Page:Don Coronado through Kansas.djvu/253

238 238 AiHISTOEICAL SWOKD FOUND. Note: About the time that the tale had been com- pleted to here and Ysopete had in. the story been awarded the sword, a trip -was taken to the Kansas State Historical Society at Topeka, to delve amon^ books for material to inject herein, and while examin- ing the Indian relics in the museum a card was ob- served with an inscription, viz: "Sword of Captain Jiiah GaUego, an of&cer with Coronado 1541; in vault>^' It is so highly prized that it is kept under lock and key. As you may surmise, being intensely interested with anything that would throw light on the expedi- tion treated of in this book, the courteous secretary George W. Martin, and his assistant George A. Root, very kindly permitted a personal examination of the sword. It has no handle, the theory being that all' perishable material rotted while buried. There is a very plain inscription along the blade, as follows: "no MB SAQUES SIN BAZON SO ME ENBAINES SIN HONOR" Being translated is "Draw me not without reistson; sheath me not without honor j" There is no mistake about this, but the claim of those who deposited the valuable relic is, that in small script letters they de- ciphered to read "Juan Gallego,"who is mentioned as being with Coronado. The sword "was found bur- ied in the sod in Finney county, Kansas, in 1886. Of course a minute examination of the name of Juan GaJlego was not made with a glass, but gentlemen of veracity have, so that fact will have to be considered conclusive. On returning home, the great authority was re- ferred to for the purpose of learning what was said