SHIPWRECK OF RIBAULT’S FLEET.--MASSACRE BY MENENDEZ.
Fearing lest Ribault should have escaped destruction in the storm, and
returning, should make an attack during his absence, Menendez hurried
back to St. Augustine. He took with him only fifty men, the rest being
left under the command of his son-in-law, De Valdez, who was ordered to
build a church on the site selected by Menendez, and marked by the
erection of crosses. After the completion of the church, De Valdez was
to use every effort to strengthen the captured fort.
Arriving at St. Augustine, Menendez was hailed as conqueror, and having
been escorted into the place by the priests and people who had been left
behind, a solemn mass was repeated, and a Te Deum chanted to celebrate
the victory.
Several of Ribault’s vessels were wrecked between Mosquito and Matanzas
inlets. Strange as it may appear, in the destruction of the whole fleet
but one life was lost from drowning. It now often happens on the sandy
portion of the Florida coast, that vessels will be driven high upon the
beach by the force of the swell, and there left by the receding tide in
a sound condition.
About two hundred men had collected on the southern barrier at Matanzas
Inlet, while a larger party with Ribault were gathered on the same
barrier, further to the south. The Indians soon after reported to
Menendez a large body of men at an inlet four leagues south which they
were unable to cross. He therefore marched with a body of forty men for
the inlet, and arrived at Matanzas the same evening. His course was
probably down the beach on Anastatia Island, as the account speaks of
his ordering the boats to keep abreast of him on the march.
Having come to the mouth of the inlet one of the Frenchmen swam across,
and reported that the party there assembled belonged to one of the
vessels of Ribault’s fleet. Menendez returned the man in a boat, and
offered a pledge of safety to the French captain and four or five of his
lieutenants who might choose to cross over and hold an interview. Upon
this pledge the captain crossed over in the boat with four of his
companions. These begged of Menendez that he would provide them with
boats that they might cross that inlet and the one at St. Augustine, and
return to their fort, twenty leagues to the north. Upon this Menendez
informed them of the capture of the fort and the destruction of the
garrison. The captain thereupon besought that they be furnished with a
vessel to return to France, observing that the French and Spanish kings
were loving brothers and the two nations at peace. Menendez, in reply,
asked if they were Catholics; to which it was answered that they were of
the New Religion. Then Menendez answered that if they had been Catholics
he would feel that he was serving his king in doing them kindness, but
Protestants he considered as enemies against which he should wage war
unceasingly, both against them, and against all that should come into
the territory of which he was adelantado, having come to these shores in
the service of his king, to plant the Holy Faith, in order that the
savages might be brought to a knowledge of the Holy Catholic religion.
Upon hearing this, the captain and his men desired to return and report
the same to their companions, and were accordingly sent back in the
boat. Soon after observing signals or signs from the opposite shore, the
boat was sent over to know what was their pleasure.
The French then endeavored to make some terms for a surrender, with the
privilege of ransom. There being many members of noble and wealthy
families among them, as much as fifty thousand ducats was offered for a
pledge of safety. Menendez would make no pledge, simply sending word
that if they desired they could surrender their arms and yield
themselves to his mercy, “in order that he might do unto them what
should be dictated to him by the grace of God.” The French seem to have
had an instinctive feeling that it would fare hard with them should they
yield themselves to the Spaniards; yet they were so wholly demoralized
and disheartened by the misfortune that had befallen them, that after
much delay and parley they finally sent word to Menendez that they were
willing to yield themselves to be dealt with as he willed. The French
were therefore transported across the sound in parties of ten at a time.
As each boat-load was landed, Menendez directed that the prisoners be
led behind “the scrub,” and their hands pinioned behind their backs.
This course he declared to them to be necessary, as he had but a small
number of men in his command, and if left free it would be an easy
matter for the French to turn upon him and revenge themselves for the
destruction of their fort and Laudonnère’s command. In this manner was
secured the whole body of the French who had collected on the southern
shore of Matanzas Inlet, to the number of two hundred and eight men. Of
this number eight in response to an inquiry declared themselves to be
Catholics, and were sent to St. Augustine in the boat. The remainder
were ordered to march with the Spanish soldiers on their path back to
the settlement. Menendez had sent on in advance an officer and a file of
soldiers with orders to wait at a designated spot on the road, and as
the parties of Frenchmen came up, to take them aside into the woods and
put them to death. In this manner the whole party were killed, and their
bodies left on the sands to feed the buzzards.
Menendez had hardly returned to St. Augustine before he learned that
there was a larger body of Frenchmen assembled at the spot where he had
found the first party, who were constructing a raft on which to cross
the inlet. Hurrying back with his troops he sent across a boat with a
message to the commander, whom he rightly conjectured was Ribault
himself, that he had destroyed the fort on the St. Johns, and a body of
those who were shipwrecked, and promising him a safe conduct if he
wished to cross over and satisfy himself as to the truth of this report.
