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02 - Journey of Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca · Journey of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca

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Speaker 1: Section one of the Journey of Alvar Nunis Cavesa Devaca
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Speaker 1: and his Companions from Florida to the Pacific, fifteen twenty eight,
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Speaker 1: fifteen thirty six. This is the LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
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Speaker 1: recordings are in the public domain. For more information or volunteer,
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Speaker 1: please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Sue Anderson, The
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Speaker 1: Journey of Alvar Nunius Cavesa Devaca and his Companions from
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Speaker 1: Florida to the Pacific, fifteen twenty eight, fifteen thirty six,
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Speaker 1: translated by Fanny Bandelier. Section one. On the twenty seventh
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Speaker 1: day of the month of June fifteen twenty seven, the
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Speaker 1: Governor Ponfilodenarwis departed from the port of San Lucar de
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Speaker 1: Barrameda with authority and orders from Your Majesty to conquer
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Speaker 1: and govern the provinces that extend from the River of
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Speaker 1: the Palms to the Cape of the Florida, these provinces
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Speaker 1: being on the mainland. The fleet he took along consisted
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Speaker 1: of five vessels, in which went about six hundred men.
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Speaker 1: The officials he had with him, since they must be mentioned,
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Speaker 1: were those here named cabeesa Devaca Treasurer and Algosilmayor Alonso Endriques,
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Speaker 1: Purser Alonso de Solis, Factor of your majesty and inspector,
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Speaker 1: a friar of the Order of Saint Francis called Fray
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Speaker 1: Juan Suatis, went as commissary. With four other monks of
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Speaker 1: the same order. We arrived at the island of Santo Domingo,
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Speaker 1: where we remained nearly forty five days, supplying ourselves with
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Speaker 1: necessary things, especially horses. Here, more than one hundred and
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Speaker 1: forty men of our army forsook us, who wished to
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Speaker 1: remain on account of the proposals and promises made them
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Speaker 1: by the people of the country. From there we started
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Speaker 1: and arrived at Santiago, a port in the island of Cuba,
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Speaker 1: where in the few days that we remained, the governor
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Speaker 1: supplied himself again with people, arms and horses. It happened
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Speaker 1: there that a gentleman called Vascal for Cayo, a resident
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Speaker 1: of La Trinidad, which is on the same island, offered
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Speaker 1: to give the governor certain stores he had at a
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Speaker 1: distance of one hundred leagues from the said harbor of Santiago.
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Speaker 1: The governor, with the whole fleet sailed for that place,
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Speaker 1: but midways, at a port called Cape Santa Cruz, he
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Speaker 1: thought best to stop and send a single vessel to
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Speaker 1: load and bring these stores. Therefore, he ordered a certain
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Speaker 1: Captain Pontocha to go thither with his craft, and directed
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Speaker 1: me to accompany him for the sake of control, while
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Speaker 1: he remained with four ships, having purchased one on the
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Speaker 1: island of Santo Domingo, arrived at the port of Trinidad.
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Speaker 1: With these two vessels. Captain Pontoja went with Rascal Porcayo
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Speaker 1: to the town, which is one league from there, in
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Speaker 1: order to take possession of the supplies. I remained on
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Speaker 1: board with the pilots, who told us that we should
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Speaker 1: leave as soon as possible, since the harbor was very
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Speaker 1: unsafe and many vessels had been lost in it. Now,
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Speaker 1: since what happened to us there was very remarkable, it
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Speaker 1: appears to me not unsuitable for the aims and ends
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Speaker 1: of this my narrative to tell it here. The next
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Speaker 1: morning the weather looked ominous. It began to rain, and
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Speaker 1: the sea roughened, so that although I allowed the men
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Speaker 1: to land when they saw the weather, and that the
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Speaker 1: town was one league away. Many came back to the
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Speaker 1: ships so as not to be out in the wet
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Speaker 1: and cold. At the same time, there came a canoe
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Speaker 1: from the town conveying a letter from a person residing there,
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Speaker 1: begging me to come, and they would give me the
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Speaker 1: stores and whatever else might be necessary. But I excused myself,
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Speaker 1: stating that I could not leave the ships. At noon,
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Speaker 1: the canoe came again with another letter, repeating the request
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Speaker 1: with much insistency, and there was also a horse for
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Speaker 1: me to go on. I gave the same reply as
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Speaker 1: the first time, saying that I could not leave the vessels.
