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INVASION 
 
 TERRITORY OF ILABIMA, 
 
 ONE THOUSAND SPANIAEDS, 
 
 IF[E[1[S)Q[N]A[M1© ©I S©T@3 
 
 IN 1540. 
 
 BY AliHEfi^T jr.- PICKETT. 
 
 MO??f?ibMERY : 
 
 PPiIITED BY ?.B.fTTAI & IE WOLF. 
 ; id. 
 
TO THE PUBLIC 
 
 The history of Alabama, from the early period of 1540 until the close of the 
 year 1820, lias been written by the undersigned. If now published, it would form 
 two volumes of five hundred pages eacli. Hi is now engaged in revising it for 
 publication. It has been a work of immense labor, and attended with considerable 
 outlay in money. If he had known, in the first instance, the cost and ditEculty in 
 procuring oral information; tlie time required to collect manuscript, documentary 
 and book evidence, and to reduce the whole into historical form, he would scarcely 
 have imposed upon himself such a task. But nov/ that it is accomplished, by 
 rescuing from oblivion the most important information, he does not regret tlic 
 completion of a work which must be a benefit to his countrymen and to posterity. 
 
 The undersigned has not written the History of Alabama for pecuniary gain. 
 His time and labor have been given voluntarily and freely to the public. All he 
 asks is the return of the actual outlay, by the sale of the work. He feels assured 
 that the people of Alabama, who possess a co.mmendable state pride, will favor 
 the enterprise to that extent. 
 
 In the meantime the undersigned respectfully invites the attention of his fellow- 
 citizens of this State, and of the Union, to the following pamphlet, entitled the " In- 
 vasion of Alabama by De Soto in 1540"; being the first chapter of the forthcom- 
 ing work. He has been for years engaged in procuring the most accurate infor- 
 niatioQ in regard to De Soto's route through Alabama. Before the Indians 
 removed to Arkansas:, he conversed with the oldest and most reliable of them, 
 and since then with intelligent old ludi m countrymen, few of whom yet linger iu 
 tiie world. He has not only made himself familiar with the Indian tradition upon 
 this point, but has the evidence of General Alexander McGillivray, a talented and 
 learned Creek Indian, well skilled in historical and political knowledge, and who 
 ruled this country with eminent ability from 1775 to 1793. The undersigned has 
 also been suffered to peruse the manuscript history of the Muscogee Indians, 
 written by George Stiggins, a half breed Indian, wlio received in his boyhood 
 some particulars of tlie route of De Soto from the most ancient Indians. In 
 addition to all these, the undersigned has obtained the oldest French and 
 Spanish maps of tliis country, upon -which the towns of Coosa, Tallise, and others 
 througli which De Soto passed, are properly laid down. He is particular to men- 
 tion his sources of information, to satisfy the public upon the correctness of the 
 following journal ; for many American writers, unacquainted Avith the geography 
 of this state and the Indian names, have prodigiously erred in conducting De Soto 
 into Teuuessee and Kentucky. Others have incorrectly carried him from the head 
 
U TO THE PUBLIC. 
 
 ■waters of tlio Coosa across to those of the Warrior, anJ thence Lj the moJern city 
 of Tuscaloosa. Tiieodore Irving, in his Eonquest of Florida, has in a great measure 
 been accurate and faithful in describing the route of De Soto and the incidents 
 attending it. Our own able, accomplished writer and earliest pioneer in Alabama 
 history, tlie Hon. A. B. Meek, of Mobile, has also given ,i condensed but graphic 
 account of this expedition, published in a monthly Magazine entitled "The South- 
 ern," Tuscaloosa, 1S39. He is generally correct as to De Soto's route, and entirely 
 80 in regard to thj charactor of the invasion and those particulars of it which he 
 de.scribes. 
 
 But while the undersigned has boon aided by tlie Indian tradition, an accurate 
 knowledge of the country, and other collateral proof, in the following narrative, 
 his main reliance has been upon the -original journals of De Soto. Of all historic 
 evidence, a daily journal kept by a disinterested person is the most reliable. 
 Such the imdersigned believes to have been the character of tlie writers who made 
 notes upon the expedition of De Soto. Thcj- entered in their note books the day of 
 the month, and even the daj^ of the week, of each day's march, when anytliing par- 
 ticular happened. Although the undersigned has adopted more generally the 
 journal of the Portuguese oye-witness rather than the other, in regard to marches 
 and the names of towns, yet he is not prepared to agree with most American authors 
 in condeming the other, as less accurate and the least to be relied on in all 
 respects. Indeed, he has been astonished that the journals of the expedition 
 should liave so well agreed. Th.ey, however, dift'er sometimes, but not more than 
 other writers who pass through the same scenes. 
 
 One of these journals was written by a cavalier attached to De Soto's expedi- 
 tion, who was a native of Elvas in Portugal. He finished his narrative the 10th 
 February, 1557, in the city of Evora, and it was printed in the house of Andrew 
 de Burgos, printer and gentleman of tlie Lord Cardinal, the Infanta, It was 
 translated into English by Richard Hakluyt in 1609, and is to be found in the 
 supplementary volume of his voyages and discoveries, London 1812. It is also 
 published at length in the Historical Collections of Peter Force of Washington city. 
 
 The other journal of the expedition of De Soto, in the possession of the under- 
 signed, was written by the Inca Garcellasso de la Vega, a Peruvian by birth and 
 a native of the city of Cuzco. His father was a Spaniard of noble blood, and his 
 mother the sister of Capac, one of the Indian sovreigns of Peru. Garcellasso was 
 a distingiiishad witer of that age; he had heard of the remarkable invasion of 
 Florida by De Soto, and ho applied himself diligently to obtain the facts. He 
 found out an intelligent cavalisr of that expedition, with whom he had minute con- 
 versations of all the particulars of it. In addition to this, journals were placed in 
 his hands, written in the camp of De Soto, one by Alonzo de Carmona, a native 
 of the town of Priego, and the other by Juan Coles, a native of Zafra. Garcellasso 
 published his work at an early period in Spanish. It has been translated into 
 French, but never into English. The copy in our hands is entitled "Historic de la 
 Conqueste de la Floride ou relation, do ce qui c'est passe dans la decouvte de ce 
 pais, par Ferdinand De Soto, Comj^osee on Espagnol. par L' Tncn O •■ /"lasso De 
 
 La Vega, ot raduite en Francois, p"- 'Z.. '. . . ... z^ Jc'j i tames, .j. 
 
 Leade, 1731." 
 
 *.• luiout further tresspass upon the patience of the rcaucr, tl:e u;' -rsi^iTrd 
 Bub.jcribes himself, 
 
 Rc?pi2cciui!y, 
 
 A. J. PICKETT. 
 
The first discovery of Alabama was by Ferdinand De 
 Soto, a native of Spain, and the son of a squire ol' Xerez of 
 Badajos. When a youth he went to Peru, enlisted under 
 Pizarro, and, with no property but his sword, won distin- 
 guished military reputation. Returning to his native coun- 
 try, and making an imposing appearance at court, he 
 was created Governor of Cuba and Adalantado of Florida. 
 In the unknown regions of the latter, he resolved to embark 
 his vast wealth in conquering a people whom he believed to 
 possess more gold than he had beheld in South America. 
 Young men of the best blood in Spain and Portugal sold their 
 houses and vineyards and flocked to his standard. Soon he 
 was surrounded b_y an army uf six hundred chosen men, with 
 whom, in April 1538, he put to sea over the bar of San Lu- 
 car de Barremeda. Arriving at Cuba, a year was consumed 
 in arranging the affairs of his government, and in prepara- 
 tions for the great enterprise before him.^ At the end of that 
 period, his wile, Donna Isabel de Bobadllla, and the Lieu- 
 tenant Governor were left in charge of the island, and De 
 Soto, on the 12th of May, 1539, sailed for Florida with a fleet 
 of nine vessels, five large ships, besides some caravals and 
 brigantines. 
 
 On the 30th May, he pitched his camp upon the shore 
 of Tampa Bay, with an army now increased to one thousand 
 men. Sending out detachments to capture Indians, from 
 whom he could learn something of the country, he found 
 them skilful with the bow and too wily to be easily taken. 
 In one of these sallies the soldiers, under Baltasar de Galle- 
 gos, charged upon a small number of Indians, and one of 
 them cried out, "I am a christian, slay me not." Instantly 
 Alvaro Nieto, a stout trooper, drew back his lance, lifted the 
 unknown man up behind him, and pranced off to join his 
 comrades. In 1528, Panfilo de Narvaez attempted to over- 
 run this country with a large expedition, but after fruitless 
 wanderings reached Apalache without finding gold, and from 
 thence went to St. Marks, where his famished troops em- 
 
 1 Portuguese Narrative, pp. 695-700. Garcellasso de la Vega, pp. 59-60. 
 
6 DE SOTO S INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 barked for Cuba, in rude and hastily constructed boats, which 
 were soon swallowed by the waves'.^ Jean Ortiz, the person 
 taken prisoner, who now in all respects resembled a savage, 
 was a native of Seville, in Spain. When a youth, he came 
 to this coast in a brigantine with others, in search of Nar- 
 vaez, was captured by the Indians, who were about to burn 
 him to death, when he was saved by the entreaties of the 
 daughter of the chief Ucita. In the first portion of his slave- 
 ry he was treated with barbarity, and compelled to guard 
 night and day a lonely temple in which was deposited the 
 dead. Twelve years a prisoner among these Indians, he was 
 joyfully hastening to the camp of De Soto, when the Casti- 
 lian words which he imploringly uttered arrested the terri- 
 ble lance of Alvaro Nieto.- 
 
 Gratified at the appearance of Jean Ortiz, who became his 
 interpreter, De Soto gave him clothes and arms, and placed 
 him upon a good charger. The Adalantado was now ready 
 to penetrate the interior. His troops were provided with 
 helmets, breastplates, shields, coats of mail, to repel the ar- 
 rows of the Indians; swords, Biscayan lances, rude guns 
 called arqubuses, cross-bows and one piece of artillery. 
 His cavaliers, mounted upon two hundred and thirteen horses, 
 were the most gallant and graceful men of Spain. Gray- 
 hounds, of the fleetness of the wind, were ready to be turned 
 loose upon the retreating savages, and blood-hounds to de- 
 vour them if it became necessary. To secure the unhappy 
 Indian, handcuffs, chains and neck-collars abounded in the 
 camp. Workmen of every trade, with their various tools, 
 and men of science with their philosophical instruments, and 
 crucibles for refining gold, were in attendance. Tons of iron 
 and steel, much other metal, various merchandize, and pro- 
 visions to last two years, were provided by the munificence 
 of the commander and his followers. A large drove of hogs, 
 which strangely multiplied upon the route, together with cat- 
 tle and mules, were also attached to the expedition. The 
 
 1 A history of the expedition of Narvaez, in miiny respects like that of De Soto, 
 will be foiuid in Barcia, vol. 1, fulio edition, Madrid 1149, entitled " Navfragios de 
 Alvar Nunez Cabzea de vaoa, Y Relacion de la Jornada que hizo a la P^lorida, 
 Con el Adelentado Panfilo de Navaez." See also, Herrera's History of America, 
 vol. 4, pp. 27-38 ; vol. 5, pp. 91-105— London, 1740. 
 
