Keywords: Burial of DeSoto.jpg Burial of DeSoto - Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto died of a fever while searching for gold in Florida and the territory north of the Gulf of Mexico To protect his body from enemies his men buried him at night in the Mississippi River which he had been the first European to discover Architect of the Capitol information webpage http //www aoc gov/cc/art/rotunda/frieze/burial cfm Architect of the Capitol Public domain work of the United States federal government PD-USGov The Frieze of American History Hernando de Soto |