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{Transcriber's Note: Quotation marks have been standardized to modern
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referencing them. Transcriber's notes are in curly braces; square brackets
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{Illustration: Frontispiece--Norman B. Wood.}
LIVES of FAMOUS
INDIAN CHIEFS
FROM COFACHIQUI, THE INDIAN PRINCESS, AND
POWHATAN; DOWN TO AND INCLUDING
CHIEF JOSEPH AND GERONIMO.
Also an answer, from the
latest research, of the query,
WHENCE CAME THE INDIAN?
Together with a number
of thrillingly interesting
INDIAN STORIES AND ANECDOTES FROM HISTORY
* * * * *
COPIOUSLY AND SPLENDIDLY ILLUSTRATED, IN PART,
BY OUR SPECIAL ARTIST.
* * * * *
By
NORMAN B. WOOD
Historian, Lecturer, and Author of "The White Side of a Black Subject" (out
of print after twelve editions) and "A New Negro for a New Century,"
which has reached a circulation of nearly a _hundred thousand copies._
{Illustration: Two Indians in a canoe.}
PUBLISHED BY
AMERICAN INDIAN HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
Brady Block, Aurora, Ill.
Copyrighted in 1906 by American Indian Historical Publishing Co.,
Aurora, Illinois.
* * * * *
All rights of every kind reserved.
{Illustration: seal.}
PRINTING AND BINDING BY THE HENRY O. SHEPARD CO.
ENGRAVING BY THE INLAND-WALTON CO.
CHICAGO.
TO
THEODORE ROOSEVELT,
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
Who has observed closely and recorded justly the
character of the Red Man, and who, in the words
of Chief Quanah Parker, "is the Indian's President
as well as the white man's," this volume is respectfully
dedicated by
THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS
* * * * *
page
Introduction, 11
CHAPTER I.
Cofachiqui, The Indian Princess, 21
CHAPTER II.
Powhatan, or Wah-Un-So-Na-Cook, 41
CHAPTER III.
Massasoit, The Friend of the Puritans, 65
CHAPTER IV.
King Philip, or Metacomet, The Last of the Wampanoaghs, 85
CHAPTER V.
Pontiac, The Red Napoleon, Head Chief of the Ottawas and
Organizer of the First Great Indian Confederation, 121
CHAPTER VI.
Logan, or Tal-Ga-Yee-Ta, The Cayuga (Mingo) Chief, Orator
and Friend of the White Man. Also a Brief Sketch of
Cornstalk, 173
CHAPTER VII.
Captain Joseph Brant, or Thay-En-Da-Ne-Gea, Principal
Sachem of the Mohawks and Head Chief of the Iroquois
Confederation, 191
CHAPTER VIII.
Red Jacket, or Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha, "The Keeper Awake." The
Indian Demosthenes, Chief of the Senecas, 237
CHAPTER IX.
Little Turtle, or Michikiniqua, War Chief of the Miamis, and
Conqueror of Harmar and St. Clair, 283
CHAPTER X.
Tecumseh, or "The Shooting Star," Famous War-chief of the
Shawnees, Organizer of the Second Great Indian Confederation
and General in the British Army in the War of 1812, 317
CHAPTER XI.
Black Hawk, or Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak, and His War, 363
CHAPTER XII.
Shabbona, or Built Like a Bear, The White Man's Friend, a
Celebrated Pottawatomie Chief, 401
CHAPTER XIII.
Sitting Bull, or Tatanka Yotanka, The Great Sioux Chief and
Medicine Man, 443
CHAPTER XIV.
Chief Joseph, of the Nez Perces, or Hin-Mah-Too-Yah-Lat-Kekt,
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains, The Modern Xenophon, 497
CHAPTER XV.
Geronimo, or Go-Yat-Thlay, The Yawner, The Renowned
Apache Chief and Medicine Man, 529
CHAPTER XVI.
Quanah Parker, Head Chief of the Comanches, With, an
Account of the Captivity of His Mother, Cynthia Anne
Parker, Known as "The White Comanche," 563
CHAPTER XVII.
A Sheaf of Good Indian Stories From History, 589
CHAPTER XVIII.
Indian Anecdotes and Incidents, Humorous and Otherwise, 673
CHAPTER XIX.
