return to his own
province. He thanked the chieftain very cordially for his friendly
escort, made him a present of knives, clothing, and other valuables,
and dismissed him and his followers. Patofa was not unwilling to
return. He was highly gratified with the presents he had received, and
still more gratified that he had been permitted to wreak vengeance on
his hereditary foes.

Two days after his departure, the Spanish army was again in motion,
along the banks of the river. Every step they took revealed to them
the awful ravages committed by the bands of Patofa. They passed many
dwellings and many small hamlets, where the ground was covered with
the scalpless bodies of the dead. The natives had fled in terror to
the woods, so that not a living being was encountered. There was,
however, a plentiful supply of food in the villages, and the army
again enjoyed abundance.

The heroic Anasco was sent in advance to search out the way and, if
possible, to capture some Indians as guides. He took with him a small
band of thirty foot-soldiers, who were ordered to move as noiselessly
as possible, that they might, perchance, come upon the natives by
surprise. There was quite a broad, good road leading along the banks
over which the band advanced. Night came upon them when they were
about six miles ahead of the army. They were moving in profound
silence and with noiseless step through a grove, when they heard,
just before them, the sounds of a village. The barking of dogs, the
shouts of children, and the voices of men and women, reached their
ears. Pressing eagerly forward, hoping to capture some Indians in the
suburbs, they found that there was a sudden turn in the river and that
they stood upon the banks of its deep and swiftly flowing flood, with
the village on the other side. There was no means of crossing, neither
would it have been prudent to have crossed with such small numbers,
not knowing the force they might encounter there.

They dispatched couriers back in the night, to inform De Soto of their
discovery. By the break of day, the army was again in motion, De Soto
himself taking the lead, with one hundred horse and one hundred foot.
When he reached the banks, and the natives upon the opposite shore
caught sight of his glittering dragoons, on their magnificent steeds,
they were struck with amazement and consternation.

It would seem that the language of these different tribes must have
been essentially the same, for Ju