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Cabeza de Vaca
writings do not say what he told DeSoto or Coronado about those Indians, but to track Vaca across America, with knowledge of where they would ultimately travel, is to understand Cabeza de Vaca's powerful influence on them. Vaca's statements would guide DeSoto north from Florida to find an ocean passage to China, then across our Midwest to find a wealthy Indian tribe, then southeast in search of a giant inland bay, then his army southwest to attempt escape.
Vaca's contentions would prove to be, in order, Lake Michigan at Chicago, not the Pacific Ocean; the Cayas Indians, a large but scattered tribe in Missouri and Kansas; the Mississippi River's Once Giant Lake above Memphis, Tennessee, not an inland bay, which Vaca had mistaken the Mississippi River for given its tremendous size; but his last contention, that Mexico City lied southwest, true to form and, thereby, DeSoto's Army's final destination after trudging 400 miles through Texas and Louisiana trying to get there by land. Coronado would backtrack Vaca's trail from Mexico City then penetrate the continent, searching for whatever the Caddo Indians had Vaca believing was located well north of Houston; about where Coronado's trail ended in Kansas.
DeSoto's westernmost reversal point, his most critical, was also well north of Houston, near the end of Coronado's trail. Finding no gold there, DeSoto died before returning home deceived by Vaca. Coronado just retreated, very humiliated, the quickest way he could.
Vaca profoundly influenced Coronado and DeSoto: two men who changed this continent forever. Both were driven by the words of Cabeza de Vaca, a man caught up in ancient Native American belief. These facts link America's distant past with our present. What follows is a description of Cabeza de Vaca's journey across America. It locates the roads he traveled, his coastal route, and the places he visited: the same roads, routes and places we use every day. It describes the villages he saw, how he survived and what America's Natives told him at various places along his way.