Narváez decided to separate the land party from the ships, ordering that the ships and the land party would head north along the coast, planning to re-unite at a large bay that his pilots assured him was nearby. The land expedition consisted of 300 men and 42 horses led by Narváez. There was no large harbor north of their landing site, and Narváez never saw his ships again. His expedition moved northward in Florida until it reached the St. Marks River in the territory of the powerful Apalachee Indians. Unable to find the gold and other riches he sought and tired of the hostilities with the Indians, Narváez ordered the construction of four rafts to attempt to reach his original destination...Panuco. He manned one raft for himself with the strongest men, the other led by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca the second in command. The estimated 240 survivors sailed the coastline west until a storm struck, drowning most, and washing an estimated 80 survivors ashore near Galveston Island, Texas. Survivors of the storm were killed or captured by the natives. Only four of the 86 storm survivors escaped their captivity, the others having been either killed or starved to death. Only four men survived the trek: Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, Alonso del Castillo Maldonado and the Moroccan slave Estevanico (Esteban), who had remained in captivity in or near Galveston Island for six years..