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ORIGINAL NARRATIVES
OF EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY
REPRODUCED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE
AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
General Editor, J. FRANKLIN JAMESON, Ph.D., LL.D.
DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH IN THE
CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON
SPANISH EXPLORERS IN THE SOUTHERN
UNITED STATES
1528 — 1543
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ORIGINAL NARRATIVES
OF EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY
SPANISH EXPLORERS
IN THE
SOUTHERN UNITED STATES
1528 — 1543
THE NARRATIVE OF ALVAR NUNEZ
CABECA DE VACA
EDITED BY
FREDERICK W. HODGE
OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
THE NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION OF
HERNANDO DE SOTO
BY THE GENTLEMAN OF ELVAS
EDITED BY
THEODORE H. LEWIS
HONORARY MEMBER OF THE MISSISSIPPI HISTORICAL SOCIETY
THE NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION OF
CORONADO, BY PEDRO DE CASTANEDA
EDITED BY
FREDERICK W. HODGE
WITH MAPS AND A FACSIMILE | > ^^■' ■ .^
•«4
REPRODUCTION
l\
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
NEWYORK- -----1907
COPYRIGHT, 1907, BY
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
Published, February, 1907
y.z-
NOTE
Although, in the narrative of the Gentleman of Elvas, the
translation by Buckingham Smith has been followed, some cor-
rections have been made in the text, and pains have been taken
to set right, in accordance with the Portuguese original at the
Lenox Library, the native proper names, on whose interpretation
in the Indian languages the identification of localities in many
cases depends. If variations from page to page in the spelling
of some such names are observed by the reader, they may be
assumed to exist in the original.
The three narratives printed in this book are but a small
selection from among many scores ; for the narratives of Spanish
explorers in the southern United States constitute an extensive
literature. But if interest and historical importance are both
taken into account, it is believed that these three hold an undis-
puted preeminence among such "relations."
J. F. J.
CONTENTS
THE NARRATIVE OF ALVAR NUNEZ CABEQA DE VACA
Edited by Frederick W. Hodge
The Narrative of Alvar Nunez Cabe^a de Vaca
Introduction
Proem .
Chapter
Chapter
the
9.
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter 10.
Chapter 11.
Chapter 12.
Chapter 13.
Chapter 14.
Chapter 15.
Chapter 16.
Chapter 17.
Chapter 18.
Chapter 19.
Chapter 20.
Chapter 21.
Chapter 22.
Chapter 23.
Chapter 24.
Chapter 25.
Chapter 26.
and
In which is told when the Armada sailed, and of
Officers and Persons who went in it .
The Coming of the Governor to the Port of Xagua
with a Pilot
Our Arrival in Florida
Our Entrance into the Country
The Governor leaves the Ships
Our Arrival at Apalache ....
The Character of the Country
We go from Aute
We leave the Bay of Horses ....
The Assault from the Indians
Of what befell Lope de Oviedo with the Indians
The Indians bring us Food ....
We hear of other Christians ....
The Departure of four Christians .
What befell us among the People of Malhado
The Christians leave the Island of Malhado
The Coming of Indians with Andres Dorantes, Castillo
and Estevanico
The Story Figueroa recounted from Esquivel
Extract from the Letter of the Survivors
Our Separation by the Indians
Of our Escape
Our Cure of some of the Afflicted
The Coming of other Sick to us the next Day
Of our Departure after having eaten the Dogs
Customs of the Indians of that Country
Vigilance of the Indians in War .
Of the Nations and Tongues ....
vii
PAGE
1
3
12
14
18
19
20
24
28
29
33
37
40
44
45
48
49
52
55
59
63
68
70
72
74
76
82
83
85
86
Vlll
CONTENTS
Chapter 27. We moved away and were well received
Chapter 28. Of another strange Custom .
Chapter 29. The Indians plunder each other
Chapter 30. The Fashion of receiving us changes .
Chapter 31. Of our taking the Way to the Maize
Chapter 32. The Indians give us the Hearts of Deer
Chapter 33. We see Traces of Christians .
Chapter .34. Of sending for the Christians
Chapter 35. The Chief Alcalde receives us kindly the
arrive .......
Chapter 36. Of building Churches in that Land
Chapter 37. Of what occurred when I wished to return
Chapter 38. Of what became of the Others who went to Indias
Night we
PAOB
88
91
94
99
105
108
112
113
116
119
121
123
' THE NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO
DE SOTO, BY THE GENTLEMAN OF ELVAS
Edited by Theodore H. Lewis
The Narrative of the Expedition of Hernando de Soto, by
THE Gentleman of Elvas 127
Introduction 129
Epigram of Silveira 133
Prefatory Note by the Printer 134
Chapter 1. Who Soto was, and how he came to get the Govern-
ment of Florida 135
Chapter 2. How Cabe9a de Vaca arrived at Court, and gave Account
of the Country of Florida; and of the Persons who
assembled at Seville to accompany Don Hernando de
Soto 136
Chapter 3. How the Portuguese went to Seville, and thence to
Sanliicar ; and how the Captains were appointed over
the Ships, and the People distributed among them . 138
Chapter l. How the Adelantado with his People left Spain, going
to the Canary Islands, and afterward arrived in the
Antillas 139
Chapter 5. Of the Inhabitants there are in the City of Santiago
and other Towns of the Island, tin- Character of the
Soil, and of the Fruit 140
Chapter 0. How the Governor Bent Dona Ysabel with the Ships
from Santiago to Havana, while he with some of the
Mi-n went thither by land 112
Chapter 7. How we left Havana and came to Florida, and what
other Matli IS took place 145
CONTENTS
PAGE
Chapter 8. Of some Inroads that were made, and how a Christian
was found who had been a long time in the posses-
sion of a Cacique 148
Chapter 9. How the Christian came to the Land of Florida, who
he was, and of what passed at his Interview with the
Governor 149
Chapter 10. How the Governor, having sent the Ships to Cuba,
marched Inland, leaving one hundred Men at the
Port 153
Chapter 11. How the Governor arrived at Caliquen, and thence,
taking the Cacique with him, came to Napetaca,
where the Indians, attempting to rescue him, had
many of their Number killed and captured . . 156
Chapter 12. How the Governor arrived at Palache, and was informed
that there was much Gold inland .... 160
Chapter 13. How the Governor went from Apalache in quest of
Yupaha, and what befell him 164
Chapter 14. How the Governor left the Province of Patofa, march-
ing into a Desert Country, where he, with his People,
became exposed to great Peril, and underwent severe
Privation 169
Chapter 15. How the Governor went from Cutifachiqui in quest of
Co^a, and what occurred to him on the Journey . 175
Chapter 16. How the Governor left Chiaha, and, having run a
Hazard of falling by the Hands of the Indians at
Acoste, escaped by his Address: what occurred to
him on the Route, and how he came to Co9a . 181
Chapter 17. Of how the Governor went from Co^a to Tascalu9a . 185
Chapter 18. How the Indians rose upon the Governor, and what
followed upon that Rising 190
Chapter 19. How the Governor set his Men in order of Battle, and
entered the town of Manilla 192
Chapter 20. How the Governor set out from Mauilla to go to Chi-
cacja, and what befell him ...... 194
Chapter 21. How the Indians returned to attack the Christians, and
how the Governor went to Alimamu, and they tarried
to give him Battle in the Way 199
Chapter 22. How the Governor went from Quizquiz, and thence to
the River Grande 201
Chapter 23. How the Governor went from Aquixo to Casqui, and
thence to Pacaha; and how this Country differs from
the other 205
Chapter 24. How the Cacique of Pacaha came in Peace, and he of
Casqui, having absented himself, returned to excuse
his Conduct; and liow the Governor made Friend-
ship between the Chiefs 209
CONTENTS
Chapter 25. How the Governor went from Pacaha to Aquiguate and
to Coligoa, and came to Cayas
Chapter 26. How the Governor went to visit the Province of Tulla,
and what happened to him
Chapter 27. How the Governor went from Tulla to Autiamque,
where he passed the Winter
Chapter 28. How the Governor went from Autiamque to Nilco, and
thence to Guachoya
Chapter 29. The Message sent to Quigaltam, and the Answer brought
back to the Governor, and what occurred the while .
Chapter 30. The Death of the Adelantado, Don Hernando de Soto,
and how Luys Moscoso de Alvarado was chosen Gov-
ernor
Chapter 31. How the Governor Luys de Moscoso left Guachoya and
went to Chaguete, and thence to Aguacay
Chapter 32. How the Governor went from Aguacay to Naguatex,
and what happened to him
Chapter 33. How the Cacique of Naguatex came to visit the Gov-
ernor, and how the Governor went thence, and
arrived at Nondacao
Chapter 34. How the Governor marched from Nondacao to Soacatino
and Guasco, passing through a Wilderness, whence,
for want of a Guide and Interpreter, he retired to
Nilco
Chapter 35. How the Christians returned to Nilco, and thence went
to Minoya, where they prepared to build Vessels in
which to leave Florida
Chapter 36. How Seven Brigantines were built, and the Christians
took their Departure from Aminoya . . . .
Chapter 37. How the Christians, on their Voyage, were attacked in
the River, by the Indians of Quigualtam, and what
happened
Chapter 38. How the Christians were Pursued by the Indians
Chapter 39. IIow the Christians came to the Sea, what occurred
then, and what l)ofell them on the Voyage
Chapter 40. IIow the Brigantines lost Sight of each other in f
Storm, and afterwards came togetlier at a Kay
Chapter 41. How the Christians arrived at the River Panico .
Chapter 42. IIow the Christians came to Panico, and of their Ilocop
tion V)y the Inhabitants .....
Chapter 43. The Favor tlie People found in the Viceroy and Resi-
dfiiits of Mexico
Chapter 41. Which sets forth some of the Diversities and IVculiari
tics of Florida; and the Fruit, Birds, and Beasts of
the Country
213
217
221
224
228
232
235
238
240
243
246
250
254
257
259
262
2()4
266
268
270
CONTENTS
XI
THE NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION OF CORONADO,
BY PEDRO DE CASTANEDA
Edited by Frederick W. Hodge
PAGE
The Narrative of the Expedition of Coronabo. by Pedro de ^^^
Castaneda
Introduction
Preface
FIRST PART
ChaDter 1 Which treats of the Way we first came to know about
^ the Seven Cities, and of how Nuiio de Guzman made
an Expedition to discover them
Chapter 2. Of how Francisco Vazquez Coronado came to be Gov-
287
gave /~,M 1 A
Chapter 3. Of how they killed the Negro Estevan at Cibola, and ^^^
Friar Marcos returned in Flight . . • • -
Chapter 4. Of how the noble Don Antonio de Mendoza made an ^^^
Expedition to discover Cibola -
Chapter 5. Concerning the Captains who went to Cibola . • -«-
Chapter 6. Of how all the Companies collected in Compostela and
set off on the Journey in good Order . • • -^^
ChaDter 7 Of how the Army reached Chiametla, and the Killing
^ of the Army-Master, and the other things that hap-
pened up to the Arrival at Culiacan . • ' ' "
Chapter 8. Of how the Army entered the Town of Culiacan and
^ the Reception it received, and other things which
happened before the Departure • • ' " "
Chapter 9. Of how the Army started from Culiacan and the Arnval
^ of the General at Cibola, and of the Army at Senora
and of other things that happened . • • • -
Chapter 10. Of how the Army started from the Town of Senora
Cnapter ^^^^_^^ _^ inhabited, and how it reached Cibola, and
of what happened to Captain Melchior Diaz on his
Expedition in Search of the Ships and how he dis-
covered the Tison (Firebrand) River . • • ^*^-
Chapter 11. Of how Don Pedro de Tovar discovered Tusayan or
Chapter ^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^.^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^^3
the Firebrand River, and the other things that had ^^^
happened ', , \ ' tu '
Chapter 12. Of how people came from Cicuye to Cibola to see the
Chapter ^^^JJ^^ ^„d how Hernando de Alvarado went to ^^^
see the Cows
Xll
CONTENTS
Chapter 13. Of how the General went toward Tutahaco with a few
Men and left the Army with Don Tristan, who took
it to Tiguex 313
Chapter 14. Of how the Army went from Cibola to Tiguex and
what happened to them on the way, on account of
the Snow 315
Chapter 15. Of why Tiguex revolted, and how they were punished,
without being to Blame for it 317
Chapter 16. Of how they besieged Tiguex and took it and of what
happened during the Siege 320
Chapter 17. Of how Messengei's reached the Army from the Valley
of Seiiora, and how Captain Melchior Diaz died on
the Expedition to the Firebrand River . , . .324
Chapter 18. Of how the General managed to leave the Country in
Peace so as to go in Searcli of Quivira, where the
Turk said there was the most Wealth . . . 327
Chapter 19. Of how they started in Search of Quivira and of what
happened on the Way 329
Chapter 20. Of how great Stones fell in the Camp, and how they
discovered another Ravine, where the Army was
divided into two Parts 333
Chapter 21. Of how the Army returned to Tiguex and the General
reached Quivira 335
Chapter 22. Of how the General returned from Quivira and of other
Expeditions toward the North 339
SECOND PART
Which treats of the High Villages and Provinces and of
THEIR Habits and Customs, as collected by Pedro de
Castaneda, Native of the City of Najara
Chapter 1. Of the Province of Culiacan and of its Habits and
Customs 344
Chapter 2. Of the Province of Petlatlau and all the Inhabited
Country as far as Cliichilticalli 346
Chapt^T 3. Of Cliicliilticalli and the Desert, of Cibola, its Customs
and Habits, and of other things ..... 349
Cliapl«T 4. Of liow th(?y live at Tiguex, and of the Province of
'I'igucx and its Neighborhood 352
Chapter 5, Of Cicuye and the Vilhiges in its Neigliborhood. and of
how some People came to conquer tliis Country . • 355
Chaj)ter 0. Which gives the Number of Villages which were seen in
tlif Cduntryof tlic Tciraccd Houses, and their r()])U-
lation 358
CONTENTS xiii
Chapter 7. Which treats of the Plains that were crossed, of the
Cows, and of the People who inhabit them . . . 361
Chapter 8. Of Quivira, of where it is and some Information about it 364
THIRD PART
Which describes what happened to Francisco Vazquez
CORONADO during THE WiNTER, AND HOW HE GAVE UP THE
Expedition and returned to New Spain
Chapter 1. Of how Don Pedro de Tovar came from Senora with
some Men, and Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas started
back to New Spain 366
Chapter 2. Of the General's Fall, and of how the Return to New
Spain was ordered 368
Chapter 3. Of the Rebellion at Suya and the Reasons the Settlers
gave for it 370
Chapter 4. Of how Friar Juan de Padilla and Friar Luis remained
in the Country and the Army prepared to return to
Mexico 372
Chapter 5. Of how the Army left the Settlements and marched to
Culiacan, and of what happened on the Way . . 375
Chapter 6. Of how the General started from Culiacan to give the
Viceroy an Account of the Army with which he had
been intrusted 377
Chapter 7. Of the Adventures of Captain Juan Gallego while he
was bringing Reenforcements through the Revolted
Country 379
Chapter 8. Which describes some remarkable things that were seen
on the Plains, with a Description of the Bulls . . 381
Chapter 9. Which treats of the Direction which the Army took, and
of how another more direct Way might be found, if
anyone was to return to that Country .... 384
MAPS AND FACSIMILE REPRODUCTION
1. Facsimile of the Title-Page of Cabe9a de Vaca's "Rela-
ciON." From a copy of the first edition (Zamora, 1542) in the
New York Public Library (Lenox Building) . . . Frontispiece
PAGE
2. A Contemporaneous Map of the Area of De Soto's Wan-
derings. Apparently made by one of his followers. From the
Archives of the Indies at Seville. First published in and now
reproduced from Harrisse's Discovery of North America . . . 132
3. Map of Coronado's Expedition. Specially drawn for this volume
under the supervision of Frederick W. Hodge .... 280
THE NARRATIVE OF ALVAR NUNEZ
CABEZA DE VACA
INTRODUCTION
In some respects the journey of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de
Vaca and his three companions overland from coast to coast
during the eight years from 1528 to 1536 is the most remark-
able in the record of American exploration, and as a narra-
tive of suffering and privation the relation here presented
perhaps has no equal in the annals of the northern continent.
The author of the narrative was a native of Jer^z de la
Frontera, in the province of Cadiz, in southern Spain, but the
date of his birth is not known. His father was Francisco de
Vera, son of Pedro de Vera, conqueror of the Grand Canary in
1483 ; his mother, Teresa Cabeza de Vaca, who also was born
in Jer^z. Why Alvar Nunez assumed the matronymic is not
known, unless it was with a sense of pride that he desired to
perpetuate the name that had been bestowed by the King of
Navarre on his maternal ancestor, a shepherd named Martin
Alhaja, for guiding the army through a pass that he marked
with the skull of a cow (cabeza de vaca, literally ''cow's
head"), thus leading the Spanish army to success in the
battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, in July, 1212, which led up
to the final conquest of the Moors in Spain.
Having returned to Spain after many years of service in
the New World for the Crown, Pdmfilo de Narvaez petitioned
for a grant ; and in consequence the right to conquer and colo-
nize the country between the Rio de las Palmas, in eastern
Mexico, and Florida was accorded him. The expedition, con-
sisting of six hundred colonists and soldiers, set sail in five
vessels from San Lucar de Barrameda, June 17, 1527, and after
various vicissitudes, including the wreck of two ships and the
3
4 SPANISH EXPLORERS
loss of sixty men in a hurricane on the southern coast of Cuba,
was finally driven northward by storm, and landed, in April,
1528, at St. Clements Point, near the entrance to Tampa Bay,
on the west coast of Florida. Despite the protest of Cabeza
de Vaca, who had been appointed treasurer of Rio de las Pal-
mas by the King, Narvaez ordered his ships to skirt the coast
in an endeavor to find Panuco, while the expedition, now re-
duced to three hundred men by desertions in Santo Domingo,
death in the Cuban storm, and the return of those in charge
of the ships, started inland in a generally northern course.
The fieet searched for the expedition for a year and then sailed
to Mexico.
Among the members of the force, in addition to Alvar
Nuiiez Cabeza de Vaca, were Andres Dorantes de Carranga,
son of Pablo, a native of Bejar del Castafiar, in Estremadura,
who had received a commission as captain of infantry on the
recommendation of Don Alvaro de Zuiiiga, Duke of Bejar;
Captain Alonzo del Castillo Maldonado, of Salamanca, the
son of Doctor Castillo and Aldonza Maldonado ; and Estevan,
or Estevanico, a blackamoor of Asemmur, or Azamor, on the
west coast of Morocco, the slave of Dorantes. With the ex-
ception of those who returned with the ships, these four men
were the only ones of the entire expedition who ever again
entered a civilized community.
Pursuing a generally northerly course, harassed by Ind-
ians, and beset with hunger, illness, and treachery in their
ranks, Narvaez 's party finally reached the head of Appa-
lachoe Bay, in tlie country of the Indians after whom this arm
of the Gulf of Mexico takes its name. Looking now to the
sea as his only moans of escape, Narvaez the incompetent,
with neither the proper materials nor the mechanics, set about
to build l)oatH to conduct his men out of their trap — craft
that were ex})0('te(l to weather such tropical storms as they
had already so poorly bulTeti^d with their stouter ships. Every
INTEODUCTION 5
object of metal that the expedition afforded, even to stirrups
and spurs, was requisitioned for the manufacture of nails and
necessary tools ; a rude forge was constructed, with bellows of
wood and deer-skins; the native palm supplied tow and cov-
ering; the horses were killed and their hides used for water-
bottles, while their flesh served the Spaniards for food as the
work went on ; even the shirts from the very backs of the men
were fashioned into sails. Picturing the character of the five
boats, laden almost to the gunwales with nearly fifty men
each, besides such provisions as could be stowed away, and
the untold hardship from thirst after the decay of the horse-
hide canteens, the chief wonder is that the motley fleet sur-
vived long enough to reach Pensacola Bay. As it passed the
mouth of the Mississippi, the current was so swift that fresh
water was dipped from the gulf, and the wind so strong that
the boats were carried beyond sight of land for three days,
and for a time lost sight of each other. For four days more,
two of the boats, including that in which was Cabeza de Vaca,
drifted within view of each other; but another storm arose,
again they were lost to sight, and one by one the occupants
succumbed to exhaustion and cast themselves into the bot-
tom of the boat, until Cabeza de Vaca alone was left to steer
the flimsy craft in its unknown course. Night came on and
the author of our narrative lay down to rest. The next morn-
ing, November 6, 1528, the boat was cast ashore on a long
narrow island, inhabited by savages, on the Texas coast.
On this ''Island of Misfortune" Cabeza de Vaca's party
was soon joined by that of one of the other boats, including
Dorantcs, so that altogether the island harbored about eighty
Spaniards. Four men later attempted to reach Pdnuco, but
all perished but one. During the following winter disease
raged among the little colony, reducing it to fifteen. Then
the Spaniards became separated, Dorantes and his slave
Estevan, now both the slaves of the Indians, were taken to
6 SPANISH EXPLORERS
the mainland, whither Cabeza de Vaca, weary of root-digging
on the island shore, also escaped, becoming a trader among
the Indians, journeying far inland and along the coast from
tribe to tribe, for forty or fifty leagues. Every year during
the five years that he plied his trade as a dealer in shells, sea-
beads, medicine-beans, skins, ochre, and the like, he returned
to Malhado, where Lope de Oviedo, and Alvarez, a sick com-
panion, still remained. Finally the latter died, and Cabeza de
Vaca and Oviedo again sought the main in the hope of reach-
ing Christian people. Journeying southward along the coast,
they crossed the Brazos and other rivers, and finally reached
San Antonio Bay. Here Oviedo, owing to ill-treatment by
the Indians, deserted Cabeza de Vaca, who shortly after also
stole away from the savages and joined Dorantes, Castillo
Maldonado, and the Moor (the sole survivors of the party of
twelve who had left Malhado years before), whose Indian
masters had come down the river, evidently the San Antonio,
to gather walnuts.
Once more together, the Christians planned to escape six
months hence, when all the Indians from the surrounding
country gathered on the southern Texas plains to eat prickly
pears. But again were they doomed to disappointment, for
although the savages assembled in the tuna fields, a quarrel
arose among them (there was ''a woman in the case"), which
caused the Spaniards to be separated for another year. Their
escape was finally accomplished in the manner they had
planned ; but their departure for the Christian land was not
at once effected, l)y reason of the inhospitable character of
the country, which compelled them to sojourn among other
Indians until the beginning of another prickly-pear season.
W'hilf^ among the Avavares, with whom the Spaniards lived
forciglit months, they resumed the treatment of the sick, a ])rac-
ti('(.'that liad first beenfonuxi on them, by the nativesof Malliado
Island, under threat of starvation. With such success did the
INTRODUCTION 7
Spaniards, and especially Cabeza de Vaca, meet, that their
reputation as healers was sounded far and wide among the
tribes, thousands of the natives following them from place
to place and showering gifts upon them.
There are few Spanish narratives that are more unsatis-
factory to deal with by reason of the lack of directions, dis-
tances, and other details, than that of Cabeza de Vaca; con-
sequently there are scarcely two students of the route who
agree. His line of travel through Texas was twice crossed by
later explorers, — in 1541 by the army of Francisco Vazquez
Coronado, on the eastern edge of the Stake Plains, and again
in 1582 by Antonio de Espejo, on the Rio Grande below the
present El Paso. These data, with the clews afforded by the
narrative itself, point strongly to a course from the tuna fields,
about thirty leagues inland from San Antonio Bay, to the Rio
Colorado and perhaps to the Rio Llano, westward across the
lower Pecos to the Rio Grande above the junction of the Con-
chos, thence in an approximately straight line across Chihua-
hua and Sonora to the Rio Sonora, where we find Cabeza de
Vaca's Village of the Hearts, which Coronado also visited in
1540, at or in the vicinity of the present Ures. Soon after
he reached this point traces of the first Christians were seen,
and shortly after the Spaniards themselves, in the form of a
military body of slave-hunters.
As to the character of our chronicler, he seems to have
been an honest, modest, and humane man, who underestimated
rather than exaggerated the many strange things that came
under his notice, if we except the account of his marvellous
healings, even to the revival of the dead. The expedition of
Narvaez was in itself a disastrous and dismal failure, reaching
''an end alike forlorn and fatal"; but viewed from the
standpoint of present-day civilization, the commander deserved
his fate. On the other hand, while one might well hesitate to
say that the accomplishment of Cabeza de Vaca and his three
8 SPANISH EXPLORERS
companions compensated their untold sufferings, the world
eventually became the wiser in more waj^s than one. The
northern continent had been penetrated from shore to shore;
the waters of the Mississippi and the bison of the plains were
now first seen by white men ; and some knowledge of the sav-
age tribes had been gleaned for the benefit of those who should
come after. There is no blatant announcement of great min-
eral wealth — a mountain vnih scoria of iron, some small bags
of mica, a quantity of galena, ^ith which the Indians painted
their faces, a httle turquoise, a few emeralds, and a small cop-
per bell were all. Yet the effect of the remarkable overland
journey was to inspire the expedition of Coronado in 1540;
and it is not improbable that De Soto, who endeavored to
enlist the services of Cabeza de Vaca, may Hkewise have been
stimulated to action.
After the three Spaniards returned to Mexico they united
in a report to the Audiencia of Espafiola (Santo Domingo),
which is printed in Oviedo's Historia General y Natural de las
Indias (tomo III., hb. xxxv., ed. 1853). In April, 1537,
they embarked for Spain, but the ship in which Dorantes
set sail proved to be unseaworthy and returned to Vera Cruz.
Invited to the capital by the Viceroy Mendoza, Dorantes was
tendered a commission to explore the northern country, but
this project was never carried out.
Cabeza de Vaca, in reward for his services, was appointed
governor, captain-general, and adclantado of the provinces of
Rio do la Plata. Sailing from Cadiz in November, 1540, he
reached Brazil in March of the following year. Here he re-
mained seven months, when he sent his vessels ahead to Bue-
nos Ay res and started overland to Asuncion, which he reached
in March, 1542, after a remarkable experience in the tropical
fonjstK. But the province seems to have needed a man of
8tern(T stuff than Alvar Nunez, for he soon Ijecame tlie sub-
ject (jf animosity and intrigue, which finally resulted in open
INTRODUCTION 9
rebellion, and his arrest in April, 1543. He was kept under
close guard for about two years, when he was sent to Spain,
and in 1551 was sentenced to banishment in Africa for eight
years — a judgment that does not seem to have been carried
out, for after serving probably a year or so in mild captivity
at Seville, he was acquitted. He died in 1557.
Of the subsequent career of Castillo little is known. He
returned to New Spain, became a citizen of the City of Mexico,
married a widow, and was granted half the rents of the Indian
town of Tehuacan.
Dorantes, as has been stated, for some reason did not carry
out the plan of exploring the north, perhaps because of the
projected expedition of Coronado, the way for which was led
by Fray Marcos de Niza in 1539 with the negro Estevan as a
guide. Dorantes served Mendoza in the conquest of Jalisco,
and married Dona Maria de la Torre, a widow, by whom he
had a large family. One of his sons, Balthasar, sometime
king's treasurer of Vera Cruz, was born about the middle of
the century, and on the death of his father inherited an en-
comienda that produced an income of five thousand pesos a
year. Another son, Caspar, inherited the encomienda of the
pueblos of Ocava; and another, Melchior, ''an encomienda of
Indians and of very good rents."
Of Estevan there is somewhat more definite information.
Well on the road toward the north in 1539, he was sent
ahead by Fray Marcos to report the character of the country
and its people, and with rattle in hand and accompanied by
many Indians of the present Gila River region, entered Hawi-
kuh, the first of the Seven Cities of Cibola. Here Estevan
and most of his Indian followers were put to death by the
Zufiis ; those who escaped fled to P>ay Marcos, whose life was
threatened but who saved himself by regaling the natives
with the contents of his pack.
There was another survivor of the inland expedition of
10 SPANISH EXPLORERS
Narvaez — Juan Ortiz by name. This Spaniard, who had been
enticed ashore by the Indians of Florida, led practically the
life of a slave, like his countrymen on the Texas main, until
1539, when he was rescued by De Soto, but he died before the
expedition returned to civilization.
The Relacion of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was first
printed at Zamora in 1542, and with slight changes was re-
printed, with the first edition of the Comentarios on the Rio
de la Plata, at Valladolid, in 1555. The editio princeps was
translated into Italian by Ramusio, in the third volume of his
Navigationi et Viaggi (Venice, 1556), and this was paraphrased
into English by Samuel Purchas in volume IV. of Purchas
His Pilgrimes (London, 1613, pt. iv., lib. viii., cap. 1). The
Naufragios (or Relacion) and Comentarios were reprinted at
Madrid in 1736, preceded by the Exdmen Apologetico of Antonio
Ardoino, who seemed to feel it his duty to reply to an Austrian
monk named Caspar Plautus, who, in 1621, under the name
Philoponus, published a treatise in which he maintained that
laymen like Cabeza de Vaca should not be permitted to per-
form miracles. This edition of the narration of Cabeza de Vaca
is included in volume I. of Barcia's Historiadores Primitivos
de las Indias Occidentales, published at Madrid in 1749. The
Naufragios of Alvar Nuilez, from the edition of 1555, appears in
volume I. of Vedia's Historiadores Primitivos de Indias (Madrid,
cd. 1852). The letter to the Audiencia of Espafiola, ''edited"
by Oviedo, has already been alluded to. A ''Capitulacion
que se tomo con Alvar Nmlez Cabeza de Vaca," dated Madrid,
18 Marzo, 1540, is found in the Coleccion de Documcntos
In6dilos del Archivo de Indias (tomo XXIII., pp. 8-33, 1875).
A Relacidn by Cabeza de Vaca, briefly narrating the story of
the expedition until the arrival of its survivors in Espfritu
Santo Bay, with his instructions as treasurer, is print cil in
the dokcri/m dc, Documcntos de Indins, XIV. 265-279 (Madrid,
1870). The most recent Spanish edition of the more famous
INTRODUCTION 11
Relacion reprinted in the following pages forms a part of vol-
ume V. of the Coleccion de Libros y Documentos referentes a
la Historia de America (Madrid, 1906), which also contains
the Comentarios.
The single French translation was published as volume VII.
of Henri Ternaux-Compans's Voyages (Paris, 1837), from the
edition of 1555, while the Commentaires form volume VI.
In 1851 a translation of the edition of 1555 into English,
by (Thomas) Buckingham Smith, under the title The Narrative
of Alvar Nunez Cahega de Vaca, was pubhshed privately at
Washington by George W. Riggs; and shortly after Mr.
Smith's death, in 1871, another edition, with many additions,
was published in New York under the editorial supervision of
John Gilmary Shea and at the expense of Henry C. Murphy.
It is this edition of the Narrative that is here reprinted. A
paraphrase of the 1851 edition of Smith's translation appears
in Henry Kingsley's Tales of Old Travels (London, 1869).
The first fourteen chapters of W. W. H. Davis's Spanish Con-
quest of New Mexico (Doylestown, Pa., 1869) are also a para-
phrase of the same work. Chapters xxx.-xxxvi. of the
1871 edition of Smith, somewhat abridged, were printed in
an Old South Leaflet (Gen. Ser., No. 39, Boston, 1893). A
^'Relation of what Befel the Persons who Escaped from the
Disasters that Attended the Armament of Captain Pamphilo
de Narvaez on the Shores and in the countries of the North,"
translated and condensed from the letter published by Oviedo,
is printed in The Historical Magazine (vol. XII., pp. 141, 204,
267, 347; September-December, 1867). The most recent
English edition of the Cabcza de Vaca Relation, translated
from the very rare imprint of 1542 by Mrs. Fanny Bandelier,
and edited, with an introduction, by her husband Ad. F.
Bandelier, was published in New York, in 1905, under the
title. The Journey of Alvar Nuiiez Cabeza de Vaca, as one of
the volumes of the ''Trail Makers" series.
F. W. Hodge.
THE NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA
Relation that Alvar Nunez Catena de Vaca gave of what befell
the armament in the Indies whither Pdnfilo de Narvdez
went for Governor from the year 1527 to the year 1536
[1537] when with three comrades he returned and came
to Sevilla}
PROEM
Sacked Caesarian Catholic Majesty:
Among the many who have held sway, I think no prince
can be found whose service has been attended with the ardor
and emulation shown for that of your Highness ^ at this time.
The inducement is evident and powerful : men do not pursue
together the same career without motive, and strangers are
observed to strive with those who are equally impelled by
religion and loyalty.
Although ambition and love of action are common to all,
as to the advantages that each may gain, there are great in-
equaUties of fortune, the result not of conduct, but only acci-
dent, nor caused by the fault of any one, but coming in the
providence of God and solely by His will. Hence to one arises
deeds more signal than he thought to achieve ; to another the
opposite in every way occurs, so that he can show no higher
proof of pur))ose than his effort, and at times even this is so
concealed that it cannot of itself appear.
As for me, I can say in undertaking the march I made on the
iDuin l)y the royal authority, I firmly trusted that my conduct
' This hoadinp is takfri from the title-page of the edition of 1542. The
edition of l-WS, gcuierally followed in this book, has a title-page so phrased
as to cover both the North American and the South American narratives of
the author. The return really took place in 1537.
' The Kmj)eror Charles V.
12
NAEEATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 13
and services would be as evident and distinguished as were those
of my ancestors ^ and that I should not have to speak in order
to be reckoned among those who for diligence and fidehty
in affairs your Majesty honors. Yet, as neither my counsel
nor my constancy availed to gain aught for which we set out,
agreeably to your interests, for our sins, no one of the many ar-
maments that have gone into those parts has been permitted
to find itself in straits great like ours, or come to an end alike
forlorn and fatal. To me, one only duty remains, to present
a relation of what was seen and heard in the ten years ^ I
wandered lost and in privation through many and remote lands.
Not merely a statement of positions and distances, animals
and vegetation, but of the diverse customs of the many and
very barbarous people with whom I talked and dwelt, as well
as all other matters I could hear of and discern, that in some
way I may avail your Highness. My hope of going out from
among those nations was always small, still my care and dih-
gence were none the less to keep in particular remembrance
everything, that if at any time God our Lord should will to
bring me where I now am, it might testify to my exertion in
the royal behalf.
As the narrative is in my opinion of no trivial value to those
who in your name go to subdue those countries and bring them
to a knowledge of the true faith and true Lord, and under the
imperial dominion, I have written this with much exactness;
and although in it may be read things very novel and for some
persons difficult to believe, nevertheless they may without
hesitation credit me as strictly faithful. Better than to ex-
aggerate, I have lessened in all things, and it is sufficient to say
the relation is offered to your Majesty for truth. I beg it
may be received in the name of homage, since it is the most that
one could bring who returned thence naked.
* He doubtless refers particularly to the services of his gi'andfather,
Pedro de Vera, conqueror of the Canaries, to whom he refers at the close of
this work. See the Introduction.
* He arrived in Florida with the Narvaez expedition in April, 1528,
and reached New Spain overland in April, 1536 — eight years later.
14 SPAJ^ISH EXPLORERS [1527
Chapter 1
In which is told when the Armada sailed, and of the officers and
persons who went in it.
On the seventeenth day ^ of June, in the year fifteen hun-
dred and twenty-seven, the Governor Panphilo de Narvaez
left the port of San Lucar de Barrameda,^ authorized and com-
manded by your Majesty to conquer and govern the provinces
of the main, extending from the River Pahnas ^ to the cape
of Florida. The fleet he took was five ships, in which went six
hundred men, a few more or less; the officers (for we shall
have to speak of them), were these, with their rank: Cabega
de Vaca, treasurer and high-sheriff ; Alonso Enrriquez, comp-
troller; Alonso de Solis, distributor to your Majesty and
assessor; Juan Xuarez,* a friar of Saint Francis, commissary,
and four more friars of the same order.
We arrived at the island of Santo Domingo, where we tar-
ried near forty-five days, engaged in procuring for ourselves
some necessary material, particularly horses. Here we lost
from our fleet more than one hundred and forty men, who
wished to remain, seduced by the partidos,^ and advantages
held out to them by the people of that country.
* The Spanish edition of 1542 has the date June 27.
' At the mouth of the Guadalquivir, in the province of Cadiz, Spain;
noted as the point of debarkation of Fernao Magalhaes, or Magellan, Sep-
tember 20, 1519.
' Probably the Rio de Santander, which enters the Gulf of Mexico one
hundred miles north of Tampico. The name was later applied to the prov-
irif-e that joined the province of Pdnuco on the north. The latter was, in
general terms, the region drained by the streams that empty into the Gulf
abotit Tamf)ico.
* The edition of 1542 has ".Juan Gutierrez."
* A term often us<;d to dcsignatx^ one of the districts or territories into
which a Spanish [)rovince was divided for purposes of administration,
and having a head pueblo or village ; but here employed to signify the
favorable proposals which the colonists made to the deserters from the
fleet.
1527] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 15
We sailed from the island and arrived at Santiago/ a port
of Cuba, where, during some days that we remained, the Gov-
ernor supplied himself further with men, also with arms and
horses. It happened there that a gentleman, Vasco Porcallo ^
of Trinidad, which is also on the island,^ offered to give the
Governor some provisions which he had in the town, a hun-
dred leagues from the port of Santiago. Accordingly the Gov-
ernor set out with all the fleet for Trinidad ; but coming to a
port half way, called Cabo de Santa Cruz,^ he thought it well
to wait there, and send a vessel to bring the stores. To this
end he ordered that a Captain Pantoja ^ should go for them
with his ship, and for greater security, that I should accom-
pany him with another. The Governor remained with four
ships, having bought one at the island of Santo Domingo.
We having arrived with the two vessels at the port of Trini-
dad, Captain Pantoja went with Vasco Porcalle {sic) to the
town, a league off, to receive the provisions, while I remained
at sea with the pilots, who said we ought to go thence with the
greatest despatch possible, for it was a very bad port in which
many vessels were lost. As what there occurred to us was
very remarkable, it appears to me not foreign to the purpose
with which I write this, to relate it here.
The next morning began to give signs of bad weather;
rain commenced falling, and the sea ran so high, that, although
I gave the men permission to go on shore, many of them re-
turned to the ship to avoid exposure to the wet and cold, and
because the town was a league away. In this time a canoe
came off, bringing me a letter from a resident of the place,
asking me to come for the needed provisions that were there ;
' In southeastern Cuba, the Santiago de Cuba that was surrendered to
the American forces in the summer of 1898.
^ Vasco Porcallo de Figueroa afterward became De Soto's lieutenant-
general in Florida, but returned to Cuba early in the history of the expedition.
' On the southern coast, longitude 80°.
* Now Cabo Cruz, longitude 77° 40'.
' One .Juan Pantoja, captain of crossbowraen and Lord of Ixtlahuaca,
accompanied Narvaez on his first expedition to Mexico. If the same as the
present Pantoja, which seems likely, he was killed by Sotomayor in a quar-
rel. See ch. 17.
16 SPANISH EXPLOREKS [1527
from which request I excused myself, saying that I could not
leave the ships. At noon the canoe returned with another
letter, in which I was sohcited again with much urging, and
a horse was brought for me to ride. I gave the same answer as
before, that I could not leave the ships; but the pilots and
the people entreated me to go, so that I might hasten the pro-
visions as fast as possible, and we might join the fleet where it
lay, for they had great fear lest remaining long in this port,
the ships should be lost. For these reasons, I determined to
go to the to^vTi ; but first I left orders with the pilots, that if
the south wind, which often wrecks vessels there, came on to
blow, and they should find themselves in much danger, to put
the ships on shore at some place where the men and horses
could be saved. I wished to take some of the men with me
for company; but they said the weather was too rainy and
cold, and the to^m too far off; that to-morrow, which was
Sunday, they would come, with God's help, and hear mass.
An hour after I left, the sea began to rise very high, and
the north wind was so violent that neither the boats dared
come to land, nor could the vessels be let drive on shore, be-
cause of the head wind, so that the people remained severely
laboring against the adverse weather, and under a heavy fall
of water all that day and Sunday until dark. At this time,
the rain and the tempest had increased to such a degree,
there was no less agitation in the town than on the sea; for
all the houses and churches fell, and it was necessary in order
to move upright, that we should go seven or eight holding on
to each other that the wind might not blow us away; and
walking in the groves, we had no less fear of the trees than of
the houses, as they too were falling and might kill us under
them. In this tempest and danger we wandered all night,
without finding place or spot where we could remain a half-
hour in safety. During the time, particularly from midnight
forward, we heard much tumult and great clnnK^r of voices,
the sound of tirnbr(!ls, flutes, and tambourines, as well as other
instruments, which lasted until the morning, when the tem-
pest ceased. Nothing so terrible as this storm had been seen
1527] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 17
in those parts before. I drew up an authenticated account
of it, and sent the testimony to your Majesty.
On Monday morning we went down to the harbor, but
did not find the ships. The buoys belonging to them were
floating on the water; whence we knew the ships were lost,
and we walked along the shore to see if any thing could be
found of them. As nothing was discovered, we struck into
the woods, and, having travelled about a quarter of a league
in water, we found the little boat of a ship lodged upon some
trees. Ten leagues thence, along the coast, two bodies were
found, belonging to my ship, and some lids of boxes ; but the
persons were so disfigured by beating against the rocks that
they could not be recognized. A cloak too was seen, also a
coverlet rent in pieces, and nothing more. Sixty persons
were lost in the ships, and twenty horses. Those who had
gone on shore the day of our arrival, who may have been as
many as thirty, were all the survivors of both ships. During
some days we were struggling with much hardship and hunger ;
for the provisions and subsistence were destroyed, and some
herds. The country was left in a condition piteous to behold ;
the trees prostrate, the woods parched, there being neither
grass nor leaf.
Thus we lived until the fifth of November, when the Gov-
ernor arrived with four ships, which had lived through the
great storm, having run into a place of safety in good time.
The people who came in them, as well as those on shore, were
so intimidated by what had passed, that they feared to go on
board in the winter, and they besought the Governor to spend
it there. Seeing their desire and that it was also the wish of
the townspeople, he staid through the season. He gave the
ships and people into my charge, that I might go with them
to pass the winter at the port of Xagua,^ twelve leagues
thence, where I remained until the twentieth day of Febniary.
* The present Jagua, at the entrance to the bay of Cienfuegos.
18 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1528
Chapter 2
The coming of the Governor to the Port of Xagua and
with a pilot.
At this time, the Governor arrived with a brigantine
bought in Trinidad, and brought with him a pilot named
Miruelo, who was employed because he said he knew the posi-
tion of the River Palmas, and had been there, and was a thor-
ough pilot for all the coast of the North. The Governor had
also purchased and left on the shore of Havana another vessel,
of which Alvaro de la Cerda remained in charge, with forty-
infantry and twelve cavalry.
The second day after arrival the Governor set sail with
four hundred men and eighty horses, in four ships and a brig-
antine. The pilot being again on board, put the vessels among
the shoals they call Canarreo,^ and on the day following we
struck: thus we were situated fifteen days, the keels of our
vessels frequently touching bottom. At the end of this time,
a tempest from the south threw so much water upon the
shoals that we could get off, although not without danger.
We left this place and arrived at Guaniguanico, where an-
other storm overtook us, in which we were at one time near
being lost. At Cape Corrientes ^ we had still another, which
detained us three days. These places being passed, we dou-
bled Cape Sant Anton,^ and sailed with head winds until we
were within twelve leagues of Havana. Standing in the next
day to enter the harbor, a wind came from the south which
drove us from the land towards the coast of Florida. We
came in sight on Tuesday, the twelfth day of April, and sailed
along the coast. On Holy Thursday we anchored near the
' Evidently one of the numerous keys between Xagua Bank and the Isle
of PincH.
' Southwestern Cuba.
• The westernmost point of the island.
1528] NAEEATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 19
shore in the mouth of a bay ^ at the head of which we saw
some houses or habitations of Indians.^
Chapter 3
Our arrival in Florida.
On the same day ^ the comptroller, Alonzo Enrriquez,
landed on an island in the bay. He called to the Indians, who
came and remained with him some time ; and in barter gave
him fish and several pieces of venison. The day following,
which was Good Friday,^ the governor debarked with as many
of the people as the boats he brought could contain. When
we came to the huhios,^ or houses that we had seen, we found
them vacant and abandoned, the inhabitants having fled at
night in their canoes. One of the buhios was very large;
it could hold more than three hundred persons. The others
were smaller. We found a tinklet of gold among some fish
nets.
The next day ® the Governor raised ensigns for your Maj-
esty, and took possession of the country in your royal name.'
He made known his authority, and was obeyed as governor,
* The place of landing is identified as having been about St. Clement's
Point, on the peninsula west of Tampa Bay, on the western coast of Florida.
See Woodbury Lowery, Spanish Settlements, 1513-1561 (New York, 1901),
p. 177, and App. J.
^ These were Indians belonging to the Timuquanan, or Timucuan family,
now entirely extinct. The Seminoles were comparatively recent intruders
in the peninsula, except in the extreme northern part.
^ April 14, 1528. " April 15, 1528.
* An Arawak term for house, referring specifically to a dwelling with an
open shed attached. The Spaniards became acquainted with the word in
Santo Domingo. For descriptions of these habitations see Fewkes, " The
Aborigines of Porto Rico and Neighboring Islands," Twenty-fifth Annual
Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1906.
« April 16, 1528.
' For the interesting if farcical formula used in taking possession of a
country in the name of Spain, see Buckingham Smith, Relation of Ahar
Nunez Cabei^a de Vaca (cd. 1871), App. in., 215-217, and Lowery, op. cit.,
pp. 178-180.
20 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1528
as your Majesty had commanded. At the same time we laid
our commissions before him, and he acknowledged them accord-
ing to their tenor. Then he ordered that the rest of the people
and the horses should land. Of the beasts there were only
forty-two; by reason of the great storms and the length of
time passed at sea, the rest were dead. These few remaining
were so lean and fatigued that for the time we could have little
service from them. The following day the Indians of the town
came and spoke to us ; but as we had no interpreter we could
not understand what they meant. They made many signs
and menaces, and appeared to say we must go away from the
country. With this they left us and went off, offering no in-
terruption.
Chapter 4
Our entrance into the country.
The day following, the Governor resolved to make an incur-
sion to explore the land, and see what it might contain. With
him went the commissary, the assessor, and myself, with forty
men, among them six cavalry, of which we could make little
use. We took our way towards the north, ^ until the hour of
vespers, when we arrived at a very large bay that appeared to
stretch far inland.^ We remained there that night, and the
next day we returned to the place where were our ships and
people. The Governor ordered that the brigantine should
sail along the coast of Florida and search for the hai'bor that
Mii'uelo, the pilot, said he knew (though as yet he had failed
to find it, and could not tell in what place we were, or where
was the port), and that if it were not found, she should steer
for Havana and seek the ship of which Alvaro dc la Ccrda
was in command,^ and, taking provisions, together, they should
come to look for us.
Aft(T th(; brigantine left, the same party, with some persons
more, returned to ent(!r the land. We kept along the shores
' Really northca.st.
' Thc! wost^rrn arm of Taiiij)a Bay, known as Old Tampa Hay.
* With forty men and a dozen horses.
I
I
1528] NAERATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 21
of the bay we had found, and, having gone four leagues, we
captured four Indians. We showed them maize, to see
if they had knowledge of it, for up to that time we had
seen no indication of any. They said they could take us where
there was some; so they brought us to their town near by,
at the head of the bay, and showed us a httle corn not yet fit
for gathering.
There we saw many cases, such as are used to contain the
merchandise of Castile, in each of them a dead man, and the
bodies were covered with painted deer-skins. This appeared
to the commissary to be a kind of idolatry, and he burned the
cases with the bodies. We also found pieces of linen and of
woollen cloth, and bunches of feathers which appeared like
those of New Spain. ^ There were likewise traces of gold.
Having by signs asked the Indians whence these things came,
they motioned to us that very far from there, was a province
called Apalachen,^ where was much gold, and so the same
' In the letter addressed by the survivors to the Audiencia of Santo
Domingo (Oviedo, Historia General y Natural de las Indias, III,, cap. i. 583,
Madrid, 1853), it is stated that when the natives were asked whence came
these intrusive articles, which included also some pieces of shoes, canvas,
broadcloth, and iron, they replied by signs that they had taken them from
a vessel that had been wrecked in the bay. Compare also cap. vii. 615. It
has been suggested that possibly the objects may have come from the
vessel which Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon lost in 1526, but as this wreck
occurred at the mouth of Cape Fear River, on the southern coast of North
Carolina, it does not seem likely that they could have been derived from
this source. That natives of the West Indies had intercourse by canoe
with Florida, and that an Arawakan colony was early established on the
southwest coast of the peninsula, is now well established.
^ The Apalachee were one of the Muskhogean tribes that occupied north-
western Florida from the vicinity of Pensacola eastward to Ocilla River,
their chief scats being in the vicunity of Tallahassee and St. Marks. In 1655
they numbered six or eight thousand, but about the beginning of the eigh-
teenth century they were warred against by the Creeks, instigated by the Eng-
lish of Carolina, and in 1703 and 1704 expeditions by English troops, reinforced
by Creek warriors, resulted in the capture and enslavement of about fourtt^en
hundred Apalachee and in practically exterminating the remainder. The
town of Apalachicola, on the Savannah River, was inhabited by Apalachee
refugees colonized later by the Carolina government, but these were finally
morg(!d with the Creeks. Appalachee Bay and the Appalachian Mountains
derive their names from this tribe.
22 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1528
abundance in Palachen^ of ever^'thing that we at all cared
for.
Taking these Indians for guides, we departed, and travelling
ten or twelve leagues " w^e came to a town of fifteen houses.
Here a large piece of ground was cultivated in maize then ripe,
and we likewise found some already dry. After staying there
two days, we returned to where the comptroller tarried with
the men and ships, and related to him and the pilots what we
had seen, and the information the natives had given.
The next day, the first of May, the Governor called aside
the commissary, the comptroller, the assessor, myself, a sailor
named Bartolome Fernandez, and a notary, Hieronymo
Alaniz.^ Being together he said that he desired to penetrate
the interior, and that the ships ought to go along the coast
until they should come to the port which the pilots believed
was very near on the way to the River Palmas. He asked us
for our views.
I said it appeared to me that under no circumstances ought
we to leave the vessels until they were in a secure and peopled
harbor; that he should observe the pilots were not confident,
and did not agree in any particular, neither did they know
where we were; that, more than this, the horses were in no
condition to serve us in such exigencies as might occur. Above
all, that we were going without being able to communicate
with the Indians by use of speech and without an interpreter,
and we could but poorly understand ourselves with them, or
learn what we desired to know of the land ; that we were about
entering a country of which we had no account, and had no
knowledge of its character, of what there was in it, or by what
peoph; inhabited, neither did wc know in what part of it we
were; and beside all this, we had not food to sustain us in
■ " Apalaohen," as above, in the edition of 1542 (Bandelier translation).
' Tho SjjHiii.sh IcapiiK; varic'd greatly, but in those early narratives the
judicial league, e(iuivalerit to 2.(534 lOnglish miles, is usually meant. Dis-
tances, however, whih? sometimes paced, were generally loose guesses, as
18 oiUin shown by the great disparity in the figures given by two or more
chroniclers of the same; journey.
• " Jer6nimo de Albaniz " in the edition of 1512 (Bandelier translation).
1
1
1528] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 23
wandering we knew not whither ; that with regard to the stores
in the ships, rations could not be given to each man for such
a journey, more than a pound of biscuit and another of bacon;
that my opinion was, we should embark and seek a harbor and
a soil better than this to occupy, since what we had seen of it
was desert and poor, such as had never before been discovered
in those parts.
To the commissary^ every thing appeared otherwise. He
thought we ought not to embark; but that, always keeping
the coast, we should go in search of the harbor, which the
pilots stated was only ten or fifteen leagues from there, on the
way to Panuco; and that it was not possible, marching ever
by the shore, we should fail to come upon it, because they said
it stretched up into the land a dozen leagues ; that whichever
might first find it should wait for the other; that to embark
would be to brave the Almighty after so many adversities
encountered since leaving Spain, so many storms, and so great
losses of men and ships sustained before reaching there ; that
for these reasons we should march along the coast until we
reached the harbor, and those in the ships should take a like
direction until they arrived at the same place.
This plan seemed the best to adopt, to the rest who were
present, except the notary, who said that when the ships
should be abandoned they ought to be in a known, safe haven,
a place with inhabitants; that this done the Governor might
advance inland and do what might seem to him proper.
The Governor followed his own judgment and the counsel
of others. Seeing his determination, I required him in behalf
of your Majesty, not to quit the ships before putting them in
port and making them secure; and accordingly I asked a
certificate of this under the hand of the notary. The Governor
responded that he did but abide by the judgment of the com-
missary, and of the majority of the officers, and that I had no
right to make these requirements of him. He then asked the
notary to give him a certificate, that inasmuch as there was
no subsistence in that country for the maintenance of a colony,
' Fray Juan Xuarez.
24 SPANISH EXPLOEEES [1528
nor haven for the ships, he broke up the settlement he had
placed there, taking its inhabitants in quest of a port and land
that should be better. He then ordered the people who were
to go with him to be mustered, that they might be victualled
with what was needed for the journey. After they had been
provided for, he said to me, in the hearing of those present, that
since I so much discouraged and feared entering the land, I
should sail in charge of the ships and people in them, and form
a settlement, should I arrive at the port before him ; but from
this proposal I excused myself.
After we had separated, the same evening, having said
that it did not appear to him that he could entrust the com-
mand to any one else, he sent to me to say that he begged I
would take it ; but finding, notwithstanding he so greatly im-
portuned me, that I still refused, he asked me the cause of
my reluctance. I answered that I rejected the responsibility,
as I felt certain and knew that he was never more to find the
ships, nor the ships him, which might be foreseen in the
slender outfit we had for entering the country; that I desired
rather to expose myself to the danger which he and the others
adventured, and to pass with them what he and they might go
through, than to take charge of the ships and give occasion for
it to be said I had opposed the invasion and remained behind
from timidity, and thus my courage be called in question. I
chose rather to risk my life than put my honor in such position.
Seeing that what he said to me availed nothing, he begged
many persons to reason with me on the subject and entreat
me. I answered them in the same way I had him; so he
appointed for his lieutenant of the ships an alcalde he had
brought with him, whose name was Caravallo.
Chapter 5
The Governor leaves the ships
On Saturday,' first of May, the date of this occurrence, the
Governor ordered to each man going with him, two pounds of
' HiK^kirif^harn Smith has "Suruliiy," tnirisliUiri}:; Sdhadi) ("Sabhalh ")
literally; the Christian Sabbath is the Spanish Dominyo.
1528] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 25
biscuit and half a pound of bacon; and thus victualled we
took up our march into the country. The whole number of
men was three hundred : ^ among them went the commissary,
Friar Juan Xuarez, and another friar, Juan de Palos, three
clergymen and the officers. We of the mounted men consisted
of forty. We travelled on the allowance we had received fifteen
days, without finding any other thing to eat than palmitos,^
which are like those of Andalusia. In all that time we saw
not an Indian, and found neither village nor house. Finally
we came to a river,^ which we passed with great difficulty, by
swimming and on rafts. It detained us a day to cross because
of the very strong current. Arrived on the other side, there
appeared as many as two hundred natives, more or less. The
Governor met them, and conversing by signs, they so insulted
us with their gestures, that we were forced to break with them.*
We seized upon five or six, and they took us to their houses half
a league off. Near by we found a large quantity of maize in
a fit state to be gathered. We gave infinite thanks to our Lord
for having succored us in this great extremity, for we were yet
young in trials, and besides the weariness in which we came,
we were exhausted from hunger.
On the third day after our arrival, the comptroller, the as-
sessor, the commissary and I met, and together besought the
Governor to send to look for the sea, that if possible we might
find a port, as the Indians stated there was one not a very
great way off. He said that we should cease to speak of the
sea, for it was remote ; but as I chiefly importuned him, he told
me to go and look for it, and seek a harjpor, to take forty men
and to travel on foot. So the next day ^ I left with Captain
^ The Letter (Oviedo, 584) says two hundred and sixty men afoot and
forty horsemen. References to the Letter to the Audiencia of Santo Do-
mingo will henceforth be cited simply as Oviedo, in whose work it appears
(see the Introduction).
Miuckingham Smith says: "This is the dwarf fan-palm, not the cab-
bage-palm, to which we often inadvertently apply the diminutive termina-
tion ito, mispelled clto." Smith lived in Florida for many years.
' Evidently the Withlacoochee, which enters the Oulf at latitude 29°.
* The Spaniards were still among the Timucuan tribes.
' May 18, 1528.
26 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1528
Alonzo del Castello ^ and forty men of his company. We
marched until noon, when we arrived at some sea sands that
appeared to lie a good ways inland. Along this sand we walked
for a league and a half,^ with the water half way up the leg,
treading on oysters, which cut our feet badly and made us
much trouble, until we reached the river ^ we had before crossed,
emptying into this bay. As we could not cross it by reason of
our slim outfit for such purpose, we returned to camp and re-
ported what we had discovered. To find out if there was a
port and examine the outlet well, it was necessary to repass
the river at the place where we had first gone over ; so the next
day the Governor ordered a captain, Valen^uela by name, with
sixty men * and six cavalry, to cross, and following the river
down to the sea, ascertain if there was a harbor. He returned
after an absence of two days, and said he had explored the bay,
that it was not deeper any where than to the knee, and that
he found no harbor. He had seen five or six canoes of
Indians passing from one shore to the other, wearing many
plumes.
With this information, we left the next day, going ever in
quest of Apalache, the country of which the Indians told us,
having for our guides those we had taken. We travelled without
seeing any natives who would venture to await our coming up
w^th them until the seventeenth day of June, when a chief ap-
proached, borne on the back of another Indian, and covered
with a painted deer-skin. A great many people attended him,
some walking in advance, playing on flutes of reed.^ In this
manner he came to where the Governor stood, and spent an
hour with him. By signs we gave him to understand that we
were going to Apalachen, and it appeared to us by those he
made that he was an enemy to the people of Apalachen, and
would go to assist us against them. We gave him beads and
hawk-bells, with other articles of barter ; and he having pre-
' Castillo. ' Two l(>;iRUc.s, accordinp; to Oviodo, op. cit., 585.
' Th(! Withlacooflioo. * Forty nuMi acconliiif!; to Oviodo, 585.
* When Ileniaiido do Soto passod through this country olovon years later
he also was met by Indians playiiif? flutes.
1528] NAERATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 27
sented the Governor with the skin he wore, went back, when
we followed in the road he took.
That night we came to a wide and deep river with a very-
rapid current/ As we would not venture to cross on rafts,
we made a canoe for the purpose, and spent a day in getting
over. Had the Indians desired to oppose us, they could well
have disputed our passage; for even with their help we had
great difficulty in making it. One of the mounted men, Juan
Velazquez by name, a native of Cuellar, impatient of detention,
entered the river, when the violence of the current casting him
from his horse, he grasped the reins of the bridle, and both were
drowned. The people of that chief, whose name was Dulchan-
chellin, found the body of the beast ; and having told us about
where in the stream below we should find the corpse, it was
sought for. This death caused us much regret, for until now
not a man had been lost. The horse afforded supper to many
that night.
Leaving that spot, the next day we arrived at the town of
the chief, where he sent us maize. During the night one of our
men was shot at in a place where we got water, but it pleased
God that he should not be hit. The next day we departed,
not one of the natives making his appearance, as all had fled.
While going on our way a number came in sight, prepared for
battle ; and though we called to them, they would not return
nor await our arrival, but retired following us on the road.
The Governor left some cavalry in ambush, which sallying as
the natives were about to pass, seized three or four, who thence-
forth served as guides. They conducted us through a country
very difficult to travel and wonderful to look upon. In it are
vast forests, the trees being astonishingly high. So many
were fallen on the ground as to obstruct our way in such a
manner that we could not advance without much going about
and a considerable increase of toil. Many of the standing trees
were riven from top to bottom by bolts of lightning which fall
in that country of frequent storms and tempests.
We labored on through these impediments until the day after
' The Suwannee.
28 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1528
Saint John's/ when we came in view of Apalachen, without the
inhabitants being aware of our approach. We gave many
thanks to God, at seeing ourselves so near, believing true what
had been told us of the land, and that there would be an end to
our great hardships, caused as much by the length and bad-
ness of the way as by our excessive hunger ; for although we
sometimes found maize, we oftener travelled seven and eight
leagues without seeing any ; and besides this and the great fa-
tigue, many had galled shoulders from carrying armor on the
back; and even more than these we endured. Yet, having
come to the place desired, and where we had been informed were
much food and gold, it appeared to us that we had already
recovered in part from our sufferings and fatigue.
Chapter 6
Our arrival at Apalache.
When we came in view of Apalachen, the Governor ordered
that I should take nine cavalry with fifty infantry and enter
the town. Accordingly the assessor ^ and I assailed it ; and
having got in, we found only women and boys there, the men
being absent; however these returned to its support, after a
little time, while we were walking about, and began discharging
arrows at us. They killed the horse of the assessor, and at last
taking to flight, they left us.
We found a large quantity of maize fit for plucking, and
much dry that was housed ; also many deer-skins, and among
them some mantelets of thread, small and poor, with which the
womcin partially cover their persons. There were numerous
mortars for cracking maize. The town consisted of forty small
houses, m;i(i(! low, and set up in slieltered i)luces because of the
frequent storms. The material was thatch. They were sur-
■ Saint .lolin the Baptist's Day, June 24. Thoy hml Imhmi travoUing
t}ir(»ii(^Fi the jungle for four or five days.
' 'J'lio asHcsHor, or inspector, it will bo recalled, was Alonzo de Solis.
1528] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 29
rounded by very dense woods, large groves and many bodies
of fresh water, in which so many and so large trees are fallen,
that they form obstructions rendering travel difficult and dan-
gerous.
Chapter 7
The character of the country.
The country where we came on shore to this town and re-
gion of Apalachen is for the most part level, the ground of
sand and stiff earth. Throughout are immense trees and open
woods, in which are walnut, laurel, and another tree called
liquid-amber,^ cedars, savins, evergreen oaks, pines, red-oaks,
and palmitos like those of Spain. There are many lakes, great
and small, over every part of it ; some troublesome of fording,
on account of depth and the great number of trees lying
throughout them. Their beds are sand. The lakes in the
country of Apalachen are much larger than those we found
before coming there. ^
In this province are many maize fields; and the houses
are scattered as are those of the Gelves. There are deer of
three kinds, rabbits, hares, bears, lions, and other wild beasts.
Among them we saw an animal with a pocket on its belly,^
in which it carries its young until they know how to seek food,
and if it happen that they should be out feeding and any one
come near, the mother will not run until she has gathered them
in together. The country is very cold.^ It has fine pastures
for herds. Birds are of various kinds. Geese in great num-
bers. Ducks, mallards, royal-ducks, fly-catchers, night-herons
'The sweet-gum, copalin, or alligator tree {Liquidamhar styradflua).
^ Seemingly the lake country in the northern part of Leon and Jefferson
counties, Florida. "Apalachen" town was perhaps on Miccosukee Lake.
^ The opossum. This is probably the first allusion to this animal. The
name is derived from the Algonquian language of Virginia, having first been
recorded by Captain John Smith.
* As it was now late in June, this is not explicable, unless the season
was an unusual one.
30 SPANISH EXPLOKERS [1528
and partridges abound. We saw many falcons, gerfalcons,
sparrow-hawks, merlins, and numerous other fowl/
Two hours after our arrival at Apalachen, the Indians
who had fled from there came in peace to us, asking for their
women and children, whom we released ; but the detention of
a cacique by the Governor produced great excitement, in con-
sequence of which they returned for battle early the next day,
and attacked us with such promptness and alacrity that they
succeeded in setting fire to the houses in which we were. As
we sallied they fled to the lakes near by, because of which and
the large maize fields we could do them no injury, save in the
single instance of one Indian, whom we killed. The day fol-
lowing, others came against us from a town on the opposite
side of the lake, and attacked us as the first had done, escaping
in the same way, except one who was also slain.
We were in the town twenty-five days, in which time we
made three incursions, and found the country very thinly peo-
pled and difficult to travel for the bad passages, the woods and
lakes. We inquired of the cacique we kept and the natives
we brought with us, who were the neighbors and enemies of
these Indians, as to the nature of the country, the character
and condition of the inhabitants, of the food and all other mat-
ters concerning it. Each answered apart from the rest, that
the largest town in all that region was Apalachen; the peo-
ple beyond were less numerous and poorer, the land little occu-
pied, and the inhabitants much scattered ; that thenceforward
were great lakes, dense forests, immense deserts and solitudes.
We then asked touching the region towards the south, as to
the towns and subsistence in it. They said that in keeping
such a direction, journeying nine days, there was a town
called Aute,^ the inhabitants whereof had much maize, beans,
and pumpkins, and being near the sea they had fish, and that
those peoi)le were their friends.
' Buckingham Smith thinks it strange that tlio turk<\v and the alhgator
are not particularly mentioned among tlie fauna of the region.
'Most authorities agree that this place was at or near the site of St.
Marks, south-southeast of 'I'allahassee, although the distance seems too
bhort for nine days' travel, as will be seen.
1528] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 31
In view of the poverty of the land, the unfavorable accounts
of the population and of everything else we heard, the Indians
making continual war upon us, wounding our people and horses
at the places where they went to drink, shooting from the lakes
with such safety to themselves that we could not retahate,
killing a lord of Tescuco, named Don Pedro, ^ whom the com-
missary brought with him, we determined to leave that place
and go in quest of the sea, and the town of Ante of which we
were told.
At the termination of the twenty-five days ^ after our arrival
we departed,^ and on the first day got through those lakes
and passages without seeing any one, and on the second day
we came to a lake difficult of crossing, the water reaching to the
paps, and in it were numerous logs. On reaching the middle
of it we were attacked by many Indians from behind trees,
who thus covered themselves that we might not get sight of
them, and others were on the fallen timbers. They drove their
arrows with such effect that they wounded many men and
horses, and before we got through the lake they took our guide.
They now followed, endeavoring to contest the passage; but
our coming out afforded no relief, nor gave us any better posi-
tion; for when we wished to fight them they retired imme-
diately into the lake, whence they continued to wound our
men and beasts. The Governor, seeing this, commanded the
cavalry to dismount and charge the Indians on foot. Accord-
ingly the comptroller * alighting with the rest, attacked them,
when they all turned and ran into the lake at hand, and thus
the passage was gained.
Some of our men were wounded in this conflict, for whom
the good armor they wore did not avail. There were those this
day who swore that they had seen two red oaks, each the thick-
ness of the lower part of the leg, pierced through from side to
' See Buckingham Smith, Relation of Alvar Nuflez Cabega de Vaca, 1871,
p. 42, note 7, regarding this Aztec prince of the blood.
2 "Twenty-six days." Oviedo, 586. The edition of 1542 (Bandelier
trans., p. 30) says : " And so we left, arriving there five days after. The first
day we travelled across lagunes and trails without seeing a single Indian."
' July 19-20, 1528. * Alonzo Enrriquez.
32 SPANISH EXPLOREES [1528
side by arrows; and this is not so much to be wondered at,
considering the power and skill with which the Indians are able
to project them. I myself saw an arrow that had entered the
butt of an elm to the depth of a span.
The Indians we had so far seen in Florida are all archers.
They go naked, are large of body, and appear at a distance like
giants. They are of admirable proportions, very spare and of
great activity and strength. The bows they use are as thick
as the arm, of eleven or twelve palms in length, which they
will discharge at two hundred paces with so great precision
that they miss nothing.
Having got through this passage, at the end of a league we
arrived at another of the same character, but worse, as it was
longer, being half a league in extent. This we crossed freely,
without interruption from the Indians, who, as they had spent
on the former occasion their store of arrows, had nought with
which they dared venture to engage us. Going through a simi-
lar passage the next day, I discovered the trail of persons ahead,
of which I gave notice to the Governor, who was in the rear-
guard, so that though the Indians came upon us, as we were
prepared they did no harm. After emerging upon the plain
they followed us, and we went back on them in two directions.
Two we killed, and they wounded me and two or three others.
Coming to woods we could do them no more injury, nor make
them further trouble.
In this manner we travelled eight days. After that oc-
currence we were not again beset until within a league of the
place to which I have said we were going. There, while on our
way, the Indians came about us without our suspicion, and
fell upon the rear-guard. A hidalgo, named Avellaneda, hear-
ing the cries of his serving l)()y, wont back to give assistance,
when he was struck by an arrow near the edge of his cuirass;
and so severe was the wound, the shaft having passed almost
entirely through his neck, that he presently died. The corpse
was carri(!d to Aute, where we arrived at the end of nine days'*
travel from Apalache. We found all the inhabitants gone and
' "Eight or riiiK! diiys." Ovicdo, 587.
1528] NAERATIVE OF CABEZA DE VAC A 33
the houses burned. Maize, beans, and pumpkins were in great
plenty, all beginning to be fit for gathering. Having rested
two days, the Governor begged me to go and look for the sea,
as the Indians said it was near ; and we had before discovered
it, while on the way, from a very large stream, to which we
had given the name of River of the Magdalena.^
Accordingly, I set out the next day after, in company with
the commissary. Captain Castillo, Andres Dorantes, seven
more on horseback, and fifty on foot. We travelled until the
hour of vespers, when we arrived at a road or entrance of the
sea. Oysters were abundant, over which the men rejoiced,
and we gave thanks to God that he had brought us there. The
following morning ^ I sent twenty men to explore the coast and
ascertain its direction. They returned the night after, re-
porting that those creeks and bays were large, and lay so far
inland as made it difficult to examine them agreeably to our
desires, and that the sea shore was very distant.
These tidings obtained, seeing our slender means, and con-
dition for exploring the coast, I went back to the Governor.
On our arrival we found him and many others sick. The Ind-
ians had assaulted them the night before, and because of the
malady that had come upon them, they had been pushed to
extremity. One of the horses had been killed. I gave a
report of what I had done, and of the embarrassing nature of
the country. We remained there that day.
Chapter 8
We go from Aute.
The next morning ^ we left Aute, and travelled all day be-
fore coming to the place I had visited. The journey was ex-
tremely arduous. There were not horses enough to carry the
sick, who went on increasing in numbers day by day, and we
* St. Marks River, which flows into St. Marks Bay, at the head of which
Aute was situated.
^ August 1, 1528. » August 3, 1528.
34 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1528
knew of no cure. It was piteous and painful to witness our
perplexity and distress. We saw on our arrival how small
were the means for advancing farther. There was not any-
where to go ; and if there had been, the people were unable to
move forward, the greater part being ill, and those were few
who could be on duty. I cease here to relate more of this^
because any one may suppose what would occur in a country
so remote and malign, so destitute of all resource, whereby
either to hve in it or go out of it ; but most certain assistance
is in God, our Lord, on whom we never failed to place reliance.
One thing occurred, more afflicting to us than all the rest^
which was, that of the persons mounted, the greater part com-
menced secretly to plot, hoping to secure a better fate for them-
selves by abandoning the Governor and the sick, who were in
a state of weakness and prostration. But, as among them
were many hidalgos and persons of gentle condition, they
would not permit this to go on, without informing the Governor
and the officers of your Majesty; and as we showed them the
deformity of their purpose, and placed before them the mo-
ment when they should desert their captain, and those who
were ill and feeble, and above all the disobedience to the orders
of your Majesty, they determined to remain, and that whatever
might happen to one should be the lot of all, without any
forsaking the rest.
After the accomplishment of this, the Governor called them
all to him, and of each apart he asked advice as to what he
should do to get out of a country so miserable, and seek that
assistance elsewhere which could not here be found, a third
part of the people being very sick, and the number increasing
every hour; for we regarded it as certain that we should all
become so, and could pass out of it only through death, which
from its coming in such a place was to us all the more terrible.
These, with many oth(T oml)arrassnu'nts being considered,
and (entertaining many plans, we coincided in one great project
extreiricly difricult to y)ut in ofXM'ation, and I hat was to build
vessels in whi(;h we might go away. This appeared impossible
to every one; wc knew not how to construct, nor were there
1528] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 35
tools, nor iron, nor forge, nor tow, nor resin, nor rigging;
finally, no one thing of so many that are necessary, nor any
man who had a knowledge of their manufacture; and, above
all, there was nothing to eat, while building, for those who
should labor. Reflecting on all this, we agreed to think of
the subject with more deliberation, and the conversation
dropped from that day, each going his way, commending our
course to God, our Lord, that he would direct it as should best
serve Him.
The next day it was His will that one of the company
should come saying that he could make some pipes out of
wood, which with deer-skins might be made into bellows;
and, as we lived in a time when anything that had the sem-
blance of relief appeared well, we told him to set himself to
work. We assented to the making of nails, saws, axes, and
other tools of which there was such need, from the stirrups,
spurs, crossbows, and the other things of iron there were;
and we laid out for support, while the work was going on, that
we would make four entries into Ante, with all the horses and
men that were able to go, and that on every third day a horse
should be killed to be divided among those who labored in the
work of the boats and the sick. The incursions were made
with the people and horses that were available, and in them
were brought back as many as four hundred fanegas ^ of maize ;
but these were not got without quarrels and contentions with
the Indians. We caused many palmitos to be collected for the
woof or covering, twisting and preparing it for use in the place
of tow for the boats.
We commenced to build on the fourth, with the only car-
penter in the company, and we proceeded with so great dili-
gence that on the twentieth day of September five boats were
finished, twenty-two cubits in length, each caulked with the
fibre of the palmito. We pitched them with a certain resin,
made from pine trees by a Greek, named Don Theodoro ; from
the same husk of the palmito, and from the tails and manes of
the horses we made ropes and rigging, from our shirts, sails,
' About six hundred and forty bushels.
36 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1528
and from the savins growing there we made the oars that
appeared to us requisite. Such was the country into which
our sins had cast us, that only by very great search could we
find stone for ballast and anchors, since in it all we had not seen
one. We flayed the horses, taking the skin from their legs
entire, and tanning them to make bottles wherein to carry
water.
During this time some went gathering shell-fish in the coves
and creeks of the sea, at which employment the Indians twice
attacked them and killed ten men in sight of the camp, with-
out our being able to afford succor. We found their corpses
traversed from side to side with, arrows ; and for all some had
on good armor, it did not give adequate protection or security
against the nice and powerful archery of which I have spoken.
According to the declaration of our pilots under oath, from the
entrance to which we had given the name Bahia de la Cruz ^
to this place, we had travelled two hundred and eighty leagues ^
or thereabout. Over all that region we had not seen a single
mountain, and had no information of any whatsoever.
Before we embarked there died more than forty men of dis-
ease and hunger, without enumerating those destroyed by the
Indians. By the twenty-second of the month of September,
the horses had been consumed, one only remaining; and on
that day we embarked in the following order : In the boat of
the Governor went forty-nine men ; in another, which ho gave
to the comptroller and the commissary, went as many others ;
the third, he gave to Captain Alonzo del Castillo and Andres
Dorantes, with forty-eight men; and another he gave to two
captains, Tellez and Penalosa, with forty-seven men. The
last was given to the assessor and myself, with forty-nine men.
After the provisions and clothes had been taken in, not over
a span of the gunwales remained above water ; and more than
this, the boats were so crowded that we could not move:
8o much can necessity do, which drove us to hazard our lives
' Tampa Hay.
' In rfality tlicy (lould not have travelled much more than as many miles
in a straight line from Tampa Bay.
1528] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 37
in this manner, running into a turbulent sea, not a single one
who went having a knowledge of navigation/
Chapter 9
We leave the Bay of Horses.
The haven we left bears the name of Bahia de Caballos.^
We passed waist deep in water through sounds without seeing
any sign of the coast, and at the close of the seventh day, we
came to an island near the main. My boat went first, and
from her we saw Indians approaching in five canoes, which they
abandoned and left in our hands, finding that we were coming
after them. The other boats passed ahead, and stopped at
some houses on the island, where we found many dried mullet
and roes, which were a great relief in our distress. After tak-
ing these we went on, and two leagues thence, we discovered
a strait the island makes with the land,^ which we named
Sant Miguel, for having passed through it on his day.* Coming
out we went to the coast, where with the canoes I had taken,
we somewhat improved the boats, making waist-boards and
securing them, so that the sides rose two palms above the water.
This done we returned to move along the coast in the direction
of the River Palmas,^ our hunger and thirst continually in-
creasing ; for our scant subsistence was getting near the end,
the water was out, and the bottles made from the legs of the
horses having soon rotted, were useless. Sometimes we entered
coves and creeks that lay far in, and found them all shallow
and dangerous. Thus we journeyed along them thirty days,
' Consult Garcilasso de la Vega, La Florida, 78, 1723, for the finding
of the relics of Narvaez by De Soto's expedition in 1539, and see the De Soto
narration of the Gentleman of Elvas, later in the present volume.
^ "Bay of Horses": St. Marks Bay of Appalaehee Bay.
^ The conditions are applicable to the mouth of St. Marks Bay, the two
small islands, and the strait l)etween them and the coast.
' St. Michael's Day, Soptombor 29, 1528.
" That is, in a southwesterly direction.
38 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1528
finding occasionally Indian fishermen, a poor and miserable
lot.
At the end of this time, while the want of water was great,
going near the coast at night we heard the approach of a canoe,
for which, so soon as it was in sight, we paused ; but it would
not meet us, and, although we called, it would neither come
nor wait for us. As the night was dark, we did not follow,
and kept on our way. l\Tien the sun rose we saw a small
island, and went to it to find water ; but our labor was vain,
as it had none. Lying there at anchor, a heavy storm came
on, that detained us six days, we not daring to go to sea ; and
as it was now five days since we had drunk, our thirst was so
excessive that it put us to the extremity of swallowing salt
water, by which some of the men became so crazed that three
or four suddenly died. I state this so briefly, because I do not
believe there is any necessity for particularly relating the suffer-
ings and toils amidst which we found ourselves; since, con-
sidering the place where we were, and the little hope we had of
rehef, every one may conceive much of what must have passed.
Although the storm had not ceased, as our thirst increased
and the water killed us, we resolved to commend ourselves to
God our Lord, and adventure the peril of the sea rather than
await the end which thirst made certain. Accordingly we
went out by the way we had observed the canoe go the night we
came. On this day we were ourselves many times overwhehned
by the waves, and in such jeopardy that there was not one
who did not suppose his death inevitable. Thanks be to Him,
that in the greatest dangers. He was wont to show us his favor ;
for at sunset doubling a point made by the land, we found
shelter with much cuhn.*
Many canoes came off with Indians who spoke with us and
returned, not being disposed to await our arrival. They were
of large stature and well formed : they had n(^ bows and arrows.
We followed them to their houses near by, at the edge of the
water, and jumjx'd on shore. Before their (hv(>llings were many
clay pitchers with wat(!r, and a large (quantity of eooked fish,
' Pensaoola Bay. The Indians were Choctuws or a closely related tribe.
1528] NAERATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 39
which the chief of these territories offered to the Governor and
then took him to his house. Their dwelUngs were made of
mats, and so far as we observed, were not movable. On enter-
ing the house the cacique gave us fish, and we gave him of the
maize we brought, which the people ate in our presence. They
asked for more and received it, and the Governor presented the
cacique with many trinkets. While in the house with him, at
the middle hour of night, the Indians fell suddenly upon us,
and on those who were very sick, scattered along the shore.*
They also beset the house in which the Governor was, and
with a stone struck him in the face. Those of our comrades
present seized the cacique ; but his people being near liberated
him, leaving in our hands a robe of civet-marten.
These skins are the best, I think, that can be found ; they
have a fragrance that can be equalled by amber and musk
alone, and even at a distance is strongly perceptible. We
saw there other skins, but none comparable to these.
Those of us around, finding the Governor wounded, put
him into his boat ; and we caused others of our people to be-
take themselves likewise to their boats, some fifty remaining
to withstand the natives. They attacked us thrice that night,
and with so great impetuosity, that on each occasion they
made us retire more than a stone's cast. Not one among us
escaped injury: I was wounded in the face. They had not
many arrows, but had they been further provided, doubtless
they would have done us much harm. In the last onset, the
Captains Dorantes, Penalosa, and Tellez put themselves in
ambuscade with fifteen men, and fell upon the rear in such
manner that the Indians desisted and fled.
The next morning ^ I broke up more than thirty canoes,
which were serviceable for fuel in a north wind in which we were
kept all day suffering severe cold, without daring to go to sea,
because of the rough weather upon it. This having subsided,
we again embarked, and navigated three days.^ As we brought
little water and the vessels were few, we were reduced to the
' "Killing three men." Oviedo, p. 589. ^ October 28, 1528.
' "Three or four days." Oviedo, p. 589.
40 SPANISH EXPLOEEES [1528
last extremity. Following our course, we entered an estuary^,
and being there we saw Indians approaching in a canoe. We
called to them and they came. The Governor, at whose boat
they first arrived, asked for water, which they assented to give,
asking for something in which they might bring it, when
Dorotheo Theodoro, a Greek spoken of before, said that he
wished to go with them. The Governor tried to dissuade him,
and so did others, but were unable ; he was determined to go
whatever might betide. Accordingly he went, taking with him
a negro, the natives leaving two of their number as hostages.
At night the Indians returned with the vessels empty and
without the Christians ; and when those we held were spoken
to by them, they tried to plunge into the sea. Being detained
by the men, the Indians in the canoe thereupon fled, leaving us
sorrowful and much dejected for our loss.^
Chapter 10
The assault from the Indians.
The morning having come, many natives arrived in canoes
who asked us for the two that had remained in the boat. The
Governor replied that he would give up the hostages when they
should bring the Christians they had taken. With the Ind-
ians had come five or six chiefs,^ who appeared to us to be
the most comely persons, and of more authority and condition
than any we had hitherto seen, although not so large as some
others of whom we have spoken. They wore the hair loose and
very long, and were covered with robes of marten such as we
had befon; taken. Some of the robes were made up after a
strange fashion, with wrought ties of hon skin, making a brave
' Biedma's Narrative (Piihlications of the Hnkluyt Society, IX. 1-S3,
18.')!) says of tho Do Soto expedition in 1539 : " HavinR sot out for this village
[Mavila, Mauvila, Mobile], we found a large river which we supposed to be
that which falls into the bay of Chuse [Pensacola Bay]; we learned that the
vessfjls of Narvaoz had arrived th(!re in want of water, and that a (christian
named Toodoro and an Indian had remained among those Indians: at the
Hiimc. time tlioy showed us a dagger which had boloiigod to tho ('hristian."
' "Throe or four," according to the Loiter (Oviodo, p. 589), which also
gives the number of canoes as twc^iity.
1528] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 41
show. They entreated us to go with them, and said they
would give us the Christians, water, and many other things.
They continued to collect about us in canoes, attempting in
them to take possession of the mouth of that entrance; in
consequence, and because it was hazardous to stay near the
land, we went to sea, where they remained by us until about
mid-day. As they would not deliver our people, we would
not give up theirs; so they began to hurl clubs at us and to
throw stones with slings, making threats of shooting arrows,
although we had not seen among them all more than three or
four bows. While thus engaged, the wind beginning to freshen,
they left us and went back.
We sailed that day until the middle of the afternoon, when
my boat, which was the first, discovered a point made by the
land, and against a cape opposite, passed a broad river. ^ I
cast anchor near a little island forming the point, to await the
arrival of the other boats. The Governor did not choose to
come up, and entered a bay near by in which were a great many
islets. We came together there, and took fresh water from
the sea, the stream entering it in freshet.^ To parch some of
the maize we brought with us, since we had eaten it raw for
two days, we went on an island; but finding no wood we
agreed to go to the river beyond the point, one league off.
By no effort could we get there, so violent was the current on
the way, which drove us out, while we contended and strove to
gain the land. The north wind, which came from the shore,
began to blow so strongly that it forced us to sea without our
being able to overcome it. We sounded half a league out, and
found with thirty fathoms ^ we could not get bottom ; but we
were unable to satisfy ourselves that the current was not the
cause of failure. Toiling in this manner to fetch the land,
we navigated three days, and at the end of this time, a little
' According to the Letter they travelled two days more before reaching
this point of land.
^ The Mississippi, the waters of which were now seen by white men
fourteen years before the " discovery " of the stream by De Soto.
^ The present normal depth at this distance from the delta is about
sixty feet.
42 SPAJS^ISH EXPLORERS [1528
before the sun rose, we saw smoke in several places along the
shore. Attempting to reach them, we found ourselves in three
fathoms of water, and in the darkness we dared not come to
land ; for as we had seen so many smokes, some surprise might
he in wait, and the obscurity leave us at a loss how to act. We
determined therefore to stop until morning.
"\Mien day came, the boats had lost sight of each other. I
found myself in thirty fathoms. Keeping my course until the
hour of vespers, I observed two boats, and drawing near I
found that the first I approached was that of the Governor.
He asked me what I thought we should do. I told him we
ought to join the boat which went in advance, and by no means
to leave her; and, the three being together, we must keep on
our way to where God should be pleased to lead. He answered
saying that could not be done, because the boat was far to sea
and he wished to reach the shore ; that if I wished to follow him,
I should order the persons of my boat to take the oars and
work, as it was only by strength of arm that the land could be
gained. He was advised to this course by a captain with him
named Pantoja, who said that if he did not fetch land that day,
in six days more they would not reach it, and in that time they
must inevitably famish. Discovering his will I took my oar,
and so did every one his, in my boat, to obey it. We rowed
until near sunset; but the Governor having in his boat the
healthiest of all the men, we could not by any means hold
with or follow her. Seeing this, I asked him to give me a rope
from his boat, that I might be enabled to keep up with him ;
but he answered me that he would do much, if they, as they
were, should be able to reach the land that night. I said to
him, that since he saw the feeble strength we had to follow
him, and do what he ordered, he must tell me how he
would that I should act. He answered that it was no longer
a time in which one should command another; but that each
should do what he thought })est to save his own life ; that he
so intended to act ; and saying this, he departed with his boat.^
' The sf'lfi.shncss and incompetoncc of Narvaoz, shown throughout the
narration, are here further exemplified. His life had more than onee been
1528] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VAC A 43
As I could not follow him, I steered to the other boat at
sea, which waited for me, and having come up, I found her
to be the one commanded by the Captains Penalosa and
Tellez,
Thus we continued in company, eating a daily allowance
of half a handful of raw maize, until the end of four days,
when we lost sight of each other in a storm; and such was
the weather that only by God's favor we did not all go down.
Because of winter and its inclemency, the many days we had
suffered hunger, and the heavy beating of the waves, the peo-
ple began next day to despair in such a manner that when the
sun sank, all who were in my boat were fallen one on another,
so near to death that there were few among them in a state
of sensibility. Of the whole number at this time not five men
were on their feet; and when night came, only the master
and myself were left, who could work the boat. Two hours
after dark, he said to me that I must take charge of her as he
was in such condition he believed he should die that night.
So I took the paddle, and going after midnight to see if the
master was alive he said to me he was rather better, and would
take the charge until day. I declare in that hour I would
more willingly have died than seen so many people before me
in such condition. After the master took the direction of the
boat, I lay down a little while ; but without repose, for nothing
at that time was farther from me than sleep.
Near the dawn of day, it seemed to me I heard the tum-
bling of the sea; for as the coast was low, it roared loudly.
Surprised at this, I called to the master, who answered me
that he believed we were near the land. We sounded and
found ourselves in seven fathoms. He advised that we should
keep to sea until sunrise ; accordingly I took an oar and pulled
on the land side, until we were a league distant, when we gave
her stern to the sea. Near the shore a wave took us, that
knocked the boat out of water the distance of the throw of a
spared through the self-sacrifice of his men, yet he now thought more of sa^^ng
himself, with the aid of his hardy crew, than of lending a hand to his weakened
compuiiions.
44 SPANISH EXPLOEEES [1528
crowbar/ and from the violence with which she struck, nearly
all the people who were in her like dead, were roused to con-
sciousness. Finding themselves near the shore, they began
to move on hands and feet, crawling to land into some ravines.
There we made fire, parched some of the maize we brought,
and found rain water. From the warmth of the fire the people
recovered their faculties, and began somewhat to exert them-
selves. The day on which we arrived was the sixth of Novem-
ber [1528].
Chapter 11
Of what he jell Lope de Oviedo with the Indians.
After the people had eaten, I ordered Lope de Oviedo, who
had more strength and was stouter than any of the rest, to go
to some trees that were near by, and climbing into one of
them to look about and try to gain knowledge of the country.
He did as I bade, and made out that we were on an island.^
He saw that the land was pawed up in the manner that ground
is wont to be where cattle range, whence it appeared to him
that this should be a country of Christians; and thus he re-
ported to us. I ordered him to return and examine much
more particularly, and see if there were any roads that were
worn, but without going far, because there might be danger.
He went, and coming to a path, took it for the distance of
half a league, and found some huts, without tenants, they
having gone into the ficld.^ He took from these an earthen
pot, a little dog, some few mullets, and returned. As it ap-
peared to us he was gone a long time, we sent two men that they
should look to see what might have happened. They met
him near l)y, and saw that three Indians with bows and ar-
' Jur(fo de hcrrtulura, a ganic played with an iron bar, often a crowbar,
which is Kra.s{)e(l at the middle and cast as far as possible.
' S<!c p. 57, note 2.
'Ah this was the rootz-difjpinK season, llie won! cdnijin in (he original
evidently refers to i\u' digginf^ "uroinids" in the slioal water, and not to
" woods " as Mr. Smith interpreted it.
1528] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 45
rows followed and were calling to him, while he, in the same
way, was beckoning them on. Thus he arrived where we
were, the natives remaining a little way back, seated on the
shore. Half an hour after, they were supported by one hun-
dred other Indian bowmen,^ who if they were not large, our
fears made giants of them. They stopped near us with the
first three. It were idle to think that any among us could
make defence, for it would have been difficult to find six that
could rise from the ground. The assessor and I went out and
called to them, and they came to us. We endeavored the best
we could to encourage them and secure their favor. We gave
them beads and hawk-bells, and each of them gave me an
arrow, which is a pledge of friendship. They told us by signs
that they would return in the morning and bring us something
to eat, as at that time they had nothing.^
Chapter 12
The Indians bring us food.
At sunrise the next day, the time the Indians appointed,
they came according to their promise, and brought us a large
quantity of fish with certain roots, some a little larger than wal-
nuts, others a trifle smaller, the greater part got from under
the water and with much labor. In the evening they re-
turned and brought us more fish and roots. They sent their
women and children to look at us, who went back rich with
the hawk-bells and beads given them, and they came after-
wards on other days, returning as before. Finding that we
had provision, fish, roots, water, and other things we asked
for, we determined to embark again and pursue our course.
Having dug out our boat from the sand in which it was buried,
it became necessary that we should strip, and go through
* "Two hundred archers with holes in their ears in which were joints
of cane." Oviedo, p. 590.
^ For an account of these Indians, see ch. 14, p. 50, 51.
46 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1528
great exertion to launch her, we being in such a state that
things very much Hghter sufficed to make us great labor.
Thus embarked, at the distance of two crossbow shots in
the sea we shipped a wave that entirely wet us. As we were
naked, and the cold was very great, the oars loosened in our
hands, and the next blow the sea struck us, capsized the boat.
The assessor ^ and tw^o others held fast to her for preservation,
but it happened to be far otherwise; the boat carried them
over, and they were drowned under her. As the surf near the
shore was very high, a single roll of the sea threw the rest into
the waves and half drowned upon the shore of the island, with-
out our losing any more than those the boat took down. The
survivors escaped naked as they were born, with the loss of all
they had ; and although the whole w^as of little value, at that
time it was worth much, as we were then in November, the
cold was severe, and our bodies were so emaciated the bones
might be counted with little difficulty, having become the per-
fect figures of death. For myself I can say that from the
month of May passed, I had eaten no other thing than maize,
and sometimes I found myself obliged to eat it unparched;
for although the beasts were slaughtered while the boats were
building, I could never eat their flesh, and I did not eat fish
ten times. I state this to avoid giving excuses, and that
every one may judge in what condition we were. Besides all
these misfortunes, came a north wind upon us, from which we
were nearer to death than life. Thanks be to our Lord that,
looking among the brands we had used there, we found sparks
from which we made great fires. And thus were we asking
mercy of llim and pardon for our transgressions, shedding
many tears, and each regretting not his own fate alone, but
that of his comrades about him.
At sunset, the Indians thinking that we had not gone, came
to seek us and l)ring us food ; l)ut wh(m they saw us thus, in a
])Iight so different from what it was before, and so extraordi-
nary, they were; alarmed and turned back. I wont toward
them and called, when tluy returned much frightened.
• Alouzo de Solis.
1628] NAERATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 47
I gave them to understand by signs that our boat had sunk
and three of our number had been drowned. There, before
them, they saw two of the departed, and we who remained
were near joining them. The Indians, at sight of what had
befallen us, and our state of suffering and melancholy destitu-
tion, sat down among us, and from the sorrow and pity they
felt, they all began to lament so earnestly that they might
have been heard at a distance, and continued so doing more
than half an hour. It was strange to see these men, wild and
untaught, howling like brutes over our misfortunes. It caused
in me as in others, an increase of feeling and a livelier sense of
our calamity.
The cries having ceased, I talked with the Christians, and
said that if it appeared well to them, I would beg these Indians
to take us to their houses. Some, who had been in New Spain,
replied that we ought not to think of it ; for if they should do
so, they would sacrifice us to their idols. But seeing no better
course, and that any other led to a nearer and more certain
death, I disregarded what was said, and besought the Indians
to take us to their dwellings. They signified that it would
give them delight, and that we should tarry a little, that they
might do what we asked. Presently thirty men loaded them-
selves with wood and started for their houses, which were far
off,^ and we remained with the others until near night, when,
holding us up, they carried us with all haste. Because of the
extreme coldness of the weather, lest any one should die or
fail by the way, they caused four or five very large fires to be
placed at intervals, and at each they warmed us; and when
they saw that we had regained some heat and strength, they
took us to the next so swiftly that they hardly let us touch
our feet to the ground. In this manner we went as far as
their habitations, where we found that they had made a house
for us with many fires in it. An hour after our arrival, they
* As he docs not speak of crossing water, the dwcHings of these Indians
were doubtless those seen by Lope de Oviedoon the island, where they lived
from October until Marcli, for the purpose of obtaining the roots from the
shoal water, as well as fish and oysters.
48 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1528
began to dance and hold great rejoicing, which lasted all
night, although for us there was no joy, festivity nor sleep,
awaiting the hour they should make us victims. In the morn-
ing they again gave us fish and roots, showing us such hospi-
tality that we were reassured, and lost somewhat the fear of
sacrifice.
Chapter 13
We hear of other Christians.
This day I saw a native with an article of traffic I knew
was not one we had bestowed ; and asking whence it came, I
was told by signs that it had been given by men like ourselves
who were behind. Hearing this I sent two Indians, and with
them two Christians to be shown those persons. They met
near by,^ as the men were coming to look after us; for the
Indians of the place where they were, gave them information
concerning us. They were Captains Andres Dorantes and
Alonzo del Castillo, with all the persons of their boat. Having
come up they were surprised at seeing us in the condition we
were, and very much pained at having nothing to give us, as
they had brought no other clothes than what they had on.
Thus together again, they related that on the fifth day of
that month,^ their boat had capsized a league and a half ^ from
there, and they escaped without losing any thing. We all
agreed to refit their [our] boat, that those of us might go in
her who had vigor sufficient and disposition to do so, and the
rest should remain until they became well enough to go, as
they best might, along the coast until God our Lord should
bo fjleased to conduct us alike to a land of Christians. Di-
rectly as we arranged this, we set ours(^lves to work. Before
we threw the boat out into the water, Tavera, a gentleman of
' This would 8C(;rM to indicate! iliat Dorantes' boat was cast ashoro on the
Hamo ishind.
' NovfrmlxT, ir)2.S. Dorantes' boat was therefore cast ashore the day
Jxjforc the hmfliiifz; of ("alxiza do. Vacua's party.
* About four miles.
1528] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 49
our company, died; and the boat, which we thought to use,
came to its end, sinking from unfitness to float.
As we were in the condition I have mentioned, the greater
number of us naked, and the weather boisterous for travel,
and to cross rivers and bays by swimming, and we being en-
tirely without provisions or the means of carrying any, we
yielded obedience to what necessity required, to pass the win-
ter in the place where we were. We also agreed that four men
of the most robust should go on to Panunco,^ which we be-
lieved to be near, and if, by Divine favor, they should reach
there, they could give information of our remaining on that
island, and of our sorrows and destitution. These men were
excellent swimmers. One of them was Alvaro Fernandez, a
Portuguese sailor and carpenter, the second was named Men-
dez, the third Figueroa, who was a native of Toledo, and the
fourth Astudillo, a native of (Jafra. They took with them an
Indian of the island of Auia.^
Chapter 14
The departure of four Christians.
The four Christians being gone, after a few days such cold
and tempestuous weather succeeded that the Indians could
not pull up roots, the cane weirs in which they took fish no
longer yielded any thing, and the houses being very open, our
people began to die. Five Christians, of a mess [quartered]
on the coast, came to such extremity that they ate their dead ;
the body of the last one only was found unconsumed. Their
names were Sierra, Diego Lopez, Corral, Palacios and Gonc^alo
Ruiz. This produced great commotion among the Indians
' Panuco, previously referred to.
^ The edition of 1542 omits the last two words. Auia has been regarded
as the native name of Malhudo Island, but this is seemingly an error, otherwise
Cabeza de Vaca would in all probability have mentioned the nativity of the
Indian in later speaking (eh. 17) of his death from cold and hunger. Her-
rera says: "the island of Cuba," which seems more probable.
50 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1528
giving rise to so much censure that had they known it in
season to have done so, doubtless they would have destroyed
any survivor, and we should have found ourselves in the ut-
most perplexity. Finally, of eighty men who arrived in the
two instances, fifteen only remained ahve.
After this, the natives were visited by a disease of the
bowels, of which half their number died. They conceived that
we had destroyed them,^ and beheving it firmly, they concerted
among themselves to dispatch those of us who survived.
When they were about to execute their purpose, an Indian
who had charge of me, told them not to believe we were the
cause of those deaths, since if we had such power we should
also have averted the fatality from so many of our people,
whom they had seen die without our being able to minister
relief, already very few of us remaining, and none doing hurt
or wrong, and that it would be better to leave us unharmed.
God our Lord willed that the others should heed this opinion
and counsel, and be hindered in their design.
To this island we gave the name Malhado.^ The people *
we found there are large and well formed ; they have no other
arms than bows and arrows, in the use of which they are very
dexterous. The men have one of their nipples bored from
side to side, and some have both, wearing a cane in each, the
length of two palms and a half, and the thickness of two fin-
gers. They have the under lip also bored, and wear in it a
piece of cane the breadth of half a finger. Their women are
accustomed to great toil. The stay they make on the island
is from October to the end of February. Their subsistence
then is the root I have spoken of, got from under the water in
November and December. They have weirs of cane and take
fish only in this season; afterwards they live on the roots.
At th(; end oi February, they go into other parts to seek food ;
for then the root is beginning to grow and is not food.
Those people love their offspring the most of any in the
' That is, the Indians believed the Christians to be sorcerers.
» "Misfortune," "ill-fate."
' The Capocjues, or Cahofjucs, and the Hans. See ch. 20.
1528] NAERATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 51
world, and treat them with the greatest mildness/ When it
occurs that a son dies, the parents and kindred weep as does
everybody; the wailing continuing for him a whole year.
They begin before dawn every day, the parents first and after
them the whole town. They do the same at noon and at sun-
set. After a year of mourning has passed, the rites of the
dead are performed; then they wash and purify themselves
from the stain of smoke. They lament all the deceased in
this manner, except the aged, for whom they show no regret,
as they say that their season has passed, they having no en-
joyment, and that living they would occupy the earth and
take ahment from the young. Their custom is to bury the
dead, unless it be those among them who have been physi-
cians. These they burn. While the fire kindles they are all
dancing and making high festivit}^, until the bones become
powder. After the lapse of a year the funeral honors are cele-
brated, every one taking part in them, when that dust is pre-
sented in water for the relatives to drink. ^
Every man has an acknowledged wife. The physicians
are allowed more freedom : they may have two or three wives,
among whom exist the greatest friendship and harmony.
From the time a daughter marries, all that he who takes her
to wife kills in hunting or catches in fishing, the woman
brings to the house of her father, without daring to eat or
take any part of it, and thence victuals are taken to the hus-
band. From that time neither her father nor mother enters
his house, nor can he enter theirs, nor the houses of their chil-
dren ; and if by chance they are in the direction of meeting,
they turn aside, and pass the distance of a crossbow shot from
each other, carrying the head low the while, the eyes cast on
the ground; for they hold it improper to see or to speak to
' This is characteristic of all Indians, who punish their children very
rarely.
' Nevertheless these same people were so horrified by the uncanny
action of the Spaniards who ate their dead companions that they sought to
put them to death. It should be noted that the Attacapan and probably
the Karankawan tribes of the Texas coast, to which the people of Malhado
Island may have belonged, were reputed to be cannibals.
62 SPANISH EXPLOKERS [1529
each other/ But the woman has hberty to converse and
communicate with the parents and relatives of her husband.
The custom exists from this island the distance of more than
fifty leagues inland.
There is another custom, which is, when a son or brother
dies, at the house where the death takes place they do not go
after food for three months, but sooner famish, their relatives
and neighbors providing what they eat. As in the time we
were there a great number of the natives died, in most houses
there was very great hunger, because of the keeping of this
their custom and observance; for although they who sought
after food worked hard, yet from the severity of the season
they could get but little; in consequence, the Indians who
kept me, left the island, and passed over in canoes to the
main, into some bays where are many oysters. For three
months in the year they eat nothing besides these, and drink
very bad water. ^ There is great want of wood: mosquitos
are in great plenty. The houses are of mats, set up on masses
of oyster shells, which they sleep upon, and in skins, should
they accidentally possess them. In this way we lived until
April [1529], when we went to the seashore, where we ate
blackberries all the month, during which time the Indians did
not omit to observe their areitos ^ and festivities.
Chapter 15
What befell us among the people of Malhado.
On an island of which I have spoken, they wished to make
us physicians without examination or inquiring for (li]>lonias.
Thoy cure by blowing upon the sick, and with that breath and
' Tabu of the mother-in-law by a youiip; man is quite conmion among the
Indians, hut refusal to see or to speak to the wife's father is very rare.
'On their food, compare ()vie<lo, p. r)<)2.
* An arriln, or (ircj/to, was a danc(> ceremony of the Arawak Indians of
the West Indies in which their traditions were recount(>(l in chants. Like
buliio, previously mcntioued, the word was now curried to the continent.
1529] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VAC A 53
the imposing of hands they cast out infirmity. They ordered
that we also should do this, and be of use to them in some way.
We laughed at what they did, telling them it was folly, that
we knew not how to heal. In consequence, they withheld
food from us until we should practise what they required.
Seeing our persistence, an Indian told me I knew not what I
uttered, in saying that what he knew availed nothing; for
stones and other matters growing about in the fields have vir-
tue, and that passing a pebble along the stomach would take
away pain and restore health, and certainly then we who were
extraordinary men must possess power and efficacy over all
other things. At last, finding ourselves in great want we were
constrained to obey; but without fear lest we should be
blamed for any failure or success.
Their custom is, on finding themselves sick to send for a
physician, and after he has applied the cure, they give him
not only all they have, but seek among their relatives for more
to give. The practitioner scarifies over the seat of pain, and
then sucks about the wound. They make cauteries with fire,
a remedy among them in high repute, which I have tried on
myself and found benefit from it. They afterwards blow on
the spot, and having finished, the patient considers that he
is relieved.
Our method was to bless the sick, breathing upon them,
and recite a Pater-noster and an Ave-Maria, praying with all
earnestness to God our Lord that he would give health and in-
fluence them to make us some good return. In his clemency
he willed that all those for whom we supplicated, should tell
the others that they were sound and in health, directly after
wc made the sign of the blessed cross over them. For this
the Indians treated us kindly; they deprived themselves of
food that they might give to us, and presented us with skins
and some trifles.
So protracted was the hunger wc there experienced, that
many times I was three days without eating. The natives
also endured as much ; and it appeared to me a thing impossi-
ble that life could l)e so jirolongcd, although afterwards I
54 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1529
found myself in greater hunger and necessity, which I shall
speak of farther on.
The Indians who had Alonzo del Castillo, Andres Dorantes,
and the others that remained ahve, were of a different tongue
and ancestry from these/ and went to the opposite shore of
the main to eat oysters, where they staid until the first day of
April, when they returned. The distance is two leagues in
the widest part. The island is half a league in breadth and
five leagues in length.^
The inhabitants of all this region go naked. The women
alone have any part of their persons covered, and it is with a
wool ^ that grows on trees. The damsels dress themselves in
deer-skin. The people are generous to each other of what
they possess. They have no chief. All that are of a lineage
keep together. They speak two languages ; those of one are
called Capoques, those of the other, Han.* They have a cus-
tom when they meet, or from time to time when they visit, of
remaining half an hour before they speak, weeping;^ and,
this over, he that is visited first rises and gives the other all
he has, which is received, and after a little while he carries it
away, and often goes without saying a word. They have
' These were evidently the Hans, of whom he speaks later.
* See p. 57, note 2. ^ Spanish moss.
* Important as it is in affording evidence of the route of Cabeza de Vaca
and his companions, it is not possible, with our present knowledge of the
former tribes of the coast region of Texas, to identify with certainty the vari-
ous Indians mentioned by the narrator. Whether the names given by him are
those which the natives applied to themselves or are those given by other
tribes is unknown, and as no remnant of this once considerable coast popula-
tion now exists, the only hope of the ultimate determination of these Indians
lies in the historical arcliivcs of Texas, Mexico, and Spain. The two lan-
guages and stocks represcnt(;d on tlic island of Malhado — the (^apo(^ue and
the Han — would s(;cm to ai)i)ly to the Karankawan and Attaca])an fam-
ilies respectively. The Capoques (called ('aho(iues on p. 87) are seemingly
identical with the Cocos who lived with the Mayaycs on tlie coast b(>t\vccn
the lirazosand (Colorado Rivers in 177S, ;uid with iJic ('okcs, who as late as
lK50are dcscrilx-d as a branch of the Koronks (Karankawa). Of th(> lian
people nothing more definite is known than that which is here recorded.
* Compare Harcia, Enmyn, 203, 172;i, and (Jatschet in Archaeological and
EthnoUxjiral l'aprr.s of the I'rnbody Museum, Harvard University, 1891, for
references to these "weepers."
1629] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 66
other strange customs ; but I have told the principal of them,
and the most remarkable, that I may pass on and further
relate what befell us.
Chapter 16
The Christians leave the island of Malhado.
After Dorantes and Castillo returned to the island, they
brought together the Christians, who were somewhat sepa-
rated, and found them in all to be fourteen. As I have said,
I was opposite on the main, where my Indians had taken me,
and where so great sickness had come upon me, that if any-
thing before had given me hopes of hfe, this were enough to
have entirely bereft me of them.
When the Christians heard of my condition, they gave
-an Indian the cloak of marten skins we had taken from the
cacique, as before related, to pass them over to where I was
that they might visit me. Twelve of them crossed ; for two
were so feeble that their comrades could not venture to bring
them. The names of those who came were Alonzo del Castillo,
Andres Dorantes, Diego Dorantes, Valdevieso,^ Estrada,
Tostado, Chaves, Gutierrez, Asturiano a clergyman, Diego de
Huelva, Estevanico the black, and Benitez ; and when they
reached the main land, they found another, who was one of
our company, named Francisco de Leon. The thirteen to-
gether followed along the coast. So soon as they had come
over, my Indians informed me of it, and that Hieron)ano de
Alvaniz ^ and Lope de Oviedo remained on the island. But
sickness prevented me from going with my companions or
even seeing them.
I was obliged to remain with the people belonging to the
island ^ more than a year, and because of the hard work they
put upon me and the harsh treatment, I resolved to flee from
' Diego Dorantes and Pedro de Valdivieso were cousins of Andrews Dor-
.antes. See p. 69.
' Called also Alaniz — the notary. « The Capoques.
66 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1530
them and go to those of Charruco, who inhabit the forests
and country of the main, the hfe I led being insupportable.
Besides much other labor, I had to get out roots from below
the water, and from among the cane where they grew in the
ground. From this employment I had my fingers so worn
that did a straw but touch them they would bleed. Many of
the canes are broken, so they often tore my flesh, and I had
to go in the midst of them with only the clothing on I have
mentioned.
Accordingly, I put myself to contriving how I might get
over to the other Indians, among whom matters turned some-
what more favorably for me. I set to trafficking, and strove
to make my employment profitable in the ways I could best
contrive, and by that means I got food and good treatment.
The Indians would beg me to go from one quarter to another
for things of which they have need ; for in consequence of in-
cessant hostilities, they cannot traverse the country, nor make
many exchanges. With my merchandise and trade I went
into the interior as far as I pleased, and travelled along the
coast forty or fifty leagues. The principal wares were cones and
other pieces of sea-snail, conchs used for cutting, and fruit
hke a bean of the highest value among them, which they use
as a medicine and employ in their dances and festivities.
Among other matters were sea-beads. Such were what I
carried into the interior; and in barter I got and brought
back skins, ochre with which they rub and color the face, hard
canes of which to make arrows, sinews, cement and flint for the
heads, and tassels of the hair of deer that by dyeing they make
red. This occupation suited me well; for the travel allowed
me liberty to go where I wished, I was not obliged to work,
and was not a slave. Wherever I went I received fair treat-
ment, and the Indians gave me to eat out of regard to my
commodities. My leading object, while journeying in this
business, was to find out the way by which I sliould go for-
ward, and 1 l)('('ame well known. The inhabitants were
pleased when tlicy saw me, and I had brought them what
they wanlcd; iiiid those who did not know me sought and
1533] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 57
desired the acquaintance, for my reputation. The hardships
that I underwent in this were long to tell, as well of peril and
privation as of storms and cold. Oftentimes they overtook
me alone and in the wilderness ; but I came forth from them
all by the great mercy of God our Lord. Because of them I
avoided pursuing the business in winter, a season in which
the natives themselves retire to their huts and ranches, torpid
and incapable of exertion.
I was in this country nearly six years, ^ alone among the
Indians, and naked like them. The reason why I remained so
long, was that I might take with me the Christian, Lope de
Oviedo, from the island; Alaniz, his companion, who had
been left with him by Alonzo del Castillo, and by Andres
Dorantes, and the rest, died soon after their departure; and
to get the survivor out from there, I went over to the island
every year, and entreated him that we should go, in the best
way we could contrive, in quest of Christians. He put me off
every year, saying in the next coming we would start. At
last I got him off, crossing him over the bay, and over four
rivers in the coast, ^ as he could not swim. In this way we
1 From 1528 to 1533.
^ The identification of Malhado Island is a difficult problem. On general
principles Galveston Island would seem to supply the conditions, in that it
more likely would have been inhabited by two distinct tribes, perhaps repre-
senting distinct linguistic families, as it is known to have been occupied by
Indians (the Karankawa) at a later period, besides having the smaller island
or islands behind it. But its size and the other conditions are not in favor of
the identification, for its length is at least twice as great as that of Malhado,
as given in the narrative, and it is also more than two leagues from its nearest
end to the first stream that the Spaniards crossed after departing from the is-
land (Oviedo, p. 593). Mr. James Newton Baskett suggests that the so-called
Velasco Island, next south of Oalveston Island, better fulfils the requirements,
as indeed it does topographically, except for the fact that it is really a penin-
sula. Aside from this, it possesses all the physical features, — length and width,
distance from the first stream to the southward, and having the necessary
island or islands (Mud and San Luis) off its northern shore. Accepting Mr.
Baskett's determination, it is not difficult to account for the four streams,
"very large and of rapid current," one of which flowed directly into the gulf.
Following the journey of the Spaniards from the island, down the coast, in
April, when the streams were swollen by flood, the first river was crossed in
two leagues after they had reached the mainland. This was evidently
Oyster Creek. Three leagues farther was another river, running so power-
58 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1533
went on with some Indians, until coming to a bay a league in
width, and every\\^here deep. From the appearance we sup-
posed it to be that which is called Espiritu Sancto. We met
some Indians on the other side of it, coming to visit ours, who
told us that beyond them were three men like us, and gave
their names. We asked for the others, and were told that
they were all dead of cold and hunger; that the Indians far-
ther on, of whom they were, for their diversion had killed
Diego Dorantes, Valdevieso, and Diego de Huelva,^ because
they left one house for another ; and that other Indians, their
neighbors with whom Captain Dorantes now was, had in con-
sequence of a dream, killed Esquivel and Mendez.^ We asked
fully that one of the rafts was driven to sea more than a league. This fully
agrees ^nth the Brazos, which indeed is the only large stream of the land-
locked Texas coast that flows directly into the gulf. Four leagues still
farther they reached another river, where the boat of the comptroller and the
commissary was found. From this fact it may be assumed that this stream
also flowed into the open gulf, a condition satisfied by Caney Creek. The
San Bernardo may well have escaped notice in travelling near the coast,
from the fact that it flows into Cedar Lake. Five or six leagues more brought
them to another large river (the Colorado), which the Indians carried them
across in a canoe ; and in four days they reached the bay of Espiritu Santo
(La Vaca Bay?). "The bay was broad, nearly a league across. The side
toward Panuco [the south] forms a point running out nearly a quarter of a
league, having on it some large white sand-stacks which it is reasonable to
suppose can be descried from a distance at sea, and were consequently
thought to mark the River Espiritu Santo." After two days of exertion they
succeeded in crossing the bay in a broken canoe ; and at the end of twelve
leagues they came to a small bay not more than the breadth of a river.
Here they found Figueroa, the only survivor of the four who had attempted
to return to Mexico. The distance from Malhado Island is given as sixty
leagues, consequently the journey from the Colorado to the bay now reached,
whi<'h seems to be no other than San Antonio Bay, covered thirty-two to
thirty-three leagues. Lofty sand dunes, such as those seen on what we regard
as perhaps La Vaca Bay, occur on San Antonio Bay. See United States
Coast Survey Report for 1859, p. 325. The western shore of the bay is a blufif
or bank of twenty feet. " At one place on this side, a singular range of sand-
hills, known as the Sand-mounds, approaches the shore. The highest peak
i.s about sovcnty-fivo feet above the bay."
' These were all membors of Dorantes' party who visited Cabeza de Vaca
when he was ill on the mainland. See p. 55.
' lOsquivcl was oik; of the party under Enrri(|uez (he comptroller; Men-
dcz was one of the go(j(l swimmers who started from tlu; island in the hope of
reaching I'^iuuro.
1533] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 59
how the hving were situated, and they answered that they
were very ill used, the boys and some of the Indian men being
very idle, out of cruelty gave them many kicks, cuffs, and
blows with sticks ; that such was the life they led.
We desired to be informed of the country ahead, and of
the subsistence : they said there was nothing to eat, and that
it was thin of people, who suffered of cold, having no skins or
other things to cover them. They told us also if we wished
to see those three Christians, two days from that time the
Indians who had them would come to eat walnuts a league
from there on the margin of that river; and that we might
know what they told us of the ill usage to be true, they slapped
my companion and beat him with a stick, and I was not left
without my portion. Many times they threw lumps of mud
at us, and every day they put their arrows to our hearts, say-
ing that they were inclined to kill us in the way that they had
destroyed our friends. Lope Oviedo, my comrade, in fear
said that he wished to go back with the women of those who
had crossed the bay with us, the men having remained some
distance behind. I contended strongly against his returning,
and urged my objections; but in no way could I keep him.
So he went back, and I remained alone with those savages.
They are called Quevenes,^ and those with whom he returned,
Deaguanes.^
Chapter 17
The coming of Indians with Andres Dor antes, Castillo, and
Estevanico.
Two days after Lope de Oviedo left, the Indians who had
Alonzo del Castillo and Andres Dorantes, came to the place of
which we had been told, to eat walnuts. These are ground
with a kind of small grain, and this is the subsistence of the
' Guevenes in the edition of 1542 (Bandelier translation). There is reason
to beheve that these people may have been identical with the Cohani, who
lived west of the Colorado River of Texas in the first quarter of the nine-
teenth century. * Dogucnes in ch. 26.
60 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1533
people two months in the year without any other thing ; but
even the nuts they do not have every season, as the tree pro-
duces in alternate years. The fruit is the size of that in Ga-
licia ; the trees are very large and numerous.
An Indian told me of the arrival of the Christians, and
that if I wished to see them I must steal away and flee to the
point of a wood to which he directed me, and that as he and
others, kindred of his, should pass by there to visit those
Indians, they would take me with them to the spot where the
Christians were. I determined to attempt this and trust to
them, as they spoke a language distinct from that of the
others. I did so, and the next day they left, and found me
in the place that had been pointed out, and accordingly took
me with them.
When I arrived near their abode, Andres Dorantes came
out to see who it could be, for the Indians had told him that
a Christian was coming. His astonishment was great when
he saw me, as they had for many a day considered me dead,
and the natives had said that I was. We gave many thanks
at seeing ourselves together, and this was a day to us of the
greatest pleasure we had enjoyed in life. Having come to
where Castillo was, they inquired of me where I was going.
I told them my purpose was to reach the land of Christians, I
being then in search and pursuit of it. Andres Dorantes said
that for a long time he had entreated Castillo and Estevanico
to go forward ; but that they dared not venture, because they
knew not how to swim, and greatly dreaded the rivers and
bays they should have to cross, there being many in that
country. Thus the Almighty had been pleased to preserve
me through many trials and diseases, conducting me in the
end to the fellowship of those who had abandoned me, that I
might lead them over the bays and rivers that olistructed our
jirogress. They advised me on no account to let the natives
know or have a susj)icion of my desire to go on, else they would
destroy inc; and that for success it would be necessary for me
to reriiiiin (|iii<'t until the end of six months, when coiiu's the
season in which these Indians go to another part of the coun-
1533] NAREATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 61
try to eat prickly pears/ People would arrive from parts
farther on, bringing bows to barter and for exchange, with
whom, after making our escape, we should be able to go on
their return. Having consented to this course, I remained.
The prickly pear is the size of a hen's egg, vermilUon and
black in color, and of agreeable flavor. The natives live on
it three months in the year, having nothing beside.
I was given as a slave to an Indian, with whom was Do-
rantes. He was blind of one eye, as were also his wife and
sons, and likewise another who was with him; so that of a
fashion they were all blind. These are called Marians; ^ Cas-
tillo was with another neighboring people, called Yguases.^
WTiile here the Christians related to me how they had left
the island of Malhado, and found the boat in which the comp-
troller and the friars had sailed, bottom up on the seashore;
and that going along crossing the rivers, which are four,^ very
large and of rapid current, their boats ^ were swept away and
carried to sea, where four of their number were drowned;
that thus they proceeded until they crossed the bay, getting
over it with great difficulty, and fifteen leagues thence they
came to another. By the time they reached this, they had
lost two companions in the sixty leagues they travelled, and
those remaining were nearly dead, in all the while having eaten
nothing but crabs and rockweed.^ Arrived at this bay, they
found Indians eating mulberries, who, when they saw them,
went to a cape opposite. While contriving and seeking for
some means to cross the bay, there came over to them an
Indian, and a Christian whom they recognized to be Figueroa,
* The fruit of the Opuntia cactus, of which there are about two hundred
species.
^ Mariames in ch. 26, and in the edition of 1542. These people are not
identified. They were possibly of Karankawan or Coahuiltecan affinity, but
there is no direct evidence of this.
' Iguaces in the edition of 1542. ■• See p. 57, note 2.
^ Rafts built for the purpose of crossing the streams.
' Verba pedrera: "Of whic^h glass is made in Spain." Oviodo, p. 593.
Doubtless kelp. It was burned and from the product glass and soap were
formerly manufactured. It is still a source of manufacture of carbonate of
soda and iodine.
62 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1528
one of the four we had sent forward from the island of Mal-
hado. He there recounted how he and his companions had
got as far as that place, when two of them and an Indian ^
died of cold and hunger, being exposed in the most inclement
of seasons. He and Mendez were taken by the Indians, and
while with them his associate fled, going as well as he could
in the direction of Panuco, and the natives pursuing, put him
to death.
While hving with these Indians, Figueroa learned from
them that there was a Christian among the Mariames, who
had come over from the opposite side, and he found him
among the Quevenes. This was Hernando de Esquivel, a na-
tive of Badajoz, who had come in company with the com-
missary. From him Figueroa learned the end to which the
Governor, the comptroller, and the others had come. Esqui-
vel told him that the comptroller and the friars had upset
their boat at the confluence of the rivers,^ and that the boat
of the Governor, moving along the coast, came with its people
to land. Narvdez went in the boat until arriving at that great
bay, where he took in the people, and, crossing them to the
opposite point, returned for the comptroller, the friars, and the
rest. And he related that being disembarked, the Governor
had recalled the commission the comptroller held as his lieu-
tenant, assigning the duties to a captain with him named Pan-
toja: that Narvaez stayed the night in his boat, not wishing
to come on shore, having a cockswain with him and a page
who was unwell, there being no water nor anything to eat on
board; that at midnight, the boat having only a stone for
anchor, the north wind blowing strongly took her unobserved
to sea, and they never knew more of their commander.
The others then went along the coast, and as they were
arrested by a wide extent of water, they made rafts with much
labor, on which they crossed to the opposite shore. Going on,
they arrived at a point of woods on the banks of the water
' Alvarf) V(:runu(h-A, the Portuguese sailor and carpenter; Astudillo, the
native of Zafra; and the Indian from the island of "Auia" (Cuba).
' The Mississippi delta.
1529] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 63
where were Indians, who, as they saw them coming, put their
houses ^ into their canoes and went over to the opposite side.
The Christians, in consideration of the season, for it was now
the month of November, stopped at this wood, where they
found water and fuel, some crabs and shell-fish. They began,
one by one, to die of cold and hunger; and, more than this,
Pantoja, who was Lieutenant-Governor, used them severely,
which Soto-Mayor (the brother of Vasco Porcallo, of the
island of Cuba), who had come with the armament as camp-
master, not being able to bear, had a struggle with him, and,
giving him a blow with a club, Pantoja was instantly killed.
Thus did the number go on diminishing. The living dried
the flesh of them that died ; and the last that died was Soto-
Mayor, when Esquivel preserved his flesh, and, feeding on it,
sustained existence until the first of March, when an Indian
of those that had fled, coming to see if they were alive, took
Esquivel with him. While he was in the possession of the
native, Figueroa saw him, and learned all that had been re-
lated. He besought Esquivel to come with him, that together
they might pursue the way to Panuco; to which Esquivel
would not consent, saying that he had understood from the
friars that Panuco had been left behind : ^ so he remained there
and Figueroa went to the coast where he was accustomed to
live.
Chapter 18
The story Figueroa recounted from Esquivel.
This account was all given by Figueroa, according to the
relation he received from Esquivel, and from him through the
others it came to me; whence may be seen and understood
the fate of the armament, and the individual fortunes of the
greater part of the people. Figueroa said, moreover, that if
* Doubtless consisting of mats fastened to a framework.
^ That is, he supposed that he was then somewhere on the coast of central
Mexico.
64 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1529
the Christians should at any time go in that direction, it were
possible they might see Esquivel, for he knew that he had
fled from the Indian with whom he was, to the Mariames,
who were neighbors. After Figueroa had finished telling the
story, he and the Asturian made an attempt to go to other
Indians farther on; but as soon as they who had the Chris-
tians discovered it, they followed, and beating them severely,
stripped the Asturian and shot an arrow through his arm.
They finally escaped by flight.
The other Christians remained, and prevailed on the
Indians to receive them as slaves. In their service they were
abused as slaves never were, nor men in any condition have
ever been. Not content with frequently buffeting them, strik-
ing them with sticks, and pulling out their beard for amuse-
ment, they killed three of the six for only going from one
house to another. These were the persons I have named be-
fore : Diego Dorantes, Valdivieso, and Diego de Huelva : and
the three that remained looked forward to the same fate.
Not to endure this life, Andres Dorantes fled, and passed to
the Mariames, the people among whom Esquivel tarried.
They told him that having had Esquivel there, he wished to
run away because a woman dreamed that a son of hers would
kill him ; and that they followed after, and slew him. They
showed Dorantes his sword, beads, and book, with other
things that had been his.^
Thus in obedience to their custom they take life, destroy-
ing even their male children on account of dreams. They cast
away their daughters at birth, and cause them to be eaten by
dogs. The reason of their doing this, as they state, is because
all the nations of the country are their foes ; and as they have
unceasing war with them, if they were to marry away their
daughters, they would so greatly multiply their enemies that
th(;y must be overcome and made slaves ; thus they prefer to
destroy all, rather than that from them should come a single
enemy. We asked why they did not themselves marry them;
' Sen tho I'xtrucis from tho IcKcr of tlu; survivors (prcNscrvcd byOviodo)
appended to this cliapter.
1532] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 65
and they said it would be a disgustful thing to marry among
relatives, and far better to kill than to give them either to
their kindred or to their foes.
This is likewise the practice of their neighbors the Yguazes,
but of no other people of that country. When the men would
marry, they buy the women of their enemies : the price paid
for a wife is a bow, the best that can be got, with two arrows :
if it happens that the suitor should have no bow, then a net
a fathom in length and another in breadth. They kill their
male children, and buy those of strangers. The marriage
state continues no longer than while the parties are satisfied,
and they separate for the slightest cause. Dorantes was
among this people, and after a few days escaped.
Castillo and Estevanico went inland to the Yguazes. This
people are universally good archers and of a fine symmetry,
although not so large as those we left. They have a nipple and
a hp bored.^ Their support is principally roots, of two or
three kinds, and they look for them over the face of all the
country. The food is poor and gripes the persons who eat it.
The roots require roasting two days: many are very bitter,
and withal difficult to be dug. They are sought the distance
of two or three leagues, and so great is the want these people
experience, that they cannot get through the year without
them. Occasionally they kill deer, and at times take fish;
but the quantity is so small and the famine so great, that
they eat spiders and the eggs of ants, worms, lizards, sala-
manders, snakes, and vipers that kill whom they strike; and
they eat earth and wood, and all that there is, the dung of
deer, and other things that I omit to mention ; and I honestly
believe that were there stones in that land they would eat
them. They save the bones of the fishes they consume, of
snakes and other animals, that they may afterwards beat
them together and cat the powder. The men bear no bur-
thens, nor carry anything of weight ; such are borne by women
and old men who are of the least esteem. They have not so
' Evidently for the insertion of canes, as was the custom of the Capoques
and Hans of the island of Malliado.
66 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1533
great love for their children as those we have before spoken
of/ Some among them are accustomed to sin against nature.
The women work verj^ hard, and do a great deal ; of the twenty-
four hours they have only six of repose ; the rest of the night
they pass in heating the ovens to bake those roots they eat.
At daybreak they begin to dig them, to bring wood and water
to their houses and get in readiness other things that may be
necessary. The majority of the people are great thieves; for
though they are free to divide with each other, on turning the
head, even a son or a father will take what he can. They are
great liars, and also great drunkards, which they became from
the use of a certain liquor.'
These Indians are so accustomed to nmning, that without
rest or fatigue they follow a deer from morning to night. In
this way they kill many. They pursue them until tired down,
and sometimes overtake them in the race. Their houses are
of matting, placed upon four hoops. They carry them on
the back, and remove every two or three days in search of
food. Nothing is planted for support. They are a merry
people, considering the hunger they suffer; for they never
cease, notwithstanding, to observe their festivities and areytos.
To them the happiest part of the year is the season of eating
prickly pears ; they have hunger then no longer, pass all the
time in dancing, and eat day and night. While these last,
they squeeze out the juice, open and set them to dry, and
when dry they are put in hampers like figs. These they keep
to eat on their way back. The peel is beaten to powder.
It occurred to us many times while we were among this
peopk', and there was no food, to be three or four days without
eating, when they, to revive our spirits, would tell us not to be
sad, that soon there would be prickly pears when we should
eat a pkmty and drink of the juice, when our bellies would be
very big and W(! should l)e content and joyful, having no hun-
' The Capoquos of Malhado Tslaiul.
• It is not imi)roI)al)lc tliat tlic iKiiior was made from tlio poyotc, or mos-
<:i\ button, still used hy tin; Kiowa, ( "oiiiaiu-hc, and olIuTs to prodiico stupo-
fac-tioii. ^m Mooimy in Scvenlccnlh h'rporl oj the liuraiu of Anuricati I'Jlli-
nolotjy, ISIW.
1533] KAREATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 67
ger. From the time they first told us this, to that at which
the earliest were ripe enough to be eaten, was an interval of
five or six months; so having tarried until the lapse of this
period, and the season had come, we went to eat the fruit.
We found mosquitos of three sorts, and all of them abun-
dant in every part of the country. They poison and inflame,
and during the greater part of the summer gave us great
annoyance. As a protection we made fires, encirchng the
people with them, burning rotten and wet wood to produce
smoke without flame. The remedy brought another trouble,
and the night long we did little else than shed tears from the
smoke that came into our eyes, besides feeling intense heat
from the many fires, and if at any time we went out for re-
pose to the seaside and fell asleep, we were reminded with
blows to make up the fires. The Indians of the interior have
a different method, as intolerable, and worse even than the
one I have spoken of, which is to go with brands in the hand
firing the plains and forests within their reach, that the mos-
quitos may fly away, and at the same time to drive out liz-
ards and other like things from the earth for them to eat.
They are accustomed also to kill deer by encircling them
with fires. The pasturage is taken from the cattle by burn-
ing, that necessity may drive them to seek it in places where
it is desired they should go. They encamp only where there
are wood and water; and sometimes all carry loads of these
when they go to hunt deer, which are usually found where
neither is to be got. On the day of their arrival, they kill
the deer and other animals which they can, and consume all
the Walter and all the wood in cooking and on the fires they
make to relieve them of mosquitos. They remain the next
day to get something to sustain them on their return; and
when they go, such is their state from those insects that they
appear to have the affliction of holy Lazarus. In this way do
they appease their hunger, two or three times in the year,
at the cost I have mentioned. From my own experience, I
can state there is no torment known in this world that can
equal it.
68 SPANISH EXPLOREES [1533
Inland are many deer, birds, and beasts other than
those I have spoken of. Cattle ^ come as far as here. Three
times I have seen them and eaten of their meat. I think they
are about the size of those in Spain. They have small horns
like the cows of Morocco ; the hair is very long and flocky like
the merino's. Some are tawny, others black. To my judg-
ment the flesh is finer and fatter than that of this country.
Of the skins of those not full grown the Indians make blank-
ets, and of the larger they make shoes and bucklers. They
come as far as the sea-coast of Florida, from a northerly di-
rection, ranging through a tract of more than four hundred
leagues; and throughout the whole region over which they
run, the people who inhabit near, descend and live upon
them, distributing a vast many hides into the interior country.
[Buckingham Smith introduces the following translation
from the Letter (Oviedo, pp. 594-598) as throwing important
Ught on the occurrences related in the foregoing chapter.
F. W. H.]
"Thus ended the account of Figueroa, without his being able to
add more to it, than that Esquivel was about there in the possession
of some natives, and they might see him in a little while ; but a month
afterwards, it was known that he no longer lived, for having gone
from the natives, they had followed after and put him to death.
Figueroa tarried a few moments, long enough to relate the sad news.
The Indian who brought him would not permit him to remain.
Asturiano, the clergyman, and a young man being the only ones who
could swim, accompanied them for the purpose of returning with
fish which they were promised, as likewise that they should he brought
back over that bay ; but when the Indians found them at their houses,
they would neither bring them nor let them return; on the contrary,
they put their houses into their canoes and took the two Christians
with them, saying that they would soon come back. . . .
" The eight <'oin|)unions remained that day to appease their hun-
ger, and the next morning they saw two Indians of a rancho coming
over the water to place their dwellings on the hither side. The pur-
pose was to live on blackberries that grow in some places along the
' 'J'lii.s is tin; first printed rofcrcnco to the bison.
1529] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 69
coast, which they seek at a season they know full well, and although
precarious, they promise a food that supports life. They called to
the Indians, who came as to persons they thought lightly of, taking
some part of what they possessed almost by force. The Christians
besought the natives to set them over, which they did in a canoe,
taking them to their houses near by, and at dark gave them a small
quantity of fish. They went out the next day for more, and returned
at night, giving them a part of what they had caught. The day fol-
lowing they moved off with the Christians and never after were the
two seen whom the other Indians had taken away.
" At last the natives, weary of seeking food for their guests, turned
away five, that they should go to some Indians who they said were to
be found in another bay, six leagues farther on. Alonzo del Castillo
w^ent there with Pedro de Valdivieso, cousin of Andres Dorantes, and
another, Diego de Huelva, where they remained a long time ; the two
others went down near the coast, seeking relief, where they died, as
Dorantes states, who found the bodies, one of whom, Diego Dorantes,
was his cousin. The two hidalgos and the negro remaining in that
rancho, sufficed for the use of the natives, to bring back-loads of wood
and water as slaves. After three or four days however, these like-
wise were turned off, when for some time they wandered about lost,
without hope of relief ; and going naked among marshes, having been
previously despoiled one night of their clothing, they came upon those
dead.
" They continued the route until they found some Indians, with
whom Andres Dorantes remained. A cousin of his, one of the three
who had gone on to the bay where they stopped, came over from the
opposite shore, and told him that the swimmers who went from them
had passed in that direction, having their clothes taken from them
and they much bruised about the head with sticks because they would
not remain; still though beaten and stripped, they had gone on for
the sake of the oath they had taken, never to stop even if death stood
in the path, before coming to a country of Christians. Dorantes
states that he saw in the rancho where he was, the clothes belonging
to the clergyman and to one of the swimmers, with a breviary or
prayer book. Valdivieso returned, and a couple of days afterwards
was killed, because he wished to flee, and likewise in a little time
Diego de Huelva, because he forsook one lodge-house for another.
" The Christians were there made slaves, forced with more cruelty
to serve than the Moor would have used. Besides going stark naked
and bare-footed over the coast burning in summer like fire, their
continual occupation was bringing wood and water on the back, or
whatever the Indians needed, and dragging canoes over inundated
grounds in hot weather.
TO SPA^^ISH EXPLOREKS [1530
" These natives eat nothing the year round but fish, and of that
not much. They experience far less hunger however, than the in-
habitants inland among whom the Spaniards afterwards lived.
The food often fails, causing frequent removals, or otherwise they
starve. . . . They have finger nails that for any ordinary purpose
are knives, and are their principal arms among themselves. . . .
"The Spaniards hved here fourteen months, from May to the
May ensuing of the year 1530, and to the middle of the month of
August, when Andres Dorantes, being at a point that appeared most
favorable for going, commended himself to God, and went off at mid-
day. . . . Castillo tarried among that hard people a year and a half
later, until an opportunity presented for starting; but on arriving
he found only the negro ; Dorantes, finding these Indians unbearably
cruel, had gone back more than twenty leagues to a river near the
bay of Espiritu Sancto, among those who had killed Esquivel, the
solitary one that had escaped from the boats of the Governor and
Alonzo Enrriques, slain, as they were told, because a woman had
dreamed some absurdity. The people of this country have belief
in dreams, their only superstition. On account of them they will
even kill their children ; and this hidalgo Dorantes states, that in the
course of four years he had been a witness to the killing or burying
alive of eleven or twelve young males, and rarely do they let a girl
live. . . .
" Andres Dorantes passed ten months among this people, enduring
much privation with continual labor, and in fear of being killed. ..."
Chapter 19
Our separation by the Indians.
When the six months were over, I had to spend with the
Christians to put in execution the plan we had concerted, the
Indians went after prickly pears, the place at which they
f^r(!W boinf]^ thirty leagues off; ' and when we approached the
point of night, those among whom we were, (quarrelled about
a woman. After striking with fists, beating with sticks and
bruising heads in gn^at anger, each took his lodge and went
' In an article; on th(! wanderings of Cahoza do Vaca, by Pon(on and
McFarland (7Vj«.s Ilistorirat AsNorititia?} (Quarterly, I. 17(), map, 1S9S), the
northern hniit, of the caclii.s heh is placed on a iiiu; extending irregularly
westward from th(! mouth of the Colorado River of Texas.
1534] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VAC A 71
his way, whence it became necessary that the Christians
should also separate, and in no way could we come together
until another year.
In this time I passed a hard life, caused as much by hunger
as ill usage. Three times I was obliged to run from my mas-
ters, and each time they went in pursuit and endeavored to
slay me ; but God our Lord in his mercy chose to protect and
preserve me ; and when the season of prickly pears returned,
we again came together in the same place. After we had
arranged our escape, and appointed a time, that very day the
Indians separated and all went back. I told my comrades I
would wait for them among the prickly-pear plants until the
moon should be full. This day was the first of September,^
and the first of the moon ; and I said that if in this time they
did not come as we had agreed, I would leave and go alone.
So we parted, each going with his Indians. I remained with
mine until the thirteenth day of the moon, having determined
to flee to others when it should be full.
At this time Andres Dorantes arrived with Estevanico
and informed me that they had left Castillo with other Indians
near by, called Lanegados ; ^ that they had encountered great
obstacles and wandered about lost; that the next day the
Indians, among whom we were, would move to where Castillo
was, and were going to unite with those who held him and
become friends, having been at war until then, and that in
this way we should recover Castillo.
' 1534. Cabeza de Vaca had evidently lost his reckoning (perhaps dur-
ing his illness), as the date of the new moon in this year was September 8.
^ Anagados in the 1542 edition. The tribe cannot be identified, although
it may be well known under some other name. Anegado is Spanish for " over-
flowed," "inundated," but it is by no means certain that the Spaniards ap-
plied this name to them. Buckingham Smith suggests that they may have
been the Nacadoch (Nacogdoches), but this does not seem probable, as the
latter tribe lived very far to the northeast of the point where the Spaniards
now were, that is, some thirty leagues inland from the coast between latitude
28° and 29°. The name sounds more like Ndddko, the designation which the
Anadarcos give themselves. This Caddoan tribe, when first known, lived
high up on the Brazos and the Trinity, but in 1812 their village was on the
Sabine. They are now incori)oratcd with the Caddo in Oklahoma.
72 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1534
We had thirst all the time we ate the pears, which we
quenched with their juice. We caught it in a hole made in
the earth, and when it was full we drank until satisfied. It
is sweet, and the color of must. In this manner they collect
it for lack of vessels. There are many kinds of prickly pears,
among them some very good, although they all appeared to
me to be so, hunger never having given me leisure to choose,
nor to reflect upon which were the best.
Nearly all these people drink rain-water, which lies about
in spots. Although there are rivers, as the Indians never
have fixed habitations, there are no familiar or known places
for getting water. Throughout the country are extensive
and beautiful plains with good pasturage; and I think it
would be a very fruitful region were it worked and inhabited
by civilized men. We nowhere saw mountains.
These Indians told us that there was another people next
in advance of us, called Camones,^ living towards the coast,
and that they had killed the people who came in the boat of
Penalosa and Tellez, who arrived so feeble that even while
being slain they could offer no resistance, and were all de-
stroyed. We were shown their clothes and arms, and were
told that the boat lay there stranded. This, the fifth boat,
had remained till then unaccounted for. We have already
stated how the boat of the Governor had been carried out to
sea, and that of the comptroller and the friars had been cast
away on the coast, of which Esquevel ^ narrated the fate of
the men. We have once told how the two boats in which
Castillo, I, and Dorantes came, foundered near the Island of
Malhado.
Chapter 20
Of our escape.
The second day after we had moved, wc commended our-
selves to God and set forth with speed, trusting, for all the
' Camolrs in eh. 20. Thoy evidently lived toward the northeast,
north of Malhado Island; unidcnlified.
' Esq ui vol.
1534] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 73
lateness of the season and that the prickly pears were about
ending, with the mast which remained in the woods [field],
we might still be enabled to travel over a large territory.
Hurrying on that day in great dread lest the Indians should
overtake us, we saw some smokes, and going in the direction
of them we arrived there after vespers, and found an Indian.
He ran as he discovered us coming, not being willing to wait
for us. We sent the negro ^ after him, when he stopped, seeing
him alone. The negro told him we were seeking the people
who made those fires. He answered that their houses were
near by, and he would guide us to them. So we followed him.
He ran to make known our approach, and at sunset we saw
the houses. Before our arrival, at the distance of two cross-
bow shots from them, we found four Indians, who waited for
us and received us well. We said in the language of the
Mariames, that we were coming to look for them. They were
evidently pleased with our company, and took us to their
dwellings. Dorantes and the negro were lodged in the house
of a physician,^ Castillo and myself in that of another.
These people speak a different language, and are called
Avavares.^ They are the same that carried bows to those
with whom we formerly lived,* going to traffic with them, and
although they are of a different nation and tongue, they
understand the other language. They arrived that day with
their lodges, at the place where we found them. The com-
munity directly brought us a great many prickly pears, having
heard of us before, of our cures, and of the wonders our Lord
worked by us, which, although there had been no others, were
adequate to open ways for us through a country poor like
this, to afford us people where oftentimes there are none, and
to lead us through immediate dangers, not permitting us to
be killed, sustaining us under great want, and putting into
' Est^vanico.
^A shaman, or "medicine-man."
' Chavavares in ch. 26, in which it is said that they joined the Mariames.
Their affinity is unknown. Tlie statement that the Spaniards are again
among these tribes suggests that they were now pursuing a northerly direction.
* The Mariames. See note to ch. 26, respecting these tribes.
74 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1534
those nations the heart of kindness, as we shall relate here-
after.
Chapter 21
Our cure of some of the afflicted.
That same night of our arrival, some Indians came to Cas-
tillo and told him that they had great pain in the head, beg-
ging him to cure them. After he made over them the sign of
the cross, and commended them to God, they instantly said
that all the pain had left, and went to their houses bringing
us prickly pears, with a piece of venison, a thing to us Uttle
known. As the report of Castillo's performances spread, many
came to us that night sick, that we should heal them, each
bringing a piece of venison, until the quantity became so great
we knew not where to dispose of it. We gave many thanks
to God, for every day went on increasing his compassion and
his gifts. After the sick were attended to, they began to dance
and sing, making themselves festive, until sunrise; and be-
cause of our arrival, the rejoicing was continued for three days.
WTien these were ended, we asked the Indians about the
country farther on, the people we should find in it, and of the
subsistence there. They answered us, that throughout all the
region prickly-pear plants abounded; but the fruit was now
gathered and all the people had gone back to their houses.
They said the country was very cold, and there were few skins.
Reflecting on this, and that it was already winter, we resolved
to pass the season with these Indians.
Five days after our arrival, all the Indians went off, taking
us wilh them to gather more prickly pears, where there were
other pcoi)les six'uking dilTerent tongues. After walking five
days in great hunger, since on the way was no manner of
fruit, we came to a river ' and put up our houses. We then
went to seek the i)roduct of certain trees, which is like ]icas.
As there are no i)aths in the country, I was detained some
' This may hjivo lx;oii the San Antonio or the San Marcos-Guadalupe.
1534] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 75
time. The others returned, and coming to look for them in
the dark I got lost. Thank God I found a burning tree, and
in the warmth of it I passed the cold of that night. In the
morning, loading myself with sticks, and taking two brands
with me, I returned to seek them. In this manner I wandered
five days, ever with my fire and load; for if the wood had
failed me where none could be found, as many parts are with-
out any, though I might have sought sticks elsewhere, there
would have been no fire to kindle them. This was all the pro-
tection I had against cold, while walking naked as I was born.
Going to the low woods near the rivers, I prepared myself for
the night, stopping in them before sunset. I made a hole in
the ground and threw in fuel which the trees abundantly
afforded, collected in good quantity from those that were
fallen and dry. About the whole I made four fires, in the
form of a cross, which I watched and made up from time to
time. I also gathered some bundles of the coarse straw that
there abounds, with which I covered myself in the hole. In
this way I was sheltered at night from cold. On one occa-
sion while I slept, the fire fell upon the straw, when it began
to blaze so rapidly that notwithstanding the haste I made to
get out of it, I carried some marks on my hair of the danger
to which I was exposed. All this while I tasted not a mouth-
ful, nor did I find anything I could eat. My feet were bare
and bled a good deal. Through the mercy of God, the wind
did not blow from the north in all this time, otherwise I should
have died.
At the end of the fifth day I arrived on the margin of a
river, ^ where I found the Indians, who with the Christians,
had considered me dead, supposing that I had been stung by
a viper. All were rejoiced to see me, and most so were my
companions. They said that up to that time they had strug-
gled with great hunger, which was the cause of their not hav-
ing sought me. At night, all gave me of their prickly pears,
and the next morning we set out for a place where they were
' Presumably the river last mentioned, where they had erected their
shelters.
76 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1534
in large quantity, with which we satisfied our great craving,
the Christians rendering thanks to our Lord that He had ever
given us His aid.
Chapter 22
The coming of other sick to ws the next day.
The next day morning, many Indians came, and brought
five persons who had cramps and were very unwell. They
came that Castillo might cure them. Each offered his bow
and arrows, which Castillo received. At sunset he blessed
them, commending them to God our Lord, and we all prayed
to Him the best we could to send health; for that He knew
there was no other means, than through Him, by which this
people would aid us, so we could come forth from this un-
happy existence. He bestowed it so mercifully, that, the
morning having come, all got up well and sound, and were as
strong as though they never had a disorder. It caused great
admiration, and inclined us to render many thanks to God
our Lord, whose goodness we now clearly beheld, giving us
firm hopes that He would liberate and bring us to where we
might serve Him. For myself I can say that I ever had
trust in His providence that He would lead me out from that
captivity, and thus I always spoke of it to my companions.
The Indians having gone and taken their friends with
them in health, we departed for a place at which others were
eating f)rickly pears. These people are called Cuthalchuches ^
and Mahcones, who speak different tongues. Adjoining them
were others called Coayos and Susolas, who were on the oppo-
site side, others called Atayos,^ who were at war with the Su-
' C^iiltalchulchos in oh. 26 (q. v.), and in the edition of 1542.
' These were |)ossihly the Adai, or Adaize, although their country was
in northeastern Texas, about Red River and the Sabine; nevertheless they
may have wandered very far during the priekly-pear season. There is evi-
dence that in 171>2, fourteen families of the Adai migrated to a region south
of San Antonio de H<';jar, where they were merged with the tribes living
thereabout. The main body, although greatly reduced, did not leave their
1534] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 77
solas, exchanging arrow shots daily. As through all the coun-
try they talked only of the wonders which God our Lord
worked through us, persons came from many parts to seek
us that we might cure them. At the end of the second day
after our arrival, some of the Susolas came to us and besought
Castillo that he would go to cure one wounded and others
sick, and they said that among them was one very near his
end. Castillo was a timid practitioner, most so in serious
and dangerous cases, believing that his sins would weigh, and
some day hinder him in performing cures. The Indians told
me to go and heal them, as they liked me ; they remembered
that I had ministered to them in the walnut grove when they
gave us nuts and skins, which occurred when I first joined
the Christians. So I had to go with them, and Dorantes ac-
companied me with Estevanico. Coming near their huts, I
perceived that the sick man we went to heal was dead. Many
persons were around him weeping, and his house was prostrate,
a sign that the one who dwelt in it is no more.^ When I ar-
rived I found his eyes rolled up, and the pulse gone, he hav-
ing all the appearances of death, as they seemed to me and as
Dorantes said. I removed a mat with which he was covered,
and supplicated our Lord as fervently as I could, that He
would be pleased to give health to him, and to the rest that
might have need of it. After he had been blessed and breathed
upon many times, they brought me his bow, and gave me a
basket of pounded prickly pears.
The natives took me to cure many others who were sick of
a stupor, and presented me two more baskets of prickly pears,
which I gave to the Indians who accompanied us. We then
went back to our lodgings. Those to whom we gave the fruit
tarried, and returned at night to their houses, reporting that
old home until the nineteenth century, when the remnant, who had been
missionized, were incorporated with their kindred the Caddo.
' It is not uncommon for all the possessions of an Indian, including his
dwelling, to be destroyed at the time of his death. In recent times this custom
has had the tendency, as among the Navahos, for cxami^lc, to cause them
to adhere to their simple aboriginal form of dwellings instead of to go to the
trouble of erecting substantial houses that might have to be demolished.
78 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1535
he who had been dead and for whom I WToiight before them,
had got up whole and walked, had eaten and spoken with them
and that all to whom I had ministered were well and much
pleased. This caused great wonder and fear, and throughout
the land the people talked of nothing else. All to whom the
fame of it reached, came to seek us that we should cure them
and bless their children.
^Mlen the Cuthalchuches, who were in company with our
Indians, were about to return to their owti country, they left
us all the prickly pears they had, without keeping one : they
gave us flints of very high value there, a palm and a half in
length, with which they cut. They begged that we would
remember them and pray to God that they might always be
well, and we promised to do so. They left, the most satisfied
beings in the world, having given us the best of all they had.
We remained with the Avavares eight months, reckoned
by the number of moons. In all this time people came to
seek us from many parts, and they said that most truly we
were children of the sun. Dorantes and the negro to this time
had not attempted to practise ; but because of the great solici-
tation made by those coming from different parts to find us, we
all became physicians, although in being venturous and bold
to attempt the performance of any cure, I was the most re-
markal^le. No one whom we treated, but told us he was left
well ; and so great was the confidence that they would become
healed if we administered to them, they even believed that
whilst we remained none of them could die. These and the
rest of the people behind, related an extraordinary circum-
stance, and by the way they counted, there appeared to be
fifteen or sixte(;n years since it occurred.
They said that a man wandered through the country whom
they called Hadlhing; he was small of l)ody and wore beard,
and they n(!ver distinctly saw his features. When he came
to the house where they lived, their hair stood iij) and they
trembled. Presently a blazing torch shone at the door, when
he entered and seized whom he chose, and giving him three
great gashes in the side with a very sharp Hint, the width of
1535] NAERATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 79
the hand and two palms in length, he put his hand through
them, drawing forth the entrails, from one of which he would
cut off a portion more or less, the length of a palm, and throw
it on the embers. Then he would give three gashes to an
arm, the second cut on the inside of an elbow, and would sever
the limb. A little after this, he would begin to unite it, and
putting his hands on the wounds, these would instantly be-
come healed. They said that frequently in the dance he ap-
peared among them, sometimes in the dress of a woman, at
others in that of a man ; that when it pleased him he would
take a buhi'o,^ or house, and lifting it high, after a little he
would come down with it in a heavy fall. They also stated
that many times they offered him victuals, but that he never
ate : they asked him whence he came and where was his abid-
ing place, and he showed them a fissure in the earth and said
that his house was there below. These things they told us of,
we much laughed at and ridiculed; and they seeing our in-
credulity, brought to us many of those they said he had seized ;
and we saw the marks of the gashes made in the places accord-
ing to the manner they had described. We told them he was
an evil one, and in the best way we could, gave them to under-
stand, that if they would believe in God our Lord, and become
Christians like us, they need have no fear of him, nor would
he dare to come and inflict those injuries, and they might be
certain he would not venture to appear while we remained in
the land. At this they were delighted and lost much of their
dread. They told us that they had seen the Asturian and
Figueroa with people farther along the coast, whom we had
called those of the figs.^
They are all ignorant of time, either by the sun or moon,
nor do they reckon by the month or year ; they better know
and understand the differences of the seasons, when the fruits
come to ripen, where the fish resort,^ and the position of the
* Sec page 10, note 5. ^ See chap. 26.
' Buckingham Smith prefers this meaning for i en tiempo que mucrc cl
Pescado to "by the time when the fish die," or "at times at which the fishes
die."
80 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1535
stars, at which they are ready and practised. By these we
were ever well treated. We dug our own food and brought
our loads of wood and water. Their houses and also the things
we ate, are like those of the nation from which we came, but
they suffer far greater want, having neither maize, acorns, nor
nuts. We always went naked like them, and covered our-
selves at night with deer-skins.
Of the eight months we were among this people, six we
supported in great want, for fish are not to be found where
they are. At the expiration of the time, the prickly pears
began to ripen/ and I and the negro went, without these Ind-
ians knowing it, to others farther on, a day's journey distant,
called Mahacones.^ At the end of three days, I sent him to
bring Castillo and Dorantes, and they having arrived, we all
set out with the Indians who were going to get the small fruit
of certain trees on which they support themselves ten or
twelve days whilst the prickly pears are maturing. They
joined others called Arbadaos,^ whom we found to be very
weak, lank, and swollen, so much so as to cause us great as-
tonishment. We told those with whom we came, that we
wished to stop with these people, at which they showed regret
and went back by the way they came ; so we remained in the
field near the houses of the Indians, which when they ob-
served, after talking among themselves they came up together,
and each of them taking one of us by the hand, led us to their
dwelhngs. Among them we underwent greater hunger than
with the others ; we ate daily not more than two handfuls of
the prickly pears, which were green and so milky they burned
our mouths. As there was lack of water, those who ate suffered
great thirst. In our extreme want we bought two dogs, giv-
' That is, until the summer of 1535.
' See ch. 27 : " Jiy the coast live those culled Quitoks, uiul in front
inward on the main are the Chavavares, to whom adjoin the Maliacones,
the Cultalchulches and others called Susolas and the (V)mos." This would
seem to indicate that he was journeying in a generally northward or north-
westward direction.
'The name suggests the Hidai, a Caddoaii tril)c thai lived at a later
period west of the Trinity, ahout latitude 31°, but this locality does not agree
with the narrative.
1535] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 81
ing in exchange some nets, with other things, and a skin I
used to cover myself.
I have already stated that throughout all this country we
went naked, and as we were unaccustomed to being so, twice
a year we cast our skins like serpents. The sun and air pro-
duced great sores on our breasts and shoulders, giving us
sharp pain; and the large loads we had, being very heavy,
caused the cords to cut into our arms. The country is so
broken and thickset, that often after getting our wood in the
forests, the blood flowed from us in many places, caused by
the obstruction of thorns and shrubs that tore our flesh wher-
ever we went. At times, when my turn came to get wood,
after it had cost me much blood, I could not bring it out
either on my back or by dragging. In these labors my
only solace and relief were in thinking of the sufferings
of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and in the blood He shed
for me, in considering how much greater must have been the
torment He sustained from the thorns, than that I there
received.
I bartered with these Indians in combs that I made for
them and in bows, arrows, and nets. We made mats, which
are their houses, that they have great necessity for; and al-
though they know how to make them, they wish to give their
full time to getting food, since when otherwise employed they
are pinched with hunger. Sometimes the Indians would set
me to scraping and softening skins ; and the days of my great-
est prosperity there, were those in which they gave me skins
to dress. I would scrape them a very great deal and eat the
scraps, which would sustain me two or three days. When it
happened among these people, as it had likewise among others
whom we left behind, that a piece of meat was given us, we
ate it raw ; for if we had put it to roast, the first native that
should come along would have taken it off and devoured it ;
and it appeared to us not well to expose it to this risk ; besides
we were in such condition it would have given us pain to eat
it roasted, and we could not have digested it so well as raw.
Such was the hfe we spent there; and the meagre subsistence
82 SPANISH EXPLOEEES [1535
we earned by the matters of traffic which were the work of
our hands.
Chapter 23
Of our departure after having eaten the dogs.
After eating the dogs, it seemed to us we had some strength
to go forward ; and so commending ourselves to God our Lord,
that He would guide us, we took our leave of the Indians. They
showed us the way to others, near by, who spoke their language.
WTiile on our journey, rain fell, and we travelled the day in wet.
We lost our way and went to stop in an extensive wood.
We pulled many leaves of the prickly pear, which we put at
night in an oven we made, and giving them much heat, by the
morning they were in readiness. After eating, we put ourselves
under the care of the Almighty and started. We discovered
the way we had lost. Having passed the wood, we found other
houses, and coming up to them, we saw two women with some
boys walking in the forest, who were frightened at the sight of
us and fled, running into the woods to call the men. These ar-
riving, stopped behind trees to look at us. We called to them,
and they came up with much timidity. After some conversa-
tion they told us that food was very scarce with them ; that near
by were many houses of their people to which they would guide
us. We came at night where were fifty dwellings. The in-
habitants were astonished at our appearance, showing much
fear. After becoming somewhat accustomed to us, they
reached their hands to our faces and bodies, and passed them
in lik(! manner over their own.
We stayed there that night, and in the morning tlie Indians
brouglit us their sick, Ijeseecliing us that we would bless them.
They gave us of what they had to eat, the leaves of the prickly
pear and the green fniit roasted. As th(>y did this with kind-
ness and good will, and were liai)py to be witliout any-
thing to eat, that they might have food to give us, we tarried
1535] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 83
some days. While there, others came from beyond, and when
they were about to depart, we told our entertainers that we
wished to go with those people. They felt much uneasiness
at this, and pressed us warmly to stay : however, we took our
leave in the midst of their weeping, for our departure weighed
heavily upon them.
Chapter 24
Customs of the Indians of that country.
From the Island of Malhado to this land, all the Indians
whom we saw have the custom from the time in which their
wives find themselves pregnant, of not sleeping with them until
two years after they have given birth. The children are suckled
until the age of twelve years, when they are old enough to get
support for themselves. We asked why they reared them in
this manner ; and they said because of the great poverty of the
land, it happened many times, as we witnessed, that they were
two or three days without eating, sometimes four, and conse-
quently, in seasons of scarcity, the children were allowed to
suckle, that they might not famish ; otherwise those who lived
would be delicate, having little strength.
If any one chance to fall sick in the desert, and cannot keep
up with the rest, the Indians leave him to perish, unless it be
a son or a brother; him they will assist, even to carrying on
their back. It is common among them all to leave their wives
when there is no conformity, and directly they connect them-
selves with whom they please. This is the course of the men
who are childless ; those who have children remain with their
wives and never abandon them, ^^^len they dispute and quar-
rel in their towns, they strike each other with the fists, fighting
until exhausted, and then separate. Sometimes they are
parted by the women going between them; the men never
interfere. For no disalTection that arises do they resort to
bows and arrows. After they have fought, or had out their
dispute, they take their dwellings and go into the woods, living
84 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1535
apart from each other until their heat has subsided. ^Mien no
longer offended and theu* anger is gone, they return. From
that time they are friends as if nothing had happened ; nor is
it necessary that any one should mend their friendships, as they
in this way again unite them. If those that quarrel are single,
they go to some neighboring people, and although these should
be enemies, they receive them well and welcome them warmly,
giving them so largely of what they have, that when their ani-
mosity cools, and they return to their town, they go rich.
They are all warlike, and have as much strategy for protect-
ing themselves against enemies as they could have were they
reared in Italy in continual feuds, ^Vhen they are in a part of
the country where their enemies may attack them, they place
their houses on the skirt of a wood, the thickest and most
tangled they can find, and near it make a ditch in which they
sleep. The warriors are covered by small pieces of stick
through which are loop-holes ; these hide them and present so
false an appearance, that if come upon they are not discovered.
They open a very narrow way, entering into the midst of the
wood, where a spot is prepared on which the women and chil-
dren sleep. When night comes they kindle fires in their lodges,
that should spies be about, they may think to find them there ;
and before daybreak they again light those fires. If the enemy
comes to assault the houses, they who are in the ditch make a
sally; and from their trenches do much injury without those
who are outside seeing or being able to find them. When there
is no wood in which they can take shelter in this way, and make
their ambuscades, they settle on open ground at a place they
select, which they invest with trenches covered with broken
sticks, having apertures whence to discharge arrows. These
arrangements are made for night.
While I Was among the Aguenes,' their enemies coming sud-
denly at midnight, fell upon them, killed three and wounded
many, so that they ran from their houses to the fields before
them. As sor)n as these ascertained that their assailants had
withdniwn, they returned to pick up all the arrows the others
, ' ICLsewhcre called Dogucncs.
1535] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 85
had shot, and following after them in the most stealthy manner
possible, came that night to their dwellings without their pres-
ence being suspected. At four o'clock in the morning the
Aguenes attacked them, killed five, and wounded numerous
others, and made them flee from their houses, leaving their
bows with all they possessed. In a little while came the wives
of the Quevenes ^ to them and formed a treaty whereby the
parties became friends. The women, however, are some-
times the cause of war. All these nations, when they have
personal enmities, and are not of one family, assassinate at
night, waylay, and inflict gross barbarities on each other.
Chapter 25
Vigilance of the Indians in war.
They are the most watchful in danger of any people I ever
knew. If they fear an enemy they are awake the night long,
each with a bow at his side and a dozen arrows. He that would
sleep tries his bow, and if it is not strung, he gives the turn
necessary to the cord. They often come out from their houses,
bending to the ground in such manner that they cannot be
seen, looking and watching on all sides to catch every object.
If they perceive anything about, they are at once in the bushes
with their bows and arrows, and there remain until day, run-
ning from place to place where it is needful to be, or where they
think their enemies are. When the light has come, they un-
bend their bows until they go out to hunt. The strings are the
sinews of deer.
The method they have of fighting, is bending low to the
earth, and whilst shot at they move about, speaking and leap-
ing from one point to another, thus avoiding the shafts of their
enemies. So effectual is their manoeuvring that they can re-
ceive very little injury from crossbow or arquebus ; they rather
scoff at them ; for these arms are of little value employed in
' Gueveiies in the edition of ir)42.
86 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1535
open field, where the Indians move nimbly about. They are
proper for defiles and in water ; everpvhere else the horse will
best subdue, being what the natives universally dread/ Who-
soever would fight them must be cautious to show no fear,
or desire to have anything that is theirs ; while war exists they
must be treated with the utmost rigor ; for if they discover any
timidity or covetousness, they are a race that well discern the
opportunities for vengeance, and gather strength from any
weakness of their adversaries. When they use arrows in
battle and exhaust their store, each returns his own way, with-
out the one party following the other, although the one be
many and the other few, such being their custom. Oftentimes
the body of an Indian is traversed by the arrow ; yet unless the
entrails or the heart be struck, he does not die but recovers
from the wound.
I beheve these people see and hear better, and have
keener senses than any other in the world. They are great in
hunger, thirst, and cold, as if they were made for the endurance
of these more than other men, by habit and nature.
Thus much I have wished to say, beyond the gratification
of that desire men have to learn the customs and manners of
each other, that those who hereafter at some time find them-
selves amongst these people, may have knowledge of their
usages and artifices, the value of which they will not find
inconsiderable in such event.
Chapter 26
Of the nations and tongues.
I desire to onumerat(> the nativesand tongues thatcxistfrom
those of Malhudo to the furlliest Cucliciidados there are. Two
languages arc found in tlic isl.iiid ; the people of one arc called
' CiiIk'Zh dc Vaca is now evidently recalling the experience of Narvaez's
men in Klorida.
1535] NAERATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 87
Cahoques/ of the other, Han. On the tierra-firme, over against
the island, is another people, called Chorruco, who take their
names from the forests where they live. Advancing by the
shores of the sea, others inhabit who are called the Doguenes,
and opposite them others by the name of Mendica. Farther
along the coast are the Quevenes, and in front of them on the
main, the Mariames; and continuing by the coast are other
called Guaycones ; and in front of them, within on the main,
the Yguazes. At the close of these are the Atayos; and in
their rear others, the Acubadaos, and beyond them are many
in the same direction. By the coast live those called Quitoks,
and in front inward on the main are the Chavavares, to whom
adjoin the Maliacones, the Cultalchulches and others called
Susolas, and the Comos; and by the coast farther on are the
Camoles ; and on the same coast in advance are those whom
we called People of the Figs.
They all differ in their habitations, towns and tongues.
There is a language in which calling to a person, for ''look here"
they say "Arre aca," and to a dog ''Xo." ^ Everywhere they
produce stupefaction with a smoke, and for that they will give
whatever they possess. They drink a tea made from leaves
of a tree like those of the oak, which they toast in a pot ; and
after these are parched, the vessel, still remaining on the fire,
is filled with water. When the liquor has twice boiled, they
pour it into a jar, and in cooHng it use the half of a gourd.
So soon as it is covered thickly with froth, it is drunk as warm
as can be supported ; and from the time it is taken out of the
pot until it is used they are crying aloud: ''Who wishes to
* In the 1542 edition these tribal names are similarly spelled except in
the case of Capoques, Charruco, Degjueiics, Ycguaces, Decubadaos (for
Acubadaos), Quitoles (for Quitoks), Chauauares, and Camolas. None of
these Indians have thus far been conclusively identified with later historical
tribes, with the possible exception of the Atayos and the Quevenes. See
p. 76, note 2, and p. 59, note 1.
'In the 1542 edition, as given by Mrs. Bandelier, "Among them is a
language wherein they call men mira aca, arraca, and dogs xo." Compare
hdka, "sit down," in Karankawa ((Jatsc^hot, Karankaiva hidians, Cambridge,
Mass., 1891, p. .SO). In the above it would appear as if the Spanish mira
had been regarded as a part of the Indian exclamation.
88 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1535
drink?" When the women hear these cries, they instantly
stop, fearing to move; and although they may be heavily
laden, they dare do nothing further. Should one of them move,
they dishonor her, beating her with sticks, and greatly vexed,
throw away the liquor they have prepared; while they who
have drunk eject it, which they do readily and without pain.
The reason they give for this usage is, that when they are about
to drink, if the women move from where they hear the cry,
something pernicious enters the body in that hquid, shortly
producing death. At the time of boihng, the vessel must be
covered; and if it should happen to be open when a woman
passes, they use no more of that liquid, but throw it out. The
color is yellow. They are three days taking it, eating nothing
ii). the time, and daily each one drinks an arroba and a half.^
' When the women have their indisposition, they seek food
only for themselves, as no one else will eat of what they bring.
In the time I was thus among these people, I witnessed a dia-
bohcal practice ; a man hving with another, one of those who
are emasculate and impotent. These go habited like women,
and perform their duties, use the bow, and carry heavy loads.
Among them we saw many mutilated in the way I describe.
They are more muscular than other men, and taller : they bear-
very weighty burthens.
Chapter 27
We moved away and were well received.
After parting with those we left weeping,^ we went with the
others to their houses and were hospitably received by the
' The tree from which the so-called "black drink" is made is Ilex cassine,
and the custom of preparing and partaking of the liquid (known also as Caro-
lina tea) was general among the tribes of the South, including the (Julf coast.
The drink was known among the Catawbas as yavpon, among the (Veeks as
duxi-lujuil.ski, the latter signifying "small leaves," conmionly abbreviated
dm, wherif-e the name of th(^ celebrated Seminole chief Osrroln, i.e., " Black-
flrink JlalIof>er," or " Black-drink Singer." The partaking of the l)lack drink
was an important part of the jm.skila, or hu.fk, ceremony among the (Greeks..
* The ArbadaoH or Acubudaos. Sec chs. 22, 23.
1535] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 89
people in them. They brought their children to us that we
might touch their hands, and gave us a great quantity of the
flour of mezquiquez/ The fruit while hanging on the tree,
is very bitter and like unto the carob ; when eaten with earth
it is sweet and wholesome. The method they have of prepar-
ing it is this : they make a hole of requisite depth in the ground,
and throwing in the fruit, pound it with a club the size of the
leg, a fathom and a half in length, until it is well mashed.
Besides the earth that comes from the hole, they bring and
add some handfuls, then returning to beat it a httle while
longer. Afterward it is thrown into a jar, like a basket, upon
which water is poured until it rises above and covers the
mixture. He that beats it tastes it, and if it appears to him
not sweet, he asks for earth to stir in, which is added
until he finds it sweet. Then all sit round, and each put-
ting in a hand, takes out as much as he can. The pits and
hulls are thrown upon a skin, whence they are taken by him
who does the pounding, and put into the jar whereon water
is poured as at first, whence having expressed the froth and
juice, again the pits and husks are thrown upon the skin.
This they do three or four times to each pounding. Those
present, for whom this is a great banquet, have their stomachs
greatly distended by the earth and water they swallow. The
Indians made a protracted festival of this sort on our account,
and great areitos ^ during the time we remained.
When we proposed to leave them, some women of another
people came there who lived farther along. They informed
us whereabout were their dwellings, and we set out for them,
although the inhabitants entreated us to remain for that day,
because the houses whither we were going were distant, there
was no path to them, the women had come tired, and would
the next day go with us refreshed and show us the way. Soon
after we had taken our leave, some of the women, who had
come on together from the same town, followed behind us. As
'The mesquitc (Prosopis juliflora). The beans are still extensively
used as food by the Indians of southern Arizona and northern Mexico.
^ See p. 52, note 3.
90 SPANISH EXPLOKEES [1535
there are no paths in the country we presently got lost, and
thus travelled four leagues, when, stopping to drink, we found
the women in pursuit of us at the water, who told us of the great
exertion they had made to overtake us. We went on taking
them for guides, and passed over a river towards evening, the
water reaching to the breast. It might be as wide as that
at Seville; its current was very rapid. ^
At sunset we reached a hundred Indian habitations. Be-
fore we arrived, all the people who were in them came out to
receive us, with such yells as were terrific, striking the palms
of their hands violently against their thighs. They brought us
gourds bored with holes and having pebbles in them, an instru-
ment for the most important occasions, produced only at the
dance or to effect cures, and which none dare touch but those
who own them. They say there is virtue in them, and because
they do not grow in that country, they come from heaven;
nor do they know where they are to be found, only that the
rivers bring them in their floods.^ So great were the fear and
distraction of these people, some to reach us sooner than others
that they might touch us, they pressed us so closely that they
lacked little of killing us ; and without letting us put our feet
to the ground, carried us to their dwellings. We were so
crowded upon by numbers, that we went into the houses they
had made for us. On no account would we consent that they
should rejoice over us any more that night. The night long
they passed in singing and dancing among themselves; and
the next day they brought us all the people of the town, that
we should touch and bless them in the way we had done to
others among whom we had been. After this performance
they presented many arrows to some women of the other town
who ]]iu\ iicconipjinied theirs.
'i'lie next day we left, and all the people of (he place went
with vis; and when we came to the other Indians we were as
' I'roh.iljly the Colorado liivcr. Hiickiiigharn Siiiitli irmarks that the
<^iUH<laI<|iiivir at Seville i.s about a hundrod j)acoH in width.
' Tin; Pueblo Indians of i\(!W Mcixieo have cultivated {gourds for use as rat-
tles and rc(X'ptacl(\s, especially dippers, from time iiiuiiemorial. If the Pecos
1535] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 91
well received as we had been by the last. They gave us of
what they had to eat, and the deer they had killed that day.
Among them we witnessed another custom, which is this:
they who were with us took from him who came to be cured,
his bow and arrows, shoes and beads if he wore any, and then
brought him before us, that we should heal him. After being
attended to, he would go away highly pleased, saying that he
was well. So we parted from these Indians, and went to others
by whom we were welcomed. They brought us their sick,
which, we having blessed, they declared were sound; he who
was healed, believed we could cure him; and with what the
others to whom we had administered would relate, they made
great rejoicing and dancing, so that they left us no sleep.
Chapter 28
Of another strange custom.
Leaving these Indians, we went to the dwellings of numer-
ous others. From this place began another novel custom,
which is, that while the people received us very well, those who
accompanied us began to use them so ill as to take their goods
and ransack their houses, without leaving anything. To wit-
ness this unjust procedure gave us great concern, inflicted too
on those who received us hospitably; we feared also that it
might provoke offence, and be the cause of some tumult be-
tween them ; but, as we were in no condition to make it better,
or to dare chastise such conduct, for the present we had to bear
with it, until a time when we might have greater authority
among them. They, also, who lost their effects, noticing
our dejection, attempted to console us by saying that we should
not be grieved on this account, as they were so gratified at
were the stream, or one of the streams, whcnee the gourds were derived, they
might have come from the pueblo of Pecos, southeast of the present Santa
F6; if from the Rio Grande, they might have come from various villages
along that river and its tributaries in the north. Sec p. 95, note 1.
92 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1536
having seen us, they held their properties to be well bestowed,
and that farther on they would be repaid by others who were
very rich.
On all the day's travel we received great inconvenience
from the many persons following us. Had we attempted to
escape we could not have succeeded, such was their haste in
pursuit, in order to touch us. So great was the importunity
for this privilege, we consumed three hours in going through
with them that they might depart. The next day all the in-
habitants were brought before us. The greater part were
clouded of an eye, and others in like manner were entirely
blind, which caused in us great astonishment. They are a peo-
ple of fine figure, agreeable features, and whiter than any of
the many nations we had seen until then.
Here we began to see mountains; they appeared to come
in succession from the North Sea, and, according to the informa-
tion the Indians gave us, we believe they rise fifteen leagues from
the sea.* We set forth in a direction towards them with these
Indians, and they guided us by the way of some kindred of
theirs ; for they wished to take us only where were their rela-
tions, and were not willing that their enemies should come to
such great good, as they thought it was to see us. After we
arrived they that went with us plundered the others; but as
the people there knew the fashion, they had hidden some things
before we came ; and having welcomed us with great festivity
and rejoicing, they brought out and presented to us what they
had concealed. These were beads, ochre, and some little bags
of silver.^ In pursuance of custom, we directly gave them to
' Prf>b,'ihly the osfarprnont that extends from Austin to Eagle Pass. The
Colorado (\vhi(;h was prf)l)al)ly the wide, deep stream previously encountered)
was crossfid H<!cmingly below the f)resent Austin. It should be remembered
that the information regarding the point at which the mountains commenced
to rise was given by IiKhans whose language the Si)aniartls could not under-
stand. At any niio., the fact that tlie latter believed the mountains to
rise fift<;en leagues from the sea would tend to indicate that the direction they
had been following was a northerly one. See the statement in the following
paragra[»h of the text.
'According to Oviedo (f). 017) : "This is an error of the printer, and
shcjuld road 'little bags of margarite [pearl-mica],' instead of silver." Huck-
1535] NAEEATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 93
the Indians who came with us, which, when they had received,
they began their dances and festivities, sending to call others
from a town near by, that they also might see us.
In the afternoon they all came and brought us beads and
bows, with trifles of other sort, which we also distributed. De-
siring to leave the next day, the inhabitants all wished to take
us to others, friends of theirs, who were at the point of the
ridge, stating that many houses were there, and people who
would give us various things. As it was out of our way, we
did not wish to go to them, and took our course along the plain
near the mountains, which we believed not to be distant from
the coast ^ where the people are all evil disposed, and we con-
sidered it preferable to travel inland ; ^ for those of the interior
are of a better condition and treated us mildly, and we felt sure
that we should find it more populous and better provisioned.
Moreover, we chose this course because in traversing the coun-
try we should learn many particulars of it, so that should God
our Lord be pleased to take any of us thence, and lead us to the
land of Christians, we might carry that information and news
of it. As the Indians saw that we were determined not to go
where they would take us, they said that in the direction we
would go, there were no inhabitants, nor any prickly pears nor
other thing to eat, and begged us to tarry there that day ; we
accordingly did so. They directly sent two of their number
to seek for people in the direction that we wished to go ; and
the next day we left, taking with us several of the Indians.
The women went carrying water, and so great was our authority
that no one dared drink of it without our permission.
Two leagues from there we met those who had gone out,
and they said that they had found no one ; at which the Ind-
ians seemed much disheartened, and began again to entreat
ingham Smith translates Oviedo's margarita, " pearls," and Cabeza de Vaca's
margarita (ch. 29) as " marquesite." It may be added that magnetic iron
ore of tlic highest quahty occurs in Mason County, Texas.
' In tiie face of such an assertion it is difficult to conceive that the Span-
iards had been journeying directly westward, away from the coast.
' That is, they decided to change their course from northward to a more
westward direction.
94 SPANISH EXPLOEEKS [1535
us to go by way of the mountains. We did not "wish, to do so,
and they, seeing our disposition, took their leave of us "with
much regret, and returned down the river to their houses, while
we ascended along by it. After a httle time we came upon two
women with burthens, who put them dowm as they saw us,
and brought to us, of what they carried. It was the flour of
maize. They told us that farther up on that river we should
find dwellings, a plenty of prickly pears and of that meal.
We bade them farewell: they were going to those whom we
had left.
We walked until sunset, and arrived at a town of some
twenty houses, where we were received with weeping and in
great sorrow; for they already knew that wheresoever we
should come, all would be pillaged and spoiled by those who
accompanied us. ^\^len they saw that we were alone, they
lost their fear, and gave us prickly pears with nothing more.
We remained there that night, and at dawm, the Indians who
had left us the day before, broke upon their houses. As they
came upon the occupants unprepared and in supposed safety,
having no place in which to conceal anything, all they possessed
was taken from them, for which they wept much. In con-
solation the plunderers told them that we were children of the
sun and that we had power to heal the sick and to destroy;
and other lies even greater than these, which none knew how
to tell better than they when they find it convenient. They
bade them conduct us with great respect, advised that they
should be careful to offend us in nothing, give us all they might
possess, and endeavor to take us where people were numerous ;
and that wheresoever they arrived with us, they should rob
and pillage the people of what they have, since this was cus-
tomary.
Chapter 29
The Indians plunder each other.
After the Indians li;id (old and shown these natives well
what to do, they left us together and went back. Remember-
1535] NAREATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 95
ing the instruction, they began to treat us with the same awe
and reverence that the others had shown. We travelled with
them three days, and they took us where were many inhabit-
ants. Before we arrived, these were informed of our coming
by the others, who told them respecting us all that the first
had imparted, adding much more; for these people are all
very fond of romance, and are great hars, particularly so where
they have any interest. When we came near the houses all
the inhabitants ran out with delight and great festivity to
receive us. Among other things, two of their physicians
gave us two gourds, and thenceforth we carried these with
us, and added to our authority a token highly reverenced by
Indians.^ Those who accompanied us rifled the houses; but
as these were many and the others few, they could not carry
off what they took, and abandoned more than the half.
From here we went along the base of the ridge, striking in-
land more than fifty leagues, and at the close we found upwards
of forty houses. Among the articles given us, Andres Dorantes
received a hawk-bell of copper, thick and large, figured with a
face, which the natives had shown, greatly prizing it. They
told him that they had received it from others, their neigh-
bors; we asked them whence the others had obtained it, and
they said it had been brought from the northern direction,
where there was much copper, which was highly esteemed.
We concluded that whencesoever it came there was a foundry,
and that work was done in hollow form.^
We departed the next day, and traversed a ridge seven
leagues in extent. The stones on it are scoria of iron.^ At
night we arrived at many houses seated on the banks of a very
beautiful river.* The owners of them came half way out on
* The possession of one of these "medicine" rattles was not improbably
one of the causes of the death of Estevanico at the hands of the Zuiiis of
Cibola in 1539. See the Introduction, and compare p. 90, note 2 ; p. 1 17, note 2.
^ See p. 97, note 1.
' See pp. 92-93, note 2, regarding; the occurrence of magnetic iron in Mason
County, where it is found in great ({uantities, but is yet unworked.
* Perhaps the Llano, a bran('h of the Colorado, or possibly they had
met the Colorado again. Seep. 90, note 1.
96 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1535
the road to meet us, bringing their children on their backs.
They gave us many Uttle bags of margarite ^ and pulverized
galena,^ with which they rub the face. They presented us
many beads, and blankets of cowhide, loading all who accom-
panied us with some of every thing they had. They eat prickly
pears and the seed of pine. In that country are small pine
trees,^ the cones hke httle eggs; but the seed is better than
that of Castile, as its husk is very thin, and while green is
beaten and made into balls, to be thus eaten. If the seed be
dry, it is pounded in the husk, and consumed in the form of
flour.
Those who there received us, after they had touched us went
running to their houses and directly returned, and did not stop
running, going and coming, to bring us in this manner many
things for support on the way. They fetched a man to me and
stated that a long time since he had been wounded by an arrow
in the right shoulder, and that the point of the shaft was lodged
above his heart, which, he said, gave him much pain, and in
consequence, he was always sick. Probing the wound I felt
the arrow-head, and found it had passed through the cartilage.
With a knife I carried, I opened the breast to the place, and
saw the point was aslant and troublesome to take out. I
continued to cut, and, putting in the point of the knife, at
last with great difficulty I drew the head forth. It was very
large. With the bone of a deer, and by virtue of my calling,
I made two stitches that threw the blood over me, and with
hair from a skin I stanched the flow. They asked me for the
arrow-head after I had taken it out, which I gave, when the
whole town came to look at it. They sent it into the back
country that the people there might view it. In consequence
of this operation they had many of their customary dances
' See p. 92, nolo 2. In the edition of 1542 the text hero says silver.
' Ix-ad is found in Texas in the trans-Pecos region. The mineral re-
sources of the state have not yet been well exploited.
* doubtless the nut pine (Pinu-s cdulin). Cabeza de Vara evidently here
aims to describe the character of this tree and its fruit without necessarily
assf'rling that tlu; tree was found growing very far east of the Pecos. In the
valley of the latter stream it is more or less prolific.
1535] NAREATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 97
and festivities. The next day I cut the two stitches and the
Indian was well. The wound I made appeared only like a seam
in the palm of the hand. He said he felt no pain or sensitive-
ness in it whatsoever. This cure gave us control throughout
the country in all that the inhabitants had power, or deemed
of any value, or cherished. We showed them the hawk-bell
we brought, and they told us that in the place whence that had
come, were buried many plates of the same material ; it was a
thing they greatly esteemed, and where it came from were fixed
habitations.^ The country we considered to be on the South
Sea, which we had ever understood to be richer than the one
of the North.
We left there, and travelled through so many sorts of people,
of such diverse languages, the memory fails to recall them.
They ever plundered each other, and those that lost, like those
that gained, were fully content.^ We drew so many followers
' The allusion is probably to Mexico rather than to a northern country,
as previously asserted by the Indians. See the second preceding paragraph.
^ Of this exchange of gifts, or perhaps we may call it plunder, there was
an echo a few years later, when Coronado and his army were traversing the
eastern part of the Staked Plain, under the guidance of the "Turk," in search
of Quivira, in 1541. Before sending the army back, and while among the
ravines of western Texas, Rodrigo Maldonado was sent forward to explore,
and in four days reached a deep ravine in the bottom of which was a village
that Cabeza de Vaca had visited, on which account (see p. 332) "they pre-
sented Don Rodrigo with a pile of tanned skins and other things." An unfair
distribution being threatened, the men rushed upon the skins and took pos-
session without further ado. "The women and some others were left crying,
because they thought that the strangers were not going to take anything, but
would bless them as Cabeza de Vaca and Dorantes had done when they passed
through here." Captain Jaramillo does not mention this occurrence in his
narrative (Fourteenth Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, p. 588), but
he speaks of reaching a settlement of Indians, in advance of that, according
to the narrations, of which Castaneda speaks, "among whom there was an old
blind man with a beard, who gave us to understand by signs which he made,
that he had seen four others like us many days before, whom he had seen
near there and rather more toward New Spain [Mexico], and we so understood
him, and presumed that it was Dorantes and Cabeza de Vaca and those whom
I have mentioned." Although we do not have here conclusive evidence that
Cabeza de Vaca actually visited the village or villages mentioned, there is no
question that he must have been in this vicinity, and as the evidence is strong
that the Rio Colorado was the ravined stream alluded to, there is little likeli-
hood that Cabeza de Vaca's route lay far below that river.
98 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1535
that we had not use for their services. While on our way-
through these vales, every Indian carried a club three palms
in length, and kept on the alert. On raising a hare, which
animals are abundant, they surround it directly and throw
numerous clubs at it with astonishing precision. Thus they
cause it to run from one to another ; so that, according to my
thinking, it is the most pleasing sport which can be imagined,
as oftentimes the animal runs into the hand. So many did
they give us that at night when we stopped we had eight or
ten back-loads apiece.^ Those having bows were not with us;
they dispersed about the ridge in pursuit of deer ; and at dark
came bringing five or six for each of us, besides quail, and other
game. Indeed, whatever they either killed or found, was put
before us, without themselves daring to take anything until
we had blessed it, though they should be expiring of hunger,
they having so established the rule, since marching with us.
The women carried many mats, of which the men made us
houses, each of us having a separate one, with all his attendants.
After these were put up, we ordered the deer and hares to be
roasted, with the rest that had been taken. This was done by
means of certain ovens made for the purpose. Of each we took
a little and the remainder we gave to the principal personage
of the people coming with us, directing him to divide it among
the rest. Every one brought his portion to us, that we might
breathe upon and give it our benediction ; for not until then
did they dare eat any of it. Frequently we were accompanied
by three or four thousand persons, and as we had to breathe
upon and sanctify the food and drink for each, and grant per-
mission to do the many things they would come to ask, it may
be seen how great was the annoyance. The women first brought
us prickly jx'ars, spiders, worms, and wliatcvor else they could
gather; for even Were they famishing, they would eat nothing
unless we gave it them.
In company with these, we crossed a great river coming
' Thf Piichlo Indi.iris <»f New Mexico have similar comnuinal rabbit-
hunts, in which the animuls are killed with a curved stick shaped somewhat
like a boomerang.
1535] NAERATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 99
from the north/ and passing over some plains thirty leagues in
extent, we found many persons coming a long distance to re-
ceive us, who met us on the road over which we were to travel,
and welcomed us in the manner of those we had left.
Chapter 30
The fashion of receiving us changes.
From this place was another method of receiving us, as
respects the pillage. Those who came out in the ways to bring
us presents were not plundered ; but on our coming into their
houses, themselves offered us all they had, as well as the houses.
We gave the things to the chief personages who accompanied us,
that they should divide them ; those who were despoiled always
followed us until coming to a populous country, where they
might repair their loss. They would tell those among whom
we came, to retain everything and make no concealment, as
nothing could be done without our knowledge, and we might
cause them to die, as the sun revealed everything to us. So
great was their fear that during the first days they were with us,
they continually trembled, without daring even to speak, or
raise their eyes to the heavens. They guided us through more
than fifty leagues of desert, over rough mountains, which being
dry were without game, and in consequence we suffered much
from hunger.^
At the termination we forded a very large river, the water
' Evidently the Pecos. This is the first stream mentioned as flowing
from the north.
^ Eighty leagues would probably be a reasonable estimate of the distance
from the Pecos to the Rio Grande, which the travellers had now reached.
It would seem strange that no mention is made of the canon of the latter
stream (which hereabouts flows through a territory four thousand feet above
sea level), were it not ff)r the fact that they had become thoroughly iiuired
to suffering and hard travelling; nevertheless, the terribly rough country
through which they had just been guided from stream to stream is commented
on, while the fact that the Rio Grande here "flows between some ridges" is
mentioned farther on.
100 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1535
coming up to our breasts. From this place, many of the people
began to sicken from the great privation and labor they had
undergone in the passage of those ridges, which are sterile and
difficult in the extreme. They conducted us to certain plains
at the base of the mountains, where people came to meet us
from a great distance, and received us as the last had done, and
gave so many goods to those who came with us, that the half
were left because they could not be carried. I told those who
gave, to resume the goods that they might not lie there and be
lost ; but they answered they could in no wise do so, as it was not
their custom after they had bestowed a thing to take it back ; ^
so considering the articles no longer of value, they were left
to perish.
We told these people that we desired to go where the sun
sets ; and they said inhabitants in that direction were remote.
We commanded them to send and make known our coming;
but they strove to excuse themselves the best they could, the
people being their enemies, and they did not wish to go to
them. Not daring to disobey, however, they sent two women,
one of their own, the other a captive from that people ; for the
women can negotiate even though there be war. We followed
them, and stopped at a place where we agreed to wait. They
tarried five days; and the Indians said they could not have
found anybody.
We told them to conduct us towards the north ; and they
answered, as before, that except afar off there were no people
in that direction, and nothing to eat, nor could water be found.^
Notwithstanding all this, we persisted, and said we desired to
go in that course. They still tried to excuse themselves in the
best manner possible. At this we became offended, and one
night I went out to sleep in the woods apart from them; but
directly they came to where I was, and remained all night
without sleep, talking to me in great fear, telling me how ter-
rified they were, beseeching us to be no longer angry, and said
' An asflcrliori (|iii((' cfxitniry to the popuhir licliff in "Indian gifts."
' Tho Indifiris wen; cviilotitly (>nd(,'avoring to compel tlie Spaniards to
remain among them as long as possible.
1535] NAEKATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 101
that they would lead us in the direction it was our wish to go,
though they knew they should die on the way.
Whilst we still feigned to be displeased lest their fright
should leave them, a remarkable circumstance happened, which
was that on the same day many of the Indians became ill,
and the next day eight men died. Abroad in the country,
wheresoever this became known, there was such dread that
it seemed as if the inhabitants would die of fear at sight of us.
They besought us not to remain angered, nor require that
more of them should die. They believed we caused their
death by only wilhng it, when in truth it gave us so much pain
that it could not be greater ; for, beyond their loss, we feared
they might all die, or abandon us of fright, and that other
people thenceforward would do the same, seeing what had
come to these. We prayed to God, our Lord, to relieve them ;
and from that time the sick began to get better.
We witnessed one thing with great admiration, that the
parents, brothers, and wives of those who died had great sym-
pathy for them in their suffering ; but, when dead, they showed
no feeling, neither did they weep nor speak among themselves,
make any signs, nor dare approach the bodies until we com-
manded these to be taken to burial.
While we were among these people, which was more than
fifteen days, we saw no one speak to another, nor did we see
an infant smile: the only one that cried they took off to a
distance, and with the sharp teeth of a rat they scratched it
from the shoulders down nearly to the end of the legs. Seeing
this cruelty, and offended at it, I asked why they did so : they
said for chastisement, because the child had wept in my pres-
ence. These terrors they imparted to all those who had lately
come to know us, that they might give us whatever they
had; for they knew we kept nothing, and would rehnquish
all to them. This people were the most obedient we had
found in all the land, the best conditioned, and, in general,
comely.
