Anthology of Louisiana Literature

Luis Hernandez de Biedma.
"A Narrative of the Expedition of Hernando de Soto."
Translated by B. F. French.

A NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION ———— OF ———— HERNANDO DE SOTO —— BY —— LUIS HERNANDEZ DE BIEDMA (Facteur de sa Majesté.) ———— • ———— PRESENTED TO THE KING AND COUNCIL OF THE INDIES, 1544

Hernando de Soto. Public domain image from the Internet Archive.

Having arrived at the Port of Baya Honda, we landed six hundred and twenty men, and two hundred and twenty-three horses. As soon as we had done so, we were informed by one of the Indians we had captured, that a Christian was living a few leagues off, who had served in the expedition of Pamfile de Narvaez. The cacique of this province on hearing we had landed, asked the Christian if he wished to return to us. He answered him in the affirmative, and immediately sent him, with nine Indians, to our camp. His body was naked, and in his hand he had a bow and arrows. As soon as we perceived them coming we took them for spies, and marched out to meet them, but they fled in every direction. The horsemen dashed after them and wounded one of the Indians, and would have killed the Christian if he had not invoked "the Virgin Mary;" and made signs that he was a Christian, for he had almost forgotten to speak our language. He was immediately conducted to the governor. He stated that he had been twelve years among the Indians, and spoke their language perfectly; but that he was unacquainted with the country, and was unable to tell us anything about it, except that there was no gold in it.

We now set out from the Port of Baya Honda, to penetrate the interior of the country, with all the troops except twenty-six horsemen and sixty foot soldiers, which we left behind to defend the fort, until they should receive orders from the governor to join him. We marched in a westerly direction, and then north-east. We heard of a cacique who received tribute from all the nations. His name was Hurripacuxi, and lived about twelve leagues from the coast. We continued to march across swamps and rivers for fifteen or twenty leagues, and reached a village about which we had been told strange stories. Among others, they pretended that when the inhabitants shouted aloud, the birds flying in the air would fall dead to the ground. We arrived at a small village called Eto-cale. Here we found some Indian corn, beans, and little dogs, which was not a meal for our hungry army. We remained here seven or eight days, during which time we made an attempt to entrap some Indians, to serve us as guides to the province of Apalache. We then set out in the direction of New Spain, marching ten or twelve leagues from the coast. After five or six days' journey, we passed some hamlets, and arrived at a village called Aquacalecuen, when we found the Indians had fled to the woods.

We remained here five or six days to procure guides, and took with us ten or twelve women, one of whom informed us that she was the daughter of a cacique, who afterwards joined us. After six or seven days' journey, we met a hundred and fifty Indians armed with bows and arrows, who were watching an opportunity to rescue the cacique we had brought with us. We killed a few and captured others; among the latter were some who were acquainted with the interior of the country. We then passed a river, and crossed a country called Veachile, where we found a great many deserted villages. We came to a village called Aquile, on the frontier of the province of Apalache, and separated from Veachile by a river, over which we threw a bridge of rafts tied together. We crossed it with difficulty, for the Indians had posted themselves on the opposite bank, and fought with great bravery. We marched to the village of Ivi-ta-chuco, but as soon as the Indians saw us, they set fire to their village and fled. The province of Apalache contains many villages, but we found provisions very scarce there. From Apalache we marched to the province of Yustaga. The governor now thought it time to hear from those he had left behind at Baya Honda, as it was not his intention to advance so far into the country as to render it impossible to have any communication with them.

We had now traveled one hundred and ten leagues. The governor went in search of the sea, which was nine leagues distant. We had now come to that part of the coast where Pamfile de Narvaez had built his vessels. We recognized the spot on which he had built his smithy, and saw a great quantity of horses' bones scattered about. The Indians told us the Christians had built their vessels here. As soon as Juan d'Anasco had marked the trees on the shore, the governor ordered him to go to Baya Honda, and send forward the troops he had left there, and to return himself by sea with the brigantines to Apalache. As soon as the brigantines had arrived, the governor sent them again to sea, under the command of the Chevalier Francisco Maldonado de Salamanca, to find a port to the East. He coasted along shore until he reached a bay which had a good harbor. On the bank of a river was an Indian village, some of whom came to trade with him. He spent two months in making this exploration. As soon as he returned, the governor ordered him to take the brigantines, on board of which was Donna Isabella de Bobadilla, to Havana, and on his arrival there, to set sail again with them to the river Saint Esprit, where he agreed to meet him in six months, if he should not hear from him sooner.

