After so long and tedious travels, God, of his goodness, using his accustomed favor, changed their sorrow into joy, and showed unto them the sight of land. Whereof they were so exceeding glad, that the pleasure caused them to remain a long time as men without sense; whereby they let the pinnace float this and that way, without holding any right way or course. But a small English bark boarded the vessel, in the which there was a Frenchman which had been in the first voyage into Florida, who easily knew them, and spake unto them, and afterward gave them meat and drink. Incontinently they recovered their natural courages, and declared unto him at large all their navigation. The Englishmen consulted a long time what were best to be done; and in fine they resolved to put on land thosethat were most feeble, and to carry the rest unto the Queen of England, which purposed at that time to send into Florida.
[They finally reached England, having doubtless made the first voyage across the Atlantic ever accomplished in an American-built vessel.]
III.—Laudonnière’s Search for the Colonists.
[Laudonnière sailed with three ships, April 22, 1564, on an expedition in search of the men whom Ribaut had left at Port Royal nearly two years before. He reached the St. John’s River a little more than two months later.]
The second voyage into Florida, made and written by Capt. Laudonnière, which fortified and inhabited there two summers and one whole winter.…
The next day, the 23d of this month,[166]—because that toward the south I had not found any commodious place for us to inhabit, and to build a fort,—I gave commandment to weigh anchor,and to hoist our sails to sail toward the River of May,[167] where we arrived two days after, and cast anchor. Afterward going on land with some number of gentlemen and soldiers, to know for a certainty the singularities of this place,we espied the paracoussey[168] of the country, which came towards us,—this was the very same that we saw in the voyage of Capt. John Ribaut. Which, having espied us, cried very far off, “Antipola, antipola!” And, being so joyful that he could not contain himself, he came to meet us, accompanied with two of his sons, as fair and mightypersons as might be found in all the world, which had nothing in their mouths but this word, “Ami, ami;” that is to say, “Friend, friend!” Yea; and, knowing those which were there in the first voyage, they went principally to them to use this speech unto them. There was in their train a great number of men and women, which still made very much of us, and by evident signs made us understand how glad they were of our arrival. This good entertainment passed, the paracoussey prayed me to go see the pillar which we had erected in the voyage of John Ribaut—as we have declared heretofore—as a thing which they made great account of.
RIBAUT’S PILLAR DECORATED BY INDIANS.
(From a design by Lemoyne, one of Laudonnière’s companions.)