Came Men on Horses: The Conquistador Expeditions of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and Don Juan de Oñate

8. A Place Called Quivira

103 8 A Place Called Quivira Here he [Coronado] wrote a letter to the governor of Harahey and Quivira, having understood that he was a Christian from the shipwrecked fleets bound for La Florida. Jaramillo1 The Teyas’s information regarding the expedition’s course received dramatic support from Sopete. The much-ignored “other” slave from the plains now caused a great commotion. Throwing himself on the ground, he made signs indicating that before he would continue to follow the Turk any further, he would let the Spaniards cut off his head. Finally, Coronado was ready to listen. He had the Turk and Xabe brought forth and demanded the truth.Though none of the expedition narratives reveal such, effective intimidation was likely applied. The Turk broke down and put his life at risk by revealing that, indeed, he had been misleading the expedition. Even more threatening to his survival, he admitted that what he had said about riches in Quivira was false. The Spaniards suspected that the people at Cicuye had put him up to it in an effort to get them lost on the prairie. Because of a lack of food, they and their horses would become weak and vulnerable.2 104 A P l A c e c A l l e d Q u i v i r A Expectedly, the captains voiced their desire to kill the Turk and be done with him. But Coronado hesitated. Until the expedition had extricated itself from the barrancas (canyons or ravines) and found the true way to Quivira, the Turk might still be useful. Thinking correctly that he had been led too far south, Coronado sent scouts northward and began considering what to do next. Calling together his officers and others, Coronado discussed their plight.3 Everyone agreed on a plan whereby the main portion of the expedition would return to Tiguex under Arellano while Coronado—with thirty chosen horsemen, six foot soldiers, servants, some Teyas guides, and spare mounts—would press on to Quivira. Forging into unknown territory with such a small force was risky at best, but to turn back now and leave the mystery of a potentially gold-filled Quivira unresolved was unthinkable. When the scouts returned, they guided the expedition north to another deep barranca, bottomed by a small stream. Another large Teyas village was camped there. By Bolton’s theory, this was the main branch of Palo Duro Canyon, but others have suggested it could have been the North Concho because of its prevalence over other canyons for nutbearing trees, which the expedition is said to have encountered.4 For two weeks the army rested and reorganized, both for the return to Tiguex and for Coronado’s venture ahead. Hunters killed buffalo by the hundreds, the meat jerked for sustenance on the trail. Coronado also chose the men who would go with him to Quivira. With the Turk now in chains, Sopete was chosen to lead the way. He agreed to do so but asked that the Turk, who might be troublesome, be left behind. Coronado refused to abandon the Turk, but he did agree that when they reached Quivira, Sopete would be freed to remain there. The deposed Turk was thereafter towed at the back of the advance party. Shortly before June 1, 1541, Coronado and his select group found a path out of the canyon and set forth on the final leg of their fateful journey . Maestre de campo López de Cárdenas was not among them, however. His arm had been thrown out of joint when his horse fell, and he was suffering great pain.5 His position as Coronado’s second in command was taken by Captain Diego López,formerly an alderman at Seville.Cárdenas was forced to return to Tiguex with the main party. The route Coronado and his advance party followed from the second canyon to Quivira has long defied a provable answer. The Relación del 105 A P l A c e c A l l e d Q u i v i r A Suceso account states that from the second canyon the party proceeded many days “following the compass,”6 presumably to the north. Convinced that canyon number 2 was Palo Duro Canyon, Bolton concluded that the march took place from that point northward across the Oklahoma Panhandle to the lower bend of the Arkansas River and northeastward up the...