The Coronado Expedition, 1540-1542.: Excerpted from the Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1892-1893, Part 1.Winship, George Parker
History
The Coronado Expedition, 1540-1542.: Excerpted from the Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1892-1893, Part 1.
Winship, George Parker
Coronado, Francisco Vásquez de, 1510-1554; Southwest, New -- Description and travel
“They were also unable to tell me of any metal, nor did they say
that they had it. They have turquoises in quantity, although not
so many as the father provincial said. They have some little stone
crystals, like this which I send to Your Lordship, of which Your
Lordship has seen many here in New Spain. They cultivate the ground
in the same way as in New Spain. They carry things on their heads,
as in Mexico. [p550] The men weave cloth, and spin cotton. They
have salt from a marshy lake, which is two days from the province
of Cibola.[307] The Indians have their dances and songs, with some
flutes which have holes on which to put the fingers. They make much
noise. They sing in unison with those who play, and those who sing
clap their hands in our fashion. One of the Indians that accompanied
the negro Esteban, who had been a captive there, saw the playing
as they practiced it, and others singing as I have said, although
not very vigorously. They say that five or six play together, and
that some of the flutes are better than others.[308] They say the
country is good for corn and beans, and that they do not have any
fruit trees, nor do they know what such a thing is.[309] They have
very good mountains. The country lacks water. They do not raise
cotton, but bring it from Totonteac.[310] They eat out of flat
bowls, like the Mexicans. They raise considerable corn and beans
and other similar things.[311] They do not know what sea fish is,
nor have they ever heard of it. I have not obtained any information
about the cows, except that these are found beyond the province of
Cibola. There is a great abundance of wild goats, of the color of bay
horses; there are many of these here where I am, and although I have
asked the Indians if those are like these, they tell me no. Of the
seven settlements, they describe three of them as very large; four
not so big. They describe them, as I understand, to be about three
crossbow shots square for each place, and from what the Indians say,
and their descriptions of the houses and their size, and as these
are close together, and considering that there are people in each
house, it ought to make a large multitude. Totonteac is declared to
be seven short days from the province of Cibola, and of the same sort
of houses and people, and they say that cotton grows there. I doubt
this, because they tell me that it is a cold country. They say that
there are twelve villages, every one of which is larger than the
largest at Cibola. They also tell me that there is a village which is
one day from Cibola, and that the two are at war.[312] They have the
same sort of houses and people and customs. They declare this to be
greater than any of those described; I take it that there is a great
multitude of people there. They are very well known, on account of
having these houses and abundance of food and turquoises. I have not
been able to learn more than what I have [p551] related, although, as
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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