--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Anderson, Joseph F. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 17 number: 5 published: 1914-03 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Joseph F. Anderson, "Discoveries on the Colorado—V," *Improvement Era* 17, no. 5 (March 1914): 462–469.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1705unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera1705unse start_page: 462 end_page: 469 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1914-03) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1705unse publication_year: 1914 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1914, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Discoveries on the Colorado—V Discoveries on the Colorado I5Y JOSEPH F. ANDERSON, OF THE UTAH ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPEDI- TION, 1913 V. — The Myth of the "Seven Cities of Cibola" — How It Led to the Discovery of New Mexico, Arizona and the Colorado River. Gold, gospel and adventure were the ideals of the Spanish explorers during the century following the discovery of America , by Columbus in 1492. Impelled by those ideals, the Spaniards of the sixteenth century did a very large part of the exploration of the New World, particularly in South America, Mexico, and the southern part of the United States. Within fifty years after the discovery of America, Spanish conquistadors had invaded the almost inaccessible canyon of the Colorado ; had discovered the deserted palaces of the Cliff Dwellers; had conquered, with cold steel and gunpowder, the bewildered natives of the fabled "Seven Cities of Cibola," and had "blazed" historic trails into the very heart of the great Southwest. Strangely enough, the Southwest was one of the first parts of the continent to be penetrated, and yet has remained for nearly four hundred years the least explored and most sparsely settled region in the United States. The vast Colorado River plateau is today the land that holds perhaps the most of mystery for the explorer in our country. Coronado made his conquest of the pueblo towns in Arizona and New Mexico as early as 1540. This was more than sixty Photo by Stockman, Utah Arch. Exped. A. C. JENSEN Member of the Utah Expedition, trying to decide whether to climb any higher. One must be a steeple- jack at climbing to reach some of the palaces in the cliffs. DISCOVERIES ON THE COLORADO 463 years before the first English settlement (Jamestown) was made on the eastern coast. Seventy-nine years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, Coronado's expedition had crossed the entire western border and had skirted the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains as far as what is now the central part of Kansas. Few romances are more fascinating- than the history of the exploration and conquest of the Southwest. The thrilling story names as chief heroes in the conquest such men as Cortez,&whose spectacular conquest of Mexico is familiar ;Alarcon, the discoverer of the Colorado River; Coronado, who penetrated the heart of the Southwest; Lopez Cardenas, the discoverer of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado; De Vaca, who was the first European to cross the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Then there were the old church Fathers who, with admirable sincerity, almost incredible endurance, and courage born of religious zeal, carried the crucifix and the Bible on their long marches afoot over the barren plains and rugged mountains to save the soul of the Indian. Celebrated among these are Fra Marcos, Fra Louis Cancer and Fra Juan de Padilla, who were early active in establishing missions in remote places in the Southwest. Two centuries later, we have two Franciscan monks, Escalante and Dominguez, penetrating far into the northern Rockies. These hardy missionaries entered Utah valley by way of Spanish Fork canyon and explored Utah Lake, naming Jordan River in their report, Rio Santa Anna. To the lake itself they gave the name Lake Timpanogas. Returning, they passed the sites where are now located the towns of Payson, Nephi, Fillmore, Beaver, St. George, and, crossing the Colorado River, found their way back to old Santa Fe. These men practically explored the heart of Utah. This was in 1776 — the time when the colonies along the Atlantic were signing a declaration of independence and waging Photo by the Author, Utah, Arch. Expcd. VIEW OF THE AUGUSTA NATURAL BRIDGE San Juan County, Utah; 222 feet high. 464 IMPROVEMENT ERA a defensive war, the issue of which remotely determined the present status of the great Southwest. An interesting series of events in the early sixteenth century preceded and led up to these exploits. After the conquest of Mexico by Cortez, Mexico City became the center of New Spain in North America. Until 1540, practically nothing- was known of the country north of Rio Sonora and Rio Grande. In 