the greatest benefit that can be bestowed and much above my deserts for all our Maes had been burnt up by an extraordinary drought had not I and my Subjects on our knees before the Cross prayed for Rain whereupon our misery presently ceased The Governour after that resolved to put an end to the differences that were betwixt him and Pacaha and made them both dine with him The two Cacique's had a new contest which of them should take the Governours right hand but he agreed them saying That amongst Christians there was no distinction made betwixt the right and left hand as to the place of honour that they should do the like seeing they were with him and that every one should take his place as it fell In the mean time he sent thirty Horse and fifty Foot-Souldiers towards the Province of Caluca to find out a way from thence into the Province of Chisca where the Indians had told him there were Copper-Mines and Mines of that Metal which resembled Gold These Souldiers marched seven days through a desart Country and returned quite spent having eaten nothing but green Plums and Maes in the blade which they had found in a wretched Habitation of seven or eight houses And indeed the Indians told the Governour that farther Northwards the Country was for the most part unpeopled because of the cold and that the Cows were in so great numbers that the people could not preserve their Corn for them but that they lived on the flesh of those beasts Soto finding that that Northern Country was so barren and poor asked the Indians whereabouts he might find a well-peopled Country and they told him that they had knowledge of a great Province towards the South called Quigate which was abundantly furnished with all sorts of Provisions CHAP. XXV Soto goes in search of the Province of Quigate from whence he goes to Caligoa and thence to Cayas THe Army lay in Quarters of refreshment for the space of forty days at Pacaha where the two Caciques strove who should make most Presents to the Governour When he was about to depart Pacaha gave him his two Sisters saying That they were the pledges of his Affection and that he prayed him to marry them to the end he might always think of him The one was called Macanoche and the other Mochifa both handsome and well shaped especially Macanoche who had very good features a pleasanâ—… countenance and a majestick air the other was somewhat more unpolished The Cacique of Casqui caused the Bridge to be repaired and the Army returned through its Country to its former Camp near the Cacique's Town who brought from thence plenty of fish and two Indian women whom he trucked for a couple of shirts From thence we parted and passed by two other Towns of the Province of Casqui and seeing the last lay upon a River he sent for Canoes to carry us over and having taken leave of Soto there returned home From thence we marched towards Quigate where we arrived the Fourth of August the Cacique sent a Present of Mantles and Skins but durst not tarry in his Town This was the greatest Town that we had seen in all Florida insomuch that the Governour and all his people took up but one half of it But Soto knowing that the Indians dealt not sincerely he caused the other half to be burnt for fear it might serve the Enemies for an entrenchment from whence they might anoy us under cover and gave the horse orders to be in a readiness to beat them off in case of an attack At length an Indian came to the Town very well accompanied and gave it out that he was the Cacique which obliged the Governour to set guards over him to observe him In the mean time many Indians brought Mantles and Skins but when they found no opportunity of putting their bad designs in execution the Mock Cacique coming one day with the Governour out of his house ran away so swiftly that no Christian was able to overtake him and threw himself into a River which he swam over whilst a great many Indians on the other side shot at our men and made terrible shouts The Governour immediately crossed the River to charge them but they staid not for his coming and as he was in pursuit of them he found a Town abandoned and a little farther a Lake which the Horse could not pass Several Indian women appeared on the other side of the Lake which made the Governour send over the Foot who took these women and a great deal of Baggage Soto returned to the Camp where the same night the Scouts took a Spie the Governour asked him if he could guide him to the place where the Cacique was gone and the Indian promised to do it Whereupon Soto took thirty Horse and fifty Foot and marched to find the Cacique after a day and a halfs march a Souldier met him in a very thick Wood and not knowing him cut him in the head with a sword which made the poor Indian cry out that he was the Cacique and begg'd that they would not kill him so he was taken with an hundred and forty of his Subjects whom Soto brought to Quigate where he told the Cacique that he must send for Indians to serve the Christians But having expected some days and none coming he sent out two Captains with Horse and Foot along the two sides of the River who took several Indians men and women They found thenthat they could get nothing by their Rebellion but loss so they submitted to the Governour and came to receive his orders bringing with them Mantles and Fish The Cacique and his two Wives were kept under a guard of Halbardiers in the Governour 's house whilst Soto inform'd himself daily of the nature of the Country whither he intended to march the Army and he learnt of the Cacique that going down the River towards the South the Country was very populous and governed by very powerful Caciques and that towards the North-West was the Province of Caligoa at the foot of the mountains The Governour and all the principal Officers imagining that we should find a Country beyond these mountains of another quality than that where they were and which might produce Gold or Silver resolved to go to Coligoa Quigate as well as Casqui and Pacaha lie in a flat Country of a sat and fruitful soil and amongst little Rivers that form fields where the Inhabitants sow a great deal of Maes from Tascaluca to the great River we reckoned three hundred Leagues and all that Country is low full of Lakes and Swamps and from Pacaha to Quigate it is six score Leagues Soto left the Cacique of this last Province in his Town and marched under the conduct of an Indian that led us for seven days through a desart Country continually a-cross the Woods where no way was to be found but that which incommoded us most was that that Country was in a manner nothing but a
habitation where they might disâ—…urse together and confirm a sincere peace and friendship which he desired to enter into with him The Indians carried these words to the Cacique who sent them back to acquaint Gallegos that he was indisposed which hindred him from coming The Serjeant Major asked them if they knew of any Province where there was Gold or Silver They assured him that there was one to the Westward called Cale the Inhabitants whereof were in War with the people of another Province where the Spring lasted all the year long and where Gold was to be found in abundance because they make War against those of Cale with Head-pieces of Gold So Gallegos finding that the Cacique did not come and that he only fed him with these false hopes that he might have time to provide for his own security and fearing besides that if he let these Indians go he would see them no more he caused them to be put in Irons and sent eight Troopers to acquaint the General with what he had done Soto and all the Camp were overjoy'd at this thinking that the report of the Indians might be true The General left for the Guard of the Port Captain Caldeiran with thirty Horse and threescore and ten Foot-souldiers and marched with all the rest to joyn Gallegos at Paracoxi from whence without making any stop he took his march to Cale He found two small Villages upon the rode Acela and Iocaste from whence he marched before streight to Cale with fifty Foot and thirty Horse Some Indians having retreated into Marish or Swamp near to a place unpeopled that lay upon the rode Soto sent his Interpreter to them who perswaded them to come back and give a Guide who led the General to a River that ran with a most rapid stream We were obliged to make a little Bridge upon the trunk of a tree which stood in the middle of the River to pass over the Foot The Horse swam over by the help of a Cable that led them from the one side to the other because one who had taken the water first was drowned for want of that invention From thence the General sent two Troopers to the rest of his men who were coming after to bid them make haste because the way was longer than had been believed and that they wanted Provisions When he came to Cale he found the Town abandoned by all except three or four Indian Spies who were taken In this place Soto stayed for the rest of the Army who were extreamly tired out by fasting and the badness of the way for the Country was poor and not much cultivated by reason that the Land is low and in many places overflow'd or covered with very thick Woods And all the Provisions that were taken out of the Ships were spent so that they ran to the habitations of the Indians where they found some leaves of Beets which the more diligent pluckt and eat with water and salt Such as could get none of them went to the fields of Maes and seeing the Corn was not as yet ripe they pulled up stalks and eat and fed on all together The stalks of Palm-sprouts were a great relief unto them and they found a great many when they came to the River which the General had passed with so much trouble These sprouts grow upon the Palm-trees as low as those of Andalousia In this place two other Troopers met them from the General and assured them that there was plenty of Maes at Cale this news put life into them again and whilst they were upon their march to Cale Soto caused all the Maes which was ripe in the fields to be cut down and laid up a store of it for three months When the Christians were a reaping the Indians killed three of them but one of those who were taken told the General that seven Leagues from that Town there was a very large Province fruitful in Maes which was called Palache Whereupon he immediately parted from Cale with sixty Foot and fifty Horse he left the Camp-Master-General Louis de Moscoso with the rest of his men and express orders not to decamp from thence without a warrant under his hand Seeing no body had any Servants or Slaves every one pilled the Maes his own self which they pounded in a Mortar or Trough of hollowed wood with a pestle or pounder made of the end of a beam and some boulted the flour through their Coats of Mail. They baked the bread in pot-lids which they set upon the fire in the same manner as they practise in Cuba That way of grinding was so tiresome thâ—…t several Souldiers chose rather to eat no bread than to grind in that manner but they roasted or boyled the Maes and eat it in the grain CHAP. XI The General comes to Caliquen and carries the Cacique thereof to Napetaca with him The Indians resolve to take him from him by force many are killed upon that occasion DOn Fernando de Soto parted from Cale the Eleventh of August 1540. and came to lodge at Itara from thence at Potano the third day at Utimama and then at an habitation which the Spaniards call de Mala paz bad Peace they called it so because an Indian came who called himself the Cacique and offered himself and all his Subjects to the Generals service provided he would be pleased to set at liberty twenty Indians men and women who had been taken the night before that as an acknowledgment for that favour he would furnish him with Provisions and good Guides The General caused them to be sat at liberty and put the Indian under guard Next day several Indians appeared and drew up round a little Village near to a Wood the Indian desired to be had near to them that he would speak to them and re-assure them and that they would do whatever he should command them When he was got pretty near he made his escape out of the hands of those that guarded him and ran away so swiftly that no man was able to overtake him and at the same time all the Indians fled into the Wood. The General let slip a Hound which had already fleshed upon some Indians and that Dog passing through all the rest went and seized the counterfeit Cacique and held him till some came and took him From thence the General went to Cholupaba which the Spaniards called Villa Farta fat Town by reason of the plenty of Maes that they found there They made a wooden-bridge to pass the River which is near to that habitation and having marched two days over a desart Country they arrived at Caliquen the Seventeenth of August In that place when Soto informed himself about the Province of Palache he was told that Narvaez had advanced no farther in than the place where then they were and that he had embarked there because there was no way to go farther and that there were no more habitations to be met with It was urged to the
Tianto which is the first Town of the Province of Nilco there we took thirty Indians and among the rest two of the greatest note The Governour sent before two Captains with Horse and Foot to hinder those of Nilco from carrying away the Provisions out of their Habitations and they past by four great Towns before they came to that where the Cacique had his Residence though it was but two Leagues from the Camp where we were Upon their coming they found the Indians in Arms as if they prepared to fight nevertheless when they perceived that the Christians came marching up very fiercely towards them they set fire to the Cacique's house and fled away over a Lake near to the Town the day following being Wednesday the Fifteenth of March Soto came to Nilco with the rest of the Army which he quartered in the Town That Country which is very even is so populous that in the compass of a League about this Town there are a great many very large Villages full of Maes small Beans Nuts and Prunes so that except Cosa and Palache it was the most fruitful and populous Country that we had hitherto found in Florida An Indian attended by some others came to wait on the Governour in name of the Cacique and presented him with a Mantle of Martin-skins and a string of large Pearls and Soto requited him with a Collar of Mother of Pearl which is much esteemed by the Indians of Peru and some other trifles wherewith the Indian seemed much satisfied He came back two days after but from that time forward we saw no more of him on the contrary the Indians came in the night-time and carried away the Maes in their Canoes which they conveyed into Hovels built in a very thick wood on the other side of the River The Governour seeing that the Indian came no more as he promised laid an Ambuscade near to some Granaries of Maes close by the Lake where the Indians came to steal the Corn two were taken who told us that the Indian who came to the Camp was not the Cacique but a Spie whom he had sent to discover our force and to learn whether Soto had a design to make any stay in his Country or if he intended to advance farther in Immediately the Governour commanded out a Captain to cross the River but as the Indians perceived us in our passage they forsook their Hovels so that we could take but twelve who were brought to the Camp The same River that passes by Nilco runs by Cayas and Autiamque and it discharges it self into the great River that runs by Pacaha and Aquixo they joyn near to Guachoya the Cacique whereof came up the River to Nilco to make War with the Indians