 2 Portuguese Narrative, pp. 702-704. Garcellasso, pp 45-64. 
 
DE SOTO S INVASION OF ALABAMA. 7 
 
 establishment of the catholic religion appeared to have been 
 one of its objects. Associated with the army were twelve 
 priests, eight clergymen of inferior rank, and four monks, 
 most of them relatives of the superior ofiicers, with their 
 robes, holy relics, and sacramental bread and wine. Never 
 was an expedition more complete, owing to the experience 
 of De Soto, who, upon the plains of Pern, rode down hun- 
 dreds in his powerful charges, pouring out streams of savage 
 blood with his sweeping sword. Confined to the history of 
 a single State, it is not within our scope to detail the bloody 
 engagements which attended the wanderings of De Soto in 
 the forests of the now State of Florida. Everywhere, but 
 chiefly in narrow defiles, the natives showered upon the in- 
 vaders clouds of arrows and dreadful missiles. Populous iti 
 numbers, and revengeful at the wanton cruelty of Narvaez, 
 they had determined to fight De Soto until his army was 
 captured or driven from the soil. No where in Florida did 
 he find peace. His gallant troops, however, were successful. 
 The Indians were often put to flight, and as often captured, 
 Avere laden with chains, and the baggage of the expedition 
 unfeelingly thrown upon their backs. At the camp they 
 were made to pound corn and perform the most servile 
 
 drudgery. 
 
 Cutting his way from Tampa Bay, De Soto arrived at An- 
 aica Apalache, in the neighborhood of Tallahassee, the 27th 
 October, 1539. Then, as it is yet, a fertile region, he drew 
 from this town and those which surround it breadstufFs to last 
 him duri)ig the winter. The sea, only thirty miles distant, was 
 explored by a detachment, and near the modern St. Marks 
 the bones of horses, hewn timbers, and other evidences of 
 Narvaez were traced, indicating that to be the place from 
 which he launched his boats for Havana. During the win- 
 ter, all the detachments were attacked by the Indians in their 
 various expeditions, and the main camp at Apalache was 
 harassed in the fiercest manner day and night. Captain 
 Francisco Maldinado returned in February, having been sent 
 in search of a good port, and reported that he had discovered 
 the Bay of Ochus — now Pensacola — with a deep channel, 
 protected from the winds on all sides, and distant from Apa- 
 lache one hundred and eighty miles to the west. Delighted at 
 
8 DE SOTO S INVASION OF ALABAiMA. 
 
 this good news, which enabled De Soto to make a wide cir- 
 cuit in the interior, he ordered Maldinado to put to sea in the 
 brigantines then lying in the Apalache Bay ; to sail for Ha- 
 vana and return from thence with a fleet freighted with sup- 
 plies to Ochus, where the expedition would join him in 
 October.^ 
 
 Learning from an Indian slave that a country to the north- 
 east abounded in gold, De Soto set out in that direction on 
 the 3d of March, 1540. He entered the -territory of Georgia 
 at the south-western border, crossed the 01:mulgee, Oconee 
 •and Ogechee, and marched upon the banks of the Savannah. 
 The Georgia Indians, whom no preceding exploring expedi- 
 tion had molested, treated the Spaniards with kindness and 
 warm hospitality. At Cutifachique, where the expedition 
 had arrived, were seen a people richer, better dressed and 
 more amicable than any upon the march. The Indians in 
 Georgia and Florida at this early period lived in the same 
 fashioned houses. Upon the coast they were built of wood, 
 thatched with straw and covered with palm leaves. Fui- 
 ther in the interior they were covered with reeds in the man- 
 ner of tiles. In many of the towns the chiefs lived upon high 
 artificial mounds, generally erected in the bottom lands. 
 The tops of these mounds contained from ten to twenty 
 houses, occupied by the chief, his family and attendants. 
 They were steep and inaccessible all round, except on one 
 side, where steps were cut, flanked with poles driven close 
 together and others laid horizontally, forming a kind of 
 wooden stair-vi'ay about fifteen feet wide, leading up to the 
 houses. Below, in the plain, was usually a public square, 
 around which lived the chief men, while the common people 
 placed their wigwams as near the mound as possible. These 
 towns presented a romantic and singular appearance, sus- 
 taining the royal family far above the humbler dwellings of 
 the masses. Their houses for winter were daubed with clay, 
 entered by a low and small door, while a hole in the roof let 
 out the smoke. Others for summer sat upon posts and were 
 open at the sides. The barns in which they stored their corn 
 were made of wood, with floors of cane hurdles. The whole 
 
 1 Portuguese Narrative, pp. 709-710. Garcellusso, pp. 211-214. 
 
DE SOTO S INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 country was divided into provinces of great extent, and each 
 ruled by a supreme lord, with many sub-chiefs. In every 
 large town was a temple, situated in some lone spot in the 
 outskirts, in which were deposited the dead, contained in 
 small wooden boxes, the loose lids of which Avere kept 
 down by weights. These charnel houses were watched 
 day and night by vigilant keepers. Many of them contained 
 valuable property belonging to the dead ; and from the one 
 at Cutifachique upon the Savannah, De Soto took three 
 hundred and ninety-two pounds of pearls, at the request of 
 the princess who ruled that country. The dress of the females 
 consisted of a mantle thrown over the shoulders, Math one 
 arm exposed, while another mantle encircled the body, They 
 were made of the inner bai'k of trees and a species of flax. 
 The men were appareled with these mantles thrown over 
 the shoulder, and deer skin flaps completed their costume. 
 Some of the better classes wore moccasins and leggings of 
 the same. Their war implements consisted of clubs and 
 bows, with quivers containing terrible arrows, pointed with 
 flints. About Apalache they scalped those whom they slew, 
 with some kind of sharp instrument. In color, form, and 
 general habits they were precisely like the Indians of our 
 day, but far more numerous.^ 
 
 De Soto left Cutifachique, upon the Savannah, the 3d of 
 May 1540, and pursuing a northern direction arrived at the 
 town Xualla, probably in Habersham county. He had now 
 reached the Cherokee country, whither he had been led in 
 search of gold. Marching immediately west from Xualla, 
 and crossing the territory of northern Georgia, the expedition 
 struck the head waters of the Coosa, and came upon the 
 town of Gauxule, containing three hundred houses, situated 
 between several streams, which had their soui-ces in the sur- 
 rounding mountains. The chief met D.e Soto with five hun- 
 dred warriors, appareled in light costume, after the fashion 
 of the country, and conducted him to his own house, surren- 
 dered at the instance of his wife, and which stood upon a 
 mound, surrounded by a terrace wide enough for six men to 
 promenade abreast.- Having but little corn for the famished 
 
 1 Portuguese Narrative, p. 7 1 1 . Garcellasso, pp. 136-13T. 2 Garcellasso, p. 294 . 
 
10 DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 troops, the natives collrcted and gave them three hundred 
 dogs, which the Spaniards had been accustomed to eat in the 
 pine barrens of lower Georgia, "esteeming them as though 
 they had been fat wethers."^ Gaining much information 
 about the country in converrjations with the chief, conducted 
 by the interpreter, Jean Ortiz, after the fourth day's sojourn at 
 Gauxule, the governor marched to the town of Conasauga, ia 
 the present county of Murray, Georgia. Twenty-two of these 
 hospitable Indians met him on the route with baskets of 
 mulberries. The country abounded with that fruit, together 
 with nuts and plums, which grew luxuriantly in the fields." 
 Crossing the Conasauga creek and journeying down the 
 western banks, the Spaniards found it, to increase in size, 
 and being joined by other streams grew "larger than the 
 Guadalquiver, which passes by Seville."^ This was the Oos- 
 tanaula, and following its western side, after a march of 
 five days, De Soto advanced within seven miles of Chiaha, 
 where he w^as met by fifteen Indians laden with corn, with 
 a message from the chief inviting him to hasten to his capi- 
 tal, where abundant supplies awaited him. Soon the eager 
 Spaniards stood before the town, which is the site of the 
 modern Rome. 
 
 According to both journals of the expedition of De Soto, 
 the Indian town of Ciiiaha stood upon an island. In the 
 language of the Portuguese Gentleman it was situated "be- 
 tween two arms of a river, and was seated nigh one of them. 
 The river divideth itself two cross-bow shot above the town, 
 and meeteth again a league beneath the same. The plain 
 between the branches is sometimes one cross-bow shot, and 
 sometimes two cross-bow shot over.'"^ The direction of the 
 march from Conasauga, the time occupied and the descrip- 
 tion of the country, afford conclusive proof that De Soto had 
 now reached the confluence of the Oostanaula and Etowah, 
 which make the Coosa. Having advanced down the west- 
 ern side of the former, the authors supposed the peninsula 
 to be an island. On the 5lh of June 1540 the Governor 
 crossed over to Chiaha, in canoes and upon rafts prepared by 
 
 1 Portuguese Narrative, p. 112. 3 Garcellasso, p. 295. 
 
 2 Portuguese Narrative, p. 717. 4 Portuguese Narrative, p. 717. 
 
DE SOTO S IXVASIOX OF ALABAMA. i 
 
 the Indians.^ The noble young Chief received De Soto wil 
 unaffected joy, and made him the following address : 
 
 Mighty Chief: nothing could have made me so happy as ( 
 be the means of serving you and your warriors. You sent m 
 word from Gauxule to have corn collected to last your arm; 
 two months. Here I have twenty barns full of the bes 
 which the country can afford. If I have not met your wishes 
 respect my tender age, and receive my good will to do for 
 you whatever I am able.- The Governor responded in a kind 
 manner, and was then conducted to the Chief's own house, 
 prepared for his accommodation. 
 
 Chiaha contained a great quantity of bear's oil in gourds, 
 and walnut oil as clear as butter and equally palatable ; and 
 for the only time upon the entire route were seen pots of 
 honey. The Spaniards, irregularly quartered in the fields* 
 and scattered about at their will, reposed under trees and 
 loitered upon the banks of the rivers. The horses, reduced in 
 flesh and unfit for battle, grazed upon the meadows. Unac- 
 customed to allow such loose discipline, De Soto now winked 
 at it, for the natives were friendhs and every soul in the camp 
 needed repose. One day, the Chief presented the Governor 
 with a string of peals, two yards in length and as large as 
 filberds, for which he received in return pieces of velvet and 
 other cloth much esteemed by the Indians. He said that the 
 temple of this town where the remains of his ancestors were 
 deposited, contained a vast quantity of these valuables. He 
 invited his distinguished guest to take from it as many as he 
 desired. But the latter declined, remarking, that he wished 
 to appropriate nothing to himself from so sacred a place. 
 The Chief, to gratify him in regard to the manner of obtain- 
 ing these peals, imtnediately dispatched some of his subjects 
 in four canoes with instructions to fish all night for the oys- 
 ters which contained them. In the morning he caused a fire 
 to be made upon the bank. The canoes returned laden, and 
 the natives throwing the oysters upon the glowing coals suc- 
 ceeded in finding many pearls the size of peas, which De 
 Soto pronounced beautiiul, but for the fire which had robbed 
 them of some of their brilliancy. A soldier in eating some 
 
 1 Garcellasso, p. 295. 2 Tortuguese Narrative, p. 117. 
 
12 DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 of the oysters, or rather muscles, found one of great size un- 
 injured, and offered it to the Conrimander for Donna Isabel. 
 He declined the kindness intended his wife, and urged the 
 generous fellow to keep it to buy horses at Havana. Con- 
 noiseurs in camp valued it at four hundred ducats.' While 
 here, a cavalier named Louis Bravo de Xeres, walking one 
 day upon the bank of the river, threw his lance at a dog 
 which suddenly disappeared under the bluff. Coming up to 
 recover his weapon, he found to his horror that it had pierced 
 the temple of Jean Mateosand killed him. The poor man was 
 quietly fishing on ihe margin of the stream, and little sus- 
 pecting that death was at hand. The accident caused deep 
 regret in the camp, the deceased being much esteemed, and 
 having the only gray head in the army, was called, by way 
 of pleasantry, Father Mateos.'-^ 
 
 About this time a principal Indian from Costa, a town be- 
 low, informed De Soto that in the mountains to the north, 
 at a place called Chisca were mines of copper, and of a yel- 
 low metal still liner and softer. Having seen upon the Sa- 
 vannah, copper hatchets, supposed to be mixed with gold, 
 his attention was deeply aroused upon the subject. Villabos 
 and Silvera, two fearless soldiers, volunteered to explore that 
 region. Furnished with guides by the Chief of Chiaha, they 
 departed upon their perilous journey. 
 
