dogs, which so
intimidated the rest, that at length one of them undertook to guide
them, and very easily brought them into the open country.

Soto and his men came soon afterwards to another morass, which had two
large trees and some branches laid across its narrowest part to serve as
a bridge. Soto sent two of his soldiers who were good swimmers to repair
the bridge, but they were set upon by many Indians in canoes from whom
they difficultly escaped after being severely wounded. But as the
Indians no more appeared at this pass, the bridge was soon repaired, and
the army passed over into the province or district of another cacique
named _Acuera_; who, upon receiving an offer of peace, sent back for
answer that he would rather have war than peace with vagabonds. Soto
continued twenty days in this country, during which time the Indians
killed fourteen Spaniards who had straggled from the main body, whose
heads they carried to their cacique. The Spaniards buried the bodies of
their companions wherever they found them; but the Indians dug them up
again and hung their quarters upon trees. In the same time the Spaniards
only killed fifty Indians, as they were always on their guard and kept
among the woods and swamps. Leaving the town of Acuera, to which they
did no harm, Soto continued his march inland for _Ocali_, keeping a
direction a little to the east of north, through a fertile country free
from morasses. At the end of about twenty leagues they came to Ocali, a
town of about six hundred houses, abounding in Indian corn, pulse,
acorns, dried plums, and nuts. The cacique and all his people had
withdrawn into the woods, and at the first message desiring them to come
out sent a civil evasive answer, but complied at the second summons with
some apprehension.

Going some days afterwards accompanied by this cacique to examine a
river over which it was intended to lay a bridge, there appeared about
five hundred Indians on the other side, who shot their arrows towards
the Spaniards, continually crying out "go away with you, vagabond
robbers!" Soto asked the cacique why he permitted his subjects to behave
in this manner; to which he made answer that many of them had thrown off
their obedience because he had entered into friendship with the
Spaniards. Soto therefore gave him permission to rejoin his subjects, on
promising to return, but which he never did. The proposed bridge over
this river was constructed of two cables stretched