[pp 258] ...departure [from the Port of Hirrihigua - Charlotte Harbor] was on a Tuesday, the fifteenth of July of fifteen thirty-nine. And that day they spent the night at the river of Mococo [Myakka River]... And they made two bridges on which this army crossed the river. The next day they went to the lake of the Rabbit... they went the next day to the lake of St. John, and the next day, under a very strong sun, they went to a savannah, where they arrived very fatigued... The next day they came to the savannah of Guacoco... Early the next day they arrived at Luca, a pretty town... ...and on Wednesday, the twenty-third of the aforementioned month, the Governor and his army departed, and he went to Vicela [Mulberry], and passed it to sleep farther on... 7 days marched

[pp 259] ...and on Thursday they spent the night at another town that is called Tocaste [above Bartow], which is on a large lake [Lake Hancock]... 1 day marched

[pp 260] [the horsemen then] arrived on the day of St. Anne at the river or swamp of Cale [the Hillsborough River - 3 marching days ahead of the army], and it was of great current and broad... those who crossed first with the Governor... arrived at the first town of Ocale, which was called Uqueten... [later] they went to Ocale [Dade City - a 2 day march for the army], a town in a good region of corn; and there, going to Acuera [Zephyrhills] for supplies... 5 days marched and one day crossing by all

[pp 262] On the eleventh of August of the same year, the Governor departed from Ocale with fifty horsemen [leaving the army] and... went to sleep at Itaraholata, a good town with plenty of corn... The next day they went to Potano [Nobleton], and the next day, Wednesday, they arrived at Utinamocharra [Inverness], and from there they went to the town of Mala-Paz [Hernando]... The next day the Christians arrived at a pretty town [South Dunnellon]... This army went from there to a river that they call Discords [Withlacoochee River]... 6 days for both DeSoto and his army

[pp 262] Sunday, they crossed that river with as much or more hardship than the one at Ocale. The following day, Monday, [the horsemen] arrived at Aguacaleyquen [on the Suwannee River - then ordered the troops to advance from Ocale - Dade City. See the Ride of the 30 Lancers, below, for a discription of this trail segment]. 4 days marched by the army

[pp 263] On the ninth of September they all departed together from Aguacaleyquen... And they made a bridge of pines in order to cross the river of Aguacaleyquen [Suwannee River], and they spent the night at a small town... Friday, they went to Uriutina [Cross City], a town of pleasant view and with much food... the twelfth of September, these Christians [the horsemen] arrived at a town that they called [the town] of Many Waters [at the Steinhatchee River], because it rained so much that they [the horsemen] could not leave from there on Saturday or on Sunday [while the troops continued to advance]. They [the horsemen] left the following Monday, the fifteenth of that month [passed by the troops], and found a very bad swamp and all the road very difficult, and they spent the night at Napituca [Nutall Rise], which was a very pleasant town, well situated and with much food [troops would arrive the next day - Andrew Jackson's Seminole War would take place there 300 years later]. 8 days marched by the army

[pp 266] Tuesday, the twenty-third of September, the Governor and his army left from Napituca and arrived at the river of the Deer [St. Marks River]. And in order to cross this river they made a bridge of three large pines in length and four in breadth (these pines are perfect and like the very large ones from Spain), and when all the army had finished crossing the river, which was on the twenty-fifth of that month, they passed through two small towns the same day and one very large one that is called Apalu, and they arrived to spend the night at Uzachil [Tallahassee]... 2 days marched

[pp 266] They departed from Uzachil the following Monday, the twenty-ninth of the month, and having crossed a large forest, they spent the night in a pine forest... The next day, Tuesday, the thirtieth of the month of September, they arrived at Agile [Quincy], a subject of Apalache... Wednesday, the first of October, Governor Hernando de Soto left from Agile with his people and arrived at the river or swamp of Ivitachuco [Apalachicola River], and they made a bridge; and in a canebrake on the other side was an ambush of Indians, and they shot three Christians with arrows; and they finished crossing that swamp the following Friday at midday, and there a horse drowned. 3 days marched, several crossing

[pp 267] And they went to sleep at Ivitachuco [Sneads] and found the town burning, for the Indians had set fire to it. [no Saturday mentioned] Sunday, the fifth of October, they went to Calahuchi... and there the guide who led them fled... The next day they went forward carrying as guide an old Indian who got them lost, and an Indian woman led them to Iviahica [near Cottondale], and they [the horsemen] found all the people gone [the troops arrived the net day]... 4 days marched by the army

