USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina V. I, Pt. 1 > Part 5
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The ceremony of taking possession Amadas and Barlow deemed of such high importance that they made a record of the particular gentlemen and men of account who were present as witnesses of it. so that no question might be made of their queen's rightful title to the country. Being now in possession, and having the English flag waving over the soil of this new dominion, they proceeded to look about them and view the land. With wonder they noted the abundance of grapes that grew even on the sands of the beach, where the surge of the sea overflowed them; and in all places else; on the hills and in the plains, on every little shrub and climbing even up the branches of the high cedars. Then with hurried footsteps they passed from the seaside to the tops of the adjacent hills, and with amazement beheld the broad sea stretching away on both sides as far as the eye could reach. They found later that where they were was an island some six miles wide and about twenty long, a part of the sand banks that separated the sound from the sea. "After we had entered into the haven," wrote Barlow in his narrative of the exploration, "we saw before us another mighty long sea; for there lies along the coast a tract of island two hundred miles in length; and between these islands two or three entrances; these islands being very narrow, for the most part only six miles broad ; then entering, there appeared another great sea, in breadth in some places forty and fifty miles and in some twenty miles before you come to the continent; and in this enclosed sea near a hundred islands, whereof one is sixteen miles long."
As yet all was solitude. The face of nature was unbroken by the hand of man. For two days they saw no evidences of human life; but on the third day after their arrival they discovered a boat in the sound containing three savages, who cautiously approached and held communication with them. These being favorably received, and delighted with the little presents given them, the next day forty or fifty
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26a
AN INDIAN VILLAGE (From the John White Drawings)
27
BARLOW'S REPORT, 1584
1584
others visited the ships and exchanged commodities. It may be observed in passing that the aborigines of America were not generally called Indians by English writers until about the year 1600; at that time they were spoken of only as savages. But although so called. the natives were found to be gentle in their disposition and not unfriendly, and them- selves copper-colored, their admiration was unbounded at the white skins of the strangers, their apparel and their great ships, while the thunder and lightning from their muskets filled them with awe.
A few days later Barlow proceeded in his boat to Roa- noke Island, the distance being seven leagues, or about twenty miles, and visited Granganimeo, brother to the King Wingina, who lived with his wife in great state on that island. The country was called by the natives Wingandacoa ; and on the mainland were Secotan, Newsiok, and other territories. For six weeks the explorers remained, making excursions in all directions. July and August are delight- ful months in those landlocked sounds, and all were charmed by the natural advantages of that region as a place for settlement. The beautiful flowers, the magnificent forests. the noble watercourses, the abundance of game, the new and valuable plants, possessing medicinal properties, all com- bined to make this summer land appear to be a glorious home for the proposed colony. And it must be remembered that the company on board the ships had been especially selected as men of experience for the purpose of ascertain- ing a desirable location for the English settlement.
At length, taking specimens of the natural products. the prized sassafras and the fragrant tobacco, and accompanied by two young Indian men, Manteo and Wanchese, Amadas and Barlow spread their sail and turned their prows home- ward, reaching England safely about the middle of Septem- ber. The happy return of the explorers caused much en- thusiasm in England. Manteo and Wanchese excited wide- spread interest among all classes, while the accounts given by Amadas and Barlow and their companions of the new land they had found led many to look with longing eyes toward such an alluring country. Elizabeth. pleased at being mistress of so fair a realm, and gratified at Raleigh's success,
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EXPLORATIONS, 1584
1584
conferred knighthood on him as a mark of her favor, and at his solicitation named his possessions in America Virginia, as a memorial of herself, who had remained through life a virgin queen, and Parliament manifested its applause and its hope of important commercial benefits by confirming and ratifying the queen's patent with all of its high powers and exclusive privileges.
Conditions in America
Ribault's Colony, 1564
Many years before, the Spaniards had explored and claimed Florida : and when, in 1564, a French settlement had been made on the river May by some Huguenots under Ribault, at Fort Carolina, the Catholic Spaniards asserted dominion and put them to the sword. In Canada, at the far north, the French had made explorations and claimed the possession, but between Florida and Canada the wilderness was unbroken ; and when Amadas and Barlow landed on the sandy shore near Cape Hatteras and raised there the meteor flag of England and took possession of the country for the English-speaking race, it was the first step in a series of events of the utmost consequence to mankind. The limits of Virginia were the undefined bounds of Canada at the north, and of Florida at the south : the Atlantic on the one hand and the South Sea on the other ; and that vast expanse, so long a solitude, was in the course of time to become the home of the greatest of all the nations of the earth.
