ss of the valuable pearls.

From Nacoochee to Murray County the march was fatiguing. The route lay
over mountains as well as valleys. One of the foot soldiers, Juan Terron
(his folly has caused history to preserve his name), grew so weary on
this march, that he drew from his wallet a linen bag containing six
pounds of pearls. Calling to a cavalryman, Juan Terron offered him the
bag of pearls if he would carry them. The cavalryman refused the offer,
and told his comrade to keep them. But Juan Terron would not have it so.
He untied the bag, whirled it around his head, and scattered the pearls
in all directions. This done, he replaced the empty bag in his wallet,
and marched on, leaving his companions amazed at his folly. Thirty of
the pearls were recovered by the soldiers. The gems were of great size,
and perfect in every particular; and it was estimated that the six
pounds of pearls would have fetched six thousand ducats in Spain (over
twelve thousand dollars). The folly of the foot soldier gave rise to
a saying in the army, that is no doubt current in Spain to this
day,--"There are no pearls for Juan Terron," which means that a fool
makes no profits.

Continuing their march, the Spaniards came to the town of Chiaha,--a
site that is now occupied by the flourishing city of Rome. De Soto
remained at Chiaha a month, sending out exploring expeditions in search
of the much-coveted gold. They found traces of the precious metal, but
nothing more. On the 1st of July, 1540, De Soto left Chiaha, going down
the valley of the Coosa. His expedition was organized by the spirit of
greed. It spread desolation wherever it went, and it ended in disaster
and despair. De Soto himself found a grave in the waters of the
Mississippi, and the survivors who made their way back home were broken
in health and spirits.

An attempt has been made to throw a halo of romance over this march
of the Spaniards through the wilderness of the New World, but there
is nothing romantic or inspiring about it. It was simply a search for
riches, in which hundreds of lives were most cruelly sacrificed, and
thousands of homes destroyed.

OGLETHORPE AND HIS GENTLE COLONY

General James Edward Oglethorpe, the founder of the Colony of Georgia,
was among the few really good and great men that history tells us of.
We need to keep a close eye on the antics of history. She places the
laurels of fame in the hands of butchers, plunderers, and adventurers,
and eve