around the Cape of Good Hope.




CHAPTER 2

SPANISH AND FRENCH PIONEERS IN THE UNITED STATES

[Sidenote: Indian traditions.]

10. Stories of Golden Lands.--Wherever the Spaniards went, the
Indians always told them stories of golden lands somewhere else. The
Bahama Indians, for instance, told their cruel Spanish masters of a
wonderful land toward the north. Not only was there gold in that land;
there was also a fountain whose waters restored youth and vigor to the
drinker. Among the fierce Spanish soldiers was Ponce de Leon (Pon'tha da
la-on'). He determined to see for himself if these stories were true.

[Sidenote: De Leon visits Florida, 1513. _Higginson_, 42.]

[Sidenote: De Leon's death.]

11. Discovery of Florida, 1513.--In the same year that Balboa
discovered the Pacific Ocean, Ponce de Leon sailed northward and
westward from the Bahamas. On Easter Sunday, 1513, he anchored off the
shores of a new land. The Spanish name for Easter was La Pascua de los
Flores. So De Leon called the new land Florida. For the Spaniards were a
very religious people and usually named their lands and settlements from
saints or religious events. De Leon then sailed around the southern end