USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Volume I > Part 2
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EARLY SPANISH EXPLORATIONS.
CHAPTER II.
EARLY SPANISH EXPLORATIONS (Continued).
JUAN DE LA ASUNSION-ANTONIO DE MENDOZA, VICEROY-FRA MARCOS DE NIZA-FRA HON- ORATO-ESTEVAN-ROUTE OF DE NIZA-KILL- ING OF ESTEVAN --. CIBOLA-ZUNIS-YAQUIS- PIMAS.
It is a grave question whether the first entry into Arizona was made by Juan de la Asunsion. or by Estevan, the negro, the former slave of Dorantes, who was sent forward by Fra Marcos de Niza in advance of his expedition to the Seven Cities of Cibola. Bancroft accords this honor to the negro and does not mention the priest.
In an essay upon the subject, A. F. Bandelier, of the Heminway Southwestern Archaeological Expedition, in his "Contributions to the History of the Southwestern Portion of the United States," gives a very exhaustive account of the supposed expedition of Juan de la Asunsion, which leaves us still in doubt as to whether or not such an expedition was ever made. Bandelier sums up his researches in the following para- graph :
"I frankly confess that, while all the evidence presented above does not come up to the require- ments of historical certainty, and while I should not be surprised nor disappointed if subse- quently proof were furnished that the story originated through a confusion with the reports of Fra Marcos, the present condition of the case
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
leads me to believe that the journey was really made, that Fra Juan de la Asunsion was the man who performed it, and that he reached as far north as the Lower Gila, and perhaps the lower course of the Colorado of the West; and that consequently there was a discovery of South- ern Arizona one year previous to that of New Mexico by Fra Marcos of Niza."
During the year 1536, when Cabeza de Vaca and his companions appeared in Culiacan, which was then the outpost of Spanish civilization in Mexico, Antonio de Mendoza was Viceroy, hav- ing succeeded the cruel and avaricious Guzman in that position. Guzman had alienated all the native races from the Spaniards by an attempt to enslave them. The policy of Mendoza was one of friendliness and kindness towards the In- dians, and in 1539, he sent forward Marcos de Niza, a native of the city of Niza, in the Duchy of Savoy, accompanied by Fra Honorato, a Savo- yard brother, who only accompanied his superior for a short distance, and Estevan, the negro slave, whose liberty had been purchased by Mendoza from his owner Dorantes, as a guide to explore the country lying to the north and, particularly, the Seven Cities of Cibola, which were said to be rich in gold and precious metals. Accompany- ing them were eight Indians who came with Alvar Nuñez and had been detained in the city of Mexico where they had received instructions in the Christian religion.
The instructions given to Marcos de Niza by the Viceroy were contained in a very able State paper, which Bandelier prints in full. Fra
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EARLY SPANISH EXPLORATIONS.
Marcos de Niza was to assure the Indians whom he met that their rights would be protected, and that there would be no further cruelty practiced against them; that the Spaniards who had been guilty of such conduct had been punished by the Emperor; he was to be careful to note the differ- ent native tribes, if they were numerous or not, and if they were dispersed or lived together; the quality and fertility of the land, its climate, the trees and plants, domestic or savage animals, the aspect of the country, whether rugged or level; the streams, if large or small, and the rocks and metals; and of whatever objects it was possible to bring or send samples, to bring or send them in order that His Majesty be informed of every- thing.
He was to inform himself if there was any knowledge of the seacoast, that to the north as well as that to the south, and if he should reach the coast of the South Sea, he was to bury, at the foot of some strikingly tall tree on the beach of a bay, letters, in which he was to give informa- tion of what might seem to him proper, and that he should mark such trees with a cross in order that they might be recognized. He was to do the same thing at the mouths of rivers and on the shores of what might be proper for seaports. If he found some large settlement where it was desirable to erect a monastery and to send thither ecclesiastics fitted for the work of conversion, he was to send word thereof by Indians, or re- turn to Culiacan himself ; he was to send the mes- sage with due secrecy that there might be no commotion, and that, "in the pacification of what
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
may be discovered the service of our Lord and the good of the people of the country be prop- erly secured."
He was also instructed to explain to the Indians that he was sent in the name of His Majesty, to tell them that the Spaniards would treat them well, and that they might know the sorrow caused by the information received of the sufferings to which they had been exposed, and that thereafter they would not be slaves nor taken out of the country, but, on the contrary, would be allowed to remain, no harm being done to them.
