1886.] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 63 



to De Soto " a young Indian who had been captured at Nape- 

 taca. He said that he was not of that country, but from an- 

 other, very distant, toward the sunrise, and was captured just as 

 he had arrived, a traveller at Napetaca, — that his country was 

 called Yupaha, was governed by a woman, whose city was of 

 surprising grandeur ; that she drew tribute from all her neigh- 

 bors; from some in commodities, from others in gold. Where- 

 upon he described the manner in which the gold was taken out; 

 how they smelted and refined it {lefaisoitfondre, et affiner) as if 

 he had seen it done a hundred times, or the devil had instructed 

 him. So that those who were experts in the ways of working 

 mines were certain that he could not have spoken so accurately 

 had he not seen it; and the relation passed for a constant verity 

 from the circumstances which confirmed it." 



Proceeding on their journey, they passed Cutifachaqui on the 

 Savannah, which they ascended, passing Chelaque to Xavala, 

 where they reached the mountains, which deflected their course 

 to the southwest, passing through the Indian provinces of 

 Chiaha and Co9a, to Tuscalu9a in central Alabama. At many 

 places they were told that across the mountains, to the north- 

 ward, lay Chisca, rich in mines of gold. Thus at Chiaha, near 

 the northeastern corner of Alabama, "■ the Chief Acoste came to 

 offer his services. And when De Soto asked him if he knew any 

 rich and fertile country, he said that farther north he would find 

 the province of Chisca where they smelted (fondoit) copper, 

 and another metal more lively and more perfect, that this metal 

 seemed much more precious than copper, but because of its soft- 

 ness it was not used. This account conformed to what De 

 Soto was told at Cutifachaqui, where we saw some small axes of 

 copper which they said was mixed with gold."' 



De Soto made several attempts to reach these mines. Once a 

 party set out to visit a chief, who the Indians said " was a 

 neighbor of the chief of Chisca, where the metal was found 

 which the Governor believed to be gold;" but failed to reach their 

 destination. From Co9a, De Soto "sent thirty cavaliers and 

 fifty footmen towards the province of Calu9a, to find a road 

 thence to Chisca, where the Indians had said he would find mines 

 of copper and of that metal which resembled gold. These sol- 



