The Mississippi River and its wonderful valley; twenty-seven hundred and seventy-five miles from source to sea

Front matter

Class JEjSAjL Bnnk • CM 4 Copyright N''.

COPYKIGHT DEPOSrr.

The Mississippi River

Contents

CHAPTER

VII.

VIII.

Index

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

The Mississippi River Immediately below Itasca Lake

Frontispiece *^

The Itasca Watershed 8 -

Surveyed and drawn by J. V. Brower, 1892-1903.

A Page of the Radisson Manuscript . . . . 24 Photographed at Bodleian Library, Oxford, England,

under direction of Hon. W. E. Lee. (Courtesy of J. V. Brower.)

Father Hennepin's Discovery op St. Anthony Fall . 68

Painted by Douglas Volk in the State Capitol. (Copyright, 1905, by Douglas Volk.)

Minnehaha Fall 80 •

(Copyright, 1908, by T. W. Ingersoll.)

Recent View at Southeastern Extremity op Itasca, Showing the Point across the Lake at which Schoolcrapt Reached It, in 1832 .... 110

Itasca Lake, Looking South prom Bluff at Northern

End 116

Nicollet's Creek, beyond Itasca. " The Cradled Hercules " 120

(Courtesy of J. V. Brower.)

The Mouth op Nicollet's Creek, where it Enters

Itasca 124 ^

(Taken since the building of a dam at the outlet of the lake.)

The Outlet op Nicollet's Middle Lake . . . 126 ■^

X Illustrations

PAGB

The Itasca Lake Region, as Surveyed by Hopewell

Clarke, October, 188G 128

The Sources op the Mississippi 130^

First Official Survey Map (1875). By Edwin S. Hall.

The City op Duluth in 1872 . . . . , . 132 ^

Saint Paul, Looking Southwest 132

From a photograph taken in 1872.

A Typical Chippewa 136 -

The Mississippi River — Thirty Miles below Itasca

Lake . 112 j

Minnesota Historical Society Collection.

A Sample op Cedar Forest, in the Itasca Country . 142 Minnesota Historical Society Collection.

The Outlet op Itasca Lake, 1901 144 -

Minnesota Historical Society Collection.

The Mouth op Boutwell Creek, West Shore of Itasca

Lake 144

The East Arm op Itasca Lake 146 -

(Looking north from the Southern End.)

The Shore op Itasca Lake, East Arm, near Nicollet's

Portage 148

Chambers Creek, Connecting Itasca with Elk Lake.

(Elk Lake in the Distance) 150

(Copyright, 1909, by H. D. Ayer.)

Elk Lake, Looking South prom Morrison Hill . . 152

Sketch Map op the Land between Lake Itasca and

Elk Lakes 154

Illustrations

XI

A Minnesota Forest

Minnesota Historical Society Collection.

Map of the Upper Drainage Basin of the Mississippi River

The Winnebagoshish Reservoir Dam , . . . Minnesota Historical Society Collection.

PoKEGAMA Fall

Photograph by C. H. Dickinson.

The Second Government Dam on the Mississippi, BELOW Grand Rapids . . . .

St. Anthony Fall

From a photograph taken in 1872.

A View of Fort Snelling, Showing the Round House

AND the Original Stockade

Photographed in 1872.

Roman Catholic " Basilica of St. Paul," Built by Father Gaultier in 1841, after which the City

Was Named

Painted by H. W. Wack, after a drawing by R. O Sweeney of Saint Paul, 1852.

View from Barn Bluff ....

View from Red Wing, Looking South .

The Author's " Baden Powell " Canoe . The Maiden Rock, Lake Pepin .

Lake Pepin, from Top of Maiden Rock

Photograph by E. J. Hall, Oak Park, 111.

Lake Pepin, Looking North from Point No Point

PAGE

168 170

174 174 176 176 xii Illustrations

PAGE

Great Spirit Bluff, near Alma, Wisconsin . . . 182 Photograph by E. J. Hall, Oak Park, 111.

Fountain City 184

Photograph by E. J. Hall, Oak Park, 111.

The City of Winona, Minnesota 186

Photograph by E. J. Hall, Oak Park, 111.

" The Sugar Loaf," near Winona 188

Trempealeau 188

Minnehaha's Grave, near De Soto .... 190 Photograph by E. J. Hall, Oak Park, 111,

The City of Dubuque, Iowa 192

Photograph by E. J. Hall, Oak Park, 111.

