The expedition of Ribault was the first visit of
Europeans to Port Royal or to any part of South Carolina, and the
garrison left by him was the first settlement under their auspices ever
made on this continent north of Mexico. There is not space or need to
detail here the mutiny and suffering of this military colony, their
abandonment of the post, the terrible voyage homeward, or the
perseverance of Coligny in his original purpose. Nor is it within the
compass of this narrative to recount the fortunes of the second
garrison, which was founded on the St. John's, the visit of John Hawkins
in 1565 with timely relief, the return of Ribault from France and his
sad fate, the ferocity of Melendez against all heretic Frenchmen, and
the avenging chivalry of Dominic de Gourges. The student is baffled in
attempts to fix localities for the deeds and explorations of this
period, even with the help of the several accounts and the drawings of
Le Moyne; and, besides, these later vicissitudes did not involve any
permanent occupation as far north as Port Royal, that region having been
abandoned by the French, and being then visited by the Spanish only for
trade or adventure.
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