Ferdinand De Soto, The Discoverer of the Mississippi

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Title: Ferdinand De Soto, The Discoverer of the Mississippi - American Pioneers and Patriots
Author: Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot), 1805-1877
Language: English
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FERDINAND DE SOTO,

THE

DISCOVERER OF THE MISSISSIPPI

JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.

NEW YORK:
DODD & MEAD, No. 762 BROADWAY.
1873.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by
DODD & MEAD,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.

WM. MCCREA & CO., Stereotypers, LANGE, LITTLE & HILLMAN,
Newburgh, N. Y. PRINTERS,
108 TO 114 WOOSTER STREET, N. Y.

_AMERICAN PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS._

FERDINAND DE SOTO.

THE

DISCOVERER OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

BY JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.

ILLUSTRATED.

NEW YORK: DODD & MEAD, No. 762 BROADWAY.
1873.

[Illustration]

PREFACE.

Mr. Theodore Irving, in his valuable history of the "Conquest of
Florida," speaking of the astonishing achievements of the Spanish
Cavaliers, in the dawn of the sixteenth century says:

"Of all the enterprises undertaken in this spirit of daring
adventure, none has surpassed, for hardihood and variety of
incident, that of the renowned Hernando de Soto, and his
band of cavaliers. It was poetry put in action. It was the
knight-errantry of the old world carried into the depths of
the American wilderness. Indeed the personal adventures, the
feats of individual prowess, the picturesque description of
steel-clad cavaliers, with lance and helm and prancing
steed, glittering through the wildernesses of Florida,
Georgia, Alabama, and the prairies of the Far West, would
seem to us mere fictions of romance, did they not come to us
recorded in matter of fact narratives of contemporaries, and
corroborated by minute and daily memoranda of
eye-witnesses."

These are the wild and wondrous adventures which I wish here to
record. I have spared no pains in obtaining the most accurate
information which the records of those days have transmitted to us.
It is as wrong to traduce the dead as the living. If one should be
careful not to write a line which dying he would wish to blot, he
should also endeavor to write of the departed in so candid and
paternal a spirit, while severely just to the truth of history, as to
be safe from reproach. One who is aiding to form public opinion
respecting another, who has left the world, should remember that he
may yet meet the departed in the spirit land. And he may perhaps be
greeted with the words, "Your condemnation was too severe. You did not
make due allowance for the times in which I lived. You have held up my
name to unmerited reproach."

Careful investigation has revealed De Soto to me as by no means so bad
a man as I had supposed him to have been. And I think that the candid
reader will admit that there was much, in his heroic but melancholy
career, which calls for charitable construction and sympathy.

The authorities upon which I have mainly relied for my statements, are
given in the body of the work. There is no country on the globe, whose
early history is so full of interest and instruction as our own. The
writer feels grateful to the press, in general, for the kindly spirit
in which it has spoken of the attempt, in this series, to interest the
popular reader in those remarkable incidents which have led to the
establishment of this majestic republic.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

_Childhood and Youth._

PAGE

Birthplace of Ferdinand De Soto.--Spanish Colony at Darien.--Don Pedro
de Avila, Governor of Darien.--Vasco Nuñez.--Famine.--Love in the
Spanish Castle.--Character of Isabella.--Embarrassment of De
Soto.--Isabella's Parting Counsel. 9

CHAPTER II.

_The Spanish Colony._

Character of De Soto.--Cruel Command of Don Pedro.--Incident.--The
Duel.--Uracca.--Consternation at Darien.--Expedition
Organized.--Uracca's Reception of Espinosa and his Troops.--The
Spaniards Retreat.--De Soto Indignant.--Espinosa's Cruelty, and
Deposition from Command. 21

CHAPTER III.

_Life at Darien._

Reinforcements from Spain.--Aid sent to Borrica.--Line of Defense
Chosen by the Natives.--Religion of the Buccaneers.--The Battle and
the Rout.--Strategy of Uracca.--Cruelty of Don Pedro.--The
Retreat.--Character of Uracca.--Embarrassment of Don Pedro.--Warning
of M. Codro.--Expedition of Pizarro.--Mission of M. Codro.--Letter of
De Soto to Isabella. 37

CHAPTER IV.

_Demoniac Reign._

Giles Gonzales.--Unsuccessful Contest of De Soto with Gonzales.--Bold
Reply of De Soto to the Governor.--Cruelty of Don Pedro to M.
Codro.--Assassination of Cordova.--New Expedition of Discovery.--Revenge
upon Valenzuela.--Reign of Don Pedro at Nicaragua.--Unwise Decision of
De Soto. 55

CHAPTER V.

_The Invasion of Peru._

The Kingdom of Peru.--Its Metropolis.--The Desperate Condition of
Pizarro.--Arrival of De Soto.--Character of the Spaniards.--Exploring
Tour of De Soto.--The Colony at San Miguel.--The General
Advance.--Second Exploration of De Soto.--Infamous Conduct of the
Pizarros. 72

CHAPTER VI.

_The Atrocities of Pizarro._

Fears of Pizarro.--Honorable Conduct of the Inca.--The March to
Caxamarca.--Hospitable Reception.--Perfidious Attack upon the
Inca.--His Capture and Imprisonment.--The Honor of De Soto.--The
Offered Ransom.--Treachery and Extortion of Pizarro. 90

CHAPTER VII.

_The Execution of the Inca, and Embarrassments of De Soto._

Pledges of Pizarro.--His Perfidy.--False Mission of De Soto.--Execution
of the Inca.--His Fortitude.--Indignation of De Soto.--Great
Embarrassments.--Extenuating Considerations.--Arrival of Almagro.--March
Towards the Capital. 107

CHAPTER VIII.

_De Soto Returns to Spain._

Dreadful Fate of Chalcukima.--His Fortitude.--Ignominy of Pizarro.--De
Soto's Advance upon Cuzco.--The Peruvian Highway.--Battle in the
Defile.--De Soto takes the Responsibility.--Capture of the Capital and
its Conflagration.--De Soto's Return to Spain.--His Reception
there.--Preparations for the Conquest of Florida. 126

CHAPTER IX.

_The Landing in Florida._

The Departure from Spain.--Arrival in Cuba.--Leonora and
Tobar.--Isabella Invested with the Regency.--Sad Life of
Isabella.--Sailing of the Expedition.--The Landing at Tampa
Bay.--Outrages of Narvaez.--Noble Spirit of Ucita.--Unsuccessful
Enterprises.--Disgrace and Return of Porcallo. 144

CHAPTER X.

_The March to Ochile._

The March Commenced.--The Swamps of Florida.--Passage of the
Morass.--Heroism of Sylvestre.--Message to Acuera.--His Heroic
Reply.--Fierce Hostility of the Indians.--Enter the Town of
Ocali.--Strange Incident.--Death of the Bloodhound.--Historical
Discrepancies.--Romantic Entrance to Ochile. 163

CHAPTER XI.

_The Conspiracy and its Consequences._

The Three Brother Chieftains.--Reply of Vitachuco to his
Brothers.--Feigned Friendship for the Spaniards.--The Conspiracy.--Its
Consummation and Results.--Clemency of De Soto.--The Second
Conspiracy.--Slaughter of the Indians.--March of the Spaniards for
Osachile.--Battle in the Morass. 180

CHAPTER XII.

_Winter Quarters._

Incidents of the March.--Passage of the River.--Entering
Anhayea.--Exploring Expeditions.--De Soto's desire for Peace.--Capture
of Capafi.--His Escape.--Embarrassments of De Soto.--Letter of
Isabella.--Exploration of the Coast.--Discovery of the Bay of
Pensacola.--Testimony Respecting Cofachiqui.--The March Resumed. 199

CHAPTER XIII.

_Lost in the Wilderness._

Incidents at Achise.--Arrival at Cofa.--Friendly Reception by
Cofaqui.--The Armed Retinue.--Commission of Patofa.--Splendors of the
March.--Lost in the Wilderness.--Peril of the Army.--Friendly
Relations.--The Escape from the Wilderness.--They Reach the Frontiers
of Cofachiqui.--Dismissal of Patofa.--Wonderful Reception by the
Princess of Cofachiqui. 220

CHAPTER XIV.

_The Indian Princess._

Crossing the River.--Hospitable Reception.--Attempts to visit the
Queen Mother.--Suicide of the Prince.--Futile search for
Gold.--The Discovery of Pearls.--The Pearl Fishery.--The Princess
a Captive.--Held in Silken Chains.--Her Escape.--Location of
Cutifachiqui.--The March Resumed. 240

CHAPTER XV.

_The Dreadful Battle of Mobila._

The Army in Alabama.--Barbaric Pageant.--The Chief of
Tuscaloosa.--Native Dignity.--Suspected Treachery of the
Chief.--Mobila, its Location and Importance.--Cunning of the
Chief.--The Spaniards Attacked.--Incidents of the Battle.--Disastrous
Results. 259

CHAPTER XVI.

_Days of Darkness._

The Melancholy Encampment.--The Fleet at Pensacola.--Singular Resolve
of De Soto.--Hostility of the Natives.--Beautiful Scenery.--Winter
Quarters on the Yazoo.--Feigned Friendship of the Cacique.--Trickery
of Juan Ortiz.--The Terrible Battle of Chickasaw.--Dreadful Loss of
the Spaniards. 276

CHAPTER XVII.

_The Discovery of the Mississippi._

The Fortress of Hostile Indians.--Its Capture.--The Disastrous
Conflict.--The Advance of the Army.--Discovery of the Mississippi
River.--Preparations for Crossing.--Extraordinary
Pageants.--Unjustifiable Attack.--The passage of the River.--Friendly
Reception by Casquin.--Extraordinary Religious Festival. 296

CHAPTER XVIII.

_Vagrant Wanderings._

Trickery of Casquin.--The March to Capaha.--The Battle and its
Results.--Friendly Relations with Capaha.--The Return Journey.--The
March Southward.--Salt Springs.--The Savages of Tula.--Their
Ferocity.--Anecdote.--Despondency of De Soto. 315

CHAPTER XIX.

_Death of De Soto._

Ascent of the Mississippi.--Revenge of Guachoya.--Sickness of
De Soto.--Affecting Leave-taking.--His Death and Burial.--The
March for Mexico.--Return to the Mississippi.--Descent of the
River.--Dispersion of the Expedition.--Death of Isabella. 334

CHAPTER I.

_Childhood and Youth._

Birthplace of Ferdinand De Soto.--Spanish Colony at Darien.--Don
Pedro de Avila, Governor of Darien.--Vasco Nuñez.--Famine.--Love
in the Spanish Castle.--Character of Isabella.--Embarrassment of
De Soto.--Isabella's Parting Counsel.

In the interior of Spain, about one hundred and thirty miles southwest
of Madrid, there is the small walled town of Xeres. It is remote from
all great routes of travel, and contains about nine thousand
inhabitants, living very frugally, and in a state of primitive
simplicity. There are several rude castles of the ancient nobility
here, and numerous gloomy, monastic institutions. In one of these
dilapidated castles, there was born, in the year 1500, a boy, who
received the name of Ferdinand de Soto. His parents were Spanish
nobles, perhaps the most haughty class of nobility which has ever
existed. It was, however, a decayed family, so impoverished as to find
it difficult to maintain the position of gentility. The parents were
not able to give their son a liberal education. Their rank did not
allow them to introduce him to any of the pursuits of industry; and
so far as can now be learned, the years of his early youth were spent
in idleness.

Ferdinand was an unusually handsome boy. He grew up tall, well formed,
and with remarkable muscular strength and agility. He greatly excelled
in fencing, horseback riding, and all those manly exercises which were
then deemed far more essential for a Spanish gentleman than literary
culture. He was fearless, energetic, self-reliant; and it was manifest
that he was endowed with mental powers of much native strength.

When quite a lad he attracted the attention of a wealthy Spanish
nobleman, Don Pedro de Avila, who sent him to one of the Spanish
universities, probably that of Saragossa, and maintained him there for
six years. Literary culture was not then in high repute; but it was
deemed a matter of very great moment that a nobleman of Spain should
excel in horsemanship, in fencing, and in wielding every weapon of
attack or defence.

Ferdinand became quite renowned for his lofty bearing, and for all
chivalric accomplishments. At the tournaments, and similar displays of
martial prowess then in vogue, he was prominent, exciting the envy of
competitive cavaliers, and winning the admiration of the ladies.

Don Pedro became very proud of his foster son, received him to his
family, and treated him as though he were his own child. The Spanish
court had at that time established a very important colony at the
province of Darien, on the Isthmus of Panama. This isthmus, connecting
North and South America, is about three hundred miles long and from
forty to sixty broad. A stupendous range of mountains runs along its
centre, apparently reared as an eternal barrier between the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans. From several of the summits of this ridge the
waters of the two oceans can at the same time be distinctly seen. Here
the Spanish court, in pursuit of its energetic but cruel conquest of
America, had established one of its most merciless colonies. There was
gold among the mountains. The natives had many golden ornaments. They
had no conception of the value of the precious ore in civilized lands.
Readily they would exchange quite large masses of gold for a few glass
beads. The great object of the Spaniards in the conquest of Darien was
to obtain gold. They inferred that if the ignorant natives, without
any acquaintance with the arts, had obtained so much, there must be
immense quantities which careful searching and skilful mining would
reveal.

The wanton cruelties practised by the Spaniards upon the unoffending
natives of these climes seem to have been as senseless as they were
fiendlike. It is often difficult to find any motive for their
atrocities. These crimes are thoroughly authenticated, and yet they
often seem like the outbursts of demoniac malignity. Anything like a
faithful recital of them would torture the sensibilities of our
readers almost beyond endurance. Mothers and maidens were hunted and
torn down by bloodhounds; infant children were cut in pieces, and
their quivering limbs thrown to the famished dogs.

The large wealth and the rank of Don Pedro de Avila gave him much
influence at the Spanish court. He succeeded in obtaining the
much-coveted appointment of Governor of Darien. His authority was
virtually absolute over the property, the liberty, and the lives of a
realm, whose extended limits were not distinctly defined.

Don Pedro occupied quite an imposing castle, his ancestral mansion, in
the vicinity of Badajoz. Here the poor boy Ferdinand, though descended
from families of the highest rank, was an entire dependent upon his
benefactor. The haughty Don Pedro treated him kindly. Still he
regarded him, in consequence of his poverty, almost as a favored
menial. He fed him, clothed him, patronized him.

It was in the year 1514 that Don Pedro entered upon his office of
Governor of Darien. The insatiate thirst for gold caused crowds to
flock to his banners. A large fleet was soon equipped, and more than
two thousand persons embarked at St. Lucar for the golden land. The
most of these were soldiers; men of sensuality, ferocity, and thirst
for plunder. Not a few noblemen joined the enterprise; some to add to
their already vast possessions, and others hoping to retrieve their
impoverished fortunes.

A considerable number of priests accompanied the expedition, and it is
very certain that some of these at least were actuated by a sincere
desire to do good to the natives, and to win them to the religion of
Jesus:--that religion which demands that we should do to others as we
would that others should do to us, and whose principles, the governor,
the nobles, and the soldiers, were ruthlessly trampling beneath their
feet. Don Pedro, when measured by the standard of Christianity, was
proud, perfidious and tyrannical. The course he pursued upon his
arrival in the country was impolitic and almost insane.

His predecessor in the governorship was Vasco Nuñez. He had been on
the whole a prudent, able and comparatively merciful governor. He had
entered into trade with the natives, and had so far secured their good
will as to induce them to bring in an ample supply of provisions for
his colony. He had sent out Indian explorers, with careful
instructions to search the gold regions among the mountains. Don
Pedro, upon assuming the reins of government, became very jealous of
the popularity of Nuñez, whom he supplanted. His enmity soon became so
implacable that, without any cause, he accused him of treason and
ordered him to be decapitated. The sentence was executed in the public
square of Acla. Don Pedro himself gazed on the cruel spectacle
concealed in a neighboring house. He seemed ashamed to meet the
reproachful eye of his victim, as with an axe his head was cut off
upon a block.

All friendly relations with the Indians were speedily terminated. They
were robbed of their gold, of their provisions, and their persons were
outraged in the most cruel manner. The natives, terror-stricken, fled
from the vicinity of the colony, and suddenly the Spaniards found all
their supplies of provisions cut off. More than two thousand were
crowded into a narrow space on the shores of the gulf, with no
possibility of obtaining food. They were entirely unprepared for any
farming operations, having neither agricultural tools nor seed.
Neither if they had them could they wait for the slow advent of the
harvest. Famine commenced its reign, and with famine, its invariable
attendant, pestilence. In less than six months, of all the glittering
hosts, which with music and banners had landed upon the isthmus,
expecting soon to return to Europe with their ships freighted with
gold, but a few hundred were found alive, and they were haggard and in
rags.

The Spaniards had robbed the Indians of their golden trinkets, but
these trinkets could not be eaten and they would purchase no food.
They were as worthless as pebbles picked from the beach. Often lumps
of gold, or jewels of inestimable value, were offered by one starving
wretch to another for a piece of mouldy bread. The colony would have
become entirely extinct, but for the opportune arrival of vessels from
Spain with provisions. Don Pedro had sent out one or two expeditions
of half-famished men to seize the rice, Indian corn, and other food,
wherever such food could be found.

The natives had sufficient intelligence to perceive that the colonists
were fast wasting away. The Indians were gentle and amiable in
character, and naturally timid; with no taste for the ferocities
of war. But emboldened by the miseries of the colonies, and beginning
to despise their weakness, they fell upon the foraging parties with
great courage and drove them back ignominiously to the coast.
The arrival of the ships to which we have referred with provisions
and reinforcements, alone saved the colony from utter extinction.

Don Pedro, after having been in the colony five years, returned to
Spain to obtain new acquisitions of strength in men and means for the
prosecution of ever-enlarging plans of wealth and ambition. North and
south of the narrow peninsula were the two majestic continents of
North and South America. They both invited incursions, where nations
could be overthrown, empires established, fame won, and where
mountains of gold might yet be found.

It seems that De Soto had made the castle of Don Pedro, near Badajoz,
his home during the absence of the governor. There all his wants had
been provided for through the charitable munificence of his patron. He
probably had spent his term time at the university. He was now
nineteen years of age, and seemed to have attained the full maturity
of his physical system, and had developed into a remarkably elegant
young man.

The family of Don Pedro had apparently remained at the castle. His
second daughter, Isabella, was a very beautiful girl in her sixteenth
year. She had already been presented at the resplendent court of
Spain, where she had attracted great admiration. Rich, beautiful and
of illustrious birth, many noblemen had sought her hand, and among the
rest, one of the princes of the blood royal. But Isabella and De
Soto, much thrown together in the paternal castle, had very naturally
fallen in love with each other.

The haughty governor was one day exceedingly astounded and enraged,
that De Soto had the audacity to solicit the hand of his daughter in
marriage. In the most contemptuous and resentful manner, he repelled
the proposition as an insult. De Soto was keenly wounded. He was
himself a man of noble birth. He had no superior among all the young
noblemen around him, in any chivalric accomplishment. The only thing
wanting was money. Don Pedro loved his daughter, was proud of her
beauty and celebrity, and was fully aware that she had a very decided
will of her own.

After the lapse of a few days, the governor was not a little alarmed
by a statement, which the governess of the young lady ventured to make
to him. She assured him that Isabella had given her whole heart to De
Soto, and that she had declared it to be her unalterable resolve to
retire to a convent, rather than to become the wife of any other
person. Don Pedro was almost frantic with rage. As totally devoid of
moral principle as he was of human feelings, he took measures to have
De Soto assassinated. Such is the uncontradicted testimony of
contemporary historians. But every day revealed to him more clearly
the strength of Isabella's attachment for De Soto, and the
inflexibility of her will. He became seriously alarmed, not only from
the apprehension that if her wishes were thwarted, no earthly power
could prevent her from burying herself in a convent, but he even
feared that if De Soto were to be assassinated, she would, by
self-sacrifice, follow him to the world of spirits. This caused him to
feign partial reconciliation, and to revolve in his mind more cautious
plans for his removal.

He decided to take De Soto back with him to Darien. The historians of
those days represent that it was his intention to expose his young
protégé to such perils in wild adventures in the New World, as would
almost certainly secure his death. De Soto himself, proud though poor,
was tortured by the contemptuous treatment which he received, even
from the menials in the castle, who were aware of his rejection by
their proud lord. He therefore eagerly availed himself of the
invitation of Don Pedro to join in a new expedition which he was
fitting out for Darien.

He resolved, at whatever sacrifice, to be rich. The acquisition of
gold, and the accumulation of fame, became the great objects of his
idolatry. With these he could not only again claim the hand of
Isabella, but the haughty Don Pedro would eagerly seek the alliance
of a man of wealth and renown. Thousands of adventurers were then
crowding to the shores of the New World, lured by the accounts of the
boundless wealth which it was said could there be found, and inspired
by the passion which then pervaded Christendom, of obtaining celebrity
by the performance of chivalric deeds.

Many had returned greatly enriched by the plunder of provinces. The
names of Pizarro and Cortez had been borne on the wings of renown
through all the countries of Europe, exciting in all honorable minds
disgust, in view of their perfidy and cruelty, and inspiring others
with emotions of admiration, in contemplation of their heroic
adventures.

De Soto was greatly embarrassed by his poverty. Both his parents were
dead. He was friendless; and it was quite impossible for him to
provide himself with an outfit suitable to the condition of a Spanish
grandee. The insulting treatment he had received from Don Pedro
rendered it impossible for him to approach that haughty man as a
suppliant for aid. But Don Pedro did not dare to leave De Soto behind
him. The family were to remain in the ancestral home. And it was very
certain that, Don Pedro being absent, ere long he would hear of the
elopement of Ferdinand and Isabella. Thus influenced, he offered De
Soto a free passage to Darien, a captain's commission with a suitable
outfit, and pledged himself that he should have ample opportunity of
acquiring wealth and distinction, in an expedition he was even then
organizing for the conquest of Peru. As Don Pedro made these overtures
to the young man, with apparently the greatest cordiality, assuming
that De Soto, by embarking in the all-important enterprise, would
confer a favor rather than receive one, the offer was eagerly
accepted.

Don Pedro did everything in his power to prevent the two lovers from
having any private interview before the expedition sailed. But the
ingenuity of love as usual triumphed over that of avarice. Isabella
and De Soto met, and solemnly pledged constancy to each other. It
seems that Isabella thoroughly understood the character of her father,
and knew that he would shrink from no crime in the accomplishment of
his purposes. As she took her final leave of her lover, she said to
him, very solemnly and impressively,

"Ferdinand, remember that one treacherous friend is more dangerous
than a thousand avowed enemies."

CHAPTER II.

_The Spanish Colony._

It was in the year 1519, when the expedition sailed from St. Lucar for
Darien. We have no account of the incidents which occurred during the
voyage. The fleet reached Darien in safety, and the Spanish
adventurers, encased in coats of mail, which the arrows and javelins
of the natives could not pierce, mounted on powerful war horses, armed
with muskets and cannon, and with packs of ferocious bloodhounds at
their command, were all prepared to scatter the helpless natives
before them, as the whirlwind scatters autumnal leaves.

De Soto was then but nineteen years of age. In stature and character
he was a mature man. There are many indications that he was a young
man of humane and honorable instincts, shrinking from the deeds of
cruelty and injustice which he saw everywhere perpetrated around him.
It is however probable, that under the rigor of military law, he at
times felt constrained to obey commands from which his kindly nature
recoiled.

Don Pedro was a monster of cruelty. He gave De Soto command of a troop
of horse. He sent him on many expeditions which required not only
great courage, but military sagacity scarcely to be expected in one so
young and inexperienced. It is however much to the credit of De Soto,
that the annalists of those days never mentioned his name in
connection with those atrocities which disgraced the administration of
Don Pedro. He even ventured at times to refuse obedience to the orders
of the governor, when commanded to engage in some service which he
deemed dishonorable.

One remarkable instance of this moral and physical intrepidity is on
record. Don Pedro had determined upon the entire destruction of a
little village occupied by the natives. The torch was to be applied,
and men, women and children, were to be put to the sword. Don Pedro
had issued such a command as this, with as much indifference as he
would have placed his foot upon an anthill. It is not improbable that
one of the objects he had in view was to impose a revolting task upon
De Soto, that he might be, as it were, whipped into implicit
obedience. He therefore sent one of the most infamous of his captains
to De Soto with the command that he should immediately take a troop of
horse, proceed to the doomed village, gallop into its peaceful and
defenceless street, set fire to every dwelling, and with their keen
sabres, cut down every man, woman and child. It was a deed fit only
for demons to execute.

De Soto deemed himself insulted in being ordered on such a mission.
This was not war,--it was butchery. The defenceless natives could make
no resistance. Indignantly and heroically he replied:

"Tell Don Pedro, the governor, that my life and services are always at
his disposal, when the duty to be performed is such as may become a
Christian and a gentleman. But in the present case, I think the
governor would have shown more discretion by entrusting you, Captain
Perez, with this commission, instead of sending you with the order to
myself."

This reply Captain Perez might certainly regard as reflecting very
severely upon his own character, and as authorizing him to demand that
satisfaction which, under such circumstances, one cavalier expects of
another. He however carried the message to the governor. Don Pedro was
highly gratified. He saw that a duel was the necessary result. Captain
Perez was a veteran soldier, and was the most expert swordsman in the
army. He was famed for his quarrelsome disposition; had already
fought many duels, in which he had invariably killed his man. In a
rencontre between the youthful De Soto and the veteran Captain Perez,
there could be no doubt in the mind of the governor as to the result.
He therefore smiled very blandly upon Captain Perez, and said in
language which the captain fully understood:

"Well, my friend, if you, who are a veteran soldier, can endure the
insolence of this young man, De Soto, I see no reason why an infirm
old man like myself should not show equal forbearance."

Captain Perez was not at all reluctant to take the hint. It was only
giving him an opportunity to add another to the list of those who had
fallen before his sword. The challenge was immediately given. De
Soto's doom was deemed sealed. Duels in the Spanish army were
fashionable, and there was no moral sentiment which recoiled in the
slightest degree from the barbaric practice.

The two combatants met with drawn swords in the presence of nearly all
the officers of the colonial army, and of a vast concourse of
spectators. The stripling De Soto displayed skill with his weapon
which not only baffled his opponent, but which excited the surprise
and admiration of all the on-lookers. For two hours the deadly
conflict continued, without any decisive results. De Soto had received
several trifling wounds, while his antagonist was unharmed. At
length, by a fortunate blow, he inflicted such a gash upon the right
wrist of Perez, that his sword dropped from his hand. As he attempted
to catch it with his left hand, he stumbled and fell to the ground. De
Soto instantly stood over him with his sword at his breast, demanding
that he should ask for his life. The proud duellist, thus for the
first time in his life discomfited, was chagrined beyond endurance. In
sullen silence, he refused to cry for mercy. De Soto magnanimously
returned his sword to its scabbard, saying: "The life that is not
worth asking for, is not worth taking."

He then gracefully bowed to the numerous spectators and retired from
the field, greeted with the enthusiastic acclaim of all who were
present. This achievement gave the youthful victor prominence above
any other man in the army. Perez was so humiliated by his defeat, that
he threw up his commission and returned to Spain. Thus the New World
was rid of one of the vilest of the adventurers who had cursed it.

The region of the peninsula, and the adjoining territory of South
America, were at that time quite densely populated. The inhabitants
seem to have been a happy people, not fond of war, and yet by no means
deficient in bravery. The Spanish colonists were but a handful among
them. But the war horse, bloodhounds, steel coats of mail and
gunpowder, gave them an immense, almost resistless superiority.

There was at this time, about the year 1521, an Indian chief by the
name of Uracca, who reigned over quite a populous nation, occupying
one of the northern provinces of the isthmus. He was a man of unusual
intelligence and ability. The outrages which the Spaniards were
perpetrating roused all his energies of resentment, and he resolved to
adopt desperate measures for their extermination. He gathered an army
of twenty thousand men. In that warm climate, in accordance with
immemorial usage, they went but half clothed. Their weapons were
mainly bows, with poisoned arrows; though they had also javelins and
clumsy swords made of a hard kind of wood.

The tidings of the approach of this army excited the greatest
consternation at Darien. A shower of poisoned arrows from the strong
arms of twenty thousand native warriors, driven forward by the
energies of despair, even these steel-clad adventurers could not
contemplate without dread. The Spaniards had taught the natives
cruelty. They had hunted them down with bloodhounds; they had cut off
their hands with the sword; they had fed their dogs with their
infants; had tortured them at slow fires and cast their children into
the flames. They could not expect that the natives could be more
merciful than the Spaniards had been.

Don Pedro, instead of waiting the arrival of his foes, decided to
assail the army on its march, hoping to take it by surprise and to
throw consternation into the advancing ranks. He divided his army of
attack into two parties. One division of about one hundred men, he
sent in two small vessels along the western coast of the isthmus, to
invade the villages of Uracca, hoping thus to compel the Indian chief
to draw back his army for the defence of his own territories. This
expedition was under the command of General Espinosa.

The main body of the Spanish troops, consisting of about two hundred
men, marched along the eastern shore of the isthmus, intending
eventually to effect a junction with the naval force in the realms of
the foe. The energetic, but infamous Francisco Pizarro, led these
troops. A very important part of his command consisted of a band of
dragoons, thirty or forty in number, under the leadership of De Soto.
His steel-clad warriors were well mounted, with housings which greatly
protected their steeds from the arrows of the natives.

The wary Indian chieftain, who developed during the campaign military
abilities of a high order, had his scouts out in all directions. They
discerned in the distant horizon the approach of the two vessels, and
swift runners speedily reported the fact to Uracca. He immediately
marched with a force in his judgment sufficiently strong to crush the
invaders, notwithstanding their vast superiority in arms.

The Spaniards entered a sheltered bay skirted by a plain, which could
be swept by their guns, and where the Indian warriors would have no
opportunity to hide in ambush. Uracca allowed the Spaniards to
disembark unopposed. He stationed his troops, several thousand in
number, in a hilly country, several leagues distant from the place of
landing, which was broken with chasms and vast boulders, and covered
with tropical forest. Here every Indian could fight behind a rampart,
and the Spaniards could only approach in the scattered line of
skirmishers. The proud Spaniards advanced in their invading march with
as much of war's pageantry as could be assumed. They hoped that
nodding plumes and waving banners, and trumpet peals, would strike
with consternation the heart of the Indians.

Uracca calmly awaited their approach. His men were so concealed that
Espinosa could form no judgment of their numbers or position. Indeed
he was scarcely conscious that there was any foe there who would
venture to oppose his march. Accustomed as he was to ride rough shod
over the naked Indians, he was emboldened by a fatal contempt for the
prowess of his foe. Uracca allowed the Spaniards to become entangled
in the intricacies of rocks and gullies and gigantic forest trees,
when suddenly he opened upon them such a shower of poisoned arrows as
the Spaniards had never encountered before. The touch of one of these
arrows, breaking the skin, caused immediate and intense agony, and
almost certain death. The sinewy arms of the Indians could throw these
sharp-pointed weapons with almost the precision and force of a bullet,
and with far greater rapidity than the Spaniards could load and fire
their muskets.

Espinosa found himself assailed by a foe outnumbering him ten or
twenty to one. The air was almost darkened with arrows, and every one
was thrown with unerring aim. The rout of the Spaniards was almost
instantaneous. Several were killed, many wounded. In a panic, they
turned and fled precipitately from the trap in which they had been
caught. The natives impetuously pursued, showing no quarter, evidently
determined to exterminate the whole band.

It so happened that De Soto, with his dragoons, had left Pizarro's
band, and in a military incursion into the country, was approaching
the bay where Espinosa had landed his troops. Suddenly the clamor of
the conflict burst upon his ear--the shouts of the Indian warriors and
the cry of the fugitive Spaniards. His little band put spurs to their
horses and hastened to the scene of action. Very great difficulties
impeded their progress. The rugged ground, encumbered by rocks and
broken by ravines, was almost impassable for horsemen. But the energy
of De Soto triumphed over these obstacles, even when the bravest of
his companions remonstrated and hesitated to follow him. At length he
reached the open country over which the Spaniards were rushing to gain
their ships, pursued by the Indians in numbers and strength which
seemed to render the destruction of the Spaniards certain.

The natives stood in great dread of the horses. When they saw the
dragoons, glittering in their steel armor, come clattering down upon
the plain, their pursuit was instantly checked. Espinosa, thus
unexpectedly reinforced, rallied his panic-stricken troops, and in
good order continued the retreat to the ships. De Soto with his
cavalry occupied the post of danger as rear-guard. The Indians
cautiously followed, watching for every opportunity which the
inequalities of the ground might offer, to assail the invaders with
showers of arrows. Occasionally De Soto would halt and turn his
horses' heads towards the Indians. Apprehensive of a charge, they
would then fall back. The retreat was thus conducted safely, but
slowly.

The Spaniards had advanced many leagues from the shores of the
Pacific. They were now almost perishing from hunger and fatigue.
Indian bands were coming from all directions to reinforce the native
troops. The sun was going down and night was approaching. All hearts
were oppressed with the greatest anxiety. Just then Pizarro, with his
two hundred men, made his appearance. He had not been far away, and a
courier having informed him of the peril of the Spaniards, he hastened
to their relief. Night with its gloom settled down over the plain, and
war's hideous clamor was for a few hours hushed. The morning would
usher in a renewal of the battle, under circumstances which caused the
boldest hearts in the Spanish camp to tremble.

In the night Generals Espinosa and Pizarro held a council of war, and
came to the inglorious resolve to steal away under the protection of
darkness, leaving Uracca in undisputed possession of the field. This
decision excited the indignation of De Soto. He considered it a
disgrace to the Spanish arms, and declared that it would only embolden
the natives in all their future military operations. His bitter
remonstrances were only answered by a sneer from General Espinosa,
who assured him that the veteran captains of Spain would not look to
his youth and inexperience for guidance and wisdom.

At midnight the Spaniards commenced their retreat as secretly and
silently as possible. But they had a foe to deal with who was not
easily to be deceived. His scouts were on the alert, and immediate
notice was communicated to Uracca of the movements of the Spaniards.
The pursuit was conducted with as much vigor as the flight. For eight
and forty hours the fugitives were followed so closely, and with such
fierce assailment, that large numbers of the rank and file perished.
The officers and the dragoons of De Soto, wearing defensive armor,
generally escaped unharmed. The remnant at length, weary and
famine-stricken, reached their ships and immediately put to sea. With
the exception of De Soto's dragoons, they numbered but fifty men.
Deeply despondent in view of their disastrous campaign, they sailed
several leagues along the western coast of the isthmus towards the
south, till they reached a flourishing Indian village called Borrica.
Conscious that here they were beyond the immediate reach of Uracca's
avenging forces, they ventured to land. They found all the men absent.
They were probably in the ranks of the native army.

General Espinosa, who was now chief in command, meanly sacked the
defenceless village and captured all the women and children, to be
sent to the West Indies and sold as slaves. The generous heart of De
Soto was roused by this outrage. He was an imperious man, and was
never disposed to be very complaisant to his superiors. Sternly
the young captain rebuked Espinosa as a kidnapper, stealing the
defenceless; and he demanded that the prisoners should be set at
liberty. An angry controversy ensued. De Soto accused Espinosa of
cowardice and imbecility, in ordering the troops of Spain to retreat
before naked savages. Espinosa, whose domineering spirit could brook
no opposition, accused De Soto of mutinous conduct, and threatened to
report him to the governor. De Soto angrily turned his heel upon his
superior officer and called upon his troops to mount their horses.
Riding proudly at their head, he approached the tent of Espinosa and
thus addressed him:

"Señor Espinosa, the governor did not place me under your command, and
you have no claim to my obedience. I now give you notice, that if you
retain these prisoners so cruelly and unjustly captured, you must do
so at your own risk. If these Indian warriors choose to make any
attempt to recover their wives and their children, I declare to you
upon my solemn oath, and by all that I hold most sacred, that they
shall meet with no opposition from me. Consider, therefore, whether
you have the power to defend yourself and secure your prey, when I
and my companions have withdrawn from this spot."

Pizarro does not seem to have taken any active part in this dispute,
though he advised the headstrong Espinosa to give up his captives.
While these scenes were transpiring, about one hundred of the men of
the village returned. Most earnestly they entreated the release of
their wives and children. If not peacefully released, it was pretty
evident that they would fight desperately for their rescue. It was
quite apparent that the Indian runners had gone in all directions to
summon others to their aid. The withdrawal of De Soto left Espinosa so
weakened that he could hardly hope successfully to repel such forces.
Indeed he was so situated that, destitute of provisions and
ammunition, he did not dare to undertake a march back through the
wilderness to Darien. He therefore very ungraciously consented to
surrender his captives.

Governor Don Pedro had established his headquarters at Panama. De
Soto, accompanied by a single dragoon, who like himself was an
admirable horseman, rode with the utmost possible dispatch to Panama,
where he informed the governor of the disasters which had befallen
the expedition, and of the precarious condition in which he had left
the remnant of the troops. He also made such representation of the
military conduct of General Espinosa as to induce the governor to
remove him from the command and send General Herman Ponce to take his
place. The garrison at Panama was then so weak that only forty men
could be spared to go to the relief of the troops at Borrica.

In the mean time the Indian chief Uracca had received full information
of the position and condition of the Spanish troops. Very sagaciously
he formed his plan to cut off their retreat. Detachments of warriors
were placed at every point through which they could escape; they could
not venture a league from their ramparts on any foraging expedition,
and no food could reach them. They obtained a miserable subsistence
from roots and herbs.

At length De Soto returned with a fresh supply of ammunition and the
small reinforcement. By the aid of his cavalry he so far broke up the
blockade as to obtain food for the famishing troops. Still it was very
hazardous to attempt a retreat to Panama. With the reinforcements led
by General Ponce, their whole army, infantry and cavalry, amounted to
less than one hundred and fifty men. They would be compelled on their
retreat to climb mountains, plunge into ragged ravines, thread
tropical forests and narrow defiles, where armies of uncounted
thousands of natives were ready to dispute their passage.

CHAPTER III.

_Life at Darien._

Reinforcements from Spain.--Aid sent to Borrica.--Line of Defense
Chosen by the Natives.--Religion of the Buccaneers.--The Battle
and the Rout.--Strategy of racca.--Cruelty of Don Pedro.--The
Retreat.--Character of Uracca.--Embarrassment of Don
Pedro.--Warning of M. Codro.--Expedition of Pizarro.--Mission
of M. Codro.--Letter of De Soto to Isabella.

While governor Don Pedro was awaiting with intense anxiety the receipt
of intelligence from Borrica, a ship arrived from Spain bringing three
or four hundred adventurers, all of whom were eager for any military
expedition which would open to them an opportunity for plunder. One
hundred and fifty of these were regular soldiers, well taught in the
dreadful trade of war. Don Pedro took these fresh troops and one
hundred and fifty volunteers; and set out with the utmost expedition
for Borrica. His impetuous nature was inspired with zeal to retrieve
the disgrace which had befallen the Spanish arms. He took with him
several pieces of ordnance,--guns with which the Indians thus far had
no acquaintance.

Upon arriving at Borrica he very earnestly harangued his troops,
reminding them of the ancient renown of the Spanish soldiers, and
stimulating their cupidity by the assurance that the kingdom of
Veragua, over which Uracca reigned, was full of gold; and that all
that was now requisite for the conquest of the country and the
accumulation of princely wealth, was a display of the bravery ever
characteristic of Spanish troops.

There was a deep and rapid river, the Arva, rushing down from the
mountains, which it was necessary for the Spaniards to cross in their
renewed invasion of Veragua. On the northern banks of this stream
Uracca stationed his troops, selecting this spot with much skill as
his main line of defence. He however posted an advanced guard some
miles south of the stream in ground broken by hills, rocks and
ravines, through which the Spaniards would be compelled to pass, and
where their cavalry could be of very little avail.

By great effort Don Pedro had collected an army of about five hundred
men. Rapidly marching, he soon reached the spot of broken ground where
the native troops were stationed awaiting their approach.

It seems almost incomprehensible that this band of thieves and
murderers, who, without the slightest excuse or provocation, were
invading the territory of the peaceful natives, carrying to their
homes death and woe, that they might acquire fame for military
exploits and return laden with plunder, could have looked to God for
his blessing upon their infamous expedition. But so it was. And still
more strange to say, they did not apparently engage in these religious
services with any consciousness of hypocrisy. The thoughtful mind is
bewildered in contemplating such developments of the human heart.
Previous to the attack the whole army was drawn up for prayers, which
were solemnly offered by the ecclesiastics who always accompanied
these expeditions. Then every soldier attended the confessional and
received absolution. Thus he felt assured that, should he fall in the
battle, he would be immediately translated to the realms of the blest.

Thus inspired by military zeal and religious fanaticism, the Spaniards
rushed upon the natives in a very impetuous assault. We are happy to
record that the natives stood nobly on the defence. They met their
assailants with such a shower of arrows and javelins that the
Spaniards were first arrested in their march, then driven back, then
utterly routed and put to flight. In that broken ground where the
cavalry could not be brought into action, where every native warrior
stood behind a tree or a rock, and where the natives did not commence
the action till the Spaniards were within half bow shot of them,
arrows and javelins were even more potent weapons of war than the
clumsy muskets then in use.

Upon the open field the arrows of the natives were quite impotent. A
bullet could strike the heart at twice or three times the distance at
which an arrow could be thrown. The Spaniards, hotly pursued,
retreated from this broken ground several miles back into the open
plain. Many were slain. Here the rout was arrested by the cavalry and
the discharges from the field-pieces, which broke the Indian ranks.

The natives, however, boldly held their ground, and the Spaniards,
disheartened and mortified by their discomfiture, encamped upon the
plain. It was very evident that God had not listened to their prayers.

For several days they remained in a state of uncertainty. For five
hundred Spaniards to retreat before eight hundred natives, would
inflict a stigma upon their army which could never be effaced. They
dared not again attack the natives who were flushed with victory in
their stronghold. They were well aware that the band of warriors
before them was but the advanced guard of the great army of Uracca.
These eight hundred natives were led by one of Uracca's brothers. Even
should these Indians be attacked and repulsed, they had only to
retreat a few miles, cross the river Arva in their canoes, and on the
northern banks join the formidable army of twenty thousand men under
their redoubtable chief, who had already displayed military abilities
which compelled the Spaniards to regard him with dread.

Affairs were in this position when Uracca adopted a stratagem which
completely deceived the Spaniards and inflicted upon them very serious
loss. He caused several of his warriors to be taken captive. When
closely questioned by Don Pedro where gold was to be found, and
threatened with torture if they refused the information, they with
great apparent reluctance directed their captors to a spot, at the
distance of but a few leagues, where the precious metal could be
obtained in great abundance. These unlettered savages executed their
artifice with skill which would have done honor even to European
diplomatists.

Don Pedro immediately selected a company of forty of his most reliable
men and sent them to the designated spot. Here they were surrounded by
Indian warriors in ambush, and the whole party, with the exception of
three, put to death. The three who escaped succeeded in reaching the
Spanish camp with tidings of the disaster. Don Pedro in his rage
ordered his captives to be torn to pieces, by the bloodhounds. They
were thrown naked to the dogs. The Spaniards looked on complacently,
as the merciless beasts, with bloody fangs, tore them limb from limb,
devouring their quivering flesh. The natives bore this awful
punishment with fortitude and heroism, which elicited the admiration
of their foes. With their last breath they exulted that they were
permitted to die in defence of their country.

The expedition of Don Pedro had thus far proved an utter failure. He
had already lost one-fourth of his army through the prowess of the
natives. The prospect before him was dark in the extreme. His troops
were thoroughly discouraged, and the difficulties still to be
encountered seemed absolutely insurmountable. Humiliated as never
before, the proud Don Pedro was compelled to order a retreat. He
returned to Panama, where, as we have mentioned, he had removed his
seat of government from Darien. Panama was north of Darien, or rather
west, as the isthmus there runs east and west. Its seaport was on the
Pacific, not the Atlantic coast.

Uracca, having thus rescued his country from the invaders, did not
pursue the retreating Spaniards. He probably in this course acted
wisely. Could Don Pedro have drawn his enemies into the open field, he
could undoubtedly have cut down nearly their whole army with grape
shot, musketry, and charges by his strongly mounted steel-clad
cavaliers. A panic had however pervaded the Spanish camp. They were in
constant apprehension of pursuit. Even when they had reached Panama,
they were day after day in intense apprehension of the approach of
their outnumbering foes, by whose valor they had already been
discomfited, and so greatly disgraced.

"When the Spaniards looked out towards the mountains and the
plains," writes the Spanish historian Herrera, "the boughs of
trees and the very grass, which grew high in the savannas,
appeared to their excited imagination to be armed with
Indians. And when they turned their eyes towards the sea,
they fancied that it was covered with canoes of their
exasperated foemen."