[pp 268] The departure from Iviahica, in search of Capachequi, began Wednesday, the third day of March of fifteen forty, and the Governor with his army spent the night at the river of Guacuca; and having departed from there, they went to the river of Capachequi, at which they arrived early the following Friday, and they made a canoe or piragua [raft] in order to cross it; and the river was so broad... And on Wednesday, the ninth of March, all the army finished crossing the river of Capachequi, and they left to sleep in a pine forest. And the next day, Thursday, they arrived at the first town of Capachequi, which was well supplied, but among densely wooded hills or land very closed in with groves of trees, and thus they passed on to sleep at another town farther on. And they came upon a bad swamp, next to the town, with a strong current, and before arriving at [the swamp], they crossed a very large stretch of water that came to the cinches and saddle pads of the horses, in such a manner that all the army was not able to finish crossing that day on account of the bad crossing... 5 days marched

[pp 269] On the sixteenth of March they left from Capachequi and spent the night at White Spring... And the following day they spent the night at the [first] river of Toa, where they made two bridges... And the following Sunday, the twenty-first of the month, they arrived at the [second] crossing of the river of Toa... And on Monday all the army finished crossing, and they spent the night in a pine forest, although they were separated and in bad order. And early on Tuesday they arrived at Toa, a large town...5 days marched

[pp 270] Wednesday, the twenty-fourth of the month, the Governor left from there at midnight, secretly, with up to forty noblemen... And they traveled all that day until the night, when they found a bad and deep crossing of water, and although it was at night, they crossed it, and they walked that day twelve leagues; and the next day, which was Maundy Thursday, in the morning, they arrived at the province of Chisi and crossed a branch of a large river, very broad, some of it on foot, and even a good part of it swimming, and they attacked a town that was on an island in this river, where they captured some people and found food. And because the place was dangerous, before canoes came they went back the same way they had entered, but first they had for lunch some hens of the land... 3 days for the army to march 12 leagues

[pp 270] And they passed on [from the island] to other towns, and at a bad crossing of a swamp, some horses drowned, because they were put in to swim with the saddles, while their owners crossed over on a beam which traversed the current of the water. And crossing thus one Benito Fernandez fell from the beam and drowned... This day they arrived at a town where principal Indians came as messengers from Ichisi... 2 days for the army to march and cross the river

[pp 271] On Monday, the twenty-ninth of March, they left from there for Ichisi, and it rained so much, and a small river swelled in such a manner, that if they bad not made much haste to cross, all of the army would have been endangered. This day Indian... women came clothed in white... [the riders] arrived that day at a town of a cacique subject to Ichisi, a pretty town and with plenty of food... and they rested there on Tuesday [while the army caught up], and then on Wednesday, the last day of March, the Governor and his army departed, and they arrived at the Great River [where the army would camp] where they had many canoes in which they crossed very well and arrived at the town of the lord [Ichisi]... They were there Thursday, the first of April [still crossing the Great River], and they placed a cross on the mound of the town... 4 days march

[pp 272] Friday, the second day of the month of April, this army departed from there and slept in the open, and the next day they arrived at a good river and found deserted huts, and messengers arrived from Altamaha and led them to a town where they found an abundance of food, and a messenger from Altamaha came with a present, and the following day they brought many canoes and the army crossed very well... 3 days march

[pp 272] The next day, Thursday, the eighth of April, the Governor departed from there... and they went to sleep at some huts, and on Friday they arrived at the town of Ocute. Monday, the twelfth of April, they departed from Ocute and arrived at Cofaqui, and principal Indians came with gifts... and all the tamemes that they had need of. On Thursday, the fifteenth of that month, Perico, the Indian boy who had been their guide since Apalache, began to lose his bearings, because now he did not know any more of the land, and he made himself out to be possessed, and he knew how to do it so well that the Christians thought that it was the truth; and a missionary... said it was so. But in fact, they had to take guides, which Tatofa gave them, in order to go to Cofitachequi across an uninhabited region of nine or ten days' journey... Friday, the sixteenth of the month, this Governor and his people spent the night at a creek on the way to Cofitachequi, and the next day they crossed an extremely large river, divided in two branches, broader than a long shot of an arquebus... all came forth and slept in a forest. This day they lost many pigs of those that they had brought tame from Cuba, which the current carried off... 7 days marched

