The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 22, July 1918 - April, 1919 Page: 254
521 p. : ill. (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Southwestern Historical Quarterly
they replied that they were afraid of losing the crops, since for
two successive years it had not rained, and the seasons were so
dry that the moles had eaten the corn, so that they did not dare
to plant any more until it had rained very hard. And they also
begged us, to ask Heaven for rain. . . . We also wanted to
know from where they brought their maize, and they said it came
from where the sun sets, and that it was found all over that coun-
try, and the shortest way to it was in that direction. We asked
them to tell us how to go, as they did not want to go themselves;
to tell us about the way.
They said we should travel up the river toward the north, on
which trail for seventeen days we should not find a thing to eat,
except a fruit called Chacan which they grind between stones;
but even then it cannot be eaten, being so coarse and dry.
But they also said that going up stream we would always travel
among people who were their enemies, although speaking the same
language, and who could give us no food, but would receive us
willingly, and give us many cotton blankets, hides, and other
things; but that it seemed to them that we ought not to take that
road. In doubt as to what should be done, and which was the
best and most advantageous road to take we remained with them
for two days.
After two days were past we determined to go in search of
maize, and not to follow the road to the cows, since the latter
carried us to the north which meant a very great circuit, as we
held it always certain that by going toward sunset we should
reach the goal our wishes. So we went our way, and traversed
the whole country to the South Sea, and our resolution was not
shaken by the fear of starvation, which the Indians said we should
suffer (and indeed suffered), during the first seventeen days of
travel. All along the river, and in the course of these seventeen
days. we received plenty of cowhides, and did not eat of their
famous fruit (Chacan), but our food consisted [for each day] of
a handful of deer tallow, which for that purpose we always sought
to keep, and so we endured these seventeen days, at the end of
which we crossed the river.
The text of both narratives here is clear, and requires little
comment. By reason of their traffic in maize, the Indians of the
first groups of permanent houses were able to direct the Span-
iards how to travel for thirty or forty days journey forward-a
journey which would enable them to accomplish both their imme-
diate purpose of reaching a place where food was plentiful, and
their ultimate purpose of arriving at the Pacific Coast. These In-
dians were intelligent, and their statements to the Spaniards con-254
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 22, July 1918 - April, 1919, periodical, 1919; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117156/m1/268/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.