THE GIFT OF MAY TREAT MORRISON IN MEMORY OF ALEXANDER F MORRISON lr LOUISIANA D IAID. AN EXPOSITION OFTME WORLD ITS PEOPLE AND THEIR. ACHIEVEMENTS. WORLD'S PROGRESS PUBLISHING SAINT LOUIS. Copyright 1904, by J. W. BUEL, St. Louis. LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURES. VOLUME I. yf PAGE r- SCENE ON THE COAST OF FLORIDA ................................ 25 CORONADO DISCOVERING THE MISSOURI .......................... 86 A VISIT PROM THE QUEEN OF THE COFACHIQUI .................... 175 Z A SCENB ON THE MISSISSIPPI ..................................... 264 MARQUETTE'S REDISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI .................. 360 I I u. O t 5 432391 LIST OF MONOGRAVURE ILLUSTRATIONS. VOLUME I. PAGE STATUE OP PANFILLO NARVAEZ, BY ADAMS 15 PLATFORM SUPPORTING BODY OF A DEAD CHIEF 21 A PUEBLO HOUSE- VILLAGE 39 MOKI PRIESTS PERFORMING A CHANT SERVICE 53 MOKI VILLAGE DISCOVERED BY CORONADO , 67 TOLTEC INDIAN SNAKE DANCE 77 VILLAGE OF NOMADIC INDIANS IN THE ARKANSAS COUNTRY 83 DE SOTO'S EXPEDITION EMBARKING FOR AMERICA 97 DE SOTO RESCUING ORTIZ FROM INDIANS i '3 BATTLE BETWEEN DE SOTO AND CHIEF TUSCALUZA 217 AN INDIAN CAMP ON THE ARKANSAS 239 STATUE OF DE SOTO 243 DE SOTO ON THE SHORE OF WHITE RIVER 253 MOUND BUILDERS OF ARKANSAS 259 COMANCHE WOMAN AND CHILD 271 TEMPLE OF FIRE-WORSHIPPING NATCHEZ INDIANS 297 MAP FROM MARQUETTE'S JOURNAL, 1681 327 A WAR DANCE OF THE IROQUOIS 335 AN ENCAMPMENT OF WINNEBAGO INDIANS 343 IMPLEMENTS, TOTEMS, AND PICTURE-WRITING OF THE MENOMI- NEES 349 MIAMI, KICKAPOO AND MASCOUTIN INDIANS 355 MARQUETTE ON THE WISCONSIN 365 INTERIOR OF THE CABIN OF AN ILLINOIS CHIEF 373 CALUMET PIPE-DANCE 385 TABLE OF CONTENTS. A HISTORY OF THE LOUISIANA TERRI- TORY. DIVISION I. I'AGB THE CAUSE OF EXPOSITIONAL CELEBRATION 1904 A story more wonderful than that of the Argonauts Expe- ditions of Narvaez and De Vaca First explorations in America In quest of the City of Gold Starvation compels resort to Cannibalism Return to the Gulf Narvaez loses his life De Vaca and his companions enslaved by Indians Their escape Wanderings among the Pueblos Customs and condition of the Pueblo Indians Return of De Vaca ... 1 1-46 DIVISION II. THE SEVEN CITIES OF CIBOLA Legend of the great gold fields Expedition of Guzman Shocking cruelties to the Indians Coronado succeeds Guz- man First explorations in the Southwest Conflict with the Indians of New Mexico A terrible disappointment Invasion of the Kingdoms of the North Discoveries made by Alarcon 47~59 DIVISION III. WONDERFUL DISCOVERIES OF CORONADO Penetrating the wilderness of the Southwest Destruction of an Indian town First view of Colorado Canon An ex- pedition to the North Marvels of the country The Ameri- can Bison Across the plains of Kansas Coronado discovers the Missouri River Taking possession of the country in the name of Spain 60-87 I CONTENTS DIVISION IV. DE SOTO'S EXPEDITION INTO FLORIDA Early life and exploits of the explorer Enriched by spoils from Peru Appointed Governor of Cuba Obtains a com- mission to explore America Composition of the expedition Departure for the New World Landing in Florida A sharp fight with Indians Rescue of a white captive His thrilling story as a captive 88-109 DIVISION V. INDIAN LIFE AS DE SOTO FOUND IT Resumption of his march through the wilderness Blood- hounds loosed upon the Indians A story of desperate bat- tles and terrible privations Description of an Indian village Habits and domestic laws of the aborigines Fortified towns Weapons and emblems 1 10-137 DIVISION VI. INDIAN CITIES AND BATTLES The fortified town of Vitachuco Cordial reception of the Spaniards A dreadful slaughter of the Indians A city con- structed upon an artificial hill Fighting their way across a swamp A great aboriginal Confederacy Battle with and capture of Chief Capafi His escape by a cunning trick 138-162 DIVISION VII. RECEPTION BY THE QUEEN OF THE COFACHIQUIANS De Soto continues his march northward Astonishment at the first sight of horses Wild animals of the country A city on the French Broad River De Soto is visited by a native Queen A people possessing great wealth and much cultivation Desecrating graves in quest of pearls 163-181 DIVISION VIII. EXPLOITS OF DE AYLLON His expedition, in 1520, to make slaves of Florida Indians- Horrible sufferings to which the captives were subjected Failure of the enterprise De Ayllon's subsequent expedi- tions 182-190 2 CONTENTS DIVISION IX. PACK DEFEAT OF BLACK WARRIOR, CHIEF OF THE ALA- BAMAS De Soto leads his expedition towards the West Meeting with Tuscaluza Arrival before the Indian town of Mauville Description of the place De Soto invited to enter the gates The Indians suddenly attack the Spaniards A ter- rific battle in which De Soto lost heavily Power of the natives broken 191-215 DIVISION X. DE SOTO'S DISASTER IN THE CHICKASAW COUNTRY News of a fleet at Pensacola His expedition suffers from deadly fevers Hardships, losses and disappointments al- most destroy De Soto's hopes A legend of the Creeks and Choctaws Shocking punishments for theft The Spaniards are surprised in the night The Indians are repulsed by De Soto, who sustains great loss Storming the palisaded village of Alibamo Slaughter of the inhabitants 218-229 DIVISION XI. DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER Disputes about the place of Discovery Building boats to cross the great stream A visit from an Arkansas cacique Friendly overtures rejected by the Spaniards Discoveries in the Arkansas country De Soto shows a cacique how to produce rain Among the Mound Builders Ruins of an ancient city Minerals and productions of the country Arrival at the Hot Springs of Arkansas On the head waters of the Ouichata A succession of battles 230-252 DIVISION XII. DEATH OF DE SOTO Death of Ortiz the interpreter Hardships of the expedition increase Discouragements of the Spaniards prompt a change of plans Return march to the Mississippi Menaced by the Natchez Indians De Soto's courage forsakes him Dying, his body is secretly committed to the Mississippi Reflections upon the character of De Soto The age of which he was a product 255-266 3 CONTENTS DIVISION XIII. PACK EXPLORATIONS OF LUIS ALVARADO DE MOSCOSO The expedition abandons the idea of returning to Spain Moscoso leads the Spaniards west again Discovery of Red River Renewing the search for gold The march from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains Meeting with the Buffalo Hunters Remarkable feats of the Pawnees Le- gends of the Comanches The expedition in a sore dilemma Resolution to return again to the Mississippi Dreadful sufferings of the Spaniards Given shelter by pitying In- dians The Mississippi is reached Brigantines built to convey the remnant of the expedition Opposed by a great fleet of canoes A fight on the river Several Spaniards captured by the Indians Moscoso finally reaches the sea His subsequent fortunes 267-288 DIVISION XIV. CONDITIONS IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY PRECED- ING THE FRENCH OCCUPATION De Soto's exploits forgotten for a century Expedition by de Luna for the conquest of Florida Failure of de Luna's efforts Passing of the great Indian confederacies The most remarkable Indians on the continent Story of the Natchez Nation Their traditions and Religion Sun worship and Sabianism Votan the demi-god Sanguinary customs and sacrifices 289-305 DIVISION XV. FRENCH EXPLORATIONS IN THE MISSISSIPPI VAL- LEY Martyrdom of early Jesuit missionaries Explorations of Jean Nicollet Ambition to reach the South Sea Captivity and enslavement of missionaries Attack upon the post of St. Louis Horrible tortures inflicted by the Indians De- struction of the Huron nation Death of Father Menard Rumors of the Great River 306-317 4 CONTENTS DIVISION XVI. PACK EXPLORATIONS OF MARQUETTE AND JOLIET Founding a mission among the Illinois Indians Invasion of the Sioux Father Dablou's account of the Mississippi Seeking a water route to the sea Belief that the Mississippi emptied into the Gulf of California A sketch of Joliet Marquette beloved by the Indians Queer ideas of conver- sion Influence of Christian teachings Beliefs and customs of the northern tribes Medicine and surgery treatments. . . 318-339 DIVISION XVII. THE DEPARTURE FROM MACKINAW Preparations for the long journey of exploration Interest- ing observations regarding Indian life Attempt to dissuade Marquette from his purpose Phenomena noticeable in Green Bay A vegetable antidote for serpent poison Some- thing about the Kickapoos and Miamis Marquette in coun- cil with the Miamis Description of the Wisconsin First view of the Mississippi Strange animals met with Dis- covery of the Des Moines River Civilly received by Indians Mutilation as a punishment for infidelity The calumet, or peace pipe The calumet dance 340-388 DIVISION XVIII. CONTINUING THE JOURNEY DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI The painted rocks of Piasa Bluffs Legends of the Piasa Discovery of the mouth of the Missouri Arrival at the mouth of the Ohio An Indian tribe armed with guns and metal axes An excursion of the Iroquois A pest of Caro- lina parrots Marquette splendidly entertained by Arkansas Indians In the land of Watermelons Origin of that deli- cious fruit Marquette is persuaded to abandon his purpose to reach the sea He returns north Enters the Illinois River and proceeds thence to Lake Michigan Success of the expedition 389-407 OFFICE Or THE SECRETARY / ^f % /Ml "G&W. ADMINISTRATION BUILDING INTRODUCTION 33. STEVENS SHORK r rAKY LOUISIANA PURCHASE BIXFOSITIOHT. 'OUISIANA AND THE FAIR! The history of the greatest peaceable acquisition of terri- r tory the world has known! The description of the Universal Exposition of 1904, in com- parison with which all previous World's Fairs are dwarfed ! Inspiration is in the mere men- tion of these combined subjects. Not poverty, but wealth of material embarrasses. From the day the discoverers kneeled on the sand at the mouth of the Mississippi and raised the cross, token of possession in the name of their king, the Province of Louisiana became a land of romance and adventure. It has known three flags. It was coveted by a fourth. It has acknowledged the authority of a King, a First Consul, and a President. It 8 made, by the stroke of .the pen, the area of the United States more 'than twite that tonich Great Britain recognized as in- dependent.- ,-T-he history 'is from a colonial province of a Mdrtdrthy* to' twelve 'Sovereign states and two great territories of a Republic. The Universal Exposition of 1904 commemorates the cen- tennial of this acquisition, which transformed the United States from a struggling group of colonies into a nation of first rank. It records the progress of the world. It marks espe- cially the advancement of this among other nations. The World's Columbian Exposition of ten years ago occu- pied 650 acres of ground, had 82 acres under roof, and cost more than $20,000,000. Seventeen years before was held the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia. Great progress was indicated by the World's Columbian Exposition in compari- son with the Centennial Exposition. Greater progress char- acterizes the comparison with the Universal Exposition of 1904. Responses from foreign nations and colonies, from states, territories and islands oi the United States, were beyond ex- pectation. Exhibits, buildings and expenditures are upon a scale beyond precedent. The site of the World's Fair grew by the acquisition of tract after tract until there were included within the walls 1,240 acres. The grounds are a mile and three-quarters in length by a mile and one-quarter in width. Structure after structure was added to the original plan until the roofs and exhibit palaces cover 128 acres, 50 per cent, more than the same class of construction at Chicago. There are features about the foreign and domestic participa- tion which illustrate forcibly the increased importance of this 9 nation, as shown by this Exposition. China, for the first time, is present officially at a World's Fair. Beside China's quaint palace is the World's Fair capitol of a nation that was not born when the World's Columbian Exposition was held Cuba. Included in the representation of the United States are Hawaii and Porto Rico, both of them alien when the World's Fair was held at Chicago. Alaska, Oklahoma and Indian Territory make their debuts in formal presence at an Exposi- tion. The Philippines exhibit, another new feature, is an ex- position in itself, occupying a reservation of nearly forty acres and having a dozen exhibit buildings of characteristc archi- tecture, housing 70, 000 exhibits of the Archipelago's resources and development. The exhibits themselves tell impressively of the world's gain since the Exposition held in 1893. Wireless telegraphy, wireless telephony, speech conveyed by rays of light, automo- bile contests, are some of the new ideas presented in practical form. Airships contest for the prize of $100,000. Athletic sports are stimulated by trophies and prizes aggregating $150,- 000. These include the Olympic Games, for the first time seen upon the western hemisphere. lyive stock competition is conducted for premiums aggregating $250,000, nearly twice the sum similarly expended at Chicago. The largest organ ever built occupies the space of a three-story building in the great Festival Hall auditorium. A gas engine developing 3,000 horsepower and a turbine creating 8,000 horsepower show the mighty advancement in prime movers. Outdoor exhibits are unprecedented. The Gulch is a great ravine* occupied from end to end with the processes of Mines 10 and Metallurgy too noisy or too noisome for indoor exhibi- tion. Thousands of varieties of roses bloom in a garden of ten acres in front of the Palace of Horticulture. Growing small fruits of various kinds cover four acres. The great floral clock has a dial one hundred feet across, with a minute hand weighing 2,400 pounds. Forestry exhibits cover fourteen acres. A map of the United States, with growing crops to designate the states, is spread upon six acres of slope. A bird-cage 300 feet long encloses well-grown trees as well as lawn and rocks. This Exposition, typical of the twentieth century, abounds in motion. Throughout the exhibit palaces the products of scores of mechanical appliances are presented with actual processes. The life of the World's Fair of 1904 is its strongest claim to distinction. Speakers of one hundred tongues mingle on the polyglot Pike; races, nations, and tribes, ranging from the most enlightened to the benighted, are included in the assem- blage. Among these peoples gather the thinkers of the na- tions which have made most progress. A World's University is in operation, and an International Congress of Arts and Sciences is convened. The Exposition is truly universal in its activities, human as well as mechanical. LOUISIANA TERRITORY. DIVISION I. Discovery, Exploration, Conquest and Settlement. TEN years ago Americans were celebrating, with exposi- tional display and national jubilation, the quadricentennial of the Columbian discovery, an event of incomputable im- portance, but not more so to us than it was mighty in its consequence to the world. Four hundred years is a short time in the computation of the ages, and yet it is only half that length of time since the first permanent English settle- ment was made on this continent, and but little more than one hundred years since the founding of the Republic. In- deed, it is possible that there may be living at this time one or more persons, specially blessed with longevity, who were born before the achievement of our national independence was fully accomplished. The perspective is not so great that we may regard the picture like a fading example of an old master, for the colors are still fresh, and we behold our- selves in the foreground only a little removed from the activities that wrought a constitutional government out of the fabric of a new world. n LOUISIANA TERRITORY The Columbian Exposition celebrated an anniversary of discovery; the birth, so to speak, of a continent. In the year 1904 the nation honors, with joyous ceremonial and exhibitional display, the centennial birthday of the Republic's adolescence. A hundred years ago the United States com- prehended a territory whose western boundary was the Mis- sissippi river, and whose strength was confined to that sec- tion which lay east of the Alleghenies, comprising the fol- lowing seventeen States: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Dela- ware, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Ohio (1802), the total area of which was 445,208 square miles, with a population of about 5,000,000. From this beginning in 1800 our nation has grown to include 44 States, and five Territories, with a total area, exclusive of our island possessions, of 3,607, 604 square miles (2,308,- 866,560 acres) and a population of 80,000,000. By adding our new acquisitions our area is enlarged 161,000 square miles and our population increased 10,000,000 souls. This amazing growth has been at no expense of homogeneity, notwithstanding much of it is due to immigration, for we have assimilated all accessions in a way scarcely more as- tonishing to foreign nations than to ourselves, a fact which proves, better than anything else, that America has been a true asylum to the oppressed, who, fleeing from their native lands because of the tyranny of their rulers, have found here 12 DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT not only freedom, but largest opportunity for the exercise of their talents and the enjoyment of the fruits of their industry. Few successes are achieved or great things accomplished without passing through the valley of tribulation, beyond which the goal of real triumph lies. The achievements of a nation represent the united efforts of the individuals that compose it; so we may congratulate ourselves that our na- tion being one of the greatest of the earth, is not so merely through fortuitous conditions, but is the result of persist- ence, and the indomitable courage that thrives best on oppo- sition, whether it be the rank exuberance of nature, or the forces and power of hostile leagues, and it is for this reason the history of America is more thrilling than a drama, and more charming than a romance. If the story of discovery, conquest, and settlement of New England, replete as it is with harrowing incidents and pathetic episodes, enthralls our attention, let it not be supposed that reclamation of the west affords a tale less fascinating or tragic. While de- tracting nothing from the former, it is not gilding truth to say that the exploration and winning of that territory em- braced by what is known as the Louisiana Purchase fur- nishes the historian with a subject that may well claim the best effort of his pen ; that inspires him to move the human heart with all the emotions of which it is susceptible. During the year 1538 the eyes of all Spain were directed toward what is now familiarly known as the Mississippi 13 LOUISIANA TERRITORY Valley, by a series of incidents of a very wonderful and interesting character. A Spanish adventurer named Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, after an absence of ten years in the then unknown regions lying to the north and northwestward of the Gulf of Mexico, had reappeared in his native coun- try as suddenly as one dropping from the thither land. However unexpected his return may have been, he had many things of a very startling character to relate concern- ing the marvelous adventures which he and three compan- ions had encountered in a far-off, mysterious country. They were the only survivors of the ill-fated expedition of Panfilo de Narvaez, which penetrated Florida in 1528; and who, after escaping shipwreck and other dangers of field and flood to which they were exposed, spent nearly the tenth part of a century in wandering through a wilderness in- habited only by wild beasts of the forest, and a few tribes of savages who had not previously seen the faces of white men. But in order to get a clear understanding of the adven- tures of de Vaca and his comrades, it will be necessary to briefly relate the leading incidents of the expedition of Narvaez. This man, a person of no particular reputation, was twenty-two years of age when Columbus sailed westward in quest of India, and found the continent of America. Being a native of Valladolid, where the great navigator died in 1506, Narvaez quite naturally imbibed a good deal of the 14 NARVAEZ, EARLY EXPLORER OF FLORIDA, JfVANFiLLO DE \ARVAEZ, of Valladolid, Spain, was sent by Valasquez, Governor H*^ of Cuba, in 1520, to arrest Cortez, who at the time was engaged in the con- quest of Mexico, but in a battle with Cortez on the coast of Mexico he was defeated . After being held prisoner for a time he was released and returned to Spain where he organized an expedition with De Vaca in 1528, to explore Florida. With 400 men he landed on the coast of Florida, and proceeded through the country west- ward towards the Mississippi, meeting with many hardships, and losing so many men, in fights with the Indians, that he built boats in \vhich to make his escape from the perils that beset him. The boat in which Narvaez embarked, was over- taken by a storm at the mouth of the Mississippi and destroyed, in which accident the explorer and all who were with him lost their lives. Vatfey, by * , iderful and .u-ued AJvar : of ten years in the rhwestward of t3 / things of a v J"g /,,'. -,v SVA5^^^:. -in'W f:biio!' i J dioL .'IT' rfWKO-f ^<} ?^E3|3 aid, aJfirti oj rf^iH/, DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT interest and excitement which were so prevalent in Spain at that time concerning the New World; and some years later, in 1512, we find him second in command in Cuba, under Diego Velasquez. There he participated with pe- culiar bloodthirstiness in that war of extermination which soon transformed a populous island into an uninhabited waste, and forced the Spanish authorities to apply to the Emperor for " seven thousand negroes, in order that they might become inured to labor before the Indians ceased to exist." Velasquez, well pleased with the manner in which Nar- vaez had performed his part of the sanguinary task, sent him to Spain in 1516, to intercede with the Emperor for larger concessions of power. He quickly returned, bring- ing with him a commission for his superior as governor- general of Cuba, an office which carried with it authority to subdue and govern all of the adjacent continent. Inflated with his new honors, and having taken umbrage at Cortez, at that time the ruling spirit in Mexico, for de- clining to obey his orders, Velasquez, in 1520, despatched Narvaez with a fleet and a considerable body of troops to bring the conqueror of the Aztecs to terms. The ships reached Vera Cruz on the 23d of April, where, landing his forces, Narvaez advanced to a place called Cempoala and threw up entrenchments. There he awaited developments. These soon came; for thither marched Cortez to meet him, and on his arrival he offered to enter into friendly negotia- 17 LOUISIANA TERRITORY tions; but Narvaez declined his overtures and invited him to battle. This proved to be a rash act, for his men, en- amored with the reputation of the hero of Mexico, were ready to desert at the first favorable opportunity. Cortez, without waiting for a second invitation, marshalled his forces and made a furious assault on the works of his en- emy; whereupon, the greater part of the garrison deserted, and Narvaez himself was captured, with the loss of an eye. " Esteem it great good fortune," he said to the conqueror, " that you have taken me captive." " It is the least of the things I have done in Mexico," retorted the contemptuous Cortez. During his campaigns in Cuba Narvaez had acquired con- siderable wealth, by appropriating the possessions of his victims and selling hordes of savages into slavery; and he now brought his resources to bear in such a manner that after a brief imprisonment at Vera Cruz he was released and sent to Spain. There his arts of intrigue and flattery, coupled with a lavish display of gold, secured for him the government of Florida ; and resolving to hazard everything in the conquest of his province, he began his preparations on a scale of magnificence that commanded the attention of the best blood of the peninsula. The flower of the youthful chivalry of Spain flocked to his standard. Side by side came the sons of Castilian noblemen, of merchants who had grown wealthy in the profitable commerce of the period, and reckless ad- 18 DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT venturers trained in previous expeditions to endure the hard- ships of the present service. Among others who enlisted with Narvaez was the young man, Cabeza de Vaca, already mentioned. He was then not quite twenty years of age, a scion of one of the proud fam- ilies of Andalusia, and rilled with that spirit of adventure which permeated the whole Spanish population of that era. Fate seemed to have marked him from the beginning as the only member of the expedition destined to win enduring fame. Much time was consumed in preparation, for men moved slowly in those days. It was -the 2Qth of June, 1527, be- fore the sails were hoisted and the clumsy ships swung lazily away from their moorings. There were five vessels in the fleet, carrying about six hundred persons, besides horses, pigs, cows and goats. We laugh now at such outfitting for an exploring expedition, but when those Spanish adven- turers went forth to discover new countries and save the souls of the heathen, they believed in enjoying the comforts of life. A number of mechanics and laborers had been in- duced to become members of the company, while others were impressed into the service; and the religious welfare of the people was looked after by several priests and five Franciscan friars, all under the direction of Father John Xuarez. The religious contingent was expected to have special charge of the conversion of the savages, or to pre- pare them for their fate in case they persisted in their heresy. 19 LOUISIANA TERRITORY The ships proved themselves such inferior sailors that they were nearly six months in laboring their painful way across the sea. It was a weary and long-drawn-out voyage. Winter was well advanced before the fleet arrived off the coast of Cuba, where it was caught by one of those fright- ful convulsions of nature which periodically rend the tropics, and one of the vessels went to the bottom of the sea with all on board. The other four, crippled, torn and storm- ridden, eventually made their way into the harbor at Ha- vana. There they lay until March, 1528, all this time being required to repair and refit the ships and render them once more seaworthy. The lost vessel was replaced by a piratical brigantine which happened to be wintering at Havana; and, finally, about the middle of the month, the fleet passed out into the Gulf with its prows pointed toward the continent. The strength of the force had by this time been reduced to about four hundred men and eighty horses, but there were no signs of waning courage or lack of purpose on the part of the adventurers. After buffeting the currents of the Gulf Stream for nearly a month, the ships put into a large estuary which has since been identified as Tampa Bay; and effecting a landing near the head of that spacious harbor, the men were at once pre- pared for their inland march. It was now about Easter- tide, and the green foliage and balmy breezes of the south country inspired the explorers with fresh hopes. They con- 20 PLATFORM SUPPORTING TtODY OF A 7)EAD CHIEF. E custom has long obtained among many tribes of Indians of depositing the bodies of their dead upon platforms raised ten or twelve feet above the earth, to keep them out of reach of wolves and other wild animals. DeSoto found numerous cemeteries of this kind throughout the whole extent of his wanderings in the south, and in several instances discovery was made of the bodies of chiefs that had been so prepared as to arrest decay, leaving them mummified after years of exposure. 'A Tl- iabo> V, . . ; !i ! DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT fidently expected an early approach to populous towns and cities, where they would find stores of gold rivaling those which had made Mexico seem like a land of enchantment. But their expectations were never realized. The first in- habited place they came to was an Indian village composed of a few miserable huts of twigs and palm leaves, where neither food nor gold, nor anything else of value was to be found. Several dried and mummified bodies of dead chiefs, or noted men, were seen on platforms of poles in the edge of the village; whereupon the pious Spaniards, choos- ing to regard these as evidences of idolatry, kindled fires beneath and burnt them. Hardly any other act could have aroused the distrust and resentment of the savages to a greater degree, for in their minds the relics of their dead were endowed with a peculiar sanctity. Cabeza de Vaca, who had been chosen treasurer of the ex- pedition, and possessing an education above the average of his companions, voluntarily assumed the additional duties of historian and chronicler. His influence was naturally of a superior character, and finding his chief bent on the mad project of plunging into the trackless forest, he protested vigorously against a plan so fraught with danger. " If you leave the coast," he said to Narvaez, " you will never more find the ships, nor the ships you." His warning proved a prophecy, but his leader, blinded by visions of gold, re- fused to listen either to counsel or expostulation; and de Vaca, dreading the imputation of cowardice, followed the 23 LOUISIANA TERRITORY lead of his captain, though he felt assured it meant almost certain destruction for him as well as the rest of the com- pany. Three hundred picked men had been selected for the ex- pedition, forty of whom were mounted ; the remainder being left as a guard for the ships. Each man of the marching force was supplied with two pounds of biscuit and half a pound of bacon, with which slender stock of provisions they plunged into the depths of the gloomy forest of palms and palmettos that lay before them. Whatever we may think of the morals of the Spanish explorers of America, it cannot be said that they lacked courage. Every step of the way was beset with peril. Hideous saurians infested the swamps which they were bound to traverse; poisonous serpents lay coiled in the path of the marching column; ferocious wild beasts made the woods resound with their shrieks and howlings at night; myriads of insects of strange species inflicted irritating wounds, and so disturbed the slumbers of the explorers that they soon became worn and haggard with fatigue. Im- penetrable swamps and treacherous bogs and quicksands ob- structed their course, so that the men were compelled to be constantly on their guard lest the weight of their armor should carry them down to destruction. But there were other dangers even greater than these. Their unprovoked violence in burning the bodies of the chiefs had so incensed the savage inhabitants that they assembled in large num- 24 SCEME ON THE COAST OF FLORIDA. *ftYo other part of our country possesses so much interest, so far as history of the earliest discovery and settlement is concerned, as does Florida. It was to Florida that Ponce de Leon, an associate of Columbus on his second voyage, di- rected his quest for the mythical Fountain of Youth in 1512. To this same land Narvaez came in 1528 in a search for gold, followed soon after by DeSoto on a similar errand, and thereafter by many other adventurers whose expeditions, in almost all cases, landed at Tampa Bay, the spot admirably shown in the photo- gravure printed on the opposite page. -ib : bnc ni -otc DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT bers, and forming numerous ambuscades along the route of the marching column, at unexpected moments sent clouds of arrows into the midst of the invaders. It is true that most of the darts, striking the polished armor of the Span- iards, glanced harmlessly aside; but some, penetrating vul- nerable places, inflicted painful and even fatal wounds. But as they advanced day by day deeper into the woods, their admiration was excited by the stateliness of the trees, the gorgeous coloring of the flowers, and the brilliant plu- mage of the tropical birds. Their surprise found expression in exclamations of wonder and delight at these strangely beautiful things. Nature had clothed herself with a splen- dor of decoration surpassing anything that the Spaniards had ever previously seen. Their course lay first northward, thence westward, and as they began to penetrate the highland regions, the scenery assumed a different and more diversified aspect. The trop- ical exuberance gradually disappeared, and in its place they found open forests of gigantic oak, walnut, and hickory trees. Streams of cold water rushed down from the hills, and breaking into foam and mist over numerous waterfalls and cataracts, reflected all the tints and colors of the rain- bow. The explorers were lost in admiration of the won- derful beauty of the country, and the richness of the scenery which lay spread out so lavishly on every hand. But matters of a more serious nature began to press upon them. Their supply of food was almost exhausted, and 25 LOUISIANA TERRITORY certain starvation seemed staring them in the face. By add- ing roots and berries and the fruit of the palmetto to their slender rations, the men had contrived to live through the first fifteen days, but now nearly everything in the shape of food had been consumed. Still, their courage was sus- tained by reports of prisoners whom they captured on the way, who assured them that in a distant region called Ap- palachen there were abundant stores of gold. It is probable that the Indians did not understand what the Spaniards meant, for that was not a gold-bearing country, and we may reasonably suppose that they had never seen a piece of the yellow metal which had so great a fascination for the white men. Still the wily natives lured them on with stories, promises and assurances; hoping, doubtless, to so entangle them in the wilderness that escape would be impossible. In some of the aboriginal tongues the word Appalache meant endless. It was applied in this connection to that splendid range of mountains which, rising in southeastern Canada, sweeps gradually through the New England States, New York, Maryland, the Virginias, Kentucky and Ten- nessee, and terminates in the northern portions of Georgia and Alabama. To the untutored and untraveled savage these lofty ridges appeared to be without end; and long usage and association of ideas had led him to apply the name to many other things which to him seemed great and wonderful. From this fact the Spaniards inferred that when they should arrive at Appalachen they would find a 26 DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT city rivaling the capital of the Incas in splendor, whose very streets they imagined were paved with gold and whose gates were composed of the same precious metal. Great was their disappointment! On the 25th of June, 1528, after noting that they had crossed a river with a strong current some distance from the sea, probably the Alabama, they came upon a miserable village of forty huts, which, for de- fensive purposes, had been located in the middle of a swamp. This was the great Appalachen, whose fame had for so many days filled their imaginations ! The male portion of the inhabitants had disappeared, leaving only a few women and children to greet the unwelcome visitors an ominous cir- cumstance which should have inspired caution, but it did not. The pious Spaniards gave thanks for what they had found, and de Vaca remarks that here they believed " would be an end to their great hardships." They possessed them- selves of the town without opposition, and found maize enough in the granaries to satisfy their present hunger ; but the natives did not seem to possess any other kind of food. The surrounding woods abounded with game, which the skill of the savages enabled them to kill or capture ; but the arms of the Spaniards were not constructed for sporting purposes, and in the midst of plenty their hunger for meat was tantalized by their inability to procure it. Scarcely had they removed their armor and prepared to enjoy the rest which they so much needed, when the village 27 LOUISIANA TERRITORY was attacked by the Indians who had concealed themselves in the adjacent thickets and canebrakes. With whoops and yells exceeding anything the Spaniards had ever heard, they discharged showers of arrows into the midst of their unsus- pecting foes, by which several of the latter were seriously wounded. Some of the shafts having been set on fire and fixed into the dry leaves and branches of the huts, nearly, the whole town soon burst into flames; but by great exer- tions the Spaniards at length drove the savages away, and saved enough of the houses to shelter themselves until others could be constructed. Throughout all their sufferings and hardships the adven- turers never lost any part of their infatuation for gold. Be- lieving that great quantities of that metal existed near their present location, they spent nearly a month scouring the country in quest of it ; but none could be found. Neither were they able to discover a single great city, with walls and towers and minarets, such as their imaginations had pictured. A few small villages, more miserable and squalid if possible than the one they had first occupied, were the only human habitations they encountered; but these con- tained nothing of value to the explorers, not even corn enough to satisfy their now ravenous hunger. The country was poor and thinly populated, with a few tribes of exceed- ingly fierce and warlike savages, who availed themselves of every opportunity to wreak vengeance upon the intru- ders. Every swamp and thicket seemed alive with lurking 28 DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT foes, until the Spaniards could not lead a horse to water or venture into the woods for any purpose whatever, without being set upon by the implacable and apparently ever-present red men. At length, yielding to the grim necessity of their situa- tion, and abandoning all hope of suddenly acquiring wealth, they resolved on making their way back to the sea. But this was a more difficult task than their inland march had been, for now they were sick and emaciated, without food or the prospect of procuring any ; while on every hand swarmed painted savages, vindictive and threatening. Notwithstand- ing their pitiable state they were compelled to fight every step of the way, living mainly on food that, under other circum- stances, would have disgusted and horrified them. Indeed they were reduced to the extremity of devouring the bodies of their companions who died on the road, a circumstance which still further incensed the natives. It was a custom of these Indians, as it was with several other American tribes, to eat the enemies they slew or captured in war, be- lieving that they thus assimilated all the good and brave qualities of their victims ; but it filled them with horror and indignation to encounter a race that would eat its own dead. They now regarded the white men as wretches too vile for anything but death, and their assaults upon the limping fugitives became fiercer and more frequent each day. The Spaniards directed their course in a southwesterly direction, and after a fortnight of almost incredible hard- 29 LOUISIANA TERRITORY ship and suffering their ears were once more gladdened by the sound of the rolling surf. Hastening to the shore they threw themselves exhausted on the glistening white sands; but they had emerged upon a portion of the coast far to the northwest of the place where their ships had been moored; and strain their eyes as far as they might, out over the roll- ing waves and along the shore-line, no sign of a sail could be seen. Their companions had either given them up for lost, or the ships had been driven away by storms or some overpowering force of savages. To this day no satisfactory record of the fate of the fleet or those on board of it has been found. The castaways were in a most deplorable condition. Before them was the sea, which they could not cross without ships; behind them lay the country from which they had fled, whose forests now swarmed with vengeful enemies whom they had neither the power nor the spirit to combat. They had no means of escape except by vessels; and how could these be created out of the sands of the sea ? " They knew not how to construct," plaintively wrote de Vaca; " nor were there tools, nor iron, nor forge, nor tow, nor resin, nor rigging; . . . 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." But their desperate necessity brought forth invention. One of the sailors fabricated a bellows of skins and hollow reeds, and this encouraged others to emulate his example. 3 DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT Hope sprang out of despair. Seeing that they now had a possible means of salvation, the men set to work with spirit and energy, and first constructing rough tools from the iron of their crossbows and spurs, they employed these in beating out nails and making saws and axes. With these they cut trees into rough boards, and began the laborious task of building boats that at least would float. Meanwhile their remaining supply of food was carefully husbanded. Every three days a horse was slaughtered and the flesh ap- portioned among the members of the company, the skin of the legs being carefully removed whole to serve as water bottles. Employment brought contentment, the spirits of the men rose, and they sang and laughed as they went about their daily task. So happily is the human mind framed, that despair cannot possess us while hope lasts. After weeks of painful labor five boats, each a little over thirty feet in length, were constructed and ready for launch- ing. The seams were caulked with the fiber and pith of the palmetto, and pitched with the resin of pine trees; the tails and manes of the horses were plaited into ropes and cordage, and sails were fabricated out of the shirts of the men. By this time the weather had become so warm that clothing was no longer essential to comfort, and the fugi- tives were willing enough to adopt the customs of their savage neighbors in order that they might escape from a country which had been to them a land of horrors. Their work progressed more rapidly than might have 31 LOUISIANA TERRITORY been expected under such trying circumstances, so that by the 22d of September they were ready to take their depart- ure. Meanwhile forty of the men had died of disease and exposure, besides a number of others who had been killed in their numerous battles with the natives; and all but one of the horses had been slaughtered and eaten. They there- fore called the spot Bahia de Caballos, or Bay of the Horses, which has been partly identified as the modern harbor of St. Marks, Florida. After slaughtering their remaining horse and laying in 'a supply of shell-fish, together with such small quantities of maize as they could capture from the Indians, the wretched remnant of fugitives embarked in their frail vessels and set sail in a westward direction. They hoped to reach the Spanish settlement of Panuco, and there obtain relief; but they were destined to many bitter disappointments and catastrophes. The boats were so heavily laden that the gunwales came almost level with the water, so that each in-rolling wave threatened them with de- struction. Their sufferings were necessarily intense. Not daring to venture out into the gulf, they crept along the coast, but were unable to land either for food or repose, for by this time all the savages along the shore had been warned of their presence, and each attempt to approach the land was met by warlike demonstrations and flights of hostile arrows. De Vaca had been placed in command of one of the boats, 32 DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT and after many days of such suffering as we have described, his men were so exhausted that not more than one or two had strength enough left to lift an oar or handle a sail. Finding that they were drifting hopelessly behind the little fleet, de Vaca signaled the commander for help; but Nar- vaez refused to render him the least assistance. The time had come, he said, when each man must take care of him- self. Soon after this occurrence the leading boats were caught in the swift current of the Mississippi river as it poured its yellow waters through the diverging channels of its delta, and they were carried out into the gulf stream. Only one of them was ever heard of again. De Vaca and his companions were more fortunate in being able to main- tain their position near the shore, but they were soon driven by a violent storm upon a sandy island. There they lay until the following morning, so completely exhausted that they had not the power to exert themselves. But with the rising of the sun their courage returned, and digging their boat out of the sands where the surf had buried it, they once more submitted themselves to the sea. Almost in- stantly their frail craft was struck by the in-rolling waves, and hurled back upon the beach. Several of the men were drowned in this second disaster, and the survivors were reduced to a state of almost hopeless despair. Fortunately, the Indians who inhabited this island, being isolated from fheir countrymen on the main shore, had not heard the 33 LOUISIANA TERRITORY evil reports concerning the Spaniards ; and now coming for- ward they kindled fires by which the naked and shivering men might warm themselves, and presented them also with such simple food as they possessed. In various ways these untutored savages manifested a genuine humanity and com- passion for the sufferers, and demonstrated the fact that though they were ignorant of the teachings of Christianity, they nevertheless possessed its spirit. Except for this timely succor the Spaniards must all have perished, for winter, with its storms and cold, was by this time drawing near. In a few days the fugitives were joined by their compan- ions from one of the other. boats, which had been wrecked on the same beach not far distant; and by this accession their numbers were increased to eighty. No word ever came back, however, to tell the fate of Narvaez or any of the occupants of the other three boats. De Vaca, assuming command of the remaining adven- turers, made such preparations as he could to carry them through the winter. In their extremity the services of the friendly Indians were invaluable. The Spaniards had saved a few axes and tools, and with these and the help of the savages they built huts to protect themselves from the weather; but they had no means of weaving cloth or mak- ing clothes, and their sufferings during the winter almost exceeded human endurance. Many died of sickness and privation, and all must have perished of cold except for the fact that the latitude was south of the freezing point. 34 DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT At first the Indians generously divided their scanty stores of food with their unexpected guests, but their provis- ions being exhausted the Spaniards were once more com- pelled to resort to cannibalism, and ate the bodies of those who died of disease. This incensed the savages, as it had done their brethren in the interior, and from kind-hearted and considerate friends they were transformed into in- veterate enemies and oppressors. The surviving Spaniards were now enslaved and treated with such rigor that but few of them lived through the winter. Those who did survive that fateful ordeal were taken to the mainland and distri- buted as slaves among various tribes, in order that they might not be able to take any concerted action for their freedom. To the island which had supplied them with so dreary a habitation de Vaca applied the name Mathado (Misfortune), and some writers believe they have identi- fied it as that upon which the city of Galveston is built. This, however, is purely conjecture, for there is no certain information concerning the matter. De Vaca remained in captivity for six years, among a people to whom he gave the name of Mariames, but who have not been identified with any of the later known tribes. During this time he wandered over a large scope of country, going as far north as the Red river, near the present site of Shreveport; but at frequent intervals he made his way back to the sea-coast, hoping to meet some of his old com- rades, or to attract the attention of a passing ship. 35 LOUISIANA TERRITORY After the first few months of slavery he succeeded in re- gaining a considerable degree of freedom, by making himself useful to those with whom fate had decreed he should live. Having some knowledge of the remedial properties of cer- tain herbs, he practised the arts of a medicine-man, and gained the confidence of the natives by curing their ailments. He also exercised an influence over their religious natures by reciting pater nosters and making the sign of the cross, ceremonies which gained for him a reputation of super- natural powers. Having learned by experience that com- merce was a certain introduction to their good-will, he added that to his other accomplishments, with great ad- vantage to himself. He found that if he had something to sell or barter that the natives wanted, and of a better quality than anything they had been accustomed to, he was sure of a friendly welcome: He accordingly provided himself with combs, bows, arrows, spears and fishing-nets of his own manufacture, to which he added flints to be used in kindling fires, red earth for paints, and bright-colored shells which he fabricated into beads. Possessing himself of a stock of these articles, he was enabled not only to gain favor with the natives, but he bartered with them for food and the skins of wild animals which he made into clothing for him- self. This traffic made him practically independent and relieved him from much of the indignity and suffering to which he had previously been subjected. At length, during one of his periodical visits to the coast, 36 DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT he had the good fortune to fall in with three of his former companions, who like himself had escaped shipwreck and death to be enslaved by the Indians. They were Cas- tillo, Dorantes, and Stephen, the latter a blackamoor slave from Barbary. No sooner did the fugitives come together than they planned to escape at the first opportunity, which was not long in presenting itself. Their mutual association begat fresh courage and inspired hopes of ultimate success. Hav- ing finally eluded the watchfulness of their captors, the four Spaniards shaped their course westward, hoping either to reach the settlements of their countrymen in Mexico, or encounter some roving band of explorers who would lead them again to civilization. De Vaca taught the others the simple rudiments of medicine which he had acquired; and by applying these as occasion arose they readily made their way among the various tribes whom they encountered. They themselves attributed their cures to the miraculous interposition of providence, rather than the beneficial effects of the remedies which they employed; and they were care- ful to impress this belief on the minds of their confiding patients. The Texas country in which they had been journeying was then called by the Spaniards the New Philippines, from some fancied resemblance to the islands of that name which had been but recently discovered by Magalhaens. Across this vast region the fugitives made their way, 37 432391 LOUISIANA TERRITORY until they came to the Rio Grande del Norte, and following its course northwestwardly it brought them into the coun- try of the buffalo hunters. But they did not go quite far enough to obtain a view of the vast plains, which, stretching out on every hand like a rolling ocean of green, constituted the pasture-lands of the American bison. It was reserved for future travelers to record the habits of this interesting animal. Coming at length to the foot-hills of a lofty range of mountains, the wanderers found themselves in the midst of one of the most peculiar races of people that nature has produced. They were the Pueblo Indians, now so familiar to all readers of American history; but to the fugitive Spaniards they seemed like inhabitants of fairyland. Their homes were perched on the ledges of tall cliffs, like birds' nests, overlooking canyons of such tremendous proportions that their gloomy depths could scarcely be discerned. At that time these Indians had attained a considerable degree of civilization, about midway between that of the roving hunter tribes of the north and the more advanced and polished races of Peru and Mexico. They were an agricultural people, living chiefly by cultivating maize and a few vegetables in their little fields; though they also hunted, in a primitive way, such animals as were to be found in their immediate vicinity. Among their agricultural products were maize, beans of two or three varieties, and pumpkins; and they made bread of the mealy pulp of the 38 ,/ PUEULO HOUSE ULLAGE. was (lie first explorer to direct attention to the village houses that ^^ distinguished the Pueblo .Indians. The word "Pueblo" signifies village, and was bestowed because of the habit of these people to construct houses of sun- diied brick which resist the ravages of time infinitely better than any other kind of building material. Ruins of these adobe structures are to be found scattered over a large parf of the southwest, some of which are relics of houses built prob- abfy a thousand years or more ago. 1S1ANA TERRITORY I nought them into the c- try of the buif ers. But they did not go quite enough to < the vast plains, which, stretching out on eve; .; ocean of green, constituted the f the A It was reserved : cresting ani: :^e of mount-". of one \ Y \ has '" m-p 3rjiiigiti &uotf& ,>, bnuo) a- ' . . 4 .,^bii WONDERFUL DISCOVERIES OF CORONADO lot was a hard and thankless one, and the lives they led were scarcely worth the living. It was a common, if not an al- most daily occurrence, for them to be required to submit to brutal chastisements at the hands of their masters, which they endured without complaint, well knowing that remon- strance would only increase the severity of their punishment. Their own children were taught to abuse them in like man- ner, as soon as they were old enough to assert their superior- ity. The women had no escape from the fate to which they had been assigned, except in death, and as a result of this state of affairs suicide was no uncommon thing among them. The men scorned to turn their hands to any kind of work, or to lend the least assistance to the women in the perform- ance of the menial duties required of them. As the Spaniards continued their advance into the coun- try now embraced within the borders of Oklahoma and Kansas, they found themselves in the midst of the great American prairies, which, unbroken by a single tree or bush, extend to the horizon in every direction. It is true, there were some fringes of forest in the ravines and along the water courses, but these could be seen only on a near ap- proach to the verge of the declivities, down which there were numerous buffalo paths leading to the fords and water- ing places. The hills lay in parallel ranges of lofty ridges, formed almost with the regularity of the columns of an army; and the dark green of their grassy sides and sloping tops reminded the Spaniards of the rolling waves of the sea. 79 LOUISIANA TERRITORY Over these expanses roamed great herds of buffaloes, whose range then embraced nearly the whole of the North American continent, from the Hudson river and Lake Champlain to the Rocky mountains. They were the cattle of the Indians, who prized them according to their worth; for the red people were dependent upon them for nearly every comfort and convenience that they enjoyed. Their flesh constituted almost their only article of food; while their skins supplied them with clothing, with covers for their houses, and moccasins for their feet. The sinews were drawn into bow-strings, and the droppings of the animals when dried in the sun, formed the fuel with which their fires were replenished. The Spaniards studied the habits of these curious beasts wonderingly and 4 with no little apprehension; for when they moved from one pasture to another their progress often developed into a wild stampede, which nothing could hinder or stay. At such times they tore over the ground in droves of thousands and tens of thousands, with the speed of race horses and a noise that could be heard for many miles. The earth trembled under the tread of their hoofs; the sound of their headlong flight was like the roar of a tornado. It is impossible to depict the awful grandeur of such a scene. If any living thing came in their way it was crushed and mangled and trodden into the earth. It was no uncommon thing for droves of these infatuated beasts to plunge down cliffs and precipices that came in 80 WONDERFUL DISCOVERIES OF CO RON ADO their way, the masses in the rear driving those in front irresistibly onward to their own destruction. In this way many thousands were killed. During the summer-time, their mating season, the males manifest toward each other the most malevolent hatred. Their daily battles, many of which were witnessed by the Spaniards, were frightful exhibitions of brute ferocity. On such occasions they rushed together with the impact of battering rams, and their bellowings echoed over the prairies like hoarse thunder. A bull fight in Spain, with all its horrors and cruelties, is a tame affair compared with one of those wild exhibitions on the plains of North America. The general aspect of the bull buffalo gives him an ap- pearance of extreme ferocity; but this is only outward show, for his disposition, like other species of the ox family, is pacific. He is easily tamed if taken while young, and in that condition is as docile as any domestic animal. No buffalo was ever known to attack a human being except when wounded or forced into a position where he could not escape without fighting. As already stated, the flesh of the buffalo constituted almost the entire food supply of the plains Indians, and large parties of them joined in their annual hunts when the beasts were slain and the meat cured or dried for winter use. Every portion of the carcass was converted into food; nothing was allowed to go to waste. The tongues and the marrow bones were regarded as special delicacies, and the 81 LOUISIANA TERRITORY hump over the shoulders was also a favorite portion. When cooked in the Indian fashion this was regarded as a most exquisite delicacy. It was done by rolling the meat in a piece of green hide and baking it in an earth oven, where a fire had been previously kindled, and over which another fire was kept burning until the flesh was thoroughly done. Such a dish was regarded as the finest feast that could be set before a company of chiefs and warriors. The savages were as careful of their herds of buffaloes as the farmer is of his flocks. Although millions of them browsed on the plains, no Indian ever slew one in mere wantonness. It was different, however, when the white man appeared on the scene. Then the animals were hunted and slaughtered for sport, so-called. They were killed for the love of killing or for their hides, horns and bones, until the race is now extinct, except for the few specimens that the Government has preserved in the National Park of Wyoming. Such a fact is not complimentary to our civil- ization. Having marched well within the present borders of Kansas, Coronado selected a small band of his most resolute men, and dismissing the rest with orders to return home, he continued his progress in the same direc- tion which he had so long pursued. For forty-two days he kept steadily on his course, over the rolling prairie hills which afforded but little change or diversity of scenery j until at length he came to a stream of considerable propor- 82 A VILLAGE OF NOMADIC INDIANS /.V THE ARKANSAS COUNTRY. explorers of North America speak of the great numbers of Indians which * were met with in what are now the Southern States, when indeed the native population was larger than it was found to be in any other part of jhe country. Fighting for occupation of the land accordingly began as soon as- Nacvaez and DeSoto set foot upon southern shores, nor were the Indians driven from their heritages by the advance of civiliration -mtil the power of the Sernioples jmtt Creeks was broken by the merciless blows dealt them by Jacksori.Tind' Harney, The scene which is here pictorially depicted shows an ideal Indian village, siicri as dotted the landscape many years ago from Louisiana to Montana, affording an idea of the perils that confronted settlers of the west. i in tiif When (j as a Ae meat in an earth oven, v. ither ,iy done. hr 2 S c - o O U j; U x Q - 55=^ X E I" 1 , ^^ ra 5 II JH - 2 E g ~ S > "o "C *< .2 Mja 'I S J: f C = .