Papers of the Archaeological Institute of America (Volume 5) (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: III. SPANISH EFFORTS TO PENETRATE TO THE NORTH OF SINALOA, BETWEEN THE YEARS 1536 AND 1539. THE reports of Cabeza de Vaca, as far as they circulated, created a profound impression. We must remember, that of such reports only two are so far known to us, both written after Cabeza de Vaca had left Mexico for the mother country.1 It is certain, however, that another relation of the adventures and sufferings of the four wanderers had already been made by them at Culiacan, and forwarded to the Viceroy from that place; but we do not know what it contains, unless Herrera has derived from it portions of his information.2 At all events, the arrival of the four castaways and the tale of their marvellous deeds remained forever grafted upon the public mind; and although their statements were far from being detailed or very definite, they sufficed to direct attention to the regions they had traversed, and to those of which they had heard. The right to discover and explore was not as free then as it was at the time when Anglo-American pioneers began to reconnoitre the Great West.3 Besides, New Spain had onlya small Spanish population, and the means at the disposal of that population were limited, as was natural on account of its recent establishment. The rich mines, those which subsequently laid the foundations for enormous individual wealth, were not yet discovered,1 and nothing of importance could be attempted without both the sanction and the material assistance of the Crown and its highest representatives. When, therefore, the tales of Cabeza de Vaca became known, they excited a lively desire to explore the North, but nobody felt safe to attempt it unless patronized by the government. 1 His book, Naufragios, and the joint report in Oviedo. 2 Herrera, Historia General (Decada v...