to have been the Mobile. Whatever it was, Pineda spent six weeks in its
waters, saw many Indian towns on its banks, traded with the natives, and
noticed that they wore gold ornaments.

THE EXPEDITION OF NARVAEZ.--Pineda's story of Indians with gold ornaments
so excited Narvaez (nar-vah'eth) that he obtained leave to conquer the
country, and sailed from Cuba with four hundred men. Landing on the west
coast of Florida, he made a raid inland. When he returned to the coast the
ships which were sailing about watching for him were nowhere to be seen.
After marching westward for a month the Spaniards built five small boats,
put to sea, and sailing near the shore came presently to where the waters
of the Mississippi rush into the Gulf. Two boats were upset by the surging
waters. The others reached the coast beyond, where all save four of the
Spaniards perished.

FOUR SPANIARDS CROSS THE CONTINENT.--After suffering great hardships and
meeting with all sorts of adventures among the Indians, the four
survivors, led by Cabeza de Vaca (ca-ba'tha da vah'ca), walked across what
is now Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico to a little Spanish town
near the Pacific coast. They had crossed the continent. [15]

NEW MEXICO EXPLORED.--Cabeza de Vaca had wonderful tales to relate of
"hunchback cows," as he called the buffalo, and of cities in the interior
where gold and silver were plentiful and where the doorways were studded
with precious stones. [16] Excited by these tales, the Spanish viceroy of
Mexico sent Fray Marcos to gather further information. [17] Aided by the
Indians, Marcos made his way over the desert and came at last to the
"cities," which were only the pueblos of the Zuñi (zoo'nyee) Indians in
New Mexico. The pueblos were houses several stories high, built of stone
or of sun-dried brick, and each large enough for several hundred Indians