De Soto was tiring out. He grew sad and asked the Indians how far it was to the sea. But it was too far for the bold leader. A fever seized him, and after a few days he died. At dead of night his companions buried him in the bosom of the great river he had discovered.
20. Only Half the Army Returns to Cuba. There were bold leaders still left in the army. They turned westward again, but after finding neither gold nor silver, they returned to the Mississippi and spent the winter on its banks. There they built boats, and then floated down to the Gulf. Only one half of the army returned to tell the sad tales of hardships, battles, and poverty.
What Coronado and De Soto proved to the King of Spain
Thus it came about that Coronado and De Soto proved that northward from Mexico there were no rich cities, such as Columbus had dreamed about, and such as Cortés and Pizarro had really found. Hence it was that the King of Spain and his brave adventurers took less interest in that part of North America which is now the United States, and more in Mexico and in South America.
MAGELLAN, WHO PROVED THAT THE WORLD IS ROUND
FERDINAND MAGELLAN
From the portrait designed and engraved by Ferdinand Selma in 1788
21. Magellan's Task. Columbus died believing that he had discovered a part of India. But he had not proved that the earth is round by sailing around it. This great task was left for Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese sailor. Columbus' great voyage had stirred up the Portuguese. One of their boldest sailors, Vasco da Gama, had reached India in 1498 by rounding Africa, and Magellan had made voyages for seven years among the islands of the East.