HERNANDO DE SOTO.--AN ACCOUNT OF HIS MARCH THROUGH FLORIDA.
Misled by the fabulous stories told of the wealth of Florida, and by the
still more deceptive innuendoes in the account of De Vaca, and having
before their eyes continually the immense treasures actually secured in
Peru and Mexico, the Spaniards were satisfied that it only needed a
force sufficiently large and ably commanded to secure to the conquerors
even greater treasures in their northern possessions. They were,
moreover, convinced that the Indian tribes would not defend, with such
persistent valor and great sacrifices, a worthless country, when the
incalculable wealth of the Aztec had been so feebly defended.
At this favorable moment there appeared at court a man who was
acknowledged to be eminently qualified to inspire confidence in any
undertaking he might enter upon. No knight stood higher in the esteem of
his sovereign, or enjoyed greater popularity with the cavaliers than
Hernando de Soto. Born of a good family in the northern part of Spain,
he had early entered the service of D’Avilas, the governor of the West
Indies, by whom he was put in command of a detachment sent to Peru to
reinforce Pizarro.
Here he exhibited remarkable courage and capacities, and soon rose to
be second in command. Having gained a valuable experience and a splendid
reputation in the conquest of Peru, he was induced by Pizarro to seek
his pleasure or glory in another field, lest his own achievements should
be rivaled by those of his lieutenant. A million and a half of dollars
was the sum which he received on relinquishing the field. This, in those
days, princely fortune was but a small portion of the exorbitant ransom
paid by the captured Inca.
Returning to Spain, his wealth and achievements seem to have excited
genuine admiration rather than envy, and he at once became the favorite
of the court. His martial spirit craved adventures, and could not remain
content with the dullness of court life. He therefore petitioned the
king to be allowed to fit out an expedition to occupy and settle the
Spanish northern possessions. The country at that time designated as
Florida extended from the Chesapeake Bay to Mexico, and, as was thought,
embraced the richest portion of the world, full of all things good.
De Soto’s request having been granted, he was at once commissioned
Adelantado and Marquis of Florida. A fleet of seven ships and three
cutters was at once purchased, and armed and equipped for the
expedition, and, as it was De Soto’s intention to colonize the country,
much attention was given to providing a supply of such seeds and animals
as were desirable to introduce. It is possible that some of the seeds
scattered by the followers of De Soto may to-day be reproducing
themselves in Florida. The origin of the wild horses of America has also
been assigned to the Spanish introduction at this time. So great was the
desire to accompany De Soto, and so certain seemed the rich recompense
of wealth and honor to be achieved under such a leader, that the
complement of a thousand chosen men was recruited with ease. Of this
number more than three hundred were gentlemen of rank, knights and
hidalgoes of the best blood of Spain, who lavished their means in the
purchase of arms and equipments, thinking that with these they would
procure wealth in plenty. With this brilliant corps were twelve priests,
to minister to the spiritual welfare of the Spaniards, or Indians, or
both.
Leaving Spain in the spring, the fleet proceeded as far as Cuba, where
it was delayed a while in completing the arrangements. Here De Soto
married the lady Isabella, a sister of the famous Bovadilla. The
enjoyment of the society of his new wife, however, could not detain him
from the pursuit of honor. In May, 1539, he left Cuba and landed in
Florida on Whitsunday, in the same month. The bay in which they landed,
now called Tampa Bay, was named by them “Espiritu Santo,” in honor of
the day on which they arrived. A detailed account of the march of De
Soto would be too long to introduce in a work like this. There were two
reports published in the sixteenth century, both of which have been
translated into English. While of great value and interest, they both
contain much that is fabulous and exaggerated. Soon after beginning the
march northward, the advance guard of the Spaniards fell in with a body
of Indians, who advanced apparently to oppose them. The Spanish captain,
thinking it was an assault, ordered a charge, when, greatly to their
surprise, they heard the Spanish tongue in a supplication not to kill
one of their own countrymen. The speaker proved to be the captive Ortiz,
before mentioned. Having acquired a knowledge of the Indian language he
was a great acquisition to the command, though unable, from his
restricted confinement, to give a satisfactory reply to the first
question asked him by his countrymen, “Where was there any gold to be
found?” By the advice of Ortiz, or from motives of policy, De Soto
pursued a pacific policy at first, and met with friendly treatment and
generous supplies of provisions at the various Indian towns. The
Indians, at that time, seemed to have paid considerable attention to
agriculture, and to have lived in towns that were rudely fortified, and
built with very considerable dwelling houses and barns. Some of the
houses of the chiefs are described as more than a hundred feet long,
containing many rooms, and set upon artificial mounds. They were built
of palings, sometimes plastered with clay, and covered with thatch. At
nearly every town the Spaniards found provisions stored, consisting of
walnuts, dried grapes, beans, millet, and corn, besides growing
vegetables, among which are mentioned beets. Some of the towns must have
been very large, as many as six thousand inhabitants dwelling in and
around several mentioned. At one town called Mabila, the baggage and
valuables of the Spaniards were carried within the palisades by the
Indians forced to transport them. There an attack was made upon the
town, and twenty-five hundred of the savages were slain. The chief and a
company of natives to transport the baggage were seized at every town,
unless packmen were offered voluntarily. After marching a short distance
away from their homes, the women were allowed their freedom, but the men
were led by a chain attached to a Spanish soldier. Arriving at a town,
these bondsmen were released, and new captives taken, to be in turn
exchanged further on.
