[Illustration: De Soto 014]
So far as written records tell us, Hernando de Soto and his companions
in arms were the first white men to enter and explore the territory now
known on the map as the State of Georgia. Tradition has small voice in
the matter, but such as it has tells another story. There are hints that
other white men ventured into this territory before De Soto and his men
beheld it. General Oglethorpe, when he came to Georgia with his gentle
colony, which had been tamed and sobered by misfortune and ill luck,
was firmly of the opinion that Sir Walter Raleigh, the famous soldier,
sailor, and scholar, had been there before him. So believing, the
founder of the Georgian Colony carried with him Sir Walter's diary. He
was confirmed in his opinion by a tradition, among the Indians of the
Yamacraw tribe, that Raleigh had landed where Savannah now stands.
There are also traditions in regard to the visits of other white men
to Georgia. These traditions may be true, or they may be the results
of dreams, but it is certain that De Soto and his picked company of
Spaniards were the first to march through the territory that is now
Georgia. The De Soto expedition was made up of the flower of Spanish
chivalry,--men Used to war, and fond of adventure. Some of them were
soldiers, anxious to win fame by feats of arms in a new land; some were
missionaries, professing an anxiety for the souls of such heathen as
they might encounter, but even these men were not unfamiliar with the
use of the sword; some were physicians, as ready to kill as to heal;
some were botanists, who knew as much about the rapier and the poniard
as they did about the stamens, pistils, and petals of the flowers;
and some were reporters, men selected to write the history of the
expedition. As it turned out, these reporters were entirely faithful
to their trust They told all that happened with a fidelity that
leaves nothing to be desired. The record they have left shows that the
expedition was bent on finding gold and other treasures.
On the 30th of May, 1539, De Soto's expedition landed at Tampa Bay,
Fla., and his men pitched their tents on the beach. The army was not
a large one; but it was made up of chosen men, who were used to the
dangers of war, and who, as stated before, were fond of adventure. There
was but one gray head in the expedition: therefore, though the army was
a small one, it was the most enthusiastic and warlike array that had
ever been seen in the New World. The soldiers wore rich armor, and
the cavalry rode gayly caparisoned horses. The army was accompanied by
slaves and mules to bear the burdens. It had artillery and other weapons
of war; handcuffs, neck collars, and chains for prisoners; crucibles for
refining gold; bloodhounds, greyhounds, and a drove of hogs.
For nearly a year the little army of De Soto wandered about in Florida,
ransacking the burying grounds of the Indians in search of treasures,
and committing such other depredations as were common to the
civilization of that age. When inquiries were made for gold, the
Indians always pointed toward the north; and, following these hints,
the expedition pursued its way through Florida, wandering about in the
swamps and slashes, but always held together by the enthusiasm of the
men and their hopes of securing rich spoils.
On the 3d of March, 1540, De Soto's army left Anhayca, which is said to
have been near the site of Tallahassee, and marched northward. Before
leaving the Spaniards seized from the Indians a large supply of maize
(now commonly known as corn), and appropriated whatever else struck
their fancy. They had spent some time with the Indians at this town of
Anhayca, and had sent out parties that committed depredations wherever
an Indian settlement could be found. They made slaves of many Indians,
treating them with more severity than they treated their beasts of
burden. It is no wonder, therefore, that the Indians, discovering the
greed of the Spaniards for gold, should have spread rumors that large
quantities of the yellow metal were to be found farther north.
Reports came to the Spaniards of a wonderful Indian queen who reigned
at a place called Yupaha, a settlement as large as a city. One day an
Indian boy, who had been brought to camp with other prisoners, told the
Spaniards a good deal about this great Indian queen. He said that she
ruled not only her own people, but all the neighboring chiefs, and as
far as the Indian settlements extended. The boy told the Spaniards that
all the Indians paid tribute to this great queen, and sent her fine
presents of clothing and gold. De Soto and his men cared nothing about
fine clothing. They were greedy only for gold and precious stones. They
asked the Indian boy many questions, and he answered them all. He
told how the gold was taken from the earth, and how it was melted and
refined. His description was so exact that the Spaniards no longer
had any doubt. Their spirits rose mightily, and, after robbing and
plundering the Indians who had fed and sheltered them during the winter
months, they broke up their camp and moved northward.
