Chapter IV: Part 4

The Spanish provinces were incessantly harassed, and in 1617, the war is said to have commenced with redoubled fury. During the period which intervened from this to 1637, the toquis Leintor and Putapichion also held sway, and engaged in enterprises against the Spaniards. Affairs, however, were not materially changed; the Araucanians still retaining their territory and independence. In the year 1638, the Dutch attempted to form an alliance with the Araucanians, with a view to the conquest of Chili; but their fleet being dispersed by a storm, only one or two of their boats were able to make the land. Being well manned and armed, the Araucanians supposed them to have come with hostile intentions; they therefore attacked them and destroyed the crews. In 1640, the war was brought to a close, and in 1641, the articles of peace were agreed upon, and the day of ratification appointed; the place of meeting was the village of Quillan, in the province of Purea.

The Spanish governor, the Marquis de Baydes, appeared at the specified time with a retinue of 10,000 persons from all parts of the kingdom. Lincopichion, the toqui, at the head of the four hereditary toquis, and a great number of ulmenes, and other natives, opened the conference with an eloquent speech. He then, according to the Chilian custom, killed a llama, and, sprinkling some of the blood on a bunch of cinnamon, presented it, in token of amity, to the governor. The articles of peace were then proposed and ratified. The Araucanians, in one of these, agreed that they would not permit the landing of any strangers on the coast, or furnish any foreign nation with supplies. The war of ninety years’ duration was thus brought to a close; twenty-eight llamas were sacrificed, and the whole was concluded by an eloquent harangue from Antiguenu, chief of the district, in which he dwelt on the advantages that both nations would derive from the peace.

In the year 1643, the Dutch made a second attempt on Chili, and had they been seconded by the Araucanians, whose alliance they sought, they would undoubtedly have succeeded; but these brave defenders of their country were faithful to their pledges, and refused the overtures of the Dutch. They also advised the Cunches to take the same course. The Dutch, therefore, were forced to retire unsuccessful.

The peace continued for a number of years; a war broke out in 1653, the cause of which is not assigned. The Araucanians elected as their commander the toqui Eleutaru, who in his first campaign totally defeated the Spaniards, and continued for ten years to harass them, when a peace was again concluded, which proved more lasting than the former. In 1686, however, a Spanish governor came near breaking it by removing the inhabitants of the island of Mocha to the northern shore of the Biobio, in order to cut off all communication with foreign enemies.

Missionaries in the mean time were introduced among the Araucanians, accompanied by a species of force called the _Captains of the friends_, as a pretended guard. These having become insolent, the Araucanians determined to create a toqui, and resort to arms. War therefore ensued, but after a succession of little skirmishes, the peace of Negrete terminated it. In this, the treaty of Quillan was confirmed, and the odious title of _Captains of the friends_ was abolished.

The next occasion of war was caused by the endeavour of the Spanish governor, Gonzaga, to compel the Araucanians to live in cities. At this time also, the Pehuenches, who at the commencement of the war were allies of the Spaniards, having been defeated by the Araucanians, resolved to change sides, and have ever since been firmly allied with this brave people. Various battles were fought, and among others, a bloody one in the beginning of the year 1773. The same year, however, peace was agreed upon, and the Araucanians were allowed to have a minister resident in the city of St. Jago. The treaties of Quillan and Negrete were revived, and, under the wise administration of the Spanish viceroys, Jauqui and Benavides, the country for a long time enjoyed the blessings of unbroken tranquillity.

The Araucanians have thus by their courage and perseverance been enabled to maintain their liberties against some of the best disciplined troops of Spain, even those who had served in the Low Countries during the reigns of Charles the Fifth and Philip the Second, and who were armed with weapons before unknown and calculated to strike terror into all the native tribes. They remain still secure in their mountain fastnesses, enjoying the blessings of liberty, and determined as ever never to be subjugated by any foreign foe.

SOUTHERN INDIANS OF SOUTH AMERICA.

The whole interior of the southern portion of South America, from Terra del Fuego up to Paraguay, was long occupied by numerous savage tribes of Indians. Of these little was known till long after the occupation of portions of the country by the Spaniards. They soon obtained horses, and were divided by the Europeans into equestrian and pedestrian tribes. They were generally ferocious in their character, and engaged in almost perpetual wars with each other. The equestrian tribes, especially, were accustomed to make long excursions for the purpose of plunder or revenge. Many of these nations have since been swept off by that dreadful scourge of the Indian race, the small-pox, and many have been driven still farther back by the Europeans.

Our knowledge of their history, which is, indeed, but scanty, is derived from the accounts furnished by the Catholic missionaries, who labored long and with some degree of success among them.[3] The views they give of their manners and customs is often most interesting, and will be treated of in our sketch of the manners and customs of the American Indians. The vast plains, or _pampas_, as they are called, which lie southwest of Buenos Ayres, were inhabited by the equestrian savages, who, with the Araucanians, and other tribes which dwelt in the mountains, were termed by the Peruvians, AUCAS, or rebels, probably from some event in their former history. It would seem, indeed, that several of the tribes originally came from the Northwest, and perhaps there gained the knowledge of horsemanship, in which they are so expert, from the earlier European invaders.