Whence Came the Aborigines of America? 721
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
* * * * *
page
1 Frontispiece.
2 Cofachiqui, The Indian Princess, 19
3 American Horse, Sioux Chief, 29
4 Powhatan, 39
5 Captain Smith and Pocahontas, 49
6 Pocahontas, or Lady Rebecca, 59
7 Ope-Chan-Ca-Nough, 69
8 Massasoit and Pilgrims, 79
9 Nellie Jumping Eagle, 89
10 King Philip, or Metacomet, 99
11 Philip Rejecting Elliot's Preaching, 109
12 Pontiac, The Red Napoleon, 119
13 Montcalm at Massacre of Quebec, 129
14 Hollow-Horn Bear, Sioux Chief, 139
15 Major Campbell and Pontiac, 149
16 Hollow Horn, 159
17 Starved Rock, 169
18 Logan, The Mingo Orator, 179
19 Logan and the Two Hunters, 189
20 Joseph Brant, Mohawk Chief, 199
21 King Hendrick, Mohawk Chief, 209
22 Sir William Johnson and the Mohawks, 219
23 Leading Hawk, 229
24 Red Jacket, Seneca Chief and Orator, 239
25 Massacre at Wyoming, 249
26 Corn Planter, Seneca Chief, 259
27 Adolph Knock and Family, 269
28 Red Jacket Presenting Deer, 279
29 Little Turtle, Miami War-chief, 289
30 Little Turtle's Warriors Chasing St. Clair's Scout 299
31 Ouray, Late Principal Chief of Utes, 309
32 Tecumseh, The Noblest Indian of Them All, 319
33 Tecumseh Rebuking Proctor, 329
34 The Prophet, Brother of Tecumseh, 339
35 Red Cloud, Noted Sioux Chief, 349
36 Death of Tecumseh, 359
37 Black Hawk, Sac and Fox Chief, 369
38 Buffalo Hunt, 379
39 Keokuk, Sac and Fox Chief, 389
40 Shabbona, "The White Man's Friend," Pottawatomie Chief, 399
41 Fort Dearborn Massacre, 409
42 Annie Red Shirt, Indian Beauty, 419
43 Waubonsie, Pottawatomie Chief, 429
44 Plan of Sitting Bull's Tepee, 440
45 Sitting Bull, Noted Sioux Chief and Medicine Man, 441
46 Sitting Bull's Family, 451
47 Chief Gall, Sioux War-chief, 461
48 Chief One Bull and Family, 471
49 Rain-In-The-Face, Noted Sioux Warrior, 481
50 Sitting Bull's Autograph, 486
51 Indian Village, 491
55 Chief Joseph, of the Nez Perces, Greatest Indian Since
Tecumseh, 501
53 Buckskin Charlie, War-chief of Utes, 511
54 "Comes Out Holy," Sioux, 521
55 Geronimo, Noted Apache Chief and Medicine Man, 531
56 Group of Apaches, 541
57 Naiche, Apache Chief, 551
58 Quanah Parker, Comanche Chief, 561
59 Quanah Parker and Two of His Wives, 571
60 Comanche Indians Stealing Cows, 581
61 Needle Parker, Indian Beauty, 591
62 The Mohawk's Last Arrow, 601
63 Lone Wolf, Orator and Principal Chief of the Kiowas, 611
64 Kiowa Annie, Noted Indian Beauty, 621
65 Se-Quo-Yah, The Cherokee Cadmus, 631
66 Big Tree, Second Kiowa Chief, 641
67 Satanta, Kiowa Chief and Noted Orator, 651
68 Chief Simon Pokagon, Pottawatomie, 661
69 Dr. Charles A. Eastman, 671
70 Dr. Carlos Montezuma, 681
71 The Last Shot, 691
72 Chief Charles Journey Cake, 701
73 Indian Maiden in Japanese Costume, 713
74 Japanese Maiden in Indian Costume, 725
75 Map Showing How America Was Peopled, 737
76 Japanese Man in Garb of Indian, 749
77 Indian Man in Japanese Garb, 761
INTRODUCTION.
We do not propose to apologize for writing this book, for the reasons that
those who approve would not consider it necessary and those who oppose
would not accept the apology. Therefore, we can only offer the same
explanation as that made twenty-four centuries ago by the "Father of
History" when he said: "To rescue from oblivion the noble deeds of those
who have gone before, I, Herodotus of Halicarnassus, write this chronicle."
We deem it well, however, to mention a few of the many reasons which
impelled us to attempt the somewhat laborious but congenial task of
preparing this work.
First of all, we were gratified and inspired by the kind reception accorded
our first literary venture, "The White Side of a Black Subject," which is
now out of print after reaching twelve editions. Added to this was the
still more generous treatment of our second production, "A New Negro for
a New Century." Nearly a hundred thousand copies of this book have been
sold up to date, and the demand is still increasing.
Having done what we could to vindicate the Afro-American, we next began to
consider the First American, when by chance a copy of Thatcher's "Indian
Biography" fell into our hands. We read this book with much interest, and
were impressed with two facts. First of all, we noticed that while the
author gave the lives of a few chiefs well known to this generation, he
filled the book up with village or sub chiefs, of whom even historians of
this age never heard. Then, too, the book in question was seventy-four
years old.
Thatcher's biography tended to create an appetite for that kind of
literature, and we inquired for other lives of noted Indians, but, strange
to say, could only hear of one other book devoted to that subject. This was
a small volume written by S. G. Goodrich, sixty-two years ago, and he
gave only short sketches of perhaps half a dozen Indians of the United
States, but the greater portion of the contents was devoted to the Indians
of Peru and Mexico.
We now concluded that if there were only two books giving the lives of
famous Indians, and both of these published so many years ago, there was
certainly room for another book on the subject, which should be confined to
the Indian tribes of the United States and cover their entire history from
Powhatan to the present time.
We trust we will not be misunderstood. We know that many Indian books have
been written since the date of those mentioned, but they were on "The
Indian Wars," "The Pioneer and the Indian," "The Winning of the West,"
"The Manners and Customs of the Indian," "Folklore Tradition and Legend,"
and many other phases of the question. We know that Pontiac, Brant, Red
Jacket, Tecumseh, Shabbona, Black Hawk, Sitting Bull, and perhaps others,
have had their lives written, but in each of these cases an entire book is
devoted to one Indian and his war. Our claim is that we have written the
only book giving in a condensed form the lives of practically all the most
famous Indian chiefs from the Colonial period to the present time.
Lest it be thought that we have an exaggerated idea of our people's
interest in the Indian, we will digress long enough to prove the statement
to our own satisfaction, and we trust also to that of the reader.
Mrs. Sigourney has well said with reference to this point
"Ye say they all have passed away,
That noble race and brave,
That their light canoes have vanished
From off the crested wave
That 'mid the forests where they roamed
There rings no hunter's shout,
But their name is on your waters
Ye may not wash it out.
"Ye say their cone like cabins
That clustered o'er the vale
Have fled away like withered leaves
Before the autumn gale.
But their memory liveth on your hills,
Their baptism on your shore;
Your everlasting rivers speak
Their dialect of yore."
We have ventured to add a third verse
Ye say no lover wooes his maid,
No warrior leads his band.
All in forgotten graves are laid,
E'en great chiefs of the clan;
That where their council fires were lit
The shepherd tends his flock.
But their names are on your mountains
And survive the earthquake shock.
