A BACKWARD GLANCE. 31 



have filled a dozen ships with enthusiastic followers. Now 

 he could with difficulty find enough men willing to accept 

 his leadership to fill two ships. With these, however, he 

 finally set sail once again for the flowery shores of Fforida, 

 still believing his promised domain to be a large island. 



Landing, he spent some time in explorations with a 

 view to locating a colony, the nucleus of his government. 

 The natives, astonished at the sight of the white stran- 

 gers, kept carefully aloof during these preliminary pro- 

 ceedings ; but, coming at length to the conclusion that 

 their presence boded themselves no good, they determined 

 to drive them away. 



Had Ponce De Leon been the soldier he once was, their 

 resolves had been made in vain ; but here again, as with 

 the Caribs, he neglected the most ordinary precautions, 

 and conducted all his operations with culpable careless- 

 ness, despising the naked heathen too much to guard 

 against his attack. Strange that he had not yet bought 

 experience ! 



The Indians collected in large numbers, and while De 

 Leon was busily engaged in planning the site for his col- 

 ony, he and his men were boldly attacked and completely 

 routed by their savage foes. 



De Leon himself was scA^erely wounded by an arrow, 

 and this accident tended not a little to the demoralization 

 of his force. Carrying their leader with them, they fled to 

 their ships, returning with all haste to Cuba. 



Here, soon after. Ponce De Leon, the deluded, baffled 

 soldier, laid down his arms forever. The wounded body 

 and broken spirit proved too heavy a burden for a life that 

 once had deemed no deed of valor impossible. 



And thus ended the first scene in the history of Florida. 



The disastrous result of De Leon's expedition had, as 

 might be supposed, a dampening effect on the ardor of 