Four days after leaving Tallahassee, the Spaniards came to a deep river,
which Colonel C. C. Jones, jun., in his "History of Georgia," says was
the Ocklockonnee, very close to the southwest boundary of Georgia. Two
days later they came to an Indian village from which the inhabitants
fled, but a little later a squad of five soldiers was set upon by the
Indians hiding near the encampment. One of the Spaniards was killed,
while three others were badly wounded. De Soto left this Indian village
on the 11th of March, and presently came to a piece of country which the
Spanish historian describes as a desert. But it was not a desert then,
and it is not a desert now. It was really a pine barren, such as may
be seen to this day in what is called the wire-grass region of southern
Georgia. In these barrens the soil is sandy and the land level,
stretching away for miles. De Soto and his men saw the primeval pines;
but these have long since disappeared, and their places are taken by
pines of a smaller growth. On the 21st of March, the Spaniards came to
the Ocmulgee River, near which they found an Indian town called Toalli.
There will always be a dispute about the route followed by De Soto in
his march. This dispute is interesting, but not important. Some say that
the expedition moved parallel with the coast until the Savannah River
was reached, at a point twenty-five miles below Augusta; but it is just
as probable that the route, after reaching the Ocmulgee, was along the
banks of that stream and in a northwesterly direction.
At Toalli the Indians had summer and winter houses to live in, and they
had storehouses for their maize. The women wore blankets or shawls made
of the fiber of silk grass, and the blankets were dyed vermilion or
black. Thenceforward the Indians whom the Spaniards met with were of a
higher order of intelligence, and of a more industrious turn, than those
left behind in Florida and along the southern boundary of Georgia.
As De Soto marched along, he seized Indians and made guides of them,
or made prisoners and held them until he was furnished with guides and
interpreters. He also announced to the Indians that he was the Child of
the Sun, who had been sent to seek out the greatest Prince and Princess.
This made a great impression on the Indians, many of whom were sun
worshipers.
Many times during the march the Spaniards were on the point of
starvation, and the account of their sufferings as set forth in the
history of the expedition is intended to be quite pathetic. We need
not pause to shed any tears over these things, for the sufferings the
Spaniards endured were nothing compared to the sufferings they inflicted
on the Indians. They murdered and robbed right and left, and no doubt
the Indians regarded them as demons rather than Christians. More
than once when the Spaniards were wandering aimlessly about in the
wilderness, they were found by the Indians and saved from starvation. In
turn the simple-minded natives were treated with a harshness that would
be beyond belief if the sickening details were not piously set forth by
the Spanish historian of the expedition.
[Illustration: Indian Queen 020]
About the 28th of April the expedition reached the neighborhood of
Cutifachiqui, having been told by three Indians whom they had taken,
that the queen of that province knew of the approach of the Spaniards,
and was awaiting them at her chief town just across the river. As De
Soto came to the shore of the stream, four canoes started from the
opposite side. One of them contained a kinswoman of the queen, who
had been selected to invite the Spaniards to enter the town. Shortly
afterwards the queen came forth from the town, seated on a palanquin or
litter, which was borne by the principal men. Coming to the water side,
the queen entered a canoe, over the stern of which was stretched an
awning to shelter her from the sun.
Under this awning she reclined on cushions; and thus, in company with
her chiefs, and attended by many of her people in canoes, she crossed
the river to meet De Soto. She landed, and gave the Spaniard a gracious
welcome. As an offering of peace and good will, she took from her neck
a long string of pearls, and gave the gems to De Soto. She also gave him
many shawls and finely dressed deerskins. The Spaniard acknowledged the
beautiful gifts by taking from his hand a gold ring set with a ruby, and
placing it upon one of the queen's fingers.
The old historian pretends that De Soto and his men were very much
impressed by the dignity and courtesy of the Indian queen. She was the
first woman ruler they had met in their wanderings. She was tall, finely
formed, and had great beauty of countenance. She was both gracious and
graceful. All this is set down in the most pompous way by the Spanish
chroniclers; but 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. The Spaniards crossed the
river in canoes furnished by the queen's people, and found themselves
surrounded by the most hospitable Indians they had yet seen. They were
supplied with everything the land afforded, and rested in comfortable
wigwams under the shade of 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. His
determination had the desired effect His men recovered their energies.
While enjoying the hospitality of the queen, they found out the burial
places of her people, and gathered from the graves, according to the
statement of the Spanish historian, "three hundred and fifty weight of
pearls, and figures of babies and birds, made from iridescent shells."
The mother of the queen lived not far from the town where the Spaniards
were quartered, and, as she was said to be the owner of many fine
pearls, De Soto expressed a desire to see her. Upon hearing this, the
queen sent twelve of her principal men to beg her mother to come to
see the white strangers and the wonderful animals they had brought
with them; but the mother of the queen was very shrewd. She rebuked the
messengers, and sent them back with some sharp words for her daughter;
and though De Soto did his best to capture the woman, he was never able
to carry out his purpose.