[pp 274] The next day, Sunday, they went to another forest or grove to rest; and the next day, Monday, they traveled without a road and crossed another very large river, and on Tuesday they spent the night alongside a stream, and on Wednesday they arrived at another extremely large river, and difficult to cross, which was divided in two branches, with bad entrances and worse exits. And now the Christians carried nothing to eat, and with great labour they crossed this river, and arrived at some settlements of fishermen or hunters, and the Indians that they brought lost their bearings, since neither they nor the Spaniards knew the road nor what way they should take... 4 days marched

[pp 275] And Our Lord remedied them in this manner: on Sunday, the twenty-fifth of April, Juan de Anasco came with news that he had found a town and food... And thus they departed... This day the Governor arrived with some on horseback (although few) at the town that is called Himahi, and the army remained two leagues back... And the next day the army arrived, and they gave out rations of corn... 1 long day's march

[pp 278] Friday, the last day of April, the Governor took some on horseback, the most rested, and the Indian woman Baltasar de Gallegos brought as guide and went toward Cofitachequi and spent the night hard by a large and deep river, and he sent Juan de Anasco with some on horseback to try to have some interpreters and canoes ready in order to cross the river... The next day the Governor arrived at the crossing in front of the town... Monday, on the third of May, all the rest of the army arrived, and all could not cross until the next day, Tuesday... 4 days marched

[pp 280] On the seventh of May, Friday [1540], Baltasar de Gallegos went with most of the people of the army [eastward to a different trail for food] to Ilapi... Wednesday, the thirteenth of May, the Governor left from Cofitachequi, and in two days he arrived at the province of Chalaque... And they slept in a pine forest, where many Indian men and women began to come in peace with presents and gifts, and they were there on Whitsuntide. And from there the Governor wrote to Baltasar de Gallegos by some Indians... they should follow the Governor. And on Monday, the seventeenth of that month, they departed from there and spent the night in a forest; and on Tuesday they went to Guaquili... And on the following Wednesday they went to a canebrake, and on Thursday to a small savannah where a horse died; and some foot soldiers of Baltasar de Gallegos arrived, making known to the Governor that he was approaching... The next day, Friday, they went to Xuala, which is a town on a plain between some rivers... And on Saturday Baltasar de Gallegos arrived there with many sick and lame, and they needed them healthy, particularly since they now had the mountains before them. In that Xuala it seemed to them that there was better disposition to look for gold mines than in all that they had passed through and seen in that northern part... 7 days ridden by horsemen, 11 days marched by troops

[pp 281] Tuesday, on the twenty-fifth of May, they left from Xuala and crossed that day a very high mountain range, and they spent the night in a small forest, and the next day, Wednesday, in a savannah where they endured great cold, although it was already the twenty-sixth of May; and there they crossed, in water up to their shins, the river by which they afterward left... [the Lady of Cofitachequi Escapes here] and they awaited them one day... in that [province] of Xalaque [Cherokee]. The next day they spent the night in an oak grove, and the following day, alongside a large creek, which they crossed many times; and the next day... they arrived early at Guasili... 5 days marched

[pp 282] Monday, which was the last day of May, the Governor left from Guasili and went with his army to an oak grove alongside a river, and the next day they passed through Canasoga and spent the night in the open. And on Wednesday they spent the night alongside a swamp... The next day, Thursday, they went alongside a large creek next to the river that they had crossed in the savannah where the cacica went away, and now it was large. The next day, Friday, they went to a pine forest and a creek, where Indians from Chiaha came in peace and brought corn... Saturday, the fifth of June, was the day that they entered in Chiaha; and since from Xuala all their travel had been through a mountain range and the horses were tired and thin, and the Christians likewise fatigued... 6 days marched

[pp 283] On Monday, the twenty-eighth of June, the Governor and his people left from Chiaha, and they passed through five or six towns, and they went to sleep at a pine forest, but they had much hardship there in crossing a river that flowed very strongly… The next day, Tuesday, they passed through a town, and there they took corn and went onward to sleep in the open. The following Wednesday they crossed a river, and then a town and the river another time, and they spent the night in the open. And on Thursday the cacique of Coste came forth to receive them in peace, and he led the Christians to sleep in a town of his. And thus, the next day, Thursday, going toward his principal town of Coste, he slipped away and evaded the Spaniards and called his people to arms. On Friday [Note that Thursday was listed twice above, a common Ranjel error; this day, Friday, should be Saturday]... the adelantado Governor [in advance] arrived at Coste, which is a town on an island of the river, which there flows great and strong and is difficult to enter: and the Christians crossed the first branch without danger [the troops would finish crossing the next day]... 6 days marched

