USA > New Mexico > Historical sketches of New Mexico : from the earliest records to the American occupation > Part 4
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mained behind from timidity, and so my courage be called in question. I chose rather to risk my life than to endanger my reputation."
The Governer thereupon appointed a Spanish Al- calde, named Caravallo, as Captain of the fleet, and pro- ceeded to arrange for the march. Provisions were already scanty; on the day of starting the men were given a ration of two pounds of biscuit and one-half pound bacon, but thereafter the bread was reduced to one pound. The whole land expedition consisted of 300 men, of whom the officers, etc., who were mounted, were forty. On Sunday, the 1st of May, they took up their march and proceeded northerly for fifteen days, without seeing any kind of habitation or a single Indian. During this time they found nothing eatable to add to their scanty store, except the palmetto or fan palm, which abounded and from which they ate the heart. At the end of the fifteen days they came to a river so wide that it was passed with much difficulty-rafts having to be made for those inexperienced in swimming, and the crossing occupying an entire day. (This undoubtedly is the river now called Withlacoochee.)
On the north side of this river the expedition for the first time encountered a considerable number of natives. They were about 200 in all, and the Governor attempted to open communication by signs, but the Indians made such insulting gestures that the Spaniards could not bear it ; and so, rushing forward, they captured several, and compelled them to show them where their village was. This was found about half a league away ; and more important to the invaders than the poor Indian cabins, were large fields of corn, just ready to be gathered. "We gave infinite thanks to our Lord for having succored us in this great extremity," piously exclaimed the chronicler, " for we were yet young in trials, and besides the weariness in which we came, we were exhausted from hunger."
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Here the army rested for three days, when the chief officers all besought Narvaez to send to search for the sea, so as if possible to find the safe harbor of which the Indians spoke. He gave them no satisfaction at the time, but afterwards authorized Cabeza de Vaca to take forty men and make the exploration. So he set out on foot on May 18th; but the result of the search was, that if a harbor was to be found at all, it was by following the river down on its south side and not on the north ; so the Treasurer returned, and Captain Valenzuela was sent on a second expedition ; but this only discovered that the bay was too shallow for vessels of any size, although a number of canoes carrying Indians wearing plumes was seen passing across its waters.
Abandoning, therefore, the hope of finding a suit- able place for a permanent port in that vicinity, the expedition recommenced its march toward the land of Apalache, of the riches of which they heard so much ; having now for guides the Indians they had captured. For almost a month they travelled without meeting any natives, when on June 17th, just before they reached the banks of a very wide and rapid river (which is easily distinguishable as the Suwanee of modern times), they were approached by a chief, covered with a painted deer. skin, and carried in the arms of another Indian, Many of his people attended him, and in advance were musi- cians playing on flutes of reed. This appears to have been the method in which they showed hospitality and good will ; as eleven years later, when De Soto arrived at the same place, he was met by Indians " playing upon flutes, a sign among them to others that they come in peace." A conference by signs ensued, the Spaniards endeavoring to convey the idea that they were going on to Apalache; and understanding in reply that the chief was an enemy to the Apalachians, and would accompany and assist the expedition. Presents were then ex- changed, the chief giving the Governor the deer-skin
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which he wore; and the next day the army attempted the difficult passage of the river. A boat was con- structed, and on this all were finally taken across safely, except one horseman, Juan Velasquez, who was too im- patient to wait for his turn, and plunging into the river, was carried away by the swift current. His horse, found drowned on the bank below, furnished the first fresh meat that the soldiers had enjoyed for many days. The next day the expedition reached the town of the chief, whose name is given by Cabeza de Vaca as Dulchan- chellin, but by other writers as Uzachil, Osachile, Ochile, etc., (all evidently mispronunciations of the same name), and received some corn as a present.
