Florida -- History -- Spanish colony, 1565-1763 -- Sources; Saint Augustine (Fla.) -- History
The Armada which went to found the town in Florida at the place called
Santa Elena in the port of Juan Ponce on the eleventh of June, and
sailed with good and mild wind. On the seventh day out we were on the
river Espiritu Santo, twenty leagues south of said river, in 27th
degree, from there we sailed six days to the southeast and south until
we found ourselves in the chain. South from there we sailed north in
search of the coast of Florida, and at the end of the eighth day, which
was the eve of the visitation of Saint Elizabeth, we discovered the
coast of Florida eight leagues to the west where the Armada cast anchor
and took on water and wood. Now we began to have rough weather. From
there the fleet sailed on the eighth of July in search of the Port
Achusa, sending ahead along the coast a frigate, the pilot not knowing
exactly where Port Achusa was. The Armada passed ahead and anchored in
the Bay of Phillipina, which was discovered by Julio de Labazares, from
whence the Governor sent to seek Port Achusa, having heard that it was
the best and safest port on all that coast. Navigating along the same
coast where the Armada had come, they found Port Achusa which is twenty
leagues from Bay Phillipina and thirty, more or less, from the Bay of
Miruelo, so that it is between two bays--latitude 30 1-3 degrees. On the
return of the frigate with the news, we immediately determined to set
sail with the Armada. It seemed best to have the horses go by land, so
we put them off in said Bay of Phillipina, thus some of our captains
made the trip overland with one hundred and forty horses, out of the two
hundred and forty we started with, the others having died at sea. On the
bar of Phillipina we had some trouble with the Armada in crossing, on
account of its shallowness for the larger vessels, also the strong and
swift current--besides the weather had changed, and it was rougher. The
Armada left Bay Phillipina for Achusa on the 10th of August, the day of
St. Lawrence, and it entered Port Achusa on the day of Our Lady of
August, for which reason we gave it the name of St. Mary of Phillipina.
It is the best port discovered in the Indias. The shallowest part at the
entrance is eleven cubits, and after you enter there are seven or eight
fathoms. It is spacious, having a front of three leagues, the Spaniards
are already there. The entrance of the bar is half a league in width, on
the eastern coast is a cliff at the mouth of the bay, and large vessels
can anchor in four or five fathoms within a stone’s throw from land. It
is so safe that the winds and storms cannot hurt one. We found a few
Indian ranches, they seemed to be fishermen. Judging from appearances it
seems to be a fertile and good soil. There are many walnuts and many
fruit trees--good hunting and fishing and good in many ways. We also
found some plantings of corn. On the 25th of said month of August, the
Governor sent Don Tristan de Avellano in a galleon, of those we brought,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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