The CONCLUSION of the MODERN HISTORY. Introduction. Wherein the Geography of the Globe of the Earth is confidered in a new Light, with a View to future Discoveries,

CHA P. I.

371

VI. Of the Origin, Conquefts, Government,

Religion, Cuftoms, Manners, Policy,

&c. of the Turks,

459

479

THE

MODERN PART

O F

Univerfal Hiftory.

CHA P. XCVIII. Continued.

The Hiftory of America.

SECT. XVII. Continued.

Containing the Hiftory of the first Eftablishment and Progrefs of the British Settlements in North America.

L

LOUISIANA

OUISIANA is that country lying upon the river Miffiffippi, which the French fettled in the latter end of the last century; but it certainly conftitutes part of Florida, of which the Spaniards pretend to be the

firft discoverers.

John Ponce de Leon, failing from the island of Puerto A.D.1512. Rico with three fhips, on the 3d of March, and fteering north-weft, made land on the 3d of April following, in the latitude of 30 deg. and 8 min. north. As the Spaniards of those days thought themselves fufficiently warranted by the pope's grants, to take poffeflion of the lands in America, he went through that ceremony, and named the country where he landed Florida, becaufe he difcovered it upon MOD. VOL. XXXVI. B

Eafter

་

Eafter-day, or what the Spaniards call Pafqua des Fiores (A). He then failed towards the fouth, coafting along the fhore, but could not, for fome time, difcover any of its natives; at last, feeing fome favages, he ventured to land, and they atempting to rob him of his boat, a fkirmish enfued. in which two Spaniards were wounded. He afterwards, in going to water, made prifoner one of the natives, who ferved him as a guide and interpreter, and erected a cross with an infcription upon the banks of a river, which is from thence called Rio de la Cruz All this while Ponce imagined Florida to be an island, and, in that perfuafion, returned through the Lucaya iflands to Porto Rico.

No farther attempts feem to have been made for eight years by the Spaniards to pursue this difcovery; and if we are to credit the French writers, their Canadians at that time actually traded with the favages of Florida. In the year 1526, Luke Vafquez of Aylon, with fome affociates, formed the inhuman project of ftealing fome natives from the neighbouring iflands, to fupply the scarcity of hands in working the Spanish mines. Fitting out two fhips, he failed from the harbour of Plata in Hifpaniola to the Lucaya islands, and from thence proceeded to that part of Florida now called St. Helena, lying in the 32d deg. of north latitude. The natives, miftaking his fhips for two monftrous fishes driving towards the fhore, ran in crowds to view them; but, feeing them land, they were so struck with the cloathing and appearance of the Spaniards, that they fled in the utmost confternation. Two of them, however, were taken prisoners, and the Spaniards carrying them on board, gave them victuals and drink, and fent them back on fhore clothed in Spanish dreffes. This infidious kindness had its defired effect with the unfufpecting favages. The king of the country admired the dreffes and the Spanish hofpitality fo much, that he fent fifty of his

(A) That Florida was difcovered long before this, appears from Sebastian Cabot's own words in 1496. "But after certain days, I found that the land run towards the north, which was to me a great difpleafure. Nevertheless, failing along by the coaft, to fee if I could find any gulf that turned, I found the land ftill continent to the 56th degree under our pole; and feeing

5

that there the coaft turned toward the caft, defpairing to find the paffage, I turned back again, and failed down by the coaft of that land toward the equinoctial (ever with an intent to find the faid paffage to India), and came to that part of

this firm land which is now called Florida, where my victuals failing, I departed from thence, and returned into England."