As soon as the brigantines had set sail for Cuba, we began our march to the north, and journeyed five days through a desert until we came to a large and rapid river, which we crossed over in boats.

This province is called Acapachiqui. We observed some villages, but as the country was covered with very extensive swamps, we could not explore them. The Indian huts in this province were differently constructed from those we had previously seen. They were dug in the ground, and resembled caverns, while those we had passed were above ground, and covered with branches of palm trees and straw. We continued our march until we came to two rivers, which we crossed by making rafts of pine trees, and entered a province called Otoa, where we found a much larger village than we had yet seen. We captured some Indians, to serve us as guides and interpreters. We took five or six days to cross this country to a province called Chisi. From Chisi we went to a province called Attapaha. Here we found a river which flowed towards the south, like those we had already passed, and emptied into the sea where Vasquez de Ayllon had landed. This province is well peopled. The governor questioned the Indians about the province of Cafitachiqui. They told him it was impossible to get there, as there were no roads, nor provisions of any kind which he could obtain, and that he must die of hunger if he attempted it.

Nevertheless, we continued our march until we came to some caciques (Ocuteand Cofoque), who gave us some provisions, and told us that if we would declare war against the Queen of Cafitachiqui, they would furnish us with all that we needed on the road, and warned us that they had no communication with her, as they were at war with her. Seeing that we were resolved on going there, they furnished us with eight hundred Indians to carry our provisions and baggage, and guides who took us in an easterly direction, but after three days we found them deceiving us, nor did we know which road to take to this province. The governor sent men in different directions to find a road, and gave them each ten days to go and come, with orders to report any villages which they might see. Those who went in the direction of south, and south-east, returned four days after, and reported they had found a little hamlet, and some provisions. They brought with them some Indians, who understood our guides, which was very fortunate for us, as we had but few interpreters. We immediately marched for this hamlet, to wait there until the messengers who had gone in the other direction could join us. Here we found fifty fanegas of Indian corn, some wheat, and a great many mulberry trees, and other wild fruit. As soon as the other messengers came we set out for the village of Cofitachiqui, which was twelve days' journey from this hamlet, situated on the banks of a river, which we took for the Saint Helene.

When we arrived, the queen sent us one of her nieces, in a litter carried by Indians. She sent the governor a present of a necklace of beads, canoes to cross the river with, and gave us half the village to lodge in. The governor opened a large temple built in the woods, in which was buried the chiefs of the country, and took from it a quantity of pearls, amounting to six or seven arrobes, which were spoiled by being buried in the ground. We dug up two Spanish axes, a chaplet of wild olive seed, and some small beads, resembling those we had brought from Spain for the purpose of trading with the Indians. We conjectured they had obtained these things by trading with the companions of Vasquez de Ayllon. The Indians told us the sea was only about thirty leagues distant. They also informed us that Vasquez de Ayllon had not penetrated far into the country, but had mostly followed the sea shore, until his death. That a large number of his soldiers died of hunger, and out of six hundred who had landed in this country with him, only fifty-seven had escaped.

We remained ten or twelve days in the queen's village, and then set out to explore the country. We marched in a northerly direction eight or ten days, through a mountainous country, where there was but little food, until we reached a province called Xuala, which was thinly inhabited. We then ascended to the source of the great river, which we supposed was the Saint Espirit. At the village of Guasuli, they gave us a great many dogs, and some corn to eat, which served us until we reached a village called Chisca, where we found an abundance of provisions. It is built on an island in the Saint Esprit river, and near its source. The Indians live here in walled villages, and make a great deal of oil from nuts. We remained here twenty-six or seven days, to rest our horses, which had become very thin. We continued our march along this river, until we arrived in the province of Costehe, where the villages were likewise built on the islands of the river. The province of Coca is one of the best countries we have seen in Florida. The cacique came to meet us, borne in a litter, and accompanied by a numerous train. But the next morning his followers deserted him. We kept the cacique a prisoner until he agreed to furnish us with Indians to carry our baggage. In this country we found prunes resembling those of Spain, and vines which produced excellent grapes.

