/ ^*^3 4.f4 i»S(**' SIR WALTER RALEIGH BETS WITH THE QUEEN. W. & R. CHAMBERS'S WORKS. CHAMBER'S CYCLOPAEDIA OF ENGLISH LITERATURE j A selection of the choicest productions of English Authors, from the earliest to the present time ; Connected by a Criti- cal and Biographical History. Edited by Robert Chambers, In two vols, octavo, with upwards of 300 elegant illustrations. Price, in cloth, $5.00. V The Publishers of the AMERICAN Edition of this valuable work desira to state, that, besides the numerous pictorial illustrations in the English Edition, they have greatly enriched the work by the addition of fine steel and mezzotint engravings of the heads of Shakspeare, Addison, Byron ; a full length portrait of Dr. Johnson, and a beautiful scenic representation of Oliver Goldsmith and Dr. Johnson. These elegant additions together with superior paper and bindi* ing must give this a decided preference over all other editions. " We hail with peculiar pleasure the appearance of this work, and more espec- ialiy its republication in this country at a price which places it within the reach of a great number of readers, and for which they can expect to be remu- nerated only by a very extensive sale." " The selections given by Mr. Chambers from the works of the early English writers are copious, and judiciously made. ***** We shall conclude as we commenced, with expressing a hope that the publication which has called forth our remarks will exert an influence in directing the attention of the public to the literature of our forefathers." — North American Review. CHAMBERS'S MISCELLANY of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge, with elegant illustrative engravings. Edited by William Chambers. Ten volumes, cloth. Price ^10.00 •** The design of the Miscellany is to supply the increasing demand for useful, instructive, and entertaining reading, and to bring all the aids of litera- ture to bear on the cultivation of the feelings and understanding of the people- to impress correct views on important moral and social questions — suppress every species of strife and savagery — cheer the lagging and desponding by the relation of tales drawn from the imagination of popular writers — rouse the fancy by descriptions of interesting foreign scenes — give a zest to every-day occupations by ballad and lyrical poetry — in short, to furnish an unobtrusive friend and guide, a lively fireside companion, as far as that obj«ct can be attained through the instrumentality of books. CHAMBERS'S LIBRARY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. A series of small books, elegantly illuminated. Edited by William Chambers. Each volume forms a complete work, embel- lished with a fine steel engraving, and is sold separately. 18mo. Price 37 K cents. ORLANDINO: A Story of Self-Denial. By Maria Edgewortti. THE LITTLE ROBINSON : And other Tales. UNCLE SA3rS MONEY BOX. By Mrs. S. C. Hall. JACOPO : Tales by Miss Edgeworth and others. TRUTH AND TRUST. Jervis Ryland— Victor and Lisette. ALFRED IN INDIA. CLEVER BOYS. MORAL COURAGE. TALES OF OLD ENGLAND. D;^ Other volttmes are in preparation. KEV HARVEY NEWCOMB'S WORKS. now TO BE A LADY ; A Book for Girls, containing useftL hints on the formation of character. Fifth thousand. ISmo,, gilt cloth. Price 50 cents. " Having daughters of his own, and having been many years employed ia writing for the voung, he hopes to be able to offer some good advice, in an entertaining way, for girls or misses, between the ages of eight and fifteen. His object is, to assist them in forming their characters upon the best model that tliey may become well-bred, intelligent, refined, and good ; and then they will be real ladies, in the highest sense." — Preface, " They are full of wholesome and judicious counsels, which are well fitted to preserve the young from the numberless evils to which they are exposed, and to mould them to virtue and usefulness. There is a directness and earnestness pervading the whole, which must secure for it a ready access to the youthful mind and Ueart." — Albany Argus, HOW TO BE A MAN; A Book for Boys, containing usefu] hints on the formation of character. Fifth thousand. ISmo.^ gilt cloth. Price 50 cents. "!My design in writing has been to contribute something towards forming the character of those who are to be our future electors, legislators, governors, judges, ministers, lawyers, and physicians, — after the best model. It is intended for boys — or, if you please, for young gentlemen, in early youth; from eight or ten to fifteen or sixteen years of age." — Preface. " They contain wise and important counsels and cautions, adapted to the young, and made entertaining hy the interesting style and illustrations of the author. They are fine mirrors, in which are reflected the prominent linea- ments of the Christian young gentleman and young lady. The execution of the works is of the first order, and the books will afford elegant and most prof- itable presents for the young." — American Pulpit, ANECDOTES FOR BOYS ; Entertaining Anecdotes and Nan-a- tives, illustrative of principles and character. 18mo., gilt cloth. Price 42 cents. " Nothing has a greater interest for a youthful mind than a well-told story, and no medium of conveying moral instructions so attractive or so successful. The influence of all such stories is far more powerful when the child is assured that they are true. The book before us is conducted upon these ideas. It is made up of a series of anecdotes, every one of which inculcates some excel- lent moral lesson. We cannot too highly approve of the book, or too strongly recommend it to parents." — Westei-n Continent, Baltimore, ANECDOTES FOR GIRLS ; Entertaining Anecdotes and Naira- tives, illustrative of principles and character. 18mo., gilt cloth. Price 42 cents. " There is a charm about these two beautiful volumes not to bo mistaken. They are deeply interesting and instructive, without being fictitious. Ths anecdotes are many, short, and spirited, with a mcral drawn from each, sonie- wliat after the manner of To;^a; and no youth can read them without finding something therein adapted to every age, condition, and duty of life. "W« commend it to families and schools." — Albany Spectator. " He desires to instruct rather than to dazzle ; to infuse correct pnnciplea into the minds and the heart of the young, than cater to a depraved appetite for romantic excitement. We cordially commend these volumes to all parents and children." — Christian Alliance, CHRISTIANITY DEMONSTRATED in four distinct and inde- pendent series of proofs ; with an explanation of the Types and Prophecies concerning the Messiah. 12mo. Price 75 cents. *** Th? obj«'ct of the writer has been to classify and condense the evidence that the whcle force of each particular kind might be seen at one view. He has also ain^ed to render the -votVl practical, so as to have It a book to be read as well a? studied. The Types and Prophecies furnish an important specief rtf evid»jict. Mid are rich in instruction upon the way of Salvatiou. EO M AN C E OF AMERICAN HISTOEY, AS ILLUSTRATED IN THE EARLY EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THE FRENCH SETTLEMENT AT FORT CAROLINA ; THE SPANISH COLONY AT ST. AUGUSTINE, AND THE ENGLISH PLANTATION AT JA5IEST0WN. BY JOSEPH BANVARD, AUTHOR OF PLYMOUrH AND THE PILGUIMS, NOVELTIES OF THE NEW WORLD, ETC., ETC. .J»»»>» 1 33>,,J^ »»» o J»»a > '"^ .'»!>«. > } 1 1 > t , . > > 1 > > ' * »*■»!» O -i * * O *^ ^ .- ' WElitif Ellustrattons. BOSTON: GOULD AND LINCOLN, S9 WASHINGTON STREET. 1852. o t. , Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by GOULD AND LINCOLN, Li the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts, f 3 ^ r 101 f t « e AC <■ ; f ; " o , c c. Cx STEREOTYrED AT THE BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY. ^ , PREFACE. The early colonial history of the Southern States abounds in incidents of a highly roman- tic nature, especially Florida and Virginia. Some of these have found their way into the various Histories of the United States, and others have not. A particular narration of all the events of all the states of the Union would be a work so voluminous as, by its magnitude, to deter many from its perusal. Hence writers on the history of the whole country, from its discovery, are, from the necessity of the case, obliged to condense their accounts, and even reject much that is interesting. In this work an opposite course has been pursued. A limited extent of country and a comparatively short period of time have been embraced, and the interesting incidents which occurred within those limits minutely related. They pass before the eye in their various bril- liant or sombre hues, like a continuous picture ; 1* 6 PREFACE. enabling us to see the trials and struggles of the early settlers as they contended with the ^ climate and the elements, with the savage In- dian, or with famine and disease. This por- traiture of events, in detail, imparts a far more vivid conception of the lights and shadows of colonial life than could be derived from a mere general outline. If this volume should be the means of awakening a deeper interest in the early an- nals of our country, and of producing a higher appreciation of the blessings we now enjoy, by contrast with the trials of the first planters, its object will be gained. Without mentioning all the authorities which have been consulted, it is proper to state that amongst the works from which has been de- rived special assistance were Hakluyt's Col- lection of Early Voyages ; The Generall His- toric of Virginia, by Captain John Smith; Stith's Essay ; Bancroft's History ; and the Life of Captain Smith, by George S. Hillard, in Sparks's valuable series of biographies. NOTICE. The Publishers, on issuing the third volume of Rev. Mr. Banvard's Series of American Histories, are happy to state that the commendatory notices of the press, and the rapid sale of the first volumes, give flattering encour- agement for the series. Other volumes are in course of preparation. This series will embrace the most interesting and impor- tant events which have occurred in the United States since the first settlement of the country ; illustrating the trials and adventures of the early colonists both at the North and the South, their intercourse and conflicts with the natives, their peculiarities of character and manners, the gradual development of their institutions, sketches of their promi- nent men in both the Church and the State, incidents in the Revolution, with various other subjects of interest of more recent date. They will be adapted to the popular mind, and especially to the youth of our country, and will contain numerous fine engravings. There will be twelve or more 16mo. volumes, consisting of about three hundred pages each, each volume to be complete in itself; and yet, when all are published, they will, together, form a regular Series OF American Histories. %\Bi n! Sllustrntinns. I. FKONTISPIECK — SIR WALTER AND QUEEN ELIZABETH. 11. ILLUSTRATED TITLE PAGE. in. MAKING A CANOE 59 IV. PORTRAIT OF SIR WALTER RALEIGH 68 V. SPANISH BULL HUNT 72 VL FINDING THE BURIED GOODS 135 VIL COOKING OVER A NATURAL SPRING 147 Vin. SMITH AND HIS LIVING SHIELD 171 IX. INDIAN REVENGE 178 X. MARRIAGE OF POCAHONTAS 270 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE Admiral de Coligny. — His Expedition. — John Ribault. — Discovers the River May. — Reception by the Indians. — Devotional Services. — Ex- change of Presents. — Donation of Fish. — Search for the Jordan. — Rivers with French Names. — Fort Carolina erected. — Ribault re- turns. — The Colonists discontented. — They form a Conspiracy. — They kill their Commandant. — They build a Vessel. — Set out to return. — Horrors of the Passage. — Picked up at Sea. — Coligny not disheartened. — Roman Catholics and the Huguenots. — Religious Persecutions 19 CHAPTER II. Opinions respecting Florida. — Departure of Laudonniere. — Conduct of the Indians. — Dissensions. — Piracy. — Fort Carolina. — Wel- come Visitors. — Kindnessof Sir John Hawkins Spanish Claims. — Huguenots. — Religious Antipathies. — The Pirate Melendez. — His Agreement with the King. — Sets out in Pursuit of the French. — 10 CONTENTS. Storm at Sea. — Melendez separates from liis Company. — Discovers a safe Harbor. — Its Name, and the Reason of it. — Melendez finds the French Fleet. — His cruel Message. — The French flee. — Are pursued unsuccessfully. — The oldest Town in the United States. . . 29 CHAPTER III. Eibault returns. — Fears. — Divided Counsels. — A great Tempest. — Spaniards attack the French. — Scenes of Carnage. — Unnecessary Cruelty. — Religious Ceremonies. — Deceptive Offers. — Captives murdered. — The Catholics spared. — Insulting Sentence. — Justifi- cation. — Royal Indifference. — De Gfourgues seeks Revenge. — At- tacks the Spaniards. — Is successful. — Retaliatory Sentence. — The French relinquish Florida CHAPTER IV. Catholic Priests. — Augustin Ruyz. — New Mexico explored. — Sir Humphrey Gilbert, — Visits Newfoundland. — Supposed Discovery of Silver. — Secret mining Operations. — A Vessel lost. — Severe Weath- er. — Sir Humphrey lost in the Squirrel. — Sir Walter Raleigh. — His Perseverance. — Wococon. — Interviews with the Natives. — Gran- ganimeo. — His Court Etiquette. — Visit of Ceremony. — His Wife. — Their Dresses. — The Chief's Monopoly 46 CHAPTER V. Indian Prudence. — Method of making Canoes. — Character of Gran- ganimeo. — Visit to Roanoke. — Indian Hospitality. — Female Kind- ness. — Character and Habits of the Natives. — English Timidity. — Gratitude. — Shipwrecked white Men. — Their fatal Adventure. — CONTENTS. 11 Wonder of the Natives. — Their Weapons and Modes of Warfare. — The Secotanites. ~ A great Feast. — A dreadful Slaughter. — The English Captains return Home. — They take with them two In- dians 58 CHAPTER VI. Glowing Accounts of the new Countries. — Origin of the Name Vir- ginia. — Sir Walter Raleigh's Privileges. — Greenville's Expedition. — Touch at Porto Rico. — False Promises. — Fiery Retaliation. — Ban- quets. — Bull Hunt. — Bargaining. — Dangerous Sport. — Fine Fish- ing. — A Message to Wingina. — Exploring Expedition. — The stolen Cup. — Severe Revenge. — Granganimeo's last Visit. — Greenville returns. — Comparative Dates 67 CHAPTER VII. Explorations. — Description of the Country. — An intelligent Captive. — Pearls. — Menatonon. — Two Companies. — Assignation. — A marvel- lous River. — Pemissapan's Treachery. — Concealment of the In- dians. — Critical Situation. — The Governor's Policy. — Firmness of the Company. — Dog Porridge. — Rumors of Gold. — Mining Opera- tions. — Perseverance of the Company. — Lane's interesting Ac- count. — Attack by the Indians. — They retreat to the Woods. — The perilous Return 76 CHAPTER VIII. New Plots. — The Colony in great Jeopardy. — Indian Funeral Cus- toms. — Murders projected. — The Plot revealed. — The Watch- word. — Pemissapan slain. — The Colony saved. — A Fleet. — Pain- 12 CONTENTS. ful Suspense. — Relief. — Sir Francis Drake. — His Kindness. — Great Storm. — Its Effects. — The Colonists disheartened. — Drake takes them on Board. — Character of Lane. — Arrival of Supplies, but no Colony. — Their Return. — Arrival of Sir Richard Greenville. — His Surprise. — His Return. — He leaves fifteen Men. — He destroys Spanish Towns 80 CHAPTER IX. Indian Clothing. — Their Weapons. — Their Houses. — Mode of War- fare. — Their religious Opinions. — Stories about Resurrection from the Dead. — Astonishment at certain English Articles. — Their Opin- ions of the English. — Their religious Instruction. — Their singular Treatment of the Bible. — Requests for Prayers. — Strange Sick- ness. — How it was accounted for. — English thought to be Gods. — Invisible Bullets — Indian Uses of Tobacco. — Snuff for Fish. — Raleigh's Wager with the dueen. — A Man on Fire. — Permanence of Indian Customs 98 CHAPTER X. A new Colony. — An Obstinate Pilot. — Search for the Fifteen. — Con- dition of Roanoke. — Affecting Scene. — Repairs begun. — The Pi- lot's Designs defeated. — Death of Mr. George Howe by the In- dians. — A welcome Reception. — A Badge of Friendship desired. — A formal Conference. — Fate of the Fifteen. — Attack of the In- dians. — The English defetited. — False Promises. — A Midnight Excursion. — Indians surprised. — A fatal Mistake. — How it oc- curred. — Manteo blames the Indians. — Manteo christened. — First English Child born. — Virginia Dare 110 CONTENTS. 13 CHAPTER XI. Spanish Armada. — All England aroused. — Noble Speech of the Q,ueen. — Splendid Sight. — English Stratagem. — Signal Defeat. — The Armada destroyed. — White's Perseverance. — Success. — Disap- pointment. — Great Smoke, but no People. — Fatal Accident. — A musical Call. — No Response. — Significant Letters, Croatan. — Goods dug up. — Water wanted. — Severe Weather. — Victuals scarce. — Strange Decision. — The Colonists abandoned to their Fate. — A subsequent Tradition concerning them. — Its Uncer- tainty. — Present State of Roanoke 121 CHAPTER XII. The two Companies. — The obnoxious Charter. — Divine Providence controlling Nations. — Rev. Mr. Hunt. — His Troubles and Persever- ance. — The Missionary Spirit. — Hot Springs. — Numerous Birds. — Captain John Smith. — His Popularity. — His Imprisonment. — The two Capes. — The Landing. — Attack of the Savages. — Their Re- pulse. — Oysters. — Flowers. — Strawberries. — Point Comfort. — The Sealed Box. — Anxiety to open it. — Its Contents. — The Officers of the Colony. — Explanations. — A Place for a Settlement 142 CHAPTER XIII. Smith unjustly ejected from the Council. — Building of Jamestown. — Wingfield's Indiscretion. — Romantic Residence of the Indian King. — Powhatan's Conduct. — Attack on Jamestown. — Prowling Indians. — Ambuscades. — Severe Toil. — Attempt to send Smith Home. — Cap- tain Smith's Trial. — His honorable Acquittal. — President Wingfield convicted and sentenced. — Smith's Disinterestedness. — Good Influ- 2 14 CONTENTS. ence of Mr. Hunt. — Smith admitted to the Council Board. — Singu- lar Fact. — Interesting Coincidence 152 CHAPTER XIV. Quaint Language. — The President's Selfishness. — Trials of the Plant- ers. — Frequent Deaths. — The President's Imbecility. — Smith's In- fluence. — His Example of Industiy, — Dwellings provided — Pro- visions scarce. — Smith searches the Country for Food. — Insulting Offers of the Savages. — Smith's Treatment of them. — Terrific At- tack. — Peace and Provisions secured. — Bartering. — Smith cen- sured. — Exploring Excursion. — Wastefulness of the Planters. — Wingfield's Plot. — Its Detection and Prevention. — Abundance of Game. — Smith examines the Chickahominy River. — He leaves his Boat, and takes to a Canoe 159 CHAPTER XV. Disobeying Orders. — Its painful Consequence. — Fate of two Canoe Men. — Indian Skill in Trailing. — A live Shield. — An Accident. — Smith captured. — His Policy. — Exhibits a Pocket Compass, — Gives a Lecture. — Great Astonishment. — Smith sentenced to die. — His Reprieve. — Triumphal Procession. — How Smith is fed. — He suffers from Cold. — Gratitude in an Indian. — Revenge. — Reward offered for Treason. — Mysterious Note. — Indians visit Jamestown. — Their Reception. — Effect of the Note. — Finding of Toys. — Smith pub- licly exhibited 169 CHAPTER XVI. Singular Costume. — Mysterious Ceremony. — Its Explanation. — Smith favored. — Visits Opitchapam. — Indian Beggars. — Apprehensions CONTENTS. 