Thank you, Mr. Shirley, for a most interesting question. The tale of the Seven Cities of Cibola is a twisted tale of greed, destruction, self-deception, and the human imagination. It is not easy to say when the tale begins as it involves the intermingling of myths of different ages but as all tales must have a beginning, let us begin.

Our tale, according to legend and history, must have it's beginning some time around 714 A.D., when Don Rodrigo of Spain lost his kingdom to the Moors. Legend has it that seven bishops fled Spain in ships with their people. They fled to the mythical island of Antilla. Antilla was supposedly located somewhere in the mid-Atlantic ocean. Various ancient maps located it there. On Antilla, the seven bishops built seven cities. The legendary island was sought by various expeditions all to no avail even until the time of Columbus. The legend lived on in popular myth. When Columbus discovered the New World, some thought that the Seven Cities might lay somewhere in the interior of the newly discovered land mass. Legends of wealth and treasure die hard.

In 1492, Columbus brought the land mass of the new world to European consciousness. Tales of riches and wonders fueled the imagination and greed of many Europeans, Spain in the vanguard. The race for wealth, fame, and glory was on. In 1521, Cortes' defeat of the Aztecs and the taking of their capitol of Tenochtitlan with all its riches added fuel to the fire. Other explorers and conquistadors sought to duplicate Cortes' feat. Against this historical background, we will now narrow our tale to its crux. On July 23, 1536, a small party of explorers made their way into Mexico City after a number of harrowing years making their way from Florida up through Texas and New Mexico finally down into Mexico. They were led by Cabeza de Vaca who had with him a Negro slave named Esteban who was to play a key role in the legend of Cibola. Cabeza de Vaca met with Don Antonio de Mendez, the Viceroy, and told him tales of his journey and of the Seven Cities.

Now here we must take pause to note an interesting coincidence that help fuel the legend of the Seven Cities. It seems that a number of Indian tribes in the new world also had myths concerning Seven Cities. Some told of how the Indian race issued from Seven Cities. Now, it seems that de Vaca had with him an Indian named Tejo who told of how he had accompanied his father on trading missions north of Mexico into a country named "the Seven Cities". This had been part of the driving force behind de Vaca's quest into the areas north of Mexico.

To get back to the heart of our story, Viceroy Mendez was greatly excited by the tales of the Seven Cities.He sought to raise an expedition to send north to look for the Seven Cities. He tried to convince de Vaca to lead the expedition, but de Vaca declined. Mendez sought another to lead the expedition north in search of the Seven Cities. He found his leader in the person of Friar Marcos de Niza. In the spring of 1539, Friar Marcos set out with the Negro, Esteban, and a number of Indian guides heading north in search of the Seven Cities. Esteban was a very flamboyant individual. He had a talent for getting along with the Indians which made him very valuable. However, he and Friar Marcos apparently didn't get along so well. Friar Marcos sent Esteban on ahead to scout the territory and make friends with the natives. Esteban was to send back news and report on any news of the Seven Cities. Not long after sending Esteban ahead, a native guide returned with a message from Esteban saying he was just thirty days march from the first city of the country which as called Cibola. This was the first time the Spaniards had heard of the country called Cibola which was from then on linked to the Seven Cities. Friar Marcos was excited by the news and pressed to catch up with Esteban. Along the way, Friar Marcos learned from the natives of mightier kingdoms beyond called Marata, Acus, and Totonteac. Friar Marcos continued to hear of the wonders of Cibola as he journey northward after Esteban.

The expedition seemed to be going well, but suddenly everything changed. In a dramatic reversal of fortune, a fleeing native guide tells Friar Marcos of the death of Esteban and many Indian guides at the hands of the men of Cibola. Friar Marcos is frightened by the news but pushes to within sight of Cibola under cover of darkness so he can report on it first hand. Upon seeing the stone buildings of Cibola, Friar Marcos flees back to Mexico and reports to Viceroy Mendez of the Seven Cities of Cibola. Marco de Niza's story fires the imagination and greed of Mendoza. The Viceroy chooses Francisco Vasquez de Coronado to lead the expedition to return and conquer the Seven Cities of Cibola. On April 22, 1540, Coronado heads north from Culiacon with an expedition accompanied also by Friar Marcos. Finally they reach the city of Cibola. From the tales of Friar Marcos, Coronado and his men are expecting another Tenochtitlan. Instead they find a tenement-like huddle of stone and adobe buildings of the Pueblo Indians (Zuni tribe). Castaneda, a chronicler on the expedition expressed it as follows: " It is a little, cramped village, looking as if it had been all crumpled up together . . . When they saw it, such were the curses that some hurled at Friar Marcos that I pray God may protect him from them." Though disappointed after the long journey, they were also very hungry and low on supplies. They tried to make a peaceful attempt to talk to the men of Cibola, but the men of Cibola would have none of it. A battle ensued with Coronado and his men coming out victorious after a fierce fight. After taking the village or "pueblo", the Spanish learned more. It seems that the whole tribal range of the Pueblo Indians was called by the Indians "Shiwina", the name Friar Marcos had recorded as "Cibola" or "Civola". The name of the pueblo captured was called Hawikuk by the Indians. It lies in what is now northwestern New Mexico.

Four weeks after the capture of the pueblo of Hawikuk, Coronado wrote to Viceroy Mendez that they all had been thoroughly misled by Friar Marcos. "I can assure you that in reality he has not told the truth in a single thing he relates, but everything is just the opposite of what he said, except the name of the city and the large stone houses." So ends the tail of the Seven Cities of Cibola. If not for the tragedy of death and destruction, it would seem comical in many ways. A comedy of self-deception. I think there is a lesson in there somewhere, but a lesson to oft forgotten when the glimmer of gold dances in our eyes. To often we fling aside the truth wealth of life in search of the false riches. Something to think about.