Besides his main design of making discoveries, which all Spaniards then aspired to, Ponce was eager to find out the spring of Bimini, and a certain river in Florida, both of which were affirmed by the Indians of Cuba to have the property of turning old people young by bathing in their waters. Some time before the arrival of the Spaniards, many Indians were so thoroughly convinced of the reality of such a river, that they went over to Florida, where they built a town, and their descendants still continue there. This report prevailed so universally among the caciques in these parts, that there was not a brook in all Florida, nay scarcely a lake or puddle, that they had not bathed in; and some still ignorantly persist in believing that this virtue resides in the river now called Jordan, at Cape Santa Helena, forgetting that the Spaniards first gave it this name in 1520, when they discovered the country of Chicora.

Though this voyage of Ponce de Leon turned out to no account to him, it gave him encouragement to go to court to seek a reward for the countries he had discovered, which he believed to be all islands, and not the continent, as it afterwards turned out. Yet his voyage was beneficial, on account of the route soon afterwards found out, by which the ships returned to Spain through the Bahama channel, which was first accomplished by the pilot Antonio de Alaminos, formerly mentioned. For the better understanding this voyage of Juan Ponce, it must be understood that there are three different groups in the archipelago of the Lucayos. The first is composed of the Bahama islands, giving name to the channel where the currents are most impetuous. The second is called los Organos; and the third los Martyres, which are next the shore of los Tortugas to the westwards; which last being all sand, cannot be seen at any distance, wherefore many ships have perished on them, and all along the coasts of the Bahama channel and the Tortugas islands. Havanna in the island of Cuba is to the southwards, and Florida to the northward, and between these are all the before mentioned islands, of Organos, Bahamas, Martyres, and Tortugas. Between Havanna and los Martyres, there is a channel with a violent current, twenty leagues over at the narrowest; and it is fourteen leagues from los Martyres to Florida. Between certain islands to the eastwards, and the widest part of this passage to the westwards, is forty leagues, with many shoals and deep channels; but there is no way in this direction for ships or brigantines, only for canoes. The passage from the Havanna, for Spain is along the Bahama channel, between the Havanna the Martyres, the Lucayos, and Cape Canaveral; and the giving occasion to this discovery was the great merit of Ponce de Leon, for which he was well rewarded in Spain.

There happened about this time a very singular and melancholy event, which I find recorded in many Spanish historians, which shews to what a height corruption had grown in so short a time among the Spanish settlements in the West Indies. Reports had reached Spain of the harsh and cruel manner in which the natives were treated by the Spaniards, being distributed among the proprietors of land as if they had been cattle. This moved some religious men of the Dominican order to go over to the new world, to try what progress they could make in converting the Indians by spiritual means only. Three of these fathers landed in the island of Porto Rico, where one of them fell sick and was unable to proceed. The other two procured a vessel to carry them over to the main, where they were landed at no great distance from the Indian town which Hojeda and Vespucius had seen in their first voyage, standing in the water, and which therefore they had named Venezuela or little Venice. The fathers found the natives at this place very docile and tractable, and were in a fair way of making them converts to the Christian religion; when unluckily a Spanish pirate, whose only employment was to steal Indians to sell them as slaves to the colonists, anchored on the coast. The poor natives, confident of being well treated by Christians, went freely on board along with their cacique, and the pirate immediately weighed anchor, and made all sail for Hispaniola, carrying them all away into slavery. This naturally raised a great ferment among the remaining natives, who were on the point of sacrificing the two Dominicans to their resentment, when another Spanish ship arrived in the harbour, commanded by a man of honour. He pacified the Indians for the present as well as he possibly could, and receiving letters from the Dominicans with a true statement of the transaction, he promised to send back their cacique and the rest of their countrymen in four months. As he really intended to perform his promise, he immediately made application to the supreme tribunal at St Domingo, called the royal audience, setting forth the particulars of the case, and the imminent danger to which the two fathers were exposed, unless these Indians were sent back in due time. But it so happened that these very people had been purchased as slaves by some of the members of the royal audience, and these members of the supreme tribunal were not so much in love with justice as to release them. The consequence of this was, that at the end of the four months, the Indians murdered the two Dominicans, Francisco de Cordova and Juan Garcias, in revenge for the loss of their prince and relations.

After James de Velasquez had reduced the greatest part of the island of Cuba, and had settled colonies of Spaniards in many districts of the island, he became desirous of shaking off the authority of the Admiral James Columbus, by whom he was appointed to the command, and setting up for himself. By this time the admiral had been recalled into Spain, and opposed this project of Velasquez to the utmost of his power; but his credit was now so low; that he could not fully succeed; as, though Velasquez was still ordered to give an account to Columbus of the exercise of his authority, the admiral was not allowed to recal him from the government of Cuba, unless with the concurrence of the crown. This so far answered the purpose of Velasquez, that he resolved to fit out ships for discovery. This project was no sooner made known, than numbers of rich Spanish planters embraced the proposal, and offered to contribute large sums for carrying it into execution. Among those who distinguished themselves on this occasion, was Francis Hernandez de Cordova, a rich and brave man who had Indians of his own, and offered to go as captain on this expedition. Having received a commission from Velasquez, he fitted out two ships and a brigantine, with all necessary stores, and listed 110 soldiers202. He sailed from St Domingo, in Cuba, to the Havanna, and left Havanna on the 8th of February 1517. On the 12th, they doubled cape St. Antonio, holding their course to the westwards, as Antony de Alaminos, their pilot, said that the first admiral always inclined in that way, having sailed with him when a boy. They encountered a great storm which lasted two days, during which they expected to have perished. After being twenty-one days at sea, laying to always at night, they got sight of land, and could perceive a large town about two leagues from the coast. As they drew nigh the shore, two canoes full of men came off to the ships, from which thirty Indians went on board Cordova's ship, having jackets without sleeves, and pieces of cloth wrapped about them instead of breeches. The Spaniards gave them meat and wine, and a few strings of beads; and the Indians before going away, made them understand by signs, having no interpreter, that they would return next day with more canoes to carry all the Spaniards on shore. These Indians expressed great admiration at the Spaniards, their ships, beards, arms, and every thing which they had not seen before. They returned next day with twelve canoes, and their cacique continually called out conez cotoche, that is Come to my house, for which reason this place was called Cape Cotoche. After the Spaniards had consulted together, they hoisted out their boats, and went on shore with their arms, where a prodigious multitude of people waited to see them. The cacique still pressed them to go to his house, and having received so many tokens of peace and friendship, they resolved to comply, in order to take a view of the country. On coming to a wood, the cacique called out to a great number of armed men who lay in ambush; when there immediately appeared a great number of men in armour of quilted cotton, with targets, wooden swords edged with flints, large clubs, spears, bows and arrows, and slings. These warriors had their faces painted of many colours, and were all adorned with plumes of feathers. They gave a hideous shout, pouring in at the same time such a shower of stones and arrows, that they wounded fifteen Spaniards at the first onset; after which they fell on sword in hand, and fought with great resolution. The Spaniards had only twenty-five cross-bows and muskets, which were well plied; but when the Indians felt the sharpness of the Spanish swords, they soon fled, having seventeen killed and many wounded. Two youths were taken in this action, who afterwards became Christians by the names of Julian and Melchior. The Spaniards returned to their ships, well pleased at having discovered a more civilized people than any which had been hitherto seen at Darien, or in any of the islands; more especially as they had houses of stone and lime, which had not till then been seen in the West Indies.