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An Apalachee coalition retaliated against the Yuchi harrassment

Source: Early History of the Creek Indians and Their Neighbors #121

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Their meddlesome propensities brought on a war with the Apalachee Indians in 1677, of which the following is an account. It is contained in a letter written to the King of Spain by Gov. I). Pablo de Hita Salazar, and is dated St. Augustine, November 10, 1678.

"Report given to Captain Juan Fernandez de Florencia by the principal military chiefs who made war on the Chisca [Yuchi] Indians and whose names are: Juan Mendoza, Matheo Chuba, the Cacique of Cupayca, Bernardo and Ventura de Ynija [Note: In reality Ynija is probably a native word identical with the Creek henilia. The henihawasan assistant to a chief or other leading officer], of San Luis. This report tells how the war against the Chiscas originated, which is in the following way: Many years ago those Indians used to come on the trails. It was not quite certain whether they were Chiscas or Chichutecas, but they would assault and kill the Christians or would carry them off, men, women, and children, and make slaves of them. Not until last year, which was 1676, did it become clear that they were Chiscas by the deaths they caused at Huistachuco; and by the killing among the" Chines at Chachariz and at Cupayca we knew they were Chiscas, and although it is true that they went immediately in pursuit they could never catch them, because their assaults were made at night. It has been possible to take away from them only twice the female slaves which they had taken as well in San Luis as elsewhere, and that winter and part of the summer were spent in great anxiety and alarm until they had finished their digging. The digging being once finished, and being on armed night watch in the cabin of San Luis the said chiefs, Juan Mendoza and Matheo and Benito Ynija, discussing the case with other leading men of the settlement of San Luis, they proposed to go out and hunt for the enemy. Some of them said, " We need not be given leave to go," while others said, "It could not be denied us, since every day the enemy alarms us, and we are without tranquillity, and every day they kill our relatives, and what is more they enslave some of them and carry them off and commit all kinds of mockery with them; and we are all Christians and vassals of the king whom may God protect for many years, and we are unanimous and agree in this matter."

"They all went and asked leave of the said Captain Juan Fernandez as of their lieutenant and war captain and the head of said province. Upon being told of their resolution, he gladly gave them said leave, and he furthermore comforted and animated them and promised to help them in every way possible, and they all came into this cabin [Note: This may mean the guardhouse.]. The chiefs, the caciques, and other leading men were very well satisfied and joyous, and they began instantly to prepare their arms, their provisions, and bundles, and they sent out messengers to the people of the other places, telling their caciques and leading men, that, in case they should want to go and join them, they might be able to make their preparations. From San Luis there went 85 men with their arms; from the place called San Damian went its cacique, Don Bernardo with seventy men; from la Chine, which is a settlement in the district of San Luis, 8 men; from los Chacatos, which also lies within the boundaries of San Luis, 10 men; from Ayubale, came 2 men, and 3 from Tomole; also 1 from Azpalaga. These latter came without being sent by their caciques, who for some reasons which they gave excused themselves.

"When everything was prepared and in readiness the lieutenant reported it to the governor and his excellency approved of it and thanked the said Indians for their good intentions. The captain, Juan Fernandez, all being gathered in this cabin (bujio), provided ammunition for all the harquebusiers, and he likewise gave us a small jar of powder and a "sucuche" [Note: This is now a nautical term and means a storeroom of a ship.] of bullets, and we left on the 2nd of September, 1677, after the captain, Juan Fernandez, at the meeting in the cabin, had appointed as principal chiefs, Juan Mendoza, captain of San Luis; Mateo Chubas, Maese del Carapo, chief of the camp, or in the field; and Don Bernardo, cacique and captain of the settlement of San Damian de Cupayca, and Ventura Ynija of this place, admonishing them to behave like united brothers, as well on the journey as on the battlefield. When the necessary orders had been given, we departed and went to sleep at the River Lagino, which is at a distance of two leagues from here, and where we arrived early.

"When all the people were together, we counted the men, finding that we had thirty firearms—15 from this place, San Luis, and 15 from San Damian, and between harquebusiers and archers there were 190. The chiefs made speeches to their men, telling them that they were men who could defend their homes, their wives, and children, and that with the help of God our wishes would be fulfilled and we would see our enemies. As Christians, God and His Blessed Mother would favour us. Then they arranged that 12 men should explore the country inland as spies, 12 should remain behind, each group being protected by several harquebusiers.

