FIRST TO SEE THE SUNSET.

FIRST TO SEE

The conquest and settlement by Europeans of the territory which is now the United States was begun by the Spanish in the Southwest. As early as 1536, and that was eighty-four years before the venerable Mayflower landed the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth, the remnants of a large expedition under Cabeza de Vaca had completed an eight-year journey across the entire breadth of our continent from Florida to the Pacific Coast. Four years later the Coronado expedition carried the acquisitions of Spain across the mountains and plains that are today the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska236 years before our Declaration of Independence. It was Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and three naked companions who were the first to cross our continent; the first to see and report on the buffalo of our Great Plains, and the Indians as they were before Columbus crossed the Atlantic. Even the name of this explorer is an unfamiliar one to most Americans, although his journal was translated into English by the scholar Buckingham Smith more than a hundred years ago, and his story is one of the most amazing and important in the annals of world exploration.

Doomed to suffering and tragedy was the expedition which sailed from the port of San Lucar de Barrameda, Spain, on June 27, 1527. There were five ships, heavily loaded, with about 600 men, horses and supplies. They were under the command of Governor Panfilo de Narvez, a tall conquistador who wore a red beard and had lost one eye in battle; and with him was the sturdy young nobleman Cabeza de Vaca, as treasurer and alguacil mayor. They carried a mandate of the Spanish Crown to "explore, conquer and colonize the country between Florida and the Rio de Palmas (Rio Grande)"-all that portion of America lying north of the Gulf of Mexico.

From the outset there was trouble; and the first stop, at the Island of Santo Domingo, saw virtually one-fourth of the entire expedition desert the ships. More recruits, horses and arms were taken aboard when they reached Santiago, Cuba; but shortly afterward a tropical hurricane sank two of the ships and cost the lives of 60 men and 20 horses. Threatened mutiny on all the remaining ships put the expedition ashore to spend the winter.

The following February a new start was made, with five ships carrying 400 men and 80 horses. The whole fleet ran aground and four successive tempestuous storms almost wrecked them before they beat into a large bay (Tampa Bay) on the west coast of Florida, on April 15th; and here the expedition disembarked to begin conquest of the new land. On May 1, 1528, Governor Narvez set out at the head of 340 men, 40 of whom were mounted on horses. The rest were left with the ships. Most of those who marched north-ward through the thirsty palmettos wore heavy metal armor and helmets which shone brightly under the hot Florida sun, and they were well-armed with long sharp-pointed spears, great two-handed swords, and spiked war clubs and shields of heavy metal. They had little or no idea where their travels would take them, for no European had ever seen this land before; and they were spurred on by a vague but lusty dream of conquest and golden treasure. Little did they realize that only four of the 340 would survive eight long years of the most excruciating hardship and complete the historic feat of being the first to cross the North Ameri-can continent.

Forty-eight days they marched, struggling across mucky swamps and sluggish rivers. The supplies they carried were soon gone and they found little to subsist upon along the way. They were half-starved, fatigued, many were ill and "had their backs covered with wounds from the weight of the armor and other things they had to carry."

They periodically saw naked Indians, who ran away as quickly as the many bears, panther and deer that were met along the way. There were no cities of golden treasure to be looted, as they had hoped for. Finally a large proces-sion of Indians came out of the wilderness to meet them. It was led by a group of men playing weird notes on flutes made of reeds, and behind was their chief carried on the shoulders of a husky slave. Many people followed; and they were all naked. Escorted to a large primitive village on the bank of a big river (apparently the Apalachicola in north-western present Florida), the conquistadors found no gold or other treasure, even little to eat. Then the Indians attacked their visitors, seriously wounding many of Narvez' men, who were much too weary and weak to fight. Disillusioned and mutinous, they undertook to follow the river to the sea, determined to get out of the awful country, under repeat-ed attack by the Indians. By the time the coast was reached, one-third of the entire number were "dangerously ill. . . with death as the only prospect."

Desperately, they determined to build crude boats to escape. Their armor, weapons, stirrups and spurs were tediously pounded into saws, nails and other necessary tools and they began the almost impossible task. Every third day one of the horses was killed for food-and from the hides they made pouches for carrying water, and the tails and manes were made into rope. By September 20th they had con-structed five crude barges; and by this time 40 of their number had died from sickness, starvation or had been killed by the Indians.

Believing it was closer to Mexico than to return to Tampa Bay, and not knowing what had happened to their ships, they started rowing westward along the coast-47 to 49 destitute men crowded into each of the unseaworthy boats. The water bags rotted and the food gave out. They were periodically attacked by Indians, and having converted their weapons into tools, they were unable to protect themselves. "Not one of us escaped unhurt"-and one by one they died, from infected wounds, starvation, exhaustion, and driven by desperation to drinking sea water.

