co-religionists in America, both for their protection and to extend the possessions of France into the new world. For this purpose a small fleet was equipped in the year 1562, and sent out under the command of Captain Jean Ribaut. The expedition came upon the coast of Florida, near St. Augustine, the harbor of which they named the River of Dolphins, because of the many porpoises they saw there. They then entered the mouth of the River St. John's, planted a column of stone, and passed on to the coast of South Carolina, where they built a small fort called Charlesfort. Leaving there a small garrison, Ribaut returned to France, intending soon to return with a larger force.
 | An image should appear at this position in the text. To use the entire page scan as a placeholder, edit this page and replace "{{missing image}}" with "{{raw image|Historic towns of the southern states (1900).djvu/606}}". Otherwise, if you are able to provide the image then please do so. For guidance, see Wikisource:Image guidelines and Help:Adding images. |  |
PEDRO MENENDEZ DE AVILES, FOUNDER OF ST. AUGUSTINE.
Circumstances prevented his return, and it
