^
Update this timeline entry
Davis's 1935 review of Herrera's account of Ponce de Leon's first voyage
Source: History of Juan Ponce de Leon's Voyages to Florida: Source Records #88
Project ID
Chapter
No chapter
Timeline title
Start date
End date
Filename received
Filename assigned
Content
Enable editor
Use plain text
Code entry
Copyright, 1935 All rights reserved by the author. permitted with this citation: Frederick Davis, “History of Juan Ponce de Leon's Voyages” PREFACE On that day between the 2nd and 8th of April, 1513, when Juan Ponce de Leon stepped from his landing boat upon the sandy shore of Florida he opened the positive history of the white man within the limits of the present United .States. Since then, through the centuries, his name has been perpetuated by history and is better known today than any of the early explorers with the single exception of Columbus. But the circumstances of his discovery of Florida are seldom related with historical accuracy, while those of his second voyage to colonize Florida are scarcely known at all. This is due in large part, without doubt, to the inaccessibility of the original Spanish records and the dearth of English translations of them. The purpose of this work is to provide accurate translations of these source records in full, that the student of American history may have before him under one cover all that is known historically concerning Ponce de Leon's two voyages to Florida. In presenting my conclusions I have in every case given my reasons therefor. They were derived from an extensive study of the subject for the sole purpose of finding the true story in the original records themselves as published herein. It differs in many respects from the popularly accepted version of Ponce de Leon's association with Florida, and hardship and disappointment supplant the customary picture of romance; but it is none the less interesting from a historical standpoint, because the courage of pathfinders is real, while historical romance is usually fiction. I have derived both satisfaction and pleasure from this study, the former from having found a virgin field for original research, the latter because of the sincere interest shown by many-the kind of encouragement that means much in any earnest effort. My gratitude is here expressed to all, and specifically to those who gave their time and talent as a contribution to this work, namely: C. L. Crow, James A. Robertson and Florence P. Spofford for their authoritative translations of source records; Charles B. Reynolds, for valuable suggestions and the loan of rare material in his possession; Kenneth A. Friedman and T.- Hurd Kooker for the well-drawn maps; and Carl Bohnenberger, Emilio Caries, Alston Cockrell, Alexander J. Mitchell and Eugene M. Sanchez for help in various ways. T. FREDERICK DAVIS. Jacksonville, Florida May 15, 1935. PONCE DE LEON'S FIRST VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY OF FLORIDA THE RECORDS JUAN POINCE DE LEON, after serving in the armies of Spain, embarked for the West Indies where he became active in the subjugation of the Indians, a service in which he was engaged many years. He was a soldier and led a military life until he was forty-five years of age or more. He appears in official civil life with his appointment as governor of the eastern part of Hispaniola (Haiti), known as the province of Higuey. Soon afterward he was appointed governor of the island of San Juan (now Porto Rico), which he had already partially explored and conquered from the Indians. This office he held until relieved (c1511) without prejudice, as a result of the decision of the Council of Spain to favor others, principally the heirs of Columbus, for the high positions in the West Indies. Hitherto, Spanish exploration had been directed south and 'est of the West Indies, but rumors had become current that lands had been found toward the north. Yielding to the wanderlust that possessed these early Spaniards, Ponce asked permission of the King to explore in that direction The capitulacion or patent granting the authority for the voyage of discovery will be found in Documentos ln6ditos del Archivo de, Indias, XXII. 26. The translation of this patent was rendered for me by Dr. James Alexander Robertson, author of many standard historical works and internationally known as an authority on Spanish-American history. Presented here directly from the pen of Dr. Robertson the reader is assured of having before him a correct interpretation of this important Ponce de Leon document. The Patent SOURCE AUTHORITY ANTONIO DE HERRERA (1559-1625). In 1592, Philip II of Spain appointed Herrera to the position of official historiographer of the Indies. His monumental work Historia General de los hechos de los Castellanos en las Islasi tierra firme del Mar oceano appeared in 1601 and contained an inexhaustible, mine of facts relating to early Spanish activities America. Erica. In it is the only account giving the details of Ponce, de Leon's voyage and discovery of Florida. His official position allowed him access to original and secret papers, many of which have since been destroyed no doubt. Although Spanish historians prior to' Herrera mentioned the voyage of Ponce de Leon, their accounts are vague and inaccurate in many particulars and appear to have been partly founded on hearsay. Herrera seems to have had before him the original notes or possibly the report Juan Ponce was rewired to make to the King, now believed to have been destroyed. Now and then a document is found having a bearing upon the voyage, but it is very improbable that an authentic contemporaneous record will ever be discovered which will materially alter Herrera's account. In the original (1601) edition the account is in Decada I, Libro IX, Caps. X & XI, pages (311) 301-305. I have two translations of Herrera's account in full, made by experienced translators competent to render old Spanish correctly. They vary in style, but are exactly alike in interpreted meaning. The translation used here is by Florence P. Spofford, who rendered I ' t, directly from the 1601 edition of Herrera in the Library of Congress. Herrera’s Account REVIEW EARLY MAPS. Several maps purporting to antedate Ponce de Leon's voyage of 1513 have been found that may be interpreted as crudely outlining the south Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America, with a projection in the relative position of Florida. Of chief interest among them is the Cantino map, supposed to have been made in 1502. These maps have been widely discussed by eminent historians and cartographers. Some are of the opinion that they are the product of a mapmaker's fancy; others, that they may have been intended to represent the popular conception of another coast,, and all treat their authenticity with more or less caution. A voyage of the character indicated would have in that day excited the civilized world to such an extent that a record of it or some reference to it would certainly have been preserved somewhere. No account of any kind, printed or in manuscript, is known. We should naturally suppose that among the early writers one would have had knowledge of such a discovery and would have indicated it, but all give the credit of Florida's discovery to PoAce de Leon, and until it is proven by authentic source record that the white man had been here before he will continue to be credited by history with the honor. NAUTICAL AIDS. At the time of this voyage several devices were in use for ascertaining latitude. They were correct in principle, but in practice great care was necessary for accurate results. These devices were designed for zenith (noon) observations only; consequently, when the sun was obscured at noon no readings could be taken with them. Evidently some method was in use for estimating the speed of vessels. The compass had been perfected and its variations were known and understood. Serviceable under all conditions, it was the navigator's main reliance at sea. Sailing directions recorded by these early voyagers therefore cannot be questioned for instrumental error. Fortunately Herrera gave Ponce de Leon's sailing directions minutely and they are of the utmost importance in a study of the voyage. PURPOSE OF THE VOYAGE. According to an Indian legend of the west Indies there existed an island called Bimini' (supposed by the Spaniards to be one of the Lucayos, or as we call them now, the Bahamas), which contained a “spring of running water” having the quality of restoring youth to the aged; and to this lure the usual modern account attributes Ponce de Leon's voyage. When we recall that Juan Ponce, still within the zone of the prime of life at 52, had spent years fighting these Indians and was familiar with their characteristics, it is rather difficult to comprehend his expenditure of a large part of his fortune in an expedition just to verify their tradition. His patent authorized him to explore for Bimini and other lands. In the first sentence of his account Herrera states with unmistakable clearness that as Juan Ponce had knowledge that lands had been found to the northward he resolved to go to explore in that direction. This was the main objective of the voyage. The lands to the northward referred to could have been none other than the Cabot and the Cortereal discoveries of the Labrador and Canada coasts, to which the fishermen of Europe afterward found their way and the rumors of which by the process of slow dissemination had sifted through to the west Indies. This fact is partly indicated by the patent prohibiting Juan Ponce from encroaching upon the discoveries of Portugal-the only Portuguese discovery in the north up to that time was that of Cortereal. Bimini is spelled Beniny in the patent to Ponce de Leon. THE FIRST VOYAGE OF PONCE DE LEON, 1513 T. Frederick Davis [map] THE DISCOVERY OF FLORIDA (The following extract from Herrera's account is repeated here for emphasis and easy reference. It is the only historical record concerning Ponce de Leon's actual discovery of Florida and the place of his first landing, what he did there and why he named the land Florida. The interpolations in brackets are mine.) This island Guanahani was the first that the admiral Don Christoval Colon [Columbus] discovered, and where, in his first voyage, he went ashore and named it San Salvador. They set out from here, running Northwest, and on Sunday, the 27th [March], which was the day of the Feast of the Resurrection, which commonly they call [the feast] “of Flowers”, they saw an island but did not examine it. And Monday, the 28th, they ran fifteen leagues in the same direction [northwest], and Wednesday went on in the same manner [north-west], and afterward [north-west], with bad weather, until the 2nd of April, [when] running West-Northwest, the water diminishing to nine fathoms, at one league from land, which was in thirty degrees and eight minutes [latitude], they ran along beside the coast [northerly] seeking harbor, and at night anchored near the land in eight fathoms of water. And believing that this land was an island, they named it La Florida, because it had a very beautiful view of many and cool woodlands, and it was level and uniform: and because, moreover, they discovered it in the time of the Feast of Flowers [Pascua Florida], Juan Ponce wished to conform in the name to these two reasons. He went ashore to get information, and take possession. On Friday, the 8th, they set sail, running in the same direction [northerly] : and Saturday they sailed to the South a quarter by Southeast; and keeping the same course until the 20th of April, they