I.
THE FIRST VOYAGE OF RIBAULT.
Introduction--The Huguenots--Their Condition in France--First Expedition for the New World, under the auspices of the Admiral Coligny, Conducted by John Ribault--Colony Established in Florida, and confided to the charge of Captain Albert.
The Huguenots, in plain terms, were the Protestants of France. They werea sect which rose very soon after the preaching of the Reformation hadpassed from Germany into the neighboring countries. In France, theyfirst excited the apprehensions and provoked the hostility of the RomanCatholic priesthood, during the reign of Francis the First. This prince,unstable as water, and governed rather by his humors and caprices thanby any fixed principles of conduct--wanting, perhaps, equally in headand heart--showed himself, in the outset of his career, rather friendlyto the reformers. But they were soon destined to suffer, with moredecided favorites, from the caprices of his despotism. He subsequentlybecame one of their most cruel persecutors. The Huguenots were notoriginally known by this name. It does not appear to have been one oftheir own choosing. It was the name which distinguished them in the daysof their persecution. Though frequently the subject of conjecture, itsorigin is very doubtful. Montluc, the Marshal, whose position at thetime, and whose interests in the subject of religion were such as mighthave enabled him to know quite as well as any other person, confessesthat the source and meaning of the appellation were unknown. It issuggested that the name was taken from the tower of one Hugon, or Hugo,at Tours, where the Protestants were in the habit of assembling secretlyfor worship. This, by many, is assumed to be the true origin of theword. But there are numerous etymologies besides, from which the readermay make his selection,--all more or less plausibly contended forby the commentators. The commencement of a petition to the CardinalLorraine--"_Huc nos_ venimus, serenissime princeps, &c.," furnishes asuggestion to one set of writers. Another finds in the words "_Heusquenaus_," which, in the Swiss _patois_, signify "seditious fellows,"conclusive evidence of the thing for which he seeks. Heghenen orHuguenen, a Flemish word, which means Puritans, or Cathari, isreasonably urged by Caseneuve, as the true authority; while Verdiertells us that they were so called from their being the _apes_ orfollowers of John Hus--"_les guenons de Hus_;"--_guenon_ being a youngape. This is ingenious enough without being complimentary. The etymologymost generally received, according to Mr. Browning, (History of theHuguenots,) is that which ascribes the origin of the name to "the word_Eignot_, derived from the German _Eidegenossen_, q. e. federati. Aparty thus designated existed at Geneva; and it is highly probable thatthe French Protestants would adopt a term so applicable to themselves."There are, however, sundry other etymologies, all of which seemequally plausible; but these will suffice, at least, to increase thedifficulties of conjecture. Either will answer, since the name by whichthe child is christened is never expected to foreshadow his futurecharacter, or determine his career. The name of the Huguenots wasprobably bestowed by the enemies of the sect. It is in all likelihood aterm of opprobrium or contempt. It will not materially concern us, inthe scheme of the present performance, that we should reach any definiteconclusion on this point. Their European history must be read in othervolumes. Ours is but the American episode in their sad and protractedstruggle with their foes and fortune. Unhappily, for present inquiry,this portion of their history attracted but too little the attention ofthe parent country. We are told of colonies in America, and of theirdisastrous termination, but the details are meagre, touched by thechronicler with a slight and careless hand; and, but for the strikingoutline of the narrative,--the leading and prominent events whichcompelled record,--it is one that we should pass without comment, andwith no awakening curiosity. But the few terrible particulars whichremain to us in the ancient summary, are of a kind to reward inquiry,and command the most active sympathies; and the melancholy outline ofthe Huguenots' progress, in the New World, exhibits features of trial,strength and suffering, which render their career equally unique in bothcountries;--a dark and bloody history, involving details of strife, ofenterprise, and sorrow, which denied them the securities of home in theparent land, and even the most miserable refuge from persecution inthe wildernesses of a savage empire. Their European fortunes are amplydeveloped in all the European chronicles. Our narrative relates whollyto those portions of their history which belong to America.
