History and government of New Mexico

Front matter

HISTORY

AND

GOVERNMENT OF NEW MEXICO

Preface

This book represents an effort to organize the almost four centuries of New Mexican history into one continuous narrative at once brief, readable, and reliable; and to present it in such form and language as to bring it within the grasp of boys and girls in our public schools. The General Readings and Special Topics that follow each chapter will furnish the guidance necessary for more mature students in the high schools and normal schools. It marks an advance over previous books in the same field in three important respects :

1. The story of the State has been lifted out of the class of local chronicles and treated on the large plane of American history, portraying the development of New Mexico from the earliest times to the present day, not in isolation, but as a part of the history of the great Southwest and in its true relation to the whole of North America.

2. The results of historical and scientific research in the history of the Southwest during recent years have been taken into full account, not as footnotes to pages of doubtful text, but as part of the warp and woof of the narrative itself. If, therefore, the work differs at many points from current traditions preserved in local chronicles, the reader will not need to infer that the writer was unaware of those traditions.

3. The period since the Civil War has been organized and brought into proper perspective so that the big events in the dev- 1 opment of the Territory and the beginnings of the State may be not only known but understood.

This method of treatment has necessitated the exclusion of many interesting episodes and dramatic scenes as well as descriptions of numerous places and objects of great human interest, because, however interesting in themselves, they have had little direct bearing on the historic development of the State.

Space does not permit mentioning even the names of all who have generously assisted me. Yet I cannot deny myself the pleasure of acknowledging my indebtedness to my distinguished friend and teacher, Professor Herbert E. Bolton, of the University of Cali-

PREFACE

fornia; to Dr. Charles W. Hackett, of the University of Texas; to Professor Aurelio M. Espinosa, of Leland Stanford University; to Professors Roscoe R. Hill and Charles F. Coan, of the University of New Mexico ; and to Mr. Lansing B. Bloom, of the school of American Research, whose knowledge of the Southwest has been constantly at my disposal. Chief Justice Clarence J. Roberts, of the State Supreme Court, and Vice President Charles E. Hodgin, of the University of New Mexico, have read the section on Government and corrected many errors. My colleagues, Professors Alva P. Taylor and Merritt L. Hoblit and Mr. Clarence P. Wilson, of the State Agricultural College, have given valuable assistance in putting the manuscript into final shape and reading the proof. My wife has been the ever-present counselor through the years of preparation.

Though their counsel and advice have saved my feet from unmerous pitfalls in every part of the work, they are not responsible for any of the imperfections and errors that remain in the text. These are my own; and any teacher, pupil, or other reader who discovers an error and brings it to my attention for correction in a later edition will receive my sincere thanks.

John H. Vaughan State College, New Mexico August, 1921

Part I The History Of New Mexico Chapter Page

I The Land and the People ...... 3

17 26

44 55

67 80 101 128 144 155

169 188 213

II The Coming of the White Man .

III Exploration and Conquest, i 540-1 595 .

IV Permanent Settlement, 1 598-1 609 V Expansion and Overthrow, i 609-1 680 .

VI Reconquest and Northeastern Expansion, 1680-

1762 •

VII The Close of the Spanish Era, i 762-1821 .

VIII The Mexican Period, 182 2-1 846 .

IX The American Occupation ....

X Provisional Government, 1 846-1851

XI Beginnings of the Territory, 1851-1861

XII The Civil War and the Settlement of the Indian Problem .......

XIII Railroads and Economic Development

XIV Educational Development since 1850 . XV The Beginnings of Statehood

PART II XVI The State Constitution and Government . .261

XVII Civil and Political Rights 267

XVIII Nominations and Elections 273

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

XIX The State Legislature 281

XX The State Executive Department ... 296

XXI The Courts of the State 307

XXII The Public School System . . . . . 319

XXIII County Government 330

XXIV Cities, Towns, and Villages ..... 338 XXV Penal and Charitable Institutions • . 345

MAPS

PAGE

New Mexican Pueblos To-day 11

Southwestern Explorations, 1527-1598 20

Ofiate's Explorations, 1598-1609 46

Benavides's Proposed Route to Santa Fe 59

Trade and Expansion in the Seventeenth Century ... 60

The Coming of the French 73

Exploration and Expansion in the Eighteenth Century . . 82

First Quarter of the Nineteenth Century 88

Spanish Settlements, 1760 96

Famous Southwestern Trails . . . 108v

The Seven Counties of New Mexico, 1846 .... 124

Theater of the Mexican War . . . . ... 131

New Mexico as Bounded by the "State" Constitution of 1850 . 150 The First Division of the Territory of New Mexico into

