The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 4, July 1900 - April, 1901 Page: 17
366 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Route of 6cbeza de Vaca.
The State of Quer6taro borders on that of San Luis Potosi, its
district of Jalpam being the most northerly .and embracing the part
so adjoining San Luis Potosi. The major part of its inhabitants
are Otomies and speak Otomi, and there are some Huaxtecos. It
is quite a corn region, producing nearly 300,000 hectolitres of corn
and 60,000 of beans yearly. Above the northwestern part of it is
the region in which Cabez'a de Vaca found the town with houses,
beans, pumpkins, and maize already gathered. In the State of
Quer6taro there are about 65,000 Otomies, who still speak that
tongue.
Of the languages spoken in the State of Quer6taro, Velasco says:
"The majority of the inhabitants speak Castilian. 'Only among the
Indians the Otomi and the Paine are used.
"The Otomi is a very sweet language, the alphabet -of which is
composed of thirty-four letters" (p. 108).
It may not be amiss to mention here how the Tarascos derived
their name. Omitting the eloquence of the historian in coming to
the point, Zamacois tells the story as follows:
'The nobles being contented to. have among them the white men
who had destroyed the power of the Aztec empire, they gave their
daughters to them, which was the proof of fraternity with which
those nations manifested their appreciation to those whom they con-
sidered as already of the family. As the principal men of the realm
in the act of giving their daughters to the Spaniards pronounced
the word iarascue, which in their language signifies son-in-law, the
Castilians gave the Indians of Michoacan the name of Tarascos, by
which they were known thereafter."21
Under such circumstances Crist6bal de Olid was readily enabled
to found the town he had gone there to establish.
In order to appreciate the extent and importance of the Otomi
race and tongue, it must be remembered that the Otomies, were
among the most powerful allies of Cortes, As soon as they learned
that the Tlaxcalans had united with Colrt6s, they joined in the com-
mon war being made against the Aztec empire, and proved efficient
and faithful allies to the Spanish chief., After the reduction of
the capital of the Aztec emperors, and the return of the Otomi21Historia de Mejico, Tom. IV, pp. 73-74.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 4, July 1900 - April, 1901, periodical, 1901; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101018/m1/23/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.