VII.
FIRST FRUITS OF THE ADVENTURE.
The reconnaissance was completed. The report of Holata Cara andD'Estampes showed that the Spanish fortress of San Matheo, formerly LaCaroline, was in good order, and with a strong garrison. Two other fortswhich the Spaniards had raised in the neighborhood, commanding bothsides of the river, and nearer to its mouth, were also surveyed, andwere found to be well manned and in proper condition for defence. Inthese three forts, the garrison was found to consist of four hundredsoldiers, unequally distributed, but with a force in each sufficient forthe post. Thus advised, the allies proceeded severally to array theirtroops for the business of assault. But, before marching, a solemnfestival was appointed on the banks of the Salina Cani--by the Frenchcalled the Somme--which was the place appointed for the rendezvous. Herethe red-men drank copious draughts of their cassine, or apalachine, abitter but favorite beverage, the reported nature of which is that ittakes away all hunger and thirst for the space of twenty-four hours,from those that employ it. Though long used to all sorts of trial andendurance, Gourgues found it not so easy to undergo this draught. Still,he made such a show of drinking, as to satisfy his confederates; andthis done, the allied chiefs, lifting hands and eyes, made solemn oathof their fidelity in the sight of heaven. The march was then begun, thered-men leading the way, and moving, in desultory manner, through thewoods, Holata Cara at their head; while, pursuing another route, butunder good guidance, and keeping his force compactly together, ourchevalier conducted his Frenchmen to the same point of destination. Thiswas the river Caraba, or Salinacani, named by Ribault the Somme, whichwas at length reached, but not without great difficulty, the streamsbeing overflowed by frequent and severe rains, and the marshy and lowtracts all under water. Food was wanting also to our Frenchmen, the barkappointed to follow them with provisions, under Monsieur Bourdelois nothaving arrived.
They were now but two leagues distant from the two smaller forts whichthe Spaniards had established and fortified, in addition to that of LaCaroline, on the banks of the May, or, as they had newly christenedit, the San Matheo. While bewildered with doubts as to the manner ofreaching these forts--the waters everywhere between being swollen almostbeyond the possibility of passage--the red-men were consulted, and thechief, Helicopile, was chosen to guide our Frenchmen by a more easy andless obvious route. Making a circuit through the woods, the whole partyat length reached a point where they could behold one of the forts; buta deep creek lay between, the water of which rose above their waists.Gourgues, however, now that his object was in sight, was not to bediscouraged by inferior obstacles; and, giving instructions to hispeople to fasten their powder flasks to their morions and to carry theirswords and their calivers in their hands above their heads, he effectedthe passage at a point which enabled them to cover themselves from sightof the Spaniards by a thick tract of forest which lay between the fortand the river. It was sore fording for our Frenchmen; for the bed of thecreek was paved with great oysters, the shells of which inflicted sharpwounds upon their legs and feet; and many of them lost their shoes inthe passage. As soon as they had crossed, they prepared themselves forthe assault. Up to this moment, so well had the red-men guarded all thepassages, and so rapid had been their march, with that of Gourguesand his party, that the Spaniards had no notion that there were anyFrenchmen in the country. Still, they were on the alert; and so activedid they show themselves, in and about the fort, that our chevalierfeared that his approach had been discovered.
