It wouldn't surprise me either. My question,in this instance,is,"What in the world did they come to the Gulf Coast for?" Nothing that's easily available on the gulf coast of Texas comes to mind as being worth the time,effort,and hazard of a long voyage in an open boat. The furs aren't of any exceptional quality,I don't think they were planning on drilling oil wells,and there aren't any particularly valuable minerals there,that I know of.
This,at least to my way of thinking,would argue for an accidental landing-possibly a good sized ship.
De Soto didn't fare too well in Texas either.
My question,in this instance,is,"What in the world did they come to the Gulf Coast for?" Nothing that's easily available on the gulf coast of Texas comes to mind as being worth the time,effort,and hazard of a long voyage in an open boat. The very fact that it is "Texas" is sufficient to warrant the "time, effort, and hazard" of travelling across the world.
If the Romans didn't realize this, then they were fools, and it's no wonder their empire collapsed.