horse to set a good example; but his horse soon floundered in the morass and Porcallo fell off and was nearly stifled.  Considering that he was well up in years and had a good estate, Porcallo considered this as a warning to him to desist from such dangerous and fatiguing enterprises, for which reason he asked leave to return to Cuba, and distributed his horses, arms, and provisions among the troops, leaving his son Gomez Xuarez de Figuero well equipped behind him to continue the enterprise, which was better fitted for younger men, and in which Gomez acquitted himself like a man of honour.

On receiving intelligence from Gallegos of the pleasantness of the interior country, Soto determined to advance with the bulk of his men, leaving Calderon to command at the town belonging to Harrihiagua with forty horsemen, to secure the ships, provisions, and stores.  On this occasion he gave strict orders to Calderon, to give no offence to the Indians, but rather to wink at any injuries they might offer.  Soto did not think proper to halt in the town of Mucozo, lest he might be burdensome to him and his people with so great a force, though that friendly cacique offered to entertain him.  But he recommended to Mucozo to be kind to the Spaniards who had been left at the Bay of the Holy Ghost.  Soto marched N.N.E. to the town of Urribarracuxi, but neglected to make proper marks in the country through which he travelled, which was a great fault, and occasioned much trouble in the sequel.  On coming to the town of Urribarracuxi, he used every possible endeavour to prevail upon that cacique to enter into friendship, but quite ineffectually.  Endeavouring to penetrate farther into the country in search of that cacique, they came to a morass which was three leagues over, and the road through which was so difficult as to take two days of hard labour; and next day the advanced party or scouts returned saying that it was quite impossible to proceed farther in that direction, on account of a number of rivers which took their rise in the great morass and intersected the country in every direction.  Three days were ineffectually spent in searching for some way to pass onwards, Soto being always among the foremost to go out upon discovery.  During this period the Indians made several excursions from the woods and morasses to assail the Spaniards with their arrows, but were generally repelled without doing any harm, and some of them made prisoners, who, to regain their liberty, pretended to shew the passes to the Spaniards, and led them to such places as were not fit for the purpose.  On their knavery being discovered, some of them were torn in pieces by the dogs, which so intimidated the rest, that at length one of them undertook to guide them, and very easily brought them into the open country.