Ribault availed himself of this offer, and was shown the dead bodies of
his men who had been so cruelly murdered. He was allowed to converse
with one of the prisoners who had been brought in the company of the
Spaniards. This man was one of the eight who were Catholics and were
spared from the former company.
Ribault endeavored to negotiate for the ransom of himself and his men,
offering double the sum before named by the French captain, but Menendez
refused to listen to any terms except an unconditional surrender. After
ineffectually offering a ransom of 200,000 ducats, the French admiral
returned to his party, and informed them of the demands of the Spaniard.
In spite of the terrible fate of their comrades, which should have
served as a warning of what awaited themselves, one hundred and fifty of
the company, including Ribault, decided to surrender to the Spanish
captain.
These were transported to the island and disposed of in the same manner
as the former body of prisoners, saving only a few musicians, and four
soldiers who claimed to be Catholics--in all, sixteen persons. Two
hundred of the French refused to trust themselves to the Spaniards,
preferring the chances of preserving their lives on the inhospitable
beach until they could find a way to escape to a more friendly country.
These retreated back to their wrecked ships, and began to construct a
fort and a small vessel to return to France, or at least to leave the
fatal shores of Florida.
Menendez soon after determined to break up their camp, fearing the
presence of so large a body of his enemies in his midst. Having fitted
out a fleet of three vessels to co-operate by water, Menendez marched
his soldiers a journey of eight days from St. Augustine. Here he found
the fugitives encamped and prepared to resist an attack. Without delay,
the Spaniards were led to battle. The French, being poorly equipped,
fought at a disadvantage, and were soon forced to retire beyond the
reach of the cannon of the fleet. Having captured the fortification,
Menendez sent word to the French that if they would surrender he would
spare their lives. A portion of the French refused to trust the pledge
of the Spanish captain, and withdrew to the woods. These were never
heard of more. The remainder came to the Spanish camp and surrendered.
After destroying the fort and setting fire to the wrecked vessels and
the ship the French had begun to build, the Spaniards sailed back to St.
Augustine, bringing with them one hundred and fifty of the Frenchmen. To
this remnant of the proud army of Ribault the pledges given by Menendez
were faithfully kept.
It is difficult to believe that the unfortunate condition of these
shipwrecked Frenchmen, far from their kindred or race, thrown destitute
upon desolate shores, and begging so earnestly for life, did not move
the heart of Menendez to feelings of pity. Doubtless a regard for his
own safety united with a furious fanaticism to effectually seal up the
springs of charity in his breast.
The earlier experiences of Menendez in his wars against the Protestants
of the Netherlands, had been in a fallow field for the cultivation of
humanity. In those struggles Pope Pius V. is said to have commanded
Count Santafiore to take no Huguenot prisoners, but instantly to kill
every one who should fall into his hands.[5]
Let us hope that the sands of Florida will never again be reddened by
blood spilled by the hand of the bigot or partisan.
The results achieved by Menendez occasioned great rejoicing at the court
of Spain. Letters of gratitude and commendation were sent to him by
Philip II. and the Pontiff Pius V. The pope’s letter is an able and
dispassionate epistle. After lauding the virtues of Menendez, he
declares to him that the key-note to his inspiration and the motive of
his labors, should be to prevent the “Indian idolaters” from being
scandalized by the vices and bad habits of the Europeans.
As the exaggerated reports of the cruelties practiced by Menendez spread
through Europe, an intense and bitter feeling was excited. Indignation
pervaded the breasts of the French nation at the destruction of their
fellow-countrymen, although the king, Charles IX., failed, in fact even
refused, to take notice of the slaughter of his faithful subjects. A
petition from nine hundred widows and orphans of those who had sailed
on the fatal expedition with Ribault, was unheeded by this sovereign.
That the fate of the Huguenots was merited as the common enemies of
Spain, France, and the Catholic religion, was the openly avowed
sentiment of this unnatural and unpatriotic king.
Feeling the insecurity of his position, from which there was no place of
retreat in case of a successful attack from a foreign foe or the
neighboring Indians, Menendez applied himself, with the utmost
diligence, to strengthening the defense of his new town. At the same
time he instituted such measures as should insure a permanent
settlement, and the establishment of civil rights and privileges.
I have stated that the place where Menendez landed was probably near the
present United States barracks. While I have been unable to discover any
authentic records bearing upon this point, the weight of Spanish
testimony confirms the belief that the Spaniards first landed near the
point stated. On the other hand, Romans, in his history of Florida,
published in 1775, says: “After leaving St. Sebastian River, going
south, we next meet the mouth of St. Nicholas Creek, on the point to the
north of which the first town was built by the Spaniards, but they soon
removed it, for convenience sake, to its present site.”
