winship] TRANSLATION OF CASTANEDA 491 



round about. The village was very strong, because i( was upon arock 

 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 band, 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 ;if 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 ready to tight, 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 [tur- 

 key-] cocks with very big wattles, much bread, tanned deerskins, pine 

 [piuon] nuts, flour [corn meal], and corn. 



From here they went to a province called Triguex, 1 three days dis- 

 tant. The people all came out peacefully, seeing that Whiskers was 

 with them. These men are feared throughout all those provinces. Alva- 

 rado sent messengers back from here to advise the general to come and 

 winter in this country. The general was not a little relieved to hear 

 that the country was growing better. Five days from here he came to 

 Cicuye, 2 a very strong village four stories high. The people came out 

 from the village with signs of joy to welcome Hernando de Alvarado and 

 their captain, and brought them into the town with drums and pipes 

 something like flutes, of which they have a great many. They made 

 many presents of cloth and turquoises, of which there are quantities 

 in that region. The Spaniards enjoyed themselves here for several days 

 and talked witli an Indian slave, a native of the country toward Florida, 

 which is the region Don Fernando tie Soto discovered. This fellow said 

 that there were large settlements in the farther part of that country. 

 Hernando de Alvarado took him to guide them to the cows: but he told 

 them so many and such great things about the wealth of gold and silver 

 in his country that they did not care about looking for cows, but returned 

 after they had seen some few, to report the rich news to the general. 



1 An error for Tiguex, at or near the present Bernalillo. Simpson located this near the mouth of the 

 river Puerco, southeast of Acoma, but I follow Bandelier, according to "whom Alvarado pursued a 

 northeasterly direction from Acoma. See his Introduction, p. 80, ami Final Report, vol. i, p. 129. 



2 Pecos. Besides his Final Report, vol. i, p. 127, see Bandelier's Report on the Pecos Ruins. 



