swanton] EARL? HISTORY OF THE CREEK INDIANS 301 
a, little stream railed Ystobalaga and wenl to sleep near another one called Ytaechato 
and there our watches and patrols said they had heard a noise which kept them in 
arms, and the next day we saw tracks of two persons away from the road. We took 
our noonday-real ' at a rivulet, wooded on both hanks and from there we sent out 
spies to go as tar as the river Santa Cruz. These returned to tell us that there were 
no other tracks hut those of the people of Santa Cruz, which lies on the bank of the 
stream, where the cacique Baltasar awaited with about twenty men with canoes to 
ferry us across the river. We arrived at that river and went to the place mentioned, 
which is on the other bank, and there we remained for two days provisioning ourselves. 
From there we despatched twenty-four men to go ahead as spies. When we were 
ready to leave the cacique Baltasar came with six of his men, saying that he was a 
vassal of His Majesty, and that although lie was hut a new Christian, his heart was in 
God and His Blessed Mother, and that he gladly was coming along to die for God, 
our Lord, for his king, and for his country. We thanked him, telling him that it was 
a great joy to die for God. We went to sleep near a lagoon, to one side of the road 
and about four leagues from Santa Cruz on a plain. The spies came back, telling us 
they had seen a trail which, although it was not fresh, seemed to show that it was of 
bad people. The next day we departed and arrived at a spring which is called 
< lalutoble, 2 from which Hows a river toward the south. From here we went to sleep 
in a ureal forest :! which is called Chapole. The next morning we prayed and recom- 
mended ourselves to Our Lady, it being her day, that she might help us in everything, 
for she was our patroness and our guide. 
Then we journeyed on and for rest arrived at the deserted site of San Nicolas de los 
Chacatos. From there we went to San Carlos, which is also abandoned by the said 
i ihacatos, and where we slept to one side of it [the settlement]. The next morning 
early we surrounded the whole place in order to find out whether there were any 
Chiscas in it, since it was their stopping place. We did not take the road which 
heads toward the west because it goes to the region in which the Chiscas are settled, 
who naturally had their sentinels everywhere, so we went southward without taking 
to a road until we found one which led from the sea to the village of the Chiscas and 
which the Chacatos and Panzacolas had opened (built), who had settled by the sea 
and on which we traveled with our spies ahead and behind us, exploring the country 
about. That night we slept by a rivulet with a small growth of wood and the next 
day we departed without food, because our provisions had given out. All we had 
that morning was a handful of ''tolocomo," which is made of parched corn, and we 
did not eat till the next day. In the evening we arrived at the river Gurani and we 
passed on to Bipar, leaving sentinels, arms in hand, on either bank of the stream. 
On the next day, which was the tenth of the journey since we had left Apalache, 
we lost our way, very soon after starting and without any determined road we traveled 
westward, passing small streams with a big growth of reed, small creeks with many 
obstacles, narrow but very deep. The spies who had gone ahead returned and told 
us that they had seen many tracks and footpaths of bison and therefore we determined 
to rest for the night where they had seen them, trying to kill some with which to 
make our shields and still our hunger, since our provisions had entirely given out. 
The next morning the I hacatos who went with us killed a cow and we dried the skin. 
One of the men fell ill with fever and pain in his side, and some said that several of 
us ought to return with the sick man; others said no, and the patient himself said no, 
that he would prefer that they should carry him, in order that he might die seeing 
his enemies. 
1 "Sestear" is properly "to take a nap." 
5 Kali, spring. 
• " Monte grande " could also mean a great mountain, but it is evidently a great forest. ■ 
