On the morning of May 1, 1562, French navigator Jean Ribault first viewed the river now known as the St. Johns and named it the River of May. A day later, as France staked its claim to the New World, Ribault's men placed a stone marker on a sandy knoll near the river's mouth. René de Laundonnière later wrote in 1564 that Ribault had made port in New France, discovered a very large and beautiful river, and erected on its bank a hard stone column carved with the coat of arms of France. This began a race with Spain to colonize la Florida, ending in 1565 with France's defeat and Ribault's death at the Matanzas massacre south of St. Augustine. Jacques le Moyne, an artist with the French expedition to colonize Florida in 1564, depicted René de Laundonnière standing with the Timucuan chief Athore, and his caption said the Timucuans were worshiping the stone as an idol.