Miracle in the New World! Four Survivors Cross the Continent Raising the Dead

CULIACÁN, NUEVA GALICIA, July 24, 1536 — What began as a military expedition doomed to failure has culminated in one of the most extraordinary tales in the history of exploration. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, treasurer of the ill-fated expedition of Pánfilo de Narváez, has reappeared on Spanish territory after eight years of wandering through unknown lands, accompanied by three other survivors: Andrés Dorantes, Alonso del Castillo, and the slave Estebanico.

From Conquistadors to Healers

The story they bring with them defies all logic. After being shipwrecked on the coast of what they call the 'Island of Malhado' and watching the vast majority of their 600 companions die of hunger, cold, and Indian arrows, the four men did not survive by the sword, but by faith.

According to Cabeza de Vaca's sworn testimony, they were forced by the local tribes to act as physicians. With no knowledge of medicine, they resorted to reciting the Lord's Prayer and the Hail Mary, making the sign of the cross over the sick. To everyone's astonishment, the natives recovered.

The Great Miracle of the Susolas

The turning point came in the land of the Susola Indians. Cabeza de Vaca recounts how he was summoned to attend a man who, by every appearance, was dead: "I found the Indian with his eyes turned back, without any pulse, and bearing every sign of death." After making the sign of the cross over him and breathing upon him, the man rose, walked, and ate, igniting a religious fervor that spread like wildfire across the entire continent.

From that moment on, the four men were treated as "Children of the Sun." Crowds of as many as 4,000 natives followed them in procession, vying for the honor of touching them and offering up all their possessions, which the Spaniards immediately redistributed.

The Reunion and Imperial Justice

The end of their odyssey was marked by a tense encounter near the Petatán river. Upon coming across a party of Spanish soldiers under the command of Captain Diego de Alcaraz, a clash of visions ensued. While Alcaraz intended to capture the natives escorting the survivors, Cabeza de Vaca firmly opposed him, invoking royal authority.

The dispute was settled upon reaching Culiacán, where the Empire's legal system worked with full force. The Chief Magistrate, Melchor Díaz, in the name of Governor Nuño de Guzmán, not only reprimanded Alcaraz's illegal actions and begged the castaways' pardon for the ill treatment they had suffered, but also solemnly ratified the freedom of the natives. Díaz had his captains swear they would carry out no slave raids, demonstrating that the Crown's official policy is the protection of its new subjects and peaceful integration, punishing those who, on their own initiative, violate the royal ordinances.

"They said that we came from where the sun rises, and they from where it sets; that we healed the sick while they killed those who were well," declared Cabeza de Vaca, drawing a moral distinction that will surely resonate at the Imperial Court.

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