USA > Georgia > The history of Georgia, Volume I > Part 5
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It is doubtful whether Verrazzano, with his single caravel, came further south than the palmetto-shaded headlands of Caro- lina. During his blind ramblings of eight hundred miles through the untrodden wilds of Florida in search of some distant territory abounding in gold, Narvaez may have penetrated the jungles of Southern Georgia, but he left no footprints upon the yielding soil. In the Relation of Alvar Nufiez Cabeça de Vaca, however, we have a recorded memory of the expedition replete with inter- est and archaeological value.
In ascending the Savannah River Oglethorpe is said to have carried with him the Journal of Sir Walter Raleigh. From the latitude and marks of the place, as well as from the traditions of the Indians, he was led to believe that Sir Walter had landed at Yamacraw Bluff and conversed with the natives. In fact, a
C'Neil
HERNANDO DE SOTO.
35
RIBAULT'S IMPRESSIONS OF GEORGIA.
grave-mound, distant some half a mile from the spot, was pointed ont by the Indians, who informed the founder of the colony of Georgia that the king who then talked with Raleigh was there interred. It is a pleasant memory and has been repeated for a century and a half, but its truth we seriously question.
It may not be denied, however, that Ribault, acting under the orders of Admiral Coligny, before selecting a location for his fort and planting his Huguenot colony near the month of Port Royal, traversed the Georgia coast, observed its harbors, and named its rivers. It was "a fayre coast, stretchyng of a great length, cou- ered with an infinite number of high and fayre trees." The waters " were boyling and roaring through the multitude of all kind of fish." The inhabitants were " all naked and of a goodly stature, mightie, and as well shapen and proportioned of body as any people in ye world ; very gentle, courteous, and of a good nature." Lovingly entertained were these strangers by the na- tives, and they were, in the delighful springtime, charmed with all they behield. As they entered and viewed the country they pronounced it the " fairest, fruitfullest, and pleasantest of all the world, abounding in hony, venison, wilde foule, forests, woods of all sorts, Palm trees, Cypresse, and Cedars, Bayes ye highest and greatest, with also the fayrest vines in all the world, with grapes according, which, without natural art and without man's helpe or trimming, will grow to toppes of Okes and other trees that be of a wonderfull greatnesse, and height. And the sight of the faire medowes is a pleasure not able to be expressed with tongue: full of Hernes, Curlues, Bitters, Mallards, Egrepths, Wood-cocks, and all other kinds of small birds : with Harts, Hindes, Buckes, wilde Swine, and all other kindes of wilde beastes, as we perceined well, both by their footing there, and also afterwardes in-other places by their crie and roaring in the night.
" Also there be Conies and Hares : Silke Wormes in merueil- ous number, a great deale fairer and better than be our silk wormes. To be short, it is a thing vnspeakable to consider the thinges that bee seene there, and shal be founde more and more in this incomperable lande, which, neuer yet broken with plough yrons, bringeth forth al things according to his first nature where- with the eternall God indued it."
1917158
So reads our extraet from "The True and Last Discouerie of Florida made by Captain John Ribault in the yeere 1562."
Enraptured with the delights of temperature, sky, woods, and waters, and anxious to transfer to this new domain names conse-
:
3
36
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
crated by pleasant associations at home, Captain Ribault called our St. Mary's River the Seine, the St. Illa the Somme, the Alatamaha the Loire, the Newport the Charante, the Great Ogee- chee the Garonne, and the Savannah the Gironde.
Two years afterwards, when René de Laudonniere visited Ri- bault's fort, he found it deserted. The stone pillar, inscribed with the arms of France, which he had erected to mark the furthest confines of Charles IX.'s dominion in the Land of Flowers, was garlanded with wreaths. Offerings of maize and fruits lay at its base, and the natives, regarding the structure with awe and veneration, had elevated it into the dignity of a god.
Hesitating to rehabilitate a settlement which had chanced upon such utter misfortune, Laudonniere departed from Port Royal and, passing by the Georgia inlets, selected a site on St. John's bluff where he builded a fort and called it Carolin. In token of the jurisdiction of France, he there elevated a stone column bear- ing the Royal Arms.
