Latest / This Country of Ours, Part 1 / 09 - This Country of Ours, Part 1 by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall

Transcript

09 - This Country of Ours, Part 1 by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall · This Country of Ours, Part 1

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: This Country of Ours chapter nine. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. This
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: reading by Kara Shallenberg. This Country of Ours by H. E. Marshall,
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Chapter nine, How the Spaniards drove the French out of Florida.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Scarcely a week had passed before the new peace and
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: happiness of the French colony was brought to a cruel end.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Late one night, the men on board the French ships
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: saw a great black hulk loom silently up out of
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: the darkness. It was followed by another, and another. No
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: word was spoken, and in eerie silence, the strange ships
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: crept stealthily onwards and cast anchor beside the French. The
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: stillness grew terrible. At length it was broken by a
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: trumpet call from the deck of one of the silent newcomers.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: Then a voice came through the darkness. Gentlemen, it asked,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: whence does this fleet come from France? Was the reply?
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: What are you doing here? Was the next question. We
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: are bringing soldiers and supplies for a fort which the
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: King of France has In this country and for many
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: which he soon will have. Are you Catholics or Lutherans?
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: The question came sharply across the dark water. It was
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: answered by many voices. We are Lutherans, cried the French.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: We are of the new religion. Then it was the
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: Frenchman's turn to ask questions. Who are you? They cried,
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: And whence come ye? I am Pedro Menendez, replied the
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: voice out of the darkness. I am Admiral of the
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: fleet of the King of Spain, and I am come
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: into this country to hang and be head all Lutherans
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: whom I may find by land or by sea. And
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: my King has given me such strict commands that I
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: have power to pardon no man of them. And these
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: come I shall obey to the letter. As you will see.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: At dawn, I shall come aboard your ship, and if
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: there I find any Catholic, he shall be well treated,
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: but every heretic shall die. In reply to this speech,
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: a shout of wrath went up from the frenchmen. If
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: you are a brave man, they cried, why wait for dawn?
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: Come on now and see what you will get. Then,
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: in their anger, they heaped insults upon the Spaniards and
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: poured forth torrents of scoffing words. Thereupon, Menendez was so
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: enraged that he swore to silence those Lutheran dogs once
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: and forever. So the order was given, and his great
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: ship slowly moved towards the French. The threats of the
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: French had been but idle boasting. They could not withstand
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: the Spaniards, for their leader was ashore with most of
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: his soldiers, so cutting their cables, they fled out to sea.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: Pursued by the foe. There was a mad chase through
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: the darkness, but the heretic devils, as the Spaniards called them,
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: were skillful sailors. Menendez could not catch them, and when
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: day dawned, he gave up the chase and moodily turned
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: back to Fort Caroline. Here he found the French ready
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: for him, and they seemed so strong that he would
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: not attack, but sailed away southwards until he reached the
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: River of Dolphins. Here Menendez landed and took possession of
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: the country in the name of the King of Spain.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: While cannon boomed and trumpets blew, He stepped on shore,
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: followed by his officers and gentlemen. In all the gay
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: trappings of knighthood, with many colored banners fluttering in the breeze.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: They marched. Then as they advanced, another procession came toward them.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: At the head of it was a priest in all
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: the pomp and splendor of his priestly robes. He carried
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: a gilded crucifix in his hand, and as he marched
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: he sang a tedeum. When the two processions met, Menendez
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: and all his company knelt and, baring their heads, kissed
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: the crucifix. So was the land claimed for Spain and
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: the Catholic faith, and Saint Augustine, the oldest town in
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: the United States, was founded. Meanwhile, the fleeing French ships
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: had turned followed the Spaniards and seen them land. Then
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: they went back to Fort Caroline with the news. While
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: these things had been happening, Laudonniere had been very ill.
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: He was still in bed when Ribaut, followed by several
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: of his chief officers, came to his room to tell
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: him the news which the returning ships had just brought.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: And beside his sick bed, they held a council of war.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: It was decided to attack the Spaniards and drive them
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: from the land. But how first one plan and then
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: another was discussed, and to each some one objected. But
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: at length it was decided to go by sea and
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: attack the Spaniards suddenly in their newly founded fort. So
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: almost every man who could hold a gun set forth
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: with Ribaut and Laudonniere was left in the fort with
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: the feeble and sick, and scarcely a man besides who
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: had ever drawn a sword or fired a shot. Their
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: leader was as sick and feeble as any of them,
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: but he dragged himself from his bed to review his forces.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: They were poor, indeed, but Laudonniere made the best of them.