But now, for some reason, the demeanor of the In- dians changed. Heretofore they had been hospitable, and helpful; indeed, without their assistance the army could not have crossed the Suwanee; but now they assumed a hostile attitude. Some slight conflicts ensued, in which three or four natives were captured ; and then Narvaez proceeded on his march, on June 20th, the latest captives being now his guides. The country now traversed was covered with dense forests of enormous trees, of which so many had fallen to the ground that travelling was very difficult and slow. After six days of toilsome march their eyes were at length gladdened by the sight of the city which was the goal of their hopes. " We gave many thanks to God," says the Treasurer, " at seeing ourselves so near, having confidence in what we had heard of the land, and believing that here was the end of our great hardships; and having come to the wished-for place, where we had been told was much food and gold, we felt that we had already recovered in part from our suffering and fatigue."
After viewing the town from a distance, the Gov- ernor directed Cabeza de Vaca to take nine horsemen and fifty foot soldiers and enter the place. This was done without difficulty, as all the men were absent from
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their homes and only women and children remained ; but shortly afterwards the men returned, and seeing the strangers in possession, commenced discharging arrows at them. This, however, did no damage beyond killing the horse of the Assessor, and the Indians then took to flight. The Spaniards then proceeded to explore the town, but were entirely disappointed both as to its size and riches. Instead of a large city, they found a village of forty small, low houses, scattered in sheltered places, and built of thatch. No gold was to be found, or anything of value, except corn and deer-skins. The whole coun- try was level and sandy, but pines, cedars, oaks, liquid amber, and palmettos abounded. In openings in the country around were patches of corn, but the whole pre- sented a scene of barrenness and poverty far different from what the adventurers had hoped. Within a short time the Indians who had fled returned in peace, asking for their wives and children, who were restored to them; but for some reason Narvaez detained one chief, which produced much excitement and brought on hostilities anew, which were kept up as long as the Spaniards remained in the town, which was twenty-five days. During this time they endeavored by explorations and inquiries to ascertain regarding the surrounding country and any cities of wealth that it might contain ; but their expeditions showed them simply a sparsely populated plain, and the answer to all inquiries was, that no other town was as large or as good as their own, except one called Aute, near the sea, and distant nine days' journey.
Finding nothing worth conquering where they were, the Spaniards determined to march to this city, not only because it was the most important that they could hear of, but also because it would bring them again near to their ships. So they set out on the 20th of July, but were greatly annoyed in their march by the Indians, who assailed them with arrows from behind trees and fallen timber, and from the shallow lakes, in which they
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stood nearly covered by the water. These Indians appear to have been powerful and expert archers, for they wounded many of the men and horses, and drove their arrows with almost incredible force into the bodies of great oaks and elms. Their bows are described as being as thick as a man's arm, of eleven or twelve palms in length, and their aim at 200 yards was almost infallible.
After nine days of hard travel the army arrived at Aute, but found that the news of their approach had preceded them, for the houses had all been burned and the inhabitants had fled. However, they found corn, beans, and pumpkins in great quantities-a most wel- come sight to the hungry and weary Spaniards. Here they rested for two days, and then Cabeza de Vaca, at the request of the Governor, went to discover the sea. After a day's march he arrived at a bay where there were good oysters, but examination showed that the Gulf itself was far distant; and so he returned again to the camp. (This bay was probably Apalachicola Bay.) Everything now was in a most discouraging condition. An unknown malady had appeared and spread with great rapidity among the men. Among the stricken were the Comptroller, the Inspector, and the Governor himself. The Indians had taken advantage of this season of weakness and made an attack which had well nigh been disastrous. The position of the army was very embarrassing, and there was no hope of improve- ment where they were ; so it was determined to set off immediately for the shore. But this journey, though short, was no easy task. The sick increased in number daily, and there were not enough horses to carry them. Scarcely any of the men continued fit for active duty ; and while thus compassed by difficulties their danger was increased by a plot entered into by those who were mounted to abandon the Governor and their comrades and press on themselves to a place of safety. This
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scheme, however, was fortunately frustrated and aban- doned.
