These lines are from an epic poem entitled “Louisianais,” published by T. C. Armstrong, Esq., of Pleasant Hill, La., in 1904.
Bold wanderer, in burnished mail,
Treading our new-found sphere,
Opening to us our mystic vale,
Deathless, forever dear,
To memory is the hero’s name;
So haply shall be thine;
The conquests that exalt thy fame
On Vega’s page they shine.
Thy soul of daring and the lance,
Esteemed the pride of Spain,
These that shall gladden fair romance
Let not the muse disdain.
But were thy conquests but a dream,
Thy name will deathless be,
Aye, Soto; while the Father Stream
Rolls o’er thee to the sea,
Its billows shall with endless dole
Bewail the explorer brave.
And thou, approved of mighty soul,
Canst boast a hero’s grave.
WHEN the Great Admiral was preparing for his departure on the memorable voyage which culminated in the discovery of the Western world, he experienced much difficulty in procuring sailors to take his little fleet across the then unmapped and unknown Atlantic. But when he returned to Spain with his wonderful stories of discovery, hundreds of adventurers, people from every station in life, were anxious to go and share in the fruits of his years of study and labor. In the course of a few years many expeditions were equipped by various maritime nations of Europe to seek for the treasures which were supposed to be found in the new land, but the Spanish explorers, during the first half a century following the discovery, were most aggressive in the search for gold. It is a melancholy admission, but the acquirement of wealth has been the irrepressible passion and paramount aim of all civilized or even semi-civilized peoples. The downfall of every great nation in ancient and medieval times may be attributed, directly or indirectly, to their greed for gold and madness for riches. Historians have been ever ready to point a finger of scornful rebuke at the ambitious Spaniards for coveting wealth and its potent power and hazarding their lives in the pursuit of conquests, for apparently no other purpose than to satisfy their greed for gold. We would not attempt to apologize for the misdeeds of the Spaniards, but justice demands that we accord them that honor and glory which are due them for the discovery of the Western Continent. Columbus, it is true, was an Italian, but to the indomitable sovereigns of Castile and Aragon is due the praise for aiding the discoverer in the execution of his plan. The greed of the Spaniards could scarcely have been more formidable than the desire for opulence and the love for power manifested among the people of the world’s greatest nations today. Our present generation of Americans admit their love for money, and some, of both high and low repute, procure it by means that are anything but holy.
At the time that Europe was startled by the story of the discovery of America, the Spanish sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, had just completed their conquest of Granada and driven the Mohammedan power, which had long menaced their kingdoms, into Africa. These two events mark the passing of medieval Europe and the arrival of the time when Christianity should “measure the earth,” when the light of civilization was to be lifted from “under the bushel.” The spirit of the Spaniards in this age awakened the sleepy nations and inspired them with new life. The glory of Charlemagne’s reign had been almost forgotten, and his magnificent empire had disintegrated until nothing remained but petty kingdoms which constantly stood with unsheathed sword to maintain their existence. European civilization was at a standstill. The nations still went to war on pretexts as trivial as did the savages in the wilds of America.
The spirit of Christianity was manifest on every hand, it is true, but the clannish greed of ambitious princes for temporal gain retarded religious as well as educational progress. England, Germany and France, which later contributed to the greatest civilization the world has ever known, were yet little better than nations of clans. They had as yet no literature and their field for individual endeavor was confined to their own clan. The discovery of America at once revolutionized the government and society of Europe. The sovereigns looked to the West for new empires and the individual ventured across the sea and risked his life among savages in quest of homes and fortunes. The spirit of the Spaniards opened this mighty realm of opportunity, but in the end their empire is no larger than before Columbus sailed from Palos on his first voyage.
The year 1500 found Spain in possession of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and the minor islands of the West Indies. The Cabots, who were Italians in the service of England, had explored the eastern coast of North America from Labrador to Florida. Amerigo Vespucci had visited South America, and the entire new world had been named in his honor. But the Spaniards were yet in the lead in the work of exploration, promptly claiming for the Kingdom of Spain all land in which they set up their flags, as well as immense territories which discoverers and conquerors presumed to exist.