Similar groups of Indians were found through all that vast tract of land east of the Andes, and reaching up from Buenos Ayres to Brazil. Of these, perhaps, the most distinguished were the Abipones and Guaranies, who inhabited what formerly bore the name of Paraguay,--now Paraguay and Uruguay. Dobrizhoffer, a German Catholic priest, who resided many years among them, has given a full description of the most remarkable events of their history which occurred while he was with them, from which we extract a few scattered notices, adding some facts gathered from other sources.

Formerly these tribes seem to have been numerous, but now they are dwindled away to a small remnant. Some idea may be formed of their decrease, when it is stated that the Guaranies, who in 1752 numbered 141,252, lost 30,000 soon after by the small-pox, and afterwards, 11,000 more. In 1767, there were only about 100,000 left. They suffered great oppression from the Spaniards, and, though they fought bravely to avoid expulsion from their native land, they were finally driven out. Thirty thousand, it is said, were expelled by the Spaniards from seven towns.

The zealous missionaries penetrated the forests, and visited the most barbarous tribes. They were often unexpectedly received with kindness and hospitality, where they least had reason to hope for it. In one of these visits, when one of the missionaries, or fathers, went among them, and had gained their favor, the old cacique said that he had a daughter, the prettiest girl in the world, and was resolved to marry her to the father, that he might always stay in the family. On being informed that the fathers never married, the old man was thunderstruck, and, with his tobacco reed suspended in the air, he exclaimed, “What strange thing is this you tell me?”

The Indians watched, with great jealousy, the intrusion of the Spaniards on their territory. Some of them, on a certain occasion, having sent out men into the forest to gather _maté_, or Paraguay tea, by some misfortune their hut caught fire, and eighteen of them perished in the flames. The Indians beheld the conflagration at a distance; finally, one of them, armed with arrows and a club, stole into the only remaining Spanish hut, where a single man had taken refuge. “So,” said the savage, with a stern aspect, “you have dared to enter these woods which were never yours. Know you not this is our soil, left us by our fathers? Are you not content with having usurped immense tracts and innumerable woods, in spite of the opposition of our fathers? Should any one of _us_ invade _your_ domains, would he return alive? No; and we will imitate your example. If, then, you are wise, if life is dear to you, haste away, and advise your countrymen carefully to shun our woods, unless they would be the cause of their own death.” The Spaniard, to save his life, offered knives, axes, garments, and other trifles; pacified by these gifts, the savage returned to his comrades. The former, deeming any further stay perilous, ran off, leaving many thousand pounds of the _maté_ which had been gathered.

The Guaycuras or Albayas were very expert horsemen, and were in the highest degree hostile to the Spaniards; they were brave, and exceedingly skilful in the use of their arms. The Calchaquis, also, were formerly famous for their military ferocity, and their irreconcilable enmity to the Europeans. A branch of the Guaranies were said to wander over the remote forests, on the banks of one of the rivers of the interior, and leap from tree to tree like monkeys, in search of honey and little birds. The Guaranies were noted for their voracity. After fasting a few hours, it is said that one of them would devour a young calf. These Indians were accustomed, before they lay down to sleep, to place a piece of meat before the fire, that it might be ready for them to eat immediately upon waking.

The havoc made by the Europeans among this tribe, as well as other Indians, especially those near Brazil, is almost incredible. It is supposed, that, in 130 years, 2,000,000 Indians were slain, or carried into captivity; and it is stated, that, in five years, 300,000 Paraguayans were carried off to Brazil; and that more than 1,000 leagues of country, extending as far as the River Amazon, were stripped of their inhabitants. In the years 1628-1630, 600,000 Indians were sold as slaves at Rio Janeiro. Upwards of 400 Indian towns were utterly destroyed, and such was the devastation, that King Joseph was obliged to make a decree, on the 6th of July, 1755, forbidding further ravages. This, however, is but a small part of the evils which the Spaniards and Portuguese inflicted on those unhappy regions.

Among the equestrian tribes, the horse was the great dependence of the Indians for various comforts. He supplied them with food, clothes, lodging, bed, arms, medicine, and thread. Of the hides they made their couch, clothing, boots, tents, saddles, and thongs which served for bridle and weapons. The sinews they used for thread. They drank melted horse-fat, washed their heads with the blood, and afterwards with water, to strengthen them; and twisted the hair into ropes. They were almost constantly on horseback, and their highest delight was to display their peculiar ability to manage the most spirited animals.

The Abipones, especially, were an extraordinary people, and almost realized in themselves the fabulous centaurs,--so completely did they seem identified with the horses they bestrode. No account of them is given in history before they settled in the province of Chaco in the sixteenth century. In the year 1641, they possessed horses, and had become formidable to the Spaniards, with whom they carried on long and bloody wars. They first obtained horses, it is said, by stealing them from Santa Fe, and in the space of fifty years they carried off 100,000 of these animals from the estates of the Spaniards. Sometimes not less than 4,000 were taken in a single assault. They settled on the territory formerly possessed by the Calchaquis, who had fallen victims to the small-pox. Here they formed alliances with other equestrian nations, especially the Mocobios and Tobos, savage tribes, formidable on account of their numbers and bravery. The confederates harassed the province of Asuncion for a long time, and also the colonies of St. Jago del Estero and Cordoba. Various expeditions were planned against them with various results; but still they continued their incursions for plunder or revenge. Many battles and heroic actions are narrated by Dobrizhoffer, who describes some of their caciques as men of uncommon bravery, and as having manifested great ability in leading their people to war.