of that Country This Cacique sent an Indian to the Governour to offer him his service and to acquaint him that within two days he would come and kiss his hand He came at the appointed time accompanied with many Indians and presented the Governour with Mantles and Stag-skins in very civil and submissive terms Soto entertained him and shew'd him much honour but having askt him what Countries lay lower upon the River he made answer That he knew no other Town but his own but that on the other side there was a Province governed by a Cacique called Quigaltan After this Conference he took leave of Soto and returned home to his own Country Some days after the Governour resolved to go to Guachoya to know if the Sea was far off or if he might not find some habitations where we might stay commodiously till he had got the two Brigantines built which he intended to send for recruits The Indians of Guachoya who were coming up the River in their Canoes perceived us passing it and imagining that we had a design to attack them they returned and acquainted the Cacique that the Spaniards were coming to his Town This put him into so great a fright that in the night-time he carried away all that he could and fled with all his Subjects to the other side of the great River In the mean time Soto sent before a Captain with fifty Souldiers in six Canoes and kept on marching with the rest of his men He arrived at Guachoya the Seventeenth of April and he lodged in the Town which was fenced being a Cross-bow-shot from the River In that place the great River is called Tamaliseu at Nilco Tapatu at Cosa Mico and at the Haven that 's to say it 's mouth at the Sea Ri. CHAP. XXIX Which treats of a Message the Governour sent to Quigaltan of the Answer he received and of what happened thereupon AS soon as the Governour was come to Guachoya he commanded Danhusco to mount up the River in Canoes because he had observed on the other side Hovels lately built Danhusco returned from the Expedition with his Canoes loaded with Maes small Beans Prunes and Bread made of Prune-paste The same day an Indian came from the Cacique of Guachoya to tell the Governour that his Master would come next day The truth is we saw a great many Canoes coming down the little River which went ashoar on the side of the great River opposite to where we were there the Indians held Council the space of an hour to deliberate whether they should come or not at length all the Canoes came over to our side Guachoya was there with many of his Subjects carrying Fish Hides Mantles and Dogs which they brought along with them They came to the Town where they offer'd all these Presents to the Governour and the Cacique spoke to him in these terms Potent and excellent Lord I beg your Lordships pardon for the fault I committed in withdrawing and not waiting for you in this Town that I might receive and serve you seeing the occasion of doing so was and it is still more acceptable to me than if I had obtained a great Victory I was afraid where there was no cause of fear and therefore it was that I did which I ought not to have done but seeing precipitation always produces bad effects and I retired without knowing what I did I am resolved not to follow the opinion of Fools which is to persevere in their errour but to imitate the wise who take the best Council I come to receive your Lordships Commands that I may serve you to the utmost of my power Soto having thanked him for his Presents and Offers asked him if he knew any thing of the Sea the Cacique said that he knew nothing of it nor of any other Habitation lower down the River except the Village of an Indian Vassal of his and three days journey further down the other side the Province of Quigaltan the Cacique whereof was the greatest Lord in all these Quarters The Governour thought that Guachoya disguised the truth to make him leave his Country which obliged him to send out Danhusco with eight Troopers to make discoveries down along the side of the River and
to him and give him a Guide but he not obeying Moscoso sent out two Captains with orders to burn the Towns and take all the Indians they should meet with These orders were strictly put in execution the fire consumed a great deal of Provisions and several Prisoners were taken Then was the Cacique sensible of the miseries he drew upon himself through his obstinacy he therefore sent six very considerable Indians with three Guides who understood the Language of the Countries we were to pass through So we left Naguatex and at the end of three days march came to a little Village of five or six houses it belonged to the Cacique of Missobone a barren and ill-peopled Country When we had marched two days longer we perceived that our Guides led us out of the way out of a premediated and malicious design changing our march from West to East and that they had left the high-way and brought us into very thick woods Moscoso caused them to be hanged upon a tree and took for Guide an Indian woman of Missobone she made us turn back again into the high way and led us into as poor and miserable a Country as that which we had left That beggerly Province was called Lacane it hardly afforded us any thing but an Indian who told us that the Province of Mondacao was peopled and plentiful in Maes and that the Habitations separated from one another shew'd like mountains We directed our course that way and the Cacique came out to meet us weeping as a mark of his submission he presented the Governour with a considerable parcel of Fish and offered him his services Moscoso treated him very civilly and having refreshed and made provision of Victuals he took a Guide and marched towards the Province of Socatino CHAP. XXXIV The Governour leaves Mondacao and goes to Socatino and Guasco The Army marches through a desart Country and returns to Nilco for fault of an Interpreter and Guide AFter five days march the Governour found the Province of Aays the Inhabitants whereof had no knowledge of the Christians but the people being wild and savage our entry into their Country caused a general rising When fifty or sixty of them were got together they came and assaulted us in our march their numbers continually encreasing and we had no sooner fought one company of them but another began a new skirmish This way of fighting lasted a whole day till we came up to one of their Towns We had some Souldiers and Horses wounded but the wounds not being very dangerous they followed the Army still however we made a great slaughter of Indians When the Governour parted from this Town the Indian who conducted us told him that he was informed at Mondacao that the Indians of Socatino had seen other Christians These news extreamly rejoyced the whole Army for as men easily believe what they passionately desire we perswaded our selves that they might have been Forces come out of New-Spain that if that conjecture were true we might leave Florida when we had a mind to it â—…f we found nothing that might make us live â—…appily there and that fully dissipated all the â—…ear we had of losing our selves in some desart Country In the mean while that was the thing â—…hat the Indian aimed at for two days after hâ—…â—…ed us out of our way Moscoso ordered him to â—…ave some stretches with a Rope which is a kind â—…f Rack whereupon he confessed that the Caâ—…ique of Mondacao his Master had commanded â—…im to ruine us as being his Enemies and that â—…e was obliged to obey the orders of his Lord. The Governour caused him to be thrown to the â—…ogs which tore him to pieces and another â—…uided us to Socatino It was a very barren Country where we hardly found any Maes Moscoso enquired if they had never had any news â—…f Christians and the Indians assured us that â—…hey had heard say that they marched to the â—…outhward That relation engaged us into a â—…wenty days march through a desolate and unâ—…eopled Country where we suffered incredible â—…ardship and misery for the Indians buried in â—…he woods that little Maes they had and the â—…paniards were daily obliged after the fatigues of their march to rake in the woods that they might find out somewhat to feed on We came at length into the Province of Guasco where wâ—… found Maes which we loaded on horses and Indian slaves to maintain us on our way to Nagisscoca It was the first thing the Governour did in all places to enquire about Christians but the Indians told him that they had never seen any but us He caused them to be put to the Rack the torments whereof made them devise a story which was that the Christians had advanced as far as Nacanahez but that they had gone back the way they came that was a place but two days journey distant The Governour hastned thither with all the Army and at our coming we took some Indian women amongst whom there was one who said that she had seen Christians and that she had been their slave but that she had made her escape Immediately the Governour sent out a Captain with fifteen horse the way that the Indian woman directed to see if he could find the tracts of horses or any other mark They were not gone four Leagues when the woman that served them for a Guide told them that all she had said were meer lyes and we discovered that the other relations which the Indians gave us concerning Christians were of the same nature So we came to Guasco extreamly perplexed because the Country where we then were was barren and there were no other Habitations to the Westward We again questioned the Indians who told us that ten days journey that way â—…rom the place where we were there was a River called Daycao whither they went to hunt Stags â—…hat fed along the banks of it and that they had â—…een on the other side of that River people whom â—…hey knew not We provided all the Maes that we could rap and rake and marched through a â—…esart Country as far as that River Moscoso made â—…en horse cross over it who marched for some â—…ime along the side of it till they came to a Hamâ—…et of Indians consisting of some pitiful Cotâ—…ages At sight of the Troopers they fled leaâ—…ing behind them their Baggage which shew'd â—…heir misery and poverty so great it was that in â—…ll the Hamlet they could not find half a bushel â—…f Maes The Troopers took two Indians and â—…ame back to Moscoso who waited for them on â—…he other side He ordered these two Indians to â—…e questioned but there was not an Indian in the Camp that could understand their Language Then did the Governour assemble all the Caâ—…tains to consult with them what they had to do â—…ost part advised him to return back to Guaâ—…hoya and the great River because the Province â—…f Nilco abounded with Maes saying that we â—…ight spend the
men of the Forces that had been with Don Fernando de Soto for the Discovery and Conquest of Florida were arrived at Panico to the end he might give orders for their subsistance as being in the Emperours Service The Viceroy and all the Inhabitants of Mexico were extreamly surprized at the news for all gave us over for lost so soon as we advanced up into the Country of Florida and they lookt upon it as a Miracle that having no place of retreat nor no assistance sent us we could have maintained our selves so long amongst these Infidels So soon as the Viceroy received the advice he sent Orders in writing to furnish us in all places we past through with Provisions and Indian Servants and if they refused to supply us accordingly he gave us leave by the same Order to take by force without any danger of punishment But we needed it not for all the way we went the people came out and met us striving who should first present us with Pullets and other Provisions CHAP. XLIII Of the civil and generous manner how we were treated by the Viceroy and the Inhabitants of Mexico IT is reckoned threescore Leagues from Panico to the great City of Mestitam or Mexico and it is as far from that City to the Port of Veracruce which is also threescore Leagues from Panico Veracruce is the Port where they take shipping to go from Mexico to Spain and where they land when they come from Spain to Mexico and these three Towns make a Triangle Veracruce being the South-Angle Panico the East and Mexico the West This Country is so populous that the most remote Villages of the Indians are not a League and a half distant one from the other Some of our Souldiers who were most spent abode a month in Panico others a fortnight and in a word as long as they had a mind their Landlords not grudging it in the least On the contrary they shared with them what they had and all without exception seemed troubled at their departure The truth is what they gave cost them but little since their Indians furnish them with more Provisions than they can well spend and they took extraordinary pleasure to hear the relation of our Adventures The Governour gave of the Goods in his hands belonging to the Emperour for his dues to those who would accept of them They were very happy men who had reserved a Coat of Mail for they trucked it for a Horse so some were mounted but the greatest part performed the journey to Mexico on foot The Indians in all places received us very kindly and did us all sorts of good Offices offering the Souldiers whatever they had in their houses though they had no want of Provisions for when one asked a Pullet of an Indian he was sure to bring four and if one seem'd to have a mind to a fruit which was not to be found but at a Leagues distance immediately he ran to fetch it When the Souldiers came to any Indian Town the Cacique presently commanded an Indian who carried in his hand a Verge or Mace to see that Provisions were furnished They call that Officer Tapile that 's to say Serjeant He took care also to provide us Indians for carrying the sick and our small Baggage The Viceroy sent a Portuguese to meet us twenty Leagues from Mexico with Sugar Rasins of the Sun Pomgranates and other refreshments for the sick who might stand in need of them And he acquainted us that he would cloath all the Souldiers at the Emperours charges The Citizens of Mexico came to receive us without the City-Gates and desired it as a great favour of the Souldiers that they would lodge with them and they who prevailed carried them home to their houses where they treated and cloathed them so well that the Apparel of him that was worst cloathed was worth thirty Crowns at least The Viceroy had the same care of those whom he entertained in his Palace where they of the better quality eat at his Table He had another Table for the private Souldiers where all were welcome but though he had informed himself of their several qualities that he might shew them honour accordingly yet seeing he denyed not his Table to any of the Conquerours whether Gentleman or Peasant it sometimes happened that the Servant sate cheek by joule with his Master However that little disorder proceeded only from his Officers fault of whom some though that knew their duty better informed themselves of the qualities of persons and treated them with distinction In a word all strove who should entertain us best and that in so gentile and obliging a manner that they prayed the Souldiers to make no ceremony to take what they offered them saying that they themselves had been in the like straights that others had assisted them and in fine that it was the custom of the Countrey God Almighty reward them for it and may it please him to give grace to those who have been preserved by his goodness in that discovery to spend the rest of their days in his holy service and that of his infinite mercy he would vouchsafe to receive into glory those who have ended their days in that enterprise and those who believe in him and confess his holy Faith CHAP. XLIV Of some Singularities of Florida of Fruits Foul and Beasts which that Countrey produces FRom the Port of the Holy Ghost where the Spaniards landed when they entred into Florida to the Province of Ocute it is reckoned about four hundred Leagues all in a flat Countrey full of Lakes and thick Woods excepting in some places where the ground is light and produces wild Pine-trees and in all that way there is neither Mountain nor Hill to be seen The Land of Ocute is fatter and more fertile the Woods are not so thick there and it has Meadows watered with little Rivers It is a hundred and thirty Leagues from Ocute to Cutifachiqui of which fourscore are through a desart Countrey that yields nothing but wild Pines and yet has great Rivers running through it But from Cutifachiqui to Xuala there is nothing but Mountains for the space of two hundred and fifty Leagues These two Towns are seated in a high Countrey but level and cut by Rivulets which have Meadows on the banks Beyond Xuala are the Provinces of Chiaha Cosa and Talise which are lovely Plains of a dry ground that produce Maes in plenty From Xuala to Tascaluca it may be two hundred and fifty Leagues and three hundred from Tascaluca to the great River That Countrey is low full of Lakes and Swamps but the soil is of another nature beyond the great River It is pretty high yet there is champion ground in it and is the most populous Countrey in all Florida On the sides of the great River from Aquixo to Pacaha and Coligoa for the space of an hundred and fifty Leagues the Countrey is plain and in some places very fertile and