On arriving at the bay the condition of the army was not much improved-except that they could obtain oysters from the water. Affairs soon became so critical that the Governor asked the advice of all the leading men as to the course which promised best to relieve them in their emergency. A third of the men were sick, and the number was continually increasing. Ev- ery day augmented their difficulties. It was dangerous to move, and dangerous to remain still. They were on an arm of the Gulf of Mexico, but the whereabouts ( f their vessels no one knew. Yet they were unable to march farther, and the sea presented their only means of escape. At last, after all their circumstances were considered, all agreed that they must endeavor, if possi- ble, to build boats which would carry them away from this land of misfortune. But no project could well seem more impossible of execution. They had no tools, no iron, no forge, no rigging-in short, no single thing of those most necessary ; and no man who had a knowl- edge of the manufacture. Besides all this, they were nearly out of provisions. They were about abandoning the idea when one of the men said that he believed he could make a bellows from a wooden pipe and some deer-skins; and in their despondent condition even this suggestion seemed like a ray of hope from heaven. They agreed to use their stirrups, spurs, and everthing which they had of iron, in the manufacture of nails, axes, and other tools. From the outer fibrous covering of the palmetto they prepared a good substitute for tow. A Greek named Teodoro made pitch from the adjacent pine-trees. From the palmetto leaves and the tails and manes of their horses, ropes and rigging were ingen- iously manufactured; and sails were made from the shirts of the men. But a single carpenter was in their entire company; but under his direction they worked
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with such diligence that in the period from August 4th to September 20th they built five boats, each twenty- two cubits in length. Meanwhile a good supply of pro- visions was obtained by making armed excursions to Aute, from which, in all, about 610 bushels of corn were brought; and on every third day a horse was killed to furnish meat. The skins from the legs of these animals were taken off entire, and by rude tanning made into bottles to hold water for the coming voyage. They also obtained shell-fish from the adjacent coves; but this work proved dangerous, for bands of Indian archers at- tacked all isolated parties, and so powerful and accurate was their shooting that their arrows even pierced the armor of the men, and in one day ten soldiers were thus killed in sight of the camp. More than forty died from the disease before mentioned, and when the boats were completed, but one horse remained unconsumed. There was, therefore, little time to lose, and on the 20th they embarked in their frail boats, which were found scarcely sufficiently large to convey the whole number. The company, which now consisted of 247 persons, was divided equally, from forty-eight to fifty going in each boat. One was commanded by the Governor, Narvaez; one by the Comptroller and Com- missary ; one by Captain Alonzo del Castillo and An- dres Dorantes ; one by Captains Peñalosa and Tellez, and one by Cabeza de Vaca and the Assessor. So heavily were the vessels loaded when all were on board that not more than a span remained above water; and the men were so crowded that they could not move without dan- ger. What greatly added to their difficulties was, that among the whole company there was not one who un- derstood even the first principles of navigation.
Never, perhaps, in all history, has an enterprise been undertaken in the face of more discouragements and difficulties than this embarkation of the army of Narvaez. For a single man cast away, to frame a raft on which to
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attempt escape, is not rare; but without a nail or tool of any kind, to build boats capable of carrying a quarter of a thousand people, working in the midst of sickness and the attacks of the enemy, is without a parallel. The place where this work was accomplished the Spaniards called "Bahia de Caballos," the "Bay of Horses." A few years later (1539), a party from the army of De Soto, under Juan de Añasco, visited it and heard from the natives an account of the sojourn of the army of Narvaez, being shown the spots where the ten Spaniards had been killed and other memorable events had occurred. He even found the furnace in which the spikes had been made for the boats, still surrounded by charcoal, and some large hollowed logs that had been used for horse-troughs. This bay is easily recognizable, from its situation and description, as Appalachee; and this theory is confirmed by the extract from Charlevoix in 1722, given hereafter. It is possible, however, that it may have been near the mouth of the Apalachicola River.
