Spanish Explorers

“A Journey Through Texas” by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

“Boulders Taller Than the Great Tower of Seville” by García López de Cardenas

​Literary Analysis: Exploration Narratives/

Chronological Text Structure

The two selections you have just read are exploration narratives—explorers’ firsthand accounts of their experiences. Such narratives generally focus on the difficulties that the explorers faced and the specific discoveries they made. They are also generally written in chronological

order, the order in which events occurred.

Open Ended

The men spent three days looking for a way down [the Grand Canyon] to the river; from the top it looked as if the water were a fathom [six feet] across. But, according to the information supplied by the Indians, it must have been half a league wide [1½ miles]. . . . [Three men], being most agile, began to go down. . . .They returned about four o’clock in the afternoon, as they could not reach the bottom because of the many obstacles they met, for what from the top seemed easy, was not so, on the contrary, it was rough and difficult. . . . from the point they had reached, the river seemed very large, and that, from what they saw, the width given by the Indians was correct.

What do you learn from this narrative about access to the Grand Canyon?

Open Ended

They [Indians] said we should travel up the river towards the north, on which trail for seventeen days we would not find a thing to eat, except a fruit called chacan, . . . .

After two days were past we determined to go in search of maize, and not to follow the road to the cows, since the latter carried us to the north, which meant a very great circuit, . . .

So we went on our way and traversed the whole country to the South Sea [Gulf of Mexico], and our resolution was not shaken by the fear of great starvation, which the Indians said we should suffer (and indeed suffered) during the first seventeen days of travel.

Whose estimate of the width of the Colorado river is correct, according to the narrative?

Open Ended

They [Indians] said we should travel up the river towards the north, on which trail for seventeen days we would not find a thing to eat, except a fruit called chacan, . . . .

After two days were past we determined to go in search of maize, and not to follow the road to the cows, since the latter carried us to the north, which meant a very great circuit, . . .

So we went on our way and traversed the whole country to the South Sea [Gulf of Mexico], and our resolution was not shaken by the fear of great starvation, which the Indians said we should suffer (and indeed suffered) during the first seventeen days of travel.

How long did the explorers stay with the Indians?

Open Ended

They [Indians] said we should travel up the river towards the north, on which trail for seventeen days we would not find a thing to eat, except a fruit called chacan, . . . .

After two days were past we determined to go in search of maize, and not to follow the road to the cows, since the latter carried us to the north, which meant a very great circuit, . . .

So we went on our way and traversed the whole country to the South Sea [Gulf of Mexico], and our resolution was not shaken by the fear of great starvation, which the Indians said we should suffer (and indeed suffered) during the first seventeen days of travel.

What did they do next, and how long did the first part of their trip take?

​Reading Strategy: Recognize Signal Words for Time

One way to make sense of a writer’s work is to look for signal words that point out relationships among the ideas and events presented. In a narrative text that is presented in chronological order, look for signal words related to time.

Open Ended

We followed the women to a place where it had been agreed we should wait for them. After five days they had not yet returned, and the Indians explained that it might be because they had not found anybody.

How long did the explorers wait for the Indian women to return?

Open Ended

On the same day many fell sick, and on the next day eight of them died!

How long after people fell sick did eight of them die?

Open Ended

We asked them why they did not raise maize, and they replied that they were afraid of losing the crops, since for two successive years it had not rained, and the seasons were so dry that the moles had eaten the corn, . . .

For how long had the drought been going on when the explorers arrived at the Indian camp?

Open Ended

They set out from there laden with provisions, because they had to travel over some uninhabited land before coming to settlements, which the Indians said were more than twenty days away.

Would the explorers cross the uninhabited land before they reached the settlements, or after? How many days away were the settlements?

Open Ended

When they had traveled four additional days the guides said that it was impossible to go on because no water would be found for three or four days, that when they themselves traveled through that land they took along women who brought water in gourds, that in those trips they buried the gourds of water for the return trip, and that they traveled in one day a distance that took us two days.

According to the guides, how many days distant was water from the beginning of this journey?

Open Ended

When they had traveled four additional days the guides said that it was impossible to go on because no water would be found for three or four days, that when they themselves traveled through that land they took along women who brought water in gourds, that in those trips they buried the gourds of water for the return trip, and that they traveled in one day a distance that took us two days.

How were the Indians able to travel through this dry country two times faster than the

explorers?

Multiple Choice

The European explorers in America saw things unlike anything they had seen at home. Why were they thus most likely to write narratives about their experiences?

• to practice writing in the languages they were learning

• to fill their leisure hours during their long journeys

• to describe their experiences to people at home

• to write books that would sell many copies

Multiple Choice

The writers of exploration narratives wished to interest their readers. How could

they best do that?

• by explaining their philosophy of life

• by describing ordinary experiences

• by depicting the easy part of the journey

• by describing their observations in detail

Multiple Choice

What insight about the explorers can you draw from Cabeza de Vaca’s remark

that the Spanish pretended to be angry to keep the Indians “in suspense”?

• They were still angry with the Indians.

• They were not honest with the Indians.

• They played jokes on the Indians.

• They treated the Indians politely.

Multiple Choice

Which words in this passage from “A Journey Through Texas” signal the passage

of time?

The next morning all those who were strong enough came along.

• “The next morning”

• “all those”

• “who were strong enough”

• “came along”

Multiple Choice

In this passage from “A Journey Through Texas,” what kind of relationship does

as before signal?

The people who heard of our approach did not, as before, come out to meet us.

• time

• reason

• contrast

• direction

Multiple Choice

In “A Journey Through Texas,” why do the people “of the cows” no longer raise

maize (corn)?

• They would rather grow the crops that the Spanish introduced.

• It had not rained for two years, and moles had eaten the corn.

• They do not want the Spanish to take the corn for themselves.

• It is easier to harvest wild crops than to plant and grow corn.

Multiple Choice

Why are the explorers in “A Journey Through Texas” happy to find people with

plenty of food?

• They have been very hungry.

• They can stay and learn about Indian life.

• They can take food back to the natives who are ill.

• They will be able to live there without worrying about food.

Multiple Choice

Which word best characterizes the majority of the Indians in “A Journey

Through Texas”?

• generous

• hostile

• starving

• religious

Multiple Choice

What is López de Cárdenas’s purpose in “Boulders Taller Than the Great Tower

of Seville”?

• to meet other groups of natives

• to explore a river system

• to create a Spanish colony

• to see a canyon

Multiple Choice

In this passage from “Boulders Taller Than the Great Tower. . . ,” which word signals a contrast?

Although this was the warm season, no one could live in this canyon because of the cold.

• “Although”

• “this”

• “could”

• “because”

Multiple Choice

According to some explorers in “Boulders Taller Than the Great Tower. . . ,” the

boulders in the canyon are “taller than the great tower of Seville.” What does

this comparison suggest about the men?

• They were homesick for Seville.

• They had never seen boulders so large.

• They had never seen boulders so old.

• They frequently exaggerated.

Multiple Choice

In which of the following sentences is the meaning of the word traversed

expressed?

• The people shared their food and blankets with us.

• I sent two men to explore the route into the canyon.

• The drought had killed much of the maize crop.

• It was hard to continue because of the lack of water.

Multiple Choice

What is the best synonym for feigned as it is used in this sentence?

We feigned to be angry still, so as to keep them in suspense, . . .

• wished

• forgot

• proved

• pretended