Update this timeline entry

Cabeza de Vaca described Spaniards' first encounter (Narvaez) with Apalache

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

Project ID

Chapter

Timeline title

Start date

End date

Filename received

Filename assigned

Content

Very little has been preserved regarding the ethnology of the Apalachee. Their culture was midway between that of the Florida tribes and their own Muskhogean relatives to the north. Writing in 1673 one of the governors of Florida says of their dress:
"The men wear only bark and skin clothing and the women small cloaks (goaipiles), which they make of the roots of trees."
These last must have been similar to, if not identical with, the mulberry bark garments. From what the De Soto chroniclers say of the change in domestic architecture which they encountered in south-central Georgia it is evident that the Apalachee were associated in this feature rather with the southern than with the northern tribes.

Fontaneda makes a few brief remarks regarding the customs of the Apalachee,5 but it is secondhand information obtained through the south Florida Indians and of little value.

The first historical reference to the Apalachee is in Cabeza de Vaca's narrative of the Narvaez expedition. On their way north through the central part of the Florida Peninsula in the spring of 1528 the explorers met some Indians who led them to their village, and "there," says Cabeza de Vaca, 
"we found many boxes for merchandize from Castilla. In every one of them was a corpse covered with painted deer hides. The commissary thought this to be some idolatrous practice, so he burnt the boxes with the corpses. We also found pieces of linen and cloth, and feather headdresses that seemed to be from New Spain, and samples of gold…. We inquired of the Indians (by signs) whence they had obtained these things and they gave us to understand that very far from there, was a province called Apalachen, in which there was much gold. They also signified to us that in that province we would find everything we held in esteem. They said that in Apalachen there was plenty."1

The form "Apalachen" here given seems to contain the Muskhogean objective ending -n, which by a stranger would often be taken over as a necessary part of the word. The people among whom the Spaniards then were, were Timucua, therefore the mistake was perhaps on the part of the Indians, but more likely it is the form as heard by the Spaniards afterwards from the Apalachee themselves.

The Spaniards continued their journey in search of this province and 
"came in sight of Apalachen without having been noticed by the Indians of the land" on the day after St. John's Day… Once in sight of Apalachen, the governor commanded me to enter the village with nine horsemen and fifty foot. So the inspector and I undertook this. Upon penetrating into the village we found only women and boys. The men were not there at the time, but soon, while we were walking about they came and began to fight, shooting arrows at us. They killed the inspector's horse, but finally fled and left us. 
…We found there plenty of ripe maize ready to be gathered and much dry corn already housed. We also found many deer skins and among them mantles made of thread and of poor quality, with which the women cover parts of their bodies. They had many vessels [mortars] for grinding [or rather pounding] maize. The village contained forty small and low houses, reared in sheltered places, out of fear of the great storms that continuously occur in the country. The buildings are of straw, and they are surrounded by dense timber, tall trees and numerous water-pools, where there were so many fallen trees and of such size as to greatly obstruct and impede circulation… In the province of Apalachen the lagunes are much larger than those we found previously. There is much maize in this province and the houses are scattered all over the country as much as those of the Gelves

Two hours after we arrived at Apalachen the Indians that had fled came back peaceably, begging us to give back to them their women and children, which we did. The governor, however, kept with him one of their caciques, at which they became so angry as to attack us the following day. They did it so swiftly and with so much audacity as to set fire to the lodges we occupied, but when we sallied forth they fled to the lagunes nearby, on account of which and of the big corn patches we could not do them any harm beyond killing one Indian. The day after Indians from a village on the other side came and attacked us in the same manner, escaping in the same way, with the loss of a single man.

We remained at this village for 25 days, making three excursions during the time. We found the country very thinly inhabited and difficult to march through, owing to bad places, timber, and lagunes. We inquired of the cacique whom we had retained and of the other Indians with us (who were neighbors and enemies of them) about the condition and settlements of the land, the quality of its people, about supplies, and everything else. They answered, each one for himself, that Apalachen was the largest town of all; that further in less people were met with who were very much poorer than those here, and that the country was thinly settled, the inhabitants greatly scattered, and also that further inland big lakes, dense forests, great deserts, and wastes were met with.

Then we asked about the land to the south, its villages and resources. They said that in that direction and nine days' march toward the sea was a village called Aute, where the Indians had plenty of corn and also beans and melons, and that, being so near the sea, they obtained fish and that those were their friends. Seeing how poor the country was, taking into account the unfavorable reports about its population and everything else, and that the Indians made constant war upon us, wounding men and horses whenever they went for water (which they could do from the lagunes where we could not reach them) by shooting arrows at us; that they had killed a chief of Tuzcuco called Don Pedro, whom the commissary had taken along with him, we agreed to depart and go in search of the sea, and of the village of Aute, which they had mentioned.