[pp 284] Friday, the ninth of July [1540], the adelantado and his army left Coste, and they crossed the other branch of the river and spent the night on its banks, and Tali was on the other side; and since the river flows together in one large channel, they could not [all] cross it… [so] they departed on Sunday and slept in the open. On Monday they crossed a river, and slept in the open. On Tuesday they crossed another river, and on Wednesday another large river, and they slept in Tasqui... On Thursday they went to another small town and passed other towns, and on Friday the Governor entered in Coosa… 7 days marched

[pp 285] On Friday, the twentieth of August, the Governor and his people left Coosa and they spent that night beyond Talimuchusi. And the next day [they entered Alabama], in a heavy rain, and they spent the night at Itaba, a large town alongside a good river… Monday, the thirtieth of August, the Governor left from Itaba with his army and spent the night in an oak grove, and the following day they went to Ulibahali, a very good town, next to a large river… From this town of Ulibahali the Spaniards and their Governor left one Thursday, the second of September, and they spent the night in a pretty town hard by the river; and the next day, Friday, they came to Piachi, which is alongside a river… On Sunday they left there and spent the night in the open, and the next day, Monday, they went to Tuasi... On Monday, the thirteenth of September, the Governor left from there, and they spent the night in the open, and on Tuesday they made another day's journey and halted likewise in the open, and on Wednesday they went to an old town that had double walls and good towers… 11 days marched

[pp 288] The next day, Thursday, they spent the night in a new town next to the river, where the Spaniards rested that day. And the next day, Saturday, they went to Talisi… This town is large and fertile with much corn, and next to a large river… Tuesday, the fifth of October, they left from Talisi and spent the night at Casiste, which is a pretty town alongside the river. And the next day, Wednesday, they went to Caxa, a wretched town on the bank of the river and at the boundary [rays] between Talisi and Tuscalusa. And the next day, Thursday, they spent the night alongside the river, and a town that is called Humati was on the other side of the water. And the next day, Friday, they went to another new town, which is called Uxapita; and the next day, Saturday, they established their camp one league before arriving at the town of Tuscalusa… 7 days marched

[pp 291] Tuesday, the twelfth of October, they left from that town of Atahachi (Tuscalusa)… and that day they spent the night in the open. And the next day, Wednesday, they arrived at Piachi, which is a high town, upon the bluff of a river… 2 days marched plus river crossing

[pp 294] On Sunday, the fourteenth of November of the aforesaid year [1540], the Governor [with his horsemen] left Mabila, and the following Wednesday he arrived at a very good river, and on Thursday, the twenty-eighth they went across bad crossings and swamps and found a town with corn, which was called Talicpacana []... 5 days for horsemen, 8 days marched by troops

[pp 296]The Christians had discovered on the other side of the river a town that seemed good to them from a distance, and well situated, and on Sunday, the twenty-first of November, Vasco Gonzalez found a town, a half-league from this one, which is called Moculixa, from which they had transferred all the corn to the other side of the river… A piragua [raft] was made, which was finished on the twenty-ninth of the month, and they made a large cart to carry it up to Moculixa, and having launched it in the water, sixty soldiers entered in it… They took the land easily and found plenty of corn. 1 day marched plus river crossing

The next day, Wednesday, all the army went to a town that is called Zabusta, and there they crossed the river in the piragua [raft] and with some canoes that they took there; and they went to take lodging in another town on the other end, because upriver they found another good town and took its lord, who was named Apafalaya, and brought him as guide and interpreter, and that bank was called the river of Apafalaya. From this river and province the Governor and his people left in search of Chicasa on Thursday, the ninth of December, and they arrived the following Tuesday at the river of Chicasa, having passed many bad crossings and swamps and rivers and cold weather. 12 days marched in 2 weeks - see Calendar

[pp 297] They found that the river of Chicasa was flowing out of its bed, and the Indians on the other side were up in arms, with many white banners. Orders were given to make a piragua [raft] and they crossed very well in the piragua on Thursday, the sixteenth of the month [leaving Alabama]. And the Governor advanced [45 miles] with some on horseback, and they arrived very late at night at the town of the lord, and all the people were gone. The next day Baltasar de Gallegos arrived with the thirty [horsemen] who went with him. [No mention of troops arriving] They were there in Chicasa that Christmas… 3 days marched beyond river crossing