 The Spaniards had basked upon the delightful spot where 
 now stands the town of Rome, for the space of thirty days. 
 The horses had recruited and the troops had grown vigorous 
 and ready for desperate deeds. De Soto demanded of the 
 hospitable Chief, through the persuasion of some of his un- 
 principled officers, a number of females to accompany them 
 in their wanderings. That night the inhabitants quietly left 
 
 1 Garcellasso, p. 297. The Oyster mentioned was the muscle to be found in all 
 the rivers of Alabama. Heaps of muscle shells are now to be seen on our river 
 banks wherever Indians used to live. They were much used by the ancient 
 Indians for some purpose, and old warriors have informed me that their ancestors 
 once used the shells to temper the clay with wliich they made their vessels. 
 ]?ut as thousands of tlie shells lie banked up, some deep in the j^round, we mav 
 also suppose that the Indians in De Soto's time, every wiierc in Ahibama, obtained 
 pearls from them. There can be no doubt about tlie quantit}' of pearls found in 
 tliis State and Georgia, in 1540, but they were of a coarser and more valueless 
 kind than the Spaniards supposed. The Indians used to perforate tliem with a 
 lieated copper spindle, and string them around their necks and arms like beads— 
 uthers made toy babies and birds of them. 
 
 2 Garcellasso, p. 298. 
 
DE SOTO S INVASrOX OF ALABAMA. 13 
 
 the town and hid themselves in the bordering fores! s. The 
 Chief entreated the Governor not to hold him responsible for 
 their conduct, for during his minority an arbitrary uncle ruled 
 them with a despotic will. With sixty troopers De Soto 
 ravaged the surrounding country, and. provoked at not find- 
 ing the fugitives, laid waste their flourishing fitdds of corn. 
 When afterwards informed that men only would be required 
 to bear the baggage, the Indians returned to Chiaha, appolo- 
 gised for their flight and yielded to the last proposition.^ De 
 Soto then broke up his camp, re-crossed the Oostanaula, and 
 marched down the west side of the Coosa, leaving the gene- 
 rous people of Chiaha well satisfied with presents. On the 
 2d July, and after seven days slow march, he entered the 
 town of Costa.- The Spaniards were now in Alabama, in 
 the territory embraced in the couni}' of Cherokee, and by the 
 side of the Coosa, one of our noblest streams. Never before 
 had our soil been tread by European feet ! Never before 
 had our natives beheld white faces, long beards, strange ap- 
 parel, glittering armor, and, stranger than all, the singular 
 animals bestrode bj' the dashing cavaliers! De Solo had 
 discovered Alabama, not by sea, but after dangerous and dif- 
 ficult marches had penetrated her north-eastern border with 
 a splendid and' well-equipped land expedition! The Atlan- 
 tic States were quietly discovered by voyngers entering their 
 harbors. Alabama was marched upon by an army, whose 
 soldiers sickened with famine upon the barrens of Georgia, 
 and left tracks of blood upon the soil of Florida! 
 
 Commanding his camp to be pitched two cross-bow shots 
 from the town, De Soto, with eight men of his guard, ap- 
 proached the Chief of Costa, who received him with appar- 
 ent friendship. While conversing together, some unscrupu- 
 lous footmen entered the town and plundered several of the 
 houses. The justly incensed Indians fell upon them with 
 their clubs. Seeing himself surrounded by the natives and 
 in groat personal danger, the Governor seized a cudgel, .and, 
 with his usual presence of" mind, commenced beating his own 
 men. The savages observing that he took iheir part, became 
 pacified for a moment. In the mean time taking the Chief 
 
 1 Portuguese Narrative, pp. 718-719. 2 Portuguese Narrative, pp. 718-719. 
 
14 DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 by the hand, he led him with flattering words towards the 
 camp, where he was presently surrounded by a guard and 
 held as a hostage.^ The Spaniards remained under arms all 
 night. Fifteen hundred Indians, armed complete, often made 
 dispositions to charge upon them, vociferating angry and in- 
 sulting language. Averse to war since he was sj repeated- 
 ly attacked by the Floridians, De Soto restrained his anxious 
 troops. His coolness, together with the influence of a promi- 
 nent Indian who followed him from Chiaha, put an end to 
 the serious affair.- Three days after this Yillabos and Silve- 
 ra returned from Chisca. They passed into the mountains, 
 found no gold, but a country abounding with lofty hills and 
 stupendous rocks. Dispirited, they returned to a poor 
 town where the inhabitants gave them a buffalo robe, which 
 they supposed once covered a tremendous animal, partaking 
 of the qualities of the ox and the sheep.^ According to Gar- 
 cellasso, the mines which they reached w-ere of a highly col- 
 ored copper, and were doubtless situated in the territorv of 
 the county of DeKalb. The sick, who were placed in canoes 
 at Chiaha, had by this time arrived down the river. Fur- 
 nished with burthen carriers by the Chief, who was to the 
 last hour held a prisoner, the Governor left Costa on the 
 0th of July 1540, and crossed over to the east side of the Coosa, 
 upon rafts and canoes. Jt-'roceeding down its eastern bank, 
 he encamped the first night at the townof Talie. The Chief 
 came forth to receive him, and in a formal speech begged 
 him to command his services. Here 'he Spaniards remained 
 two days, sharing the hospitality of the natives. Upon their 
 departure they were supplied with two women and ibur 
 men. Indeed De Soto brought from the forests of Florida 
 over five hundred unhappy men and women, secured with 
 chains, driven ly keepers, and made to transport the effects 
 of the expedition. When any of them became sick, died or 
 escaped, it was his policy to supply their places at the first 
 town upon which he marched. He always, how^ever, dis- 
 tributed among the principal Indians presents, which were 
 gratifying to them, and left at many of the towns pairs of 
 
 IPortuguese Narrative, pp. '(18-719. 2 Garcillasso, p. 300, 
 S Portuguese Narrative, p. 7li). 
 
DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 15 
 
 swine to stock the country. The expedition now began to 
 enter the far-famed province of Coosa, the beauty and fertility 
 of which were known to all the Indians even upon the sea- 
 side. Garcellasso asserts that it extended three hundred 
 miles, and both the authors agree that it reached over a ter- 
 ritory now embraced in the counties of Cherokee, Benton, 
 Talladega and Coosa. Continuing through the rich lands of 
 Benton, the expedition passed many towns subject to the 
 Chief of Coosa. Every day they met ambassadors, " one 
 going and another coming," by which De Soto was assured 
 of a hearty welcome at the capital.^ With joylul faces the 
 Indians rushed to his lines eveiy mile upon the route, fur- 
 nishing supplies and assisting the troops from one town to 
 another. The same generous reception attended him upon 
 entering the soil of the county of Talladega. The hospitali- 
 ty of the Coosas surpassed that of any people whom he had 
 yet discovered. The trail was lined with towns, villages 
 and hamlets, and " many sown fields which reached from 
 one to the other."- With a delightful climate, and abounding 
 v/ith fine meadows and beautiful little rivers, this region 
 was charming to the eyes of De Soto and his followers. 
 The numerous barns were full of corn, while acres of that 
 which was growing bent to the wa.rm rays of the sun and 
 rustled in the breeze. In the plains were plum trees pecu- 
 liar to the country, and others resembling those of Spain. 
 Wild fruit clambered to the tops of the loftiest trees, and 
 lower branches were laden with delicious Isabella grapes. 
 On the 26th of July 1510, the army came in sight of the 
 town of Coosa. Far in the outskirts, De Soto was met by 
 the Chief, seated upon a cushion, and riding in a chair sup- 
 ported upon the shoulders of four of his chief men. One 
 thousand warriors, tall, active, sprightly and admirably pro- 
 portioned, wath large plumes of various colors in their heads, 
 followed him, marching in regular order. His dress con- 
 sisted of a splendid mantle of Martin skins, thrown grace- 
 fully over his shoulder, while his head was adorned with a 
 diadem of brilliant feathers. Around him many Indians raised 
 their voices in song, and others made music upon flutes.^ 
 
 1 Portuguse Narrative, p, 719. 2 Portuguese Narrative p. 719 3 Garcellasso, 300. 
 
16 DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 The steel-clad warriors of Spain, with their glitering armor, 
 scarcely equaled the magnilicent disphiy made by these na- 
 tives of Alabama. The Chief, receiving De Soto with the 
 warmth of a generous heart, made him the following speech : 
 
 Mighty Chief! above all others of the earth! Although I 
 come now to receive you, yet I received you many days ago 
 deep in my heart. If I had the whole world it would not give 
 me as much pleasure as I now enjoy at the presence of your- 
 self and your incomparable warriors. My person, lands and 
 subjects are at your service. I will now march you to your 
 quarters with playing and singing.^ 
 
 De Soto responded in his best style, after which he ad- 
 vanced to the town, conversing with the Chief, who rode in 
 his sedan chair, while the lofty Spaniard sat upon his fiery- 
 steed. The royal house was set apart for the accommoda- 
 tion of the Adalantado and one half of the other houses were 
 surrendered to the troops. The town of Coosa was situated 
 upon the east bank of the river of that name, between the 
 mouths of the two creeks, now known as Talladega and 
 Tallasehatchee, one of which is sometimes called Kiamul- 
 gee.- It contained five hundred houses, and was the capital 
 of this rich and extensive province. 
 
 The Chief of Coosa was twenty-six years of age, well- 
 formed, intelligent, with a face beautifully expressive, and 
 a heart honest and generous. He always dined with De Soto. 
 One day he rose from the table and in an earnest manner 
 besought the Governor to select a region any where in his 
 
 1 Portuguese F.i::ai;ive, } p. 'i'Ll'-'l,.^. 
 
 2 In 1798, Col. Benjamin Hawkins, then Creelc as^en*, visited the Coosa toTvn, 
 now embraced in the county of Talladef^a. He accurately describes the inhabi- 
 tants and the location of the t^vvn, which he says was situated on the bank 
 of the Coosa, between the mouths of two creeks, tlie Indian names of which 
 trere Natche and Ufaula. When flie French expelled the Natchez from the 
 Mississippi in 1730, some of that tribe sought refuge among the Talladegas — 
 hence the name of one of these creeks in Hnwkiiis' day. When the Ameri- 
 cans in 18S2 began to settle this country, they changed the name of these 
 creeks to Talladega, or Kiamulgee, and Tallasahatchee. In adihticn to tlie testi- 
 mony of Col. Hawkins, many old Indian countrymen have informed me that here 
 was the site of the Coosa town, which was known by that name iv. their early 
 days. Several ancient French and Spanish maps, in my possesKiou, lay down the 
 town of Coosa at the place described. 
 
 See Hawkins' sketch of the Creek Country in 1798-1799, published by the 
 historical society of Georgia, Savannah 1848. I return my sincere thanks to Mr. 
 T. K. Tefft, of Savannah, an intelligent member of that society, for sen<ling me a 
 copy of Hawkins, together with many other acts of disinterested kindness. 
 
