Page:Don Coronado through Kansas.djvu/333

316 310 FATHER PADILLA. the rough soldiers, and particularly the lientenant himself. The day's entertainment was made up of drill, sword contests, and for a change the men sang a Spanish hymn, and Father PadiUa spoke, which was in part repeated by Ysopete. The substance of the holy man's discourse was to convey his great desire to bring them to the true God, and closing his ad- dress with the suggestion that he might return to their midst and make his home with them, if they would permit; and to the last suggestion the chiefs and the people gave cheerful assent. Coronado has not been idle, for be is becoming very anxious about the army that is wending its way toward Cibola, and so has made diligent inquiries rel- ative to the best route to take on his return, and has concluded that he can investigate the country of the Osages on his way home; and further, he has, since reaching the City of the Twenty-four, been reliably informed that white metal can be taken from the earth in the Osage country; this information spurs him on, as so far Quivira has given no evidence of having min- erals of any description. Of course, the natives knew nothing of the commercial value of smelter, lead and zinc compared with silver; they knew that it was white, and the wUy Spaniards naturally thought it was silver, and this vv'as the article most coveted. It may be history to know that in 1718 miners were sent from Prance by the Company of the West, or Missis- sippi Company, which made John Law famous, and these men actually did mine lead and some silver on the Osape river.