At any rate, this was the effect it had. After
wintering in the villages of the Tiguas, which the Spaniards had assailed
and taken, they set out in the following April in search of Quivira, the
land of gold, which El Turco had painted in such enticing colors. Against
the advice of El Turco, they loaded the horses with provisions, the
imaginative Indian saying that this was useless, as the laden animals
could not bring back the gold and silver. Scarcely to his liking, the
romancing Indian was taken with them as a guide.
On for many leagues they went until the Pecos River was crossed and the
great northern plains were reached, they being now in a flat and treeless
country, covered with high grasses and peopled by herds of the great maned
animals which El Turco had described. These strange creatures were seen in
extraordinary numbers, so abundant that one day, when a herd was put to
flight, they fell in such a multitude into a ravine as nearly to fill it
up, so that the remainder of the herd crossed on the dead bodies.
Various tribes of Indians were met, the story they told not at all
agreeing with that of El Turco, who accordingly was now put in chains.
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