On the 7th of March, 1539, (old style), Fra Marcos de Niza left Culiacan with his guide, the lay brother, and the Indians above spoken of. Thus escorted, he received a kindly reception as far as Petatlan. The natives everywhere treated him with great kindness, provided food and pre- pared his camp at night. At Petatlan, his com- panion, Fra Honorato, fell sick, and he had to leave him there and continue his journey alone.
From Petatlan on, the negro and the Indians whom the Viceroy had sent from Mexico, became the regular escort of Fra Marcos, but the na- tives of Northern Sinaloa attached themselves to the little caravan in numbers, and their presence was useful for they provided food for the trav- ellers and insured them a kindly reception from the different tribes.
The aborigines who had come from the city of Mexico belonged to the Pima tribe, and conse- quently spoke a language similar to that of the Yaquis and Mayos, and, above all, of the Opatas,
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EARLY SPANISH EXPLORATIONS.
so these Indians were useful as interpreters and enabled Fra Marcos to hold conversations with the natives along the route as far as the Gila river. His route lay within easy reach of the seacoast, and about twenty-five or thirty leagues northwest from the Rio del Fuerte, as the Petat- lan river is called to-day, the explorer was in the country of the Mayos and probably beyond the mouth of the river of that name, where he met the Indians of the Gulf of California, who wore many conch shells suspended from their necks in which there used to be pearls, and, to quote his own words: "When I showed them a pearl which I had taken along, they said there were some of these on those islands, but I did not see any."
An uninhabited country for four days sepa- rated the point where he met these islanders from the next Indian tribe, who were greatly surprised to see him, and called him "the man from the Sky," or "from Heaven."
Bandelier thinks this is the expanse between the northern end of the Valley of Bacuachi and the upper course of the San Pedro river in Southern Arizona. Mountain fastnesses, not treeless, but rugged and wild, separate the site of Mututicachi from the present Palominas or Ochoaville on the San Pedro in Arizona.
Estevan had been sent forward from Vacapa, now called Metapa, in Central Sonora, with in- structions to proceed to the north fifty or sixty leagues, and then either to return in person or await the arrival of de Niza. These instructions he disobeyed. Bancroft thinks his route was through the Pima Villages near Tucson. Bande-
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
lier fixes it as crossing the San Pedro river at about the town of Ochoaville, aforementioned, and from thence across the Apache Reservation to the Zuni Villages or towns.
Estevan, however, provided well for the jour- ney of his chief, erecting at stated intervals, sheds for his accommodation. He was accom- panied by a large number of Indians and a num- ber of squaws who were given to him by the sev- eral tribes.
"It was, therefore, on the last day of May, 1539, that Fra Marcos, when within two or three days' journey of Cibola, according to the state- ments of his guides, was surprised at meeting one of the Indians who had gone thither with the negro. The man was on his return, and that re- turn was a precipitate flight. He brought sad tidings. Estevan had reached Cibola, but the people of that place had killed him, with many of his escort, and the survivors were fleeing for their lives."
The effect of these tidings was such that the Indians refused to accompany the monk any further, but were finally persuaded to accom- pany him a day's journey from Cibola through the distribution of presents which he carried along to be given to the citizens of Cibola. Here they encountered two more fugitives "whose bleeding bodies and frightened faces alone told the woeful tale of the dangers from which they had escaped."
It took Fra Marcos some time to induce them to accompany him any further. Finally two of the number agreed to conduct him to a high hill
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EARLY SPANISH EXPLORATIONS.
from which he could see the town of Ahacus, which is identified as that of Hawikuh, a pueblo occupied by the Zunis until 1670, when the Apaches compelled its abandonment. This city de Niza reported to be a well built city with houses of from two to four stories high, laid out in regular streets and squares, with a population as large as that of the city of Mexico at that time.
Having taken possession of the country by building a monument here and there in the name of his Emperor, he returned in hot haste to Culiacan from whence he gave his report of all he had seen and heard: The country of the Ya- quis and the Pimas: "An agricultural, pottery- making people, who dressed in cotton and pre- pared skins, and wore flashy ornaments. They occupied villages on the upper Yaqui, and irri- gated by means of artificial canals. The houses were large sized adobes, and the center of the village was frequently occupied by a particularly solid and extensive structure, the walls of which were perforated with loopholes. Thither the in- habitants retreated in case of attack."
