USA > Alabama > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period, v. 1 > Part 2
USA > Georgia > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period, v. 1 > Part 2
USA > Mississippi > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period, v. 1 > Part 2
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* Garcellasso, p. 204.
t Portuguese Narrative, p. 712.
9
GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI.
county of Murray, Georgia. Crossing the Conasauga creek, CHAPTER and journeying down its western banks, the Spaniards found it I. to increase in size, and being joined by other streams, it pre- sently grew larger than the Guadalquiver which passes by Seville .* This was the Oostanaula; and following its west- ern side, De Soto, after a very slow march, advanced within 1540 May seven miles of Chiaha, where he was met by fifteen Indians, laden with corn, bearing a message from the Chief, inviting him to hasten to his capital, where abundant supplies awaited him. Soon the eager Spaniards stood before the town of Chiaha, which is the site of the modern Rome.
The most ancient Cherokee Indians, whose tradition has been handed down to us through old Indian traders, disagree as to the precise place where De Soto crossed the Oostanaula to get over into the town of Chiaha-some asserting that he passed over that river seven miles above its junction with the Etowa, and that he marched from thence down to Chiaha, which, all contend, lay immediately at the confluence of the two rivers: while other ancient Indians asserted that he crossed, with his army, immediately opposite the town. But this is not very important. Coupling the Indian traditions with the account by Garcellasso, and that by the Portuguese eve-witness, we are inclined to believe the latter tradition that the expedition continued to advance down the western side of the Oostanaula, until they halted in view of the mouth of the Etowa.
* Garcellasso, 295.
10
DE SOTO IN ALABAMA,
CHAPTER
1540 June 5
De Soto having arrived immediately opposite the great town of Chiaha, now the site of Rome, crossed the Oosta- naula in canoes and upon rafts made of logs prepared by the Indians, and took up his quarters in the town .*
The noble young Chief received De Soto with unaffected joy, and made him the following address :
Mighty Chief : Nothing could have made me so happy as to be the means of serving you and your warriors. You sent me word from Guaxule to have corn collected to last your army two months. Here I have twenty barns full of the best which the country can afford. If I have not met your wishes, respect my tender age, and receive my good will to do for you whatever I am able.t
The Governor responded in a kind manner, and was then conducted to the Chief's own house, prepared for his accom- modation. .
Chiaha contained a great quantity of bear's oil in gourds, and walnut oil as clear as butter and equally palatable; and for the only time upon the entire route were seen pots of honey.# The Spaniards, irregularly quartered in the fields,
* Garcellasso, p. 295. + Portuguese Narrative, p. 717.
# I have often been informed by old bee hunters and Indian coun- trymen, that after the territory of Alabama became partially settled by an American population, wild bees were much more abundant than they were 'in their earliest recollection. They were introduced into the country from Georgia and the Carolinas, and often escaping from their hives to the woods, became wild,-hence De Soto found no honey in the country at the carly period in which he invaded it, except at Chiaha.
11
GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI.
and scattered about at their will, reposed under trees and CHAPTER loitered upon the banks of the rivers. The horses, reduced in I. flesh and unfit for battle, grazed upon the meadows. Unac- customed to allow such loose discipline, De Soto now winked at it, for the natives were friendly, and every soul in the camp needed repose. One day the Chief presented the Governor 1540 June with a string of pearls, two yards in length, and as large as filberts, for which he received in return pieces of velvet and other cloth much esteemed by the Indians. He said that the temple of this town, where the remains of his ancestors were deposited, contained a vast quantity of these valuables. He invited his distinguished guest to take from it as many as he desired. But the latter declined, remarking that he wished to appropriate nothing to himself from so sacred a place. The Chief, to gratify him in regard to the manner of obtain- ing these pearls, immediately despatched some of his subjects in four canoes, with instructions to fish all night for the oys- ters which contained them. In the morning he caused a fire to be made upon the bank. The canoes returned laden, and the natives throwing the oysters upon the glowing coals, suc- ceeded in finding many pearls the size of peas, which De Soto pronounced beautiful, but for the fire which had robbed them of some of their brilliancy. A soldier, in eating some of the oysters, or, rather, museles, found one of great size un- injured, and offered it to the commander for Doña Isabel. Hle declined the kindness intended his wife, and urged the generous fellow to keep it to buy horses with at Havana. Con-
12
DE SOTO IN ALABAMA,
CHAPTER noisseurs in camp valued it at four hundred ducats .* While
1540 June
I. here, a cavalier, named Luis Bravo de Xeres, walking one day upon the bank of the river, threw his lance at a dog, which suddenly disappeared under the bluff. Coming up to recover his weapon, he found, to his horror, that it had pierced the temple of Jean Mateos and had killed him. The poor man was quietly fishing on the margin of the stream, and little sus- pecting that death was at hand. The accident caused deep regret in the camp, the deceased being much esteemed, and, having the only gray head in the army, was called, by way of pleasantry, Father Mateos.f
About this time a principal Indian from Costa, a town be- low, informed De Soto that in the mountains to the north,
* Garcellasso, p. 297. The oyster mentioned was the muscle to be found in all the rivers of Alabama. Heaps of muscle shells are now to be seen on our river banks wherever Indians used to live. They were much used by the ancient Indians for some purpose, and old warriors have informed me that their ancestors once used the shells to temper the clay with which they made their vessels. But as thousands of the shells lie banked up, some deep in the ground, we may also suppose that the Indians, in De Soto's time, everywhere in Alabama, obtained pearls from them. There can be no doubt about the quantity of pearls found in this State and Georgia in 1510, but they were of a coarser and more vauleless kind than the Spaniards supposed. The Indians used to perforate them with a heated copper spindle, and string them around their necks and arms like beads-others made toy babies and birds of them.
