This is an IHeart podcast.

Welcome to Aaron Menke's Cabinet of Curiosity's, A production of IHeart Radio and grim and mild.

Our world is full of the unexplainable. And if history is an open book, all of these amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for us to explore.

Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosity's.

Alvar slowly blinked his eyes open.

The sun had been beating down on him while he slept, and it was time to take his surroundings in.

Everything seemed to have a blue tint while his vision adjusted.

His skin stung all over.

It was burnt and raw from the sun, the saltwater,

and the sand. His beard was caked with the ladder, but he slowly climbed to his feet.

Looking around, he saw that he was on an island. The Gulf of Mexico stretched out to one side,

and a small bay leading to a coastline was on the other. As his mind came back to him,

he remembered that it was the year 1528. He was on an expedition to Florida for the Spanish crown, but it had gone terribly wrong. Hundreds had died from disease, starvation, or combat

with the indigenous peoples. The last of them had tried to flee to Mexico City on makeshift rafts,

but clearly that had gone just as badly. Looking down at the beach, he saw several other Spanish

sailors recovering as well. They were now shipwrecked on an unknown land. Despite the glare from the

sun, the men were all freezing. It was winter, and a cold wind blew across the island.

Alvar huddled near his fellow sailors, wondering where they would go next. But he didn't have

much time to mull it over before new arrivals to the beach drew his attention. Nearly 100 native

warriors waited across the bay and onto the island. They were tall and

imposing. Their nipples and upper lips were pierced with small pieces of wood. They were unlike

anyone Alvar had ever seen. They all carried bows, and Alvar was sure that they were here

...