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09 - 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 eight of the Journey of Alvar Nunis Cavese 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
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Speaker 1: a volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Sue Anderson,
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Speaker 1: The Journey of Alvar Nunis cavesea Devaka and his companions
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Speaker 1: from Florida to the Pacific, fifteen twenty eight, fifteen thirty six,
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Speaker 1: translated by Fanny Bandolier, Section eight of all Things upon Earth.
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Speaker 1: This caused us the greatest pleasure, and we gave endless
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Speaker 1: thanks to our Lord for this news. Castillo also said
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Speaker 1: that the Negro was coming to meet us on the
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Speaker 1: way near by, with all the people of the houses.
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Speaker 1: For that reason we started, and after going a league
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Speaker 1: and a half, met the Negro and the people that
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Speaker 1: came to receive us, who gave us beans and many
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Speaker 1: squashes to eat, gourds to carry water in, robes of cowhide,
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Speaker 1: and other things. As those people and the Indians of
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Speaker 1: our company were enemies and did not understand each other,
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Speaker 1: we took leave of the latter, leaving them all that
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Speaker 1: had been given to us, while we went on with
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Speaker 1: the former, and six leagues beyond, when night was already approaching,
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Speaker 1: reached their houses, where they received us with great ceremonies.
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Speaker 1: Here we remained one day and left on the next,
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Speaker 1: taking them with us to other permanent houses, where they
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Speaker 1: subsisted on the same food also. And thence on we
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Speaker 1: found a new custom. The people who heard of our
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Speaker 1: approach did not, as before, come out to meet us
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Speaker 1: on the way, but we found them at their homes,
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Speaker 1: and they had other houses ready for us. They were
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Speaker 1: all seated with their faces turned to the wall, the
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Speaker 1: heads bowed, and the hair pulled over the eyes. Their
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Speaker 1: belongings had been gathered in a heap in the middle
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Speaker 1: of the floor. And thence on they began to give
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Speaker 1: us many robes of skins. There was nothing they would
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Speaker 1: not give us. They are the best formed people we
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Speaker 1: have seen, the liveliest and most capable, who best understood
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Speaker 1: us and answered our questions. We called them of the cows,
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Speaker 1: because most of the cows are hunted and killed in
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Speaker 1: that vicinity, and because for more than fifty leagues up
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Speaker 1: that stream they go to kill many of them. Those
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Speaker 1: people go completely naked, after the manner of the first
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Speaker 1: we met. The women are covered with deer skins, also
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Speaker 1: some men, especially the old ones, who are of no
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Speaker 1: use any more in war. The country is well settled.
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Speaker 1: We asked them why they did not raise maize, and
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Speaker 1: they replied that they were afraid of losing the crops,
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Speaker 1: since for two successive years it had not rained, and
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Speaker 1: the seasons were so dry that the moles had eaten
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Speaker 1: the corn, so that they did not dare to plant
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Speaker 1: any more until it should have rained very hard. And
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Speaker 1: they also begged us to ask Heaven for rain, which
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Speaker 1: we promised to do. We also wanted to know from
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Speaker 1: where they brought their maize, and they said it came
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Speaker 1: from where the sun sets, and that it was found
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Speaker 1: all over that country, and the shortest way to it
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Speaker 1: was in that direction. We asked them to tell us
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Speaker 1: how to go, as they did not want to go themselves.
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Speaker 1: To tell us about the way, they said we should
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Speaker 1: travel up the river towards the north, on which trail
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Speaker 1: for seventeen days we would not find a thing to
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Speaker 1: eat except a fruit called cha khan, which they grind
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Speaker 1: between stones. But even then it cannot be eaten, being
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Speaker 1: so coarse and drawn, And so it was for they
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Speaker 1: showed it to us, and we could not eat it.