The mark of our contact with the Indian is upon us indelibly and forever.
He has not only impressed himself upon our geography, but on our character,
language and literature.
Bancroft, our greatest historian, is not quite right when he says, "The
memorials of their former existence are found only in the names of the
rivers and mountains." These memorials have not only permeated our poetry
and other literature, but they are perpetuated in much of the food we eat,
and every mention of potatoes, chocolate, cocoa, mush, green corn,
succotash, hominy and the festive turkey is a tribute to the red man, while
the fragrance of the tobacco or Indian weed we smoke is incense to their
memory.
On one occasion, according to Aesop, a man and a lion got into an argument
as to which of the two was the stronger, and thus contending they walked
together until they came to a statue representing a man choking and
subduing a lion. "There," exclaimed the man, "that proves my point, and
demonstrates that a man is stronger than a lion." To which the king of
beasts replied, "When the lions get to be sculptors, they will have the
lion choking and overcoming the man."
The Indians are neither sculptors, painters nor historians.
The only record we have of many of their noblest chiefs, greatest deeds,
hardest fought battles, or sublimest flights of eloquence, are the poor,
fragmentary accounts recorded and handed down by their implacable enemies,
the all-conquering whites.
It is hard indeed for one enemy to do another justice. The man with whom
you are engaged in a death struggle is not the man to write your history;
but such has been the historian of the Indian. His destroyer has covered
him up in an unmarked grave, and then written the story of his life.
Can any one believe that the Spaniards, cruel, hard-hearted and remorseless
as the grave, who swept whole nations from the earth, sparing neither men,
women nor children, could or would write a true story of their silent
victims?
Is it not reasonable to believe that had Philip, Pontiac, Cornstalk,
Tecumseh, Black Hawk or Chief Joseph been able to fling their burning
thoughts upon the historic page, it would have been very different from the
published account?
We believe that God will yet raise up an Indian of intellectual force and
fire enough to write a defense of his race to ring through the ages and
secure a just verdict from generations yet unborn.
In the preparation of this work we have honestly tried to do the subject
justice, and have endeavored to put ourself in the Indian's place, as much
as it is possible for a white man to do.
We have prosecuted the self-imposed task with enthusiasm and interest from
its inception to its completion. We fully agree with Bishop Whipple when he
said: "Our Indian wars were most of them needless and wicked. The North
American Indian is the noblest type of a heathen man on the earth. He
recognizes a Great Spirit; he believes in immortality; he has a quick
intellect; he is a clear thinker; he is brave and fearless, and until
betrayed, he is true to his plighted faith; he has a passionate love for
his children, and counts it joy to die for his people. Our most terrible
wars have been with the noblest types of the Indians, and with men who had
been the white man's friend. Nicolet said the Sioux were the finest type of
wild men he had ever seen. Old traders say it used to be the boast of the
Sioux that they had never taken the life of a white man. Lewis and Clark,
Governor Stevens and Colonel Steptoe bore testimony to the devoted
friendship of the Nez Percé for the white man."
One evidence that our Indian wars were unnecessary is seen in the fact that
while our country has been constantly involved in them, Canada has not had
any; although our Government has spent for the Indians a hundred dollars to
their one.
They recognize, as we do, that the Indian has a possessory right to the
soil. They purchase this right, as we do, by treaty but their treaties are
made with the Indian subjects of His Majesty, the King, while our
Government has enacted the farce of making treaties with Indian tribes or
their representatives, as if they were sovereign nations. Those tribes of
blanket Indians, roaming the wilderness and prairie, living by hunting,
trapping, fishing or plundering, without a code of laws to practice, or a
government to maintain, are not nations, and nothing in their history or
condition could properly invest them with a treaty-making power.
There are other lessons we can learn from Canada concerning the Indian
question. They set apart a permanent reservation for them; they seldom move
them, while our Government has continually moved whole tribes at the demand
of greedy white men who were determined to have the Indian's land by fair
means or foul, generally the latter. Moreover, the Canadian government
selects agents of high character, who receive their appointments for life;
they make fewer promises, but they fulfil them; they give the Indians
Christian missions, which have the hearty support of Christian people and
all their efforts are toward self help and civilization.
In 1862 Bishop Whipple visited Washington, and had a long talk with
President Lincoln. Said he: "I found the President a willing listener. As I
repeated the story of specific acts of dishonesty (on the part of Indian
agents of that period) the President said: 'Did you ever hear of the
Southern man who bought monkeys to pick cotton? they were quick; their
long, slim fingers would pull out the cotton faster than Negroes; but he
found it took two overseers to watch one monkey. This Indian business
needs ten honest men to watch one Indian agent.'" In speaking of this
interview with the Bishop, Lincoln afterwards said to a friend "As I
listened to Bishop Whipple's story of robbery and shame, I felt it to my
boots;" and, rising to his full height, he added: "If I live this accursed
system shall be reformed." But unfortunately he did not live to carry out
his plans. However, we are glad to note an improvement in the condition of
our Indians, of recent years, which shows that the public conscience has at
last been aroused, and one object of this book is to further that good
work.
Another object is to disprove the oft-quoted saying of General Sherman that
"the only good Indian is a dead one." {FN} We have written the biographies
of twenty or more famous chiefs, any one of whom was a good Indian, or
would have been had he received kind treatment from the whites, who were
almost invariably the aggressors. It makes one's soul sick to read of the
white men selling the Indian "firewater," to brutalize and destroy; of
violated treaties; of outrageous treatment which aroused the worst
passions of the Indian's nature.
* * * * *
{FN} General Sherman used this phrase at a banquet at Delmonico's, New
York, in the winter of 1879.
In selecting the subjects for our biographical sketches, we were confronted
with an embarrassment of riches. And while there are none in the book which
could well have been omitted, yet there are many outside richly deserving a
place in it. There are so many famous chiefs, we found it impossible to
give them all a place in one volume. So we tried to select those who, in
our judgment, were the greatest, those who for special reasons could not be
omitted, and those whom we thought would make the most interesting
sketches.
