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
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
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
Winter in that place and make â—…rigantines to carry us down the River to the â—…ea where sailing along the Coast we might get â—…o New-Spain that though the enterprize wanted not its difficulties as it hath been already observed yet it was our last refugâ—… because it was impossible to travel by Land without an Interpreter that they believed the Country lying along the River of Daycao was the same which Cabesa de Vaca in his Relation says he passed through and where the Indians were erranâ—… as the Arabians are without setling in one place 〈◊〉 and that they fed on Figs the roots of Grass and Venison That supposing this conjecture to be true if we engag'd into that Country we must infallibly perish for want of food that it was already the beginning of October and that if we staid any longer the Rains and Snow would hinder our return anâ—… so we must perish and be starved in that miserablâ—… Country Moscoso at that time had rather beeâ—… in a place where his sleep might not be broken by continual allarms than to be Governour anâ—… Conquerour of a Country where misery anâ—… trouble beset him on all hands so that he adâ—… hered to that advice and gave orders to returâ—… back the way to Guachoya CHAP. XXXV The Army returns to Nilco and at Minoya Vessels are made to carry them out of Florida WHen the result of the Council of War was published in the Camp many were afflicted at that resolution the way by Sea appeared to them to be no less difficult and dangerous than by Land because all things necessary were wanting not onely for building but also for rigging out of Vessels and they had not yet lost all hopes of finding some Country rich enough to recompense them for all their labours because of what Cabesa de Vaca had told the Emperour and that was that when he came into a Country where Cotton grew he had seen Gold Silver and precious Stones of extraordinary value And it was certain that we had not as yet gone so far in as those places where Cabesa had been for he had kept along the Coast and we had advanced up into the Country Westward That we must needs find those places he spake of because he said in his Relation that he had marched for many days and entred the Countries on the North-side Besides that we had found some Cotton-Mantles nay and Tâ—…rqueisses at Guasco and the Indians made us signs that they had those things out of a Country Westward of them and that that way led us also into the Country of the Christians But in fine in spight of all them murmurings and frettings caused by this return and though many had taken a resolution to perish in Florida rather than to leave it in a beggarly and miserable condition yet they wanted force to withstand what was determined because the Governour 's opinion concurr'd with that of all the chief Officers but some time after one of the discontented said That he would be glad to have one eye put out provided he could put out one of Moscoso's since it would trouble him extreamly to see him happy Moscoso and his Friends had a mind to have been revenged for this discourse but they durst not do it because within two days he was to quit his place From Daycao where we were to the great River it is a hundred and fifty Leagues which we had marched all the way Westward Our return was extreamly irksome because the Country was ruined and we had much ado to find Victuals seeing the Indians hid them The Towns of Naguatez which to our sorrow we had burnt were rebuilt and the houses full of Maes for it is a very fruitful and populous Country They make Earthen-ware there which differs little from that of Estremos or Montemor When Moscoso came to Chaguete he found some Indians deputed by the Cacique to tell him that the Christian who had fled to his protection would not come back The Governour wrote to him and sent him paper pen and ink that he might give him an Answer The Governour 's Letter informed him of our resolution of leaving Florida that therefore as he was a Christian he ought not to trust himself in the power of the Indians men without Faith and Religion that he heartily pardoned the fault which he had committed provided he returned to the Army or signified in Writing whether or not he was detained by force An Indian carried the Letter to him and came back again without other answer but the name Guzman written on the margin of it to let us know he was alive Moscoso sent twelve Horse in search of him but seeing that he had Indian spies that informed him of every thing he hid himself so well that he could not be found In the mean time we were so pinched for want of Maes that the Governour was obliged to be gone without any farther search after him We parted then from Chaguete and crossed the River to go to Aays and from thence following the course of that River we found the Town of Cilano which we had not seen before At length we came to Nilco but we found so little Maes there that there was not enough to maintain the Souldiers during the time that was to be employed in building the Vessels The reason of that scarcity was because we had been at Guachoya all the seed-time so that the Indians of Nilco scared by the evils they had endured durst not come to sow their Lands Besides we knew of no other Country but this where there was Maes and it being very fruitful we wholly relied on it for our subsistance We fell into a confusion that bordered upon despair most part of the Souldiers blamed the resolution that had been taken in leaving Guasco and not pursuing our discoveries by Land They said that there was no hopes of safety by Sea unless God would be pleased to work Miracles for them for we had no Pilot no Sea-Cart and no body could tell at what place the great River fell into the Ocean We wanted Sails also and every thing that we could make them of and though we had a little Enequen which is an Herb they make a kind of Flax of yet it was hardly sufficient to cawlk the Vessels but we were wholly destitute of Pitch and Tar and they could not be made strong enough to resist the least storm without that so that we must perish without remedy This brought into our minds the misfortune of Narvaez who was lost upon that Coast But the most grievous inconvenience of all was the want of Maes without which it was impossible to subsist and without food the Souldiers would not work In this desolation we took the best course we could which was to recommend our selves to God praying him to open some way for us to let us out of those miseries He graciously heard our Prayers and permitted that the Indians of Nilco came very
