Date published: 1994-01-01
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Situado and Sabana (ID82)Author: Bushnell, Amy (ID32)
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Race described: Spanish
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Content id: 1597
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1680-05-01 - 1680-05-31
Chiluques, Yuchis, and Chichimecos united with English support to raid Mocamo and Guale
The following May, warriors of the three nations united to raid Mocamo. Moving rapidly, they attacked two of the places mentioned in the Arcos census: San Buenaventura de Guadalquini, which four years earlier had been a doctrina with a friar and 40 people, and San Simon, the town of 40 infieles two and a half leagues away from it. The Chichimecos also accomplished "some killings" at Santiago de Ocone, site of a former doctrina, before Captain Francisco de Fuentes, teniente of Guale-Mocamo, and a party of lndians managed to drive them off (Hita Salazar 1680; Fuentes 1681).
As soon as he heard about the first engagement, Governor Hita Salazar sent 30 soldiers and 18 sailors to reinforce the small garrison on the Guale frontier. They had not yet arrived, three days later, when, according to the governor,
"A force of 300 of the same enemy invaded the island of Santa Catalina, capital and frontera. They killed the sentries at the first post, of 6 men, except for one who escaped to give the alarm. The vecinos of that pueblo, who were up to 40 natives and 5 espanoles from this presidio, were able to mount a defense, occupying the convent of the friar of that doctrina, where Captain Francisco de Fuentes, my teniente of that province, had arrived two days previously. He organized the defense with such ability and valor that they defended it from daybreak until four o'clock in the afternoon with 16 Indians armed with firearms-for under these circumstances I think it important for Indians to have them... "It is reported that the enemy were instructed by some Englishmen with them and that all of them had long muskets, which have filled these natives with horror (Hita Salazar, 1680c).
By the time the relief party reached Santa Catalina de la Frontera, the enemy had withdrawn. So had the defenders, crossing the sound to San Joseph de Sapala, two leagues away on Sapelo Island (Hita Salazar, 1680c; Cigarroa, 1681). The people of Santa Catalina may have had mixed feelings about these near neighbors who surely had heard the sound of gunfire across the channel but who had not come to their aid (Fuentes, 1681a).
Governor Hita Salazar expected their stay on Sapelo to be a short one:
"The naturales have abandoned Santa Catalina out of horror, but I understand that they plan to return once we double the garrison. I had 8 men [stationed] in that area and I have decided to increase them to 20. We must protect Guale, both to protect ourselves from invasion and to assure our provisions from there" (Hita Salazar, 1680c).
The governor may have wished he could put an extra 12 men at Sapelo, but in fact he increased the garrison by only 4 men, to make a total of 12 (Marquez Cabrera, 1680c).
(Bushnell SS)
Cross references
No cross references.