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Speaker 1: But the pilots and the people begged me so much
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Speaker 1: to leave and hasten the transportation of the stores to
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Speaker 1: the ships, in order to be able to sail soon
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Speaker 1: from a place where they were in great fear the
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Speaker 1: ships would be lost in case they had to remain long.
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Speaker 1: So I determined upon going, although before I went, I
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Speaker 1: left the pilots well instructed and with orders in case
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Speaker 1: the south wind, which often wrecked the shipping, should rise
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Speaker 1: and they found themselves in great danger, to run the
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Speaker 1: vessels ashore, where men and horses might be saved. So
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Speaker 1: I left wishing for some of them to accompany me,
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Speaker 1: but they refused, alleging the hard rain, the cold, and
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Speaker 1: that the town was far away. On the next day,
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Speaker 1: which was Sunday, they promised to come god helping to
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Speaker 1: hear mass. One hour after my departure, the sea became
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Speaker 1: very rough and the north wind blew so fiercely that
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Speaker 1: neither did the boats dare to land, nor could they
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Speaker 1: beach the vessels, since the wind was blowing from the shore.
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Speaker 1: They spent that day and Sunday greatly distressed by two
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Speaker 1: contrary storms and much rain until nightfall. Then the rain
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Speaker 1: and storm increased in violence at the village as well
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Speaker 1: as on the sea, and all the houses and churches
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Speaker 1: fell down, and we had to go about seven or
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Speaker 1: eight men locking arms at a time to prevent the
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Speaker 1: wind from carrying us off and under the trees. It
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Speaker 1: was not less dangerous than among the houses, for as
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Speaker 1: they also were blown down, we were in danger of
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Speaker 1: being killed beneath them. In this tempest and peril, we
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Speaker 1: wandered about all night without finding any part or place
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Speaker 1: where we might feel safe. For half an hour in
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Speaker 1: this plight, we heard all night long, and especially after midnight,
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Speaker 1: a great uproar, the sound of many voices, the tinkling
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Speaker 1: of little bells, also flutes and tambourines, and other instruments,
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Speaker 1: the most of which noise lasted until morning, when the
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Speaker 1: storm ceased. Never has such a fearful thing been witnessed
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Speaker 1: in those parts. I took testimony concerning it, and sent
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Speaker 1: it certified to your Majesty. On Monday morning, we went
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Speaker 1: down to the harbor, but did not find the vessels.
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Speaker 1: We saw the buoys in the water, and from this
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Speaker 1: knew that the ships were lost. So we followed the shore,
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Speaker 1: looking for wreckage, and not finding any, turned into the forest.
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Speaker 1: Walking through it, we saw a fourth of a league
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Speaker 1: from water, the little boat of one of the vessels
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Speaker 1: on the top of trees, and ten leagues further on
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Speaker 1: the coast were two men of my crew, and certain
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Speaker 1: covers of boxes. The bodies were so disfigured by striking
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Speaker 1: against the rocks as to be unrecognizable. There were also
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Speaker 1: found a cape and a tattered quilt, nothing else. Sixty
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Speaker 1: people and twenty horses perished on the ships. Those who
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Speaker 1: went on land the day we arrived. Some tharty men
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Speaker 1: were all who survived. Of the crews, of both vessels.
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Speaker 1: We remained thus for several days in great need and distress,
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Speaker 1: for the food and stores at the village had been
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Speaker 1: ruined also, as well as some cattle. The country was
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Speaker 1: pitiable to look at. The trees had fallen, and the
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Speaker 1: woods were blighted, and there was neither foliage nor grass.
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Speaker 1: In this condition we were until the fifth day of
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Speaker 1: the month of November, when the Governor with his four
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Speaker 1: vessels arrived. They also had weathered a great storm and
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Speaker 1: had escaped by betaking themselves to a safe place in time.
