Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Book Preview: #1 In 1540, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado was given supreme command of the largest expedition of conquest in the brief but magnificently profitable history of the New World. His company was made up of 230 horsemen recruited from the nobility of New Spain, 62 heavily armed foot soldiers, and five friars.

#2 The expedition began to realize that Cibola might not be as rich as they had hoped. The first major encounter between Europeans and natives in the territory of the United States took place when the Spanish commander, Coronado, attacked the pueblo of Háwikuh. The Zuñi storehouses held mostly dried corn and pinto beans.

#3 When Cárdenas arrived at the entrance to the abyss, the continent from which he and his men came was still in the Middle Ages, while the first tremors of the seismic shifts that would rock the face of the world were already being felt.

#4 The first encounter between Cárdenas and the canyon took place at the edge of the abyss, where the South Rim bends from the east to the north. Today, this promontory is known as Desert View.