IRREPRESSIBLE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE.

of the Kingdom.

After a voyage to South America under a commission from young Charles V., he returned to England, and was pensioned for his services. "He lived to an extreme old age, and so loved his profession to the last, that, in the hour of death, his wandering thoughts were upon the ocean. The discoverer of the territory of our country was one of the most extraordinary men of his day. There is deep reason for regret that time has spared so few memorials of his career. Himself incapable of jealousy, he did not escape detraction. He gave England a continent, and no one knows his burial-place." 1

Portugal, 1501.-Important discoveries were made by Portugal, besides those of Vasco da Gama; but none in North America. The nearest approach to it was in the summer of 1501. Gasper Cortoreal coasted along the shores of Labrador several hundred miles, and finding no other profitable cargo, stole upwards of fifty of the native Indians, and returning home, sold them for slaves. The Portuguese having already made men articles of traffic, Cortoreal sailed for another cargo, from which, blessed be God, he never returned. Cortoreal might perhaps be considered as having,-through some of his countrymen who sixty years later settled in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia,-performed a work of supererogation for his human thefts, by their having first introduced cattle and swine into those regions.

The wars which ended in the fall of Grenada, and the expulsion of the Moors from Spain,' had left a large army of soldiers who had filled Europe with their fame, and most of them were ready for any new field of adventure. Cavaliers who had achieved such deeds of valor during the Moorish wars, soon grew discontented in the listlessness of the Court of Ferdinand, or found idleness and solitude intolerable in their mountain castles. In exterminating the enemies of the faith, a spirit of religious zeal, darkened by the superstitious bigotry that seemed to be congenial with the Spanish character, and clouded withal by a fondness for blood, found no vent except in dreaming of new conquests; and their eyes were directed towards the west. The four voyages of Columbus and his companions, with the belief everywhere pre vailing that they were on the path to the discovery of the fabled Eldorado, took such complete possession of the Spanish mind, that at no period had been witnessed such irrepressible enthusiasm. Expeditions were continually being fitted out, and the whole drift of enterprise and adventure was towards the setting sun.

1 "The fame of Columbus was soon embalmed in the poetry of Tasso; Da Gama is the hero of the national epic of Portugal; but the elder Cabot was so little celebrated, that even the reality of his voyage has been denied; and Sebastian derived neither benefit nor immediate renown from his expedition. His main object had been the discovery of a north-western passage to Asia, and in this respect his voyage was a failure: while Gama was cried up by all the world for having found the way by the south-east. For the next half century it was hardly borne in mind that the Venetian and his son had, in two successive voyages, reached the continent of North America before Columbus came upon

the low coast of Guiana. But England acquired through their energy such a right to North America, as this undisputable priority could confer. The successors of Henry VII. recognized the claims of Spain and Portu gal only so far as they actually occupied the territories to which they laid pretension; and at a later day, the English Parliament and the English courts derived a title, founded, not upon occupancy, but upon the award of a Roman Pontiff.”—Bancroft's U. S., 22d ed., vol. i. p. 14.

Here, too, Irving has left us the most charming account of that bloody and heroic struggle, in his "Conquest of Grenada.”

SEARCH FOR THE ELIXIR OF LIFE-FLORIDA.

5

Balboa, 1510.-In 1510, Balboa settled upon the Isthmus of Darien, and there planted the first colony on the American continent. Bent, as all these adventurers were, first of all, on the discovery of gold, it was in the search: of it that, three years after his landing, Balboa, from the top of a high mountain, discovered the Pacific Ocean, which he called the South Sea. He descended the mountain, and in full costume entered the waters, and planted the Spanish flag, taking possession of the new-found sea.'