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: He appointed each man to a certain duty. He set
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: a watch night and day, and he began to repair
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: the broken down walls of the fort, so that they
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: would be able to make some show of resistance in
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: case of attack. While Laudonniere was thus ordering his poor
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: little garrison, the ships carrying the rest of the colonists
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: sailed on their way. The wind was fair, and in
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: the night they crept close to where the Spanish vessels lay.
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: But when day dawned and the Spaniards saw the French
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: vessels close to them, they fled to the shelter of
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: their harbor, and a sudden storm arising, the French were
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: driven out to sea again. As Menendez watched them from
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: the shore, he rejoiced. He knew by the number of
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: ships that most of the French colonists must be in them,
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: and he hoped that they would all be lost in
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: the storm. Then, as he watched, a sudden thought came
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: to him. While the frenchmen were battling with wind and waves,
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: he resolved to move quickly over land and take Fort Caroline,
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: for he knew that it must be almost, if not
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: quite unprotected. One of the French mutineers who had deserted Laudonniere,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: was now in the Spanish fort. He would show the way.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: Full of this splendid idea eager to carry it out
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: at once, he ordered mass to be said. Then he
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: called a council and laid his plan before his officers. They, however,
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: met his eagerness with coldness. It was a mad and
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: hopeless plan, they thought, and they did their best to
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: dissuade Menendez from it. But Menendez was determined to go comrades.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: He said, it is now that we must show our
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: courage and our zeal. This is God's war, and we
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: must not turn our backs upon it. It is war
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: against heretics, and we must wage it with blood and
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: with fire. But the Spanish leader's eager words awoke no
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: response in the heart of his hearers. They answered him
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: only with mutterings. Still, Menendez insisted. The debate grew stormy
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: and angry. Words were flung this way and that at length.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: However Menendez had his way, the clamor was stilled. The
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: officers gave a grudging consent, and preparations for the march
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: were begun. In a few days, all was ready and
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: the expedition set out. It was a simple matter. There
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: was no great train of sumpter mules or baggage wagons.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: Each man carried his own food and ammunition, and twenty
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: axe men marched in front of the little army to
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: leave a way through the forest. The storm still raged,
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: rain fell in torrents, and the wind howled ceaselessly. As
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: on and on the men trudged. They plunged through seas
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: of mud and grass which grew waist high, and threaded
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: their way along the narrow paths cloven for them by
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: the axemen. So for three days they toiled onward. Their
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: food was gone, their ammunitions soaked. They were drenched to
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: the skin, footsore, and famishing, when upon the third night
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: they lay down upon the muddy ground, cursing their leader
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: for having brought them forth to die thus miserably. But
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: while the men cursed, Menendez prayed. All night he prayed,
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: and before day dawned he called his officers to a council.
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: They were now within a mile of Fort Caroline, and
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: he was eager to attack. But his officers were sick
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: of the whole business. The men were utterly disheartened, one
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: and all. They clamored to return, Yet once again Menendez
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: bent them to his will. In the darkness of the forest,
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: he spoke to the wretched, shivering, rain drenched men, He taunted,
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: he persuaded, and at length wrung from them a sullen
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: consent to follow him. So once again the miserable march
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: was begun. And when day dawned they stood on the
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: hill above the fort. No sound came from it, no
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: watchmen stood upon the ramparts. For towards morning, seeing that
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: it rained harder than ever, the captain of the guard
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: had sent his men to bed, for they were soaked
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: to the skin, and he was sorry for them. In
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: such rain and wind. What enemy would venture forth, he
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: asked himself. It was folly to stay abroad on such
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: a night, he thought, so, he dismissed the guard and
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: went off to bed. Thus none heard or saw the
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: approach of the Spaniards. Then suddenly the silence of the
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: dawn was broken with fierce war cries at them, shouted
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: the Spaniards, God is with us. The sleeping Frenchmen started
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: from their beds in terror. Half naked, they sprang to
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: arms on every side. The Spaniards poured in the dim
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: light of dawn, showed the dark cruel faces and the
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: gleam of drawn swords. Then clash of steel, screams of
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: frightened women and children, curses, prayers, all mingled together in
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: terrible confusion. At the first alarm, laud On sprang from
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: his bed, and, seizing his sword, called his men to
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: follow him, But the Spaniards surrounded him. His men were
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: slain and scattered, and he himself was forced back into
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: the yard of his house. Here there was a tent.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: This stopped his pursuers, for they stumbled over the cordage
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: and became entangled with it. The confusion gave Ladagnere a
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: few minutes respite, in which he escaped through a breach
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: in the ramparts and took refuge in the forest. A
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: few others fleeing this way and that, escaped likewise. But some,
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: the first moment of terror passed, resolved to return and
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: throw themselves on the mercy of the Spaniards rather than
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: face starvation in the woods. They are men, said one.