We may say in this connection, that we refrained from writing the
biographies of mixed breeds, such as Osceola Powell, Weatherford or Red
Eagle, simply because we knew, from our experience with other books, that
people would be prone to say that their greatness was due to the infusion
of the blood of the superior white race. As far as we know, all of our
subjects treated at length were full-blooded Indians, except Sequoyah and
Quanah Parker, and most of them, as we shall see, were nature's noblemen.
We have enjoyed peculiar facilities for prosecuting our studies on Indian
biography and history, having free access to the four great libraries of
Chicago.
For the benefit of others interested in the same subject, we will mention a
few of the many books we found helpful, in the preparation of this work,
besides the two already named.
At the head of the list we place Roosevelt's "Winning of the West,"
Parkman's "Conspiracy of Pontiac," Mason's "Pioneer History," Ellis's
"Indian Wars of the United States." In our judgment these are about the
strongest books we have read on the subject, especially in relation to the
Indian, the pioneer, and the border wars.
In the next group we place Dunn's "Massacres of the Mountains," Finerty's
"War-path and Bivouac," Helen Hunt Jackson's "Century of Dishonor," and
Eggleston's "Biographies of Brant, Red Jacket, Tecumseh," etc.
In addition to our library work, we spent much time traveling among the
Indian tribes and making the acquaintance of many of the most famous living
chiefs, and cultivating their friendship, so we record many of the
incidents in the book as an eye-witness.
We referred to the Indian in this introduction as a so-called "vanishing
race." As a matter of fact the Indian is not vanishing at all but slowly
increasing in numbers. The census of 1890 gave the number of Indians in the
United States as 248,258, while that of 1900 gave the total as 270,544, a
net gain of 22,291 in ten years.
Another erroneous conception many people have of the Indian we can only
call attention to here. They somehow have come to believe that the Red Man
is very dignified and solemn, has no appreciation of the ludicrous, or
conception of a joke. Never was a greater mistake. No one enjoys what he
considers a good joke more than an Indian. You will find some evidence that
he can be as funny as his white brother, in the chapter on "Indian
Anecdotes."
We determined to have the illustrations one of the very best features of
the book, fully in keeping with the subject matter; and, wherever
possible, absolutely authentic. For this reason alone, the publication has
been held back several months, the publishers sparing neither pains nor
expense in procuring pictures from photographers and collectors, who made a
specialty of the Indian, such as D. F. Barry, Drake, the Field Museum, the
Newberry Library and the Ethnological Bureau at Washington; some of the
latter being copies of paintings made before photography was known. We also
procured photographs of several rare paintings never published in any book
before.
Should the book prove instructive in demonstrating that there is a
brighter, better side to Indian life and character than is usually seen,
the author will feel that he has not written in vain, and he will be
gratified if, in addition to this, it also gives pleasure.
{Illustration: Cofachiqui, the Indian Princess, presenting the string of
pearls to De Soto.}
CHAPTER I.
Cofachiqui, the Indian Princess.
A True Story of De Soto and His Cavaliers.
Cofachiqui seems to have been the name of a populous and wealthy Indian
province visited by Hernando De Soto and his army of adventurers and
cavaliers in their wanderings in search of gold. They also applied this
name to the beautiful and intelligent young queen or princess who ruled the
Indians of this and a confederation of neighboring tribes.
It is impossible to trace the route traversed by De Soto, as it was at
times an aimless wandering through what is now the States of Florida,
Georgia, and, perhaps, the border of South Carolina. But Indian traditions
locate Yupaha, the capital of the province of Cofachiqui, at what is now
Silver Bluff, on the east bank of the Savannah river, in Barnwell county,
South Carolina. From time to time rumor reached De Soto and his men of this
great princess, a veritable "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed," whose subjects were
so devoted and faithful that her slightest wish was law.
One day an Indian youth, who had been brought into camp with other
prisoners, told the Spaniards that all the neighboring chiefs paid tribute
to this great ruler, and sent her at stated intervals provision, fine
clothing and gold. The cavaliers cared nothing for the provision and
clothing, but they were all interest when gold was mentioned, and asked the
youth many questions, through their interpreter, which he answered in
full. He told how the gold was taken from the earth, how it was melted and
refined. His description was so exact that the Spaniards had no longer any
doubt. They were greatly elated at the news, and after robbing and
plundering the Indians who had fed and sheltered them during the winter
months--the usual return for such kindness--they broke camp and marched
northward. Many times during the march the Spaniards were on the verge of
starvation and wandering aimlessly in the wilderness, where they must have
perished, had they not been rescued and fed by the simple-minded,
hospitable natives. Even those from whom they received such timely aid were
often robbed and murdered indiscriminately. No doubt the Indians regarded
them as demons rather than Christians, for the unprovoked savage ferocity
of the Spaniards would be beyond belief if the sickening details were not
piously set forth by the historian of the expedition.
On the 28th day of April, 1540, De Soto and his Spaniards reached the
neighborhood of Cofachiqui. While the army camped for the night the
enterprising Juan De Añasco with a band of thirty foot-soldiers went out
to reconnoiter. They soon found a broad, well-worn path leading along the
banks of a large river, probably the Savannah. They followed this path
about two leagues when, just as it grew dark, they reached a landing
opposite a large Indian town. There was no means of crossing the river,
neither would it have been prudent to have crossed with such small
numbers, not knowing the kind of reception to expect, or the force they
might encounter.
So Añasco dispatched couriers back in the night to inform De Soto of their
discovery. By daylight the vanguard of the army, consisting of one hundred
horse and as many foot, was in motion, led by De Soto himself. When he
reached the banks of the river, and the natives upon the opposite shore
caught sight of his glittering dragoons on their magnificent steeds, they
were struck with amazement and consternation.