t Garcellasso, p. 298.
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GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI.
at a place called Chisca, were mines of copper, and of a yel- CHAPTER low metal, still finer and softer. Having seen, upon the Sa- I. 1540 June vannah, copper hatchets, supposed to be mixed with gold, his attention was deeply aroused upon the subject. Villabos and Silvera, two fearless soldiers, volunteered to explore that region. Furnished with guides by the Chief of Chiaha, they departed upon their perilous journey.
The Spaniards had basked upon the delightful spot where now stands the town of Rome, for the space of thirty days. The horses had recruited, and the troops had grown vigorous and ready for desperate deeds. De Soto demanded of the hospitable Chief, through the persuasion of some of his un- principled officers, a number of females to accompany them in their wanderings. That night the inhabitants quietly left the town and hid themselves in the bordering forests. The Chief entreated the Governor not to hold him responsible for their conduct, for, during his minority, an arbitrary uncle ruled them with a despotic will. With sixty troopers De Soto ravaged the surrounding country, and, provoked at not find- ing the fugitives, laid waste their flourishing fields of corn. When afterwards informed that men only would be required to bear the baggage, the Indians returned to Chiaha, apolo- gized for their flight, and yielded to the last proposition .* De Soto then broke up his camp, re-crossed the Oostanaula, and in:ched down the west side of the Coosa, leaving the gene- routs people of Chiaha well satisfied with presents. On the
1540
June
· Portuguese Narrative, pp. 118-719.
2
14
DE SOTO IN ALABAMA,
CHAPTER 2d July, and after seven days slow march, he entered the I. town of Costa .* The Spaniards were now in Alabama, in the territory embraced in the county of Cherokee, and by the 1540 side of the Coosa, one of our noblest streams. Never before July had our soil been trodden by European feet! Never before had our natives beheld white faces, long beards, strange ap- parel, glittering armor, and, stranger than all, the singular animals bestrode by the dashing cavaliers ! De Soto had discovered Alabama, not by sea, but after dangerous and dif- ficult marches had penetrated her north-eastern border with a splendid and well-equipped land expedition ! The Atlantic States were quietly discovered by voyagers entering their harbors. Alabama was marched upon by an army, whose soldiers sickened with famine upon the barrens' of Georgia, and left tracks of blood upon the soil of Florida!
Commanding his camp to be pitched two cross-bow shots from the town, De Soto, with eight men of his guard, ap- proached the Chief of Costa, who received him with apparent friendship. While they were conversing together, some un- serupulous footmen entered the town and plundered several of the houses. The justly incensed Indians fell upon them with their clubs. Seeing himself surrounded by the natives, and in great personal danger, the Governor seized a cudgel, and, with his usual presence of mind, commenced beating his own men. The savages observing that he took their part, became pacitied for a moment. In the meantime, taking the Chief
* Portuguese Narrative, pp. 718-719.