The Abipones were divided into three classes, the Rickahes, who inhabited extensive plains, the Nakaigetergehes, who were fond of the lurking-places in the woods, and the Yaaucanigas, who were formerly a distinct nation, and used a separate language. The Spaniards almost destroyed them, and the few who survived fled to the Abipones, with whom they became incorporated. The Abipones, as also the other equestrian tribes of Chaco, boast themselves to be grandsons of the evil spirit. Their language and that of the Tobos and Mocobios, likewise equestrian Indians, is said to have a similarity that betrays a common origin; the same appears to be the case with that of the Guaranies and Chiriguanas, though 500 miles apart from each other.

Many fruitless efforts were for a long time made by the Jesuits to reduce the Abipones to submission to the king of Spain, and to convert them to the Catholic religion. But they prized their independence, and their own wild way of living, too much to be willing to renounce them for the benefits which were promised in agricultural pursuits. At last, however, a colony was founded for the Mocobios, the allies of the Abipones; finally, the latter were induced to follow their example, and colonies were likewise established among them. The first of these was founded for the Abipones Rickahes. All the tribes, however, did not readily come into the project. A portion of them preferred to remain as they were. This brought on long and bloody contests among them. Those who remained wild in the woods often attacked the colonies, and carried off their cattle and other plunder. The Jesuits were also exposed to no little danger in some of these invasions. The Spaniards joined the Abipones, and finally subdued the Charruas, a fierce equestrian nation, whom they instructed and converted. The Jesuits carried on their labors for a long time among the colonies, whither they had induced the Abipones to remove, and many instances of strong attachment towards them were exhibited by the caciques or chiefs, whom they had instructed and baptized. Their efforts, however, were terminated by the breaking out of a war between the Spaniards and the Guaranies, in which the Abipones finally became engaged. The result of this was to disperse them again from their settlements, and many of them relapsed from their more civilized habits into those of savage life.

It is a remarkable fact in the history of the Abipones, that they should have first learned the use of the horse from the Europeans, and afterwards have become so dexterous in its management. They still exist, it is said, in South America, but whether they are a distinct people, and addicted as before to their wild forest-life, or whether they have mingled with the nations which have sprung up from the Spanish settlements, and bear a Christian name, we have no means of determining. Some curious practices among them will be related hereafter, in describing the manners, customs, and antiquities of the Indian tribes of this part of South America.

A remarkable incident, respecting an Indian chief of a powerful tribe near Buenos Ayres, is related to have occurred in the year 1745. Orellana, as he is named in the account, with ten of his followers, having been taken captive by the Spaniards, was placed on board a Spanish ship of 66 guns and 500 men, and there treated with great cruelty. Finding means to communicate his plan to his men, they watched their time, and when a favorable opportunity occurred, they suddenly rose, armed with thongs of leather loaded with double-headed shot, prepared beforehand, and drove the Spaniards below. They then killed forty of them, and kept possession of the ship for two hours, in spite of all the efforts of the Spaniards to regain it; but Orellana being at last wounded by a random shot through the cabin doors, and seeing the Spaniards on the point of success, he, with his brave men, leaped overboard, and they were all drowned.

Of the several Indian tribes that inhabit that large tract of territory known by the name of Patagonia, and which terminates in the cold and desolate regions of Terra del Fuego, we can give no history. They are now, as when first discovered, mere savages, and have continued to occupy the soil with little disturbance from Europeans. Their country is too poor and repulsive to tempt the cupidity of civilized man, hence it has remained in the possession of its original masters. As they have no history worthy of remembrance, so they have no means of preserving the memory of events; and thus, like the leaves of the forest, they live, pass away, and then slumber in oblivion for ever. Their manners and customs alone are worthy of record, and these will be given in their proper place.

FOOTNOTE:

[3] For an account of the operations of the missionaries in Paraguay, see “Lights and Shadows of American History.”

INDIANS OF BRAZIL.

Brazil was discovered in 1500. The first Spaniard who ventured to cross the equator was Vincent Pinzon. He landed at a point on the coast of Brazil, about twenty miles south of Pernambuco. A fleet was soon after sent out from Portugal, in which sailed that fortunate adventurer, Americus Vespucius, who has given his name to the New World.

The Indians of Brazil were real savages, perfidious, cruel, and cannibals, and appear to have had scarcely a single noble or generous trait in their characters. The dreadful depravity of these tribes seems to have infused the spirit of furies into the hearts of the females; and when the women of a people are rendered ferocious, there is little, if any, chance, that the nation will ever, by its own efforts, become civilized. The following account of the first interview between the Portuguese and the Brazilian Indians is sufficient to show the character of the latter.

When the ships arrived on the coast, in Lat. 5° S., a party of natives was discovered on a hill near the seaside. Two sailors volunteered to go ashore, and several days passed without their return. At length the Portuguese landed, sent a young man to meet the savages, and returned to their boats. Some _women_ came forward to meet him, apparently as negotiators. They surrounded him, and seemed to be examining him with curiosity and wonder. Presently another woman came down from the hill, having a stake in her hand, with which she got behind him, and dealt him a blow that brought him to the ground. Immediately the others seized him by the feet, and dragged him away, and then the Indian men, rushing to the shore, discharged their arrows at the boats.