discovered some huts of Indians, where they anchored… FLORIDA WAS NOT DISCOVERED ON EASTER SUNDAY. A northwest course from San Salvador, the course that Juan Ponce held, would pass close to and in sight of the island of Abaco, the northernmost of the Bahamas, and the first land that would be seen after leaving San Salvador. It must be remembered that this was long before the invention of the telescope and the low-lying islands to the westward (Eleuthera and Cat), 35 miles away, would not have come into eye view. The land that Ponce de Leon saw on Easter Sunday, March 27, could not possibly have been the Florida coast as generally believed, because the coastal trend between Palm Beach and the mouth of the St. Johns River is NNW and the NW and WNW course held by the vessels during the six days between March 27 and April 2 would have carried them across the peninsula into the Gulf of Mexico. It would appear certain, therefore, that the island Juan Ponce saw on Easter Sunday was Abaco Island, and further indication that this is true will be shown later. THE BAD WEATHER. The vessels ran into “bad weather” the fourth day out from Abaco Island. They were then (estimated from their average sailing speed of two miles an hour as determined presently) some seventy-five miles off Cape Canaveral and near or in the Gulf Stream. “Bad weather” is a relative term and does not necessarily signify a storm; in another place Herrera uses “storm” in its proper sense. The season was too early for tropical hurricanes, and too late for continental cyclones that drift northeasterly across the United States to have a material effect upon the weather as far south as Canaveral. The “bad weather” was evidently the result of an area of high barometric pressure over the north Atlantic -a frequent condition in the spring causing thick weather off the Florida east coast, often, but not always with strong winds. The ships were not scattered, indicating moderate winds. The Gulf Stream in weather like this is usually “choppy” and doubtless bounced the .vessels around considerably, justifying the terms “bad weather.” The failure of Juan Ponce to mention the Gulf Stream at this time, as he did later on in his voyage down the east coast, was because he could not detect it under such conditions. The wind sequence off the Florida northeast coast as the result of weather of this kind would be northeast, veering gradually through east to south and southwest, usually requiring three days to make the half circle at that season. Thus it is probable that while Ponce de Leon tacked for a time against a side wind, it soon veered to a favorable wind and April 2 when he reached the Florida coast he found an off-shore wind and a moderate surf.2 I have seen the ocean here like a lake with practically no surf running for several days at a time with light to moderate offshore winds. HERRERA'S LATITUDES. At the time of this voyage the astrolabe method of ascertaining latitude had been supplemented by the cross-staff. They provided only for noon observation. The device was held in the hand and angles obtained by direct eye observation, a method requiring a steady nerve and stable base for accurate results. Mariners sometimes went ashore for especially accurate work, as observations with these devices on a pitching or rolling vessel were obtained with extreme difficulty and often resulted in considerable error.3 Such errors are called “accidental” to distinguish them from instrumental 2Based on the author's own knowledge of weather conditions on this coast derived from long service as an official of the U. S. Weather Bureau at Jacksonville. $Justin Windsor, Christopher Columbus, 1892, p. 260. errors. The latitudes assigned by Herrera to those islands of the Bahamas that can now be recognized (supposedly) are not true latitudes, which has led to discussions and attempts to derive a correction to be applied to all of the latitudes mentioned in the account under the assumption that all were wrong. A general correction for accidental errors is impossible of determination; and a correct instrumental error could be found only after a series of perfect observations at each location under exactly similar conditions. In other words, it cannot be done; and besides, to change all of Herrera's latitudes in proportion to the apparent errors for the Bahamas would produce situations irreconcilable to the meaning of the proven text. Herrera records a total of ten latitudes as follows and in the sequence named :4 221/2*; 24*; 241/_9*; 25° 40'; 30° 8'; 28° 15'; 27*; 261/_9*; 26° 15'; 28°. When judged carefully six of these ten latitudes have every appearance of being simply approximations or dead-reckoning; three are- in doubt; and only one, the 30° 8' landfall of Ponce de Leon on the Florida coast, has the earmarks of a carefully obtained instrumental reading, which may have been checked by him on shore. The latitude 30°8' plays an important part in all of the discussions concerning Ponce de Leon's discovery of Florida. The expression “those old latitudes” is often used, which creates in the mind a doubt as to the possibility of ascertaining true latitude in the time of this voyage. Strange to say no one has attempted to analyze the circumstances in support of the record in this specific case, and to this end let us now examine the circumstantial evidence for a check on the accuracy of the 30° 8' record of Herrera. One degree of latitude here is approximately 68.9 statute miles. CIRCUMSTANTIAL VERIFICATION THE NORTHWEST SAILING COURSE FROM SAN SALVADOR. A northwest course from San Salvador passes close to Abaco Island and reaches the Florida coast near or slightly above the mouth of the St. Johns River. It is the course that Herrera says Ponce de Leon held until April 2, when he turned to west-northwest and at