o
his quarters. On this, Genre made advances to the apothecary, urging him
to put arsenic into his medicines; but the apothecary shrugged his
shoulders. They next devised a scheme to blow him up, by hiding a keg of
gunpowder 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 repentant letters, with full confession, to his
commander.

Two of the ships meanwhile returned to France,--the third, the Breton,
remaining at anchor opposite the fort. The malecontents took the
opportunity to send home charges against Laudonniere of peculation,
favoritism, and tyranny.

Early in September, Captain Bourdet, apparently a private adventurer,
had arrived from France with a small vessel. When he returned, about the
tenth of November, Laudonniere persuaded him to carry home seven or
eight of the malecontent soldiers. Bourdet left some of his sailors in
their place. The exchange proved most disastrous. These pirates joined
with others whom they had won over, stole Laudonniere's two pinnaces,
and set forth on a plundering 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 surrender themselves. 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 hence was forged the
thunderbolt soon to be hurled against the wretched little colony.

On a Sunday morning, Francis 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, saw some thirty of his officers, soldiers, and
gentlemen-volunteers waiting before the building with fixed and sombre
countenance. 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 obedience; next came complaints of hard work,
starvation, and broken promises, and a request that the petitioners
should be allowed to embark in the vessel lying in the river, and cruise
along the Spanish main in order to procure provision by purchase "or
otherwise." In short, the flower of the company wished to turn
buccaneers.

Laudonniere refused, but assured them, that, so soon as the defences of
the fort should be completed, a sea