[pp 299] On Tuesday, the twenty-sixth of April of the year already stated of fifteen forty-one, Governor Hernando de Soto departed from the savannah of Chicasa and spent the night at Limamu, and they were there looking for corn, because the Indians had concealed it, and they had to cross an uninhabited region. And on Thursday they went to another savannah, where the Indians had made a very strong barricade (Alabamo)... On Saturday, the last day of April, the army departed from the site of the barricade, and traveled nine days through an uninhabited region and a bad road through forests and swamps, until... Sunday the eighth of May, when they arrived at the first town of Quizqui… 12 days marched

[pp 300] One league from [another] town was found another with much corn, and then, after another league, another, likewise with much corn. There they saw the great river. On Saturday, the twenty-first of May, the army moved on to a savannah between the river and a small town, and they made camp, and began to make four piraguas [rafts] in order to cross to the other side… 4 days marched by the army

[pp 300] ...on Saturday, the eighth of June [1541], all the army crossed that great [Ohio] river in the four piraguas [rafts]... On Sunday, they went to a town of Aquijo; on Tuesday, the twenty-first of June, they left from there and passed through the province of Aquijo, which is very beautiful and nicely situated. The next day, Wednesday, they passed through the worst road of swamps and water that they had seen in all Florida, and in this day's journey the people suffered much hardship. The next day following, Thursday, they entered in the land of Quarqui and passed through many towns, and the next day, Friday, the day of St. John, they went to the town of the lord of Casqui, and he gave food and clothes to this army, and on Saturday they entered in his town...6 days marched

[pp 300] On Sunday, the twenty-sixth of June, they left from there for Pacaha, enemy of Casqui, and they spent the night at one town and passed others. [Monday entry skipped] And the following day they crossed a swamp, in which the Indians had a well-made bridge, broad and of ingenious construction; and on Wednesday they arrived at the town of Pacaha, a town and lord of great renown and very esteemed in those parts. 4 days marched

[pp 303] ...the army and its Governor departed... from Pacaha, they spent the night at a town of Casqui, and the next day at the principal town of the same lord of Casqui, through which they had already passed [2 days march skipped by Rangel - it had taken the army 4 days to get to Pacaha from Casqui], and they left from there on Sunday, the last day of that month, and went to a town of that province. And on Monday, the first of August, they arrived at another town that is alongside the river of Casqui, which is a branch that comes forth from the great river of Pacaha, and this branch is as large as the Guadalquivir [River in Spain]. There Casqui came and helped them cross the river by canoe on Tuesday the second of August. 6 days marched plus river crossing

[pp 304] They spent the night on Wednesday at a burned town, and the following Thursday, at another town next to the river, where there were many squash and much corn and beans. And the next day, Friday, they went to Quiguate [Province], which is the largest town they saw in that land, next to the river of Casqui; and they found out afterwards that river was well populated below (although they did not manage to find it out then), and for that reason they took the road from Coligua [for 3 days], passing through an uninhabited region. 6 days marched

[pp 304] On Tuesday, the sixth of September [1541], they departed from Coligua and crossed the river another time, and on Wednesday they crossed some mountains and went to Calpista... On the following Thursday they went to Palisma, and on Saturday, the tenth of September, they came forth to sleep at a [body of] water, and on Sunday they arrived at Quixila and rested there on Monday, and they went on Tuesday to Tutilcoya, and on Wednesday to a town alongside a large river, and on Thursday they spent the night alongside a swamp. And the Governor went in advance with some on horseback, and he arrived at Tanico; and the next day they (the army) went to the same province of Tanico... 10 days marched

[pp 305] From there the Governor went with thirteen on horseback and fifty foot soldiers to see Tula, and he returned from there rapidly... On Wednesday, the fifth of October, they left from the site of Tanico or Cayase and arrived on Friday at Tula... On Wednesday, the nineteenth of October, this army and the Governor departed from Tula, and they spent the night at two huts, and the next day (they left Missouri)...

