tuca. He found in that
towne great store of Maiz, French beanes, and pompions, which is their
foode, and that wherewith the Christians there sustained themselues. The
Maiz is like course millet, and the pompions are better and more sauorie
than those of Spaine. From thence the Gouernour sent two Captaines each a
sundry way to seeke the Indians. They tooke an hundred men and women: of
which aswel there as in other places where they made any inrodes, the
Captaine chose one or two for the Gouernour, and diuided the rest to
himselfe, and those that went with him. They led these Indians in chaines
with yron collars about their neckes: and they serued to carrie their
stuffe, and to grind their Maiz, and for other seruices that such captiues
should doe. Sometimes it happened that going for wood or Maiz with them,
they killed the Christian that led them, and ran away with the chaine:
others filed their chaines by night with a peece of stone, wherewith they
cut them, and vse it in stead of yron. Those that were perceiued paid for
themselues, and for the rest, because they should not dare to doe the like
another time. The women and young boyes, when they were once an hundred
leagues from their Countrie, and had forgotten things, they let goe loose,
and so they serued; and in a very short space they vnderstood the language
of the Christians. From Vzachil the Gouernour departed toward Apalache,
and in two daies iournie, hee came to a towne called Axille, and from
thence forward the Indians were carelesse, because they had as yet no
notice of the Christians. The next day in the morning, the first of
October, he departed from thence, and commanded a bridge to bee made ouer
a Riuer which hee was to passe. The deepe of the Riuer where the bridge
was made, was a stones cast, and forward a crossebow shot the water came
to the waste; and the wood, whereby the Indians came to see if they could
defend the passage, and disturbe those which made the bridge, was very hie
and thicke. The crossebow men so bestirred themselues that they made them
giue back: and certaine plancks were cast into the Riuer, whereon the men
passed, which made good the passage. The Gouernour passed vpon Wednesday,
which was S. Francis his day, and lodged at a towne which was called
Vitachuco, subiect to Apalache: he found it burning; for the Indians had
set it on fire. From thence forward the countrie was much inhabited, and
had great store of Maiz. Hee passed by many gra