In 1539, Azemmouri left Mexico City, travelled to Sinaloa, and accompanied Friar Marcos de Niza as the guide in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola, preceding Coronado by a year. Azemmouri traveled ahead of the main party with a group of Sonoran Indians. He was instructed to communicate by sending back crosses to the main party, with the size of the cross equal to the wealth discovered. One day, a cross arrived that was as tall as a person, causing de Niza to step up his pace to join the scouts. Azemmouri had apparently reached the A:shiwi village of Hawikuh (in present-day New Mexico). The local natives prefer the spelling Hawikku. (The Spanish later referred to the A:shiwi as Zuñi, and a corruption of that name, Zuni, is still used today). Stories concerning Azemmouri's encounters with the A:shiwi are all based on legend. There is no first-person account of exactly what happened at Hawikuh. According to the Marcos de Niza account, the Zuni reportedly killed him and a large number of Northern Mexican Indians who had accompanied him. After hearing this, De Niza quickly returned to New Spain.