De Soto National Memorial National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Junior Ranger Activity Book
Feel free to color in all the black 

and white drawings through the 

activity book!

The “De Soto Challenge” symbol tells 

you when there is a more difficult area 

of the activity. The challenge sections 

are designed for older kids but anyone 

can try them!

Challenge

To receive your Junior Ranger badge and certificate please:

Complete six activities of your choice + activity 11.

When you finish your 

book return to the Visitor 

Center to have it checked 

by a Ranger. They will 

award you your badge 

and certificate.

An astrolabe (image left) was a 

tool De Soto used to navigate his 

journey. Today we navigate with 

compasses and GPS devices. 

A Ranger will help you learn 

how to use your compass.

Through the book you will see the 

astrolabe image. Each time you 

see it on the page, stop and take a compass 

reading and write it down.

You will find the answers by talking to a Ranger, walking the trails, visiting the museum and viewing the park film. 

E

S

W

N
The Landing

Eye Spy

Look at the picture on the cover of this book. This is what 

it might have looked like when Hernando de Soto and 

his men came onshore in Tampa Bay. While looking at 

the picture can you pick out several important things?

On May 30, 1539 a 

Spanish explorer, Hernando 

de Soto with his army of 

Conquistadors, landed on 

the shores of Tampa Bay. 

He came to the land known 

as La Florida seeking riches 

and glory. Hernando de 

Soto sailed here from Cuba 

in nine ships with 700 men, 

women and children, 220 

horses, war dogs, and a 

herd of pigs. 

He came ashore near a 

large Indian village. When 

his men arrived at the village they found it abandoned. The name of the village was Uzita, named after 

its cacique, or Chief. This 

was the first of many Indian 

villages De Soto would take 

over for his camps. De Soto 

stayed at Camp Uzita for 

several months while the 

army unloaded the ships. 

He made contact with several local tribes from here. 

One of these tribes was named for its Chief, Mocozo. Mocozo had a Spaniard named Juan Ortiz living in 

the village. Ortiz had been left in La Florida by a previous expedition. Juan Ortiz was special because he had 

learned the local Indian language and was able to serve 

1) The Indian Village named Uzita

2) Spanish flags used on the expedition

3) Horses coming off the boats

4) The first pig in North America

5) Shells used by the Florida Indians

as De Soto’s interpreter. An interpreter is someone who 

can speak two languages. After the ships were unloaded 

De Soto and his army started heading North on a journey 

that would take him four years and a distance of over 

4,000 miles.
Conquistadors wore very heavy armor to protect themselves 

while fighting. Add up the weight from each piece of armor to 

find how many pounds (lbs) a soldier would have carried.

8: Sword

 5 lbs

7: Shield

15 lbs

5: Gauntlets

 10 lbs

4: Cuirass

 10 lbs

 1: Chainmail 

 Coif

 10 lbs 

3: Chainmail Shirt

 30lbs

 6: Greaves

 10 lbs

How much would you have weighed as a Conquistador? First add your weight to the armor total. 

Then, imagine you have lost your cuirass (breast plate) during the journey and replaced it 

with a 5 lb padded vest, also known as an escaupilla; how much do you weigh now?

1: lbs

2: + lbs

3: + lbs

4: + lbs

5: + lbs

6: + lbs

7: + lbs

8: + lbs

Total: lbs

2: Morion Helmet

 5 lbs

 lbs + lbs - lbs + lbs = lbs Challenge Total Armor Your Weight Cuirass Escaupilla TOTAL

: Escaupilla

 5 lbs

Activity One 1
While on the expedition through La Florida, Hernando de Soto 

and his army carried many flags. Just like other European 

countries, the Spanish carried flags to represent their country, 

hometown, and family.

Draw your own family flag!

Your Flag Spanish Military Flag

Hernando de Soto Family Crest

Royal Standard of Spain

Be ready to explain 

your flag when you 

turn in your book!

2

Activity Two

Flag of Spain
There were very few women on the De Soto expedition. Women supplied 

the army with food, shoes, clothes, medicine. The women also helped 

the tradesmen on the journey.

Meet Ana, she was ten years old when she began 

this expedition. She helped the women and the 

tradesmen take care of the everyday activities in 

camp. Match the name of the trade with the tools 

they would have used.

tailor

cobbler

carpenter

blacksmith

cook

shipwright

friar

doctor

Activity Three 3
This is Jose, he joined De Soto as a “vareadores”, which 

is Spanish for pig herder. A herder keeps the animals 

together. While taking a break, Jose lost sight of one of 

the hogs in the mangroves; help him find the swine so 

he doesn’t lose his job! 

Watch out for the other 

wild animals!

Did you know? 

Wild pigs in the U.S. are 

here today because they are 

descendents of the escaped 

pigs during De Soto’s 

expedition.

Activity 

Four

4

FINISH

START
The Chronicles

The most important thing that came from De Soto’s expedition was The Chronicles. Chronicles are journals used 

to keep track of events as they occurred. On De Soto’s expedition there were several people who kept their own 

journals of the expedition. One person was appointed by 

the King of Spain to ensure his laws were being obeyed. 

