lands And regions vast, the bloody Ensign on Which Christ was, for the weal of all Mankind, upraised.[58] At San Juan, in the province of New Mexico, there was founded therefore the second permanent colony in what is now the United States, nine years before Jamestown and more than twenty years before Plymouth. Not all was made serene and easy for the conquerors, and because the ground was not paved with silver, many of the frontiersmen became turbulent; others deserted, making their escape on stolen horses. To capture such, Captain Marquéz and Villagrá were sent in hot pursuit. While they were absent, Oñate, accompanied by Father Martínez and a suitable escort, went forth to visit the more western pueblos in order to receive their formal submission. As his representative at San Juan, Don Juan Zaldívar was appointed commandant of the troops and governor of the colony, but with orders to hand over this control to his brother Vicente so soon as the latter should return from the buffalo plains. Meanwhile Oñate himself visited, among other places, the Peñol of Ácoma, where he was received with much apparent cordiality, and was given “maize, water and turkeys.” According to the usual custom, surrender and fealty to the rule of the lieutenants of the Spanish monarch was demanded of the natives. Although up to this time few hints are given of any hostility from the Indians, Oñate was far too wary to risk surprise, and forbade his men to separate from each other while on the mesa. The cacique, Zutucapán, whom we may picture to ourselves a man of intelligence, crafty enough to mask his intent behind keen, penetrating eyes, came forward to offer the white lord the supreme honor within his gift: Would the señor descend to their holy of holies, the subterranean _Kiva_ in the rock? There he would receive signal proofs of the desire of the Ácomas to become worthy subjects of this all-great sovereign. Oñate, closely surrounded by his men, very probably looked down the hatchway from which tall, mast-like poles of the entrance ladder protruded. Was it the silent darkness of the great hole, or did some prophetic warning of danger hold him back? At all events, with courteous disclaimers he refused the honor and went his way, all unaware, it would appear, how narrowly he had escaped death from savages waiting at the ladder’s foot to give him short shrift.