noon (when observations for latitude were taken) was approaching the coast. From Abaco Island the distance is about three hundred and twenty-five miles, which he sailed in six days more or less, or at a rate averaging around two miles an hour. This is what might be expected of vessels of their type in the open sea under varying weather conditions. As they changed course on April 2, and were in sight of land at noon, it follows that they sailed not more than half a day in the new direction. There being only a slight change in direction, northwest to west-northwest, the distance short and the speed slow, the landfall could not have possibly been many miles below the point where they would have reached the coast had they continued the original northwest direction. From these facts it can be easily determined that the contact must lie between St. Augustine Inlet and the mouth of the St. Johns River. Herrera records that it was in 30° 8` latitude. True latitude 30° 8' is almost exactly half way between St. Augustine Inlet and the mouth of the St. Johns. HYDROGRAPHIC CONDITIONS. Storm waves have undoubtedly caused some erosion of this part of the coast since Ponce de Leon's time, but the tendency is to build up again during intervals. The projecting point at the mouth of the St. Johns River on the south side shown on the earliest maps and mentioned in early records was where the sand fields and dunes near the south jetty are now building up. This point was originally a ridge of high sand dunes with, some wooded growth, shutting out the view of the river to a vessel approaching from the south, even from the topmast, until it had rounded the point. In any case, along the beach the shelving or depth of water would remain relatively the same. Herrera records that in latitude 30' 8' Ponce found nine fathoms of water three miles off shore, and modern hydrographic maps show the same. NO HARBOR WHERE PONCE LANDED. Coming in nearer than three miles, Ponce sailed up the beach looking for a harbor, but he did not reach the St. Johns River, as he certainly would have noted a river of that size; nor did he find any other harbor, as his anchorage in eight fathoms, or about 48 feet of water proves. Even with the aid of modern dredging operations there is no such depth of water as that at either St. Augustine or in the St. Johns River. The complete omission of coastal details from Herrera's account indicates that there were none to record, which fits exactly the situation where he says Ponce's landfall was. Ribault, the first to visit this part of the coast after Ponce de Leon, verifies these facts in the report of his voyage. Coming up from the direction of St. Augustine Inlet, Ribault anchored Thursday, April 30, 1562, close under the projecting point on the south side of the St. Johns, of which he wrote as follows: “And because there appeared to us no sign of any port, about the setting of the sun, we cast anchor again, which done, we did behold to and fro the goodly order of the woods wherewith God hath decked everywhere this land.6 Then perceiving 5See Jeannette Thurber Connor's Jean Ribault, 1927, p. 05. 6Note that Ribault also mentioned the woodlands that entered into the naming of Florida by Ponce de Leon. Towards the north a leaping and breaking of the water; as a stream falling out of the land into the sea, forthwith we set again up sail to double the same [the point] while it was yet day. And as we, had done so, and passed beyond it, there appeared to us a fair entry of a great river, which caused us to cast anchor again, and tarry near the land, that the next morning we might see what it was. There is nothing in Herrera's account to indicate that Ponce de Leon's anchorage was off a river or inlet or inside a harbor; to the contrary the inferences that can be drawn from it all point the other way. THE INDIANS. The patent under which Ponce sailed gave detailed instructions as to the Indians that might be found. They were one of the main objects of the voyage and it is natural that he should note them wherever he saw them, which he seems to have done. Failure to mention them at the first landing place consequently indicates that no Indians were found there. This in turn indicates that the landing was neither at the site of St. Augustine nor, at the St. Johns River, because at both of these points, as later recorded by the French and the Spanish colonizers (1562-65), there were found established Indian towns, which we may reasonably assume were there in Ponce de Leon's time. Below St. Augustine to Cape Canaveral the Indians inhabited at frequent intervals-a concentration that later led the Spaniards to establish permanent missions for them. Between St. Augustine Inlet and the mouth of the St. Johns was the longest stretch on the upper east 'Caused by an ebbing tide over the shoals and sandbars at the mouth of the river. Sthis was the discovery of the St. Johns River. Ribault named it River May, because he actually entered it on the 1st of May. It was among the last of the great sea-flowing rivers of North America to be discovered by white men. Coast for which history does not record Indian habitation. It would seem under the circumstances that the only place where Ponce could have landed without the probability of finding -evidence of Indians was along this stretch and in the locality where Herrera said he landed. In passing St. Augustine Inlet the vessels were too far out to be seen by the Indians of Seloy (the ancient Indian town found by Menendez on the site of St. Augustine in 1565), and, the landfall north of there was likewise far out of their range of vision. The anchorage was much nearer the St. Johns River and at other seasons of the year some roving Indian from those towns might be expected to see the ships, but Laudonniere says this was the season when' these Indians were in the interior on their annual hunt “ during which time by no means a man can see one Indian. 