in 1539, marcos de niza, a friar, reported rumors of cíbola, a city of gold, to spanish colonial officials in mexico city. niza said the city was in modern-day new mexico. in response to the rumors, two years later, francisco vázquez de coronado, with an army of 3000 spaniards and 8001 mexicans, marched northward from culiacán in hopes of finding the city. when coronado did not find the city in new mexico, he continued northeast into the mississippi valley, crossing the present area of kansas diagonally. this made conrado and his army the first europeans to see the great plains, including kansas. later, juan de oñate also traveled to kansas in 1601.