The Spanish borderlands; a chronicle of old Florida and the Southwest . nsidered this an in-sult to be wiped out in blood. They fell upon theSpaniards at dawn; and, by the time those in thetown were aware, half the houses were in flames.*The men, running in confusion from the fire,blinded by the smoke and the glare, not able to findtheir arms nor to saddle their horses, fell easy preyto the native archers. The horses snapped theirhalters and stampeded, or were burned to death intheir stalls. It would have been a complete victoryfor the Indians — and the end of the expedition —if the natives ha
The Spanish borderlands; a chronicle of old Florida and the Southwest . nsidered this an in-sult to be wiped out in blood. They fell upon theSpaniards at dawn; and, by the time those in thetown were aware, half the houses were in flames.*The men, running in confusion from the fire,blinded by the smoke and the glare, not able to findtheir arms nor to saddle their horses, fell easy preyto the native archers. The horses snapped theirhalters and stampeded, or were burned to death intheir stalls. It would have been a complete victoryfor the Indians — and the end of the expedition —if the natives had not believed that the thunder ofhoofs meant that the cavalry was gathering to fallupon them. They fled, leaving only one dead onthe field. He had been killed with a lance by DeSoto, who was unhorsed in the act because hissaddle girth was loose. Eleven Spaniards and fiftyhorses perished. The army then quickly moved toanother town and turned to at making saddles and OLD CITY GATEWAY, ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDADrawing from a photograph. .Hqfiigoloriq £ moil gaiwsiQ 1. -n.^-ndEtSEn-LcLmb, Za A> HERNANDO DE SOTO 65 lances from ash, and grass mats, to protect theirnaked bodies from the cold. Towards the end ofApril, De Soto started on, northwestward, and,during the first week in May, 1541, not far fromthe Chickasaw Bluffs, he stood on the east bank ofthe Mississippi River. On the plains, a crossbows shot from the steeptimbered bank, the army pitched camp. De Sotoset his men at once to felling trees and constructingvessels in which to cross the river; for on the westshore to the north, lay the richest province ofPacaha, whither he was bound. Presently thecacique of Aquixo, or Arkansas, came over to visithim, with his lesser chiefs and two hundred war-riors. The chiefs sat in the sterns of their canoesunder skin awnings; and chiefs and warriors werepainted with ochre, wearing great bunches ofwhite and other plumes of many colors. Someheld feathered shields in their hands, with wh
Size: 1443px × 1732px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookpublisheretcet, bookyear1921