It is not so generally known that the colonies of the Huguenots, inthe new world, were almost coeval with those of the Spaniards. Theyanticipated them in the northern portions of the continent. Thesesettlements were projected by the active genius of the justly-celebratedFrench admiral, Gaspard de Coligny, one of the great leaders of theHuguenots in France. His persevering energies, impelled by his sagaciousforethought, effected a beginning in the work of foreign colonization,which, unhappily for himself and party, he was not permitted toprosecute, with the proper vigor, to successful completion. His sagacityled him to apprehend, from an early experience of the character of theQueen-mother, in the bigoted and brutal reign of Charles the Ninth, thatthere would, in little time, be no safety in France for the dissentersfrom the established religion. The feebleness of the youthfulPrince, the jealous and malignant character of Catharine--her utterfaithlessness, and the hatred which she felt for the Protestants, whichno pact could bind, and no concession mollify,--to say nothing of thecontrolling will of Pius the Fifth, who had ascended the Papal throne,sworn to the extermination of all heresies,--all combined to assure theProtestants of the dangers by which their cause was threatened. Thedanger was one of life as well as religion. It was in the destruction ofthe one, that the enemies of the Huguenots contemplated the overthrowof the other. Coligny was not the man to be deceived by the hollowcompromises, the delusive promises, the false truces, which were allemployed in turn to beguile him and his associates into confidence,and persuade them into the most treacherous snares. He combined a fairproportion of the cunning of the serpent with the dove's purity, and,maintaining strict watch upon his enemies, succeeded, for a long period,in eluding the artifices by which he was overcome at last. Availinghimself of the influence of his position, and of a brief respite fromthat open war which preceded the famous Edict of January, 1562, by whichthe Huguenots were admitted, with some restrictions, to the exercise oftheir religion, Coligny addressed himself to the task of establishinga colony of Protestants in America. He readily divined the futureimportance, to his sect, of such a place of refuge. The moment wasfavorable to his objects. The policy of the Queen-mother was not yetsufficiently matured, to render it proper that she should oppose herselfto his desires. Perhaps, she also conceived the plan a good one, whichshould relieve the country of a race whom she equally loathed anddreaded.[1] It is possible that she did not fully conjecture theultimate calculations of the admiral. The king, himself, was a minor,entirely in her hands, who could add nothing to her counsels, or, forthe present, interfere with her authority; and, without seeking fartherto inquire by what motives she was governed in according to Coligny thepermission which he sought, it is enough that he obtained the necessarysanction. Of this he readily availed himself. It was not, by the way,his first attempt at colonization. Having in view the same objects bywhich he was governed in the present instance, he had, in 1555, sent outan expedition to Brazil under Villegagnon. This enterprise had failedthrough the perfidy of that commander. Its failure did not discouragethe admiral. Though the full character of Catharine had not developeditself, in all its cruel and heartless characteristics, it was yetjustly understood by him, and he never suffered himself to forget hownecessary to the sect which he represented was the desired haven ofsecurity which he sought, in a region beyond her influence.
[1] Charlevoix expressly says, speaking, however, of Charles IX., "qu'il fut fort aise de voir que M. de Coligni n'employoit a cette expedition que des Calvinistes, parce que c'etoit autant d'ennemis, dont il purgeoit l'etat." Of Coligny's anxiety in regard to this expedition and his objects, the same writer says: "Coligny had the colony greatly at heart. It was
, in fact, the first thing of which the admiral spoke to the king when he obtained permission to repair to the court."
From Brazil he turned his eyes on Florida. This _terra incognita_, atthe period of which we speak, was El Dorado to the European imagination.It was the New Empire, richer than Peru or Mexico, in which adventurersas daring as Cortes and Pizarro were to compass realms of as greatmagnificence and wealth. Already had the Spaniard traversed it with hisiron-clad warriors, seeking vainly, and through numberless perils, forthe treasure which he worshipped. Still other treasures had won theimagination of one of their noblest knights; and in exploring the wildrealm of the Floridian for the magical fountain which was to restoreyouth to the heart of age, and a fresh bloom to its withered aspect,Ponce de Leon pursued one of the loveliest phantoms that ever deludedthe fancy or the heart of man. To him had succeeded others; all seeking,in turn, the realization of those unfruitful visions which, likewandering lights of the swamp forest, only glitter to betray. Vasquezd'Ayllon, John Verazzani, Pamphilo de Narvaez, and the more brilliantcavalier than all, Hernando de Soto, had each penetrated this land ofhopes and fancies, to deplore in turn its disappointments and delusions.With the wildest desires in their hearts, they had disdained the merelypossible within their reach. They had sought for possessions such as fewempires have been known to yield; and had failed to see, or had beheldwith scorn, the simple treasures of fruit and flower which the countrypromised and proffered in abundance. This vast region, claimed equallyby Spain, France, and England, still lay derelict. "Death," as one ofour own writers very happily remarks, "seemed to guard the avenues ofthe country." None of the great realms which claimed it as their domain,regarded it in any light but as a territory which they might ravage.Yet, well might its delicious climate, the beauty of its groves andforests, the sweets of its flowers, which beguiled the senses of theocean pilgrim a score of leagues from land--to say nothing of thesupposed wealth of its mountains, and of the great cities hid amongtheir far recesses--have persuaded the enterprise, and implored theprows of enterprise and adventure. To these attractions the previousadventurers had not wholly shown themselves insensible. Ponce de Leon,enraptured with its rich and exquisite vegetation, as seen in the springseason of the year, first conferred upon it the name of beauty, which itbears. Nor, had he not been distracted by baser objects, would he havefailed utterly to discover the salubrious fountains which he sought.Here were met natives, who, quaffing at medicinal streams by which thecountry was everywhere watered, grew to years which almost rival thoseof the antediluvian fathers. Verazzani, the Florentine, unfolds agolden chronicle of the innocence and delight which distinguished thesimple people by whom the territory was possessed, and whose characterwas derived from the gentle influences of their climate, and theexquisite delicacy, beauty, and variety of the productions of the soil.He, too, had visited the country in the season of spring, when allthings in nature look lovely to the eye. But such verdure as blessed hisvision on this occasion, constituted a new era in his life, and seemedto lift him to the crowning achievement of all his enterprises. Theregion, as far his eye could reach, was covered with "faire fields andplaines," "full of mightie great woodes," "replenished with diverssort of trees, as pleasant and delectable to behold as is possible toimagine;"--"Not," says the voyager, "like the woodes of Hercynia or thewilde deserts of Tartary, and the northerne coasts full of fruitlessetrees," but "trees of sortes unknowen in Europe, which yeeld most sweetesavours farre from the shoare." Nor did these constitute the onlyattractions. The appearance of the forests and the land "argued drugsand spicery," "and other riches of golde."