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Speaker 1: But they also said that going upstream, we would always
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Speaker 1: travel among people who were their enemies, although speaking the
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Speaker 1: same language, and who could give us no food, but
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Speaker 1: would receive us very willingly and give us many cotton blankets, hides,
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Speaker 1: and other things. But that it seemed to them that
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Speaker 1: we ought not to take that road. In doubt as
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Speaker 1: to what should be done, and which was the best
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Speaker 1: and most advantageous road to take, we remained with them
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Speaker 1: for two days. They gave us beans, squashes, and calabashes.
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Speaker 1: Their way of cooking them is so new and strange
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Speaker 1: that I felt like describing it here in order to
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Speaker 1: show how different and queer are the devices and industries
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Speaker 1: of human beings. They have no pots. In order to
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Speaker 1: cook their food. They fill a middle sized gourd with
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Speaker 1: water and place into a fire. Such stones as easy
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Speaker 1: become heated, and when they are hot to scorch, they
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Speaker 1: take them out with wooden tongs, thrusting them into the
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Speaker 1: water of the gourd until it boils. As soon as
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Speaker 1: it boils, they put into it what they want to cook,
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Speaker 1: always taking out the stones as they cool off, and
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Speaker 1: throwing in hot ones to keep the water steadily boiling.
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Speaker 1: This is their way of cooking. After two days were passed,
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Speaker 1: we determined to go in search of maize, and not
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Speaker 1: to follow the road to the cows, since the latter
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Speaker 1: carried us to the north, which meant a very great circuit.
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Speaker 1: As we held it always certain that by going towards
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Speaker 1: sunset we should reach the goal of our wishes. So
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Speaker 1: we went on our way and traversed the whole country
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Speaker 1: to the south sea. And our resolution was not shaken
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Speaker 1: by the fear of great starvation, which the Indians said
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Speaker 1: we should suffer, and indeed suffered during the first seventeen
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Speaker 1: days of travel all along the river. And in the
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Speaker 1: course of these seventeen days we received plenty of cowhides
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Speaker 1: and did not eat of their famous fruit Cha Khan.
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Speaker 1: But our food consisted for each day of a handful
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Speaker 1: of deer tallow, which for that purpose we always sought
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Speaker 1: to keep, and so endured these seventeen days, at the
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Speaker 1: end of which we crossed the river and marched for
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Speaker 1: seventeen days more at sunset on a plain between very
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Speaker 1: high mountains. We met people who, for one third of
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Speaker 1: the year eat but powdered straw, and as we went by,
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Speaker 1: just at that time had to eat it also, until
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Speaker 1: at the end of that journey we found some permanent
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Speaker 1: houses with plenty of harvested maize, of which and of
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Speaker 1: its meal they gave us great quantities also squashes and beans,
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Speaker 1: and blankets of cotton, with all of which we loaded
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Speaker 1: those who had conducted us thither, so that they went
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Speaker 1: home the most contented people upon earth. We gave God,
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Speaker 1: our Lord, many thanks for having taken us to where
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Speaker 1: there was plenty to eat. Among the houses there were
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Speaker 1: several made of earth, and others of cane matting. And
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Speaker 1: from here we traveled more than a hundred leagues, always
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Speaker 1: meeting permanent houses and a great stalk of maize and beans.
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Speaker 1: And they gave us many deer hides and blankets of
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Speaker 1: cotton better than those of New Spain. They also gave
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Speaker 1: us plenty of beads made out of the coral found
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Speaker 1: in the south Sea, many good turquoises, which they get
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Speaker 1: from the north. They finally gave us all they had,
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Speaker 1: and durrantes they presented with five emeralds shaped as arrow points,
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Speaker 1: which arrows they used in their feasts and dances. As
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Speaker 1: they appeared to be of very good quality. I asked
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Speaker 1: whence they got them from, and they said it was
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Speaker 1: from some very high mountains towards the north, where they
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Speaker 1: traded for them with feather bushes and parrot plumes. And
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Speaker 1: they said also that there were villages with many people
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Speaker 1: and very big houses. Among those people, we found the
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Speaker 1: women better treated than in any other part of the Indies,
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Speaker 1: as far as we have seen. They wear skirts of
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Speaker 1: cotton that reach as far as the knee, and over
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Speaker 1: them half sleeves of scraped deer skin with strips that
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Speaker 1: hang down to the ground, and which they clean with
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Speaker 1: certain roots that clean very well and thus keep them tidy.