to guide us into a place where we might consecrate our Services to him with more zeal and tranquility CHAP. XLI The Spaniards arrive at the Town of Panico FResh water is to be found by digging in the sand every-where on that Coast which was a great convenience to us for filling our Casks So after we had ended our Procession we went on board and run along in sight of land six days Danhusco persisted still in his first Opinion saying that he had seen Maps and remembred that that Coast bore North and South so soon as one was past the River of Palms that hitherto we had steered from East to West and that so according to his judgment that River could not be far off The Fleet stood a little out to Sea and next day early in the morning we perceived at a distance some Palm-trees which seemed to rise above the surface of the water and we observed that that Coast lay North and South At noon we began to discover very high mountains which we had not seen before because from the Port of the Holy Ghost to that place the Land is low and level so that it cannot be seen but very near These remarks made us believe that we had pass'd the River of Palms in the night-time and we knew very well that it was but threescore Leagues from the River of Panico But others alleadged that we ought not to lose so good weather and that Panico could not be so near that we should fear to pass it in one nights sailing However we resolved at length to spare sail and keep on our course all the Fleet did so except two Brigantines which making what sail they could were by break of day got beyond Panico without seeing it but the Captains of the five other Brigantines that were in the reer were wiser and more fortunate The first Brigantine that discovered the River was Captain Caldeiran's they were within a quarter of a League without discovering it when perceiving the water thick they tasted it and found it to be fresh then they advanced towards the mouth of the River where the water broke upon a bank of sand at the entry into it No body knowing what River it was they consulted together what was best to be done if they should put in or keep on their course forwards at length they resolved to enter in rowing close by the shoar to avoid the Current and so they found a Harbour As they put into it they observed some Indians cloathed after the Spanish fashion which gave them the boldness to ask them what Country they were in The Indians answered in Spanish that they were in the River of Panico and that the Town was fifteen Leagues off It is not to be exprest with what joy they received those glad tidings their Birth day seemed not to them so happy a day as that was They leaped ashoar and kist it a thousand times lifting up their eyes and hands to Heaven to thank God for the favour he had bestowed upon them The Souldiers of the Brigantines that followed Caldeiran's perceiving that he entered the River steered the same course and arrived at the Harbour but those who were on board the other two Brigantines had not the same fortune When they found that the rest did not follow they tackt about to look after them but the wind was contrary and the Sea so rough that they were forced to come to an Anchor near the shoar In that place they were tossed with so furious a storm that finding they could not weather it neither at Sea nor in that station they took the course to run ashoar And seeing the Brigantines were light and drew little water and that that shoar was low and of a soft sand the wind drove them on dry ground without any hurt to the Vessels or to those that were in them So that whilst the Spaniards who were in the Harbour tasted pleasures which cannot be exprest these were over-whelmed with grief and trouble seeing they knew not what was become of their Companions nor whether Fortune had cast them into a Country where they should meet with savage people and Enemies to the Spaniards They were shipwrackt two Leagues below the Harbour and so soon as they found themselves out of danger every one packed up what he was able to carry and so advanced up into the Country at length they met with Indians who told them where they were which turned their sadness into extraordinary joy and they thanked God as it was their duty for delivering them out of so many miseries and dangers CHAP. XLII The Spaniards go to Panico and in what manner the Inhabitants received them OUr Voyage lasted fifty days from the mouth of the great River in Florida to the mouth of the River of Panico into which we entred the Tenth of September 1543. We spent four days ingoing up the River with our Brigantines but the wind being low and not very useful to us because of the compasses which that River fetches so that we were many times obliged to tow them up the passage was so tedious and toilsome that we left the Brigantines to the care of the Seamen and went by Land to Panico being impatient to get as soon as we could into a Christian Country and to be present at Divine Service which for a very long time we had not been We were all cloathed in Buck-skins died black and so soon as we entred the Town we went streight to the Church to offer up our Prayers to God and most humbly to thank him for the Miracles he had wrought in saving us The Burghers who were informed by the Indians of our arrival came to the Church from whence they took home with them such of us as they could know or who belonged to their Relations or Friends The Governour of the place offered his House to Moscoso and ordered the other Spaniards to be quartered by sixes or even more according to the convenience of the Inhabitants who kindly entertained their Guests with Pullets and Bread of Maes and the fruits of the Country which are the same that are in the Isle of Cuba The Town of Panico contains about threescore and ten Families their Houses for most part are built of Stone and Lime except some few that are only wooden and they are all thatched The Country is not Rich because it produces neither Gold nor Silver but on the other hand the Inhabitants have plenty of all that is necessary for life The wealthiest have not above five hundred Crowns of yearly Rent and their Revenue consists in Cotton Poultry and Maes which the Indians who are their Vassals pay them as quit-Rent We were in all three hundred and eleven Gentlemen and Souldiers remaining of above six hundred who followed Soto into Florida when we entered this Town The Governour of the place forthwith dispatched a Burgher to give advice to Don Antonio de Mendosa Viceroy of Mexico that three hundred