Читать книгу History of Duval County - Pleasant Daniel Gold - Страница 9

MENENDEZ remained in Havana until February 10, 1566, when with several ships and five hundred men he set sail for Florida but did not reach St. Augustine until March 20 following, having spent the intervening time in exploring the southwest coast of the peninsula. He sent five ships back to Havana and with the two others proceeded to St. Augustine. There and at Fort San Mateo he found affairs in a deplorable condition for in both places the soldiers had mutinied. At San Mateo, Gonzola de Villarroel had lost complete control of his men, and they were plotting with the disaffected ones at St. Augustine, conspiracies having begun within a few days after Menendez had left St. Augustine, the previous October. A ship of supplies which had been sent to San Mateo in December, 1565, had been wrecked at the mouth of the river. The mutineers demanded that a ship which had been partially built by the French should be completed that they might leave the country. The Camp Master at St. Augustine was forced to send a letter to Villarroel at San Mateo commanding him to grant the demand of the mutineers, but he was able to secrete another letter in the messenger' s coat telling Villarroel to disregard the first letter, and to delay the completion of the vessel as much as possible. Soon afterward a frigate arrived at San Mateo with supplies, which was seized by one hundred and twenty mutineers who prepared to leave for the West Indies. Before they sailed, however, Menendez returned and opened negotiations with them, endeavoring to persuade them to remain. Thirty-five of the number decided to return to San Mateo but were stripped, by the mutineers, of their clothing and what valuables they had before being put ashore a few miles below the fort, near the mouth of the San Mateo River.

The spot was close by an Indian village, where lived the chief of the Saturiwa tribe of the Timucuans. These Indians had been friendly to the French, but hated the Spaniards who had treated them cruelly. No sooner had the thirty-five men landed than they were set upon by the savages and killed. The rest of the mutineers sailed away.

Villarroel, at San Mateo, was left with only twenty-one officers and soldiers and being ignorant of these happenings sent his ensign Rodrigo Troche and a soldier to St. Augustine for aid. When scarcely out of sight of the fort, they were captured by the Indians and taken to the village at the mouth of the river. There Saturiba, the chief, who knew the Spanish officer well, ordered that " his breast be split open and his heart taken out, and that the same to be done to the other man, in order to terrify the rest with these cruelties and make them leave the country, as the mutineers had done. "

Menendez finally was forced, in order to quell the mutineers, to allow one hundred additional soldiers with Captain Juan de Vicinti to depart with a caravel to San Domingo. This left only about three hundred soldiers as garrison for both San Mateo and St. Augustine. Desiring to proceed on an expedition of exploration to the country to the north, in what is now Georgia, then called Guale? by the Indians, Menendez took one hundred and fifty men with him and left an equal number divided between the two forts. He sailed north in the early part of April, 1566, exploring the coast and establishing a fort, which he called San Felipe, at San Elena, the present site of Hilton Head, South Carolina.

He was only absent in Guale about forty days, during which time affairs at San Mateo did not go well. When he returned, May 15, the Indians were carrying on a guerilla warfare which made it impossible for the garrison to venture out of gunshot of the fort. The Indians seemed to be ever on the watch, and no sooner would a squad of Spaniards go foraging for food than the arrows of the savages would rain from ambush. The white men were forced to move in large bodies and when they pursued the Indians could not find them for they had disappeared in the forest. The Spaniards found that the only means of retaliation was organized attacks on the villages, which they would burn, so infuriating the Saturiwas that finally the whole nation of Timucuans declared war, and even St. Augustine was attacked, and houses set fire by the flaming arrows.

In addition to these troubles Menendez found Villarroel, his Alcaide at San Mateo, very ill, and was forced to send him to Havana to recuperate. In his place he appointed Vasco Zabal, and he himself decided to go to Havana for supplies, which were running very low. In the early part of June, 1566, he set out for that port with three brigantines. Before he returned a fleet of sixteen vessels arrived bringing heavy reinforcements. Fourteen of these ships went to St. Augustine, two to Santo Elena and one to San Mateo.