- - S U -3 D U J E 13 2 -"^ ** ^ E'> .r ;: - w t: n E < .5 bajg c - z: w i o ^ C o . c 2 - ^ r- WONDERFUL DISCOVERIES OF CORONADO tions, with clear water and a rapid current, which is now known to have been the Kansas or Kaw river. Crossing this he continued his march, and in a few days came upon the banks of the great " smoky" river of which the Indian guide had told him. It was less than a third of a league in width, but it rushed along with a mighty current, and ate up the banks and devoured trees, as the Indian had as- serted. This was the Missouri river, and the point where the Spaniards came to it, being about the 4Oth degree of north latitude if Coronado made no mistake in his calcu- lations must have been near where the city of St. Joseph now stands. Or it may have been near Atchison, in Kan- sas. This is a matter of deep interest, for the event oc- curred before the middle of the i6th century. It was a daring adventure on the part of the Spaniards, to penetrate so far into an unknown country, inhabited by savages of the fiercest disposition and infested by wild beasts that were both ferocious and dangerous. Our sincere admira- tion cannot be withheld from men who had the courage and fortitude to venture so far, even though the moving incentive was the love of gold. The Spaniards found no evidence of the precious metals in the countries through which they passed. It was a well- watered and fertile land, with a strong black soil that pro- duced luxuriant grasses in abundance; and near the great river they found dense forests of oak, walnut and hickory trees, that bore nuts of delicious flavor. Wild grapes 85 LOUISIANA TERRITORY abounded also, and there were mulberries and plums like those that grew in Spain. But the inhabitants possessed nothing that could be of any value to civilized white men; and they knew nothing whatever about the white and yel- low metals. Not a single ornament of gold or silver was to be found among them; but they possessed a few orna- ments of copper and some tools and weapons of the same metal. It was learned that the copper had been obtained by barter from tribes living far toward the north, in the land of the snow; but it did not exist in the country that had been traversed by the Spaniards. Indeed, they could not hear of any minerals in that region. It was to them, therefore, a barren and profitless land, unfit for coloniza- tion and scarcely worth the attention of a nation which had conquered such countries as Mexico and Peru. But Coronado took possession of the wilderness in the name of the Spanish monarch, and erected a cross on the bank of the river, bearing this inscription : " Thus far came the general, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado." And that point was destined to remain the high-water mark of exploration in the Louisiana Purchase country for many years to come. Coronado continued his travels until the spring of 1542, when he set out on his return to New Spain ; but on reach- ing a point near the Rio Grande he was thrown from his horse and received a wound on the head of such severity that it is said to have resulted in insanity. Whether this is true or not, the fact that he failed to discover another 86 CORONA DO DISCOVERING THE MISSOURI. BEFORE the middle of the Sixteenth Century(about 1541) a party of resolute Spaniards accomplished a partial exploration of the west, having made a journey from the Texas coast through New Mexico, Indian Territory, and Kansas, and finally reached a point supposedly opposite the site now occupied by the cky of St. Joseph, Missouri, thus being the first white discoverers of the Missouri river. Upon this spot a cross was erected upon which the following inscription was placed. "This far came the General, Francisco Vasquez d Coronado." VLVSVA G (i^j - WONDERFUL DISCOVERIES OF CORONADO Peru made him very unpopular with the ruling class of Spaniards; and brooding over the injustice that was meted out to him, he fell into a decline and died soon after reach- ing home. Years afterwards Spanish settlements extended gradually northward into Arizona and New Mexico, but they made no further efforts to explore the regions traversed by Coronado and his companions. When the viceroy suggested the es- tablishment of a colony there, the general replied that he did not wish to leave any of his people in so poor a country at so great a distance from succor; and thus the matter passed out of memory. In the course of time the legend of the " Seven Cities of Cibola " was forgotten, except by scholars and antiquarians who were interested in delving into the past. But three centuries later another race, more virile and en- terprising, came upon the scene, whose industry made the prairies blossom like the rose, and caused them to bring forth grains and fruits whose annual values amount to more than all the gold that Spain ever drew from the mines of Mexico and Peru combined. DIVISION IV. De Solo's Expedition into Florida. FERNANDO DE SOTO, born about 1496, was a native of the Spanish town of Xeres, in the province of Estremadura, a place that has no position on modern maps, and should not be confused with the more important town of Xerez, in the province of Andalusia. De Soto, as the prefix to the name indicates, was a de- scendant of a noble family, which had become impoverished during the Moorish wars; and he was indebted to a philan- thropic Spaniard named Davila for the means of pursuing a course at the tlniversity, where he distinguished himself in his literary studies no less than he did in athletic sports. When De Soto was about twenty-three years of age, Davila was appointed governor of Darien, and he invited his protege to accompany him as his secretary. The offer was gratefully accepted; and thus the future explorer of the Mississippi Valley made his first voyage to America. After remaining in the service of his patron for a con- siderable time, he withdrew and engaged in an independent exploration of Yucatan and Guatemala, in a fruitless effort to find a supposed strait connecting the two oceans. This enterprise, though it proved unsuccessful in its main purpose, 88 DE SOTO'S EXPEDITION INTO FLORIDA demonstrated the spirit of the young man, and pointed the way to greater achievements. Accordingly, at a later date, he joined Pizarro in his expedition to Peru, under a promise that he should be second in command ; but the Spaniards of that period were as faithless in their promises to one another as they were to the unfortunate savages ; and while De Soto was advanced to influential positions, and entrusted with several important enterprises, he never quite reached the goal of his ambitions. In 1532 he was sent with fifty horsemen and a few target- eers to explore the highlands of Peru, and while engaged in this service he penetrated through the mountains and discovered the great national road that led to the Peruvian capital. This opened the way for the conquest of the place, and laid at the feet of the Spaniards riches so vast that even to the present day the bare mention of them dazzles the imagination. The young cavalier was now appointed by Pizarro his first ambassador to the Emperor Atahualpa, in which office his chivalrous disposition and genial accomplishments made him a universal favorite. He won the friendship and con- fidence of the Peruvian monarch and his people, and estab- lished a reputation for the Spanish adventurers far above their merits. It was his influence, in fact, that secured the in- vitation for Pizarro and his followers to enter the capital, an incident that paved the way for the downfall of the empire. At this period of his career, De Soto seems to have pos- 89 LOUISIANA TERRITORY sessed a just and generous disposition; for after the im- prisonment of the Inca, and subsequent to the payment by his faithful subjects of a ransom amounting to about seven- teen and a half millions of dollars, he remonstrated vigor- ously with his commander against the treachery displayed throughout that series of disgraceful transactions. But he accomplished nothing; and apparently taking lessons from his experience and surroundings, he subsequently became as cruel and avaricious as any of the other Spanish leaders. He was prominent in all the ensuing engagements that com- pleted the conquest of Peru, and was the distinctive hero of the battle that resulted in the capture of Cuzco. Following the downfall of the Peruvian empire, De Soto's share of the spoils having enriched him to the extent of half a million of dollars, he returned to Spain, where he was soon afterward married to the daughter of his old bene- factor, for whom he had long entertained sentiments of tenderness. He then set himself up in " all the state that the house of a nobleman requireth," and began a course of life that kept him prominently in the public eye. His great wealth, and the reputation he had gained as a soldier, together with the beauty and accomplishments of his young wife, brought the most distinguished men of Spain to his door seeking favors at his hands; so that when it was an- nounced that he contemplated leading an expedition into the Floridas he was overwhelmed with applications from the chivalry of his own country, as well as from Portugal. It 90 DE SOTO'S EXPEDITION INTO FLORIDA was De Soto's ambition to surpass all the other Spanish explorers and conquerors in wealth and renown ; and that en- ticing region bordering on the southern gulf seemed to offer a better field than any other for the display of his capabili- ties. In spite of the disastrous failure of every expedition which had yet penetrated that part of the continent, the be- lief survived that somewhere in the interior there were great countries and opulent nations, whose wealth equaled or sur- passed anything that the mysteries of the New World had yet revealed; and among those who entertained these chi- merical ideas De Soto was by no means the least. He accordingly appeared at the court of Charles V. with a numerous train of followers, clad in the gorgeous cos- tumes of that picturesque era ; and in other ways made such a display of his Peruvian wealth as could not fail to impress a monarch whose mind was already filled with visions of the vastness and abounding riches of his empire across the seas. Praises of the new adventurer, the gallant cavalier who had risen like a star out of the mysterious and won- derful West, were on every lip; and the king himself was not among the least of his admirers. But after all, De Soto's wishes were neither extravagant nor difficult to gratify. His request was scarcely uttered before it was granted. The king felt himself honored by the homage of so celebrated a courtier, and manifested an eager willingness to comply with his every wish. " I de- sire," said De Soto, " authority to take possession of Florida, 91 LOUISIANA TERRITORY with a commission as adelantado." " Thou shalt have it," replied the king, " and more if it pleases you." The Emperor conferred upon De Soto the title and office of Captain-General of Cuba for life, with the additional honors and functions of adelantado of Florida so soon as he should subject its territory to the Spanish crown. The office of adelantado was an important one, for it comprised the whole civil and military authority of the region over which it extended; and in De Soto's case it raised him to a Marquisate, with a landed estate in Florida ninety miles in length by forty-five in width. This was an extraordinary honor to confer upon a sub- ject; the offices and their emoluments gave De Soto a rank next to that of the dukes of the empire, and raised him al- most to the foot of the throne itself. He was transported with enthusiasm over the success of his endeavor, and re- solved to devote his life and the whole of his fortune to the establishment of his empire in the New World. He felt himself abundantly able to outfit an expedition at his own expense, and brave enough to lead it into and through all the dangers it might encounter. The king, while hazarding nothing, would reap the lion's share of the benefits and di- vide the glory with De Soto; but the latter's generous dis- position would not allow him for a moment to consider this selfish phase of the subject. Yet it was a scheme that promised everything to the monarch, with no consideration to the subject except the sanction of the name and authority 92 DE SOWS EXPEDITION INTO FLORIDA of royalty. Whatever De Soto might gain in honors, wealth, or territory, would be but a reflection of the primary greatness of the Emperor. The hero of Cuzco was glad of the opportunity to serve so great a ruler at his own cost, if he could thereby enhance the luster of his country's fame. The announcement of De Soto's intended expedition soon spread into the remotest corners of the kingdom, arous- ing a spirit of enthusiasm that past failures could not dampen. Gentlemen of birth and position flocked to the capital from every quarter of the peninsula, eager to become sharers in the renown as well as the substantial benefits which were expected to accrue from this new and promising venture. The wonderful story of Cabeza de Vaca, who had but recently returned, was being read by the Spanish people with all the eagerness that might have attached to a new " Arabian Nights," a fact which vastly stimulated enthu- siasm in the project of De Soto. De Vaca himself had asked to be made adelantado of Florida, but the plea of a naked and unsuccessful adventurer had no weight in com- parison with the munificent offers of an opulent hero like De Soto. Yet it was inferred that if De Vaca would but open his mouth and tell all he knew, there would be a revelation of wonderful things of countries abounding in gold and silver and precious stones. The things which he did not and could not tell made a deeper impression on the Spanish mind than those which he actually related in his marvelous chronicles. For, since the world began, mys- 93 LOUISIANA TERRITORY tery and the unknowable have possessed a fascination for the human mind out of all proportion to the solid facts of truth. So great was the enthusiasm to accompany De Soto, that men sold their estates and converted all their possessions into cash for the means wherewith to outfit themselves for the undertaking. The same desperate and unreasoning methods that prevail in gambling schemes characterized this extraordinary movement. Men staked everything on the chance of a single throw, and set out on what proved to be a funeral march for more than half of them, with the same spirit of debonair that would have marked their ap- pearance at a feast or a frolic. Soldiers of fortune who had won their spurs in the wars with the Moors, not alone in their own country, but on the distant plains of Africa and under the banner of the cross in the Holy Land, brought their swords and laid them at the feet of the latest hero of Spanish fancy, and begged him to accept their homage and their services. Young nobles, men of fortune, bronzed and scarred cavaliers, ambitious of winning new laurels and greater renown hurried to the rendezvous to take part in the new conquest. A number of young men of distinction came also from the neighboring kingdom of Portugal, fully armed and equipped, and as eager as their Castilian cousins to risk life and fortune in a scheme whih was nothing more than a vision of splendors which existed only in the mind. 94 DE SOTO'S EXPEDITION INTO FLORIDA When the little army was assembled for its final muster, at San Lucar, whence the expedition was to sail, the Span- iards appeared " in doubtlets and cossacks of silk, pinkt and embroidered," as gaily as if they were starting on a holiday excursion; but the Portuguese, with a better appreciation of what lay before them, " were in the equipment of soldiers in neat armor." So many came, both from Spain and Portugal, that the half could not be accepted; and De Soto chose for his forces only the " flower of the peninsula," those who were " in the bloom of life," capable of enduring the hardships to which he knew they were destined. When the whole body had been selected and formed into companies and battalions, it numbered a little over six hundred men, with twenty officers and the same number of ecclesiastics for the souls of the heathen whom they expected to en- counter were not to be neglected. A number of women also graced the expedition with their presence, among them being the lovely and accomplished bride of the leader. A more gallant band never went forth to conquer new lands. All were young and in the full vigor and spirit of ambitious manhood. There was scarcely a gray head in the entire company; youthful eyes flashed beneath steel cuirasses, and well-rounded limbs bore polished armor that glittered in the sunlight. As the younger Irving observes, " it was poetry put into action ; it was the knight-errantry of the Old World carried into the depths of the American wilderness. The personal adventures, the feats of individual 95 LOUISIANA TERRITORY prowess, the picturesque descriptions of steel-clad cavaliers with lance and helm, and prancing steed, glittering through the wildernesses of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and the prairies of the Far West, would seem to us mere fictions of romance, did they not come to us in the matter-of-fact narratives of those who were eye-witnesses, and who re- corded minute memoranda of every day's incidents." The expedition sailed on the 6th day of April, 1538, in a squadron of nine vessels, accompanied by a fleet of twenty- six ships bound for Mexico. The harbor and town of San Lucar were gay with bunting and the combined colors of Spain and Portugal in honor of the great event, while the ships, as they swung into line and glided slowly down the bay, were speeded on their course with blast of trumpet and roar of artillery. Besides the huhian freight borne by the vessels, there were more than two hundred horses, a large herd of swine, and a pack of bloodhounds a precious cargo for an ex- ploration! One of the historians of the times quaintly observes that there were " nine hundred men besides the sailors, three hundred and thirty horses, and three hundred hogs ! " Forges, with chains and manacles, constituted a prominent feature of the equipments. The sea and the sun smiled benignantly on the adven- turers; soft breezes filled the sails of the ships and wafted them across the water to the sound of music and dancing. The voyage was one of the shortest and most propitious of 96 VESOTO'S EXPEDITION EMBARKING FOR AMERICA. E Expedition organized by DeSoto to explore America sailed from the city of San Lucar, Spain, 1538. The city is now called San Lucar de Barra- rneda, a seaport of Andalusia, on the Guadalquivir River, with a population of 16,000. The town is a very old one, and in DeSoto's time enjoyed a large trade, which has since been diverted to Cadiz. The prime, perhaps the sole purpose of DeSoto was to seek for gold in the new world, and his success with Pizarro in Peru led to a general belief that his quest in Florida would be no less great. This sanguine expectation prompted a large number of the nobility of Spain to join the expedition so that its departure constituted a social as well as a commercial event of great importance to the nation, and its failure in the end was a corresponding calamity. wow werf .e mem T)W\~A' fib ;. Ing thr< Alabama, and the mere fictiot the matter-of rc- f>inT .IE d bfuow sbi'ioi^F niieaup eid Jsrit Jailed IBM: srft lo isrlrmjfl 331*! ' TIM Hio[ i>; iicvijc in VTIIKIUII aiii iu i7csiiiuii t^~im to /-f(i:io;(j nuijj.i _or . - gnibnoqesnoo c eisw bns srij ni aiuiici >re thai of bloodh One of the 1< i the ti*j. e id dant DE SOTO'S EXPEDITION INTO FLORIDA that era. There were neither clouds nor angry winds to cast gloom over the sea or hinder the progress of the vessels. Near the last of May, or about seven weeks from the time of sailing, the fleet anchored in the bay of Santiago de Cuba, and was welcomed with the shouts of the populace and the roar of cannon. News of the coming of the expedition, and its purpose, spread a feeling of joy throughout the is- land, and for some days all the inhabitants gave themselves up to the most lively manifestations of happiness. The same enthusiasm which had been manifested by the people of Spain was now repeated in Cuba. The ships' com- panies were entertained with all the amusements peculiar to the age. Balls, masquerades, bull-fights, tilting-tourna- ments, feats in athletics, and other chivalrous games followed each other in rapid succession. At the conclusion of this round of pleasures, De Soto set out on a grand tour of the island, accompanied by his princi- pal officers ; while the other members of the expedition pro- ceeded by water to Havana. His object in making the tour was to inspect the public offices and provide for the govern- ment of Cuba and its dependencies during his absence in Florida. The trip occupied nearly three months, so that he did not reach Havana until late in August. There he met his wife and the rest of his companions, and instituted a court, whose ceremonies were in keeping with his dignity as the personal representative of the Emperor. He also de- spatched a brigantine to the Florida coast in search of a safe 99 LOUISIANA TERRITORY and commodious harbor, to which the expedition might sail direct on its departure from Cuba. These arrangements having been completed, De Soto de- voted himself to the establishment of his authority on the island; and in order that he might retain control of the general policy of the government while absent, he appointed his wife as his personal representative or regent. Mean- while, the inhabitants of Havana seem to have resolved them- selves into an association for the entertainment of the gov- ernor and his people. There was a continuous round of festivals and rejoicings. The choicest viands and products of Spain and the tropics were displayed on numerous ban- queting tables, decorated with flowers of brilliant colors, whose soft perfume filled the air and intoxicated the senses. The sound of castanet and the guitar blended with the rhythmic tread of (lancers as they kept time to the cadences of the music throughout the long hours of the dreamy tropi- cal nights. It was a period of universal joy; no one thought of the morrow or cared to lift the curtain that might have disclosed a dismal and gruesome future. Thus week glided into week and month into month, until the winter season was past, and the spring of 1539 was at hand. The brigantine had returned from Florida with a satisfactory report of the location of a spacious harbor on the western coast, and bearing four dejected natives in chains, who had been secured to serve as guides. At first the Indians refused to talk or to give any information re- 100 DE SOTO'S EXPEDITION INTO FLORIDA garding their country ; but their chains having been stricken off, they became more cheerful and entered reluctantly into the spirit of the occasion. They weKfe itaught the rudiments of the Spanish language and trained in the- duties u'bicb they were expected to perform; but 'the 'sequel showed" that the love of liberty and the fires of patriotism could not be so readily extinguished in their breasts. Perceiving that the Spaniards could not be turned aside from their purpose of invasion and conquest, the natives changed their policy, and apparently resolved to lead their enemies to destruction by painting pictures of natural wealth and beauty of scenery which they knew did not exist. They now represented their country as a new land of promise, abounding in gold and silver ; the streams rippled over beds of pearls, and the forests were laden with fruits sweeter than honey, and so luscious that they melted in the mouth. Flow- ers bloomed on every hand, charming the eye with their beauty and enchanting the senses with the sweet odors which they exhaled. As the captives related these brilliant con- ceptions in broken words and by signs, the Spaniards be- came more enthusiastic than ever in their purpose, and were ready to follow blindly wherever the wily savages might lead them. So flattering were the reports of the Indians that a num- ber of new volunteers joined the ranks of the explorers, increasing the force to about a thousand men, including three hundred and fifty horsemen, besides the crews of the 101 LOUISIANA TERRITORY ships. Among other prominent men who allied themselves with the expedition in Cuba was a soldier of fortune named Vasco de Figueroa.- Porcallo, who had made a fortune by establishing plantations and building towns in the island. He brought with him a considerable auxiliary force, and added a brigantine to the fleet. His main object was the procuring of slaves to work his mines and estates; but on reaching Florida and perceiving the unreliability of the fancy stories told by the native guides, he abandoned the enterprise, recrossed the gulf, and returned to Cuba, much to the disgust of the governor. During the long stay at Havana, De Soto had strengthened his forces not only in numbers, but in equipment and sup- plies as well. Every possible thing was done to insure the success of the expedition and to prepare for the permanent settlement of the country. Among other things that were provided was a superior iron-worker's forge, with an abun- dance of iron and steel ; a whip-saw and several sets of wood- workers' tools; more chains and fetters for captives; live stock of several kinds, besides the swine which they had brought from Spain; apparatus for smelting and assaying gold and silver, with chemists and miners experienced in the working of the precious metals. In the matter of arms and accoutrements the force was as well equipped as the best appointed armies of that period. There were eighteen har- quebuses and one piece of field artillery, besides numerous crossbows, which were as effective as the firearms of that 1 02 DE SOTO'S EXPEDITION INTO FLORIDA date. The latter were just coming into general use, and in a campaign against savages they were valued chiefly on account of their thundering noise. The righting men were clad in coats of mail, with helmets, breastplates and shields of glittering steel inlaid with gold; while for offensive weapons they carried lances, cimeters and broadswords, a single sweep of the latter being sufficient to cleave the body of a man in twain. Finally, on the I2th of May, 1539, the guns of the castle boomed the hour of departure, and the ships passed out through the narrow channel of the bay into the gulf. The women and several of the priests were left behind, to grace the local court and assist Dona Isabella in the government of the island. Although their spirits were buoyed up with high hopes of glory and renown to be won, and an early re- union, this proved to be the last meeting between De Soto and his wife. Thirteen days were consumed by the clumsy vessels in making the passage from Havana to the west coast of Florida, a trip which is now accomplished in the course df forty-eight hours. As they drew near the shore the Span- iards observed the twinkling of long lines of alarm-fires, kindled by the natives as a warning to their countrymen of impending danger. But as the ships came to anchor at the head of Tampa Bay, the savages disappeared, and for several days not one of them was to be seen. De Soto being familiar with their cunning tactics, accepted this as an 103 LOUISIANA TERRITORY ominous sign, and resolved to exercise the utmost caution in the landing of his troops. Not until the fourth day did he deem it safe to allow any of the men to leave the vessels ; then mooring the fleet as close to the beach as the depth of water would permit, and bringing all the guns to bear on the landward side, a force of three hundred was sent ashore. Always sharing every danger that he imposed upon his men, De Soto accompanied this detachment in person, and with great pomp and ceremony took possession of the country in the name of the Spanish monarch. The men were then suffered to range at will over the sands and into the edge of the adjacent forest, and at night they encamped in fancied security without pickets or other precautions for safety. The governor's wise discretion seems to have deserted him at the critical moment. Every movement had been observed by the watchful savages ; who at break of day, according to the custom of their people, burst upon the unsuspecting camp in vast numbers and with terrific yells. The unarmed and half-dressed men, horrified by the barbarous din, flew panic- stricken toward the ships, and would have fallen easy victims to the fury of their enemies had not the guns of the fleet opened on the horde of pursuing savages and driven them back. At the first crash of artillery the Indians fled to the woods, and were seen no more ; but meanwhile, several Span- iards had been killed and a number of others wounded more or less severely with arrows or blows from stone hatchets. The natives having been dispersed, De Soto, with great 104 DE SOTO'S EXPEDITION INTO FLORIDA caution, landed his entire force, including the horses, the swine, and the bloodhounds, and began his preparations for an advance into the interior. Desiring to remove all hope of retreat from the minds of his followers, he ordered the fleet, with the single exception of the vessel commanded by Porcallo over which he did not exercise full control to return to Cuba and there receive further instructions from Dona Isabella. But so eager were the sailors to revisit their homes that most of the ships never cast anchor until they arrived in Spain. Everything being now prepared, De Soto began his first advance into the gloomy forest, which reached down nearly to the water's edge. The greatest caution was observed, for ambuscades and stratagems were expected. Several days were occupied in marching a distance of only six miles, when they came to a village governed by a chief named Hirihigua. The Indians fled on the approach of the invad- ers, whereupon the Spaniards possessed themselves of the town and plundered it of everything that was valuable. They showed no respect for the rights or sentiments of the inhabitants. This was the same place where the dead had been burned by the men under Narvaez, and the savages had not forgotten the indignity. Hirihigua himself had been a sufferer at the hands of De Soto's predecessor; for after extending to the Europeans the greatest kindness and hos- pitality, the chief's aged mother was thrown to the blood- hounds by order of Narvaez, and torn to pieces without 105 LOUISIANA TERRITORY the least provocation. When Hirihigua protested against the brutal act, the Spanish commander ordered his nose to be cut off, and his body otherwise shamefully mutilated. The chief therefore harbored a bitter hatred for the white men, and when De Soto endeavored to appease his wrath by sending him rich presents, he spurned them with indig- nation. On being remonstrated with by his own people, who advised him to court the favor of the invaders, since he had not the power to resist them, he replied scornfully, " I want none of their speeches and promises ; bring me their heads, and I will receive them joyfully." Hirihigua inspired the breasts of his followers with his own spirit of resentment; but while they burned to avenge the insults and outrages which had been heaped upon them- selves and their nation, they shrank from encountering the fear-inspiring horses and keen-edged weapons of their ene- mies. Nothing could induce them to meet the Europeans in open battle, but they waylaid them at every opportunity and picked them off with arrows and darts. De Soto remained in camp at the village of Hirihigua for several days, exploring the vicinity and repeating his ineffec- tual efforts to placate the chief. During this time his men captured a number of the natives, who, chained in gangs and couples, were taught to serve as porters and guides for the army. One day as a horseman charged with couched lance upon a supposed savage whom he found lurking in the woods, he 1 06 DE SOTO'S EXPEDITION INTO FLORIDA was astonished to hear the man cry out in the Spanish tongue, " Do not kill me, cavalier; I am a Christian! Slay not these people; they have given me life." Fortunately his appeal was heard in time; the soldier threw the point of his lance upward just as it was about to pierce the body of the stranger, who proved to be Juan Ortiz, a member of the expedition of Narvaez, who had been captured by the Indians and held by them in a mild sort of slavery. Having adopted the language as well as the costume and the customs of his captors, Ortiz now became a valuable medium of communi- cation between them and the Spaniards; but he was unable to satisfy the longing of his countrymen by pointing the way to gold fields, since he had heard of none during his long captivity. The story of Juan Ortiz is one of the most romantic that has come down to us from the period of Spanish explora- tion; while its great similarity to the later romance of Cap- tain Smith and Pocahontas, in Virginia, gives color to the belief that, in part at least, it supplied a model for the latter. It was the fate of Ortiz, immediately after his capture, to be assigned to a chief named Ucita, who, in retaliation for the death of some of his warriors who had been burned at the stake by the Spaniards, condemned the prisoner to a similar punishment. He was accordingly bound hand and foot and placed in this helpless condition on a wooden scaf- fold elevated a few feet above the ground, and a fire of sticks and brush kindled under him. In a moment the smoke and 107 LOUISIANA TERRITORY flames leaped up and enveloped his body ; but at this instant, before any serious harm had come to him, the savage cere- mony was interrupted by the cries of a beautiful daughter of the chief, who, throwing herself at the feet of her father, implored the life of the captive. But it was not the custom of the chief to be diverted from his purposes by the senti- mental appeals of a woman, and Ucita steeled his heart against the importunities of his child. Seeing that she could not melt him to compassion, the girl changed her tactics and appealed to her father's vanity. " How noble it will be," she cried, " for my father to hold the white man a captive, for in all the traditions of our people such a thing has never happened before. It will distinguish Ucita above all the other chiefs, and malce him the greatest that has ever ruled over our nation." At any rate, she urged, a single white man could do no harm, while his presence among them would excite the wonder and envy of their neighboring tribes. This cunning argument had the desired effect. Ucita felt no compassion for his white prisoner, but it would indeed be a great distinction to retain him as a slave. Ortiz was thereupon unbound, and being lifted from his perilous position, was assigned to the daughter of the chieftain. We are not informed as to the subsequent relations between the two, but it may be inferred from certain in- cidents that they were of a romantic and tender character. About three years after the freeing of the captive, Ucita en- gaged in war with another chief whose territory bordered 108 DE SOTO'S EXPEDITION INTO FLORIDA on his dominions, and met with sore defeat. A number of his warriors were slain and he and his people were driven from their homes. Attributing the disaster to the malevo- lence of an evil spirit, the chief resolved to propitiate his anger by sacrificing the white man ; but in the darkness of the night the princess took him by the hand and led him along secret paths through the forest to the camp of her father's en- emy, where she knew he would receive protection. Thus for the second time her devotion saved the life of the prisoner, probably at the cost of her own; for the silence regarding her fate points unmistakably to the supposition that she suf- fered in the stead of the man she loved. There is no reason to doubt the truth of this story, and it is much to be regretted that the name of the daughter of Ucita has not come down to us, in order that it might be honored like that of Pocahontas. Ortiz remained a captive among his new associates until the coming of De Soto, when he was rescued in the manner already related. Having learned the language of the na- tives, and become familiar in his wanderings with a large scope of country, he now became one of the most useful members of the expedition, as guide and interpreter. His death occurred a short time before that of the commander, who thereupon declared that it was " a great cross to his designs." 109 I DIVISION V. Indian Life, as De Soto Found it. HAVING established a station at the village of Hirihigua, and leaving a detachment to garrison it, De Soto at length set out on his march in a northeasterly direction. The guides purposely led him into the most difficult and dangerous places, into thick woods rendered almost impassable by tan- gled vines and undergrowth ; through swamps, marshes and deep morasses, where the men were in constant danger of sinking beyond their depth and being suffocated in the black mud and ooze. In several instances the path opened out into spaces that were clear of timber, and covered with an apparently solid vegetable growth that seemed to offer a safe passage; but the moment man or horse stepped upon it they sank into a deep and suffocating bog. Several of the bravest cavaliers were lost in this way. The march was painful and beset with dangers on every hand; the days and the nights were filled with suffering and death. In the thick and desperate gloom of the woods, where neither cavalry nor foot could operate effectively, they were set upon by hordes of concealed savages, who poured clouds of arrows and deadly shafts into their ranks. Realizing that his misfortunes were the result of design on the part of his no INDIAN LIFE AS DE SOTO FOUND IT guides, De Soto turned the bloodhounds loose upon them as a warning against similar conduct in the future ; but the fangs of the ferocious brutes and the dread which they in- spired could not quell the spirit of patriotism that burned in the breasts of these children of the forest. The survivors repeated the same illusive stories of distant wealth, and pointed the way that led to certain destruction. In vain Ortiz remonstrated with his leader, assuring him that during all the years of his captivity he had neither seen nor heard of a single specimen of the precious metals in that country, and that the savages were merely repeating their illusive stories for the purpose of accomplishing his ruin. But he might as well have spoken to the wind, for De Soto was no less infatuated than his followers. As an additional warning to the guides and prisoners, they were chained with rings about their necks, and forced to bear a double burden in the weight of baggage that was laid upon their backs. If any remonstrated by word or look, they were scourged with whips, or murdered with as little compunction as if they had been wild beasts. Young girls were subjected to the brutal lusts of their captors, and driven, when passion had been satiated, to the slavish drudg- ery of the camp. Shame and decency, as well as mercy, seemed to have fled from the hearts of the Spaniards. Yet in the midst of this riot of murder and licentiousness, the services of the mass were religiously observed. The solemn processions of the church were instituted and faith- iii LOUISIANA TERRITORY fully performed; and each day the woods rang with the chanting of the priests, who so far as history informs us were as licentious as their zealous communicants. The sin- gular spirit by which these adventurers were animated may be inferred from a letter written a few years later by a Span- ish enthusiast to his king, proposing to establish in Florida holy cities under the names of Caesarea and Philippina. " It is lawful that your Majesty," wrote this devout Spaniard, " like a good shepherd, appointed by the hand of the Eternal Father, should tend and lead out your sheep, since the Holy Spirit has shown spreading pastures whereon are feeding lost sheep which have been snatched away by the dragon, the Demon. These pastures are the New World, wherein is comprised Florida, now in the possession of the Demon, and here he makes himself adored and revered. This is the Land of Promise, possessed by idolaters, the Amorite, Amalekite, Moabite, 'Canaanite. This is the land promised by the Eternal Father to the Faithful, since we are commanded by God in the Holy Scriptures to take it from them, being idolaters, and, by reason of their idolatry and sin, to put them all to the knife, leaving no living thing save maidens and children, their cities robbed and sacked, their walls and houses leveled to the earth." After toiling for several days against hardships, that would have overcome men of less firmness of character, and contending with obstacles that seemed insurmountable, the Spaniards came at length to a deep river that was out of its 112 RESCUING ORTIZ FROM CAPTIVITY. E Narvaez expedition of 1527 ended most disastrously, in the drowning oi that explorer, the death of nearly all those who accompanied him and the capture and enslavement by Indians of the survivors. When DeSoto entered Florida, in 1539, he was astounded to discover during a conflict with Indians a white man, who implored his protection. Triis white man proved to be a Spaniard named Ortiz, a survivor of the Narvaez expedition, who being rescued by DeSoto became his interpreter thereafter and remained with the expedition until his death uhich occurred nearly two years later near the Mississippi. rang v r as history > their zealous communicant //hich these adventurers were animai be : from a I- later by ; ish i.lish in Flo ho!\ ;> devout - ^ . .iXUWfito'sri 1 , : inu ^thful, since we ^om . . - led er, and ^untable. INDIAN LIFE AS DE SOTO FOUND IT banks from recent rains. Here it seemed their course must end, for extending on either side of the stream for a mile or more was a low swamp, which on account of the spongy nature of the soil appeared to be impassable, even where the ground was not covered with water. Three days were spent in fruitless efforts to find a crossing-place, during the whole of which time they were subjected to incessant attacks by the natives. Rushing out of the coverts of the woods with horrible and vindictive yells, the Indians threw themselves upon the Spaniards with the fury of demons, striking with their stone hatchets and unshafting myriads of flint-tipped arrows. Stung with madness at what he regarded as cer- tain evidence of treachery on the part of his new guides, De Soto again ordered the bloodhounds to be loosened ; and the helpless men were subjected to the same fate that had been inflicted upon their predecessors. But even in the agony and terror of the death-struggle, they smiled in tri- umphant consciousness of having demoralized their enemies. Other guides were found, who at length pointed the way to a place where the bottom of the swamp was firm, though covered with water. Again the Spaniards advanced, brav- ing unseen dangers in pursuit of the will-o'-the-wisp by which they were infatuated. A single false step might send them down to destruction, or land them in a bog whence there would be no escape; but they neither hesitated nor held back. Encouraged by their intrepid leader, who never quailed in the face of danger, they pushed forward and suc- LOUISIANA TERRITORY ceeded in making their way to the channel of the river, al- though frequently wading in water up to their armpits. But now the Spaniards were face to face with the great- est peril that had yet beset them. The surface of the river swarmed with hostile canoes, manned by thousands of fierce and threatening savages, while any attempt to ford the stream would be little short of madness. It seemed indeed that they had at last come to the end of their hopes; but De Soto, like all leaders worthy of the name, proved himself resourceful in time of need. On pressing the guides, he learned that a short distance above the spot where they stood there was a rude Indian bridge, formed by felling a tree from either side to a stationary raft in the middle of the stream, which might afford a means of passage. As usual in flat and marshy countries, the banks of the river were higher than the swamps that lay further back, so that the men could move along the stream with some degree of comfort and safety. Following their guides, they soon came to the bridge, which in spite of its flimsy and dangerous appearance afforded the means of passing the little army over in single file, the horses being obliged to swim. Although we have no certain information on the subject, circumstances apparently confirm the belief that this stream which gave the Spaniards so much trouble was the With- lacoochee river, and we are therefore enabled to follow their course with a considerable degree of accuracy. The Indians were so impressed by the inflexible determi- 116 INDIAN LIFE AS DE SOTO FOUND IT nation of the white men, and their success in passing a river which they had with good reason regarded as an in- surmountable obstacle, that they fell back in despair and made but little further effort to hinder their progress. The Spaniards now proceeded on their course more rapidly, but still with the greatest caution, for De Soto thoroughly under- stood the wily character of the people whom the cruelty of his countrymen had transformed into the bitterest of enemies. Every precaution was taken to prevent sur- prise; at the same time friendly overtures were made to all the natives who came within their reach. But they had already established their character in the minds of the sav- ages by the cruelties which they had inflicted on their guides and prisoners, and their efforts at reconciliation met with no encouragement. The Indians were sullen and suspi- cious, manifesting a hostility and hatred that, under the circumstances, were no less remarkable than just. After some days of travel and hardship, in which several of the adventurers lost their lives, they came to a town about thirty miles north of the Withlacoochee river, and probably on or near the borders of Orange lake. It was ruled over by a cacique named Acuera, who proved to be one of the bravest and most implacable of all the chiefs of the peninsula. When invited by De Soto to a friendly conference, he responded with reproaches and words of defiance. He reminded the Spanish leader of the cruelty and treachery of his predecessors, whose evil fame had spread 117 LOUISIANA TERRITORY far and wide among the nations of the red people; and he gave him fair warning that he need not expect anything from him but the bitterest and most unrelenting hostility. The Indians having fled to the woods on the approach of the invaders, the latter occupied their houses and rested after their perilous marches. For twenty-two days they continued in this place. The village lay in the midst of a level and very fertile bottom, where there were numerous fields of corn and gardens containing pumpkins, squashes, melons, and several varieties of vegetables, most of which were unfamiliar to the Europeans. Interspersed among the fields and gardens were a number of orchards and fruit-trees, bending under the weight of their growing crops; while running tamely about the houses and in the streets were many domes- ticated fowls. These evidences of civilization and comfort excited the wonder of the Spaniards, and confirmed their belief that they were not far distant from the gold-bearing regions which they were so eagerly seeking. They could not conceive how a people might be rich and happy, and en- joy all the necessary comforts of life, without having mines of the precious metals to draw upon. The villages and houses of the Indians of that date pre- sented many interesting features; and as they represent an era which has passed into the classical period of our coun- try's history, it may be advisable to consider them with some degree of care. In the South, as well as in the North, there were several 118 INDIAN LIFE AS DE SOTO FOUND IT large confederations of tribes or nations, like the Hurons of Canada and the well-known Iroquois of western New York; and in those sections where the people were most numerous there were a number of large towns, having popu- lations that ran up into the thousands. These principal towns were palisaded and protected by forts and citadels that displayed a good deal of ingenuity and no little con- ception of the requirements of military engineering; but the villages were generally a mere collection of huts, without order or regularity, without streets or squares, and wholly devoid of the means of defense. They were built, of course, in regions that were not exposed to attack, and generally on watercourses for the convenience of the inhabitants, who were great fishers. Villages of the same tribes or con- federation were connected by paths leading in various direc- tions through the woods, with about as much order and regularity as our modern public roads. The towns usually covered spaces of from one to five or ten acres, and were very compactly built, the houses standing close together, and generally a single house accommodated a number of separate families. The fires were built in a row down the center of the house, the smoke escaping through an aperture left for that purpose in the apex of the roof. It was a village of the smaller kind where De Soto and his men were now resting, and a description of it will serve for all of its class in the South. In shape the houses were like an arbor overarching a garden walk, and generally 119 LOUISIANA TERRITORY about thirty to thirty-five feet in length by one-half that space in breadth and height. But many were far more pretentious in their dimensions. It was no unusual thing to find houses in these villages more than two hun- dred feet in length, but retaining the same height and width as the smaller ones ; and in some of the larger towns writers claim to have measured houses that were five hundred and forty feet long ! These, however, were merely an extension of the original structures, additions having been made at the ends from time to time, to suit the wants or conven- iences of the occupants. The frames were made of saplings, planted in parallel rows to form the sides of the buildings, bent at the top until they met in the middle, where they were bound together with strong withes. To the upright pillars other poles were lashed transversely, to strengthen the build- ing and afford conveniences for the occupants. In the South the walls of the houses were composed of mats of plaited reeds or grass, or consecutive overlapping layers of palm leaves, like the shingles of a roof; these were neces- sarily highly inflammable. In the North the bark of trees was substituted for mats and palm leaves. At the crown of the arch, along the whole length of the house, an opening a foot wide was left for the escape of smoke and the admis- sion of air and light. Some of the houses were also pro- vided with small, square openings, two-thirds of the way up the walls, which served the purpose of windows. These were closed with shutters at night and during rainy or cold 1 20 INDIAN LIFE AS DE SOTO FOUND IT weather. At each end were closed porches, composed of the same materials as the houses, where casks of bark were stowed as receptacles for dried fish, maize, nuts, and other products of field and forest. Within were wide scaffolds, on both sides, raised about four feet above the ground, and extending the whole length of the room. They were formed of sheets of bark, laid on a scaffolding of transverse poles, and covered with mats or skins. Here the inmates slept at night or lounged during the day. Their fire-wood, cooking utensils, and other conveniences were piled underneath. In very cold weather the people rolled themselves in skins and slept in a circle around the fires, with their feet close to the embers. Dogs, which assumed the same liberties as the children, slept with the family; men, women, dogs and children lying in promiscuous heaps. Necessarily there was neither cleanliness nor privacy in such an arrangement; fleas and filth abounded. Children were allowed the utmost license, no effort ever being made to curb or correct their dispositions. Near the tops of the houses, under the vaulted roofs, were a number of poles, like the perches of a hen-roost, to which were suspended clothing, weapons, skins and ornaments; and in harvest-time the women attached long rows of the ears of unshelled corn to these poles, until the interior of the house, throughout its entire length, seemed decked with a sort of rude tapestry. But on other occasions the walls were bare and begrimed with a thick coating of soot; for 121 LOUISIANA TERRITORY the smoke, having neither chimney nor draught, generally rested in a cloud in the interior of the apartment. So pun- gent and penetrating was this smoke-cloud, that it produced chronic inflammation of the eyes, and blindness was no un- common affliction among the aged of both sexes. Culinary utensils were of the simplest character, consisting of a few vessels of bark and rawhide, in which they boiled their food. Such vessels of course could not be placed over fires, but the boiling was performed by dipping heated rocks into the liquid. Most of their cooking was done by baking in earth-pits, or broiling on forked sticks before the fires. Potatoes, yams, ears of green corn, etc., were roasted in the hot ashes, and only those who have eaten such articles cooked in that manner can appreciate their sweetness and delicacy of flavor. A winter scene in an Indian home presented a strange and weird spectacle. The long vista of fires stretching down the smoky concave lighted up the bronzed faces of the groups collected around them, cooking, eating, gambling, scuffling, or amusing themselves with coarse and idle badinage, at which no one thought of taking offense, however cutting the sarcasm might be. Grizzly and scarred old warriors, heroes of a hundred battles ; youthful aspirants whose honors were yet to be won; old squaws, shriveled, toothless and hideous with the hardships and ravages of time, venting the resent- ments of a life of ill-usage on all around them ; young dam- sels, gay with ochre, red clay and wampum, the latter in 122 INDIAN LIFE AS DE SOTO FOUND IT most cases representing the value of their merchantable virtue; rude and restless children and snarling dogs, made up a combination that was never equaled or surpassed by any other nation or people. Virtue, as it is understood with us, did not exist among Indian women until after marriage. Damsels and maidens were fancy free, enjoying a liberty and license which constituted the only untrammeled period of their existence; for after marriage they became the slaves and drudges of their