A View of Nauvoo, Illinois, from a Photograph Taken

FROM Bluff Park, Showing Government Canal . 194 (Copyright by Goulty, Nauvoo, 111.)

A Cypress Swamp on the Mississippi, near New

Orleans 196

Old Absinthe House, New Orleans .... 198

The Old State House at Baton Rouge, Burned during

the Civil War 198

The House Built for the Emperor Napoleon . . 200

(Map supplied by the Minnesota Historical Society.)

Itasca State Lodge 206

Birdseye View of Itasca Basin 206

Minnesota Historical Society Collection.

Illustrations xili

PAGE

The Mississippi at the Head of the Passes . . , 218

The Mouth op South Pass, Showing Eads Jetties . 220

Jetties at the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi

River 222

Cotton Staves and Steamboats at the Levee, New

Orleans . . 226

(Courtesy of M. B. Trezevant.)

Outline Map of the United States, Showing the Mississippi AND ITS Watershed 232

Keokuk 236

From a daguerreotype, 1847.

Battle Hollow, the Scene of Black Hawk's Defeat 238 Photograph by E. J. Hall, Oak Park, 111.

Muk-a-tah-mish-o-kah-kack (The Black Hawk) . 240 From Catlin.

Point-a-la-Hache 264

The "Crescent" at New Orleans (Mississippi 100

Feet Deep) 266

(Courtesy of M. B. Trezevant.)

Ursuline Convent, below New Orleans. (Showing

High Wharf, Outside Levee) 268

General Pemberton's Headquarters, Vicksburg . . 274

St. Anthony Fall, 1910 284

The City of Minneapolis, from the Eastern Bank . 286 xiv Illustrations

PACK

Fort Snelling, 1908 288

(Copyright, 1908, by T. W. Ingersoll.)

Saint Paul, from Mississippi Bridge .... 290 (Copyright, 1908, by T. W. Ingersoll.)

The Minnesota State Capitol, Saint Paul . . . 292 (Copyright, 1909, by T. W. Ingersoll.)

Saint Louis from the River during the Visit of

President Taft 294

The City of Memphis 296

From a water-color painting by F. T. Anderson.

L'Union Francaise, New Orleans 298

Moss-Covered Oak, Audubon Park, New Orleans . 298

A Typical Corner 300

Cafe des Artists 300

The Cathedral of St. Louis 302

The Monk's Court (Cathedral on the Right) . . 302

South Pass, Rear Range Lighthouse .... 304

The Tomb of Dominique You, the Pirate Hero of

Chalmette 304

Foreword

THE Mississippi was named " The Father of Running Waters" by natives dwelHng amid the forests of its vast valley who knew not of other great rivers upon earth. Those sponsors were not far wrong. In length, it is exceeded only by the Nile; in volume, by the Amazon.

Geographically, it divides, almost equally, the broad territory of the United States of America. It is the proudest, most valued natural possession of the American people: it is revered next to American liberty! Its banks are scenes of traditional and authenticated romance. Its source has been a dreamland for poets; its delta a haven of buccaneers and a rallying ground for worthier heroes.

In American histoiy, it maintains leadership over all other rivers, although many of them are nearer to European discovery and settlement. In finance, its good name was tarnished by Spanish and French schemers: but, self-reliant by nature, the majestic river redeemed itself as a highway for the internal development of a Republic of free men. Its commerce has builded a score of populous cities, has made hundreds of millionaires, and has suggested vast railway systems that, for a score of years, took the burden of traffic from its bosom. But the development of the country has exceeded the capacity of man to build railways and to equip them. Throughout the Mississippi y xvi Foreword

valley confessed congestion exists. Deep waterways are planned that will re-establish the majesty of The River and its tributaries. The Mississippi returns to its own!

In religion, the earliest missionaries of the Holy Faith in North America followed its watery way.

In war, the Mississippi always has had a full share, ■ — savage against savage, white against red, and white against white ! As an epilogue to the final conflict with Great Britain, a battle was fought near its mouth, weeks after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, that guaranteed title to the mammoth Louisiana Purchase. Early in the Civil War, this river became the western " deadline " for revolt against Federal authority. From Saint Louis and from the Gulf of Mexico, wedges of assault were driven southward and northward into the vitals of the Confederacy. Hereafter, it is a bond that must always bind together the faggot of States.

