Came Men on Horses: The Conquistador Expeditions of Francisco Vázques de Coronado and Don Juan de Oñate
By Stan Hoig
University Press of Colorado
ISBN: 987-1-60732-194-1
$34.95; 352 pages
Reviewed by Virginia McConnell Simmons
Whether you prefer scholarly history or blood-and-thunder stories, Came Men on Horses by Stan Hoig is mesmerizing. If you are looking for a sanitized or romantic account of the conquest of the Southwest, though, this book may not be your choice for bedtime reading. The unvarnished facts about the entradas of Coronado and Oñate, like those of other conquistadors, force readers to some uncomfortable conclusions about human behavior, its cruelty and rapaciousness, but there is evidence of human courage, tenacity and the desire for personal enrichment.