The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945 Page: 81
617 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Spirit of Santa Rita
Tucker, and Carl Cromwell, were not the first pioneers to
camp near the waters of the Concho in an enterprise re-
quiring courage, vision, hardihood, intrepidity, and skill, but
they were clearly envisioned in the enlightened concept of
President Lamar. The Indians that first occupied this region
in undisturbed possession were "unattended by that civiliza-
tion and refinement which alone can give zest to social and
domestic enjoyments," and they did not hold to the truth that
"the cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy, and
while guided and controlled by virtue, is the noblest attribute
of man."
The advent of civilized people to the region of Santa Rita
and the Concho was not on a mission of peace, but upon an
enterprise of conquest,, and the Conquistadores were not the
exponents of a republican form of government for free men,
but were the paladins of a royal autocracy.
The primary purpose of Coronado and the early Conquista-
dores was the conquest of new lands, actually or supposedly
rich in hard mineral wealth; the seizure of the gold and silver;
the subjugation and pacification of those peopling such lands;
and, in many instances, to their enduring credit, the paralleling
effort of courageous and zealous priests to accomplish an ex-
tension of the Christian faith.
Over four hundred years ago, Hernando Cortes, Captain-
General of New Spain, was occupying his palace at Cuernavaca.
He was the Conqueror of a New World, but he was the subject
of the Crown of Spain and the servant of the Council of the
Indies. In his intrepid explorations in search of mineral wealth
for his Royal Master, he surveyed wide areas, gathered vast
riches, and paid to Royalty its bountiful dues.
Notwithstanding the wealth in bullion poured into Royal
Spanish coffers by the Conquistadores in Mexico, Peru, and in
the Indies, a restless and untiring spirit of daring and adventure
kept exploration, conquest, seizure, and pacification the rule of
procedure under Royal Commissions for centuries, with the
extension of the Faith a subsidiary and largely separate phase,
although notable in its accomplishments.
The early Conquistador Corts conquered the Valley of Mex-
ico and subjugated the Mayas; Coronado sought the fabled
Seven Cities of Cibola, intent upon the confiscation of fabulous
mineral wealth, leaving a long trail of failure and disappoint-
ment; but Pickrell, Krupp, Ricker, Tucker, and Cromwell,81
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945, periodical, 1945; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146055/m1/85/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.