The History of Puerto Rico - From the Spanish Discovery to the American Occupation by R.A. Van Middeldyk
page 78 of 310 (25%)
page 78 of 310 (25%)
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* * * * * The first news of the wonderful achievements of Cortez in Mexico reached San Juan in 1520, and stirred the old adventurer Ponce to renewed action. On February 10, 1521, he wrote to the emperor: "I discovered Florida and some other small islands at my own expense, and now I am going to settle them with plenty of men and two ships, and I am going to explore the coast, to see if it compares with the lands (Cuba) discovered by Velasquez. I will leave here in four or five days, and beg your Majesty to favor me, so that I may be enabled to carry out this great enterprise." Accordingly, he left the port of Aguáda on the 26th of the same month with two ships, well provided with all that was necessary for conquest. But the captain's star of fortune was waning. He had a stormy passage, and when he and his men landed they met with such fierce resistance from the natives that after several encounters and the loss of many men, Ponce himself being seriously wounded, they were forced to reembark. Feeling that his end was approaching, the captain did not return to San Juan, but sought a refuge in Puerto Principe, where he died. One of his ships found its way to Vera Cruz, where its stores of arms and ammunition came as a welcome accession to those of Cortez. The emperor bestowed the father's title of Adelantado of Florida and Bemini on his son, and the remains of the intrepid adventurer, who had |
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