Antonio de Espejo - A Stan Klos Website
ESPEJO, Antonio de (espa'ho), Spanish explorer,
born in Cordova, Spain (some say in London), about the middle of the 16th
century. He was a captain of the army in Mexico, when in 1582, after organizing
a special force of one hundred horsemen and a corresponding infantry detachment,
almost at his own expense, he undertook, in company with Father Bernardino
Beltran, a journey in search of the Franciscan missionary Agustin Ruiz.
After traveling several days toward the north, he met
some natives who had been converted during the expedition of Panfilo de Narvaez
to Honda in 1528. The people among whom these lived, the Jumanes, were so far
advanced in civilization that they inhabited houses of stone. Shortly afterward
he learned that Ruiz had been killed, but pushed on toward the east, and, after
marching through a fertile country, reached the territory of the Cunames, whose
capital, Cia, possessed "eight public markets; the houses were built of
limestone of divers colors, and the inhabitants wore beautiful cloaks of cotton,
woven in the country."
Five leagues northwest of this he found the Amayes, who
had seven cities, and afterward visited the town of the Acomas, situated on an
almost perpendicular rock, which had to be ascended by narrow stairs cut in the
stone. After journeying eighty leagues farther, he reached the country of the
Zunis, where he met three Spaniards who had accompanied the expedition of
Vasquez in 1540, and who had lived so long with the Indians that they had almost
forgotten their native tongue.
Here Father Beltran, with most of the party, left Espejo
and returned to Mexico, but he pushed on with but nine followers, and reached
the town of Zaguato, whose inhabitants lodged him sumptuously and gave him
presents of clothing, He then passed through the land of the Quires, which
contained 25,000 inhabitants, and abounded in mines. The natives wore cloaks of
cotton or of painted skin, and lived in houses four stories high. The forests
abounded in game; the rivers in fish, and in the valleys grew maize, melons,
flax, fruit trees, and vines.
But he soon encountered the Tamos, who refused to let
him proceed through their territory, and, turning back, he journeyed along a
River which he named "Rio de las Vacas," from the cattle on its banks. He
reached San Bartolome in 1583, after a journey of nine months. He left a work
entitled "Relación del viaje al Nuevo Mejico" (1636).
Edited Appletons Encyclopedia by John Looby, Copyright © 2001
StanKlos.comTM
ESPEJO, Antonio de (espa'ho), Spanish explorer, born in Cordova, Spain (some say in London), about the middle of the 16th century. He was a captain of the army in Mexico, when in 1582, after organizing a special force of one hundred horsemen and a corresponding infantry detachment, almost at his own expense, he undertook, in company with Father Bernardino Beltran, a journey in search of the Franciscan missionary Agustin Ruiz. After traveling several days toward the north, he met some natives who had been converted during the expedition of Panfilo de Narvaez to Honda in 1528. The people among whom these lived, the Jumanes, were so far advanced in civilization that they inhabited houses of stone. Shortly afterward he learned that Ruiz had been killed, but pushed on toward the east, and, after marching through a fertile country, reached the territory of the Cunames, whose capital, Cia, possessed "eight public markets; the houses were built of limestone of divers colors, and the inhabitants wore beautiful cloaks of cotton, woven in the country."
Five leagues northwest of this he found the Amayes, who had seven cities, and afterward visited the town of the Acomas, situated on an almost perpendicular rock, which had to be ascended by narrow stairs cut in the stone. After journeying eighty leagues farther, he reached the country of the Zunis, where he met three Spaniards who had accompanied the expedition of Vasquez in 1540, and who had lived so long with the Indians that they had almost forgotten their native tongue. Here Father Beltran, with most of the party, left Espejo and returned to Mexico, but he pushed on with but nine followers, and reached the town of Zaguato, whose inhabitants lodged him sumptuously and gave him presents of clothing, He then passed through the land of the Quires, which contained 25,000 inhabitants, and abounded in mines. The natives wore cloaks of cotton or of painted skin, and lived in houses four stories high. The forests abounded in game; the rivers in fish, and in the valleys grew maize, melons, flax, fruit trees, and vines. But he soon encountered the Tamos, who refused to let him proceed through their territory, and, turning back, he journeyed along a River which he named " Rio de las Vacas," from the cattle on its banks. He reached San Bartolome in 1583, after a journey of nine months. He left a work entitled "Relacidn del viaje al Nuevo Mejico "(1636).
