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Show De Solo's Solos Soto's Sotos ' Futile Quest for Gold GoldBrousht GoldBrought Brousht Brought Exploration E\.ploration E.ploration E .ploration ploration " \ . of Alkansas l1.ans l1ans . s sI I Arkansas was one of the earliest earliestI earliestof earliestof I I of the M 1\1 1 \ ssissippi SSISSlppl states to be ex explored explored plored The first \ wh h te man to totouch totouch touch Arkansas soil was Hernando Her Hernando nando de Soto the Spanish Spamsh ex explorer explorer plorer who d scovered the M 111 ssls sslsSlppl ssissippi Slppl river In May 1541 he came cameto cameto to a river so broad that he called calledit It in Spanish the R o 0 Grande or orgreat orgreat great river The Indian name forthe for forthe the stream Meschacebe father fatherof fatherof of vaters has come do vn to us usho usho ho vever as M ssiss ppi ppl De Soto Sotocrossed Sotocrossed crossed the river to the Arkansas Arkansasside Arkansasside ArkansassideFor side sideFor For nearly a year the last year yearof yearof of his life De Soto traveled over overhat overwhat \\hat hat \ is no v Arkansas through a avast avast vast wilderness inhabited mhablted by wid widanimals w Idanimals animals and equally wild savages savagesBegmmng savagesBeginning Begmmng near the mouth of the theVh theWh \Vh Vh \ te river De Soto went up the theI thewestern thewestern I western shore of the M ss ssippibeyond SSlppl SSlpplI SSlpplbeyond I beyond the mouth of the St Franc s sriver sriver river then journeyed southest south \est est \ vestuntil estuntil until he came to the Arkansas rlv rlver nver er There is a trad tion tlOn that ) he Ie \ estI as asdefeated asdefeated I defeated in a battle with the In Indans Indans dans nearhere near where \\here here \ Jacksonport no v vstands I I Istands stands and that he was compelled compelledto to turn north aga nLearmng n nLearning compelledI I Learning Learmng that there were moun mounta I Ita ta ns to the northwest he contmucd contmucdtoward continuedtoward toward northeast Arkansas where wherehe wherehe he hoped to fnd gold travelmg travelmgthrough travelingthrough through swamps and dense torests for forests ests and cross ng mounta n stre3ms stre3msD streamsD D sappomted in 10 not find ng gold he turnedsouth turned south passed over the Bos Boston Boston ton mountains mountams cro sed the Arkan Arkansas Arkansas sas river near Dardanelle Rock and andcame andcame came into mto the land of the Caas CaasHere CaasHere ; ) Here De Soto tell fell seriously ill III and anda a friendly Indian chief brought h m mto I to a lake of ver > ) hot water whel whelhe I he was healed Th s lake was wasdoubtless wasdoubtless doubtless the no v famous Hot HotSprmgs HotSprings HotSpringsOn Sprmgs SprmgsOn On Ouachita river near the thesprmgs thesprings sprmgs De Soto and his party found foundsalt foundsalt salt which the Ind ans gathered and andsold andsold andI I sold to their ne ghbors The ex explorers explorers plorers spent the wi ter of 1541 a asevere asevere severe one in m an Ind an village on onthe the Ouachita De Soto s faithful talthful In interpreter aI I terpreter Juan Ortiz Ortlz died Dls Dlsheartened Disheartened heartened by not find ng gold ai al d dlosing losmg so many of his men De Soto Sotoresumed Sotoresumed ' resumed his journey south in m the thespr ' spr ng of 1542 He folio ved U e OUa OUach Ouach ch ta to the Red river and thenwent then thenwent L went downstream to the M ss SSlp SSlppi ssippi pi : Exposure Ixposure brought on a tever teverand feverand and De Soto d ed his SurvIVors SurvIVorsburying survivorsburying ' burying him in lD the great river he hehad hehad ' had d scoveredSpa scovered Spa n profited little htUe by the e\ploratlons e ploratlons C\ C \ . Cploratlons \ ploratlons of De Soto Through her hernegligence hernegligence valleyhad Ileyhad negligence the Mississ ppi ppl va Iley had remained rcmamed unsettled tor for nearly nearlya a century and a half But wh Ie IeSpam IeSpain Spam slept , , the Frenchwere French were active activeAfter activeAfter After securm securing the lands border ng ngon ngon on Francehad the St Lawrence ri\er ri er rher rh \ er France Francehad theIV had pushed southyard south vard yard along the theV IV ssissippi sSlsslppl - r - M- M Mft ? - ' = ft ' - / " } - ; / ' . " - ' lK l K , ; ; NJ ; I lI A/ A / 'f f ' ( . f7fJt ' ! ; : < \ 13 : jft T < & # 1 l > 'Wf1jp Wf1jp ! , . Ar A'Wf1jp _ . " ' " . \ , ; . . J ' 1r $ 1'l 1l ' " 't t ' . ' 4 r " , . t tJt \Jt Jt \ " , .t t _ N . i . f " ' : " , : .M M . ; . , t ; 1J > & . , { : ' . . . _ ' " . . ' .y y . 7 7"I . , . -"I "I I - " _ " < ! . 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