S. he discovered a river called Parana-guacu, or the Great
River, and from signs of silver he gave it the name of Rio de la Plata,
or the River of Silver. It is even said that he went farther at this time;
and returning into Spain, gave an account of his discovery to King
Ferdinand, from whom he demanded and obtained leave to colonize the
country, and received the appointment of governor. On this he provided
three ships, and returned to that country in 1515, but was slain by the
natives. The family of de Solis produced several great discoveries in
these parts[26].
In the same year 1512, John Ponce de Leon, who had been governor of the
island of St John in the Antilles, armed two ships, with which he went in
search of the island of Boyuca, where it was reported there was a spring
which made old men young again; but after searching for six months he
could not find it. In 25 deg. N. he discovered a point of the continent upon
Easter-day, which he called the country of Florida; and because he
expected the land would yield gold and silver, he begged it from King
Ferdinand, but died in the discovery of the country, as many had done
before.
In the year 1513, Vasco Nunnes de Valboa, or Balboa, hearing of the
_South Seas_, determined to go thither; and being a man of courage,
though strongly dissuaded by several of his company, he marched on the
enterprize with 290 men.