The army embarked on the 22d of September, and proceeded along the shallow waters of the coast, seeing nothing of unusual interest until toward evening of the 28th, when they approached an inhabited island, from which five canoes full of Indians came toward them. The natives, however, were overcome with fear at the sight of the number of the pale-faced strangers, and hastily abandoning their canoes, swam to the shore for safety. The Spaniards pressed on to the island, where they found a number of houses, and what was most acceptable in their condition, some dried mullet and fish-roes. The abandoned boats they made useful in heightening the sides of their own dangerous vessels, until they were two palms above the water. In these frail crafts for thirty more long days they moved along the coast, their sufferings from lack of food increasing as time passed and stores became exhausted, and their diffi-
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culties much enhanced by the scarcity of fresh water , which could only be procured by entering creeks and going beyond the reach of the tide, which of course entailed the loss of much time. Unfortunately, their singular bottles of horses' legs did not meet the hopes of their ingenious inventors, for they soon rotted and became worthless, leaving the boats without any vessels in which to preserve any quantity of the necessary water.
On the 30th day they saw a small island, and went on shore in hopes of finding a spring, but in this were disappointed ; and while thus on land so violent a storm arose that they were afraid to tempt. the waters again, and were thus detained for six days, during the last five of which they were utterly destitute of drink. So frightful became their sufferings from this deprivation that at length some of the men in desperation drank the salt sea-water, and in a short time several died. In this terrible position, death from thirst threatening them if they remained, and destruction by the storm impending if they took to the sea, they chose the lat- ter horn of the dilemma as that which, at all events, presented some chance of escape, and so pushed out again into the Gulf. The waves were so high, and the weather so tempestuous, that many times they were nearly overwhelmed; but when death seemed almost in- evitable, just at sunset, they passed around a projecting point of land and found a calm harbor beyond. What was equally welcome at such a time, they saw an Indian village and a number of natives in canoes. The Span- iards quickly approached the shore, and lost no time in gaining the land, being hastened by the sight of jars of water standing in front of the houses. From them they quenched their almost inexhaustible thirst, and then proceeded to observe the surroundings. The houses of these Indians were made of mats, and appeared to be permanent dwellings. The men were tall, of fine form, and when first seen had no arms of any kind.
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The Cacique of the village soon appeared and invited Narvaez to his home, where he supplied him with cooked fish, and in return the Governor presented the chief with various trinkets. The Spaniards gave the Indians a little of their remaining scanty store of corn, and the natives supplied them with fish and whatever they had to offer. The best of feeling appeared to prevail on both sides ; but just at midnight, when the Spaniards, ex- hausted by their long watching, were heavily asleep, the Indians suddenly made an attack on them, and killed three of those who were sick and had been brought on shore. They made an attempt to kill Nar- vaez, and succeeded in striking him in the face with a stone. Some of the Spaniards seized their chief, but the Indians being greater in number rescued him. The Governor was carried to his boat, and the sick and feeble were also put on board, while fifty of the strongest of the Spaniards remained to meet the attack of the In- dians. The latter fought with bravery and determina- tion. Three times during the night they drove the Eu- ropeans back, and but for lack of arrows, the historian (who was an active participant) thinks that they would have inflicted great damage. As it was, every Spaniard was more or less wounded; Cabeza de Vaca himself be- ing stricken in the face. The next day, as soon as the weather permitted, the boats set sail again; having, however, unfortunately, no means by which to carry any sufficient supply of water.
One trophy they retained from this adventure of which the chronicler makes special mention. When the Cacique was rescued by his people, they left in the hands of the Spaniards his robe of civet-marten. "These skins," says Vaca, "are the best, I think, that can be found; they have a fragrance which can be equalled by amber and musk alone, and even at a distance is strongly perceptible. We saw other skins there, but none to be compared with these."