Uracca must have been in all respects an extraordinary man. We have
the record of his deeds only from the pen of his enemies. And yet
according to their testimony, he, a pagan, manifested far more of the
spirit of Christ than did his Christian opponents. In the war which he
was then waging, there can be no question whatever that the wrong was
inexcusably and outrageously on the side of Don Pedro. We cannot learn
that Uracca engaged in any aggressive movements against the Spaniards
whatever. He remained content with expelling the merciless intruders
from his country. Even the fiendlike barbarism of the Spaniards could
not provoke him to retaliatory cruelty. The brutal soldiery of Spain
paid no respect whatever to the wives and daughters of the natives,
even to those of the highest chieftains.

On one occasion a Spanish lady, Donna Clara Albitez, fell into the
hands of Uracca. He treated her with as much delicacy and tenderness
as if she had been his own daughter or mother, and availed himself of
the first opportunity of restoring her to her friends.

Though De Soto was one of the bravest of his cavaliers, and was so
skilful as an officer that his services were almost indispensable to
Don Pedro, yet the governor was anxious to get rid of him. It is
probable that he felt somewhat condemned by the undeniable virtues of
De Soto; for the most of men can feel the power of high moral
principle as witnessed in others. De Soto, intensely proud, was not at
all disposed to play the sycophant before his patron. He had already
exasperated him by his refusal to execute orders which he deemed
dishonorable. And worst of all, by winning the love of Isabella, he
had thwarted one of the most ambitious of Don Pedro's plans; he having
contemplated her alliance with one of the most illustrious families of
the Spanish nobility.

Don Pedro did not dare to send De Soto to the scaffold or to order him
to be shot. He had already braved public opinion by the outrageous
execution of Vasco Nuñez, without a shadow of law or justice, and had
drawn down upon himself an avalanche of condemnation from the highest
dignitaries of both church and state. He was trembling through fear
that the Spanish government might call him to account for this
tyrannic act. Thus situated, it was highly impolitic to send De Soto,
who was greatly revered and admired by the army, to the block. He
therefore still sought, though with somewhat waning zeal, to secure
the death of De Soto on the field of battle. De Soto could not fail to
perceive that Don Pedro was not his friend. Still, being a magnanimous
man himself, he could not suspect the governor of being guilty of such
treachery as to be plotting his death.

When the little army of Spaniards was beleaguered at Borrica, and De
Soto with his cavalry was scouring the adjacent country on foraging
expeditions, he chanced to rescue from captivity M. Codro, an Italian
philosopher, who had accompanied the Spaniards to Darien. In the
pursuit of science, he had joined the forty men who, under the command
of Herman Ponce, had been sent as a reinforcement to Borrica. While at
some distance from the camp on a botanical excursion, he was taken
captive by the natives, and would have been put to death but for the
timely rescue by De Soto.

M. Codro was an astrologer. In that superstitious age he was supposed
by others, and probably himself supposed, that by certain occult arts
he was able to predict future events. Six months after the return of
the Spaniards from their disastrous expedition against Uracca, this
singular man sought an interview with De Soto, and said to him:

"A good action deserves better reward than verbal acknowledgment.
While it was not in my power to make any suitable recompense to you
for saving my life, I did not attempt to offer you any. But the time
has now come when I can give you some substantial evidence of my
gratitude. I can now inform you that your life is now in no less
danger than mine was when you rescued me from the Indians."

De Soto replied: "My good friend, though I do not profess to be a
thorough believer in your prophetic art, I am no less thankful for
your kind intentions. And in this case, I am free to confess that your
information, from whatever source derived, is confirmed in a measure
by my own observations."

"Ferdinand De Soto," said the astrologer with great deliberation and
solemnity of manner, "I think I can read the page of _your_ destiny,
even without such light as the stars can shed upon it. Be assured that
the warning I give you does not come from an unearthly source. But if
any supernatural confirmation of my words were needed, even on that
score you might be satisfied. While comparing your horoscope with that
of my departed friend Vasco Nuñez, I have observed some resemblances
in your lives and fortunes, which you, with all your incredulity, must
allow to be remarkable. Nuñez and you were both born in the same town;
were both members of noble but impoverished families; both sought to
ally yourselves with the family of Don Pedro, and both thus incurred
his deadly resentment."

"These coincidences are certainly remarkable," replied De Soto; "but
what other similarities do you find in the destinies of Nuñez and
myself?"

"You are a brave man," replied M. Codro, "and you are too skeptical to
be much disturbed by the prognostications of evil. I may therefore
venture to tell you that according to my calculations, you will be in
one important event of your life more happy than Vasco Nuñez. It seems
to be indicated by the superior intelligences, that your death will
not be in the ordinary course of nature; but I find likewise that the
term of your life will be equal to that which Nuñez attained. When I
consider your present circumstances, this appears to me to be the most
improbable part of the prediction."

Nuñez was forty-two years old at the time of his death. This gave De
Soto the promise of nearly twenty years more of life. Reverently he
replied, "I am in the hands of God. I rely with humble confidence on
his protection."

"In that you do well," rejoined M. Codro. "Still it is your duty to
use such human means as may be required to defend yourself against
open violence or fraudful malice."

De Soto thanked the astrologer for the caution he had given him, and
as he reflected upon it, saw that it was indeed necessary to be
constantly on his guard. As time passed on Don Pedro became more
undisguised in his hostility to De Soto. Ferdinand and Isabella
exerted all their ingenuity to correspond with each other. Don Pedro
had been equally vigilant in his endeavors to intercept their letters;
and so effectual were the plans which he adopted, that for five years,
while the lovers remained perfectly faithful to each other, not a
token of remembrance passed between them.

These were weary years to De Soto. He was bitterly disappointed in all
his expectations. There was no glory to be obtained even in victory,
in riding rough-shod over the poor natives. And thus far, instead of
victory attending the Spanish arms, defeat and disgrace had been their
doom. Moreover, he was astonished and heartily ashamed when he saw the
measures which his countrymen had adopted to enrich themselves. They
were highway robbers of the most malignant type. They not only
slaughtered the victims whom they robbed, but fired their dwellings,
trampled down their harvests and massacred their wives and children.

The most extravagant tales had been circulated through Europe
respecting the wealth of the New World. It was said that masses of
pure gold could be gathered like pebble stones from the banks of the
rivers, and that gems of priceless value were to be found in the
ravines. De Soto had been now five years on the isthmus of Darien, and
had acquired neither fame nor fortune, and there was nothing in the
prospect of the future to excite enthusiasm or even hope.

There was quite a remarkable man, made so by subsequent events, under
the command of Don Pedro. His name was Francisco Pizarro. He was a man
of obscure birth and of very limited education, save only in the
material art of war. He could neither read nor write, and was thus
intellectually hardly the equal of some of the most intelligent of the
natives. We have briefly alluded to him as entrusted with the command
of one portion of the army in the inglorious expedition against
Uracca. De Soto had very little respect for the man, and was not at
all disposed as a subordinate officer to look to him for counsel. Don
Pedro, however, seems to have formed a high opinion of the military
abilities of Pizarro. For notwithstanding his ignominious defeat and
retreat from Veragua, he now appointed him as the leader of an
expedition, consisting of one hundred and thirty men, to explore the
western coast of the isthmus by cruising along the Pacific Ocean.

Pizarro set sail from Panama on the fourteenth of November, 1524, in
one small vessel. It was intended that another vessel should soon
follow to render such assistance as might be necessary. De Soto was
urged to become one of this party; but probably from dislike of
Pizarro, refused to place himself under his command.

The vessel, which was soon joined by its consort under Almagro,
coasted slowly along in a northerly direction, running in at every
bay, and landing whenever they approached a flourishing Indian
village, plundering the natives and maltreating them in every shameful
way. At length they aroused such a spirit of desperation on the part
of the natives, that they fell upon the buccaneers with resistless
ferocity. Two-thirds of the miscreants were slain. Pizarro barely
escaped with his life, having received severe wounds and being borne
to his ship in a state of insensibility.

While Pizarro was absent on this ill-fated expedition, a new trouble
befell Don Pedro. Las Casas, a devoted Christian missionary, whose
indignation was roused to the highest pitch by the atrocities
perpetrated upon the Indians, reported the inhuman conduct of Don
Pedro to the Spanish government. The King appointed Peter de Los Rios
to succeed him. The new governor was to proceed immediately to Panama
and bring the degraded official to trial, and, if found guilty, to
punishment. The governor of a Spanish colony in those days was
absolute. Don Pedro had cut off the head of his predecessor, though
that predecessor was one of the best of men. He now trembled in
apprehension of the loss of his own head. Conscious of his deserts, he
was terror-stricken.

About four or five hundred miles north of Panama there was the
magnificent province of Nicaragua. The isthmus is here about one
hundred and fifty miles in breadth, and the province being about two
hundred miles in a line from north to south, extended from the
Atlantic to the Pacific shores. Don Pedro was popular with his brutal
soldiery, since he allowed them unlimited license and plunder. He
resolved, surrounded by them, to take refuge in Nicaragua.
Nevertheless, to render himself as secure as possible, he decided to
send an agent to plead his cause at the Spanish court.

Among those rude, unprincipled adventurers, men of violence and blood,
it was very difficult to find a suitable person. At length he fixed
with much hesitation upon M. Codro, the astrologer. He was a
simple-minded, good man; learned, though very artless. M. Codro was
strongly attached to De Soto, the preserver of his life. As we have
seen, he was well aware of the peril to which his benefactor was
hourly exposed from the malignity of the governor. Gladly therefore he
accepted the mission, as he hoped it would afford him an opportunity
of conferring some favor upon his imperilled friend.

Don Pedro had adopted the most rigorous measures to prevent any
communication between the colony and Spain, which was not subjected to
his inspection. He was mainly influenced to this course that he might
prevent the interchange of any messages whatever between De Soto and
Isabella. The most severe penalties were denounced against all persons
who should convey any writing across the seas, excepting through the
regular mails. But the grateful M. Codro declared himself ready to run
all risks in carrying a letter from De Soto to Isabella. Though De
Soto at first hesitated to expose his friend to such hazard, his
intense desire to open some communication with Isabella, at length
induced him to accept the generous offer.

As we have mentioned, for five years not one word had passed between
the lovers. It is said that the following is a literal translation of
the letter which De Soto wrote. We cannot be certain of its
authenticity, but it bears internal evidence of genuineness, and a
manuscript copy is in the library of a Spanish gentleman who has spent
his life in collecting documents in reference to the past history of
his country:

"MOST DEARLY BELOVED ISABELLA:

"For the first time within five years, I write to you with
some assurance that you will receive my letter. Many times
have I written before; but how could I write freely when I
had reason to fear that other eyes might peruse those fond
expressions which your goodness and condescension alone
could pardon? But what reason have I to hope that you can
still look with favorable regard on my unworthiness? My
mature judgment teaches me that this dream of my youth,
which I have so long cherished, is not presumption merely,
but madness.

"When I consider your many perfections, and compare them
with my own little deserving, I feel that I ought to
despair, even if I could empty into your lap the treasure of
a thousand kingdoms. How then can I lift my eyes to you when
I have nothing to offer but the tribute of an affection
which time cannot change, and which must still live when my
last hope has departed.

"O Isabella! the expectation which brought me to this land
has not been fulfilled. I can gather no gold, except by such
means as my honor, my conscience and yourself must condemn.
Though your nobleness may pity one on whom fortune has
disdained to smile, I feel that your relations are justified
in claiming for you an alliance with exalted rank and
affluence; and I love you far too well to regard my own
happiness more than your welfare. If, therefore, in your
extreme youth you have made a promise which you now regret,
as far as it is in my power to absolve you from that
engagement, you are released. On my side, the obligation is
sacred and eternal. It is not likely that I shall ever
return to my country. While I am banished from your
presence, all countries are alike to me.

"The person who brings you this exposes himself to great
danger in his desire to serve me. I entreat you to use such
precautions as his safety may require. If your goodness
should vouchsafe any message to me, he will deliver it, and
you may have perfect confidence in his fidelity. Pardon my
boldness in supposing it possible that I still have a place
in your remembrance. Though you may now think of me with
indifference or dislike, do not censure me too severely for
calling myself unchangeably and devotedly, Yours, DE SOTO."

CHAPTER IV.

_Demoniac Reign._

Giles Gonzales.--Unsuccessful Contest of De Soto with
Gonzales.--Bold Reply of De Soto to the Governor.--Cruelty
of Don Pedro to M. Codro.--Assassination of Cordova.--New
Expedition of Discovery.--Revenge upon Valenzuela.--Reign of
Don Pedro at Nicaragua.--Unwise Decision of De Soto.

It was supposed at that time that there must be a strait somewhere
north of Panama across the narrow isthmus, which would connect the
waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Several expeditions had
been fitted out in search of this all-important passage. Almost
invariably a company of priests joined these expeditions, who exerted
all their energies to convert the Indians to nominal Christianity. A
fanatic adventurer by the name of Giles Gonzales, acquired much
celebrity for his success in inducing the natives to accept the
Christian faith and to acknowledge fealty to the king of Spain. He was
at the head of one hundred steel-clad warriors. His mode of
persuasion, though unique, was very potent. When he approached the
seat of the chief of Nicaragua, he sent a courier to him with the
following message:

"I am coming as a friend to teach you the only true religion, and to
persuade you to recognize the most powerful monarch on the globe. If
you refuse to yield to my teachings, you must prepare for battle, and
I challenge you to meet me in the field."

The gentle and peace-loving natives contemplated with consternation
these fierce Spaniards mounted on powerful war horses, animals which
they had never before seen, and glittering in coats of mail. They had
no religious creed to which they adhered with any tenacity. The
Nicaraguan chief unhesitatingly expressed his readiness to accept the
new faith, and in token of friendship, sent Gonzales a quantity of
gold, equal it is said in value to seventy-five thousand dollars of
our money. The Spanish historian Herrera, whose record is generally
deemed in the main accurate, says that the chief, his family, and nine
thousand of his subjects, were baptized and became Christians.
Influenced by this example, and by the glowing representations of the
rewards which were sure to follow the acceptance of the Christian
faith, more than thirty-six thousand of the natives were baptized
within the space of half a year. The baptismal fees charged by
Gonzales amounted to over four hundred thousand dollars.

While Gonzales was engaged on his own responsibility in this career of
spiritual conquest, with its rich pecuniary accompaniment, Don Pedro
sent two of his generals, Ferdinand de Cordova and Ferdinand De Soto,
to explore Nicaragua and take possession of it in his name. He assumed
that Gonzales, acting without authority, was engaged in a treasonable
movement. The two parties soon came into collision.

De Soto, with a party of fifty men, twenty of them being well mounted
cavaliers, encamped at a small village called Torebo. Gonzales was in
the near vicinity with a little army of three hundred men, two hundred
of whom were Indians. In the darkness of the night, Gonzales fell upon
De Soto, and outnumbering him six to one, either killed or took
captive all the thirty footmen; while the cavaliers, on their horses,
cut their way through and escaped. Gonzales lost fifty of his best men
in the conflict, and was so impressed with the military vigor of De
Soto, that he was not at all disposed again to meet him on the field
of battle. He therefore retired to a distant part of the province,
where he vigorously engaged in the work of converting the natives,
never forgetting his baptismal fee.

De Soto and Cordova established themselves in a new town which they
called Grenada. Here they erected a church, several dwelling houses,
and barracks for the soldiers. They also surrounded the village with
a trench and earthworks, as protection from any sudden assault.
Gonzales was a fugitive from justice, having assassinated an officer
sent by Hernando Cortes to arrest him.

Cordova was a mild and humane man. Under his sway the Indians were
prosperous and happy. Two flourishing towns grew up rapidly quite near
each other, Leon and Grenada. The climate was delightful, the soil
fertile, the means of living abundant. Many of the inhabitants of
Panama emigrated to this more favored region.

De Soto, leaving Cordova in command of Nicaragua, returned to Panama
to report proceedings to Don Pedro. It was not till then that he
learned, to his extreme regret, that the Governor had selected
Nicaragua as a place for his future abode. He knew that the presence
of the tyrannical governor could only prove disastrous to the
flourishing colony, and ruinous to the happiness of the natives. The
gloom with which the contemplation oppressed his mind spread over his
speaking countenance. The eagle eye of the suspicious governor
immediately detected these indications of discontent. With an air of
deference, but in a tone of mockery, he said:

"I judge from your appearance, captain, that my Nicaraguan enterprise
does not meet with your cordial approbation."

De Soto boldly, and with great deliberation of words, replied:

"Governor Don Pedro, I confess that I feel but little interested in
any of your movements or intentions, except when they encroach upon
the rights of others. Nicaragua is at this time well governed by
Ferdinand de Cordova. The change you propose to make, is to be
deprecated as one of the greatest misfortunes that could befall not
only the Indian inhabitants of that district, but our own countrymen
likewise, who have flocked thither to escape from your jurisdiction."

The countenance of Don Pedro became pallid with rage. Struggling,
however, to suppress the unavailing outburst of his passion, he said,
with a malignant smile:

"I thank you, Captain De Soto, for giving me this opportunity which I
have so long desired. Were I to permit such insolence to go
unpunished, my authority in this colony would soon be at an end."

"It is at an end," replied De Soto. "You must be aware that your
successor, De Los Rios, is now on his way to Panama."

"I do not choose," replied Don Pedro, "to debate this matter with you.
I still claim the right to command you as your superior military
officer. I now command you to hold yourself and your company in
readiness to march. When we arrive at Leon, I promise you that full
justice shall be done to your friend De Cordova, and to yourself."

De Soto fully comprehended the significance of these threats. He wrote
immediately to Cordova, urging him to be on his guard. The inhabitants
of Leon and Grenada, learning of the intention of Don Pedro,--to take
the government into his own hands,--entreated De Cordova to resist the
tyrant, promising him their unanimous and energetic support. But De
Cordova declined these overtures, saying, that all the authority to
which he was legitimately entitled was derived from Don Pedro, and
that it was his duty to obey him as his superior officer, until he
should be deposed by the Spanish crown.

Just before Don Pedro, with his suite, left Panama for Nicaragua, M.
Codro returned from Spain. He brought dispatches to the governor, and
also secretly a letter from Isabella to De Soto. The spies of the
governor, in his castle in Spain, watched every movement of M. Codro.
The simple minded man had very little skill in the arts of duplicity.
These spies reported to Don Pedro that M. Codro had held a secret
interview with Isabella, and had frankly stated that he was entrusted
with a private message to her. Don Pedro knew that such a message
could have gone only from De Soto; and that unquestionably M. Codro
had brought back from his daughter a response. We may remark in
passing, that the letter from Isabella to De Soto informed him of the
inflexible fidelity of Isabella, and filled the heart of De Soto with
joy.

The malignant nature of Don Pedro was roused by these suspicions to
intensity of action, and he resolved upon direful revenge. As the new
governor was hourly expected, he could not venture upon any open act
of assassination or violence, for he knew that in that case summary
punishment would be his doom. Calling M. Codro before him, he assumed
his blandest smile, thanked the artless philosopher for the services
he had rendered him in Spain, and said that he wished to entrust him
with the management of a mineralogical survey of a region near the
gulf of San Miguel.

The good man was delighted. This was just the employment which his
nature craved. He was directed to embark in a vessel commanded by one
of the governor's tools, an infamous wretch by the name of De
Valenzuela. This man had been for many years a private, and was then
engaged in kidnapping Indians for the slave trade. He was ordered as
soon as the vessel was at sea, to chain M. Codro to the foremast, to
expose him to all the tortures of the blaze of a tropical sun by day
and chilling dews by night. The crew were enjoined to assail him with
insulting mockery. Thus exposed to hunger, burning heat, and incessant
abuse, he was to be kept through these lingering agonies until he
died.

For ten days the good man bore this cruel martyrdom, when he breathed
his last, and was buried on a small island about a hundred miles
southwest of Panama. This brutal assassination was so conducted, that
De Soto at the time had no knowledge of the tragedy which was being
enacted.

Early in the year 1526, Don Pedro, surrounded by a large retinue of
his obedient soldiery, left Panama to assume the government of
Nicaragua, to which he had no legitimate title. De Soto accompanied
the governor. Much as he detested his character, he could not forget
that he was the father of Isabella. When Don Pedro approached the
little town of Leon, he sent a courier before him, to order De Cordova
to meet him in the public square, with his municipal officers and his
clergy, prepared to give an account of his administration.

De Soto with his horsemen was ordered to form in line on one side of
the square. The foot soldiers of Don Pedro surrounded the governor on
the other side. All the vacant space was filled with citizens and
natives. By the side of the governor stood his executioner; a man of
gigantic stature and of herculean strength, whose massive sword few
arms but his could wield. De Cordova advanced to meet Don Pedro, and
bowing respectfully before him, commenced giving an account of the
state of affairs in the province. Suddenly he was interrupted in his
narrative by Don Pedro, who with forced anger exclaimed:

"Silence, you hypocrite! Your treasonable projects cannot be hidden
under these absurd pretensions of loyalty and patriotism: I will now
let your accomplices see how a traitor should be punished."

He made a sign to his executioner. His gleaming sword flashed through
the air, and in an instant the dissevered head of Cordova rolled in
the dust. The headsman grasped the gory trophy by the hair, and
raising it high above his head exclaimed,

"_Behold the doom of a traitor._"

All this took place in an instant. The spectators were horror
stricken. De Soto instinctively seized his sword, and would doubtless
have put spurs to his horse, rushed upon the governor, and plunged the
weapon to the hilt in his breast, but for the restraining memories of
the past. Hesitatingly he returned his sword to its scabbard.

But Don Pedro had not yet finished the contemplated work of the day.
Another victim he had doomed to fall. A file of soldiers, very
resolute men, led by a determined officer, crossing the square,
approached De Soto, at the head of his troops. Don Pedro then
exclaimed in a loud voice,

"Ferdinand De Soto, you are ordered to dismount and submit yourself to
the punishment which you have just seen inflicted on your traitorous
comrade. Soldiers! drag him from his horse if he refuse to obey."

The officer reached forth his hand to seize De Soto. Like lightning's
flash, the sword of the cavalier fell upon the officer, and his head
was cleft from crown to chin. The spurs were applied to the fiery
steed. He plunged through the soldiers, knocking several of them down,
and in an instant De Soto had his sword's point at the breast of the
governor. Shouts of "kill the tyrant," rose from all parts of the
square, which were echoed even from the ranks of Don Pedro's soldiers.
Again De Soto held back his avenging hand; but in words which made Don
Pedro quake in his shoes, he said,

"You hear the expression of public sentiment. You hear the wishes of
those who are subject to your authority. It is the voice of justice
speaking through these people. In refusing to obey the call, I am
scarcely less guilty than yourself. But remember, Don Pedro, that in
sparing your life at this moment, I discharge all the obligations I
have owed you. Miserable old man! Be thankful that the recollection of
one that is absent, can make me forget what I owe to my murdered
friend.

"I will now sheathe my sword, but I solemnly declare by the sacred
emblem of the cross which it bears, that I will never draw it again in
your service."

The assassination, for it could hardly be called execution, of De
Cordova, excited the general indignation of the Spanish settlers. They
all knew that Don Pedro had no authority from the king of Spain to
assume the government of Nicaragua, and that he was therefore an
usurper. The noble character which De Soto had exhibited, and his
undeniable ability and bravery, had won for him universal regard. The
Spaniards generally rallied around him, and entreated him to assume
the command, promising him their enthusiastic support. They could not
comprehend why De Soto so persistently refused their solicitations.
They knew nothing of the secret reasons which rendered it almost
impossible for De Soto to draw his sword against the father of
Isabella.

As we have mentioned, it was generally supposed that there must be
some strait between the Isthmus of Darien and the southern frontiers
of Mexico, which connected the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans. The king of Spain had offered a large reward for the discovery
of this passage. Several of the wealthy citizens of Leon organized an
expedition in pursuit of this object. De Soto was placed at its head.
He selected, from his cavalry troop, five of his most intelligent and
energetic young men. They started from Leon, and followed along the
coast of the Pacific, in northwesterly course, penetrating every bay
and inlet. They travelled on horseback and encountered innumerable
difficulties from the rugged and pathless wilderness, through which
they pressed their way. They also had much to fear from the unfriendly
character of the natives, whose hostility had been aroused by the
outrages which companies of vagabond Spaniards had inflicted upon
them.

De Soto, however, and his companions, by their just and kindly spirit,
soon won the regards of the Indians. They found that the natives
possessed large quantities of gold, which they seemed to esteem of
little value. Eagerly they exchanged the precious metal for such
trinkets as the explorers took with them. Upon this arduous
expedition, which De Soto managed with consummate skill, he was absent
eleven months. Seven hundred miles of sea-coast were carefully
explored, and he became fully convinced that the looked-for strait did
not exist. Though in this respect the expedition had proved a
failure, he returned to Leon quite enriched by the gold which he had
gathered. With honesty, rarely witnessed in those days, he impartially
divided the treasure among the projectors of the enterprise.

As De Soto was returning, he discovered a small Spanish vessel
anchored near the present site of San Salvador. As his men and horses
were worn down by their fatiguing journey, he engaged a passage in the
vessel to Leon. Upon embarking he found the captain and crew consisted
of some of the most depraved and brutal men who had ever visited the
New World. They were cruising along the coast, watching for
opportunity to kidnap the natives, to convey them to the West Indies
as slaves. The captain was the infamous Valenzuela, who, as agent of
Don Pedro, had tortured M. Codro to death.

De Soto had no knowledge, as we have mentioned, of the dreadful doom
which had befallen his friend. One day the fiendlike captain was
amusing his crew with a recital of his past deeds of villany. He told
the story of the murder of Codro.

"He was," he said, "an old wizard whom Don Pedro, the governor of
Panama, commissioned me to torture and to put to death, in consequence
of some treachery of which he had been guilty while on a mission to
Spain."

The words caught the ear of De Soto. He joined the group, and listened
with breathless attention and a throbbing heart, to the statement of
Valenzuela.

"I chained the old fellow," said the captain, "to the mainmast, and
the sailors amused themselves by drenching him with buckets of cold
water, till he was almost drowned. After several days, he became so
sick and exhausted, that we saw that our sport would soon be at an
end. For two days he was speechless. He then suddenly recovered the
use of his voice, and endeavored to frighten me by saying:

"'Captain, your treatment has caused my death. I now call upon you to
hear the words of a dying man. Within a year from this time, I summon
you to meet me before the judgment seat of God.'"

Here the captain burst into a derisive and scornful laugh. He then
added:

"Come comrades, we'll have a hamper of wine, and drink to the repose
of M. Codro's soul."

De Soto stepped forward, and repressing all external exhibition of the
rage which consumed his soul, said calmly to the captain,

"You say that the astrologer prophesied that you should die within the
year. When will that year expire?"

"In about two weeks," the captain replied. "But I have no fear but
that the prophet will prove to be a liar."

"He shall not," De Soto added. And drawing from his scabbard his keen,
glittering sword, with one blow from his sinewy arm, severed the
captain's head from his body. The ghastly trophy rolled gushing with
blood upon the deck. These wild and savage men were accustomed to such
scenes. They admired the courage of De Soto, and the marvellous skill
with which, at one blow, he had struck off the head of the captain. De
Soto then turned to the crowd and said:

"Gentlemen, if any of you are disposed to hold me accountable for what
I have just done, I am ready to answer you according to your desires.
But I consider myself bound, in reason and in courtesy, to inform you,
that M. Codro, the man whom this villain murdered, was my friend; and
I doubt not that he was condemned to death for doing me an important
service."

All seemed satisfied with this explanation. These sanguinary scenes in
those days produced but a momentary impression.

De Soto and Don Pedro no longer held any intercourse with each other.
The reign of the usurping governor was atrocious beyond the power of
language to express. With horses and bloodhounds he ran down the
natives, seizing and selling them as slaves. Droves of men, women and
children, chained together, were often driven into the streets of
Leon.

The assumption then was that a nominal Christian might pardonably
inflict any outrages upon those who had not accepted the Christian
faith. Several of the Indian chiefs had embraced Christianity. Don
Pedro compelled them all to pay him a tribute of fifty slaves a month.
All orphans were to be surrendered as slaves. And then the wretch
demanded that all parents who had several children, should surrender
one or more, as slaves to the Spaniards. The natives were robbed of
their harvests, so that they had no encouragement to cultivate the
soil. This led to famine, and more than twenty thousand perished of
starvation. Famine introduced pestilence. The good Las Casas declares
that in consequence of the oppressions of the Spaniards, in ten years,
more than sixty thousand of the natives of Nicaragua perished.

About this time Francisco Pizarro had embarked in a hair-brained
enterprise for the conquest of Peru, on the western coast of South
America. Very slowly he had forced his way along, towards that vast
empire, encountering innumerable difficulties, and enduring frightful
sufferings, until he had reached a point where his progress seemed to
be arrested. His army was greatly weakened, and he had not sufficient
force to push his conquests any farther. Threatened with the utter
extermination of his band, he remembered De Soto, whom he had never
loved. He knew that he was anxious for fame and fortune, and thought
that his bravery and great military ability might extricate him from
his embarrassments.

He therefore wrote to Don Pedro, praying that De Soto, with
reinforcements, might be sent to his aid. For three years there had
been no communication whatever between the governor and the lover of
his daughter. But Don Pedro regarded the adventure of Pizarro as
hazardous in the extreme, and felt sure that all engaged in the
enterprise would miserably perish. Eagerly he caught at the idea of
sending De Soto to join them; for his presence was to Don Pedro a
constant source of annoyance and dread. He therefore caused the
communication from Pizarro to be conveyed to De Soto, saying to the
messenger who bore it:

"Urge De Soto to depart immediately for Peru. And I pray Heaven that
we may never hear of him again."

De Soto, not knowing what to do with himself, imprudently consented,
and thus allied his fortunes with those of one of the greatest
villains of any age or country.

CHAPTER V.

_The Invasion of Peru._

The Kingdom of Peru.--Its Metropolis.--The Desperate
Condition of Pizarro.--Arrival of De Soto.--Character of the
Spaniards.--Exploring tour of De Soto.--The Colony at San
Miguel.--The General Advance.--Second Exploration of De
Soto.--Infamous Conduct of the Pizarros.

The kingdom of Peru, skirting the western coast of South America,
between the majestic peaks of the Andes and the mirrored waters of the
Pacific Ocean, was one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
This kingdom, diversified with every variety of scenery, both of the
sublime and the beautiful, and enjoying a delicious climate, was about
eighteen hundred miles in length and one hundred and fifty in breadth.
The natives had attained a high degree of civilization. Though
gunpowder, steel armor, war horses, and bloodhounds gave the barbarian
Spaniards the supremacy on fields of blood, the leading men, among the
Peruvians, seem to have been in intelligence, humanity and every
virtue, far superior to the savage leaders of the Spaniards, who so
ruthlessly invaded their peaceful realms.

The metropolis of the empire was the city of Cuzo, which was situated
in a soft and luxuriant valley traversing some table-lands which were
about twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea. The government
of the country was an absolute monarchy. But its sovereign, called the
Inca, seems to have been truly a good man, the father of his people;
wisely and successfully seeking their welfare. The Peruvians had
attained a degree of excellence in many of the arts unsurpassed by the
Spaniards. Their houses were generally built of stone; their massive
temples, though devoid of architectural beauty, were constructed of
hewn blocks of granite, so admirably joined together that the seams
could be with difficulty discerned.

Humbolt found, among the ruins of these temples, blocks of hewn stone
thirty-six feet long, nine feet wide, and six feet in thickness. Their
great highways, spanning the gulfs, clinging to the precipitous cliffs
and climbing the mountains, were wonderful works of mechanical skill.

De Soto was thoroughly acquainted with the cruel, faithless, and
treacherous character of Pizarro. A stigma must ever rest upon his
name, for consenting to enter into any expedition under the leadership
of such a man. It may however be said, in reply, that he had no
intention of obeying Pizarro in any thing that was wrong; that his
love of adventure was roused by the desire to explore one of the most
magnificent empires in the New World, which rumor had invested with
wealth and splendor surpassing the dreams of romance. And perhaps,
most important of all, he hoped _honestly_ to be able to gather from
the fabled mines of gold, with which Peru was said to be filled, that
wealth with which he would be enabled to return to Spain and claim the
hand, as he had already won the heart, of the fair and faithful
Isabella.

Pizarro had entered upon his enterprise with an army of one hundred
and eighty men, twenty-seven of whom were mounted. It seems to be the
uncontradicted testimony of contemporary historians, that this army
was composed of as worthless a set of vagabonds as ever disgraced
humanity. There was no crime or cruelty from which these fiends in
human form would recoil.

Pizarro, following down the western coast of South America five or six
hundred miles, had reached the island of Puna, in the extreme northern
part of Peru. It was separated from the mainland by a narrow strait.
The inhabitants received him cordially, but the murders, rapine and
other nameless atrocities, perpetrated by the Spaniards upon the
friendly natives, soon so aroused their resentment that a conspiracy
was formed for the entire extermination of the invaders. The
expedition had become so weakened and demoralized that even Pizarro
saw that it would be the height of imprudence for him to venture, with
his vile crew, upon the mainland, before reinforcements under some
degree of military discipline should arrive. He was in this precarious
condition, and on the eve of extermination, when De Soto and his
select and well-ordered troops reached the island.

They came in two vessels, bringing with them an abundant supply of
arms and ammunition. The party consisted of fifty men, thoroughly
equipped. Thirty of them were steel-clad cavaliers, well mounted. De
Soto had been offered the rank of second in command. But when he
arrived at Puna, he found that Pizarro's brother--Hernando--occupied
this post, and that he had no intention of relinquishing it. De Soto
reproached Pizarro in very plain terms for this wrong and insult. He
however did not allow it long to trouble him. Surrounded by his own
brave and devoted followers, he felt quite independent of the
authority of Pizarro, and had no intention of obeying him any farther
than might be in accordance with his own wishes.

On the other hand, Pizarro had but little confidence in his brother,
and was fully conscious that the success of his enterprise would be
mainly dependent upon the energy and skill of De Soto.

Pizarro, now finding himself at the head of really a formidable force,
prepared to pass over to the mainland. There was quite a large town
there called Tumbez, surrounded by a rich and densely populated
country. The Peruvians had gold in abundance, and weapons and utensils
of copper. With iron and steel, they were entirely unacquainted. As
when fighting at a distance, the bullet of the Spaniard was
immeasurably superior to the arrow of the native, so in a hand to hand
fight, the keen and glittering sabre of steel, especially in the hands
of steel-clad cavaliers left the poorly armed Peruvians almost
entirely at their mercy.

Arrangements were made to cross the strait and make a descent upon
Tumbez. Pizarro had already visited the place, where he had been
kindly received by the inhabitants, and where he had seen with his own
eyes that the houses and temples were decorated with golden ornaments,
often massive in weight, and of almost priceless value. He floated his
little band across the narrow strait on rafts.

The inhabitants of Tumbez and its vicinity had been disposed to
receive their Spanish visitors as guests, and to treat them with the
utmost courtesy and kindness. But the tidings had reached them of the
terrible outrages which they had inflicted upon the inhabitants of
Puna. They therefore attacked the Spaniards as they approached the
shore on their rafts and endeavored to prevent their landing. But the
invaders, with musketry and a cannon which they had with them,
speedily drove off their assailants, and with horses and hounds
planted their banners upon the shore. They then marched directly upon
Tumbez, confident of gathering, from the decorations of her palaces
and her temples, abounding wealth. Bitter was their disappointment.
The Peruvians, conscious of their probable inability to resist the
invaders, had generally abandoned the city, carrying with them, far
away into the mountains, all their treasures.

The Spaniards, who had entered the city with hideous yells of triumph,
being thus frustrated in the main object of their expedition, found,
by inquiry, that at the distance of several leagues easterly from the
sea-coast, among the pleasant valleys of the mountains, there were
populous cities, where abundance of booty might be found.

The whole number of Spaniards, then invading Peru, did not exceed two
hundred and fifty. The Peruvians were daily becoming more deeply
exasperated. With such a number of men, and no fortified base to fall
back upon, Pizarro did not deem it safe to enter upon a plundering
tour into the interior. Keeping therefore about one hundred and
thirty men with him, and strongly fortifying himself at Tumbez, he
sent De Soto, at the head of eighty men, sixty of whom were mounted,
back into the mountains, to search for gold, and to report respecting
the condition of the country, in preparation for future expeditions.

The bad fame of Pizarro was spreading far and wide. And though De Soto
enjoined it strictly upon his men, not to be guilty of any act of
injustice, still he was an invading Spaniard, and the Peruvians
regarded them all as the shepherd regards the wolf. De Soto had passed
but a few leagues from the seashore, ere he entered upon the hilly
country. As he was ascending one of the gentle eminences, a band of
two thousand Indians, who had met there to arrest his progress, rushed
down upon him. His sixty horsemen instantly formed in column and
impetuously charged into their crowded ranks. These Peruvians had
never seen a horse before. Their arrows glanced harmless from the
impenetrable armor, and they were mercilessly cut down and trampled
beneath iron hoofs. The Spaniards galloped through and through their
ranks, strewing the ground with the dead. The carnage was of short
duration. The panic-stricken Peruvians fled wherever there was a
possibility of escape. The trumpets of the conquerors pealed forth
their triumphant strains. The silken banners waved proudly in the
breeze, and the victors exultingly continued their march through one
of the defiles of the mountains.

Whatever excuses De Soto may make for himself, humanity will never
forgive him for the carnage of that day. Having thus fairly embarked
upon this enterprise, where he was surely gaining military renown,
infamous as it was, and where there was the prospect before him of
plunder of incalculable worth, De Soto seems to have assumed to act
upon his own responsibility, and to have paid very little regard to
the authority of Pizarro, whom he had left behind. He had already
penetrated the country much farther than he had been authorized to do
by the orders of his superior. One of the men, whom Pizarro had sent
with him, very probably as a spy upon his movements, deserted, and
returned to Tumbez with the report that De Soto was already
practically in revolt, and had renounced all dependence on Pizarro.
For this alleged insubordination, Pizarro did not venture to call his
energetic lieutenant to account.

In the mean time, Pizarro was exploring the country in the vicinity of
Tumbez, for the site of the colony he wished to establish. He selected
a position about ninety miles south of that city, in a rich and
well-watered valley which opened upon the placid surface of the
Pacific. His troops were transported to the spot by the two vessels.
Here he laid the foundations of a town, which he called San Miguel.
With timber from the mountains, and stone from the quarries, and the
labor of a large number of natives, who were driven to daily toil,
not as servants, by the stimulus of well-paid labor, but as slaves,
goaded by the sabres of their task masters, quite a large and
strongly-fortified town rapidly arose.

De Soto continued his explorations in the interior for some time, and
discovered a very magnificent highway, leading to the capital of the
empire. It was smoothly paved with flat blocks of stone, or with
cement harder than stone. He returned to San Miguel with the report of
his discoveries, and quite richly laden with the gold which he had
received as a present from the natives, or which he had seized as what
he considered the lawful spoils of war. The sight of the gold inspired
all the Spaniards at San Miguel with the intense desire to press
forward into a field which promised so rich a harvest.

It was ascertained that the Inca had command of an army of over fifty
thousand men. Pizarro, leaving sixty men in garrison at San Miguel,
set out with one hundred and ninety men to visit the Inca in his
capital. De Soto accompanied him. It was not ostensibly a military
expedition, seeking the conquest of the country, or moving with any
hostile intent whatever. De Soto had a conscience; Pizarro had none.
Whatever reproaches might arise in the mind of De Soto in reference to
the course he was pursuing, he silenced them by the very plausible
assumption that he was an ambassador from the king of Spain,
commissioned to make a friendly visit to the monarch of another
newly-discovered empire; that he was the messenger of peace seeking to
unite the two kingdoms in friendly relations with each other for their
mutual benefit. This was probably the real feeling of De Soto. The
expedition was commissioned by the king of Spain. The armed retinue
was only such as became the ambassadors of a great monarch. Such an
expedition was in every respect desirable. The fault--perhaps we ought
in candor to say the calamity--of De Soto was in allowing himself to
be attached to an expedition under a man so thoroughly reckless and
unprincipled as he knew Pizarro to have been. Perhaps he hoped to
control the actions of his ignorant and fanatic superior officer. It
is quite manifest that De Soto did exert a very powerful influence in
giving shape to the expedition.

An Indian courier was sent forward to Cuzco, one of the capitals of
the Peruvian monarch, with a friendly and almost an obsequious message
to the Inca, whose name was Attahuallapa. The courier bore the
communication that Pizarro was an ambassador commissioned by the king
of Spain to visit the king of Peru, and to kiss his hand in token of
peace and fraternity. He therefore solicited that protection in
passing through the country which every monarch is bound to render to
the representatives of a foreign and friendly power.

Pizarro, as it will be remembered, was a rough and illiterate soldier,
unable either to read or write. In this sagacious diplomatic
arrangement, we undoubtedly see the movement of De Soto's reflective
and cultivated mind. The expedition moved slowly along, awaiting the
return of the courier. He soon came back with a very indefinite
response, and with a present of two curiously carved stone cups, and
some perfumery. The guarded reply and the meagre present excited some
alarm in the Spanish camp. It was very evident that the expedition was
not to anticipate a very cordial reception at the Peruvian court.
Pizarro was much alarmed. He was quite confident that the Inca was
trying to lure them on to their ruin. Having called a council of war,
he urged that they should proceed no farther until he had sent some
faithful Indian spies to ascertain the intentions of Attahuallapa.

But De Soto, whose youthful energies were inspired by love and
ambition, was eager to press forward.

"It is not necessary," said he, "for the Inca to use treachery with
us. He could easily overpower us with numbers were he so disposed. We
have also heard that he is a just and merciful prince; and the
courtesy he has already shown us, is some token at least of his good
will. But why should we hesitate? We have no longer any choice but to
go forward. If we now retreat, it will prove our professions to be
false; and when the suspicions of the Inca are once aroused, we shall
find it impossible to escape from his country."

Pizarro's brother--Hernando--was a man of ignoble birth, of ruffianly
manners, of low and brutal character. Tauntingly he inquired of De
Soto, if he were ready to give proof of his confidence in the faith of
the Peruvian monarch, by going forward to his court, as an envoy from
the embassy.

De Soto turned his keen and flashing eye upon the man, whom he
despised, and said in slow and measured words:

"Don Hernando, I may yet convince you that it is neither civil nor
safe to call my sincerity in question. I have as much confidence in
the honor of the Inca as I have in the integrity of any man in this
company, not excepting the commander or yourself. I perceive that you
are disposed to go backward. You may all return, when and how you
please, or remain where you are. But I have made up my mind to present
myself to Attahuallapa. And I shall certainly do so, without asking
the assistance or permission of any of your party."

This was certainly a very defiant speech. It asserted his entire
rejection of the authority of Pizarro. De Soto could not have dared
thus to have spoken, unless he had felt strong in the support of his
own dragoons.

Hernando Pizarro was silent, indulging only in a malignant smile. It
was not safe for him to provoke De Soto to a personal rencontre.
Francisco Pizarro smothered his chagrin and very adroitly availed
himself of this statement, to commission De Soto to take twenty-four
horsemen, such as he might select, and accompanied by an Indian guide
called Filipillo, go forward to the Peruvian court.

Both of the Pizarros seemed quite relieved when the sound of the
departing squadron of brave cavaliers died away in the distance. De
Soto, during the whole of his adventurous life, seems to have been
entirely unconscious of the emotion of fear. During his residence in
the camp of the Pizarros, he had exerted a powerful restraint upon
their ferocious natures. He had very earnestly endeavored to impress
their minds with the conviction that they could not pass through the
populous empire of Peru, or even remain in it, if their followers were
allowed to trample upon the rights of the natives. So earnestly and
persistently did he urge these views, that Pizarro at length
acknowledged their truth, and in the presence of De Soto, commanded
his men to abstain from every act of aggression.

But now that De Soto was gone, the Pizarros and their rabble rout of
vagabonds breathed more freely. Scarcely had the plumed helmets of the
cavaliers disappeared in the distance, when Hernando Pizarro set out
on a plundering expedition into the villages of the Peruvians. The
natives fled in terror before the Spaniards. Pizarro caught one of the
leading men and questioned him very closely respecting the designs of
Attahuallapa. The captive honestly and earnestly declared, that he
knew nothing about the plans of his sovereign.

This demoniac Hernando endeavored to extort a confession from him by
torture. He tied his victim to a tree, enveloped his feet in cotton
thoroughly saturated with oil and applied the torch. The wretched
sufferer in unendurable agony, said "yes" to anything and everything.
Two days after, it was proved that he could not have known anything
respecting the intended operations of the Inca. It is a satisfaction
to one's sense of justice to remember that there is a God who will not
allow such crimes to go unpunished.

