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Indian traditions.De Leon visits Florida, 1513. Higginson , 42.De Leon’s death.
Discovery of the Mississippi.Conquest of Mexico.
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 . He determined to see for himselfif these stories were true.
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 of Florida and back to the West Indies. In 1521 he again visited Florida, was wounded by an Indian arrow, and returned home to die.
12. Spanish Voyages and Conquests. —Spanish sailors and conquerors now appeared in quick succession on the northern and western shores of the Gulf of Mexico. One of them discovered the mouth of the Mississippi. Others of them stole Indians and carried them to the islands to work as slaves. The most famous of them all was Cortez. In 1519 he conquered Mexico after a thrilling campaign and found there great store of gold and silver. This discovery led to more expeditions and to the exploration of the southern half of the United States.
De Soto crosses the Mississippi.Coronado sets out from Mexico, 1540.The pueblo Indians. Source Book , 6.
Coronado findsthe Great Plains.
13. Coronado in the Southwest, 1540～1542. —In 1540 Coronado set out from the Spanish towns on the Gulf of California to seek for more gold and silver. For seventy-three days he journeyed northward until he came to the pueblos of the Southwest. These pueblos were huge buildings of stone and sun-dried clay. Some of them were large enough to shelter three hundred Indian families. Pueblos are still to be seen in Arizona and New Mexico, and the Indians living in them even to this day tell stories of Coronado’s coming and of his cruelty. There was hardly any gold and silver in these “cities,” so a great grief fell upon Coronado and his comrades.
THE PUEBLO OF ZUÑI
14. The Great Plains. —Soon, however, a new hope came to the Spaniards, for an Indian told them that far away in the north there really was a golden land. Onward rode Coronado and a body of picked men. They crossed vast plains where there were no mountains to guide them. For more than a thousand miles they rode on until they reached eastern Kansas. Everywhere they found great herds of buffaloes, or wild cows, as they called them. They also met the Indians of the Plains. Unlike the Indians of the pueblos, these Indians lived in tents made of buffalo hides stretched upon poles. Everywhere there were plains, buffaloes, and Indians. Nowhere was there gold or silver. Broken hearted, Coronado and his men rode southward to their old homes in Mexico.
De Soto in Florida, 1539. Explorers , 119-138.
Other Spanish explorers.
Attempts at settlement.
15. De Soto in the Southeast, 1539～1543. —In 1539 a Spanish army landed at Tampa Bay, on the western coast of Florida. The leader of this army was De Soto, one of the conquerors of Peru. He “was very fond of the sport of killing Indians” and was also greedy for gold and silver. From Tampa he marched northward to South Carolina and then marched southwestward to Mobile Bay. There he had a dreadful time; for the Indians burned his camp and stores and killed many of his men. From Mobile he wandered northwestward until he came to a great river. It was the Mississippi, and was so wide that a man standing on one bank could not see a man standing on the opposite bank. Some of De Soto’s men penetrated westward nearly to the line of Coronado’s march. But the two bands did not meet. De Soto died and was buried in the Mississippi. Those of his men who still lived built a few boats and managed to reach the Spanish settlements in Mexico.
16. Other Spanish Expeditions. —Many other Spanish explorers visited the shores of the United States before 1550. Some sailed along the Pacificcoast; others sailed along the Atlantic coast. The Spaniards also made several attempts to found settlements both on the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico and on Chesapeake Bay. But all these early attempts ended in failure. In 1550 there were no Spaniards on the continent within the present limits of the United States, except possibly a few traders and missionaries in the Southwest.
Verrazano’s voyages, 1524. Higginson, 44-45; Explorers, 60-69.
17. Early French Voyages, 1524～36. —The first French expedition to America was led by an Italian named Verrazano, but he sailed in the service of Francis I, King of France. He made his voyage in 1524 and sailed along the coast from the Cape Fear River to Nova Scotia. He entered New York harbor and spent two weeks in Newport harbor. He reported that the country was “as pleasant as it is possible to conceive.” The next French expedition was led by a Frenchman named Cartier. In 1534 he visited the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In 1535 he sailed up the St. Lawrence River to Montreal. But before he could get out of the river again the ice formed about his ships. He and his crew had to pass the winter there. They suffered terribly, and twenty-four of them perished of cold and sickness. In the spring of 1536 the survivors returned to France.
Cartier in the St. Lawrence, 1534-36. Explorers 99-117.
Ribault explores the Carolina coasts, 1562.
French colonists in Carolina. Explorers, 149-156.
