ola, but they assured him it was true, as two
men who had come from there reported that they had beards and guns and
swords just the same. Alarcon still insisted that he was the son of the
sun. They said the men at Cibola said the same, to which Alarcon replied
that it might well be, and if so they need have no fear, for the sons of
the sun would be his brothers and would treat them as he had done. This
seemed to pacify them. He inquired now how far it was to Cibola, and
they answered ten days through an uninhabited country, with no account
of the rest of the way because it was inhabited.

* The old Spaniards used "v" and "b" interchangeably, so that Cibola
and Cevola would be pronounced the same. Other letters were used in the
same loose way.

** Windows on the sides of the houses, NOT of the WALLS, as one
writer has put it. The villages of the lower part of New Mexico had
these walls of circumvallation, but to the northward such walls appear
to have been rare.

Alarcon was now more than ever desirous of informing Coronado of his
whereabouts, and tried to persuade some of his men to go to Cibola with
a message, promising fine rewards. Only one, a negro slave, and he with
reluctance, offered to attempt the journey. Alarcon tried to get the old
man to give him guides and provisions, but without success, as the old
man seemed to desire to induce Alarcon to help them fight their battles
with the Cumanas, saying, if he would end this war, he could have their
company to Cibola. Alarcon was determined to go, and sent a man back to
the ships to inform those there of his purpose, but he changed his mind
soon after, concluding to go to the ships himself and return, leaving
there his sick, and rearranging his company. The man who had been sent
to the ships overland was overtaken and brought back by the natives, but
was obliged to remain with them till Alarcon came up again. The descent
from here was made in two and a half days, though it had taken fifteen
to come up. Arriving at the ships all was found to have gone well except
a few minor accidents, and, directing repairs to be made, Alarcon turned
about and started up-river once more, first calling the whole company
together, telling them what he had learned of Cibola, and that, as
Coronado might now have been informed by natives of his presence, he
hoped to find means of reaching him. There was much objection to this
plan, but he proceeded to carry it out, takin