_Explorers_, 119-138.] [Sidenote: De Soto crosses the Mississippi.] 15.

De Soto in the Southeast, 1539-43 .-- In 1539 a Spanish army landed at Tampa Bay, on the western coast of Florida.

The leader of this army was De Soto, one of the conquerors of Peru.

He "was very fond of the sport of killing Indians" and was also greedy for gold and silver.
From Tampa he marched northward to South Carolina and then marched southwestward to Mobile Bay.

There he had a dreadful time; for the Indians burned his camp and stores and killed many of his men.