Such a theme is worthy of a wondersmith in words. < It deserves the sacrifice of a lifetime's patience and research. The writer had hoped that a worthier hand would give to the task a career and a fortune. His only reason for undertaking this work, amidst the demands of an exacting profession, is that since he traversed the Mississippi's uttermost length, that river has been to him an enthusiasm. Dwellers along its banks have become his friends and associates ; mere towns when first known to him have grown into prosperous cities.

During these lengthening years, the mighty liver's irresistible flood has pursued its ceaseless journey to the sea, indifferent to the appreciation of man.

Julius Chambers.

Lotos Club, New York City, 1910.

CHAPTER I The Era of Fable

HISTORY begins with an interrogation mark. An Age of Fable has always preceded the Age of Fact. The mystery regarding the first Spaniard who saw the mouth of the Mississippi River never can be cleared, unless credible records be unearthed in the Royal Library at Madrid that will explain the sources of information drawn upon for " The Admiral's Map," with which the name of Christopher Columbus is associated. This " Admiral's Map " is the earliest known drawing upon which are set down the partly enclosed waters to-day described as the Gulf of Mexico, and the three-pronged delta of a mighty river entering that Gulf from the northward. This map, so intimately identified with Columbus, receives its chief importance, despite many inaccuracies of detail, from the fact that the three-mouthed delta is located notably near the point at which the Mississippi delivers its flood of waters to the sea. Corroborative evidence of the accuracy of the original discoverer, whoever he may have been, exists in the indisputable fact that no other river's embrochure along the entire Gulf coast presents similar peculiarities. The map is veritable, — one of the geographical treasures of this world; — but it was not engraved until 1507, or actually published until 1513, when it appeared as an illustration in a Spanish translation of the " Almagest " of Claudius Ptolemaeus, an Alexandrian astronomer-geographer of the early part of the second century a.d. The second book of the remarkable work of Ptolemaeus deals with problems connected with determination of the obliquitj^ of the sphere. Not only did this Egyptian believe that the planets and stars revolved around the earth, but he attempted a calculation of the circumference of this globe! A study of this work, many years previously, had warranted Columbus in assummg that the distance from the west coast of Europe to the east coast of Asia was only two thirds of the actual circumference of the earth. Jebb is authority for the statement that the entire theory of Columbus, wliich led to the discovery of America, was due to the writings and calculations of this Egyptian scientist. Such is the debt of America to Egypt that never has been honoured.

An examination of this sketch chart — for it cannot claim to be more — discloses near the western extremity of the large gulf that stretches westward from the Florida peninsula an unmistakable delta, extending far into the sea and having three distinct mouths, through which a river of unusual volume discharges its waters. The location and shape of Mobile Bay, with its two rivers, are also accurately placed. Whether the chart was drawn from hearsay, or was the fruit of Columbus's actual vision, during his fourth and last voyage, cannot be positively decided. But the sources of Columbus's information are not so obscure as might be supposed. On his second voyage, he coasted the south side of Cuba, assumed by him to be a peninsula of Asia, and discovered Jamaica. That was in the

The Era of Fable 5

summer of 1494. On his third voyage, he kept farther south and, on July 31, 1498, went ashore at Trinidad, following up this discovery by landing upon the continent of South America. The Cabots had already visited North America. On his way home, Columbus reached Santo Domingo, where he was seized and sent to Spain in chains.

The importance of the fourth voyage of Columbus, as associated with the famous " Admiral's Map," cannot be overestimated. Leaving Spain in March, 1502, he called at Santo Domingo only long enough to reprovision and sailed thence to Central America, discovering Honduras on July 30th of that year. The most credible record of that voyage contains little definite information regarding the route by which the explorer reached the Central American coast. If he passed through the Strait of Florida and followed the coast line to the north and west, the " Admiral's Map " is readily accounted for, because he must have sighted the peculiar formation of alluvial soil that carries the Mississippi's flood far into the Gulf of Mexico. After landing at some point on the coast of Honduras, Columbus followed the shore line southward as far as Panama, and then sailed homeward by way of Jamaica. This is matter of record. It has been surmised that Columbus obtained the information upon which this chart was drawn from daring Spanish adventurers at Jamaica, — men who, at that time, had explored the islands of the Caribbean Sea and most of the coast of the vast land-and-island-enclosed gulf to the northward.