The sick having recovered, and three days having passed
since we came to the place, the women whom we sent away
102 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1535
returned, and said they had found very few people ; nearly all
had gone for cattle, being then in the season. We ordered
the convalescent to remain and the well to go with us, and
that at the end of two days' journey those women should go
with two of our number to fetch up the people, and bring them
on the road to receive us. Consequently, the next morning
the most robust started with us. At the end of three days'
travel we stopped, and the next day Alonzo del Castillo set out
with Estevanico the negro, taking the two women as guides.
She that was the captive led them to the river which ran between
some ridges,^ where was a town at which her father lived ; and
these habitations were the first seen, having the appearance
and structure of houses.^
Here Castillo and Estevanico arrived, and, after talking
with the Indians, Castillo returned at the end of three days to
the spot where he had left us, and brought five or six of the
people. He told us he had found fixed dwellings of civilization,
that the inhabitants lived on beans and pumpkins,^ and that he
had seen maize. This news the most of anything delighted us,
and for it we gave infinite thanks to our Lord. Castillo told us
the negro was coming with all the population to wait for us in
the road not far off. Accordingly we left, and, having travelled
a league and a half, we met the negro and the people coming to
' The river was the Rio Grande, to which they had now returned. The
description of the topography is in accordance with the facts.
^ The substantial character of the houses was noted also by Antonio de
Espejo, toward the close of 1582, on his journey northward to New Mexico.
Espejo speaks of these Indians, the Jumanos, or Patarabueyes, as occupying
five villages from about the junction of the Conchos northward up the Rio
Grande for twelve days' journey, and as numbering ten thousand souls —
but Ivspejo's estimates of [)()pulation arc always greatly exaggerated. More
important is his statement that the Jumanos knew something of Christianity
which they had gleaned years before from three Christians and a negro,
whom he naturally believed to have been " Alvaro Nufiez Cabeza de Vaca,
y Dorantcs, y (Castillo Maldonado, y un negro," who had made their escape
from Narva(!z's fi(!et. This is one of the few definite points of the narrative
that can Ik; (jstablished without question. See Colcccion dc Docuincntos
InMitoH relativos . . . de Amirica y Oceania, XV. 107 (1S7I).
* M clones in the edition of 1542. Bandelier has no doubt that a species
of sriuash is meant.
1535] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 103
receive us. They gave us beans, many pumpkins, calabashes,^
blankets of cowhide and other things. As this people and
those who came with us were enemies,^ and spoke not each
other's language, we discharged the latter, giving them what we
received, and we departed with the others. Six leagues from
there, as the night set in we arrived at the houses, where great
festivities were made over us. We remained one day, and the
next set out with these Indians. They took us to the settled
habitations of others,^ who lived upon the same food.
From that place onward was another usage. Those who
knew of our approach did not come out to receive us on the
road as the others had done, but we found them in their houses,
and they had made others for our reception. They were all
seated with their faces turned to the wall, their heads down, the
hair brought before their eyes, and their property placed in a
heap in the middle of the house. From this place they began
to give us many blankets of skin ; and they had nothing they
did not bestow. They have the finest persons of any people
we saw, of the greatest activity and strength, who best under-
stood us and intelligently answered our inquiries. We called
them the Cow nation, because most of the cattle killed are
slaughtered in their neighborhood, and along up that river for
over fifty leagues they destroy great numbers.^
They go entirely naked after the manner of the first we saw.
The women are dressed with deer-skin, and some few men,
* . . . " beans and many squashes to eat, gourds to carry water in "
^ed. of 1542, Bandelier translation).
^ That is, the Jumanos and probably the Tobosos respectively. The
captive woman evidently belonged to the latter tribe.
^ Apparently other settlements of the Jumanos, as mentioned in the
above note. The Spaniards were now going up the Rio Grande.
* Although they resided in permanent habitations at this time, the
Jumanos lived east of the Rio Grande, in New Mexico, a century later and
practised the habits of the buffalo-hunting plains tribes rather than those of
sedentary Indians. The " noighljorhood " was evidently not the immediate
vicinity, and the stream alluded to seems much more likely to have been the
Pecos than the Rio Grande, the former having been named Rio de las \:icas
by Mspejo in 1583. On this point see the opening paragraph of the following
chapter.
104 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1535
mostly the aged, who are incapable of fighting. The country-
is very populous. We asked how it was they did not plant
maize. They answered it was that they might not lose what
they should put in the ground ; that the rains had failed for two
years in succession, and the seasons were so dry the seed had
everywhere been taken by the moles, and they could not ven-
ture to plant again until after water had fallen copiously. They
begged us to tell the sky to rain, and to pray for it, and we said
we would do so. We also desired to know whence they got the
maize, and they told us from where the sun goes down ; there it
grew throughout the region, and the nearest was by that path.
Since they did not wish to go thither, we asked by what direc-
tion we might best proceed, and bade them inform us concerning
the way ; they said the path w^as along up by that river towards
the north, for otherwise in a journey of seventeen days we
should find nothing to eat, except a fruit they call chacan, that
is ground between stones, and even then it could with difficulty
be eaten for its dryness and pungency, — which was true.
They showed it to us there, and we could not eat it. They in-
formed us also that, whilst we travelled by the river upward, we
should all the way pass through a people that were their ene-
mies, who spoke their tongue, and, though they had nothing to
give us to eat, they would receive us with the best good will,
and present us with mantles of cotton, hides, and other articles
of their wealth.^ Still it appeared to them we ought by no
means to take that course.
Douljting what it would be best to do, and which way we
should choose for suital)lcncss and support, we remained two
days with these Indians, who gave us beans and pumpkins for
our subsistence. Their method of cooking is so new that for
its stningcness I desire to s[)enk of it; thus it may be seen and
remarked how curious and diversified are the contrivances and
' The Pueblo Indians of New Mexico are here referred to. Later Spanish
explorers found r-ottr)n pjarments in abundance in their couiitry. The state-
ment here that the Jumanos spoke the same tongue as some of the Pueblos
is significant, and accounts in a measure for the affiliation of the Jumanos
with the Piros when missions were established by the Franciscans among these
two trib(;s east of the Rio (Irande, in New Mexico, in 1G29.
1535] NAEEATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 105
ingenuity of the human family. Not having discovered the use
of pipkins, to boil what they would eat, they fill the half of a
large calabash with water, and throw on the fire many stones
of such as are most convenient and readily take the heat.
When hot, they are taken up with tongs of sticks and dropped
into the calabash until the water in it boils from the fervor of
the vstones. Then whatever is to be cooked is put in, and until
it is done they continue taking out cooled stones and throwing
in hot ones. Thus they boil their food.^
Chapter 31
Of our taking the way to the maize.
Two days being spent while we tarried, we resolved to go in
search of the maize. We did not wish to follow the path lead-
ing to where the cattle are, because it is towards the north, and
for us very circuitous, since we ever held it certain that going
towards the sunset we must find what we desired.
Thus we took our way, and traversed all the country until
coming out at the South Sea. Nor was the dread we had of
the sharp hunger through which we should have to pass (as in
verity we did, throughout the seventeen days' journey of which
the natives spoke) sufficient to hinder us. During all that time,
in ascending by the river, they gave us many coverings of cow-
hide; but we did not eat of the fruit. Our sustenance each
day was about a handful of deer-suet, which we had a long
time been used to saving for such trials. Thus we passed the
entire journey of seventeen days, and at the close we crossed
the river ^ and travelled other seventeen days.
As the sun went down, upon some plains that lie between
* This was not an uncommon practice, especially amonjj; the non-sedentary
tribes who could not readily transport pottery from place to place. The
name Assiniboin, meaning "stone Sioux," abbreviated to "Stonics," is de-
rived from this custom. Tightly woven baskets and wooden bowls were
also used for the purpose.
' Probably the Rio Santa Maria, in Chihuahua.
106 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1535
chains of very great mountains/ we found a people who for the
third part of the year eat nothing but the powder of straw, and,
that being the season when we passed, we also had to eat of it,
until reaching permanent habitations, where was abundance of
maize brought together.^ They gave us a large quantity in
grain and flour, pumpkins, beans, and shawls of cotton. With
all these we loaded our guides, who went back the happiest
creatures on earth. We gave thanks to God, our Lord, for
having brought us where we had found so much food.
Some houses are of earth, the rest all of cane mats. From
this point we marched through more than a hundred leagues of
country, and continually found settled domicils, with plenty of
maize and beans. The people gave us many deer and cotton
shawls better than those of New Spain, many beads and certain
corals found on the South Sea, and fine turquoises that come
from the north. Indeed they gave us every thing they had.
To me they gave five emeralds^ made into arrow-heads, which
they use at their singing and dancing. They appeared to be
very precious. I asked whence they got these ; and they said
the stones were brought from some lofty mountains that stand
toward the north, where were populous towns and very large
houses, and that they were purchased with plumes and the
feathers of parrots.
Among this people the women are treated with more deco-
rum than in any part of the Indias we had visited. They wear
a shirt of cotton that falls as low as the knee, and over it half
sleeves with skirts reaching to the ground, made of dressed
deer-skin.'' It opens in front and is brought close with straps
of leather. They soap this with a certain root Hhat cleanses
well, ])y which they are enabled to keep it becomingly. Shoes
are worn. The jx'oplc all came to us that we should touch and
bless them, they being very urgent, which we could accomplish
' Tho Sinrra Madro.
' Tho rniMicrdiis villiifjcs of the Opiita and cognate tribes of Sonora.
' Jiandelier (p. ITyii) believes that there may have been mahiehites.
* For the clothing of the Opata Indians, see Castafteda's narration in
this volume.
' Amole, the root of the yucca.
1535] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 107
only with great labor, for sick and well all wished to go with a
benediction. Many times it occurred that some of the women
who accompanied us gave birth ; and so soon as the children
were born the mothers would bring them to us that we should
touch and bless them.
These Indians ever accompanied us until they delivered us
to others ; and all held full faith in our coming from heaven.
While travelling, we went without food all day until night, and
we ate so httle as to astonish them. We never felt exhaustion,
neither were we in fact at all weary, so inured were we to hard-
ship. We possessed great influence and authority : to preserve
both, we seldom talked with them. The negro was in constant
conversation ; he informed himself about the ways we wished
to take, of the towns there were, and the matters we desired to
know.
We passed through many and dissimilar tongues. Our
Lord granted us favor with the people who spoke them, for they
always understood us, and we them. We questioned them,
and received their answers by signs, just as if they spoke our
language and we theirs ; for, although we knew six languages,
we could not everywhere avail ourselves of them, there being a
thousand differences.
Throughout all these countries the people who were at war
immediately made friends, that they might come to meet us,
and bring what they possessed. In this way we left all the land
at peace, and we taught all the inhabitants by signs, which they
understood, that in heaven was a Man we called God, who had
created the sky and the earth ; Him we worshipped and had for
our master; that we did what He commanded and from His
hand came all good ; and would they do as we did, all would be
well with them. So ready of apprehension we found them
that, could we have had the use of language by which to make
ourselves perfectly understood, we should have left them all
Christians. Thus much we gave them to understand the best
we could. And afterward, when the sun rose, they opened
their hands together with loud shouting towards the heavens,
and then drew them down all over their bodies. They did the
108 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1535
same again when the sun went doWTi. They are a people of
good condition and substance, capable in any pursuit.
Chapter 32
The Indians give us the hearts of deer.
In the town where the emeralds were presented to us the
people gave Dorantes over six hundred open hearts of deer.
They ever keep a good supply of them for food, and we called
the place Pueblo de los Corazones/ It is the entrance into
many provinces on the South Sea. They who go to look for
them, and do not enter there, will be lost. On the coast is no
maize : the inhabitants eat the powder of rush and of straw,
and fish that is caught in the sea from rafts, not having canoes.
With grass and straw the women cover their nudity. They are
a timid and dejected people.^
We think that near the coast by way of those towns through
which we came are more than a thousand leagues of inhabited
country, plentiful of subsistence. Three times the year it is
planted with maize and beans. Deer are of three kinds ; one
the size of the young steer of Spain. There are innumerable
houses, such as are called bahios.^ They have poison from a
certain tree the size of the apple. For effect no more is neces-
sary than to pluck the fruit and moisten the arrow with it, or, if
there be no fruit, to break a twig and with the milk do the like.
The tree is al)UMdant and so deadly that, if the leaves be bruised
and steeped in some neighboring water, the deer and other
animals drinking it soon burst.^
' Town of tho Hearts, at or near the present Ures, on the Rio Sonora.
The phiee became celebrated in 1540, when Coroiiado's army passed
throuKh the country. See the Castaneda narration in this vohnne.
' These were the Seri, (Juaymas, Uf)aiip:iiaymas, and Tepoca tribes.
Th(! S<'ri i)articuiarly have ever been noted for their warhke character, but
Cabeza de Vaca does not here spvuk from personal knowledj^e.
* That is, in the West Indies, see p. 19, note 5.
* See the Castaneiia narration, p. 326, post; and compare the Rudo Ensayo
{ca. 170.3), p. 64, 1S03, which says: "Mago, in the Opata huiguage, is a
1535] NAERATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 109
We were in this town three days. A day's journey^ farther
was another town,^ at which the rain fell heavily while we were
there, and the river became so swollen we could not cross it,
which detained us fifteen days. In this time Castillo saw the
buckle of a sword-belt on the neck of an Indian and stitched
to it the nail of a horseshoe. He took them, and we asked the
native what they were: he answered that they came from
heaven. We questioned him further, as to who had brought
them thence : they all responded that certain men who wore
beards like us had come from heaven and arrived at that river,
bringing horses, lances, and swords, and that they had lanced
two Indians. In a manner of the utmost indifference we could
feign, we asked them what had become of those men. They
answered us that they had gone to sea, putting their lances
beneath the water, and going themselves also under the water ;
afterwards that they were seen on the surface going towards the
sunset. For this we gave many thanks to God our Lord. We
had before despaired of ever hearing more of Christians. Even
yet we were left in great doubt and anxiety, thinking those peo-
ple were merely persons who had come by sea on discoveries.
However, as we had now such exact information, we made
greater speed, and, as we advanced on our way, the news of the
Christians continually grew. We told the natives that we were
going in search of that people, to order them not to kill nor
make slaves of them, nor take them from their lands, nor do
other injustice. Of this the Indians were very glad.
We passed through many territories and found them all va-
cant : their inhabitants wandered fleeing among the mountains,
without daring to have houses or till the earth for fear of Chris-
tians. The sight was one of infinite pain to us, a land very
small tree, very green, luxuriant, and beautiful to the eye ; but it contains
a deadly juice which flows upon making a slight incision in the bark. The
natives rulj their arrows with it, and for this reason they call it arrow herb ;
but at present they use very little."
* Twelve leagues, and the same distance from the Gulf of California,
according to the last paragrai)h of this chapter.
^ Perhaps at or in the vicinity of the present Hermosillo, Sonora,
although the distance is greater than that given later.
UO SPA^s^SH EXPLOEEKS [1535
fertile and beautiful, abounding in springs and streams, the
hamlets deserted and burned, the people thin and weak, all
fleeing or in concealment. As they did not plant, they ap-
peased their keen hunger by eating roots and the bark of trees.
We bore a share in the famine along the whole way ; for poorly
could these unfortunates provide for us, themselves being so
reduced they looked as though they would willingly die. They
brought shawls of those they had concealed because of the
Christians, presenting them to us; and they related how the
Christians at other times had come through the land, destroying
and burning the towns, carrying away half the men, and all the
women and the boj^s, while those who had been able to escape
were wandering about fugitives. We found them so alarmed
they dared not remain anyw^here. They would not nor could
they till the earth, but preferred to die rather than live in dread
of such cruel usage as they received. Although these showed
themselves greatly delighted with us, we feared that on our ar-
rival among those who held the frontier, and fought against the
Christians, they would treat us badly, and revenge upon us the
conduct of their enemies ; but, when God our Lord was pleased
to bring us there, they began to dread and respect us as the
others had done, and even somewhat more, at which we no little
wondered. Thence it may at once be seen that, to bring all
these people to be Christians and to the obedience of the Im-
perial Majesty, they must be won by kindness, which is a way
certain, and no other is.
They took us to a town on the edge of a range of mountains,
to which the ascent is over difficult crags. We found many
people there collected out of fear of the Christians. They re-
ceived us well, and presented us all they had. They gave us
more than two tlK)usand back-loads of maize, which we gave to
the distressed and hungered beings who guided us to that place.
The next day we despatched four messengers through the coun-
try, as we were accustomed to do, that they should call together
all the rest of the Indians at a town distant three days'
march. We set out the day after with all the ])eople. The
tracks of the Christians and marks where they slept were con-
1536] NAKRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 111
tinually seen. At mid-day we met our messengers, who told
us they had found no Indians, that they were roving and hid-
ing in the forests, fleeing that the Christians might not kill
nor make them slaves ; the night before they had observed the
Christians from behind trees, and discovered what they were
about, carrying away many people in chains.
Those who came with us were alarmed at this intelligence ;
some returned to spread the news over the land that the Chris-
tians were coming ; and many more would have followed, had
we not forbidden it and told them to cast aside their fear, when
they reassured themselves and were well content. At the time
we had Indians with us belonging a hundred leagues behind,
and we were in no condition to discharge them, that they might
return to their homes. To encourage them, we stayed there
that night ; the day after we marched and slept on the road.
The following day those whom we had sent forward as messen-
gers guided us to the place where they had seen Christians.
We arrived in the afternoon, and saw at once that they told the
truth. We perceived that the persons were mounted, by the
stakes to which the horses had been tied.
From this spot, called the river Pctutan,^ to the river to
which Diego de Guzman came,^ where we heard of Christians,
may be as many as eighty leagues ; thence to the town where
the rains overtook us, twelve leagues, and that is twelve leagues
from the South Sea.^ Throughout this region, wheresoever the
mountains extend, we saw clear traces of gold and lead, iron,
copper, and other metals. Where the settled habitations are,
the climate is hot ; even in January the weather is very warm.
Thence toward the meridian, the country unoccupied to the
North Sea is unhappy and sterile. There we underwent great
' Pctatlan; so also in the edition of 1542. This is the Rio Sinaloa. See
Castaiieda's narration of the Coronado expedition, part 2, ch. 2, post.
^ See the note on Guzman in the Castancda relation. The narrative
is here slightly confused, as the town at whi(!h they first heard of Christians
was the one in which they were overtaken by the rain, according to Cabeza
de Vaca's previous statement in this chapter.
^The (Julf of ('alifornia. As he did not go to the coast, however, his
estimate is considerably below the actual distance.
112 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1536
and incredible hunger. Those who inhabit and wander over it
are a race of evil inclination and most cruel customs. The
people of the fixed residences ^ and those beyond regard silver
and gold with indifference, nor can they conceive of any use
for them.
Chapter 33
We see traces of Christians.
When we saw sure signs of Christians, and heard how near
we were to them, we gave thanks to God our Lord for having
chosen to bring us out of a captivity so melancholy and N\Tetched.
The delight we felt let each one conjecture, when he shall re-
member the length of time we were in that country, the suffering
and perils we underwent. That night I entreated my com-
panions that one of them should go back three days' journey
after the Christians who were moving about over the country,
where we had given assurance of protection. Neither of them
received this proposal well, excusing themselves because of
weariness and exhaustion; and although either might have
done better than I, being more youthful and athletic, yet seeing
their unwillingness, the next morning I took the negro with
eleven Indians, and, following the Christians by their trail,
I travelled ten leagues, passing three villages, at which they
had slept.
The day after I overtook four of them on horseback, who
were astonished at the sight of me, so strangely habited as I
was, and in company with Indians.^ They stood staring at me
a length of time, so confounded that they neither hailed me nor
drew near to make an incjuiry. I bade them take me to their
chief : accordingly we went together half a league to the place
where was Diego de Alcaraz, their captain.^
' The Juinanos, previously mentioned.
' There were twenty horsemen iiceordiiiK to the Letter (Oviodo, p. 012).
* Ah:uniz hiU-r nerved a.s n lieutenant under Diaz in the Coronado ex-
pedition. Castaneda characterizes him as a weakling.
1536] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 113
After we had conversed, he stated to me that he was com-
pletely undone; he had not been able in a long time to take
any Indians ; he knew not which way to turn, and his men had
well begun to experience hunger and fatigue. I told him of
Castillo and Dorantes, who were behind, ten leagues off, with a
multitude that conducted us. He thereupon sent three cavalry
to them, with fifty of the Indians who accompanied him. The
negro returned to guide them, while I remained. I asked the
Christians to give me a certificate of the year, month, and day
I arrived there, and of the manner of my coming, which they
accordingly did. From this river ^ to the town of the Christians,
named San Miguel,^ within the government of the province
called New Galicia, are thirty leagues.
Chapter 34
Of sending for the Christians.
Five days having elapsed, Andres Dorantes and Alonzo del
Castillo arrived with those who had been sent after them.
They brought more than six hundred persons of that com-
munity, whom the Christians had driven into the forests, and
who had wandered in concealment over the land. Those who
accompanied us so far had drawn them out, and given them to
the Christians, who thereupon dismissed all the others they had
brought with them. Upon their coming to where I Was, Alcaraz
begged that we would summon the people of the towns on the
margin of the river, who straggled about under cover of the
woods, and order them to fetch us something to eat. This last
was unnecessary, the Indians being ever diligent to bring us all
they could. Directly we sent our messengers to call them,
when there came six hundred souls, bringing us all the maize in
their possession. They fetched it in certain pots, closed with
* Evidently the Rio Sinaloa.
^ San Miguel Culiacaii. See Castaileda's narration.
114 SPANISH EXPLOREES [1536
clay, which they had concealed in the earth. They brought
us whatever else they had ; but we, wishing only to have the
provision, gave the rest to the Christians, that they might
divide among themselves. After this we had many high words
with them ; for they wished to make slaves of the Indians we
brought.
In consequence of the dispute, we left at our departure many
bows of Turkish shape we had along with us and many pouches.
The five arrows with the points of emerald were forgotten
among others, and we lost them. We gave the Christians a
store of robes of cowhide and other things we brought. We
found it difficult to induce the Indians to return to their dwell-
ings, to feel no apprehension and plant maize. They were will-
ing to do nothing until they had gone with us and delivered us
into the hands of other Indians, as had been the custom ; for,
if they returned without doing so, they were afraid they should
die, and, going with us, they feared neither Christians nor lances.
Our countrymen became jealous at this, and caused their inter-
preter to tell the Indians that we were of them, and for a long
time we had been lost ; that they were the lords of the land
who must be obeyed and served, while we were persons of mean
condition and small force. The Indians cared little or nothing
for what was told them ; and conversing among themselves said
the Christians lied: that we had come whence the sun rises,
and they whence it goes down; we healed the sick, they killed
the sound ; that we had come naked and barefooted, while they
had arrived in clothing and on horses with lances ; that we were
not covetous of anything, but all that was given to us we di-
rectly turned to give, remaining with nothing ; that the others
had the only purpose to rob whomsoever they found, bestow-
ing nothing on any one.
In tliis way they s])oke of all matters respecting us, which
they enhanced by contrast with matters concerning the others,
delivering their r(\s))f)nse through the interpreter of the Span-
iards. To other Indians they made this known by means of
one among th(im through whom they understood us. Those
who speak that tongue we discriminately call Primahaitu,
1536] NAERATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 115
which is hke saying Vasconyados/ We found it in use over
more than four hundred leagues of our travel, without another
over that whole extent. Even to the last, I could not convince
the Indians that we were of the Christians ; and only with great
effort and solicitation we got them to go back to their residences.
We ordered them to put away apprehension, estabhsh their
towns, plant and cultivate the soil.
From abandonment the country had already grown up
thickly in trees. It is, no doubt, the best in all these Indias,
the most prolific and plenteous in provisions. Three times in
the year it is planted. It produces great variety of fruit, has
beautiful rivers, with many other good waters. There are ores
with clear traces of gold and silver. The people are well dis-
posed : they serve such Christians as are their friends, with
great good will. They are comely, much more so than the
Mexicans. Indeed, the land needs no circumstance to make it
blessed.
The Indians, at taking their leave, told us they would do
what we commanded, and would build their towns, if the Chris-
tians would suffer them ; and this I say and affirm most posi-
tively, that, if they have not done so, it is the fault of the
Christians.
After we had dismissed the Indians in peace, and thanked
them for the toil they had supported with us, the Christians
with subtlety sent us on our way under charge of Zebreros, an
alcalde, attended by t^vo men. They took us through forests
and solitudes, to hinder us from intercourse with the natives,
that we might neither witness nor have knowledge of the act
they would commit. It is but an instance of how frequently
men are mistaken in their aims ; we set about to preserve the
liberty of the Indians and thought we had secured it, but the
contrary appeared ; for the Christians had arranged to go and
' Evidently intended for Pimahaitu, through misunderstanding. These
tribes who Hved in permanent habitations, from the village of the Corazones
(Hearts) to Culiacan, were all of the Piman family, and consequently spoke
related languages. The Pima do not call themselves Pima, but 0-otam,
"men," "people." Pima moans "no"; pimahaitu, "no thing." The term
Vasconyados, or Vascongados, refers to the Biscayans.
116 SPANISH EXPLOREKS [1536
spring upon those we had sent away in peace and confidence.
They executed their plan as they had designed, taking us
through the woods, wherein for two days we were lost, without
water and without way. Seven of our men died of thirst,
and we all thought to have perished. Many friendly to the
Christians in their company were unable to reach the place
where we got water the second night, until the noon of next day.
We travelled twenty-five leagues, little more or less, and reached
a town of friendly Indians. The alcalde left us there, and went
on three leagues farther to a town called Cuhacan where was
Melchior Diaz, principal alcalde and captain of the province.^
Chapter 35
The chief alcalde receives us kindly the night we arrive.
The alcalde mayor knew of the expedition, and, hearing of
our return, he immediately left that night and came to where
we were. He wept with us, giving praises to God our Lord
for having extended over us so great care. He comforted and
entertained us hospitably. In behalf of the Governor, Nuiio
de Guzman and himself, he tendered all that he had, and the
service in his power. He showed much regret for the seizure,
and the injustice we had received from Alcaraz and others.
We were sure, had he been present, what was done to the
Indians and to us would never have occurred.
The night being passed, we set out the next day for
Anhacan. The chief alcalde besought us to tarry there, since
by so doing wo could be of eminent service to God and your
Majesty; the deserted land was without tillage and every-
where badly wasted, the Indians were fleeing and concealing
themselves in the tiiickets, unwilling to occuj)y their towns;
we were to send and (;all them, commanding them in behalf of
' For tho Inter (•.■in-cr of tliis officer, seo Castaftoda's narration.
Mfilchior Diaz wan a man of v(!ry (lilTcrcnt stanij) to (iuzniaii, Alcaraz, and
ZeljrcroH (or (Jcbrero.s), so far as his trcaUncnt of the Indians is concerned.
1536] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 117
God and the King, to return to live in the vales and cultivate
the soil.
To us this appeared diflficult to effect. We had brought no
native of our own, nor of those who accompanied us according
to custom, intelligent in these affairs. At last we made the
attempt with two captives, brought from that country, who
were with the Christians we first overtook.' They had seen
the people who conducted us, and learned from them the great
authority and command we carried and exercised throughout
those parts, the wonders we had worked, the sick we had
cured, and the many things besides we had done. We ordered
that they, with others of the town, should go together to sum-
mon the hostile natives among the mountains and of the river
Petachan,^ where we had found the Christians, and say to
them they must come to us, that we wished to speak with
them. For the protection of the messengers, and as a token
to the others of our will, we gave them a gourd of those we
were accustomed to bear in our hands, which had been our
principal insignia and evidence of rank,^ and with this they
went away.
The Indians were gone seven days, and returned with three
chiefs of those revolted among the ridges, who brought with
them fifteen men, and presented us beads, turquoises, and
feathers. The messengers said they had not found the people
of the river where we appeared, the Christians having again
made them run away into the mountains. Melchior Diaz told
the interpreter to speak to the natives for us ; to say to them
we came in the name of God, who is in heaven ; that we had
travelled about the world many years, telling all the people we
found that they should believe in God and serve Him ; for He
was the Master of all things on the earth, benefiting and re-
warding the virtuous, and to the bad giving perpetual punish-
ment of fire ; that, when the good die. He takes them to heaven,
where none ever die, nor feel cold, nor hunger, nor thirst, nor
' Petatlan — the Rio Sinaloa.
' Evidently one of those obtained in Texas and which the Indians there
BO highly regarded. See p. 90, note 2; p. 95, note 1.
118 SPAJSriSH EXPLOREES [1536
any inconvenience whatsoever, but the greatest enjojmient pos-
sible to conceive ; that those who will not believe in Him, nor
obey His commands. He casts beneath the earth into the com-
pany of demons, and into a great fire which is never to go out,
but always torment ; that, over this, if they desired to be Chris-
tians and serve God in the way we required, the Christians
would cherish them as brothers and behave towards them very
kindly ; that we would command they give no offence nor take
them from their territories, but be their great friends. If the
Indians did not do this, the Christians would treat them very
hardly, carrying them away as slaves into other lands/
They answered through the interpreter that they would be
true Christians and serve God. Being asked to whom they
sacrifice and offer worship, from whom they ask rain for their
corn-fields and health for themselves, they answered of a man
that is in heaven. We inquired of them his name, and they
told us Aguar ; and they believed he created the whole world,
and the things in it. We returned to question them as to how
they knew this ; they answered their fathers and grandfathers
had told them, that from distant time had come their knowl-
edge, and they knew the rain and all good things were sent to
them by him. We told them that the name of him of whom
they spoke we called Dios ; and if they would call him so, and
would worship him as we directed, they would find their wel-
fare. They responded that they well understood, and would
do as we said. We ordered them to come down from the
mountains in confidence and peace, inhabit the whole country
and construct their houses : among these they should build one
for God, at its entrance place a cross like that which we had
there present; and, when Christians came among them, they
should go out to receive them with crosses in their hands,
without l)ows or any arms, and take them to their dwellings,
giving of what th(>y have to eat, and the Christians would do
them no injury, but be their friends; and the Indians told us
they would do as we had commanded.
' Among th(! Indians of this rcf^ion who woro rjvrriod away into cap)-
tivity were the Yaqui, who have been hostile to the whites to this day.
1536] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 119
The captain having given them shawls and entertained
them, they returned, taking the two captives who had been
used as emissaries. This occurrence took place before the
notary, in the presence of many witnesses.
Chapter 36
Of building churches in that land.
As soon as these Indians went back, all those of that prov-
ince who were friendly to the Christians, and had heard of us,
came to visit us, bringing beads and feathers. We commanded
them to build churches and put crosses in them : to that time
none had been raised ; and we made them bring their principal
men to be baptized.
Then the captain made a covenant with God, not to invade
nor consent to invasion, nor to enslave any of that country and
people, to whom we had guaranteed safety ; that this he would
enforce and defend until your Majesty and the Governor Nuiio
de Guzman, or the Viceroy in your name, should direct what
would be most for the service of God and your Highness.
When the children had been baptized, we departed for the
town of San Miguel. So soon as we arrived, April 1, 1536,
came Indians, who told us many people had come down from
the mountains and were living in the vales; that they had
made churches and crosses, doing all we had required. Each
day we heard how these things were advancing to a full im-
provement.
Fifteen days of our residence having passed, Alcaraz got
back with the Christians from the incursion, and they related
to the captain the manner in which the Indians had come down
and peopled the plain ; that the towns were inhabited which
had been tenantless and deserted, the residents, coming out to
receive them with crosses in their hands, had taken them to
their houses, giving of what they had, and the Christians had
slept among them over night. They were surprised at a thing
120 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1536
SO novel; but, as the natives said they had been assured of
safety, it was ordered that they should not be harmed, and the
Christians took friendly leave of them.
God in His infinite mercy is pleased that in the days of
your ]\Iajesty, under your might and dominion, these nations
should come to be thoroughly and voluntarily subject to the
Lord, who has created and redeemed us. We regard this as
certain, that your Majesty is he who is destined to do so much,
not difficult to accomplish; for in the two thousand leagues
we journeyed on land, and in boats on water, and in that we
travelled unceasingly for ten months after coming out of cap-
tivity, we found neither sacrifices nor idolatry.
In the time, we traversed from sea to sea; and from in-
formation gathered with great diligence, there may be a dis-
tance from one to another at the widest part, of two thousand
leagues; and we learned that on the coast of the South Sea
there are pearls and great riches, and the best and all the most
opulent countries are near there.
We were in the village of San Miguel until the fifteenth day
of May.^ The cause of so long a detention was, that from
thence to the city of Compostela, where the Governor Nuno
de Guzman resided, are a hundred leagues of country, entirely
devastated and filled with enemies, where it was necessary we
should have protection. Twenty mounted men went with us
for forty leagues, and after that six Christians accompanied
us, who had with them five hundred slaves. Arrived at Com-
postela, the Governor entertained us graciously and gave us
of his clothing for our use. I could not wear any for some
time, nor could we sleep anywhere else but on the ground.
After ten or twelve days we left for Mexico, and were all along
on th(; way well entertained by Christians. Many came out
on the roads to gaze at us, giving thanks to God for having
saved us from so many cahimities. ^\'e arrived at Mexico on
Sunday, the day before the vespers of Saint lago,^ where we
were liandsomely trciated by the Viceroy and the Marquis del
' ir,:{f).
'The (liiy of Suiiit, .liuiics Ur; Apostle — July 25, 1536.
1637] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 121
Valle/ and welcomed with joy. They gave us clothing and
proffered whatsoever they had. On the day of Saint lago was
a celebration, and a joust of reeds with bulls.
Chapter 37
Of what occurred when I wished to return.
When we had rested two months in Mexico, I desired to
return to these kingdoms;^ and being about to embark in the
month of October, a storm came on, capsizing the ship, and
she was lost. In consequence I resolved to remain through
the winter; because in those parts it is a boisterous season
for navigation. After that had gone by, Dorantes and I left
Mexico, about Lent, to take shipping at Vera Cruz. We re-
mained waiting for a wind until Palm Sunday, when we went
on board, and were detained fifteen days longer for a wind.
The ship leaked so much that I quitted her, and went to one
of two other vessels that were ready to sail, but Dorantes
remained in her.
On the tenth day of April,^ the three ships left the port,
and sailed one hundred and fifty leagues. Two of them
leaked a great deal; and one night the vessel I was in lost
their company. Their pilots and masters, as afterwards ap-
peared, dared not proceed with the other vessels so, and with-
out telling us of their intentions, or letting us know aught of
them, put back to the port they had left. We pursued our
voyage, and on the fourth day of May we entered the harbor
of Havana, in the island of Cuba. We remained waiting for
the other vessels, believing them to be on their way, until the
second of June, when we sailed, in much fear of falling in
with Frenchmen, as they had a few days before taken three
Spanish vessels. Having arrived at the island of Bermuda,
we were struck by one of those storms that overtake those
who pass there, according to what they state who sail thither.
' The Viceroy Mendoza and Cortes. ' Spain. ' 1537.
122 SPANISH EXPLOREES [1537
All one night we considered ourselves lost; and we were
thankful that when morning was come, the storm ceased, and
we could go on our course.
At the end of twenty-nine days after our departure from
Havana, we had sailed eleven hundred leagues, which are said
to be thence to the town of the Azores. The next morning,
passing by the island called Cuervo,^ we fell in with a French
ship. At noon she began to follow, bringing with her a caravel
captured from the Portuguese, and gave us chase. In the
evemng we saw nine other sail ; but they were so distant we
could not make out whether they were Portuguese or of those
that pursued us. At night the Frenchman was within shot
of a lombard from our ship, and we stole away from our course
in the dark to evade him, and this we did three or four times.
He approached so near that he saw us and fired. He might
have taken us, or, at his option could leave us until the morn-
ing. I remember with gratitude to the Almighty when the
sun rose, and we found ourselves close with the Frenchman,
that near us were the nine sail we saw the evening before,
which we now recognized to be of the fleet of Portugal. I
gave thanks to our Lord for escape from the troubles of the
land and perils of the sea. The Frenchman, so soon as he
discovered their character, let go the caravel he had seized
with a cargo of negroes and kept as a prize, to make us think
he was Portuguese, that we might wait for him. AMien he
cast her off, he told the pilot and the master of her, that we
were French and under his convoy. This said, sixty oars
were put out from his ship, and thus with these and sail he
commenced to flee, moving so fast it was hardly credible.
The caravel being let go, went to the galleon, and informed
the commander that the other ship and ours were French.
As we drc'W nigh the galleon, and the fleet saw we were com-
ing down upon them, they made no doubt we were, and put-
ting themselves in order of battle, bore up for us, and when
near we hailed them. Discovering that we were friends, they
found that they were mocked in permitting the corsair to
* Corvo.
1537] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 123
escape, by being told that we were French and of his
company.
Four caravels were sent in pursuit. The galleon drawing
near, after the salutation from us, the commander, Diego de
Silveira, asked whence we came and what merchandise we
carried, when we answered that we came from New Spain,
and were loaded with silver and gold. He asked us how
much there might be; the captain told him we carried three
thousand castellanos. The commander replied: ''In honest
truth you come very rich, although you bring a very sorry
ship and a still poorer artillery. By Heaven, that renegade
whoreson Frenchman has lost a good mouthful. Now that
you have escaped, follow me, and do not leave me that I may,
with God's help, dehver you in Spain."
After a little time, the caravels that pursued the French-
man returned, for plainly he moved too fast for them; they
did not like either, to leave the fleet, which was guarding
three ships that came laden with spices. Thus we reached
the island of Terceira, where we reposed fifteen days, taking
refreshment and awaiting the arrival of another ship coming
with a cargo from India, the companion of the three of which
the armada was in charge. The time having run out, we left
that place with the fleet, and arrived at the port of Lisbon on
the ninth of August, on the vespers of the day of our master
Saint Lawrence,^ in the year one thousand five hundred and
thirty-seven.
That what I have stated in my foregoing narrative is true,
I subscribe with my name.
Cabeza de Vaca.
The narrative here ended is signed with his name and arms.
Chapter 38
Of what became of the others who went to Indian.
Since giving this circumstantial account of events attending
the voyage to Florida, the invasion, and our going out thence
' The day of Saint Lawrence (San Lorenzo) is August 10.
124 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1537
until the arrival in these realms, I desire to state what became
of the ships and of the people who remained with them. I
have not before touched on this, as we were uninformed until
coming to New Spain, where we found many of the persons,
and others here in Castile, from whom we learned everything
to the latest particular.
At the time we left, one of the ships had already been lost
on the breakers, and the three others were in considerable
danger, having nearly a hundred souls on board and few stores.
Among the persons were ten married women, one of whom
had told the Governor many things that afterwards befell
him on the voyage. She cautioned him before he went inland
not to go, as she was confident that neither he nor any going
with him could ever escape; but should any one come back
from that country, the Almighty must work great wonders in
his behalf, though she believed few or none would return.
The Governor said that he and his followers were going to
fight and conquer nations and countries wholly unknown,
and in subduing them he knew that many would be slain;
nevertheless, that those who survived would be fortunate,
since from what he had understood of the opulence of that
land, they must become very rich. And further he begged
her to inform him whence she learned those things that had
passed, as well as those she spoke of, that were to come ; she
replied that in Castile a Moorish woman of Hornachos had
told them to her^ which she had stated to us likewise before
we left Spain, and while on the passage many things happened
in the way she foretold.
After the Governor had made Caravallo, a native of Cucnca
de Iluete, his lieutenant and commander of the vessels and
people, he departed, leaving orders that all diligence should
be used to r('i)air on bojird, and take the direct course to P;in-
uco, ke('j)ing along the shore closely examining for the harbor,
and having found it, the vessels should enter there and await
our arrival. And the p(>ople state, that when tiny had be-
taken themselves to the ships, all of them looking at that
woman, they distinctly heard her say to the females, that
1537] NARRATIVE OF CABEZA DE VACA 125
well, since their husbands had gone inland, putting their per-
sons in so great jeopardy, their wives should in no way take
more account of them, but ought soon to be looking after
whom they would marry, and that she should do so. She
did accordingly: she and others married, or became the con-
cubines of those who remained in the ships.
After we left, the vessels made sail, taking their course
onward; but not finding the harbor, they returned. Five
leagues below the place at which we debarked, they found
the port, the same we discovered when we saw the Spanish
cases containing dead bodies, which were of Christians.^ Into
this haven and along this coast, the three ships passed with
the other ship that came from Cuba, and the brigantine, look-
ing for us nearly a year, and not finding us, they went to New
Spain.
The port of which we speak is the best in the world. At
the entrance are six fathoms of water and five near the shore.
It runs up into the land seven or eight leagues. The bottom
is fine white sand. No sea breaks upon it nor boisterous
storm, and it can contain many vessels. Fish is in great
plenty. There are a hundred leagues to Havana, a town of
Christians in Cuba, with which it bears north and south.
The north-east wind ever prevails and vessels go from one to
the other, returning in a few days; for the reason that they
sail either way with it on the quarter.
As I have given account of the vessels, it may be well that
I state who are, and from what parts of these kingdoms come,
the persons whom our Lord has been pleased to release from
these troubles. The first is Alonzo del Castillo Maldonado,
native of Salamanca, son of Doctor Castillo and Doiia Al-
donQa Maldonado. The second is Andres Dorantes, son of Pablo
Dorantes, native of Bejar, and citizen of Gibraleon. The
third is Alvar Nuficz Cabe^a de Vaca, son of Francisco de Vera,
and grandson of Pedro de Vera who conquered the Canaries,
and his mother was Doiia Terega Cabega de Vaca, native of
' Tampa Bay, Florida.
126 SPANISH EXPLOREES
Xerez de la Frontera. The fourth, called Estevanico, is an
Arabian black, native of Agamor.
The End
The present tract was imprinted in the very magnificent,
noble and very ancient City of Zamora, by the honored residents
Augustin de Paz and Juan Picardo, partners, printers of books,
at the cost and outlay of the virtuous Juan Pedro Musetti,
book merchant of Medina del Campo, having been finished
the sixth day of the month of October, in the year one thou-
sand five hundred and forty-two of the birth of our Saviour
Jesus Christ/
* Colophon of the first edition.
i
THE NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION
OF HERNANDO DE SOTO, BY THE
GENTLEMAN OF ELVAS
INTRODUCTION
In the early annals of the exploration, conquest, and set-
tlement of the territory of the United States none are to be
found to which more interest is attached than to the expedi-
tion of Hernando de Soto through the Gulf States. History,
tradition, and poetry are indissolubly linked with his name.
Counties, towns, and lakes have been named after him, and
tradition attaches his name to many localities far removed
from the hne of his march.
In the narrative of the expedition we get our first geographi-
cal knowledge of the interior of the states of Florida, Georgia,
North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi,
Arkansas, Texas, and the Indian Territory. The Spaniards
while on their minor expeditions among the Indians may
also have entered the states of Missouri and Louisiana, but of
this there is no certainty.
The earUest history of the great Indian tribes or nations
residing in the above-named states is related by these narra-
tives, the expedition having traversed the territory of the
Timuguas, Cherokees, the various divisions or tribes of the
Muskogee or Creek confederacy, the Choctaws, Chickasaws,
Quapaws or Arkansas, several branches of the great Pani na-
tion, and some other tribes that are not so easily identified.
In the narratives are also to be found the first descriptions of
the habits, manners, and customs of the native tribes met
with. Their towns, villages, houses, temples, granaries,
bridges, canoes, banners, arms, wearing apparel, and culi-
nary implements are also described.
The first published narrative was written by a gentleman
from the town of Elvas, in Portugal, who joined the expedi-
K 129
130 SPANISH EXPLORERS
tion and participated in its trials and privations, and in the
weSiTy but memorable march through what was then known
as Florida. If he was one of those Portuguese who are named
in the book as having started from Elvas, the inference may
be drawn from the wording of the narrative that he was
named Alvaro Fernandez. His narrative was written after
his return from the expedition, and is evidently not based
upon a dinry, or even field-notes, but seemingly was drawn
entirely from memory- . His descriptions are somewhat vague,
the localities sometimes indefinite, the distances sometimes
confused, and there are some palpable errors. The lengthy
addresses of the caciques belong to romance rather than to
history; at least, they are open to grave suspicion that they
were manufactured for the occasion. Nevertheless, when the
narrative is considered as a whole, it is decidedly the best
full account that has been handed down to us. It records
the first discovery and navigation of the Mississippi River,
the death of its discoverer, De Soto, the building of the first
sea-going vessels — brigantines — by Moscoso, the first voy-
age down ''the great river," and the arrival in Mexico of the
remnants of the once powerful expedition. The narrative,
taken in connection with that of Ran j el, preserved in Oviedo's
Historia General y Natural de las Indias (Seville, 1547), sup-
plies almost a daily record of the events as they occurred.
The Gentleman of Elvas having been an eye-witness, and
his narrative being the best one that has been preserved, it
must be taken as a basis for laying down the route of the
expedition. The abridged journal of Ranjel, De Soto's pri-
vate secretary, should also be accepted as a standard, especially
as to dates and the order in which the towns and provinces
are named. Tlu^ narrative of Hi(Mlma, the factor of the expe-
dition,' ahhough written after his arrival in Mexico, supplies
' First prinU'd by Buckinpharn Smith in his Colcccwn de varies Docu-
menlos para la IliaUtria de la Florida (London, 1857).
INTRODUCTION" 131
some additional information. It furnishes the only clue as
to the direction pursued by Moscoso, after leaving Guachoya,
and therefore contains valuable auxihary evidence. The ac-
count written by Garciiaso de la Vega, ''the Inca," Florida
del Ynca (Lisbon, 1605), is principally based upon the oral
statements of a noble Spaniard who accompanied Soto as a
volunteer, and the written but illiterate reports of two com-
mon soldiers, Alonzo de Carmona and Juan Coles. After elimi-
nating all the overdrawn, flowery, and fanciful portions of
the account, there is a residue consisting, in part, of misplaced
towns, provinces, and events, together with occasional dupli-
cations of descriptions. Of the remainder, only such portions
as conform to, or do not conflict with, the other narratives are
worthy of consideration. By combining the geographical
topographical, and descriptive portions of the narratives and
exploring the probable and possible sections of the route the
present writer has succeeded in identifying a number of points
visited by Soto and his followers. A detailed description of
the places identified will be found in the Publications of the
Mississippi Historical Society (VI. 449-467) ; and the relative
value of the narratives, together with the minor documents
is discussed in the same series (VII. 379-387).
The Gentleman of Elvas, unhke Ranjel, does not put him-
self forward, but was so modest that only once does he refer
to himself while on the march through Florida, and that was
on the occasion of the death of some relatives while at Ami-
noya. Seemingly he did not take an active part at the front
or in the advances, but was always with the main army.
The Narrative of the Gentleman of Elvas was first pub-
Hshed at Evora, Portugal, in 1557. It was reprinted at Lis-
bon in 1844 by the Royal Academy, and again in 1875. The
first French edition appeared in 1685, and an English transla-
tion from this edition was published in 1686. The first Eng-
lish version, by Hakluyt, entitled Virginia richly valued by
132 SPANISH EXPLORERS
the Description of the Mainland of Florida, appeared in 1609,
and a reprint entitled The worthye and famous Historie of the
Travailles, Discovery, and Conquest of Terra Florida, in 1611.
A reprint from the latter, edited by William B. Rye, was pub-
lished by the Hakluyt Society in 1851. The version of 1611 is
included in Force's Tracts, Volume IV., 1846, and in French's
Historical Collections of Louisiana, Part 2. The Enghsh trans-
lation by Buckingham Smith, which was published by the
Bradford Club in 1866, in a volume entitled The Career of
Hernando de Soto in the Conquest of Florida, is the latest and
most authentic version. It is this which is followed in the
present volume. A reprint of Smith's translation, edited by
Professor Edward G. Bourne, was pubhshed in 1904.
T. Hayes Lewis.
^i
5 VVANI)KUIN(;S
lirst j)iil)lislic(l in, ;m(l now rcinodiicrd
A CONTKMPORANEOUS MAP OF THE AREA OF DE SOTOS WANDERINGS
Apparently made by one of his followers. From the Archives of the Indies at Seville. First published in, and now reproduced
from, Harrisse's "Discovery of North America "
THE NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION
OF HERNANDO DE SOTO, BY THE
GENTLEMAN OF ELVAS
True relation of the vicissitudes that attended the Governor Don
Hernando de Soto arid some nobles of Portugal in the dis-
covery of the Province of Florida now just given by a
Fidalgo of Elvas. Viewed by the Lord Inquisitor.^
Fernando da Silveira, Senhor da Serzedas, great Poet and
very Illustrious, respecting the Material of this Book,
and in Praise of the Author.
Epigram
He who would see the New World,
The Golden Pole,^ the second.
Other seas, other lands.
Achievements great, and wars,
And such things attempted
As alarm and give pleasure.
Strike terror and lend delight ; —
Read of the author this pleasing story.
Where nothing fabulous is told.
All worthy of being esteemed.
Read, considered, used.
* From the title page of the original.
' We inhabit the Northern Arctic Pole, and that people inhabit the
Southern Antarctic Pole. Golden Pole is used because the region is rich.
(Footnote in the original.)
i;}8
134 SPANISH EXPLORERS
ANDRE DE BURGOS ' TO THE PRUDENT READER.
Aeistotle wTites that all, or at least most men, are given
or prone to look at and listen to novelties, especially when
they are of foreign or remote countries. These things, he
says, enUven the heav>^ while they give recreation to dehcate
and subtile minds, that propensity moving men not only to see
and hear, but, if possible, to take part in occurrences. This
desire exists in the Lusitanians more than in any other people,
— for two reasons : the one, because they are very ingenious
and warUke; the other, because they are by nature great
navigators, having discovered more land, with wider sailing,
than all the nations of the earth beside. So, it appearing to
me that I could do some httle service to those who should
read this book, I resolved to imprint it, assured, beyond its
being in the Portuguese, that it is composed by a native, and
hkewise because citizens of Elvas took part in the discovery,
as the narrative will itself disclose. What he has WTitten I
undoubtingly credit : he tells no tales, nor speaks of fabulous
things; and we may beheve that the author — having no
interest in the matter — would not swerve from truth. We
have his assurance besides, that all he has set down passed
before him. Should the language, by chance, appear to you
careless, lay not the fault on me ; I imprint and do not write.
God be your protector.
DISCOVERY OF FLORIDA
Relation of the toils and hardships that attended Don Hernando
de Soto, governor of Florida, in the conquest of that
country; in which is set forth who he was, and also
who were others with him; containing some account of
the peculiarities and diversities of the country, of all
that they saw and of what befell them.
' Tlic i)riiilor.
1531] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 135
Chapter 1
Who Soto was, and how he came to get the government
of Florida.
Hernando de Soto was the son of an esquire of Xerez de
Badajoz, and went to the Indias of the Ocean Sea, belonging
to Castile, at the time Pedrarias Davila was the Governor.
He had nothing more than blade and buckler: for his cour-
age and good quahties Pedrarias appointed him to be captain
of a troop of horse, and he went by his order with Hernando
Pizarro to conquer Peru/ According to the report of many
persons who were there, he distinguished himself over all the
captains and principal personages present, not only at the
seizure of Atabali'pa, lord of Peru, and in carrying the City of
Cuzco, but at all other places wheresoever he went and found
resistance. Hence, apart from his share in the treasure of
Atabalipa, he got a good amount, bringing together in time,
from portions falling to his lot, one hundred and eighty thou-
sand cruzados, which he brought with him to Spain. Of this
the Emperor borrowed a part, which was paid; six hundred
thousand reales ^ in duties on the silks of Granada, and the
rest at the Casa de Contratacion.^
In Seville, Soto employed a superintendent of household,
an usher, pages, equerry, chamberlain, footmen, and all the
other servants requisite for the establishment of a gentleman.
Thence he went to Court, and while there was accompanied
by Juan de Afiasco of Seville, Luis Moscoso de Alvarado, Nunc
de Tobar, and Juan Rodriguez Lobillo. All, except Aiiasco,
came with him from Peru ; and each brought fourteen or fif-
teen thousand cruzados. They went well and costly appar-
elled ; and Soto, although by nature not profuse, as it was the
first time he was to show himself at Court, spent largely, and
went about closely attended by those I have named, by his
dependents, and by many others who there came about him.
' In 1531.
^ Span, real, the eighth of a silver dollar.
' The India House, or Board of Trade, at Seville.
136 SPANISH EXPLOREES [1537
He married Dona Ysabel de Bobadilla, daughter of Pedrarias
Davila, Count of Pufionrostro. The Emperor made hnn Gov-
ernor of the Island of Cuba and Adelantado of Florida, with
title of Marquis to a certain part of the territory he should
conquer.
Chapter 2
How Cabega de Vaca arrived at Court, and gave account of the
country of Florida; and of the persons who assembled
at Seville to accompany Don Hernando de Soto.
After Don Hernando had obtained the concession, a fidalgo *
arrived at Court from the Indias, CabeQa de Vaca by name,
who had been in Florida with Narvaez ; and he stated how
he with four others had escaped, taking the way to New
Spain; that the Governor had been lost in the sea, and the
rest were all dead. He brought with him a written relation of
adventures, which said in some places: Here I have seen
this ; and the rest which I saw I leave to confer of with Flis
Majesty : generally, however, he described the poverty of the
country, and spoke of the hardships he had undergone. Some
of his kinsfolk, desirous of going to the Indias, strongly urged
him to tell them whether he had seen any rich country in
Florida or not; but he told them that he could not do so;
because he and another (by name Orantes,^ who had remained
in New Spain with the purpose of returning into Florida) had
sworn not to divulge certain things which they had seen, lest
some one might beg the government in advance of them, for
which he had come to Spain; nevertheless, he gave them to
understand that it was the richest country in the world.
Don Hernando de Soto was desirous that CabcQa de Vaca
should go with him, and made him favorable jiroposals; but
after Ihcy hnd come upon terms they disagreed, because the
Adr-lantado would not give the money requisite to ]i:iy for a
ship that the oth(;r had i)ought. Baltasar de (Jallegos and
Cri8t6bal de Espindola told Cabe9a de Vaca, their kinsman,
' (JenllctiKui. ' DoninU's.
1
1538] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 137
that as they had made up their minds to go to Florida, in con-
sequence of what he had told them, they besought him to
counsel them ; to which he replied, that the reason he did not
go was because he hoped to receive another government, being
reluctant to march under the standard of another; that he
had himself come to solicit the conquest of Florida, and though
he found it had already been granted to Don Hernando de
Soto, yet, on account of his oath, he could not divulge what
they desired to know; nevertheless, he would advise them to
sell their estates and go — that in so doing they would act
wisely.
As soon as Cabega de Vaca had an opportunity he spoke
with the Emperor; and gave him an account of all that he
had gone through with, seen, and could by any means ascer-
tain. Of this relation, made by word of mouth, the Marquis
of Astorga was informed. He determined at once to send his
brother, Don Antonio Osorio; and with him Francisco and
Garcia Osorio, two of his kinsmen, also made ready to go.
Don Antonio disposed of sixty thousand reales income that he
received of the Church, and Francisco of a village of vassals
he owned in Campos. They joined the Adelantado at Seville,
as did also Nmlo de Tobar, Luis de Moscoso, and Juan Rod-
riguez Lobillo. Moscoso took two brothers; there went hke-
wise Don Carlos, who had married the Governor's niece, and
he carried her with him. From Badajoz went Pedro Calderon,
and three kinsmen of the Adelantado : Arias Tinoco, Alonso
Romo, and Diego Tinoco.
As Luis de Moscoso passed through Elvas,^ Andre de Vas-
concelos spoke with him, and requested him to speak to Don
Hernando de Soto in his behalf; and he gave him warrants,
issued by the Marquis of Vilareal, conferring on him the cap-
taincy of Ceuta, that he might show them ; which when the
Adelantado saw, and had informed himself of who he was, he
wrote to him that he would favor him in and through all,
and would give him a command in Florida. From Elvas
went Andre de Vasconcelos, Fernan Pegado, Antonio ]\lar-
' In eastern Portugal, near the Spanish border.
138 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1538
tinez Segurado, Men Royz Pereyra, Joam Cordeiro, Estevan
Pegado, Bento Fernandez, Alvaro Fernandez; and from
Salamanca, Jaen, Valencia, Albuquerque, and other parts
of Spain, assembled many persons of noble extraction in
Seville; so much so that many men of good condition, who
had sold their lands, remained behind in Sanliicar for want
of shipping, when for kno^Ti countries and rich it was usual
to lack men : and the cause of this was what Cabega de Yaca
had told the Emperor, and given persons to understand who
conversed with him respecting that country. He went for
Governor to Rio de la Plata, but his kinsmen followed Soto.
Baltasar de Gallegos received the appointment of chief
castellan, and took with him his wife. He sold houses, vine-
yards, a rent of wheat, and ninety geiras of olive-field in the
Xarafe of Seville. There went also many other persons of
mark. The offices, being desired of many, were sought through
powerful influence: the place of factor was held by Antonio
de Biedma, that of comptroller by Juan de Anasco, and that
of treasurer by Juan Gaylan, nephew of the Cardinal of
Ciguenza.
Chapter 3
How the Portuguese went to Seville and thence to Sanlucar;
and how the captains were appointed over the ships,
and the people distributed among them.
The Portuguese left Elvas the 15th day of January, and
came to Seville on the vespers of Saint Sebastian.^ They went
to the residence of the Governor; and entering the court, over
which were some galleries in which he stood, he came down
and met them at the foot of the stairs, whence they returned
with him; and he ordered chairs to be brought, in which they
might be seatc^d. Andre de Vasconcelos told him who he was,
and who the others were; that they had all come to go with
him, and aid in his enterprise. The Adelantado thanked him,
' Juriiiarv '-().
1538J EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 139
and appeared well pleased with their coming and proffer.
The table being already laid, he invited them to sit down ; and
while at dinner, he directed his major-domo to find lodgings
for them near his house.
From Seville the Governor went to Sanlucar, with all the
people that were to go. He commanded a muster to be made,
to which the Portuguese turned out in polished armor, and the
Castilians very showily, in silk over silk, pinked and slashed.
As such luxury did not appear to him becoming on such occa-
sion, he ordered a review to be called for the next day, when
every man should appear with his arms ; to which the Portu-
guese came as at first; and the Governor set them in order
near the standard borne by his ensign. The greater number
of the Castilians were in very sorry and rusty shirts of mail;
all wore steel caps or helmets, but had very poor lances. Some
of them sought to get among the Portuguese. Those that Soto
liked and accepted of were passed, counted, and enlisted ; six
hundred men in all followed him to Florida. He had bought
seven ships ; and the necessary subsistence was already on
board. He appointed captains, delivering to each of them
his ship, with a roll of the people he was to take with him.
Chapter 4
How the Adelantado with his people left Spain, going to the
Canary Islands, and afterward arrived in the Antillas.
In the month of April, of the year 1538 of the Christian
era, the Adelantado delivered the vessels to their several cap-
tains, took for himself a new ship, fast of sail, and gave an-
other to Andre de Vasconcelos, in which the Portuguese were
to go. He passed over the bar of Sanlucar on Sunday, the
morning of Saint Lazarus, with great festivity, commanding
the trumpets to be sounded and many charges of artiller}^ to
be fired. With a favorable wind he sailed four days, when it
lulled, the calms continuing for eight days, with such rolling
sea that the ships made no headway.
The fifteenth day after our departure we came to Gomera,
140 SPANISH EXPLOREES [1538
one of the Canaries, on Easter Sunday, in the morning. The
Governor of the Island was apparelled all in white, cloak,
jerkin, hose, shoes, and cap, so that he looked like a governor
of G}^sies. He received the Adelantado with much pleasure,
lodging him well and the rest with him gratuitously. To
Doiia Ysabel he gave a natural daughter of his to be her wait-
ing-maid. For our money we got abundant provision of bread,
wine, and meats, bringing off with us what was needful for
the ships. Sunday following, eight days after arrival, we took
our departure.
On Pentecost we came into the harbor of the city of Santi-
ago, in Cuba of the Antillas. Directly a gentleman of the
tov/n sent to the seaside a splendid roan horse, well caparisoned,
for the Governor to mount, and a mule for his wife ; and all the
horsemen and footmen in town at the time came out to receive
him at the landing. He was well lodged, attentively visited and
served by all the citizens. Quarters were furnished to every
one without cost. Those who wished to go into the country
were divided among the farm-houses, into squads of four and
six persons, according to the several ability of the owners,
who provided them with food.
Chapter 5
Of the inhabitants there are in the city of Santiago and other towns
of the island, — the character of the soil and of the fruit.
The city of Santiago consists of about eighty spacious and
well-contrived dwellings. Some are built of stone and lime,
covered with tiles: the greater part have the sides of board
and the roofs of dried grass. There are extensive country
seats, and on tliom many trees, which differ from those of
Spain. The fig-tree bears fruit as big as the fist, yellow within
and of little flavor : another tree with a delicious fruit, called
anane, is of the shape and size of a small i)ine-applc, the skin
of which being taken off, the jnilp appears like a ])iecc of curd.
Gn tlu! farms about in the country are otlu-r larger })ines, of
very agreeable and high flavor, produced on low trees that
1538] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 141
look like the aloe. Another tree yields a fruit called mamei,
the size of a peach, by the islanders more esteemed than any
other in the country. The guayaba is in the form of a filbert,
and is the size of a fig. There is a tree, which is a stalk with-
out any branch, the height of a lance, each leaf the length of
a javelin, the fruit of the size and form of a cucumber, the
bunch having twenty or thirty of them, with wliich the tree
goes on bending down more and more as they grow: they
are called plantanos in that country, are of good flavor, and
will ripen after they are gathered, although they are better
when they mature on the tree. The stalks yield fruit but
once, when they are cut down, and others, which spring up
at the butt, bear in the coming year. There is another fruit
called batata, the subsistence of a multitude of people, prin-
cipally slaves, and now grows in the island of Terceira, be-
longing to this kingdom of Portugal. It is produced in the
earth, and looks like the ynhame, with nearly the taste of
chestnut. The bread of the country is made from a root that
looks like the batata, the stalk of which is like alder. The
ground for planting is prepared in hillocks ; into each are laid
four or five stalks, and a year and a half after they have been
set the crop is fit to be dug. Should any one, mistaking the
root for batata, eat any of it, he is in imminent danger; as
experience has shown, in the case of a soldier, who died in-
stantly from swallowing a very little. The roots being peeled
and crushed, they are squeezed in a sort of press; the juice
that flows has an offensive smell; the bread is of httle taste
and less nourishment. The fruit from Spain are figs and
oranges, which are produced the year round, the soil being
very rich and fertile.
There are numerous cattle and horses in the country, which
find fresh grass at all seasons. From the many wild cows and
hogs, the inhabitants everywhere are abundantly supplied
with meat. Out of the towns are many fruits wild over the
country; and, as it sometimes happens, when a Christian
misses his way and is lost for fifteen or twenty days, because
of the many paths through the thick woods made by the herds
142 SPA:N^ISH explorers [1538
traversing to and fro, he will live on fruit and on wild cab-
bage, there being many and large palm-trees everjrwhere which
yield nothing else available beside.
The island of Cuba is three hundred leagues long from east
to southeast, and in places thirty, in others forty leagues from
north to south. There are six towns of Christians, which are
Santiago, Baracoa, the Bayamo, Puerto Principe, Sancti Spiri-
tus, and Havana. They each have between thirty and forty
householders, except Santiago and Havana, which have some
seventy or eighty dwellings apiece. The towns have all a
chaplain to hear confession, and a church in which to say
mass. In Santiago is a monastery of the order of Saint Fran-
cis; it has few friars, though well supported by tithes, as the
country is rich. The Church of Santiago is endowed, has a
cura, a prebend, and many priests, as it is the church of the
city which is the metropolis.
Although the earth contains much gold, there are few
slaves to seek it, many having destroyed themselves because
of the hard usage they receive from the Christians in the mines.
The overseer of Vasco Porcallo, a resident of the island, hav-
ing understood that his slaves intended to hang themselves,
went with a cudgel in his hand and waited for them in the
place at which they were to meet, where he told them that
they could do nothing, nor think of any thing, that he did
not know beforehand ; that he had come to hang himself with
them, to the end that if he gave them a bad life in this world,
a worse would he give them in that to come. This caused
them to alter their purpose and return to obedience.
Chapter 6
How the Governor sent Dona Ysabel with the ships from Santiago
to Havana, while he with some of the men went thither
by hmd.
Tlu' dovcrnor sent Don Carlos with the ships, in company
witii Dona Ysab(;l, to tarry for him at Havana, a port in the
eastern end of the island, one hundred and eighty leagues from
1538] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 14S
Santiago. He and those that remained, having bought horses,
set out on their journey, and at the end of twenty-five leagues
came to Bayamo, the first town. They were lodged, as they
arrived, in parties of four and six, where their food was given
to them ; and nothing was paid for any other thing than maize
for the beasts; because the Governor at each town assessed
tax on the tribute paid, and the labor done, by the
Indians.
A deep river runs near Bayamo, larger than the Guadiana,
called Tanto. The monstrous alligators do harm in it some-
times to the Indians and animals in the crossing. In all the
country there are no wolves, foxes, bears, hons, nor tigers:
there are dogs in the woods, which have run wild from the
houses, that feed upon the swine: there are snakes, the size
of a man's thigh, and even bigger ; but they are very sluggish
and do no kind of injury. From that town to Puerto Principe
there are fifty leagues. The roads throughout the island are
made by cutting out the undergrowth, which if neglected to
be gone over, though only for a single year, the shrubs spring
up in such manner that the ways disappear ; and so numer-
ous likewise are the paths made by cattle, that no one can
travel without an Indian of the country for a guide, there
being everywhere high and thick woods.
From Puerto Principe the Governor went by sea in a canoe
to the estate of Vasco Porcallo, near the coast, to get news of
Dona Ysabel, who, at the time, although not then known, was
in a situation of distress, the ships having parted company,
two of them being driven in sight of the coast of Florida, and
all on board were suffering for lack of water and subsistence.
The storm over, and the vessels come together, not knowing
where they had been tossed. Cape San Antonio was described,
an uninhabited part of the island, where they got water ; and
at the end of forty days from the time of leaving Santiago,
they arrived at Havana. The Governor presently received
the news and hastened to meet Dona Ysabel. The troops that
went by land, one hundred and fifty mounted men in number,
not to be burdensome upon the islanders, were divided into
144 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1538
two squadrons, and marched to Sancti Spiritus, sixty leagues
from Puerto Principe. The victuals they carried was the
caQabe ^ bread I have spoken of, the nature of which is such
that it directly dissolves from moisture; whence it happened
that some ate meat and no bread for many days. They took
dogs with them, and a man of the country, who hunted as
they journeyed, and who killed the hogs at night found fur-
ther necessary for provision where they stopped ; so that they
had abundant supply, both of beef and pork. They found
immense annoyance from mosquitos, particularly in a lake
called Bog of Pia, which they had much ado in crossing be-
tween mid-day and dark, it being more than half a league
over, full half a bow-shot of the distance swimming, and all
the rest of the way the water waist deep, having clams on
the bottom that sorely cut the feet, for not a boot nor shoe
sole was left entire at half way. The clothing and saddles
were floated over in baskets of palm-leaf. In this time the
insects came in great numbers and settled on the person where
exposed, their bite raising lumps that smarted keenly, a single
blow with the hand sufficing to kill so many that the blood
would run over the arms and body. There was httle rest
at night, as happened also afterwards at hke seasons and
places.
They came to Sancti Spiritus, a town of thirty houses, near
which passes a little river. The grounds are very fertile and
pleasant, abundant in good oranges, citrons, and native fruit.
Here one half the people were lodged ; the other half went on
twenty-five leagues farther, to a town of fifteen or twenty
householders, called Trinidad. There is a hospital for the
poor, the only one in the island. They say the town was once
the largest of any; and that before the Christians came into
the country a ship sailing along the coast had in her a very
sick man, who begged to be set on shore, which the captain
directly ordered, and the vessel kept on her way. The in-
liabitants, finding him where he had been left, on that shore
which had never yet been hunted up by Christians, carried
' Cassava.
1539] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 145
him home, and took care of him until he was well. The chief
of the town gave him a daughter ; and being at war with the
country round about, through the prowess and exertion of
the Christian he subdued and reduced to his control all the
people of Cuba. A long time after, when Diego Velasquez
went to conquer the island, whence he made the discovery of
New Spain, this man, then among the natives, brought them,
by his management, to obedience, and put them under the
rule of that Governor.
From Trinidad they travelled a distance of eighty leagues
without a town, and arrived at Havana in the end of March.
They found the Governor there, and the rest of the people who
had come with him from Spain. He sent Juan de Aiiasco in
a caravel, with two pinnaces and fifty men, to explore the
harbor in Florida, who brought back two Indians taken on
the coast. In consequence, as much because of the necessity
of having them for guides and interpreters, as because they
said, by signs, that there was much gold in Florida, the
Governor and all the company were greatly rejoiced, and
longed for the hour of departure — that land appearing to
them to be the richest of any which until then had been
discovered.
Chapter 7
How we left Havana and came to Florida, and what other mat-
ters took place.
Before our departure, the Governor deprived Nuiio de
Tobar of the rank of captain-general, and conferred it on a
resident of Cuba, Vasco Porcallo de Figueroa, which caused
the vessels to be well provisioned, he giving a great many hogs
and loads of ca^abe bread. That was done because Nufio de
Tobar had made love to Dona Ysabcl's waiting-maid, daugh-
ter of the Governor of Gomera; and though he had lost his
place, yet, to return to Soto's favor, for she was with child
by him, he took her to wife and went to Florida. Dofia Ysabol
remained, and with her the wife of Don Carlos, of Baltasar de
146 SPANISH EXPLOREKS [1539
Gallegos, and of Nuno de Tobar. The Governor left, as his
heutenant over the island, Juan de Rojas, a fidalgo of
Havana.
On Sunday, the 18th day of May, in the year 1539, the
Adelantado sailed from Havana with a fleet of nine vessels,
five of them ships, two caravels, two pinnaces; and he ran
seven days with favorable weather. On the 25th of the month,
being the festival of Espiritu Santo, ^ the land was seen, and
anchor cast a league from shore, because of the shoals. On
Friday, the 30th, the army landed in Florida, two leagues
from the towTi^ of an Indian chief named Ucita. Two hundred
and thirteen horses were set on shore, to unburden the ships,
that they should draw the less water; the seamen only re-
mained on board, who going up every day a little with the
tide, the end of eight days brought them near to the
town.
So soon as the people were come to land, the camp was
pitched on the sea-side, nigh the bay, which goes up close to
the towTi. Presently the captain-general, Vasco Porcallo, tak-
ing seven horsemen with him, beat up the country half a league
about, and discovered six Indians, who tried to resist him
with arrows, the weapons they are accustomed to use. The
horsemen killed two, and the four others escaped, the country
being obstructed by bushes and ponds, in which the horses
bogged and fell, with their riders, of weakness from the voy-
age. At night the Governor, with a hundred men in the pin-
naces, came upon a deserted town ; for, so soon as the Chris-
tians appeared in sight of land, they were descried, and all
along on the coast many smokes were seen to rise, which the
Indians make to warn one another. The next day, Luis de
Moscoso, master of the camp, set the men in order. The
horsemen he put in three sc^uacU'ons — the vanguard, battal-
um, and rearward; and thus they marched that day and the
next, compassing great creeks which nm up from the bay;
' Whitsunflay.
' Ucita or Oqita. This first town was on the point at the mouth of Char-
lotte Harbor, P'lorida.
1539J EXPEDITION OF HEENANDO DE SOTO 147
and on the first of June, being Trinity Sunday, they arrived
at the town of Ucita,^ where the Governor tarried.
The town was of seven or eight houses, built of timber,
and covered with palm-leaves. The chief's house stood near
the beach, upon a very high mount made by hand for de-
fence ; at the other end of the town was a temple, on the top
of which perched a wooden fowl with gilded eyes, and within
were found some pearls of small value, injured by fire, such as
the Indians pierce for beads, much esteeming them, and string
to wear about the neck and wrists. The Governor lodged in
the house of the chief, and with him Vasco Porcallo and Luis
de Moscoso ; in other houses, midway in the town, was lodged
the chief castellan, Baltasar de Gallegos, where were set apart
the provisions brought in the vessels. The rest of the dwell-
ings, with the temple, were thrown down, and every mess of
three or four soldiers made a cabin, wherein they lodged.
The ground about was very fenny, and encumbered with dense
thicket and high trees. The Governor ordered the woods to
be felled the distance of a crossbow-shot around the place,
that the horses might run, and the Christians have the advan-
tage, should the Indians make an attack at night. In the
paths, and at proper points, sentinels of foot-soldiers were set
in couples, who watched by turns; the horsemen, going the
rounds, were ready to support them should there be an alarm.
The Governor made four captains of horsemen and two of
footmen : those of the horse were Andre de Vasconcelos, Pedro
Calderon of Badajoz, and the two Cardefiosas his kinsmen
(Arias Tinoco and Alfonso Romo), also natives of Badajoz;
those of the foot were Francisco Maldonado of Salamanca, and
Juan Rodriguez Lobillo. While we were in this town of Ucita,
the Indians which Juan de Aiiasco had taken on that coast,
and were with the Governor as guides and interpreters, through
the carelessness of two men who had charge of them, got away
one night. For this the Governor felt very soriy, as did every
one else ; for some excursions had already been made, and no
' Tho name of this town was Hirriga, according to the Inca, and it seems
to have been located on the northeast arm of the harbor.
148 SPANISH EXPLOKEES [1539
Indians could be taken, the country being of very high and
thick woods, and in many places marshy.
Chapter 8
Of some inroads that were made, and how a Christian was found
who had been a long time in the possession of a Cacique.
From the town of Ucita the Governor sent the chief cas-
tellan, Baltasar de Gallegos, into the country, with forty
horsemen and eighty footmen, to procure an Indian if possible.
In another direction he also sent, for the same purpose. Cap-
tain Juan Rodriguez Lobillo, with fifty infantry: the greater
part w^ere of sword and buckler ; the remainder were crossbow
and gun men. The command of Lobillo marched over a
swampy land, where horses could not travel; and, half a
league from camp, came upon some huts near a river. The
people in them plunged into the water; nevertheless, four
women were secured; and twenty warriors, who attacked
our people, so pressed us that we were forced to retire into
camp.
The Indians are exceedingly ready with their weapons,
and so warlike and nimble, that they have no fear of footmen ;
for if these charge them they flee, and when they turn their
backs they are presently upon them. They avoid nothing
more easily than the flight of an arrow. They never remain
quiet, but are continually running, traversing from ]ilacc to
place, so that neither crossbow nor arquebuse can be aimed
at them. Before a Christian can make a single shot with either,
an Indian will discharge three or four arrows; and he seldom
misses of his obj(H-t. \\ hen; the arrow meets with no armoi", it
pierces as deeply as the shaft from a crossbow. Theii; bows
are very p(!rfect; the arrows are matle of certain canes, like
reeds, very heavy, and so stiff that one of them, when sharp-
ened, will j)aKs through a target. Some are pointed with the
})oik; of a fish, shaqi and like a chisel ; others with some stone
like a point of diamond: of such the great(>r number, when
they strike upon armor, break at thc^ j)hi('e the parts are put
1539] EXPEDITION OF HEENANDO DE SOTO 149
together; those of cane spht, and will enter a shirt of mail,
doing more injury than when armed.
Juan Rodriguez Lobillo got back to camp with six men
wounded, of whom one died, and he brought with him the
four women taken in the huts, or cabins. When Baltasar de
Gallegos came into the open field, he discovered ten or eleven
Indians, among whom was a Christian, naked and sun-burnt,
his arms tattooed after their manner, and he in no respect
differing from them. As soon as the horsemen came in sight,
they ran upon the Indians, who fled, hiding themselves in a
thicket, though not before two or three of them were over-
taken and wounded. The Christian, seeing a horseman com-
ing upon him with a lance, began to cry out: "Do not kill
me, cavaher ; I am a Christian ! Do not slay these people ;
they have given me my life !" Directly he called to the Ind-
ians, putting them out of fear, when they left the wood and
came to him. The horsemen took up the Christian and Ind-
ians behind them on their beasts, and, greatly rejoicing, got
back to the Governor at nightfall. When he and the rest who
had remained in camp heard the news, they were no less
pleased than the others.
Chapter 9
How the Christian came to the land of Florida, who he was, and
of what passed at his interview with the Governor,
The name of the Christian was Juan Ortiz, a native of
Seville, and of noble parentage. He had been twelve years
among the Indians, having gone into the country with Piln-
philo de Narvaez, and returned in the ships to the island of
Cuba, where the wife of the Governor remained ; whence, by
her command, he went back to Florida, with some twenty or
thirty others, in a pinnace ; and coming to the port in sight of
the town, they saw a cane sticking upright in the ground, with
a split in the top, holding a letter, which they supposed the
Governor had left there, to give information of himself before
marching into the interior. They asked it, to be given to
150 SPANISH EXPLOREKS [1528
them, of four or five Indians walking along the beach, who,
by signs, bade them come to land for it, which Ortiz and an-
other did, though contrary to the wishes of the others. No
sooner had they got on shore, when many natives came out
of the houses, and, drawing near, held them in such way
that they could not escape. One, who would have defended
himself, they slew on the spot; the other they seized by the
hands, and took him to Ucita, their chief. The people in the
pinnace, unwilhng to land, kept along the coast and returned
to Cuba.
By command of Ucita, Juan Ortiz was bound hand and
foot to four stakes, and laid upon scaffolding, beneath which
a fire was kindled, that he might be burned; but a daughter
of the chief entreated that he might be spared. Though one
Christian, she said, might do no good, certainly he could do
no harm, and it would be an honor to have one for a captive ;
to which the father acceded, directing the injuries to be healed.
\\Tien Ortiz got well, he was put to watching a temple, that
the wolves, in the night-time, might not carry off the dead
there, which charge he took in hand, having commended him-
self to God. One night they snatched away from him the
body of a little child, son of a principal man ; and, going after
them, he threw a dart at the wolf that was escaping, which,
feeling itself wounded, let go its hold, and went off to die;
and he returned, without knowing what he had done in the
dark. In the morning, finding the body of the little boy gone,
he became very sober; and Ucita, when he heard what had
happened, determined he should be killed; but having sent
on the trail which Ortiz pointed out as that the wolves had
made, the body of the child was found, and a little farther on
a dead wolf; at which circumstance the chief became well
pleased with the Christian, and satisfied with the guard he
had kept, ever ufter taking nmch notice of him.
Three years having gone by since he had fallen into the
hands of this chi(;f, there came another, named Mocogo,' Hving
' Tlic tf)wn of Mocoqo wiis located wont of Mijikka River (Macaco of the
old miipH), whi(;h ciiUth the northwest arm of the liarbor.
1531] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 151
two days' journey distant from that port, and burnt the town,
when Ucita fled to one he had in another seaport, whereby
Ortiz lost his occupation, and with it the favor of his master.
The Indians are worshippers of the Devil, and it is their cus-
tom to make sacrifices of the blood and bodies of their people,
or of those of any other they can come by; and they affirm,
too, that when he would have them make an offering, he
speaks, telhng them that he is athirst, and that they must sac-
rifice to him. The girl who had delivered Ortiz from the fire,
told him how her father had the mind to sacrifice him the next
day, and that he must flee to Mocogo, who she knew would
receive him with regard, as she had heard that he had asked
for him, and said he would like to see him : and as he knew
not the way, she went half a league out of town with him at
dark, to put him on the road, returning early so as not to be
missed.
Ortiz travelled all night, and in the morning came to a
river, the boundary of the territory of Mocogo, where he dis-
covered two men fishing. As this people were at war with
those of Ucita, and their languages different, he did not know
how he should be able to tell them who he was, and why he
came, or make other explanation, that they might not kill
him as one of the enemy. It was not, however, until he had
come up to where their arms were placed that he was discov-
ered, when they fled towards the town ; and though he called
out to them to wait, that he would do them no injury, they
only ran the faster for not understanding him. As they
arrived, shouting, many Indians came out of the town, and
began surrounding, in order to shoot him with their arrows,
when he, finding himself pressed, took shelter behind trees,
crying aloud that he was a Christian fled from Ucita, come to
visit and serve Mocogo. At the moment, it pleased God that
an Indian should come up, who, speaking the language, under-
stood him and quieted the others, telhng them what was said.
Three or four ran to carry the news, when the cacique, much
gratified, came a quarter of a league on the way to receive him.
He caused the Christian immediately to swear to him, accortling
152 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1534
to the custom of his country, that he would not leave him for
any other master; and, in return, he promised to show him
much honor, and if at any time Christians should come to that
land, he would let him go freely, and give him his permission
to return to them, pledging his oath to tliis after the Indian
usage.
Three years from that time, some people fishing out at
sea, three leagues from land, brought news of having seen
ships; when Mocogo, calling Ortiz, gave him permission to
depart, who, taking leave, made all haste possible to the
shore, where, finding no vessels, he supposed the story to be
only a device of the cacique to discover his inclination. In
this way he remained with him nine years, having little hope
of ever seeing Christians more ; but no sooner had the arrival
of the Governor in Florida taken place, when it was known to
Mocogo, who directly told Ortiz that Christians were in the
town of Ucita. The captive, thinking himself jested with, as
he had supposed himself to be before, said that his thoughts
no longer dwelt on his people, and that his only wish now was
to serve him. Still the cacique assured him that it was even
as he stated, and gave him leave to go, telling him that if he
did not, and the Christians should depart, he must not blame
him, for he had fulfilled his promise.
Great was the joy of Ortiz at this news, though still doubt-
ful of its truth; however, he thanked Mocogo, and went his
way. A dozen principal Indians were sent to accompany him ;
and on their way to the port, they met Baltasar de Gallegos,
in the manner that has been related. Arrived at the camp,
the Governor ordered that apparel be given to him, good ar-
mor, and a fine horse. When asked if he knew of any country
where there was either gold or silver, he said that he had not
been ten leagues in any direction from where he lived; but
that thirty k>agucs distant was a chief named Paracoxi, to
whom Moco'.'o, Ucita, and all they that dwelt along the coast
paid tributes, and that he perhaps liad knowledge of some
good country, as his land was better than theii-s, being more
fertile;, abounding in maize. Hearing this, the Governor was
1639] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 153
well pleased, and said he only desired to find subsistence, that
he might be enabled to go inland with safety ; for that Florida
was so wide, in some part or other of it, there could not fail
to be a rich countiy. The cacique of Mocogo came to the
port, and calling on the Governor, he thus spoke :
Most High and Powerful Chief :
Though less able, I believe, to serve you than the least of these
under your control, but with the wish to do more than even the
greatest of them can accomplish, I appear before you in the full
confidence of receiving your favor, as much so as though I deserved
it, not in requital of the trifling service I rendered in setting free
the Christian while he was in my power, which I did, not for the
sake of my honor and of my promise, but because I hold that great
men should be liberal. As much as in your bodily perfections you
exceed all, and in your command over fine men are you superior
to others, so in your nature are you equal to the full enjoyment of
earthly things. The favor I hope for, great Lord, is that you will
hold me to be your own, calling on me freely to do whatever may
be your wish.
The Governor answered him, that although it were true, in
freeing and sending him the Christian, he had done no more
than to keep his word and preserve his honor, nevertheless
he thanked him for an act so valuable, that there was no other
for him that could be compared to it, and that, holding him
henceforth to be a brother, he should in all, and through all,
favor him. Then a shirt and some other articles of clothing
were directed to be given to the chief, who, thankfully receiv-
ing them, took leave and went to his town.
Chapter 10
How the Governor, having sent the ships to Cuba, marched
inland, leaving one hundred men at the port.
From the port of Espiritu Santo, where the Governor was,
he sent the chief castellan, with fifty cavalry and thirty or
forty infantry, to the province of Paracoxi, to observe the
154 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1639
character of the country, to inquire of that farther on, and to
let him hear by message of what he should discover ; he also
sent the vessels to Cuba, that, at an appointed time, they might
return with provisions. As the principal object of Vasco Por-
callo de Figueroa in coming to Florida had been to get slaves
for his plantation and mines, finding, after some incursions,
that no seizures could be made, because of dense forest and
extensive bogs, he determined to go back to Cuba; and in
consequence of that resolution, there grew up such a difference
between him and Soto, that neither of them treated nor spoke
to the other kindly. Still, with words of courtesy, he asked
permission of him to return, and took his leave.
Baltasar de Gallegos having arrived at Paracoxi, thirty
Indians came to him on the part of the absent cacique, one
of whom said: ''King Paracoxi, lord of this province, whose
vassals we are, sends us to ask of you what it is you seek in
his country, and in what he can serve you ;" to which the chief
castellan replied, that he much thanked the cacique for his
proffer, and bade them tell him to return to his towTi, where
they would talk together of a peace and friendship he greatly
desired to establish. They w^nt off, and came again the next
day, reporting that as their lord could not appear, being very
unwell, they had come in his stead to see what might be wanted.
They were asked if they had knowledge or information of any
country where gold and silver might be found in plenty; to
which they answered yes; that towards the sunset was a
province called Cale, the inhabitants of which were at war
with those of territories where the greater portion of the year
was summer, and where there was so much gold, that when
the people came to make war upon those of Cale, they wore
golden hats like cascjues.
As the cacique had not come, Gallegos, reflecting, sus-
pected the message designed for delay, that he might put him-
BiiU in a condition of safety; and fearing that, if those men
were sufTc^red to depart, they might never return, he ordered
them to })(' chained together, and sent the news to canij) by
eight 111(11 on horseback. The Governor, hearing what had
1539] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 155
passed, showed great pleasure, as did the rest who were with
him, beheving what the Indians said might be true. He left
thirty cavalry and seventy infantry at the port, with provi-
sions for two years, under command of Captain Calderon,
marching with the others inland to Paracoxi ; thence, having
united with the force aheady there, he passed through a small
town named Acela, and came to another called Tocaste,^
whence he advanced with fifty of foot and thirty horse towards
Cale ; ^ and having gone through an untenanted town, some
natives were seen in a lake, to whom having spoken by an
interpreter, they came out and gave him a guide. From there
he went to a river of powerful current, in the midst of which
was a tree, whereon they made a bridge. Over this the people
passed in safety, the horses being crossed swimming to a
hawser, by which they were drawn to the other bank, the first
that entered the water having been drowned for the want of
one.
The Governor sent two men on horseback, with word to
those in the rear that they should advance rapidly, for that
the way was becoming toilsome and the provisions were short.
He came to Cale and found the town abandoned ; but he seized
three spies, and tarried there until the people should arrive,
they travelling hungry and on bad roads, the country being
very thin of maize, low, very wet, pondy, and thickly covered
with trees. ^ Where there were inhabitants, some water-
cresses could be found, which they who arrived first would
gather, and, cooking them in water with salt, eat them without
other thing; and they who could get none, would seize the
stalks of maize and eat them, the ear, being young, as yet con-
taining no grain. Having come to the river, which the Gov-
ernor had passed, they got cabbage from the low palmetto
growing there, like that of Andalusia. There they were met
' Tocaste was on an island in the marsh at the first crossing of " the
gi'eat marsh," so graphically described by the Inca.
^ This was the river or marsh of Cale, and the Inca's second crossing of
the great marsh.
' Thoy had now reached the higher country, which begins in the south-
ern part of Polk County.
156 SPANISH EXPLOEEKS [1539
by the messengers, who, reporting a great deal of maize in
Cale, gave much satisfaction.
While the people should be coming up, the Governor or-
dered all the ripe grain in the fields, enough for three months,
to be secured. In gathering it three Christians were slain.
One of two Indians who were made prisoners stated that seven
days' journey distant was a large province, abounding in
maize, called Apalache. Presently, with fifty cavalry and
sixty infantry, he set out from Cale, leaving Luis de Moscoso,
the master of the camp,^ in command, with directions not to
move until he should be ordered. Up to that time, no one
had been able to get servants who should make his bread ; and
the method being to beat out the maize in log mortars with a
one-handed pestle of wood, some also sifting the fiour after-
ward through their shirts of mail, the process was found so
laborious, that many, rather than crush the grain, preferred
to eat it parched and sodden. The mass was baked in clay
dishes, set over fire, in the manner that I have described as
done in Cuba.
Chapter 11
How the Governor arrived at Caliquen, and thence, taking the
cacique with him, came to Napetaca, where the Ind-
ians, attempting to rescue him, had many of their
number killed and captured.
On the eleventh day of August, in the year 1539, the Gov-
ernor left Cale, and arrived to sleep at a small town called
Ytara, and the next day at another called Potano, and the
third at Utinama, and then at another named Malapaz. This
place was so called because one, representing himself to be its
caci(]ue, came peacefully, saying that he wished to serve the
Governor with his people, and asked that he would cause the
twenty-eight men and women, prisoners taken the night before,
to be set at liberty; that provisions should be brought, and
that he would furnish a guide for tlu; country in advance of
' An oHicer somewhat like an adjutant-general.
1539] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 157
us; whereupon, the Governor having ordered the prisoners
to be let loose, and the Indian put under guard, the next day
in the morning came many natives close to a scrub surrounding
the town, near which the prisoner asked to be taken, that he
might speak and satisfy them, as they would obey in what-
ever he commanded ; but no sooner had he found himself close
to them, than he boldly started away, and fled so swiftly that
no one could overtake him, going off with the rest into the
woods. The Governor ordered a bloodhound, already fleshed
upon him, to be let loose, which, passing by many, seized upon
the faithless cacique, and held him until the Christians had
come up.
From this town the people went to sleep at that of
Cholupaha, which, for its abundance of maize, received the
name of Villafarta; thence, crossing a river before it, by a
bridge they had made of wood, the Christians marched two
days through an uninhabited country.
On the seventeenth day of August they arrived at Caliquen,
where they heard of the province of Apalache, of Narvaez
having been there and having embarked, because no road was
to be found over which to go forward, and of there being no
other town, and that water was on all sides. Every mind was
depressed at this information, and all counselled the Governor
to go back to the port, that they might not be lost, as Narvaez
had been, and to leave the land of Florida ; that, should they
go further, they might not be able to get back, as the little
maize that was yet left the Indians would secure: to which
Soto replied, that he would never return until he had seen
with his own eyes what was asserted, things that to him ap-
peared incredible. Then he ordered us to be in readiness for
the saddle, sending word to Luis de Moscoso to advance from
Cale, that he waited for him ; and, as in the judgment of the
master of the camp, and of many others, they should have to
return from Apalache, they buried in Cale some iron imple-
ments with other things. They reached Caliquen through
much suffering; for the land over which the Governor had
marched lay wasted and was without maize.
158 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1539
All the people having come up, a bridge was ordered to be
made over a river that passed near the town, whereon we
crossed, the tenth day of September, taking mth. us the cacique.
\Mien three days on our journey, some Indians arrived to
visit their lord; and every day they came out to the road,
playing upon flutes, a token among them that they come in
peace. They stated that further on there was a cacique named
Uzachil, kinsman of the chief of Caliquen, their lord, who
waited the arrival of the Governor, prepared to do great ser-
vices ; and they besought him to set their cacique free, which
he feared to do, lest they should go off without giving him
any guides ; so he got rid of them from day to day with spe-
cious excuses.
We marched five days, passing through some small towns,
and arrived at Napetaca on the fifteenth day of September,
where we found fourteen or fifteen Indians who begged for the
release of the cacique of Caliquen, to whom the Governor
declared that their lord was no prisoner, his attendance being
wished only as far as Uzachil. Having learned from Juan
Ortiz, to whom a native had made it known, that the Indians
had determined to assemble and fall upon the Christians, for
the recovery of their chief, the Governor, on the day for which
the attack was concerted, commanded his men to be in readi-
ness, the cavalry to be armed and on horseback, each one so dis-
posed of in his lodge as not to be seen of the Indians, that they
might come to the town without resers^e. Four hundred war-
riors, with bows and arrows, appeared in sight of the camp;
and, going into a thicket, they sent two of their number to
demand the cacique: the Governor, with six men on foot,
taking the chief by the hand, conversing with him the while
to assure the Indians, wont towards the ]ilace where they were,
when, finding the moment propitious, he ordered a trumpet
to be sounded: directly, they who were in the houses, foot
as well as horse, set upon the natives, who, assailed unexpect-
edly, thought only of their safety. Of two horses killed, one was
that of the Governor, who was mountetl instantly on another.
From thirty to forty natives fell by the lance ; the rest escaped
1539] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 159
into two very large ponds, situated some way apart, wherein
they swam about; and, being surrounded by the Christians,
they were shot at with crossbow and arquebuse, although to
no purpose, because of the long distance they were off.
At night, one of the lakes was ordered to be guarded, the
people not being sufficient to encircle both. The Indians, in
attempting to escape in the dark, would come swimming noise-
lessly to the shore, with a leaf of water-hly on the head, that
they might pass unobserved; when those mounted, at sight
of any ruffle on the surface, would dash into the water up to
the breasts of the horses, and the natives would again retire.
In such way passed the night, neither party taking any rest.
Juan Ortiz told them that, as escape was impossible, they
would do well to give up ; which they did, driven by extreme
chillness of the water; and one after another, as cold over-
powered, called out to him, asking not to be killed — that he
was coming straightway to put himself in the hands of the
Governor. At four o'clock in the morning they had all sur-
rendered, save twelve of the principal men, who, as of more dis-
tinction and more valiant than the rest, preferred to die rather
than yield: then the Indians of Paracoxi, who were going
about unshackled, went in after them, swimming, and pulled
them out by the hair. They were all put in chains, and, on
the day following, were divided among the Christians for their
service.
While captives, these men determined to rebel, and gave the
lead to an interpreter, one reputed brave, that when the Gov-
ernor might come near to speak with him, he should strangle
him ; but no sooner was the occasion presented, and before his
hands could be thrown about the neck of Soto, his purpose was
discovered, and he received so heavy a blow from him in the
nostrils, that they gushed with blood. The Indians all rose to-
gether. He who could only catch up a pestle from a mortar, as
well as he who could grasp a weapon, equally exerted himself to
kill his master, or the first one he met ; and he whose fortune
it was to light on a lance, or a sword, handled it in a manner
as though he had been accustomed to use it all his days. One
160 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1539
Indian, in the public yard of the town, with blade in hand,
fought Uke a bull in the arena, until the halberdiers of the
Governor, arriving, put an end to him. Another got up, with
a lance, into a maize crib, made of cane, called by Indians bar-
bacoa, and defended the entrance with the uproar of ten men,
until he was stricken down with a battle-axe. They who were
subdued may have been in all two hundred men: some of
the youngest the Governor gave to those who had good chains
and were vigilant ; all the rest were ordered to execution, and,
being bound to a post in the middle of the town yard, they
were shot to death with arrows by the people of Paracoxi.
