winship] TRANSLATION OF CASTANEDA 475 



on ahead to open up the way and pacify the Indians, so that when the 

 others came along they had nothing to do except to keep an account of 

 the things for which they were looking. 



Chapter 3, of how they killed the negro Stephen at Cibola, and Friar 

 Marcos returned inflight. 



After Stephen had left the friars, lie thought he could get all the 

 reputation and honor himself, and that if he should discover those 

 settlements with such famous high houses, alone, he would be con- 

 sidered bold and courageous. So he proceeded with the people who 

 had followed him, and succeeded in crossing the wilderness which lies 

 between the country he had passed through and Cibola. He was so 

 far ahead of the friars that, when these reached Chichilticalli, which is 

 on the edge of the wilderness, he was already at Cibola, which is 80 

 leagues beyond. It is 220 leagues from Culiacan to the edge of the 

 wilderness, and 80 across the desert, which makes 300, or perhaps 10 

 more or less. As I said, Stephen reached Cibola loaded with the large 

 quantity of turquoises they had given him and several pretty women 

 who had been given him. The Indians who accompanied him carried 

 his things. These had followed him from all the settlements he had 

 passed, believing that under his protection they could traverse the whole 

 world without any danger. But as the people in this country were 

 more intelligent than those who followed Stephen, they lodged him in a 

 little hut they had outside their village, and the older men and the gov- 

 ernors heard his story and took steps to find out the reason he had 

 come to that country. For three days they made inquiries about him 

 and held a council. The account which the negro gave them of two 

 white men who were following him, sent by a great lord, who knew 

 about the things in the sky, and how these were coming to instruct 

 them in divine matters, made them think that he must be a spy or a 

 guide from some nations who wished to come and conquer them, because 

 it seemed to them unreasonable to say that the people were white in 

 the country from which he came and that he was sent by them, he 

 being black. Besides these other reasons, they thought it was hard of 

 him to ask them for turquoises and women, and so they decided to 

 kill him. They did this, but they did not kill any of those who went 

 with him, although they kept some young fellows and let the others, 

 about GO persons, return freely to their own country. As these, who 

 were badly scared, were returning in flight, they happened to come 

 upou the friars in the desert 00 leagues from Cibola, and told them the 

 sad news, which frightened them so much that they would not even 

 trust these folks who had been with the negro, but opened the packs 

 they were carrying and gave away everything they had except the 

 holy vestments for saying mass. They returned from here by double 

 marches, prepared for anything, without seeing any more of the country 

 except what the Indians told them. 



