Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 101 Part 2.djvu/301

 PUBLIC LAW 100-187—DEC. 11, 1987

Public Law 100-187 100th Congress

101 STAT. 1287

An Act To amend the National Trails System Act to provide for a study of the De Soto Trail, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the "De Soto National Trail Study Act of 1987".

Dec. 11, 1987 [S. 1297] De Soto National Trail Study Act of 1987. 16 USC 1241 note.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds that— (1) Hernando de Soto landed in the vicinity of Tampa Bay on May 30, 1539; (2) de Soto then led his expedition of approximately 600 through the States of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas; (3) de Soto died on the banks of the Mississippi River in 1542; (4) the survivors of de Soto's expedition went on to Texas, then back through Arkansas, and into Louisiana in search of a route to Mexico; (5) the de Soto expedition represented the first large group of Europeans to explore so deeply into the Southeastern region; (6) archeologists have recently uncovered, in Tallahassee, Florida, what may have been de Soto's first winter camp; (7) the State of Florida has completed identification and marking of close to three-fourths of de Soto's trail in that State; and (8) several other States are in the process of identifying and marking de Soto's trail within their borders. SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF TRAIL.

Section 5(c) of the National Trails System Act (82 Stat. 919; 16 U.S.C. 1244(c)) is amended by adding the following new paragraph at the end thereof: "(31) De Soto Trail, the approximate route taken by the expedition of the Spanish explorer Hernado de Soto in 1539, extending through portions of the States of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, to the area of Little Rock, Arkansas, on to Texas and Louisiana, and any other States which may have been crossed

State listing.

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