Thus far no permanent lodgment had been effected on the Georgia coast. No collision had here occurred between the Eu- ropeans and the natives. The interior was still a terra incognita, and the soil was free from blood. The slaughters engendered by fratricidal strife, by national and religious animosities, and by savage brutalities in neighboring territories were not enacted here. The earliest memories of the region are peaceful and happy.
It will be perceived that by none of the voyagers whom we have mentioned, nor by any others, so far as we are advised, had even temporary settlements been formed between the rivers Sa- vannah and St. Mary. And yet, from certain signs of ancient occupancy, consisting of tabby foundations at a few prominent points,1 we cannot resist the impression that at some remote period small forts were builded or look-outs erected on the Geor- gia coast long antedating the advent of Oglethorpe. We re- frain from everything save a bare mention of them, because the origin, possession, and abandonment of these
" Remnants of things that have pass'd away "
are enshrouded in the darkness of an unrecorded past.
The first Europeans who are known to have traversed the ter-
1 See De Brahm's History of the Province of Georgia, pp. 29, 30. Wormsloe. 1849.
37
ROYAL CONCESSION TO DE SOTO.
ritory of primeval Georgia were Hernando de Soto and his com- panions.
Flushed with the distinction he had won as a captain in Niea- ragua, enriched by spoils gathered while a lieutenant general in the conquest of Peru, envious of the greater fame of Pizarro, anxious to achieve victories grander and more startling, and thirsting for booty more abundant, Hernando de Soto sought and obtained from the Spanish Crown a concession to subdue and settle all the region from the river Palmas eastwardly to the " Isl- and of Florida," including the tierra nueva adjoining it on the ocean. Northwardly this domain was without specific limit and might be indefinitely enlarged by discovery and occupancy. Over it he was to preside as governor and captain general, with the dignity of adelantado for life, and high sheriff in perpetuity to his heirs.
"For the purpose," -so wrote the king, - "you will take from these our kingdoms, and our said Indias, five hundred men. with the necessary arms, horses, munitions, and military stores ; and that you will go hence from these our kingdoms, to make the said conquest and settlement within a year first following, to be reckoned from the day of the date of these articles of author- ization ; and that when you shall leave the island of Cuba to go upon that enterprise you will take the necessary subsistence for all that people during eighteen months, -rather over than under that time, - entirely at your cost and charges." .
As great gain was anticipated, the Crown was careful to re- serve to itself, for the first six years, one tenth of all gold which should be realized from mines ; and of that precious metal, ob- tained by barter or as spoil during incursions, one fifth was to be paid into the royal treasury.
Remembering the treasure-trove in Peru, his majesty was further pleased to enjoin that to his tribunal and exchequer should belong one half of the gold, silver, stones, pearls, and other articles of value which might be taken from the graves, sepulchres, ocues, temples, religious precincts, public places, or private hoards of the natives.
To facilitate him in the subjugation and retention of this pos- session, and that he might the more easily command a conven- ient base of operations and supplies in the conduet of this great undertaking, De Soto was commissioned by the king, his master, governor of Cuba.
Having, with much deliberation, selected and enlisted six hun-
38
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
dred men,1 competent in every respect and thoroughly equipped, in April, 1538, the adelantado set sail upon his mission. Pass- ing over the bar of San-Lucar on Sunday, - the morning of Saint Lazarus, -he sought the open sea amid the braying of trumpets, the thunders of artillery, and the shouts of thousands. The expedition presented the aspect of a holiday excursion. Every heart on board was imbued with the spirit of adventure, confi- dent of success, and persuaded that the Land of Flowers would yield greater riches than the homes of the Incas. So general was the belief, entertained in Spain, of the wealth of the region, that the proudest of the land craved permission to be represented in the adventure either in person or by proxy. In the composi- tion of this band we find explanation of the spirit of endurance and wonderful courage which characterized it during its eventful career.
On Pentecost De Soto arrived with his command in the har- bor of Santiago, in Cuba of the Antilles, and thence proceeded to Havana. Here he remained, perfecting his arrangements, until Sunday, the 18th of May, 1539; when, with a fleet of nine vessels, - five of them ships, two caravels, and two pinnaces, - he sailed for Florida. Delayed by contrary winds, it was not until the 25th, being the festival of Espiritu Santo, that land was descried and anchor cast a league from the shelving shore. On Friday, the 30th, the army debarked at a point two leagues from the town of the Indian chief Ucita. Two hundred and thirteen horses were set on shore, the royal standard was ele- vated, and formal possession taken of Terra Florida in the name of Charles V. The camp was pitched upon the sands of Tampa Bay.
