The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-01-29
Remember the Date

The next SDaniard who sought riches
and renown on the coast of the Cuff ana
who found only loss and disaster, was one
Pamphno Nesunez. who made lahd-
ing with n body of troops in 1928 Inc
natives received him sufficiently wen
and made MIN gifts of gold, which, they
explained to him by pointing IN horeh-
easterly direction, came from the APP
palachian mountains, in the country
subsequently named by the Spanards
Florida AS this was the most interest
ing ipforma ton that Pamphilo coWd
have received from his entertainers al
that time he at once set out on ms
march from the coast 10 seek the noun
iains in question. lie journeyed twenty
eight DAYS, discovering new nations as ne
progressed, only 10 engage him IN oattle IA
resisting the incessant attack mace upon
his followers During the course OF inns
DISASTROUS march and the precipitate re-
treat to The coast which he was coin-
neRlfd to make TO save his own life, ne
lost in battle the majority OF ms men
with the remnants of the expedition ne
managed to reach his ships, embarklhg
in which he returned TO the West IN
dies in even worse plight than had ms
predecessor, VasqueZ de Aillon.
F,xDerience had now sufficiently taught
the enterprising Spanish Adventures
along the coasts of the South Atlantic
and the Gulf of Mexico THAI the occl-
deptals Of those regions were men OF
mold very different from the paclne
Caribs of the West Indies and the equal-
Nv unWarlike Mexicans and PeruVlahs'
and that if any success in entering thell
territory was to be INDUCED in ana any
expectation to insure their own safety
was to be entertained. it would be nee
essarv 20 invade their countries with
regularly organized and equipped army,
nrepared to fight to the death against
the warlike natives whom they must en-
counter on their march, This was why
the next Spanish invader OF me sou.h-
ern coast of North America, who was no
| less a parsonage than the celepIdteu
warrior and discoverer, Hernanuo De
Soto the only early Spaniard who ever
left 20 history a trace of his presence IN
North America mustered in Spain IN
153S-39 q splendidly organized army or
over 700 foot and $50 horse, among
| them scores of the most brilliant caVa-
| Tiers of Spain and Portugal together
with many -ot-tortune from oen-
or parts of Europe, and departed from
es,,anish mort in an imposing feet OF
transnorts. bound for Santiago de Cuba
and the conquest of Florida in which
| country by contract with the emperor
| Charles V of SPAIN he promised 10 MN
self to add new conquered territories In
the new world to the Spanish crown Whie
securing for himself and his adventurous
followers the gold and silver which he con-
Fdantly believed existed in the regions to
he visited. and occupied in the name Oh
Spain.
ne Solo had organized his expedition at
bis own expense using for that purpose
his private fortune of 100000 in gold when
! he had acquired while serving with Pizar-
| ro in Peru The story of the desperate
| fortunes of De Soto's expedition from
1899 TO the month of July, l54S, when the
! 900 survivors of the expedition left the
mouth of the Mississippi river on their
wav TO Mexico under comman OF Louis
! A1varado de Moscoso, who had succeeded
| 20 the command of the decimated army al
| fer the death of De Soto, near the mouth
! Of Red river, in the summer of the year
,549 has been told by Gareiiaso de ia
| Vega. the Ines, and an anonymous Pot-
! tuguese cavalier, who accompanied De
| Solo The principal and most interesting
! fact in the long years Of wanderings. pri-
-'at,o,s disease and battle through which
tbis expedition passed was that, by chance,
,.'Li,a marching to the northwest through
| tho regions which are now included in the
! s+ates If Alabama, Mississippi and Tenn
| esseA De Soto reached the Mississippi
river and thus became its first European
! discoverer.
twenty years elapsed after the failure
| of De Soto's expedition and Moscoso's hur-
ried flight from the mouth of the Mississip-
| nj 10 Mexico before another attempt was
! made bv a European captain to obtain
! footing on the coast OF the Gulf of Mexico
| or its adjacent parts, and when this next
| decent occurred il was a Frenchman, and
not a Spaniard, who, following in the
| footsteps of De Soto, landed in the year
l564 on the coast of Florida and established
a colony near the mouth of the st. Johns
| river.
The Frenchman who thus intruded upon
the regions which Spanards had first ex-
| plored was Rene de Laudonnere, whom
| Admiral de Co.igny, the celebrated HUI
! auenot general of France, had sent TO
| FLORIDA with a colony of Huguenots.
France at that time was engaged in those
| bloody civil religious wars which arrayod
| Protestants and Catholics against each
| other and France was red with fratricdal
blood The Spaniards, aroused by this
encroachment of the French in Florida
sent an expedition against the latter.
! al ST. Johns river, and attacked their
| fort The French surrendered under terms
of capitula ton, which guaranteed them Sc
curity, but the Span.ards, on obtaining
possession Of the fort proved most false
to their promises. for they hanged all their
prisoners upon the trees of the vicinity
Then the Spaniards remained in florida
and waited. The religious wars in France
attracted so much attention at home THAI