one or two apart for the Governour the rest were divided betwixt the Captain and Souldiers They were chained by the neck and served to carry the Baggage pound the Maes and in other employments wherein the chain incommoded them not too much But seeing the love of Liberty makes any enterprize easie the Indian who was led to the Wood to provide fewel or to cut Maes sometimes killed his Master and ran away with the Chain others filed it with Flints which they used instead of Iron They who were catched in any of these actions pay'd dear for it to the end they might take from them the boldness of attempting the like another time When the Women or Children were an hundred or six score Leagues from their own Country they were let go without Chains these were very serviceable and learned Spanish very soon The Governour at length left Uzachil that he might go to Palache and in two days march came to Axille where the Indians did not at all expect us but seeing the Woods were near most part fled into them and escaped Next day being the First of October we set forward but first had a bridge made over a River that we were to cross in our way at the bridge it was a stones throw over where no ground was to be found and at the sides there was water up to ones middle The sides were covered with high and very thick bushes where the Indians made a shew of defending the passage but the General ordered his Cross-bow-men to advance who made them retreat and some Souldiers past over upon pieces of wood that were shoved a-cross to defend the entry of the Bridge So the General crossed over with all his men on Thursday St. Francis his day and came to Quarters at Vitachuco a Village of the Province of Palache The Indians had set it on fire and the Houses were still burning however we entred the Province which we found to be very well peopled and plentiful in Maes We met every where almost with Houses like to our Farm-houses in Spain and large Towns as Uzelu where we arrived on Sunday the twenty fifth of October and on Tuesday after at Anhayca of Palache where the Cacique who commanded the whole Province had his Residence The Camp-Master or Quarter-Master-General whose place it is to quarter the Army assigned us Quarters round the Town There were other Villages at half a League or at most a Leagues distance from whence we had good store of Maes Cucumbers small Beans and dried Prunes better than those of Spain the Trees that bear these Plums grow naturally in all the fields These Provisions were brought to Anhayca of Palache in sufficient quantities to serve us all the Winter The Governour knowing that the Sea was but ten Leagues off sent thither a Captain with some Horse and Foot who having past Ochete six Leagues from our Quarters came to the Sea-shoar where they found a great Tree cut down and shaped in form of a Manger they saw also the bones of dead Horses which made them conclude that that must be the place where Narvaez built the Barks wherein he was cast away the Governour being informed of that sent Danhusco and thirty Troopers to the Port of the Holy Ghost with orders to Caldeiran to leave that post and come to Palache Danhusco parted the Twentieth of November and found that the Indians were returned to Uzachil and to the other Villages yet he took none of them fearing that might stop his march and give them time to draw together He passed by their habitations onely in the night-time and took his rest for three or four hours in some by-place so that he made but ten days Journey to the Port from whence he sent two Caravels to Cuba on which he embarked twenty Indian women for Dona Isabella according to the Governours orders He went on board the two Brigantines with all the Foot and coasting along the shoar â—…ame to Palache Caldeiran made the Journey â—…y Land with the Troopers and some Cross-bow-men but the Indians set upon him on his march â—…nd wounded some of his men So soon as he was come to Palache the Governour sent to the Port planks nails and all other materials necessary for the building of a Bark which he fitted â—…ut and manned with thirty men well armed to â—…ruize in that Bay in expectation of the Briganâ—…ines They had some engagements with the Indians who skulked in their Canoes about â—…hat Coast. In the mean time an Indian undiscovered by the Sentinels came and set fire to our habitation on Saturday the Nine and twentieth of November and seeing it blew a high wind one half of the Town was burnt down It was Sunday the Nine and twentieth of December before Danhusco arrived with his Brigantines The Governour having resolved to discover the Country to the West commanded out Maldonado with fifty Foot-souldiers to march along the Coast and search for some Harbours and at the same time he detached Troopers to go upon the scout about the Town because the Indians were become so insolent as to come and kill men within two Cross-bow-shot of our Camp These Troopers found two Indians and a woman gathering small Beans and though the Indians might have saved themselves yet they chose rather to die than to abandon the woman who was Wife to one of them They wounded three Horses whereof one died Some days after Caldeiran with those whom he Commanded entred into a Wood that was upon the rode to the Sea there he was set upon by Indians who forced him back and took from him the Provisions which were carried by his men In the mean while the time which the Governour had prefixed to Maldonado for his return was elapsed by three or four days which did not a little trouble him and he had resolved not to stay for him but eight days longer when that Captain came bringing with him an Indian of a Province called Ochuse threescore Leagues distant from Palache There he had found an Harbour of good Anchorage and safe against all weathers this extreamly satisfied the Governour who always hoped to find on that side some Country rich in Gold He sent Maldonado to the Havana for Ammunition and Provisions and gave him orders to return back to him again to the Port of Ochuse whither he was to go by Land That if any obstacle intervened that might hinder the Army from being there the Spring following Maldonado was to return to the Havana and come back again the next Spring after to wait for the Governour in that Port because he would engage in no other Enterprize before he had found Ochuse Maldonado being gone with these orders and his Company being given to Iohn de Guzman the Treasurer Iohn Gaytan brought a young Indian to the Governour who had been taken at Napetaca He told him that he was not of that Country but of another very remote towards the East and that when he was
gave us an Interpreter and Guides This obliged the Governour to set at liberty all the Subjects of this Cacique whose Village he left marching along the River through a very well-peopled Country We parted the first of April and at our departure by orders from the Governour erected a wooden-Cross in the middle of the Market-place of the Village and being in haste we onely told the Indians that that Cross served to put us in mind of what Iesus Christ suffered for our Redemption that he was both God and Man and that he created Heaven and Earth that in consideration thereof they should bear a reverence towards that sign which they promised to do The Fourth of April we came to Altaraca and the Tenth of the same Month to Ocute The Cacique sent two thousand Indians to the Governour with a Present of Rabbets Partridges Maes-bread two Pullets and a great many Dogs These last were no less esteemed in the Army than the best sheep because meat and salt were very scarce there insomuch that the sick had no kind of refreshments which was the cause that the smallest indisposition which would have been made nothing of in other places reduced a man to extremity of a sudden so that he died of meer weakness And it was sad to hear the poor wretches in their agony sigh and say Alas had I but a bit of meat or a little salt I should not die The Indians are not put to such streights for with their Arrows they kill store of Fowl and Venision as wild Hens Rabbets Stags and other Beasts They are expert in catching wild Fowl and Beasts and have a thousand inventions for that which the Christians had not and though they had had they wanted time being constantly on the march and not daring to leave their Ranks This want of meat was the cause that of the six hundred men who followed Soto he who could catch a Dog in any Village thought himself a very happy man for sometimes we found thirty in a place but the Souldier that killed one and sent not a quarter to his Captain suffered for it paying dear for his incivilities when he was to go Sentinel or upon any guard of fatigue Tuesday the Twelfth of April the Governour parted from Ocute the Cacique having given him four hundred Indians for Service He went to Cofaqui and from thence to Patofa the Cacique of this Province who was in peace with the Cacique of Ocute had information of the Governours march and being desirous to procure his friendship he came to him and spake in this manner Illustrious and Potent Lord I should now demand of Fâ—…tune that she would be pleased by some small cross onely to make me pay for the Honour to which she advances me in making me so happy as to obtain the thing I most desired in this life which is to see your Lordship and be able to render you service Though my Tongue bear the image of what is in my heart and that my heart cannot dissemble the satisfaction which it receives on this occasion yet it wants power fully to express it What can the Country which I govern have merited to be honoured with the sight of so great a Man and so excellent a Prince who ought to be served and respected by all men in the world And the Inhabitants of this Country being the most inconsiderable of all others whence can they have this happiness the thought of which alone is enough to preserve them from all the calamities that may befal them according to the course of Fortune Seeing if to day we be so happy as to be reckoned amongst your Lordships Subjects we cannot fail of being protected and maintained by true Iustice and Reason and of taking to our selves the name of men seeing they who have neither Reason nor Iustice may justly be ranked among Beasts I heartily then and with all due respect offer my self to your Lordship beseeching you that in recompence for the sincerity of my will you would be pleased to Command me my Country and Subjects The Governour told him that he was much obliged to him for his kind expressions of the effects whereof he was already sensible that he would remember his good will as long as he lived and honour and favour him as his Brother For the space of fifty Leagues from Ocute to Patofa the Inhabitants whereof are of a gentle and peaceable nature the Country is very pleasant and the Soil fat being watered with a great many Rivers which contribute to its fertility But from Ocute to the Port of the Holy Ghost where we first entred Florida that Country which is no less than three hundred and fifty Leagues â—…n extent is a light and soft Land full of swamps and very high and thick bushes where the wild and warlike Indians defend themselves against the attempts of the Spaniards because Horse cannot break through those strong places which was very incommodious to us not onely because of the want of Provisions which in all places they carried away but also for the difficulty we had in finding Guides CHAP. XIV The Governour leaving the Province of Patofa meets with a Desart where he and all his men were reduced to extream misery IN this Habitation of Patofa the young Indian who served for Interpreter and Guide fell upon the ground foaming at the mouth as if he had been possest with the Devil the Gospel was read over him and he recovered After that he assured us that four days Journey from thence towards the East we should find the Country he spake of The Indians of Patofa on the contrary affirmed that they had no knowledge of any Habitation that way but that they knew there was a plentiful and populous Province to the North-West called Cosa however the Cacique told the Governour that he would furnish him with Guides and Servants what way soever he resolved to go whether towards Cosa or towards the Province which that Indian designed Soto demanded six hundred Indians of him and so they parted with testimonies of reciprocal affection We took Maes for four days and marched six by a way that grew narrower and narrower still till at length it altogether failed us The Indian marched in the Van and made us foard over two great Rivers a Cross-bow-shot broad where we had water up to the girts but seeing the Current was very rapid the Horse were forced to make a Lane to secure the passage of the Foot who passed through holding by the Horses Our fatigues were doubled in passing a broader and more rapid River where the Horses were forced to swim a Pikes length This put the Governour into a great perplexity he made a halt under some Pine-trees after we had passed the River and threatned the young Indian that he would have him thrown to the dogs because he had deceived him in telling him that it was but four days journey whereas we had spent nine marching seven or eight