Leaving this province we marched west and south-west, for five or six days. We passed a great number of villages, and at the end of that time we entered the province called Italisi. The inhabitants fled in every direction; but the cacique came soon after, and presented us with twenty-six or seven women, and some deer skins. We then proceeded south, and passing through some villages, we arrived in the province of Tascalusa, whose cacique was of such a height that we took him for a giant. On arriving at his village we gave him a tournament, and offered him other amusements, of which he took no notice. We requested him to give us some Indians to carry our baggage, which he refused with a sneer. The governor then took him a prisoner, which greatly enraged him; and was the cause of his treachery to us afterwards. He told us that he could not give us anything here, but we must go to his village, called Mavila, where he would furnish him with all the provisions we stood in need of. We came to a large river which empties into the bay called Chuse. The Indians informed us that Narvaez's vessels had touched here for water, and left a Christian called Teodoro, who was still among the Indians. They showed us a poignard which had belonged to him. We took two days to construct a raft to cross the river. In the meantime the Indians killed one of the governor's guard. The governor punished the cacique for it, and threatened to burn him alive if he did not deliver up the murderers. He then promised to deliver them up at Mavila. This cacique had a number of servants with him. He had one to brush off the flies, and another to carry a sunshade.

We arrived at Mavila. at nine o'clock in the morning. It was a village built on a plain, and surrounded by strong walls. On the outside the Indians had pulled down their huts; so as not to embarrass them. Some of the chiefs met us and told us we could encamp on the plain, but the governor preferred going with them into the town. We saw only three or four hundred Indians, who entertained us with dancing and feasting, but there was hid in the town five or six thousand men, to surprise us. After the dancing was over the cacique retired into one of his huts. The governor requested him to come out, which he refused to do. The captain of the governor's guard went in after him, and found it filled with warriors, armed with bows and arrows. He reported to the governor what he had seen, and told him that he suspected they were going to commit some treason. The governor then sent for another cacique, who also refused to come. The Indians now began to shoot their arrows from the loopholes in their houses, while others discharged them from the outside. We were not upon our guard, as we had supposed them friends, and consequently we suffered severely. We retreated to the outside of the village. Our baggage remained where it had been thrown down, and as soon as the Indians discovered we had fled, they shut the gates of the village, and commenced to pillage our baggage. The governor ordered sixty or eighty horsemen to arrange them-selves into four platoons, and attack the village in four different places. He directed the first who should enter the village to set fire to the houses, while the rest of the soldiers were ordered not to let any escape. We fought from morning till night, without a single Indian asking for quarters. When night came, only three Indians were found left guarding the twenty women who had danced before us. Two of these were killed, and the other, ascending a tree, took the string from his bow and hung himself from one of the limbs. We lost twenty men killed, and had two hundred and fifty wounded. During the night we dressed the wounded with the fat of the slain Indians, because our medicine was burnt with the baggage. We remained here twenty-seven or eight days, until the wounded could recover. We then departed, taking with us the women, whom we distributed among the wounded to nurse them.

The Indians had told us we were more than forty leagues from the sea. We desired the governor to approach it, so that we might get some news from the brigantines, but he dared not do it, as it was now already in the middle of November, and he wished to find a country where there were provisions, and could go into winter quarters. We marched north ten or twelve days, suffering intensely from the cold, until at length we reached a fertile province, where we went into winter quarters. The cold here is greater than in Spain. This province is called Chicaca. The Indians defended the rivers we had to cross, but afterwards they fled to the woods. In seven or eight days after, the cacique sent envoys to the governor. They were well received by him, and he sent word to the cacique to present himself. The cacique came in a litter, and brought with him rabbits, and whatever he could procure in the country, to give us to eat. At night we surprised some Indians who pretended they had come into our camp to see how we slept. Suspecting their motives we increased our guards. As these Indians knew how we had placed our guards, three hundred entered the village and set fire to it. They killed fifty-seven horses, three hundred hogs, and thirteen or fourteen of our men, and afterwards fled.

We remained here the next day, in a very bad condition. We had a few horses left, but we had no saddles, lances, or shields, for all had been burnt. In five days after, the Indians renewed the attack. They marched to battle in great order, and attacked us on three sides. We went out to meet them, and put them to flight. We sojourred here two months, during which time we made saddles, lances, and shields, after which we marched to the north-west, until we reached the province of Alibamo. Here the Indians had built a strong palisade, and had three hundred men to defend it, with orders to die rather than to let us pass through. As soon as we perceived the warriors behind the palisade, we thought they had provisions, or something valuable behind it. We were in great want of provisions, and knew that we had to cross a great desert before we could find any. We, therefore, arranged ourselves into two divisions, and attacked the enemy. We carried the palisade, but we lost seven or eight men, and had twenty-five wounded. We found enough provisions behind the palisade to last us our journey of ten or twelve days through the desert. The wounded and sick gave us a great deal of trouble, and on the last day we very unexpectedly entered a village called Quiz Quiz. The people here were poor and miserable, and were working their corn fields when we entered it. The village was built on the banks of the Saint Esprit. It was tributary, like many others, to the sovereign of Pacaha.

