Come and Take It! The Gonzalez Cannon

[LouG]

Thanks for your note, Fernando. And yes, I see your point. But here's the story, and it presents a puzzle.

In 1590 a Spanish expedition made up of about 170 soldiers and civilians under Castano de Sosa worked its way north from Mexico well into present-day New Mexico. With the expedition were a number of wheeled vehicles---ox-drawn carretas, and two culverins. Much of the ground was rough, and the journalist repeatedly mentions the breaking of carreta wheels or axles (but nothing specific here about the culverins). When they reached the great multi-story Pueblo of Pecos (near present Santa Fe, New Mexico), there was a sharp battle with the occupants, during which the maese de campo ordered four men "...to climb to the top with one of the artillery pieces. The men did so, although with much difficulty, because the Indians were harrying them fiercely..."

So we see that these "culverins" were pulled a long way over rough ground with no special problem, and even hauled up the side of a pueblo during a battle. Therefore, I doubt that they were true full-size culverins, and were probably something considerably smaller. But.....quien sabe?