of it that it had raged in the Country two years before our coming which had obliged the Inhabitants of these Villages to seek out other Habitations In their Store-houses were still to be seen a great many Mantles made of stuff of the bark of a tree or of white green red and blew feathers very convenient for the Winter and very neat according to their fashion Besides these there were a great many Deers skins rarely well dyed and cut into breeches hose and shooes Seeing the Cacique observed that the Spaniards highly esteemed Pearls she bid the Governour send and search in some Tombs that were in her Town telling him that he would find abundance there and that if he caused those also of the other Villages to be searched they would furnish Pearls enough to load all the horses of the Army The Tombs of the Town were indeed searched where we got fourteen bushels of Pearls and the figures of Children and Birds made also of Pearl The people are tawny well shaped and more polite than any we had as yet seen in Florida They all wear Cloaths and Breeches after their own fashion The young Indian told the Governour that they began to enter into the Country he told him of and seeing there was some probability in it he understanding the Language of the Inhabitants Soto suffered himself to be perswaded which made the Indian desire of him that he might be Baptized and had it granted he was named Pâ—…dro or Perico and the Governour ordered the Chain which he had hitherto carried to be taken off That Country according to the relation of the Indians had been well peopled it was reckoned plentiful and probably the young Indian who led us thither might have heard of it though he affirmed that he had seen it having devised all the rest of his story according to the best of his imagination We found in the Town a Dagger and some Coats of Mail whereupon the Indians told us that many years before the Christians had landed in a Port two days journey from thence this was certainly Aylhan who undertook the Conquest of Florida that the Governour died upon his landing which had occasioned great factions divisions and slaughter amongst the chief Gentlemen that had followed him evâ—…ry one pretending to the supream Command so that at length they left the Port and returned to Spain without discovering the Country It was thought fit by all that we should stop here and people this place which was so advantageously scituated that all the Captains of ships of new Spain Peru S. Marte and of the Continent would be over-joy'd to come and Trade in this Port since it lay in their way to Spain That the Country was exceeding good and that it might afford a good Trade and very considerable profit But since nothing run in the Governours mind but the Treasure of Atabalipa and that he hoped to find the like the fertility of that Country and the abundance of Pearls could not satisfie him though in reality a great many of them were worth no less than Gold and those which they might have made the Indians fish would have been of another-guess value if the Country had been peopled because they spoil their lustre by piercing them in the fire Nevertheless though the Governour was much prest to comply in that with the desire of all his men he answered That that Country could not supply us with Provisions enough for one Month that we could not excuse our selves from going to the Port Oâ—…se where Maldonado was to wait for us and that in fine that Country would be always open to us and we might retreat thither if we found none richer That in the mean time the Indians would sow their Land and so we should find Maes in greater plenty He always informed himself of the Indians whether they had not heard talk of some great Lord and rich Country and the Indians telling him that twelve days journey from Cutifachiqui there was a Province called Chiaha subject to the Lord of Cosa he immediately resolved to go in quest of that Country and as he was a dry and severe man though he took pleasure to hear the opinions of all yet so soon as he had declared his own he could not endure to be contradicted but did what he judged best himself Thus all were feign to obey insomuch that though the leaving of this Country appeared to be a great fault seeing we could have got Provisions from the Neighbours about until the Indians had sown their Land and the Maes been ripe yet none durst oppose the decision of Soto CHAP. XV. The Governour departs from Cutifachiqui to go to Cosa What hapned to him during his march WE left Cutifachiqui the Third of May The Indians were up in arms and the Queen shew'd some indifferency towards us nay and some design of flying without giving us Guides or Indian Servants to carry our Baggage Her disgust was occasioned by the bad usage which the Indians had received from some of the Christians amongst whom as generally in all great Companies there were some of a low and base mind who for a little interest committed such actions as exposed themselves and those that were with them These broyls obliged the Governour to command the Cacique to be arrested and carried away in a manner unsuitable to the kindness she had shew'd him and of the reception he had had she was forced to walk on foot with her Maids In the mean time that she might deserve a little consideration to be had for her still she caused Indians to come out of all the Habitations by which the Governour past to carry the Baggage from one place to another We marched an hundred Leagues in her Territories and every-where we perceived the marks of the reverence and obedience which were rendred to her in the promtitude and zeal wherewith all the Indians executed her orders However Perico told us that she was not the Lady of the Land but the Cacique's Cousin who had sent her to that Town to do Justice upon some Lords who had revolted but he had lost all manner of credit by the lies he had told however he was born with because he was useful to us as an Interpreter During seven days march till we came to Chalaque we past through the most wretched Country in all Florida the Indians there â—…eed on Roots which they search for in the fields and Fowl they kill They are a peaceable people go naked and are extreamly feeble their Cacique brought the Governour two Stags skins as a very considerable present There is such plenty of wild Herns in that Country that one Habitation presented the Governour with seven hundred and indeed in all the rest they offer'd him what they had That Province is five days journey distant from the Province of Xualla In this last we found very little Maes and that made us after six days stay to leave it though both
heart and since the day I came to hear of your Lordship I have had so great a desire to serve you and it would be so pleasant and satisfactory to me to do so that all I can express here is nothing to what I feel nor no way comparable to it This you may be assured of that the Empire of the whole World would not so rejoyce me nor make me in my opinion so happy Expect not that I should offer you what is your own that 's to say my Person my Country and Subjects I will onely make it my business to command my Servants that with all the care and respect that is due to you they divert you by singing and playing upon Instruments till you arrive in the Town There your Lordship shall be lodged and served by me and my Subjects and shall dispose of all I have as of that which be longs to your self wherein your Lordship will do me a singular favour The Governour thanked him and so they entred the Town with extraordinary joy The Cacique lodged the Governour and all the Spaniards in the houses of the chief persons of the Town The Granaries were full of Maes and small Beans and the Country was so populous that the Villages and fields sow'd with Maes touched one another It is very pleasant because of several little Rivers which make most lovely Meadows and in the fields there are a great many Spanish Plum-trees as well as of those of the Country with plenty of Vines upon the sides of the Rivers whose stocks rise as high as the trees There are others distant from the Rivers side whose stock is low and carry very large sweet Grapes but seeing there is no pains taken about them there stones are of an extraordinary bigness The Governour most commonly set guards over the Caciques to hinder them from running away and he carried them along with him till he was gone out of their Jurisdiction because their Subjects waited for them in the Villages and furnished Guides and Indians for service but when he was about to enter into another Province he sent them back again as he did likewise the Indians who of their own accord carried the Baggage when he was come into the Territories of another Cacique that supplied him with new ones In the mean time the Indians of Cosa could not endure that their Cacique should be kept under restraint they made an Insurrection and fled into the Woods not onely those of the Town but also the Subjects of the other Indian Cacique's who payed Homage to the Cacique of Cosa Soto sent four Captains to attack them in four several places they took several Indian men nay and women also whom they put in Chains so that these people finding how little advantage they had by flying came back and told the Governour that they were ready to serve him in whatever he pleased to command whereupon at the entreaty of the Cacique some of the chief were set at liberty the rest were kept as slaves by those who had taken them no more to return again into their own Country Nor indeed did any of those who were put in Chains ever return again if Fortune and the pains they took neatly to file off their Chain did not restore them to liberty or unless upon a march through the negligence of their guards they straggled away Chain Baggage and all together CHAP. XVII The Governour leaves Cosa and goes to Tascaluca AUgust the Twentieth we parted from Cosa after twenty days stay there and the Governour according to his usual way took the Cacique along with him as far as the Province of Tascaluca whither he intended to go Our first quarter was at Tallimuchase a place abandoned and next to Itava depending on Cosa where we sojourned six days by reason that the River which past by that Village was extream high When the water was a little fallen we continued our march to Ullibali whence ten or twelve Indians were come in name of the Cacique to offer obedience to the Governour All of them had Bows and Arrows with a great many Feathers about them and they waited on the Governour to the Town which he entred attended by twelve Horse and some foot The Indians were all in Arms and the Governour judged by their countenance that they had some bad design we were informed afterward that they were resolved to rescue the Cacique of Cosa by force from the Governour if he had seemed to approve their design The Governour made the rest of his men to march into the Town which was fenced in It is a little Town upon a small River very well pallissado'd round as all the rest were which we found farther up in the Country The Palissado was of great stakes driven deep into the Earth with poles of the bigness of ones arm cross-ways both in the outside and inside which were fastned with pins to knit all the work together that was about the height of a Lance but the Cacique was in a Town on the other side of the River Soto sent for him and he came without any resistance so that after some reciprocal Compliments he furnished us with Indians for service whom we stood in need of and thirty Indian women There we lost a Spaniard called Mancano of a Noble Family of Salamanca who strayed in the Woods whilst he was a looking for Grapes which that Country produces in great plenty Leaving that Town we found another subject to the same Cacique and from thence the Governour went to Toasi where we also took Indians for service and thirty women Our march was commonly five or six Leagues a day in Countriâ—… inhabited but in the desart we marched as far as we could go that we might not be streightned in provisions From Toasi we marched five days in the Territories of the Cacique of Tallise where we arrived the Eighteenth of September This is a great Town lying upon a very rapid River on the other side whereof the fields were well cultivated and covered with Maes which that Country is plentifully furnished with But seeing the Indians had abandoned their Habitations the Governour sent word to the Cacique that he should come to him which he did and after many offers of his Services gave forty Indians In this Town one of the chief Indians of Tascaluca came to salute the Governour in name of the Cacique and made him this discourse Most mighty and most virtuous Lord the great Cacique of Tascaluca my Master hath sent me to kiss your Lordships hand and to let you know that he is informed you gain the affection of all men by your Perfections Power and Merit and that all the people of the Countries through which your Lordship hath passed serve and obey you This he acknowledges to be your due and desires more than life it self to see you and serve you and for that reason he hath sent to offer you his Person Country and Subjects So that when
and new temper our Swords that had been spoiled by the fire our Bucklers Saddles and Lances being likewise fit for service when on Wednesday the Fifteenth day of March 1541. the Indians came to attack us a little before day They were divided into three Batalions but seeing our past danger had taught us wit the Sentinels did their duty and gave the allarm in good time The Governour and Troopers were on horseback in an instant He divided them into three Squadrons and having provided for the guard of the Camp charged the Indians so furiously that they could not stand it Seeing the ground favoured the Horse and that it was already day we might have had a sufficient revenge on the Indians for their former assault had it not been for a Monk that fell a crying with all his force very unseasonably To the Camp to the Camp At that cry the Governour and his men hastned thither and gave the Indians time to save themselves leaving onely forty of their number dead upon the place Some were taken whom the Governour asked about the Country that was further before us and on the Twenty fifth of April we went to Alimamu it was a small Village where we found but little Maes In the mean time the Army being to march seven days through a desart Country Soto sent out three Captains three several ways to seek provisions Danhusco who went with fifteen Horse and forty Foot the way that the Army was to march met with a strong Palissado where the Indians waited for us He saw them walking with their Arms behind the Palissado having their bodies almost all over painted with various colours as black white blew and red laid on in streaks so that they seemed to be in Doublet and Breeches some had feathers on their heads others horns and their faces made black with the circuit of their eyes died red that they might appear more terrible So soon as they saw the Spaniards approaching they fell a shouting and with their Drums beating came out to receive them Danhusco thought best to retreat to an open field within a Cross-bow-shot of their Palissado he drew up his Foot with their Cross-bows and Bucklers before the Horse to save his horses from being wounded and so made head against the Indians who sallied out by sevens or eights in company to skirmish They kindled a great fire to the Spaniards view and took an Indian by the head and feet making as if they cast him into the fire after they had knocked him on the head with a great club to shew the Christians that they must expect to be treated in the same manner Danhusco sent off three Troopers to carry the news to the Governour who immediately advanced and resolved to beat them from that post saying that if that were not done they would take the boldness to attack us when they might do us greater prejudice The Horse alighted by his orders and attacked the Palissado in four bodies The Indians made a very good defence till we came up to the Palissado but charging them then briskly they ran for it over a little River which they had at their back and defended the passage with whole flights of Arrows where seeing we could find no foard for the Horse we were obliged to retreat There were but three Indians killed and many Spaniards wounded of whom fifteen died some days after This loss made the Governours Conduct be blamed in that he had not got