The interpreter shouted loudly for some one to bear a message to their
chief. After some little hesitation and deliberation, the Indians launched
a large canoe, in which six warriors took seats. They were men of fine
appearance and probably the counselors of the chief. Quite a number of
lusty men grasped the oars, and the canoe was driven rapidly through the
water. De Soto, who had watched these movements with interest, knew he was
about to be visited by the head men of the town, He therefore ordered his
showy throne or chair of state, which he had with him for such occasions,
to be placed in position. Here he took his seat with his officers around.
The distinguished natives landed without any apparent fear, and, advancing
toward the Spaniards, all six of them at the same time made three profound
bows, the first toward the east, to the sun, the second toward the west, to
the moon, and the third to De Soto. "Sir," said their spokesman, "do you
wish peace or war?" "Peace," answered the Spanish general, as usual, "not
war"; adding that he only asked passage through the territory and
provision, in order to reach other provinces, which were his destination;
he desired rafts and canoes also to cross the army over the river, and
lastly friendly treatment while he was marching through the country so
that he might cause it the least damage possible.
Peace, the ambassadors said they could promise; as for food, they had
themselves but little, because during the past year a pestilence had swept
off many of their people and driven others from their villages into the
woods, so that they had not planted their fields; and although the
pestilence was now over, yet many of the Indians had not returned to their
homes. The settlement opposite alone had escaped the scourge. They went on
to explain that their chief was a woman--a young princess, but recently
raised to the position. They would return and bear to her the request of
the strangers, who in the meantime must await her answer with good
confidence, however, for although their ruler was a maiden, she had the
judgment and spirit of a man, and they doubted not would do for the
Spaniards all she possibly could. With this the six envoys returned to
their boats, and crossing the river were soon lost to sight in the waiting
crowd upon the other shore. After a short interval the Spaniards saw a
decided commotion among the Indians. A large and highly decorated canoe
appeared and was hastily made ready, mats and cushions were placed in it
and a canopy raised over one end. Then quite a gorgeous palanquin was seen
borne by four stalwart men, descending toward the stream a young squaw,
evidently the princess descended from it, and seated herself in the canoe
that had the awning.
Eight Indian women followed, taking the paddles; the men went in the other
canoes. The women rowed the princess across the river, and when she stepped
out of her barge they followed, walking up the bank after her. If there
were any among the cavaliers who knew classical history they must have been
reminded (although the scene was rustic and simple in comparison) of
Cleopatra going up the river Cydnus to meet Mark Antony, when according
to Shakespeare,
"The barge she sat in, like a burnish'd throne,
Burn'd on the water. . . .
. . . For her own person,
It beggar'd all description: she did lie
In her pavilion. . . .
Her gentlewomen, like the Nereids,
So many mermaids, tended her . . .
. . . At the helm
A seeming mermaid steers."
The princess, making a low and graceful bow before the Spanish general,
seated herself upon the throne, which he brought and placed for her at his
side, and without waiting an instant began to speak. She repeated what her
warriors had said; that the pestilence of the past year made it impossible
for her to furnish the amount of provision she would wish, but that she
would do all in her power. And that De Soto might see her will in her deed,
she gave him at once one of her two storehouses of corn, collected in her
village for the relief of her people who had escaped from the pestilence;
the other one she requested De Soto to kindly spare, for her own
necessities were great.
She said she had another store of corn in a neighboring village, part of
which he could take if necessary. She offered half of her own residence for
De Soto's accommodation, and half of the houses in the village as barracks
for his soldiers. If it would please him more, she and all her people would
abandon the village and retire to a neighboring one. She also promised that
by the next day rafts and canoes should be in readiness to transport the
Spaniards across the river.
Abbott informs us that "The generous soul of De Soto was deeply touched as
he assured her of his lasting friendship and that of his sovereign." But
there is not the slightest evidence that De Soto was ever actuated by a
generous motive. We are inclined to believe, with Joel Chandler Harris,
that the truth seems to be that De Soto and his men cared nothing for the
courtesy and hospitality of the Queen and that they were not moved by her
beauty and kindness.
According to the historian of the expedition, the Spaniards had quite a
conversation with the young princess and were astonished at her sound
judgment and well ordered ideas. But they also noticed that the Indians of
this tribe were more refined and intelligent in appearance, more affable
and less warlike, than the others they had met in their explorations. They
were, moreover, quite graceful and attractive, and almost as white as the
Spaniards.
While talking the princess had quietly and slowly unwound a long string of
pearls, as large as hazelnuts, that coiled three times around her neck and
fell to her waist. When the interview was over she handed the string of
pearls to Juan Ortiz, the interpreter, and told him to give them to the
governor. The interpreter told her his commander would appreciate them more
if presented with her own hands. She replied that she dare not do that for
fear of being considered immodest. De Soto now inquired of the interpreter
what was said, and being informed, answered with much earnestness like a
truly gallant cavalier (which he was not) "More than the pearls themselves
would I value the favor of receiving them from her hands; and in acting so
she would not go against modesty, for we are treating of peace and
friendship, of all things the most important, most serious between strange
people." Having heard this the princess arose and with her own fair hands
suspended the string of costly pearls around the neck of De Soto. The
governor then arose and taking from his finger a gold ring set with a
handsome ruby that he always wore (which he had probably pillaged from the
Peruvians) he gave it to the princess. She received it with great dignity
and placed it on one of her fingers.
Grace King, in her book, "De Soto and His Men in Florida," says, in this
connection: "This little ceremony over, she took her leave and returned to
her village, leaving the Spanish cavaliers charmed and half in love with
her, not only on account of her mind, but of her beauty, which they vowed
then and ever afterward she possessed to the extreme of perfection. And
so also then and afterward they called her by no other name or title than
La Sanora, the lady of Cofachiqui; and the name was right, says the
chronicler, for a lady she was in all respects." The master of camp
arrived with the rest of the army and it was put across the river next day
by means of the rafts and canoes provided by the Indians.