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Sailing along the shore, the little squadron soon came to the mouth of a river, and again saw Indians in canoes. The Governor made signs that he wanted water, and they replied that they would bring it. Thereupon Don Teo- doro, the same Greek who manufactured the pitch for the boats at the Bahia de Caballos, insisted on going on shore with them, and in spite of all the protestations of his companions went, taking with him a negro from one of the boats. All that could be done by the cap- tains to secure his safety ,was to detain two Indians on a boat as hostages. At night the Indians came again, bringing the vessels but no water, and without the Greek or the African. They said something in their own language to the two hostages, whereupon the latter attempted to jump into the sea, but were seized and re- strained by the Spaniards. Seeing this, the Indians who had come fled in their canoes. The next morning a large number of Indians in boats surrounded the little squadron and demanded the delivery of their two com- panions, but were answered that they must first return the two Christians. To this they gave no satisfactory answer, only saying that if the Spaniards would come on shore they would not only deliver Teodoro and the African, but would also supply them with water and other necessaries. The Spaniards, however, feared some treachery, and as the Indians seemed to be attempting to cut off their retreat, by taking possession of the en- trance of the bay, Narvaez immediately set sail for the sea. The natives then showed their hostile intentions, for they began to hurl clubs and throw stones from slings at the Spaniards, and threatened to shoot with arrows. The wind, however, favored the latter, and they succeeded in getting into the open sea and beyond the reach of their assailants; but while thus saving themselves, they had to abandon the Greek and negro to their fate. Years afterwards, when De Soto passed through, his soldiers heard of Don Teodoro, and were
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shown a dirk which had been his; but the accounts of his fate, and that of his companion, were conflicting. At all events, they never lived to return to their homes, or even to see a European face again.
The little fleet sailed westward all that day, but about the middle of the afternoon came in sight of a point of land and the mouth of a broad river. So great was the volume of water brought down by this stream that the sailors took fresh water from the sea which was fit for drinking purposes,; and shortly afterwards, attempting to pass the mouth of the river, they found it to be impossible, as the current was so violent that it continually drove them out to sea, while they were straining every nerve to reach the land. Three full days they toiled in this way, trying to gain the shore against the mighty current which was stronger by far than anything which human arms could do, and before which the frail boats were but as bubbles on an ocean ; and on the morning of November 3d the little vessels had become so far separated that none of the others could be seen from that of Cabeza de Vaca.
There can be no doubt from the description, as well as from the locality, that this river with the enormous current of fresh water was the Mississippi; and that while De Soto has the honor of being the first to see it in its proper form as a river running through the land, the fleet of Narvaez, several years before, was in sight of its mouth and felt the force of its mighty current, and actually drank of its waters as they made a channel through the salt waves of the Gulf of Mexico.
We can imagine the feelings of the party in the boat of the Treasurer when they found themselves alone in the open sea. They had suffered almost every possible privation before, but always in the companionship of their comrades -- but now even that consolation was re- moved. Keeping on their westerly course, however, just at evening, they were rejoiced again to see two of the
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boats, one near at hand, and one far out at sea. Ap- proaching the former, they found it to be that of the Governor, and a consultation took place as to the best course of action. Cabeza de Vaca contended that they ought to join the other boat at all hazards, so as to be together, and then proceed on their way; but the Gov- ernor answered that the other boat was too far out at sea, and that they ought to reach the shore as soon as possible. He expressed his own determination to take that course, and told Vaca that if he wanted to remain in his company he must keep every man at the oars in order to bring the boat to land. This the Treasurer did, taking an oar himself to aid and encourage the men ; but the soldiers were worn out with fatigue and hunger, and could not compete as oarsmen with the stronger men in the Governor's boat-which had been manned by the healthiest and most athletic of the army. Find- ing that he could not keep up with the Governor's boat, Vaca begged them to give him a rope so that his boat could be towed along; but this the Governor refused, saying that it would be all they could do, with every exertion, to reach the shore that night, alone. Vaca then asked what could be done, as his men were too feeble to follow the Governor's boat without assistance; and Narvaez answered that it was no longer a time for one man to give orders to another; that each should do what seemed the best to save his own life; and that he had determined to act on that principle himself. And with this abdication of control, and cry of "sauve qui peut," he pressed forward with his own boat, and was soon lost in the darkness.
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