119 EVIDENCE CONCLUSIVE. With all contributing factors in the determination of the question focusing at true latitude 30” 8', there appears to be no reason for doubting the accuracy of Herrera's record that Ponce de Leon came upon the coast of Florida at that point. The next question is the distance he sailed up the coast before anchoring at dark on April 2, where he afterward went ashore and took possession of the country for Spain. FIRST LANDING IN FLORIDA ALONG THE COAST LINE. The coastal trend between St. Augustine Inlet and the mouth of the St. Johns River is generally north-northwest. Ponce approached the coast sailing west-northwest and continued along its length until he anchored. It does not seem possible to construe this clear record of Herrera in any other way than that he continued up the coast toward the mouth of the St. Johns. 9Translation of Laudonniere's account in Virginia Historical Society Early Voyages to America, 1848, p. 444. Laudonniere was the commander of Fort Caroline, the French settlement on the St. Johns six miles above its mouth, 1564-65. THE FIRST LANDING IN FLORIDA Record of Indian town near Matanzas Inlet is inferential. Ponce de Leon, running to west-northwest, approached the coast on April 2 in latitude 30” 8'; the water lessening to 9 fathoms at one league from land he ran along the length of coast seeking harbor and at dusk anchored off shore in 8 fathoms of water. Here sometime between April 2 and 8 he went ashore to take possession (first lauding). On Friday, the 8th, he made sail in the same direction (up the coast), but soon turned back for the next day he was sailing south a quarter by southeast; he sailed in this direction until April 20, when he saw indications of Indians and anchored (below Cape Canaveral-the second recorded anchorage and the first mention of Indians in Florida). THE LANDING PLACE. On April 2, at noon, the vessels were three miles off shore half way between St. Augustine Inlet and the mouth of the St. Johns River. They came in closer and continued up the coast until dark, when they anchored. Dusk in this locality at that season of the year comes about half past six. Allowing say thirty minutes for coming in, making soundings and preparing for anchorage (a very reasonable and proper deduction), there were six hours sailing time along the coast to be considered in determining the distance they sailed before anchoring. The speed of the vessels out at sea has already been estimated at two miles an hour, and it is not probable that here along a strange shore their speed would be greater, as Juan Ponce must be credited with being an experienced seaman too cautious to forge full sail ahead under such circumstances. Sailing six hours at two miles an hour therefore indicates a maximum distance along shore of twelve miles. This is as close a determination as can be constructed from Herrera’s record. The place of landing can be designated only as a locality somewhere along the 12-mile length of beach indicated on the foregoing map, with circumstances favoring the upper part of this stretch. LANDING CEREMONIES AND ACTIVITIES LANDING CEREMONIES UNKNOWN. Some time between Saturday night, April 2nd, and Friday, the 8th, Ponce de Leon went ashore to view the country and take possession. No mention is made of any ceremony attendant upon the act of taking possession. This omission of details seems to have been accepted by later writers as an invitation to supply them and this has been done .in many elaborate interpretations. The scene of taking possession is usually pictured with Ponce surrounded by priests and soldiers kneeling in prayer amidst the banners of Church and state, with an audience of interested Indians in the background. Some go so far as to repeat the words used in taking possession, and it has been said that he ended the ceremony with the proclamation that he took possession of the land in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella. Since Isabella had been in her tomb more than eight years, the statement must be wrong. These descriptions may be picturesque, but I can find nothing in the record to support them. NO PRIESTS WITH THE EXPEDITION. There is no evidence that priests or other ecclesiastics were with the expedition. The patent under which Ponce sailed indicated nothing in this particular, nor does Herrera or any other Spanish historian mention them. The voyage was an expeditionary one and did not necessarily warrant the presence of priests, whose purpose would have been largely to Christianize the Indians. There were situations during the voyage where the presence of a priest aboard would naturally have been indicated had there been one. ACTIVITIES UNKNOWN. With the exception of the simple statement that Ponce went ashore for information and to take possession, nothing is known historically of what the Spaniards did in the five days they remained at the first anchorage. Any interpretation can be only on the basis of what Ponce's subsequent activities indicate, from which it would appear that he remained in the immediate vicinity of his vessels without any attempt to explore the country. It may be inferred with at least a semblance of backing that, the purpose was to await the appearance of Indians (who, however, did not appear), in the meantime making repairs to sails and rigging, which doubtless needed attention as a result of the rough weather through which the vessels had just passed. WHY NAMED FLORIDA “BECAUSE IT HAD A VERY BEAUTIFUL VIEW OF MANY AND COOL WOODLANDS, AND IT WAS LEVEL AND UNIFORM” The floral decorations usually added originated with Washington Irving, the first American writer upon the subject. Mr. Irving