This St. Nicholas is now called Moultrie Creek, in honor of a
lieutenant-governor of the province during the British occupancy, who
built at its mouth an elegant country residence, which he called Bella
Vista. It is situated six miles south of St. Augustine, and empties into
the Matanzas River. Besides the explicit testimony of Romans, there is a
certain amount of negative testimony to discredit the statement that an
Indian town was located on the present site of St. Augustine.
First, the location at the mouth of Moultrie Creek would have been a
more desirable location for an Indian town than the site of St.
Augustine, because the land at St. Augustine was low ground (by some
writers said to have been a marsh, though others say it was an oak
hummock). It must have been subject to overflow at the periods of very
high tides, and always exposed to the force of gales. There is also good
reason to believe that there was water or low ground between the
southern end of the town and the fort, and, moreover, there are no signs
of Indian occupation within the city proper. There are many traces of an
Indian settlement to the north of the city, on the lands of Mr. Williams
and in that vicinity, and all accounts agree that there was an Indian
town there in the early Spanish times. There are acres of Mr. Williams’s
land that are so thickly strewn with oyster shells as to render its
cultivation difficult.
However the facts may be as to the location of the first landing of
Menendez and the attendant ceremonies, it is certain that, soon after,
the foundations of the town were laid on its present site, and the town,
with its fortifications, regularly laid out. The city was originally
planned to be three squares one way by four the other. At this time a
stockade or fortification was built upon or near the site of the present
fort. At about the same period a parish church and hall of justice were
erected, and civil officers appointed.
During the winter succeeding the settlement of the Spaniards at St.
Augustine, there was a great scarcity of provisions in the colony, so
that the settlers were forced to forage upon the neighboring Indians,
and to depend upon such supplies of fish and game as they might secure.
The danger which attended any expeditions for hunting rendered this but
a meager source of supply. Satouriva, the chief of the Indians, who
inhabited the territory to the north, between St. Augustine and the St.
Johns River, had been a friend of Laudonnère, and from the time of the
destruction of the French he continued unceasingly to wage war on the
Spaniards. His method of warfare exhibited the same bravery and cunning
that has since become characteristic of the Indians, never being found
when looked for--ever present when unexpected. By the constant harassing
attacks, encouraged by this chief, the Spaniards lost many valuable
lives, among them Juan Menendez, nephew of the governor.
To obtain supplies to relieve the distress of his colony, Menendez
undertook a voyage to Cuba. The governor of the island was through
jealousy unwilling to render him any assistance, and he would have fared
badly had he not found there four of his vessels, which had been left in
Spain with orders to follow him, but, meeting with many delays, had but
lately arrived in Cuba.
With these vessels he returned to his colony, only to find that during
his absence a portion of the troops had mutinied. The mutineers had
imprisoned the master of the camp, who had been left in command, seized
upon what provisions were remaining, and taking possession of a small
vessel arriving with stores, had set sail for Cuba.
Menendez with consummate tact succeeded in rousing the flagging interest
of his colony in the extension of the true religion, and managed by his
courage and presence to remove the causes of dissension. Desiring to be
rid of a portion of his colony who had proved querulous, lazy, and
inimical to his interest, he sent a body of them, numbering one hundred,
back to Cuba in one of the vessels going for supplies. The return of
this vessel was anxiously looked for, as the colony had again begun to
suffer from a scarcity of provisions and from sickness. Without waiting
for affairs to become desperate, Menendez sailed for Cuba to obtain the
needed supplies. Upon his arrival he found the governor of Mexico there,
but so disparaging had been the reports of those who had deserted his
standard, that he was advised to give up his unprofitable enterprise,
and the succor he requested was refused. His courage but rose as his
circumstances became more adverse, and, determined not to relinquish his
undertaking nor return empty-handed to his famishing colony, he pawned
his jewels and the badge of his order for a sum of five hundred ducats,
with which he purchased the necessary provisions, and hastened back to
Florida. Upon his return he was rejoiced to find that the distress of
his colony had already been relieved. Admiral Juan de Avila had arrived
from Spain with fifteen vessels and a thousand men, a large quantity of
supplies, and what was most gratifying to Menendez, a letter of
commendation from his sovereign.
Availing himself of the force now at his command, Menendez set out on an
expedition to establish forts and missionary stations at different
points along the coast, as had been his intention since his first
landing in Florida. Several of these posts were at this time established
by him in the territory then embraced in Florida, the most northerly
station being on the Chesapeake Bay, which was the northern boundary of
the possessions claimed by Spain. Priests or friars were left at each of
these stations to instruct the Indians. While establishing these
missionary posts for introducing Christianity among the Indians,
Menendez became convinced that if the establishments were to be
maintained, and the most important work of teaching the natives
continued, he must have larger means and greater forces at his command.
Hoping to obtain this aid from his sovereign, he set out for Spain in
the spring of 1567. Upon his arrival he was welcomed by the king with
many flattering attentions and assurances of aid in the furtherance of
his plans for propagating the Catholic faith.