husbands. First marriages were rarely permanent. Two young people, with a supposed affinity, would by mutual consent live together for a while, a day or a week according to their pleasure, merely to test their compatibility of temper. If both were satisfied, nup- tials of a permanent character were entered into; but if they found that they could not live together in peace, they wisely agreed to separate and each seek another mate. Such temporary unions were not regarded as immoral, or as de- tracting anything from the character or social standing of the young women; who thereafter continued to move in the same circles which they had previously adorned, until they found a companion who satisfied their requirements. After permanent marriage, separations and divorcements were rare; and polygamy did not exist except among the principal chiefs. Such a state of society and of morals was inseparable from the promiscuous manner in which these people lived, entirely without privacy and almost without distinction as to sex or age. 123 LOUISIANA TERRITORY The fortified towns of the Southern Indians were even more interesting than the common villages, for they were larger and possessed special features which did not attach to the smaller places. Such towns were generally the cap- itals of powerful chiefs, who ruled over a number of con- federated tribes ; and De Soto learned to his cost that when occasion required, these chiefs could assemble large forces of very determined, though illy-trained and poorly-armed warriors. In all cases where a fortified town was to be established, a situation was chosen favorable to defense. This was gen- erally on the bank of a lake, the crown of a difficult hill, or a high point of land between two confluent streams. The site having been selected, a ditch several feet deep was dug around the place, the dirt being thrown up in the form of an embankment on the inner side. Heavy palisades of logs, pointed at the top, were then set close together around the whole length of the ditch, and firmly imbedded in the earth. In some instances these palisades took root, and became permanent growths in the positions to which they had been transplanted. The trees for the palisades were cut down by alternately burning the trunks and hacking away the charred portions with stone hatchets ; the palisades themselves being afterwards cut into proper lengths and sharpened by the same means. It was a slow and laborious process, but the Indians had plenty of time ; besides, most of this work was done by the women, while the men were engaged in war, in hunting, 124 INDIAN LIFE AS DE SOTO FOUND IT or in affairs of state. The Southern tribes were never known to use more than a single row of palisades, but the Iroquois, the Hurons, and others of the North, often em- ployed as many as three or four concentric rows, so inter- laced and bound together as to form a solid wall of wood several feet in thickness. The whole interior was lined, to the height of a man, with cross-timbers, or heavy sheets of bark, to serve as a shield against any arrows or darts that might find their way through the crevices ; and near the top was a platform, or gallery, extending around the whole interior of the wall, on which the warriors stood when repelling an assault. Magazines of stones were provided at convenient distances along the galleries, for use in case of attack ; but it does not appear that any of the North Ameri- can tribes understood the advantages of the sling. Wooden gutters were affixed to the palisades, through which streams of water might be poured to extinguish any fires kindled by the enemy ; and boiling water was sometimes used in repelling assaults. Within the enclosure the houses were clustered, generally in a circle around the palisades, a large open space being left in the center, where the council-fires were kindled and the children romped and played. Individual ownership of land was not recognized by any of the tribes, but each family enjoyed the exclusive right to the cultivation of its fields and gardens so long as that right was exercised. The work of clearing the ground, a slow and laborious task, was per- 125 LOUISIANA TERRITORY formed in all cases by the women, who first removed the underbrush by twisting, hacking and breaking it with their primitive tools, and piling it in heaps around the roots of the trees. As soon as these piles of brush were dry, fire was applied to them, with the result that the trees were either burned down or " deadened " by the heat. The ground was then ready for such cultivation as the women were capable of bestowing upon it. Laboring painfully with their hoes of wood, bone, or horn, they scratched the surface of the earth among the charred stumps and planted their beans, corn, pumpkins, tobacco, hemp, sunflowers, etc. The hemp was spun into coarse twine by rolling the fibers on the hips, after which the threads were woven by hand into cloth for do- mestic purposes. Having no machinery of any kind, and no genius for invention, all their work was done by hand, necessarily in a tedious and imperfect manner. Their greatest display of mechanical skill was in the weaving of mats, which they manufactured from rushes and coarse grasses with a good deal of ingenuity and taste. Sun- flowers seem to have been cultivated by nearly all the tribes, not to gratify an esthetic taste, bttt for the oil of the seeds, which they employed in anointing their hair and bodies; the seeds were likewise pounded into a sort of paste and baked as bread. Oil was extracted from fish for anointing the person and for medicinal purposes. The staple article of food with all the tribes was maize, or Indian corn, which they prepared, without salt, in a vari- 126 INDIAN LIFE AS DE SOTO FOUND IT ety of ways, each less agreeable to a civilized palate than the others. Before going on the war-path it was the custom of each warrior to provide himself with a pouch of parched corn and a small piece of the fat of venison, which they ate by alternate mouthfuls while marching; and this was frequently their only reliance for food for weeks at a time. As corn was so essential to their existence, it was grown in considerable quantities, and stored in granaries and caches, the latter being deep holes in the earth, dug either within or without their houses, and so arranged that they could be readily concealed. Although deer were plentiful, venison, especially among the Southern Indians, was regarded as a luxury, to be enjoyed only at a feast; a fact that was proba- bly due to the difficulty which they experienced in killing the animals with their imperfect weapons. Dog's-flesh ranked higher than any other kind of meat, and for that reason it was reserved mainly for their religious festivals. Young bears were caught and fattened for the same purpose ; though bear's-meat was not esteemed so highly as either venison or dog's-flesh. Indians were expert hominy makers, which they prepared by pounding the corn in wooden hop- pers, scooped out of the top of a stump, or the end of a log, by alternate burnings and scrapings. Their stone axes and flint arrow and spear-heads were produced with great labor and much ingenuity, and they necessarily possessed a value far beyond any intrinsic. worth that could be imputed to them. A hatchet of black granite, 127 LOUISIANA TERRITORY the favorite material, was an heirloom that descended from father to son for generations. These implements were ground and polished to so fine an edge that they could be used in cutting down trees and hollowing out canoes; and in the hands of a determined warrior a more deadly weapon could hardly be imagined. The labor required to fashion such an instrument is almost inconceivable; it could have been accomplished only by years of patient effort. In- deed, when we consider that these people had no tools, and that in their cutting and carving they were dependent upon grinding one stone against another, the wonder as to how they ever accomplished their object becomes all the greater. No civilized workman, with the best of modern implements, can surpass the neatness and accuracy with which the groove for the handle of an Indian hatchet is cut; and who would not regard the task as impossible if required to carve the shanks and the delicate point of a flint arrow-head, with no tool except another piece of flint? Yet the Indians manu- factured them by tens of thousands, and they can still be gathered up by the bushel on their ancient battle-fields. Their flint-knives were another object of wonder, though but few of them are now to be found. They were polished to so fine an edge that they were used for shaving the hair of the head into the scalp-lock or helmet form so popular among the warriors of the various tribes, as well as cutting the few straggling hairs that persisted in growing on the faces of the men for it is an error to suppose that Indians had no- 128 INDIAN LIFE AS DE SOTO FOUND IT beard. The writer recalls a full-blooded Osage chief, an acquaintance of former years, who had as fine a mustache as ever graced the lip of a cavalier. It was their custom to extract the beard in youth and thus to a great extent pre- vent its growth. Aside from stone and flint weapons, the other imple- ments of offense and defense used by the savages were simple in form and easily constructed. The bow, of course, was a universal weapon with them, as it has been with all the primitive peoples of the earth ; and some of the Southern tribes made that arm of such tremendous strength and weight that when the magazines of arrows were exhausted the warriors clubbed their bows and used them with telling effect. This was the case in one or more of the battles fought with De Soto and his men. The propelling power of these great bows was sufficient to shoot an arrow entirely through the body of a Spanish soldier, cleaving at the same time his steel armor both in front and behind. If the savages had been as expert marksmen as the English archers of the olden time, the Spaniards could not have stood up before them. On going into battle the warriors protected themselves with shields, breastplates and greaves. The shields were made of green bison or deer hide, overlaid with plaited and twisted thongs of skin; and, excepting the bows already mentioned, were impervious to any savage weapon. The greaves were composed of thin but very tough and strong battens of wood, interlaced and interwoven with thongs and 129 cords until they constituted almost a solid piece, and were yet pliable enough not to interfere with the motions of the wearer. As the Southern rivers were free from ice all the year round, the people living in that locality had become expert canoemen, as well as fishers ; and we shall see in the prog- ress of this history that their knowledge of boat-building was quite extensive. Some of the more powerful chiefs, or caciques as they were called by the Spaniards, had founded navies of war-canoes and pirogues powerful enough to com- mand the watercourses against all opponents, except the Europeans with their gunpowder and artillery. Fish were taken with hooks and by nets, the latter being fabricated from the hempen twine already described; the hooks were composed of bone, and served the purpose as well as our modern hooks of steel. The pipe was everywhere an emblem of peace, and doubt- less for this reason more art was displayed in its manu- facture than any other implement that was found in common use among these people. Pipes were usually carved from stone by the warriors during their long periods of monoto- nous idleness; but some were made of burnt clay, orna- mented with figures and rude imitations of men and animals. They also possessed a few culinary utensils of the same material; but they had not acquired that facility in the manufacture of earthenware that characterized the more an- cient and peaceful Mound-Builders. 130 INDIAN LIFE AS DE SOTO FOUND IT Among all their manufactured articles wampum small beads made of shells was the most curious and universal, and its uses were too varied to be enumerated. In the first place, it was an international currency among all the tribes, passing current in their commercial transactions like the pre- cious metals in civilized nations. It was employed also as a record for formal treaties but in a manner which has never been clearly explained. Treaty belts were wrought into significant devices, generally in imitation of animals, birds, serpents, etc., whose character, representing the sub- stance of a compact or speech, became an aid to the memory. Skins and valuable furs were likewise used for the same purpose. All their treaties were preserved by memory, and to one or more of the old men of each tribe was com- mitted this honorable and onerous office, under the designa- tion of keepers of the wampum. It was their duty to re- member and interpret the meaning of the belts, or national records, with the aid of the explanatory signs and devices. In transmitting overtures, or proposed treaties, the wam- pum was always borne by some distinguished chief, or dep- utation of chiefs, who explained the meaning of the characters to the keepers, in order that no mistake might occur. Most of the tribes had a system of rude pictures and arbitrary signs, drawn with the juice of berries on pieces of bark, by means of which they were enabled to communi- cate ideas with a tolerable degree of precision. Wampum was made from the inner and glossy parts of LOUISIANA TERRITORY mussel and oyster shells, carved into the form of elongated beads, and strung by means of holes pierced through the center. How this delicate task was accomplished is one of the unsolved mysteries of this strange and interesting peo- ple. Worn in the form of necklaces, collars, belts and brace- lets, wampum was the chief ornament of Indian belles at all of their festivals and dances. Several of the Southern tribes possessed large quantities of pearls, which were worn like wampum for personal adornment, and valued so highly that they were generally buried with their owners. Owing to the mildness of the climate, the Southern In- dians were to a large extent a naked people, to which fact is due their custom of anointing their bodies. In summer- time the children and the young men wore no clothing at all, while the warriors, themselves disdained all covering ex- cept a diminutive breech-cloth of coarse linen, drawn be- tween the legs and fastened by a transverse cord around the waist. It was the substitute for the traditional fig-leaf of ancient lore. When on the war-path or hunting in the forest, they wore moccasins and leggins of tanned skin, as a protection against briars and brambles and the fangs of serpents. Their winter dress, like that of the Northern tribes, consisted of skins and furs, fashioned into robes which they threw over their shoulders and wrapped about their persons with much dignity and grace. On the inner side these robes were decorated with paintings and devices to suit the fancy or gratify the vanity of the wearer. They 132 INDIAN LIFE AS DE SOTO FOUND IT were sometimes embroidered with the quills of the poreu- pine, or bright-colored feathers of birds, a species of orna- mentation which added much to their appearance. A few of the chiefs and principal men disported themselves in splendid feather robes, like those of Mexico, a fashion which no doubt came from that country. The young warriors were as careful and fastidious about the dressing of the hair as a modern society belle. It was worn in a variety of grotesque and startling fashions. In some instances it was braided tight on one side and allowed to flow loose over the shoulders on the other; again it was shaved close, with the exception of the scalp-lock or a few choice tufts; while one of the most popular styles was a roach in the form of a helmet, bristling across the center of the crown, like the flowing mane of a horse, or the bristles on the back of a hyena. When in full dress they painted their faces in patches and parallel lines, with red ochre, white clay, soot, and the juices of berries, until they pre- sented an appearance outlandish and hideous enough to sat- isfy the most exacting savage taste. On going into battle, if their paints were not convenient, they consoled themselves by dipping their hands in mud and smearing it over their countenances, with a view to frightening the enemy by the fierceness of their aspect. Their noses and ears were or- namented with the beaks of birds, the claws of animals killed in the chase, and the tusks of alligators; while their stature was heightened and superior dignity lent to their 133 LOUISIANA TERRITORY demeanor by eagles' feathers stuck straight up in their long hair. It was their custom also to tattoo their bodies with various savage devices, which in their estimation enhanced their personal appearance or added fresh terrors to their warlike front. The summer dress of the women consisted of a kilt of coarse linen cloth, woven grass, or plaited feathers, sus- pended around the waist and reaching down to the middle of the thighs. These feather kilts, however, were confined to the upper classes, and were regarded as evidences of wealth and refinement. On festive occasions belles and young girls appeared in all the glory of belts, necklaces, and bracelets of wampum and pearls, in addition to the kilts. In winter the women covered their bodies with the cast- off robes of their masters, except in the privacy of the fam- ily lodge, where nature unadorned was allowed to have its way. Their long black hair, gathered with a thong of deer-skin behind the neck, was decorated with discs of bright metals, beads of mussel-shells, and pieces of wampum re- ceived in exchange for personal favors. Every influence of native delicacy vanished under the rude surroundings of their domestic life; sometimes as many as eight or ten fam- ilies being crowded into the space of a single lodge, where privacy was impossible, and strangers were at liberty to en- ter or depart at any hour of the day or night. Female life among the savages had no bright side. It was a youth of license merging with marriage into a life of drudgery and 134 INDIAN LIFE AS DE SOTO FOUND IT ill-treatment. In early spring the women gathered the year's supply of fire-wood, cleared new fields, and prepared for the annual planting. Then came the sowing, the tilling, the harvesting; after which the work of smoking and curing the meat, dressing skins, and making clothing had to be done, while throughout the whole routine of thankless labor and heartsick weariness there was the daily preparation of food and a compulsory compliance with all the demands of their lords. On the march or in the removal of their villages it was the woman who bore the burden; for, said Champlain, who knew them well after an acquaintance of more than twenty years, " their women are their mules." Divorce was optional at the will or caprice of either party, but it was hardly ever resorted to after permanent marriage and the birth of children. Temporary, or experimental marriages, were sealed merely by a gift of wampum or a few pearls from the groom. As such gifts were never re- turned on the dissolution of the compact, an enterprising damsel might lay by a wealth of wampum with which to decorate her person for the village dance; for she was at liberty to wed a hundred times if she had the opportunity. Conjugal love, as it is known among civilized peoples, had no place in the social system of the American Indians ; nor was there ever any display of jealousy by either party to a marriage compact, whether temporary or permanent. In this respect the Indians differed even from the animals; they never engaged in deadly combats for the possession of their 135 LOUISIANA TERRITORY, coveted mates. The natural sentiment of sexual attachment seems to have been entirely absent, a condition due doubt- less to the fact that children were begotten for the tribe, not for the parents. All offspring belonged to the nation; children took the name of their mother, because the father might be any male member of the tribe. Among them it was indeed a wise child that knew its own father. And yet no race was ever more devoted to its children than the Indians were. They were rarely corrected for any fault, and never with any degree of severity ; they ruled the lodges with their boisterous impudence and unchided pranks. All children were loved collectively, because they belonged to all the people, and were the hope and depend- ence of the nation for its future greatness and permanency. Many other facts relating to the customs of this singular people came under the notice of De Soto as he lay at Acuera recuperating his men and preparing for his onward march. So interesting is the subject that when once entered upon there is a natural feeling of reluctance to turn away from it; yet volumes might be filled with the experiences and observations of the early explorers. Although the camp had been securely fortified to prevent any sudden surprise, yet the Indians lost no opportunity to harass them with every form of savage warfare. The men, when alone or in small parties, dared not venture into the woods for any purpose, but were compelled to go with suf- ficient strength to beat back the opposition they were sure 136 INDIAN LIFE AS DE SOTO FOUND IT to encounter. If any loitered within a hundred yards of the fortified camp they were picked off by the arrows of the watchful savages; and unless the bodies of those who fell were immediately recovered the heads were severed and pre- sented to the reigning chief, while the trunks were quartered and hung at night in trees or on stakes in sight of their sur- viving comrades. Such scenes drove the Spaniards to mad- ness, and induced them to wreak a frightful vengeance on the perpetrators of the outrages. While the entire history of Spanish exploration is filled with acts of cruelty and deeds of horror, we must admit that they had no lack of provocation ; though it is equally true that they gave the first offense. Fourteen men were slaughtered in this manner while they lay at Acuera, and more than fifty Indians were killed in retaliation. Even at this early stage the expedi- tion promised to be a bloody affair. 137 DIVISION VI. Indian Cities and Battles. HAVING thoroughly explored the country in the vicinity of Orange lake, without finding any indications of gold or silver, and learning of a fertile region about forty miles to the northward called Ocali, De Soto resolved to march for that place. The first half of the distance was over a thin and barren region, covered with a straggling pine forest; but having passed this they entered upon a fruitful valley, thickly inhabited and abounding with fields and gardens. On arriving at Ocali they found it to be an extensive place, containing more than six hundred houses, with a population of several thousand souls. It was situated on the south bank of a considerable stream, doubtless the Santa Fe branch of the Suwanee river ; and here the Spaniards were received with a degree of hospitality which they had no right to expect, and which they requited in a manner that was disgraceful to themselves as well as to the civilization they represented. Corn, fruits and vegetables being found here in abundance, De Soto ordered another halt, while he sent out exploring parties to ascertain the conditions of the country still further in advance. The time meanwhile was employed in the con- 138 INDIAN CITIES AND BATTLES struction of a bridge across the river ; and having completed his arrangements and captured another consignment of about thirty Indians to serve as guides, the governor ordered the march to be resumed. His present objective point was a rich kingdom called Vitachuco, or, in the Portuguese tongue, Palache, which was ruled over by three brothers, who had a large army and lived in great state, each with a capital of his own. Here the Spaniards were assured they would find the object of their search, as both gold and silver were plentiful and the people lived in ease and opulence. This country is believed to have been partly within the present limits of Hamilton County, Florida, and the story of the opulence of the in- habitants was found to be true, though of course they had neither gold nor silver. They did, however, possess that which was far more valuable, namely, freedom, contentment, and an abundance of everything they needed to make them comfortable and happy. The country between Ocali and Vitachuco being open and level, the Spaniards marched rapidly, and at the end of the third day they came close to the latter place. This proved to be the capital of the younger of the three brothers, whose name was Ochile ; and he, being at peace with all his neigh- bors, anticipated no harm and was not as watchful as he should have been ; consequently he was taken completely by surprise. After camping in the forest over night, the Span- iards dashed into the town at early dawn and captured the 139 LOUISIANA TERRITORY king and all his people without the least resistance. The inhabitants were terror-stricken by this sudden and marvel- ous irruption into their midst. But De Soto treated them kindly and bestowed much consideration on the king, hoping thus to gain the good-will of the other two brothers through whose territory he had yet to pass. Vitachuco proved to be a fortified town, embracing about fifty large houses and a population of perhaps a thousand people. The surrounding locality being a very rich agricultural region, many of the inhabitants lived in the country on their farms, instead of congregating in the towns ; a fact which explains why Ochile's capital was not larger. After some delay for the Spaniards were in no hurry to leave so pleasant a place they moved forward to the capital of the second brother, who had been notified of their coming and was propitiated by good reports from Ochile. On this occasion the Spaniards met with a reception so friendly as to be cordial, and which ought to have convinced De Soto that with proper treatment of the natives he might have marched from one end of the land to the other without the loss of a man. Messengers were now dispatched to the third member of this triumvirate of savage monarchs, who being the eldest brother held the chief position and bore the name of the country over which he ruled. He was greatly displeased with the pacific reception which his younger brothers had given to the Spaniards, and he not only held the messengers 140 INDIAN CITIES AND BATTLES as prisoners for a period of eight days, but haughtily refused to hold any communication with the foreigners. He warned De Soto against the danger of invading his terri- tory, and upbraided him with the cruelty and treachery which had been inflicted upon his people by Narvaez. Un- fortunately for De Soto, he was pursuing the same general route which had been followed by his predecessor, whose conduct had so excited the resentment of the people that they were ready at the sight of a white face to swarm like a nest of infuriated insects. At length, however, the chief manifested an altered dis- position, appeared to regret his unfriendly course toward the Spaniards, and sent word to De Soto that he would submit to his rule and furnish him with everything he might desire. The governor, alarmed at this sudden change of policy, and suspecting treachery, determined upon a whole- sale slaughter of the inhabitants. One of the offers of the chief, made apparently in perfect good faith, was a grand review of his warriors, with an opportunity for the visitors to witness their evolutions and the perfection of tactics under which they were drilled. It seemed merely a piece of vanity on the part of the Indian king, to make a show of his power and the splendor of his forces, without any ulterior purpose ; but De Soto chose to take a different view of the matter, and carefully laid his plans to strike a blow that should at a sin- gle sweep place the nation at his mercy. He therefore noti- fied the chief that he too would make a display of his forces 141 LOUISIANA TERRITORY on the same occasion, in order that each side might have the pleasure of witnessing the evolutions of the other. The proposition was gladly acceded to by the red monarch, who seemed to regard it as an evidence of good-will on the part of his guests; and he at once notified all his people of the coming display, in order that they might attend and enjoy a scene the like of which had never been witnessed in their country. The natives, simple-minded and trusting, evi- dently had not the slightest suspicion of treachery, for on the appointed day they assembled by thousands on the parade ground, until it seemed as if nearly the whole nation was present. Men, women and children came in their holiday attire, and gazed wonderingly on the men with white faces and long beards, bestriding animals that seemed even fiercer than themselves. The glitter of arms, the measured roll of drums, the flaunting of banners, the tossing of plumes, and the champing and neighing of the war-horses composed a spectacle that wrought the savage people up to the highest pitch of wondering admiration. The native army first performed its evolutions, and then came to rest in columns, waiting for the advent of their guests. At the blast of the trumpet the Spanish army moved with the precision of trained and veteran soldiers, marching with unsheathed swords and poised lances, until the head of the column reached the opposite wing of the Indian army; when suddenly wheeling about, the charge was sounded and the whole force was precipitated upon the 142 INDIAN CITIES AND BATTLES terrified and helpless savages. They were trodden by the horses, pierced with lances, and cut down by hundreds with the keen-edged broadswords of the Spanish cavaliers. The slaughter was frightful, and all on one side, for the In- dians were taken so completely by surprise that none of them offered the least resistance. Within a few minutes five hundred of the warriors were killed, almost on the very spot where they stood, for the onslaught was so unexpected and overwhelming that they had neither the time nor the opportunity to get out of the way. It was like the deadly whirl of a cyclone. Besides the dead, more than nine hun- dred were secured as prisoners and slaves, the remainder, including most of the unarmed people, escaping to the thickets and a lake which lay near the town. The king himself was taken and his power utterly broken, for his choicest warriors either lay weltering in their blood or were prisoners in the hands of the Spaniards. In the course of two or three days those who had escaped, having measurably recovered from their panic, and pre- ferring death to slavery, came out of their hiding places and with the desperation of men willing to die threw them- selves against the Spanish columns. But it was a hopeless effort. Another slaughter like the first ensued, and the few survivors were again driven into the recesses of the thickets. This second attack gave De Soto an excuse for ordering the butchery of all his prisoners. A general slaughter ensued. Some were cut down with cimeters, others were pierced 143 LOUISIANA TERRITORY with lances and left to die the most horrible of deaths, while many were tied to stakes and trees and shot to pieces with arrows or torn by dogs. It was a brutal and disgrace- ful exhibition of barbarity, the memory of which lingered for ages in the minds of the people whose friends and rela- tives were thus made to suffer. De Soto justified his con- duct with the plea that he merely anticipated the purpose of his opponent, who he claimed had planned the destruction of his entire force; but the circumstances do not justify this view, and the name of the Spanish leader must ever bear the stain of an act that makes civilization blush. Cruel as the savages were in the treatment of their enemies, they never surpassed their European opponents in the refinements of barbarism; and they had some excuse for their conduct in the teachings and training of their race. Five days after the massacre, the Spaniards resumed their northward march, moving in the direction of a country called Osachile, after the name of its principal town, which lay about forty miles distant from Vitachuco. But news of their treachery having preceded them, they had ad- vanced only about twelve miles when they found the na- tives gathered in large force on the banks of a considerable stream, waiting to oppose their progress. This is supposed to have been the Suwanee river, near where it bends to the eastward, although the information is not quite clear on that point. The Indians vigorously contested the passage of the stream, but the country being open, so that the cavalry 144 INDIAN CITIES AND BATTLES could operate with good effect, they were soon driven away, with a slaughter that had a further tendency to break their spirit and increase the fear and horror which they already entertained for the Spaniards. This was the first occasion on which these Indians had ever come in contact with horses, and the fierce aspect of those animals as they were driven against their unprotected ranks alarmed them even more than the glittering armor and keen weapons of their riders. The savages having been routed, large rafts were con- structed on which the army passed over at its leisure. The country that they were now traversing was an open pine glade, free from intervening morasses and water-courses, and they moved with greater ease and rapidity. The second day after crossing the river they arrived at the village of Osachile. It was a fortified town of about two hundred houses, capable of accommodating a thousand or fifteen hundred people; but the inhabitants having all fled on the approach of the invading army, the Spaniards occupied the place without opposition. This town was peculiar in its construction, and of such a character as to excite the admiration of the Europeans. It was built on an immense artificial mound, which had been raised with infinite labor nearly one hundred feet above the level of the surrounding country, by carrying earth from the adjacent plain. On the summit were ten or twelve houses, occupied by the chief and his family, his principal officers H5 LOUISIANA TERRITORY and their families. This portion of the hill had been formed into a citadel, by an inner wall of palisades encircling the entire summit, the ascent being by a winding avenue lined on both sides by stout pickets made of the trunks of large trees planted deep in the ground. Within this passage were rude steps, made of logs laid transversely and partly buried in the earth, constituting a primitive sort of " covered way " which a handful of men might have defended against hun- dreds. Near the foot of the elevation were the houses of the people, circling the base, and beyond these was another line of palisades enclosing the whole town. The hill was so steep that it could not be ascended except by the covered way provided for that purpose, so that the possibilities of defense rendered the place almost impregnable. If the Indians had made a stand here the Spaniards would have found it a very dangerous and difficult matter to dislodge them. The season being now well advanced, De Soto was anx- ious to push on to the far-famed country of Appalache, where he hoped to spend the winter. It will be remembered that this was the same region which had possessed so great a fascination for Narvaez and his party, by reason of the fanciful stories which their guides had related concerning the quantities of gold and silver that were to be found there. The same stories were repeated to De Soto; and he was informed while at Osachile that a few days' march would bring him into the country where all his hopes were to be 146 INDIAN CITIES AND BATTLES realized. This country had always been referred to by the natives as the richest and most populous on the continent; but they warned the Spaniards that the intervening region was an uninhabited wilderness, covered with forests that were almost impassable by reason of the density of the trees and interlacing vines and brambles, while the path was obstructed by several swamps and deep morasses which they would find it very difficult to cross. The outlook was not inviting; but no obstacle could curb the impatience of the adventurers or dampen their courage and resolution. Therefore, after a two days' rest at Osachile, they pushed on in the direction of the new land of promise, which they were told lay at a distance of only about forty miles. On the fourth day the Spaniards came to the great morass of which they had been informed, and found its terrors to be no less than the natives had pictured. It was a wide swamp, extending over a space of about five miles, covered with immense trees, at whose roots was an undergrowth of vines, brambles and briars, so thickly entangled as to be impassable for either man or beast. Even the sun's rays could not find their way through this dense mass; the gloom of perpetual shade covered the whole region. In the center of the swamp was a large shallow lake, a mile or more in width by several miles in length, which they would be obliged to cross even should they succeed in pushing their way through the intervenig obstructions. In order to penetrate this dismal region a narrow path had 147 LOUISIANA TERRITORY been cut by the Indians, barely wide enough for two men to walk abreast, leading between walls of matted vines and thorns that rose nearly to the tops of the trees. The path marked the way to the lake on the side next to the Spaniards, and beyond it to the open country of Appalache. Its whole length was defended by an army of savages ; who, however, were subjected to the same inconveniences as their opposers, for the narrow limits of the opening permitted only two men on each side to engage at the same time. The advanced guard, in single file, now entered this gloomy avenue, dark and forbidding as the gateway to the abodes of the dead; and slowly and painfully pressing against the savages, drove them back until the lake was reached. Here both parties deployed to the right and the left, until the battle raged over a large part of the surface of the lake, the water sometimes rising to the waists, and even the necks, of the combatants. Quantities of tangled roots, cypress-knees, bushes, briars, and fallen trees obstructed the way, or were hidden by the murky water, and over these the men groped and stumbled at every step. If any fell or were wounded there was no help for them ; they sank beneath the flood and were drowned. It was a horrible exhibition of the brutal passions of mankind, unloosed in all their fury in mutual contention for mastery. Reenforcements were brought forward by both sides, until the battle became gen- eral. De Soto, as usual, led his men in person, appearing always in the thickest of the fight. His partial chroniclers 148 INDIAN CITIES AND BATTLES declare that so great was the strength of his arm and so keen the edge of his broadsword that wherever he dashed against the enemy's line he cleaved a swath through it. The whole battle indeed was little better than butchery, for it was men and horses clothed in inpenetrable armor pitted against naked savages of the forest. In the middle of the lake there was a space forty yards in width too deep to be forded, and this proved to be the most difficult and dangerous portion of the battle-field for the Spaniards. The infantry dared not attempt to swim under the weight of their armor, but by holding on to the horses, or with the aid of floating logs, the greater part managed to get over ; although a few were drowned. It seemed as if nothing could daunt their courage or drive them from the face of danger. They were a band of unconquerable heroes, and if their conduct had been as generous and humane as they were undoubtedly brave, the record of their deeds would have constituted the world's greatest epic. At length the Indians were driven from the lake, but they gathered in clouds at the opening of the path on the opposite side, hoping to prevent the Spaniards from gaining a foot- hold there. Again they were pressed back into the defile, which they defended step by step, as they had done in their approach to the lake, until they came to the open timber beyond the swamp. At this point, in anticipation of the con- test, and in order to obstruct the movements of the cavalry, the Indians had felled trees and bound trunks and branches 149 LOUISIANA TERRITORY together with vines, until it was impossible for the horse- men to maneuver. The brunt of the fighting now fell upon the infantrymen, who gradually worked their way into the tangled mass and forced the savages back into the open. But in doing so many were killed and wounded. In this mode of warfare the Indians possessed the advantage, for lying concealed in the thickets, they sprang up in unsuspected places and discharged their arrows in the very faces of the white men. Quick of movement, active and agile in leaping over and gliding around obstructions, they generally man- aged to elude their clumsy opponents. An Indian would shoot a dozen arrows while a harquebuser discharged and re- loaded his piece a single time; and the aim of the one was about as accurate as the other. A savage of course stood no chance when he came within reach of a Spanish lance or cimeter, but this was rarely the case in the thick mat through which they were fighting. For six long miles, and during the space of two whole days, this style of fighting continued ; but at length the open woods were reached, and the Spaniards having by this time brought up their horses, they now gave a loose rein to their vengeance. The savages were ridden down and killed or scattered; many were captured and chained with the rest of their countrymen, to endure the horrors of slavery or die by the hands of their unfeeling masters. It was in this same morass where Narvaez and his men were defeated and forced to return to the sea; and as De 150 INDIAN CITIES AND BATTLES Soto had now almost reached the limit of his predecessor's course, he had every reason to expect a more prosperous advance. Having cleared the way, the Spaniards marched many miles through an open and populous country, abounding with fields, orchards and gardens, which supplied them with an abundance of fresh fruits and food. For some days their course had been in a westward direction, when at length they approached the banks of a river running almost due north and south. This is supposed to have been the Aucilla river of the present day, which empties into Ap- palachee Bay, and was at that time the boundary line be- tween the Indian provinces, or kingdoms, of Osachile and Appalache. Fortunately, it proved to be the last barrier to their advance into the latter country. The Indians had barricaded the road, as well as both banks of the stream, with palisades and fallen trees, and were gathered in large force behind these obstructions, ready to dispute the passage of the river. When the battle opened they fought with the fury of desperation; but they could not withstand the im- petuous onslaught of the Spaniards. The red men were driven from every position with the usual disastrous results ; whereupon the victors crossed the river and entered the ter- ritory of Appalache with flying colors. The Spaniards now marched northwesterly a distance of nearly three leagues, through the same kind of country with which they had become familiar on the eastern side of the LOUISIANA TERRITORY river. It was a continuous stretch of level land and fertile fields, in a reasonably good state of cultivation. They were at last in the region where the natives had all along as- sured them they would find gold and silver in abundance, but they could readily perceive, from the character of the country, that nothing of the kind was to be expected. The disappointment was keenly felt, and they were disposed to lay the blame and the punishment for nature's oversight on the innocent inhabitants. On every hand were evidences of prosperity and contentment; but the adventurers cared little for these, so long as their thirst for the precious metals remained unsatisfied. According to the Indian pronunciation, the name of the chief town of this province was Anhayca, where the Span- iards arrived within a few hours after the close of their latest battle. But the place was abandoned. The inhabi- tants had fled, leaving their homes and their property to the mercy of the invaders. It does not appear that Anhayca was a fortified town, but the event proved that the confederation of tribes occupying the country of Appalache were the most warlike and intractable of all the nations in Florida which the Spaniards had yet encountered. De Soto took immediate possession of the place, and find- ing it well supplied with articles necessary to the comfort and sustenance of his army, he resolved to remain there dur- ing the winter. It was then about the last of November, and the Southern winter, such as it is, was at hand. The 152 INDIAN CITIES AND BATTLES governor installed himself in the house of the chief, the men were distributed throughout the rest of the town, and all prepared to make themselves comfortable until the coming of spring. But their fancied security was soon roughly disturbed, as we shall see. It is difficult at this time to compare the names of places and rivers, as given by the Spaniards, with our modern geographies, because they recorded the names according to the guttural pronunciation of the natives. Where the Indian designations have been preserved, the places can be located with some degree of accuracy; but as this has rarely been done, we must rely solely upon the vague descriptions given in the journals of the expedition. The location of the town of Anhayca was probably on or near the margin of Micco- sukee lake, in Jefferson County, Florida; though several careful writers have placed De Soto's first winter quarters a little east of Flint river, in Georgia, estimating the distance he had penetrated toward the interior as being about one hundred to one hundred and thirty miles north of St. Marks. But how could this be true if the Spaniards marched only twelve miles, in a northwestward direction, after their battle with the Indians at the crossing of Aucilla river? It is not altogether unprofitable to study this subject, for there are no doubt still existing remains of some of the towns visited by De Soto; and if they could be definitely located a very considerable historical interest would attach to them and the sections by which they were surrounded. 153 LOUISIANA TERRITORY The province of Appalache, or Palache, as it is sometimes called, was undoubtedly very large, embracing a great con- federation of tribes. With the Aucilla river as its eastern boundary, it appears to have extended westward to the Mis- sissippi river, and northward into the mountainous regions of Alabama and Georgia. There were chiefs or caciques within this region who ruled over large towns, commanded considerable armies of trained warriors, and employed as much state and ceremony at their capitals as the monarchs of Europe. We get some inkling of this from the journals of the De Soto expedition; but they do not tell us the half of the real power and splendor of this great aboriginal con- federacy, which undoubtedly surpassed that of the Iroquois in resources and extent of territory. The inhabitants were also much further advanced in the arts and refinements of life, and were less savage in disposition than the Northern Indians. They were an agricultural people, living on the fruits of their industry, rather than the spoils of their ene- mies. The stories of their greatness, their renown, and their wealth, as related to the Spaniards by the Florida natives, had not been overdrawn, except with regard to the precious metals; for while these existed among the mountains in the northern portions of the confederacy, the people of Appa- lache were not familiar with them. It is probable that the natives did not understand what the Spaniards meant when they spoke of gold and silver, but presuming that they had reference to wealth in general, and desiring to propitiate as 154 INDIAN CITIES AND BATTLES well as to deceive and mislead them, they colored existing facts in a manner which they saw was pleasing to their in- vaders. The plan met their expectations, for it led the Span- iards into the wilderness, into regions of danger and death, which finally drove the survivors back to the sea. The devastations of De Soto's army, and the numerous defeats and massacres which the Appalacheans sustained, seem to have broken their power and in a measure dismem- bered the confederacy; for when the French explorers be- gan to visit that region, a century and a half later, they found no evidence of the grandeur and splendor incidentally described by the Spaniards. In order that we may gain a clear understanding of the situation, we should keep the fact steadily in mind that nearly one hundred and fifty years in- tervened between the irruption of De Soto and the advent of the French. During this long period the face of no white man was seen in this vast region, and nearly six gen- erations of red men passed into the shadows of the happy hunting grounds. Kingdoms and empires might have risen and disappeared, and civilizations, imperfect as they were, might have vanished from the earth during this stretch of time. These events did undoubtedly occur, so that when the French came they found a state of things very different from what De Soto and his men had encountered. No man can say how many nations and races; how many govern- ments and empires; how many different civilizations and confederations, have risen and flourished and disappeared 155 LOUISIANA TERRITORY within the confines of the Mississippi Valley. We cannot conceive the wonders that lie buried in the sands of this marvelous region, which nature seems to have intended as the world's granary, the center and creative force of the greatest of all civilizations. The soil of the Mississippi Valley is indeed mingled with the ashes of dead em- pires. The name of the ruling chief of Anhayca was Capafi, and he appears to have been one of the most implacable sov- ereigns encountered by the Spaniards in all their wander- ings. He refused utterly to have anything to do with them, but remained concealed in some inaccessible place, whence he directed the movements of his warriors against the in- vaders. Their foraging parties were attacked and cut off in the thick woods and in numerous ambuscades, until they hardly dared to venture beyond the confines of their forti- fied camp. And even there they were not safe; for in the dead of night, or at break of day, it was no unusual thing for hordes of desperate savages to precipitate themselves over the embankments, slaying, cutting and hacking every European who came within their reach, and then vanishing in the dark- ness as suddenly and mysteriously as they had come. They lay in wait to shoot with arrows or pierce with darts every man who ventured beyond the works; and those who were so unfortunate as to fall alive into their hands were sub- jected to fire and torture as a warning to their comrades. It was also found to be a custom of these Indians to scalp 156 INDIAN CITIES AND BATTLES the dead, a species of savage indignity which they had bor- rowed from their Northern neighbors, and which did not prevail among the tribes of southern Florida. But in spite of the numerous assaults and forays of the savages, De Soto found opportunities during the winter to send out exploring parties to a distance of forty and fifty miles in various directions, with a view to ascertaining what conditions he might expect to encounter on leaving his camp in the spring. Some of these parties were absent as long as a week or ten days at a time, and those which penetrated to the northward reported an open country, free from marshes and well populated. But in all their inquiries and researches they could find no trace of gold. Captain Juan de Anasco, one of the most intrepid and per- severing of De Soto's officers, at length led a detachment of horse and foot southward until they reached the sea, at the place where Narvaez had made his last encampment and built his fragile brigantines. Here the natives of the locality, who were familiar with all the circumstances, pointed out the remains of the camp, the forge, the wooden troughs hewed out of trees for feeding the horses, and the bones and skeletons of the horses themselves which had died or been killed for food. They likewise indicated the spot where ten men had been waylaid and killed by their people; but de Anasco did not deem it prudent to attempt any retaliation for this incident. The locality and all its surroundings af- forded a melancholy reminder to the Spaniards of what their 157 LOUISIANA TERRITORY own fate might be; and they returned to the camp of their countrymen with forebodings of coming evil. De Soto was so well pleased with the results of de Anas- co's discoveries and the assurance of the proximity of a safe harbor, that he directed that officer to return to the camp at Hirihigua, with a company of thirty lancers, and lead the garrison which had been left at that place to headquarters; and also to order any ships which might have returned from Cuba to repair to the bay of Narvaez, which was known among the Indians as the Bay of Aute. This perilous duty was performed in the most successful manner. The gar- rison at Hirihigua was reached and conducted by de An- asco and his lancers in safety to Anhayca; and several ves- sels lying in the harbor of Tampa, receiving the orders of De Soto, made their way in due time to the Bay of Aute. Here they were directed to proceed westward and examine the coast for some other convenient harbor more distant in that direction, where supplies were to be brought from Ha- vana in time to meet the expedition in the fall; for it was De Soto's intention not to prolong his explorations beyond that period. These instructions were successfully carried out by the commander of the fleet, who sailing westward a distance of more than two hundred miles, discovered the bay of Achusi, or Pensacola, as it is now called; whither he returned in the fall of 1540 with an abundant stock of sup- plies, of which, however, De Soto never availed himself, for reasons which will appear in the course of this narrative. 158 INDIAN CITIES AND BATTLES In consequence of the inveterate hostility of Capafi's peo- ple, and the constant loss of men and horses which could be illy spared, De Soto resolved, during the winter, to find the chiefs hiding-place and capture him. This proved to be a very difficult undertaking, but success finally crowned his efforts. The Indians guarded their sovereign's lurking place with the most loyal devotion; but at length the secret was forced from them by the torture. The place proved to be in a dense and almost impenetrable forest, about twenty miles distant ; and on learning this fact De Soto immediately selected a strong detachment of horse and foot and set out to secure the chief. The road passed through thickets and morasses precisely like those which they had encountered in their northward march; and when they came within a short distance of the retreat of the savage king, they found that it was located in a cleared space in the midst of an al- most impervious forest, through which a narrow path had been cut. This was the only avenue by which the place could be reached, and it was obstructed and fortified in the most remarkable manner. The path was only wide enough for one or two men to walk abreast, the thickets of under- brush and vines on either side being so compact that no one could penetrate them; and about every one hundred yards it was defended by transverse rows of palisades, or fallen logs, behind which were stationed parties of armed warriors. The cleared space at the end of the path was fortified in a 159 LOUISIANA TERRITORY similar manner ; and in this citadel lay Capafi with the main body of his warriors. It was De Soto's purpose to capture the chief by surprise, but this was found to be impossible, for the reasons just explained. The wary savage knew the character of the men he had to deal with, and he had neglected nothing that might inure to the strength and security of his position. On ap- proaching the first barricade and ascertaining that he was discovered, De Soto instantly sprang forward to the attack, and the point was carried in the midst of a shower of hos- tile arrows. The Spaniards then forced their way into the narrow path, moving steadily onward and carrying each successive fortification by assault. Many were wounded and a few killed, but success finally crowned their efforts. Slowly pushing their way over all opposition, fighting desperately inch by inch and foot by foot, they at length came to the open space, or inner citadel, where the chief stood overlooking as splendid an array of warriors as ever gathered together to do battle for country and for home. These men, reared in a mild climate, accustomed to all the food that their physical natures required, and developed by the exercise of the chase and the warpath, were as fine spe- cimens of manhood as the Spaniards had ever seen. They were indeed an army of giants. Scarcely one of them was less than six feet in height, while their flowing scalp-locks and plumes of feathers increased their apparent stature until they seemed at least a head taller than the average Spaniard. 