15 of Danger. — Powder planted. — Emperor Powhatan. — Indian Splen- dor. — Guards. — Their severe Discipline. — Subordinate Kings. — Indian Toilet. — The Emperor's Court. — The Consultation. — Smith's Sentence. — Wonderful Deliverance. — Pocahontas. — Executioners disappointed. — Smith a Toy Maker. — " The Chieftain's Daugh- ter." — Female Kindness. — A sympathizing Brother 183 CHAPTER XVII. Smith released. — His Suspicions. — The Cannon and the Grindstone. — Powder frightens. — Plot arrested The President imprisoned. — Pocahontas again. — Her timely Supplies. — Smith regarded with Reverence. — His Prediction fulfilled. — Ceremonial Visit. — New- port frightened. — Powhatan's State. — Smith visits him fearlessly. — His Reception. — Newport gathers Courage. — Royal Shrewdness. — Newport cheated. — Smith's Indignation. — His successful Cun- ning. — The Biter bitten 195 CHAPTER XVIII. ; Value of blue Beads. — A Conflagration. — Mr. Hunt's Trials and Pa- tience. — Gold Fever. — The Phoenix. — Turkeys and Swords. — Weapons stolen. — Smith's Decision. — Powhatan negotiates through Pocahontas. — She is successful. — Unreasonable Complaints. — Ce- dar against Gold. — Chesapeake Bay explored. — A noble Chief. — Places named. — Sufler for Water — A Storm. — Limbo Shirt Sails. — Wild Men. — Stratagem defeated. — Effects of Kindness. — Indian Merchants. — The Party discouraged. — Smith's Persever- ance. — Treachery discovered. — Timely Supplies 206 16 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIX. Another Mineral Fever. — Frying Pan and Fishes. — Accident. — Sting- ray. — Smith's Grave dug, but not used. — A disguised Boat. — Smith elected Tresident. — Another Expedition. — A successful Ar- tifice. — The Tockwoghs. — The acceptable Falsehood. — Great Joy. — A Visit from the Sasquesahanocks. — They worship Smith, and ofier him a Chieftaincy. — Treachery of the Rappahanocks. — Todkill's narrow Escape. — A novel Expedient. — More Deception. — Indians whipped into Peace. — A Cluster of Evils 221 CHAPTER XX. Smith installed Governor. — Newport returns. — Smith outvoted. — - Pocahontas. — Her Amusements for Smith. — Powhatan's Haughti- ness. — Inappropriate Presents. — A Coronation not understood.— Stingy Reciprocity. — The Manakins found. — Their Exclusiveness. — Seeking Merchandise. — Novel Employment. — A queer Cure for Profanity. — Selfishness fatal to the general Good. — Newport dissat- isfied. — Is glad to return to England. — Probably misrepresents the Colony 232 CHAPTER XXI. Trials. — Powhatan's Invitation. — Smith visits him. — Keeps Christ- mas. — Powhatan's Deception. — A villanous Plot. — Pocahontas de- feats it. — She declines Rewards. — Distressing Calamity. — A Mes- senger to Smith. — His Life sought. — Pocahontas conceals and saves him. — A supposed Miracle. — Mysterious Explosion. — Ratcliffe and others slain. — Pocahontas saves a Boy. — Unparalleled Sufierings. — Large Numbers die. — The Town abandoned. — Lord Delaware CONTENTS. 17 arrives. — The Settlers return. — A Sermon. — Lord Delaware's Promptness and Energy. — The Colony revived 244 CHAPTER XXII. Pocahontas concealed. — Treacherous Japazaws. — His cunning Plot. — Pocahontas betrayed. — She becomes captive to Argall. — Copper Kettle. — Powhatan's Policy. — A Truce Pocahontas and her Brothers. — Messengers to Powhatan. — Are unsuccessful. — Pocahon- tas in Love. — She marries an Englishman. — Effects of her Mar- riage. — She is instructed in Religion. — Is converted. — Her differ- ent Names. — Stith's Testimony of her 263 CHAPTER XXIII. Pocahontas visits England. — Smith's Letter to the Queen.— He meets Pocahontas. — Her Coolness and Rebukes. — Smith's Apology. — Re- ply of Pocahontas. — Smith introduces her to the Nobility. — Poc- ahontas visits the King and dueen. — Her graceful Deportment. — She goes to various Places of Amusement. — Her Husband appointed Secretary. — Pocahontas dies. — Sorrow and Joy. — She leaves one Child. — Steukley's Treachery. — Her Child taken to his Uncle's. — The Descendants of Pocahontas. — John Randolph. — Story of Tom- ocomo 273 CHAPTER XXIV. Young Ladies imported. — Interesting Scene. — Long Courtships pre- vented. — Buying Wives. — Their Value in Tobacco. — Wise Ar- rangement. — Its desirable Effects. — Slaves introduced. — Increase of Plantations. — Deceptive Peace. — A dark Plot forming. — An 2* 18 CONTENTS. extensive Conspiracy. — A dreadful Massacre. — Barbarous Mutila- tions. —Jamestown saved. — Chance's Bisclosure. — Results of the Conspiracy 282 CHAPTER XXV. Effects of the Massacre. — A difficult Question. — Smith's Proposal. — Indian War. — Stringent Treatment. — A second Massacre. — Ope- chancanough a Prisoner. — He is murdered. — Border War. — The Indians conquered. — Dissolution of the London Company. — Bap- tism enjoined by LavA'. — Union of Church and State. — Quakers condemned. — How to judge the early Settlers. — Church-Wardens. — Laws concerning Marriage. — Concerning Shipmasters. — Whipping Posts and Ducking Stools. — The Sabbath. — Fast.— The two Col- onies. — Closing Remark 294 CHAPTER I. Admiral de Colig'ny. — His Expedition. — John Ribault. — Dis- covers the River May. — Reception by the Indians. — De- votional Services. — Exchange of Presents. — Donation of Fish. — Search for the Jordan. — Rivers with French Names. — Fort Carolina erected. — Ribault returns. — The Colonists dis- contented. — The}' form a Conspiracy. — They kill their Com- mandant. — They build a Vessel. — Set out to return. — Hor- rors of the Passage. — Picked up at Sea. — Coligny not dis- heartened. — Roman Catholics and the Huguenots. — Religious Persecutions. A NAME which occupies a conspicuous place in the history of the early settlements of North Amer- ica is that of Admiral de Coligny, a distinguished French Protestant, with whom it had long been a favorite object to establish a colony in America, as a place of safe retreat for the Huguenots, as the French Protestants were then called, where they would be secure from the persecuting edicts of a fanatical government, and of a powerful ecclesias- tical hierarchy. For the accomplishment of this desired object, an expedition was finally planned, the execution of which was committed to a cou- rageous and experienced officer of Dieppe, whose name was John Ribault. Instead of the profligate inmates of prisons, with whom some previous at- tempts at forming settlements in North America had 20 CAPTAIN RIBAULT's VOYAGE. been unsuccessfully made, he was accompanied hy some of the flower of the French nobility, and by soldiers of tried courage and good discipline. Furnished with two ships, he safely crossed what was then the comparatively unknown Atlantic, and arrived upon the coast of America, near the thir- tieth degree of north latitude. Whilst sailing along near the land, carefully observing the inequalities of the shore, he discovered in the month of May, 1562, the mouth of a river, which he called River of May — a name, however, which was not destined to be permanent, as it was afterwards supplanted by the " St. John's," which it still retains. Ribault anchored at the mouth of this river for the purpose of making an examination of it. Early the next morning, a boat, well filled with men, left the ship for that purpose. As it approached the land, the men on board discovered large numbers of Indians of both sexes on the shore, who had come down to give these pale-faced strangers, who had visited them in their floating houses, a friendly reception. When they arrived within hearing, the chief of this people delivered a peaceful oration, and then made presents of chamois skins to the French captain. On the following day. Captain Ribault planted a pillar of hard stone on a little swell of land near the mouth of the river ; and on this pillar he en- A WELCOME RECEPTION. 21 graved the arms of France, as evidence that the French had taken possession of this country. After saihng some distance farther up, he landed again, and in the presence of the natives, he caused his men to offer prayers and thanksgiving to Al- mighty God for his great kindness in conducting them to this new world without the occurrence of any injury. After these devotional services, the Indians, who had been very attentive observers, rose up, and advanced with their friendly salutations towards Ribault, and offered to introduce him to their chief, who had not arisen with the rest, but remained still sitting upon a seat covered with the leaves of the bay and palm trees. Ribault accepted of their offer, approached the chief, took a seat by his side, and listened impatiently to a long address, not one word of which could he understand. At the close of this incomprehensible speech, the chief pre- sented the French officer with a beautiful fan of heron's feathers, dyed red, a basket ingeniously made of the branches of the palm tree, and a large skin robe elegantly embroidered with the pictures of various kinds of wild beasts, and very likely of those which he had slain in the chase. Ribault, to show that he fully appreciated these acts of cour- tesy, gave him in return some tin bracelets, a look- ing glass, a cutting hook, and several knives. 22 DISCOVERY OF PORT ROYAL. When the captain signified his intention to leave, the friendly chief professed much sorrow, and com- manded his men to furnish the strangers with some fish. They immediately entered into their wears, which were enclosures made of reeds, for the taking of fish, and soon loaded the French with trouts, mullets, plaice, turbots, and various other unknown kinds. After leaving these friendly natives, and passing farther along the coast, several other rivers were discovered, each of which received a French appel- lation, and generally after some river in France, as the Seine, the Loire, the Garonne, &-c. These names, like the May, were transient. Whilst examining the coast in order to find the Combahee River, which was then called the Jordan, Ribault discovered a noble inlet, which he desig- nated Port Royal — a name which it has never lost. Passing within this inlet, he landed on an island, where, by the formal erection of a monumental stone, on which was sculptured the French coat of arms, and with other appropriate ceremonies, he again took possession of the country in the name of the French king. On this island Ribault set his men to work, who, in the process of time, erected a fort, to which he gave the name of Fort Carolina, in honor of Charles IX. of France, Carolus being the Latin for Charles. This name was afterwards FORT CAROLINA. 23 extended to the adjacent country, and is still re- tained by two of the states of the American Union. It is a circumstance worthy of special note, that the French succeeded in impressing a permanent name upon this portion of the continent a century prior to its occupation by the English. After the erection of Fort Carolina, it became necessary for Ribault to return to France ; but being desirous to retain possession of the place until his return, he left a colony of twenty-six men for that purpose. Although these colonists were surrounded with groves of venerable trees, inter- mingled with the delicate drapery of the vine, and ornamented with a profusion of variegated flowers ; though Nature presented herself before them ar- rayed in her most attractive garb, filling the groves with the wild melody of unknown birds, and load- ing the air with spicy fragrance; and though the untutored savages — the native lords of the soil — were of a friendly disposition, yet they soon be- came discontented. After the departure of the vessels, and these twenty-six adventurers were left the sole civilized occupants of a vast continent, instead of adopting the policy which their lonely situation required, and merging all minor differ- ences into a union for the general good, they al- lowed dissensions to creep in amongst them. A spirit of insubordination was manifested among the 24 CONSPIRACY AND MURDER. soldiers, which the commandant endeavored to sup- press by severe measures. The soldiers were in- dignant, and determined to be revenged. They formed a conspiracy, and took the commandant's life. Thus rebellion and murder were prominent characteristics in this early attempt to form a col- ony upon the shores of North America. After the death of their officer, as supplies and reenforcements did not reach them, and their con- dition was daily becoming worse, they concluded to return home. To effect this earnestly-desired object was no easy task. Separated from their country by a wide waste of waters of three thou- sand miles in extent, destitute of vessels and of suitable materials for the construction of one ad- equate to their purpose, — to return must have seemed almost hopeless. But men on the borders of despair can accomplish wonders. Gathering together the best materials they could find, they constructed a rude brigantine, rigged it as well as they were able, put in a few stores, and embarked upon their perilous voyage. In a few hours, they were far out upon the unexplored deep. The land of their unhappy adventures gradually sunk as they receded from it, until it appeared like a long, low, black cloud resting upon the water of the distant horizon. Presently it disappeared entirely. Day after day they slowly ploughed their way across the RETURN OF THE COLONISTS. 25 heaving billows, without apparently making any progress ; for they had no landmarks by which to be made sensible of advance. The same monot- onous scene was around them at night on which they opened their eyes in the morning, whilst in the morning they seemed to be in the same spot where they were when the last rays of the setting sun bade them farewell ; as if they had anchored over night to guard against danger in the dark. They seemed to be in the centre of an immense dome, without the possibility of making any ap- proach towards the circumference. Day after day, and week after week, their eyes were greeted in every direction by the same meeting of sky and water, and at the same distance from them. All tliis, however, was only in appearance. They were in reality making progress, though not very rapidly. A new calamity presented itself. Either from wrong calculations respecting the length of the voyage, or the amount of food the company would consume per day, or else from necessity, they did not put on board sufficient stores to last them during the voyage. They were obliged to be put upon short allowance, and even then were doomed to see their provisions grow smaller and small- er, until the last portion was consumed. Famine, with its attendant horrors, stared them in the face. In order to continue their existence, they were 3 26 PICKED UP AT SEA. reduced to the terrific necessity of eating the flesh of one of the company ! It was a fearful expedi- ent ; but men reduced to their extremity will resort to any measures to preserve existence. Life is made up of contrasts. Light follows darkness, and smiles banish tears. One day, whilst they were musing upon the perils of their condi- tion, and balancing the probabilities, favorable and unfavorable of their final deliverance, they saw indications of land. At the same time, a small white speck presented itself upon the distant hori- zon. It gradually increased, until they were satis- fied that it was a vessel. It was a welcome sight, as it furnished them food for hope. All eyes were strained to watch its course. They steered their own vessel in the proper direction to meet it. For a time they were in suspense whether they were observed by the stranger, or whether he would pass on and leave them. Their feehngs were intense. To their great joy, they succeeded in arresting his attention, speaking with him, and relating their dis- tress. They were at once taken on board and provided for, and thus, through the intervention of a kind Providence, they were saved from starvation ^nd from a watery grave. This vessel proved to be an English bark. Some of the men who were picked up were taken to England, and otliers ianded in France. Thus terminated the first at- ROMANISTS AND HUGUENOTS. 27 tempt of the French to estabhsh a colony in what was then called Florida, near the south-eastern corner of the present South Carolina. The Admiral de Coligny, notwithstanding the disastrous close of this attempt, was not disheart- ened. He projected another settlement, which, however, was doomed to experience a dreadful overthrow. Before narrating the particulars of one of the most humiliating and tragic events which occurred in the early history of this country, it is necessary to state that a civil war, with all its attendant bar- barities, had been prevailing in France between the Protestants and the Roman Catholics. In 1563, it was determined by the French government to dis- miss all magistrates from office who were tainted with the heretical opinions of the Huguenots, as the French Protestants were called, and to tolerate no religion but the Catholic. This was a resolu- tion which, as the Huguenots were numerous and powerful, could not be executed without an appeal to the sword. Accordingly, both parties immedi- ately betook themselves to arms. Pope Pius V., the head of the Roman Catholic church, interested himself in the war, and even sent an army from Italy in aid of the French Catholics, to whom he gave the cruel order, as they left him, to slay every Huguenot they should take, and give no quarter. 28 PERMANENT ANTIPATHY. The Huguenots evinced a similar spirit, and also gave no quarter. It was a war in which not only were the natural malevolent passions called into violent exercise, but sectarian bigotry and religious frenzy added fuel to the flames. Each party re- garded themselves as fighting against the enemies of true religion, and as rendering good service to the church in putting them to death. Although in the course of the next year hostil- ities ceased, and peace was professedly established, yet the belligerent parties cherished a burning ha- tred towards each other. This mutual antipathy was not confined to the French. It was difiused wherever these parties existed. Huguenots and Catholics were every where the opponents of each other, whether they belonged to the same or to different nations. Tliis antipathy, as we shall pres- ently see, crossed the Atlantic, and brought forth its dreadful fruits of blood and death upon the shores of the new world. CHAPTER II. Opinions respecting' Florida. — Departure of Laudonniere. — Con- duet of the Indians. — Dissensions. — Piracy. — Fort Caro- lina. — Welcome Visitors. — Kindness of Sir John Hawkins. — Spanish Claims. — Huguenots. — Religious Antipathies. — The Pirate Melendez. — His Agreement with the King. — Sets out in Pursuit of the French. — Storm at Sea. — Melendez separates from his Company. — Discovers a safe Harbor. — Its Name, and the Reason of it. — Melendez finds the French Fleet. — His cruel Message. — The French flee. — Are pursued unsuc- cessfully. — The oldest Town in the United States. The civil war in France being arrested, the Ad- miral de Colignj resumed his efforts to establish a colony in some part of Florida. In addition to granting his royal permission, the French king fur- nished Coligny three vessels for his service, which were placed under the command of Laudonniere, a man of intelligence and force of character, and who had accompanied Ribault in his previous voyage.