The sailors finally escaped, but they had to witness the horrid spectacle of their poor comrade destroyed by the ruthless savages. The women cut the body in pieces, and held up the mutilated limbs in mockery; then, broiling them over a huge fire, which had been prepared, as it seemed, for that purpose, they devoured them, with loud rejoicings, in presence of the Portuguese. The Indians also made signs that they had eaten the other two sailors!

It will be neither pleasant nor useful to give any more minute accounts of the practice of cannibalism. It is sufficient to say, that the tribes inhabiting the eastern part of South America appear to have been sunk in the grossest ignorance and most deplorable state of vice and misery to which human beings can be reduced. They were more like tigers and serpents than men; for they used poisoned arrows, deadly as the “serpent’s tooth,” in battle; and they tore and devoured their enemies with the voracity of beasts of prey.

The Europeans, who first settled in Brazil, had to gain all their possessions by the sword; and few would go voluntarily to such a place; the Portuguese settlers being mostly convicts, banished for their crimes. As might be expected, this class of men, rendered desperate by their situation, and often hardened in crime, were not very merciful to the natives, who, in turn, showed them no mercy. The bloody conflicts and the atrocities on both sides were awful; yet we can hardly feel the same sympathy for the cannibal Indian as for the gentle Peruvian, when his country is laid waste by the invader.

It was about fifty years from the time of the first landing of the Portuguese, before a regular administration was established and a governor appointed by the king of Portugal. The Jesuits then settled in Brazil, and began their labor of Christianizing the savages. Several tribes had entered into alliance with the colonists, and these Indians were forbidden, by the governor, to eat human flesh. To conquer this propensity was the great aim of the Jesuits; but finding that they could not reclaim those who had grown old in this vice, they set themselves to instructing the children.

One gentle propensity these Brazilian savages showed, which seems hardly compatible with their cruel and vindictive characters,--they were passionately fond of music,--so fond, that one Jesuit thought he could succeed in Christianizing them by means of songs. He taught the children to sing; and when he went on his preaching excursions, he usually took a number of these little choristers with him, and on approaching an inhabited place, one child carried the crucifix before them, and the others followed, singing the litany. The savages, like serpents, were won by the voice of the charmer, and received the Jesuit joyfully. He set the catechism, creed, and ordinary prayers, to _sol fa_; and the pleasure of learning to sing was such a temptation, that the children frequently ran away from their parents to put themselves under the care of the Jesuits.

These priests labored with devoted zeal to convert the natives. Their exertions were productive of great effect; a change has been gradually wrought, and the cannibal propensities, among those tribes that still remain independent, are no longer indulged.

Many missions, as they are called, that is, villages, where a priest resides and instructs the Indians in agriculture and the most essential arts of civilized life, as well as in their Catholic duties, were established by the Jesuits, and are still continued. One very unfortunate circumstance has done much to alienate the independent tribes from their white neighbours. It was thought best to make slaves of the savages, in order to civilize them. Walsh thus describes the decree and its effect.

“The Indians were, as late as 1798, the occupants of the woods, and were generally found resident on the banks of the rivers and streams which intersected the country. An elderly gentleman, who was secretary to the undertaking, informed me that it was necessary for the commissioners and workmen to go constantly armed, to be protected against their hostility. The Puvis lay on the River Parahiba, and others on the streams which fall into it.

“By a mistaken humanity, however, permission was afterwards given to the Brazilians to convert their neighbours to Christianity; and for this laudable object, they were allowed to retain them in a state of bondage for ten years, and then dismiss them free, when instructed in the arts of civilized life, and the more important knowledge of Christianity. This permission, as was to be expected, produced the very opposite effects.

“A decree for the purpose was issued so late as the year 1808, by Don John, and it was one of the measures which he thought best to reclaim the aborigines, who had just before committed some ravages. He directed that the Indians, who were conquered, should be distributed among the agriculturists, who should support, clothe, civilize, and instruct them in the principles of our holy religion, but should be allowed to use the services of the same Indians for a certain number of years, in compensation for the expense of their instruction and management.

“This unfortunate permission at once destroyed all intercourse between the natives and the Brazilians. The Indians were everywhere hunted down for the sake of their salvation; wars were excited among the tribes, for the laudable purpose of bringing in each other as captives, to be converted to Christianity; and the most sacred objects were prostituted to the base cupidity of man, by even this humane and limited permission of reducing his fellow-creatures to slavery.

“In the distant provinces, particularly on the banks of the Maranhāo, it is still practised, and white men set out for the woods to seek their fortunes; that is, to hunt Indians and return with slaves. The consequence was, that all who could escape retired to the remotest forests; and there is not one to be now found in a state of nature in all the wooded region.

“It frequently happened, as we passed along, that dark wreaths of what appeared like smoke arose from among distant trees on the sides of the mountains, and they seemed to us to be decisive marks of Indian wigwams; but we found them to be nothing more than misty exhalations, which shot up in thin, circumscribed columns, exactly resembling smoke issuing from the aperture of a chimney.