Chapter 12
How the Governor arrived at Palache, and was informed that
there was much gold inland.
On the twenty-third day of September the Governor left
Napetaca, and went to rest at a river, where two Indians
brought him a deer from the cacique of Uzachil; and the
next day, having passed through a large town called Hapaluya,
he slept at Uzachil. He found no person there ; for the inhab-
itants, informed of the deaths at Napetaca, dared not remain.
In the town was found their food, much maize, beans, and
pumpkins, on which the Christians lived. The maize is like
coarse millet; the pumpkins are better and more savory
than those of Spain.
Two captains having been sent in opposite directions, in
quest of Indians, a hundred men and women were taken, one or
two of whom were chosen out for the Governor, as was always
custoniaiy for ofliccrs to do after successful inroads, dividing
the others among themselves and comi)anions. They were led
ofT in chains, with collars about the neck, to cany luggage
and grind corn, doing the labor proper to servants. Some-
times it hay)pf>ne(l that, going with them for wood or maize,
tliey would kill tlu; Christian, und flee, with the chain on, which
others would file at night with a splinter of stone, in the place
1539] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 161
of iron, at which work, when caught, they were punished, as
a warning to others, and that they might not do the hke.
The women and youths, when removed a hundred leagues
from their country, no longer cared, and were taken along
loose, doing the work, and in a very little time learning the
Spanish language.
From Uzachil the Governor went towards Apalache, and at
the end of two days' travel arrived at a town called Axille.
After that, the Indians having no knowledge of the Christians,
they were come upon unawares, the greater part escaping,
nevertheless, because there were woods near town. The next
day, the first of October, the Governor took his departure in
the morning, and ordered a bridge to be made over a river
which he had to cross. The depth there, for a stone's throw,
was over the head, and afterward the water came to the waist,
for the distance of a crossbow-shot, where was a growth of
tall and dense forest, into which the Indians came, to ascertain
if they could assail the men at work and prevent a passage;
but they were dispersed by the arrival of crossbowmen, and
some timbers being thrown in, the men gained the opposite
side and secured the way. On the fourth day of the week,
Wednesday of St. Francis,^ the Governor crossed over and
reached Uitachuco, a town subject to Apalache, where he slept.
He found it burning, the Indians having set it on fire.
Thenceforward the country was well inhabited, producing
much corn, the way leading by many habitations like villages.
Sunday, the twenty-fifth of October,^ he arrived at the town
of Uzela,^ and on Monday at Anhayca Apalache, where the
lord of all that country and province resided. The camp-mas-
ter, whose duty it is to divide and lodge the men, quartered
them about the town, at the distance of half a league to a
' St. Francis's day is the fourth of the month (October), but it was not
Wednesday in 1539. Ranjel says that the crossing was finished on Friday,
October 3.
' This should be Sunday, October 5. October 25, 1539, came on Satur-
day.
' Calahuchi, according to Ranjel. The modern name may be Chatta-
huchi.
162 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1539
league apart. There were other towns which had much maize,
pimapkins, beans, and dried plums of the country, whence
were brought together at Anliayca Apalache what appeared
to be sufficient provision for the winter. These ameixas ^ are
better than those of Spain, and come from trees that grow in
the fields without being planted.
Informed that the sea was eight leagues distant, the Gov-
ernor directly sent a captain thither, with csivsdry and infantry,
who found a town called Ochete, eight leagues on the way;
and, coming to the coast, he saw where a great tree had been
felled, the trunk spHt up into stakes, and with the limbs made
into mangers. He found also the skulls of horses. With these
discoveries he returned, and what was said of Narvaez was
beheved to be certain, that he had there made boats,^ in which
he left the country, and was lost in them at sea. Presently
Juan de Anasco made ready to go to the port of Espiritu
Santo, taking thirty cavalry-, with orders from the Governor
to Calderon, who had remained there, that he should abandon
the town, and bring all the people to Apalache.
In Uzachill, and other towns on the way, Anasco found
many people who had already become careless ; still, to avoid
detention, no captures were made, as it was not well to give
the Indians sufficient time to come together. He went through
the towns at night, stopping at a distance from the population
for three or four hours, to rest, and at the end of ten days
arrived at the port. He despatched two caravels to Cuba, in
which he sent to Dona Ysabel twenty women brought by him
from Ytara and Potano, near Gale ; and, taking with him the
foot-soldiers in the brigantines, from point to point along
the coast by sea, he went towards Palache. Calderon with the
cavalry, and some crossbowmen of foot, went by land. The
IndiaiiH at several ])laces beset him, and wounded some of the
men. On his arrival, the Governor ordered planks and spikes
" This word means [jliirns, but when applied to the American fruit, it
hjiH rcfcrcucc to the ptTsinirnon.
' 'J'lu! bay wluT(! Narvanz built liis bripantinea was known to the Span-
iards as Jiahia dc Caballos, or Horse H;iy- J''"' modern name is Bay
()(;klockonee.
1539] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 163
to be taken to the coast for building a piragua, into which
thirty men entered well armed from the bay, going to and
coming from sea, waiting the arrival of the brigantines, and
sometimes fighting with the natives, who went up and down
the estuary in canoes. On Saturday, the twenty-ninth of
November, in a high wind, an Indian passed through the sen-
tries undiscovered, and set fire to the town, two portions of
which, in consequence, were instantly consumed.
On Sunday, the twenty-eighth of December, Juan de Afia-
sco arrived ; and the Governor directed Francisco Maldonado,
captain of infantry, to run the coast to the westward with
fifty men, and look for an entrance; proposing to go himself
in that direction by land on discoveries. The same day, eight
men rode two leagues about the town in pursuit of Indians,
who had become so bold that they would venture up within
two crossbow-shot of the camp to kill our people. Two were
discovered engaged in picking beans, and might have escaped,
but a woman being present, the wife of one of them, they
stood to fight. Before they could be killed, three horses were
wounded, one of which died in a few days. Calderon going
along the coast near by, the Indians came out against him
from a wood, driving him from his course, and capturing from
many of his company a part of their indispensable subsistence.
Three or four days having elapsed beyond the time set for
the going and return of Maldonado, the Governor resolved that,
should he not appear at the end of eight days, he would go
thence and wait no longer ; when the captain arrived, bringing
with him an Indian from a Province called Ochus, sixty leagues
from Apalache, and the news of having found a sheltered port
with a good depth of water. The Governor was highly pleased,
hoping to find a good country ahead ; and he sent Maldonado
to Havana for provisions, with which to meet him at that port
of his discovery, to which he would himself come by land ; but
should he not reach there that summer, then he directed him
to go back to Havana and return there the next season to
await him, as he would make it his express object to march in
quest of Ochus.
164 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
Francisco Maldonado went, and Juan de Guzman remained
instead, captain of his infantry. Of the Indians taken in
Napetuca, the treasurer, Juan Gaytan, brought a youth with
him, who stated that he did not belong to that country, but
to one afar in the direction of the sun's rising, from which he
had been a long time absent \^siting other lands; that its
name was Yupaha, and was governed by a woman, the town
she hved in being of astonishing size, and many neighboring
lords her tributaries, some of whom gave her clothing, others
gold in quantity. He showed how the metal was taken from
the earth, melted, and refined, exactly as though he had seen
it all done, or else the Devil had taught him how it was ; so
that they who knew aught of such matters declared it impossi-
ble that he could give that account without having been an
eye-witness ; and they who beheld the signs he made, credited
all that was understood as certain.
Chapter 13
How the Governor went from Apalache in quest of Yupaha, and
what befell him.
On Wednesday, the third of March, in the year 1540, the
Governor left Anhaica Apalache to seek Yupaha. He had
ordered his men to go provided with maize for a march through
sixty leagues of desert. The cavalry carried their grain on the
horses, and the infantry theirs on the back; because the
Indians they brought with them for service, being naked and
in chains, had i)crished in great part during the winter. On
the fourth day of the journey they arrived at a deep river,^
where a piragua was made; and, in consequence of the vio-
lence of the rurront, a cal)le of chains was extended from shore
to shore, along which the boat passed, and the horses were
(li-awn over, swimming thereto, l)y means of a windlass to the
other side.
A day and a half afterwards, they arrived at a town by the
' Probably Flint River.
1540] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 165
name of Capachiqui, and on Friday, the eleventh/ the mhab-
itants were found to have gone off. The following day, five
Christians, going in the rear of the camp to search for mortars,
in which the natives beat maize, went to some houses sur-
rounded by a thicket, where many Indians lurked as spies, an
equal number of whom, separating from the rest, set upon
our men, one of whom fled back, crying out to arms. When
they who could first answer to the call reached the spot, they
found one of the Christians killed, and the three others badly
wounded, the Indians fleeing into a sheet of water, full of
woods, into which the horses could not go. The Governor left
Capachiqui, passing through a desert; and on Wednesday,
the twenty -first ^ of the month, came to Toalli.
The houses of this town were different from those behind,
which were covered with dry grass ; thenceforward they were
roofed with cane, after the fashion of tile. They are kept very
clean: some have their sides so made of clay as to look like
tapia.^ Throughout the cold country every Indian has a win-
ter house, plastered inside and out, with a very small door,
which is closed at dark, and a fire being made within, it remains
heated hke an oven, so that clothing is not needed during the
night-time. He has likewise a house for summer, and near it
a kitchen, where fire is made and bread baked. Maize is kept
in a barbacoa, which is a house with wooden sides, hke a room,
raised aloft on four posts, and has a floor of cane. The differ-
ence between the houses of the masters, or principal men, and
those of the common people is that, besides being larger than
the others, they have deep balconies on the front side, with
cane seats, like benches; and about are many barbacoas, in
which they bring together the tribute their people give them
of maize, skins of deer, and blankets of the country. These
are like shawls, some of them made from the inner bark of
' This should be Thursday the eleventh, which was the day on which
they arrived at the first town in Capachiqui. Capachiqui was the second
town in that province, according to Ranjel.
' Wednesday was the twenty-fourth, but they arrived at Toalli early on
the moriiinp; of the twenty-third, according to Ranjel.
^ Mud walls.
166 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
trees, and others of a grass resembling nettle, which, by tread-
ing out, becomes hke flax. The women use them for covering,
wearing one about the body from the waist downward, and
another over the shoulder, with the right arm left free, after
the manner of the Gypsies : the men wear but one, which they
carry over the shoulder in the same way, the loins being cov-
ered with a hragueiro of cleer-skin, after the fashion of the
woollen breech-cloth that was once the custom of Spain. The
skins are well dressed, the color being given to them that is
wished, and in such perfection, that, when of vermilion, they
look hke very fine red broadcloth; and when black, the sort
in use for shoes, they are of the purest. The same hues are
given to blankets.
The Governor left Toalli on the twenty-fourth day of
March, and arrived on Thursday, in the evening, at a little
stream ^ where a small bridge was made, and the people passed
to the opposite side. Benito Fernandes, a Portuguese, fell off
from it, and was drowned. So soon as the Governor had
crossed, he found a town, a short way on, by the name of
Achese, the people of which, having had no knowledge of the
Christians, plunged into a river; nevertheless, some men and
women were taken, among whom was found one who under-
stood the youth, the guide to Yupaha, which rather confirmed
what he stated, as they had come through regions speaking
different languages, some of which he did not understand.
By one of the Indians taken there, the Governor sent to call
the cacique from the farther side of the river, who, having
come to him, thus spoke :
Very IIh;ii, Powerful, and Good Master:
The things that seldom happen bring astonishment. Think,
then, what imist be the effect on nic and mine, of the siglit of you
and your jxjoplc, wlioni we liave at no lime s('(>n, astri(k> the I'lcvcG
brutes, your horses, entering with such speed and fury into my
' Before iirriviiif; .-it this slrc.-un they crossed a very hrond river, aeoord-
ing to Haiijel, vvliich I'.iedrna says was the first river (lowing to the cast.
This was the Oemulgeo River.
1540] EXPEDITI0:N' of HERNANDO DE SOTO 167
country, that we had no tidings of your coming — things so alto-
gether new, as to strike awe and terror to our hearts, which it was
not nature to resist, so that we should receive you with the sobriety
due to so kingly and famous a lord. Trusting to your greatness
and personal quaUties, I hope no fault will be found in me, and
that I shall rather receive favors, of which one is that with my
person, my country, and my vassals, you will do as with your own
things; and another, that you tell me who you are, whence you
come, whither you go, and what it is you seek, that I may the bet-
ter serve you.
The Governor responded, that he greatly thanked him for
his good-will, as much so as though he had given him a great
treasure. He told him that he was the child of the Sun, coming
from its abode, and that he was going about the country, seek-
ing for the greatest prince there, and the richest province.
The cacique stated that farther on was a great lord, whose
territory was called Ocute. He gave him a guide, who under-
stood the language, to conduct him thither ; and the Governor
commanded his subjects to be released. A high cross, made
of wood, was set up in the middle of the town-yard; and, as
time did not allow more to be done, the Indians were instructed
that it was put there to commemorate the suffering of Christ,
who was God and man ; that he had created the skies and the
earth, and had suffered for the salvation of all, and therefore,
that they should revere that sign; and they showed by their
manner that they would do so.
The Governor set out on the first day of April, and advanced
through the country of the chief, along up a river, the shores
of which were very populous. On the fourth he went through
the town of Altamaca,^ and on the tenth arrived at Ocute.
The cacique sent him a present, by two thousand Indians, of
many rabbits and partridges, maize bread, many dogs, and
two turkeys. On account of the scarcity of meat, the dogs
were as much esteemed by the Christians as though they had
been fat sheep. There was such want of meat and salt that
' Altamaha, acoordinp; to Raiij(>l. Before arriving at this place they
crossed a great river which was either the Oconee or the Altamaha River.
168 SPANISH EXPLOREKS [1540
oftentimes, in many places, a sick man had nothing for his
nourislmient, and was wasting away to bone, of some ail that
elsewhere might have found a remedy ; and would die of pure
debihty, saying : ''Now, if I had but a shce of meat, or only a
few lumps of salt, I should not thus die."
The Indians never lacked meat. With arrows they get
abundance of deer, turkeys, rabbits, and other wild animals,
being very skilful in killing game, which the Christians were
not ; and even if they had been, there was not the opportunity
for it, they being on the march the greater part of their time;
nor did they, besides, ever dare to straggle off. Such was the
craving for meat, that when the six hundred men who followed
Soto arrived at a town, and found there twenty or thirty
dogs, he who could get sight of one and kill him, thought he
had done no Uttle ; and he who proved himself so active, if his
captain knew of it, and he forgot to send him a quarter, would
show his displeasure, and make him feel it in the watches, or
in any matter of labor that came along, with which he could
bear upon him.
On Monday, the twelfth of April, the Governor took his
departure, the cacique of Ocute giving him four hundred tame-
mes, the Indians that carry burdens. He passed through a
town, the lord of which was called Cofaqui, and came to the
province of another, named Pat of a, who, being at peace with
the chief of Ocute and other neighboring lords, had heard of
the Governor for a long time, and desired to see him. He went
to call on him, and made this speech :
Powerful Lord:
Not without reason, now, will I ask that some light mishap
befall me, in return for so great good fortune, and deem my lot a
happy one; since I have come to what I most wished in life, to
behold and have the opportunity in some way to serve you. Thus
the tongue rusts the shadow of the thought; but I, nevertheless,
am as unable to produce the perfect image of my feelings as to
control the appearances of my contentment. Hy what circum-
stance has this your land, whieh I govern, deserved to be seen by
one so superior and excellent that all on earth should obey and
1540] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 169
serve him [Soto] as a prince? And those who here inhabit being
so insignificant, how can they forget, in receiving this vast enjoy-
ment, that, in the order of things, will follow upon it some great
adversity ? If we are held worthy of being yours, we can never
be other than favored, nor less than protected in whatsoever is
reasonable and just; for they that fail of deserving either, with
the name of men can only be considered brutes. From the depth
of my heart, and with the respect due to such a chief, I make mine
offer; and pray that, in return for so sincere good-will, you dis-
pose of me, my country, and my vassals.
The Governor answered that his offers and good-will,
shown in works, would greatly please him, and that he should
ever bear them in memory to honor and favor him as he would
a brother. From this province of Patofa, back to the first
cacique we found at peace, a distance of fifty leagues, the
country is abundant, picturesque, and luxuriant, well watered,
and having good river margins ; thence to the harbor of Espi-
ritu Santo, where we first arrived, the land of Florida, which
may be three hundred leagues in length, a httle more or less,
is light, the greater part of it of pine-trees, and low, having
many ponds; and in places are high and dense forests, into
which the Indians that were hostile betook themselves, w^here
they could not be found ; nor could horses enter there, which,
to the Christians, was the loss of the food they carried away,
and made it troublesome to get guides.
Chapter 14
How the Governor left the province of Patofa, marching into a
desert country, where he, with his people, became ex-
posed to great peril and underwent severe privation.
In the town of Patofa, the youth, whom the Governor
brought with him for guide and interpreter, began to froth
at the mouth, and throw himself on the ground as if he were
possessed of the Devil. An exorcism being said over him,
the fit went off. lie stated that four days' journey from there,
170 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
towards the sunrise, was the province he spoke of : the Indians
at Patofa said that they knew of no dwelhngs in that direction,
but that towards the northwest there was a province called
Coga, a plentiful country having very large towns. The
cacique told the Governor that if he desired to go thither he
would give him a guide and Indians to carry burdens, and if
he would go in the direction pointed out by the youth, he
would furnish him with everything necessary for that also.
With words of love, and tendering each other services,
they parted, the Governor receiving seven hundred tamemes.
He took maize for the consumption of four days, and marched
by a road that, gradually becoming less, on the sixth day dis-
appeared. Led by the youth, they forded two rivers,^ each
the breadth of two shots of a crossbow, the water rising
to the stirrups of the saddles, and passing in a current so power-
ful, that it became necessary for those on horseback to stand
one before another, that they on foot, walking near, might
cross along above them : then came to another^ of a more vio-
lent current, and larger, which was got over with more diffi-
culty, the horses swimming for a lance's length at the coming
out, into a pine-grove. The Governor menaced the youth,
motioning that he would throw him to the dogs for having lied
to him in saying that it was four days' journey, whereas they
had travelled nine, each day of seven or eight leagues; and
that the men and horses had become very thin, because of the
sharp economy practised with the maize. The youth declared
that he knew not where he was. Fortunately for him, at the
time, there was not another whom Juan Ortiz understood, or
he would have been cast to the dogs.
The Governor, leaving the camp among the pine-trees,
marched that day, with some cavalry and infantry, five or six
leagues, looking for a path, and came back at night very cast
down, not having found any sign of inhabitants. The next
day there was a variety of opinion al)out the course ])ro])er to
take, whether to return or do otherwise. The country through
' The Groat Oh()f)iH;e and Caiuiouchee rivers.
* The Ogecchee River.
1540] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 171
which they had come remained wasted and without maize;
the grain they had so far brought with them was spent; the
beasts, hke the men, were become very lean ; and it was held
very doubtful whether relief was anywhere to be found : more-
over, it was the opinion that they might be beaten by any
Indians whatsoever who should venture to attack them, so
that continuing thus, whether by hunger or in strife, they must
inevitably be overcome. The Governor determined to send
thence in all directions on horseback, in quest of habitations ;
and the next day he despatched four captains to as many points,
with eight of cavalry to each. They came back at night lead-
ing their beasts by the bridle, unable to carry their masters, or
driven before them with sticks, having found no road, nor any
sign of a settlement. He sent other four again the next day,
with eight of cavalry apiece, men who could swim, that they
might cross any ponds and rivers in the way, the horses being
chosen of the best that were; Baltasar de Gallegos ascending
by the river, Juan de Afiasco going down it, Alfonso Romo and
Juan Rodriguez Lobillo striking into the country.
The Governor had brought thirteen sows to Florida, which
had increased to three hundred swine ; and the maize having
failed for three or four days, he ordered to be killed daily,
for each, man, half a pound of pork, on which small allowance,
and some boiled herbs, the people with much difficulty Uved.
There being no food to give to the Indians of Patofa, they were
dismissed, though they still wished to keep with the Christians
in their extremity, and showed great regret at going back be-
fore leaving them in a peopled country. Juan de Afiasco
came in on Sunday, in the afternoon, bringing with him a
woman and a youth he had taken, with the report that he
had found a small town twelve or thirteen leagues off; at
which the Governor and his people were as much delighted
as though they had been raised from death to life.
On Monday, the twenty-sixth of April, the Governor set
out for Aymay, a town to which the Christians gave the name
of Socorro. At the foot of a tree, in the camp, they buried a
paper, and in the bark, with a hatchet, they cut these words:
172 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1540
''Dig here; at the root of this pine you will find a letter;"
and this was so fixed that the captains, who had gone in quest
of an inhabited country, should learn what the Governor had
done and the direction he had taken. There was no other road
than the one Juan de Anasco had made moving along through
the woods.
On J\Ionday the Governor arrived at the town, with those
the best mounted, all riding the hardest possible ; some sleep-
ing two leagues off, others three and four, each as he was able
to travel and his strength held out. A barbacoa was found full
of parched meal and some maize, which were distributed by
allowance. Four Indians were taken, not one of whom would
say anything else than that he knew of no other town. The
Governor ordered one of them to be burned; and thereupon
another said, that two days' journey from there was a province
called Cutifachiqui.^
On Wednesday the three captains came up : they had found
the letter and followed on after the rest. From the command
of Juan Rodriguez two men remained behind, their horses
having given out, for which the Governor reprimanded him
severely, and sent him to bring them. While they should be
coming on he set out for Cutifachiqui, capturing three Indians
in the road, who stated that the mistress of that country had
already information of the Christians, and was waiting for
them in a town. He sent to her by one of them, offering his
friendship and announcing his approach. Directly as the
Governor arrived, four canoes came towards him, in one of
which was a kinswoman of the Cacica, who, coming near, ad-
dressed him in these words :
Excp:llent Lord:
My sister sends me to salute you, and to say, tliat the reason
why she has not come in person is, that she has thought to serve
' From tho wonlinp of tho Ranjol narrative, Aymay was on the east side
of the Savannah River and ('utifaehiqui on the west side. The latter town
was not at Silver lihiff, South Carohna, as commonly thought, but further
down the riv(!r. Cofitaclicfiui (as Ranjcl spells it) is proper Creek, and
means Dog- wood Town.
1540] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 173
you better by remaining to give orders on the other shore; and
that, in a short time, her canoes will all be here, in readiness to
conduct you thither, where you may take your repose and be
obeyed.
The Governor thanked her, and she returned to cross the
river. After a little time the Cacica came out of the town,
seated in a chair, which some principal men having borne to the
bank, she entered a canoe. Over the stern was spread an awn-
ing, and in the bottom lay extended a mat where were two
cushions, one above the other, upon which she sate ; and she
was accompanied by her chief men, in other canoes, with
Indians. She approached the spot where the Governor was,
and, being arrived, thus addressed him:
Excellent Lord:
Be this coming to these your shores most happy. My ability
can in no way equal my wishes, nor my services become the merits
of so great a prince; nevertheless, good wishes are to be valued
more than all the treasures of the earth without them. With sin-
cerest and purest good-will I tender you my person, my lands, my
people, and make you these small gifts.
The Cacica presented much clothing of the country, from the
shawls and skins that came in the other boats; and drawing
from over her head a large string of pearls, she threw them
about his neck, exchanging with him many gracious words of
friendship and courtesy. She directed that canoes should
come to the spot, whence the Governor and his people passed
to the opposite side of the river. So soon as he was lodged in the
town, a great many turkeys were sent to him. The country
was delightful and fertile, having good interval lands upon the
streams ; the forest was open, with abundance of walnut and
mulberry trees. The sea was stated to be distant two days'
travel. About the place, from half a league to a league off,
were large vacant towns, grown up in grass, that appeared as
if no people had lived in them for a long time. The Indians
said that, two years l)ofore, there had been a pest in the land,
and the inhabitants had moved away to other towns. In the
174 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
barbacoas were large quantities of clothing, shawls of thread,
made from the bark of trees, and others of feathers, white, gray,
vermilion, and j^ellow, rich and proper for winter. There were
also many well-dressed deer-skins, of colors drawn over with
designs, of which had been made shoes, stockings, and hose.
The Cacica, observing that the Christians valued the pearls,
told the Governor that, if he should order some sepulchres
that were in the town to be searched, he would find many;
and if he chose to send to those that were in the uninhabited
toTMis, he might load all his horses with them. They examined
those in the town, and found three hundred and fifty pounds'
weight of pearls, and figures of babies and birds made of them.
The inhabitants are bro\sTi of skin, well formed and pro-
portioned. They are more civihzed than any people seen in
all the territories of Florida, wearing clothes and shoes. This
country, according to what the Indians stated, had been very
populous. It appeared that the youth who was the guide had
heard of it ; and what was told him he declared to have seen,
and magnified such parts as he chose, to suit his pleasure. He
told the Governor that they had begun to enter upon the coun-
try he had spoken to him about, which, because of its appear-
ance, with his being able to understand the language of the
people, gained for him some credit. He wished to become a
Christian, and asked to be baptized, which was done, he re-
ceiving the name of Pedro; and the Governor commanded
the chain to be struck off that he had carried until then.
In the town were found a dirk and beads that had belonged
to Christians, who, the Indians said, had many years before
been in the port, distant two days' journey. He that had been
there was the Governor-licentiate Ayllon, who came to conquer
th(! land, and, on arriving at the port, died, when there followed
divisions and murders among the chief personages, in quarrels
as to who should command ; and thence, without knowing any
thing of the country, they went back to Sjiain.
To all it app(!ared well to make a settlement there, the point
l)eing a favorabk; one, to which could come all the ships from
New Spain, Peru, Sancta Marta, and Tierra-Firme, going to
1540] EXPEDITION OF HEENANDO DE SOTO 175
Spain; because it is in the way thither, is a good country,
and one fit in which to raise suppUes ; but Soto, as it was his
object to find another treasure like that of Atabalipa, lord of
Peru, would not be content with good lands nor pearls, even
though many of them were worth their weight in gold (and
if the country were divided among Christians, more precious
should those be the Indians would procure than these they
have, being bored with heat, which causes them to lose their
hue) : so he answered them who urged him to make a settle-
ment, that in all the country together there was not support
for his troops a single month ; that it was necessary to return
to Ochus, where Maldonado was to wait ; and should a richer
country not be found, they could always return to that who
would, and in their absence the Indians would plant their fields
and be better provided with maize. The natives were asked
if they had knowledge of any great lord farther on, to which
they answered, that twelve days' travel thence was a province
called Chiaha, subject to a chief of Co^a.
The Governor then resolved at once to go in quest of that
country, and being an inflexible man, and dry of word, who,
although he liked to know what the others all thought and had
to say, after he once said a thing he did not like to be opposed,
and as he ever acted as he thought best, all bent to his will;
for though it seemed an error to leave that country, when an-
other might have been found about it, on which all the people
could have been sustained until the crops had been made and
the grain gathered, there were none who would say a thing to
him after it became known that he had made up his mind.
Chapter 15
How the Governor went from Cutifachiqui in quest of Coga, and
what occurred to him on the journey.
On the third day of May,^ the Governor set out from
Cutifachiqui; and, it being discovered that the wish of the
Cacica was to leave the Christians, if she could, giving them
' This should be May 13, according to Ranjcl.
176 SPANISH EXPLOREES [1540
neither guides nor tamemes, because of the outrages committed
upon the inhabitants, there never failing to be men of low de-
gree among the manj^, who will put the lives of themselves
and others in jeopardy for some mean interest, the Governor
ordered that she should be placed under guard and took her
with him. This treatment, which was not a proper return
for the hospitable welcome he had received, makes true the
adage. For well doing, etc. ; and thus she was carried away
on foot with her female slaves.
This brought us service in all the places that were passed,
she ordering the Indians to come and take the loads from town to
town. We travelled through her territories a hundred leagues,
in which, according to what we saw, she was greatly obeyed,
whatsoever she ordered being performed with diligence and
efficacy. Pedro, the guide, said she was not the suzeraine,
but her niece, who had come to that town by her command to
punish capitally some principal Indians who had seized upon
the tribute; but to this no credit was given, because of the
falsehoods in which he had been taken, though all was put up
with, from the necessity of having some one whereby to under-
stand what the Indians said.
In seven days the Governor arrived at the province of
Chalaque,^ the country poorest off for maize of any that was
seen in Florida, where the inhabitants subsisted on the roots
of plants that they dig in the wilds, and on the animals they
destroy there with their arrows. They are very domestic
people, are slight of form, and go naked. One lord brought the
Governor two deer-skins as a great gift. Turkeys were abun-
dant ; in one town they presented seven hundred, and in others
brought him what they had and could procure. He was de-
tained in going from this province to that of Xualla^ five days,
' In two flays, acconling to Ranjol.
'This town is the Clioualhi of the Inca and the old Cherokee town of
Qualla, whifh was locatefl above the junction of the Turkaseegoe and Oconna-
Luftee Rivers, in Swain County, North Carolina. From Cofitaclieiiui the
amny took a nf)rth('rly course, prol)al)ly following the old Indian and traders'
trail to old Fort Frinec George, in Jackson County, South Carolina, and from
there to Xualla.
1540] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 177
where they found little grain, but remained two days, because
of the weariness of the men and the leanness of the horses.
From Ocute to Cutifachiqui are one hundred and thirty
leagues, of which eighty are desert ; from Cutifa to Xualla are
two hundred and fifty of mountainous country ; thence to
Guaxule, the way is over very rough and lofty ridges.
One day while on this journey, the Cacica of Cutifachi,
whom the Governor brought with him, as has been stated, to
the end of taking her to Guaxule, the farthest limit of her terri-
tories, conducted by her slaves, she left the road, with an ex-
cuse of going into a thicket, where, deceiving them, she so con-
cealed herself that for all their search she could not be found.
She took with her a cane box, like a trunk, called petaca, full
of unbored pearls, of which those who had the most knowledge
of their value said they were very precious. They were carried
for her by one of the women ; and the Governor, not to give
offence, permitted it so, thinking that in Guaxulle he would beg
them of her when he should give her leave to depart ; but she
took them with her, going to Xualla, with three slaves who
had fled from the camp. A horseman, named Alimamos, who
remained behind, sick of a fever, wandering out of the way, got
lost ; and he labored with the slaves to make them leave their
evil design. Two of them did so, and came on with him to the
camp. They overtook the Governor, after a journey of fifty
leagues, in a province called Chiaha : and he reported that the
Cacica remained in Xualla, with a slave of Andre de Vas-
concelos, who would not come with him, and that it was very
sure they lived together as man and wife, and were to go to-
gether to Cutifachiqui.
At the end of five days the Governor arrived at Guaxulle.^
The Christians being seen to go after dogs, for their flesh, which
the Indians do not eat, they gave them three hundred of those
animals. Little maize was found there, or anywhere upon that
route. The Governor sent a native with a message to the
' The second day after leaving Xualla they camped at the junction of two
rivers, according to Ranjel. This was probably at the junction of the Little
Tennessee and Oconna-Luftee rivers.
178 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1540
cacique of Chiaha, begging that he would order some maize to
be brought together at his town, that he might sojourn there
some time. He left Guaxulle, and after two daj's' travel
arrived at Canasagua, where twenty men came out from the
town on the road, each laden with a basket of mulberries.
This fruit is abundant and good, from Cutifachiqui to this
place, and thence onward in other provinces, as are the walnut
and the plum (persimmon) ; the trees growing about over the
countr}^, without planting or pnming, of the size and luxuriance
they would have were they cultivated in orchards, by hoeing
and irrigation. Leaving Canasagua, he marched five days
through a desert.
Two leagues before he came to Chiaha, fifteen men met
the Governor, bearing loads of maize, with word from the
cacique that he waited for him, having twenty barbacoas full ;
that, moreover, himself, his lands, and his vassals, were sub-
ject to his orders. On the fifth day of July ^ the Governor
entered Chiaha.^ The cacique received him with great pleas-
ure, and, resigning to him his dwellings for his residence, thus
addressed him : —
Powerful and Excellent Master:
Fortunate am I that you will make use of my services. Noth-
ing could happen that would give me so great contentment, or
which I should value more. From Guaxule you sent to have
maize for you in readiness to last two months: you have in this
town twenty barbacoas full of the choicest and the best to be
found in all this country. If the reception I give is not worthy of
so great a prince, consider my youth, which will relieve me of
blame, and receive my good-will, which, with true loyalty and
pure, shall ever be shown in all things that concern your welfare.
The Governor answered him, that his gifts and his kindness
pleased him greatly, and that he should ever consider him to be
his brother.
There was abundance of lard in calabashes, drawn like
' It should l)C June 5, acoording to Ranjol.
'Chiaha was ovidontly on the island at the junction of the Little Ten-
nessee and Tennessee Rivc^rs, in Loudon County, Teruiessee.
1540] EXPEDITION OF HERKANDO DE SOTO 179
olive oil, which the inhabitants said was the fat of bear. There
was likewise found much oil of walnuts, which, like the lard,
was clear and of good taste ; and also a honey-comb, which the
Christians had never seen before, nor saw afterwards, nor honey,
nor bees, in all the country.
The town was isolated, between two arms of a river, and
seated near one of them. Above it, at the distance of two cross-
bow-shot, the water divided, and united again a league below.
The vale between, from side to side, was the width in places of
a crossbow-shot, and in others of two. The branches were very
wide, and both were fordable: along their shores were very
rich meadow-lands, having many maize-fields.
As the Indians remained at home, no houses were taken
save those of the chief, in which the Governor lodged; the
people lived out, wherever there happened to be shelter, each
man having his tree. In this manner the army lay, the men
out of order and far apart. The Governor passed it over, as
the Indians were peaceful, and the weather very calm: the
people would have suffered greatly had they been required
to do differently. The horses arrived so worn out, that they
could not bear their riders from weakness ; for they had come
all the way with only a little maize to live on, travelling, hun-
gry and tired, even from beyond the desert of Ocute; so, as
the greater part of them were unfit to be mounted, even in
the necessary case of battle, they were turned out at night to
graze, about a quarter of a league from the camp. The Chris-
tians were greatly exposed, so much so that if at that time the
Indians had set upon them, they would have been in bad way
to defend themselves.
The duration of the sojourn was thirty daj'^s, in which time,
the soil being covered with verdure, the horses fattened. At
the departure, in consequence of the unportunity of some who
wanted more than was in reason, the Governor asked thirty
women of the chief for slaves, who replied that he would confer
with his principal men; when one night, before giving an an-
swer, all went off from the town with their women and children.
The next day, he having made up his mind to go in search of
180 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
them, the cacique arrived, and, approaching, thus addressed
him: —
Powerful Lord:
Because of my shame, and out of fear of you, discovering that
my subjects, contrary to my wishes, had chosen to absent them-
selves, I left 'without your permission ; but, finding the error of my
way, I have returned Uke a true vassal, to put myself in your power,
that you may do with my person as shall seem best to you. My
people will not obey me, nor do any thing that an uncle of mine
does not command : he governs this country, in my place, until I
shall be of mature age. If you would pursue and punish them for
disobedience, I will be your guide, since my fate at present forbids
me doing more.
The Governor then, with thirty mounted men and as many
footmen, went in search of the people. Passing by the towns
of some of the chiefs who had gone off, he cut down and de-
stroyed the great maize-fields ; and going along up the stream
where the natives were, on an islet, to which the cavalrj^ could
not go, he sent word to them, by an Indian, that they should
put away all their fears, and, returning to their abodes, give
him tamemes, as had been done all the way along, since he
did not wish to have women, finding how very dear they were
to them. The Indians judged it well to come and make their
excuses to him, so they all went back to the town.
A cacique of Acoste, who came to see the Governor, after
tendering his services, and they had exchanged compliments
and proffers of friendship, was asked if he had any information
of a rich land ; he answered yes : that towards the north there
was a province called Chisca, and that a forge was there for
copper, or other metal of that color, though brighter, having a
much finer hue, and was to appcvirances nmch better, but was
not so much used, for Ixing softer ; which was the statement
that h;i(l been given in Cutifachiqui, where we had seen some
c}ic)j)j»iiig-kiiiv('s that were said to have a mixture of gold. As
the country on the way was thinly ])eoi)le(.l, and it was said
there were mountains over which the beasts could not go, the
1540] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 181
Governor would not march directly thither, but judged that,
keeping in an inhabited territory, the men and animals would
be in better condition, while he would be more exactly in-
formed of what there was, until he should turn to it through the
ridges and a region which he could more easily travel. He
sent two Christians to the country of Chisca, by Indians who
spoke the language, that they might view it, and were told that
he would await their return at Chiaha for what they should
have to say.
Chapter 16
How the Governor left Chiaha, and, having run a hazard of
falling by the hands of the Indians, at Acoste,
escaped by his address: what occurred to him on the
route, and how he came to Coga.
When the Governor had determined to move from Chiaha
towards Coste,^ he sent for the cacique to come before him,
and with kind words took his leave, receiving some slaves as a
gift, which pleased him. In seven days the journey was con-
cluded. On the second day of July, the camp being pitched
among the trees, two crossbow-shot distant from the town, he
went with eight men of his guard toward where the cacique was,
who received him evidently with great friendship. While they
were conversing, some infantry went into the town after maize,
and, not satisfied with what they got, they rummaged and
searched the houses, taking what they would ; at which conduct
the owners began to rise and arm; some of them, with clubs
in their hands, going at five or six men who had given offence,
beat them to their satisfaction. The Governor, discovering
that they were all bent upon some mischief, and himself among
them with but few Christians about him, turned to escape
from the difficulty by a stratagem much against his nature,
clear and refiable as it was, and the more unwillingly as it
grieved him that an Indian should presume, either with or
' This place was located on one of the islands in the Tennessee River, just
above Chattanooga.
182 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
without cause, to offer any indignity to a Christian : he seized
a stave and took part with the assailants against his own people,
which while it gave confidence, directly he sent a message
secretly to the camp, that armed men should approach where
he was; then taking the chief b}" the hand, speaking to him
with kind words, drew him with some principal men away from
the town, out into an open road in sight of the encampment,
where cautiously the Cliristians issued and by degrees sur-
rounded them. In this manner they were conducted within
the tents; and when near his marquee the Governor ordered
them to be put under guard. He told them that they could
not go thence without giving him a guide and Indians for car-
rying loads, nor until the sick men had arrived whom he had
ordered to come down by the river in canoes from Chiaha,
and so hkewise those he had sent to the province of Chisca.
He feared that both the one and the other had been killed by
the Indians. In three days they that went to Chisca got back,
and related that they had been taken through a country so
scant of maize, and with such high mountains, that it was im-
possible the army should march in that direction ; and finding
the distance was becoming long, and that they should be back
late, upon consultation they agreed to return, coming from
a poor little town where there was nothing of value, bringing
a cow-hide as delicate as a calf -skin the people had given them,
the hair being like the soft wool on the cross of the merino
with the common sheep.
The cacique having furnished the guide and tamemes,
by permission of the Governor he went his way. The Chris-
tians left Coste the ninth day of July, and slept that night at
Tali.' The cacique had come from the town to meet the
Governor on the road, and made him this speech : —
Excellent Great Prince:
Worthy are you of being served and obeyed by all the princes
of the world, for by the face can one judge far of the inner qualities.
' Tjili WJI.S I()C}it<>(l in t\u\ b(Mid of the Tennessee River, just below Chat-
tanooga. Here they left the river.
1540] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 183
Who you are I knew, and also of your power, before your coming
here. I wish not to draw attention to the lowUness in which I
stand before you, to make my poor services acceptable and agree-
able, since, where the strength fails, the will should instead be praised
and taken. Hence, I dare to ask that you will only consider and
attend to what you will command me to do here in your country.
The Governor answered, that his good-will and offer pleased
him as much as though he had tendered hun all the treasures
of the earth : that he would always be treated by him as a true
brother, favored and esteemed. The cacique ordered provi-
sion to be brought for two days' use, the time the Governor
should be present ; and on his departure, gave him the use of
two men and four women, who were wanted to carry burdens.
They travelled six days, passing by many towns subject to
the cacique of CoQa; and, as they entered those territories,
numerous messengers came from him on the road every day
to the Governor, some going, others coming, until they arrived
at CoQa,^ on Friday, the sixteenth of July. The cacique came
out to receive him at the distance of two crossbow-shot from
the town, borne in a htter on the shoulders of his principal
men, seated on a cushion, and covered with a mantle of marten-
skins, of the size and shape of a woman's shawl : on his head he
wore a diadem of plumes, and he was surrounded by many
attendants playing upon flutes and singing. Coming to where
the Governor was, he made his obeisance, and followed it by
these words : —
Powerful Lord, superior to every other of the Earth:
Although I come but now to meet you, it is a long time since
I have received you in my heart. That was done the first day I
heard of you, with so great desire to serve, please, and give you
contentment, that this, which I express, is nothing in comparison
with that which is within me. Of this you may be sure, that to have
received the dominion of the world would not have interested me
so greatly as the sight of you, nor would I have held it for so great
a felicity. Do not look for me to offer you that which is your
* Cof;a may not have boon the Coosa of the last century, which was located
acme two miles north of Childersburg, in Talladega County, Alabama.
184 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
own — this person, these lands, these vassals. My only desire is
to employ myself in commanding these people, that, wdth all dih-
gence and befitting respect, they conduct you hence to the town
in festivity of voices and with flutes, where you will be lodged and
waited upon by me and them, where all I possess you will do with
as with your own, and in thus doing you will confer favor.
The Governor gave him thanks, and with mutual satis-
faction they walked on toward the place conferring, the
Indians giving up their habitations by order of their cacique,
and in which the General and his men took lodging. In the
barbacoas was a great quantity of maize and beans : the coun-
try, thickly settled in numerous and large towns, with fields
between, extending from one to another, w^as pleasant, and
had a rich soil with fair river margins. In the woods were many
plums (persimmons), as well those of Spain as of the country^ ;
and wild grapes on vines growing up into the trees, near the
streams ; likewise a kind that grew on low vines elsewhere, the
berr}^ being large and sweet, but, for want of hoeing and dress-
ing, had large stones.
It was the practice to keep watch over the caciques that
none should absent themselves, they being taken along by the
Governor until coming out of their territories ; for by thus hav-
ing them the inhabitants would await their arrival in the towns,
give a guide, and men to carry the loads, who before leaving
their country would have liberty to return to their homes, as
sometimes would the tamemes, so soon as they came to the
domain of any chief where others could be got. The people of
Co9a, seeing their lord was detained, took it amiss, and, going
off, hid themselves in the scrub, as well those of the town of the
cacique as those of the towns of the principal men his vassals.
Th(!(}ov('rnor despatched four captains in as many directions to
s(!ar('li for them : many men and women were taken who were
put iu chains. Seeing how much harm they received, and
how Httle th{!y gained by going off, they came in, dcH'hiring
that th(;y desired to serve in all tliat was possible. Of the
prisoners, some of the chiefs, whom the cacique interceded for,
were let go ; of llic rest, each one took away with him as slaves
1540] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 185
those he had in chains, none returning to their country save
some whose fortune it was to escape, laboring dihgently to file
off their irons at night ; or, while on the march, could slip out
of the way, observing the carelessness of those who had them in
charge, sometimes taking off with them in their chains the bur-
dens and the clothing with which they were laden.
Chapter 17
Of how the Governor went from Coga to Tascaluga.
The Governor rested in CoQa twenty-five days. On
Friday, the twentieth of August, he set out in quest of a prov-
ince called Tascalu9a, taking with him the cacique of CoQa.
The first day he went through Tallimuchase, a great town
without inhabitants, halting to sleep half a league beyond,
near a river-bank. The following day he came to Ytaua, a
town subject to CoQa. He was detained six days, because of
a river near by that was then swollen : so soon as it could be
crossed he took up his march, and went towards Ullibahali.
Ten or twelve chiefs came to him on the road, from the cacique
of that province, tendering his service, bearing bows and
arrows and wearing bunches of feathers.
The Governor having arrived at the town with a dozen
cavalry and several of his guard, he left them at the distance
of a crossbow-shot and entered the town. He found all the
Indians with their weapons, and, according to their ways, it
appeared to him in readiness for action : he understood after-
wards that they had determined to wrest the cacique of CoQa
from his power, should that chief have called on them. The
place was enclosed, and near by ran a small stream. The
fence, which was like that seen afterwards to other towns,
was of large timber sunk deep and firmly into the earth, having
many long poles the size of the arm, placed crosswise to nearly
the height of a lance, with embrasures, and coated with mud
inside and out, having loop-holes for archery.^ The Gov-
' Ranjel applies a similar description to an old town on the road, three
days' march from Toasi or Tuasi.
186 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
ernor ordered all his men to enter the town. The cacique,
who at the moment was at a town on the opposite shore, was
sent for, and he came at once. After some words between him
and the Governor, proffering mutual service, he gave the tame-
mes that were requisite and thirty women as slaves. Man-
9ano, a native of Salamanca, of noble ancestry, having straj'-ed
off in search of the grapes, which are good here, and plenty,
was lost.
The Christians left, and that day they arrived to sleep at a
town subject to the lord of Ulhbahah, and the next day they
came to pass the night at the towm of Toasi, where the in-
habitants gave the Governor thirty women and the tamemes
that were wanted. The amount of travel usually performed
was five or six leagues a day, passing through settled country ;
and when through desert, all the haste possible was made, to
avoid the want of maize. From Toasi, passing through some
towns subject to the lord of the province of Tallise,^ he jour-
neyed five days, and arrived at the town the eighteenth day
of September.
Talhse was large, situated by the side of a great river,
other towns and many fields of maize being on the opposite
shore, the country on both sides having the greatest abundance
of grain. The inhabitants had gone off. The Governor sent
to call the cacique, who, having arrived, after an interchange of
kind words and good promises, lent him forty men. A chief
came to the Governor in behalf of the cacique of TastaluQa,^
and made the following address :
Very Powerful, Virtuous, and Esteemed Lord:
The grand cacique of Tascaluga, my master, sends me to salute
you. He bids me say, that he is told how all, not without reason,
are led captive by your perfections and power; that where-
soever lies your path you receive gifts and obedience, which he
* This is probably not the modern town of that name, which was located
above the elbow of the Tallapoosa River, in Tallapoosa (^ounty.
' T;i,s('aliic;a is correct ('reck (meaiiinfj Black Warrior), and Tastalu9a,
there can be little doubt, is a misspcllitif!;; iicvcrtli(>less w(> think it better
to present all tiie native names in the spellings of the Portuguese original.
1540] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 187
knows are all your due; and that he longs to see you as much as
he could desire for the continuance of life. Thus, he sends me to
offer you his person, his lands, his subjects; to say, that whereso-
ever it shall please you to go through his territories, you will find
service and obedience, friendship and peace. In requital of this
wish to serve you, he asks that you so far favor him as to say
when you will come; for that the sooner you do so, the greater
will be the obligation, and to him the earlier pleasure.
The Governor received and parted with the messenger
graciously, giving him beads (which by the Indians are not
much esteemed) and other articles, that he should take them
to his lord. He dismissed the cacique of Co9a, that he might
return to his country: he of Talhse gave him the tamemes
that were needed; and, having sojourned twenty days, the
Governor set out for Tastalu9a. He slept the night at a large
town called Casiste, and the next day, passing through another,
arrived at a village in the province of TastaluQa ; and the fol-
lowing night he rested in a wood, two leagues from the town
where the cacique resided, and where he was then present. He
sent the master of the camp, Luis de Moscoso, with fifteen cav-
alry, to inform him of his approach.
The cacique was at home, in a piazza. Before his dwelling,
on a high place, was spread a mat for him, upon which two
cushions were placed, one above another, to which he went
and sat down, his men placing themselves around, some way
removed, so that an open circle was formed about him, the
Indians of the highest rank being nearest to his person. One
of them shaded him from the sun with a circular umbrella,
spread wide, the size of a target, with a small stem, and having
deer-skin extended over cross-sticks, quartered with red and
white, which at a distance made it look of taffeta, the colors
were so very perfect. It formed the standard of the chief,
which he carried into battle. His appearance was full of dig-
nity : he was tall of person, muscular, lean, and S3^imnetrical.
He was the suzerain of many territories, and of a numerous
people, being equally feared by his vassals and the neighbor-
ing nations. The master of the camp, after he had spoken to
188 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
him, advanced with his company, their steeds leaping from
side to side, and at times towards the chief, when he, with great
gravity, and seemingly with indifference, now and then would
raise his eyes, and look on as in contempt.
The Governor approached him, but he made no movement
to rise ; he took him by the hand, and they went together to
seat themselves on the bench that was in the piazza. The
cacique addressed him these words : —
Powerful Chief:
Your lordship is very welcome. With the sight of you I re-
ceive as great pleasure and comfort as though you were an own
brother whom I dearly loved. It is idle to use many words here,
as it is not well to speak at length where a few may suffice. The
greater the will the more estimable the deed; and acts are the
living witnesses of truth. You shall learn how strong and positive
is my will, and how disinterested my incUnation to serve you.
The gifts you did me the favor to send I esteem in all their value,
but most because they were yours. See in what you will command
me.
The Governor satisfied the chief with a few brief words of
kindness. On leaving he determined, for certain reasons, to
take him along. The second day on the road he came to a
town called Piache ; ^ a great river ran near, and the Governor
asked for canoes. The Indians said they had none, but that
they could have rafts of cane and dried wood, whereon they
might readily enough go over, which they diligently set about
making, and soon completed. They managed them ; and the
water being calm, the Governor and his men easily crossed.
From the port of Espiritu Santo to Palache, a march of
about a hundred leagues, the course was west; from Ai)alache
to Cutifachiqui, which may be four hundred and thirty leagues,
it was nortlu^ast; from thence to Xualla, two hundred and
fifty leagues, it was towards the north ; and thence to Tasta-
luf;a, which may be some other two hundred and fifty leagues,
' Frf)ni H.'iiijfl's <l('scri[)ti()n of this placo it is not iinproI)ubIe that Piiiclii
was located on the north isidc of the lUuck Warrior llivcr.
1540] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 189
one hundred and ninety of them were toward the west, going
to the province of Co9a, and the sixty southwardly, in going
thence to Tastaluga.
After crossing the river of Piache, a Christian having gone
to look after a woman gotten away from him, he had been
either captured or killed by the natives, and the Governor pressed
the chief to tell what had been done ; threatening, that should
the man not appear, he would never release him. The cacique
sent an Indian thence to Manilla, the town of a chief, his vassal,
whither they were going, stating that he sent to give him no-
tice that he should have provisions in readiness and Indians
for loads; but which, as aftei'wards appeared, was a message
for him to get together there all the warriors in his country.
The Governor marched three days, the last one of them
continually through an inhabited region, arriving on Mon-
day, the eighteenth day of October, at Manilla.^ He rode for-
ward in the vanguard, with fifteen cavalry and thirty infantry,
when a Christian he had sent with a message to the cacique,
three or four days before, with orders not to be gone long, and
to discover the temper of the Indians, came out from the town
and reported that they appeared to him to be making prepara-
tion ; for that while he was present many weapons were brought,
and many people came into the town, and work had gone on
rapidly to strengthen the palisade. Luis de Moscoso said that,
since the Indians were so evil disposed, it would be better to
stop in the woods ; to which the Governor answered, that he
was impatient of sleeping out, and that he would lodge in the
town.
Arriving near, the chief came out to receive him, with many
Indians singing and playing on flutes, and after tendering his
services, gave him three cloaks of marten-skins. The Governor
entered the town with the caciques, seven or eight men of his
guard, and three or four cavaliy,^ who had dismounted to ac-
company them ; and they seated themselves in a piazza. The
' Mauilla or Mabila may have been located on the prairie north of the
Black Warrior and east of the Tombigbee River, in Greene County, Alabama.
' "Only forty horsemen," according to Ranjel.
190 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
cacique of TastaluQa asked the Governor to allow him to re-
main there, and not to weary him any more with walking;
but, finding that was not to be permitted, he changed his plan,
and, under pretext of speaking with some of the chiefs, he got
up from where he sate, by the side of the Governor, and entered
a house where were many Indians with their bows and arrows.
The Governor, finding that he did not return, called to him;
to which the cacique answered that he would not come out,
nor would he leave that town; that if the Governor wished
to go in peace, he should quit at once, and not persist in
carrying him away by force from his country and its depend-
encies.
Chapter 18
How the Indians rose upon the Governor, and what followed upon
that rising.
The Governor, in view of the determination and furious
answer of the cacique, thought to soothe him with soft words ;
to which he made no answer, but, with great haughtiness and
contempt, withdrew to where Soto could not see nor speak to
him. The Governor, that he might send word to the cacique
for him to remain in the country at his will, and to be pleased
to give him a guide, and persons to carry burdens, that he
might see if he could pacify him with gentle words, called to a
chief who was passing by. The Indian replied, loftily, that
he would not listen to him. Baltasar de Gallcgos, who was
near, seized him by the cloak of marten-skins that he had on,
drew it off over his head, and left it in his hands ; whereupon,
the Indians all beginning to rise, he gave him a stroke with a
cutlass, that laid oi:)en his back, when the}', with loud yells,
came out of the houses, discharging their bows.
The Governor, discovering that if he remained there they
could not escape, and if he should order his men, who were
outside of the town, to come in, the horses might be killed by
the Indians from the houses and great injury done, he ran out ;
but before he could get away he fell two or three times, and
1
1540] EXPEDITION OF HEENANDO DE SOTO 191
was helped to rise by those with him. He and they were all
badly wounded : within the town five Christians were instantly
killed. Coming forth, he called out to all his men to get
farther off, because there was much harm doing from the pali-
sade. The natives discovering that the Christians were re-
tiring, and some, if not the greater number, at more than a
walk, the Indians followed with great boldness, shooting at
them, or striking down such as they could overtake. Those
in chains having set down their burdens near the fence while
the Christians were retiring, the people of Manilla lifted the
loads on to their backs, and, bringing them into the town,
took off their irons, putting bows and arms in their hands, with
which to fight. Thus did the foe come into possession of all
the clothing, pearls, and whatsoever else the Christians had
beside, which was what their Indians carried. Since the na-
tives had been at peace as far as to that place, some of us,
putting our arms in the luggage, had gone without SlUj ; and
two, who were in the town, had their swords and halberds
taken from them, and put to use.
The Governor, presently as he found himself in the field,
called for a horse, and, with some follow^ers, returned and lanced
two or three of the Indians ; the rest, going back into the town,
shot arrows from the palisade. Those who would venture on
their nimbleness came out a stone's throw from behind it, to
fight, retiring from time to time, when they were set upon.
At the time of the affray there was a friar, a clergyman,
a servant of the Governor, and a female slave in the town, who,
having no time in which to get away, took to a house, and there
remained until after the Indians became masters of the place.
They closed the entrance wdth a lattice door ; and there being
a sword among them, which the servant had, he put himself
behind the door, striking at the Indians that would have come
in ; while, on the other side, stood the friar and the priest, each
with a club in hand, to strike down the first that should enter.
The Indians, finding that they could not get in by the door,
began to unroof the house: at this moment the cavalry were
all arrived at Mauilla, with the infantiy that had been on the
192 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
march, when a difference of opinion arose as to whether the
Indians should be attacked, in order to enter the town; for
the result was held doubtful, but finally it was concluded to
make the assault.
Chapter 19
How the Governor set his men in order of battle and entered the
town of Manilla .
So soon as the advance and the rear of the force were come
up, the Governor commanded that all the best armed should
dismount, of which he made four squadrons of footmen. The
Indians, observing how he was going on arranging his men,
urged the cacique to leave, telling him, as was afterwards made
known by some women who were taken in the town, that as he
was but one man, and could fight but as one only, there being
many chiefs present very skilful and experienced in matters of
war, any one of whom was able to command the rest, and as
things in war were so subject to fortune, that it was never cer-
tain which side would overcome the other, they wished him to
put his person in safety ; for if they should conclude their lives
there, on which they had resolved rather than surrender, he
would remain to govern the land : but for all that they said,
he did not wish to go, until, from being continually urged, with
fifteen or twenty of his own people he went out of the town,
taking with him a scarlet cloak and other articles of the Chris-
tians' clothing, being whatever he could carry and that seemed
best to him.
The Governor, informed that the Indians were leaving the
town, commanded the cavalry to surround it; and into each
squadron of foot he put a soldier, with a brand, to set fire to the
houses, that the Indians might have no shelter. His men being
placed in full concert, he ordered an arquebuse to be shot off :
at the signal the four squadrons, at their proper points, com-
menced a furious onset, and, lioth sides severely suffering, the
Christians entered the town. The friar, the priest, and the rest
who were with them in the house, were all saved, though at the
1540] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 193
cost of the lives of two brave and very able men who went thither
to their rescue. The Indians fought with so great spirit that
they many times drove our people back out of the town. The
struggle lasted so long that many Christians, weary and very
thirsty, went to drink at a pond near by, tinged with the blood
of the killed, and returned to the combat. The Governor, wit-
nessing this, with those who followed him in the returning
charge of the footmen, entered the town on horseback, which
gave opportunity to fire the dweUings ; then breaking in upon
the Indians and beating them down, they fled out of the place,
the cavalry and infantry driving them back through the gates,
where, losing the hope of escape, they fought valiantly; and
the Christians getting among them with cutlasses, they found
themselves met on all sides by their strokes, when many, dash-
ing headlong into the flaming houses, were smothered, and,
heaped one upon another, burned to death.
They who perished there were in all two thousand five hun-
dred, a few more or less : of the Christians there fell eighteen,
among whom was Don Carlos, brother-in-law of the Governor ;
one Juan de Gamez, a nephew ; Men. Rodriguez, a Portuguese ;
and Juan Vazquez, of Villanueva de Barcarota, men of condi-
tion and courage ; the rest were infantry. Of the living, one
hundred and fifty Christians had received seven hundred
wounds from the arrow ; and God was pleased that they should
be healed in little time of very dangerous injuries. Twelve
horses died, and seventy were hurt. The clothing the Chris-
tians carried with them, the ornaments for saying mass, and
the pearls, were all burned there; they having set the fire
themselves, because they considered the loss less than the injury
they might receive of the Indians from within the houses, where
they had brought the things together.
The Governor learning in Manilla that Francisco Maldonado
was waiting for him in the port of Ochuse, six days' travel dis-
tant, he caused Juan Ortiz to keep the news secret, that he
might not be interrupted in his purpose; because the pearls
he wished to send to Cuba for show, that their fame might
raise the desire of coming to Florida, had been lost, and he
194 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1540
feared that, hearing of him without seeing either gold or silver,
or other thing of value from that land, it would come to have
such reputation that no one would be found to go there when
men should be wanted : so he determined to send no news of
himself until he should have discovered a rich country.
Chapter 20
How the Governor set out from Mauilla to go to Chicaga, and what
befell him.
From the time the Governor arrived in Florida until he
went from Mauilla, there died one hundred and two Christians,
some of sickness, others by the hand of the Indians. Because
of the wounded, he stopped in that place twenty-eight days,
all the time remaining out in the fields. The country was a
rich soil, and well inhabited : some towns were very large, and
were picketed about. The people were numerous everywhere,
the dwellings standing a crossbow-shot or two apart.
On Sunday, the eighteenth of November,^ the sick being
found to be getting on well, the Governor left Mauilla, taking
with him a supply of maize for two days. He marched five
days through a wilderness, arriving in a province called Pafal-
laya, at the town Taliepataua ; and thence he went to another,
named Cabusto,^ near which was a large river, whence the
Indians on the farther bank shouted to the Christians that
they would kill them should they come over there. He or-
dered the building of a piragua within the town, that the natives
might have no knowledge of it; which being finished in four
days, and ready, he directed it to be taken on sleds half a league
up stream, and in the morning thirty men entered it, well armed.
The Indians discovering what was going on, they who were
nearest went to oppose the landing, and did the best they could ;
' This should be the fourteenth, according to Ranjel.
* Afrforfling to R.;irij(!l thoy crossed a larffc river at a town called Mo(;^u-
lixa which was locaU'd one-half league from Taliepataua, and recrossed the
river at (^-ihusff). A[)i)arently (lahusto was above the Sipsey lliver and west
of the Tonibigbee River, while Mo(;ulixa was below the former and cast of
the latter stream.
1541] EXPEDITION OF HEENANDO DE SOTO 195
but the Christians drawing near, and the piragua being
about to reach the shore, they fled into some cane-brakes.
The men on horses went up the river to secure a landing-
place, to which the Governor passed over, with the others
that remained. Some of the towns were well stored with
maize and beans.
Thence towards Chicaga the Governor marched five days
through a desert, and arrived at a river, ^ on the farther side
of which were Indians, who wished to arrest his passage.
In two days another piragua was made, and when ready he
sent an Indian in it to the cacique, to say, that if he wished his
friendship he should quietly wait for him ; but they killed the
messenger before his eyes, and with loud yells departed. He
crossed the river the seventeenth of December, and arrived the
same day at Chicaya, a small town of twenty houses.^ There
the people underwent severe cold, for it was already winter,
and snow fell : the greater number were then lying in the fields,
it being before they had time to put up habitations. The land
was thickly inhabited, the people living about over it as they
do in Manilla ; and as it was fertile, the greater part being under
cultivation, there was plenty of maize. So much grain was
brought together as was needed for getting through with the
season.
Some Indians were taken, among whom was one the cacique
greatly esteemed. The Governor sent an Indian to the cacique
to say, that he desired to see him and have his friendship.
He came, and offered him the services of his person, territories,
and subjects: he said that he would cause two chiefs to visit
him in peace. In a few days he returned with them, they bring-
ing their Indians. They presented the Governor one hundred
and fifty rabbits, with clothing of the country, such as shawls
and skins. The name of the one was Alimamu, of the other
Nicalasa.
' The cast side of the Tombigbee River, and probably in the northern
part of Monroe County, Mississippi.
* This town was located about one mile northwest of Redland, in Pon-
totoc County, Mississippi.
196 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
The cacique of Chicaga came to visit him many times:
on some occasions he was sent for, and a horse taken, on which
to bring and carry him back. He made complaint that a
vassal of his had risen against him, withholding tribute ; and
he asked for assistance, desiring to seek him in his territory,
and give him the chastisement he deserved. The whole was
found to be feigned, to the end that, while the Governor should
be absent with him, and the force divided, they would attack
the parts separately — some the one under him, others the
other, that remained in ChicaQa. He went to the town where
he lived, and came back with two hundred Indians, bearing
bows and arrows.
The Governor, taking thirty cavalry and eighty infantry,
marched to Saquechuma,^ the province of the chief whom the
cacique said had rebelled. The town was untenanted, and the
Indians, for greater dissimulation, set fire to it ; but the people
with the Governor being very careful and vigilant, as were also
those that had been left in ChicaQa, no enemy dared to fall
upon them. The Governor invited the caciques and some chiefs
to dine with him, giving them pork to eat, which they so relished,
although not used to it, that every night Indians would come
up to some houses where the hogs slept, a crossbow-shot off
from the camp, to kill and carry away what they could of them.
Three were taken in the act: two the Governor commanded
to be slain with arrows, and the remaining one, his hands hav-
ing first been cut off, was sent to the cacique, who appeared
grieved that they had given offence, and glad that they were
punished.
This chief was half a league from where the Christians were,
in an open country, whither wandered off four of the cavalry :
Francisco Osorio, Reynoso, a servant of the Marquis of As-
torga, and two servants of the Governor, — the one Ribcra,
his l)age, tlu; other Fuentes, his chamberlain. They took
some skins and shawls from the Indians, who made great out-
' This proviru-e was lofutod on the lower Tallahatchie River, and
the town l)iiriif'(i by the Indians, as mentioned by Ranjel, was probably
located in Tallahatchie County.
1541] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 197
cry in consequence, and abandoned their houses. When the
Governor heard of it, he ordered them to be apprehended, and
condemned Osorio and Fuentes to death, as principals, and all
of them to lose their goods. The friars, the priests, and other
principal personages solicited him to let Osorio live, and moder-
ate the sentence ; but he would do so for no one. When about
ordering them to be taken to the town-yard to be beheaded,
some Indians arrived, sent by the chief to complain of them.
Juan Ortiz, at the entreaty of Baltasar de Gallegos and others,
changed their words, telling the Governor, as from the cacique,
that he had understood those Christians had been arrested on
his account ; that they were in no fault, having offended him
in nothing, and that if he would do him a favor, to let them go
free: then Ortiz said to the Indians, that the Governor had
the persons in custody, and would visit them with such punish-
ment as should be an example to the rest. The prisoners were
ordered to be released.
So soon as March had come, the Governor, having deter-
mined to leave Chica^a, asked two hundred tamemes of the
cacique, who told him that he would confer with his chiefs.
Tuesday, the eighth, he went where the cacique was, to ask
for the carriers, and was told that he would send them the next
day. When the Governor saw the chief, he said to Luis de
Moscoso that the Indians did not appear right to him ; that a
very careful watch should be kept that night, to which the
master of the camp paid little attention. At four o'clock in
the morning the Indians fell upon them in four squadrons,
from as many quarters, and directly as they were discovered,
they beat a drum. With loud shouting, they came in such
haste, that they entered the camp at the same moment with
some scouts that had been out ; of which, by the time those in
the town were aware, half the houses were in flames. That
night it had been the turn of three horsemen to be of the watch,
— two of them men of low degree, the least value of any in the
camp, and the third a nephew of the Governor, who had been
deemed a brave man until now, when he showed himself as
great a coward as either of the others; for they all fled, and
198 SPANISH EXPLOKERS [1541
the Indians, finding no resistance, came up and set fire
to the place. They waited outside of the town for the
Christians, behind the gates, as they should come out of the
doors, having had no opportunity to put on their arms ; and
as they ran in all directions, bewildered by the noise, blinded
by the smoke and the brightness of the flame, knowing not
whither they were going, nor were able to find their arms, or
put saddles on their steeds, they saw not the Indians who
shot arrows at them. Those of the horses that could break
their halters got away, and many were burned to death in
the stalls.
The confusion and rout were so great that each man fled
by the way that first opened to him, there being none to oppose
the Indians : but God, who chastiseth his own as he pleaseth,
and in the greatest wants and perils hath them in his hand,
shut the eyes of the Indians, so that they could not discern
what they had done, and believed that the beasts running about
loose were the cavalry gathering to fall upon them. The
Governor, with a soldier named Tapia, alone got mounted,
and, charging upon the Indians, he struck down the first of
them he met with a blow of the lance, but went over with the
saddle, because in the haste it had not been tightly drawn, and
he fell. The men on foot, running to a thicket outside of the
town, came together there: the Indians imagining, as it was
dark, that the horses were cavalry coming upon them, as has
been stated, they fled, leaving only one dead, which was he
the Governor smote.
The town lay in cinders. A woman, with her husband,
having left a house, went back to get some pearls that had re-
mained there; and when she would have come out again the
fire had reached the door, and she could not, neither could her
husband assist her, so she was consumed. Three Christians
came out of the fire in so bad plight, that one of them died
in three days from that time, and the two others for a long while
W(Te carried in llioir pullets, on poh^s borne on the shoulders
of Indians, for otherwise they could not have got along. There
died in this affair eleven Christians, and fifty horses. One
1541] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 199
hundred of the swine remained, four hundred having been
destroyed, from the conflagration of Mauilla.
If, by good luck, any one had been able to save a garment
until then, it was there destroyed. Many remained naked, not
having had time to catch up their skin dresses. In that place
they suffered greatly from cold, the only relief being in large
fires, and they passed the night long in turning, without the
power to sleep; for as one side of a man would warm, the
other would freeze. Some contrived mats of dried grass sewed
together, one to be placed below, and the other above them:
many who laughed at this expedient were afterwards compelled
to do the like. The Christians were left so broken up, that
what with the want of the saddles and arms which had
been destroyed, had the Indians returned the second night,
they might, with httle effort, have been overpowered. They
removed from that town to the one where the cacique
was accustomed to live, because it was in the open field.^
In eight days' time they had constructed many saddles
from the ash, and likewise lances, as good as those made in
Biscay.
Chapter 21
How the Indians returned to attack the Christians, and how the
Governor went to Alimamu, and they tarried to give
him battle in the way.
On Wednesday,^ the fifteenth day of March, in the year
1541, eight days having passed since the Governor had been
living on a plain, half a league from the place where he win-
tered, after he had set up a forge, and tempered the swords
which in Chicaga had been burned, and already had made
many targets, saddles, and lances, on Tuesday, at four o'clock
in the morning, while it was still dark, there came many Ind-
ians, formed in three squadrons, each from a different dircc-
' Chicacilla of the Inca, which was probably located about three and one-
half miles north of (yhica<,'a.
* This should be Tuesday.
200 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1541
tion, to attack the camp, when those who watched beat to arms.
In all haste he drew up his men in three squadrons also, and
leaving some for the defence of the camp, he went out to meet
them. The Indians were overthrown and put to flight. The
ground was plain, and in a condition advantageous to the
Chiistians. It was now daybreak ; and but for some disorder,
thirty or forty more enemies might have been slain. It was
caused by a friar raising great shouts in the camp, without any
reason, crying, ''To the camp! To the camp!" In conse-
quence the Governor and the rest went thither, and the Indians
had time to get away in safety.
From some prisoners taken, the Governor informed him-
self of the region in advance. On the twenty-fifth day of
April he left Chica9a and went to sleep at a small town called
Alimamu. Very little maize was found; and as it became
necessary to attempt thence to pass a desert, seven days'
journey in extent, the next day the Governor ordered that
three captains, each with cavalry and foot, should take a
different direction, to get provision for the way. Juan de
Aiiasco, the comptroller, went with fifteen horse and forty foot
on the course the Governor would have to march, and found a
staked fort,^ where the Indians were awaiting them. Many
were armed, walking upon it, with their bodies, legs, and arms
painted and ochred, red, black, white, yellow, and vermilion
in stripes, so that they appeared to have on stockings and
doublet. Some wore feathers, and others horns on the head,
the face blackened, and the eyes encircled with vermilion, to
heighten their fierce aspect. So soon as they saw the Christians
draw nigh they beat drums, and, with loud yells, in great fury
came forth to meet them. As to Juan de Afiasco and others it
appeared well to avoid them and to inform the Governor, they
retired over an even ground in sight, the distance of a crossbow-
shot from the enclosure, the footmen, the crossbowmen, and
targeteers putting themselves before those on horseback, that
' This fort .'irifl ford wore on the Tallahatchie River, and probably at
or nour New Albany, in Union County, Mississippi. From here the army
turned to the westward.
1541] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 201
the beasts might not be wounded by the Indians, who came
forth by sevens and eights to discharge their bows at them and
retire. In sight of the Christians they made a fire, and, taking
an Indian by the head and feet, pretended to give him many
blows on the liead and cast him into the flames, signifying in
this way what they would do with the Christians.
A message being sent with three of the cavalry to the Gov-
ernor, informing him of this, he came directly. It was his
opinion that they should be driven from the place. He said
that if this was not done they would be emboldened to make
an attack at some other time, when they might do him more
harm : those on horseback were commanded to dismount, and,
being set in four squadrons, at the signal charged the Indians.
They resisted until the Christians came up to the stakes;
then, seeing that they could not defend themselves, they fled
through that part near which passed a stream, sending back
some arrows from the other bank ; and because, at the moment,
no place was found where the horses might ford, they had time,
to make their escape. Three Indians were killed and many
Christians wounded, of whom, after a few days, fifteen died on
the march. Every one thought the Governor committed a
great fault in not sending to examine the state of the ground
on the opposite shore, and discover the crossing-place before
making the attack ; because, with the hope the Indians had of
escaping unseen in that direction, they fought until they were
broken ; and it was the cause of their holding out so long to
assail the Christians, as they could, with safety to themselves.
Chapter 22
How the Governor went from Quizquiz, and thence to the River
Grande.
Three days having gone by since some maize had been
sought after, and but little found in comparison with the great
want there was of it, the Governor became obliged to move at
once, notwithstanding the wounded had need of repose, to
202 SPAITISH EXPLORERS [1541
where there should be abundance. He accordingly set out for
Quizquiz, and marched seven days through a wilderness, hav-
ing many pondy places, "vvdth thick forests, all fordable, how-
ever, on horseback, except some basins or lakes that were swum.
He arrived at a town of Quizquiz without being descried, and
seized all the people before they could come out of their houses.
Among them was the mother of the cacique ; and the Governor
sent word to him, by one of the captives, to come and receive
her, with the rest he had taken. The answer he returned was,
that if his lordship would order them to be loosed and sent, he
would come to visit and do him service.
The Governor, since his men arrived weary, and likewise
weak, for want of maize, and the horses were also lean, deter-
mined to yield to the requirement and try to have peace ; so
the mother and the rest were ordered to be set free, and with
words of kindness were dismissed. The next day, while he
was hoping to see the chief, many Indians came, with bows
and arrows, to set upon the Christians, when he commanded
that all the armed horsemen should be mounted and in readi-
ness. Finding them prepared, the Indians stopped at the dis-
tance of a crossbow-shot from where the Governor was, near
a river-bank, where, after remaining quietly half an hour, six
chiefs arrived at the camp, stating that they had come to find
out what people it might be; for that they had knowledge
from their ancestors that they were to be subdued by a white
race; they consequently desired to return to the cacique, to
tell him that he should come presently to obey and serve the
Governor. After presenting six or seven skins and shawls
brought with them, they took their leave, and returned with
the others who were waiting for them by the shore. The
cacique came not, nor sent another message.
There was little maize in the place, and the Governor moved
to another town, half a league from the great river, ^ where it
was found in sufficiency. He went to look at the river, and
saw that near it tlicrc^ was much tim])or of which piraguas
might be made, and a good situation in which the camp might
* The Mississippi.
1541] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 203
be placed. He directly moved, built houses, and settled on a
plain a crossbow-shot from the water, bringing together there
all the maize of the towns behind, that at once they might
go to work and cut down trees for sawing out planks to build
barges. The Indians soon came from up the stream, jumped
on shore, and told the Governor that they were the vassals
of a great lord, named Aquixo, who was the suzerain of many
towns and people on the other shore; and they made known
from him, that he would come the day after, with all his people,
to hear what his lordship would command him.
The next day the cacique arrived, with two hundred canoes
filled with men, having weapons. They were painted with
ochre, wearing great bunches of white and other plumes of
many colors, having feathered shields in their hands, with which
they sheltered the oarsmen on either side, the warriors standing
erect from bow to stern, holding bows and arrows. The barge
in which the cacique came had an awning at the poop, under
which he sate ; and the like had the barges of the other chiefs ;
and there, from under the canopy, where the chief man was, the
course was directed and orders issued to the rest. All came
down together, and arrived within a stone's cast of the ravine,
whence the cacique said to the Governor, who was walking
along the river-bank, with others who bore him company,
that he had come to visit, serve, and obey him; for he had
heard that he was the greatest of lords, the most powerful
on all the earth, and that he must see what he would have him
do. The Governor expressed his pleasure, and besought
him to land, that they might the better confer; but the
chief gave no reply, ordering three barges to draw near, wherein
was great quantity of fish, and loaves Uke bricks, made of the
pulp of plums (persimmons), which Soto receiving, gave him
thanks and again entreated him to land.
Making the gift had been a pretext, to discover if any harm
might be done; but, finding the Governor and his people on
their guard, the cacique began to draw off from the shore, when
the croRsl:)owmcn who w(m-c in readiness, with loud cries shot
at the Indians, and struck down five or six of them. They
204 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
retired with great order, not one leaving the oar, even though
the one next to him might have fallen, and covering them-
selves, they withdrew. Afterwards they came many times
and landed; when approached, they would go back to their
barges. These were fine-looking men, very large and well
formed; and what with the awnings, the plumes, and the
shields, the pennons, and the number of people in the fleet, it
appeared like a famous armada of galleys.
During the thirty days that were passed there, four piraguas
were built, into three of which, one morning, three hours be-
fore daybreak, the Governor ordered twelve cavalry to enter,
four in each, men in whom he had confidence that they would
gain the land notwithstanding the Indians, and secure the
passage, or die: he also sent some crossbowmen of foot with
them, and in the other piragua, oarsmen, to take them to the
opposite shore. He ordered Juan de Guzman to cross with the
infantry, of which he had remained captain in the place of
Francisco ]\Ialdonado ; and because the current was stiff, they
went up along the side of the river a quarter of a league, and
in passing over they were carried down, so as to land opposite
the camp ; but, before arriving there, at twice the distance of
a stone's cast, the horsemen rode out from the piraguas to an
open area of hard and even ground, which they all reached
without accident.
So soon as they had come to shore the piraguas returned ;
and when the sun was up two hours high, the people had all got
over.^ The distance was near half a league : a man standing
on the shore could not be told, whether he were a man or some-
thing else, from the other side. The stream was swift, and
very deep ; the water, always flowing turbidly, brought along
from above many trees and much timber, driven onward by
its force. There were many fish of several sorts, the greater
part differing from those of the fresh waters of Spain, as will
1)0 told hereafter,
' The crossing was mado oithor at Council Rond or Walnut Bend, in
Tunica f'ounfy, Mississippi, in a straight line some twenty-five to thirty-eight
miles below Memphis.
1541] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 205
Chapter 23
How the Governor went from Aquixo to Casqui, and thence to
Pacaha; and how this country differs from the other.
The Rio Grande being crossed, the Governor marched a
league and a half, to a large town of Aquixo, which was aban-
doned before his arrival. Over a plain thirty Indians were seen
to draw nigh, sent by the cacique to discover what the Chris-
tians intended to do, but who fled directly as they saw them.
The cavalry pursued, killed ten, and captured fifteen. As the
town toward which the Governor marched was near the river,
he sent a captain, with the force he thought sufficient, to take
the piraguas up the stream. As they frequently wound about
through the country, having to go round the bays that swell
out of the river, the Indians had opportunity to attack those
in the piraguas, placing them in great peril, being shot at
with bows from the ravines, while they dared not leave the
shore, because of the swiftness of the current ; so that, as soon
as the Governor got to the town, he directly sent crossbowmen
to them down the stream, for their protection. \Vhen the
piraguas arrived, he ordered them to be taken to pieces, and the
spikes kept for making others, when they should be needed.
The Governor slept at the town one night, and the day
following he went in quest of a province called Pacaha, which
he had been informed was nigh Chisca, where the Indians said
there was gold. He passed through large towns in Aquixo,
which the people had left for fear of the Christians. From
some Indians that were taken, he heard that three days' jour-
ney thence resided a great cacique, called Casqui. He came
to a small river, over which a bridge was made, whereby he
crossed.^ All that day, until sunset, he marched through
water, in places coming to the knees; in others, as high as
the waist. They were greatly rejoiced on reaching the dry
land ; because it had appeared to them that they should travel
about, lost, all night in the water. At mid-day they came to
' This was Fiftoen-Mile Bayou, and the cross! np-place was probably near
the southeast corner of St. Francis County, Arkansas.
206 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1541
the first town of Casqui, where they found the Indians off
their guard, never having heard of them. Many men and
women were taken, much clothing, blankets, and skins; such
they likewise took in another town in sight of the first, half a
league off in the field, whither the horsemen had run.
This land is higher, drier, and more level than any other
along the river that had been seen until then. In the fields
were many wahiut-trees, bearing tender-shelled nuts in the
shape of acorns, many being found stored in the houses. The
tree did not differ in any thing from that of Spain, nor from
the one seen before, except the leaf was smaller. There were
many mulberry-trees, and trees of plums (persimmons), having
fruit of vermilion hue, like one of Spain, while others were
gray, differing, but far better. All the trees, the year round,
were as green as if they stood in orchards, and the woods were
open.
The Governor marched two days through the country of
Casqui, before coming to the town^ where the cacique was,
the greater part of the way lying through fields thickly set
with great towns, two or three of them to be seen from one.
He sent word by an Indian to the cacique, that he was coming
to obtain his friendship and to consider him as a brother; to
which he received for answer, that he would be welcomed;
that he would be received with special good-will, and all that
his lordship required of him should be done; and the chief
sent him on the road a present of skins, shawls, and fish.
After these gifts were made, all the towns into which the
Governor came were found occupied; and the inhabitants
awaited him in peace, offering him skins, shawls, and fish.
Accompanied by many persons, the cacique came half a
league on the road from the town where he dwelt to receive
the Governor, and, drawing nigh to him, thus spoke :
Very Higfi, Powerful, and Renowned Master:
I greet your coming. So soon as I had notice of you, your
power and perfections, although you entered my territory captur-
' This place was probably located near the mouth of Tyronza River.
1641] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 207
ing and killing the dwellers upon it, who are my vassals, I deter-
mined to conform my wishes to your will, and hold as right all
that you might do, believing that it should be so for a good reason,
providing against some future event, to you perceptible but from
me concealed; since an evil may well be permitted to avoid an-
other greater, that good can arise, which I trust will be so; for
from so excellent a prince, no bad motive is to be suspected. My
abihty is so small to serve you, according to your great merit, that
though you should consider even my abundant will and humiUty
in proffering you all manner of services, I must still deserve little
in your sight. If this ability can with reason be valued, I pray
you receive it, and with it my country and my vassals, of me and
them disposing at your pleasure; for though you were lord of the
earth, with no more good-will would you be received, served, and
obeyed.
The Governor responded appropriately in a few words
which satisfied the chief. Directly they fell to making each
other great proffers, using much courtesy, the cacique inviting
the Governor to go and take lodging in his houses. He
excused himself, the better to preserve peace, saying that he
wished to lie in the field ; and, because the heat was excessive,
he pitched the camp among some trees, quarter of a league
from the town. The cacique went to his town, and returned
with many Indians singing, who, when they had come to
where the Governor was, all prostrated themselves. Among
them were two blind men. The cacique made an address, of
which, as it was long, I will give the substance in a few words.
He said, that inasmuch as the Governor was son of the Sun^
he begged him to restore sight to those Indians: whereupon
the blind men arose, and they very earnestly entreated him
to do so. Soto answered them, that in the heavens above
there was One who had the power to make them whole, and do
whatever they could ask of Him, whose servant he was ; that
this great Lord made the sky and the earth, and man after
His image ; that He had suffered on the tree of the true cross
to save the human race, and risen from the grave on the third
day, — what of man there was of Him dying, what of divinity
being immortal; and that, having ascended into heaven, He
208 SPANISH EXPLOKERS [1541
was there with open arms to receive all that would be con-
verted to Him. He then directed a lofty cross of wood to be
made and set up in the highest part of the town, declaring to
the cacique that the Christians worshipped that, in the form
and memory of the one on which Christ suffered. He placed
himself with his people before it, on their knees, which the
Indians did hkewise; and he told them that from that time
thenceforth they should thus worship the Lord, of whom he
had spoken to them, that was in the skies, asking Him for
whatsoever they stood in need of.
The chief being asked what was the distance to Pacaha,
he answered that it was one day's journey, and said that on
the extreme of his territory there was a lake, like an estuary,
that entered into the Rio Grande, to which he would send per-
sons in advance to build a bridge, whereby they might pass
over it. The night of the day the Governor left, he slept at
a town of Casqui ; and the next day he passed in sight of two
other towns, and arrived at the lake, which was half a cross-
bow-shot over, of great depth and swiftness of current.^
The Indians had just got the bridge done as he came up. It
was built of wood, in the manner of timber thrown across
from tree to tree ; on one side there being a rail of poles, higher
than the rest, as a support for those who should pass. The
cacique of Casqui having come with his people, the Governor
sent word by an Indian to the cacique of Pacaha, that though
he might be at enmity with him of Casqui, and that chief be
present, he should receive neither injury nor insult, provided
that he attended in peace and desired his friendship, for as a
brother would he treat him. The Indian went as he was bid,
and returned, stating that the cacique took no notice of the
message, but that he fled out of the town, from the back part,
with all his people. Then the Governor entered there, and with
the cavalry charged in the direction the Indians were running,
and at another town, a quarter of a league off, many were
taken. As fast as they were captured, the horsemen deliv-
ered them to the Indians of Casqui, who, from being their
* Tyronza River.
1541] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 209
enemies, brought them with great heed and pleasure to the
town where the Christians were, greatly regretting that they
had not the hberty to kill them. Many shawls, deer-skins,
lion and bear-skins, and many cat-skins were found in the
town. Numbers who had been a long time badly covered,
there clothed themselves. Of the shawls they made mantles
and cassocks; some made gowns and hned them with cat-
skins, as they also did the cassocks. Of the deer-skins were
made jerkins, shirts, stockings, and shoes: and from the
bear-skins they made very good cloaks, such as no water
could get through. They found shields of raw cowhide
out of which armor was made for the horses.
Chapter 24
Of how the cacique of Pacaha came in peace, and he of Casqui,
having absented himself, returned to excuse his conduct;
and how the Governor made friendship between the chiefs.
On Wednesday, the nineteenth day of June, the Governor
entered Pacaha,^ and took quarters in the town where the
cacique was accustomed to reside. It was enclosed and very
large. In the towers and the palisade were many loopholes.
There was much dry maize, and the new was in great quan-
tity, throughout the fields. At the distance of half a league
to a league off were large towns, all of them surrounded with
stockades.
Where the Governor stayed was a great lake, near to the
enclosure ; and the water entered a ditch that well-nigh went
round the town. From the River Grande to the lake was a
canal, through which the fish came into it, and where the chief
kept them for his eating and pastime. With nets that were
found in the place, as many were taken as need required ; and
however much might be the casting, there was never any lack
of them. In the many other lakes about were also many fish,
' It was on Wednesday, June 29, that they entered Pacaha. This place
was probably located in the vicinity of Osceola, Mississippi County, Arkan-
sas, but not further northward.
210 SPANISH EXPLOREKS [1541
though the flesh was soft, and none of it so good as that which
came from the river. The greater number differ from those
in the fresh water of Spain. There was a fish called bagre^
the third part of which was head, with gills from end to end^
and along the sides were great spines, like very sharp awls.
Those of this sort that lived in the lake were as big as pike;
in the river were some that weighed from one hundred to one
hundred and fifty pounds. ]\Iany were taken with the hook.
There was one in the shape of barbel ; another like bream, with
the head of a hake, having a color between red and brown,
and was the most esteemed. There was likewise a kind called
peel-fish, the snout a cubit in length, the upper lip being shaped
Uke a shovel. Another fish was like a shad. Except the
bagres and the peel, they were all of scale. There was one,
called pereo, the Indians sometimes brought, the size of a hog,
and had rows of teeth above and below.
The cacique of Casqui many times sent large presents of
fish, shawls, and skins. Having told the Governor that he
would deliver into his hands the cacique of Pacaha, he went
to Casqui, and ordered many canoes to ascend the river, while
he should march by land, taking many of his warriors. The
Governor, with forty cavalry and sixty infantry, was con-
ducted by him up stream ; and the Indians who were in the
canoes discovered the cacique of Pacaha on an islet between
two arms of the river. Five Christians entered a canoe, of
whom was Don Antonio Osorio, to go in advance and see
what number of people the cacique had with him. There
were five or six thousand souls, of whom, directly as they saw
the people, taking the Indians who went in the canoes to be
Christians also, the cacique and as many as could get into
three canoes that were there, fled to the opposite bank; the
greater part of the rest, in terror and confusion, plunging into
the river to swim, many, mostly women and infants, got
drowned. Then the Governor, who was on land, without
knowing what was passing with Don Antonio and those who
accompanied him, ordered the Christians, in all haste, to enter
the canoes with the Indians of Casqui, and they directly join-
1541] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 211
ing Don Antonio on the islet, many men and women were
taken, and much clothing.
Many clothes, which the Indians had in cane hurdles and
on rafts to carry over, floated down stream, the people of Cas-
qui filling their canoes with them ; and, in fear that the Chris-
tians might take these away, their chief went off with them
down the river to his territory, without taking leave. At this
the Governor became indignant, and directly returning to
Pacaha, two leagues on the road, he overran the country of
Casqui, capturing twenty or thirty of its men. The horses
being tired, and there remaining no time that day to go far-
ther, he went on to Pacaha, with the intention of marching
in three or four days upon Casqui, directly letting loose a
man of Pacaha, sending word by him to its chief, that should
he wish his friendship he should come to him, and together they
would go to carry war upon Casqui: and immediately there
arrived many people of Pacaha, bringing as the chief an Ind-
ian, who was exposed by a prisoner, brother of the cacique.
The Governor told them that their lord must come ; that he
well knew that Indian was not he ; for that nothing could be
done without its being known to him before they so much as
thought of it. The cacique came the next day, followed by
many Indians, with a large gift of fish, skins, and shawls. He
made a speech, that all were glad to hear, and concluded by
saying, that although his lordship had causelessly inflicted in-
jury on his country and his subjects, he did not any the less cease
to be his, and was always at his command. The Governor
ordered his brother to be let go, and some principal men he held
captives. That day a messenger arrived from Casqui, saying
that his master would come early on the morrow to excuse
the error he had committed in going away without his licence ;
to which the Governor bade him say, in return, to the cacique,
that if he did not come himself in person he would go after
him, and inflict the punishment he deserved.
The chief of Casqui came the next day, and after present-
ing many shawls, skins, and fish, he gave the Governor a
daughter, saying that his greatest desire was to unite his
212 SPANISH EXPLOEEES [1541
blood with that of so great a lord as he was, begging that he
would take her to wdfe. He made a long and discreet oration,
full of praise of Soto; and concluded by asking his forgive-
ness, for the love of that cross he had left, for having gone off
without his permission; that he had done so because of the
shame he felt for what his people had done without his con-
sent. The Governor said that he had taken a good sponsor;
that he had himself determined, if the cacique had not come
to apologize, to go after him and burn his towns, kill him and
his people, and lay waste his country. To this the chief
rephed :
Master :
I and mine belong to you; and my territory is yours, so that
you will destroy it, if you wiU, as your own, and your people you
wiU slay. All that falls from your hand I shall receive as from my
lord's, and as merited chastisement. Know, that the service you
have done me in lea^'ing that cross has been signal, and more than
I have deserved; for, you know, of great droughts the maize in
our fields was perishing, and no sooner had I and mine thrown
ourselves on our knees before it, asking for water, than the want
was supplied.
The Governor made friendship between the chiefs of Cas-
qui and Pacaha, and placed them at the table, that they
should eat with him. They had a difficulty as to who should
sit at his right hand, which the Governor quieted by telling
them that among the Christians the one seat was as good as the
other; that they should so consider it, and while with him no
one should understand otherwise, each taking the seat he first
came to. Thence he sent thirty horsemen and fifty footmen
to the i)rovince of Calu9a,^ to see if in that direction they
could turn back towards Chisca, where the Indians said there
was a foundry of gold and copper. They travelled seven days
through desert, and returned in great extremity, eating green
' It was from Chicaga that the expedition was sent. This province was
probably located in the northt^a.slorn part of Mississippi, extending from
JJuldwyn, Prentiss County, to the Tennessee River, in Tishomingo County.
1541] EXPEDITION OF HERKANDO DE SOTO 213
plums (persimmons) and maize-stalks, which they had found
in a poor town of seven or eight houses. The Indians stated
that thence towards the north, the country, being very cold,
was very thinly populated; that cattle were in such plenty,
no maize-field could be protected from them, and the inhabit-
ants lived upon the meat. Seeing that the country was so
poorly off for maize that there could be no support, the Gov-
ernor asked the Indians in what direction there were most
inhabitants; and they said that they had knowledge of a
large province and a country of great abundance, called Qui-
guate, that lay in the southern direction.
Chapter 25
How the Governor went from Pacaha to Aquiguate and to
Coligoa, and came to Cay as.
The Governor rested in Pacaha forty days, during which
time the two caciques made him presents of fish, shawls, and
skins, in great quantity, each striving to outdo the other in
the magnitude of the gifts. At the time of his departure, the
chief of Pacaha bestowed on him two of his sisters, telling him
that they were tokens of love, for his remembrance, to be his
wives. The name of one was Macanoche, that of the other
Mochila. They were symmetrical, tall, and full: Macanoche
bore a pleasant expression; in her manners and features ap-
peared the lady; the other was robust. The cacique of Cas-
qui ordered the bridge to be repaired; and the Governor,
returning through his territory, lodged in the field near his
town. He brought there much fish, exchanged two women
for as many shirts with two of the Christians, and furnished a
guide and tamemes. The Governor marched to one of his
towns, and slept, and the next night came to another that
was near a river, ^ where he ordered him to bring canoes,
that he might cross over. There taking his leave, the chief
went back.
^ St. Francis River.
214 SPANISH EXPLOEEES [1541
The Governor travelled towards Aquiguate/ and on the
fourth day of August came to the residence of the cacique,
who, although he had sent him a present, on the road, of
many shawls and skins, abandoned the place through fear on
his arrival. That town was the largest seen in Florida : one-
half of it was occupied by the Governor and his people ; and,
after a few days, discovering that the Indians were dealing in
falsehoods, he ordered the other part to be burned, that it
might not afford them cover should they attack him at night,
nor be an embarrassment to his cavalry in a movement to
repel them. An Indian having come, attended by a multi-
tude, declaring himself to be the cacique, the Governor deliv-
ered him over to be looked after by his body-guard. Many
of the Indians went off, and returned with shawls and skins ;
but, finding small opportunity for carrying out their evil plan,
one day the pretended cacique, walking out of the house with
the Governor, ran away with such swiftness that not one of
the Christians could overtake him; and plunging into the
river, at the distance of a crossbow-shot from the town, he
made for the other shore, where many Indians, giving loud
shouts, began to make use of their arrows. The Governor
directly crossed over to attack them with horse and foot ; but
they dared not await him: following them up, he came to a
town that was abandoned, before which there was a lake ^
the horses could not pass over, and on the other side were
many females. The footmen having crossed, capturing many
of them, took much clothing. Returning to the camp early
in the night, the sentinels seized a spy, who assenting to the
request to lead to where the cacique was, the Governor di-
rectly set out with twenty cavalry and fifty infantry in quest
of him. After travelling a day and a half, they found him in
a thick wood ; and a soldier, ignorant of who he was, having
struck him on the head with a cutlass, he called out not to
' This place was on the west side of the St. Francis River, in the northern
part of Lee (^ounty or the southern part of St. Francis County, Arkansas.
' This may have boon Lake Michiganiia of the French maps, which
ceased to exist after the New Madrid earthquakes.
1541] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 215
kill him, that he was the chief; so he was captured, and with
him one hundred and forty of his people.
The Governor, returning to Quiguate, directed him to tell
his people to come and serve the Christians; but, after wait-
ing some days, in the hope of their arrival, and finding that
they did not come, he sent two captains, each on an opposite
side of the river, with infantry and cavalry, whereby many ot
both sexes were made prisoners. The Indians, seeing the harm
that they received for their rebellious conduct, waited on the
Governor to take his commands, coming and going otten
bringing with them presents of fish. The cacique and two ot
his wives being at their hberty in the quarters of the Governor
which were guarded by his halberdiers, he asked them what
part of the country was most inhabited; to which they re-
plied that to the south, or down the river, where were large
towns, and the caciques governed wide territories, with numer-
ous people; and that to the northwest was a provmce, near
some mountains, called Coligoa. He, with the others, deemed
it well to go thither first ; saying that the mountains, perhaps
would make a difference in the soil, and that silver and gold
might afterward follow. .
