The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-05-29
The Fountain of Youth.


bearded Spaniard, armed and armor-
ed, sitting in the shade of dwelling
house in Porto Rico-a primitive
enough house, no doubt, but enough
to furnish some protection from the
fierce, white sunlight of the tropics.
Other Spaniards are in the room, but
the graybearded man, who is evident
ly their chief, is paying little heed to
them. He is talking through an in
terpreter to a number of naked In
dians, and they are telling him a
story-a story too good to be true
of mysterious island somewhere in
the southern seas-just where they
cannot we'll describe And on this
island, sheltered by the palms, they
say there is spring or fountain bub-
bling from the earth, and whose
drinks it's water, 10, his years fall
from him like a mantle that is shed,
and the strength and the glow of mis-
youth return.
The slender gray-beard listens, all
intent, leaning forward, that he may
not miss a word, and there is in his
weary eyes a certain light of hope
that his companions have not seen for
a long while. For, though the man
is only So, he knows that he is grow
ing old apace-his face is lined and
tanned with thirty years campaign
ing, 80 years of warfare and struggle
against the fevers that bring old age
a-racing in the tropics.
The man is Ponce de Leon, the
Spanish governor of Porto Rico, scar
red by old wounds that pain him
grievously betimes, and he is listen
ing to the story of the fountain of
youth. In all the annals of discov-
cry it is hard to find more pictur-
esque or more appealing figure than
this old man driven by hope of youth
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to the wilderness at time of life
when most men are content to bask
in the setting sun, or at most sit at
the council table and give advice,
leaving the active part of life to
younger hands.
The result of the Turing story told
by the Indians was that Ponce de
Leon got ready ships and went ex-
ploring into the south seas, seeking
the spring of youth. They were
primitive people, these old Spanish
dons, and their imaginations, fed by
stirring tales, found no miracle too
hard to believe. And Ponce de Leon
found it easy to believe, because he
wanted so terribly to believe, longed
so very much to capture the phantom
of his vanished youth.
The quest brought him to Florida,
and he disembarked at the mouth of
the St. Johns river, Easter Sunday,
1913 All the world seemed young
wealth of brilliant foliage was there,
flowers rioted among the greenery,
birds flashed bright colors. A little
farther north than Porto Rico it was
tropically beautiful without the kill
ing heat. Here, surely, Ponce de
Leon believed, the fountain of youth
might be found, and so he named the
country Florida-''land of fow-
ers"-and went about on foot and
on rivers, seeking the magic foun-
tain.
Many springs he found and all he
tasted-but the fountain of youth re-
mained undiscovered. We can fancy
the eager hope with which he must
have stopped to drink of each new
spring; the slow disappointment as
he realized that the magic fountain
was not here, the reviving hope that
just beyond the next bend in the
IlNSI, NSllSu III 81 SSll, luO 1OhSSo IVA
fountain might be hiding.
Doubtless there were many Of his
followers who called him an old man
gone mad, and, of course, they were
right in a measure-it was madcap
venture. The very fact that Ponce de
Leon set off on such quest at 50
shows US how much of child he
must have been at heart-still believ-
ing in beautiful miracles.
But, of course, he never found the
fountain, and in the quest grew old
instead of young. He left Florida,
went to the Bahamas and to Cuba
but he never found the fountain
Eight years later, after returning for
a while to Porto Rico, we find him
back in Florida, his first land of hope
leading colonizing expedition. A
stout-hearted old man, this, who
never let his wounds keep him al