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five vessels on September 22, the sides of the
dangerous crafts hovered only six inches
above the water.
The survivors drifted westward along the
coast for a month. Many died of thirst or from
drinking seawater. At one point, “a very great
river”—later identified as the Mississippi—
swept them away from the coast into the Gulf
of Mexico. By November 6 only Cabeza de
Vaca’s barge remained. The rest of the expedi-
tion, including Narváez, had either died or
disappeared at sea. The survivors landed on a
sandy isle off the coast of Texas, possibly
Galveston Island. The starving men were fed
by Karankawa Indians and again set sail, but
the lone barge was quickly overturned within
sight of land by a wave, drowning several of
the Spaniards. The freezing survivors strug-
gled to shore, where they were saved but
treated like slaves by the Karankawa. The
Spaniards’ desolation lifted slightly with the
discovery of survivors from another barge.
Although only 15 of the 80 Spaniards sur-
vived the harsh winter, Cabeza de Vaca keenly
observed the dress, languages, physiology,
work habits, funeral rites, and wedding cus-(^84) B Discovery of the Americas, 1492–1800
After surviving Narváez’s failed expedition, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (foreground) met and lived with
American Indian tribes. Through his travels, he met three other survivors of the Narváez expedition. One
such survivor who then helped lead them across the present-day United States and through Mexico was
Estéban, a North African slave of Dorantes (one of the survivors) and shown leaning against a rock to
Cabeza de Vaca’s left.(National Park Service)
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