In the little world of Fort Caroline, a miniature France, cliques2 and parties, conspiracy and sedition3, were fast stirring into life. Hopes had been dashed, and wild expectations had come to naught4. The adventurers had found, not conquest and gold, but a dull exile in a petty fort by a hot and sickly river, with hard labor5, bad fare, prospective6 famine, and nothing to break the weary sameness but some passing canoe or floating alligator7. Gathered in knots, they nursed each other's wrath8, and inveighed9 against the commandant. Why are we put on half-rations, when he told us that provision should be made for a full year? Where are the reinforcements and supplies that he said should follow us from France? And why is he always closeted with Ottigny, Arlac, and this and that favorite, when we, men of blood as good as theirs, cannot gain his ear for a moment?
The young nobles, of whom there were many, were volunteers, who had paid their own expenses in expectation of a golden harvest, and they chafed10 in impatience11 and disgust. The religious element in the colony—unlike the former Huguenot emigration to Brazil—was evidently subordinate. The adventurers thought more of their fortunes than of their faith; yet there were not a few earnest enough in the doctrine12 of Geneva to complain loudly and bitterly that no ministers had been sent with them. The burden of all grievances13 was thrown upon Laudonniere, whose greatest errors seem to have arisen from weakness and a lack of judgment,—fatal defects in his position.
The growing discontent was brought to a partial head by one La Roquette, who gave out that, high up the river, he had discovered by magic a mine of gold and silver, which would give each of them a share of ten thousand crowns, besides fifteen hundred thousand for the King. But for Laudonniere, he said, their fortunes would all be made. He found an ally in a gentleman named Genre14, one of Laudonniere's confidants, who, while still professing15 fast adherence16 to his interests, is charged by him with plotting against his life. "This Genre," he says, "secretly enfourmed the Souldiers that were already suborned by La Roquette, that I would deprive them of this great game, in that I did set them dayly on worke, not sending them on every side to discover the Countreys; therefore that it were a good deede to dispatch mee out of the way, and to choose another Captaine in my place." The soldiers listened too well. They made a flag of an old shirt, which they carried with them to the rampart when they went to their work, at the same time wearing their arms; and, pursues Laudonniere, "these gentle Souldiers did the same for none other ende but to have killed mee and my Lieutenant17 also, if by chance I had given them any hard speeches." About this time, overheating himself, he fell ill, and was confined to his quarters. On this, Genre made advances to the apothecary18, urging him to put arsenic19 into his medicine; but the apothecary shrugged20 his shoulders. They next devised a scheme to blow him up by hiding a keg of gunpowder21 under his bed; but here, too, they failed. Hints of Genre's machinations reaching the ears of Laudonniere, the culprit fled to the woods, whence he wrote repentant22 letters, with full confession23, to his commander.
Two of the ships meanwhile returned to France, the third, the "Breton," remaining at anchor opposite the fort. The malcontents took the opportunity to send home charges against Laudonniere of peculation25, favoritism, and tyranny.
On the fourth of September, Captain Bourdet, apparently26 a private adventurer, had arrived from France with a small vessel27. When he returned, about the tenth of November, Laudonniere persuaded him to carry home seven or eight of the malcontent24 soldiers. Bourdet left some of his sailors in their place. The exchange proved most disastrous28. These pirates joined with others whom they had won over, stole Laudonniere's two pinnaces, and set forth29 on a plundering31 excursion to the West Indies. They took a small Spanish vessel off the coast of Cuba, but were soon compelled by famine to put into Havana and give themselves up. Here, to make their peace with the authorities, they told all they knew of the position and purposes of their countrymen at Fort Caroline, and thus was forged the thunderbolt soon to be hurled32 against the wretched little colony.
On a Sunday morning, Francois de la Caille came to Laudonniere's quarters, and, in the name of the whole company, requested him to come to the parade ground. He complied, and issuing forth, his inseparable Ottigny at his side, he saw some thirty of his officers, soldiers, and gentlemen volunteers waiting before the building with fixed33 and sombre countenances34. La Caille, advancing, begged leave to read, in behalf of the rest, a paper which he held in his hand. It opened with protestations of duty and obedience35; next came complaints of hard work, starvation, and broken promises, and a request that the petitioners36 should be allowed to embark37 in the vessel lying in the river, and cruise along the Spanish Main, in order to procure38 provisions by purchase "or otherwise." In short, the flower of the company wished to turn buccaneers.
