Adventure Magazine Cover, December 18, 1919 — page 87: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Seven Cities of Cibola faced Fray Marco, who in a new cassock strode down to meet them. “My good fray! You can not come afoot! Ho! A horse there for the fray!’ “No horse for me, setior. My Master rode an ass into Jerusalem. Shall I be more proud than he? No! No! I go afoot, as I have gone through life. Shall I go with the advance?” “Tf you will have it so. A few miles out and the Indian trailers will work to the front, and the pace will be slow so that the herds can keep up. Trumpeters, sound a point of war in honor of the governor.” : So with fluttering pennons, glancing | arms and prancing steeds, followed by a - thousand Indians and by his flocks and herds, accompanied by three hundred Spanish soldiery, the cream of the ad- venturers of all the Gold Coast, the Sefior Don Francisco Vasquez de Coro- nado, most brilliant of all the gallant conquistadores of Spain, passed out of the little frontier town of Culiacan in Sonora, in the year of grace 1540. The real roads stopped at Culiacan. All beyond that was tierra incognita. The Indians had no pack animals and used only foot trails. Over hill and valley the narrow trails ran, broad brown ribbons deep with dust. Mile after mile the land unfolded before them; ridge above ridge, to right and left, crowned with oak and stunted pifon pine along the crests. the ugly prickly-pear showed in flecks of unhealthy-lodking green, with here and there a clump of choya, now yellowing into bloom, or ocatilla with its red fire- int. “Holy Mary! quoth Andres. Fray Marco. advance ?” Fray Marco Andres spoke. “See now, my son. Until I passed over this land no Spaniard had ever seen it and but few Indians. When God made it, then, He must have made it to please Himself. What is good enough to please God, sefior, should be good What a country!” “You have seen it all, Does it improve as we smiled pityingly as enough for you and me.” Andres chuckled grimly. Here was a man of parts. Along the base of the hills ~ 73 “Tt shall be,” he said with a pious oath. “You are right. How far is it to water?” ; “T do not know. I paid no attention to such carnal vanities.” “My friend, when you have made a dozen camps without water, you will not call it a carnal vanity. When you scouted this land, were you never without water ?” “T suppose [ must have been. I do not remember.” “You scouted it, did you not?” “Ay, I did. I went to search for Cibola. That is, I marched but I never saw with the material eye. I was look- ing for higher things. When you study your own soul, you must watch with a single eye. Watching God’s goodness to man, what have I to do with wood or water ?” . Andres looked at him keenly. ““Man’s salvation depends on water or I read the scriptures wrong. Did you make no mental note of where we can find wood or grass or water?” “Estevanico did but they killed him at Cibola. As I came back I walked. No doubt the saints directed me to water— like the wild ass of the desert.” “Very like,’ said Andres dryly. “Where are the men who went with ou ?” . “Gone! Gone! All gone,” said the fray wildly. “Gone like the snows go from the highest peaks. It may be that God will require their blood at my hands, for I would not let them fight when fighting might have availed them. Some died of thirst in crossing the plains, four died of poison of the snakes, two per- ished in a quicksand and the rest in that awful fight when we came to Cibola. But I saw the city—Yes, sevior! I saw the cit “ A clash of accoutrements behind them, and Coronado rode up. He had heard the last words. “‘And what then, father? You have told us little enough about those cities.” “T traveled for two months, sefior, and we came out upon a great ridge. We saw the city, and the armed men came out and would not let us enter it. Then Estevanico passed himself as a man of healing and won a standing with them. All this time they made us live on the eComiicooks < i ee — A - — a a ' (E@)