We left the village to encamp on the banks of the river. Here we found the Indians had gathered to dispute our passage. They had with them a great number of canoes. We remained here twenty-eight or nine days, and built four large pirogues, capable of containing seventy or eighty men each, and five or six horses. In the meantime, every day at three o'clock in the afternoon, the Indians got into two hundred and fifty canoes, dressed with flags, and approached our side of the river to shoot their arrows at us, but as soon as we had finished our pirogues they made a precipitate retreat. The river here was about a league wide, and from nineteen to twenty fathoms deep. We ascended this river to the province of Pacaha, but before we arrived there we came to another province, whose sovereign was named Yeasqui. He came to us and professed a great deal of friendship, but he was at war with the nation we had just left. He was well received by the governor, and that night we encamped on a plain in sight of his village, where we remained two days. The caciques of this country make a custom of raising, near their dwellings, very high hills, on which they sometimes build their huts. On one of these we planted the Cross, and went with much devotion on our knees to kiss the foot of it. On the same evening we returned to our camp, and on the following morning we set out for Pacaha. We journeyed two days, and reached a village in the midst of a plain surrounded by walls, and a ditch filled with water, which had been made by the Indians. We approached it cautiously, and when we got near it, we saw the inhabitants going off. We entered it without any trouble, and took a few Indians. While we remained here the cacique whom we left behind us joined us, with a numerous troop of Indians, and offered to assist us. The governor received him graciously, and presented him with all the treasures we had found in the village, after which he went away quietly.

We remained at this village twenty-six or seven days, anxious to learn if we could take the northern route, and cross to the South Sea. We then marched north-east, where we were told we would find large towns. We traveled eight days through swamps, after which we met a troop of Indians, who lived under movable tents. They informed us that there were other tribes like themselves, who pitched their tents wherever they found deer, and carried their tents and provisions with them on their backs from place to place. We next came to the province of Calusi. The natives attend but little to the cultivation of land, and live principally on fish and game. Seeing there was no way of reaching the South Sea, we returned towards the north, and afterwards in a south- west direction, to a province called Quigata, where we found the largest village we had yet seen in all our travels. It was situated on one of the branches of a great river. We remained here six or eight days to procure guides and interpreters, with the intention of finding the sea. The Indians informed us there was a province eleven days off, where they killed buffaloes, and where we could find guides to conduct us to the sea.

We set out for this province, which they called Coligua. There was no road leading to it, and every day brought us to a swamp, where we feasted on fish. We then crossed vast plains and high mountains, when suddenly we came to the town of Coligua, where we found an abundance of provisions, and a quantity of dry hides. We inquired here for other villages, and they directed us to go west and south-west, and we should find them. We accordingly followed their direction, and came to some scattered villages bearing the name of Tatel Coya. Here we found a large river, emptying into the Rio Grande. We were told that if we were to ascend this river we should find a large province called Cayas. We repaired thither, and found it a mountainous country, and composed of populous villages. We then set out for the province of Tula winter quarters. But before reaching it, we had to cross very high mountains. We came to an Indian village, where they defended themselves so bravely that we lost seven or eight men, and as many horses. The following morning the governor took guides, and ordered the troops to be in readiness to march to the next province, which the Indians called Quipana, situated at the foot of very high mountains. From thence we turned towards the east, and crossing these mountains we descended into an inhabited plain, favorable to our designs, and where there was a large village built on the banks of a river, which emptied into the great river we had passed. This province was called Vicanque. Here we went into winter quarters, and suffered so much from the cold and snow that we thought we should all have perished.

The Christian whom we took, and who had served us as an interpreter, died in this place. In the beginning of March we descended this river, passing through populous provinces, until we came at last to a country the Indians called Anicoyanque. A cacique called Guachoyanque came to see us. He lived on the banks of the Great River. The governor set out immediately with the Cacique for the village of Guachoyanque. His village was fortified and well surrounded by walls. At this place the governor had determined to build some brigantines to send to Cuba, to let them know that he was still alive. He sent his captain to find out the direction of the sea. He returned back in a few days, saying that the vast swamps which the Great River had formed, prevented him from doing so. At length the governor, finding his situation becoming every day more embarrassing, and his affairs going wrong, fell sick and died. He appointed Luis de Moscoso his successor. Not finding any way of reaching the sea by the Great River, Luis de Moscoso determined on going by land to Mexico. When we set out, we traveled twenty-seven days in a westerly direction to the province of Chaviti, where the Indians made salt. From thence we went in three days to the province of Aquacay.