“We met, however, one, in the woods, with a copper-colored face, high cheek-bones, small dark eyes approaching each other, a vacant, stupid cast of countenance, and long, lank, black hair hanging on his shoulders. He had on him some approximation to a Portuguese dress, and belonged to one of the _aldêas_ formed in this region; but he had probably once wandered about these woods in a state of nature, where he was now going peaceably along on a European road.

“We had passed, in going through Valença, one of these aldêas of the Indians of the valley of Parahiba, Christianized and instructed in the arts of civilized life. Another, called the Aldêa da Pedra, is situated on the river, nearer to its mouth, where the people still retain their erratic habits, though apparently conforming to our usages.

“They live in huts, thatched with palm-leaves; and when not engaged in hunting and fishing, which is their chief and favorite employment, they gather ipecacuanha, and fell timber. They are docile and pacific, having no cruel propensities, but are disposed to be hospitable to strangers. Their family attachments are not very strong, either for their wives or children, as they readily dispose of both to a traveller for a small compensation.”

One of the most ferocious tribes of Brazil was the Botocudos, thought to be the remains of a powerful and most cruel race, which the early settlers called Aymores. This tribe disfigured themselves by making a large hole in the under-lip, and wearing therein a piece of white wood, or some ornament. They also cut large holes in their ears, and stuck feathers in the aperture for ornaments. They used to go entirely naked, and, brown as the beasts of the forest, were frightful objects to behold.

“The Brazilian government,” says Mr. Walsh, “deserves credit for the manner in which it has managed these Indians. They lived on the Rio Doce, and laid waste every settlement attempted in that beautiful and fertile region. In 1809, a party of Europeans were sent up the river, and they found one hundred and fifty farms in ruins, whose proprietors had either perished or fled. Detachments were accordingly ordered in all directions, to restrain the inroads of the savages, and to punish their aggressions; and every encouragement was held out, to establish new settlements and civilize them.

“Every village consisting of twelve huts of Indians and ten of whites was to be considered a villa, with all its benefits and privileges; and _sesmarios_, or grants of land, were made to such as would become cultivators, giving all the privileges and advantages of original _donotorios_. New roads were then opened to form a more easy communication, and considerable effect was produced on these intractable natives. The Puvis, a neighbouring tribe, to the number of one thousand, were located in villages, called aldêas; and the arts and industry of civilized life made more progress among them, in a few years from this period, than they had before done in so many centuries.”

THE INDIANS OF FLORIDA.

The peninsula of Florida was discovered and named by a Spanish adventurer, called Ponce de Leon, who, on his second voyage, was mortally wounded in a conflict with the natives. A few years after this, a small vessel was driven on the coast by severe weather, and a traffic commenced with the natives for silver and gold. Other adventurers began to turn their attention to this supposed land of wealth, and Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon fitted out two vessels to cruise among the islands, and kidnap the Indians for laborers in the mines. The ships were driven to the shore, near a cape, which was named St. Helena. When the natives of the country, which bore the name of Chicorea, first saw the vessels, they fancied them to be huge sea-monsters; but when they saw white, bearded men, clad in armor, come forth from them, they were so terrified that they ran away. Their fears, however, were soon dispelled, and a trade was begun, in which they received trinkets in exchange for pearls, skins, gold, and silver.

When, at length, the Spaniards were ready for sailing, the Indians were invited on board of the ships; and while many of them crowded the vessels, gazing in wonder at all they saw, the adventurers treacherously closed the hatches on those who were below, and set sail for St. Domingo. The natives, thus entrapped, remained sullen and gloomy, and refused to partake of food, so that most of them perished on their voyage.

Ayllon now determined to make an expedition to Florida in person, and fitted out three large vessels, taking with him a former adventurer as a guide. The latter, however, was unable to find the place sought for, and they finally landed near Chicorea, where they were so well received that the chief allowed two hundred of the men to visit his principal village, three leagues in the interior. The natives feasted them for three days, and having thus thrown them off their guard, rose upon them by night, and massacred the whole. After this, they repaired, early in the morning, to the harbour, where they surprised Ayllon and his guards. The few who survived speedily got on board the vessel, and hastened back to St. Domingo.

In 1628, Panfilo Narvaez reached the coast of Florida with a squadron of four barks and a brigantine. He landed four hundred men and fifty horses, and took possession of the country in the name of the king of Spain, unopposed by the natives. On penetrating into the interior, in search of gold, he and his men found the principal village deserted; and not only were they disappointed of finding the chief object of their wishes, but the warlike natives harassed them on their march through swamps filled with decayed trees, where they had often to wade in the water up to their breasts. The Indians seemed of giant height; they had enormous bows, and discharged their arrows with such prodigious force as to penetrate steel armor at the distance of two hundred yards. After a most disastrous march, the greater part of the Spaniards finally reached the shore, and embarked, but they were lost at sea. Five of the party, who had set out in another direction, crossed Northern Florida, the Mississippi, the desert and mountains beyond, and, after some years, succeeded in reaching the Spanish settlements in Mexico.

But the most important exploration of Florida, and the territory north and west, was made at an early period by Hernando de Soto and his band. He left Cuba on the 12th of May, 1539, with a squadron of eight large vessels, a caravel, and two brigantines; his armament, besides the ships’ crews, consisting of not less than one thousand men and three hundred and fifty horses. On the thirteenth day, he arrived in the bay which he called Espiritu Santo. The natives, alarmed at the sight of such an invading force, immediately kindled fires all along the coast, to summon their warriors. The troops, on landing, the last day of the month, did not encounter a single Indian, and they remained all night on shore in a state of careless security.

