De Soto and i11oscoso Beyond t.l1e 1Jlississippi, 1537-1543
129
"This sterile province they called the country of the cow people (Vaqueros) because of the meat and skins of this animal which they found," says Garcilaso. 28 Unwilling to give up the hope of reaching New Spain by marching west, the scarred survivors pressed on resolutely in quest of their goal, making frequent inquiries of such Indians as they met. "The country was very poor, and the want of maize was greatly felt. The. natives being asked if they had any knowledge of other Christians, said they had heard that near there, towards the south, such men were moving about.":!9 Such a statement suggests that Moscoso and his men were pretty well to the north of present day Dallas, at the headwaters of the Trinity or perhaps beyond Red River. It is worthy of notice that in this portion of the narratives no rivers are mentioned. The expedition was, therefore, on the northeastern extremity of the great plains, if the Indians had reference to the recent visit of Coronado to the area of Palo Duro Canyon, which would lie southwest of the region in which Moscoso and his men must have been at this time. They were now in a province called Soacatino, which Lewis has aptly suggested must have been the Upper Cross Timbers. The area was evidently in the headwaters of the Trinity and the Sabine, slightly to the west and not far from present Wichita Falls. 30 This fact bears out the conclusion that the reference to Spaniards to the south, in reality to the southwest, was to Coronado and his men who reached a point some two hundred miles hence, and who appear to have come in contact with Indians from the Wichita nation, while they were out in the plains hunting huffalo. 31 There can be little doubt, therefore, as to the region where the province of Soacatino was and the point reached by Moscoso and his men at this time. From here on, however, much confusion exists regarding his march. It is necessary to follow closely the accounts of his wanderings in order to determine with some degree of accuracy the farthest point visited.
28 Garcilaso, op. cit. , 21 5 ; cf. Herrera, op. cit., 1 35. 2 9 Gentleman of Elvas, 177.
30 Lewis, T . H ., ed., "The Narrative of the E xpedition of Hernando de Soto," in S,Pa11isli E x ,Pfnrers i11 lhe So11l/ier11 U11ited Stales, 1528-1543, p. 244, note I; Castaneda, T hree "1m111scri,pt ,lfa,Ps nf Te:ras by Stephen F . Austin, map opposite p . 42. 31 See the preceding chapter, pp. 108-109.
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