"I have little to get ready," laughed Hernando de Soto when he learned he was to go to the Indies.  "I have nothing but courage and a sword."

Courage and a sword were just what was needed in the New World as De Soto soon found out.  Indignant Indians, treacherous Spaniards, savage wildlife; there was danger at every turn in the steaming jungles of Central and South America.  But there was also a prize: gold!

De Soto brought great riches back to Spain, the riches he had dreamed of as an orphaned and impoverished young nobleman.  But soon he yearned for new adventure, and the king sent him with an army to explore Florida.

Elizabeth Montgomery's dramatic writing tells of the amazing trek through swamps and forests, far to the Mississippi River and beyond.  De Soto may not have conquered or Christianized the Indians as he planned.  He did not find gold or start a settlement as the king ordered. But he met princesses and chiefs, mapped a vast rich land, and made a name for himself forever; that of a daring leader whose courage was as great as his endurance. 

From the dust jacket