We have no way of knowing what range was meant by early Spaniards for indicating arquebus distance. Assuming maximum range for two shots we come up with approximately half a mile -- far short of Solís' other measurement of half a league.

Nevertheless, Solis makes it clear that the Calusa chief in his day maintained a very large, ceremonial lodge well inland. During one meeting, 4,000 Indians were said to have crowded into the pueblo. From these general observations we can confidently eliminate Woodring, Ybel and Bodwitch points as sites inasmuch as they are exposed and too narrow to have an "inland."

Some researchers place the Calusa capital on Mound Key in Estero Bay. It was described by Cushing as "consisting of a long series of enormous elevations crowned by an imposing mound that reached an average altitude of over 60 feet, interspersed with deep inner courts (of water) and widely surrounded with enclosures that were threaded with broad, far-reaching canals, so that this one key included an area of quite 200 acres."

Solis mentions another curious clue. When Menendez went ashore to parley with King Calos, the Adelantado had to approach in a shallow-draft brigantine. It seems he pulled into a canal to step ashore. After the meeting Menendez sailed back to sea and was surprised to find his fleet gone. He had to heave to until his ships came back.

The significant conclusions from this incident are that (1) the Calusa village was in, or behind, relatively shallow water, and (2) the town was out of sight of decent ship anchorage.

Both Pineland on the northwest shore of Pine Island, and Mound Key in Estero Bay opposite Big Carlos Pass, are sites of extensive mound structures. However, they are at distances from the Caloosahatchee River twice that specified by Solis for the Menendez contact.

The theory that Ponce's "way" was Matanzas (Massacre) Pass into Estero Bay is debatable. It is not likely that he would squeeze his ships into a restricted waterway. There he would be within arrow range of the shores and in so shallow a channel that turning under sail would be impossible.

On the earliest maps, the bay we now call Estero was named Ostego (Oyster) which indicates shallow, silted waters suitable for shellfish habitat. Commercial oyster gathering was an important industry there until recent years. The name Estero -- Spanish for "estuary" or shallow bay -- was not applied until the turn of this century.

Punta Rassa (Flat Point) is believed by some to be the location of the mission-fort of St. Anton established by Menendez at the Calusa capital and thus a candidate for Ponce's landing. It had a plat-form mound until the U.S. - Cuba telegraph station was built in 1867. However, the location is but one league from the Caloosahatchee and was until the last century hardly more than a narrow sand spit separated from the mainland by a dense mangrove marsh.

TIME TO FIGHT

Herrera states that Ponce waited "for a wind to go in quest of the cacique." This suggests that Ponce was anchored in sailing water some distance from the principal Calusa village. Supporting this view is the time his naval battle with the Indians began -- 11 a.m.

Florida Indians customarily rose with the dawn on the day of a planned battle -- after a purging bout with "black drink" the night before. They foreswore breakfast as a preventative measure against peritonitis in the event of a belly wound. A late morning start of fighting is evidence they had to paddle a considerable distance from their town. Ponce does not mention seeing a village near him; and when his men went ashore to punish the Indians, they found only two old canoes on the beach to break up.

A meaningful clue to Ponce's first anchorage is provided by Herrera's statement that "the boat went to sound the harbor, and the men landed." The word "went" gives an impression that the harbor was some distance away -- perhaps Charlotte Harbor to the north or San Carlos Bay to the south. Channels there are narrow and twisting. They require considerable knowledge to navigate.

Archeological studies by Drs. William Marquardt and Michael Hansinger disclose that islands at each end of Pine Island Sound were heavily populated. The north and south channels into the Sound led close to hostile Indian towns and would have brought immediate contact, instead of several days later as reported.

We can surmise, therefore, that Ponce sounded the passage-way he already was in and towards the south -- the coastal direction he steadfastly pursued. The narrow exit hugs Sanibel Island and provides seven feet water at best.

Only Pine Island is large enough to have a hinterland and to sustain a population of thousands. Scores of mounds and shell platforms were scattered throughout the island.