Author Malcom Lee Johnson offers a comprehensive study of the history of the Lone Star State in his book, “Texas Tales and Tall Ships, Vol. 1: Texas History from 1528-1945 The End of WW2.” Texas or “Tejas” had its earliest settlement record in the 1800s. The area was a famous port where explorers and settlers traveled to and from by sailing ships.

Its earliest known record, however, was provided by a report written by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca. During his expedition led by Panfilo de Narvaez, many of the men planned to walk overland and rejoin their ships at Panuco, but to no avail. In a fit of desperation, the explorers forced themselves to build five rafts to sail along the coast to reach modern-day Mexico. Unfortunately, things didn’t always go according to plan, and many had much to sacrifice for survival.

Yet, despite the difficulties during his travels, Cabeza de Vaca met and named many Native American tribes along the way. His observations of their customs and experiences are safe within the holdings of the Texas State Archives.