came to being
abandoned by the natives. Six of the principal people remained behind,
who were brought before Soto, whom they boldly asked whether he was for
peace or war with their nation. Soto answered by means of his
interpreter that he had no inclination for war, as his only intention
was to pass through their country, yet desired that his people might be
supplied with provisions. To this they answered, if such were his
intentions there was no occasion to have made them prisoners, and if he
conducted himself in a friendly manner he might depend on better
treatment than he had received at Apalache. They accordingly dispatched
some of the common people to desire the natives to return to their
houses to serve the Spaniards, whom they conducted to a better town,
where the cacique came to ratify a peace, which was punctually observed
during three days that Soto remained there.

From that place they advanced for ten days to the northwards along the
banks of a river, through a fertile country, in which all the
inhabitants behaved in a friendly manner. After this they entered the
province of _Achalaqui_, which was poor, barren, and thinly inhabited,
having very few young men, and the old people being mostly
short-sighted and many of them quite blind. Quickening the march through
this bad country they came to the province of _Cofachi_, where, besides
other presents, Soto gave the cacique some boars and sows for a breed,
having brought above three hundred of these animals with him to Florida,
where they increased very fast, as the Spaniards had no occasion to kill
them, getting abundance of other provisions. During this expedition,
Soto made it an invariable practice, before entering any province, to
send a message to the cacique offering peace and demanding leave to pass
through his dominions, that the natives might not be alarmed at the
appearance of so many armed strangers; and besides it was always his
wish to employ fair means in his intercourse with the Indians, rather
than force. He accordingly sent a message to the cacique of _Cofa_ with
the usual requests of peace, provisions and a free passage, with which
the cacique complied, coming himself to meet the Spaniards, for whom he
appointed quarters and plenty of provisions. The land being plentiful,
Soto and his army rested here five days. The next province belonged to a
brother of Cofa, named Cofaqui, who came out to meet the Spaniards
attended by a great number of his