OCR Text |
Show 146 LEADING FACTS OF NEW MEXICAN HISTORY JOURNEY and importance of the information he desired to communicate.1* If nothing of consequence was discovered during his journey, the negro was instructed to send back a cross, the size of a hand; if any great matter should be ascertained, the cross returned was to be two handfuls in length, and if the country he was exploring was greater or better than New Spain, a great cross should be returned.1™ Within four days after leaving the friar, the Indian messengers returned bearing a cross as large as a man and notifying the friar 153 Davis, W. W. H., The Spanish Conquest of New Mexi ; note 2, says: ‘‘The route taken by Niza had Sere can be cot atthe greater accuracy than that of Vaca and his companions. They travelled nearly parallel with the Gulf of California, until they arrived near the head of it when they changed direction to the northeast, crossed the river Gila, and traversed the extensive stretch of barren country that lies to the north stream. This region is almost a desert waste, with a light, sandy soil, of that covered for se part — growth of stunted pine trees and with little water. 2 18 cha . the opinion of some who have examined the subj Niza was further inland than I have located it, among ahha of eee Whipple of the U. 8. Topographical Engineers, and Mr. Bartlett It is supyan that the ‘desert of four days’ journey’ first crossed by Niza, lies > pea the Rio Yaqui and Rio Sonora. Thence he passed through the valley ilosoecip ea continued im @ Course nearly north. The town of Vapupa, ‘of oa is supposed to have been identical with Magdalena on the eI ppg _ _He is thought to have passed near the present site of aoe Fa has an the Territory of Arizona, and continuing north struck ola cen. rr i: e valley of which he travelled five days’ journey; he then d so continued on to the Upon reflecalley of the Gila, but ul, as that would have e ee 154 2 eet Voyages, ete., vol. iii, p. 70: y and if it were ate ag a y heat oe o a after dinner,’? ) 2 ego nigh matter, one «To wit; that if it were ee a white cross of one handfull long}; of two handfulls long. And if it were a $s than Nueva Espana, hee should send mee a greate negro) Stephan departed from me on Passion Sunday, Contributions, pi'228)bayas “He showea them the sign the :elge, the: Indian was, at: once. sitaek by used token. by ‘eatThe. er“ag Pre, 18 M8an everywhere original symbol of the American aborigines. It is Stars are partic = gg a star, and the crosses of the morning and evening least, by hie Ret: 9 t distinguished, among the Pueblos of New Mexico, at of crossing himself i ain crucifix which the friar carried, and his manner in imitating meg but they caer ese o and the natives; and in manufacturing not only small did they crosses for see no harm themselves, own primitive toke ' Profitable, as a reinforcement of the charm which their stances ni © sa token (thatof 6 the cross was Supposed: to possess under certain circum- and friendly wai hereafter remained as a manifestation of peace TO CIBOLA 147 to come to him at once, as he had found people who gave him information of the ‘‘greatest thing in the world.’’ One of the people from whom the negro had obtained this information was sent back to the friar to whom he related that it was ‘‘thirty days’ journey’’ from the town where the negro then was to the first city of the province of Cibola; that there were seven great cities in the first provinee, all under the rule of one lord, and that the houses were constructed of stone and lime, the smallest being of one story with a flat roof, and others of two and three stories, while the house of the lord contained four stories, all connected in order; that the portals of these houses were decorated with turquoises which were abundant; that the inhabitants were very well dressed, as well those of the seven cities as the cities of the province further on, each of which, the friar was informed, was much greater than those of the seven cities. Friar Marcos did not immediately take up his journey to overtake Estevan, but awaited the return of his messengers to the coast, and, on the second day after Easter, he set out to overtake the negro. He ascended the valley of the Sonora,'® as it is believed, through a beautiful valley hemmed in by mountains, at times passing through great canyons whose walls towered to the sky. ‘‘Here I raised two crosses and took possession,’’ says the friar, ‘‘for it appeared to me suitable from here on to perform acts of possession.’’ Later on he met with the Opatas,’** from whom he secured much 155 Bandelier, A. F., Contributions, p. 133; Bartlett, Personal Narratwe, 278. 156 Bandelier, A. F., Final Report, part i, pp. 114, 117: ‘* From the Opatas the Friar learned of the three distant kingdoms of Marata, Acus and Totonteac. Marata is Ma-tya-ta, a cluster of pueblos which at that time had been but recently abandoned, lying between Zufi and Acoma. Acus is the pueblo of Acoma, and Totonteae was the Moqui in northeastern Arizona. ‘‘The Opatas, a formerly very important group of Indians, have become so ‘hispanicised’ as to have almost forgotten their native tongue. They are also known by the name of Sonora, Teguima and Hures. They lived in the State of Sonora, Mexico, and held sway over fully one-fourth of that state. O-Pa-Ta seems to be a Pima word, a corruption of Oop, enemy, and Ootampeople, that is, people of our own stock with whom we are at war. The Opata p. language, as well known, is closely allied to the Pima; both are but members of one family. The bulk of the Opatas were settled in the valley of the Sonora river, from north of Bacuachi river as far south as Ures. West of this channel, the water supply grows scant and scantier, towards the arid coast of the Gulf of California. Indian settlements, therefore, became less numerous, |