The first attempt at Spanish exploration in North America was made in 1512. Ponce de Leon, who was a companion of Columbus on one of his voyages, sailed from Porto Rico and the land which he reached was called Florida. Ponce de Leon was an old man, a veteran of the wars in Granada. The voyage which resulted in the discovery of Florida was inspired by stories of a fountain which would restore youth to the aged said to be found there. The reports of this wonderful fountain were much like the advertisements of the modern patent medicines, quack doctors and breakfast foods, yet many people who pin their faith to these things are prone to smile at the credulity of the old Spaniards. Hostile Indians compelled Ponce de Leon’s expedition to return to Porto Rico. Five years later, while again in quest of the “fountain of perpetual youth” in Florida, he was wounded by an arrow and died. Other unsuccessful attempts were made to conquer the natives of Florida, among them being the expedition of Pineda, who discovered the mouth of the Mississippi River, and was the first explorer of Louisiana. About this time (1521) Cortéz had completed his conquest of Mexico and annexed that vast empire to the Spanish crown.
In 1528, Narvaez organized an expedition of five ships and three hundred men in Cuba and sailed for Florida to hunt for gold. Indian arrows reduced this army to three men, who, after roaming through wildernesses and among savages for nine years, finally reached Mexico.
More than a decade elapsed ere the Spanish conquerors essayed to exploit the territory embracing the Southern states. In 1539, Hernando DeSoto, governor of Cuba, sailed from Havana with a splendid army of one thousand men with the intention of conquering the Indians of Florida and exploring the unknown country in the interior. DeSoto and many of his soldiers had assisted Pizarro in his spectacular conquest of Peru and were hardened veterans. Their equipment included horses, cannon and the most effective arms which the times afforded. Never did a proud and confident army experience an end more humiliating or pathetic than that of DeSoto. He landed in Florida and after wandering for three years in a wilderness which now embraces the states of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, he arrived at the Great River. His army had been reduced by conflicts with Indians and fevers to about five hundred men. Rafts were constructed and the army crossed over to the west bank of the river at a point in what is now Arkansas. He then marched west and north as far as the mountains of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma. Turning southward, at the end of a year, he again reached the Mississippi at the mouth of Red River. Here, in May, 1542, the conqueror became ill of fever and died, and his body was buried in the great river which he discovered. DeSoto had planned to build boats and return to Mexico or Cuba for a fresh army with which to continue his conquest and search for gold. Sickness and the arrows and tomahawks of the savages had reduced the army to about one-third of the number which had set forth on the expedition. Before his death DeSoto assigned the command of his army to his faithful lieutenant, Luis de Moscoso. The men were now weary of the hardships and privations which they had suffered, as well as the constant attacks of Indians which reduced their numbers, and were anxious to return to their homes. Moscoso, according to their wishes, decided to lead the army to Mexico and the march started. This meant more disasters, more battles with Indians. They marched westward through Louisiana, fighting Indians as they went. It is recorded that Moscoso’s band first halted for a rest at the village of the Natchitoches Indians near the present city of Natchitoches. The band marched about five hundred miles westward into Texas, but becoming discouraged by the constant opposition of hostile Indians, the unfortunate explorers decided to return to the Mississippi River and adopt the plan proposed by DeSoto to reach the habitation of their countrymen. The men were nearly completely exhausted from incessant marches, without sufficient food to nourish their tired bodies, and many became ill and died. They finally reached the Mississippi and, after three months’ hard labor, the boats were completed and the voyage down the stream begun. Arriving at the mouth of the river, they sailed in their open boats along the coast of Louisiana and Texas and after fifty-three days, in the midst of a storm which threatened their destruction, they beached their fleet of rude sailboats on the coast of Mexico. Shortly afterward they reached the capital of the country which Cortez had conquered only a score of years before.
Back to: Sabine Parish – Louisiana History & Genealogy Project
Back to: Louisiana History & Genealogy Project
Source
Belisle, John G., History of Sabine Parish, Louisiana, Many, La. : The Sabine banner press, 1912.