Civil War Operations in New Mexico, 1861-1862 . . . 170

Judicial Districts 311

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

The Palace of the Governors at Santa Fe 2

Prehistoric Ruins at Aztec 6

Cliff Dwellings in the Frijoles Canyon 7

A Kiva at Isleta .......... 9

A Navajo Hogan 14

North Wing of the Aztec Ruin 15

Hernando Cortes . . . 18

The Terraces of Zufii 23

Cc-onado Captures Zufii > . 27

Prehistoric Pictographs 36

Basket Dance, San Ildefonso . . . ... .40

Old San Miguel Church, Santa Fe . . . . . .56

Spanish Mission Church at Acoma, Begun about 1630 . . 57

San Juan Pueblo To-day 63

The Coat of Arms of Governor De Vargas .... 67

Primitive Mining 84

Old Spanish Fort at the Santa Rita Copper Mine ... 86

Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike . .90

The North Pueblo of Taos To-day 94

A Pathfinder of Civilization 102

Ceran St. Vrain 103

Bent's Fort on the Arkansas 105

Bent's Fort, a Restoration 106

The Grave of Kit Carson at Taos 110

Governor Manuel Armijo 112

A Caravan Entering Santa Fe 115

A Pack Train 119

Spanish and Mexican Carts 120

A Santa Fe Street Scene in the Forties 123

President James K. Polk, 1845-1849 129

General Stephen W. Kearny 133

Kearny's Army on the March 134

General Kearny Addressing the People at Las Vegas . 135

v

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

General Kearny Addressing the People in Santa Fe, August

19, 1846 136

Donaciano Vigil 138

Governor Charles Bent 144

A Modern Taos Type ...-.....'. 145

Colonel Sterling Price 147

The Overland Stage Crossing a Mountain Pass . . . 153

Governor James S. Calhoun 156

Fort Bliss in the Fifties 158

Fort Defiance in the Fifties 160

Indians Attacking the Overland Stage 165

Colonel John R. Baylor 171

Colonel E. R. S. Canby 172

Fort Union in the Fifties 173

Civil War Cannon Buried at Albuquerque by the Confederates 175 American Indian Fighters on the Desert Quenching Their

Thirst with Blood from Their Own Veins . . . .177

Geronimo .178

Kit Carson Monument, Santa Fe 179

On the Trail of Geronimo 181

General George H. Crook 182

The Old Chisum Ranch near Roswell 185

Cattle Seeking Water 190

Crossing Raton Mountains by the Swith-back Before Digging

the Tunnel 191

Herd of Buffalo Stopping a Train 192

Rambouillets on the Range 195

John S. Chisum, "Cattle King" 196

The "Rocker" in a Mining Camp 199

Modern Steam Shovel Operations, Santa Rita Coppe/ Mines . 201

Apple Orchard in Bloom, Pecos Valley 203

Flowing Artesian Well in the Pecos Valley .... 205

The Elephant Butte Dam 208

Harvest Time in the Pecos Valley 209

St. Michael's College, Santa Fe 214

First Protestant Church in New Mexico, Santa Fe, Built by

Baptists, 1853 215

Spanish-American Normal School 218

Hiram Hadley, Pioneer Educator 220

New Mexico Normal School, Silver City 221

Main Building, New Mexico Normal University ... 223

vi

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

A Campus View, New Mexico College of Agriculture and

Mechanic Arts 227

Views of the University of New Mexico 229

Administration Building, New Mexico School of Mines . . 230

New Mexico Military Institute 231

General Nelson A. Miles 238

Herefords on the Range To-day ....... 240

Governor William C. McDonald 243

Villa Bandits in the State Penitentiary 247

Governor E. C. DeBaca 248

Governor W. E. Lindsey 250

Colonel E. C. Abbott 251

Colonel Charles M. de Bremond 252

Major Joseph Quesenberry 253

Governor O. A. Larrazolo 254

Governor Merritt C. Mechem 255

The State Capitol, Santa Fe 260

Consolidated Rural School in Curry County 321

Chaves County Court House 331

PART I o

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Chapter I The Land And The People

I. THE LAND

.1. Location and Size. — New Mexico is situated at the south end of the Rocky Mountain Division of States, between the parallels 31 20' and 37 north latitude, and the meridians 103 and 109 west longitude. Its average width from east to west is 335 miles; its extreme length from north to south, 390 miles; and its total area, 1.22,634 square miles. It is the fourth State in size among the forty-eight. If the six New England States and New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania were spread out on its surface, there would still be 790 square miles of ground uncovered.

