CHILD OF THE SUN -- Episode 2

After landing in Tampa Bay in 1539, Hernando de Soto finds that the natives have gone into hiding in the swamps.  He burns their villages, then moves inland and northward, seeking gold.  The Spaniards with some difficulty find their way through the swamps but are soon desperately short of food. Having reports of gold in a province called Cale, the Spaniards find the villages of the province abandoned and the reports of gold false.  To avoid a breakdown in morale De Soto orders new rumors of gold to be circulated among his soldiers.   Taking grain from Indian cornfields, the Spaniards are attacked by Indians and a series of battles ensue. Large numbers of Indians are executed and others put in chains to carry supplies.  Following another rumor of gold, De Soto  travels up the Atlantic seaboard through a vast wilderness, finally reaching a country called Cofitachequi in what is now South Carolina. The local chieftain, a woman who presides over large territories, receives the Spaniards in peace.  A cast of Hispanic and Native American actors play the roles of the Spaniards and the Cherokees, Choctaws and other American tribes the Spaniards encountered.   With an original music score by Donald Stark, the series was adapted by Robert Clem from the eyewitness account of the Portuguese "Gentleman of Elvas," published in 1557.  Broadcast by NPR in 1994 and 1996 and produced and directed by Robert Clem.

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