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THE CATHOLIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY Diocese of Amarillo 806-414-1076 + Fax 806-383-8452 P. O. Box 5644 + Amarillo, TX 79117-5644 4512 N. E. 24th Avenue Email: [email protected] NEW

VOLUME THREE FALL 2019 The Beginning... to accompany Coronado on that Fray Juan Padilla memorable journey to Quivira. Fray Juan Padilla, the youngest Father Padilla retraced his steps of the group of missionaries, had a across the vast plains to Quivira. wonderful record throughout the He took with him Andres Docam- entire Coronado expedition. He po, a soldier, Lucas and Sebastian journeyed with Pedro de Tobar to who were Donados in the Francis- Moqui in the vicinity of Grand Can- can order, and a few Mexican In- yon; he returned to Zuni; he joined dian boys. This little band already Hernando de Alvarado on a thou- wearied by much travel trudged sand mile trip over vast deserts; that long distance on foot until they and he accompanied Coronado in reached the village where Corona- his search for the mythical Quivira. do had planted a large cross and Before taking up these extensive here Father Juan Padilla established travels and missionary labors Pa- his mission. His influence with the dilla had held important positions savages soon prepared their minds in his community. He had been and hearts for the Word of God the guardian of the Franciscans at and these roving children of the Tulacingo and Zapotlan. He was prairies loved him as a father. The in the full vigor of his manhood every step of his journeys. The pa- burning zeal of Fray Juan Padilla when he decided to devote the re- dre in brown Franciscan habit led him to attempt the conversion mainder of his life in the unknown walked all the way from the heart of the Guas, a neighboring hostile northern wilderness, convert- of old Mexico across burning hot tribe. The Quivirans had become ing and educating the aborgines and dusty deserts, through long so attached to the kind padre that in the truths of Christianity. stretches of thorny mesquites and they were loath to lose his religious This heroic soldier of Christ was prickly cactus, climbing up rugged ministrations since their enemies as strict and exacting in his reli- mountains and descending dan- were about to derive the benefit. But gious life as he was energetic and gerous and precipitous slopes that Fray Padilla was determined to go. determined in physical daring. He impeded the steady march of these After about one day’s travel the frequently had occasion during the travelers north. No sacrifice was padre and his companions met progress of the expedition to rep- too great for this Apostle. He would a band of these infuriated Qui- prehend and to punish evil doers. wind his weary way to the end of viran Indians on the warpath. We can gage his stamina amid the earth because he craved for the The approach of the galloping dusty hardships and privations by the salvation of souls. This was indeed horde left but little time for action. fact that he was a pedestrian on the serious purpose that urged him Decampo, the soldier still possessed

First Mass Inside:in Amarillo The Hereford POW’s Diocese 1541 his horse. The two Donados and the Mexican Indians were fleet runners. “Flee, my children,” cried Padilla, “Save yourselves, for me ye cannot help and why should all die together. Run!” There was a moment of indecision. But as the padre pleaded with them again, they seemed to read the thoughts of his heart and made good their escape. A scene was about to be enacted where one of God’s heroes was to make the supreme sacrifice of his life. Fray Padilla dropped on his knees and offered his soul to his Master and as he prayed the Indians pierced him from head to foot with many arrows. Thus died the first martyr of Texas. This new triumph of Christianity was carried back to civilization by his fleeing companions. They too had many tribulations and hardships. For ten months they were compelled to live as slaves, beaten and starved almost to death. Finally after many unsuccessful attempts they escaped from the cruel servitude of these barbarians. Amid the most terrible privations and dangers they wandered foot sore and forlorn for eight long years. They zigzagged across the burning hot sands of the desert for thousands and thousands of miles and finally found their way to Tampico where they had been given up as lost or killed by the savages. They returned weary and broken in health but they had accomplished their purpose.” They brought back to civilization the glorious story of the martyrdom of Padre Juan Padilla, the proto-martyr of the United States and of Texas.

Toby Vincent and Lance Gar- cia, who are parishioners of St. Mary’s Cathedral, and heroes of the Diocesan museum, ap- proached the Amarillo mayor and asked if the Fray Juan Padil- la monument could be moved to the grounds of St. Mary’s Cathe- dral property. The monument has been chipped away at and abused since its installment in El- wood Park in 1936. The city has given it’s OK, so now begins the momentous problem of moving the 10,000 pound monument to St. Mary’s property. If you would like to make a donation to- wards this project call St. Mary’s. Astray in the Buffalo Plains--April 23-May 26, 1541 the army and undoubtedly were ac- cepted, although The Turk protested that it was useless to burden the hors- es with supplies; they might become too weary to bring back full loads of gold and silver from Quivira! Friendly Captain Whiskers made a present to Coronado of two other “Indians of Quivira” who were serv- ing as slaves at Cicuye. One of these was a young fellow named Xabe, who said that there was gold and silver at this home place, although not as much as The Turk maintained there was. The third member of this corps of Quivira guards, however, differed sharply in his statements from the two Pawnees. This native, called So- pete or Ysopete, was of the Wichita tribe, a “painted Indian” who bore There was an Indian from an unknown land "of the the distinctive tattoos encircling the country toward Florida," which was what the Span- eyes and lids which gave the Wichi- iards called the entire southeastern United States. tas their tribal name of Kidi Kidesh, The Spaniards called this Indian “The Turk” because meaning “Raccoon Eyes.” So Sopete he looked like one. The Turk told stories that he knew of a land where there were many large villages full said outright that The Turk was a liar. of gold and silver. These stories reached Coronado. But the Spaniards wished to believe Spring had come to the pueblo country, and at last Corona- in the gold of Quivira, and at this do’s army was on the march to the fabulous land of Quivira. time Sopete was given little credence Not a single man wished to be left behind, although a few of the cap- With these three strange guides at tains suggested that it might be wise to send a small scouting party to the general’s elbow, the great army verify the Indian stories before setting the whole force into the field and column, followed by hundreds of abandoning the well provisioned villages between the Rio Grande and friendly Indians and large herds of the Pecos. But the men were stirred by gold-hunger and the zealous cattle and sheep, set out from Cicuyé parchments of the friars. Everyone wished to be off at once for the east. to skirt the mountains and reach the Coronado himself had the most compelling reasons for putting the plains where Alvarado had previ- stories of The Turk to the test. So much hoped for, so little yet to show ously explored. They descended for his labors except battered head pieces and arrow scars! So great an the west bank of the Pecos, or Rio outlay for the expedition, and thus far not a crumb of gold in recom- de Cicuyé. The river was heavily pense! The general, well knowing what his reception would be were he swollen by spring floods, so that the to return to Mexico empty-handed, was willing on the slimmest chance army was forced to remain in camp to risk all his powers in a final cast of fortune. The hunt for Quivira was for four days while a strong bridge to lead him on a far journey into the heart of the American continent. was being built across it. On the twenty-third of April Coronado left Tiguex, to march to Cicuye. It is impossible to locate with pre- At the Pecos town, Captain Whiskers, [a striking young chief Corona- cision, four centuries later, the trail do called "Bigotes" (Whiskers) who had been captured] who was go- of Coronado’s army for the Rio de ing freely among the soldiers with only a single guard, was restored to Cicuyé to the province of Quivira. his over joyed compatriots. In gratitude, provisions were offered to Landmarks on the vast Staked Plains that they traversed are few; in fact the general was not far wrong when he wrote to his king afterward that there was “not a stone, not a bit of rising ground, not a tree, not a shrub, nor anything to go by.” Furthermore, the reckonings of direction in those days were clumsy. Consequently the wake of the army in 1541 on the ocean of prairie has forever vanished, even though its point of departure and ultimate landfall are known with some degree of certainty. On those empty plains even the roving natives sometimes became lost; certainly it would not be surprising if Coronado’s soldiers went wide astray in their march toward an unknown haven. There was not a hillock that would measure three times the height of a man. Landmarks were confined to a few small round lakes and buffalo wallows, a few clumps of dusty cot- tonwoods at the bottom of an occasional deep gash in the dead earth, a few rutted bison trails radiating from the infrequent water holes. In that vacant immensity, even the army of Francisco Vazquez Coronado could be com- . . . At one place, in northwest- pletely engulfed. ern Texas, the army came upon Who could believe that a thousand horses and five hundred cows and more an isolated salt lake, on the edge than five thousand rams and eves and more than fifteen hundred friendly of which they found a pile of buf- Indians and servants, in travelling over those plains, would leave no more falo bones “a crossbow shot long, trace where they had passed than if nothing had been there—nothing—so or a very little less, almost twice a that it was necessary to make piles of bones and cow dung now and then, so man’s height in places, and some that the rear guard could follow the army. eighteen feet or more wide.” This Into those plains, “like the inside of a bowl, so that wherever a man stands, was in a region where there were the sky hems him in at a bow-shot’s distance away,” ventured the army in no inhabitants who could have its full strength; and there, in the wide region west of the Mississippi and heaped up the pile, and “the only south of the Missouri, the summer of 1541 was to be passed in explora- explanation of this which could be tion. The accounts left by these Spanish adventurers describing the prairies suggested was that the waves which they crossed, and the beasts and peoples they met there, are authentic and the north winds must make in the graphic as any that have since been written. lake had piled up the bones of the cattle which had died in the lake, when the old and weak ones who went into the water were unable to get out. The remarkable thing is the number of cattle that would be re- quired to make such a pile of bones.”

The first boundary that Coronado crossed was merely a shafting, nebu- lous line of demarcation—the edge of the range of buffalo. Eight days after marching over the bridged Pecos River the army found itself surrounded by the monstrous grazing herds. These creatures were later to become of great importance to the Spaniards, who could not have survived without the meat obtained by hunting them. could make their simple ideas quickly comprehensible. So flexi- ble was this sign manual, originat- ed because of the great rival differ- ences in language that adepts could silently converse by the hours, and even tell complicated stories by this dumb show. Some of these natives were called to speak with Corona- do, who hoped to get from them a “The bulls are large and brave, confirmation of The Turk’s reports. although they do not attack very The Querechos told the general, much; but they have wicked horns over those of the settled regions, for in their picturesque sign talk, that and in a fight use them well, at- they were the only Indians except there was a very large river over to- tacking fiercely,” wrote one of the those of Peru to use beasts of bur- ward where the sun came from, and soldiers of Coronado. “They killed den. Teams of dogs were harnessed that one could go along his river several of our horses and wounded to a pair of long poles on which through an inhabited country for many.” The ranging beasts made a were lashed the tents and food of the ninety days without a break from tremendous impression upon all the nomads. The ends of one of these settlement to settlement. The first Spaniards. At first they called the contraptions—the well-known of the settlements was called Haxa animals “cows of Cibola”; later the travois—had made the marks on and the river was more than a league term was shortened to Cibolo, which the ground which had first led the wide and had many canoes on it. is still the Spanish word for bison. Spaniards to the Querecho camp. These words must have been con- Soon after Coronado’s army came firmation enough to settle the gen- among the “cows,” some of the sol- eral’s doubts for the moment. But diers out scouting through the the contingent of scoffers in the ground fogs of early morning dis- travois army was growing larger as a re- covered marks like those that would sult of the repeated protests of So- be made by dragging lance heads on pete, the Wichita, against the bare- the ground. Following this strange travois faced tales of The Turk; and more track, they came upon a village of than one soldier remarked that the Querechos. These wandering Indi- corroboration had resulted from ans, together with another branch of the fact that The Turk, who trav- Plains Indians called Teyas, were the . . . The Coronado army first saw eled with the advance guard, had sole human claimants to the broad the Querechos in the Llano Es- been allowed to talk first to the Llano Estacado, or Staked Plains of tacado of the Texas Panhandle ten Querechos in their own tongue. western Texas. In truth, the very days after crossing the bridged The next day the Querechos si- name of the great state of Texas owes Rio de Cicuyé. They came upon a lently struck their tents, hitched its origin to the Teyas. The Corona- small band of about fifty nomads, up their dogs, and departed to the do chroniclers gave to the world the who apparently had been fore- westward; and Coronado’s men set fascinating first descriptions of these warned by their scouts, for they out in an opposite direction, “that gypsies of the prairie.The Querechos showed no signs of fear at the com- is, between north and east, but and Teyas could not have existed ex- ing of the white men. The Indians more toward the north.” Two days cept by preying upon the immense stared at the army with evident later they met incredible numbers buffalo herds. These Indians had lack of curiosity, and later strolled of buffalo and more roving Quere- no fixed dwellings, but followed the over to parley with the strangers chos. These Indians confirmed the bison from range to range, drag- The Querechos were so adept in the report of settlements to the east. ging all their possessions with them. Indian sign language that the use It was at this point that one of the In their mode of transportation of interpreters were almost unnec- Spaniards went off hunting and be- these natives had made an advance es sary, as a few expressive gestures came lost on the boundless plain. He was the first, but not the last, over on the backs of the struggling Cabeza de Vaca and his comrades of Coronado’s party to vanish into beasts The Spanish hunters failed must have passed this way on the the desert of grass. Once separated to see their peril in time, and before famous overland journey to Mex- from the cavalcade, a strayed soldier they could check their wild pursuit ico, for the Indians who lived in met a fate grim and sure; he would they and their mounts tumbled into the ravines had come out to greet circle wildly until thirst and fatigue the midst of the writhing, kicking the white men and had piled up caused him to drop exhausted, mass. The men and all but three all their goods, tanned hides and soon to fall prey to the sharp-eyed of the horses managed to extricate other things, and a tent as big as a vultures soaring tirelessly above. themselves. The three horses, all house, as gifts to the white strangers. Now The Turk was saying that saddled and bridled, disappeared Unfortunately, the Indians did not Haxa was only two days ahead. into the bloody jumble and perished. have the gentle Cabeza to deal with Because Captain Cardenas, the Expecting the return of Captain this time. When Coronado came up army-master had just broken an Lopez at any time, now, the gener- to the native encampment, he de- arm when his horse fell with him, al sent six men upstream along the cided to divide the skins among the Coronado decided to send Di- banks of this little arroyo and a like men of the army for seeping robes. ego Lopez ahead with ten men to number downstream, to look for A guard was placed over the heap; travel lightly equipped and at full tracks of the horses; but traces were but when the remainder of the army speed toward the sunrise to find the hard to find, for the grass was so arrived and saw certain favored elusive place. He was then to re- short and wiry that it straightened soldiers selecting the best hides for turn and bring up the army, which up again as soon as it had been trod- their personal use, the men were was advancing at a slower pace den. The Lopez party was finally angered because the division was located some distance upstream by not being fairly made. They made some of the Indians with the army a rush under the arms of the guards who had gone out to look for fruit. and grabbed pell-mell, and “in less Lopez reported that he had found than a quarter of an hour, noth- no sign of any settlement. In the ing was left but the empty ground. more than twenty leagues that he had Aroused by a great crying from the covered, he and his men had seen womenCoronado and children,in his ReJacion some of de the nothing but buffalo, prairie, and sky. nativeSuceso men notes joined i “It in was the soscramble, dan- Coronado tried another cast ahead, in gerousan effort to travelto retrieve or to their go awayposses - this time using the troop of Captain sions,from for the these camp “Indian in these givers” plains, had Rodrigo Maldonado, with some- innocentlythat it is believedas if one that was Coronado travel- what better success. After four days’ woulding on merely the sea bless . . . andtheir they treasures are Marching thus, some men in the travel Maldonado reached a settle- andso returnlevel andthem have to nothe mounowners.- van of the army at one place found ment at the bottom of large ravine Thetain armyor prominent spent several landmark days rest - themselves surrounded by an im- similar to the yawning gashes at Co- ingthat in theif one ravine. went It out was of lucky sight for mense herd of bull buffalo, and lima on the Pacific coast of Mexico. themof thethat campthey didhe so,was for lost. one .af - decided to kill a number for provi- The location of the great ravines, in ternoon a tornado came up, a ter- sions. They fell upon the animals which the army was to pass several rifying tempest of wind with hail- and slew many, but the shouts and weeks, was most likely on one of the stones as large as nuts, as large as confusion created a terrifying stam- upper branches of the Brazos River duck eggs, falling like raindrops pede. The entire herd dashed mad- of Texas. Maldonado sent back some and covering the ground two or ly ahead. The animals in advance of his men to guide the army to the three spans deep in some places. plunged headlong into a low ravine ravines, for, although he had been Had the Spaniards been encamped in their path, and before they could making trail markers of piled stones on the open prairie, it would have right themselves and clamber out on and buffalo chips, he feared that gone very much worse with them. the other side others crashed over the army might still miss the way. As it was, it was bad enough. The the edge. In an instant the gulch was The men who returned to act as horses, unable to protect them- filled with wildly churning buffaloes. guides had a curious story to tell selves, were in great danger, and The remainder of the herd swept the army. It seem, they said, that many were sorely bruised by the hail stones so they broke their pick- led to a place where the river banks et ropes and dashed madly up the were almost a league wide with a lit- steep sides of the ravine, whence tle trickle of water running between. they were got down with great dif- There they found groves of mulberry ficulty. Had this not held them trees, nut trees (pecans) and a kind back, all the horses might have of rosebush. The Indians raised fri- been lost, which would have put jole beans, prunes, and grapes from the army in a bad predicament. A which verjuice {Verjuice is a gently few of the mounts were shielded acidic ingredient that’s often used in by negro servants who held buck- place of vinegar} was made, and they lers and helmets over them, but all kept “fowls like those of New Spain. the rest were terrified, and hardly It was nearing the end of May. a one escaped injury from the hail The army had been on the road for stones. The soldiers’ tents were thirty-seven days, and had made this all day long, now had an excel- damaged, armor was dented, and all the very respectable speed of six or lent chance to say “I told you so!” the crockery of army was broken— seven leagues a day, according to the He prostrated himself before Coro- by no means a trifling loss, for the calculating of one member of the nado and indicated by signs that, natives of the plains had no vessels.s party who had been told to count even though they should cut off his his paces during each day’s march. head, he still maintained that their They had therefore come some road should be toward the north. two hundred and fifty leagues, and The consensus of the council Quivira, if the place actually exist- was that Coronado should take ed, must still be some distance off. a small party of light-horsemen Hunger was among the men. Their and make a dash northward to provisions of corn had given out, find Quiviara, while the remain- and no one knew where more might der of the army should retrace its be procured. Some of the men were steps to the Rio Grande pueblos. becoming ill from an unrelieved diet When this decision was made of meat, and the horses had grown known to the lower ranks, many a bony for lack of corn. Thirst was al- protest arose. Deep in the melan- ways with them. “I was in great need choly induced by the gloomy, sun- of water, and often had to drink it so Painted Pawnee baked monotony of the plains, the poor that it was more mud than wa- men pictured themselves in a lead- After the Texas twister had passed ter.” In this desperate situation Coro- erless retreat, and begged the gen- and the camp had been set to rights, nado called a council on Ascension eral not to desert them. They were Coronado sent out another scouting Day, May 26, to discuss with his staff willing to die in a lost march, if need party which, four days later, came and friends what should be done. be, but they must not be separated across a larger settlement called Suspicion of The Turk and his from Coronado! Others, less sen- Cona. This was a cluster of tepees stories had been steadily grow- timental, feared that the advance held by the Teya tribe, who much ing. Some of the Teyas who had party might gobble up all the gold resembled the Querechos but who not been given a chance to talk and leave none for later adventurers. were frequently unfriendly toward with the rascal gave a discouraging All their remonstrances were use- them. The Teyas painted or tattooed account of what lay ahead. Qui- less. Coronado had made his deci- their faces, and the women decorated vira, they said, was a place where sion, and would follow it to the end. their eyes and chins “like the Moor- corn was grown by people living in His only concession was to promise ish women.” “These people,” wrote thatched houses. But it lay to the that if his advance party found fa- Castaneda, “are very intelligent. north and to the east, and there was vorable signs he would send back The Teya settlements extended no good road thither, for the army messengers after eight days with or- along a canyoned stream for three was far south of the usual route. ders to bring up the main army; with day’s journey, and the army was Sopete, who had been asserting this the objectors had to be content. The Conquest of Quivira--Summer, 1541 Thirty horsemen and half a dozen plains, so now must the strayed themselves with fresh meat, which foot soldiers, the best equipped of Spaniards. they cooked over a fire of dried all the army, were chosen by Coro- During the hunts a number of the dung. In the hunts, however, they nado for his northward dash. Diego army became lost on the prairie and lost several horses, impaled by the Lopez, “the alderman”, was made did not get back for days, “wander- horns of the buffalo. provost of the little force; but now ing about the country as if they were On June 29, the feast day of Saints for the first time Francisco Vazquez crazy, in one direction or anoth- Peter and Paul, they came to a river Coronado in person was leading the er, not knowing how to get back to which they called the Rio de Pedro y van of an exploring force into un- where they started from, although Pablo. This stream they followed for known country. this ravine extended in either direc- thirty leagues to the northeast. His staff of guides included a group tion so that they could find it.” Each After three days’ travel down the of local Teyas, The Turk (now in dis- night the roll was called to learn river, the troop encountered a small grace and draped in chains), and who might be missing, and the men band of Quivira Indian hunters with Sopete, the Wichita, who had been in camp built fires and shot off their their wives, engaged in killing buffa- made the official trailfinder and who guns and sounded drums and trum- lo. The startled natives, who appar- had been promised his freedom if he pets in the hope that the wanderers ently had no news of the coming of would lead them truly to Quivira. would be guided back safely. The the strangers, as had the Querchos, Xabe was to remain with Arellano to men soon learned that when they were recalled from terrified flight by guide the army back to Tiguex. became lost the wise thing to do the shouts of the happy Sopete, and The main guard was deeply deject- was to go back to where the game shortly were fraternizing with the ed as they watched these riders de- had been killed and cast about from Spanish riders and the other Indian part. Shortly afterward they sent two there in all directions for signs, or guides. At this point The Turk, who horsemen posthaste to ask if Coro- else wait until the setting sun gave a had been kept under close guard nado might not have changed his clue to the direction of the river. in the rear so that the sight of him mind about having the whole force After their food supply had been would not infuriate Sopete, was accompany him. obtained, the army, led by Don dragged forth and questioned. Be- In a few days Diego Lopez reap- Tristan the Arellano and guided by cause it was not apparent to all that peared at the ravine camp. The sol- friendly Teyas, regretfully began the he had lied throughout, the dejected diers’ hopes soared, only to be quick- return march, with many a glance Pawnee made full confession of his ly dashed when Lopez announced toward the north where the gilded treacherous plans. The scheme he that he had come back merely to get casque of their general had vanished revealed was horrifying enough to more guides (which the chiefs at the over the grass-rimmed horizon. Coronado, who could easily imagine settlement cheerfully supplied) be- Coronado and his light-horse- how it might have brought complete cause the Teyas with Coronado had men, accompanied by the indefati- disaster to the army he commanded. all run away. Lopez reported that gable Fray Juan de Padilla, were in The Turk admitted that he had Coronado continued obdurate in the meantime riding steadily north, told the Spaniards anything which his decision, but the army remained guided by the compass needle – a he thought might excite their de- encamped for another fortnight, still bit of magnetized iron hung from a sire, in order to draw them out hoping that the general might have a silken thread. Following along the into the boundless plains, there to change of heart. hundredth meridian, they traveled die of hunger and thirst. He had The soldiers passed the time by kill- for thirty days through the open advised against loading the hors- ing more than five hundred bull buf- country of northern Texas, across es heavily with provisions, hoping falo and making jerked meat for the Oklahoma, and into south-central that the Spaniards would be unable return trip. Hides were also needed, Kansas. They sometimes suffered to exist without corn; he evident- for clothing, shoes, and harness re- form lack of water but were always ly had overlooked the possibility pairs. Even as the natives found their able, from the buffaloes that were to that they would be able to kill the sustenance in the wild beasts of the be found on every side, to provide buffalo for food. In all his contriv ing he had been encouraged by the about the country ahead, and asking to the tinkle of golden bells; and Pueblo people, who likewise wished eagerly what should be done to free the jars on the shoulders of the that the white conquerors might the white castaway from his bondage burdened squaws were only of be led astray to perish with their among the heathen. Coronado had dull clay. Perhaps the rich king- horses, or else, if they did get back now reached the point of the Arkan- dom of Tatarrax lay beyond? to the terraced villages, to return sas River where, at the town of Great so weakened that they would fall Bend, the river alters its course. an easy prey to the seekers of ven There he left the stream but con- geance from Tiguex and Cicuye. tinued his northeasterly path down The Turk had thought to slip away the valley of the Smoky Hill River. and travel back to his home coun- The Spaniards found themselves try, but he had been closely guard- among six or seven settlements ed, and now he did not seem to care strung along between the Arkansas what happened to him. As for gold, and Kansas rivers, where then and he did not know where any was to be for centuries after lived the Wichita They hurried ahead down the Kan- had. His failure to carry his murder- Indians. They had reached Quivira. sas River. “We reached,” wrote Jara- ous plan to a conclusion had made The confession of The Turk had millo, who was one of the Quivira him sullen and malignant, and he partly prepared them for disap- Party, “what they said was the end was more closely watched than ever. pointment, but it was a rude shock of Quivira, to which they took us, The Spaniards, in spite of their bit- to discover that the grand houses saying that the things there were ter disillusionment, were somewhat of their dreams were small thatch- of great importance.” They were more cheerful as they pushed ahead roofed cabins like beehives of grass of importance to the Indians, for into the comfortable country of roll- and earth. No golden-prowed ar- these river lodges, contemptible as ing hillocks and small fertile valleys gosies cut the limpid waters of the they as they might be to the men toward the Quivira villages. Al- river; no proud emperor drowsed though the Turk confessed himself a liar, Coronado could not forget his mention of a grey-bearded king of Quivira and his story of boats with sails. Somehow, he had got- ten the notion that the ruler of the provinces of Quivira and Harahey was a white man, a Christian survi- vor of the wrecked Narvarez party. To this personage the general ad- dressed a letter in round Castilian, sent forward by the obliging Sop- ete, telling of the coming of their ex -pedition, begging full information City of Gold who had hardly been stirred by the sight of the high walls of Cibola and Cicuye, were the center of culture for all the Plains Indians, the homes of great medicine men and paint- ed lordly chiefs. In Quivira food was to be found in abundance; the province had flint deposits from which keen arrowheads were made; and it served as a base from which to sally forth and hunt the buffalo. The “end of Quivira” was most likely on the Kansas somewhere near Junction City. “Here there was a river,” continued Jaramillo, “with more water and more inhab- in permanent houses or practiced The disappointment of Corona- itants than the others. Being asked do over this goal of his journey is if there was anything beyond, they agriculture before the coming of the white man. They wore ornaments clearly evident in his letter to the said that there was nothing more king written shortly after the gener- of Quivira, but that there was Har- of bone, seeds, pipestone, and shell, and painted their faces. From the al returned to Tiguex. The people of ahey, and that it was the same sort Quivira, he said, were just as barba- of a place, with settlements like custom of tattooing themselves on eyelids, chin, and breast by the use rous as those he had met elsewhere these, and of about the same size.” in the new lands. They were polyga- of cactus spines and charcoal, they In the capital of the Wichitas, which were later called by the French ex- mous and used their wives as slaves one chronicler called Tareque, plorers the Pani Pique, or Tattooed of burden. They ate raw buffalo Coronado summoned the chief of Pawnees. They were closely related flesh like the Teyas and Querechos, the Quivira people, who came forth- to the Pawnees, who lived in Hara- dressed in skins, lived in houses with to greet him. This ruler was not, hey. Both Wichita and Pawnee were thatched with grass, and worshiped as the general had pictured him, a of Caddoan stock, and were allied the Sun. There were in all this coun- strayed Spaniard reigning in sul- in constant warfare against the wild try not more than twenty-five little tanic grandeur, but a large-bodied Apache and Comanche wanderers. villages, and in each the inhabi- Plains Indian whose retinue num- Their relations with the “Guas,” the tants apparently spoke a different bered no more than two hundred Kaw or Kansa tribe of the lower dialect. The houses were round, naked followers armed only with Kansas River, were equally hostile. and had one story like a loft under bows of bois d’arc and wellmade ar- the roof, where the people slept rows. They had “some sort of things and kept their few belongings. The on their heads,” possibly the ridge straw walls reached to the ground, of plastered hair rising from their and attached to most houses was a shaven pates that was the mark sort of chapel or sentry box; these of some of the Wichitas and their were merely grass-roofed arbors close relatives the Pawnees. Many or drying frames. The natives were of the groups were, in fact, Pawnees tall; Coronado had several of them of Arache of Harahey, and a few of measured and found them to be ten these were later used to guide a par- spans in height – about six feet eight ty of Spaniards to their province to inches! The features of the women the north. The Wichitas of the Great seemed more Moorish than Indian. Bend country were the aboriginal in- The country itself, which Corona- habitants of the fertile valleys of the do said was nine hundred and fif- Arkansas and Kansas rivers. No oth- ty leagues from México and lay in er tribe of the southern plains lived Tattooed Pawnee the fortieth degree of latitude, was fertile, “the best I have ever seen for “Francisco Vazquez de Coronado, comforts of the little estate at Tlapa. growing all the products of Spain, general of an ex­pedition, reached for besides the land itself being very here.” The devout Fray Juan de Pa- fat and black and being very well wa- dilla swept the place at the foot of tered by the rivulets and springs and the cross and taught the natives how rivers, I found everything they have to fold their hands and pray to the in Spain, and nuts and very good God of the Christians. There was a sweet grapes and mulberries.” Other fatal power in that wooden emblem, plants seen were pennyroyal, oats, for a year later it was to draw Fray melons, and wild marjoram; much Juan back to Quivira, and eventual- flax was found, but the Indians did ly cause him to give up his life as a not know how to use it. Jaramillo testimony to his faith in that God. also was much impressed by the ag- Dona Beatriz ricultural possibilities of the coun- Another danger was uncovered try; the business of exporting buf- before the Spaniards left. The Turk, falo meat alone, he believed, would feeling that he might as well be bring a fortune to a good cattleman. hanged for a sheep as a lamb, had But Coronado had come seeking been busy conspiring behind their gold, and there was no gold. The backs with the people of the coun- chief of the country wore a cop- try, stirring them to rise against er plate around his neck, which he the thirty white men and kill them. prized highly but which he was per- The discovery of this plot was the suaded to turn over to Coronado for last straw. That night The Turk was delivery to His Majesty Charles V garroted in his sleep. It was a poor as the sole metallic plunder of Qui- satisfaction for the repeated betray- vira. A momentary surge of hope als he had contrived, even though came when one of the Wichitas ex- After almost a month had been his fanciful tales had brought hibited a small bit of what seemed passed in fruitless search for met- Coronado to the ultimate station to be gold; but this dream vanished al, Coronado once more called a of his quest, the Kansas valley that with the rest when no place from council. Although it was then only is virtually the geographi­cal cen- which it might have come could the early part of August, the horror ter of continental United States. be found, and Coronado finally of being caught unprepared in this This work of justice performed, and decided that the piece had been land by the snows of winter, far from leaving the honest guide Sopete in- obtained by its owner from one of their companions in the army, filled stalled among his relatives accord- the Indians in the Spanish party! every mind. It seemed to the captains ing to the bargain, Coronado and Twenty-five days were passed that Coronado should order the re- his thirty men took the road back. in exploration in several direc- turn to Tiguex, where they hoped On the way they paused at one tions. Some of the scouts sent the army would be found in safe- of the settlements to pick fruit and toward Harahey may have trav- ty and well provided with food. At corn for the journey. There guides eled as far north as the Nebraska the opening of spring, they argued, were obtained who promised to boundary – the high-water mark the whole force could come back to lead them directly to the flat-roofed of the Coronado explorations – consolidate their discovery of Qui- villages of Tigeux, for it seemed but little of importance was found. vira and colonize the province. This that there was a straight trail much Aside from the fertility of the soil, seemed wisdom to them, and Coro- better than the circuitous southern General Coronado considered the nado nodded agreement without route by which they had come. This Kansas provinces of little value, appearing to be too eager to retreat. “good road,” which turned to the although he carefully claimed the The general was having a touch of right-that is, west-after the cross- whole territory for the Crown, and homesickness. Nine hundred and ing of the Arkansas below modern caused to be erected a large cross fifty leagues was too far a separation Fort Dodge, was an old and well- on which were chiseled the words: from his wife, Dona Beatriz and the known trade route between Quiviar The way from this point was now plain; they ascended the stream, crossed the bridge, and followed the east bank up toward Cicuye. Taken From: 1940 Panhandle-Plains Historical Review