* As exaggerated statements had been made respect- ing the salubrious character of the climate of Flor- ida, as it was known to abound luxuriantly in various kinds of vegetable productions, and as it was be- lieved to be rich in the precious ores, it was no wise difficult to obtain emigrants in abundance. Men * Bancroft. • 30 laudonniere's expedition. panting for adventures, or thirsting for gold, or de- siring a place of retreat from the liability of religious persecution, cheerfully presented themselves as ready to engage in the promising enterprise. As Coligny desired to obtain accurate information respecting the various objects which might be discovered in the far-off land, he engaged James Le Moyne, a skilful artist, to execute colored pictures of those which might be most deserving of attention. The trio of ships containing the adventurers, with their stores, left France April 22, 1564, and on the 22d of June they arrived on the coast of Florida, having been sixty days upon the voyage. The com- modious harbor of Port Royal being surrounded with too many painful associations to be attractive, Laudonniere passed by it in search of a more pleas- ing location for a settlement. After selectino^ the banks of the River of May, he landed, and, in com- pany with his Huguenot brethren, commenced, with devotional services, the founding of a new colony. The Indians, instead of opposing their landing, re- ceived them with the cordiality of friends, and ex- tended to them their unrefined but genuine hospi- tality. Notwithstanding the propitious circumstances under which the colony was commenced, it was not long before a dark cloud overshadowed its prospects. Although amongst the emigrants were men of good principles, yet there' were others entirely destitute PIRATICAL EXPEDITION. 31 of integrity, who were anxious only for the rapid increase of wealth, irrespective of the means by which it might be obtained. A mutinous disposition was manifested, which the commandant found it difficult to quell. Great wastefulness was practised in the use of food, by which their stores were soon exhausted, and want began to stare them in the face. A party among them, composed of the most insub- ordinate and reckless class, took advantage of this circumstance to oblige Laudonniere to give them a written permit to embark for New Spain ; and then, seizing two vessels, they set sail upon a piratical expedition against the commerce of the Spaniards. Out upon the wide ocean they fell in with two or three vessels. So soon as they discerned their flag, and discovered that they were Spanish, they bore down upon them like an eagle darting upon its prey, and succeeded in making them prizes. They were not permitted, however, to rejoice in their success any great length of time. It was their experience, as it has been that of many others, that the triumphing of the wicked is short. They were themselves cap- tured, when some of them were held as prisoners, others reduced to slavery, and a few, who made a successful attempt to escape, and returned to the colony, were there seized by Laudonniere, and sen- tenced to be executed. On the banks of the May the colonists erected a 32 DISAPPOINTMENTS. fort, to which they also gave the name of Fort Car- oHna. For a number of weeks they had been ex- pecting supphes from their native land. Every little cloud that appeared upon the distant marine horizon was intensely watched, with the hope that it would enlarge into the beautiful form and proportions of a friendly ship ladened with the necessary stores. But these expectations were doomed to be successively blasted, as these deceptive clouds vanished into thin air, or enlarged and gathered themselves into moun- tainous heaps. After enduring this painful suspense for several months, to such extremities were they reduced for the want of food, that they concluded to abandon the settlement. This determination was strengthened by the unfavorable change which had taken place in the disposition of the Indians, whose original friendship had been converted into decided hostility by the unjust severities of the colonists. As they had no vessels in which it was suitable for them to risk a voyage across the ocean, their plan was to erect some small brigantines for that purpose, when, most opportunely, the fleet of Sir John Haw- kins arrived from the West Indies, where he had recently sold, at an immense profit, a cargo of human beings, whom he had torn from their native homes in Africa. It is an humiliating fact, that among the first marine employments upon the coast of America we find piracy and the slave trade ! CRUELTY AND BENEVOLENCE. 33 Man is a bundle of inconsistencies. The most opposite traits of character are sometimes exhibited by the same individual, as was the case with this English slave trader. What could have been more cruel than the employment of Sir John Hawkins upon the coast of Africa, when tearing husbands from their wives, and parents from their children, with all the horrid accompaniments, to transport them amid the darkness, the stench, and the noisome- ness of the " middle passage," across the wide At- lantic, in order to reduce them to hopeless bondage in a foreign land ! And yet, when Hawkins found the colony of Laudonniere, on the coast of Florida, in a suffering condition, his compassion was excited ; he supplied them liberally with provisions, and even furnished them with a vessel from his own fleet to convey them back to France. After the preparations were completed, and the colony was on the eve of embarking, another fleet was descried entering the river and sailing towards the new settlement, which entirely changed the plans of the immigrants. These visitors proved to be the long-looked for reenforcements, bringing food, seeds for planting, agricultural implements, and a variety of domestic animals for raising stock. They were under the direction of Ribault, who had come to take the command of the colony. Sadness now gave place to joy. The idea of returning home was 34 JOY SUCCEEDS SADNESS. abandoned, and the whole company went to work as if the point was settled that that was to be their permanent residence. It must be remembered than more than fifty years prior to this settlement of the French, this country was discovered by Ponce de Leon, a Spaniard, in his search after the fabled fountain of perpetual youth, from whom it received the name of Florida, and that upon his discovery was based the Spanish claim to the whole of North America. Fernando de Soto, a few years later, (1539,) also visited the country, and took formal possession of it in the name of the Spanish Emperor Charles V. De Soto ex- plored a large portion of the territory, and during his romantic wanderings, buried a large number of the bravest cavaliers of Spain. These claims the Spanish never relinquished, and, consequently, the French settlement at Fort Carolina was regarded as an encroachment upon the Spanish dominions. This of itself might have been deemed by them a suffi- cient justification of any attempt to drive the French intruders from the soil. In addition to this political reason was another of a religious character. These Huguenots, as we have seen, were Protestants, but the Spanish court, and the nation generally, were Ro- man Catholics. Thus in their religious views and feel- ings they were the antagonists of each other ; and any measures, however severe, for the e;sclusion of these PEDRO MELENDEZ. 35 Huguenot Calvinists from the Spanish domain would be regarded by the bigoted Spaniards as acceptable service to Holy Mother Church. These facts will enable the reader to appreciate the tragic events which we are now about to relate. At the court of Spain there figured a naval officer who had spent many eventful years in his profes- sional pursuits, and who, by a naturally fierce dis- position and his familiarity with scenes of carnage and of death, was well fitted to engage in any work of sanguinary cruelty. His name was Pedro Me- lendez. With this pirate hunter, who himself had been convicted of crime, Philip H. of Spain entered into an agreement to secure the conquest of Florida. As the conditions of that agreement shed light upon those early periods of our history, it is deemed de- sirable here to insert them. Melendez engaged to invade the country with not less than five hundred men ; to subdue it within three years ; to explore its currents, channels, coasts, and harbors ; to form a settlement of at least five hundred persons, one fifth of whom should be mar- ried men, and sixteen Roman Catholic ecclesiastics, of whom four were to be Jesuits ; and all this at his own expense. He was also to introduce into the colony a variety of domestic animals ; and, last of all, as sugar was expected to become one of the staple productions of the country, he stipulated to 36 AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE KING AND PEDRO. import five hundred negro slaves into the new country ! The king, on his part, appointed Melendez gov- ernor of Florida for life, with the privilege of nomi- nating his successor ; allowed him an annual salary from the colonial revenues ; assigned to him a terri- tory of seventy-five square miles in the neighborhood of the settlement, and a fifteenth of all the perqui- sites belonging to the king. The departure of Melendez from Spain was has- tened by the intelhgence that the French Protestants had already established themselves in the Spanish dominions in the new world. National antipathy and religious fanaticism, combined, created a high degree of sympathy among the people, in the expe- dition which was in progress ; the result of which was, that above twenty-five hundred persons, embra- cing sailors, soldiers, ecclesiastics, farmers, and me- chanics, among whom were married men and their families, engaged to go ; all of whom were to be sent at the expense of the notorious Melendez. In addition to these were three hundred soldiers, who accompanied the expedition at the expense of the government. All things being ready, the crusaders set sail in the month of July, 1565 ; but they had not been at sea many days before they were overtaken by a vio- lent tempest, which scattered the fleet. Melendez THE SPANIARDS DISCOVER THE FRENCH. 37 kept on his voyage, and arrived at St. John, in the Island of Porto Rico, with only one third of his fleet. Without waiting for the arrival of the rest of his company, he set sail for Florida, and on the 2Sth of August, being the anniversary of St. Augus- tine, he came in sight of the coast. Not knowing where the French, of whom he was in pursuit, had planted themselves, he sailed along the coast, keep- ing a good lookout landward, with the hope of making a successful descent upon them. Whilst engaged in this search, he discovered a river, and a convenient, safe harbor, to which he gave the name of St. Augustine, in honor of the saint on whose anniversary he came upon the coast. Having ob- tained what information he could from the Indians relative to the location of the French, he left St. Augustine, and continued his course to the north, and in two or three days had the pleasure of seeing the masts of the French vessels piercing the distant horizon, like the barren tops of the pine, rising above the surface of the water from some sunken island. This was the fleet of Ribault, which had recently arrived with reenforcements to Fort Carolina, on the May. When the French saw the approach of these strangers, they sent to them to inquire who they were and what were their objects. The answer was characteristic of the ferocious Spaniard. He told them that h^ was Melendez of Spain, and had 4 33 OLDEST TOWN IN THE UNITED STATES. come at the command of his king to gibbet and be- head all the Protestants that he found in Florida. " The Catholic," said he, " I will spare, but every heretic shall die ! " This reply fell upon their ears like the knell of death. Taken by such sudden sur- prise, they at first knew not what measures to adopt. But a moment's reflection convinced them that it would be foolish temerity to engage in conflict with them ; and as they did not wish to be taken prisoners, nor try the sensations of the threatened gibbet or axe, they slipped their cables and run out to sea. The Spaniards gave chase ; but being unsuccessful in overtaking them, they returned to their newly- discovered harbor of St. Augustine, which they reached September 7, celebrated by the Catholics as the birthday of Mary. About noon, Melendez, with a company of his followers, went on shore, took formal possession of the continent in the name of his king, Philip II. of Spain, and then, in connection with the imposing service of the mass, laid the foun- dation of St. Augustine. This is the oldest town in the United States, it having been established more than forty years before any other. The Puritan Pilgrims did not land upon Plymouth rock till the 22d of December, 1620, fifty-five years after the founding of St. Augustine. CHAPTER III. Ribault returns. — Fears. — Divided Counsels. — A Great Tem- pest. — Spaniards attack the French. — Scenes of Carnage. — Unnecessary Cruelty. — Religious Ceremonies. — Deceptive Of- fers. — Captives murdered. — The Catholics spared. — Insult- ing Sentence. — Justification. — Royal Indiflference. — De Gour- gues seeks Revenge. — Attacks the Spaniards. — Is successful. — Retaliatory Sentence. — The French relinquish Florida. When Ribault, the French commander, saw that the Spanish fleet, under Pedro Melendez, had re- linquished the pursuit of him, he returned to his Huguenot friends at Fort Carolina, whom he found in a state of considerable agitation, lest the unwel- come visits of the Spaniards might be renewed. They were disappointed, perplexed, and provoked. They had fled from persecutors in their own coun- try, in order that amid the solitudes of the new world they might enjoy freedom to worship God ; and before they had become fairly settled in their expected land of rest, their enemies were upon them, thirsting, like so many bloodhounds, for their death. Opinions among the colonists were divided. Some were in favor of strengthening their position, assuming a defensive attitude, and quietly waiting the approach of the enemy. Others thought it wiser policy to pursue them with the ships, and engage in 40 TREMENDOUS STORM. conflict with them upon the ocean. This was the opinion of Ribault, and it prevailed. He accord- ingly sailed with his fleet, and thus withdrew from the colony the protection he might have extended to them if he had remained. He had not been gone long before the heavens were shrouded in gloom ; the wind blew at a fearful rate ; the waves rolled like mountains ; a terrific tempest came down upon him, scattering his fleet, driving them to the south, and sending every one of them on the rock-bound shore of Florida, a fatal wreck. The Spanish fleet suffered but little. The French at Fort Carolina were expecting the attack of the Spaniards from the sea. Instead of this, Melendez landed his troops, and, marching through the dense forests and deceitful everglades which intervened between St. Augustine and the French settlement, he attacked the feeble company from an unexpected quarter, and, after a short engagement, he made himself master of their po- sition. Now followed a scene of carnage in perfect keeping with the ferocious disposition of the suc- cessful Spaniard. Not satisfied with making them prisoners, he gave them up to the sword. Our heart sickens at the description of the horrid scene. Not only the soldiers, but the aged, the sick, help- less women and harmless children, were butchered in cold blood. A few succeeded in concealing A TERRIFIC CONFLICT. 41 themselves in the siirroimdmg woods, but they could not long remain there ; yet, when they gave them- selves up to their conquerors, they were massacred like the rest. Not satisfied with this, the Spaniards wreaked their inordinate vengeance upon the dead, by mutilating their bodies in a barbarous manner. The number slain in this fearful struggle was about two hundred. As this victory was achieved on the festival of St. Matthew, the Spaniards called the River May the St. Mattheo. Both of these names, however, have given place to the St. .John's. After this dreadful tragedy was over, the bloodstained mur- derers, in solemn mockery, engaged in religious services. With Romish rites, they planted a cross upon the spot, still wet with the blood of the wor- shippers of the Crucified, observed the idolatrous service of the mass, and even designated a place where these cruelties had been enacted, for a church, to the honor of Him who, both by example and precept, has taught us to pray for our enemies, and bless those who despitefully use us. It was not long before the shipwrecked men of Ribault's fleet were discovered. Having, by their misfortunes, lost all their food and water, and having endured great suflfering and fatigue, they were reduced to extreme helplessness. The vic- torious Spaniard invited them to confide in his 4* 42 MASSACRE AT ST. AUGUSTINE. clemency. It was the tiger offering compassion to the helpless lamb, for whose blood it was thirsting. Yet what could these famishing mariners do ? Being without ships, they could not escape ; being without stores, they could not survive. As the proffered mercy of their enemies afforded them their only gleam of hope, they delivered themselves into their hands. No sooner did Melendez find himself in possession of these hapless mariners, than he bound their arms behind them, and obliged them, in that condition, to march to St. Augustine. As these manacled captives approached the fort which Melendez had there erected, not knowing the fate which awaited them, a fatal signal was given, when the nefarious Spaniards pounced upon their defenceless prisoners, and slew them without mercy, their agonizing shrieks being drowned by the soimd of trumpets and the roll of drums. A few among them, who were Catholics, were spared, as Melendez had said. Some mechanics, also, who were qualified to render useful services to the Spaniards, escaped the common doom, and were reduced to slavery among them. All the others were ruthlessly slain. As a slight extenuation of his cruelty, Melendez stated that he killed them " not as Frenchmen, but as Lutherans." He jus- tified it not on national, but religious grounds. The whole number who perished in these two SUPPLICATION TO THE KING. 43 massacres is said by the French to have been nearly a thousand. The widows and children of those who were slain by Melendez, in Florida, addressed a pathetic supplication to the French throne. But as the French court at that time were in sympathy with the Roman Catholic church, they made no response to the appeal. They neither granted relief to the bereaved, nor avenged the death of the slain. It is not always the case that a nation harmonize in their views and feelings with the court. In reli- gious opinions and in measures of state policy they may widely differ. In the present case, many of the French people were deeply grieved for those whose friends had perished through the cruelty of Melendez. Among them was Dominic de Gourgues, who, among various other adventures as a soldier, had been taken prisoner by the Spaniards. Being glad of any pretence to engage in conflict with his old enemies, and revenge himself for injuries re- ceived, Gourgues offered his services in the present case. By combining his own pecuniary resources with the contributions furnished him by his friends, he succeeded in fitting out three ships, with a com- plement of a hundred and fifty men. With these he set sail for America, in search of those who had, with such savage cruelty, destroyed the French set- tlement on the River May. He directed his course 44 GOURGUES SEEKS REVENGE. to Fort Carolina, where he found the Spaniards occupying the place of the colony which they had overthrown. Two forts had been erected near the mouth of the river. These he attacked, and suc- ceeded in taking the more important of them, with a number of prisoners ; but finding it difficult to retain his position, he concluded to abandon it. Previous to this, it became necessary to decide upon the fate of the prisoners. Shall they