2. Principal Geographic Features. — The whole State lies in the high plateau region of the southern Rocky Mountains on the backbone of the continent, and sends its waters part to the Gulf of Mexico and part to the Pacific Ocean. This great mountain ridge varies in altitude from 13,000 feet in the Sangre de Cristo (san'gra da kres'to) Range in the north to 4,000 feet in the south, with numerous irregular, outlying ranges. The White Mountains rise to almost 14,000 feet.

The State falls naturally into three distinct regions : the great western plateau, the narrow valley of the Rio Grande (re'6 gran'da), and the broad eastern plain. The altitude of most of the northern and western part ranges from

6,000 to 8,000 feet, that of the southeastern falls as low as 3,000, and the average for the whole State is about 5,000 feet. Its waters fall into three great drainage basins. The northeastern portion is tributary to the Mississippi through the Arkansas, Canadian, and Red rivers ; the central and southeastern portion sends its waters to the Gulf of Mexico through the Rio Grande and its chief tributary, the Pecos (pa/kos) ; and the western portion, lying in the Colorado (ko-lo-ra/tho) River basin of the Pacific slope, is drained by the San Juan (san hwan), Little Colorado, and Gila (he'la) rivers. Of all these streams the Rio Grande is the most important. Flowing through the whole length of the State from north to south, it includes within its drainage basin the homes of nearly half the people of the State. Without its waters the fertile valleys of central New Mexico would be parts of the desert.

3. Climate. — Although the State lies in the same latitude as the Carolinas, Tennessee, and northern Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, its high altitude and dry air give complete relief from the disagreeable effects of extreme heat and humidity. The prevailing winds from the Pacific lose most of their moisture while coming across the high mountains farther to the west. Only the occasional winds from the Gulf of Mexico bring much rain, and the average annual rainfall of the State is barely fifteen inches. On some of the plains country it is as low as six or seven inches. In a few mountain sections of the north and west it runs as high as twenty-five or thirty inches. The skies are clear, sunshine is abundant, and, except in the high, mountain regions, heavy snows are almost unknown. The result is a pure, dry atmosphere, warm in the sun in winter and cool in the shade in summer, in which evaporation goes on rapidly, bodily comfort is at the maximum, and conditions for human health and development are as good as can be found- anywhere in the world.

4. Influence of Geography on History. — These geographic and climatic conditions have greatly influenced the State's history. The valley of the Rio Grande, walled in by high mountains on the east and west, was the natural highway for people coming from the south. Up this valley came the Spanish conquerors and colonizers of the State. In later centuries French and American pioneers from the Mississippi Valley were led into the northeastern region by the Arkansas, the Canadian, and the Red. Apache (a-pa/cha) Canyon opened the gates of the Rockies and allowed them to enter the region of Santa Fe (san'ta fa/). Later still the Gila and San Juan valleys pointed the way through the western mountains to the Pacific coast.

In like manner the slight rainfall limited the Spanish colonization of New Mexico to a narrow ribbon of settlements along the river valleys where there was flowing water for irrigation ; while millions of acres of arid plains for grazing purposes made stock raising the principal industry. New Mexico was the greatest sheep raising province in the Mexican Republic.

II. THE 'PEOPLE

5. The Pueblo Indians. — The term "Pueblo" (pweb'16), the Spanish word for village, was applied by the Spaniards to all of the tribes living in stone or adobe (a-tho'ba) houses grouped together in compact, permanent villages, to distinguish them from the Indians of the plains, who had no fixed habitations. The Pueblos occupied the country from northeastern Arizona east to the Pecos River, and from Taos (ta/os) in the north to just below modern El Paso, and numbered probably 25,000 people living in sixty or seventy villages at the time the Spaniards first came to New Mexico. Their ancestors, the Cliff Dwellers, had occupied parts of a much larger area, extending farther north and south, and west to the Colorado River ; and had built their houses in great canyon walls or almost inaccessible cliffs of rock, where they could more easily defend them against savage enemies.

