114 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 73 
the lagunes nearby, on account of which and of the big corn patches we could not do 
them any harm beyond killing one Indian. The day after Indians from a village on 
the other side came and attacked us in the same manner, escaping in the same way, 
with the loss of a single man. 
We remained at this village for 25 days, making three excursions during the time. 
We found the country very thinly inhabited and difficult to march through, owing 
to bad places, timber, and lagunes. We inquired of the cacique whom we had 
retained and of the other Indians with us (who were neighbors and enemies of them | 
about the condition and settlements of the land, the quality of its people, about sup- 
plies, and everything else. They answered, each one for himself, that Apalachen 
was the largest town of all; that further in less people were met with who were very 
much poorer than those here, and that the country was thinly settled, the inhabitants 
greatly scattered, and also that further inland big lakes, dense forests, great deserts, 
and wastes were met with. 
Then we asked about the land to the south, its villages and resources. They said 
that in that direction and nine days' march toward the sea was a village called Aute, 
where the Indians had plenty of corn and also beans and melons, and that, being so 
near the sea, they obtained fish and that those were their friends. Seeing how poor 
the country was, taking into account the unfavorable reports about its population and 
everything else, and that the Indians made constant war upon us, wounding men and 
horses whenever they went for water (which they could do from the lagunes where 
we could not reach them) by shooting arrows at us; that they had killed a chief of Tuz- 
cuco called Don Pedro, whom the commissary had taken along with him, we agreed to 
depart and go in search of the sea, and of the village of Aute, which they had mentioned . 
And so we left, arriving there five days after. The first day we traveled across lagunes 
and trails without seeing a single Indian. 
On the second day, however, we reached a lake very difficult to cross, the water 
reaching to the chest, and there were a great many fallen trees. Once in the middle of 
it, a number of Indians assailed us from behind trees that concealed them from our 
sight, while others were on fallen trees, and they began to shower arrows upon us, so 
that many men and horses were wounded, and before we could get out of the lagune 
our guide Avas captured by them. After we had got out, they pressed us very hard, 
intending to cut us off, and it was useless to turn upon them, for they would hide in the 
lake and from there wound both men and horses. 
So the Governor ordered the horsemen to dismount and attack them on foot. The 
purser dismounted also, and our people attacked them. Again they fled to a lagune, 
and we succeeded in holding the trail. In this tight some of our people were wounded 
in spite of their good armor. There were men that day who swore they had seen two 
oak trees, each as thick as the calf of a leg, shot through and through by arrows, which 
is not surprising if we consider the force and dexterity with which they shoot. I 
myself saw an arrow that had penetrated the base of a poplar tree for half a foot in 
length. All the many Indians from Florida we saw were archers, and, being very tall 
and naked, at a distance they appeared giants. 
Those people are wonderfully built, very gaunt and of great strength and agility. 
Their bows are as thick as an arm, from eleven to twelve spans long, shooting an 
arrow at 200 paces with unerring aim. From that crossing we went to another similar 
one, a league away, but while it was half a league in length it was also much more 
difficult. There we crossed without opposition, for the Indians, haA-ing spent all 
their arrows at the first place, had nothing Avherewith they Avould dare attack us. 
The next day, while crossing a similar place, 1 saw the tracks of people Avho went 
ahead of us, and I notiiied the Governor, Avho was in the rear, so that, although the 
Indians turned upon us, as we were on our guard, they could do us no harm. Once on 
cpen ground they pursued us still. We attacked them twice, killing tAvo, Avhile they 
wounded me and two or three other Christians, and entered the forest again, Avhere we 
could no longer injure them.. 
