Pioneer Spaniards in North America . erritory of a tribe of which they stoodin great awe. Under these bloody auspices the gold-huntersmade their advent in the region of their has been surmised that they were on the westbank of the Savannah River, at a distance of per-haps forty or fifty miles below the site of golden Cofachiqui lay opposite, on the SouthCarolina shore, where they could see a large vil-lage in the woods. This is one of the pointswhere the old accounts are stupendously exag-gerated. The Spaniards so confidently expectedto find a land of wonders that they sa
Pioneer Spaniards in North America . erritory of a tribe of which they stoodin great awe. Under these bloody auspices the gold-huntersmade their advent in the region of their has been surmised that they were on the westbank of the Savannah River, at a distance of per-haps forty or fifty miles below the site of golden Cofachiqui lay opposite, on the SouthCarolina shore, where they could see a large vil-lage in the woods. This is one of the pointswhere the old accounts are stupendously exag-gerated. The Spaniards so confidently expectedto find a land of wonders that they saw marvelseven in the commonest things. Besides, theymust invent some tale that would, at the least,seem to justify their expectations. Therefore we 272 HERNANDO DE SOTO have a series of most picturesque legends in thehighest style of Spanish romance. What seems to have really happened was, thatthe adventurers crossed the river and found awell-to-do people in a fertile region governed bya young woman who received the invaders kindly,. COPPER AND STONE AXES, TAKEN FROM ANCIENT MOUNDS furnished them liberally with provisions, and gavethem some pearls, such as are not infrequentlyfound in certain shell-fish living in fresh-waterstreams. It is known that the Southern Indianspossessed considerable quantities of them. Thou-sands have been found in the Mounds, usuallyspoiled by fire or by being drilled. This was allthe wealth the Spaniards obtained. Of gold andIS 273 PIONEER SPANIARDS silver there was absolutely none. Therefore, theymarched away in chase of some other will-o-the-wisp. But this would have been a too commonplacetale to serve as the sequel of their long we are told of a princess who re-ceived them with royal state, wearing a string ofpearls as big as hazel-nuts, gave up to them herown dwelling and stores of corn, and led theminto a temple where they saw bushels ofpearls, and were invited to carry away all thatthey could. But Soto was not willing to takemor
Size: 1998px × 1250px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., book, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectindiansofmexico
