THE ACOMA INDIANS 



By Leslie A. White 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ACOMA 



When Fray Marcos de Niza returned to Mexico from Zuni in 1539 

 he told, among many other things, of having heard of a "Kingdom of 

 Hacus" which lay to the east of Zivola (Cibola). This is the first 

 reference to Acoma. 



Coronado found himself at Zuni (Cibola) the following year (1540). 

 He dispatched Captain Alvarado eastward on a journey of exploration. 



" Captain Alvarado started on this journey, and in five days reached 

 a village which was on a rock called Acuco, having a population of 

 about 200 men. These people were robbers, feared by the whole 

 country round about. The village was very strong, because it was 

 upon a rock out of reach, having steep sides in every direction, and 

 so high that it was a very good musket that could throw a ball as high. 

 There was only one entrance by a stairway built by hand, which 

 began at the top of a slope which is around the foot of the rock. There 

 was a broad stairway for about 200 steps, then a stretch of about 100 

 narrower steps, and at the top they had to go up about three times as 

 high as a man by means of holes in the rock, in which they put the 

 points of their feet, holding on at the same time by their hands. 

 There was a wall of large and small stones at the top, which they could 

 roll down without showing themselves, so that no army could possibly 

 be strong enough to capture the village. On the top they had room 

 to sow and store a large amount of corn and cisterns to collect snow 

 and water. 



"These people came down to the plain to fight and would not listen 

 to any arguments. They drew lines on the ground and determined 

 to prevent our men from crossing these, but when they saw that 

 they would have to fight they offered to make peace before any harm 

 had been done. They went through their forms of making peace, 

 which is to touch the horses and take their sweat and rub themselves 

 with it, and to make crosses with the fingers of the hands. But to 

 make the most secure peace they put their hands across each other, 

 and they keep this peace inviolably. They made a present of a large 

 number of (turkey) cocks with very big wattles, much bread, tanned 

 deerskins, pine (pinon) nuts, flour (corn meal), and com." (From 

 Winship, The Coronado E.xpedition, pp. 490-491, Relacion of Cas- 

 taneda.) 



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