Ferdinand de Soto. The discoverer of the Mississippi

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Preface

Mr. Theodore Irving, in his valuable history of the "Conquest of Florida, " speaking of the astonishing achievements of the Spanish Cavaliers, in the dawn of the sixteenth century says :

" Of all the enterprises undertaken in this spirit of daring adventure, none has surpassed, for hardihood and variety of incident, that of the renowned Hernando de Soto, and his band of cavaliers. It was poetry put in action. It was the knight-errantry of the old world carried into the depths of the American wilderness. Indeed the personal adventures, the feats of individual prowess, the picturesque description of steel-clad cavaliers, with lance and helm and prancing steed, glittering through the wildernesses of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and the prairies of the Far West, would seem to us mere fictions of romance, did they not come to us recorded in matter of fact narratives of contemporaries, and corroborated by minute and daily memoranda of eye-witnesses."

These are the wild and wondrous adventures which I wish here to record. I have spared no pains in obtaining the most accurate information which the records of those

IV PREFACE.

da3's have transmitted to us. It is as wrong to traduce the dead as the living. If one should be careful not to write a line which dying he would wish to blot, he should also endeavor to write of the departed in so candid and paternal a spirit, while severely just to the truth of history, as to be safe from reproach. One who is aiding to form public opinion respecting another, who has left the world, should remember that he may yet meet the departed in the spirit land. And he may perhaps be greeted with the w^ords, " Your condemnation was too severe. You did not make due allowance for the limes in which I lived. You have held up my name to unmerited reproach."

Careful investigation has revealed De Soto to me as by no means so bad a man as I had supposed him to have been. And I think that the candid reader will admit that there was much, in his heroic but melancholy career, which calls for charitable construction and sympathy.

The authorities upon which I have mainly relied for my statements, are given in the body of the work. There is no country on the globe, whose early history is so full of interest and instruction as our own. The writer feels grateful to the press, in general, for the kindly spirit in which it has spoken of the attempt, in this series, to interest the popular reader in those remarkable incidents which have led to the establishment of this majestic republic.

CHAPTER I. Childhood and Youth

FAGS

Birthplace of Ferdinand De Soto. — Spanish Colony at Darien. — Don Pedro de Avila, Governor of Darien. — Vasco Nunez. — Famine. — Love in the Spanish Castle. — Character of Isabella. — Embarrassment of De Soto. — Isabella's Parting Counsel. . . . . . . . • 9

CHAPTER II. Tlie Spatiish Colony

Character of De Soto. — Cruel Command of Don Pedro. — Incident. ^— The Duel. — Uracca. — Consternation at Darien. — Expedition Organized. — Uracca's Reception of Espinosa and Ms Troops. — The Spaniards Retreat. — De Soto Indignant.— Espinosa's Crueltj', and Deposition from Command. 21

CHAPTER III. Life at Darien

Reinforcements from Spain. — Aid sent to Borrica. — Line of Defense Chosen by the Natives. — Religion of the Buccaneers. — The Battle and the Rout. — Strategy of Uracca. — Cruelty of Don Pedro. — The Retreat. — Character of Uracca. — Embarrassment of Don Pedro. — Warning of M. Codro. — Expedition of Pizarro. — Mission of M. Codro. — Letter of De Soto to Isabella. . . . . . . -37

VI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV. Demoniac Reigtt

PAQE

Giles Gonzales. — Unsuccessful Contest of De Soto with Gonzales.— Bold Reply of De Soto to the Governor. — Cruelty of Don Pedro to M. Codro. — Assassination of Cordova. — New Expedition of Discovery. — Revenge upon Valenzuela. — Reign of Don Pedro at Nicaragua. — Unwise Decision of De Soto. ..... • . 55

CHAPTER V. Tfie Invasion of Peru

The Kingdom of Peru. — Its Metropolis. — The Desperate Condition of Pizarro. — Arrival of De Soto. — Character of the Spaniards. — Exploring Tour of De Soto. — The Colony at San Miguel. — The General Advance. — Second Exploration of De Soto. — Infamous Conduct of the Pizarros. . . 72

CHAPTER VL

The Atrocities of Fizarro.

Fears of Pizarro. — Honorable Conduct of the Inca. — The March to Caxamarca. — Hospitable Reception. — Perfidious Attack upon the Inca. — His Capture and Imprisonment. — The Honor of De Soto. — The Offered Ransom. — Treachery and Extortion of Pizarro. . . . . . .90

Chapter VII

The Execution of the Inca, and Embarrassments of De Soto.