Serious attempts have been made by modern savants to link the name of Americus Vespucius to the Mississippi delta; but their arguments have not been conclusive. Vespucius was Columbus's evil genius: he was an Italian, hailing from Florence, as Columbus did from Genoa. He was a member of the commercial house at Seville that outfitted Columbus's third voyage. His claim that he was absent from Spain between May, 1497, and October, 1498, engaged in a voyage of discovery, is hotly contested and apparently controvened by authenticated records of his business activities in Seville during much of that time. Whether the assertions of Vespucius were true or false, he stole much of Columbus's glory, and, through the aid of German geographical publishers, who first suggested that the continent be named after " its discoverer," he achieved the immortality his name enjoj'^s. Toward the close of the nineteenth century, he found an able defender in Count F. A. de Varnhagen, one time Ambassador of Brazil to Portugal, who made many original researches at Seville into the career of Vespucius. His final conclusions were published in 1874. Count de Varnhagen contends that the so-called first voyage of Vespucius, previously discredited, actually occurred in 1497-98; but that it was made to North America and not to any place south of Honduras. On his return voyage, he followed the coast northward and eastward as far as some " undetermined port which he described as ' the finest in the world,' whence he sailed to the Bermuda Islands and thence home." The intricate navigation suggested by this latest eulogist of Vespucius through the Bahamas or, in the Gulf Stream, up the Florida coast, is not creditable to his comprehension of navigation at the close of the fifteenth century.^ 1 Count de Varnhagen has this to say regarding " The Admiral's

The Era of Fable 7

The status of the next claimant is even more hazy than that of the Florentine ship-chandler of Seville. Francisco de Garay, Governor of Jamaica, made a report to the Crown (published at Burgos, 1521), announcing the discovery of Yucatan and expressing a determination " to fit out, at his own expense, four ships, with good pilots, and to give the command to Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda, with the object of seeking some gulf or strait in the mainland towards [!] Florida." The meaning of this obscure phrasing is that the Governor of Jamaica believed, as did many other people, that a navigable strait, to be found somewhere, led through the continent to the sea that washed the shores of Asia. He hoped to find it. This report of Francisco de Garay bears date of 1519. The hopedfor channel to Cathay was not found, although Pineda was absent eight or nine months; but the commander reported that he " had entered a large bay, into which emptied a large river." This has been assumed to have been Mobile Bay. He declared the mainland to be thickly inhabited, adding that, after ascending the river sixteen miles, he had " discovered forty villages of natives." These he located in the Province of Amichel, " a good land, peaceful, healthy, and provided with abundance of fruits." Nothing is said about any obstacles to navigation. In another part of the report, Pineda describes the careening of his vessels " upon a sandy beach, to clean their hulls," but whether this occurred at Mobile Bay or elsewhere is not made clear. Recent researches conducted by Mr. Clarence B. Moore

Map " : " It was compiled from much earlier ones, the information derived from various sources. * The River of Palms/ shown on that map, was intended to represent the Mississippi."

appear to prove conclusively that Pineda visited Mobile Bay, which has two rivers, instead of one, flowing into it. The shores of this land-locked harbour contain many evidences of early Indian villages. In fact, no other port of entry on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico answers to the condition set down by Pineda. This Spanish commander may have passed the mouth of the Mississippi but the claim that he sailed up that river two hundred miles, or to the present site of Baton Rouge, is so discredited as to be dismissed. If he ever saw the Mississippi, he reached it through Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas. In that event, Mr. Moore's theories go by the board.

The chief historical importance of this report of Francisco de Garay centres in the statement that Pineda " encountered Hernan Cortes, who had already occupied Vera Cruz." Pineda's description of the natives also casts a doubt upon his credibility. He says: " Their stature varied in different provinces. In some, we saw gigantic people; in others, men of ordinary stature, and in still other places mere pigmies."

It is highly probable that Hernan Cortes first accurately charted the Mississippi mouth, as his map gives it the name of " Arrestiosos " ; but the voyage of Pineda must be immortal because it fixed the boundary of the Western sea between Florida on the east and what is now Mexico on the west. Cortes completed the superficial exploration of Columbus by proving the nonexistence of any channel through which vessels could pass to Asia.

