The History of Saint Augustine, FloridaDewhurst, William W. (William Whitwell)
History
The History of Saint Augustine, Florida
Dewhurst, William W. (William Whitwell)
Florida -- History -- To 1821; Saint Augustine (Fla.) -- History
Howbeit before my
departure I named the river the River of Dolphins, because at mine
arrival I saw there a great number of dolphins which were playing at the
mouth thereof.”[2] The dolphins or porpoises still continue to play in
the river and harbor at St. Augustine, especially during the summer
season. Throughout the greater part of the year rare sport could be
obtained by good shots who had the skill to lodge a rifle ball in the
head of the porpoise as he rises to “blow.”
The Indian town located on the present site of St. Augustine was Seloy,
and the same name seems to have been given to both of the rivers which
unite to form the harbor. From the narration it would seem probable that
the point where Laudonnère landed was upon Anastatia Island, the Indians
having come over from the mainland on seeing the French ships in the
offing.
Laudonnère having left Fort Charles, entered the river May, and
selecting a favorable site, about six leagues distant from the mouth,
built a small settlement, which he fortified with palisades and an
embankment of earth in the shape of a triangle, and named it Carolus,
still doing honor to the king who so little deserved esteem. With a
religious fervor characteristic of the age, and probably heightened by
their isolation, and proximity to the vast ocean which they had just
passed in safety, and solemnly impressed by their surroundings on a vast
and unexplored continent, the little band of strangers assembled and
dedicated their work and themselves to the glory of God and the
advancement of his holy faith.
The site of the Huguenot settlement is now known as St. John’s Bluff,
the first point of high land on the south after entering the St. Johns
River from the ocean. It is a sightly hill, probably formed by sand
dunes at an early period when the shore was far to the west of its
present coast line. The bluff rises some forty feet above the river, and
is covered with a thick growth of oaks and other hard woods. At the foot
of the hill on the east lay the broad marshes stretching for four or
five miles toward the sea, and reaching to the narrow ridge of sands and
woods adjoining the beach. The channel of the river here approaches the
southern bank, and the strong current sweeping in against the mobile
sands at each tide has greatly abraded the hill until probably the site
of Laudonnère’s fort has become the channel of the river. The site has
been fortified several times since. During the rebellion a considerable
earthwork was erected there by Florida troops, but the encroachments of
the river have already swept away the site.
Laudonnère had found the Indians very friendly, and this peaceable
disposition was by him assiduously cultivated. Trinkets and small
presents were exchanged for the provisions which they liberally
provided, and on several occasions the French lent their aid in making
war on the enemies of the friendly tribes about them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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