THE SUNSET

After more than a month of bitter struggle to survive and reach some hospitable place, they came to a very large river, the current of which flowed out so strong that they could not row against it. There is little doubt that this was the great Mississippi and this was the first time in history that any European ever looked upon its water-14 years before it was "discovered" by De Soto and more than a century and a half before Marquette and La Salle. Carried helplessly out into the Gulf of Mexico, the five barges became separated during the stormy night; and all those aboard were so completely exhausted they lacked the strength to get together again.

Cabeza de Vaca led the men of his barge through a desperate effort and reached land. In his journal he says that "we had been suffering so many days that next day. when the sun set all those aboard had fallen in a heap and were so near dying that few remained conscious There were scarcely three of us who could stand on our feet."

A few days later the barge was cast ashore, at a place which has been pretty well established as near where the present city of Galveston, Texas, stands today. Many were dead and more were drowned. "The sea took the others and thrust them, half dead on the beach as naked as we had been born. It was November, bitterly cold, and we in such state that every bone could easily be counted, and we looked like death itself."

Indians found them scattered along the shore and carried the survivors to their nearby village. Among these was Cabeza de Vaca. Shortly afterward a few survivors of another of the boats were brought in; and as soon as they were strong enough to walk about, the Spaniards were allocated as slaves among the Indian families. They were put to digging up roots with their hands, in the swampy marshes, which with a few fish constituted the principal food of the people.Later the fate of a third barge was learned. Five survivors, landing on the beach, became so desperate for food that they "ate each other up until but one remained, who being left alone, there was nobody to eat him." Of the 340 who had left Tampa Bay six months before, now only 15 were left. As slaves to the Indian families, the Spaniards were subject to their nomadic movements in search of food; their existence was on a most primitive plane; and they were severely mistreated. "No slaves, nor men in any condition of life, were so abused," wrote Cabeza de Vaca. They were cuffed and beaten, their masters indulging in such amusements as pulling out the hairs of their beards. In one small community, three of six Spaniards were killed merely because they went from one lodge to another.

Later the fate of a third barge was learned. Five survivors, landing on the beach, became so desperate for food that they "ate each other up until but one remained, who being left alone, there was nobody to eat him." Of the 340 who had left Tampa Bay six months before, now only 15 were left. As slaves to the Indian families, the Spaniards were subject to their nomadic movements in search of food; their existence was on a most primitive plane; and they were severely mistreated. "No slaves, nor men in any condition of life, were so abused," wrote Cabeza de Vaca. They were cuffed and beaten, their masters indulging in such amusements as pulling out the hairs of their beards. In one small community, three of six Spaniards were killed merely because they went from one lodge to another.

The survivors plotted to escape. When the time came, however, Cabeza de Vaca was so ill he could not walk; and the rest slipped away without him. One other was left behind-Lope de Oviedo-who had remained on the island where they were cast ashore and who eventually returned to Spain to also tell about his harrowing experiences. For six years Cabeza de Vaca lived with these primitive coastal Indians "alone among them and naked, as they all were themselves." Having some knowledge of the treatment of sickness, he became involved in healing the ill, and being fortunately successful in this he became something of a medicine man among them. This earned for him better treatment, frequent presents of precious food, and the privilege of moving quite freely from place to place. His condition was further improved by becoming a trader, along with his healing, carrying such simple commodities as sea shells, red ochre and an occasional hide from one community to another, along the coast and back into the interior.

His journal gives us the earliest account of the Western Indians, in their lowly primitive state before any contact with the white man had given them such revolutionary benefits as use of the horse. It is in sharp contrast to the colorful and dashing red warriors of 300 years later, when we began settling the Southern Plains. The following excerpt from his journal, while it deals specifically with the natives of the coastal regions of Texas, is in most respects quite typical of what he reports on the trip across the interior.

"The people are tall and well formed. They have no other weapons than bows and arrows, with which they are most dexterous. The women do all the hard work. From October to the end of February they feed on roots, taken from under the water. They also have channels (traps) made of reeds and get fish. They move to other localities when the roots begin to sprout and are not good for food They travel in canoes to bays where there are a great many oysters and during the following three months they eat nothing else and drink very bad water. There is a lack of firewood, but a great abundance of mosquitoes. Their lodges are made of matting and built on oyster shells, upon which they sleep in hides, which they only get by chance. They remain here until the end of April, when they move again, to eat blackberries for a whole month, during which time they dance and celebrate incessantly."

"It is the custom to kill the little girls when newly born The reason is that all others in the country are their enemies and should they marry their daughters they might multiply so much as to overcome them and reduce them to slavery . When they want to get married they buy their wives from their enemies. The price for a woman is a bow, with two arrows... Now and then they kill deer, but this is so little and their hunger so great that they eat spiders and ant eggs, worms, lizards and serpents They get deer by running after them, from morning till night, and kill a great many because they run after them until the game is worn out Their best times are when the prickly pears are ripe, because then they have plenty to eat and spend the time dancing and eating day and night."