Francisco de Garay sent out another expedition in 1528 with the avowed purpose of conquering and an-

0) >-< ino-piod

The Era of Fable 9

nexing the provinces of the mainland extending from the river Palmas — which may have been the Rio Grande — to the Cape of Florida. This expedition was entrusted to Panfilo de Narvaez, to whom was given the title of " Governor of Florida, Rio de Palmas, and Espiritu Santo." This undertaking had a most unfortunate termination. When nearing the mouth of the Mississippi, they discovered the influx of fresh water but were blown out to sea and were forced to land on what they assumed to be the western coast of Florida. After a council had been held, the main body under Narvaez's command was ordered to march along the coast "until it reached a harbour; and the ships carrying the other members of the troop were to sail in a like direction, until they arrived at the harbour sought for." The land and sea forces never were reunited. The sufferings of the men afoot, among the swamps and rank vegetation of the coast, were terrible. The land forces reached Apalache, an Indian town believed to have been near the present site of Tallahassee. Thence they proceeded to the coast but nothing could be seen or heard of their ships. They set about building boats but as they had only one carpenter among them and were without tools, they erected a forge, making a bellows from horses' hides, and converted their spurs, stirrups, and other iron implements into axes, chisels, and other tools. Hair from the manes and tails of their slain horses was converted into rigging. Stones served for anchors; sails were made from their own shirts. Five vessels are said to have been completed in forty-eight days. Into each of these fifty men were crowded, with such provisions as they could obtain. They sailed on September 22, lo The Mississippi

1528, following the coast westwardly " until the latter part of October," when they made a landing but were attacked by the natives and lost two of their men, — a fact afterwards reported by Hernando de Soto. This landing is supposed to have been near the present site of Pensacola. The expedition at once put to sea again and the only chronicle extant of the immediate happenings is found in Oviedo's version of a letter written nine years later by one of the only two survivors (the original text does not exist), as follows:

And our people went two more days, at the end of which the boat in which the treasurer was arrived at a point made by the coast, behind which was a river that flowed broad and swollen from freshet; a little behind, the boat of the governor and the others anchored at some islands near by, and the treasurer went to them and made known the discovery of the river. As they found no wood with which to parch the maize they had been eating raw for two days, they agreed to enter the river, of which they took up fresh water in the sea; and on going near to it, the violence of the current at the entrance did not permit them to gain the land. While working to get to it the wind sprang up in the north, and by it and the strong current they were put out more to sea. And they sailed that night and the next day following up to night time, when they found themselves in three fathoms depth, and seeing that evening many smokes on the coast, they did not dare to laud in the night time, and anchored.

The "Relation" sent by Nunez Cadeza de Vaca, described as " the treasurer," to Emperor Charles V. the same year differs in some respects. Here is its text:

We sailed that day until the middle of the afternoon, when my boat, which was first, discovered a point made by the land, and against a cape opposite passed a broad river. I cast anchor near a little island forming the point, to await

The Era of Fable n

the arrival of the other boats. The Governor did not choose to come up, and entered a bay near by in which were a great many islets. We came together there and took fresh water from the sea, the stream entering it in freshet. To parch some of the maize we brought with us, since we had eaten it raw for two days, we went on an island, but finding no wood, we agreed to go to the river beyond the point, one league off. By no effort could we get there, so violent was the current on the way, which drove us out while we contended and strove to gain the land. The north wind which came from the shore began to blow so strongly that it forced us to sea without our being able to overcome it. We sounded half a league out, and found with thirty fathoms, we could not get bottom; but we were unable to satisfy ourselves that the current was the cause of the failure. Toiling in this manner to fetch the land, we navigated three days, and at the end of this time, a little before the sun rose, we saw smoke in several places along the shore. Attempting to reach them, we found ourselves in three fathoms of water.

It is not mere guesswork to conclude that the mouth of this river which De Vaca could not enter with his shallow boats was some other stream than the Mississippi. Exactly where he touched must be a matter of surmise, because it may have been any river outlet along the coast of what is now Texas.

With this voyage, we close the conjectural period of Mississippi River discovery, taking up in the next chapter the real hero of the history of the mighty river, Hernando de Soto, Adelantado de Florida, and Conquistador.

CHAPTER II Dawn of the Era of Credibility

DEALING with fable or with fact, the distinction of original discovery of " The Father of Running Waters " must be accorded to the Spaniards. They were not only first to gaze upon the Mississippi, but, on their return to Europe, first to make it known to the civilised world of their day. The name of the hardy adventurer who first sighted the three-pronged delta never will be known, but he was a Spaniard.