Fortunate, indeed, was it for America and for humanity that this first lodgment on our stormy coast was by a race devoted to the Protestant faith, ardently attached to freedom and personal liberty, and trained to the usages and customs of the realm of England. Different certainly the world's history would have been had Raleigh not blazed the way in English colonization, and had the dominion of the Span- iards under the papal bull of Alexander been permanently established throughout the Atlantic slope of America.
CHAPTER III LANE'S COLONY, 1585-86
Lane's colony .- Arrival at Wokokon .- Secotan visited .-- Aquasco- goc burned by Grenville .- Disembarkation at Hattorask .- Settle- ment at Roanoke .- Fort Raleigh .- Explorations .- Manteo friendly .-- Wanchese hostile .- The peril of famine .- Lane penetrates the Chowanoak; seizes Skyco; ascends the Moratoc .- Food exhausted .- The Indian conspiracy .- The hostiles gather at Dasamonquepeuc .- Lane strikes a blow and secures safety .- The arrival of Drake .- The departure of the colonists .- Arrival of Grenville's fleet .- Fifteen men left to hold possession.
The first colony
Hastening to lay the foundations of a regal domain and with an eager anticipation of rich returns from his com- mercial dealings, Sir Walter now prepared a second expe- dition, which was to transport a hundred colonists for settle- ment in Virginia. Provisions were collected for a year's subsistence, by which time a new supply was to be furnished. The colonists were to be under the authority of Ralph Lane, as governor, who was chosen for this important post because he had already given the world assurance of his bravery, capacity, and resourcefulness. Among the enterprising men of that day he ranked high for energy, courage and versatile powers. Barlow, who, years before, had served with Raleigh in Flanders, was again to be with the party, and was to remain in Virginia as admiral; while Cavendish, after- ward famous as a bold and skilful navigator, Thomas Hariot, highly distinguished as a mathematician and scien- tist, and John White, whose maps and admirable sketches, made in Virginia, are still extant, and who was deeply inter- ested in the work of colonization, were likewise members of the company. At length, the preparations being completed, a fleet of seven vessels, all small, however, and capable of entering the inlets of the Virginia sounds, under the com- mand of Sir Richard Grenville, a kinsman of Sir Walter Raleigh, and famous for his skill and bravery, set sail from Plymouth on April 9, 1585. After various adventures that
1585 --
30
L.INNE'S COLONY, 1585-86
1535 -,
The arrival, June 25, 1535
caused delay, the fleet passed the Cape Fear on June 23d. and two days later came to anchor at Wokokon, now known as Ocracoke, southwest of Cape Hatteras. One of the vessels, under Captain Raymond, had. however, preceded the others, and having reached the vicinity twenty days earlier, had disembarked thirty-two men at Croatoan, a part of the sandbanks nearer the cape. that island also being called the "Admiral's Island," and Cape Hatteras itself was known as Cape Amadas.
Exploration on the mainland
Some ten days were spent in examining the vicinity, and then, on July IIth, a considerable party embarked in four large boats, and taking provisions for eight days, passed over to the mainland, bordering on Pamlico Sound. They visited the Indian town of Pomeiok, and the great lake, Paquipe, and the town of Aquascogoc, and then Secotan, and explored the rivers of that region. During the expedi- tion an Indian at Aquascogoc stole a silver cup from Sir Richard Grenville, and not restoring it, according to prom- ise, Sir Richard went back from Secotan to that town for the purpose of regaining it: but the Indians had fled. So Sir Richard, to punish the theft, burned and spoiled their corn, which set those savages at enmity with the English.