De Soto and his cavaliers found themselves surrounded by the most
hospitable Indians they had yet seen. They were supplied with everything
the land afforded and rested in comfortable houses and wigwams under the
shades of the mulberry trees.
The soldiers were so delighted with the situation that they were anxious to
form a settlement there; but De Soto refused to forget the only object of
the expedition, which was to search for gold and other treasures. The
general was a man of few words but an iron will, and his determination had
the desired effect. His men soon recovered their energies. While enjoying
the hospitalities of the princess they found out the burial place of her
people, and robbed their graves, according to the Spanish historian, of
three hundred and fifty weight of pearls, and figures of babies and birds
made from iridescent shells.
Learning that the widowed mother of the princess lived in retirement about
forty miles down the river, and that she was said to be the owner of many
fine pearls, De Soto determined to get her in his power. He pretended,
however, to be actuated only by a desire to make sure of peace and
tranquillity as long as he was in the country.
At his request Cofachiqui dispatched twelve of her principal officers
inviting her mother to come to town and meet a people never before seen by
the Indians and see the wonderful animals on which they rode. The Queen's
mother, instead of complying, sent her daughter a severe reprimand for
having admitted into her capitol a body of strangers of whom she knew
nothing. All this being reported to De Soto made him more determined than
ever to get her in his power. Accordingly he ordered Juan De Añasco to
take thirty soldiers, and disregarding the privacy and seclusion of the
queen mother to bring her kindly but with force with him to the camp.
Añasco, although the day was well advanced, set out at once on his
mission. A young warrior about the age of the princess was appointed by her
to be guide for the party. The princess also gave him special instructions
that when the men neared the dwelling place of the queen mother, he was to
go in advance and warn her of the Spaniards coming, and supplicate her to
go peaceably and as a friend with them, and he was to be sure and say that
her daughter and all her people made the same petition to her. The young
warrior had been reared in the very arms of the queen mother, and she loved
him as her own son, and the princess chose him for this very reason, hoping
that love for the messenger would mitigate the pain inflicted by this
message. The young warrior matched his princess chief in looks and learning
and was strikingly attractive in face and figure. He wore a diadem of
rarest feathers, a mantle of finest and softest deerskin. At his back was a
magnificent bow just his own height and an elegant quiver of arrows.
About midday the party stopped to eat and to rest a while under the shade
of a grove of trees, for it was quite warm. Sitting apart the guide seemed
to give himself up to thought, resting his head on his hand and every now
and then breathing a low sigh. Presently he took his quiver of arrows and
placing it before him on the ground, began slowly to draw them out one by
one and passed them to the Spaniards, who broke into exclamations of
surprise and pleasure, for each one was different from the other and had
a beauty and novelty of its own. In polish and workmanship they were indeed
remarkable. Some were tipped with staghorn, others with fishbones
wonderfully and cunningly adapted. At last the young warrior drew out a
flint head, pointed and edged like a dagger. Casting an anxious glance
around and seeing the attention of the Spaniards engrossed in examining his
weapons, he plunged the sharp-pointed arrow into his throat, severing an
artery, and fell. Before the Spaniards could rush to him he was dead.
There were several Indian attendants in the company who seemed overwhelmed
with distress, uttering loud cries of grief over the corpse. These were now
questioned by the Spaniards, and it was learned that the young guide knew
that the queen mother was very unwilling to have any acquaintance with the
Spaniards, because she had emphatically refused to meet them when first
importuned; and now for him to guide those same Spaniards to her that they
might compel her to come by fair means or foul, would make him appear as a
miserable ingrate after her great kindness. On the other hand the princess,
whom he revered and loved, had commissioned him to conduct the Spaniards to
her mother's abode. He did not dare to disobey her commands. Either
alternative was more to be dreaded by him than death. The ingenious young
man had therefore endeavored to escape the dilemma by self-destruction.
Savage history offers not, perhaps, another instance of such refined and
romantic devotion. He could not live to please both, so he determined to
die for both.
The other Indians were now pressed to act as guides, but they all swore,
truly or falsely, that they did not know where the queen mother lived; that
the young warrior alone knew the secret of her hiding place. The cavaliers
pushed on as best they could without a guide, but the bad walking, the
excessive heat and the weight of their armor wearied and disgusted them,
and after two days they returned empty-handed to the camp.
Two days after his return an Indian came to Añasco and offered to conduct
him down the river in a canoe to the home of the queen mother. He gladly
accepted the proposition. Two large canoes with strong rowers were quickly
made ready, and Añasco with twenty companions set out on this second
expedition. But it was also doomed to failure. The queen mother heard of
his approach and with a few attendants secretly fled to another retreat
far away. After a fruitless search of six days, the canoes returned. De
Soto never again attempted to get possession of the widow.
{Illustration: American Horse, Sioux Chief.}
In the meantime, while Añasco was engaged in these unsuccessful
expeditions, De Soto had been making anxious inquiries respecting the
silver and gold he had been informed was to be found in the province. He
began by summoning the princess before him and his officers and commanding
her to bring all the yellow and white metals and pearls she possessed, like
the finger rings and pieces of silver and pearls and stones set in the
rings that the Spaniards showed her. The princess replied that both the
white and yellow metals were to be found in great abundance in her
territory. She immediately sent out Indians to bring him in specimens. They
quickly returned laden with a yellow metal somewhat resembling gold in
color, but which proved to be copper. The shining substance which he had
supposed was silver was nothing but a worthless species of mica or quartz.
The sight of these articles dissipated, in an instant, all the bright and
chimerical hopes which had prompted the Spaniards to undertake this long
and perilous expedition.
