The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 91, July 1987 - April, 1988 Page: 147
619 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Cabeza de Vaca's Route across Texas
147
the twenty-three Texas groups named by Cabeza de Vaca, "all of them
can be linked with the outer part of the Texas coastal plain, extending
from the vicinity of Galveston Island to the vicinity of Falcon Lake, an
overland distance of some 300 miles." Six of these groups lived east of
the lower Guadalupe River: the Capoques, Chorruco, Doguenes, Han,
Mendica, and Quevenes. The remaining seventeen were situated be-
tween the lower Guadalupe River and the Rio Grande. Four of this
number, the Guaycones, Quitoles, Camoles, and Fig People, were shore-
line Indians located between the Guadalupe River and San Antonio
Bay. Eleven groups occupied the inland region between the lower
Guadalupe and lower Nueces. The northern groups of them regularly
moved southwestward in the summer to the prickly pear region. Ar-
ranged roughly in order of their locations along a northeast-southwest
axis they were the Mariames, Yguazes, Atayos, Acubadaos, Avavares,
Anegados, Cutalchuches, Maliacones, Susolas, Comos, and Coayos.
The remaining two groups mentioned by Cabeza de Vaca, the Ar-
badaos and Cuchendados, appear to have lived west of the sand plain
of Brooks and Kenedy counties."
Aside from their substantial contribution in supplying ethnographic
data for route interpretation, the Campbells also provided a logical and
defensible location for the Land of Tunas. As implied earlier, it is here
that they differ with the route interpretation of Krieger. Krieger posi-
tioned the tuna area south of the Atascosa River, some thirty to forty
miles due south of San Antonio. But he was troubled by the Oviedo
account, which suggests a more coastal location. Indeed, Krieger ac-
knowledged the possibility of an "alternate" route for this portion of
the journey. The Campbells offered convincing evidence that Krieger's
"alternate" route should be his "preferred" route. They placed the
prickly pear area near the Nueces River, west and northwest of Corpus
Christi Bay. Cabeza de Vaca and his companions intended to escape to-
ward Pinuco when their captors, the Mariames, were at the tuna col-
lecting grounds. If the prickly pear area were not south of the lower
Guadalupe, they would have attempted escape from the river of nuts.
Second, the Oviedo account made reference to a communal deer hunt
en route to the Land of Tunas. Deer were drowned by driving them
into the waters of a coastal bay as the Indians skirted its shorelines. The
Campbells believed this body of water to have been Copano Bay. Third,
escape plans of the four were laid for the end of the prickly pear season
(September), when the Mariames would be returning north to their"Campbell and Campbell, Choke Canyon, 9 (quotation), 10-32, 37-40.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 91, July 1987 - April, 1988, periodical, 1987/1988; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101211/m1/187/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.