"As it seemed early yet, we went to sleep on the banks of a small stream two leagues distant, called Lapache, which are studded with canes or reed. We placed our watches and night patrol, a precaution which was taken at all the places where we arrived. This place (Lapache) we left when the sun was high and arrived at noon at a little stream called Ystobalaga and went 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-rest [Note: "Sesteor" is properly "to take a nap."] at a rivulet, wooded on both banks and from there we sent out spies to go as far as the river Santa Cruz. These returned to tell us that there were no other tracks but 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 he was but 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 Calutoble [Note: Kali, spring.], from which flows a river toward the south. From here we went to sleep in a great forest [Note: "Monte grande" could also mean a great mountain, but it is evidently a great forest.] which is called Chapole. The next morning we prayed and recommended 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 Chacatos, 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 Chacatos 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.

"The next day's travel brought us to a dense forest which we traversed and we slept on the other side of it. The next day we traveled in the rain and slept by a spring and the day following, after about one league's traveling, we arrived at a big river called Napa Ubab, which was as thickly wooded on one bank as on the other; we crossed it that day and, as our provisions had given out, we slept on the opposite bank. While there we heard the Chacatos, who were in our company, say that they suffered a great many hardships and privations (hunger), that the Apalachinos although great in number, did not know how to fight, and, upon seeing the palisades of the Chiscas, they most assuredly would run away, while they themselves would perish. Therefore they wished to return, but that of course, they would not be allowed to return, if they showed themselves on the roads. We, the said chiefs, called them and together we said to them, "Children, we are Christians and we bear all those sufferings with great patience, so you also have patience. We all will have to have it until we see our enemies. And should you try to return, we would take you on by force until you take us to the place where the palisade of the Chiscas is and you shall guide us. Once there, then, you may fight if you so wish to, and if not you can stand aside," which they really did, for only three of them fought beside us.

"The next morning we despatched spies on two different sides, and we traveled all day, night overtaking us on a little river, called Oclacasquis, which is Rio Colorado. That night some spies came back, telling us that they had seen tracks of bison and people who followed them (the bison). We were very anxious, because twelve of the spies whom we had sent out did not return all that night. In the morning we called those who had seen the tracks and ordered them to go ahead and see if they saw more tracks' and we followed them. Very soon they came running back, telling us that they had seen the Chiscas curing meat in smoke. We at once distributed our men on two wings in order to catch them between our forces and see if we could get them alive, but they defended themselves so that it became necessary to kill them. There were two. We remained there and on that day at about eight o'clock, the twelve men who had been missing fired a shot. We answered with another, and upon arriving where we were, they told us that they had lost their way AN58, and they were greatly consoled at the sight of ears of corn which we had taken from the two Chiscas, considering them (the Chiscas) to be near by.

"We continued our journey and on the seventeenth day after our departure from Apalache we rested for the night near a small lagoon, traveling the next day, always in a westerly direction. We despatched three men ahead to look for the road which led to the Chiscas, because the Chacatos had been overheard to say that we must be near to judge from the forests (or mountains) which they recognized. A short while afterwards the spies came back, telling us that they had found the road which led to the Chiscas, and we traveled until at about sunset we were on the said road. Some were of the opinion that we ought to pass the night where we had been when told about this place, others that we ought to sleep right here in order to reach the palisade early in the morning, but when we were all together the chiefs decided that we were not to sleep at all, but to keep right on advancing, and with the help of God reach the said palisade, because this was the eve of Saint Matthew, the Apostle. After having traveled about one league we heard noises and a drum and saw big fires, and we noticed that the road was a track greatly beaten by people who returned to the palisades of the Chacatos, Panzacolas, and Chiscas who lived near the sea, and we retired to a height to prepare ourselves, examine our arms, and fit ourselves up. Then all the chiefs gathered and we held a consultation about what was to be done.

"Some proposed to wait until sunrise, others to strike at midnight, still others shortly before sunrise. Finally we all agreed to make it a quarter before sunrise. Thus it was ordered, and we admonished our men. Then we sent two men ahead of us and most courageously followed them, and very soon we reached them, and they told us to look inside [the palisade], and that there were a great many people; that the inclosure was very big and spacious, the extent of each wall being over three hundred paces. They said the Chiscas were not sleeping; on the contrary there was much noise and they kept up big fires within and without. When we had all reached the place we sat down to watch the palisades and the great fires, and we entered into consultation whether it would be advisable to surround the inclosure, but as it was so big and we had few men, we did not dare do that, but determined to attack along one wall, and that this attack would be at three o'clock in the morning. Two captains and the Maese de Campo, Matheo Chuba, were to attack in the center, carrying the banner with the crucifix on one side and on the other Our Lady of the Rosary; the captain Don Bernardo on the east side with his drum and fife; Captain Juan Mendoza on the west side.

