San Juan de Puerto Rico, he secured permission
from Ovando to explore it and to open up trade
with the Indians. ¹ Later, in 1509, at Ovando's
request he was appointed governor of the island.

After his removal from that office in February,
1512, he secured a patent from the king authorizing
him to discover and colonize the island of "Beniny"
(Bimine), vague rumors of which had come to
Spanish ears during slave raids in the Bahamas. ²
An incidental object in this enterprise, which has
been usually considered the primary purpose, was
to verify the Indian tradition of a spring or river
whose waters would restore youth to the aged.
Of this there is no hint in the patent, nor, apparently,
in the narrative of the voyage which Herrera seems
to have had before him; ³ yet to the prevalence of
the legend the testimony is abundant, ⁴ and the story
probably directed Ponce de Leon to Bimine in
particular rather than to the lands north of Darien.

Winding through the Bahamas and touching at
San Salvador, Ponce de Leon, on April 2, 1512, ap-
proached a coast in latitude 30° 8′, which he fol-
lowed till nightfall, seeking a port. He supposed
it to be an island, and since it was "Pascua
Florida," the Easter season, and the low - lying

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