be liberated ? shall they be carried captives to France ? or shall they be slain ? Gourgues was not long in coming to a decision. He had crossed the Atlantic for pur- poses of revenge, and was determined not to be disappointed. Besides, as the Spaniards, in the previous massacres, had insultingly declared that they slew their enemies " not as Frenchmen, but as Lutherans," Gourgues was determined to retaliate in the same manner. The prisoners were doomed to death, but were not to be honored with mil- itary execution by powder and ball. They were sentenced to be hung. The trees furnished a con- venient gallows. On their branches the wretched Spaniards were hanged, with the inscription of Gourgues over them : " I do this, not as to Span- iards or seamen, but as to robbers, traitors, and murderers." He then hastily embarked on board his vessels, and returned to France. The French government made no effort to follow up his success. A GREAT LOSS. 45 nor replant a colony in Florida. Indeed, it repu- diated all pretension to the country. It voluntarily relinquished all claim, to the Spaniards, who eagerly seized it as a part of their dominion, to which they were fairly entitled by the right of discovery. If France had pursued an opposite course, — if she had settled colonies here, and strengthened them to sustain their position, — she would have been able to divide the country with Spain, and, in a few years, would have found herself in possession of a vast and important empire. Her government failed to appreciate the value of the possessions which were within reach. In consequence of their want of foresight, their imbecility, and their unwillingness to give offence to a neighboring Catholic power, the French allowed the vast and promising domain of Florida to slip from their possession into the hands of Spain. CHAPTER lY. Catholic Priests. — Augustin Ruyz. — New Mexico explored. — Sir Humphrey Gilbert. — Visits Newfoundlancl. — Supposed Discovery of Silver. — Secret mining Operations. — A Vessel, lost. — Severe Weather. — Sir Humphrey lost in the Squir- rel. — Sir Walter Raleig'h. — His Perseverance. — Wococon. — Interviews with the Natives. — Granganimeo. — His Court Et- iquette. — Visit of Ceremony. — His Wife. — Their Dresses. — The Chief's Monopoly. Amongst the earliest explorers of this country, none exhibited more hardihood, patience, self-denial, and perseverance than the Catholic ecclesiastics. Sometimes in company with bands of settlers, and sometimes alone, they penetrated into the interior, and exposed themselves to the diseases of climates to which they were unaccustomed — to the perils of pathless woods, impassable mountains, wild beasts,' and savage men. Notwithstanding our aversion to the dogmas, the superstition, and the persecuting bigotry of the Catholic church, we are not disposed to withhold our meed of praise from those of her priests, who, believing that the uncivilized inhabitants of this newly-discovered world were hastening on to the regions of eternal night, cherished a sincere desire to instruct them in the principles of what they believed to be the true religion, and thus to save AUGUSTIN RUYZ. 47 their souls from death. Their examples of zeal, patience, and self-sacrifice are worthy of the im- itation of those who arrogate to themselves a better faith. In 1580, about sixteen years after the settlement of St. Augustine, a Franciscan friar by the name of Augustin Ruyz, having caught the same missionary spirit by which other Spanish ecclesiastics were at that time moved, formed the bold design of pen- etrating far into the interior of the American con- tinent, that he might teach the benighted Indians the way of life. Leaving Santa Barbara, in Mex- ico, he, in company with two or three others, plunged into the unexplored regions of the north, until he reached the Rio Grande River, which he followed to its upper branches. The next year, Antonio de Espejio followed him. The explorations were finished. The country received the name of New Mexico ; and there, in the midst of a moun- tainous region, near one of the branches of the Rio Grande, was founded Santa Fe, the second town in the United States. Although the continent of North America had been discovered by the English many years before it was visited by the Spaniards or the French, (the Cabots having seen it in 1497,) yet no colonies had been formed, nor any vigorous measures adopted by the English government to enter upon its possession. 48 ENGLISH GRANTS. It was not until 1578 that the Ensjlish court were aroused to the importance of effort for securing some permanent benefit from their splendid dis- covery. At this time, letters patent were granted to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, conferring upon him very liberal privileges, in case he established a colony within six years. After he collected a company, he met with perplexing disappointments and provoking delays before he could put to sea. After setting sail, he unfortunately met with several disasters. He first fell in with a Spanish fleet, with which he had an unsuccessful engagement. He was next overtaken by a violent storm, which destroyed one of his vessels, so that he was compelled to return. Being too poor to fit out another enterprise, Gilbert was obliged to content himself, for several years, by making grants to other parties, of lands for them to colonize. These grants, however, pro- duced no permanent results, as the parties receiving them were unable to establish settlements. The time which was allotted to Gilbert, by his patent, to found a colony in the new world, was rapidly drawing to a close, without any thing being accomplished. He was determined to make one effort more prior to its complete expiration. With the assistance of others, he fitted out three ships, set sail, and arrived at Newfoundland, where, in the harbor of St. John's, he found nearly forty SIR HIBIPHREY GILBERT. 49 vessels, of varrous nations. In the presence of their crews he took formal possession of that large island in the name of her majesty, Queen Elizabeth of England. The country was examined, and the explorers thought they discovered silver ore. They were ordered to lock the secret in their own breasts. Not being willing to leave all these priceless treas- ures behind them, quantities of the ore were con- veyed on board one of their vessels, but in so secret a manner that the crews of the other vessels in the harbor had no suspicion of what was in progress. After this, Gilbert, with his fleet, coasted south. His mariners proved to be a set of dissatisfied, thievish, and piratical fellows, disposed to molest and rob every vessel that they dared to attack. It was not long before the largest of the fleet, through the inexcusable neglect of those on board, was wrecked, with the loss of all the ore, and about a hundred men. After this mournful event, Gilbert hastened his return to England with his only two remaining vessels — the Squirrel and the Hind. He was in the former, which was a very small frigate, of only ten tons, and unfit to navigate tem- pestuous oceans. On their return, they experienced severe weather. The wind blew violently, and the waves rolled like mountains capped with snow. The vessels were in imminent peril ; yet they kept as near together as was compatible with safety. 5 50 THE SQUIRREL FOUNDERED. At one time, when they were within speaking dis- tance, the commander, who was sitting in the stern of the Squirrel, called out to those in the Hind, " We are as near to heaven by sea as by land." The same midnight, the Squirrel was ingulfed in the mighty waters, and neither vessel nor crew was ever heard of again. Thus unsuccessful was the termination of Sir Humphrey Gilbert's efforts to establish colonies in America. The next adventurer who appeared upon the stage, and attempted to try his fortunes in the new world, was the celebrated Sir Walter Raleigh, a half brother to Sir Humphrey Gilbert. He had been so far interested in the enterprise of Sir Humphrey, as to furnish and fit out, at his own expense, the largest vessel of his fleet ; and some say that Raleigh entered upon the expedition him- self, and commanded his own ship in person. In a few days, however, the vessel was obliged to put back, in consequence, as was pretended, of a dan- gerous and contagious sickness among her company. Sir Walter was a man of great perseverance, and was not to be disheartened by the unfortunate re- turn of his vessel, nor the sad fate of his half brother. Having received liberal patents from Queen Elizabeth of England, and having induced others to unite with him in the enterprise, Raleigh ISLAND OF WOCOCON. 51 fitted out two small vessels, wliich lie placed under the command of Captains Philip Amidas and Arthur Barlow. On the 27th of April, 1584, these two vessels left the Thames, in England, and after the usual cir- cuitous course generally pursued in those days, touching at the Canaries and the West Indies, they arrived on the 2d of July upon the coast of North Carolina, then called, as was the whole country, Florida. After sailing a hundred and twenty miles along the coast, they entered an inlet, and landed upon the Island of Wococon, which separates Pam- lico Sound from the Atlantic, where religious ser- vices were performed, and the country taken pos- session of in the name of Queen Elizabeth. This being over, they entered upon an examination of the place. They found that the spot where they landed was low and sandy, " but so full of grapes that the very surge of the sea sometimes overflowed them ; of which they found such plenty in all places, both on the sand, the greene soyle, and hils, as in the plaines as well as on euery little shrub, as also climbing towardes the tops of high cedars, that they did thinke in the world were not the like abundance." They soon discovered that what they had supposed was the main land was only an island, about twenty miles long and six broad. Upon discharging their muskets, such an immense number 52 AN INDIAN ADDRESS. of snow-white cranes arose from their concealment, that the noise of their cries was " as if an army of men had shouted altogether." They fomid that the island was well wooded with various kinds of fra- grant and useful trees, among which were cypress, sassafras, the lentisk, or " the tree that beareth mastic, and the tree that beareth the rine of blacke sinamon." They remained near this beau- tifully wooded island two days, without seeing any of the inhabitants ; but on the third day, a canoe glided from the shore, containing three half-naked, swarthy savages, who landed on the island, " foure harquebuz-shot from our shippes," two of whom remained with the canoe, as if to guard it, whilst the third came down on a point of land nearer to the vessels, and walked to and fro, as if to attract attention. Some of the officers of the ships immediately put off for the shore, as they desired to open communications with the natives, and obtain all the information in their power. The Indian saw their approach towards him, but without exhibiting the least fear, he raised his voice as soon as they arrived within hearing distance, and deliv- ered a long harangue, not one word of which could they understand. As the English manifested to- wards him a friendly spirit, he did not retreat from their superior numbers, but at their invitation vol- untarily accompanied them on board the ships. CEREMONIAL VISIT. 53 After exhibiting to him all parts of the vessel, they treated him to wine and meat, which he seemed greatly to relish. They also gave him a hat, shirt, and several other articles, after which he left them and returned to his canoe. It seems that this tawny son of the desert felt grateful for the kindness he had received, and was desirous of giving some ex- pression to his feelings. He therefore paddled a short distance from the island, and commenced fishing. In the space of half an hour, he caught as many as his canoe would hold, and then, return- ing to the point of land which was nearest to the vessels, and where he was previously seen walking to and fro, he divided his fish in two piles, and then, by signs, indicated that he gave them to the two vessels, and departed. The next day, the English were honored with visitors of great distinction, who approached them with no little ceremony. A number of canoes were seen gliding over the water, filled with men, who disembarked upon the island, placed all their canoes together, and then came down on the shore opposite the ships. They were closely observed by those on board, who soon discovered that one among them was some honored personage ; for, as he walked along, they noticed that he was followed by forty or fifty others ; and when he arrived at the place over against the ships, where he doubtless 5* 54 GRANGANIMEO'S WELCOME. expected to have an interview with these white strangers, his attendants spread a long mat upon the ground, on one end of which he took his seat in Indian style, and on the other end four others, who were persons of some distinction, seated them- selves. The rest of his men were arranged around him, at a respectful distance, as a kind of body guard. Some of the English left the vessels in a small boat, and approached towards them with weapons, but without exciting any fears. When they arrived where the Indians were, he who appeared to be the chief among them, and whose name was Grangan- imeo, invited them by signs to take a seat on the mat near himself, which they did ; " and being set, hee made all signes of ioy and welcome, striking on his head and breast, and afterwards on ours, to shew we were all one, smiling and making shewe the best he could of all loue and familiaritie. After he had made a long speech unto vs, wee presented him with diners things, which hee received very ioy- fuUy and thankefully. None of the company durst speake one worde all the time ; only the foure which were at the other ende, spake one in the others eare very softly." * The king, whose name was Wingina, was not present at this interview, * Hakluyt's Collection of Voyages. INDIAN TASTES. 55 being detained at home in consequence of wounds which he had received in a battle with the king of the adjoining country. The country over which Wingina reigned was called Wingandacoa. In addition to the donations given to Granganimeo, they gave several to the four individuals who sat on the other end of the mat ; but in a few min- utes the chief arose, took all these additional gifts, and appropriated them to himself, informing the English, as well as he was able, that all things must be given to him, as the other Indians were merely his followers and servants. A few days after this, they had another interview with this chief, when they engaged in some trading operations for skins. Of all things they exhibited, that with which he was the most pleased was a bright tin dish. He seized it, held it up, examined it, placed it over his heart, as if it were a breast- plate, and afterwards made a hole through the edge of it, and suspended it from his neck, at the same time signifying that it would ward off the arrows of his enemies. So highly did he prize this, that he gave for it twenty skins, worth twenty crowns. For a copper kettle he gave fifty skins, worth fifty crowns. They gave what to us seems a high price for these articles. But we must remember that to them these utensils were great rarities, and might be used for important purposes. They also offered 56 THE CHIEF AND HIS WIFE. good exchange for hatchets, axes, knives, and would have given any thing in their possession for swords; but with these the Enghsh would not part. A few days subsequent to this, they succeeded in inducing Granganimeo to go on board the ships, where he had an opportunity of inspecting the wonders of these strange floating houses. He was received with the accustomed hospitality of the English, and furnished with wine, meat, &c., which he relished exceedingly, and with which he became very merry. He also brought his wife,, daughter, and two or three children on board. His wife was small, good looking, but very bashful. Over her back was thrown a skin dressed with the fur on. She wore it with the fur side next to her person. In front was another of the same kind. Her fore- head was ornamented with a band of white coral. From her ears a chain of pearls as large as peas was suspended, which reached half way to the ground. Other women of the tribe had copper ornaments dangling from their ears. Some of the children of Granganimeo and some of the chiefs had five or six in each ear. Upon his own head be wore a broad plate of yellow metal ; but whether it was gold or copper, the English could not tell, as it was unpolished, and he would not remove it from his head for their examination. It was adjusted in such a manner upon his head, INDIAN ETIQUETTE. 57 that by " feeling it, it would bow very easily." His dress was of skins, and worn very much in the same manner as his wife's. The women wore their hair long on both sides, and the men but on one. It is generally supposed that the hair of the Amer- ican Indians is uniformly black ; but in the account of this visit by one of the party, it is stated of them, " They are of a color yellowish, and their haire black, for the most part ; and yet we saw children that had very fine aburne and chesnut- colored haire." After this, large numbers of the natives came from all parts of the surrounding country, bringing with them leather, coral, and dye-stuffs, for pur- poses of trade. Yet such was the peculiar etiquette observed among them, that when Granganimeo was present, he monopolized the whole trade himself. None of his men were allowed to barter in his presence " except such as wear red pieces of copper on their heads, like himself; for that is the differ- ence between the noblemen and governors of coun- tries, and the meaner sort." CHAPTER V. Indian Prudence. — Method of making Canoes. — Character of Granganimeo. — Visit to Roanoke. — Indian Hospitality. — Fe- male Kindness. — Character and Habits of the Natives. — Eng- lish Timidity. — Gratitude. — Shipwrecked white Men. — Their fatal Adventure. — Wonder of the Natives. — Their Weapons and Modes of Warfare. — The Secotanites. — A great Feast. — A dreadful Slaughter. — The English Captain's Return Home. — They take with them two Indians. It was usual for Granganimeo, whenever he visited the English, to kindle as many fires on the shore, at a good distance from the vessels, as equalled the number of canoes with which he intended to make his approach, so that those on board might know in what strength he was about to visit them. These canoes " are made of one tree, either of pine or pitch trees ; a wood not commonly known to our people, nor found growing in England." So says the account. " They have no edge tools to make them witlial : if they have any, they are very few, and those, it seems, they had twenty years since, which was out of a wreck which happened upon their coast, of some Christian ship being beaten that way by some storm and outrageous weather, whereof none of the people were saved, but only the ship, or some part of her being cast upon the sand, out CANOE MAKING. 59 of whose sides they drew the nails and the spikes, and with those they made their best instruments. The manner of making their boats is this : They burn down some great tree, or take such as are windfallen, and putting gum and rosin upon one side thereof, they set fire iuto it, and when it hath burnt it hollow, they cut out the coal with tlicir 3 \{\M'^^ Making a Canoe. shells ; and ever where they would burn it deeper or wider, they lay on gums, which burn away the tim- ber ; and by this means they fashion very fine boats, and such as will transport twenty men. Their oars are like scoops, and many times they set with long poles, as the depth serveth." 