Juan Ponce de Leon, March 27, 1513.-Juan Ponce de Leon had gained a great reputation for valor in the wars of Granada, and he was allowed to accompany Columbus on his second voyage. He was rewarded for his gallant military services in the conquest of Cuba, with the government of the eastern portion of the Island which is now so valiantly attempting to cast off the yoke of his successors. The neighboring island of Porto Rico, with its fascinating shores, excited his cupidity, and he was appointed to its government, where by the most grinding oppression of its natives, he soon became opulent. But he was early obliged to resign, when he cast about for some new field where he might found a kingdom of his own. He was now a scarred old soldier, and having, like most of even the intelligent spirits of his age, participated in the belief of the truthfulness of the tradition which located the Fountains of perpetual youth in the New World, and in hopes of its discovery, he sailed from Porto Rico with a squadron of three vessels, fitted out at his own expense, on a voyage to Fairy Land, in search of the Elixir of Life. Not finding it at Guanahani, nor among the Bahama Islands, he pursued his voyage to the west.

Florida, March 27, 1513.-On Easter Sunday morning-the Pascua Florida of the Spaniards-he gained the first sight of our Italian peninsula; and touching its golden sands on the spot near where St. Augustine stands, and finding himself surrounded by the flowers and verdure of early spring, he planted the ensign of Spain, and gave the beautiful land the name of Florida. But it was a dear discovery. Finding no Elixir Fountain for the ills of age, he returned disappointed to Porto Rico; but he was rewarded by his sovereign with the government of Florida, attended with the condition of colonizing it. Seven years went by before he could complete his preparations, when he sailed with two ships to take possession of his new province, and choose a site for his colony.

Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon.-But during the interval, while he was absent in Europe, some of the wealthy owners of mines and plantations in San Domingo, sent Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon, with two slave-ships, to seize the natives of the Bermudas, and carry them away. But they were driven by a storm into St. Helen's Sound on the coast of South Carolina, where they anchored at the mouth of the Combahee river.

Through jealousy of his fame, his fellow-adventurers brought accusations against him and put him death in 1517.

15

FIRST ROBBERY OF MEN ON AMERICAN SOIL.

The simple natives of these new lands had not yet learned to distrust white adventurers, and discovering no signs of hostility, they received them on landing with the most generous hospitality. Their fears being allayed, they returned the visit, bringing with them all their arms full of peaceofferings; and under those fair southern heavens, the sun was shining upon what seemed one of the most beautiful scenes yet enacted on the earth. These Europeans, clothed in the gorgeous costume of Spain, and living in what must have seemed to the rude children of the forest floating palaces; surrounded by implements of power and beauty, they looked up to their strange visitors with awe, and believed them to be the children of the Great Spirit. But this fair illusion was soon to be dispelled, and a great crime perpetrated, which could be atoned for only by four centuries of bloodthirsty vengeance. In the midst of this vision of enchantment and festivity, and when the betrayed Indians had been seduced below, the hatches were closed, all sails set, and the expedition started for San Domingo. The wails of the helpless captives were heard over the water, and answered by screams of terror and agony from wives, mothers, parents, and children, on the shore!

From that hour, the terrible news went quickly through the forest, from wigwam to wigwam, and village to village, until ere long, the maddening tale of treachery had reached the most distant tribe in North America; thus sowing in the bosoms of the Red Men the seeds of implacable hate that were to bear such baleful fruit in coming ages.

In the impotency of the victims, Heaven itself became their avenger. He who had told the white man "Vengeance is mine," made good the declaration. One of the ships foundered at sea; and in the other, nearly every prisoner refused food, and died. Vasquez did indeed effect his escape; and after reaching Spain, boasted of his expedition. The young Prince Charles V., who had just mounted the throne of Spain, was deceived by the misrepresentations, and the kidnapper was appointed to the conquest of Chicora,—a name given to the coast of South Carolina,-which had thus been desecrated by a crime too vast for the comprehension of its simple inhabitants.

But fortune steadily withheld her favors from the design. After exhausting his entire fortune in its preparation, his largest ship was wrecked on entering the Combahee river. Most of his men were killed by the natives, and the commander himself barely escaped with his life. Thus ended his

career.

