(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Indians 201: The Spanish search for the mythical cities of Cibola [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-09 American Indians were not an isolated people: vast trading networks spread out throughout the continent. Not only did material goods flow through these networks, but also ideas and news. Indian people knew about the Spanish invaders long before they encountered their first Spaniard. They heard the stories of Spanish greed, arrogance, and cruelty and knew that when the Spanish came to their village, it was best to encourage them to move on quickly. It was not uncommon for fanciful, sometimes outlandish, stories about the “people over there” (meaning far away) to be told to the gullible Spanish who would believe almost any tale. Thus, stories were embellished to motivate the Spanish to continue their journeys. Diego de Guzmán In 1533 Diego de Guzmán led an expedition in the present-day state of Sonora searching for the fabled Cities of Cibola. Among the native peoples he encountered were the Yaqui whose chief drew a line in the ground and told the Spaniards not to cross it. The Spanish responded with a cavalry charge and gunfire. While they dispersed the Yaqui, several Spanish and their horses were seriously wounded. The Spanish spent several weeks in the area, scouting and looking for signs of the Seven Cities. They reported that the area was the most populous which they had encountered, and they saw many planted fields. They failed to find any cities of gold. Fray Marcos de Niza Six years later, Fray Marcos de Niza (1495-1558), a Franciscan (i.e. a member of the Catholic Franciscan order) adept in native languages, received permission to explore the southwest and to determine if the fabled riches actually existed. Esteván, the black slave who had been with Alvar Núnez Cabeza de Vaca’s trek across Texas, accompanied him. Near the present-day city of Hermosilla in Sonora, Mexico, the expedition encountered some Pima Bajo who gave them a warm reception and much food. They told the Franciscan of a valley to the north with many large settlements where the people wore cotton (probably the Pima and Opata). In reference to their mica pendants and their pottery made from mica-bearing clay, Fray Marcos de Niza assumed that the Indians were telling him about people to the north who had pendants and vessels made of gold and silver. In their chapter in North American Exploration. Volume 1: A New World Disclosed, Dennis Reinhartz and Oakah Jones (write: “Many of these stories probably contained grains of truth, but by this time the Indians, especially those of northern Mexico, had learned to tell the Spanish invaders whatever they wanted to hear.” Having heard the stories of Spanish brutality, Indian people wanted them to move on out of their territory. In addition, the Spanish tended to hear only that which reinforced their pre-conceived stereotypes. While at a Pima village on the Rio Magdalena in Sonora, Mexico, Fray Marcos was told about three other kingdoms: Marata, Acus, and Totonteac. The Pima went to these three kingdoms and to Cibola to trade for turquoise, buffalo hides, and other things. Fray Marcos continued his journey north, into Arizona, encountering many settlements. Along the Salt River, he noted that there were villages every half or quarter league. The irrigated fields reminded him of gardens. He continued to hear stories about Cibola and about Marata. He was told that Marata had been reduced because of warfare with Cibola, but still remained independent. The kingdom of Totoneac (probably the Hohokam) was described to him as the largest of the kingdoms and that its people wore clothing of wool which was obtained from wild sheep. After hearing the stories about what they believed to be the Seven Cities of Cibola, Fray Marcos sent Esteván with an advance party to investigate. The Spanish followed a well-established trading route that connected northern Mexico with the American Southwest. Esteván reached as far north as Zuñi Pueblo (in New Mexico) where he was killed. As Fray Marcos continued his journey toward Cibola, he noted that he was traveling on a wide and well-used road that was lined with many shacks used by the people who journeyed to Cibola. Outside of Zuñi, he was told that Esteván had been killed. His Indian escorts refused to travel farther, so Fray Marcos turned back. In his book Who Was Who in Native American History: Indians and Non-Indians From Early Contacts Through 1900, Carl Waldman writes: “Niza viewed the pueblos from a distance and noted how they appeared to glisten like gold in the sun. The glistening effect was probably due to the reflections of the ornamental turquoise the Zunis used to decorate their huts. In any case, Niza returned to Mexico and reported finding Cibola.” Before leaving, however, he took possession of Cibola for the Spanish king by erecting a pile of stones with a small cross on top. In his chapter on Zuni prehistory in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 9: Southwest, Richard Woodbury writes: “Fray Marcus glimpsed Hawikuh from a distant mesa and returned south, but his report was sufficient reason for a large-scale exploring expedition the next year under Francisco Vásquez de Coronado.” While Fray Marcos never reached Zuñi, he still described it as being bigger than Mexico City. Francisco Vásquez de Coronado The next Spanish expeditions searching for Cibola began in 1540. Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510-1554) began his journey north from Mexico seeking the Seven Cities of Cibola described by Fray Marcos. He took with him a force of 330 Spaniards (most of whom were mounted soldiers) and 1,000 native allies. The expedition starts with 552 horses and 2 mares. The seven cities proved to be six Zuñi villages: Hawiku, Kianawa, Kwakina, Halona, Matsaki, and Kiakima. While Coronado marveled at the Zuñi houses, he commented: “I do not think that they have the judgment and intelligence needed to be able to build these houses in the way in which they are built, for most of them are entirely naked.” The Spanish arrived at Hawiku at the culmination of the summer solstice ceremony. The Zuñi priests drew a line of white cornmeal across the ground to inform the Spanish that they were not to enter the village. The Spanish ignored the warning. The Zuñi met the Spanish explorers with hostility, attacking them before they were in sight of Hawiku. Using signal fires, the Zuñi signaled the Spanish presence to others in the region. The Spanish, needing food desperately, attacked the village and after fierce fighting managed to capture it. Dennis Reinhartz and Oakah Jones report: “After a fierce hour-long battle, in which Coronado, marked as the leader by the Indian defenders, sustained several wounds, the pueblo and its valuable food stores fell to the Spanish.” The Zuñi fled to their stronghold on Thunder Mountain. Coronado had originally planned to rendezvous with a second Spanish expedition which was coming by water to the Colorado River area. Coronado sent an expedition under the command of Captain Pedro de Tovar to make contact with the Hopi who had a tradition of trading with the Indian nations of the Colorado River area. The Hopi met the Spaniards at the town of Kawaika-a with coldness. The Hopi were in battle formation and, like the Zuni, drew a line on the ground with sacred corn pollen telling the Spaniards not to cross it. There was a short battle that was won by the Spaniards. Following reports of a large river to the west of the Hopi, the Spanish sent a dozen riders to find the Colorado River. The Spanish reached the Grand Canyon. Traveling east, the Spanish forces encountered the pueblo of Acoma. This town, built on top of a mesa, was described as a fortress. The Spanish refer to the pueblo as Acuco. According to Alvarado: “These people were robbers, feared by the whole country round about. The village was very strong because it was up on a rock out of reach, having steep steps in every direction.” Alvarado described the entry as having a broad stairway with 200 steps, then a series of 100 narrower steps, and finally a climb with handholds. According to Alvarado: “There was a wall of large and small stones at the top, which they could roll down without showing themselves, so that no army could possibly be strong enough to capture the village. On tope they had room to sow and store a large amount of corn, and cisterns to collect snow and water.” In her chapter on Acoma Pueblo in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 9: Southwest, Velma Garcia-Mason describes Acoma in 1540: “…a village of about 200 men, situated on an almost inaccessible mesa about 400 feet high, with cisterns at the summit, evidence of woven cotton, deerskin, buffalo-hide garments, corn, domesticated turkeys and turquoise jewelry.” After leaving Acoma, the Spanish crossed the Rio Grande to Tiguex where they were cordially received. From here they were taken to Pecos (which the Spanish call Cicúye), a town of 2,000 people that was an important trading center with the Indians of the Great Plains. In his book Intruders Within: Pueblo Resistance to Spanish Rule and the Revolt of 1680, Louis Baldwin describes Pecos this way: “Pecos was an impressive town, a strong fortress that had long withstood the persistent raids of the nomadic hunters of the plains. In these battles, slaves were taken occasionally on both sides.” During the winter, however, the Spanish disrespected their hosts, demanding more food, and warm garments. They also raped some of the Indian women. As a result, the Tiguex assumed an aggressive attitude. The Tiguex captured a number of Spanish horses and killed them, which resulted in a Spanish attack on the town in which the Spanish gave no quarter. Even though some Indians attempted to surrender, giving the sign of the cross, they were burned at the stake. In their conquest of Pecos, the Spanish acquired two Indian “slaves” – men who had been captured in battle by the warriors from Pecos. One of these was an Indian called “the Turk” who described the country of Quivira which lay to the northeast and was said to be so filled with gold that even common table service was made of gold and silver. The Turk was one of history’s most accomplished liars. He was a Pawnee or Wichita trader, fluent in several languages, whose primary goal was to get home. Once he understood what the Spanish desired, he spun a story filled with gold and silver to entice them to take him closer to his home. In the spring, they set out to find Quivira. In her book Sun Father’s Way: