People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1892-12-09
JUAN PONCE De LEON.
His Search for the Fountain Of Youth aud
His Tragic End Of Life.

His Tragic End Of Life.
A very interesting character is Juan
Ponce de Leon, partly because he wasa
bold sailor and intimately connected
with Columbus and partly because he
lost his life in the delusive hope that he
could find in Florida the famous foun.
tain Of youth 1t is superfuous to add
that since his day a number of lives
haye been sacrificed in the same quest
Juan Ponce was born in Leon. Spain,
about 1850. He sailed with Columbus
on his second voyage in 1898, and was
prominent in the later subjugation Of
Porto Rico, Of which he became gov
srnor. During the exploration in the
West Indies the Spaniards had heard
rumors Of wonderful spring or foun-
tain in northern island, which pos
sessed remarkable curative properties.
ut is certain, said Herrera, the Span
bh historian, that Juan Ponce de
Leon, besides intending to make new
discoveries as all the Spaniards at that
time aspired 10 do. was also intent on
finding the fountain OF Bimini and Q
river in Florida; the Indians Of Cuba and
Espanola affirming that old people bath
Ing themselves In them became young
again, and II was fact that many In
dians of Cuba, firmly believing that
there was such stream, had found that
island not long before the Spaniards
and had passed over TO Florida In search
OF the river aud there built a town.
where their descendants reside 10 this
day. This report so affected all the
princes and caciques in those parts that
II was hobby TO find a river which
wrought such wonderful change US
made old people young, so that there
was not river or brook, scarcely a
lake or a puddle in all Florida in which
they did not battle themselves"
Peter Martyr listened TO the rumor
and wrote TO Rome, "beseeching your
Holiness not to think that this is said
jestingly or thoughtlessly." According
10 Martyrs map the fountain was sit
uated somewhere in the island called
Bimini. Juan Ponce was impressed
with the idea that he could recover his
youth (he was then about fifty-two
years Of age BY bathing in this foun-
tain, and at the same time discover the
part of the island in which 1t was
thought to be. So he fitted out three
ships and sailed from Porto Rico in
March, 1912. On April 2 he sighted
what he took to be an island, with
green groves and beautiful landscape.
This he called La Florida. Attempting
TO land, the explorers were attacked by
Indians and thereafter during their
coasting they met frequent attacks
Late in September Juan Ponce returned
to Porto Rico, having found no trace Of
the wonderful spring, but confident OF
the value Of his discovery.
From Spain he obtained the appoint
ment Of governor Of Bimini and Flor
ida, and in 1921 started to conquer and
occupy the country. The natives re-
sisted valiantly and Juan Ponce was
wounded by an arrow in the thigh. He
thereupon gave up the conflict and
sailed for Cuba, where he died from the
effects Of his wound.
The claim that Ponce de Leon discov-
cred Florida has been vigorously op-
posed. John Fiske writes:
"As the history Of the discovery OF
America has usually been written,
Florida was first visited by Ponce de
Leon on Easter Sunday, 1912, and a
superficial observer might not be sur
prised at seeing the Florida coasts laid
down on map first published in 1913;
perhaps, too, it might not occur TO him
that the peculiar names on these coasts
are not derived from the explorations
that began with Ponce de Leon. But
now, while on the on e hand II has late.
ly been proven that Ponce de Leon did
not see Florida until Easter Sunday,
1913, on the other hand the map Of the
1913 Ptolemy was certainly made before
1908, and the comparison with the Can
tino map proves it to have been drawn
from an original as old as 1902 and
probably older 1t follows, therefore,
with the force Of absolute demonstra-
ton that the coasts OF Florida were ex-
plored and the insularity of Cuba de-
tected before 1902 There is no possible
escape from this conclusion IN. Y.
World.