It would seem that the warm-hearted princess sympathized with the Spaniards
in their great disappointment, or she may have feared they would vent their
rage on her hapless people; certain it is, she informed them that while
there were no precious stones in her realm, they did have great abundance
of pearls. Pointing with her fingers to a temple that stood upon a
neighboring mound, she said: "That is the burial place of the warriors
of this village, there you will find our pearls. Take what you wish; and if
you wish more not far from here there is a village which was the home of my
forefather; its temple is far larger than this, you will find there so
many pearls that even if you loaded all your horses with them and
yourselves with as much as you could carry, you would not come to the end
of them. Many years have my people been collecting and storing pearls. Take
all, and if you still want more, we can get more, and even more still for
you from the fishing places of my people."
This great news and the magnificently queenly manner in which it was told
soon raised the drooping spirits of the Spaniards and consoled them for the
bitter disappointments about the gold and silver.
The fact of her inviting the Spaniards to ransack the tombs of her
forefathers for pearls, seems, as Goodrich says, "utterly inconsistent with
all our notions of the reverence for ancestry which is so striking a
characteristic of the Indians. We should have a strong doubt of the truth
of the statement, were it not distinctly asserted in both the narratives of
the expedition." To our mind there is only one of two explanations of
it--either the two historians deliberately falsified their statements to
cover up the impious sacrilege of De Soto and his cavaliers, or else the
princess was intimidated until she pursued the peace-at-any-price policy,
even to the profanation of her ancestors' tombs.
The Spaniards soon visited the temple which the princess had pointed out
and took from it pearls amounting to fourteen bushels, according to one
author, while others record a very much larger amount.
Two days later De Soto, with a large retinue of his own officers and of the
household of the princess, started out to visit the large temple at
Talomeco, as it was called, situated upon the high bank of the river about
three miles distant.
The country through which they passed en route was very fertile and in
places covered with fruit trees filled with ripe fruit which the Spaniards
picked and ate with relish, while they congratulated themselves that the
golden dawn of a realization of their dreams was brightening before them.
They found this village contained about five hundred cabins, all
substantially built, and from its superiority of size and appearance over
other villages they inferred it had one day been the seat and residence of
several powerful chiefs. The chief's residence on a mound rose larger and
more conspicuous than the others, but it was in turn dominated by the
temple. The Spaniards' eyes, in fact, could see nothing but the temple as
it loomed up before them on a commanding eminence at the side of this
deserted village. As it was by far the largest and most imposing edifice
they saw in their journey through the Southland it merits a description. It
was about three hundred feet in length by one hundred and twenty in
breadth, with a tall pointed roof that glittered like an enchanted palace.
Canes, slender and supple, woven into a fine mat, served for thatching, and
this was studded with row upon row of all kinds and sizes of shells with
the bright side out. There were great sea shells of curious shapes, conchs
and periwinkles--a marvel of playing light and color.
Grace King has given such a full description of the interior of this temple
that she must have received her information from the records of the
historians of the expedition. Said she, "Throwing open the two large doors
the Spaniards paused at the threshold spellbound. Twelve gigantic statues
of wood confronted them, counterfeiting life with such ferocity of
expression and such audacity of posture as could not but awe them. Six
stood on one side and six on the other side of the door as if to guard it
and to forbid any one to enter. The first ones, those next the door, were
giants about twelve feet high, the others diminished in size by regular
gradation. Each pair held a different kind of weapon and stood in attitude
to use it. The first and largest raised in both hands great clubs,
ornamented a quarter of their length with points and facets of copper; the
second brandished broadswords of wood shaped much like the steel swords of
the Spaniards. The next wielded wooden staves about six feet long, the end
flattened out into a blade or paddle. The fourth pair had tomahawks with
blades of brass or flint; the fifth held bows with arrows aimed and strung,
drawn ready to shoot; the sixth and last statues grasped pikes pointed
with copper.
"Passing between the file of monsters the Spaniards entered the great room.
Overhead were rows of lustrous shells such as covered the roof, and strands
of pearls interspersed with strings of bright feathers, all seemed to be
floating in the air in wildering tapestry. Looking lower the Spaniards saw
that along the upper sides of the four walls ran two rows of statues,
figures of men and women of natural size, each placed on a separate
pedestal. The men held various weapons and each weapon was ornamented with
strings of pearl. The women had nothing in their hands. All the space
around these statues was covered with shields of skins and fine cane mats.
The burial chests were placed on benches around the four sides of the room,
but in the center upon the floor were also rows of caskets, placed one on
top of another in regular gradation like pyramids. All the caskets, large
and small, were filled with pearls; and the pearls, too, were distributed
according to size, the largest in the largest caskets, the smallest, the
seed pearls, in the smallest caskets. In all there was such a quantity of
pearls that seeing it with their own eyes, the Spaniards confessed that
what the princess had told them about the temple was truth and not pride
and exaggeration. As she declared, even if they loaded themselves with as
much as they could carry (and there were more than nine hundred of them)
and loaded their three hundred horses with them, they could not take them
all, there would still be hundreds of bushels of them left. And in addition
there were great heaps of the largest and handsomest deerskins, dyed in
different colors, and skins of other animals dressed with the hair
on--cured and dressed as perfectly, the Spaniards said, as could have been
done in Germany or Muscovy. Around this great room were eight small rooms
all filled with different weapons--pikes, clubs, tomahawks, bows and arrows
of all varieties and of the most exquisite workmanship; some with
three-pronged heads, like harpoons, some two-pronged; some with chisel
edges, like daggers; some shaped like thorns. In the last room were mats of
cane, so finely woven that there were few among the Spanish crossbowmen
could have put a bolt through them."
The revenue officers now proposed to take from the spoils the royal fifth
that belonged to his imperial majesty and to carry it away with them. But
De Soto said that this would only embarrass the movements of the army with
excessive luggage, that even now it could not carry its necessary munitions
and provisions. "They were not dividing the land now," he reminded them,
"only exploring it."
