Tlze Dominican iltfartyrs of Texas, r553-r554 1 55 the letter through his relatives and His Holiness replied by calling him to Rome and strictly instructing that no prelate of this province should object to his trip." He accordingly made arrangements to carry out the wishes of the Pope, but with a heavy heart, feeling that the fleet on which he had to embark would never reach Spain. His tragic forebodings were completely fulfilled by the fate _that befell him and his companions. 30 The life of humble submission to God's will to the end pursued by Fray Marcos de Mena, the sole survivor of the expedition, with the exception of Francisco Vasquez, has been told in the preceding pages. Let us return to Vazquez, who was left on the deserted shore where the ships were wrecked, waiting for a rescue party. After having buried Fray Juan Mendez on the banks of the Rio Grande, Francisco Vazquez, finding himself alone, made his way back to the coast, traveling by night and keeping out of sight of the Indians by day. When he came to where the fleet had been wrecked, he hid himself, and subsisting on crawfish and other sea food, remained there almost a year before he was finally rescued. It is to remembered that one of the small ships succeeded in making her way back to Veracruz. The crew informed the officials of the port of the misfortune that had overtaken the fleet . When a few months later, Fray Marcos de Mena arrived in Panuco and then went on to Mexico City, he gave additional details of the misfortune. As the fleet had carried on board one of the largest shipments of silver and gold ever to be sent to Spain, the viceroy was asked insistently to send an expedi- tion to salvage part of the rich cargo if possible. Early in 1554, Captain Angel de Villafana was ordered to undertake a careful exploration of the coast in an effort to locate the site of the shipwreck. \.Vith him went a number of divers, who were later used to rescue the rich cargo from the waters of the gulf. Sailing from Veracruz, he followed the coast closely to the north and east, guided by the infor- mation given him by the crew of the ship that had reached port and the story told by Fray Marcos de Mena, which indicated that the wreck could not be very far from shore. After a few days, he came upon the long, low-lying beach of Padre Island and the dismal remains of the rich treasure fleet that had sailed so proudly out of Veracruz almost a year before. He was greeted by the half-starved and emaciated Francisco Vazquez, who confirmed the story told by Fray Marcos de Mena and
30 /bid., 286.
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