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CHAPTER VIII.

DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

DETERMINATION OF DE SOTO TO PROCEED.

Ir was toward the latter part of November, 1540, that De Soto set out again upon his march, after the battle of Mauvila. He took a northerly direction, with a view of penetrating further into the interior of the country. His hope and expectation were to find some pleasant and fertile region where he could establish a colony, in case he should finally fail of discovering mines of gold and silver, or any native population possessed of cities and towns worth conquering and retaining. His hopes, however, after all, were, it seems, not very sanguine. Indeed, it was rather by the influence of pride, forbidding him to go back, than by that of hope, encouraging him to proceed, that his resolution was sustained. He was very deeply chagrined at the disappointments and mortifications which had befallen him, and he became moody, discontented, and irritable. Still he was determined not to yield.

PASSAGE OF THE TUSCALOOSA RIVER.

The army moved on by slow marches six days. At the end of that time the vanguard approached a village on the bank of a river, where they saw fifteen hundred men drawn up ready to oppose their passage. De Soto sent forward a messenger to propose peace and friendship. The Indians replied that they would make no peace with him on any terms. On the contrary, they desired nothing but a war of fire and blood.

De Soto brought up his troops into battle array and attacked the Indians. After a short resistance they retreated to the bank of the river, and paddled across the stream in canoes which they had previously placed there ready for the purpose. As soon as they had reached the opposite shore they established themselves there at different stations up and down the bank, ready apparently to resist any attempt that the invaders might make to pass

over.

De Soto sent a body of men into the woods at some distance from the river, where their operations could not be observed by the Indians on the other side, and set them at work there, making two very large flat-bottomed boats, for the use of the army in crossing the river. It required a fort

night to finish the boats. When they were completed two great trucks were made on which to draw them to the water, and a road was opened. The boats were hauled to the bank of the stream, on these trucks, in the night. They were very heavy, and a large number of mules and horses. were required to draw them, the men, too, pushing behind. Each boat was large enough to carry ten mounted horsemen and forty foot soldiers.

The horsemen went on board the boats mounted, in order that they might be ready to ride on shore and rush forward into battle without an instant's delay, if there should be occasion, and the foot soldiers were all completely armed.

Notwithstanding all their precautions for keeping these operations secret, their movements were observed by the Indians, and when the two boats reached the bank and the troops disembarked, they found a large force ready to receive them. The troops landed amid a shower of arrows, but they advanced boldly and drove the Indians away. The boats immediately returned for more troops. The party that had landed were thus very soon reinforced, so that the Indians retreated, and before nightfall not one was to be seen.

The Spaniards then took the two boats to pieces. in order to recover the nails which had been used

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