14 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



appeared for many years on the charts in the place 

 of the present Apalachee Bay. 



Shortly after the tragic end of the Narvaez 

 expedition, Fernando de Soto, a Spanish captain 

 and explorer, was preparing for a new adventure. 

 De Soto acquired a large fortune from the con- 

 quest of the Inca Empire in Peru in which he 

 played a prominent role. He obtained from 

 Charles V a commission as "Adelantado" of the 

 lands of Florida and Governor of Cuba and 

 invested his large fortune in a new adventure. 



On May 18, 1539, seven ships comprising De 

 Soto's flotilla carrying 700 soldiers, 200 horses, 

 mules, supplies, and materials, sailed from Havana. 

 On May 25 they reached Tampa Bay, known as 

 Bahia de Espiritu Santu. From Tampa Bay, 

 De Soto with a large detachment of horsemen 

 and foot soldiers went by land to Apalache. One 

 of his companions, Juan de Anasco, a prominent 

 seaman, cosmographer, and astronomer was en- 

 gaged in making scientific observations during this 

 military expedition. After reaching the land 

 north of Apalachee, De Soto despatched Anasco 

 south to find a harbor. During this travel the 

 party discovered the bones and other remains of 

 Narv^ez's men, and coming finally to the shores of 

 the sea discovered a large bay which they called 

 Bahia de Ante (present Apalachee Bay). 



In January 1540, De Soto ordered Captain 

 Diego Maldenado to sail for 100 leagues along the 

 coast to take records of all the bays, harbors, and 

 rivers and to return in 2 months. In the course of 

 this survey Maldenado found a bay 60 leagues 

 west of the Bay Aute which he described as the 

 most beautiful harbor in the world ("un hermosis- 

 simo puerto"), protected against all winds. He 

 named it Achusi. The entire harbor was sounded 

 with great detail, for De Soto wanted to use it as 

 a rendezvous and a base for his operations. De- 

 tailed descriptions made by Maldenado leave no 

 doubt that Achusi corresponds in every respect 

 to the present Pensacola Bay. 



After exploring the east coast of the American 

 continent as far north as the Savannah River, De 

 Soto returned to the Gulf and in October 1540 

 investigated the place called Mavill or Mauvill 

 which is the present Mobile. His further ex- 

 plorations lead him inland and westward to the 

 banks of the Mississippi which he crossed at 

 Chickasaw Bluffs near the present location of 

 Memphis, Tennessee. 



In 1542 he died and was buried at the bottom of 

 the Mississippi River. Before his death he ap- 

 pointed Luis de Moscozo de Alvarado as his 

 successor. 



After many vicissitudes the Spaniards, under 

 the leadership of their new chief, constructed 

 several boats in which they sailed down the river, 

 successfully evading the pursuit of Indians. 

 Upon reaching Gulf waters they turned westward 

 with the hope of landing somewhere on the 

 Mexican coast. All navigation instruments were 

 lost when the Indians burned the Spanish camp 

 at Mobile, but one astrolabe was saved by Aiiasco. 

 Being a careful and resourceful man, he managed 

 to make a sea chart from a parchment of deerskin, 

 and with a forestaff, made from a ruler, and an 

 astrolabe salvaged from the fire at Mobile, at- 

 tempted to guide the course of the flotilla. His 

 worthwhile efforts were so much ridiculed by the 

 other seamen because Anasco had never before 

 embarked on any other maritime expeditions, that 

 in disgust he threw his instruments, except the 

 astrolabe, into the sea. 



One day, because of bad weather, the ships 

 sought refuge in a small cove. While some of the 

 Spaniards were gathering shellfish along the shore 

 they foimd some slabs of black bitumen almost 

 like tar which the ocean had cast upon the beach. 

 Garcilaso, who tells this story (Garcilaso de la 

 Vega, Vamer's translation, 1951, p. 601), says, 

 "This substance must come from some spring 

 which flows into the sea or which is born in the 

 sea itself. The slabs weighed 8, 10, 12, and 14 

 pounds; and they were found in quantity." The 

 tar-like substance was successfully used by the 

 Spaniards to repair the leaky vessels, and after 

 spending a few days on the shore they continued 

 westward. This is probably the earliest reference 

 to the finding of asphalt along the Gulf coast. 

 After many days of sailing along the coast line 

 Moscozo entered the mouth of the Panuco River 

 and landed in Mexico.^ 



The discovery of Pensacola Bay, exploration of 

 the delta of the Mississippi River and of the 

 northern coast of the Gulf, and the convincing 

 evidence that the Mississippi was a mighty stream 

 draining from a large continent, were the principal 

 scientific contributions of the De Soto expeditioh. 



' Detailed account of De Soto's expedition can be found in the report of 

 the U. S. De Soto Commission (1939). 