Pledges of Pizarro. — His Perfidy. — False Mission of De Soto. — Execution of the Inca. — His Fortitude. — Indignation of De Soto. — Great Embarrassments. — Extenuating Considerations. — Arrival of Almagro. — March Towards the Capital. . . 107

CONTENTS. VU

CHAPTER VIII. De Soto Returns to Spain

PAQI

Dreadful Fate of Chalcukima. — His Fortitude. — Ignominy of Pizarro. — De Soto's Advance upon Cuzco. — The Peruvian Highway.— Battle in the Defile. — De Soto talces the Responsibility.— Capture of the Capital and its Conflagration. — De Soto's Return to Spain. — His Reception there. — Preparations for the Conquest of Florida. ..... 126

CHAPTER IX. The Landing in Florida

The Departure from Spain. — Arrival in Cuba. — Leonora and Tobar. — Isabella Invested with the Regency. — Sad Life of Isabella.— Sailing of the Expedition. — The Landing at Tampa Bay. — Outrages of Narvaez. — Noble Spirit of Ucita. — Unsuccessful Enterprises. — Disgrace and Return of Porcallo. . 144

CHAPTER X. The March to Ochile

The March Commenced. — The Swamps of Florida. — Passage of the Morass. — Heroism of Silvestre. — Message to Acuera. — His Heroic Reply. — Fierce Hostility of the Indians. — Enter the Town of Ocali. — Strange Incident. — Death of the Bloodhound.— Historical Discrepancies. — Romantic Entrance to Ochile. . . . . . . . .1^3

CHAPTER XL

The Conspiracy and its Consequences.

The Three Brother Chieftains. — Reply of Vitachuco to his Brothers.— Feigned Friendship for the Spaniards. — The Conspiracy,— Its Consummation and Results. — Clemency of De Soto. — The Second Conspiracy. — Slaughter of the Indians. — March of the Spaniards for Osachile. — Battle in the Moiass. 180

Viil CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XII. Winter Quarters

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Incidents of the March. — Passage of the River. — Entering Anhayea. — Exploring Expeditions. — De Soto's desire for Peace. — Capture of Capifi. — His Escape. — Embarrassu-ents of De Soto. — Letter of Isabella. — Exploration (.f the Coast. — Discovery of the Bay of Pensacola. — Testimony Respecting Cofachiqui. — The March Resumed. .... 199

CHAPTER XIII. Lost in the Wilderness

Incidents at Achise. — Arrival at Cofa. — Friendly Reception by Cofaqui. — The Armed Retinue. — Commission of Patofa. — Splendors of the March. — Lost in the Wilderness. — Peril of the Army. — Friendly Relations. — The Escape from the Wilderness.— They Reach the Frontiers of Cofachiqui. — Dismissal of Patofa. — Wonderful Reception by the Princess of Cofachiqui. ........ 220

CHAPTER XIV. The Indian Princess

Crossing the River. — Hospitable Reception. — Attempts to visit the Queen Mother. — Suicide of the Prince. — Futile search for Gold. — The Discovery of Pearls. — The Pearl Fishery. — The Princess a Captive. — Held in Silken Chains. — Her Escape. — Location of Cutifachiqui. — The March Resumed. . . 240

CHAPTER XV. The Dreadful Battle of Mobila

The Army in Alabama. — Barbaric Pageant. — The Chief of Tuscaloosa.— Native Dignity. — Suspected Treachery of the Chief. — Mobila, its Location and Importance. — Cunning of the Chief. — The Spaniards Attacked. — Incidents of the Battle. — Disastrous Results. ...... 259

CONTENTS. IX

CHAPTER XVI. Days of Darkness

FAOS

The Melancholy Encampment. — The Fleet at Pensacola. — Singular Resolve of De Soto. — Hostility of the Natives. — Beautiful Scenery. — Winter Quarters on the Yazoo. — Feigned Friendship of the Cacique. — Trickery of Juan Ortiz. — The Teinible Battle of Chickasaw. — Dreadful Loss of the Spaniards. . 276

CHAPTER XVII. TJie Discovery of the Mississippi

The Fortress of Hostile Indians. — Its Capture. — The Disastrous Conflict. — The Advance of the Army. — Discovery of the Mississippi River. — Preparations for Crossing. — Extraordinary Pageants. — Unjustifiable Attack. — The passage of the River. — Friendly Reception by Casquin. — Extraordinary Religious Festival. ...... 296