1524 Cortez reported to Emperor Charles V that California was a low sandy island. He doubtless referred to the peninsula of Lower California, which to early explorers seemed to be insular. An Italian map of 1544 connects Norway to America just north Photo by the Author, Utah Arch. Exped. SENTINELS OF THE COLORADO DESERT These great spires rise from five hundred to eight hundred feet above the high plateau on which they stand. It was by these monuments that Mitchell and Myrick were killed by the Navajos. of Florida, and makes China a part of the continent west of the Gulf of California. There is a statement on the map that all dry land of the world was one continuous body. On some early maps, the Colorado river is called the Ganges. In 1566 a map came out showing China and Zipango (Japan) apart from the American continent. The first news of a land to the north of Mexico reached Cortez in 1530, when it was reported that to the northwest was an island inhabited by Amazons, and that to the north and northeast were to be found races of giants. The conquest of the Amazons claimed first attention. What could be more coveted by the adventurous Spaniard than the glory of conquering a race of Amazons such as opposed the ancient Greeks ! The myth of the Amazons lured the expedition of the avaricious Guzman into disaster, and he returned to Mexico with a broken army after having discovered a few unimportant islands alone the Pacific coast of Mexico. DISCOVERIES ON THE COLORADO 465 The myth of the "Seven Cities of Cibola" led the first expedition into New Mexico and Arizona, in 1540. Having reaped such fabulous harvests of gold from their conquests of Peru and Mexico, the Spanish conquistadors were prepared to belive any stories of gold, and of strange cities and people, that might be told. One corroborative story after another was told in Mexico of great and powerful cities to the north. It was reported that the houses were four or five stories high and that the streets were filled with goldsmiths — that even the walls and doors of the houses were set with precious stones. The most credited of these reports was brought by Cabeca de Vaca upon his arrival in Mexico from his famous eight years march across the continent from Florida. De Vaca had been a member of the army under Narvaez, sent from Spain to conquer Florida. After six years of hardship and cruel indignities from the Indians, the army was depleted to the number of four men — three Spaniards and a negro. These led by De Vaca made their way through many adventures across the continent to Mexico — the first transcontinental trip to be made by Europeans since America's discovery. These men passed south of the New Mexican and Arizona pueblo towns, but they heard of them and made reports in which the truth was somewhat recklessly handled. , Upon hearing De Vaca's report, Coronado, who was then in charge of affairs in Mexico, sent the Franciscan friar Marcos with a lay brother on a journey of discovery. These were accompanied bv Estevanico, the negro, who had made the journey across the continent with De Vaca. Estevanico, gaily decorated with bells bright feathers and other ornaments, pompously assume! leadership and traveled several days ahead of Fra Marcos and the layman. Appealing to the superstitious fears of the natives, Photo by Stockman, Utah Arch. Exped. THE GRAND RIVER Near Grand Canyon, Southern Utah. Utah Expedition crossed the river this point. The near 466 IMPROVEMENT ERA who took him for a black god, Estevanico compelled many of the native men and women along the way to follow him to the "Seven Cities of Cibola." All walked, since the Indians had no beasts of burden, and it was a rule of the Franciscan order of monks that they should travel afoot in carrying salvation to the heathen. Eager for the distinction of making the discovery himself, and also greedy for the gold he expected to find, Estevanico preceded Fra Marcos by several days. At last he came in sight of the famed "Seven Cities." He sent one of the natives with a gourd covered with feathers and trinkets as a notice of his approach. This was unfortunate for him, for the medicine men of the pueblo pronounced it "bad medicine" — probably interpreting it to be an emblem of hostility. The chief sent the messenger back to Estevanico with the warning that if he attempted to enter the city he would be killed. Paying no attention to the warning, Estevanico rashly and bombastically within the Photo by the Author, Utah Arch. Exped. WELL-BUILT CLIFF DWELLING Sagi-ot-Sosi Canyon, Arizona. A distant view could marCned easily have given the Spanish explorer the impression walk nf fri^. tmi<*1->1/-i of a magnificent feudal castle. Wcuia Ul me pueDIO and demanded gold. The poor fellow was stripped of his decorations and held prisoner without food or drink. When his confidence began to leave him and he tried to escape, he was killed with most of the Indians whom