In this manner did De Soto march through what is now Florida, thence
north-easterly through Georgia into South Carolina, thence back to the
vicinity of Pensacola.
While in South Carolina De Soto fell in with an intelligent race of
Indians, whose sovereign was a woman. Here he secured a large store of
pearls, nearly three hundred pounds, some of which were said to be worth
their weight in gold. These, however, were all lost, together with the
other valuables and the baggage, in the burning of the town Mabila.
W. Gilmore Simms, the novelist, has seized upon the fables connected
with this Indian queen, in his romance of “Andres Vasconselos.”
Trusting to the disingenuous tales of the Indians, and ever led on by
his overweening faith in the existence of vast stores of gold, De Soto
had marched on and ever further on until, consuming a year’s time, he
had made a complete circuit of the country, and found himself
empty-handed within six days’ march of Pensacola, then called Ochuse.
Here he had ordered his lieutenant, Maldonado, to await his arrival with
the ships he had sent back to Cuba for a supply of provisions and mining
tools.
De Soto at this time exhibited that masterly force of character which
had secured his former success and his great influence. Unwilling to
endure the disgrace that would attach to an unsuccessful issue of the
expedition, a disaster which, with the unfortunate results of former
expeditions, he feared would preclude any future attempts to settle the
Spanish domains in Florida, he resolved to conceal from his followers
their location and the nearness of the fleet, lest, being disheartened
by their want of success and worse than uncertain prospect of the
future, they would refuse to continue on, and taking possession of the
ships, set sail for the West Indies. He therefore forbade Ortiz to
mention to the troops the arrival of Maldonado, which had been learned
from the Indians. Recruiting his men and horses by a short rest, he
marched on again into the unknown wilderness, and turned his back
forever upon home, friends, and all that makes life worth living. Still
searching for gold he marched from region to region, ever meeting and
overcoming difficulties and opposition, and yet unsuccessful. He
proceeded as high as the Cumberland River, then turned west, crossed the
Mississippi, and reached the Red River. In that region the Spaniards
wintered, and in the spring De Soto retraced his steps to the
Mississippi, having determined to reach the mouth of that river, from
whence he could send to Mexico and Cuba for further supplies. The
disappointment and mortification which his gallant nature had so long
opposed was eating like a cancer into his heart, and unsustained by a
hope, which in other circumstances would have thrown off disease, his
body at last gave way to fatigue and malaria, and he began to sink under
a wasting fever. Deep despondency settled down upon him as he thought of
home, his young wife, and all the comforts and prospects he had put so
far from his reach. Calling his followers about him, he thanked them for
their courage and devotion, and besought them to accept of his
appointment of a successor to lead them after his death, which he
assured them was near at hand. His followers tried to afford him the
regulation comfort at such times, depicting this life as so full of
misery that he was most happy who was soonest relieved of its burden.
They finally received from him the appointment of Louis Moscoza as their
captain.
Shortly after, on the 21st day of May, 1542, died that chivalrous
knight, Don Hernando de Soto, Governor of Cuba, and Adelantado of
Florida, far from his native land, in the wilderness on the banks of
that great Father of Waters, whose vast and turbid flow ever recalls his
great name and deeds, and whose discovery has proved his most enduring
remembrance.
Desirous of impressing the Indians with the supernatural origin of De
Soto, his followers declared that his father, the Sun God, had taken him
to himself, and lest their deception should be manifested by the sight
of his dead body, the corpse of their illustrious and beloved leader was
placed in a canoe, and in the darkness of the night consigned to the
waters of the mighty river.
Immediately after the death of De Soto, the Spaniards began to build
boats and collect provisions in preparation for their long voyage. They
continued thus employed until the annual floods had subsided, when they
descended to the gulf. Though continuously receiving attacks from the
Indians, they at last reached the Spanish settlement of Panuco, in
Mexico. Here they were received with joy, and every kindness proffered
them. Three hundred and eleven men kneeled before the altar in
thanksgiving to God for their safe deliverance from those distresses and
perils which had swept away more than two-thirds of the gallant army
that four years before had landed in Florida, an army that had overrun a
country containing thousands of brave inhabitants, subsisted for more
than three years on the country through which it passed, ever maintained
the unity of its command and devotion to its valorous leader while he
lived, and executed his wishes after his death.
In 1559 the Spaniards made another attempt to explore Florida. Mendoza,
the governor of Mexico, under advices from Spain, ordered the equipment
of a larger and more complete expedition than ever had landed in
Florida.
Fifteen hundred soldiers and many of the religious orders set sail from
Vera Cruz in the spring of 1559, under the command of a soldier of some
reputation, Don Tristan de Luna. Landing near Pensacola, the Spaniards
underwent an experience similar to that encountered by their countrymen
in the previous expeditions, and after being distressed by hunger,
weakened by losses, and divided by mutiny, finally returned without
having accomplished more than to view the desolation wrought by De Soto
and Narvaez in the country through which they had passed.