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The government of
Florida was the reward which
Ponce received from the king of
Spain; but the dignity was accompanied with the onerous condition, that he should colonize the country which he was appointed to rule.
Preparations in
Spain, and an expedition against
the
Caribbee Indians, delayed his return to
Florida.
When, after a long interval, he proceeded with two
ships to take possession of his province and select a site for a colony, his company was attacked by the Indians with implacable fury.
Many Spaniards were killed; the survivors were forced to hurry to their ships;
Ponce de Leon himself, mortally wounded by an arrow, returned to
Cuba to die. So ended the adventurer, who had coveted immeasurable wealth, and had hoped for perpetual youth.
The discoverer of
Florida had desired immortality on earth, and gained its shadow.
1
Meantime, commerce may have discovered a path to
Florida; and
Diego Miruelo, a careless sea-captain, sailing from
Havana, is said to have approached the coast, and trafficked with the natives.
He could not tell distinctly in what harbor he had anchored; he brought home specimens of gold, obtained in exchange for toys; and his report swelled the rumors, already credited, of the wealth of the country.
Florida had at once obtained a governor; it now constituted a part of a bishopric.
2
The expedition of
Francisco Fernandez, of
Cordova,
leaving the port of
Havana, and sailing west by south,