DE SOTOS INVASION OF ALABAMA. 17 
 
 dominions, and immediately establish upon it a large Spanish 
 colony. De Soto had contemplated peopling some beautiful 
 country, and was better pleased with this section than any 
 other, but his imagination still poinied him to some gold re- 
 gion ]ike Peru. He returned the Chief his profound thanks, 
 adduced many reasons for declining the liberal ofler, among 
 others, that Maidinado's ships would await him at the bay 
 ofPensacola. Yet in the face of all this kindness, the po- 
 litic and suspicious De Soto kept the Chief about his person, 
 as a hostage, to preserve peace among the Indians, arid to 
 extort slaves and provisions. Enraged at the imprisonment 
 of their Chief, the Indians fled to the woods to prepare for 
 war. Four captains with their companies were dispatched 
 in different directions, in persuit. and returned with many 
 women and men in chains. Some of the principal of these 
 were released at the entreaty of the Chief, while others were 
 carried off upon the expedition, laden with irons and bag- 
 gage, and those who were not destroyed at the battle of 
 Maubila. were conducted far beyond the Mi-sissippi river.^ 
 The Indians returned from the forest, and remained at 
 peace with tlie Spaniards, but were still dissatisfied at the 
 restrictions imposed upon the liberties of their Chief. After 
 twenty-five days had been passed at the capital of Coosa, 
 De Soto marched in the direction of the Tallapoosa, leaving 
 behind a christian negro, too sick to travel, whom the Indians 
 desired to retain among th^m on account of his singular hair 
 and suble coujplexion. He recovered, and was doubtless 
 the distant ancestor of the dark-colored savages seen in that 
 region in more modern times.^ The first day the army 
 passed through the large town of Tallemuchasa, within a 
 few hours after it had been abandoned by its inhabitants. 
 
 1 Portuguese Narrative, p. 120. 
 
 2 The iieii;ro left at Coosa was not the only memorial of De Soto that re-, 
 mained witii tiiese people. George Stiggins, whot^e mother was a Natciiez Indian, 
 and whose fatlier was a Scotcliman, was born in the Talladega coumry. He 
 was a fair Euglisli scholar, and a pretty good writer. He liad been for yeans 
 engaged in writing a history of the Greeks, and died some years ago, leaving it 
 in an unfinished state. His son permitted me to peruse it one day. Stiggins as- 
 serts that the Talladegas had, at a late day, a brass kettle-drum and several shields 
 which once belonged to the army of De Soto, and tliat he had often seen them. 
 The Coosas used them as trophies in their annual festivals. Besiiies these, De 
 Soto left hogs and sometimes cattle, a mong the Alabama towns, and such is the 
 origin of these animals among the Indians. Horses and mules were loo valuable 
 to be giveu away. 
 
 2 
 
18 DE SOTo'h invasion of ALABAMy\. 
 
 The next day the town of Utau.a was reached, where De 
 Soto encamped six days, awaiiing the abatement of the 
 stream which ran by it, now violenlly swollen by incessant 
 rains. As the expedition had not crossed any stieam since 
 leaving Coosa, it is probable the one alluded to was the 
 modern Tallasahatcha. The march was continued to UI- 
 lebahale, situated upon Hatchet creek, which was called a 
 "small river." The town was surrounded by a wall com- 
 posed of tw'o rows of posts driven deep in the ground, with 
 poles laid horizontally between them, the. inner and outside 
 of the frame work neatly sluccofd with clay and straw. 
 Port-holes were left at proper distances, forming a defence 
 '* as high as a lance." Such was the character of the Indian 
 fortifications from this place onward. In consequence of 
 the duress of Coosa, whom De Soto carried along with him, 
 but treate;! with respect and kindness, the Indians of Ulle- 
 bahale were in arms. Before the Spaniards entered the 
 suburbs, twelve principal men, arnjed with bows, with lofty 
 plumes upon their heads, advanced and volunteered to 
 rescue their beloved Chief by arraying a formidable force ; 
 but he dissuaded them from it. On the opposite side of the 
 creek lived a sub-Chief, who furnished De Soto with thirty 
 women for slaves, and to carry burthens. Then the Ada- 
 lantado pursued his wanderings, leaving behind Mansano, a 
 native of Salamanca, of noble parentage, who was lost 
 while rambling in the hills for grapes, which were in great 
 abundance. The route lay along the modern Socapatoy 
 region, in the county of Coosa. The expedition passed the 
 town of Toase and several others subject to the chief of 
 Tallise, and arrived at the great town of that name on the 
 18th September, 1,540. 
 
 Tallise was an extensive town, the principal part of which 
 was encompassed by a wall, similar tt) that just described, 
 with the addition of terraces. It reposed upon a point of 
 land "almost surrounded by a main river," which was the 
 Tallapoosa.^ Extensive fields of corn reached up and down 
 
 I Same years after De Suto passed through this country, the Muscogees or 
 Creeks came from the Mexicin Empire, of which ihey were subjects, ami overrun 
 ail East Alaljama ami the greater portion of Georgia, killing and making slaved 
 of many of ihe Alabamas, Okmulgees, Ocouees and Uchees, the latter of whom 
 then lived near '.he modciu city of Savaimah. Upon the ruins of the Tallise 
 
DB SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 19 
 
 the banks. On the opposite side were other towns, skirted 
 with rich fields laden with heavy ears of maize. The beau- 
 tiful river, gliding its silvery waters through these fertile 
 lands, and ihe delightful climate, contributed to render the 
 whole prospect most pleasing. But the reception of De 
 Soto among these people was cool and scarcely civil. Some 
 had abandoned their houses at his approach and gone into 
 the woods. However, the Chief gave him forty Indians. 
 After a few days, a noble looking young savage, of gigantic 
 proportions, and with a face extremely handsome and inter- 
 esting, visited the marquee. He was the son of Tuscaloosa, 
 a potent Chief, whose domains commenced thirty miles 
 below, and extended to the distant Tombeckbe. He bore 
 an invitation from his father to De Soto to hasten to his 
 capital, where he was making preparations to receive him 
 upon a magnificent scale, and that he then awaited him 
 upon the eastern confines of his territory. The son was 
 dispatched with a suitable reply, and presents for the faither. 
 Having remained at Tallise twenty days, De Soito dis- 
 missed the Chief of Coosa,, with whom he parted upon good 
 terms, ciossed the Tallaj>oos-a in canoes and upon rafts, 
 marched down the eastern side, and encamped the first 
 night at Casista, pr€>bably the site of the modern Autose. 
 Delayed ita pass-ing the river, he could not have advanced 
 further that day» bi tlie morn.ing the march was resumed. 
 During this day a large town was disce-vered,. and at night 
 the camp was pitched upon the borders of another. The 
 next day, advancing within six miles of the temporary resi- 
 dence ol Tuscaloosa, a halt was made in the woods. Louis 
 de Moscoso, the camp-master, with fifteen horsemen, was dis- 
 patched to inform the Chief of the proximity of the Governor. 
 Moscoso found the proud Mobilian seated upon two cush- 
 ions placed on a large and elegant matting, upon an eminence 
 which commanded a delightful prospect. His numerous 
 attendants posted themselves around him, leaving space for 
 the nearer position of his chief men. One of these held over 
 hia head a round deer-skin shield, with a staff in the middle, 
 
 di^ovwLii by De Soto, the Mut^cogees t)uilt the town of Tookabatcha, but im- 
 mediately oppotiitc, across the river, the name of Tallise was preserved until they 
 moved to Arkansas in 1836. This ancieut and extensive Indian settlement is 
 DOW in large cotton plantaticins. 
 
20 DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 resemblfng an umbrella. Painted with stripes of different 
 colors, it was used as a banner in his wars, but was em- 
 ployed at present in protecting his head from the rays of the 
 sun. Tuscaloosa was forty years of age, of great stature, 
 with immense limbs. He was spare around the waist, and 
 his whole form admirably proportioned. His countenance 
 was handsome, but grave and severe. "He was lord of 
 many territories and much people, and was feared by his 
 neighbors and subjects." In vain did Moscoso endeavor to 
 excite his curiosity, by prancing his horses before him. 
 Sometimes he scarcely deigned to raise his eyes, and then 
 again he bestowed upon the troopers the most contemptuous 
 smiles. Even when De Soto arrived, he preserved the same 
 haughty demeanor; but in consideration of his position as 
 Commander-in-Chief, he reluctantly advunced, and made 
 the following address: 
 
 Mighfy Chief: I bid you welcome. I greet you as I would 
 my brother. It is needless to talk long. What I have to 
 say can be said in a few words. You shall know how wil- 
 ling I am to serve you. I am thankful for the things which 
 you have sent me, chiefly because they were yours. I am 
 now ready to comply with your desires. 
 
 The Governor replied in true Spanish style, failing not to 
 assure the Chief that even in distant Indian countries through 
 which he passed, he had heard of his greatness and power. 
 This interesting scene occurred below Line Creek, in 
 the present county of Montgomery. Both journalists agree 
 that De Soto had advanced thirty-six miles below lallise. 
 Reposing at this town the space of two days, pre- 
 parations were made to advance. An officer Mas sent 
 among the horses to find one large enough to uss- 
 tain the giant Indian. A large pack horse, the property 
 of the Governor, was selected. Appareled in a rich suit 
 of scarlet, and cap of the same, given to him by De Soto, 
 the Chieftain, who was a head taller than any of his at- 
 tendants, mounted upon his horse, with his feet nearly 
 trailing on the ground. Onward the lofty and graceful Mobi- 
 Jian rode, side by side with the Governor. Marching through 
 the territory embraced in the now counties of Montgomery, 
 Lt;wndes and the south-eastern part of Dallas, the expedi- 
 
DB SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 21 
 
 tion arrived at a town called Piache, seated on a peninsula 
 formed by the Mendings of a large river, "the same which 
 runs by Tallise, but here grown much wider and deeper."^ 
 This was the Alabama. On the march hither, a distressing 
 disease broke out among the Spaniards for the v.ant of salt. 
 The death of several, together with the loathsome condition 
 of the sufferers, spread alarm in the camp. Those who 
 afterwards used ashes with their food from a weed recom- 
 mended by the Indians, escaped the dreadful malady .'^ 
 
 The town of Piache was strongly fortified. Its name is 
 probably preserved in a large creek which flows into the 
 Alabama on the northern side, called Chilache. The Indians 
 having no canoes, soon constructed rafts of dry logs and 
 cane, upon which the troops were wafted to the northern or 
 western side of the Alabama, according to the conviction of 
 the writer, in the upper p art of the county of Wilcox. 
 