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: It may be when their fury is spent, they will
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: spare our lives, even if they slay us. What of that,
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: it is but a moment's pain. Better that than to
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: starve here in the woods, or be torn to pieces
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: by wild beasts. Still some held back, but most agreed
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: to throw themselves upon the mercy of the Spaniards. So
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: unarmed and almost naked as they were, they turned back
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: to give themselves up. But little did these simple frenchmen
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: understand the fury of the foe. When they neared the fort,
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: the Spaniards rushed out upon them, and, unheeding their cries
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: for mercy, slew them to a man. Those who had
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: held back when they saw the fate. Of their companions
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: fled through the forest. Some sought refuge among the Indians,
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: but even from that refuge the Spaniards hunted them forth
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: and slew them without pity. Thus the land was filled
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: with bloodshed and ruin. Many were slain at once by
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: the sword. Others were hanged on trees round the fort
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: and over them. Menendez wrote, I do this not as
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: to Frenchmen, but as to Lutherans. Only a few miserable stragglers,
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: after untold sufferings, reached the little ship, which still lay
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: at anchor in the river. Among these was Laudonniere. Their
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: one desire now was to flee homewards, and, unfurling their sails,
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: they set out for France. The colony of Fort Caroline
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: was wiped out, and, rejoicing at the success of his
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: bold scheme, Menendez marched back to Saint Augustine, where a
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: tadeum was sung in honor of this victory over heretics. Meanwhile,
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: the Frenchmen, who had set forth to attack Saint Augustine
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: by sea, had been driven hither and thither by the storm,
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: and at length were wrecked. But although the ships were lost,
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: all or nearly all of the men succeeded in reaching
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: the shore in safety, and not knowing what had happened
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: at Fort Caroline, they set out in two companies to
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: try to reach the fort by land, but they never
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: reached the fort for one morning, scarcely ten days after
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: the destruction of Fort Caroline, some Indians came to Menendez
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: with the news that they had seen a French ship
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: wrecked a little to the south. The news delighted Menendez,
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: and he at once set out to capture the shipwrecked men.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: It was not long before he saw the light of
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: the French camp in the distance, but on coming nearer,
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: it was seen that they were on the other side
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: of an arm of the sea, so that it was
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: impossible to reach them. Hiding therefore in the bushes by
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: the water's edge, Menendez and his men watched the frenchmen
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: on the other side. The Spaniards soon saw that their
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: enemies were in distress. They suspected that they were starving,
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: for they could be seen walking up and down the
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: shore seeking shell fish. But Menendez wanted to make sure
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: of the state they were in, and he made up
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: his mind to get nearer to the frenchmen. So he
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: put off his fine clothes, and, dressing himself like a
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: common sailor, got into a boat and rowed across the water.
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: Seeing him come, one of the frenchmen swam out to
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: meet him. As he drew near, Menendez called out to him,
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: who are you and whence come? Ye? We are followers
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: of Ribault, Viceroy of the King of France, answered the frenchman.
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: Are you Catholics or Lutherans? Asked Menendez, We are Lutherans,
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: answered the man. Then, after a little more talk, Menendez
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: told who he was. With this news, the man swam
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: back to his companions, but he soon returned to the
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: boat to say that five of the French leaders wished
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: to speak with the Spanish leader and begged for safe
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: conduct to his camp. To this Menendez readily agreed, and,
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: returning to his own side, he sent the boat back
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: to bring the frenchmen over. When they landed, Menendez received
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: them courteously, and after returning his ceremonious greetings, the frenchmen
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: begged the Spaniards to lend them a boat so that
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: they might cross the river which lay between them and
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: Fort Caroline. At this request, Menendez smiled evily gentlemen, he said,
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: it were idle for you to go to your fort.
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: It has been taken and every man is slain. But
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: the Frenchmen could not at first believe that he spoke
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: the truth. So in proof of his words, the Spanish
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: leader bade his men show the heretics the plunder which
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: had been taken from their fort. As they looked upon it,
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: the hearts of the Frenchmen sank. Then, ordering breakfast to
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: be sent to them, Menendez left them and went to
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: breakfast with his own officers. Breakfast over, he came back
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: to the Frenchmen, and as he looked at their gloomy faces,
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: his heart rejoiced. Do you believe now, he asked, that
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: what I told you is true? Yes, replied the Frenchman,
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: we believe. It would be useless now to go to
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: the fort. All we ask of you is to lend
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: us ships so that we may return home. I would
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: gladly do so, replied Menendez, if you were Catholics, and
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: if I had ships, But I have none. Then, seeing
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: that he would give them no help to reach home,
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: the Frenchmen begged Menendez at least to let them stay
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: with his people until help came to them from France.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: It was little enough to ask, they thought, as France
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: and Spain were at peace. But there was no pity
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: or kindliness in the Spanish general's heart. All Catholics, he
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: replied sterne I would defend and succor. But as for you,
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: you are Lutherans, and I must hold you as enemies.