expanded “many and cool woodlands” into “The whole country was in the fresh bloom of spring; the trees were gay with blossoms, and the fields covered with flowers. “I' Woodbury Lowery attempted to identify the flowers, though he explained that his list was made up from Bartram's record of the flora of Florida.12 I have made many visits to that part of the coast around the first of April and have yet to see more than what Herrera said Ponce de Leon saw. The woodlands were probably much denser then than now, as much of the timber has been cut out f or commercial purposes. “AND BECAUSE, MOREOVER, THEY DISCOVERED IT IN THE TIME Of THE FEAST OF FLOWERS [PASCUA FLORIDA]. “In the time of the Feast of Flowers means during the season of Easter. Had the discovery been made on Easter Day, March 27th, Herrera unquestionably would have said so in this connection, as that was the most important of all the feast days with the Spaniards. This is further evidence that the land Ponce de Leon saw on Easter Sunday was Abaco Island of the Bahamas as already discussed, and that the discovery of Florida was on Saturday, April 2, 1513, which was yet in the season of Easter as celebrated in that day. Emphasis has been placed on this fact because practically all histories and encyclopedias state that Florida was discovered on Easter Sunday. JUAN PONCE TURNS BACK DOWN THE COAST LINE. Leaving his first anchorage Juan Ponce started up the coast, but from a cause unknown and impossible to surmise he sailed only a. short distance, then turned back and headed south-southeast parallel to the coast line. In doing so he just missed a most important discovery, for had he sailed a little farther and rounded the south cape of the St. Johns River, he would have seen the river and known from its size that he had discovered the mainland instead of an island as he imagined Florida to be throughout the voyage. The vessels worked their way southward, around Cape Canaveral, where they came in contact with the Gulf Stream. Somewhere below Canaveral Juan Ponce anchored. In this neighborhood he made his second recorded landing in Florida and it was here that he saw the first evidence of Florida Indians. BISCAYNE BAY, FLORIDA KEYS AND TORTUGAS. Ponce de Leon continued to follow the coast southward, anchoring here and there. He evidently examined Biscayne Bay, for Herrera mentions a bay north of the Florida Keys. He sailed along the entire length of the Florida Keys and on out to the Tortugas, in the vicinity of which he changed course to north. That Ponce de Leon reached the Tortugas at this time unlocks mysteries that hitherto have been impossible for historians to solve. Describing the voyage Herrera indicates that Juan Ponce was at Biscayne Bay on May 13, and was sailing along the Florida Keys (Martires) on the 15th, “and kept on sailing, sometimes to the north and other times to the northeast” This has been generally taken to mean that he sailed through one of the openings between the Keys and set the north-northeasterly course from there, which would have carried the vessels to the coast east of Cape Sable and not to the west coast at all, a circumstance that could not be reconciled with the text following. The fact that Ponce de Leon “kept on sailing” to the Tortugas before turning north is found in Herrera's statement “On Wednesday [June 15 ] they went on the lookout for the eleven rocky islets that they left to the west. On Thursday and Friday they ran in the same direction until, on Tuesday, the 21st, they reached the rocky islets, which they named Las Tortugas.” From this we learn that Juan Ponce had passed the Tortugas before and had now returned to them (from a point on the west coast of the Florida peninsula as will be shown presently). This accounts for the “sometimes to the north and other times to the northeast” sailing directions that have always puzzled historians. Passing the Tortugas “to the west” about May 18, Ponce de Leon kept his north course for a time and not finding the Florida mainland, which he had not seen for some days, he turned to northeast, then back to north, and again to northeast, etc., in order to find it, f or he knew that Florida had a southern or, western coast somewhere. ON THE WEST COAST PINE ISLAND AND CHARLOTTE HARBOR. Had Ponce de Leon sailed continuously north from the Tortugas he would have sighted the coast at or near Tampa Bay. Had he taken a straight northeast direction he would have come upon it in the vicinity of Cape Romano. It follows then that under any circumstances the actual contact was within these limits. Let us examine the coast between Tampa Bay and Cape Romano, with Herrera’s full description and a modern detailed map of the Florida peninsula before ' us. It does not require a lengthy study to convince anyone that the only situation corresponding in every way to the description is the region around Charlotte Harbor. Juan Ponce came upon the coast just north of Charlotte Harbor on May 23, and the next day was sailing southerly along the outlying islands, speaking of them as the “islets that extended out into the sea.” He found the passage for vessels next to the coast into Carlos Sound and anchored off Pine Island, which he afterward named Matanca, because in a fight with the Indians there several Indians and a Spaniard were killed.” In this haven he careened the San Christoval-the only vessel of the fleet whose name has been preserved. Later he sent a boat to examine and sound a harbor nearby-Charlotte Harbor.14 Now back to the sailing directions: The zigzag north and northeast course that Ponce de Leon set would result in an average NNE track and we should look in that general direction from the Tortugas for the landfall. Charlotte Harbor is directly NNE of the Tortugas. 