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Show 366 TilE LILY AND TilE TOTEM. his future safety depended wholly upon the condition of Uibault's nrmamcnt, since, with their !!mall vessels, his lmrboragc might be entered at any moment, nnd his sole means of defence lay with his troops upon the land, where his entrenchments 'vcrc not yet sufficiently advanced t<' offer much, if any obstacle, to a vigorous assailant. But f~trther ndviccs, brought him hy the snxagcs, relieved him measurably from any apprehensions from the shipping of his enemy. In this respect the condition of the E'rcnch was no better than his own. 'l'hc unfm-tuoatc Ribault, driven before the hurricane, had been wrecked with all his squadron, upon the bleak and unfriendly shores of Cape Cannav€rci; his troops were saved, with the exception of the crew and nmJnment of one vessel, contnining a detachment under the Sieur de la. Grange, all of whom perished but the captain. Dividing his troops into two or more bodies, Uibnult advanced along the shore, proceeding northerly, in the direction of La Caroline, nnd one of his detachments had reached the inlet of 1\latnnzas, when 1\Iclen~ J. ~z was first advised of their approach. lie was told by the Indians that about four leagues distant, a large body of wbite men were embarrassed in their progress by a bay, over which they had no mea.ns to pass. Upon this intelligence, the Adelnntado, taking with him forty picked soldiers, proceeded with n\1 despatch to the designated pla.ce. His proceedings were marked by subtlety and caution. With such a force, he could hope to do nothing in open warfare against the numbers of Rib:utlt, which, nfter all cnsua.ltics, were probably six or seven hundred men. But nobody knew better tbnn Melendez ho\v to supply the deficiencies of the lion with the arts of the fox. He concealed his troop in the wocds that bordered the inlet, and from the top of a tree :ml'veyed the scattered groups of l!'rcuchmcn on the opposite shore. They Tllr: rORTV/Io.ES OF RIDAUJ.'J', 367 were two hundred in number, and some of them l1ad been engaged in the conlitruction of a raft. with wl1ich to cffJct their passage. But the rougluws.~ of the waters, and the st rength of the current forL:ld ~ their reliance upon so frail a conveyance, and while they ll"rJ b' 1vildcred with doubt and difficulties, )l clo.!ndcz showed him~ s ·If :llon:J upon tho banks of the river. When he was seen from the opposite shore, a bold Gascon of Saint J can de L uz plunged fJo.rb ssly into the stream, and succeeded in making the passage. " " ' ho arc these people?" demanded Melendez. ;, w· e are l<'rencluncn, all, who have s uffered shipwreck." " '\That Frenchmen ~" " The people of :1\f. llibault, Captain~G encral of l;'lorida., under commission of the king of F rance. 11 " I know no right to F lorida., on the part of France or Frenchmen. I am here, the true master of the country, on behalf of my SOI'ercign, the Cntholic king, P hilip the Second. I am P edro :'lfol 'nd •z, adelanta.Jo of all this l?!oJ·ida, and of the isles thereof. Go back to your general with my answer, and say to him, that I nm here, followed by my army, a.s I had intelligence that be too was here, invading the country in my chal'gc." The Gascon returned with the speech, and soon after was persuaded again to swim the stream, with a request for a S!lfe conduct from the Spanish general, on bclJalf of four gentlemen of tho Frenoh, who desired to trent with him. It w!ls requested that a ~atteau which l\Ielende7. had brought along shore with hia pro\' i~ious,and which was now safely moored besiJe the eastern banks, might btl S:!llt to bring them over. To ull this l\Ielcndcz readily consented. The ar ran;cment suite(! him exactly. ITis troop was still in reserve, co\·ered rathel" than concl'!lhd within the forest, ant.l so di:iposJd as to seem at a. dista.ucc to con:;i.ot of overwhelm- |