The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1889-03-04
the Mecca Of Quivara, better known to mod
ern biographies as Wichita, Kas. Very re-
specially lIl II. Il. WARE.
Washin, gton CITY, Feb. II, 1889.


Mr.. WARE VIEWS.
To the Editor OF TheAppeal;
:. Your favor Of February q, to the Hon. M N.
Muruock, OF wichita, has been referred Dy nun 10
me Tor an answer In the Wild hight OF lineglnh
ton and In the perihellon Of the wichita p boom,
u Is easy TO say that DcSoto either went TO wien.
ita or wanted 70 20 and see the location OF lhat
then future city. Tic fact that DeSotos name Is
not found among the list OF Wichih's boomers Is
conclusive proof that Dc OTTO was not there. " ~
quite possible that Coronado crossed the Arkhnshh
somewhere near Wichita; In fact, II Is almost GER
tain that he did. But he never saw Desolo a.
though there Is every reason to believe That lhe
expeditions OF DeSoto and Coronado had com
mon origin, and were seeking, from the two diier-
ent points Of Cuba and Mexico, TO rench com.
mon goal. Within about a month oil eaen
other, one crossed the Mississippi - gong
northwest and the other the Rio Grande,
going northeast and Il Is strange perhaps mat
they did not meet. They were both aware Oh the
Information which then had been published 70
the world by cabeza.De vaca. whose stories fired
Spanish enterprises both In the Old World and inc
New. This De Vaca, being u survivor oil the DE
Naryaez expedition, touched the southern bound a
AIRY OF Kansas In his expedition, because IN Coro-
nados trip, while In Kansas, the Indians Drought
MIN large quantities Of tanned skins ana We're
inuch grieyed when Coronado instead OF blessing
them and returning them, as the priest DE Nacii,
dld, gobbled them all aud the soldiers quhrfeled
over the divide Perhaps Il was ON the strength oil
ne Nnoa's wonderful stories That Desoto ana Coro-
nado both started out few miles east OF Fort
Scott, In Vernon County Missouri, n county that
borders on Kansas, ] was told some twenty years
ago that near some hills by the hnrlnnlOn RIVER,
excavations OF considerable size had been
visible nj place whore lead had been found and Is
stil found In very small quantities, and that upon
these excavations oak trees two feet In diam
oter. remember hearing In Nevada, the county
scat OF Vernon County the whole matter discussed
by some Intelligent gentlemen there, who claimed
without doubt IL was the work OF Desoto aud
stated many things In addition thereto OF what the
Usage Indians claimed that the inst white men
ever In the country stayed there nearly whole
winter 100 years before, leaving children In the
Tribe whose dcscendants retained the traditions oi
their Lineage. never made any personal examin-
alton of the place referred TO, nor have given the
original relations OF DE Ot0's trip sufficiently ac
cufatc study 90 ascertain whether not the above
Is credible. 1 heard similar stories In the Ozark
mountains. From general reading concerning
ucsoto's travels and from commentaries and trans
lntons have seen, think the Vernon County
theory quite probable. From the description Oi
the country given by writers Of the Coronado cx
petition Il Is quite probable that Coronado might
have struck Into the State OF Missouri, south Of
Kansas city. The statement that Coronado went
North 10 the fortieth degree n only made by one
of the writer's, who gives the account twenty yean
after the occurrence The two expeditions wen
quite like expediu lions recently made IN Africa
based on common knowledge but from far distant
points, Very respectfully, n. r. WARE,
what n your Idea M 10 the extreme northwestern
point reached by Desoto7
Fort Scott, Kas., February ~