But no time was to be lost. Giving twenty arquebusiers to his LieutenantCasenove, and half that number of mariners, armed with pots and balls ofwild fire, designed to burn the gate of the fort, he took a like forceunder his own command, with the view to making simultaneous assaultsin opposite quarters. The two parties were scarcely in motion, beforeGourgues found the chief Holata Cara at his side, followed by a smallparty of the red-men; the rest had been carefully concealed in thewoods, in order to pursue the combat after their primitive fashion.Holata Cara was armed only with a long spear, which he bore with greatdexterity, and a macana which now hung by his side, a flattened club,the two edges of which were fitted with the teeth of the shark, or withgreat flints, ground down to the sharpness of a knife. This was hissubstitute for a sword, and was a weapon capable of inflicting the mostterrible wounds. The spear which he carried was headed also with amassive dart of flint, curiously and finely set in the wood, andexhibiting a rare instance of Indian ingenuity, in its excellence asa weapon of offence, and its rare and elaborate ornament. Gourguesexamined it with much interest. The instrument was antique. It mighthave been in use an hundred years or more. The heavy but elastic wood,almost blackened by age and oil, was polished like a mirror by repeatedfriction. The grasp was carved with curious ability, and exhibited thewings of birds with eyes wrought among the feathers, in the sockets ofwhich great pearls were set, the carving of the feathers forming a bushybrow above, and a shield all about them, so that, grasp the weapon asyou would, the pearls were secure from injury. Gourgues examined theowner of the spear with as much curiosity as he did the weapon. Butwithout satisfaction. The features of the other were immoveable. But thesignals being all made, Holata Cara waved his hand with some impatienceto the fort, and Gourgues had no leisure to ask the questions which thatmoment arose in his mind.
"It was," says the venerable chronicle, "the Sunday eve next afterEaster-day, April, 1568," when the signal for the assault was given.Gourgues made a brief speech to his followers before they began theattack, recounting the cruel treachery and the bloody deeds of theSpaniards done upon their brethren at La Caroline and Matanzas Bay.Holata Cara, resting with his spear head thrust in the earth, listenedin silence to this speech. The moment it was ended, he led the way forthe rest, from the thicket which concealed them. As soon as the twoparties had emerged from cover, they were descried by the watchfulSpaniards.
"To arms! to arms!" was the cry of their sentinels. "To arms! these beFrenchmen!"
To the war-cry of "Castile" and "Santiago!" that of "France!" and"Saint-Denis for France," was cheerily sent up by the assailants; andit was observed that no shout was louder or clearer than that of HolataCara, as he hurried forward.
When the assailants were within two hundred paces of the fort, theartillery of the garrison opened upon them from a culverin taken at LaCaroline, which the Spaniards succeeded in discharging twice, with someeffect, while the Frenchmen were approaching. A third time was thispiece about to be turned upon the assailants, when Holata Cara, rushingforwards planted his spear in the ground, and swinging from it, witha mighty spring, succeeded, at a bound, in reaching the platform. Thegunner was blowing his match, and about to apply it to the piece, whenthe spear of the Indian chief was driven clean through his body, and thenext moment the slain man was thrust headlong down into the fort. Stungby this noble example, Gourgues hurried forward, and the assaultbeing made successfully on the opposite side at the same instant, theSpaniards fled from the defences. A considerable slaughter ensuedwithin, when they rushed desperately from the enclosure.
But they were encountered on every side. Escape was vain. Of the wholegarrison, consisting of threescore men, all were slain, with theexception of fifteen, who were reserved for a more deliberatepunishment.
Meanwhile the fortress on the opposite side of the river opened upon theassailants, and was answered by the four pieces which had been foundwithin the captured place. The Frenchmen were more annoyed than injuredby this distant cannonade, and immediately prepared to cross the riverfor the conquest of this new enemy. Fortunately, the _patache_, bringingtheir supplies, had ascended the stream, and, under cover from the gunsof the Spaniard, lay in waiting just below. Gourgues, with fourscoresoldiers, crossed the stream in her; the Indians not waiting for thisslow conveyance, but swimming the river, carrying their bows and arrowswith one hand above their heads.
The Frenchmen at once threw themselves into the woods which covered thespace between this second fort and La Caroline, the latter being only a
league distant. The Spaniards, apprised of the movement of the patache,beholding shore and forest lined with the multitudes of red-men, andhearing their frightful cries on every hand, were seized with anirresistible panic, and, in an evil moment abandoned their stronghold,in the hope of making their way through the woods, to the greaterfortress of La Caroline. But they were too late in the attempt. Thewoods were occupied by enemies. Charged by the advancing Frenchmen, theyrushed into the arms of the savages, and, with the exception of anotherfifteen, were all butchered as they fought or fled. Holata Cara wasagain found the foremost, and the most terrible agent in this work ofvengeance.
The Lily and the Totem; or, The Huguenots in Florida Page 52
