FLORIDA BOY

    A Spanish boy of about eighteen who was thrilled by the wonderful tales which he heard of great riches to be found in the new land, beyond the season, joined a party of explorers and came to the land of Florida. The leader of the party sent the boy and four other men to Cuba on an errand, telling them to return as quickly as they could.  After a few months, the boy and the four other men returned to Florida. They looked for their leader but they could not find a trace of him. It was not long before they were captured by the lower Creek Indians. The four older men were put to death at once but the boy was allowed to live. He was tied hand and foot and taken before Uceta, the chief of the lower Creek Indian Tribe.

     Now, Chief Uceta had a beautiful daughter, Ulelah, whom he loved very dearly. She went about with her father and was often present at the trials of the captives. When Ulelah saw the young man bound hand and foot, she was sorry for him. With a cry, she fell on her knees and begged her father to spare the life of the young boy captive. Chief Uceta could not refuse her, so the boy was untied. The chief ordered that he should be made a slave and that he should act as a guard in the temple of the dead.  The lower Creek Indians did not bury their dead as the white eyes do now. They had the strange custom of wrapping the dead bodies in skins and placing them on top of arbors in the temple of the dead. The temple of the dead, as they called it, was outside the village and had to be guarded from wild animals. It was in this place that the boy was placed as a guard.

     One night as he stood watching the temple, he heard a noise. He ran quickly and found a large panther in the act of dragging away the body of a dead child. The boy drew his bow and killed the panther. Then he carried the child’s body back to its resting place.  The lower Creek Indians were very proud of the boy for killing the panther. Chief Uceta was very kind to him and the Princess Ulelah praised his courage. For a long time he lived happily with the lower Creek Indians. He learned to speak their language and he taught them to understand his language.  Then a war broke out. Chief Uceta led his tribe to fight a neighboring tribe to the north. The lower Creeks believed that an evil spirit had brought trouble and war upon them. They held a council meeting and decided to offer up a sacrifice to gain the good will of this spirit. The boy was chosen to be the sacrifice.

    Fortunately, Ulelah had heard of the plan. She walked until darkness came, then she went in and warned the boy of the danger he was in. She told him to go to Mucoso, a chieftain whom she had promised to marry and to say that she had sent a stranger for him to protest. Then she led the way for a mile to guide him to safety.  The boy traveled all night and in the morning came to the land of Mucoso. The chieftain received him kindly and gave him food and shelter. He promised that if the white eyes ever came into his land, he would send the boy away with them. 

     One day, the lower Creek Indians told the boy that the white eyes had been seen in the land of Mucoso. He and some friendly Indians set out immediately to find them. Searching eagerly for some time, they came in sight of a band of Spaniards. Suddenly, the white eyes rushed upon the boy and the Creek Indians, who were with him, and began slaying or capturing them. The boy, expecting to be killed, cried out in Spanish, “I am Christian, I am Christian, Do not slay me.”

     The men were so surprised that they stood still in their places. Then one of them got down from his horse, helped the boy to the seat behind the saddle and then galloped away to DeSoto’s camp. For the first time in twelve years, the boy was among the white eyes.  When he reached their camp, the boy was royally welcomed by DeSoto and his one hundred or so followers. He told them many interesting stories of what had happened during the twelve years he had lived among the lower Creek Indians. He not only dressed like the Indians, but he painted his face and his arms just like they did.  The life outdoors had caused his skin to be almost as dark as that of the Indians. He had learned their language and knew much about their habits and customs and beliefs.

     With the boy as their guide, the party now set out on their westward journey. On about July, 1540, they rode into what is now called Cherokee County, Alabama. That night they camped near the Coosa River. The next morning they traveled on along the Coosa then across the Tallapoosa River. Following the Tallapoosa River to Alabama, they slowly made their way down the Alabama River, but that is another story.