The binding of this book is a reproduction of the bindings on the old records of the Spanish Missions scattered along The Old Spanish Trail from Florida to California,	THE	AUTHOR.
the OLD SPANISH TRAIL
ROM Florida to California, in days long past,
A Trail was made thru forests and over prairies vast;
Across mighty rivers whose waters flowed southward to the sea;
Over mountains, high and rocky; thru silences—like Eternity.
From ocean to ocean it reaches, spanning a continent,
A Trail of romance and history, of devotion and sentiment.
Four Hundred Years of History! The old relics along the way
Fascinate the marveling traveler with the heroism of a hygone day.
Along this highway, primeval, dotted here and there,
From Florida to California the Spanish Missions share
In the great work of civilization, which came forth as the Tr;
passed on, v
Quickly subdueing the darkness, when the light of Christianity
dawned
Along this highway traveled adventurers, exploiers, priest While wild beasts and wilder Indians the haidships^and^dan*,
Ponce de Leon, in Florida, sought the fabled Fountain of Youth, The first European of the mainland of the United States by pi oof. At Tampa Bay landed De Soto in fifteen thirty-nine;
Plunging into the wilderness, cut a trail thru thicket and vine. Three years they searched for treasure that did not abound. Penetrating far to the westward of the mighty river he found.