the nature of the ground which was on the other side of the River viewed and a passage found before he attacked the Indians Because the hopes they had of making good their retreat that way if they chanced to be beaten made them obstinately maintain the fight defend themselves and anoy the Christians without running great risk CHAP. XXII The Governour goes to Quizquiz and from thence to Riogrande THough during three days space some little quantity of Maes had been brought to the Army and that the wounded wanted rest yet the Souldiers who suffered very much had still more need of victuals so that the Governour was obliged to decamp to go to Quizquiz and marched seven days through a desart Country full of swamps and woods but where there was still horse-way unless in some few places where they were put to swim The Indians of Quizquiz had no intelligence of our march so that we took them all in their houses and amongst the rest the Cacique's Mother Soto sent him word by an Indian that if he would come to him which he might do with all safety he would restore to him his Mother and all his Subjects To which the Cacique made answer That he should first deliver his Mother and the other Prisoners and then he would come and wait on him Seeing the Souldiers were tired out and heartless for want of victuals and the horses also in bad case Soto resolved to give the Prisoners their liberty to see if by that means he could oblige the Cacique to let him alone in peace he therefore sent home the Cacique's Mother and all the rest that were taken having in very obliging words expressed the great desire he had of living in peace with them Next day when thâ—… Governour expected the Cacique we saw a great many armed Indians coming with a design to attack us all immediately armed which the Indians observing retreated to the side of a River out of the reach of shot They consulted together about half an hour and then six of the chief of them advanced towards the Camp They told the Governour that they were come to see what kind of men they were whom he commanded that they had learnt from their Ancestors that a white people should come and conquer their Country and that therefore they would go and tell their Cacique that he should come and offer his services to the Governour so having presented him with six or seven Skins and as many Mantles they returned with all the other Indians that waited on them In the mean time the Cacique came not nor did he send us any more news of him but there being no great store of Maes in the Town the Governour made us march to another about half a League from Riogrande or the great River there we found as much Maes as we needed and Soto went to view the River he found on the sides of it a great deal of Timber fit for building of Boats and an advantageous place for the Army to encamp in which he ordered to advance We patcht up some houses in haste in a smooth level ground about a Cross-bow-shot from the River and thither we brought all the Maes that was in the Villages through which we past Immediately we fell to prepare the wood that was necessary for the Boats and whilst we were employ'd about that work some Indians descending the River came ashoar and told the Governour that they were the Subjects of a great Cacique called Aquixo who commanded a
Marish where we were oblig'd to sleep amidst water It was indeed very low and so full of fish that we killed them with our sticks and when our Indian slaves stirred onely the water and made it muddy they came up to the brim as if they had been giddy and stunn'd so that they took as many as they pleased with their hands The people of Coligoa had no intelligence of our march and were so surprized to see us in the first Town that they threw themselves in a crowd into a little River that past by that Habitation but seeing the Christians came on both the sides many of them were taken with their Wives and the Cacique himself Three days after the chief of his Subjects came to wait on the Governour with Mantles Stags skins and Cows hides which they presented him with They told us that five or six Leagues from thence Northwards there were great herds of these Cows but that the Country was not much inhabited because of the cold and that they knew no Province more plentiful and better peopled than that of Cayas towards the South From Quigate to Coligoa it is almost forty Leagues and this last Town lies at the foot of a mountain and upon a River as big as the River of Coya in Estramadura the Soil is fat and bears so great plenty of Maes that they are fain to throw away the old that they may have-store room for the new it likewise produces Pease or small Beans and Cucumbers bigger and better than those of Spain and which being roasted on the hearth taste like Chestnuts The Cacique of Coligoa gave us a Guide to conduct us to Cayas and abode still in his Town We marched five days to Palisema where the Cacique's house was hung with Bucks skins so well died and wrought that one would have taken them for good Tapistry the floor also being covered with the same The Cacique left all the furniture to accommodate the Governour and to shew that he was inclined to peace nevertheless he durst not stay for us himself which obliged Soto to send a Captain in search of him He met with a great many Indians but it being a rough Country could not apprehend any but women and children Seeing there were but a few separated Habitations there the Army made no long stay but advanced to Tafalicoya Soto took the Cacique of this Town to serve him for a Guide towards the Province of Cayas which was four days journey distant When he came there and found the Habitations at a distance one from another in the Country the Cacique having assured him that it was a very populous Country he imagined that he had put a trick upon him he threatned him sharply asking what place they were in but the Cacique and all the Indians affirmed constantly that we were in the Province of Cayas that that was the best and most populous Town of all the Province and that though the Habitations were scattered in that manner yet there were many Inhabitants and large fields sowed with Maes That Town was called Tanico and we encamped in the pleasantest place on the River-side the Governour advanced a League farther with his Horse and met with no Indians but a great many Skins which the Cacique had left as a sign that he was not our Enemy for that 's the custom in that Country CHAP. XXVI The Governour goes to see the Province of Tulla what happens to him upon the way THe Army rested a Month in the Province of Cayas during which time our horses grew so fat that they never were in so good case since the beginning of our Expedition The Maes there being excellent good and the straw better they eat a great deal of it without any danger but the water of a Lake contributed also much to the fatning of them which was so good and wholesome that they could not get their bellies full on 't and fatned them to the eye We had had no Salt till we came to that place where a great deal was made and where the Souldiers did not forget to make Provision Indians trade in it with their Neighbours and barter it for Mantles and Skins They make it in cakes along the River-side which leaves a great deal upon the sand when it overflows and seeing they cannot make these cakes so long as it is mixed with the sand they put altogether into baskets that are made for the purpose wide above and narrow below which they hang in the air upon a pole and throw water upon the sand that drops down into a vessel set under the basket which afterwards they boyl and the water being evaporated the Salt remains at the bottom of the pot There was a great deal of Maes sowed in the fields upon the sides of the River But the Indians were afraid to appear at length some ventured to come near the Camp and were called to by the Souldiers which gave them the boldness to cross the River and come to see the Governour attended by his Souldiers Soto asked them news of their Cacique they told him that he desired to live in peace with him but that he was afraid to present himself The Governour sent him word that he might come securely and that if he would shew himself to be his friend he should give him Guides and an Interpreter otherwise that he would come and find him out which would be to his ruine Soto waited three days for his Answer and seeing he came not he went himself and took him with an hundred and fifty of his Subjects Soto put the ordinary questions to him If he knew of any good Country and any great Lord The Indian made answer That the best Country thereabouts was the Province of Tulla a day and a halfs journey distant towards the South that he would give him a Guide to conduct him but that he could not furnish him with an Interpreter because the Language of the Indians of Tulla differed much from the Language of his Subjects and that seeing his Predecessors and he had always been in War with the Caciques of that Province they had no communication together and understood not one another Upon that information the Governour set out with some Horse and fifty Foot-souldiers to see if he could pass through Tulla with the Army but so soon as they had intelligence of his march the whole Country rose and when fifteen or twenty Indians were got together they set upon the Governour but being paid off by the Horse they got up to the roof of the houses shooting Arrows from thence and though they were driven from one post yet they got upon another and attacked the Spaniards on all hands That way of fighting lasted so long that the horses could not make one step forwards they killed one and wounded some Christians leaving fifteen of their own upon the place We could not take any but about forty women and children for the Indians that fought had no
quarter given them if they were taken But the Governour fearing they might gather together in greater bodies resolved to come back to the Camp at Cayas and parted at night keeping off of the high-way that he might disappoint the Indians Next day he came to the Camp where he staid three days and then with all the Army set out upon his march to Tulla He took the Cacique along with him but amongst all his Subjects there was not one to be found who understood the Language of the Indians of Tulla After three days march we came to a Town abandoned in the mean time as soon as the Indians knew that we were entred into their Country they came to attack us a little before day in two bodies and armed with Arrows and Poles after the manner of Pikes So soon as they were discovered we betook our selves to our Arms and broke out upon them to the loss of a great many men on their side and onely a few Souldiers and Horses wounded on ours Soto chose out six of the chief Indians from amongst the Prisoners whom he had taken and having caused their right hand and nâ—…se to be cut off he sent them back to the Cacique to tell him That if he obeyed not his Orders he would find him out and use him and all his after the same manner which he made them comprehend by signs the best way he could for 〈◊〉 of aâ—… Interpreter Before three days 〈◊〉 over an Indian laden with Cow-hides came and cast himself at the Governours feet weeping and shewing all the signs of an extream sorrow Soto took him up and the Indian made a long discourse which no body understood They made him conceive by signs that the Governour would have the Cacique to come and that he should bring with him an Interpreter who understood the Language of the Indians of Cayas Next day three Indians more loaded as the first was came to the Camp and three days after twenty others amongst whom there was one who understood the Language of Cayas He made a long discourse full of reasons to excuse the Cacique and expressions in praise of the Governour and concluded with a protestation that he and all the other Indians were come on behalf of the Cacique to receive the Governours Commands and promise him Obedience Nothing rejoyced Soto and all the Spaniards more than that Interpreter seeing without knowing the Language it was very difficult to proceed any farther in Florida Soto ordered him to be kept with a great deal of care and told the other Indians that they might return to their Cacique and assure him that he pardoned all that was past and that he took his Presents and Interpreter very kindly that he would be very glad to see him and that he might come next day At length the Cacique came attended by fourscore Indians who all entred the Camp weeping bitterly as a sign of their repentance and submission according to the custom of that Country They brought with them a considerable Present of several Cows hides which were very convenient against the cold in that Country because they made a good furr the hair of them being as soft as sheeps-wool These Cows are to be found in very great numbers to the Northwards of this Province but we saw none of them alive beause that Country is barren and almost a desart The Cacique of Tulla made a speech to the Governour in his own excuse and offered him his Person and all that he possessed And here it is to be observed that this Cacique and all the rest as also all their Envoys expressed themselves in their own Language as elegantly as the most polite Orator could do in his CHAP. XXVII The Governour goes from Tulla to Autiamque where he spends the Winter-Quarter SOto having enquired into the nature of the Countries about Tulla was informed that the Country to the West had nothing but separate Habitations but that betwixt East and South he would meet with large Towns especially in the Province of Autiamque ten days journey distant from Tulla which might make about fourscore Leagues and that that Country was extraordinary fruitful in Maes Seeing Winter drew on and that the rain and snow would hinder our march for two or three Months the Governour was apprehensive that we could hardly find provisions in these Habitations so remote from one another and besides the Indians said that near to Autiamque they saw a great Lake and according as they talkt of it we had ground to believe it might be an arm of the Sea The Governour was very desirous to send advice to Cuba and to get from thence a supply of men and horses because it was already three years that neither his Wife nor any body else had heard what was become of him nay besides he had already lost two hundred and fifty of his Souldiers and an hundred and forty Horses All these reasons concurring made him determine to pitch upon the Province of Autiamque for his Winter-Quarters and to search for some Sea-Port in the Spâ—…ng His design was to have two Brigantines built there which he would send one to Cuba and the other to New-Spain to the end that if one of them should miscarry the other might carry news of him to one or the other of these two Provinces He hoped to make new Levâ—…es with the money that he had at the Havana and carry on his discoveries Westwards having not as yet proceeded so far as those places where Cabesa de Vacca had been He sent back the two Caciques of Tulla and Cayas and began his march towards the Province of Autiamque after five days travelling over very rough mountains we found an habitation called Quipana where we could not take any Indians the Country being too close for the horse however that Village being seated amongst mountains we laid an Ambuscade and caught two Indians They told us that Autiamque was six days journey off and that to the South we would find another Province called Guahate very plentiful in Maes and extreamly well peopled But the Province of Autiamque being the nearest Soto continued his march and came to the Town of Anoixi A Captain marching in the front of the Army with fifty Foot and thirty Horse surprized the Indians who expected no such thing as the seeing of us there and took a great many Prisoners of both Sexes Two days after we found the Habitation of Catamaya where we encamped without the Town Two Indians pretending to be sent from the Cacique came to observe our Countenance and the Governour told them that they should go and bid the Cacique come to him without any fear of violence but they came back no more and we had no more news of them The day following the Christians entred the Town which was forsaken by the Indians there they took what Maes they stood in need of and without longer stay in that place we went and past the night
