_How the Governor, having sent the ships to Cuba, marched
inland, leaving one hundred men at the port._
From the port of Espiritu Santo, where the Governor was, he sent the
chief castellan, with fifty cavalry and thirty or forty infantry, to
the province of Paracoxi, to observe the character of the country,
to inquire of that farther on, and to let him hear by message of
what he should discover; he also sent the vessels to Cuba, that,
at an appointed time, they might return with provisions. As the
principal object of Vasco Porcallo de Figueroa in coming to Florida
had been to get slaves for his plantation and mines, finding, after
some incursions, that no seizures could be made, because of dense
forest and extensive bogs, he determined to go back to Cuba; and
in consequence of that resolution, there grew up such a difference
between him and Soto, that neither of them treated nor spoke to the
other kindly. Still, with words of courtesy, he asked permission of
him to return, and took his leave.
Baltasar de Gallegos having arrived at Paracoxi, thirty Indians
came to him on the part of the absent cacique, one of whom said:
"King Paracoxi, lord of this province, whose vassals we are, sends
us to ask of you what it is you seek in his country, and in what he
can serve you;" to which the chief castellan replied, that he much
thanked the cacique for his proffer, and bade them tell him to return
to his town, where they would talk together of a peace and friendship
he greatly desired to establish. They went off, and came again the
next day, reporting that as their lord could not appear, being very
unwell, they had come in his stead to see what might be wanted. They
were asked if they had knowledge or information of any country where
gold and silver might be found in plenty; to which they answered yes;
that towards the sunset was a province called Cale, the inhabitants
of which were at war with those of territories where the greater
portion of the year was summer, and where there was so much gold,
that when the people came to make war upon those of Cale, they wore
golden hats like casques.
As the cacique had not come, Gallegos, reflecting, suspected the
message designed for delay, that he might put himself in a condition
of safety; and fearing that, if those men were suffered to depart,
they might never return, he ordered them to be chained together,
and sent the news to camp by eight men on horseback. The Governor,
hearing what had passed, showed great pleasure, as did the rest who
were with him, believing what the Indians said might be true. He left
thirty cavalry and seventy infantry at the port, with provisions
for two years, under command of Captain Calderon, marching with the
others inland to Paracoxi; thence, having united with the force
already there, he passed through a small town named Acela, and came
to another called Tocaste,[238] whence he advanced with fifty of
foot and thirty horse towards Cale;[239] and having gone through an
untenanted town, some natives were seen in a lake, to whom having
spoken by an interpreter, they came out and gave him a guide. From
there he went to a river of powerful current, in the midst of which
was a tree, whereon they made a bridge. Over this the people passed
in safety, the horses being crossed swimming to a hawser, by which
they were drawn to the other bank, the first that entered the water
having been drowned for the want of one.
[238] Tocaste was on an island in the marsh at the first crossing
of "the great marsh," so graphically described by the Inca.
[239] This was the river or marsh of Cale, and the Inca's second
crossing of the great marsh.
The Governor sent two men on horseback, with word to those in the
rear that they should advance rapidly, for that the way was becoming
toilsome and the provisions were short. He came to Cale and found
the town abandoned; but he seized three spies, and tarried there
until the people should arrive, they travelling hungry and on bad
roads, the country being very thin of maize, low, very wet, pondy,
and thickly covered with trees.[240] Where there were inhabitants,
some watercresses could be found, which they who arrived first would
gather, and, cooking them in water with salt, eat them without other
thing; and they who could get none, would seize the stalks of maize
and eat them, the ear, being young, as yet containing no grain.
Having come to the river, which the Governor had passed, they got
cabbage from the low palmetto growing there, like that of Andalusia.
There they were met by the messengers, who, reporting a great deal
of maize in Cale, gave much satisfaction.
[240] They had now reached the higher country, which begins in
the southern part of Polk County.
While the people should be coming up, the Governor ordered all the
ripe grain in the fields, enough for three months, to be secured.
In gathering it three Christians were slain. One of two Indians who
were made prisoners stated that seven days' journey distant was a
large province, abounding in maize, called Apalache. Presently, with
fifty cavalry and sixty infantry, he set out from Cale, leaving Luis
de Moscoso, the master of the camp,[241] in command, with directions
not to move until he should be ordered. Up to that time, no one had
been able to get servants who should make his bread; and the method
being to beat out the maize in log mortars with a one-handed pestle
of wood, some also sifting the flour afterward through their shirts
of mail, the process was found so laborious, that many, rather than
crush the grain, preferred to eat it parched and sodden. The mass
was baked in clay dishes, set over fire, in the manner that I have
described as done in Cuba.
[241] An officer somewhat like an adjutant-general.