USA > Maryland > A sketch of the history of Maryland during the three first years after its settlement : to which is prefixed, a copious introduction > Part 5
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Some writers have attributed all this solemnity to a high degree of vanity in the west country knight; and have ridiculed his pretences to improve the trade of the kingdom, and enlarge the queen's dominions by cutting a turf; in which, however, they injure this gentleman's memory extremely ; for, the plain reason of Sir Humphrey's conduct throughout this affair, was his anxiety to give some effect to his grant. which was perpetual to him, and his heirs, in case he took possession of any countries within six years. as before mentioned, and otherwise it was void. There were now but a few months of this period to come. He had sold his estate in England, and it
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1583.
concerned him very nearly to secure an estate some- where else; and therefore this parade was not from any principle of vanity, but from justifiable pru- dence and good economy, especially under the full expectation, as we may suppose him to have then been, of settling a colony in that part of the country. The important public consequences, also, which are said by later writers to have flowed from his con- duct herein, will effectually do away all ridicule at- tending it. This formal possession now taken, in consequence of the prior discovery by Cabot, has been considered by the English as the foundation of the right and title of the crown of England to the territory of Newfoundland, and to the fishery on its banks. It is perhaps unnecessary to add, that their powerful navy has enabled them to support this right, however flimsy and exceptionable it may appear.
Sir Humphrey remained at St. John's some time, Is lost on to collect a tax of provisions, granted to him by his return to Eng. every ship which fished upon the coast adjoining, to land. repair his ships, and in the mean time to explore the island. They found no inhabitants in the south- ern part of the island, the natives having probably abandoned it on its being so much frequented by Europeans; but in the northern there were some savages who appeared to be harmless and inoffensive in their tempers and dispositions. He now resolved to proceed in his discoveries southward; and accord- ingly sailed, on the 20th of August, from the har- bour of St. John's. Pursuing this route for some days, they found themselves on the 29th of the month in the midst of dangerous shoals, in latitude 44°, somewhere about Nova Scotia or Cape Breton. Here they lost one of their best ships, in which pe-
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SECT. rished near a hundred persons. Of this number I. was Stephen Parmenius Budeius, a learned Hunga-
1536. rian, who had accompanied the adventurers to record their discoveries and exploits. After this loss, the men being generally discouraged and in want of necessaries, Sir Humphrey proposed returning to England, having, in his judgment, made discove. ries sufficient to procure assistance enough for a new voyage, in the succeeding spring. His people, when he made this proposal, were at first reluctant in their assent to it; but upon hearing his reasons, they submitted; and, according to his advice, on the last of August, they altered their course and steered for England. When they left St. John's, Sir Humphrey had embarked himself on board of the smallest vessel he had with him, which was only of ten tons burthen, thinking her the fittest for ob- serving and discovering the coast. In a few days after they had taken their departure from Cape Race, the most eastern promontory of Newfoundland, they met with violent storms, attended with heavy seas, which so small a vessel was unable to sustain. About midnight, on the 9th of September, the men in the larger ship, having watched the lights in the small vessel in which Sir Humphrey was, observed them to be suddenly extinguished. It was suppo- sed, that she sunk that instant, for she was never afterwards heard of. Thus perished a man, whose spirit of adventure certainly contributed much, at least by example, to the early population of British America, and whose genius and talents entitled him to better fortune .*
* Harris's Voyages, Vol. 2, p. 199, 200, Holmes's Annals, Vol. 1, p. 113.
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SECTION III.
Sir Walter Raleigh-his rise and character-obtains a renewal of Sir Humphrey's letters patent to himself-Voyage of capts. Amidas and Barlow .- The effects of their voyage in England-Sir Richard Grenville's attempt to settle a colony in North Carolina.
THE laudable schemes of Sir Humphrey Gil- SECT. III. bert, happily for mankind, did not expire with him. His half and younger brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, 1584. Sir Wal- ter Ra- as he appeared to inherit his useful qualities, seemed also to become heir to his pursuits. He was at this leigh, his period of time in high favour with the queen. Some character. rise and writers seem to insinuate, that most of Queen Eli- zabeth's favourites were remarkable for their per- sonal attractions. All historians who speak of Sir Walter appear to agree that he was conspicuous in his time, not only for the symmetry of his form and the manliness of his deportment, but for his insinua- ting address with the ladies. Although most au- thors place the era of his rise at court about this time, yet they do not agree so exactly in assigning the cause of it. The military eclat which he had, a a year or two before, acquired in Ireland, where he commanded a company under Lord Grey, against the Spaniards and Irish rebels, was, according to some, the cause of his being known at court. Others would have the earl of Leicester to have been the chief agent in his rise, who, being in the decline of life himself, thought that he might still continue to govern the queen through the interme-
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SECT. III. diate agency of Sir Walter's youthful form and pleasing manners. Others again, attribute his in- 1584. troduction at court to the influence of Ratcliffe, earl of Sussex, in order to supersede his great enemy, the earl of Leicester, himself. But his biographer, in a small tract of his life, prefixed to his History of the World,* thinks it proper to lay some stress on a ridiculous incident, which as he supposes, might have been one cause of his aggrandizement. For the mention of this he apologizes, by remarking, that " little transactions are often the best inlets to truth and the mysteries of state ;" and thus relates it : " Our captain (Raleigh) coming over out of Ireland upon the aforementioned cause to court, in very good habit, (which it seems was the greatest part of his estate,) which is often found to be no mean introducer where deserts are not known, found the queen walking, till she was stopt by a plashy place, which she scrupled treading on ; presently he spread his new plush coat on the ground, on which the queen gently trod, being not a little pleased, as well as surprised, with so unexpected a compli- ment. Thus, as one remarks upon this story, an advantageous admission into the first notices of a prince, is more than half a degree to preferment.t For he presently after found some gracious beams of favour reflecting on him, which he was resolved, and well knew how, to cherish and contract. To
* This tract here cited, does not appear to be the one writ- ten by Oldys, but one prior to it, printed in 1687: - + Fuller's Worthies.
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put the queen in remembrance; he wrote in a win- dow obvious to her eye,
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: . " Fain would I climb, yet fear I to fall ; .
which her majesty either espying or being shown, under-wrote this answer,
" If thy heart fail thee, climb not at all."
Whichever of the foregoing causes be adopted, and it is probable that they all might have combined in his promotion, it is very certain, that he STOOD HIGH AT THIS TIME IN THE FAVOUR OF THE QUEEN .*
Sir Walter, thus placed in a familiar intercourse He ob- with royal authority, would naturally be led to avail himself of his situation, in carrying into effect the honourable schemes of his brother Sir Humphrey Gilbert ; especially when those schemes were not himself only congenial to a young and ambitious mind, but were also the means of recommendation to the pa- troness of his fortunes.+ Having maturely digested
* See note (F) at the end of the volume.
t It would seem, that at this time, considerable foreign trade was carried on in the west of England, particularly in Devonshire, by some merchants and others, resident in that part of the country. Indeed, as will be seen hereafter, in the · course of this work, the settlements of Virginia and New England, were principally owing to them. Among these public-spirited persons, the Gilbert and Raleigh family of that county seems conspicuous. It was in the year 1584, (new style), February 6th, a little more than a month prior to the grant to Sir Walter, that letters patent were granted to Mr. Adrian Gilbert, " of Sandridge, in the county of Devon, gentleman ;" (whom we may suppose to have been a full brother to Sir Humphrey, and half brother to Sir Walter Ra- leigh,) and others, for the search and discovery of a passage
tains a re- newal of Sir Hum- phrey's letters pa- tent to
£
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SECT. a plan for the discovery and settlement of those IIL parts of North America, lying north of the Gulf of 1584. Mexico, and which were as yet unknown and un- settled by the Spaniards, he laid it before the queen and council; to whom it appeared a rational and practicable undertaking. He, therefore, easily ob- tained a renewal of letters patent to himself, in as ample form, and containing nearly the same clauses and provisions as in that to his brother Sir Hum- phrey Gilbert .* As the monarchs of England, not
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to China and the Molucca Isles, " by the northwarde, north- eastwarde, or northwarde," creating them a corporation by the name of " The colleagues of the fellowship, for the discoverie of the north-west passage." (See the letters patent at large in Hazard's Collections, Vol. 1, p. 28.) But this grant was in some measure superseded by a like project set on foot about the same time in London, under the patronage of Mr. William Sanderson, an eminent merchant of that city. The two associations uniting, captain John Davis was sent out for that purpose, in the year 1585, to the northern coasts of Ame- rica ; who made considerable discoveries in that part of the American continent since called Davis's Straits. (See Harris's Voyages, Vol. 2, p. 203.) The reader's attention may be in- terrupted for a moment, in noticing a remarkable clause in these letters patent, to Adrian Gilbert : mutiny on board the ships, while on their voyage, was to be punished, "as the cause shall be found, in justice to require, by the verdict of twelve of the companie, sworne thereunto ;" that is, by a jury selected from the ships company.