which we had Salt the same Evening Next morning we marched and spent the following night in a Wood that was not very thick and from thence we went to Pato At length on the fourth day after our departure we found the first Habitation of the Province of Maye where we took an Indian who told us that from thence to Naguatex it was but a day and a halfs journey more which we made through a very populous Country Saturday the Twentieth of Iuly the Army encamped on the side of a very pleasant Wood betwixt Maye and Naguatex Some Indians being observed to come and view us Moscoso sent out a party of Horse who killed six of them and made two prisoners that were brought in to him He asked them what they came to do and they confessed that their design was to discover what number of men he had and the seat of his Camp that it was by order of their Master the Cacique of Naguatex who was the same day to come and attack him being assisted by two other Caciques that accompanied him Whilst Moscoso was enquiring into the particulars of that Conspiracy the Indians divided into two Batalions appeared who finding that they were discovered attacked us furiously in two places but so soon as they saw we made head against them vigorously they turned their backs leaving many of their men upon the place They were hotly pursued by all our Horse who being at a distance from the Camp were attacked by two other Batalions which made a kind of body of reserve but they were as warmly received as the others were and had no greater cause to brag of their temerity The Indians were put to the flight and the Christians rallied again when of a sudden great cries were heard about a Cross-bow shot from the Camp Moscoso sent off twelve Horse to know what the matter was and they found six Spaniards two on horseback and four a foot surrounded by a great many Indians where the two Troopers did all that could be expected of brave men in defending the four Foot-souldiers They had lost their way in pursuing the Indians who made the first attack and having rallied to return to the Camp they fell into that company of Indians who set upon them Assistance coming in very good time most of the Indians were killed and onely one taken who was brought to the Camp The Governour asked him who they were that attacked us he said it was the Cacique of Naguatex the Cacique of Maye and a third very powerful in Lands and Vassals who governed a Province called Hacanac however that Naguatex was the General Moscoso ordered his nose and right arm to be cut off and sent him in that condition to Naguatex to acquaint him that next day he would enter his Country and put all to fire and sword and that if he would defend it he should meet him at the entry into the Province The Army rested that night in the same place and the day following went to a Village of Naguatex where the houses were at great distance one from another He asked where the Caciques Town was which was shew'd him on the other side of a River that run near that place We marched up to the River and found the side opposite to us covered with Indians in arms who seemed to be resolved to dispute us the passage Seeing the Governour knew not the foard and that he had men and horses wounded he drew back the Army to the Town which we left resolving to rest there for some days that they might have time to be cured So the Army encamped within a quarter of a League of the River 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Town in a pretty clear wood of very lovely and pleasant trees and that place was pitched upon because the weather was very fair and calm Some Indians were taken who told us that the River was foardable at certain times which obliged the Governour two days after to send off two Captains with fifteen horse and some Indians a piece to search for a foard one up and the other down the River The Indians appeared to defend the passage in both places nevertherless the two Captains passed over in spight of the Enemies and found on that side of the water a very populous Country and plentiful in Provisions whereupon they came back and gave the Governour an account of what they had done CHAP. XXXIII The Cacique of Naguatex comes to wait on the Governour He parts from Naguatex and arrives at Mandacao THe Governour sent an Indian to the Cacique of Naguatex to tell him that if he came and offered him his service and shew'd his repentance for what was past he would pardon him but if he failed that the Governour would come and punish him according as his Treachery deserved Two days after the Indian came back and told that the Cacique would come next day Accordingly a great many of the principal Subjects of Naguatex appeared being sent by their Master to observe the Governours looks and the carriage of his men that he might thereupon take his resolution They onely told that the Cacique was coming and presently returned The Cacique came two hours after very well accompanied his Indians marching in two Files and making a lane for the Cacique to walk in the middle They all came weeping according to the custom of the Province of Tulla which is not far from thence to the Eastward The Cacique made a low bow to the Governour and beg'd pardon for what he had done the thought of which alone said he deserved to be punished he enlarged much in the Governours praise and in commendation of the Spaniards whom he called immortal people rejecting the blame of all the enterprize upon the bad Counsels of one of his Brothers who died in the Fight he concluded with the offer of his service and obedience Moscoso answered That he would pardon him what was past and that if he would for the future contain himself within the bounds of his duty he should consider him as his friend Four days after the Army decamped but the River was so swelled that we could not pass it which extreamly surprized us seeing it had not rained for above a month before and that it was Summer too however thâ—… Indians told us that it hapned so sometimes without rain this made us judge that that extraordinary motion might come from the Sea flowing into the River because we were told that that swelling always hapned in the waxing of the Moon in the mean time none of these Indians had the least knowledge of the Sea The Army marched back the same way to the Camp we left and we were forced to stay eight days longer till the water was low enough to let us pass the Indians were careful to give us notice of that and having crossed over to the other side we went to a Town abandoned The Governour pitched the Camp in an open field and sent for the Cacique to come
labour to bring from a far the water bricks mortar and all the necessary materials for the raising of so great a work The other thing that surprized me was that this Wall is not carried on upon the same line but turns and winds in several places according to the disposition of the Mountains in such a manner that instead of one Wall it may be said there are three which encompass all that great part of China But after all the Monarch who in our days hath united the Chinese and Tartars under one Dominion hath done somewhat more for the security of China than that Chinese Emperour who built that long wall for having reduced the Weastern Tartars partly by cunning and partly by force he hath obliged them to go and live three hundred miles beyond the Wall of China And at that distance he hath distributed amongst them Lands and Pasturage giving at the same time their Country to other Tartars his Subjects who at present inhabit it Nevertheless the Western Tartars are so powerful that if they agreed among themselves they might still render themselves Masters of all China and East-Tartary as it is confessed by the Eastern Tartars themselves I said that the Tartarian Monarch who conquered China used Artifice for subduing the Western Tartars for it was one of his chief cares by Royal Bounty and demonstrations of a singular Affection to engage the Lamas into his interests These having great Credit and Authority over the whole Nation easily perswaded them to submit to the Government of so great a Prince and it is in consideration of that service rendred to the State that the present Emperour still looks upon the Lamas with a favourable eye that he is liberal unto them and makes use of them to keep the Tartars in due obedience though inwardly he despises them looking upon them as a dull and blockish sort of men who have not the least tincture of Arts and Sciences wherein that Prince doubtless shews a great deal of Wisdom and Policy in disguising so his real thoughts by those external marks of esteem and kindness He hath divided that vast extent of Land into forty eight Provinces which are subject and tributary unto him Hence it is that the Emperour who at present Reigns in China and in both the Tartaries may justly be called the greatest and most powerful Monarch of Asia having so many vast Countries under him united and not intercepted by the Lands of any forreign Prince and he alone being as the Soul which gives life and motion to all the Members of so great a Body For since he hath taken the Government upon him he hath never entrusted the care of it to any of the Colaos or the great men of his Court nor hath he ever suffered any of the Eunuchs of the Palace any of his Pages or any of those young Lords that have been bred with him to dispose of any thing within his house or regulate any matter by themselves This will appear very strange especially if one consider how his Predecessours were wont to act on such occasions With wonderful equity he punishes the great as well as the small he turns them out of their Places and degrades them from their Dignity always proportionating the punishment to the heinousness of their Crime He himself takes cognizance of the Affairs that are handled in the Royal Council and in the other Tribunals requiring an exact account of the Judgments and Sentences that have been past therein In a word he disposes of all and orders every thing by himself And that absolute Authority which he hath thus taken to himself is the cause that the greatest Lords of the Court and those of the highest Quality in the Empire even the Princes of the Bloud themselves never apâ—…r in his presence but with profound respect and reverence After all the Lamas or Tartarian Priests of whom we have been speaking are not onely esteemed by the people but also by the Lords and Princes of their Nation who for politick reasons shew them a great deal of friendship and that makes us fear that the Christian Religion will not find so easie an entry into West-Tartary They have a great power also upon the Mind of the Queen-Mother who is of their Country and at present seventy years of age They have often told her that the Sect whereof she makes profession hath none more declared Enemies than us And it is a kind of Miracle or at least a special protection of God that notwithstanding this the Emperour who hath a great deal of respect and esteem for her hath still heaped honour and favours upon us always considering us in another-guess manner than he does the Lamas During our progress the Princes and chief Officers of the Army going often to make their Court to the Queen and we being advised to do the like also we thought fit first to consult a Courtier that has a great kindness for us and who speaks in our favours to the Emperour when we have any business This Lord going into the Princes Tent told him what passed and immediately coming out again said to us The Emperour hath given me to understand that it is not necessary you should attend the Queen as others do Which convinced us that that Princess had no kindness for us The third reason that engaged the Emperour into this progress was his Health for he hath found by a pretty long experience that when he stays too long at Pekin he never fails to fall into some sickness which he prevents by means of such progresses For all the while they continue he keeps no company with women and which may seem very strange there was not a woman in all that great Army except those who attended the Queen-Mother and that 's a new thing too that she accompanied the King this year the like being never practised before but once when he took the three Queens with him to the Capital City of the Province of Leaotum to visit the Sepulchres of their Ancestours The Emperour and Queen Mother intended also by that Journey to avoid the excessive heat that is at Pekin during the Dog-days for in that part of Tartary there blows so cold a wind in the Months of Iuly and August especially in the night-time that people are obliged to wear thick cloaths and furs The reason that may be given for so extraordinary a cold is that that Region lies very high and is full of Mountains Amongst others there is one on which for five or six days march we were always going upwards The Emperour being desirous to know how much it surpassed in height the plains of Pekin which are about three hundred miles distant from it having upon our return measured above an hundred Mountains that are upon the Rode we found that it was elevated three thousand Geometrical paces above the Sea that is nearest to Pekin The Salt-petre wherewith these Countries abound may likewise contribute to that great