De Soto, with his bold cavaliers, pressed rapidly on towards the
Peruvian camp. Very carefully he guarded against every act of
hostility or injustice. Everywhere the natives were treated with the
utmost courtesy. In the rapid advance of the Spaniards through the
country, crowds flocked to the highway attracted by the novel
spectacle. And a wonderful spectacle it must have been! These
cavaliers, with their nodding plumes, their burnished armor, their
gleaming sabres, their silken banners, mounted on magnificent war
horses and rushing along over the hills and through the valleys in
meteoric splendor, must have presented an aspect more imposing to
their minds than we can well imagine.

De Soto, who had not his superior as a horseman in the Spanish army,
was mounted on a milk white steed of extraordinary size and grace of
figure, and wore a complete suit of the most costly and showy armor.
It is said that on one occasion his path was crossed by a brook twenty
feet wide. The noble animal disdained to wade through, but cleared it
at a single bound.

The crowds who lined the highways seemed to understand and appreciate
the friendly feelings De Soto manifested in gracefully bowing to them
and smiling as he passed along. He soon ascertained, though his guide
Filipillo, that the headquarters of the Peruvian camp was at a place
now called Caxamarca, among the mountains, about eighty miles
northeast of the present seaport of Truxillo.

After a rapid ride of about six hours, the expedition approached quite
a flourishing little town called Caxas. Several hundred Peruvian
soldiers were drawn up in battle array in the outskirts, to arrest the
progress of the Spaniards. De Soto halted his dragoons, and sent
forward Filipillo to assure the commandant that he was traversing the
country not with any hostile intent, and that he bore a friendly
message from his own sovereign to the king of Peru.

The kindly disposed Peruvians immediately laid aside their arms,
welcomed the strangers, and entertained them with a sumptuous feast.
Thus refreshed, they pressed on several leagues farther, until they
reached a much larger city called Guancabama. From all the accounts
given it would seem that the inhabitants of this region had reached a
degree of civilization, so far as the comforts of life are concerned,
fully equal to that then to be found in Spain. This city was on the
magnificent highway which traversed fifteen hundred miles through the
very heart of the empire. The houses, which were built of hewn stone,
admirably jointed, consisted of several rooms, and were distinguished
for cleanliness, order, and domestic comfort.

The men seemed intelligent, the women modest, and various arts of
industry occupied their time. De Soto testified that the great highway
which passed through this place far surpassed in grandeur and utility
any public work which had ever been attempted in Spain. Happy and
prosperous as were the Peruvians, compared with the inhabitants of
most other countries, it is quite evident that the ravages of the Fall
were not unknown there.

Just before entering the town, De Soto passed a high gibbet upon which
three malefactors were hung in chains, swaying in the breeze. That
revolting spectacle revealed the sad truth that in Peru, as well as
elsewhere, man's fallen nature developed itself in crime and woe. The
Emperor had also a large standing army, and the country had just been
ravaged by the horrors of civil war.

De Soto was kindly received at Guancabama. Just as he was about to
leave for Caxamarca, an envoy from the Inca reached the city on its
way to the Spanish camp. The ambassador was a man of high rank.
Several servants accompanied him, laden with presents for Pizarro. He
entreated De Soto to return with him to the headquarters of the
Spaniards. As these presents and this embassy would probably convince
Pizarro of the friendly feeling of the Peruvian monarch, De Soto
judged it wise to comply with his request. Thus he turned back, and
the united party soon reached Pizarro's encampment.

CHAPTER VI.

_The Atrocities of Pizarro._

Fears of Pizarro.--Honorable Conduct of the Inca.--The March
to Caxamarca.--Hospitable Reception.--Perfidious Attack upon
the Inca.--His Capture and Imprisonment.--The Honor of De
Soto.--The Offered Ransom.--Treachery and Extortion of
Pizarro.

The report which De Soto brought back was in many respects quite
alarming to the Pizarros. Though they were delighted to hear of the
wealth which had been discovered, and the golden ornaments decorating
houses, temples and shrines, they were not a little alarmed in the
contemplation of the large population over which the Inca reigned, and
of the power of his government. The spectacle of the gallows also at
Guancabama, caused very uncomfortable sensations.

Both of these men were aware that they and their troops had committed
crimes which would doom them to the scaffold, should the Inca be able
to punish them according to their deserts. Indeed it subsequently
appeared, that the Inca had heard of their outrages. But with humanity
and a sense of justice which reflects lustre upon his name, he had
resolved not to punish them unheard in their own defence. He knew not
but that false representations had been made of the facts. He knew not
but that the Spaniards had been goaded to acts of retaliation by
outrages on the part of the Peruvians.

He therefore invited the Spanish adventurers to meet him at Caxamarca,
assuring them of a safe passage to that place. With fear and trembling
Pizarro consented, with his little band of two hundred and fifty men,
to visit the Peruvian camp, where fifty thousand soldiers might be
arrayed against him. The path they were to traverse led through
defiles of the mountains, where a few hundred men could arrest the
march of an army. The Spaniards afterwards could not but admit, that
had the Inca cherished any perfidious design, he might with the utmost
ease have utterly exterminated them. Not a man could have escaped.

The march of these trembling men was not with the triumphant tramp of
conquerors. They did not enter the Peruvian camp with flourish of
trumpets and bugle blasts, but as peaceful ambassadors, with a showy
retinue, who had been permitted to traverse the country unharmed. The
sun was just sinking behind the rugged peaks of the mountains on the
fifteenth of November, 1532, when Pizarro's band rode into the streets
of Caxamarca. In the centre of the town there was a large public
square. On one side of that square was a spacious stone edifice, which
the Inca had caused to be prepared for the accommodation of his
guests. This building was a part of a strong fortress, within whose
massive walls, a small party of well armed men might easily defend
themselves against a host.

The fact that Attahuallapa assigned to them such quarters, proves
conclusively that he had no intention to treat them otherwise than in
the most friendly manner. The Inca, with the troops immediately under
his command, was encamped at a distance of about three miles from the
town. The treacherous Pizarro was ever apprehensive of treachery on
the part of others. He was an entire stranger to that calm and
peaceful courage which seemed always to reign in the bosom of De Soto.

Immediately after he reached Caxamarca he dispatched De Soto to inform
the Inca of his arrival. The Peruvian camp covered several acres of
ground, with substantial and commodious tents. In the centre there was
truly a magnificent pavilion, gorgeous in its decorations, which was
appropriated to the Inca. Attahuallapa was informed of the approach of
the Spanish cavaliers. He came from his tent and took his seat upon a
splendid throne prepared for the occasion. The Peruvian soldiers gazed
with amazement upon the spectacle of these horsemen as they were led
into the presence of their sovereign.

De Soto, with the native grace which attended all his actions,
alighted from his horse, bowed respectfully to the monarch, and said
in words which were interpreted by Filipillo.

"I am sent by my commander, Don Francisco Pizarro, who desires to be
admitted to your presence, to give you an account of the causes which
have brought him to this country, and other matters which it may
behoove your majesty to know. He humbly entreats you to allow him an
interview this night or to-morrow, as he wishes to make you an offer
of his services, and to deliver the message which has been committed
to him by his sovereign, the king of Spain."

Attahuallapa replied with much dignity and some apparent reserve, that
he cordially accepted the friendly offers of Pizarro, and would grant
him the desired interview the following morning. The Inca was a young
man about thirty years of age. He was tall, admirably formed, and with
a very handsome countenance. But there was an expression of sadness
overspreading his features, and a pensive tone in his address,
indicating that he was a man who had seen affliction.

The splendid steed from which De Soto had alighted was restlessly
pawing the ground at a short distance from the tent of the Inca,
attracting the particular attention and admiration of the sovereign.
De Soto, perceiving the admiration which his steed elicited,
remounted, and touching the spirited animal with the spur, went
bounding with almost the speed of the wind over the level plain,
causing his horse now to rear, and now to plunge, wheeling him around,
and thus exhibiting his excellent qualities. He then came down at full
speed to the spot where the Inca stood, until within a few feet of the
monarch, when he checked his horse so suddenly as to throw him back
upon his haunches. Some of the attendants of the Inca were evidently
alarmed; but the Inca himself stood proudly immovable. He reproved his
attendants for their timidity; and Mr. Prescott, who represents
Attahuallapa as a very cruel man, intimates that he put some of them
to death that evening for betraying such weakness before the
strangers. Refreshments were offered to De Soto and his party, and a
sort of wine was presented to them in golden cups, of extraordinary
size.

As De Soto, having fulfilled his mission, was about to leave the royal
presence and return to Caxamarca, Attahuallapa said:

"Tell your companions, that as I am keeping a fast, I cannot to-day
accept their invitation. I will come to them to-morrow. I may be
attended by a large and armed retinue. But let not that give you any
uneasiness. I wish to cultivate your friendship and that of your king.
I have already given ample proof that no harm is intended you, though
your captain, I am told, mistrusts me. If you think it will please him
better, I will come with few attendants and those unarmed."

De Soto warmly assured the Inca that no man could doubt his sincerity,
and begged him to consult his own taste entirely in reference to the
manner in which he would approach the Spaniards.

Upon the return of the cavalier to Pizarro, with an account of the
interview, that perfidious chieftain proposed to his men, that they
should seize the Inca and hold him in captivity as a hostage. Mr.
Prescott, in his account of this infamous procedure, speaks of it in
the following apologetic terms:

"Pizarro then summoned a council of his officers, to consider
the plan of operations, or rather to propose to them the
extraordinary plan on which he had himself decided. This was
to lay an ambuscade for the Inca, and take him prisoner in
the face of his whole army. It was a project full of peril,
bordering as it might well seem on desperation. But the
circumstances of the Spaniards were desperate. Whichever way
they turned they were menaced by the most appalling dangers.
And better was it to confront the danger, than weakly to
shrink from it when there was no avenue for escape. To fly
was now too late. Whither could they fly? At the first signal
of retreat the whole army of the Inca would be upon them.
Their movements would be anticipated by a foe far better
acquainted with the intricacies of the Sierra than
themselves; the passes would be occupied, and they would be
hemmed in on all sides; while the mere fact of this
retrograde movement would diminish the confidence and with it
the effective strength of his own men, while it doubled that
of the enemy."

The next morning was Saturday, the 16th of November, 1532. The sun
rose in a cloudless sky, and great preparations were made by the Inca
to display his grandeur and his power to his not very welcome guests.
A large retinue preceded and followed the monarch, while a courier was
sent forward to inform Pizarro of his approach. The Inca, habited in a
dress which was glittering with gems and gold, was seated in a
gorgeous open palanquin, borne upon the shoulders of many of his
nobles.

It was five o'clock in the afternoon, when the Inca, accompanied by a
small but unarmed retinue, entered the public square of the city. The
tents of his troops left outside, spread far and wide over the
meadows, indicating the presence of an immense host. The Inca was
clothed in a flowing robe of scarlet, woven of the finest wool, and
almost entirely covered with golden stars and the most precious gems.
His head was covered with a turban of variegated colors, to which
there was suspended a scarlet fringe, the badge of royalty. The
palanquin, or throne, on which he was seated, was apparently of pure
gold; and the cushion upon which he sat was covered with the most
costly gems. His nobles were also dressed in the highest possible
style of Peruvian wealth and art. It was estimated that the number of
the nobles and officers of the court who accompanied the king into the
square, was about two thousand. A large company of priests was also in
attendance, who chanted the Peruvian National Hymn.

It is very difficult for an honest mind to form any just conception of
such a religious fanatic, and such an irreligious wretch as this
Francisco Pizarro. Just before the Peruvians arrived he had attended a
solemn mass, in which the aid of the God of the Christians was
fervently implored in behalf of their enterprise. The mass was closed
with chanting one of the psalms of David, in which God is called upon
to arise and come to judgment. Friar Vincent, who was Pizarro's
spiritual adviser, and grand chaplain of the so-called Christian army,
was then sent forward with the Bible in one hand and a crucifix in the
other, to expound to the Inca the doctrines of the Christian faith,
stating that it was for that purpose, and for that only, that the
Spaniards had come into the country.

So far as we can judge from the uncertain records which have reached
us, the views he presented were what are called evangelical, though
highly imbued with the claims of the Papal Church. He described the
creation of man, his fall, the atonement by the crucifixion of the Son
of God, his ascension, leaving Peter and his successors, as his
vicegerents upon earth. Invested with this divine power, one of his
successors, the present Pope, had commissioned Pizarro to visit Peru,
to conquer and convert the natives to the true faith.

The Inca listened attentively to the arguments of the priest, but was
apparently unmoved by them. He calmly replied:

"I acknowledge that there is but one God, the maker of all things. As
for the Pope, I know him not. He must be insane to give away that
which does not belong to him. The king of Spain is doubtless a great
monarch, and I wish to make him my friend, but I cannot become his
vassal."

A few more words were interchanged, when the priest returned into the
stone fortress, where Pizarro stood surrounded by his soldiers. The
priest reported the conversation which had taken place; declared that
the Inca, in the pride of his heart, had rejected Christianity. He
therefore announced to Pizarro that he was authorized by the divine
law, to make war upon the Inca and his people.

"Go set on them at once," said he; "spare them not; kill these dogs
which so stubbornly despise the law of God. I absolve you."

The extraordinary scene which then ensued cannot perhaps be better
described than in the language of Mr. Prescott:

"Pizarro saw that the hour had come. He waved a white scarf
in the air, the appointed signal. The fatal gun was fired
from the fortress. Then springing into the square, the
Spanish captain and his followers shouted the old war cry of
'St. Jago, and at them!' It was answered by the battle cry of
every Spaniard in the city, as rushing from the avenues of
the great halls in which they were concealed, they poured
into the Plaza, horse and foot, and threw themselves into the
midst of the Indian crowd.

"The latter, taken by surprise, stunned by the reports of
artillery and musketry, the echoes of which reverberated like
thunder from the surrounding buildings, and blinded by the
smoke which rolled in sulphurous volumes along the square,
were seized with a panic. They knew not whither to fly for
refuge from the coming ruin. Nobles and commoners all were
trampled down under the fierce charge of the cavalry, who
dealt their blows right and left, without sparing; while
their swords, flashing through the thick gloom, carried
dismay into the hearts of the wretched natives, who now, for
the first time, saw the horse and his rider in all their
terrors. They made no resistance, as indeed they had no
weapons with which to resist.

"Every avenue to escape was closed, for the entrance to the
square was choked up with the dead bodies of men who had
perished in vain efforts to fly. And such was the agony of
the survivors, under the terrible pressure of their
assailants, that a large body of Indians, by their convulsive
struggles, burst through the wall of stone and dried clay,
which formed the boundary of the Plaza. It fell, leaving an
opening of more than a hundred paces, through which
multitudes now found their way into the country, still hotly
pursued by the cavalry, who, leaping the piles of rubbish,
hung on the rear of the fugitives, striking them down in all
directions.

"There were two great objects in view in this massacre. One
was to strike terror into the heart of the Peruvians; the
other was to obtain possession of the person of the Inca. It
seems that the nobles regarded their sovereign with almost
idolatrous homage. They rallied thickly around him, placed
their own bodies between him and the sabres of their
assailants, and made frantic endeavors to tear the cavaliers
from their saddles. Unfortunately they were unarmed, and had
neither arrows, javelins nor war clubs. The Inca sat helpless
in his palanquin, quite bewildered by the awful storm of war
which had thus suddenly burst around him. In the swaying of
the mighty mass, the litter heaved to and fro, like a ship in
a storm."

At length several of the nobles who supported it being slain, the
palanquin was overthrown, and the Inca, as he was falling to the
ground, was caught by the Spaniards. In the confusion of the affray,
Pizarro was slightly wounded in the hand by one of his own men. This
was the only hurt received by any Spaniard during the bloody affray.

The Inca being captured, the conflict in the square ceased. But there
was another object in view, as has been stated, and that was to strike
terror into the hearts of the Peruvians. Consequently the steel-clad
cavaliers pursued the fugitives in all directions, cutting them down
without mercy. Night, which followed the short twilight of the
tropics, put an end to the carnage, and the trumpets of Pizarro
recalled the soldiers, wiping their dripping sabres, to their
fortress. The number slain is variously estimated. The secretary of
Pizarro says that two thousand fell. A Peruvian annalist swells the
number of victims to ten thousand.

Attahuallapa, the monarch of the great kingdom of Peru, thus suddenly
found himself a prisoner in one of his own fortresses; surrounded by a
band of stern warriors, who had penetrated the heart of his empire
from a distance of more than two thousand leagues. Pizarro treated the
unhappy king with respect, and testifies to the dignity with which he
met his awful reverses. What part De Soto took in the outrages just
described, cannot now be known. He had unquestionably in good faith,
and as an honorable man, invited the Inca to visit Caxamarca, by which
invitation he had been enticed into the power of the Spaniards.

There is evidence that De Soto had no idea of the treachery which was
intended, for it was not until after he had left on his visit to the
Peruvian camp that the plot was formed for the seizure of the Inca.
Pizarro had two bodies of horsemen. One was commanded by his brother
Hernando, and the other by De Soto. There were thirty dragoons in each
band. Unquestionably, Hernando was a very eager participant in the
horrors of this day. It may be that De Soto, from the roof of the
fortress, was an inactive spectator of the scene. It does not seem
possible that with the character he had heretofore developed, he
could have lent his own strong arm and those of his horsemen to the
perpetration of a crime so atrocious. Still military discipline is a
terrible power. It sears the conscience and hardens the heart. The
fact that De Soto was present and that there are no evidences of
remonstrances on his part, has left a stigma upon his character which
time cannot efface.

The next morning these Spaniards, so zealous for the propagation of
the Christian faith, unmindful of their professed Christian mission,
betook themselves, with all alacrity, to the work of pillage. The
golden throne, and the royal wardrobe, were of very great value. The
nobles were clad in their richest garments of state, and the ground
was strewn with bodies of the dead, glittering in robes of gold and
gems. Having stripped the dead, they then entered the houses and
temples of Caxamarca and loaded themselves down with golden vases, and
other booty of great value. As one suggestive item, which reveals the
conduct of these brutal men, the good Las Casas states, that a Spanish
soldier seized a young Peruvian girl. When the mother rushed to rescue
her child, he cut off her arm with his sword, and then in his rage
hewed the maiden to pieces.

Pizarro now assumed the proud title of "The Conqueror of Peru." With
the sovereign as his prisoner, and elated by his great victory, he
felt that there was no resistance that he had to fear. It seems that
Attahuallapa had penetration enough to discern that De Soto was a very
different man in character from the Pizarros. He soon became quite
cordial and unreserved in his intercourse with him. And there is no
evidence that De Soto ever, in the slightest degree, betrayed his
confidence. One day the Inca inquired of De Soto for what amount of
ransom Pizarro would be willing to release him. De Soto was well aware
of the timidity and avarice of the captain. The love of the Peruvians
for their sovereign was such, that Pizarro was confident that so long
as Attahuallapa was in his power, they would not make war upon him. De
Soto felt therefore that there was no prospect that Pizarro would
release his captive for any ransom whatever, and sadly advised him to
resign all such hope. The Inca was greatly distressed. After a few
moments of silence, he said:

"My friend, do not deprive me of the only hope that can make life
supportable. I must be free, or I must die. Your commander loves gold
above all things. Surely I can purchase my liberty from him at some
price, and however unreasonable it may be, I am willing to satisfy his
demand. Tell me, I entreat of you, what sum you think will be
sufficient?"

For a moment De Soto made no reply. They were sitting in a room,
according to the statement of Pizarro's secretary, twenty-two feet
long and seventeen feet broad. Then turning to the Inca, and wishing
to impress his mind with the conviction that there was not any ransom
which could effect his release, he said:

"If you could fill this room with gold as high as I can reach with my
sword, Pizarro might perhaps accept it as your ransom."

"It shall be done," the Inca eagerly replied. "And I beg you to let
Pizarro know, that within a month from this day, my part of the
contract shall be fulfilled."

De Soto was troubled, for he had not intended that as an offer, but
rather as a statement of an impossibility. He however felt bound to
report the proposition to Pizarro. Much to his surprise the avaricious
captain readily accepted it. The contract was drawn up, and Pizarro
gave his solemn pledge that upon the delivery of the gold the prison
doors of the captive should be thrown open. But after the terms had
all been settled, the perfidious Spaniard craved a still higher
ransom, and declared that he would not release his victim unless
another room of equal size was equally filled with silver.

Attahuallapa could fully appreciate such dishonorable conduct; for in
all moral qualities he seems to have been decidedly superior to his
Spanish antagonist. But without any undignified murmurs, he submitted
to this extortion also. Matters being thus arranged, De Soto, with his
characteristic plain dealing, said to Pizarro:

"I hope you will remember, Don Francisco, that my honor is pledged for
the strict fulfilment of the contract on the part of the Spaniards.
Observe, therefore, that as soon as the gold and the silver are
produced, Attahuallapa must have his liberty."

CHAPTER VII.

_The Execution of the Inca, and Embarrassments of De Soto._

Pledges of Pizarro.--His Perfidy.--False Mission of De
Soto.--Execution of the Inca.--His Fortitude.--Indignation
of De Soto.--Great Embarrassments.--Extenuating
Considerations.--Arrival of Almagro.--March Towards the
Capital.

Pizarro gave his most solemn pledges, on his Christian faith, that so
soon as the money was paid the Inca should be released. The idea does
not seem to have entered the mind of Attahuallapa that Pizarro could
be guilty of the perfidy of violating those pledges. The unhappy
condition of the Inca excited the strong sympathies of De Soto. He
visited him often, and having a natural facility for the acquisition
of language, was soon able to converse with the captive in his own
tongue. Quite a friendship, founded on mutual esteem, sprang up
between them. By his strong intercession, Pizarro was constrained to
consent that the gold should not be melted into ingots, thus to fill
the designated space with its solid bulk, but that it should be
received and packed away in the form of vases, and ornaments, and
other manufactured articles, as brought in by the Peruvians.

Several of the principal officers of Attahuallapa's court were sent to
Cuzco, the capital of the empire, where the main treasures of the
kingdom were deposited. Three Spaniards accompanied these officers.
The Inca issued his orders that they should be treated with respect.
The people obeyed; for they knew that any injury or insult befalling
the Spaniards would bring down terrible retribution upon their beloved
sovereign. Peruvian agents were also dispatched to all the temples to
strip them of their ornaments, and to the homes of the nobility to
receive the plate and golden decorations which were eagerly
contributed as ransom for the king. The cornices and entablatures of
the temples were often of solid gold, and massive plates of gold
encrusted the walls. For several weeks there seemed to be a constant
procession of Peruvians entering the fortress, laden with golden vases
and innumerable other utensils, often of exquisite workmanship.

Within the allotted time the ransom, enormous as it was, was all
brought in. It is estimated that its value was equal to about twenty
million dollars of our money. The Inca now demanded his release. The
infamous Pizarro had perhaps originally intended to set him at
liberty. But he had now come to the conclusion that the Inca might
immediately rally around him, not only his whole army, but the whole
population of the kingdom, cut off the retreat of the Spaniards,
exterminate them, and win back all the plunder so unrighteously
extorted. Pizarro was consequently plotting for some plausible excuse
for putting the monarch to death. The Peruvians thus deprived of their
sovereign, and in a state of bewilderment, would be thrown into
anarchy, and the Spaniards would have a much better chance of
obtaining entire possession of the kingdom.

Pizarro did not dare to reveal to De Soto his treasonable designs. He
feared not only his reproaches, but his determined and very formidable
resistance. He therefore gave it as an excuse for postponing the
liberation of the Inca, that he must wait until he had made a division
of the spoils. The distribution was performed with imposing religious
ceremonies. Mass was celebrated, and earnest prayers were addressed to
Heaven that the work might be so performed as to meet the approbation
of God. A fifth part of the plunder was set apart for the king of
Spain, the Emperor, Charles the Fifth. Pizarro, as commander of the
expedition, came next, and his share amounted to millions. De Soto was
defrauded, not receiving half so much as Hernando Pizarro. Still, his
share in this distribution and in another which soon took place,
amounted to over five hundred thousand dollars. This was an enormous
sum in those days. It elevated him at once, in point of opulence, to
the rank of the proudest grandees of Spain.

The great object of De Soto's ambition was accomplished. He had
acquired fame and wealth beyond his most sanguine expectations. Thus
he was prepared to return to Spain and demand the hand of Isabella.
But his generous nature was troubled. He became very anxious for the
fate of the Inca. His own honor was involved in his release, and day
after day he became more importunate in his expostulations with
Pizarro.

"Whatever the consequences may be," said De Soto, "the Inca must now
be immediately set at liberty. He has your promise to that effect and
he has _mine_; and my promise, come what will, shall not be violated."

Pizarro urged, in view of their peril, the delay of a few weeks. De
Soto replied:

"Not a single week, not a day; if you do not liberate the prisoner, I
will take that liberty on myself."

"To give him his freedom at this time," Pizarro replied, "would be
certain destruction to us all."

"That may be," responded De Soto, "but that should have been
considered before he was admitted to ransom."

"But since that agreement was made," said Pizarro, "I have received
information which justifies me in changing my intentions.
Attahuallapa's officers, acting under his directions, are now engaged
in exciting an insurrection for the extermination of the Spaniards."

De Soto had no faith whatever in this accusation. There was a long and
angry controversy. Pizarro called in his interpreter Filipillo, who
was undoubtedly bribed to testify according to the wishes of his
master. He declared that the Inca was organizing this conspiracy. De
Soto was unconvinced. He still regarded the accusation as a groundless
calumny.

Finally they came to a compromise. The treacherous and wily Pizarro
suggested that De Soto should take a party of dragoons and proceed to
that section of the country, where it was said the conspirators were
assembling in vast numbers, in preparation for their onset upon the
Spaniards. If De Soto found no indication of such a movement, Pizarro
gave his solemn pledge, that immediately upon his return, he would
release Attahuallapa. De Soto agreed to the arrangement, and at once
set out on the journey.

Pizarro had thus accomplished his object, of being relieved of the
embarrassment of De Soto's presence, while he should lead the Inca to
his execution. A sort of council of war was held, though Attahuallapa
was not present, and nothing was heard in his defence. It was
necessary to proceed with the utmost expedition, as De Soto would soon
return. The horrible verdict of the court was, that the captive should
be burned to death at the stake. Pizarro himself, it is said, carried
the terrible intelligence to the prisoner.

The Inca, a young man in the very prime of life, being but thirty
years of age, was horror stricken, and for some time sat in silence,
not uttering a word. And then turning to Pizarro, he said:

"Is it possible that you can believe in a God and fear him, and yet
dare to commit such an act of injustice? What have I done to deserve
death in any form, and why have you condemned me to a death so unusual
and painful. Surely you cannot intend to execute this cruel sentence."

Pizarro assured him that the decree of the court was unalterable, and
must immediately be carried into effect.

"Think of the wrong you have already done me," said the Inca, "and do
not forget how much you are indebted to my kindness and forbearance. I
could easily have intercepted you in the mountain passes, and made you
all prisoners, or sacrificed you all justly to the offended laws of my
country. I could have overpowered you with my armed warriors at
Caxamarca. But I failed in my duty to my people in receiving you as
friends. You have robbed me of my kingdom and compelled me to insult
my Deity, by stripping his temples to satisfy your avarice.

"Of all my possessions, you have left me nothing but my life, and that
I supposed you would be willing to spare me, since you can gain
nothing by taking it away. Consider how hard it is for me to die, so
suddenly and without any warning of my danger. I have lived but thirty
years, and until very lately, I had every reason to hope for a long
and happy life. My prospects for happiness are blighted forever. But I
will not complain of that, if you will permit me to live out the term
which God and nature have allotted me."

The execution was to take place immediately. Pizarro waited only for
the sun to go down, that darkness might shroud the fiendlike deed. As
they were talking Pizarro's chaplain, Friar Vincent, came in to
prepare the victim for the sacrifice. He was dressed in his
ecclesiastical robes, and bore in his hand a large crucifix. Was he an
unmitigated knave, or was he a fanatic? Who but God can tell.

"It is time for you," said he, "to withdraw your thoughts from earthly
vanities and fix them upon the realities of the eternal world. You are
justly condemned to death, for your infidelity and other sins. I call
on you to accept the free gift of salvation which I now offer you, so
that you may escape the greater punishment of eternal fire."

The Inca seemed to pay little heed to these words, but with a gesture
of impatience and anger, exclaimed:

"Oh, where is De Soto? He is a good man, and he is my friend. Surely
he will not allow me to be thus murdered."

"De Soto," the priest replied, "is far away. No earthly help can avail
you. Receive the consolations of the Church; kiss the feet of this
image, and I will absolve you from your sins, and prepare you to enter
the kingdom of Heaven."

"I worship the Maker of all things," the Inca firmly replied. "As much
as I desire to live, I will not forsake the faith of my fathers to
prolong my life."

Two hours after sunset, the sound of the trumpet assembled the Spanish
soldiers by torchlight in the great square of Caxamarca. It was the
evening of the twenty-ninth of August, 1533. The clanking of chains
was heard as the victim, manacled hand and foot, toiled painfully over
the stone pavement of the square. He was bound by chains to the stake;
the combustible fagots were piled up around him. Friar Vincent then,
it is said, holding up the cross before the victim, told him that if
he would embrace Christianity he should be spared the cruel death by
the flames, and experience in its stead only the painless death of the
garotte, and that the Inca did, while thus chained to the stake,
abjure his religion and receive the rite of baptism. In reference to
this representation Mr. Lambert A. Wilmer, in his admirable life of
Ferdinand De Soto, says:

"As the traducers of the dead Inca were permitted to tell
their own story without fear of contradiction, it is
impossible to assign any limits to their fabrications. And
their testimony is probable, only when it tends to criminate
themselves. Perhaps the greatest injustice which these
slanderers have done to Attahuallapa's memory, was by
pretending that he became an apostate to his own religion
and a convert to Catholicism just before his death.

"If this story were true, how could Pizarro justify himself,
or how could the Pope and the king of Spain excuse him for
putting a Christian to death on account of sins committed by
an infidel. Surely the royal penitent, when he entered the
pale of the Holy Catholic Church, would be entitled to a
free pardon for those errors of conduct which were
incidental to his unregenerate condition. We are told that
when the Inca had consented to be baptized by Father
Vincent, Pizarro graciously commuted his sentence, and
allowed him to be strangled before his body was reduced to
ashes."

These fictions were doubtless contrived to illustrate Pizarro's
clemency, and Father Vincent's apostolic success.

The probability is, as others state, that the Inca remained firm to
the end; the torch was applied, and while the consuming flames
wreathed around him, he uttered no cry. In this chariot of fire the
spirit of this deeply outraged man was borne to the judgment of God.

De Soto soon returned. He was almost frantic with indignation when he
learned of the crime which had been perpetrated in his absence, and
perceived that his mission was merely an artifice to get him out of
the way. His rage blazed forth in the most violent reproaches.
Hastening to the tent of Pizarro, he rudely pushed aside a sentinel
who guarded the entrance, and found the culprit seated on a low stool,
affecting the attitude of a mourner. A large slouched hat was bent
over his eyes.

"Uncover yourself;" said De Soto, "unless you are ashamed to look a
human being in the face." Then with the point of his sword he struck
off his hat, exclaiming:

"Is it not enough that I have disgraced myself in the eyes of the
world by becoming your companion and confederate, making myself
accessory to your crimes, and protecting you from the punishment you
deserve. Have you not heaped infamy enough upon me, without
dishonoring me by the violation of my pledges, and exposing me to the
suspicion of being connected with the most cruel and causeless murder
that ever set human laws and divine justice at defiance? I have
ascertained, what you well knew before I left Caxamarca, that the
report of the insurrection was utterly false. I have met nothing on
the road but demonstrations of good will. The whole country is quiet,
and Attahuallapa has been basely slandered. You, Francisco Pizarro,
are his slanderer, and you are his murderer.

"To prove that I have had no participation in the deed, I will make
you accountable for his death. Craven and prevaricating villain as you
are, you shall not escape this responsibility. If you refuse to meet
me in honorable combat, I will denounce you to the king of Spain as a
criminal, and will proclaim you to the whole world as a coward and an
assassin."

Pizarro was both, an assassin and a coward. He stood in awe of his
intrepid lieutenant. He did not dare to meet him in a personal
rencontre, and he well knew that De Soto was not a man to be taken by
force or guile, as he could immediately rally around him the whole
body of his well-drilled dragoons. He therefore began to make excuses,
admitted that he had acted hastily, and endeavored to throw the blame
upon others, declaring that by their false representations they had
forced him to the act.

In the midst of the dispute, Pizarro's brothers--for there were two in
the camp--entered the tent. De Soto, addressing the three, said:

"I am the champion of Attahuallapa. I accuse Francisco Pizarro of
being his murderer." Then throwing his glove upon the floor, he
continued:

"I invite any man who is disposed to deny that Francisco Pizarro is a
coward and an assassin, to take it up."

The glove remained untouched. De Soto turned upon his heel
contemptuously, and left the tent, resolved, it is said, no longer to
have any connection whatever with such perfidious wretches. He
immediately resigned his commission as lieutenant-general and
announced his determination to return to Spain. But alas, for human
frailty and inconsistency, he was to take with him the five hundred
thousand dollars of treasure of which the Peruvians had been
ruthlessly despoiled. Perhaps he reasoned with himself,

"What can I do with it. The Inca is dead. It would not be wise to
throw it into the streets, and I surely am not bound to contribute it
to the already enormous wealth of Pizarro."

Another source of embarrassment arose. Reinforcements to the number of
two hundred men had just arrived at Caxamarca, under Almagro. They
had been sent forward from Panama, commissioned by the king of Spain
to join the enterprise. The whole number of Spanish soldiers,
assembled in the heart of the Peruvian empire, now amounted to about
five hundred. Mountain ridges rose between them and the sea-coast, in
whose almost impassable defiles a few hundred resolute men might
arrest the advance of an army. The Peruvians had a standing force of
fifty thousand soldiers. The whole population of the country was
roused to the highest pitch of indignation. They were everywhere
grasping their arms. Nothing but the most consummate prudence could
rescue the Spaniards from their perilous position. The danger was
imminent, that they would be utterly exterminated.

For De Soto, under these circumstances, to abandon his comrades, and
retire from the field, would seem an act of cowardice. He had no
confidence in the ability of the Pizarros to rescue the Spaniards. He
therefore judged that duty to his king and his countrymen demanded of
him that he should remain in Peru, until he could leave the army in a
safe condition.

Pizarro did not venture to resent the reproaches and defiance of De
Soto, but immediately prepared to avail himself of his military
abilities, in a march of several hundred miles south to Cuzco, the
capital of the empire. With characteristic treachery, Pizarro seized
one of the most distinguished nobles of the Peruvian court, and held
him as a hostage. This nobleman, named Chalcukima, had occupied some
of the highest posts of honor in the kingdom, and was greatly revered
and beloved by the Peruvians. Pizarro sent far and wide the
announcement, that upon the slightest movement of hostility on the
part of the natives, Chalcukima would be put to death.

The Spaniards now set out on their long march. It was in the month of
September, 1533, one of the most lovely months in that attractive
clime. But for the rapine, carnage and violence of war, such a tour
through the enchanting valley of the Cordilleras, in the midst of
fruits and flowers, and bird songs, and traversing populous villages
inhabited by a gentle and amiable people, would have been an
enterprise full of enjoyment. But the path of these demoniac men was
marked by the ravages of fiends. And notwithstanding the great
embarrassments in which De Soto found himself involved, it is very
difficult to find any excuse for him, in allowing himself to be one of
their number.

Francisco Pizarro led the band. His brother Hernando, De Soto, and
Almagro, were his leading captains. But it was the genius of De Soto
alone, with his highly disciplined dragoons, which conducted the
enterprise to a successful issue. He led the advance; he was always
sent to every point of danger; his sword opened the path, through
which Pizarro followed with his vagabond and plundering crew.

In trembling solicitude for his own safety, Pizarro not only held
Chalcukima as a hostage, but he also seized upon Topaxpa, the young,
feeble and grief-stricken son of the murdered Attahuallapa, and
declared him to be, by legitimate right, the successor to the throne.
Thus he still had the Inca in his power. The Peruvians were still
accustomed to regard the Inca with almost religious homage. Topaxpa
was compelled to issue such commands as Pizarro gave to him. Thus an
additional element of embarrassment was thrown into the ranks of the
Peruvians. Communication between different parts of the empire was
extremely difficult and slow. There were no mails and no horses. This
gave the mounted Spaniards a vast advantage over their bewildered
victims.

For several days the Spanish army moved delightfully along, through a
series of luxuriant valleys, where the secluded people had scarcely
heard of their arrival in the country. The movement of the glittering
host was one of the most wonderful pageants which Peruvian eyes had
ever beheld. A multitude of men, women and children, thronged the
highway, gazing with curiosity and admiration upon the scene, and
astonished by the clatter of the hoofs of the horses upon the
flag-stones, with which the national road was so carefully paved.
During these few days of peaceful travel the natives presented no
opposition to the march, and the presence of De Soto seemed to
restrain the whole army from deeds of ruffianly violence. Whenever
Pizarro wished to engage in any of his acts of villany, he was always
careful first to send De Soto away on some important mission.

They were now approaching a deep and rapid mountain stream, where the
bridge had either been carried away by the recent flood or had been
destroyed by the Peruvians. They were also informed that quite a large
army was gathered upon the opposite bank to arrest, with the aid of
the rushing torrent, the farther advance of the Spaniards. Pizarro
immediately ordered a halt. De Soto, with a hundred horsemen, was sent
forward to reconnoitre, and, if possible, to open the path. Almagro,
with two hundred footmen, followed closely behind to support the
cavalry.

De Soto, without paying much attention to his infantry allies, pressed
so rapidly forward as soon to leave them far behind. He reached the
river. It was a swollen mountain torrent. Several thousand natives,
brandishing their javelins and their war clubs, stood upon the
opposite bank of the stream. De Soto and his horsemen, without a
moment's hesitation, plunged into the stream, and some by swimming and
some by fording, soon crossed the foaming waters. As the war horses,
with their steel-clad riders, came rushing upon the Peruvians, their
keen swords flashing in the sunlight, a large part of the army fled in
great terror. It seemed to them that supernatural foes had descended
for their destruction.

A few remained, and fought with the energies of despair. But they were
powerless before the trampling horses and the sharp weapons of their
foes. They were cut down mercilessly, and it was the genius of De Soto
which guided in the carnage, and the strong arm of De Soto which led
in the bloody fray. And we must not forget that these Peruvians were
fighting for their lives, their liberty, their all; and that these
Spaniards were ruthless invaders. Neither can we greatly admire the
heroism displayed by the assailants. The man who is carefully gloved
and masked can with impunity rob the bees of their honey. The wolf
does not need much courage to induce him to leap into the fold of the
lambs.

In the vicinity of this routed army there was a pagan temple; that is,
a temple dedicated to the Sun, the emblem of the God of the
Peruvians. It was in those days thought that the heathen and all their
possessions, rightly belonged to the Christians; that it was the just
desert of the pagans to be plundered and put to death. Even the mind
of De Soto was so far in accord with these infamous doctrines of a
benighted age, that he allowed his troopers to plunder the temple of
all its rich treasures of silver and of gold. A very large amount of
booty was thus obtained. One of the principal ornaments of this temple
was an artificial sun, of large size, composed of pure and solid gold.

Mr. Wilmer, speaking of this event, judiciously remarks:

"De Soto, finding his path once more unobstructed, pushed
forward, evidently disposed to open the way to Cuzco without
the assistance of his tardy and irresolute commander. It is
a remarkable fact, and one which admits of no denial, that
every important military movement of the Spaniards in Peru,
until the final subjugation of the empire by the capture of
the metropolis, was conducted by De Soto. Up to the time to
which our narrative now refers, Pizarro had never fought a
single battle which deserved the name. The bloody tragedy of
Caxamarca, it will be remembered, was only massacre; the
contrivance and execution of which required no military
skill and no soldier-like courage. Pizarro acquired the
mastery of Peru by the act of a malefactor. And he was, in
fact, a thief and not a conqueror. The _heroic_ element of
this conquest is represented by the actions of De Soto."

CHAPTER VIII.

_De Soto Returns to Spain._

Dreadful Fate of Chalcukima.--His Fortitude.--Ignominy of
Pizarro.--De Soto's Advance upon Cuzco.--The Peruvian
Highway.--Battle in the Defile.--De Soto takes the
Responsibility.--Capture of the Capital and its
Conflagration.--De Soto's Return to Spain.--His Reception
there.--Preparations for the Conquest of Florida.

Considering the relations which existed between De Soto and Pizarro,
it is not improbable that each was glad to be released from the
presence of the other. It is very certain that so soon as De Soto was
gone, Pizarro, instead of hurrying forward to support him in the
hazardous encounters to which he was exposed, immediately engaged,
with the main body of his army, in plundering all the mansions of the
wealthy and the temples on their line of march. And it is equally
certain that De Soto, instead of waiting for the troops of Pizarro to
come up, put spurs to his horse and pressed on, as if he were anxious
to place as great a distance as possible between himself and his
superior in command.

Though De Soto had allowed his troops to plunder the temple of Xauxa,
he would allow no robbery of private dwellings, and rigidly prohibited
the slightest act of violence or injustice towards the persons of the
natives.

It will be remembered that Pizarro had threatened to hold Chalcukima
responsible for any act of hostility on the part of the Peruvians. He
now summoned his captive before him, and charged him with treason;
accusing him of having incited his countrymen to measures of
resistance. Chalcukima, with dignity and firmness which indicate a
noble character, replied:

"If it had been possible for me to communicate with the people, I
should certainly have advised them to do their duty to their country,
without any regard to my personal safety. But you well know that the
vigilance with which you have guarded me, has prevented me from making
any communication of the kind. I am sorry that it has not been in my
power to be guilty of the fact with which you charge me."

The wretched Pizarro, utterly incapable of appreciating the grandeur
of such a character, ordered him to be burned at the stake. The
fanatic robber and murderer, insulting the cross of Christ, by calling
himself a Christian, sent his private chaplain, Friar Vincent, to
convert Chalcukima to what he called the Christian faith. The priest
gave an awful description of the glooms of hell, to which the prisoner
was destined as a heathen. In glowing colors he depicted the
splendors of the celestial Eden, to which he would be admitted the
moment after his execution if he would accept the Christian faith. The
captive coldly replied:

"I do not understand your religion, and all that I have seen of it
does not impress me in its favor."

He was led to the stake. Not a cry escaped his lips, as the fierce
flames consumed his quivering flesh. From that scene of short, sharp
agony, we trust that his spirit ascended to be folded in the embrace
of his Heavenly Father. It is a fundamental principle in the teachings
of Jesus, that in every nation he that feareth God, and doeth
righteousness, is accepted of him. But God's ways here on earth are
indeed past all finding out. Perhaps the future will solve the
dreadful mystery, but at present, as we contemplate man's inhumanity
to man, our eyes are often blinded with tears, and our hearts sink
despairingly within us.

De Soto pressed rapidly onwards, league after league, over sublime
eminences and through luxuriant vales. The road was admirable: smooth
and clean as a floor. It was constructed only for foot passengers, as
the Peruvians had no animals larger than the lama or sheep. This
advance-guard of the Spanish army, all well mounted, and inspired by
the energies of their impetuous chief, soon reached a point where the
road led over a mountain by steps cut in the solid rock, steep as a
flight of stairs. Precipitous cliffs rose hundreds of feet on either
side. Here it was necessary for the troopers to dismount, and
carefully to lead their horses by the bit up the difficult ascent.

The road was winding and irregular, leading through the most savage
scenery. This pass, at its summit, opened upon smooth table-land,
luxuriant and beautiful under the influence of a tropical sun and
mountain showers and dews. About half way up this pass, upon almost
inaccessible crags, several thousand Peruvians had assembled to make
another attempt at resistance. Arrows and javelins were of but little
avail. Indeed they always rebounded from the armor of the Spaniards as
from the ledges of eternal rock.

But the natives had abundantly provided themselves with enormous
stones to roll down upon the heads of men and horses. Quite a band of
armed men were also assembled upon the open plain at the head of the
pass. As the Spaniards were almost dragging their horses up the gorge,
suddenly the storm of war burst upon them. Showers of stone descended
from the cliff from thousands of unseen hands. Huge boulders were
pried over and went thundering down, crashing all opposition before
them. It seems now incomprehensible why the whole squadron of
horsemen was not destroyed. But in this awful hour the self-possession
of De Soto did not for one moment forsake him. He shouted to his men:

"If we halt here, or attempt to go back, we must certainly perish. Our
only safety is in pressing forward. As soon as we reach the top of the
pass, we can easily put these men to flight."

Suiting his action to his words, and being at the head of his men, he
pushed forward with almost frantic energy, carefully watching and
avoiding the descending missiles. Though several horses and many men
were killed, and others sorely wounded, the majority soon reached the
head of the pass. They then had an unobstructed plain before them,
over which their horses could gallop in any direction at their utmost
speed.

