on the lower levels of the front ranges 
all the way from Canada far southward 
toward Mexico. You, dear reader, have 
seen a sample of them if you have ever 
visited the "Gardens of the Gods" at 
Colorado Springs. On the lower slopes 
of the great Double Mountain there are 
wonderlands of beauty and luxurious 
foliage, pine and aspen - little basins 
with sparkling waterfalls that served 
mysterious cities that disappeared .ages 
ago, but whose legends live on. These 
cities were ruled by kings who were 
garbed in golden cloth and -bedecked 
with jewels. This is true, for it was 
tales of this fabulous treasure of gold, 
silver and precious gems, taken from 
the earth that was the very flesh of 
Huajatolla, that brought. the Spanish 
treasure seekers to the land. Coronado 
was here, looking for the bejeweled 
Seven Cities of Cebola but even he did 
not dare risk the vengeance of the Gods 
of Huajatolla so he turned eastward 
and wound up in the region we now know 
as Kansas. Ofcourse, he never found the 
fabled Seven Cities. In 1598 Miguel 
Onate was here, for an old cemetery 
indicates that most of his men were 
unable to break the hypnotic spell of 
the region and stayed here until they 
died..And cfcourse, he never found the 
Straits. of Anian, the fabled waterway 
that was. supposed to divide the conti- 
nent from the east to the west. In 1705 
Juan De Uribarri was here, and built 
a supply depot where now is. the town 
of La Veta, and is thought to have been 
the first building ever erected by white 
man in what is now called Colorado. In 
1779 Don Juan De Anzo was here, leading 
his expedition of six hundred men up 
from New Mexico in pursuit of the elu- 
Sive and rampageous Comanche chieftain 
Cuerno Verde (horn green) who was fi- 
nally trapped and destroyed at Green- 
horn Creek just thirty two miles south 
of Pueblo. You will find it on your 
road map but, if perchance you have 
passed this way you were, possibly, 
riding with the "God of Speed" upon 
your hood and therefore missed the spot. 
The Land of Huajatolla, through all the 
ages has drawn humans toward it like a 
magnet. The Indians passed through the 
shadows of the mighty twin peaks for 
countless centuries. Then they became 
part of the Spanish Territory, In 1821 
it was part of the Mexican Republic and 
created so much excitement there that the 
Tarahumara Indians made a pilgrimage 
all the way from Chuhuahua (Chew-wa-wa) 
to gaze upon the place, for they bé- 
lieved it was here that the Rain Gods 
lived and walked in Paradise, and com- 
