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Glossary|
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Glossary |
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 |
Vincent Mendoza was the leader of New Spain. He wanted to find the Seven Cities of Cibola. He formed a small group to go and search for them. Fray Marcos de Niza was the leader of the group. He was a Catholic missionary. Estavan was the guide.
After many weeks of traveling through the desert, Estavan and a small group of Indians were sent ahead to find the golden cities. Since he could not read or write, Estavan agreed to send a wood cross back to Fray Marcos as a message. A small cross would mean no golden cities had been found. A larger cross would mean that riches had been found. The men arrived at a city they thought was full of gold. Estavan sent an Indian runner back to Fray Marcos with a cross as large as a man.
Estavan was a tall black man. In some Indian villages he acted like a medicine man. He shook a gourd filled with pebbles and wore red and white feathers. Bells jangled on his ankles and elbows. most Indians treated him with awe and respect. Many followed him as he traveled.
When Estavan got to a Zuni village, things changed. Angry men shot him with sharp arrows, Indian runners went back to tell Fray Marcos the sad news of Estavan's death. First Marcos returned to Mexico City. He told Viceroy Mendoza that he had climbed to the top of a hill and seen a huge city with high buildings and turquoise doors. He said the Indians wore giant pearls, gold beads, and emeralds. Viceroy Mendoza believed Fray Marcos and decided to send other explorers to search for the golden cities.
Francisco Coronado
Viceroy Mendoza chose a young nobleman, Francisco Coronado, to lead another group back to look for the Seven Cities. Coronado was only twenty-five years old. This time, Fray Marcos was the guide. It would be his second trip to the desert.
A Grand Army
Many men were eager to go on the journey to get riches and glory. Before they set off, they paraded in front of Viceroy Mendoza. First in the parade were 225 men on horses. Some wore armor and helmets. Then came more than sixty soldiers. They carried swords, spears, and shields. About 1,000 Indians with weapons were next in line. Indian and black slaves brought up the rear to look after the animals. They herded thousands of cattle, sheep, and goats.
The End of the Rainbow
Coronado took a smaller group of men and traveled ahead of the entire group. After many days, they ran out of food. They were half starved by the time they got to a Zuni village in what is now New Mexico.
The Spanish were in for quite a shock. Here they were at the end of the rainbow, but there was no pot of gold. Zuni warriors met the Spanish at the edge of the town. The Zunis raised their bows and arrows and yelled threats. They drew lines on the ground with cornmeal and told the Spanish not to cross the lines.
When Indians tried to kill Coronado's interpreter, Coronado ordered an attach. With swords flashing in the sun, they rushed toward the Zuni. In less than an hour the Zuni were forced to flee. The hungry Spanish ate all the food that was left in the Zuni homes. The beans and corn were better than gold.
Later Coronado met the Zuni Chiefs from other places. They had no gold. Coronado wrote the sad news in a letter to Viceroy Mendoza. Fray Marcos took the letter to Mexico City. He was happy to go. By now the men were angry with him because all of his stories of rich cities were not true.
Tovar
Coronado sent two groups of his men to explore Arizona. Pedro de Tovar, with the help of Indian guides took a small group to the Hopi villages. At first the Hopi were not friendly. But Tovar was not scared. He attacked the Hopi and forced them to give up. The Hopi told Tovar about the great river and the rich Indians to the west. Tovar hurried back to the Zuni villages to report the Hopi stories to Coronado.
Cardenas
Coronado was excited. He sent Captain Garcia Lopez de Cardenas to find out if the Hopi were telling the truth. Cardenas and his men stopped at the Hopi villages.
Hopi guides led the Spanish to the Grand Canyon. They were the first Europeans to see the great wonder of the world. But they did not find any gold, so they returned to the Zuni village where Coronado was. Coronado marched into what is now Texas and Kansas before he returned to Mexico. He never found the gold, but he had learned a lot about the land of the Southwest.
Espejo
About forty years after Coronado, other people explored what is now Arizona. Antonio de Espejo was a rich man who lived in Mexico. He and some Indian guides traveled to Arizona, looking for gold and silver. This group found some silver ore near present day Jerome. Ore is a rock that has metal in it. Espejo took samples back to Mexico, but the Spanish never came back to develop mines.
Oņate
Juan de Oņate was the governor of new Mexico. He was a rich man who spent his own money to bring settlers to New Mexico. One very cold winter, Oņate led a group pf explorers to Arizona' s Hopi villages. The men and horses suffered so much from the cold that Oņate decided to take most of them back to new Mexico. First, he sent a small group to look for Espejo's silver mines. They found rich silver ore near today's Prescott, but they never sent miners back to dig the ore.
On another trip, Oņate followed the Colorado River across northern Arizona. He went all the way to the Gold of California and back. He wanted to find the Pacific Ocean so traders could use the route to China.
