As he went on he heard more of the seven cities and the distant kingdoms,
and of the abundance of turquoises with which the natives adorned their
persons and their doorways. But nothing was seen of Stephen, though
shelter and provisions were found which he had left at points along the
route. As for the dusky pioneer, Fray Marcos was never to set eyes on him
again.
At length the good monk reached a fertile region, irrigated like a garden,
where the men wore three or four strings of turquoises around their necks;
and the women wore them in their ears and noses. But Cibola lay still
beyond, the tales of the natives magnifying its houses till some of them
were ten stories in height. Ladders, they said, were used in place of
stairways. Reaching at length the Gila River, a stream flowing through
deep and rugged valleys, he heard again of the negro, who was crossing the
wilderness to the northeast, escorted like a prince by some three hundred
natives. Fifteen days journey still lay between Fray Marcos and Cibola,
and he went on into the wilderness, escorted, like his pioneer, by a large
train of natives, who volunteered their services.
Pages:
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128