Pre Alabama

The Southeastern Trek Of Hernando DeSoto

Alabama 1965 Circa

Selma To Montgomery

"DeSoto reached Cosa on Friday, July 16th. The chief came out to welcome him two crossbow flights (half-a-mile) from the town in a carrying chair borne on the shoulders of his principal men, seated on a cushion, and covered with a robe of marten skins of the form and size of a woman's shawl. He wore a crown of feathers on his head; and around about him were many Indians playing and singing. "As soon as he came to the govenor, he saluted him and addressed the following words to him; "Excellent and powerful Lord, superior to all those of the earth... I come to welcome you, (but) long ago I have welcomed you in my heart, namely, from the day on which I heard of your Lordship (probably from his people in Georgia). With so great a desire, joy, and happiness to serve you, what I show is nothing compared to what I feel, nor could it have any comparison. You may consider it as true that to receive dominion over the world would not gladden me so much as does the sight of you; nor should I consider it as great happiness. Do not expect me to offer you what is yours, namely, my person, lands, and vassals. I wish only to occupy myself in commanding my people to welcome you with all diligence and due reverence from this place to the town (in Big Will's Valley) with music and singing, where your Lordship will be lodged and served by me and by them; and you will do with all I possess as though it were your own..." © 1993, University of Alabama Press

"The govenor thanked him, and both talking together very joyfully, they went on to the town (where the chief resided in Big Will's Valley). He ordered his Indians (his servants) to move out of their dwellings, in which the govenor and his men were lodged (the army would arrive later and be quartered in Fort Payne). In the storage bins and fields there was a great quantity of maize and beans. The land was very populous and had many large towns and planted fields which reached from one town to the other (up and down Big Will's Valley). It was a charming and fertile land, and grapes along the river (Big Will's Creek) on vines climbing up into the trees. Beyond the streams were the low stocks of large, sweet grapes, but because they were not cultivated or well taken care of they had large seeds."

"The govenor was accustomed to place a guard over the chief so that the chief might not go away, and took the chief along with him until leaving the chief's land; for by taking the chief (by surprise attack with swift horses), the people (of the chief's village) would await in their towns (for the army to arrive) and the chief would give a guide and Indians as carriers (for all of the food and clothing found in their village to be used by the Spaniards as they passed). Before departing from their lands, (DeSoto) would give the chiefs leave to return to their homes as soon as he reached another dominion where others were (forced to be) given to him" (in the same manner). "Those (Indians) of Coosa, seeing their lord detained, thought ill of it and revolted and went away to hide themselves in the woods - both those of their lord's town and those of other chiefs towns, who were his vassals. The govenor sent four captains (out to find them, as the army arrived), each in a different direction... They seized many Indians, men and women, who were put in chains (by the footsoldiers). Upon seeing the harm they received, and how little they gained in absenting themselves (from the fast moving horsemen), they came, saying that they wished to serve in whatever might be commanded them. Some of the principal men among those imprisoned were set free on petition of the chief. Of the rest, each man (in the army) took away as slaves those he had in chains, without allowing them to go to their lands. [Curious on-lookers from surrounding areas, were, no doubt, attracted by the spectacle of the Spaniards. They were captured by the army as it advanced.] Nor did many of them return (to their homes) except some whose good fortune and assiduous industry aided them, who managed to file off their chains at night; or some, who were able, while on the march, to wander away from the road upon observing any lack of care in their guard. They went off with their chains, their loads (of food and supplies) and the clothes they were carrying (for the Spaniards)."

"... and in truth, as eyewitnesses testified (at Spanish Inquests years later), it was a thing of much pity to see (those Indians); but God forgets no evil thing done nor does it remain without punishment, as this history will relate."