But the Pueblos of historic times usually built their communal houses, also called " pueblos," in the river

Prehistoric Ruins at Aztec valleys or on top of high mesas (ma'sa). These pueblos contained many small rooms grouped together in irregular fashion, sometimes in a solid square, sometimes in a hollow square, and in numerous other irregular outlines. They were usually several stories high, each story being smaller than the one below. There were no outside doors. The entrance was by means of ladders and trapdoors in the top of the rooms of each story. When these ladders were drawn up from the ground, the pueblo became a fortress

Courtesy of the School of American Research

Cliff Dwellings in the Frijoles Canyon against the attack of marauding enemies, and was impregnable until the Spaniards came with artillery. Since the American Occupation the danger has passed, and many pueblos now have doors opening on the ground floor.

In the high northwestern region where sandstone was abundant the houses were commonly built of that material, and in the lower valley regions adobe, or sun-dried brick, was used. But whatever the material, the work of building these wonderful " cities " was done chiefly by the women, with help from the men only in quarrying stone or bringing and putting into place the heavy beams used in making the roof. And all of the work was done by the hands of men and women, for the Pueblos had no horses or other beasts of burden until the Spaniards brought them in the sixteenth century.

Many of these massive structures have been destroyed by the ravages of time and by the Pueblos' wild Apache, Navajo (na/va-ho), Ute, and Comanche enemies, or abandoned for fear of these enemies. Acoma (a/ko-ma), the Sky City, " the strangest and strongest that there can be in the world," on its tall perpendicular cliff in Valencia County, is believed to be the only pueblo inhabited to-day that was standing when Coronado (ko-ro-na/tho) and Onate (6-nya/ta) came to New Mexico The others, in the intervening centuries, have been rebuilt, some of them several times and even on different locations.

6. The Kiva. — In the courtyard or elsewhere near each pueblo were the kivas (ke'va), one for each clan. These kivas, called estufas (es-too'fa) by the Spaniards, were ceremonial chambers, round or square, generally underground, entered by ladders through a trapdoor in the top, and heated in very cold weather by a fire built in a pit in the center of the floor. The kiva was the center of the life of the clan. In it the men assembled to discuss war and peace, to engage in religious rites, and to prepare for the great pagan festivals and other ceremonial occasions. Into it no woman was allowed to enter, and in it ceremonies are still performed which no white man has ever witnessed.

A Kiva at Isleta

Though the houses belong to the women, the kivas belongto the men.

7. Pueblo Industries. — The chief manufactures carried on by the Pueblos at the time the Spaniards came were basket making, pottery, the dressing of skins, the weaving of cotton for their rude clothing, and the making of weapons. They made shields and bucklers of buffalo hide and used strong bows with flint-pointed arrows that would pierce a Spaniard's coat of mail. Their clothing was almost wholly

IO THE HISTORY OF NEW MEXICO

of deer skin and coarse cotton cloth, though they began to use wool for making clothing and blankets soon after the Spaniards brought sheep to the country. They were fond of wearing ornamental jewelry and trinkets, particularly turquoise necklaces and earrings.

In the valleys near their villages they carried on intensive agriculture or horticulture with regular systems of irrigation from flowing streams or reservoirs. In the southern valleys this work was done on a considerable scale. The chief crop was corn, the mainstay of Indian life. Cotton, pumpkins, melons, beans, chile (che'la), and onions were grown, though in smaller quantities. Wheat, peaches, and apples were unknown.

Part of their living came from the chase. Deer, antelope, and mountain lion were abundant, and buffalo could be had in the eastern sections. Turkeys in great numbers seem to have been domesticated and herded like sheep, though the Pueblos had no sheep, cattle, or horses. The dog was their only domestic animal.

8. Social and Religious Customs. — The social life of the Pueblos is simple, yet curiously interesting. The men cultivate the fields, spin, weave, knit, and make clothing. The women bring up the children, carry the water, grind the meal, prepare the food, and make the pottery. Marriage is arranged by the bride's parents and the priests of the, clans. In 1565 Castaneda (kas-ta-nya/tha) wrote: " When any man wishes to marry . . . [he] has to spin and weave a blanket and place it before the woman, who covers herself with it and becomes his wife." The husband then goes to live with his wife, becomes a member of her clan, lives in her house, and their children belong to her clan and take her name, not his. Only the wife has the

II Jomv& 9

•I z z

I

XUVQUnOQ VNOZI^V right of divorce, which she may exercise for very slight reasons, dismissing the husband from her house and clan and sending him back to live with his own people. In that case either may marry again.