18. The French in Carolina, 1562. —The French next explored the shores of the Carolinas. Ribault was the name of their commander. Sailing southward from Carolina, he discovered a beautiful river and called it the River of May. But we know it by its Spanish name of St. Johns. He left a few men on the Carolina coast and returned to France. A year or more these men remained. Then wearying of their life in the wilderness, they built a crazy boat with sails of shirts and sheets and steered for France. Soon their water gave out and then their food. Finally, almost dead, they were rescued by an English ship.
19. The French in Florida, 1564～1565. —While these Frenchmen were slowly drifting across the Atlantic, a great French expedition was sailing to Carolina. Finding Ribault’s men gone, the new colony was planted on the banks of the River of May. Soon the settlers ate up all the food they had brought with them. Then they bought food from the Indians, giving them toys and old clothes in exchange. Some of the colonists rebelled. They seized a vessel and sailed away to plunder the Spaniards in the West Indies. They told the Spaniards of the colony on the River of May, and the Spaniards resolved to destroy it.
French colonists in Florida.
Spaniards and Frenchmen.End of the French settlement, 1565. Explorers, 159-166.
20. The Spaniards in Florida, 1565. —For this purpose the Spaniards sent out an expedition under Menendez. He sailed to the River of May and found Ribault there with a French fleet. So he turned southward, and goingashore founded St. Augustine. Ribault followed, but a terrible storm drove his whole fleet ashore south of St. Augustine. Menendez then marched over landto the French colony. He surprised the colonists and killed nearly all of them. Then going back to St. Augustine, he found Ribault and his shipwrecked sailors and killed nearly all of them. In this way ended the French attempts to found a colony in Carolina and Florida. But St. Augustine remained, and is today the oldest town on the mainland of the United States.
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10.关于黄金地带的故事 ——无论西班牙人到了哪里，印第安人都向他们讲述遍地都是黄金的故事，例如，巴哈马群岛的印第安人向残暴的西班牙总督讲到北方一块神奇的陆地，那里不仅有黄金，还有一眼泉，泉水可以让人恢复青春 ，并让喝水的人强壮。这些残暴的西班牙士兵中就有庞塞·德·莱昂，他决定亲自去看看这些故事是否为真。