"One day while the Spaniards were in this village of Cosa, its lord, who had eaten at the governor's table, having talked with him about many things pertaining to the conquest and settlement of the country and having replied to the entire satisfaction of the governor... said "Sir... if you are seeking good lands on which to settle, see fit to remain in mine and make an establishment in them. I believe that this is one of the best provinces that your lordship has seen among all of those that are in this kingdom, and moreover I assure your lordship that you have chanced to pass through and see the poorest and least desirable part of it. If your lordship should desire to examine it more closely, I will take you through other, better parts (Rome, Georgia, Chief Coosa's home) that will satisfy you entirely, and you can take whatever part of them that seems best to you for settling and establishing your house and court. If you do not wish to grant me this favor at present, at least do not refuse to remain in this village during the coming winter, which is near, where we will serve you, as your lordship will see by our actions..." The governor thanked him for his good will and told him that he was wholly unable to make an inland settlement until knowing what ports there were on the seacoasts to receive the ships and the people that would come to them from Spain or elsewhere with cattle and plants and the other things necessary for making settlements. At the proper time he would accept his offer and would always maintain friendship with him, and meanwhile he might rest assured that he would not delay in returning there and settling the country, and then he could do the things he asked for his gratifacation and satisfaction." This lord (Coosa) was twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age, of very elegant bearing, as are most of those in that country, and of good understanding. He spoke with descretion and gave good replies to all the questions that were asked him; he appeared to have been brought up in a most enlightened and polished court.

"...the governor saw fit to continue his journey toward the sea, which he was seeking. Since leaving the province of Xuala (Tryon, N.C.) we had marched toward the coast (the Gulf of Mexico), making an arc through the country in order to come out at the port of Achusi (Mobile Bay) as we had agreed with Captain Maldonado to do. The later had remained to explore the coast and was to return (from Cuba) at the beginning of the coming winter to the port of Achusi with reinforements of men and arms and cattle and provisions... The governor's chief purpose was to go to this port to begin making his settlement..." © 1993, University of Alabama Press

"The Governor rested in Coosa (Fort Payne) for twenty-five days, then set out on Friday, August 20th (1540), to look for a province, by name, Tuscaloosa."

"We (the army) departed from here toward the west and southwest (into and down Big Will's Valley) and went through towns of the Chief..."

"...(we) passed through a large town (north of Collinsville; there is a very old pioneer cemetery there today)... and went to sleep half-league (three-quarters of a mile) beyond it near a stream (Big Will's Creek, where it bends back to the main road through that wide part of the valley). Next day he reached a town called Y-tau-a (Duck Springs, in E-ta-wah County; English explorers spelled it "At-tal-la.")... we stayed there for six days because a river was swollen (beavers cause this problem, even today, in this narrow canyon by damming Big Will's Creek between its steep walls just below Duck Springs)... As soon as the river allowed crossing, we set out, and went to sleep at a town called Ullibahali (Gadsden)... near which flowed a small river (the Coosa River)... enclosed like that in other towns seen there afterward, of thick logs, set solidly close together in the ground, and many long poles as thick as an arm placed crosswise (this structure may have partially served as a levee against the river's periodic floods). The height of the enclosure was that of a good lance (ten feet or more), and it was plastered within and without and had loopholes (for the Indians to shoot arrows through). On the other side of the river was a town where the chief was (Ohatchee)...we (then) went to sleep at a town subject to him (Lincoln)... and the next day we reached another called Toasi (Talladega)... we marched ordinarily five or six leagues (13 to 16 miles) daily when going through a peopled region, and as much as we could through a depopulated region... we marched for five [more] days... and reached Tallise (spelled "Tallassee" today, at the same place)... The town was large and was located near a deep river (the Tallapoosa River; the town extended southward to the peninsula formed by the river's westward bend)."

"... the governor took leave of the good Chief Coosa and his people, who were very sad because we were leaving their country (actually, Chief Coosa was released into hostile Indian territory where he would be slain, according to Spanish reports made there two decades later). We went by way of a road that they (advanced scouts) told the Governor was the most suitable..." The scouts had been dispatched to explore two trails to Tuscaloosa, reported to lie only thirteen leagues (35 miles) from there... one trail passed through today's Montgomery, the other above it; the first crossed the Tallapoosa and Alabama Rivers; the other, only the Coosa River; DeSoto chose the later...

"...headed south (down the west bank of the Tallapoosa River), drawing near the coast of New Spain (the Gulf of Mexico)..."

"... and spent the night... alongside the river (the Tallapoosa), and the next day went to Caxa (at today's Fort Toulouse State Memorial, just opposite today's Wetumpke), a wretched town on the bank of the river (the Coosa River) on a direct line [raya] between Talisi and Tuscalusa."

"... and (we) crossed the River of Talise (the Coosa River) in rafts and canoes (into today's Wetumpke), it being so full of water that they could not ford it."