of it to the King and another to the Marquess of Seignelay To confirm this we may add what a French-man wrote two months ago from Muscovie that they were actually raising Forces there for making War against the Chinese A NEW DESCENT OF THE SPANIARDS On the Island of Califurnia In the Year 1683. THE great Island of Califurnia hath appeared a Conquest worthy the Spanish Arms ever since Mexico was annexed to that Crown Zeal for Religion and the Salvation of the Islanders with the hopes that those who have failed upon these Coasts have always given us of fishing Pearls there in abundance have made us still desirous to extend the Empire of our Nation unto those vast and rich Countries The famous Don Fernando Cortez Marquess del Vallé was the first that conceived that design and made the Voyage but the fear of troubles wherewith he he was threatned in a new-conquered Country having recalled him to Mexico stifled the hopes that all had of the success of his valour good fortune Many great Captains since his time have renewed that Enterprize but it hath always been crossed by some unexpected accident and all that hath been got by several descents made on that Island was onely some knowledge of the people who inhabit it of Pearls that may be fished and of a kind of Amber that may be found there The glory of succeeding in that Conquest no less important for Religion than advantageous for our Commerce was reserved for our Monarch at whose charge this last Expedition was made from the first success whereof we have ground to expect future prosperity The Marquess of Laguna Viceroy and Captain General of Mexico which we call New-Spain having received orders from his Majesty to spare no cost in those Enterprizes which might give hopes of propagating the Faith amongst barbarous Nations fitted out two men of War with a Billander to serve them for a Pinnace and having manned them well and provided them with all sorts of Amunition sent them upon the Conquest under the conduct of Don Isidore d'Atondo Admiral of New-Spain from whose Letters this Relation hath been taken This little Fleet put out from the Port of Chalaca in New Galicia the 18th day of Ianuary 1683. For the first days the wind was contrary so that they were forced to sail upon a wind and by a storm were driven into the Port of Mazatlan where the two ships entered the Ninth of February March the Eighteenth they arrived at the mouth of the River of Cinaloa where there is a pretty commodious Harbour there they refreshed for some time and then continued there course along the Coast of Cinaloa to the Isles of St. Ignatius where they stood away before the wind that they might sail faster or rather not so slowly as they had done till then Their course was almost from East to West and the weather so good that in one nights sailing they came in sight of Ceralbo and made the Land of Califurnia notwithstanding the great Currents that run in those Streights and impetuously fall into the Pacifick Sea but the wind changing all of a sudden they could not come up with it till three days after From thence they sailed North-West along the shoar and having made eight Leagues more they arrived at length at the entry of the famous Haven of our Lady of Peace Opinions differ much about the scituation of that Port the ordinary Maps place it in 24 degrees some put it in 27 and others betwixt the 25 and 26 degree The Sea Cart of Capt. Francis de Lureville which puts it in the 24 degree in that agrees with those of Ionsonius but Father Eusebius Francis Kino a Jesuite and famous Mathematician who went the Voyage saith that the mouth of that Haven lies in 24 degrees 45 minutes This gave some cause to doubt whether or not that was the real Haven of Peace and the doubt was the more confirmed that the Indians whom they found in the Port understood not one word of what the Jesuits who were on board said to them who spake according to a Dictionary of words made by the Fathers of their Society when the Spaniards made the former Expeditions to the Haven of Peace To which it may be added that the ancient Relations of these Expeditions observed that the Indians of that Port were wont to come out upon floats and in Canoes to meet the Ships with great demonstrations of friendship and at this time no float nor Canoe appeared nor indeed for some days was there any person to be seen The Admiral Don Isidore d' Atondo who had the same doubt thinks to satisfie it by alleadging that the Indians called Guaricures who according to the ancient Relations made War with those of the Haven of Peace might have driven out the ancient Inhabitants and made themselves Masters of the Country because the Land-marks which are given that the Cape of St. Luke is on the point of the Isle of Ceralbo prove that that Port is the ancient Haven of Peace However it be we shall call it by that Name They entered it the Thirtieth of March having first kept the Festival of St. Ioseph for nine days The Bay is very large and much like to that of Cadiz Next day they advanced five or six Leagues farther up and came to an Anchor the Admiral and Captains went ashoar in two Shalloops and landed in a very pleasant place full of Palm-trees where they found a Fountain of excellent fresh water They saw no body but by the tracts they observed they concluded that there were men there They went no farther that day but came back and lay upon the shoar The day following all came ashoar and made a great Cross which they planted upon an Eminence to take possession of the Country in the Name of God and of the Catholick King They had a mind to know whether there might be some Indians hid in the thick woods that cover the Mountain for that end they left some things fit for eating as Indian Corn Bisket and other things amongst which they mingled some Beads of a Chaplet contenting themselves with that discovery and so re-imbarked They landed upon the Third of April and found the things they had left untouched in the same place The Admiral accompanied with a Captain and some Souldiers went up to a little hill from which he could discover nothing but a great Lake and so returned to the Ship On Sunday after Mass they sent out upon discovery a Shalloop into a narrow passage that reaches above three Leagues Father Kino writes that the farther end of that streight lies in 24 degrees 10 minutes In the evening they fell a fishing and took a great many Sea-wolves Soles Thornbacks and several other fish of a prodigious bigness whereof they made provision for three days but amongst these fish some they knew to be poysonous On Munday they came ashoar again in the same place where they landed at
taken he was come on his Travels to Napetaca That his Country called Yupaha was govern'd by a Lady whose Town was of a prodigious bigness that she had Tribute paid her by all her Neighbours by some in Goods and by others in Gold Whereupon he described the manner how that Gold was dug how it was melted and refined as if he had seen it done a hundred times or as if the Devil had taught him insomuch that all who understood the manner of working in the Mines averred that it was impossible for him to speak so exactly of it without having seen the same and so the relation of that Indian past for a real Truth because of the circumstances wherewith he confirmed it CHAP. XIII The Governour leaves Palache to go in search of the Province of Yupha and what befel him in that Expedition UPon this encouragement we left Anhayca of Palache on Wednesday the Third of March 1540. no man having any thing in his thoughts but to go in search of the rich Country of â—…upaha The Governour ordered Provisions to be made for threescore Leagues of desart which much incommoded the Foot who were obliged to carry their Victuals on their backs because the Indians that served us going naked and in Irons during the bitter cold of Winter were almost all starved to death After four days march we came to a River where the Governour caused a great Canoe to be made by means whereof Chains were fastned to both sides of the River which served for Cables to bear up the Canoe in passing against the current of the water The Horse swam over by the help of Ropes that pulled them and that labour stopt us a day and a halfs time At length we came to Capachiqui on Saturday the Eleventh of March the Indians were in Arms in all that Country so that five Spaniards being gone to seek Mortars to pound their Maes in in some scattered Cottages met with several Indians who came upon the scout Five of them detached from the rest and attacked us so furiously that a Spaniard ran away and came and gave the allarm in the Camp The most diligent went out to assist their Comrades and found one Christian dead and the other three dangerously wounded but the Indians fled into a swamp to secure themselves from the Horse The Governour leaving Capachiqui past over a a desart Country and came to Toalli the One and twentieth of the Month. In that Country we began to find houses far different from those which hitherto we had seen Those were onely covered with Herbs whereas these of Toalli had for their Roof little Canes placed together like Tile they were very neat some had the walls made of poles so artificially interwoven that they seemed to be built of stone and lime For that being a cold Country every Indian hath a House to live in in the Winter inside and outside made tight with these Poles The door is narrow and low they shut it well in the night-time and kindle a fire within the house which heats it like an Oven so that one hath no need of being covered They have other Habitations for the Summer and Kitchins adjoyning their Houses where they bake their Bread The Granaries wherein they lay up the Maes are raised upon four posts boarded on the sides with a floor made of Canes The Houses of the Caciques and persons of Quality amongst them are to be distinguished not onely by their greatness but also by the large Balconies that they have over the Entry and by seats below made of Canes in the manner of benches Every house hath several Granaries where they lay up what their Subjects and Tenents bring them in for Rent as Maes Stags skins and Mantles of the Country made like little Cassocks of the rind or soft part of the bark of certain Trees nay and some also woven of the thread of a certain Herb which being well beaten becomes like flax These Mantles serve them for Cloaths one they have which covers them from the girdle down below the knee and another on the left shoulder thrown back under the right arm which they wear always abroad in the same manner as the Bohemians do The Indians have never more than one about their shoulders and cover their lower parts with Breeches made of a Stags skin much like to those that are used in Spain The leather is extraordinarily well drest and they give it what colour they please with so perfect a dye that their fire-red colour is not surpassed by the finest Scarlet Their Black is good also and of this they make Shooes they give the same colour to their Mantles with as much perfection We parted from Toalli the Twenty third of March and on Friday the Army came to a little River which they passed upon a Bridge made of one single Tree from which Bennet Fernandez a Portuguese fell into the water and was drowned The Village of Achese was pretty near where the Indians had no intelligence of our march to our view they threw themselves into a little River near the Village but some were taken and amongst these women One of them understood the Language of that Lad who conducted the Governour to â—…upaha which much confirmed the relation he had made because we had passed through Countries where different Languages were spoken nay and some which he understood not The Governour sent one of the Indians whom he had taken to call back the Cacique who was got to the other side of the River He came and made him this following discourse Most High most Mighty and most Excellent Lord things that are rarely seen cause admiration How could we then be affected at the sight of your Lordship and men who were altogether unknown to us mounted upon so furious Beasts as these seem to be and breaking into my Country so impetuously before I knew any thing of your coming This hath appeared to us so extraordinary a thing and hath struck such terrour in our minds that it was not in our power to stay and receive your Lordship with that Honour which is due to so High and Illustrious a Prince But the confidence I have of your Generosity and Virtues makes me hope that you will not onely pardon my fault but gives me also boldness to desire Favours of you First that your Lordship would dispose of my Person Country and Subjects and then that you would tell me from whence you come whither you go and what you seek that so I may be in a better condition to render you service The Governour answered That he was as well satisfied with his Offers and good will as if he had presented him with a great Treasure that he was Son of the Sun and that he came from the places of his abode in search of the greatest Lord and richest Province of that Country The Cacique replied That beyond his Territories there was a great Lord whose Country was called Ocute and
your Lordship pleases to come into his Country you shall there be received served and obeyed with all affection and he craves no other reward for the desire he hath to render you services but that you would do him the favour to let him know when you 'll come and the sooner you resolve to do it your favour and his joy will be the greater Soto received that Indian very civilly and sent him back with a present of some trifles which he cared not much for and another more considerable for the Cacique He dismissed the Cacique of Cosa and at Tallise took as many Indians for service as he stood in need of so having refreshed in that place for the space of three weeks he set out for Tascaluca Our first quarter was at Casiste and the next in another Town under the jurisdiction of Tascaluca from whence we went and encamped in a Wood two Leagues short of the Residence of the Cacique Soto sent the Camp-master-General Louis de Moscoso to acquaint him with his arrival He found the Cacique under a Balcony before his door presently a Carpet was spread upon an eminent place out of doors with two Cushions upon it one over the other where he sat down environed with Indians at some distance from the place where he sat those of greatest quality were next him one of whom to keep the Sun off of him held over his head an Umbrello of Bucks-skin of the bigness of a Buckler and party-coloured black and white with a St. Andrew's Cross in the middle at a distance one would have taken it for Taffetay the colours were so exceeding good It was very well stretched out and carried upon a Lance being the device or Standard of the Cacique in time of War This Cacique was much feared by his Neighbouâ—… and Subjects and commanded a very large and well peopled Country he was of a very high stature well shaped strong limbs and a well-proportioned body When the Camp-Master had delivered his Harangue all the Troopers of his Retinue made a great many Passades in 〈◊〉 Market-place spurring their horses sometimes to the very place where the Cacique was which he behâ—…ld with a great deal of gravity casting his eyes onely upon them now and then in a most haughty and disdainful manner In the mean time the Governour arrived the Cacique not budging out of his place to go and meet him Soto took him by the hand and both went and sat down upon a bench under the Balcony where the Cacique spake to him in these terms Mighty Lord may your Lordships arrival be attended with all happiness I am as well pleased to see you as if you were a Brother whom I extreamly loved I need say no more as to that seeing it is to no purpose to express in many words what may be said in a few insomuch as it is the Will which gives force to Actions and Actions are the Evidences of Truth As to the Will you shall know by the fairness of my proceeding how sincere mine is I esteem the favour you have shew'd me in sending me a Present as much as it deserves and especially because it is a Present from you Look now what it is you would have me serve you in The Governour thanked him very civilly but set spies over him so long as he staid in that Town and when he was ready to be gone he resolved for many reasons to take him along with him After two days march we found the Town of Piache upon a great River where Soto demanded Canoes of the Indians to carry over the Army They told him that they had none but that they would make rafts of Canes and dry wood which they did in a very short time and seeing the River ran very gently we passed over with a great deal of ease It is reckoned an hundred Leagues from the Port of the Holy Ghost to Palache and that way runs from East to West from Palache to Cutifachiqui there is four hundred and thirty Leagues from South-West to North-East and from Cutifachiqui to Xualla the way is from South to North for the space of two hundred and fifty Leagues In â—…ine from Xualla to Tascaluca which are also two hundred Leagues distant one hundred and fourscore go from East â—…o West as far as Cosa and the rest from Cosa to Tascaluca from North to South When we were gâ—…t to the other side of the River of Piache