The Survivors of the De Soto Expedition


 Porras. A survivor from Sevilla, Smith-292. There was a Luis
de Porras, son of Juan de Porras and Ana de Salcedo, resident of
Sevilla, who embarked from that port on March 13, 1538 for Santo
Domingo. He could have proceeded to Florida the next year.105

 Porras, Juan de. Son of Rodrigo Darce and Maria de
Rosales, from Medina de Pomar, SR-327 and 328. This Medina is
in the province of Burgos. Porras was living in Mexico in 1554
when he was over 30 years old. He testified in the probanza of
Rodrigo Vazquez, one of de Soto's soldiers, in 1554. There he
declared he had known Vazquez since 1539. He asserted that he
was involved in the conquest of Florida for almost five years, after
arriving there from Spain via Cuba in the armada of de Soto. From
Florida he went to Mexico, where he was well established by
1554. He signed his testimony.106 Either Hernandez de Biedma
missed this conqueror in his list of survivors, or he confused his
provenance of Medina del Pomar with Sevilla.

 Portillo. Brother of Perez, the ironsmith from Segura listed
 above, Smith-294.

 Pozo, Father. Surviving priest from Segura, Smith-294.
 There was a Bartolome Pozo, son of Fernan Alonso Pozo and
 Isabel Macias, from Segura de Leon, SR-285. Garcilaso de la Vega
 mentions a priest called Francisco del Poso, from C6rdoba.107 This
 Segura is in Extremadura while Cordoba is in Andalucia.

 Pozo, Pedro del. In the city of Cuzco in Peru, Pozo testified
 in Pedro de Arevalo's probanza, another of de Soto's men. This
 document, made in 1556, contains his short answers to the
 interrogatory presented to him. From them we learn that Pozo
 knew Arevalo since 1537, more or less, and that he witnessed
 some of the events related to the Florida expedition. He signed his
 deposition without indicating his age.108 Pedro del Pozo was a son
 of Alonso del Pozo and Maria del Pozo, citizens of Salmeron,
 SR-328. He is likely the same survivor listed as Pozo Salmeron
 from Castilla la Vieja, Smith-296. Salmeron is a town in Castilla;
 however, not in la Vieja, but in la Nueva.


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