IV.

Crossing the Great Plains

In the spring of 1541 Coronado set out to find a kingdom to the east called Quivira, said to be rich and populous. The expedition crossed the Great Plains of what is now northern Texas, where they became the first Europeans to see the region’s vast herds of American bison, or buffalo. Turning northward into what is now Kansas, Coronado crossed the Canadian and Arkansas rivers and found Quivira, which turned out to be only a hostile village of the Wichita people. Coronado led the expedition back to Tiguex for another winter. There he was wounded in the head while jousting with his men. He returned home to Nueva Galicia in 1542, broken in health and reputation and disillusioned in his hope of finding great wealth.