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Welcome to Erin Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio 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 Curiosities Elvar 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 latter, 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 waded 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 to help finish off the expedition. A few of the indigenous warriors stepped forward, and he was sure that they were about to start firing. But instead they did something else that astonished him. They started to weep. Soon all the other warriors Joined in, they laid their hands on the sailors. It soon became clear to Alvar and the others that the tribe was trying to show them sympathy for what had befallen them. It was a far cry from the warfare that they had experienced in Florida. These Native Americans took the sailors back to their huts on the mainland and shared their fires and food. They mostly ate roots from the small water filled plants dotting the arid landscape, but they would eat just about anything. Lizards, spiders, even deer droppings. While many of Alvar's fellow sailors turned their noses up at this, he quickly adapted, learning to live as the native peoples did. Soon he was even working for them, traveling further inland to trade shells and pearls for food with other tribes. The Native Americans believed in healing by laying on hands and breathing on injured or infected body parts. They thought that the Spanish, with their lighter skin, were somehow sent from the heavens and could perform these healing duties especially well. And so Alvar became known as a healer, traveling around this strange land, selling shells and breathing on injured body parts. It turns out that none of the other Spanish sailors were as adaptable as Alvar. They slowly died from starvation or exposure to the elements. A dozen decided to try their luck, walking south on foot to Mexico. At least they thought that it was south. They still couldn't be sure where they were. But Alvar stayed, partly to learn more about the native peoples and partly because there was one man there, a Spaniard named Lope de Oviedo, who was afraid of water and refused to leave the island. But finally, after many months, Alvar convinced him to leave by letting him ride across the bay on his back. They traveled miles barefoot, eventually reuniting with some of their fellow sailors, only three of whom were left. They continued south, sometimes meeting friendly native peoples, other times being taken captive and having to escape. Eventually, though, they made it back to Mexico, and from there they sailed back to Spain. But it had been almost 10 years since they first set foot in Florida. They had walked over 2,000 miles barefoot and encountered all kinds of unique, fascinating cultures. In fact, Alvar and his friends were the first known Europeans to set foot in some of these places. Remember that strange land where they were originally shipwrecked? Today we call it Texas. And Alvar, better known by his full name, Alvar Nunes Cabeza de Vaca, was the first historian of Texas, chronicling everything he saw. His endless curiosity, even in the face of death, led to copious journals that give us some of our only insights into the Native American cultures at that time. Within a few years, many would die of disease carried by the Europeans. Others would be wiped out by famine or warfare with the Spanish or other tribes. So the next time you find yourself shipwrecked or lost in a strange land, do yourself a favor and stay curious. It might just be the best way to make it through alive.