62 cibola. [1540. 



Agreeably to this letter, the Spaniards left Culiacan on the 22d 

 of April, 1540, and took their way towards the north, following, as 

 well as they could, the course described by the friar : but, ere they 

 had proceeded far, they had abundant evidences of the incorrect- 

 ness of the accounts of that personage ; for the route which he had 

 represented as easy and practicable, proved to be almost impassable. 

 They, however, made their way over mountains and deserts, and 

 through rivers, and, at length, in July, they reached the country of 

 the seven cities, for which Cibola appeared to be the general name ; 

 but, to their disappointment, it proved to be only a half-cultivated 

 region, thinly inhabited by people not absolutely savage, though 

 destitute of the wealth and refinement attributed to them by Friar 

 Marcos. The seven great cities were seven small towns, some of 

 them, indeed, containing large houses of stone, rudely built, and un- 

 ornamented. Of fruits there were none, except such as grew wild ; 

 and the immense quantities of precious metals and stones were 

 merely " a few turquoises, and some gold and silver, supposed to be 

 good. In fine," says Vazquez de Coronado, in his letter to the 

 viceroy, " of the seven cities, and the kingdoms and provinces of 

 which the reverend father provincial made a report to your excel- 

 lency, he spoke the truth in nothing ; for we have found all to be 

 quite the contrary, except only as to the houses of stone." The 

 Spaniards, nevertheless, took possession of the country, in due form, 

 for their sovereign ; and, being pleased with its soil and climate, 

 they entreated their commander to allow them to remain and settle 

 there. To this inglorious proposition Vazquez refused to consent ; 

 and, having despatched his letter to Mendoza, from one of the cities 

 of Cibola, named by him Granada, he took his departure, with his 

 forces, for the north-west, in search of other new countries. 



From the descriptions of the position, climate, productions, and 

 animals, of Cibola, given by Vazquez de Coronado, there is some 

 reason for believing it to be the region near the great dividing 

 chain of mountains, east of the northernmost part of the Gulf of 

 California, about the head-waters of the Rivers Yaqui and Gila, 

 which fall into that arm of the Pacific. This part of America, now 

 called Sonora, (a corruption of Senora,) though long since settled by 

 the Spaniards, is little known to the inhabitants of other countries. 

 It is described, by those who have recently visited it, as a most 

 delightful, productive, and salubrious region, containing innumerable 

 mines of silver and gold, among which are some of the richest in 

 the world. There are, moreover, in that territory, many collections 