At this time an unfortunate incident happened whereby an innocent man was killed as the result of the Indians' hatred of the Spanish. Father Martinez, probably the first Jesuit Priest to land on the continent of North America, was cruelly murdered by the Indians on what is now Fort George Island. Previous to this time the Dominicans or Friars of the Order of St. Dominic were the only priests who had come to Florida. There were three Jesuits, or members of the Society of Jesus, who came at this time, and of the three, Father Martinez was assigned to San Mateo. According to Fairbanks, the vessel that brought him anchored off the mouth of the river and he came ashore in a small boat to find the fort. A storm arose and the vessel was forced to weigh anchor and stand out to sea. Father Martinez and the members of the crew who came with him met some Indians who by signs told him the way to the fort, but murdered the entire party before they left the Island. Father Martinez, the advance guard of the vast number of missionaries to come later, was therefore the victim of the cruel policy of his own countrymen. The Indians had not yet learned to discriminate between the kindness of the priest and the cruelty of the soldier. These same Indians had responded to the friendliness of the French, and the descendants of these same fierce Timucuans, under the teaching of the Franciscan Friars, became the meek Mission Indians, who, themselves fell victims to the attacks of the warlike Yamassees, who either enslaved or destroyed them.

Besides the priest and the crew of his boat, two captains and many soldiers had been killed at Fort San Mateo during Menendez' s absence, having been ambushed when they went in search of food. One of these officers was a relative of the Adelantado and the other was Captain Martin Ochoa, who had distinguished himself at the capture of Fort Caroline. It had become unsafe to use the trail between St. Augustine and San Mateo, and communication could only be had by boat down the river outside along the coast. This made communication very difficult between the two settlements.

When the ships with reinforcements arrived at San Mateo, Captain Azuirre landed with two hundred and fifty men. Immediately this Captain and Vasco Zabal, the acting Alcaide, became engaged in a dispute as to whom was the superior in command. This controversy was at its height when Menendez arrived. Vasco Zabal was inside the fort with the garrison which had been left him, and Captain Azuirre with his men were encamped on the outside. Menendez, with his usual diplomacy, settled the dispute satisfactorily by allowing Captain Azuirre to maintain his rank, and assigning Vasco Zabal the duties of placing the sentinels and giving the password. In a short time thereafter Gonzolo de Villarroel, having recovered from his illness, was returned to his old post as Alcaide of San Mateo.

It is to be noted here that under the Spanish form of government in Florida, there were two officers in command at each post whose authority did not seem to conflict. One was the Alcaide or Governor, the other the Camp Master, both of whom were directly responsible to the Adelantado or Governor General, and at this time — August, 1566 — such was the arrangement at all three of the Spanish posts — San Mateo, St. Augustine and Santo Elena. Between these posts Menendez divided fifteen hundred of the soldiers that had come with the fleet and sent the others in ships to the West Indies.

It was in August, 1566, that Menendez made his first trip of exploration up the San Mateo, now the St. Johns River. Meras gives a full account of it: " With three brigantines, one hundred soldiers and some sailors he ascended the river' for fifty leagues'. " The old Spanish league was 2. 63 miles, so he evidently proceeded about one hundred and thirty miles, or somewhere near Volusia landing, above Lake George. On his way he stopped and visited the chiefs in the villages along the river.

Menendez wished to make friends with the Indians, and also, to ascertain if there was an outlet by way of the river to the Gulf of Mexico. He found that the tide rose and fell for a distance of forty leagues, and that the farther he went into the interior the more unfriendly the Indians became. On account of shortage of supplies, he had previously sent one of his boats with fifty soldiers back to Fort San Mateo, and decided that his force was not sufficiently strong to proceed farther he himself returned. He was gone on the expedition twelve days and on returning to San Mateo found that during his absence twelve soldiers had gone out to forage, and that eight had been killed by the Saturiwa Indians, and the other four were badly wounded.

At this time Menendez sent from San Mateo a captain and thirty soldiers to the Bay of Santa Maria, in north Latitude 37°, which is the Chesapeake Bay. That the first attempt at colonization in Virginia was made by men from Duval territory in Florida is a fact that is little known. Menendez himself left San Mateo on a second expedition into Guale and returned the latter part of September, when he learned of further mutiny among the soldiers.

No effort seems to have been made by the Spaniards to cultivate the land around San Mateo. Even if they had so desired it is doubtful if their efforts would have met with success, on account of the hostility of the Indians. It was only a garrisoned fort receiving its supplies from Spain, and its inhabitants were soldiers. Little is known of the happenings during the latter part of 1566 and the early months of 1567, during which time Menendez was engaged in the West Indies " chasing corsairs. " Available accounts only followed his movements, and only when he was at San Mateo is anything written concerning them. It is told that in March, 1567, he attempted to reach the fort by way of the west coast, believing that a river there connected with the " Lagoon of Mayuir " ( Lake Okeechobee ) in which the San Mateo River ( St. Johns ) was supposed to take its rise. The attempt failed, as did another sent from San Mateo up the river during the same month.

