The Marvellous Country; Or, Three Years in Arizona and New Mexico, the Apaches' Home (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1874 edition. Excerpt: ...some of his horses, as well as a number of his men, for want of food; and his army became greatly discouraged, and clamored loudly to return to Culican. But Coronado was made of no such stuff, and was bound to proceed. After the delay of a week at Red Town, he with his followers continued the march. In two weeks' time they had arrived at a point within twenty miles of Cibola. Here for the first time they met several natives of the kingdom; but they, becoming frightened, immediately took to flight, spreading the alarm throughout the country by means of great fires, which they kindled on the high mountains (a custom followed by the Indians of Arizona and New Mexico to this day). At this point Coronado seems to have tarried for a time, in order to enable Don Tristan d'Arcllano, with the remainder of his army, to overtake him. After waiting in vain for some weeks, ho at last determined to advance to the walls of Cibola without reinforcements. In his report to the Emperor Charles V., he says: "After we had passed thirty leagues of the most wicked way, we found fresh rivers and grass like that of Castile, and many nut-trees, whose leaf differs from that of Spain. And there was flax, but chiefly seen on the banks of a certain river, which, therefore, we called El Rio del Lino. At lost I did arrive at the walls of Cibola, and I sent a messenger thither, who was ilUtrcated and fired at." Coronado found that the people of the province were all assembled, and with "steady attitude" awaited his coming. Ho valiantly attacked the city, and after a desperate fight, in which he was struck by a large stone and unhorsed, and only saved from bodily harm by the strength of his armor and the devotcdness of his friends, Garcia Lopca de Cardenas and...