13 No other death is mentioned among the Spaniards on the voyage. This man then was the first white man to die in Florida and perhaps in the United States. 14 These early navigators made the same distinction between a bay and a harbor that we do now. Our examination of the coast located the landfall with reasonable certainty by the description of the locality and the sailing directions now come in to -verify it. The evidence is indisputable, and establishes the fact that Ponce de Leon on his voyage of 1513 did not reach a point on the west coast of the Florida peninsula farther north than the 27th parallel; and further, that his activities on that coast on this voyage were confined to the region shown by the accompanying map. PONCE DE LEON LEAVES FLORIDA. Juan Ponce sailed from Matanca out into the Gulf and headed for the Tortugas. It required nearly a week for him to find them, indicating calms or light airs en-route. He named these islands Las Tortugas, because he took in them many turtles, seals (manatee?) and sea birds. From the Tortugas he set a southwesterly course, came upon the extreme western end of Cuba and examined its northern coast for some distance. From Cuba he sailed back along the Florida Keys and on to the Bahamas again. EXPLORATION OF FLORIDA CONFINED TO THE COAST. Nowhere can it be inferred from Herrera's account that Ponce de Leon made any attempt to explore the country away from the immediate coast. His landings everywhere appear to have been for purposes other than exploration, and, after the first landing to take possession, chiefly to get water and firewood for the vessels or to meet the Indians seen on shore, until he came upon the west coast, where at Charlotte Harbor, he' seems to have examined the region with a thought of future settlement. The Spaniards associated gold with mountains and as Florida was level and uniform as far as the eye could reach it did not have the appearance of a gold-producing land. At Charlotte Harbor, however, the AT CHARLOTTE HARBOR PONCE DE LEON MAY 23, 1513 [map] Juan Ponce sailed along the Florida Keys and westward as far as the Tortugas, in the neighborhood of which, about May 18, he turned to a “sometimes north and at other times northeast” course that carried him to the west coast of the Florida peninsula on May 23rd. On the 24th he was sailing southerly along a chain of islands “that extended out into the sea” and coming to a passage for vessels between these islands and the coast he entered and anchored off an island inside. In this haven he repaired the San Christoval. He was in the vicinity three weeks and examined and sounded a harbor nearby. On June 15 he sailed out into the Gulf and headed for the Tortugas again. (The upper border of this map represents the 27th parallel of latitude.) Indians had a specimen of guanin, an inferior quality of gold, and Ponce de Leon understood from them that a chief of that neighborhood named Carlos-',' had gold in his possession. It is evident that the implacable fury of the Indians was engendered by every contact with them. Four battles between them and the Spaniards are recorded-two on the lower east coast and two in the Charlotte Harbor region. The cause of the hostility is not explained and must find its solution in the imagination. Students interested in the subject will find in Herrera the first account of the Indians in continental United States, with a description of their weapons and mode of fighting, and enough to form some judgment of their character and habits. They did not fear the white men and only the noise of artillery seemed to frighten them. This voyage may be properly divided into a primary and a secondary stage. The primary stage was the hope of discovering new lands with gold mines and Indian slaves to work them, the dream of all of the prominent Spaniards of that day. It was Ponce de Leon's main design. He discovered Florida, followed its coast on the east side and visited the west coast far enough up for him to form the impression that it was a point of land which projected so much that he thought it must be an island. We have followed his track around Florida guided by Herrera's remarkable record and have observed, what must have been true, his hardships and discouragements resulting from failure to find the material things sought or any indication of them. We come now to the other stage of the voyage, the This is the first mention of this famous Florida Indian name. It was probably not the real Indian name, but was so interpreted by the Spaniards. From the guttural sound of the Indian pronunciation. Secondary or so-called romantic phase, when Juan Ponce, now in the Bahamas again on his way home, starts his search for Bimini as required by his patent and to satisfy himself of the truth or falsity of the Indian tradition about it. JUAN PONCE SEARCHES FOR BIMINI AMONG THE BAHAMAS. Upon his return to the Bahamas after leaving Florida, Juan Ponce found an old Indian woman on a lonely island and took her aboard as a guide; her name is not mentioned, though he named the island La Vieja, meaning “old woman.” After a while he reached an island that the old woman said was called Bahama. Sailing from island to island in the Bahamas, confused by sea currents that he had not seen in the spring, and afterward beset by storms (hurricane influences probably), Ponce de Leon tired of the quest and sailed for Porto Rico the latter part of September, leaving one of his vessels in the Bahamas to continue the search for Bimini. BIMINI FOUND. In time the vessel left in the Bahamas returned to Porto Rico and reported that Bimini had been found; that it was a large island, well wooded and watered, but contained no spring that “restores old men to youths.” Bimini is supposed -to have been Andros Island. And says Herrera, “discovery by Juan Ponce of La Florida so ended, without