Another kept his chronicles so his adventures would be 

known. The picture above shows Rodrigo Rangel, who 

was Hernando de Soto’s personal assistant. His job was to 

record De Soto’s conquests of La Florida. Many years later 

the accounts written by these men were put together in 

one book, The Chronicles. This book gives us a complete 

picture of the expedition and descriptions of the American Indian Tribes that lived over 500 years ago. 

Eye Spy

In the campfire scene above Rodrigo Rangel records the day’s events which would 

later appear in De Soto’s Chronicles. Can 

you pick out several important things?

1) Anna Mendez and Jose the Vareadore

2) Two ferocious war dogs

3) Two captive American Indians

4) A Spanish guard with a halberd, an axe like weapon on a pole
Any type of personal exploration or journey is important no matter how small. If we keep 

track of our history, years from now others will be able to tell those stories and share the 

truth of the past. 5

Activity Five

Just like Rangel during the De Soto expedition, describe what 

you did today.

Today’s Date:

“He [De Soto] gave order to arm and cross to the mainland for the conquest, settlement, 

and pacification of those provinces that were entrusted to him by his majesty; this history 

will relate the things that occurred in this enterprise.” -Account by Rodrigo Rangel

8
Activity Six

Before joining the De Soto expedition, Juan Ortiz lived with several different Indian tribes. 

His ability to speak Spanish and several Indian languages helped Hernando de Soto 

communicate with the different tribes they encountered.

Here are some words from the Timucuan language 

and their English translations.

TIMUCUAN ENGLISH

Atulu Arrow

Cala Fruit

Caya Chicken

Chulufi Bird

Itori Alligator

Pira Red

Plato Dish

Quiti Spoon

Tuma Ten

Yabi Fish Hook

You are a translator. Write a sentence using two of the 

Timucuan words in place of English.

The Timucuan people originally 

lived in Northeast Florida and 

Southeast Georgia.

6
7 Activity Seven

Challenge

Draw a line from the modern item to its 

American Indian version.

Indians from Florida were very creative in developing their tools, weapons, and shelter. 

Living close to the water gave them the opportunity to use materials such as shells, fish 

bones, shark teeth, and palm leaves to make things.

Imagine being a kid back then and not having electricity, plastic, or batteries. 

That means no video games, no bicycles, no computer!

Design a Native American 

toy out of materials they 

would have had available.
The American Indians in Florida knew a lot about the plants and animals that were in 

the forests and waterways. They depended on nature for food and supplies. De Soto 

brought some animals with him that were new to the Indians.

Meet Perico, he is out hunting with his atlatl and fishing 

spear. He served as a guide and interpreter for the Spanish. 

Circle the animals that Perico would have hunted. Put an 

X on the animals that the Spanish brought with them.

Activity Eight

8
Lady of Cofitachequi

A year after starting the expedition, Hernando de Soto 

came to a large village located on the banks of a river 

in present day South Carolina. They were told by Indian 

guides that they would meet a mighty Chief there. 

De Soto saw a woman being carried on a platform from 

the village by mighty warriors. Then she crossed the river 

in a canoe draped in furs and white linen. The Spaniards 

were impressed with the nobility of this woman and 

called her the Lady of Cofitachequi. She presented De 

Soto with gifts and told them they could take as much 

Eye Spy

In the scene above, can you pick out several important 

things?

1) The string of freshwater pearls

2) A headdress with many white plumes and a golden sunrise

3) A morion helmet 

4) A longbow

food as they needed. She then offered several strands of 

freshwater pearls and placed them around De Soto’s neck 

as a gift of friendship.
Activity Nine

A

B

C

F

E D

G

H

I J

Gulf of Mexico

Atlantic 

Ocean

Mississippi River

A:

B:

C:

D:

E:

F:

G:

H:

I:

J:

De Soto’s army passed through ten modern states during their four year journey. They 

had to trust Indian guides to lead them through the country.

Using the map, write the names of the ten states labeled 

with the letters A-J. Connect dots by number on the map, 

to trace De Soto’s route!

Challenge

1

3

4

5

6

7

8 9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22 23

24

25

26

27

29 28

30

While traveling through the southeast United States, De Soto came upon many 

different Indian villages. The tribe that lived nearest Tampa Bay were the Tocobaga.

The houses on this map represent Indian villages. In the 

visitor center you will find maps to help you fill in the names 

of the villages. Write their names in the order that they were 

visited, the dates will help you.

1

2

3

4

5

6

.

.2

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

. .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

July 15, 1539

Late July, 1539

October, 1539

May 1, 1540

June 28 - July 5, 1540

October 12 - 18, 1540

9
A timeline shows the order things happened. Read this timeline like a sentence - start at the 

left and move right. The location of the mark tells the date the event occured and the space 

between the marks tell how much time passed from that event to the next. The red marks 

represent dates during De Soto’s expedition through La Florida.