* They bear date the 25th of March, 26th of Eliz. (1584, new style.) and are nearly verbatim the same as the before- mentioned patent to Sir Humphrey Gilbert. One small va- riance between them may be noted : in the clause granting power to Sir Walter, to capture all such vessels as shall be found trafficking within the limits of his grant, without his license, exception is made of " the subjects of our realms and
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only of the Tudor line, but afterwards of the Stuarts, SF.CT. were unwilling to be dependant on their parliaments 111. 1584. for their revenues ; they were, therefore, generally too poor and needy, to assist with money in the pro- motion of such laudable enterprises, as the one now contemplated by Raleigh. With their patents for exclusive trade, especially with those which pro- mised any emolument to the crown, they were ex- tremely liberal. Hence, monopolies were among the most grievous burthens, and the most frequent sub- ject of complaint, even during the popular reign of Elizabeth. Sir Walter was, therefore, obliged to have recourse to the assistance of private indivi- duals, to enable him to pursue his schemes. Be- fore he had obtained his patent, he had formed an association of his friends*, and had prevailed on se- veral merchants and gentlemen, to advance large sums of money towards carrying on his designs.t Accordingly, within a month after the date of his patent, he was enabled to fit out two ships, under the command of captains Philip Amidas and Arthur
dominions, and all other persons in amitie with us, trading to the Newfoundlands for fishing, as heretofore they have com- monly used." This exception is not in the patent to Sir Humphrey Gilbert. See them at large in Hazard's Collec- tions, Vol. 1, p. 33.
* Among these were Sir Richard Grenville, his kinsman, and Sir W. Sanderson, who had married his niece. Burk's Hist. of Virginia, Vol. 1, p. 45. The latter gentleman was, probably, the same as the one before mentioned, who was con- cerned with Adrian Gilbert, in the discovery of a north-west passage.
t Oldmixon's British Empire in America, Vol. 1, p. 210. Mod. Univ. Hist. Vol. 39, p. 235.
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SECT. 111.
1584. Voyage of captains Amidas and Bar- low.
Barlow, to visit the countries which he intended to settle, and to acquire some previous knowledge of their coasts, their soil, and productions.
They sailed for the west of England on the 27th of April following ; and to avoid the error of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in holding too far north, they shaped their course for the Canaries, which they passed on the tenth of June,* and proceeding from thence to the West Indies, they crossed the Gulf of Mexico, and on the second of July, fell in with the coast of Florida. They sailed along this coast, till they came, on the 13th of the month, to a river, where they anchored; and going on shore, took possession in right of the queen, and for the use of the proprictors. They went to the tops of the hills which were nearest to the shore, from whence, though they were not high, they discovered the sea on all sides, and found the place where they landed, to be an island of about fifteen miles in length and six in breadth ; then called by the natives, Woko- ken.t
· Another reason for this course is said to be thus expres- sed in the account of this voyage, written by Barlow: " Be- cause we doubted that the current of the Bay of Mexico, be- tween the Capes of Florida and Havannah, was much stronger than we afterwards found it to be." Burk's Hist. of Virginia, Vol. 1, p. 46. Mod. Univ. Hist. Vol. 39, p. 236.
t The disagreement and confusion among all the writers on this voyage, as to the topography of the places referred to, render it almost impossible to ascertain with precision where this island was situated, or what river it was which they first entered. A passage cited (by Burk in his history of Virgi- nia, Vol. 1, p. 46,) from Barlow's letter to Sir Walter Ra- leigh, preserved by Hackluyt, is supposed to throw some light
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On the third day after their arrival and landing, they saw three of the natives in a canoe, one of whom went on shore and waited, without any signs of apprehension, the approach of a boat from the ships, which was sent to him. He spoke long and earnestly to them, in his own language, and then went with them on board, without any apparent fear. They gave him a shirt and hat, and some wine and meat, with all which he seemed pleased. After he had, with a seeming satisfaction, narrowly viewed the ships, and examined every part with his eyes and touch, he went in his canoe, to about a quarter of a mile's distance, where he fished, and returned in a short time, with his canoe loaded with fish ; which he divided equally in two heaps, and making signs that each vessel should take one, he departed.
