While de Soto is among the Apalachee Indians in Florida, he hears of a kingdom called Cofitachequi near Columbia, South Carolina. When he reaches the village, he is met by a woman who his chroniclers call the “Lady of Cofitachequi.” She greets him with gifts of pearls. He captures her and loots her tribe of pearls and holds her hostage for several weeks as ransom to ward off retaliatory attacks. She eventually escapes and takes with her the pearls from the looted stash.