This was the most brilliant, enthusiastic, and warlike assem- blage which, up to that period, had ever been seen this side the Atlantic. Herrera says De Soto had, of his private fortune, con- tributed one hundred thousand ducats for the equipment of this expedition. This little army was composed of men accustomed to wars, of personal daring, skilled in the use of weapons, and inured to hardships. Scarcely a gray head appeared among them. Their arms were strong, and their breasts filled with visions of glory and wealth. It was confidently believed that this new and unexplored kingdom of Florida would exceed in riches the realms of Atahualpa, during the conquest of which De
1 The Inca, Garcilasso de la Vega, says :
" There assembled for Florida, at San-
Lnear, more than nine hundred Span- iards, all in the prime of life."
39
DE SOTO MARCHES NORTIIWARD.
Soto had received, as his individual share of the spoils, the enor- mous sum of one hundred and eighty thousand crowns of gold.
Many of the young cavaliers who now rallied around this standard carried in their veins the best blood of Spain. Their equipment was superb and their enthusiasm unbounded. It was a strange sight, on the lonely shores of the New World, this con- vocation of soldiery in rich armor and costly dresses, of attend- ing slaves, caparisoned horses, and burden-bearing mules ; this assemblage of fleet greyhounds, savage bloodhounds, and grunt- ing swine ; this accumulation of artillery, weapons, handcuffs, chains, neck-collars, crucibles for refining gold, tools, instruments, and material of every needed sort.
A valuable experience, acquired during the invasions of Nica- ragua and Pern, was utilized on the present occasion ; and the ample preparations made encouraged in the hearts of all hope of success more astounding than that which had characterized both those expeditions.
Twelve priests, eight clergymen of inferior rank, and four monks accompanied the army. In the thirst for conquest and gold the conversion of the aborigines was not forgotten. Men of letters, who were to perpetuate the events of the march, were also present.
With the wanderings of De Soto and his followers within the territorial limits of Florida, with the narrative of their battles with the natives, with the difficulties encountered in the crossing of rivers and the passage of perplexing morasses, with the sore disappointment experienced in the quest for gold and precious stones in this low-lying semi-tropical region, and with the ac- counts of the privations endured, we have now no special con- cern, as our inquiry is limited to a recital of what transpired within the confines of the present State of Georgia.
It may be stated, however, that after wintering at Anhayca, which was probably in the neighborhood of the modern town of Tallahassee,1 De Soto, allured by a report of the existence of gold to the northward, determined to proceed in that direction in search for that much-coveted precious metal. Receiving an in- timation that his march would extend for many leagues through a sparsely populated region, the governor ordered his command to carry the largest allowance of maize. The cavalrymen packed
1 Portions of Spanish armor have been exhumed in a field adjacent to this city, and other European relics have been
found in this vicinity under circum- stances confirming the suggestion here made.
40
n
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
a liberal supply of this grain on their horses, and the foot-soldiers conveyed as much as they could conveniently bear upon their backs. This store had been pillaged from the native villages, and the Indians, whom the Spaniards had forced to act as bur- den-bearers during their previous wanderings and about the win- ter cantonment, had, in nakedness and chains, perished from hard usage. Sad is the record of the inhuman treatment meted out to the aborigines by these Christian adventurers. Such was the utter contempt entertained for them by the Spaniards that they hesitated not to subject them to every form of cruelty, hu- miliation, and privation. The men were condemned to the office of beasts of burden. The women were misused and driven from their habitations. Supplies of all sorts were ruthlessly appro- priated. Even sepulchres were ransacked in the greedy search for pearls and hidden treasures. The path of the invader was marked on every hand by death, ruin, and desolation. The de- moralizing influences exerted upon this aboriginal population by the inroads of the Spaniards cannot be overestimated.