[pp 305]Thursday, [October 20, 1541, during the darkness of New Moon, DeSoto's Army entered Arkansas] at another hut, and on Friday at another... The next day, Saturday, they went to Guipana, which is among some mountains, next to a river... 7 days marched

[pp 305] ...and from there they went as far as they could to sleep, and all that [land] is mountainous from Tula on... The next day they came out of the mountains and entered the plains, and on Monday, the last day of the month, they arrived at a town that is called Quitamaya, and on Tuesday, the first of November, they passed through a small village, and on Wednesday, the second of November, they arrived at Utiangue, which is a very well populated savannah of attractive appearance.... 5 days marched

DESOTOS TRAILS IN ARKANSAS... 23 TOTAL days marched to Desoto's Death for 200 miles

From Autiamque, it took the governor ten days to reach a province called Ayays. He reached a town near the river which flowed through Cayas and Autiamque. There he ordered a piragua to be constructed, by which he crossed the river.

After crossing, such weather occurred that he could not march for four days because of the snow. As soon as it stopped snowing, he marched for three days through an unpopulated region and a land so low and with so many swamps and such hard going that one day he marched all day through water that in some places reached to the knees and in others to the stirrups, and some passages were swum over.

He came to a deserted village, without maize called Tutelpinco. Near it was a lake which emptied into the river and had a strong current and force of water... Reed frames and rafts were made there from reeds and wood from the houses, on which they crossed the lake.

[ELVAS: pp 131] They marched for three days and reached a town of the district of Nilco, called Tianto... The governor sent a captain on ahead to Nilco with horse and foot, so that the Indians might not have any opportunity to carry off the food.

They went through three or four large towns, and in the town where the cacique lived - located two leagues from where the governor remained - they found many Indians with their bows and arrows...

Next day, Wednesday, March 29 [Full Moon], the governor reached Nilco. He lodged with all his men in the cacique's town which was located on a level field, and which was all populated for a quarter of a league; while a league and a half-league distant were other very large towns where there was a quantity of maize, beans, walnuts, and dried plums. This was the most populous region which had been seen in Florida and more abounding in maize, with the exception of Coosa and Apalache.

[ELVAS: pp 132] That river which flowed through Anilco was the same that flowed through Cayas and Autiamque and emptied into the large river which flowed through Pacaha and Aquixo hard by the province of Guachoya.

The lord of the upper part [Guachoya] came in canoes to make war on the lord of Nilco... The governor gave him some trifles and showed him great honor. He questioned him about the settlement down the river. He said that he knew of none other except his own; and that on the other side was a province of a cacique called Quigaltam.

...A few days later, the governor made up his mind to go to Guachoya, in order to ascertain there whether the sea were nearby, or whether there were any settlement nearby where he might subsist himself while brigantines were being built which he intended to send to the land of Christians...

The governor sent a captain and fifty men in six canoes down the river, while he, with the rest of his men, went overland. He reached Guachoya on Sunday, April 17, and lodged himself in the cacique's town, which was surrounded by a stockade, a crossbow flight from the river. There, the river was called Tamaliseu, at Nilco, Tapatu, at Coca, Mico, and at the port, Ri [i.e., River].

[ELVAS: pp 133] As soon as the governor reached Guachoya... (he) asked him [the chief] whether he had any knowledge of the sea. He said he did not, nor of any settlement down the river from that place, except that there was a town of one of his principal Indians subject to him two leagues away, and on the other side three days' journey downstream the province of Quigaltam, who was the greatest lord of that region.

[ELVAS: pp 134] It seemed to the governor that the cacique was lying to him in order to turn him aside from his towns, and he sent Juan de Anasco downstream with eight horse to see what population there was and to ascertain whether there were any knowledge of the sea. He was gone for a week and on his coming (back) said that during that whole time he could not proceed more than fourteen or fifteen leagues because of the great arms leading out of the river, and the canebrakes and thick woods lying along it; and that he found no settlement.

[ELVAS: pp 137] The governor's grief was intense on seeing the small prospect he had for reaching the sea; and worse, according to the way in which his men and horses were diminishing, they could not be maintained in the land without succor. With that thought, he fell sick... (and) appointed Luis de Moscoso de Alvarado as their captain general... Next day, May 21 died the magnanimous, virtuous, and courageous captain, Don Hernando de Soto, governor of Cuba and adelantado of Florida...