1 60 INDIAN CITIES AND BATTLES These brave and now desperate warriors greeted the ap- proach of their enemies with war-whoops and haughty de- fiance, and under the immediate eye of their chief, who proved himself as brave as the bravest, they prepared for the contest which they knew meant victory or death for them. The severest fighting of the day ensued; the havoc wrought was frightful. Neither party thought of ask- ing or accepting quarter. The crash of the harquebuses, the rattle of the broadswords, the swish of the steel-pointed spears, and the yells, shrieks and imprecations of the com- batants made up such a pandemonium of horrors as only the realms of the wicked can conceive. The Indians apparently offered themselves willing sacrifices in defense of their chief. With bared bosoms they threw their naked bodies against the line of steel with which they were encompassed, only to sink down and die in their own blood. A few Spaniards were wounded with arrows shot from the inner lines, but their hurts were slight and, with a few exceptions, did not prevent the men from remaining in the field. Meanwhile, the ranks of the savages were rapidly thinning, until the greater part of them were killed ; whereupon the small rem- nant was surrounded and overcome by physical force. The chief was among those secured as prisoners. Chief Capafi was one of the most remarkable men that the Spaniards encountered during their wanderings. His ability was unquestioned, and he wielded an influence that the most powerful of monarchs might have envied. He was the tall- 161 LOUISIANA TERRITORY est among his warriors, and large in proportion. In fact his corpulency was so great that he easily deceived the Span- iards, and devised a scheme which resulted in his escape the very night following his capture. Seating himself on the approach of De Soto, he indicated by signs that his physical infirmity was so great as to prevent him from walking, and that he would have to be carried by his warriors. Willing to gratify what he regarded partly as a whim of the royal savage, inspired by vanity and a desire to make a show, the governor granted his request; whereupon four stout war- riors approached with a litter and bore their sovereign out of the enclosure. He was carried to the first camping-place, where the guards, deceived by the ruse of the wily savage, paid but little attention to him. But in the small hours of the night, when heavy drowsiness had fallen upon the camp, the chief glided swiftly out of the circle of the firelight into the shadow of the thick woods, and in the course of a few hours his war-whoop resounded through the forest, an- nouncing his escape and bringing the remnant of his war- riors to his support. But so many of them had fallen, and the stronghold being demolished, the Indians could not sum- mon courage enough to make another open effort against their enemies; though they lingered near the camp and con- tinued to cut off stragglers and small foraging parties until the Spaniards moved out of the country in the spring. 162 DIVISION VII. Reception by the Queen of the Cofachiquians. EARLY in March, 1540, De Soto broke up his camp at Anhayca, and set out in a northerly direction in quest of a country called in the Indian tongue, Cofachiqui, where he was told by his guides he would certainly find the gold and silver he so much coveted, besides great quantities of pearls. This country, the Indians declared, was a long distance to- ward the northeast, but there were no swamps or dark forests intervening, so that the distance might be covered in a comparatively short time. Buoyed up with the now al- most certain hope of at last realizing their visions of wealth, the Spaniards gathered themselves together and pushed their way rapidly in the direction of the new El Dorado. One is disposed to smile at the ease with which they were deceived, and the singular persistence of the infatuation that possessed them. Their course led them through open forests easily trav- ersed, sprinkled with numerous villages and cultivated fields ; and after the first few days, when they had penetrated far enough to outrun the evil reports of themselves, they found the natives gentle and hospitable, and very confiding in dis- position. These people had not heard of the treachery and 163 10 LOUISIANA TERRITORY cruelty of the white men, and they welcomed the wonderful steel-clad visitors with open hands and generous hearts. They gathered in crowds of hundreds along the line of march, gazing in awe upon the swaying and clanking col- umn. The horses attracted their chief attention. At first they would not believe that these beasts and their riders were not the same animal, but when one of the cavaliers dis- mounted their wonder grew into amazement. They could not sufficiently admire the splendor of the trappings, nor cease marveling at the strange beings who had so mysteri- ously appeared in their country. At length on coming to a large stream, which is believed to have been Flint river, in Georgia, and which they probably reached near the present town of Newton, in Baker County, the Spaniards crosse 4 d to its western shore, and pursued their course along its rich bottoms for a period of nearly twenty days. By this time they arrived at the southern part of the Cherokee country, called in the native tongue Achalaque, high up within the present limits of the State of Georgia. Then recrossing Flint river, probably near the northern limits of Mason County, they struck out in a due northeast course. Within the next twenty days they forded two other considerable streams, probably the Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers, near the present sites of Macon and Milledgeville. While still on the west side of Flint river, De Soto had received a visit from a powerful chief in that locality, who told him of a very rich country in the west called Cosa, where 164 RECEPTION BY THE QUEEN OF THE COFACHIQUIANS he knew the yellow and white metals abounded in vast quan- tities. This was very likely the southern portion of the State of Missouri, where lead and zinc were subsequently found in such abundance. It would require no stretch of the imagination for the untutored savage to suppose that these metals were what the Spaniards were seeking, the fact of their existence being well known to the Indians of that date. But De Soto, resolving not to be led aside by conflicting reports, adhered to his original purpose, and turned his course toward the northeast in search of the rich province of Cofachiqui. The natives along this route were all ex- ceedingly hospitable and friendly, greeting the Spaniards everywhere with a generous welcome, and supplying them freely with provisions and guides. By this time De Soto had learned the wise lesson that it was better to treat the Indians justly and secure and retain their friendship than to be constantly fighting them, with heavy loss to himself in men and materials. He accordingly gave strict orders that in future they should not be molested in any of their rights or property, without just compensation; and that his men should in every possible way seek to retain their friend- ship. This was the policy afterward pursued by the French in their intercourse with the American Indians; and in the avoidance of ruptures and useless wars they were the most successful pioneers that ever set their feet on the continent. About the middle of May, 1540, the Spanish army came 165 LOUISIANA TERRITORY into the province of Cofachiqui, which covered a consider- able district on the headwaters of the Savannah river. The principal town is believed to have occupied the point of land between the junction of Broad river and the former stream. But in spite of the friendly treatment which they had re- ceived of late from the natives, the foreigners arrived at this place in a broken and disheartened state. Many difficulties and hardships had beset them on their way, in portions of the country that were not inhabited. On one occasion they were lost for three days, their guides themselves were be- wildered, their supply of provisions was exhausted, and starvation stared them in the face. Several authorities state that except for their herd of swine the Spaniards would have been reduced to a state of actual suffering, but these thrifty animals had increased in numbers and fattened on the mast of the forest during the whole length of their trav- els. Some of them were now slaughtered in the time of need, and they supplied the sustenance which kept soul and body together until the wanderers came once more into a land of plenty. The Spanish army was made up of men whose stomachs had been pampered with the best food that their native land produced, and swine's flesh and the coarse hominy and maize of the Indians seemed but a poor substitute for the rich viands of the old country. Two centuries after their fiery sweep across the South, the same region was invaded by pioneers of Anglo-Saxon lineage, who flourished for months 166 RECEPTION BY THE QUEEN OF THE COFACH1QUIANS and years on the trophies of the rifles and the natural products of the soil. But while nature supplied her abun- dance with a prodigal hand, the Spaniards often went hun- gry, because they lacked the knowledge of what was fit to eat. On every hand there were wild berries and fruits, and in the earth bounteous supplies of edible roots ; but there were no experienced cooks among the adventurers who knew how to prepare such articles for the table, and the Spaniards hesitated to consume them raw lest they should be poi- soned. The streams and watercourses abounded with ducks and wild geese, swans, pelicans and other birds that would have made dishes fit for kings or for good honest people, who have always been better than the best of kings ; but the arms carried by the men of Spain were of such make and caliber that it was mere chance if they hit a full grown savage, much less a duck or a wild goose. Nearly the whole company was made up of young men of fashion, who hav- ing been accustomed to a retinue of servants and lackeys at home, had never been taught how to turn their hands to any of the practical affairs of life; hence they could not con- struct traps to catch the birds, and being unable to shoot them with their harquebuses and crossbows, the feathered inhabitants of the watercourses had no reason to fear the white hunter. At length their sufferings reached a stage which made them desperate; something had to be done. In every In- 167 LOUISIANA TERRITORY dian village and settlement they observed packs of wolfish dogs, making themselves as free in the homes of their masters as the little red children who played and frol- icked in their own naked free will. The children and the dogs romped together during the day like fellows of the same breed ; and at night they slept in promiscuous heaps to keep one another warm. There was but little distinction between the two, either as to the care bestowed upon them by their elders and masters, or with regard to the fleas and vermin by which they were mutually infested. Unlike the dogs which Coronada had seen on the prairies of the West, these Southern curs had no bark; and their ugly, wolfish appearance, together with their habit of sneaking silently about the villages, had aroused intense prejudice against them in the minds of the Spaniards. They were looked upon almost with superstitious dread as imps of the devil; and we have an account of at least one of the ugly beasts that was tried for heresy and burnt at the stake. The savory smell of his roasting body excited the olfactories of the famished explorers, and some ventured to test the quality of the meat. They found it juicy and exceedingly palatable ; and from that date roast dog became a daily dish on their tables when they had nothing better to satisfy their hunger. During their progress through the country, the Spaniards had been greatly interested in the several varieties of curious wild animals which they encountered. Black bears existed in considerable numbers in the cane-brakes and thick forests 1 68 RECEPTION BY THE QUEEN OF THE COFACHIQUIANS of the lowlands, but these did not much excite their curiosity, because all Europeans of that date were familiar with those animals. But they had observed another creature more formidable in disposition, somewhat resembling the African lion, for which reason it is still known as the American counterpart of the king of beasts. This animal subsequently became familiar to our own pioneers under the name of cata- mount and panther, the latter being sometimes corrupted into " painter." The length of the body was from four to ' four and a half feet, with a tail about half as long as the body; and when the beast was in a passion this appendage was lashed ominously from side to side. The range of the panther was very wide, extending from the southern limits of Canada to the most distant regions of South America; but as neither De Soto nor any of his men had ever encountered it before, they regarded the beast not only with curiosity, but with a considerable degree of fear. This was due in a measure to its weird shriek, which, heard in the dead of night, was horrible enough to curdle the blood in the stoutest heart. No Indian warrior ever uttered a yell that could compare with the fear-inspiring cry of the panther. It rung through the woods like the agonized shriek of a child, or the shrill blast of a locomotive's whistle. Within the recent past some genius has invented a steam instru- ment, whose rising and falling inflections, shrill quavers and unearthly concentric blasts, resemble in some respects the scream of the panther. No wonder, then, that the Span- 169 LOUISIANA TERRITORY. iards dreaded the beast, and gave it a wide berth in their passage through the forests. But the panther had a fastidious appetite, which preferred fresh venison to the questionable meat of foreign adventur- ers. Its habit was to lie concealed among the overhanging branches of a tree until its unsuspecting prey came within its reach ; when, with a cry that rent the solitudes, it sprang upon the benumbed, dazed and helpless victim and cutting the jugular vein with its large tusks, deliberately drew out the life blood. This animal was not a flesh-eater, but a venomous blood-sucker. Deer after deer was slaughtered merely to slake the panther's sanguinary thirst. This pro- pensity had as much to do in exciting fear and hatred of the beast as the unearthly shriek of its satanic voice. But taken all in all, it was not a dangerous foe. Cowardly by nature, it fled before the face of man, except when fam- ished or driven to fight for life or liberty. If captured while young it became as docile as the domestic cat, man- ifesting ardent affection for all who treated it gently. The animal that excited perhaps the greatest interest on the part of the Spaniards was the humble and much despised opossum, which they had encountered in the swamps of Florida. They were attracted to it by the singular manner in which the mother carried her young, in a pouch under the body, and the affection which she bestowed upon them. The little ones, no larger than a good-sized mouse, often numbered as many as twelve or sixteen to a single mother. 170 RECEPTION BY THE QUEEN OF THE COFACHIQUIANS She carried them about with her wherever she went, their tiny tails twisted around hers, or attached to different parts of her body. At the slightest alarm they scampered into the safety of the pouch, and when occasion arose the mother would defend them with her life. But the opossum's usual method of evading danger was to fall upon the ground and feign death, until the peril was past or a combat inevitable, ,when the plucky little animal would fight valiantly for its life or the welfare of its young. It nested in tufts of dried grass, under low bushes, or the roots of trees, which afforded protection from the weather, and measurably also from the incursions of beasts of prey and serpents. Sometimes the opossum would drive the ground rat or squirrel out of its home and appropriate the premises to its own use. The Indians taught the Spaniards the use of the flesh of this curious little animal, and partly through necessity, as well as from choice, they became confirmed 'possum eaters. In due time, as they progressed farther north, they added the raccoon to their bill of fare ; though this was done with some misgiving and hesitation, for raccoon meat is not a dainty dish. As already stated, food supplies were abundant had the Spaniards only known how to secure and utilize them; but they were like a company of reckless and vicious children turned loose in the wilderness. They were incapable of em- ploying the means which nature had placed at their disposal for their comfort and necessity. 171 LOUISIANA TERRITORY Among the birds that flitted through the forest or floated on the surface of the streams, none excited the interest of the wanderers more than the wild turkey, which at that time roamed in large flocks over the greater portion of the North American continent. These flocks often numbered several hundred distinct birds, and when they rose in flight to escape danger, or to seek their roosts, the noise of their wings sounded like hoarse thunder. It was a weird and awe-in- spiring sound when heard unexpectedly in the gloom of the forest either at night or during the day. The turkey was then entirely unknown in Europe, the first species being ex- hibited in England a few years later by William Strickland, a navigator who had sailed with Sebastian Cabot. Had the Spaniards been familiar with the bird and its habits, they might readily have supplied themselves, from that source alone, with all the meat they needed ; for it roosted at night in dense flocks and clusters, where scores might have been killed by a single discharge of a blunderbus. Had the Spaniards understood the means of supplying their own needs they might have fared better in the wilds of America than they had been accustomed to in their own beloved Spain; for in addition to the wild game that abounded in forest and stream, there were any number of inanimate articles of excellent and nutritious food, either springing spontaneously from the earth or cultivated in the miniature fields and gardens of the natives. Among these were the white and sweet potato, the yam, the tomato, and 172 RECEPTION BY THE QUEEN OF THE COFACHIQUIANS an endless variety of nuts, fruits and edible plants that might have been transformed into delicious salads and greens. They had no reason whatever for going hungry, except their own ignorance of the bounties of nature so lavishly displayed on every hand. The Indians cultivated several kinds of vegetables be- sides their inevitable beans and corn; also a species of wild turnip and two or three varieties of apples and pears, which though inferior in quality and taste were nevertheless very desirable articles of food. Plums, as large and delicious as any that could be found in Spain, grew wild in the woods or flourished about the houses and in the fields of the natives. There were likewise several kinds of grapes which the In- dians had partly domesticated from the surrounding wilder- ness; among which were the predecessors of our far-famed Scuppernong and Catawba. In Florida the woods were green and gold with the growing and ripening fruits of many varieties, inviting the Spaniards to pluck and eat. Why they turned from all these and satisfied their hunger with the flesh of dogs and swine is one of the inexplicable vagaries of the Spanish character. The white, or Irish potato, as every one knows, is a na- tive of America, where the Indians had cultivated it for centuries before Columbus came. De Soto ought to have been familiar with it, for this delightful tuber had already been introduced into his country from the Isthmian region. The Spaniards were not a race that took readily to new 173 LOUISIANA TERRITORY things, except such as had the tinge of gold; and they al- lowed Sir Walter Raleigh to rob them of the glory of nam- ing one of the greatest food products of modern times, by planting the potato in Ireland as late as 1586. The great preponderance of evidence, so great indeed as to be almost conclusive, also gives the sweet potato and the yam to America; though some claim that these roots had their origin in the East Indies. Let that be as it may, we shall claim the sweet potato, and most assuredly the yam, as American products, for the Indians had grown and eaten them for so many centuries before Columbus was born that they had not even a tradition of their origin; and, like the grateful people that they were, they assigned them, along with tobacco, corn and beans, as special gifts from the Great Spirit to his beloved red children. It was a favorite legend among the aborigines that, in very early times, an angel came down from heaven and sat upon the ground, and when she departed corn sprang up where her right hand had rested, beans where her left hand touched the ground, and tobacco on the spot where she sat. The tomato was cultivated by the Indians merely to gratify their esthetic taste, for they had no idea of its dainty lusciousness as a vegetable. Its adoption as an article of food is so recent that there are people still living who re- member when it was cultivated in their grandmother's gar- dens under the name of " love apple." While De Soto and his men were traversing the very 174 A VISIT FROM THE QUEEN OF THE CAFACHf&UI. /^NNE of the most delightful diversion* from the hardship* and perils of De ^y Soto's march was a visit which he received from the beautiful and richly adorned queen of the Cafachiqui, a powerful Indian nation more cultivated than any other encountered by De Soto. This jysit was made while the Spaniard* were on the banks of French Broad River, where it uriites with the Savannah, and opposite an Indian city, which besides being substantially built, was laid out in streets and squares with perfect regularity, a truly remarkable ight to behold in the wilderness. 1 1; and ; te glory of r ,f modern times, by 586. cat inde . ! ; l 31 gnisc i RECEPTION BY THE QUEEN OF THE COFACHIQUIANS garden-spot of the world, surrounded on every hand with a profusion of the necessaries and luxuries of life, they were so short-sighted and improvident as to be frequently on the verge of starvation. Meanwhile food dangled before their eyes or strewed the earth with plenty, begging them to eat and be satisfied. Even the fish in the rivers were so abund- ant that they nibbled at the feet of the wanderers as they waded through the water, almost begging to be caught and served. Our sympathies do not go out very strongly to men wiio persist in dullness so dense as to be phenomenal. The horse that is led to water, but will not drink, should not complain if he dies of thirst. In their march across the country the Spaniards had been repeatedly assured that the nation of Cofachiqui, lying far toward the northeast, was governed by a beautiful queen, who lived in a fine palace and dressed in the most splendid robes of birds' feathers and woven cloth. It was the custom of this queen every morning to bathe in a river that flowed by the garden of her palace, and to anoint her person with certain delicious oils and perfumes extracted from plants and flowers ; so that wherever she went she diffused a frag- rance that was most delightful to the senses. Her people were intelligent and progressive, living in fine houses, supplied and furnished with abundant comforts; and wear- ing shoes and clothing made of the finest dressed skins, while their persons were adorned with rich mantles of feath- ers and fabrics woven from a woody fiber resembling silk. 175 LOUISIANA TERRITORY These representations were found in a large measure to be true, for the Cofachiquians were the most civilized and cul- tivated people that the Spaniards encountered in all their wanderings on the continent. On approaching the south bank of Broad river, where it unites with the Savannah, De Soto observed on the opposite shore a scene of the greatest splendor. A native town, for- tified and laid out with regular streets and squares, occupied the point between the rivers; while along the bank of the smaller stream was a great concourse of people, well-dressed and orderly. On an open space or square immediately fronting the river, an army of considerable proportions was drawn up in columns and battalions, composed of tall and fine-looking warriors, dressed in a uniform of cloth that glistened in the sunlight. Plumes of feathers waved from their long, black hair;' and their arms and accouterments, consisting of bows, arrows, spears, shields and greaves, were oiled and polished until they reflected the rays of the sun like the steel armor of the Europeans. It was the most splendid spectacle that the Spaniards had yet seen, and they waited with impatience and some degree of apprehension for an explanation of its meaning. Presently, through an opening in the ranks of the army, the queen herself was seen approaching, borne on a palan- quin shaded by a canopy of bright colored feathers. Her dress consisted of a feather kilt, covering her person from the waist to the knees; on her feet were moccasins of the 176 RECEPTION BY THE QUEEN OF THE COFACHIQUIANS finest tanned leather, embroidered with beads and flashing with pearls; around her ankles, wrist and arms she wore broad bracelets of pure gold, and rings of the same precious metal dangled from her ears; while her entire person was en- veloped in a robe of many colors and the finest texture, composed of feathers and silken cloth. On her head was a circlet, or crown, of pearls, ornamented with plumes of white, red and blue feathers; while depending from her neck and falling down over her well rounded bosom were strings of the same glossy brilliants. All this the Span- iards could dimly perceive in the distance across the river. As the procession drew near the bank, the queen was as- sisted out of the palanquin by several of her chief officers, who conducted her down a pair of wooden steps to the royal barge which lay moored at the wharf. This was a vessel of considerable proportions, hewn out of a single large tree, and ornamented along the sides and at the stern and prow with carvings and painted characters of various devices. Over the stern was a canopy of silken cloth, supported by a lance, and beneath it was spread a carpet and cushions ready to receive the beautiful person of the royal sovereign. A dozen canoemen of splendid proportions, dressed in uniform and wearing helmets of feathers on their heads, arose and respectfully poised their oars as the queen approached and took her seat in the barge; when, bending their brawny arms to the task, the vessel shot out from the wharf and spun 177 LOUISIANA TERRITORY. its way across the stream like a thing of beauty or a ship of the fairies. As it approached the south bank, the queen with a single graceful movement dropped her robe on the cushions and sprang lightly to the shore, her now almost nude person re- vealing all its beautiful outlines and rounded curves, orna- mented with pearls that glittered like diamonds in the sun- light. Without a pause or the least show of embarrassment, she singled out De Soto as the leader of the company of strangers, and drawing near, welcomed him and his people to her country. As the governor dismounted and in an at- titude of homage drew near this fairy queen, she took a heavy string of pearls from around her neck and with a single graceful movement threw it over his, indicating by this ceremony that so long as he remained her guest there should be no distinction between them. It was indeed the act by which she raised him to the level of the throne. She presented him also with mantles of feathers and native threads made from the fibers of trees ; and upon his principal officers she bestowed many gifts of rich and costly pearls. The abundance of these brilliants which the Spaniards saw on every hand, convinced them that they had at last arrived in a country capable of satisfying their wants ; for they rea- soned that a land which produced pearls in such profusion must also be rich with the precious metals. But they soon learned, in their intercourse with the natives, that they were not familiar with those metals, the only specimens they knew 178 RECEPTION BY THE QUEEN OF THE COFACHIQUIANS anything- about being the bracelets and anklets worn by their queen ; and these had been in possession of the royal family for so great a length of time that even the oldest chief could not tell whence they came. The Spaniards were now conveyed across the river and quartered in the town, where every comfort and want was supplied by the generous natives, under the orders and direc- tions of their queen. De Soto, as the chief of the visitors, became the personal guest of the queen, and was supplied with apartments in the palace. Indeed this beautiful royal personage went to the utmost limit of hospitality, entertain- ing her visitor after the manner of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who is said to have visited the Jewish monarch mainly with a view of becoming the founder of a race of wise men. When the natives were questioned concerning the large number of pearls which they were seen to possess, they re- plied that their rivers abounded with them, and that it was their custom on the death of any person to bury all his pearls with him, in order that he might enjoy them in his spiritual abode. No sooner did the Spaniards learn this than they opened the graves of the natives and desecrated the dead in their search for the wealth stored there. In this manner they secured about three hundred and fifty pounds weight of the stones; but they proved of little value, as they had all been bored with some heated instrument which destroyed their lustre. Yet the Spaniards were glad to be thus convinced 179 11 LOUISIANA TERRITORY that pearls existed in such quantities in that country, and they appeared to feel no shame for the outrageous manner in which they had violated the rites of hospitality. The men now begged to be permitted to settle in that province and found a colony, believing that they would soon enrich themselves by enslaving the people and compelling them to gather pearls and search for the precious metals; but De Soto, having become fully convinced that gold and silver did not exist in that region, turned a deaf ear to their prayer, and sternly notified them that they must prepare to march. His proud spirit brooded over his disappointment in not finding the chief object of his search, and his altered manner was manifest in the sternness with which he ad- dressed his followers. On their part, they displayed their dissatisfaction in murmurs and complaints, and vented their spite in overt acts against the natives. They not only robbed the graves of the dead, but they broke into the houses of the living and stole their household goods and idols; and in general conducted themselves in so outrageous a manner that the Indians withdrew their hospitable overtures, and would have attacked and driven the ungrateful strangers out of the country, except for the dread of their prowess. The Indians specially abhorred the sacrilege of the tombs of their ancestors, and they became sullen, threatening and vindictive in their demeanor and bearing. Yet no overt act was com- mitted. Among the spoils of the cemetery of the chiefs were found 1 80 RECEPTION BY THE QUEEN OF THE COFACHIQUIANS several pieces of old armor and a dagger of Damascus steel, which were recognized as having belonged to the unfor- tunate expedition of de Ayllon. These articles had been taken in battle, either with de Ayllon's men or with other tribes of Indians who had been the original captors, and having thus become the spoils of conquering chiefs they were buried with them on their death. The relics were seized upon as a fresh cause of complaint and used as a justification for outrages practised upon the natives. They were accused of having murdered Spaniards who had visited their country, and failing to give a satisfactory ex- planation of the matter, they were subjected to still further indignities. It appears from information obtained at the chief town of the Cofachiqui nation, that de Ayllon had penetrated into their territory, and it will therefore not be amiss to briefly notice the career of this adventurer, whose wanderings were thus connected with those of De Soto. 181 DIVISION VIII. Exploits of De Ayllon. BUT little attention was given by early Spanish writers to the adventures of De Ayllon. Brief and disconnected references occur here and there, but of such a character as to give no connected account of the explorations of this truly remarkable man. Previous to 1520, Fernandina, near the line between Florida and Georgia, was the most northern point to which any Spaniard had carried the flag of his country. Beyond that lay a country called by the Indians Chicorea, within whose confines it was believed the sacred river Jordan flowed for so very meager was the knowledge of geogra- phy at that date ! The Spaniards, whose minds were involved in all the pious superstitions of the age, imagined that if they could find the sacred river and plunge their bodies beneath its flood, they would not only be cleansed of all disease, but endowed with perpetual youth and immortality. It was another variation of the story of the Fountain of Youth, which had so infatuated Ponce de Leon and his followers as to lead them to their ruin. But there was another motive, as powerful in its action on 182 EXPLOITS OF DE AYLLON the Spanish mind as the desire of endless life, and it spurred that people onward in their efforts to lift the veil of secrecy that covered the interior of the North American continent. The gold mines of Mexico and Peru, as well as the extensive plantations which had been established in Cuba, Hispaniola, and elsewhere, required a great and continuous supply of slaves ; for the Indians, who had been reduced to this service, being unaccustomed to labor, soon languished and died under the hardships and cruelties that were imposed upon them by their barbarous and insensible masters. It was believed that Florida and the country of Chicorea contained populations large enough to furnish all the slaves that might be required for ages to come; and accordingly, in 1520, a company of wealthy miners fitted out an ex- pedition of two vessels in Hispaniola, or Santo Domingo as it is now called, and placed them under command of Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon, then a member of the superior court of that province, directing him to proceed to the continent and secure as many slaves as his vessels would carry. He was advised also to penetrate the country of Chicorea, and if possible discover the river Jordan, in order that the whole Spanish nation might have an opportunity to bathe and be- come immortal. The vessels sighted land near Fernandina, where Ponce de Leon had anchored; but de Ayllon having in mind the success of both the enterprises with which he had been charged, kept on up the coast until he came to a consider- 183 LOUISIANA TERRITORY able river in latitude 32 north. Then, as he saw the great volume of sweet water pouring into the sea, tested its excellent flavor, and viewed its limpid clearness, he became convinced that the object of his search had been found; and swinging his ships into the estuary at the mouth of the stream, he bestowed upon it, with great ceremony and pomp, the name of the river Jordan. Some have contended that this was one' of the South Carolina rivers, probably the Santee; but the latitude and other facts connected with the discovery give strength to the belief that it was the Sa- vannah river. The Indians of that locality had never previously been visited by Europeans, and they flocked to the shores in large numbers to admire the fair skins and long beards of the men of the ships, and to gaze in admiration on their polished armor and the marvelous " canoes " with white wings that lay at anchor in the river. But when one of the cannons was discharged they fled in terror to the wilderness, and it was thereafter with the utmost difficulty that they could be induced to return. At length a bold chief or two having ventured near enough to receive some presents, among which were several pieces of preserved fruits and some sweetened water containing a little lime juice, the curi- osity of the rest overcame their fear, and they crowded by eager hundreds down to the shore, and even allowed them- selves to be taken on board the fleet. There they admired everything with the innocent curiosity of children, gesticulat- 184 EXPLOITS OF DE AYLLON ing and conversing with one another in loud and wondering tones, until a sufficient number having been enticed below to fill the holds of the vessels, the hatches were suddenly closed, the sails unfurled, and the ships moved on even keels out into the sea. Some time elapsed ere the Indians became aware of the treachery which had been practised upon them, for the ves- sels sailed so smoothly that they did not know they were in motion until they saw themselves passing out from be- tween the capes into the broad ocean; then, terrified and panic-stricken, many broke away from their captors and threw themselves into the sea, where they were drowned. The rest were crowded into the foul and stinking holds of the ships, where hundreds died of suffocation and sea sick- ness, intensified by fright and the impure air which they were compelled to breathe. During the passage to Santo Domingo, a violent storm arose, and one of the vessels having lost her rudder and masts rolled for some time, like a log in the trough of the sea, and finally went to the bottom with all on board. The other ship succeeded in reaching her destination, but such of the Indians as remained alive brooded in sullen and melan- choly silence, refusing all food and sustenance, until they perished miserably soon after landing. It was one of the virtues of the American Indian that he preferred liberty to life. The failure of this enterprise, instead of breaking the spirit 185 LOUISIANA TERRITORY of de Ayllon, or letting any of the light of merciful humanity into his flinty heart, only nerved him to other and more extended operations. Repairing to Spain, he laid before the Emperor the possibilities of extending his dominion over the vast territory of Chicorea, rich in soil and timber, in gold, silver and pearls, and with a population sufficient to supply all the slaves that the subjects of his majesty might need for generations to come. Charles listened eagerly to the story of wealth and power that was poured into his ear, and granted all that de Ayllon asked. This was nothing less than the government of the country and authority to subdue the inhabitants by force of arms. No limits were fixed to the boundaries of his prospective empire, but he was advised to push his endeavors eastward and northward until he found a passage to India ! The school boys of our day laugh at such ignorance, but it was the hope of rinding a passage to the South Sea through the continent of Amer- ica that inspired the efforts of nearly all the early naviga- tors. De Ayllon now squandered his fortune, which he had acquired in the mines of Mexico and on his plantations in Hispaniola, in preparing his ships and equipping his little army. Authorities differ as to the number of his vessels and the size of his force, but he is supposed to have sailed with a fleet of six ships and five hundred sailors and sol- diers, besides a number of women. The fleet arrived in the mouth of the Jordan during the 1 86 EXPLOITS OF DE AYLLON summer of 1525. Here the largest of the ships becoming unmanageable, ran ashore and went to pieces. The In- dians had not forgotten the previous visit of the men with white faces and long beards, nor the cruel treachery which had been meted out to their people; but they dissembled their resentment, and lulled the invaders into a sense of security by a false display of hospitality and friendship. At the same time they were planning the destruction of the entire company, and went about the accomplishment of their purpose with a cunning that was characteristic of the race. Having completed their arrangements, the Indians in- vited the Spaniards to a grand feast at their principal vil- lage, which lay three leagues in the interior. De Ayllon having been completely thrown off his guard, and believing that the country was already subdued, allowed himself to be drawn into the trap. The invitation was accepted, and at the appointed time the greater part of the Spanish force went unarmed to the village; de Ayllon himself remaining with a few men to guard the ships. The Spaniards were entertained and feasted royally for three days; dishes of meats and vegetable, fruits and viands being served to them in abundance, and of a quality and richness with which they had never been familiar in their own country. Among the food and drinks offered them were certain narcotics and in- toxicants, which by the end of the third day had so overcome and stupefied them that they were utterly helpless. Then 187 LOUISIANA TERRITORY the hour of vengeance having arrived, the savages fell upon their unconscious enemies and massacred every one of them. Not a single Spaniard escaped to carry the tidings to his commander. At break of day the following morning the whole force of Indians attacked the guards whom de Ayllon had taken the precaution to station on the shore, so suddenly and with such astonishing ferocity that but few of them escaped. The governor himself was wounded in his efforts to relieve the men ; but being carried back to his ship, and learning the fate of the party that had visited the Indian village, he or- dered the return of the fleet to Hispaniola. It would seem that his repeated failures and disasters would have tamed the spirit of de Ayllon, but on the con- trary they inspired him with a courage more restless and daring than ever. At the same time his experiences had the effect of taming his ferocity, and one of his ships having returned with a cargo of savages, he caused them to be fed and kindly treated; and in the beginning of 1526, accom- panied by a fleet under his personal command, he returned them to their native country and set them free. This noble act and his subsequent career indicated so complete a change of heart that he seemed scarcely like the same person ; and this dual character has been the cause of much confusion on the part of historians in recording the deeds of this ex- traordinary man. Some have represented him almost in the light of a demon incarnate, enslaving the savages, 188 EXPLOITS OF DE AYLLON thirsting for the blood of his enemies, and committing out- rages that shame the very name of mankind; while others have painted him as a benevolent and far-seeing statesman and patriot, devoting his life to the glory of his country. The two characters appear indeed to have been embodied in the same person, and he seems to have set apart the later years of his life in a large measure to atone for the wicked- ness of his earlier career. On his third expedition to the continent, he landed at the mouth of the Santee river, within the present limits of South Carolina, and explored the coasts thence northeastward as far as Chesapeake Bay. Ascending that fine inland sea to its source, he is said to have discovered the Susquehanna river, and to have sailed up that stream some distance into the present territory of the State of Pennsylvania. On de Ayllon's return, he founded a settlement on the James river, on the future site of Jamestown, to which he gave the name San Miguel de Guandape ; and there he died of swamp fever on the i8th of October, 1526. Worse men than de Ayllon have had monuments erected to their memory; and if it were possible to find his grave, or any remains of the settlement that he established, it might not be out of place to perpetuate the name of a man who, on realizing the enormity of his wrongs, was great enough to make atonement for them. Soon after the death of de Ayllon his colony, which had been reduced to less than one hundred and fifty persons, 189 LOUISIANA TERRITORY abandoned the settlement and returned to Hispaniola; and in the course of events this Spanish effort to found an empire in Chicorea, embracing the territory now occupied by the States of Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, and a portion of Pennsylvania, was forgotten. 190 DIVISION IX. Defeat of Black Warrior, Chief of the Alabamas. HAVING spent several weeks in the enjoyment of the hos- pitality of the queen of the Cofachiquians and her people, a hospitality which, as we have seen, was grossly abused by the Spaniards, De Soto resolved to continue his march in a northwestwardly course. He had already sent an expedi- tion in that direction, and by this means learned that he would soon approach a vast range of mountains, which his men reported as being impassable. But it was also asserted that these mountains contained gold as indeed they did which was sufficient inducement to decide the future course of the expedition. About the first of June, 1540, the march was resumed, and to prevent any outbreak on the part of the Cofachiquians while passing through their territory, De Soto resolved to carry their queen with him as a prisoner. This gross breach of hospitality was accordingly perpetrated. The queen was compelled to accompany the army, though she was allowed to ride in her palanquin of state, and was treated with every mark of respect due to her high office and excellent char- acter. A number of her subjects were also compelled to 191 LOUISIANA TERRITORY accompany the expedition as slaves and burden-bearers, and were made to serve as hostages for the good conduct of their countrymen. This was a plan which De Soto had learned during his campaigns in Mexico, and it was no less effective in the present instance than it had been in the past. It was now the governor's purpose to penetrate the moun- tains, or skirt their bases if he found them too rugged, and return by a southwestward course to the Bay of Achusi, where he hoped to meet his ships with fresh supplies. The route of march led along the head waters of the Cattahoochee river, until they came into the territory of the Cherokee In- dians, which bordered Cofachiqui on the north and west. This region was found to be mountainous and comparatively sterile, and the natives peaceable and very domestic in dis- position. At first they fled from the Spaniards, concealing themselves in the woods and among the rocks; but a few who were bold enough to venture into the camp having been kindly treated, the rest came flocking back to their homes, and gladly supplied the travelers with everything they needed. The people were on friendly terms with the Cofachiquians, and taking advantage of this state of affairs the queen made her escape and returned to her own people. As that region was not visited again by white men for nearly two cen- turies, we have no further information concerning this in- teresting woman or her nation. When Oglethorpe and his colony came to people Georgia, in 1733, the Cofachiquians 192 DEFEAT OF BLACK WARRIOR and their civilization had vanished into the mysterious past ; but among the savages who succeeded them were found a number of persons in whose veins the blood of Spanish an- cestry undoubtedly flowed ; and of these it is more than pos- sible that some were descendants of the beautiful queen. What a field for the imagination of the romancer do we find in these curious and interesting details! On coming into the mountainous region of northern Georgia, the Spaniards directed their course almost due west, and after marching twenty-two days along the foot- hills of the Appalachian chain, they arrived at a village called Ichiaha, situated on a branch of the Coosa river, in what is now Floyd County, Georgia. The location of this village is believed to have been on or near the site of the present city of Rome, where De Soto's camp is still preserved as a public park. While resting there, the governor was informed by the Indians that " a yellow metal " was to be found in a region about forty or fifty miles to the northward, and he there- upon despatched a party to explore that section. They re- turned after ten days without any information concerning gold; but bringing with them as their only trophy a hand- somely dressed buffalo robe. They were now on the edge of the buffalo country, and a few days' march toward the north would have brought them into contact with vast herds of those interesting animals. Having secured the friendship of the Indians in the vicin- 193 LOUISIANA TERRITORY ity of Ichiaha by a course of just and generous treatment, De Soto resumed his line of march toward the west and southwest. He had been told of a very rich province in that direction, called by the Indians Cosa, which he now made his objective point. Crossing over into the present limits of Cherokee County, Alabama, he continued his course toward the southwest, passing through a very fertile and populous region for a period of twenty-four days, when he came to the Indian town of Cosa, the capital of the province of that name. It was situated on a noble river, supposed to have been the Coosa, and was large and well built, contain- ing more than five hundred houses and a population of per- haps five thousand people. As the Spaniards approached the town they were met by the cacique, a handsome young savage, borne on a litter, and accompanied by a guard of honor of about a thousand warriors. The chief and his ret- inue wore rich mantles of marten skins thrown over their shoulders, tall plumes of feathers encircled their foreheads, and the whole procession was preceded by a band of music. The chief received De Soto with great ceremony and every mark of sincere respect, assigning him a part of his own house for his residence, and quartering the Spanish troops among his people in the town. Every attention and kind- ness was shown to the foreigners; the natives appeared to be earnestly desirous of establishing the most friendly relations, and avoiding every incident that might lead to a rupture. Their course was not prompted by any sense of 194 DEFEAT OF BLACK WARRIOR fear, for they were a warlike people; the cacique, himself a renowned warrior, commanded an army of several thou- sand well disciplined and well armed men, whom the Spaniards would have found much difficulty in overcoming. The inhabitants of this province were farmers as well as warriors, and had the most extensive and best cultivated fields that the Spaniards had yet seen; but as with all the rest of the tribes, the work was done by the women. The men devoted their whole time to the chase, to war, and to affairs of state. It was their custom, however, to employ their prisoners of war in the fields, by which means the wo- men were greatly relieved, and were able to cultivate larger fields than they might otherwise have done. Owing to these facts the Spaniards found it possible to procure all the provisions for themselves and forage for their horses that they needed, and De Soto spent several weeks at Cosa recuperating his well-worn forces. At the end of that time he again set out on his southwestward course, ac- companied by a number of native baggage-carriers who went in that capacity at the command of their cacique. The whole expedition now constituted a lengthy caravan, of such pro- portions and strange appearance that it excited the wonder as well as the apprehension of the inhabitants through whose country it passed. Anticipating this, and desiring to secure himself against assault, De Soto required the cacique to go with him to the borders of his dominions, as he had done in the case of the queen of the Cofachiquians. It was a 195 13 LOUISIANA TERRITORY treacherous act, but probably justified as a means of security. The savage monarch was supplied with the best horse be- longing to the expedition, together with a splendid mantle for himself and a special guard of honor. The latter was the cause of a good deal of apprehension, as well as resent- ment, on the part of himself and his people, for they realized that he was a prisoner rather than a guest; and several acts were committed by the natives indicating a hostile purpose. De Soto caused the offenders to be promptly and severely punished, a course which in his estimation guaranteed se- curity; but it was well for the safety of the expedition that it was soon out of the dominions of the cacique of Cosa. On reaching the borders of the province, however, the chief and his people were set at liberty, with many marks of kind- ness and appreciation, which had the effect of fully restor- ing their good-will and confidence. They accordingly re- turned to their capital loaded with presents and impressed with the belief that they had entertained a very superior race of men. The route now lay through the present counties of Eto- wah, St. Clair, and Jefferson, Alabama, in the direction of Tuscaloosa ; and it is believed that the expedition passed over or near the present sites of Gadsden and Birmingham. The rich iron mines of that region attracted the attention of the governor, but his mind was so occupied with the hope of finding gold that he did not feel justified in devoting any time to the examination of iron. Yet the latter has produced 196 DEFEAT OF BLACK WARRIOR more actual wealth than all the gold mines of the continent combined. The travelers had now entered the confines of a province called Tuscaluza, governed by a cacique of the same name, a great and powerful chief whose dominions covered a large portion of the present territory of southern Alabama and Mississippi. He was not on friendly terms with the cacique of Cosa, and when he learned that the latter was in com- pany with the Spaniards, together with a large number of his people, he became apprehensive, and sent his son, a youth of eighteen, accompanied by a splendid retinue of officers, on an embassy of peace to the commander of the expedition. The young prince met De Soto at the borders of his father's dominions, and presented him with a cordial invitation from the monarch himself to visit his capital, which lay only forty miles distant. The governor was greatly rejoiced at this mark of friendship on the part of Tuscaluza, for he dreaded his power more than that of any other chief he had yet en- countered. He therefore presented the young prince and the members of the embassy with numerous presents, and bade them tell the king that he would accept his invitation and march at once to his capital. When he came within six miles of the king's residence, in order that he might allay all apprehension on the part of the monarch and his people, De Soto halted his army, and accompanied only by his staff, in rich attire, he rode forward until he came within view of the town. There, 197 LOUISIANA TERRITORY posted on a hill which overlooked a large extent of rich un- dulating valley land, he found Tuscaluza, seated on a wooden throne, or stool, according to the custom of the savage monarchs of the South, surrounded by more than one hundred of his chief officers decorated with plumes and mantles of rich furs. Beside the king stood the standard- bearer of the empire, carrying on the end of a spear a ban- ner about the size of a shield, composed of dressed deer- skin of a yellow color, traversed with several stripes of deep blue. This was the great ensign of the powerful Emperor of Tuscaluza, the insignia of his rank and authority, and the only military standard that the Spaniards saw during their entire journey. This celebrated chieftain, who bequeathed his name to a river and to the former capital of the State of Alabama, deserves more than a passing notice. According to the de- scriptions of the Spaniards, he was a man of extraordinary stature, being nearly seven feet in height and well propor- tioned. Although extremely dark in color, so dark in fact that he was known by his people as the " Black Warrior," that being the interpretation of his name, he was neverthe- less remarkably handsome, with a noble front and a fine sol- dierly bearing. He was in appearance every inch a king. At that time he was about forty years of age, in the very prime of manhood, with a countenance which though hand- some, was severe, evincing the loftiness and ferocity of his spirit, for which he was celebrated not only in his own do- 198 minions, but throughout all the confederated nations. He was broad across the shoulders, slender and well formed at the waist, and his limbs were so perfectly rounded and well poised that taken altogether the Spaniards regarded him as the finest-looking savage they had ever seen. His people were a tall, good-looking race; but the king arose a foot above the tallest of his officers, and this tremendous height, together with his waving plumes, made him appear a veri- table giant. As De Soto approached, preceded by the members of his staff, Tuscaluza arose and advanced twenty paces to meet him, not even deigning to cast a glance toward the subor- dinates. His greeting was extremely cordial, though at the same time dignified and courtly, his whole manner in- dicating that he appreciated his position as ruler of a great nation. He assured the Spanish leader that he and his peo- ple should be regarded as his guests, so long as they re- mained in his country, and that everything they needed would be bountifully supplied to them. They were accord- ingly lodged in the best houses the town afforded, De Soto being furnished with apartments in the palace, and all their wants were anticipated and promptly supplied. They could not have been better treated in the most civilized and polite country of Europe; but De Soto chose to regard all this courtesy as a cloak to hide some ulterior purpose. He feared, or pretended to fear, treachery, and resolved that when he moved out of that place he would take the king with 199 LOUISIANA TERRITORY him as a hostage. But he was careful not to let any sus- picion of his purpose become apparent until he was ready to act This place is supposed to have been on or near the site of Birmingham, Alabama, all the incidents, as well as the descriptions of the surrounding country, confirming that be- lief. It was a very populous region and highly cultivated, presenting all the evidences of a liberal but firmly adminis- tered government. Tuscaluza, though an unlettered savage, was a wise ruler, as well as a brave and distinguished war- rior; and it is much to be regretted