Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 1.djvu/62



and enslaved. They were traded from one tribe to another and carried almost to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. They were the first men to ever see the white prairies of the West. After ten years spent in the wilds of the interior, Nunez reached a Spanish settlement, the only survivor if the expedition. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was the full name of this first white man who transversed the future territory of Louisiana.

The fate of Narvaez and his companions did not discourage other adventurers. Hernando de Soto was one of the most daring of Pizarro's officers in the conquest of Peru. Upon the story of Nunez, and the strange lands he had traversed in his ten years' wanderings, he determined to lead an expedition into that region, which he believed to be rich with gold. He hoped to rival Pizarro's achievements and win fortune and fame. He was a favorite of the King and easily secured the appointment of Governor of Cuba, with a grant of an indefinite amount of land in eastern Florida.

He soon raised an army of more than one thousand men. It was made up largely of nobles, cavaliers, soldiers of fortune and ambitious young men. He embarked his army in ten vessels which he had purchased and equipped. Priests, scientists, artisans, and miners were secured, and three hundred and fifty of the best drilled soldiers of Spain were added to the expedition. Live stock and farm implements were taken to found a colony. Chains, fetters and bloodhounds were provided to be used in enslaving the Indians. The soldiers were equipped with helmets, shields and coats of mail for protection in battle. The expedition sailed from Havana on the 12th of May, 1539, amid the booming of cannon and a profusion of gay flags. All were in high spirits in anticipation of wealth, glory and the easy conquest of Florida. Monette, in his history of the Mississippi Valley, says:

“They were a band of gallant freeboaters in quest of plunder and fortune; an army rendered cruel and ferocious by avarice, ready to march to