Coronado 1

The journey of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado starts at his national memorial. His national memorial is located in Hereford Arizona. Coronado began his expedition in 1535 in search of wealth and glory at age 25. In 1540 Coronado was the first European to see the Grand Canyon. After trying and failing to climb down into the Grand Canyon to reach the river below, the expedition reported that they would not be able to use the Colorado to link up with their ships. After this, the main body of the expedition began its journey to the next populated center of pueblos, which were located along the Rio Grande River in New Mexico. Hernando de Alvardo was sent to the east, and found several villages around the Rio Grande. Coronado set up his winter quarters in one of them, Tiguex, which is across the river from present-day Bernalillo near Albuquerque, New Mexico. During the winter of 1540-41, his army found themselves in conflicts with the Rio Grande natives, conflicts which led to the brutal Tiguex War. This war resulted in the destruction of the Tiguex pueblos and the death of hundreds of Indians. A Native American, whom Coronado called "The Turk," had told him about Quivira, a rich country in the northwest. Deciding to look for Quivira, he took the Turk as his guide and traversed the Llano Estacado and what is now the Texas Panhandle. However, Coronado suspected the Turk was lying about the route and executed him. Other guides led him further north to Quivira, and he reached a village near present-day Lindsborg, Kansas. But his disappointment was repeated: the Quivira people (later known as Wichita) were not rich at all. The village consisted mostly of thatched huts, and not even small amounts of gold could be found. Coronado returned to Tiguex, where his main force had remained behind. Here he spent another winter. Near present day Dodge City, Kansas, Coronado held the first Christian mass in the interior of North America. The site of this mass is currently marked by a large concrete cross called Coronado's Cross to commemorate the event, which took place on June 29, 1541. Just right outside of Dodge City held a huge massacre of the Zuni tribe. This is a really is signifficant because this massacre was one of the reasons that Coronado had lost his pride and his possition as governer.