that we are not better informed regarding his personal history. In spite of the kindness and hospitality extended to him, De Soto was so suspicious of the king's good intentions that he feared to remain long in his dominions, and therefore after a rest of not more than three or four days, he issued orders for his men to resume the march. In doing this he was very careful to see th^t they were prepared to meet any opposition that might be offered. The harquebuses were loaded, the broadswords freshly ground, and the single piece of artillery double-shotted and primed. It is evident that this old-fashioned gun had on several previous occasions been the means of their salvation, though it is not mentioned in any of their chronicles; yet they could hardly have over- come the odds that had been thrown against them in sev- eral of their encounters except for the terrors inspired by ' the thundering crash of the diminutive swivel. De Soto 200 DEFEAT OF BLACK WARRIOR now prepared to make effective use of the gun, if the need arose ; and it was accordingly loaded half-way to the muzzle, and primed for immediate action. Having completed his arrangements, the governor noti- fied the king that he was ready to depart, but that he would expect him to accompany the expedition throughout the whole extent of his territory. In order that this demand might have the appearance of an invitation rather than a command, he presented Tuscaluza with a splendid robe of scarlet cloth, glittering with gold; and provided him also with the finest horse belonging to the expedition. By this means the suspicions of the chief were at first allayed, and he cheerfully consented to accompany his guests. Dressed in his scarlet robe, with his war-plumes nodding above his head, he mounted his horse and set out with De Soto. But he was so tall that, in spite of the fact that his steed was the largest in the company, his feet came almost to the ground; and riding without stirrups, he presented no very dignified appearance. His people observing this, imagined that some indignity had been put upon their ruler, and the cavalcade set out with ominous forebodings of trouble. Their route still lay toward the southwest, and at the end of three days they came to a large town bearing the same name as the king, and still known in our day as Tuscaloosa. Here it was apprehended an outbreak might occur, but it was postponed until a later date by careful management on the part of the Spanish commander; nor was Tuscaluza 20 1 LOUISIANA TERRITORY ready for the final act. In the course of a few days they came to the east bank of the Tombigbee river, and followed it to its junction with the Alabama, where they found the most important and strongly fortified town of the con- federacy. It was called in the Indian tongue Mauville, and with its transition into English has given name to one of the rivers and the principal seaport city of the State of Alabama. During the whole of the trip Tuscaluza had been detained a prisoner under the guise of friendship, a strong guard of Spanish soldiers being constantly in his presence and never losing sight of his person. This was done with the pre- tense of showing him proper respect as a royal personage, but he easily penetrated the thin deception, and burning with indignation resolved on a sweeping vengeance. Care- fully dissembling his real 'motives, he had sent couriers in advance of the party, under the pretense of collecting sup- plies and procuring guides for his white friends; but these couriers were privately instructed to sound the war drums the moment of their arrival in Mauville, and to send swift runners to the surrounding towns with orders for all the troops to assemble in the fortifications at that place, and hold themselves in readiness to protect their sovereign and avenge the indignity which had been offered to his person. De Soto, receiving some inkling of what was going on, doubled the " guard of honor " which he had placed over the Indian sovereign, with orders to kill him the moment any 202 DEFEAT OF BLACK WARRIOR certain indication of treachery became manifest. But he continued his march without halting, and in due course of time arrived at the gates of Mauville. This town was situated on the north bank of the Alabama river, a short distance above its junction with the Tombigbee. It was located in the midst of a considerable plain, on a slight eminence which afforded a view of the whole surrounding country, and in a bend of the river that protected two sides of the place. The town could not be approached from the south or east except by water, while the other two sides were guarded by a strong wall, consisting of double rows of heavy pickets, firmly fixed in the ground, bound to- gether with withes, vines and reeds, which in turn were cemented and plastered over with a thick coating of mud and moss, until the whole was absolutely impervious to arrows and darts. Many of the pickets had taken root, and put forth branches and thick foliage, which afforded a safe screen for the men occupying the works. Every fifty yards throughout the entire circle of the fortifications there was a wooden tower capable of accommodating five or six warriors, with port-holes for arrows on every side and at each angle. There were but two gates, one on the west and the other on the east, the latter giving access to the river. The houses, all of which were built within the encircling palisades, were different from those of the ordinary Indian village, and were evidently intended merely as shelters for 203 LOUISIANA TERRITORY the large garrison always stationed there. They were mere sheds of reeds and cornstalks set on posts, and generally open on all sides; though some which were occupied by the women, had walls of cornstalks and reeds. There were eighty of these houses, or arbors, all of an extraordinary size, some of them large enough to shelter a thousand men. Such was the ancient Indian town of Mauville, where, ac- cording to all accounts and the best information that can be obtained, was fought the greatest and bloodiest Indian battle on the continent of America. About four weeks had been consumed by the Spaniards in marching leisurely from Tuscaluza to Mauville, and it afterwards transpired that during the whole of this time the king had been planning the destruction of his enemies and concentrating his forces for that purpose. On reaching a point some four or five miles distant from the town, De Soto and the chief rode on in advance, ac- companied by about one-half of the cavalry force and two hundred spearmen and harquebusers. The little cannon, being a clumsy affair, was left behind with the rest of the army, commanded by Luis de Moscoso, to whom orders were given to march leisurely so as not to weary the men. As the cavalcade drew near the west gate, a grand proces- sion of warriors issued forth into the plain, painted and splendidly equipped, and preceded by a band of young women with music, songs and dances. De Soto estimated that there were several thousand of the warriors, and in 204 DEFEAT OF BLACK WARRIOR spite of the danger which he knew threatened him and his men, he could not but admire their splendid proportions and perfect discipline. It was as fine an army as ever assembled ; very few of the men were less than six feet in height, while the forest of plumes that swayed above their heads as they moved with regular step, apparently added several inches more to their stature. Their dark bronze bodies, so dark as to be almost black, were entirely nude except for their moccasins, greaves and breech-cloths; while each warrior carried on his left arm a strong, heavy shield, like those previously described. Their arms consisted of flint-pointed spears, with shafts six feet in length, and the tremendous club-bows already mentioned, which were in themselves not to be despised. Omitting the harquebuses, the broadswords and the steel armor of the Europeans, these savages of the American forest were as well armed as the Spaniards them- selves, and the latter would undoubtedly have met defeat and come to the end of their wanderings at this place, ex- cept for the terror which their firearms and horses inspired when the battle opened. As the procession drew near to the chief, it opened out into the form of a hollow square, surrounding the entire party, the young girls dancing in a circle around their king and the Spanish commander; and thus the cavalcade was conducted within the walls of the city, through the western gate. The governor and the cacique entered on horseback, side by side; but when the people saw their king 205 LOUISIANA TERRITORY in that strange, and to them ridiculous situation, the shout- ing and the noise ceased and a silence like that of death fell upon the whole place. Yet they received their sov- ereign with every mark of profound respect, and soon a low murmur, like the coming of a distant storm, arose from all parts of the town as the inhabitants became fully aware of the indignity which had been placed upon their ruler. It appears that Tuscaluza was in doubt about the policy of attacking the Spaniards, for it would seem that if he had fully made up his mind to do so the onslaught would have taken place outside the walls, or as soon as the party had entered the gates, and before they could prepare for it. But the king had been so closely guarded and watched during the whole of the march that he had no opportunity to confer with his officers, and no definite plan of attack had been ar- ranged. But now the time had come, and the plan was quickly consummated. As soon as De Soto and his officers had been assigned to their quarters, Tuscaluza excused himself and withdrew, under the plea of conferring with his people and arranging for the entertainment of so large a number of visitors. At this stage of affairs the governor dared not object, lest it might precipitate the quarrel which he realized was coming ; and the king went his way. He did not return; and after waiting an hour De Soto sent a messenger to invite him to breakfast, as it had been their custom to dine together. But the chief sent word that he was busy and could not come. 206 DEFEAT OF BLACK WARRIOR The Spanish guards now informed the governor that large bodies of warriors, fully armed and equipped, were con- cealed in houses in distant parts of the town, and that the women had retired to places of safety still more remote. On receipt of this alarming intelligence, De Soto despatched a messenger to Moscoso, directing him to hurry forward the remainder of the army with the utmost speed, and to carefully guard against surprise on the way. At length, after several messengers had been sent with invitations, and afterwards with orders for the king to ap- pear at headquarters, and failing to gain admission to his apartments, one of them called out from the door in loud and peremptory tones, directing him to obey the com- mands of the Spanish leader. This was resented by the officers of the cacique's guard, and weapons were drawn on both sides. At the same instant the roll of the war-drums resounded through the town, accompanied by the war-whoop of the Indian general-in-chief ; and armed savages poured out from every quarter of the village. On the plain outside of the walls another army arose as if by magic, from bur- rows in the earth and hollow places where they had lain in concealment. The whole town, as well as the surrounding plain, was instantly alive with infuriated warriors, thirsting for the blood of the insolent foreigners. The Spaniards were now beset on every hand, and hard pressed from every quarter ; arrows flew in their faces from the housetops, and from every place of cover, until it was no 207 LOUISIANA TERRITORY longer possible for them to hold their ground. Several had fallen, dead or wounded, pierced through and through with shafts from the tremendous bows of the savages. Seeing that he could not maintain his position in the streets of the town, De Soto ordered the retreat sounded, and withdrew his men to the open plain, where the cavalry could act and the infantrymen were not exposed to slaughter from secret places. As the men moved slowly backward, contesting the space foot by foot, the Indians crowded upon them, driving them through the gates by simple weight of numbers; but at length the movement was successfully ac- complished and the little army drawn up in a solid square on the plain, with lances protruding on all sides. When the Spaniards were out of the city, the savages plundered the baggage, and striking the fetters from the limbs of the slaves who l^ad been brought from Appalache, they put arms in their hands and bade them assist in the destruction of their enemies. No second appeal was needed ; for these men, burning with hatred of their oppressors, were found always in the front, striking the heaviest blows in the battle that ensued. Swarms of enraged warriors now pressed upon the Spaniards from every quarter, discharging their flint-pointed arrows with deadly execution. Steel armor was found not to be impervious to these missiles, for several soldiers were shot through the body, the arrows penetrating both their breast and backplates, or palettes. Others were shot in the 208 DEFEAT OF BLACK WARRIOR brain through openings in their visors, and fell dead on the field. Seeing that the Indians dreaded the horses more than any other part of his forces, De Soto ordered the cavalry to charge. Yielding to this onslaught, the savages fled within the cover of their palisades; but as soon as the cavalry re- tired, the Indians again issued forth and rushed upon the Spanish formation. This style of fighting was kept up for some time, the cavalry alternately charging and retreating from the plain to the walls of the enclosure; until at length De Soto resolved to break down the gates and lead his cavaliers into the heart of the town. This movement was quickly accomplished. The gates were broken and cut in pieces with axes, and the horsemen, with a portion of the in- fantry, pushed their way in. A desperate combat ensued in the streets of the town, the Indians shooting their arrows, as they had done before, from the tops of the houses and every place of shelter. The Spaniards now set fire to the combustible materials of which the houses were composed, and almost instantly the whole place burst into flame. A thick cloud of smoke settled down into the narrow streets, which, together with the stifling heat, suffocated many of the combatants. But the savages were driven from cover and forced to fight in the open, where they were at the mercy of the dreaded cavalry. Now the carnage became dreadful. The inhabitantss, without regard to age or sex, were slaugh- tered by hundreds, and trodden under foot by the mail-clad 209 LOUISIANA TERRITORY horses. Soon the wind drove the flames to a large building in a remote part of the town, where more than a thousand women and children had taken refuge. In a moment they were enveloped on all sides with a solid sheet of fire, from which less than a tenth part escaped. Infuriated by the slaughter of their friends and the wild excitement of the battle, the warriors refused to give or ask quarter, and were cut down in heaps by the keen broad- swords of the Spaniards, or pierced by their insatiable lances. Thus for five hours the contest raged, until the Spaniards were almost exhausted by the simple effort of killing. So dreadful was the slaughter that men sickened at the sight. It seemed for a while that the Indians would become victors by weight of numbers, but at the very moment when the white men were about to sink down from ex- haustion, the remainder of the army was brought up by Moscoso. Fresh troops now engaged the savages on every side, wide lanes were cut through their ranks by the cavalry, and the infantry following butchered the now thoroughly terrified Indians with their lances and daggers. A new horror also came into play. The little cannon was un- limbered and its crashing discharges hurled into the midst of the swaying mass. The sound of the gun and the havoc it wrought had much to do in saving the day for the Span- iards. But as the warriors fled in terror, the women set them an example of deathless courage. Rushing from their 210 DEFEAT OF BLACK WARRIOR burning houses, with their long black hair streaming in the wind, their breasts bared to the first stroke that might be leveled at them, they threw themselves like furies against the spears and the keen blades of the Spanish broadswords. Not until the curtain of night hid the horrid scene did the carnage cease. " Such," says the younger Irving, " was the deadly battle of Mauville, one of the most sanguinary, considering the number of combatants, that had occurred among the dis- coverers of the New World. Forty-two Spaniards fell dead in the conflict ; eighteen of them received their fatal wounds either in the eyes or in the mouth; for the Indians, finding their bodies cased in armor, aimed at their faces. Scarce one of the Spaniards but was more or less wounded, some of them in many places. Thirteen of the wounded died be- fore their hurts could be dressed, and twenty-two after- ward, so that in all eighty-two Spaniards were slain. To this loss must be added that of forty-two horses, killed by the Indians, and mourned as if they had been so many fel- low-soldiers." The havoc among the Indians was almost incredible. Stretched upon the plain twenty-five hundred of their war- riors lay dead, besides other thousands who had fallen in the streets of the town or been consumed in the flames of their houses. We have no means of knowing what their losses were, except by the reports of the Spaniards them- selves; but the circumstances indicate that the Spanish re- 211 13 LOUISIANA TERRITORY port was measurably true. One of their writers asserts that more than eleven thousand savages were slain in the battle or burnt in the conflagration. The Indians had re- solved to drive the invaders from their country or perish in the effort; while the Spaniards knew that their lives de- pended on the result. Hence each fought with a des- peration unequaled in the annals of bloodshed; and we may well believe that the slaughter of the savages had few parallels. In this battle, as already stated, the Indians used the great bows described in a previous page, and in several instances when hard-pressed they employed them with such effect on the heads of their enemies as to make the blood flow from beneath their casques. The arrows were driven with a force that can hardly be^ credited, for they not only passed through the persons and the armor of a number of the Spanish soldiers, but they even pierced armored horses to the heart, and in several instances passed entirely through their bodies. The flower of Tuscaluza's army had been concentrated at this place, detachments having been ordered thither by swift runners from various portions of southern Alabama and Mississippi, as well as from Florida. All the confederated tribes supplied their quotas at the call of the great " Black Warrior," in a final and desperate effort to expel the hated foreigners from the land they loved so well. This explains the presence of so many warriors on that occasion, and the 212 DEFEAT OF BLACK WARRIOR determined spirit with which they fought. It was the most momentous occasion in the annals of that people, and we may study the pages of history in vain for a nobler self- sacrifice in the cause of patriotism. But the result broke the power of the confederacy so completely that when other Europeans came a century and a half later, its renown was a mere legendary memory of the past. To their enemies themselves were the Indians indebted for the records which have preserved the history of their grandeur. With all his shortcomings, De Soto was not an ungenerous fighter; and with a true meed of justice he recounts the power and the nobleness of these bronzed Southrons, as well as the splen- dor of their courage. The condition of the victors after the battle was almost as lamentable as that of the vanquished. Scarcely one of the survivors had escaped without a wound, more or less severe, so that there were hardly enough of the well to take care of the desperately hurt. As darkness settled down over the dreary scene, the cold, damp Gulf breeze pene- trated even to the marrow of the wounded men lying on the ground, until their sufferings from that source became as great as the pain of their hurts. The houses had all been de- stroyed, not a shed was left standing to afford its mean shel- ter in this time of sore need; but with untiring effort De Soto encouraged those who were able to remain on their feet, until fragments of burnt dwellings were propped against the inner side of the palisades and temporary shelters 213 LOUISIANA TERRITORY provided. Although the governor himself was wounded severely in the thigh, and had been foremost in every charge and melee of the day, he now set an example to the men in his efforts to care for the wounded; and throughout that terrible night he worked with the determination of a hero and the ardor of a patriot. By midnight rough sheds had been erected and beds of straw made down for the wounded, when quiet reigned in the camp broken only by the groans of the suffering and the death-gurgle of the dying. The streets were so blocked by the corpses of the Indians as to be almost impassable, but these elicited no sign of compassion from the stern-featured Spaniards. Among the dead of the natives were more than a thousand women and children, victims of the greed of a foreign foe; but so intense was the fanaticism of the age that the men from Spain regarded them merely as carcasses of so many insen- sate and soulless animals, and no tear of pity fell upon any little cold face as it stared blankly into the abyss. But above that wretched scene, let us believe, the face of a Father looked down in mercy on his children that were red as well as those that were white, and that when the little ones saw with the eyes of the soul they wondered at the marvelous beauty and glory of the happy hunting grounds. For eight days the Spaniards were compelled to remain in this place, surrounded by the festering and decaying bodies of friend and foe, for the task of burying so many was beyond their strength. Meanwhile small detachments 214 DEFEAT OF BLACK WARRIOR of cavalry were sent out to forage for food among the ad- jacent villages, where they found many dead and wounded Indians who had dragged themselves to this distance from the field of carnage to suffer and die. The power as well as the spirit of the natives was so completely broken that not the least show of resistance was made, and the Span- iards went at will wherever they chose all over the sur- rounding country. We are not told what was the fate of the king, the great Black Warrior, whose name is honored in the legends of our country's history and perpetuated in the title of a river that waters a portion of his kingdom; but it is reasonable to suppose that he fell in the battle, and died in a manner most pleasing to the rude grandeur of his soul. This battle was fought on the i8th of October, 1540; and if the killing of men deserves a record in the annals of any people, or the supreme efforts of patriotism are worthy of being embalmed in the history of mankind, then the date and the record of this great combat ought to be remembered throughout all time. 315 DIVISION X. De Soto's Disaster in the Chickasaw Country. WHILE his army lay at Mauville, recovering from its dreadful punishment, De Soto received intelligence through the activity of his scouts and information brought by friendly Indians, that the expected ships from Cuba, with fresh sup- plies and reenforcements, had arrived at the Bay of Achusi, or Pensacola, and were now lying there, at a distance of only seven days' march. This news would have been hailed with delight by most men situated as he was, but it came as a new source of irritation to the proud spirit of this re- markable adventurer. He feared that if his men heard of the proximity of the fleet they would become unmanageable, or, spurred on by the recollection of the hardships they had endured, endeavor to make their way back to Spain or some Spanish port in Mexico. On referring the subject to some of his trusted officers, they took the same view that he did, and all united in declaring that they would rather die in the wilderness than suffer the shame of returning to their friends, disappointed in their expectations and ruined in fortune. It was therefore resolved to keep the news from the men, and as soon as they were able to march, strike out 216 . TiJTTLE BETWEEN T>ESOTO AND CHIEh 'HE battle of Mauville, fought near the present site of Birmingham, Alabama, was the most savage in which DeSoto was engaged during all the time he was in America. The Spaniards lost eighty-two of their number, and forty-two horses, while the number of Indians killed was supposed to exceed eleven thousand, a large proportion of whom were women and children, while every house in the Indian city was destroyed. Though DeSoto obtained a victory his loss equalled nearly one-fourth of his entire force, and there were less than a dozen of the sur- vivors who were not more or Ies wounded. i itry. vA'Mv / tlA jHBiIyninniH io i* ma^i'j -j.-il -iBt*!: 9d Diriii 3rd He gnnuh b9aB^n9 tew oto8aCI riairiw m o-i--/r;oi bnE-.iadfiiun lisrit ^o owj-'ttrfaia )ol abffiin:.- .hnK^uorit nsvals I)i3ix3OJb9oqque BW ballli K^ li 3-iuorl {ii'/a slirlw .naiblirb bnc namo-/.' b^liBnp^ eaol airl vioJoiv E bsnicldo otc^^Q dguorfT ii^ Hl io im-ob c nsril ml MW siaiJl has ,3ioJ r 3l 10 n< to their DE SOTO'S DISASTER IN THE CHICK AS AW COUNTRY in a northern direction and trust to fortune for a better fate than any that had yet attended them. Not only had the force suffered heavily by losses in battle, but for several weeks before their arrival at Mauville a ma- lignant disease had prevailed among the men, and a number had fallen victims to its ravages. The nature of the scourge is not known, but it was probably one of those deadly fevers that visited the South so frequently during the early history of that section. There are intimations, also, that the Span- iards scattered the seeds of this malady among the natives as they wandered from town to town, so that as they swept over the country they left a curse in their trail, besides car- rying death and destruction with them wherever they went. They were now so weakened by sickness and wounds that the camp was but little better than a moving hospital, and as De Soto contemplated his bitter disappointments and the wretched plight of his soldiers, he became morose, irritable, and discontented; he seemed to resolve on ending his exist- ence in the solitudes of the wilderness, far away from the happy memories of the past. Hope at least lay in the con- tinuance of his efforts, while the shame of failure and de- feat must inevitably follow him home. Many other men have preferred death to life under similar conditions, and De Soto did not shrink from the alternative that fate held out to him. Accordingly, on the eighth day after the battle, as soon as the wounded were able to be moved, he changed his camp 219 LOUISIANA TERRITORY from the fetid and festering air of the desolated town and established it on the bank of the river some distance above. Here the pure water and the bracing air of our American autumn soon produced a decided improvement in the con- dition of his followers, and by the latter part of November they were again able to resume the march. The governor now issued orders, stern and curt, directing every one to be in readiness; and before the beginning of December, 1540, they were moving northward once more in search of the golden phantasm which had led them into so many trials and disappointments. After five days they came to " a deep and wide river," which is supposed to have been the Tombigbee, a short dis- tance below the junction of the Black Warrior, and near the northern line of Marengo County, Alabama. It may be in- ferred that the town of Demopolis is not far from the spot where this crossing was effected; though others believe it was some distance below, near the mouth of Chickasaw creek. The passage was disputed by a large body of Indians on the opposite bank of the river, who proved to be mem- bers of the famous Chickasaw tribe. They were beyond the limits of Tuscaluza's confederacy, but they had heard of the Spaniards and the desolation that followed in their wake, and they had no desire to receive such unwelcome guests. Their opposition delayed the crossing for twelve days, until boats could be built large enough to ferry the cavalry over, when the hostile bands were soon dispersed. 220 DE SOTO'S DISASTER IN THE CHICK A SAW COUNTRY Every tribe of Indians had some special and peculiar fea- ture connected with its early history, and the Choctaws were no exception to this rule. They claimed to have come from some distant country west of the Mississippi, at a very early date, in company with the Creeks and Choctaws. When about to start eastward on their journey, the Great Spirit provided them with a pole as a guide, and a very large and fierce dog to protect them against all enemies. On camping at night they planted the pole in the earth, and in the morn- ing they looked at it and directed their course according to the way it was leaning. In crossing the Mississippi their guardian dog was drowned, but they continued to follow the indications of their guide-pole until they came to another large river, supposably the Alabama, where, after the pole had remained unsettled for several days, it finally pointed toward the southwest. They then proceeded in that direc- tion until they came to what is known as the " Chickasaw Old Fields," where the pole became rigidly upright. Ac- cepting this as an indication that they had reached their promised land, they remained there and built a village, whence their tribe branched out and prospered, until when De Soto came he found a nation with an army of ten thou- sand warriors, and four large contiguous settlements. They had also become separated into five clans, or families, com- posing a large confederacy, that extended over the northern half of Mississippi and western Tennessee, and was gov- erned by a king, or " Mico," as head of the nation. The 221 LOUISIANA TERRITORY legend of the Chickasaws has some of the elements of a di- luted edition of the flight of the Israelites from Egypt to the land of Canaan, and it points faintly to a common origin of the races of mankind. But we will leave the study of these abstruse subjects to those who are more deeply interested in that branch of knowledge, and follow the hero of our narrative in his experiences with these entertaining people. Crossing out of the territory of Alabama into that of Mis- sissippi, somewhere within the limits of the present county of Lauderdale, De Soto pursued a course a little north of west, until he came probably near the site of Carthage in Leake County, when he turned almost due north. After eight or ten days' march in that direction he arrived at the village of Chicasa, in the present territory of Yalobusha. This place was composed of about two hundred small houses or wigwams, very inferior and different in construction from those further South ; but it was now late in December, and the governor decided to winter there. The natives had all fled on the approach of the army, though they left abund- ant supplies of corn and provisions, much of the former still standing in the fields. As the houses were too small to ac- commodate the entire company, the Spaniards now set to work and constructed a number of others, and also fortified the place as a precaution against any assaults the natives might be disposed to make upon them. They believed this to be the principal town of the Chickasaw confederacy, and naturally expected their occupancy to be disputed. 222 DE SOTO'S DISASTER IN THE CHICKASAW COUNTRY The weather by this time was very cold ; the ground and the streams were frozen, and the snow lay like a thick mantle of white all over the landscape. The men, being accustomed to a warm climate, suffered intensely on account of the sever- ity of the season; but they made themselves as comfortable as possible with their own resources and the furs which they found in the native houses. At first the Indians manifested a disposition to be friendly, and could no doubt have been won over completely if the Spaniards had treated them fairly; but they were imposed upon in many ways, and at length driven to open hostility. None of their rights were respected by the invaders, but foraging parties that visited the neighboring villages from time to time appropriated whatever they chose to lay their hands on, and in many instances burnt the houses of the natives as well. They also carried a number of the strong- est men by force to the camp, and compelled them to take the place of the slaves they had lost at Mauville. The In- dians, observing that it was the custom of the Spaniards to take whatever they wanted, fell into the same habit when they visited the camp; and several who were thus caught stealing were shot to death. This was a case in which it made a great difference whose ox was gored. At length De Soto personally gave orders that several Indians who had been detected appropriating small articles about the camp should have their hands cut off, and in that mutilated state they were sent to their people as a warning to others. 223 LOUISIANA TERRITORY This intolerable cruelty exhausted the forbearance of the savages, who resolved to destroy the invaders or perish in the attempt. They now ceased their visits to the camp, and in order to throw the Spaniards off their guard, as well as to break their rest, they made feigned attacks almost every night on the pickets and outer works, accompanying these demonstrations with frightful yells and other savage noises. At length, near the end of February, 1541, the great assault for which they had been planning was made, and it came very near proving fatal to the Spaniards. At the darkest hour of the night, just before the begin- ning of the dawn, the savages stole past the pickets and gained the enclosure of the fortifications without being dis- covered. Then, while the Spaniards were still sleeping in supposed security, they raised a din of frightful yells and war-whoops, accompanied by the blowing of conch-shells and horns, and instantly began their work of murder by slay- ing every white man who came within their reach. Bovy- men who had been detailed for the purpose shot blazing shafts into the flimsy roofs and walls of the houses, which burst into flames, and in the course of a few minutes a general conflagration enveloped the whole town. The Spaniards, aroused from their slumbers by the hor- rid noises, and confused and bewildered by the flames and the turmoil, rushed into the streets without clothing or armor, in their efforts to escape from the burning buildings. In this moment of terrible confusion a number were killed 224 DE SOTO'S DISASTER IN THE CHICKASAW COUNTRY and others wounded; but their habits of discipline and ex- perience as veterans, soon restored order, and buckling on their armor they began to make headway against the sav- ages. At the first onset many of the horses took fright and escaped to the plain, while others could not be released from the burning stables where they were haltered. This was the most trying experience that the Spaniards had been required to undergo, for in their battles with the Indians they had learned to depend in a very large measure on the cavalry. But after a little they succeeded in recovering and harness- ing about one-half of the horses, when they began a series of desperate and successful charges into the dense masses of the savages, whose bronzed figures were illuminated by the blazing houses. The little cannon was likewise brought into service, and after its first resounding crash the Indians began to fall back. The battle had now covered the space of several hours, and it was broad daylight before the last of the savages disappeared. Then the Spaniards found themselves in a most pitiable condition. Forty men lay dead on the ground, while the charred forms of others in the midst of the ruins of their houses showed that they had met death by fire. Many others were desperately wounded ; and the whole company had suf- fered in loss of arms, either burnt in the flames or untem- pered by the heat. In addition to this, fifty of the horses had been killed or burnt to death in the sheds, a loss which could not by any means be replaced or mended. Most of 225 LOUISIANA TERRITORY the baggage had likewise been destroyed, so that the men were now shivering in the bitter cold, half-clothed and with no means of procuring additional covering. All the houses had been consumed; there was not a roof of any kind to shelter the wounded or to protect the men from the unre- lenting cold. Still another calamity of a peculiar nature had befallen them. Throughout all their wanderings they had carried their drove of swine with them, to supply food in emergencies; and so prolific were these animals that in spite of all their hardships and the contributions which they had made in bacon to the common cause, they had con- stantly increased in number. But most of them had fallen victims to the present calamity. Housed within a shed which had been prepared for their comfort, they were overtaken in the midst of their slumbers by the flames that wrecked all the buildings, and at the end of the tur- moil not more than a fourth part of them could be col- lected into the herd. All the rest were charred and black- ened carcasses beneath the ruins of their shed. The num- ber that perished exceeded four hundred. The condition of the Spaniards was now the most lament- able of which we have any account in the pages of history; and their fortitude in overcoming the horrors by which they were beset excites the involuntary admiration of mankind. On this as well as other occasions of trial and calamity they proved themselves men of iron will; but the credit of their salvation was due mainly to the masterful leadership 226 DE SOTO'S DISASTER IN THE CHICKASAW COUNTRY of De Soto. No calamity could break his spirit, and no emergency was so great as to confuse his judgment. He was a born leader of men, who in spite of the moral defi- ciencies of his character, due fo the false teachings of his age, deserves a high place among the world's most famous adventurers. As soon as the Spaniards were able to move, they abandoned the desolation of their late camp, and sought the meager comforts of an Indian village about three miles dis- tant. Here they at least had roofs to cover them, and walls to shut out the blasts of winter ; and with extraordinary per- severance and industry they soon enclosed the place with a line of palisades as a protection against the continued at- tacks of the savages. Here they remained until the last of March, employed meanwhile in making new saddles and re- pairing old ones; retempering the swords which had been softened by the heat of the burning houses; replacing the burnt shafts of their spears with stout ashen sticks cut from the timber of the locality, and making new shields of raw- hide. Nearly the whole of their armament had to be re- placed or repaired, so that the sound of the forge and the hammer was heard by day and by night throughout this period of their trials. They were also obliged to keep a vigilant outlook against the nocturnal attacks of the na- tives, who allowed them neither rest nor security. Indeed they had by this time reached such a state of desperation that they seemed to care but little whether they lived or died ; 227 LOUISIANA TERRITORY and in the midst of all their sufferings and trials they light- ened their burdens with games of chance and boisterous hilarity. About the first of April they broke up their winter quar- ters, and once more resumed their wanderings in a north- westward direction. A single day's march brought them to a strongly fortified town called Alibamo, situated on the east bank of a river, probably the Tallahatchie, near where its junction with the Yocona forms the Yazoo. The State and river of Alabama are said to have taken their name from this Indian town, the meaning of which in the aboriginal tongue is, " Here we rest." It was a very important place, and protected in such a manner as to give it even greater strength than Tuscaluza's celebrated fortress of Mauville. The banks of the river were so high and precipitous that no approach could be made from that side, yet it was protected like all the other approaches. The entire town was surrounded by a triple wall of pickets and earth, in quadrangular form, each side being about one hundred yards in length. Within the main enclosure were several intersecting and parallel lines of palisades, supported by earth-works, the whole composing a perfect network of for- tifications of the most admirable character. It would be impossible for cavalry to act within this fort, even if it could gain admission; so whatever might be done would have to be accomplished by the infantry and the artillery. In spite of the impregnable character of the place, and 228 DE SOTO'S DISASTER IN THE CHICKASAW COUNTRY the overpowering numbers of the savages, the Spaniards waited only for the morning, when they stormed it with a fury that carried all opposition before them. Within a few minutes after the commencement of the fight they had scaled the walls and possessed themselves of the fortifications, whereupon the garrison was indiscriminately slaughtered. A few escaped by clambering over the palisades, but these were run down and slain by the cavalry, which, as stated, was compelled by the conditions to remain on the outside. Fifteen Spaniards were killed in this most desperate and daring assault, while the carnage among the savages was frightful beyond description. Their loss was greater than in any of the battles except at Mauville. 229 14 DIVISION XI. De Soto Discovers the Mississippi River. AFTER four days the Spaniards resumed their march in a westward direction, traveling for seven days through an uninhabited country abounding in swamps and bayous, where they were frequently compelled to swim their horses and cross the infantry and the swivel on rafts. They were now passing through a wonderfully rich alluvial district, such as borders the lower Mississippi on one side or the other, and frequently on both sides, throughout its entire length. At the end of the seventh day they came to a vil- lage called Chisca, " seated near a wide river." This was the Mississippi, the " Father of Waters," the " Great River " of the French, who came a century and a half later ; and as it was the mightiest river that the Spaniards had yet seen, De Soto gave it the name of the Rio Grande. Never be- fore had the eyes of white men beheld this vast stream, ex- cept in the case of Cabeza de Vaca and his forlorn cast- aways, when they sailed across its turbid mouth where it empties into the Gulf. De Soto may therefore justly be credited with the discovery of the Mississippi, for no other 230 DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER European had yet seen this mighty river confined within its banks above the sea. Much contention has arisen concerning the point where the Spaniards first came to the river, several places claiming the honor; and indeed it is a matter of no little moment. If we follow De Soto's description of the country that he traveled over during the last seven days, and the direction, almost due west from the fort on the Tallahatchie, the dis- covery must have been in the vicinity of Friar Point, or Is- land No. Sixty-two, in Coahoma County, Miss. A glance at the map will show that this route bears but a little north of west, and leads across bayous and swamps nearly the whole distance. Some have placed the point of discovery as far up as New Madrid, Mo., and for the sake of State pride we would be glad to locate it there if the facts would permit. Bancroft, with his usual infelicity, thinks the dis- covery was made near the 35th parallel of latitude, which is a short distance below the city of Memphis ; but in order to reach that point De Soto would have been required to march almost due north from the fort of Alibamo, through a highland country; while he states explicitly that he marched westward, over a low, flat and swampy country. Nearly all writers since Bancroft have followed the latter; but we might as well locate the place of discovery at the North Pole as at the 35th parallel of latitude, for there is as much reason in favor of the one as the other. At any rate, the river was discovered, and the Portuguese 231 LOUISIANA TERRITORY historian describes it in language that is unmistakable : " At this place the river was half a league from one shore to the other, so that a man standing still could not be seen from the opposite shore. It was of great depth, and of wonder- ful rapidity. It was very muddy, and was always filled with floating trees and timber, carried down by the force of the current." Such was the Mississippi as the Spaniards first saw it; the " Miche Sepe" (Father of Waters) of the red men; and such it still remains, and ever shall remain, loved and feared by all who have lived on its banks or floated upon its majestic bosom. At the time of the discovery " the river was low, and both banks were high," so that some effort was required in de- scending to its murky waters and climbing again to the top of the sandy bank. De Soto felt the need of rest for his men, and was disposed to remain near the river for some time; but the Indians of that vicinity had evidently been informed as to the character of the strangers, for they manifested a decidedly hostile disposition. Hence, after four days the camp was struck, and the army marched northward along the eastern bank of the river, until they found " an open region," where they rested again. Owing to the tangled nature of the woodland, they traveled only twelve leagues, or thirty-six miles, during the four days ; so that their place of encampment must have been a short distance above Helena, Ark., and not far from that great curve in the river 232 DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER called Walnut Bend. Here they remained twenty days, building boats, of sufficient number and capacity to ferry the army and the horses across the water. Over on the other side of the river lay the country of a famous cacique named Aquixo, who governed a large terri- tory inhabited by many tribes in that region. After a few days this cacique came to visit the strangers with a great fleet of two hundred war-canoes, filled with armed men. Each canoe carried as many as twenty warriors, besides the oars- men and the chiefs; so that the fleet contained an army of more than two thousand men, and the Spaniards felt no little apprehension as they observed its approach. The warriors were armed in the usual manner, with bows and spears, while on their heads they wore flowing plumes of many colors. Each warrior carried a shield on his left arm, and as they drew near the shore they stood up and protected the rowers with their shields. The cacique and his chiefs sat in the sterns of the boats, under awnings of cloth supported by spears, as in the case of the queen of the Cofachiquians. " The canoes were most neatly made, and very large, and, with their pavilions, feathers, shields, and standards, looked like a fleet of galleys." Such was the description given by one who saw them. As the flotilla approached the shore, a herald announced by words and signs that they brought peace offerings of fish, fruit and bread, and had come to welcome the strang- ers to. their country. But the strangers chose to believe 233 LOUISIANA TERRITORY that their purpose was hostile; and while they hesitated, waiting for a reply to their overture, several of the har- quebusers fired into them, killing four or five of their number. One of the canoes meanwhile had effected a land- ing, and as its inmates started to climb up the bank the .Spaniards beat them back with the shafts of their spears. The swivel was also brought up to the edge of the river and leveled at the fleet; when the Indians, seeing the war- like attitude of the white men, and terrified by the deadly fire and smoke of the harquebuses, turned their canoes and paddled rapidly back to the opposite shore. This was the last that the Spaniards saw of the magnificent fleet or the army of the great cacique; but the incident was not for- gotten by the savages, for when the remnant of the army returned after many months from its wanderings in the West, it was attacked and punished severely by these same people. As soon as the boats were finished, the army was con- veyed across the river, whereupon the vessels were broken up for the sake of the iron and nails which had been used in their construction. The wanderers then set out in a northwestward direction, traveling through a flat country intersected by numerous watercourses, bayous and lakes, which in several instances were not fordable; so that they were compelled to be constantly building rafts and boats in order to pass these obstructions. After five days of such laborious progress, they came to 234 DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER a large Indian town, occupied by a tribe called Casqui, or Casquin, located on the banks of a stream which is supposed to have been the White river, near the present site of New- port, Arkansas. Surrounding the town, as far as the eye could reach, were fields of corn and orchards of fruit-trees, interspersed with numerous farmhouses, where the people dwelt in peace and plenty. The town itself contained a population of several thousand souls. They were a peace- able race and treated the strangers with great courtesy and hospitality. The Spaniards remained in this place six days, when they set out for the chief town of the cacique who governed the country, which lay on the same side of the river about two days' journey toward the west. Their course now led them through a fine rolling country, the most beautiful they had seen since leaving the highlands of the Tallahatchie, and well populated with a thrifty and very friendly class of inhabitants. On arriving at the Cacique's town, the explorers were re- ceived by him and his people with great ceremony and kind- ness, and invited to remain as long as they chose. They were provided with food and lodging for themselves and their beasts, and urged to ask for whatever they needed. It was now near the last of May, when an incident oc- curred which showed the gentle and religious disposition of this people. The weather was fine, but it had been warm and dry for some time, and the crops were beginning to suffer for want of rain. In the course of a few days the 2 35 LOUISIANA TERRITORY cacique and his principal officers came in a body to make a formal call on De Soto; and with great solemnity de- sired him to pray to his God to send rain on their parched fields, as they had petitioned their own Great Spirit in vain. The governor cheerfully complied with their request, and instructed his carpenters to make a large cross for the oc- casion. By the end of two days the emblem had been formed out of a pine tree fifty feet high, and raised in an open space on the opposite side of the river, where all the people could see it, but at the same time not profane it by drawing too near. De Soto now informed the cacique that the solemn ceremony would be performed early the following morning, and requested that all the inhabitants of the town, as well as the surrounding country, should assemble on the bank of the river, where they could observe everything that took place. When the momentous occasion arrived a vast concourse of Indians gathered near the river opposite the cross, waiting in silent and profound respect for the opening of the ceremonies. At the rising of the sun a procession was formed, consisting of the entire Spanish force and a few chiefs and principal men from among the Indians, who had been especially invited; the whole, headed by the priests, marching in perfect silence from the camp to the place where the cross had been reared. Then kneeling on the ground, two or three fervent prayers were offered up by the priests, after which the people arose, and, advancing by 236 DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE MISSISSIPPI Rll'ER twos, knelt at the foot of the cross and kissed the emblem. The ceremony closed with the chanting of a " Te Deum Laudamus," whereupon the procession returned to the camp in the same manner in which it had come. It so happened that during the succeeding night the rain poured down in copious abundance, " to show those heathen that God doth hearken to those who call on him in truth," as one of the writers of the expedition piously expressed it. The Indians were not only convinced by this remark- able manifestation, but they showed themselves more grate- ful than white Christians sometimes are; for early in the morning following the rain, they formed a procession of many thousands and marching solemnly to the open space surrounding the cross, they knelt and loudly proclaimed their gratitude to the God of the white men. The sick, the halt, the lame, and the blind now flocked to De Soto's quarters, as their predecessors did in the days of Christ, and begged that he would intercede with his God for their restoration to health. To all of these he replied in the same way, telling them that they should " thank God, who had created the heavens and the earth, and who was the bestower of these and other far greater mercies." It would be interesting, if possible, to follow the results of this conversion of the savage people, to ascertain if it had any permanent effect on their future conduct. It is prob- able, however, that they merely added the God of the white men to their own list of deities and demons, and appealed 237 LOUISIANA TERRITORY to him as occasion arose, as the Hurons, the Iroquois, and the Algonquins did under the influence of the French Jesuits during the succeeding century. Before leaving that place, the cacique presented De Soto with two of his sisters as a special mark of esteem, " both handsome and well-shaped." Whatever influence the teach- ings of Christianity may have exerted on the minds of the Indians, it did not raise their estimation of women; and Spanish morals seem also to have been at a very low ebb. The people in that part of the country were troubled with frequent inundations of the rivers, and in order to provide against these, many of their houses were built on artificial mounds, which they had raised above the ordinary overflow of water. For a similar reason they built other mounds for the reception of their dead, and many of these ancient tumuli are still to be seen, relics of a vanished but wonderfully in- teresting race. After remaining with these hospitable people for a period of nearly two weeks, De Soto resumed his march, this time toward the northeast. He was accompanied by the cacique and several thousand of his warriors, who, it appears from future developments, were at war with a tribe whose terri- tory lay on the Mississippi river, and they availed themselves of this opportunity hoping to have the assistance of the Spaniards in any battles that might occur. They marched three days through open lands, when they " came to a great 238 AN INDIAN CAMP ON THE .1R KANSAS. ^T"HE Indians met with hy DeSoto in the Arkansas Country were much less hostile ^^ than the tribes east of the Mississippi, nor were they nearly so advanced in the primitive industries or comforts and security of home life. It was very rare to find a village built with any thought of permanence, the rule being to set up coni- cal tents, made of skins, or thatch, which were packed up, or abandoned when the villagers desired to make removals in the spring or fall. The accompanying mnnogravure is a representation of one of the villages as they appeared in the time of DeSoto. e Iroquois, and the French Jesuits Soto " both ; the teach- f .he 1 tKtdfcjh/ <-" .ii/iE(rn^(| ' . . . om crri- DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER swamp, rising on the borders, with a lake in the center too deep to be forded, and which formed a kind of gulf on the Mississippi, into which it emptied itself." This was doubt- less a portion of St. Francis river, within the present limits of Craighead, or Poinsett County, Arkansas; for the de- scription of the water and the direction in which they were traveling- exactly fit the requirements. Having crossed this expanse of water, they came at the end of the second day to some elevated ridges, or land slightly higher than that over which they had been traveling, beyond which lay the chief town of a tribe called the Capaha. This town con- tained five hundred houses, not so large, however, as those of the Southern tribes previously described; with a popula- tion of perhaps two or three thousand people. It was sit- uated on a slightly elevated piece of land, nearly surrounded by a bayou which emptied into the Mississippi, or " Rio Grande," as the Spaniards called it, a few miles below. It must be remembered that the whole face of that country was altered by the great earthquake of 1812, so that it would now be very difficult to locate any place by the Spanish de- scriptions; but there are several bayous and lakes in the eastern part of Mississippi County, Arkansas, that would answer the purpose. Everything points to the fact that the expedition by this time not very far from the southern line of Pemiscot County, Missouri, at the beginning of that rich alluvial section which extends above Cape Girardeau, and which is now famous the world over for the large crops 241 LOUISIANA TERRITORY of corn and wheat of a very superior quality which it pro- duces. These statements are made in opposition to the belief of several very careful and creditable writers, who think De Soto came to the river on this occasion below the city of Helena; but that proposition is hardly tenable. The Spaniards could not have come out below Helena by march- ing northeastwardly from Newport; but they could, and probably did, reach the Mississippi not very far from the present town of Osceola, in Mississippi Co., Ark. Those who adhere to the other belief support their contention by referring to the remains of a large Indian town which are still to be seen on the margin of " Old-Town Bayou," about eight miles below Helena. But may not this have been the capital city of the cacique, Aquixo, who came with his fleet to welcome the Spaniards on the east bank of the Mis- sissippi? The location and the circumstances support this belief. The Spaniards did not discover that town, because after crossing the river they turned their course north- westwardly. While these matters are of course merely speculative, it is well enough to consider them, for the interest in the narrative is vastly increased by keeping in touch with the places visited by the explorers. The friendly cacique and his warriors, being in advance of their white allies, came first to the village of the Capaha, which they instantly attacked; and having committed sev- eral acts of barbarity, they so exasperated the people that 242 * STATUE OF 1)E SOTO. *||^ERNANDO DfiSOTO, bo'ii in 1500, \vns the successor of Narvaez, in being the "' second Spaniard to undertake lin expedition into the unknown hind of America, and to whom the credit of having discovered the Mississippi River, 1539, must be given. Among the beautiful pieces of sculpture that adorns the Exposition Grounds jtihat of the equestrian statue of DeSoro is conspicuous, the work of E. C. Potter, who has given an ideal representation of the heroic explorer whose remains were committed to the bosom of the great stream which his quest for gold had brought him to. DrSoro. born in 150. Spaniard ?