winship] DEATH OF SAMANIEGO 383 



ported one at a time. At Chiametla tbeie was another delay. Here 

 the army camped in the remains of a village which Nufio de Guzman 

 had established. The settlers had been driven away by a pestilence 

 caught from the Indians, and by the fierce onslaught of the natives 

 who came down upon them from the surrounding mountains. The food 

 supply of Coronado's force was beginning to fail, and as the tribes here- 

 about were still in rebellion, it became necessary to send a force into 

 the mountains to obtain provisions. The army master, Sainaniego, who 

 had been warden of one of the royal fortresses,' commanded the forag- 

 ing party. The men found themselves buried in the thick underbrush 

 as soon as they passed beyond the limits of the clearing. One of the 

 soldiers inadvertently, but none the less in disregard of strict orders, 

 became separated from the main party, and the Indians, who were no- 

 where to be seen, at once attacked him. In reply to his cries, the watch- 

 ful commander hastened to his assistance. The Indians who had tried 

 to seize him suddenly disappeared. When everything seemed to be 

 safe, Sainaniego raised his visor, and as he did so an arrow from among 

 the bushes pierced his eye, passing through the skull. The death of 

 Samaniego was a severe loss to the expedition. Brave and skillful, he 

 was beloved by all who were with him or under him. Ho was buried 

 in the little chapel of the deserted village. The army postponed its de- 

 parture long enough to capture several natives of the district, whose 

 bodies were left hanging on the trees in order to counteract the bad 

 augury which followed from the loss of the first life. 2 



A much more serious presage was the arrival at Chiametla, as the 

 army was preparing to leave, of Melchior Diaz and Juan de Saldivar, 

 or Zaldivar, returning from their attempt to verify the stories told by 

 Friar Marcos. Melchior Diaz went to New Galicia with Nuiio de Guz- 

 man, and when Cabeza de Vaca appeared in that province, in May 

 1536, Diaz was in command of the outpost of Culiacan. He was still 

 at Culiacan, in the autumn of 1539, when Mendoza directed him to take 

 a mounted force and go into the country toward the north "to see if 

 the account which Friar Marcos brought back agreed with what he 

 could observe." He left Culiacan November 17, with fifteen horsemen, 

 and traveled as far north as the wilderness beyond which Cibola was 

 situated, following much the same route as the friar had taken, and 

 questioning the Indians with great care. Many of the statements made 

 by Friar Marcos were verified, and some new facts were obtained, but 

 nowhere coidd he find any foundation for the tales of a wealthy and 

 attractive country, except in the descriptions given by the Indians. 

 The cold weather had begun to trouble his men seriously before he 

 reached the limit of his explorations. He pushed on as far as Chichil- 

 ticalli, however, but here the snows and fierce winds from across the 



l Mota Padilla says, " warden of one of the rcyal storehouses in Mexico," which may refer to some 

 other position held by Samaniego, or may have arisen from some confusion of names. 



'This is taken from Mota Padilla's account of the incident, without any attempt tocompare or to har. 

 monize it with the story told by Castaueda. Mota Padilla's version seems much the more reasonable. 