CHAPTER XVIII. Vagrant Wanderifigs

Trickery of Casquin. — The March to Capaha. — The Battle and its Results. — Friendly Relations with Capaha. — The Return Journey. — The March Southward. — Salt Springs. — The Savages of Tulu. — Their Ferocity. — Anecdote. — Despondency of De Soto. ... . . 315

CHAPTER XIX. Death of De Soto

Ascent of the Mississippi. — Revenge of Guachoya. — Sickness of De Soto. — Affecting Leave-taking. — His Death and Burial. — The March for Mexico. — Return to the Mississippi. — Descent of the River. — Dispersion of the Expedition. — Death of Isabella. . . . . . . . .334

CHAPTER I. ChildJiood and Youth

Birthplace of Ferdinand De Soto. — Spanish Colony at Darien. — Don Pedro de Avila, Governor of Darien. — Vasco Nunez. — Famine. — Love in the Spanish Castle. — Character of Isabella. — Embarrassment of De Soto. — Isabella's Parting Counsel.

In the interior of Spain, about one hundred and thirty miles southwest of Madrid, there is the small walled town of Xeres. It is remote from all great routes of travel, and contains about nine thousand inhabitants, living very frugally, and in a state of primitive simplicity. There are several rude castles of the ancient nobility here, and numerous gloomy, monastic institutions. In one of these dilapidated castles, there was born, in the year 1 500, a boy, who received the name of Ferdinand de Soto. His parents were Spanish nobles, perhaps the most haughty class of nobility which has ever existed. It was, however, a decayed family, so impoverished as to find it difficult to maintain the position of gentility. The parents were not able to give their son a liberal education. Their rank did not allow them to introlO DE SOTO

duce him to any of the pursuits of industry ; and so far as can now be learned, the years of his early youth were spent in idleness.

Ferdinand was an unusually handsome boy. He grew up tall, well formed, and with remarkable muscular strength and agility. He greatly excelled in fencing, horseback riding, and all those manly exercises which were then deemed far more essential for a Spanish gentleman than literary culture. He was fearless, energetic, self-reliant ; and it was manifest that he was endowed with mental powers of much native strength.

When quite a lad he attracted the attention of a wealthy Spanish nobleman, Don Pedro de Avila, who sent him to one of the Spanish universities, probably that of Saragossa, and maintained him there for six years. Literary culture was not then in high repute ; but it was deemed a matter of very great moment that a nobleman of Spain should excel in horsemanship, in fencing, and in wielding every weapon of attack or defence.

Ferdinand became quite renowned for his lofty bearing, and for all chivalric accomplishments. At the tournaments, and similar displays of martial prowess then in vogue, he was prominent, exciting the envy of competitive cavaliers, and winning the admiration of the ladies.

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. II

Don Pedro became very proud of his foster son, received him to his family, and treated him as though he were his own child. The Spanish court had at that time established a very important colony at the province of Darien, on the Isthmus of Panama. This isthmus, connecting North and South America, is about three hundred miles long and from forty to sixty broad. A stupendous range of mountains runs along its centre, apparently reared as an eternal barrier between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. From several of the summits of this ridge the waters of the two oceans can at the same time be distinctly seen. Here the Spanish court, in pursuit of its energetic but cruel conquest of America, had established one of its most merciless colonies. There was gold among the mountains. The natives had many golden ornaments. They had no conception of the value of the precious ore in civilized lands. Readily they would exchange quite large masses of gold for a few glass beads. The great object of the Spaniards in the conquest of Darien was to obtain gold. They inferred that if the ignorant natives, without any acquaintance with the arts, had obtained so much, there must be immense quantities which careful searching and skilful mining would reveal.

The wanton cruelties practised by the Spaniards upon the unoffending natives of these climes seem to have been as senseless as they were fiendlike. It is often difficult to find any motive for their atrocities. These crimes are thoroughly authenticated, and yet they often seem like the outbursts of dem'oniac malignity. Anything like a faithful recital of them would torture the sensibilities of our readers almost beyond endurance. Mothers and maidens were hunted and torn down by bloodhounds ; infant children were cut in pieces, and their quivering limbs thrown to the famished dogs.

The large wealth and the rank of Don Pedro de Avila gave him much influence at the Spanish court. He succeeded in obtaining the much-coveted appointment of Governor of Darien. His authority was virtually absolute over the property, the liberty, and the lives of a realm, whose extended limits were not distinctly defined.

