Page:Oregon, her history, her great men, her literature.djvu/27

24 to Cedros Island. Only one of his ships returned to Mexico, the two others having been lost on the voyage.

Coronado Marches to Kansas. After a time Cortez was succeeded by Mendoza as Viceroy of Mexico. Soon the new viceroy became ambitious to outdo his predecessor in the search for new lands and seas. Accordingly he made provision for two explorations; one by land, under Coronado, the other by sea, under Alarcon.

Coronado Started from Mexico in 1550 with a large force of horsemen and native allies on an expedition to conquer "The Seven Cities of Cibola," which were said to be in a northerly direction. The Golden Cities were as famous in fable as was the spring of eternal youth which Ponce de Leon had already sought in vain. Coronado sought them in Mexico and Arizona. He then marched to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, thence to Arkansas. Having been misled by a native guide, he pushed northward into what are now Kansas and Nebraska, where the agricultural possibilities of the country favorably impressed him. Upon failing to reach the mystic cities for which his expedition had been equipped, Coronado returned to Mexico, where he was received coldly by Mendoza, the disappointed viceroy. Reports of Coronado's expedition, however, created intense interest in the western coast, and led to many subsequent explorations.

Alarcon Approaches Upper California. To assist Coronado, Mendoza organized an expedition under Alarcon, who ascended the Colorado in small boats to the Gila, which is near the Southern boundary of what is California. About this time appeared a popular Spanish novel which described a mystic island near paradise. The name of the island was "California." Because of some fancied ________