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
Wow! Isn't it interesting how one little fact draws us into research. It all started with the forward in an old book, and Esteban became such an interesting man.
Posted by: Paige | November 19, 2008 at 07:51 PM