11. 发现佛罗里达（1513年） ——在巴波亚发现太平洋的同一年，庞塞·德·莱昂从巴哈马群岛向西北航行，在1513年复活节那一天，他在一个新陆地的海岸上抛锚，西班牙人把复活节叫做La Pascua de los Flores，因此，德·莱昂把新陆地叫做佛罗里达。西班牙人非常注重宗教信仰，并常常以先知和宗教事件来命名他们的陆地和殖民地。后来，德·利昂航行到佛罗里达南部附近海域，并回到西印度群岛。在1521年，德·莱昂再次到达佛罗里达，但是，他中了印第安人的箭，并在回家后死去。
12.西班牙人的航海和征服 ——西班牙水手和征服者迅速行进到达墨西哥湾的西北部海域，其中一个人发现了通往密西西比河的出口。其他人则抢了一些印第安人，将他们带到岛屿上当奴隶使用。这些人中最著名的是科尔特兹。1519年，科尔特兹经过激战征服墨西哥，他发现墨西哥有大量的黄金和白银，这个发现吸引了更多探险者到来，并吸引他们去美国南半部探险。
13.卡罗纳多在美国西南部（1540～1542年） ——1540年卡罗纳多离开西班牙去加利福尼亚湾寻找更多的黄金和白银，他向北走了73天到达美国西南部的普韦布洛村庄，这些普韦布洛村庄的人住在一些用石头建成的巨大建筑物中，这些石屋饱经日晒雨淋。其中一些石屋可以容纳三百户印第安人家庭居住。今天在亚利桑那州和新墨西哥州仍然可以看到这些普韦布洛村庄，住在那里的人仍然知道关于卡罗纳多的到来及其残暴统治的故事。这些“城市”中几乎没有什么黄金和白银，卡罗拉多和他的同行者感到十分悲伤。
14.大平原 ——然而，西班牙人有了新的希望，因为一个印第安人告诉他们远在北方真的有一片黄金之地。卡罗纳多选出一支精锐继续前行，他们走在广袤的平原上，未见到一座山。他们奔驰一千里最终到达堪萨斯东部，沿途看到成群的水牛，用他们的话说，“成群的野奶牛”。他们还遇到平原上的印第安人，与普韦布洛印第安人不同，这些印第安人生活在水牛皮做成的帐篷中，到处都是平原、水牛和印第安人，根本找不到黄金和白银，卡罗纳多和他的同行者伤透了心，他们向南走，返回到他们在墨西哥的老家。
15. 德·索托在美洲东南部（1539～1543年） ——1539年，一支西班牙军队在佛罗里达西部海岸的坦帕湾登陆，这支军队的首领是德·索托，他曾经参与征服秘鲁，此人“非常热衷于杀死印第安人的运动”，并且极度贪婪黄金和白银。德·索托从坦帕向北到了南卡罗莱纳，并且径直向西南进军，到达莫比尔海湾。在莫比尔海湾他度过了一段可怕的时光，因为印第安人烧了他的军营和给养，并杀死了他的许多士兵。从莫比尔海湾出发，他向西北征战，直到一条大河挡住去路，这就是密西西比河。这条河流非常宽，一个人站在岸边根本看不到对岸站着的人。德·索托派出一部分士兵向西前进，他们几乎走到了考里纳多的探险路线上，但是，两股队伍没有汇合，德·索托死去并被埋葬在密西西比。那些活着的士兵造了一些船，并设法回到西班牙人在墨西哥的聚居地。
16.其他西班牙远征队 ——在1550年前还有许多西班牙探险者到达过美国，他们有的是沿着太平洋海岸航行，有的沿着大西洋海岸航行。西班牙人还数次尝试在墨西哥湾北部和切萨皮克海湾找到聚居地，但是，所有这些尝试都归于失败。1550年，除了西南部还有部分西班牙商人和伟教士，美国现有大陆上已经没有西班牙人。
17.早期法国人航海（1524～1536年） ——法国第一支开往美国的探险队由意大利人韦拉扎诺带领，此人在法国国王弗朗西斯一世的支持下开始航海。1524年韦拉扎诺开始航行，他沿着海岸线从菲尔河海角到达诺瓦斯科夏，他开进纽约港并在新港停留了两周，他在报告中认为这个国家“难以想象地令人愉快”。第二支法国探险队由卡迪尔带队，他于1534年到达圣劳伦斯湾，1535年他沿着圣劳伦斯河到达蒙特利尔，但是，他还没有来得及上岸，船就被河里的冰冻住，他们不得不在那里过冬，历尽磨难，24人被严寒和疾病夺去生命，幸存者在1536年春天得以返回法国。
18. 法国人在卡罗莱纳（1562年） ——第二支法国探险队到了卡罗莱纳海岸，这支队伍的首领是瑞博。他们从卡罗莱纳向南航行，瑞博发现一条美丽的河流并把它叫做“五月河”，但是，我们知道的是这条河的西班牙名字——圣约翰斯。瑞博在卡罗莱纳海滨留下部分人，然后回到法国。留下的人在那里生活了一年多，他们在荒无人烟地区备受生活之苦，以衬衣和被单为帆造成一条看起来非常荒唐的船，开往法国。这些人很快就用尽了水和食物，最后死得差不多了，只有极少人被一艘英国船救起。
19. 法国人在佛罗里达（1564～1565年） ——在这些法国人缓慢地飘过大西洋的同时，一支规模巨大的法国探险队正向卡罗莱纳进发，他们没有见到瑞博的人，便在“五月河”两岸建立了殖民地。他们很快吃光了带来的食物，然后又从印第安人那里买食物，用一些小玩意和旧衣服与印第安人做交易。后来殖民者中出现了一些叛乱分子，他们抢了一条船离开卡罗莱纳，去掠夺西印度群岛的西班牙人，并向西班牙人讲起在“五月河”的殖民地，西班牙人决定摧毁这个殖民地。
20. 西班牙人在佛罗里达（1565年） ——为了实现这个目的，西班牙人派出一支由美内德茨率领的远征军。美内德茨率队到了“五月河”并找到瑞博和他的一艘法国船队。美内德茨率队南下，在岸上创建圣奥古斯丁，瑞博尾随而来，但是，一场可怕的风暴将他的整个舰队推到圣奥古斯丁南部的岸上。美内德茨在陆地上向法国人的殖民地奔袭，殖民者大吃一惊，美内德茨几乎杀光了殖民者，然后，他回到圣奥古斯丁，找到瑞博和他的失事船员，并将他们全部杀掉。这样法国人试图在卡罗莱纳和佛罗里达找到殖民地的企图以失败告终。但是，圣奥古斯丁留下来了，这就是今天美国大陆上最古老的城市。