First European Gives (Miserable) Description of Future United States (1527) Diary of Cabeza De Vaca

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Extracts taken from:
THE NARRATIVE OF ALVAR NUÑEZ CABEÇA DE VACA EDITED BY FREDERICK W. HODGE OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

Music from Epidemic Sound and Artlist

Stock footage from Videoblocks

[LuisAldamiz]

They landed in Tampa Bay and traveled for all the swamps westwards to Texas, then by the deserts to Arizona, no wonder they suffered so much.

[CarlosDiaz-hfqv]

I remember reading this book and using it as a final essay in my American History 1st Semester in H.S. Ohhh man, the book was hard to read for me at the time. The vivid descriptions of Cabeza de Vaca's men, dying little by little.
But I loved how this Spaniard learned how to communicate, and live among the Natives, even making a profit from it. There were a few passages of his accounts that make me wonder.
His account of a tribe of Natives in the Texan desert, who had nothing to eat but Cactus Prickly Pears. The entire tribe would make a big hole on the ground, make a juice out of the smashed prickly pears, mix the juice with water and desert sand and dirt, and then the entire tribe--women, children, and the elder drank from the filled-up desert juice hole with hollow reeds until their stomachs were so swollen with the muddy slurp, that nobody in the village could get on their feet. I also remember the weird passage where he was made a slave in a Native village I think it was by an Arizonian tribe. Every time he tried to escape, no matter how fast or far he ran, he would come back again to the same village. There, he witnessed the Shaman doing a kind of voodoo ritual on him. He would tie a desert lizard by the neck on a stick, and, no matter how hard the lizard would try to free itself from the cord tied around its neck, it would end up running in circles, ending up in the same place where it started. It was an interesting and harrowing book to read. It is just incredibly remarkable what a few band of explorers did to cross the Southern part of a then-unknown wildland, only come upon the other end, and return to Europe, in order to tell a story worth a thousand future generations to hear.

[mathewkeen]

I love this guy. "I'm not gonna waste an ounce of my breath telling you all something that should be widely known and is common sense. I don't care how important or interesting it might be. If it's the common and logical outcome of our actions then theirs no point in me saying it. You already know. Even if you don't. You do."

[TRHARTAmericanArtist]

The journals of Cabeza de Vaca by Donnelly Publishers Lake side books is a must to read. You got a snippet of his seven years journey with the few hospitable Indians he met. Most were treacherous and he spent much of his time as a slave before escaping with two or three survivors. I recommend this series of books.

[DirtRoadAutoRepair]

Having read his whole account, what you read only scratchs the surface of the whole ordeal he endured.

[seankessel]

About your ad: the Pony Express is actually still in operation. They deliver the mail to the village of Supai, AZ.

[mogznwaz]

Imagine being one of the people first exploring North America (or anywhere really). What it must have been like to take such a leap of faith into the unknown. Encountering native tribes, new flora and fauna, many dangers and wonders. Those generations had balls of steel.

[petecapri]

His account reads like a fictional story but it all happened

[Otokichi]

I found a paperback book with a lurid cover, "Apalachee Gold" by Frank Slaughter. I read it and that was my introduction to the tale of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca in the New World. As this was historical fiction, there was an invented "love rectangle" between Cabeza de Vaca, a flirtatious woman, her practical sister, and a bombastic warrior. Looking back, this tale mixes fact with fiction like Michael Crichton did much later in "Eaters of the Dead."

[eardwulf]

Something similar happened to me when I crossed over the Northern frontier into Scotland.

[cthulhutentacles]

I love reading and learning about people in the past, despite our differences, at the end of the day, we’re all human have similar problems

[DangrMouSe]

Excellent narration as always. Love hearing the direct thoughts of ppl from the past. Really gives insight into their mindset then, both individually & cultural for their time period & origin.

[dominicm]

I read the book several years ago. It's a real page-turner, as De Vaca has a real flair for writing. What makes it so much more entertaining is the fact it's all true, retrieved from his vivid memory. What an adventure! a true odysessy

[republikadugave]

What a great way to spend a Sunday evening...this channel is a gem

[Thxsober]

You can travel that same route today and the biggest hardship is enduring that awful deodorizer smell that they use at every rest stop and gas station restroom.

[didntknoicouldchangethis]

Great video!
I read a biography about Cabeza Devaca, and his travels through the southwestern parts of North America. It sounded almost like hell on Earth, at points, but unbelievably, he made it, and got to give his account. I would have liked to know what the Native American groups he encountered thought of the Europeans, and also the accounts of the other 3 men who survived the Narvaez expedition.
Thank you for posting!

[xMetalhead]

I fail to see how this miserably describes future United States but it’s literally an epic unbelievable and immersive what a journey it must have been I’m surprised we don’t talk about him and that expedition more

[LuisAldamiz]

Cabeza de Vaca would lead later another expedition to what is now Paraguay and surrounding areas and, interestingly, reported that, in those early days of gunpowder weapons, he used the muskets for shock... the crosbows for actual killing.

[allocater]

This needs to be made into a movie. (Same for all the other videos on this channel)

[Twisted_Logic]

I remember learning about Cabeza de Vaca in middle school history class, though I have a feeling that most of what I learned was probably pretty apocryphal.