 The expedition assumed a southern direction, and marched 
 down the western side of the Alabama, over the soil of the 
 present county of Wilcox. De Soto began to read the 
 Mobilian chief. He was still proud, distant, and evidently 
 felt that he was a prisoner. Upon the whole route he had 
 been studiously engaged in consulting with his principal 
 men, and in constantly sending runners to the capital with 
 messages. De Soto suspected that he meditated schemes 
 which aimed at the destruction of the Spaniards. His 
 suspicions were further awakened when Villabos and 
 another cavalier were believed to have been killed by his 
 subjects. When asked about them, Tuscaloosa indignantly 
 replied, " I am not their keeper." High words ensued 
 between him and De Soto; but the latter restrained himself 
 until an opportunity offered of taking deep revenge for 
 his insolence and the death of the two Spaniards. On 
 the third day of the march from Piache they passed through 
 many populous towns, well stored with corn, beans, pump- 
 kins, and other provisions. In tSie meantpme, Charamilla 
 and Vasques, two able and discreet cavaliers, were dis- 
 patched in advance to discover if any conspiracy was going 
 on at the capital. Before daylight, on the fourth morn- 
 
 1 Garcellasso, p. 310. Portugocse Narjutive, p. 7 22.. 
 
 2 Garcellasso, pp. sm-TiO. 
 
22 DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 ing, De Soto placed himself at the head of one hundred 
 horse, and an equal number of foot and marched rapidly in 
 that direction with the chief, leaving Moscoso, the camp- 
 master, to bring up the larger portion of the troops. At 
 eight o'clock the same morning, the 18th October, 1540, 
 De Soto and Tuscaloosa arrived at the capital, called Mau- 
 bila. It stood by the side of a lar^e river, upon a beautiful 
 plain, and consisted of eighty handsome houses, each capa- 
 cious enough to contain a thousand men. They all fronted 
 a large public square. They were encompassed by a high 
 wall, made of immense trunks of trees, set deep in the 
 ground, and close together, strengthened with cross-timbers, 
 and interwoven with large vines. A thick mud plaster, 
 resembling handsome masonry, concealed the wood work, 
 while port-holes were abundant, together with towers, capa- 
 ble of containing eight men each, at the distance of fifty 
 paces apart. An eastern and a western gate opened into 
 the town. The writer is satisfied that Maubila w'as upon 
 the north bank of the Alabama, and at; a place now called 
 Choctaw Bluff, in the county of Clarke, about twentj^-five 
 miles above the confluence of the Alabama and Tombeckbe. 
 The march from Pi ache, the time occupied, the distance from 
 Maubila to the Bay of Pensacola — computed by Garcellasso 
 and the Portuguse Gentleman at eighty-five miles — and the 
 representations of aged Indians and Indian countrymen, that 
 here v^'as fought the great battle between De Soto and the 
 brave Mobilians, have forcibly contributed to make that 
 impression upon his mind. 
 
 De Soto and Tuscaloosa were ushered into the great pub- 
 lic square of Maubila with songs, music upon Indian flutes, 
 and the graceful dancing of beautiful brown girls. They 
 alighted from their chargers, and seated themselves under a 
 •• canopy of estate." Remaining here a short time, the Chief 
 requested that he should no longer be held as a hostage, nor 
 required to follow the army any further. The Adalantado 
 hesitated in reply, which brought Tuscaloosa immediately 
 to his feet, who walked off with a lofty and independent 
 bearing, and entered one of the houses. De Soto had scarce- 
 ly recovered from his surprise, when Jean Ortiz folloM'ed 
 the Chief, and announced that breakfast awaited him at (he 
 
DE SOTo's INVASION OP ALABAMA. 23 
 
 Governor's table. Tuscaloosa refused to return, and added, 
 "If your Chief knows what is best for him, he will im.Tie- 
 diately take his troops out of my territory." In the meantime, 
 Charamilla, one of the spies, informed the Governor that he 
 liad discovered over ten thousand men in the houses, the 
 subjects of Tuscaloosa and other neighboring Chiefs ; that 
 other houses were filled with bows, arrows, stones and clubs; 
 that the old women and children had been sent out of town, 
 and the Indians were at that moment debating the most 
 suitable hour to capture the Spaniards. The General re- 
 ceived this startling intelligence with the deepest solicitude. 
 He secretly sent word to his men to be ready for an attack. 
 Then, anxious to avert a rupture, by regaining possession of 
 the person of the Chief, he approached him with smiles and 
 kind words, bur. Tuscaloosa scornfully turned his back upon 
 him, and was soon lost among the host of excited warriors. 
 At that moment, a principal Indian rushed out of the same 
 house, and loudly denounced the Spaniards as robbers, 
 THIEVES and assassins, who should no longer impose upon 
 their great Chief, by depriving him of a liberty with 
 which he was born and his fathers before him. His inso- 
 lence, and the motions which he made to shoot at a squad 
 of Spaniards with a drawn bow, so incensed Baltasar dc 
 Gallegos, that with a powerful sweep of his sword, he split 
 down his body and let out his bowels! Like bees in a 
 swarm, the savages now poured out upon the Spaniards. 
 De Soto placed himself at the head of his men, and fought 
 face to face with the enemy, retreating slowly and passing 
 ihe gate into the plain. His cavalry had rushed to rescue 
 their horses, tied outside the walls, some of which the 
 Indians came upon in time to kill. Still receding to get out 
 of the reach of the enemy, De Soto at length paused at a 
 considerable distance upon the plain. The Mobilians seized 
 the Indian slaves, packed upon their backs the effects of the 
 expedition which had now arrived and lay scattered about, 
 drove the poor devils within the walls, knocked off their 
 irons, placed bows in their hands, and arrayed them in 
 battle against their former masters. In the first sally De 
 Soto had five men killed and many wounded, he among the 
 latter number. Having captured the baggage, the victors 
 
24 DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 covered the ground in advance of the gate, and rent the air 
 virith exulting shouts. At that moment the Governor headed 
 his cavalry, and, followed by his footmen, charged upon the 
 savage masses, and, with a terrible slaughter, drove them 
 back into town. The Indians rushed to the port-holes and 
 towers, and shot upon the invaders clouds of arrows, com- 
 pelling them again to retire from the walls. A smnll party 
 of Spaniards were left in a perilous situation. Three cross- 
 bow men, an armed friendly Indian, five of De Soto's guard, 
 some servants and two priesrs, not having time to join the 
 others when first attacked in the square, took refuge in the 
 house set apart for their commander. The savages sought 
 an entrance at the door, but these unhappy inmates bravely 
 defended it, killing many of the assailants. Others clam- 
 bered upon the roof to open the covering, but were as suc- 
 cessfully repulsed. Separated from their Iriends by a thick 
 wall, and in the midst of thousands of enemies panting to lap 
 their blood, their destruction appeared inevitable. During 
 the long struggle for existence, the holy Fathers engaged in 
 earnest prayer for their deliverance, while the others fought 
 with a desperation which rose with the occasion. 
 
 Seeing the Spaniards again retreat, the Indians rushed 
 through the gates, and dropping down from the walls, 
 engaged fiercely with the soldiers, seizing their sweeping 
 swords and piercing lances ! Three long hours were con- 
 sumed in the terrible conflict, first one side giving way 
 and then another. Occasionally, De Soto was strengthened 
 by small squads of horsemen who arrived, and, without 
 orders, charged info the midst of the bloody melee. The 
 Governor was every where present in the tight, and his 
 vigorous arm hewed down the lustiest warriors ! That 
 sword which had often been dyed in the blood of Peruvians 
 was now crimsoned with the gore of a still braver race I 
 The invincible Baltasar de Gallegos, who struck the first 
 blow, followed it up, and was only equalled by the com- 
 mander in the profuse outpouring of savage blood ! Far on 
 the borders of the exciting scene rode his brother. Fray Juan, 
 a Dominican Friar, who constantly beckoned him to quit 
 the engagement on foot, and take the horse which he be- 
 strode, in order to fight the better. But Baltasar, gloating 
 
DE 80T0S INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 25 
 
 in blood, heeded him not ; when presently an Indian arrow, 
 which made a slight wound upon the back of the worthy 
 father, retired the latter to a less dangerous distance. In- 
 deed, during the whole battle, the Priests kept the plain, 
 watched the awful carnage with intense anxiety, and often 
 fell upon their knees, imploring Almighty God to give vic- 
 tory to the Spaniards! 
 
 At length the matchless daring of De Soto and his troops 
 forced the Indians to take a permanent position within Mau- 
 bila, closing after them its ponderous gates. The sun began 
 to lower towards the top of the loftiest trees, when Moscoso 
 and the last of the army arrived. He had strangely loitered 
 by the way, allowing the soldiers to scatter in the woods 
 and hunt at their leisure, llis advanced guard heard at a 
 distance the alarum of drums and the clangor of trumpets. 
 With beating hearts, they passed back the word along 
 the scattered lines, from one to the other, and soon the 
 hindmost rushed to the support of thieir exhausted and crim- 
 son-stained comrades. Joined by all his force, De Soto 
 formed the best armed into four divis^ions of foot. Provided 
 with bucklers for defence, and battle axes to demolish the 
 walls, they made a simaltaneous charge, at the firing of an 
 arquebuse. Upon the first onset, they were assailed with 
 showers of arrows and dreadful missiles. Repeated blows 
 against the gates forced them open. The avenues were filled 
 with eager soldiers, rushing into the square. Others, im- 
 patient to get in, battered the stucco from the walls, and 
 aided each other to elimb over the skeleton works. A hor- 
 rible and unparalleled carnage ensued. The horsemen 
 remained on the outside to overtake those who might at- 
 tempt to escape. The Indians fought in the streets, in the 
 square, from the tops of the houses and walls. The ground 
 was covered with their dead, but not one of the living en- 
 treated for quarters. The Spaniards were protected with 
 bucklers and coats of mail, while the poor Indians were only 
 covered with the thin shield which the Great Spirit gave 
 them at the dawn of their existence. The troops entered 
 the town in time to save the two priests and their compan- 
 ions, who had so long held out against such fearful odds. 
 The battle, which now waxed hotter and more sanguinary 
 
26 DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 than ever, cannot be as graphically described as the heroic 
 deeds of either side so justly deserve. Often the Indians 
 drove the troops out of the town, and as often they returned 
 with increased desperation. Near the wall lay a large pool 
 of delicious water, fed by many springs. It was now dis- 
 colored with blood. Here soldiers fell down to slake the 
 intense thirst created by heat and wounds, and, those who 
 were able rose again, and once more pitched into a combat 
 characterized by the most revolting destiuction of human 
 life. For some time the young females had joined in the 
 light, and they now contended side by side with the foremost 
 warriors, sharing in the indiscriminate slaughter. Heated 
 with excitement, smarting with his wounds, and provoked 
 at the unsubdued fierceness of the natives, De Soto rushed 
 out alone by the gate, threw himself in his saddle, and 
 charged into the town. Calling with a loud voice upon our 
 " Lady and Santiago ! " he forced his charger over hundreds 
 of fighting men and women, followed by the brave Nuno 
 Tobar. While opening lanes through the savage ranks 
 and sprinkling his tracks with blood, he rose on one occasion 
 to cast his lance into a gigantic warrior. At that instant 
 a pow^erful winged arrow went deep into the bottom of his 
 thigh. Unable to extract it, or to sit in his saddle, he con- 
 tinued, to fight to the end of th'C battle standing in his 
 stirrups. Every where that mighty son of Spain now 
 gorged upon Alabama blood! His fearless bounds filled 
 the boldest soldiers with renewed courage. At length the 
 houses were set on fire, and the wind blew the smoke and 
 flames in all directions, adding horror to the scene. The 
 flames ascended in mighty volumes ! The sun went down, 
 hiding himself from the awful sight ! Maubila was in ruins 
 and her inhabitants destroyed ! 
 