At break of day, however, a sudden onset was made upon them by a vast army of the Indians. Several of the troops were wounded, others were panic-struck, and retreated to the shore. Relief was sent from the ships, and the Indians were finally put to flight. Landing the remainder of his forces, De Soto found the villages deserted, and learned, from some prisoners he took, that the hostility he had encountered was occasioned by outrages committed by Narvaez on a cacique of the village, called Hivrihigua. Having gained his friendship, and formed a treaty with him, the treacherous Spaniard, in a fit of passion, ordered the cacique’s nose to be cut off, and his mother to be torn in pieces by dogs. De Soto endeavoured, by sending presents to the mutilated chief, to gain his favor; but he indignantly replied to the messages, “I want none of their speeches and promises; bring me their heads, and I will joyfully receive them.”

Juan Ortiz, a follower of Narvaez, who had been captured by Hivrihigua, was obtained as an interpreter. This man was one of four on whom the cacique had determined to wreak his vengeance, on account of the treatment he had received. The others were stripped naked, led out into the public square, and set at liberty, to be shot to death by arrows. To prolong their torture, only one Indian was allowed to shoot at a time, and in this manner they were all killed, with the exception of Juan Ortiz. This was a youth hardly eighteen years old, and his appearance, as he was led forth to execution, so touched the hearts of the wife and daughters of the cacique, that, at their intercession, he was spared. He was, however, reduced to a state of slavery, made to bear burdens, and be the object of barbarous amusements. At one time, he was bound down on a wooden frame, over a bed of live coals, to be roasted alive. Again his pitying protectors came to his relief, and, by their entreaties, he was once more spared.

After various adventures, he was committed to a neighbouring cacique, by the daughter of Hivrihigua, and remained there till sent for by De Soto to act as an interpreter. The cacique under whose protection he had been, named Mucozo, also came to the Spanish camp with his warriors, and, in reply to the assurances of De Soto that he should be kindly treated, he magnanimously said, “What I have done to Ortiz is but little; he came commended to me, and threw himself on my protection. There is a law of our tribe which forbids our betraying a fugitive who asks of us an asylum. But his own virtue and dauntless courage entitled him to all the respect which was shown him. That I have pleased your people, I rejoice exceedingly, and by devoting myself henceforth to their service, I hope to merit their esteem.”

The mother of Mucozo, distressed with fears for her son, also came, and begged De Soto to deliver him up. “He is young,” said she; “only give him his liberty, and take me, who am a poor old woman, and do with me as you please. I will bear any punishment for both.” Though treated with kindness, she still continued anxious and suspicious. She would eat nothing at the governor’s table till Ortiz had first tasted it; and when asked how it happened that she, who so feared death, should offer to die for her son, she replied, “I love life as others do, but I would willingly lose it to save a son who is far dearer to me than life itself.” Though assured by her son that he was entirely at liberty, she returned home in sorrow.

By means of kindness to some of his captives, whom he allowed to go home loaded with presents, De Soto tried to soften the stern cacique, Hivrihigua. His reply was, “The memory of my injuries forbids my sending a kind answer, and a harsh one your courtesy will not allow me to return.” Learning that Hivrihigua was concealed in a forest not far from the camp, one of De Soto’s followers undertook to capture him. He had not gone far, before he met a messenger from the cacique, who begged him, in the name of his master, not to proceed any further, as the old cacique was secure in his fortress, and he could not reach him, while he would be exposed to great danger in the morasses and forests which lay in his way. The event proved according to the warning; for, notwithstanding repeated messages to the same effect, the foolhardy cavalier persisted, and was finally compelled to return home without having accomplished his purpose.

As the Spaniards advanced into the interior of the country, they found warlike Indians hanging about their path, and harassing them at every step. The savages assailed their enemy with great fury, and fought bravely; but they were no match for horsemen so armed at all points that the arrows could make no impression on them. On the approach of De Soto, the caciques fled into the woods, and prepared for resistance. One of these, named Acuera, being invited to a peaceable interview, replied, “Others of your accursed race have, in years past, poisoned our peaceful shores. They have taught me what you are. What is your employment? To wander about, like vagabonds, from land to land; to rob the poor; to betray the confiding; to murder, in cold blood, the defenceless. No; with such a people I want no peace, no friendship. War, never-ending, exterminating war, is all that I ask. You boast yourselves valiant, and so you may be; but my faithful warriors are not less brave, and this, too, you shall one day know; for I have sworn to maintain an unsparing hostility, while one white man remains in my borders. Not openly in the battle,--though even thus we fear not to meet you,--but by stratagem, and ambush, and midnight surprisal, shall you be met.”

To the demand of obedience to the emperor of Spain, the Indian replied, “I am king in my own land, and will never become the vassal of a mortal like myself. Vile and pusillanimous is he who will submit to the yoke of another, when he may be free. As for me and my people, we choose death, yes, a hundred deaths, before the loss of our liberty, and the subjugation of our country.”