Lubjects

fubjects to the hips with fruit and provifions; ordered his people to attend the Spaniards whenever they had a mind to vifit the country; and made them rich prefents of gold, plates of filver, and pearls. The Spaniards, having learned all they could concerning the country, watered, and re-victualled their fhips, and invited a great number of the Indians on board, where they plied them with ftrong liquor, and weighing anchor, carried them off in a state of intoxication. This villany, however, had not all the fuccefs its perpetrators expected. Most of the unhappy favages either pined to death, or were wrecked in one of the fhips that foundered at fea; and only a very few fuffered a fate worse than death, that of being carried into Spanish lavery. This infamous treachery obtained to Vafquez from his catholic majefty, the reward of a difcoverer of new lands. In 1524 he fent over more fhips to Florida, and next year went thither in perfon with three vessels. No commodity in America is fo precious as men: Vafquez loft two hundred of his, who were landed, and cut off by the natives, and one of his fhips was wrecked near cape St. Helen. Thefe loffes, and his perceiving that the advantages arifing from his difcoveries were but inconfiderable, induced him to return to Hifpaniola, where the dif appointment is faid to have broke his heart.

The next adventurer in the difcovery of Florida was Pam- Expedition philo Narvaez, who obtained from Charles V. a grant of of Narall the lands lying from the river Palms to the boundaries varz. of Florida, a space of territory fo indefinite, that it reached as far as the adventurers pleased to extend it on a map. In 1528 he failed from Cuba with four hundred foot and twenty horfe, and arrived at Florida on the 12th of April. His anchoring-place was fo near the land, that he could discover the huts of the favages from his fhips, and going on fhore, he found an utenfil made of gold, which they had left behind them in their flight; a circumftance from which he concluded that all their other utenfils were of the fame metal; and, landing his troops, he again took poffeffion of the country for the king of Spain. The Indians feemed difpleafed at this ceremony; but fuch was the innate benevolence of the people, that many of them came and fupplied him and his foldiers with maiz. Proceeding up the country, he difcovered four wooden boxes, containing bodies wrapped up in painted fkins, and upon them lay fome pieces of ftuffs, both linen and woollen, with fome gold, which increafed his fanguine expectations as to the richness of the country. He ordered his troops to march by land, and his fhips to attend him by fea, and the

B 2

fcene

fcene of his adventures feems to have lain towards the north coast of the gulf of Mexico. On the 1st of May he began his long, painful, and romantic march, against the remonstrances of his treafurer. The fatigues his men. underwent were very great; but the few inhabitants they met with were humane and hofpitable. An Indian prince, clothed in a ftag's hide elegantly painted, with attendants, who blew horns, treated them in his towns with maize and venifon.

Rude as thofe nations were, they knew that gold was the great motive of the Spanish invafions, and their conftant cuftom was to fhift, upon more diftant nations, the crime of poffeffing that mifchievous metal. The natives, where Narvaez landed, pretended they had it from the Apalaches, and their report engaged him in that laborious. march. At laft, on the 25th of June, he reached to the village of Apalache, which confifted of no more than forty cottages; but thofe conftructed with all the conveniences, and furnished with all the comforts of favage elegance, all which he plundered, many of the unfufpccting natives flying to their marshes, but their cacique, or prince, fell into his hands. Narvaez remained at Apalache twenty-five days, but could make no difcoveries. After a march of nine days fouthwards, during which they were harraffed by the favages, they came to Aute, a village fituated in a country abounding with corn and all the neceffaries of life. The oppofition which those Indians made to their entering the town, brought on a fharp engagement, wherein several Spaniards were killed; but Narvaez at laft made good his quarters, and became mafter of large quantities of maize, peas, gourds, and other vegetables. Notwithstanding this feasonable relief, his army was in fo miferable a condition, and the country round was fo unpromifing, that he was forced to direct his march towards the fea, his fhips being now the only refuge his foldiers could have to fave them from perifhing. It was with great difficulty they could provide a kind of boats to crofs the rivers in their way. Their ropes were made of horse-hair, and their fails of the foldiers fhirts, and the favages took advantage of their distress to cut off ten of their people. According to their computation, from the bay of Santa Cruz, where they landed, to the place of embarkation, they had marched above eight hundred miles. After they were embarked, they had numberlefs dangers and difficulties to encounter. They were embayed among fhoals and currents, diftreffed for want of water, and never landed without being attacked by the natives; fo that many of them were cut off by

the