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C hapter 2 TheBattleofChicazaandMississippian Warfare,ca.1541 The most momentous event during the winter of 1540–41 was the battle between the Spanish soldiers and the Chicaza warriors. The clash likely occurred for many reasons: the wanton taking of Indian food stores by the Spaniards ; the ill will that grew as both Indians and Spaniards offended each other through petty thefts and insults; the suspicions and distrust that ballooned over the course of the winter; Soto’s haughty demands and Chicaza’s chafing at those demands; and the responsibility Chicaza had to defend his people and territory. The battle itself was an important event in Chicaza history, and one can examine the events leading up to, during, and after the battle to further pull back the curtain on life in the Mississippian world. In particular, Mississippian warfare, the warrior ethic, and politics can be brought into better focus. Hence, it is worth examining the battle in detail. As the winter cold began to subside, Soto set March 4 as the date for the Spaniards’ departure from Chicaza. At some point before this, Chicaza and his councillors had devised a plan for a surprise attack against the Spanish army. It is impossible to reconstruct the discussions that went on in Chicaza’s councils and the exact events leading up to the battle. According to Biedma, Chicaza’s men had been spying on the army since they first arrived, gaining intelligence about how they slept and how they guarded the encampment. Elvas reported that the Indians’ first attempt to attack the Spanish occurred when Chicaza asked for Soto’s aid against Sacchuma, which Elvas understood as a ruse to divide the Spanish army. Soto had sent a contingent with Chicaza, but the alleged plan to divide the army did not come to pass because , according to Elvas, the Spanish were “watchful and prudent.” Rangel, 43  The Battle of Chicaza and Mississippian Warfare on the other hand, believed that the Indians of Chicaza did not plan the attack until much later, on the eve of the Spaniards’ departure. Rangel relates that Soto, preparing to continue the expedition, demanded burden bearers (200 according to Elvas). The people of Chicaza resented Soto’s demand, and according to Rangel, the request was met with much agitation and created “an uproar.”1 It is reasonable to suppose that the mico of Chicaza, too, would have been offended by Soto’s demand, and he also would have had some responsibility to respond to his constituents’ unrest over it. Regardless of when the planning took place and what transpired before the assault, all of the chroniclers agree that the result was a crippling surprise attack against the expedition. In conjunction with the constant spying and the deteriorating relations with local Indians, the ruckus over the demand for burden bearers caused Soto to become quite vigilant. The day before he and his men were scheduled to depart, he began to suspect that something was amiss. That night, he warned his soldiers: “This night is a night of Indians; I will sleep armed and my horse saddled.” He advised everyone else to do the same.2 The governor then instructed his master of camp, Luis de Moscoso , to take extra care with the sentinels that night and to be sure everyone was on their guard. Perhaps because of their growing disdain for Soto, the men ignored his orders and slept undressed. Nor did they bother to saddle their horses, and they generally settled down for the night “without care and unarmed.”3 In the early hours of the morning of March 4, 1541, Indian warriors, “two by two and four by four,” stealthily closed in on the town. They carried with them some little clay jars in which they had placed embers to ignite fire arrows. According to Biedma, 300 warriors entered the town without the Spanish sentries detecting them. By the time the sentries saw them and sounded the alarm, the front guard of Indian fighters had already set half the houses on fire. Once the front guard had been detected, Indians in the rear ranks began beating drums. Upon this signal, the remaining Chicaza warriors rushed the town, issuing loud, fearsome battle cries. They attacked in four companies, with each company coming from a different side. They came so fast that they caught the Spaniards completely unprepared.4 The Spanish, surprised and confused, fled in all directions, and no one could adequately arm themselves, much less muster a defense...

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