such eminent scholars as Bandelier, Winship and others, which, commencing at Ures, went northeast, following the course of the Sonora River, entering Arizona about fifty miles from its eastern boundary. After entering Arizona, Coronado followed the course of the San Pedro River for some leagues, and then branched off to the northeast, passing through "The Wilderness, now the Apache Reservation, turning still more to the east at the site of Fort Apache, and thence across the New Mexican line to the Seven Cities of Cibola, or the Zuni villages.

"In the spring of 1542, Coronado started back with his men to Cibola-Zuni, through the rough mountain passages of the Gulf of California, and so on down to the city of Mexico, where he arrived in the early autumn, 'very sad and very weary, completely worn out and shamefaced.'"

Utterly unconscious that he had written his name among the immortals, he resigned from the governorship and retired to his estates. There is no further mention of his name in the annals of New Spain.

CHAPTER IV.

EARLY SPANISH EXPLORATIONS (Continued).

ANTONIO DE ESPEJO-ROUTE OF ESPEJO-MOQUIS -MINES NEAR PRESCOTT-JUAN DE OÑATE -FITS OUT EXPEDITION AT OWN EXPENSERESULT OF FIRST EXPEDITION-FOUNDS CITY OF SANTE FE-OÑATE'S SECOND EXPEDITION -OÑATE'S THIRD EXPEDITION-JEALOUSY OF ENEMIES OBSTACLES AND DELAYS-AIDED BY FRIENDS JUAN GUERRA-DONA EUFEMIA PENALOSA-AÑA DE MENDOZA-NEPOTISM OF OÑATE RIO GRANDE-EL PASO DEL NORTESOCORRO ABO PUEBLOS-PURUAI (SAN ANTONIO)-SUBMISSION OF INDIANS-SAN JUAN -FURTHER SUBMISSION OF INDIANS-REVOLT OF ACOMA INDIANS THEIR PUNISHMENT-PRAISE OF ARIZONA-ZUNI PROVINCE-RIO DEL TISON-CRUZADOS-ONATE REACHES TIDEWATER-PUEBLO DE LA CONVERSION DE SAN PABLO-ONATE'S RETURNSANTA FE.

The military post established by Melchior Diaz in the Sonora Valley, at or near the Corazones (Ures), having been captured and destroyed by the Indians before Coronado's return, the limits of New Spain remained the same as before his expedition, Culiacan being its farthest northern limit. The discovery of the rich silver mines of Zacatecas was made about the year 1542, which gave an impetus to mining in every part of New Spain, owing to which there was no fur

ther attempt made to explore the country discovered by Coronado for forty years, or until about 1580, when Antonio de Espejo organized an expedition at his own expense to search for three Franciscan fathers who were supposed to have been killed by the Indians. Accompanying this expedition was Fra Beltran. It is more than probable that Espejo, in making this expedition, was not entirely controlled by a desire to be of service to his church. He was a miner who had acquired great wealth in that vocation, and, like all prospectors, was ever ready to embark upon new enterprises which promised a reasonable return.

Espejo was a native of Cordova, Spain, and a resident of the city of Mexico. He was at Santa Barbara when he organized this expedition, and, with fourteen men, he penetrated the wilds of New Mexico, going through the Zuni villages and from thence to the Moqui villages, an account of which is contained in Bell's "New Tracks in North America," which seems to have been copied by Bancroft, and is as follows:

"Twenty-four leagues westward from Acoma, they arrived at Zuni, by the Spaniards called Cibola, containing great numbers of Indians. Here were three Christian Indians, left by Coronado in 1540. They informed Espejo that 'three score days' journey from this place there was a mighty lake, upon the banks whereof stood many great and good towns, and that the inhabitants of the same had plenty of gold, as shown by their wearing golden bracelets and earrings.' They said that Coronado intended to have gone there,

but having travelled twelve days' journey, he began to want water, and returned. Espejo, desirous of seeing this rich country, departed from Cibola, and having travelled twenty-eight leagues west, found another great province of about fifty thousand souls. As they approached a town called Zaguato, the multitude, with their caciques, met them with great joy, and poured maize upon the ground for the horses to walk upon, and they presented the captain with forty thousand mantles of cotton, white and coloured, and many hard towels with tassels at the four corners, and rich metals which seemed to contain much silver. Thence traveling due west fortyfive leagues, they found mines, of which they had been informed, and took out with their own hands rich metals containing silver. The mines, which were on a broad vein, were in a mountain easily ascended by an open way to the same. the vicinity of the mines, there were numerous Indian pueblos. Hereabout they found two rivers (probably the Colorado Chiquito and Rio Verde) of a reasonable bigness, upon the banks whereof grew many vines, bearing excellent grapes, and great groves of walnut trees, and much flax, like that of Castile. Captain Espejo then returned to Zuni."

In

I may be permitted to remark that the Moquis, having increased from a population of 4,000 at the time of Coronado's expedition in 1541, to 50,000 in 1581, was apparently an extremely prolific race, hardly excelled by the record made by the Jews during their Egyptian captivity.

The mines which Espejo discovered are supposed to have been somewhere near the base of the San Francisco mountains and not far from the present city of Prescott.

Espejo returned to New Spain in 1583, and undoubtedly his report of the country through which he passed gave rise to the expedition of Juan de Oñate.

Juan de Oñate, the colonizer of New Mexico, was born in Zacatecas, Mexico, of a wealthy family, who owned at Zacatecas, some of the richest mines in the world. His father was a conquistador, Don Christobal. Don Juan married Doña Isabel, daughter of Juan de Tolosa, a granddaughter of Cortes, and great-granddaughter of Montezuma. Of his explorations Lummis, in his "Spanish Pioneers," gives the following account:

"Despite the 'golden spoon in his mouth,' Oñate desired to be an explorer. The Crown refused to provide for further expeditions into the disappointing north; and about 1595, Оñate made a contract with the viceroy of New Spain to colonize New Mexico at his own expense. He made all preparations and fitted out his costly expedition. Just then a new viceroy was appointed, who kept him waiting in Mexico with all his men for over two years, ere the necessary permission was given him to start. At last, early in 1597, he set out with his expeditionwhich had cost him the equivalent of a million dollars, before it stirred a step. He took with him four hundred colonists, including two hundred soldiers, with women and children, and