28 HOME LIFE IX FLOEIDA. 



leader, thus- wasting his energies in the vain quest of a 

 supernatural boon on earth. 



Long and weary were the days and weeks that followed 

 his departure from Bimini. Buffeted about by wind and 

 wave, De Leon persevered in his search for that which did 

 not exist, landing on every island and every little point of 

 terra firma, exploring every hill and hollow, tramping 

 through weary miles of tangled underbrush, and plunging 

 into every stream, every spring, and every hole containing 

 water, no matter how slimy or muddy it might be. But 

 from none of these many baths did he rise up one whit the 

 younger ; on the contrary, the historians tell us, what one 

 would naturally suppose would be the result, that all this 

 toil and exposure and fatigue, coupled with continual anx- 

 iety and disappointment seriously affected De Leon both 

 in mind and body, so that he never afterward displayed 

 his wonted energy or judgment in thought or deed. 



Hither and thither sailed poor, deluded Ponce De Leon, 

 wearied and disheartened, yet still convinced that the 

 Fountain of Youth existed and that in time he should find 

 it. So magnificent a boon to mankind would naturally be 

 difficult of access. Men hid their best treasures, often- 

 times ; then why not Dame Nature ? 



Suddenly, on the 27th of March, 1512, while beating 

 about on the ocean, De Leon unexpectedly sighted land, 

 and, sailing cautiously nearer, perceived that it was an 

 extensive country, heretofore unknown, and very different 

 from the small islands of the Bahamas. SloAvly he crept 

 along the coast, seeking a harbor for his ships, and at last 

 he landed on the spot where now stands the oldest city in 

 the United States, St. Augustine. Splendid forests of pine 

 trees, immense oaks, cypress, magnolia, palm, and bay 

 trees rose grandly toward the sky, adorned to their very 

 tops with the long gray moss now so familiar to us all. 



