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Show 260 THE L!LY AND THE TOTE)f. Others went with their harqucbusics to scekc to kill some foule. Yen, ti1is miscrie was so great, that that one was founde that had gathered up nil the fif;h-boncs that he could findc, which he dried and bcatc into powder to mnkc bread thereof. The effects of tl1is ],idious famine appeared incontinently among us, for ou1· bones cflsooncs bcganne to clean:~ so ncarc unto the skinnc, that the most part of the sou\diers had their skinncs pierced thorow with them i11 many partes of their bodies, ir: such sort that my greatest fen.re was, least tl1c Indians would rise up against UB1 considering that it would have bccnc very hardc for us to have defended (]firselves in such extreme decay of all our forces, besides the scarsitic of all viUualls, which faylcd us all at once. For the very ri\•cr had not such plcntic of fi sh as it was wont, and it seemed that the very land and wntcr did fight against us." In tllis condition were they till the beginning of June. "During which time," says the chronicler, fmther-" the poore souldiers and bandi~ craftsmen became as feeble as might be, and being not able to worke, did nothing hut goo, one after another, n.s ccntinels, unto the clift of an hill, situate very neare unto the fort, to see if they might discover any French ship." But their watchings still ended with disappointment. Thus was the hope with wl,ich the heart sickens, deferred too long. No ships greeted their famishing c,yes, and they at length appealed to their commander, in a body, to take measures for returning to France, and abandoning tho colony,-" considering that if wee let passe the season to cmbarkc ourselves, wee were never like to see our country;" and alleging, plausibly enough, that ne\v troubles had probably broken out in France, which was the reason tlu1.t they had failed to receive the promised succors. Laudonnierc lent an easy car to their demands. He, himself, was HISTORICAL SUIIBIARY. 261 probably quite as sick of the duties, to which he wn.s evidently unequal, as were his followers. It W:t81 perhaps, prudent to submit to those for whom he could no longer provide. The bark "Breton" was fitted up, and given in charge to Captain Vasseur; and, as this vessel could carry but a small portion of tho colony, it was determined to build a" fairc ship," which the shipwrights affirmed could be made ready by the 8th of August. "lmmcdiatcly 1 disposed of the time to worke upon it. I gave charge to Monsieur de Ottigny, my lieutenant, to cause timber necessary for the finishing of bathe the vessels to be brought, and to .Monsieur D'ErlaclJ, my standn.rd-bcarer, to goo with a bn1·ke a league off fmm the forte, t() cut down trees fit to mako plankcs." Sixteen men, under the charge of a. sergeant, were set "to labour in making coals; and to 1\1"nstcr Hance, keeper of the nrti!lery," was assigned the task of procuring rosin to brt~y the vessels. "There remained now but the principal, [object,] which was to reCO\"Cr vittua!ls, to sustain us wl1ile tho workc endured." Laudonniere, himself, undertook to seck for this supply. I-fo embarked with thirty men in the largest of his vcSI:Iels, with the purpose of running along the coast for forty or fifty leagues. But his Sf'arch was taken in vain. He procured no supplies. He returned to the fort only to dcfrt~ud the expectations of his people, who now grew desperate with hunger and discontent. They assembled together, riotously, and, witll ono voice, insisted that the only proccSI:I by which to extort supplies from the savages was to seize upon the person of their kinb'S· To this, nt first, Laudonnierc would not consent. The enterprise was a r!l.Sb one. Tho consequences might bo evil, in regard to any future attempts at settlement. Ilc proposcJ one more tl"ial among them, and sent dcspaloL.cs communicating hie desire to |
