The Spanish Inroads
The history of Alabama begins with the invasion of the country by the
Spaniards under DeSoto in 1540, which was forty-three years subsequent to the
discovery of the northern continent of America by John Cabot. Prior to the visit
of DeSoto nothing is known of this region.
Hernande DeSoto, a cavalier of Spain, athirst for the riches and renown which
had crowned the valor and daring of Cortez and Pizarro, obtained the consent of
Charles V. to his project for the subjugation of Florida. By this name was the
continent of North America known to the Spaniards, and DeSoto doubted not to
find within its broad limits cities and empires which would rival those of the
tropics in opulence and splendor. Commissioned governor of Cuba by his
sovereign, and seconded in his scheme by all, he landed at Tampa' Bay, in May
1539, with about one thousand chosen men. Marching northward, he wintered near
the site of the present town of Tallahassee. He then traversed Georgia to the
Savannah, thence as far northwest as the Conesauga. Following that stream to its
confluence with the Etowah, a short distance further west he came to the town of
Chiaha, supposed to have been situated where Rome, Ga., now stands. Proceeding
thence westward along the western bank of the Coosa, the expedition entered what
is now the State of Alabama and county of Cherokee in June 1540. The first town
they reached within our borders was called Acostee, and the inhabitants of it
were more turbulent than any they had encountered since leaving south Georgia.
While at Acostee, two soldiers, who had been sent to explore the mountains for
precious stones and ores, returned with nothing of value but the skin of a
buffalo. Crossing to the east bank of the river, the Spaniards calve to a town
called Talla at the end of a day's march. They were now in the fruitful country
called Cosa or Coosa by its inhabitants, and now embraced within the counties of
Calhoun, Talladega, Coosa, Clay, and Elmore, The town of Coosa was now reached.
It was the capital of the kingdom, and was situated on the river between the
mouths of Talladega and Tallaseehatchee creeks, in the present county of
Talladega. Here the invaders tarried twenty-five days, then moved southward
through the towns of Tallamuchasee, Utawah, Ullibahalee, and Towassee, to a town
called Tallasee, on the Tallapoosa. Remaining at this place twenty days, DeSoto
received from the king of the powerful tribe to the southward an invitation to
visit him. This he proceeded to do, with his entire force. Crossing the river,
and pursuing a southwest direction, a march of two days duration brought them
face to face with the Indian king, a giant, name Tuskaloosa. This haughty prince
accompanied his armed guests to a fortified town on the Alabama river, called
Piachee.
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NOTE:
This town is thought by both Meek and Pickett to have been
situated in the present county of Wilcox; the former locating it
'near Evans' Landing," (near Clifton), and the latter "in the upper
part of the county of Wilcox;" but the distance traversed, some
sixty miles from Tallasee, would seem to indicate a point nearer
Selma. The impression of these authors that the city of Mauvilla was
in Clarke county (Pickett says at Choctaw Bluff,) is also partly
confirmed by the fact, that after crossing the river at Piachee,
they passed through a populous country on the third day. As the
Indians nowhere resided on the alluvial lands, but always on light
soil, it is quite probable that Manville was in Clarke, for much of
western Dallas and Wilcox is of the former character. |
Crossing the river, the Spaniards proceeded down the west bank to the
capital of this formidable nation. Tuskaloosa, whose cunning and pride
were only equalled by his ferocity, had here congregated thousands of his
warriors, and they were concealed in large sheds or houses within the
wooden walls or palisades of the city. The battle began the morning of the
18th of October, soon after DeSoto and his advance guard were admitted
within the enclosure. Forced back and outside by overwhelming numbers,
they were soon reinforced by the main body, and now stormed the city. The
savages fought with stubborn and wild ferocity, but the superior
equipments of the Europeans made a great carnage. The conflict raged all
day, and its horrors were supplemented by the ravages of the devouring
flames, for the houses were fired. Night closed upon the city in ruins,
the conflict having lasted nine hours, and resulted in the repulse of the
Indians. Eighteen Spaniards were killed, and 150 wounded, while 2,500 of
the brave natives were left dead on the field. Other accounts estimate the
losses on both sides at much higher figures.