The Indians told us here that the country beyond was a wilderness and uninhabited. That to find villages we must go towards the south-east. We then came to a province called Nissione, then to Naudacho, and Lacame. We made inquiries here about the province of Xuacatino. The cacique of Naudacho gave us a guide to conduct us through the country. He led us accordingly into a wilderness, and when we got there he told us that his master had ordered him to take us to a country where we should die with hunger. We now took another guide, who conducted us to the province of Hais, where we saw buffaloes, but the Indians prevented us from killing them. We came to Xuacatin, and passed some small villages, without finding any provisions. We then returned towards the south, determined to die or reach New Spain. We continued to march in this direction eight or nine days more, hoping to provide ourselves with provisions for the journey. We arrived at last at some miserable huts, where the Indians lived by hunting and fishing, and finding that our corn must soon give out, we resolved to return to the village where Governor Soto had died, to build some vessels to return to our country. But when we arrived there we did not find the facilities we had expected, and were obliged to seek another place, to go into winter quarters, and build our vessels.

God permitted us to find two villages to suit our purposes, upon the Great River. These villages were fortified. We remained here six months to build seven brigantines. We launched them on the river, and it was a miracle they did not leak. They sailed well, although they were calked with the thin bark of mulberry trees. When we embarked the troops we intended if we could find a village on the seashore to stop there, until we could send two brigantines with dispatches to the Viceroy of New Spain, to send us vessels to return it to Spain. On the second day out, as we were descending the river, some forty or fifty canoes came towards us, in one of which were eighty warriors. They shot arrows at us, and captured some of the small canoes we had taken with us, in which were twelve of our best soldiers. The current of the river was so rapid that we could not go to their assistance. Encouraged by this victory, the Indians continued to harass us until we reached the sea, which took us nineteen days. They soon discovered that we had neither arquebuses nor cross-bows to reach them. The only arms we had were some swords and shields, consequently they had nothing to fear from us. We entered the sea through one of the mouths of the river, and for three days and nights we could not see land, but after that we came in sight of it, and took in some water to drink. At length we perceived towards the west some small islands, which we followed, keeping close to the shore, to find something to eat, until we entered the River Panuco, where we were kindly received by the inhabitants.

Signed          LUIS FERNANDEZ DE BIEDMA, (Facteur de sa Majesté.)