He then turned his attention to a temple that stood on the side of
a deserted settlement which had formerly been the chief town of the
queen's people. This temple, as described by the Spanish chronicler,
was more than one hundred steps long by forty broad, the walls high in
proportion, and the roof elevated so as to allow the water to run off.
On the roof were various shells arranged in artistic order, and the
shells were connected by strings of pearls. These pearls extended from
the top of the roof to the bottom in long festoons, and the sun shining
on them produced a very brilliant effect. At the door of the temple were
twelve giant-like statues made of wood. These figures were so ferocious
in their appearance, that the Spaniards hesitated for some time before
they could persuade themselves to enter the temple. The statues were
armed with clubs, maces, copper axes, and pikes ornamented with copper
at both ends. In the middle of the temple were three rows of chests,
placed one upon another in the form of pyramids. Each pyramid consisted
of five or six chests, the largest at the bottom, and the smallest at
the top. These chests, the Spanish chroniclers say, were filled with
pearls, the largest containing the finest pearls, and the smallest only
seed pearls.
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 that 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. De Soto was still intent on searching for gold, and he would hear
of nothing else. He would neither settle among the queen's people for a
season, nor return to Tampa with the great store of pearls discovered.
Being a resolute man and of few words, he had his way, and made
preparations to journey farther north to the province called Chiaha,
which was governed by a great Indian king. The conduct of the Spaniards
had been so cruel during their stay at Cutifachiqui, that the queen had
come to regard them with fear and hatred, and she refused to supply
them with guides and burden bearers. De Soto thereupon placed her under
guard; and when he took up his march for Chiaha, the queen who had
received him with so much grace, dignity, and hospitality, was compelled
to accompany him on foot, escorted by her female attendants. The old
Spanish chronicler is moved to remark that "it was not so good usage
as she deserved for the good will she shewed and the good entertainment
that she had made him." This was the return the Spanish leader made
to the queen who had received and entertained his army,--to seize her,
place her under guard, and compel her to accompany his expedition on
foot.
One reason why De Soto made the queen his prisoner and carried her with
the expedition was to use her influence in controlling the Indians along
his line of march. The result was all that he could have expected. In
all the towns through which the Spaniards passed, the queen commanded
the Indians to carry the burdens of the army; and thus they went for a
hundred leagues, the Indians obeying the queen without question. After a
march of seven days, De Soto arrived at the province of Chelaque, which
was the country of the Cherokees. Here the soldiers added to their
stores of provisions, and renewed their march; and on May 15 they
arrived in the province of Xualla, the chief town of which is supposed
to have been situated in the Nacoochee valley. Inclining his course
westwardly from the Nacoochee valley, De Soto set out for Guaxule, which
marked the limit of the queen's dominion, and which has been identified
as Old Town, in Murray County. On this march the queen made her escape,
taking with her a cane box filled with large pearls of great value. This
box had been borne by one of the queen's attendants up to the moment
when she disappeared from the Spanish camp. De Soto made every effort
to recapture the queen. No doubt the bloodhounds, which formed a part of
the expedition, were called in to aid in the search; but it was all to
no purpose. The queen hid herself as easily as a young partridge hides,
and neither men nor dogs could find her. De Soto went on his way,
deploring the loss of the valuable pearls.
From Nacoochee to Murray County the march was fatiguing. The route lay
over mountains as well as valleys. One of the foot soldiers, Juan Terron
(his folly has caused history to preserve his name), grew so weary on
this march, that he drew from his wallet a linen bag containing six
pounds of pearls. Calling to a cavalryman, Juan Terron offered him the
bag of pearls if he would carry them. The cavalryman refused the offer,
and told his comrade to keep them. But Juan Terron would not have it so.
He untied the bag, whirled it around his head, and scattered the pearls
in all directions. This done, he replaced the empty bag in his wallet,
and marched on, leaving his companions amazed at his folly. Thirty of
the pearls were recovered by the soldiers. The gems were of great size,
and perfect in every particular; and it was estimated that the six
pounds of pearls would have fetched six thousand ducats in Spain (over
twelve thousand dollars). The folly of the foot soldier gave rise to
a saying in the army, that is no doubt current in Spain to this
day,--"There are no pearls for Juan Terron," which means that a fool
makes no profits.
Continuing their march, the Spaniards came to the town of Chiaha,--a
site that is now occupied by the flourishing city of Rome. De Soto
remained at Chiaha a month, sending out exploring expeditions in search
of the much-coveted gold. They found traces of the precious metal, but
nothing more. On the 1st of July, 1540, De Soto left Chiaha, going down
the valley of the Coosa. His 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 spirits.
An attempt has been made to throw a halo of romance over this 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.