The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1852-09-02

of his Imperial MASTER Charles " and directing his
Efeet 70 seek sale barber, and await his refw
kor proceed to Havana and bring supplies for the
zarny he plunged nothwardly with his forces. into
Sthe depths Of unknown and savage wilderness in
3quest Of some populous and wealthy empire, ike
Mexico Peru At first they traversed an Inhabited
zcounuy with fields of maize but afterwards for many
sdays, journeyed through desert soi,udes crossing
Srapid rivers RATS and by swimming, eucounteriug
sreqent attacks from hordes Of lurking savages and
Eoften suffering the extremes of hunger, exposure and
despair. Their extreme cruelty TO the Indians who
fell into their bands secured from them the most i'm
Splscabe hostility. Scch Of their captives they
icompeied to ct as guides led the invaders through
swamPs and forests, through matted thckets and
fallen trees, in bewildering for many days,
until their souls nast siekencd at the idea Of pro-
sceedng further: yet they still pressed on, in the 6aily
fdeerred hope Of reaching the rich province Of
(which their guides told them. This was the Appe-
istchee country, which nv, probably, West Of the
head streams Of the Surranee river in Georgia, be-
tween the Alapahaw and the Withlacoochy rivers,
iand East Of Flint river. Towards this land, repre-
sented by the Indians abounding in sod the weary
sSpaniards still eagerly bent thei. tosome wav. AZ
sength, they arrived at the long sought country and ia
3ssht Of the chief town; but to their great dssppcnt-
Bment, and to Narvaez's deep chagrin, instead OF
great city, like Mexico they found only village Of
stwo hundred and forty huts and sheds containing but
little Of sa'ue, and not particle ci gold. The u-
.habitants having fled at their approach, the Spsn-
lard. occupied their village for twenty-five days. for
Iagg and punderng their country around Cor subsis,
fence, harr2ssad DAY and night hy the warke natives
numbers being cut of. and the survivors becoming
more anxious for food than for gold. Indeed, tha
golden delusion for the time being, end;
land 80 reach the more, became the leading
desire Tuning THEN faces Southward they resum-
led their weary march. After passing through dis
4mal swamps, with deep agoons the water sometimes
Eup 70 their breasts the passage frequently obstructed
10y fallen tmbeFs and beset by hordes of hostile and
fierce savages who 'armed with bows OF an enormous
|size, hung continually their fianks and rear. En-
urlg hunger and terrible hai dshps only ;wo-thirds
E0f their original number smviying many Of those H.
iand disease daily spreading among the rest they at
last reached the ] dian village OF Ante, near ths
|Gulfnot Gar from the present site of ST. Maj ks
having Travelled eight hunired miles Of disma! will
deress from the point Of their d,scinba katon. On
the Viage, il deserted and burnt by
tine natives. Some corn, however, remained, and
this more acceptable than gold. To ietraca
'th r steps in search Of their ships, hopclss
iterprize, abandoned as thonght of and dis.
.coyerng an iulet one days march from Aue, thsr
proceeded construct few rude bsrques, in which
hey might coast aiouad IN search Of ihtr ships OF
Sia ling IN this reach some oi the Spanish Possessions
sCo'tlNiig rude bellows and forge, they convert.
led all the iron implements Of every KIND 10 their
;strTupS and spurs, into nails, bachets, and saws
iOf their shirts they made sals; of palm bark and
horse hair, coydagc; Of palm bark alone, oakum;
white pine rosin, scfyed them tor pitch. Every n,au
<aD.c 10 NOtA lbI !cu II OiUiHa tile ali vessel
and horse killed every three days, supplied the la
iborers and s.k with fod. Il this manner, five ves
ei- built, and II these they embarked on tho
I22l Of September, 1928, crowding their gunwaiaz
almost TO The wate edge. Coastng the unex ored
sshore, for many days, suffering from hunger and sick.