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Speaker 1: The people on board of the ships and those he found,
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Speaker 1: were so terrified by what had happened that they were
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Speaker 1: afraid to set to sea again in winter, and begged
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Speaker 1: the Governor to remain there for that season. And he,
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Speaker 1: seeing their good will and that of the inhabitants when
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Speaker 1: entered at that place, he put into my charge the
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Speaker 1: vessels and their crews, and I was to go with
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Speaker 1: them to the port of Hagua, twelve leagues distant, where
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Speaker 1: I remained until the twentieth day of February. At that
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Speaker 1: time the Governor came with a brig he had bought
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Speaker 1: at to Nidad, and with him a pilot called Mirrouelo,
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Speaker 1: that man he had taken because he said he knew
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Speaker 1: the way and had been on the River of the Palms,
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Speaker 1: and was a very good pilot for the whole northern coast.
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Speaker 1: The governor left on the coast of Havana and another
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Speaker 1: vessel that he had bought there, on which there remained
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Speaker 1: as Captain Alvo de Serda, with forty people and twelve horsemen.
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Speaker 1: Two days after the governor arrived, he went aboard. The
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Speaker 1: people he took along were four hundred men and eighty
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Speaker 1: horses on four vessels and one brigantine pilot. We had
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Speaker 1: taken ran the vessels aground on the sands called of Canarello,
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Speaker 1: so that the next day we were stranded, and remained
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Speaker 1: stranded for fifteen days, the keel's often touching bottom. Then
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Speaker 1: a storm from the south drove so much water on
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Speaker 1: the shoals that we could get off, though not without
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Speaker 1: much danger. Departing from there and arrived at Guanaguanico. Another
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Speaker 1: tempest came up in which we nearly perished. At Cape Corientes,
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Speaker 1: we had another which lasted three days. Afterward, we doubled
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Speaker 1: the Cape of San Antone and sailed with contrary winds
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Speaker 1: as far as twelve leagues off Havana, and when on
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Speaker 1: the following day we attempted to enter, a southerly storm
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Speaker 1: drove us away, so that we crossed to the coast
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Speaker 1: of Florida, sighting land. On Tuesday, the twelfth day of
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Speaker 1: the month of April, we coasted the way of Florida,
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Speaker 1: and on Holy Thursday cast anchor at the mouth of
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Speaker 1: a bay, at the head of which we saw certain
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Speaker 1: houses and habitations of Indians. On that same day, the
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Speaker 1: clerk Alonzo Emriques left and went to an island in
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Speaker 1: the bay and called the Indians, who came and were
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Speaker 1: with him a good while, and by way of exchange,
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Speaker 1: they gave him fish and some venison. The day following,
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Speaker 1: which was good Friday, the governor disembarked with as many
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Speaker 1: men as his little boats would hold, And as we
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Speaker 1: arrived at the huts or houses of the Indians we
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Speaker 1: had seen, we found them abandoned and deserted, the people
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Speaker 1: having left that same night in their canoes. One of
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Speaker 1: the houses was so large that it could hold more
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Speaker 1: than three hundred people. The others were smaller, and we
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Speaker 1: found a golden rattle among the nets. The next day,
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Speaker 1: the governor hoisted flags in behalf of your Majesty and
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Speaker 1: took possession of country in your royal name, exhibited his credentials,
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Speaker 1: and was acknowledged as governor according to Your Majesty's commands.
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Speaker 1: We likewise presented our titles to him, and he complied
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Speaker 1: as they required. He then ordered the remainder of the
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Speaker 1: men to disembark. Also, the forty two horses left, the
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Speaker 1: others having perished on account of the great storms and
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Speaker 1: the long time they had been on sea. And these
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Speaker 1: few that remained were so thin and weak that they
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Speaker 1: could be of little use for the time. The next
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Speaker 1: day the Indians of that village came, and although they
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Speaker 1: spoke to us, as we had no interpreters, we did
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Speaker 1: not understand them. But they made many gestures and threats,
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Speaker 1: and it seemed as if they beckoned to us to
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Speaker 1: leave the country. Afterward, without offering any molestation, they went away.