"The next day several canoes appeared in view ; in one of which came the king's brother, whose name was Granganemeo, attended with about forty men. The king himself, whose name was Win-
upon the subject ; wherein he says, that he, (Barlow) " with seven others, went in a boat, twenty miles into the river Oc- cam, and the evening following, came to an island called Roanoke, distant from the harbour by which we entered, seven leagues." Stith (in his Hist. of Virginia,) seems to think that this island called Wokoken, must have been that now called Ocracocke. Beverly, (in his Hist. of Virginia,) says, " they anchored at an inlet by Roanoke." What is said also in the accounts of the subsequent voyages of Sir Richard Grenville to Roanoke, and the relief of the colony by Sir Francis Drake, seems to confirm the opinion, that Wokoken and Ocracocke were one and the same island ; and the river where they an- chored, Roanoke inlet.
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SF.CT. III. gina,* lay ill of the wounds he had received in bat- tle, with a neighbouring nation. The behaviour of
1584. Granganemeo, when he approached the ships, is best described in the very words of the original account of the voyage, as preserved in Hackluyt. " The maner of his comming was in this sort ; hee left his boates altogether as the first man did (the day before) a little from the shippes by the shore, and came along to the place over against the shippes, followed with fortie men. When he came to the place, his ser- vants spread a long matte upon the ground, on which he satte downe ; and at the other end of the matte, foure others of his companie did the like, the rest of his men stood round about him, somewhat a farre off : when we came to the shore to him, with our weapons, hee never moved from his place, nor any of the other foure, nor never mistrusted any harme to be offered from us ; but sitting still, he beckoned us to come and sit by him, which we performed : and being set, hee made all signs of joy and wel- come."t Our navigators made to him and his four chiefs, presents of several toys, which he kindly accepted ; but he took all himself, and gave them to understand, that none there had a right to any thing but himself. Two days afterwards they let him see their merchandise ; of which nothing seem- ed to please him more than a pewter dish, for which he gave twenty deer-skins; and making a hole in the rim of it, hung it over his neck for a
* The country was called by the natives, Wingadocia, in respect possibly to the reigning chief, Wingina.
t See Holmes's Annals, Vol. 1, p. 117.
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breast-plate, making signs that it would defend him SECT. III.
against the enemy's arrows. The next thing he bought was a copper kettle, for which he gave fifty skins. As long as he thought fit to traffic with them, none but such as like him, wore plates of gold or copper on their heads, were allowed either to buy or sell; but as soon as they had done, every man had his liberty. They offered very good ex- change for hatchets, axes, and knives ; and would have given any thing in truck for swords, but the English would not part with any. Granganemeo came afterwards frequently on board, and would eat, drink, and be merry with them ; and once he brought his wife and children with him, who after- wards came frequently with her followers only. The English often trusted him with goods upon his word, to bring the value at a certain time, which he never failed in doing. He had a strong inclination to have a suit of armour and a sword, which he saw in one of the ships ; and would have left a large box of pearls in pawn for them ; but they refused it, that he might not know they set a value upon them, till they could discover whence he got them. He sup- plied them every day with venison, fish, and fruits; and invited them to his habitation on Roanoke is- land. After this friendly intercourse, captain Bar- low, with seven of his men, went in a boat twenty miles into the river Occam, (supposed to be the same as Pampticoe sound,) and the evening follow- ing came to the isle of Roanoke, at the mouth of Albemarle sound, where they found a village, the residence of Granganemeo, situated in the northern extremity of the island, and consisting of nine
1584.
