Here was glory; here was fortune. The poor debtor had become a great discoverer. Before his eyes spread a mighty ocean, its waves beating on the shore. He hurried with his men down the mountain sides to this shining sea, and raised on its shores the great banner of Spain. And soon after he set sail on its waters for Peru, the land of gold. But he did not get very far, for the stormy weather drove him back.
Poor Balboa! he was to win fame, but not fortune, and his debts were never to be paid. A jealous Spanish governor seized him, condemned him as a traitor, and had his head cut off in the market place. And so ended Balboa's dream of gold and glory. I could tell you of other wonderful adventures in these new lands. There is the story of Cortez, who found the great kingdom of Mexico, and conquered it with a few hundred Spaniards in armor of steel. And there is the story of Pizarro, who sailed to Peru, Balboa's land of gold, and won it for Spain, and sent home tons of silver and gold. But these stories have nothing to do with the history of the United States, so we must pass them by and go back to the early days of the country in which we dwell.
The first Spaniard to set foot on what is now the United States was an old man named Ponce de Leon, who was governor of Porto Rico. If he had lived until now he would have been on our soil while on that island, for it now belongs to the United States. But no one had dreamed of our great republic four hundred years ago.
At that time there was a fable which many believed, which said that somewhere in Asia was a wonderful Fountain of Youth. It was thought that everybody who bathed in its waters would grow young again. An old man in a moment would become as fresh and strong as a boy. De Leon wanted youth more than he did gold, and like all men at that time he thought the land he was in was part of Asia, and might contain the Fountain of Youth. He asked the Indians if they knew of such a magic spring. The red men, who wanted to get rid of the Spaniards, by whom they had been cruelly treated, pointed to the northwest.
So, in the year 1513, old Ponce de Leon took ship and sailed away in search of the magic spring. And not many days passed before, on Easter Sunday, he saw before him a land so bright with flowers that he named it "Flowery Easter." It is still called Florida, the Spanish word for "flowery."