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YSOPETE (?-?). Ysopete (Isopete), a captive of the Pecos Pueblo Indians, was given to Francisco Vázquez de Coronadoqv in 1541 to serve as a guide to Quivira.qv He was said by his captors to be a native of Quivira and was referred to by the Spanish as "a painted Indian," possibly a Pawnee. Ysopete accused El Turcoqv of lying and leading Coronado in the wrong direction and denied that there was any gold and silver on the plains. He was unheeded by the Spanish until his story was verified by some plains Indians. Ysopete then replaced El Turco in Coronado's confidence. He was set free at Quivira.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Carlos E. Castañeda, Our Catholic Heritage in Texas (7 vols., Austin: Von Boeckmann-Jones, 1936-1958; rpt., New York: Arno, 1976). Frederick Webb Hodge and Theodore H. Lewis, eds., Spanish Explorers in the Southern United States, 1528-1543 (New York: Scribner, 1907; rpt., Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1984).

 

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