In describing the origins of his youth-restoring water, Dr. Heidegger alludes to a figure from the early history of European colonization of the Americas, specifically referencing Spanish explorer and conquistador Juan Ponce de León.
“Did you never hear of the ‘Fountain of Youth?’ ” asked Dr. Heidegger, “which Ponce De Leon, the Spanish adventurer, went in search of two or three centuries ago?”
“But did Ponce De Leon ever find it?” said the Widow Wycherly.
“No,” answered Dr. Heidegger, “for he never sought it in the right place. The famous Fountain of Youth, if I am rightly informed, is situated in the southern part of the Floridian peninsula, not far from Lake Macaco.
The story of Ponce de León's alleged search for the Fountain of Youth in the area now known as Florida is well-known (even if contemporary historians generally regard it as nothing but colorful mythology.) Ponce de León, so the story goes, was the Governor of Puerto Rico (then a Spanish colony) when he heard Native American legends of a youth-restoring fountain, so he sailed to Florida in search of it. Ponce de León's search has been traditionally identified as a failure, and many writers and poets have used the 16th-century conquistador to symbolize the time-wasting and ultimately self-destructive search for immortality. The lesson of Ponce de León's story is, however, lost on Dr. Heidegger's acquaintances, who, having had a taste of youth, immediately form a plan to travel to Florida and find the Fountain.