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Speaker 1: After another day, the governor resolved to penetrate inland to
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Speaker 1: explore the country and see what it contained. We went
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Speaker 1: with him, the commissary, the inspector, and myself, with forty men,
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Speaker 1: among them six horsemen who seemed likely to be of
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Speaker 1: but little use. We took the direction of the north,
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Speaker 1: and at the hour of vespers reached a very large
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Speaker 1: bay which appeared to sweep far inland. After remaining there
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Speaker 1: that night and the next day we returned to the
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Speaker 1: place where the vessels and the men were. The governor
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Speaker 1: ordered the brigantine to coast towards Florida in search of
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Speaker 1: the port, which Miruelo, the pilot had said he knew,
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Speaker 1: but he had missed it and did not know where
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Speaker 1: we were nor where the port was. So word was
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Speaker 1: sent to the brigantine in case it were not found,
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Speaker 1: to cross over to Havana in quest of the vessel
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Speaker 1: of Alvaro de la Sebda, and after taking in some
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Speaker 1: supplies to come after us again. After the brigantine had left,
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Speaker 1: we again penned traded inland the same persons as before,
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Speaker 1: with some more men. We followed the shore of the bay,
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Speaker 1: and after a march of four leagues captured four Indians,
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Speaker 1: to whom we showed maize in order to find out
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Speaker 1: if they knew it, for until then we had seen
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Speaker 1: no trace of it. They told us that they would
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Speaker 1: take us to a place where there was maize, and
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Speaker 1: they led us to their village at the end of
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Speaker 1: the bay near by, and there they showed us some
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Speaker 1: that was not yet fit to be gathered. There we
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Speaker 1: found many boxes for merchandise from Castilla, and every one
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Speaker 1: of them was a corpse covered with painted deer hides.
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Speaker 1: The commissary thought this to be some idolatous practice, so
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Speaker 1: he burnt the boxes with the corpses. We also found
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Speaker 1: pieces of linen and cloth, and feather head dresses that
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Speaker 1: seemed to be from New Spain, and samples of gold.
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Speaker 1: We inquired of the Indians by signs whence they had
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Speaker 1: obtained the these things, and they gave us to understand
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Speaker 1: that very far from there was a province called Appalachian,
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Speaker 1: in which there was much gold. They also signified to
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Speaker 1: us that in that province we would find everything we
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Speaker 1: held in esteem. They said that in Appalachian there was plenty.
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Speaker 1: So taking them as guides, we started, and after walking
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Speaker 1: ten or twelve leagues, came to another village of fifteen houses,
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Speaker 1: where there was a large cultivated patch of corn nearly
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Speaker 1: ready for harvest, and also some that was already ripe.
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Speaker 1: After staying there two days, we returned to the place
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Speaker 1: where we had left the purser, the men and the vessels,
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Speaker 1: and told the purser and pilots what we saw and
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Speaker 1: the news the Indians had given us. The next day,
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Speaker 1: which was the first of May, the governor took aside
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Speaker 1: the commissary, the purser, the inspector, myself, aaler called Bartolommeay Fernandez,
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Speaker 1: and a notary by the name of Heernimo de Albanis,
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Speaker 1: and told us that he had in mind to penetrate inland,
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Speaker 1: while the vessel should follow the coast as far as
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Speaker 1: the harbor, since the pilots said and believed that if
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Speaker 1: they went in the direction of the palms, they would
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Speaker 1: reach it soon. On this he asked us to give
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Speaker 1: our opinions. I replied that it seemed to me in
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Speaker 1: no manner advisable to forsake the ships until they were
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Speaker 1: in a safe port, held and occupied by us. I
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Speaker 1: told him to consider that the pilots were at a loss,
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Speaker 1: disagreeing among themselves, undecided as to what course to pursue. Moreover,
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Speaker 1: the horses would not be with us in case we
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Speaker 1: needed them, and furthermore, we had no interpreter to make
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Speaker 1: ourselves understood by the natives. Hence we could have no
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Speaker 1: parley with them. Neither did we know what to expect
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Speaker 1: from the land we were entering, having no knowledge of
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Speaker 1: what it was, what it might contain, and by what
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Speaker 1: kind of people it was inhabited, nor in what part
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Speaker 1: of it. We were finally that we had not the
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Speaker 1: supplies required for penetrating into an unknown country. Four of
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Speaker 1: the stores left in the ships, not more than one
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Speaker 1: pound of biscuit and one of bacon could be given
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Speaker 1: as rations to each man for the journey, so that,
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Speaker 1: in my opinion, we should re embark and sail in
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Speaker 1: quest of a land and harbor better adapted to settlement,
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Speaker 1: since the country which we had seen was the most
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Speaker 1: deserted and the poorest ever found in those parts. The
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Speaker 1: Commissary was of the contrary opinion, saying that we should
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Speaker 1: not embark, but follow the coast in search of a harbor.
