THE air was full of the chill and blast of winter, and with the first snow-flakes great discontent broke out in camp, and Coronado realized that he must find a place to make his men more comfortable.  
"There are ten big community houses on top of that spider-shaped rock," he said, one morning to a squad of soldiers who had been drilling on parade ground, "and I want possession of it for the troops. Some one must go ahead first and report the situation."
 
"The rock is so high that our bullets scarcely reach to the top," said the scout, who had galloped over to the pueblo to spy out a way of doing what Coronado commanded. "But there are four winding paths leading up the sides, and we can ascend in single file."
 
"Have you tried it?" asked Coronado. 241
 
"Yes, and found it quite an easy task. I spent last night there, and as the rays of the sun took leave of the lofty Sierras, I felt forsaken, and as if I were about to float away into the darkness."
 
"Did the Indians suspect your purpose in coming?"
 
"Certainly not, and all my gloomy feelings passed away as soon as the fires began to blaze on the roofs at different heights of the same building. Inside the houses laughing voices greeted me, and I was glad to be the guest of such simple people."
 
"Do you think we would be safe from attacks and surprises at night?"
 
"Perfectly. And when once up there it would be almost impossible to come down at night. The narrow paths are really unsafe except in daylight."
 
It was not long until the Spaniards had forcible possession of the village, and during the long, dreary winter months they went about in rusty helmets, battered cuirasses, ragged doublets and worn-out boots, while the Indians wrapped themselves in thick coverings made of rabbit skins. Every morning the bell called them to mass, and then the criers went up and down announcing the day's duty to every one in the camp. On the plains below was heard the neighing of horses, the lowing of cattle and the bleating of sheep.
 
In the pueblos near by the Indians danced, and gathered around the fires to listen to the old men's stories of their past, and as the winter drew to a close the Spaniards were no longer homesick 242 and despondent, but ready and willing to test the truth of some of the things the Indians had told them of the Wrathy Chieftain and the Kingdom of Quivera.
 
At Pecos the scouts were received with music and presents of cotton cloth and handfuls of turquoises, because the inhabitants were not sure but that the white men came from the sun, and were sent by the Golden Hearted, whom they revered and honored as the Wrathy Chieftain.
 
In this village they met a strange-looking Indian.
 
We will name this fellow the "Turk," because he looks so like one, and find out, if we can, where he lives. "May be his people have gold," said the soldiers, as soon as they arrived at Pecos.
 
"My home is very far to the east," said the Turk, when questioned, "and we have plenty of gold."
 
"What is the name of your country!"
 
"Quivera, and my king's name is Tatarax. He wears a long beard, and worships a golden cross and an image of the Queen of Heaven."
 
Had the Spaniards been at all cautious and shrewd they would have taken pains to find out how true this statement was, but they were so tired of being in camp, that they were glad of an opportunity to go on another expedition in search of an El Dorado, which they always hoped to find.
 
"The chiefs of the Pecos have taken a gold 243 arm band of mine," said the Turk, wishing to make trouble between them and the Spaniards. "No matter what I say to them, they will not give it back to me."
 
He described the band as being so wide and heavy that Coronado was induced to seize the chiefs and carry them off to another pueblo in the hope of compelling the Pecos Indians to pay a big ransom for them. In addition the Spaniards demanded cotton clothes and provisions for their journey. The Indians refused, and fought two weeks before Coronado became satisfied that the Turk never had such a thing as an arm band, and that there was no gold in the village.
 
"It is no use to waste time looking for treasures in this part of the world," he finally told his men, and they immediately began to question the Turk.
 
"I know a country," he declared, "where there is a very wide river that has fish in it as big as a horse. The people tip their canoes with gold, and sometimes there are forty rowers in a boat. Every vessel they use is made of gold and silver."
 
All the time he was talking he watched the faces of the soldiers with keen craftiness, and when he saw how delighted they were, he made the story just as big as he could.
 
"There are plenty of such places," he said, with a toss of his head, "but my country of Quivera is the most important of them all, and I will take you there first." 244
 
When any one gets lost on the plains where there are no hills or trees to mark the way, they wander around in a circle, and finally get into a perfect frenzy by coming back to the same place over and over again.
 
This was what happened to the Spaniards under Coronado. They returned in a wide bend to Pecos, after marching for months on the desolate plains.
 
"Led around in a circle," he said, "as if by some evil spirit. Everywhere we went we found ourselves surrounded by herds of misshapen, crinkly-wooled cows. Some of them had calves, and the bulls had beards of sunburnt hair. Our horses took fright and ran away, while some of them plunged and threw their riders over their heads."
 
"Were these woolly cows ferocious?" asked the good padre, who had remained at Pecos to teach the Indians, and had never seen a buffalo.
 
"They are very terrible when they stampede. If they catch sight of a white man, they lower their............