ds
when the horse, struggling knee-deep through the mire, stumbled and
fell. One of the legs of the rider was so caught beneath the animal as
to pin him inextricably in the morass, covering him with water and
with mud. The weight of his armor sank him deeper in the mire, and in
the desperate struggles of the steed for extrication, he was in great
danger of being suffocated. None could come to his aid without danger
of being swallowed up in the bog.

The unfeeling and brutal soldiers stood upon the borders of the morass
with shouts of merriment, as they witnessed the sudden discomfiture of
their leader; a discomfiture the more ludicrous, in contrast with his
gorgeous attire, and his invariably proud and lofty bearing. At length
Porcallo extricated himself, and, drenched with water, and covered
with mud, led his equally bemired steed to the land. He was humiliated
and enraged. The derision of the soldiers stung him to the quick. He
had embarked in the expedition to gain glory and slaves. He had
encountered disgrace; and the prospect of kidnapping the natives,
under such a leader as De Soto had proved himself to be, was very
small.

It is probable that before this disaster he had seriously contemplated
abandoning the expedition and returning to his princely mansion in
Trinidad. Ordering his men to face about, he sullenly and silently
returned to the Spanish camp. Throwing up his commission with disgust,
he embarked for Cuba, and we hear of him no more.

"His train of servants," writes Mr. Theodore Irving,
"Spanish, Indian and negro, were embarked with all speed. But
when the gallant old cavalier came to take leave of his young
companions in arms, and the soldiers he had lately aspired to
lead so vain-gloriously, his magnificent spirit broke forth.
He made gifts to the right and left, dividing among the
officers and knights all the arms, accoutrements, horses and
camp equipage, with which he had come so lavishly and so
ostentatiously provided, and gave, for the use of the army,
all the ample store of provisions and munitions brought for
the use of himself and his retinue. This done, he bade
farewell to campaigning and set sail for Cuba, much to the
regret of the army, who lamented that so gallant a spirit
should have burned out so soon."[B]

[Footnote B: Conquest of Florida, by Theodore Irving, p. 81.]

Indeed, it is stated in what is called "The Portuguese Narr