The landing, Aug. 17,1585
Having gained some familiarity with those southern parts, the admiral weighed anchor, and turning the cape, reached Hattorask Inlet, having previously advised King Wingina at Roanoke Island of their coming. The colonists were ac- companied by Manteo and Wanchese. The former had been strengthened in his friendship for the English, but the latter, whether because of apprehensions of their great power, which he had beheld in England, or because he belonged to that tribe on the Pamlico whose corn Sir Richard had de- stroyed, displayed an unfriendly disposition toward them. Arriving at Hattorask, the settlers disembarked on August 17th, and landed on Roanoke Island. Who now can enter fully into the feelings of those first adventurers, who in that summer time made their lodgment in the New World! The unknown country, the placid waters of the great sound, the delightful atmosphere and brilliant sunshine,
31
LANE SETTLES ON ROANOKE ISLAND
and their difficult intercourse with the untutored savages who gathered around them-with their strange color. man- ners. and customs-and themselves so far removed from their distant homes-must have been constant subjects of reflection, mingling pleasure and apprehension, gratifying their spirit of adventure, and fostering hopes of personal reward. but ever startling them with the extreme novelty of their situation. A week after the landing Grenville took his departure, leaving the colonists established on Roanoke Island.
Fort Raleigh on Roanoke Island
Lane at once began the erection of dwelling houses at a convenient point on the northern end of the island, and con- structed a fort there, which he called Fort Raleigh; and from there excursions were made in every direction to get a better acquaintance with the-country and its products. To the southward they went eighty miles to Secotan, that lay near the mouth of the Neuse ; to the north they reached the Chesipeans, some fifteen miles inland from the head of Currituck Sound, and temporarily a small number of the English established themselves in that region. From those Indians, as well as from information derived from those on the Chowan. Lane learned that there was a larger and better harbor not far distant to the. northward. On the Lane west they penetrated to Chowanoak, a large Indian town on the Chowan River, and in that region they found an Indian sovereign, or Weroance, who ruled about eight hun- dred warriors, having subject to him eighteen towns. These towns, however, never consisted of more than thirty houses, and generally of only ten or twelve. The houses were made with small poles fastened at the top, the sides being covered with bark, and usually about twenty feet long, although some were forty and fifty feet, and were divided into separate rooms.
In these explorations the colonists ascended the various rivers emptying into the sound, and became familiar with the adjacent country. Hariot devoted himself to the study of the natural history of the region and wrote a valuable ac- count of the animals, the vegetables, the plants, and the trees
1585 -
explores
32
LANE'S COLONY. 1585-86
1586
found there, and White made many sketches that are still preserved in the British Museum.
Famine threatens the colonists
Among the savages. Ensinore, the old father of Wingina and Granganimeo, and Manteo were friendly with the white strangers ; but the other chieftains were not favorable to them, although their bearing was not openly hostile. Granganimeo unfortunately died shortly after the arrival of the colonists, and upon that event Wingina, the king, according to some usage, took the name of Pemisapan, and as time passed he be- gan to intrigue against the English, in which he was joined by Wanchese, Terraquine, Osacan, and other head men of the Indians. Relying on an additional supply of provisions by Easter, the colonists had been improvident, and by spring had exhausted their stock, and the planting time of vege- tables and corn had hardly come when they found them- selves without food. Their reliance now, temporarily at least, was on the corn of the Indians, and that was difficult to obtain. Their situation had become one of peril, especially as the Indians were reluctant to supply them. Pemisapan, understanding their difficulties. and at heart their enemy, now warily devised a plan for their destruction. He instilled into the Chowanists and into the Mangoaks, a strong and warlike tribe inhabiting the region on the Moratoc, or Roa- noke River, that the English were their enemies : and then he informed Lane that the Mangoaks had much corn and that there were rich mines of gold and copper and other minerals in their country, and that they possessed stores of pearls and precious stones. This appealed strongly to Lane's cupidity, and he eventually determined to visit them, and applied to Pemisapan for guides, and three Indians besides Manteo were assigned to accompany him. So in March Lane set out on his expedition, taking the pinnace and two smaller boats, with some fifty or sixty men. He visited all the towns on the water's edge, and was especially pleased with some high land seen before reaching Chowanoak, sub- ject to that king, where there was a goodly cornfield and a town called Ohanoak. Arriving at Chowanoak, he found a considerable assemblage there, the King Menatonon and his
Lane's expedition up the Moratoc
The spring of 1586
33
LANE EXPLORES ROANOKE RIVER
people being under apprehension that the English were enemies to them. Although Lane as a precautionary measure seized the person of the king and his young son, Skyco, he, nevertheless, was able to disarm their fears, and during a sojourn of two days with them obtained consider- able information concerning the Mongoaks and their coun- try, and also learned that by ascending the Chowan two days in a boat he would be within a four days' journey. by land, of a king's country that lay upon the sea. Obtaining some corn from Menatonon, and keeping Skyco as a hostage for further kindness, he sent the young Indian prince in the pinnace to the fort, and with the remaining boats and forty men pushed on up the Moratoc. His progress was slow, and he observed the difference between the strong current of that river and the sluggish waters of the great estuaries of the broad sound of Weapomeiok. as the country north of Albemarle Sound was then called.