15
GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI.
by the hand, he led him, with flattering words, towards the CHAPTER camp, where he was presently surrounded by a guard and I. held as a hostage .* The Spaniards remained under arms all night. Fifteen hundred Indians, armed complete, often made dispositions to charge upon them, vociferating angry and insult- ing language. Averse to war since he had been so repeatedly attacked by the Floridians, De Soto restrained his anxious troops. His coolness, together with the influence of a promi- nent Indian who followed him front Chiaha, put an end to the serious affair.t Three days after this, Villabos and Silvera returned from Chisca. They passed into the mountains, found no gold, but a country abounding with lofty hills and stupendous rocks. Dispirited, they returned to a poor town, where the inhabitants gave them a buffalo robe, which they supposed once covered a tremendous animal, partaking of the qualities of the ox and the sheep.# According to Gar- cellasso, the mines which they reached were of a highly colored 1540 July 9 copper, and were doubtless situated in the territory of the county of De Kalb. The sick, who were placed in canoes at Chiaha, had by this time arrived down the river. Furnished with the burden carriers by the Chief, who was to the last hour held a prisoner, the Governor left Costa on the 9th of July, 1540, and crossed over to the east side of the Coosa upon rafts and canoes. Proceeding down its eastern bank, he encamped the first night at the town of Talle. The Chief
* Portuguese Narrative, pp. 718-719. + Garcellasso, p. 300.
# Portuguese Narrative, p. 710.
16
DE SOTO IN ALABAMA,
CHAPTER came forth to receive him, and, in a formal speech, begged him
I. to command his services. Here the Spaniards remained two days, sharing the hospitality of the natives. Upon their departure they were supplied with two women and four men. Indeed, De Soto brought from the forests of Florida over five hundred unhappy men and women, secured with chains, driven by keepers, and made to transport the effects of the expedition. When any of them became sick, died, or escaped, it was bis policy to supply their places at the first town upon which he marched. He always, however, distributed among the prin- cipal Indians presents, which were gratifying to them, and left at many of the towns pairs of swine to stock the country.
1540
Joly
The expedition now began to enter the far-famed province of Coosa, the beauty and fertility of which were known to all the Indians, even upon the sea-side. Garcellasso asserts that it extended three hundred miles, and other authors agree that it reached over the territory now embraced in the counties of Cherokee, Benton, Talladega and Coosa. Continuing through the rich lands of Benton, the expedition passed many towns subject to the Chief of Coosa. Every day they mnet ambassadors, "one going and another coming," by which De Soto was assured of a hearty welcome at the capital .* With joyful faces the Indians rushed to his lines every mile upon the route, furnishing supplies and assisting the troops from one town to another. The same generous reception attended him upon entering the soil of the county of Talladega. The
* Portuguese Narrative, p. 719.
17
GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI.
hospitality of the Coosas surpassed that of any people whom CHAPTER he had yet discovered. The trail was lined with towns, vil- I. lages and hamlets, and "many sown fields which reached from one to the other."* With a delightful climate, and abound- ing in fine meadows and beautiful little rivers, this region was charming to De Soto and his followers. The numerous barns were full of corn, while acres of that which was growing bent to the warm rays of the sun and rustled in the breeze. In the plains were plum-trees peculiar to the country, and others resembling those of Spain. Wild fruit clambered to the tops of the loftiest trees, and lower branches were laden with de- licious Isabella grapes.
On the 26th of July, 1540, the army came in sight of the town of Coosa. Far in the outskirts; De Soto was met by the Chief, seated upon a cushion, and riding in a chair supported upon the shoulders of four of his chief men. One thousand warriors, tall, active, sprightly and admirably proportioned, with large plumes of various colors on their heads, followed him, marching in regular order. His dress consisted of a splendid mantle of martin skins, thrown gracefully over his shoulder, while his head was adorned with a diadem of bril- liant feathers. Around him many Indians raised their voices in song, and others made music upon flutes. The steel-clad warriors of Spain, with their glittering armor, scarcely equalled the magnificent display made by these natives of Alabama.
1540 July 26
* Portuguese Narrative, p. 719.
+ Garcellasso, p. 300.
.
18
DE SOTO IN ALABAMA,
CHAPTER The Chief, receiving De Soto with the warmth of a generous I. heart, made him the following speech :
Mighty Chief ! above all others of the earth ! Although I come now to receive you, yet I received you many days ago deep in my heart. If I had the whole world, it would not give me as much pleasure as I now enjoy at the presence of yourself and your incomparable warriors. My person, lands and subjects, are at your service. I will now march you to your quarters with playing and singing .*
De Soto responded in his best style, after which he ad- vanced to the town, conversing with the Chief, who rode in his sedan chair, while the lofty Spaniard sat upon his fiery steed. The royal house was set apart for the accommoda- tion of the Adelantado, and one half of the other houses were surrendered to the troops. The town of Coosa was situated upon the east bank of the river of that name, be- tween the mouths of the two creeks, now known as Talladega and Tallasehatchee, one of which is sometimes called Ixia- mulgee.t It contained five hundred houses, and was the capital of this rich and extensive province.
