Estavinco

Estevanico was born in the port city of Azemmour, Morocco, in 1503. After a fierce struggle between the Portuguese and local leaders, the Portuguese captured Azemmour in 1513. During the great drought of 1520-21, the Portuguese sold many Moroccans, including Estevanico (who was 10 years old at the time), into slavery in Europe. Estevanico became the personal servant of Andres de Dorantes of Bejar del Castanar of old Castile. There he was treated well, and master and servant became close friends. In 1527, Dorantes joined an expedition to conquer the unknown lands of Florida. Also on the expedition were Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and Alonso del Castillo Maldonado. The force landed in which is now Florida, on April 12, 1528. Three hundred men made their way on land, through jungles and Indian attacks. The survivors, very desperate to get away, made ships and set sail into the open sea, hoping to reach what they believed was the nearby Mexican coast. Only eighty men survived the crossing, the boats capsized on the coast near Galveston, Texas.

The natives were friendly at first, but then enslaved the explorers. They remained there for five years. Of the eighty, only four survived: Estevanico, Dorantes, Cabeza de Vaca, and Alonso Castillo. In 1534, the four escaped inland and lived among another Indian tribe who made them medicine men. Their methods proved effective, and their reputation as healers spread far and wide. The Indians respectfully called them "The Children of the Sun" because they traveled from the east to the west. Estevanico was especially gifted in languages, and became fluent in several Indian dialects. He carried a medicine rattle, a feathered, beaded gourd given to him by a chief, as his good luck symbol and trademark. Thousands of Indians took turns guiding the travelers through each of their respective lands. The four traveled from the Galveston area, west through Texas, up the Rio Grande River , through Presidio,