Chitta
the Snake.

The destruction of this winter's supply of food was not only a serious
blow to the Indians, but to the little garrison of Fort Caroline as
well, for Laudonniere had just completed arrangements with Micco for
the purchase of the greater part of it. Only a small quantity of
provisions remained in the fort, and though the forest contained an
abundance of game, and the river teemed with fish, the French soldiers
were not skilled in either hunting or fishing, and had become dependent
upon their Indian neighbors for what they needed of such food. It was
therefore with feelings of surprised alarm that, on the second day
after the burning of the granary, they noticed the absence of all
Indians from the vicinity of the fort. Scouts were sent to the Indian
encampment to discover the cause of this unusual state of affairs, and
they soon returned with the report that the place was wholly deserted,
and that not an Indian was to be found.

Not only had all the visiting Indians disappeared, but also every soul
of Micco's tribe; and, what was more significant, they had taken with
them their lodges and all portable property.

Laudonniere at once realized the full force of the situation. His
soldiers were worn out with the labor of building the fort, and many of
them were prostrated by a peculiar fever that racked their joints with
severe pains and unfitted them for duty. The store of provisions upon
which he had depended to feed his men through the approaching winter
had been destroyed. The Indians who might have provided him with game
had abandoned him and gone he knew not whither. His men knew nothing
of the art of winning for themselves a livelihood from the wilderness
that surrounded them. Although the soldiers had been allowed to think
differently, he knew that some months must still elapse before the
arrival of reinforcements and supplies from France. He himself, worn
out by anxiety and overwork, was beginning to feel symptoms of the
approach of the dreaded fever, and he feared that ere long he would be
unfitted to perform the duties of his important position.

In this emergency, he decided to hold a council with the officers of
the garrison, and ask their aid in deciding what was to be done. He
therefore sent word to Soisson, his lieutenant, old Hillaire, the
captain of artillery, Martinez, the quartermaster, Chastelleux, the
chief of engineers, Le Moyne, the artist, and to Rene, his nephew,
bid