Hernando De Soto and the Indian Princess
Scene I
Narrator: In May 1539, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto landed nine ships with over 620 men 220 war horses and attack dogs at present day Shaw's Point, in Bradenton, FL. The ships brought priests, craftsmen, engineers, farmers, and merchants; some with their families, some from Cuba, most from Europe and Africa. Few of them had ever traveled outside of Spain, or even their home villages. He came to the New World looking for one thing…Gold! After months traveling through Florida looking for gold, De Soto and his expedition entered Georgia frustrated and tired.
Priest: De Soto, maybe we should go back to Florida. There has been no gold and the men are tired.
De Soto: I was sent here to get gold by the king and I will get it. Do you understand?
Priest: Of course.
De Soto: All you are supposed to do is document my journey and that is it. That is it!
Soldier #1: General de Soto, our scouts have just returned and they report a native tribe in the valley below.
Narrator: At that time, a half naked boy appeared near a tree with a gold necklace on.
De Soto: Look there’s a boy with Gold! Get him!!!!
(Run after the boy)
Half Naked Boy: (Screams)
Narrator: The young boy ran over the ridge and down into a valley full of huts and thousands of Native Americans.
Soldier #2: General de Soto, the boy with the gold disappeared into a large hut in the back of the village! Do you want to attack?
Soldier #1: Should we release the attack dogs now?
De Soto: No. We will meet their leader and show them what power we have. We must meet the leader.
Narrator: De Soto’s men travel down the hill into a mass of thousands of curious Natives.
De Soto: My name is Hernando De Soto and I come from far away. I bring weapons of steel (Soldiers #1 and #2 hold up your swords!) I also bring war horses of metal and dogs of death! I also bring gifts of pretty cloth (hold up cloth). I am looking for gold!!!
Indian Natives: (Look confused)
De Soto: (Shouting!!!) I said, my name is Hernando De Soto and I come from far away. I bring weapons of steel (Soldiers #1 and #2 hold up your swords!) I also bring war horses of metal and dogs of death! I also bring gifts of pretty cloth (hold up cloth). I am looking for gold!!!
Indian Natives: (Look confused and speak a gibberish language)
Hernando De Soto and the Indian Princess
Scene II
Narrator: At that moment, the natives parted their crowd and all put their heads down as they kneeled. A beautiful Indian Princess appeared with a gold necklace on and with the half naked boy hiding behind her. Some believe the boy may have been her son.
Indian Princess: (Walk slowly towards De Soto and his men) Speak a gibberish language and place your hand out in front of De Soto for him to bow in front of.
De Soto: My name is Hernando De Soto and I come from far away. I bring weapons of steel (Soldiers #1 and #2 hold up your swords!) I also bring war horses of metal and dogs of death! I also bring gifts of pretty cloth (hold up cloth). I am looking for gold!!!
Indian Princess: (Turn your head) Speak a gibberish language and again place your hand out in front of De Soto for him to bow in front of.
Narrator: De Soto began to get frustrated with the lack of communication between them. He then makes a decision that he will forever regret.
De Soto: (Shouting!) My name is Hernando De Soto and I come from far away. I bring weapons of steel (Soldiers #1 and #2 hold up your swords!) I also bring war horses of metal and dogs of death! I also bring gifts of pretty cloth (hold up cloth). (Reach for the necklace on the Indian princess’s neck!)
Narrator: Trying to point to the gold that he wanted hanging around the princess’s neck, the Indian Natives panicked.
Indian Natives: Lunge towards De Soto screaming!
De Soto: (Grab the princess and hold your sword up to her kneck) Back!! I said get back! I want (take her necklace off of her neck) gold!!!! When the sun sets, you bring me gold or she dies.
Priest: De Soto, this is not right. I am a man of God and this is not what the King wanted.
De Soto: (Giving the princess to the soldiers and walking away) They have gold and I am going to get any way I can!
Narrator: The princess was chained by the soldiers to a tree and they placed her in the dirt. As the sun set, De Soto waited for his gold.
Indian Natives: (Bring your basket of pearls to the feet of De Soto and say something in gibberish.)
De Soto: What is this? Pearls? No, no, no! (Hold up gold necklace) I want gold! Bring me gold when the sun rises or she will die!
Narrator: That night, the princess that was chained to the tree began to sing what was described as a beautiful song. As tears streamed down her dirty face, she looked to the heavens as she sang.
Soldier #2: What do you think she is singing about?