"The next day they spent the night alongside the river (the Alabama River, near Coosada), and a town called Humati was on the other side of the water (we call it Montgomery today). And the next day they went to a new town (Prattville)... and the next day we camped in the open (in the large field of Forester) one league (two-and-two-thirds miles) before the town of Tuscalusa... the Governor entered the town, which was called Atahachi (Autaugaville today)."

"... (Chief Tuscaloosa) was an Indian so large that, to the opinion of all, he was a giant. He awaited us in peace in his town..." ("on a high small high hill, an eminence from which much of the country could be seen in every direction..."; Potato Hill, a giant natural earthen mound at the west end of that valley; a location selected by Tuscaloosa to dramatize his nobility before the Spaniards). "We made much festivity for him when we arrived and jousted and had many horse races, although he appeared to think little of this. Afterward we asked him to give us Indians to carry the burdens, and he responded that he was not accustomed to serving anyone, rather that all served him before... he said that he could not give us anything there, that we should go to another town of his, which was called Mauvilla, and that there he would give us what we wanted from him."

"After a march of two days (down the Alabama River and through today's Selma) we reached a town called Piachi (just above Cahaba, the site of Alabama's first Capitol, downstream of Birmingham; that river is low today, probably for that reason). Near it flowed a large river. The Governor asked the Indians for canoes (to cross the Cahaba River). They said that they did not have any (they had probably sent their women and children downstream in their canoes), but they would make rafts (for us)..."

"In that town of Piachi it was found out that they had killed Don Teodoro, and a black man, who came forth from the boats of Panfilo de Narvaez (who had been in Mobile Bay a dozen years before this army arrived; the two deserters had fled from the stranded Narvaez Expedition)."

"On Monday, the eighteenth of October, the Day of Saint Luke, the Governor arrived at Mabila, having passed that day through some towns (a day's walk northeast of Prairie Bluff; those fields are covered with traces of ancient civilizations; DeSoto advanced to Mabila during Harvest Moon, probably for the security afforded by moonlit nights.)... But these (bountiful) towns detained the soldiers, pillaging and scattering themselves, for the land seemed populous; thus only forty on horseback arrived in (the) advance guard with the Governor, and since they were a little detained, in order for the Governor not to show weakness, he entered in the town with Chief Tuscalusa... The Indians then did a kind of ball (for the Governor), with dancing (girls) and singing."

"We arrived at Mavila at nine o'clock in the morning. It was a small and very palisaded town and was situated on a plain (just above the baptismal pond, pictured above, at today's Boiling Spring Cemetery, northeast of Catherine)... Some important Indians came forth to us upon seeing us and asked the Governor, through the interpreter, if he wished to spend the night there or to enter the town... It seemed better to the governor to enter the town, and we [the advance guard with DeSoto] were commanded to enter... Having entered within, we were walking with the Indians, chatting, as if we had them in peace, because only three hundred or so appeared there... they began to do their dances and songs... fifteen or twenty women in front of us... Chief Tuscalusa arose and entered one of those houses... the guard entered to bring him out, and he (the guard) saw so many people within... that he told the Governor that those houses were full of Indians, all with bows and arrows... The governor called to another Indian who was passing by there, who likewise refused to come. A Nobleman... seized him by the arm in order to bring him, and then the Indian gave a pull that set himself free.. the Nobleman put hand to his sword and gave him a slash that cut off an arm. Upon wounding this Indian, all began to shoot arrows at us... we suffered so much damage that we were forced to leave, fleeing from the town... When the Indians saw us outside, they closed the gates of the town and began to beat there drums and to raise banners with a great yell, and to open our trunks and bundles and display from the top of the wall all that we had brought..."

"The other Spaniards (on the outside of the fortress) who could not go in through the gate, because it was (too) narrow, so as not to wait in the fields and lose time in fighting, made vigorous strokes at the wall with their axes and knocked off the mixture of mud and straw that (had been plastered on the wall)... uncovering the transverse logs... (then), assisting one another, they climbed up (the now exposed transverse logs), got over the wall, and entered the village... "The Indians, on seeing the Castillians inside the village that they had considered impregnable... fought with the spirit of desperate men, in the streets as well as from the roofs, from which they did much damage to the Christians. The latter, in order to defend themselves from those who were fighting from the flat roofs or terraces, and to insure that they would not attack them from behind, and also in order that the Indians might not come back (outside) to gain the houses... decided to set fire to the (fortress). They did so and, as the houses were made of straw, in a moment a great deal of flame and smoke arose, which added itself to (the confusion of) the blood... and the massacre that was taking place in such a small village."

