Welcome to Cabeza de Vaca.

Episode 21, The Arrowhead.

I'm Brandon Seale.

At least twice in his account,

Cabeza de Vaca states that his companion, Alonso Castillo,

had been the first at his party to start faith healing.

Cabezza de Vaca himself seems to have been the second to take to the role,

but he adds that, quote,

I was the boldest and most daring when it came to performing cures, end quote.

We saw this clearly back in episode 16 when he brought a dead man back to life, at a moment

when he probably didn't need to risk his fragile reputation as a new medicine man on

such a risky proposition.

We've also seen some circumstantial but convincing evidence back in episode 14 that it may

have been Esteban who had first convinced the natives that the four strange-looking expeditionaries

weren't just beggars, but were in fact powerful medicine men.

And in the previous episode, it was Dorantes to whom the natives brought a precious copper

rattle, and later

on he'll be given five emerald arrowheads suggesting something of his prowess as a healer as well.

All of which is to say that by the late summer of 1535, the four former Narvaise Expeditionaries

were three months into their rebooted traveling

medicine show, and they were damn good at what they did.

Quote, we never cured anyone who didn't later say that he was healthy, end quote,

...