Volume V Part 22 (2/2)

[Footnote 127: Id. IV. 27.]

The abortive attempt of Panfilo de Narvaez to supersede Cortes in the command of the expedition against Mexico has been already related. He afterwards endeavoured to settle a colony at the _Rio de las Palmas_ in the bay of Mexico, whence he was expelled by the arrogance of Nunno de Guzman, who had been appointed governor of the adjoining province of Panuco, and endeavoured to appropriate the territories belonging to others in his neighbourhood to his own advantage and emolument in the most unjustifiable manner. In March 1528, Narvaez sailed from Cuba with four s.h.i.+ps and a brigantine for the conquest of Florida, having a force of about four hundred men with eighty horses. During the voyage, the squadron was carried among the shoals of Canarreo by the unskilfulness of the pilot Meruelo, where the s.h.i.+ps got aground and remained for fifteen days constantly touching with their keels and unable to get into deep water. At the end of this period a storm at south brought so large an accession of water from the bay upon these flats that the s.h.i.+ps got off. At _Guaniguanigo_ they encountered another storm in which they were near peris.h.i.+ng, and met with a third at Cape Corrientes. Three days after getting to windward of Cape St Antonio, they were driven by contrary winds to within twelve leagues of the Havannah; and when about to put in there for shelter were carried back by a south wind to the coast of Florida, where they arrived on the 12th of April, and came to anchor in the mouth of a bay where they could perceive some Indian huts on the sh.o.r.e[128]. Alonzo Enriquez, the comptroller of the armament, hailed the natives from a small island in the bay, and procured from them some fish and venison by means of barter.

[Footnote 128: Having no indications whatever of the place of landing, it is quite impossible to attempt tracing the steps of Narvaez in his short and disastrous expedition to Florida.--E.]

Next day, Narvaez went on sh.o.r.e with as many men as the boats could carry, and found the dwellings of the natives abandoned, one of them being large enough to contain three hundred men. In the houses were found a number of fis.h.i.+ng nets, and along with these a sort of tabor or drum, ornamented with gold bells. On the day following, Narvaez landed all the rest of his men, and forty-two horses, the others having died during the voyage. Narvaez took formal possession of the country in the name of the king of Spain. Some of the Indians drew near that day, but having no interpreter they could not be conversed with, though it appeared by their threatening signs that they warned the Spaniards to leave their country. On the same day Narvaez marched northwards into the country, with forty men and six horses, and came to a large bay which seemed to penetrate far into the interior. Having halted at that place for the night, he returned next day to the s.h.i.+ps. The pilot Meruelo was sent in the brigantine to find out a harbour for the squadron, and to endeavour to procure provisions. Having taken four prisoners, some maize was shewn them, to endeavour to discover if the natives were acquainted with that grain, as none had been seen hitherto in the country. They accordingly offered by signs to lead the Spaniards to where some of it could be procured, and guided them to the town or village where they dwelt, where some maize was growing in a field in the environs. In the same place, they found some Spanish chests, in each of which was a dead body wrapped up in painted deers skins; and as the commissary Juan Xuarez considered this to be some idolatrous inst.i.tution, he ordered the chests and bodies to be burned. They likewise found some pieces of linen and woollen cloth, with several plumes of feathers which seemed to have come from Mexico, and a small quant.i.ty of gold. Being interrogated by signs whence these things were procured, the Indians made them understand by similar means that there was great abundance of gold in a province at a very great distance called _Apalache_[129].

[Footnote 129: The name of Apalache is now given to a large bay on the western coast of East Florida, and towards its northern extremity, the bottom or northern extremity of which is in lat. 30 N. and long. 67 13' W. where a small river named St Marks enters the sea. The river Apalachicola, likewise named R. des Cahuilas, or Catahoche, runs into the western part of the same bay by two mouths, the easternmost of which is about fifteen miles S.W. of St. Marts River, and western mouth about twenty miles farther to the W.S.W. The same name is applied to the south western extremity of the great range of mountains in the middle states of North America; dividing the Atlantic country from the western waters which run into the Ohio, called Blue Mountains, Alleghany Mountains, and Apalachean Mountains. These last divide North Carolina from the sources of the Tena.s.see and c.u.mberland rivers. A part likewise of Georgia, east from the Apalachicola river, along the northern boundary of East Florida, is still named the Apalachi country.--E.]

