Career
In 1540 Mendoza sent him with two ships to give naval support to Francisco Coronado's overland expedition, which was seeking the mythical Seven Cities, an El Dorado of the American Southwest. Alarcón was instructed to supply Coronado's men at specified ports along the way and to gain access by water to Cibola, the capital of the Seven Cities. In May 1540 AlarcónAlarcon sailed from Acapulco, but, failing to establish contact with Coronado, he proceeded to the head of the Gulf of California and entered the Colorado River in August. With great difficulty his men portaged launches upstream as far as the junction of the Colorado and Gila rivers (the present site of Yuma, Ariz.). Alarcón returned to his ships in September and shortly thereafter set out on a second attempt to reach Cibola, which took him again only as far as the Gila. Here he tried to get messages to Coronado but, realizing the futility of the attempt, returned to his ships and sailed back to Mexico, reaching Colima in November 1540. Melchior Díaz, one of Coronado's officers, later found dispatches from Alarcón and an inscription carved on a tree near the mouth of the Gila.
