Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

DeSoto's Journey Into America Is Related

Winners of the 1995-96 Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest in Prescott Middle School are Jared Beck, fifth grade; Casey Ward, sixth grade; Aaron Helmick, seventh grade; and Laura Johnston, eighth grade. This week's essay is written by Aaron Helmick. The last one will follow next week, space permitting. The contest is sponsored by the Benjamin Culp Chapter of the DAR.

America was once the biggest secret on earth, yet 500 years ago the greatest geographers in Europe did not even know if it existed. In the 15th century they believed there was only a string of islands in the ocean all the way from Spain westward to China. Men from Spain and Portugal, believed that somewhere on the other side of the Atlantic lay the Indies.

The Indies were talked about in Europe because they produced many of the good things in life that Europeans wanted. Rich people had pepper and other rare flavorings. They dressed in silks and wore fine jewels. All these things came from the Indies by ships and caravans of camels. Then, in the 15th century, the flow of these goods was cut off.

Although the early explorers made it known that the New World discovered by Columbus was not the Indies, many still believed that it was just a barrier to be crossed on the way. In the early part of the 16th century, Spain wanted to extend her rule over parts of the world not already controlled by other European nations.

In 1516 Charles V became King of Spain and Emperor of half of Europe. He needed money to defend his Empire, so he was eager to encourage expeditions to the New World, which might bring many treasures to his empire.

Hernando De Soto was one of the richest men in Spain -- so rich that King Charles had begun borrowing money from him. The King gave him the right to explore the North American mainland, which at that time was called Florida, and to set up a colony there.

Somewhere in Florida, DeSoto beleived he would find a waterway linking the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean and discover wealthy lands on the way. He was so sure of this that he was willing to gamble his own money on it. DeSoto spent a year getting his expedition together. In it were 600 men, nine ships, an assortment of arms, hundreds of horses, packs of hounds to be turned loose upon defiant Indians, herds of cattle and pigs and a lot of food and supplies.

Late in May 1539, the army set ashore on the east coast of Florida. DeSoto began his search right away. For the next six months he searched western Florida looking for gold, cities and waterways. He found nothing.

The Indians fought desperately to drive the white invaders away. DeSoto ruthlessly attacked the natives. A Spanish chronicler named Oviedo, who knew DeSoto, said he "was very fond of the sport of killing Indians." As they fought their way through one Indian town after another they suffered serious losses. In two of these attacks DeSoto was badly wounded.

For four years DeSoto and his men searched the wilderness of "Florida," looking in vain for their dreams of treasure. They covered a wide area of unexplored North America -- from Florida to Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina; across the Appalachians into Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi; and westward across the Mississippi River into Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. How far north DeSoto went up the Mississippi is not known exactly, but he probably was within 20 miles of the Missouri. Wherever they went, DeSoto and his men left behind them a trail of misery, starvation, and death.

In May 1541, in northern Mississippi, about 30 miles south of the site of Memphis, Tennesee, he reached the "great river." Watching the trees and driftwood that were carried down on its mighty current, DeSoto's company knew this was no ordinary stream. They spent a month building four barges to cross the river. They took up their search on the other side without paying any attention to the mighty river.

After months of wandering that took them as far west as Texas, the company dug in for the winter in the valley of the Arkansas River. They had spent three years searching, but they had found nothing. They had lost 250 men. Their gunpowder was gone, their supplies were low, and their clothes were in shambles. The dwindling army had suffered severely from cold and hunger.

DeSoto decided at last to try to reach Mexico. He made his way down the valley of the Arkansas River. At the site of modern Natchez, Mississippi, he came down with a fever. His body was very sick, and his spirit was broken. He took to his bed, lay there a month and died. Fearing attack from the Indians, DeSoto's men secretly wrapped his body in blankets, weighted it with sand, and took it out into the river. Many months later those who had survived made it to Mexico. Of the 600 men who had landed with Hernando DeSoto in Florida, only 311 were still alive.

This ended the great game that DeSoto had felt so sure he could win. To undertake it, he had sold his place in Seville and invested one of the largest fortunes in Spain. DeSoto did not find the treasures he had hoped for, but he did explore a large area of southeast America that was previously unknown to the world. Spain gave up forever the search for new lands. For the next 40 years Spanish adventurers were content with shipping home the wealth they brought from the West Indies, Mexico, and South America.