- Historic Sites The Passion Of Hernando De Soto In Florida the
great conquistador hoped to find a Golconda. Instead, he found a
Golgotha. An American Heritage Book Selection April 1967 |
Volume 18, Issue 3 On May 30, 1539, the army began going ashore
at Tampa Bay on the Florida coast. There was no sign of Indians,
and the venture still had the air of a holiday. The young
cavaliers were enchanted by the beauty of the scene—the dazzling
blue of sea and sky, the white curve of the sand leading up to
the woods of cypress, live oak, and ash. Tents and pennons
rippled in the breeze, horses were exercised on the beach to
shake off the effects of the voyage. The first patrols, probing
inland, also succumbed to the festive mood. Small groups of
lancers rode off, the sand spurting beneath the hoofs of the
chargers, to hunt in the woods for Indians or deer; it did not
matter which. Soon columns of smoke rising up over the dense
green of the forest showed that contact had been made with the
Indians and that the natives