^ ui!j| a, arid to whom rhe credit Tixrt be given. Among tin.- .>!("!= that r,f r!;e emi ght him to. ery superior quality pro- >n oppositio .!e write? - *|*?st*mw b : to i$t\ t. -, -i&h dord*iilJ*- asdia&w r lo basl. nv/cui^nu arh OJnt in^ijjbaox* HE pAtrj-^ia:. q<* buo.*M ,137^1 I7U TO lii iflw fj bflE ,K adj .euouoiqenoo ei.ojoS^t! . H;riJ ebi., - .-off 9(1} ta no;) ..!>! nc ridv'f^ acrl oflw .-ISMO*! /) hsiiirnmoo ">ir- -" STATUE OF T)E SOTO. fl^ERNANDO DESoTO, born in 1500, was the successor of Narvaez, in being the '' second Spaniard to undertake an expedition into the unknown land of America, and to whom the credit of having discovered the Mississippi River, 1539, must be given. Among the beautiful pieces of sculpture that adorns the Exposition Grounds that of the equestrian statue of DeSoto is conspicuous, the work of E. C. Potter, who has given an ideal representation of the heroic explorer whose remains were committed to the bosom of the great stream which his quest for gold had brought him to. DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER it was with the greatest difficulty De Soto succeeded in re- storing harmony. In fact, his army was on the point of being surrounded by a horde of infuriated savages, who were brought to pacific terms only by their wonder at the strange appearance of the white men, which gave De Soto time to make overtures to their chiefs. Peace having been restored, the Capaha showed their friendly disposition by numerous acts of courteous hospitality. These people being sun-worshipers, were so impressed with the brilliant luster of the Spaniards' armor, that they called them " children of the sun," and in various ways be- stowed upon them the most respectful attention. Here the wanderers remained for several weeks, treated all the while as highly honored guests. No overt act was com- mitted by either side, but each endeavored by mutual kind- ness and courtesy to gain and keep the good-will of the other. This period of rest on the banks of the " Grand River " was more intensely enjoyed by the Spaniards than any other occasion throughout their wanderings. They spent the time in hunting and fishing, and participating with the na- tives in their feasts and games. Among other curious specimens, they caught several spade-fish shovel-nose cat- in the murky waters of the river, and never having seen any- thing of the kind before, they made a special record of their remarkable appearance. The natives taught their visitors to roast and prepare the ears of green corn which were 245 LOUISIANA TERRITORY just beginning to ripen, and which they imagined superior to anything they had ever eaten. Wild plums were abund- ant, and the Spaniards feasted daily on this delicious fruit. A variety of plum is found in that region of a rich purple color, as large as a good-sized peach, and so juicy and sweet that only those who have tasted it can appreciate its won- derful flavor. Here the Spaniards also found large num- bers of raccoons and opossums, which the natives baked and broiled in many toothsome dishes, along with sweet potatoes and other vegetables that grew abundantly in the rich soil. Deer and bears were likewise numerous, and it was with the greatest difficulty that the Spaniards protected the young pigs of their herd from the inroads of bruin. De Soto presented several pairs of pigs to the cacique, the descendants of which s.till inhabit that portion of Arkansas, where they are greatly esteemed for the sweetness of their flesh, especially when fattened on acorns and hickory-nuts, as they were at the time of which we are writing. While the army rested at Capaha, De Soto was told of a country to the northward where salt was obtained; and as the Indians described several kinds of metals in the same region, he supposed gold might also be found there. He accordingly sent two of his men, accompanied by Indian guides, into that section. They traveled rapidly toward the northwest, a distance of more than two hundred miles, when they came into the middle portions of South Missouri, among the Ozark hills. On their return they brought 246 DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER samples of rock salt, besides specimens of lead and copper ore; but they found no gold. They represented the coun- try as barren and thinly populated, and infested by such vast herds of bison that those animals destroyed all the products of the fields. The few natives who lived in that region were hunters, devoting their time to chasing buffaloes, bears, deer and other wild animals. The men procured several fine robes made of buffalo and bear skins, " which were very convenient against the cold of that country, be- cause they made good fur, the hair of them being as soft as sheep's wool." Disappointed once more at not finding gold, and having remained with the Capaha about forty days, De Soto re- turned with his friends to their village on the White river; where, bidding them farewell, he marched down that stream to a town called Quigate, the location of which is supposed to have been a short distance below the village of Clarendon, in Monroe County, Arkansas. This place was reached on the 4th of August, 1541 ; and while there De Soto learned of a province called Coligoa, lying at the foot of a range of mountains to the westward, beyond which he might find a region of gold. He was told also of some wonderful springs in the same section of country, whose waters poured out of the mountains boiling hot, and of such remarkable properties that all who bathed in them, or drank of them, were immediately healed of all diseases and restored to youth. These were the same springs the accounts of which 247 had so fascinated Ponce de Leon in his search for the Foun- tain of Youth; and rumors of them had followed De Soto and his men during the whole of their wanderings. As the springs were now apparently within easy reach, he set out to search for them, following the course indicated by the Indians. Crossing White river, doubtless a short distance below Clarendon, he came to the Arkansas midway between Pine Bluff and Little Rock, and passing to the southward of the latter place, arrived at length at the famous foun- tains. The Indians had long been familiar with the wonderful healing properties of these waters, but as each tribe claimed them as its own peculiar inheritance from the Great Spirit, they were constantly warring for their possession; and it seems that no tribe had dared to build a town there. De Soto encamped in the valley at the foot of the hills, where he remained for some time, he and his men meanwhile bathing daily in the waters and drinking of them freely, by which they were greatly benefited. Their sores healed, their complaints disappeared, and they were indeed almost restored to youth. On leaving the hot springs, the Spaniards visited some salt fountains, which are supposed to have been in Saline County, though the information on this point is by no means clear. They remained at these springs for several days, making salt, of which both men and horses were in great need. 248 DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE MISSISSIPPI RIl'ER Passing thence westward, they came into the country of the Tula tribe, a warlike and enterprising people. Here another great battle was fought, the women taking part with the men and fighting as fiercely as the bravest of the war- riors. The Spaniards were so roughly handled that though their enemies were defeated, they were obliged to remain in that place about three weeks, in order that the wounded might have time to recover from their hurts. This period was improved by making explorations of the adjacent coun- try, small parties being sent out for that purpose, who re- ported a large and thrifty population and numerous herds of buffaloes. This region was probably within the present limits of Polk County, Arkansas, on the head waters of the Washita river. De Soto was now informed of a rich country to the north- ward, called in the Indian tongue Utiangue; and the old story being repeated about gold existing there in large quanti- ties, he resolved to turn his course in that direction. The records concerning this country are incomplete, and there is much uncertainty about its location; but as it lay north- ward of the territory of the Tula nation, in a mountainous country, and near the 36th parallel of latitude, it must have been within the present limits of Washington County, and probably not far from the town of Fayetteville. This sup- position is strengthened by corroborative circumstances. After traveling northward from Tula for several days, they came to a large river, doubtless the Arkansas near Van 249 LOUISIANA TERRITORY Buren. Having crossed this river, they marched five days " over a rough, mountainous country, closely wooded." At length they came to the town of Utiangue, which " con- tained numerous well-built houses, situated in a fine plain, watered by a wide, running river, the same that passes through the province of Cayas." While it is true that there is no " wide river " in Wash- ington County, yet White river finds its sources there, in small, swiftly-running confluents; and after making a cir- cuit through a portion of southwest Missouri, it bends south- ward and flows through the " province of Cayas." This province embraced a large territory, extending from Saline on the west to Prairie County on the east. Considering all the circumstances of their journey, the Spaniards could not have been elsewhere at this time than on the head waters of White river; and the fact that there is no dispute about the parallel of latitude confirms this belief. They had not been accustomed to great rivers in Spain, such as we have in this country ; so that the upper portion of White river may have seemed " wide " as well as " swiftly-running " to them. The latter expression is certainly applicable. The head waters of White river were the northern and western limit of De Soto's explorations. Here he rested; thence he returned to the Mississippi, where he died, as we shall see. We think it may be safely assumed that the great explorer spent the last winter of his life not far from the picturesque town of Fayetteville, in the State of Arkansas; 250 DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER and perhaps if a careful search were made some remains of the town of Utiangue might be found in that locality. The Western Indians had received bad reports of the white men, and being hunters rather than agriculturists, and of a turbulent disposition, they resisted their progress from the time the expedition left the salt springs. Nearly every mile marked the site of a battle or an ambuscade ; and when they came to Utiangue they found the place deserted. It was a large town, capable of accommodating two or three thousand people, according to the Indian mode of living. When the Spaniards took possession, they found a plentiful supply of corn, beans, dried fruit, and nuts, which the in- habitants had stored in their granaries and caches for winter use. To all of these supplies the Spaniards helped them- selves. The country in the vicinity was fertile, and well cultivated; while the forests abounded in wild game, which the wanderers by this time had learned how to secure. Bear- meat, as well as the beef of the buffalo, now became plenti- ful in the camp; and as cold weather was at hand, the gov- ernor resolved to establish his winter-quarters there. The houses of the natives were accordingly rendered as comfort- able as possible, and palisades and earth-works established around the place as a protection against the almost nightly attacks of the savages. The winter of 1541-42 proved to be unusually severe. Snow fell to a depth of several feet, and froze until it was like a sheet of ice over the whole landscape. For more than 251 LOUISIANA TERRITORY a month the Spaniards were confined to the limits of their fortifications, until their stock of fire-wood was exhausted, and a dreary prospect confronted them. But, as in all their other trials and emergencies, De Soto found a way to over- come this one. Teams of horses were harnessed to heavy logs, and driven through the snow to a neighboring forest, whereby a roadway was broken over which the men brought the needed supplies of fuel. But this proved to be a dan- gerous undertaking, for no sooner did the Indians discover the state to which their enemies were reduced than they became more hostile and vicious than ever. They waylaid every party that went out for wood, killing or wounding several of the men, while others were captured and subjected to tortures which we have not the heart to describe. It was impossible while the snow lay on the ground to secure any of the natives, for being more agile than the Spaniards, they discharged their arrows and darted away into the depths of the forest, while their clumsy opponents, burdened with their heavy armor and weapons, were confined to the road- ways. At length, several Indians were taken, who, by De Soto's orders, were mutilated in a most shocking manner, and turned loose as a warning to their friends. But these barbarities only added fuel to their resentment, until by the time spring came the Spaniards found themselves engaged in an almost continuous conflict with the infuriated natives. 252 'DE SOTO aV THE SHORE OF If II IT h 'R.ll'EK. E headwaters of White River, Arkansas, were the extreme westt DeSotp's explorations. Upon the shore of this stream he - ossession of the country in the name of his sovereign d the futility of continuing a further scan ' 1 the remnant of his shattered, weary and ragged force back to the Mi?*; .. \d thence make their way to Havana. j one. the n the o the Hn 5 in all their over- to heavy brought . '"IF ' gile irted away into the dep ner, the DIVISION XII. Death of De Soto. IT was during this winter of 1541-42, at the village of Utiangue that Juan Ortiz, the interpreter, died. Hard- ship and exposure had so weakened his physical constitu- tion that an attack of pleurisy soon terminated his career. Ortiz had all along shown himself the most useful man in the expedition, by his facility in communicating with the various tribes and nations with whom the Spaniards came in contact. He was in fact the only interpreter that De Soto could rely upon, for the natives who essayed to act in that capacity were never able to master the intricacies of the Spanish tongue, and consequently could neither receive nor impart correct information as to names and locations, or concerning any other matter. After the death of Ortiz the records of the expedition are confused and unintelligible ; and the difficulty of communicating with the savages led to numerous mistakes and acts of hostility which a better understanding might have avoided. Everything was now in confusion; De Soto grew dispirited and irritable; more than half his men were dead, while the remainder had suffered from wounds and hardships until they were scarcely able to perform the duties imposed upon them by LOUISIANA TERRITORY necessity. Not more than one-half the horses remained; these were lame and gaunt, and had been without shoes for more than a year; for all the iron had been consumed in boat-building and the manufacture of new arms. The governor now saw his fortune wasted, his ambitions as an explorer blasted for having discovered no gold he counted everything as lost and he brooded over the outrageous flings of fortune until he seemed scarcely like the same man. At length he resolved to make his way back to the Mississippi with his shattered and disheartened army, and there, building boats, float down to the Gulf, where he might by some means secure communication with friends in Cuba. With the opening of spring, 1542, the fortifications at Utiangue were abandoned, and the Spaniards set out on their long march back to 'the Mississippi. The records of this painful tramp across the State of Arkansas are so meager that it is impossible to follow the route with any degree of accuracy; but it pursued a southeastward course, crossing to the south side of the Arkansas and finally reaching the Mississippi, probably in Desha or Chicot County. There are two points which the descriptions appear to fit, namely, Arkansas City and Lake Village, with the preponderance in favor of the latter. Most assuredly the point of return to the Father of Waters was not far distant from one of these places. Wherever it was, De Soto found a large settlement near the banks of the river, inhabited by a people 256 DEATH OF DE SOTO who called themselves Guachoya. The town consisted of about three hundred houses, capable of accommodating three or four thousand people. It was built on two artificial hills, or mounds, surrounded by strong walls of palisades and earth; and it is not too great a stretch of the imagination to suppose that these mounds are still in existence, unless the river has swallowed them up in its numerous shiftings of channel. On the other hand, they may be distant from the present bed of the river; for many and great changes have taken place during the three and a half centuries that have elapsed since the death of De Soto. If the mounds could be found they would afford a certain landmark from which we might trace other events in the early history of this interesting region. The people of Guachoya were not inclined to be friendly, and as De Soto was in no condition to offer them battle, he resorted to moderate measures, and finally won them over to a sort of half-way friendliness. The chief allowed the white men to enter the town, and gave them quarters and food; but his manner showed plainly that he would have preferred other guests. These people could give no account of the sea, although the governor made diligent inquiry concerning it. They had no word in their language, or idea, or emblem, that could make them comprehend a great expanse of salt water like the ocean. The river sometimes spread out over the bottoms that surrounded their town until it appeared like 257 LOUISIANA TERRITORY a great inland sea ; but it was not salt, and it soon dried up and retired within its banks. So they could tell De Soto nothing when he asked them about the sea. This con- vinced him that the distance to the Gulf must be very great, and yet he hoped that in this respect he might be mistaken. Accordingly, he sent a company of men down the river to seek intelligence of the sea, but after eight days they re- turned, having traveled a distance of only forty-five miles, " on account of the great windings of the river, and the swamps and torrents with which it was bordered." Any one who has ever been in that region and attempted to make his way through the " swamps and torrents " and tangled forests, will recognize the accuracy of this description. It was now the latter part of May, when the river was burdened with the annual spring freshets, until the sloughs and bayous and low places were flooded with water, while the channel was covered with driftwood and floating logs. It was a sight that might have appalled the hearts of men more prone to fear than those veteran Spaniards, but they had so schooled themselves to danger that they were no longer deterred by any obstacle or peril, let it be ever so great. Very few of the Indian tribes provided themselves with any more food than they needed for their own consumption, so that the irruption of an army like De Soto's soon reduced the country to the verge of famine. It was necessary, in the present instance, to secure forage from more distant places, while the workmen were engaged in building the MOUND GUILDERS OF ff r is a noteworthy fact, mentioned by DeSoto but rarely adverted to by histor- " ians, that at the time of his visit to the Arkansas country there were villages, which he visited, that were distinguished by artificial mounds; sometimes these mounds were near the villages, but usually they were occupied by the village itself. As the country in which they appeared was invariably prairie, the mounds were no doubt .built to protect the village from enemies, while the others probably served for funeral purposes, as nearly all Indian tribes pay reverence to their dead, and look well to the preservation of their bodies from disturbance. on dried up be very gre ken. ie river - the AO V/AA(\A\'\ ;..i tod oioS-jQ yd b^uoitnu b moi) =-3fb had DEATH OF DE SOTO brigantines in which De Soto hoped to float his men to the sea. On inquiry he learned that the country on the opposite side of the river was very fertile and populous, but that it was occupied by a people who were both proud and warlike, and who would probably resent any invasion of their ter- ritory by foreigners. But there was no help for it ; the men might as well die in battle as by starvation, and a de- tachment was accordingly sent across the river to confer with the natives. The village of the cacique was soon found, for it was not far distant from the banks of the stream. It was a large town of more than five hundred houses, well fortified and swarming with armed warriors. As soon as the Spaniards appeared, the cacique sent a herald to inquire by what authority they dared invade his coun- try, and intimating that they had better depart at once. The leader of the detachment returned a soft answer, saying they were friends who had come to buy corn and food; and begged to be admitted to the king's village. But it was all in vain. The savage monarch returned a taunting response, notifying the strangers that if they did not im- mediately depart he would attack them with his army and destroy them all. The Spaniards thereupon recrossed the river, and reported the unfortunate result of their overtures. They had learned, however, that the hostile natives were a branch of the great Natchez tribe, sun-worshipers, and the most warlike and enterprising of all the Southern na- tions. De Soto therefore sent another detachment, with a 261 LOUISIANA TERRITORY message to the king, stating that he and his men were chil- dren of the sun, and desired him to visit them as a brother. To this message the king haughtily replied, " Tell your chief that if he be the child of the sun, to dry up the river, and I will come over and do homage to him." " But," in the language of one whose pen it is pleasant to follow, " De Soto's spirits were failing him ; he had brooded over his past error in abandoning the seacoast, until he was sick at heart; and, as he saw the perils of his situation increasing, new and powerful enemies springing up around him, while his scanty force was daily diminishing, he became anxious for the preservation of the residue of his followers, and desired to avoid all further warfare." The melancholy condition of his mind, together with the incessant fatigue to which he had so long exposed himself, as well as the inclemency of the climate, soon brought on a slow fever; and the great explorer realized that his end was approaching. To the last he remained a hero. Even while he lay on his sick-bed, suffering the pains of disease and that anguish of mind which always accompanies defeat, he continued to direct every movetnent about the camp, is- suing his daily bulletin of orders as if he were still in the saddle. But at length, becoming aware that the final mo- ment was very near, he drew up his will, transmitting his authority as commander-in-chief to Luis de Moscoso, and minutely directing the future course of the expedition. Then he called his officers to his bedside, two at a time, bade them 262 DEATH OF DE SOTO an affectionate farewell, and begged their forgiveness if he had at any time in the discharge of his duty been harsh to- ward them. He thanked them for their fidelity to him, re- gretted that it was not in his power to reward them bounti- fully, conjured them to remain loyal to the king, and to maintain a steadfast friendship and affection for one another. He next called his soldiers to him, by twenties according to their rank, thanked them for the fidelity and courage which they had always displayed in his service, and while many wept he took an affectionate leave of them. These duties performed, De Soto laid himself down upon his bed and yielded up his heroic spirit to Him from whom he had received it. The exact date of his death is not known, but the event is supposed to have occurred about the 5th of June, 1542. There is always begotten among brave men who suffer together a sentiment of affection and comradeship which the death of one makes stronger in the survivors, and so it was in this instance. Now that their leader was gone, De Soto's veterans mourned him as a brother. If any heartburnings had been engendered during their long association, they were forgotten; only the pleasant memory of devotion and fellowship in trial and danger remained. The men felt that they had lost an elder brother rather than a commander; a father, whose affection had guided them through years of peril and disaster; and now that he was dead, they felt his loss all the more keenly because they could not give his re- 263 LOUISIANA TERRITORY mains that decent and honorable interment which his rank and high character deserved. They were in an enemy's country, among savages, who had no respect for the dead of those who were opposed to them, and who on various occasions had desecrated the graves of their comrades. In order to prevent anything of the kind in the present instance, they resolved to bury their commander in a secret place; and for the purpose of still further misleading the Indians, they represented to them that he was a child of the sun, and therefore immortal. The savages were made to believe that though he was sick, he could not die; and after death had come, they were told that he had recovered and had gone to another place. A spot was selected near the village, in the midst of a number of pits and uneven places, which would serve to hide the grave; and there in the darkness of the night they laid the body. Then the place was leveled off as if for a parade- ground, and in order to still further carry out the deception, and at the same time bestow some measure of military honor upon their dead commander, the entire force marched to the ground, and after parading over the spot, fired a last salute from the harquebuses and the cannon. Evidences remained, however, that the Indians were not deceived, and fearing they might remove the body after the departure of the army, it was resolved to dispose of it in a manner that would afford greater security. A portion of a large tree of the water-oak species, of a proper length, 264 A SCENE ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 'TT'HE Mississippi is noted for its scenery between LaCrosse and St. Paul, an;1 *" from Memphis to Natchez. In other portions the banks are often flat, but extremely fertile, embracing the richest cotton plantations in the world, Th. scene herewith presented represents the river and its banks near the point when DeSoto is supposed to have crossed it. .ank >ent * uioJeH ot ' DEATH OF DE SOTO and having almost the weight of metal, was accordingly cut off and hollowed out for a coffin; and in this the body was placed at night, and being secured by a heavy board nailed in place of a lid, it was taken silently in the thick darkness to the middle of the river, and there sunk in many fathoms of water. It seemed appropriate, indeed, that the great ex- plorer of the Mississippi Valley should rest at last in the bosom of its mighty river. In considering the character of De Soto, his severity to- ward the Indians naturally becomes prominent, and always to his disadvantage. This is unavoidable in the just balances that are cast by history; but allowance should be made for the age in which he lived and the influences that controlled his actions. The Indians at that time were regarded as soul- less heathen, whom it was a virtue to destroy, in order that they might not encumber the earth ; and the cruelties which the Spanish leader inflicted upon them were generally in retaliation for outrages to which his men had been subjected, or as a warning against the perpetration of similar deeds in the future. At that time barbarism prevailed all over the world; cruel and brutal punishments were inflicted for trivial offenses, in the most enlightened nations. The French have never been accused of such extremes in this respect as the Spaniards, yet a century and a half later than the date of which we are writing, when men had made con- siderable advances toward better things, one of the punish- ments for desertion in the French army serving in the Mis- 265 LOUISIANA TERRITORY sissippi Valley, was to confine the culprit alive in a wooden coffin and sever his body with a whipsaw. And more than two centuries and a half following the death of De Soto, in the war in La Vendee, men, women and children were thrown by hundreds into long trenches and buried alive, for no other crime than loyalty to their religion and their king. This was done, too, while men boasted of the supre- macy of reason. There are shocking examples of cruelty even among our own people. More than a century after De Soto's death, the Pilgrims of New England, whose very name is a synonym of religious integrity, committed bar- barities in their wars with King Philip and other savages of that region, equalling in horror the most extreme punish- ments inflicted by the Spanish commander. In glancing back through the pages of history, we find that no race can with justice say to another, " We are better than you." All were alike in ignorance and cruelty ; and the best we can do is to draw the mantle of charity over their deeds, and thank God that we live in a more enlightened age. 266 DIVISION XIII. Explorations of Luis Alvarado De Moscoso. Moscoso, like his late commander, had been an adven- turer in Central America and Peru, where he acquired a large fortune, which he subsequently dissipated in luxurious living in Spain. Joining the expedition under De Soto, penniless and eager to retrieve his fortunes, he served gal- lantly as second in command during the whole of its wan- derings ; and now the chief being dead, he assumed the func- tions of commander by authority of the will of his late superior. A few days after the death of De Soto, Moscoso called a council of his officers with a view to deciding on their future course. It was unanimously resolved to abandon the idea of returning to Spain. The proud cavaliers could not endure the thought of meeting their old associates in the character of beggared and disappointed adventurers; and with a single voice they cried out that they would rather perish in the wilderness than endure such ignominy. During their journeyings west of the Mississippi rumors had come to them of companies of white men wandering over the country in the distant West; rumors founded on 267 LOUISIANA TERRITORY the explorations of Coronado, who had discovered the Mis- souri river near the present location of St. Joseph, Mo., as already related. After mature deliberation, therefore, it was decided that they would return over the course they had already pursued, and finding their countrymen if pos- sible, make their way to Mexico. Acting on this decision, they broke camp about two weeks after the death of their beloved leader, and once more turned their faces westward. It appears that they proceeded by an almost direct route to the hot and saline springs of central Arkansas, where they spent some time recuperating their wasted strength and supplying themselves with salt for the remainder of their journey. On leaving the springs they pursued a southwestern course until they came to Reel river, probably near the present site of Fulton, in Hempstead County. This country was in- habited by a tribe of Indians calling themselves Naguatax, since transformed into Natchitoches, whose principal town occupied an island in the river. The place was so strongly fortified that, with its inaccessible location, it was almost impregnable; and yet these Indians do not appear to have been of a warlike disposition. They were allied with the Washitas and the Capichis, and by means of this confedera- tion controlled a large scope of territory. The Naguatax were sun-worshipers, and kept a perpetual fire burning in their temple on the island; in which respect they resembled the Natchez tribe. They also manufactured salt at a neigh- 268 EXPLORATIONS OF LUIS ALVARADO DE MOSCOSO boring lake, which they bartered with other tribes for skins and grains. The Spaniards were hospitably treated by these people, a kindness which they appreciated, for in their march from the springs southward they had passed through the country of a very hostile nation, at whose hands they suf- fered greatly. On leaving the country of the Naguatax, they followed the course of the Red river, a name which they bestowed upon that stream in consequence of the color of its waters, derived from the iron deposits through which it flows. The route pursued by the Spaniards now led them through the southern portions of Indian Territory and Oklahoma, and the northern part of Texas, over the Staked Plain, and to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in new Mexico. From all accounts they must have penetrated nearly as far as the hot springs of Las Vegas, or even to the present site of Santa Fe; and had they proceeded thence northward into the confines of Colorado, they might have discovered the rich gold-producing region they had so persistently sought. Thus they came at last almost to the object of their search, without finding it ! A portion of their route passed through a region abound- ing with buffaloes, where they found bands of savages dif- ferent from any they had previously encountered. These are supposed to have been hunting parties of Pawnees and Comanches, who roamed over a very large district, lived mainly by. the chase, and were of a very ferocious disposi- 269 16 LOUISIANA TERRITORY tion. The home country of the Pawnees lay on the Platte river and its tributaries, in Nebraska ; but being nomads and hunters, bands of them were sometimes encountered as far south as Texas. They were inveterate enemies of the Sioux, and the fortunes of war with that powerful nation often drove them out of their own territory into the plains of the South. At a later period, when the French came west from Canada, they heard of the Pawnees through the Illinois, by whom they were regarded as irreclaimable. Many were taken prisoners in the wars between the two races, and sold as slaves to the French, who carried them back to Canada, where on account of their untamable disposition they were retained in perpetual bondage. For this reason it became a custom to call every Indian slave a Pani, this being an abbreviation of Pawnee. In their own country they lived in lodges, covered with earth as a protection against the ex- treme cold of the climate; they also cultivated a little corn, beans, melons, and tobacco; but their chief reliance was in hunting, and in forays into the territory of other tribes. They worshiped the sun, and from time to time sacrificed prisoners of war to their deity, as an inducement for him to give them bountiful crops and an abundant supply of game. They were very expert in the handling of their weapons, one of their favorite amusements being the casting of a spear through a rapidly rolling hoop, at a distance of thirty to fifty paces. Their bows, which were small in size as compared with those of the Southern Indians, were so 270 COMANCHE INDIAN WOMAN AND CHILD. E Comanche Indians are nomadic in their habits, who have for ages made their home in the South-west, in Texas and New Mexico. They have been distinguished, like their neighbors, the Apaches, for cruelty and love of fighting, and their subjection has given the government much trouble and difficulty. Though occupying a warm country they wear blankets, and clothe themselves as warmly as the northern tribes, a habit no doubt acquired as a protection against the sudden changes of weather in northwest Texas, where a blizzard often follows in the wake of a hot wave. Pawnees lay c . ' . - ^cri sometimes encountered as far Trass T"*wv . rate eaeraies of th< ! tbe fettWMBi of w*r - powerful nation c ; the*** ot ut the':- y into : the .ft* * * A i^sw ; rom, IVM, d od// .?){derf liarii ni aihcmon K ^^tib^I y/oi } .*sri3sqJflL''r, ' iBH iK3v/ v_9ril vilnu tt} > firbatfjnfi)du6fco * ince w? :ther tr- ced him of ! ieir ting .? of -mall in ff SO EXPLORATIONS OF LUIS ALVARADO DE MOSCOSO strengthened with buffalo sinews that it was not an extraor- dinary thing for them to shoot an arrow entirely through one of those animals; and so rapidly were the shafts dis- charged that even when the victim had been pierced through the heart, the marksman would shoot half a dozen or more arrows into the body before it fell. The Pawnees were smaller in stature than the Southern Indians, but they were well-formed and fine-looking; and their fashion of shaving all of the head except the scalp-lock, which in turn they decorated with eagles' feathers, gave them a peculiarly noble appearance. Their women were decently clothed in a long tunic of dressed skins, or cloth made of reeds or bark, reach- ing below the knees, and fringed at the seams and bottom, with moccasins and leggins reaching above the tunic. Thus the whole person was covered, and the costume, especially when the tunic was confined at the waist with a belt, as was generally the case, presented a neat and attractive appear- ance. The winter costume of the men was similar to that of the women, generally with a mantle of fur or robe of buffalo added; but in summer they confined themselves to leggins reaching to the hips, and the universal breech-cloth, while the whole upper portion of the body remained nude. The Comanches were a different race from the Pawnees, with whom they were almost perpetually at war. A meet- ing of rival bands of the two nations, on the plains or else- where, generally resulted in a battle; and the vanquished were either annihilated or reserved as prisoners for the tor- 273 LOUISIANA TERRITORY ture. The Comanches belonged to the great Shoshone, or Snake family, lived in skin lodges without permanent loca- tions for their villages, and roamed, when first known, over a wide region of country, extending from the waters of the Brazos and Colorado on the west to the Arkansas and Mis- souri on the east. They were frequently seen also in Mexico, not deigning to confine themselves to any particular section. They and the Pawnees were the Tartars of Amer- ica, wandering wherever they chose, and warring with all the rest of mankind that happened to come in their way. The Comanches called themselves " live people," and claimed to have come from some legendary country far toward the setting sun. They worshiped a supreme being called Niatpo (my father), who was the progenitor of all their tribe. All other races were bastards and enemies. Their costume was similar to that of the Pawnees, except that the men wore regular pantaloons made of dressed leather, which extended to the waist. In addition to the usual weapons of bow and spear, the Comanches carried a long, keen knife, made of a peculiar white flint, which they obtained from their kins- men, the Shoshones. The blade of this knife was so sharp that it might be used for shaving. Such were the people with whom the Spaniards came in contact during their Western journey. But as they ap- proached the mountains they found the country almost en- tirely uninhabited ; and indeed, on the Staked Plain, the soil was too sterile without irrigation to afford sustenance for 274 EXPLORATIONS OF LUIS ALVARADO DE MOSCOSO living creatures. Moscoso now halted and sent out explor- ing parties to ascertain what lay beyond. These proceeded to a distance of one hundred miles, and on their return re- ported that the prospects grew still more uninviting as they advanced. There was nothing before them on which so large a party could subsist, and they regarded it as extremely dangerous to proceed any further. Again a council of the officers was called, at which the whole question of their condition and what was best to be done, was discussed. They were so completely lost that they knew not the way either to the sea or Mexico; and it seemed that their only salvation lay in retracing their steps to the Mississippi. Once more the cavaliers declared that they would perish in the wilderness rather than return as ruined and disappointed beggars to their friends in Cuba and Spain. They dreaded death less than poverty and the dis- grace of failure. In the end, however, Moscoso decided to lead the army back to the Mississippi, and there taking up De Soto's plan, endeavor to reach their countrymen in Cuba or Mexico. He felt the responsibility which he sustained as commander of the expedition, and his duty to the men, who might not en- tertain the same exalted views as the cavaliers. On the morrow, therefore, they turned their faces toward the east, and set out to retrace their path to the Great River. But now it became necessary to move rapidly, in order that the Indians might not learn of their retreat in time to waylay 275 LOUISIANA TERRITORY them or plan ambuscades. All the tribes along the route were hostile, with the single exception of the Natchitoches, their animosities having been especially aroused by recent wrongs inflicted by the white men. On reaching the vicinity of the warlike nations, the march was continued through- out the day and a portion of the night; but still the report of their coming flew ahead of them, and they were exposed to almost daily skirmishes and ambuscades. The Indians waylaid them on the road, harassed the rear of the column, and lurked about the camp at night, picking off stragglers wherever they could be found. Not satisfied with this, they crawled on their hands and knees, in the gloom of the dark- ness, until they came within reach of the sentinels, whom they shot down with arrows. As these missiles were noise- less, several Spaniards were killed without an alarm being given, until it became necessary in placing the guards to sta- tion two men close together, so that if one fell the other could arouse the camp. With all their celerity, winter set in before the refugees reached the Arkansas river, for they had an immense dis- tance to travel. The wonder is how they contrived to march so far in so short a time. Now the rain fell in torrents, so cold that it chilled them to the heart, and many of the streams were so swollen as to cover the bottoms. All the bayous were full; frequently they had no dry place to camp, and the infantry got such rest as they could by stand- ing all night in mud and water up to their knees, while the 276 cavalrymen slept in their saddles. To add to the horrors of the situation, they were frequently without food for days at a time, except the flesh of their swine, which they were often obliged to eat raw because they could not kindle fires. Strange to say, they had held fast to these animals through- out all their troubles, driving the herd before them in their wanderings up and down the continent. For other kinds of food they were dependent on the natives, who gave it grudg- ingly. They suffered also for lack of clothing, their only covering for months having been a sort of coarse reed or grass-cloth, manufactured by hand, which was so rough as to be exceedingly irritating, and it soon wore into holes and became ragged and worthless. Many of the men in imita- tion of the savages, wore skins of animals, thrown over their shoulders and belted around the waist ; but these only reached to the thighs or the knees, leaving their legs and feet, as well as their arms, bare. Their shoes had long since given out ; some had replaced them with moccasins, but the greater num- ber were as bare of foot as when they came into the world. Their sufferings from cold and the rain were so great that no pen can describe what they endured. Many fell ex- hausted and died by the way ; their wasted bodies were given a hasty burial in the woods, with no covering but a thin layer of earth. Sometimes even this last tribute of comradeship had to be omitted. If one had followed their path a few months later he would have found its course marked with unburied skeletons. 277 LOUISIANA TERRITORY At length the shattered expedition came to the Mississippi, a short distance above the mouth of the Arkansas, and found shelter in an Indian town more by the complaisance of the savages than by any show of force on their part. By this time they had become objects of pity even to the Indians, for the gallant force of one thousand men which had set out with such high hopes less than four years before, was now reduced to about three hundred and fifty weary and broken wrecks of humanity. The name of the village where they had at last found such comforts as savage life afforded, was, in the Indian tongue, Aminoya; and fortunately the place was already fortified, for the Spaniards were too w r eak to endure the effort of building stockades. For several days before their arrival, reports ^concerning this town had reached them through the natives, who represented it as a place where they would find everything that heart could desire. These reports, by feeding the flickering flame of hope in their breasts, kept many of the weary pilgrims alive; but now the stimulus of effort being gone, they sank into a state of lethargy, and in the course of a few days nearly half a hun- dred died. The others gradually regained their strength, and with a sufficiency of food, and under the stimulating effects of hope, their courage revived. Moscoso now resolved to build seven brigantines, which he estimated would carry his force down the river and en- able them to make their way through the inlets along the 278 EXPLORATIONS OF LUIS ALVARADO DE MOSCOSO coast to the nearest town in Mexico; or, if the sea were smooth, they might even cross over to Cuba, where all their troubles would be at an end. There still remained one ship-carpenter and several mechanics, who planned the ves- sels and superintended the work, while the labor of sawing the lumber and building the boats was performed mainly by the soldiers. Every one did what he could, hoping that their little fleet might be ready to float with the early summer floods. Two large sheds were constructed on the bank of the river, to serve as shelter for the boat-builders, in order that they might not be delayed by the inclemency of the weather. Here, with the aid of fires, they worked in comfort throughout the winter. Every scrap of iron was gathered up and made into nails; the harquebuses and the little cannon, being no longer serviceable by reason of a lack of powder, were cut in pieces and hammered into use- ful implements. The cavaliers contributed their spurs and stirrups to the common fund; and even the shackles of the prisoners were stricken from their limbs and wrought into spikes and nails. Only the spears and cross-bows were pre- served as a means of defense ; for these were necessary to the salvation of the survivors. Ropes and cordage were twisted from grass and the tough inner bark of trees; and as the Indians were expert in this class of work, and expressed a willingness to lend their assistance, this department was entrusted mainly to them. Thus through the ready compliance of all, the work 279 LOUISIANA TERRITORY progressed rapidly. The boats " were well made, save that the planks were thin, because the nails were short, and were not pitched, nor had any decks to keep the water from coming in. Instead of decks, they laid planks, whereon the mariners might run to trim their sails, and the people might refresh themselves above and below." But as the vessels began to assume shape and form, they were observed by the hostile cacique on the opposite shore, the same who had so haughtily rejected the overtures of De Soto; and he readily inferred that they meant no good for him. With such vessels the white men could sink his en- tire fleet of canoes and pirogues, and invade his country at will. Alarmed at the prospect, he summoned the war- riors of all the tribes that acknowledged his authority, in- structing them to repaiF to his capital and hold themselves in readiness for a concerted attack on the foreigners. A day was set apart for a general massacre of the Spaniards, as well as the Indians who had given them shelter; but the latter, by means of their scouts, were kept informed as to the intentions of the hostile cacique. A sudden and unexpected rise in the river inundated the bottom lands, and prevented the attack at the appointed time ; but it did not hinder the Spaniards in their work, for they had taken the precaution to build their sheds on an elevated piece of land. They now pushed the work more vigorously than ever, hoping to complete the boats before the river re- tired again within its banks. But in this they were disap- 280 EXPLORATIONS OF LUIS ALVARADO DE MOSCOSO pointed. The water gradually fell, until within about a month it was again flowing in its regular channel. Then the cacique, fearing another disappointment, sent bands of his warriors to annoy the workmen. Some of these being captured by the Spaniards, Moscoso ordered as many as thirty to have their hands cut off, and in this mutilated state he returned them to their ruler. This barbarity only in- creased the fierce resentment of the cacique, who redoubled his efforts to destroy the hated pale-faces. Almost daily at- tacks were made on the encampment, in which the Spaniards felt the loss of their firearms, and especially the little cannon, one blast of which would have driven all hostile intentions out of the minds of the savages. The work was pushed so rapidly that by the beginning of June the boats were ready for launching; but this was a task to be dreaded, for the builders had not prepared reg- ular stocks and ways, and the timbers of the boats being green, they proved to be heavy and unwieldy. But Provi- dence seemed to favor the fugitives, for while they waited " it pleased God that the flood came up to the town to seek the brigantines, from whence they carried them by water to the river." This second flood was truly a godsend to the Spaniards, for without it their brigantines might have lain all summer in the sun and so warped out of shape as to have been useless. All the remaining hogs were now slaughtered and made into bacon, which was stored safely away in the holds of the vessels ; each receiving its due pro- 281 LOUISIANA TERRITORY For two days and nights these maneuvers were kept up, until the beleaguered men were almost exhausted with constant watching; they dared not land or attempt to seek rest, and thus they floated on down the river, expecting each moment to engage in fierce conflict with the red men of the forest. About noon of the second day it became evident that the dread moment had arrived; for then it was that the hostile fleet formed into three divisions and rushed to the attack. The noise of the yelling, the blowing of horns and conch- shells, and the beating of drums, became louder and more frightful than ever. A pandemonium of hideous sounds swept over the face of the waters and echoed from bank to bank. As the successive divisions came within range of the brigantines they discharged clouds of arrows against the sides of the boats, many of which, penetrating the bul- warks, or finding their way through openings and crevices, wounded a number of Spaniards. The fleet having passed the brigantines, returned and re- newed the attack in the same order as before; and this was kept up throughout the afternoon and until late at night. As darkness settled over the scene, its weirdness was en- hanced by dismal war-songs of the savages and the flaming torches of cane which they used instead of battle-lanterns, whose flickering light illuminated the bronzed forms of the warriors and made them appear like so many demons of the lower realms. 284 EXPLORATIONS OF LUIS ALVARADO DE MOSCOSO At length, toward midnight, the attacks ceased, and si- knee settled down on the river; but with the first streaks of dawn the conflict was renewed, and continued as before throughout the day and far into the succeeding night. Thus the seemingly interminable strife was maintained for several days until the Spaniards were falling from exhaustion ; every member of the expedition was wounded more or less severely, and twelve were dead. But meanwhile they had not been idle. The conflict had been sustained with that spirit of dogged resolution which had so distinguished them from the start; and they had the satisfaction of knowing that a number of the savages had been killed and wounded. Terrible as their own punish- ment had been, the enemy had suffered more keenly still; and at length the canoes and pirogues withdrew and hov- ered at a distance of a mile or more in the rear. The fugitives now had an opportunity to take a little rest and examine more minutely into the state and extent of their losses. The horses being more exposed than the men, all but eight were dead; several, while struggling in the agony of their wounds, had broken their fastenings and plunged into the river. Meanwhile the brigantines continued to float with the current, until they came opposite an Indian town of con- siderable proportions. Here Moscoso resolved to land for the purpose of securing supplies, and a detachment of one hundred men, with the eight remaining horses, was sent 285 LOUISIANA TERRITORY ashore. But no sooner had the boats rounded-to than a detachment of Indians, landing from the canoes, hurried through the woods with a view to cutting the Spaniards off. So suddenly was this movement executed that the men on shore barely had time to rush back to the boats, when the whole host of savages was upon them, by land as well as by water. In their haste to push the brigantines into the river, the horses were abandoned, and instantly slaughtered by the savages, the poor beasts crying out almost with hu- man agony from the pain of their wounds. Seeing the last of their horses fall, the Spaniards wept as they would for the loss of their comrades. For sixteen days the Indians followed the unfortunate refugees, when the most trying and disastrous incident of the voyage occurred. Five young men, inspired by a spirit of bravado, and without the knowledge or authority of the commander, manned a pirogue and started rapidly in the direction of the savages. Their purpose appears to have been merely to taunt and defy the enemy, with the hope' perhaps of bringing them to closer action and thus ter- minating the long series of battles. But as soon as Mos- coso was informed of their escapade, he sent three pirogues, manned with fifty men, to bring them back, resolved in his own mind to hang the leader as soon as he should come on board. But the young men, observing the pursuit, and supposing their conduct had been approved, pressed forward more eagerly than ever into the midst of the hostile fleet. 286 EXPLORATIONS OF LUIS ALVARADO DE MOSCOSO The Indians now fell back for the purpose of drawing the Spaniards further away from the brigantines ; when, having accomplished their purpose, they suddenly closed in and sur- rounded them, capturing or killing all but eight of the two parties. Thus forty-seven men were lost, and many of them no doubt afterward subjected to torture or slavery, as the result of a foolhardy adventure. This, however, proved to be the last of the battles with the Indians. Apparently satisfied with capturing and de- stroying so large a number they disappeared up the river, and the survivors saw them no more. The little fleet now continued its way in peace to the open sea, where it arrived in the course of about twenty days after the incident just recorded. Fearing to risk the danger of crossing the Gulf of Cuba in such flimsy boats, Moscoso directed the coures of the fleet westward, and by keeping within the smooth waters of the numerous bays and inlets, arrived on the loth of September, 1543, at the Spanish town of Panuco. Here the expedition remained for twenty-five days, the wanderers receiving every attention and kindness at the hands of their countrymen. But the soldiers, finding themselves safe, and their strength recuper- ated, longed to resume the life of adventure to which they had become accustomed; and they proposed, if a leader could be found, to return to Florida. This wild scheme was at length abandoned, and on being conveyed to the City of Mexico by orders of the Viceroy, most of the men enlisted 287 17 LOUISIANA TERRITORY in the armies of Mexico and Peru, hoping in those countries to retrieve their lost fortunes, and at the same time continue the adventurous existence which by long usage had become as second nature to them. Thus were the veterans of De Soto distributed among the forces of their countrymen, and being swallowed up in the masses of the armies, they dis- appeared from the purview of history. Moscoso himself entered the service of the Viceroy, by whom he was kindly treated and advanced to a number of important commands. Accompanying his patron to Peru, in 1551, he there distinguished himself in several campaigns against the Indians, and also recovered a considerable part of the fortune which he had lost by extravagant living in Spain. 