The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 1, July 1897 - April, 1898 Page: 169
334 p. : ill., ports., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Route of Cabeza de Vaca.
169
joined by a party from one of the other boats, which had been
wrecked at another part of the island.
They no.w numbered forty; but to go on in such weather was
impossible, as those of the first boat had even lost their clothing.
It was, therefore, agreed that they should remain on the island,
while four of the men should go on in search of the Spanish settle-
ment, which they supposed to be very near the west. Soon after
the departure of the four, a plague broke out on the island, and the
number of the Spaniards was reduced to fifteen. These were sep-
arated by the Indians, who had practically enslaved them; some
were being taken to the mainland, others left on the island. The
weather was very severe and food scarce. In the springtime the
Spaniards, except Cabeza and another, who were too sick to travel,
escaped from their masters, and started westward down the coast.
Nothing had yet been heard of the four who had previously set out.
For six years Cabeza led a slave's life, sometimes on the main-
land, sometimes on the island. From October to February they
stayed on the island, living on a certain kind of root. At the end
of this time they went into other parts, for the root was then be-
ginning to grow, and not fit to eat. "I had," said Cabeza, "to get
roots from below the water and in the cane, where they grow in
the ground, and from this employment I had my fingers so worn
that did a straw but touch them they bled." Later on he fared
better, for, getting in the good graces of the Indians, he was al-
lowed to become something of a trader, going far inland on his
trading expeditions. In this way he became acquainted with the
surrounding country.
At the end of these six years, he and his companion, Lope de
Oviedo, escaped from the Indians, and started down the coast.
After having crossed four rivers, of which we shall speak more
definitely, they came to a bay, most probably Matagorda bay. On
the farther side of this bay they met a party of Indians coming to
visit the Indians on the island. These told them that beyond were
three men like the Spaniards. The Indians also said that if Cabeza
wished to see them that in the next few days they would be at a
walnut grove not far distant. At this point Lope de Oviedo, ter-
rified by the Indians'tales of cruelty, refused to go farther, and re-
turned to his former masters.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 1, July 1897 - April, 1898, periodical, 1897/1898; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101009/m1/190/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.