60 VISIT TO ROANOKE. When the wife of Granganimeo visited them, which she did many times, she was accompanied by forty or fifty women ; all of whom, with two or three exceptions, she made remain on the shore whilst she went on board the vessel. Granganiraeo was a fine specimen of a chief. He was faithful to his promises ; for many times the English let him have articles of merchandise on credit to take away, but always, when the day on which he promised to pay for them arrived, he was on hand, ready to keep his word. Every day he sent them a brace of fat bucks, conies, hares, and fish. He also furnished them with various kinds of fruits, such as melons, cucumbers, gourds, walnuts, peas, and different kinds of roots, which were very palatable to the taste. The soil was extremely fer- tile. Peas which the English planted were, in ten days, fourteen inches high. Beans of various col- ors, with wheat, oats, and corn, abounded among them. After the Indians had been aboard the vessels a number of times, it was considered desirable to re- turn their visits. Accordingly, the captain of one of the vessels and seven of the men went up a river, which the Indians called Occam, and which is be- lieved to be Pamlico Sound, until they reached an island, then as now called Roanoke. On the north end of this island they found a village of nine houses, INDIAN HOSPITALITY. 61 built of cedar, and fortified with a stockade of trees, as a protection against enemies. The entrance to it was made hke a turnpike, very artificially. As the English approached it, the wife of Granganimeo, the king's brother, came running out to meet them in the most cheerful and friendly manner. Her husband was then absent. The account of this visit, as given by the parties, is so interesting that we shall use their own language in describing it. " Some of her people she commanded to draw our boat on the shore for the beating of the billow ; others she appointed to carry us on their backs to the dry ground, and others to bring our oars into the house for fear of stealing. When we were come into the utter room, having five rooms in her house, she caused us to sit down by a great fire, and after took off our clothes, and washed them and dried them again. Some of the women plucked off our stock- ings, and washed them ; some washed our feet in warm water ; and she herself took great pains to see all things ordered in the best manner she could, making great haste to dress some meat for us to eat. *' After we had thus dried ourselves, she brought us into the inner room, where she set on the board standing along the house some wheat-like furmentie, sodden venison, and roasted, fish sodden, boiled and roasted ; melons, raw and sodden, roots of divers kinds, and divers fruits. Their drink is commonly 6 62 INDIAN CHARACTER. water, but while the grape lasteth they drink wine, and for want of casks to keep it, all the year after they drink water, but it is sodden with ginger in it, and black cinnamon, and sometimes sassafras and divers others wholesome and medicinalle herbs and trees. We were entertained with all love and kind- ness, and with as much bounty, after their manner, as they could possibly devise. We found the people most gentle, loving, and faithful, void of all guile and treason, and such as live after the manner of the golden age. The people only care how to de- fend themselves from the cold in their short winter, and to feed themselves with such meat as the soil affordeth. Their meat is very well sodden, and they make broth very sweet and savory. Their vessels are earthen pots, very large, white, and sweet ; their dishes are wooden platters of sweet timber. Within the place where they feed was their lodging, and within that their idol, which they worship, of whom they speak incredible things. While we were at meat there came in at the gates two or three men with their bows and arrows from hunting, whom when we espied, we began to look one towards another, and offered to reach our weapons ; but as soon as she espied our mistrust, she was very much moved, and caused some of her men to run out and take away their bows and arrows and break them, and withal beat the poor fellows out of the gate ENGLISH PRUDENCE. 63 again. When we departed in the evening, and would not tarry all night, she was very sorry, and gave us into our boat our supper half dressed, pots and all, and brought us to our boat side, in which we lay all night, removing the same a pretty distance from the shore. She, perceiving our jealousy, was much grieved, and sent divers men and thirty women to sit all night on the bank side by us, and sent us into our boats five mats to cover us from the rain, using very many words to entreat us to rest in their houses ; but because we were few, and if we had miscarried, the voyage had been in very great danger, we durst not adventure any thing, although there was no cause of doubt ; for a more kind and loving people there cannot be found in the world, as far as we have hitherto had trial." This Indian squaw had herself, as we have seen, been on board the vessels of the English, where both she and her husband had been treated with kindness. She seems to have been impelled by a sense of grat- itude to reciprocate their kindness, and was grieved that her visitors did not have as much confidence in her friendliness as she and her distinguished husband had manifested in theirs. Her hospitality seems to have been munificent, and nothing was left undone which was necessary for the safety or the comfort of her guests. On this visit the English gained some vague in- 64 A HAREBRAINED ADVENTURE. formation respecting other white persons who had visited this coast. They were informed that four days' journey to the south-west was a city called Secotan, and that twenty-six years before, a ship was there cast away, some of the crew of which were white, and were successful in escaping from the wreck. After remaining three weeks upon an unin- habited island, they, with the assistance of some of the inhabitants of Secotan who had found them out, fastened two Indian canoes together, erected masts, took off their shirts and converted them into sails, and then boldly put out to sea. It was a hare- brained adventure, and none but men on the verge of desperation would have engaged in it. A few days after, their crazy vessel was found cast ashore upon another island, from which it was evident that they had been cast away. These individuals were seen only by the inhabitants of Secotan. Yet when they saw these others, the account states, " they wondered marvellously at the whiteness of our skins, even coveting to touch our breasts, and to view the same. Besides, they had our ships in marvellous admiration, and all things else were so strange unto them, as it appeared that none of them had ever seen the like. When we discharged any piece, were it but an arquebus, they would tremble thereat for very fear, and for the strangeness of the same ; for the weapons which themselves use are bows and arrows. INDIAN CUSTOMS. 65 The arrows are bits of small canes, headed with a sharp shell, or tooth of a fish, sufficient enough to kill a naked man. Their swords be of wood hard- ened ; likewise they use wooden breastplates for their defence. They have beside a kind of club, in the end whereof they fasten the sharp horns of a stag or other beast. When they go to wars, they carry about with them their idol, of whom they ask coun- sel, as the Romans were wont of the oracle of Apollo. They sing songs as they march towards the battle, instead of drums and trumpets; their wars are very cruel and bloody, by reason whereof, and of their civil dissensions, which have happened of late years among them, the people are marvellously wasted, and in some places the country left desolate." Adjoining the Secotanites was a tribe of Indians, the name of whose king was Piamacum, between whom and the people of Secotan there had been violent and sanguinary wars. Although peace had been arranged between them, yet there were acts of perfidy which the Secotanites could not forget, and which they were anxious to avenge. On one occa- sion, a great feast was appointed, to which many men and women of the other tribe were invited, and when they were all together, indulging in promiscuous mer- riment, and worshipping their idol without the least fear of being betrayed, the chief of the town where the feast was held came suddenly upon them with a 6* 66 FATAL FEAST. band of his deceitful warriors, and slew every one of the men. The women and children he preserved, perhaps to reduce them to bondage, as that was commonly the way in which they disposed of their prisoners. After Captains Amidas and Barlow had made all the examination and obtained all the information in their power, they sailed for England, where they arrived about the middle of September. They took with them to England two of the natives, whose names were Wanchese and Manteo. CHAPTER VI. Glowing Accounts of the new Countries. — Origin of the Name Virginia. — Sir Walter Raleigh's Privileges. — Greenville's Ex- pedition. — Touch at Porto Rico. — False Promises. — Fiery Retaliation. — Banquets. — Bull Hunt. — Bargaining. — Dan- gerous Sport. — Fine Fishing. — A Message to Wingina. — Exploring Expedition. — The stolen Cup. — Severe Revenge. — Granganimeo's last Visit. — Greenville returns. — Comparative Dates. When Captains Amidas and Barlow returned to England, they gave such glowing and exaggerated accounts of the beauty of the country, the fertility of the soil, and the gentle disposition of the natives, as greatly pleased the English, and induced Queen Elizabeth, in commemoration of her own unmarried state, " or as some have been pleased to gloss and interpret it, because it still seemed to retain the virgin purity and plenty of the first creation, and the people their primitive innocency of life and man- ners," to call it Virginia. Soon after their return. Sir Walter Raleigh was elected to Parliament, and received also the honor of knighthood. His patent for prosecuting discov- eries in foreign lands was confirmed, and that he might have an enlarged income to assist in defraying the expenses of his colonial enterprises, there was granted to him the monopoly of trade in sweet wines, 68 A NEW EXPEDITION. from which it was expected he would receive a hand- some revenue. Encouraged by the flattering reports of his re- turned officers, Raleigh lost no time in making ar- rangements for another expedition. This beautiful Portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh. paradise which had been discovered, where, from the accounts of its visitors, it seemed as though earth and sea, atmosphere and sun, its inhabitants and its natural productions, had all combined to render it the most delightful residence in the world, was to be colonized immediately. ARRIVAL AT PORTO RICO. 69 The new expedition consisted of seven vessels and one hundred and eight colonists, under the com- mand of Sir Richard Greenville. Upon their arrival on the shores of the new world, the colony was to be governed by Mr. Ralph Lane. Among other distinguished persons who went out with this com- pany was a skilful artist, by the name of With, who had been employed to make sketches of the personal appearance and the singular customs of the natives. On the 9th day of April, 1585, the expedition set sail from Plymouth, in England. On the r2th of May, they reached the Island of St. John, of Porto Rico.* They here spent a number of days in build- ing a pinnace, the timber for which they had to draw three miles. The island belonged to the Span- iards, who were not on friendly terms with the Eng- lish. A number of them made their appearance on various occasions, but did not dare to attack these unwelcome visitors. On the 23d of May, they fin- ished and launched their pinnace. The Spaniards, in an interview which they had with some of the English, having ascertained that they did not intend to remain there, but were merely building a small vessel with which they would soon all depart, prom- ised to furnish them with supplies of food. But after waiting some time and not receiving the prom- * Greenville, in Hakluyt. 70 RICH PRIZES. ised supplies, the English were indignant, and to revenge themselves they set the woods on fire, and also the fort where they had built their pinnace. This did no good ; it brought no victuals, and in- stead of allaying the animosity of the Spaniards, it must have greatly increased it. Greenville and his company were anxious to leave St. Johns, for though the Spaniards did not attack them, there was another enemy, of great courage and of indomitable perseverance, whose vigilance was ever awake, and whose weapons were always ready, and from whom retreat or concealment was impossible. These were the clouds of bloodthirsty mosquitoes which infested the island, and which were a constant annoyance to the English. They left St. Johns on the 29th, and the same night they fell in with a Spanish frigate. As soon as the Spaniards saw the English fleet bearing down upon them, they took to their small boats and fled, leaving their vessel a prey to the enemy. Early the next morning they made a prize of another Spanish frigate, with rich freight and various Spaniards of distinction on board. These latter were afterwards ransomed at high rates. On the 30th they arrived at the Island of Hispaniola, where they were re- ceived with great courtesy. They here honored the Spaniards with a banquet, who reciprocated it with a bull hunt. The account of that interview, as given COURTESIES BETWEEN ENEMIES. 71 in the journal of the voyage, is as follows : " The 5th of June, the governor of Isabella, (a town on the north side of Hispaniola,) accompanied with a lustie friar and twenty other Spaniards, with their servants and negroes, came down to the seaside, where our ships rode at anchor, who being seen, our general manned immediately the most part of his boats with the chief men of our fleet, every man appointed and furnished in the best sort. At tlie landing of our general, the Spanish governor re- ceived him very courteously, and the Spanish gen- tlemen saluted our Enghsh gentlemen, and their inferior sort did also salute our soldiers and seamen, liking our men and likewise their qualities, although at the first they seemed to stand in fear of us, and of so many of our boats, whereof tliey desired that all might not land their men ; yet in the end the cour- tesies which passed on both sides were so great that all fear and mistrust on the Spaniards' part was abandoned. " In the mean time, while our English general and the Spanish governor discoursed betwixt them of divers matters, as of the state of the country, the multitude of the towns and people, and the com- modities of the island, our men provided two ban- queting houses, covered with green boughs, the one for the gentlemen, the other for the servants ; and a sumptuous banquet was brought in, served by us all 7^ SPANISH BULL HUNT. ill plate, with the sound of trumpets and concert of music, wherewith the Spaniards were more than dehghted. Which banquet being ended, the Span- iards, in recompence of our courtesie, caused a great herd of white bulls and kine to be brought together from the mountains, and appointed for every gentle- EUM-SMITH Spanish Bull Hunt. man and captain that would ride, a horse ready saddled, and then singled out three of the best of them, to be hunted by horsemen after their manner, so that the pastime grew very pleasant for the space of three hours, wherein all three of the beasts were killed, whereof one took the sea, and there was slain FRIENDLY RELATIONS. 73 with a musket. After this sport, many rare pres- ents and gifts were given and bestowed on both parts ; and the next day we played the merchants in bargaining with them by way of truck and exchange of divers of their commodities, as horses, mares, kine, bulls, goats, swine, sheep, bull hides, sugar, ginger, pearl, tobacco, and such like commodities of the island." The courtesy of the Spanish on this occasion was, by the English, attributed to fear rather than to kindness. The banquet, bull hunt, and bartering having ter- minated to the mutual satisfaction of the parties, on .Tune 7th the English fleet bade farewell to their friendly foes, and went to sea. The next day they arrived at a small island, which they had been in- formed was a place of great resort for seals. As the general desired to enjoy the sport of taking some, the fleet came to anchor, and he, with a num- ber of others, went in the pinnace in pursuit of them. The chase like to have had a fatal termination for the whole party, as the pinnace came very near being wrecked. But by divine interposition they finally escaped, and reached their vessel in safety. On the 20th they arrived upon the coast of Florida, and three days after they narrowly escaped wrecking on a point which, in consequence of its dangerous character, was called Cape Fear. The next day 7 74 THEFT AND ITS PUNISHMENT. they anchored in a harbor, and in one tide they caught as many fish as would, in London market, have sold for a hundred dollars. On the 26th they came to anchor at Wococon. From here they sent word to Wingina, of Roanoke, of their arrival. On the 6th of July, Mr. John Arundel was sent to the main land, accompanied by Manteo, one of the sav- ages who had been taken to England, and who had now returned with them. He proved to be very useful to the English all the time that they remained there. On the same day. Captains Aubrey and Bon- iten were sent to Croatan, an Indian town, where they found thirty or more of their men, who had been left there a number of days before. On the 11th of July, the general, accompanied by quite a large party of the English, set out on an exploring expedition, with the tilt boat, the pinnac€i, and two ship boats laden with a stock of provisions sufficient to last eight days. They directed their course towards the main land, and during their absence they discov- ered the towns of Pomeiok, Aquascogok, Secotan, and a great lake called Paquique. At Aquascogok a sil- ver cup was stolen from them by an Indian, which so offended the English, that, in revenge for the larceny, they burned down the town and destroyed all their corn. This destruction of the homes and the food of the Indians, for so trifling an offence, many of whom had no hand in it, only served to Greenville's return. 