Although the Pueblos readily accepted the outward forms and ceremonies of Catholic Christianity, they are to this day stanchly pagan at heart and still cling to their ancient beliefs and ceremonies. Each tribe is divided into a number of clans based on kinship. Each clan has its own priests who preside over its religious ceremonies. Their mythology and religious beliefs are too complicated for brief outline. Some of their rites are performed in secret, though other elaborate and impressive ceremonies, such as their " dances," are the occasion for great public festivity. The chief object of all these rites is rain. The Pueblos' very existence depends on their crops ; and in this arid region it is always uncertain whether there will be rain enough to mature the corn. Believing that there are great reservoirs stored up in the heavens, the Pueblos seek the favor of those above, who control the rain and therefore the harvest.

9. The Wild Tribes. — The half -civilized and unwarlike Pueblos were not the only inhabitants of the region. The Navajos in the northwest, the Utes in the north, and the Apaches everywhere haunted rather than inhabited the country from Chihuahua (che-wa/wa) to the Colorado mountains and from Arizona to the plains of Texas and Oklahoma. They and their roving kinsmen, the Comanches, who drifted in from the east at the beginning of the eighteenth century, were constant enemies of the Pueblos, always ready to take advantage of every opportunity to plunder and steal. They were equally ready to greet the Spaniards with tomahawk and scalping knife.

The Apaches had swarmed in from the eastern plains in the sixteenth century and spread over the whole region by the time the Spainards plantea their first settlement at San Juan (1598). Southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona became their principal haunt. They lived largely on wild seeds, fruits, the products of the chase, and a little corn whenever they could steal it from the Pueblos and Spaniards. Though they now have some stock and do a little rude farming, they still live much as they did centuries ago. They are skilled makers of baskets and water-bottles. Predatory and warlike by nature, they are learning the ways of civilized life with exceeding slowness.

The Navajos in the northwest are kinsmen of the Apaches. The early Spaniards called them Navajo Apaches, from the Indian word apachu (a-pa-choc/) , enemy, which the Zunis (zoo'nye) applied to them. Formerly they were poor hunters and herdsmen leading a wild, nomadic life. Now they are self-supporting and prosperous. They are expert silversmiths, and their blankets are famous all over the country. They live a simple life, commonly under an arbor, or shelter of brush, in the summer ; and in winter, in a cone-shaped lodge, or " hogan " (ho'gan), made of poles leaned together at the top and covered with bark and earth or other material. The house and the goods in it, except the weapons and equipment of the husband, belong to the wife. The children also belong to her and her clan. These social customs together with their religious rites and ceremonies point to their probable kinship with the Pueblos.

10. The Spaniards. — New Mexico was discovered and settled by Spaniards, many of them born and bred in old

Spain in the greatest age of Spanish history. They were heroic explorers and colonizers, unafraid of danger and ready to suffer any hardships in order to spread the influence of their religion, to extend the power of their native land, and to win wealth and personal honor for themselves.

^ With them they brought as their heritage the Spanish language, Spanish traditions and customs, and the Catholic faith. In this far-off wilderness they found only Indian neighbors, and for two centuries they had little direct contact with other peoples of the white race. They gave little attention to learning the Indian dialects, but tried to teach the Indians Spanish instead. Their language continued to be sixteenth and seventeenth century Spanish with but little Indian or other foreign influence except among the lower classes who married Indian wives. The speech of the pure-blood Spaniard in New Mexico, therefore, continues to be of pure Spanish origin.

11. The French and Americans. — After about 1740 an occasional Frenchman found his way into New Mexico from the Mississippi Valley. Now and then one settled down and stayed in the country ; but, until the beginning of the nineteenth century, they had little influence on the life of the colony. Then, after the United States purchased Louisiana in 1803, a small stream of American ex-

A Navajo Hogan plorers, fur traders, trappers, merchants, and adventurers began to move this way. At first the numbers were not large, but this was the beginning of that famous American Pioneer element that became more numerous and influential after 1825. And whether they were of French, English, Scotch, or Irish descent, they were true Americans — the product of the pioneering spirit of the American West. Many of them settled down, married Spanish women out of the best New Mexican families, became

North Wing of the Aztec Ruin

Showing Sandstone Pueblo Structure in Excellent State of Preservation.

influential members of society, and some of them became wealthy. After the American Occupation of New Mexico in 1846 their number was increased considerably, though there was still no great tide of immigration until a generation later, when, in the spring of 1879, the first railroad came through Raton (ra-ton') Pass into northeastern New Mexico. Since then the tide has flowed on unchecked, and to-day (1920) the population is fairly evenly divided between people of Spanish descent and those of Anglo-American origin, with the proportion of the latter steadily increasing. How these peoples have built up here the great commonwealth of New Mexico is the story told in this book.