The Mongoaks proved hostile, and when he had ascended the river two days, having progressed about thirty miles. they made an attack that was, however, easily repulsed. Then penetrating into the country, Lane found that the savages withdrew before him, removing all their corn and leaving nothing on which his men could subsist. His pro- visions being nearly out, he left it to the men to determine whether they should return or proceed; but they had two large mastiffs with them, and the men, declaring that the dogs prepared with sassafras would be good for two days' food, would not then abandon the expedition ; and so they pushed on farther, but without any favorable result. At length, in danger of starvation, and their strength failing, they turned down stream, and in one day reached an island at the mouth of the river.
Their provisions now were entirely exhausted ; but here, because of a heavy wind raising great billows in the sound, they were constrained to remain the whole of the next day. It was Easter eve; and Lane says they truly kept the fast. But Easter morn brought them new hope, and the storm ceasing, they entered the sound, and by four o'clock reached the Indian town of Chepanum (apparently on Durant's Neck, between Little and Perquimans rivers), which they
1586
Exploration and starvation
34
LANE'S COLONY, 1585-86
1586
found deserted ; but fortunately there were fish in the weirs that furnished timely food; "for some of our company of the light-horsemen were far spent," those sailors who managed the canoes or light boats since called gigs being facetiously designated as "light-horsemen."
The next morning, refreshed and strengthened, they re- sumed their journey and returned to Roanoke in safety.
The Indians become hostile
In their absence, Pemisapan had stirred up the neighbor- ing Indians to enmity against the remaining colonists, and hoping that his devices for the destruction of Lane's party had succeeded, he sought to strengthen the resolution of his followers by declaring that Lane and his party had either died of starvation or had been cut off by the Mongoaks. Ensinore, who had urged more friendly counsels, had un- fortunately died toward the end of March, and there was now no influence to counteract Pemisapan's hostility ; and urged by him, the Indians would no longer render any assist- ance in the way of obtaining either fish or other food, and the situation of the colony was becoming extremely critical. The protracted absence of Lane's party added to their de- spondency, while it gave color to the report of their destruc- tion. Such was the deplorable condition on the island when Lane's reappearance, contrary to the prophecies of his enemies, together with the accounts given by the Indians who had accompanied him of the ease with which he had overcome those Mongoaks who had fought him, caused a reaction in favor of the whites, and the Indians once more began to set weirs for them and aided them in planting corn, the planting season having now arrived. Still, until relief should come from England, or the crops just planted should mature, the colonists had to rely on such supplies as they could gather for themselves. In this extremity resort was had to the oyster beds found in the sound; and the better to subsist, the men were divided into small companies, and located at different points. Captain Stafford and twenty others were sent to Croatoan, where, while getting oysters, they could watch for the approach of the expected vessels
Pemisapan plots
INDIANS COOKING FISH (From the John White Drawings)
34a
1695455
THE CONSPIRACY OF PEMISAPAN
35
bearing relief ; at Hattorask a dozen more were stationed for the same purpose, while every week companies of fifteen or twenty were sent to the mainland to hunt for food. Thus they managed to exist through the month of May, waiting and watching in vain for the promised supplies from home.