"About the time we got up to make the attack we saw a great light of the size of a man flame up behind us and then consume itself. In its center it had a blue spot. We saw about thirty persons [Note: There is evidently something lacking or the published version is poorly copied from the original.], and at this instant a Chacato who was on sentinel duty cried out that we were there. We all attacked at once, giving them a whole charge of harquebus and archery and pulling out the sticks [from the palisade], and through the openings the captains threw themselves in upon the enemy with their harquebusiers, killing our enemies. Within the palisades there were three big houses with their embrasures, where so many of the Chiscas retired and shot so many arrows at us from their shelter that it looked like a dense smoke. As we carried with us small levers, we destroyed, helped by our firearms, many boards, and we killed and wounded so many that the wounded began fleeing and threw themselves into the river to drown themselves. Our cartridges set fire to the houses. They killed five of our men and wounded forty. There was a tree which had caught fire from our firearms and its burning leaves set fire to many houses, and the fact that although it was green it should have caught fire and should burn like tinder greatly excited our attention. When the Chiscas saw that wonder they threw themselves into the river which is in a ravine there, as well men as women with their small babies clasped to their bosoms. Although we wished to save them and keep them alive, they were almost dead and drowned. We found others alive under the corn cribs (barbacoas), and we pulled them out, separating the dead from the burned (or wounded) ones, and in so doing covered ourselves with blood from head to foot. Putting out the fire of the several houses that were burning, we found eighteen men and one boy dead. We did not count the women and children, for as they had hidden in sentry boxes and behind or under boarding many of them were consumed by the fire. All this lasted from three o'clock in the morning until sunrise, when we saw that the Chiscas had all fled and had crossed the river swimming.

"We cured our wounded and reinforced our position with the sticks of the palisade which had remained, building a small inclosure to guard ourselves against those of our enemies still alive, whose loud shrieking on the other side of the river we heard. Although within the palisades we had found provisions, they were but scarce, and in our chiefs' council we decided to send out thirty men to search the plains for food and also to search the forests, for throughout that day we had been shot upon with arrows from the river bank, and as the river was but narrow they reached us. But we did not allow our men to cross the river, because so many of our men were wounded.

"Thus, our men were to remain on land on this side. As we were sallying forth in a little troop, one of the Chiscas shot an arrow from a sentry box and wounded one of our men after he had got some provisions. One of our men said he wanted to go back to the palisade, and, although he was admonished against it, he did not listen, and, traversing the forest, he found some Chiscas in ambush, who killed him. The rest of us went back to our palisade with our provisions, and we spent two days and two nights there, taking great precautions, keeping constant watches, and beating our war drums morning and night. All that time we heard many screams and shouts, and after a consultation among the chiefs we agreed to leave on the third day, setting fire to all that had remained. When the Chiscas saw the fire, heard the drums, and, besides, saw us come forth in two bodies, carrying our wounded in the center, a troop of them came to encounter us in the same road. Captain Bernardo de Cupayca discharged his gun, and with one shot hit a Chisca so fairly that he fell dead, and the Enija [Note: Knija is another spelling of Ynija.] from San Luis, Ventura, fired and killed another one, and our men wanted to go and scalp them, which, however, the chiefs did not allow. The Chiscas fled, and we continued on our way, enduring great suffering. After about half a league we reached a clearing, where we found four shells and several pots in which were boiled herbs. We asked the Chacatos what this might signify, and they told us it was witchcraft, in order that we might lose our way and not be able to reach our country, so that we might fall into their hands and be killed by them. But it pleased God that after eight days we entered the deserted country of the Chacatos very glad, carrying our wounded on litters, and on the ninth day we met a troop of people wno came from Apalache to bring us provisions, which comforted us greatly, and we continued very happily, entering Apalache on the fifth day of October of the year 1677, by the favor of God and the Virgin of the Rosary.

"I give my oath and true testimony, I, Captain Juan Fernandez de Floreneia, lieutenant of this province of Apalache, that there appeared before me the said Juan Mendoza, Matheo Chuba, and Don Bernardo, the cacique of Cupayca, and Ventura, Ynija, of this place of San Luis, who, in their own language, declared the above stated and all that is written down, which I remit in the original to the governor, Don Pablo de Hita Salazar, governor and captain general of the garrison of San Agustin and its provinces by His Majesty. Made (written) in San Luis de Talimali on the 30th of August, 1678.
Juan Febnandez de Flobencia."

Later the same incorrigible people are held responsible, jointly with the English, for having prevented the establishment of a mission among the Apalachicola.
(Swanton)