 The battle of Maubila had lasted nine hours. It was 
 disastrous to De Soto. Eighty-two Spaniards were slain, 
 or died in a few days after the engagement. Among these 
 were Diego de Soto, the nephew of the Governor, Don Carlos 
 Enriquez, who had married his niece, and Men-Rodriquez, 
 a cavalier of Portugal, who had served with distinction in 
 Africa and upon the Portuguese frontiers. Other men of 
 rank and blood lost their lives in the terrible conflict, some 
 
DE eOTO's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 27 
 
 of whom died in great agony, being shot in the eyes and 
 joints of their limbs. Forty-five horses were slain — an 
 irreparable loss, mourned by ihe whole expedition. Ail the 
 camp equipage and baggage were consumed in the house 
 where the Indians had stored it, except that of Captain 
 Andres de Vasconcellos, which arrived late in the evening. 
 All the clothes, medicines, instruments, hooks, much of the 
 armor, all the pearls, the relics and robes of the priests, their 
 flour and wine, used in the holy sacrament, with a thousand 
 other things vi'hich a vvilderness could not supply, perished 
 in the flames. The Mobilians were nearly all destroyed. 
 Garcellasso asserts that above eleven thousand were slain. 
 The Portuguese gentleman sets down the number at two 
 thousand five hundred killed within the walls alone. As- 
 suming a point between the two estimates, it is safe to say 
 that at least six thousand were kilh-d in the tOsAn, upon 
 the plains, and who were afterwards found dead in the 
 woods. These authors also disagree as to the fate of Tus- 
 caloosa. The one contending that he was consumed in the 
 flames, and the other that he decamped upon the arrival of 
 Moscoso, at the solicitation of his people, attended by a 
 small guard, and laden with rich Spanish spoils. It is more 
 probable that the Black Warrior remained in his capital, 
 desiring not to survive the downfall of his people.' 
 
 Upon the ruins of Maubila the Spaniards passed the first 
 night, in confusion and pain, sending forth groans and cries, 
 that fell upon the distant air like the ravings of the damned ! 
 In every direction a sickening and revolting sight was pre- 
 sented. In the slowly receding fire, piles of brave Mobili- 
 ans cracked and fried upon the glowing coals ! Upon the 
 great square, pyramids of bodies, smeared with blood and 
 brains, lay still unburnt. Outside the walls, hundreds lay 
 in the sleep of death, still hot from their last desperate 
 exertions, and copiously bleeding from the large orifices 
 made by lances and swords, and discoloring the beautiful 
 grounds upon which they had so often sported in their native 
 games. All the Spaniards were wounded except the holy 
 Fathers, and were, besides, exhausted, famished, and intoxica- 
 
 1 In describing tlie battle of Maubila, I have carefully coDsulted the original 
 journals. See Portuguese Narrative, pp. 722-726. Garcellasso, pp. 812-331. 
 
28 DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 ted with the most fiendish desperation. Seventeen hundred 
 dangerous wounds demanded immediate attention. It was 
 often that a soldier had a dozen severe ones, with barbed 
 arrows rankling in his flesh. But one surgeon of the ex*pe- 
 dition survived, and he was slow and unskilful. Everything 
 in his department was devoured by the terrible element. 
 Those who were slightly wounded administered to those 
 whom the Indians had pierced deepest. As the soldiers of 
 Cortez did in Mexico, they opened the bodies of some of the 
 savages, and, with the fat obtained, bound up the wounds 
 with bandages torn from the garments of the soldiers who 
 were killed. Others rushed to the woods, obtained straw 
 and boughs, and formed against the walls beds and imperfect 
 covering for the wounded and dying. Although severely 
 pierced himself with arrows, and bruised with missiles, yet 
 the generous De Soto unselfishly gave his whole attention to 
 his men. During that miserable night, many of the unhappy 
 Spaniards joined the priests in fervent appeals to their 
 Heavenly Father, for the alleviation of their wretched 
 condition. 
 
 They remained within the walls eight days, and then re- 
 moved to the Indian huts upon the plain. De Soto sent out- 
 foraging detachments, who found the villages abounding in 
 provisions. In the woods and ravines, Indians were found 
 dead and others lay wounded. The latter were treated with 
 kindness by the Spaniards, who fed them and dressed their 
 \vounds. Females of incomparable beauty were captured 
 upon these excursions, and added to ihose who were taken 
 at the close of the battle. From them, the Governor was 
 astounded to learn the deep schemes which Tuscaloosa 
 planned to capture his aigiy, weeks before his arrival at 
 Maubila. To the Tallises, who complained to him that 
 their Chief had given their people to De Soto as slaves, he 
 replied, "fear nothing. I shall shortly send the Spaniards 
 back from my country to Tallise in chains, led by your peo- 
 ple, whom they have enslaved." 
 
 The Priests, Monks and best informed lay-men, went into 
 convention to determine the propriety of substituting corn 
 meal for flour in the celebration of mass. They decided that 
 bread made of pure wheat, and wine of the juice of the 
 
DE BOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 29 
 
 grape, were required for consecration. After this, the 
 Fathers, in lieu of the chalices, altar dresses, chasubles and 
 other sacred ornaments, which had been consumed by lire, 
 made some robes of dressed deer skins, erected rude altars 
 and read the introiius and other prayers of the mass on 
 Sundays and feasts, omitting the consecration. This unusual 
 ceremony was denominated the dry mass. 
 
 While referring to the religious exercises of the Spaniards, 
 it is proper to allude to some of their vices. Upon the 
 whole journey from Tampa Bay to this place, they had 
 passed much of their leisure time in gambling. This vice 
 was common to all classes; those of rank often bet high, 
 staking their money, jewels, horses, effects, and even their 
 female slaves! The fire of Maubila destroyed their cards. 
 They now made others of parchment, painted them with ad- 
 mirable skill, and loaned these packs from one company to 
 another, continuing to gamble under trees, upon the river 
 banks and in their rude huts. 
 
 The report which De So'o had received upon his first 
 arrival at Maubila, that Maldinado and his vet^sels awaited 
 him at the Bay of Pensacola, was now fully confirmed by the 
 females whom he had captured. Refreshed by this good 
 news, which determined him to plant a colony in the wilder- 
 ness, he dismissed a Chief of that country whom Maldinado 
 had brought into his camp at Appalache Anaica. He had 
 always treated him with kindness, and they parted upon the 
 most friendly terms. The Chief set out for Ochus. When 
 it became known in camp thai; the ships had arrived, joy 
 succeeded the sadness which had universally prevailed. 
 Some of the most distinguished cavaliers secretly talked of 
 sailing from Ochus to Spain, and others t& Peru, each re- 
 solved upon quitting De Soto an(i his fortunes. He heard of 
 the conspiracy with painful solicitude, and determined to 
 ascertain if it was founded in seriousness. One dark night 
 he disguised himself and cautiously moved about the camp. 
 Approaching the hut of Juan Caitan, the treasurer, he over- 
 heard an earnest conversation which satisfied him of the 
 truth of what had been intimated. De Soto was s artled at 
 the faithless schemers. It altered his plans. He now 
 dreaded to march to Ochus, for he well knew that some of 
 
30 DE BOTO'S INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 these cavaliers had once deserted Pizarro, leaving him on 
 the island of Gorgonne. He reflected, ihat his means were 
 exhausted, his hopes of finding a gold country, tkus (ar, 
 blasted, and that he had nothing to tempt the cupidity of 
 recruits, even the pearls, all he had to exhibit of his discove- 
 ries, having shared the fate of the other effects. These 
 things, connected with a desire to ihu^art the plans of the 
 conspirators, influenced him to turn his back upon his ships, 
 laden with provisions, clothes, arms, and every thing which 
 the whole army needed. 
 
 De Soto became gloomy and morose. Sometimes in the 
 midst of his desponding fits, a hope of finding a gold region 
 shot across his mind, but like a darting meteor, it exploded 
 in darkness, leaving him in deeper despair ! He resolved, 
 however, to strike into the wilderness. The wounded had 
 recovered enough to march, and he gave orders to break up 
 the camp. On Sunday, the 18th of November, 1540, a di- 
 rection was assumed to the north. The order fell like a 
 clap of thunder upon the unwilling cavaliers. But they 
 obeyed, for he threatened to put to death the first man who, 
 s^hould even think of Maldinado and bis ships.' The expedi- 
 tion traversed an extremely fertile, but uninhabited country, 
 called Pafallaya, now embraced in the counties of Clarke, 
 Marengo and Greene, and at the expiration of five days pas- 
 sed the town Talepataua, and reached another called Ca- 
 busto. This was "near a river, wide, deep, and with high 
 bluffs."^ The Spaniards had now arrived upon the Black 
 Warrior, and near the modern town of Erie. Fifteen hun- 
 dred Indians advanced in battle array, shouting that a war 
 of "fire and blood" was what they desired. They remem- 
 bered the destruction of their friends at Maubila, and they 
 were determined to be revenged. Severe skirmishing en- 
 dued. The Spaniards drove the savages into the river ; 
 some crossed over in canoes and others swam, and on the 
 
 1 De Soto had no doubt determined to settle a colony ia the province of Coosa. 
 The desperate resolution, now formed, of affftia plunj,nng into unknown regitms 
 •was unfortunate for biai and liis followers, and for th^' Ikistorians of Alabama. A 
 colony in Alabama at thai early period would have aflimded many rich historic 
 iucidents. 
 
 2 -Etoit gur un fleuve, grand, profond et haut de bord.' Garcellasso, p. S48. 
 The American rivers of ordinary tize, appeared large to the Spaniards, and eveu 
 ik) aow to all Europeans. 
 
DE SOTO 8 INVASION OF ALABAMA. 31 
 
 opposite side they were joined by a force estimated at eight 
 thousand. For six miles they stretched along the western 
 bank, to op[)ose the crossing of I lie army. De Soto occupied 
 Cabusto, and was attacked every night by detacljments of 
 the enemy, who came over secretly in canoes from different 
 directions, and sprang upon him. He at k^igth caused 
 ditches to be cut near the landings, in which he posttd cross- 
 bow men, and those armed v.'ith arquebuses. Alter the In- 
 dians were repulsed three times fiom these entrenchments, 
 they ceased lo annoy the Spaniards at night. In the mean- 
 time, one bundled men, completed in the woods two large 
 boats. They were placed upon sledges, and by the force of 
 horses and mules, and vvilh the assistance of the soldiers, 
 were conveyed to a convenient landing one and a half miles 
 up the river, and launched before day. Ten cavaliy and forty 
 infantry entered each of these boats, the former keeping the 
 saddle while the latter rowed rapidly across. Five hundred 
 Indians rushed down the banks and overwhelmed the voya- 
 gers with arrows. However, the boats reached the shore, 
 one of them coming to with g!-eat dilliculty. The soldiers, all 
 of whom were woundod, sprang out, and headed by ihe im- 
 petuous Silvesfre and Garcia, charged the Indians with great 
 resolution. A severe conflict continued until the boais re- 
 turned and brought over De Soto with eighty men. Joining 
 in the fight, the Indians were driven to a distant forest. The 
 advanced wing keeping otf the enemy, the whole army soon 
 crossed the river. When all uere over, the Indians were 
 driven to their first position, which they had strengthened 
 with pallisades, and lr<jm whicii they continually sallied, skir- 
 mishing with the invaders until the suu was lost behind the 
 liills.^ Upon the Warrior, De Soto found a delightful coun- 
 try, wi:h towns and villages well supplied with corn, beans 
 and other provisions. The next day he caused the boats to 
 be brolicn up for the iron which they contained, and the ex- 
 pedition marched north, passing through a portion of Greene 
 and Pickeus. Af;er live days, they reached the little Tom- 
 beckbe, somewhere in the county of Lowndes, Mississippi. 
 Here the Indians had collected to dispute the passage. 
 
 1 i'oitugjcit IT^rrative, p. '125, Garceilai.so, pp. 3iS-35-. 
 
