According to most historians, when Hernando De Soto landed in Florida, it was somewhere around the mouth of the Manatee River in lower Tampa Bay. At that time, there were many tribes of indigenous peoples living in and around the Tampa Bay area. Two of the main tribes DeSoto may have first come into contact with were the Calusa and the Tumucian along the banks of the Manatee. The Calusa dwelt along the south side of the river where Bradenton now stands, and the Tumucian lived along the northern bank covering the entire area where Palmetto is today.         

          Although there was much territory overlap, the natives didn't recognize defined borders and because the tribes were friendly towards one another, there was no concern for defending any boundaries. Both tribes fished the same waters and gathered food from either side of the river.

          There is, however, a local legend that tells of the time when the two tribes were antagonists that the Tumucian chief's son fell in love with the Calusa chief's daughter. Eventually, the young brave could not hold back his desires and tried to swim across the mile-wide Manatee. The Indian maiden saw her love swimming through the water to be with her and dove into the river to help save her beau as he began to struggle against the tide. Unfortunately, the two young lovers drown in their pursuit of love due to the strong current, and now forever haunt the Manatee River. This legend may have inspired Johnny Preston's song "Running Bear and Little White Dove."

          After the death of the amorous couple the two chiefs reconciled and the one time rivals became friends.