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Speaker 1: The shirts are open in front and tied with strings.
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Speaker 1: They wear shoes. All those people came to us that
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Speaker 1: we might touch and cross them, and they were so
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Speaker 1: obtrusive as to make it difficult to endure, since all
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Speaker 1: sick and healthy wanted to be crossed. It happened frequently
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Speaker 1: that women of our company would give birth to children,
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Speaker 1: and forthwith bring them to have the sign of the
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Speaker 1: Cross made over them, and the babes be touched by us.
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Speaker 1: They always accompanied us until we were in the care
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Speaker 1: of others, and all those people believed that we came
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Speaker 1: from heaven. What they do not understand or is new
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Speaker 1: to them, they are wont to say it comes from above.
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Speaker 1: While traveling with these we used to go the whole
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Speaker 1: day without food until night, and then we would eat
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Speaker 1: so little that the Indians were amazed. They never saw
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Speaker 1: us tired, because we were, in reality so inured to
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Speaker 1: hardships as not to feel them any more. We exercised
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Speaker 1: great authority over them and carried ourselves with much gravity,
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Speaker 1: and in order to maintain it, spoke very little to them.
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Speaker 1: It was the Negro who talked to them all the time.
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Speaker 1: He inquired about the road we should follow, the villages,
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Speaker 1: in short, about everything we wished to know. We came
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Speaker 1: across a great variety and number of languages, and God
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Speaker 1: our Lord, favored us with a knowledge of all, because
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Speaker 1: they always could understand us, and we understood them, so
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Speaker 1: that when we asked, they would answer by signs as
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Speaker 1: if they spoke our tongue and we theirs. For although
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Speaker 1: we spoke six languages, not everywhere could we use them,
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Speaker 1: since we found more than a thousand different ones in
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Speaker 1: that part of the country. Those who were at war
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Speaker 1: would at once make peace and become friendly to each
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Speaker 1: other in order to meet us and bring us all
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Speaker 1: they possessed, And thus we left the whole country at peace.
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Speaker 1: We told them by signs which they understood, that in
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Speaker 1: heaven there was a man called God by us, who
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Speaker 1: had created heaven and earth, and whom we worshiped as
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Speaker 1: our lord, that we did as he ordered us to do,
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Speaker 1: all good things coming from his hand, and that if
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Speaker 1: they were to do the same, they would become very happy.
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Speaker 1: And so well were they inclined, that had there been
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Speaker 1: a language in which we could have made ourselves perfectly understood,
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Speaker 1: we would have left them all Christians. All this we
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Speaker 1: gave them to understand as clearly as possible, And since then,
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Speaker 1: when the sun rose, with great shouting, they would lift
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Speaker 1: their clasped hands to heaven, and then pass them all
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Speaker 1: over their body, the same they did at sunset. They
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Speaker 1: are well conditioned people apt to follow any line which
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Speaker 1: is well traced for them. In the village where they
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Speaker 1: had given us the emeralds, they also gave Durrantes over
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Speaker 1: six hundred hearts of deer, opened, of which they kept
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Speaker 1: always a great store for eating. For this reason we
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Speaker 1: gave to their settlement the name of Village of the Hearts.