33 DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA, 
 
 Having recently suffered so severely in contentions with the 
 natives ot Alabama, De Soto felt unwilling to expose his 
 army to further loss. Halting two days lor the construction 
 of a i^mall boat, he dispatched in it an Indian, who bore a 
 message to the Chief, with offers of peace and friendship. 
 Immediately upon reaching the opposite bank, the poor fel- 
 low was seized and barbarously killed in the sight of the 
 Governor. His murderers then rent the air with terrific 
 yells and dispersed. De Soto conducted his troops unmo- 
 lested across the river, and marched until he arrived at the 
 town of Chickasa, in the province of that name. It 
 consisted of two hundred houses, and reposed upon a hill 
 extending towards the north, shaded by oak and vi'alnut 
 trees, and watered by several rivulets. The Spaniards had 
 now reached the territory embraced in the county of Yalo- 
 busha. The region is described as fertile, well-peopled and 
 dotted with villages. The cold weather set in with much 
 severity. In the midst of snow and ice, the army encamped 
 upon the fields opposite the town, until houses could be 
 erected, for here De Soto had deteimined to pass the winter. 
 Foraging parties scoured the country, collected provisions 
 and captured Indians. These were invariably dismissed, 
 with presents for their Chief. 
 
 He at length came to see De Soto, and offered him his 
 lands, person and subjects. He returned shortly after, with 
 two neighboring chiefs, Alibamo and Nicalaso. The august 
 trio gave the Adalantado one hundred aiid fifty rabbits, be- 
 sides mantles and skins. The chief of Chickasa became a 
 frequent visitor, and De Soto often sent him home on one of 
 the horses. Having besought the Gem^ral to aid him in 
 overcoming a prominent and rebellious subject, for the pur- 
 pose of dividing and destroying the army, as was after- 
 wards ascertained, De Soto marched with thirty horsemen 
 and two hundred Indians upon Saquechuma, and destroyed 
 that place by fire. Upon their return to the cg-mp, the prin- 
 cipal Indians were feasted upon the flesh of swine. They 
 were pleased with the first dish of an animal never before 
 seen, and from that time the place where the hogs were 
 kept was often broken in upon on dark nights, and many 
 stolen. Three of the rogues were caught on one occasion, 
 
DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 33 
 
 and two of them put to death. The hands of the other 
 were chopped off, and in that painful and helpless situation 
 he was sent to his chief. On the other side, the Spaniards 
 robbed the Indians. One day, four horsemen, Francisco 
 Osario, and a servant of the Marquis of Astorga, called 
 Raynoso ; Ribera the pa,ge of the Governor, and Fuentes» 
 his chamberlain, entered a neighboring village and forcibly 
 carried off some valuable skins and mantles. The enraged 
 Indians forsook their town and went into the woods to pre- 
 pare for war. The robbers were arrested, and Fuentes and 
 Osario condemned to die ! The Priests and some of the most 
 distinguished Cavaliers in vain plead lor the pardon of the 
 latter. De Soto had them brought out to have their heads 
 chopped off, when Indians arrived with a message from 
 the chief, informing him of the outrage upon his people. At 
 the suggestion of Baltasar de Galligos, the interpreter cun- 
 ningly turned it to the advantage of the prisoners. He said 
 to De Soto, that the chief desired him not to execute the 
 robbers, for they had not molested his subjects. He said to 
 the Indian Ambassadors, that they might return home well 
 assured that the plunderers would be immediately put to 
 death according to the wishes of the chief. The prisoners were 
 consequently all set at liberty, much to the joy of the army.^ 
 Upon the appearance of March 1541, the thoughts of the 
 unhappy De Soto occasionally turned upon pursuing the 
 journey. He demanded of the chief two hundred men for 
 burthen bearers. An evasive answer was given, and for 
 several days the Governor was apprehensive of an attack. 
 He posted out sentinels under the supervision of Moscoso. 
 One dark night when the cold wind was howling avvfully, the 
 Chickasas rushed upon the camp, in four squadrons, sending 
 up yells the most terrific, and adding horror to the scene by 
 the sound of wooden drums and the discordant blasts of 
 Conch shells. The houses of the town in vi^hich the larger 
 
 1 Poor Ortiz never reached his native country, but died in Arkansas. He was of 
 great service as an interpreter. Understanding only the Floridian language, he 
 conducted conversations through the Indians of different tribes who understood eacii 
 other, and who attended the expedition. In conversing witli the Cliickasas, for in- 
 stance, he, commenced with a Floridian, who carried the word to a Georgian, the 
 Georgian tothe Coosa, the Coosa to the Maubilian, and the latter to the Chickasa. In 
 the same tedious manner the answer was conveyed to hjm and reported to De JSolo, 
 
 3 
 
34 DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 portion of the troops now lodged, were set on fire by arrows 
 containing burning matches, made of a vegetable substance? 
 which shot through the air like flashing meteors and fell 
 upon the roofs ! Constructed of straw and cane, the wig- 
 wams were soon wraped in flames. The Spaniards, blinded 
 by the smoke, rah out of the houses half dressed, and in their 
 dismay, knew not the best way to oppose the assailants. 
 Some of the horses were burned in the stables and others 
 broke their halters, runing in all diiections among the 
 soldiers, increasing the unparalleled confusion. De Soto 
 and a soldier named Tapier, the first to mount, charged upon 
 the enemy, the former enveloped in an overcoat quilted with 
 cotton three inches thick, to shield him from the arrows. 
 His saddle, which in the haste had not been girted, turned 
 with him in one of his sweeping bounds, and he fell heavily 
 to the ground, at the moment his lance had pierced a savage. 
 The soldiers drove off the Indians, who had surrounded him 
 with clubs, and adjusted his saddle. Vaulting into it, he 
 charged in the thickest of the enemy and revelled in 
 blood ! The Spaniards were seen in all directions to be 
 now engaged in a dreadful fight. Many, however, had just 
 awoke and now crawled upon their hands and knees out of the 
 de>y.ouring flames above them. In a house, at some distance, 
 lay t'lie sick, and those who had not recovered from the 
 wounds which they had received at Maubtla and Cabusto. 
 Hordes of savages pressed upon the poor fellows,' and before 
 xhey were rescued, several fell victims. In the meantime, 
 the cavaliers, some without saddles and others without 
 clothes, joined the intrepid De Soto, and now, the awful wind, 
 the flames, the yelis and clagour of arms, made that a place 
 frightfully sublime, and a night long to be remembered ! 
 Fifty infantry took flight, the first instance of cowardice 
 upon the march. Kuno Tobar, with sword in hand, rushed 
 before them, and with the assistance of a detachment of 
 thirty men under Juan de Guzman, arrayed them against 
 the enemy. At that instaat, Andres de Yasconcelos at the 
 iiead of twenty Portuguese hidalgos, most of whom had 
 served us horsemen upon the African frontier, accompanied 
 by Nuno Tabor on foot, forced the savages to retire on one 
 isiUe.of the town. At lenytU the Indians (led from the battle 
 
DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 35 
 
 field and were pursued by De Soto and his troops as long as 
 they could distinguish objects by the light of the burning 
 town. Returning fx'-om the chase, the Governor found that 
 the engagment had resulted in considerable loss. Forty 
 Spaniards were killed, among them, the only white woman 
 in camp, the wife of a soldier, whom she had followed from 
 Spain. Fifty horses were lost, either burned or pierced 
 with arrows. Dreading these singular quadrupeds in war, 
 the Indians aimed at their entire destruction, and many were 
 found shot entirely through in the most vital parts. The 
 swine, the increase of which had often kept the Spaniards 
 from starving, when hard pressed for food, were confined 
 in a roofed enclosure, and a number of them were consumed 
 by the fire. De Soto surveyed the scene with deep mortifica- 
 tion. He blamed Moscoso with the unfortunate attack. His 
 negligence here, reminded him of his tardy advance upon 
 Maubila, and in his anger, he deposed his old brother in arms 
 from the rank of camp-master, and bestowed it upon the bold 
 Baltasar de Galligos. A succession of losses had attended 
 him since he crossed the Alabama at Piache. Indeed, from 
 his first landing at Tampa bay, over three hundred men had 
 fallen by the assaults of the natives. The fire at Chickasa 
 swept the few things saved at Maubila, together with half 
 their absolute wearing apparel. And now many of the unfor . 
 tunate soldiers shivered in the cold with scarcely a vestage 
 of clothing. 
 
 In the fit of deep dispondency into which he was thrown, 
 De Soto did not forget the duties which a commanding offi- 
 cer owes to his suffering troops. The dead were buried 
 and the wounded properly attended. The Indians, thick 
 upon the plain, and upon the ruined town remained for the 
 hungry wolves and birds of carrion. The Spaniards ahan- 
 doned the sickening spot, and encamped three miles distant 
 at Chickasilla, or little Chickasa, where they erected a forge 
 and tempered their swords, seriously injured by the fire. 
 They busied themselves in making shields, lances and sad- 
 dles. The remainder of the winter was passed in great 
 wretchedness. Intense cold and grievous wounds were not all 
 they had to bear, but often the natives assailed them at night, 
 with the spring and ferocity of tigers ! At sun set they wertj 
 
36 DE SOTo'S IJtVAStON OF ALABAMA. 
 
 compelled to evacuate thfe town and take position in the 
 Held for fear that fire might be applied to the houses. The 
 ingenuity of one of the soldiers, devised mattings four 
 inches in thickness, made of a long soft grass, in M^hich those 
 who were not upon guard, wraped up and were some- 
 what protected Irom the piercing air. Often De Soto 
 sent forth detachments, who cut down every Indian they 
 overtook, yet in a few succeeding nights the savages 
 would return and attack the camp. Before day-light on 
 Wednesday the 15th March, 1541, Captain Juan de Guzman, 
 of delicate form, but indomitable courage, was seized 
 by the collar by an athletic Indian, who carried a banner, 
 and jerked from his horse. The soldiers rushing up cut 
 the bold fellow to pieces. Others dashed after the main 
 body of Indians and deep revenge would have been taken, 
 if a monk, fearful that they would be led into an ambush, 
 had not arrested the charge, by the cry of, "to the camp, to 
 the camp." Forty Indianss fell, two horses were killed and 
 two soldiers wounded. 
 
 On the 25th of April, 1541, De Soto marched north-west 
 through a champaign country, thickly populated, and jour- 
 neying twelve miles, hailed in a plain not far from the town 
 of Alibamo. Juan de Anasco, with a foraging party came 
 in sight of this fortress, which was garrisoned by a large 
 number of savages, whose bodies were painted in stripes of 
 white, black and red, while their faces were frightfully 
 blackened, and red circles bordered their eyes. These, with 
 head dresses of feathers and horns, gave them an appear- 
 ance, fantastic and ferocious. The drums sounded alarums 
 and they rushed out of the fort with fearful whoops, forcing 
 Anasco to retreat to the open fields. The enemy, scorning 
 th^ inferiority of the detachment, pretended to knock one of 
 the warriors in the head with a club, in front of the fort, and 
 •swinging him by the head and heels, near a fire, in insulting 
 mockery, indicated the fate of the Spaniards, who should 
 fall into their hands. The irritated Anasco, sent three 
 troopers to the camp, who returned with De Soto at the head 
 of a considerable force. He assaulted the fortress of Ali- 
 bamo, leading on his men in three squadrons, Commanded 
 b}^ Guzman, Avaro Romo de Cardenoso, and the stout Gon- 
 
DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 87 
 
 Zolo Silvestre. An hundred Alabamas poured out from each 
 portal and met the Spaniards. Upon the first encounter, 
 Diego de Castro, Loiiis Bravo and Francisco de Figarro fell 
 mortally wounded. An arrow struck the casqe of the Go- 
 vernor with such force that it made his eyes flash fire. The 
 victorious Spaniards forced the Alabamas into the fort, press- 
 ing them to death by the united shock of the cavalry and 
 infantry, the passes of the gates admitting but few of the Indi- 
 ans at once. The soldiers remembered that they had united 
 with the Chickasas, and they knew no bounds to the re- 
 venge which they now sought. In the rear, many savages 
 escaped by climbing over the walls and through the back 
 portals, pitching into the river which run by the fort, but far 
 below its foundation. In a short time De Soto held posses- 
 sion of the interior. Alibamo stood upon the Yazoo river in 
 the county of Tallahatchie.^ It was built of pallisades, in the 
 form of a quadrangle, four hundred paces long on either side. 
 Inner walls divided it into separate parts, enabling the be- 
 seaged to retreat from one to the other. The centre wall 
 on the back side was immediately upon a perpendicular 
 bluff", beneath which flowed a deep and narrow river, across 
 which were thrown a few rude bridges. Portions of the fort 
 appeared to have been recently constructed for defence 
 against the horses. It was decidedly the best fortified place 
 yet discovered, except thatof Maubila,but the garrison was 
 greatly inferior in numbers to the latter* The outside por- 
 tals were two low and narrow for a cavalier to enter on 
 his horse. 
 
