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
Marco Polo, in chapter 134, says that in the country of the Tartars,
toward the north, they have dogs as large or little smaller than
asses. They harness these into a sort of cart and with these enter a
very miry country, all a quagmire, where other animals can not enter
and come out without getting submerged, and on this account they take
dogs. [p572]
TRANSLATION OF THE RELACION DEL SUCESO[343]
ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAPPENED ON THE JOURNEY WHICH FRANCISCO VAZQUEZ MADE
TO DISCOVER CIBOLA.
When the army reached the valley of Culiacan, Francisco Vazquez
divided the army on account of the bad news which was received
regarding Cibola, and because the food supply along the way was
small, according to the report of Melchor Diaz, who had just come
back from seeing it. He himself took 80 horsemen and 25 foot
soldiers, and a small part of the artillery, and set out from
Culiacan, leaving Don Tristan de Arellano with the rest of the force,
with orders to set out twenty days later, and when he reached the
Valley of Hearts (Corazones) to wait there for a letter from him,
which would be sent after he had reached Cibola, and had seen what
was there; and this was done. The Valley of Hearts is 150 leagues
from the valley of Culiacan, and the same distance from Cibola.[344]
This whole distance, up to about 50 leagues before reaching Cibola,
is inhabited, although it is away from the road in some places. The
population is all of the same sort of people, since the houses are
all of palm mats, and some of them have low lofts. They all have
corn, although not much, and in some places very little. They have
melons and beans. The best settlement of all is a valley called
Señora, which is 10 leagues beyond the Hearts, where a town was
afterward settled. There is some cotton among these, but deer skins
are what most of them use for clothes.
Francisco Vazquez passed by all these on account of the small crops.
There was no corn the whole way, except at this valley of Señora,
where they collected a little, and besides this he had what he
took from Culiacan, where he provided himself for eighty days. In
seventy-three days we reached Cibola, although after hard labor and
the loss of many horses and the death of several Indians, and after
we saw it these were all doubled, although we did find corn enough.
We found the natives peaceful for the whole way. [p573]
[Illustration: LXXIII. the Tewa Pueblo of Nambe]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account