The woods were "full of many beastes, as stags, deere and hares, andlikewise of lakes and pooles of fresh water, with great plentie offowles, convenient for all kinde of pleasant game." The air was "goodeand wholesome, temperate between hot and colde;" "no vehement windesdoe blowe in these regions, and those that do commonly reigne are thesouthwest and west windes in the summer season;" "the skye cleare andfaire, with very little raine; and if, at any time, the ayre be cloudieand mistie with the southerne winde, immediately it is dissolved andwaxeth cleare and faire againe. The sea is calme, not boisterous,and the waves gentle." And the people were like their climate. Thenature which yielded to their wants, without exacting the toil ofever-straining sinews, left them unembittered by necessities which takethe heart from youth, and the spirit from play and exercise. No carkingcares interfered with their humanity to check hospitality in its firstimpulse, and teach avarice to withhold the voluntary tribute which thenatural virtues would prompt, in obedience to a selfishness that findsits justification in serious toils which know no remission, and aforethought that is never permitted to forget the necessities of thecoming day. Verazzani found the people as mild and grateful as theirclimate. They crowded to the shore as the stranger ships drew nigh,"making divers synes of friendship." They showed themselves "verycourteous and gentle," and, in a single incident, won the hearts of theEuropeans, who seldom, at that period, in their intercourse with thenatives, were known to exhibit an instance so beautiful, of a humanityso Christian. A young sailor, attempting to swim on shore, had overratedhis strength. Cast among the breakers, he was in danger of beingdrowned. This, when the Indians saw, they dashed into the surf, anddragged the fair-skinned voyager to land. Here, when he recovered fromhis stupor, he exhibited signs of the greatest apprehension, findinghimself in the hands of the savages. But his lamentations, which werepiteously loud, only provoked theirs. Their tears flowed at his weeping.In this way they strove to "cheere him, and to give him courage." Norwere they neglectful of other means. "They set him on the ground, at thefoot of a little hill against the sunne, and began to behold him withgreat admiration, marveiling at the whitenesse of his fleshe;" "Puttingoff his clothes, they made him warme at a great fire, not without onegreat feare, by what remayned in the boate, that they would have rostedhim at that fire and have eaten him." But the fear was idle. When theyhad warmed and revived the stranger, they reclothed him, and as heshowed an anxiety to return to the ship, "they, with great love,clapping him fast about with many embracings," accompanied him to theshore, where they left him, retiring to a distance, whence they couldwitness his departure without awakening the apprehensions of hiscomrades. These people were of "middle stature, handsome visage anddelicate limmes; of very little strength, but of prompt wit."
We need not pursue the details of these earlier historians. They sufficeto direct attention to Florida, and to persuade adventure with fancifulideas of its charming superiority over all unknown regions. But theadventurers, until Coligny's enterprise was conceived, meditated theinvasion of the country, and the gathering of its hidden treasures,rather than the establishment of any European settlements in itsglorious retreats. It was not till the eighteenth day of February, inthe Year of Grace, one thousand five hundred and sixty-two, that theplan of the Admiral of France was sufficiently matured for execution.On that day he despatched two vessels from France, well manned andfurnished, under the command of one John Ribault,[2] for the expresspurpose of making the first permanent European establishment in theseregions of romance. The narrative of this enterprise is chiefly drawnfrom the writings of Rene Laudonniere, who himself went out as alieutenant in the expedition. Laudonniere, in his narrative of theirprogress, says nothing of the secret objects of Coligny, of which heprobably knew nothing. He ascribes to the King--the Queen-mother,rather--a nobler policy than either of them ever entertained. "My Lordof Chastillon," (Coligny) thus he writes,--"A nobleman more desirous ofthe publique than of his private benefits, understanding the pleasureof the King, his Prince, which was to discover new and strangecountries, caused vessels for this purpose to be made ready with alldiligence, and men to be levied meet for such an enterprise."
[2] Charlevoix describes Ribault as "un ancien officier de marine," and speaks of him as a man of experience and "Zele Huguenot." Of his vessels, on this expedition, he says that they belonged to the class called "Roberges, et qui differoient peu des Caravelles
Espagnoles."
This is merely courtly language, wholly conventional, and which, spokenof Charles the Ninth,--a boy not yet in his teens--savors rather of theridiculous. There is no question that the expedition originated whollywith Coligny; as little is it questionable, though Laudonniere saysnothing on this subject, that it was designed in consequence of thatpolicy which showed him the ever present danger of the Huguenots. Itdoes not militate against this policy that he made use of a pretextwhich was suggested by the passion for maritime discovery common inthose days. By the assertion of this pretext, he was the more easilyenabled to persuade the Queen-mother to a measure upon which sheotherwise would never have suffered the ships of the Huguenots to weighanchor.