knowledge that it was the mainland; nor for some years thereafter was that assurance obtained. THE INDIAN LEGEND BELIEVED BY MANY, BUT NOT BY ALL. The Bimini tradition is the oldest North American legend, as it was in after years that legends of the Vikings in the North began to be considered. It is difficult to determine whether it was really a legend or something manufactured by the Indians to induce the Spaniards to leave. The most complete account of the mythical spring was written by Peter Martyr, probably before the result of Ponce de Leon's voyage became known. Martyr mentions Bimini under another name. His account follows: “Among ong the which [the Lucayos or Bahamas] there is an Island, about three hundred and XXV leagues from Hispaniola, as they say which have searched the same, named Boiuca or Agnaneo, in the which is a continual spring of running water of such marvelous virtue, that the water thereof being drunk, perhaps with some diet, maketh old men young again. And here must I make. Protestation to your holiness, not to think this to be said lightly or rashly. For they have so spread this rumor for a truth throughout all the court, that not only all the people, but also many of them whom wisdom or fortune hath divided from the common sort, think it to be true. But if you shall ask my opinion herein, I will answer that I will not attribute so great power to nature, but that God hath no less reserved this prerogative to himself, than to search the hearts of men, or to give substance to privation (that is) being to no being. 1116 THE “FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH.” The nature of this legend kept it alive during the credulous age, but after Ponce de Leon's voyage little attention was paid to it until comparatively modern writers, seeking a romantic theme, revived it and centered it Peter Martyr, The Decades of the New 'World or West India, Second Decade, Tenth Book-Eden's translation. The Second Decade was addressed to “The Bishop of Rome, the tenth of that name”, (Pope Leo X-) around Juan Ponce like a veil through which the light of history was not allowed to penetrate. And so it has come about that in the popular mind a “fountain of youth” is inseparably associated with the voyage to the exclusion of almost everything else, which elevates it to an importance far greater than it deserves historically. 17 Though the tradition properly belongs to the Bahama Islands, where Bimini was supposed to be, it is now generally applied to Florida. There is no evidence that Ponce de Leon associated Bimini with the land that he discovered on April 2; had he entertained such an idea he would have expressed it at the time of the discovery without bestowing a new name upon the country. The romance of Ponce de Leon's land of Florida is found not in a visionary “fountain of youth”, but in its true history of discovery, settlement and subsequent development; in its climate and sunshine, and in its natural and man-made wonders. YEAR OF DISCOVERY WAS 1513 It was not until the 1850's that any question was raised concerning the date, 1512, given by Herrera as that of Ponce de Leon's first voyage to Florida. In his researches a German historian, Oscar Peschel, questioned the date and assumed that the voyage oyage was in 1513, because Easter Sunday of that year fell on March 27, as, recorded by Herrera, and did not in 1512. Sometime in the 1880's this question came up in the general press of the country, I think originally in the Saturday Evening Post, and brought on a wide discussion by historians and historical magazines. About the same time Henry Harrisse published his Discovery of North America, which advanced Peschel's idea of the 1513 date. The investigation proceeded and Juan Ponce was accounted for during the summer of 1512 as being engaged elsewhere. 17 See Charles B. Reynolds, The Landing of Ponce do Leo*, A Historical Review. 1934. Finally the numerous dates given in Herrera's account were considered and the week days and feast days mentioned therein were checked with the modern calendar and found to agree in no case with the calendar for 1512, but did agree in every case with the calendar for 1513. This brought on a consideration of old style and new style dates. Though simple in fact, the explanation of the conversion of one calendar to another using a different date to begin the year is a confusing one generally and will be excused here with the statement that the result of the investigation convinced historians and scholars that according to our present system of chronological reckoning the year of the voyage was 1513. This will explain why earlier histories give 1512 as the year of Ponce de Leon's voyage and discovery of Florida, whereas modern historians (subsequently to the 1880's) use the corrected year 1513. FIRST FLORIDA NAMES GIVEN OR MENTIONED BY JUAN PONCE IN 1513. Florida: The oldest European name for any part of the United States. Punta de Arracifes: Cape Canaveral. River La Cruz: On the lower east coast. Cape Corrientes: Extreme eastern part of the coast near Palm Beach. Abaioa: Indian village in the neighborhood of Cape Corrientes. Chequescha :18 Biscayne Bay. (This, I believe, is the original Indian name for Biscayne Bay, as derived from the circumstances of Ponce de Leon's two visits there in 1513. Fifty years later Menendez called the region Tequesta, and Herrera on his map of 1601 shows it as a coastal indentation called Jequesta.) Santa Marta and Pola: Islands off Biscayne Bay. Martires: Florida Keys. Achecambei: One of the Florida Keys, possibly Matecumbe. Tortugas: As named now. Matanca: Pine Island at Charlotte Harbor. Carlos: Indian chief presumably of the Charlotte Harbor-Fort Myers region. Cautio: Name for Florida among the Bahama Indians.
Replace existing data with this data