The Kiva Murals of Kuaua, Bertha P. Dutton writes: “The withdrawal of the Spanish invaders must have been cause for much relief among the Tiwas; some of their pueblos were reoccupied.” As a guide, the Spanish took with them the Turk (they called him this because of his turban-like Pawnee headgear). Also travelling with them was a Wichita captive named Sopete. The expedition got lost on the Great Plains, and they became the first Europeans to encounter the great herds of buffalo. They were found by Lipan Apaches who told them of other settlements in the area. With regard to the Apache, Pedro de Castañeda de Nájera described their sign language: “These people are so skillful in the use of signs that it seemed as if they spoke. They made everything so clear that an interpreter was not necessary.” In his sketch of the Eastern Apache in the Encyclopedia of North American Indians, Henry Dobyns reports: “These Plains Apache killed bison, deer, and antelope during communal hunts. They reckoned descent through women; men avoided their mothers-in-law.” Next, they came in contact with some Caddo buffalo hunters who they called Teyas. Finally, they arrived at Quivira where they found only the thatched beehive huts of the Kansa. In their chapter in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 13, Part 1: Plains, Raymond DeMallie and John Ewers report: “Brief as were their acquaintance with these Indians, the transient Spanish explorers reported a number of basic traits among the nomadic hunters—their skill in killing buffalo with bows and arrows, and in dressing hides; their use of buffalo for food, of buffalo hides for clothing and for covering their portable dwellings, of buffalo sinew for thread, bladders for water vessels, bones for awls, and dried dung for fuel. They also wrote of Indian use of dogs for packing and to drag lodge poles when moving camp, of their use of a sign language, their worship of the sun, and their trade with both the eastern Pueblos and the horticultural tribes of the Plains.” When Coronado’s expedition returned to New Mexico from their journey onto the Great Plains, they attacked a rebellious Tiguex mountain stronghold. The Spanish lost 17 soldiers, mostly to poisoned arrows. In his 1910 book Documentary History of the Rio Grande Pueblos of New Mexico, Adolph Bandelier writes: “The result of Coronado’s failure was so discouraging, and the reports on the country had been so unfavorable that for nearly forty years no further attempt was made to reach the North from New Spain.” Hernando de Alarcón There was, however, another Spanish expedition in 1540 led by Hernando de Alarcón who sailed up the Gulf of California looking for the great river that would take him to Cibola. He found a river whose waters were reddish and so he named it the Colorado. The Spanish went upstream in two launches and met the Cocopa. A peaceful trading relationship was established. The Cocopa village had a population of more than 1,000. The Spanish found some indications of tuberculosis among the Indians. Hernando de Alarcón asked an Indian on the lower Colorado River to write down on a chart as much as he knew about the river and the people who lived near it. According to English geographer G. Malcolm Lewis, in his chapter in North American Exploration. Volume 1: A New World Disclosed: “This was one of the earliest accounts of native North Americans making maps in order to communicate geographical intelligence to Europeans.” With regard to contact with the Indians, Dennis Reinhartz and Oakah Jones report: “On the way up the river, they often met with stiff resistance from Indians who came to see Alarcón as a sorcerer because he claimed to have been sent by the Sun and because of his demonstrations of the use of gunpowder.” At a site near present-day Yuma, Alarcón erected a large cross and left letters for Coronado. The two Spanish expeditions failed to meet. Cibola The Spanish expeditions failed to find the gold and silver which were described in their fantasies. In their wake they left a legacy of death, destruction, and brutality. While the failure of these expeditions should have ended the belief in fabled cities and lost empires, the stories continued with believers wanting them to be real. Reality does not seem to be convincing to those who fervently want to believe. Nearly five centuries later there are still those who are convinced that these cities exist. Indians 101/201 Twice each week—on Tuesdays and Thursdays—this series explores different American Indian topics. Indians 201 is an expansion/revision of an earlier essay. More from this series: Indians 101: The Zuni and the Spanish in the 16th Century Indians 201: Florida Indians and the Spanish, 1513 to 1527 Indians 101: Acoma Pueblo and the Spanish, 1539-1599 Indians 101: Disease and Indians in the 16th Century Indians 101: 16th Spanish Religious Views of Indians Indians 101: American Indians and the Spanish 450 years ago, 1573 Indians 101: The Spanish and the Southeastern Indian nations 500 years ago, 1521 Indians 201: The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 Indians 101: The Timucua and the Spanish [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/9/2151413/-Indians-201-The-Spanish-search-for-the-mythical-cities-of-Cibola Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/