Notes

1. Facteur de sa Majesté. The king's agent.
2. 1544. This narrative was presented, says Munoz, to the King and Council of the Indies in 1544, by Luis Hernandez de Biedma, who accompanied the expedition in the capacity of "Facteur de sa Majesté," and has been but very recently discovered in Spain. [French's note].
3. Port of Baya Honda. The Espiritu Santo of Vega, and now called Tampa Bay. [French's note].
4. A Christian. Juan Ortiz, a gentleman of Seville. [French's note].
5. Hurripacuxi. The Urriba cuxi of Vega. [French's note].
6. Eto-cale. Near the Suwanee. [French's note].
7. Aquile. Supposed to he a village of that name now south of the Allachua prairie. [French's note].
8. River. Supposed to be the Suwanee River. [French's note].
9. Ivi-ta-chuco. The Vitachuco of Vega. [French's note].
10. Horses' bones. Supposed to be the site of the present town of St. Marks, where Pamfile de Narvaez embarked the miserable remnant of his troops, on the 22d September, 1525, to return to Spain. [French's note].
11. Bay. Supposed to be Pensacola Bay, the Achusi of Vega. [French's note].
12. Donna Isabella de Bobadilla. De Soto's wife.
13. Six months. In the following year (1542) Maldonado returned to the Port of Achusi (Pensacola), to communicate with De Soto, but not finding him there he returned to Havana. [French's note].
14. Acapachiqui. The Capachiqui of Vega. [French's note].
15. Otoa. The Aute of Vega.[French's note].
16. Chisi. The Chisca of Vega. [French's note].
17. Cafitachiqui. Supposed to be about the head waters of the Savannah River. [French's note].
18. Cafitachiqui. The Copachiqui of Vega. [French's note].
19. Fanega. A dry measure of about 1 to 2 bushels.
20. Saint Helene. Supposed to be in the Cherokee country, and probably the Hiwassee or Tennessee River. [French's note].
21. Xuala. The most northern point of De Soto's travels, and probably in the latitude of 35° N. [French's note].
22. Thinly inhabited. Supposed to be the mountainous country of the Cherokees. [French's note].
23. Chisca. Supposed to be in the country of the Chicachas. [French's note].
24. Source. Supposed to be the Flint or Apalachicola River. [French's note].
25. This river. Probably the Coosa River. [French's note].
26. Tascalusa. This province probably gave name to the River Tuscaloosa in Alabama. [French's note].
27. Chuse. Pensacola Bay, the Achusi of Vega. [French's note].
28. Mavila. This town, the Mauvila of Vega, is supposed to have stood on the north side of the Alabama, about the junction of that river with the Tombecbe, about one hundred miles from Pensacola. There is little doubt that it gave the name to the present river and bay of Mobile. [French's note].
29. Wounded. Garcilaso de la Yega states the loss of the Spaniards to be eighty-two, and the Indians above eleven thousand. [French's note].
30. Chicaca. Supposed to be the country of the Chicasaws. [French's note].
31. Alibamo. This province gave its name to the Alabama River. [French's note].
32. Quiz Quiz. The Chisca of Garcilaso de la Vega. [French's note].
33. The river. The Missississippi River. [French's note]. De Soto discovered the Mississippi on May 8, 1541, naming it Río del Espíritu Santo ("River of the Holy Spirit").
34. Quigata. Supposed to be near Little Rock, Arkansas. [French's note].
35. Coligua. The Coligoa of Vega, supposed to have been situated towards the sources of the St. Francis, or the hills of the White River. [French's note].
36. A large river. Probably the St. Francis. [French's note].
37. Cayas. Supposed to have been the country of the Quapaws. [French's note].
38. Tula. Supposed to have been the country between the Washita and the Little Missouri. [French's note].
39. A river. Supposed to be the Arkansas. [French's note].
40. The Christian. Juan Ortiz. [French's note].
41. Guachoyanque. Supposed to be situated a short distance from the Mississippi, the Guachoya of Vega. [French's note].
42. Died. Thus died at the age of forty-two, Hernando de Soto, one of the bravest of the many leaders who figured in the first discoveries of the Western world. No one was better qualified to rule the hardy spirits under him. He was stern in command; agreeable in his common intercourse, gentle and courteous in his manners; patient and persevering under all difficulties. His body was enclosed in the trunk of a green oak, and conveyed to the middle of the Mississippi, where it was sunk in nineteen fathoms water. Thus the first discoverer of the Mississippi River made his grave in the bosom of its waters. [French's note].
43. Salt. Supposed to be the salines of the Washita River. [French's note]. Now spelled Ouachita.
44. Nissione. Nassonis. [French's note].
45. Naudacho. Nagodoches. [French's note].
46. Journey. The march of Moscoso west of the Mississippi was evidently on the hunting-grounds of the far west, and got upon the prairies, where in many parts they were little better than deserts. [French's note].
47. Two villages. Aminoya and ————, supposed to have been situated in the neighborhood of the present town of Helena, a few miles above the mouth of the Arkansas River. [French's note].
48. Great River. Moscoso and his followers committed themselves to the Mississippi on the second of July, 1543. [French's note].
49. River. The Mississippi. The Indian name of this river, says de la Vega, on the authority of Juan Coles, one of De Soto's followers, was Chucagua. In one place they called it Tamalisen, in another Tapata, and where it enters the sea, River. The Spaniards called it "La Pallisade," "Rio Escondido," or the lost river. [French's note].
50. Shore. The Spaniards went to sea on the 18th July, and arrived in the river Panuco on the 10th September, 1543. The inhabitants of Panuco, says Garcilaso de la Vega, were all touched with pity at beholding this forlorn remnant of the gallant armament of the renowned Hernando de Soto. They were blackened, haggard, shriveled, and half naked, being clad only with the skins of deer, buffaloes, bears, and other animals, looking more like wild beasts than human beings. [French's note].

Source

De Biedma, Luis Fernandez. "A Narrative of the Expedition of Hernando De Soto." Historical Collections of Louisiana, Embracing Translations of Many Rare and Valuable Documents Relating to the Natural, Civil and Political History of That State. Ed. B. F. French. Vol. II. Philadelphia: Daniels and Smith, 1850. 98-109. Google Books. Web. 24 Sept. 2012. <http:// books. google. com/ books?id= A3cOAAAAIAAJ>.

Anthology of Louisiana Literature