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SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE
Romance and Tragedy PathfindT Old Spanish Trail
?T And Romance Lingers While a Motorcade Rolls Luxuriously "te I From Florida to San Diego for Conclave, October 14-15 J
By E. W. PETERSON
THE Old Spanish Trail is the oldest trans-continental highway in North America, runs through a rich, most promising and productive part of the United, States, is one of the most traveled thoroughfares, and connects the oldest city on the Atlantic Coast with the oldest city on the Pacific Coast. Its general course was established on land about the same time that Cabrillo discovered the Bay of San Diego by water, and the heroic struggle of those who blazed the way for the overland trail has no parallel in history.
The Old Spanish Trail, however, did not begin on the east coast of the United States; its beginning was at Palos, Spain, more than four hundred years ago, and reached San Diego less than fifty years after Columbus discovered America. Long before Christopher Columbus was heard of, caravans from Europe had visited India and returned with tales of great riches there, and during the fourteenth century Spanish and Portugese navigators were sent along the west coast of Africa for the purpose of discovering a water route to India. Trouble arose between the navigators of the two nations, and in 1479 a treaty was made between Spain and Portugal, giving the right of way on
the African coast to Portugal, and giving to Spain the Canary Islands and the right to explore the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Apparently Spain got nothing in the treaty and yet it was the most fortunate thing that ever happened to any country in the world.
About that time the compass and quadrant were invented and the discovery made that by their use navigators could sail out of sight of land and retrace their courses.
Columbus—1492 Soon thereafter. Christopher Columbus, a young Italian navigator, went to Portugal and laid before the
king his plan to reach India by sailing a westerly course across the Atlantic. This was a new and strange idea, as the majority of even educated people at that time considered the world flat. The king obtained front him his full plans with charts, and while he had very little faith in the project and had entered into a treaty giving Spain all rights in that direction. he secretly fitted up some ships and sent them out without the knowledge of Columbus. After about six days sailing, the officers of the clandestine ships became discouraged and returned home. Columbus then discovered the trick and left Portugal secretly, fearing both his creditors and the king: and. reaching Spain laid his plans before the Spanish king and queen with what tribulations and final achievement are too well known to warrant repetition here.
The Fountain of Youth— 1512 and 1521.
One of the men going on Columbus' second trip, was Ponce de Leon, quite an old man, very wealthy, but ambitious to help explore the newly discovered world. On account of his wealth and political power, he was made Governor of Porto Rico, but that did not fully satisfy him. His hair was gray, his face wrinkled, his body thin and his strength leaving
San Diego-California Club distribution Map bearing on reverse side strip maps from El Paso westward.
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