Also a description of the people and the lands of the Sonora River and San Pedro Valley ; the people of Cibola and of the kingdom of Toton- tiac, where were houses eleven stories high, built of stone and lime, and where the people dressed in garments of cotton and wool.
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
CHAPTER III.
EARLY SPANISH EXPLORATIONS (Continued).
NUÑO DE GUZMAN-EXPEDITION ABANDONED- ANTONIO DE MENDOZA-SEVEN CITIES OF CIBOLA-FRANCISCO VASQUEZ DE CORONADO- CAPTAIN MELCHIOR DIAZ-CHICHILTECALE- CORAZONES (URES) OR THE VILLAGE OF THE HEARTS - FIGHT WITH INDIANS - GARCIA LOPEZ DE CARDENAS - HERNANDO DE AL- VARADO-HERNANDO DE ALARCON-COLORADO RIVER-RIO DEL TISON-GULF OF CALIFORNIA -DEATH OF MELCHIOR DIAZ-DON PEDRO DE TOVAR - GRAND CANYON - QUIVIRA - ROUTE OF CORONADO-RETURN OF CORONADO.
In the year 1530, Nuño de Guzman, who was President of New Spain, had in his possession an Indian, a native of the Valley of Oxitipar, who was called Tejo by the Spaniards. This In- dian said he was the son of a trader who was dead, and that when he was a boy his father had gone into the back country with fine feathers to trade for ornaments, and that when he came back, he brought a large amount of gold and silver, of which there was a large amount in that country. He went with him once or twice, and saw some very large villages which compared with Mexico and its environs. He had seen seven large towns which had streets of silver workers. It took thirty days to go there from his country, through a wilderness in which noth- ing grew except some very small plants about a span high.
15
EARLY SPANISH EXPLORATIONS.
Upon this information Nuño de Guzman gath- ered an army of 400 Spaniards and 20,000 of the friendly Indians of New Spain, and prepared to explore the country which was already named "The Seven Cities."
They went as far as the province of Culiacan where his government ended, and where the New Kingdom of Galicia then was, but on account of the difficulties encountered in crossing the moun- tains, and the discouragement of many of the capitalists interested in the expedition, and also on account of political intrigues, this expedition was abandoned.
Six years later, Cabeza de Vaca, and his com- panions, came to Culiacan. They gave Antonio de Mendoza, who had succeeded to the office of Viceroy in New Spain, an extended account of some of the "powerful villages, four and five stories high, of which they had heard a great deal in the countries they had crossed, and other things very different from what turned out to be the truth."
Upon this information, the expedition of Friar Marcos de Niza was organized, and, as we have seen, reached the country wherein was located the Seven Cities of Cibola, one of which he saw from a distance. Upon the return of Friar Mar- cos, he gave a most glowing account of the coun- try through which he had passed, much of which was hearsay evidence and greatly exaggerated. The country was described as populous and easy of access, the people, probably the Pima Indians, from hearsay evidence, were said to have gold in plenty out of which they manufactured their
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
utensils. It was easy enough for Friar Marcos to believe these stories because of his experience in Peru, where the Indians understood the art of metal working, and it also corresponded with the information which had been given prior to this by the Indian, Tejo.
Coronado, who was at this time Governor of New Galicia, by appointment from Mendoza, accompanied Friar Marcos to the city of Mexico, where he gave the Viceroy a succinct account of his travels and discoveries. Friar Marcos was, undoubtedly, very optimistic and easily imposed upon by the Indians, who gave such glowing accounts of the different tribes adjacent to those tribes through which he passed, and also of the wealth of the Seven Cities of Cibola, and, like any other optimist similarly situated, no doubt he was over enthusiastic, consequently his state- ments, while not intended to be unreliable, were, as events proved, almost entirely without foundation.
Mendoza, seeing an opportunity to add to the dominions of his Sovereign a territory as rich or richer than that of Peru, or that of the Aztecs of Mexico, lost no time in organizing an expedition for its exploration and conquest.
This expedition was organized in the year 1539, and was placed under the charge of Fran- cisco Vasquez de Coronado, a native of Sala- manca, Spain, and of noble descent, who had already attained some prominence as a soldier and statesman.