But this question need not detain us. Laudonniere speaks of the armamentas ample for the purpose for which it was designed--"so well furnishedwith gentlemen and with oulde souldiers that he (Ribault) had meanes toachieve some notable thing, and worthie of eternall memorie." Thiswas an exaggeration, something Spanish in its tenor,--one of thoseflourishes of rhetoric among the voyagers of that day, which had alreadygrown to be a sound without much signification. The vessels were small,as was the compliment of men dispatched. The objects of the expeditionwere limited, did not contemplate exploration but settlement, and,consequently, were not likely to find opportunity for great enterprises.The voyage occupied two months; the route pursued carefully avoided thatusually taken by the Spaniards, whom already our adventurers had causeto fear. At the end of this period, land was made in the latitude of St.Augustine, to the cape of which they gave the name of St. Francois. Fromthis point, coasting northwardly, they discovered "a very faire andgreat river"--the San Matheo of the Spaniards, now the St. John's, towhich Ribault, as he discovered it on the first of May, gave the nameof that month. This river he penetrated in his boats. He was met on theshore by many of the natives, men and women. These received him withgentleness and peace. Their chief man made an oration, and honoredRibault, at the close, with a present of "chamois skinnes." On theensuing day, he "caused a pillar of hard stone to be planted within thesayde river, and not farre from the mouth of the same, upon a littlesandie knappe," on which the arms of France were engraved. Crossing tothe opposite shores of this river, a religious service was performed inthe presence of the Indians. There the red-men, perhaps for the firsttime, beheld the pure and simple rites of the genuine Christian. Prayerswere said, and thanks given to the Deity, "for that, of his grace, heehad conducted the French nation into these strange places." This servicebeing ended, the Indians conducted the strangers into the presence oftheir king,[3] who received them in a sitting posture, upon a couchmade of bay leaves and palmetto. Speeches were made between the partieswhich were understood by neither. But their tenor was amicable, thesavage chieftain giving to Ribault, at parting, a basket wrought veryingeniously of palm leaves, "and a great skinne painted and drawenthroughout with the pictures of divers wilde beastes; so livly drawenand portrayed that nothing lacked life." Fish were taken for theFrenchmen by the hospitable natives, in weirs made of reeds, fashionedlike a maze or labyrinth--"troutes, great mullets, plaise, turbots, andmarvellous store of other sorts of fishes altogether different fromours." Another chief upon this river received them with like favors.Two of the sons of this chief are represented as "exceeding faire andstrong." They were followed by troops of the natives, "having theirbowes and arrowes, in marveilous good order."
[3] Laudonniere, in Hakluyt, gives the regal title among the Floridians as Paracoussi. Charlevoix writes the word Paraousti, or Paracousti; "et ausquels les Castillans donnent le titre general de Caciques." Mico, in subsequent periods, seems to have been the more popular title among the Florida Indians, signifying the same thing, or its equivalents, Chief, Prince, or Head Warrior.
From this river, still pursuing a northwardly course, Ribault came toanother which he explored and named the Seine, (now the St. Mary's,)because it appeared to resemble the river of that name in France.[4] Wepass over the minor details in this progress--how he communed with thenatives--who, everywhere seemed to have entertained our Huguenots withequal grace and gentleness, and who are described as a goodly people, oflively wit and great stature. Ribault continued to plant columns, and totake possession of the country after the usual forms, conferring namesupon its several streams, which he borrowed for the purpose from similarwell-known rivers in France. Thus, for a time, the St. Mary's became theSeine; the Satilla, the Somme; the Altamaha, the Loire; the Ogechee, theGaronne; and the Savannah, the Gironde. The river to which his prowswere especially directed, was that to which the name of Jordan hadbeen given by Vasquez de Ayllon, some forty years before. This is ourpresent Combahee. In sailing north, in this search, other smaller riverswere discovered, one of which was called the Belle-a-veoir. Separated bya furious tempest from his pinnaces, which had been kept in advance forthe purpose of penetrating and exploring these streams, Ribault, withhis ships, was compelled to stand out to sea. When he regained the coastand his pinnaces, he was advised of a "mightie river," in which they hadfound safe harborage from the tempest, a river which, "in beautie andbignesse" exceeded all the former. Delighted with this discovery, ourHuguenots made sail to reach this noble stream.
[4] "A quatorze lienes de la Riviere de Mai, il en trouva une troisieme qu'il nomma la Seine."--_Charlevoix's New France._ Liv. 1, p. 39.
The object of Ribault had been some safe and pleasant harborage, inwhich his people could refresh themselves for a season. His desires weresoon gratified. He cast anchor at the mouth of a mighty river, to which,"because of the fairnesse and largenesse thereoff," he gave the name ofPort Royale, the name which it still bears. The depth of this river issuch, that, according to Laudonniere, "when the sea beginneth to flowe,the greatest shippes of France, yea, the argosies of Venice, may enterthere." Ribault, at the head of his soldiers, was the first to land.Grateful, indeed, to the eye and fancy of our Frenchmen, was the scenearound them. They had already passed through a fairy-like region, ofislet upon islet, reposing upon the deep,--crowned with green forests,and arresting, as it were, the wild assaults of ocean upon the shores ofwhich they appeared to keep watch and guard. And, passing between theseislets and the main, over stillest waters, with a luxuriant shrubbery oneither hand, and vines and flowers of starred luxuriance trailing aboutthem to the very lips of this ocean, they had arrived at an imperialgrowth of forest. The mighty shafts that rose around them, heavywith giant limbs, and massed in their luxuriant wealth of leaves,particularly impressed the minds of our voyagers--"mightye high oakesand infinite store of cedars," and pines fitted for the masts of "suchgreat ammirals" as had never yet floated in the European seas. Theirsenses were assailed with fresh and novel delights at every footstep.The superb magnolia, with its great and snow-white chalices; theflowering dogwood with its myriad blossoms, thick and richly gleamingas the starry host of heaven; the wandering jessamine, whose yellowtrophies, mingling with grey mosses of the oak, stooped to the upwardstruggling billows of the deep, giving out odor at every rise and fallof the ambitious wavelet,--these, by their unwonted treasures ofscent and beauty, compelled the silent but profound admiration of thestrangers. "Exceeding pleasant" did the "very fragrant odour" make theplace; while other novelties interposed to complete the fascinations ofa spot, the peculiarities of which were equally fresh and delightful.Their farther acquaintance with the country only served to increase itsattractions. As they wandered through the woods, they "saw nothing butturkey cocks flying in the forests, partridges, gray and red, littledifferent from ours, but chiefly in bignesse;"--"we heard also withinthe woods the voices of stagges, of beares, of hyenas, of leopards, anddivers other sorts of beasts unknown to us. Being delighted with thisplace, we set ourselves to fishing with nets, and caught such a numberof fish that it was wonderful."
