196 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 102 



in this province. They grow quantities of corn and other vegetables 

 and fruit ; the Indians are very reasonable people ; they wear cotton 

 clothing and antelope skins ; for jewelry they have turquoise neck- 

 laces. From this valley one travels 4 days through uninhabited country 

 to another large valley which is fertile and thickly settled ; this is 

 over 30 leagues long, and all the natives are intelligent and have 

 elaborate clothing; the chief town is named Abacus. This is all 

 under irrigation, and they raise quantities of corn and other cereals, 

 pumpkins, melons, and other vegetables. W. of this great valley 

 and province lies the Kingdom of Marata, which used to be large 

 and thickly settled ; now it has declined greatly, thanks to the serious 

 wars waged with the King of the Seven Cities of Cibola, where New 

 Mexico now is. The houses are built of stone and mortar. The 

 Kingdom of Tonteac is large, wealthy, and luxurious, with many 

 settlements ; the natives wear cotton clothing and antelope skins ; they 

 are a very intelligent people. 



552. There is another kingdom beyond those mentioned, named 

 Acus. It has large settlements ; the people wear clothing and are 

 civilized. In the large valley there was the hide of an animal half 

 as large again as our bulls ; it had a horn on its forehead ; evidently 

 it was a unicorn. From there it is 70 leagues to Cibola, uninhabited 

 territory but full of game — hares, like ours. Cibola, which today 

 is New Mexico, is situated in a plain by the side of a rounded eleva- 

 tion ; it is a sightly and attractive spot. The houses are two or three 

 stories high, with flat roofs. It was in this town that in 1539 they 

 killed Esteban the Negro, who had wandered with Alvar Nuiiez 

 de Vaca and his companions from Florida ; he died for the spread 

 of faith in Christ. 



Chapter VII 



Continuing the Subject of the Preceding Chapter, and of the 

 Favors Conferred upon the Marqueses de Villamayor, Descendants 

 of Francisco Vazquez de Coronado and Heirs of His House and 

 His Memory. 



553. At the good news brought by Father Fray Marcos de Niza, 

 Gov. Francisco Vazquez de Coronado (with great expenditure of his 

 own wealth, and with aid from the Viceroy Don Antonio de Men- 

 doza) brought together a brilliant army with many gentlemen and 

 men of valor; he enrolled 150 cavalry and 200 infantry, with much 

 war material, baggage, and many servants. He started out with this 

 army in the month of May, 1539, along the route of Father Fray 

 Marcos de Niza, and in 4 days' journey he reached the Rio de 