 De Soto crossed the river at a ford below the plain and 
 
 1 General Le Clerc Milfort, an intelligent Frenchman, lived in the Creek Nation 
 from 1716 until 1796. He -wrote a history of the Muscogees or Creeks, and pub- 
 lished his work in Paris in 1802. He married the sister of General Alexander 
 McGiUivray of the Creek tribe When he arrived in France, Bonaparte made 
 him a General of Brigade, and in 1814 he was attacked in his house by a party 
 of Russians and rescued by some Grenadiers. Shortly afterwards he died. 
 
 Milfort states that the Alabamas wandered from the northern part of Mexico 
 and settled upon the Yazoo, and afterwards removed to the river which bears 
 their name. This fact, connected with that of the AUbamo fort, mentioned by 
 the journals of De Soto, establishes conclusively that they were tlie same people^ 
 The Alabamas, after De Soto's time, settled at the site of the modern Montgomery, 
 Coosawda, and Washington, below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa. 
 From these people the river and state took their names. 
 
 " Memoire ou Coup d' oeil rapide sur mcs differons voyages et raon sejour dans 
 la nation Creek, par Le Clerc Milfort," pp. 229-288. 
 
38 DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 pursued the savages until twi-light, leaving many of them 
 in the sleep of death. Four days were consumed at Ali- 
 bamo in attending to the wounded. Fifteen Spaniards died, 
 among them the cavaliers first wounded, who were young, 
 valient and of the best blood ofSpain. So terminated the battle 
 of Alibamo, the last one of the many which De Soto fought, 
 which it is our province to describe. We have followed 
 that extraordinary adventurer through our state into the 
 heart of Mississippi. A few more words must close his 
 nomadic march as far as it rests in our hands. 
 
 The Spaniards reached the Mississippi river in May 1541, 
 and were the first to discover it, unless Cabaca de Vaca 
 crossed it twelve years before in wandering to Mexico with 
 his four companions, which is not probable from the evi- 
 dence afforded by his journal. De Soto consumed a year 
 in marching over Arkansas, and returned to the "Father 
 of waters" at the town of Guachaya, below the mouth 
 of the Arkansas river, the last of May 1542. He here en- 
 gaged in the construction of two brigantines, to communi- 
 cate with Cuba. That great man, whose spirits had long 
 forsaken him, who had met with nothing but disappoint- 
 ments, and who had in the most perilous wanderings 
 discovered no country like Peru and Mexico, became sick 
 with a slow and malignant fever. He appointed Moscoso 
 to the command, bid his officers and soldiers farewell, exhort- 
 ed them to keep together, in order to reach that country 
 which he was destined never to see, and then closed his 
 EYES IN DEATH ! Thus died Ferdinand De Soto, one of the 
 most distinguished Captains of that or any age ! To con- 
 ceal his death and protect his body from Indian brutalities, it 
 was placed in an oaken trough, and silently plunged (into 
 the middle of the Mississippi, on a dark and gloomy night ! 
 Long did the muddy waters wash the bones of one of the 
 noblest sons of Spain! He was the first to behold that 
 river, the first to close his eyes in death upon it, and the first 
 to find a grave in its deep and turbid channel ! 
 
 Moscoso and the remaining troops again plunged into the 
 wilderness west of the Mississippi with the hope of reaching 
 Mexico. Departing the 1st of June, 1542, he returned the 
 1st December to the Mississippi river, at a point fifty miles 
 
DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 39 
 
 above the place where Dc Soto died. The Spaniards began 
 the construction of seven brigantines. When completed, — 
 the building of which required the chains of the slaves, 
 saddle stirrups, and every thing which had a particle of 
 iron made into nails by the erection of forges, the Indian 
 mantles stitched together for sails, and the inner bark of 
 trees made into ropes — Governor Moscoso departed down the 
 vast stream, the 2d July 1543. The once splendid army of 
 one thousand men were reduced to three hundred and 
 twenty ! Five hundred slaves were left at the place of em- 
 barkation, and Moscoso took with him one hundred, among 
 others, the beautiful women of Maubila. Twenty-two of the 
 best horses embarked, the others were killed and dried for 
 food and so were the hogs, a large number of which still re- 
 mained. The Spaniards were attacked in decending the 
 river, by fleets of Indian canoes. In one of these engage- 
 ments, the brave Guzman and eleven others were drowned, 
 and twenty-five wounded. In sixteen days they reached the 
 gulf, and put to sea, the 18th July 1543. Having landed at 
 Tampa bay, the 30th of May 1539, they had consumed a little 
 over four years in wandering through Florida, Georgia, Ala- 
 bama, Mississippi and the vast regions of the Arkansas 
 Territory. Tossed by the waves, perished with hunger, 
 parched with thirst, and several times wrecked by tornadoes, 
 the poor Spaniards finally reached the mouth of the river of 
 Panuco upon the Mexican coast, the 10th September 1543. 
 From thence they went to the town of Panuco. Appareled 
 in skins of deer, buffalo, bear and other animals; with faces 
 haggared, blackened, shriveled, but faintly resembling hu- 
 man beings, they repaired to the church and offered up 
 thanks to God for the preservation of their lives. Repairing 
 to the city of Mexico, the Vice-Ro}^ extended to them every 
 hospitality. So did the elegant Castilian ladies of his court, 
 who were enraptured with the beauty of the Mobilian 
 females, the high spirited daughters of Alabama !^ 
 
 Maldinado, whom we left at Pensacola bay, awaited in 
 vain the arrival of De Soto. He and his distinguished asso- 
 
 1 An interesting account of the expedition from the battle of Alibamo, to ihcir 
 eiitni!ice into the city of Mexico, wliicli I liave rapidly glanced at, may be found 
 in the Portu yuuse Narrative, pp. 72a-7i5'.'. Garcellasbo de la Vega, pp. 37ll-o57, 
 
40 DE SOTo's INVASION OF ALABAMA. 
 
 ciate, Comez Arias, at length weighed anchor, and sailed 
 along the coast in different directions, hoping to meet the 
 expedition at some point. They left signals upon the trees, 
 and attached letters to the bark. Returning to Cuba, they 
 again sailed in search of De Soto, in the summer of 1541, 
 and touching frequently upon the Florida and Mexican 
 coast, heard nothing of him. Again, in the summer of 1542, 
 they made a similar voyage, with no better success. Deter- 
 mined not to give up the search for the lost Spaniards, Mal- 
 dinado and Arias, in the spring of 1543, departed on a long 
 voyage. The 15th of October they touched at Vera Cruz 
 and learned that De Soto had died upon the Mississippi, 
 and that three hundred of his army only had lived to reach 
 Mexico. When this sad intelligence was conveyed to Ha- 
 vanna, every one grieved, and Dona Isabel, long racked 
 with anxiety, died of a broken heart ! 
 
 "With this wild" and romantic expedition, the history of 
 Alabama begins. It is, however, an isolated chapter in her 
 annals. The dark curtain that covered her territory was 
 suddenly lifted — a brilliant, but bloody panorama passed 
 across the stage — and then all was shrouded in primeval 
 darkness."^ 
 
 1 A. B.Mcek's account of De Soto's expedition. Southern, Tuscaloosa, 1839, 
 p. 26. 
 
DE SOTO a INVASION OF ALABAMA. 41 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 DE SOTO UPON THE SAVANNAH IN l540. 
 
 All Indian tradition locates the town of Cutilacliiqui, or CofacIii(jiii — 
 where De Soto remained some time with the beautiful Ijidian Princess who 
 ruled that country — at the modern Silver Bluff, Barnwell District, South' 
 Carolina, on the east bank of the Savannah. 
 
 About 1735, a young Irishman — George Galphin—settled upon the 
 ruins of Cutifachiqui and gave it the name of Silver Bluff, owing to the 
 Indian tradition that De Soto and his troops searched there for silver iti the 
 bed of the river and among the various strata of the Blulf, some of which 
 resembled silver ore. Mr. Galphia became a wealthy Indian trader, and 
 from his large store-houses in Savannah, Augusta, and at Silver Bluff, sent 
 forth numerous pack-horsemen with merchandize into all parts of the 
 Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw nations. He was a man of 
 great commercial influence in South Carolina and Georgia, when they were 
 eoloniep, and upon the first dawn of the revolution became a firm patriot, 
 and expended much of his treasure in our cause during the war. He 
 left many descendants — among others. Governor Milledge. Dr. Thomas 
 Galphin Holmes, an intelligent man in Baldwin county, of this State, is his 
 grand-son. 
 
 Silver Bluff for years was the abode of hospitality. Some of the EnglisFr 
 and French tourists in America, preceding the Revolution, published work.s 
 of their travels, and all of them mention the Honorable George Galphin in 
 terms of great respect. William Bartram, in his " Travels," after speaking 
 of that gentleman in a complimentary manner, alludes to the tradition of 
 the Indians respecting the arrival of De Soto at Silver Bluff. He refers to 
 the mounds still prominent at the time the author was there, (to-wit, in 
 1773) and in mentioning some fortifications, says they were "constructed 
 after the modes of Europefn military architects, which are supposed to be 
 ancient camps of the Spaniards who formerly fixed themsehes at this place 
 in hopes of finding silver." This quotation is not made to prove by itself that 
 De Soto was at Silver Bluff, but it confirms all the Indian traditions upon 
 that subject handed down to Mr. Galphin. In reference to the character,, 
 wealth and influence of Mr. Galphin, see Bartram'^s travels, pp. 312-313, 
 and other pages : see, also, McCall's History of Georgia, vol. 2, pp. 5, 6-1 1 j 
 and the Historical Collections of Georgia. 
 
 Confined to the history of a single State, I have been obliged to pass 
 rapidly through Georgia with De Soto and his expedition, and have neces- 
 sarily omitted many interesting things which occurred upon the Savannah. 
 But neither the Portuguese Gentleman nor Garcellosso speak of the attempt 
 there to find silver. They had crucibles and men in company well 
 acquainted witli mineralogy, and they doubtless, everywhere, as at Silver 
 Bluff, examined all strata and deposites which they supposed contained the 
 precious metals, and the journalists have neglected to mention it, in theiu 
 zeal to relate stirring incidents connected with the natives^ 
 
 4 
 
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 INVASION 
 
 TERRITORY OF ILIBAMA, 
 
 ONE THOUSAND SPANIARDS. 
 
 ^E^©l][M^ff^[D) [D)1E i@T@a 
 
 IN 1540. 
 
 BY AI.BERT J. PICKETT. 
 
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 mim BY mim & m wolf 
 
 1849. 
 
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