The first great classic of American history is a book titled "True Relation of the Hardships Suffered by Governor Fernando de Soto and Certain Portuguese Gentlemen During the Discovery of the Province of Florida Now Newly Set Forth by a Gentleman of Elvas."

The author was one of a number of Portuguese who took part in the exploration, but for some reason he declined to identify himself. We know the names of most of the Portuguese citizens who accompanied Soto and lived to tell the tale, but cannot assign authorship conclusively. The ac-count has been attributed to Alvaro Fernandez on slim evidence.

The "True Relation" -- as the narrative is known -- was first published at Evora, Portugal, in 1557. This was only 14 years after the survivors of the army of invasion had reached Mexico. It was translated in several languages at early dates and into English by Buckingham Smith in 1866. His version is slightly archaic by modern standards yet it preserves the "flavor" of the times and continues to be a primary source of information.

In general, Elvas follows Ranjel in the order of events:

Before our departure, the Governor deprived Nuno de Tobar of the rank of Captain General, and conferred it on a resident of Cuba, Vasco Porcallo de Figueroa, which caused the vessels to be well provisioned, he giving a great many hogs and loads of cacabe bread. That was done because Nuno de Tobar had made love to Dona Ysabel's waiting-maid, daughter of the Governor of Gomera. Though Tobar had lost his place, yet, to return to Soto's favor, for she was with child by him, he took her to wife and went to Florida.

Dona Ysabel (Soto's wife) remained, and with her the wives of Don Carlos, Baltasar de Gallegos, and Nuno de Tobar.

The Governor left as his lieutenant over the island Juan de Rojas, a fidalgo of Havana.

On Sunday the 18th of May, in the year 1539, the Adelantado sailed from Havana with a fleet of nine vessels -- five of them ships, two caravels and two pinnaces. He ran seven days with favorable weather. On the 25th of the month, being the festival of Espiritu Santo, the land was seen. Anchor was cast a league from shore because of the shoals. On Friday, the 30th, the army landed in Florida, two leagues from the town of an Indian chief named Ucita.

Two hundred and thirteen horses were set on shore to unburthen the ships that they should draw the less water. The seamen only remained on board, who going up every day a little with the tide, the end of eight days brought them near to the town.

So soon as the people were come to land, the camp was pitched on the sea-side, nigh the bay, which goes up close to the town. Presently the Captain General, Vasco Porcallo, taking seven horsemen with him, beat up the country half a league about. He discovered six Indians who tried to resist him with arrows, the weapons they are accustomed to use. The horsemen killed two; and the four others escaped, the country being obstructed by bushes and ponds in which the horses bogged and fell, with their riders, of weakness from the voyage.

At night the Governor, with a hundred men in the pinnaces, came upon a deserted town; for, so soon as the Christians appeared in sight of land, they were descried. All along the coast many smokes were seen to rise, which the Indians make to warn one another.

The next day Luis de Moscoso, Master of the Camp, set the men in order. The horsemen he put in three squadrons -- the vanguard, battalion and rearward. Thus they marched that day and the next, compassing great creeks which run up from the bay. On the 1st of June, being Trinity Sunday, they arrived at the town of Ucita where the Governor tarried.