Such is the story taken from the historians of the expedition. But, as Joel
Chandler Harris says "It is just as well to believe a little of this as to
believe a great deal. It was an easy matter for the survivors of the
expedition to exaggerate these things and they probably took great
liberties with the facts, but there is no doubt the Indians possessed many
pearls. Mussels like those from which they took the gems are still to be
found in the small streams and creeks of Georgia, and an enterprising boy
might even now be able to find a seed pearl if he sought for it
patiently."
It is not to be doubted that rich stores of pearls were found. Some were
distributed to the officers and men, but the bulk of them, strange to say,
were left undisturbed to await the return of the Spaniards another day. It
is said that De Soto dipped into the pearls and gave his two joined hands
full to each cavalier to make rosaries of, he said to say prayers for their
sins on. We imagine if their prayers were in proportion to their sins they
must have spent the most of their time at their devotions.
The Spaniards were greatly elated at the discovery of these riches. Some of
them must have known that real pearls were estimated at a value next to
diamonds, and there were undoubtedly many real pearls of great value in so
large a collection, possibly rivaling the one possessed by Philip II. of
Spain, which was about the size of a pigeon egg and valued at one hundred
and sixty thousand dollars, or that of Cleopatra, which was valued at three
hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars.
De Soto was urged to establish his colony in this country, which was at
once beautiful, fertile and rich in treasures. But the persistent spirit of
De Soto was not to be turned from its one great all-absorbing object, the
search for gold. He was a man of few words but of wonderful will power.
Accordingly he eagerly inquired of the Indians if they knew of any still
greater land or chief farther inland. The princess and her advisers had
learned by this time that the best way to get rid of such unwilling guests
was to answer such questions in the affirmative. They assured him that
further on was a greater and more powerful chief ruling over a richer
country called Chiaha. He determined at once to march thither. In answer to
the objections of those who wished to remain where they were, he urged that
in consequence of the recent pestilence there was not sufficient provision
in the country to support the army for a month. That by continuing their
march they might find gold mines. Should they fail, they could then return,
and in the meantime, the Indians having replanted their land, there would
be abundance of food. He had his way and preparations were made for the
journey.
The conduct of the Spaniards had been so cruel during their stay at
Cofachiqui that the princess and her people had come to regard them with
fear and hatred. There were some indications that the princess so far
distrusted the treacherous and marble-hearted Spaniards, that, like her
more prudent mother, she was about to secretly escape from them by flight.
In some way De Soto heard of this and appointed a guard who was to keep a
constant watch upon the princess, so that she could by no possibility
escape. And when he took up his march for Chiaha, May 4, 1540, the
princess who had received him with so much grace, dignity and hospitality
was compelled to accompany him on foot with an escort of female attendants.
Even the old Spanish chronicler is moved to remark that, "it was not so
good usage as she deserved for the good will she showed and the good
entertainment that she made him."
We fully agree with him, for there are but few instances in all history of
baser ingratitude. One reason why De Soto made the princess his prisoner
and carried her with the expedition was to use her influence in controlling
the Indians along his line of march. In fact, the Indians of Florida,
Mexico and Peru were so loyal and devoted to their rulers that they often
refrained from attacking the Spaniards, lest they should imperil their
lives. It was true in this case that the Indians not only did not attack
the invaders while the princess was with them, but at her command they
supplied them with guides to conduct them through the wilderness, porters
to carry their extra baggage and provision as it was needed along the route
through her domain.
But had the Spaniards treated the princess and her people kindly and with
justice all this would have been done from motives of hospitality and good
will. Kindness begets kindness even among savage races.
De Soto did not accept the spirit of the letter from the noble Isabella, in
which she wrote, "I will no longer persevere in this invasion of the lands
of others which is always plunging me more and more deeply into
difficulties." Instead of this he followed the infamous example which
Pizarro, in Peru, and Cortez, in Mexico, had set him. There is nothing
whatever to justify his action, as it was alike cruel, dastardly and
unnecessary.
After being dragged a prisoner in the Spanish army for two or three weeks
and covering a distance of about three hundred miles, she found an
opportunity to escape from her treacherous and brutal captors. Passing one
day through a thick forest she and her attendants suddenly darted from the
train and disappeared. De Soto never saw her or heard from her again,
though every effort was made to recapture her, partly because of the casket
of splendid pearls which one of her attendants carried off with her.
Undoubtedly a band of her warriors were in rendezvous there to receive her.
The historian of Florida, Garcilasode la Vega, terminates his account of
this princess by declaring that she possessed a truly noble soul and was
worthy of an empire. Shame for his country-men has induced him to suppress
all mention of the brutal indignity to which she was subjected by De Soto,
and for which, as a Castilian knight, he deserved to have been deprived of
his spurs. The Portuguese narrator who accompanied the expedition states
the facts too circumstantially to leave us in any doubt about the matter,
and the noble and generous Cofachiqui is to be numbered among those who
suffered by trusting to the honor and justice of the plunderers of the New
World.
Again quoting from Joel Chandler Harris (Uncle Remus), we feel moved to say
that "De Soto's expedition was organized by the spirit of greed. It spread
desolation wherever it went and it ended in disaster and despair. De Soto
himself found a grave in the waters of the Mississippi, and the survivors
who made their way back home were broken in health and spirit."
An attempt has been made to throw a halo of romance over the march of the
Spaniards through the wilderness of the New World, but there is nothing
romantic or inspiring about it. It was simply a search for riches in which
hundreds of lives were most cruelly sacrificed and thousands of homes
destroyed.
The only permanent good which resulted from it was the discovery of the
Father of Waters and this noble, Indian Princess Cofachiqui.
{Illustration: Powhatan, or Wah-Un-So-Na-Cook. Atypical American Indian.}