|
|
Article: First contact with Europeans.
- Article from:
- Cobblestone
- Article date:
- October 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon led an expedition northwest from Puerto Rico. He and his men were looking for a land known as Bimini. According to rumor, Bimini was full of gold. It also was said to be home to the magical Fountain of Youth--a spring whose waters kept people forever young.
Ponce de Leon never located Bimini--at least, he found neither gold nor the Fountain of Youth. He did, however, become the first European to see Florida, as well as the first to meet the natives who lived there. As the explorers sailed north along Florida's southwestern shoreline, they saw some Calusa Indians beckoning them to come ashore.
Curious, the ...