Impetuously they fell upon the band collected there, who wielded only
the impotent weapons of arrows, javelins and war clubs. The Spaniards,
exasperated by the death of their comrades, and by their own wounds,
took desperate vengeance. No quarter was shown. Their sabres dripped
with blood. Few could escape the swift-footed steeds. The dead were
trampled beneath iron hoofs. Night alone ended the carnage.

During the night the Peruvians bravely rallied from their wide
dispersion over the mountains, resolved in their combined force to
make another attempt to resist their foes. They were conscious that
should they fail here, their case was hopeless.

At the commencement of the conflict a courier had been sent back, by
De Soto, to urge Almagro to push forward his infantry as rapidly as
possible. By a forced march they pressed on through the hours of the
night, almost upon the run. The early dawn brought them to the pass.
Soon the heart of De Soto was cheered as he heard their bugle blasts
reverberating among the cliffs of the mountains. Their banners
appeared emerging from the defile, and two hundred well-armed men
joined his ranks.

Though the Peruvians were astonished at this accession to the number
of their foes, they still came bravely forward to the battle. It was
another scene of slaughter for the poor Peruvians. They inflicted but
little harm upon the Spaniards, while hundreds of their slain soon
strewed the ground.

The Spanish infantry, keeping safely beyond the reach of arrow or
javelin, could, with the deadly bullet, bring down a Peruvian as fast
as they could load and fire, while the horsemen could almost with
impunity plunge into the densest ranks of the foe. The Peruvians were
vanquished, dispersed, and cut down, until the Spaniards even were
weary with carnage. This was the most important battle which was
fought in the conquest of Peru.

The field was but twenty-five miles from the capital, to which the
army could now advance by an almost unobstructed road. De Soto was
anxious to press on immediately and take possession of the city. He
however yielded to the earnest entreaties of Almagro, and consented to
remain where he was with his band of marauders. This delay, in a
military point of view, proved to be very unfortunate. Had they gone
immediately forward, the vanquished and panic-stricken Peruvians would
not have ventured upon another encounter. But Almagro was the friend
of Pizarro, dependent upon him, and had been his accomplice in many a
deed of violence. He was anxious that Pizarro should have the renown
of a conqueror, and should enjoy the triumph of riding at the head of
his troops into the streets of the vanquished capital.

This delay of several days gave the Peruvians time to recover from
their consternation, and they organized another formidable line of
defense in a valley which the Spaniards would be compelled to
traverse, a few miles from the city. Pizarro was still several miles
in the rear. De Soto dispatched a courier to him, informing him of the
new encounter to which the army was exposed, and stating that the
Peruvians were well posted, and that every hour of delay added to
their strength. Still Pizarro loitered behind; still Almagro expressed
his decided reluctance to advance before Pizarro's arrival. To add to
De Soto's embarrassments, he declared that De Soto was acting without
authority and in direct opposition to the orders of his superior.
After a little hesitancy De Soto resolved to take the responsibility
and to advance. He said to Almagro:

"A soldier who is entrusted with an important command, is not bound in
all cases to await the orders of his superior. Where there is
manifestly an important advantage to be gained, he must be allowed to
act according to his own discretion."

He then appealed to his own dragoons, saying to them:

"The whole success of our expedition now depends upon the celerity of
our movements. While we are waiting for Pizarro, our best chance for
victory will be lost."

With one united voice the dragoons of De Soto demanded to be led
forward. Availing himself of this enthusiasm, De Soto put his troops
in motion. The Peruvians were a few miles in advance, strongly posted
in a deep and rugged ravine, where they hoped that the movements of
the horses would be so impeded that they could accomplish but little.
They pressed forward, and the battle was immediately commenced. Both
parties fought with great fury. In the midst of the conflict a large
reinforcement of the natives came rushing upon the field, under the
leadership of a young Peruvian noble, who displayed truly chivalric
courage and energy. De Soto was ever where the blows fell thickest and
where danger was most imminent.

Quite a number of the Peruvians were slain, and many dead horses were
strewed over the field. At one time De Soto, separated from his
comrades by the surging tides of the battle, found himself surrounded
by twenty Peruvians, who, with arrows, javelins and battle clubs,
assailed him with the utmost impetuosity. Javelins and arrows glanced
harmless from the Spanish armor. But war clubs, armed with copper and
wielded by sinewy arms, were formidable weapons even for the belted
knight to encounter. De Soto, with his keen and ponderous sword, cut
his way through his assailants, strewing the ground with the dead. The
young Peruvian, who, it is said, was heir to the throne of the Inca,
had assumed the general command.

He gazed with astonishment upon the exploits of De Soto, and said in
despairing tones to his attendants: "It is useless to contend with
such enemies! These men are destined to be our masters."

Immediately he approached De Soto, throwing down his arms, advancing
alone, and indicating by gestures that he was ready to surrender. The
battle at once ceased, and most of the Peruvian army rushed
precipitately back towards the city. In a state of frenzy they applied
the torch in all directions, resolved to thwart the avarice of the
conqueror by laying the whole city and all its treasures in ashes. The
inhabitants of Cuzco, almost without exception, fled. Each one seized
upon whatever of value could be carried away. Volumes of smoke and the
bursting flames soon announced to the Spaniards the doom of the city.

De Soto and his dragoons put spurs to their horses and hastened
forward, hoping to extinguish the conflagration. Now that the battle
was fought and the victory won, Francisco Pizarro, with his band of
miscreants, came rushing on to seize the plunder.

"They came like wolves or jackals to fatten on the prey
which never could have been attained by their own courage or
prowess. The disappointment of Pizarro and his congenial
associates, when they found that the principal wealth of the
city had been carried off by the Peruvians, vented itself in
acts of diabolical cruelty. They seized on the aged and sick
persons who had been unable to escape, and put many of them
to the torture to make them confess where the treasures of
Cuzco were concealed. Either these unfortunate people could
not give the information required, or they had sufficient
firmness to endure agony and death rather than betray the
consecrated treasures of their national monuments and altars
into the hands of their enemies."[A]

[Footnote A: Life of Ferdinand De Soto, by Lambert A. Wilmer, p. 272.]

It was late in the afternoon of a November day, 1533, when the
dragoons of De Soto, closely followed by the whole Spanish army,
entered the burning streets of Cuzco. They ran about eagerly in all
directions searching for gold in the blazing palaces and temples. Thus
an immense amount of spoil was found, which the Peruvians had been
unable to remove. It is said that after one-fifth had been subtracted
for the Spanish crown, and the officers had received their abundant
shares, the common soldiers, four hundred and eighty in number,
received each one a sum amounting to four thousand dollars.

Peru was conquered, but the victors had indeed gained a loss. Nearly
all who were engaged in the enterprise perished miserably. Almagro was
eventually taken captive by the Peruvians and strangled. Hernando
Pizarro, returning to Spain, languished for weary years in a prison.
The younger brother was beheaded. Friar Vincent, who had given the
support of religion to many of the most atrocious of these crimes,
fell into an ambush with a small party, and they all were massacred.
Francisco Pizarro himself fell a victim to a conspiracy among his own
soldiers, and at mid-day was put to death in his own palace. But we
must leave these wild men to their career of cruelty and crime, while
we follow the footsteps of De Soto.

Early in the year 1534, De Soto took leave of his comrades in Peru,
and embarked for Spain. He had left his native land in poverty. He now
returned after an absence of about fifteen years, greatly enriched,
prepared in opulence as well as in illustrious birth to take his stand
with the proudest grandees of that then opulent realm. His last labors
in Peru were spent in unavailing endeavors to humanize the spirit of
his countrymen there, and to allay the bitter feuds which were
springing up among them. But his departure seemed to remove from them
all restraints, and Spaniards and Peruvians alike were whelmed in a
common ruin.

No account has been transmitted to us of De Soto's return voyage.
While he was in Peru, Don Pedro had died. His sick-bed was a scene of
lingering agony, both of body and of mind. The proud spirit is
sometimes vanquished and crushed by remorse; but it is never, by those
scorpion lashes, subdued, and rendered humble and gentle and lovable.
The dying sinner, whose soul was crimsoned with guilt, was
overwhelmed with "a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery
indignation." The ecclesiastics, who surrounded his death-bed, assured
him that such sins as he had been guilty of could only be expiated by
the most liberal benefactions to the church. He had never forgiven
Isabella for her pertinacious adherence to De Soto. In the grave he
could not prohibit their nuptials. By bequeathing his wealth to the
church, he could accomplish a double object. He could gratify his
revenge by leaving his daughter penniless, and thus De Soto, if he
continued faithful, would be compelled to receive to his arms a
dowerless bride; and a miserable superstition taught him that he could
thus bribe God to throw open to him the gates of paradise.

Don Pedro's eldest daughter, Maria, was engaged to be married to Vasco
Nuñez, the very worthy governor who had preceded Don Pedro at Darien,
and whom he had so infamously beheaded. She had spent fifteen years in
her father's castle in the gloom and tears of this cruel widowhood.
Don Pedro bequeathed nearly all his fortune to the endowment of a
monastery, over which Maria was appointed abbess. Isabella was left
unprovided for. Thus suddenly the relative position of the two lovers
was entirely changed. De Soto found himself in possession of large
wealth. Isabella was reduced to poverty. We know not where to find,
in the annals of history, the record of a more beautiful attachment
than that which, during fifteen years of separation, trial, and sorest
temptations, had united the hearts of De Soto and Isabella. Their love
commenced when they were children, walking hand in hand, and playing
in the bowers of Don Pedro's ancestral castle.

De Soto had now attained the age of thirty-five years. Isabella was
only a few years younger. When we contemplate her youth, her beauty,
the long years of absence, without even a verbal message passing
between them, the deadly hostility of her father to the union, and the
fact that her hand had been repeatedly solicited by the most wealthy
of the Spanish nobility, this fidelity of Isabella to her youthful
love is one of the most remarkable in the records of time.

"During the long separation," says Mr. Wilmer, "of these
exemplary lovers, many important changes had taken place.
Time and sorrow had somewhat dimmed the lustre of Isabella's
beauty. But she was still the fairest among ten thousand, and
De Soto was too deeply enamored and too justly appreciative
to value her the less, because the rose had partially faded
from her cheek."

Immediately upon De Soto's return to Spain, as all obstacles to their
union were removed, the nuptial ceremony was performed. The voice of
fame had already proclaimed De Soto as the real conqueror of Peru. As
such, he had not only enriched himself, but had also greatly enriched
the Spanish crown. All eyes were fixed upon him. It is said that at
once he became the most noted and most popular man in the kingdom. He
and his bride were received at the Spanish court with the most
flattering marks of distinction. In his style of living he assumed
almost regal splendor. He had acquired his money very suddenly, and he
lavished it with an unsparing hand. A contemporary annalist writes:

"He kept a steward, a gentleman usher, several pages, a
gentleman of the horse, a chamberlain, a footman, and all
other officers that the house of a nobleman requires."

One of the most splendid mansions in Seville he selected for his
residence, and in less than two years he found that one-half of his
princely fortune had melted away. They were two years of adulation, of
self-indulgence, of mental intoxication. It was a delirious dream from
which he suddenly awoke. Reflection taught him that he must
immediately curtail his expenses, and very seriously, or engage in
some new enterprise to replenish his wasting purse.

The region of North America called Florida, a territory of undefined
and boundless extent, was then attracting much attention as a fresh
field for the acquisition of gold and glory. Several expeditions had
touched upon the unknown coast, but from various causes had proved
entire failures. Eight years before this De Narvaez had visited the
country with three hundred adventurers. He found the natives far more
warlike than the Peruvians, and the country more difficult of access.
De Narvaez himself, and nearly all his band, fell before the fury of
the Floridians. Five only escaped. One of these, Cabaca de Vaca, a man
of glowing imagination, and who held the pen of a ready writer, wrote
a Baron Munchausen account of the expedition. He descanted upon the
delicious clime, the luxuriant soil, the populous cities, the
architectural splendor of the edifices, and the inexhaustible mines of
silver and of gold. There was no one to call his account in question.
His extravagant stories were generally believed.

De Soto, who was in the prime of his vigorous manhood, having as yet
only attained his thirty-seventh year, read this narrative and
pondered these statements with enthusiasm. A couple of years of
inaction in his luxurious saloons had inspired him with new zeal for
romantic adventure; and to this there was added the powerful motive of
the necessity of retrieving his fortunes. He believed that gold could
be gathered in Florida, even more abundantly than in Peru; that by
the aid of the crown a numerous colony might be established where,
under genial skies, every man could be put into possession of broad
acres of the most luxuriant soil. And he felt fully confident that his
long experience on the isthmus and in Peru, qualified him in the
highest degree to be the leader of such an enterprise.

In these views he was sustained by the common sentiment of the whole
community. De Soto applied to the king of Spain, the Emperor Charles
Fifth, for permission to organize an expedition, at his own expense,
for the conquest of Florida. He offered to the crown, as usual for its
share, one-fifth of the plunder.

Eagerly the Emperor, who was always in need of money, accepted the
proposition, "asking no questions, for conscience sake." The Emperor
was very profuse in conferring honors and titles upon his heroic
subject. He appointed him governor of the island of Cuba, which he was
to make the base of his operations, investing him with almost
dictatorial powers as both military and civil governor. He also
granted him a private estate in Florida, with the title of marquis, in
whatever part of the country he might choose. This magnificent estate
was to consist of a region, ninety miles long and forty-five miles
wide.

As soon as it was known throughout Spain that De Soto was about to
embark on such an enterprise, volunteers began to flock to his
standard. He would accept of none but the most vigorous young men,
whom he deemed capable of enduring the extremes of toil and hardship.
In a few months nine hundred and fifty men were assembled at San
Lucar, eager to embark. Many of these were sons of the wealthy nobles,
who were thoroughly equipped in splendid style, with costly armor, and
accompanied by a train of servants.

Twenty-four ecclesiastics, of various grades, joined the expedition,
whose arduous task it was to convert the natives to that religion of
the Spaniards which allowed them to rob their houses and their
temples, to maltreat their wives and daughters, to set fire to their
villages, to hunt them down with bloodhounds, and to trample them
under the iron hoofs of their fiery steeds.

Never before had an expedition set out so abundantly supplied. Not
only was every necessity provided for, but luxury and even wasteful
extravagance reigned through the armament. De Soto himself was a man
of magnificent tastes. Many who were with him in Peru, and had become
there enriched, had joined the enterprise. And the young nobles of
Spain surrounded themselves with the conveniences and splendor which
large wealth could furnish.

CHAPTER IX.

_The Landing in Florida._

The Departure from Spain.--Arrival in Cuba.--Leonora and
Tobar.--Isabella Invested with the Regency.--Sad Life of
Isabella.--Sailing of the Expedition.--The Landing at
Tampa Bay.--Outrages of Narvaez.--Noble Spirit of
Ucita.--Unsuccessful Enterprises.--Disgrace and Return
of Porcallo.

The brilliant armament spread its sails to a favorable breeze at the
port of San Lucar, on the morning of the sixth of April, 1538. The
squadron consisted of seven large ships, and three smaller vessels. It
must have been an imposing and busy scene in that little bay, upon
which the sun looked serenely down three hundred years ago. In
addition to the Floridian fleet, there was another squadron of
twenty-six sail, at the same time weighing anchor, bound for Mexico.
Bugle peals resounded from ship and shore, while salvoes of artillery
swept over the waves and reverberated among the cliffs.

Isabella accompanied her husband, and quite an imposing train of
attendants was attached to the governor's family. The sail of a
fortnight brought them to the Canary Islands. The Count Gomera, a
Spanish nobleman, was in command. No religious scruples lent their
restraints to his luxurious court. He had a very beautiful daughter,
seventeen years of age, named Leonora. The father loved her tenderly.
He was perhaps anxious to shield her from the deleterious influences
with which she was surrounded. The high moral worth of Isabella
impressed him; and arrangements were made for Leonora to accompany
Isabella to Cuba, as a companion, to be treated in all respects as her
own daughter.

On the twenty-fourth of April the fleet again set sail, and reached
St. Jago de Cuba the latter part of May. This city was then the
capital of the island. It was situated on the southern shore, at the
head of a bay running inland about six miles. It was then quite
populous, and was opulent with the wealth of which previous Spanish
adventurers had robbed the unhappy Cubans. The whole city turned out
with music, and banners and gorgeous processions, to give a suitable
reception to their new governor.

A grand tournament was held on the occasion. Among the cavaliers who
were contending for the prizes there was a young nobleman, Nuño de
Tobar, who was De Soto's lieutenant-general. He was one of the most
accomplished of the Spanish grandees, and bore off many of the prizes.
The beauty of Leonora won his admiration. They were thrown much
together, and he betrayed her. At the confessional Leonora opened her
heart to the priest. It is probable that he communicated with the
governor. De Soto's indignation was thoroughly roused. He summoned the
culprit before him. Tobar, deeming his offense a very trivial one,
without hesitation acknowledged it, thinking, perhaps, that he might
receive some slight reprimand. He was not a little surprised when the
governor said in indignant tones:

"Leonora was placed under my care by her father. I pledged myself to
protect her at the hazard of my own life. To-morrow morning you must
meet me in single combat, where you will have a chance to protect the
life you have justly forfeited."

There was no man probably, in the whole Spanish army, who could safely
cross swords with De Soto in mortal strife. Tobar was appalled. He
well knew that in such a rencontre death was his inevitable doom.
Overwhelmed with confusion, he said:

"I have not committed a capital crime. If I had, I should not expect
your Excellency to be my executioner. It is impossible for me to
contend with you in single combat. By accepting your challenge, I doom
myself to certain destruction."

De Soto replied: "Your crime is not a trivial one. You cannot evade
the consequences by refusing to meet them. To say nothing of the wrong
you have done this unhappy girl, your treachery to me deserves the
punishment of a traitor. You may choose whether you will die like a
soldier, sword in hand, or like a criminal, under the axe of the
executioner."

Tobar withdrew. He hastened to the room of the confessor. With him he
called upon Leonora, and, taking a few witnesses, repaired to the
church, where the marriage ceremony was immediately performed. Within
an hour he returned to the governor and informed him that he had made
all the reparation in his power. De Soto, his brow still clouded with
severe displeasure, replied:

"You have saved your life, but you can never regain my confidence. You
are no longer my lieutenant. That office can be held only by one whose
honor is unsullied."

De Soto remained about three months in Cuba, making a tour of the
island, establishing his government, purchasing horses, and making
other preparations for the expedition to Florida. While thus engaged,
he sent a vessel, with a picked crew, to coast along the shores of the
land he was about to invade, in search of a commodious harbor, where
his troops might disembark. After many perilous adventures, the vessel
returned with a satisfactory report.

The fleet, and all the armament it was to bear, were rendezvoused at
Havana, on the northern coast of Cuba, where a fair wind in a few
hours would convey them to the shores of Florida. On the twelfth of
May, some authorities say the eighteenth, of the year 1539, the
expedition set sail upon one of the most disastrous adventures in
which heroic men ever engaged. Terrible as were the woes they
inflicted upon the natives, no less dreadful were the calamities which
they drew down upon themselves.

Isabella had been anxious to accompany her husband to Florida. But he,
aware of the hardships and perils to which they would be exposed,
would not give his consent. She consequently remained at Cuba,
entrusted with the regency of the island. She never saw her husband
again. Poor Isabella! In sadness she had waited fifteen years for her
nuptials. Two short years had glided away like a dream in the night.
And then, after three years of intense anxiety, during which she heard
almost nothing of her husband, the tidings reached her of his death.
It was a fatal blow to her faithful and loving heart. World-weary and
sorrow-crushed, she soon followed him to the spirit-land. Such is
life; not as God has appointed it, but as sin has made it.

The expedition consisted of eight large ships, a caraval, and two
brigantines. They were freighted with everything which could be deemed
needful to conquer the country, and then to colonize it. The force
embarked, in addition to the sailors who worked the ships, consisted
of a thousand thoroughly armed men, and three hundred and fifty
horses. Contrary winds gave them a slow passage across the gulf. On
the twenty-fifth of May they entered the harbor of which they were in
search. It was on the western coast of the magnificent peninsula. De
Soto then gave it the name of Espiritu Santo. It is now however known
as Tampa Bay.

As they entered the harbor beacon fires were seen blazing along the
eminences, indicating that the natives had taken the alarm, and were
preparing for resistance. Several days were employed in cautious
sounding of the harbor and searching for a suitable landing-place, as
it seemed probable that opposition was to be encountered. On the last
day of May, a detachment of three hundred soldiers landed on the beach
and took possession of the land in the name of Charles the Fifth. The
serene day was succeeded by a balmy night. Not an Indian was to be
seen; and the bloom, luxuriance and fruitage of the tropics, spread
enchantingly around them.

The hours of the night passed away undisturbed. But just before dawn a
terrific war-whoop resounded through the forest, as from a thousand
throats, and a band of Indian warriors came rushing down, hurling upon
the invaders a shower of arrows and javelins. The attack was so
sudden and impetuous that the Spaniards were thrown into a panic. They
rushed for their boats, and with loudest bugle peals, called for aid
from their companions in the ships. The summons met with a prompt
response. Boats were immediately lowered, and a large party of
steel-clad men and horses were sent to their aid.

When Nuño Tobar was degraded, and dismissed from his office as
lieutenant-general, a rich, hair-brained Spanish nobleman, by the name
of Vasco Porcallo, took his place. He was a gay cavalier, brave even
to recklessness, of shallow intellect, but a man who had seen much
hard service in the battlefields of those days. He was very rich,
residing at Trinidad in Cuba. He joined the enterprise for the
conquest of Florida, influenced by an instinctive love of adventure,
and by the desire to kidnap Indians to work as slaves on his
plantations. The valiant Porcallo headed the party sent to the rescue
of those on shore.

In such an adventure he was entirely in his element. Immediately upon
landing he put spurs to his horse and, accompanied by only seven
dragoons, with his sabre flashing in the air, plunged into the very
thickest of the Indians. Soon they were put to flight. An Indian
arrow, however, pierced his saddle and its housings, and reached the
vitals of his horse. The noble steed dropped dead beneath him.
Porcallo was quite proud of his achievement, and boasted not a little
that his arm had put the _infidels_, as he called the Indians, to
flight, and that his horse was the first to fall in the encounter.

During the day all the troops were disembarked and encamped upon the
shore. It was reported that there was quite a populous Indian town at
the distance of about six miles from the place of landing. While the
ammunition and commissary stores were being brought on shore, the
little army marched for this village. It was the residence of the
chief of the powerful tribe who occupied that region. His name was
Ucita, and from him the village received the same appellation.

The Spaniards met with no opposition on their march. But when they
reached the village they found it entirely deserted. It was quite a
large town, the houses being built substantially of timber, thatched
with palm leaves. Many of these edifices were large and commodious,
containing several rooms. Their articles of household furniture were
convenient, and some of them quite elegant. The dresses, especially
those of the females, were artistic and often highly ornamental. Very
beautiful shawls and mantillas were manufactured by them. Their finest
fabrics were woven by the hand from the fibrous bark of the
mulberry-tree and hemp, which grew wild and in abundance. The natives
had acquired the art of rich coloring, and the garments thus
manufactured by them were often really beautiful. The walls of the
houses of the wealthier citizens were hung with tapestry of very
softly tanned and richly prepared buckskin; and carpets of the same
material were spread upon the floors.

The Floridians were not acquainted with iron, that most indispensable
article with nations of high enlightenment. But they had succeeded in
imparting a temper to copper, so as to give many of their tools quite
a keen edge. Though the inhabitants of Florida had not attained that
degree of civilization which had been reached by the Peruvians, it
will be seen that they were immeasurably in advance of the savages in
the northern portion of the continent, and that their homes far
surpassed those of the peasantry of Ireland, and were more tasteful
and commodious than the log huts which European emigrants erect as
their first home in the wilderness of the West. They cultivated the
ground mainly for their subsistence, though hunting and fishing were
resorted to, then as now, for recreation as well as for food.

De Soto took possession of the deserted village, and occupied the
houses of the inhabitants as barracks for his soldiers. A few
straggling Indians were taken captive. From them he learned that he
was doomed to suffer for the infamous conduct of the Spanish
adventurer, Narvaez, who had preceded him in a visit to this region.
This vile man had been guilty of the most inhuman atrocities. He had
caused the mother of the chief Ucita to be torn to pieces by
bloodhounds, and in a transport of passion had awfully mutilated Ucita
himself, by cutting off his nose. Consequently, the chief and all his
people were exasperated to the highest degree. The injuries they had
received were such as could never be forgiven or forgotten.

De Soto was very anxious to cultivate friendly relations with the
Indians. Whatever may have been his faults, his whole career thus far
had shown him to be by nature a kind-hearted and upright man, hating
oppression and loving justice. The faults of his character rather
belonged to the age in which he lived, than to the individual man. No
military leader has ever yet been able to restrain the passions of his
soldiers. Wherever an army moves, there will always be, to a greater
or less degree, plunder and violence. De Soto earnestly endeavored to
introduce strict discipline among his troops. He forbade the slightest
act of injustice or disrespect towards the Indians. Whenever a captive
was taken, he treated him as a father would treat a child, and
returned him to his home laden with presents. He availed himself of
every opportunity to send friendly messages to Ucita. But the
mutilated chief was in no mood to be placated. His only reply to these
kind words was,

"I want none of the speeches or promises of the Spaniards. Bring me
their heads and I will receive them joyfully."

The energies of De Soto inspired his whole camp. The provisions and
munitions of war were promptly landed and conveyed to Ucita. The place
was strongly fortified, and a hardy veteran, named Pedro Calderon, was
placed in command of the garrison entrusted with its defence. All the
large ships were sent back to Cuba, probably to obtain fresh supplies
of military stores; some say that it was to teach the army that, there
being no possibility of escape, it now must depend upon its own valor
for existence.

De Soto was very unwilling to set out for a march into the interior
for discovery and in search of gold, while leaving so powerful a tribe
as that over which Ucita reigned, in hostility behind him. He
therefore sent repeated messages to Ucita expressing his utter
detestation of the conduct of Narvaez; his desire to do everything in
his power to repair the wrong which had been inflicted upon him, and
his earnest wish to establish friendly relations with the
deeply-injured chief.

These reiterated friendly advances, ever accompanied by correspondent
action, at length in some slight degree mitigated the deadly rancor of
Ucita, so that instead of returning a message of defiance and hate, he
sent back the truly noble response:

"The memory of my injuries prevents me from returning a kind reply to
your messages, and your courtesy is such that it will not allow me to
return a harsh answer."

The man who, under these circumstances, could frame such a reply, must
have been one of nature's noblemen. De Soto could appreciate the
grandeur of such a spirit. While these scenes were transpiring, a man
was brought into the camp, in Indian costume, who announced himself as
a Spaniard by the name of Juan Ortiz. He had been one of the
adventurers under Narvaez. In the extermination of that infamous band
he had been taken captive and bound to the stake, to be consumed. He
was then but eighteen years of age, tall and very handsome. As the
tongues of torturing flame began to eat into his quivering flesh,
cries of agony were extorted from him.

He was in the hands of a powerful chief, whose daughter is represented
as a very beautiful princess, by the name of Uleleh. She was about
sixteen years of age, and could not endure the scene. She threw her
arms around her father's neck, and with tears of anguish pleaded that
his life might be saved. He was rescued; and though for a time he
suffered extreme cruelty, he eventually became adopted, as it were,
into the tribe, and for ten years had resided among the Indians,
sometimes regarded as a captive, upon whom heavy burdens could be
imposed, and again treated with great kindness. Juan Ortiz being thus
familiar with the habits of the natives and their language, became an
invaluable acquisition to the adventurers.

De Soto inquired very earnestly of him respecting the country and the
prospect of finding any region abounding with silver and gold. Ortiz
had but little information to give, save that, at the distance of
about a hundred miles from where they then were, there was a great
chief named Uribaracaxi, to whom all the adjacent chiefs were
tributary. His realms were represented as far more extensive,
populous, and rich than those of the surrounding chieftains. De Soto
dispatched a band of sixty horsemen and sixty foot soldiers with
presents and messages of friendship to Uribaracaxi. The object of the
expedition was to explore the country and to make inquiries respecting
gold.

A weary march of about forty miles brought the party to the village of
Mucozo, where Ortiz had resided for some years. The chief of this
tribe, whose name was also Mucozo, was brother-in-law to Uribaracaxi.
Mucozo received the Spaniards with great hospitality, and learning
that they were on a friendly visit to Uribaracaxi, furnished them with
a guide. Four days were occupied in a tedious march through a country
where pathless morasses continually embarrassed their progress.

This expedition was under the command of Balthazar de Gallegos. He
reached his point of destination in safety. But the chief, deeming it
not prudent to trust himself in the hands of the Spaniards, whose
renown for fiendish deeds had filled the land, had retired from his
capital, and nearly all the inhabitants had fled with him. He left for
his uninvited guests no message either of welcome or defiance.
Gallegos found all his attempts to open any communications with him
unavailing. There was no plunder in the city worth seizing, and De
Soto's commands to the expedition were very strict, to treat the
Indians with the utmost kindness and humanity.

Gallegos made earnest inquiries of the Indians whom he met, as to the
provinces where gold and silver could be found. They told him that
there was a country many leagues west of them, of marvellous
luxuriance and beauty, where gold was found in such abundance that the
warriors had massive shields and helmets made of that precious metal.
The more shrewd of the Spaniards placed very little reliance upon
this testimony. They thought they saw evidence that the Indians were
ready to fabricate any story by which they could rid themselves of
their visitors.

Soon after the departure of Gallegos, De Soto received the
intelligence that the chief Ucita had taken refuge in a forest,
surrounded with swamps, not far from the Spanish camp. The
vainglorious Porcallo was exceedingly indignant that the Indian chief
should presume to hold himself aloof from all friendly advances. He
entreated De Soto to grant him the privilege of capturing the
fugitive. De Soto complied with his request. The impetuous old man,
fond of parade, and lavish of his wealth, selected a band of horsemen
and footmen, all of whom were gorgeously apparelled for the occasion.
He, himself, was mounted on a magnificent steed and cased in
glittering armor.

It seems that the noble Ucita kept himself well informed of every
movement of the invaders. With a spirit of magnanimity which would
have done honor to the best Christian in the Spanish ranks, he sent a
courier to meet Porcallo, and to say to him,

"You will only expose yourself to infinite peril from the rivers,
morasses, and forests through which you will have to pass in your
attempt to reach my retreat. My position is so secure that all your
attempts to take me will result only in your own loss. I do not send
you this message from any fears on my own account, but because your
leader, De Soto, has manifested so much forbearance in not injuring my
territory or my subjects."

It is really refreshing to find here and there, among all these
demoniac deeds of demoniac men, some remaining traces of that nobility
of character which man had before the fall, when created in God's
image he was but little lower than the angels. Man, as we see him
developed in history, is indeed a ruin, but the ruin of a once noble
fabric. When we think of what man might be, in all generous
affections, and then think of what man is, it is enough to cause one
to weep tears of blood.

Porcallo could not appreciate the magnanimity of Ucita. He regarded
the message as one of the stratagems of war, dictated either by fear
or cowardice. He therefore ordered the trumpets to sound the advance,
his only fear being, that the chief might escape. Porcallo, a Quixotic
knight, had no element of timidity in his character. He led his
troops. He never said "Go," but "Follow." Pressing rapidly forward,
the little band soon arrived upon the border of a vast and dismal
morass, utterly pathless, stretching out many leagues in extent.

The hot-headed cavalier, thinking that the swamp might be waded, put
spurs to his horse and dashed forward. He had advanced but a few rods
when the horse, struggling knee-deep through the mire, stumbled and
fell. One of the legs of the rider was so caught beneath the animal as
to pin him inextricably in the morass, covering him with water and
with mud. The weight of his armor sank him deeper in the mire, and in
the desperate struggles of the steed for extrication, he was in great
danger of being suffocated. None could come to his aid without danger
of being swallowed up in the bog.

The unfeeling and brutal soldiers stood upon the borders of the morass
with shouts of merriment, as they witnessed the sudden discomfiture of
their leader; a discomfiture the more ludicrous, in contrast with his
gorgeous attire, and his invariably proud and lofty bearing. At length
Porcallo extricated himself, and, drenched with water, and covered
with mud, led his equally bemired steed to the land. He was humiliated
and enraged. The derision of the soldiers stung him to the quick. He
had embarked in the expedition to gain glory and slaves. He had
encountered disgrace; and the prospect of kidnapping the natives,
under such a leader as De Soto had proved himself to be, was very
small.

It is probable that before this disaster he had seriously contemplated
abandoning the expedition and returning to his princely mansion in
Trinidad. Ordering his men to face about, he sullenly and silently
returned to the Spanish camp. Throwing up his commission with disgust,
he embarked for Cuba, and we hear of him no more.

"His train of servants," writes Mr. Theodore Irving,
"Spanish, Indian and negro, were embarked with all speed. But
when the gallant old cavalier came to take leave of his young
companions in arms, and the soldiers he had lately aspired to
lead so vain-gloriously, his magnificent spirit broke forth.
He made gifts to the right and left, dividing among the
officers and knights all the arms, accoutrements, horses and
camp equipage, with which he had come so lavishly and so
ostentatiously provided, and gave, for the use of the army,
all the ample store of provisions and munitions brought for
the use of himself and his retinue. This done, he bade
farewell to campaigning and set sail for Cuba, much to the
regret of the army, who lamented that so gallant a spirit
should have burned out so soon."[B]

[Footnote B: Conquest of Florida, by Theodore Irving, p. 81.]

Indeed, it is stated in what is called "The Portuguese Narrative" of
these events, that Porcallo and De Soto had already quarrelled so
decisively that they were no longer on speaking terms. Porcallo,
thoroughly destitute of moral principle, was a slave hunter; a
character whom De Soto thoroughly despised, and whose operations he
would not on any account allow to be carried on in his army. Porcallo
therefore found no difficulty in obtaining permission to retire from
the service. Probably both the governor and his lieutenant were
equally happy to be rid of each other.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER X.

_The March to Ochile._

The March Commenced.--The Swamps of Florida.--Passage of the
Morass.--Heroism of Sylvestre.--Message to Acuera.--His
Heroic Reply.--Fierce Hostility of the Indians.--Enter
the Town of Ocali.--Strange Incident.--Death of the
Bloodhound.--Historical Discrepancies.--Romantic Entrance
to Ochile.

The day after the departure of Porcallo, a courier from Captain
Gallegos, accompanied by a small guard, came to the Spanish camp at
Ucita. He informed De Soto that there was an ample supply of
provisions at Uribaracaxi to sustain the army for several days; and
that he had received information that at not a great distance from
that place large quantities of gold could be obtained. De Soto and his
companions were greatly elated by these tidings, trusting that they
were about to enter upon another Peru. A garrison of forty horsemen
and eighty foot soldiers, was left at Ucita, to protect the military
and commissariat stores collected there, and to guard the three
vessels still remaining in the bay. Captain Calderon, who was left in
command, was strictly enjoined to treat the Indians with the utmost
kindness, and not to make war upon them, even if provoked by taunts
and insults.

De Soto, then, with the main body of his army, set out on the march
for Uribaracaxi. It was soon very evident to him that he was not in
Peru. There was no smoothly-paved highway for his soldiers to
traverse. The country was pathless, rough, apparently uninhabited,
encumbered with tangled forests, and vast dismal swamps. It was a very
arduous enterprise for soldiers burdened with heavy armor to force
their way through such a wilderness, with the baggage essential to
such a body of men.

One of the great objects of the governor, and a humane one, was to
establish a colony in Florida. A herd of three hundred swine was kept
in the line of march, as these animals were deemed the most
advantageous stock for new settlers. After a toilsome march of two
days they reached the native village of Mucozo, where the friendly
chief of the same name resided. It is said that this place is now
called Hichipuchsassa. The chief received them with great hospitality.

Pressing on without delay, they soon reached Uribaracaxi, which town
it is supposed was situated near the head of the Hillsborough river,
which stream empties into Tampa Bay. The chief was still absent, in
his place of refuge, amidst the fastnesses of the forest. All of De
Soto's friendly endeavors to draw him from his retreat proved
unavailing. The Spaniards were yet to traverse many leagues of this
unknown country before they could enter the region where it was
supposed the gold could be found.

Florida is emphatically a region of swamps. There is probably no
section of our country which, in a state of nature, would be more
difficult for the passage of an army. About nine miles from the
village, directly on their line of march, extending far away to the
east and the west, there was a vast bog three miles wide. It was a
chaotic region of mud and water, with gigantic trees and entangling
roots. After long search a passage was found through which, by the
toilsome efforts of a whole day, the army forced its way. Beyond the
swamp there opened before them a smooth, luxuriant flower-enamelled
prairie. Rejoicingly the army pressed forward over this beautiful
expanse, when suddenly they found their steps again arrested by a
series of sluggish streams, stagnant bayous, and impenetrable bogs.

De Soto now took a hundred horse and a hundred foot soldiers, and
leaving the remainder of the army safely encamped, set out to explore
the country in search of a practicable route of travel. For three days
he skirted the region of bogs, lakes and thickets, sending out his
runners in different directions to find some outlet. But there was no
outlet for the journeyings of civilized men. They captured some
Indians, who offered to guide them, but who treacherously led them to
more difficult passes and into ambushes where many of their horses
were slain. The dreadful punishment of these false guides was to be
torn to pieces by bloodhounds. They bore their sufferings with amazing
fortitude.

At length they found a very rude, difficult and dangerous path by
which the Indians crossed these swamps. At one point, where the water
could not be forded for a distance of nearly three hundred feet, the
Indians had constructed a bridge by cutting down two large trees and
uniting the space that still remained between them in this Stygian
lake, by tying logs together, with cross-poles for flooring. To add to
the embarrassments of the Spaniards, apparently innumerable small
bands of Indians were hovering on their track, assailing them with
their sharp-pointed arrows, wherever they could get a shot, and then
escaping into the impenetrable region around. They were very careful
never to come to an open conflict. Canoes, propelled by the paddle,
would often dart out from the thickets, a shower of arrows be
discharged, and the canoes disappear where no foot could follow them.

A very bold courier, on one of the fleetest horses, was sent back to
summon the main body of the army to march, under the command of
Moscoso, and join the party of explorers which De Soto had led. This
young man, by the name of Sylvestre, accomplished his feat through a
thousand perils and hair-breadth escapes.

Three days De Soto's band had passed struggling through bog and brake,
bramble and forest. Sylvestre was to find his path back travelling
with all possible speed by night as well as by day. One attendant only
was with him, Juan Lopez. They never could have found their path but
through the sagacity of their horses. These noble animals seemed to be
endowed for the time with the instinct of setter dogs. For in the
darkness of the night they would puff and snort, with their noses
close to the ground, ever, under the most difficult circumstances,
finding the track. The distance over which they urged their horses
exceeded thirty miles. For three days the poor creatures had not been
unsaddled, and the bits had but occasionally been removed from their
mouths that they might enjoy the brief refreshment of grazing.

"At times," writes Mr. Irving, "they passed within sight of
huge fires, around which the savages were stretched in wild
fantastic groups, or capering and singing, and making the
forests ring with yells and howlings. These were probably
celebrating their feasts with war-dances. The deafening din
they raised was the safeguard of the two Spaniards, as it
prevented the savages noticing the clamorous barking of their
dogs, and hearing the tramping of the horses as they
passed."[C]

[Footnote C: Conquest of Florida, p. 89.]

Immediately on the arrival of these two bold troopers, Moscoso
dispatched supplies for the governor with an escort of thirty
horsemen. In the mean time the troops under De Soto were nearly
perishing with hunger. They were compelled to leave their encampment
in search of food. Fortunately, at no great distance, they found a
beautiful valley, waving luxuriantly with fields of corn or maize.
Here they encamped and here were soon joined by the escort and their
welcome supplies. In a few days Moscoso came also with the residue of
the army. They were about sixty miles north of Uribaracaxi. It is
supposed the place is now known by the old Indian name of Palaklikaha.

The chief, whose name was Acuera, and all his people had fled to the
woods. De Soto sent Indian interpreters to him with friendly messages
and the declaration that the Spaniards had no desire to do him any
injury; but that it was their power, if the Indians resisted, to
punish them with great severity. He also commissioned them to make the
declaration, which to him undoubtedly seemed perfectly just and
reasonable, but which, to our more enlightened minds, seems atrocious
in the extreme, that it was their only object to bring him and his
people into obedience to their lawful sovereign, the king of Spain.
With this end in view, he invited the chief to a friendly interview.
It can hardly be doubted that in that benighted age De Soto felt that
he was acting the part of a just and humane man, and of a Christian,
in extending the _Christian_ reign of Spain over the heathen realms of
Florida. Acuera returned the heroic reply:

"Others of your accursed race have, in years past, poisoned our
peaceful shores. They have taught me what you are. What is your
employment? To wander about like vagabonds from land to land; to rob
the poor; to betray the confiding; to murder in cold blood the
defenceless. With such a people I want no peace--no friendship. War,
never-ending, exterminating war, is all the boon I ask. You boast
yourself valiant; and so you may be, but my faithful warriors are not
less brave; and this, too, you shall one day prove, for I have sworn
to maintain an unsparing conflict while one white man remains in my
borders; not openly, in battle, though even thus we fear not to meet
you, but by stratagem, and ambush, and midnight surprisals. I am king
in my own land, and will never become the vassal of a mortal like
myself. As for me and my people, we choose death, yes a hundred
deaths, before the loss of our liberty and the subjugation of our
country."

This answer certainly indicates a degree of intelligence and mental
culture far above what we should expect to find in the chief of a
tribe of Florida Indians. The chivalric spirit of De Soto compelled
him to admire the heroism it displayed. He consequently redoubled his
efforts to gain the friendship of the chief, but all in vain. For
twenty days De Soto remained in this encampment, recruiting his troops
and making arrangements for a farther advance. The Indians made
constant warfare upon him, lurking in the thickets which densely
surrounded his camp. No Spaniard could wander one hundred steps
without danger of being shot down by an invisible foe, whose deadly
arrow was more noiseless in its flight than the sighing of the breeze
through the tree tops. In this way, during these twenty days, fourteen
Spaniards were killed and many more wounded. Fifty Indians also fell
struck by the bullets of the invaders. De Soto allowed himself only in
a war of self-defence. He strictly prohibited his followers from doing
any injury to the villages or the property of the natives, or of
engaging in the slightest act of violence towards any who were not in
active hostility against them.

After twenty days of such repose as could be found in this war
harassed camp, De Soto resumed his march. He directed the steps of his
army in a northeasterly direction towards a town called Ocali, about
sixty miles from their encampment. It seems that in most, if not all
of this region, the chief and his principal town bore the same name.

The path of the army led just over a dreary expanse of desert sands,
about thirty miles broad. There was no underbrush, and over the smooth
surface both men and horses could travel with the greatest ease. They
then entered upon a beautiful region of fertility and luxuriance.
Fields of corn waved their graceful leaves and bannered heads in the
breeze. Farm houses and pleasant villages were scattered around,
indicating that peace, with its nameless blessings, reigned there.
They reached the central town, Ocali, and found it to consist of six
hundred substantially built houses. This would give the place a
population of probably not less than three thousand.

But the chief, Ocali, and his principal inhabitants, with their
effects, had fled to the forests. The Spanish army immediately took up
its quarters in the dwellings of Ocali. They found here an ample
supply of provisions, which they seem without any questionings to have
appropriated to their own use. The clime was balmy, the region
beautiful, the houses commodious, the food abundant, and the few
Indians who remained behind manifested no hostility. The common
soldiers, following the example of their leader, treated all with
great kindness.

De Soto sent several Indian messengers daily to the retreat of the
chief with proffers of peace and friendship. Though Ocali rejected all
these overtures, it seems that they must have made an impression on
the minds of some of his followers.

One day, four young Floridian warriors, gorgeously dressed and with
nodding plumes, came to the Spanish camp. De Soto received them with
great cordiality and invited them to a handsome collation with his
principal officers. Mr. Irving, in his well authenticated narrative,
gives the following account of the scene which there ensued:

"They sat down and appeared to be eating quietly, when
perceiving the Spaniards to be off their guard, they rose
suddenly and rushed full speed to the woods. It was in vain
for the Spaniards to pursue them on foot, and there was no
horse at hand. A hound of uncommon sagacity, however,
hearing the cry of the Indians, and seeing them run, pursued
them. Overtaking and passing by the first and second and
third, he sprang upon the shoulders of the foremost and
pulled him to the ground; as the next Indian passed on, the
dog, leaving the one already down, sprang upon his successor
and secured him in the same way. In like manner he served
the third and fourth, and then kept running from one to the
other, pulling them down as fast as they rose, and barking
so furiously that the Indians were terrified and confounded
and the Spaniards were enabled to overtake and capture them.
They were taken back to the camp and examined separately.
For as they were armed, the Spaniards apprehended some
treachery; but it appeared that their sudden flight was only
by way of exploit, to show their address and fleetness."[D]

[Footnote D: Irving's Conquest of Florida, p. 100.]

