The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 22, July 1918 - April, 1919 Page: 208
521 p. : ill. (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
The Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Dorantes and Estebanico. They told me they had left Castillo
with other people nearby, called "Anagados," and how they had
suffered many hardships and been lost. On the following day
our Indians moved towards where Castillo was, and were going
to join those who kept him, making friends with them, as until
then they had been at war. So we got Castillo also.
These Indians told us that farther on there were others called
"Camones," who live nearer the coast, and that they were those
who killed all the people that came in the barge of Tellez and
Pefialosa. They had been so emaciated and feeble that when
being killed they offered no resistance. So the Indians finished
all of them and showed us some of their clothes and weapons
and said the barge was still there stranded.
A few additional details concerning these tunas and the land
where they grew so abundantly can be gleaned from the nar-
ratives. Cabeza de Vaca, speaking of the Mariames, with whom
he made two journeys to this tuna region says :l8
Their best times are when tunas are ripe. . . . These are
a fruit the size of eggs, red and black, and taste very good. For
three months they subsist upon them exclusively, eating nothing
else. . . . As long as these tunas last they squeeze and open
them and set them to dry. When dried they are put in baskets
like figs and kept to be eaten on the way. The peelings they
grind and pulverize. . .. During all the time, we ate tunas
we felt thirsty. To allay our thirst we drank the juice of the
fruit, pouring it first into a pit which we dug in the soil, and
when that was full we drank to satisfaction. The Indians do it
that way for lack of vessels. The juice is sweet, and has the color
of must. There are many kinds of tunas, and some very good
ones, although to me all tasted well alike, hunger never leaving
time to select or stop to think which ones were better. Most of
the people drink rainwater that collects here and there, for as
they never have a fixed abode, they know no springs or watering
places, although there are rivers. All over the land are vast and
handsome pastures, with good grass for cattle, and it strikes me
the soil would be very fertile, were the country inhabited and
improved by reasonable people. We saw no mountains as long
as we were in this country.
It is clear that the annual journey from the River of Nuts to
the abundant tuna region was "toward PAnuco," and near the
margin of the bays along the coast. Oviedo estimates the dis-
tance forward toward Panuco at "more than forty leagues."81Cabeza de Vaca, 91-97.
208
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 22, July 1918 - April, 1919, periodical, 1919; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117156/m1/222/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.