Trail of the Spanish bit

the long version

Book 1 of the Spanish Bit Saga series. Juan Garcia rode as an arrogant conquistador into the heart of an unexplored continent. One day, on a lone patrol, he was injured and lost. He knew he had little chance of surviving or of ever returning to his homeland. but what happened from that day forward made a different man of Juan Garcia. He embarked upon a greater adventure than any he could have imagined. For instead of hostility, he discovered a people who showed him a new way of life and he, in turn, brought them a talisman, the Spanish Bit, that forever transformed their society.