The country of Aquiguate, Uke that of Casqui and Pacaha,
was level and fertile, having rich river margins, on which the
Indians made extensive fields. From Tascaluga to the River
Grande may be three hundred leagues ; a region very low, having
many lakes: from Pacaha to Quiguate there may be one hun-
dred and ten leagues. There he left the cacique in his own
town; and an Indian guided them through an immense path-
less thicket of desert for seven days, where they slept continu-
ally in ponds and shallow puddles.^ Fish were so plentiful in
them that they were killed with blows of cudgels; and as the
Indians travelled in chains, they disturbed the mud at the bot-
tom by which the fish, becoming stupefied, would swim to
the surface, when as many were taken as were desired.
The inhabitants of Coligoa had never heard of the Chiis-
»They crossed four swamps, according to Ranjel which were the
L'AnguiUe River, Big Creek, Bayou de Vuo, and Cache River.
216 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1541
tians, and when these got so near then* town as to be seen,
they fled up stream along a river that passed near by there;
some throwing themselves into the w^ater, whence they were
taken by their pursuers, who, on either bank, captured many
of both sexes, and the cacique with the rest. Tlii-ee days from
that time came many Indians, by his order, with offerings of
shawls, deer-skins, and two cowhides : they stated that at the
distance of five or six leagues towards the north were many
cattle, where the country, being cold, was thinly inhabited;
and that, to the best of their knowledge, the province that was
better provisioned than any other, and more populous, was
one to the south, called Cayas.
About forty leagues from Quiguate stood Coligoa,^ at the
foot of a mountain, in the vale of a river of medium size, like
the Caya, a stream that passes through Estremadura. The
soil was rich, yielding maize in such profusion that the old
was thrown out of store to make room for the new grain.
Beans and pumpkins were likewise in great plenty : both w^re
larger and better than those of Spain: the pumpkins, when
roasted, have nearly the taste of chestnuts. The cacique con-
tinued behind in his own town, having given a guide for the
way to Cayas.
We travelled five days, and came to the province of Pali-
sema.^ The house of the cacique was canopied with colored
deer-skins, having designs drawn on them, and the ground
was likewise covered in the same manner, as if with carpets.
He had left it in that state for the use of the Governor, a token
of peace, and of a desire for friendship, though still he did not
dare to await his coming. The Governor, finding that he had
gone away, sent a captain with horse and foot to look after
him; and though many persons were seen, because of the
roughness of the country, only a few men and boys were
' Coligoa was in the valley of Little Red River, and before arriving there,
they (Tossed White River below the mouth of Little Red River, in Woodruff
County, Arkansas.
* According to Ranjel, before arriving at this place they passed through
Calpista, when; there was a flowing salt spring. This spring was on the bank
of Little Red River, in Cleburne C'ounty.
1541] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 217
secured. The houses were few and scattered: only a Httle
maize was found.
Directly the Governor set forward and came to Tatalicoya/
whence he took the cacique, who guided him to Cayas, a dis-
tance of four days' journey from that town. When he arrived
and saw the scattered houses, he thought, from the informa-
tion he had received of the great populousness of the country,
that the cacique was lying to him — that it was not the pro-
vince; and he menaced him, bidding him tell where he was.
The chief, as likewise the other Indians taken near by, de-
clared that to be in Cayas,^ the best town in all the province ;
and that although the houses were far apart, the country
occupied being extensive, it had numerous people and many
maize-fields. The town was called Tanico.^ The camp was
placed in the best part of it, nigh a river. On the day of arrival,
the Governor, with some mounted men, went a league farther,
but found no one, and only some skins, which the cacique had
put on the road to be taken, a sign of peace, by the usage of
the countrj^
Chapter 26
How the Governor went to visit the province of Tulla, and what
happened to him.
The Governor tarried a month in the province of Cayas.
In this time the horses fattened and throve more than they
had done at other places in a longer time, in consequence of
the large quantity of maize there. The blade of it, I think,
is the best fodder that grows. The beasts drank so copiously
from the very warm and brackish lake, that they came having
their bellies swollen with the leaf when they were brought back
from watering. Till they reached that spot the Christians
* After leaving Tatalicoya they came to a great river, according to Ran-
jel. This was White River.
' This province was in the region of northwestern Arkansas and the
Indian Territory.
' Tanico was located on the east side of Grand or Neosho River, in the
Indian Territory.
218 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
had wanted salt: they now made a quantity and took it
with them. The Indians carry it into other parts, to ex-
change for skins and shawls.
The salt is made along by a river, which, when the water
goes down, leaves it upon the sand. As they cannot gather the
salt without a large mixture of sand, it is thrown together into
certain baskets they have for the purpose, made large at the
mouth and small at the bottom. These are set in the air on
a ridge-pole ; and water being thrown on, vessels are placed
under them wherein it may fall; then, being strained and
placed on the fire, it is boiled away, leaving salt at the
bottom.
The lands on the shores of the river were fields, and maize
was in plenty. The Indians dared not cross the river to where
we were. Some appearing, were called to by the soldiers who
saw them, and having come over were conducted by them
before the Governor. On being asked for the cacique, they
said that he was peaceful but afraid to show himself. The
Governor directly sent them back to tell him to come, and,
if he desired his friendship, to bring an interpreter and a guide
for the travel before them ; that if he did not do so he w^ould
go in pursuit, when it would be the worse for him. The Gov-
ernor waited three days, and finding that the cacique did not
come, he went in pursuit and brought him there a captive,
with one hundred and fifty of his people. He asked him if
he had knowledge of any great cacique, and in what direction
the country was most inhabited. The Indian stated, that the
largest population about there was that of a province lying
to the southward, thence a day and a half's travel, called
Tulla; that he could give him a guide, but no interpreter;
that the tongue of that country was different from his, and
that he and his ancestors had ever been at war with its chiefs,
so that they neither conversed together nor understood each
other.
Then the Governor, with cavalry and fifty infantry, di-
rectly set out for Tulla, to sec if it were such a land as he might
pass through with his troops. So soon as it became known
1541] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 219
that he had reached there, the inhabitants were summoned;
and as they gathered by fifteen and twenty at a time, they
would come to attack the Christians. Finding that they were
sharply handled, and that in running the horses would over-
take them, they got upon the house-tops, where they endeav-
ored to defend themselves with their bows and arrows. When
beaten off from one roof, they would get up on to another;
and while the Christians were going after some, others would
attack them from an opposite direction. The struggle lasted
so long that the steeds, becoming tired, could not be made
to run. One horse was killed and others were wounded. Of
the Indians fifteen were slain, and forty women and boys
made prisoners ; for to no one who could draw a bow and could
be reached was his life spared him.
The Governor determined at once to go back, before the
inhabitants should have time to come together. That after-
noon, he set out, and travelhng into the night, he slept on the
road to avoid Tulla, and arrived the next day at Cayas. Three
days later he marched to Tulla, bringing with him the cacique,
among whose Indians he was unable to find one who spoke
the language of that place. He was three days on the way,
and at his arrival found the town abandoned, the inhabitants
not venturing to remain for him. But no sooner did they
know that he was in the town, than, at four o'clock on the
morning of the first night, they came upon him in two squad-
rons, from different directions, with bows and arrows and with
long staves like pikes. So soon as they were felt, both cavalry
and infantry turned out. Some Christians and some horses
were injured. Many of the Indians were killed.
Of those made captive, the Governor sent six to the cacique,
their right hands and their noses cut off, with the message,
that, if he did not come to him to apologize and render obedi-
ence, he would go in pursuit, and to him, and as many of his
as he might find, would he do as he had done to those he sent.
He allowed him three days in which to appear, making him-
self understood by signs, in the best manner possible, for want
of an interpreter. At the end of that time an Indian, bearing
220 SPANISH EXPLOKEKS [1541
a back-load of cow-skins from the cacique, arrived, weeping
with great sobs, and coming to where the Governor was, threw
himself at his feet. Soto raised him up, and the man made a
speech, but there was none to understand him. The Gov-
ernor, by signs, told him to return and say to the cacique,
that he must send him some one who could speak with the
people of Cayas. Three Indians came the next day with loads
of cow-skins, and three days afterward came twenty others.
Among them was one who understood those of Cayas. After
a long oration from him, of apologies for the cacique and in
praise of the Governor, he concluded by saying, that he with
the others had come, in behalf of the chief, to inquire what
his lordship would command, for that he was ready to serve
him.
At hearing these words the Governor and the rest were all
rejoiced ; for in no way could they go on without a guide. He
ordered the man to be safely kept, and told the Indians who
came with him to go back to the cacique and say, that he for-
gave him the past and greatly thanked him for the interpreter
and the presents; that he should be pleased to see him, and
to come the next day, that they might talk together. He
came at the end of three days, and with him eighty Indians.
As he and his men entered the camp they wept, — the token
of obedience and the repentance of a past error, according to
the usage of that country. He brought a present of many
cow-skins, which were found very useful; the country being
cold, they were taken for bed-covers, as they were very soft
and the wool like that of sheep. ^ Near by, to the northward,
are many cattle. The Christians did not see them, nor go
where they were, because it was a country thinly populated,
having little maize. The cacique of Tulla made an address to
the Governor, in which he apologized and offered him his
country, his vassals, and his person. The speech of this cacique
— like those of the other chiefs, and all the messengers in their
behalf who came before the Governor — no orator could more
elegantly phrase.
' Buffalo skins are meant.
1541] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 221
Chapter 27
How the Governor went from Tulla to Autiamque, where he
passed the winter.
The Governor informed himself of the country in every
direction. He ascertained that toward the west there was a
thin population, and to the southeast were great towns, prin-
cipally in a province, abundant of maize, called Autiamque,
at the distance of about eighty leagues, ten days' journey from
Tulla. The winter was already come. The cold, rain, and
snow did not permit the people to travel for two or three
months in the year, and the Governor feared to remain among
that sparse population, lest his force could not be subsisted
for that length of time. Moreover, the Indians said that near
Autiamque was a great water, which, from their account, ap-
peared to him to be an arm of the sea. Hence, he determined
to winter in that province, and in the following summer to go
to the sea-side, where he would build two brigantines, — one
to send to Cuba, the other to New Spain, that the arrival of
either might bear tidings of him. Three years had elapsed
since he had been heard of by Doiia Ysabel, or by any person
in a civilized community. Two hundred and fifty men of his
were dead, likewise one hundred and fifty horses. He desired
to recruit from Cuba of man and beast, calculating, out of his
property there, to refit and again go back to advance, to dis-
cover and to conquer farther on towards the west, where he
had not reached, and whither Cabega de Vaca had wandered.
Having dismissed the caciques of Tulla and Cayas, the
Governor took up his course, marching five days over very
sharp mountains,^ and arrived in a peopled district called
Quipana. Not a native could be captured, because of the
roughness of the country, and the town was among ridges.
At night an ambuscade was set, in which two men were taken,
who said that Autiamque was six days' journey distant, and
that there was another province toward the south, eight days'
' The Boston Mountains.
222 SPANISH EXPLOEEES [1541
travel off, called Guahate, very abundant in maize and very-
populous. However, as Autiamque was nearer, and most of
the Indians spoke of it, the Governor continued on his journey
thither/
At the end of three days he came to a town called Anoixi.
Having sent a captain in advance, with thirty horse and fifty
foot, they came suddenly upon the inhabitants, taking many
of both sexes. On the second day afterwards, the Governor
arrived at another town, called Catamaya, and slept in the
adjacent fields. Two Indians coming to him from the cacique,
with the pretext of a message, in order to ascertain his busi-
ness, he told them to say to their master, that he wished to
speak with him ; but they came no more, nor was other word
returned. The next day the Christians went to the town,
which was without people, and having taken what maize they
needed, that night they reached a wood to rest, and the day
following arrived at Autiamque.^
They found in store much maize, also beans, walnuts, and
dried plums (persimmons) in large quantities. Some Indians
were taken while gathering up their clothing, having already
carried away their wives. The country was level and very
populous. The Governor lodged in the best portion of the
town, and ordered a fence immediately to be put up about
the encampment, away from the houses, that the Indians
without might do no injury with fire. Measuring off the
ground by pacing, he allotted to each his part to build, according
to the Indians he possessed ; and the timber being soon brought
by them, in three days it was finished, made of very high trees
sunk deep in the ground, and traversed by many pieces.
Near by passed a river of Cayas, the shores of it well peo-
pled, both above and below the town. Indians appeared on
the part of the cacique with a present of shawls and skins,
' According to Ranjol thny entered the plains on the second day after
leaving Quipana. Before doing so, they crossed the Arkansas River, prob-
ably at the old ford, located some fifteen miles above Fort Smith.
* This town was loc;it(!d within thirty miles east of Fort Smith, and on
the south side of the Arkansas llivcr.
1541] EXPEDITION" OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 223
and a lame chief, the lord of a town called Tietiquaquo/ sub-
ject to the cacique of Autiamque, came frequently to visit the
Governor, and brought him gifts of the things he possessed.
The cacique sent to the Governor to inquire what length of
time he would remain in his territory ; and hearing that he was
to be there more than three days, he sent no more messages
nor Indians, but treated with the lame chief to rise in revolt.
Numerous inroads were made, in which many persons of both
sexes were taken, and among the rest that chief, whom the
Governor, having reprehended and admonished, set at liberty,
in consideration of the presents he had made, giving him two
Indians to bear him away on their shoulders.
The cacique of Autiamque, desiring to drive the strangers
out of his territory, ordered spies to be set about them. An
Indian, coming at night to the entrance of the palisade, was
noticed by a soldier on guard, who, putting himself behind
the door as he entered, struck him down with a cutlass. When
taken before the Governor, he was asked why he came, but
fell dead without utterance. The next night the Governor
sent a soldier to beat the alarm, and cry out that he saw
Indians, in order to ascertain how fast the men would hasten
to the call. This was done also in other places, at times when
it appeared to him they were careless, that he might reprove
those who were late in coming ; so that for danger, as well as
for doing his duty, each one on such occasion would strive
to be the first.
The Christians stayed three months in Autiamque, enjoy-
ing the greatest plenty of maize, beans, walnuts, and dried
plums (persimmons) ; also rabbits, which they had never had
ingenuity enough to ensnare until the Indians there taught
them. The contrivance is a strong spring, that lifts the ani-
mal off its feet, a noose being made of a stiff cord to run about
the neck, passing through rings of cane, that it may not be
gnawed. Many of them were taken in the maize-fields, usu-
ally when it was freezing or snowing. The Chi'istians were
' This place was located in the province of Chaguate.
224 SI»ANISH EXPLOKERS [1542
there a month in snow, when they did not go out of town,
save to a wood, at the distance of two crossbow-shots, to
which, whenever fuel was wanted, a road was opened, the
Governor and others, on horseback, going to and returning
from it many times, when the fuel was brought from there by
those on foot. In this time many rabbits were killed with
arrows by the Indians, who were now allowed to go at large
in their shackles. The animal is of two sorts; one of them
hke that of Spain, the other of the color, form, and size of
the great hare, though longer even, and having bigger loins.
Chapter 28
How the Governor went from Autiamque to NUco, and thence to
Guachoya.
On Monday, the sixth day of March, of the year 1542 of
the Christian era, the Governor set out from Autiamque to
seek Nilco, which the Indians said was nigh the River Grande,
with the purpose, by going to the sea, to recruit his forces. He
had not over three hundred efficient men, nor more than forty
horses. Some of the beasts were lame, and useful only in
making out the show of a troop of cavalry; and, from the
lack of iron, they had all gone a year without shoes, though,
from the circumstance of travelling in a smooth country, they
had little need of them.
Juan Ortiz died in Autiamque, a loss the Governor greatly
regretted; for, without an interpreter, not knowing whither
he was travelling, Soto feared to enter the country, lest he might
get lost. Thenceforth a lad, taken in Cutifachiqui, who had
learned somewhat of the language of the Christians, served as
the interpreter. The death was so great a hindrance to our
going, whether on discovery or out of the country, that to
learn of the Indians what would have been rendered in four
words, it became necessary now to have the whole day: and
oftcner than otherwise the very o])posito was uiulcM'stood of
what was asked; so that many times it happened the road
that we travelled one day, or sometimes two or three days,
1542] EXPEDITION OF HER:N^AND0 DE SOTO 225
would have to be returned over, wandering up and down,
lost in thickets.
The Governor went to a province called Ayays/ arriving
at a town near the river that passed by Cayas, and by Auti-
amque, from which he had been ten days in coming. He or-
dered a piragua to be built, in which he crossed ; ^ and, having
arrived on the other shore, there set in such weather that
marching was impossible for four days, because of snow. When
that ceased to fall, he travelled three days through desert, a
region so low, so full of lakes and bad passages, that at one
time, for the whole day, the travel lay through water up to
the knees at places, in others to the stirrups ; and occasionally,
for the distance of a few paces, there was swimming. And he
came to Tutelpinco,^ a town untenanted, and found to be
without maize, seated near a lake that flowed copiously into
the river with a violent current. Five Christians, in charge
of a captain, in attempting to cross, by order of the Governor,
were upset; when some seized hold of the canoe they had
employed, others of trees that grew in the water, while one, a
worthy man, Francisco Bastian, a native of Villanueva de
Barcarota, became drowned. The Governor travelled all one
day along the margin of the lake, seeking for a ford, but could
discover none, nor any way to get over.
Returning to Tutelpinco at night, the Governor found two
friendly natives, who were willing to show him the crossing,
and the road he was to take. From the reeds and timber of
the houses, rafts and causeways were made, on which the
river was crossed. After three days' marching, at Tianto, in
the territory of Nilco, thirty Indians were taken, among whom
were two chiefs of the town. A captain, with infantry and
cavalry, was directly despatched to Nilco, that the inhabitants
might not have time to carry off their provisions. In going
' This province should not be confounded with the province of Aays,
which was located to the southward of Red River, in Texas.
' This crossing-place was to the northward of Pine Bluff, and probably
in Jefferson County.
' This place was on Big Bayou Meto, near the southeast corner of town
6, range 5, east, in Jefferson County.
226 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1542
through three or four large towns, at the one where the ca-
cique resided, two leagues from where the Governor stayed,
many Indians were found to be in readiness, with bows and
arrows, who, surrounding the place, appeared to invite an
onset ; but so soon as they saw the Christians drawing nigh
to them •udthout faltering, they approached the dwelling of
the cacique, setting fire to it, and, by a pond near the town,
through which the horses could not go, they fled.
The following day, Wednesday, the twenty-ninth of IMarch,
the Governor arrived at Nilco,^ making his quarters, and those
of his people, in the town of the cacique, which was in an
open field, that for a quarter of a league over was all inhab-
ited ; and at the distance of from half a league to a league off
were many other large towns, in which was a good quantity
of maize, beans, walnuts, and dried plums (persimmons). This
was the most populous of any country that was seen in Florida,
and the most abundant in maize, excepting Co^a and Apalache.
An Indian, attended by a party, arrived at the camp, and,
presenting the Governor with a cloak of marten-skins and a
string of pearls, he received some margaridetas (a kind of
bead much esteemed in Peru) and other trinkets, with which
he was well pleased. At leaving, he promised to be back in
two days, but did not return. In the night-time, however,
the Indians came in canoes, and carrying away all the maize
they could take, set up their huts on the other side of the
river, among the thickest bushes. The Governor, finding that
the Indians did not arrive within the time promised, ordered
an ambuscade to be placed at some cribs, near the lake, to
which the Indians came for maize. Two of them were taken,
who told him that the person who had come to visit him was
not the cacique, but one sent by him, pretending to be he, in
order to observe what might be the vigilance of the Christians,
and whether it was their purpose to remain in that country, or
to go farther. Directly a captain, with men on horseback and
foot, were sent over to the other shore ; but, as their crossing
' Nilco was located a few miles southeast of Arkansas Post, on section 30,
town 8, south, range 2, west, in Desha County, where there is a large mound.
1542] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 227
was observed, only ten or a dozen Indians, of both sexes,
could be taken; and with these the Christians returned to
camp.
This river, passing by Anilco, is the same that flows by
Cayas and Autiamque, and falls into the River Grande, which
flows by Pacaha and Aquixo, near the province of Guachoya,
the lord of which ascended in canoes to carry war upon him
of Nilco. In his behalf a messenger came to the Governor,
saying that the cacique was his servant, desiring to be so con-
sidered, and that in two days from that time he would come
to make his salutation. He arrived in season, accompanied
by some of his principal men, and with great proffers and
courtesy, he presented many shawls and deer-skins. The
Governor gave him some articles of barter, showing him
much attention, and inquired what towns there might be
on the river below. He replied that he knew of none other
than his own ; that opposite was the province of a cacique
called Quigaltam; then, taking his leave, returned to his
town.
The Governor determined to go to Guachoya within a few
days, to learn if the sea were near, or if there were any inhab-
ited territory nigh it, where he might find subsistence whilst
those brigantines were building, that he desired to send to a
country of Christians. As he crossed the River of Nilco, there
came up Indians in canoes from Guachoya, who, when they
saw him, thinking that he was in their pursuit, to do them
harm, they returned down the river, and informed the cacique,
when he took away from the town whatsoever his people could
carry, and passed over with them, all that night, to the other
bank of the River Grande. The Governor sent a captain with
fifty men, in six canoes, down the river to Guachoya ; ^ while
he, with the rest, marched by land, arriving there on Sunday,
the seventeenth day of April. ^ He took up his quarters in
the town of the cacique, which was palisaded, seated a cross-
' Guachoya was in the vicinity of Arkansas City, in Desha County, and
possibly at or near the large mound one mile to the northward.
^ Sunday was the sixteenth of April.
228 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1542
bow-shot from the stream, that is there called the River Tam-
aliseu, Tapatu at Nilco, Mico at Coga, and at its entrance is
known as The River.
Chapter 29
The message sent to Quigaltam, and the answer brought hack
to the Governor, and what occurred the while.
So soon as the Governor arrived in Guachoya, he ordered
Juan de Anasco, with as many people as could go in the canoes,
to ascend the river; for while they were coming from Anilco
they saw some cabins newly built on the opposite shore. The
comptroller went, and brought back the boats laden with
maize, beans, dried plums (persimmons), and the pulp of them
made into many loaves. The same day an Indian arrived
from Guachoya, and said that the cacique would come on the
morrow. The next day, many canoes were seen ascending
the river; and the people in them remained for an hour on
the opposite side of the River Grande, in consultation, as to
whether they should come to us or not ; but finally they con-
cluded to come, and crossed the river, among them being the
cacique of Guachoya with many Indians, bringing much fish,
many dogs, skins, and blankets. So soon as they had landed,
they went to the lodging of the Governor in the town, and
having presented him with the offerings, the cacique thus
spoke :
Potent and Excellent Master:
I entreat you to forgive me the error I committed in going
away from this town, and not waiting to greet and to obey you;
since the occasion should have been for nie, and is, one of pride;
but I dreaded what I should not have feared, and did consequently
what was out of reason ; for error comes of liaste, and I left without
piojjer thought. So soon as I had refl(>(ted, I resolved not to fol-
low the inclination of the foolish, which is to persist in his course,
l)ut to take that of tlie discreet and the wise: thus have I changed
my purpose, coming to see in what it is you will bid me serve you,
within tlie farthermost limits of my control.
1542] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 229
The Governor received him with much pleasure, thanking
him for the proffers and gift. Being asked if he had any infor-
mation of the sea, he said, none, nor of any other inhabited
country below on that side of the river, except a town two
leagues distant, belonging to a chief subject to him; nor on
the other shore, save three leagues down, the province of Quig-
altam, the lord of which was the greatest of that country.
The Governor, suspecting that the cacique spoke untruthfully,
to rid his towns of him, sent Juan de Anasco with eight of
cavalry down the river, to discover what population might be
there, and get what Imowledge there was of the sea. He was
gone eight days, and stated, when he got back, that in all that
time he could not travel more than fourteen or fifteen leagues,
on account of the great bogs that came out of the river, the
canebrakes and thick scrubs there were along the margin, and
that he had found no inhabited spot.
The Governor sank into a deep despondency at sight of the
difficulties that presented themselves to his reaching the sea;
and, what was worse, from the way in which the men and horses
were diminishing in numbers, he could not sustain himself in
the country without succor. Of that reflection he pined : but,
before he took to his pallet, he sent a messenger to the cacique
of Quigaltam, to say that he w^as the child of the Sun, and
whence he came all obeyed him, rendering their tribute ; that
he besought him to value his friendship, and to come where
he was; that he would be rejoiced to see him; and in token
of love and his obedience, he must bring him something from
his country that was in most esteem there. By the same
Indian, the chief returned this answer :
As to what yon say of your being the son of the Sun, if you
will cause him to dry up the great river, I will believe you : as to
the rest, it is not my custom to visit any one, but rather all, of
whom I have ever heard, have come to visit me, to serve and obey
me, and pay me tribute, either voluntarily or by force. If you
desire to see me, come where I am ; if for peace, I will receive you
with special good-will; if for war, I will await you in my town;
but neither for you, nor for any man, will I set back one foot.
230 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1542
^Mien the messenger returned, the Governor was akeady
low, being very ill of fevers. He grieved that he was not in a
state to cross the river at once, and go in quest of the cacique,
to see if he could not abate that pride ; though the stream was
already flowing very powerfully, was nearly half a league broad,
sixteen fathoms in depth, rushing by in furious toiTent, and
on either shore were many Indians; nor was his power any
longer so great that he might disregard advantages, relying
on his strength alone.
Every day the Indians of Guachoya brought fish, until
they came to be in such plenty that the town was covered
with them.
The Governor having been told b}^ the cacique, that on a
certain night, the chief of Quigaltam would come to give him
battle, he suspected it to be a fiction of his devising to get
him out of his countiy, and he ordered hun to be put under
guard, and from that night forth the watch to be well kept.
WTien asked why the chief did not come, he said that he had,
but that, finding the Governor in readiness, he dared not ad-
venture ; and he greatly importuned him to send the captains
over the river, offering to supply many men to go upon Quig-
altam; to which the Governor said, that so soon as he got
well he would himself go to seek that cacique. Observing
how many Indians came every day to the town, and how popu-
lous was that countr}^, the Governor fearing that they would
plot together, and practise on him some perfidy, he per-
mitted the gates in use, and some gaps in the palisade that
had not yet been closed up, to remain open, that the Indians
might not suppose he stood in fear, ordering the cavalry to be
distributed there; and the night long they made the round,
from each sfjuadron going mounted men in couples to visit
the scouts, outside the town, at points in the roads, and to the
crossbowmen that guarded the canoes in the river.
That the Indians might stand in terror of them, the Gov-
ernor detennined to avnd a ca])tain to Nilco, which the people
of (iuach(jya had told him was inhabited, and, tnniting the
inhabitants there severely, neither town would dare to attack
1542] EXPEDITION OF HERKANDO DE SOTO 231
him: so he commanded Captain Nuno de Tobar to march
thither with fifteen horsemen, and Captain Juan de Guzman,
with his company of foot, to ascend the river by water in
canoes. The cacique of Guachoya ordered canoes to be brought,
and many warriors to come, who went with the Christians.
Two leagues from Nilco, the cavalry, having first arrived,
waited for the foot, and thence together they crossed the river
in the night. At dawn, in sight of the town, they came upon
a scout, who, directly as he saw the Christians, set up loud
yells, and fled to carry the news to those in the place. Nuno
de Tobar, and those with him, hastened on so rapidly, that
they were upon the inhabitants before they could all get out
of town. The ground was open field ; the part of it covered
by the houses, which might be a quarter of a league in extent,
contained five or six thousand souls. Coming out of them,
the Indians ran from one to another habitation, numbers col-
lecting in all parts, so that there was not a man on horseback
who did not find himself amidst many ; and w^hen the captain
ordered that the life of no male should be spared, the surprise
was such, that there was not a man among them in readiness
to draw a bow. The cries of the women and children were such
as to deafen those who pursued them. About one hundred
men were slain; many were allowed to get away badly
wounded, that they might strike terror into those who were
absent.
Some persons were so cruel and butcher-like that they
killed all before them, young and old, not one having resisted
little nor much ; while those who felt it their duty to be wher-
ever there might be resistance, and were esteemed brave,
broke through the crowds of Indians, bearing down many
with their stirrups and the breasts of their horses, giving some
a thrust and letting them go, but encountering a child or a
woman would take and deliver it over to the footmen. To
the ferocious and bloodthirsty, God permitted that their sin
should rise up against them in the presence of all — when
there was occasion for fighting showing extreme cowardice,
and in the end paying for it with their lives.
232 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1542
Eighty women and children were captured at Nilco, and
much clothing. The Indians of Guachoya, before arriving at
the town, had come to a stop, and from without watched the
success of the Christians over the inhabitants ; and when they
saw that these were scattered, that the cavalry were following
and lancing them, they went to the houses for plunder, filling
the canoes with clothing; and lest the Christians might take
away what they got, they returned to Guachoya, where they
came greatly astonished at what they had seen done to the
people of Nilco, which they, in great fear, recounted circum-
stantially to their cacique.
Chapter 30
The death of the Adelantado, Don Hernando de Soto, and how
Luys Moscoso de Alvarado was chosen Governor.
The Governor, conscious that the hour approached in which
he should depart this life, commanded that all the King's offi-
cers should be called before him, the captains and the princi-
pal personages, to whom he made a speech. He said that he
was about to go into the presence of God, to give account of
all his past hfe; and since He had been pleased to take him
away at such a time, and when he could recognize the moment
of his death, he, His most unworthy servant, rendered Him
hearty thanks. He confessed his deep obligations to them all,
whether present or absent, for their great qualities, their love
and loyalty to his person, well tried in the sufferance of hard-
ship, which he ever wished to honor, and had designed to re-
ward, when the Almighty should be pleased to give him repose
from labor with greater prosperity to his fortune. He begged
that they would pray for him, that through mercy he might
be pardoned his sins, and his soul be received in glory^: he
asked that tliey would relieve him of the charge he held over
them, as well of the indebtedness he was under to them all,
as to forgive him any wrongs they might have received at his
hands. To i)revent any divisions that might arise, as to who
should command, he asked that they would be pleased to elect
1542] EXPEDITION" OF HEENANDO DE SOTO 233
a principal and able person to be governor, one with whom
they should all be satisfied, and, being chosen, they would
swear before him to obey : that this would greatly satisfy him,
abate somewhat the pains he suffered, and moderate the anx-
iety of leaving them in a country, they knew not where.
Baltasar de Gallegos responded in behalf of all, consoling
him with remarks on the shortness of the life of this world,
attended as it was by so many toils and afflictions, saying that
whom God earliest called away. He showed particular favor ;
with many other things appropriate to such an occasion : And
finally, since it pleased the Almighty to take him to Himself,
amid the deep sorrow they not unreasonably felt, it was neces-
sary and becoming in him, as in them, to conform to the Divine
Will: that as respected the election of a governor, which he
ordered, whomsoever his Excellency should name to the com-
mand, him would they obey. Thereupon the Governor nomi-
nated Luys Moscoso de Alvarado to be his captain-general;
when by all those present was he straightway chosen and sworn
Governor.
The next day, the twenty-first of May, departed this life
the magnanimous, the virtuous, the intrepid captain, Don
Hernando de Soto, Governor of Cuba and Adelantado of Flor-
ida. He was advanced by fortune, in the way she is wont to
lead others, that he might fall the greater depth : he died in a
land, and at a time, that could afford him little comfort in
his illness, when the danger of being no more heard from
stared his companions in the face, each one himself having
need of sympathy, which was the cause why they neither
gave him their companionship nor visited him, as otherwise
they would have done.
Luys de Moscoso determined to conceal what had hap-
pened from the Indians; for Soto had given them to under-
stand that the Christians were immortal; besides, they held
him to be vigilant, sagacious, brave ; and, although they were
at peace, should they know hmi to be dead, they, being of
their nature inconstant, might venture on making an attack;
and they were credulous of all that he had told them, for he
234 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1542
made them believe that some things which went on among
them privately, he had discovered without their being able to
see how, or by what means ; and that the figure which appeared
in a mirror he showed, told him whatsoever they might be
about, or desired to do ; whence neither by word nor deed did
they dare undertake any thing to his injury.
So soon as the death had taken place, Luj's de Moscoso
directed the body to be put secretly into a house, where it
remained three days; and thence it was taken at night, by
his order, to a gate of the town, and buried within. The Ind-
ians, who had seen him ill, finding him no longer, suspected
the reason; and passing by where he lay, they observed the
ground loose, and, looking about, talked among themselves.
This coming to the knowledge of Luys de Moscoso, he ordered
the corpse to be taken up at night, and among the shawls that
enshrouded it having cast abundance of sand, it was taken
out in a canoe and committed to the middle of the stream.
The cacique of Guachoya asked for him, saying: ''^^^lat has
been done with my brother and lord, the Governor?" Luys
de Moscoso told him that he had ascended into the skies, as
he had done on many other occasions ; but as he would have
to be detained there some time, he had left him in his stead.
The chief, thinking within himself that he was dead, ordered
two well-proportioned young men to be brought, saying, that
it was the usage of the country, when any lord died, to kill
some persons, who should accompany and serve him on the
way, on which account they were brought; and he told him
to command their heads to be struck off, that they might go
accordingly to attend his friend and master. Luys de Mos-
coso replied to him, that the Governor was not dead, but only
gone into the heavens, having taken with him of his soldiers
sufficient number for his need, and be besought him to let
those Indians go, and from that time foi'ward not to follow
so evil a practice. They were presently ordered to be let loose,
that they might return to their houses; but one of them re-
fused to leave, jdlegiug that he did not wish to remain in the
power of one who, without cause, condemned him to die, and
1542] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 235
that he who had saved his Ufe he desired to serve as long as
he should live.
Luys de Moscoso ordered the property of the Governor to
be sold at public outcry. It consisted of two male and three
female slaves, three horses, and seven hundred swine. For
each slave, or horse, was given two or three thousand cruzados,
to be paid at the first melting of gold or silver, or division of
vassals and territory, with the obligation that should there
be nothing found in the country, the payment should be made
at the end of a year, those having no property to pledge to
give their bond. A hog bought in the same way, trusted,
two hundred cruzados. Those who had left anything at home
bought more sparingly, and took less than others. From that
time forward most of the people owned and raised hogs ; they
lived on pork, observed Fridaj^s and Saturdays, and the ves-
pers of holidays, which they had not done before; for, at
times, they had passed two or three months without tasting
any meat, and on the day they got any, it had been their cus-
tom to eat it.
Chapter 31
How the Governor Luys de Moscoso left Guachoya and went to
Chaguete, and from thence to Aguacay.
Some were glad of the death of Don Hernando de Soto, hold-
ing it certain that Luys de Moscoso, who was given to leading
a gay life, preferred to see himself at ease in a land of Chris-
tians, rather than continue the toils of war, discovering and
subduing, which the people had come to hate, finding the little
recompense that followed. The Governor ordered that the
captains and principal personages should come together, to
consult and determine upon what they would do; and, in-
formed of the population there was on all sides, he found that
towards the west the country was most inhabited, and that
descending the stream, after passing Quigaltam, it was desert
and had little subsistence. He besought them all to give him
their opinion in writing, signed with their names, that, having
236 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1542
the views of every one, he might determine whether to follow
down the river or enter the land.
To every one it appeared well to march westwardly, be-
cause in that direction was New Spain, the voyage by sea being
held more hazardous and of doubtful accomphshment, as a
vessel of sufficient strength to weather a storm could not be
built, nor was there captain nor pilot, needle nor chart, nor
was it known how distant might be the sea ; neither had they
any tidings of it, or if the river did not take some great turn
through the land, or might not have some fall over rocks where
they might be lost. Some, who had seen the sea-card, found
that by the shore, from the place where they were to New Spain,
there should be about five hundred leagues ; and they said that
by land, though they might have to go round about some-
times, in looking for a peopled country, unless some great im-
passable wilderness should intervene, they could not be hin-
dered from going forward that summer ; and, finding provision
for support in some peopled countiy where they might stop,
the following summer they should arrive in a land of Christians ;
and that, going by land, it might be they should discover some
rich country which would avail them. Moscoso, although it
w^as his desire to get out of the land of Florida in the shortest
time, seeing the difficulties that lay before him in a voyage
by sea, determined to undertake that which should appear to
be the best to all.
Monday, the fifth of June, the Governor left Guachoya,
receiving a guide from the cacique who remained in his town.
They passed through a province called Catalte; and, going
through a desert six days' journey in extent, on the twentieth
of the month they came to Chaguate.^ The cacique of the
province had been to visit the Governor, Don Hernando de
Soto, at Autiamque, where he took hhn presents of shawls,
skins, and salt. The day before Luys de Moscoso arrived, a
sick Christian becoming missed, whom the Indians were sus-
pected to have killed, he sent word to the cacique to look for
* This province was probably on Saline River, in Saline County. From
here they turned to the south-southeast.
1542] EXPEDITION OF HEENANDO DE SOTO 237
and return hiin — that in so doing he would continue to be his
friend; if otherwise, the cacique should not hide from hun
anywhere, nor he nor his, and that he would leave his country
in ashes. The chief directly came, and, bringing the Chris-
tian, with a large gift of shawls and skins, he made this speech :
Excellent Master:
I would not deserve that opinion you have of me for all the
wealth of the world. Who impelled me to visit and serve that ex-
cellent lord, the Governor, your father, in Autiam.que, which you
should have remembered, where I offered myself, with all loyalty,
truth, and love, to serve and obey his lifetime : or what could have
been my purpose, ha\'ing received favors of him, and without either
of you having done me any injury, that I should be moved to do
that which I should not? Believe me, no outrage, nor worldly
interest, could have been equal to making me act thus, or could
have so blinded me. Since, however, in this life, the natural course
is, after one pleasure should succeed many pains, fortune has been
pleased with your indignation to moderate the joy I felt in my
heart at your coming, and have failed where I aimed to hit, in
pleasing this Christian, who remained behind lost, treating him in
a manner of which he shall himself speak, thinking that in this I
should do you service, and intending to come with and deUver him
to you at Chaguate, serving you in all things, to the extent possible
in my power. If for this I deserve punishment from your hand, I
shall receive it, as coming from my master's, as though it were favor.
The Governor answered, that because he had not found him
in Chaguete he was incensed, supposing that he had kept away,
as others had done ; but that, as he now knew his loyalty and
love, he would ever consider him a brother, and would favor
him in all matters. The cacique went with him to the town
where he resided, the distance of a day's journey. They passed
through a small town where was a lake, and the Indians made
salt : the Christians made some on the day they rested there,
from water that rose near by from springs in pools. The Gov-
ernor was six days in Chaguete, where he informed hiins(^lf of
the ])coplc there were to the west. He heard that three days'
journey distant, was a province called Aguacay.
238 SPAl^ISH EXPLOEEES [1542
On leaving Chaguete, a Christian remained behind, named
Francisco de Guzman, bastard son of a gentleman of Seville,
who, in fear of being made to pay for gaming debts in the per-
son of an Indian girl, his concubine, he took her away with him ;
and the Governor, having marched two days before he was
missed, sent word to the cacique to seek for and send him to
Aguacay, whither he was marching, but the chief never did.
Before arriving at this province, they received five Indians,
coming with a gift of skins, fish, and roasted venison, sent on
the part of the cacique. The Governor reached his town on
Wednesday, the fourth day of July,^ and finding it unoccupied,
lodged there. He remained in it a while, making some in-
roads, in which many Indians of both sexes were captured.
There they heard of the South Sea. Much salt was got out of
the sand, gathered in a vein of earth hke slate, and was made
as they make it in Cayas.
Chapter 32
How the Governor went from Aguacay to Naguatex, and what
happened to him.
The day the Governor left Aguacay he went to sleep near
a small town, subject to the lord of that province. He set the
encampment very nigh a salt lake,^ and that afternoon some
salt was made. He marched the next day, and slept between
two mountains, in an open grove; the next after, he arrived
at a small town called Pato ; and on the fourth day of his de-
parture from Aguacay he came to the first inhabited place,
in a province called Amaye. There they took an Indian, who
said that thence to Naguatex was a day and a half's journey,
all the way lying through an inhabited region.
Having passed out of Amaye, on Saturday, the twentieth
of July,^ between that place and Naguatex, at mid-day, along
' Tho fourth of July was Tuesday.
' This town and lako were on the west side of Quachita River, about two
miles south of Arkadelphia, in Clark County.
* The twentieth of July was Thursday.
1542] EXPEDITION OF HEKNANDO DE SOTO 239
a clump of luxuriant woods/ the camp was seated. From
thence Indians being seen, who had come to espy them, those
on horseback went in their pursuit, killed six, and captured two.
The prisoners being asked by the Governor why they had come,
they said, to discover the numbers he had, and their condition,
having been sent by their lord, the chief of Naguatex ; and that
he, with other caciques, who came in his company and his
cause, had determined on giving him battle that day.
While thus conferring, many Indians advanced, formed in
two squadrons, who, so soon as they saw that they were de-
scried, giving whoops, they assailed the Christians with great
fury, each on a different quarter; but finding how firm was
the resistance, they turned, and fleeing, many lost their hves ;
the greater part of the cavalry pursuing them, forgetful of the
camp, when those that remained were attacked by other two
squadrons, that had lain in conceahnent, who, in their turn,
having been withstood, paid the penalty that the first had done.
When the Christians came together, after the Indians fled,
they heard loud shouting, at the distance of a crossbow-shot
from where they were; and the Governor sent twelve cav-
alry to see what might be the cause. Six Christians were
found amidst numerous Indians, two, that were mounted,
defending four on foot, with great difficulty; and they, as
well as those who went to their succor, finally ended by
killing many. They had got lost from those who followed
after the first squadrons, and, in returning to the camp, fell
among them with whom they were found fighting. One
Indian, brought back alive, being asked by the Governor who
they were that had come to give him battle, said the cacique
of Naguatex, the one of Maye, and another of a province called
Hacanac, lord of great territories and numerous vassals, he of
Naguatex being in command. The Governor, having ordered
his right arm to be cut off, and his nose, sent him to the cacique,
with word that he would march the next day into his territory
to destroy it, and that if he wished to dispute his entrance to
await him.
' Probably on Prairie de Roane, near Hope.
240 SPANISH EXPLOEEES [1542
The Governor stopped there that night, and the following
day he came to the habitations of Nagiiatex, which were
much scattered, and having asked for the town of the cacique,
he was told that it stood on the opposite side of a river near
by. He marched thitherw^ard ; and coming to the river,^
on the other bank he saw many IncUans awaiting him, set in
order to defend the passage ; but, as he did not know whether
it might be forded or not, nor whereabouts it could be crossed,
and ha^^ng some wounded men and horses, he determined to
repose for some time in the town where he was, until they
should be healed.
In consequence of the great heats that prevailed, he pitched
his camp a quarter of a league from the river, in a fine open
grove of high trees, near a brook, close to the town. Some
Indians taken there, having been asked if the river was ford-
able, said yes, at times it was, in certain places ; on the tenth
day he sent two captains, each with fifteen cavalry, one up
and the other down the stream, with guides to show where
they might get over, to see what towns were to be found on the
opposite side. They w^re both opposed by the Indians, who
defended the passages the best they could; but these being
taken notwithstanding, on the other shore they found many
habitations, with much subsistence; and having seen this,
the detachments went back to the camp.
Chapter 33
How the cacique of Naguatex came to visit the Governor, and how
the Governor went thence, and arrived at Nondacao.
From Naguatex, where the Governor was, he sent a mes-
sage to the cacic^ue, that, shoukl he come to serve and obey him,
he would pardon the past; and if he did not, he would go to
look after him, and would inflict the chastisement he deserved
for wluit he liad done. At the end of two days the Indian got
back, bringing word that to-morrow the cacique would come.
' LitUc River, in Hempstead County.
1542] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 241
The day before his arrival, the chief sent many Indians in ad-
vance of him, among whom were some principal men, to dis-
cover in what mood the Governor was, and determine whether
he would himself come or not. They went back directly as
they had announced his approach, the cacique arriving in a
couple of hours afterward, well attended by his people. They
came one before another, in double file, leaving an opening
through the midst, where he walked. They arrived in the
Governor's presence weeping, after the usage of Tula (thence
to the eastward not very distant), when the chief, making his
proper obeisance, thus spoke :
Very High and Powerful Lord, whom all the Earth should
serve and obey:
I venture to appear before you, after having been guilty of so
great and bad an act, that, for only having thought of it, I merit
punishment. Trusting in your greatness, although I do not de-
serve pardon, yet for your own dignity you will show me mercy,
having regard to my inferiority in comparison with you, forgetting
my weakness, which to my sorrow, and for my greater good, I
have come to know.
I believe that you and yours must be immortal ; that you are
master of the things of nature; since you subject them all, and
they obey you, even the very hearts of men. Witnessing the
slaughter and destruction of my men in battle, which came of my
ignorance, and the counsel of a brother of mine, who fell in the
action, from my heart did I repent the error that I committed, and
directly I desired to serve and obey you : wherefore have I come,
that you may chastise and command me as your own.
The Governor replied, that the past would be forgiven;
and that, should he thenceforward do his duty, he would be
his friend, favoring him in all matters.
At the end of four days Luys de Moscoso set forward, and
arrived at a river he could not pass,^ it ran so full, which to
him appeared wonderful at the time, more than a month having
gone by since there had been rain. The Indians said, that it
* Red River.
242 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1542
often increased in that manner, without there being rain any-
where, in all the country. It was supposed to be caused by the
sea entering in ; but he learned that the water always flowed
from above, and that the Indians nowhere had any information
of the sea.
The Governor returned back to where he had been the last
days ; and, at the end of eight more, understanding that the
river might then be crossed, he left, and passed over to the
other bank,^ where he found houses, but no people. He
lodged out in the fields, and sent word to the cacique to come
where he was, and to give him a guide to go on with. After
some days, finding that the cacique did not come, nor send any
one, he despatched two captains, each of them in a different
direction, to set fire to the towns, and seize the people that
might be found. They burned much provision, and captured
many Indians. The cacique, seeing the damage his territories
were receiving, sent five principal men to Moscoso, with three
guides, who understood the language farther on, whither he
would go.
Directly the Governor set out from Naguatex, arriving, on
the third day, at a hamlet of four or five houses, belonging to
the cacique of the poor province named Nissohone, a thinly
peopled country, having little maize. Two days' journey on
the way, the Indians who guided the Governor, in place of
taking him to the west, would lead him to the east, and at times
they went through heavy thickets, out of the road : in conse-
quence, he ordered that they should be hanged upon a tree.
A woman, taken in Nissohone, served as the guide, who went
back to find the road.
In two days' time the Governor came to another miserable
countr}', called Lacane. An Indian was taken, who saitl the
land of Nondacao was very populous, the houses much scat-
tered, as in mountainous regions, and there was plenty of
maize. The caciciue came with his Indians, weeping, as those
of Naguatex had done, which is, according to their custom,
' This ford was located about three miles east of the line between Texas
and Arkansas, in the latter state, and is known as White Oak Shoals.
1542] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 243
significant of obedience ; and he made a present of much fish,
offering to do whatsoever might be required of him. He took
his departure, leaving a guide for the province of Soacatino.
Chapter 34
How the Governor marched from Nondacao to Soacatino and
Guasco, passing through a wilderness, whence, for want
of a guide and interpreter, he retired to Nilco.
The Governor set out from Nondacao for Soacatino, and
on the fifth day came to a province called Aays/ The in-
habitants had never heard of the Christians. So soon as they
observed them entering the territory the people were called out,
who, as fast as they could get together, came by fifties and
hundreds on the road, to give battle. While some encountered
us, others fell upon our rear ; and when we followed up those,
these pursued us. The attack continued during the greater
part of the day, until we arrived at their town. Some men
were injured, and some horses^ but nothing so as to hinder
travel, there being not one dangerous wound among all. The
Indians suffered great slaughter.
The day on which the Governor departed, the guide told
him he had heard it said in Nondacao, that the Indians of
Soacatino had seen other Christians; at which we were all
delighted, thinking it might be true, and that they could have
come by the way of New Spain ; for if it were so, finding nothing
in Florida of value, we should be able to go out of it, there being
fear we might perish in some wilderness. The Governor, hav-
ing been led for two days out of the way, ordered that the Ind-
ian be put to the torture, when he confessed that his master,
the cacique of Nondacao, had ordered him to take them in
that manner, we being his enemies, and he, as his vassal, was
bound to obey him. He was commanded to be cast to the dogs,
* This was apparently to the southward of Gainesville, Texas, the town
being located just west of the "Lower Cross Timbers," on the prairie.
244 SPANISH EXPLOKERS [1542
and another Indian guided us to Soacatino/ where we came
the following day.
The country was very poor, and the want of maize was
greatly felt. The natives being asked if they had any knowl-
edge of other Christians, said they had heard that near there,
towards the south, such men were moving about. For twenty
days the march was through a ybtj thinly peopled country,
where great privation and toil were endured; the httle maize
there was, the Indians having buried in the scrub, where the
Christians, at the close of the day's march, when they were
well wear}', went trailing, to seek for what they needed of it
to eat.
Arrived at a pro\dnce called Guasco,^ they found maize,
with which they loaded the horses and the Indians; thence
they went to another settlement, called NaquiscoQa, the inhab-
itants of which said that they had no knowledge of any other
Christians. The Governor ordered them put to torture, when
they stated that farther on, in the territories of another chief,
called NaQacahoz,^ the Christians had arrived, and gone back
toward the west, whence they came. He reached there in two
days, and took some women, among whom was one who said
that she had seen Christians, and, having been in their hands,
had made her escape from them. The Governor sent a cap-
tain with fifteen cavalry to where she said they were seen, to
discover if there were any marks of horses, or signs of any Chris-
tians having been there; and after travelling three or four
leagues, she who was the guide declared that all she had said
was false; and so it was deemed of everj-thing else the
Indians had told of having seen Christians in Florida.
As the region thereabout was scarce of maize, and no in-
formation could be got of any inhabited country to the west,
* This place was apparently located in the " Upper Cross Timbers." The
Spaniards hen; turned to the southward.
' Waco. The t<jwn was evidently located on the Brazos River, near
old Fort Belkna{), in Young County, Texa.s.
* These two provinces were to the southeast of Guasco, in the Brazos
valley.
1542] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 245
the Governor went back to Guasco. The residents stated, that
ten days' journey from there, toward the sunset, was a river
called Daycao,^ whither they sometimes went to drive and kill
deer, and whence they had seen persons on the other bank,
but without knowing what people they were. The Christians
took as much maize as they could find, to carry with them;
and journeying ten days through a wilderness,^ they arrived
at the river of which the Indians had spoken. Ten horsemen
sent in advance by the Governor had crossed ; and, following
a road leading up from the bank, they came upon an encamp-
ment of Indians hving in very small huts, who, directly as they
saw the Christians, took to flight, leaving what they had, indi-
cations only of poverty and misery. So wretched was the
country, that what was found ever}^vhere, put together, was
not half an alqueire of maize. ^ Taking two natives, they went
back to the river, where the Governor waited ; and on coming
to question the captives, to ascertain what towns there might be
to the west, no Indian was found in the camp who knew their
language.
The Governor commanded the captains and principal per-
sonages to be called together that he might determine now
by their opinions what was best to do. The majority declared
it their judgment to return to the River Grande of Guachoya,
because in Anilco and thereabout was much maize ; that during
the winter they would build brigantines, and the following
spring go down the river in them in quest of the sea, where
having arrived, they would follow the coast thence along to
New Spain, — an enterprise which, although it appeared to be
one difficult to accomplish, yet from their experience it offered
the only course to be pursued. They could not travel by land,
for want of an interpreter; and they considered the country
' Probably the Double Mountain fork of Brazos River. The crossing
was probably made at the south angle of the river, in the northwestern
part of Fisher County, Texas.
' A continuous forest extends from old Fort Belknap to the eastern slope
of the "Staked Plains," and is the only one through which they could have
marched for ten days to the westward.
' I.e., less than a peck.
246 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1542
farther on, beyond the River Daycao, on which they were, to
be that which Cabe^a de Vaca had said in his narrative should
have to be traversed, where the Indians wandered hke Arabs,
having no settled place of residence, Hving on prickly pears,
the roots of plants, and game ; and that if this should be so,
and they, entering upon that tract, found no provision for sus-
tenance during winter, they must inevitably perish, it being
already the beginning of October ; and if they remained any
longer where they were, what with rains and snow, they should
neither be able to fall back, nor, in a land so poor as that, to
subsist.
The Governor, who longed to be again where he could get his
full measure of sleep, rather than govern and go conquering a
country so beset for him with hardships, directly returned,
getting back from whence he came.
Chapter 35
How the Christians returned to Nilco, and thence went to Minoya,
where they prepared to build vessels in which to leave
Florida.
When what had been determined on was proclaimed in the
camp, many were greatly disheartened. They considered the
voyage by sea to be very hazardous, because of their poor sub-
sistence, and as perilous as was the journe}^ by land, whereon
they had looked to find a rich country, before coming to the soil
of Christians. This was according to what CabeQa de Vaca
told the Emperor, that after seeing cotton cloth, would be found
gold, silver, and stones of much value, and they were not yet
come to where he had wandered ; for before arriving there, he
had always travelled along the coast, and they were marching
far within the land; hence by keeping toward the west they
must unavoidably come to where he had been, as he said that
he had gone about in a certain region a long time, and marched
northward into the interior. Now, in Guasco, they had already
found some turquoises, and shawls of cotton, which tlie Indians
^ave them to understand, by signs, were brought from the
1542] EXPEDITION OF HEENANDO DE SOTO 247
direction of the sunset; so that they who should take that
course must approach the country of Christians.
There was hkewise much other discontent. Many grieved
to go back, and would rather have continued to run the peril
of their lives than leave Florida poor. They were not equal,
however, to changing what was resolved on, as the persons of
importance agreed with the Governor. There was one, never-
theless, who said afterwards that he would willingly pluck
out an eye, to put out another for Luys de Moscoso, so greatly
would he grieve to see him prosper; with such bitterness did
he inveigh against him and some of his friends, which he would
not have dared to do, only he knew that in a couple of days
from that time the government would have to be relinquished.
From Daycao, where they were, to the Rio Grande, was a
distance of one hundred and fifty leagues, which they had
marched, toward that place, always westwardly ; and, as they
returned over the way, with great difficulty could they find
maize to eat; for, wheresoever they had passed, the country
lay devastated, and the little that was left, the Indians had now
hidden. The towns they had burned in Naguatex, of which
they had repented, they found already rebuilt, and the houses
full of maize. That country is populous and abundant. Pot-
tery is made there of clay, little differing from that of Estremoz
or Montemor.
To Chaguete, by command of the cacique, the Indians came
in peace, and said, that the Christian who had remained there
would not come. The Governor wrote to him, sending ink
and paper, that he might answer. The purport of the letter
stated his determination to leave Florida, reminded him of his
being a Christian, and that he was unwilling to leave him
among heathen ; that he would pardon the error he had com-
mitted in going to the Indians, should he return; and that if
they should wish to detain him, to let the Governor know by
writing. The Indian who took the letter came back, bringing
no other response than the name and rubric of the person
written on the back, to signify that he was alive. The Governor
sent twelve mounted men after him ; but, having his watchers,
248 SPANISH EXPLOKERS [1542
he so hid himself that he could not be found. For want of
maize the Governor could not tarry longer to look for him;
so he left Chaguete, crossed the river at Aays/ and following it
down, he discovered a town which they had not seen before,
called Chilano.
They came to Nilco, where the Governor found so little
maize, that there was not enough to last while they made the
vessels; for during seed-time, while the Christians were in
Guachoya, the Indians, in fear of them, had not dared to
come and plant the grounds; and no other land about there
was known to have maize, that being the most fertile region
of the vicinity, and where they had the most hope of finding
sustenance. Everybody was confounded.
Many thought it bad counsel to have come back from the
Daycao, and not to have taken the risk of continuing in the
way they were going by land; as it seemed impossible they
should escape by sea, unless a miracle might be wrought for
them; for there was neither pilot nor sea-chart; they knew
not where the river entered the sea, nor of the sea could they
get any information ; they had nothing out of which to make
sails, nor for rope a sufficiency of enequen (a grass growing there,
which is like hemp), and what they did find was saved for
calk ; nor was there wherewith to pitch them. Neither could
they build vessels of such strength that any accident might not
put them in jeopardy of life ; and they greatly feared that what
befell Narvaez, who was lost on the coast, might happen to
them also. But the most of all they feared was the want of
maize; for without that they could not support themselves,
or do anything they would. All were in great dismay.
The Christians chose to commend themselves to God for
relief, and beseech Him to point them out a way by which they
might be saved. By His Goodness He was pleased that the
people of Anilco should come peacefully, and state that two
days' journey thence, near the River Grande, were two towns
of which the Christians had not heard, in a fertile country
' This name shoulfl be Ayuys, — the old crossing-place on the Arkansas
River, above Pine Bluff.
1542] • EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 249
named Aminoya ; but whether it then contained maize or not,
they were unable to tell, as they were at war with those places ;
they would nevertheless be greatly pleased to go and destroy
them, with the aid of the Christians. The Governor sent a
captain thither, with horsemen and footmen, and the Indians
of Anilco. Arriving at Aminoya,^ he found two large towns
in a level, open field, half a league apart, in sight of each other,
where he captured many persons, and found a large quantity
of maize. He took lodging in one of the towns, and directly
sent a message to the Governor concerning what he had found,
with which all were well content. They set out from Anilco
in the beginning of December, and on that march, as well as
before coming there from Chilano, they underwent great ex-
posure; for they passed through much water, and rain fell
many times, bringing a north wind, with severe cold, so that
when in the field they had the water both above and below
them; and if at the end of a day's journey they found dry
ground to lie upon, they had occasion to be thankful. In
these hardships nearly all the Indians in service died, and also
many Christians, after coming to Aminoya ; the greater num-
ber being sick of severe, and dangerous diseases, marked with
inclination to lethargy. Andre de Vasconcelos died there, and
two Portuguese brothers of Elvas, near of kin to him, by the
name of Soti.
The Christians chose for their quarters what appeared to
be the best town : it was stockaded, and stood a quarter of a
league distant from the Rio Grande. The maize that lay in the
other town was brought there, and when together the quantity
was estimated to be six thousand fanegas.^ For the building
of ships better timber was found than had been seen elsewhere
in all Florida; on which account, all rendered many thanks
to God for so signal mercy, encouraging the hope in them,
that they should be successful in their wish to reach a shore of
Christians.
' The town was located above the mouth of the Arkansas River, in
Desha County, Arkansas.
' The fanega of Lisbon was somewhat more than a pint.
250 SPANISH EXPLOKERS [1543
Chapter 36
How seven brigantines were built, and the Christians took their
departure from Aminoya.
So soon as the Christians arrived in Aminoj^a, the Governor
commanded the chains to be collected which every one brought
along for Indians, the iron in shot, and what was in the camp.
He ordered a furnace to be set up for making spikes, and like-
wise timber to be cut down for the brigantines. A Portuguese,
of Ceuta, had learned to saw lumber while a captive in Fez;
and saws had been brought for that purpose, with which he
taught others, who assisted him. A Genoese, whom God had
been pleased to spare (as without him we could not have gone
away, there being not another person who knew how to con-
struct vessels), built the brigantines with the help of four or
five Biscayan carpenters, who hew^ed the plank and ribs for
him ; and two calkers, one a Genoese, the other a Sardinian,
closed them up with the oakum, got from a plant like hemp,
called enequen, of which I have before spoken ; but from its
scarcity the flax of the country was likewise used, as well as
the ravellings of shawls. The cooper sickened to the point
of death, and there was not another workman; but God
was pleased to give him health, and notwithstanding he
was very thin, and unfit to labor, fifteen days before the
vessels sailed, he had made for each of them two of the half-
hogsheads sailors call quartos, four of them holding a pipe of
water.
The Indians of a province called Tagoanate, two days'
journey up the river, likewise those of Anilco and Guachoya,
and other neighboring people, seeing the vessels were building,
thought, as their places of concealment were by the water's
side, that it was the purpose to come in quest of them; and
because the Governor had asked for shawls, as necessary out of
which to make sails, thoy came often, and brought many, as
hkewise a great deal of fish.
Of a verity, it did appear that God chose to favor the
1543] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 251
Christians in their extreme need, disposing the Indians to
bring the garments; otherwise, there had been no way but
to go and fetch them. Then the town where they were, as
soon as the winter should set in, would become so surrounded
by water, and isolated, that no one could travel from it by land
farther than a league, or a league and a half, when the horses
could no longer be used. Without them we were unable to
contend, the Indians being so numerous; besides, man to
man on foot, whether in the water or on dry ground, they
were superior, being more skilful and active, and the condi-
tions of the country more favorable to the practice of their
warfare.
They also brought us ropes; and the cables needed were
made from the bark of the mulberry-trees. Anchors were
made of stirrups, for which others of wood were substituted.
In March, more than a month having passed since rain fell,
the river became so enlarged that it reached Nilco, nine leagues
off ; and the Indians said, that on the opposite side it also
extended an equal distance over the country.
The ground whereon the town stood was higher, and where
the going was best, the water reached to the stirrups. Rafts
were made of trees, upon which were placed many boughs,
whereon the horses stood ; and in the houses were like arrange-
ments; yet, even this not proving sufficient, the people as-
cended into the lofts ; and when they went out of the houses it
was in canoes, or, if on horseback, they went in places where
the earth was highest.
Such was our situation for two months, in which time the
river did not fall, and no work could be done. The natives,
coming in canoes, did not cease to visit the brigantines. The
Governor, fearing they would attack him in that time, ordered
one of those coming to the town to be secretly seized, and kept
until the rest were gone; which being done, he directed that
the prisoner should be tortured, in order to draw out from him
any plotting of treason that might exist. The captive said,
that the caciques of Nilco, Guachoya, Taguanate, and others,
in all some twenty, had determined to come upon him, with
252 SPANISH EXPLOKERS [1543
a great body of people. Three days before they should do so,
the better to veil their evil purpose and perfidy, they were to
send a present of fish ; and on the day itself, another present
was to be sent in advance of them, by some Indians, who,
with others in the conspiracy, that were serving, should set
fire to the houses, after getting possession of the lances placed
near the doors of the dwellings, when the caciques, with
all their people, being concealed in the thicket nigh the
town, on seeing the flame, should hasten to make an end of
them.
The Governor ordered the Indian to be put in a chain;
and on the day that was stated, thirty men having come with
fish, he commanded their right hands to be cut off, sending
word by them to the cacique of Guachoya, whose they were,
that he and his might come when they pleased, he desired noth-
ing better, but they should learn that they could not think of a
thing that he did not know their thought before them. At
this they were all greatly terrified ', the caciques of Nilco and
Taguanate came to make excuses, and a few days after came
the cacique of Guachoya, with a principal Indian, his vassal,
stating that he had certain information of an agreement be-
tween the caciques of Nilco and Taguanate to come and give
the Christians battle.
So soon as some Indians arrived from Nilco, the Governor
questioned them, and they confirming what was said, he de-
livered them at once to the principal Indian of Guachoya, who
took them out of the town and killed them. The next day
came others from Taguanate, who likewise having confessed,
the Governor commanded that their right hands and their
noses should be cut off, and he sent them to the cacique. With
this procedure the people of Guachoya were well satisfied, and
often came with presents of shawls and fish, and of hogs, which
were the breeding of some sows lost there the year before.
Having persuaded the Governor to send people to Taguanate,
so soon as the waters fell, they brought canoes, in which infan-
try went down [ii[)] the river, and a captain proceeded by
land with cavalry ; and having guided them until they came to
1543] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 253
Taguanate/ the Christians assaulted the town, took many-
men and women, and shawls, which, with what they had
already, sufficed for their want.
In the month of June the brigantines were finished, and the
Indians having stated that the river rose but once in the year,
which was with the melting of snow, that had already passed,
it being now summer, and a long time since rain had fallen,
God was pleased that the water should come up to the town,
where the vessels were, whence they floated into the river;
for had they been taken over ground, there would have been
danger of tearing open the bottoms, thereby entirely wrecking
them, the planks being thin, and the spikes made short for the
lack of iron.
In the time that the Christians were there, the people of
Aminoya came to offer their service, being compelled by hunger
to beg some ears of that corn which had been taken from them.
As the country was fertile, they were accustomed to subsist
on maize ; and as all that they possessed had been seized, and
the population was numerous, they could not exist. Those
who came to the town were weak, and so lean that they had not
flesh on their bones, and many died near by, of clear hunger and
debility. The Governor ordered, under pain of heavy punish-
ments, that maize should not be given to them ; still, when it
was seen that they were willing to work, and that the hogs had
a plenty, the men, pitying their misery and destitution, would
share their grain with them ; so that when the time arrived for
departure, there was not enough left to answer for what was
needed. That which remained was put into the brigantines and
the great canoes, which were tied together in couples. Twenty-
two horses were taken on board, being the best there were in
the camp ; the flesh of the rest was jerked, as was also that of
the hogs that remained. On the second day of July, of the
year one thousand five hundred and forty-three, we took our
departure from Aminoya.
' This province was on White River, and the town was probably in
the southern part of Monroe County, Arkansas, possibly at Indian
Bay.
254 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1543
Chapter 37
How the Christians, on their voyage, were attacked in the river,
hy the Indians of Quigualtam, and what happened.
The day before the Christians left Aminoya, it was deter-
mined to dismiss the men and women that were serving, with
the exception of some hundred slaves, more or less, put on
board by the Governor, and by those he favored. As there
were many persons of condition, whom he could not refuse
what he allowed to others, he made use of an artifice, saying,
that while they should be going down the river they might
have the use of them ; but on coming to the sea they would have
to be left, because of the necessity for water, and there were
but few casks; while he secretly told his friends to take the
slaves, that they would carry them to New Spain. All those
to whom he bore ill-will, the greater number, not suspecting
his concealment from them, which after a while appeared,
thought it inhuman for so short service, in return for so much
as the natives had done, to take them away, to be left captives
out of their territories, in the hands of other Indians, abandon-
ing five hundred males and females, among whom were many
boys and girls who understood and spoke Spanish. The most
of them wept, which caused great compassion, as they were
all Christians of their own free will, and were now to remain
lost.
In seven brigantines went three hundred and twenty-two
Spaniards from Aminoya. The vessels were of good build,
except that the planks were thin, on account of the shortness
of the spikes ; and they were not pitched, nor had they decks
to shod the water that might enter them, Ixit j-danks were placed
instead, upon which the mariners might run to fasten the sails,
and the people accommodate themselves above and below.
The Governor appointed his captains, giving to each of them
his brigaiitine, taking their word and oath to obey him until
they should come to the land of Christians. He chose for
himself the l)rigantine he liked best. On the day of his depar-
1543] EXPEDITION OF HEENANDO DE SOTO 255
ture they passed by Guachoya, where the Indians, in canoes,
were waiting for them in the river, having made a great arbor
on the shore, to which they invited him, but he made excuse,
and passed along. They accompanied him until arriving
where an arm of the river extends to the right, ^ near which
they said was Quigualtam; and they importuned him to go
and make war upon it, offering their assistance. As they
told him there were three days' journey down the river to that
province, suspecting they had arranged some perfidy, he dis-
missed them there; then, submitting himself to where lay
the full strength of the stream, went his voyage, driven on
rapidly by the power of the current and aid of oars.
On the first day they came to land in a clump of trees, by
the left bank, and at dark they retired to the vessels. The
following day they came to a town, where they went on shore,
but the occupants dared not tarry for them. A woman who
was captured, being questioned, said the town was that of a
chief named Huhasene, a subject of Quigualtam, who, with
a great many people, was waiting for them. Mounted men
went down the river, and finding some houses, in which was
much maize, immediately the rest followed. They tarried
there a day, in which they shelled and got ready as much maize
as was needed. In this time many Indians came up the river
in canoes ; and, on the opposite side, in front, somewhat care-
lessly put themselves in order of battle. The Governor sent
after them the crossbowmen he had with him, in two canoes,
and as many other persons as they could hold, when the Indians
fled ; but, seeing the Spaniards were unable to overtake them,
returning, they took courage, and, coming nearer, menaced
them with loud yells. So soon as the Christians retired, they
were followed by some in canoes, and others on land, along the
river; and, getting before them, arrived at a town near the
river's bluff,^ where they united, as if to make a stand. Into
* This was a channol corinortinp; the Mississippi River with Bayou Macon,
and was located in the nf)rthern part of Chicot County, Arkansas.
^ From the time and distance travelled, this place was at the ^'icks-
burg Bluffs.
256 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1543
each canoe, for every brigantine was toudng one at the stern
for its service, directly entered some men, who, causing the
Indians to take flight, burned the town. Soon after, on the
same day, they went on shore in a large open field, where
the Indians dared not await their arrival.
The next day a hundred canoes came together, having
from sixty to seventy persons in them, those of the principal
men having awnings, and themselves wearing white and colored
plumes, for distinction. They came within two crossbow-shot
of the brigantines, and sent a message in a small canoe, by
three Indians, to the intent of learning the character of the
vessels, and the weapons that we use. Arriving at the brigan-
tine of the Governor, one of the messengers got in, and said
that he had been sent by the cacique of Quigaltam, their lord,
to commend him, and to make known that whatever the
Indians of Guachoya had spoken of him was falsely said, they
being his enemies ; that the chief was his servant, and wished
to be so considered. The Governor told him that he beheved
all that he had stated to be true ; to say so to him, and that he
greatly esteemed him for his friendship.
With this the messengers went to where the others, in the
canoes, were waiting for them ; and thence they all came down
yelling, and approached the Spaniards with threats. The
Governor sent Juan de Guzman, captain of foot, in the canoes,
with twenty-five men in armor, to drive them out of the way.
So soon as they were seen coming, the Indians, formed in two
parts, remained quietly until they were come up with, when,
closing, they took Juan de Guzman, and those who came ahead
with him, in their midst, and, with great fury, closed hand to
hand with them. Their canoes were larger than his, and many
leaped into the water — some to support them, others to lay
hold (A the canoes of the Spaniards, to cause them to ca])size,
which was presently accomplished, the Christians falling
into the water, and, by the weight of their armor, g(Mng to the
bottom ; or when one by swimming, or clinging to a canoe,
could sustain himself, they with paddles and clubs, striking
him on the head, would send him below.
1543] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 257
When those in the brigantines who witnessed the defeat
desired to render succor, the force of the stream would not al-
low them to return. One brigantine, which was that nighest
to the canoes, saved four men, who were all of those that went
after the Indians who escaped. Eleven lost their lives ; among
whom was Juan de Guzman and a son of Don Carlos, named
Juan de Vargas. The greater number of the others were also
men of consideration and of courage. Those who escaped by
swimming said, that they saw the Indians get into the stern
of one of their canoes with Juan de Guzman, but whether he
was carried away dead or aUve, no one could state.
Chapter 38
How the Christians were pursued hy the Indians.
The natives, finding they had gained a victory, took so great
encouragement that they proceeded to attack the brigantines,
which they had not dared to before. They first came up with
one in the rear-guard, commanded by Calderon, and at the first
volley of arrows twenty-five men were wounded. Therfe were
only four on board in armor, who went to the side of the vessel
for its defence. Those unprotected, finding how they were
getting hurt, left the oars, placing themselves below under the
cover ; and the brigantine, beginning to swing about, was going
where the current of water chanced to take her, when one of the
men in armor, seeing this, without waiting the captain's order,
made one of the infantry take the oar and steer, while he stood
before to cover him with his shield. The Indians afterwards
came no nearer than bow-shot, whence they could assail with-
out being assaulted, or receiving injury, there being in each
brigantine only a single crossbow much out of order ; so that
the Christians had little else to do than to stand as objects to
be shot at, watching for the shafts. The natives, having left
this brigantine, went to another, against which they fought
for half an hour : and one after another, in this way they ran
through with thom all.
The Christians had mats with them to lie upon of two thick-
258 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [IMS
nesses, very close and strong, so that no arrow could pierce
them, and these, when safety required, were hung up ; and the
Indians, finding that these could not be traversed, directed their
shafts upward, which, exhausted, fell on board, inflicting some
wounds. Not satisfied with this, they strove to get at the men
with the horses; but the brigantines were brought about the
canoes in which they were, to give them protection, and in
this position conducted them along. The Christians, finding
themselves thus severely tried, and so worn out that they could
bear up no longer, determined to continue their journey in the
dark, thinking that they should be left alone on getting through
the region of Quigualtam. While they proceeded and were
least watchful, supposing themselves to be left, they would be
roused with deafening yells near by; and thus were they an-
noyed through the night and until noon, when they got into
another country, to the people of which they were recom-^
mended for a like treatment, and received it.
Those Indians having gone back to their country, these fol-
lowed the Christians in fifty canoes, fighting them all one day
and night. They sprang on board a brigantine of the rear-
guard, by the canoe that floated at the stern, whence they took
out an Indian woman, and wounded from thence some men in
the brigantines. The men with the horses in the canoes, becom-
ing weary with rowing day and night, at times got left behind,
when the Indians would directly set upon them, and those in
the brigantines would wait until they should come up : so that
in consequence of the slow way that was made, because of the
beasts, the Governor determined to go on shore and slaughter
them. So soon as any befitting ground for it was seen, a land-
ing was made, the animals were butchered, and the meat cured
and brought on board. Four or five horses having been let go
ahve, the Indians, after the Spaniards had embarked, went
up to them, to whom being unused, they were alarmed, running
up and down, neighing in such a way that the Indians took
fright, phmging into the water; and thence entering their
canoes, they went after the brigantines, shooting at the people
without mercy, following them that evening and the night en-
1543] EXPEDITION OF HERKANDO DE SOTO 259
suing, until ten o'clock the next day, when they returned up-
stream.
From a small town near the bank, there came out seven
canoes that pursued the Christians a short distance, shooting at
them ; but finding, as they were few, that httle harm was done,
they went back. From that time forth the voyage, until near
the end, was unattended by any misadventure ; the Christians
in seventeen days going down a distance of two hundred and
fifty leagues,^ a httle more or less, by the river. When near
the sea, it becomes divided into two arms, each of which may
be a league and a half broad.
Chapter 39
How the Christians came to the sea, what occurred then, and what
befell them on the voyage.
Half a league before coming to the sea, the Christians cast
anchor, in order to take rest for a time, as they were weary
from rowing. They were disheartened also, many days having
gone by since they had eaten other thing than maize, parched
and then boiled, given out in daily rations of a casque by
strike to a mess of three.
\\Tiile riding at anchor, seven canoes of natives came to
attack those we had brought in the canoes along with us. The
Governor ordered men to enter ours in armor, to go after the
Indians and drive them away. There also came some by land,
through thicket and bog, with staves, having very sharp heads
of fish-bone, who fought valiantly those of us who went out
to meet them. Such as were in the canoes, awaited with their
arrows the approach of those sent against them ; and presently,
on the engaging of these, as well as those on land, they wounded
some on our side in both contests. WTien we on shore drew
nigh to them they would turn their backs, running like fleet
steeds before infantry, making some turns without ever getting
much beyond the flight of an arrow, and, returning again, they
' The Inca gives the distance as being seven hundred and fifty leagues.
The real distance was about seven hundred and twenty miles.
260 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1543
would shoot without receiving any injurv" from us, who, though
we had some bows, were not skilled to use them ; while the Ind-
ians on the water, finding their pursuers unable to do them
harm, though straining at the oare to overtake them, leisurely
kept within a circle, their canoes pausing and returning, as in a
skirmish. The men discovered that the more successful their
efforts to approach, the greater was their own injury; so,
when they succeeded sunply in driving them off, they went
back to the brigantines.
After remaining two days, the Christians went to where
that branch of the river enters the sea; and having sounded
there, they found forty fathoms depth of water. Pausing then,
the Governor required that each should give his opinion re-
specting the voyage, whether they should sail to New Spain
direct, by the high sea, or go thither keeping along from shore
to shore. There were different opinions upon this, in which
Juan de Anasco, who was very presumptuous, valuing himself
much upon his knowledge of navigation, with other matters
of the sea of which he had Httle experience, influenced the
Governor ; and his opinion, like that of some others, was, that
it would be much better to put out to sea, and cross the Gulf
by a passage three-fourths less far, than going from shore to
shore, which was very circuitous, because of the bend made by
the land. He said that he had seen the sea-chart ; that whence
they were the coast ran west to the River of Palmas, and thence
south to New Spain; consequently, that keeping in sight of
land, there would be wide compassing, with long detention,
and risk of being overtaken by the winter before coming to the
country of Christians ; while, with a fair wind, in ten or twelve
days' time they should arrive there, by keeping a straight
course.
The majority were not of that way of thinking, and said
there was more safety in going along the coast, though it
might take longer ; the vessels being frail, and without decks,
a light storm might suffice to wreck them; and in consequence
of the little room th(;y had for water, if calm or head wind
should occur, or adverse weather, they would also run great
1543] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 261
hazard; but even were the vessels so substantial that they
might venture in them, there being neither pilot nor sea-card
to show the way, it was not wise to traverse the sea. This,
the opinion of the greater number, was approved ; and it was
decided to go along from one to another shore.
When they were about to depart, the brigantine of the
Governor parted her cable, the anchor attached to it remaining
in the river ; and, notwithstanding she was near the shore, the
depth was so great that, although it was industriously sought
for by divers, it could not be found. This gave much anxiety
to the Governor and the others on board. With a stone for
crushing maize, and the bridles that remained, belonging to
some of the fidalgos and gentlemen who rode, they made a
weight that took the place of the anchor.
On the eighteenth day of July the vessels got under way,
with fair weather, and wind favorable for the voyage. The
Governor, with Juan de Afiasco, put to sea in their brigantines,
and were followed by all the rest, who, at two or three leagues
out, having come up w^ith the two, the captains asked the Gov-
ernor why he did not keep the land ; and told him that if he
meant to leave it he should say so, though he ought not to do
that without having the consent of the rest, otherwise they
would not follow his lead, but each would do as he thought best.
The Governor replied that he would do nothing without con-
sulting them ; he desired to get away from the shore to sail the
better, and with the greater safety at night ; that in the morn-
ing, when time served, he would return. With a favorable
wind they sailed all that day in fresh water, the next night,
and the day following until vespers, at which they were greatly
amazed; for they were very distant from the shore, and so
great was the strength of the current of the river, the coast so
shallow and gentle, that the fresh water entered far into the
sea.^
That afternoon, on the starboard bow, they saw some kays,
' At that time the Atchafalaya probably formed the lower course of Red
River, the latter not having cut through to the Mississippi, and it was its
current that they encountered.
262 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1543
whither they went, and where they reposed at night. There
Juan de Anasco, with his reasoning, concluded by getting all
to consent, and deem it good, that they should go to sea, de-
claring, as he had before said, that it would be a great gain,
and shorten their voyage. They navigated two days, and
when they desired to get back in sight of land they could not,
because the wind came off from it : and on the fourth day, find-
ing that the water was giving out, fearing extremity and peril,
they all complained of Juan de Anasco, and of the Governor,
who had listened to his advice : and all the captains declared
they would run no farther out, and that the Governor might go
as he chose.
It pleased God that the wind should change a httle ; and,
at the end of four days from the time of their having gone out
to sea, by strength of arm they arrived, in want of fresh water,
in sight of the coast, and with great labor gained it on an open
beach. That afternoon, the wind came round from the south,
which on that coast is a side wind, and so stiff that it threw the
brigantines on to the land, the anchors bending in their slen-
demess, and dragging. The Governor ordered all to leap into
the water, on the larboard side, to hold them, and when each
wave had passed they would launch the brigantines to seaward,
sustaining them in this manner until the wind went down.
Chapter 40
How the brigantines lost sight of each other in a storm, and after-
wards came together at a kay.
The tempest having passed off from the beach where the
brigantines were riding, the people went on shore. With
mattocks they dug holes there, into which the water having
flowed, they thence filled their pipkins. The next day they
left; and sailing two days, they entered a basin, like a cove,
which afforded shelter against a high wind that blew from the
south. There they tarried, unable to leave, until the fourth
day, when the sea suljsided and they went out by rowing. They
sailed until near evening; the wind then freshened, driving
1643] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 263
them in such manner upon the land, that they regretted having
left the harbor; for no sooner was it nightfall than the storm
began to rise on the sea, and with its approach the wind grad-
ually increased. The brigantines separated. The two that
were farthest out entered an arm of the sea, a couple of leagues
beyond the place where the others found themselves at dark.
The five that were astern remained from half a league to a league
apart, along an exposed beach, upon which the winds and waves
were casting them, without one vessel's knowing the fate of
another. The anchors having yielded, the vessels were drag-
ging them: the oars, at each of which seven and eight were
pulling seaward, could not hold the vessels ; the rest of the men,
leaping into the water, with the utmost diligence, after the
wave had passed that drove them to the shore, would launch
the brigantine; while those on board, before another wave
could come, baled out with bowls the water that came in upon
them.
AMiile thus engaged, in great fear of being lost, from mid-
night forward they suffered the intolerable torment of a myriad
of mosquitos. The flesh is directly inflamed from their sting,
as though it had received venom. Towards morning the wind
lulled, and the sea went down ; but the insects continued none
the less. The sails, which were white, appeared black with
them at dayhght; while the men could not pull at the oars
without assistance to drive away the insects. Fear having
passed off with the danger of the storm, the people observing
the swollen condition of each other's faces, and the marks of the
blows they had given and received to rid them of the mosqui-
tos, they could but laugh. The vessels came together in a
creek, where lay the two brigantines that preceded them.
Finding a scum the sea casts up, called copee, which is like
pitch, and used instead on shipping, where that is not to be
had, they payed the bottoms of their vessels wuth it.
After remaining two days they resumed their voyage;
and having run hkewise two days, they entered an arm of the
sea and landed. Spending there a couple of days, they left;
six men on the last day having gone up the bay in a canoe with-
264 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1543
out finding its head. The brigantines went out in a head-wind
blowing from the south, which being hght, and the people
having a strong desire to hasten the voyage, they pulled out
by strength of arm to sea with great toil, and making little
headway for two days, they entered by an arm of the sea behind
an islet which it encircles, where followed such bad weather,
that they were not unmindful to give thanks for that good
shelter. Fish abounded there. They were taken in nets and
with the line. A man having thrown out a cord made fast
to his arm, a fish caught at the hook and drew him into the
water up to the neck, when, remembering a knife that he had
pro\'identially kept, he cut himself loose.
At the close of the fourteenth day of their stay, the Al-
mighty having thought proper to send fair weather, the Chris-
tians very devoutly formed a procession for the return of
thanks, in which, moving along the beach, they supphcated
Him that He would take them to a land in which they might
better do Him service.
Chapter 41
How the Christians arrived at the river Panico.
Wheresoever the people dug along the shore they found
fresh water. The jars being filled, and the procession con-
cluded, they embarked ; and, going ever in sight of land, they
navigated for six days. Juan de Anasco said it would be well
to stand directly out to sea ; for that he had seen the card, and
remembered that, from Rio de Palmas onward, the coast ran
south, and up to that time they had gone westwardly. Ac-
cording to his opinion, by the reckoning he kept, the river
could not be distant from where they were.
That night they ran out, and in the morning they saw palm-
trees rising above the water, the coast trending southwardly;
and from midday forward great mountains appeared, which
had nowhere been seen until then ; for to that jilace, from
the port of Espiritu Santo, where they had entered Florida,
was a low, level shore, not discoverable at sea until very
1543] EXPEDITION OF HEENANDO DE SOTO 265
near. From what they observed, they thought that during
the night they had passed the Rio de Pahnas, sixty leagues
distant from Panico, in New Spain. So they consulted
together.
Some were of opinion that it would not be well to sail in
the dark, lest they should overrun the Rio de Panico ; others,
that they could not be so near as to run by it that night, and
that it would not be well to lose a favorable wind; so they
agreed to spread half the sails and keep on their way. Two
of the brigantines, which ran with all sail up, at daylight passed
the river without seeing it : of the five that remained behind,
the first that arrived was the one Calderon commanded, from
which, when a quarter of a league off, and before the entrance
had been discovered, the water was observed to be thick and
found to be fresh. Coming opposite the river, they saw where
the waves broke upon a shoal, at the entrance into the sea;
and, not any one knowing the place, they were in doubt whether
they should go in there or pass by ; but finally, having agreed
to enter, they approached the shore without getting into the
current, and went in the port, where no sooner had they come,
than they saw Indians of both sexes in the apparel of Spain.
Asking in what country they were, they received the answer
in their own language, that it was the Rio de Panico,^ and
that the town of the Christians was fifteen leagues inland.
The pleasure that all received at this news cannot be suflficiently
expressed : they felt as though a life had been newly given them.
Many, leaping on shore, kissed the ground ; and all, on bended
knees, with hands raised above them, and their eyes to heaven,
remained untiring in giving thanks to God.
Those who were coming astern, when they saw that Calderon
with his brigantine had anchored in the river, directly steered
to enter the port. The other two, which had gone by, tried
to nm to sea, that they might put about and join the rest,
but could not, the wind being adverse and the sea fretful ; so,
fearing that they might be lost, they came nigh the land and
' Or Panuco. A Mexican river which flows into the Gulf about a hini-
dred and fifty miles north of Vera Cruz.
266 SPANISH EXPLOEEES [1543
cast anchor. A storm came up, and finding that they could
not sustain themselves there, much less at sea, they determined
to run on shore; and as the brigantines were small, drawing
but little water, and the beach sandy, the force of the wind on
the sails carried them up dry, without injury to any one.
If those who gained the haven at that time were made
happy, these were oppressed by a double weight of gloom, not
knowing what had happened to their companions, nor in what
country they were, fearing hkewise that it might be one of a
hostile people. They had come upon the coast two leagues
below the port. So soon as they found themselves clear of the
sea, each took on the back what he could carry of his things,
and, travelling inland, they found Indians, who told whence
they were, and changed what was sorrow into joy. The Chris-
tians rendered many thanks to God for having rescued them
from those numberless perils.
Chapter 42
How the Christians came to Panico, and of their reception by the
inhabitants.
From the time the Christians left the River Grande, to
come by sea from Florida to the River of Panico, were fifty-two
days. On the tenth day of September, of the year 1543, they
entered the Panico, going up with the brigantines. In the
many windings taken by the stream, the light wind was often
unfavorable, and the vessels in many places made slow head-
way, having to be towed with much labor against a strong
current; so that, after having sailed four days, the people,
discovering themselves greatly retarded in the desire to get
among Christians, and of taking part in the divine offices,
which for a long season had not been listened to by them, they
gave up the brigantines to the sailors, and went on by land
to Panico.
Just as th(i Christians arrived at the town, in their clothing
of d(;(!r-skin, dress(ul and dyed black, consisting of frock, hose,
and shoes, they all went directly to the church, to pray and
1543] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 267
return thanks for their miraculous preservation. The towns-
people, having already been informed of their coming by the
Indians, and now knowing of the arrival, invited some to their
houses, and entertained them for acquaintance sake, or for
having heard of them, or because they came from the same
parts of country with themselves. The alcalde-mayor took the
Governor home with him : the rest, as they came up, he directed
to be lodged by sixes and tens, according to the means of in-
dividuals, who provided their guests with abundance of fowls
and maizen-bread, and with the fruits of the country, which are
like those of Cuba, already described.
The town of Panico might contain some seventy house-
keepers. The dwellings were chiefly of stone and mortar;
some were of poles, and all of them thatched with grass. The
country is poor. No gold or silver is to be found. Residents
have the fullest supply both of food and servants. The most
wealthy have not an income above five hundred cruzados an-
nually, which is tribute paid by their Indian vassals, in cotton
clothing, fowls, and maize.
Of the persons who got back from Florida, there landed at
that port three hundred and eleven Christians. The alcalde-
mayor directly sent a townsman by post to inform the Viceroy,
who resided in Mexico, of the arrival of three hundred of the
men who had gone with Don Hernando de Soto in the discov-
ery and conquest of Florida ; and, for their being in the service
of the King, that he would make provision for their support.
Don Antonio de Mendoza ^ was greatly amazed at this news, as
were all others of that city ; for the people having entered far
into Florida, they had been considered lost, nothing being
heard from them in a long while; and it appeared to
him to be a thing impossible, that without a fortress to
which they might betake themselves, or support of any
sort, they should have sustained themselves for such a
length of time among the heathen. He immediately gave an
order, directing that subsistence should be given them where-
* The viceroy.
268 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1543
soever it might be needed, and the Indians found requisite
for carrying their burdens; and, should there be refusal, to
take by force, without incurring any penalty, whatsoever should
be necessary. The mandate was so well obeyed, that on the
road, before the people had arrived at the towns, the inhabitants
went out to receive them, bringing fowls and provisions.
Chapter 43
The favor the people found in the Viceroy and residents of Mexico.
From Panico to the great city of Mestitam (Mexico),
there are sixty leagues, and as many leagues from each to
the port of Vera Cruz, which is where the embarkations take
place for Spain, and where those who go hence to New Spain
arrive. These three towns, equidistant, are inhabited by
Spaniards, and form a triangle: Vera Cruz on the south,
Panico on the east, and Mexico, which is inland, on the
west. The country is so populous, that the Indian towns
farthest apart are not more than half a league to a league
from each other.
Some of the people who came from Florida remained in
Panico, reposing a month, others fifteen days, or such time as
each pleased ; for no one turned a grudging face to his guest,
but, on the contrary, gave him of every thing he had, and
appeared sad at his leave-taking; which may well enough be
believed, for the provision the natives brought in payment of
their tribute more than sufficed for consumption, so that there
was no one in that town to buy or to sell, and few Spaniards
being there, the inhabitants were glad of company. All the
clothing in the custody of the alcalde-mayor, paid to him there
as the Emperor's tax, he divided among those that would go to
receive any.
He who had a coat of mail was happy, since for it a horse
might be had in exchange. Some got mounted, and those not
al)l(! to get b(;asts, who were the greater numlier, took up the
journey on foot. They were well received by the Indians, and
better served than they could have been at their own homes.
1543] EXPEDITION OF HEKKANDO DO SOTO 269
particularly in respect of everything to eat; for if an Indian
was asked L a fowl, he would bring four; and if for any sort
Tfr^t though it might be a league off, sorne one would run to
fetch t; and were a Christian ill, the people would carry him,
fa L from their own to the next town. Wheresoever
hey came, the cacique of the place, through an Indian who
beai a "od of justice in his hand they call tapile (which is
SrvaU to Lying meirinho), ordered provisions to be
brought, and men for the loads of such things as there were,
and the others necessary to carry the invalids.
The Viceroy sent a Portuguese to them, twenty leagues
from Mexico, with quantity of confections, raisins, pome-
Tanates anc^ other matters proper for the sick, should they
feed themTand, in advance, ordered that all shou d be dothed
at the roval charge. The news of their approach being known
to IheS ns they went out on the highway to receive them,
and ^th grea courtesy entreated for their compamonship as
favor each one taking to his house as many as he dared, giving
them'for raiment all the best he could, the least well dressed
wearing clothes worth thirty cruzados and upward. Cloth-
Tng Taf given to those who chose to go for it to the res^ence
oUhe Viceroy and the persons of condition ate at his board .
a Ws house wis a table for all those of less rank that wouki eat
there Directly he informed himself of the quality of each one
that he might show him the consideration that was his due.
Some of *: conquistadores placed them all down to tab le to_
Aether fidalgos and boors, oftentimes seating the servar^^ and
his master shoulder to shoulder; which was done mostly by
a tis"nf and men of mean condition, those better bred asking
;ho each one was, and making a difference in pmons^
Nevertheless, all did the best they could with good ^mU,
tellinrthose they had under their roofs that they could bring
n imVov^shment, nor should they hesitate to -ceiv-e what-
soever they offered; since they had found themselves m like
condition when others had assisted them, ^^fJ^lJtllZ.
tunes of the country. God reward them : and ho^e ^hom
He saw fit should escape, coming out of Florida to tread the
270 SPANISH EXPLOREES [1545
soil of Christians, be He pleased that they live to serve Him ;
and to the dead, and to all those who believe in Him, and confess
that in Him is their faith, grant, through His compassion, the
glory of paradise. Amen.
Chapter 44
Which sets forth some of the diversities and peculiarities of
Florida; and the fruit, birds, and beasts of the country.
From the port of Espiritu Santo, where the Christians went
on shore, to the province of Ocute, which may be a distance
of four hundred leagues, a little more or less, the country
is very level, having many ponds, dense thickets, and, in
places, tall pine-trees : the soil is light, and there is not in it a
mountain nor a hill.
The land of Ocute is more strong and fertile than the rest,
the forest more open; and it has very good fields along the
margins of the rivers. From there to Cutifachiqui are about
one hundred and thirty leagues, of which eighty leagues are
of desert and pine forests, through which run great rivers.
From Cutifachiqui to Xuala there may be two hundred and
fifty leagues, and all a country of mountains : the places them-
selves are on high level ground, and have good fields upon the
streams.
Thence onward, through Chiaha, Coga, and Talise, the
country of which is flat, dry, and strong, yielding abundance of
maize, to Tascalu^a, may be two hundred and fifty leagues;
and thence to Rio Grande, a distance of about three hundred
leagues, the land is low, abounding in lakes. The country
afterward is higher, more open, and more populous than any
other in Florida; and along the River Grande, from Aquixo
to Pacaha and Coligoa, a distance of one hundred and fifty
leagues, the land is level, the forest open, and in places the fields
very fertile and inviting.
From Coligoa to Autiamque may be two hundred and fifty
leagues of mountainous country; thence to Guacay may be
two hundred and thirty leagues of level ground ; and the region
1543] EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO 271
to Daycao, a distance of one hundred and twenty leagues, is
continuously of mountainous lands.
From the port of Espiritu Santo to Apalache they marched
west and northeast; from Cutifachiqui to Xuala, north; to
Coga, westwardly; and thence to Tascaluga and the River
Grande, as far as the provinces of Quizquiz and Aquixo, to
the westward; from thence to Pacaha northwardly, to Tula
westwardly, to Autiamque southwardly, as far as the province
of Guachoya and Daycao.
The bread that is eaten all through Florida is made of maize,
which is like coarse millet ; and in all the islands and Indias
belonging to Castile, beginning with: the Antillas, grows this
grain. There are in the country many walnuts likewise, and
plums (persimmons), mulberries, and grapes. The maize is
planted and picked in, each person having his own field ; fruit
is common for all, because it grows abundantly in the woods,
without any necessity of setting out trees or pruning them.
