The De Soto National Memorial is almost directly across the Manatee River from Emerson Point Park. Here, near Bradenton, is supposedly the spot where De Soto landed, hoping to find gold in Florida. Four years later, along the Mississippi, he was dead from a fever, his men exhausted and persued, leaving a path of destruction and disease in their wake that would decimate the millions of Indians inhabiting the land. This memorial leaves you with mixed feelings. Life size Indian cut outs can be seen along the trail, some free, some enslaved, forced to carry De Soto's gear and herd the pigs, which he also left to spread throughout the South. There is a huge cross and stone memorial overlooking a beautiful bay with dolphins, fish, and an abandoned sailboat. Much food for thought here.
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