And so we left, arriving there five days after. The first day we traveled across lagunes and trails without seeing a single Indian.

On the second day, however, we reached a lake very difficult to cross, the water reaching to the chest, and there were a great many fallen trees. Once in the middle of it, a number of Indians assailed us from behind trees that concealed them from our sight, while others were on fallen trees, and they began to shower arrows upon us, so that many men and horses were wounded, and before we could get out of the lagune our guide was captured by them. After we had got out, they pressed us very hard, intending to cut us off, and it was useless to turn upon them, for they would hide in the lake and from there wound both men and horses. So the Governor ordered the horsemen to dismount and attack them on foot. The purser dismounted also, and our people attacked them. Again they fled to a lagune, and we succeeded in holding the trail. In this fight some of our people were wounded in spite of their good armor. There were men that day who swore they had seen two oak trees, each as thick as the calf of a leg, shot through and through by arrows, which is not surprising if we consider the force and dexterity with which they shoot. I myself saw an arrow that had penetrated the base of a poplar tree for half a foot in length. All the many Indians from Florida we saw were archers, and, being very tall and naked, at a distance they appeared giants. Those people are wonderfully built, very gaunt and of great strength and agility. Their bows are as thick as an arm, from eleven to twelve spans long, shooting an arrow at 200 paces with unerring aim.

From that crossing we went to another similar one, a league away, but while it was half a league in length it was also much more difficult. There we crossed without opposition, for the Indians, having spent all their arrows at the first place, had nothing wherewith they would dare attack us. The next day, while crossing a similar place, I saw the tracks of people who went ahead of us, and I notified the Governor, who was in the rear, so that, although the Indians turned upon us, as we were on our guard, they could do us no harm. Once on open ground they pursued us still. We attacked them twice, killing two, while they wounded me and two or three other Christians, and entered the forest again, where we could no longer injure them..

In this manner we marched for eight days, without meeting any more natives, until one league from the site to which I said we were going. There, as we were marching along, Indians crept up unseen and fell upon our rear. A boy belonging to a nobleman, called Avellaneda, who was in the rear guard, gave the alarm. Avellaneda turned back to assist, and the Indians hit him with an arrow on the edge of the cuirass, piercing his neck nearly through, so that he died on the spot, and we carried him to Aute.

It took us nine days from Apalachen to the place where we stopped. And then we found that all the people had left and the lodges were burnt. But there was plenty of maize, squash, and beans, all nearly ripe and ready for harvest. We rested there for two days.

After this the governor entreated me to go in search of the sea, as the Indians said it was so near by, and we had, on this march, already suspected its proximity from a great river to which we had given the name of the Rio de la Magdalena. I left on the following day in search of it, accompanied by the commissary, the captain Castillo, Andres Dorantes, 7 horsemen, and 50 foot. We marched until sunset, reaching an inlet or arm of the sea, where we found plenty of oysters on which the people feasted, and we gave many thanks to God for bringing us there.

The next day I sent 20 men to reconnoiter the coast and explore it, who returned on the day following at nightfall, saying that these inlets and bays were very large and went so far inland as greatly to impede our investigations, and that the coast was still at a great distance. Hearing this and considering how ill-prepared we were for the task, I returned to where the governor was. We found him sick, together with many others. The night before Indians had made an attack, putting them in great stress, owing to their enfeebled condition. The Indians had also killed one of their horses."

The next day they left Aute and, with great exertion, reached the spot where Cabeza de Vaca had come out on the Gulf. It was determined to build boats and leave the country, but meanwhile, in order to provide themselves with sufficient provisions, they made four raids upon Aute "and they brought as many as 400 fanegas of maize, although not without armed opposition from the Indians." [Note: A fanega is about equal to a bushel.]

Our author adds that 
"during that time some of the party went to the coves and inlets for seafood, and the Indians surprised them twice, killing ten of our men in plain view of the camp without our being able to prevent it. We found them shot through and through with arrows, for, although several wore good armor, it was not sufficient to protect them, since, as I said before, they shot their arrows with such force and precision." 3

Near the end of September, 1528, they embarked in five barges and left the country, coasting along toward the west, and having nothing further to do with Apalachee or its inhabitants. The narrative given by Oviedo4 is practically the same; that in the "Relacion" published in the Documentos Ineditos5 is even briefer.
(Swanton)