manded their elves to gather the mists 
into raindrops and to scatter them 
gently o'er the corn of the faithful. 
Long before the white man came from 
across the seas, even long before the 
alliance of the three kingdoms of 
Alcolhua, Aztex and Tepance, gold was 
eagerly sought by the Indians. It was 
not coined into monev nor used in bar- 
ter. Because of its scarcity and the 
untarnishable beauty of the metal it 
was offered to the Deities only. The 
shrines of Huitzilopochtli were bedeck- 
ed with it and much was taken to the 
temples in Mexico, Tezcuco and Tlacopan. 
But when the Gods of Huajatolla heard 
of the glory and splendor with which 
Nezhuatcoyotl reined at Tezcuco they 
became envious of the magnificence of 
his court and they placed demons upon 
their mountains who forbade all men 
further approach, and who saw to it 
that no more gold nor silver nor pre- 
cious gems were taken from the land. 
And so it was that for many years the 
Gods and the peoples and all who dwelt 
upon the mountains lived in peace and 
tranquillity. However, when Coronado 
came and then continued upon his way, 
three of his monk attendants remained 
behind. Two of the monks endeavored 
to teach the doctrines of Christianity 
to the Indians. They were promptly 
slain lest their own Gods, the Gods of 
Huajatolla, wreak a jealous vengeance 
upon them all. Juan De La Cruz, the 
third member left behind, we are told, 
overpowered the demons, who had become 
old and negligent of their duties, and 
eventually found his way to the trea- 
sures hidden within the mountains. 
Indians along the Pecos river down 
New Mexico way related that their 
tribesmen were taken to the Huajatolla 
to carry the treasure off. But when 
they got there they became more and 
more fearful of the Gods and refused 
to enter the winding tunnels leading 
into the dark bowels of the earth that 
was fuajatolla. They were beaten and 
tortured until their fear of further 
torture overcame their awe and fear of 
the Gods and they entered into the 
earth and carried the treasure away 
upon their backs. Having served their 
purpose they were all put to death 
lest they tell of that which they knew. 
"Dead men tell no tales" is indeed, an 
ancient truth. Juan De La Cruz and his 
followers then loaded the treasure upen 
the backs of pack animals and started 
for Mexico City to live in luxury for 
the rest of their lives. But lo - the 
Gods of Huajatolla in awful fury reach- 
ed out and destroyed the entire party, 
