Alonso Rodríguez, 1576 
49 
II. Sacred Catholic Royal Majesty. Captain Juan de Céspedes affirms 
that in the past he presented a memorial to your Majesty and another to 
those of your royal Council of the Indies, and in them he states that he has 
served your Majesty in the Indies of New Spain for more than thirty 
years in this part, as in tjie exploration of many new Indies, such as 
Cibola and the new land and Seven Cities, of which General Francisco 
de Coronado went as captain. . . . January 30, 1576. 
Evidence submitted of the merits and services of Don Tristán de Arellano, 
governor of Nueva Galicia. Mexico, March 7, 1575. 
Don Tristán de Luna. , 
Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano, former governor of the city of 
Tlaxcala, in New Spain, affirms that he served your Majesty in the said 
office for three years. . . . And besides his services, his grandparents, 
Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano and his wife, Doña Isabel de Roxas, 
were among the first settlers and conquerors of New Spain. The said 
Doña Isabel was previously married to Francisco Maldonado, who was 
among the first conquerors of New Spain. For more than forty years 
continuously Don Tristán, his grandfather, served your Majesty in every 
way that offered, and with great zeal especially in the expedition to 
Cibola, 30 in which he was appointed maestro de campo, and where he 
rendered many and important services; as likewise in the expedition to 
Florida. . . . 31 
Evidence of the merits and sendees of Alonso Rodriguez and of Juan 
Rodriguez Parra, his son, explorers and conquerors of the province 
of Cibola with Governor Francisco Vásquez Coronado. . . . Novem- 
ber 23, 1576. 
Interrogatory. 
I. First, whether they know Alonso Rodriguez and Juan Rodriguez 
Parra, his son, and how long they have been in this part. 
II. Second, whether they know that at the time certified by Juan 
Rodriguez Parra that his father, Alonso Rodriguez Parra, went on the 
campaign to Cibola in the company of Governor Francisco Vásquez 
Coronado, it could not have been so, for it was such a long journey by 
land, more than six hundred leagues each way going and coming and 
Alonso Rodriguez had not the means to make such a long journey, unless 
one is to believe that he went under the support of some person who paid 
the expense for him. Otherwise it is to be understood that if his Majesty 
or his governor did not aid him in the expense he could not have made the 
journey. Let them state what they know. 
