The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 22, July 1918 - April, 1919 Page: 238
521 p. : ill. (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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238 The Southwestern Historical Quarterly
from this village, "toward the mountains aforesaid"; Oviedo's ac-
count of the same journey is that it was six leagues forward, to a
village on a river, which was "at the foot of the point where
commenced the said mountain." This was. a village of forty or
fifty ranchos, whose people were relatives of the blind Indians.
Cabeza de Vaca says that these Indians "sent to a village nearby,"
for other people. Oviedo says that they "sent to call others down
toward the sea."
The two accounts agree that these Indians wanted to take them
to certain of their kindred, but Cabeza de Vaca states that these
kindred dwelt on a spur of the mountains, while Oviedo says that
they dwelt toward the sea. The narratives agree that their reason
for refusing to go to these people, or in their direction, was
because of their bitter experience with the coast Indians. IHence
they preferred going "higher into the interior," rather than going
toward the coast or toward sunset.
According to Oviedo the village of the blind Indians was about
ten leagues forward from the river, which was as wide as the
Guadalquivir at Sevilla. At such a distance southwest of the
crossing of the Rio Grande near Penitas the travelers would have
seen on their left the Sierra Pamoranes with the high peaks of
the Sierra San Carlos beyond "sweeping down from the direction
of the North Sea" while on to their right they would have seen
the mountains of Cerralvo crossing the country, "straight to the
north," with the Rio Pesqueria, the northern branch of the San
1Juan, "at the foot of the point where begins the said mountain."
Since these are the first mountains to be seen near the Gulf coast,
west and south from Florida, and since the Sierra Pamoranes are
"a spur of the mountains," within the required leagues of the
coast, and all the minor topographical details mentioned in the
narratives, are here to be found on the ground, this village from
which the Spaniards ceased to go forward, "toward Panuco," and
went, instead, "up that river," and, after three or four days'
journey for many leagues inland, "straight to the north," may
be definitely located on the Rio Pesqueria, near the San Juan
confuelce. On this river they found the first maize which they
saw after leaving Florida.
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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/m1/252/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.