Where there are mountains the chestnut is found, the fruit
of which is somewhat smaller than the one of Spain. West-
ward of the Rio Grande the walnut differs from that which is
found before coming there, being of tenderer shell, and in form
like an acorn; while that behind, from the river back to the
port of Espiritu Santo, is generally rather hard, the tree and the
nut being in their appearance like those of Spain. There is
everywhere in the country a fruit, the produce of a plant like
ligoacam, that is propagated by the Indians, having the appear-
ance of the royal pear, with an agreeable smell and taste ; and
likewise another plant, to be seen in the fields, bearing a fruit
like strawberry, near to the ground, and is very agreeable. The
plums (persimmons) are of two sorts, vermilion and gray, of
the form and size of walnuts, having three or four stones in
them. They are better than any plums that are raised in
Spain, and make much better prunes. The grapes appear only
to need dressing ; for, although large, they have great stones ;
the other fruits are all in great perfection, and are less un-
healthy than those of Sj^ain.
There are many lions and bears in Florida, wolves, deer,
272 SPANISH EXPLOEEES [1543
jackals, cats, and rabbits; numerous wild fowl, as large as
pea-fowl; small partridges, like those of Africa, and cranes,
ducks, pigeons, thrushes, and sparrows. There are blackbirds
larger than sparrows and smaller than stares; hawks, gos-
hawks, falcons, and all the birds of rapine to be found in Spain.
The Indians are well proportioned: those of the level
country are taller and better shaped of form than those of the
mountains; those of the interior enjoy a greater abundance of
maize and clothing than those of the coast, where the land is
poor and thin, and the people along it more warlike.
The direction from the port of Espiritu Santo to Apalache,
and thence to Rio de las Palmas, is from east to west ; from
that river towards New Spain, it is southwardly ; the sea-coast
being gentle, having many shoals and high sand-hills.
Deo Gratias.
This Relation of the Discovery of Florida was printed in the
house of Andree de Burgos, Printer and Cavalleiro of the house of
the Senhor Cardinal Iffante.^
It was finished the tenth day of February, of the year one
thousand five hundred and fifty-seven, in the noble and ever loyal
city of Evora.
' Henry, cardinal archbishop of Evora, uncle of King John HI., great
uncle of King Sebastian, and himself King of Portugal from 1578 to 1580.
THE NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION
OF CORONADO, BY PEDRO DE CAS-
TANEDA
INTRODUCTION
From the time of the appearance in Mexico, in 1536, of
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca of the ill-fated Narvaez expedition
of nine years before, with definite news of the hitherto unknown
north, there had been a strong desire to explore that region,
but nothing of importance was accomplished until 1539.
In that year Fray Marcos of Nice, the Father Provincial of the
Franciscan order in New Spain, with Estevan, the negro com-
panion of Cabeza de Vaca, as a guide, penetrated the country to
the northwest as far as the Seven Cities of Cibola, the villages
of the ancestors of the present Zufii Indians in western New
Mexico. Estevan, preceding Fray Marcos by a few days and
accompanied by natives whom he gathered en route, reached
Hawikuh, the southernmost of the seven towns, where he and
all but three of his Indian followers were killed. The sur-
vivors of this massacre fled back to Fray Marcos, whose hfe
was now threatened by those who had lost their kindred at the
hands of the Zuiiis ; but the friar, fearful that the world would
lose the knowledge of his discoveries, appeased the wrath of his
Indians by dividing among them the goods he had brought
and induced them to continue until he reached a mesa from
which was gained a view of the village in which Estevan had
met his fate. Here Fray Marcos erected a cross, took posses-
sion of the region in the name of Spain, and hastened back to
Mexico "with more fear than victuals."
The glowing accounts which the friar gave of what he had
seen, and particularly of what he believed the Indians intended
to communicate to him, resulted in another expedition in the
following year (1540). This was planned by the Viceroy Don
Antonio de Mendoza, and the command was given to Francisco
Vazquez de Coronado.
276
276 SPANISH EXPLORERS
The elaborate expedition of Coronado is the subject of the
narrative of a private soldier in his army, Pedro de Castaneda,
a native of Najera, in the province of Logrofio, in the upper
valley of the Ebro, in Old Castile. Of the narrator httle is
known beyond the fact that he was one of the colonists who
settled at San Miguel Cuhacan, founded by Nuiio de Guzman
in 1531, where he doubtless hved when Coronado's force reached
that point in its northward journey, and where, more than
twenty years later, he wrote his account of the expedition and
its achievements. The dates of Castaiieda's birth and death
are not known, but he was born probably between 1510 and
1518. In 1554, according to a document published in the
Coleccion de Documentos Ineditos del Archivo de Indias (XIV.
206), his wife, Maria de Acosta, with her four sons and four
daughters, filed a claim against the treasury of New Spain
for payment for the service the husband and father had ren-
dered in behalf of the King.
As a rhetorician and geographer Castafieda was not a para-
gon, as he himself confesses ; but although his narration leaves
the impression that its author was somewhat at odds with the
world, it bears every evidence of honesty and a sincere desire
to tell all he knew of the most remarkable expedition that ever
traversed American soil — even of exploits in which the writer
did not directly participate. Castaiieda's narration is by far
the most important of the several documents bearing on the
expedition, and in some respects is one of the most noteworthy
contributions to early American history.
The accompanying translation, by Mr. George Parker Win-
ship of the John Carter Brown Library, was first published,
together with other documents pertaining to the expedition, in
the Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology
(Washington, 1896), now out of print. Barring a few cor-
rections, most of which were communicated to the present
writer by Mr. Winship in 1899, the translation is here printed
as it first appeared.
Mr. Winship's translation of Castaneda, together with the
letters and the other narratives pertaining to the expedition,
INTRODUCTION 277
was reprinted, with an introduction, under the title The Journey
of Coronado, 1540-1542, from the City of Mexico to the Grand
Canon of the Colorado and the Buffalo Plains of Texas, Kansas,
and Nebraska, as a volume of the "Trail Makers" series (New
York, 1904).
The original manuscript of Castafieda is not known to
exist, the Winship translation being that of a manuscript copy
made at Seville in 1596. This copy, which is now in the Lenox
branch of the New York Public Library, was first translated
into French by Henri Ternaux-Compans, who found it in the
Uguina collection in Paris and pubhshed it in Volume IX. of
his Voyages (Paris, 1838).
In addition to Castafieda 's narration there are several letters
and reports that shed important light on the route traversed
by the expedition, the aborigines encountered, and other note-
worthy details which the student should consult. These are
as follows:
1. The Relation by Fray Marcos of his entrada during the
preceding year (1539), Coronado following the same route as
far as the first of the Seven Cities of Cibola with Marcos as
both guide and spiritual adviser. A brief bibliography of this
narration is given in a note on p. 290.
2. A letter from the viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza, to
the King, dated Jacona (Mexico), April 17, 1540, in which is
set forth the progress of Coronado 's expedition from Culiacan,
and containing extracts from a report by Melchior Diaz, who
had been sent forward in November, 1539, to explore the route
from Culiacan to Chichilticalli, in the valley of the present
Gila River, Arizona, for the purpose of verifying the reports
of Fray Marcos. This letter appears in the Documentos Ineditos
de Indias, II. 356, and in Enghsh in Winship 's memoir in the
Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, p. 547,
as well as in his Journey of Coronado, p. 149.
3. An important and extended letter from Coronado to
Mendoza, written at Granada (as Coronado called Hawikuh,
the first of the Seven Cities of Cil)ola), August 3, 1540. This
letter appears in Italian in Ramusio's Terzo Volwne delle
278 SPANISH EXPLORERS
Navigationi et Viaggi (ed. 1556), fol. 359, translated by Hak-
luyt, Voyages, IX. 145-169 (ed. 1904); reprinted in Old
South Leaflets, Gen. Ser., No. 20. A translation from
Ramusio into English appears in both of Mr. Winship's works
on the expedition. It should perhaps here be mentioned that
the Hakluyt translations of the Coronado documents, at least,
are so unreUable as to warrant careful use.
4. The Traslado de las Nuevas, an anonymous ^'Copy of the
Reports and Descriptions that have been received regarding
the Discovery of a City which is called Cibola, situated in the
New Country." This important document was written evi-
dently by a member of the expedition while the Spaniards
were at Cibola. It appears in Spanish in the Documentos
Ineditos de Indias, XIX. 529, from which it was translated
into English by Mr. Winship and printed in each of his memoirs.
5. The important letter of Coronado to the King, dated
Tiguex (the present Bernalillo, New Mexico), October 20, 1541,
after the return of the expedition from Quivira. Printed in
the Documentos Ineditos de Indias, III. 363 ; XIII. 261 ; in
French in Ternaux-Compans' Voyages, IX. 355; translated
into English by Mr. Winship and printed in each of his memoirs,
as well as in American History Leaflets, No. 13.
6. The Relacion Postrera de Sibola, y de mas de Cuatro-
dentas Leguas Adelante (the '^Latest Account of Cibola, and
of more than Four Hundred Leagues Beyond"). This im-
portant anonymous account, written apparently in New Mexico
in 1541 by one of the Franciscans who accompanied the expedi-
tion, was published, both in Spanish and in English, for the
first time, in Mr. Winship's Coronado Expedition {Fourteenth
Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, pp. 566-571). In
his Journey of Coronado only the translation appears (pp. 190-
196).
7. The anonymous Relacion del Suceso, an ''Account of
what happened on the Journey which Francisco Vazquez made
to discover Cibola." I'irst printed, in Spanish, in I^uckingham
Smith's Colcccion de Varios Documentos para la IliMoria de la
Florida (1857), I. 147; it appears also, under the erroneous
INTEODUCTION 279
date 1531, in the Documentos Ineditos de Indms, XIV. 318,
whereas the account was written apparently in 1541 or early
in 1542. An EngUsh translation appears in each of Mr.
Winship's works, and also in American History Leaflets,
No. 13.
8. ''Account given by Captain Juan Jaramillo of the
Journey which he made to the New Country, on which Francisco
Vazquez Coronado was the General." Next to Castaneda's
narration this is the most important document pertaining to
the expedition, inasmuch as it contains many references to
directions, distances, streams, etc., that are not noted in the
other accounts. The Jaramillo narration was written long
after the events transpired, and is based on the keen memory
of the writer. It is printed in Spanish in Buckingham Smith's
Coleccion, I. 154, and in the Documentos Ineditos, XIV. 304.
A French translation is given by Temaux-Compans, IX. 364,
and an EngHsh translation in both of Mr. Winship's works.
9. ''Account of what Hernando de Alvarado and Friar
Juan de Padilla discovered going in Search of the South Sea."
A brief account of the journey of Alvarado from Hawikuh
(Coronado's Granada) to the Rio Grande pueblos in 1540.
Printed in Spanish in Buckingham Smith's Coleccion, I. 65,
and in the Documentos Ineditos, III. 511. An English transla-
tion by Mr. Winship is included in each of his works on the
expedition, and was printed also in the Boston Transcript,
October 14, 1893. The title of this document is a misnomer,
as Alvarado did not go in search of the Pacific.
10. "Testimony concerning those who went on the Expedi-
tion with Francisco Vazquez Coronado." This testimony is
printed in the Documentos Ineditos de Indias, XIV. 373, and
an abridgment, freely translated, is included in Mr. Winship's
works.
11. Although the account of the voyage of the fleet under
Hernando de Alarcon does not directly concern us, reference
should perhaps be made to the sources of information regard-
ing it. These are : Ilerrera's Historia General, dec. vi., lib. ix.,
cap. XIII. (1601-1615), and in various subsequent editions;
280 SPANISH EXPLORERS
Ramusio's Navigationi et Viaggi (1556), III., fol. 363-370;
Hakluyt's Voyages, IX. 279-318 (1904); Teraaux-Compans'
Voyages, IX. 299-348; Coleccion de Documentos Ineditos para
la Historia de Espana, IV. 218-219.
The Coronado expedition was of far-reaching importance
from a geographical point of view, for it combined with the
journey of De Soto in giving to the world an insight into the
hitherto unknown vast interior of the northern continent and
formed the basis of the cartography of that region. It was
the means also of making known the sedentary Pueblo tribes
of our Southwest and the hunting tribes of the Great Plains^
the Grand Canon of the Colorado and the lower reaches of that
stream, and the teeming herds of bison and the absolute de-
pendence on them by the hunting Indians for every want. But
alas for the Spaniards, the grand pageant resulted in disap-
pointment for all, and its indefatigable leader ended his days
practically forgotten by his country for which he had accom-
plished so much.
F. W. Hodge.
THE NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION
OF CORONADO BY CASTANEDA
Account of the Expedition to Cibola which took place in the year
1540, in which all those settlements, their ceremonies
and customs, are described. Written by Pedro de
Castaneda, of Naj&ra}
PREFACE
To me it seems very certain, my very noble lord, that it is
a worthy ambition for great men to desire to know and wish
to preserve for posterity correct information concerning the
things that have happened in distant parts, about which httle
is known. I do not blame those inquisitive persons who, per-
chance with good intentions, have many times troubled me
not a little with their requests that I clear up for them some
doubts which they have had about different things that have
been commonly related concerning the events and occurrences
that took place during the expedition to Cibola, or the New
Land, which the good viceroy — may he be with God in His
glory — Don Antonio de Mendoza,^ ordered and arranged, and
on which he sent Francisco Vazquez de Coronado as captain-
general. In truth, they have reason for wishing to know the
truth, because most people very often make things of which
they have heard, and about which they have perchance no
knowledge, appear either greater or less than they are. They
make nothing of those things that amount to something, and
' For information concerning the author of this narrative, see the Intro-
duction.
' Mendoza was first viceroy of New Spain (Mexico), serving from 1535
to 1550, when he was ordered to Peru as its second viceroy. He reached
Lima in September, 1551, and died July 21 of the year following.
281
282 SPANISH EXPLOREKS
those that do not they make so remarkable that they appear
to be something impossible to believe. This may very well
have been caused by the fact that, as that country was not
permanently occupied, there has not been any one who was
willing to spend his time in writing about its peculiarities,
because all knowledge was lost of that which it was not the
pleasure of God — He alone knows the reason — that they
should enjoy. In truth, he who wishes to employ himself
thus in writing out the things that happened on the expedi-
tion, and the things that were seen in those lands, and the cere-
monies and customs of the natives, will have matter enough to
test his judgment, and I believe that the result can not fail
to be an account which, describing only the truth, will be so
remarkable that it will seem incredible.
And besides, I think that the twenty years and more since
that expedition took place ^ have been the cause of some stories
which are related. For example, some make it an uninhabit-
able country, others have it bordering on Florida, and still
others on Greater India, which does not appear to be a slight
difference. They are unable to give any basis upon which to
found their statements. There are those who tell about some
very peculiar animals, who are contradicted by others who
were on the expedition, declaring that there was nothing of the
sort seen. Others differ as to the limits of the provinces and
even in regard to the ceremonies and customs, attributing
what pertains to one people to others. All this has had a
large part, my very noble lord, in making me wish to give now,
although somewhat late, a short general account for all those
who pride themselves on this noble curiosity, and to save my-
self the time taken up by these solicitations. Things enough
will certainly be found here which are hard to believe. All
or the most of these were seen with my own eyes, and the
rest is from reliable information obtained by inquiry of the
natives themselves. Understanding as I do that this little
work would be nothing in itself, lacking authority, unless it
' Castaficda is supposed to have been writing at Culiacan, in western
Mexico, about 15G5.
EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 283
were favored and protected by a person whose authority-
would protect it from the boldness of those who, without rev-
erence, give their murmuring tongues hberty, and knowing as
I do how great are the obhgations under which I have always
been, and am, to your grace, I humbly beg to submit this httle
work to your protection. May it be received as from a faithful
retainer and servant. It will be divided into three parts, that
it may be better understood. The first will tell of the discovery
and the armament or army that was made ready, and of the
whole journey, with the captains who were there ; the second,
of the villages and provinces which were found, and their limits,
and ceremonies and customs, the animals, fruits, and vegeta-
tion, and in what parts of the country these are ; the third, of
the return of the army and the reasons for abandoning the
country, although these were insufficient, because this is the
best place there is for discoveries — the marrow of the land in
these western parts, as will be seen. And after this has been
made plain, some remarkable things which were seen will be
described at the end, and the way by which one might more
easily return to discover that better land which we did not
see, since it would be no small advantage to enter the country
through the land which the Marquis of the Valley, Don Fer-
nando Cortes, went in search of under the Western star, and
which cost him no small sea armament. May it please our
Lord to so favor me that with my slight knowledge and small
abihties I may be able by relating the truth to make my little
work pleasing to the learned and wise readers, when it has been
accepted by your grace. For my intention is not to gain the
fame of a good composer or rhetorician, but I desire to give a
faithful account and to do this slight service to your grace, who
will, I hope, receive it as from a faithful servant and soldier,
who took part in it. Although not in a polished style, I write
that which happened — that which I heard, experienced, saw,
and did.
I always notice, and it is a fact, that for the most part when
we have something valuable in our hands, and deal with it
without hindrance, we do not value or prize it so highly as if
284 SPANISH EXPLORERS
we understood how much we should miss it after we had lost it,
and the longer we continue to have it the less we value it ; but
after we have lost it and miss the advantages of it, we have a
great pain in the heart, and we are all the time imagining and
trydng to find ways and means by which to get it back again.
It seems to me that this has happened to all or most of those
who went on the expedition which, in the year of our Savior
Jesus Christ 1540, Francisco Vazquez Coronado led in search
of the Seven Cities/ Granted that they did not find the riches
of which they had been told, they found a place in which to
search for them and the beginning of a good country to settle in,
so as to go on farther from there. Since they came back from
the country which they conquered and abandoned, time
has given them a chance to understand the direction and lo-
cality in which they were, and the borders of the good country
they had in their hands, and their hearts weep for having lost
so favorable an opportunity. Just as men see more at the
bullfight when they are upon the seats than when they are
around in the ring, now when they know and understand
the direction and situation in which they were, and see, indeed,
that they can not enjoy it nor recover it, now when it is too late
they enjoy telling about what they saw, and even of what they
realize that they lost, especially those who are now as poor as
when they went there. They have never ceased their labors
and have spent their time to no advantage. I say this be-
cause I have known several of those who came back from there
who amuse themselves now by talking of how it would be to
go back and proceed to recover that which is lost, while others
enjoy trying to find the reason why it was discovered at all.
And now I will proceed to relate all that happened from the
beginning.
• The Seven Cities of Cibola. See p. 287, note 1 ; p. 300, note 1.
1530] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 285
FIRST PART
Chapter 1
Which treats of the way we first came to know about the Seven
Cities, and of how Nuno de Guzman made an expe-
dition to discover them.
In the year 1530 Nuno de Guzman, who was President of
New Spain/ had in his possession an Indian, a native of the
valley or valleys of Oxitipar, who was called Tejo by the Span-
iards. This Indian said he was the son of a trader who was
* Nuno Beltrdn de Guzman was appointed governor of Pd.nuco, Mexico,
in 1526, assuming the office in May, 1527. In December he became president
of the Audiencia, the administrative and judicial board which governed the
province, and in the following year participated in the trial of Cortes, his
personal and political enemy, for strangling his wife to death in 1522. Guz-
man's barbarous cruelty, especially to the natives, whom he enslaved and
bartered for his personal gain, resulted in a protest to the crown by Bishop
Zumarraga, and in the hope of finding new fields for the gratification of his
avarice he raised a large force, including 10,000 Aztecs and Tlascaltecs,
and started from Mexico late in 1529 to explore the northwest (later
known as Nueva Galicia), notwithstanding Cortes had already penetrated
the region.
He conquered the territory through which he passed, laying waste the
settlements and fields and inflicting unspeakable punishment on the native
inhabitants. Guzman built a chapel at TonaM, which formed the begin-
ning of the settlement of the present city of Guadalajara, named from his
native town in Spain ; he also founded the towns of Santiago de Compostela
and San Miguel Culiacan, in Tepic and Sinaloa respectively, and started on
his return journey late in 1531. Meanwhile a new Audiencia had arrived in
New Spain, and Guzman was summoned to appear at the capital. This he
refused to do, and when Luis de Castilla was sent by Cortes, the captain-
general of the province, to subdue him, Guzman captured him and his force
of 100 men by a ruse. In May, 1533, the king commanded him to submit
to the provincial authorities ; many of his friends and adherents deserted him,
and he was stripped of his title as governor of Pdnuco. In 1536 (March 17)
the licentiate Diego Perez de la Torre was appointed juez de rcsidencia, an
officer whose duty was to conduct a rigid investigation of the accounts and
administration of governmental officials — this time with special reference
to (iuzman. By Torre's order, Guzman was arrested and confined in jail
until 1538, when his case was appealed to Spain; but from this he received
no comfort. He was banished to Torrejon de Velasco, where he died in 1544,
penniless and despised.
286 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1530
dead, but that when he was a httle boy his father had gone
into the back country with fine feathers to trade for ornaments,
and that when he came back he brought a large amount of
gold and silver, of which there is a good deal in that country.
He went with him once or twice, and saw some very large vil-
lages, which he compared to Mexico and its environs. He had
seen seven very large towns which had streets of silver workers.
It took forty days to go there from his country, through a
wilderness in which nothing grew, except some very small
plants about a span high. The way they went was up through
the country between the two seas, following the northern direc-
tion. Acting on this information, Niiiio de Guzman got to-
gether nearly 400 Spaniards and 20,000 friendly Indians of
New Spain, and, as he happened to be in Mexico, he crossed
Tarasca, which is in the province of Michoacan, so as to get into
the region which the Indian said was to be crossed toward the
North Sea, in this way getting to the country which they were
looking for, which was already named "The Seven Cities."
He thought, from the forty days of which the Tejo had spoken,
that it would be found to be about 200 leagues, and that they
would easily be able to cross the country. Omitting several
things that occurred on this journey, as soon as they had reached
the province of Culiacan, where his government ended, and
where the New Kingdom of Gahcia is now, they tried to cross
the country, but found the difficulties very great, because the
mountain chains which are near that sea are so rough that it
was impossible, after great labor, to find a passageway in that
region. His whole army had to stay in the district of Culiacan
for so long on this account that some rich men who were with
him, who had possessions in Mexico, changed their minds,
and every day became more anxious to return. Besides
this, Nufio do Guzman received word that the Marquis of the
Valley, Don Fernando Cortes, had come from Spain with his
new title,' and with great favors and estates, and as Nuiio de
Guzman had been a great rival of his at the time he was presi-
' Marquc'-s del Valln do, Oaxaoa yCapitan Cioneral de la Nueva Espana y
de la Costa del Sur. He arrived at Vera Cruz in July, 1529.
1536] EXPEDITION OF COEONADO 287
dent and had done much damage to his property and to that
of 1; friends, he feared that Don Fernando Cort^ ^f^/^f^
to pay him back in the same way, or worse So he deeded to
e^tabhsh the town of CuUacan there and to go back w.th the
other men, without doing anythmg more. After his return
torn tte expedition, he founded Xalisco, where the city of
Compostela is situated, and Tonala, which is called Guada-
tora and now this is the New Kingdom of Galic a. The
guide Vey had, who was called Tejo, died about this time and
Csthe name'of these Seven Cities and the search for them
remains until now, since they have not been discovered.
Chapter 2
01 how Francisco Vazquez Coronado came to he governor, and
the second account which Cabeza de Vaca gave.
Eight years after Nuilo de Guzman made this expedition,
he w2 pul in prison by a juez de residencia, named the h n-
tiatTciego de la Torre, who came from Spam with sufficient
nowers to do this. Aftw the death of the judge, who had also
managed the govermnent of that country himself, the good
Son Antonio de Mendoza, viceroy of New Spam, appointed
TJeLv of that province Francisco Vazquez de Coronado
Tgenlleman from Salamanca, who had married a lady in the
ritv of Mexico the daughter of Alonso de Estrada, the treas-
urer and at one time governor of Mexico, and the son most
;:pi: slid, of ^s CathoUc Majesty Don Ferdinand and many
minted it as certain. As I was saying, at the time I'rancisco
Va quez was Appointed governor, he was travelling through
New Spain as an official inspector, and in this way he gained he
Wendship of many worthy men wIk, f^^^^^'^j;^''^^'^
expedition with him. It happened that just at this time three
American Scries, V. (Cambridge, 1800).
288 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1536
Spaniards, named Cabeza de Vaca, Dorantes, and Castillo
Maldonado, and a negro [Estevan], who had been lost on the
expedition which Pamfilo de Narvaez led into Florida, reached
Mexico. They came out through Cuhacan, having crossed the
country from sea to sea, as anyone who wishes may find out
for himself by an account which this same Cabeza de Vaca
wrote and dedicated to Prince Don Philip, who is now King
of Spain and our sovereign/ They gave the good Don An-
tonio de Mendoza an account of some large and powerful vil-
lages, four and five stories high, of which they had heard a
great deal in the countries they had crossed, and other things
very different from what turned out to be the truth. The
noble viceroy communicated this to the new governor, who
gave up the visits he had in hand, on account of this, and
hurried his departure for his government, taking with him the
negro [Estevan] who had come [with Cabeza de Vaca] with the
three friars of the order of Saint Francis, one of whom was
named Friar Marcos of Nice, a regular priest, and another Friar
Daniel, a lay brother, and the other Friar Antonio de Santa
Maria. When he reached the province of Cuhacan he sent the
friars just mentioned and the negro, who was named Estevan,
off in search of that country, because Friar Marcos offered to
go and see it, because he had been in Peru at the time Don
Pedro de Alvarado went there overland. It seems that, after
the friars I have mentioned and the negro had started, the
negro did not get on well with the friars, because he took the
women that were given him and collected turquoises, and got
together a stock of everything. Besides, the Indians in those
places through which they went got along with the negro bet-
ter, because they had seen him before. This was the reason he
was sent on ahead to open up the way and pacify the Indians,
so that when the others came along they had nothing to do ex-
cept to keep an account of the things for which they were
looking.
' See the narrative of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca in the present volume.
1539] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 289
Chapter 3
Of how they killed the negro Estevan at Cibola, and Friar Marcos
returned in flight.
After Estevan had left the friars, he thought he could get
all the reputation and honor himself, and that if he should dis-
cover those settlements with such famous high houses, alone,
he would be considered bold and courageous. So he proceeded
with the people who had followed him, and attempted to cross
the wilderness which lies between the country he had passed
through and Cibola. He was so far ahead of the friars that,
when these reached ChichilticaUi, which is on the edge of the
wilderness, he was already at Cibola, which is eighty leagues
beyond. It is 220 leagues from Cuhacan to the edge of the
wilderness, and eighty across the desert, which makes 300, or
perhaps ten more or less. As I said, Estevan reached Cibola
loaded with the large quantity of turquoises they had given him
and some beautiful women whom the Indians who followed
him and carried his things were taking with them and had
given him. These had followed him from all the settlements he
had passed, beheving that under his protection they could
traverse the whole world without any danger. But as the
people in this country were more intelligent than those who fol-
lowed Estevan, they lodged him in a httle hut they had outside
their village, and the older men and the governors heard his
story and took steps to find out the reason he had come to that
country. For three days they made inquiries about him
and held a council. The account which the negro gave them of
two white men who were following him, sent by a great lord,
who knew about the things in the sky, and how these were com-
ing to instruct them in divine matters, made them think that
he must be a spy or a guide from some nations who wished
to come and conquer them, because it seemed to them unrea-
sonable to say that the people were white in the country from
which he came and that he was sent by them, he being black.
Besides these other reasons, they thought it was hard of him
290 SPAI^ISH EXPLORERS [153»
to ask them for turquoises and women, and so they decided to
kill him. They did this, but they did not kill any of those who
went with him, although they kept some young fellows and let
the others, about sixty persons, return freely to their own coun-
try. As these, who were badly scared, were returning in
flight, they happened to come upon the friars in the desert
sixty leagues from Cibola, and told them the sad news, which
frightened them so much that they would not even trust these
folks who had been with the negro, but opened the packs
they were carrying and gave away everything they had except
the holy vestments for saying mass. They returned from here
by double marches, prepared for anything, without seeing any
more of the country except what the Indians told them.^
Chapter 4
Of how the noble Don Antonio de Mendoza made an expedition
to discover Cibola.
After Francisco Vazquez Coronado had sent Friar Marcos
of Nice and his party on the search already related, he was en-
gaged in Culiacan about some business that related to his gov-
ernment, when he heard an account of a province called Topira,^
which was to the north of the country of Culiacan. He started
to explore this region with several of the conquerors and some
friendly Indians, but he did not get very far, because the moun-
tain chains which they had to cross were very difficult. He
returned without finding the least signs of a good country,
' See the account of this journey by Marcos de Niza in Coleccion de Docu-
vientos Ineditos de Indias, III. 325-351 ; Ramusio, Terzo Volume dcllc Navi-
(jalioni (Vonico, 1550); Hakluyt, Voyages, IX. 125-144 (1904); Ternaux-
Cornpans, Voyages, IX. 240-2S4 (1S3S) ; and an English translation by
Fanny Bandelinr in The Journey oj Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vara (1905). Cf.
also A. F. Bandelior, "The Discovery of New Mexico by Fray Marcos of
Nizza," in Magazine of Weslern History, IV. ()59-070 (Cleveland, 1886).
' Hanrlclicr, Papers of the Archaeological Institute of America, Am. ser., V.
(1890), p. 104, says this was Topia, in Durango, a locality since noted for its
rich mines.
1539] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 291
and when he got back, he found the friars who had just arrived,
and who told such great things about what the negro Estevan
had discovered and what they had heard from the Indians,
and other things they had heard about the South Sea ^ and
islands and other riches, that, without stopping for anything,
the governor set off at once for the City of Mexico, taking Friar
Marcos with him, to tell the viceroy about it. He made the
things seem more important by not talking about them to
anyone except his particular friends, under promise of the
greatest secrecy, until after he had reached Mexico and seen
Don Antonio de Mendoza. Then it began to be noised
abroad that the Seven Cities for which Nuiio de Guzman
had searched had already been discovered, and a beginning was
made in collecting an armed force and in bringing together
people to go and conquer them. The noble viceroy arranged
with the friars of the order of Saint Francis so that Friar Marcos
was made father provincial, as a result of which the pulpits of
that order were filled with such accounts of marvels and won-
ders that more than 300 Spaniards and about 800 natives of
New Spain collected in a few days. There were so many men
of such high quality among the Spaniards, that such a noble
body was never collected in the Indies, nor so many men of
quality in such a small body, there being 300 men. Fran-
cisco Vazquez Coronado, governor of New Gahcia, was captain-
general, because he had been the author of it all. The good
viceroy Don Antonio did this because at this time Francisco
Vazquez was his closest and most intimate friend, and because
he considered him to be wise, skillful, and intelligent, besides
being a gentleman. Had he paid more attention and regard
to the position in which he was placed and the charge over which
he was placed, and less to the estates he left behind in New
Spain, or, at least, more to the honor he had and might secure
from having such gentlemen under his command, things would
not have turned out as they did. Wlicn this narrative is
ended, it will be seen that he did not know how to keep his
position nor the government that he held.
> The Pacific.
292 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
Chapter 5
Concerning the captains who went to Cibola.
When the viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza, saw what a
noble company had come together, and the spirit and good
will with which they had all presented themselves, knowing
the worth of these men, he would have liked very well to make
every one of them captain of an army ; but as the whole num-
ber was small he could not do as he would have liked, and so he
issued the commissions and captaincies as he saw fit, because it
seemed to him that if they were appointed by him, as he was
so well obeyed and beloved, nobody would find fault with his
arrangements. After everybody had heard who the general
was, he made Don Pedro de Tovar ensign-general, a young gen-
tleman who was the son of Don Fernando de Tovar, the guar-
dian and lord high steward of the Queen Dona Juana,^ our
demented mistress — may she be in glory — and Lope de
Samaniego, the governor of the arsenal at Mexico,^ a gentle-
man fully equal to the charge, army-master. The captains
were Don Tristan de Arellano; Don Pedro de Guevara, the
son of Don Juan de Guevara and nephew of the Count of Ofiate ;
Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas; Don Rodrigo Maldonado,
brother-in-law of the Duke of the Infantado; Diego Lopez,
alderman of Seville, and Diego Gutierres, for the cavalry. All
the other gentlemen were placed under the flag of the general,
as being distinguished persons, and some of them became
captains later, and their appointments were confirmed by
order of the viceroy and by the general, Francisco Vazquez.
To name some of them whom I happen to remember, there were
Francisco de Barrionuevo, a gentleman from Granada; Juan
de Saldivar, Francisco de Ovando, Juan Gallego, and Melchior
Diaz — a captain who had been mayor of Cuhacan, who, al-
' Dauphtor of Fordiiuind and Isabella, wife of Philip I., and mother of
Charles V.
' In a letter of the Viceroy Mendoza to the King, April 17, 1540, Saman-
iego is mentioned as the warden of a fortress.
1540] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 293
though he was not a gentleman, merited the position he held.
The other gentlemen who were prominent, were Don Alonso
Manrique de Lara; Don Lope de Urrea, a gentleman from
Aragon ; Gomez Suarez de Figueroa, Luis Ramirez de Vargas,
Juan de Sotomayor, Francisco Gorbalan, the commissioner
Riberos, and other gentlemen, men of high quality, whom I
do not now recall. The infantry captain was Pablo de Mel-
gosa of Burgos, and of the artillery, Hernando de Alvarado of
the mountain district. As I say, since then I have forgotten
the names of many gentlemen. It would be well if I could
name some of them, so that it might be clearly seen what cause
I had for saying that they had on this expedition the most
brilliant company ever collected in the Indies to go in search
of new lands. But they were unfortunate in having a captain
who left in New Spain estates and a pretty wife, a noble and
excellent lady, which were not the least causes for what was
to happen.
Chapter 6
Of how all the companies collected in Compostela and set off on
the journey in good order.
When the viceroy Don Antonio de Mendoza had fixed and
arranged everything as we have related, and the companies
and captaincies had been arranged, he advanced a part of their
salaries from the chest of His Majesty to those in the army who
were in greatest need. And as it seemed to him that it
would be rather hard for the friendly Indians in the country
if the army should start from Mexico, he ordered them
to assemble at the city of Compostela, the chief city in the
New Kingdom of Galicia, 110 leagues from Mexico, so that
they could begin their journey there with everything in good
order. There is nothing to tell about what happened on this
trip, since they all finally assembled at Compostela by Shrove-
tide, in the year (fifteen hundred and) forty-one.^ After the
' The correct date is 1540. Castaneda carries the error throughout his
narration, although he gives the year correctly in the preface.
294 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
whole force had left Mexico, he ordered Don Pedro de Alar-
con^ to set sail vnth two ships that were in the port of La
Natividad on the South Sea coast, and go to the port of Xal-
isco ^ to take the baggage which the soldiers were unable to
carry, and thence to sail along the coast near the army, be-
cause he had understood from the reports that they would
have to go through the country near the seacoast, and that
we could find the harbors by means of the rivers, and that the
ships could always get news of the army, which turned out
afterward to be false, and so all this stuff was lost, or, rather,
those who owned it lost it, as will be told farther on.^ After
the viceroy had completed all his arrangements, he set off
for Compostela, accompanied by many noble and rich men.
He kept the New Year of (fifteen hundred and) forty-one at
Pasquaro, which is the chief place in the bishopric of Michoa-
can, and from there he crossed the whole of New Spain, tak-
ing much pleasure in enjoying the festivals and great recep-
tions which were given him, till he reached Compostela, which
is, as I have said, 110 leagues. There he found the whole com-
pany assembled, being well treated and entertained by Christo-
bal de Onate, who had the whole charge of that government *
for the time being. He had had the management of it and was
in command of all that region when Francisco Vazquez was
made governor. All were very glad when he arrived, and he
made an examination of the company and found all those
whom we have mentioned. He assigned the captains to their
companies, and after this was done, on the next day, after
they had all heard mass, captains and soldiers together, the
viceroy made them a very eloquent short speech, telling them
of the fidelity they owed to their general and showing them
' An error for Hernando de Aliircon.
' That is, from a point on the Pacific coast in latitude 19° to another in
latitude 21° 30'.
' See Alurcon'.s narrative translated by Hakluyt in his Voyages, IX.
279-318 (ed. 1904), and also Buckingham i^m'\th, Coleccion de Varios Docu-
menloH para la Historia de la Florida (ISf)?), p. 1.
* The province of Nuova (lalicia, explored under Guzman's directioa.
See p. 285, note 1.
1540] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 295
clearly the benefits which this expedition might afford, from
the conversion of those peoples as well as in the profit of those
who should conquer the territory, and the advantage to His
Majesty and the claim which they would thus have on his
favor and aid at all times. After he had finished, they all,
both captains and soldiers, gave him their oaths upon the Gos-
pels in a missal that they would follow their general on this
expedition and would obey him in everything he commanded
them, which they faithfully performed, as will be seen. The
next day after this was done, the army started off with its
colors flying. The viceroy, Don Antonio, went with them for
two days, and there he took leave of them, returning to New
Spain with his friends.
Chapter 7
Of how the army reached Chiametla, and the killing of the army-
master, and the other things that happened up to the
arrival at Culiacan.
After the viceroy Don Antonio left them, the army con-
tinued its march. As each one was obliged to transport his
own baggage and all did not know how to fasten the packs, and
as the horses started off fat and plump, they had a good deal of
difficulty and labor during the first few days, and many left
many valuable things, giving them to anyone who wanted them,
in order to get rid of carrying them. In the end necessity,
which is all powerful, made them skillful, so that one could see
many gentlemen become carriers, and anybody who despised
this work was not considered a man. With such labors, which
they then thought severe, the army reached Chiametla, where
it was obliged to delay several days to procure food. During
this time the army-master, Lope de Samaniego, went off with
some soldiers to find food, and at one village, a crossbowman
having entered it indiscreetly in pursuit of the enemies, they
shot him through the eye and it passed through his brain, so
that he died on the spot. They also shot five or six of his com-
panions before Diego Lopez, the alderman from Seville, since
296 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
the commander was dead, collected the men and sent word to
the general. He put a guard in the village and over the pro-
visions. There was great confusion in the army when this
news became known. He was buried here. Several sorties
were made, by which food was obtained and several of the
natives taken prisoners. They hanged those who seemed to
belong to the district where the army-master was killed.
It seems that when the general Francisco Vazquez left
Culiacan with Friar Marcos to tell the viceroy Don Antonio
de Mendoza the news, as already related, he left orders for
Captain Melchior Diaz and Juan de Saldivar to start off with a
dozen good men from Culiacan and verify what Friar Marcos
had seen and heard. They started and went as far as Chichil-
ticalU,^ which is where the wilderness begins, 220 leagues from
Culiacan, and there they turned back, not finding anything
important. They reached Chiametla just as the army was
ready to leave, and reported to the general. Although it was
kept secret, the bad news leaked out, and there were some re-
ports which, although they were exaggerated, did not fail to
give an indication of what the facts were. Friar Marcos, no-
ticing that some were feeling disturbed, cleared away these
clouds, promising that what they would see should be good,
and that he would place the army in a country where their
hands would be filled, and in this way he quieted them so that
they appeared well satisfied. From there the army marched
to Culiacan, making some detours into the country to seize
provisions. They were two leagues from the town of Culiacan
at Easter vespers, when the inhabitants came out to welcome
their governor and begged him not to enter the town till the
day after Easter.^
' For this locality see p. 299, note 1.
* Culiu(;un, or San Miguel Culiacan, as it was named by Guzman, is in
central Sinaloa. Castancda was a resident of this town and evidently
joined the expedition there.
1540] EXPEDITION OF COEONADO 297
Chapter 8
Of how the army entered the town of Culiacan and the recep-
tion it received, and other things which happened before
the departure.
When the day after Easter came, the army started in the
morning to go to the town and, as they approached, the in-
habitants of the town came out on to an open plain with foot
and horse drawn up in ranks as if for a battle, and having its
seven bronze pieces of artillery in position, making a show of
defending their town. Some of our soldiers were with them.
Our army drew up in the same way and began a skirmish with
them, and after the artillery on both sides had been fired they
were driven back, just as if the town had been taken by force
of arms, which was a pleasant demonstration of welcome, ex-
cept for the artilleryman who lost a hand by a shot, from
having ordered them to fire before he had finished drawing out
the ramrod. After the town was taken, the army was well
lodged and entertained by the townspeople, who, as they were
all very well-to-do people, took all the gentlemen and people of
quality who were with the army into their own apartments,
although they had lodgings prepared for them all just outside
the town. Some of the townspeople were not ill repaid for
this hospitality, because all had started with fine clothes and
accoutrements, and as they had to carry provisions on their
animals after this, they were obliged to leave their fine stuff,
so that many preferred giving it to their hosts instead of risk-
ing it on the sea by putting it in the ship that had followed the
army along the coast to take the extra baggage, as I have said.
After they arrived and were being entertained in the town, the
general, by order of the viceroy Don Antonio, left Fernanda-
rias de Saabedra, uncle of Ilcrnandarias de Saabedra, count of
Castellar, formerly mayor of Seville, as his lieutenant and cap-
tain in this town. The army rested here several days, because
the inhabitants had gathered a good stock of provisions that
year and each one shared his stock very gladly with his guests
298 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
from our army. They not only had plenty to eat here, but
they also had plenty to take away with them, so that when the
departure came they started off with more than six hundred
loaded animals, besides the friendly Indians and the servants
— more than a thousand persons. After a fortnight had
passed, the general started ahead with about fifty horsemen
and a few foot soldiers and most of the Indian allies, leaving the
army, which was to follow him a fortnight later, with Don
Tristan de Arellano in command as his lieutenant.
At this time, before his departure, a pretty sort of thing hap-
pened to the general, which I will tell for what it is worth. A
young soldier named Trugillo (Truxillo) pretended that he had
seen a vision while he was bathing in the river. Feigning that
he did not want to, he was brought before the general, whom
he gave to understand that the devil had told him that if he
would kill the general, he could marry his wife, Doiia Beatris,
and would receive great wealth and other very fine things. Friar
Marcos of Nice preached several sermons on this, laying it all to
the fact that the devil was jealous of the good which must result
from this journey and so wished to break it up in this way. It
did not end here, but the friars who were in the expedition
wrote to their monasteries about it, and this was the reason the
pulpits of Mexico proclaimed strange rumors about this affair.
The general ordered Truxillo to stay in that town and not to
go on the expedition, which was what he was after when he made
up that falsehood, judging from what afterward appeared to
be the truth. The general started off with the force already
described to continue his journey, and the army followed him,
as will be related.
Chapter 9
Of how the army started from Culiacan and the arrival of the
general at Cibola, and of the army at Senora and of
other things that happened.
The gcn(!nil, as has boon said, started to continue his jour-
ney from the valley of Culiacan somewhat lightly equipped,
1540] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 299
taking with him the friars, since none of them wished to stay
behind with the army. After they had gone three days, a
regular friar who could say mass, named Friar Antonio Vic-
toria, broke his leg, and they brought him back from the camp
to have it treated. He stayed with the army after this,
which was no slight consolation for all. The general and his
force crossed the country without trouble, as they found every-
thing peaceful, because the Indians knew Friar Marcos and some
of the others who had been with Melchior Diaz when he went
with Juan de Saldibar to investigate. After the general had
crossed the inhabited region and came to Chichilticalh, where
the wilderness begins, and saw nothing favorable, he could not
help feehng somewhat downhearted, for, although the reports
were very fine about what was ahead, there was nobody who
had seen it except the Indians who went with the negro, and
these had already been caught in some lies. Besides all this,
he was much affected by seeing that the fame of ChichilticalU
was summed up in one tumbledown house without any roof,
although it appeared to have been a strong place at some for-
mer time when it was inhabited, and it was very plain that it
had been built by a civilized and warlike race of strangers who
had come from a distance. This building was made of red
earth/ From here they went on through the wilderness, and
in fifteen days came to a river about eight leagues from Cibola
which they called Red River, ^ because its waters were muddy
and reddish. In this river they found mullets hke those of
Spain. The first Indians from that country were seen here —
two of them, who ran away to give the news. During the
night following the next day, about two leagues from the vil-
lage, some Indians in a safe place yelled so that, although the
men were ready for anything, some were so excited that they
* Chichilticalli, or the "Red House," was so named by the Aztec In-
dians on account of its color. It was doubtless situated on or near the Rio
Gila, east of the mouth of the San Pedro, probably not far from the present
Solomonsville in southern Arizona.
* The Zuni River, within the present Arizona. Its waters are very muddy
in springtime, which is the only time of the year that it flows into the Little
Colorado.
300 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1540
put their saddles on hind-side before ; but these were the new
fellows. AVhen the veterans had mounted and ridden round
the camp, the Indians fled. None of them could be caught
because they knew the country.
• The next day they entered the settled country in good
order, and when they saw the first village, which was Cibola,
such were the curses that some hurled at Friar Marcos that I
pray God may protect him from them.
It is a Httle, crowded village,^ looking as if it had been
crumpled all up together. There are haciendas in New Spain
which make a better appearance at a distance. It is a village
of about two hundred warriors, is three and four stories high,
with the houses small and having only a few rooms, and with-
out a courtyard. One yard serves for each section.^ The
people of the whole district had collected here, for there are
seven villages in the province, and some of the others are even
larger and stronger than Cibola. These folks waited for the
army, drawn up by divisions in front of the village. When they
refused to have peace on the terms the interpreters extended
to them, but appeared defiant, the Santiago ^ was given,
and they were at once put to flight. The Spaniards then at-
tacked the village, which was taken with not a httle difficulty,
since they held the narrow and crooked entrance. During the
' This was the Zuni Indian pueblo of Hawikuh, one of their seven villages,
from which Coronado wrote to the Viceroy Mendoza, dating his letter " from
the province of Cevola, and this city of Granada, the 3d of August, 1540."
(See Winship's translation in Fourteenth Report of the Bureau of Ethnology,
pp. 552-563.) Hawikuh, or " Granada," was situated about fifteen miles
southwest of the present Zuni, near the Zuiii River, in New Mexico, and
its ruins are still to be seen. This was the pueblo in which Est^van doubt-
less lost his life the year before, and which was viewed from an adjacent
height by Fray Marcos. Hawikuh was the seat of a mission established by
the Franciscans in 1629; it was abandoned in 1670 after having been raided
by the Apaches and its priest killed. The name "Cibola," now and later
applied to Hawikuh, is believed to be a Spanish form of Shiwinn, the Zuni
name for their tribal range. Ciholo later became the term by which the
Spaniards of Mexico designated the bison.
' The houses were built in terrace fashion, one above the other, the roof
of one tier forming a sort of front yard for the tier of houses next above it.
' The war cry or " loud invocation addressed to Saint James before en-
gaging in battle with the Infidels." — Captain John Stevens's Dictionary.
1540] EXPEDITION OF COEONADO 301
attack they knocked the general down with a large stone, and
would have killed him but for Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas
and Hernando de Alvarado, who threw themselves above him
and drew him away, receiving the blows of the stones, which
were not few. But the first fury of the Spaniards could not
be resisted, and in less than an hour they entered the village
and captured it. They discovered food there, which was the
thing they were most in need of. After this the whole prov-
ince was at peace.
The army which had stayed with Don Tristan de Arellano
started to follow their general, all loaded with provisions, with
lances on their shoulders, and all on foot, so as to have the
horses loaded. With no shght labor from day to day, they
reached a province which Cabeza de Vaca had named Hearts
(Corazones), because the people here offered him many hearts
of animals.^ He founded a town here and named it San Hier-
onimo de los Corazones (Saint Jerome of the Hearts). After
it had been started, it was seen that it could not be kept up
here, and so it was afterward transferred to a valley which had
been called Seiiora. The Spaniards call it Senora,^ and so it
will be known by this name.
From here a force went down the river to the seacoast to
find the harbor and to find out about the ships. Don Rodrigo
Maldonado, who was captain of those who went in search of the
ships, did not find them, but he brought back with him an
Indian so large and tall that the best man in the army reached
only to his chest .^ It was said that other Indians were even
taller on that coast. After the rains ceased the army went on
to where the town of Seiiora was afterward located,^ because
* See Cabeza de Vaca's narrative in the present volume. The place was at
or near the present Ures, on the Rio Sonora in Sonora, Mexico.
^ Whence the name of the present state of Sonora.
' Evidently a Seri Indian. The Seri are a wild tribe speaking an inde-
pendent language and occupying the island of Tiburon and the adjacent
Sonora coast of the Gulf of California. They are noted for their stature.
For an account of this people, see McGee in Seventeenth Report of the Bureau
of American Ethnology, pt. 1 (1898).
■* Believed to be in the present Sonora valley, where it opens out into a
broader plain a number of miles above Ures.
302 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
there were provisions in that region, so that they were able
to wait there for orders from the general.
About the middle of the month of October/ Captains Mel-
chior Diaz and Juan Gallego came from Cibola, Juan Gallego ^
on his way to New Spain and Melchior Diaz to stay in the new
town of Hearts, in command of the men who remained there.
He was to go along the coast in search of the ships.
Chapter 10
Of how the army started from the town of Senora, leaving it in-
habited, and how it reached Cibola, and of what hap-
pened to Captain Melchior Diaz on his expedition in
search of the ships and how he discovered the Tison
(Firebrand) River.
After Melchior Diaz and Juan Gallego had arrived in the
town of Seiiora, it was announced that the army was to depart
for Cibola ; that Melchior Diaz was to remain in charge of that
town with eighty men; that Juan Gallego was going to New
Spain with messages for the viceroy, and that Friar Marcos
was going back with him, because he did not think it was safe
for him to stay in Cibola, seeing that his report had turned out
to be entirely false, because the kingdoms that he had told
about had not been found, nor the populous cities, nor the
wealth of gold, nor the precious stones which he had reported,
nor the fine clothes, nor other things that had been proclaimed
from the pulpits. When this had been announced, those who
were to remain were selected and the rest loaded their provi-
sions and set off in good order about the middle of September
on the way to Cibola, following their general.
' This should be September.
' It is not without iritorcHt to record horc the finding, in 1886, in west-
ern Kansas, of a sword-blado, greatly corroded, but still bearing sufficient
trace of the name " Juan Gallego " to enable its determination, as well as
the inscription " No me saqucs sin razun No me embaines .s/n honor." See
W. E, Ritchey in Mail and Breeze, Topcka, Kansas, July 26, 1902.
1540] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 303
Don Tristan de Arellano stayed in this new town with the
wp^kpst men and from this time on there was nothmg but
rSs^d strife, because after the army had gone Captam
Melehior Diaz took twenty-five of the most efficient men
feavlng in his place one Diego de Alcaraz, a man unfi ted to
LvTpeople under his command. He took guides and jeni
toward the north and west in search of the seacoast. After
Z. about 150 leagues, they came to a provmce of exceed-
indy tall and strong men - Uke giants. They are naked and
hve in large straw cabins built underground like smoke-houses,
tithonly the straw root above ground. They enter these at one
Ind and come out at the other. More than a hundred persons,
oM and young, sleep in one cabin, men they carry anything
?hey can take a load of more than three or four hundred weight
on their heads. Once when our men wished to f et* a ^^ f°].*:
fire and six men were unable to carry it, one of these Indians
^reported to have come and raised it in his arms put it on his
h^d alone, and carried it very easily. They eat bread cook d
in the ashes, as big as the large two-pound ^^^'^^^^f^^-
On account of the great cold, they carry a firebrand (to«)
in the hand when they go from one place to another, J'th ^hich
they warm the other hand and the body as we 1, and in tto
way they keep shifting it every now and then. On te ac
count the large river which is in that country was ca led R.o
del Tison (Firebrand River). It is a very great river and is
more than two leagues wide at its mouth; here it is half a
n across. Here the captain heard that there had been
shins at a point three days down toward the sea When he
e ched the place where the ships had been, ^^f^^.Z:
than fifteen leagues up the river rem the mouth o * ha bor,
they found written on a tree: "Alarcon yf f /^ ,^^\P'^.«,^'
there are letters at the foot of this tree. He dug up th^
letters and learned from them how long A" had wa^ed
for news of the army and that he had gone back with the ships
■These were evidently the Coeopa a Yu™.^n tribe whose do.eend^^^^
still inhabit the lower Rio Colorado wh.ch.s the Eio del Tison ol
tive. The Cocopa now number perhaps am.
304 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1540
to New Spain, because he was unable to proceed farther, since
this sea was a bay, which was formed by the Isle of the Mar-
quis, which is called California, and it was explained that Cali-
fornia was not an island, but a point of the mainland forming
the other side of that gulf/
After he had seen this, the captain turned back to go up the
river, without going down to the sea, to find a ford by which
to cross to the other side, so as to follow the other bank. After
they had gone five or six days, it seemed to them as if they could
cross on rafts. For this purpose they called together a large
number of the natives, who were waiting for a favorable oppor-
tunity to make an attack on our men, and when they saw that
the strangers wanted to cross, they helped make the rafts with
all zeal and diligence, so as to catch them in this way on the
water and drown them or else so divide them that they could
not help one another. While the rafts were being made, a sol-
dier who had been out around the camp saw a large number of
armed men go across to a mountain, where they were waiting
till the soldiers should cross the river. He reported this, and
an Indian was quietly shut up, in order to find out the truth,
and when they tortured him he told all the arrangements that
had been made. These were, that when our men were cross-
ing and part of them had got over and part were on the river
and part were waiting to cross, those who were on the rafts
should drown those they were taking across and the rest of
their force should make an attack on both sides of the river.
If they had had as much discretion and courage as they had
strength and power, the attempt would have succeeded.^
When he knew their plan, the captain had the Indian who
had confessed the affair killed secretly, and that night he was
thrown into the river with a weight, so that the Indians would
not suspect that they were found out. The next day they
' It had been supposed that Lower California, the "Isle of the Marquis"
(Cortds), was an island, yet notwithstanding; its determination as a peninsula
it appeared as an island on maps of a much later period.
* The rafts, or balsas, referred to, were made by tying together a large
number of reeds. The vessel was wide at the middle and pointed at the
ends, and was very buoyant.
1540] EXPEDITION OF COEONADO 305
noticed that our men suspected them, and so they made an
attack, shooting showers of arrows, but when the horses began
to catch up with them and the lances wounded them without
mercy and the musketeers hkewise made good shots, they had
to leave the plain and take to the mountain, until not a man of
them was to be seen. The force then came back and crossed all
right, the Indian allies and the Spaniards going across on the
rafts and the horses swimming alongside the rafts, where we
will leave them to continue their journey.
To relate how the army that was on its way to Cibola got
on: Everything went along in good shape, since the general
had left everything peaceful, because he wished the people in
that region to be contented and without fear and willing to do
what they were ordered. In a province called Vacapan there
was a large quantity of prickly pears, of which the natives
make a great deal of preserves.^ They gave this preserve
away freely, and as the men of the army ate much of it, they
all fell sick with a headache and fever, so that the natives might
have done much harm to the force if they had wished. This
lasted regularly twenty-four hours. After this they continued
their march until they reached Chichilticalli. The men in the
advance guard saw a flock of sheep one day after leaving this
place. I myself saw and followed them. They had extremely
large bodies and long wool; their horns were very thick and
large, and when they run they throw back their heads and put
their horns on the ridge of their back. They are used to the
rough country, so that we could not catch them and had to
leave them.^
Three days after we entered the wilderness we found a horn
* Vacapan was apparently an Opata pueblo, or rather two pueblos, on a
branch of the Rio Yaqui, which the Spaniards passed through shortly before
reaching Corazones (Ures) on the Rio Sonora. The preserved cactus fruit
is regarded highly by all the Indians of the general region even to-day, and
in season th(!y subsist largely upon it. The saguara (Cereiis gigantcus), or
great columnar cactus, funiis]i(\s tlie chi(>f supply.
' The well-known Rocky Mountain sheep. As late as twenty years ago
some of the mountain ranges of southeastern Arizona, especially the Cata-
lina Mountains, were noted for this animal.
306 SPANISH EXPLOREKS [1540
on the bank of a river that flows in the bottom of a very steep,
deep gully, which the general had noticed and left there for his
army to see, for it was six feet long and as thick at the base as
a man's thigh. It seemed to be more hke the horn of a goat
than of any other animal. It was something worth seeing.
The army proceeded and was about a day's march from Cibola
when a very cold tornado came up in the afternoon, followed
by a great fall of snow, which was a bad combination for the
carriers. The army went on till it reached some caves in a
rocky ridge, late in the evening. The Indian allies, who were
from New Spain, and for the most part from warm countries,
were in great danger. They felt the coldness of that day so
much that it was hard work the next day taking care of them,
for they suffered much pain and had to be carried on the horses,
the soldiers walking. After this labor the army reached
Cibola, where their general was waiting for them, with their
quarters all ready, and here they were reunited, except some
captains and men who had gone off to discover other prov-
inces.
Chapter 11
Of how Don Pedro de Tovar discovered Tusayan or Tutahaco ^
and Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas saw the Fire-
brand River, and the other things that had happened.
While the things already described were taking place,
Cibola being at peace, the general, Francisco Vazquez, found
out from the people of the province about the provinces that
lay around it, and got them to tell their friends and neighbors
that Christians had come into the country, whose only desire
was to be their friends, and to find out about good lands to live
in, and for tliem to come to sec the strangers and talk with them.
They did this, since they know how to communicate with one
another in these regions, and they informed him about a prov-
ince with seven villages of the same sort as theirs, although
somewhat diflcrent. They had nothing to do with these peo-
' Compare Chapter 13. These two groups of pueblos were not the same.
1540] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 307
pie. This province is called Tusayan. It is twenty-five leagues
from Cibola. The villages are high and the people are warlike.
The general had sent Don Pedro de Tovar to these villages
with seventeen horsemen and three or four foot-soldiers.^
Juan de Padilla, a Franciscan friar, who had been a fighting
man in his youth, went with them. When they reached the
region, they entered the country so quietly that nobody
observed them, because there were no settlements or farms
between one village and another and the people do not leave
the villages except to go to their farms, especially at this time,
when they had heard that Cibola had been captured by very
fierce people, who travelled on animals which ate people. This
information was generally believed by those who had never seen
horses, although it was so strange as to cause much wonder.
Our men arrived after nightfall and were able to conceal them-
selves under the edge of the village, where they heard the
natives talking in their houses. But in the morning they were
discovered and drew up in regular order, while the natives came
out to meet them, with bows, and shields, and wooden clubs,
drawn up in lines without any confusion. The interpreter was
given a chance to speak to them and give them due warning, for
they were very intelligent people, but nevertheless they drew
fines and insisted that our men should not go across these
lines toward their village.^ While they were talking, some men
acted as if they would cross the lines, and one of the natives
lost control of himself and struck a horse a blow on the cheek
of the bridle with his club. Friar Juan, fretted by the time
that was being wasted in talking with them, said to the cap-
* Castanoda speaks as a member of the "army," not of the advance guard.
See the preceding chapter.
' These Hnes were drawn in corn meal and must not be crossed. To this
day similar lines of meal are made across a trail when certain ceremonies
are being performed. The Spaniards were now at the pueblo of Awatobi, the
first village of the Hopi (Mofjui) people of Tusayan, in northeastern Arizona,
reached in coming from the southward. It was destroyed by the other Hopi
villagers in 1700, because the Awatobi people favored the re-establishment
of the Spanish mission that had been destroyed in the great Pueblo revolt
of 1080.
308 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1540
tain: ''To tell the truth, I do not know why we came here."
^Yhen the men heard this, they gave the Santiago so suddenly
that they ran down many Indians and the others fled to the
town in confusion. Some indeed did not have a chance to do
this, so quickly did the people in the village come out with
presents, asking for peace. The captain ordered his force to
collect, and, as the natives did not do any more harm, he and
those who were with him found a place to establish their head-
quarters near the village. They had dismounted here when
the natives came peacefully, saying that they had come to
give in the submission of the whole province and that they
wanted him to be friends with them and to accept the presents
which they gave him. This was some cotton cloth, although
not much, because they do not make it in that district.^
They also gave him some dressed skins and cornmeal, and
pine nuts ^ and corn and birds of the country. Afterward
they presented some turquoises,^ but not many. The people
of the whole district came together that day and submitted
themselves, and they allowed him to enter their villages freely
to visit, buy, sell, and barter with them.
It is governed like Cibola, by an assembly of the oldest
men. They have their governors and generals. This was
where they obtained the information about a large river, and
that several days down the river there were some people
with very large bodies.^
As Don Pedro de Tovar was not commissioned to go farther,
he returned from there and gave this information to the general,
who dispatched Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas with about
' Castaneda, speaking from hearsay with respect to the Tovar expedition,
errs in this statement, us the Ilopi were the principal cotton growers and
weavers of all the Pueblos. Later Spanish accounts all agree on this point.
Indeed, even now the Hopi cotton kilts, sashes, and ceremonial robes are
bartered throughout the Pueblo region.
' Pinon nuts.
' Obtained by trade with the Rio Grande Pueblos, who mined them in the
f>;rillos, southeast of Santa F6, New Mexico. It is from the same deposits
that much of the "matrix tur(|uoise " of our present-day commence is derived.
* See the reference to the Cocopa Indians nu^t by Melchior Diaz, in
Chapter 10.
1540] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 309
twelve companions to go to see this river. He was well re-
ceived when he reached Tusayan and was entertained by the
natives, who gave him guides for his journey. They started
from here loaded with provisions, for they had to go through a
desert country before reaching the inhabited region, which the
Indians said was more than twenty days' journey. After they
had gone twenty days they came to the banks of the river, which
seemed to be more than three or four leagues in an air line across
to the other bank of the stream which flowed between them.*
This country was elevated and full of low twisted pines, very
cold, and lying open toward the north, so that, this being the
warm season, no one could live there on account of the cold.
They spent three days on this bank looking for a passage down
to the river, which looked from above as if the water was six
feet across, although the Indians said it was half a league wide.
It was impossible to descend, for after these three days Captain
Melgosa and one Juan Galeras and another companion, who
were the three lightest and most agile men, made an attempt
to go down at the least difficult place, and went down until
those who were above were unable to keep sight of them.
They returned about four o'clock in the afternoon, not having
succeeded in reaching the bottom on account of the great
difficulties which they found, because what seemed to be easy
from above was not so, but instead very hard and difficult.
They said that they had been down about a third of the way
and that the river seemed very large from the place which they
reached, and that from what they saw they thought the Ind-
ians had given the width correctly. Those who stayed above
had estimated that some huge rocks on the sides of the cliffs
seemed to be about as tall as a man, but those who went down
swore that when they reached these rocks they were bigger
than the great tower of Seville.^ They did not go farther up
the river, because they could not get water. Before this they
' Tho Grand Canon of the Colorado, now visited and described by white
men for the first time.
* The Giralda, or celebrated bell-tower of the Cathedral of Seville, which
is 275 feet high.
310 SPANISH EXPLOKERS [1540
had had to go a league or two inland every day late in the even-
ing in order to find water, and the guides said that if they
should go four days farther it would not be possible to go on,
because there was no water within three or four days, for when
they travel across this region themselves they take with them
women loaded with water in gourds, and bury the gourds of
water along the way, to use when they return, and besides this,
they travel in one day over what it takes us two days to accom-
plish.
This was the Tison (Firebrand) River, much nearer its
source than where Melchior Diaz and his company crossed it.
These were the same kind of Indians, judging from what was
afterward learned. They came back from this point and the
expedition did not have any other result. On the way they
saw some water falling over a rock and learned from the guides
that some bunches of crystals which were hanging there were
salt. They went and gathered a quantity of this and brought
it back to Cibola, dividing it among those who were there.
They gave the general a written account of what they had seen,
because one Pedro de Sotomayor had gone with Don Garcia
Lopez [de Cardenas] as chronicler for the army. The villages
of that province [of Tusayan] remained peaceful, since they
were never visited again, nor was any attempt made to find
other peoples in that direction.
Chapter 12
Of how people came from Cicuye to Cibola to see the Christians^
and how Hernando de Alvarado went to see the cows.
While they were making these discoveries, some Indians
came to Cibola from a village which was seventy leagues east
of this province, called Cicuye. Among them was a captain
who was called Bigotes (Whiskers) by our men, because he wore
a long mustache. He was a tall, well-built young fellow, with
a fine figure. lie told the general that they had come in
response to the notice which had been given, to offer themselves
1540] EXPEDITION OE CORONADO 311
as friends, and that if we wanted to go through their country
they would consider us as their friends. They brought a pres-
ent of tanned hides and shields and head-pieces, which were
very gladly received, and the general gave them some glass
dishes and a number of pearls and httle bells which they prized
highly, because these were things they had never seen. They
described some cows which, from a picture that one of them
had painted on his skin, seemed to be cows, although from the
hides this did not seem possible, because the hair was woolly
and snarled so that we could not tell what sort of skins they
had. The general ordered Hernando de Alvarado to take
twenty companions and go with them, and gave him a com-
mission for eighty days, after which he should return to give
an account of what he had found. ^
Captain Alvarado started on this journey and in five days
reached a village which was on a rock called Acuco ^ having a
population of about two hundred men. These people were
robbers, feared by the whole country round about. The vil-
lage was very strong, because it was up on a rock out of reach,
having steep sides in every direction, and so high that it was a
very good musket that could throw a ball as high. There was
only one entrance by a stairway built by hand, which began at
the top of a slope which is around the foot of the rock.^ There
was a broad stairway for about two hundred steps, then a
stretch of about one hundred narrower steps, and at the top
they had to go up about three times as high as a man by means
of holes in the rock, in which they put the points of their feet,
* The report of Alvarado, translated by George Parker Winship, is pub-
lished in the Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology (Washing-
ton, 1896).
' This is the pueblo of Acoma, about fifty miles east of Zuni. It occupies
the summit of the same rocky mesa, 357 feet high, that it did in Coronado's
time. The name here given is doubtless an attempt to give the Zuni desig-
nation, Hdkukia, from Ako, the name by which it is known to the Acoma
people. The present population is 650. Acoma has the distinction of being
the oldest continuously occupied settlement in the United States.
^ The slope referred to is an immense sand-dune. The horse trail did
not exist in Coronado's time, having been built by Fray Juan Ramirez, who
estabUshcd a mission at Acoma in 1629.
312 SPANISH EXPLORERS [154Q
holding on at the same time by their hands. There was a wall
of large and small stones at the top, which they could roll down
without showing themselves, so that no army could possibly
be strong enough to capture the village. On the top they had
room to sow and store a large amount of corn, and cisterns to
collect snow and water.^ These people came down to the plain
ready to fight, and would not listen to any arguments. They
drew fines on the ground and determined to prevent our men
from crossing these, but when they saw that they would have
to fight they offered to make peace before any harm had been
done. They went through their forms of making peace, which
is to touch the horses and take their sweat and rub themselves
with it, and to make crosses with the fingers of the hands. But
to make the most secure peace they put their hands across each
other, and they keep this peace inviolably. They made a
present of a large number of [turkey-] cocks with very big
wattles, much bread, tanned deerskins, pine [piiion] nuts, flour
[cornmeal], and corn.
From here they went to a province called Triguex,^ three
days distant. The people all came out peacefully, seeing that
Whiskers was with them. These men are feared throughout
all those provinces. Alvarado sent messengers back from here
to advise the general to come and winter in this country.
The general was not a little relieved to hear that the country
was growing better. Five days from here he came to Cicuye,^
a very strong village four stories high. The people came out
from the village with signs of joy to welcome Hernando de
Alvarado and their captain, and brought them into the town
with drums and pipes something like flutes, of which they
have a great many. They made many presents of cloth and
turquoises, of which there arc quantities in that region.^
The Si)aniards enjoyed themselves here for several days
and talked with an Indian slave, a native of the country
' The Aromas still obtain their water supply from this source.
'Tif;ii('x. See p. 317, note.
» Pecos. See p. 329, note 2.
♦ See p. 308, note 3.
1540] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 313
toward Florida, which is the region Don Fernando de
Soto discovered. This fellow said that there were large
settlements in the farther part of that country. Her-
nando de Alvarado took him to guide them to the cows ; but
he told them so many and such great things about the wealth
of gold and silver in his country that they did not care about
looking for cows, but returned after they had seen some few,
to report the rich news to the general. They called the Ind-
ian ''Turk," because he looked like one. Meanwhile the general
had sent Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas to Tiguex with men to
get lodgings ready for the army, which had arrived from Seiiora
about this time, before taking them there for the winter ; and
when Hernando de Alvarado reached Tiguex, on his way back
from Cicuye, he found Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas there,
and so there was no need for him to go farther. As it was
necessary that the natives should give the Spaniards lodging
places, the people in one village had to abandon it and go to
others belonging to their friends, and they took with them noth-
ing but themselves and the clothes they had on. Information
was obtained here about many towns up toward the north, and
I believe that it would have been much better to follow this
direction than that of the Turk, who was the cause of all the
misfortunes which followed.
Chapter 13
Of how the general went toward Tutahaco with a few men and
left the army with Don Tristan, who took it to Tiguex.
Everything already related had happened when Don Tris-
tan de Arellano reached Cibola from Seiiora. Soon after he
arrived, the general, who had received notice of a province con-
taining eight villages, took thirty of the men who were most fully
rested and went to see it, going from there directly to Tiguex
with the skilled guides who conducted him. He left orders for
Don Tristan de Arellano to proceed to Tiguex by the direct
road, after the men had rested twenty days. On this journey,
314 SPANISH EXPLOREES [1540
between one day "when they left the camping place and mid-day
of the third day, when they saw some snow-covered moun-
tains, toward which they went in search of water, neither the
Spaniards nor the horses nor the servants drank anything.
They were able to stand it because of the severe cold, although
with great difficulty. In eight days they reached Tutahaco,*
where they learned that there were other towns down the river.
These people were peaceful. The villages are terraced, hke
those at Tiguex, and of the same style. The general went up
the river from here, visiting the whole province, until he reached
Tiguex, where he found Hernando de Alvarado and the Turk.
He felt no slight joy at such good news, because the Turk said
that in his country there was a river in the level country which
was two leagues wide, in which there were fishes as big as horses,
and large numbers of very big canoes, with more than twenty
rowers on a side, and that they carried sails, and that their
lords sat on the poop under awnings, and on the prow they had
a great golden eagle. He said also that the lord of that country
took his afternoon nap under a great tree on which were hung
a great number of httle gold bells, which put him to sleep as
they swung in the air. He said also that everyone had their
ordinary dishes made of wrought plate, and the jugs and bowls
were of gold. He called gold acochis. For the present he was
believed, on account of the ease with which he told it and be-
cause they showed him metal ornaments and he recognized
them and said they were not gold, and he knew gold and silver
very well and did not care anything about other metals.^
* This name has always been a problem to students of the expedition, and
various attempts have been made to determine its application. Jaramillo,
one of Coronado's captains, applies the name to Acoma, and indeed its final
syllables are the same as the native name of Acoma. In the heading to
Chapter 11 Castaneda erroneously makes Tutahaco synonymous with
Tusayan. The description indicates that the Tigua village of Lsleta and
others in its vicinity on the Rio (Grande in the sixteenth century were intended.
'This lOldorado is seemingly a coml)inati()n of falsehood and n\isinterpre-
tation. The Turk's only means of communication were signs; and we shall
see later on that he deliberately deceived the Spaniards for the purpose of
leading them astray. The name acochis here given is an aid in the identifica-
tion of tlie mysterious province of Quivira. See p. 337, note 1.
1540]
EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 315
The general sent Hernando de Alvarado back to Cicuye
to demand some gold bracelets which this Turk said they had
taken from him at the time they captured him. Alvarado
went, and was received as a friend at the village, and when he
demanded the bracelets they said they knew nothing at all
about them, saying the Turk was deceiving him and was lying.
Captain Alvarado, seeing that there were no other means, got
the captain Whiskers and the governor to come to his tent,
and when they had come he put them in chains. The villagers
prepared to fight, and let fly their arrows, denouncing Hernando
de Alvarado, and saying that he was a man who had no respect
for peace and friendship. Hernando de Alvarado started back
to Tiguex, where the general kept them prisoners more than
six months. This began the want of confidence in the word of
the Spaniards whenever there was talk of peace from this time
on, as will be seen by what happened afterward.
Chapter 14
Of how the army went from Cibola to Tiguex and what happened
to them on the way, on account of the snow.
We have already said that when the general started from
Cibola, he left orders for Don Tristan de Arellano to start
twenty days later. He did so as soon as he saw that the men
were well rested and provided with food and eager to start off
to find their general. He set off with his force toward Tiguex,
and the first day they made their camp in the best, largest, and
finest village of that (Cibola) province.' This is the only village
that has houses with seven stories. In this village certam
houses are used as fortresses; they are higher than the others
and set up above them like towers, and there are embrasures
and loopholes in them for defending the roofs of the different
> This was Matsaki, at the northwestern base of Thunder Mountain, about
three miles east of the present Zuniand eighteen miles northeast of Hawikuh
where the advance force had encamped. The ruins may stUl be seen, but
no standing walls are visible.
316 SPANISH EXPLOREES [154a
stories, because, like the other villages, they do not have streets,
and the flat roofs are all of a height and are used in common.
The roofs have to be reached first, and these upper houses are
the means of defending them. It began to snow on us there,
and the force took refuge under the wings of the village, which
extend out like balconies, with wooden pillars beneath, because
they generally use ladders to go up to those balconies, since
they do not have any doors below/
The army continued its march from here after it stopped
snowing, and as the season had already advanced into Decem-
ber, during the ten days that the army was delayed, it did not
fail to snow during the evenings and nearly every night, so
that they had to clear away a large amount of snow when they
came to where they wanted to make a camp. The road could
not be seen, but the guides managed to find it, as they knew the
country. There are junipers and pines all over the countiy,
which they used in making large brushwood fires, the smoke
and heat of which melted the snow from two to four yards all
around the fire. It was a dry snow, so that although it fell
on the baggage, and covered it for half a man's height, it did
not hurt it. It fell all night long, covering the baggage and the
soldiers and their beds, piling up in the air, so that if anyone
had suddenly come upon the army nothing would have been
seen but mountains of snow. The horses stood half buried in it.
It kept those who were underneath warm instead of cold.
The army passed by the great rock of Acuco,^ and the natives,
who were peaceful, entertained our men well, giving them pro-
visions and birds, although there are not many people here, as
I have said. Many of the gentlemen went up to the top to see
it, and they had great difficulty in going up the steps in the
ro(;k, because they were not used to them, for the natives go up
' The first-story rooms were entered by means of hatchways through the
roof. Ah the necessity for defence no longer exists, the rooms of the lower
stories of Zuni houses are provided with doors and windows.
' The army i)assed from ('ihola by way of the present farming village of
P(!Scado, Ins(Ti|)ti<)n Rock or 1*>1 Morro (thirty miles east of Zuni), and over
the Zuni Mountains to A(!oma. Alvarado followed an almost impassable trail
eastward from Hawlkuh, across a great lava flow, to reach Acoma.
1540] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 317
and down so easily that they carry loads and the women carry
water, and they do not seem even to touch their hands, although
our men had to pass their weapons up from one to another.
From here they went on to Tiguex, where they were well
received and taken care of, and the great good news of the
Turk gave no little joy and helped lighten their hard labors,
although when the army arrived we found the whole country
or province in revolt, for reasons which were not slight in
themselves, as will be shown, and our men had also burnt a
village the day before the army arrived, and returned to the
camp.
Chapter 15
Of why Tiguex revolted, and how they were punished, without
being to blame for it.
It has been related how the general reached Tiguex,^
where he found Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas and Hernando
de Alvarado, and how he sent the latter back to Cicuye, where
he took the captain Whiskers and the governor of the village,
who was an old man, prisoners. The people of Tiguex did not
feel well about this seizure. In addition to this, the general
wished to obtain some clothing to divide among his soldiers,
and for this purpose he summoned one of the chief Indians
of Tiguex, with whom he had already had much inter-
course and with whom he w^as on good terms, who was called
Juan Aleman by our men, after a Juan Aleman who hved in
Mexico, whom he was said to resemble. The general told him
that he must furnish about three hundred or more pieces of
cloth, which he needed to give his people. He said that he
^ Tiguex (pronounced Tee-guaysh') is the name of a grouj) of Puoblo
tribes, now consisting of Isleta, Sandia, Taos, and Picuris, speaking the Tigua
language, as it is now designated. Their principal village in Coronado's
time was also called Tiguex by the Spaniards ; this was the Puaray of forty
years later (1583), the first time the native name was recorded. It was
situated at the site of Bernalillo, on the Rio Grande, and was inhabited up
to the time of the Pueblo rebellion of 1680, when it contained two hundred
Tiguas and Spaniards.
318 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1540
was not able to do this, but that it pertained to the governors ;
and that besides this, they would have to consult together and
divide it among the villages, and that it w^as necessary to make
the demand of each town separately. The general did this,
and ordered certain of the gentlemen who were with him to go
and make the demand ; and as there were twelve villages, some
of them went on one side of the river and some on the other.
As they were in very great need, they did not give the natives
a chance to consult about it, but when they came to a village
they demanded what they had to give, so that they could pro-
ceed at once. Thus these people could do nothing except take
off their own cloaks and give them to make up the number de-
manded of them. And some of the soldiers who were in these
parties, when the collectors gave them some blankets or cloaks
which w^ere not such as they wanted, if they saw any Indian
with a better one on, they exchanged with him without more
ado, not stopping to find out the rank of the man they w^ere
stripping, which caused not a little hard feeling.
Besides what I have just said, one whom I will not name, out
of regard for him, left the village where the camp was and went
to another village about a league distant, and seeing a pretty
woman there he called her husband down to hold his horse by
the bridle while he went up ; and as the village was entered by
the upper stoiy, the Indian supposed he was going to some
other part of it. While he was there the Indian heard some
slight noise, and then the Spaniard came down, took his horse,
and went away. The Indian went up and learned that he had
violated, or tried to violate, his wife, and so he came with the
important men of the town to complain that a man had violated
his wife, and he told how it happened. A\Tien the general
made all the soldiers and the persons who were with him come
together, the Indian did not recognize the man, either because
he had changed his clothes or for whatever other reason there
may have been, but he said that he could tell the horse, because
ho. had held his bridle, and so he was taken to the stables, and
found the horse, and said that the master of the horse must be
the ninii. lie denied doing it, seeing that he had not been
1540] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 319
recognized, and it may be that the Indian was mistaken in the
horse; anjrway, he went off without getting any satisfaction.
The next day one of the Indians, who was guarding the horses
of the army, came running in, saying that a companion of his
had been killed, and that the Indians of the country were driv-
ing off the horses toward their villages. The Spaniards tried
to collect the horses again, but many were lost, besides seven
of the general's mules. ^
The next day Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas went to see
the villages and talk with the natives. He found the villages
closed by palisades and a great noise inside, the horses being
chased as in a bull fight and shot with arrows. They were all
ready for fighting. Nothing could be done, because they would
not come down on to the plain and the villages are so strong that
the Spaniards could not dislodge them. The general then or-
dered Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas to go and surround one
village with all the rest of the force. This village was the one
where the greatest injury had been done and where the affair
with the Indian woman occurred. Several captains who had
gone on in advance with the general, Juan de Saldivar and
Barrionuevo and Diego Lopez and Melgosa, took the Indians
so much by surprise that they gained the upper story, with great
danger, for they wounded many of our men from within the
houses. Our men were on top of the houses in great danger
for a day and a night and part of the next day, and they made
some good shots with their crossbows and muskets. The horse-
men on the plain with many of the Indian allies from New Spain
smoked them out from the cellars ^ into which they had broken,
so that they begged for peace. Pablo de Melgosa and Diego
Lopez, the alderman from Seville, were left on the roof and
answered the Indians with the same signs they were making
for peace, which was to make a cross. They then put down
'Antonio de Espejo learned of this occurrence at " Puala " (Puaray)
when the place was visited by him in 1583 (see Documentos Incditos de In-
dias, XV. 175).
^ The pueblos are not provided with cellars. The underground ceremonial
chambers, or kivas, are doubtless here meant.
320 SPANISH EXPLOREES [1541
their arms and received pardon. They were taken to the tent
of Don Garcia, who, according to what he said, did not know
about the peace and thought that they had given themselves
up of their own accord because they had been conquered. As
he had been ordered by the general not to take them aUve, but
to make an example of them so that the other natives would
fear the Spaniards, he ordered two hundred stakes to be pre-
pared at once to burn them alive. Nobody told him about
the peace that had been granted them, for the soldiers knew
as little as he, and those who should have told him about it
remained silent, not thinking that it was any of their business.
Then when the enemies saw that the Spaniards were binding
them and beginning to roast them, about a hundred men who
were in the tent began to struggle and defend themselves with
what there was there and with the stakes they could seize.
Our men who were on foot attacked the tent on all sides, so
that there was great confusion around it, and then the horse-
men chased those who escaped. As the country was level,
not a man of them remained alive, unless it was some who re-
mained hidden in the village and escaped that night to spread
throughout the country the news that the strangers did not
respect the peace they had made, which afterward proved a
great misfortune. After this was over, it began to snow, and
they abandoned the village and returned to the camp just as
the army came from Cibola.
Chapter 16
Of how they besieged Tiguex and took it and of what happened
during the siege.
As I have already related, it began to snow in that coun-
try just after they captured the village, and it snowed so
much that for the next two months ' it was im])ossible to do
anything cxccjjt to go along the roads to advise them to make
' The altitude of Bernalillo is 5260 feet, and snowstorms arc sometimes
severe.
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 321
peace and tell them that they would be pardoned and might
consider themselves safe, to which they replied that they did
not trust those who did not know how to keep good faith
after they had once given it, and that the Spaniards should
remember that they were keeping Whiskers prisoner and
that they did not keep their word when they burned those
who surrendered in the village. Don Garcia Lopez de
Cardenas was one of those who went to give this notice.
He started out w4th about thirty companions and went to
the village of Tiguex to talk with Juan Aleman. Although
they were hostile, they talked with him and said that if he
wished to talk with them he must dismount and they would
come out and talk with him about a peace, and that if he would
send away the horsemen and make his men keep away, Juan
Aleman and another captain would come out of the village and
meet him. Everything was done as they required, and then
when they approached they said that they had no arms and
that he must take his off. Don Garcia Lopez did this in order
to give them confidence, on account of his great desire to get
them to make peace. When he met them, Juan Aleman ap-
proached and embraced him vigorously, while the other two
who had come with him drew two mallets ^ which they had
hidden behind their backs and gave him two such blows over
his helmet that they almost knocked him senseless. Two of
the soldiers on horseback had been unwilling to go very far off,
even when he ordered them, and so they were near by and rode
up so quickly that they rescued him from their hands, although
they were unable to catch the enemies because the meeting was
so near the village that of the great shower of arrows which were
shot at them one arrow hit a horse and went through his nose.
The horsemen all rode up together and hurriedly carried off
their captain, without being able to harm the enemy, while
many of our men were dangerously wounded. They then
withdrew, leaving a number of men to continue the attack.
Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas went on with a part of the force
to another village about half a league distant, because almost
' Wooden war-clubs.
322 SPAliflSH EXPLOREKS [1541
all the people in this region had collected into these two villages.
As they paid no attention to the demands made on them except
by shooting arrows from the upper stories with loud yells, and
would not hear of peace, he returned to his companions whom
he had left to keep up the attack on Tiguex. A large number
of those in the village came out and our men rode off slowly,
pretending to flee, so that they drew the enemy on to the plain,
and then turned on them and caught several of their leaders.
The rest collected on the roofs of the village and the captain
returned to his camp.
After this affair the general ordered the army to go and
surround the village. He set out with his men in good order,
one day, with several scaling ladders. AMien he reached the
village, he encamped his force near by, and then began the
siege ; but as the enemy had had several days to provide them-
selves with stores, they threw down such quantities of rocks
upon our men that many of them were laid out, and they
wounded nearly a hundred with arrows, several of whom after-
ward died on account of the bad treatment by an unskillful
surgeon who was with the army. The siege lasted fifty days,
during which time several assaults were made. The lack of
water was what troubled the Indians most. They dug a very
deep well inside the village, but were not able to get water,
and while they were making it, it fell in and killed thirty per-
sons. Two hundred of the besieged died in the fights. One day
when there was a hard fight, they killed Francisco de Obando,
a captain who had been army-master all the time that Don
Garcia Lopez de Cardenas was away making the discoveries
already described, and also Francisco Pobares, a fine gentleman.
Our men were unable to prevent them from carrying Francisco
de Obando inside the village, which was regretted not a little,
because he was a distinguished person, besides being honored
on his own account, affable and much beloved, which was
noticeal)le. One day, before the capture was completed,
they asked to speak to us, and said that, since they knew we
would not harm the women and children, thoy wished to sur-
render their women and sons, because they were using up their
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 323
water. It was impossible to persuade them to make peace,
as they said that the Spaniards would not keep an agreement
made with them. So they gave up about a hundred persons,
women and boys, who did not want to leave them. Don Lope
de Urrea rode up in front of the town without his helmet and
received the boys and girls in his arms, and when all of these
had been surrendered, Don Lope begged them to make peace,
giving them the strongest promises for their safety. They told
him to go away, as they did not wish to trust themselves to
people who had no regard for friendship or their own word
which they had pledged. As he seemed unwilling to go away,
one of them put an arrow in his bow ready to shoot, and
threatened to shoot him with it unless he went off, and they
warned him to put on his helmet, but he was unwilling to do
so, saying that they would not hurt him as long as he stayed
there. When the Indian saw that he did not want to go away,
he shot and planted his arrow between the fore feet of the horse,
and then put another arrow in his bow and repeated that if
he did not go away he would really shoot him. Don Lope
put on his helmet and slowly rode back to where the horsemen
were, without receiving any harm from them. When they
saw that he was really in safety, they began to shoot arrows
in showers, with loud yells and cries. The general did not want
to make an assault that day, in order to see if they could be
brought in some way to make peace, which they would not
consider.
Fifteen days later they decided to leave the village one
night, and did so, taking the women in their midst. They
started about the fourth watch, in the very early morning, on
the side where the cavalry was. The alarm was given by
those in the camp of Don Rodrigo Maldonado. The enemy at-
tacked them and killed one Spaniard and a horse and wounded
others, but they were driven back with great slaughter until
they came to the river,' where the water flowed swiftly and
very cold. They threw themselves into this, and as the men
had come quickly from the whole camp to assist the cavalry,
* The llio Grande, which is near by.
324 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
there were few who escaped being killed or wounded. Some
men from the camp went across the river next day and found
many of them who had been overcome by the great cold.
They brought these back, cured them, and made servants of
them. This ended that siege, and the town was captured, al-
though there were a few who remained in one part of the town
and were captured a few days later.
Two captains, Don Diego de Guevara and Juan de Saldivar,
had captured the other large village after a siege. Having
started out very early one morning to make an ambuscade in
which to catch some warriors who used to come out every
morning to try to frighten our camp, the spies, who had been
placed where they could see when they were coming, saw the
people come out and proceed toward the countiy. The soldiers
left the ambuscade and went to the village and saw the people
fleeing. They pursued and killed large numbers of them.
At the same time those in the camp were ordered to go over
the town, and they plundered it, making prisoners of all the
people who were found in it, amounting to about a hundred
women and children. This siege ended the last of March, in
the year '42 [1541]. Other things had happened in the mean-
time, which would have been noticed, but that it would have
cut the thread. I have omitted them, but will relate them now,
so that it will be possible to understand what follows.
Chapter 17
Of how messengers reached the army from the valley of Sefwra,
and how Captain Melchior Diaz died on the expedition
to the Firebrand River.
We have already related how Captain Melchior Diaz crossed
the Firebrand River [Rio Colorado] on rafts, in order to continue
his discoveries farther in that direction. About the time the
siege ended, messengers reached the army from the city of San
Hieronimo with letters from Diego de Alarcon/ who had re-
' Should be Alcaraz. See Chapter 10.
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 325
mained there in the place of Melchior Diaz. These contained
the news that Melchior Diaz had died while he was conducting
his search, and that the force had returned without finding any
of the things they were after. It all happened in this fashion :
After they had crossed the river they continued their
search for the coast, which here turned back toward the
south,^ or between south and east, because that arm of the sea
enters the land due north, and this river, which brings its
waters down from the north, flowing toward the south, enters
the head of the gulf.^ Continuing in the direction they had
been going, they came to some sandbanks of hot ashes which
it was impossible to cross without being drowned as in the
sea. The ground they were standing on trembled hke a sheet
of paper, so that it seemed as if there were lakes underneath
them. It seemed wonderful and like something infernal, for
the ashes to bubble up here in several places. After they had
gone away from this place, on account of the danger they
seemed to be in and of the lack of water, one day a greyhound
belonging to one of the soldiers chased some sheep which they
were taking along for food. When the captain noticed this,
he threw his lance at the dog while his horse was running, so
that it stuck up in the ground, and not being able to stop his
horse he went over the lance so that it nailed him through
the thighs and the iron came out behind, rupturing his blad-
der. After this the soldiers turned back with their captain,
having to fight every day with the Indians, who had re-
mained hostile. He Hved about twenty days, during which
they proceeded with great difficulty on account of the neces-
sity of carrying him. They returned in good order without
losing a man, until he died, and after that they were relieved
of the greatest difficulty. When they reached Sefiora, Alcaraz
despatched the messengers already referred to, so that the
general might know of this and also that some of the soldiers
• That is, the west coast of the Gulf of California.
^ Durinp; 1905 the waters of the Rio Colorado were diverted westward
below Yuma and are now (1000) flowing into the Salton Sink, or Imperial
Valley, in southern Cahfornia, forming an immense lake.
326 SPANISH EXPLOKERS [1541
were ill-disposed and had caused several mutinies, and that
he had sentenced two of them to the gallows, but they had
afterward escaped from the prison.
When the general learned this, he sent Don Pedro de Tovar
to that city to sift out some of the men. He was accompanied
by messengers whom the general sent to Don Antonio de Men-
doza the viceroy, with an account of what had occurred and
with the good news given by the Turk. When Don Pedro de
Tovar arrived there, he found that the natives of that prov-
ince had killed a soldier with a poisoned arrow, which had
made only a very little wound in one hand.^ Several soldiers
went to the place where this happened to see about it, and
they were not very well received. Don Pedro de Tovar sent
Diego de Alcaraz with a force to seize the chiefs and lords of
a village in what they call the Valley of Knaves (de los Vella-
cos), which is in the hills. After getting there and getting these
men prisoners, Diego de Alcaraz decided to let them go in ex-
change for some thread and cloth and other things which the
soldiers needed. Finding themselves free, they renewed the
war and attacked them, and as they were strong and had poi-
son, they killed several Spaniards and wounded others so that
they died on the way back. They retired toward the toTvm,
and if they had not had Indian allies from the country of the
Hearts, it would have gone worse with them. They got back
to the town, leaving seventeen soldiers dead from the poison.
They would die in agony from only a small wound, the bodies
breaking out with an insupportable pestilential stench. When
Don Pedro de Tovar saw the harm done, and as it seemed to
them that they could not safely stay in that city, he moved
forty leagues toward Cibola into the valley of Suya,^ where we
will leave them, in order to relate what happened to the gen-
eral and his army after the siege of Tiguex.
' Doubtless the Opatas, whose poisoned arrows are often alluded to by
lator Spanish writers. See, for example, the Rudo Ensayo (ca. 1762), (San
Augustin, 1863) ; also Guitcras's translation in Records of the American
Catholic Historical Society, V. No. 2 (Philadelphia, June, 1894).
' The Ufjper part of the Rio San Pedro (which rises in northern Sonora),
according to recent studies by Mr. James Newton Buskctt.
1541] EXPEDITION" OF CORONADO 327
Chapter 18
Of how the general managed to leave the country in peace so as
to go in search of Quivira, where the Turk said there
was the most wealth.
During the siege of Tiguex the general decided to go to
Cicuye and take the governor with him, in order to give him
his hberty and to promise them that he would give Whiskers
his liberty and leave him in the village, as soon as he should
start for Quivira. He was received peacefully when he reached
Cicuye, and entered the village with several soldiers. They
received their governor with much joy and gratitude. After
looking over the village and speaking with the natives he
returned to his army, leaving Cicuye at peace, in the hope of
getting back their captain Whiskers.
After the siege was ended, as we have already related, he
sent a captain to Chia,^ a fine village with many people, which
had sent to offer its submission. It was four leagues distant
to the west of the river.^ They found it peaceful and gave it
four bronze cannon, which were in poor condition, to take
care of. Six gentlemen also went to Quirix, a province with
seven villages.^ At the first village, which had about a hun-
dred inhabitants, the natives fled, not daring to wait for our
men ; but they headed them off by a short cut, riding at full
speed, and then they returned to their houses in the village
* The present Sia, a small pueblo on the Rio Jemez. In 1583 Sia was one
of a group of five pueblos which Antonio de Espejo called Cunames or Puna-
mes. It suffered severely by the Pueblo revolt a century later, and is now
reduced to about a hundred people who have great difficulty in gaining a
livelihood, owing to lack of water for irrigation.
^ That is, the Rio Grande.
^ The "province" occupied by the Queres or Keresan Indians, consisting
of the pueblos of Cochiti, San Felipe, and Santo Domingo, of to-day — all
on the Rio Grande. Sia and Santa Ana are and were also Queres villages in
Coronado's time, but as these were not on the Rio Grande, they may not
have been included in Castaneda's group. When Espejo visited the Queres
in 1583, they occupied only five j)ueblos on the Rio Grande; now only the
three above mentioned are inhabited.
328 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
in perfect safety, and then told the other villagers about it
and reassured them. In this way the entire region was reas-
sured, little by little, by the time the ice in the river was broken
up and it became possible to ford the river and so to continue
the journey. The twelve villages of Tiguex, however, were
not repopulated at all during the time the army was there, in
spite of every promise of security that could possibly be given
to them.
And when the river, which for almost four months had been
frozen over so that they crossed the ice on horseback, had
thawed out, orders were given for the start for Quivira,^ where
the Turk said there was some gold and silver, although not so
much as in Arche ^ and the Guaes.^ There were already some
in the army who suspected the Turk, because a Spaniard
named Servantes, who had charge of him during the siege,
solemnly swore that he had seen the Turk talking with the
devil in a pitcher of water, and also that while he had him
under lock so that no one could speak to him, the Turk had
asked him what Christians had been killed by the people at
Tiguex. He told him ''nobody," and then the Turk answered :
''You he; five Christians are dead, including a captain."
And as Cervantes knew that he told the truth, he confessed
it so as to find out who had told him about it, and the Turk
said he knew it all by himself and that he did not need to
have anyone tell him in order to know it. And it was on ac-
count of this that he watched him and saw him speaking to
the devil in the pitcher, as I have said.
While all this was going on, preparations were being made
to start from Tiguex. At this time people came from Cibola to
see the general, and he charged them to take good care of the
Spaniards who were coming from Senora with Don Pedro de
Tovar. He gave them letters to give to Don Pedro, informing
>Sce p. 337, note 1.
* Evidently the Harahey of other chroniclers, which has been identified
with the Pawnee country of southern Nebraska.
» Possibly the Kunsa or Kuw tribe, after whom the state of Kansas is
named.
