The Night Attack, Murder, Rapine, Fire And Bloodshed Became Common
Experiences, And The Discovery Of Many Bodies, The Skulls Crushed
With
battleaxes, of skeletons of men slain with the deadly arrow, of bodies
twisted by torture and charred by fire,
Reveal what a reign of terror and
dread that epoch must have been in the land of the cliff-dweller.
Houses Became Fortresses. For how many decades or centuries this lasted, we
do not know. Somewhat uncertain tradition is all we have to rely upon. But
ultimately the pressure became less severe. In some cases, hostilities
largely ceased; in others, they became less constant. So the pueblos we
find in existence to-day slowly began to arise. One by one, the bands of
cliff-dwellers dared to leave their wall fortresses and to build in more
congenial places, nearer to their fields and springs or water-courses. But,
taught by past experience, they made their homes into fortresses. The
houses were massed together, largely for protective purposes; there was no
means of easy entrance to the bottom story (they were built from two to
seven stories high), the only way provided being by a hatchway and ladder
from the roof. The rooms of the second story were thrust back a little, so
that the roof of the first story formed a kind of courtyard for its
inhabitants. Ladders that could easily be removed afforded ingress and
egress, and the doorways could be guarded by flat slabs of rock. Numerous
loop-holes afforded outlook points, and also opportunity for the shooting
of poisoned arrows upon an oncoming foe.
Buildings in Inaccessible Places. In some cases, as that of the Hopi
villages, Acoma and old Zuni, the new towns were erected upon almost
inaccessible mesas, the steep trails of which could be securely guarded
against an army by a handful of hidden men.
Arrival of Spaniards. This was the state of affairs when the Spaniards
marched into the country (after the reconnaissance of Fray Marcos), under
the leadership of Coronado and his lieutenant, the ensign Tovar. Hence it
will be seen that the original discoverers and inhabitants of the Grand
Canyon were evidently the ancestors of the present pueblo peoples.
CHAPTER XXIV. El Tovar And Cardenas And The Modern Discovery Of The Grand
Canyon
The Spanish Conquistadores. Few romances are more fascinating than the
history of the early exploitations of this continent by the Spanish
conquistadores. Cortes, Pizarro, Guzman, Narvaez, Coronado are names to
conjure with. The wonderful successes of Cortes naturally excited the
jealous envy and cupidity of his compeers. In his earlier experiences,
Cortes had aroused the anger of Velasquez, Governor of Cuba. Cortes, in one
of his many acts of gallantry, had betrayed the sister of Velasquez's
mistress. When Velasquez learned the facts, to peremptorily commanded
Cortes, who was his subordinate, to marry the unhappy girl. Refusals and
imprisonments, threats and anger were the natural consequences, and, while
Cortes did ultimately marry her, the enmity thus engendered bore bitter
fruit for the husband.
Breach between Cortes and Velasquez. When Cortes made his effective
conquests on the mainland and sought to supplant Velasquez, the breach
between the two men considerably widened. Both sought, with embassies, the
ear of the King of Spain, Charles V, and while the future conqueror made a
deep impression with his reports of conquests to come and treasures already
in hand, the Governor's friends were not slow to act. Meanwhile, Cortes had
hit upon the bold plan of destroying his ships, and thus compelling his men
to march to the subjugation of Mexico. Velasquez was about to dispatch
Panfilo de Narvaez with a commission as captain-general to arrest him, and
send him in chains to Cuba. The king, however, would not permit this, and
Narvaez was sent forth charged to be friendly to Cortes. But this was not
to be. Events prevented, and Narvaez finally decided to place Cortes and
his whole army under arrest. This was a great undertaking, and required
skilful generalship, as well as boldness and skill in execution. Though a
gallant warrior, Narvaez was not equal to the task he had set himself, and
Cortes, having learned what was before him, turned the tables upon Narvaez
and his force by becoming the arrestor instead of the arrested. It requires
no great knowledge of human nature to picture the fierce anger of Narvaez
and his men. When Cortes eventually released them, it was on condition that
he be left alone, and that Narvaez return to Spain. The defeated man, with
anger burning his jealous heart to a white heat, did return, and
immediately demanded of the king some mission that should allow him to
remove the disgrace from his name. To get rid of him, the king sent him to
the conquest of what is now Florida.
Expedition to Florida. It was a brave expedition that set forth on a bright
day in June, 1527. Five ships and six hundred men made quite a showing, yet
the Atlantic Ocean, aided by storms and winds, flouted and routed them, so
that it was April of the following year before the main part of the
expedition landed at Tampa Bay. Of the total destruction of the party, save
Cabeza de Vaca and three or four others, all readers are fairly familiar,
as they are likewise of De Vaca's wonderful eight years' journey across the
continent.
Arrival at San Miguel. I have thus rapidly traced these events in the early
history of the exploration of this continent, for it was the wanderings of
Cabeza de Vaca and his final arrival at San Miguel in New Galicia that
brought the Ensign Tovar into Arizona, and led to the discovery of the
Grand Canyon.
Preliminary Reconnaissance. The Viceroy of New Spain at that time was
Antonio de Mendoza, a wise, loyal and farseeing man. He was anxious to
checkmate Cortes, and to show that others besides the great, though
treacherous conqueror, could make discoveries of new lands, where gold was
abundant, and where colonies could be established.
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