[ELVAS: pp 139] Having obtained information of the population all thereabout, he [Moscoso] learned that there was a more populous land toward the west and that the river below Quigaltam was uninhabited and had little food. He asked each to express his opinion in writing and to sign his opinion with his name, so that having the opinions of them all, he might make up his mind whether to descend the river or to penetrate inland. It seemed advisable to all to take the road overland toward the west, for New Spain lay in that direction; and they considered as more dangerous and of greater risk the voyage by sea; for no ship could be built strong enough to weather a storm, and they had no master or pilot, and no compass or sailing chart, and they did not know how far away the sea was, nor had they any information of it; nor whether the river made some great bend through the land or whether it fell over any rocks where they would perish.

[ELVAS: pp 140] ...On Monday, June 5, he left Guachoya. The cacique gave him a guide to Chaguate and remained in his village. They passed through a province called Catalte and after passing through anuninhabited region for six days...

[ELVAS: pp 140] ...They reached Chaguete on the twentieth of the month. The cacique of that province had gone to visit the governor, Don Hernando de Soto, at Autiamque where he brought him gifts of skins, blankets, and salt.

[ELVAS: pp 141] ...They passed through a small town where there was a lake where the Indians made salt. The Christians made some on a day they rested there from some briny water which rose near the town in pools like springs.

The governor (now Luis de Moscoso) stayed six days in Chaguete. There he got information of the people to the west. They told him that three days' journey from there was a province called Aguacay...

[ELVAS: pp 141] On behalf of the cacique of Aguacay, before reaching that province, fifteen Indians came to meet him on the way with a present of skins and fish and roasted venison. The governor reached his town (Minden) on Wednesday, July 4. He found the town abandoned and lodged therein. He stayed there for some time, during which he made several inroads...

[ELVAS: pp 142] On the day the governor left Aguacay, he went to sleep near a small town subject to the lord of that province. The camp was pitched quite near to a salt marsh, and on that evening some salt (Potassium nitrate, the oxidizing agent of gun powder) was made there (as it is today; its called the Lousiana Ordnance Plant). Next day he went to sleep between two ridges (they're still there, too - Radio/TV transmission towers and all) in a forest of open trees. Next day he reached a small town called Pato (today's Bossier City). The fourth day after he left Aguacay, he reached the first settlement of a province called Amaye (Shreveport, having walked across the Red River log jam). An Indian was captured there who said that it was a day and a half journey thence to Naguatex (Texas), all of which lay through an inhabited region.

[ELVAS: pp 142-3] Having left the village of Amaye [Shreveport], on Saturday, July 20, camp was made at midday beside a brook in a luxuriant grove between Amaye and Naguatex. That night he slept there and next day reached the village of Naguatex which was very extensive. He asked where the town of the cacique was and they told him it was on the other side of a river [the Sabine] which ran through that district...

He marched toward it and on reaching it saw many Indians on the other side waiting for him, so posted as to forbid his passage. Since he did not know whether it [the river] was fordable, nor where it could be crossed, and since several Christians and horses were wounded, in order that they might have time to recover in the town where he was, he made up his mind to rest for a few days.

Because of the great heat, he made camp near the village, a quarter of a league from the [Sabine] river, in an open forest of luxuriant and lofty trees near a brook. Several Indians were captured there. He asked them whether the river was fordable. They said it was at times in certain places. Ten days later he sent two captains, each with fifteen horse up and down the river with Indians to show them where they could cross, to see what population lay on the other side of the river. The Indians opposed the crossing of them both as strongly as possible, but they crossed in spite of them. On the other side they saw a large village and many provisions; and returned to camp with this news.

[ELVAS: pp 144] Four days later he departed thence, but on reaching the river could not cross, as it had swollen greatly... The governor returned to the place where he had been during the preceding days.

[ELVAS: pp 145] A week later, hearing that the river could be crossed, he passed to the other side and found a [Naugatex] village without any people...

A few days later... He left Naguatex and after marching three days reached a town of four or five houses, belonging to the cacique of that miserable province, called Nisohone. It was a poorly populated region and had little maize.

Two days later, the guides who were guiding the governor, if they had to go toward the west, guided them toward the east, and sometimes they went through dense forests, wandering off the road. The governor ordered them hanged from a tree, and an Indian woman, who had been captured at Nisohone, guided him, and he went back to look for the road.

Two days later, he reached another wretched land called Lacane. There he captured an Indian who said that the land of Nondacao was a very populous region and the houses scattered about one from another as is customary in mountains, and that there was abundance of maize.

He [of Nondacao] made him a gift of a great quantity of fish and offered to do as he should order. He took his leave of him and gave him a guide to the province of Soacatino.

