De Vaca vs. Champlain
...ngs. Another instance is when he writes about the fighting with the Iroquois. Right before the fighting began he writes “… I was very sorry they could not understand me, so that I might give order and shape to their mode of attacking their enemies”. This gives the impression that he wants to take over and be the leader in the fight. The last instance that I have found is when he’s writing about the Iroquois and their fighting style. He writes about how they have three chiefs leading them and how it amused him so much. Champlain’s ego also comes out in his writings. He writes, “With the same shot, two fell to the ground”. With this statement it shows that his writings cannot truly be trusted. It shows that he likes to embellish on the truth. Anyone can see that it is close to impossible for one shot to take down two people. What probably happened was one of Champlain’s men shot at the Indian beside the one Champlain shot, and both shot men fell down at the same time. De Vaca had some major differences from Champlain. One of them is that throughout his writings he refers to the Indians as “Indians.” He does not use “savages” or any other demeaning term when speaking of them. In his writings you also get a sense of respect on De Vaca’s part towards the Indians. De Vaca also gave them compliments. He wrote, “They are all warlike, and have as much strategy for protecting themselves against enemies as they could have were they reared in Italy in continual feuds”. This is a very high compliment that he gave them. He basically states that their fighting is as good as what the Romans were. Although he was a captive of the Indians, they treated him well. They shared everything they had with him. They also allowed him and his men roam around throughout their tribe. If the Indians were scared of them running off, they would have locked them up. They probably let De Vaca and his men do this because the Indians thought that they were gods. By living with them, De Vaca learned their language. De Vaca also shows in his writings that he was curious about their culture and customs. When he learns of how they have their children suckle until they are twelve, he asks, “why?” To this question they replied “… because of the great poverty of the land… the children were allowed to suckle, that they might not famish”. At this point in De Vaca’s writing there is a sense of understanding and respect towards the Indians for doing this. De Vaca became a friend to the Indians during his time with them. This is shown when he tells the Indians about how him and his men are going to look for other people. He says that they are going to tell these people not to do the Indians any injustice. De Vaca makes a comment that no other has made in their writings about the Indians. “They [Indians] must be won by kindness…”....