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Speaker 1: As the pilots asserted that the way to Panuco was
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Speaker 1: not more than ten or fifteen leagues distant, and that
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Speaker 1: by following along the coast it was impossible to miss it.
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Speaker 1: Since the coast bent inland for twelve leagues. The first
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Speaker 1: ones who came there should wait for the others. As
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Speaker 1: to embarking, he said, it would be to tempt God.
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Speaker 1: After all the vicissitudes of storms, losses of men and vessels,
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Speaker 1: and hardships we had suffered since leaving Spain and until
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Speaker 1: we came to that place. So his advice would be
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Speaker 1: to move along the coast as far as the harbor,
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Speaker 1: while the vessels with the other men, should follow to
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Speaker 1: the same port. To all the others, this seemed to
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Speaker 1: be the best, except to the notary, who said that
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Speaker 1: before leaving the ships, they should be put into a
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Speaker 1: harbor well known, safe and in a settled country, after
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Speaker 1: which we might go inland and do as we liked.
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Speaker 1: The Governor clung to his own idea and to the
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Speaker 1: suggestions of the others his determination. I required him, on
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Speaker 1: the part of your majesty, not to forsake the vessels
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Speaker 1: until they were in a secure port, and I asked
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Speaker 1: the notary present to testify to what I said. The
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Speaker 1: Governor replied that he approved the opinion of the other
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Speaker 1: officials and of the commissary, that I had no authority
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Speaker 1: for making such demands, and he asked the notary to
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Speaker 1: give him a certified statement as to how their not
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Speaker 1: being in the country, the means for supporting a settlement,
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Speaker 1: nor any harbor for the ships. He broke up the
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Speaker 1: village he had founded and went in search of the
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Speaker 1: port and of a better land. So he forthwith ordered
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Speaker 1: the people who were to go with him to get ready,
19:47
Speaker 1: providing themselves with what was necessary for the journey. After this,
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Speaker 1: he turned to me and told me, in the presence
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Speaker 1: of all who were there, that since I so so
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Speaker 1: much opposed the expedition into the interior and was afraid
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Speaker 1: of it, I should take charge of the vessels and
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Speaker 1: men remaining, and in case I reached the port before him,
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Speaker 1: I should settle there. This I declined. After the meeting
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Speaker 1: was over, he, on that same evening, saying that it
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Speaker 1: seemed to him as if he could not trust anybody,
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Speaker 1: sent me word that he begged me to take charge
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Speaker 1: of that part of the expedition, and as in spite
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Speaker 1: of his insistency, I declined, he asked for the reasons
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Speaker 1: of my refusal. I then told him that I refused
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Speaker 1: to accept because I felt sure he would never see
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Speaker 1: the ships again or be seen by their crews any more, that,
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Speaker 1: seeing how utterly unprepared he was for moving inland. I
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Speaker 1: preferred to share the risk with him and his people
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Speaker 1: and suffer what they would have to say, rather than
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Speaker 1: take charge of the vessels, and thus give occasion for
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Speaker 1: saying that I opposed the journey and remained out of
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Speaker 1: fear which would place my honor in jeopardy, so that
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Speaker 1: I would much rather expose my life than, under these
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Speaker 1: circumstances my good name. Seeing that he could not change
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Speaker 1: my determination, he had others approached me about it with entreaties,
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Speaker 1: but I gave the same answer to them as to him,
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Speaker 1: and he finally provided for his lieutenant to take command
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Speaker 1: of the vessels, and Alcalde named Cadavayo. End of Section
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Speaker 1: one