"The governor, who had fought throughout the four hours on foot at the head of his men, went out of the village and mounted a horse. So as to increase the fears of the enemy and the spirit and courage of his men, he went back into the village, accompanied by another who was also mounted, and both riders, calling the names of Our Lady and "Santiago" ("St. James," the traditional battle cry of the Spanish) and shouting loudly to their men to make way, broke through the enemy squadron from one side to the other as it was fighting in the principal street and in the plaza. Then they turned back upon them, spearing them on either side...

"During these attacks and withdrawals, at a time when the govenor was standing in his stirrups to throw a lance at an Indian, another who was behind him shot an arrow above the hind bow of the saddle, which struck in the small unprotected space the general (had) exposed between the saddlebow and the breastplate, and though he wore a coat of mail, the arrow broke through it and penetrated some six inches into (his) left hip. The good general (DeSoto) alike in order not to let it be known that he was wounded so that his men would not become alarmed because of this hurt, and because in the press of the fighting he had no opportunity to pull out the arrow, fought with it through all the rest of the battle, which was almost five hours, without being able to sit in the saddle, which was no small proof of the valor of this captain and if his skill in horsemanship..."

"The fire that they had set to the houses increased momentarily and did the Indians much damage, for as they were numerous and could not fight in the streets and plaza, because they could not all get into them, they fought from the terraces and flat roofs. The fire trapped and burned them there or forced them, in fleeing from it, to fling themselves down from the terraces. It did no less damage in the houses where it came in through the door, for... they were large rooms with only one door, and when the fire blocked it, those who were inside could not get out and were burned and suffocated by the fire and smoke. Many women who were closed up in the houses perished in this way."

"The fire was equally harmful in the streets, because sometimes the wind blew the flame and smoke over the Indians, blinding them and helping the Spaniards to drive them back without their being able to resist. Again it would turn in favor of the Indians against the Christians and enable them to regain the part of the street that they had lost. Thus the fire went favoring now one side and now the other, and increasing the mortality of the battle."

"The fighting was sustained on both sides with the cruelty and fury that has been seen until four o'clock in the afternoon, the battle having been continuous for seven hours. As this hour the Indians, seeing how many of their men they had killed by fire and the sword and that for lack of fighters their strength was decreasing while that of the Castillians was increasing, summoned the women and ordered them to take up some of the many arms that were lying in the streets and set about taking vengeance for the death of their people; and if they could not avenge them, they should at least see to it that all of them should die before becoming slaves of the Spaniards."

"When they gave this command... many of them had already been fighting bravely for some time along with their husbands, but with this new order not one remained who did not go to the battle, taking up arms that they found lying on the ground, of which there was an abundance. Many of the swords, halberds, and lances that the Spaniards had lost came into their hands... They also took up bows and arrows and shot them with no less skill and ferocity than their husbands. They stationed themselves in front of the latter to fight, and resolutely exposed themselves to death with much more nerve than the men. They thrust themselves among the enemy's weapons with great fury and recklessness, showing well that the desperation and courage of women in what they have determined to do is greater and more heedless than that of men. The Spaniards, however, seeing that the Indian women were doing this more with the desire of dying than conquering, and also out of regard for the fact that they were women, abstained from wounding and killing them. "While this long and stubborn battle lasted, the trumpets, fifes, and drums did not cease to sound the alarm very insistently, so that the Spaniards who had lagged behind in the rear guard would hurry to the assistance of their men. The maestro de camp and those who were coming with him (had) marched scattered about the country hunting and enjoying themselves, ignorant of what was going on in Mauvila. But when they (were close enough and) heard the noise of the military musical instruments and the shouts and outcries that sounded inside and outside the village, and saw the clouds of smoke that rose up in front of them, suspecting what it might be, they passed the word back to the last ones and all of them marched at top speed, arriving during the last part of the battle. "The battle that took place in the country was no less bloody; it was for this purpose that the fields had been cleared (by the Indians, before the Spaniards had arrived at Mauvilla) of timber and cleaned even to uprooting the grass and herbs. Having enclosed themselves in the village to make a defense, the Indians realized that because of their numbers they would hinder one another in fighting, and that because the space was limited they could not profit by their lightness and agility. Thus many of them agreed to go out to the fields, letting themselves down from the walls, where they fought with all good spirit and courage and eagerness for victory. But they soon recognized that their plan was ill-advised, because if their lightness gave them an advantage over the Spanish footsoldiers, those on horseback were their superiors and speared them in the field entirely at their pleasure, without there being able to defend themselves, for these Indians do not use pikes, although they have them, which are the defense against horsemen, because they had not permitted themselves to believe that we would come up within reach of the pikes, but expected to assault and kill us with arrows a good distance before we should reach them. This is the chief reason the Indians use the bow and arrows more than any other weapons. Thus a great many of the died on the field were ill-advised in their ferocity and vain presumption. The Spaniards of the rear guard came up, horsemen and footsoldiers, and all attacked the Indians who were fighting in the field. After engaging in battle for a long period of time and receiving many deaths and wounds, though they arrived late, they received a very good share of them..."

