Our Catl,olic Heritage in Texas
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lands I visited," the truthful and careful missionary solemnly declares in closing his report. 26 Effect of t/1e news bro1'glit by Fray Marcos. Cabeza de Vaca and his companions had brought back vague rumors of the Indian pueblos and a copper bell as the only evidence of wealth. Fray Marcos de Niza had seen the first of the seven cities of Cibola and he had heard many more details of imaginary wealth and of people who wore cotton and woolen clothes, who hunted cows, who embellished their three- and four-story houses with turquoises, and who gave evidence of being much more advanced in the arts than any of those beyond Mexico. Small wonder that the effect of his discovery and findings created a profound impres- sion. For several years there had been relative peace. Many young noble- men had come to New Spain and were idly carousing in Mexico City at the expense of the viceroy and the established settlers, anxious to find employment compatible with their rank and natural inclinations. Hence, it is not surprising that the muffled reports of a new Mexico, just dis- covered, should have fired the ambitions and quickened the imagination of these restless young men " floating about like corks upon water. " 21 In spite of every effort of the viceroy to keep the news from spreading, the whole country soon resounded with the marvels of the land visited by the pious missionary. The very secrecy tended to magnify the truth. When Fray Marcos became provincial of his Order, shortly after his return, every Franciscan felt it his duty to proclaim, enlarge, and adorn the achievements and the story of the discovery by their new provincial. From every pulpit it was broadcast and hence repeated. It is in these reports that the explanation for the exaggerations attributed to the good friar are to be found. He never said, as far as can be ascertained, one- half of what is imputed to him, and his report certainly does not include the gross exaggerations which became current. As an example of how many of the stories began, suffice it to cite the barber' s version of the discovery. In the testimony given in an investigation held in Havana on November 12, 1539, a certain Andres Garcia declared that he had a son--in-law in Mexico, who was a barber, and who had shaved Fray Marcos, presumably shortly after his return. While performing this service, the friar had told him, he claimed, that "after crossing the mountains there was a river, and that many settlements were there, in cities and towns,
26 /bid., III, 350. 2 1 Mota Padilla, Hi.rtoria de la Nueva Galicia, p. I I 1.
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