The governor departed from Nondacao (at Mission Tejas, having crossed the Netchez River) for Soacatino and after he had marched for five days arrived at the province called Aays... Some horses and Christians were wounded, but not so badly that it presented any obstacle to their march, for no one had a dangerous wound. Great damage was done the Indians.

[INCA writes] ...they came to a province called Auche Its lord came out to receive them very cordially and entertained them with many signs of affection. He said that it gave him much satisfaction to see them in his country, but as we shall see later all this was false and assumed.

The Spaniards rested in that pueblo of Auche for two days, it being the principal one of the province. On informing themselves about the things that would be helpful on their journey, they learned that two days' march from the pueblo there was a great uninhabited region that was four days' journey in extent. The cacique Auche gave them Indians laden with maize for six days, and an old Indian to guide them through the uninhabited country until he brought them out to the settlements...

Thus prepared, our people left Auche, and in two days' march they reached the uninhabited country, through which they traveled four more days...

[ELVAS: pp 146] That Indian led him [the governor] off the road for two days... and another one guided him to Soacatino, whither he arrived the next day. It [Soacatino Province] was a very poor land and there was great lack of maize there.

He asked the Indians whether they knew of other Christians. They said they had heard it said that they were traveling about near there to the southward...

On reaching a province called Guasco, they found maize...

Thence they went to another village called Naquiscoga.

The governor reached Nacacahoz in two days... (then) returned to Guasco.

[INCA writes] ...(the) poor settlements ceased, and they saw that there were large mountain ranges and forests to the west and learned that they were uninhabited.

The governor and his captains, warned by the experiences of hunger and hardship they had passed through in the deserts that were behind them, wished to go no farther than was necessary to find a road that would bring them out into an inhabited country...

Therefore they ordered that three mounted companies (including the governor's mounted scouts, mentioned above), each with twenty-four horses, should all go toward the west by three routes to find out what there was in that direction.

[ELVAS: pp 147-8] There the Indians told them that ten days' journey thence toward the west was a river called Daycao where they sometimes went to hunt in the mountains and to kill deer; and that on the other side of it they had seen people, but did not know what village it was. There the Christians [the scouts] took what maize they found and could carry and after marching for ten days through an unpeopled region reached the river of which the Indians had spoken.

Ten of horse, whom the governor had sent on ahead, crossed over to the other side (of the Colorado River), and went along the road (northwestward) leading to the (Llano) river. They came upon an encampment of Indians who were living in very small huts. As soon as they saw them [the scouts], they took to flight, abandoning their possessions, all of which were wretchedness and poverty. The land was so poor that, among them all, they did not find half an "alqueire" of maize.

Those of horse captured two Indians and returned with them to the (Colorado) river (at Austin) where the governor was awaiting them. They continued to question them in order to learn from them the population to the westward, but there was no Indian in the camp who understood their language.

The governor ordered the captains and principal persons summoned, in order to plan what he should do after hearing their opinions. Most of them said that in their opinion they should return to the great river of Guachoya (in Arkansas), for there was plenty of maize at Anilco and thereabout. They said that during the winter they would make brigantines and the following summer they would descend the river in them to look for the sea, and once having reached the sea, they would coast along it to New Spain which, although it seemed a difficult thing, because of what they had already said, yet it was their last resort because they could not travel by land for lack of an interpreter.

They maintained that that land beyond the river of Daycao, where they were, was the land which Cabeza de Vaca said in his relation he had traversed, and was of Indians who wandered about like Arabs without having a settled abode anywhere, subsisting on prickly pears, the roots of plants, and the game they killed. And if that were so, if they entered it and found no food in order to pass the winter, they could not help but perish, for it was already the beginning of October; and if they stayed longer, they could not turn back because of the waters and snows, nor could they feed themselves in such a poor land.

The governor, who was desirous now of being in a place where he could sleep out his full sleep, rather than to govern and conquer a land where so many hardships presented themselves to him, at once turned back to the place whence they had come.

[BIEDMA, the King's Agent, says] "Having... found nothing to eat, that we were now lacking the corn that we had carried on our backs, and that it was impossible for so many people to traverse so miserable a land, we decided to return to the town where Governor Soto had died, because there it seemed to us that it was possible to fashion vessels to leave the land. We returned along that same road that we had followed."

[INCA writes of that road...] "...they (first) marched in an arc toward the south (on Texas map above), always obtaining information of the road ahead in order not to get into some desert that they could not get out of."