they
claimed to have done so. The monks of the order of St.
Francis then represented the "working church" in Mexico.
One of their number, Fray Marcos de Nizza, who had joined
Pedro de Alvarado upon his return from his adventurous tour
to Quito in Ecuador, and who was well versed in Indian lore,[16]
at once entered upon a voyage of discovery, determining to
go much farther north than any previous expedition from the
colonies in Sinaloa. He took as his companion the negro
Estevanico, who had been with Cabeza de Vaca on his marvellous
journey.

Leaving San Miguel de Culiacan on the 7th of March,
1539,[17] and traversing Petatlan, Father Marcos reached Vacapa.[18]
If we compare his statements about this place with
those contained in the diary of Mateo Mange,[19] who went
there with Father Kino in 1701, we are tempted to locate it
in Southern Arizona, somewhat west from Tucson, in the "Pimeria
alta,"[20] at a place now inhabited by the Pima Indians,
whose language is also called "Cora" and "Nevome."[21] Vacapa
was then "a reasonable settlement" of Indians. Thence
he travelled in a northerly direction, probably parallel to the
coast at some distance from it. It is impossible to trace his
route with any degree of certainty: we cannot even determine
whether he crossed the Gila at all; since he does not mention
any considerable river in his report, and fails to give
even the direction in which he travelled, beyond stating at
the outset that he went northward. Still we may suppose,
from other testimony on the subject, that he went beyond
the Rio Gila,[22] and finally he came in sight of a great Indian
pueblo, "more considerable than Mexico,"--the houses
of stone and several stories high. The negro Estevanico had
been killed at this pueblo previous to the arrival of Fray Marcos,
so the latter only gazed at it from a safe distance, and
then hastily retired to Culiacan. While the date of his departure
is known, we are in the dark concerning the date of
his return, except that it occurred some time previous to the
2d of September, 1539.[23]

To this great pueblo, "more considerable than Mexico,"
Fray Marcos was induced to give the name of Cibola.[24] The
comparison with Mexico shows a lively imagination; still, we
must reflect that in 1539 Mexico was not a large town,[25] and
the startling appearance of the many-storied pueblo-houses
should also be taken into account.[26]

With the report about Cibola came the news that the