De Soto sent out persons in every quarter to explore the country, but the Indians lurked in ambush, and cut off every Spaniard who strayed from the camp; and though De Soto caused the bodies to be buried, yet the Indians always returned in the night, dug them up, cut them in pieces, and hung them on the trees. Fourteen Europeans thus perished, and many more were wounded. In this manner the natives fulfilled their threats. “Keep on, robbers and traitors,” said they; “in Acuera and Apalachee, we will treat you as you deserve. Every captive will we quarter and hang up on the highest trees along the road.”

As De Soto advanced still further, he was attacked by some of the subjects of the cacique, Ocali. The adventures of the Spaniards with Vitachuco were remarkable, but we cannot detail them here.[4] In the fierce battles fought, with De Soto, the Indian warriors showed great bravery, but they were finally defeated, and nearly exterminated. The same determined spirit of resistance was manifested by almost every tribe of the Florida Indians.

After many battles and skirmishes, the Spaniards approached a village called Anhayea. The Indians had fled, but it was found to contain two hundred and fifty large and commodious houses; besides which, there were said to be many others in the province, consisting of from fifty to a hundred houses. There were, also, many dwellings scattered about the country. De Soto, to relieve himself from the harassing attacks of the Indians in this quarter, formed a plan to get possession of the cacique, Capafi. This person was so fat and unwieldy, that he could neither walk nor stand. When he went about his dwelling, he was obliged to move on his hands and knees, and in going from place to place was borne in a litter on the shoulders of his subjects. Learning that he was in the midst of a dense and vast forest, about eight leagues off, fortified in the strongest manner known to this people, and garrisoned by a band of his bravest and choicest warriors, so that he felt himself to be impregnable, De Soto determined to attack him.

The Spaniards met with a strong resistance at the entrance of the defile which led to the open place where the cacique had taken up his abode. It was so narrow that but two could go in abreast. The palisades were, however, gained in succession, and the place of the cacique’s refuge finally reached. Here a desperate conflict took place. Perceiving the danger of their chief, the Indians threw themselves on the swords and spears of the Spaniards. Many were the valiant feats performed on both sides; but as the Indians were without defensive armor, most of them were at last cut down, and the cacique, knowing that further resistance was vain, called on the survivors to surrender. They therefore threw themselves before the Spanish leader, and offered their own lives, but besought him to spare that of their cacique.

De Soto assured them of pardon, and that he would henceforth consider them as his friends. Capafi, unable to walk, was taken up on the arms of his attendants to kiss De Soto’s hands, who treated him with urbanity and kindness. The wily chief, however, on the return to the village of Anhayea, found means to escape. This was effected in the following manner. The Indians, notwithstanding the captivity of their chief, did not cease their efforts to annoy the Spaniards. De Soto reproached the cacique with ingratitude, and threatened a war of extermination. The cacique expressed his grief, and said, that as the chief assailants were concealed in a thick forest, five or six leagues off, he would go there under guard of some Spaniards, and persuade them to submit.

De Soto sent him, attended by a company of horse and foot, who were ordered to watch him closely, and not allow him to escape. On reaching the forest, at sunset, the cacique sent some Indians to the warriors who were there concealed, with orders to assemble before him the next morning. The Spaniards, satisfied that the orders of the cacique would be obeyed, betook themselves to rest, having stationed their sentinels, and placed a guard over the chief; but, owing to the fatigue of their long march, they all fell asleep. Perceiving this, the cacique watched his opportunity, crawled on his hands and knees through the camp, and soon fell in with a party of his warriors, who took him on their shoulders and carried him away. The Spaniards, mortified with the result of their expedition, returned, and on their march were taunted by the Indians for the failure of their schemes. They pretended to De Soto that they had lost their captive by some art of necromancy, and he, though aware of the truth, apparently yielded to the story, saying, that the Indians were such wonderful necromancers that they might have performed still greater feats of skill.

In an attempt made by a garrison left behind at Hivrihigua to reach De Soto, a terrible battle ensued in a morass, which came near proving fatal to the whole party. Nothing but the fall of the Indian chief who led the onset saved them from destruction. The battle took place in the water, and the Indians rushed with wild yells from behind bushes, brakes, and the trunks of trees, discharging showers of arrows at their enemy. The horses, being wounded, became furious, and threw off the foot-soldiers, who were mounted behind the horsemen. They were thus exposed to the arrows of the enemy, who perceived their fall, and rushed forward to despatch them.

In front of the assailants was an Indian entirely naked, bold and fearless, with a large plume of feathers on his head. He sought to gain the shelter of a great tree which lay between him and the Spaniards. One of these, bearing a crossbow, sent an arrow with so true an aim, that it pierced him through the breast. He staggered forward a few paces, crying out to his followers, “These traitors have slain me!” His comrades then rushed to his aid, received him in their arms, and, passing him on from one to another, carried him away.

In another part of the morass, the battle was not less bloody, and the Spaniards were losing ground, when, at the most critical moment, the news came to the Indians that their chief was mortally wounded; this checked their ardor, and they began to retreat. The Spaniards halted for the night, and it is said that scarcely a man among them had escaped without a wound.