Each winter when the Indians went over to the island to feed on roots and fish, De Vaca begged Oviedo to flee with him in an attempt to find their countrymen in Mexico. But Oviedo would not make the gamble. The fact he was unable to swim, and they would have to cross numerous inlets and rivers in their flight, was a strong deterrent. But finally, after six long years, they made the fateful break. To reach the mainland, De Vaca swam carrying Oviedo on his back. To be caught running away would mean punishment of the worst sort, probably death.

Traveling westward along the coast as rapidly as they could, all contact with the Indians was avoided. They had great difficulty finding enough to eat. Finally they reached the territory of enemy Indians, and weary and hungry the two presented themselves in one of the little nomadic settlements. Aware of De Vaca's healing powers, they were well received. Here also they learned that some others of their countrymen still survived as slaves of another tribe further on. Oviedo was determined to go back to his slavery on the island; but spurred by the good news De Vaca hurried on, accompanied by an Indian guide who went far enough to point out where the other Spaniards were held. They proved to be the last of those who had fled from the island: Andreas Dorantes, Castillo Maldonado and Estevan. The latter was a husky black Arab Moor from the coast of Morocco, whom Maldonado had originally taken along on the expedition as a personal slave.

De Vaca told them of his plan to attempt to reach Mexico City, and they all agreed to slip away together; but an escape must be carefully planned, so that the Indians would not track them down and kill them. They decided to wait until the fall migration into the interior to find prickly pears. That was six months away. So De Vaca became a slave in this tribe, carrying on his act as medicine man; and they waited patiently for the time to pass.

Finally, it was fall and the tribe moved about 90 miles into the interior. The Spaniards, along with the women, carried heavy burdens of matting and other primitive camping equipment to a locality where prickly pears were plentiful. Upon arriving, however, a community fight broke out and the families scattered, separating the four Spaniards before they could effect an escape.

During this trip Cabeza de Vaca encountered the buffalo of our Western Plains and the account in his journal at this juncture is the earliest extant record that we have regarding those multitudinous creatures which have figured so prominently in the history and lore of the West. The journal was first published in Spain in 1542, and here is a translation from a copy of the rare original edition in the New York Public Library: "All over this country there are a great many deer, fowl and other animals Here also they have many cows; I have seen them thrice and have eaten their meat. They appear to me the size of those in Spain. Their horns are small, like those of Moorish cattle; the hair is very long, like fine wool.. some are brownish and others black. Of the small hides the Indians make blankets to cover themselves, and of the taller ones they make shoes and other things. These cows come from the north, across the country further on, to the coast, and are found all over the land for over four hundred leagues (approximately 1200 miles) Through the valleys by which they come, people who live there descend to subsist upon their flesh. And a great quantity of hides are met with inland."

It was not until the following year, when the Indians gathered again at the same locality to feed on prickly pears, that the four Spaniards we were rejoined. This time they escaped together, traveling further into the interior in a northwesterly direction across what is today the State of Texas. Although it was the beginning of winter, they traveled virtually naked. They were compelled to live off the country as they went, although, having no weapons whatever, their food was limited to wild fruits, nuts, roots and such living creatures as they might catch with their bare hands. It is doubtful if they ran down any deer or caught any of the many buffalo they encountered.

The next Indian tribe they visited accorded them a hearty welcome, for news of the healing magic of these bearded strangers had preceded them. As a subterfuge for self-preservation, all four had developed their medicine man proclivities to the fullest possible extent. There had been some rather remarkable incidents of curing, probably in large part due to the natives' strong faith in their powers, and this had greatly added to their fame and prestige. Estevan the Moorish slave, with his heavy black beard and powerful body, apparently became extraordinarily adept at this Machiavellian procedure. He was also adept at learning the various Indian languages, which gave him a great advantage among the Indians. Natives with all sorts of ailments were brought to the Spaniards for curing, and many presents of food and other simple commodities were heaped upon them. In one respect the Spaniards were always disappointed, for they were never able to get any information about the country beyond the very limited territory that was familiar to each tribe. It was a blind and desperate journey. Just why they chose the course they did, in their effort to reach Mexico, is not clear; and it is difficult to trace the exact route that was followed during the next two long years of tense adventure and cruel hardship.

On one occasion, while searching for wild fruit in a large area of dense trees and thickets, De Vaca became lost from the rest, for five days. It was very cold and he was "as naked as a new-born child." Finding a burning tree left behind by the departed Indians, he took two firebrands and carried them with him. At night he scratched a hole in the ground and filled it with dead grass, under which to find shelter from the cold. Around this primitive bed he built