The same region is still renowned for its fish and game, for themonsters as well as the multitudes of the deep, and for the deer ofits spacious swamps and forests, which still exercise the skill andenterprise of the
angler and the hunter. This is the peculiar regionalso, of the "Devil fish," the "Vampire of the Ocean," described bynaturalists as of the genus Ray, species Dio-don, a leviathan ofthe deep, whose monstrous antennae are thrown about the skiff of thefisherman with an embrace as perilous as that wanton sweep of his mightyextremities with which the whale flings abroad the crowding boats of hishardy captors. Sea and land, in this lovely neighborhood, still gleamfreshly and wondrously upon the eye of the visitor as in the days of ourHuguenot adventurers; and still do its forests, in spite of the _cordon_which civilization and society have everywhere drawn around them, harborcolonies of the bear which occasionally cross the path of the sportsman,and add to his various trophies of the chase.
With impressions of the scene and region such as realized to ourFrenchmen the summer glories of an Arabian tale, it was easy todetermine where to plant their colony. Modern conjecture, however,is still unsatisfied as to the site which was probably chosen by ourvoyagers. The language of Laudonniere is sufficiently vague and generalto make the matter doubtful; and, unhappily, there are no remains whichmight tend to lessen the obscurity of the subject. The vessels hadcast anchor at the mouth of Port Royal River. The pilots subsequentlycounselled that they should penetrate the stream, so as to secure asheltered roadstead. They ascended the river accordingly, some threeleagues from its mouth, when Ribault proceeded to make a closerexamination of the country. The Port Royal "is divided into two greatarmes, whereof the one runneth toward the _west_, the other toward the_north_." Our Huguenot captain chose the _western_ avenue, which heascended in his pinnace. For more than twelve leagues he continued thisprogress, until he "found another arme of the river which ranne towardsthe _east_, up which the captain determined to sail and leave the greatecurrent."
The red men whom they encounter on this progress are at first shy ofthe strangers and take flight at their approach, but they are soonencouraged by the gentleness and forbearance of the Frenchmen, whopersuade them finally to confidence. An amiable understanding soonreconciles the parties, and the Floridian at length brings forwardhis gifts of maize, his palm baskets with fruits and flowers, hisrudely-dressed skins of bear and beaver, and these are pledges of hisamity which he does not violate. He, in turn, persuades the voyagers todraw near to the shore and finally to land. They are soon surrounded bythe delighted and simple natives, whose gifts are multiplied duly indegree with the pleasure which they feel. Skins of the _chamois_--deerrather--and baskets of pearls, are offered to the chief among thewhites, whom they proceed to entertain with shows of still greatercourtesy. A bower of forest leaves and shrubs is soon built to shelterthem "from the parching heate of the sunne," and our Frenchmen lingeredlong enough among this artless and hospitable people to get tidings ofa "greate Indian Lorde which had pearles in great abundance and silveralso, all of which should be given them at the king's arrival." Theyinvited the strangers to their dwellings--proffering to show them athousand pleasures in shooting, and seeing the death of the stag.
Our Huguenots, excellent Christians though they were, were by nomeans insensible to the tidings of pearl and gold. These glimpses oftreasures, already familiar to their imaginations, greatly increase, intheir sight, the natural beauties of the country. The narratives of thered men, imperfectly understood, and construed by the desires of thestrangers, rather than their minds, were full of marvels of neighboringlands and nations,--great empires of wealth and strength,--cities inromantic solitudes,--high places among almost inaccessible mountains, inwhich the treasures are equally precious and abundant. Listening to suchlegends, our Frenchmen linger with the red men, until the approach ofnight counsels them to seek the security of their ships.
But, with the dawning of the following day the explorations wereresumed. Before leaving his vessel, however, Ribault provides himselfwith "a pillar of hard stone, fashioned like a column, whereon the armesof France were graven," with the purpose of planting "the same in thefairest place that he coulde finde." "This done, we embarked ourselves,and sayled three leagues towards the west; where we discovered a littleriver, up which wee sayled so long, that, in the ende, wee found itreturned into the great current, and in his return, to make a littleisland separated from the firme lande, where wee went on shore, and bycommandment of the captain, because it was exceeding faire and pleasant,there we planted the pillar upon a hillock open round about to the viewand environed with a lake halfe a fathom deepe, of very good and sweetewater."
