Estevan
(or Esteban, or Estebanico) the Moor, a slave taken on the Narvaez expedition to
Florida, was among the castaways led by Cabeza de Vaca across the Texas coast.
He was the first black man to visit Texas, in the year 1528.
Born in Morocco, Estevan was
enslaved by Portuguese raiders. A Muslim, he was forced to accept Christianity
and was given his name (as in St. Steven). Soon he was purchased by Captain
Andres Dorantes who took him along on the Narvaez expedition to Florida. Estevan
was one of the expeditions’s four survivors who made it back to Mexico City, along
with Cabeza de Vaca, Andres Dorantes and Alonzo del Castillo. (see A Land So
Strange by Andrés Reséndez, reviewed in an
earlier Western Blog).
I tripped across Estevan’s story
while exploring a used book store on St. Simon’s Island. Operated by a
crotchety old woman, the store was a disorganized jumble. I purchased
“Portraits of the Old West” because I liked its illustrations by such artists
as Remington, Catlin, Bodmer and others. The Foreword mentioned Estevan, and
piqued my interest.
Little has been written about
Estevan; the emphasis has been on Cabeza de Vaca because he chronicled the
expedition. Evidently, a close bond developed between Estavan and Dorantes, his
owner. The two remained in Mexico City after their adventure. The Viceroy
wanted to send them both back into Texas, in search of the Seven Cities of
Cibola. Estevan was anxious to go, and Dorantes finally sold his slave to the
Viceroy. He sent Estevan back to Texas.
Because a slave could not be in
charge of an expedition, Estevan’s care was given over to a Franciscan friar on
a reconnaissance mission into New Mexico. The Indians recognized Estevan
immediately; he was the only black man they’d ever seen. Indians gave him
presents of turquoise and women. The Friar objected to the women, so Estevan,
with his own entourage, went on far ahead of the main party.
Dressed as an Indian medicine man,
Estevan struck an impressive figure. Unique because of his skin color, he
sported a beard and wore noisemakers – rattles and bells – as well as gourds,
feathers, and paint. All this impressed the natives as he moved through Sonora
and (modern) New Mexico.
The Zuni Indians finally murdered
Estevan. Was it because of his demands for gifts of women? One source claims
that his gourds were adorned with owl feathers, a bird that the Zunis
considered an omen of death. If the Pueblos were actually the fabled Seven
Cities of Cibola, then Estevan had reached his goal. The Zuni pueblo was the
first of them.
The following year, the better-known
expedition of Francisco Coronado followed Estevan’s tracks.
dac
11/19/2008