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: I will wage war against you with blood and fire.
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: I will wage it fiercely, both by land and sea.
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: For I am viceroy for my king in this country.
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: I am here to plant the Holy Gospel in this land,
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: that the Indians may come to the light and knowledge
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: of the holy Catholic faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: as taught by the Roman Church. Give up your banners
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: and your arms, and throw yourselves on my mercy, and
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: I will do with you as God gives me grace.
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: In no other way can you have truce or friendship
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: with me. To this, the frenchmen knew not what to say. First,
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: they consulted together, Then some of them went back across
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: the water to take counsel with those who waited there.
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: They talked long and anxiously. Those on the Spanish side
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: awaited their return. At length, one of their messengers returned,
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: and going to Menendez, he offered him a large sum
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: of money if he would swear to spare their lives,
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: but Menendez would promise nothing. The Frenchmen were helpless, they
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: were starving and in his hands, and both he and
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: they knew it. They saw no hope anywhere, so they
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: yielded to the Spanish general's demands. Once more, the boat
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: was sent across the water, and this time it came
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: back laden with banners, arms and armor, then guarded by
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: Spanish soldiers. The Frenchmen were brought across by tens. As
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: each batch landed, they found themselves prisoners. Their arms were
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: taken from them and their hands were tied behind their backs.
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: All day, hour after hour, the boat plied to and fro,
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: and when all the frenchmen had been brought over, they
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: were ordered to march forward. The Spanish general walked in front,
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: but he did not go far, for the sun was
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: already setting and it was time to camp for the night.
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: So but a little way from the shore, he stopped
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: and drew a line in the sand. And when the
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: wretched Frenchmen reached that line, weaponless and helpless as they were,
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: they were one and all put to death. Then, glorying
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: in his deed, Menendez returned to Saint Augustine. But he
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: had not yet completely wiped out the French colony, for
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: besides those he had so ruthlessly slain, there was another
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: large party under Ribaut, who, ignorant of all that had happened,
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: were still slowly making their way to Fort Caroline. But
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: again news of their whereabouts was brought to Menendez by Indians,
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: and again he set off to waylay them. He found
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: them on the same spot as he had found the
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: first party, but this time the Frenchmen had made a raft,
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: and upon this they were preparing to cross the water
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: when the Spaniards came upon them. The Frenchmen were in
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: such misery that many of them greeted the appearance of
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: their enemies with joy, but others were filled with misgiving. Still,
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: they resolved to try to make terms with the Spaniards.
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: So first one of his officers, and then Ribaut himself,
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: rode across the strip of water to parley with the
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: Spanish leader. They found him as pitiless as their companions
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: had found him, and seeing that they could make no
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: terms with him, many of the Frenchmen refused to give
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: themselves up, and they marched away. But after much parleying
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: and many comings and goings across the river, Ribau, believing
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: that Menendez would spare their lives, yielded up himself and
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: the rest of his company to the Spaniards. He was
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: soon undeceived, for he was led away among the bushes,
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: and his hands were tied behind his back. As his
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: followers came over, they too were bound and led away. Then,
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: as trumpets blew and drums beat, the Spaniards fell upon
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: their helpless prisoners and slew them to a man. When
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: Ribau saw that his hour was come, he did not flinch.
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: We are but dust, he said, and to dust we
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: must return. Twenty years more or less can matter little.
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: So with the words of a psalm upon his lips
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: he met the sword thrust. Not till every man lay dead.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: Was the fury of the Spaniards sated. Then his horrible
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: labor ended, Menendez returned once more in triumph to his fort.
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: Those of the French who had refused to give themselves
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: up to Mennendez now wandered back to the shore where
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: their ship had been wrecked. Out of the broken pieces
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: they tried to build a ship in which they might
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: sail homeward. But again news of their doings was brought
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: to Menendez by the Indians, and again he set out
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: to crush them. When the Frenchmen saw the Spaniards come,
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: they fled in terror, but Menendez sent a messenger after them,
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: promising that if they yielded to him, he would spare
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: their lives. Most of them yielded, and Menendez kept his promise.
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: He treated his prisoners well, but when an opportunity arrived,
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: he sent them home to end their lives as Galley slaves.
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: End of chapter nine. Read on October twenty sixth, two
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: thousand seven, in Oceanside, California,