75 exasperate them, and to convert them into more de- termined and implacable foes. It was seed from which in future the English were to reap bitter fruit. On the 18th of July they returned from their expedition to the fleet, which was still riding at Wococon, and two days after they set sail for Ha- torask, where they arrived on the 27th. On the 29th they received their last visit from the generous and honorable Granganimeo, as, shortly after, he died. He had proved himself to be a sincere friend of the English. On the 25th of August, General Greenville set sail on his return to England, leaving in the new world one hundred and eight persons to found a colony. This was in 1585, and as the Puritans did not land in Massachusetts Bay till 1620, this first attempt of the English at colonizing in Virginia occurred thirty-five years before the settle- ment of Plymouth. CHAPTER VII. Explorations. — Description of the Country. — An intelligent Cap- tive. — Pearls. — Menatonon. — Two Companies. — Assigna- tion. — A marvellous River. — Pemissapan's Treachery. — Con- cealment of the Indians. — Critical Situation. — The Governor's Policy. — Firmness of the Company. — Dog Porridge. — Ru- mors of Gold. — Mining Operations. — Perseverance of the Company. — Lane's interesting Account. — Attack by the In- dians. — They retreat to the Woods. — The perilous Return. The colony which Sir Richard Greenville left in the country to undertake the laborious and respon- sible work of its settlement, was placed under the government of Mr. Ralph Lane, who had accom- panied them from England for that purpose. After the departure of Greenville, arrangements were made by the colonists to enter upon various exploring expeditions, in order to ascertain the geography and nature of the country, in respect to its soil and its mineral, vegetable, and animal pro- ductions ; and, also, to form an acquaintance and establish friendly relations with the natives. Not much, however, was accomplished by these expe- ditions. To the southward, they proceeded as far as Secotan, an Indian town, which they estimated was about eighty miles distant from Roanoke, " in the present county of Carver, between the Pamlico lane's description of the country. 77 and the Neuse." They made the passage with difficulty, through a broad sound full of dangerous flats and shoals, in a boat with four oars, and carry- ing fifteen men, with their provisions and baggage. To the north, they went as far as to the Ches- pians — about a hundred and thirty miles. They regarded the expedition as perilous, because the water was shallow, the bay wide, and in case any accident happened, it would have been very difficult to obtain help. Mr. Bancroft fixes the extent of their northern exploration at the small river Eliz- abeth, which falls into the Chesapeake Bay, just below Norfolk. They penetrated into the interior some distance beyond the junction of the Meherrin and the Nottaway, to Chawanook. In Governor Lane's own account of these explorations, he says, " The territory and soil of the Chespians (being distant fifteen miles from the shore) was for pleas- antness of seat, for temperature of climate, for fertility of soil, and for the commodity of the sea, besides multitude of bears, (being an excellent good victual,) with great woods of sassafras and walnut trees, is not to be excelled by any other whatsoever." He states, after mentioning the unpronounceable names of several Indian towns which they passed oh the rivers, that Chawanook is the largest, and capable of sending seven hundred warriors into the 7 * 78 AN INTELLIGENT INDIAN. field. The king of this province was named Men- atonon, " a man impotent in his Umbs, but other- wise, for a savage, a very grave and wise man, and of a very singular good discourse in matters concerning the state, not only of his own country, and the disposition of his own men, but also of his neighbors round about him, as well far as near, and of the commodities that each country yield- eth." * The governor took him prisoner, and kept him for two days ; and from him he received more valuable information than he had derived from all the other savages together. Among other things, he told him that by going three days* journey up his river Chawanook, he would be within four or five days' journey of another kingdom, bordering upon the sea, but having, as its place of greatest strength, an island, situated in a bay, and surround- ed by very deep water. From this bay the king of that country obtains so great a quantity of pearls, that not only are the robes of himself and followers abundantly ornamented with them, but also his beds and houses, so that it is a curiosity to see him. He showed the governor some of these pearls, which he had purchased of the king about two years before ; and though they were black, he paid a dear price for them. Some of these he gave to Governor * Lane, in Hakluyt. A WEALTHY CHIEF. 79 Lane, among which were a few very round and beautiful. He informed him that the black pearls were obtained from the shallow, and the large white ones from the deep water of the bay, in which was the island before alluded to. This story of the wonderful quantity of pearl powerfully ex- cited the cupidity of Lane, and he resolved to make this wealthy native monarch a visit. He regarded it as extremely desirable to form an acquaintance with one who possessed in such abundance these valuable jewels. It was his opinion that this king trafficked with white men who dressed as the Eng- lish did ; that for them he saved all his white pearls, and for this reason would sell none but black ones to Indians. Menatonon offered to furnish him with guides, but at the same time advised him to take a consid- erable number of men, and a good stock of stores, as the king whom they would visit was jealous of strangers, and very unwilHng for any but his own people to fish for pearls. Lane at once resolved, in case any supplies reached him from England by the end of April, to set out on this important expe- dition. His plan was to send some boats by sea to discover the bay referred to, and explore it, whilst he, with another company of two hundred men, would go up the River of Chawanook, accompanied by the guides which were promised him. It was 80 REMOVAL CONTEMPLATED. his intention, also, to have kept Menatonon's son a prisoner on the journey, in order to secure fideUty on the part of the guide. He also arranged to provide fortified places on the route, protected by a garrison of fifteen or twenty men, which he was to leave within them. After reaching the head of the river, he would then cross over land to the bay, and join the other party, who were to be there waiting for him. In case he found a good harbor there, which should appear to him preferable to the one at Roanoke, he intended to take possession of it, and remove there with his whole colony. This was to be his plan of operations, in case he re- ceived accessions from England ; but after receiving other intelligence, so greatly was his anxiety in- creased to commence operations, that he resolved not to delay. His movements were hastened by certain marvellous things which he heard respecting a famous river, called by the Indians Moratoc. It was said that the origin of this river was at a dis- tance of thirty or forty days' travel from Roanoke, and that there the water gushed out of a large rock in such quantity as to make at once a most violent stream. This huge rock was so near to the ocean, that in times of storm, when the wind blew in from the sea, the resistless rolling billows dashed over the intervening land, and mingled with the fresh water of the river, rendering it salt and A FAMOUS RIVER. 81 brackish for a considerable distance. Lane was anxious to discover this singular river-producing rock. The account of it he knew would furnish an interesting chapter in the report of his expe- ditions, which, as in duty bound, he was to return to his employer in England. Menatonon, whom he had held in captivity, he released for a certain ransom price, and then com- menced his exploration of the river. The Moratoc, now known as the Roanoke, emptied into the Albemarle Sound, then called by the Indians Weapomeiok. His plan was to take two double wherries, with forty men, and provisions sufficient only to last until they reached the Moratocs, or Mangoaks, tribes of Indians whom they expected to pass on their journey, and ascend the Roanoke, if possible, to its mysterious head. This neglect to lay in more provisions came near proving fatal to the whole party. For the king, Wingina, who, upon the death of his brother, had changed his name to Pemissapan, although he had frequently importuned the English to visit the interior tribes of Indians, now that his request was about to be complied with, sent word to those tribes that the white men were coming to destroy them. The consequence was, that, as Lane and his company ascended the stream, the Indians, instead of meeting them and trading with them as 83 TREASON AND STRATAGEM. they otherwise would have done, fled before them, carrying away their corn, and leaving nothing but empty wigwams for their visitors. The limited stock of provisions which Lane took with him was rapidly diminishing. After having proceeded up the river for three days, without seeing an. Indian or finding a grain of corn, he began to be alarmed. Being then a hundred and sixty miles from home, knowing that he had victuals for only two days left, suspecting treason in his own savages, and appre- hensive lest he might meet with violent storms, which would impede his return, and perhaps prove fatal to some, if not all, of his company, he concluded to make known to them their true con- dition, and ask their opinion as to the best course to pursue. Accordingly, in the evening, before appointing the sentinels for the night, he called the whole company together, laid before them their real situation, informed them of his own suspicions that they were betrayed by their own savages, and drawn forth into the country to be starved ; and that, as they only had two days' provisions on hand, it would be best for them to return home, and that, in returning, it would be wise to take a different route from that by which they had come, so that they might visit the fishing " weares of Chympa- num," where they might obtain some relief. How- ever, after making a full statement, he said he COURAGEOUS RESOLUTION. 83 would submit the whole matter to them for their decision, and would abide by the votes of the majority whether to return, or to spend all of their provisions in surveying that goodly river, with the hope that they would have better fortune in meeting with the natives, and in finding food. But that they might not be hasty in coming to a decision, he advised them to think of the subject over night, and he would call for their opinion in the morning. The decision of the company was, that whilst a half a pint of corn per man was left, they would not relinquish the examination of the river ; that as there were in the company two mastiff dogs, when all other food gave out, they could convert them into pottage, season it with sassafras, and live upon it two days ; that by that time the current of the river would carry them to the entrance of the sound, over which they might pass in two days more, and be relieved by the fish wears ; which two days, they said, they would rather fast than be drawn back a foot, till they had seen the Indians, either as friends or foes. With this resolution Governor Lane said he was well pleas6d, and that he merely pretended to be of a different opinion out of " mistrust of that which afterwards did happen." The tribe which they were particularly desirous of meeting was called the Mangoaks, who were said to traffic up the Roanoke, and who, it was 84 METHOD OF MINING. presumed, could give them valuable information respecting a " marvelous and most strange mineral " which it produced. The existence of a mine some- where on that river was extensively known among the neighboring tribes. The country in which it was located was called Chaunis Temoatan. " They say that they take the said metal out of a river that falleth very swift from high rocks and hills. The manner is this: They take a great bowl, by their description as great as one of our targets, and wrap a skin over the hollow part thereof, leaving one part open to receive in the mineral. That done, they watch the coming down of the current, and the change of the color of the water, and then suddenly clap down the said bowl with the skin, and receive into the same as much ore as will come in, which is ever as much as their bowl will hold, which presently they cast into a fire, and forthwith it melteth, and doth yield in five parts, at the first melting, two parts of metal for three parts of ore. Of this metal the Mangoaks have so great store, by report of all the savages adjoining, that they beautify their houses with great plates of the same." This metal the Indians called wassador, a ge- neric name, however, which they applied to metals in general. They said it resembled the English copper, except that it was paler and softer. It A COVETED METAL. 85 was easy for the excited imaginations of the Eng- lish to convert this soft, pale red, or yellow metal into gold. Their cupidity being aroused, they were the more anxious to have an interview with the Mangoaks, and obtain not only more information, but specimens of the mysterious mineral, and, if possible, be led to the mine. They therefore de- termined not to return, but to continue to ascend the stream, and persevere in their efforts to obtain an interview with the Mangoaks, and, if successful, to take some of them prisoners, and use them as guides. Manteo, who had made a visit to England, and had picked up something of the English lan- guage, accompanied them as their interpreter, so that, in case they fell in with any of the natives, they could have conversation with them. The deceitful statements of Pemissapan, that their intentions were evil, defeated all their efforts. The Indians shunned them as though they believed the report, that their object was to destroy them. Governor Lane, in the account of this expedition which he sent to his employer, - — Sir Walter Ra- leigh, — says that he yielded willingly to the de- cision of his company to persevere. " But it fell out very contrary to all expectation and likelihood, for after two days' travel, and our whole victual spent, lying on shore all night, we could never see man, only fires we might perceive 8 86 AN ATTACK. made along the shore where we were to pass, and up into the country, until the very last day ; in the evening whereof, about three of the clock, we heard certain savages call, as we thought, Manteo, who was also at that time with me in the boat, whereof we all being very glad, hoping of some friendly conference with them, and making him to answer them, they presently began a song, as we thought in token of our welcome to them ; but Manteo presently betook him to his piece, and told me that they meant to fight with us, which word was not so soon spoken by him, and the light horse- men ready to put to shore, but there lighted a volley of their arrows amongst them in the boat, but did no hurt (God be thanked) to any man. Immediately, the other boat lying ready with their shot to scour the place for our hand weapons to land upon, which was presently done, although the land was very high and steep, the savages forthwith quitted the shore, and betook themselves to flight. We landed, and, having fair and easily followed for a small time after them, who had wooded themselves, we know not where. The sun drawing towards the setting, and being then assured that the next day, if we would pursue them, though we might happen to meet with them, yet we should be assured to meet with none of their victual, which we then had good cause to think of; therefore choosing for the DETERMINATION TO RETURN. 87 company a convenient ground in safety to lodge in for the night, making a strong corps of guard, and putting out good sentinels, I determined the next morning, before the rising of the sun, to be going back again, if possibly we might recover the mouth of the river, into the broad sound, which at my first motion I found my whole company ready to assent unto ; for they were now come to their dog's por- ridge, that they had bespoken for themselves, if that befell them, which did, and I before did mis- trust we should hardly escape. The end was, we came the next day, by night, to the river's mouth, within four or fiive miles of the same, having rowed in one day, down the current, as much as in four days we had done against the same. We lodged upon an island, where we had nothing in the world to eat but pottage of sassafras leaves, the like whereof for a meat was never used before, as I think. The broad sound we had to pass the next day all fresh and fasting. That day, the wind blew so strongly, and the billow so great, that there was no possibility of passage without sink- ing of our boats. This was upon Easter eve, which was fasted very truly. Upon Easter day, in the morning, the wind coming very calm, we en- tered the sound, and by four of the clock, we were at Chipanum, whence all the savages we had left 88 ARRIVAL AT ROANOKE. there were fled ; but their wears did yield us some fish, as God was pleased not utterly to suffer us to be lost ; for some of our company of the light horsemen were far spent. The next morning we arrived at our home, Roanoke." CHAPTER VIII. New Plots. — The Colony in great Jeopardy. — Indian Funeral Customs. — Murders projected. — The Plot revealed. — The Watchword. — Pemissapan slain. — The Colony saved. — A Fleet. — Painful Suspense. — Relief. — Sir Francis Drake. — His Kindness. — Great Storm. — Its Effects. — The Colonists disheartened. — Drake takes them on Board. — Character of Lane. — Arrival of Supplies, but no Colony. — Their Return. — Arrival of Sir Richard Greenville. — His Surprise. — His Re- turn. — He leaves fifteen Men. — He destroys Spanish Towns. The expedition which was related in the last chapter seems to have resulted in no permanent ben- efit to the English, except in making them acquainted, by painful experience, with the methods adopted by the savages to annoy and destroy their pursuing enemies. It also made them sensibly realize that Pemissapan was a dangerous neighbor, whom sound policy required them closely to watch. After their return from their exploration of the Roanoke, new events which occurred served to con- firm their opinion of the treacherous and dangerous character of this wily chief. Ensenore, the father of Pemissapan, was a true friend of the colonists. He had no sympathy with the antipathy and mali- ciousness of his son. In the councils which were held to deliberate upon the policy to be adopted towards the white strangers, he always stood up as 8* 90 pemissapan's plot. their protector, and interposed his influence for their good. His name should be held in grateful remem- brance by their descendants. Still, according to Governor Lane's account, Pemissapan arranged a plan for the overthrow of the colony. After having projected a variety of annoyances, such as the withholding of food from the English, omitting to plant corn, destroying their fishing wears, and thus obliging them to live mainly upon clams, muscles, and other shell fish, he devised an artful plot for their destruction. It was the custom with the Indians, when any of their principal men deceased, to observe a great fes- tival to their honor. When Ensenore, who was ad- vanced in years, died, which occurred about this time, his son, Pemissapan, resolved to have a fes- tival to his memory, and when large numbers of Indians should have assembled together, to make an attack upon the English and destroy them. Indians of different tribes were to be collected, and were to have their encampments located in different places, and when one portion of them should succeed in executing Governor Lane, bonfires were to be lighted at prominent points as the signal of their success 5 and then others were to make an attack upon the English colony, and cut them all off* in cold blood. The method which had been adopted for the de- struction of the governor was as follows : Twenty VARIOUS MURDERS PLANNED. 