1500 1520 1540 1560 1580 1600 1620

1492 1513 1565 1620

Hernando 

de Soto is 

born.

Panfilo 

Narvaez 

expedition 

through 

Florida.

AB CD E

Pedro Menendez 

founds the first 

permanent 

Spanish colony at 

St. Augustine, FL.

The first 

permanent 

English 

colony 

Jamestown, 

VA is 

founded.

Pilgrims land 

in Plymouth, 

Massachusetts.

A: May 30th, 1539 - De Soto lands near Tampa Bay and begins his 

four year march through Florida and the southeast USA.

B: 1540 - De Soto meets La Senora de Cofitachequi, and eventually 

crosses the Appalachian Mountains. In October the Battle of 

Mabila takes place.

C: May 1541 - De Soto and his men become the first Europeans to 

see the Mississippi River.

D: May 1542 - De Soto dies of fever and is secretly buried in the 

Mississippi River.

E: 1543 - The remaining survivors of the expedition reach 

Mexico.

Try a timeline of your own! Fill in at least 

4 dates that represent special events that have 

happened in your life on the blank line at the 

bottom of the page.

Today

1500 1527 1607

Christopher

Columbus

lands in the

“New 

World”.

Juan Ponce 

de Leon 

arrives on 

the east 

coast of 

Florida. 

Activity Ten

10
The Escape

Desperate to escape La Florida the survivors 

of the expedition returned to the banks of the 

Mississippi River. After four years and over four 

thousand miles of marching they were hungry 

and tired. More than half of the Spaniards that 

started the journey had died, including Hernando de Soto their leader, from illness and warfare. 

The new leader of the expedition, Luís Moscoso, 

ordered the army to cut down trees and melt 

down their armor and weapons for nails in order to build seven boats. 

On July 2, 1543 the last of the Conquistadors set 

sail down the Mississippi River. During their retreat the Spaniards passed many Indian villages. 

They were fiercely defended by the village warriors firing arrows at them from dugout canoes. 

Eventually the survivors would make it to the 

Spanish colony at Panuco, Mexico. Some of 

them stayed in Mexico others returned to Spain, 

including Ana Mendez. 

Eye Spy

Pictured above is the escape 

the conquistadors made 

down the Mississippi River. 

Can you pick out these 

important things?

1) An Indian arrow stuck 

into the side of the boat

2) A conquistador loading his crossbow

3) Ana Mendez 

4) Indian warriors attacking from their 

canoe

5) Escaupilla armor (a padded vest worn 

as armor)

Use your compass to mark the direction 

in the white boxes:

Prepare to use your senses while on the trail!

3 things you saw:

1. 1.

3 things you heard:

2. 2.

3. 3.

2 things you smelled:

1.

2.

2 things you touched:

1.

2. *The visitor 

center has 

been done 

for you as 

an example, 

but be 

careful 

because not 

all symbols 

will be 

needed!

Challenge Write in the coordinates for 

the following markers:

Using orientation coordinates we can 

locate places on a map. Wherever 

two lines cross, coordinates can be 

found. Use your fingers to follow 

the lines to its letter or number. For 

example the visitor center is located 

at 4F. 

Visitor Center 4F

Big Chickee

Boardwalk

Memorial Cross

Hike on the trail to complete the map and fill 

the red landmark boxes with their correct 

symbol:

LEGEND 11Activity Eleven
 A B C D E F G H I J K L M

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

 9

10

11

12

13

Please keep in mind that the National Parks are for everyone. Do your part to keep the parks beautiful.
Draw yourself as the 

Park Ranger.

Every Ranger’s job is 

to protect the park and 

help guests understand 

and enjoy their visit. For 

you, as a Junior Ranger, 

you will take on the 

responsibility of caring 

for your National Parks. 

You are walking through the park 

when you see a visitor’s dog running 

without a leash, why is this unsafe?

While on patrol you notice someone 

feeding the animals, why is this 

against the rules?

You see a visitor taking shells off 

of the historic Indian mounds, why 

should you stop them?

Try and solve these park problems.

12

Activity Twelve
Now what? Most NPS sites have 

Junior Ranger programs, so when 

visiting them always be sure to ask! 

 If you won’t be visiting any parks 

soon, try out our WebRangers site 

online! Ask an adult to help you get 

on the website and once there you 

can make your own Ranger Station 

and play fun games to learn more 

about history, the environment, and 

the NPS!

www.nps.gov/webrangers

Made possible with help and

editing from the following people:

Jorge Acevedo, Angie Alvino, Diana Bauman, Meghan Donato, Heather Hill,

Andy Loudon, Michelle Marc, Chuck Oshaben, Scott Pardue,

Sarah Schoenfelder, Dan Stephens, Bruce Young,

and all the volunteers and visitors of

De Soto National Memorial.

Special thanks to the 2008 Junior Ranger Camp.

2009

Designed and illustrated by Jessie Lampack.

Cover and large artwork by Hermann Trappman.
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De Soto National Memorial National Park ServiceU.S. Department of the Interior