On resuming their march, every inch of ground was disputed by the enemy, till the adventurers came to an open plain, where the cavalry could act with effect. The Indians then departed, but, when night came, they hovered round the camp with dreadful yells and howlings, taunting their foes, and launching against them clouds of arrows, thus forcing them to keep in perpetual motion. Frequently, the Spaniards were obliged to remove barriers and palisades which obstructed their march, and to cut their way through the tangled thicket; while the Indians, from their ambush, cried out, “Where are you going, robbers? We have already killed your chief and all his warriors!”

The Spaniards having spent the winter of 1539 in Apalachee, where they were perpetually annoyed by the bold and warlike savages, resumed their march on the arrival of spring. As they advanced, they came to the deserted village of Achese, where they made prisoners of two warriors, who, being brought before De Soto, demanded, in a bold and fearless manner, “What seek you in our land, peace or war?” De Soto replied, “We seek not war with any one; but our wish is to cultivate peace and friendship. We are in search of a distant province, and all we ask is food by the road.” The warriors promised to supply all necessary food, and an embassy being sent to the cacique of Cofa, he returned a deputation of two thousand Indians, with a present of rabbits, partridges, and maize, and a great number of dogs. The cacique also gave the Spaniards a generous welcome, and set apart his own dwelling for De Soto, providing, likewise, quarters for the army. The province is said to have been very extensive, fertile, and populous. The natives were peaceful, domestic, and affable, treating the strangers with great kindness.

De Soto, who had brought with him a piece of ordnance, showed its power by prostrating, with ten shots, a large oak-tree. The cacique and his people manifested great amazement as well as pleasure; and when the Spaniards departed, the chief sent messengers to his brother Cofaqui, the cacique of an adjoining province, still more opulent and powerful than his own, begging him to receive the strangers kindly. He likewise, in company with his warriors, escorted the army one day’s march, and, having bidden them farewell, charged some of his people to go on further, and do all in their power to serve them.

The cacique Cofaqui, on receiving his brother’s message, sent four chiefs, with a train of Indians, to welcome De Soto and his band. As they drew near, he went out, richly decorated, to receive them; taking with him a company of warriors who carried their bows and arrows in their hands, and wore tall plumes on their heads, with rich mantles of martin-skin, finely dressed, over their shoulders. Four thousand warriors were appointed to escort the strangers, with an equal number of retainers to carry supplies and clothing. These Indians depended on the chase for animal food; but their principal articles of provision were maize, dried plums, grapes, walnuts, and acorns.

A short time before the Spaniards departed, the cacique called his chief warrior to him in the public square, and there, in the presence of De Soto and his officers, said, “You well know that a perpetual enmity has existed between our fathers and the Indians of Cofachiqui. That bitter hatred, you are aware, has not abated in the least; the deep wrongs, the notorious injuries, we have suffered from that vile tribe, still rankle in our hearts, unrevenged! The present opportunity must not be lost! You, the leader of my warriors, must accompany this chief and his braves, and under their protection wreak vengeance on our enemies! I need say no more to you; I leave our cause and our honor in your hands.”

The Indian chief, to whom this message was addressed, was called Patofa; he had a graceful form and striking features, with a noble expression of countenance; and his whole demeanour showed that he was worthy of the trust confided in him. Rising up, he threw off his mantle of skin, seized a broadsword of palm-wood, and performed an exercise with it which excited the admiration of even the Spanish cavaliers. After many singular evolutions, he stopped before the cacique, and, with a profound reverence, said, “I pledge my word to fulfil your commands, so far as I am able; and, by the favor of these strangers, I promise to revenge the insults, the deaths, and losses that our fathers have sustained from the people of Cofachiqui. My vengeance shall be such that the memory of your past evils shall be for ever wiped away. My daring again to appear in your presence will be a token that your commands have been executed. For if the fates deny my hopes, never again shall you behold me, never again shall the sun shine upon me. If the enemy deny me death, my own hand will find it. I will inflict upon myself the punishment my cowardice or evil fortune will merit.”

The cacique rose up and embraced him, and, taking from his own shoulders a beautiful mantle of martin-skins, placed it on Patofa’s shoulders, and said, “I consider that what you have promised is as certain as if it were already done; therefore do I reward you as for services already rendered.”

The march now commenced, and soon after an Indian deserted. Patofa sent some men in pursuit of him, and he was brought back in fetters. The chief ordered him to be led to the banks of a small stream, where he was stripped, thrown on the ground, and commanded to drink the streamlet dry. The culprit drank till he could swallow no more; but the moment he raised his head from the water, five Indians, who were stationed near, belabored him with their clubs till he began again. Some of his comrades hurried to De Soto, and begged his interposition; and he was accordingly released, though half dead with the water he had swallowed.

The army, as they advanced on the high road, at length came to a dense forest, and, as the Indians professed to be as ignorant of the way as the Spaniards, De Soto suspected treachery, and called upon Patofa to explain how it was, that, of his eight thousand men, not one knew the way to Cofachiqui, with the people of which they had been so often engaged in war? Patofa declared his ignorance of the place, saying, that the wars referred to had been carried on solely by skirmishes; and as the natives of Cofachiqui were the most powerful and had been most frequently victorious, his people were afraid to pass beyond their own frontiers. “But,” said he, “do you suspect that I have led your army into these deserts to perish? If so, take what hostages you please. If my head will suffice, take it; if not, you may behead every individual of my band, as they will obey me even to the death.”