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Pedro Menendez visited Guale and Orista

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

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In a letter written shortly after his conquest, Menendez states that he had heard that the elder brother of Ribault with the survivors
from the French garrison "had gone 25 leagues away, toward the north, to a very good port called Guale, because the Indians of that
place were his friends, and that there were within 3 or 4 leagues 40 villages of Indians belonging to two brothers, one of whom was
named Cansin and the other Guale." In Cansin and Guale we of course recognize, in spite of changes and corruptions in orthography, Couexis and Ouade. In the spring of 1566 Menendez sailed northward himself and reached Guale, where he was informed by a French refugee that Guale and Orista were at war with each other and that the people of Guale had captured two men belonging to those of Orista. Meneiidez prevailed upon the Guale chief to make peace with his northern neighbor, who is said to have been the more powerful of the two—the advantage which had been gained over him having been due to the French refugees at Guale. Then, taking the two Orista captives with him, and leaving two Spaniards as hostages, Menendez kept on toward the north and finally entered Broad River. There he found that the town of Orista, which is of course identical with the French Audusta, had been burned and the inhabitants were starting to rebuild it. The Indians met him at first in no friendly spirit, but through the mediation of his two captives he soon placed himself upon good terms with them, and they sent to all the surrounding villages to summon the chiefs and people to come to see him. "They lighted great fires, brought many shellfish, and a great multitude of Indians came that night, and three chiefs who were subject to Orista; they counselled him that he should go to another village a league from Orista, where many other chiefs would come to see him. " The next day Orista himself and two more chiefs came, along with other Indians. "Many Indians came laden with corn, cooked and roasted fish, oysters, and many acorns," and the Spanish leader on his side brought out biscuits, wine, and honey. After the feast "they placed the Adelantado in the seat of the chief, and Orista approached him with various ceremonies, and took his hands ; afterwards the other chiefs and Indians did the same thing—the mother and relatives of the two slaves whom they had brought from Guale wept for joy. Afterwards they began to sing and dance, the chiefs and some of the principal Indians remaining with the Adelantado; and the celebration and rejoicing lasted until midnight, when they retired." Later the Spaniards returned to the village of Orista itself, where they were again hospitably entertained. " In the morning the chief took the Adelantado to a very large house, and placed him in his seat, going over with him the same ceremony that had been performed in the first village. " The Spaniards were presented with well-tanned deerskins and some pearls, although these were of little value, because they had been burned. At Menendez's request the chief showed him a site suitable for a fort, which was begun forthwith and received the name of San Felipe. On his way back Menendez was able to make such an impression on the Indians of Guale, who believed that the cross he had set up in their town had been instrumental in breaking a long drought, that they desired to have Christians left with them and inside of the islands along the Georgia coast many Indians came down to the shore to beg for crosses. Barcia states that a bolt of lightning having fallen on a tree near the cross which had been set up at Guale " the Indians, men and women, all ran to the place and picked up the splinters in order to keep them in their houses as relics."' The island of Guale, us already stated, was St. Catherines Island. It is described in the narrative which we have just quoted as "about 4 or 5 leagues in diameter." In August Menendez again visited Fort San Felipe and Guale, but his stay was short. Finding the garrison at the former place in serious straits for food, he directed Juan Pardo to take 150 soldiers inland and quarter them at intervals upon the natives. While there are several accounts of this and subsequent expeditions undertaken by Pardo into the interior, the only one that concerns us here is a Relation by Juan de la Vandera, in command of the post at San Felipe, which sets forth "the places and what sort of land is to be found at each place among the provinces of Florida, through which Captain Juan Pardo, at the command of Pero Menendez de Aviles, entered to discover a road to New Spain, from the point of Santa Elena of the said provinces, during the years 1566 and 1567." The first part of this is of considerable importance for our study of the Cusabo tribe. It runs as follows:

Vandera's account of the Pardo expedition
He started from Santa Elena with his company in obedience to orders received and on that day they went to sleep at a place called Uscamacu, which is an island surrounded by rivers. Its soil is sandy and makes very good clay for pottery, tiles, and other necessary things of the kind; there is good ground here for planting maize and grapevines, of which there is an abundance.

From Uscamacu he went straight to another place called Ahoya, where they stopped and spent the night. This Ahoya is an island; some parts of it are surrounded by rivers, others look like mainland. It is good or at least reasonably good soil where maize grows and also big vine stocks with runners.

From Ahoya he went to Ahoyabe, a small village, subject to Ahoya and in about the same kind of country.

From Ahoyabe he went to another place, which is called Cozao, which belongs to a rather great cacique and has a lot of good land like the others, and many strips of stony ground, and where maize, wheat. oats, grapevines, all kinds of fruit and vegetables, can be grown, because it has rivers and brooks of sweet water and reasonably good soil for all.

From Cozao he went to another small place which belongs to a chieftain (cacique) of the same Cozao; the land of this place is good, but there is little of it.

From here he went to Enfrenado (This word would mean "bridled " in Spanish. It may bc a native term but docs not look like one.) which is a miserable place, although it has many corners of rich soil like the others.

From Enfrenado he went to Guiomaez from where to the cape of Santa Elena there are forty leagues. The road by which he went is somewhat difficult, but the land or soil is good and everything that is grown in Cozao can be cultivated here and even more and better; there are great swamps, which are deep, caused by the great flatness of the country.

Swanton's review of Vandera's account
Uscamacu, where Pardo spent the first night, is certainly identical with the Maccou of the French, and would thus he somewhere to the southwest of Broad River. Pardo and his company were probably set across to the neighborhood of this place in boats from Fort
San Felipe, unless the site ordinarily assigned to the fort is erroneous. From Uscamacu they marched northwest along Broad River and then up the Coosawhatchie. The first stopping place after leaving Uscamacu was Ahoya, the Hoyu of the French, one of those tribes or villages allied with Audusta. Ahoyabe would probably be an out settlement from Ahoya and hence belong to the same group. In the name of the next place, Cozao, we have the second historical mention of the Coosa tribe of South Carolina, which occupied the upper reaches of the Coosawhatchie, Combahee, Ashepoo, Edisto, and Ashley Rivers, the first notice having been in the list of provinces given by Francisco of Chicora. The greater power ascribed to this chief agrees with our later information regarding the prominence of his people. From the narrative it is evident that the next place where the Spaniards stopped was also a Coosa village. The last two places may have been Coosa towns also, but there is no means of knowing. It has been suggested that Guiomaez was perhaps the later Wimbee, but, if so, the tribe must have moved nearer the coast before the period of English colonization, when they were between Combahee and Broad Rivers. The next place, Canos, 10 leagues from Guiomaez, was identical with the Cofitachequi of De Soto and probably with the later Kasihta town among the Creeks. 
(Swanton)