scene; the river before him evidently drained a vast territory; the natives told him "that it went so far to the west, that they had never heard of any man who had gone to the head of it." He named the hill Mont-Real, Royal-Mount; a name since transferred to the island, and to the city.

This country was in the same latitude with France; he thought its climate must be equally mild, its soil equally fertile; and that it might become the home of a happy and industrious people, and this beautiful island the center of an almost unbounded commerce. He did not know that God had sent the warm waters to the south through the Gulf Stream to the west of Europe; that they warmed the bleak west winds, and made the delightful climate of his native France different from that in the same latitude in North America.*

His

A rigorous winter dissipated his visions. honest narrative of the voyage, and of the intense coldness of the climate deterred his countrymen from making further attempts to colonize the country. There was no gold nor silver to be found no mines of precious stones. What inducement was there for men to leave their fertile and beautiful France, with its mild and healthful climate, to shiver on the banks of the St. Lawrence?

Thus it remained for four years. Among many who thought it unworthy a great nation not to found a State on the shores of the magnificent gulf and river of the New World, was a nobleman of Picardy, Francis de la Roque, lord of Roberval. He obtained a commission from Francis I. to plant a colony, with full legal authority as viceroy over the territories and regions on or near the Gulf and River of St. Law

The quantity of heat discharged over the Atlantic from the waters of the Gulf Stream in a winter's day, would be sufficient to raise the whole column of atmosphere that rests upon France and the British Isles, from the freezing point to summer heat."-Maury's Physical Geography of the Sea, p. 51.

rence. These were to be known in history under the ambitious name of Norimbega.

Cartier was induced by Roberval to receive a commission as chief pilot of the expedition. They did not act in concert; both were tenacious of honor and authority, and they were jealous of each other.

Cartier sailed the following spring, passed up the river, and built a fort near where Quebec now stands. To establish a prosperous colony, virtue, industry, and perseverance must be found in the colonists. The first enterprise, composed of young noblemen and amateur colonists failed, as might have been expected. In the second attempt they went to the other extreme, the colonists were criminals, drawn from the prisons of France.

During the winter Cartier hung one of them for theft; put some in irons; and whipped others, men and women, for minor faults. In the spring, just as Roberval himself arrived with a reinforcement, he slipped off to France, heartily disgusted with his winter's occupation. Roberval remained about a year, and then returned home, perfectly willing to resign the viceroyalty of Norimbega, and retire to his estates in Picardy. After a lapse of fifty years, a successful attempt was made by the French to co!onize the same territory.

CHAPTER V.

DE SOTO AND THE MISSISSIPPI

The name Florida was given by the Spaniards to the entire southern portion of the United States. Their attempts to conquer this territory had hitherto failed. For some unexplained reason, the most exaggerated stories were told of the richness of the country; there was no evidence of their truth, yet they were implicitly believed.

The success of Cortez in conquering Mexico, and of Pizarro in conquering Peru, excited the emulation of Ferdinand de Soto. He had been a companion of Pizarro; had gained honors by his valor, and, in accordance with the morals of the times, had accumulated an immense amount of wealth by various means of extortion. Still, it must be said in his favor, that he was, by far, the most humane of any of the Spanish officers who pillaged Mexico and Peru. Foreseeing the endless quarrels and jealousies of the Spaniards in Peru, he prudently retired to Spain with his ill-gotten gains.

Ambition did not permit him to remain long in retirement. He panted for a name, for military glory, to surpass the two conquerors of the New World. He asked permission to conquer Florida at his own expense. The request was graciously granted by the Emperor Charles V. He also received an honor much more grateful to his ambition; he was appointed governor of Cuba, and of all the countries he should conquer.

The announcement that he was about to embark on

this enterprise, excited in Spain the highest hopes,hopes of military glory and of unbounded wealth. Enthusiastic men said these hopes must be realized; there were cities in the interior of Florida as rich, if not richer than those of Mexico or Peru; temples equally splendid, to be plundered of their golden ornaments. Volunteers offered in crowds, many of noble birth, and all proud to be led by so renowned a chief. From these numerous applicants De Soto chose six hundred men, in "the bloom of life." The enthusiasm was so great, that it appeared more like a holiday excursion than a military expedition.

He sailed for Cuba, where he was received with great distinction. Leaving his wife to govern the island, he sailed for Florida, and landed at Espiritu Santo, now Tampa bay. He never harbored the thought that his enterprise could fail. He sent his ships back to Cuba; thus, in imitation of Cortez, he deprived his followers of the means to return. Volunteers in Cuba had increased his army to nearly one thousand men, of whom three hundred were horsemen, all well armed. Everything was provided that De Soto's foresight and experience could suggest; ample stores of provisions, and for future supplies, a drove of swine, for which Indian corn and the fruits of the forest would furnish an abundance of food. The company was provided with cards, that they might spend their "leisure time in gaming;" a dozen of priests, that the "festivals of the church might be kept," and her ceremonies rigidly performed; chains for the captive Indians, and bloodhounds, to track and tear them in pieces, should they attempt to escape;-incongruities of which the adventurers seemed unconscious.

They now commenced their march through pathless forests. The Indian guides, who had been kidnapped on former invasions, soon learned that they

were in search of gold. Anxious to lead them as far as possible from the neighborhood of their own tribes, they humored their fancies, and told them of regions far away, where the precious metal was abundant. In one instance they pointed to the northeast, where they said the people understood the art of refining it, and sent them away over the rivers and plains of Georgia. It is possible they may have referred to the gold region of North Carolina.

When one of the guides honestly confessed that he knew of no such country, De Soto ordered him to be burned for telling an untruth. From this time onward the guides continued to allure the Spaniards on in search of a golden region,-a region they were ever approaching, but never reached.

At length the men grew weary of wandering through forests and swamps; they looked for cities, rich and splendid, they found only Indian towns, small and poor, whose finest buildings were wigwams. They wished to return; but De Soto was determined to proceed, and his faithful followers submitted. They pillaged the Indians of their provisions, thus rendered them hostile, and many conflicts ensued. They treated their captives with great barbarity; wantonly cut off their hands, burned them at the stake, suffered them to be torn in pieces by the bloodhounds, or chained them together with iron collars, and compelled them to carry their baggage.

They moved toward the southwest, and came into the neighborhood of a large walled town, named Mavilla, since Mobile. It was a rude town, but it afforded a better shelter than the forests and the open plains, and they wished to occupy it. The Indians resisted, and a fierce battle ensued. The Spanish cavalry gained a victory,-a victory dearly bought; the town was burned, and with it nearly all their baggage.