Next day, Narvaez went on shore with as many men as the boats could carry, and found the dwellings of the natives abandoned, one of them being large enough to contain three hundred men. In the houses were found a number of fishing nets, and along with these a sort of tabor or drum, ornamented with gold bells. On the day following, Narvaez landed all the rest of his men, and forty-two horses, the others having died during the voyage. Narvaez took formal possession of the country in the name of the king of Spain. Some of the Indians drew near that day, but having no interpreter they could not be conversed with, though it appeared by their threatening signs that they warned the Spaniards to leave their country. On the same day Narvaez marched northwards into the country, with forty men and six horses, and came to a large bay which seemed to penetrate far into the interior. Having halted at that place for the night, he returned next day to the ships. The pilot Meruelo was sent in the brigantine to find out a harbour for the squadron, and to endeavour to procure provisions. Having taken four prisoners, some maize was shewn them, to endeavour to discover if the natives were acquainted with that grain, as none had been seen hitherto in the country. They accordingly offered by signs to lead the Spaniards to where some of it could be procured, and guided them to the town or village where they dwelt, where some maize was growing in a field in the environs. In the same place, they found some Spanish chests, in each of which was a dead body wrapped up in painted deers skins; and as the commissary Juan Xuarez considered this to be some idolatrous institution, he ordered the chests and bodies to be burned. They likewise found some pieces of linen and woollen cloth, with several plumes of feathers which seemed to have come from Mexico, and a small quantity of gold. Being interrogated by signs whence these things were procured, the Indians made them understand by similar means that there was great abundance of gold in a province at a very great distance called Apalache129.

Twelve leagues from thence they came to an Indian town consisting of fifteen houses, near which there was great plenty of maize just ripe. Narvaez and others were of opinion that they should march immediately into the interior, sending the ships in search of a safe harbour on the coast; but the treasurer of the expedition, Alvar Nunnez Gabeza de Vaca, advised that they should all embark till such time as a safe harbour could be discovered. The other opinion prevailed, and the whole land forces set out upon their march on the 1st of May, being about three hundred foot and forty horse, every man carrying two pounds of biscuit, and half a pound of bacon. With only that scanty provision, they proceeded for fifteen days, finding nothing to eat in the country, except some palmetoes like those of Andalusia, and without seeing any towns, house, or Indians in the whole way. At this time they came to a river which they crossed, some by swimming and others on rafts or floats, which employed them a whole day in consequence of the strength of the current. They were opposed by about two hundred Indians on the opposite bank, who only threatened them without coming to blows. Of these they took six prisoners who conducted the Spaniards to their dwellings, where they found a considerable quantity of Indian corn, which proved a great relief to their urgent necessities. From this place two officers were sent with a detachment in search of the sea-coast, in hopes of establishing a communication with the ships; but all they found was a creek only fit for receiving canoes.

After a short stay, they marched onwards in quest of the province of Apalache, which the Indians had reported to be rich in gold, guided in the way by some of their prisoners. After marching fifteen days without meeting with any inhabitants, they fell in with an Indian chief, who was dressed in a painted deers skin, carried on the back of one of his subjects, and attended by a great number of Indians, some of whom went before him playing upon a kind of pipes made of reeds. On being informed by signs that the Spaniards were in search of the province of Apalache, he seemed to intimate that he was an enemy to the people of that country. The Spaniards gave this cacique beads, hawk-bells, and other such trinkets, and continued their march. They came that night to a river which was so rapid that they durst not venture to cross it on floats, and were therefore obliged to construct a canoe for that purpose. Juan Velasquez ventured to attempt crossing it by swimming his horse, but both were drowned, and the Indian attendants on the cacique drew the drowned horse from the river and eat him for their supper. On their arrival at the town belonging to the cacique, they were supplied with Indian corn, and next day were guided on their way through thick woods, in which the road was obstructed by many fallen trees, and the fragments of others which had been shivered by lightning, as the country was subject to severe thunderstorms. On the 25th of June, Narvaez and his people came in sight of Apalache, without having been perceived by any of the inhabitants; and, though weary and hungry they were all in high spirits, thinking themselves at the end of their labours, and that they should find some great treasure in recompence of their fatigues. Some horsemen immediately entered the place, in which they found only women and children; but the men soon returned and attacked them with their bows and arrows, and were soon repulsed, yet killed the comptrollers horse. This town of Apalache contained forty low huts or cabins, enclosed among thick woods and morasses in which they found abundance of maize, deer-skins, mantles, head-dresses for women, and stones for grinding corn, but no gold. All the country, from the place where the Spaniards landed to Apalache was one continued sandy flat, yet thickly overgrown with woods of walnut, laurel, liquid-amber, cedar, savine, oak, pine, and palmetoes; interpersed with many swamps or morasses which were very troublesome to pass, and many fallen trees which lay athwart the way. In their march they saw three different kinds of deer, hares, rabbits, bears, and lions130, with other wild beasts; and among these an animal called the opossum, which carries its young in a pouch under the belly till they are able to shift for themselves. The country is cold131, and has good pasture for cattle. In the woods and marshes through which they passed they saw many different kinds of birds, as geese, ducks, herons, partridges, falcons, hawks, and many others. Two hours after the arrival of the Spaniards, the inhabitants of Apalache came to demand their wives and children, all of whom were set free; but as the cacique was detained they were much displeased, and came next day to assault the place, endeavouring to set fire to their own houses, but on the appearance of the Spaniards they fled to the morasses; and next day a similar attempt was made but with the same consequences.

The Spaniards remained twenty-five days at this place, during which time they made three incursions into the country to some distance, finding it every where ill-inhabited and difficultly penetrable, owing to similar obstacles with those they had already encountered. From, the cacique whom they had in custody, they were informed that Apalache was one of the best towns in these parts, and that on going farther inland the land was worse and more thinly peopled. He added, that at nine days journey southwards there was a town called Aute near the sea, inhabited by a tribe in amity with him, who had plenty of provisions. Taking this information into consideration, and especially as the Indians of Apalache did them considerable injury by frequent assaults, and always retreated to their fortresses in the marshes, the Spaniards determined upon returning towards the sea. On the second day of their retrograde march, they were attacked by the Indians while passing across a morass, and several both men and horses were wounded, without being able to take vengeance on their enemies, as they always fled into the water. These Indians were of large stature and well made, very nimble, and went entirely naked, being armed with bows as thick as a mans arm and twelve spans long. They marched in this manner, under continual assaults, for eight days, at the end of which period they came to the town of Aute, where they got Indian corn, pompions, kidney-beans, and other provisions. From this place the treasurer, Cabeza de Vaca, was sent with a party to endeavour to find the sea; but came back in three days, reporting that the sea was far off, and he had only been able to reach some creeks which penetrated deep into the land. They had already travelled two hundred and eighty leagues from the place at which they first landed, in all which way they had seen neither mountain nor even any thing which could be called a hill132. The men were become much dejected and very sickly, and no longer able to travel so as to endeavour to make their way back to where they left the ships; in which miserable condition it was resolved to build some barks for the purpose of making their way along shore in search of the ships. They accordingly constructed five barks, each of them twenty cubits long, which they caulked with the husks of palmetoes, making ropes of the manes and tails of their horses, and sails of their shirts; but were hardly able to find enough of stones to serve for ballast and anchors.