Meantime, Ponce de Leon was to pay his share of the penalty for the crime committed by Vasquez on the Carolina coast. He had no sooner landed, than the Indians fell upon him with maddened fury. Many of the company were slain, and Ponce de Leon, pierced by an arrow, was borne off to the fleet by his fugitive companions. Thus the soldier who had mingled his shouts with the victorious chivalry of Spain over fallen Grenada, lay in his cabin dying; his kingdom unfounded; his fountain of perpetual youth undiscovered ' but the Indian not left unavenged.

MAGNIFICENT EXPEDITION OF DE SOTO.

7

Fernando Cortez, 1521.-We leave untold the wonderful expedition of Fernando Cortez, his conquest of the Empire of the Montezumas, and the brilliant honors that awaited him on returning to his country.

Ferdinand De Soto.-This great but unfortunate man had been one of the bravest of Pizarro's companions in his expedition to Peru, and on his triumphant reception in Spain, had received in marriage the hand of the daughter of a distinguished nobleman whom he had once served as a poor adventurer. He persuaded his benignant Sovereign, Charles V., that away in the heart of the Northern Continent, cities and kingdoms could be found, as splendid as those of Mexico and Peru. All the favors he asked for were granted. He was made Commander of Cuba, with supreme authority over the whole continental region that stretched to the north, which was designated by the term Florida.

When his expedition was announced, it stirred all the enthusiasm of a new crusade. The minds of men had grown wild, and the fever for gold and gems was burning in every Spanish vein. The nobility, the chivalry, and the heroism of the whole peninsula, flocked to join the expedition. Men sold their estates and family jewels to fit themselves out. From this vast array, De Soto chose six hundred men, all of them clothed in brilliant costumes, and glittering in polished armor. The day of sailing was as gay as a festival; and never, perhaps, before nor since, has been seen a similar spectacle so gorgeous.

Leav

May, 1539.-His reception at Cuba was worthy of a conqueror. ing his wife in the government of the Island, he sailed for his destination with a fleet of ten vessels, and fourteen days later anchored in the Bay of Spiritu Santo

June 10. The expedition disembarked with three hundred blooded horses of Andalusia, and under the mid-day sun, flashing from burnished armor and golden trappings, the six hundred passed in review before their commander, presenting what must have been to the eyes of their doomed Indian spectators gazing on them from the neighboring forest, the strangest and most imposing sight ever presented on the soil of the New World.

The gay and gorgeous cavalcade began their march to those unknown empires in the far interior, whose cities flashed with gems, and whose streets were paved with gold. As they looked back, they saw their returning fleet fading away over the waters, and they knew that they were either to return loaded with wealth and covered with honor, or to leave their bones bleaching in the wilderness. The expedition was supposed to be thoroughly prepared for any emergency. Their numbers and equipments, exceeded the expeditions of Cortez, and Pizarro, under which the empires of the Montezumas and the Incas had so easily fallen. Their armor and implements of war embraced everything known for conquest. They carried supplies of iron and steel, with blacksmiths' and armorers' forges, chains for captives, and trained bloodhounds as auxiliaries. They had abundant stores of provisions, with whole droves of swine, brought with them to spread through the forest. The expedition had every attribute

20

8

DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE MISSISSIPPI.

of a holy crusade, including twelve priests, with all the emblems and insignia of the altar in the service of mass. The benedictions of Heaven were to crown the crusade of the chivalry of Spain.

Many a brilliant pen, and the pencil of a great artist' have here come to the service of history. We can give no account of the expedition. With De Soto's entrancing but sad record, most of my readers are already familiar. Encountering the fierce Mobilien tribes, wasting by disease, or falling by the deadly arrows of the Indians, betrayed by captive guides, encountering swollen rivers and impenetrable morasses, they dragged out a winter in the land of the Chickasaws. Deluded still with the idea of gold, they followed an Indian guide as far north as the gold region of North Carolina the following spring, till, decimated in numbers, broken in spirit, they reached the Mississippi, probably at the lowest Chickasaw bluff, making this grand discovery, where, after a long detention in the construction of barges, they crossed the mighty stream to its western bank. Here De Soto erected a cross, made of a huge pine tree, and in the presence of nearly twenty thousand red men, the worship of God was witnessed, and the name of Jesus of Nazareth heard for the first time. He pushed on his fruitless explorations almost to the sources of the Red River, and as far north as the wilds of Southern Missouri, returning finally to the banks of the mighty stream he had first brought to the knowledge of civilized men.