Don Pedro occupied quite an imposing castle, his ancestral mansion, in the vicinity of Badajoz. Here the poor boy Ferdinand, though descended from families of the highest rank, was an entire dependent upon his benefactor. The haughty Don Pedro treated him kindly. Still he regarded him, in consequence of his poverty, almost as a favored menial. He fed him, clothed him, patronized him.

It was in the year 15 14 that Don Pedro entered

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 1 3

upon his office of Governor of Darien. The insatiate thirst for gold caused crowds to flock to his banners. A large fleet was soon equipped, and more than two thousand persons embarked at St. Lucar for the golden land. The most of these were soldiers ; men of sensuality, ferocity, and thirst for plunder. Not a few noblemen joined the enterprise ; some to add to their already vast possessions, and others hoping to retrieve their impoverished fortunes.

A considerable number of priests accompanied the expedition, and it is very certain that some of these at least were actuated by a sincere desire to do good to the natives, and to win them to the religion of Jesus : — that religion which demands that we should do to others as we would that others should do to us, and whose principles, the goverjior, the nobles, and the soldiers, were ruthlessly trampling beneath their feet. Don Pedro, when measured by the standard of Christianity, was proud, perfidious and tyrannical. The course he pursued upon his arrival in the country was impolitic and almost insane.

His predecessor in the governorship was Vasco Nuiiez. He had been on the whole a prudent, able and comparatively merciful governor. He had entered into trade with the natives, and had so far secured their good will as to induce them to bring in an ample supply of provisions for his colony. He had sent out Indian explorers, with careful instructions to search the gold regions among the mountains. Don Pedro, upon assuming the reins of government, became very jealous of the popularity of Nuiiez, whom he supplanted. His enmity soon became so implacable that, without any cause, he accused him of treason and ordered him to be decapitated. The sentence was executed in the public square of Ada. Don Pedro himself gazed on the cruel spectacle concealed in a neighboring house. He seemed ashamed to meet the reproachful eye of his victim, as with an axe his head was cut off upon a block.

All friendly relations with the Indians were speedily terminated. They were robbed of their gold, of their provisions, and their persons were outraged in the most cruel manner. The natives, terror-stricken, fled from the vicinity of the colony, and suddenly the Spaniards found all their supplies of provisions cut off More than two thousand were crowded into a narrow space on the shores of the gulf, with no possibility of obtaining food. They were entirely unprepared for any farming operations, having neither agricultural tools nor seed. Neither if they had them could they wait for the slow advent of the harvest. Famine commenced its reign, and with famine, its invariable attendant, pestilence. In

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 1 5

less than six months, of all the glittering hosts, which with music and banners had landed upon the isthmus, expecting soon to return to Europe with their ships freighted with gold, but a few hundred were found alive, and they were haggard and in rags.

The Spaniards had robbed the Indians of their golden trinkets, but these trinkets could not be eaten and they would purchase no food. They were as worthless as pebbles picked from the beach. Often lumps of gold, or jewels of inestimable value, were offered by one starving wretch to another for a piece of mouldy bread. The colony would have become entirely extinct, but for the opportune arrival of vessels from Spain with provisions. Don Pedro had sent out one or two expeditions of half-famished men to seize the rice, Indian corn, and other food, wherever such food could be found.

The natives had sufficient intelligence to perceive that the colonists were fast wasting away. The Indians were gentle and amiable in character, and naturally timid ; with no taste for the ferocities of war. But emboldened by the miseries of the colonies, and beginning to despise their weakness, they fell upon the foraging parties with great courage and drove them back ignominiously to the coast. The arrival of the ships to which we have referred with provisl6 DE SOTO.

ions and reinforcements, alone saved the colony from utter extinction.

Don Pedro, after having been in the colony five years, returned to Spain to obtain new acquisitions of strength in men and means for the prosecution of ever-enlarging plans of wealth and ambition. North and south of the narrow peninsula were the two majestic continents of North and South America. They both invited incursions, where nations could be overthrown, empires established, fame won, and where mountains of gold might yet be found.

It seems that De Soto had made the castle of Don Pedro, near Badajoz, his home during the absence of the governor. There all his wants had been provided for through the charitable munificence of his patron. He probably had spent his term time at the university. He was now nineteen years of age, and seemed to have attained the full maturity of his physical system, and had developed into a remarkably elegant young man.

The family of Don Pedro had apparently remained at the castle. His second daughter, Isabella, was a very beautiful girl in her sixteenth year. She had already been presented at the resplendent court of Spain, where she had attracted great admiration. Rich, beautiful and of illustrious birth, many noblemen had sought her hand, and among the rest, one

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 1 7

of the princes of the blood royal. But Isabella and De Soto, much thrown together in the paternal castle, had very naturally fallen in love with each other.

The haughty governor was one day exceedingly astounded and enraged, that De Soto had the audacity to solicit the hand of his daughter in marriage. In the most contemptuous and resentful manner, he repelled the proposition as an insult. De Soto was keenly wounded. He was himself a man of noble birth. He had no superior among all the young noblemen around him, in any chivalric accomplishment. The only thing wanting was money. Don Pedro loved-his daughter, was proud of her beauty and celebrity, and was fully aware that she had a very decided will of her own.

After the lapse of a few days, the governor was not a little alarmed by a statement, which the governess of the young lady ventured to make to him. She assured him that Isabella had given her whole heart to De Soto, and that she had declared it to be her unalterable resolve to retire to a convent, rather than to become the wife of any other person. Don Pedro was almost fi"antic with rage. As totally devoid of moral principle as he was of human feelings, he took measures to have De Soto assassinated. Such is the uncontradicted testimony of contemporary historians. But every day revealed to him more clearly the strength of Isabella's attachment for De Soto, and the inflexibility of her will. He became seriously alarmed, not only from the apprehension that if her wishes were thwarted, no earthly power could prevent her from burying herself in a convent, but he even feared that if De Soto were to be assassinated, she would, by self-sacrifice, follow him to the world of spirits. This caused him to feign partial reconciliation, and to revolve in his mind more cautious plans for his removal.

He decided to take De Soto back with him to Darien. The historians of those days represent that it was his intention to expose his young protege to such perils in wild adventures in the New World, as would almost certainly secure his death. De Soto himself, proud though poor, was tortured by the contemptuous treatment which he received, even from the menials in the castle, who were aware of his rejection by their proud lord. He therefore eagerly availed himself of the invitation of Don Pedro to join in a new expedition which he was fitting out for Darien.

He resolved, at whatever sacrifice, to be rich. The acquisition of gold, and the accumulation of fame, became the great objects of his idolatry. With these he could not only again claim the hand of Isabella, but the haughty Don Pedro would eagerly seek

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 19

the alliance of a man of wealth and renown. Thousands of adventurers were then crowding to the shores of the New World, lured by the accounts of the boundless wealth which it was said could there be found, and inspired by the passion which then pervaded Christendom, of obtaining celebrity by the performance of chivalric deeds.

Many had returned greatly enriched by the plunder of provinces. The names of Pizarro and Cortez had been borne on the wings of renown through all the countries of Europe, exciting in all honorable minds disgust, in view of their perfidy and cruelty, and inspiring others with emotions of admiration, in contemplation of their heroic adventures.

De Soto was greatly embarrassed by his poverty. Both his parents were dead. He was friendless ; and it was quite impossible for him to provide himself with an outfit suitable to the condition of a Spanish grandee. The insulting treatment he had received from Don Pedro rendered it impossible for him to approach that haughty man as a suppliant for aid. But Don Pedro did not dare to leave De Soto behind him. The family were to remain in the ancestral home. And it was very certain that, Don Pedro being absent, ere long he would hear of the elopement of Ferdinand and Isabella. Thus influenced, he offered De Soto a free passage to Darien, a captain's commission with a suitable outfit, and pledged himself that he should have ample opportunity of acquiring wealth and distinction, in an expedition he was even then organizing for the conquest of Peru. As Don Pedro made these overtures to the young ^iian, with apparently the greatest cordiality, assuming that De Soto, by embarking in the all-important enterprise, would confer a favor rather than receive one, the offer was eagerly accepted.

Don Pedro did everything in his power to prevent the two lovers from having any private interview before the expedition sailed. But the ingenuity of love as usual triumphed over that of avarice, Isabella and De Soto met, and solemnly pledged constancy to each other. It seems that Isabella thoroughly understood the character of her father, and knew that he would shrink from no crime in the accomplishment of his purposes. As she took her final leave of her lover, she said to him, very solemnly and impressively,

" Ferdinand, remember that one treacherous friend is more dangerous than a thousand avowed enemies."

CHAPTER II. The Spanish Colony

Character of De Soto. — Cruel Command of Don Pedro. — Incident. — The Duel. — Uracca. — Consternation at Darien. — Expedition Organized.— Uracco's Reception of Espinosa and his Troops. — ■ The Spaniards Retreat. — De Soto Indignant. — Espinosa's Cruelty, and Deposition from Command.