We are particular in these details, in the hope that future explorersmay be thus assisted in the work of identifying the places marked by ourHuguenots. Everything which they see in the new world which surroundsthem, is imposing to the eye and grateful to the sense. They wanderamong avenues of gigantic pines that remind them of the mightycolonnades in the great cathedrals of the old world. They are at onceexhilarated by a sense of unwonted freshness and beauty in what theybehold, and by aspects of grandeur and vastness which solemnize alltheir thoughts and fancies. With these feelings, when, in theirwanderings, they arouse from the shady covers where they browsed "twostagges of exceeding bignesse, in respect of those which _they_ hadseene before," their captain forbids that they should shoot them, thoughthey might easily have done so. The anecdote speaks well for Ribault'shumanity. It was not wholly because he was "moved with the singularfairenesse and bignesse of them," as Laudonniere imagines, but becausehis soul was lifted with religious sentiment--filled with worship atthat wondrous temple of nature in which the great Jehovah seemed visiblypresent, in love and mercy, as in the first sweet days of the creation.
To the little river which surrounded the islet, on which the pillar wasraised, they gave the name of "Liborne." The island itself is supposedto be that which is now called Lemon Island. The matter is one whichstill admits of doubt, though scarcely beyond the reach of certainty, ina close examination from the guide posts which we still possess. It is aquestion which may well provoke the diligence of the local antiquary."Another isle, not far distant from" that of the pillar, next claimedthe attention of the voyagers. Here they "found nothing but tall cedars,the fairest that were seene in this country. For this cause wee calledit the Isle of Cedars."
This ended their exploration for the day. A few days were consumed infarther researches, without leading to any new discoveries. In themeantime, Ribault prepared to execute the commands of his sovereign,in the performance of one of the tasks which civilization but toofrequently sanctions at the expense of humanity. He was commanded bythe Queen-mother to capture and carry home to France a couple of thenatives. These, as we have seen, were a mild race, maintaining amongthemselves a gentle intercourse, and exercising towards strangersa grateful hospitality. It was with a doubtful propriety that ourFrenchman determined to separate any of them from their homes andpeople. But it was not for Ribault to question the decrees of thatsovereign whom it was the policy of the Huguenots, at present, toconciliate. Having selected a special and sufficient complement ofsoldiers, he determined "to returne once againe toward the Indians whichinhabiteth that arme of the river which runneth toward the West." Thepinnace was prepared for this purpose. The object of the voyage wassuccessful. The Indians were again found where they had been at firstencountered. The Frenchmen were received with hospitality. Ribault madehis desires known to the king or chief of the tribe, who graciouslygave his permission. Two of the Indians, who fancied that they were morefavored than the rest of their brethren, by the choice of the Frenchmen,yielded very readily to the entreaties which beguiled them on boardone of the vessels. They probably misunderstood the tenor of theapplication; or, in their savage simplicity, concluded that a voyage tothe land of the pale-faces was only some such brief journey as they werewont to make, in their cypress canoes, from shore to shore along theirrivers--or possibly as far down as the great frith in which theirstreams were lost. But it was not long before our savage voyagerswere satisfied with the experiment. They soon ceased to be pleased orflattered with the novelty of their situation. The very attentionsbestowed upon them only provo
ked their apprehensions. The cruise weariedthem; and, when they found that the vessels continued to keep away fromthe land, they became seriously uneasy. Born swimmers, they had no fearabout making the shore when once in the water: and it required theutmost vigilance of the Frenchmen to keep them from darting overboard.It was in vain, for a long time, that they strove to appease and tosoothe the unhappy captives. Their detention, against their desires, nowmade them indignant. Gifts were pressed upon them, such as they wereknown to crave and to esteem above all other possessions. But these theyrejected with scorn. They would receive nothing in exchange for theirliberty. The simple language in which the old chronicler describes thescene and their sorrows, has in it much that is highly touching, becauseof its very simplicity. They felt their captivity, and were not to bebeguiled from this humiliating conviction by any trappings or soothings.Their freedom--the privilege of eager movements through billow andforest--sporting as wantonly as bird and fish in both--was too preciousfor any compensation. They sank down upon the deck, with clasped hands,sitting together apart from the crew, gazing upon the shores withmournful eyes, and chaunting a melancholy ditty, which seemedto the watchful and listening Frenchmen a strain of exile andlamentation--"agreeing so sweetly together, that, in hearing theirsong, it seemed that they lamented the absence of their friendes."And thus they continued all night to sing without ceasing.
