The St. Johns herald., 1890-08-21
Historical Ground.

1 famous, Cavalier Vasques de Cor
 onado, whose achievements as tray,
 eler and explorer, cast the renown
 ed Stanley in the shade. In the
 Spring of 1540, Vasques de Corona.
 do at head ot an exploring party, penetrated the center of Mexico.
 After gaining some information
 from the Indians respecting the
 ruined cities of the Gila, and the
 prosperous Seven Cities of the Bull'
 which were described in glowing
 terms as existing still farther north. Coronado decided to lead his expe-
 dition in that direction, thinking
 that boundless treasury awaited
 him, and in the month of April,
 1540, with 1000 men mostly Indians,
 commenced his weary march through the northern states of Mex
 leo, into what is now Arizona. Tue Json was visited and found to be an
 Indian town of some pretensions.
 The Pima villages were visited, the
 ruined city around Casa Grande ex- plored, showing no traces of pre-
 cious metals. The march for the Seven Cities of the North was again
 resumed, the course being along the
 Gila river through what is now known as the Buckeye country, up the Hassayampa and crossed the
 Mogollon mountains. The Little Colorado river was visited and the
 Seven Cities" were finally reached
 which proved to be the pueblos of the Moqui Indians.
 Castenda, the historian of the ex- petition, in giving a description of the ruined city thatsurrounds Casa Grande, says of that famous build ing which still remains as a monu- ment to the greatness of a people who once cultivated this valley "One of them is a large edifce the principal room in the center being four stories high and those adjoin- ing it on four sides, with walls two varas thick (about five feet six inches) of strong adobe material, so smooth on the inside as to re- semble planed boards and so pol ished that they shine like pueblo pottery:" The same author des- cribes the Hassayampa in glowing terms, as carrying gold in it's sand in large quantities.
 From the above extracts, the first ever written relating to Arizona, our readers can see at a glance, what an historical place we live Tn. That the Spaniards visited this val ley, following the Standard of the Cross, twenty-five years before the founding of St. Augustine, Florida sixty-seyen years before the landing of the English at Jamestown, Vir- ginia, and eighty years before the landing of the Puritans at Plymoth Rock. The story of the Cross was told to the Indians residing in these valleys, and in the evening at the setting of the sun, all were compelled, on pended knees, to join in evening prayer, the Rosario, Lit any or other religious service of the day. That such prayers and SUD- plications of a devout character were offered on our soil to the Most High, we have the best of proof, as we look Southeast and behold the Santa Estrella mountains (Holy Star mountains). By a poetical fancy of that age, the evening star was likened to the Blessed Virgin and partook of a sacredness for it's care over the destinies of the mariner of the deep. It was for sailors in the time of Columbus, when at the close of day, just as the evening star began to throw her luster, to join in their evening prayers and with upturned ayes tO the eveninp star tO excite