It was in the year 1 5 19, when the expedition sailed from St. Lucar for Darien. We have no account of the incidents which occurred during the voyage. The fleet reached Darien in safety, and the Spanish adventurers, encased in coats of mail, which the arrows and javelins of the natives could not pierce, mounted on powerful war horses, armed with muskets and cannon, and with packs of ferocious bloodhounds at their command, were all prepared to scatter the helpless natives before them, as the whirlwind scatters autumnal leaves.

De Soto was then but nineteen years of age. In stature and character he was a mature man. There are many indications that he was a young man of humane and honorable instincts, shrinking from the deeds of cruelty and injustice which he saw everywhere perpetrated around him. It is' however probable, that under the rigor of miUtary law, he at times felt constrained to obey commands from which his kindly nature recoiled.

Don Pedro was a monster of cruelty. He gave De Soto command of a troop of horse. He sent him on many expeditions which required not only great courage, but military sagacity scarcely tx) be expected in one so young and inexperienced. It is however much to the credit of De Soto, that the annalists of those days never mentioned his name in connection with those atrocities which disgraced the administration of Don Pedro. He even ventured at times to refuse obedience to the orders of the governor, when commanded to engage in some service which he deemed dishonorable.

One remarkable instance of this moral and physical intrepidity is on record. Don Pedro had determined upon the entire destruction of a little village occupied by the natives. The torch was to be applied, and men, women and children, were to be put to the sword. Don Pedro had issued such a command as this, with as much indifference as he would have placed his foot upon an anthill. It is not improbable that one of the objects he had in view was to impose a revolting task upon De Soto, that he might be, as it were, whipped into implicit obedience.

He therefore sent one of the most infamous of his captains to De Soto with the command that he should immediately take a troop of horse, proceed to the doomed village, gallop into its peaceful and defenceless street, set fire to every dwelling, and with their keen sabres, cut dovvn every man, woman and child. It was a deed fit only for demons to execute. De Soto deemed himself insulted in being ordered on such a mission. This was not war, — it was butchery. The defenceless natives could make no resistance. Indignantly and heroically he replied :

" Tell Don Pedro, the governor, that my life and services are always at his disposal, when the duty to be performed is such as may become a Christian and a gentleman. But in the present case, I think the governor would have shown more discretion by entrusting you. Captain Perez, with this commission, instead of sending you with the order to myself"

This reply Captain Perez might certainly regard as reflecting very severely upon his own character, and as authorizing him to demand that satisfaction which, under such circumstances, one cavalier expects of another. He however carried the message to the governor. Don Pedro was highly gratified. He saw that a duel was the necessary result. Captain Perez was a veteran soldier, and was the most expert swordsman in the army. He was famed for his quar-

24 t)E SOTO.

relsome disposition ; had already fought many duels, in which he had invariably killed his man. In a rencontre between the youthful De Soto and the veteran Captain Perez, there could be no doubt in the mind of the governor as to the result. He therefore smiled very blandly upon Captain Perez, and said in language which the captain fully understood :

" Well, my friend, if you, who are a veteran soldier, can endure the insolence of this young man, De Soto, I see no reason why an infirm old man like myself should not show equal forbearance."

Captain Perez was not at all reluctant to take the hint. It was only giving him an opportunity to add another to the list of those who had fallen before his sword. The challenge was immediately given. De Soto's doom was deemed sealed. Duels in the Spanish army were fashionable, and there was no moral sentiment which recoiled in the slightest degree from the barbaric practice.

The two combatants met with drawn swords in the presence of nearly all the officers of the colonial army, and of a vast concourse of spectators. The stripling De Soto displayed skill with his weapon which not only baffled his opponent, but which excited the surprise and admiration of all the on-lookers. For two hours the deadly conflict continued, without any decisive results. De Soto had received several trifling wounds^ while his antagonist was unharmed. At length, by a fortunate blow, he inflicted such a gash upon the right wrist of Perez, that his sword dropped from his hand. As he attempted to catch it with his left hand, he stumbled and fell to the ground. De Soto instantly stood over him with his sword at his breast, demanding that he should ask for his life. The proud duellist, thus for the flrst time in his life discomfited, was chagrined beyond endurance. In sullen silence, he refused to cry for mercy. De Soto magnanimously returned his sword to its scabbard, saying: "The life that is not worth asking for, is not worth taking."