In five days march he reached Talisse, a town fortified with entrenchments of timber and earth, on the frontiers of the territories of the cacique of Tascaluza, who was in enmity with the cacique of Coza, who went so far with the Spaniards on purpose to intimidate Tascaluza.  At this place Soto was received by a son of Tascaluza, only eighteen years of age, and so tall that none of the Spaniards reached higher than his breast.  This young man offered his fathers compliments of friendship to the Spaniards, and conducted Soto to Tascaluza, who received him sitting after their manner on a kind of chair, with a great number of men standing round him; and though the different commanders came up successively to salute him, no one stirred till Soto came forwards, when the cacique stood up and advanced twenty paces to meet him.  Tascaluza was like a giant, much taller than his son, well-shaped, and of a good aspect.  The Spaniards were well received, abundantly supplied, and commodiously quartered.  They set out again on their march on the third day; and as the cacique Tascaluza chose to accompany them, one of the baggage horses belonging to Soto was selected for him to ride upon.  When mounted, his feet reached within, a span of the ground.  He was not fat, as his waist was hardly a yard in compass, and he did not seem to exceed forty years of age.  In the course of this days march, after coming to a fortified town, the Spaniards had to cross the river, which they did with considerable difficulty, being badly supplied with rafts or floats.  On taking up their quarters for the night, two Spaniards were amissing; and when the Indians were asked about them, they answered in a haughty manner, they were not given to our keeping, so that it was strongly suspected they were murdered.  Upon this cause of jealousy, and being likewise privately informed that the cacique had assembled a great number of men at a place called Mavila, under pretence of serving the Spaniards, Soto sent three confidential officers to view that place, which was about a league and a half from quarters.  They reported that they had seen no person by the way, but that Mavila was a much better fortified place than, any they had hitherto seen in Florida.

As the Spaniards were bound for Mavila, and under circumstances very considerable suspicion as to the good intentions of Tascaluza and his subjects, they marched with the utmost circumspection.  Soto led the van in person, consisting of an hundred horse and an hundred and fifty foot.  He was accompanied by Tascaluza, and as he marched with diligence, he arrived at Mavila at eight in the morning, the main body not coming up for a considerable time after.  The town of Mavila was seated in a plain, enclosed by a double row of piles with timbers laid athwart, and the interstices rammed full of straw and earth, so that it looked like a wall smoothed by a masons trowel.  At every eighty paces distance, there