But the discoverer of the Mississippi had at last to succumb to obstacles too great for him to conquer. The spirit of his remaining companions utterly broken, and surrounded by innumerable hordes of wild and revengeful

I refer to The Discovery of the Mississippi by De Soto, one of the paintings representing events which have occurred on this continent, which fill the eight panels in the Rotunda of the Capitol. Among sixty competitors, Mr. William H. Powell, the youngest of all, received the commission, by a vote of 198 out of 212 in the House of Representatives.

There are five great groups in the picture. On the right side, in the foreground, is a company of stalwart men planting a gigantic Cross. The ceremony is performed in the presence of twenty thousand Indians, who witnessed for the first time a Christian act of worship. The censer is held by an ecclesiastic, and as he waves it, the old priest, whose beard comes down almost to the sacred book he holds, plants the Tree of Salvation amidst the solitudes of the west. The herculean man who has dug the hole, is resting from his labor, looking with earnestness and solemnity upon this act of reverence and devotion.

At the left corner in the foreground, is a corresponding group, in which a cannon is being dragged up by the artillerymen; for the cross was always planted in new regions by the Spaniards, with incense from the priest, and smoke from the cannon of the soldier.

In the centre of the foreground is a massive campchest, with arms, helmets, breast-plates, and all the implements of war thrown carelessly around. Every article is a study, from the exact models of the period. In the centre of the picture sits De Soto, on a magnificent Arab horse, which was a portrait carefully drawn of Abdel-Kader's battle horse, the animal being, at the time the painting was executed, in the Imperial stables at St. Cloud.

The attitude of De Soto is sublime, for it is natural. It is an earnest, comprehensive gaze at the great river. In the fourth group we see beautiful Indian lodges, rising up into the soft atmosphere with an almost Moslem sweetness, with Indians of all ages and both sexes, standing near them. Two young maidens have cast themselves

on the ground almost before De Soto, one of them bending with the grace and gentleness of a Madonna, the other clinging to her sister like a startled fawn. Behind them stand three Indian chiefs; one a middle-aged man, erect, full of fire and bearing, gazing upon a new rival invading his empire: next to him, an old casique, or chief, bearing the pipe of peace richly ornamented with the brightest feathers, bending before the conqueror; and near him, a young chief, with a panther skin thrown gracefully around his loins, the ideal of the Uncas of Cooper. He has thrown his bows and arrows to the ground in token of outward submission, but he draws up his form with haughty pride into the dignity and implacable sternness of an Indian Apollo.

Nearest to De Soto is the confessor, a venerable man with flowing beard, who has also caught a glimpse of the great river, and meekly and reverently, as he sits on his mule, lifts his eyes and clasps his hands in admiration and gratitude towards heaven.

At his side, upon a rampant gray horse, rides a young cavalier, a type of the chivalry of Spain, followed by a hurrying, enthusiastic group of standard-bearers, and helmeted men. On the farther background, above them, through the shades of a grove of the southern liveoak, stretches away a forest of shining lances.

As far as the eye can reach, rolls the glorious Mississippi, its waters broken by glancing canoes, magical islands, and purple shores. The discovery itself was made just after they reached an Indian village of the Chickasaw Bluffs, where we see every emblem of savage life.

This painting is the most comprehensive work of art ever executed by an American. It is broader in the field it covers, and is more complete and universal in its emblems of life, both civilized and savage; it is more exact and graphic in every detail. As a historical pic ture, there is nothing belonging to the time or the subject that is not embraced, nor anything embraced which is not appropriate.