He was so
enraged that he rushed about the deck of his own ship like a madman,
and assisted with his own hands in forwarding the preparations for
battle. In a few minutes the entire Spanish fleet bore down upon the
six French ships; but the crews of these had not been idle, and before
their enemies could reach them they too had cut their cables, hoisted
sail, and stood out to sea. For the rest of the night the Spaniards
chased them, but Ribault's superior seamanship soon placed him at a
safe distance from the pursuers, who at daylight gave over the chase
and turned back towards the River of May, intending to make an attack
upon Fort Caroline.
In the meantime word had been sent to the fort by Admiral Ribault of
the coming of the Spanish fleet, when it was first sighted, and
Laudonniere had collected his entire force at the mouth of the river,
and planted there a number of heavy guns. Here he proposed to dispute
the landing of the enemy, and if possible to prevent his crossing the
bar, just inside of which he had anchored his two small vessels, so
that their guns commanded the narrow channel.
When Menendez returned from his unsuccessful pursuit of Ribault's
ships, and saw these warlike preparations, he felt that it would be
unwise to attempt to land his troops through the surf, or to force the
passage of the bar, and so he ordered his captains to proceed southward
to the River of Dolphins.
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