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 329
him what he ought to do and how he should go to find the
army, and that he would find letters under the crosses which
the army would put up along the way. The army left Tiguex
on the fifth of May ^ and returned to Cicuye, which, as I have
said, is twenty-five marches, which means leagues, from there,
taking Whiskers with them.^ Arrived there, he gave them
their captain, who already went about freely with a guard.
The village was very glad to see him, and the people were
peaceful and offered food. The governor and Whiskers gave
the general a young fellow called Xabe, a native of Quivira,
who could give them information about the country. This
fellow said that there was gold and silver, but not so much of
it as the Turk had said. The Turk, however, continued to
declare that it was as he had said. He went as a guide, and
thus the army started off from here.
Chapter 19
Of how they started in search of Quivira and of what happened
on the way.
The army started from Cicuye, leaving the village at peace
and, as it seemed, contented, and under obligations to main-
tain the friendship because their governor and captain had
been restored to them. Proceeding toward the plains, which are
all on the other side of the mountains, after four days' journey
they came to a river with a large, deep current, which flowed
from toward Cicuye, and they named this the Cicuye river.
They had to stop here to make a bridge so as to cross it.^ It
* In his letter to the King, dated Tiguex, October 20, 1541, Coronado says
that he started April 23. See Winship's translation in Fourteenth Report
of the Bureau of Ethnology (1896), p. 580.
^ Cicuye is Pecos, as above mentioned. The direction is north of east and
the distance forty miles in an air line, or fifteen Spanish judicial leagues.
By rail, which follows almost exactly the old trail, the distance is sixty-five
miles, or almost precisely twenty-five leagues.
' The Rio Pecos. The bridge was doubtless built across the stream
somewhere near Puerto de Luna. The Ms. here reads Cicuye for Cicuye.
330 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
was finished in four days, by much dihgence and rapid work,
and as soon as it was done the whole army and the animals
crossed. After ten days more they came to some settlements
of people who hved like Arabs and who are called Querechos ^
in that region. They had seen the cows ^ for two days. These
folks live in tents made of the tanned skins of the cows. They
travel around near the cows, kiUing them for food. They did
nothing unusual when they saw our army, except to come out
of their tents to look at us, after which they came to talk
with the advance guard, and asked who we were. The gen-
eral talked with them, but as they had already talked with
the Turk, who was with the advance guard, they agreed with
what he had said. That they were very intelligent is evident
from the fact that although they conversed by means of signs
they made themselves understood so well that there was no
need of an interpreter.^ They said that there was a very large
river over toward where the sun came from, and that one
could go along this river through an inhabited region for ninety
days without a break from settlement to settlement. They
said that the first of these settlements was called Haxa,*
and that the river was more than a league wide and that there
were many canoes on it.^ These folks started off from here
next day with a lot of dogs which dragged their possessions.
For two days, during which the army marched in the same
direction as that in which they had come from the settlements
— that is, between north and east, but more toward the north
— they saw other roaming Querechos and such great num-
bers of cows that it already seemed something incredible.
* The name by which the eastern Apaches, or Apaches Vaqueros of later
times, were known to the Pecos Indians. The first Querechos were met
near the eastern boundary of New Mexico.
' Wherever "cows" are mentioned, bison are of course meant. Herds
of these animals ranged as far as the Pecos, which was known as the Rio
de las V^acas later in the century.
' All the Indians of the great plains were expert in the sign language, as
their spoken languages were many and diverse.
* The place has not been identified with certainty.
' This river, if it existed at all, was in all i)robability the lower Arkaa-
sas or the Mississippi, hundreds of miles away.
1541] EXPEDITION OF COKONADO 331
These people gave a great deal of information about set-
tlements, all toward the east from where we were. Here Don
Garcia broke his arm and a Spaniard got lost who went off
hunting so far that he was unable to return to the camp, be-
cause the country is very level. The Turk said it was one or
two days to Haya (Haxa).^ The general sent Captain Diego
Lopez with ten companions lightly equipped and a guide to
go at full speed toward the sunrise for two days and discover
Haxa, and then return to meet the army, which set out in the
same direction next day. They came across so many animals
that those who were on the advance guard killed a large num-
ber of bulls. As these fled they trampled one another in their
haste until they came to a ravine. So many of the animals
fell into this that they filled it up, and the rest went across on
top of them. The men who were chasing them on horseback
fell in among the animals without noticing where they were
going. Three of the horses that fell in among the cows, all
saddled and bridled, were lost sight of completely.
As it seemed to the general that Diego Lopez ought to be
on his way back, he sent six of his companions to follow up
the banks of the little river, and as many more down the banks,
to look for traces of the horses at the trails to and from the
river. It was impossible to find tracks in this country, be-
cause the grass straightened up again as soon as it was trodden
down. They were found by some Indians from the army who
had gone to look for fruit. These got track of them a good
league off, and soon came up with them. They followed the
river down to the camp, and told the general that in the
twenty leagues they had been over they had seen nothing but
cows and the sky. There was another native of Quivira with
the army, a painted Indian named Ysopete. This Indian had
always declared that the Turk was lying, and on account of
' The Turk was evidently lying, at least so far as the distance was con-
cerned. The Texas Indians were not canoeists. The army was now in the
western part of the staked plains of Texas, but had changed its course from
northeasterly to south of east. The country is greatly broken by the canons
of the streams which take their rise in these parts.
332 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
this the army paid no attention to him, and even now, al-
though he said that the Querechos had consulted with him,
Ysopete was not beheved.
The general sent Don Rodrigo Maldonado, with his com-
pany, forward from here. He travelled four days and reached
a large ra\'ine like those of Cohma, in the bottom of which he
found a large settlement of people. Cabeza de Vaca and
Dorantes had passed through this place, ^ so that they presented
Don Rodrigo with a pile of tanned skins and other things,
and a tent as big as a house, which he directed them to keep
until the army came up. He sent some of his companions to
guide the army to that place, so that they should not get lost,
although he had been making piles of stones and cow-dung
for the army to follow. This was the way in which the army
was guided by the advance guard.
When the general came up with the army and saw the great
quantity of skins, he thought he would divide them among
the men, and placed guards so that they could look at them.
But when the men arrived and saw that the general was send-
ing some of his companions with orders for the guards to give
them some of the skins, and that these were going to select
the best, they were angry because they were not going to be
divided evenly, and made a rush, and in less than a quarter of
an hour nothing was left but the empty ground.
The natives who happened to see this also took a hand in
it. The women and some others were left crying, because
they thought that the strangers were not going to take any-
thing, but would bless them as Cabeza de Vaca and Dorantes
had done when they passed through here. They found an
Indian girl here who was as white as a Castilian lady,^ except
that she had her chin painted like a Moorish woman. In
general they all paint themselves in this way here, and they
decorate their eyes.
' See Cabeza de Vaca's narration in this volume, p. 97.
* Probably an albino is here referred to.
1541] EXPEDITION OF COEONADO 333
Chapter 20
Of how great stones fell in the camp, and how they discovered
another ravine, where the army was divided into two
parts.
While the army was resting in this ravine, as we have
related, a tempest came up one afternoon with a very high
wind and hail, and in a very short space of time a great quan-
tity of hailstones, as big as bowls, or bigger, fell as thick as
raindrops, so that in places they covered the ground two or
three spans or more deep. And one hit the horse — or I
should say, there was not a horse that did not break away,
except two or three which the negroes protected by holding
large sea nets over them, with the helmets and shields which
all the rest wore ; and some of them dashed up on to the sides
of the ravine so that they got them down with great difficulty.
If this had struck them while they were upon the plain, the
army would have been in great danger of being left without
its horses, as there were many which they were not able to
cover. The hail broke many tents, and battered many hel-
mets, and wounded many of the horses, and broke all the
crockery of the army, and the gourds, which was no small
loss, because they do not have any crockery in this region.
They do not make gourds, nor sow corn, nor eat bread, but
instead raw meat — or only half cooked — and fruit. ^
From here the general sent out to explore the countiy,
and they found another settlement four days from there ^ . . . .
The country was well inhabited, and they had plenty of kid-
ney beans and prunes hke those of Castile, and tall vineyards.
These village settlements extended for three days. This was
called Cona. Some Teyas,^ as these people are called, went with
' Castaneda here refers to the buffalo-hunting Indians in contrast to
the Pueblo tribes which the Spaniards had left.
^ "A manera de alixares." The margin reads Alexeres, a word meaning
''threshing floor."
' These were evidently the Indians later called Tejas, or Texas, from which
the state took its name. The name was indiscriminately applied by various
later writers, but always to one of the Caddoan tribes or group of tribes.
334 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1541
the army from here and travelled as far as the end of the other
settlements with their packs of dogs and women and children,
and then they gave them guides to proceed to a large ravine
where the army was. They did not let these guides speak with
the Turk, and did not receive the same statements from these
as they had from the others. These said that Quivira was
toward the north, and that we should not find any good road
thither. After this they began to believe Ysopete. The ra-
vine which the army had now reached was a league wide from
one side to the other, with a little bit of a river at the bottom,
and there were many groves of mulberry trees near it, and
rosebushes with the same sort of fruit that they have in France.
They made verjuice from the unripe grapes at this ravine,
although there were ripe ones. There were walnuts and the
same kind of fowls as in New Spain, and large quantities of
prunes like those of Castile. During this journey a Teya was
seen to shoot a bull right through both shoulders with an
arrow, which would be a good shot for a musket. These peo-
ple are very intelligent ; the women are well made and mod-
est. They cover their whole body. They wear shoes and
buskins made of tanned skin. The women wear cloaks over
their small under petticoats, with sleeves gathered up at the
shoulders, all of skin, and some wore something like little san~
benitos ^ with a fringe, which reached half-way down the thigh
over the petticoat.
The army rested several days in this ravine and explored
the countr}^ Up to this point they had made thirty-seven
days' marches, travelling six or seven leagues a day.^ It had
been the duty of one man to measure and count his steps.
' " We were brought into the Church, every one with a S. Benito upon his
backe, which is a halfe a yard of yellow cloth, with a hole to put in a mans
head in the middest, and cast over a mans head : both flaps hang one before,
and another behindc, and in the middest of every flap, a S. Andrewes crosse,
made of red cloth, sowed on upon the same, and that is called S. Benito." —
Robert Tomson, "Voyage into Nova Hispania," 1555, in Ilakluyt, Voyages,
IX. 348 (1904).
'The league is equivalent to 2.G3 English miles. This Spanish judicial
league is still used in Me.xico.
1541] EXPEDITION OF COKONADO 335
They found that it was 250 leagues to the settlements/ ^Tien
the general Francisco Vazquez realized this, and saw that
they had been deceived by the Turk heretofore, and as the
provisions were giving out and there was no country around
here where they could procure more, he called the captains
and ensigns together to decide on what they thought ought
to be done. They all agreed that the general should go in
search of Quivira with thirty horsemen and half a dozen foot-
soldiers, and that Don Tristan de x\rellano should go back to
Tiguex with all the army, AMien the men in the army learned
of this decision, they begged their general not to leave them
to conduct the further search, but declared that they all
wanted to die with him and did not want to go back. This
did not do any good, although the general agreed to send
messengers to them within eight days saying whether it was
best for them to follow him or not, and with this he set off
with the guides he had and with Ysopete. The Turk was
taken along in chains.
Chapter 21
Of how the army returned to Tiguex and the general reached
Quivira.
The general started from the ravine with the guides that
the Teyas had given him. He appointed the alderman Diego
Lopez his army-master, and took with him the men who
seemed to him to be most efficient, and the best horses. The
army still had some hope that the general would send for
them, and sent two horsemen, lightly equipped and riding
post, to repeat their petition.
The general arrived — I mean, the guides ran away dur-
ing the first few days and Diego Lopez had to return to the
army for guides, bringing orders for the army to return to
Tiguex to find food and wait there for the general. The Teyas,
as before, wilhngly furnished him with new guides. The army
' The Tiguex villages on the Rio Grande are often referred to as the region
where the settlements were.
336 SPANISH EXPLOREKS [1541
waited for its messengers and spent a fortnight here, preparing
jerked beef to take with them. It was estimated that during
this fortnight they killed 500 bulls. The number of these
that were there without any cows was something incredible.
Many fellows were lost at this time who went out hunting and
did not get back to the army for two or three days, wandering
about the countiy as if they were crazy, in one direction or
another, not knowing how to get back where they started
from, although this ravine extended in either direction so that
they could find it. Ever>^ night they took account of who
was missing, fired guns and blew trumpets and beat drams
and built great fires, but yet some of them went off so far and
wandered about so much that all this did not give them any
help, although it helped others. The only way was to go back
where they had killed an animal and start from there in one
direction and another until they struck the ravine or fell in
with somebody who could put them on the right road. It is
worth noting that the country there is so level that at midday,
after one has wandered about in one direction and another in
pursuit of game, the only thing to do is to stay near the game
quietly until sunset, so as to see where it goes down, and even
then they have to be men who are practised to do it. Those
who are not, had to trust themselves to others.^
The general followed his guides until he reached Quivira,
which took forty-eight days' marching, on account of the great
detour they had made toward Florida.^ He was received
peacefully on account of the guides whom he had. They
asked the Turk why he had lied and had guided them so far
out of their way. He said that his country was in that direc-
tion and that, besides this, the people at Cicuye had asked
him to lead them off on to the plains and lose them, so that
the horses would die when their provisions gave out, and they
' The point of separation of the army was in all probability the upper
waters of the Rio Colorado in Texas. See the narration of Cabeza de Vaca,
p. 97, note 2.
' That is, toward the southeast. At a somewhat later period Florida
included everything from the peninsula northward.
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 337
would be so weak if they ever returned that they could be
killed without any trouble, and thus they could take revenge
for what had been done to them. This was the reason why
he had led them astray, supposing that they did not know how
to hunt or to live without corn, while as for the gold, he did
not know where there was any of it. He said this like one
who had given up hope and who found that he was being per-
secuted, since they had begun to believe Ysopete, who had
guided them better than he had, and fearing lest those who
were there might give some advice by which some harm would
come to him. They garroted him, which pleased Ysopete
very much, because he had always said that Ysopete was a
rascal and that he did not know what he was talking about
and had always hindered his talking with anybody. Neither
gold nor silver nor any trace of either was found among these
people. Their lord wore a copper plate on his neck and prized
it highly.^
' For additional details respecting the route pursued by Coronado after
the main army was sent back, consult the narrative of Jaramillo, the Relacion
del Suceso, and other documents pertaining to the expedition, in Winship's
Coronado Expedition (1896) and Journey of Coronado (1904), and in connec-
tion therewith a discussion of the route by F. W. Hodge, in J. V. Brower's
Memoirs of Explorations in the Basin of the Mississippi, II. (St. Paul, 1899).
Continuing due north from the upper waters of the Rio Colorado of Texas,
Coronado 's immediate force in thirty days' march, according to the Relacion
del Suceso (or "more than thirty days' march, although not long marches,"
according to Jaramillo), reached the river of St. Peter and St. Paul the last
of June, 1541. This was the " river of Quivira " of the Relacion del Suceso,
the present Arkansas River in Kansas, which was crossed at its southern
bend, just east of the present Dodge City. The party continued thence
northeast, downstream, and in thirty leagues, or six or seven days' march,
reached the first of the Quivira settlements. This was at or near the present
Great Bend, Kansas, before reaching the site of which the Turk was " made
an example of." That the inhabitants of Quivira were the Wichita Indians
there can be no reasonable doubt. The Quivira people lived in grass or
straw lodges, according to the Spaniards, a fact that was true of the
Wichitas only of all the northern plains tribes. The habitations of their
congeners and northern neighbors, the Pawnee (who may be regarded as
the inhabitants of the province of Harahcy) , were earth lodges. The word
acochis, mentioned by Castaneda as the Quivira term for "gold," is merely
the Spanish adaptation of hakirichis, which signifies "metal," for of gold
our Indians knew nothing until after the advent of the white man. After
338 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
The messengers whom the army had sent to the general
returned, as I said, and then, as they brought no news except
what the alderman had dehvered, the army left the ravine
and returned to the Teyas, where they took guides who led
them back by a more direct road. They readily furnished
these, because these people are always roaming over this coun-
try in pursuit of the animals and so know it thoroughly.
The}" keep their road in this way : In the morning they notice
where the sun rises and observe the direction they are going
to take, and then shoot an arrow in this direction. Before
reaching this they shoot another over it, and in this way they
go all day toward the water where they are to end the day. In
this way they covered in twenty-five days w^hat had taken them
thirty-seven days going, besides stopping to hunt cows on the
way. They found many salt lakes on this road, and there was
a great quantity of salt. There were thick pieces of it on top
of the water bigger than tables, as thick as four or five fingers.
Two or three spans down under water there was salt which
tasted better than that in the floating pieces, because this was
rather bitter. It was crystalline. All over these plains there
were large numbers of animals like squirrels ^ and a great num-
ber of their holes. On its return the army reached the Cicuye
river more than thirty leagues below there — I mean below
the bridge they had made when they crossed it, and they
followed it up to that place.^ In general, its banks are cov-
ered with a sort of rose bushes, the fruit of which tastes like
muscatel grapes. They grow on little twigs about as high up
as a man. It has the parsley leaf. There were unripe grapes
and currants (?) and wild marjoram. The guides said this
river joined that of Tiguex more than twenty days from here,
exploring Quivira for twenty-five leagues, Coronado sent " captains and men
in many directions," but they failed to find that of which they went in
Kcarfh. There is no reason to suppose that Coronado's party went beyond
the limits of the present state of Kansas.
' Prairie-dogs.
' This would make the point at which the army reached Pecos River about
eighty miles below Puerto de Luna, or not far from the present town of
Roswell.
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 339
and that its course turned toward the east. It is beheved that
it flows into the mighty river of the Holy Spirit (Espiritu
Santo), which the men with Don Hernando de Soto discovered
in Florida/ A painted Indian woman ran away from Juan
de Saldibar and hid in the ravines about this time, because
she recognized the country of Tiguex where she had been a
slave. She fell into the hands of some Spaniards who had
entered the country from Florida to explore it in this direc-
tion.^ After I got back to New Spain I heard them say that
the Indian told them that she had run away from other men
like them nine days, and that she gave the names of some
captains; from which we ought to believe that we were not
far from the region they discovered, although they said they
were more than 200 leagues inland. I beUeve the land at
that point is more than 600 leagues across from sea to sea.
As I said, the army followed the river up as far as Cicuye,
which it found ready for war and unwilling to make any ad-
vances toward peace or to give any food to the army. From
there they went on to Tiguex where several villages had been
reinhabited, but the people were afraid and left them again.
Chapter 22
Of how the general returned jrom Quivira and of other expedi-
tions toward the North.
After Don Tristan de Arellano reached Tiguex, about the
middle of July, in the year '42,^ he had provisions collected
for the coming winter. Captain Francisco de Barrionuevo
was sent up the river toward the north with several men. He
saw two provinces, one of which was called Hemes * and had
' Castaneda is writing about twenty years later. De Soto's army was
exploring the eastern country as Coronado was traversing the buffalo
plains. The Espiritu Santo is the Mississippi.
^ See the Gentleman of Elvas in the second part of the present volume.
' As usual Castaneda gives a date a year later than the actual one.
* The pueblos occupied by the .lemez people. Only one of these now ex-
ists; this is on the Rio Jemez, a western tributary of the Rio Grande, which
enters the latter stream above Bernalillo, New Mexico. See p. 359, note 2.
340 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
seven villages, and the other Yuqueyunque/ The inhabitants
of Hemes came out peaceably and furnished provisions. At
Yuqueyunque the whole nation left two very fine villages
which they had on either side of the river entirely vacant, and
went into the mountains, where they had four very strong vil-
lages in a rough countr}', where it was impossible for horses to
go.^ In the two villages there was a great deal of food and some
very beautiful glazed earthenware with many figures and dif-
ferent shapes.^ Here they also found many bowls full of a
carefully selected shining metal with which they glazed the
earthenware. This shows that mines of silver would be found
in that countiy if they should hunt for them.
There was a large and powerful river, I mean village, which
was called Braba, twenty leagues farther up the river, which
our men called Valladolid.* The river flowed through the
middle of it. The natives crossed it by wooden bridges, made
^ This was Yukiwingge, on the site of the present small village of Chamita,
at the mouth of the Rio Chama, opposite San Juan pueblo. The other one
of the two villages was doubtless San Juan. Both of these were occupied
by Tewa Indians. At Yukiwingge was established, in 1598, by Juan de
Ofiate, the colonizer of New Mexico, the settlement of San Gabriel de los
Espaiioles, which was occupied until the spring of 1605, when the seat of the
provincial government was moved to Santa Fe, founded for the purpose in
that year. See p. 359, note 4.
' These may have been the pueblos, now in ruins, in and north of the
Pajarito Park, one of which, called Puye, gives evidence of occupancy in
post-Spanish times.
' It is not known definitely whether actually glazed pottery or merely
the black, highly polished earthenware characteristic of the Tewa Indians of
the neighborhood is here meant. The ancient Pueblos manufactured a ware
with decoration in what appears to be a salt glaze. Specimens of this have
been gathered in the Pajarito Park, at Zuni, among the Hopi of Arizona, and
from ancient ruins around Acoma, but the art seems to have been lost.
There is abundant evidence that this form of decoration was prehistoric.
The finding of the "shining metal" (called antimony in Pt. 2, chap. 4)
would scorn to indicate that the polished rather than the glazed ware was
here meant.
* This was the pueblo of Taos, which stood near the site of the present
village of the same name, on both sides of the little stream (Taos River).
The present Taos has 425 inhabitants. The swift and deep river without
the ford, hero referred to, must have been the Rio Grande in the neighbor-
hood of Taos, rather than the Rio de Taos, which is insignificant except in
seasons of freshet. Castaneda was evidently not one of Harrionuevo's party.
\
1541] EXPEDITION OF COEONADO 341
of very long, large, squared pines. At this village they saw
the largest and finest hot rooms or estufas that there were in
the entire country, for they had a dozen pillars, each one of
which was twice as large around as one could reach and twice
as tall as a man. Hernando de Alvarado visited this village
when he discovered Cicuye. The country is very high and
very cold.^ The river is deep and very swift, without any ford.
Captain Barrionuevo returned from here, leaving the province
at peace.
Another captain went down the river in search of the set-
tlements which the people at Tutahaco had said were several
days distant from there. This captain went down eighty
leagues and found four large villages which he left at peace.^
He proceeded until he found that the river sank into the earth,
like the Guadiana in Estremadura.^ He did not go on to where
the Indians said that it came out much larger, because his
commission did not extend for more than eighty leagues' march.
After this captain got back, as the time had arrived which the
captain had set for his return from Quivira, and as he had not
come back, Don Tristan selected forty companions and, leav-
ing the army to Francisco de Barrionuevo, he started with them
in search of the general. \\Tien he reached Cicuye the people
came out of the village to fight, which detained him there four
days, while he punished them, which he did by firing some
volleys into the village. These killed several men, so that
they did not come out against the army, since two of their
principal men had been killed on the first day. Just then
word was brought that the general was coming, and so Don
' The altitude of Taos is 6983 feet ; of Taos Peak, 13,145 feet.
^ Seemingly the Piros villages on the Rio (irande south of Isleta. They
are now extinct, having been finally abandoned during the revolt in 1680,
the inhabitants fleeing with Governor Otermin to El Paso. Senecu and So-
corro (taking their names from former villages) were afterward established
below El Paso, where the few survivors of the Piros, almost entirely Mexican-
ized, still reside.
' This rendering, doubtless correct, is due to Ternaux. The Guadiana,
however, reappears above ground some time before it begins to mark the
boundary of the Spanish province of Estremadura. The Castancda family
had its seat in quite the other end of the peninsula. (Winship.)
342 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
Tristan had to stay there on this account also, to keep the
road open. Everybody welcomed the general on his arrival,
with great joy. The Indian Xabe, who was the young fellow
who had been given to the general at Cicuye when he started
off in search of Quivira, was with Don Tristan de Arellano and
when he learned that the general was coming he acted as if
he was greatly pleased, and said, ''Now when the general
comes, you will see that there are gold and silver in Quivira,
although not so much as the Turk said." When the general
arrived, and Xabe saw that they had not found anything, he
was sad and silent, and kept declaring that there was some.
He made many beheve that it was so, because the general had
not dared to enter into the country on account of its being
thickly settled and his force not very strong, and that he had
returned to lead his army there after the rains, because it had
begun to rain there already, as it was early in August when he
left. It took him forty days to return, travelUng Hghtly
equipped. The Turk had said when they left Tiguex that
they ought not to load the horses with too much provisions,
which would tire them so that they could not afterward carry
the gold and silver, from which it is very evident that he
was deceiving them.
The general reached Cicuye with his force and at once set
off for Tiguex, leaving the village more quiet, for they had
met him peaceably and had talked with him. When he reached
Tiguex, he made his plans to pass the winter there, so as to
return with the whole army, because it was said that he
brought information regarding large settlements and very
large rivers, and that the countiy was veiy much like that of
Spain in the fruits and vegetation and seasons. They were
not ready to believe that there was no gold there, but instead
had suspicions that there was some farther back in the coun-
try, because, although this was denied, they knew what the
ihing was and had a name for it among themselves — acochis}
With this we end this first part, and now we will give an ac-
■count of the provinces.
' See p. 337, note 1.
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 343
SECOND PART
Which treats of the high villages and provinces and of their
habits and customs, as collected by Pedro de Castaneda,
native of the city of Najara.
Laus Deo
It does not seem to me that the reader will be satisfied with
having seen and understood what I have already related about
the expedition, although that has made it easy to see the dif-
ference between the report which told about vast treasures,
and the places where nothing Uke this was either found or
known. It is to be noted that in place of settlements great
deserts were found, and instead of populous cities villages of
200 inhabitants and only 800 or 1000 people in the largest.
I do not know whether this will furnish grounds for pondering
and considering the uncertainty of this life. To please these,
I wish to give a detailed account of all the inhabited region
seen and discovered by this expedition, and some of their
ceremonies and habits, in accordance with what we came to
know about them, and the limits within which each province
falls, so that hereafter it may be possible to understand in
what direction Florida lies and in what direction Greater India ;
and this land of New Spain is part of the mainland with Peru,
and with greater India or China as well, there not being any
strait between to separate them. On the other hand, the
country is so wide that there is room for these vast deserts
which he between the two seas, for the coast of the North
sea beyond Florida stretches toward the Bacallaos ^ and then
turns toward Norway, while that of the South sea turns toward
the west, making another bend down toward the south almost
like a bow and stretches away toward India, leaving room for
the lands that border on the mountains on both sides to stretch
out in such a way as to have between them these great plains
which are full of cattle and many other animals of different
* The Newfoundland region.
344 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1541
sorts, since they are not inhabited, as I wdll relate farther on.
There is every sort of game and fowl there, but no snakes, for
they are free from these. I will leave the account of the
return of the army to New Spain until I have shown what
slight occasion there was for this. We will begin our account
with the city of Culiacan, and point out the differences be-
tween the one country and the other, on account of which one
ought to be settled by Spaniards and the other not. It should
be the reverse, however, with Christians, since there are intelh-
gent men in one, and in the other wild animals and worse than
beasts.
Chapter 1
Of the province of Culiacan and of its habits and customs.
Culiacan is the last place in the New Kingdom of Galicia,
and was the first settlement made by Nuiio de Guzman when
he conquered this kingdom.^ It is 210 leagues west of Mexico.^
In this province there are three chief languages, besides other
related dialects. The first is that of the Tahus, who are the
best and most intelligent race. They are now the most set-
tled and have received the most light from the faith. They
worship idols and make presents to the devil of their goods
and riches, consisting of cloth and turquoises. They do not
eat human flesh nor sacrifice it. They are accustomed to
keep very large snakes, which they venerate. Among them
there are men dressed like women who marry other men and
serve as their wives. At a great festival they consecrate the
women who wish to live unmarried, with much singing and
dancing, at which all the chiefs of the locality gather and
dance naked, and after all have danced with her they put her
in a hut that has been decorated for this event and the chiefs
' See p. 285, note 1.
' Castanrda, like many other early Spanish rhronielcrs, is eareless in his
directions. It will he observed that he frefjuently says west, east, etc., when
he means westwarflly, eastwardly. This has led one writer on the Coro-
nado expedition seriously astray. Culiacan is decidedly northwest of Mexico
City.
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 345
adorn her with clothes and bracelets of fine turquoises, and
then the chiefs go in one by one to lie with her, and all the
others who wish, follow them. From this time on these
women can not refuse anyone who pays them a certain amount
agreed on for this. Even if they take husbands, this does not
exempt them from obliging anyone who pays them. The
greatest festivals are on market days. The custom is for the
husbands to buy the women whom they marry, of their
fathers and relatives at a high price, and then to take them to
a chief, who is considered to be a priest, to deflower them and
see if she is a virgin; and if she is not, they have to return
the whole price, and he can keep her for his wife or not, or let
her be consecrated, as he chooses. At these times they all
get drunk.
The second language is that of the Pacaxes, the people
who hve in the country between the plains and the mountains.
These people are more barbarous. Some of them who live
near the mountains eat human flesh. They are great sodom-
ites, and have many wives, even when these are sisters. They
worship painted and sculptured stones, and are much given
to witchcraft and sorcery.
The third language is that of the Acaxes, who are in pos-
session of a large part of the hilly country and all of the moun-
tains. They go hunting for men just as they hunt animals.
They all eat human flesh, and he who has the most human
bones and skulls hung up around his house is most feared and
respected. They hve in settlements and in very rough coun-
try, avoiding the plains. In passing from one settlement to
another, there is always a ravine in the way which they can
not cross, although they can talk together across it. At the
slightest call 500 men collect, and on any pretext kill and eat
one another. Thus it has been very hard to subdue these
people, on account of the roughness of the country, which is
very great.
Many rich silver mines have been found in this country.
They do not run deep, but soon give out. The gulf of the sea ^
' The Gulf of California.
346 SPANISH EXPLOREKS [1541
begins on the coast of this province, entering the land 250
leagues toward the north and ending at the mouth of the Fire-
brand (Tizon) River. This country forms its eastern limit,
and California ^ the western. From what I have been told hy-
men w^ho had navigated it, it is thirty leagues across from
point to point, because they lose sight of this country when
they see the other. They say the gulf is over 150 leagues
broad (or deep), from shore to shore. The coast makes a turn
toward the south at the Firebrand River, bending down to
California, which turns toward the west, forming that penin-
sula which was formerly held to be an island, because it was
a low sandy country. It is inhabited by brutish, bestial,
naked people who eat their own offal. The men and women
couple hke animals, the female openly getting down on all
fours.^
Chapter 2
Of the province of Petlatlan and all the inhabited country as far
as Chichilticalli.
Petlatlan is a settlement of houses covered with a sort
of mats made of plants. These are collected into villages,
extending along a river from the mountains to the sea.^ The
people are of the same race and habits as the Culuacanian
Tahues. There is much sodomy among them. In the moun-
tain district there is a large population and more settlements.
These people have a somewhat different language from the
Tahues, although they understand each other. It is called
Petlatlan because the houses are made of petates or palm-
leaf mats. Houses of this sort are found for more than 240
leagues in this region, to the beginning of the Cibola wilder-
' Lowor California is of course meant.
' For an afcouiit of the Indians of Lower California in the eighteenth cen-
tury, see the translation of Father Jacob Baegert's narrative, by Charles
Kau, in the Report of the Smithsonian In.stitution for 1863 and 1864.
'The Rio Petlatlan is the present Rio Sinaloa. The name Sinaloa is
synonymous in aj>i)lication with Cahita, a group of tribes including the present
Yaqui and Mayo.
4
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 347
ness/ The nature of the country changes here very greatly,
because from this point on there are no trees except the pine,
nor are there any fruits except a few tunas,^ mesquites, and
pitahayas,^
Petlatlan is twenty leagues from Cuhacan, and it is 130
leagues from here to the valley of Sefiora. There are many
rivers between the two, with settlements of the same sort of
people — for example, Sinoloa, Boyomo, Teocomo, Yaquimi,
and other smaller ones. There is also the Corazones (Hearts),
which is in our possession, down the valley of Sefiora/
Sefiora is a river and valley thickly settled by able-bodied
people. The women wear petticoats of tanned deerskin, and
little san benitos reaching half way down the body.^ The
chiefs of the villages go up on some little heights they have
made for this purpose, like pubhc criers, and there make proc-
lamations for the space of an hour, regulating those things
they have to attend to. They have some httle huts for shrines,
all over the outside of which they stick many arrows, like a
hedgehog. They do this when they are eager for war. All
about this province toward the mountains there is a large
population in separate httle provinces containing ten or twelve
villages. Seven or eight of them, of which I know the names,
are Comupatrico, Mochilagua, Arispa,® and the Little Valley.
There are others which we did not see.
It is forty leagues from Sefiora to the valley of Suya.' The
town of San Hieronimo was established in this valley, where
there was a rebelhon later, and part of the people who had
settled there were killed, as will be seen in the third part.
There are many villages in the neighborhood of this valley.
The people are the same as those in Seilora and have the same
' That is, as far northward as the Rio Gila.
' The fruit of the prickly-pear cactus.
' The giant cactus. See p. 305, note 1.
* Sonera. See p. 301, notes 1 and 2.
» See p. 334, note 1.
' This was Arizpe, on the upper waters of the Rio Sonora. Jaramillo
calls it Ispa.
' Sec p. 320, note 2.
348 SPANISH EXPLOREKS [1541
dress and language, habits, and customs, like all the rest as
far as the desert of Chichilticalh. The women paint their
chins and eyes like the Moorish women of Barbary. They are
great sodomites.^ They drink wine made of the pitahaya,
which is the fruit of a great thistle which opens like the pome-
granate. The wine makes them stupid. They make a great
quantity of preserves from the tuna; they preserve it in a
large amount of its sap without other honey. They make
bread of the mesquite, like cheese, which keeps good for a
whole year. There are native melons in this country so large
that a person 'can carry only one of them. They cut these
into slices and dry them in the sun. They are good to eat,
and taste like figs, and are better than dried meat ; they are
very good and sweet, keeping for a whole year when prepared
in this way.^
In this country there were also tame eagles, which the
chiefs esteemed to be something fine.^ No fowls of any sort
were seen in any of these villages except in this valley of Suya,
where fowls hke those of Castile were found. Nobody could
find out how they came to be so far inland, the people being
all at war with one another. Between Suya and Chichil-
ticalh there are many sheep and mountain goats with very
large bodies and horns. Some Spaniards declare that they
have seen flocks of more than a hundred together, which ran
so fast that they disappeared very quickly.
At Chichilticalh the country changes its character again
and the spiky vegetation ceases. The reason is that the gulf
reaches as far up as this place, and the mountain chain changes
its direction at the same time that the coast does. Here they
' These are, from the south northward, the Pimas Bajos or Nevome,
Opatas, Papagos, and Pimas. The older Pima women still paint their faces
in fine lines and also are tattooed, but the custom is becoming a thing of the
past. The Opatas are almost entirely Mexicanized.
' These were doubtless c-antaloupes. The southwestern Indians still slice
and dry them in a manner similar to that here described.
* The .Pueblo Indians, particularly the Zuni and the Hopi, keep eagles
for their feathers, which are highly prized because regarded as sacred and
are much used in their ceremonies.
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 349
had to cross and pass through the mountains in order to get
into the level country.^
Chapter 3
Of Chichilticalli and the desert, of Cibola, its customs and habits,
and of other things.
Chichilticalli is so called because the friars found a house
at this place which was formerly inhabited by people who
separated from Cibola. It was made of colored or reddish
earth.^ The house was large and appeared to have been a
fortress. It must have been destroyed by the people of the
district, who are the most barbarous people that have yet
been seen. They live in separate cabins and not in settle-
ments.^ They live by hunting. The rest of the country is all
wilderness, covered with pine forests. There are great quan-
tities of the pine nuts. The pines are two or three times as
high as a man before they send out branches. There is a sort
of oak with sweet acorns, of which they make cakes like sugar
plums with dried coriander seeds. It is very sweet, like sugar.
Watercress grows in many springs, and there are rosebushes,
and pennyroyal, and wild marjoram.
There are barbels and picones,^ like those of Spain, in the
rivers of this wilderness.^ Gray lions and leopards were seen.*
^ Probably Dragoon Pass, through the Dragoon and Gahuro Mountains
of southeastern Arizona, thence between the Pinaleno and Chiricahua
mountains to the plains of San Simon.
^ This ruin is supposed to have been in the vicinity of the present Solomons-
ville, Graham County. The name is Aztec (chichiltic " red," calli "house").
Writers have endeavored to identify it with the celebrated Casa Grande
farther to the northwest, but this is inconsistent with the directions recorded in
the narratives, and all students of the subject have now abandoned this theory.
^ These people are not identifiable with certainty. If the Apaches of
Arizona, it is the only mention of them and is contrary to all other testimony.
The Sobaipuris lived on the upper Rio San Pedro and on the Gila near the
mouth of the former stream, until the latter part of the eighteenth century.
■* Picones are catfish.
"The "wilderness," or uninhabited region, extended from the Gila in
central Graham County to the crossing of the New Mexico boundary by
Zuni River, wiiore Cil)()la began.
° These are the mountain liou and the wildcat.
350 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
The country rises continually from the beginning of the wil-
derness until Cibola is reached, which is eighty leagues, going
north. From Culiacan to the edge of the wilderness the route
had kept the north on the left hand.
Cibola ^ is seven villages. The largest is called Magaque.^
The houses are ordinarily three or four stories high, but in
Macaque there are houses with four and seven stories. These
people are very intelligent. They cover their privy parts
and all the immodest parts with cloths made like a sort of
table napkin, with fringed edges and a tassel at each corner,
which they tie over the hips. They wear long robes of feath-
ers and of the skins of hares, and cotton blankets. The
women wear blankets, which they tie or knot over the left
shoulder, leaving the right arm out.^ These serve to cover the
body. They wear a neat well-shaped outer garment of skin.
They gather their hair over the two ears, making a frame
which looks like an old-fashioned headdress.^
The country is a valley between ridges resembling rocky
mountains. They plant in holes. Maize does not grow high ;
ears from a stalk three or four to each cane, thick and large,
of eight hundred grains, a thing not seen in these parts. There
are large numbers of bears in this province, and lions, wild-
cats, deer, and otter. There are very fine turquoises, although
not so many as was reported.^ They collect the pine nuts ^
each year, and store them up in advance. A man does not
have more than one wife. There are estufas or hot rooms '
* See p. 300, note 1.
^ See p. 315, note 1.
' Identical with the dress of the Zuni women of to-day. Rabbit-skin
robes have been replaced by woollen blankets, like those woven by the
Navaho, who learned the art from the Pueblos. The rabbit-skin robes are
now manufactured chiefly by the Paiutes, the Pueblos having almost ceased
to make them.
* This custom has been abandoned except by the Hopi maidens, who still
wear thiiir hair in picturestiue whorls, oneoneachsidcof thohead, until married.
' See p. 3()S, note 3. This entire description is characteristic of the
present Zuni country, except that game is not so abundant.
* Pifion nuts, which are still gathered in large quantities.
' The kivaa, or ceremonial chambers, of which there arc usually several la
each pueblo. It is in these that most of the secret rites are performed.
1541] EXPEDITION OF COEONADO 351
in the villages, which are the courtyards or places where they
gather for consultation. They do not have chiefs as in New
Spain, but are ruled by a council of the oldest men. They
have priests who preach to them, whom they call papas. ^
These are the elders. They go up on the highest roof of the
village and preach to the village from there, like public criers,
in the morning while the sun is rising, the whole village being
silent and sitting in the galleries to listen.^ They tell them
how they are to hve, and I believe that they give certain
commandments for them to keep, for there is no drunkenness
among them nor sodomy nor sacrifices, neither do they eat
human flesh nor steal, but they are usually at work. The
estufas belong to the whole village.^ It is a sacrilege for the
women to go into the estufas to sleep. They make the cross
as a sign of peace. They burn their dead, and throw the
implements used in their work into the fire with the bodies.*
It is twenty leagues to Tusayan,^ going northwest. This is
a province with seven villages, of the same sort, dress, habits,
and ceremonies as at Cibola. There may be as many as 3,000
or 4,000 men in the fourteen villages of these two provinces.*
It is forty leagues or more to Tiguex, the road trending toward
the north. The rock of Acuco, which we described in the
first part, is between these.
* Pcipa is a true Zuni word, signifying "elder brother," as distinguished
from su-e, "younger brother." These terms allude both to age and to rank.
^ All public announcements are still made in this way.
^ Rather to the religious societies. Some of them belong exclusively to
the women.
* Excavations made at Halona, one of the Seven Cities of Cibola,
yielded only skeletons that had been interred within the houses, beneath the
floors. In the Salt River and Gila valleys, southern Arizona, this method was
also practised, but in addition remains were cremated and deposited in
earthen vessels in mounds near by.
" See p. 307, note 1 ; p. 358, note 3.
'This would indicate a population of 10,500 to 14,000, which is doubtless
an excessive estimate for the sixteenth century. The present population of
Zuni is 1514 ; of the Hopi villages, about 2000.
352 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
Chapter 4
Of how they live at Tiguex, and of the province of Tiguex and its
neighborhood.
Tiguex is a province with twelve villages on the banks of
a large, mighty river; some villages on one side and some on
the other/ It is a spacious valley two leagues wide, and a very
high, rough, snow-covered mountain chain lies east of it.^
There are seven villages in the ridges at the foot of this —
four on the plain and three situated on the skirts of the moun-
tain.
There are seven villages seven leagues to the north, at
Quirix, and the seven villages of the province of Hemes are
forty leagues northeast [northwest]. It is forty leagues north
or east to Acha,^ and four leagues southeast * to Tutahaco, a
province with eight villages. In general, these villages all
have the same habits and customs, although some have some
things in particular which the others have not. They are
governed by the opinions of the elders. They all work to-
gether to build the villages, the women being engaged in mak-
ing the mixture and the walls, while the men bring the wood
and put it in place. They have no lime, but they make a
mixture of ashes, coals, and dirt which is almost as good as
mortar, for when the house is to have four stories, they do not
make the walls more than half a yard thick. They gather a
great pile of twigs of thyme [sagebrush] and sedge grass and
set it afire, and when it is half coals and ashes they throw a
quantity of dirt and water on it and mix it all together.
They make round balls of this, which they use instead of stones
after they are dry, fixing them with the same mixture, which
' The Rio Grande, as previously described.
' The Saiiflia Mountains.
* The puol)lo of Pifuris, about, twenty miles south of Taos. This is a
Tigua village of about 12.") inli.-ibitants.
* Comparo the previous reference to Tutahaco (p. 314). Both the distance
and the direction here given .seem to be erroneous.
1541] EXPEDITION OE CORONADO 353
comes to be like a stiff clay. Before they are married the
young men serve the whole village in general, and fetch the
wood that is needed for use, putting it in a pile in the court-
yard of the villages, from which the women take it to carry to
their houses/
The young men live in the estufas, which are in the yards
of the village. They are underground, square or round, with
pine pillars. Some were seen with twelve pillars and with four
in the centre as large as two men could stretch around. They
usually had three or four pillars. The floor was made of large,
smooth stones, like the baths which they have in Europe.
They have a hearth made like the binnacle or compass box
of a ship, in which they burn a handful of thyme at a time
to keep up the heat, and they can stay in there just as in a
bath. The top was on a level with the ground. Some that
were seen were large enough for a gam^e of ball. When any
man wishes to marry, it has to be arranged by those who gov-
ern. The man has to spin and weave a blanket and place it
before the woman, who covers herself with it and becomes his
wif e.^ The houses belong to the women, the estufas to the men.
If a man repudiates his woman, he has to go to the estufa.
It is forbidden for women to sleep in the estufas, or to enter
these for any purpose except to give their husbands or sons
something to eat. The men spin and weave. The women
bring up the children and prepare the food. The country is so
fertile that they do not have to break up the ground the year
round, but only have to sow the seed, which is presently
covered by the fall of snow, and the ears come up under the
snow. In one year they gather enough for seven. A very
large number of cranes and wild geese and crows and starlings
live on what is sown, and for all this, when they come to sow
for another year, the fields are covered with corn which they
have not been able to finish gathering.
' This would iiulirate the existence of a true communal system that does
not prevail at the present time.
' See Voth, " Oraibi Marriage Customs," .4 mmcan Anthropologist, II. 238
<1900).
2a
354 SPANISH EXPLOREKS [1541
There are a great many native fowl in these provinces, and
cocks with great hanging chins/ When dead, these keep for
sixty days, and longer in winter, without losing their feathers
or opening, and without any bad smell, and the same is true
of dead men.
The villages are free from nuisances, because they go outside
to excrete, and they pass their water into clay vessels, which
they empty at a distance from the village.^ They keep the
separate houses where they prepare the food for eating and
w^here they grind the meal, very clean. This is a separate
room or closet, where they have a trough with three stones
fixed in stiff clay. Three women go in here, each one having a
stone, with which one of them breaks the corn, the next grinds
it, and the third grinds it again.^ They take off their shoes,
do up their hair, shake their clothes, and cover their heads
before they enter the door. A man sits at the door playing on
a fife while they grind, moving the stones to the music and
singing together. They grind a large quantity at one time, be-
cause they make all their bread of meal soaked in warm water,
like wafers. They gather a great quantity of brushwood and
dry it to use for cooking all through the year. There are no
fruits good to eat in the country, except the pine nuts. They
have their preachers. Sodomy is not found among them.
They do not eat human flesh nor make sacrifices of it. The
people are not cruel, for they had Francisco de Ovando in
Tiguex about forty days, after he was dead, and when the vil-
lage was captured, he was found among their dead, whole and
without any other wound except the one which killed him,
white as snow, without any bad smell. I found out several
things about them from one of our Indians, who had been a
captive among them for a whole year. I asked him especially
' Tlie American turkey cocks.
' A custom still common at Zuni and other pueblos. Before the introduc-
tion of manufactured dyes the Pueblos used urine as a mordant.
' See Mindeleff's " Pueblo Architecture," in the Eighth Annual Report of
the Bureau of Ethnology, p. 208; also Gushing, "Zuni Breadstuff," in The
Millstone (Indianapolis, 1884-1885).
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 355
for the reason why the young women in that province went
entirely naked, however cold it might be, and he told me that
the virgins had to go around this way until they took a hus-
band, and that they covered themselves after they had known
man. The men here wear little shirts of tanned deerskin and
their long robes over this. In all these provinces they have
earthenware glazed with antimony and jars of extraordinary
labor and workmanship, which were worth seeing.^
Chapter 5
0/ Cicuye and the villages in its neighborhood, and of how some
people came to conquer this country.
We have already said that the people of Tiguex and of all
the provinces on the banks of that river were all alike, having
the same ways of living and the same customs. It will not be
necessary to say anything particular about them. I wish
merely to give an account of Cicuye and some depopulated
villages which the army saw on the direct road which it fol-
lowed thither, and of others that were across the snowy moun-
tains near Tiguex, which also lay in that region above the
river.
Cicuye ^ is a village of nearly five hundred warriors, who
* A number of memoirs on the pottery of the ancient Pueblos may be
consulted in the Annual Reports of the Bureau of American Ethnology.
^ This is Pecos, the largest pueblo of New Mexico in the sixteenth cen-
tury and for a long time after. Its people belonged to the Tanoan family,
although their language was understood only by the Jemez villagers, their
nearest kindred. It was the scene of the missionary labors of Fray Luis
Descalona, who remained behind when Coronado returned to Mexico in 1542,
but he was probably killed before the close of that year. Pecos became the
seat of an important Franciscan mission early in the seventeenth century,
but it began to decline after the revolt of 1680-1692, and in 1838 the half-
dozen survivors removed to Jcmcz, where one of them still (1906) Uves.
Cicuye is the Isleta, or Tigua, name for Pecos, while "Pecos" itself is the
Keresan, or Queres, appellation, with the Spanish-English plural. The
ruins of the town are plainly visible from the Santa Fe Railway. See
Bandolier in Papers of the Archaeological Institute of A7nerica, Amer. ser.,
I. (1881) ; Hewett in American Anthropologist, n. s., VI. No. 4, 1904.
356 SPANISH EXPLOREKS [1541
are feared throughout that country. It is square, situated on
a rock, with a large court or yard in the middle, containing the
estufas. The houses are all alike, four stories high. One can
go over the top of the whole village v/ithout there being a street
to hinder. There are corridors going all around it at the first
two stories, by which one can go around the whole village.
These are like outside balconies, and they are able to protect
themselves under these. The houses do not have doors below,
but they use ladders, which can be lifted up like a drawbridge,
and so go up to the corridors which are on the inside of the
village. As the doors of the houses open on the corridor of that
story, the corridor serves as a street. The houses that open on
the plain are right back of those that open on the court, and in
time of war they go through those behind them. The village
is enclosed by a low wall of stone. There is a spring of water
inside, which they are able to divert.^ The people of this village
boast that no one has been able to conquer them and that they
conquer whatever villages they wish. The people and their
customs are like those of the other villages. Their virgins also
go nude until they take husbands, because they say that if
they do anything wrong then it will be seen, and so they do
not do it. They do not need to be ashamed because they go
around as they were born.
There is a village, small and strong, between Cicuye and
the province of Quirix, which the Spaniards named Ximena,'^
and another village almost deserted, only one part of which is
inhabited.^ This was a large village, and judging from its
condition and newness it appeared to have been destroyed.
They called this the village of the granaries (silos), because large
underground cellars were found here stored with corn. There
was another large village farther on, entirely destroyed and
* The spring was "still trickling out beneath a massive ledge of rocks on
the west sill" whon Bandolier (op. cit.) sketched it in 1880.
' The former Taiios pueblo of Galisteo, a mile and a half northeast of the
present town of the same name.
' According to Mota Padilla, Historia de la Conquista, 1742 (Mexico,
1870), this was called Coquite.
1541] EXPEDITION OF COKONADO 357
pulled down, in the yards of which there were many stone balls,
as big as twelve-quart bowls, which seemed to have been thrown
by engines or catapults, which had destroyed the village.
All that I was able to find out about them was that, sixteen
years before, some people called Teyas ^ had come to this coun-
try in great numbers and had destroyed these villages. They
had besieged Cicuye but had not been able to capture it, be-
cause it was strong, and when they left the region, they had
made peace with the whole country. It seems as if they must
have been a powerful people, and that they must have had en-
gines to knock down the villages. The only thing they could
tell about the direction these people came from was by pointing
toward the north. They usually call these people Teyas or
brave men, just as the Mexicans say chichimecas or braves,^
for the Teyas whom the army saw were brave. These knew
the people in the settlements, and were friendly with them,
and they (the Teyas of the plains) went there to spend the
winter under the wings of the settlements. The inhabitants
do not dare to let them come inside, because they can not trust
them. Although they are received as friends, and trade with
them, they do not stay in the villages over night, but outside
under the wings. The villages are guarded by sentinels with
trumpets, who call to one another just as in the fortresses of
Spain.
There are seven other villages along this route, toward the
snowy mountains,^ one of which has been half destroyed by the
people already referred to . These were under the rule of Cicuye.
Cicuye is in a little valley between mountain chains and moun-
tains covered with large pine forests. There is a little stream *
which contains very good trout and otters, and there are very
large bears and good falcons hereabouts.
* These Indians were seen by Coronado during his journey across the
plains. See p. 333, note 3.
^ The name applied in Mexico at the time to any warlike, unsubdued
tribe.
' The mountains to the north, in which the Rio Pecos has its source.
* The llio Pecos, still noted for trout.
358 SPANISH EXPLOKERS [1541
Chapter 6
Which gives the number of villages which were seen in the country
of the terraced houses, and their population.
Before I proceed to speak of the plains, with the cows
and settlements and tribes there, it seems to me that it will be
well for the reader to know how large the settlements were,
where the houses with stories, gathered into villages, were seen,
and how great an extent of country they occupied/ As I say,
Cibola is the first:
Cibola, seven villages.^
Tusayan, seven villages.^
The rock of Acuco, one.*
Tiguex, twelve villages.^
Tutahaco, eight villages.^
These villages were below the river.'
Quirix, seven villages.^
In the snowy mountains, seven villages.®
Ximena, three villages/'^
' Only the pueblos of Acoma and Isleta occupy their sixteenth-century
sites, all the other villages having shifted their locations after the great revolt
of 1680-1692, when the Spaniards granted specific tracts of land, usually a
league square, later confirmed to the Indians by Congress under the provi-
sions of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
' Zuni, including the pueblos of Halona, Matsaki, Kiakima, Hawiku,
Kyanawe, and two others which have not been identified with certainty.
' The Hopi villages, among them being Awatobi (destroyed at the begin-
ning of the eighteenth century), Oraibi, Walpi, Mishongnovi, Shongopovi,
and Shupaulovi. The remaining pueblo has not been determined absolutely.
Sichomovi and llano are comparatively modern.
* Acoma. See p. .311, note 2.
* The Tigua pueblos; see p. 312, note 2.
* See p. 314, note 1.
' Meaning that the provinces of Tiguex and Tutahaco were those farthest
down the valley.
* The putiblos of the Queres, or Keresan, family. See p. 327, note 3.
' Toward the north, in the direction of Santa F6.
'"Ximena itself was Galisteo. The others were "Coquite" and the
"Pueblo de los Silos." See p. 356, notes 2 and 3.
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 359
Cicuye, one village/
Hemes, seven villages.^
Aguas Calientes, or Boiling Springs, three villages.'
Yuqueyunque, in the mountains, six villages/
Valladolid, called Braba, one village/
Chia, one village/
In all, there are sixty-six villages.'^ Tiguex appears to be
in the centre of the villages. Valladolid is the farthest up the
river toward the northeast. The four villages down the river
are toward the southeast, because the river turns toward the
east.^ It is 130 leagues — ten more or less — from the farthest
point that was seen down the river to the farthest point up the
river, and all the settlements are within this region. Including
those at a distance, there are sixty-six villages in all, as I have
said, and in all of them there may be some 20,000 men, which
may be taken to be a fair estimate of the population of the
villages.^ There are no houses or other buildings between one
* Pecos. See p. 355, note 2.
^ Jemez, including Giusiwd, Amushungkwd, Patoqua, and Astyalakwd.
There are many ruins in the vicinity, including those of a large Spanish
church at Giusiwd. Evidently some of the Sia villages are here included.
^ The Jemez villages about the Jemez Hot Springs, above the present
Jemez pueblo. Castaiieda here duplicates his provinces somewhat, as the
Aguas Calientes pueblos were Jemez, Giusiwd, being one of the most prominent.
* See p. 340, note 1. This group of Tewa villages doubtless included
San Juan, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Tesuque, Nambe, Pojoaque, and
Yukiwingge. Jacona, Cuyamunque, and others were also occupied by the
Tewas during this period, no doubt, but these may have been included in
Castaneda's province of the Snowy Mountains.
*Taos. See p. 340, note 4.
' Sia, a Queres pueblo, probably included, with Santa Ana, in his "Quirix"'
group, above.
' Castaiieda lists seventy-one, probably having added others without
altering the total here given.
* The trend of the Rio Grande is really southwestward until after the
southern limit of the old Pueblo settlements is passed. Perhaps Castaneda had
in mind the southeastward course of the stream farther south" toward Florida,"
as mentioned later in this paragraph. He is probably here speaking from
hearsay, as the exjiloration downstream was not made by the main body.
' This would give a total Pueblo population of about 70,000, whereas it
could scarcely have much exceeded Castaneda's estimated number of men
alone.
360 SPANISH EXPLOKERS [1541
village and another, but where we went it is entirely unin-
habited. These people, since they are few, and their manners,
government, and habits are so different from all the nations
that have been seen and discovered in these western regions,
must come from that part of Greater India, the coast of which
lies to the west of this country, for they could have come down
from that country, crossing the mountain chains and following
down the river, setthng in what seemed to them the best place.
As they multiplied, they have kept on making settlements
until they lost the river when it buried itself underground, its
course being in the direction of Florida. It [the Rio Grande]
comes down from the northeast, where they [Coronado's army]
could certainly have found signs of villages. He [Coronado]
preferred, however, to follow the reports of the Turk, but it
would have been better to cross the mountains where this river
rises. I beheve they would have found traces of riches and
would have reached the lands from which these people started,
which from its location is on the edge of Greater India, al-
though the region is neither known nor understood, because
from the trend of the coast it appears that the land between
Norway and China is very far up. The country from sea to sea
is very wide, judging from the location of both coasts, as well
as from what Captain Villalobos discovered when he went
in search of China by the sea to the west,^ and from what has
been discovered on the North Sea concerning the trend of the
coast of Florida toward the Bacallaos, up toward Norway.^
To return then to the proposition with which I began, I say
that the settlements and people already named were all that
were seen in a region seventy leagues wide and 130 long, in the
' Ruy Lopez de Villalobos sailed from Acapulco, Mexico, in command of
four vessels, in 1542, discovered the Caroline and Pclew archipelagos and
sighted Caesarea Caroli, believed to be Luzon, of the Philippine group.
Later he established a colony on an island which he called Antonio or Sara-
gan. .Sup[)lies failing, he despatched three of the vessels to Mexico, but these
were wrecked. Forced by hunger to flee to Amboina, Villalobos was im-
prisoned by the Portuguese. One of his men, escaping, carried the news to
Mexico in 1549.
* "The Spanish t^xt," remarks Mr. Winship, "fully justifies Castaneda's
etatement that he was not skilled in the arts of rhetoric and geography."
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 361
settled country along the river Tiguex.^ In New Spain there
are not one but many establishments containing a larger num-
ber of people. Silver metals ^ were found in many of their
villages, which they use for glazing and painting their earthen-
ware.
Chapter 7
Which treats of the plains that were crossed, of the cows, and of
the people who inhabit them.
We have spoken of the settlements of high houses which are
situated in what seems to be the most level and open part of
the mountains, since it is 150 leagues across before entering the
level country between the two mountain chains which I said
were near the North Sea and the South Sea, which might better
be called the Western Sea along this coast. This mountain
series is the one which is near the South Sea. In order to show
that the settlements are in the middle of the mountains, I will
state that it is eighty leagues from Chichilticalli, where we be-
gan to cross this country, to Cibola ; from Cibola, which is the
first village, to Cicuye, which is the last on the way across, is
seventy leagues; it is thirty leagues from Cicuye to where
the plains begin. It may be we went across in an indirect or
roundabout way, which would make it seem as if there was
more country than if it had been crossed in a direct line,^ and
it may be more difficult and rougher. This can not be known
certainly, because the mountains change their direction above
the bay at the mouth of the Firebrand (Tizon) River."*
Now we will speak of the plains. The country is spacious
and level, and is more than 400 leagues wide in the part between
* Castaneda here contradicts himself, as Pecos, Acoma, and the Zuni and
Tusayan groups of j)ueblos are not in the valley of the Rio Grande.
^ Previously called antimony. See p. 355, note 1.
' After leaving Cicuye (Pecos) the army marched down the river for four
days, crossed the stream over a bridge that they had built, and then reached
the Staked Plain of Texas by travelling first a northeasterly then a south-
easterly course. See Pt. 1, chap. 19.
* The Ilio Colorado.
363 SPANISH EXPLOEEKS [1541
the two mountain ranges — one, that which Francisco Vazquez
Coronado crossed, and the other that which the force under
Don Fernando de Soto crossed, near the North Sea, entering
the country from Florida. No settlements were seen anj^where
on these plains/
In traversing 250 leagues, the other mountain range was not
seen, nor a hill nor a hillock which was three times as high as a
man. Several lakes were found at intervals ; they were round
as plates, a stone's throw or more across, some fresh and some
salt.^ The grass grows tall near these lakes ; away from them
it is very short, a span or less. The country is like a bowl,
so that when a man sits down, the horizon surrounds him all
around at the distance of a musket shot. There are no groves
of trees except at the rivers, which flow at the bottom of some
ravines where the trees grow so thick that they were not noticed
until one was right on the edge of them. They are of dead
earth. There are paths down into these, made by the cows
when they go to the water, which is essential throughout these
plains. As I have related in the first part, people follow the
cows, hunting them and tanning the skins to take to the settle-
ments in the winter to sell, since they go there to pass the win-
ter, each company going to those which are nearest, some to
the settlements at Cicuye, others toward Quivira, and others to
the settlements which are situated in the direction of Florida.
These people are called Querechos and Teyas. They de-
scribed some large settlements, and judging from what was
seen of these people and from the accounts they gave of other
places, there are a good many more of these people than there
are of those at the settlements. They have better figures, are
better warriors, and are more feared. They travel like the
Arabs, with their tents and troops of dogs loaded with poles ^
' That is, if the writer overlooks the settlements (one of them called
Cona) in the ravines of the headwaters of the Texas streams, about the
eastern escarpment of the Staked Plain, previously mentioned.
' The salt lakes near the Texas-New Mexico boundary. Further allusion
to these salt lakes is made in Pt. 1, chap. 21.
' The well-known travois of the plains tribes. The poles were those used
to svii)port the tents, or tipis, and were usually of cedar.
1541] EXPEDITION" OF CORONADO 363
and having Moorish pack-saddles with girths. When the load
gets disarranged, the dogs howl, calling some one to fix them
right. These people eat raw flesh and drink blood. They do
not eat human flesh. ^ They are a kind people and not cruel.
They are faithful friends. They are able to make themselves
very well understood by means of signs.^ They dry the flesh
in the sun, cutting it thin hke a leaf,^ and when dry they grind
it like meal to keep it and make a sort of sea soup of it to eat.
A handful thrown into a pot swells up so as to increase very
much. They season it with fat, which they always try to secure
when they kill a cow.^ They empty a large gut and fill it with
blood, and carry this around the neck to drink when they are
thirsty. When they open the belly of a cow, they squeeze
out the chewed grass and drink the juice that remains behind,
because they say that this contains the essence of the stomach.
They cut the hide open at the back and pull it off at the joints,
using a flint as large as a finger, tied in a httle stick, with as
much ease as if working with a good iron tool. They give it an
edge with their own teeth. The quickness with which they
do this is something worth seeing and noting.
There are very great numbers of wolves on these plains,
which go around with the cows. They have white skins. The
deer are pied with white. Their skin is loose, so that when they
are killed it can be pulled off with the hand while warm, com-
ing off like pigskin. The rabbits, which are very numerous,
are so foolish that those on horseback killed them with their
lances. This is when they are mounted among the cows.
They fly from a person on foot.
* Some of the tribes of Texas, however, especially the Attacapa and the
Tonkawa, were noted as cannibals.
^ The sign language was in general use among the tribes of the great plains,
rendered necessary by the diversity of languages. See Mallery, Introduction
to the Study of Sign Language (Washington, 1880) ; Clark, Indian Sign Lan-
guage (1885).
' The "jerked beef" of the later frontiersmen.
* The pemmican of the Indians.
364 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
Chapter 8
Of Quivira, of where it is and some information about it.
Quivira is to the west ^ of those ravines, in the midst of the
country, somewhat nearer the mountains toward the sea, for
the country is level as far as Quivira, and there they began to
see some mountain chains. The country is well settled.
Judging from what was seen on the borders of it, this country
is very similar to that of Spain in the varieties of vegetation
and fruits. There are plums like those of Castile, grapes, nuts,
mulberries, oats, pennyroyal, wild marjoram, and large quan-
tities of flax, but this does not do them any good, because they
do not know how to use it.^ The people are of almost the same
sort and appearance as the Teyas. They have villages like
those in New Spain. The houses are round, without a wall,
and the}^ have one story like a loft, under the roof, where they
sleep and keep their belongings. The roofs are of straw. ^ There
are other thickly settled provinces around it containing large
numbers of men. A friar named Juan de Padilla remained in
this pro\ance, together with a Spanish-Portuguese and a negro
and a half-blood and some Indians from the province of Capo-
than,^ in New Spain. They killed the friar because he wanted
to go to the province of the Guas,^ who were their enemies.
The Spaniard escaped by taking flight on a mare, and afterward
reached New Spain, coming out by way of Panuco. The Ind-
ians from New Spain who accompanied the friar were allowed
' Castaneda is sometimes confused in his directions. In this instance
unless " west " (ponientc) is a sUp of the pen, he evidently forgot that the army
travelled for weeks to the north, "by the needle," after journeying for some
distance toward sunrise from the ravines of western Texas.
' This flora is characteristic of the upper plains generally, and the passage
has been quoted by students of the route to show that Quivira lay both in
Kansas and in Xcbraska.
^ Note the charactor of the houses as one of the chief means of deter-
mining the irihai)itaiits of (Quivira. See p. 337, note 1.
* The .Jaraniillo narrative says Capottan or Capotean.
' Possibly the Kaw or Kansa Indians. See Pt. 3, chap. 4.
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 365
by the murderers to bury him, and then they followed the
Spaniard and overtook him. This Spaniard was a Portuguese,
named Campo/
The great river of the Holy Spirit (Espiritu Santo), ^ which
Don Fernando de Soto discovered in the country of Florida,
flows through this country. It passes through a province
called Arache,^ according to the reliable accounts which were
obtained here. The sources were not visited, because, accord-
ing to what they said, it comes from a very distant countiy in
the mountains of the South Sea, from the part that sheds its
waters onto the plains. It flows across all the level country
and breaks through the mountains of the North Sea, and comes
out where the people with Don Fernando de Soto navigated it.
This is more than 300 leagues from where it enters the sea.* On
account of this, and also because it has large tributaries, it is
so mighty when it enters the sea that they lost sight of the
land before the water ceased to be fresh. ^
This country of Quivira was the last that was seen, of which
I am able to give any description or information. Now it is
proper for me to return and speak of the army, which I left
in Tiguex, resting for the winter, so that it would be able to
proceed or return in search of these settlements of Quivira,
which was not accomplished after all, because it was God's
pleasure that these discoveries should remain for other peo-
ples and that we who had been there should content ourselves
with saying that we were the first who discovered it and ob-
tained any information concerning it, just as Hercules knew
1 Compare Herrera, Historia General, dec. vi., lib. ix., cap. xii., Vol. III.,
p. 207 (ed. 1730) ; Goraara, Historia General, cap. ccxiiii. (1553) ; Mota
Padilla, Historia de la Conquista, 1742, p. 167 (1870) ; and specially Bande-
lier in American Catholic Quarterly Review, XV. 551-565 (Philadelphia,
July, 1890).
'^ The Missouri-Mississippi.
^ The Harahey of Jaramillo's account — evidently the Pawnee country,
about the Platte River, Nebraska. The " Rclacion del Suceso," Fourteenth
Report of the Bureau of Ethnology (Washington, 1896), spells it Harale.
* The North and the South seas are the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans
respectively.
* See Cabeza de Vaca's narrative in the present volume.
366 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
the site where Julius Caesar was to found Seville or Hispales.
May the all-powerful Lord grant that His will be done in every-
thing. It is certain that if this had not been His will Francisco
Vazquez [Coronado] would not have returned to New Spain
without cause or reason, as he did, and that it would not have
been left for those with Don Fernando de Soto to settle such a
good country, as they have done, and besides settling it to
increase its extent, after obtaining, as they did, information
from our army/
THIRD PART
Which describes what happened to Francisco Vazquez Coronado
during the winter, and how he gave up the expedition
and returned to New Spain.
Laus Deo
Chapter 1
Of how Don Pedro de Tovar came from Senora with some men,
and Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas started back to
New Spain.
At the end of the first part of this book, we told how Fran-
cisco Vazquez Coronado, when he got back from Quivira, gave
orders to winter at Tiguex, in order to return, when the winter
was over, with his whole army to discover all the settlements
in those regions. Don Pedro de Tovar, who had gone, as we
related, to conduct a force from the city of San Hieronimo,
arrived in the meantime with the men whom he had brought.
* Mr. Winship calls attention to Mota Padilla's reasons for the failure of
the expedition : " It was most likely the chastisement of God that riches were
not found on this expedition, because, when this ought to have been the sec-
ondary object of the expedition, and the conversion of all those heathen their
first aim, they bartered with fate and struggled after the secondary; and thus
the misfortune is not so much that all those labors were without fruit, but the
worst is that such a luimber of souls have remained in their blindness."
Hisloria dc la Conquisla, 1742, p. IGG (repr. 1870).
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 367
He had not selected the rebels and seditious men there, but
the most experienced ones and the best soldiers — men whom
he could trust — wisely considering that he ought to have good
men in order to go in search of his general in the country of the
Indian called Turk. Although they found the army at Tiguex
when they arrived there, this did not please them much, be-
cause they had come with great expectations, believing that
they would find their general in the rich country of the Indian
called Turk. They consoled themselves with the hope of going
back there, and lived in anticipation of the pleasure of under-
taking this return expedition which the army would soon
make to Quivira. Don Pedro de Tovar brought letters from
New Spain, both from the viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza,
and from individuals. Among these was one for Don Garcia
Lopez de Cardenas, which informed him of the death of his
brother, the heir, and summoned him to Spain to receive the
inheritance. On this account he was given permission, and left
Tiguex with several other persons who received permission to
go and settle their affairs.^ There were many others who would
have hked to go, but did not, in order not to appear faint-
hearted. During this time the general endeavored to pacify
several villages in the neighborhood which were not well dis-
posed, and to make peace with the people at Tiguex. He
tried also to procure some of the cloth of the countr}^, because
the soldiers were almost naked and poorly clothed, full of hce,
which they were unable to get rid of or avoid.
The general, Francisco Vazquez Coronado, had been beloved
and obeyed by his captains and soldiers as heartily as any of
those who have ever started out in the Indies. Necessity
knows no law, and the captains who collected the cloth divided
it badly, taking the best for themselves and their friends and
soldiers, and leaving the rest for the soldiers, and so there began
* According to the Relacion del Suceso: " Don Garcia Lopez de Cardenas
started off for Mexico, who, besides the fact that his arm was very bad, had
permission from the viceroy on account of the death of his brother. Ten or
twelve who were sick went with him, and not a man among them all who
could fight." Cardenas, it will be recalled, had broken his arm. See Pt. 1,
chap. 19.
368 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
to be some angry murmuring on account of this. Others also
complained because they noticed that some favored ones were
spared in the work and in the watches and received better por-
tions of what w^as divided, both of cloth and food. On this
account it is thought that they began to say that there w^as
nothing in the country of Quivira which was w^orth returning
for, which was no shght cause of what afterward happened,
as will be seen.
Chapter 2
Of the generaVs fall, and of how the return to New Spain was
ordered.
After the winter ^ w^as over, the return to Quivira was an-
nounced, and the men began to prepare the things needed.
Since nothing in this life is at the disposition of men, but all
is under the ordination of Ahnighty God, it was His will that
we should not accomplish this, and so it happened that one
feast day the general went out on horseback to amuse himself,
as usual, riding with the captain Don Rodrigo Maldonado.
He w^as on a powerful horse, and his servants had put on a new
girth, which must have been rotten at the time, for it broke
during the race and he fell over on the side w^here Don Rod-
rigo was, and as his horse passed over him it hit his head wdth
its hoof, which laid him at the point of death, and his recovery
was slow and doubtful.
During this time, while he was in his bed, Don Garcia Lopez
de Cardenas, who had started to go to New Spain, came
back in flight from Suya, because he had found that town
deserted and the people and horses and cattle all dead.^
When he reached Tiguex and learned the sad news that the
general was near his end, as already related, they did not dare
to tell him until he had recovered, and when he finally got up
' Of 1541-1542.
* Canlonas h.-ul "reached the town of the Spaniards and found it burned
and two SpariianiH and many Indians and horses dead, and he returned to the
river on this account." {Hdacion del Suceso.)
1542] EXPEDITIOI^ OF CORONADO 369
and learned of it, it affected him so much that he had to go
back to bed again. He may have done this in order to bring
about what he afterward accomphshed, as was beheved later.
It was while he was in this condition that he recollected what a
scientific friend of his in Salamanca had told him, that he
would become a powerful lord in distant lands, and that he
would have a fall from which he would never be able to recover.
This expectation of death made him desire to return and die
where he had a wife and children. As the physician and sur-
geon who was doctoring him, and also acted as a talebearer,
suppressed the murmurings that were going about among the
soldiers, he treated secretly and underhandedly with several
gentlemen who agreed v/ith him. They set the soldiers to
talking about going back to New Spain, in little knots and
gatherings, and induced them to hold consultations about it,
and had them send papers to the general, signed by all the
soldiers, through their ensigns, asking for this. They all
entered into it readily, and not much time needed to be spent,
since many desired it already. When they asked him, the
general acted as if he did not want to do it, but all the gentlemen
and captains supported them, giving him their signed opinions,
and as some were in this, they could give it at once, and they
even persuaded others to do the same. Thus they made it
seem as if they ought to return to New Spain, because they
had not found any riches, nor had they discovered any settled
countiy out of which estates could be formed for all the army.
When he had obtained their signatures, the return to New
Spain was at once announced, and since nothing can ever be
concealed, the double dealing began to be understood, and many
of the gentlemen found that they had been deceived and had
made a mistake. They tried in every way to get their signa-
tures back again from the general, who guarded them so care-
fully that he did not go out of one room, making his sickness
seem very much worse, and putting guards about his person and
room, and at night about the floor on which he slept. In
spite of all this, they stole his chest, and it is said that they did
not find their signatures in it, because he kept them in his
2b
370 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1541
mattress ; on the other hand, it is said that they did recover
them. They asked the general to give them sixty picked men,
with whom they would remain and hold the country until the
viceroy could send them support, or recall them, or else that
the general would leave them the army and pick out sixty men
to go back with him. But the soldiers did not want to remain
either way, some because they had turned their prow toward
New Spain, and others because they saw clearly the trouble that
would arise over who should have the command. The gentle-
men, I do not know whether because they had sworn fidehty or
because they feared that the soldiers would not support them,
did what had been decided on, although with an ill-will, and
from this time on they did not obey the general as readily as
formerly, and they did not show any affection for him. He
made much of the soldiers and humored them, with the result
that he did what he desired and secured the return of the whole
army.
Chapter 3
Of the rehellion at Suya and the reasons the settlers gave for it.
We have already stated in the last chapter that Don
Garcia Lopez de Cardenas came back from Suya in flight, hav-
ing found that country risen in rebellion. He told how and
why that town was deserted, which occurred as I will relate.
The entirely worthless fellows were all who had been left in
that town, the mutinous and seditious men, besides a few who
were honored with the charge of public affairs and who were
left to govern the others. Thus the bad dispositions of the
worthless secured the power, and they held daily meetings and
councils and declared that they had been betrayed and were
not going to be rescued, since the others had been directed to
go through another part of the country, where there was a
more convenient route to New Spain, which was not so, be-
cause they were still almost on the direct road. This talk led
some of them to revolt, and they chose one Pedro de Avila as
their captain. They went back to Culiacan, leaving the cap-
1541] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 371
tain, Diego de Alcaraz, sick in the town of San Hieronimo,
with only a small force. He did not have anyone whom he
could send after them to compel them to return. They killed
a number of people at several villages along the way. Finally
they reached Culiacan, where Hernando Arias de Saabedra/
who was waiting for Juan Gallego to come back from New
Spain with a force, detained them by means of promises, so
that Gallego could take them back. Some who feared what
might happen to them ran away one night to New Spain.
Diego de Alcaraz, who had remained at Suya with a small
force, sick, was not able to hold his position, although he
would have liked to, on account of the poisonous herb which
the natives use.^ When these noticed how weak the Span-
iards were, they did not continue to trade with them as they
formerly had done. Veins of gold had already been discov-
ered before this, but they were unable to work these, because
the country was at war. The disturbance was so great that
they did not cease to keep watch and to be more than usually
careful.
The town was situated on a little river.^ One night they
suddenly saw fires which they were not accustomed to, and on
this account they doubled the watches, but not having noticed
anything during the whole night, they grew careless along
toward morning, and the enemy entered the village so silently
that they were not seen until they began to kill and plunder.
A number of men reached the plain as well as they could, but
while they were getting out the captain was mortally wounded.
Several Spaniards came back on some horses after they had
recovered themselves and attacked the enemy, rescuing some,
though only a few. The enemy went off with the booty, leav-
ing three Spaniards killed ^ besides many of the servants and
more than twenty horses.
* Compare the spelling of this name on p. 297.
^ That is, to poison their arrows.
' The San Pedro, in Honora near the Arizona boundary. The Indians
who made this attack may have been the Sobaipuri.
* See p. 368, note 2.
372 SPANISH EXPLOEERS [1542
The Spaniards who survived started off the same day on
foot, not having any horses. They went toward Cuhacan,
keeping away from the roads, and did not find any food until
they reached Corazones where tlie Indians, like the good
friends they have always been, provided them with food.
From here they continued to Cuhacan, undergoing great hard-
ships. Hernandarias de Saabedra, the mayor, received them
and entertained them as well as he could until Juan Gallego
arrived with the reinforcements which he was conducting, on
his way to find the army. He was not a little troubled at
finding that post deserted, when he expected that the army
would be in the rich country which had been described by
the Indian called Turk, because he looked like one.
Chapter 4
Of how Friar Juan de Padilla and Friar Luis remained in
the country and the army prepared to retwn to Mexico.
When the general, Francisco Vasquez, saw that every-
thing w^as now quiet, and that his schemes had gone as he
wished, he ordered that everything should be ready to start
on the return to New Spain by the beginning of the month
of April, in the year 1543 [1542].
Seeing this, Friar Juan de Padilla, a regular brother of the
lesser order, and another. Friar Luis,^ a lay brother, told the
general that they w^anted to remain in that country — Friar
Juan de Padilla in Quivira, because his teachings seemed to
promise fruit there, and Friar Luis at Cicuye. On this ac-
count, as it was Lent at the time, the father made this the
subject of his sermon to the companies one Sunday, establish-
ing his proposition on the authority of the Holy Scriptures.
He declared his zeal for the conversion of these peoples and
his desire to draw them to the faith, and stated that he had
received permission to do it, although this was not necessary.
* Fray Luis Dosralona, or De Escalona, or De Uberla. For references on
these friars, see p. 365, note 1. See also p. 355, note 2,
1542] EXPEDITION OF COEONADO 373
The general sent a company to escort them as far as Cicuye,
where Friar Luis stopped, while Friar Juan went on back to
Quivira with the guides who had conducted the general, tak-
ing with him the Portuguese, as we related, and the half-blood,
and the Indians from New Spain. He was martyred a short
time after he arrived there, as we related in the second part,
Chapter 8. Thus we may be sure that he died a martyr,
because his zeal was holy and earnest.
Friar Luis remained at Cicuye. Nothing more has been
heard about him since, but before the army left Tiguex some
men who went to take him a number of sheep that were left
for him to keep, met him as he was on his way to visit some
other villages, which were fifteen or twenty leagues from Ci-
cuye, accompanied by some followers. He felt very hopeful
that he was liked at the village and that his teaching would
bear fruit, although he complained that the old men were
falling away from him. I, for my part, believe that they
finally killed him. He was a man of good and holy life, and
may Our Lord protect him and grant that he may convert
many of those peoples, and end his days in guiding them in
the faith. We do not need to believe otherwise, for the peo-
ple in those parts are pious and not at all cruel. They are
friends, or rather, enemies of cruelty, and they remained faith-
ful and loyal friends.^
' Gen. W. W. H. Davis, in his Spanish Conquest of New Mexico, p. 231,
gives the following extract, translated from an old Spanish MS. at Santa Fe :
"When Coronado returned to Mexico, he left behind him, among the Indians
of Cibola, the father Fray Francisco Juan de Padilla, the father Fray Juan de
la Cruz, and a Portuguese named Andres del Campo. Soon after the Span-
iards departed, Padilla and the Portuguese set off in search of the country of
the Grand Quivira, where the former understood there were innumerable
souls to be saved. After travelling several days, they reached a large settle-
ment in the Quivira country. The Indians came out to receive them in
battle array, when the friar, knowing their intentions, told the Portuguese and
his attendants to take to flight, while he would await their coming, in order
that they might vent their fury on him as they ran. The former took to
flight, and, placing themselves on a height within view, saw what happened
to the friar. Padilla awaited their coming upon his knees, and when tlicy
arrived where he was they immediately put him to death. The same haj)-
pened to Juan de la Cruz, who was left behind at Cibola, which people killed
374 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1542
After the friars had gone, the general, fearing that they
might be injured if people were carried away from that coun-
try to New Spain, ordered the soldiei-s to let any of the natives
who were held as servants go free to their villages whenever
they might wish. In my opinion, though I am not sure, it
would have been better if they had been kept and taught
among Christians.
The general was very happy and contented when the time
arrived and everything needed for the journey was ready, and
the army started from Tiguex on its way back to Cibola.
One thing of no small note happened during this part of the
trip. The horses were in good condition for their work when
they started, fat and sleek, but more than thirty died during
the ten days which it took to reach Cibola, and there was not
a day in which two or three or more did not die. A large
number of them also died afterward before reaching Culiacan,
a thing that did not happen during all the rest of the journey.
After the army reached Cibola, it rested before starting
across the wilderness, because this was the last of the settle-
ments in that country. The whole country was left well dis-
posed and at peace, and several of our Indian allies remained
there.^
him. The Portuguese and his attendants made their escape, and ultimately-
arrived safely in Mexico, where he told what had occurred." In reply to a
request for further information regarding this manuscript, General Davis
stated that when he revisited Santa Fe, a few years ago, he learned that one of
his successors in the post of governor of the territory, having despaired of dis-
posing of the immense mass of old documents and records deposited in his
office, l)y the slow process of using them to kindle fires, had sold the entire lot
— an invaluable collection of material bearing on the history of the Southwest
and its early European and native inhabitants — as junk. (VVinship.)
The governor referred to was Rev. William A. Pile, appointed by President
Grant and serving in 1S69-1870.
' When Antonio de Espejo visited Cibola, or Zuiii, in 1583, he found three
Indians, natives of Mexico, who had been left by Coronado but who had for-
gotten their mother tongue. He also found crosses that had been erected
by Coronado.
1542] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 375
Chapter 5
Of how the army left the settlements and marched to Culiacan,
and of what happened on the way.
Leaving astern, as we might say, the settlements that had
been discovered in the new land, of which, as I have said, the
seven villages of Cibola were the first to be seen and the last
that were left, the army started off, marching across the wil-
derness. The natives kept following the rear of the army for
two or three days, to pick up any baggage or servants, for
although they were still at peace and had always been loyal
friends, when they saw that we were going to leave the coun-
try entirely, they were glad to get some of our people in their
power, although I do not think that they wanted to injure
them, from what I was told by some who were not willing to
go back with them when they teased and asked them to.
Altogether, they carried off several people besides those who
had remained of their own accord, among whom good inter-
preters could be found to-day. The wilderness was crossed
without opposition, and on the second day before reaching
Chichilticalli Juan Gallego met the army, as he was coming
from New Spain with reenforcements of men and necessary
supplies for the army, expecting that he would find the army
in the country of the Indian called Turk. WTien Juan Gallego
saw that the army was returning, the first thing he said was
not, ''I am glad you are coming back," and he did not like it
any better after he had talked with the general. After he
had reached the army, or rather the quarters, there was quite
a little movement among the gentlemen toward going back
with the new force which had made no slight exertions in com-
ing thus far, having encounters every day with the Indians of
these regions who had risen in revolt, as will be related. There
was talk of making a settlement somewhere in that region until
the viceroy could receive an account of what had occurred.
Those soldiers who had come from the new lands would not
agree to anything except the return to New Spain, so that
376 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1542
nothing came of the proposals made at the consultations, and
although there was some opposition, they were finally quieted.
Several of the mutineers who had deserted the town of Cora-
zones came with Juan Gallego, who had given them his word
as surety for their safety, and even if the general had wanted
to punish them, his power was slight, for he had been dis-
obeyed already and was not much respected. He began to
be afraid again after this, and made himself sick, and kept a
guard. In several places yells were heard and Indians seen,
and some of the horses were wounded and killed, before Ba-
tuco ^ was reached, where the friendly Indians from Corazones
came to meet the army and see the general. They were al-
ways friendly and had treated all the Spaniards who passed
through their country well, furnishing them with what food
they needed, and men, if they needed these. Our men had
always treated them well and repaid them for these things.
During this journey the juice of the quince was proved to be
a good protection against the poison of the natives, because
at one place, several days before reaching Sefiora, the hostile
Indians wounded a Spaniard called Mesa, and he did not die,
although the wound of the fresh poison is fatal, and there was
a delay of over two hours before curing him with the juice.
The poison, however, had left its mark upon him. The skin
rotted and fell off until it left the bones and sinews bare, with
a horrible smell. The wound was in the wrist, and the poison
had reached as far as the shoulder when he was cured. The
skin on all this fell off.
The army proceeded without taking any rest, because the
provisions had begun to fail by this time. These districts were
in rebeUion, and so there were not any victuals where the sol-
diers could get thom until they reached Pctlatlan, although
they made several forays into the cross countiy in search of
' Thore were two settlements in Sonora bearing this nartie, one occupied
by the Eudeve and tiie other by the Tegui division of the Opata. The latter
village, which was probably the one referred to by Castaneda, was situated
on the Rio de Oposura, a western tributary of the Yaqui, eight leagues east
of San .losi'; Matape. It became the seat of the Jesuit mission of Santa
Maria in 1629.
1542] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 377
provisions. Petlatlan is in the province of Culiacan, and on
this account was at peace, although they had several surprises
after this/ The army rested here several days to get provi-
sions. After leaving here they were able to travel more quickly
than before, for the thirty leagues of the valley of Culiacan,
where they were welcomed back again as people who came
with their governor, who had suffered ill treatment.
Chapter 6
Of how the general started from Culiacan to give the viceroy an
account of the army with which he had been intrusted.
It seemed, indeed, as if the arrival in the valley of Cuhacan
had ended the labors of this journey, partly because the gen-
eral was governor there and partly because it was inhabited
by Christians. On this account some began to disregard their
superiors and the authority which their captains had over
them, and some captains even forgot the obedience due to
their general. Each one played his own game, so that while
the general was marching toward the town, which was still
ten leagues away, many of the men, or most of them, left him
in order to rest in the valley, and some even proposed not to
follow him. The general understood that he was not strong
enough to compel them, although his position as governor
gave him fresh authority. He determined to accomphsh it by
a better method, which was to order all the captains to pro-
vide food and meat from the stores of several villages that
were under his control as governor. He pretended to be sick,
keeping his bed, so that those who had any business with him
could speak to him or he with them more freely, without hin-
drance or observation, and he kept sending for his particular
friends in order to ask them to be sure to speak to the soldiers
and encourage them to accompany him back to New Spain,
and to tell them that he would request the viceroy, Don
* See pp. 340, 347. Petatlan is an Aztec word signifying "place of the
petates, " or mats, referring to the character of the native dwelhngs.
378 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1542
Antonio de Mendoza, to show them especial favor, and that he
would do so himself for those who might wish to remain in
his government. After this had been done, he started with his
army at a very bad time, when the rains were beginning, for
it was about Saint John's day,^ at which season it rains con-
tinuously. In the uninhabited country which they passed
through as far as Compostela there are numerous very dan-
gerous rivers, full of large and fierce alligators. While the
army was halting at one of these rivers, a soldier who was
crossing from one side to the other was seized, in sight of
everybody, and carried off by an alligator without its being
possible to help him. The general proceeded, leaving the men
who did not want to follow him all along the way, and reached
Mexico with less than 100 men. He made his report to the
viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza, who did not receive him
very graciously, although he gave him his discharge. His
reputation was gone from this time on. He kept the govern-
ment of New Gahcia, which had been entrusted to him, for
only a short time, when the viceroy took it himself, until the
arrival of the court, or audiencia, which still governs it. And
this was the end of those discoveries and of the expedition
which was made to these new lands.
It now remains for us to describe the way in which to enter
the country by a more direct route, although there is never a
short cut without hard work. It is always best to find out
what those know who have prepared the way, who know what
will be needed. This can be found elsewhere, and I will now
tell where Quivira lies, what direction the army took, and the
direction in which Greater India hes, which was what they
pretended to be in search of, when the army started thither.
Today, since Villulobos ^ has discovered that this part of the
coast of the South Sea trends toward the west, it is clearly
seen and acknowledged that, since we were in the north, we
ought to have turned to the west instead of toward the cast,
as we did. With this, we will leave this subject and will pro-
» June 24, 1.542.
» See p. 360, note 2.
1542] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 379
ceed to finish this treatise, since there are several noteworthy
things of which I must give an account, which I have left to
be treated more extensively in the two following chapters.
Chapter 7
Of the adventures of Captain Juan Gallego while he was bring-
ing reenf or cements through the revolted country.
One might well have complained when in the last chapter
I passed in silence over the exploits of Captain Juan Gallego
with his twenty companions. I will relate them in the pres-
ent chapter, so that in times to come those who read about it
or tell of it may have a rehable authority on whom to rely.
I am not writing fables, like some of the things which we read
about nowadays in the books of chivalry. If it were not that
those stories contained enchantments, there are some things
which our Spaniards have done in our own day in these parts,
in their conquests and encounters with the Indians, which,
for deeds worthy of admiration, surpass not only the books
already mentioned, but also those which have been written
about the twelve peers of France, because, if the deadly strength
which the authors of those times attributed to their heroes
and the brilliant and resplendent arms with which they adorned
them, are fully considered, and compared with the small stature
of the men of our time and the few and poor weapons which
they have in these parts, the remarkable things which our
people have undertaken and accomplished with such weapons
are more to be wondered at to-day than those of which the
ancients write, and just because, too, they fought with bar-
barous naked people, as ours have with Indians, among whom
there are always men who are brave and valiant and very
sure bowmen, for we have seen them pierce the wings while
flying, and hit hares while running after them. I have said
all this in order to show that some things which we consider
fables may be true, because we see greater things every day in
our own times, just as in future times people will greatly
380 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1542
wonder at the deeds of Don Fernando Cortes, who dared to go
into the midst of New Spain with 300 men against the vast
number of people in Mexico, and who with 500 Spaniards suc-
ceeded in subduing it, and made himself lord over it in two
years.
The deeds of Don Pedro de Alvarado in the conquest of
Guatemala, and those of Montejo in Tabasco, the conquests
of the mainland and of Peru, were all such as to make me
remain silent concerning what I now wish to relate ; but since
I have promised to give an account of what happened on this
journey, I want the things I am now going to relate to be
known as well as those others of which I have spoken.
The captain Juan Gallego, then, reached the town of CuU-
acan with a very small force. There he collected as many as
he could of those who had escaped from the town of Hearts,
or, more correctly, from Suya, which made in all twenty-two
men, and with these he marched through all of the settled
country, across which he travelled 200 leagues with the coun-
try in a state of war and the people in rebellion, although they
had formerly been friendly toward the Spaniards, having en-
counters with the enemy almost every day. He always
marched with the advance guard, leaving two-thirds of his
force behind with the baggage. With six or seven Spaniards,
and without any of the Indian allies whom he had with him,
he forced his way into their villages, killing and destroying
and setting them on fire, coming upon the enem}^ so suddenly
and with such quickness and boldness that they did not have
a chance to collect or even to do anything at all, until they
became so afraid of him that there was not a town which
dared wait for him, but they fled before him as from a power-
ful army; so much so, that for ten days, while he was passing
through the settlements, they did not have an hour's rest.
He did all this with his seven companions, so that when the
rest of the force came up with the baggage there was nothing
for them to do except to pillage, since the others had already
killed and cai)tur('d all the ])eoi)le they could lay their hands
on and the rest had fled. They did not pause anywhere, so
1542] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 381
that although the villages ahead of him received some warn-
ing, they were upon them so quickly that they did not have a
chance to collect. Especially in the region where the town of
Hearts had been, he killed and hung a large number of people
to punish them for their rebellion. He did not lose a com-
panion during all this, nor was anyone wounded, except one
soldier, who was wounded in the eyelid by an Indian who was
almost dead, whom he was stripping. The weapon broke the
skin and, as it was poisoned, he would have had to die if he
had not been saved by the quince juice; he lost his eye as it
was. These deeds of theirs were such that I know those peo-
ple will remember them as long as they live, and especially
four or five friendly Indians who went with them from Cora-
zones, who thought that they w^ere so wonderful that they
held them to be something divine rather than human.^ If he
had not fallen in with our army as he did, they would have
reached the country of the Indian called Turk, which they
expected to march to, and they would have arrived there with-
out danger on account of their good order and the skill with
which he was leading them, and their knowledge and ample
practice in war. Several of these men are still in this town
of Culiacan, where I am now writing this account and narra-
tive, where they, as well as I and the others who have re-
mained in this province, have never lacked for labor in keep-
ing this country quiet, in capturing rebels, and increasing in
poverty and need, and more than ever at the present hour,
because the country is poorer and more in debt than ever
before.
Chapter 8
Which describes some remarkable things that were seen on the
plains, with a description of the bulls.
My silence was not without mystery and dissimulation
when, in Chapter 7 of the second part of this book, I spoke of
' The Indians of this vicinity had a similar ropard for Cahoza do Vaca
and his companions. See the narrative in the present volume.
382 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1542
the plains and of the things of which I will give a detailed
account in this chapter, where all these things may be found
together; for these things were remarkable and something
not seen in other parts. I dare to write of them because I
am writing at a time when many men are still living who saw
them and who will vouch for my account. ^Mio could believe
that 1,000 horses and 500 of our cows and more than 5,000 rams
and ewes and more than 1,500 friendly Indians and servants,
in travelling over those plains, would leave no more trace
where they had passed than if nothing had been there —
nothing — so that it was necessary to make piles of bones
and cow-dung now and then, so that the rear guard could
follow the army. The grass never failed to become erect after
it had been trodden down, and, although it was short, it was
as fresh and straight as before.
Another thing was a heap of cow bones, a crossbow shot
long, or a very little less, almost twice a man's height in
places, and some eighteen feet or more wide, which was found
on the edge of a salt lake in the southern part, and this in a
region where there are no people who could have made it.
The only explanation of this which could be suggested was
that the waves which the north winds must make in the lake
had piled up the bones of the cattle which had died in the
lake, when the old and weak ones who went into the water
were unable to get out. The noticeable thing is the number
of cattle that would be necessary to make such a pile of bones.
Now that I wish to describe the appearance of the bulls,
it is to be noticed first that there was not one of the horses
that did not take flight when he saw them first, for they have
a narrow, short face, the brow two palms across from eye to
eye, the eyes sticking out at the side, so that, when they are
running, they can see who is following them. They have
very long beards, like goats, and when they are running they
throw their heads })ack with the beard drapjging on the ground.
There is a sort of girdle round the middle of the body. The
hair is very woolly, like a sheep's, veiy fine, and in front of
the girdle the hair is very long and rough like a lion's. They
1542] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 383
have a great hump, larger than a camel's. The horns are
short and thick, so that they are not seen much above the
hair. In May they change the hair in the middle of the body
for a down, which makes perfect lions of them. They rub
against the small trees in the little ravines to shed their hair,
and they continue this until only the down is left, as a snake
changes his skin. They have a short tail, with a bunch of
hair at the end. When they run, they carry it erect like a
scorpion. It is worth noticing that the little calves are red
and just like ours, but they change their color and appear-
ance with time and age.