On Wednesday, the 3d of March, 1540, the army moved north- ward, its objective point being Yupaha, governed by a woman whose chief city was reported to be of astonishing size. Of some Indians captured in Napetuca, the treasurer, Juan Gaytan, had brought to camp a lad who spoke knowingly of this queen, of neighboring chiefs tributary to her, and of the clothing and gold with which they supplied her. So exactly did he describe the process of taking this metal from the earth, melting and re- fining it, that the Spaniards came to the conclusion either that he had seen the whole affair with his own eyes, or that he had been taught of the Devil. Expectation was on tip-toe, and the belief was universal that the land of gold was at hand.
On the fourth day of its march the army encountered a deep river, for the passage of which it became necessary to construct a periagna. So swift was the current that a chain was stretched from bank to bank for the guidance of this craft. By this means the soldiers and the baggage were crossed, and the horses di- rected in swimming the stream. We believe this to have been the Ocklockony River. De Soto had now arrived, or very nearly so, at the southwest boundary of Georgia. Within the next forty-eight hours the Indian village of Capachiqui was reached. At the approach of the Spaniards the natives fled ; but when five of the Christians visited some Indian cabins, surrounded by a thicket, in rear of the encampment, they were set upon by In-
41
PRIMITIVE DWELLINGS AT TOALLI.
dians, lurking near, by whom one was killed and three others were badly wounded. Pursued by a detachment from the camp, the natives fled into a sheet of water filled with forest trees whither the cavalry could not follow them. Thus does the Gen- tleman of Elvas record the death of the first Spaniard who fell upon what is now the soil of Georgia.
Departing from Capachiqui on the 11th, and traversing a des- ert, the expedition had, on the 21st, penetrated as far as Toalli. This region, which the historian designates as a desert, was doubtless a dreary pine barren, devoid of population and but little frequented by animal life. The site of Toalli or Otoa can- not now be definitely ascertained; but as it was near Achese, or Ochis (which, according to Mr. Gallatin, is the Muskhogee name of the Ocmulgee River), we may not greatly err in locating it somewhere in Irwin or Coffee County.
Of the peculiarities of this place the Gentleman of Elvas, whose narrative; in the main, we adopt, has perpetuated the following impressions : The houses of this town were different from those behind, which were covered with dry grass. Thenceforward they were roofed with cane after the fashion of tile. They are kept very clean. Some have their sides so made of clay as to look like tapia. Throughont the cold country every Indian has a winter house, plastered inside and out, with a very small door which is closed at dark, and, a fire being made within, it remains heated like an oven, so that clothing is not needed during the night-time. He has likewise a house for summer, and near it a kitchen where fire is made and bread baked. Maize is kept in barbacoa, which is a house with wooden sides, like a room, raised aloft on four posts. It has a floor of cane. The houses of the principal men, besides being larger than those of the common people, had deep balconies in front furnished with benches made of the swamp cane. Adjacent were large barbacoas in which were collected maize, the skins of deer, and the blankets of the country, offered as tribute by the populace. These blankets re- sembled shawls, and were fashioned from the inner bark of trees, and from a certain grass which, when beaten, yielded a flax-like fibre.1 They were used by the women as coverings. One was worn about the body from the waist downward. Another was thrown over the shoulders, leaving the right arm free after the manner of the gypsies. The men were content with one, which was carried in like manner over the shoulders. The loins were
1 This was evidently the tough silk grass of the region.
--- ---.. .......
... .. 22
42
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
covered with a bragueiro of deer-skin, after the fashion of the woolen breech-cloth once customary in Spain. These blankets were colored either vermilion or black. Garments of well- dressed deer-skin were also in vogue, and shoes made of the same material.
Three days were spent at Toalli ; and on Saturday, the 24th of March, the expedition moved onward. Thursday evening, while crossing a small stream over which a bridge had been thrown for the passage of the command, Benito Fernandes, a Portuguese, was drowned. A short distance beyond this stream was located the village of Achiese, whose inhabitants, upon the approach of the Europeans, plunged into the river and made their escape. Among some captives taken was found one who understood the language spoken by the Indian who had acted in the capacity of guide to Yupaha. By him the governor sent a message to the chief dwelling on the further side of the river, desiring an interview with him. Responding to the invitation, the cacique appeared with words of courtesy and an avowal of friendship. Frankly thanking him for his good will, De Soto informed him that he was the child of the sun,1 coming from his abode, and that he was seeking the greatest prince and the rich- est province. The chief replied that further on there reigned a powerful king whose territory was called Ocute. A guide, who understood the language of this province, having been furnished, the captives were set at liberty. Before leaving Toalli a high wooden cross was erected in the middle of the town yard, and some effort made to instruct the natives in the doctrines of Chris- tianity.
