The fleet arrived safe at Santiago in Cuba. Not long before this a Spanish ship commanded by Diego Perez had an engagement of four days continuance with a French privateer, separating courteously by mutual consent every night, and recommencing furiously every morning; but the Frenchmen slipped off during the fourth night. Immediately on his arrival in Cuba, Soto sent orders to repair the Havannah, which had been burnt by some French privateers, and he ordered a fort to be built for the protection of that place. Having sent some persons of skill to discover and examine the harbours along the coast of Florida, and appointed his lady to administer the government of Cuba in his absence, he prepared to enter upon the great object of his expedition.
Accordingly, having embarked nine hundred men and three hundred and thirty horses, he sailed from the Havannah on the 12th of May 1539, and came to anchor on the last day of that month in the Bay of Espiritu Santo on the coast of Florida148. He immediately landed three hundred men, who lay on shore all night without seeing a single native. About day-break next day the Spanish detachment was attacked by a prodigious multitude of Indians, and compelled to retreat precipitously to the shore. Basco Porcallo de Figuero was sent with a party to their relief, as the Indians pressed hard upon them with incessant flights of arrows, and the Spaniards being raw soldiers unaccustomed to arms or discipline knew not how to resist. On the approach of Porcallo the Indians were obliged to retire in their turn; yet killed that commanders horse with an arrow, which pierced through the saddle lap and penetrated a span deep into the horses body. All the forces were now landed, and marched about two leagues inland to a town belonging to the cacique Harrihiagua149, who had fled to the mountains lest he should be called to account for his cruelty to the Spaniards who had been here formerly along with Panfilo de Narvaez. None of these were now alive in the country except one man named Juan Ortiz, who had been saved by the wife of the cacique, who abhorred the cruel disposition of her husband. By her assistance, Ortiz had been enabled to make his escape to another cacique named Mucozo, who protected him and used him well. Having learned where this man was, Soto sent Baltasar de Gallegos with sixty horsemen to bring him to the camp, wishing him to act as interpreter with the natives. At the same time Mucozo was sending Ortiz with an escort of fifty Indians to offer peace to the Spaniards. These Indians were all stark naked, except that each wore a small clout, but their heads were ornamented with great plumes of feathers. They all carried bows in their hands, and all had quivers well filled with arrows.
Immediately on seeing the horsemen, the Indians ran for shelter into the wood, being afraid of an attack, and the raw Spaniards went full speed after them in spite of their commander. Ortiz alone remained in the open plain, and was assaulted by Alvaro Nieto with his lance. Ortiz leaped to one side to avoid the lance, and called out in the Indian language having forgot his own by long disuse, but fortunately made the sign of the cross, on which Nieto asked if he were Juan Ortiz. Answering in the affirmative, Nieto took him up behind him on his horse and carried him to his captain Gallegos, who was gathering his men that had dispersed in pursuit of the Indians. Some of the natives never stopped till they reached the town of their cacique, but others were appeased, and seeing one of their companions wounded they exclaimed bitterly against Ortiz, as it had happened through his inadvertence. Soto was much pleased that he had got Ortiz, whom he greatly caressed. He was likewise very kind to the Indians who had accompanied him, and ordered the one who had been wounded to be carefully dressed; and sent by them a message to the cacique Mucozo, thanking him for his kind usage of Ortiz, and offering his friendship.
Ortiz could give very little account of the country, as his whole employment under his first master had been to carry wood and water, and he had never ventured to go out of sight of the other who used him well, lest he might be suspected of endeavouring to escape; but he had been told that the interior of the country was pleasant and fertile. Mucozo came to visit Soto, who entertained him and gave him some Spanish trinkets to secure his friendship. Soon afterwards the mother of the cacique came weeping to the Spaniards, demanding to have her son restored, and begging that he might not be slain. Soto endeavoured to sooth and reassure her, yet she ate of such victuals as were offered with much hesitation, asking Ortiz whether she might eat in safety, as she was fearful of being poisoned, and insisting that Ortiz should taste every thing in the first place. Mucozo remained a week among the Spaniards, amusing himself with the novelty of every thing he saw, and making many inquiries respecting the customs of Spain. During this time Soto endeavoured to learn some particulars respecting the country, remaining always with his troops at the town belonging to Harrihiagua, because near the Bay of the Holy Ghost. At this time he dismissed the ships, that his men might have no hopes of getting away from the country, following in this measure the example of many ancient and modern commanders, and among these Cortes on his invasion of Mexico. He reserved however four of his ships to serve upon particular occasions.
Soto used every means to acquire the friendship of Harrihiagua, giving strict charges that no damage should be done in his country, being extremely unwilling to give the first cause of offence, but nothing could prevail on that cacique to enter into any friendly connection. As some of the men were sent out daily, under a strong escort, to bring in forage for the horses, they were one day suddenly assailed by a multitude of Indians, making such hideous yells as scared them for some time. Before the Spaniards could recover from their panic, the Indians laid hold of a soldier named Grajal, whom they carried off without doing any other harm. More Spaniards coming out on this alarm, the Indians were pursued on the track for two leagues by twenty horsemen, when they were found among some tall reeds eating, drinking, and making merry with their women, and bidding Grajal eat, as they told him they would use him better than Ortiz. On hearing the trampling of the horses all the men fled, leaving the women and children with Grajal, whom they had stripped naked. The Spaniards returned well pleased with Grajal and the women and children, all of whom Soto set free along with some men who had been made prisoners formerly, on purpose if possible to conciliate the cacique and his subjects.
After remaining three weeks in that place, Soto sent a detachment of sixty horse and an equal number of foot under Gallegos to explore the country beyond the districts belonging to Harrihiagua and Mucozo, which belonged to a cacique named Urribarracuxi. On asking guides from Mucozo for this expedition, he refused it saying that it would be treacherous to furnish guides for doing injury to his friend and brother-in-law. The Spaniards answered that they meant no injury, and he might send his friend notice of their intended visit, as they were resolved at all events to go. In that part of the country they found many wild vines, walnut-trees, mulberry, plum, oak, pine, and other trees resembling those which grow in Spain, and the open fields appeared pleasant and fertile. But they found Urribarracuxi's town, which was at the distance of seventeen leagues, entirely abandoned, and could by no means prevail upon him to come out of the woods or to contract any friendship with them, though he likewise entirely refrained from doing them any harm. Gallegos sent back word to inform Soto of the nature of the country he had explored, and that there were plenty of provisions in the town to which he had penetrated. Being anxious to take Harrihiagua prisoner, his lieutenant Vasco Porcallo went out with a party on that service, though Soto advised him to send some other person. When Harrihiagua learnt the object of this expedition, he sent word to Porcallo that his labour would be all in vain, as the roads were so bad he would never be able to reach the place in which he dwelt. Porcallo however persisted, and coming to a deep morass which his men refused to enter, he spurred on his horse to set a good example; but his horse soon floundered in the morass and Porcallo fell off and was nearly stifled. Considering that he was well up in years and had a good estate, Porcallo considered this as a warning to him to desist from such dangerous and fatiguing enterprises, for which reason he asked leave to return to Cuba, and distributed his horses, arms, and provisions among the troops, leaving his son Gomez Xuarez de Figuero well equipped behind him to continue the enterprise, which was better fitted for younger men, and in which Gomez acquitted himself like a man of honour.
148
It has been already mentioned that there are two bays of this name, one in
149
This name considerably resembles the names of men and places in Hispaniola and Cuba, hence we may conjecture Harrihiagua to have been cacique over some of the emigrants said to have gone from Cuba to Florida, as mentioned in the first section of this chapter.-E.