himself master of Mexico. This was most important; for the conquest of
Mexico turned the attention of the Spaniards from our country for many
years, and finally led to the exploration of the Southwest. But the
first explorers of what is now the United States came from Cuba in 1528.

[Illustration: Map of 1530, Sloane MS.[1]]

[Footnote 1: Notice that the two continents begin to take shape, and
that as the result of Magellan's voyage is not generally known, North
America is placed very near to Java.]

In that year Narvaez (nar-vah-eth), excited by Pineda's accounts of the
Mississippi Indians and their golden ornaments, set forth with 400 men
to conquer the north coast of the Gulf of Mexico. At Apalachee Bay he
landed, and made a raid inland. On returning to the shore, he missed his
ships, and after traveling westward on foot for a month, built five rude
vessels, and once more put to sea. For six weeks the little fleet hugged
the shore, till it came to the mouth of the Mississippi, where two of
the boats were upset and Narvaez was drowned. The rest reached the coast
of Texas in safety. But famine and the tomahawk soon reduced the number
of the survivors to four. These were captured by bands of wandering
Indians, were carried over eastern Texas and western Louisiana, till,
after many strange adventures and vicissitudes, they met beyond the
Sabine River.[1] Protected by the fame they had won for sorcery, and led
by one Cabeza de Vaca, they now wandered westward to the Rio Grande[2]
(ree'-o grahn'-da) and on by Chihuahua (chee-wah'-wah) and Sonora to the
Gulf of California, and by this to Culiacan, a town near the west coast
of Mexico, which they reached in 1536. They had crossed the continent.

[Footnote 1: Now the western boundary of Louisiana.]