Page:Vol 2 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/489

Rh the affairs of his province, and this neglect sowed the seeds of a revolt which was only suppressed after three years of warfare. Before his departure, so alarming had matters become, that on the 26th of December preceding, the colonists of Guadalajara addressed a petition expressing fear that unless he extended aid the country would be lost.

But the governor was not to be turned from his adventure by trifles. Here was a land where gold was as common as was earthen-ware in Spain, and precious gems could be collected in heaps; time enough to attend to his people after he had gathered wealth. At the end of February, Oñate having been appointed lieutenant-governor, the army marched out of Compostela with banners flying, every man of them having taken an oath, required by the viceroy, to obey the orders of their general and never abandon him.

Day after day and month after month they journeyed northward, robbing and murdering as occasion offered, their eyes like those of hawks ever eager for prey. But gold and jewels were not plentiful there. The seven cities of Cíbola proved but so many empty crocks, and the disappointed booty-hunters cursed the reverend Niza. But there was gold enough beyond, according to the statements of the natives, over toward the north-east, and the Spaniards still pursued. Across rapid rivers and over trackless