Introduction
Cabeza de Vaca is a Spanish explorer and one of the four toughies who survived the 1527 Narvaez expedition that had really costed us more than 600 lives of our friends (Nunez & Harold, 12). We travelled for eight years across the US Southwest to Texas. The journey was very demanding and full of challenges but we had devoted ourselves into it.
During the expedition, we happened to have taken different routes. Since were the only Spanish comrades that Cabeza could find moral support from, he decided to roam across the American continent searching for us. In the process, he discovered Iguase, an ancient Indian tribe (Nunez & Harold, 87). He was able to learn their supernatural and mysterious culture. This made him to become a healer and a leader. Cabeza learnt how to use herbs for healing and perform surgery (Adorno et al,18). We as well as Cabeza were mesmerized by the natives. Their bodies were covered with mud, ghastly white and painted blue and decorated with feathered headpieces. This was a kind of people that we had never met before and their first sight kindled our curiosity (Nunez & Harold, 92).
During the journey, Cabeza, unlike most of us, became a trader, slave and shaman to several Native American tribes for the sake of survival. With the help of Cabeza, we became the first Europeans to explore the interior of Texas. We also came across the seven legends of the cities of gold. In 1937, Cabeza told us about the native legends of the 7 cities of gold which were called Cibola. We could not hide our excitement. Gold and silver had already been found in other places and so we were very excited to hear and know of other places that contained gold. The good news of Cabeza energized us and we were ready to explore more.
Cabeza found the religion of the indigenous people to be fascinating. They were worshipping a god that they were not very sure of. They worshipped in huts. Cabeza became a faith healer and we helped him gather large followings of natives who regarded us as children of the sun (Nunez & Harold, 52). The natives believed that Cabeza had the power to both heal and destroy. Cabeza capitalized on their spiritual weakness and used that chance to spread his religion.
The winters in the foreign land were really cold. It was a bit hard for most of us to survive bearing in mind that we had very little food. Due to this, So many lives were lost. We also had to walk for long distances along Colorado River. Cabeza was among the few of us who survived the terrible expedition and actually became the first Europeans to see the bison.
Cabeza came across large and small animals that were strange to him. He had never before seen a fish. The natives used the various animals for various reasons such as food. Cabeza came across nomadic inhabitants who fished, hunted and performed rudimentary farming (Menard et al, 102). The native Indian tribes were not united majorly because each tribe had its own unique language. Their forms of speech differed greatly.
In 1953 as we headed to our various destinations in the pursuit of knowledge, Cabeza decided to reconnect with the Spanish colonial forces that were in Mexico. He finally died in poverty at Seville in 1957 after going through various experiences while trying to discover great things (Adorno et al, 198).
Works cited
Adorno, Rolena and Pautz, Patrick Charles. Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca : His Account, His Life and the Expedition of Panfilo De Narvaez, 3 volumes, in English; University of Nebraska Press, (1999). Print.
Menard, Valerie. Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca. Bear, Del: Mitchell Lane Publishers, 2003. Print.
Nunez, Cabeza V. A, and Harold Augenbraum. Chronicle of the Narvaez Expedition. New York: Penguin Books, 2002. Print.