288 DIVISION XIV. Conditions in the Mississippi Valley Preceding the French Occupation. FROM 1543, the date of the departure of Moscoso with the remnant of De Soto's gallant band, until 1673, when Father Marquette and Louis Joliet appeared on the scene, it is not known for certain that any white man saw the Mississippi river, or set foot on the soil of any part of its valley. Here was a period of one hundred and thirty years, during which this splendid region was absolutely neglected by all the nations of Europe; and the very existence of the greatest river in the world was so utterly forgotten that when the French missionaries of upper Canada began to hear of it through their Indian converts, it seemed to them like a newly discovered waterway. All knowledge of the Great River had apparently died with De Soto. The French Jesuits seem to have known absolutely nothing about the Spanish explorer and his marvelous discoveries; although, as the reader will admit, they stand foremost among all similar efforts of man- kind for daring achievement and wonderful revelations con- cerning previously unknown countries and peoples. This ig- norance may be due largely to the fact that printing was then 289 LOUISIANA TERRITORY in the armies of Mexico and Peru, hoping in those countries to retrieve their lost fortunes, and at the same time continue the adventurous existence which by long usage had become as second nature to them. Thus were the veterans of De Soto distributed among the forces of their countrymen, and being swallowed up in the masses of the armies, they dis- appeared from the purview of history. Moscoso himself entered the service of the Viceroy, by whom he was kindly treated and advanced to a number of important commands. Accompanying his patron to Peru, in 1551, he there distinguished himself in several campaigns against the Indians, and also recovered a considerable part of the fortune which he had lost by extravagant living in Spain. 288 DIVISION XIV. Conditions in the Mississippi Valley Preceding the French Occupation. FROM 1543, the date of the departure of Moscoso with the remnant of De Soto's gallant band, until 1673, when Father Marquette and Louis Joliet appeared on the scene, it is not known for certain that any white man saw the Mississippi river, or set foot on the soil of any part of its valley. Here was a period of one hundred and thirty years, during which this splendid region was absolutely neglected by all the nations of Europe; and the very existence of the greatest river in the world was so utterly forgotten that when the French missionaries of upper Canada began to hear of it through their Indian converts, it seemed to them like a newly discovered waterway. All knowledge of the Great River had apparently died with De Soto. The French Jesuits seem to have known absolutely nothing about the Spanish explorer and his marvelous discoveries; although, as the reader will admit, they stand foremost among all similar efforts of man- kind for daring achievement and wonderful revelations con- cerning previously unknown countries and peoples. This ig- norance may be due largely to the fact that printing was then 289 MISSISSIPPI V ALLEY PRECEDING FRENCH OCCUPATION in its infancy ; and the adventures of De Soto and his band of heroes, failing to be committed to the types, were soon forgotten, or cast aside as unreliable visions of dreamers. They do not appear to have made one-half the impression even on the Spanish mind, that was produced by the far less important revelations of Cabeza de Vaca; though we may account for this in some measure by the singular idiosyn- crasy, that a large proportion of the claims put forth by the latter being pure fiction, the human mind is more readily impressed by the visionary and the unreal than it is by the solid facts of history, even when the latter surpass the former in astonishing features. Yet all this does not fully account for the surprising oblivion which so soon enveloped De Soto and his exploits, reenforced as they were by the contemporaneous discoveries of Coronado and others. We must seek another reason be- yond this. The nations of Europe were contending for the possession of other regions which they valued more highly, and in their intense application to the leading object they seem to have overlooked, if not forgotten, the most desirable portion of the continent. It may have been one of those singular and unaccountable fantasies which impel men to struggle for little things, while great and important ones are drifting by within easy reach. There are intimations of other Spaniards having visited the Mississippi after De Soto, and before the coming of the French ; but they are like the shadowy immaterialities which, 290 LOUISIANA TERRITORY under certain favorable conditions, are said to come to us from the land of the future. It is claimed, for instance, that in J 553' a richly laden merchant vessel put in at Havanah on the way from Vera Cruz to Cadiz, and was afterward wrecked on the coast of Florida. We are not informed as to the particular part of the coast where this disaster oc- curred; but in any event, some members of the crew, in imitation of Cabeza de Vaca and his three companions, made their way overland to Mexico; and necessarily, in passing over this route, they must have crossed the Mississippi. Indeed there are references to De Soto's river, as it was called, in the accounts which the castaways gave of their adventures. These men represented that throughout the entire course of their journey they were engaged in almost a continuous battle with angry natives ; a fact which, combined with other disasters in the Mississippi Valley, hinted at, but of which we have no certain account, finally induced the Spanish king, in 1557, to order the reduction of Florida, as the whole region between the Alleghenies and the unsubstantial South Sea of the indefinite west was then called. But the effort to carry out this order was not made until two years later, when an army of fifteen hundred infantry and about two hundred horsemen was fitted out in Mexico, and placed un- der command of Tristran de Luna, with orders to carry out the wishes of the king. Several Dominican friars and a number of women accompanied this expedition, for it was 291 MISSISSIPPI V ALLEY PRECEDING FRENCH OCCUPATION the intention to colonize the country as well as subdue it. Every survivor of all the other explorations of Florida who could be found, was induced to lend the benefit of his ex- perience to the present undertaking, so that it finally set out under auspices that seemed favorable enough to insure success. The expedition sailed from Vera Cruz in July, 1559, in thirteen ships. Although these were first-class war vessels of the period, they were in fact such veritable hulks as no modern sailor would risk his life in for a single hour; and mainly on this account disaster attended the venture from the time a landing was made in Florida. The fleet arrived on the 1 5th of August, and came to anchor in a bay which a former explorer had called Filipina; but De Luna re- christened it Santa Marie, by reason of the fact that he had reached the place on the feast of the Virgin. This harbor, wherever it may have been, proved to be an unsafe road- stead; for six days after the ships had come to anchor they were all wrecked in a storm, except one, which was driven ashore. But with true Spanish perseverance, de Luna col- lected such of his forces as had escaped a watery grave, and with the bedraggled remnant marched boldly into the in- terior of the country. Coming at length to a deserted town called Nanipacna, which had been wasted by De Soto during his sweep through that region, de Luna encamped there for a period ; and learning of the rich province of Cosa, or Coosa, a familiar sound also to those who have read the exploits of 292 MISSISSIPPI V ALLEY PRECEDING FRENCH OCCUPATION the great adventurer just named, he resolved to send an ex- pedition there. A detachment of two hundred choice lancers and cavaliers was selected for this purpose, and placed under orders of the sergeant-major of the command; who was accompanied by two of the Dominican friars, with instruc- tions to exercise their religious office for the conversion of the heathen. The party reached the capital of the cacique of Cosa in safety, and finding him engaged in a war with a tribe called the Napochies (probably the Natchez), they entered into an offensive and defensive alliance with him, and marched against the common enemy. The territory of the Napo- chies lay on the Ochechiton, meaning " great water," which the Spaniards curiously enough took to be the sea. This fact alone will demonstrate how utterly ignorant they were of the exploits of their own countrymen which had taken place in that very region only sixteen years before. The cacique being provided with a fine Arabian steed, marched at the head of his troops in a splendor of style never equaled by any of his predecessors, with fan-bearers and a negro groom to lead his horse. A pitched battle was fought with the Napochies, in which, being unable to with- stand the charges of the Spanish cavaliers, they were sorely defeated. This conflict took place near the banks of the Ochechiton, to which the Spaniards marched immediately afterward. On reaching the river they were so impressed with its dignity, that they bestowed upon it the name of 293 LOUISIANA TERRITORY Rio del Espiritu de Santo, and for the second time took pos- session of the country watered by it and its tributaries in the name of the Spanish king. We have no further account of the exploits of this de- tachment, but it is known that they returned to the main command under de Luna ; which, after a mutiny and various hardships and disasters, was discovered on the coast of Florida by a Spanish fleet and taken to Cuba. It seems that de Luna, with a few of the most faithful of his fol- lowers, subsequently returned to Florida and continued their explorations, until 1562, when they made their way back to Mexico. This was the last regular effort of the Spaniards to ex- plore the Mississippi Valley, although several individuals of that nation, starting from Mexico and other points, are supposed to have wandered as far as the river itself. In 1580 several Spanish missionaries penetrated from Mexico northward into the present territory of New Mexico, where they were killed by Indians; but reports which they had sent back induced others to come, and this led to the es- tablishment of the early Spanish colonies in that region. Here, as elsewhere, they continually heard of the Rio Grande del Espiritu Santo, or great river of De Soto; and some of the colonists are said to have crossed the country to its western banks, though there is no definite record of the fact. In the various efforts that were made to penetrate to the Mississippi, some of the adventurers mistook the Rio Grande 294 MISSISSIPPI VALLEY PRECEDING FRENCH OCCUPATION of Mexico for the river they were searching for, and called it " the grand river " under the impression that it was the veritable Father of Waters. Thus time went on, until the nations, busy with their petty wars and selfish intrigues, forgot the Mississippi and the great valley which it waters. Meanwhile also those Indians who had met De Soto and the later Spaniards, lived their allotted space of time, passed on to the Happy Hunting Grounds, and were succeeded 'by others who knew not the pale faces. Tradition is but a poor medium for the trans- mission of history, and as new generations of red men were born, and lived, and passed over, the remarkable appearance and awful cruelties of the Spaniards gradually passed out of memory, except in an indistinct and far-away manner, like the recollection of a troubled dream or nightmare. The great confederacies that flourished in the time of De Soto languished and died, and others took their place; and in all these changes and mutations there seems to have been a gradual decline from the high standard of semi-civilization which the Spaniards of the i6th century had found. Only faint intimations of it remained among certain tribes and parts of tribes ; and these appear to have borrowed it from their predecessors, for they possessed it in a less advanced stage, and inhabited other parts of the valley. The glory of the great nations that De Soto visited and described, had departed long before the advent of the French ; and in their place were races much inferior to them. This was especially 295 LOUISIANA TERRITORY true of the Florida and other Southern Indians. At the beginning of the period of French occupancy they possessed a mere shadow of their former splendor, and were unrecog- nizable by the accounts which the Spaniards had given of them. Whether this was the natural decline to be expected of barbarous nations, or whether De Soto struck them a blow from which they were not able to recover, are questions which cannot now be determined. But in this connection there are two important features which ought not to be lost sight of ; there was a large infusion of Spanish blood among those Indians; and the Spaniards transmitted to them a number of diseases inherited from the lascivious course of life which had prevailed for ages in Europe. An intermix- ture of white blood with that of the dark or black races has invariably produced.a hybrid species, inferior to either of the originals ; and this no doubt had much to do with the decline of the Southern tribes. Disease and licentiousness had weakened and debased them, and rendered them incompetent to maintain that high standard which they had achieved by their own efforts before the coming of the Spaniards. The Natchez were the only people of the Mississippi Val- ley who seem to have retained their ancient strength and splendor; probably because the Spaniards, except in the brief turmoil with de Luna, had but little to do with them. They were mound-builders, and differed radically from all the other tribes. Their language showed no etymological connection with any of the other Indian dialects ; they spoke 296 TEMPLE OF FIRE-WORSHIPING NATCHEZ INDLJNS. E most remarkable Indian nation in America were the Natchez, a people who once very powerful, even three hundred years ago, are now extinct. ' The> were mound builders, and claimed to have descended from the ancient inhabitants of Central America, but there are evidences that they came from the northwest They had a religion that was a mixture of fire-worship, sun-worship, and sabian- ism. Their temples at Natchez were set upon a mound which was surrounded bv a strong wall pierced by a single gate which was guarded by priests. Within the large temple a perpetual fire was maintained, and in the others were the bones of what they called their' Suns, a designation they gave to the supreme ruler of the hiearchy. At the y they possessed ere uim id given of ,j>ccted r.stions connect A<\ V\\ XH TO T \v/, W/iA<\ V V\?,3* V ) V ^'TT no ^ , . :. gfepfift Vl9ff 1 "-""' orf arfl's-ow xiwbo -jrli ni IHTR . Hitio nloi jmmqiie )/(> o) 9-^3 ^< f i notwn^iv , . :ent pi Val- ,-th and the vith them. ! y from all ?cal -.>ke MISSISSIPPI VALLEY PRECEDING FRENCH OCCUPATION a tongue that was radically different from all the other tribes of the continent, except the Tensas, to whom they were related by blood and religion. According to their traditions, ihe Natchez came from the southwest, in consequence of wars with the ancient inhabit- ants of a distant country in that direction, presumably Yu- catan. They first made a stand on the seacoast, where a part of the tribe remained; but the greater portion pushed their way inland, until they established themselves on both sides of the Mississippi river, with their principal town on the present site of the city of Natchez. Here they were found by the Spaniards. Their religion was sabianism, asso- ciated with sun-worship, which seems to carry them back to some remote affinity with the ancient Persians and Chal- deans. They recognized the unity of God, but worshiped intelligences which they supposed resided in the sun. Mor- ally they were exceedingly dissolute, but of a mild and friendly disposition, preferring peace to war, though never hesitating to resent any encroachment on their rights. By their traditions they were the original people of the world, having descended from the first man and woman, who came down from the sun, evidently for the purpose of creating the Natchez race. They were governed by a great Sun, a lineal descendant, through the female line, of the first members of the human race. The great Sun was assisted by lesser suns or chiefs, who acted as his advisers and carried out his orders; and they were also commanders of the fighting 299 LOUISIANA TERRITORY men in time of war. Their first temple was built by their original progenitors on their arrival from the sun, who at the same time kindled the perpetual fire within its precincts, which had never been allowed to expire. The temple at Natchez was built on a mound eight feet high, and was in the form of a modern house with a steep roof. It contained the bones of all the suns, and the perpetual fire of three logs was kept burning in the center, by priests especially anointed for that office. The cabin, or palace, of the ruling Sun occupied another mound near the temple, its form and construction being similar to the latter, except that its roof was oval. The power of the chief Sun was despotic, even to the extent of life and death; and so also was that of his sisters and all his immediate relatives, especially those of the female line. He could have as many wives as he chose, and in order that the race might be maintained pure, they were selected, to a large extent, from among his sisters and other near rel- atives. No one was permitted to approach the chief Sun except by special permission, and with numerous ceremonials and marks of reverence. In all things he was regarded as the direct representative of the deity, and was honored as such. Next below the suns was an order of nobles, similar to the nobility of Europe at the present time. They were ex- empt from labor and all the burdens of government, being supported by the contributions of the people. The latter 300 MISSISSIPPI V ALLEY PRECEDING FRENCH OCCUPATION were called Michemichequipy, a barbarous and almost un- pronounceable name, which the French wisely transformed into Puants, or " stinking " Indians. But they were by no means reduced to the degraded position of the common people of Europe. Except for the fact that their chief Sun held the prerogative of life and death over them, which was exercised only in accordance with their laws and regulations, they were free men. In the enjoyment of this freedom, together with the benefits of a mild climate and an abund- ance of healthy and nutritious food, they had developed physically until they were as fine specimens of manhood as any nation could boast. Their weapons were the ordinary implements of savage warfare and the chase, consisting of bows and flint-pointed arrows and spears. They did not possess the keen-bladed flint-knives that were such dreaded instruments in the hands of some of the Western tribes ; nor had they any implements or vessels of any kind, except a few earthen plates and pots. Their summer costume consisted of tunic and drawers, composed of a very fine, soft and beautiful cloth, woven by hand from flax and the inner bark of the mulberry tree. In winter they wore robes of dressed buffalo skin, or bril- liant cloaks of feathers, braided with porcupine quills ; their tonsure being ornamented with turkey and eagles' feathers. Instead of shaving the extra hair with flint-knives, which they did not possess, they followed the custom of some of 301 LOUISIANA TERRITORY the northern tribes, and burnt it off with blazing fagots or red-hot stones. They had numerous feasts, and were a light-hearted, jovial people; enjoying the good things of life, and enduring the bad as necessary evils which they could not escape. On the death of a chief Sun a number of his wives and relatives were slain, in order that they might accompany and minister to him in the spirit world; but this ceremony, instead of being regarded by the victims as a sacrifice or a hardship, was on the contrary looked upon as a pleasant journey into new and beautiful countries, accompanied by a beloved friend. Their dead were wrapped in robes of cloth or skins, and deposited on raised platforms until the flesh was consumed, when the bones were buried. They manifested the same respect and veneration for their dead which was so marked a characteristic of nearly all the tribes of the continent, and was due to their belief in the personal immortality of the individual. Their friends were not dead, but gone before. There was a faint trace of Votanism among these people, and de la Vega claimed to have seen a copy of the Book of Votan, written in hieroglyphics, among the Indians of New Mexico, which he translated. According to this story, Votan, who was a demi-god, came from over the sea to America, and finding it already peopled, established a gov- ernment in Xibalba, which is supposed to have been located in Yucatan, or one of the adjacent Central American coun- 302 MISSISSIPPI V ALLEY PRECEDING FRENCH OCCUPATION tries. There he established the religion of Maya, which still exists among the Mayas Indians of that region; and thence the people professing this faith spread northward until they covered the Mexican plateau, and even invaded the present limits of the United States. This accounts for the legendary migration of the Natchez, who traveled farther than any of the other migrating Votans. The connection of this tribe with the Mayas of Yucatan, if there be any such connection, is traced mainly by the similarity of some of their religious beliefs and domestic customs, and the fact that they were a different people from any of the other tribes among whom they lived. Their traditions also pointed strongly in the same direction. The Mayas were classed among the most civilized of the American nations. When first discovered they had an al- phabet and a literature, and were employed as agriculturists and manufacturers. They made sailing vessels, by means of which they carried on a considerable commerce with their neighboring tribes along the coast, using a regular medium of exchange, composed of shells, pieces of copper, and cacao beans. They erected temples and other edifices of cut stone, which, owing to their size and profuse ornamentation with carved and colored figures and bassi releivi, are still regarded as the most remarkable architectural relics of the western hemisphere. Their books were in manuscript form, written in long strips of prepared inner bark, the lines reading from right to left, or from bottom to top of the page. The sheets 303 LOUISIANA TERRITORY were then folded and bound together, so that in some in- stances they formed volumes of considerable size. They had divided the year into eighteen months, each of twenty days, with a period of five days and six hours over. Their religion was of the most sanguinary character, and this is perhaps the strongest link in the chain of evidence that connects them with the Natchez Indians. On the death of a chief, a number of his relatives and domestics were slain as companions for his spiritual journey, the executioners cutting out their hearts while still alive, and afterwards flaying their bodies. Some were shot to death with arrows, and others were thrown into a sacred pit, where they were killed by the fall or died from the bites of venomous serpents. All the devilish ingenuity of priestcraft seems to have been concentrated in the> effort to surround death with every possible horror; but whether out of pure malevolence, or in order that life on the other side might appear all the more beautiful by contrast with the experiences through which they had just passed, cannot be determined. Their religion required frequent bathings ; and, like the Jews, they always washed their hands and mouths after eating. 'They had drums and wind instruments, with which they kept time to their religious dances, some of which were so obscene as to be indescribable; yet their women were highly chaste and modest. Like other savages, they painted the face and body, tattooed their persons, and both sexes wore earrings. The women filed their teeth, wore pieces of amber in the cartilage 304 MISSISSIPPI VALLEY PRECEDING FRENCH OCCUPATION of the nose, and flattened the heads of their infants. Both sexes were addicted to a drink resembling mead, which was rendered intoxicating by the infusion of a root. As a result, intemperance prevailed among them to an alarming extent. In war their arrows were tipped with obsidian, or the teeth of fish ; but their spear-heads were made of flint, like those of other savage tribes. They also carried large copper hatchets, with keen blades, which constituted their most for- midable weapon. Their bodies were protected by bucklers and an armor composed of quilted cotton filled with salt, which was impervious to the ordinary force of an arrow. We have noticed this people at some length, because they are supposed to be the stock from which our own Natchez Indians sprang; and as this narrative progresses it will be observed that there were many things in common between the two. Having thus outlined the conditions as they existed in the Mississippi Valley at the beginning of the French occupation, we will now consider the explorations of Louis Joliet and Father Marquette, who were the first representatives of that nation to sail upon the waters of the Great River. 305 DIVISION XV. French Explorations in the Mississippi Valley. THE Spaniards having apparently abandoned the valley of the Mississippi to its original inhabitants, the French were the next civilized nation to appear in that region as explorers and claimants of the soil. The work of exploration was inaugurated by the Jesuit missionaries, who in their zeal for the conversion of the heathen displayed a spirit of devoted heroism unsurpassed in the history of the world. Volun- tarily submitting their lives and their persons to the keeping of God, they ventured alone thousands of miles into the wilderness to preach the gospel to savages, who on numerous occasions manifested their appreciation of the sacrifice by using them as targets for their tomahawks and arrows. Many of these devoted men died the death of martyrs, and some were subjected to the crudest tortures; but they per- severed in the face of dangers and sufferings that would seemingly have appalled the stoutest of hearts, and in the end their efforts were crowned with a success more than equal to their expectations. Before the close of the first half of the seventeenth cen- tury, there were rumors in New France, as Canada was then 306 FRENCH EXPLORATIONS IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY called, of a great river in the far West, which was supposed to flow into the China Sea. These rumors stimulated inter- est in the subject, and advanced thinkers of the age began to believe that the long-sought-for way to the Orient was about to be discovered. As early as 1639, Jean Nicolet, a French explorer and trader living at Quebec, made his way in the pursuit of his calling beyond the territory of the Hurons, into the country of the Winnebagoes, " a people called so because they came from a distant sea, but whom some French erroneously called Puants." The Winnebagoes spoke a language different from any of the dialects that Nicolet was familiar with, but entering into friendly relations with them, and guided by some of their warriors, he ascended Fox river to its portage, where he embarked on another river which he was told in three days would carry him to the sea. But this was a mis- apprehension of language. The meaning of the Indian term was " Great Water," or " Father of Waters," by one or both of which appellations the Mississippi was known to all the tribes. Nicolet had reached the Wisconsin, through Fox river and its portage, and in three days might have floated to the Mississippi. For some reason he did not pursue the investigation ; but the stories which he repeated on returning to Quebec, about having been on a river that would have carried him to the sea in three days, led the Jesuit fathers to believe that they were about to discover the long-sought passage to India and the East. With their usual persevw- 37 LOUISIANA TERRITORY ance they did not allow the subject to rest. The hope of reaching the mystic South Sea by so short a route, and carry- ing the gospel to nations more remote than any they had yet seen, stimulated their courage and hopeful expectations to the highest degree. Arrangements were made with the Algonquins, who were familiar with the region extending indefinitely toward the setting sun, to invite certain of the fathers to accompany them on their next annual hunt, " to those men of the other sea." But unexpected delays oc- curred. In 1641 a mission was established among the Chippewas at Sault Ste. Marie, by Fathers Jogues and Raymbout, who there heard the rumors repeated concerning the great west- ern river and the people who dwelt upon its banks. This increased their eagerness to push the gospel in that direction ; but the intervention of war again delayed their purpose. The Five Nations, supplied with firearms and ammunition by the Dutch of New York, began the war of extermina- tion against the Hurons and their allied tribes, already greatly weakened by pestilence and disease. This for the time being put an end to all intercourse between the French at Quebec and the missions of the upper lakes; yet for the preservation of life it was necessary that the latter should have supplies. Accordingly, in 1642, Father Jogues and a French attendant named Rene Goupil, accompanied by a number of Hurons, set out on horseback for the lower settle- ments. On the way they were attacked by the Mohawks, 308 FRENCH EXPLORATIONS IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY one of the allied tribes, who killed nearly all the party and carried the rest, including the missionary and his attendant, prisoners to their towns in upper New York. There, after being compelled to witness the execution of most of their Indian companions, the two white men were tortured and mutilated and afterward reduced to a rude state of slavery among their savage captors. Filled with missionary zeal, they sought to impart the truths of Christianity to their mas- ters; but the effort cost Goupil his life, and Jogues was with difficulty rescued by the Dutch and sent to Europe. Another faithful missionary, Father Bressani, anticipating the dreadful straits to which the Hurons were reduced, set out from Quebec to go to their relief. But he was captured on the way by the Mohawks, and, like Jogues, suffered tor- ture and slavery at their hands. His condition at length excited the pity of the Dutch, who, securing his release, fur- nished him with transportation to France. Yet the extra- ordinary sufferings of these devoted men could not deter them from reengaging in the work which lay so near their hearts; and in a short time we find them both once more in Canada, proclaiming the gospel with the same zeal which had previously distinguished them. A temporary peace afforded the Hurons and their allies a measure of respite, and again the work of the missionaries began to take root. Five churches were established in as many towns, together with one for the Algonquins who dwelt among the Hurons. The troubles through which they 309 LOUISIANA TERRITORY had passed seemed to incline these people more than ever to receive the teachings of the gospel, and the missionaries were greatly encouraged with the outlook for the future. But the worst had not come. In July, 1648, an overwhelming army of the Iroquois attacked the Huron town of Teananstayae, and the issue was not long in doubt. While the warriors manned the palisades, Father Daniel encouraged them with the consolations of religion and administered the sacrament of baptism to the dying. When resistance had ceased and the last of the braves had fallen, he repaired to the chapel, which was filled to suffocation with terrified women and children. Barricad- ing the front door, he bade them fly by the rear entrance, while he awaited death at the hands of the Iroquois. In- furiated by his passive resistance, they filled his body with arrows and flung it into the midst of his burning church. Many of the Hurons now abandoned their towns and sought refuge on secluded islands of the lakes, while others, fleeing westward, placed themselves under the protection of the Sioux, whose territory bordered on the Mississippi. This soon proved to be one of the impelling causes which led to the discovery and exploration of that river, as we shall see. For a time the peace of desolation reigned in the Huron country; but in March, 1649, an army of a thousand Iro- quois stormed one of the few remaining villages, called by 310 FRENCH EXPLORATIONS IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY the missionaries St. Ignatius. So complete and ruthless was the massacre that only three of the inhabitants escaped. These made their way to the neighboring town of St. Louis, where the missionaries Brebeuf and Lalemant were stationed. As soon as it was known that the Iroquois were coming, the Hurons, as with one voice, begged the fathers to escape ; but turning a deaf ear to the appeal, they remained; and, like the now martyred Daniel, exercised their ministrations to the last. The first assault of the enemy was repulsed; but this temporary check only increased their fury. Returning to the attack, the palisades were carried and the cabins set on fire ; when an indiscriminate slaughter ensued. The missionaries were taken while ministering to the wounded and the dying, and, bound and guarded, were con- veyed with other captives reserved for the torture, to the ruined village of St. Ignatius. Here a scene of frightful brutality was enacted. The fathers being bound to the stake, Brebeuf s hands were cut off, and Lalemant's body was filled with burning awls and iron barbs; red-hot hatchets were inserted under their arms and between their legs, and around Brebeuf's neck a collar of these weapons was placed. In the midst of his torments he spoke to them kindly, admon- ishing them against their evil deeds and pointing the way to life. But when they derided his words and scoffed at his religion, he called down God's vengeance upon them for their wickedness and hatred of Christianity. Then they cut off his nose and thrust a firebrand into his mouth ; they sliced LOUISIANA TERRITORY off portions of his flesh and ate them in his presence, and in mockery of baptism they poured boiling water on his head. Finally, they hacked off his feet, tore open his chest, and devoured his heart. Lalemant was forced to endure even more than his com- panion, for his tortures were prolonged throughout the night. After being subjected to many of the same cruelties that were inflicted upon his fellow-sufferer, they encased his body in bark and set it on fire, and tore out his eyes and forced live coals into the sockets. At dawn, one of the savages, more merciful than the rest, put an end to his sufferings by cleav- ing his head with a hatchet. Such were the horrors to which these martyrs were sub- jected; but though the manner of their death was made known to their fellow-rnissionaries in all its frightful details, the occasion no sooner arose than others offered themselves willing subjects for a similar sacrifice. How great must their faith have been ! For the time being the Huron missions were overthrown, and that once powerful nation was scattered to distant parts of the continent. One tribe or family submitted to their enemies, and were incorporated into the confederacy of the Iroquois. Others followed the first fugitives to the distant shores of Lake Superior, and afterward wandering back to the vicinity of Lake Michigan, were found there by the missionaries and given a home at Mackinac, where they were subsequently incorporated into the tribe of the Wyandottes. 312 FRENCH EXPLORATIONS IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY Several bands took refuge with tribes of kindred races, and being incorporated with them were lost as a separate people. In June, 1650, the missionaries abandoned the Huron country, and descending to Quebec with a number of their converts, installed them on the Isle of Orleans; but even there the hatred of the Mohawks found them, and they were swept off to a mere remnant. The survivors were then given a home at Lorette, on the St. Charles river, about eight or nine miles from Quebec, where their descendants are still to be found. But they speak the French language, and have so fully adopted the customs of that polite nation that they no longer retain any of the characteristics of their or- iginal race. Thus perished a great nation, for at the beginning of the war with the Iroquois the Hurons numbered a population of more than thirty thousand souls. So ended also, in sor- row and affliction, the Huron missions as such, for although they were subsequently resumed, it was not under their old name, nor were the efforts of the missionaries confined to the same people. The beginning of these missions dated back to 1615, and during their existence they had employed twenty-seven fathers, seven of whom had sacrificed their lives in the work. Temporary peace followed the dispersion of the Hurons, but the bloodthirsty disposition of the Mohawks, the " she bears " of the Iroquois confederacy as they called themselves, prevented its long endurance. Outbreaks continued from 313 LOUISIANA TERRITORY time to time, until at last the French government, weary of savage treachery and duplicity, struck a blow in the heart of the Iroquois country that brought a permanent peace. These matters will be treated in their proper connection. Meanwhile missions had been established among the Ot- tawas of Lake Superior as early as 1641, and had continued to exist in a feeble way, although cut off for a long time from direct communication with the French of lower Can- ada. In 1656, after the abandonment of the Huron mis- sions, a delegation of Christian Ottawas succeeded in making their way to Quebec, and on their return they were accom- panied by the missionaries Garreau and Menard. Near Montreal the little flotilla was ambushed by a party of Mohawks, and Garreau was killed. But neither his death nor the fearful martyfdom of his brethren could deter others. They courted the fate which brought a crown as its reward. " Should we die at last in misery," wrote Menard, with pro- phetic vision, " how great our happiness will be." Men endowed with such a spirit are unconquerable. Although defeated in his first effort to reach the Ottawas, Menard per- severed and finally succeeded, four years after the murder of his former companion. Supplied with Ottawa guides, who, like their nation, proved to be both cowardly and treacherous, he set out in 1660 for the distant wilderness bordering the southern shores of Lake Superior. On the way his brutal guides abused and deserted him, but pur- suing his course alone, he finally reached his destination in FRENCH EXPLORATIONS IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY safety, having sustained life the greater part of the way with nuts and roots. Finding himself in the midst of the people among whom his future lot was to be cast, he wrote to his superior : " Here I had the consolation of saying mass, which repaid me with usury for all my past hardships. Here I began a mission, composed of a flying church of Christian Indians from the neighborhood of the settlements, and of such as God's mercy has gathered in here." Though not having yet reached the decline of life, being then in his fifty-seventh year, Menard had endured so much in his previous labors among the Hurons and the Iroquois, that he was now an old man and illy prepared for the hard- ships which he was destined to encounter. At first an old chief received him into his wigwam, but finding his presence an obstacle to the abuse which he was accustomed to inflict upon the squaws of his household, he cast him out into the snow. Then the father built himself a miserable shelter of fir branches, in which he spent the winter, laboring mean- while to instruct those by whom he was surrounded. During the following summer a band of fugitive Hurons, who had found a refuge on Black river, in central Wiscon- sin, learning of the presence of the father among the Ot- tawas, sent for him to come and minister to them. Eager to comply with this friendly call, he set out alone in August to traverse the wilderness between the lake and the river. He was never seen alive again. How or when he died is not known with certainty, but it is supposed that he was 315 LOUISIANA TERRITORY. killed by a Kickapoo warrior soon after leaving the Ottawa towns. Menard was succeeded by Father Claude Allouez, who established a mission among the Ottawas on Chegoimegon Bay in October, 1665, which he named La Pointe du St. Esprit. There he heard of the " great river," and wrote that " it empties, as far as I can conjecture, into the sea by Virginia." He likewise wrote that he had heard of the tribes of the Ilimouek and the Nadouessiouek, who " live on the great river called the Messipi," thus for the first time giving the name by which the river has ever since been known. Other explorers, at various times, bestowed dif- ferent titles upon it, but none of them supplanted the real name, Mississippi. Meanwhile, other rumors of the " great river " had reached the French from various sources. In 1658 a daring Frenchman named Groseilles passed the winter alone on the shores of Huron lake, and later visited the country of the Sioux. There he met some of the fugitive Hurons, and after conversing with them he was able to write concerning the Mississippi, " It is said to be a beautiful river, large, broad, and deep, which would bear comparison, they say, with our St. Lawrence." On its banks lived at that time the Illinois, who had fled from the vengeance of the Iroquois ; but they soon returned to their own country, watered by the river which still bears their name. From other quarters also the fathers heard of the " great 316 FRENCH EXPLORATIONS IN THE MISSISSIPPI Y ALLEY river." Those who labored in New York saw war-parties of Iroquois set out against the Ontoagannha, whose towns " lay on a beautiful river, which leads to the great lake, as they call the sea, where they trade with Europeans who pray to God, as we do, and have rosaries and bells to call men to prayers." This was the Ohio, and the fathers sup- posed the reference to the sea meant the Gulf of Mexico, or of California. But this was another misconception of terms, for the Indians referred to the " great river," as the Mississippi was known to all the tribes. 317 DIVISION XVI. Explorations of Marquette and Joliet. WE now approach the era of Marquette, when what may be called the practical discovery of the Mississippi was to be made. Father Dablon having become superior of all the Ottawa missions, it was resolved to establish one also among the Illinois, and father Jacquez Marquette was selected for that post. He had already established a mission at Sault Ste. Marie, in 1668, and the following year he was sent to take the place of Allouez among the Ottawas and Hurons at La- pointe. There he bega'n the study of the language of the Illinois, preparatory to the beginning of his labors among that people. It seems that about this time he heard of another great river flowing from the west, which he thought might afford the desired waterway to the South Sea. It was the Mis- souri which thus, in a shadowy way, began to come into notice; and the father resolved to visit it at the first oppor- tunity. Concerning this intended voyage he wrote : " If the Indians who promise to make me a canoe do not break their word, we shall go into this river as soon as we can, with a Frenchman and this young man given me, who knows EXPLORATIONS OF MARQUETTE AND JOL1ET some of these languages, and has a readiness for learning others; we shall visit the nations that inhabit them, in order to open the passage to so many of our fathers, who have long awaited this happiness. This discovery will give us a complete knowledge of the southern or western sea." The young man " given him," to whom Marquette refers, was an intelligent Indian youth, who had been assigned to teach the father the language of the Illinois and kindred tribes, as he himself intimates. It will be a pleasure to fol- low Marquette in all his wanderings, for he was a close ob- server, a beautiful and entertaining writer, and one of the most gentle and lovable of men. The way was now being opened for him, and his com- panion, the Sieur Joliet. In November, 1669, Father Al- louez visited Green Bay and preached there during the win- ter to members of various tribes, who had collected in a vil- lage at that place. Among them were Sacs, Foxes, Winne- bagoes, and Pottawatomies, all of whom had seen or heard of the Mississippi, and from these Indians the father gained much valuable information concerning the mighty river which was now coming into such prominent notice. On the 1 6th of April, 1670, Allouez embarked in his canoe on Fox river, which he ascended to its junction with Lake Win- nebago. Crossing that body of water, he came to a river which had its outlet " from a wild-oat lake," but he did not at this time enter upon its waters. His present object was a band of Fox Indians, some of whose members had been LOUISIANA TERRITORY carried away by the Iroquois. On reaching their camp he found them greatly dejected and weeping, according to the custom of their people; but after consoling them with words of kindness and teaching them some of the first principles of Christianity, they became more cheerful; and the father left them with the assurance that he had planted the good seed in soil that would not be utterly fruitless. In his return he again sought the river that flowed " from the wild-oat lake," and thus became the discoverer of the Wisconsin. " It was a beautiful river/' he wrote, " running southwest with- out any rapid It leads to the great river named Mes- si-sipi, which is only six days' sail from here." Now the way was open to the Mississippi, and thence to the sea; but the time for the great discovery was not quite ripe. The peace with the L'oquois, from which so much had been expected, was suddenly disturbed by the sound of savage tumult in the distant West. The Ottawas, and those Hurons who had found a refuge in the territory of the wild Sioux, had provoked the latter until they resolved to de- clare war; but before doing so they sent back the religious pictures which had been given them by the Catholic fathers. These, they said, were good enough totems in time of peace, but when they went on the war-path they preferred a free hand with their own ancient gods. The Christian God was too mild to answer their bloody purposes. The Ottawas, cowards by nature, and the Hurons, sub- dued and humbled by their late experiences with the Iro- 320 EXPLORATIONS OF MARQUETTE AND JOLIET quois, now fled before the peril which beset them from the west. The Sioux swept with fire and steel up to the very margin of Lake Michigan; and the Illinois mission being now an impossibility, Marquette followed the fugitive Hurons to Mackinaw. But his passion to discover the Mississippi and the more distant Missouri, and preach the gospel to the peo- ple living there, did not depart from him. He continued his study of the languages that would benefit him in his anticipated travels, and awaited the coming of the opportune time. Mean while Father Dablon published a new account of the Mississippi, giving information which will be highly in- teresting at this distance of time. Said he, " To the south flows the great river, which they call the Mississippi, which can have its mouth only in the Florida sea, more than four hundred leagues from here." Then he adds, " I deem it proper to set down here all we have learnt of it. It seems to encircle all our lakes, rising in the north and running to the south, till it empties in a sea, which we take to be the Red Sea, or that of Florida; as we have no knowledge of any great rivers in those parts which empty into those two seas. Some Indians assure us that this river is so beauti- ful that more than three hundred leagues from its mouth it is larger than that which flows by Quebec, as they make it more than a league wide. They say, moreover, that all this vast extent of country is nothing but prairies, without trees or woods, which obliges the inhabitants of those parts 19 LOUISIANA TERRITORY to use turf or sun-dried dung for fuel, till you come about twenty leagues from the sea. Here the forests begin to appear again. Some warriors of this country ( Mascoutins) , who say that they have descended that far, assure us that they saw men like the French, who were splitting trees with long knives, some of whom had their house on the water; thus they explained their meaning, speaking of sawed planks and ships. They say besides, that all along this great river are various towns of different nations, languages, and cus- toms, who all make war on each other; some are situated on the river side, but more of them inland, continuing thus up to the nation of the Nadouessi, who are scattered ovet more than a hundred leagues of country." The Red Sea referred to by the father in this extract, was the gulf of California, which on account of its imag- inary resemblance to the Red Sea of the Scriptures, was so called by the missionaries. The Mascoutin Indians were closely allied to the Foxes and Kickapoos. They are some- times called the Fire Indians, because that was the meaning of their tribal name in the Huron tongue; though it is con- tended, on the other hand, that the real meaning of Mas- coutin is " Prairie," and that these savages were so called because their home was on the prairies of Illinois where fre- quent fires occurred when the grass was dry in autumn. The latter is probably the true explanation. The Mascou- tins were at first friendly with the French, but in 1712 they turned against them, taking sides with their brethren, the 322 EXPLORATIONS OF MARQUETTE AND JOLIET Foxes and Kickapoos; and thereafter they remained at en- mity with all white men, including the English and the Americans, until they were absorbed by other tribes about the beginning of the iQth century. Father Marquette now held himself in readiness for the first opportunity that might arise for him to carry out his cherished desire to explore the Mississippi, and likewise its great tributary from the west. The subject had been brought in a forceful manner to the attention of the French govern- ment, and on the 4th of June, 1672, the great minister, Col- bert, wrote M. Talon, then governor of New France : " As after the increase of the colony, there is nothing more im- portant for the colony than the discovery of a passage to the south sea, his majesty wishes you to give it your atten- tion." Thus came the order that led quickly to the consum- mation of Marquette' s hopes. M. Talon was on the point of sailing for home, having been superseded by the celebrated Count de Frontenac; but he remained long enough to put the king's wishes in the way of fulfillment. As leader of the expedition, he recommended one Louis Joliet, a man of experience, courage and liberal talents; and introducing him to Frontenac, the latter gave him the appointment, recommending him at the same time to the home government in this explicit manner : " I have deemed it expedient for the service to send the sieur Joliet to dis- cover the south sea by the Mascoutins country, and the great river Mississippi, which is believed to empty in the California 323 LOUISIANA TERRITORY sea. He is a man of experience in this kind of discovery, and has already been near the great river, of which he prom- ises to see the mouth." So little is known of Joliet that there is even some doubt concerning the correct orthography of his name, and for this reason it occurs in various forms in different histories. He was the son of a wagon-maker, and was born in Canada in 1645, so that at the time of his appointment to explore the Mississippi he was only twenty-seven years of age. In his early youth he had been a promising pupil in the Jesuits' school at Quebec, and at one time contemplated becoming a priest of that order. But his adventurous spirit demanded a more active life, and while still a mere boy we find him on the distant frontier, hunting and trading with the In- dians. Three years before his introduction to Frontenac he accompanied Nicholas Perrot to the Lake Superior re- gion, in quest of copper, and though they did not succeed in the object of their search, the experience gained soon be- came highly serviceable to the younger member of the ex- pedition. While attending the Jesuits' school Joliet had manifested a decided talent for the science of hydrography, which was now about to stand him in good stead; and after his return it gained for him enduring fame as a maker of maps and charts. In other respects there is not much to be said of this excellent man, who for some reason seems to have fallen under the displeasure of the French officials after his return from the Mississippi exploration; and he 3 2 4 EXPLORATIONS OF MARQUETTE AND fOLIET had therefore but little opportunity of further distinguishing himself. We are indebted to the incidental references of Father Marquette for the leading characteristics of his younger companion. Marquette was a native of Laon, France, where he was born in 1637. He was consequently still a young man, in his 36th year, when in 1673 he joined Joliet in their famous journey down the Mississippi. The previous year he had written his superior, Father Dablon, concerning his work at Mackinaw, which had been very successful : " I am ready, however, to leave it in the hands of another missionary, to go on your order to seek new nations toward the south sea, who are still unknown to us, and to teach them of our great God whom they have hitherto not known." For years he had longed to make this journey, and to find the people who might be benefited by his teachings; so that when he received notice of his selection as the spiritual companion of M. Joliet, his soul was filled with the joy which the an- nouncement brought him. Father Marquette had endeared himself to the savages about the lakes in a most remarkable manner, both by means of his gentle disposition and his kind offices to them in sickness and sorrow. So benevolent was his character that his very presence was like a benediction. He never came near any man without doing him good; and the savage people among whom he had labored so long regarded him more as a god than a man. Such was their veneration for 325 LOUISIANA TERRITORY him that for years after his death, when overtaken by storms in their frail barks on the lakes, it was said they " called upon the name of Marquette, and the winds ceased and the waves were still." Yet in spite of the love and respect which he inspired in the breasts of all, Marquette was the most modest of men. Indeed, so great was his diffidence that he rarely spoke of himself in the first person, and in all cases where credit was due for anything with which he was connected, he preferred some one else. Among all the festivals of his church, the one dearest to his heart was that of the Immaculate Con- ception; imagine then his joy when Joliet arrived at Macki- naw on that particular day, and notified him of his appoint- ment to accompany the expedition. The winter was spent in preparation and study. Nothing was omitted that might in the remotest manner aid in the success of the great undertaking. Chance was not allowed to play any part in their calculations, but so far as possible everything was reduced to the proportions of an exact sci- ence. The services of every Indian wanderer, who by re- port had been in the vicinity of the " great river," or knew anything about it or the people living on or near its banks, was called into requisition; and in the midst of this tawny group, by the flickering light of pine-knots, the first rude map of the Mississippi was drawn. It was traced from informa- tion given by the Indians, who, kneeling in groups around the white explorers, eagerly watched the outlining of the 326 MAP FROM MARSLVETTVS JOURNAL USl !sa5ippi , , c Michigan character of eh cartographer', ar, at the 1 * c n'' -ears after his death, when overtaken by storms ,s ots the lakes, k was said they " called upon aattte of Matqit^. ami tfcg w*rl* ceased, and the waves *p*t of the love and res**rt which he inspired in aH, Marquette was the roost modest of men. arely spoke * OR < was 'in w,th which be v -preferred ^e!se. Among al; ., :h t u. C .. -i ^I>* l| ^ < l9' 1 ^ f 4 f f *^ 1 ^O 'ioi)>0boiq- : i! iiM a^cJ (iioil