ness, driven by gales On the water. assailed by
ssavages when they approached land at length
storm, which during the night, nearly compiet-
led their msioituues by wreckmg three of their i've
3sight vessels. In CT the two that remained was
Al
around for many more days, in the forlen con-
stition, he again touched land, and sent ali his men
ashore IN search OF PROVISIONS, retaining with him.
eonly sailor, and sick page. During their ab.
isence, severe gale spng up from the North, which
kdrove the vessel containing tn. Commander and his
two companions, suddenly to sea, and thev were
never heard of Afterwards Thus pegished a third
1 Governor Of Flo ida His crew ashore, when ths
1 gale came that blew him out upon the trackless
iocean, scarcely long survived him; with starvation
on the hand, and the wages the othcr their
fate never known. The other of the two barques
that remained after the night storn subsequently,
kaiso upon the iuhosptabe shore, and FIVE per-
sons who were in her, and who subsequently,
long afterwards rescued by de Soto, from, captivity
{among the lndarns were all who escaped alive, Of
three hundred men who landed the beach Of BayA
Honda. The five referred to, were Alvar Nunez
SCabeXa de Vaca, officer Of Narvaez, afterwards
fGovernor of the River Platte and fcar panions
sThese, amidst the dreadful hardshps sppeared
ktO nave udFcISeu parts Oh
scr, onward through the desert mountainous regions on
the confines Of Texas, and the Rocky Mountains,
passing from tribe TO tribe of Indians, and often in
cap,vty until at the end Of several years. they sue
Eceedcd in reaching the Spanish settlement of Com
lpostella, in New Gallica. Thence de Vaca pro.
(ceeded TO Mexico, and ultimately arrived at Lisbon.
lin 1887, nearly ten years after his embarkation
with Pamflo de NaYyaez,
Ii is through this miserbly Disastrous exped;,;ou
[of Narvaez, that the world probably obtained the
first glimpse Of the existence Of the Mississippi
While coasting the Gulf shore in their boats il 10
lsald they told by the Appalatchits Indians Of
IN great river falling into the Northern side of the
IGulf and afterwards they reported to have seen
s,he mouth Of this riyer though they did not enter it.
lii seems yer, doubtful. however that these boa,.
lever were so FAR West in the Gulf as the mouth Of
|the Mississippi BE this as it may, it would ap.
Epear certain that de Naca, who tIaversed the Con-
|t;aent from Baya Honda, Mexico, overland, must
undoubtedly heheid the river, he and his companions
Ihavinc necessarily crossed il in travelling Westward;
Ibut singular say with that Indifference to great
Typographical features producing gold, that was
characteristic Of the Spanish, Alvar Nunez in his
NatrGgioS, narrative, has given neither name nor
description by which the mighty river he uBquestion-
,ably saw, can be identified
The discovery and partial exploration Of the Mis-
'sissipr is therefore, properly reerabe the period
Iof Io4l when the Spaniasds composing the c1pedi-
tion of Henqndez De Sto in the conquest Of Florida,
lone day accidentally encountered its g ganc volume
of roug impetuously to the sea, when, instead
of regarding il with admiration and curiosity, one
of natures mightiest we'll important wond-
ers, they viewed il merely troablesome obstacle in
their bloody pathway, in search Of another golden
Peru, or Mexico. (But a description of de Soto's
expedition must bo reserved for another conmunca-
tion.)
To PBEvEsr PITrISo BIZ THE SMALL Pox.--
Mr.. Solon Robinson, in a communication IN the
Plough Loom and artd recommends the following to
TO prevent ritting by the small pox:
Get from the apothecay, lltle ph:a Of stuff called
liquid cuticie, and the pustuIes are faIy
formed apply little Of the liquid with little brush
or feather, each As fast they get ripe.
move the scab, and wipe away the matter clean. and
apply the liquid again. If any CT them fill .eoond
time, you remove the covering and repeat ths
process. 1t will smart like fun Cor a moment. but.
'my word for IT, when YOU recover, you viii not ind
mark upon that pretty face Of yours to prove you ever