Fear Stricken

On August 15, 1539, Hernando de Soto and his scouts arrived at the Indian village of Cholupaha along the present-day Santa Fe River. His men captured several Indians and questioned them about the Apalachee chiefdom to the west, and they heard of conquistador Pánfilo de Narváez, who had passed through the area 10 years earlier. Stories of Narváez’s conflicts with the Apalachee frightened many of de Soto’s soldiers and led them to demand a return, but de Soto refused to turn back and insisted on continuing. The place came to be called El Rio de las Discordias, the River of Discords. Narváez had come to La Florida 10 years before de Soto and was known for brutality and cruelty toward indigenous peoples. With about 300 armed soldiers, he caused pain and destruction among Native Americans, but constant attacks by Apalachee warriors forced his party to leave La Florida and flee to Mexico. Native peoples of La Florida made clothing from natural materials, with men wearing loincloths of cured animal skins, cloaks, and feathered headdresses, and women wearing garments woven from Spanish moss, palm fiber, and other materials, along with shell or copper adornments and ear piercings of bone and wooden spools.

Florida · United States