Cabeza de Vaca and some of his fellow Spaniards went through some incredible hardships as some of the first Europeans in the New World. They first set out on an ill-advised voyage from Cuba to Florida, where they lost their ships. They built primitive boats which they intended to sail around the coast to Mexico. They went past Mobile Bay, then cut across the Gulf to Texas, where they were captured by the local tribe. Of the 300 Spaniards who left out on the voyage, only 4 survived to tell the tale. De Vaca spent years as a slave to the Indians. He was half-starved (as were his hosts), regularly beaten, and naked. He eventualy linked up with some of his surviving comrades, including a Moorish slave, and they began an epic journey across what is now the Southwest United States and Northern Mexico. He gained a reputation as a medicine man, and soon had an entourage of thousands that travelled with him from village to village. When he finally reached Spanish settlements on the Pacific, the only thing his fellow 'civilized' men were interested in were his followers, which they saw as easy prey for slaves. De Vaca tried in vain to stop the slavers. This was a man who never lost his faith in God or his faith in man. It is simly an incredible journey, and one that does not get enough attention. Though this account is nearly half a millenium old, the translation is easy to read and not at all boring.

I had never heard of Cabeza De Vaca until I chanced across this book. This is Cabeza De Vaca's story of how he, among two hundred Spanish soldiers, was shipwrecked in Florida in 1528. This harrowing but fascinating story tells about the walk to the nearest Spanish outpost--in Mexico.

It takes years, of course, and along the way, Cabeza De Vaca is sometimes treated as a slave and sometimes as a medicine man by the Indians he encounters. When he arrives in Mexico, he is accompanied only by a large troupe of Indians--everyone else is dead. And the Indians with him are immediately enslaved themselves. He spent the rest of his life battling to help the Indians.

For further information, see http://www3.pbs.org/weta/thewest/wpages/wpgs610/cabeza.htm.

Concurr with earlier review, a great story in which Cabeza De Vaca goes into the 'unknown,' surrounded by thousands of locals of course. Additionally, this book has immense literary value as the first story-type book written about America. In writing his account in a straightforward yet exciting manner, Cabeza De Vaca managed a first in American literature. Anybody interested in the history of our country should pick this book up and hear his tale.