Hence It
Will Be Seen That The Original Discoverers And Inhabitants Of The Grand
Canyon Were Evidently The Ancestors Of The Present Pueblo Peoples.
CHAPTER XXIV.
El Tovar And Cardenas And The Modern Discovery Of The Grand
Canyon
The Spanish Conquistadores. Few romances are more fascinating than the
history of the early exploitations of this continent by the Spanish
conquistadores. Cortes, Pizarro, Guzman, Narvaez, Coronado are names to
conjure with. The wonderful successes of Cortes naturally excited the
jealous envy and cupidity of his compeers. In his earlier experiences,
Cortes had aroused the anger of Velasquez, Governor of Cuba. Cortes, in one
of his many acts of gallantry, had betrayed the sister of Velasquez's
mistress. When Velasquez learned the facts, to peremptorily commanded
Cortes, who was his subordinate, to marry the unhappy girl. Refusals and
imprisonments, threats and anger were the natural consequences, and, while
Cortes did ultimately marry her, the enmity thus engendered bore bitter
fruit for the husband.
Breach between Cortes and Velasquez. When Cortes made his effective
conquests on the mainland and sought to supplant Velasquez, the breach
between the two men considerably widened. Both sought, with embassies, the
ear of the King of Spain, Charles V, and while the future conqueror made a
deep impression with his reports of conquests to come and treasures already
in hand, the Governor's friends were not slow to act. Meanwhile, Cortes had
hit upon the bold plan of destroying his ships, and thus compelling his men
to march to the subjugation of Mexico. Velasquez was about to dispatch
Panfilo de Narvaez with a commission as captain-general to arrest him, and
send him in chains to Cuba. The king, however, would not permit this, and
Narvaez was sent forth charged to be friendly to Cortes. But this was not
to be. Events prevented, and Narvaez finally decided to place Cortes and
his whole army under arrest. This was a great undertaking, and required
skilful generalship, as well as boldness and skill in execution. Though a
gallant warrior, Narvaez was not equal to the task he had set himself, and
Cortes, having learned what was before him, turned the tables upon Narvaez
and his force by becoming the arrestor instead of the arrested. It requires
no great knowledge of human nature to picture the fierce anger of Narvaez
and his men. When Cortes eventually released them, it was on condition that
he be left alone, and that Narvaez return to Spain. The defeated man, with
anger burning his jealous heart to a white heat, did return, and
immediately demanded of the king some mission that should allow him to
remove the disgrace from his name. To get rid of him, the king sent him to
the conquest of what is now Florida.
Expedition to Florida. It was a brave expedition that set forth on a bright
day in June, 1527. Five ships and six hundred men made quite a showing, yet
the Atlantic Ocean, aided by storms and winds, flouted and routed them, so
that it was April of the following year before the main part of the
expedition landed at Tampa Bay.
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