Tom Lovell: Storyteller With a Brush Page: 33
104 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this book.
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oronados Expedition, Crossing the Llano Estacado
any of history's greatest accomplishments resulted
from accident or error. So it was with the grand expedition
of Don Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, commissioned by
the viceroy of Mexico in 1540 to march northward and
seek after the fabled gold, silver and emeralds supposed to
exist in what would later become known as the American
Southwest.
There seemed precedent enough for this belief that
wealth abounded in that unknown land to the north of
New Spain. Twenty years earlier, Cortez had sacked the
Aztec empire, robbing that ancient civilization of shining
treasures. Just four years before Coronado's huge column
began its march, the long-lost Cabeza de Vaca had unex-
pectedly appeared in Mexico like a man resurrected from
the dead, telling of riches seen or rumored during his long
sojourn among the
Indians of Texas.
Coronado started
north from
Compostela with an
army consisting of
336 Spanish cavalry
and infantrymen and
several hundred
Mexican Indians,
accompanied by
more than 1,500
horses and mules for
riding and packing,as well as a large number of cattle, sheep and hogs to pro-
vide food along the line of march. By the time the column
reached Texas it had already crossed Arizona and New
Mexico. A scouting party had peered down from the rim
across the awesome Grand Canyon of the Colorado.
Coronado had crossed the continental divide and had visit-
ed the pueblos of the Zuni, Hopi and Tiguex. At Pecos
Pueblo his men encountered a Plains Indian slave they
called the Turk, who told of a rich land known as Quivira,
far to the east. The Turk became Coronado's guide as he
struck out across Texas in the spring of 1541.
Tom Lovell's painting finds the column on the Texas
plains. The warm light of an early-morning sun shines
upon armor and Toledo steel and reflects the expedition's
anticipation as it advances toward the fabulous land of
Quivira. The hope of riches is suggested by Coronado's
armor, gilded to a golden sheen in contrast to the conven-
tional gray and silver armor of his lieutenants. Though
barely 30 at the time, Coronado rides with the stiff dignity
of a much older commander, too much dignity perhaps to
allow him the luxury of open laughter at whatever amusing
story has just been told by his aide. At his right, two friars
lead a mule bearing their holy oils and religious articles for
the mass. A long pace ahead strides the Indian guide, car-
rying the dark secret of a personal mission. As far as the
eye can see, soldiers and Indians, horses and the walking
commissary of livestock string out in Coronado's dusty
wake. Behind lie the blue-shadowed mesas and a land
hitherto clouded in mystery, its secrets now laid open for33
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Kelton, Elmer. Tom Lovell: Storyteller With a Brush, book, 2005; Midland, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1127711/m1/39/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Permian Basin Petroleum Museum, Library and Hall of Fame.