March 17 to September 4, 2019

CONTRIBUTIONS

Joanne Adams 25 Pearl Acker 25 Don and Judy Allen, Sr. 50 DcnRobert and Linda Aranda 25 Jim and Marge Arend 100 Msgr. Norbert Kuehler 700 Jody & Kay Bezner 150 J. Thomas Campbell 25 Marlene Casasanta 20 M/M Alfred Diaz, Jr. 15 and Pueblo Land, following the they wished to follow, and shoot Don Dolle 25 Cimarron River upstream and an arrow in that direction. They Alice Kuehler 50 cutting across Oklahoma. It is would then march toward the arrow, Ron Kershen 25 today better known by the his- but before reaching it they would Sharon Moyland 50 toric name of the Santa Fe Trail. shoot another arrow ahead in the Jerry Poirot 25 The army under Arellano, pro- same line and so follow forward as Dee Ramirez 25 vided with large stores of jerked a woodsman takes compass sights Jane Roberts 50 meat, departed from their camp in from one landmark to another. Albert Quinto 30 the ravines of the Brazos about the On the way, probably in Texas John and Sarah Walsh 25 middle June, in stifling heat. They just east of the New Mexico bound- Don White 50 started back to the pueblos over ary, in the southern section of the Anna Marie Wink 75 a direct route which was shown Panhandle, the Spaniards came Bishop John Yanta 250 them by the friendly Teya guides, to some lakes of crystallized salt. Total 1815 who were accustomed to travel to There were thick pieces of it on top Cicuye to pass the winters and trade of the water bigger than tables, as MEMBERSHIP robes, hides, meat, rabbits, and thick as four or five fingers. Two or salt for the products of the towns. three spans down under water there Pearl Acker 25 Their route lay almost due west, was salt in grains which tasted bet- Ron Kershen 25 and in spite of stopping on the way ter than that in the floating pieces, Sharon Moylan 20 to hunt more buffalo they made the because this was rather bitter” These Anna Marie Wink 25 return in twenty-five days, whereas lakes and a number of prairie dogs, Bishop John Yanta 25 the outward journey had consumed descried sitting by their holes in Total 120 thirty-seven days. The Teyas used the ground, were the only objects on this trip a means they had de- of note encountered on the return Thank you for your vised for keeping a steady course trip across the Llano Estacado. over the unmarked plains. In the The guides led them to the Pe- continued morning they would note the di- cos somewhere north of modern generosity! rection of the sun’s rising, from this Roswell, thirty leagues below the determine the compass point that locality where the bridge was built. Walter Woodul of Houston, Dr. Car- los Castaneda, historian and author; Floyd Studer, James O. Guleke Dr. C. C. Grimes of Amarillo, and others. Members of the Franciscan order from various states came to Amarillo to par- ticipate in the ceremony. Hanson Post of the American Legion lowered the Ameri- can flag as a bugler from the 42nd infan- try, national guard band played taps. The band played “The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You” as the program ended. A crowd of approximately1,000 persons witnessed the unveiling. The national guard band gave a 30 minute concert before the program opened. Mayor Ross Rogers presided. The Rev. Paul J. Foik, C.S.C., of Austin, member of the Centennial board of histo- rians; the Rev. A. A. Boeding of Amarillo, member of the Texas Knights of Colum- bus historical board; F. M. Shaughnessy, pioneer member of the Knights of Colum- bus in Amarillo; T. E. Johnson, who was chairman of the committee that arranged the dedication program, and Senator Clint C. Small were among those introduced by Mayor Rogers in addition to the speakers. Mr. Woodul, who is chairman of the State Centennial commission, described the ceremony as one of the most impres- sive of any held in Texas in the past year, in which time many historical mark- ers and monuments have been erected. “The country that does not pause to honor and revere the memory of its forefathers is like a person who forgets his parents,” he said. He reviewed the work of the Centen- nial commission in reminding Tex- ans of the debt they owe the found- ers of the republic and the men who first braved the dangers of this country. Mr. Studer said the memorial to Fray Pa- dilla should result in a great quadri-centen- nial in 1940, to Coronado,” the first White The Most Rev. Bishop Robert E. Lucey, head of the church in the Diocese of Amarillo, citizen of this region. In a prepared talk, within whose boundaries the United States’ first Christian martyr, Fray Juan de Padilla, shed Mr. Studer retraced in detail the Coronado his blood nearly 400 years ago, Sunday dedicated the monument that will preserve Fray expedition into the Panhandle. Dr. Casta- Padilla’s memory for future generations in Amarillo. The dedication ceremony in Ellwood neda’s talk also was of historic nature, pic- City park was attended by a crowd of approximately 1,000 persons, among whom were a turing Fray Padilla’s return to the Panhan- number of modern representatives of the Franciscan order, to which Fray Padilla belonged. dle, where he was slain by hostile Indians in It was Fray Padilla who established the first mission in Quivira, the Plains 1543. “Well may Texas be proud,” declared country north of Amarillo, after accompanying the explorer, Corona- Dr. Cataneda, “to claim the rare distinction do, into the Texas Panhandle in search of the legendary seven cities of gold. of having been the place chosen by Divine In a colorful and patriotic ceremony, the monument to his memo- Providence for the achievement of the he- ry – sent to Amarillo by the Texas Centennial commission and the Tex- roic sacrifices of the pious and fearless Fray as Knights of Columbus – was blessed and unveiled by His Excellency, the Most Juan de Padilla. In a broader sense, he has Rev. Bishop Robert E. Lucey. The colorful procesion of Church dignitar- left a rich heritage not only to those of his ies, priests, sisters, altar boys, Boy Scouts, and others wended its way form faith but to all men who feel admiration for the chancery office to the place where the monument was blessed. The ex- courage, determination, and heroic virtue.” ploits of Coronado and Padilla were recounted in addresses by Lieut. Gov. Night at the Museum Revisted

Msgr. Kuehler

The Diocese of Amarillo was well represented on Thursday, July 25th at “A Night at the Museum”. Vistors from Amarillo, Canyon, Clarendon, Fritch, Groom, Panhandle, Vega and White Deer joined in the event, not only to celebrate the history, memories and art from St. Anthony’s Hos- pital, but also, to view artifacts dating back to the early days of Catholi- cism in the Texas Panhandle. Over-looking a crowd of more than one hun- dred people was a 6x8 foot mural painted by local artist Randy Friemel, showing Fray Juan Padilla leading Francisco Vasques de Coronado, his soldiers and some Indians into Palo Duro Canyon in search of the Sev- en Cities of Cibola, in the year 1541. This historical event marked the date of the first Catholic Mass celebrated in our Panhandle area. --Ann

Sr. Marie Andre

Msgr. Colwell and Beca Vincent Darrel Glen White Deer Ladies White Deer Ladies

Betty and Mike Deneke and Arnold DeLeon

Night at the Museum Revisted Catholic History Society Board Members Bishop Patrick Zurek - Honorary Chair

Susan Garner - President/Editor

Msgr. Norbert Kuehler - Vice-President

Kathryn Brown - Secretary

Ann Weld -Treasurer/Curator Natalie Barrett Dave, our mascot, Kathy Reed and Fr. Sweeney, Christopher Morris, Kevin Jim Jordan Doris Smith, boardmember Morris and Deacon Robert Arranda Peggy Newcomb Rev. Tony Neuch Rev. Francisco Perez Rev. Scott Raef Doris Smith Deborah Summers Don White

Howard Birkenfeld and Natilie Barrett, Mary Glasgow, Flo Broft and Lance Garcia boardmember You may stop by daily ( Monday through Friday) to view the muse- um, for a guided tour it is recom- mended that you make an appoint- ment.. The museum is open by appointment for church and school groups. This includes evenings and weekends. Susan: 383-2243 Ext. 120 or even better: [email protected]

Ron Kershen, Fr. Mayorga and Howard Birkenfeld Thank you for your continued generosity!