In April, 1567, Menendez returned to San Mateo where he found that Saturiba was mustering a force of warriors to attack the fort. Villarroel, the Alcaide, had captured Emoloa, a son of the chief, with fifteen other Indians, and held them in chains, imprisoned in the fort. Saturiba had killed all the cattle of the Spaniards. Menendez set one of the Indians free with a message to Saturiba that he would meet the chief at the mouth of the river on the following morning for a powwow. Saturiba replied that he would do so, if Menendez would bring his prisoners with him, as he ( Saturiba ) wished to see them. Menendez compromised by taking the chief' s son and six other Indians, holding the others captive in the fort. Saturiba was waiting near the shore at the mouth of the river and Menendez released one Indian with a message to Saturiba that he should come down to the shore under pledge that he would not be molested. The wily chief refused unless his son and the others were liberated. This Menendez did, but kept the chains on them and his guns in readiness to fire, should the Indians attempt to carry the prisoners off. Saturiba remained away from the shore and for two hours messages were exchanged between him and his son. At the end of that time, Menendez discovered the presence of a large number of warriors in ambush who were evidently waiting to attack as soon as the white men should land. Menendez thereupon took Emoloa and the Indian prisoners on board his brigantine and sent word to Saturiba that henceforth he was his enemy, and that he would command his head to be cut off. Saturiba responded that he accepted the challenge of war and that the Spaniards were " hens and cowards " for not landing and fighting him.

Menendez did not reply but immediately prepared for war. Within a few days he set out against Saturiba with four companies, each attacking from a different point. He himself commanded one force of seventy soldiers. He marched ten leagues at night to the place where Saturiba was supposed to be and surprised the Indians, killing thirty of them, but did not find the chieftain, which was his main desire. The Spaniards had three men killed and one wounded. Menendez then freed Emoloa and three other Indians, sending a message to Saturiba that he would take three of the other prisoners with him to Spain, treat them kindly and bring them back, but if Saturiba made war on the Spaniards during his absence, he would cut off the heads of the prisoners, one of whom was the son of Emoloa.

Menendez sailed for Spain on May 18, 1567. In his absence San Mateo was destroyed by Saturiba in conjunction with Dominic de Gourges, who came from France to avenge the massacre of Ribault and his followers.

Not only the Huguenots, but even many of the Catholic party of France had resented the indifference of their government relative to the destruction of the colony in New France. Two years had passed and gradually the story of the fate of Ribault and his companions had spread throughout the country. Threats of vengeance were made and the sending of a fleet to Florida was freely discussed and really expected by the Spaniards, whose writers often spoke of this menace; yet, no action was taken by the French government. It was left for Dominic de Gourges, who had himself suffered at the hands of the Spaniards, to use his private fortune and that of his friends to avenge the slaughter of his countrymen.

De Gourges feared even to apprise the French government of the object of his expedition, and on August 22, 1567, set sail with three vessels, with the coast of Africa as his avowed objective. The number of his followers is variously stated by different authorities, from one hundred and eighty-four soldiers and seamen to two hundred and eighty. He sailed to Africa and thence via the West Indies proceeded to Florida and did not announce the real object of the expedition until after leaving San Domingo.

Fairbanks states that " the forts " at the entrance of the San Mateo River saluted them, believing they were Spaniards, which salute was returned by De Gourges. Solos de Meras, in his Memorial of Menendez, makes no mention of any forts at the mouth of the river. In April, 1567, according to his account, Saturiba' s village was located there, and since De Gourges' expedition arrived at the mouth of the River May in the spring of 1568, these forts were evidently built by the Spaniards during the year intervening. Rudiaz speaks of a fort on the " right bank of the mouth of the River Sarrabahia ", evidently referring to the Sarrauahi, which according to Le Moyne' s map was the River Nassau. The French commander proceeded to the harbor at the mouth of another river to the north, called the Seine by the French, now the St. Marys, where he communicated with Saturiba who was ready and willing to join in an attack on the Spaniards. With the Indians was a French boy named Peter de Bre, who had escaped from Fort Caroline and had remained with them for nearly three years. He proved to be invaluable as an interpreter and told De Gourges that the three forts contained in all but four hundred soldiers.