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Speaker 1: Through it leads the pass into many provinces near the
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Speaker 1: south Sea, and any one who should attempt to get
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Speaker 1: there by another route must surely be lost, as there
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Speaker 1: is no maize on the coast, and they eat powdered foxtail, grass, straw,
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Speaker 1: and fish, which they catch in the sea in rafts,
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Speaker 1: for they have no canoes. The women cover their loins
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Speaker 1: with straw and grass. They are a very shy and
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Speaker 1: surly people. We believe that near the coast, in a
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Speaker 1: line with the villages which we followed, there are more
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Speaker 1: than a thousand leagues of inhabited land, where they have
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Speaker 1: plenty of victuals, since they raise three crops of beans
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Speaker 1: and maize in the year. There are three kinds of deer,
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Speaker 1: one kind as large as calves are in Castilla. The
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Speaker 1: houses in which they live are huts. They have a
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Speaker 1: poison from certain trees of the size of our apple trees.
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Speaker 1: They need but pick the fruit and rub their arrows
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Speaker 1: with it, and if there is no fruit, they take
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Speaker 1: a branch with its milky sap do the same. Many
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Speaker 1: of those trees are so poisonous that if the leaves
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Speaker 1: are pounded and washed in water near by, the deer
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Speaker 1: or any other animal that drinks of it burst at once.
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Speaker 1: In this village we stayed three days, and at a
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Speaker 1: day's journey from it was another one where such a
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Speaker 1: rain overtook us that, as the river rose high, we
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Speaker 1: could not cross it, and remained there fifteen days. During
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Speaker 1: this time, Castillo saw on the neck of an Indian
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Speaker 1: a little buckle from a sword belt, and in it
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Speaker 1: was sewed a horseshoe nail. He took it from the
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Speaker 1: Indian and we asked what it was. They said it
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Speaker 1: had come from heaven. We further asked who had brought it,
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Speaker 1: and they answered that some men with beards like ours
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Speaker 1: had come from heaven to that river. That they had horses, lances,
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Speaker 1: and swords, and had lanced two of them as cautiously
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Speaker 1: as possible. We then inquired what had become of those men,
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Speaker 1: and they replied they had gone to sea, putting their
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Speaker 1: lances into the water and going into it themselves, and
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Speaker 1: that afterwards they saw them on top of the waves
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Speaker 1: moving towards sunset, we gave God, our Lord, many thanks
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Speaker 1: for what we had heard, for we were despairing to
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Speaker 1: ever hear of Christians again. On the other hand, we
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Speaker 1: were in great sorrow and much dejected lest those people
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Speaker 1: had come by sea for the sake of discovery. Only
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Speaker 1: finally having such positive notice of them. We hastened onward,
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Speaker 1: always finding more traces of the Christians. And we told
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Speaker 1: the Indians that we were now sure to find the
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Speaker 1: Christians and would tell them not to kill Indians, or
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Speaker 1: make them slaves, nor take them out of their country,
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Speaker 1: or do any other harm. And of that they were
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Speaker 1: very glad. We traveled over a great part of the
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Speaker 1: country and found it all deserted, as the people had
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Speaker 1: fled to the mountains, leaving houses and fields out of
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Speaker 1: fear of the Christians. This filled our hearts with sorrow,
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Speaker 1: seeing the land so fertile and beautiful, so full of
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Speaker 1: water and streams, but abandoned, and the places burned down,
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Speaker 1: and the people so thin and wan fleeing and hiding.
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Speaker 1: And as they did not raise any crops, their destitution
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Speaker 1: had become so great that they ate tree, bark and roots.
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Speaker 1: Of this distress we had our share all the way along,
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Speaker 1: because they could provide little for us in their indigence,
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Speaker 1: and it looked as if they were going to die.
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Speaker 1: They brought us blankets which they had been concealing from
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Speaker 1: the Christians, and gave them to us, and told us
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Speaker 1: how the Christians had penetrated into the country before and
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Speaker 1: had destroyed and burnt the villages, taking with him half
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Speaker 1: of the men and all the women and children, And
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Speaker 1: how those who could escaped by flight, seeing them in
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Speaker 1: this plight, afraid to stay anywhere, and that they neither
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Speaker 1: would nor could cultivate the soil, preferring to die rather
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Speaker 1: than suffer such cruelties. While they showed the greatest pleasure
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Speaker 1: at being with us, we began to apprehend that the Indians,
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Speaker 1: who were in arms against the Christians, might ill treat
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Speaker 1: us in retaliation for what the Christians did to them.
