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Show 114 LEADING FACTS OF NEW MEXICAN HISTORY THE giving them to eat of what they had.d. If they did so, the Christi istian would do them no harm but be their friends. They ‘promised to a as we ordered, and the captain gave them blankets , treating them handsomely, and they went away, taking along the two captives that had acted as our messengers. This took place in the presence of a oe (notary) and of a great many witnesses. ‘*As soon as the Indians had left for their homes and th e peopl of that province got news of what had taken place with wih tet being friends of the Christians, came to see us, bringing beads and ene i We ordered them to build churches and put crosses in them, which, until then, they had not done. We also sent for the ae of the chiefs to be baptized, and then the captain pledged — before God not to make any raid, or allow any to be made. or Slaves captured from the people and in the country we had set at ea oe This vow he promised to keep so long until His Majesty - fe . ee Som > Guzman, or the Viceroy, in his name nia ep ain something else bett er adapted pane ed t to the service ervi of God | oo. baptizing HH ag we left for the village of San Miguel re, our arrival, Indians came and told how man eople 7 tu ‘og down from the mountains settling the rilndinat buitbeleets 2 o ae oe In short, complying with what we em word to do. Day after d how all was being done and completed. a ‘Fifteen days aft , : lans who had how : er our arrival Alcaraz in with the Christ- their houses : giving them of what they they slept the night there. Sayings of the Indians, who sai no harm came be done * i a to them and Amazed at these chan fe ? had ig) i and t th oniccd an mercy, grant that in the days of Your Majesty, and sg Sway these people become willingly and sinigh cerely —. created and redeemed them. pe We Galiors eon it about, as it will not hak ali oP atin Majesty is destined to bring restated en leagues did we travel on land, and by sea in ns tree on beselic from captivity ; untiringly did SM either sacrific we walk across the land, but nowhere did we meet During all that time we crossed from one ocean to th soho sera Oeid cay % ; other, and from what we very carefully ascertained y de, Irom one coast to the other and across the greatest FIRST SPANISH EXPLORERS 115 width, two hundred leagues.’*4. We heard that on the shores of the South great Sea there are pearls and wealth, and that the richest and best is near there. ‘“ At the village of San Miguel we remained until after the fifteenth of May,??? because from there to the town of Compostella, where the Governor Nufo de Guzman resided, there are one hundred leagues of deserted country, threatened by hostiles, and we had to take an escort along. There went with us twenty horsemen, accompanying us as many as forty leagues; afterwards we had with us six Christians, who escorted five hundred Indian captives. When we reached Compostella, the Governor received us very well, giving us of what he had, for us to dress in; but for many days I could bear no clothing, nor could we sleep, except on the bare floor. Ten or twelve days later we left for Mexico. On the whole trip we were well treated by the Christians; many came to see us on the road, praising God for having delivered us from so many dangers. We reached Mexico on Sunday, the day before the vespers of Saint James,'? and were well received by the Viceroy and the Marquis of the Valley,?** who presented us with clothing, offering all they had. On the day of Saint James there was a festival, with a bullfight and tournament.”’ In his report to the king, Alvar Nuiiez Cabeza de Vaca gives smal] hope of the discovery of gold or precious stones, magnificent kingdoms or cities in the far-distant lands through which he had traveled, and yet its relation to the court served to inflame the ambitions and greed of the Spaniards, who were fully alive to the possibilities of conquest and glory in the New World. Alvar Nufiez Cabeza de Vaca sought to obtain from his royal master the governorship of Florida, but, notwithstanding the stories of his wanderings and the excellent recommendations which he brought from the viceroy, Mendoza, he was unsuccessful. This had been given to Hernando de Soto three months before. During the three years subsequent to his return to Spain, little is known of the life or work of Alvar Nufiez Cabeza de Vaca. In the year 1540, the news came to Spain that Ayolas, commander of a colony in South America, had been slain by the natives. The colonists sent urgent requests to the home government for assistance, and Cabeza de Vaca "121 Evidently a mis-print; ‘‘two thousand leagues. ’’ 122 1536. 123 July 25, 124 Hernando 1536. Cortés. the Buckingham Smith translation (ed. 1871) says |