* Portuguese Narrative, pp. 719-720.
+ In 1798, Co !. Benjamin Hawkins, then Creek Agent, visited the Coosa town, now embraced in the county of Talladega. He accurately describes the inhabitants and the location of the town, which he says was situated on the bank of the Coosa, between the mouths of two creeks, the Indian names of which were Natche and Ufaula. When he French expelled the Natchez from the Mississippi in 1730, some of
1540
July
19
GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI.
The Chief of Coosa was twenty-six years of age, well CHAPTER formed, intelligent, with a face beautifully expressive, and a I. heart honest and generous. He always dined with De Soto. One day he rose from the table, and, in an earnest manner, besought the Governor to select a region any where in his dominions, and immediately establish upon it a large Spanish colony. De Soto had contemplated peopling some beautiful country, and was better pleased with this section than any other, but his imagination still pointed him to some gold region, like Peru. He returned the Chief his profound 1540 August thanks, adduced many reasons for declining the liberal offer, among others, that Maldinado's ships would await him at the bay of Pensacola. Yet, in the face of all this kindness, the politic and suspicious De Soto kept the Chief about his person, as a hostage, to preserve peace among the Indians, and to extort slaves and provisions. Enraged at the impri- sonment of their Chief, the Indians fled to the woods to
that tribe sought refuge among the Talladegas-hence the name of one of these creeks in Hawkins' day. When the Americans, in 1832, began to settle this country, they changed the name of these creeks to Talla- dega, or Kiamulgee, and Tallasehatchee. In addition to the testimony of Col. Hawkins, many old Indian countrymen have informed me that here was the site of the Coosa town, which was known by that name in their early days. Several ancient French and Spanish maps, in my possession, lay down the town of Coosa at the place described.
See Hawkins' sketch of the Creek Country in 1798-1799, published by the Historical Society of Georgia, Savannah, 1848.
20
DE SOTO IN ALABAMA,
CHAPTER prepare for war. Four captains, with their companies, were I. despatched in different directions in pursuit, and returned with many women and men in chains. Some of the principal of these were released at the entreaty of the Chief, while others were carried off with the expedition, laden with irons and baggage, and those who were not destroyed at the battle of Maubila, were conducted far beyond the Mississippi river .*
1540 August
The Indians returned from the forest, and remained at peace with the Spaniards, but were still dissatisfied at the restrictions imposed upon the liberties of their Chief. After twenty-five days had been passed at the capital of Coosa, De Soto marched in the direction of the Tallapoosa, leaving behind a christian negro, too sick to travel, whom the Indians desired to retain among them on account of his singular hair and sable complexion. He recovered, and was doubtless the
. distant ancestor of the dark-colored savages seen in that region in more modern times.t The first day the army
* Portuguese Narrative, p. 720.
tThe negro left at Coosa was not the only memorial of De Soto that remained with these people. George Stiggins, whose mother was a Natchez Indian, and whose father was a Scotchman, was born in the Talladega country. He was a fair English scholar, and a pretty good writer. He had been for years engaged in writing a history of the Creeks, and died some years ago, leaving it in an unfinished state. His son permitted me to peruse it one day. Stiggins asserts that the Talla- degas had, at a late day, a brass kettle-drum and several shields which
21
GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI.
passed through the large town of Tallemuchasa, within a CHAPTER few hours after it had been abandoned by its inhabitants. I. The next day the town of Utana was reached, where De Soto encamped six days, awaiting the abatement of the stream which ran by it, now violently swollen by incessant rains. As the expedition had not crossed any stream since leaving Coosa, it is probable the one alluded to was the modern Tallase- hatchee. The march was continued to Ullebahale, situated upon Hatchet creek, which was called a "small river." The town was surrounded by a wall composed of two rows of posts driven deep in the ground, with poles laid horizontally between them, the inner and outside of the frame work neatly stuccoed with clay and straw. Port-holes were left at proper distances, forming a defence " as high as a lance." Such was the character of the Indian fortifications from this place onward. In consequence of the duresse of the Chief of Coosa, whom De Soto carried along with him, but treated with respect and kindness, the Indians of Ullebahale were in arms. Before the Spaniards entered the suburbs, twelve principal men, armed with bows, and with lofty plumes upon their heads, September 14 1540 advanced and volunteered to rescue their beloved Chief by arraying a formidable force ; but he dissuaded them from it. On the opposite side of the creek lived a sub-Chief, who fur-
once belonged to the army of De Soto, and that he had often seen them. The Coosas used them as trophies in their annual festivals. Besides these, De Soto Jeft hogs and sometimes cattle, among the Alabama towns, and such is the origin of these animals among the Indians Horses and mules were too valuable to be given away.