Laudonniere refused, but assured them that, as soon as the defences of the fort should be completed, a search should be begun in earnest for the Appalachian gold mine, and that meanwhile two small vessels39 then building on the river should be sent along the coast to barter40 for provisions with the Indians. With this answer they were forced to content themselves; but the fermentation continued, and the plot thickened. Their spokesman, La Caille, however, seeing whither the affair tended, broke with them, and, except Ottigny, Yasseur, and the brave Swiss Arlac, was the only officer who held to his duty.
A severe illness again seized Laudonniere, and confined him to his bed. Improving their advantage, the malcontents gained over nearly all the best soldiers in the fort. The ringleader was one Fourneaux, a man of good birth, but whom Le Moyne calls an avaricious41 hypocrite. He drew up a paper, to which sixty-six names were signed. La Caille boldly opposed the conspirators42, and they resolved to kill him. His room-mate, Le Moyne, who had also refused to sign, received a hint of the design from a friend; upon which he warned La Caille, who escaped to the woods. It was late in the night. Fourneaux, with twenty men armed to the teeth, knocked fiercely at the commandant's door. Forcing an entrance, they wounded a gentleman who opposed them, and crowded around the sick man's bed. Fourneaux, armed with steel cap and cuirass, held his arquebuse to Laudonniere's throat, and demanded leave to go on a cruise among the Spanish islands. The latter kept his presence of mind, and remonstrated43 with some firmness; on which, with oaths and menaces, they dragged him from his bed, put him in fetters44, carried him out to the gate of the fort, placed him in a boat, and rowed him to the ship anchored in the river.
Two other gangs at the same time visited Ottigny and Arlac, whom they disarmed45, and ordered to keep their rooms till the night following, on pain of death. Smaller parties were busied, meanwhile, in disarming46 all the loyal soldiers. The fort was completely in the hands of the conspirators. Fourneaux drew up a commission for his meditated47 West India cruise, which he required Laudonniere to sign. The sick commandant, imprisoned48 in the ship with one attendant, at first refused; but receiving a message from the mutineers, that, if he did not comply, they would come on board and cut his throat, he at length yielded.
The buccaneers now bestirred themselves to finish the two small vessels on which the carpenters had been for some time at work. In a fortnight they were ready for sea, armed and provided with the King's cannon49, munitions50, and stores. Trenchant51, an excellent pilot, was forced to join the party. Their favorite object was the plunder30 of a certain church on one of the Spanish islands, which they proposed to assail52 during the midnight mass of Christmas, whereby a triple end would be achieved: first, a rich booty; secondly53, the punishment of idolatry; thirdly, vengeance54 on the arch-enemies of their party and their faith. They set sail on the eighth of December, taunting55 those who remained, calling them greenhorns, and threatening condign56 punishment if, on their triumphant57 return, they should be refused free entrance to the fort.
They were no sooner gone than the unfortunate Laudonniere was gladdened in his solitude58 by the approach of his fast friends Ottigny and Arlac, who conveyed him to the fort and reinstated him. The entire command was reorganized, and new officers appointed. The colony was wofully depleted59; but the bad blood had been drawn60 off, and thenceforth all internal danger was at an end. In finishing the fort, in building two new vessels to replace those of which they had been robbed, and in various intercourse61 with the tribes far and near, the weeks passed until the twenty-fifth of March, when an Indian came in with the tidings that a vessel was hovering62 off the coast. Laudonniere sent to reconnoitre. The stranger lay anchored at the mouth of the river. She was a Spanish brigantine, manned by the returning mutineers, starving, downcast, and anxious to make terms. Yet, as their posture63 seemed not wholly pacific, Landonniere sent down La Caille, with thirty soldiers concealed64 at the bottom of his little vessel. Seeing only two or three on deck, the pirates allowed her to come alongside; when, to their amazement65, they were boarded and taken before they could snatch their arms. Discomfited66, woebegone, and drunk, they were landed under a guard. Their story was soon told. Fortune had flattered them at the outset, and on the coast of Cuba they took a brigantine laden67 with wine and stores. Embarking68 in her, they next fell in with a caravel, which also they captured. Landing at a village in Jamaica, they plundered69 and caroused70 for a week, and had hardly re-embarked when they met a small vessel having on board the governor of the island. She made a desperate fight, but was taken at last, and with her a rich booty. They thought to put the governor to ransom72 but the astute73 official deceived them, and, on pretence74 of negotiating for the sum demanded,—together with "four or six parrots, and as many monkeys of the sort called sanguins, which are very beautiful," and for which his captors had also bargained,—contrived to send instructions to his wife. Hence it happened that at daybreak three armed vessels fell upon them, retook the prize, and captured or killed all the pirates but twenty-six, who, cutting the moorings of their brigantine, fled out to sea. Among these was the ringleader Fourneaux, and also the pilot Trenchant, who, eager to return to Fort Caroline, whence he had been forcibly taken, succeeded during the night in bringing the vessel to the coast of Florida. Great were the wrath and consternation75 of the pirates when they saw their dilemma76; for, having no provisions, they must either starve or seek succor77 at the fort. They chose the latter course, and bore away for the St. John's. A few casks of Spanish wine yet remained, and nobles and soldiers, fraternizing in the common peril78 of a halter, joined in a last carouse71. As the wine mounted to their heads, in the mirth of drink and desperation, they enacted79 their own trial. One personated the judge, another the commandant; witnesses were called, with arguments and speeches on either side.