91 warriors, under the command of two principal braves, were appointed to watch his person. They were to ascertain in what house he lodged, and at midnight, when they had reason to believe that he was fast locked in unconscious sleep, they were to station themselves around his door ; some of them were then to set the house on fire by kindling the dry reeds with which it was covered, and when he should awake and attempt to escape from the burning build- ing, they were to fall upon him with their weapons and put him to death. The same plan was arranged for the destruction of other prominent Englishmen. The town and the fort were then to be burned and the colonists destroyed wherever they could be found. Such, in brief, is Governor Lane's account of the matter, which he says was revealed to him by an Indian named Skyco, and was confirmed by one of Pemissapan's own men. The plot being disclosed. Lane began to counter- plot, and after a while succeeded in securing an interview with Pemissapan and eight of his princi- pal men. Regarding this a favorable opportunity for inflicting upon the traitorous Indian deserved death, he gave to his own guard the watcliword, which had been previously communicated to them, wliich was, " Christ our victory," when instantly they sprang upon the Indians and slew them. Pem- issapan was shot through by the colonel with a pistol, 92 A FLEET ! A FLEET ! and fell as if dead ; but during the continuance of the melee, he seized a -favorable opportunity, sud- denly sprang to his feet, and started off with the speed of the deer, his bullet wound operating like a spur to a horse ; " insomuch," says Lane, " as he overran all the company, being, by the way, shot thwart the buttocks by mine Irish boy with my petronell.* In the end, an Irishman serving me, one Nugent, and the deputy provost, undertook him ; and following him in the woods overtook him ; and I in some doubt lest we had lost both the king and my man by our own negligence to have been inter- cepted by the savages, we met him returning out of the woods with Pemissapan's head in his hand." This transpired on the 1st of June, 1586. Thus the colony was saved from the dangers which encompassed it. On the 8th of the same month, intelligence reached Governor Lane that a great fleet of three and twenty sail were upon the coast ; but whether they were friends or foes was unknown. This in- formation was communicated by Captain Stafford, who was then lying at my Lord Admiral's Island. This was important news. If this large fleet were enemies, and should discover the colony, it would be an easy thing for them to conquer and make prisoners of war of all the English ; but if they were * A kind of carabine, or large horseman's pistol. ARRIVAL OF SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 93 friends, they could not have come at a better time. Intense solicitude Was felt to discover their flag. As they gradually neared the coast, coming on like a flock of white-winged sea birds, the eyes of the English were strained to make out their national character. They earnestly hoped that they might prove to be reenforcements, and fresh stores, which they had been expecting from home ; yet in conse- quence of their large number, they feared that that could not be the case, unless a portion of them were a naval convoy, accompanying the others for their protection. Their suspense, however, was of short duration. The most joyous excitement was created in the little colony when it was ascertained that this was an English fleet, under the command of the re- nowned Sir Francis Drake. He had visited them in obedience to the command of her majesty. Queen Elizabeth of England, to inquire after their welfare, and to supply their wants. Despondency now gave place to hope. As their necessities were to be met in men, boats, and provisions, they expected to be able to maintain their position until the anticipated reenforcements from Sir Walter Raleigh arrived. Drake treated the colony with great courtesy and kindness. At their request he furnished them with one bark, called the Francis, of seventy tons, two pinnaces, and four small boats, with provisions suffi- cient to last a hundred men four months, so that in 94 FRESH SUPPLIES. case nothing was heard from Sir WaUer Raleigh, and it became necessary, as a matter of self-preser- vation, for them to return to England, they might have the means of so doing ; or if they remained in the new world, that they might be able to make explorations m safety along the coast. As a num- ber of the colonists were weak, sickly, and other- wise inefficient, Drake also supplied Governor Lane with a number of able-bodied men and some expe- rienced and discreet officers, two of whom were Abraham Kendall and Griffith Heme. The pro- visions and the new officers, with a number of others from the colony, were on board the Francis, when, on the day following the new arrangement, a violent storm arose, which compelled the Francis, with all on board, to escape to sea. The storm continued four days — from the 13th to the 16th of June. As the road where the fleet was anchored was much exposed, a number of the other vessels were obliged to put to sea also. Indeed, so severe was the weather, and so powerful the rolling waves, " that they had like to have driven all on shore, if the Lord had not held liis holy hand over them." The Francis did not return. She was not heard of again till Drake arrived in England, where he met her. He now offered to supply the colonists with another vessel. But after consultation among themselves, they declined accepting it. So great had THE COLONY RETURNS. 95 been their discomforts, so unfriendly were the In- dians, that they were effectually weaned from the love of colonial life in America. And now that their fresh supply of provisions and men had been carried away in consequence of the weather, they construed it into the frown of divine Providence upon their attempt at colonization ; they therefore requested the admiral to receive them on board his vessels and take them home. Drake readily con- sented to comply with their wishes. But in getting them on board his vessels, so boisterous was the weather, and so often did the pinnaces get aground, that almost all their luggage, with all their cards, books, and writings, was cast overboard by the sailors. After the colonists were divided among the different vessels of the fleet, " the general, in the name of the Almighty, weighing his anchors, set sail the 19th of June, 15S6, and arrived in Portsmouth, England, the 27th of .Tuly the same year." Thus ingloriously terminated Governor Ralph Lane's colony on the Island of Roanoke. Lane seems to have been a man of too little nerve, cour- age, and persevering determination, under difficulties, to be the founder of a colony. He was not a man to infuse vigor into the drooping spirits of others, and to lead a forlorn hope. In the present instance he became discouraged too soon. We think, too, that he magnified his dangers arising from the 96 CHARACTER OF LANE. Indians. With more firmness on his part, he might have kept the colony together mitil the promised reenforcements of Sir Walter Raleigh arrived. For at the time Admiral Drake visited them, they had crops in the ground (of which the corn was within a fortnight of gathering) sufficient to have lasted them two years. As Pemissapan was then slain, as some of the neighboring tribes were friendly to the English, and as all the Indians were in great dread of fire-arms, we think that Lane might, with proper policy, in his treatment of the Indians, have so man- aged as to have secured a permanent settlement. But he was not the man for the crisis. He precipi- tately fled from the place ; and thus fell the first at- tempt of the English to settle a colony upon the shores of the new world ! It is difficult, even at this late day, to suppress a feeling of regret at his hasty departure, when we know that Sir Walter was exerting himself nobly at home to fulfil his promise of further assistance, and that the assistance was actually sent, though at a later period than was expected. The same year, and only a short time after Drake had taken the colonists away, a ship of a hundred tons, abundantly freighted with all kinds of supplies for the young colony, arrived upon the coast. It had been sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh according to his promise. After examining "this paradise of ARRIVALS TOO LATE. 97 the world for some time, and being unable to find the colony whom they had come to relieve, they were obhged to return, taking all their supplies with them." About a fortnight after his departure. Sir Richard Greenville, who had brought the colonists to this new world, also arrived, with three vessels well freighted. He visited Roanoke, and was surprised to see the place deserted. Not an Englishman could be found. After making several excursions into the country in different directions, for the double purpose of learning, if he could, the fate of the colony, and of making further discoveries of the geography and productions of the land, he concluded to return. But being unwilling to lose possession of the country, he, after grave deliberation with his officers, decided to leave fifteen men to hold the place. After selecting the men, and depositing with them provisions, he bade them farewell, and departed, leaving them the sole guardians of a continent. On his return he visited the Islands of Azores, landed, and destroyed the towns, taking many Span- iards prisoners. CHAPTER IX. Indian Clothing^. — Their Weapons. — Their Houses. — Mode of Warfare. — Their religious Opinions. — Stories about Resurrec- tion from the Dead. — Astonishment at certain English Ar- ticles. — Their Opinions of the English. — Their religious In- struction. — Their singular Treatment of the Bible. — Requests for Prayers. — Strange Sickness. — How it was accounted for. — English thought to be Gods. — Invisible Bullets. — In- dian Uses of Tobacco, — Snuff for Fish. — Raleigh's ,Wager with the Queen. — A Man on Fire. — Permanence of Indian Customs. Amongst the colonists who went out witii Gov- ernor Ralph Lane was Mr. Thomas Hariot, a scientific gentleman, who was appointed to inves- tigate the natural productions of the country, the commodities and habits of the natives, and write the history of the expedition. From his account, which is published in Hakluyt's Collection, — a rare book, — we gather the following facts concerning the natives of that region. Their clothing consisted of mantles and aprons of deer skins. The mantles were thrown loosely over their shoulders, and the aprons worn in front. They had no edge tools or weapons of iron or steel. They used bows made of witch-hazel, arrows of reeds, and flat-edged clubs about a yard long. To protect themselves from the weapons of INDIAN WIGWAMS. 99 their enemies, they had shields made of bark, and others composed of sticks, woven together hke basket work. Their huts were made by placing a mimber of flexible poles in the ground, and then bending them till their tops met. They were there fastened together, and then covered with bark of trees, or mats ; or else thatched with grass and rushes down to the ground. Some of them were long, like an arbor; others perfectly round. A square opening was left in one side for a door, and a hole in the top for the double purpose of * chimney and window. In size they were from twelve to twenty-four yards in length, and half as wide. Their towns, which were generally near the sea, were small, embracing from ten to thirty of these cabins. Some of them were protected by a stockade, composed of stakes set thickly together, and encompassing the whole village, and others by a slight defence, made of barks fastened to posts. Their wars were conducted by sudden surprises in tlie early dawn of the morning, or at the dead hour of night, and by deceitful ambushes. Or if they had a set battle, it was usually in a part of the country where trees abounded, behind which they hid for protection, whilst they shot at their enemy. In respect to religious opinions, they thought that there were many gods, and that they were of human shape ; and, therefore, they represented them by 100 INDIAN DOCTRINES. images of men, which they called hewasowok, the plural of Jcewas. These they placed in certain rude temples, where the people worshipped, prayed, sang, and made offerings to them. They believed also in the immortality of the soul, and that after this life they would be rewarded according to their characters here. " For the con- firmation of this opinion," says Hariot, " they told me two stories of two men that had been lately dead and revived again. The one happened but few years before our coming into the country, of a wicked man, which, having been dead and buried, the next day the earth of the grave being seen to move, was taken up again, who made declaration where his soul had been ; that is to say, very near entering into popogusso, (their word for hell.'j Had not one of the gods saved him, and gave him leave to return again and teach his friends what they should do to avoid that terrible place of torment. The other happened in the same year we were there, but in a town that was sixty miles from us ; and it was told me for strange news, that one being dead, buried, and taken up again, as the first, showed that, although his body had lien dead in the grave, yet his soul was alive, and had travelled far on a long, broad way, on both sides whereof grew most delicate and pleasant trees, bearing more rare and excellent fruits than ever he had seen before, STRANGE STORIES. 101 or was able to express, and at length came to most brave and fair houses, near which he met his father, that had been dead before, who gave him great charge to go back again, and show his friends what good they were to do to enjoy the pleasures of that place, which when he had done, he should after come again." We have copied these stories, not because we believe them, but as illustrations of the opinions of the natives, and of the kind of evidence by which their minds are convinced. When the English made their excursions into the country, and also when the natives visited them, they showed them various kinds of imple- ments, not merely to excite their wonder, but also to impress them with their great knowledge and skill, and in this manner to secure their respect, reverence, and confidence. Mr. Hariot says, " Most things they saw with us, as mathematical instruments, sea compasses, the virtue of the loadstone in drawing iron, a per- spective glass, whereby was shewed many strange sights, burning glasses, wild fireworks, guns, hooks, writing and reading, spring clocks that seem to go of themselves, and many other things that we had, were so strange unto them, and so far exceeded their capacities to comprehend the reasons and means how they should be made and done, that 9* 102 EFFECTS OF CURIOSITIES. they thought they were rather the works of gods than of men, or at the least wise, they had been given and taught as of the gods, which made many of them to have such opinion of us, as that if they knew not the truth of God and rehgion already, it was rather to be had from us whom God so spe- cially loved, than from a people that were so simple as they found themselves to be in comparison of us. Whereupon greater credit was given unto that we spake of concerning such matters." In every town which Hariot visited, he says he made known, as well as he was able, the contents of the Bible, telling the Indians that therein were made known the character of the only true God, his wonderful works, and especially the life and mir- acles of Jesus Christ, and the way of salvation through him. And although he was careful to tell them that there was no virtue in the material of which the book was made, but only in the great truths which it contained, yet they regarded the book with the greatest reverence. Some would gently touch it with their fingers ; others devoutly embraced it in their arms ; others again reverently kissed it, held it to their heads and breasts, and rubbed it over their whole body, as if to indicate their strong desire to understand more fully its contents, or perhaps, superstitiously regarding it as a charm, they imagined that in this way they might, by its mysterious power, ward off danger. INDIAN REVERENCE FOR THE ENGLISH. 103 The chief Wingina and many of his men were gratified with the privilege of being present when the EngUsh were engaged in their devotions, and at other times they would request that prayers and hymns might be offered. On one occasion, when this chief was dangerously ill, and fearing it might be a judgment for offending the English, and consequently their God, he sent for some of them to pray that it would please God either to spare his life, or, after death, receive him into his own blessed presence, to dwell there for- ever. It was the same with others. It reminds us of an interesting incident which occurred some years after in the history of Plym- outh. When the Indian interpreter Squanto was dying, he called for Governor Bradford, and re- quested him to pray that he might " go to the Englishmen's God in heaven." On another occasion, a great drought prevailed at Roanoke, and when the corn began to wither, fearing it was produced by the Englishmen's God, in consequence of some sin committed by the Indians, they came to the white strangers, and re- quested them to pray to the God of England, that he would preserve their corn, promising that when it was ripe the Enghsh should be partakers of it. Any unusual sickness, losses, or catastrophes, they attributed to their displeasing the English, 104 STRANGE DISEASE. which brought down, as they supposed, the anger of their God. " One other rare and strange accident," says Hariot, " leaving others, will I mention before I end, which moved the whole country, that either knew or heard of us, to have us in wonderful ad- miration. " There was no town where we had any subtle device practised against us, we leaving it unpun- ished or not revenged, (because we sought by all means possible to win them by gentleness,) but that within a few days after our departure from every such town, the people began to die very fast, and many in short space, in some towns about twenty, in some forty, and in one six score, which in truth was very many in respect to tlieir numbers. This happened in no place, that we could learn, but where we had been, where they used some practice against lis, and after such time. The disease also was so strange, that they neither knew what it was, nor how to cure it : the like, by the report of the oldest men in the country, never happened before, time out of mind — a thing especially observed by us, as also by the natural inhabitants themselves; insomuch that when some of the inhabitants which were our friends, and especially the weroance, or chief, Wingina, had observed such effects, in four or five towns, to follow their wicked practices, they INDIAN OPINIONS OF THE ENGLISH. 105 were persuaded that it was the work of our God, through our means, and that we by him might kill and slay whom we would without weapons, and not come near them." For this reason the friendly Indians, when they knew that others had offended the English, and it had not been retahated upon them, would request the colonists to pray that such offenders might be destroyed, as this would be greatly to the credit of the English and of those natives who were known to be friendly to them. To such requests the English paid no regard, but, on the contrary, taught the Indians that they ought to pray for the welfare of their enemies ; yet when the calamities for which they desired the English to pray actually came, they attributed them to their power with God, and came to them and rendered them thanks, that though they had declined to promise revenge in words, yet they had inflicted it in deeds. " This marvelous accident in all the country wrought so strange opinions of us, that some people could not tell whether to think us gods or men, and the rather that because all the space of their sickness there was no man of ours known to die, or that was specially sick. They noted also that we had no women amongst us, neither that we did care for any of them. / 106 ..