DeSoto's search for a route to China became apparent by
following his trail to Lake Michigan. He realized that
a great circle of Earth, drawn from Havana to China, ran up America's Great
River to the Indians' northern sea. On his way there, DeSoto pillaged villages for food and valuables in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Alabama. Indians served as guides. He wintered in Tennessee,
then headed through Kentucky and Indiana. Still following Indian trails, his scouts found the
"sea" at Chicago, but in it no salt or ocean tides. With that news, DeSoto retreated through Illinois and Missouri to avoid the villages his army contaminated on their way north. He died in Arkansas; his people fled through Louisiana and Texas.
Illustrated, Detailed Version of this Article |