They first surprised and captured the fort to the north; killing or taking prisoners the entire garrison of sixty men. Then, according to the French account, he turned the guns in the fort on the south bank and with the aid of his ships attacked by sea, and the Indians by land, killed or captured its entire garrison. De Gourges then turned his attention to Fort San Mateo, which was defended by two hundred and sixty men. This fact he learned from one of the prisoners. He made an attack at dawn, capturing the Fort and killing or taking prisoners all the garrison excepting Villarroel, the Alcaide, and a few others, who escaped. He hung all the prisoners, and placed the artillery and arms on board his vessels; but before he had finished loading these, an Indian ( broiling fish near the fort ), lighted the powder magazine and it and the storehouses were destroyed.

This is the substance of the French account of the affair. Rudiaz in " La Florida ", gives the story from the Spanish viewpoint. He says: " While the Adelantado was in the Court giving an account of his voyage and presenting a report to the Council of Indies, the Lutherans, desirous of avenging themselves of the death of Juan Ribao and his companions, and seeing their complaints made light of in the Court of France, brought it about that Domingo Gurgio or Gourges of Monte Marsono ( a terrible heretic, brother of that one who at that time was President of the Generalty of Guiena ), and whom the Spaniards had thrown into the galleys during the war with Florence, determined to go to Florida, at the same time spreading abroad the rumor that he was returning to Brazil whither he had sailed at other times. "

" He manned three ships of war with 200 soldiers and 80 seamen, and by August of 1567 he set sail, having persuaded his men on the way. But, on account of the route they followed, they suspected having been deceived. He arrived at the River of May or San Mateo without the Spaniards, who had seen them, suspecting they were enemies; and making a treaty with Saturiba and other Indian chiefs; and aided by their countrymen Peter Bren, who from the year 1565 had been with Saturiba, inciting in him hatred against the Spaniards, and, using him to win the other chieftains, preparing for the arrival of a favorable occasion for revenge; they agreed upon the manner of carrying out vengeance. "

" In the month of April, 1568, the French, commanded by Gourgues, and aided by Saturiba and other chiefs and warriors, began to put into practice their vengeance against the Spanish. And they took by surprise by them, in spite of desperate resistance, a fort which they had on the right bank of the mouth of the River Sarrabahia, and that of San Mateo where the French had before had Charles fort which the Adelantado had captured from them. The French killed many defenders of the fort, and only a few were able to save themselves, among these being the Governor of San Mateo, Gonzalo de Villarroel. Gourgues plundered this fort with the utmost vigor, and he had the Spanish prisoners hanged on the nearby trees, placing there a sign which read, " Not unto Spaniards, but unto traitors and murderers "; because Pedro Menendez, when he had brought justice upon the Huguenots, had placed there another sign which read, " Not unto Frenchmen, but unto Lutherans. " After these exploits, and after seizing all the artillery he could, Gourgues, fearing that the Spaniards would return upon them, set sail on the 3rd of May of the same year, 1568, and on the 6th of June he arrived at Rochela, without the Spanish ships which had followed him being able to overtake him. From there he conveyed to Burdeos the captured artillery, having lost, in addition to those who had perished in the encounter, eight men and one ship; but far from finding at Court the approval and reward which he had hoped for, he was persecuted by order of the Ambassador to Spain, and he owed his salvation to the heretics who protected him. "

The story of De Gourgues' revenge will ever stand as one of the most daring episodes in the history of the Duval territory or of any other part of the country. Its material effect was the ultimate abandonment of Fort San Mateo by the Spaniards. Menendez returned to Florida in the summer of 1568, soon after De Gourgues' departure, and learned for the first time of the massacre of his soldiers, and the destruction of the forts. He energetically set to work to refortify San Mateo and for several years a garrison was kept there. The Spanish Colonial records show that Pedro Menendez Marques, nephew of the Adelantado, wrote a letter from that place on September 7, 1570, but the next account is on February 4, 1573, when in an investigation made at Madrid, one Martin Diez made oath " that there are no farmers or soldiers at the Fort of San Mateo because it is destroyed and abandoned. "

Menendez returned to Spain where he died in 1574. His successors lacked his indomitable energy and seemed willing to give their attentions solely to St. Augustine and leave the territory on the San Mateo River to the wild beasts and savages.