fioijibaqxa eirl )o abcrn Jioqsi ' u r^i^qrrtr^frt'^niiolv BaiHJjhA 3dt to fiM/otn 3fi) M '/ M!' nv/<>l-. i..'ts ,?flp Jfl^jQ^flE .it ,501!) arfl )B Jit R'laffqEi^otiKa ril In -i3J3GiBri3 -'ft 3d) ^ntSf) ?li Kil x3 SIllsV K 3" .yjilsv i omitted that migfe! in the rern- allowed far as possible of an exact sci- encc - ' -vho by re- port had be, .. ^ new its ban' of this taw iemap lorma- ijroups around ning of the the v EXPLORATIONS OF MARQUETTE AND JOLIET rivers and their tributaries on a piece of cloth, with crayons of charcoal. What a scene was that to inspire the brush of a painter ! And now, while we await the development of their plans and the coming of spring, let us take another glance at the beautiful and benevolent character of Father Marquette, as outlined in his correspondence and other writings. In a letter to one of his fellow missionaries concerning a partic- ular nation of savages, he says : " The nation of the Ou- taouaks Sinagaux is far from the kingdom of God, being above all other nations addicted to lewdness, sacrifices, and juggleries. They ridicule the prayer, and will scarcely hear us speak of Christianity. They are proud and undeveloped, and I think that so little can be done with this tribe, that I have not baptized healthy infants who seem likely to live, watching only for such as are sick." Of another tribe at the mission he wrote : " The Indians of the Kinouche tribe declare openly that it is not yet time. There are, however, two men among them formerly bap- tized. One now rather old, is looked upon as a kind of miracle among the Indians, having always refused to marry, persisting in this resolution in spite of all that had been said. He has suffered much even from his relatives, but he is as little affected by this as by the loss of all the goods which he brought last year from the settlement, not having enough to cover him. These are hard trials for 329 LOUISIANA TERRITORY Indians, who generally seek only to possess much in this world." The other convert, a young man, seems to have possessed a most excellent character. Among the Indians it was es- teemed a great wrong, as well as a disgrace, not to marry; and if any young man manifested such a disposition every art of the opposite sex was brought to bear in their efforts to force him into matrimony. In this connection ceremo- nies were performed so frightfully lewd in character that the bare mention of them shocks every sense of decency. It was one of these diabolical scenes that the father refers to in the following extract : " The Indians, extremely at- tached to revelries, had resolved that a certain number of young women should prostitute themselves, each to choose such partner as she liked. No one in these cases ever re- fuses, as the lives of men are supposed to depend on it. This young Christian was called; on entering the cabin he saw the orgies which were about to begin, and feigning ill- ness immediately left, and though they called him back, he refused to go. His confession was as prudent as it could be, and I wonder that an Indian could live so innocently, and so nobly profess himself a Christian." It was hard to keep the Christian Indians always in the line of duty. If one fell sick he generally endeavored to make sure of the hereafter by taking both roads ; so that no matter what happened, he would find a good place on the other side. Hence, in their extremity, they nearly always 330 EXPLORATIONS OF MARQUETTE AND JOLIET called in the medicine-man, relying on their faith in the merits of baptism to carry them through in case the efforts of the conjurer were unsuccessful. So the good father writes : " God permitted a woman to die this winter in her sin ; her illness had been concealed from me, and I heard it only by the report that she had asked for a very improper dance for her cure. I immediately went to a cabin where all the chiefs were at a feast, and some Kiskakonk Chris- tians among them. To these I exposed the impiety of the woman and her medicine-man, and gave them proper in- structions. I then spoke to all present, and God permitted that an old Ottawa rose to advise, granting what I asked, as it made no matter, he said, if the woman did die. An old Christian then rose and told the nation they must stop the licentiousness of their youth, and not permit Christian girls to take part in such dances. To satisfy the woman, some child's-play was substituted for the dance; but this did not prevent her dying before morning." In another instance a head-chief, who had professed Chris- tianity, allowed a dog to be hung on a pole near his cabin, " which is a kind of sacrifice the Indians make to the sun. I told him that this was wrong, and he went and threw it down." .... "A sick man instructed, but not baptized, begged me to get him that favor, or to live near him, as he did not wish medicine-men to cure him, and that he feared the fires of hell. I prepared him for baptism, and frequently visited his cabin. His joy at this partly restored his health; 331 LOUISIANA TERRITORY he thanked me for my care, and soon after, saying that I had recalled him to life, gave me a little slave he had brought from the Illinois two or three months before." Even at that early date, when slavery was regarded as admissible by nearly all classes of people, the Jesuit fathers were greatly opposed to it, and never lost an opportunity to denounce the custom as sinful and wicked. Whenever slaves fell into their hands, either black or red, they were immediately set at liberty and taught the truths enunciated by Christ, that all men are equal, children of the same Father, and entitled to the same consideration. It was this, together with their adherence to the doctrine they proclaimed in their daily lives and practise, that gave the missionaries such a hold on the affections of the people. In announcing the principles of Christianity, the fathers were careful not to offend their auditors by too thorough a condemnation of their heathen superstitions; some of the latter were actually incorporated into the doctrines of the new faith, and with excellent results. " One evening," wrote Marquette, " while in the cabin of a Christian where I sleep, I taught him to pray to his guardian-angel, and told him some stories to show him the assistance they give us, especially when in danger of offering God. ' Now/ said he, ' I know the invisible hand that struck me when, since my baptism, I was going to commit a sin, and the voice that bid me remember that I was a Christian ; for I left the com- panion of my guilt without committing the sin.' He now 332 EXPLORATIONS OF MARQUETTE AND JOLIET often speaks of devotion to the angels, and explains it to the other Indians." The influence of the teachings and example of these sainted fathers diffused itself throughout all the tribes with whom they came in contact, to such an extent that the savages be- came like another race of men, as long as they could be kept in touch with those men of God. So much did they re- spect their teachings that they learned to respect and fear everything that came to them in the name of France. " So much do they fear them," said Father Marquette, writing of this peculiar feature of the work of the missionaries, " that they unbound from the stake two Illinois captives, who said, when about to be burned, that the Frenchman had declared he wished peace all over the world." These facts demonstrate the power of Christianity when proclaimed in truth and sincerity, bereft of all worldly-mindedness and seeking after power. No other religion has ever exerted so great an influence over the minds and actions of savage peoples, simply because it appeals to that common senti- ment of brotherhood and justice which pervades all hu- manity. These people, wrote Father Marquette, are well enough disposed to receive Christianity ; " they have be- gun to abandon their false worship, and to adore one God, whereas they formerly adored the sun and thunder." " Those seen by me are of apparently good disposition ; they are not night-runners like the other Indians. A man kills his wife if he finds her unfaithful; they are less prodigal 333 LOUISIANA TERRITORY in sacrifices .... and promise me to do all I require in their country." .... " Would," exclaims the good father, " that all these nations loved God as much as they feared the French! Christianity would soon flourish." The father gives us touches, also, of their customs. Speaking of the Nadouessi he says, " Their language is dif- ferent from the Huron and the Algonquin ; they have many towns, but they are widely scattered ; they have very extraor- dinary customs ; they principally adore the calumet ; they do not speak at great feasts, and when a stranger arrives, they give him to eat with a wooden fork, as we would a child. All the lake tribes make war on them, but with small suc- cess; they have false oars, use little canoes, and keep their word strictly." The Nadouessi, according to Marquette, were the Iroquois of the western lake region, but they were less treacherous, and never made war except when attacked. It is now impossible to identify them with any of the known tribes. They claimed to remember their migration across the Pacific Ocean, which would indicate an Asiatic origin; but such vague legends should be received with caution. Their amusements consisted mainly of athletic exercises, running, leaping, paddling, games with balls, and other games with small stones, some of which were so complicated that Europeans could not comprehend them. Their dances were numerous, and constituted a prominent feature of their religious observances. The sexes generally danced apart, though, like all the other tribes, they were extremely las- 334 A WAR DANCE OF THE IROQUOIS. ^'HE Iroquois at one time comprised a confederation of five tribes, and later a ^^ sixth tribe, the Tuscaroras, were added. Their original home was central New York, but they migrated westward and consolidated with the Hurons, and at the time of Marquette's expeditions large numbers were in Michigan. They were a war-like people, and like many other nations rarely undertook a hostile enterprise without arousing their courage to the utmost by indulging in a war- dance, as shown in the engraving. I r- 'her, lev feared the . HI -^O oit9b*ta<- .nEsifbiM m 6 iodnsJ-.-: ;i! bnB .alq f,9 *?l indicate be rece uninent rtoms. is dif- other >licated dances >f . their apart, EXPLORATIONS OF MARQUETTE AND JOLIET civious in their sexual associations, until their passions were modified by the teachings of Christianity. Boys were trained from early infancy to feats requiring dexterity and courage, the probation of the young warrior being attended with long fasts and tortures so rigorous that no white man could have endured them. The object was to harden them to every peril and suffering which might attend them in their future careers; for while they were merciless in the infliction of tortures on their enemies, they were expected when the fortunes of war turned against them to endure similar inflictions without a murmur. So complete was the training of generations in this respect that an Indian would go to the stake with a smile on his face, and endure the most excruciating agony with the stoicism of a martyr. No pain, let it be ever so great, could wring a cry from his lips; but in the midst of his torments he would revile his enemies and cry out to them, " You are women ; you do not know how to torture a prisoner." They believed in a future state of existence, and rever- enced the bodies of the dead, collecting their remains after a certain number of years into trenches, or circular pits, lined with furs, over which they raised mounds of earth. Food was placed on the graves of their dead, and when it was devoured or carried away by wild beasts, they con- gratulated themselves in the fond belief that their departed friends had eaten it. Implements of the chase and weapons of war were deposited in graves, in order that the dead 337 LOUISIANA TERRITORY might be fully armed and equipped on entering into the happy hunting grounds. Dreams were regarded as admo- nitions of the soul or spirit, to be disregarded only at the peril of the dreamer; and to such an extent were they in- fluenced by this belief that it formed a prominent feature of their religious faith. Food was eaten without salt or seasoning, and cooked in the simplest manner, generally by roasting or broiling over live coals. Baking was done in holes in the ground, where food was deposited and fires kept burning over it until it was thoroughly done. These were the earth-ovens so fre- quently mentioned by writers of that period. Corn was prepared in several ways, the most common forms being as hominy, or a coarse meal boiled and served with bear's grease or buffalo tallow. This was called sagamity, and it was re- garded as the finest dish in existence. The Indians were also very fond of parched corn, of which they constantly ate great quantities; and when hunting or on the war-path it formed their main reliance for food. They were familiar with a number of remedies for sick- ness, some of which were quite as effective as those of civ- ilized people. The one most commonly in use was the vapor bath, the processes of which will be described later on. For emetics they employed thoroughwort, spurge, and Indian hemp ; and for cathartics, the inner bark of the horse- chestnut and butternut trees. Mayweed and water-pepper were taken in the form of teas to expel humors of the blood 338 EXPLORATIONS OF MARQUETTE AND JOLIET and skin. The Indians also possessed some knowledge of blood-letting and cupping, but they seem to have employed this remedy only on the rarest occasions. They were ac- quainted with several deadly poisons, which they used for purposes of revenge and self-destruction. The mania of suicide prevailed among them to an alarming extent, due doubtless to their belief in a future state of unalloyed hap- piness. Women destroyed themselves as the only means of escape from the wretched tyranny and slavery to which they were subjected. Wounds were treated by sewing the parts together with the small tendons of the deer, or the stringy fibers of certain barks, after which they were poulticed with wild onions and other preparations. They had a large list of herbal remedies, which it might be tedious to mention; though many of them appeared to be effective for the pur- poses to which they were applied. 339 DIVISION XVII. The Departure from Mackinaw. As already intimated, the winter of 16723 was spent by Joliet and Marquette at Mackinaw, busily planning and ar- ranging for their memorable voyage of discovery on the Mississippi. The mission of St. Ignatius, where they lived during this time, was left in charge of Father Pierson, who was instructed in all -its details and introduced to the In- dians as the successor of their beloved Marquette. Winter in that northern latitude generally lingers late into spring, and so it was in the present instance; for not until the i/th of May, 1673, did the ice leave the water- courses sufficiently to enable the voyageurs to depart. Then, in two bark canoes, accompanied by five men as oarsmen, hunters and guides, they set out from the mission, " firmly resolved to do and suffer all for so glorious an enterprise." Father Marquette was enraptured with the prospect which lay before him. " I saw my designs," he wrote, " on the point of being accomplished, and myself in the happy ne- cessity of exposing my life for the salvation of all these nations." Their only stock of provisions for the long and dangerous journey, consisted of a few pounds of parched 340 THE DEPARTURE FROM MACKINAW corn and a little dried meat; but so earnest was the good father in the work he had undertaken, that if necessary he would have started without a morsel of food, depending, like the prophets of old, on the mercy and providence of God to sustain him. The frail vessels in which the hardy adventurers were entrusting themselves to the mercy of the Northern lakes, deserve more than a passing notice, for otherwise the reader might not appreciate the full measure of the danger they were voluntarily assuming. The canoes were composed of the bark of the birch tree, with cedar splints and ribs of spruce roots, covered with the pitch of the yellow pine. They were not more than fourteen to eighteen feet in length, and so narrow that a man slightly above the medium size would have experienced the greatest difficulty in seating him- self in them. Their keels were round, like the shape of the logs from which the bark had been riven, and they rested so uneasily on the water that a slight tip to either side would have upset them. The occupants were therefore required to remain seated on the bottoms so long as they continued on the water, and under no circumstance to move suddenly or lurch to either side. They had to constantly balance themselves almost with the precision of a tight-rope walker. Boots and shoes were rigidly excluded, owing to the danger of punching holes through the delicate structures with the heels. Each passenger, therefore, was required either to go barefooted or wear moccasins. The entire weight of 341 LOUISIANA TERRITORY such a vessel did not exceed forty pounds, an excess of light- ness which enabled the boatman to carry his canoe with ease, in addition to his arms and ammunition, across long portages and around rapids. Vessels better adapted to the require- ments of such a voyage as they were undertaking, could not have been found; but imagine yourself sailing across Lake Michigan, in the stormiest season of the year, in such a craft ! Marquette was careful to note in his diary that they had taken all possible precautions, so that if the enterprise were hazardous, it should not be foolhardy, and " our joy at being chosen for this expedition aroused our courage, and sweetened the labor of rowing from morning till night." Was ever greater faith or enthusiasm displayed by man ? and all for the sake of rinding new savages whom he might pos- sibly convert to the religion of Christ! "Above all,"says Marquette, " I put our voyage under the protection of the blessed Virgin Immaculate, promising her that if she did us the grace to discover the great river, I would give it the name of Conception; and that I would give that name to the first mission which I would establish among these new nations, as I have actually done among the Illinois." For many days they coasted along the western shore of Lake Michigan, hauling their boats on the beach when the waves were too rough ; until at length they came to the head of the Bay of the Fetid, as it was then called, now Green Bay. The name Fetid was derived from the Winnebagoes 342 AN ENCAMPMENT OF WINNEBAGO INDIANS. ^T'HE Winnebagoes were a tribe of Dakota Indians living in the vicinity of Green ^^ Bay, Wisconsin. They were a brave people and fought with the French against the British, but in the Revolution they favored the English, as they did also in 1812. They were at one time almost exterminated by the Illinois tribe, and gradually lost power, until in 1866 a small remnant remained who were located on a reservation in Nebraska, . ::ase, i not :[ p.firJLnl t.lujlfiU lo :>ont E '.m- " re glqooq 3 /c.id f; -SMI vadT .ni^in-viY/ fit bnnvsi vf>i!l uofltfiovj>! orll ,ii Ji .sdii) fionilll 3(il 'E ' ni n of the ' : riv. ; : t the WO' ' new e of the THE DEPARTURE FROM MACKINAW who inhabited that region, who had come from the salt or fetid water. Those tribes whose territory had always occupied an interior position had so great a dislike for salt that they applied to it the same word which in their language meant putrid or unsavory; and by this means the Winne- bagoes became known among them, as well as the French, as the " stinking Indians," or Puants. They were a branch of the Dakota family, which in their migration from the Pacific Ocean eastward had forced their way to the shores of Lake Michigan, where they were surrounded and cut off from their own people by the more powerful Algonquins. Here they were suffered to remain, though treated as for- eigners and intruders, and always referred to in terms of derision. Their language, as well as their customs, differed essentially from those of the tribes by which they were sur- rounded, and indicated a Tartar origin. By the Sioux they were called Hotanke, meaning Sturgeon, a term derived also from the fact of their having formerly dwelt by the side of the Western sea. On reaching the vicinity of Lake Michigan the Puants were in a very needy condition, and the Illinois Indians at- tempted to relieve them, but their ambassadors were treated as enemies and subjected to tortures ; whereupon the Illinois retaliated so fiercely that the Winnebagoes were almost ex- terminated. Only their women and children and a few of the men were spared. They slowly recovered their losses, until when the French came they numbered more than two 345 LOUISIANA TERRITORY thousand people. But they never got entirely rid of their Tartar blood, and always remained a turbulent race. When the missionaries first visited the Winnebagoes, they understood them to say that they were distant only nine days from the ocean ; but the term they used was not clearly understood. They meant to say that in nine days they could reach the " great water," meaning the Mississippi river, which the missionaries interpreted as sea or ocean. Know- ing that these people had come from the ocean, the French were encouraged by these reports, and strengthened in their resolution to find a passage to the South Sea. The Winnebagoes assumed friendly relations with the French from the beginning of their acquaintance, but there was always a coldness between them and the Algonquin tribes, whom they regarded as their oppressors. It is true they remained outwardly at peace, but they preferred the Iroquois, and paid occasional visits to the latter. In this way the French secured a good deal of valuable informa- tion concerning the purposes of the great Indian confed- eracy, and were told many things that occurred in the coun- try south of the lakes. It was therefore greatly to their interest to maintain friendly relations with the despised Puants. North of the Winnebagoes dwelt the tribes of the Menomi- nees, along the banks of the river which still bears their name. They were the first nation visited by the explorers as they sailed down the Fetid Bay; andMarquette refers to them 346 THE DEPARTURE FROM MACKINAW as the " Wild Oats Indians." He also states that there were at that time many good Christians among them, they having received the gospel gladly. " The wild oats," says the father, " from which they take their name, . . . are a kind of grass which grows spontaneously in little rivers with slimy bot- toms, and in marshy places; they are very like the oats that grow up among our wheat. The ears are on stalks knotted at intervals; they rise above the water about the month of June, and keep rising till they float about two feet above it. The grain is not thicker than our oats, but is as long again, so that the meal is much more abundant." He also describes the manner in which the Indians gathered the grain. In the month of September, which was the time of harvest, they paddled in canoes across the fields of wild oats, shaking the ripe grain from each side into the little vessels. The heads, being fully ripe, fell at a touch, so that the canoes were soon filled. They then put the grain to dry on wooden lattices, under which fires were kept burning for several days. " When the oats were well dried, they put them in a skin of the form of a bag, which is then forced into a hole made on purpose in the ground ; they then tread it out so long and so well that the grain being freed from the chaff is easily win- nowed ; after which they pound it to reduce it to meal, or even unpounded boil it in water seasoned with grease, and in this way wild oats are about as palatable as rice would be when not better seasoned." The first mission was established among the Menominees 347 LOUISIANA TERRITORY in 1670, by Fathers Allouez and Andre, and they remained friendly with the French until the monopoly granted to La Salle in 1678 interfered, as they imagined, with some of their rights, when they were supposed to have instigated the murder of several men at the Jesuit mission. But they made reparation, and afterward assisted the French in their wars with the Foxes and other tribes. A band of their warriors also participated in Braddock's defeat in 1755. During the Revolution they sided with the English, until the brilliant successes of General George Rogers Clark at Kaskaskia and Vincennes, in 1778, alarmed them for their own safety. Thereafter they remained neutral until the close of the war, with the exception of an expedition against the Spaniards at St. Louis, in 1780. During the war of 1812 they joined the confederation of tribes under Tecumseh, and fought the Americans to the end of the contest. In 1817 they entered into a treaty with the American commissioners, Governors William Clark, of Missouri, Ninian Edwards, of Illinois, and Auguste Chouteau, the younger, of St. Louis, under which they gave up all their prisoners and ratified the land grants -which had been made by the French, Spanish and English governments. During the war with the Sacs and Foxes under Black Hawk, in 1832, the Menominees aided the Americans by furnishing General Atkinson with a company of warriors ; and they ever afterward remained friendly with our people. They are a well-formed race, and lighter in complexion than most other tribes. Their language is a 348 IMPLEMENTS, TOTEMS, AND PICTURE WRITING OF THE MENOMONEES. E Menomonex-9 arc a branch of the great Algonquin confederation, who like the Iroquois fought with the French in the French and English war, but be- came allies of-tlie British during the Revolution and war of 1812. The\- occupied a considerable part of Wisconsin, but gradually ceded their lands in. the vicinity of Green Hay, and adopted agriculture in which they have had considerable suc- cess. The Menoinonees, which however no longer maintain their tribal .organi- zation, still live in Wisconsin. The illustration herewith shows the implements and picture-writing used by the tribe at the time that Marquette visited them. ", . La : of \f/AT:O''. I OWAXi. /- n;-/:y 3dj .fiis. the ipany ' THE DEPARTURE FROM MACKINAW dialect of the Algonquin, but it has numerous peculiarities of accent and is extremely gutteral in sound. When Marquette informed the Wild Oats Indians that he was on his way to discover distant nations and instruct them in the mysteries of the Christian religion, they were greatly surprised, and exerted their utmost influence to dissuade him from so dangerous an adventure. They told him that he would encounter nations who never spared strangers, but tomahawked them without provocation or mercy ; that a great war was then prevailing among the tribes of the South and Southwest, and that if he should fall in with any of their roving bands they would kill and scalp the " black gown," as the fathers were called, and all his company. They also represented that the Great River was very dangerous, except when navigated by some one who was familiar with its cur- rents and eddies ; that it was full of frightful monsters, that swallowed up canoes and men; and that at a certain place there was a demon whose roarings could be heard afar, and who devoured every living creature that came within his reach. In addition to all this, they declared that the heat of the countries through which the river flowed was so in- tense that it would inevitably kill every person not acclimated to it. " I thanked them for their kind advice," says the father, " but assured them that I could not follow it, as the salvation of souls was concerned ; that for them, I should be happy to lay down my life; that I made light of their pretended de- 351 LOUISIANA TERRITORY mon; that we would defend ourselves well enough against the river monsters ; and, besides, we should be on our guard to avoid the other dangers with which they threatened us. After having made them pray and given them some instruc- tion, I left them, and, embarking in our canoes, we soon after reached the extremity of the Bay of the Fetid, where our fathers labor successfully in the conversion of these tribes, having baptized more than two thousand since they have been there." These good Indians were greatly cast down when they saw that the father could not be persuaded to abandon his dangerous journey; but they wished him well, and sent a number of their young men in canoes to guide him and his party for a considerable distance on their way. Marquette was impressed with the belief that there must be salt springs in that vicinity, as there were among the Iroquois; and at his request Joliet delayed the expedition several days in order that he might have an opportunity to search for them; but none could be found. He learned, during his intercourse with these Indians, that in the Iro- quois country there was a famous spring inhabited by a demon, who made the water f cetid or salt ; for which reason no Indian could drink of it without making himself sick. They also related that when the Iroquois tortured the mis- sionaries, Brebeuf and Lalemant, they detected a trace of salt in the flesh of the latter, which so disgusted them that they prolonged his sufferings until morning, as heretofore 352 explained, under the belief that he was in league with evil spirits. Marquette finally concluded that the name Fetid Bay must be derived from the quantities of slime and mud which constantly accumulated there, the noxious vapors of which caused the longest and loudest peals of thunder that he had ever heard. He observed also that the tides of the bay ebbed and flowed almost with the regularity of the sea, a phenomenon which he attributed to the pressure of the winds on the sur- face of the lake. Others, however, supposed that the tides of the bay were due to special winds, " outriders of the moon, or attached to her suite, who constantly agitate the lake and give it a kind of flow and ebb, whenever the moon rises above the horizon." " What I can certainly aver is," continues the father, " that when the water is quite tranquil, you can easily see it rise and fall with the course of the moon, although I do not deny that this movement may be caused by distant winds, which pressing on the center of the lake make it rise and fall on the shore in the way that it meets our eyes." This opinion now prevails, confirming the careful and intelligent observations of Marquette; though some argue that the tides are due to springs at the bottom of the lake, and the shock of their currents with those of the rivers which fall into it from all sides and produce the inter- mitting motions. On leaving the bay, the explorers entered Fox river, and paddled up that stream to its junction with Lake Winnebago. 353 LOUISIANA TERRITORY The father observed that the river was very beautiful at its mouth, where it flowed gently; and that it was filled with geese, ducks, teal, and other birds, attracted by the wild oats which grew there luxuriantly. As they advanced up the stream it became very difficult, on account of the cur- rents and the sharp rocks that cut the canoes and the naked feet of the men who were obliged to drag them. But at length they passed the rapids in safety, and began to ap- proach the country of the Mascoutins, or fire nation, whose territory lay along the Wisconsin river, and extended east- ward to Fox river. As they glided along in their canoes, Marquette's atten- tion was attracted to a singular herb, the virtues of which, he says, had been made known some years previously to Father Allouez, by k an Indian who was possessed of the secret. " Its root is useful against the bite of serpents, the Almighty having been pleased to give this remedy against a poison very common in the country. It is very hot, and has the taste of powder when crushed between the teeth. It must be chewed and put on the bite of the serpent. Snakes have such an antipathy for it that they fly from one rubbed with it." So certain was this remedy that for a small pres- ent, or a drink of whisky, an Indian would allow himself to be bitten by the most venomous of serpents, knowing that he could quickly neutralize the poison by applying a poultice of the herb to the affected part. The plant was called by the French " serpent-a-sonnettes," and they knew it as an infal- 354 MIAMI, KICK A POO, AND MASCO UTIN INDIANS. E Miami, Mascoutin and Kickapoo were each tribes that at one time belonged to the Algonquins. The former were especially numerous, occupying in the eighteenth century a large part of Ohio and Indiana. The remnant was re- moved to a reservation in Kansas in 1846. The Mascoutins lived on the Wisconsin River at the time of Marquette's visit, and were noted for peaceable disposition and hospitality. The Kickapoos were originally confined to Illinois, and joined Clark's expedition against Vincennes, but turned against the government and were defeated by Wayne in 1795. They also fought with Tecumseh at Tippecanoe in 1811, and joined the English in 1812. They suffered many defeats and after ceding their lands in Illinois removed to Kansas 1854, since which time they have become small in numbers and nomadic. ' with he wild meed up ked But at ap- ,OO<\O % se -d 3fflij 3110 } K, : .\i ^TT- o ,eijo'[9(nun ^Ilfii'j^qe* 3137/ I3fmoi ariT .f. ; iij ot ^^ -97 ?.EY> JiiBninsi 3flT .tneibdl bnu oiriO lo Jisq agifi! s viuJi; - j-j'J" fbiv, ' }di ami) ri- KUion bnc tnsdrniin ' ;igainst hot, and teeth. It ikes ;ibbed lowing that ultice y the .nfal- THE DEPARTURE FROM MACKINAW lible remedy for the poison of snakes. The root was com- monly reduced to a powder or pulp, by chewing, and applied in that form. It could also be taken internally, in water, with the same effect. The weed had a nauseous smell, and was always avoided by serpents. Two or three drops in a snake's mouth would kill it instantly. The country of the Mascoutins was the limit of French explorations at that date; beyond there the travelers would find themselves among nations who had never seen a white face, and who were reported to be very cruel and warlike. The town of the Fire Indians was composed of three nations, the Miamis, Mascoutins, and Kickapoos. The first were more civil than the others; also more intelligent and better formed physically. " They wear two long ear-locks, which give them a good appearance; they have the name of being warriors and seldom send out parties in vain; they are very docile, listen quietly to what you tell them, and showed them- selves so eager to hear Father Allouez when he was instruct- ing them that they gave him little rest even at night. The Mascoutins and Kickapoos are ruder and more like peasants compared to the others." The Miamis and the Kickapoos were kindred tribes and allies, as intimated by the father. It is believed that the Kickapoos had formerly lived on the Mississippi, above the Wisconsin ; and they possessed much information concerning the Great River which being imparted to the explorers they found very useful in their subsequent travels. These Indians 357 LOUISIANA TERRITORY were treacherous, and although the fathers labored among them assiduously they never, as a tribe, adopted the teach- ings of Christianity. On two or three occasions they made prisoners of the missionaries, but surrendered them after several months of captivity. During the early part of the 1 8th century a portion of the tribe migrated to the Wabash country, where, after the peace of 1763, the English found one hundred and eighty of them collected in a town. Two years afterward they participated in Pontiac's war, and con- tinued at enmity with the English, to the extent of assisting General Clark in his expedition against Vincennes, in 1779. After the peace of 1783 and the establishment of the Amer- ican government they became troublesome, but were finally brought into subjection as one of the results of Wayne's cel- ebrated victory at Fallen Timbers, in 1793. They subse- quently joined their forces with those of Tecumseh, but of- fered to treat after their disastrous defeat at Tippecanoe, an overture which General Harrison declined to accept. After a series of other disasters they finally made peace, and in 1819 ceded to the United States the greater part of their lands in Illinois, which they claimed by conquest from other tribes. About 1830 a prophet, or chief, named Kennekuk arose among them, and proclaiming himself a teacher of a new religion preached with great eloquence and taught the people to pray morning and evening, the form of prayer being symbolically cut on sticks of maple wood. This sin- gular revival swept over the whole tribe, hundreds of con- 358 THE DEPARTURE FROM MACKINAW verts acknowledging the sway of their eloquent teacher. In 1854 a portion of the tribe was removed to a reservation in Atchison County, Kansas, where many of them died of smallpox, Kennekuk among the number. His influence ceased with his death, and we hear nothing further of the religion which he established. Neither the Jesuits nor the various Protestant denominations which have at differ- ent times established missions among the Kickapoos have ever been able to make any decided impression on them; they adhere by preference to the gods of their fathers. When the French first became acquainted with the Mia- mis they were a great and powerful nation, with a capac- ity to put as many as eight thousand warriors in the field. At that time they occupied a large village at the head of Fox river, the same that was visited by Joliet and Marquette where their ruling chief, Tetenchoua, presided with a fine body-guard of warriors and a court equalling in splendor some of the Southern tribes seen by De Soto. They subse- quently established towns on the present site of Chicago, and at the mouth of St. Joseph's river, in Michigan. The Miamis were related also to the Illinois, in consequence of which they were attacked by the Iroquois in 1683 ; but they were strong enough to maintain their ground, although as- sailed by the Sioux on the west at the same time. Discover- ing some French traders among the latter, they were so incensed against their white allies that they made a prisoner of Nicholas Perrot, and came near burning him at the stake. 359 LOUISIANA TERRITORY Their cordial relations with the French were never restored ; they continued restless and threatening, and finally joined the Iroquois in their war of extermination against the Hurons. In this struggle they suffered heavily, being still at war with the Sioux, who captured and carried away an entire village and incorporated its people into their own na- tion. By the beginning of the i8th century the Miamis had retired temporarily from their settlements at Chicago and on the St. Joseph's river, and bands of them were living on the Miami, the Wabash and the Ohio. From this time un- til the close of hostilities between the French and English these Indians were first with one party and then the other, manifesting no decided friendship for either. After the fall of the French power they refused permission to the English to cross their territory, .and joining their forces with Pon- tiac they assisted that renowned chief in capturing the Brit- ish posts at Miami and St. Joseph's. They sided with Eng- land in the Revolution, until Clark captured Vincennes and ravaged their towns, when they sued for peace. In 1790, under the leadership of Little Turtle, they defeated General Harmer, having put 1,500 thoroughly equipped warriors into the field. The following year the towns of the Weas, a branch of the Miami tribe, were destroyed by a force under General Scott, and their country ravaged as a measure of warning for the defeat of Harmer. The Weas at that time were rapidly advancing in civilization, but this terrible stroke put an end to their progress, at least for the time being. The 360 THE DEPARTURE FROM MACKINAW. defeat of General St. Clair followed in 1791, by an army of Miamis under Little Turtle; and not until 1795 were they brought to terms as a result of the victories of General Wayne. From that date the tribe declined rapidly, intem- perance proving more fatal than disease or war. At the beginning of Tecumseh's operations, in 1812, the Miamis refused to take part on either side, but they were gradually drawn into the contest, and suffered in like proportion with their allies. A considerable portion of the tribe was even- tually removed to the eastern part of Kansas, where their descendants still reside. Father Marquette gives us a very interesting view of the manner of life that prevailed among these savages at the time of his visit in 1673. " As bark for cabins is rare in this country," he writes, " they use rushes, which serve them for walls and roof, but which are no great shelter against the wind, and still less against the rain when it falls in tor- rents. The advantage of this kind of cabins is that they can roll them up, and carry them easily where they like in hunting-time. " When I visited them I was extremely consoled to see a beautiful cross planted in the midst of the town, adorned with several white skins, red belts, bows and arrows, which these good people had offered to the Great Manitou (such is the name they give to God), to thank Him for having had pity on them during the winter, giving them plenty of game when they were in greatest dread of famine. 361 LOUISIANA TERRITORY " I felt no little pleasure in beholding the position of this town; the view is beautiful and very picturesque, for from the eminence on which it is perched the eye discovers on every side prairies spreading away beyond its reach, inter- spersed with thickets or groves of lofty trees. The soil is very good, producing much corn; the Indians gather also quantities of plums and grapes, from which good wine might be made, if they chose." As soon as the travelers arrived at this town, there was a grand convocation of all the sachems, and after the calumet had been passed Marquette arose and addressed them. He told them that he and his companions Were sent by the French governor to discover new countries, and that he, by the help of the Almighty, would illuminate them with the light of the gospel ; that the Sovereign Master of their lives wished to be known to all nations, and that in obeying the will of his Heavenly Father he did not fear the dangers to which they would be exposed. He thereupon stated that they needed two guides to point out the way to them, the request being accompanied by presents which he delivered to the chiefs. The speech and the presents were most gra- ciously received, and in turn the sachems gave the father an elegant mat of rushes to serve him as a bed during his voyage. The next day, being the loth of June, 1673, the travelers re-embarked, accompanied by two young Miamis as guides, in the sight of a great crowd of men, women and children, 362 THE DEPARTURE FROM MACKINAW who could not wonder enough to see seven Frenchmen, in two frail canoes, undertake so long and so dangerous a journey. They had been directed to pursue a course a little west of southwest, in order that they might reach the proper place to make the portage; but the route was so cut up by marshes and little lakes, and the rivers were so covered with w r ild oats, that it was almost impossible to observe the chan- nel, and they certainly would have gone astray except for the guidance of the two young Indians. At length they reached the portage, which they made in safety, and soon found themselves floating on the bosom of the Wisconsin. The route of the portage between the Fox and the Wiscon- sin rivers passed over a low, flat plain, which in seasons of flood-time was often covered with water, on which canoes might float from one stream to the other; but in the present instance, the water being low, or at mid-stage, the canoes and their baggage had to be transported on the backs of the men. But as this had been anticipated it was not regarded as a hardship, and each member of the company cheerfully performed his part. As soon as they were safely launched on the Wisconsin the guides bade them farewell and returned to the village, while the voyageurs, with light hearts, submitted themselves to the current of the river and the watchful guidance of Providence. " We now leave the waters," wrote Marquette, " which flow to Quebec, a distance of four or five hundred leagues, to follow those which will henceforth lead us into 21 LOUISIANA . TERRITORY strange lands. Before embarking we all began together a new devotion to the Blessed Virgin Immaculate, which we practised every day, addressing her particular prayers to put under her protection both our persons and the success of our voyage." The father's description of the river as he saw it is both beautiful and accurate, as those who are now familiar with the stream will admit. He gives the Indian name, which for the sake of euphony might have been retained with ad- vantage. " The river on which we embarked is called Mes- kousing; it is very broad, with a sandy bottom, forming many shallows, which render navigation very difficult. It is full of vine-clad islets. On the banks appear fertile lands diversified with wood, prairie, and hill. Here you find oaks, walnut, whitewood, and another kind of tree with branches armed with long thorns. We saw no small game or fish, but deer and moose in considerable numbers." It was the elk, not the moose, which attracted the father's attention; for the range of the latter did not extend so far south as the Wisconsin river. Although the two animals are often classed as the same, and while they possess some features that are alike, they are in fact two distinct species, as every one must admit who has seen them. The moose is much larger than the elk, is different in shape and color, and has palmated horns ; while the elk has branching antlers like the deer. Elks formerly ranged over nearly the whole territory of the United States, and were especially 364 M/lRgUETTE ON THE WISCONSIN. EN Marquette set out in search of the Mississippi he passed from Lake Michigan into Green Bay and thence made a portage, probably to Lake Winnebago, and from that lake to Wisconsin River, a stream to which he was directed and guided by Indians. The trip down that stream was continued in a canoe, and Marquette describes it as being a journey of unmixed delight. The river is itself a beautiful one for canoeing, the country abounded in game, and water-fowl of many species made the surroundings noisy with their cries, the weather at the time being warm enough to make travelling delightful. . the river as he saw it is j e now familiar Indian name, \\ ;ed with ad- Mes- / K3H1 K^UttHUlff' ..':>"'' K ni batinhrioD Wkk4 ;fti"firiL;" 9fjl ,% i the fai extend so far ; the two animals . .vtinct S} een them. hape and , d over nearly Boigned tai e\cr.ed for Eincrofi-i Hif.oryof.'Jn U at, THE DEPARTURE FROM MACKINAW abundant in the Middle and Western States ; they have even been seen as far south as the coast region of the Gulf of Mexico. The southern limit of the moose, on the other hand, did not extend below the 45th parallel of latitude. It would amuse an old pioneer of the Mississippi Valley to tell him that moose were plentiful in Missouri and Kentucky at the time of the Louisiana Purchase; while he would rec- ognize as true the statement that this region then abounded with herds of elk, as it did. After sailing down the Wisconsin a distance of thirty leagues, the travelers came to a place which had every ap- pearance of an iron mine, and one of the party who was familiar with that mineral averred that it was very good and rich. Ten leagues more brought them to the mouth of the river, where it unites with the Mississippi ; and for the first time in the history of the New World Frenchmen found themselves floating on the bosom of the Father of Waters ! Says Marquette, " We safely entered the Mississippi on the 17th of June, with a joy that I cannot express." The father's heart was filled with thankfulness and gratitude for having been permitted to share in the discovery of the great river; but there is nothing vainglorious in the manner in which he describes his sensations. " Here then we are on this renowned river, of which I have endeavored to re- mark attentively all the peculiarities. The Mississippi has its source in several lakes in the country of the nations to the north ; it is narrow at the mouth of the Miskousing ; its 367 LOUISIANA TERRITORY current, which runs south, is slow and gentle; on the right is a considerable chain of very high mountains, and on the left fine lands; it is in many places studded with islands; on sounding we found ten fathoms of water. . . . We gently followed its course till the forty-second degree. Here we perceive that the whole face is changed ; there is now al- most no wood or mountain, the islands are more beautiful and covered with finer trees; we see nothing but deer and moose, bustards and wingless swans, for they shed their plumes in this country. From time to time we meet mon- strous fish, one of which struck so violently against our canoe, that I took it for a large tree about to knock us to pieces." This was doubtless one of those enormous catfish which are occasionally found in the Mississippi and its tributaries, a few specimens having been seen that measured six or eight feet in length, and were larger around the body than a man. Soon afterward they perceived a monster on the water with a head like that of a tiger, a pointed snout like a wild- cat's, beard and ears erect, a grayish head, and its neck all black. Although this description does not exactly fit the panther, the monster that so excited the gentle Marquette was undoubtedly one of those animals ; and it was well that their canoes did not come within reach of its frightful claws. I* .The father observes that they soon afterward cast their nets, and captured some sturgeon, and a very extraordinary kind of fish : " It resembles a trout, with this difference, 368 MAT^gUETTE'S REDISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. ~f\ LTHOUGH De Soto was the first white man to look upon the turbulent waters of ~ the Mississippi, in 1541, the discovery was not utilized and passed out of mind almost as completely as did the records of American discovery by the Norse- men in the tenth century. Father Jacques Marquette, born 1637, a native of Laon , France, a Jesuit Missionary, has the honor therefore, which he shared with Joliet, of having rediscovered the Mississippi in 1673, which he descended in a canoe as far as the mouth of the Arkansas. Returning north he built a missionary station where Chicago now stands and then setting out for Mackinaw died on the way, 1675, near Lake Michigan. OF h> miBW JftMudiuJ arh noqi. *o tuo hj- snq bnfi b:r 1 3lb '{ c ' '(73700^!. ?O3vitEn r> ,Vdi mod ,9}t- :-t7icrf* so im B 'ii. til no b9ib^nrkni)fofiM TO' on the right , ids; . We c. Here now al- itifttl ing i- r -k . . , , ! "- "tly fit Marque 5 well tl :-ir d . THE DEPARTURE FROM. MACKINAW that it has a larger mouth, but smaller eyes and snout Near the latter is a large bone, like a woman's busk (corset steel or strip of whalebone), three fingers wide and a cubic long; the end is circular, and as wide as the hand. In leap- ing out of the water the weight of this often throws it back." This is supposed to have been a member of the " polyodon spatula," called by the French " le spatule," a few specimens of which have been found in the Mississippi; but they are so rare that no one would recognize the species by Mar- quette's description. The common name is spade-fish, or shovel-fish. Having descended to latitude 41 28", which would be a short distance below Muscatine, Iowa, the father observed that turkeys had taken the place of game, and the pisikious, or wild cattle, that of other beasts. The latter were the bisons, or buffaloes, which then and for a century and a half afterward ranged in vast herds all over the central portions of the Mississippi Valley. Marquette uses the In- dian name, but the French generally referred to them as " wild cattle," or " bceufs sauvages" The father's de- scription of the buffalo is, like all his writings, highly in- teresting; but it will not be necessary to repeat here what has already been given in connection with other explora- tions. He states that " the flesh and fat of the pisikious are excellent, and constitute the best dish in banquets. They are very fierce, and not a year passes without their killing some Indian. When attacked, they take a man with their 369 LOUISIANA TERRITORY horns, and then dash him on the ground, trample on him, and kill him. When you fire at them from a distance with gun or bow, you must throw yourself on the ground as soon as you fire, and hide in the grass ; for, if they perceive the one who fired, they rush on him and attack him. . . . They are scattered over the prairies like herds of cattle. I have seen a band of four hundred." The animals had a great dread of fire, and the Indians knowing this, were in the habit of hunting them by that means. On perceiving the approach of the smoke and flames, they retired toward the center of the prairie, where they congregated in dense masses. The savages then rushed close up to them, and slew them by scores with their bows and arrows ; in many instances approaching even near enough to kill them with their flint-pointed spears, for at such times the terrified animals would not leave their ranks to attack an enemy. Meanwhile the travelers were steadily advancing, though they did not hasten their speed by rowing, merely floating with the current, in order that they might observe the coun- try as they passed along. At this rate they traveled about four miles an hour, and as they were usually up with the sun and floated until the dusk of evening, their progress was at the rate of more than forty miles per day. Fearing sur- prises from hostile natives or monsters of the deep, one of their party was kept constantly on guard. At night they landed and built a fire to cook their food by, but as soon 370 THE DEPARTURE FROM MACKINAW as they had eaten their suppers they returned to the canoes, where they spent the night anchored far out in the river. At length, after having traveled more than sixty leagues since entering the Mississippi, they came to another large river flowing from the west; and observing a beaten path leading from the water's edge to a beautiful prairie, they resolved to land and visit the people who dwelt there. It might prove to be a dangerous adventure, for they could not expect to find any inhabitants in that region except savages ; but the two leaders assumed all the risk themselves. The men were left in the canoes, and strictly cautioned to beware of a surprise, while M. Joliet and the father went ashore and pursued the course of the path. After walking a distance of about six miles they discovered a village on the bank of the river that came from the west, and about a mile and a half further on they could see two other towns on a hill. Then commending themselves to God, and im- ploring His help in case of danger, they drew so near to the first village that they could hear the Indians talking, Deeming it imprudent to advance any further without an- nouncing themselves, they now called out in a loud voice, and awaited the result. Instantly the inhabitants all rushed out of their cabins, when perceiving that there were but two strangers, and therefore no cause for apprehension, they deputed four of their old men to come and speak with them. Two of the men carried tobacco-pipes, trimmed and adorned with many kinds of feathers; and as they slowly advanced LOUISIANA TERRITORY the pipes were lifted toward the sun, as if inviting that deity to witness their good intentions. They spoke not a single word, but used so much ceremony that they were a long time in passing over the short distance between the village and the strangers. Having at last reached the Frenchmen, they stopped and considered them attentively for some time in perfect silence, but with an aspect that indicated friendliness. Seeing by these ceremonies that no harm was intended, Marquette addressed them in the Algonquin dialect, inquir- ing what nation they belonged to. They answered that they were Illinois, and in token of peace offered their pipes to smoke. These pipes, as Marquette remarks, were called calumets, a name which he would have to use frequently in order to be understood ; and as he was the first to employ the term, we are indebted to this excellent father for the addition of this word to our language. The old men now invited the strangers to their village, where all the tribe were impatiently awaiting them. As they approached the cabin where they were to be received they observed an old man standing in the door in a very remarkable posture, waiting to extend to them the welcome of his people. He was perfectly naked, with his hands stretched out toward the sun, as if communing with that luminary, while the rays passing through his fingers fell in a flood of light on his upturned face. When they came near him, he paid them this compliment, with all the dignity of manner and diction that might have characterized the 372 INTERIOR OF AN ILLINOIS CHIEF'S CABIN. E Illinois Indians which comprised Dakotas and Algonquins were suh- divided into six tribes but were united into one confederacy, and as such they were allies of the French in the war with England, 1760-63. The word in the Algonquin tongue means "superior people," a designation to which they were entitled for several reasons. They were powerful in numbers, brave, and yet hospitable to a degree, and especially so to Father Marquette and other early explorers. They also lived more comfortably than other tribes at the time, their cabins as a rule being constructed of logs, and were commodious as well as sub- stantial, as the admirable illustrations shows. , 'ke not were a . jfeiti etwffn afir^l ^ i . "Itlt I)!1E 39Mp1sl/ -