The pinnace, meanwhile, lay at anchor, the tide being against them; withthe dawn of day the voyage was resumed, and the ships were reached insafety where they lay in the roadstead. Transferred to these, the twocaptives continued to deplore their fate. Every effort was made toreconcile them to their situation, and nothing was withheld whichexperience had shown to be especially grateful to the savage fancy. Butthey rejected everything; even the food which had now become necessaryto their condition. They held out till nearly sunset, in their rejectionof the courtesies, which, with a show of kindness, deprived them of themost precious enjoyment and passion of their lives. But the inferiornature at length insisted upon its rights. "In the end they wereconstrained to forget their superstitions," and to eat the meat whichwas set before them. They even received the gifts which they hadformerly rejected; and, as if reconciled to a condition from which theyfound it impossible to escape, they put on a more cheerful countenance."They became, therefore, more jocunde; every houre made us a thousanddiscourses, being marveillous sorry that we could not understand them."Laudonniere set himself to work to acquire their language. He strovestill more to conciliate their favor; engaged them in frequentconversation; and, by showing them the objects for which he sought theirnames, picked up numerous words which he carefully put on paper. In afew days he was enabled to make himself understood by them, in ordinarymatters, and to comprehend much that they said to him. They flatteredhim in turn. They told him of their feats and sports, and what pleasuresthey could give him in the chase. They would take food from no hands buthis; and succeeded in blinding the vigilance of the Frenchmen. They werenot more reconciled to their prison-bonds than before. They had simplychanged their policy; and, when, after several days' detention, theyhad succeeded in lulling to sleep the suspicions of their captors, theystole away at midnight from the ship, leaving behind them all the giftswhich had been forced upon them, as if, to have retained them, wouldhave established, in the pale-faces, a right to their liberties--thusshowing, according to Laudonniere, "that they were not void of reason."
Ribault was not dissatisfied with this result of his endeavor to complywith the commands of the Queen-mother. His sense of justice probablyrevolted at the proceeding; and the escape of the Indians, who wouldreport only the kindness of their treatment, would, in all likelihood,have an effect favorable to his main enterprise,--the establishment ofa colony. This design he now broached to his people in an elaboratespeech. He enlarged upon the importance of the object, drawing numerousexamples from ancient and modern history, in favor of those virtues inthe individual which such enterprise must develope. There is but onepassage in this speech which deserves our special attention. It isthat in which he speaks to his followers of their inferior birth andcondition. He speaks to them as "known neither to the king nor to theprinces of the realme, and, besides, descending from so poore a stock,that few or none of your parents, _having ever made profession ofarmes_, have beene knowne unto the great estates." This is in seemingconflict with what Laudonniere has already told us touching thecharacter and condition in society of the persons employed in theexpedition. He has been careful to say, at the opening of the narrative,that the two ships were "_well furnished with gentlemen_ (of whosenumber I was one) and old soldiers."[5] The apparent contradiction maybe reconciled by a reference to the distinction, which, until a lateperiod, was made in France, between the noblesse and mere gentlemen. Theword gentleman had no such signification, in France, at that period, asit bears to-day. To apply it to a nobleman, indeed, would have been, atone time, to have given a mortal affront, and a curious anecdote is onrecord, to this effect in the case of the Princess de la Roche Sur Yon,who, using the epithet "gentilhomme" to a nobleman, was insulted by him;and, on demanding redress of the monarch, was told that she deserved theindignity, having been guilty of the first offence.
[5] Charlevoix seems to afford a sufficient sanction for the claim of Laudonniere, in behalf of the gentle blood among the followers of Ribault. He says "Il avoit des esquipages choisis, et plusieurs volontaires, parmi lesquels il y avoit _quelques gentilshommes_." And yet Ribault should have known better than anybody else the quality of his armament. Certainly, the good leaven, as the result showed, was in too small a proportion to leaven the whole colony.
But Ribault's speech suggested to his followers that their inferiorcondition made nothing against their heroism. He, himself, though asoldier by profession, from his tenderest years, had never yet beenable to compass the favor of the nobility. Yet he had applied himselfwith all industry, and hazarded his life in many dangers. It was hismisfortune that "more regard is had to birth than virtue." But thisneed not discourage _them_, as it has never discouraged him from theperformance of his duties. The great examples of history are in _his_eyes, and should be in _theirs_.
"Howe much then ought so many worthy examples move you to plant here?Considering, also, that hereby you shall be registered forever as thefirst that inhabited this strange country. I pray you, therefore, allto advise yourselves thereof, and to declare your mindes freely untome, protesting that I will so well imprint your names in the King'seares, and the other princes, that your renowne shall hereafter shineunquenchable through our realm of France."
Ribault was evidently not insensible to fame. Had his thoughts beenthose of his sovereign, also, how different would have been the history!His soldiers responded in the proper spirit, and declared theirreadiness to establish a colony in the wild empire, the grandeur andbeauty of which had already commended it to their affections. Delightedwith the readiness and enthusiasm of his men, he weighed anchor the verynext day, in order to seek out the place most fit and convenient forhis settlement. "_Having sayled up the great river on the north side, incoasting an isle which ended with a sharpe point toward the mouth of theriver;--having sailed awhile he discovered a small river which enteredinto the islande, which hee would not faile to search out, which done,he found the same deep enough to harbour therein gallies and galliotsin good number. Proceeding farther, he found an open place joyning uponthe brinke thereof, where he went on land, and seeing the place fit tobuild a fortresse in, and commodious for them that were willing toplant there, he resolved incontinently to cause the bignesse of thefortification to be measured out._" The colony was to be a small one.Twenty-six persons had volunteered to establish it; as many, perhaps, ashad been called for. The dimensions of the fort were small accordingly.They were taken by Laudonniere, and one Captain Salles, under Ribault'sdirections. The fort was at once begun. Its length was sixteen fathoms,its breadth thirteen, "with flanks according to the proportion thereof."Then, for the first time, the European axe
was laid to the great shaftsof the forest trees of America, waking sounds, at every stroke, whoseechoes have been heard for three hundred years, sounding, and destinedto resound, from the Atlantic to the Pacific seas; leaving no waste ofwood and wild, unawakened by this first music of civilization.