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Speaker 1: But when it pleased God, our Lord to take us
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Speaker 1: to those Indians, they respected and held us precious as
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Speaker 1: the former had done, and even a little more, at
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Speaker 1: which we were not a little astonished. While it clearly
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Speaker 1: shows how in order to bring those people to Christianity
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Speaker 1: and obedience to Your Imperial Majesty, they should be well
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Speaker 1: treated and not otherwise. They took us to a village
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Speaker 1: on the crest of a mountain, which can be reached
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Speaker 1: only by a very steep trail, where we found a
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Speaker 1: great many people who had gathered there out of dread
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Speaker 1: of the Christians. These received us very well, giving us
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Speaker 1: all they had, over two thousand loads of maize, which
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Speaker 1: we distributed among the poor famished people who had led
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Speaker 1: us to the place. The next day we dispatched, as
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Speaker 1: we were wont to do, four runners to call together
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Speaker 1: as many as could be reached to a village three
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Speaker 1: journeys away, And on the next day we followed with
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Speaker 1: all the people who were at the place, always meeting
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Speaker 1: with signs and vestiges where the Christians had slept. At noon,
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Speaker 1: we met our messengers, who told us they had not
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Speaker 1: found anybody, because all were hidden in the woods lest
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Speaker 1: the Christians might kill or enslave them. Also that on
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Speaker 1: the night before they had seen the Christians and watched
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Speaker 1: their movements under cover of some trees behind which they
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Speaker 1: concealed themselves, and saw the Christians take many Indians along
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Speaker 1: in chains. At this the people who were with us
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Speaker 1: became frightened, and some turned back to give the alarm
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Speaker 1: through the land that Christians were coming, and many more
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Speaker 1: would have done the same had we not told them
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Speaker 1: to stay and have no fear, at which they quieted
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Speaker 1: down and were comforted. We had Indians with us at
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Speaker 1: the time, who came from a distance of a hundred leagues,
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Speaker 1: and whom we could not induce to go back to
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Speaker 1: their homes. So in order to reassure them, we slept
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Speaker 1: there that night, and the next day went further and
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Speaker 1: slept on the road. And the day after those we
18:42
Speaker 1: had sent to explore guided us to where they had
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Speaker 1: seen the Christians. Reaching the place in the evening we
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Speaker 1: clearly saw they had told the truth, and also from
18:52
Speaker 1: the stakes to which the horses had been tied, that
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Speaker 1: there were horsemen among them. From here, which is called
18:59
Speaker 1: the river of Pa, to Tan, to the river which
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Speaker 1: Diego de Gusman reached. There may be from the place
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Speaker 1: where we first heard of the Christians eighty leagues, thence
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Speaker 1: to the village where the rain overtook us twelve leagues,
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Speaker 1: and from there to the south sea twelve leagues. Throughout
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Speaker 1: all that country, wherever it is mountainous, we saw many
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Speaker 1: signs of gold antimony, iron, copper, and other metals. Where
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Speaker 1: the permanent houses are it is so hot that even
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Speaker 1: in January the air is very warm. From there to
19:33
Speaker 1: the southward, the land, which is uninhabited as far as
19:36
Speaker 1: the sea of the north, is very barren and poor.
19:40
Speaker 1: There we suffered great and almost incredible starvation, And those
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Speaker 1: who roam through that country and dwell in it are
19:48
Speaker 1: very cruel people of evil inclinations and habits. The Indians
19:53
Speaker 1: who live in permanent houses and those in the rear
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Speaker 1: of them, pay no attention to gold nor silver, nor
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Speaker 1: have they any use for either of these medals. Having
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Speaker 1: seen positive traces of Christians and become satisfied they were
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Speaker 1: very near, we gave many thanks to our Lord for
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Speaker 1: redeeming us from our sad and gloomy condition. Any One
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Speaker 1: can imagine our delight when he reflects how long we
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Speaker 1: had been in that land and how many dangers and
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Speaker 1: hardships we had suffered. That night, I entreated one of
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Speaker 1: my companions to go after the Christians who were moving
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Speaker 1: through the part of the country pacified and quieted by us,
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Speaker 1: and who were three days ahead of where we were.
