Our Catliolic Heritage in Texas
far as thirty and forty leagues inland. It should be noted that his trips during this time must have been to the north and east in the vicinity of Galveston Island. Had he gone south or west, he would have learned about the other survivors, of whom he heard nothing until almost seven years later, when he at last proceeded with Lope de Oviedo along the lower gulf coast. 50 His activities as a trader are of interest as the first relations of their kind in Texas of which we have any recor_q. _The c~ief commodities, he frankly tells us, were sea shells; medicinal beans, used by the natives for their healing powers and for festive occasions; conchs with sharp edges for cutting purposes; beads, ornaments and other trifles gathered here and there in the course of his travels. These things he would carry inland and trade for skins; ochre used to paint the faces of the braves; flint for arrow heads; hard canes as shafts for the same; tufts of deer hair dyed red. Everywhere he went he became well known, was kindly received, and fed abundantly for the fine services which he rendered to the various Indian tribes visited . But there were many severe trials endured in this primitive trade. "The hardships that I underwent in this [exile] were long, as well as full of peril and privations from storms and cold. Oftentimes they overtook me alone and in the wilderness; but I came forth from them all by the great mercy of God, our Lord. Because of them I avoided pursuing the business in winter, a season in which the natives themselves retire to their huts and ranches, torpid and incapable of exertion." 51 While engaged in this trade, he had occasion to explore the land and to inquire about the country beyond, a knowledge which would prove very useful when he should start in search of the Christians. It is evident that it was ever his hope that some day he would return to the domain of the Spaniards. This expectation seems to have sustained him through his greatest sufferings and tribulations. His faith that God would save him from all evils and take him back to civilization never wavered. At every critical situation, we find him invoking God's help and thanking Him for his deliverance. Cabeza de Vaca plans escape. Why did Cabeza de Vaca put off his start for the land of the Christians year after year? "The reason for remaining so long," he declares, "was that I wished to take with
50 Hodge, 56-57 ; Bandelier, pp. 73-74, 51 Buckingham Smith (1871 edition), 86; Hodge, 56-57.
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