W. W. H. Davis, The Spanish Conquest of New Mexico, 1 7-1 13.

1. The Pueblo Indians. F. W. Hodge, Handbook of American Indians, II, 316-325; L. Farrand, Basis of American History ("American Natioin" Series, II), 181-187; C. F. Lumnis, The Land of Poco Tiempo, 27-74, io 9~ 154, 251-310.

2. Indian Society and Religion. L. Farrand, Basis of American History, 195-214.

3. American Influence on New Mexican Spanish. A. M. Espinosa, "Speech Mixture in New Mexico," in The Pacific Ocean in History, 408-428.

1. Give the latitude and longitude of New Mexico ; its length, breadth, and area. Compare it with other States.

2. Where are the mountainous regions? the plains, the principal valleys? What are the three drainage basins?

3. Why is the climate so different from that of eastern States in the same latitude? What difference would it make in climate if the prevailing winds were from the east? If the altitude were low?

4. Mention three specific ways in which geography and climate have affected New Mexican history. Can you think of others?

5. Who were the Cliff Dwellers? Give two meanings of the word "pueblo." Describe the houses of the Pueblo Indians. Who built them? What is a kiva ?

6. How did the Pueblos make their living before the Spaniards came? What did they eat? What did they wear? What kind of weapons did they have ?

7. What was "man's work" among the Pueblos? "Woman's work"? How were marriages arranged? Who was head of the house?

8. What regions were roamed over by the Navajos? Apaches? Utes? Comanches ?

9. Where did the Apaches come from? How did they live? What progress are they making?

10. Compare the Navajos with the Apaches in mode of life, industries, and progress. What evidences are there that they are kin to the Pueblos ?

11. What three European peoples have played important parts in the history of the State? When did each come?

12. Why should we study New Mexican history?

Chapter II The Coming Of The White Man

12. The Discovery of America. — At the close of the fifteenth century Spain was rapidly becoming the most powerful nation in Europe. She, therefore, became the leader in the great Age of Discovery and laid the foundations of her American empire a century before any other nation established colonies in North America. She furnished Columbus the ships, money, and sailors for the great voyage that brought him to the West India Islands in October, 1492. A year later ^December, 1493) Columbus planted the Spanish colony of Isabella on the island of Haiti (ha'ti), called Espanola (es-pa-nyo'la) by the Spaniards — the first permanent European settlement in the New World. During the next half century Spain was the one country whose people added greatly to the world's knowledge of North America. Her seamen explored the coast from Nova Scotia to the Straits of Magellan. Her soldiers tramped over the country from Jamestown to the Pacific coast.

13. The Conquest of Mexico. — From their New- World center of operations in the West Indies the restless Spaniards quickly extended their colonies to the Isthmus of Panama and Central America. In April, 15 19, Hernando Cortes (er-nan'do kor-tas') landed on the coast of Mexico with a band of Spanish soldiers whom he had recruited in Cuba. Founding Vera Cruz (Va/ra kroos') at his landing place and destroying his ships to cut off retreat, he set out inland to conquer the continent. There was hard fighting to do, but success lay ahead. By the middle of August, 1 52 1, he had conquered the Aztec (az'tek) kingdom

and was in full control of Mexico City and the land of the Montezumas (mon-ta-soo'ma). Two years later the Spanish king appointed him captain general and governor of this " New Spain " (modern Mexico).

But the ambition of Cortes, one of the greatest Spaniards of his age, was not satisfied. From Mexico City as a new base of Spanish power in America he pushed his operations in all directions. By October, 1531, a permanent settlement on the west coast had been planted as far north as Culiacan (koo-lya-kan') in the modern state of Sinaloa Hernando Cortes ( S e- n a-lo'a).

14. Spaniards Arrive from the North. — Indian gossips filled the ears of these northward-moving pioneers with strange stories of the country of the " Seven Cities " far away across the northern deserts where people lived in large houses and possessed great wealth. Interest in those far-off and unknown regions was suddenly multiplied when one day in April, 1536, a group of white men came out of the northern wilderness and walked into the village of Culiacan, the northern outpost of New Spain. Who were these strangers? And whence had they come?