The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 4, July 1900 - April, 1901 Page: 10
366 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
10 Texas Historical A ssociation Quarterly.
where we traveled," which did not chime with the story of the Seven
Cities, even if it had not been a patent exaggeration.
'The dissatisfaction in Guzman's camp .as to the route to be pur-
sued and the change in favor of going down the river toward the
territory of Francisco Cortes, and the subsequent determination to
send Pedro Alm.endez Chirinos toward the north, after concluding
the war with the Indians of the river of Cuitz.eo, may be better under-
stood by reference to Castafie.da's account of the Indian Tejo, who,
it seems, was at the foundation of the idea of the Seven Cities.
This was general among the people at Mexico as early as 1530, while
Cabeza de Vaca was yet in the vicinity of Mal-Hado, waiting to get
Oviedo to come away with him. The following quotation is from
Castafieda's narrative, translated by George Parker Winship:
"FIRST PART.
"Chapter 1, which treats of the way we first came to know about
the Seven Cities, and of how Nuro de Guzman made an expedition
to discover them.
"In the year 153016 Nufio de Guzman, who was President of New
Spain, had in his possession an Indian, a native of the valley or
valleys -of Oxitipar, who was called Tejo by the Spaniards. This
Indian said he was the son of a trader who was dead, but that when
he was a little boy his father had gone into the back country with
fine feathers to trade for ornaments, and that when he came back
he brought a large amount of gold and silver, of which there is a
good deal in that country. He went with him once or twice, and
saw some very large villages, which he compared to Mexico and its
environs. He had seen seven very large towns which had streets
of silver workers. It took forty .days to go there from his country,
through a wilderness in which nothing grew, except some very small
plants about a span high. The way they went was up through the
country between the two seas, following the northern direction.
Acting on this information, Nufio de Guzman got together nearly
400 Spaniards .and 20,0001 friendly Indians of New Spain, and, as
he happened to be in Mexico, he crossed Tarasca, which is in the
province of Michoacan, so as to get into the region which the Indian
"Tello gives the dote of Guznman's leaving the City of Mexico as the be-
ginning of November, 1529. Cap. XXVI.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 4, July 1900 - April, 1901, periodical, 1901; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101018/m1/16/?rotate=90: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.