The Spaniards remained twenty-five days at this place, during which time they made three incursions into the country to some distance, finding it every where ill-inhabited and difficultly penetrable, owing to similar obstacles with those they had already encountered. From, the cacique whom they had in custody, they were informed that Apalache was one of the best towns in these parts, and that on going farther inland the land was worse and more thinly peopled. He added, that at nine days journey southwards there was a town called Aute near the sea, inhabited by a tribe in amity with him, who had plenty of provisions. Taking this information into consideration, and especially as the Indians of Apalache did them considerable injury by frequent assaults, and always retreated to their fortresses in the marshes, the Spaniards determined upon returning towards the sea. On the second day of their retrograde march, they were attacked by the Indians while passing across a morass, and several both men and horses were wounded, without being able to take vengeance on their enemies, as they always fled into the water. These Indians were of large stature and well made, very nimble, and went entirely naked, being armed with bows as thick as a mans arm and twelve spans long. They marched in this manner, under continual assaults, for eight days, at the end of which period they came to the town of Aute, where they got Indian corn, pompions, kidney-beans, and other provisions. From this place the treasurer, Cabeza de Vaca, was sent with a party to endeavour to find the sea; but came back in three days, reporting that the sea was far off, and he had only been able to reach some creeks which penetrated deep into the land. They had already travelled two hundred and eighty leagues from the place at which they first landed, in all which way they had seen neither mountain nor even any thing which could be called a hill132. The men were become much dejected and very sickly, and no longer able to travel so as to endeavour to make their way back to where they left the ships; in which miserable condition it was resolved to build some barks for the purpose of making their way along shore in search of the ships. They accordingly constructed five barks, each of them twenty cubits long, which they caulked with the husks of palmetoes, making ropes of the manes and tails of their horses, and sails of their shirts; but were hardly able to find enough of stones to serve for ballast and anchors.
They embarked on the 22d of September, after having eaten all their horses, and having lost above forty of their men from sickness, besides several who were slain by the Indians. Their barks were hardly able to carry them, and they had no sailors among them to direct their perilous navigation. After five days painful progress among intricate creeks133, they came at last to an island, where they found five canoes abandoned by the Indians, and on going into a house they found some dried skates which were a very acceptable though scanty relief to their necessities. Proceeding onwards with the help of these canoes, they suffered extremely for want of water, during which five of them died in consequence of drinking sea-water too freely. Owing to this necessity they were again obliged to land on the continent, where they found water and fish ready dressed in some Indian houses. At night these people attacked them, and the cacique of Apalache whom they had hitherto kept along with them made his escape, leaving a mantle of sables behind him so strongly scented with ambergris that it could be smelt from a considerable distance. Obliged to reimbark, and the weather proving stormy, the barks were all dispersed, and none of them ever more heard of except that in which Cabeza de Vaca was, which was thrown ashore. Panfilo de Narvaez and most of his men were assuredly lost in the storm, or destroyed by the Indians on shore; though there was a foolish report long current that he had penetrated to the South Sea.
When cast on shore, as mentioned at the close of the former section, Cabeza de Vaca and the people along with him were relieved by the Indians; and on endeavouring again to put to sea, the bark was overset, three of the Spaniards were drowned, and Cabeza and a few more got again on shore, naked and without arms. On seeing the miserable plight of these unhappy Spaniards, the Indians came to them with provisions, sat down by them and lamented their misfortunes, carried them to their houses, and made fires by the way to warm them, otherwise they must have perished with the cold, as they were naked and it was now the month of November. They were put into a house with a good fire, the natives dancing all night close by them, which the Spaniards were sadly afraid was a prelude to their being sacrificed next day. But as they were plentifully supplied with provisions they began to recover their spirits and confidence next day. Cabeza de Vaca and his companions were soon afterwards joined by the Spaniards who had escaped from the wreck of another bark. At first they were in all eighty men; but in a short time their number was reduced to fifteen, as they were forced to winter on the island, exposed to excessive cold and great scarcity of provisions. Owing to their misfortunes, they called this Isola de Mal-hado, or the isle of Bad-Luck134.
132
Their wandering had probably been in the country of the Creeks, in the western parts of Georgia, and the two rivers they crossed may have been the Catahehe and Mobile; but we have no indications from which to form any conjecture as to the part of the coast on which they built their ill-fated barks.-E.
133
These intricacies may possibly have been between Mobile Bay, and the western bay of Spiritu Santo at the mouths of the Mississippi.-E.
134
As we have no information in the text which could lead to suppose that Cabeza ever crossed the great river Missisippi, either before landing on the island of Mal-hado, or in his subsequent journey to New Spain, the isle of Bad-Luck may have been to the west of the Missisippi.-E.