The account of the expedition of DeSoto is accurately given by no less
than three different authors. One of these was a Portuguese cavalier who
shared in its perils; a second was Biedma, the commissary of the
expedition; and the third was Gerchlasso de la Vega, who took down its
incidents from the lips of two of the surviving soldiers, and from
journals kept by others.
Certainly no Indian battle fought on the soil of the United States was
more bloody.'
| "I know not if a more bloody Indian fight ever occurred on the
soil of the United States" -- Bancroft, vol. 1, page 48. |
The fate of the king, Tuskaloosa, is not satisfactorily known; one account
stating that he perished in the battle; another that he retired from the
city soon after it began.
DeSoto had determined to go to the sea at Ochus, now called Pensacola, the
capacious harbor there having been discovered by a detachment of his
command while he was wintering in Florida. He had ordered vessels from
Havana to await him there, with supplies for the expedition; and they were
then at that point. But he is thought to have feared a disbandment of the
command should his followers see so convenient a means of escape from the
privations of their fruitless achievements. He therefore turned his face
northward.
The country through which he now passed was called Pafallaya, and was not
inhabited. Ninety miles from Mauvilla were two towns, Tallapatawa and
Cabusto. The latter was on the river, probably between where Eutaw and
Carthage now stand. The natives were implacably hostile, and the passage
of the Warrior had to be forced in the face of a large body of then. The
Spaniards then ascended the east bank of the Tonlbikbee, and passed out of
Alabama. Crossing the latter river, they found the Chicacas (Chicasas),
and fought more than one bloody battle with them. Reaching the Yazoo, they
stormed a fortress belonging to the Alibamos, which was defended with
desperate valor. DeSoto then reached the Chicagua river, now called the
Mississippi, in May 1541.
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NOTE
DeSoto is generally considered the discoverer of the Mississippi.
Howbeit, in 1519, Garay, the Spanish Viceroy of Jamaica sent an
expedition to explore the coast of the Mexique Sea, west of Florida,
for a passage to the westward. Alvarez Alonzo de Pineda led this
expedition, and on the charts made by his pilots, the estuaries of
the Mississippi are traced, and called: Rio Espiritu Santo. And, in
1528, Cabeza do Vaca, with part of Narvaez's ill-starred expedition,
while coasting westward, discovered one of its outlets. |
Crossing it, he journeyed a year in the western wilds; but his search
for gold was unsuccessful, and, baffled and despondent, he returned to the
great river. Reaching it at a point just below the mouth of the Arkansas,
he began to make preparations to reach the Gulf by water, when he died of
fever, in May 1542. His body was consigned, at the dead of night, to the
waters of the great river of which he was the discoverer. "The wanderer,"
says Bancroft, "had crossed a large part of the continent in search of
gold, and found nothing so remarkable as his burial place." His successor,
Moscoso, attempted. to reach Mexico by land, but returned after six
month's wandering to attempt the transit by water. They sailed July 2,
1543, and the remnant of 320 souls-all that remained of the 1000 who
landed at Tampa, flushed with hope, and fired by the desire for gold-left
the inhospitable shores of their weary pilgrimage. They were repeatedly
attacked on the voyage, but reached the Gulf within sixteen days, and
arrived at the town of Panuco, Mexico, Sept. 10. Thence they went to the
city of Mexico.
Thus ended an enterprise as fruitless in its achievements as it was bold
in its conception, and arduous in its execution. It was an expenditure of
treasure and blood with no useful result save that of throwing some light
on the condition of Alabama at an earlier period, and to a fuller extent,
than was accorded to any other region of the American Union for a century
afterwards. An European army traversed what is now the State of Alabama,
from one end to the other, eighty years before the Puritans landed at
Plymouth, and forty years before the birth of Smith, the founder of
Virginia. But it was, as Meek calls it, "an isolated chapter in the
"annals of " the country. "The dark curtain that had "covered her
territory was suddenly lifted; a brilliant but " bloody panorama passed
across the stage; and then all was "shrouded in primeval darkness. -
Hon. A. B. Meck of Mobile.
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