Friar Marcos was made a Provincial of the Franciscans, and the Franciscan Order en- couraged the expedition.
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EARLY SPANISH EXPLORATIONS.
In the meantime, Captain Melchior Diaz, with a company of cavalrymen, was sent from Culia- can to verify the reports of Friar Marcos, and the army, composed of 300 Spaniards and 700 Indians, was gathered at Compostela, and ad- vanced as far as Culiacan. Diaz went north as far as Chichiltecale (Little Red House), which was, as near as can be determined at present, about thirty miles west from the present town of Safford upon the edge of the Apache Reserva- tion, where he was detained on account of heavy snows in the mountains. From this point he sent word to Coronado that the road was very different from what Marcos de Niza had de- scribed it; that there was but little provisions ; that the country was very sparsely settled, and that from the point where he was it was thirty or forty days' travel through the wilderness to the Seven Cities.
This news had a discouraging effect upon Coronado and his forces, but the army advanced to Ures, also known as Corazones, or the Village of the Hearts. At this place they were short of provisions, and Coronado sent an expedition into the Sonora Valley to treat with the natives there, receiving a small supply of corn for their imme- diate use, and being advised that the country from there to Chichiltecale was barren of provi- sions of any kind except game, he left the main body of his army there, and went ahead with seventy horsemen and a few Indians to Chichilte- cale, from which point they crossed through the Apache Reservation to the first village of the Seven Cities.
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
The army was in poor condition, some of the Indians and slaves had died of starvation en route, and they were all in a famished condition, having only two bushels of corn left.
The first city reached was "a little, crowded village, looking as if it had been crumpled all up together. There are ranch houses in New Spain which make a better appearance at a distance. It is a village of about 200 warriors, is three and four stories high, with the houses small and having only a few rooms, and without a court- yard. One yard serves for each section. The people of the whole district had collected here, for there are seven villages in the province, and some of the others are even larger and stronger than Cibola. These folks waited for the army, drawn up by divisions in front of the village. When they refused to have peace on the terms the interpreters extended to them, but appeared defiant, the 'Santiago' (the warcry of the Spaniards) was given, and they were at once put to flight. The Spaniards then attacked the village, which was taken with not a little diffi- culty, since they held the narrow and crooked entrance."
The Indians fought with bows and arrows and from the tops of their houses they hurled stones upon the attacking party. During the attack Coronado was knocked down with a large stone, and his life was saved through the efforts of Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas and Hernando de Alvarado, who threw themselves above him and drew him away, receiving the blows of the stones, which were not few. In less than an hour, the
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EARLY SPANISH EXPLORATIONS.
village was captured and a plentiful supply of food, which was the thing they most desired, was discovered. After this the entire province was at peace.
Before the army left Culiacan, Hernando de Alarcon was sent in command of a naval expedi- tion to explore the coast and to co-operate with the land expedition. He proceeded from Aca- pulco up the Gulf of California, and discovered the Colorado River, following it up in boats quite a distance, some authorities say beyond the junction of the Gila with the Colorado. If he did this he makes no mention of the Gila River, and his explorations were up the river, where he had some difficulties with the natives, which set- tled the point that California was a peninsula and not an island. Waiting for some time, he sailed for Acapulco on his return.
Friar Marcos had been sent back from Galicia with Captain Diaz and Gallego because Coronado "did not think it safe for him to stay in Cibola, seeing that his report had turned out to be en- tirely false, because the kingdoms that he had told about had not been found, nor the populous cities, nor the wealth of gold, nor the precious stones which he had reported, nor the fine clothes, nor other things that had been proclaimed from the pulpits."
Melchior Diaz was sent to the Village of the Hearts, with instructions to send the balance of the army located there to Cibola, except a guard of about 80 men, with which he was to establish a military post and remain in command.
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
Juan Gallego was to go to New Spain with messages for the Viceroy, Friar Marcos accom- panying him.
Captain Diaz remained in charge of the town with his eighty men, the balance of the army joining Coronado at Cibola, setting out about the middle of September.
