at
about the year 1525, the licentiate Luke Vasquez de Ayllon sailed with
three ships for that country from Santiago in the island of
Hispaniola[126]. Vasquez arrived with his small armament at Cape Santa
Elena in Florida, where he found an Indian town called _Oritza_; since
named _Chicora_ by the Spaniards, and another town in the neighbourhood
called _Guale_, to which the Spaniards have given the name of
_Gualdape_. At this place is the river _Jordan_, so named from the pilot
by whom it was discovered, and where Vasquez lost one of his ships. He
proceeded however in his enterprise with the other two ships, and landed
two hundred men upon the coast of Florida; but being himself
unacquainted with military discipline, and little regarded by his men,
his troops were defeated by the natives and mostly slain. The few who
escaped returned to Hispaniola; some alleging that Vasquez was of the
number, while others assert that he was slain in Florida. In this
unfortunate expedition, from which great consequences had been expected,
no other towns but the two above mentioned were seen in Florida; and by
this disaster all attempts for the conquest and settlement of that
country were laid aside for some time, more especially as all the
natives who had been there met with appeared poor and miserable, and
having very small quantities of gold and silver, and even what little
they had appeared to have been brought to them from remote parts of the
country.

[Footnote 126: Herrera, III. 367.]

SECTION II.

_Narrative of a Disastrous attempt by Panfilo de Narvaez to conquer
Florida; together with some account of that Country_[127]

[Footnote 127: Id. IV. 27.]

The abortive attempt of Panfilo de Narvaez to supersede Cortes in the
command of the expedition against Mexico has been already related. He
afterwards endeavoured to settle a colony at the _Rio de las Palmas_ in
the bay of Mexico, whence he was expelled by the arrogance of Nunno de
Guzman, who had been appointed governor of the adjoining province of
Panuco, and endeavoured to appropriate the territories belonging to
others in his neighbourhood to his own advantage and emolument in the
most unjustifiable manner. In March 1528, Narvaez sailed from Cuba with
four ships and a brigantine for the conquest of Florida, having a force
of about four hundred men with eighty horses. During the voyage, the
squadron was carried among the shoals of Canarreo by the unskilfulness
of the pi