Summary

The group is brought before the viceroy of New Spain, Antonio de Mendoza. He expresses his desire to see the Indians enslaved and the land tamed. The Castilians in the group spend the next two months organizing their official report, which they know is just being used to make as detailed a map as possible. They don’t speak of any of the crimes that they committed or how close they became with the Indians.

Cabeza de Vaca seems annoyed that they aren’t getting rewarded in any way for all the work they’ve done. Dorantes is still worried about getting enough money to sail home, but Mustafa is confident that between all the treasures they’ve acquired from the Indians they will be able to get just enough to return home. The Indian women are being taught the ways of Christianity and...