II 
Coronado’s Expedition 
his powers of imagination. Coronado lost no time in accom¬ 
panying Marcos to Mexico, where a conference with Mendoza 
resulted in the promotion of the monk, and the immediate or¬ 
ganisation of the great expedition mentioned. Coronado was 
made general of the land forces, and Hernando de Alargon was 
placed in charge of the ships. Having a land march to make 
Coronado, started in February, 1540, while Alargon sailed in 
Mayo Coronado proceeded to San Miguel de Culiacan, the 
last settlement toward the north, near the coast, whence he 
took a direction slightly east of north. 
Alargon, with his ships the San Pedro and the Santa Cata¬ 
lina^ laid a course for the haven of Sant lago. They were 
caught in a severe storm which so greatly frightened the 
men on the Santa Catalina, “more afraid than was need,“ 
remarks Alargon, that they cast overboard nine pieces of 
ordnance, two anchors, one cable, and “many other things as 
needful for the enterprise wherein we went as the ship itself.” 
At Sant lago he repaired his losses, took on stores and 
some members of his company, and sailed for Aguaiauall, 
the seaport of San Miguel de Culiacan, where Coronado 
was to turn his back on the outposts of civilisation. The 
general had already gone when Alargon arrived, but they ex¬ 
pected to hold communication with each other, if not actu¬ 
ally to meet, farther on; and it seems from this that they must 
have felt confidence in finding a river by which Alargon might 
sail into the interior. As early as 1531 there were vague re¬ 
ports of a large river, the mouth of which was closed by the 
Amerinds living there by means of a huge cable stretched 
across from side to side. There may also have been other 
rumours of a large river besides the surmises of the Ulloa 
party. At any rate, Alargon and Coronado fully expected to 
be in touch much of the time. This expectation appears ab¬ 
surd to us now when we understand the geography, but there 
was nothing out of the way about the supposition at that 
time. As it happened, the two divisions never met, nor were 
they able to communicate even once. So far as rendering 
Coronado any assistance was concerned, Alargon might as well 
have been on the coast of Africa. The farther they proceeded 