Soldier #1: I don’t know but it could be her death song. She must have heard of Cortes and Pizaro.
De Soto: Hey! What is this noise?
Soldier #2: It’s the princess, sir. She is singing.
De Soto: Well, shut her up! Now!
Priest: De Soto, let her go. All you are going to do is make the Indians hate us. We are here to spread the word of God! (Hold cross up in the air)
De Soto: No! We are here for gold. Cortes did this with the Aztecs and he is now rich. Pizzaro did this with the Incas and he found gold too. You document what we find and keep your mouth shut!
Hernando De Soto and the Indian Princess
Scene III
Narrator: The next morning, two Indians arrived with two baskets of pearls.
Indian Natives: (Bring your two baskets of pearls to the feet of De Soto and say something in gibberish.)
De Soto: What is this? Pearls again? I want gold! You don’t want to obey me? Guards! Kill them!!
Soldiers #1 and #2 use your swords to do away with the two Indians.
De Soto: They don’t think I’ll kill her! Give me your sword. (Pull the princess by the hair and expose her neck.)
Priest: De Soto, don’t do it!
Narrator: As tears streamed down her face, De Soto looked her in the eyes and slit her throat. Blood oozed from her neck on to her white gown. As she gasped for air twice, her head slowly fell downward and she was gone.
De Soto: (Wiping your sword on her dress) Now, when I ask for gold, these savages will know I mean what I say. Now get your bags packed, we are moving out. Now!!
Soldier #1: Sir, what should we do with her body?
De Soto: Let her rot!
Narrator: As De Soto’s expedition made its way away from the area, they heard terrible screams of agony from behind them. The Indians had found their murdered princess.De Soto’s expedition then made their way across present day South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. The Indians followed.
Soldier #2: Sir, we have now lost another soldier. They just keep disappearing.
Priest: De Soto, we have got to get out of here. They will not stop following us until you are dead.
De Soto: Tell them to stay together. No one should wander away from the group. We must stay together.
Soldier #1: Sir, are almost out of food. Most of the men have to look for food or we will starve.
Priest: De Soto, did you hear me? We have got to get out of here!
De Soto: I know! We will move fast until we find water.
Narrator: As De Soto’s expedition made its way away to the Mississippi River, they fought battle after battle in an effort to survive. The Priests documented everything they saw including the mountains, names of rivers, and even the names of the Native Americans they encountered. But, the expedition was hard and the men were sick and starving. De Soto was now very sick but he could not stop moving.
Soldier #1: Sir, you look bad. Maybe we should stop and look for food.
De Soto: I can’t go on. (Sit on the floor with the gold necklace in your hand) Tell the priest to come here.
Priest: Yes sir?
De Soto: I am too sick to go. Promise me that you won’t let the savages get my body. I don’t want to be mutilated. Promise me!!!
Priest: I promise, sir.
Narrator: As De Soto lay on his back in his final moments, he held the gold necklace he found on the Indian princess.
De Soto: I did what I was told to do. All I wanted was to find…find…(holding the necklace in the air, take a deep breath and die)
Soldier #2: Well, let’s go!
Priest: I promised we would bury him.
Soldier #2: The Indians are coming. We don’t have time. Maybe we can throw him in the river?
Narrator: With the Indians coming up the river’s edge, the two soldiers threw De Soto’s body in. But, De Soto was not sinking and began to float. The priest ordered the body dragged from the river.
Soldier #2: Why don’t we wrap him in those pearls to weigh him down?
Soldier #1: Hurry!
Narrator: He never found gold but he did bring horses and pigs to North America. Most experts believe the gold he found on the Indian princess came from gold brought by other explorers like Lucas Ayllon.
The Priests who tried to make De Soto do the right thing documented everything they saw and we have a record of North America because of them. Somewhere today in the mud and trash on the bottom of the Mississippi River is the body of Hernando De Soto wrapped in pearls.
Hernando De Soto and the Indian Princess
Reflection questions
1. What are three types of animals Hernando De Soto brought with him?
2. What country did he represent?
3. What was his ultimate goal on his expedition?
4. What was the purpose of the priests?
5. What were the two other explorers that De Soto tried to act like to get what he wanted from the Natives?
6. What did the Indians bring De Soto in their baskets instead of gold?
7. Where do experts think the gold came from that was found on the Indian princess?
8. What was the major river De Soto found in his expedition?
9. What did De Soto do to force the Indians to give him what he wanted?
10. Why are the journals kept by the priests important?
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