"Say what you like," said one of them, after hearing the counsel for the defence; "but if Laudonniere does not hang us all, I will never call him an honest man."
They had some hope of getting provisions from the Indians at the month of the river, and then putting to sea again; but this was frustrated80 by La Caille's sudden attack. A court-martial was called near Fort Caroline, and all were found guilty. Fourneaux and three others were sentenced to be hanged.
"Comrades," said one of the condemned81, appealing to the soldiers, "will you stand by and see us butchered?"
"These," retorted Laudonniere, "are no comrades of mutineers and rebels."
A file of men, a rattling84 volley, and the debt of justice was paid. The bodies were hanged on gibbets, at the river's mouth, and order reigned85 at Fort Caroline.
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1
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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cliques
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| n.小集团，小圈子，派系( clique的名词复数 ) | |
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sedition
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| n.煽动叛乱 | |
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naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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alligator
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| n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼) | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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inveighed
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| v.猛烈抨击，痛骂，谩骂( inveigh的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10
chafed
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| v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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11
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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grievances
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| n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚 | |
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14
genre
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| n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格 | |
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professing
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| 声称( profess的现在分词 )； 宣称； 公开表明； 信奉 | |
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adherence
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| n.信奉，依附，坚持，固着 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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apothecary
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| n.药剂师 | |
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arsenic
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| n.砒霜，砷；adj.砷的 | |
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20
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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repentant
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| adj.对…感到悔恨的 | |
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23
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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24
malcontent
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| n.不满者，不平者；adj.抱不平的，不满的 | |
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peculation
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| n.侵吞公款[公物] | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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27
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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plundering
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的现在分词 ) | |
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32
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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33
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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34
countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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35
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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36
petitioners
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| n.请求人，请愿人( petitioner的名词复数 )；离婚案原告 | |
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37
embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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38
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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40
barter
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| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
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41
avaricious
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| adj.贪婪的，贪心的 | |
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42
conspirators
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| n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 ) | |
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43
remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
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44
fetters
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| n.脚镣( fetter的名词复数 )；束缚v.给…上脚镣，束缚( fetter的第三人称单数 ) | |
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45
disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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46
disarming
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| adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒 | |
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47
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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48
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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50
munitions
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| n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品 | |
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51
trenchant
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| adj.尖刻的，清晰的 | |
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52
assail
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| v.猛烈攻击，抨击，痛斥 | |
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53
secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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54
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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55
taunting
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| 嘲讽( taunt的现在分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落 | |
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56
condign
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| adj.应得的，相当的 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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59
depleted
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| adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词 | |
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60
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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62
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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66
discomfited
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| v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词)；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败 | |
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laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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embarking
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| 乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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plundered
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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caroused
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| v.痛饮，闹饮欢宴( carouse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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carouse
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| v.狂欢；痛饮；n.狂饮的宴会 | |
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ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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astute
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| adj.机敏的，精明的 | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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76
dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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succor
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| n.援助，帮助；v.给予帮助 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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frustrated
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| adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧 | |
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81
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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82
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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83
commuted
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| 通勤( commute的过去式和过去分词 )； 减（刑）； 代偿 | |
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84
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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85
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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