The site thus chosen by Ribault for his colony, though no traces havebeen left of the labor of his hands, is scarcely doubtful to the presentpossessors of the country. All the proofs concur in placing Fort Charlessomewhere between North Edisto and Broad River, and circumstancesdetermine this situation to be that of the beautiful little town ofBeaufort, in South Carolina. The _Grande Riviere_ of the French is ourBroad River.[6] It was at the mouth of this river, in an island with asafe and commodious port, that the fort was established; and of thenumerous islands which rise everywhere along the coast in this region,as a fortress to defend the verdant shores from the assaults of ocean,there is none which answers so well as this all the requisitions of thisdescription. Besides, it is actually in the very latitude of the site,as given by Laudonniere; and the tradition of the Indians, as preservedby our own people, seems to confirm and to conclude the conjectures onthis subject. They state that the first place in which they saw the palefaces of the Europeans was at Coosawhatchie, in South Carolina. Now, theCoosawhatchie is the principal stream that forms the _Grande Riviere_ ofthe Frenchmen; and was, questionless, the first of the streams that waspenetrated by the pinnace of Ribault. It is highly probable that it borethe name of Coosawhatchie through its entire course, until it emptieditself into the ocean. The testimony of the Indians, based simply upontheir tradition, is of quite as much value as that of any other people.It is well known with what tenacity they preserve the recollectionof important events, and with what singular adherence to generaltruthfulness. The island upon which Beaufort now stands was mostprobably that which yielded the first American asylum to the Huguenotsof France!
[6] Charlevoix, in his "Fastes Chronologiques," preparatory to his work on New France, locates Charles Fort, under Ribault, near to the site of the present city of Charleston. In his "Histoire Generale," and in the map which illustrates this narrative, however, he concurs in the statement of the text. He also names the North Edisto the St. Croix.
Our Frenchmen travailed so diligently that, in a short space, thefortress was in some sort prepared for the colonists. It was soon in adefensible condition. "Victuals and warlike munition" were transferredfrom the shipping to the shore, and the garrison were furnished with allthings necessary for the maintenance of their fortress and themselves.The fort was christened by the name of Charles, the King of France;while the small river upon which it was built received the name ofChenonceau. All things being provided, the colonists marched into theirlittle and lovely place of refuge. They were confided to the charge ofone Captain Albert, to whom, and to whose followers, Ribault made aspeech at parting. His injunctions were of a parental and salutarycharacter. He exhorted their Captain to justice, firmness and moderationin his rule, and his people to obedience; promising to return withsupplies from France, and reinforcements before their present resourcesshould fail them. But these exhortations do not seem to have been muchregarded by either party. It will be for us, in future chapters, topursue their fortunes, and to pluck, if possible, from the unwrittenhistory, the detailed events of their melancholy destiny. Sad enoughwill it have been, even if no positive evil shall befall them,--thatseverance from their ancient comrades--that separation from the oldhomes of their fathers in _La Belle France_--that lonesome abode, on theverge of "ocean's gray and melancholy waste," on the one hand, and thedense, dark, repelling forests of Apalachia on the other;--doubtfulof all they see,--in spite of all that is fresh and charming intheir sight;--apprehensive of every sound that reaches them from thewilderness,--and filled with no better hope than that which springs upin the human bosom when assured that all hope is cut off--that onehope excepted, which is born of necessity, and which blossoms amid thenettles of despair. The isolation was the more oppressive and likely tobe grievous, as we have reason to doubt that, though founding a colonyfor the refuge of a religious and persecuted people, they brought anybecoming sense of religion with them. Our progress thus far with theadventurers has shown us but few proofs of the presence among them ofany feelings of devotion. Ribault himself was but a soldier, and hisambition was of an earthly complexion. Had they been elevated dulyby religion, they would have been counselled and strengthened in thesolitude by God. Unhappily, they were men only, rude, untaught, and fullof selfish passions,--badly ruled and often ill-treated, and probablygiving frequent provocation to the pride and passions of those who hadthem under rule. But they began their career in the New World withsufficient cheerfulness. Its climate was delicious, like that of theirown country. Its woods and forests were of a majesty and splendor beyondany of which their wildest fancies had ever dreamed; and the securitywhich the remoteness of the region promised them, and the novelty whichinvested every object in their eyes made the parting from their comradesa tolerably easy one. They heard with lively spirits the farewell shoutsof their companions, and answered them with cheers of confidence andpride. The simple paragraph which records the leave-taking of theparties, is at once pleasing and full of pathos. "Having ended his(Ribault's) exhortations, we took our leaves of _each_ of them, andsayled toward our shippes. We hoysed our sayles about ten of theclocke in the morning. After wee were ready to depart, Captain Ribaultcommanded to shoote off our ordnance, to give a farewell unto ourFrenchmen; which fayled not to do the like on their part. This beingdone, wee sayled toward the north." That last shout, that last sullenroar of their mutual cannon, and the great waves of the Atlantic rolled,unbroken by a sail, between our colonists and _La Belle France_.
The Lily and the Totem; or, The Huguenots in Florida Page 3