Twelve leagues from thence they came to an Indian town consisting of fifteen houses, near which there was great plenty of maize just ripe.

Narvaez and others were of opinion that they should march immediately into the interior, sending the s.h.i.+ps in search of a safe harbour on the coast; but the treasurer of the expedition, Alvar Nunnez Gabeza de Vaca, advised that they should all embark till such time as a safe harbour could be discovered. The other opinion prevailed, and the whole land forces set out upon their march on the 1st of May, being about three hundred foot and forty horse, every man carrying two pounds of biscuit, and half a pound of bacon. With only that scanty provision, they proceeded for fifteen days, finding nothing to eat in the country, except some _palmetoes_ like those of Andalusia, and without seeing any towns, house, or Indians in the whole way. At this time they came to a river which they crossed, some by swimming and others on rafts or floats, which employed them a whole day in consequence of the strength of the current. They were opposed by about two hundred Indians on the opposite bank, who only threatened them without coming to blows. Of these they took six prisoners who conducted the Spaniards to their dwellings, where they found a considerable quant.i.ty of Indian corn, which proved a great relief to their urgent necessities. From this place two officers were sent with a detachment in search of the sea-coast, in hopes of establis.h.i.+ng a communication with the s.h.i.+ps; but all they found was a creek only fit for receiving canoes.

After a short stay, they marched onwards in quest of the province of _Apalache_, which the Indians had reported to be rich in gold, guided in the way by some of their prisoners. After marching fifteen days without meeting with any inhabitants, they fell in with an Indian chief, who was dressed in a painted deers skin, carried on the back of one of his subjects, and attended by a great number of Indians, some of whom went before him playing upon a kind of pipes made of reeds. On being informed by signs that the Spaniards were in search of the province of Apalache, he seemed to intimate that he was an enemy to the people of that country. The Spaniards gave this cacique beads, hawk-bells, and other such trinkets, and continued their march. They came that night to a river which was so rapid that they durst not venture to cross it on floats, and were therefore obliged to construct a canoe for that purpose. Juan Velasquez ventured to attempt crossing it by swimming his horse, but both were drowned, and the Indian attendants on the cacique drew the drowned horse from the river and eat him for their supper. On their arrival at the town belonging to the cacique, they were supplied with Indian corn, and next day were guided on their way through thick woods, in which the road was obstructed by many fallen trees, and the fragments of others which had been s.h.i.+vered by lightning, as the country was subject to severe thunderstorms. On the 25th of June, Narvaez and his people came in sight of Apalache, without having been perceived by any of the inhabitants; and, though weary and hungry they were all in high spirits, thinking themselves at the end of their labours, and that they should find some great treasure in recompence of their fatigues.

Some hors.e.m.e.n immediately entered the place, in which they found only women and children; but the men soon returned and attacked them with their bows and arrows, and were soon repulsed, yet killed the comptrollers horse. This town of Apalache contained forty low huts or cabins, enclosed among thick woods and mora.s.ses in which they found abundance of maize, deer-skins, mantles, head-dresses for women, and stones for grinding corn, but no gold. All the country, from the place where the Spaniards landed to Apalache was one continued sandy flat, yet thickly overgrown with woods of walnut, laurel, liquid-amber, cedar, savine, oak, pine, and palmetoes; interpersed with many swamps or mora.s.ses which were very troublesome to pa.s.s, and many fallen trees which lay athwart the way. In their march they saw three different kinds of deer, hares, rabbits, bears, and _lions_[130], with other wild beasts; and among these an animal called the opossum, which carries its young in a pouch under the belly till they are able to s.h.i.+ft for themselves. The country is cold[131], and has good pasture for cattle.

In the woods and marshes through which they pa.s.sed they saw many different kinds of birds, as geese, ducks, herons, partridges, falcons, hawks, and many others. Two hours after the arrival of the Spaniards, the inhabitants of Apalache came to demand their wives and children, all of whom were set free; but as the cacique was detained they were much displeased, and came next day to a.s.sault the place, endeavouring to set fire to their own houses, but on the appearance of the Spaniards they fled to the mora.s.ses; and next day a similar attempt was made but with the same consequences.