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Speaker 1: They did not like my suggestion and excused themselves from
20:40
Speaker 1: going on the ground of being tired and worn out,
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Speaker 1: although any one of them might have done it far
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Speaker 1: better than I, being younger and stronger. Seeing their reluctance
20:52
Speaker 1: in the morning, I took with me the Negro and
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Speaker 1: eleven Indians, and following the trail when in search of
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Speaker 1: the Christians on that day, we made ten leagues, passing
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Speaker 1: three places where they had slept. The next morning I
21:05
Speaker 1: came upon four Christians on horseback, who, seeing me in
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Speaker 1: such a strange attire and in company with Indians, were
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Speaker 1: greatly startled. They stared at me for quite a while, speechless,
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Speaker 1: so great was their surprise that they could not find
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Speaker 1: words to ask me anything. I spoke first and told
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Speaker 1: them to lead me to their captain, and we went
21:31
Speaker 1: together to Diego del Caarres, their commander. After I had
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Speaker 1: addressed him, he said that he was himself in a plight,
21:40
Speaker 1: as for many days he had been unable to capture
21:42
Speaker 1: Indians and did not know where to go. Also that
21:46
Speaker 1: starvation was beginning to place them in great distress. I
21:50
Speaker 1: stated to him that in the rear of me, at
21:53
Speaker 1: a distance of ten leagues, were Dorantes and Castillo, with
21:58
Speaker 1: many people who had guided us through the country. He
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Speaker 1: at once dispatched three horsemen with fifty of his Indians,
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Speaker 1: and the Negro went with them as guide, while I remained,
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Speaker 1: and asked them to give me a certified statement of
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Speaker 1: the date, year, month, and day when I met them,
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Speaker 1: also the condition in which I had come, with which
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Speaker 1: request they complied from this river to the village called
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Speaker 1: San Miguel, which pertains to the government called New Galicia,
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Speaker 1: there are thirty leagues. Five days later Andrestrantes and Alonso
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Speaker 1: del Castillo came with those who had gone in quest
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Speaker 1: of them. They brought along more than six hundred Indians
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Speaker 1: from the village, the people of which the Christians had
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Speaker 1: caused to flee to the woods, and who were hiding
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Speaker 1: about the country. Those who had come with us as
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Speaker 1: far as that place had taken them out of their
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Speaker 1: places of concealment, turning them over to the Christians. They
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Speaker 1: had also dispatched the others who had come that fall.
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Speaker 1: When they arrived at where I was, Alcadus begged me
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Speaker 1: to send for the people of the villages along the
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Speaker 1: banks of the river who were hiding in the timber,
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Speaker 1: and he also requested me to order them to fetch supplies.
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Speaker 1: There was no occasion for the latter, as the Indians
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Speaker 1: always took good care to bring us whatever they could. Nevertheless,
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Speaker 1: we sent our messengers at once to call them, and
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Speaker 1: six hundred persons came with all the maize they had
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Speaker 1: in pots closed with clay, which they had buried for concealment.
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Speaker 1: They also brought nearly everything else they possessed, but we
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Speaker 1: only took of the food, giving the rest to the
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Speaker 1: Christians for distribution among themselves. Thereupon we had many and
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Speaker 1: bitter quarrels with the Christians, for they wanted to make
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Speaker 1: slaves of our Indians, and we grew so angry at
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Speaker 1: it that at our departure we forgot to take along
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Speaker 1: many bows, pouches, and arrows, also the five Emeralds, and
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Speaker 1: so they were left and lost to us. End of
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Speaker 1: Section eight