De Soto: Child of the Sun

De Soto: Child of the Sun, subtitled The Search for Gold, is a 1956 children’s novel written by William O. Steele and illustrated by L. F. Bjorklund. The novel was published by Aladdin Books as part of its American Heritage series, which was a series of novels dedicated to various aspects of American history, such as the Gold Rush, or noteworthy individuals, such as Eli Whitney and Mark Twain. This novel tells the story of the expedition of Hernando de Soto across the American Southeast from the perspective of Lucas Cordova, a young Spanish boy. The book reflects many of the attitudes toward European explorers and Native Americans that were mainstream in mid-twentieth century American children’s literature.

The book begins with thirteen-year-old Lucas Cordova having just “come ashore on the golden sands of Florida” as part of the expedition. He longs to “hold a sword, aim a crossbow, or thrust with a lance,” but instead he serves as apprentice to his older brother, Bernal, the expedition’s tailor. He and the others dream of finding golden treasure or the Fountain of Youth. They soon meet Juan Ortiz, who had, eleven years earlier, been captured by the natives. After several weeks without finding gold, the expedition grows weary. In one abandoned village, Bernal is captured by natives one night while digging through the floor of a village temple in search of gold.

At a village near Napituca Lake, the expedition faces a rebellion of its Indian slaves, and Lucas takes up arms to defend his fellow Spaniards, earning praise from Alonzo, who later teaches Lucas how to shoot a crossbow. They also learn that Bernal remains alive and captive. To aid the expedition, Lucas begins studying some of the tribal languages under Ortiz, and Lucas befriends an Indian boy named Kingfisher, who joins the expedition with other members of his tribe, though he is soon put in chains when his other tribesmen abandon the Spaniards. However, when Kingfisher saves Lucas from drowning, Lucas requests from De Soto that his friend’s chains be removed.

At a place called Mabila, the expedition is attacked again by Indians, and Lucas sees Bernal. He takes the crossbow from his dying friend Alonzo and fights but is unable to rescue Bernal. The expedition winters at a place called Chicasa. De Soto plans to continue westward in search of treasure, and Lucas confides to Kingfisher, “I think he is a great leader and the bravest man I ever knew, but I pity him because he goes on believing a crazy dream.” As they are preparing to cross the Mississippi River, somebody murders Kingfisher with Lucas’s knife in order to steal a set of pearls from him.

Here, the author mentions in brief a few real events known to have occurred in Arkansas, such as the raising “of a huge cross for the Indians to worship” at what is now the Parkin Historic Site. Soon enough, De Soto dies at Guachoya (the map included on the inside of the book’s cover has this death occurring in present-day Louisiana at the conjunction of the Red and Mississippi rivers, rather than in Arkansas, where more recent reconstructions of the expedition’s path have placed his death). Luis de Moscoso, who takes over the expedition, orders the body buried in secret. He later orders the body to be sunk into the Mississippi River after learning from Bernal, who has escaped his life of slavery, that the Indians have learned of De Soto’s death and plan to dig up his body. The men build crude rafts to travel down the Mississippi and eventually reach a settlement in New Spain, where Lucas and Bernal look for a ship to take them back home.

For additional information:
Steele, William O. De Soto: Child of the Sun. New York: Aladdin Books, 1956.

Staff of the CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas