Show A herd of pigs saw america firse firof when they toured with de soto years ago four hundred years ago this year a herd of pigs went on a see america first tour unlike later tourists who go because they want to these early tourists went because they had to they were driven and they probably went none noab too willingly be that as it may the record of their cross country journey from the everglades in florida to the ozarks in arkansas through a thousand wild and hostile miles of forest prairie mountain flood swamp snow and summer heat is one of the most amazing in american history in 1539 hernando Hera ando de soto who had been made governor of cuba so that he might use that island as a base of operations in conquering and colonizing florida arrived in tampa bay with nine vessels on board were odd soldiers horses and 13 hogs the latter being for the use of the colonists he planned to establish on the F lorida florida peninsula or beyond heading northward from the bay de sotos expedition marched slowly onward in an amazing arc of zigzags which resulted in its touching at least seven and perhaps 11 of our present southern states traversing mountains and the great mississippi river before the weary survivors riding in boats of their own wilderness manufacture and clad principally in the skins of wild animals were finally to reach safety in mexico four years later an amazing sight at the start of the expedition in florida and georgia apparently on into both the caro carolinas linas and seemingly over the mountains to somewhere near chattanooga the moving column must have been an amazing sight first came the armored cavalry in its glittering splendor behind limped the infantry sore alike from battles and blisters while somewhere between or around the two scampered a squealing reluctant treasure of pork the rapidly multiplying herd of hogs and its herders gerders and from the hilltops and forests along the way peered savage eyes that had never before behold beheld horses or pigs or firearms or white skins and that sometimes the rider and his horse together as a single shining animal sometimes the party was well fed by friendly or f lightened frightened indians sometimes it was h half alf starved one such occasion seemingly somewhere in georgia finally compelling apparently the first dressing and serving of pork in the present continental area of the united states 1540 even then however each man w was as allowed only half a pound of meat per day to sustain him until more grain nuts or roots were found for in general the rapidly growing reserve of pork was still being saved with infinite labor for the colony that de soto hoped eventually to found from the chattanooga region thi the expedition apparently marched southwest into central alabama then northwestward across the state of mississippi in each of these sections a desperate battle was fought with the red men whose teeming straw village the spaniards set afire in each case winter of 1540 41 j but in the end the invaders lost in the flames not only a collection of pearls the only riches so far obtainable tai but also most of their ammunition saddles and clothing and many horses horse sand and all but of the hogs the herd hd had recently numbered after a 30 day delay for building boats to cross the mississippi the expedition began a year of wandering in arkansas perhaps entering missouri and oklahoma too finally returning to the banks of the mississippi with the plan of building ships to return to cuba for reinforcements here de soto died however may 1542 three years after the landing at tampa and the hog herd now increased to was auctioned off among his men who thus ate pork much more often but started observing rel religious ivious holida holiday ysl sl de sotos successor moscoso at first abandoned the plan of a voyage by sea in favor of the supposedly easier land march to new spain mexico the sum 4 W t HERNANDO DE SOTO mer was therefore spent in a westward trek which apparently reached halfway across northern texas but the approach ot of autumn on the seemingly limitless texas plains sent them trudging back to the mississippi to begin building ships they used the shawls of the indian women for sails and turned into spikes and anchors their firearms their captives chains and such bits and stirrups as remained the remaining maini ng hogs and most of the surviving horses were turned into meat tor for the voyage A after ftera a desperate 16 day battle with hostile river indians in their much swifter canoes and after s six ix weeks of feeling their way a around I 1 the texas coast hairy beings clothed and shod in deerskin and claiming once to have been spaniards reached the shelter and welcome of a spanish settlement on the panuco river near near thi the site of modern nTa tampico mp co among all the homes of gred great americans which have been preserved e as historic shrines mon mantl ati cello Is unique it not only re fleets the personality of the man who lived in wand it and loved it so much but it Is a monument which Thomas Jefferson literally erected to himself he himself selected its site a wooded peak at which he as ayoung man gazed long and often across the rivanna river fro from i m his boyhood home at SM shadwell adwell he determined to establish his home on the little mountain some day upon the death of his father ahe h e inherited the landed esta estate to which lay along both sides of the rivanna river and in 1770 he began clearing the summit and preparing pi e for building but there was much to do before actual construction could be begun the whole apex of the mountain had to be removed when this was done there was left an elip elliptical plane upon which the buildings were to be located the place w was as named monticello meaning in italian little mountain in the fall of 1770 the dwelling at shadwell burned so that building began in earnest at monticello beginning the establish ment jentof 01 ol an entirely new n homestead orne upon this wild and almost inaccessible site but his vision the owner ignored the much easier and cheaper process of replacing the old dwelling where were still the other numerous buildings that were then essential to a plantation barns mills slave quarters and storage houses of many kinds self made architect at that time there were virtually no architects in the country and few skilled workers in the building crafts so jefferson took up the study of architecture and architectural drawing guided by his inherent appreciation of the essential elements of fine construction st he taught himself so well that he became becam e his count rys ou outstanding anding architect of the period he made vast numbers of drawings for his home hom e and worked out the last de details t alls for every part of the structure more than that he selected the stone and timber used in the structure looked after the con st ruction of the brick and the nails made by his own servants devised advanced and ingenious contrivances for comfort and convenience ven veni lence ence designed the decoration of the interior and personally selected the furnishings and ornaments he not only planned b but ut gave personal supervision to the laying out of the various buildings on the estate the gardens the walks and the roadways roadway s though architecture was only a hobby chobby with jefferson today he is acclaimed a great architect the exterior of monticello is in the doric order of architecture the interior is in the ionic style A portico the full height of the house with stone pillars and steps projects 25 feet it is a brick mansion by feet with white pillars cornices cornicks cor nices and balustrades surmounted by a dome standing in the midst of a lawn overlooking river woodlands and fertile valley with a view of mountains to the west and of long extending coastal plains to the east hidden staircases the appearance is of one story and entering the hall one is still deceived for jefferson disliked s staircases tair cases to such an extent that he shut them all up in closets the hall shows only a gallery on which mitch the bedrooms open in the dome itself jefferson planned a billiard room but a law was passed by th the state estate before it was completed forbidding the game and so it was left in an unfinished state the wings of the house end in octagonal projections the northern northern 0 one ne containing the dining room tea room and two guest rooms the southern forming jeffersons private suite sitting room libra bedroom under the dome on the west is the great drawing room famous borits flooring of native woods and its pillared portico most notable of the architectural features of the house is the hiding away of all signs of kitchen laundry stable and the many workshops necessary on a plantation of that period when almost every article in daily use was manufactured on the estate by servants and sl slaves ayes the sharp declivity odthe of the mountain made it possible to have these offices all at a lower level than the house A tunnel from the basement leads right and left to one story pavilions used bythe by the slaves by this contrivance dishwashers cooks butlers maids troops of slaves with wood for fires cans of ashes palls of ho or cold water did dia their work without disturbing the tranquillity ot of the family and their guests an oddity contrived by jefferson is a dumbwaiter dumb waiter for hoi hoisting wine from the cellar with a capacity of but one bottle monticello undoubtedly the finest mansion in that tha t section of virginia cost kostits co its owner according to 0 his account books about the i ornan ornamental stone was aught brought from philadelphia to richmond by water and hauled from richmond in carts |