journey, "by a path that went along that river." Alarcon must now
have been about at the mouth of the Gila, and the river referred to
was, of course, the Gila. This man described the towns of Cibola as
all who had seen them described them; that is, large towns of three-
or four-storey houses, with windows on the sides,** and encompassed
by walls some seven or eight feet in height. The pueblos of the Rio
Grande valley were well known in every direction and for long
distances. The Apaches, harassing the villagers on every side, and
having themselves a wide range, alone carried the knowledge of them
to the four winds. In every tribe, too, there are born travellers who
constantly visit distant regions, bringing back detailed descriptions
of their adventures and the sights beheld, with which to regale an
admiring crowd during the winter evenings. Their descriptions are
usually fairly accurate from the standpoint of their own
understanding. In this case the native gave a good description of the
Cibola towns, and the Tusayan people had meanwhile given Cardenas a
description of these very natives on the lower Colorado. A day or two
later Alarcon received further information of Cibola, and this
informant told about a chief who had four green earthen plates like
Alarcon's, except in color, and also a dog like Alarcon's, as well as
other things, which a black man had brought into the country. This
black man was Estevan, who had been killed about a year before. The
news of this man and his execution had travelled rapidly, showing
frequent intercourse with the pueblos beyond the mountains. Still
farther on he met another man who had been at Cibola, and who also
told him of a great river in which there were crocodiles. This was
the Mississippi, of course, and the crocodiles were alligators. As
Alarcon had never seen an alligator he took the description to mean
crocodile. A little farther and he heard of the negro Estevan again
and the reason why the Cibolans had killed him, which was to prevent