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| Why I wrote CABEZA DE VACA, CONQUISTADOR WHO CARED |
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| Some stories seem too incredible to
be true, but the facts are there, and I love to report them. We know what happened
to this man because he wrote a book about his adventures. |
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When I write about people, I like
to know their version of events. Who would know better what happened? After
all, they were there. I just shake my head when I read this story. How could
Cabeza de Vaca have survived? But he did, and we can read the story he told. |
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| This all happened so long ago that
it is impossible to know exactly where Cabeza de Vaca was during the time he wandered
around. The route has been debated for years. Not until the four survivors got
into the country we call Mexico is it possible to know where they were. In the
intervening 500 years, the native people Cabeza de Vaca mentioned have disappeared, making
it impossible to pinpoint places. I chose a particular route that one researcher had
followed himself by matching up rivers, mountains, and deserts as best he could.
Nobody's route matches all the things mentioned in Cabeza de Vaca's book. Using a
particular route helped me visualize the journey, so I shared it with you. |
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Regardless of where he was, Cabeza
de Vaca was a man with a conscience. Trying to stop the abuse of native inhabitants
in both North and South America cost him dearly. |
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| Sometimes stories don't have a
happy ending. This man's story is incredible enough, but what impressed me
most was that he tried to make a difference. His great inner strength helped him
survive hardships. I like to believe that even if he had known how bad things would
get in his life that he still would have tried to do the right thing. |
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Book
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