Resuming his march on the 1st of April, De Soto moved along a river whose shores were thickly populated. On the fourth day he passed through the town of Altamaca, and on the tenth ar- rived at Ocnte. If we are correct in our impression, the march of the expedition had been in a northeasterly direction, and the Spaniards were now probably in Laurens County. In the word Altamaca (or Altapaha, as it is written by Biedma and also by Garcilasso de la Vega) we recognize one of the prominent rivers in Southern Georgia, and the many traces of early constructive skill, ancient relic beds, and old Indian fields along the line of that and of the Oconee River give ample token that in former
1 This announcement, if credited, was the sixteenth century, were nearly all calculated to make a profound impression sun-worshipers. upon the natives, as the Florida tribes, in
43
PRIVATIONS OF DE SOTO'S COMMAND.
times the aboriginal population dwelling here was by no means inconsiderable.
While approaching Ocute, De Soto's command was met by two thousand Indians bearing, as a present from the chief, many conies, partridges, bread made of maize, dogs, and two turkeys. Such was the scarcity of meat that the Spaniards welcomed this offering of dogs as heartily as if it had been a gift of fat sheep. In the language of the narrative from which we have quoted so freely : " Of flesh meat and salt in many places and many times there had been great need; and they were so scarse that if a man fell sicke there was nothing to cherish him withall ; and with a sieknesse that in another place easilie might have been remedied, he consumed away till nothing but skinne and bones was left : and they died of pure weaknes, some of them saying: ' If I had a slice of meate or a few cornes of salt, I should not die.'"
The sufferings of these Spaniards were grievous and almost without interruption. On more than one occasion they were on the point of starving when relieved by the generous offerings of the natives. Surely these primitive inhabitants were hospitable peoples. In view of the harsh treatment dealt out to them by the whites we are little less than amazed at such exhibitions of charity and good will.
While the Indians, through the apt use of their bows and arrows, supplied themselves abundantly with game, the Span- iards, less expert with their clumsy weapons, and on the march not daring to straggle, so eraved meat that upon their entrance into a native village they at onee set about killing every dog in sight. Should the private soldier, who had been so fortunate as to secure one of these animals, omit to send his captain a quarter, he would surely be visited with displeasure and extra duty.
Having obtained from the cacique of Ocute four hundred tamemes, or burden-bearers, the governor, on the 12th of April, took his departure. Passing through Cofaqui, he journeyed to Patofa, by the mico of which he was hospitably entreated.
While here, the Indian youth who had accompanied De Soto as his guide and interpreter "began to froth at the mouth, and threw himself on the ground as if he were possessed of the Devil." An exoreism having been said over him, however, the fit went off : at least, so runs the story. .
Upon the cacique of Patofa a contribution was levied of seven hundred tamemes and a four days' supply of maize. Thus aided,
44
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
the expedition started, apparently in a northeasterly direction, following a path which gradually grew less and less distinct, until, at the end of the sixth day, all trace was lost in the midst of a wide-spreading pine barren. For three days more vainly seeking to acquire some valuable information, and having marched continuously, the governor called a halt and went into camp among the pine-trees. During these nine days he had with difficulty forded two rivers (sources of the Great Ogeechee ?) and swam another (Briar Creek ?).
Accompanied by some cavalry and infantry, De Soto made a detour of five or six leagues, looking for a path. He re- turned at night, having failed to find any inhabitants, quite dejected and sore perplexed. His command was in a sorry plight. The cireumjacent country was a barren. No sign of human habitation appeared. The maize which his soldiers had brought from Patofa was utterly consumed. Both beasts and men were lean and hungry. In this enfeebled condition resist- anee, in the event of an attack, seemed impossible. Starvation and annihilation stared the expedition in the face. Unable longer to subsist the burthen-bearers from Patofa, they were dismissed to make their way back to their homes as best they could.
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