a Spaniard pursuing an Indian woman his slave who had run away from him was lost in the Woods being either killed or taken by the Indians whereupon the Governour told the Cacique that he must be accountable for him threatning to keep him in fetters as long as he lived if the Christian were not found The Cacique sent one of his Indians to Maville a large Town on our way belonging to another Cacique Vassal to Tascaluca his pretext was good for he said he sent to give him nâ—…tice to prepare Provisions and Indians of service for the Army But it was apparent enough afterwards that that was not his design and that the business of that Messenger was to cause the Indian Souldiers muster into a Body that they might fall upon us We continued our march three days the last whereof was through a very populous Country and the Eighteenth of October we arrived at Maville Soto had the Van-guard with thirty Foot-souldiers and fifteen Horse Near the Town he met a Souldier whom he had sent to the Cacique to pray him to stay and likewise to observe the motion of the Indians the Souldier told the Governour that they seemed to have some bad design because whilst he tarried at Maville he had seen a great many Indians in Arms enter the Town and that they laboured with extream diligence in fortifying the Palissado about the place Upon this Moscoso told the Governour that the best way would be to encamp seeing the Indians appeared not to be submissive enough but Soto replied That he was weary of encamping and that he would go and refresh himself in the Town The Cacique at his entry received him with the sound of Instruments and having offer'd him his Services presented him with three Mantles of Martin-skins The Governour made his entry in the middle betwixt two Caciques followed by eight of his guards and three or four Troopers who alighted to wait upon him so he went and sat down under a Balcony where the Cacique of Tascaluca pray'd him to leave him in that Town and not give him the trouble of going any farther but perceiving by Soto's discourse that it would be hard for him to obtain his leave he changed his design and pretending to go speak with some Indians he left the Governour sitting in his place and went into a house where many Indians were assembled with their Bows and Arrows The Governour perceiving that he returned not called him several times and at length the Cacique made answer haughtily That he
would neither come out of that place nor go any farther that if the Governour would depart in peace he might in a good time but that he must not pretend to carry him out of his Country and Dominion CHAP. XVIII The Indians rise against the Governour and what hapned upon it THe haughtiness of the Cacique made the Governour sensible that there was a Plot laid He endeavoured to sweeten him by Civilities to which the Indian made no answer on the contrary with a haughty and slighting look he withdrew into a place where the Governour could neither see hiâ—… nor speak with him Soto seeing another Indian of Qâ—…ality passing that way called him to â—…m and bid him assure the Cacique that 〈◊〉 would give him leave to be gone when and wâ—…r he pleased provided he furnished hiâ—…â—…th a Guide and Indians for service but the Indian replied That he would hear no proposition which obliged Gallegos to take hold of him by the skirt of his Mantle and the Indian to spring away from him leaving his Mantle in his hands Now seeing the Indians took to their Arms Gallegos drew his Sword and gave one whom he had taken hold of so surious a thirst that he ran him through the breast that blow was the signal to the revolt They came running out of their houses all in fury shooting Arrows at the Governour and those that were with him Soâ—…o saw very well that if he made head against them there was no probability of escaping out of their hands and if he caused his Forces to advance towards the Town the Indians from their houses where they sheltred would kill all their horses and make a grâ—…t 〈◊〉 of men he therefore thought it best to run out of the Town with all the speed he could but before he could save himself he was â—…ain to be taken up two or three times All that accompanied him were dangerously wounded and five killed upon the place The Governour wounded as he was cried to his men to keep off from the Palissado from whence the Indians shot furiously and as the Spaniards retreated most of them running the Indians sallied out upon them killing with their Arrows all whom they overtook The slaves who carried the Baggage had unloaded it in a place near the Palissado so that during the rout of the Spaniards the Indians of Malville loaded them again with the Baggage and leading them into the Town knock'd off the Chains they carried and gave them Bows and Arrows to fight with against us Thus they seiz'd all our equipage and even our Pearls and seeing we had marched through a Country that in all appearance had submitted many Souldiers had left their Arms with the Baggage so that they fell into the Enemies hands who had besides Swords and Halbards which they had snatched from those who entred with the Governour So soon as Soto was out of danger he mounted on horseback and with some other Gentlemen on horseback also turning upon the Indians he killed three with his Lance which made them retreat behind the Palissado where they defended themselves and from whence the bravest sallied out when the horse were making their Caracol and immediately entred in again so soon as they turned upon them A Monck and Secular Priest with one of the Generals Servants and an Indian woman-slave were still in the Town The revolt of the Indians was so sudden that they had not time to get out so that they were obliged to barricado themselves within the house where they were making fast the door and seeing they had a Sword the Generals man standing behind the door made thrusts at the Indians who offered to come in and the Monk and Priest laying hold each of them of a staff stood on each side to knock down the first that set his foot within the house The Indians who saw the door so well defended were got upon the roof to make holes in it and to shoot them with their Arrows When all the Army came in sight of Maville they held a Council to deliberate whether they should assault the Indians in the Town or onely besiege them because the assault was very dangerous but at length the assault was resolved upon in this manner CHAP. XIX The Governour draws up his men and enters Maville SOto made those who were best armed to alight whom he drew up into four Batalions and marched streight to the Gates of the Town this being done in spight of the Indians their first care was to make the Cacique withdraw telling him as we were informed by some Indian slaves that in such occasions a Cacique signified no more than another man and fought onely for one that in the Town there was a great many Indians to command brave and expert Souldiers and that one of them was enough to give the necessary orders that seeing the success of a Fight depended on Fortune it would not be known for what side Victory would declare that therefore they prayed him to secure his Person to the end that if they all died in the Battel as they resolved to die rather than turn their backs some might remain alive to govern the Country The Cacique refused to be gone but they pressed him so hard that at length he left the Town accompanied with fifteen Indians carrying with him a Scarlet Cloak and the best things he found in the Spaniards Baggage The Governour being informed that Indians were seen flying out of the Town sent off a party of Horse to make the rounds about the circuit of the place and in every Batalion placed a Souldier with a lighted firebrand to set all on fire and so to oblige the Indians to fight abroad in the streets Having so ordered all things they gave the signal by a Musket-shot and the four Batalions marched with extraordinary fury to their several posts There was a fearful slaughter on both sides at the entry of the Gates for the Indians defended them so valiantly that they beat our men back several times at length the Gates were forced and we mingled pell-mell with them The Monk and Priest were very opportunely relieved but with the loss of two brave Souldiers who were the first who ran to their assistance The Fight continued so long that the Christians choaked with droughth went to refresh themselves in a Pool near the Palissado where they drank as much bloud as water and so returned to the Fight This obliged the Governour and those that were with him on horse-back to enter the Town where they charged the Enemy so briskly that they put the Indians into disorder and gave opportunity to the Souldiers to set the houses on fire They that thought to save themselves out of the Town were forced in again by the Horse that made the round so that despair giving them fresh strength they came to blows again with the Spaniards but that way of fighting was very disadvantageous to them for the Christians hewed them down with
great many people in a very large Country on the other side of the River That they were come in his Name to acquaint his Lordship that their Master would come to-morrow and wait upon him The Cacique did indeed come followed by two hundred Canoes full of armed Indians painted after their way and adorned with feathers of all colours having shields in their hands wherewith they covered the Rowers the rest with their Bows and Arrows stood fore and after in the Canoe The Cacique's Canoe had a Pavillion in the poop under which he sat there were others also trimmed up in the same manner for the chief Indians who sitting under their Pavillions gave their orders to those who guided the Canoe They put themselves in order and advanced within a stones throw of the River-side from thence the Cacique spake to the Governour who stood on the shoar well attended and told him That he was come to offer him his services and assure him of his obedience because he had been informed that he was the most Potent Lord of the whole Earth Soto thanked him and prayed him to come ashoar where they might discourse more commodiously together to which the Indian made no answer but ordred three Canoes to put in which were loaded with fish and bread made of paste of Prunes or of the kernels of that fruit and of the shape and bigness of a tile The Governour accepted the Present and importuned the Cacique to come ashoar But seeing the design of the Indians was onely to watch for an occasion to surprize us when they perceived that the Governour had put his men into very good order they stood off from the shoar and at the same time the Cross-bow-men who were all in a readiness shot at them with loud shouting and made five or six to fall They retired in very good order covered with their shields and no man leaving his Oar though he saw his Companion fall by his side They landed several times afterwards to attack us but so soon as we charged them they hastned back to their Canoes It was a very pleasant sight to see them in their Canoes which were most neatly made and very large with their Pavillions Feathers Shields and Standards that looked like a Fleet of Galleys In the mean time our four Boats being finished in thirty days time the Governour chose three of them which three hours before day he manned with twelve Troopers of tried Courage who he was certain would die rather than turn their backs to their Enemies Each Canoe contained four defended by Cross-bow-men with good Rowers to carry them over to the other side of the River Iohn Guzman who commanded Maldonado's Company was in the other Boat with his men and because the current of the water was very swift he made them go a quarter of a League higher than the place where we encamped so they passed over and landed just over-against the Camp When they were within two stones throw of the shoar the Troopers took the water on horseback and landed in a place where the sand was firm Finding no Enemies there they easily landed and made themselves masters of the passage The Boats immediately returned back to the other side where the Governour was who past over with the whole Army two hours before Sun-set The River in that place was half a League over so that a man could not be distinguished from one side to the other it was very deep and very rapid and being always full of trees and timber that was carried down by the force of the stream the water was thick and very muddy It abounded with fish most of which differed much from those that are taken in the Rivers of Spain as we shall etll you hereafter CHAP. XXIII The Governour goes from thence to Casqui and from thence to Pacaha where he finds a Country different from the other parts of Florida WHen we had passed that River the greatest of all Florida the Army marched a League and a half to a Town in the Province of Aquixo the Indians had abandoned it nevertheless the Cacique sent thirty to learn intelligence of our march and design As soon as they appeared in sight of the Camp the Horse made towards them and the Indians dispersed and fled but the Country being open and level they were so hotly pursued that two of them were killed and fifteen taken who were brought to the Governour He had sent a Captain with Souldiers to bring our Boats up to this Town which stood upon the River but seeing the course of it was not streight and that it behoved us to turn a great many reaches before we could get to the Camp the Indians who were acquainted with all the turnings and windings and expert in that Navigation many times attacked the Boats and reduced us to great extremities for we durst not venture out into the stream which was too rapid and standing in to the shoar they skulked by the River-side and shot at us No sooner was the Governour got to the Town but he sent off all the Cross-bow-men who came very seasonably to our assistance When the Boats were come to the Town he caused them to be broken up and all the Iron-work to be kept for other occasions The Army rested a night in this Town and parted next day to go into the Province of Pacaha which according to the relation of the Indians bordered upon the Country of Chisca where that Metal was found which the Governour took to be Gold On our march we found several great Villages abandoned by the Indians nevertherless we took some who told the Governour That three days journey from the place where we were he would find a powerful Cacique called Casqui This made him hasten our march to a little River which we crossed upon a bridge but seeing the waters were out the men marched till Sun-set up to the middle in water At length we saw dry land to our great satisfaction because we feared we should have been forced to pass the whole night in the water and our joy hereupon adding to our strength next day about noon we found the first habitation of the Province of Casqui The Indians expected us not which cost many of them their dear liberty That Village we plundered with another half a League distant whither the Horse had advanced The Land of this Country was the highest driest and evenest of any that we had found before we came to the great River the fields were covered with Nut-trees whose fruit was of the shape of an Acorn and we found store of them every-where in the houses which the Indians had laid up for their Provisions These Walnut-trees differed nothing from those of Spain nor from those which we had seen elsewhere in that Country but that their leaves were somewhat smaller We found also a great many Mulberry-trees and Plum-trees whereof some bore red Plums like those of Spain and others Plums of a violet-colour