Another strange thing was that all the bulls that were
killed had their left ears slit, although these were whole when
young. The reason for this was a puzzle that could not be
guessed. The wool ought to make good cloth on account of its
fineness, although the color is not good, because it is the color
of buriel.^
Another thing worth noticing is that the bulls travelled
without cows in such large numbers that nobody could have
counted them, and so far away from the cows that it was
more than forty leagues from where we began to see the bulls
to the place where we began to see the cows. The country
they travelled over was so level and smooth that if one looked
at them the sky could be seen between their legs, so that if
some of them were at a distance they looked hke smooth-
trunk ed pines whose tops joined, and if there was only one bull
it looked as if there were four pines. When one was near
them, it was impossible to see the ground on the other side
of them. The reason for all this was that the country seemed
as round as if a man should imagine himself in a three-pint
measure, and could see the sky at the edge of it, about a
' The kersey, or coarse woollen cloth out of which the habits of the Fran-
ciscan friars were made. Hence the name Grey Friars. (Winship.) Various
attempts were made to manufacture the hair into garments, especially stock-
ings, but the ventures did not prove profitable. See Hornaday, " The Extinc-
tion of the American Bison," Report of the United States National Museum
for 1886-1887.
384 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1542
crossbow shot from him, and even if a man only lay down on
his back he lost sight of the ground.
I have not written about other things which were seen nor
made any mention of them, because they were not of so much
importance, although it does not seem right for me to remain
silent concerning the fact that they venerate the sign of the
cross in the region where the settlements have high houses.
For at a spring which was in the plain near Acuco they had a
cross two palms high and as thick as a finger, made of wood
with a square twig for its crosspiece, and many little sticks
decorated with feathers around it, and numerous withered
flowers, which were the offerings/ In a graveyard outside
the village at Tutahaco there appeared to have been a recent
burial. Near the head there was another cross made of two
little sticks tied with cotton thread, and dry withered flowers.^
It certainly seems to me that in some way they must have
received some light from the cross of Our Redeemer, Christ,
and it may have come by way of India, from whence they
proceeded.
Chapter 9
Which treats of the direction which the army took, and of how
another more direct way might be found, if anyone was
to return to that country.
I very much wish that I possessed some knowledge of cos-
mography or geography, so as to render what I wish to say
intelligible, and so that I could reckon up or measure the ad-
vantage those people who might go in search of that country
would have if they went directly through the centre of the
country, instead of following the road the army took. IIow-
' The cross is common to the Indians and always has been. It often
is symbolic of the morninfi; and the evening stars. Those referred to as
having been seen by ('oronado's men at Acoma were characteristic prayer-
sticks, the downy feathers representing the breath of life. Such are still in
common ust; by the Pueblo Indians.
^ rrobal)lv dried corn-husk.
1542] EXPEDITION OE CORONADO 385
ever, with the help of the favor of the Lord, I will state it as
well as I can, making it as plain as possible.
It is, I think, already understood that the Portuguese,
Campo, was the soldier who escaped when Friar Juan de
Padilla was killed at Quivira, and that he finally reached New
Spain from Panuco,^ having travelled across the plains coun-
try until he came to cross the North Sea mountain chain,
keeping the country that Don Hernando de Soto discovered
all the time on his left hand, since he did not see the river of
the Holy Spirit (Espiritu Santo) at all.^ After he had crossed
the North Sea mountains, he found that he was in Panuco, so
that if he had not tried to go to the North Sea, he would have
come out in the neighborhood of the border land, or the coun-
try of the Sacatecas,^ of which we now have some knowledge.
This way would be somewhat better and more direct for
anyone going back there in search of Quivira, since some of
those who came with the Portuguese are still in New Spain
to serve as guides. Nevertheless, I think it would be best to
go through the country of the Guachichules,* keeping near the
South Sea mountains all the time, for there are more settle-
ments and a food supply, for it would be suicide to launch
out on to the plains country, because it is so vast and is bar-
ren of anything to eat, although, it is true, there would not
be much need of this after coming to the cows. This is only
when one goes in search of Quivira, and of the villages which
were described by the Indian called Turk, for the army of Fran-
cisco Vazquez Coronado went the very farthest way round to get
there, since they started from Mexico and went 110 leagues
to the west, and then 100 leagues to the northeast, and 250
to the north, and all this brought them as far as the ravines
where the cows were, and after travelling 850 leagues they
were not more than 400 leagues distant from Mexico by a
' The northeastern province of New Spain.
' That is, he travelled from the Quivira province, in the present Kansas,
southwestwardly to Mexico.
^ Zacatecas.
* This wild tribe inhabited chiefly the region of the present state of San
Luis Potosi, Mexico. They were known also as Cuachichilcs and Quachichiles.
2o
386 SPANISH EXPLORERS [1542
direct route. If one desires to go to the country of Tiguex, so
as to turn from there toward the west in search of the country
of India, he ought to fohow the road taken by the army, for
there is no other, even if one wished to go by a different way,
because the arm of the sea which reaches into this coast toward
the north does not leave room for any. But what might be
done is to have a fleet and cross this gidf and disembark in
the neighborhood of the Island of Negroes ^ and enter the
country from there, crossing the mountain chains in search
of the country from which the people at Tiguex came, or
other peoples of the same sort. As for entering from the coun-
try of Florida and from the North Sea, it has already been
observed that the many expeditions which have been under-
taken from that side have been unfortunate and not very suc-
cessful, because that part of the countiy is full of bogs and
poisonous fruits, barren, and the veiy worst country that is
warmed by the sun. But they might disembark after passing
the river of the Holy Spirit, as Don Hernando de Soto did.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that I underwent much labor, I
still think that the way I went to that country is the best.
There ought to be river courses, because the necessary sup-
plies can be carried on these more easily in large quantities.
Horses are the most necessary things in the new countries,
and they frighten the enemy most. . . . Artiller}^ is also
much feared by those who do not know how to use it. A
piece of hea\'y artillery would be very good for settlements
like those which Francisco Vazquez Coronado discovered, in
order to knock them down, because he had nothing but some
small machines for slinging and nobody skilful enough to
make a catapult or some other machine which would frighten
them, which is very necessary.^
' The dictionary of Dominp;uez says : " Isla de negros ; 6 isla del Almiran-
tazgo, en el grande Or^ano cquinoccial ; grande isla de la Am6rica del Norte,
fiohro la costa oesto." Apparently the location of this island gradually
drifted westward with the increase of geographical knowledge, until it was
finally located in the Philippine group. (Winship.)
' This would indicate that the bronze cannon which Coronado left at
Sia pueblo were worthless.
1542] EXPEDITION OF CORONADO 387
I say, then, that with what we now know about the trend
of the coast of the South Sea, which has been followed by the
ships which explored the western part, and what is known
of the North Sea toward Norway, the coast of which extends
up from Florida, those who now go to discover the country
which Francisco Vasquez entered, and reach the country of
Cibola or of Tiguex, will know the direction in which they
ought to go in order to discover the true direction of the coun-
try which the Marquis of the Valley, Don Hernando Cortes,
tried to find, following the direction of the gulf of the Fire-
brand (Tizon) River/
This will suffice for the conclusion of our narrative.
Everything else rests on the powerful Lord of all things, God
Omnipotent, who knows how and when these lands will be
discovered and for whom He has guarded this good fortune.
Laus Deo.
Finished copying, Saturday the 26th of October, 1596, in
Seville.
* The Gulf of California (which had been navigated by Cortes) and the
Rio Colorado.
INDEX
Aays, not to be confounded with Ayas,
225 n.; Moscoso at, 243; Indians of ,
give battle, 243. See also Ayas.
Agamor, mentioned, 126.
Acaxes, Indians of Culiacan, 345.
Acela, town of, 155.
Acha, see Picuris.
Achese, cacique of, addresses De Soto,
166-167.
Acochis, Indian name for gold, 314,
337 n., 342.
Acoma, identification of Acuco with,
311 n.; visit of Alvarado to, 311;
description of, 311-312; visited by
Arellano, 316; route to, 316; men-
tioned, 358; worship of cross at,
384.
Acoma Indians, water supply of, 312.
Acosta, Maria de, wife of Pedro
Castaneda, 276.
Acoste, cacique of, comes to De Soto,
180.
Acubadaos Indians, 87.
Acuco, see Acoma.
Adai Indians, 76 n.
Adobe, making of, described, 352.
Aguacay, mentioned, 237; Moscoso
at, 238.
Aguar, Indian deity, 118.
Aguas Calientes, pueblos of, 359;
identification of, 359 n.
Aguenes Indians, 84, 85.
Alabama, 183 n.
Alaniz, Hieronymo, notary, with Nar-
vaez, 22; objects to abandonment of
ships, 23 ; death of, 57.
Alarcon, Diego de, confusion of, with
Alcaraz, 324 n.
Alarcon, Hernando de, expedition of
by sea, 294; narrative of, 279,
294 n.; message of, found by Diaz,
303.
Alarcon, Pedro de, 294 n.
Albino, Indian, 332 n.
Alcaraz, Diego de, meeting with Cabeza
de Vaca, 112-113; his need of food,
113; returns from incursion, 119;
Ueutenant of Diaz, 303, 324; in-
efficiency of, 326; death of, 371.
Aleman, Juan, name given Indian of
Tiguex, 317, 321.
Alimamos, overtakes De Soto, 177.
Alimamu, an Indian chief, 195, 200.
Alligators, do harm to Indians, 143;
in rivers of New Gahcia, 378.
Almirantazgo, ck Isle of Negroes, 386 n.
Altamaca, see Altamaha.
Altamaha, 167 n.
Altamaha River, 167 n.
Alvarado, Hernando de, appointed
captain, 293; protects Coronado at
Cibola, 301 ; expedition of, to Rio
Grande, 311; report of, 279, 311 n.;
visits Acoma, 311; imprisons Pecos
chiefs, 315; route of, 316 n.; at
Braba, 341.
Alvarado, Pedro de, expedition of, to
Peru, 288; deeds of, 380.
Alvarez, death of, 6.
Amaye, Moscoso at, 238.
Aminoya, Spaniards hear of, 248; take
quarters at, 249; brigan tines built
at, 250.
Amushungkwa, a Jemez pueblo, 359 n.
Anagados Indians, 71 n.
Anane, a fruit, 140.
Ailasco, Juan de, 135; sent by De
Soto to explore harbor in Florida,
145; goes to Espiritu Santo, 162;
sent in quest of habitations, 171;
finds a town twelve leagues off, 171;
makes road through the woods, 172;
sent on a reconnoissance, 200, 228,
229; advises Moscoso to put out to
sea, 260; and does so with him, 261 ;
meets with opposition from those
with him, 261-262; Jigain advi.ses
putting out to sea, 264.
389
390
INDEX
Anguille River, 215 n.
Anhayca Apalache, De Soto at, 161,
162, 164.
Anhocan, Cabeza de Vaca at, 116.
AnUco, 227, 228, 245, 248, 249. -See
also Nilco.
Animals, of Apalachen, 29; of Florida,
mentioned by the Gentleman of
Elvas, 271-272.
Anoixi, De Soto takes many inhabit-
ants of, 222.
Antonio de Santa Maria, Franciscan
friar, 288.
Antonio Victoria, friar, accident of,
299.
Apalache, mentioned, 161; has much
maize, 156, 226; distance from, to
Cutifachiqui, 188; direction and
distance of, from Espiritu Santo,
271, 272. See also Apalachen.
Apalachee Indians, war against, by
Creeks, 21 n.; by English, 21 n.;
overcome by Cabeza de Vaca, 28;
attack the Spaniards, 30, 31;
eastern tribes of, 330 n.; men-
tioned, 349 n.
Apalachen, indicated to Narvaez as
source of gold, 21-22; taken by the
Spanish, 28; region of, described,
29-30; climate of, is cold, 29;
animals of, 29.
Apalachicola, town on Savannah River,
21 n.
Appalachian Mountains, origin of
name of, 21 n.
Appalachce Bay, origin of name of,
21 n.
Aquiguate, largest town seen by De
Soto in Florida, 214; De Soto re-
turns to, 215; country of, described,
215.
Aquixo, 227, 270; direction of, 271.
Aquixo, cacique of, comes to De Soto,
203; loses five or six of his men,
shot by cros.sbowmen, 203; and
ton, killed by De Soto's cavalry,
205.
Aniche, province of, 365.
Arawakan Indians, 21; dance cere-
mony of, 52 n.
ArbadaoH Indians, 80.
Arc\\c, see Harahey.
Areitos, uniong Indians of Malhado,
52; held in honor of Cabeza de
Vaca, 89.
Arellano, Tristan de, appointment of,
as captain, 292; lieutenant to
Coronado, 298, 335; at Corazones,
301, 303; arrives at Cibola, 313;
route of, 315 n.; at Tiguex, 317,
339; attacks Cicuye, 341.
Arispe, see Arizpe.
Aristotle, quoted, 134.
Arizpe, 347 n.
Arkadelphia, 238 n.
Arkansas city, 227 n.
Arkansas Post, 226 n.
Arkansas River, 222 n., 248 n., 249 n.
Artillery, at Culiacan, 297; used by
Indians, 357; usefulness of, in ex-
ploration, 386.
Astorga, Marquis of, learns what
Cabeza de Vaca relates to the
Emperor regarding New Spain,
137.
Astudillo, a native of Qafra, to seek
Panuco, 49.
Asturian, the, with Figueroa, 61, 64;
seen by the Avavares, 79.
Asturiano, a clergyman, 68, 69.
Astyalakwa, a Jemez pueblo, 359 n.
Atabalipa, lord of Peru, 135, 175.
Atayos Indians, 76, 87.
Atchafalaya, lower course of Red
River, 261 n.
Attacapan Indians, 51 n., 363 n.
Audiencia, definition of, 285 n.
Audiencia of Espariola, report to, 8;
edition of report by Oviedo, 8, 10.
Aula, island of, 49 ; probably not Mal-
hado Island, 49 n.
Ante, town south of Apalachen, 30,
31; reached by Narvaoz, 32.
Autiamque, mentioned, 221, 225, 227,
237; De Soto winters at, 222-224;
distance to Guacay, 270; direction
of, 271.
Avavares Indians, receive Cabeza do
Vaca, 73; healed by him, 6-7, 78;
ignorant of time, 79.
Avellaneda, killed by an Indian, 32.
Avila, Pedro de, leader in rebellion at
Suya, 370.
Awatobi, Ilopi pueblo, 307 n., 358 n.
Axille, De Soto at, 161.
Ayas, Moscoso crosses river at, 248.
INDEX
391
Ayays, not to be confounded with
Aays, 225 n.; De Soto at, 225.
Ayllon, Governor-licentiate, death of,
174.
Aymay, named Socorro, 171; De Soto
at, 172; location of, 172 n.
Azores, mentioned, 122.
Bacallaos, Spanish name for Newfound-
land, 343 n., 360.
Badthing, story of, 78-79.
Baegert, Father Jacob, on Indians of
lower California, 346 n.
Bahios, 108. See also Buhlos.
Baldwyn, Mississippi, 212 n.
Bandelier, A. F., researches on the
Seven Cities, 287 n.; on Topira,
290 n.; on Cicuye, 355 n.
Bandelier, A. F. and Fanny, Journey
of Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, cited,
22 n.; 59, 87 n., 102 n., 103 n.
Baracoa, town in Cuba, 142.
Barbacoa, a store house for maize, 165.
Barbels, native American fish, 349.
Barrionuevo, Francisco de, com-
panion of Coronado, 292; at
Tiguex, 319; explorations of, 339-
340.
Baskett, James Newton, investiga-
tions of, 326 n.
Bastian, Francisco, drowning of,
225.
Batuco, identification of, 376 n.
B4yamo, town in Cuba, 142, 143.
Bayou de Vue, 215 n.
Bayou Macon, 255 n.
Bears, in pueblo region, 357.
Bejar, mentioned, 125.
Bermuda, Cabeza de Vaca at, 121.
Bernalillo, settlement on site of
Tiguex, 278, 317 n.
Bidai Indians, 80 n.
Biedma, narrative of, cited, 40 n.;
referred to, 130 n.
Big Bayou Moto, 225.
Big Creek, 21, 215 n.
Bigotes, see Whiskers.
Birds, mentioned, 29-30, 272.
Biscayan Indians, 115 n.
Bison, first printed reference to, 68 n.;
described by Cicuye Indians, 31 1 ;
hunted by plains Indians, 330, 362,
363; stampede of, 331; Coronado's
army supplied with meat of, 336;
piles of bones of, 382; Castaneda's
description of, 382-383.
Black Warrior River, 188 n., 189 n.
Blankets, of cotton, 350.
Blizzard, experienced by Coronado,
333.
Bog of Pia, breeds mosquitos, 144.
Boston Mountains, 221 n.; crossed by
De Soto, 221.
Boyomo, settlement of, 347.
Braba, see Taos.
Brazos River, 58 n., 244 n., 245 n.
Bread, maize, 271; Indian, 303, 340,
340 n.
Bridge, built by Spaniards across
Cicuye River, 329; Indian, across
Rio Grande, 340.
Brigantines, built by Spaniards at
Aminoya, 250; become separated in
the Gulf of Mexico, 263.
Buffalo, see Bison.
BuhJos, Arawak word, 19, 79. See
also Bahios.
Burgos, Andre de, printer, 134, 272.
Buriel, cloth used by Franciscan friars,
383 n.
Burning of Indians at stake by Span-
iards, 320.
Caballos, Bahia de, 37, 162 n. See
also Horses, Bay of.
Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Nunez, narra-
tive of, 1-126; birth and parent-
age, 3; significance of name, 3;
trades and heals among the Ind-
ians, 6-7; line of travel, 7; charac-
ter of his chronicle, 7; his accom-
plishment, 8; report to Audiencia
of Espafiola, 8; appointed governor
of provinces of Rio de la Plata, 8;
dies, 9; bibliography of the Relacion,
10-11 ; salutation to Charles V., 12;
duration of his wandering, 13; his
idea of the value of his narrative,
13; leaves San Lucar de Barrameda,
4, 14; is treasurer and high-sheriff,
4, 14; reaches Santo Domingo, 14;
proceeds to Trinidad and is over-
taken by a terrible storm, 15-17;
passes winter at Jagua, 17; explores
mainland of Florida, with Narvaez,
4, 20; believes it wiser to return to
392
INDEX
vessels, 22-23; refuses to sail in
charge of them, preferring to share
risks of march into the country, 24;
goes with forty men to seek a har-
bor, 25-26; enters Apalachen, 28;
goes from Aute to find the sea, 33;
embarks in open boat, 36; suffer-
ings of his men, 38-40; is assaulted
by Indians, 41 ; deserted by Narvaez,
42; lands on an island among friendly
Indians, 5, 44-45 ; loses three men, in
endeavor to re-embark, 46; desti-
tute condition of the survivors, 46;
aid given by Indians, 47-48; is
overtaken by Dorantes and Alonzo
del Castillo, 48; agrees that four of
the party shall try to reach Panuco,
49; learns Indians believe the
Christians are sorcerers, 50; names
island Malhado, 50; heals the sick
by breathing on them, and by
prayer, 53; on the mainland, 52, 55;
his party now numbers fourteen, 55;
suffers great hardships, 56; trafficks
among the Indians, 56-57; rescues
Oviedo from Malhado, 57; is left
by him, 59; finds Dorantes, Castillo,
and Estevanico, 59-60; waits six
months before attempting to escape,
60, 61, 70; is made a slave, 61; is
forced to postpone escape another
year, 71; succeeds at last, 73;
works more cures among the Ind-
ians, 74, 77, 78; goes naked, 80, 81 ;
goes among the Maliacones, 80;
eats dogs, 80, 81 ; barters with
Indians, 81; performs more cures,
91; reaches a mountainous coun-
try, 92; receives presents from the
Indians, 92-93; cuts an arrow
head out of a wounded native, 96-
97; reaches the Rio Grande, 99;
is feared by the Indians because of
deaths among thom, 101; heals the
sick, 101 ; goes among the Jumanos,
102; calls them the Cow nation,
103; starts in search of maize, 105;
touches and blesses both sick and
well, 106-107; teaches Christian
religion, 107; finds news of Chris-
tians, 109; checks fear among his
Indifm companions, 111; is taken
to Diego de Alcaraz, 112; joins
party of Diego and dismisses
his Indian followers, 114-115;
is received by Melchior Diaz,
116; arrives at Mexico, 120; at
Havana, 121; at Lisbon, 123; men-
tioned as a survivor of Narvaez's
party, 125; disagrees with De Soto,
136; mentioned by the Gentleman
of Elvas, 136, 221, 246; returns
from expedition, 288; narrative of,
288; in Corazones valley, 301;
traces of, found by Coronado, 332;
regard of Indians for, 381 n.
Cabeza de Vaca, Teresa, mother of
Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, 3, 125.
Cabo Cruz, 15 n.
Cabo de Santa Cruz, 15.
Cabusto, 194.
Cagabe bread, see Cassava bread.
Cache River, 215 n.
Cactus belt, northern limit of, 70 n.
Cahita, synonymous with Sinaloa,
346 n.
Cahoques Indians, 87.
Calahuchi, 161 n.
Calderon, Captain, 155; at Espiritu
Santo, 162 ; commands a brigantine,
265.
Cale, province of, reported to be abun-
dant in gold, 154; mentioned, 162.
California, Gulf of, 109 n.; explored,
304, 346; natives of peninsula of,
346, 346 n.
Caliquen, reached by De Soto, 157.
Calpista, mentioned by Ranjel,
216 n.
Caluga, in northeastern part of Missis-
sippi, 212.
Camolas Indians, 87 n.
Camones Indians, are reported to have
killed Penalosa and Tellez, 72.
Canipo, Andres del, Portuguese com-
panion of Padilla, 365, 373, 385;
returns to New Spain, 385.
Canarreo shoals, 18.
Canasagua, De Soto at, 178.
Caney creek, 58 n.
Cannibali.sm in Culiacan, 345.
Cannouchee River, 170 n.
Cantaloupes, as food of Indians, 348.
Cai)iicliiqui, De Soto at, 165.
Capofpies Indians, 54 n., 55 n., 65 n.,
60 n., 87 u.
INDEX
393
Capothan, province of New Spain, 364.
Caravallo, appointed lieutenant to sail
with ships of Narvaez, 24; men-
tioned, 124.
Cardenas, Garcia Lopez, appointed
captain, 292; protects Coronado at
Cibola, 301; visit of, to Colorado
River, 309; attacks Indian village,
319; treachery of Indians towards,
321; accident to, 331; summoned
to Spain, 367; flight of, from Suya,
369, 370.
Carlos, leaves his wife at Havana, 145;
is killed at Manilla, 193.
Carmona, Alonzo de, 131.
Casa de Contratacion, at Seville, 135 n.
Cases, with dead bodies, burned by
Xuarez, 21.
Casiste, De Soto at, 187.
Casqui, cacique of, 205; speeches of,
to De Soto, 206-207; kneels before
the cross, 208; directs De Soto to
Pacaha, 208; makes many presents
to De Soto, 210; gives his daughter
to the governor, 211; begs forgive-
ness for absenting himself without
permission, 212; accepts friendship
of the cacique of Pacaha, 212.
Cassava bread, 144, 145.
Castafieda, Pedro de, narrative of
Coronado's expedition by, 276, 281-
387; facts of life of, 276; value of
narrative of, 276; manuscript of, in
Lenox library, 277; translations of,
276-277; date of narrative, 282 n.;
joins expedition at Culiacan, 296 n.
Castile, mentioned, 124.
Castillo, Doctor, father of Alonzo de
Castillo Maldonado, 125.
Castillo Maldonado, Alonzo del, with
Cabeza de Vaca, 4, 6 ; joins in report
to Audiencia of Espafiola, 8; re-
turns to New Spain, 9; goes with
Cabeza de Vaca to find a harbor, 26 ;
again goes on the same errand, 33;
embarks in open boat, 36; loses his
boat and overtakes Cabeza de Vaca,
48; on the mainland, 54; returns
to Malhado, 55; accompanies Ind-
ians to find walnuts, and meets with
Cabeza de Vaca, 59-60 ; stay of,
with the Yguazes, 65; mentioned,
72; mentioned by Oviedo, 69, 70;
among Lanegados, 71; escapes, 73;
cures afflicted Indians, 74, 76, 77;
goes to the Maliacones, 80; makes
reconnoissance towards Rio Grande,
102; finds evidence of visit by
Europeans, 109; rejoins Cabeza de
Vaca and attaches himself to a
Spanish exploring party, 113; re-
turns to Spain, 125; mentioned by
Castafieda, 288.
Catalte, 236.
Catamaya, De Soto at, 222.
Caya River, 216.
Cayas, De Soto at, 217, 219; men-
tioned, 225, 227, 238; cacique of,
is dismissed, 221.
Cebreros, see Zebreros.
Cedar Lake, 58 n.
Cerda, Alvaro de la, left by Narvaez in
charge of a vessel, 18, 20.
Cervantes, Spanish soldier, 328.
Chacan, a fruit, 104.
Chaguate, province of, mentioned, 223
n., 236; cacique of, addresses Mos-
coso, 237.
Chaguete, 237; Indians come to, in
peace, 247; Moscoso leaves, 248.
See also Chaguate.
Chalaque, province of, 176.
Charles V, emperor, 12 n.
Charruco, Cabeza de Vaca determines
to seek, 56.
Charrucos Indians, 87 n.
Chattahuchi, 161 n.
Chattanooga, 181 n., 182 n.
Chauauarcs Indians, 87 n. See Chava-
vares Indians.
Chavavarcs Indians, 73 n., 80 n., 87.
Chia, see Sia.
Chiaha, province of, 175, 177, 178; na-
ture of the country of, 270; speech
of cacique of, 178; cacique of,
surrenders himself to De Soto, 180.
Chiametla, death of Samaniego at, 295.
Chicaga, De Soto at, 195, 212 n.; Ind-
ians of, make an attack, 197-199.
Chicacilla, 199 n.
Chichilticalli, visited by Fray Marcos,
289; by Diaz, 298; location of,
299 n., 349 n.; Coronado's first
view of, 299; description of, 349.
Chichimecas, Mexican name for braves,
357.
394
INDEX
Chicot County, Arkansas, 255 n.
Chihuahua, 105 n.
Chilano, mentioned, 249.
Childersburg, 183 n.
Children of sun, Spaniards called, 94.
China, belief in its connection with
America, 343, 360.
Chisca, a gold-bearing country, 180,
181,212; mentioned, 205.
Choctaw Indians, 38 n.
Cholupaha, town of, 157; called Villa-
farta, 157.
Choualla, see Xualla.
Christianity, taught to the Indians,
107, 117; churches to be built by
them, 119.
Churches, to be built by Indians, 119.
Chuse, Bay of, 40 n.
Cibola, reached by expedition of Fray
Marcos, 275, 289; Guzman's expe-
dition to, 286; description of, 300;
captured by Coronado, 301; army
arrives at, 306; Castaneda's descrip-
tion of, 350; pueblos of, 358.
Cicuyc, see Cicuye.
Cicuye, synonymous with Pecos, 329 n.
See Pecos.
Cienfuegos, Bay of, 17 n.
Civet-marten skins described by Ca-
beza de Vaca, 39.
Clark, on Indian sign language, 363 n.
Clark County, 238 n.
Cleburne County, 216 n.
Clothing of Indians, 318, 334, 347, 350,
355.
Coahuiltecan affinities, 61 n.
Coayos Indians, 76.
Co^a, province of, 170, 175, 228; speech
of cacique of, 183-184; inhabitants
of, seized by Do Soto, 184; cacique of,
taken, 185; is dismissed, 187; dis-
tance to TastaluQa, 189; has more
maize than Nilco, 226; nature of
the country, 270; direction of, 271.
Cocopa Indians, a Yuman tribe,
303 n.
Cocos Indians, 54 n.
Cofaqui, 168.
Cofitachequi, see Cutifachiqui.
Cohaiii Indians, 59 n.
C()k6 Indians, 64 n.
Coles, Juan, 131.
Coligoa, I)(! Soto at, 215-210; dis-
tance to Autiamque, 270; nature of
the country, 270.
Colima, ravines of, 332.
Colorado River, 58 n., 90 n.; visited
by Diaz, 303; by Cardenas, 309.
Comos Indians, 80 n., 87.
Compostela, in a hostile country, 120;
mentioned, 285 n., 287; rendezvous
of Coronado 's army, 293; departure
of Coronado from, 295.
Comupatrico, settlement of, 347.
Cona, settlement of plains Indians, 333.
Coosa, 183 n.
Copee, used in paying the bottoms of
Moscoso's vessels, 263.
Copper, found at Quivira, 337.
Coquite, pueblo of, 356 n., 358 n.
Corazones, Pueblo de los, 108, 115 n.;
Coronado's armj^ at, 301; valley of,
347; friendliness of Indians of, 372,
376. See Hearts, town of.
Corn, description of, 350; method of
grinding, 354; stores of, kept by
Indians, 356. -See also Maize.
Coronado, Francisco Vazquez de, on
Stake Plains, 7; expedition inspired
by journey of Cabeza de Vaca, 8;
memoirs of George P. Winship on,
276-277; bibliography of accounts
of expedition of, 277-279; Casta-
neda's narrative of expedition of,
276, 281-387; testimony of com-
panions of, 279; expedition of,
mentioned, 97 n., 284, 362 n.;
appointed governor of New Galicia,
287 ; marriage of, 287 ; accompanies
Fray Marcos to Culiacan, 288 ; makes
expedition to Topira, 290; returns
to Mexico, 291; friend.'ihip of Mendoza
for, 291; receives command from
Mendoza, 275, 281, 291 ; Castaneda's
criticism of, 291, 293; appointments
confirmed by, 292; departure of,
from Compostela, 295; receives
report of Diaz, at Chiametla, 296;
at Culiacan, 297-298; Truxillo
brought before, 298; arrives at
Chichilticalli, 299; discouragement
of, 299; reaches Cibola, 300; letter
to Mendoza, 277, 300 n.; attacks
Cibola, 300; wounrled at Cibola,
301 ; mention of, 291, 302, 305, 319;
finds horn of mountain goat, ?>?■C^•,
INDEX
395
joined by Arellano, 306; sends
Tovar to Tusayan, 307 ; sends Car-
denas to Colorado River, 308; re-
ceives report of Cardenas, 310; gifts
to, from Cicuye Indians, 311; sends
Alvarado to Cicuye, 311; receives
message from Alvarado, 312; de-
parture of, for Tiguex, 313; arrives
at Tutahaco, 314; at Tiguex, 314;
sends Alvarado to Cicuye, 315;
joined by army, 317; demands cloth
of Indians, 317-318; gives Cardenas
orders to attack Indians, 319 ; orders
of, concerning prisoners, 320; be-
sieges Tiguex, 322; attempts of, to
make peace, 323; receives news of
death of Diaz, 325; sends Tovar to
San Hieronimo, 326; messengers
from, to Mendoza, 326; letter of, to
king, 278, 329 n. ; pacifies Cicuye, 329 ;
departure of, for Quivira, 329 ; bison
seen by, 330, 331 ; experiences bliz-
zard, 333; divides army, 335;
arrives at Quivira, 336; route of,
337 n.; returns from Quivira, 338;
crosses route of De Soto, 339; reaches
Cicuye and Tiguex, 342; winters at
Tiguex, 342, 366; receives letters
from Mendoza, 367; accident to,
368; schemes of, to return home,
369; request of soldiers to, 370;
preparations of, for return, 372, 373;
arrives at Cibola, 374; meets Gal-
lego with re-enforcements, 375 ; feigns
illness, 376, 377; at Culiacan, 377;
promises of, 378; returns to Mexico,
378; reports to Mendoza, 378 ; cool-
ness of Mendoza towards, 378; de-
prived of governorship of New
Galicia, 378; route of, 385; inade-
quacy of equipment of, 386.
Coronado expedition, memoirs of
George Parker Winship on, 276-
277; Castaficda's narrative of, 276,
281-387; bibliography of other
accounts of, 277-280; importance
of, 280; date of, 293 n.; reasons
given by Mota Padilla for failure
of, 366 n.
Corral, death of, 49.
Corrientes, Cape, storm at, 18.
Cortes, Hernando, receives Cabeza de
Vaca, 121; mentioned, 283; trial for
murder of wife, 285 n.; given new
title, 286 n.; feats of, 380.
Corvo, mentioned, 122 n.
Coste, speech of cacique of, 182.
Cotton, garments of, presented to
Cabeza de Vaca, 104; noted by
him, 106 ; cloth of, made at Tusayan,
308; blankets of, 350.
Council Bend, suggested as the place
of De Soto's crossing of the Missis-
sippi, 204 n.
Cow nation, Indians so named by
Cabeza de Vaca, 103. See Jumanos
Indians.
Cows, see Bison.
Creek Indians, 21 n.
Cremation among Zuni, 351.
Cross, raised at Casqui, 208; sign of,
among the Zunis, 351; venerated
by Indians, 384.
Cruz, Bahia de la, 36. See also Tampa
Bay.
CuachichUes, see Guachichules.
Cuba, De Soto in, 141-145.
Cuchendados Indians, 86.
Cuenca de Huete, mentioned, 124.
Culiacan, mentioned, 115 n.; Cabeza
de Vaca at, 116.
Culiacan, San Miguel de, foundation
of, by Guzman, 276, 286, 344;
arrival of Cabeza de Vaca at, 288;
location of, 296 n.; Castaneda's
description of, 344; return of Coro-
nado to, 377.
Cultalchulches Indians, 76, 78, 80 n., 87.
Cures among Indians wrought by
Cabeza de Vaca, 6-7, 53, 73, 74, 76,
77, 78, 91, 101, 106-107, 117; by
Alonzo del Castillo, 74, 76, 77.
Gushing, F. H., on Zuiii breadstuff,
354 n.
Cutifachiqui, 172 n., 178, 180 ; Ind-
ians of, 173-174; speech of kins-
woman of the cacica of, 172-173;
speech of cacica of, 173 ; cacica of,
furnishes pearls, 174 ; cacica of, is
made a slave, 176; escape of cacica
of, 177; distance of, to Xualla, 188,
270; lad of, acts as interpreter, 224;
nature of the country of, 270 ; direc-
tion of, 271.
Cuyamunque, a Tewa pueblo, 359 n.
Cuzco, city of, 135.
396
INDEX
Dances of the Tahus, 344.
Daniel, Franciscan friar, 288.
D^vila, Pedrdrias, governor, 135, 136.
Da\is, W. W. H., on the fate of
Padilla, 373 n.
Daycao, distance of, to Rio Grande, 247 ;
direction of, 271.
Daycao River, 245, 246.
Dead bodies, eaten by members of
party with Cabeza de Vaca, 49;
Soto-Mayor eaten by Esquivel, 63.
Deaguanes Indians, 59.
Decubadaos Indians, 87 n.
Deer, 350, 363.
Deer-suet, 105.
Deguenes Indians, 87 n.
Descalona, Fray Luis, settles at
Cicuye, 365 n., 373.
Desha County, 227 n., 249 n.
Diaz, Melchior, 116 n.; explains to
the natives the coming of Cabeza
de Vaca, 117; reports of Fray
Marcos investigated by, 277, 296;
companion of Coronado, 292; posi-
tion of, 292; reference to, 299; in
command at Corazones, 302, ex-
ploration of, 303, 324; death of, 325.
Divorce among Indians, 353.
Dogs, eaten by De Soto's men, 167;
used by Indians, 330, 334, 362.
Doguenes Indians, 59 n., 84, 87.
Dorantes, Pablo, father of Andres
Dorantes, 125.
Dorantes de Carran9a, Andres, with
Cabeza de Vaca, 4, 6; joins in re-
port to Audiencia of Espanola, 8;
later years and death of, 9; goes to
find the sea, 33; embarks in open
boat, 36; repulses Indians, 39;
loses his boat and overtakes Cabeza
de Vaca, 48; on the mainland, 54,
55; returns to Malhado, 55; accom-
panies Indians to find walnuts and
mec'ts with Cabeza de Vaca, 59-60;
escapes from slavery, 64; escapes
from the Yguazes, 65; mentioned
by Oviodo, 69, 70; joins Cabeza de
Vaca in escape from Indians, 71, 73;
mentioned, 72; performs cures
among Avavares, 78; goes to the
Maiiacoiies,H0; receives a hawk-bell
of copper, 95; is presented with
over six hundred open hearts of
deer, 108; rejoins Cabeza de Vaca
and attaches himself to a Spanish
exploring party, 113; returns to
Spain, 121, 125; swears not to
divulge certain things he has seen
in New Spain, 136; a survivor of
Narvaez's expedition, 288; traces
of, found by Coronado, 332.
Dorantes, Diego, killed by Indians, 58,
64, 69.
Double Mountain fork, 245 n.
Dragoon pass, location of, 349 n.
Dreams, respected by the Indians, 64;
citation from Oviedo regarding, 70.
Dulchanchellin, Indian chief, 27.
Eagles, tame, kept by Indians, 348,
348 n.
Earthquakes, near Colorado River, 325.
Elvas, Gentleman of, narrative by,
127-272; may have been Alvaro
Fernandez, 130; related narra-
tives, 130-131; bibliography of the
Narrative, 131-132.
Emeralds presented to Cabeza de Vaca,
106, 108.
Enequen, used in making rope, 248.
Enriquez, Alonso, comptroller of
Narvaez's fleet, 14; lands on island
off Florida coast, 19; joins con-
ferences regarding inland explora-
tion, 22; embarks with Xuarez in
open boat, 36; boat of, found bottom
up, 61; rescued by Narvaez and
loses his commission, 62; is cast
away on the coast, 72 ; is mentioned
by Oviedo, 70.
Espejo, Antonio de, on the Rio Grande,
7; cited, 102 n.; Mexican Indians
at Cibola found by, 374 n.
Esplritu Santo, Bay, 58 n.; men-
tioned by Oviedo, 70.
Espiritu Santo, port, 153; adjacent
country described, 169; distance to
Palache, 188; direction from Apa-
lache, 271; distance to Ocute, 270;
land between the two places, 270;
direction to Apalache and Rio de
las Palmas, 272.
Espiritu Santo River identified with
Mis.^i.ssippi, 339 n.
Escjuivel, Hernando de, among Ind-
ians, 62; informs Figucroa of fate
INDEX
397
of Narvaez and the others, 62-63;
feeds on flesh of Soto-Mayor, 63;
is slain because of a dream, 58, 64,
68; mentioned, 72; mentioned by
Oviedo, 70.
Estevanico, with Cabeza de Vaca, 4,
6; with Fray Marcos de Niza, 9;
put to death by Zunis, 9; brought
by Indians, with Dorantes and
Castillo, and meets with Cabeza de
Vaca, 59 ; stay of, with the Yguazes,
65; escapes from Indians, 71, 73;
performs cures among Avavares, 78;
goes to the Maliacones, 80; cause of
death of, 95 n. ; accompanies Alonzo
de Castillo on reconnoissance towards
Rio Grande, 102; is useful in
securing information from the Ind-
ians, 107; accompanies Cabeza de
Vaca in search of Spanish exploring
party, 112; acts as guide, 113;
mentioned as a survivor of Narvaez 's
party, 126, 288; guide for Fray
Marcos, 275, 288-289; death of,
275, 290.
Estrada, Alonzo de, treasurer for New
Spain, 287.
Estremadura, 216, 341.
Estufas, at Braba, 341 ; at Cibola, 350,
350 n.; description of, 353.
Evora, 272.
Feathers, trade in, 286; use of, in
dress, 350; symbolism of, 384 n.
Ferdinand, king of Spain, 287.
Fernandes, Benito, drowned, 166.
Fernandez, Alvaro, a Portuguese sailor
to seek Panuco, 49.
Fernandez, Alvaro, may have been the
Gentleman of Elvas, 130.
Fernandez, Bartolom6, sailor, 22.
Fewkes, Aborigines of Porto Rico,
cited, 19 n.
Fifteen-Mile Bayou, 205 n.
Figueroa, a native of Toledo, to seek
Panuco, 49; found by the fugitives
from Malhado, 58 n., 61; relates his
experiences, 62-63, 68; escapes by
flight, 64; seen by the Avavares, 79.
Figueroa, Gomez Suaroz de, com-
panion of Coronado, 293.
Figueroa, Vasco Porcallo de, see
Porcallo de Figueroa, Vasco.
Firebrand, use of, by Indians in travel-
ling, 303.
Firebrand River, see Colorado.
Fish, taken by De Soto, 209-210.
Fisher County, Texas, 245 n.
Fleet of Narvaez, size of, 14; visited
by hurricane on southern coast of
Cuba, 3-4, 15-17; brigantine bought
in Trinidad, 18; another vessel pur-
chased, 18.
Flint River, 164 n.
Florida, eastern limit of grant to
Narvaez, 3, 14; fleet of Narvaez
sights, 18; grains, fruits, and nuts
of, 271; bad character of country
of, 386.
Flowers, use of, in Indian ceremonials,
384.
Food of Indians, 312, 333, 348, 354.
Fort Belknap, 244 n., 245 n.
Fort Prince George, 176 n.
Fort Smith, 222 n.
Fowls, domestic, among the Indians,
348, 354.
Franciscans, with Narvaez, 14; in
Cuba, 142; in New Spain, 288; elect
Marcos de Niza father provincial, 291 .
Fruits of Florida, 271 ; of the great
plains, 364.
Fuentes, De Soto's chamberlain, con-
demned to death, 197.
Galena, 96 n.
Galeras, Juan, explores Grand Canon,
309.
Galicia, New Kingdom of, in New
Spain, 285 n., 286.
Galisteo, pueblo of, 356, 358 n.
Gallego, Juan, companion of Coronado,
292; messenger from Coronado to
Mendoza, 302; sword of, found in
Kansas, 302 n.; messenger to
Coronado, 371, 372; meets Coronado
on his return, 375; exploits of, 380.
Gallegos, Baltasar de, is chief castellan,
138; leaves his wife at Havana, 146;
at the town of Ucita, 147; sent into
the country, 148; returns with a
survivor of the party of Narvaez,
149; is sent to the province of
Paracoxi, 154; hears speech on
part of the absent cacique, asks
where gold may be found, 154; sent
398
INDEX
in quest of habitations, 171; in
aflfray with Indians at Manilla, 190;
responds to De Soto's dying speech,
233.
Galveston Island, resembles Malhado,
in certain particulars, 57 n.
Gamez, Juan de, killed at Manilla, 193.
Gaytan, Juan, takes an Indian boy of
Yupaha, 164.
Giant Indians, 302, 304.
Gibraleon, mentioned, 125.
Gifts, exchange of, on Cabeza de
Vaca's line of march, 97 n.
Giralda, great tower of Seville, 309 n.
Giusiw4, a Jemez pueblo, 359 n.
Goat, mountain, seen by Spaniards,
304, 305, 348.
Gold, sought by the Spaniards, 21-22,
145, 154, 164, 180, 181, 205, 212;
traces of, found, 19, 21, 111; tales
of, at Quivira, 328, 329; discovered
at Suya, 371.
Gomera, one of the Canary Islands,
139.
Gorbalan, Francisco, companion of
Coronado, 293.
Government of Indians, 308, 347, 351.
Granada, Coronado 's name for Ha-
wikuh, 277, 300 n.
Grand or Neosho River, 217 n.
Grand Canon, discovery of, 309.
Grande River, 201, 202, 205, 208, 209,
215, 224, 227, 245, 246, 247, 248,
249, 270, 271. See also Mississippi
River.
Grapes, wild, found by Coronado, 334,
338.
Graves, at Tutahaco, 384.
Great plains, Spaniards lost on, 336;
description of, 362.
Great River, the, 202. See Mississippi
River and Grande River.
Greene County, Alabama, 189 n.
Grey Friars, origin of name, 385 n.
Guacay, distance of, to Daycao, 270-
271 ; nature of the country, 271.
Guachichules, Indians, 385.
Guachoya, De Soto reaches, 227;
cacique of, comes to him, 227;
makes an address, 228; and as.sists
in attack of Nilco, 231 ; death of
De Soto at, 233; Spaniards leave,
236; mentioned, 245, 248; cacique
of, plots against Moscoso, 251 ; ex-
poses plot of caciques of Nilco and
Taguanate, 252 ; and kills Indians of
Nilco, 252; direction of, 271.
Guadalajara, beginning of, 285 n., 287.
Guadalaxara, see Guadalajara.
Guadiana, Spanish river, 341.
Guaes, province near Quivira, 328,
328 n., 364.
Guahate, province, mentioned, 222.
Guaniguanico, storm at, 18.
Guasco, see Waco.
Guatemala, conquered by Alvarado,
380.
Guaxulle, De Soto at, 177; mentioned,
178.
Guayaba tree, 141.
Guay cones Indians, 87.
Guaymas Indians, 108 n.
Guevara, Diego de, captures Indian
village, 324.
Guevara, Juan de, appointment of
son of, 292.
Guevara, Pedro de, appointed captain,
292.
Guevenes Indians, 59 n.
Gutierres, Diego, appointed captain,
292.
Gutierrez, Juan, see Xuarez, Juan,
and 14 n.
Guzman, Diego de. 111.
Guzman, Francisco de, goes away with
his Indian concubine, 238.
Guzman, Juan de, made captain of
infantry, 164; crosses Mississippi
with infantry, 204; sent against
Indians, 231, 256; is taken by
them, 257.
Guzman, Nufio de, position of, in
New Spain, 285; career of, 285 n.;
cruelty to natives, 285 n.; expedi-
tion of, to the Seven Cities, 286 ; Cu-
liacan settled by, 276, 287; imprison-
ment of, 287.
Hacanac, cacique of, gives battle, 239.
Hailstones, in Coronado's camp, 333.
Hair dress, of pueblo women, 350.
Halona, Zufii pueblo, 358 n.; exca-
vations at, 351 n.
Hano, Hopi pueblo, 358 n.
Hans Indians, 54, 87.
Hapaluya, Do Soto passes, 160.
i:jtdex
399
Harahey, identification of, 328 n.,
365 n.
Havana, fleet of Narvaez nears, 18;
Miruelo to return to, if harbor is
not found, 20; Cabeza de Vaca at,
121, 122; mentioned, 125, 142.
Hawikuh, scene of Estevan's death,
275; called Granada by Coronado,
277, 300 n.; history of, 300 n.,
358 n.
Haxa or Haya, settlement near Missis-
sippi River, 330, 331.
Hearts, town of, 7, 108 n. See Cora-
zones, Pueblo de los.
Hearts of animals, as food, 301.
Hearts Valley, see Corazones.
Hemes, see Jemez.
Hempstead County, 240 n.
Henry, cardinal, archbishop of Evora,
272.
Hermosillo, 109 n.
Hewett, on Pecos, 355 n.
Hirriga, town of Ucita, 147 n.
Hodge, F. W., 11, 280; on route of
Coronado, 337 n.
Hope, camp near, 239 n.
Hopi, tribal name of Indians at
Tusayan, 307 n.; as cotton growers,
308 n.; pottery of, 340 n.; tame
eagles of, 348 n.; hair dress of
women, 350 n.; population of
pueblos of, 351 n. ; pueblos of, 358 n.
Hornachos, mentioned, 124.
Hornaday, W. T., on wool of bison,
383 n.
Horseflesh, eaten by Spaniards, 27,
35, 36, 253.
Horses, Bay of, 37 n., 162 n. See
also Caballeros, Bahia de.
Horses, fear of Indians of, 386.
Houses of Indians, 165, 346, 350, 356,
364.
Huelva, Diego de, killed by Indians,
58, 64.
Huhasene, an Indian chief, 255.
Iguaces Indians, 61 n.
Inca, the, see Vega, Garcilaso de la.
India, believed to be connected with
America, 343, 360.
Indian Bay, 253 n.
"Indian giving," 100 n.
Indians, stature and proportions of, 32 ;
fine archery of, 32; customs of, at
Malhado, 54; weeping of, 54 n.;
as a sign of obedience, 241, 242-
243; barter among, 56-57; sub-
sist on walnuts, 59-60; eat prickly
pears three months of the year, 60-
61; kill even their male children,
64, 70; have great reverence for
dreams, 70; call Spaniards children
of the sun, 78; marriage relations
of, 83; methods of warfare of, 84-
86 ; nations and tongues of, beyond
Malhado, 86; peculiar customs of,
in drinking a tea of certain leaves,
87-88; method of, in preparing
flour of mesquite, 89; plunder those
who welcome Cabeza de Vaca, 91,
92; and plunder one another, 97;
rabbit hunts of, 98 ; eat spiders and
worms, 98; offer all they have to
Cabeza de Vaca, 99 ; women of, may
negotiate in war, 100, 102; chastise
children for weeping, 101; have
fixed dwellings, 102; go naked, 103;
eat powder of straw, 106; languages
of, 107; believe Spaniards are from
heaven, 107; women of, wear grass
and straw, 108; worship the sun,
107-108; promise to be Christians,
118; and to build churches, 119;
worship the devil with blood sacri-
fices, 151; approach, playing on flutes,
158, 183, 189; costumes of, 166; have
abundance of meat at Ocute, 168;
description of, at Cutifachiqui, 173-
174; mortuary customs of, 234, 351;
described by the Gentleman of Elvas,
272; use poisoned arrows, 326, 371.
Intoxication, among Indians, 66.
Iron, 93 n., 95 n.
Isleta, 358 n.
Jacona, 359 n.
Jagua, Cabeza de Vaca at, 17 n.;
Narvaez reaches with a pilot, 18.
Jaramillo, Juan, narrative of, 279,
337 n., 365 n.
Jeff'erson County, 225 n.
Jemoz, pueblos of, 339 n., 352, 359 n.;
visited by Barrionucvo, 339.
Jer6z de la Frontera, 3.
John III., king, 272 n.
Juamanos Indians, 102 n., 103 n.;
400
INDEX
know something of Christianity,
102 n. ; the Cow nation, 103 ;
method of cooking among, 104-105;
have fixed residences, 112.
Juana, Queen of Spain, 292.
Kansas, description of, 364.
Karankawan Indians, 51 n., 57 n.,
61 n.
Kaw or Kansa Indians, 328 n., 364 n.
Kiakima, Zuni pueblo, 358 n.
Kyanawe, Zuni pueblo, 358 n.
Lacane, Moscoso at, 242.
Lake Michigamia, 214 n.
Lakes, near Apalachen, 29.
Lanegados Indian^, hold Castillo cap-
tive, 71.
Lara, Alonso Manrique de, companion
of Coronado, 293.
Las Navas de Tolosa, battle of, 3.
La Vaca, Bay, 58 n.
League, Spanish, 22 n.
Lee County, Arkansas, 214 n.
Lenox Library, manuscript of Casta-
neda in, 277.
Leopard, see Wildcat.
Lewis, T. Hayes, 132.
Lions, see Mountain lions.
Lisbon, 123.
Little Red River, 216 n.
Little River, 240 n.
Little Tennessee River, 177 n.
Little Valley, settlement of, 347.
Llano River, 95 n.
Lobillo, Juan Rodriguez, at court, 135;
sent by De Soto into the country,
148; returns with four Indian
women, 149; sent in quest of habita-
tions, 171; overtakes De Soto, 172.
Lopez, Diego, death of, 49.
Lopez, Diego, appointed captain, 292;
succeeds Samaniego, 296; adventure
of, at Tiguox, 319; visits Haxa, 331.
Lopez de Cardenas, G., see Cardenas.
Lowery, Woodbury, Spanish Scttle-
menls, 1513-1561, cited, 19 n.
Luis, Friar, see Descalona.
Lusitanians, characterized, 134.
Mabila, see Mauilla.
Macaco, 150 n.
Macanoche, presented to Dc Soto, 213.
Macaque, see Matsaki.
McGee, W J, account of Seri Indians,
301 n.
Magdalena River, 33.
Mago, a poisonous tree, 108 n.
Maize, shown by Indians to Narvaez,
21; found under cultivation, 22,
25; little seen by Cabeza de Vaca
on march to Apalachen, 28; is
found growing in that place, 28, 29;
secured with difficulty from Indians,
35; mentioned, 94, 96, 102, 103,
104, 105, 108, 110, 113, 114, 247,
248, 271. See also Corn.
Malapaz, town, 156.
Maldonado, Dona Aldonga, 125.
Maldonado, Alonzo del CastUlo, see
Castillo Maldonado, Alonzo del.
Maldonado, Francisco, ordered to the
coast, 163; sent to Havana, 163;
at Ochuse, 193; mentioned, 175,
204.
Maldonado, Rodrigo, appointed cap-
tain, 292; visits seacoast, 301;
Indians attack camp of, 323; re-
ceives gift of buffalo skins, 332;
horse of, injures Coronado, 368.
Malhado Island, Spaniards at, 5-6;
named by Cabeza de Vaca, 50;
identification of, 57 n.; Christians
leave, losing a part of their number,
61; mentioned, 72.
Maliacones Indians, 80, 87. See also
Malicones Indians.
Malicones Indians, 76 n. See also
Maliacones Indians.
Mallery, Garrick, on sign language,
363 n.
Mallets, use of, as weapons by Indians,
321.
Mamei, a fruit, 141.
Mancjano, is lost, 186.
Mantelets of thread, found at Apala-
chen, 28.
Marcos, Fray, see Niza.
Margaridetos, a kind of bead, 226.
Mariames Indians, kill even their male
children and cast away their daugh-
ters, 64; mentioned, 87.
Marian Indians, 61.
Marjoram, wild, 338, 349, 364.
Marcjuis, Lsle of the, name of, given to
lower California, 304, 304 n.
INDEX
401
Marriage, among the Tahus, 344; at
Cibola, 350; at Tiguex, 353.
Mats, used in building houses, 346,
357 n.
Matsaki, Zufii pueblo, 315 n.; descrip-
tion of, 315-316, 350, mentioned,
358 n.
Manilla, De Soto at, 189; encounter
with the Indians at, 190-193; men-
tioned, 195.
May ayes Indians, 54 n.
Maye, cacique of, gives battle, 239.
Mayo Indians, 346 n.
Meal, sacred, use of, 307 n.
Meat, scarcity of, among De Soto's
men, 167-168.
Meirinho, see Tapile.
Melgosa, Pablo de, appointed captain,
293; explores Colorado River
Canons, 309; at Tiguex, 319.
Melons, native American, 348.
Memphis, near place of De Soto's
crossing of the Mississippi, 204 n.
Mendez, to seek Panuco, 49; taken by
Indians, 58, 62.
Mendica Indians, 87.
Mendoza, Antonio de, first viceroy of
New Spain, 121 n., 281 n.; learns
of the arrival of De Soto's men at
Panuco, 267; receives them at
Mexico, 269; appoints Coronado
governor of New Galicia, 287; plans
expedition to Cibola, 275, 281 ; gives
command to Coronado, 275, 281,
291; names Compostela as rendez-
vous, 293; addresses soldiers at
Compostela, 294; returns to New
Spain, 295; mentioned, 296, 297,
302, 326 ; letter of, relating progress
of expedition, 277; Coronado re-
ceives messages from, 367; men-
tioned, 377; disappointment of,
over failure of expedition, 378.
Mesa, Spanish soldier, 538.
Mesquite flour, 89.
Mestitam, Mexico, 268.
Mexico, 97 n.; Cabeza de Vaca at,
120, 121; Mosco.so at, 269.
Miakka River, 150 n.
Michoacan, province in New Spain,
286; journey of Mendoza through,
294.
Mico River, 228.
Mills, at Tiguex, 354.
Mindeleflf, V., on pueblo architecture,
354 n.
Miruelo, pilot, 18, 20.
Mishongnovi, Hopi pueblo, 358 n.
Mississippi River, reached by Narvaez
and Cabeza de Vaca, 41 ; the Great
River, 202; De Soto crosses, 204;
nature of country of, from Aquixo to
Pacaha and Coligoa, 270; described
by Indians, 330; reference to, 339;
description of, 365; mentioned, 385,
386. See also Grande River, Great
River, and Espiritu Santo River.
Mobile, 40 n.
Mochilagua, settlement of, 347.
Mochilla, presented to De Soto, 213.
Mocogo, town of, 150 n.; speech of
cacique of, to De Soto, 153.
Mogulixa, 194 n.
Monroe County, Arkansas, 253 n.
Monroe County, Mississippi, 195.
Montejo, feats of, in Tabasco, 380.
Mortar, substitute for, among Indians,
352.
Moscoso de Alvarado, Luis, direction
pursued by, 131; mentioned, 135;
joins De Soto at Seville, 137; is
master of the camp, 146; lodges
with Ucita, 147; at Cale, 156; over-
takes De Soto, 157; sent forward to
Tastaluga, 187; advises a halt, 189;
fails to keep a careful watch over
the Indians at Chicaga, 197; suc-
ceeds De Soto as governor, 233;
holds a conference, 235-236; leaves
Guachoya, 236; at Chaguate, 236-
237 ; at Aguacay , 238 ; at Naguatex,
240-242; reaches the Red River,
241; hangs his Indian guides, 242;
marches from Nondaco, 243; en-
counter with Indians at Aays, 243;
hears of other Europeans seen by
the Indians of Soacatino, 243; de-
cides that reports are false, 244;
holds a council and decides to return
to Nilco, 245-246; causes resent-
ment among his followers, 247;
roaches Nilco, 248; goes to Aminoya,
249; directs the building of brigan-
tines, 2.50; learns of Indian plot,
251 ; commands that right hands of
thirty Indians be cut olf, 252;
2i>
402
INDEX
mutilates other Indians, 252; pro-
ceeds against Taguanate, 253; em-
barks with his followers, 253-254;
is attacked by Indians, 255-259;
puts out to sea, 261 ; is separated
from the other brigantines, 263;
after fifty-two days reaches the
river Panico, 265-266; is received
at the town of the same name, 267;
and at Mexico, 269.
Mosquitos, 67, 263.
Mota Padilla, M. de la, cited, 356 n.,
365 n., 366 n.
Mountain lions, in ChichilticaUi, 349;
in Cibola, 350.
Mountains seen by Cabeza de Vaca,
92 n.
Mud Island, 57 n.
Mulberries, wild, 334, 364.
Musetti, Juan Pedro, book merchant,
126.
Musical instrmnents of Indians, 312,
354.
Muskhogean tribes, 21 n.
Na5acahoz, Moscoso at, 244.
Naguatex, mentioned, 238 ; Indian ad-
vance at, 239 ; cacique of, addresses
Moscoso, 241; found full of maize,
247; pottery made at, 247.
Najera, birthplace of Castaiieda, 276.
Nambe, Tewa pueblo, 359 n.
Napetaca, engagement at, between De
Soto and the Indians, 158.
Naquiscoga, Moscoso at, 244.
Narvaez, Pimfilo de, receives grant,
3; sets sail, 3, 14; failure of his
expedition, 7; size of his fleet, 14;
reaches Santo Domingo where one
hundred and forty men desert, 14;
arrives at Santiago de Cuba, 15;
loses ten of his ships and si.xty men
in storm at Trinidad, 3-4, 15-17;
major portion of his fleet reach
Trinidad and winter there, 17; at
Xagua, 17; sights Florida, 18;
reaches the mainland, 19; takes
poK.scssion of country in the royal
name, 4, 19-20; explores iniarid,
20, 21; holds ronforence regarding
further penetration of interior, 22;
takes u\i march into country, with
three hundred men, 4, 25; accepts
Indian allies against the Apalachees,
26-27; takes Apalachen, 28; de-
parts for Aute, 31; attacked by
Indians, 31; reaches Aute, 32;
departs from Aute, 33; calls a
council, which decides to build ves-
sels in which to get away, 34—36;
loses ten men killed bj'- Indians,
and forty, who die of disease, 36;
leaves Bay of Horses, and meets,
with many privations, 37-38; lands
and is wounded by Indians, 38-39;
embarks once more and proceeds
along the coast, 39-41 ; reaches the
Mississippi, 41 ; exhibits selfishness
in saving his life, 42 ; fate of, narrated
by Esciuivel, 62; mentioned by
Oviedo, 70; is carried out to sea,
72; fate of his voyage foretold, 124;
his Panuco fleet, 124-125; men-
tioned, 157, 288; skulls of his horses
found at Ochete, 162; his disaster
frightens the followers of Moscoso,
248; survivors of his expedition
return to New Spain, 288.
Natividad, departure of Alarcon from,
294.
Nebraska, description of, 364.
Negroes, island of, 386.
Negroes, with Coronado, 333.
Neosho River, 217 n.
New Albany, 200 n.
Newfoundland, Spanish name for,
343 n., 360.
New Galicia, province of New Spain,
113, 285 n., 286, 344; Coronado
appointed governor of, 287; Coro-
nado deprived of governorship of,
378.
New Spain, mentioned, 124,254; direc-
tion from Rio de las Palmas, 272.
Nicalasa, an Indian chief, 195 n.
Nilco, mentioned, 224, 225, 228, 230,
231; De Soto at, 226; most popu-
lous town tliat was seen in Florida,
226 ; attacked, by orders of De Soto,
230-232; cacique of, plots against
Moscoso, 251; and comes to make
excu.scs, 252.
Nilco, river of, De Soto crosses, 227.
Nissohone, a poor province, 242; a
woman of, acts as guide to Moscoso,
242.
INDEX
403
Niza, Marcos de, expedition of, to
Cibola, 9, 275, 2S8-290; narrative
of, 277, 290 n.; reports of, verified
bj^ Diaz, 277, 296; made father pro-
vincial of Franciscans, 291; sermon
of, 298; mentioned, 300; return of,
to Mexico, 302.
Nondacao, reported to have plenty of
maize, 242; mentioned, 243.
North Carolina, 176 n.
Nuiiez Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar. See
Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Nuiiez.
Nufio de Guzman, 116, 119, 120.
Nut pine, 96.
Nuts, 271.
Oaxaca, Marques del Valle de, title
given to Cortes, 286 n.
Ochete, skulls of horses found at, 162.
Ochus, province, 163; mentioned, 175.
Ochuse, Maldonado at, 193.
Ocilla River, boundary of Muskhogean
territory, 21 n.
Ogita, see Ucita.
Ocmulgee River, 166 n.
Oconna-Luftee River, 176 n., 177 n.
Oconee River, 167 n.
Ocute, described to De Soto, 167; De
Soto at, 167, 168; mentioned, 179;
land is fertile, 270; distance to
Cutifachiqui, 270.
Ogechee River, 170 n.
Ohoopee River, 170 n.
Onate, Christobal de, governor of New
Galicia, entertains Coronado, 294.
Oiiate, Count of, nephew of, appointed
captain, 292.
Onate, Juan de, settlement made at
Yukiwingge by, 340 n.
Opata Indians, 305 n., 348 n.; poi.s-
oncd arrows of, 326 n.; mentioned,
376 n.
Opossum, first allusion to, 29 n.
Oraibi, Hopi pueblo, 358 n.
Ortiz, Juan, rescued by De Soto, 10;
foimd by De Gallegos, 149; his ad-
ventures among the Indians, 149-
152; reports Indian plan to attack
De Soto, 158; acts as interpreter,
170; not to speak of Maldonado's
proximity, 193; secures release of
O.sorio and Fuentes, 197; dies at
Autiamquc, 224.
Osorio, Antonio, ascends river at
Pacaha with five men, 210, 211.
Osorio, Francisco, condemned to death
by De Soto, 197.
Otter, 350, 357.
Ovando, Francisco de, companion of
Coronado, 292; treatment of, by
Indians, 354.
Oviedo, Gonzalo Ferndndez de, edits
report to Audiencia of Espanola, 8,
10; edition cited, 21 n., 25 n., 31 n.,
39 n., 68-70, 92 n., 112 n.
Oviedo, Lope de, at Malhado, 6; de-
serts, 6; among the Indians, 44-45;
rescued by Cabeza de Vaca, 57;
returns, through fear, 59.
Oxitipar, district of, in New Spain, 285.
Oyster creek, 57 n.
Oysters, found by Cabeza de Vaca, 33.
Pacaha, sought by De Soto for its gold,
205, 208; probably to be located in
the vicinity of Osceola, in Arkansas,
209n.; De Soto at, 209-213; cacique
of, flees from De Soto, 210; is
brought to the governor and sub-
mits to him, 211 ; and accepts friend-
ship of the cacique of Casqui, 212;
distance to Aquiguate, 215; men-
tioned, 227, 270; direction of, 271.
Pacaxes, a tribe in Culiacan, 345.
Padilla, Juan de, companion of Alva-
rado, 279; accompanies Tovar to
Tusayan, 307; remains in Quivira,
372; death of, 364, 373, 385.
Pafalya, 194.
Pajarito Park, 340 n.
Palachen, 22 n.
Palacios, death of, 49.
Palisema, De Soto in, 216.
Palmas, Rio de las, western limit of
grant to Narvaez, 3, 14; mentioned,
22, 260, 264, 265, 266; direction
from, to New Spain, 272; direction
of, from Espiritu Santo, 272.
Palmitos, sustenance of Narvaez and
his men, 25.
Palos, Juan de, friar, with Narvaez, 25.
Panico, 268. Sec aho Panuco.
Pantoja, Juan, ordered by Narvaez to
proceed to Trinidad, 15; possibly
the Pantoja killed by Soto-Mayor,
15 n.; advises Narvaez, 42; made
404
INDEX
lieutenant, 62; kiEed by Soto-
Mayor, 63.
Pdnuco, Narvaez orders ships to find,
4; mentioned, 63; to be sought bj^
four men of Cabeza de Vaca's party,
49; Guzman, governor of, 285 n.;
mention of, 385. See also Panico.
P^nuco River, 265 n.
Papa, title given priests at Zuni, 351.
Papagos, tribe of Sonora, 348 n.
Paracoxi, province, 153, 154, 155.
Partidos, seduce one hundred and forty
men from Narvaez, 14.
Pasquaro, visited by Mendoza, 294.
Patent, to Narvaez, 3.
Pato, Moscoso at, 238.
Patofa, speech of, 168-169.
Patoqua, Jemez pueblo, 359 n.
Pawnee Indians, mention of, 328 n.,
337 n., 365 n.
Paz, Augustin de, printer, 126.
Peace, form of making, at Aeoma, 312;
at Tiguex, 319.
Pearls, found by De Soto, 174; burned
at Manilla, 193.
Pecos, identification of Cicuye with,
329 n.; visit of Indians from, 310;
visited by Alvarado, 312; visit of
Coronado to, 327; siege of, 341;
route of army to, 361 n.; descrip-
tion of, 355-356; history of, 355 n.;
mention of, 359.
Pecos River, crossed by Spaniards,
99 n., 329, 338.
Pedro, Don, lord of Tescuco, killed, 31.
Pedro, Indian guide, is baptized, 174;
regarded with suspicion, 176.
Pemmican, used by Indians, 363.
PeBalo.sa, embarks in open boat, 36;
repulses Indians, 39; overtaken by
Cabeza de Vaca, 43; reported killed
by the Camones, 72.
Pensacola, Muskhogean territory, 21 n.
Pensacola Bay, 38 n., 40 n. See also
Chuse, Bay of.
People of the Figs, 79, 87.
Peru, exploration of, 380.
Petachan River, sec Pctlatlan.
Petates, or mats used for houses, 346,
377 n.
Petlatlan, clcsrrii)tion of Indian settle-
ment of, 346; hou.scs at, 346, 377 n. ;
mention of, 376.
Petlatlan, Rio, identification of, with
Rio Sinaloa, 346 n.
Petutan River, 111, 117 n.
Philip II., king of Spain, 288.
Philippine Islands, location of isle of
negroes in, 386 n.
Piache, see Piachi.
Piache River, 188, 189.
Piachi, 188 n.
Picardo, Juan, printer, 126.
Picones, catfish, 349 n.
Picuris, pueblo of, 352 n.
Pima Indians, 115 n., 348 n.
Pimahaitu Indians, 115 n.
Pine Bluff, 225 n., 248 n.
Pine nuts, u.sed as food, 96, 349, 350.
Piraguas, built by De Soto, 225.
Piros Indians, 104 n.; villages of,
341 n.
Pizarro, Hernando, mentioned, 135.
Plot, against Narvaez, 34.
Pobares, Francisco, death of, 322.
Pojoaque, Tewa pueblo, 359 n.
Pontotoc county, Mississippi, 195.
Porcallo de Figueroa, Vasco, offers pro-
visions to Narvaez, 15; keeps his
slaves from hanging themselves,
142; mentioned, 143; is made
captain-general, by De Soto, 145;
is resisted by Indians, 146; lodges
with Ucita, 147; is unable to make
seizures of Indians, as slaves, 154;
and returns to Cuba, 154.
Pork, allowance of, to De Soto's men,
171.
Portuguese, with Hernando de Soto,
leave Elvas, 138; Spanish seek to
get among the Portuguese, 139.
Potano, town, 156, 162.
Pottery, glazed, of Indians, 340;
where found, 340 n.; made by
Indians, 355, 361.
Prairie de Roane, 239 n.
Prairie dogs, seen by Coronado on
great plains, 338.
Prentiss County, Mississippi, 212 n.
Prickly pears, 61 n., 66-67, 70, 71. 72,
73, 74, 75-76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 93, 94,
96, 246. See also Tuna.
Priinahaitu Indians, 114.
Prostitution among the Tahus, 344-345.
Puaray, settlement upon site of
Tiguex, 317 a.
INDEX
405
Pueblo Indians, 90 n., 104 n.; rabbit
hunts among, 98 n.; ceremonials
of, 384.
Pueblos, method of building, 352.
Puerto de Luna, 338 n.
Puerto Principe, town in Cuba, 142,
143, 144.
Puje, ruin of pueblo of, 340 n.
Quachichiles, see Guachichviles.
Quachita River, 238 n.
Qualla, see Xualla.
Querechos Indians, mode of life of, 330 ;
description of, 362-363.
Queres, pueblos of, 327 n., 352, 358 n.
Quevenes Indians, 59, 62, 85, 87.
Quigaltam, 227; cacique of, sends
message to De Soto, 229; arouses
the latter's suspicions, 230; men-
tioned, 235.
Quigualtam, Indians of, attack Mos-
coso, 255.
Quiguate, 213, 215, 216. See Aqui-
guate.
Quince juice, use of, as poison antidote,
376, 381.
Quipana, near plains, 222 n.
Quirex, province of, visited by Span-
iards, 327.
Quitok Indians, 80 n., 87 n.
Quitoles Indians, 87 n.
Quivira, stories of, told by Turk, 313,
314; mention of, 327; departure of
Coronadofor, 328; stories of Xabe
of, 329 ; arrival of Coronado at, 336 ;
route to, 337 n.; Indians of, identi-
fied with Wichita Indians, 337 n.;
Coronado returns from, 341, 342;
description of, reference to, 362,
365, 366, 367; return to, planned,
368; Padilla remains in, 372, 373 n.;
death of Padilla at, 385; route to,
378, 385.
Quizquiz, De Soto at, 202 ; Indians of,
present skins and shawls, 202; di-
rection of, 271.
Rabbits, on the great plains, 363;
skins of, used for garments, 350.
Rafts, use of, in crossing Colorado
River, 304; method of making, 304.
Ramirez, Fray Juan, establishes mis-
sion at Acoma, 311 n.
Ranjel, Narrative by, 130; cited, 161 n.,
165 n., 166 n., 167 n., 172 n.,
175 n., 177 n., 178 n., 185 n., 188 n.,
189 n., 194 n., 215 n., 216 n., 217 n.,
222 n.
Rau, Charles, translator of Baegert's
narrative, 346 n.
Redland, 195.
Red River, 225 n., 261 n.; Moscoso at,
241 n.; identification of, with Zuni
River, 299 n.
Relacidn del Suceso, 278; cited, 337 n.,
365 n., 367 n.
Relacidn Postrera de Sibola, 278.
Riberos, el Factor, companion of Coro-
nado, 293.
Rio Grande, 99 n., 102, 103 n., 104 n.;
Indians attempt to cross, 323;
pueblos near, 327 n., 335 n.; dis-
appearance underground of, 341;
mention of, 339 n., 340 n.; direction
of, 359 n., 360.
Ritchey, W. E., cited, 302.
River, the, 228.
River Grande, see Grande River.
Rodriguez, Men., killed at Mauilla,
193.
Rojas, Juan de, made governor's
lieutenant of Cuba, 146.
Romo, Alfonso, sent in quest of habita-
tions, 171; overtakes De Soto, 172.
Ruiz, Gon^alo, death of, 49.
Saabedra, Fernandarias de, appoint-
ment of, 297.
Saabedra, H. de, mayor of Culiacan,
297, 371, 372.
Sacatecas, see Zacatecas.
St. Clement's Point, landing of Nar-
vaez at, 19 n.
St. Francis County, Arkansas, 205 n.,
214 n.
St. Francis River, 213 n., 214 n.
St. Marks, seat of the Apalachee, 21 n.,
30 n.
St. Marks Bay, 33 n., 37 n.
St. Marks River, 33 n.
Saline County, 236 n.
Saline River, 236 n.
Salt, made by Spaniards, 218, 238;
natural crystals of, in Arizona, 310;
lakes of, on great plains, 338, 362.
Salvidar, Juan de, companion of
406
i:t^DEX
Coronado, 292; explorations of,
296; mentioned, 299; at Tiguex,
319; captures Indian village, 324;
escape of Indian woman from, 339.
Samaniego, Lope de, appointed army-
master, 292; death of, 295.
San Antonio Bay, 58 n.
San Antonio Cape, 143.
San Antonio River, 74 n.
San Bernardo River, 58 n.
Sanbenitos, described, 334 n., 347.
Sancti Spiritus, town in Cuba, 142, 144.
Sandia Mountains, 352.
San Gabriel de los Espanoles, settle-
ment of, 340 n.
San Hieronimo de los Corazones,
founding of, 301 ; dispatches from,
324; disturbance in, 326; trans-
ferred to Suya, 301, 326.
San IldefonsQ, Tewa pueblo, 359 n.
San Juan, Tewa pueblo, 340 n., 359 n.
Sanliicar, Bay of, 139.
Sanlucar, muster of De Soto's forces at,
139.
San Lucar de Barrameda, port in
Spain, 3, 14 n.
San Luis, island, 57 n.
San Marcos-Guadalupe River, 74 n.
San Miguel, village, 120.
San Miguel Culiacan, 113 n.
San Pedro, river in Sonora, 371 n.
Sant Anton, Cape, westernmost point
of Cuba, 18 n.
Santa Clara, Tewa pueblo, 359 n.
Santa F6, seat of provincial govern-
ment, 340 n.
Santa Maria, Rio, 105 n.
Santander River, called Rio de los
Palmas, 14 n.
Santiago, u.se of, as war cry, 300 n., 308.
Santiago de Cuba, described by the
Gentleman of Elvas, 140 -141 ; bread
there made of a root, 141; natural
products of, 141.
Sant Miguel, strait, 37.
Santo Domingo, Narvacz reaches, 14;
mentif)nr!d, 19 n.
Saquechuma, burnc^d by Indians to
decfiive De Soto, 196.
Savannah River, 21 n., 172 n.
Sebastian, king, 272 n.
Seininf)ie Indians, 19 u.
Senoru, sec Sonora.
Seri Indians, 108 n., 301 n.
Seven Cities, see Cibola.
Sheep, Rocky Mountain, 305, 348.
Shongopovi, Hopi pueblo, 358 n.
Shupaulovi, Hopi pueblo, 358 n.
Sia, identification of, 327 n., 359 n.;
mention of, 359.
Sichomovi, Hopi pueblo, 358 n.
Sierra, dies, 49.
Sierra Madre Mountains, 106 n.
Sign language, used by Querechos, 330;
by plains Indians, 363, 363 n.
Silos, Pueblo de los, 356, 358 n.
Silveira, Fernando da, epigram by,
133.
Silver, reports of, at Quivira, 313, 314,
329; use of, in glazing, 340, 355,
361; mine of, at Culiacan, 345.
Silver Bluff, 172 n.
Sinaloa, settlement of, 347.
Sinaloa River, 113, 117 n., 346.
Sipsey River, 194 n.
Slavery, Spanish, among the Indians,
64; Indian, among the Spaniards,
110, 114, 116, 312, 329, 339; Ind-
ians sought by Vasco Porcallo de
Figueroa, 154; taken by De Soto,
160, 181, 184-185, 186, 195, 205,
206, 208, 209, 215, 216, 217, 218,
219, 222, 223, 225, 227, 232; by
Moscoso, 238, 239, 242, 254; five
hundred men and women aban-
doned, 254.
Smith, Buckingham, Relation of
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vacn,
cited, 19 n., 24 n., 25 n., 30 n., 31 n.,
71 n., 79 n., 90 n., 92 n.; translation
of Oviedo's Letter, 68-70; Coleccion
de varios Documentos para la Ilis-
toria de la Florida, edited by, 130.
Snakes, worship of, 344.
Soacatino, guiile to, furnislicd to Mo.s-
co.so, 243; Indians of, report seeing
Europeans, 243; Moscoso at, 244.
Sobaipuri, 349 n., 371 n.
Socorro, sec Aymay.
Sodomy, among Pacaxcs, 345; at
Petlatlan, 346; at Suya, 348;
absence of, at Cibola, 351.
Solis, Alonso d(% distributor and
assessor, with Narvacz, 14; enters
Apalachen, 28; embarks in open
boat, 36; is drowned, 46.
INDEX
407
Sonora, Spanish settlement in valley
of, 301, 302; San Hieronimo aban-
doned for, 301, 326; description of,
347; rebellion at, 370-371.
Sonora Indians, 106 n.
Sorcery, among Pacaxes, 345.
Soti, brothers, die at Aminoya, 249.
Soto, Hernando de, wishes services of
Cabeza de Vaca, 8, 136; Narrative
of expedition of, by the Gentleman
of Elvas, 127-272; geographical
knowledge afforded by the Narra-
tive, 129; Indian tribes described,
129; places mentioned, 129; parent-
age of, 135; captain of horse in
Peru, 135; marries Dona Ysabel de
Bobadilla, 136; is made governor of
Cuba, and Adelantado of Florida,
136; members of his company, 136-
138 ; sails with six hundred men and
seven ships, 139; reaches Santiago
de Cuba, 140; goes to Havana by
land, 143; lands in Florida, 146;
lodges with Ucita, 147; loses his
Indian interpreters, 147; sends
vessels to Cuba for provisions, 154;
moves toward Cale, in search of
gold, 155 ; finds the town abandoned,
155; orders all the ripe grain in the
fields to be secured, 156; loses three
men, 156; reaches Caliquen and
hears of the distress that overtook
Narvaez at Apalache, but decides to
go onward, 157; takes cacique, and
is attacked by Indians at Napetaca,
, 158; divides some of the captives
among his men and orders execution
of the rest, 160; seizes a hundred
Indian men and women, 160; starts
in search of gold, reported to be at
Yupaha, 164; tcHs the cacique of
Achese that he is the child of the
Sun, 167; plants a cross, 167; re-
ceives four hundred tamcmes from
the cacique of Ocute, 168; leaves
the provmcc of Patofa, 169; an
exorcism cures his guide, 169; re-
ceives seven hundred tamemes, 170;
suffers many privations, 171-172;
ord(!rs an Indian burned, 172; hears
speech of a kinswoman of the cacica
of Cutifachiqui, 172-173; hears
speech of the cacica., 173; leaves
Cutifachiqui, 175; takes the cacica
as a slave, 176; distances traversed,
177; begs maize of the cacique of
Chiaha, 178; hears speech of cacique
of that place, 178; sends men to see
if there is gold at Chisca, 181 ; hears
speech of cacique of Coste, 182-183;
and speech of cacique of Coga, 183-
184; rests at Coga twenty- five days,
185; hears speech at Tallisi, 186-
187; hears speech of cacique of
Tastaluga, 188 ; distances traversed
to Tastaluga, 188-189; wounded in
encounter with Indians at Mauilla,
191; hears that Maldonado is at
Ochuse, 193; his losses in the Florida
expedition, 194; leaves Mauilla,
194; reaches Chicaga and takes some
Indians, 195; cuts off an Indian's
hands for theft, 196; repulses Ind-
ians, 197-199; leaves Chicaga and
sustains two more attacks made by
the natives, 199-201; sets out for
Quizquiz, 202 ; crosses the Mississippi,
204; hears speeches of the cacique
of Casqui, 206-207 ; preaches Chris-
tianity to the Indians, 207-208;
finds many shawls and skins at
Pacaha, 209; makes friendship
between the caciques of Casqui and
Pacaha, 212; burns part of Aqui-
guate, 214; takes one hundred and
forty-one Indians, 215; makes other
captures at Coligoa, 216; at Tanico,
217; subdues cacique of Tulla, 218-
220; has now been gone three years,
221 ; has lost two hundred and fifty
men, 221; winters at Autiamque,
222-224; goes to Nilco, 226; and
thence to Guachoya, 227; sends a
message to cacique of Quigaltam , 229 ;
is taken ill, 230; sends expedition
against Nilco, 230-231; farewell
speech to his men, 232-233; names
Moscoso to be his successor, 233;
dies, 233; and is secretly buried,
234; sale of his property, 235; ref-
erence to discoveries of, 313, 339,
365; crosses route of Coronado,
339; mentioned, 362, 366; route
of, 386.
Soto-Mayor, Juan de, companion of
Coronado, 293.
408
INDEX
Soto-Mayor, kills Juan Pantoja, 15 n.,
63; dies and is eaten by Esquivel,
63.
Soto-Mayor, Pedro de, chronicler of
Cardenas' expedition, 310.
South Carolina, 176 n.
South Sea, 105, 108, 111, 238. See
also California, Gulf of.
Staked Plains, 7, 97 n., 245 n., 361 n.,
362 n.
Stevens, John, dictionary of, 300 n.
Susola Indians, 76, 80 n., 87.
Suwannee, river, crossed by Narvaez,
27 n.
Suya, see Sonora.
Swain County, 176 n.
Tabasco, mention of, 380.
Tabu, among Indians of Malhado, 51-
52.
Taguanate, cacique of, plots against
Moscoso, 251; comes to make
excuses, 252; town assaulted by
Moscoso, 252-253.
Tahu Indians, a tribe in Culiacan, 344.
Tali, De Soto at, 182 ; speech of cacique
of, 182-183.
Taliepataua, 194.
Talise, nature of the country, 270.
See also Talli.se.
Talladega County, 183 n.
Tallahassee, seat of the Apalachee,
21 n.
Tallahatchie River, 200 n.
Tallapoosa County, 186.
Tallapoosa River, 186.
Tallimuchose, without inhabitants,
185.
Tallise, 186; cacique of, lends forty
men to De Soto, 186; presents the
tameraes needed, 187. See also
Talise.
Tamemes, Indians who carry burdens,
168, 170, 176, 182, 184, 186, 187,
213.
Tampas Bay, reached by Narvaez, 20;
mentioned, 36 n., 125 n.
Tunico, Do Soto at, 217.
Taiito River, 143.
Taos, identification with Braba, 340 n. ;
visit of Spaniards to, 340; Valia-
doUd Spanish name for, 340; men-
ti(jn of, 359.
Tapatu River, 228.
Tapile, equivalent of meirinho, 269.
Tarasca, a district in Michoacan,
286.
Tascaluga, De Soto seeks, 185; cacique
of, addresses De Soto, 186-187; dis-
tance to Mississippi, 215; nature of
the country, 270; direction of, 271.
See also Tastaluga.
Tastaluga, cacique of, sends a chief to
De Soto, 186-187; dwelling of , 187;
speech to De Soto, 188; is taken
by De Soto, 188; asks to be allowed
to remain, 189; at Manilla, 189.
See also Tascaluga.
Tatalicoya, De Soto at, 217.
Tattooing, among Indians, 348 n.
Tavera, one of Cabeza de Vaca's party,
death of, 48-49.
Tejas, see Teyas.
Tejo, stories told by, 285-286; death
of, 287.
Tellez, captain, embarks in open boat,
36; repulses Indians, 39; over-
taken by Cabeza de Vaca, 43; re-
ported killed by the Camones, 72.
Tennessee River, 181 n., 212 n.
Teocomo, settlement of, 347.
Tepoca Indians, 108 n.
Terceira, island, 123; produces batata,
141.
Ternaux-Compans, Henri, translation
of Castaneda by, 277, 290 n., 341 n.
Tesuque, Towa pueblo, 359 n.
Tewa Indians, pottery of, 340 n.;
pueblos of, 359 n.
Teyas, tribe of plains Indians, 333;
identification with Tejas, or Texas,
333 n.; guides of Coronado to
Quivira, 335, 338; Cicuye besieged
by, 357; name of, synonymous with
braves, 357; mentioned, 362; can-
nibalism among, 363 n.
Theodoro, a Greek, makes resin, 35;
deserts, 40.
Tietiquaquo, chief of, comes to De
Soto, 223.
Tiguas, 317 n.; pueblos of, 358 n.
Tigiiex, vi.sited by Alvarado, 312;
identification of, 317 n.; demands
of Spaniards at, 318; revolt of
Indians of, 319; Indians of, dis-
(ru.st Spaniards, 321, 328; seige of,
INDEX
409
322 ; description of, 352 ; pueblos of,
358.
Timucuan Indians, 19 n., 25 n.
Timuquanan or Timucuan Indians,
19 n., 25 n.
Tishomingo County, Mississippi, 212 n.
Tison, Rio del, reason for name of,
301. See Colorado River.
Toalli, De Soto at, 165, 166; houses
made of grass, 165.
Toasi, 185 h.; De Soto at, 186.
Tobar, Nuno de, at court, 135; ac-
companies De Soto, 137; is deprived
of his rank as captain-general, 145;
leaves his wife at Havana, 146;
sent against Nilco, 231.
Tobosos Indians, 103 n.
Tocaste, town, 155 n.
Tombigbee River, 189 n., 194 n., 195 n.
Tomson, Robert, cited, 334 n.
Tonala, settlement of, 287.
Tonkawa Indians, Texas tribe, 363 n.
Topia or Tapira in Durango, 290 n.
Topira, expedition of Coronado to,
290.
Torre, Diego Perez de la, replaces
Guzman, 287.
Torrejon de Velasco, death of Guzman
at, 285 n.
Tovar, Fernando de, position of, 292.
Tovar, Pedro de, appointed ensign-
general, 292; visits Tusayan, 307;
sent to San Hieronimo, 326; joins
Coronado at Tiguex, 367.
Traslado de las Nuevas, 278.
Travois, dog saddles used by plains
Indians, 362.
Trees, near Apalachen, 29; of Santi-
ago de Cuba, 140-141; named by
Gentleman of Elvas, 206.
Trigeux, see Tiguex.
Trinidad, storm at, 15-17; town in
Cuba, 144, 145.
Truxillo, adventure of, 298.
Tuasi, see Toasi.
Tuckaseegee River, 176 n.
Tula, direction of, 271.
TuUa, De Soto's encounter with
Indians at, 218-219; cacique of,
offers presents, 220 ; is dismissed, 22 1 .
Tuna, native American fruit, 347;
preserves made from, by Indians,
305 n., 348.
Tunica County, Mississippi, 204 n.
Turk, Indian slave at Pecos, 313, 372;
stories of, 314; bracelets of, 315;
mentioned, 326, 329, 330, 331;
Spaniards grow suspicious of, 328,
334; put in chains, 335; motive of,
in misleading Spaniards, 336-337.
Turkeys in pueblo regions, 354.
Turquoises, presented to Cabeza de
Vaca, 106, 117; found at Waco, 246
collected by Estevanico, 288, 289
how obtained by Indians, 308 n.
gifts of, made by Indians, 308, 312
of pueblo Indians, 350.
Tusayan, description of, by Zuni Ind-
ians, 307; visited by Tovar, 307;
cotton cultivated at, 308 n.; de-
scription of, 351; names of pueblos
of, 358 n.
Tutahaco, visit of Coronado to, 314;
problem of name of, 314 n.; eight
pueblos of, 358.
Tutelpinco, De Soto at, 225.
Tyronza River, 206 n., 208 n.
Ucita, an Indian chief, 146 n.; town of,
146, 147; temple thrown down, 147.
Uitachuco, burned by Indians, 161.
Ullibahali, chiefs of, approach De Soto,
185; a fenced town, 185; cacique
of, offers tamemes to De Soto, 186.
Union County, Mississippi, 200 n.
Upanguayma Indians, 108.
"Upper Cross Timbers," 244 n.
Urine, use of, as a mordant, 354 n.
Urrea, Lope de, companion of Coro-
nado, 293 ; envoy of peace to Ind-
ians, 323.
Utinamu, town, 156.
Uzachil, much food found at, 160.
Uzachil, cacique of, sends embassy to
De Soto, 158; presents him with
deer, 160.
Uzela, De Soto at, 161.
Vaca, Cabeza de, see Cabeza de Vaca.
Vacapan, province crossed by Coro-
nado, 305.
Vacas, Rio de las, 103 n.
Valdevieso, killed by Indians, 58, 64;
mentioned by Oviedo, 69.
Valen(,^uola, captain, ordered by Nar-
vaez to follow river to the sea, 26.
410
INDEX
Valladolid, Spanish name of Braba,
340, 359.
Valley of Knaves, rebellion of Indians
in, "326.
Vargas, Juan de, killed by Indians,
257.
Vargas, Luis Ramierez de, companion
of Coronado, 293.
Vasconcelos, Andr6 de, of Elvas, 137,
138; commands a ship in De Soto's
expedition, 139; slave of, espouses
cacica of Cutifachiqui, 177; dies
at Aminoya, 249.
Vasconyados Indians, 115 n.
Vazquez, Juan, killed at Mauilla, 193.
Vazquez de Ayllon, Lucas, 21 n.
Vega, Garcilaso de la, "the Inca,"
author of Florida del Yunca, 131;
gives distance of Moscoso's journey
down the Mississippi, 259 n.
Vegetation of the great plains, 362.
Velasco, island, possibly to be identified
with Malhado, 57 n.
Velazquez, Juan, first man of Narvaez'
exploring party to be lost, 27; his
horse affords supper to many, 27.
Venison, a thing little known, 74.
Vera, Francisco de, father of Nunez
Cabeza de Vaca, 3, 125.
Vera, Pedro de, conqueror of the
Canaries, grandfather of Nunez
Cabeza de Vaca, 3, 13 n., 125.
Vera Cruz, Cabeza de Vaca at, 121;
mentioned, 265 n., 268.
Vessels, built by men under Narvaez,
34—36; by Spaniards at Aminoya,
250.
Vick.sburg BluflFs, 255 n.
Villafarta, named by De Soto, 157.
Villalobos, R. L. de, voyage of, 360,
360 n., 378.
Virgins, treatment of, 355, 356.
Voth, H. R., studies on Oraibi mar-
riage customs, 353 n.
Waco, Moscoso at, 244 n., 245; tur-
quoises and shawls of cotton found
at, 246.
Walnut Bend suggested as the place
of De Soto's crossing the Mississippi,
204 n.
Walnuts, found by Coronado, 334.
Walpi, Hopi pueblo, 358 n.
Watercress, native American, 349.
Whiskers, captain of Cicuye Indians,
310, 312; taken prisoner by Alva-
rado, 315; release of, 329.
White Oak shoals. Red River, 242 n.
White River, 216 n., 217 n., 253 n.
Wichita Indians, identified with Ind-
ians of Quivira, 337 n.
Wildcat, native American, 349, 350.
Wine, of pitahaya, 348.
Winship, George Parker, memoirs on
the Coronado expedition, 276-277,
337 n., 341 n., 360 n., 366 n., 374 n.,
386 n.
Witchcraft practised by Pacaxes, 345.
Withlacoochee River crossed by Nar-
vaez, 25 n.
Wolves on great plains, 363.
Women, work of, in pueblo building,
352; functions of, 353,
Woodruff County, Arkansas, 216 n.
Xabe, Indian from Quivira, with
Coronado, 329, 342.
Xagua, see Jagua.
Xalisco, establishment of, 287; Alar-
con's destination at, 294.
Xer6z de Badaj6z, 135.
Xerez de la Frontera, 126.
Ximena, see Galisteo.
Xuala, direction of, 271.
Xualla, mentioned, 176 n., 177; dis-
tance to Tastalu9a, 188; distance
to Coga, 189.
Xuarez, Juan, commissary of Narvaez'
fleet, 14; burns cases containing
dead men, 21; approves the plan
for Spanish to continue inland ex-
ploration, 23; joins inland march,
25; one of party that goes to look
for the sea, 33.
Yaqui Indians, 118 n., 346 n.
Yaciui River, 376 n.
Yaquimi, settlement of, 347.
Yeguaces Indians, 87 n.
Yguases Indians, see Yguazes Ind-
ians.
Yguazcs Indians, 61, 87; manners and
customs of, 65-66; marriage among,
65.
Young County, Texas, 244 n.
Ysabel de Bobadilla, wife of Hernando
IJ^DEX
411
de Soto, 136; receives a waiting-
maid from the governor of Gomera,
140; and a mule from a gentleman
of Santiago de Cuba, 140; sails for
Havana, 142; is in much danger, 143;
remains in Havana, 145; receives
twenty women, sent by Anasco, 162;
has not heard from De Soto in three
years, 221.
Ysopete, Indian of Quivira, with
Coronado, 331 ; supplants Turk in
confidence of Coronado, 334, 337.
Ytara, town, 156, 162.
Ytaua, De Soto at, 185.
Yukiwingge, visited by Barrionuevo,
340; location of, 340 n.; pueblos
of, 359 n.
Yuma Indians, description of, 303.
Yupaha, governed by a woman, 164;
reported to have much gold, 164.
Yuqueyunque, see Yukiwingge.
Zacatecas, Mexican province, 385.
Zamora, printing press at, 126.
Zebreros, an alcalde, acts as guide to
Cabeza de Vaca, 115; goes to
Cuhacan, 116.
Zuni Indians, pueblos of, 300, 358 n.;
pottery of, 340 n.; tame eagles of,
348 n.; dress of women of, 350 n.;
population of pueblos of, 351 n.
See also Cibola.
Zuni River, crossed by Coronado, 299.
A Great Historical Work
ORIGINAL NARRATIVES
OF EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY
REPRODUCED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF
THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
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ORIGINAL NARRATIVES OF EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY
THE NORTHMEN, COLUMBUS, AND CABOT
985-J503
With Maps and Facsimile Reproductions
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ORIGINAL NARRATIVES OF EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY
TPiE SPANISH EXPLORERS
IN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES
J528-J543
CONTENTS
WANDERINGS OF CABEZA DE VACA. Edited by Frederick W.
Hodge, of the Bureau of American Ethnology.
EXPEDITION OF HERNANDO DE SOTO, by the Gentleman of Elvas.
Edited by Theodore H. Lewis, of St. Paul.
EXPEDITION OF CORONADO, by Pedro de Castefleda. Edited by
Frederick W. Hodge.
With Maps and Facsimile Reproductions
EARLY ENGLISH AND FRENCH VOYAGES
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