to their quarters under night they took no notice of it.  One night that Gonzalo Silvestre happened to stand centinel in the second watch, the moon shining very bright, he observed two armed Indians in their plumes of feathers, passing over the ditch on a tree that lay across instead of a bridge.  These men came to a postern which they entered without asking leave, on which Silvestre gave one of them a cut on the forehead, on which he immediately fled.  The other Indian, without waiting for his wounded companion, got into the canoe on the river and gave the alarm to his party.  The wounded man, missing the tree across the ditch, swam over and cried out for assistance when he came to the river, on which some of his friends came and carried him off.  At sunrise, Quiqualtanqui sent four messengers demanding that Alvarado should punish the centinel for having been guilty of a breach of the peace, more especially, as the wounded man was a chief.  Four other messengers arrived at mid-day on a similar errand, saying that the wounded chief was at the point of death; and four more came in the afternoon affirming that he was dead, and insisted that the centinel should be publicly punished, since the action he had committed was an affront to all the Indians of the confederacy.  Alvarado boldly answered, that they had been previously and repeatedly warned never to come to the Spanish quarters under night, being always welcome and honourably treated through the day.  He added that though sincerely sorry for what had happened, he could not possibly punish the centinel who had only done his duty according to military discipline, neither would his soldiers allow of any such thing being done.  The confederates thought fit to connive at this transaction, satisfied that Alvarado was a man of invincible courage and wise conduct; yet resolved upon executing their design against the Spaniards as soon as possible.

Being eager to get away from the country, the Spaniards laboured indefatigably in fitting out the vessels, even the best gentlemen among them using the utmost diligence; while those who were not handy in the several occupations about the brigantines employed themselves in hunting and fishing to procure provisions for the rest.  Among other fish taken on the present occasion, one was taken by means of a hook of such enormous dimensions, that the head alone weighed forty pounds.  The confederate Indians under Quiqualtanqui continued their warlike preparations, being much encouraged by knowing that Ferdinand de Soto was dead, that the number of the Spaniards was very much diminished, and that very few horses were left.  So confident were they of success, that two of their spies desired some of the Indian women who served the Spaniards to be patient, for they would soon be freed from their bondage to these vagabond robbers, as they were all to be slain.  But the women disclosed this to their masters.  When the night happened to be very still, the noise