Our Catliolic Heritage in Texas
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or dice, those dearly loved games which the emperor had so severely prohibited. In and out of the doors of the thatched and skin-covered tents, guarded by bloodhounds tied to the birch tree shaft of a lance thrust into the earth, ran Indian slaves, rattling their chains, some pounding the maize in Indian mortars, others sifting the meal through a rusty coat of mail, which had twice escaped the fire. Yonder, withdrawn from the noise of the camp, gathered the Dominican monks, their frocks hanging in long shreds over their bronzed legs, the knotted rope replaced by a wisp of straw or a deer thong; beside them the priest saying his dry Mass in buckskin chasuble, the holy symbol of the cross painted upon it, Indian fashion, a few of the more devout kneeling around him, bareheaded, their nakedness hidden under mats of dried ivy bound about their loins; around their shoulders a tanned deerskin pierced with lance holes, the spoil torn from some dead chief. In the foreground, by the river bank, where carpenters and caulkers were at work, some sawing the planks, others laying the keels of the boats, stood the forge from which the sparks ascended merrily while an Indian captive, an iron collar around his neck, plied the bearskin bellows, and the armourer, perhaps a swarthy negro, stripped to the waist, forged the bolts and bars from what little metal could be spared. Along the shore paced a guard of arquebusiers and crossbowmen, in corselet and cap, to ward off attack." 11 Early in June, the boats being ready, the army crossed the Mississippi, and started for a province called Pacaha, where gold was said to be found. Marching up the west bank of the river and making long detours to pass around the creeks and marshes, they arrived in an Indian town called Casqui on the fifth day. This was along the St. Francis River. The chief came out to welcome the Spaniards and greeted them with great kindness. The country abounded in corn and other native fruits . A few days after their arrival, the cacique explained to De Soto that they were in great need of rain and requested him to pray that their want might be remedied. The governor ordered a cross erected on a high artificial mound. He then marched in procession around it with a part of the army and the chief, while many Indians stood by watching and the rest of his men kept guard to prevent a surprise. The priests and friars sang the litany, while the soldiers made the responses. "We all went on bended knees, with great humility, to kiss the foot of the cross. The Indians did the same as they saw us do, no more nor less; then directly they brought a great quantity
llLowery, S,panisk Explorations, 238-239.
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