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With the wealth of Mexico and Peru
already glittering in their minds,
Spanish treasure hunters looked
north in the late 1530s. They dreamed they
might find a new Tenochtitlán or Cuzco in the
unexplored lands of what would become the
United States. One of the first and greatest
journeys of discovery into the heart of North
America was led by Francisco Vásquez de
Coronado. Members of his entrada(literally,
“entrance,” but used to refer to an expedition)
were the first Europeans to meet the pueblo-
dwelling peoples of the American Southwest
and to see the Grand Canyon. They were also
the first to see the Great Plains, traveling
alongside Indian tribes whose survival
depended on buffalo herds so vast that they
covered the landscape as far as the eye could
see. For centuries, however, Coronado’s amaz-
ing entradalay forgotten as a business venture
whose failure cost its investors their fortunes.
Although the contemporary public never
saw a word in print about Coronado’s expedi-
tion, it was one of the best-documented jour-
neys of the era. It was described by Coronado
himself in detailed official letters to his
patron, Antonio de Mendoza, the viceroyof
New Spain. Other chroniclers were soldiers,
like the anonymous author of a document
known as the Relación del Suceso(Story of the
event), or Captain Juan Jaramillo, or Pedro de
Casteñeda, who recorded his experiences 20
years after marching from Mexico to present-
day Kansas and back.
The Spanish venture northward was spon-
sored by Mendoza. To some extent, Mendoza’s
interest in funding exploration was inspired
bythe rumors of great cities to the north
swirling around the survival of Cabeza de Vaca
and his companions. Mendoza’splans were
also hastened by competition. His political
rival Hernán Cortés was funding seaborne
exploration from Mexico’s Pacific coast. Her-
nando de Soto had received a royal grant to
explore La Florida, the vast region between
Florida and Texas. Mendoza thought competi-106
Coronado and
the Seven Cities
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