346 THE CORONADO EXPEDITION, 1.540-1512 [eib.ahn.M 



head of a considerable force. He was sent to subdue and supersede 

 the conqueror of Mexico, but when they met, Cortes quickly proved 

 that he was a better general than his opponent, and a skillful politician 

 as well. Narvaez was deserted by his soldiers and became a prisoner 

 in the City of Mexico, where he was detained during the two years 

 which followed. Cortes was at the height of his power, and Narvaez 

 must have felt a longing to rival the successes of the conqueror, who 

 had won the wealth of the Mexican empire. After Cortes resumed 

 his dutiful obedience to the Spauish crown, friends at home obtained 

 a royal order which effected the release of Xarvaez, who returned to 

 Spain at the earliest opportunity. Almost as soon as he had estab- 

 lished himself anew in the favor of the court, he petitioned the King 

 for a license which should permit him to conduct explorations in the 

 New World. After some delay, the desired patent was granted, ft 

 authorized Xarvaez to explore, conquer, and colonize the country 

 between Florida and the Rio de Palmas, a grant comprising all that 

 portion of North America bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, which is 

 now included within the limits of the United States. Preparations 

 were at once begun for the complete organization of an expedition suit- 

 able to the extent of this territory and to the power and dignity of its 

 governor. 



On June 17, 1527, Xarvaez, governor of Florida, bio de Palmas and 

 Espiritu Santo — the Rio Grande and the Mississippi on our modern 

 maps — sailed from Spain. He went first to Cuba, where he refitted his 

 fleet and replaced one vessel which had been lost in a hurricane during 

 the voyage. When everything was ready to start for the unexplored 

 mainland, he ordered the pilots to conduct his fleet to the western limits 

 of his jurisdiction — our Texas. They landed him, April 15, 1528, on 

 the coast of the present Florida, at a bay which the Spaniards called 

 Bahia de la Cruz, and which the map of Sebastian Cabot enables us to 

 identify with Apalache bay. The pilots knew that a storm had driven 

 them out of their course toward the east, but they could not calculate 

 on the strong current of the gulf stream. They assured the commander 

 that he was not far from the Rio de Palmas, the desired destination, and 

 .so he landed his force of 50 horses and 300 men — just half the number 

 of the soldiers, mechanics, laborers, and priests who had started with 

 him from Spain ten months before. He sent one of his vessels back to 

 Cuba for recruits, and ordered the remaining three to sail along the 

 coast toward the west and to wait lor the army at the fine harbor of 

 Panuco, which was reported to be near the mouth of Palmas river. The 

 fate of these vessels is not known. 



Xarvaez, having completed these arrangements, made ready to lead 

 his army overland to Panuco. The march began April 19. For awhile, 

 the Spaniards took a northerly direction, and then they tinned toward 

 the west. Progress was slow, for the men knew nothing of the country, 

 and the forests and morasses presented many difficulties to the soldiers 