X Baton Ttourr^^^yX^l

Series of Lakes, supposed route of Pineda, entering Mississippi in 15 19 and of Moscoso leaving it in 1543

"It is a remarkable feature in the history of the Mississippi," says Schoolcraft, " that it has been ' discovered ' in sections, separated by long intervals of time." When we remember that the river is nearly three thousand miles in length, almost dividing a great continent, nothing else was to have been expected.

Dawn of the Era of Credibility 13

Quest for gold brought adventurers to the mouth of the mighty stream, while explorations of the northwest were principally undertaken in the name of religion. Some explorations were not so religious as thej^ claimed to be, because a thrifty spirit of commercialism characterised the conduct of their leaders.

The highly coloured tales of Cabeza de Vaca inspired the formation and despatch of the largest expedition that ever set sail for the American world. A soldier of fortune, Hernando de Soto was born at OBadajos in 1500 or 1501, and when fourteen years of age, went to Darien with Pedrarias. He is heard of ten years later in Nicaragua, with Cordoba. In the spring of 1532, he joined Pizarro with reinforcements at the Gulf of Guayaquil and took a prominent part in the conquest of Peru. He returned to Spain, in 1536, loaded with honours and loot. The following year, Charles V. appointed this daring adventurer Governor of Cuba and Florida, adding special instructions to explore the latter country. If we may believe the Relation of a Gentleman of the Town of Elvas, written in Portuguese but not printed in English until 1686, the flower of the Spanish nobility joined that expedition. Of the six hundred Spaniards and Portuguese noblemen " in doubtlets and cassocks of silk " every man was intent on winning glory and gaining riches. The entire expedition, when it finally sailed from Havana, is said to have numbered nine thousand men, including officers, sailors, and fighting men. This statement is evidently erroneous because nine ships sufficed to carry the invaders. Soto's total equipment was probably about nine hundred and fifty men, half of whom were arrayed in silk or satin. The little squadron sailed from San Lucar in April, 1538, and after a year in Cuba, left Havana (May 12, 1539) for Tampa Bay, where a landing was made.

The ships were sent back to Havana, with orders to return to a designated place upon the northern coast of the Gulf. The march of Soto during the next three years took him around the top of the Gulf, across territory that is now Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. He made a great circuit to the northward that possibly carried him into Georgia, the Carolinas, and eastern Tennessee. That is conjectural, however; but it is known that he descended the Alabama River to Mobile Bay. There he had a fierce engagement with the natives (October, 1540). Thence, he pushed north-westward through Mississippi and wintered on the Yazoo River, near to the greater river but unconscious of its proximity. A severe battle with the Indians occurred at this point. (This same ground was fought over by Grant and Sherman during the Civil War, prior to the siege of Vicksburg.) Soto reached the Mississippi at Chickasaw Bluffs, May 8, 1541, old style, the exact locality of Sherman's defeat in 1863. Soto crossed the Mississippi on May 15th, by what means is not clear, for the river is more than a mile wide at that point and the spring floods must have rendered its current very rapid. He explored the region west of the river as far north as the Missouri and south to the Red River. He did not find the fabulous stores of gold he had expected to discover. His followers were discouraged; two hundred and fifty of them had died of fevers or wounds received in battle. He returned to the Mississippi again, at the mouth of the Red River, on April 17, 1542, fell ill of malarial fever, and after appointing

Dawn of the Era of Credibility 15

Luis de Moscoso (generally written Luys Moscoso) his successor, Hernando de Soto died. To maintain the fable of Soto's divine attributes, his body was hidden in a hut for several days and then buried in the darkness of night. But the natives discovered the grave and gathered about it. JNIoscoso became fearful the Indians might disinter the body; removing it from the grave, he sunk it, heavily weighted, in the middle of the great river with which the name of the Conquistador for ever will be associated. According to "A Gentleman of Elvas," the only chronicler who accompanied the expedition and whose name never will be known, Soto died on May 21st.

The will of Hernando de Soto, made in San Cristobal of the Havana, May 10, 1539, and sent back to Spain, was found at Seville among the papers in the suit of Isabel de Bobadilla, his widow, against Hernan Ponce de Leon, Soto's partner and a co-executor of the estate under the will. It is a long document, gorged with religion, and makes many bequests. Soto directed that his body be buried in the church at Xeres, near Badajos, — a wish that never was realised.