The Grand Canyon of Arizona [87]
should allow him to remove the disgrace from his name. To get rid of him, the king sent him to the conquest of what is now Florida.
Expedition to Florida. It was a brave expedition that set forth on a bright day in June, 1527. Five ships and six hundred men made quite a showing, yet the Atlantic Ocean, aided by storms and winds, flouted and routed them, so that it was April of the following year before the main part of the expedition landed at Tampa Bay. Of the total destruction of the party, save Cabeza de Vaca and three or four others, all readers are fairly familiar, as they are likewise of De Vaca's wonderful eight years' journey across the continent.
Arrival at San Miguel. I have thus rapidly traced these events in the early history of the exploration of this continent, for it was the wanderings of Cabeza de Vaca and his final arrival at San Miguel in New Galicia that brought the Ensign Tovar into Arizona, and led to the discovery of the Grand Canyon.
Preliminary Reconnaissance. The Viceroy of New Spain at that time was Antonio de Mendoza, a wise, loyal and farseeing man. He was anxious to checkmate Cortes, and to show that others besides the great, though treacherous conqueror, could make discoveries of new lands, where gold was abundant, and where colonies could be established. Yet he would not be rash. Before sending out a large expedition to conquer the cities and fertile land Cabeza de Vaca had described, it would be wise and cautious to send a cool-headed man, one who was prepared for any hardship, one who had no lust for gold in his own soul, yet who could be relied upon to bring back a straight and true story to the viceroy as to whatever he might discover concerning De Vaca's stories. He should be accompanied by Stephen, the negro, who was one of De Vaca's companions; and thus he would be accurately guided to the places that had been described. The man chosen for this important reconnaissance was a devoted Franciscan, Fray Marcos, to whom I have devoted the next chapter of this book. Marcos went, saw, returned and reported, and upon his report the expedition of Coronado was equipped and fitted out.
Coronado's Army. The fervor with which the Spanish gallants joined Coronado's army of exploration is realized when one remembers that three hundred Spaniards as well as eight hundred Indians were gathered together in a few days. Coronado was a Spanish grandee, traveling at the time of De Vaca's arrival as a royal official visitor. In the words of Castaneda he was "a gentleman from Salamanca, who had married a lady in the City of Mexico, the daughter of Alonso de Estrada, the treasurer and at one time governor of Mexico, and the son (most people said) of his Catholic Majesty Don Ferdinand, and many state it as certain." And the same historian later on continues, in his simple and naive way, to tell us about Tovar and many others: "When the Viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza, saw what a noble company had come together, and the spirit and good will with which they had all presented themselves, knowing the worth of these men, he would have liked very well to make every one of them captain of an army; but as the whole number was small he could not do as he would have liked, and so he appointed the captains and officers because it seemed to him that if they were appointed by him, as he was so well obeyed and beloved, nobody, would find fault with his arrangements. After everybody had heard who the general was (Coronado), he made Don Pedro de Tovar ensign general, a young gentleman who was the son of Don Fernando de Tovar, the guardian and high steward of the Queen Dona Juana, our demented mistress--may she be in glory."
A Brilliant and Gallant Company. After the naming of their officers, Castaneda regrets that he has "forgotten the names of many good fellows. It would be well if I could name some of them, so that it might be clearly seen what cause I had for saying that they had on this expedition the most brilliant company ever collected in the Indies to go in search of new lands. But they were unfortunate
Expedition to Florida. It was a brave expedition that set forth on a bright day in June, 1527. Five ships and six hundred men made quite a showing, yet the Atlantic Ocean, aided by storms and winds, flouted and routed them, so that it was April of the following year before the main part of the expedition landed at Tampa Bay. Of the total destruction of the party, save Cabeza de Vaca and three or four others, all readers are fairly familiar, as they are likewise of De Vaca's wonderful eight years' journey across the continent.
Arrival at San Miguel. I have thus rapidly traced these events in the early history of the exploration of this continent, for it was the wanderings of Cabeza de Vaca and his final arrival at San Miguel in New Galicia that brought the Ensign Tovar into Arizona, and led to the discovery of the Grand Canyon.
Preliminary Reconnaissance. The Viceroy of New Spain at that time was Antonio de Mendoza, a wise, loyal and farseeing man. He was anxious to checkmate Cortes, and to show that others besides the great, though treacherous conqueror, could make discoveries of new lands, where gold was abundant, and where colonies could be established. Yet he would not be rash. Before sending out a large expedition to conquer the cities and fertile land Cabeza de Vaca had described, it would be wise and cautious to send a cool-headed man, one who was prepared for any hardship, one who had no lust for gold in his own soul, yet who could be relied upon to bring back a straight and true story to the viceroy as to whatever he might discover concerning De Vaca's stories. He should be accompanied by Stephen, the negro, who was one of De Vaca's companions; and thus he would be accurately guided to the places that had been described. The man chosen for this important reconnaissance was a devoted Franciscan, Fray Marcos, to whom I have devoted the next chapter of this book. Marcos went, saw, returned and reported, and upon his report the expedition of Coronado was equipped and fitted out.
Coronado's Army. The fervor with which the Spanish gallants joined Coronado's army of exploration is realized when one remembers that three hundred Spaniards as well as eight hundred Indians were gathered together in a few days. Coronado was a Spanish grandee, traveling at the time of De Vaca's arrival as a royal official visitor. In the words of Castaneda he was "a gentleman from Salamanca, who had married a lady in the City of Mexico, the daughter of Alonso de Estrada, the treasurer and at one time governor of Mexico, and the son (most people said) of his Catholic Majesty Don Ferdinand, and many state it as certain." And the same historian later on continues, in his simple and naive way, to tell us about Tovar and many others: "When the Viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza, saw what a noble company had come together, and the spirit and good will with which they had all presented themselves, knowing the worth of these men, he would have liked very well to make every one of them captain of an army; but as the whole number was small he could not do as he would have liked, and so he appointed the captains and officers because it seemed to him that if they were appointed by him, as he was so well obeyed and beloved, nobody, would find fault with his arrangements. After everybody had heard who the general was (Coronado), he made Don Pedro de Tovar ensign general, a young gentleman who was the son of Don Fernando de Tovar, the guardian and high steward of the Queen Dona Juana, our demented mistress--may she be in glory."
A Brilliant and Gallant Company. After the naming of their officers, Castaneda regrets that he has "forgotten the names of many good fellows. It would be well if I could name some of them, so that it might be clearly seen what cause I had for saying that they had on this expedition the most brilliant company ever collected in the Indies to go in search of new lands. But they were unfortunate