Ocali, after resisting for six days all friendly advances, was at
length induced to visit the Spanish camp. He was received by De Soto
with the greatest kindness, and every effort was made to win his
confidence. There was a deep and wide river near the village which it
was necessary for the Spaniards to cross in their advance. De Soto,
accompanied by Ocali and several of his subjects, was walking on the
banks of this stream to select a spot for crossing, by means of a
bridge or raft, when a large number of Indians sprang up from the
bushes on the opposite side, and assailing them with insulting and
reproachful language, discharged a volley of arrows upon them, by
which one of the Spaniards was wounded.

Upon De Soto's demanding of the chief the meaning of this hostile
movement, Ocali replied, that they were a collection of his mutinous
subjects, who had renounced their allegiance to him, in consequence of
his friendship for the Spaniards. The bloodhound, to which we have
alluded, that had so sagaciously captured the four Floridians, was in
the company held in a leash by one of the servants of the governor.
The moment the ferocious animal heard the yells of the Indians, and
witnessed their hostile actions, by a desperate struggle he broke from
his keeper and plunged into the river. In vain the Spaniards
endeavored to call him back. The Indians eagerly watched his approach,
and as he drew near they showered upon him such a volley of arrows,
that more than fifty pierced his head and shoulders. He barely reached
the land, when he fell dead. The army mourned the loss of the
sagacious, fearless and merciless brute as if he had been one of the
most valiant of their warriors.

It soon became evident that Ocali had but slight influence over his
tribe. De Soto, apprehensive that it might be thought that he detained
him against his will, advised him to return to his people, assuring
him that he would always be a welcome guest in the Spanish camp. He
left, and they saw him no more.

Crossing the river by a rude bridge constructed by the Spanish
engineers, De Soto took the lead with a hundred horse and a hundred
foot. After a monotonous march of three days over a flat country, they
came to a very extensive province called Vitachuco, which was governed
in common by three brothers. The principal village, Ochile, was rather
a fortress than a village, consisting of fifty large buildings
strongly constructed of timber. It was a frontier military post; for
it seems that this powerful tribe was continually embroiled in war
with the adjacent provinces. Mr. Williams, in his History of Florida,
locates Ochile just south of what is called the Allachua prairie.

There are two sources of information upon which we are dependent for
most of the facts here recorded. One is, the "History of Hernando De
Soto," written by the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. He was the son of a
Spanish nobleman and of a Peruvian lady of illustrious rank. His
narrative was written as related to him, by a friend who was one of
the expedition. With some probable exaggerations it is generally
deemed authentic. Mr. Southey describes the work as one of the most
delightful in the Spanish language.

The other is what is called "The Portuguese Narrative." It is from the
pen of an anonymous writer, who declares himself to have been a
Spanish cavalier, and that he describes the scenes of which he was an
eye-witness. Though these two accounts generally harmonize, there is
at times very considerable discrepancy between their statements. In
the extraordinary events now to be chronicled, the writer has
generally endeavored to give the narrative, as has seemed to him most
probable, in comparing the two accounts, with the well-established
character of De Soto.

The advance guard of the Spanish army marched all night, and just
before the dawn of the morning, entered the silent streets of Ochile.
Wishing to produce as deep an impression as possible upon the minds of
the Indians, their drums were beat, and their trumpets emitted their
loudest blasts, as one hundred horsemen with clattering hoofs, and one
hundred footmen with resounding arms, startled the citizens from their
repose. To these simple natives, it must have been a scene almost as
astounding as if a legion of adventurers, from the star Sirius, were
at midnight to make their appearance in the streets of a European
city.

The house of the chief was centrally situated. It was a large mansion,
nearly three hundred feet in length by one hundred and twenty in
width. There were also connected with it quite a number of
outbuildings of very considerable dimensions.

As a matter of course, immediately the whole population was in the
streets in a state of utter amazement. It was the object of De Soto to
appear in such strength, and to take such commanding positions, as
would prevent any assault on the part of the Indians, which would lead
to bloodshed. He was well informed of the warlike reputation of the
chief who resided there; and knew that in that fortress he was
surrounded by a numerous band of warriors, ever armed and always ready
for battle. The region around was densely populated. Should the chief
escape, determined upon hostility, and rally his troops around him, it
might lead to sanguinary scenes, greatly to be deplored.

De Soto immediately held an interview with the chief; treated him with
the utmost kindness and assured him that he had no intention of
inflicting any injury upon him or any of his subjects; that he sought
only for permission to pass peaceably and unmolested through his
realms. The soldiers were strictly enjoined to treat the natives in
the most friendly manner, and not to allow themselves, by any
provocation whatever, to be drawn into a conflict.

The chief was very narrowly watched, that he might not escape. Still
he was unconscious of his captivity, for he was held by invisible
chains.

During the following day the main body of the army entered Ochile with
all the pomp which prancing horses richly accoutred, gorgeous
uniforms, bugle-blasts, waving banners, and glittering armor could
present. Ocile, its chief, and his warriors were at the mercy of the
Spaniards. But they had come not as conquerors, but as peaceful
travellers, with smiles and presents, and kindly words. Still the
power of these uninvited guests was very manifest, and it was very
evident that any hostility on the part of the natives would bring down
upon them swift destruction.

It so happened, that the youngest of the three brother chiefs resided
at Ochile. At the suggestion of De Soto, he sent couriers to his two
brothers, informing them of the arrival of the Spaniards, of their
friendly disposition, and of their desire simply to pass through the
country unmolested. At the same time he stated, by request of De Soto,
that the strength of the Spaniards was such that they were abundantly
able to defend themselves; and that should any attack be made upon
them, it would lead to results which all would have occasion to
deplore.

The capital of the second brother was not far distant. In three days
he came to Ochile, decorated in gorgeous robes of state and
accompanied by a retinue of his warriors, in their most showy costume.
It is recorded that he had the bearing of an accomplished gentleman,
and seemed as much at ease amidst the wondrous surroundings of the
Spanish camp, as if he had been accustomed to them all his days. He
entered into the most friendly relations with De Soto and his
distinguished officers, and seemed very cordially to reciprocate all
their courteous attentions.

CHAPTER XI.

_The Conspiracy and its Consequences._

The Three Brother Chieftains.--Reply of Vitachuco to his
Brothers.--Feigned Friendship for the Spaniards.--The
Conspiracy.--Its Consummation and Results.--Clemency of
De Soto.--The Second Conspiracy.--Slaughter of the
Indians.--March of the Spaniards for Osachile.--Battle
in the Morass.

Of the three brothers who reigned over this extended territory the
elder bore the same name with the province which he governed, which
was Vitachuco. He was far the most powerful of the three, in both the
extent and populousness of his domain. His two brothers had united in
sending an embassy to him, earnestly enjoining the expediency of
cultivating friendly relations with the Spaniards. The following very
extraordinary reply, which he returned, is given by Garcilaso de la
Vega. And though he says he quotes from memory, still he pledges his
word of honor, that it is a truthful record of the message Vitachuco
sent back. We read it with wonder, as it indicates a degree of mental
enlightenment, which we had not supposed could have been found among
those semi-civilized people.

"It is evident," said the chief to his brothers, "that you are young
and have neither judgment nor experience, or you would never speak as
you have done of these hated white men. You extol them as virtuous
men, who injure no one. You say that they are valiant; are children of
the Sun, and merit all our reverence and service. The vile chains
which they have hung upon you, and the mean and dastardly spirit which
you have acquired during the short period you have been their slaves,
have caused you to speak like women, lauding what you should censure
and abhor.

"You remember not that these strangers can be no better than those who
formerly committed so many cruelties in our country. Are they not of
the same nation and subject to the same laws? Do not their manner of
life and actions prove them to be the children of the spirit of evil,
and not of the Sun and Moon--our Gods? Go they not from land to land
plundering and destroying; taking the wives and daughters of others
instead of bringing their own with them; and like mere vagabonds
maintaining themselves by the laborious toil and sweating brow of
others!

"Were they virtuous, as you represent, they never would have left
their own country; since there they might have practised their
virtues; planting and cultivating the earth, maintaining themselves,
without prejudice to others or injury to themselves, instead of
roving about the world, committing robberies and murders, having
neither the shame of men nor the fear of God before them. Warn them
not to enter into my dominions. Valiant as they may be, if they dare
to put foot upon my soil, they shall never go out of my land alive."

De Soto and his army remained eight days at Ochile. By unwearied
kindness, he so won the confidence of the two brother chiefs, that
they went in person to Vitachuco to endeavor by their united
representations to win him to friendly relations with the Spaniards.
Apparently they succeeded. Vitachuco either became really convinced
that he had misjudged the strangers, or feigned reconciliation. He
invited De Soto and his army to visit his territory, assigning to them
an encampment in a rich and blooming valley. On an appointed day the
chief advanced to meet them, accompanied by his two brothers and five
hundred warriors, in the richest decorations and best armament of
military art as then understood by the Floridians.

De Soto and Vitachuco were about of the same age and alike magnificent
specimens of physical manhood. The meeting between them was as cordial
as if they had always been friends. The Indian warriors escorted their
guests from their encampment to the capital. It consisted of two
hundred spacious edifices, strongly built of hewn timber. Several days
were passed in feasting and rejoicing, when Juan Ortiz informed the
governor that some friendly Indians had revealed to him that a plot
had been formed, by Vitachuco, for the entire destruction of the
Spanish army.

The chief was to assemble his warriors, to the number of about ten
thousand, upon an extensive plain, just outside the city, ostensibly
to gratify De Soto with the splendors of a peaceable parade. To disarm
all suspicion, they were to appear without any weapons of war, which
weapons were however previously to be concealed in the long grass of
the prairie. De Soto was to be invited to walk out with the chief to
witness the spectacle. Twelve very powerful Indians, with concealed
arms, were to accompany the chief or to be near at hand. It was
supposed that the pageant would call out nearly all the Spaniards, and
that they would be carelessly sauntering over the plain. At a given
signal, the twelve Indians were to rush upon De Soto, and take him
captive if possible, or if it were inevitable, put him to death.

At the same moment the whole band of native warriors, grasping their
arms, was to rush upon the Spaniards in overpowering numbers of ten to
one. In this way it was supposed that every man could speedily be put
to death or captured. Those who were taken prisoners were to be
exposed to the utmost ingenuity of Indian torture.

This seemed a very plausible story. De Soto, upon careful inquiry,
became satisfied of its truth. He consulted his captains, and decided
to be so prepared for the emergence, that should he be thus attacked,
the Indian chief would fall into the trap which he had prepared for
his victims.

The designated day arrived. The sun rose in a cloudless sky and a
gentle breeze swept the prairie. Early in the morning, Vitachuco
called upon De Soto, and very obsequiously solicited him to confer
upon him the honor of witnessing a grand muster of his subjects. He
said they would appear entirely unarmed, but he wished De Soto to
witness their evolutions, that he might compare them with the military
drill of European armies. De Soto, assuming a very friendly and
unsuspicious air, assured the chief, that he should be very happy to
witness the pageant. And to add to its imposing display, and in his
turn to do something to interest the natives, he said he would call
out his whole force of infantry and cavalry, and arrange them in full
battle array on the opposite side of the plain.

The chief was evidently much embarrassed by this proposition, but he
did not venture to present any obstacles. Knowing the valor and
ferocity of his troops, he still thought that with De Soto as his
captive, he could crush the Spaniards by overwhelming numbers. Matters
being thus arranged, the whole Spanish army, in its most glittering
array, defiled upon the plain. De Soto was secretly well armed.
Servants were ready with two of the finest horses to rush to his aid.
A body-guard of twelve of his most stalwart men loitered carelessly
around him.

At nine o'clock in the morning, De Soto and Vitachuco walked out, side
by side, accompanied by their few attendants and ascended a slight
eminence which commanded a view of the field. Notwithstanding the
careless air assumed by De Soto, he was watching every movement of
Vitachuco with intensest interest. The instant the Indian chief gave
his signal, his attendants rushed upon De Soto, and his ten thousand
warriors grasped their arrows and javelins, and with the hideous
war-whoop rushed upon the Spaniards. But at the same instant a bugle
blast, echoing over the plain, put the whole Spanish army in motion in
an impetuous charge. The two signals for the deadly conflict seemed to
be simultaneous. The body-guard of De Soto, with their far superior
weapons, not only repelled the Indian assailants, but seized and bound
Vitachuco as their captive. De Soto lost not a moment in mounting a
horse, led to him by his servant. But the noble animal fell dead
beneath him, pierced by many arrows. Another steed was instantly at
his side, and De Soto was at the head of his cavalry, leading the
charge. Never, perhaps, before, did so terrible a storm burst thus
suddenly from so serene a sky.

The natives fought with valor and ferocity which could not be
surpassed even by the Spaniards. All the day long the sanguinary
battle raged, until terminated by the darkness of the night. The field
was bordered, on one side, by a dense forest, and on the other by a
large body of water, consisting of two lakes. Some of the natives
escaped into the almost impenetrable forest. Many were drowned.
Several of the young men, but eighteen years of age, who were taken
captive,--the sons of chiefs,--developed a heroism of character which
attracted the highest admiration of De Soto. They fought to the last
possible moment, and when finally captured, expressed great regret
that they had not been able to die for their country. They said to
their conqueror,

"If you wish to add to your favors, take our lives. After surviving
the defeat and capture of our chieftain, we are not worthy to appear
before him, or to live in the world."

It is said that De Soto was greatly moved with compassion in view of
the calamity which had befallen these noble young men. He embraced
them with parental tenderness, and commended their valor, which he
regarded as proof of their noble blood.

"For two days," writes Mr. Irving, "he detained them in the
camp, feasting them at his table and treating them with every
distinction; at the end of which time he dismissed them with
presents of linen, cloths, silks, mirrors and other articles
of Spanish manufacture. He also sent by them presents to
their fathers and relations, with proffers of friendship."

De Soto had succeeded in capturing four of the most distinguished
captains of Vitachuco. They had been ostensibly the friends of the
Spaniard, had ate at his table and had apparently reciprocated all his
kindly words and deeds. While thus deceiving him, they had coöperated
with Vitachuco for his destruction. De Soto summoned them with their
chief before him.

"He reproached them," says Mr. Irving "with the treacherous
and murderous plot, devised against him and his soldiers, at
a time when they were professing the kindest amity. Such
treason, he observed, merited death; yet he wished to give
the natives evidence of his clemency. He pardoned them,
therefore, and restored them to his friendship; warning them,
however, to beware how they again deceived him, or trespassed
against the safety and welfare of the Spaniards, lest they
should bring down upon themselves dire and terrible revenge."

Vitachuco was now a captive. Yet notwithstanding the conspiracy which
had led to such deplorable results, De Soto treated him with great
kindness, giving him a seat at his own table, and endeavoring in all
ways to obliterate the remembrance of the conflict. De Soto was in
search of gold. He had heard of mountains of that precious metal far
away in the interior. The natives had no wealth which he desired to
plunder. Their hostility he exceedingly deprecated, as it deprived him
of food, of comforts, and exposed his little band to the danger of
being cut off and annihilated, as were the troops of Narvaez, who had
preceded him. The past career of De Soto proves, conclusively, that he
was by nature a humane man, loving what he conceived to be justice.

Under these circumstances, a wise policy demanded that he should do
what he could to conciliate the natives before he advanced in his
adventurous journey, leaving them, if hostile, disposed to cut off his
return. It is said that nine hundred of the most distinguished
warriors of Vitachuco were virtually enslaved, one of whom was
assigned to each of the Spaniards, to serve him in the camp and at the
table. Such at least is the story as it comes down to us. Vitachuco
formed the plan again to assail the Spaniards by a concerted action
at the dinner-table. Every warrior was to be ready to surprise and
seize his master, and put him to death. There is much in this
narrative which seems improbable. We will, however, give it to our
readers as recorded by Mr. Irving in his very carefully written
history of the Conquest of Florida. We know not how it can be
presented in a more impartial manner.

"Scarcely had Vitachuco conceived this rash scheme than he
hastened to put it into operation. He had four young Indians
to attend him as pages. These he sent to the principal
prisoners, revealing his plan, with orders that they should
pass it secretly and adroitly from one to another, and hold
themselves in readiness, at the appointed time, to carry it
into effect. The dinner hour of the third day was the time
fixed upon for striking the blow. Vitachuco would be dining
with the governor, and the Indians in general attending upon
their respective masters.

"The cacique was to watch his opportunity, spring upon the
governor and kill him, giving at the moment of assault a
war-whoop which should resound throughout the village. The
war-whoop was to be the signal for every Indian to grapple
with his master or with any other Spaniard at hand and
dispatch him on the spot.

"On the day appointed Vitachuco dined as usual with the
governor. When the repast was concluded, he sprang upon his
feet, closed instantly with the governor, seized him with
the left hand by the collar, and with the other fist dealt
him such a blow in the face as to level him with the ground,
the blood gushing out of eyes, nose and mouth. The cacique
threw himself upon his victim to finish his work, giving at
the same time his signal war-whoop.

"All this was the work of an instant; and before the
officers present had time to recover from their
astonishment, the governor lay senseless beneath the tiger
grasp of Vitachuco. One more blow from the savage would have
been fatal; but before he could give it a dozen swords and
lances were thrust through his body, and he fell dead.

"The war-whoop had resounded through the village. Hearing
the fatal signal, the Indians, attending upon their masters,
assailed them with whatever missile they could command. Some
seized upon pikes and swords; others snatched up the pots in
which meal was stewing at the fire, and beating the
Spaniards about the head, bruised and scalded them at the
same time. Some caught up plates, pitchers, jars, and the
pestles wherewith they pounded the maize. Others seized upon
stools, benches and tables, striking with impotent fury,
when their weapons had not the power to harm. Others
snatched up burning fire-brands, and rushed like very
devils into the affray. Many of the Spaniards were terribly
burned, bruised and scalded. Some had their arms broken."

This terrible conflict was of short duration. Though the Spaniards
were taken by surprise, they were not unarmed. Their long keen sabres
gave them a great advantage over their assailants. Though several were
slain, and many more severely wounded, the natives were soon
overpowered. The exasperated Spaniards were not disposed to show much
mercy. In these two conflicts with the Indians, Vitachuco fell, and
thirteen hundred of his ablest warriors.

De Soto had received so terrific a blow, that for half an hour he
remained insensible. The gigantic fist of the savage had awfully
bruised his face, knocking out several of his teeth. It was four days
before he recovered sufficient strength to continue his march and
twenty days elapsed before he could take any solid food. On the fifth
day after this great disaster the Spaniards resumed their journeyings
in a northwest direction, in search of a province of which they had
heard favorable accounts, called Osachile. The first day they advanced
but about twelve miles, encamping upon the banks of a broad and deep
river, which is supposed to have been the Suwanee.

A band of Indians was upon the opposite side of the stream evidently
in hostile array. The Spaniards spent a day and a half in constructing
rafts to float them across. They approached the shore in such
strength, that the Indians took to flight, without assailing them.
Having crossed the river they entered upon a prairie country of
fertile soil, where the industrious Indians had many fields well
filled with corn, beans and pumpkins. But as they journeyed on, the
Indians, in small bands, assailed them at every point from which an
unseen arrow or javelin could be thrown. The Spaniards, on their
march, kept in quite a compact body, numbering seven or eight hundred
men, several hundred of whom were mounted on horses gayly caparisoned,
which animals, be it remembered, the Indians had never before seen.

After proceeding about thirty miles through a pretty well cultivated
country, with scattered farm-houses, they came to quite an important
Indian town called Osachile. It contained about two hundred houses;
but the terrified inhabitants had fled, taking with them their most
valuable effects, and utter solitude reigned in its streets.

The country was generally flat, though occasionally it assumed a
little of the character of what is called the rolling prairie. The
Indian towns were always built upon some gentle swell of land. Where
this could not be found, they often constructed artificial mounds of
earth, sufficient in extent to contain from ten to twenty houses. Upon
one of these the chief and his immediate attendants would rear their
dwellings, while the more humble abodes of the common people, were
clustered around. At Osachile De Soto found an ample supply of
provisions, and he remained there two days.

It is supposed that Osachile was at the point now called Old Town.
Here De Soto was informed by captive Indians that about thirty leagues
to the west there was a very rich and populous country called
Appalachee. The natives were warlike in the highest degree, spreading
the terror of their name through all the region around. Gold was said
to abound there. The country to be passed through, before reaching
that territory, was filled with gloomy swamps and impenetrable
thickets, where there was opportunity for ambuscades. De Soto was told
that the Appalachians would certainly destroy his whole army should he
attempt to pass through those barriers and enter their borders.

This peril was only an incentive to the adventurous spirit of the
Spanish commander. To abandon the enterprise and return without the
gold, would be not only humiliating, but would be his utter ruin. He
had already expended in the undertaking all that he possessed. He had
no scruples of conscience to retard his march, however sanguinary the
hostility of the natives might render it. It was the doctrine of the
so-called church at Rome, that Christians were entitled to the
possessions of the heathen; and though De Soto himself by no means
professed to be actuated by that motive, the principle unquestionably
influenced nearly his whole army.

But he did assume that he was a peaceful traveller, desiring to
cultivate only friendly relations with the natives, and that he had a
right to explore this wilderness of the new world in search of those
precious medals of which the natives knew not the value, but which
were of so much importance to the interest of all civilized nations.

For three days the Spaniards toiled painfully along over an arid,
desert plain, beneath a burning sun. About noon on the fourth day they
reached a vast swamp, probably near the Estauhatchee river. This swamp
was bordered by a gloomy forest, with gigantic trees, and a dense,
impervious underbrush, ever stimulated to wonderful luxuriance by an
almost tropical sun and a moist and spongy soil. Through this morass
the Indians, during generations long since passed away, had
constructed a narrow trail or path about three feet wide. This
passage, on both sides, was walled up by thorny and entangled
vegetation almost as impenetrable as if it were brick or stone.

In the centre of this gloomy forest, there was a sheet of shallow
water about a mile and a half in width and extending north and south
as far as the eye could reach. The Indians had discovered a ford
across this lake till they came to the main channel in the centre,
which was about one hundred and twenty feet wide. This channel, in the
motionless waters, was passed by a rude bridge consisting of trees
tied together.

De Soto encamped on the borders of this gloomy region for a short time
to become acquainted with the route and to force the passage. There
were various spots where the Indians, familiar with the whole region,
lay in ambush. From their unseen coverts, they could assail the
Spaniards with a shower of arrows as they defiled through the narrow
pass, and escape beyond any possibility of pursuit. Compelling some
Indians to operate as guides, under penalty of being torn to pieces by
bloodhounds, De Soto commenced his march just after midnight. Two
hundred picked men on foot, but carefully encased in armor, led the
advance in a long line two abreast. Every man was furnished with his
day's allowance of food in the form of roasted kernels of corn. They
pressed along through a path which they could not lose, and from which
they could not wander, till they reached the lake. Here the guides led
them along by a narrow ford, up to their waists in water, till they
reached the bridge of logs. The advance-guard had just passed over
this bridge when the day dawned, and they were discovered by the
Indians, who had not supposed they would attempt to cross the morass
by night.

The Appalachian warriors, with hideous yells and great bravery, rushed
into the lake to meet their foes. Here Spaniard and Floridian grappled
in the death struggle up to their waists in water. The steel-clad
Spaniards, with their superior arms, prevailed, and the natives
repulsed, rushed into the narrow defile upon the other side of the
lake. The main body of the army pressed on, though continually and
fiercely assailed by the arrows of the Indians. Arriving at a point
where there was an expanse of tolerably dry ground, De Soto sent into
the forests around forty skirmishers to keep off the Indians, while a
hundred and fifty men were employed in felling trees and burning
brush, in preparation for an encampment for the night.

Exhausted by the toil of the march and of the battle; drenched with
the waters of the lake; many of them suffering from wounds, they threw
themselves down upon the hot and smouldering soil for sleep. But there
was no repose for them that night. During all the hours of darkness,
the prowling natives kept up a continuous clamor, with ever recurring
assaults. With the first dawn of the morning the Spaniards resumed
their march, anxious to get out of the defile and into the open
prairie beyond, where they could avail themselves of their horses, of
which the Indians stood in great dread. As they gradually emerged from
the impenetrable thicket into the more open forest, the army could be
spread out more effectually, and the horsesmen could be brought a
little more into action. But here the valor of the natives did not
forsake them.

"As soon as the Spaniards," writes Mr. Irving, "entered this
more open woodland, they were assailed by showers of arrows
on every side. The Indians, scattered about among the
thickets, sallied forth, plied their bows with intense
rapidity, and plunged again into the forest. The horses were
of no avail. The arquebusiers and archers seemed no longer a
terror; for in the time a Spaniard could make one discharge,
and reload his musket or place another bolt in his cross-bow,
an Indian would launch six or seven arrows. Scarce had one
arrow taken flight before another was in the bow. For two
long leagues did the Spaniards toil and fight their way
forward through this forest.

"Irritated and mortified by these galling attacks and the
impossibility of retaliating, at length they emerged into an
open and level country. Here, overjoyed at being freed from
this forest prison, they gave reins to their horses, and free
vent to their smothered rage, and scoured the plain, lancing
and cutting down every Indian they encountered. But few of
the enemy were taken prisoners, many were put to the sword."

CHAPTER XII.

_Winter Quarters._

Incidents of the March.--Passage of the River.--Entering
Anhayea.--Exploring Expeditions.--De Soto's desire for
Peace.--Capture of Capafi.--His Escape.--Embarrassments
of De Soto.--Letter of Isabella.--Exploration of the
Coast.--Discovery of the Bay of Pensacola.--Testimony
Respecting Cafachiqué.--The March Resumed.

The Spaniards now entered upon a beautiful and highly cultivated
region, waving with fields of corn and adorned with many pleasant
villages and scattered farm-houses. It seemed to be the abode of
peace, plenty and happiness. It certainly might have been such, but
for the wickedness of man. Wearied with their long march and almost
incessant battle, the Spaniards encamped in the open plain, where
their horsemen would be able to beat off assaults.

But the night brought them no repose. It was necessary to keep a large
force mounted and ready for conflict. The natives, in large numbers,
surrounded them, menacing an attack from every quarter, repeatedly
drawing near enough in the darkness to throw their arrows into the
camp, and keeping up an incessant and hideous howling. After a
sleepless night, with the earliest light of the morning they resumed
their march along a very comfortable road, which led through extensive
fields of corn, beans, pumpkins and other vegetables. The prairie
spread out before them in its beautiful, level expanse, till lost in
the distant horizon. All the day long their march was harassed by
bands of natives springing up from ambush in the dense corn-fields
which effectually concealed them from view. Many were the bloody
conflicts in which the natives were cut down mercilessly, and still
their ferocity and boldness continued unabated.

After thus toiling on for six miles the Spaniards approached a deep
stream, supposed to be the river Uche. It was crossed by a narrow ford
with deep water above and below. Here the natives had constructed
palisades, and interposed other obstacles, behind which, with their
arrows and javelins, they seemed prepared to make a desperate
resistance. De Soto, after carefully reconnoitering the position,
selected a number of horsemen, who were most effectually protected
with their steel armor, and sent them forward, with shields on one
arm, and with swords and hatchets to hew away these obstructions,
which were all composed of wood. Though several of the Spaniards were
slain and many wounded, they effected a passage, when the mounted
horsemen plunged through the opening, put the Indians to flight and
cut them down with great slaughter.

Continuing their march, on the other side of the river, for a distance
of about six miles through the same fertile and well populated region,
they were admonished by the approach of night, again to seek an
encampment. The night was dark and gloomy. All were deeply depressed
in spirits. An incessant battle seemed their destiny. The golden
mountains of which they were in pursuit were ever vanishing away. They
were on the same path which had previously been traversed by the cruel
but energetic Narvaez, and where his whole company had been
annihilated, leaving but four or five to tell the tale of the awful
tragedy.

Dreadful as were the woes which these adventurers had brought upon the
Indians, still more terrible were the calamities in which they had
involved themselves. They were now three hundred miles from Tampa Bay.
Loud murmurs began to rise in the camp. Nearly all demanded to return.
But, for De Soto, the abandonment of the enterprise was disgrace, and
apparently irretrievable ruin. There was scarcely any condition of
life more to be deplored than that of an impoverished nobleman. De
Soto was therefore urged onward by the energies of despair.

Again through all the hours of the night, they were exposed to an
incessant assault from their unwearied foes. From their captives they
learned that they were but six miles from the village of Anhayea,
where their chief, Capafi, resided. This was the first instance in
which they heard of a chief who did not bear the same name as the town
in which he dwelt. Early in the morning, De Soto, with two hundred
mounted cavaliers and one hundred footmen, led the advance, and soon
entered the village, which consisted of two hundred and fifty houses,
well built and of large size.

At one end of the village stood the dwelling of the chief, which was
quite imposing in extent, though not in the grandeur of its
architecture. The chief and all his men had fled, and the Spaniards
entered deserted streets. The army remained here for several days,
finding abundance of food. Still they were harassed, day and night, by
the indomitable energy of the natives. Two well armed expeditions were
sent out to explore the country on the north and the west, for a
distance of forty or fifty miles, while a third was dispatched to the
south in search of the ocean.

Anhayea, where the main body of the army took up its quarters, is
supposed to have been near the present site of the city of
Tallahassee. The two first expeditions sent out, returned, one in
eight and the other in nine days, bringing back no favorable report.
The other, sent in search of the ocean, was absent much longer, and De
Soto became very apprehensive that it had been destroyed by the
natives.

Through many perilous and wild adventures, being often betrayed and
led astray by their guides, they reached, after a fortnight's travel,
the head of the bay now called St. Mark's. Here they found vestiges of
the adventurers who had perished in the ill-fated Narvaez expedition.
There was a fine harbor to which reinforcements and fresh supplies of
ammunition might be sent to them by ships from Cuba, or from Tampa
Bay. With these tidings they hurried back to Anhayea.

They had now reached the month of November, 1539. The winter in these
regions, though short, had often days of such excessive cold that men
upon the open prairie, exposed to bleak winds called northers, often
perished from the severity of the weather. De Soto resolved to
establish himself in winter-quarters at Anhayea. With his suite he
occupied the palace of the chief. The other houses were appropriated
to the soldiers for their barracks. He threw up strong fortifications
and sent out foraging parties into the region around, for a supply of
provisions. As we have no intimation that any payment was made, this
was certainly robbery. Whatever may be said of the necessities of his
case, it was surely unjust to rob the Indians of their harvests.
Still, De Soto should not be condemned unheard; and while we have no
evidence that he paid the natives for the food he took from them,
still we have no proof that he did not do so.

In accordance with his invariable custom, he made strenuous efforts to
win the confidence of the natives. Through captive Indians he sent
valuable presents to the chief Capafi in his retreat, and also
assurances that he sought only friendly relations between them. The
chief, however, was in no mood to give any cordial response to these
advances. He had taken refuge in a dense forest, surrounded by dismal
morasses, which could only be traversed by a narrow pass known only to
the Indians, where his warriors in ambush might easily arrest the
march of the whole army of Spaniards. The brutal soldiery of Narvaez
had taught them to hate the Spaniards.

He kept up an incessant warfare, sending out from his retreat fierce
bands to assail the invaders by day and by night, never allowing them
one moment of repose. Many of the Spaniards were slain. But they
always sold their lives very dearly, so that probably ten natives
perished to one of the Spaniards. There was nothing gained by this
carnage. De Soto was anxious to arrest it. Every consideration
rendered it desirable for him to have the good will of the natives.
Peace and friendship would enable him to press forward with infinitely
less difficulty in search of his imaginary mountains of gold and
silver, and would greatly facilitate his establishment of a colony
around the waters of some beautiful bay in the Gulf, whence he could
ship his treasures to Spain and receive supplies in return.

Finding it impossible to disarm the hostility of Capafi by any kindly
messages or presents, he resolved if possible to take him captive. In
this way only could he arrest the cruel war. The veneration of the
Indians for their chief was such that, with Capafi in the hands of the
Spaniards as a hostage, they would cease their attacks out of regard
to his safety.

It was some time before De Soto could get any clew to the retreat in
which Capafi was concealed. And he hardly knew how to account for the
fact, that the sovereign of a nation of such redoubtable ferocity,
should never himself lead any of his military bands, in the fierce
onsets which they were incessantly making. At length De Soto learned
that Capafi, though a man of great mental energy, was incapacitated
from taking the field by his enormous obesity. He was so fat that he
could scarcely walk, and was borne from place to place on a litter.
He could give very energetic commands, but the execution of them must
be left to others. He also ascertained that this formidable chief had
taken up his almost unapproachable quarters about twenty-five miles
from Anhayea; and that in addition to the tangled thickets and
treacherous morasses with which nature had surrounded him, he had also
fortified himself in the highest style of semi-barbarian art, and had
garrisoned his little fortress with a band of his most indomitable
warriors.

Notwithstanding the difficulty of the enterprise, De Soto resolved to
attempt to capture him. This was too arduous a feat to be entrusted to
the leadership of any one but himself. He took a select body of
horsemen and footmen, and after a very difficult journey of three
days, came to the borders of the citadel where the chief and his
garrison were intrenched. Mr. Irving, in his admirable history of the
Conquest of Florida, gives the following interesting account of the
fortress, and of the battle in which it was captured:

"In the heart of this close and impervious forest, a piece of
ground was cleared and fortified for the residence of the
Cacique and his warriors. The only entrance or outlet, was by
a narrow path cut through the forest. At every hundred paces,
this path was barricaded by palisades and trunks of trees,
at each of which was posted a guard of the bravest warriors.
Thus the fat Cacique was ensconced in the midst of the forest
like a spider in the midst of his web, and his devoted
subjects were ready to defend him to the last gasp.

"When the Governor arrived at the entrance to the perilous
defile, he found the enemy well prepared for its defence. The
Spaniards pressed forward, but the path was so narrow that
the two foremost only could engage in the combat. They gained
the first and second palisades at the point of the sword.
There it was necessary to cut the osiers and other bands,
with which the Indians had fastened the beams. While thus
occupied they were exposed to a galling fire and received
many wounds. Notwithstanding all these obstacles, they gained
one palisade after the other until, by hard fighting, they
arrived at the place of refuge of the Cacique.

"The conflict lasted a long time, with many feats of prowess
on both sides. The Indians however, for want of defensive
armor, fought on unequal terms, and were most of them cut
down. The Cacique called out to the survivors to surrender.
The latter, having done all that good soldiers could do, and
seeing all their warlike efforts in vain, threw themselves on
their knees before the Governor and offered up their own
lives, but entreated him to spare the life of their Cacique.

"De Soto was moved by their valor and their loyalty;
receiving them with kindness, he assured them of his pardon
for the past, and that henceforth he would consider them as
friends. Capafi, not being able to walk, was borne in the
arms of his attendants to kiss the hands of the Governor,
who, well pleased to have him in his power, treated him with
urbanity and kindness."

Severe as had been the conflict, De Soto returned to Anhayea with his
captive, highly gratified by the result of his enterprise. He had
strictly enjoined it upon his troops not to be guilty of any act of
wanton violence. On the march he had very carefully refrained from any
ravaging of the country. He now hoped that, the chief being in his
power and being treated with the utmost kindness, all hostilities
would cease. But, much to his disappointment, the warriors of Capafi,
released from the care of their chief, devoted themselves anew to the
harassment of the Spaniards in every possible way.

Capafi seemed much grieved by this their conduct, assuming to be
entirely reconciled to his conqueror. He informed De Soto that his
prominent warriors, who directed the campaign, had established their
headquarters in a dense forest about thirty miles from Anhayea. He
said that it would be of no avail for him to send messengers to them,
for they would believe that the messages were only such as De Soto
compelled their chief to utter. He however offered to go himself to
the camp of his warriors, accompanied by such a guard of Spanish
troops as De Soto might deem it best to send with him. He expressed
the assurance, that he should be enabled to induce his warriors to
throw down their arms.

De Soto accepted the proposition. In the early morning a strong escort
of infantry and cavalry left the village to conduct the chief to the
encampment of the natives. Skillful guides accompanied them, so that
they reached the vicinity of the encampment just as the sun was going
down. The chief sent forward scouts immediately, to inform his friends
of his approach. The Spaniards, weary of their long day's march, and
convinced of the impossibility of the escape of the chief, who could
scarcely walk a step, were very remiss in watchfulness. Though they
established sentinels and a guard, in accordance with military usage,
it would seem that they all alike fell asleep. It is probable that the
wily chief had sent confidential communications to his warriors
through his scouts.

The Spaniards were encamped in the glooms of the forest. At midnight,
when darkness, silence and solitude reigned, Capafi stealthily crept
on his hands and knees, a few rods from his sleeping guard, into the
thicket, where a band of Indian runners met him with a litter and bore
him rapidly away beyond all chance of successful pursuit. The
Spaniards never caught glimpse of their lost captive again. When they
awoke their chagrin and dread of punishment were extreme. The
sentinels, who had been appointed to watch the captive, solemnly
averred, in excuse for their neglect, that during the night demoniac
spirits had appeared, and had borne away the unwieldy chief through
the air.

As all the band were implicated in the escape, all were alike ready to
aver that, during the night, they had witnessed very strange sights
and heard very strange sounds. When they carried back this report, the
good-natured De Soto, convinced that fretting and fault-finding would
do no good, appeased their alarm by saying, with a peculiar smile:

"It is not strange. These Indian wizards perform feats far more
difficult than conjuring away a fat chief."

The winter passed slowly away. The natives were a very ferocious race;
tall, strong, athletic, and delighting in war. Every day and every
hour brought alarm and battle. The Indians conducted a harassing and
destructive warfare. In small bands they roamed through the forest,
cutting off any who ventured to wander from the town. It required a
large amount of food to supply the wants of the army in Anhayea. Not a
native carried any provisions to the town, and it was necessary for De
Soto to send out foraging expeditions, at whatever risk. The winter
was cold. Fires were needed for warmth and cooking. But the sound of
an axe could not be heard in the forest, without drawing upon the
wood-cutters, a swarm of foes. De Soto found himself in what is called
a false position; so that he deemed it necessary to resort to cruel
and apparently unjustifiable expedients.

He took a large number of Indian captives. These he compelled to be
his hewers of wood and drawers of water. He would send a party of
Spaniards into the forests for fuel. Each man led an Indian as a
servant to operate in the double capacity of a shield against the
arrows of the natives, and a slave to collect and bring back the
burden. To prevent the escape of these Indians, each one was led by a
chain, fastened around his neck or waist. Sometimes these natives
would make the most desperate efforts to escape; by a sudden twitch
upon the chain they would endeavor to pull it from the hands of their
guard, or to throw him down and, seizing any club within their reach,
would spring upon him with the ferocity of a tiger.

In various ways more than twenty Spaniards lost their lives, and many
more were seriously wounded. It was indeed a melancholy winter for the
army of De Soto. Their supplies were so far expended that it was
needful for them to await the arrival of their vessels in the Bay of
St. Marks. It will also be remembered, that De Soto had sent back an
expedition to cut its way for a distance of three hundred miles
through hostile nations to Ucita, and to summon the garrison there, to
set out on a march to join him at Anhayea. Five months were thus spent
in weary waiting.

It is estimated that De Soto's force in Anhayea, including the
captives who were servants or slaves, amounted to about fifteen
hundred persons. He had also over three hundred horses. The fertility
of the region was however such, with its extended fields of corn,
beans, pumpkins and other vegetables, that it was not necessary to
send foraging parties to a distance of more than four or five miles
from the village. On the 29th of December, 1539, the two brigantines,
which had sailed from Tampa Bay, came into St. Marks, then called the
Bay of Aute. For twelve days before the arrival of the ships, De Soto
had kept companies of horse and foot marching and countermarching
between Anhayea and the Bay, to keep the communication open. They also
placed banners on the highest trees, as signals to point out the place
of anchorage.

Juan De Añasco, who had command of the vessels, left them well manned
in the bay, and with the remainder of the ship's company marched to
Anhayea, under escort of the troops sent him by De Soto.

Soon after this, Pedro Calderon arrived with his gallant little band
of a hundred and twenty men. By a series of the wildest adventures and
most heroic achievements they had cut their way through a wilderness
thronging with foes, where an army of eight hundred men had with
difficulty effected a passage. Fighting every step of the way and
bearing along with them their wounded, their progress was necessarily
slow. Several of their number were killed and many wounded. Of the
wounded, twelve died soon after they reached Anhayea.

Their arrival in the village was a cause of great gratification to all
there. De Soto received them as an affectionate father welcomes his
son whom he had supposed to have been lost. The rumor had reached the
Governor that all had been slain on the road.

Captain Calderon brought a letter to De Soto, from his wife Isabella.
We find the following interesting extract from this letter in the
life of De Soto by Mr. Lambert A. Wilmer. It seems to bear internal
evidence of authenticity, though we know not the source from which Mr.
Wilmer obtained it. The spirit of the letter is in entire accord with
the noble character which Mr. Washington Irving gives Isabella, in his
life of Columbus and his companions.

"I have lately had some conversation with Las Casas, the
Bishop of Chiapa. He has convinced me that the behavior of
our people to the Indians is inexcusable in the sight of
God, however it may be overlooked by men in high authority.
The Bishop has proved to me that all who have taken part in
the abuse of these harmless people, have been visited in
this life with the manifest displeasure of heaven; and God
grant that they may not be punished in the life to come
according to the measure of their offense.

"I hope, my dearest husband that no considerations of
worldly advantage will make you neglectful of the precepts
of humanity and of the duties of religion. Be persuaded to
return to me at once; for you can gain nothing in Florida
which can repay me for the sorrow and anxiety I feel in your
absence. Nor for all the riches of the country would I have
you commit one act the remembrance of which would be painful
to you hereafter. If you have gained nothing I shall be
better satisfied, because there may be the less cause for
repentance. Whatever may have been your want of success or
your losses, I implore you to come to me without delay; for
any reverse of fortune is far better than the suspense and
misery I now endure."

This letter must have caused De Soto great perplexity. But for reasons
which we have above given he could not make up his mind to abandon the
enterprise, and return to Cuba an unsuccessful and impoverished man.

De Soto now ordered the two vessels under Diego Maldonado to explore
the coast to the westward, carefully examining every river and bay. It
would seem also probable that at the same time he fitted out an
expedition of fifty foot soldiers, to march along the coast on a tour
of discovery. Maldonado, after a sail of about two hundred miles,
entered the beautiful bay of Pensacola, then called Archusi. It was an
admirable harbor, and with shores so steep and bold that ships could
ride in safety almost within cable length of the land. No Spaniards
had previously visited that region, consequently the natives were
friendly. They came freely on board, bringing fruits and vegetables,
and inviting the strangers to the hospitality of their homes.

Maldonado was allowed without molestation to explore the bay in all
directions, taking careful soundings. The vessels returned to the bay
of Aute, after an absence of but eight weeks. De Soto was highly
gratified with the results of the expedition. It seemed to him that
the shores of the bay of Pensacola presented just the position he
desired for the location of his colony. He had thus far failed, in his
search for gold, but it seemed to him still possible that he might lay
the foundation of a populous and powerful empire.

It was now the latter part of February, and an almost vertical sun was
throwing down its rays upon them. Maldonado was dispatched with the
brigantines to Havana, to return with a supply of clothing, ammunition
and such other freight as was needful for the army in its isolated
condition. He received orders to be back in the bay of Pensacola, by
the first of October. In the mean time De Soto with his army was to
make a long circuit through the country, in search of gold. De Soto
had received information of a distant province called Cofachiqui,
which was governed by a queen, young and beautiful. It was said that
this nation was quite supreme over the adjacent provinces, from which
it received tribute and feudal homage.

Two lads but sixteen years of age had come to Anhayea, from this
province in company with some Indian traders. So far as they could
make themselves understood, though very unskilful interpreters, they
represented the country as abounding in silver, gold and precious
stones. In pantomime they described the process of mining and smelting
the precious metals so accurately that experienced miners were
convinced that they must have witnessed those operations.

In the month of March, 1540, De Soto left his comfortable quarters,
and commenced his march for that province, in a northeasterly
direction. Their path led first through an almost unpeopled wilderness
many leagues in extent. Each soldier bore his frugal supper or food
upon his back. It consisted mainly of roasted corn pounded or ground
into meal.

An unobstructed but weary tramp of three days brought them through
this desert region to a very singular village, called Capachiqui. In
the midst of a vast morass, there was an island of elevated and dry
ground. Here quite a populous village was erected, which commanded a
wide spread view of the flat surrounding region. The village could
only be approached by several causeways crossing the marsh, about
three hundred feet in length. The country beyond was fertile and
sprinkled with small hamlets. Eight hundred armed warriors, on the
open plain, presented a force which the most valiant Indians would
not venture to assail. The Spaniards entered the village by these
causeways unopposed, and found there a not inhospitable reception.