Melchior Diaz also had instructions to organ- ize an expedition and go to the coast to learn what had become of Alarcon and his naval ex- pedition. He took 25 of his most efficient men upon this expedition, leaving in command Diego de Alcaraz, who seems to have been unfitted for the place for, from the time he was placed in command, there was nothing but mutinies and strife. Diaz took guides and went north and west. After journeying about 150 leagues, he came to a province of tall and strong men like giants, who were naked and lived in large straw cabins built underground like smoke houses, with only the straw roof above ground, which they entered at one end and came out at the other. One cabin housed more than a hundred persons, young and old. They ate bread cooked in ashes, as big as the large two pound loaves of Castile. On account of the great cold they carried a great firebrand (tison) in the hand, when going from one place to another, with which they warmed the other hand and the body as well. On this account the large river was called the Rio del Tison (Firebrand River). At the point where they reached the river, it was half a league across. Here Diaz heard that there had been ships seen at a point three days down toward the
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EARLY SPANISH EXPLORATIONS.
sea, and when he reached the place, more than fifteen leagues up the river from the harbor, they found written on a tree: "Alarcon reached this place; there are letters at the foot of this tree." Diaz dug up the letters and learned from them how long Alarcon had waited for news from the army, and that he had gone back with the ships to New Spain, because he was unable to proceed further, since this sea was a bay, which was formed by the Isle of the Marquis, which is called California, and that California was not an island, but a point of the mainland forming the other side of the Gulf.
After going up the river some distance, Diaz started on his return to Corazones, and while on his return, was killed by a lance while driving away a dog which was worrying their sheep.
In the meantime, Coronado found out from the people of Cibola something of their neighbors, and was informed of a province of seven villages, the same as theirs, called "Tusayan," situated twenty-five leagues from Cibola. The villages were high, and the people warlike.
Don Pedro de Tovar, with seventeen horse- men and three or four foot soldiers, was sent out by Coronado to explore these villages, and en- tered the country quietly, arriving after night- fall and concealing themselves on the edge of the village. In the morning they were dis- covered by the natives, who came out to meet them with bows, and shields and wooden clubs, drawn up in lines without any confusion. They insisted that the Spaniards should not cross the lines which they had made towards their villages.
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HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
While they were talking, some of the Spaniards attempted to cross the lines, and, one of the natives, losing control of himself, struck a horse on the cheek of the bridle with his club, and, urged by Friar John, who accompanied them, the Spaniards gave the cry of "Santiago" and attacked so suddenly, that they ran down many of the Indians, and the others fled to the town in confusion, when the people of the town came out with presents, asking for peace. The captain established his headquarters near the village, and the natives came forward peacefully, saying they had come to give in the submission of the whole province, and wanted him to be friends with them and to accept the presents which they offered him which were some cotton cloth, not much, because they did not make it in that dis- trict. They also gave him dressed skins, corn meal, pine nuts, corn and birds of the country. Afterwards they presented some turquoises, but not many. The people of the whole district came together that day and submitted themselves, and they allowed him to enter their villages freely to visit, buy, sell and barter with them.
Like Cibola, this province was governed by an assembly of the oldest men. They had their governors and generals. Here Tovar obtained the information about a large river, and that several days down the river there were some people with very large bodies. Don Pedro de Tovar was not instructed to go further, so he re- turned from this expedition to Coronado, who dispatched Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas with about twelve companions to go and see the river.
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EARLY SPANISH EXPLORATIONS.
"He was well received when he reached Tusayan and was entertained by the natives, who gave him guides for his journey. They started from here loaded with provisions, for they had to go through a desert country before reaching the in- habited region, which the Indians said was more than twenty days' journey. After they had gone twenty days, they came to the banks of the river. It seemed to be more than 3 or 4 leagues in an air line across to the other bank of the stream which flowed between them. * They spent three days on this bank, looking for a pas- sage down to the river, which looked from above as if the water was 6 feet across, although the Indians said it was half a league wide. It was impossible to descend, for after these three days, Captain Melgosa and one Juan Galeras and an- other companion, who were the three lightest and most agile men, made an attempt to go down at the least difficult place and went down until those who were above them were unable to keep sight of them. They returned about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, not having succeeded in reaching the bottom on account of the great difficulties which they found, because what seemed to be easy from above was not so, but instead was very hard and difficult. They said that they had been down about a third of the way and that the river seemed very large from the place which they reached, and that from what they saw, they thought the Indians had given the width cor- rectly. Those who stayed above had estimated that some huge rocks on the sides of the cliffs seemed to be about as tall as a man, but those
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