La Florida

e vendo a Cacica q os christãos estimaua as perlas, disse ao gouernador, que mandasse buscar certas sepulturas que naquelle pouo estauam, q acharia muitas: e se quisesse mãdar aos q despouoados estauã podiam carregar todos seus cauallos: foram buscadas as daqlle pouo, acharam se catorze arrobas de perlas e meninos e aves formados dellas. A gẽte era morena, bẽ d'posta e proporcionada e mais polida q nhuã da q se vio em toda a terra da Frolida e andauam todos calçados e vestidos.

Seeing that the Christians prized the pearls, the cacica told the governor to have certain graves in that town searched, for he would find many there. If he wanted to send to the graves in the empty towns, they could load all their horses. The graves of that town were searched, and fourteen arrobas of pearls were found, along with figures of children and birds made of them. The people were brown, well built and well proportioned, and more refined than any seen in the whole land of Florida. All of them wore shoes and clothes.

agora diremos de los llanos que es una tierra llana y espaçiosa que tiene en anchura mas de quatro cientas leguas por aquella parte entre las dos cordilleras la una la que atrabeso francisco uasques coronado a la mar del sur y la otra la que atrabeso la gente de don fernando de soto a la mar del norte entrando por la florida lo que de estos llanos se bio todo era despoblado y no se pudo ber la otra cordillera ni çerro ni çierra que tubiese de altura tres estados con andar doçientas y sinquenta leguas por ellos atrechos se hallauan algunas lagunas redondas como platos de un tiro de piedra de ancho y mayores algunas dulçes y algunas de sal

Now we will tell about the plains. They are a flat, wide land, more than four hundred leagues across in that region. They lie between two mountain ranges. One is the range on the South Sea side, which Francisco Vázquez Coronado crossed. The other is the range on the North Sea side, which Don Fernando de Soto's people crossed, coming in by way of Florida. All of the plains that we saw were without settlements. We could not see the other range, or any hill or ridge even three times a man's height, though we traveled two hundred and fifty leagues across them. Here and there we found round ponds, shaped like plates, a stone's throw wide or more. Some were fresh water and some salt.

por estos llanos andan gentes como tengo dicho en la primera parte en pos de las bacas haçiendo caça y adobãdo cueros para lleuar a bender a los poblados los inbiernos porque ban a inbernar a ellos cada compañia a donde mas çerca se halla unos a los poblados de cicuye otros haçia quiuira otros haçia la florida a los poblados que estan haçia aquella parte y puerto estan gentes que los llamã querechos y teyas dan relaçion de grandes poblados y segun lo que de estas gentes se bio y de otros que ellos daban notiçia que auia por otras partes ella es harto mas gente que no la de los poblados mas dispuesta y mayores hombres de guerra y mas temidos

Peoples roam these plains, as I said in the first part, following the bison. They hunt and dress hides to take and sell in the towns in winter, because they go to spend the winter there. Each band goes to whatever town is nearest: some to the towns of Cicuye, others toward Quivira, and others toward Florida, to the towns in that direction. These people, called Querechos and Teyas, tell of great towns. From what we saw of them, and of others they told us lived in other places, there are far more of these people than of the town people. They are better built, greater warriors, and more feared.