The day after their arrival, seven of De Soto's body-guard,
thoughtless and rollicking young men, set out, without authority from
their superior officers, to seek amusement in the neighboring hamlets.
They had scarcely reached the main land, beyond the marsh, when the
Indians, from an ambush, rushed upon them, and after a very fierce
struggle all but one were slain, and that one, Aguilar, was mortally
wounded. The soldiers in the village hastened to the relief of their
comrades, but they were too late. Aguilar, in a dying condition, was
carried back to the encampment. He had, however, sufficient strength
left to make the following extraordinary statement:

"You must know that a band of more than fifty savages sprang out of
the thickets to attack us. The moment, however, they saw that we were
but seven, and without our horses, seven warriors stepped forth, and
the rest retired to some distance. They began the attack, and as we
had neither arquebus nor cross-bow, we were entirely at their mercy.
Being more agile, and fleet of foot than our men, they leaped around
us like so many devils, with horrid laughter, shooting us down like
wild beasts without our being able to close with them. My poor
comrades fell one after the other, and the savages seeing me alone,
all seven rushed upon me, and with their bows battered me as you have
witnessed."

This singular event took place within the territory of Appalachee. It
is said that the Spaniards not unfrequently met with similar
instances, in which the natives disdained to avail themselves of
superior numbers.

CHAPTER XIII.

_Lost in the Wilderness._

Incidents at Achise--Arrival at Cofa.--Friendly Reception
by Cofaqui.--The Armed Retinue.--Commission of
Patofa.--Splendors of the March.--Lost in the
Wilderness.--Peril of the Army.--Friendly Relations.--The
Escape from the Wilderness.--They Reach the Frontiers of
Cofachiqui.--Dismissal of Patofa.--Wonderful Reception by
the Princess of Cofachiqui.

After a couple of days of rest and feasting, the Spanish army resumed
its march. De Soto led the advance with forty horsemen and seventy
foot soldiers. Ere long they entered the province of Attapaha, from
which the river Attapaha probably takes its name. On the morning of
the third day they approached a village called Achise. The affrighted
natives had fled. Two warriors who had tarried behind, were captured
as the dragoons came dashing into the streets. They were led into the
presence of De Soto. Without waiting to be addressed by him, they
haughtily assailed him with the question,

"What is it you seek in our land? Is it peace, or is it war?" De Soto
replied, through his interpreter,

"We seek not war with any one. We are in search of a distant province;
and all that we ask for is an unobstructed passage through your
country, and food by the way."

The answer seemed to them perfectly satisfactory, and they at once
entered apparently into the most friendly relations. The captives were
set at liberty and treated by the Spaniards, in all respects, as
friends. Promptly the two warriors sent a message to their chief,
informing him of the peaceful disposition of the Spaniards, and he
accordingly issued orders to his people not to molest them.

In this pleasant village, and surrounded by this friendly people, De
Soto spent three days. He then resumed his journey, in a northeasterly
direction, along the banks of some unknown river, fringed with
mulberry trees, and winding through many luxuriant and beautiful
valleys. The natives were all friendly, and not the slightest
collision occurred. For eleven days the army continued its movements,
encountering nothing worthy of note.

They then entered a province called Cofa. De Soto sent couriers in
advance to the chief with proffers of friendship. The chief, in
return, sent a large number of Indians laden with food for the
strangers. With the provisions were sent rabbits, partridges, and a
species of dog whose flesh was held in high esteem. The Spaniards
suffered for want of meat; for though game in the forest was abundant,
being constantly on the march, they had no time for hunting.

The chief of Cofa received the Spaniards in his metropolitan town with
great hospitality. He assigned his own mansion to De Soto, and
provided comfortable quarters for all his troops. The natives and the
Spaniards mingled together without the slightest apparent antagonism.
The province of Cofa was of large extent, populous and fertile. Here
the Spaniards remained five days, entertained by the abounding
hospitality of the chief.

De Soto had thus far brought with him a piece of ordnance, which had
proved of very little service. It was heavy and exceedingly difficult
of transportation. He decided to leave it behind him with this
friendly people. To impress them, however, with an idea of its power
as an engine of destruction, he caused it to be loaded and aimed at a
large oak tree just outside of the village. Two shots laid the oak
prostrate. The achievement filled both the chief and his people with
amazement and awe.

Again the army resumed its march towards the next province, which was
called Cofaqui; whose chief was brother of Cofa. The Spaniards were
escorted by Cofa and a division of his army, during one day's journey.
The friendly chief then took an affectionate leave of De Soto, and
sent forward couriers to inform his brother of the approach of the
Spaniards and to intercede for his kindly offices in their behalf. It
required a march of six days to reach the territory of the new
chieftain.

In response to Cofa's message, Cofaqui dispatched four of his
subordinate chiefs, with a message of welcome to the Spaniards. He
sent out his runners to bring him speedy intelligence of their
approach. As soon as he received news that they were drawing near, he
started himself, with a retinue of warriors in their richest
decorations, to welcome the strangers. The meeting, on both sides, was
equally cordial. Side by side, almost hand in hand, the Floridians and
the Spaniards entered the pleasant streets of Cofaqui. The chief led
De Soto to his own mansion, and left him in possession there while he
retired to another dwelling.

The intercourse between these two illustrious men seemed to be as
cordial as that between two loving brothers. The Floridian chief, with
great frankness, gave De Soto information respecting the extent,
population and resources of his domain. He informed him that the
province of Cofachiqui, of which he was in search, could only be
reached by a journey of seven days, through a dreary wilderness. But
he offered, should De Soto decide to continue his journey, to send a
strong band of his army, to accompany him with ample supplies. De Soto
afterwards ascertained that there was some duplicity in this proposal;
or rather, that the chief had a double object in view. It appeared,
that there had been long and hereditary antagonism between the
province of Cofaqui, and that of Cofachiqui; and the chief availed
himself of that opportunity to invade the territory of his rival.

Scouts were sent out in all directions to assemble the warriors, and
De Soto was surprised to find an army of four thousand soldiers, and
as many burden-bearers, ready to accompany him. The provisions, with
which they were fully supplied, consisted mainly of corn, dried plums
and nuts of various kinds. Indian hunters accompanied the expedition
to search the forests for game.

The Spaniards at first were not a little alarmed in finding themselves
in company with such an army of natives; outnumbering them eight to
one, and they were apprehensive of treachery. Soon, however, their
fears in that direction were allayed, for the chief frankly avowed the
object of the expedition. Summoning before him Patofa, the captain of
the native army, he said to him, in presence of the leading Spanish
officers in the public square:

"You well know that a perpetual enmity has existed between our fathers
and the Indians of Cofachiqui. That hatred you know has not abated in
the least. The wrongs we have received from that vile tribe still
rankle in our hearts, unavenged. The present opportunity must not be
lost. You, at the head of my braves, must accompany this chief and his
warriors, and, under their protection, wreak vengeance on our
enemies."

Patofa, who was a man of very imposing appearance, stepped forward,
and after going through several evolutions with a heavy broadsword
carved from wood, exceedingly hard, said:

"I pledge my word to fulfill your commands, so far as may be in my
power. I promise, by aid of the strangers, to revenge the insults and
deaths, our fathers have sustained from the natives of Cofachiqui. My
vengeance shall be such, that the memory of past evils shall be wiped
away forever. My daring to reappear in your presence will be a token
that your commands have been executed. Should the fates deny my hopes,
never again shall you see me, never again shall the sun shine upon me.
If the enemy deny me death, I will inflict upon myself the punishment
my cowardice or evil fortune will merit."

It was indeed a large army which then commenced its march, for it
consisted of four thousand native warriors, and four thousand
retainers to carry supplies and clothing, and between eight and nine
hundred Spaniards. The Indians were plumed and decorated in the
highest style of military display. The horses of the Spaniards were
gayly caparisoned, and their burnished armor glittered in the sun.
Silken banners waving in the breeze and bugle peals echoing over the
plains, added both to the beauty and the sublimity of the scene.

The Spaniards conducted their march as in an enemy's country, and
according to the established usages of war. They formed in squadrons
with a van and rear guard. The natives followed, also in martial
array; for they were anxious to show the Spaniards that they were
acquainted with military discipline and tactics. Thus in long
procession, but without artillery trains or baggage wagons, they moved
over the extended plains and threaded the defiles of the forest. At
night they invariably encamped at a little distance from each other.
Both parties posted their sentinels, and adopted every caution to
guard against surprise.

Indeed, it appears that De Soto still had some distrust of his allies,
whose presence was uninvited, and with whose company he would gladly
have dispensed. The more he reflected upon his situation, the more
embarrassing it seemed to him. He was entering a distant and unknown
province, ostensibly on a friendly mission, and it was his most
earnest desire to secure the good-will and coöperation of the natives.
And yet he was accompanied by an army whose openly avowed object was
to ravage the country and to butcher the people.

The region upon which they first entered, being a border land between
the two hostile nations, was almost uninhabited, and was much of the
way quite pathless. It consisted, however, of a pleasant diversity of
hills, forests and rivers. The considerable band of hunters which
accompanied the native army, succeeded in capturing quite an amount of
game for the use of the troops. For seven days the two armies moved
slowly over these widely extended plains, when they found themselves
utterly bewildered and lost in the intricacies of a vast, dense,
tangled forest, through which they could not find even an Indian's
trail. The guides professed to be entirely at fault, and all seemed to
be alike bewildered.

De Soto was quite indignant, feeling that he had been betrayed and led
into an ambush for his destruction. He summoned Patofa to his presence
and said to him:

"Why have you, under the guise of friendship, led us into this
wilderness, whence we can discover no way of extricating ourselves? I
will never believe that among eight thousand Indians there is not one
to be found capable of showing us the way to Cofachiqui. It is not at
all likely that you who have maintained perpetual war with that tribe,
should know nothing of the public road and secret paths leading from
one village to another."

Patofa made the following frank and convincing reply.

"The wars that have been waged between these two provinces, have not
been carried on by pitched battles nor invasions of either party, but
by skirmishes by small bands who resort to the streams and rivers we
have crossed, to fish; and also by combats between hunting parties, as
the wilderness we have traversed is the common hunting ground of both
nations. The natives of Cofachiqui are more powerful and have always
worsted us in fight. Our people were therefore dispirited and dared
not pass over their own frontiers.

"Do you suspect that I have led your army into these deserts to
perish? If so, take what you please. If my head will suffice, take it;
if not you may behead every Indian, as they will obey my mandate to
the death."

The manner of Patofa was in accordance with these feeling and manly
words. De Soto no longer cherished a doubt of his sincerity, and
became also convinced that their guides were utterly unable to
extricate him. Under these circumstances nothing remained but blindly
to press forward or to retrace his steps. They at length found some
narrow openings in the forest through which they forced their way
until they arrived, just before sunset, upon the banks of a deep and
rapid stream which seemed to present an impassable barrier before
them.

They had no canoes or rafts with which to cross the river; their food
was nearly consumed, as it had been supposed that a supply for seven
days would be amply sufficient to enable them to traverse the desert.
To turn back was certain death by starvation; to remain where they
were was equal destruction; to go forward seemed impossible, for they
had not sufficient food to support them even while constructing rafts.
It was the darkest hour in all their wanderings. Despair seemed to
take possession of all hearts excepting that of De Soto. He still kept
up his courage, assuming before his people an untroubled and even
cheerful spirit.

The river afforded water to drink. A large grove of pine trees
bordering the river, beneath whose fragrant shade they were encamped,
sheltered them from the sun. The level and extended plain, dry and
destitute of underbrush, presented excellent camping-ground. Food only
was wanting. But without this food in a few short days the whole army
must perish.

De Soto, that very evening leaving the armies there, took a detachment
of horse and foot and set off himself in search of some relief or path
of extrication. Late in the night he returned, perplexed and
distressed, having accomplished nothing. A council of war was held. It
was promptly decided that the armies should remain where they were
while detachments were sent in all directions in search of food or of
some path of escape.

These detachments left early in the morning and returned late at night
having discovered neither road nor corn-field, nor habitation. De Soto
then organized four bands of horse and two of foot to go up and down
the river, and to penetrate the interior, and to make as wide an
exploration as possible within the limit of five days. Each band was
accompanied by a large number of natives. Patofa himself went with one
of these detachments. A thousand Indian warriors were scattered
through the forest in search of a road and such game as could be
found. The Governor remained on the banks of the river anxiously
awaiting their return.

[Illustration]

"The four thousand Indians," writes Mr. Irving, "who remained
with him, sallied out every morning and returned at night,
some with herbs and roots that were eatable, others with
fish, and others again with birds and small animals killed
with their bows and arrows. These supplies were, however, by
no means sufficient for the subsistence of such a multitude.

"De Soto fared equally with his men in every respect; and,
though troubled and anxious for the fate of his great
expedition, he wore a sunny countenance to cheer up his
followers. These chivalrous spirits appreciated his care and
kindness, and to solace him they concealed their sufferings,
assumed an air of contentedness, and appeared as happy as
though revelling in abundance."

Most of the exploring parties suffered no less from hunger than did
their companions who remained behind. Juan De Añasco, after traversing
the banks of the river for three days, had his heart gladdened by the
sight of a small village. From an eminence he saw that the country
beyond was fertile, well cultivated and dotted here and there with
hamlets. In the village, for some unexplained reason, he found a large
amount of provisions accumulated, consisting mainly of corn. He
immediately dispatched four horsemen back to De Soto with the joyful
tidings. They took with them such food as they could carry. This
proved to be the first village in the long-sought-for province of
Cofachiqui.

It will be remembered that Patofa, the commander-in-chief of the
native army, had, with a large number of his warriors, accompanied
Añasco. He had pledged his word to his chief that he would do
everything in his power to harass, pillage and destroy their ancestral
foes. Añasco encamped his band a little outside the village. At
midnight Patofa and his warriors crept stealthily from the encampment,
pillaged the temple which contained many treasures prized by the
Indians, and killed and scalped every native whom they met, man, woman
or child. When Añasco awoke in the morning and found what they had
done, he was terrified. The outrage had been committed by troops under
his own command. He was apprehensive that every man in the village,
aided by such warriors as could be gathered from around, would rush
upon him in revenge, and that he and his enfeebled followers would be
destroyed. Immediately he commenced a retreat to meet De Soto, who he
doubted not would be promptly on the move to join him.

The four couriers reached the camp in one day, though in their slow
exploring tour it had required three days to accomplish the forty
miles which they had traversed. The troops were overjoyed at the glad
tidings, and immediately prepared to resume their march. Several of
their detachments had not yet returned. In order to give them
information of the direction which the army had taken, De Soto wrote a
letter, placed it in a box, and buried it at the foot of a tree. Upon
the bark of the tree, he had these words conspicuously cut: "Dig at
the root of this pine, and you will find a letter."

The half famished troops, inspired with new energies, reached the
village in a day and a half, where their hunger was appeased. The
scattered detachments arrived a few days after. The force of De Soto
was too strong for the natives to attack him, notwithstanding the
provocation they had received. He found, however, much to his chagrin,
that he was utterly unable to restrain the savage propensities of his
allies. For seven days the Spaniards sojourned in this frontier
village of Cofachiqui. Warlike bands were continually stealing out,
penetrating the region around, killing and scalping men, women and
children, and committing every conceivable outrage of barbaric
warfare.

De Soto could endure this no longer. He called Patofa before him, and
told him in very emphatic terms that he must return to his own
province. He thanked the chieftain very cordially for his friendly
escort, made him a present of knives, clothing, and other valuables,
and dismissed him and his followers. Patofa was not unwilling to
return. He was highly gratified with the presents he had received, and
still more gratified that he had been permitted to wreak vengeance on
his hereditary foes.

Two days after his departure, the Spanish army was again in motion,
along the banks of the river. Every step they took revealed to them
the awful ravages committed by the bands of Patofa. They passed many
dwellings and many small hamlets, where the ground was covered with
the scalpless bodies of the dead. The natives had fled in terror to
the woods, so that not a living being was encountered. There was,
however, a plentiful supply of food in the villages, and the army
again enjoyed abundance.

The heroic Añasco was sent in advance to search out the way and, if
possible, to capture some Indians as guides. He took with him a small
band of thirty foot-soldiers, who were ordered to move as noiselessly
as possible, that they might, perchance, come upon the natives by
surprise. There was quite a broad, good road leading along the banks
over which the band advanced. Night came upon them when they were
about six miles ahead of the army. They were moving in profound
silence and with noiseless step through a grove, when they heard,
just before them, the sounds of a village. The barking of dogs, the
shouts of children, and the voices of men and women, reached their
ears. Pressing eagerly forward, hoping to capture some Indians in the
suburbs, they found that there was a sudden turn in the river and that
they stood upon the banks of its deep and swiftly flowing flood, with
the village on the other side. There was no means of crossing, neither
would it have been prudent to have crossed with such small numbers,
not knowing the force they might encounter there.

They dispatched couriers back in the night, to inform De Soto of their
discovery. By the break of day, the army was again in motion, De Soto
himself taking the lead, with one hundred horse and one hundred foot.
When he reached the banks, and the natives upon the opposite shore
caught sight of his glittering dragoons, on their magnificent steeds,
they were struck with amazement and consternation.

It would seem that the language of these different tribes must have
been essentially the same, for Juan Ortiz was still their interpreter.
He shouted across the river, assuring the natives of the friendly
intentions of the Spaniards, and urging them to send some one over to
convey a message to their chief. After some little hesitation and
deliberation, the Indians launched a large canoe, in which six
Indians of venerable appearance took their seats, while quite a number
of lusty men grasped the oars. Very rapidly the canoe was driven
through the water.

De Soto, who had watched these movements with deep interest, perceived
that he was about to be visited by men of much importance. He had
therefore brought forward and placed upon the banks a very showy
throne, or chair of state, which he always carried with him for such
purposes. Here he took his seat, with his retinue of officers around
him.

The native chieftains landed without any apparent fear, approached him
with three profound reverences, and then with much dignity inquired,
"Do you come for peace or for war?"

"I come for peace," De Soto replied, "and seek only an unmolested
passage through your land. I need food for my people, and implore your
assistance, by means of canoes and rafts, to cross the river."

The Indians replied, that they were themselves somewhat destitute of
provisions; that a terrible pestilence the preceding year had swept
off many of their inhabitants; and that others in their consternation
had fled from their homes, thus neglecting to cultivate the fields.

They said that their chieftain was a young princess who had recently
inherited the government, and that they had no doubt that she would
receive them with hospitality, and do everything in her power, to
promote their welfare. Having thus concluded this friendly interview,
the chiefs returned to the other side of the river.

Very soon the Spaniards, who eagerly watched every movement, perceived
a decided commotion in the village. A large and highly decorated canoe
appeared upon the banks; then quite a gorgeous palanquin was seen
borne by four men, descending towards the stream; then several other
canoes of imposing structure seemed to be preparing for an aquatic
procession. From the palanquin a graceful girl, showily dressed,
entered the state canoe and reclined upon cushions in the stern under
a canopy. Eight female attendants accompanied her.

The six ambassadors, who had already visited De Soto, took seats in
the canoe which led the van, driven as before by a large number of
sinewy arms. The royal barge was attached to this canoe and was towed
by it. Several other boats, filled with distinguished men, followed in
the rear, completing the imposing show.

As the young princess stepped on shore, all the Spaniards were deeply
impressed with her dignity, grace and beauty. To their eyes, she was
in form and feature as perfect as any image which Grecian artist ever
sculptured. Her attendants brought with them a chair of state upon
which she took her seat after courteously bowing to the Governor.
Through an interpreter they immediately entered into conversation. The
princess confirmed the statement of her ambassadors in reference to
the pestilence, but offered to do everything in her power to provide
them with food. She offered one-half of her own residence to De Soto
for his accommodation, and one-half of the houses in her village as
barracks for the soldiers. She also promised that by the next day
rafts and canoes should be in readiness to transport the Spaniards
across the river.

The generous soul of De Soto was deeply touched, and he assured her of
his lasting friendship and that of his sovereign. At the close of the
interview the princess rose, and as a present, suspended a string of
costly pearls around the neck of De Soto. The Governor then rose and
presented her with a ring of gold set with a ruby, which she placed
upon one of her fingers. Thus terminated this extraordinary interview.
What a difference between peace and war!

"Were half the power that fills the world with terror,
Were half the wealth bestowed on camps and courts,
Given to redeem the human mind from error,
There were no need for arsenals or forts.

"The warrior's name would be a name abhorred;
And every nation that should lift again
Its hand against a brother, on its forehead
Would wear forevermore the curse of Cain."

CHAPTER XIV.

_The Indian Princess._

Crossing the River.--Hospitable Reception.--Attempts to
visit the Queen Mother.--Suicide of the Prince.--Futile
search for Gold.--The Discovery of Pearls.--The Pearl
Fishery.--The Princess a Captive.--Held in Silken
Chains.--Her Escape.--Location of Cutifachiqui.--The March
Resumed.

The next day after the extraordinary interview which we have described
in the last chapter, the princess ordered several large rafts to be
constructed, and with these, aided by a number of canoes, the army
crossed the rapid stream. Four horses, in attempting to swim the swift
river, were carried away and drowned. These animals were so precious
that the loss was deplored by the whole army.

When the troops had all crossed, they found very pleasant
accommodations provided for them. Some were lodged in the village. For
the rest commodious wigwams were erected just outside of the village
in a beautiful mulberry grove on the river banks. The province of
Cofachiqui was found to be very fertile and quite densely populated.
The natives were in complexion nearly as white as the Spaniards. They
had agreeable features, graceful forms, and were very frank and
amiable in disposition. They did not seem to be fond of war, though
often involved in conflicts with their neighbors. According to the
custom of the times, all prisoners of war were enslaved and were
employed in servile labor. To prevent their escape the cruel expedient
was adopted of cutting the main tendon of one leg just above the heel.

The mother of the princess of this tribe was a widow, residing in a
retired home about thirty-six miles down the river. De Soto, who was
anxious to secure the firm friendship of this interesting people,
expressed an earnest desire to see the queen mother. The princess
immediately dispatched twelve of her chieftains to urge her mother to
visit her, that she might be introduced to the strange visitors, and
see the wonderful animals on which they rode.

She however declined the invitation, expressing her very decided
disapproval of the conduct of her daughter, as both inexpedient and
indelicate, in entering into such friendly relations with utter
strangers, of whose ulterior designs she could know nothing. This
message, greatly increased the desire of De Soto to have an interview
with the queen mother, that he might conciliate her friendship. He
therefore dispatched Juan De Añasco, who was alike distinguished for
bravery and prudence, with thirty companions on foot, to convey to her
presents and friendly messages, and very earnest requests that she
would visit them at the court of her daughter.

The princess sent a near relative of the family as guide to this
party--a young man about twenty-one years of age, and exceedingly
attractive both in person and character. He was richly habited in
garments of soft deerskin, beautifully fringed and embroidered, with a
head-dress of various colored plumes.

"In his hand he bore a beautiful bow, so highly polished as to appear
as if finely enamelled. At his shoulder hung a quiver full of arrows.
With a light and elastic step and an animated and gallant air his
whole appearance was that of an ambassador, worthy of the young and
beautiful princess whom he served."

The morning was somewhat advanced, ere they left the village. It was a
beautiful day in a lovely clime. Their route led down the banks of the
river through luxuriant and enchanting scenery. After a pleasant walk
of ten or twelve miles, they rested in the shade of a grove, for their
noonday meal. Their young guide had been very social all the way,
entertaining them with information of the region through which they
were passing, and of the people. As they were partaking of their
refreshments, suddenly the aspect of their young companion became
greatly altered. He was silent, thoughtful and apparently deeply
depressed. At length he quietly took the quiver from his shoulder, and
slowly and seemingly lost in deep reflection, drew out the arrows one
by one. They were very beautiful, of the highest possible finish,
keenly pointed, and triangularly feathered.

The Spaniards took them up, admired them greatly, and passed them from
hand to hand. At length he drew out an arrow barbed with flint, long,
and sharp, and shaped like a dagger. Casting an anxious glance around,
and seeing the attention of the Spaniards engrossed in examining his
weapons, he plunged the keen pointed arrow down his throat, severing
an artery, and almost immediately fell dead. The soldiers were shocked
and bewildered, not being able to conceive of any reason for the
dreadful occurrence. There were several Indian attendants in the
company, who seemed to be overwhelmed with distress, uttering loud
cries of grief over the corpse.

It subsequently appeared, that the young guide was a great favorite
with the queen mother; that he knew that she was very unwilling to
have any acquaintance with the Spaniards, and he apprehended that it
was their object to seize her and carry her off by violence. The
thought that he was guiding them to her retreat overwhelmed him. He
could not endure the idea of meeting her, and perhaps of being
reproached as her betrayer.

On the other hand, the queen, whom he revered and loved, had
commissioned him to conduct the Spaniards to her mother's abode. He
did not dare to disobey her commands. Either alternative was more to
be dreaded by him than death. The ingenuous young man had, therefore,
endeavored to escape from the dilemma by self-destruction.

Juan De Añasco was not only deeply grieved by the fate of his young
friend, but also greatly perplexed as to the course he was then to
pursue. None of the Indian attendants knew where the widow was
concealed. He took several natives prisoners, and anxiously inquired
of them respecting the residence of the queen mother. But either they
could not, or would not, give him any information. After wandering
about fruitlessly until noon of the next day, he returned to the camp,
much mortified in reporting to De Soto the utter failure of his
expedition.

Two days after his return, an Indian came to him and offered to
conduct him down the river in a canoe, to the dwelling of the queen
mother. Eagerly he accepted the proposition. Two large canoes, with
strong rowers, were prepared. Añasco, with twenty companions, set out
on this second expedition. The queen heard of his approach, and, with
a few attendants, secretly fled to another retreat far away. After a
search of six days, the canoes returned, having accomplished nothing.
De Soto relinquished all further endeavors to obtain an interview with
the widow.

In the meantime, while Añasco was engaged in these unsuccessful
enterprises, De Soto was making very anxious inquiries respecting the
silver and the gold which he had been informed was to be found in the
province. The princess listened to his description of the yellow metal
and the white metal of which he was in search, and said that they were
both to be found in great abundance in her territories. She
immediately sent out some Indians, to bring him specimens. They soon
returned laden with a yellow metal somewhat resembling gold in color,
but which proved to be nothing but an alloy of copper. The shining
substance which he had supposed was silver, was nothing but a
worthless species of mica, or quartz. Thus again, to his bitter
disappointment, De Soto awoke from his dreams of golden treasure, to
the toils and sorrows of his weary life.

The princess seemed to sympathize with her guest in the bitterness of
his disappointment. In her attempts at consolation, she informed him
that at the distance of about three miles from where they were, there
was a village called Talomeco, which was the ancient capital of the
realm; that here there was a vast sepulchre, in which all the
chieftains and great warriors had been buried; that their bodies were
decorated with great quantities of pearls.

De Soto, with a large retinue of his own officers and of the household
of the princess, visited this mausoleum. Much to his surprise, he
found there an edifice three hundred feet in length, and one hundred
and twenty in breadth, with a lofty roof. The entrance was decorated
with gigantic statuary of wood. One of these statues was twelve feet
in height. In the interior many statues and carved ornaments were
found.

A large number of wooden chests or coffins contained the decaying
bodies of the illustrious dead. By the side of each of these there was
another smaller chest, containing such valuables as it was probably
supposed the chief would need in the spirit-land. Both the Inca and
the Portuguese narrative agree in the account of the almost incredible
number of pearls there found. It is said that the Spaniards obtained
fourteen bushels, and that the princess assured them, that by visiting
the mausoleums of the various villages, they could find enough pearls
to load down all the horses of the army.

The Spaniards generally were greatly elated at the discovery of these
riches. Pearls were estimated at a value almost equal to diamonds. It
is said that Queen Cleopatra possessed a single pearl which was valued
at three hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. Philip II. of
Spain received as a present a pearl, about the size of a pigeon's egg,
valued at one hundred and sixty thousand dollars.

De Soto was urged to establish his colony upon this river, which has
variously been conjectured to have been the St. Helena, the Oconee,
the Ogeechee, and the Savannah. The country was beautiful and fertile;
the climate delightful; and apparently an inexhaustible pearl fishery
near. It was urged that an agricultural colony could be established on
the fertile banks of the river, while from the seaport at its mouth a
lucrative trade could be carried on with the mother country for all
the rich productions of Spain.

But the persistent spirit of De Soto was not to be turned from its one
great all-absorbing object, the search for gold. He urged, and with
great show of reason, that, in consequence of the recent pestilence,
there was not sufficient provision in the country, to support the army
for a month; that by continuing their march they might enter far
richer provinces, and might find mines of gold. Should they be
disappointed, they could easily return; and in the meantime, the
Indians having replanted their land, the fields would wave with
abundant golden harvests.

In an army of eight or nine hundred Spanish adventurers, there would
of course be many worthless characters, difficult of restraint. De
Soto had been in this village several weeks. Notwithstanding all his
endeavors to promote peace and friendship, several broils had arisen
between the natives and some of the low and degraded of his soldiery.
The conduct of these vile men had produced a general feeling of
ill-will among the natives. Even the princess herself manifested
estrangement. She had become distant and reserved, and was evidently
desirous that her no longer welcome guests should take their speedy
departure. There were some indications that the princess so far
distrusted the Spaniards that, like her more prudent mother, she was
about secretly to escape from them by flight.

This would leave the Spaniards in a very embarrassed condition. They
needed guides to conduct them through the extended territory of the
princess. Heavily armed as they were, they needed porters to carry
their burdens of extra clothing and provisions. The flight of the
princess would be the signal for the natives, all over the territory,
to rise in a war of attempted extermination. The queen mother would
doubtless do everything in her power to rouse and stimulate this
hostility. The Spaniards thus assailed on every side, destitute of
guides, without porters to carry their baggage, and with but little
food, would find themselves compelled in self-defence, to cut their
way, with blood-dripping sabres, through their foes, to rob their
granaries, and to leave behind them a path strown with the dead, and
filled with misery.

Again De Soto found himself in a false position. Again he felt
constrained to do that which his own conscience told him was unjust.
The only possible way, as it seemed to him, by which he could obtain
extrication from these awful difficulties, was to seize the person of
the princess, his friend and benefactor, and hold her as a captive to
secure the good behavior of her subjects. He knew that their love for
her was such that so long as she was in his power, they would not
enter upon any hostile movement which might bring down vengeance upon
her head.

If De Soto had accepted the spirit of the noble letter from Isabella,
and had said, "I will no longer persevere in this invasion of the
lands of others, which is always plunging me more and more deeply into
difficulties,"--had he said frankly to the friendly princess, "I have
decided to return to my home, and I solicit your friendly coöperation
to assist me on my way;" and had he made her a present, in token of
his gratitude, of some of those articles with which he could easily
have parted, and which were of priceless value to her, he might
doubtless have retired unmolested. Instead of this he followed the
infamous example which Pizarro had set him in Peru.

He appointed a guard, who were directed to keep a constant watch upon
the princess, so that she could by no possibility escape; at the same
time he informing her, in the most courteous tones, that the
protection of his army and of her own people rendered it necessary
that she should accompany him on his march. He held her in silken
chains, treating her with the utmost delicacy and deference. The
princess had sufficient shrewdness to affect compliance with this
arrangement. It certainly accomplished the desired effect. All strife
between the natives and the Spaniards ceased, a sufficient body of
porters accompanied the army, and its march was unimpeded. A beautiful
palanquin was provided for the princess, and the highest honors were
lavished upon her.

Colonel A. J. Pickett, in his interesting and very carefully prepared
History of Alabama, speaking of the locality of this village where De
Soto tarried so long, and encountered so many adventures, says:

"He entered the territory of the present Georgia at its
southwestern border, and successively crossing the Ockmulgee,
Oconee, and Ogeechee, finally rested on the banks of the
Savannah, immediately opposite the modern Silver Bluff. On
the eastern side was the town of Cutifachiqui, where lived an
Indian queen, young, beautiful, and unmarried, and who ruled
the country around to a vast extent. In 1736 George Golphin,
then a young Irishman, established himself as an Indian
trader at this point, and gave the old site of Cutifachiqui
the name of Silver Bluff. The most ancient Indians informed
him that this was the place where De Soto found the Indian
princess; and this tradition agrees with that preserved by
other old traders, and handed down to me."

According to this statement the village of Cutifachiqui was on the
eastern bank of the Savannah river, in Barnwell county, in the State
of South Carolina. On the morning of the 4th of May, 1540, De Soto
again put his army in motion, taking with him the beautiful queen and
her retinue of plumed warriors. All this country was then called
Florida. The army advanced rapidly up the eastern bank of the Savannah
river, where they forded the stream, and, again entering the present
State of Georgia, traversed nearly its whole breadth until they
reached the head waters of the Coosa river. Here, at the confluence of
the Oostanaula and Etowa rivers, they found a large Indian town called
Chiaha, near the present site of Rome.

While on the march across the State of Georgia, the queen, probably
dreading to be carried captive beyond her own domain, and aided by an
understanding with her retinue, leaped from the palanquin and
disappeared in a dense forest through which they were passing. De Soto
never saw her or heard from her again. Undoubtedly a band of her
warriors were in rendezvous there to receive her.

For five days the adventurers pressed along as rapidly as possible,
over a hilly country about sixty miles in breadth. Though well
watered, and abounding in beautiful valleys, luxuriant with mulberry
groves and rich prairies, it seemed to be quite uninhabited. Having
crossed this mountainous region, they reached a populous district
called Guachule. The chief had received an intimation of the approach
of the Spaniards, and that they came as messengers of peace and not of
war. When De Soto and his band, led by native guides whom they had
picked up by the way, had arrived within two miles of the village of
the chief, they discovered him approaching them with a retinue of five
hundred plumed warriors, adorned with glittering robes and weapons in
the highest style of semi-barbaric display. The chief was
unembarrassed, dignified, and courtly in his address. He received De
Soto with truly fraternal kindness, escorted him to his village, which
consisted of three hundred spacious houses, in a beautiful valley of
running streams at the base of adjacent hills.

The dwelling of the chief was upon a spacious artificial mound, the
summit of which was sufficiently broad for the large edifice, leaving
a terrace all around it about twelve feet in breadth. Here De Soto
remained four days, enjoying the hospitality of the friendly Cacique.

Resuming their journey, the army marched down the banks of a large
stream, supposed to be the Etowa, which empties into the Coosa. For
five days they continued their march through an uninteresting country,
almost destitute of inhabitants, until, having traversed, as they
supposed, about ninety miles, they came in sight of a large village,
called Chiaha.

De Soto, having arrived opposite the great town of Chiaha, which
probably occupied the present site of Rome, crossed the Oostanaula in
canoes, and upon rafts made of logs, prepared by the Indians, and took
up his quarters in the town. The noble young chief received De Soto
with unaffected joy, and made him the following address:

"Mighty Chief:--Nothing could have made me so happy as to be the means
of serving you and your warriors. You sent me word from Guaxule to
have corn collected to last your army two months. Here I have twenty
barns full of the best which the country can afford. If I have not met
your wishes respect my tender age, and receive my good-will to do for
you whatever I am able."

The Governor responded in a kind manner, and was then conducted to the
chief's own house, prepared for his accommodation. The confluence of
the Oostanaula and Etowa at this point forms the Coosa. Here De Soto
remained for a fortnight, recruiting his wearied men and his still
more exhausted horses. It was bright and balmy summer, and the
soldiers encamping in a luxuriant mulberry grove a little outside of
the town, enjoyed, for a season, rest and abundance. De Soto, as
usual, made earnest inquiries for gold. He was informed that about
thirty miles north of him there were mines of copper, and also of some
metal of the color of copper, but finer, brighter, and softer; and
that the natives sometimes melted them together in their manufacture
of barbs, spearheads, and hatchets.

This intelligence excited De Soto with new hopes. He had occasionally
met on his way natives with hatchets composed of copper and gold
melted together. As the province, which was called Chisca, was
separated from Chiaha by a pathless wilderness which horses could not
traverse, De Soto sent two of his most trusty followers on an
exploring tour through the region, conducted by Indian guides. After
an absence of ten days they returned with the disappointing report
that they found nothing there but copper of different degrees of
purity.

The rivers in the vicinity of Chiaha seem to have abounded with pearl
oysters, and large numbers of beautiful pearls were obtained. The
natives nearly spoiled them all by boring them through with a red-hot
rod, that they might string them as bracelets. One day the Cacique
presented De Soto with a string of pearls six feet in length, each
pearl as large as a filbert. These gems would have been of almost
priceless value but for the action of fire upon them.

De Soto expressed some curiosity to see how the pearls were obtained.
The Cacique immediately dispatched forty canoes down the river to fish
during the night for pearl oysters. In the morning De Soto accompanied
the Cacique to the banks of the river where the oysters were
collected. Large fires were built, and the oysters placed upon the
glowing coals. The heat opened them, and the pearls were sought for.
From some of the first thus opened ten or twelve pearls were obtained,
about the size of peas. They were all, however, more or less injured
by the heat. Col. Pickett says that the oyster mentioned was the
muscle, to be found in all the rivers of Alabama.

Again De Soto commenced his journey, leaving the friendly chief and
his people well contented with the presents he made them of gayly
colored cloths, knives, and other trinkets. Following the banks of the
Coosa to the west they soon entered what is now the State of Alabama,
and on the second of July came to a large native town named Acoste.
The tribe, or nation, inhabiting this region, was famed for its
martial prowess. The Cacique, a fierce warrior, did not condescend to
advance to meet De Soto, but at the head of fifteen hundred of his
soldiers, well armed and gorgeously uniformed, awaited in the public
square the approach of the Spanish chief. De Soto encamped his army
just outside of the town, and, with a small retinue, rode in to pay
his respects to the Cacique.

Some of the vagabond soldiers straggled into the city, and were guilty
of some outrages, which led the natives to fall upon them. De Soto,
with his accustomed presence of mind, seized a cudgel and assisted the
natives in fighting the Spaniards, while at the same moment he
dispatched a courier to summon the whole army to his rescue. Peace was
soon established, but there was some irritation on both sides. The
next morning De Soto was very willing to leave the neighborhood, and
the chief was not unwilling to have him.

De Soto crossed the river Coosa to the eastern banks, and journeying
along in a southerly direction, at the rate of about twelve miles a
day, passed over a fertile and populous region, nearly three hundred
miles in extent. It is supposed his path led through the present
counties of Benton, Talladega, Coosa, and Tallapoosa, in Alabama.
Throughout the whole route they were treated by the natives with the
most profuse hospitality, being fed by them liberally, and supplied
with guides to lead them from one village to another. The province
which De Soto was thus traversing, and which was far-famed for its
beauty and fertility, was called Coosa.

"With a delightful climate, and abounding in fine meadows and
beautiful little rivers, this region was charming to De Soto and
his followers. The numerous barns were full of corn, while acres
of that which was growing bent to the warm rays of the sun and
rustled in the breeze. In the plains were plum trees, peculiar to
the country, and others resembling those of Spain. Wild fruit
clambered to the tops of the loftiest trees, and lower branches
were laden with delicious Isabella grapes."[E]

[Footnote E: History of Alabama, by Albert James Pickett, p. 17.]

This is supposed to have been the same native grape, called the
Isabella, which has since been so extensively cultivated.

CHAPTER XV.

_The Dreadful Battle of Mobila._

The Army in Alabama.--Barbaric Pageant.--The Chief of
Tuscaloosa.--Native Dignity.--Suspected Treachery of the
Chief.--Mobila, its Location and Importance.--Cunning of
the Chief.--The Spaniards Attacked.--Incidents of the
Battle.--Disastrous Results.

On the 15th of July, 1540, the army came in sight of the metropolitan
town of the rich and populous province through which it was passing.
The town, like the province, bore the name of Coosa. The army had
travelled slowly, so that the native chief, by his swift footmen, had
easily kept himself informed of all its movements. When within a mile
or two of Coosa, De Soto saw in the distance a very splendid display
of martial bands advancing to meet him. The friendly greeting he had
continually received disarmed all suspicion of a hostile encounter.

The procession rapidly approached. At its head was the chief, a young
man twenty-six years of age, of admirable figure and countenance,
borne in a chair palanquin upon the shoulders of four of his warriors.
A thousand soldiers, in their most gaudy attire, composed his train.
As they drew near, with the music of well-played flutes, with regular
tread, their mantles and plumes waving in the breeze, all the
Spaniards were alike impressed with the beauty of the spectacle. The
chief himself was decorated with a mantle of rich furs gracefully
thrown over his shoulders. His diadem was of plumes very brilliantly
colored. He addressed De Soto in the following speech:

"Mighty chief, above all others of the earth. Although I come now to
receive you, yet I received you many days ago deep in my heart. If I
had the whole world it would not give me as much pleasure as I now
enjoy at the presence of yourself and your incomparable warriors. My
person, lands, and subjects are at your service. I will now march you
to your quarters with playing and singing."[F]

[Footnote F: Portuguese Narrative, p. 719.]

De Soto made a suitable response. Then the two armies, numbering, with
their attendants, more than two thousand men, commenced their march
toward the town. The native chief was borne in his palanquin, and De
Soto rode on his magnificent charger by his side. The royal palace was
assigned to De Soto, and one-half of the houses in the town were
appropriated to the soldiers for their lodgings.

The town of Coosa, which consisted of five hundred houses, was
situated on the east bank of the river of the same name, between two
creeks now known as Talladega and Tallasehatchee. During a residence
of twelve days in this delightful retreat, some slight disturbance
arose between some of the natives and some of the Spanish soldiers. It
was, however, easily quelled by the prudence and friendly disposition
of the chief and the Governor. Indeed, the native chief became so
attached to De Soto as to urge him to establish his colony there. Or
if he could not consent to that arrangement, at least to spend the
winter with him.

"But De Soto," writes Mr. Irving, "was anxious to arrive at
the bay of Achusi, where he had appointed Captain Diego
Maldonado to meet him in the autumn. Since leaving the
province of Xuala he had merely made a bend through the
country, and was now striking southerly for the sea-coast."

On the 20th of August the Spanish army, after having spent twenty-five
days at Coosa, was again in movement. The chief of Coosa, and a large
body of his warriors, accompanied De Soto to their frontiers,
evidently as a friendly retinue. The Portuguese Narrative makes the
incredible assertion that they were all prisoners, compelled to follow
the army for its protection and as guides. With much more probability
it is represented that one of the chief's subordinate officers on the
frontier was in a state of insurrection, and that upon that account
the chief gladly accompanied the Spaniards, hoping to overawe his
refractory subjects by appearing among them with such formidable
allies.

The Spaniards now entered the territory of Tuscaloosa, who was the
most warlike and powerful chieftain of all the southern tribes. His
domain comprised nearly the whole of the present States of Alabama and
Mississippi. The Tuscaloosa, or Black Warrior river, flowed through
one of the richest of his valleys. Though there were no mails or
telegraphs in those days, Indian runners conveyed all important
intelligence with very considerable rapidity. The chief had heard of
the approach of the Spaniards, and the annalists of those days say, we
know not with what authority, that he hesitated whether to receive
them as friends or foes. Whatever may have been his secret thoughts,
he certainly sent his son, a young man of eighteen, with a retinue of
warriors, to meet De Soto with proffers of friendship.

The young ambassador was a splendid specimen of manhood, being taller
than any Spaniard or Indian in the army, and admirably formed for both
strength and agility. In his bearing he was self-possessed and
courteous, appearing like a gentleman accustomed to polished society.
De Soto was much impressed by his appearance and princely manners. He
received him with the utmost kindness, made him several valuable
presents, and dismissed him with friendly messages to his father,
stating that he cordially accepted of his friendship, and would
shortly visit him.

De Soto then crossed the river Tuscaloosa, or Black Warrior, having
first taken an affectionate leave of the Cacique of Coosa, who had
accompanied him to this frontier river. A journey of two days brought
the Spaniards to within six miles of the large village where the chief
of Tuscaloosa was awaiting their arrival. As they reached this spot in
the evening, they encamped for the night in a pleasant grove. Early
the next morning De Soto sent forward a courier to apprise the chief
of his arrival, and set out soon after himself, accompanied by a
suitable retinue of horsemen.

The chief had, however, by his own scouts, kept himself informed of
every movement of the Spaniards. He had repaired with a hundred of his
nobles, and a large band of warriors, to the summit of a hill, over
which the route of the Spaniards led, and which commanded a
magnificent prospect of the country for many leagues around. He was
seated on a chair of state, and a canopy of parti-colored deerskin,
very softly tanned, and somewhat resembling a large umbrella, was held
over his head. His chief men were arranged respectfully and in order
near him, while at a little distance his warriors were posted in
martial bands. The whole spectacle, crowning the smooth and verdant
hill, presented a beautiful pageant.