• FIRST USE or TOBACCO. " Some, therefore, were of opinion that we were not born of women, and therefore not mortal, but that we were men of an old generation, many years past, then risen again to immortality. " Some would likewise seem to prophesy that there were more of our generation yet to come to kill them and take their places, as some thought the purpose was by that which was already done. Those that were immediately to come after us they imagined to be in the air, yet invisible and without bodies ; and that they, by our entreaty, and for the love of us, did make the people to die in that sort as they did, by shooting invisible bullets into tliem. " To confirm this opinion, their physicians (to excuse their ignorance in curing the disease) would not be ashamed to say, but earnestly make the sim- ple believe, that the strings of blood that they sucked out of their sick bodies were the strings wherewithal the invisible bullets were tied and cast. Some also thoujjht that we shot them our- selves out of our pieces, from the place where we dwelt, and killed the people in any towne that had offended us as we listed, how far distant from us soever it were." Hariot also gives an amusing account of the singular uses of a weed well known at the present day by the name of tobacco, but which by the SINGULAR USE OF SNUFF. 107 Indians was called uppowocn, the leaves of which, being dried and pulverized, the Indians were accus- tomed to put into a clumsy pipe made of clay, and suck the smoke " into their stomach and head." So highly did they esteem this uppowoc, that they imagined it to be peculiarly acceptable to their gods. Hence, when they made their sacred fires, they cast some of it in as a sacrifice. If a storm overtook them upon the waters, to pacify their oflTended deities, they threw snuff in the air and upon the waves. When they set a new wear or net for taking fish, they sprinkled some on the wear, and some in the atmosphere, as if they would both con- ciliate the gods, and tempt the fish with a pinch of snuflf; and when they escaped from danger, they threw some in the air as a thank offering ; " but all done with strange gestures, stamping, sometime dancing, clapping of hands, holding up of hands, and staring up into the heavens, uttering therewithal and chatterinjj stranjre words and noises." " We ourselves, during the time we were there, used to suck it after their manner, as also since our return." This was the origin of the use of tobacco among the English. Quantities of it were at that time sent to England ; and through the influence of Governor Lane, Sir Walter Raleigh, and a ^e\y others, it was soon introduced into general use. Smoking of this nauseous weed became so fashionable at court, that many distinguished ladies 108 RALEIGH BETS WITH THE QUEEN. and noblemen were seen with a pipe in their mouths. Sometimes it led to amusing incidents, two of which we will relate. On one occasion, when tobacco was the subject of conversation. Sir Walter laid a wager with the queen, that he could ascertain exactly the weight of the smoke which was puffed away in a pipe of tobacco.* Taking a quantity of tobacco, he first accurately weighed it, then put it into the bowl of the pipe, and began to puff. As the smoke circled in graceful wreaths around his head, and diffused itself through the atmosphere, it seemed to the spectators a difficult, if not an impossible task for him to catch the volatile vapor and imprison it so as to get its weight. But Sir Walter was a philos- opher as well as courtier, and knew what he had undertaken, and how to accomplish it. He kept on calmly smoking until no more clouds could be produced, and then, carefully weighing the ashes, he subtracted their weight from the weight of the tobacco which he first put in his pipe, and the remainder, he told the queen, was the exact quan- tity which had gone off in smoke. Her majesty readily assented to the statement, and acknowledged that she had lost. When she paid the wager, she pleasantly said that she had " heard of many laborers * See the frontispiece. AMUSING INCIDENT. 109 in the fire, that turned their gold to smoke, but Sir Walter was the first who had turned smoke into gold." Another incident more humorous, but not quite so pleasant to the subject, occurred about the same time. A country servant of Sir Walter, who had not been initiated into the use of this fashionable article, and who, it seems, was not acquainted with his master's habit, entered Raleigh's study with a tan- kard of ale and nutmeg. Seeing Raleigh with a pipe in his mouth, and the smoke pouring out, in- tently engaged over his books, he became so fright- ened that he threw the ale into his face to extin- guish the fire, and ran rapidly down stairs, crying out in his loudest tones, " Master is on fire ! Mas- ter is on fire, and before you can get to him, he will be burned to ashes ! " Hariot has also given an accomit of the various kinds of birds, beasts, fishes, and plants which the country at that early day was found to produce ; but these it is not necessary here to name. Many of the customs, domestic, warlike, and religious, and also the amusements which prevailed among the aborigines at the time of the first settle- ment of the country, are found still to exist among the remnant of their descendants, who, by the gradual encroachments of the whites, have been driven to the far west. Opinions and practices amongst them, if left to the natural course of things, are found to alter very slowly. 10 CHAPTER X. A new Colony. — An obstinate Pilot. —Search for the Fifteen. — Condition of Roanoke. — Affecting Scene. — Repairs beg'un. — The Pilot's Designs defeated. — Death of Mr. George Howe by the Indians. — A welcome Reception. — A Badge of Friendship desired, — A formal Conference. — Fate of the Fifteen. — At- tack of the Indians. — The English defeated. — False Prom- ises. — A Midnight Excursion. — Indians surprised. — A fatal Mistake. — How it occurred. — Manteo blames the Indians. — Manteo christened. — First English Child born. — Virginia Dare. Although the efforts of Sir Walter Raleigh to establish settlements in the new world had been sig- nally unsuccessful, and had occasioned him the loss of many thousands of pounds, yet such were the elasticity of his nature and the perseverance of his disposition, that he resolved to make another at- tempt. The failure of the previous expeditions had brought the whole subject of American colonial enterprise into disrepute. Many false and injurious stories were in circulation concerning the new countries, which greatly tended to dampen the spirit of emi- gration. To meet these malicious fabrications, and to present a statement of the facts in the case, Mr. Hariot wrote the account from which we have given quotations in the preceding pages. In consequence of the untrue reports in circulation, ANOTHER COMPANY. Ill Sir Walter must have found no little difficulty in collecting another company to seek their fortune in the midst of the uncertainties and dangers of colonial adventure on the American coast. However, by addressing himself energetically to the task, he suc- ceeded in raising a company of one hundred and fifty men, over whom he appointed Mr. John White governor, with twelve assistants. These he got in- corporated by the name of " Governor and Assistants of the City of Raleigh in Virginia." On the 8th day of May, 1587, this new colony set sail from Plymouth, in England, for the new world. They pursued the old route by way of the West Indies, and arrived on the American coast at Cape Hatteras the 22d of July. Raleigh had given them orders to settle upon Chesapeake Bay. But the pilot, one Simon Ferdinando, being unaccom- modating and obstinate, refused to grant the neces- sary assistance in finding the place ; and he is sus- pected of an intention to ruin the enterprise, if it had been in his power. But his nefarious designs were thwarted through the vigilance of Captain Stafford. Upon their arrival at Cape Hatteras, Governor White, with forty of his best men, went ashore for the purpose of finding the fifteen men who had been left there by Sir Richard Greenville to keep posses- sion of the country. 112 A MISSING COLONY. As they passed over the island towards the spot where Roanoke was situated, admiring the beauties of nature, and cursorily examining various plants, trees, and other natural objects on their route, they kept a careful lookout in every direction for either Englishmen or Indians, in hopes of learning the condition and adventures of the little band who had been left the sole guardians of a continent. Silence reigned supreme, except when broken by the songs of birds, or the rolling of the surf upon the shore. This continued stillness, and the absence of human beings, awakened intense solicitude, for it was upon this island where the little colony of fifteen had been left. Passing along with their steps quickened by their anxiety, they finally reached the northern end of the island, where the previous governor, Ralph Lane, had erected a fort, and a number of dwelhng houses. Here they had expected to find the little band. But the appearance of the place at once blasted all their hopes, and convinced them that some fearful tragedy had been enacted. The fort was destroyed ; the houses were in a dilapidated condition ; the lower parts of them, the ground floors, and also the site of the fort, were overgrown with melons, intermin- gled with weeds, amongst which wild deer were feeding. To cap the climax of their fears, the bones of the dead were found there, furnishing evi- dence, too conclusive, that some fearful drama ARRIVAL OF SPICER. 113 had there transpired. " So we returned to our company without hope of ever seeing any of the fifteen men hving." Orders were immediately given by Governor White to repair the houses wliich were left, and to build more new ones. The sound of the saw and the hammer was now heard, and life and activity were again in the ascendant upon Roanoke. On the 25th of July, the Fly boat, containing a portion of the planters who had been purposely left behind by Ferdinando, when he sailed secretly from the Bay of Portugal, arrived, to the great joy of the others. As the captain of that boat, Edward Spicer, had never been to Virginia, it was Ferdinando's ex- pectation that he would be unable to find Roanoke, and would perish in the attempt, or be slain by sav- ages. His wickedness, however, was defeated. Three days after the arrival of Spicer, Mr. George Howe, one of the twelve assistants, went out to catch crabs. He had no other weapon than a small forked stick, which he used in taking his shell fish. Having stripped himself nearly naked, and waded in the water two miles from his company, he was suddenly attacked by an invisible foe. A band of Indians, who had come to the island either as spies to dis- cover the number of the new colony, or for the pur- pose of hunting the deer which here abounded, saw him wading in an unguarded manner along the shore. 10* 114 DEATH BY INVISIBLE FOES. Concealing themselves, Indian-like, among the high grass, they aimed their arrows at him and fired. He fell, pierced with sixteen wounds. They then ran to him, and beat his head in pieces, after which they took to their canoes, and fled to the main land. On the 30th of July, Captain Stafford, with twenty men, passed by water to the Island of Croatan. They took with them the Indian Manteo, who, as we have stated, had been to England, and had ac- quired something of the English language. It ap- pears as if he had crossed the Atlantic with Governor White's company, and if so, he had made two voy- ages to England. As on the Island of Croatan the mother and rel- atives of Manteo resided. Governor White hoped that there he might gather some tidings of the lost colony, besides learning the disposition of the Indians towards their white immigrants. At their first landing upon Croatan the Indians assumed a warlike attitude towards them. But when the English put on a bold front, and marched with their " shot towards them," they fled. But when Manteo raised his voice and called after them, a de- cided effect was produced. They paused ; threw away their weapons, to show that they renounced their belligerent designs ; came fearlessly to the Eng- lish, and embraced them in a cordial manner. They expressed the hope that their visitors would not FATE OF THE FIFTEEN. 115 destroy their corn, as they had but a small quantity left. The governor assured them that his object was not to injure them, but to renew the friendship which had previously existed between them and the English, and to live with them as brethren. Being greatly pleased with this intelligence, they invited their visitors to their town, where they feasted them, according to the rules of Indian courtesy, in a hospitable manner. They earnestly desired the English to give them some article as a badge of friendship, so that when at any time they might meet the colonists, by show- ing this badge, they might convince them that they were friends, and thus escape being attacked. For want of some such arrangement, Governor Lane's men had, at different times, attacked them, under the impression that they were enemies. There was one among them then who had, in that manner, been wounded by mistake, and had not yet recovered. The next day a formal conference was held, at which the English were informed that Mr. Howe was slain by the remnant of Wingina's men, with whom Wanchese (who, in company with Manteo, had been to England) resided. They also learned some of the particulars respecting the fate of the fifteen men — that they had been suddenly attacked by thirty natives from Secotan, Aquascogoc, and Dasamonguepeuk. They secreted themselves behind 116 SKIRMISH WITH THE NATIVES. the trees near the houses where the men carelessly lived, " and having perceived that of those fifteen they could see but eleven only, two of those savages appeared to the eleven Englishmen, calling to them, by friendly signs, that but two of their chiefest men should come unarmed to speak with those two sav- ages, who seemed also to be unarmed. Wherefore two of the chiefest of our Englishmen went gladly to them ; but whilst one of those savages traitorously embraced one of our men, the other, with his sword of wood, which he had secretly under his mantel, struck him on the head and slew him, and presently the other eight and twenty savages showed them- selves ; the other Englishman, perceiving this, fled to his company, whom the savages pursued with their bows and arrows so fast, that the Englishmen were forced to take the house, wherein all their victual and weapons were ; but the savages forthwith set the same on fire, by means whereof our men were forced to take up such weapons as came first to hand, and, without order, to run forth among the savages, with whom they skirmished above an hour. In this skirmish another of our men was shot into the mouth with an arrow, where he died; and also one of the savages was shot into the side by one of our men with a wildfire arrow, whereof he died presently. The place where they fought was of great advantage to the savages, by means of the FATE OF THE LOST COLONY. 117 thick trees, behind which the savages, through their nimbleness, defended themselves, and so of- fended our men vt^ith their arrows, that our men, being some of them hurt, retired fighting to the water side, where their boat lay, with which they fled to Hatorask. By that time they had rowed but a quarter of a mile, they espied their four fellows coming from a creek thereby, where they had been to fetch oysters. These four they received into their boat, leaving Roanoke, and landed on a little island on the right hand of our entrance into the harbor of Hatorask, where they remained a while, but afterward departed, whither as yet we know not." This was the last they ever learned of that unfor- tunate band. Whether they perished at sea in their attempt to escape, or were slain by hostile savages of other tribes, was never known. They had dis- appeared without leaving any record behind them. Governor White made an attempt to obtain an interview with the chiefs of Secotan, Aquascogoc, and Pomeiok. The chief of Croatan had agreed to carry them an invitation to meet the English, and to return with their answer within seven days. He was particularly anxious to secure this conference, because he had been informed by the people of Croatan that the remnant ofWingina's men, who had killed Mr. Howe and had driven off the previous colony, were at one of these towns. But when the 118 A SUDDEN SURPRISE. seven days had expired, and no answer was received from them, tlie governor determined to visit them at their own encampments, and revenge the deaths of those whom they had murdered. Accordingly, on the 8th of August, at midnight, he left Roanoke, accompanied by Captain Stafford, the interpreter Manteo, and twenty-three others. After crossing the water and landing, the men pro- ceeded as noiselessly as possible, and reached the village of their enemies in the early dawn. Seeing a fire, and a number of the savages sitting around it, they at once commenced the attack. The poor Indians, struck with amazement, sprang to their feet, and plunged into a thicket of reeds ; the English followed them, and fired, shooting one of them through the body with a bullet. All was now con- fusion. It was so dark that the women could not be discerned from the men. But before the fight had proceeded far, the important discovery was made that these were a company of friendly Indians, and ought not to have been attacked at all. The enemies of the whites, whom the English had expected to find here, fled immediately after they had killed Mr. Howe, and left all their corn, pumpkins, and tobacco in the fields unprotected, where it would soon have been destroyed by the birds and wild deer ; and these Indians had come to appropriate it to themselves. But they came near paying for it a heavy price. UNFORTUNATE MISTAKE. 119 One of the squaws, the wife of a chief, had a nar- row escape. She was pursued by the Enghsh under the impression that she was a man ; but before the fatal blow was given, they discovered that she had a child suspended at her back, by which their erro- neous impression was corrected and her life spared. One of the others, an Indian, who was acquainted with Captain Stafford, ran to him during the fight, crying out, " Stafford, Stafford ! " by which he indi- cated his acquaintance with the captain, and saved his own life. Manteo was greatly grieved at the mistake which had occurred, by which these friendly Indians were taken for enemies ; but he attributed it to their own unfaithfulness, teUing tliem that if their chiefs had kept their promise, and visited the English on the day which they had designated, this catastrophe would have been prevented. Being disappointed in not finding those whom they sought, the English gathered all the corn, peas, pompions, and tobacco that were ripe, and taking with them the savages they found there, amongst whom was the wife of Menatoan, with her child, they returned to Roanoke. On the 13th of August, according to directions received from Sir Walter Raleigh previous to leav- ing England, the Indian interpreter, Manteo, was christened, and at the same time " invested with the 120 THE FIRST ENGLISH CHILD. rank of f