"At this time, which was now nearly sunset, the shouts and cries of those who were fighting in the village still sounded. Many of those who were mounted entered to aid their men; others remained outside to be ready for whatever might be needed. Hitherto for lack of room none of the horsemen had fought inside the village except the general and one other. Now, therefore, many mounted men entered and scattered through the streets, for there was work for them to do... Breaking through the Indians who were fighting there, they killed them."

"Ten of twelve horsemen advanced along the principal street where the battle was fiercest and bloodiest, and where... Indian men and women were fighting most desperately... The horsemen charged upon them... so furiously that they knocked down many... of the Indians. The Spaniards were fighting hand to hand with the enemy, all of whom they killed, for none wished to surrender or give up their arms, but to die... fighting like good soldiers..."

"...(when) the battle ended, one of the Indians who had been dazed (during the fighting)... attempted to save his life by fleeing... he ran to wall and jumped up on it with much agility, as to escape across the fields... but seeing the Christians that were there... and the massacre that had occurred and that he could not escape, he preferred death to giving himself up as a prisoner... and taking the cord from his bow, he fastened it to the branches of a tree (which was part of the wall)... and the other (end of the cord) around his neck (and) let himself down from the wall so quickly that, although some Spaniards desired to rescue him... they could not get there in time. Thus the Indian was hanged by his own hand, causing amazement by his action... From this (we) surmised the recklessness and desperation with which all of the Indians (of North America) fight, for the one who was left alive killed himself."

"We fought that day until it was night... we killed them all, some with fire, others with the swords, others with the lance... ("All of the clothing carried by the Christians, the ornaments for saying mass, and the pearls were all burned there," "...and the horses that they tied within... were killed,")... the Indians killed more than twenty of our men, and two hundred and fifty of us were injured by seven hundred and sixty arrow wounds... We stayed there (in that province) treating ourselves twenty-eight days (until the next full moon, under which the army would depart)... We took the women and divided them among the most seriously wounded... we heard... that we were up to forty leagues (105 miles) from the sea (down the Alabama River at Mobile Bay, where Captain Maldonado was waiting for DeSoto with supply ships). Many wished for the Governor to go there (to leave this country)... because the Indians gave us news of the small ships being there, but we did not dare... the Governor felt it advisable to look for a land where (he could find a trade route to China and) we might find provisions in order to be able to spend the winter.... "

[DeSoto would release the captives who had been taken by Captain Maldonado at Mobile Bay the proceeding winter and brought by DeSoto, into the continent, to lead the army over land to Mobile Bay. DeSoto would direct his army northward to winter in Tennessee, well above the Tennessee River, to keep his men from escaping to the ships at port. DeSoto would continue leading his army northward in the Spring, searching for the Indians' legendary sea. He would never return.]

Twenty years after DeSoto's visit, survivors of his expedition returned to Mauvila in an attempt to settle that land. A Conquistador named Tristan de Luna, who had been told of the bountiful Mauvila Province, its proximity to the sea and its safe anchorage at Prairie Bluff (for the protection that bluff offered against destructive northwest winter winds), brought settlers to the same place where DeSoto was "defeated." To entice those settlers, who were well aware of DeSoto's defeat at the legionary Mauvila, Luna renamed that place "Nanapacana." In Spanish vernacular, that name means "nothing but pecans," the delicious fruit and valuable wood which had been the only "treasure" brought from North America to Spain by DeSoto's ill-fated Conquistadors.