The Cacique was about forty years of age, and of gigantic proportions,
being, like his son, nearly a head taller than any of his attendants.
He was well-formed, and his countenance indicated perfect
self-possession, intelligence, and great firmness. The sight of the
cavaliers approaching with their silken banners, their glittering
armor, and bestride their magnificent steeds, must have been
astounding in the highest degree to one who had never seen a quadruped
larger than a dog. But the proud chief assumed an air of imperturbable
gravity and indifference.

One would have supposed that he had been accustomed to such scenes
from his childhood. He did not deign even to look upon the horsemen,
though some of them endeavored to arrest his attention by causing the
animals to prance and rear. Without taking the slightest notice of the
cavaliers who preceded De Soto, his eye seemed instantly to discern
the Governor. As he approached, the chief courteously arose, and
advanced a few steps to meet him. De Soto alighted from his horse, and
with Spanish courtesy embraced the chieftain, who, with great dignity,
addressed him in the following words:

"Mighty chief, I bid you welcome. I greet you as I would my brother.
It is needless to talk long. What I have to say can be said in a few
words. You shall know how willing I am to serve you. I am thankful for
the things you have sent me, chiefly because they were yours. I am now
ready to comply with your desires."

This interview, it is supposed, took place in the present county of
Montgomery, Alabama. The whole party then returned to the village, De
Soto and the chief walking arm in arm. A spacious house was assigned
to De Soto and his suite by the side of that occupied by the Cacique.

After a rest of two days in the village, enjoying the rather cold and
reserved, but abundant hospitality of the chief, the Spaniards
continued their march. The chief, either for his own pleasure or by
persuasion, was induced to accompany him. The most powerful horse in
the army was selected to bear his herculean frame; and yet it is said
that when the Cacique bestrode him his feet almost touched the ground.
De Soto had made him a present of a dress and mantle of rich scarlet
cloth Thus habited and mounted, with his towering plumes, he
attracted all eyes. The two chieftains rode side by side. Their route
led through the counties of Montgomery, Lowndes, and the southeastern
part of Dallas, until they came to a large town called Piache, upon
the Alabama river. This stream they passed on rafts of log and cane,
probably in the upper part of the county of Wilcox. The expedition
then turned in a southerly direction, following down the western bank
of the Alabama through Wilcox county.

The Indian chief continued proud and distant; was observed to be
frequently consulting with his principal men, and often dispatching
runners in different directions. De Soto was led to suspect that some
treachery was meditated. Two of the Spaniards, who had wandered a
little distance in the woods, disappeared, and were never heard of
again. It was suspected that they had been killed by the natives. The
Cacique being questioned upon the subject, angrily and contemptuously
replied:

"Why do you ask me about your people? Am I their keeper?"

These suspicions led De Soto to keep a close watch upon the chief.
This was done secretly, while still friendly relations were maintained
between them. It was more than probable that the chief was himself a
spy in the Spanish camp, and that he was treacherously gathering his
powerful armies at some favorable point where he could effectually
annihilate the Spaniards, and enrich himself with all their
possessions of armor and horses. It was therefore a matter of
prudence, almost a vital necessity, for De Soto to throw an invisible
guard around the chieftain, that all his movements might be narrowly
observed, and that he might not take to sudden flight. With him in
their hands as a hostage, the hostility of his warriors might,
perhaps, be effectually arrested.

They were now approaching the town of Mobila, which was the capital of
the Tuscaloosa kingdom. This town was probably situated at a place now
called Choctaw Bluff, on the north or western side of the Alabama
river, in the county of Clarke. At that point the Spaniards were at a
distance of about twenty-five miles above the confluence of the
Alabama and the Tombigbee, and about eighty-five miles from the bay of
Pensacola. The town was beautifully situated upon a spacious plain,
and consisted of eighty very large houses; each one of which, it was
stated, would accommodate a thousand men.

As they approached this important place, De Soto sent forward some
very reliable couriers, to observe if there were any indications of
conspiracy. Early in the morning of the eighteenth of October, 1540,
De Soto with the advance guard of his army, consisting of one hundred
footmen, all picked men, accompanied by the Cacique, entered the
streets of Mobila. Mr. Irving gives the following interesting account
of this important capital:

"This was the stronghold of the Cacique, where he and his
principal men resided. It stood in a fine plain, and was
surrounded by a high wall, formed of huge trunks of trees
driven into the ground, side by side, and wedged together.
These were crossed, within and without, by others, small and
longer, bound to them by bands made of split reeds and wild
vines. The whole was thickly plastered over with a kind of
mortar, made of clay and straw trampled together, which
filled up every chink and crevice of the wood-work, so that
it appeared as if smoothed with a trowel. Throughout its
whole circuit, the wall was pierced at the height of a man
with loopholes, whence arrows might be discharged at an
enemy, and at every fifty paces, it was surmounted by a
tower capable of holding seven or eight fighting men."

As De Soto and the chief, accompanied by the advance guard of the
Spanish army, and a numerous train of Indian warriors, approached the
walls, a large band of native soldiers, in compact martial array, and
as usual gorgeously decorated, emerged from one of the gates. They
were preceded by a musical band, playing upon Indian flutes, and were
followed by a group of dancing girls, remarkably graceful and
beautiful. As we have mentioned, De Soto, and the Cacique in his
scarlet uniform, rode side by side. Traversing the streets, the whole
band arrived in the central square. Here they alighted, and all the
horses were led outside the walls to be tethered and fed.

The chief then, through Juan Ortiz, the interpreter, pointed out to De
Soto one of the largest houses for the accommodation of himself and
suite. Another adjoining house was appropriated to the servants and
attendants. Cabins were also immediately reared just outside the walls
for the accommodation of the main body of the army.

De Soto was somewhat anxious in view of this arrangement. It was
effectually separating him from his soldiers, and was leaving the
Cacique entirely at liberty. Some words passed between the chief and
the Governor, which led to an angry reply on the part of the Cacique,
who turned upon his heel and retired to his own palace. The main body
of the army had not yet come up, and if the chief meditated
treachery, the moment was very favorable for an attack upon the
advance guard only.

Soon after the Cacique had left in an angry mood, one of the cavaliers
whom De Soto had sent forward to examine into the state of affairs,
entered with the announcement that many circumstances indicated a dark
and treacherous plot. He said that more than ten thousand warriors,
all evidently picked men, and thoroughly armed, were assembled in the
various houses. Not a child was to be found in the town, and scarcely
a woman, excepting the few dancing girls who had formed a part of the
escort.

The Governor was much alarmed by these tidings. He dispatched orders
to all the troops who were with him to be on the alert, and to hold
themselves in readiness to repel an assault. At the same time he sent
back a courier to inform Luis De Moscoso, who was master of the
Spanish camp, of the dangerous posture of affairs. Unfortunately,
relying upon the friendly spirit of the natives, he had allowed his
men to scatter widely from the camp, hunting and amusing themselves.
It was some time before they could be collected.

De Soto, anxious to avert a rupture, wished to get the person of the
Cacique in his power. They had been accustomed since they met to eat
together. As soon as the attendants of the Governor had prepared some
refreshments for him, he sent Juan Ortiz to invite the Cacique to join
him in the repast. The interpreter was not permitted to enter the
palace, but after a little delay, a messenger announced that the
Cacique would come pretty soon.

The Governor waited some time, and again sent Ortiz to repeat the
invitation. Again the interpreter returned with the same response.
After another interval of waiting, and the Cacique not appearing,
Ortiz was sent for the third time. Approaching the door of the palace,
he shouted out, in a voice sufficiently loud to be heard by all
within, "Tell the chief of Tuscaloosa to come forth. The food is upon
the table, and the Governor is waiting for him."

Immediately one of the principal attendants of the Cacique rushed out
in a towering passion, and exclaimed:

"Who are these robbers, these vagabonds, who keep calling to my chief
of Tuscaloosa, 'come out! come out!' with as little reverence as if he
were one of them? By the sun and moon, this insolence is no longer to
be borne! Let us cut them to pieces on the spot, and put an end to
their wickedness and tyranny!"

Uttering these words, he threw off his superb mantle of marten skins,
and seizing a bow from the hands of an attendant, drew an arrow to the
head, aiming at a group of Spaniards in the public square. But before
the arrow left the bow, a steel-clad cavalier, who had accompanied the
interpreter, with one thrust of his sword laid the Indian dead at his
feet. The son of the dead warrior, a vigorous young savage, sprang
forward and let fly upon the cavalier six or seven arrows, as fast as
he could draw them. But they all fell harmless from his armor. He then
seized a club and struck him three or four blows over the head with
such force that the blood gushed from beneath his casque.

All this was done in an instant, when the cavalier, recovering
from his surprise, with two sword-thrusts, laid the young warrior
dead in his blood by the side of his father. It seemed as though
instantaneously the war-whoop resounded from a thousand throats.

The concealed warriors, ten thousand in number, with hideous yells,
like swarming bees, rushed into the streets. De Soto had but two
hundred men to meet them. But these were all admirably armed, and most
of them protected by coats of mail. He immediately placed himself at
the head of his troops, and slowly retreating, fighting fiercely every
inch of the way, with his armored men facing the foe, succeeded in
withdrawing through the gate out upon the open plain, where his
horsemen could operate to better advantage. In the retreat five of the
Spaniards were killed and many severely wounded, De Soto being one of
the number.

The Indians came rushing out upon the plain in a tumultuous mass, with
yells of defiance and victory. But the dragoons soon regained their
horses, which had been tethered outside the walls, and whose bodies
were much protected from the arrows of the natives; and then, in a
terrific charge, one hundred steel-clad men, cutting to the right hand
and to the left, maddened by the treachery of which they had been the
victims, plunged into the densest masses of their foes, and every
sabre-blow was death to a half-naked Indian. The slaughter was awful.
Brave as the Indians were, they were thrown into a panic, and fled
precipitately into the town.

In the retreat from the town, about twenty of the Spaniards had been
cut off from their comrades, and had taken refuge in the house
assigned to the Governor. Here they valiantly defended themselves
against fearful odds. The bold storming of the place by the Spanish
troops rescued them from their perilous position. But now all the
warriors of both parties crowded together in the public square, fought
hand to hand with a ferocity which could not be surpassed. Though the
natives were far more numerous than their foes, and were equally brave
and strong, still the Spaniards had a vast superiority over them in
their bucklers, their impenetrable armor, and their long, keen sabres
of steel.

De Soto, conscious that the very existence of his army depended upon
the issue of the conflict, was ever in the thickest of the battle,
notwithstanding the severity of the wound from which he was suffering.
At length, to drive his foes from the protection of their houses, the
torch was applied in many places. The timber of which they were built
was dry almost as tinder. Soon the whole place was in flames, the
fiery billows surging to and fro like a furnace. All alike fled from
the conflagration. The horsemen were already upon the plain, and they
cut down the fugitive Indians mercilessly.

The sun was then sinking; Mobila was in ruins, and its flaming
dwellings formed the funeral pyre of thousands of the dead. The battle
had lasted nine hours. To the Spaniards it was one of the most
terrible calamities. Eighty-two of their number were slain. Nearly all
the rest were more or less severely wounded. Forty-five horses had
been shot--an irreparable loss which all the army deeply mourned.

In entering the city, they had piled their camp equipage against the
walls. This was all consumed, consisting of clothing, armor,
medicines, and all the pearls which they had collected. The disaster
to the natives was still more dreadful. It is estimated that six
thousand of their number perished by the sword or the flames. The fate
of the chieftain is not with certainty known. It is generally supposed
that he was slain and was consumed in the flames of his capital.

The situation of the Spanish army that night was distressing in the
highest degree. They were hungry, exhausted, dejected, and seventeen
hundred dangerous wounds demanded immediate attention. There was but
one surgeon of the expedition who survived, and he was a man of but
little skill.

De Soto forgot himself and his wound in devotion to the interests of
his men. Foraging parties were sent in all directions to obtain food
for the sufferers, and straw for bedding. Here the army was compelled
many days to remain to recruit from the awful disaster with which it
had been so suddenly overwhelmed.

CHAPTER XVI.

_Days of Darkness._

The Melancholy Encampment.--The Fleet at
Pensacola.--Singular Resolve of De Soto.--Hostility of
the Natives.--Beautiful Scenery.--Winter Quarters on the
Yazoo.--Feigned Friendship of the Cacique.--Trickery of
Juan Ortiz.--The Terrible Battle of Chickasaw.--Dreadful
Loss of the Spaniards.

For twenty-three days the Spaniards remained in their miserable
quarters, nursing the sick and the wounded. As nearly all their
baggage had been consumed in the flames, they were in a condition of
extreme destitution and suffering. Parties, of those who were least
disabled, were sent on foraging expeditions, penetrating the country
around to a distance of about twelve miles. They found the villages
deserted by the terror-stricken inhabitants. But they obtained a
sufficient supply of food to meet their immediate wants. In the
thickets and ravines they found the bodies of many Indians, who had
died of their wounds, and had been left unburied by their companions.
They also found in many of the deserted hamlets, wounded Indians, who
could go no farther, and who were in a starving and dying condition.
De Soto kindly ordered that their wounds should be dressed, and that
they should be fed and nursed just as tenderly as his own men. Several
captives were taken. De Soto inquired of them if another attack were
meditated. They replied that all their warriors were slain; that none
were left to renew the battle; that their chief had sent his son to
watch the movements of the Spaniards, and had summoned his warriors
from a great distance for their extermination. Nearly all were to be
slain. The survivors were to be held as slaves. All their possessions
and especially the magnificent animals they rode, were to be divided
as the spoils of the conqueror. They said that their chief, upon the
arrival of De Soto with his advance guard, was holding a council with
his officers, to decide whether they should immediately attack those
who had already arrived, or wait until the whole army was within their
power. The passion and imprudence of one of their generals had
precipitated the conflict.

The loss of the natives was even greater than De Soto had at first
imagined. The thousands of Indian warriors who were within the
spacious houses, shooting their arrows through windows, doors and
loopholes, were many of them cut off from all escape, by the devouring
flames. Bewildered, blinded, stifled by the smoke, and encircled by
the billowy fire, they miserably perished.

While De Soto was thus encamped around the smouldering ruins of
Mobila, he heard of the arrival of his fleet at Pensacola, then called
the bay of Achusi. As he was but about one hundred miles from that
point, an easy march of a few days would bring him to reinforcements
and abundant supplies. The tidings of their arrival at first gave him
great satisfaction. His determined spirit was still unvanquished. He
immediately resolved to establish his colony on the shores of
Pensacola Bay, whence he could have constant water communication with
Cuba and with Spain. Having obtained a fresh supply of military stores
and recruits from the ships, he would recommence his pursuit after
gold.

While one cannot but condemn his persistence in a ruinous course, the
invincible spirit it develops wins admiration. Indeed if we accept the
facts of the affair at Mobila, as above described, and those facts
seem to be fully corroborated by a careful examination of all the
reliable annalists of those days, impartial history cannot severely
condemn De Soto in that dreadful occurrence. But it cannot be denied
that he would have acted much more wisely, had he followed the counsel
of Isabella, previously given, and withdrawn from scenes thus fraught
with violence, cruelty and blood.

As De Soto was conversing with some of his officers, of his plan of
still prosecuting his journey in search of gold, he was told, not a
little to his dismay, that his soldiers would not follow him. It was
said that they were all thoroughly disheartened, and anxious to return
to their homes, and that immediately upon reaching their ships, they
would insist upon reembarking, and abandoning a land where they had
thus far encountered only disasters.

The thought of returning to Cuba an impoverished man, having utterly
failed in his expedition, surrounded by ragged and clamorous
followers, and thus in disgrace, was to De Soto dreadful. Not making
sufficient allowance for the difference in those respects between
himself and his followers, he found it difficult to credit the
representations which had been made to him. He therefore dressed
himself in a disguise, and secretly wandered about by night among the
frail huts of the soldiers, and soon found, by listening to their
conversation, his worst fears confirmed. It became clear to his mind
that immediately on his return to the ships, his present followers
would disband and shift for themselves, while it would be in vain for
him to attempt to raise another army.

Speaking of the distress with which these considerations oppressed the
mind of De Soto, Mr. Irving well says, referring in confirmation of
his statement, both to the account given by the Portuguese Narrative,
and that by the Inca:

"Should his present forces desert him, therefore, he would
remain stripped of dignity and command, blasted in
reputation, his fortune expended in vain, and his
enterprise, which had caused so much toil and trouble, a
subject of scoffing rather than renown. The Governor was a
man extremely jealous of his honor; and as he reflected upon
these gloomy prospects, they produced sudden and desperate
resolves. He disguised his anger and his knowledge of the
schemes he had overheard, but he determined to frustrate
them by turning back upon the coast, striking again into the
interior, and never seeking the ships nor furnishing any
tidings of himself, until he had crowned his enterprise
gloriously by discovering new regions of wealth like those
of Peru and Mexico.

"A change came over De Soto from this day. He was
disconcerted in his favorite scheme of colonization, and had
lost confidence in his followers. Instead of manifesting his
usual frankness, energy and alacrity, he became a moody,
irritable, discontented man. He no longer pretended to
strike out any grand undertaking, went recklessly wandering
from place to place, apparently without order or object, as
if careless of time and life, and only anxious to finish his
existence."

On the morning of the 15th of November, 1540, the troops, much to
their consternation, received orders to commence their march to the
north, instead of to the south. The established habits of military
discipline, and the stern manner of De Soto, repelled all audible
murmurs. Each soldier took with him two days' provision, which
consisted mainly of roasted corn pounded into meal. It was not doubted
that in the fertile region of that sunny clime they would find food by
the way. But winter was approaching which, though short, would
certainly bring with it some days and nights of such severe cold that
an unsheltered army would almost perish.

After traversing a very pleasant country for five days, without
meeting any adventure of any especial interest, they came to a river
wide and deep, with precipitous banks, which is supposed to have been
the Tuscaloosa, or Black Warrior. The point at which they touched this
stream, upon whose banks they had already encamped, was probably near
the present site of Erie, in Greene County. Here they found upon the
farther banks of the river, a populous village called Cabusto. De Soto
as usual sent a courier with a friendly message to the chief, saying
"that he came in friendship and sought only an unobstructed path
through his realms."

The chief returned the defiant reply--

"We want no peace with you. War only we want; a war of fire and
blood."

As De Soto, troubled by this message, moved cautiously forward, he
found an army of fifteen hundred natives drawn up on the banks of the
stream to prevent the passage; while the opposite banks were occupied
by between six and seven thousand warriors, extending up and down the
river for a distance of six miles. There was nothing for the Spaniards
to do but to press forward. To turn back, in sight of their foes, was
not to be thought of. After a pretty sharp skirmish, in which the
Spaniards attacked their opponents, the natives sprang into their
canoes, and some by swimming crossed the river and joined the main
body of the Indians upon the opposite bank.

Here they were obviously prepared, to make a desperate resistance.
Night came on, dark and chill. The Spaniards bivouacked on the open
plain, awaiting the morning, when, with but about seven hundred men,
they were to assail eight thousand warriors, very strongly posted on
bluffs, with a deep and rapid river flowing at their feet. The Indians
gave the Spaniards no repose. During the darkness they were
continually passing the river at different points in their canoes, and
then uniting in one band, with hideous outcries assailing the weary
travellers. The military genius of De Soto successfully beat them off
through the night. He then intrenched himself so as to bid defiance to
their attacks, and employed one hundred of his most skilful workmen in
building, under the concealment of a neighboring grove, two very large
flat boats.

Twelve days passed before these barges were finished. By the aid of
men and horses, they were brought to the river and launched. In the
morning, before the dawn, ten mounted horsemen and forty footmen
embarked in each boat, the footmen to ply the oars as vigorously as
possible in the rapid passage of the river to a designated spot, where
the horsemen were immediately to spur their steeds upon the shore, and
with their sabres open a passage for the rest of the troops. De Soto
was anxious to pass in the first boat, but his followers entreated him
not to expose his life, upon which everything depended, to so great a
peril.

The moment the boats were dimly seen by the watchful natives, a signal
war-whoop rang along the bank for miles. Five hundred warriors rushed
to the menaced spot, to prevent the landing. Such a shower of arrows
was thrown upon the boat that every man was more or less wounded. The
moment the bows touched the beach, the steel-clad horsemen plunged
upon the foe, and cut their way through them with blood-dripping
sabres. Other native warriors were however hurrying to the assistance
of their comrades. In the meantime the boats had with great rapidity
recrossed the river, and brought over another detachment of eighty men
with De Soto himself at their head. After a sanguinary conflict the
Spaniards obtained complete possession of the landing place. Though
unimportant skirmishes were kept up through the day, the remaining
troops were without difficulty brought across the river. At nightfall
not an Indian was to be seen. They had all withdrawn and fortified
themselves with palisades in a neighboring swamp.

The Spaniards found opening before them a beautiful and fertile
country, well cultivated, with fields of corn and beans, and with many
small villages and comfortable farm-houses scattered around. They
broke up their boats for the sake of the nails, which might prove of
priceless value to them in their future operations. Leaving the
Indians unmolested in their fortress, they journeyed on five days in a
westerly direction, when they reached the banks of another large
river, which is supposed to have been the Tombigbee.

Here De Soto found hostile Indians arrayed on the opposite bank, ready
to oppose his passage. Anxious to avoid, if possible, any sanguinary
collision with the natives, he tarried for two days, until a canoe had
been constructed by which he could send a friendly message across to
the chief. A single unarmed Indian was dispatched in the canoe with
these words of peace. He paddled across the river, and as soon as the
canoe touched the shore the savages rushed upon him, beat out his
brains with their war-clubs, and raising yells of defiance,
mysteriously disappeared.

There being no longer any foe to oppose the passage, the troops were
easily conveyed across on rafts. Unassailed, they marched tranquilly
on for several days, until, on the 18th of December, they reached a
small village called Chickasaw. It was pleasantly situated on a gentle
eminence, embellished with groves of walnut and oak trees, and with
streams of pure water running on either side. It is supposed that this
village was on the Yazoo river, in the upper part of the State of
Mississippi, about two hundred and fifty miles northwest of Mobile.

It was midwinter, and upon those high lands the weather was intensely
cold. The ground was frequently encumbered with snow and ice, and the
troops, unprovided with winter clothing, suffered severely. De Soto
decided to take up his winter quarters at Chickasaw, there to await
the returning sun of spring. There appears to have been something
senseless in the wild wanderings in which De Soto was now persisting,
which have led some to suppose that care, exhaustion, and sorrow had
brought on some degree of mental derangement. However that may be, he
devoted himself with great energy to the promotion of the comfort of
his men. Foraging parties were dispatched in all directions in search
of food and of straw for bedding, while an ample supply of fuel was
collected for their winter fires.

There were two hundred comfortable houses in this village, and De Soto
added a few more, so that all of his men were well sheltered. So far
as we can judge from the narratives given, the native inhabitants,
through fear of the Spaniards, had abandoned their homes and fled to
distant parts. De Soto did everything in his power to open friendly
relations with the Indians. He succeeded, through his scouts, in
capturing a few, whom he sent to their chief laden with presents, and
with assurances of peace and friendship.

The Cacique returned favorable replies, and sent to De Soto in return
fruit, fish, and venison. He, however, was very careful not to expose
his person to the power of the Spaniards. His warriors, in gradually
increasing numbers, ventured to enter the village, where they were
treated by De Soto with the greatest consideration. He had still quite
a large number of swine with him, for they had multiplied wonderfully
on the way. The Indians, having had a taste of pork, found it so
delicious that they began to prowl around the encampment by night to
steal these animals. It is said that two Indians who were caught in
the act were shot, and as this did not check the thievery, a third had
both his hands chopped off with a hatchet, and thus mutilated was sent
to the chief as a warning to others.

It is with great reluctance that we give any credence to this
statement. It certainly is not sustained by any evidence which would
secure conviction in a court of justice. It is quite contrary to the
well-established humanity of De Soto. There can be no possible excuse
for such an act of barbarity on the part of any civilized man. If De
Soto were guilty of the atrocity, it would, indeed, indicate that his
reason was being dethroned.

The chief had taken up his residence about three or four miles from
the village. Four of the Spanish soldiers one night, well armed, stole
from their barracks, in direct violation of orders, and repairing to
the dwelling of the Cacique, robbed him of some rich fur mantles, and
other valuable articles of clothing. With that even-handed justice
which has thus far characterized De Soto, he who had ordered two
Indians to be shot for stealing his swine, now ordered the two
ringleaders in this robbery of the Indian chief to be put to death.

The priests in the army, and most of the officers, earnestly implored
De Soto to pardon the culprits. But he was inflexible. He would
administer equal justice to the Indian and the Spaniard. The culprits
were led into the public square to be beheaded. It so happened that,
just at that time, an embassage arrived from the Cacique with
complaints of the robbery, and demanding the punishment of the
offenders. Juan Ortiz, the interpreter, whose sympathies were deeply
moved in behalf of his comrades about to be executed, adopted the
following singular and sagacious expedient to save them:

He falsely reported to the Governor that the chief had sent his
messengers to implore the forgiveness of the culprits--to say that
their offence was a very slight one, and that he should regard it as a
personal favor if they were pardoned and set at liberty. The
kind-hearted De Soto, thus delivered from his embarrassment, gladly
released them.

On the other hand, the tricky interpreter sent word to the Cacique
that the men who had robbed him were in close imprisonment, and that
they would be punished with the utmost severity, so as to serve as a
warning to all others.

Many circumstances led De Soto to the suspicion that the chief was
acting a treacherous part; that he was marshalling an immense army in
the vicinity to attack the Spaniards; that his pretended friendliness
was intended merely to disarm suspicion, and that the warriors who
visited the village were spies, making preparation for a general
assault. In this judgment subsequent events proved him to be correct.

Early in the month of March there was a dark and stormy night, and a
chill north wind swept the bleak plains. The sentinels were driven to
seek shelter; no one dreamed of peril. It was the hour for the grand
assault. Just at midnight the Cacique put his martial bands in motion.
They were in three powerful divisions, the central party being led by
the chief in person. These moccasoned warriors, with noiseless tread,
stealthily approached their victims. Suddenly the air resounded with
war-whoops, blasts of conch shells, and the clangor of wooden drums,
rising above the roar of the storm, when the savages, like spirits of
darkness, rushed upon the defenceless village. They bore with them
lighted matches, made of some combustible substance twisted in the
form of a cord, which, being waved in the air, would blaze into flame.
The village was built of reeds, with thatch of dried grass. The torch
was everywhere applied; the gale fanned the fire. In a few minutes the
whole village was a roaring furnace of flame.

What pen can describe the scene which ensued of tumult, terror, blood,
and woe! What imagination can conceive of the horrors of that night,
when uncounted thousands of savages, fierce as demons, rushed upon the
steel-clad veterans of Spain, not one of whom would ask for quarter!
every one of whom would fight with sinewy arm and glittering sabre to
the last possible gasp.

Nothing could throw the veteran Spaniards into a panic. They always
slept prepared for surprise. In an instant every man was at his post.
De Soto, who always slept in hose and doublet, drew his armor around
him, mounted his steed ever ready, and was one of the first to dash
into the densest of the foe. Twelve armored horsemen were immediately
at his side. The arrows and javelins of the natives glanced harmless
from helmet and cuirass, while every flash of the long, keen sabres
was death to an Indian, and the proud war-horses trampled the corpses
beneath their feet.

The fierce conflagration soon drove all alike out into the plain.
Many of the Spaniards could not escape, but perished miserably in the
fire. Several of the splendid horses were also burned. Soon all were
engaged hand to hand, fighting in a tumultuous mass by the light of
the conflagration. There was, perhaps, alike bravery on either side.
But the natives knew that if defeated they could flee to the forests;
while to the Spaniards defeat was certain death, or captivity worse
than death to every one.

De Soto observed not far from him an Indian chief of herculean
strength, who was fighting with great success. He closed in upon him,
and as he rose in his saddle, leaning mainly upon the right stirrup,
to pierce him with his lance, the saddle, which in the haste had not
been sufficiently girded, turned beneath him, and he was thrown upon
the ground in the midst of the enemy. His companions sprang to the
rescue. Instantly he remounted, and was again in the thickest of the
foe. The battle was fierce, bloody, and short. So many of the horsemen
had perished during their long journey that many of the foot soldiers
were protected by armor. At length the savages were put to flight.
Pursued by the swift-footed horses, they, in their terror, to add
speed to their footsteps, threw away their weapons, and thus fell an
easy prey to the conqueror.

The Spaniards, justly exasperated in being thus treacherously
assailed by those who had assumed the guise of friendship, pursued the
fugitives so long as they could be distinguished by the light of the
conflagration, and cut them down without any mercy. A bugle-blast then
sounded the recall. The victors returned to an awful scene of
desolation and misery. Their homes were all in ashes, and many of the
few comforts they had retained were consumed. Forty Spaniards had been
slain, besides many more wounded. Fifty horses had perished in the
flames, or had been shot by the natives. Their herd of swine, which
they prized so highly, and which they regarded as an essential element
in the establishment of their colony, had been shut up in an enclosure
roofed with straw, and nearly every one had perished in the flames.

This disaster was the most severe calamity which had befallen them.
Since landing at Tampa Bay, over three hundred men had fallen from the
attacks of the natives. De Soto was thrown into a state of the deepest
despondency. All hope seemed to be extinguished. World-weary, and in
despair, he apparently wished only to die. Distress was all around
him, with no possibility of his affording any relief. Sadly he buried
the dead of his own army, while he left the bodies of the natives
thick upon the plain, a prey for wolves and vultures. The smouldering
ruins of Chickasaw were abandoned, and an encampment was reared of
logs and bark at a distance of about three miles; where they passed a
few weeks of great wretchedness. Bodily discomfort and mental
despondency united in creating almost intolerable gloom.

Terribly as the natives had been punished they soon learned the extent
of the calamity they had inflicted upon the Spaniards. Through their
spies they ascertained their diminished numbers, witnessed their
miserable plight, and had the sagacity to perceive that they were very
poorly prepared to withstand another attack. Thus they gradually
regained confidence, marshalled their armies anew, and commenced an
incessant series of assaults, avoiding any general action, and yet
wearing out the Spaniards with the expectation of such action every
hour of every night.

In the daytime, De Soto sent out his horsemen to scour the country
around in all directions for a distance of ten or twelve miles. They
would return with the declaration that not a warrior was to be found.
But before midnight the fleet footed savages would be swarming around
the encampment, with hideous yells, often approaching near enough to
throw in upon it a shower of arrows. Occasionally these skirmishes
became hotly contested. In one of them forty Indians were slain,
while two of the horses of the Spaniards were killed and two severely
wounded.

In their thin clothing the Spaniards would have suffered terribly from
the severe cold of the nights, but for the ingenuity of one of their
number, who invented a soft, thick, warm matting or coverlet which he
wove from some long grass that abounded in the vicinity. Every soldier
was speedily engaged in the manufacture of these beds or blankets.
They were made several inches in thickness and about six feet square.
One half served as a mattress, and the other folded over, became a
blanket. Thus they were relieved from the cold, which otherwise would
have been almost unendurable.

The foraging parties succeeded in obtaining a supply of corn, beans,
and dried fruit. Here De Soto was compelled to remain, to heal his
wounded, for the remainder of the month of March. He was very anxious
to escape from the hostile region as soon as possible. As an
illustration of the scenes which were occurring almost every night
during this sad encampment, we may mention the following.

The night was cold and dark. The defiant war-cries of the savages were
heard in all directions and no one could tell how great their numbers,
or upon what point their attack would fall. Several camp-fires were
built, around which horsemen were assembled ready to meet the foe from
whatever point, in the darkness, he might approach. Juan De Gusman was
the leader of one of these bands. He was a cavalier of high renown. In
figure, he was delicate, almost feminine, but he had the soul of a
lion.

By the light of the blazing fagots, he discerned a numerous band of
Indians stealthily approaching. Leaping upon his horse, and followed
by five companions, and a few armored footmen, he plunged into the
midst of them. He aimed his javelin, at apparently the leader of the
savages, a man of gigantic stature. The Indian wrenched the lance from
his hand, seized him by the collar, and hurled him from his saddle to
the ground. Instantly the soldiers rushed in, with their sabers, cut
the savage to pieces and after a short conflict in which a large
number of the natives were slain, put the rest to flight.

It may seem strange that so few of the Spaniards were killed in these
terrible conflicts, in which they often cut down hundreds and even
thousands of their foes. But it should be remembered that their coats
of mail quite effectually protected them from the flint pointed arrows
of the Indians. The only vulnerable point was the face, and even this
was sometimes shielded by the visor. But the bodies of the natives,
thinly clad, were easily cut down by the steel blades of the
cavaliers.

CHAPTER XVII.

_The Discovery of the Mississippi._

The Fortress of Hostile Indians.--Its Capture.--The
Disastrous Conflict.--The Advance of the Army.--Discovery
of the Mississippi River.--Preparations for
Crossing.--Extraordinary Pageants.--Unjustifiable
Attack.--The passage of the River.--Friendly Reception
by Casquin.--Extraordinary Religious Festival.

On the first day of April, 1541, the army broke up its encampment, and
again set out languidly on its journey to the westward. No sounds of
joy were heard, for there was no longer hope to cheer. The indomitable
energy of De Soto dragged along the reluctant footsteps of his troops.
The first day they travelled about twelve miles, through a level and
fertile country with many villages and farm houses to charm the eye.
At night they encamped beyond the territory of Chickasaw, and
consequently supposed that they would no longer be molested, by those
hostile Indians.

A well armed party of cavalry and infantry was sent out on a foraging
expedition. They accidently approached a strong fortress where a large
number of Indian warriors was assembled, prepared to resist their
march. They were very fantastically clothed, and painted in the
highest style of barbaric art, so as to render them as hideous as
possible. Immediately upon catching sight of the Spaniards they rushed
out upon them with ferocious cries. Añasco, who was in command of the
Spanish party, seeing such overwhelming numbers coming upon him,
retreated to an open field, where he drew up his horses and placed his
cross-bow men in front with their bucklers, to protect the precious
animals. At the same time he sent hastily back to De Soto for
reinforcements.

The Indians came rushing on, clashing their weapons, beating wooden
drums and raising the war-whoop, till they arrived within reach of the
arrows of the cross-bow men. Then, somewhat appalled by the formidable
military array of the Spaniards glittering in steel armor, they
stopped and taunted their foes from the distance, with cries of
defiance and gestures of insolence and insult.

The hot-headed Añasco found it hard to restrain his impatience. Soon
De Soto himself came, with all his force, except a few left to guard
the camp. Carefully he scrutinized the fortress where these savages
had gathered their strength to crush him. It was indeed a formidable
structure: consisting of a quadrangle twelve hundred feet square.
There were three entrance gates, purposely so low that mounted men
could not enter. In the rear of the fortress there was a deep and
rapid river with steep banks, probably the Yazoo; in the county of
Tallahatchee. The fort was called the Alabama. Across this stream,
frail bridges were constructed, over which the Indians, in case of
necessity, could retreat, and easily destroy the bridges behind them.
Directly in the rear of the front entrance, there was a second wall,
and in the rear of that a third; so that if the outer wall were
gained, the garrison could retreat behind one and the other.

De Soto very carefully reconnoitred the fort. He judged that the
slightest appearance of timidity, on his part, would so embolden the
savages as to expose him to great peril. Should he avoid the conflict,
to which he was challenged, and endeavor to escape, by fleeing before
his enemies, he would draw them down upon him with resistless fury.
Thus again he found himself impelled to rouse all the energies of his
army for the slaughter of the poor savages.

He formed his attacking force in three columns, to seize the three
entrances. The Indians, carefully noting these preparations, made a
simultaneous rush upon the Spaniards, pouring in upon them an
incessant volley of flint-pointed arrows. Notwithstanding the armor,
many of the Spaniards were wounded, the savages taking careful aim at
those parts which were least protected. The three storming columns
pressed vigorously on, while two bands of horsemen, twenty in each,
De Soto leading one of them, attacked the tumultuous foe on each
flank. The assault was resistless. The panic-stricken savages fled to
the fortress. The entrances were clogged by the crowd, and horsemen
and footmen, with their long sharp sabres cut down their foes with
enormous slaughter.

In the heat of the conflict an arrow, thrown by the sinewy arm of an
Indian, struck the steel casque of De Soto with such force that it
rebounded some sixteen feet in the air. The blow was so severe that it
almost unhorsed the Governor, and seemingly caused, as he afterwards
said, the fire to flash from his eyes. As the savages rushed pell-mell
into the fortress, their pursuers were at their heels, cutting them
down. The Spaniards were exasperated. They had sought peace, and had
found only war. De Soto had wished, in a friendly spirit, to traverse
their country, and they were hedging up his way and pursuing him with
relentless ferocity. He assumed that it was necessary, for the
salvation of his army, to teach them a lesson which they would not
soon forget.

The carnage within the fortress was dreadful. All was inextricable
confusion. It was a hand-to-hand fight. Wooden swords fell harmless
upon helmet, cuirass and buckler. But the keen and polished steel of
the Spaniards did fearful execution upon the almost naked bodies of
the Indians. Some climbed the palisades and leaped down into the
plain, where they were instantly slain by the mounted troops. Others
crowded through the fort and endeavored to escape by the narrow
bridges. Many were jostled off, and in the swift current were drowned.
But a few moments elapsed ere the fort was in the hands of the
Spaniards. Its floor was covered by the gory bodies of the slain.
Still, not a few had escaped, some by swimming, some by the bridges.
They immediately formed in battle array upon the opposite bank of the
river, where they supposed they were beyond the reach of the
Spaniards.

Again they raised shouts of defiance and insult. De Soto was not in a
mood to endure these taunts. Just above the fort he found a ford.
Crossing with a squadron of horsemen, they rushed with gleaming sabres
upon the savages, and put them instantly to flight. For more than
three miles they pursued them over the plain, till wearied with
slaughter. They then returned, victors, slowly and sadly to their
encampment. Peace and friendship would have been far preferable to
this war and misery. Even their victory was to the Spaniards a great
disaster, for several of the men were slain, and many severely
wounded. Of the latter, fifteen subsequently died. De Soto remained
four days in the encampment, nursing the wounded, and then resumed his
weary march.

He still directed his footsteps in a westerly direction, carefully
avoiding an approach to the sea, lest his troops should rise in
mutiny, send for the ships, and escape from the ill-starred
enterprise. This certainly indicates, under the circumstances, an
unsound, if not a deranged mind. For four days the troops toiled along
through a dismal region, uninhabited, and encumbered with tangled
forests and almost impassable swamps.

At length they came to a small village called Chisca, upon the banks
of the most majestic stream they had yet discovered. Sublimely the
mighty flood, a mile and a half in width, rolled by them. The current
was rapid and bore upon its bosom a vast amount of trees, logs, and
drift-wood, showing that its sources must be hundreds of leagues far
away, in the unknown interior. This was the mighty Mississippi, the
'father of waters.' The Indians, at that point, called it Chucagua.
Its source and its embouchure were alike unknown to De Soto. Little
was he then aware of the magnitude of the discovery he had made.

"De Soto," says Mr. Irving, "was the first European who
looked out upon the turbid waters of this magnificent river;
and that event has more surely enrolled his name among those
who will ever live in American history, than if he had
discovered mines of silver and gold."

The Spaniards had reached the river after a four days' march through
an unpeopled wilderness. The Indians of Chisca knew nothing of their
approach, and probably had never heard of their being in the country.
The tribe inhabiting the region of which Chisca was the metropolis,
was by no means as formidable, as many whom they had already
encountered. The dwelling of the Cacique stood on a large artificial
mound, from eighteen to twenty feet in height. It was ascended by two
ladders, which could of course be easily drawn up, leaving the royal
family thus quite isolated from the people below.

Chisca, the chieftain, was far advanced in years, a feeble, emaciate
old man of very diminutive stature. In the days of his prime, he had
been a renowned warrior. Hearing of the arrival of the Spaniards, he
was disposed to regard them as enemies, and seizing his tomahawk, he
was eager to descend from his castle and lead his warriors to battle.

The contradictory statements are made that De Soto, weary of the
harassing warfare of the winter, was very anxious to secure the
friendship of these Indians. Unless he were crazed, it must have been
so, for there was absolutely nothing to be gained, but everything to
be imperilled, by war. On the other hand, it is said that the moment
the Spaniards descried the village, they rushed into it, plundering
the houses, seizing men and women as captives. Both statements may
have been partially true. It is not improbable that the disorderly
troops of De Soto, to his great regret, were guilty of some outrages,
while he personally might have been intensely anxious to repress this
violence and cultivate only friendly relations with the natives.

But whatever may have been the hostile or friendly attitude assumed by
the Spaniards, it is admitted that the Cacique was disposed to wage
war against the new comers. The more prudent of his warriors urged
that he should delay his attack upon them until he had made such
preparations as would secure successful results.

"It will be best first," said they, "to assemble all the warriors of
our nation, for these men are well armed. In the meantime, let us
pretend friendship and not provoke an attack until we are strong
enough to be sure of victory."

The irascible old chief was willing only partially to listen to this
advice. He delayed the conflict, but did not disguise his hostility.
De Soto sent to him a very friendly message, declaring that he came
in peace and wished only for an unmolested march through his country.
The Cacique returned an angry reply, refusing all courteous
intercourse.

The Spaniards had been but three hours in the village when, to their
surprise, they perceived an army of four thousand warriors, thoroughly
prepared for battle, gathered around the mound upon which was reared
the dwelling of the chief. If so many warriors could be assembled in
so short a time, they feared there must be a large number in reserve
who could be soon drawn in. The Spaniards, in their long marches and
many battles, had dwindled away to less than five hundred men. Four
thousand against five hundred were fearful odds; and yet the number of
their foes might speedily be doubled or even quadrupled. In addition
to this, the plains around the city were exceedingly unfavorable for
the movements of the Spanish army, while they presented great
advantages to the nimble-footed natives, for the region was covered
with forests, sluggish streams and bogs.

By great exertions, De Soto succeeded in effecting a sort of
compromise. The Cacique consented to allow the Spaniards to remain for
six days in the village to nurse the sick and the wounded. Food was to
be furnished them by the Cacique. At the end of six days the
Spaniards were to leave, abstaining entirely from pillage, from
injuring the crops, and from all other acts of violence.

The Cacique and all the inhabitants of the village abandoned the
place, leaving it to the sole occupancy of the Spaniards. April, in
that sunny clime, was mild as genial summer. The natives, with their
simple habits, probably found little inconvenience in encamping in the
groves around. On the last day of his stay, De Soto obtained
permission to visit the Cacique. He thanked the chief cordially for
his kindness and hospitality, and taking an affectionate leave,
continued his journey into the unknown regions beyond.

Ascending the tortuous windings of the river on the eastern bank, the
Spaniards found themselves, for four days, in almost impenetrable
thickets, where there were no signs of inhabitants. At length they
came to quite an opening in the forest. A treeless plain, waving with
grass, spread far and wide around them. The Mississippi river here was
about half a league in width. On the opposite bank large numbers of
Indians were seen, many of them warriors in battle array, while a
fleet of canoes lined the shore.

De Soto decided, for some unexplained reason, to cross the river at
that point, though it was evident that the Indians had in some way
received tidings of his approach, and were assembled there to dispute
his passage. The natives could easily cross the river in their canoes,
but they would hardly venture to attack the Spaniards upon the open
plain, where there was such a fine opportunity for the charges of
their cavalry.

Here De Soto encamped for twenty days, while all who could handle
tools were employed in building four large flat boats for the
transportation of the troops across the stream. On the second day of
the encampment, several natives from some tribe disposed to be
friendly, on the eastern side of the river, visited the Spaniards.
With very much ceremony of bowing and semi-barbaric parade, they
approached De Soto, and informed him that they were commissioned by
their chief to bid him welcome to his territory, and to assure him of
his friendly services. De Soto, much gratified by this message,
received the envoys with the greatest kindness, and dismissed them
highly pleased with their reception.

Though this chief sent De Soto repeated messages of kindness, he did
not himself visit the Spanish camp, the alleged reason being, and
perhaps the true one, that he was on a sick bed. He, however, sent
large numbers of his subjects with supplies of food, and to assist the
Spaniards in drawing the timber to construct their barges. The hostile
Indians on the opposite bank frequently crossed in their canoes, and
attacking small bands of workmen, showered upon them volleys of
arrows, and fled again to their boats.

One day the Spaniards, while at work, saw two hundred canoes filled
with natives, in one united squadron, descending the river. It was a
beautiful sight to witness this fleet, crowded with decorated and
plumed warriors, their paddles, ornaments, and burnished weapons
flashing in the sunlight. They came in true military style: several
warriors standing at the bows and stern of each boat, with large
shields of buffalo hides on their left arms, and with bows and arrows
in their hands. De Soto advanced to the shore to meet them, where he
stood surrounded by his staff. The royal barge containing the chief
was paddled within a few rods of the bank. The Cacique then rose, and
addressed De Soto in words which were translated by the interpreter as
follows:

"I am informed that you are the envoy of the most powerful monarch on
the globe. I have come to proffer to you friendship and homage, and to
assure you of my assistance in any way in which I can be of service."