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SECT. III. houses, built of cedar, and fortified with sharp pali- sades. When the English arrived there in their 1584. boat, Granganemeo was absent ; but his wife re- ceived them with generous hospitality. Their boat she ordered to be drawn on shore, that she might not be injured by the surge; the oars, for better se- curity, were taken to her house ; while the English, by her orders, were conveyed from their boat on the backs of the natives. She took off their stockings, and washed their feet in warm water. When dinner was ready, she led them into an inner room, where they were feasted with venison, fish, fruit, and ho- mini .* Whilst they were eating, some of her peo- ple came in with their bows and arrows. The
English, suspecting treachery, flew to their arms ; but the wife of Granganemeo, perceiving their sus- picions, ordered the bows to be taken from her people, their arrows to be broken, and themselves
* I find this dish, so well known both in Maryland and Vir- ginia as a great delicacy, though borrowed from the aborigines of the country, spelt as above by the latest historian of Vir- ginia, Burk, (Vol. 1, p. 47,) who cites Stith on this occasion. I have never understood, that the word was of Indian origin. It is, more probably, a corruption of the French word omelet, and now spelt " homini," according to the sound as pro- nounced by us. An omelet with the French, a nation celebra- ted for their knowledge in the science of cookery, means a kind of pancake or fricassee of eggs, with other ingredients. It is derived, according to the learned Mr. de la Mothe le Vayer, from the two words auf, egg, and meler, mingled. But the forms of omelets among them are various. There are omelets of green pease. So with us, a dish of fried ho- mini, may be called an omelet of maize.
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to be beaten out of the house. In the evening, * the SECT. III. 1584.
English thought it prudent to return to their boat, and having put off at a small distance from the shore, lay at anchor. This generous woman seemed hurt by this precaution; but had a supper dressed for them and delivered at the boat's side, with the pots in which it was cooked. Perceiving their continued distrust, she ordered several men and thirty women to sit on the bank, as a guard to them through the night, and sent several mats to screen them from the weather.
: This island is said to have been the limit of their discovery during this voyage, nor were they fortu- nate enough to procure any information, except a confused account from the Indians of the wreck of „.some ship on the coast, between twenty and thirty years before.t
Having loaded their ships with furs, sassafras, and cedar, and procured a small quantity of pearl, which was supposed to be an evident sign of the great riches of the country,; they returned to Eng-
* There seems to be some difficulty in reconciling the time of Barlow's arrival at Roanoke island, in the evening, accord- ing to his own account, as before cited, and the time here above mentioned, of their retiring to their boat. If they arrived in the evening at the island, there certainly was not time sufficient for all the circumstances above mentioned to have been acted before they retired to their boat. I have, however, related it as I find it in several respectable histo- rians. See Burk's Hist. of Virginia, Vol, 1. p. 50. Holmes's Annals, Vol. 1, p. 118.
t Burk's Hist of Virginia, ibid.
# It is said, they also brought home with them some tobac- co, the first that was seen in England, Oldmixon's British Em-
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SECT. land about the middle of September, carrying with III. them two of the natives, whose names were Manteo 1584. and Wanchese, who voluntarily accompanied them .*
The ef- fects of
The adventurers in this voyage, on their return, their voy- spread abroad marvellous accounts of their disco- age in En- gland.
veries. To those who are now well acquainted with that part of the continent which Amidas and Barlow visited, the description which they gave of it on their return can be considered only as a scarcely plausible fiction, principally intended to induce future adven- turers. Their accounts, however, of the beauty of the country, the fertility of the soil, the mildness of the climate, and the innocence of the natives, were pictured and represented to the queen so much in the style of the scenery of a romance, that her ma- jesty was graciously pleased, it is said, to promise what assistance it should be necessary for the crown to give towards promoting a settlement there. Sir Walter Raleigh, with the gallantry of a courtier, in compliment to his mistress-a virgin queen, thought it proper to bestow on this new discovered paradise the name of Virginia. Others, though with less probability, attribute that denomination to the queen herself, because she fancied, that it exhibited man-
pire in America, Vol. 1, p. 211. Although the introduction of tobacco into England is generally referred to the time of governour Lane and his colonists, as hereafter mentioned, yet it is not probable that capts. Amidas and Barlow would have omitted, not only to notice a custom then in common use with the Indians, but also to bring with them a sample of such a remarkable vegetable. It would seem, however, that tobacco was first brought into England by Sir John Hawkins in 1565. See Holmes's Annals, Vol. 1, p. 124.
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