Welcome to Cabeza de Baca.

Episode 17, Malacosa.

I'm Brandon Seale.

One of the most memorable stories in Cabece de Bacca's account is the story of Malacosa, or bad thing in English.

It's one of the few times in his account where he gives us a Native American perspective,

a perspective on how they viewed their changing world during this time.

But I'll be honest, the more I read it, the more I think it

paints a pretty unflattering portrait of Cabesa de Vaca and his companions. Here's the story of

Malacosa from Cabesa da Vaca's account quoted here at length. Quote, from the natives' telling of it,

it started 15 or 16 years ago.

They told us that a man had gone about in that land whom they called Malacosa, short-haired

with a beard, though his face could never clearly be made out.

Just before he arrived outside someone's lodge, the occupant of that lodge said that their hair would stand on end and they would tremble.

And then suddenly, Malacosa would appear in the doorway holding burning sticks.

Then he would enter their lodge and take whatever he wanted from them.

Then he would make three cuts into their sides with a very sharp rock, one hand wide

and two palms long. Then he would stick his hand into the incisions and remove their intestines,

and he would cut off several inches, and the part that he cut off he would throw into the fire.

Then he would make three cuts into their arm, the crook of the elbow and dislocate it.

A short while later, he would reset the arm and place his hands over the wounds.

And they told us that when he was done, everything healed right up.

The natives said that many times when they were dancing in their religious

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