3
22
DE SOTO IN ALABAMA,
CHAPTER nished De Soto with thirty women for slaves, and to carry
, I. burdens. Then the Adelantado pursued his wanderings, leaving behind Mansano, a native of Salamanca, of noble pa- reutage, who was lost while rambling in the hills for grapes, which were found in great abundance. The route lay along the modern Socapatoy region, in the county of Coosa. The expedition passed the town of Toase and several others, subject to the Chief of Tallase, and arrived at the great town of that name on the '18th September, 1540.
1540 September 18
Tallase was an extensive town, the principal part of which was encompassed by a wall, similar to that just described, with the addition of terraces. It reposed upon a point of land "almost surrounded by a main river," which was the Talla- poosa .* Extensive fields of corn reached up and down the banks. On the opposite side were other towns, skirted with rich fields laden with heavy ears of maize. The beautiful river, rolling its silvery waters through these fertile lands, and the delightful climate, contributed to render the whole
* Some years after De Soto passed through this country, the Muscogees or Creeks came from the Mexican empire, of which they were subjects, and overrun all East Alabama and the greater portion of Georgia, kill- ing and making slaves of many of the Alabamas, Ockmulgees, Oconees and Uchees, the latter of whom then lived near the modern city of Savannah. Upon the ruins of the Tallase discovered by De Soto, the Museogees built the town of Tookabatcha, but immediately opposite. across the river, the name of Tallase was preserved until they moved to Arkansas, in 1836. This ancient and extensive Indian settlement is now in large cotton plantations.
23
GEORGIA AND MISSISSIPPI.
prospect most pleasing. But the reception of De Soto among these people was cool and scarcely civil. Some had aban- doned their houses at his approach, and gone into the woods. However, the Chief gave him forty Indians. After a few days, a noble-looking young savage, of gigantie proportions, and with a face extremely handsome and interesting, visited the marquee. He was the son of Tuscaloosa, a potent Chief, whose domains commenced thirty miles below, and extended to the distant Tombigby. He bore an invitation from his father to De Soto to hasten to his capital, where he was making preparations to receive him upon a magnificent scale, and then awaited him upon the eastern confines of his terri- tory. The son was despatched with a suitable reply, and presents for the father.
Having remained at Tallase twenty days, De Soto dis- missed the Chief of Coosa, with whom he parted upon good terms, crossed the Tallapoosa in canoes and upon rafts, march- ed down the eastern side, and encamped the first night at Casista, probably the site of the modern Autose. Delayed in passing the river, he could not have advanced further that day. In the morning the march was resumed. During this day a large town was discovered, and at night the camp was pitched upon the borders of another. The next day, advane- ing within six miles of the temporary residence of Tuscaloosa, a halt was made in the woods. Louis de Moscoso, the camp- master, with fifteen horsemen, was despatched to inform the Chief of the proximity of the Governor. Moscoso found the proud Mobilian seated upon two enshions, placed on a large
CHAPTER I.
1540 October
24
DE SOTO IN ALABAMA,
CHAPTER and elegant matting, upon an eminence which commanded a
I. delightful prospect. His numerous attendants posted them- selves around him, leaving space for the nearer position of his chief men. One of these held over his head a round deer- skin shield, with a staff in the middle, resembling an umbrella. Painted with stripes of different colors, it was used as a ban- ner in his wars, but was employed at present in protecting his head from the rays of the sun. Tuscaloosa was forty years of age, of great stature, with immense limbs. He was spare around the waist, and his whole form was admirably proportioned. His countenance was handsome, but grave and severe. "He was lord of many territories and much people, and was feared by his neighbors and subjects." In vain did Moscoso endea- vor to excite his curiosity, by prancing his horses before him. Sometimes he scarcely deigned to raise his eyes, and then, again, he bestowed upon the troopers the most contemptuous smiles. Even when De Soto arrived, he preserved the same haughty demeanor ; but, in consideration of his position as commander-in-chief, he reluctantly advanced, and made the following address :
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