History of the United States

by John Clark Ridpath

6. Another voyage was planned immediately. Three ships were provided; a number of young noblemen joined the expedition, and on the 19th of May the voyage was begun. The passage to Newfoundland was made by the 10th of August. It was the day of St. Lawrence, and the name of that martyr was given to the gulf and to the stream which enters it from the west. The expedition proceeded to the island of Orleans, where the ships were moored. Two Indians, whom Cartier had taken with him to France, gave information that there was an important town higher up the river. Proceeding thither, the French captain found a village at the foot of a high hill in the middle of an island. Cartier named the island and town Mont Real, and the country was declared to belong to the king of France. During this winter twenty-five of Cartier's men were swept off by the scurvy.

7. With the opening of spring, a cross was planted on the shore, and the homeward voyage began. The good king of the Hurons was decoyed on board and carried off to die. On the 6th of July the fleet reached St. Malo; but the accounts which Cartier published greatly discouraged the French; for neither silver nor gold had been found in New France.

8. Francis of Roberval was next commissioned by the court of France to plant a colony on the St. Lawrence. The man who was chiefly relied on to give character to the proposed colony was James Cartier. His name was accordingly added to the list, and he was honored with the office of chief pilot and captain-general.

9. It was difficult to find material for the colony. The French peasants were not eager to embark, and the work of enlisting volunteers went on slowly, until the government opened the prisons of the kingdom, giving freedom to whoever would join the expedition. There was a rush of robbers and swindlers, and the lists were immediately filled. Only counterfeiters and traitors were denied the privilege of gaining their liberty in the New World.

Fort on the site of Quebec.

10. In May of 1541, five ships, under command of Cartier, left France, reached the St. Lawrence, and ascended the river to the site of Quebec, where a fort was erected and named Charlesbourg. Here the colonists passed the winter. Cartier soon sailed away with his part of the squadron, and returned to Europe. Roberval was left in New France with three shiploads of criminals who could be restrained only by whipping and hanging. The winter was long and severe, and spring was welcomed for the opportunity which it gave of returning to France.

11. About the middle of the sixteenth century Admiral Coligny, of France, formed the design of establishing in America a refuge for the Huguenots of his own country. In 1562 John Ribault, of Dieppe, was selected to lead the Huguenots to the land of promise. In February the colony reached the coast of Florida near the site of St. Augustine. The River St. John's was entered and named the River of May. The vessel then sailed to the entrance of Port Royal; here it was determined to make the settlement. The colonists were landed on an island, and a stone was set up to mark the place. A fort was erected and named Carolina. In this fort Ribault left twenty-six men, and then sailed back to France. In the following spring the men in the fort mutinied and killed their leader. Then they built a rude brig and put to sea. They were at last picked up by an English ship and carried to France.

French in Florida.

12. Two years later another colony was planned, and Laudonniere chosen leader. The character, however, of this second Protestant company was very bad. A point on the River St. John's was selected for the settlement. A fort was built here, but a part of the colonists contrived to get away with two of the ships. The rest of the settlers were on the eve of departure when Ribault arrived with supplies and restored order. It was at this time that Menendez discovered the Huguenots and murdered them.

13. But Dominic de Gourgues, of Gascony, visited the Spaniards with signal vengeance. This man fitted out three ships, and with only fifty seamen arrived on the coast of Florida. He surprised three Spanish forts on the St. John's, and made prisoners of the inmates. Unable to hold his position, he hanged the leading captives to the trees, and put up this inscription to explain what he had done: "Not as Spaniards, but as murderers."