[Footnote 130: It is hardly necessary to say that there are no lions in America. The Spaniards must accordingly have given this name to the cougar, now called the panther by the North Americans, a very inferior species of the feline race.--E.]

[Footnote 131: This must be considered as in comparison with the climate of Cuba and Hispaniola, to which the Spaniards had been long accustomed, as the climate of Florida is certainly hot in reference to any part of Europe.--E.]

The Spaniards remained twenty-five days at this place, during which time they made three incursions into the country to some distance, finding it every where ill-inhabited and difficultly penetrable, owing to similar obstacles with those they had already encountered. From, the cacique whom they had in custody, they were informed that Apalache was one of the best towns in these parts, and that on going farther inland the land was worse and more thinly peopled. He added, that at nine days journey southwards there was a town called _Aute_ near the sea, inhabited by a tribe in amity with him, who had plenty of provisions. Taking this information into consideration, and especially as the Indians of Apalache did them considerable injury by frequent a.s.saults, and always retreated to their fortresses in the marshes, the Spaniards determined upon returning towards the sea. On the second day of their retrograde march, they were attacked by the Indians while pa.s.sing across a mora.s.s, and several both men and horses were wounded, without being able to take vengeance on their enemies, as they always fled into the water. These Indians were of large stature and well made, very nimble, and went entirely naked, being armed with bows as thick as a mans arm and twelve spans long. They marched in this manner, under continual a.s.saults, for eight days, at the end of which period they came to the town of Aute, where they got Indian corn, pompions, kidney-beans, and other provisions. From this place the treasurer, Cabeza de Vaca, was sent with a party to endeavour to find the sea; but came back in three days, reporting that the sea was far off, and he had only been able to reach some creeks which penetrated deep into the land. They had already travelled two hundred and eighty leagues from the place at which they first landed, in all which way they had seen neither mountain nor even any thing which could be called a hill[132]. The men were become much dejected and very sickly, and no longer able to travel so as to endeavour to make their way back to where they left the s.h.i.+ps; in which miserable condition it was resolved to build some barks for the purpose of making their way along sh.o.r.e in search of the s.h.i.+ps. They accordingly constructed five barks, each of them twenty cubits long, which they caulked with the husks of palmetoes, making ropes of the manes and tails of their horses, and sails of their s.h.i.+rts; but were hardly able to find enough of stones to serve for ballast and anchors.

[Footnote 132: Their wandering had probably been in the country of the Creeks, in the western parts of Georgia, and the two rivers they crossed may have been the Catahehe and Mobile; but we have no indications from which to form any conjecture as to the part of the coast on which they built their ill-fated barks.--E.]

They embarked on the 22d of September, after having eaten all their horses, and having lost above forty of their men from sickness, besides several who were slain by the Indians. Their barks were hardly able to carry them, and they had no sailors among them to direct their perilous navigation. After five days painful progress among intricate creeks[133], they came at last to an island, where they found five canoes abandoned by the Indians, and on going into a house they found some dried skates which were a very acceptable though scanty relief to their necessities. Proceeding onwards with the help of these canoes, they suffered extremely for want of water, during which five of them died in consequence of drinking sea-water too freely. Owing to this necessity they were again obliged to land on the continent, where they found water and fish ready dressed in some Indian houses. At night these people attacked them, and the cacique of Apalache whom they had hitherto kept along with them made his escape, leaving a mantle of sables behind him so strongly scented with ambergris that it could be smelt from a considerable distance. Obliged to reimbark, and the weather proving stormy, the barks were all dispersed, and none of them ever more heard of except that in which Cabeza de Vaca was, which was thrown ash.o.r.e.

Panfilo de Narvaez and most of his men were a.s.suredly lost in the storm, or destroyed by the Indians on sh.o.r.e; though there was a foolish report long current that he had penetrated to the South Sea.

[Footnote 133: These intricacies may possibly have been between Mobile Bay, and the western bay of Spiritu Santo at the mouths of the Mississippi.--E.]