he brought with him. The few who escaped returned to meet Fra Marcos with the sanguinary news. Photo by Frasler, Utah Arch. Exped. A TYPICAL ARIZONA DESERT SCENE The burros are loaded with materials gathered by the Utah Expedition from the cliff dwellings. Marcos fearfully advanced far enough to gain a view of the nearest pueblo in the distance, and then retreated, as he candidly admitted, "with more fear than victuals" to New Spain, where he reported to Coronado in Mexico. In his report he wrote : "It (the pueblo) has a very fine appearance for a village, the best that I have seen in these parts. The houses, as the Indians had told me, are all of stone, built in stories, and with flat roofs. Judging by what I could see from the height where I placed myself to observe it, the settlement is larger than the City of Mexico. * * * * It appears to me that this land is the best and largest of all those that have been discovered." This is a strong statement, coming from Fra Marcos, who had a reputation for veracity and who had been with Pizarro in his conquest of Peru, and had seen the splendid houses of the Incas and the Aztecs. Coronado's chronicler, Castenadas, describes the New Mexican and Arizona pueblos as being practically the same then as they are today— nearly four hundred years later. Thus were the semi- civilized pueblo dwellers of New Mexico and Arizona first discovered by the negro, Estevanico, who was the first member of an alien race to penetrate the land of the Pueblo and Cliff Dwellers. Today, after a lapse of centuries, the Zum Indians tell the picturesque legend of the killing of the "Black Mexican." The report of Fra Marcos resulted in the sending of an army of conquest northward, led by Coronado. Fra Marcos went along as guide, accompanied by other priests who were to convert the natives, bless the sick and repeat the Pater-Noster and the Ave Marie With a splendid army of cavalhers, mounted on 468 IMPROVEMENT ERA horses and wearing- helmets of hard bull-hide and coats of mail, Coronado advanced upon Cibola. The whole army was dazzled with the prospect of gold and glory. As they approached the first town of Cibola, a village of about two hundred houses, they were received with a volley of arrows. The Spaniards made an assault, and in an hour had scaled the walls and were in full possession of the town. These pueblo Indians had never before seen horses, guns, armor of steel, and crossbows. The Zuni legend of the "Black Mexican" recites that their ancients were so frightened of the "canes that spit fire, made thunder and hurled death (the Spanish guns) that their hands hung down by their sides like the Photo by Harper, Utah Arch. Exped. CLIFF ROOMS These seem to have been built for pigmies. Comparison' with the size of the author, who is seen standing between the doors, gives an idea of the size of the rooms. hands of women." It describes the horses as animals that ate up people. Coronado conquered one after another of the pueblo towns, and the friars vigorously set to work to substitute Christianity for the polytheism of the Zunis in the conquered territory. Coronado was disappointed in his conquest, for he found no gold and only a few turquoise. Thinking that the "Seven Cities" were near the coast, Coronado had sent Alarcon with a fleet up the Gulf of California. This led to the discovery of the Colorado River. Alarcon entered the DISCOVERIES ON THE COLORADO 469 turbid stream and sailed for some distance up the river, encountering many thrilling experiences before making a safe return. He had failed to meet Coronado. The Moqui pueblo villages in Arizona were discovered by a detachment of Coronado's army and reduced to submission with little difficulty. The leader of this band was Pedro de Tovar. De Tovar learned from the Moquis of a large river to the north running in a canyon so grand and deep as to defy description. Lopez de Cardenas was sent to find the river, with the result that he discovered the Grand Canyon of the Colorado at a point not definitely known. It mav have been in southern LTah near the ■ -Wu. ^^'"M^P X. -; ^'. . , :^W±j *4E*wi^F^^^mM MmTW^^' y^ , -^^HB mj&tfmrw, s Photo by Harper, Utah Arch. Exped. A TYPICAL CANYON TRAIL IN SOUTHERN UTAH The Utah Expedition on the road from Grayson to Bluff. confluence of the San Juan river. It is held by some to have been at the head of Bright Angel Trail. These discoveries made, a new myth led Coronado and his army on its ill-fated quest of the chimerical Ouivera, a place described by an Indian as a city of fabulous wealth far to the northeast. The Indian, whom the Spaniards called El Turko, because of his resemblance to a Turk, guided the army into what is now Kansas, where they found only a village of straw huts and none of the fabled wealth. It was a stratagem of the Pueblo Indians of Arizona and New Mexico to rid themselves of Spanish authority. They had hoped that the Spanish army would perish