De Soto thanked him heartily for his offers, and entreated him to
land, assuring him he should meet only the kindest reception. The
following extraordinary account of the termination of this interview,
a termination which seems incredible, is given in the "Conquest of
Florida:"

"The Cacique returned no answer, but sent three canoes on
shore with presents of fruit, and bread made of the pulp of
a certain kind of plum. The Governor again importuned the
savage to land, but perceiving him to hesitate, and
suspecting a treacherous and hostile intent, marshalled his
men in order of battle. Upon this the Indians turned their
prows and fled.

"The cross-bowmen sent a flight of arrows after them, and
killed five or six of their number. They retreated in good
order, covering the rowers with their shields. Several times
after this they landed to attack the soldiers, as was
supposed, but the moment the Spaniards charged upon them
they fled to their canoes."

If this account be true, the attack by the Spaniards was as
inexcusable as it was senseless. At the end of twenty days the four
barges were built and launched. In the darkness of the night De Soto
ordered them to be well manned with rowers and picked troops of tried
prudence and courage. The moment the bows touched the beach the
soldiers sprang ashore, to their surprise encountering no resistance.
The boats immediately returned for another load. Rapidly they passed
to and fro, and before the sun went down at the close of that day, the
whole army was transported to the western bank of the Mississippi. The
point where De Soto and his army crossed, it is supposed, was at what
is called the lowest Chickasaw Bluff.

"The river in this place," says the Portuguese Narrative,
"was a mile and a half in breadth, so that a man standing
still could scarcely be discerned from the opposite shore. It
was of great depth, of wonderful rapidity, and very turbid,
and was always filled with floating trees and timber, carried
down by the force of the current."

The army having all crossed, the boats were broken up, as usual, to
preserve the nails. It would seem that the hostile Indians had all
vanished, for the Spaniards advanced four days in a westerly
direction, through an uninhabited wilderness, encountering no
opposition. On the fifth day they toiled up a heavy swell of land,
from whose summit they discerned, in a valley on the other side, a
large village of about four hundred dwellings. It was situated on the
fertile banks of a stream, which is supposed to have been the St.
Francis.

The extended valley, watered by this river, presented a lovely view as
far as the eye could reach, with luxuriant fields of Indian corn and
with groves of fruit trees. The natives had received some intimation
of the approach of the Spaniards, and in friendly crowds gathered
around them, offering food and the occupancy of their houses. Two of
the highest chieftains, subordinate to the Cacique, soon came with an
imposing train of warriors, bearing a welcome from their chief and the
offer of his services.

De Soto received them with the utmost courtesy, and in the interchange
of these friendly offices, both Spaniards and natives became alike
pleased with each other. The adventurers remained in this village for
six days, finding abundant food for themselves and their horses, and
experiencing in the friendship and hospitality of the natives, joys
which certainly never were found in the horrors of war. The province
was called by the name of Kaska, and was probably the same as that
occupied by the Kaskaskias Indians.

Upon commencing anew their march they passed through a populous and
well cultivated country, where peace, prosperity and abundance seemed
to reign. In two days, having journeyed about twenty miles up the
western bank of the Mississippi, they approached the chief town of the
province where the Cacique lived. It was situated, as is supposed, in
the region now called Little Prairie, in the extreme southern part of
the State of Missouri, not far from New Madrid. Here they found the
hospitable hands of the Cacique and his people extended to greet them.

The residence of the chief stood upon a broad artificial mound,
sufficiently capacious for twelve or thirteen houses, which were
occupied by his numerous family and attendants. He made De Soto a
present of a rich fur mantle, and invited him, with his suite, to
occupy the royal dwellings for their residence. De Soto politely
declined this offer, as he was unwilling thus to incommode his kind
entertainer. He, however, accepted the accommodation of several houses
in the village. The remainder of the army were lodged in exceedingly
pleasant bowers, skilfully, and very expeditiously constructed by the
natives, of bark and the green boughs of trees, outside the village.

It was now the month of May. The weather was intensely hot, and these
rustic bowers were found to be refreshingly cool and grateful. The
name of this friendly chief was Casquin. Here the army remained for
three days, without a ripple of unfriendly feeling arising between the
Spaniards and the natives.

It was a season of unusual drouth in the country, and on the fourth
day the following extraordinary incident occurred: Casquin,
accompanied by quite an imposing retinue of his most distinguished
men, came into the presence of De Soto, and stepping forward, with
great solemnity of manner, said to him,--

"Señor, as you are superior to us in prowess and surpass us in arms,
we likewise believe that your God is better than our God. These you
behold before you are the chief warriors of my dominions. We
supplicate you to pray to your God to send us rain, for our fields are
parched for the want of water."

De Soto, who was a reflective man, of pensive temperament and devoutly
inclined, responded,--

"We are all alike sinners, but we will pray to God, the Father of
mercies, to show his kindness to you."

He then ordered the carpenter to cut down one of the tallest pine
trees in the vicinity. It was carefully trimmed and formed into a
perfect, but gigantic cross. Its dimensions were such, that it
required the strength of one hundred men to raise and plant it in the
ground. Two days were employed in this operation. The cross stood upon
a bluff, on the western bank of the Mississippi. The next morning
after it was reared, the whole Spanish army was called out to
celebrate the erection of the cross, by a solemn religious procession.
A large number of the natives, with apparent devoutness, joined in the
festival.

Casquin and De Soto took the lead, walking side by side. The Spanish
soldiers and the native warriors, composing a procession of more than
a thousand persons, walked harmoniously along as brothers, to
commemorate the erection of the cross--the symbol of the Christian's
faith. The Cross! It should be the emblem of peace on earth and good
will among men. Alas! how often has it been the badge of cruelty and
crime.

The priests, for there were several in the army, chanted their
Christian hymns, and offered fervent prayers. The Mississippi at this
point is not very broad, and it is said that upon the opposite bank
twenty thousand natives were assembled, watching with intensest
interest the imposing ceremony, and apparently, at times, taking part
in the exercises. When the priests raised their hands in prayer, they,
too, extended their arms and raised their eyes, as if imploring the
aid of the God of heaven and of earth.

Occasionally a low moan was heard wafted across the river--a wailing
cry, as if woe-stricken children were imploring the aid of an Almighty
Father. The spirit of De Soto was deeply moved to tenderness and
sympathy as he witnessed this benighted people paying such homage to
the emblem of man's redemption. After several prayers were offered,
the whole procession, slowly advancing two by two, knelt before the
cross, as in brief ejaculatory prayer, and kissed it. All then
returned with the same solemnity to the village, the priests chanting
the grand anthem, "Te Deum Laudamus."

Thus more than three hundred years ago the cross, significant of the
religion of Jesus, was planted upon the banks of the Mississippi, and
the melody of Christian hymns was wafted across the silent waters, and
was blended with the sighing of the breeze through the tree-tops. It
is sad to reflect how little of the spirit of that religion has since
been manifested in those realms in man's treatment of his brother man.

It is worthy of especial notice that upon the night succeeding this
eventful day clouds gathered, and the long-looked-for rain fell
abundantly. The devout Las Casas writes:

"God, in his mercy, willing to show these heathen that he
listeneth to those who call upon him in truth, sent down, in
the middle of the ensuing night, a plenteous rain, to the
great joy of the Indians."

CHAPTER XVIII.

_Vagrant Wanderings._

Trickery of Casquin.--The March to Capaha.--The Battle and
its Results.--Friendly Relations with Capaha.--The Return
Journey.--The Marsh Southward.--Salt Springs.--The Savages
of Tula.--Their Ferocity.--Anecdote.--Despondency of De
Soto.

It is painful to recall the mind from these peaceful, joy-giving,
humanizing scenes of religion, to barbaric war--its crime, carnage,
and misery. It is an affecting comment upon the fall of man, that far
away in this wilderness, among these tribes that might so have blessed
and cheered each other by fraternal love, war seems to have been the
normal condition. After a residence of nine days in this village,
beneath truly sunny skies, in the enjoyment of abundance, and cheered
by fruits, flowers, and bird-songs, the Spanish army again commenced
its march in the wild and apparently senseless search for gold.

The Cacique, Casquin, was about fifty years of age. He begged
permission to accompany De Soto to the next province, with his whole
army in its best military array, and with a numerous band of
attendants to carry provisions and to gather wood and fodder for the
encampments. De Soto cheerfully accepted this friendly offer. But he
soon found that it was hatred, not love, which was the impelling
motive; that the chief was incited by a desire to make war, not to
cultivate peace. The chief of the next province was a redoubtable
warrior named Capaha. His territories were extensive; his subjects
numerous and martial. Time out of mind there had been warfare between
these two provinces, the subjects of each hating each other
implacably.

Capaha had in recent conflicts been quite the victor, and Casquin
thought this a good opportunity, with the Spaniards for his powerful
allies, to take signal vengeance upon his foe. Of this De Soto, at the
time, knew nothing.

The army commenced its march. There were five thousand native warriors
who accompanied him, plumed, painted, and armed in the highest style
of savage art. There were three thousand attendants, who bore the
supplies, and who were also armed with bows and arrows. Casquin, with
his troops, took the lead; wishing, as he said, to clear the road of
any obstructions, to drive off any lurking foes, and to prepare at
night the ground for the comfortable encampment of the Spaniards. His
troops were in a good state of military discipline, and marched in
well organized array about a mile and a half in advance of the
Spaniards.

Thus they travelled for three uneventful days, until they reached an
immense swamp, extending back unknown miles from the Mississippi. This
was the frontier line which bordered the hostile provinces of Casquin
and Capaha. Crossing it with much difficulty, they encamped upon a
beautiful prairie upon the northern side. A journey of two days
through a sparsely inhabited country brought them to the more fertile
and populous region of the new province. Here they found the capital
of the Cacique. It was a well fortified town of about five hundred
large houses, situated upon elevated land, which commanded an
extensive view of the country around. One portion of the town was
protected by a deep ditch, one hundred and fifty feet broad. The
higher portion was defended by a strong palisade. The ditch, or canal,
connected with the Mississippi river, which was nine miles distant.

Capaha, hearing suddenly of the arrival of so formidable a force, fled
down the canal in a curve, to an island in the river, where he
summoned his warriors to meet him as speedily as possible. Casquin,
marching as usual a mile and a half in advance, finding the town
unprotected, and almost abandoned, entered and immediately commenced
all the ravages of savage warfare. One hundred men, women and
children, caught in the place, were immediately seized, the men killed
and scalped, the women and boys made captives. To gratify their
vengeance, they broke into the mausoleum, held so sacred by the
Indians, where the remains of all the great men of the tribe had been
deposited. They broke open the coffins, scattered the remains over the
floor and trampled them beneath their feet.

It is said that Casquin, would have set fire to the mausoleum, and
laid it and the whole village in ashes, but that he feared that he
might thus incur the anger of De Soto. When the Governor arrived and
saw what ravages had been committed by those who had come as his
companions, friends and allies, he was greatly distressed. Immediately
he sent envoys to Capaha on the island, assuring him of his regret in
view of the outrages; that neither he, nor his soldiers, had in the
slightest degree participated in them, and that he sought only
friendly relations with the Cacique.

Capaha, who was a proud warrior, and who had retired but for a little
time that he might marshal his armies to take vengeance on the
invaders, returned an indignant and defiant answer; declaring that he
sought no peace; but that he would wage war to the last extremity.

Again De Soto found himself in what may be called a false position.
The chief Capaha and his people were exasperated against him in the
highest degree. The nation was one of the most numerous and powerful
on the Mississippi. Should the eight thousand allies, who had
accompanied him from Kaska, and who had plunged him into these
difficulties, withdraw, he would be left entirely at the mercy of
these fierce warriors. From ten to twenty thousand might rush upon his
little band, now numbering but about four hundred, and their utter
extermination could hardly be doubtful. Under these circumstances he
decided to attempt to conquer a peace. Still he made other efforts,
but in vain, to conciliate the justly enraged chieftain. He then
prepared for war. However severely he may be censured for this
decision, it is the duty of the impartial historian to state those
facts which may in some degree modify the severity of judgment.

A large number of canoes were prepared, in which two hundred Spaniards
and three thousand Indians embarked to attack Capaha upon his island,
before he had time to collect a resistless force of warriors. They
found the island covered with a dense forest, and the chief and his
troops strongly intrenched. The battle was fought with great fury, the
Spanish soldiers performing marvellous feats of bravery, strength and
endurance. The warriors of Capaha, who fought with courage equal to
that of the Spaniards, and struck such dismay into the more timid
troops of Casquin, that they abandoned their allies and fled
tumultuously to their canoes, and swiftly paddled away.

De Soto, thus left to bear the whole brunt of the hostile army, was
also compelled to retreat. He did this in good order, and might have
suffered terribly in the retreat but for the singular and, at the
time, unaccountable fact that Capaha withdrew his warriors and allowed
the Spaniards to embark unmolested. It would seem that the sagacious
chieftain, impressed by the wonderful martial prowess displayed by the
Spaniards, and by the reiterated proffers of peace and friendship
which had been made to him, and despising the pusillanimity of the
troops of Casquin, whom he had always been in the habit of conquering,
thought that by detaching the Spaniards from them he could convert De
Soto and his band into friends and allies. Then he could fall upon the
Indian army, and glut his vengeance, by repaying them tenfold for all
the outrages they had committed.

Accordingly, the next morning, four ambassadors of highest rank
visited the Spanish encampment. De Soto and Casquin were together. The
ambassadors bowed to De Soto with profound reverence, but
disdainfully took no notice whatever of Casquin. The speaker then
said,--

"We have come, in the name of our chief, to implore the oblivion of
the past and to offer to you his friendship and homage."

De Soto was greatly relieved by the prospect of this termination of
the difficulties in which he had found himself involved. He treated
the envoys with great affability, reciprocated all their friendly
utterances, and they returned to Capaha highly pleased with their
reception.

Casquin was very indignant. He did everything in his power to excite
the hostility of De Soto against Capaha, but all was in vain. The
Governor was highly displeased with the trick Casquin had played upon
him, in setting out on a military expedition under the guise of an
honorary escort. He despised the cowardice which Casquin's troops had
evinced in the battle, and he respected the courage which Capaha had
exhibited, and the frankness and magnanimity of his conduct. He
therefore issued orders to his own and the native army that no one
should inflict any injury whatever, either upon the persons or the
property of the natives of the province. He allowed Casquin to remain
in his camp and under his protection for a few days, but compelled
him to send immediately home the whole body of his followers,
retaining merely enough vassals for his personal service.

The next morning Capaha himself, accompanied by a train of one hundred
of his warriors, fearlessly returned to his village. He must have had
great confidence in the integrity of De Soto, for by this act he
placed himself quite in the power of the Spaniards. Immediately upon
entering the village, he visited the desecrated mausoleum of his
ancestors, and in silent indignation repaired, as far as possible, the
injury which had been done. He then proceeded to the headquarters of
De Soto. The Spanish Governor and Casquin were seated together.

Capaha was about twenty-six years of age, of very fine person and of
frank and winning manners. With great cordiality he approached De
Soto, reiterating his proffers of friendship, and his earnest desire
that kindly feelings should be cherished between them. Casquin he
treated with utter disdain, paying no more attention to him than if he
had not been present. For some time the Indian Cacique and the Spanish
Governor conversed together with perfect frankness and cordiality. A
slight pause occurring in their discourse, Capaha fixed his eyes
sternly for a moment upon Casquin and said, in tones of strong
indignation,--

"You, Casquin, undoubtedly exult in the thought that you have revenged
your past defeats. This you never could have done through your own
strength. You are indebted to these strangers for what you have
accomplished. Soon they will go on their way. But we shall be left in
this country as we were before. We shall then meet again. Pray to the
gods that they may send us good weather."

De Soto humanely did everything in his power to promote reconciliation
between the hostile chieftains. But all was in vain. Though they
treated each other with civility, he observed frequent interchanges of
angry glances.

The Spaniards found, in this town, a great variety of valuable skins
of deer, panthers, buffalo and bears. Taught by the Indians, the
Spaniards made themselves very comfortable moccasons of deerskin, and
also strong bucklers, impervious to arrows, of buffalo hide.

After making minute and anxious inquiries for gold, and ascertaining
that there was none to be found in that direction, De Soto turned his
desponding steps backwards to Kaska. Here he remained for four days,
preparing for a march to the southward. He then continued his progress
nine days down the western bank of the river, until, on the fourth of
August, he reached a province called Quigate. His path had led him
through a populous country, but the Indians made no attempt to molest
his movements. It is supposed that Quigate must have been on the White
river, about forty or fifty miles from its mouth. Here De Soto learned
that, faraway in the northwest there was a range of mountains, and
there he thought might perhaps be the gold region of which he had so
long been in search.

Immediately he put his soldiers in motion, led by a hope which was
probably rejected by every mind in the army, except his own. A single
Indian guide led them on a weary tramp for many days, through dreary
morasses and tangled forests. They at length came to a village called
Coligoa, which is supposed to have been upon the banks of White river.
The natives at first fled in terror at their approach, but as no
hostility was manifested by the Spaniards, they soon gained
confidence, and returned with kind words and presents. But there was
no gold there, and no visions of gold in the distance.

The chief informed De Soto that there was a very rich and populous
province about thirty miles to the south, where the inhabitants were
in the enjoyment of a great abundance of the good things of life.
Again the Spaniards took up their line of march in that direction.
They found a fertile and quite thickly inhabited country on their
route. The Indians were friendly, and seemed to have attained a
degree of civilization superior to that of most of the tribes they had
as yet visited. The walls of the better class of houses were hung with
deerskins, so softly tanned and colored that they resembled beautiful
tapestry. The floors were also neatly carpeted with richly decorated
skins.

The Spaniards seem to have travelled very slowly, for nine days were
occupied in reaching Tanico, in the Cayas country, which was situated
probably upon Saline river, a branch of the Washita. Here they found
some salt springs, and remained several days to obtain a supply of
salt, of which they were greatly in need. Turning their steps towards
the west, still groping blindly, hunting for gold, they journeyed four
days through a barren and uninhabited region, when suddenly they
emerged upon a wide and blooming prairie.

In the centre, at the distance of about a couple of miles, between two
pleasant streams, they saw quite a large village. It was mid-day, and
the Governor encamped his army in the edge of the grove, on the
borders of the plain. In the afternoon, with a strong party of horse
and foot, he set out upon a reconnoitering excursion. As he approached
the village the inhabitants, men and women, sallied forth and attacked
him with great ferocity. De Soto was not a man ever to turn his back
upon his assailants. The Spaniards drew their sabres, and, all being
in armor, and led by charges of the horsemen, soon put the tumultuous
savages to flight, and pursued them pell-mell into the village.

The natives fought like tigers from doors, windows, and housetops. The
exasperated Spaniards, smarting with their wounds, and seeing many of
their comrades already slain, cut down their foes remorselessly. The
women fell before their blows as well as the men, for the women fought
with unrelenting fierceness which the Spaniards had never seen
surpassed. Night came on while the battle still raged, with no
prospect of its termination. De Soto withdrew his troops from the
village, much vexed at having allowed himself to be drawn into so
useless a conflict, where there was nothing to be gained, and where he
had lost several valuable men in killed, while many more were wounded.

The next morning De Soto put his whole army in motion and advanced
upon the village. They found it utterly abandoned. Strong parties were
sent out in all directions to capture some of the natives, that De
Soto might endeavor to enter into friendly relations with them. But it
seemed impossible to take any one alive. They were as untamable and as
savage as bears and wolves, fighting against any odds to the last
gasp. Both women and men were exceedingly ill-looking, with shapeless
heads, which were said to have been deformed by the compression of
bandages in infancy. The province was called Tula, and the village was
situated, it is supposed, between the waters of the upper Washita and
the little Missouri.

The Spaniards remained in the village four days, when suddenly, in the
darkness of midnight, the war-whoop resounded from three different
directions, and three large bands of native warriors, who had so
stealthily approached as to elude the vigilance of the sentinels,
plunged into the village in a simultaneous attack. Egyptian darkness
enveloped the combatants, and great was the confusion, for it was
almost impossible to distinguish friend from foe. The Spaniards, to
avoid wounding each other, incessantly shouted the name of the Virgin.
The savages were armed with bows and arrows and with javelins, heavy,
sharp-pointed, and nine or ten feet in length, which could be used
either as clubs or pikes. Wielded by their sinewy arms, in a
hand-to-hand fight, the javelin proved a very formidable weapon.

The battle raged with unintermitted fury till the dawn of the morning.
The savages then, at a given signal, fled simultaneously to the woods.
The Spaniards did not pursue them. Thoroughly armored as they were,
but four of their number were killed, but many were severely wounded.
It was nearly twenty days before the wounded were so far convalescent
that the army could resume its march. The following incident
illustrates the almost unexampled ferocity of these barbaric warriors:

The morning after the battle a large number of the Spanish soldiers,
thoroughly armed, were exploring the fields around the village, on
foot and on horseback. Three foot soldiers and two mounted men were in
company. One of them saw in a thicket an Indian raise his head and
immediately conceal it. The foot soldier ran up to kill him. The
savage rose, and with a ponderous battle-axe which he had won from the
Spaniards the day before, struck the shield of the Spaniard with such
force as to cut it in two, at the same time severely wounding his arm.
The blow was so violent and the wound so severe, that the soldier was
rendered helpless. The savage then rushed upon another of the foot
soldiers, and in the same way effectually disabled him.

One of the horsemen, seeing his companions thus roughly handled, put
spurs to his steed and charged upon the Indian. The savage sprang to
the trunk of an oak tree, whose low hanging branches prevented the
near approach of the trooper. Watching his opportunity, he sprang
forth and struck the horse such a terrible blow with his axe as to
render the animal utterly incapable of moving. Just at this moment the
gallant Gonsalvo Sylvestre came up. The Indian rushed upon him,
swinging his battle-axe in both hands; but Sylvestre warded the blow
so that the axe glanced over his shield and buried its edge deeply in
the ground.

Instantly the keen sabre of Sylvestre fell upon the savage, laying
open his face and breast with a fearful gash, and so severing his
right hand from the arm that it hung only by the skin. The desperate
Indian, seizing the axe between the bleeding stump and the other hand,
attempted to strike another blow. Again Sylvestre warded off the axe
with his shield, and with one blow of his sword upon the waist of the
naked Indian so nearly cut his body in two that he fell dead at his
feet.

During the time the Spaniards tarried in Tula many foraging excursions
were sent out to various parts of the province. The region was
populous and fertile, but it was found impossible to conciliate in any
degree the hostile inhabitants.

Again the soldiers were in motion. They directed their steps towards
the northwest, towards a province named Utiangue, which was said to be
situated on the borders of a great lake, at the distance of about two
hundred and forty miles. They hoped that this lake might prove an arm
of the sea, through which they could open communications with their
friends in Cuba, and return to them by water. The journey was
melancholy in the extreme, through a desolate country occupied by
wandering bands of ferocious savages, who were constantly assailing
them from ambuscades by day and by night.

At length they reached the village of Utiangue, the capital of the
province. It was pleasantly situated on a fine plain upon the banks of
a river, which was probably the Arkansas. Upon the approach of the
Spaniards the inhabitants had abandoned the place, leaving their
granaries well stocked with corn, beans, nuts, and plums. The meadows
surrounding the town offered excellent pasturage for the horses. As
the season was far advanced, De Soto decided to take up his winter
quarters here. He fortified the place, surrounding it with strong
palisades. To lay in ample stores for the whole winter, foraging
parties were sent out, who returned laden with dried fruits, corn, and
other grain.

Deer ranged the forests in such numbers that large quantities of
venison were obtained. Rabbits also were in abundance. The Cacique,
who kept himself aloof, sent several messengers to De Soto, but they
so manifestly came merely as spies, and always in the night, that De
Soto gave orders that none should be admitted save in the daytime.
One persisting to enter was killed by a sentinel. This put an end to
all intercourse between De Soto and the chief; but the Spaniards were
assaulted whenever the natives could take any advantage of them on
their foraging expeditions.

Here the Spaniards enjoyed on the whole, the most comfortable winter
they had experienced since they entered Florida. Secure from attack in
their fortified town, sheltered from the weather in their comfortable
dwellings, and with a sufficient supply of food, they were almost
happy, as they contrasted the comforts they then enjoyed with the
frightful sufferings they had hitherto experienced. During the winter,
the expedition met with a great loss from the death of its intelligent
interpreter, Juan Ortiz. In reference to his services, Mr. Pickett
says:

"Understanding only the Floridian language, he conducted
conversations through the Indians of different tribes who
understood each other and who attended the expedition. In
conversing with the Chickasaws, for instance, he commenced
with the Floridian, who carried the word to a Georgian, the
Georgian to the Coosa, the Coosa to the Mobilian, and the
latter to the Chickasaw. In the same tedious manner the reply
was conveyed to him and reported to De Soto."

During the winter at Utiangue, the views and feelings of the Governor
apparently experienced quite a change. His hopes of finding gold seem
all to have vanished. He was far away in unknown wilds, having lost
half his troops and nearly all his horses. The few horses that
remained, were many of them lame, not having been shod for more than a
year. He did not hesitate to confess, confidentially to his friends,
his regret that he had not joined the ships at Pensacola. He now
despairingly decided to abandon these weary and ruinous wanderings,
and to return to the Mississippi river. Here he would establish a
fortified colony, build a couple of brigantines, send them to Cuba
with tidings of safety to his wife, and procure reinforcements and
supplies. It seems that his pride would not allow him to return
himself a ruined man to his friends.

With the early spring he broke up his cantonment, and commenced a
rapid march for the Mississippi. He had heard of a village called
Anilco, at the mouth of a large stream emptying into that majestic
river. They followed down the south side of the Arkansas river for ten
days, when they crossed on rafts to the north or east side. It was
probably the intention of De Soto to reach the Mississippi nearly at
the point at which they had crossed it before.

Continuing his journey through morasses and miry grounds, where the
horses often waded up to their girths in water, where there were few
inhabitants, and little food to be obtained, he at length reached the
village of Anilco, and found it to be on the northern bank of the
Arkansas river. Here he learned that, at the distance of some leagues
to the south, there was a populous and fertile country such as he
thought would be suitable for the establishment of his colony. Again
he crossed the Arkansas river to the south side, and moving in a
southerly direction reached the Mississippi at a village called
Guachoya, about twenty miles below the mouth of the Arkansas river.

CHAPTER XIX.

_Death of De Soto._

Ascent of the Mississippi.--Revenge of Guachoya.--Sickness
of De Soto.--Affecting Leave-taking.--His Death and
Burial.--The March for Mexico.--Return to the
Mississippi.--Descent of the River.--Dispersion of the
Expedition.--Death of Isabella.

The village of Guachoya was situated on a bluff on the western bank of
the Mississippi, and was strongly fortified with palisades. De Soto
succeeded in establishing friendly relations with the chief, and was
hospitably entertained within the town. The Cacique and Governor ate
at the same table, and were served by Indian attendants. Still, for
some unexplained reason, the Cacique with his warriors retired at
sunset in their canoes, to the eastern side of the Mississippi, and
did not return till after sunrise the next morning.

De Soto's great anxiety now was to get access to the ocean. But he
could not learn that the Cacique had ever heard of such a body of
water. He then sent Juan de Añasco with eight horsemen to follow down
the banks of the river in search of the sea. They returned in eight
days, having explored but about fifty miles, in consequence of the
windings of the stream and the swamps which bordered its banks. Upon
this discouraging information, the Governor decided to build two
brigantines at Guachoya, and to establish his colony upon some fertile
fields which he had passed between Anilco and that place. This
rendered it very important for him to secure abiding friendly
relations with the chiefs of both of these provinces.

The territory indeed upon which he intended to settle, was within the
province of Anilco, and on the north bank of the Arkansas. The chief
Guachoya, very kindly offered to supply De Soto with eighty large and
many small canoes with which a portion of his force with the baggage
could ascend the Mississippi, twenty-one miles to the mouth of the
Arkansas, and then ascending that stream about forty miles would reach
the point selected for the settlement. The Governor and the chief,
with united military force in light marching order, would proceed by
land so as to reach the spot about the same time as the canoes.

Four thousand Indian warriors embarked in these canoes, and in three
days accomplished the voyage. At the same time, the land forces
commenced their march. The Cacique led two thousand warriors, besides
the attendants. Mr. Irving writes:

"The two expeditions arrived safely at the time opposite the
village. The chief of Anilco was absent, but the inhabitants
of the place made a stand at the pass of the river. Nuño
Tobar fell furiously upon them with a party of horse. Eager
for the fight, they charged so heedlessly that each trooper
found himself surrounded by a band of Indians. The poor
savages, however, were so panic-stricken that they turned
their backs upon the village, and fled in wild disorder to
the forests, amid the shouts of the pursuers, and the
shrieks and cries of the women and children.

"On entering the conquered village, they massacred all they
met, being chiefly old men, women and children, inflicting
the most horrible barbarities.

"In all this they acted in such fury and haste, that the
mischief was effected almost before De Soto was aware of it.
He put an end to the carnage as speedily as possible,
reprimanded the Cacique severely, forbade any one to set
fire to a house, or injure an Indian under pain of death,
and hastened to leave the village, taking care that the
Indian allies should be the first to pass the river, and
none remained behind to do mischief."

From this untoward enterprise De Soto returned to the village of
Guachoya, renouncing all idea of establishing his colony in Anilco. He
immediately commenced with all energy building his two brigantines,
while he looked anxiously about in search of some region of fertility
and abundance, where his army could repose till the envoys should
bring back a sufficient fleet to transport those to Cuba who should
wish to return there, and could also bring those reinforcements and
supplies essential to the establishment of the colony. The river at
this point was about a mile and a half in width. The country on both
sides was rich in fertility, and thickly inhabited.

Upon the eastern bank there was a province called Quigualtanqui, of
which De Soto heard such glowing reports that he sent an exploring
party to examine the country. By fastening four canoes together, he
succeeded in transporting the horses across the stream. To his
disappointment he found the Cacique deadly hostile. He sent word to De
Soto that he would wage a war of utter extermination against him and
his people, should they attempt to invade his territories.

Care, fatigue and sorrow now began to show their traces upon the
Governor. He could not disguise the deep despondency which oppressed
him. His step became feeble, his form emaciate, his countenance
haggard. A weary, grief-worn pilgrim, he was in a mood to welcome
death, as life presented him nothing more to hope for. A slow fever
aggravated by the climate, placed him upon a sick bed. Here, the
victim of the most profound melancholy, he was informed that the
powerful chief, Quigualtanqui, was forming a league of all the
neighboring tribes for the extermination of the Spaniards. De Soto's
arm was paralyzed and his heart was broken. He had fought his last
battle. His words were few; his despondency oppressed all who
approached his bedside. Day after day the malady increased until the
fever rose so high, that it was manifest to De Soto, and to all his
companions, that his last hour was at hand.

Calmly and with the piety of a devout Catholic, he prepared for death.
Luis De Moscoso was appointed his successor in command of the army,
and also the successor of whatever authority and titles De Soto might
possess, as Governor of Florida. He called together the officers and
most prominent soldiers, and with the trembling voice of a dying man
administered to them the oath of obedience to Moscoso. He then called
to his bedside, in groups of three persons, the cavaliers who had so
faithfully followed him through his long and perilous adventures, and
took an affectionate leave of them. The common soldiers were then, in
groups of about twenty, brought into the death chamber, and tenderly
he bade them adieu.

These war-worn veterans wept bitterly in taking leave of their beloved
chief. It is worthy of record that he urged them to do all in their
power to convert the natives to the Christian religion; that he
implored the forgiveness of all whom he had in any way offended; and
entreated them to live as brothers, loving and helping one another. On
the seventh day after he was attacked by the fever, he expired.

"He died," writes the Inca, "like a Catholic Christian,
imploring mercy of the most Holy Trinity, relying on the
protection of the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord, and the
intercession of the Virgin and of all the celestial court,
and in the faith of the Roman church. With these words
repeated many times, he resigned his soul to God; this
magnanimous and never-conquered cavalier, worthy of great
dignities and titles, and deserving a better historian than a
rude Indian."

Thus perished De Soto, in the forty-second year of his age. His life,
almost from the cradle to the grave, had been filled with care,
disappointment and sorrow. When we consider the age in which he lived,
the influences by which he was surrounded, and the temptations to
which he was exposed, it must be admitted that he developed many noble
traits of character, and that great allowances should be made for his
defects.

The Governor had won the confidence and affection of his army to an
extraordinary degree. He was ever courteous in his demeanor, and kind
in his treatment. He shared all the hardships of his soldiers, placed
himself in the front in the hour of peril, and was endowed with that
wonderful muscular strength and energy which enabled him by his
achievements often to win the admiration of all his troops. His death
overwhelmed the army with grief. They feared to have it known by the
natives, for his renown as a soldier was such as to hold them in awe.

It was apprehended that should his death be known, the natives would
be encouraged to revolt, and to fall with exterminating fury upon the
handful of Spaniards now left in the land. They therefore "buried him
silently at dead of night." Sentinels were carefully posted to prevent
the approach of any of the natives. A few torches lighted the
procession to a sandy plain near the encampment, where his body was
interred, with no salute fired over his grave or even any dirge
chanted by the attendant priests. The ground was carefully smoothed
over so as to obliterate as far as possible all traces of the burial.

The better to conceal his death, word was given out the next morning
that he was much better, and a joyous festival was arranged in honor
of his convalescence. Still the natives were not deceived. They
suspected that he was dead, and even guessed the place of his burial.
This was indicated by the fact that they frequently visited the spot,
looking around with great interest, and talking together with much
volubility.

One mode of revenge adopted by the natives was to disinter the body of
an enemy and expose the remains to every species of insult. It was
feared that as soon as the Spaniards should have withdrawn from the
region, the body of De Soto might be found and exposed to similar
outrages. It was therefore decided to take up the remains and sink it
in the depths of the river.

In the night, Juan De Añasco, with one or two companions, embarked in
a canoe, and, by sounding, found a place in the channel of the river
nearly a hundred and twenty feet deep. They cut down an evergreen oak,
whose wood is almost as solid and heavy as lead, gouged out a place in
it sufficiently large to receive the body, and nailed over the top a
massive plank. The body, thus placed in its final coffin, was taken at
midnight to the centre of the river, where it immediately sank to its
deep burial. The utmost silence was preserved, and every precaution
adopted to conceal the movement from all but those engaged in the
enterprise.

"The discoverer of the Mississippi," writes the Inca, "slept
beneath its waters. He had crossed a large part of the
continent in search of gold, and found nothing so remarkable
as his burial-place."

Upon the death of De Soto, a council of war was held to decide what to
do in the new attitude of affairs. In their exhausted state, and with
their diminished numbers, they could not think of attempting a march
back for hundreds of leagues through hostile nations, to Tampa Bay. It
would take a long time to build their brigantines and to await an
arrival from Cuba. In the meantime there was great danger that they
might be attacked and destroyed by the powerful league then forming
against them.

A rumor had reached them that a large number of Spaniards were in
Mexico, not very far to the westward; that they were powerful in
numbers, conquering all before them, and enriching themselves with the
spoils of a majestic empire. It was consequently determined to march
with all speed in that direction, and join this Spanish army in its
career of Mexican conquest.

Early in the month of June they commenced their march in a line due
west. Their geographical knowledge was so limited that they were not
aware that they were in a latitude far above the renowned city of the
Montezumas.

[Illustration]

Day after day the troops pressed on, through many sufferings and weary
marches. On the way, one of their number, Diego De Guzman, a very
ambitious young cavalier of high rank and wealthy connections, fell so
passionately in love with the beautiful daughter of a Cacique that he
deserted from the army to remain with her. She was but eighteen years
of age, of very amiable spirit, and of unusual gracefulness of form
and loveliness of feature. Moscoso sent an embassy to the Cacique,
demanding the return of Guzman as a deserter, and threatening, in case
of refusal, to lay waste his territory with fire and sword. The chief
sent back the heroic reply--

"I have used no force to detain Diego De Guzman. I shall use no force
to compel him to depart. On the contrary I shall treat him as a
son-in-law, with all honor and kindness, and shall do the same with
any others of the strangers who may choose to remain with me. If for
thus doing my duty you think proper to lay waste my lands and slay my
people, you can do so. The power is in your hands."

It would seem that this manly reply disarmed Moscoso, for the Spanish
army continued its journey, leaving Guzman behind. Onward and still
onward the weary men pressed, wading morasses, forcing their way
through tangled forests, crossing rivers on rafts; now hungry and now
thirsty, again enjoying abundance; sometimes encountering hostility
from the natives, when they took fearful vengeance, applying the torch
to their villages; and again enjoying the hospitality of the natives,
until having traversed a region of about three hundred miles in
breadth, they supposed they had reached the confines of Mexico.

They had no suitable interpreters with them. The most contrary
impressions were received from the attempts they made to obtain
intelligence from the Indians. Lured by false hopes, they wandered
about here and there, ever disappointed in their hopes of finding the
white men. Entering a vast uninhabited region, they found their food
exhausted, and but for the roots and herbs they dug up, would have
perished from hunger.

The Spaniards were in despair. They were lost in savage wilds,
surrounded by a barbarous and hostile people, with whom, for want of
an interpreter, they could hold no intelligible communication. They
had now been wandering in these bewildering mazes for three months.
Mountains were rising before them; dense forests were around. They had
probably reached the hunting-grounds of the Pawnees and Comanches. It
was the month of October; winter would soon be upon them. A council of
war was called, and after much agitating debate, it was at length
decided, as the only refuge from perishing in the wilderness, to
retrace their steps to the Mississippi.

Forlorn, indeed, were their prospects now. They had made no attempt to
conciliate the natives through whose provinces they had passed, and
they could expect to encounter only hostility upon every step of their
return. The country also, devastated in their advance, could afford
but little succor in their retreat. Their worst fears were realized.
Though they made forced marches, often with weary feet, late into the
night, they were constantly falling into ambuscades, and had an almost
incessant battle to fight.

Before they reached the Arkansas river the severe weather of winter
set in. They were drenched with rains, pierced with freezing gales,
and covered with the mud through which they were always wading. Their
European clothing had long since vanished. Their grotesque and
uncomfortable dress consisted principally of skins belted around their
waists and over their shoulders; they were bare-legged. Many of them
had neither shoes nor sandals; a few had moccasons made of skins. In
addition to all this, and hardest to be borne, their spirits were all
broken, and they were sunk in despondency which led them to the very
verge of despair.

Every day some died. One day, seven dropped by the wayside. The
Spaniards could hardly stop to give them burial, for hostile Indians
were continually rising before, behind, and on each side of them. At
length, early in December, they reached the banks of the Mississippi
near the mouth of the Arkansas.

The noble army with which De Soto left Spain but three and a half
years before, had dwindled away to about three hundred and fifty men;
and many of these gained this refuge only to die. Fifty of these
wanderers, exhausted by hunger, toil and sorrow, found repose in the
grave. Soon the survivors commenced building seven brigantines to take
them back to Cuba. They had one ship-carpenter left, and several other
mechanics. Swords, stirrups, chains, cutlasses, and worn out
fire-arms, were wrought into spikes. Ropes were made from grass. The
Indians proved friendly, furnishing them with food, and aiding them in
their labors.

The hostile chief of whom we have before spoken, Quigualtanqui, on the
eastern bank of the river, began to renew his efforts to form a
hostile league against the Spaniards. He was continually sending spies
into the camp. Moscoso was a merciless man. One day thirty Indians
came into the town as spies, but under pretence of bringing presents
of food, and messages of kindness from their Cacique. Moscoso thought
he had ample evidence of their treachery. Cruelly he ordered the right
hand of every one of these chiefs to be chopped off with a hatchet,
and thus mutilated, sent them back to the Cacique as a warning to
others.

Moscoso, conscious of the peril of his situation, made the utmost
haste to complete his fleet. It consisted of seven large barques, open
save at the bows and stern. The bulwarks were mainly composed of
hides. Each barque had seven oars on a side. This frail squadron was
soon afloat, and the Governor and his diminished bands embarked.

It was on the evening of the second of July, just as the sun was
setting, when they commenced their descent of the majestic
Mississippi, leading they knew not where. They had succeeded in
fabricating sails of matting woven from grass. With such sails and
oars, they set out to voyage over unexplored seas, without a chart,
and without a compass. The current of the river was swift and their
descent rapid. They occasionally landed to seize provisions wherever
they were to be found, and to take signal vengeance on any who opposed
them.

It seems that the Indians, during the winter, had been collecting a
fleet, manned with warriors, to cut off the retreat of the Spaniards.
This fleet consisted of a large number of canoes, sufficiently
capacious to hold from thirty to seventy warriors, in addition to
from thirteen to twenty-four men with paddles. They could move with
great rapidity.

Two days after embarking, the Spaniards met this formidable fleet. The
natives attacked them with great ferocity, circling around the
cumbrous brigantines, discharging upon them showers of arrows, and
withdrawing at their pleasure. This assault, which was continued
almost without intermission for seven days and nights, was attended by
hideous yells and war-songs. Though the Spaniards were protected by
their bulwarks and their shields, nearly every one received some
wound. All the horses but eight were killed.

On the sixteenth day of the voyage four small boats, containing in all
fifty-five men, which had pushed out a little distance from the
brigantines, were cut off by the natives, and all but seven perished.
The natives now retired from pursuing their foes, and with exultant
yells of triumph turned their bows up the river and soon disappeared
from sight.

On the twentieth day they reached the Gulf. Here they anchored their
fleet to a low marshy island, a mere sand bank, surrounded with a vast
mass of floating timber. Again a council was held to decide what
course was to be pursued. They had no nautical instruments, and they
knew not in what direction to seek for Cuba. It was at length decided
that as their brigantines could not stand any rough usage of a stormy
sea, their only safety consisted in creeping cautiously along the
shore towards the west in search of their companions in Mexico. They
could thus run into creeks and bays in case of storms, and could
occasionally land for supplies.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon when they again made sail. There
was much division of counsel among them; much diversity of opinion as
to the best course to be pursued; and the authority of Moscoso was but
little regarded. They had many adventures for fifty-three days, as
they coasted slowly along to the westward. Then a violent gale arose,
a norther, which blew with unabated fury for twenty-six hours. In this
gale the little fleet became separated. The brigantines contained
about fifty men each. Five of them succeeded in running into a little
bay for shelter. Two were left far behind, and finding it impossible
to overtake their companions, as the wind was directly ahead, and as
there was danger of their foundering during the night, though with
quarrels among themselves, they ran their two vessels upon a sand
beach and escaped to the shore.

Moscoso, with the five brigantines, had entered the river Panuco, now
called Tampico. Here he found, to his great joy, that his countrymen
had quite a flourishing colony, and that they had reared quite a
large town, called Panuco, at a few miles up the stream. They kissed
the very ground for joy, and abandoning their storm-shattered
brigantines, commenced a tumultuous march towards the town. They were
received with great hospitality. The Mayor took Moscoso into his own
house, and the rest of the party were comfortably provided for.

It is worthy of note that one of their first acts was to repair to the
church to thank God for their signal deliverance from so many perils.
They were soon joined by their shipwrecked comrades. They numbered
only three hundred, and they resembled wild beasts rather than men,
with uncut and uncombed hair and beard, haggard with fatigue,
blackened from exposure, and clad only in the skins of bears, deer,
buffaloes, and other animals. Here their military organization ended.

For twenty-five days they remained at Panuco; a riotous band of
disappointed and reckless men, frequently engaging in sanguinary
broils. Gradually they dispersed. Many of the common soldiers found
their way to the city of Mexico, where they enlisted in the Mexican
and Peruvian armies. Most of the leaders found their way back to
Spain, broken in health and spirits.

Many months elapsed ere Isabella heard of the death of her husband,
and of the utter ruin of the magnificent enterprise in which he had
engaged. It was to her an overwhelming blow. Her heart was broken; she
never smiled again, and soon followed her husband to the grave. Sad,
indeed, were the earthly lives of Ferdinand De Soto and Isabella De
Bobadilla. We hope their redeemed spirits have met in that better land
where the weary are at rest.

THE END.

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_Wanderings in Spain._ By Augustus J. C. Hare, author +++
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_The Character of St. Paul._ By J. C. Howson, D. D., +++
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MACDONALD.

_The Book of Ecclesiastes Explained, Critically and Popularly._
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MANNING, ANNE.

_Maiden and Married Life of Mary Powell._ 1.25
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_The Book that Will Suit You_; or, a Word for Every
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WORBOISE.

_The Lillingstones of Lillingstone._ By Emma Jane Worboise.
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_World's Laconics, The._ On the Best Thoughts of the Best
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_Miracles of Faith_: A Sketch of the Life of Beaté Paulus.
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TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:

Minor changes have been made to correct typesetters' errors; otherwise,
every effort has been made to remain true to the author's words and
intent.

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Ferdinand De Soto, The Discoverer of the Mississippi - American Pioneers and Patriots" ***

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