SECTION III.

_Adventures and wonderful escape of Cabeza de Vaca, after the loss of Narvaez._

When cast on sh.o.r.e, as mentioned at the close of the former section, Cabeza de Vaca and the people along with him were relieved by the Indians; and on endeavouring again to put to sea, the bark was overset, three of the Spaniards were drowned, and Cabeza and a few more got again on sh.o.r.e, naked and without arms. On seeing the miserable plight of these unhappy Spaniards, the Indians came to them with provisions, sat down by them and lamented their misfortunes, carried them to their houses, and made fires by the way to warm them, otherwise they must have perished with the cold, as they were naked and it was now the month of November. They were put into a house with a good fire, the natives dancing all night close by them, which the Spaniards were sadly afraid was a prelude to their being sacrificed next day. But as they were plentifully supplied with provisions they began to recover their spirits and confidence next day. Cabeza de Vaca and his companions were soon afterwards joined by the Spaniards who had escaped from the wreck of another bark. At first they were in all eighty men; but in a short time their number was reduced to fifteen, as they were forced to winter on the island, exposed to excessive cold and great scarcity of provisions.

Owing to their misfortunes, they called this _Isola de Mal-hado_, or the isle of Bad-Luck[134].

[Footnote 134: As we have no information in the text which could lead to suppose that Cabeza ever crossed the great river Missisippi, either before landing on the island of Mal-hado, or in his subsequent journey to New Spain, the isle of Bad-Luck may have been to the west of the Missisippi.--E.]

The inhabitants of this island were of large stature, their only weapons being bows and arrows. The men had one of their nipples bored, wearing a piece of reed in the hole, and a similar ornament in their under lip.

They dwelt in this island from October to February, feeding much on certain roots. In the months of November and December they caught fish in a kind of wears inclosed with reeds; but these were not to be got at any other time. At the latter end of February, when all the roots were eaten, they were forced to remove from the island in search of food elsewhere. These natives were extraordinarily fond of their children, the parents and kindred lamenting for such as died during a whole year, after which they completed the funeral ceremonies, and washed off the black paint they had worn in token of mourning. They did not lament for the death of the old, alleging that they had lived their time, and that they took away the food which ought to go to the children. All the dead were buried, except the _physicians_[135], whose bodies were burnt, and their ashes kept for a year, after which these ashes were mixed with water and drank by the relations of the deceased. Every man was contented with one wife; but these physicians had usually two or three each, who lived together very amicably. When a man engages to marry the daughter of another, he gives her all he possesses, and sends to the father of his bride every thing he kills, and in return his diet is sent him from the house of his father-in-law, as he is not permitted to enter the house during the first year of the marriage. Should his father-in-law or any of the brothers of his wife meet him during that time, they always look down and pa.s.s on without speaking; yet in that period the woman converses freely with the father or other relations of her husband. These customs are observed both in the island of _Mal-hado_ and through all the country of Florida for fifty leagues inland. When a son or brother dies, the people of the house will rather starve than go in quest of any thing to eat during three months, in all which time the relations of the family send in all that is necessary for their sustenance. Owing to this, several families in Mal-hado were in great straits while the Spaniards resided among them, as many had died and the survivors strictly observed the custom. The houses in the island were of mats, and strewed with oyster sh.e.l.ls, on which they lay at night stark naked round the fire. The inhabitants of the province of _Tegesta_[136], reaching from the Martyrs to Cape Cannaveral, feed better than those Indians among whom Cabeza resided, being extraordinarily expert fishers. Two of them will venture out in a small canoe to attack, whales when any are seen upon the coast. One of them steers or paddles the canoe; while the other, being provided with two or three stakes and a mallet, leaps into the sea as soon as he sees a whale rise to the surface, gets upon its head, and immediately drives one of the stakes into one of the spiracles or blowing holes by which the whale breathes. The whale immediately dives to the bottom; and when forced to come up again to breathe, he repeats the operation and plugs up the other spiracle, so that it cannot get breath and is soon suffocated.

When the whale dies, they fasten a line of withes or twisted branches to its neck, and tow it to the sh.o.r.e, where it serves a long while for them to feed upon.

<script>