The Moor's Account

The men travel to Compostela at the mayor’s insistence. Their sleeping arrangements reflect their status: The white men are invited to stay at a captain’s hacienda, Mustafa is taken to modest lodgings, and their native wives are taken to a pantry with no beds or windows.

Mustafa explains to Oyomasot that they will again try to buy the natives’ freedom, but he’s not sure if Governor Guzman will agree. Mustafa realizes that he’s lost power and he risks losing his wife’s respect: “For nearly as long as she had known me, I had the power that came with healing, when I spoke, people listened. But here, in New Spain, my words did not hold the same value” (265).

The four men take baths at Guzman’s request. Even as he enjoys his bath, Mustafa feels terrible guilt about the natives who are penned in the horse run at Culiacán. He thinks about the shard of Castilian glass he found in the wilderness and wonders, “Would I ever be able to stir a finger without bringing harm to somebody?” (267).

The four survivors meet Governor Guzman for dinner. Cabeza de Vaca tells the governor about all the different tribes they’ve met and informs him that the natives are trusting and can join the empire through “peaceful means” (267).