Cabeza de Vaca

[jenbrdsly]

My DS6 and I have been reading two books about the Spanish Explorer Cabeza de Vaca as part of my SLE inspired reading list part 2. So far we have read, We Asked for Nothing, and now we are reading Walk the Rims. Supposedly I read Cabeza de Vaca's original memoir in college, but I don't remember any of this.

 

I'm hoping there are some people from Texas or the Gulf Coast here, who can help me out. I grew up in San Diego, so I can tell you about Father Junipero Sera, but Cabeza de Vaca is definitely off my radar. Is this something you learn about in school near the Gulf Coast?

 

If the native people near the coast were constantly starving, why didn't they move up north to buffalo country? Why did Esteban, the slave, stick with the other three Spaniards when he could have ditched them?

What was really going on that made people think that Cabeza de Vaca could heal them? How did the native people near the coast survive winters, without warm clothing?

 

This is all really making me realize that in public school we tend to learn about the Native Americans who live in our area, as well as the "big tribes", but then you end up knowing relatively little about other, smaller tribes that live in different parts of the country.

Edited December 28, 2011 by jenbrdsly

[almondbutterandjelly]

Here's a link about the Karankawa Indians, who lived on the Gulf Coast:

http://www.texasindians.com/karank.htm

 

I don't understand why you think the Indians would want to move north in winter? It doesn't get that cold here. I mean, we have some chillier days occasionally, but rarely do the temperatures even hit freezing in winter. It's currently the end of December, and the weather has been in the 60s. It might drop to the 40s or 50s at night, but not too much below that. We hardly ever get snow. I live in South Texas, and it snows about once every hundred years.

 

HTH!

[jenbrdsly]

Here's a link about the Karankawa Indians, who lived on the Gulf Coast:

http://www.texasindians.com/karank.htm

 

I don't understand why you think the Indians would want to move north in winter? It doesn't get that cold here. I mean, we have some chillier days occasionally, but rarely do the temperatures even hit freezing in winter. It's currently the end of December, and the weather has been in the 60s. It might drop to the 40s or 50s at night, but not too much below that. We hardly ever get snow. I live in South Texas, and it snows about once every hundred years.

 

HTH!

 

The books we are reading keep talking about starvation because there wasn't enough big game and cactus fruit was their main food.

Thanks for the link!