In the meantime, Pemisapan, while preserving a friendly guise, began to plot anew against them, and instigated the hostile Indians to take the whites at a disadvantage, falling upon them while scattered and cutting them off in detail. To carry out this scheme he proposed to hold a great assembly of Indians, to last a month, by way of solemnizing the death of his father, Ensinore. This meeting was to be held on the mainland, at Desamonquepeuc, opposite Roanoke Island ; and besides seven hundred neighboring warriors, it was to be attended by an equal number of the Mangoaks and Chesipeans, who were to come and lie secretly in the woods until the signal fires should give them the order to rise. As a part of the same plan. it was arranged that Terraquine, one of Pemisapan's chieftains, with twenty men, should set fire to the thatched roof of Lane's house, and when he should come out, they were to murder him. Another leader and squad were to deal with Hariot the same way; and, similarly, all of the principal men of the colony were to be surprised and overcome. Toward the end of May the neighboring Indians began to assemble on Roanoke Island, the night of June 10th being the time appointed for the others to meet and carry into effect the murderous plot.
Skyco, being the son of a king, on reaching the island had been taken by Pemisapan to reside with his own family, and as the young prince was held a prisoner and was deemed hostile to the English, the plot became known to him; but Lane had treated him with kindness and consideration, and the young boy in gratitude revealed to him all the details of the conspiracy. Confronted with such an emergency, Lane's strength of character and resolution promptly dis- played itself. Had he been a weaker man. not so resource- ful. the colonists would probably have fallen victims to Indian strategy.
1586
Skyco reveals the plot
. ..
36
LANE'S COLONY, 1585-86
Lane's strategy
1586
Lane strikes
Pemisapan had gone over to the mainland, ostensibly to see about his growing corn crops, but really to attend to collecting the hostile Indians. Lane, realizing that safety could only be secured by the death of this wily foe and of his coadjutors, resolved on an immediate stroke. He sent him word to return to the island, for having heard of the arrival of his fleet at Croatoan, he himself proposed to go there; and he wished Pemisapan to detail some of his men to fish and hunt for him at Croatoan, and he also wanted to purchase four days' supply of corn to take with him. Pemisapan, however, did not fall into the trap; but while promising to come. postponed doing so from day to day, waiting for the assembling of the hostile Indians. At length, on the last of May, all of Pemisapan's own people having be- gun to congregate on- the island, Lane determined to wait no longer. So that night he ordered "the master of the light-horsemen," as he termed his chief boatman. with a few others to gather up at sunset all the canoes in the island, so as to prevent any information being conveyed to the main- land. As the "light-horsemen" were performing this duty. they saw a canoe departing from the island, and in seizing it two of the savages were killed. This aroused the Indians who were present, and they at once took themselves to their bows and the Englishmen to their muskets. Some few of the savages were killed in the encounter and the others fled down the island. At dawn the next morning, with the "light- horsemen" and a canoe carrying twenty-five others, with the "colonel of the Chesipeans," and "the sergeant major," Lane hastened to the mainland, and sent word to Pemisapan that he was coming to visit him, as he was about to depart for Croatoan, and wished to complain of the conduct of Osacan, who the night before had tried to convey away the prisoner Skyco, whom he had there handcuffed. The Indian king, ignorant of what had happened on the island, and not suspecting any hostile purpose, received Lane and his at- tendants, who, coming up, found him surrounded by seven or eight of his principal Weroances, together with many other warriors.
.
37
COLONISTS RETURN TO ENGLAND
As soon as they met, Lane gave the agreed signal, "Christ, our Victory." and immediately the colonel of the Chesipeans, the sergeant major, and their company opened fire, and l'emisapan and his chief men were slain and the others dis- persed. A blow so sudden and terrible paralyzed the Indians ; the plot was abandoned and the danger averted.
Drake arrives and the colonists return to England
A week later, on June 8th, the colony was thrown into an ecstasy of excitement by the hasty arrival of a messenger from Stafford, who reported seeing off Croatoan a fleet con- sisting of more than twenty vessels; but war had the year before broken out between Spain and England, and it was not at first known whether the ships belonged to friends or foes. The next day, however, Stafford himself came, having walked twenty miles by land, bringing a letter, prof- fering food and assistance, from Sir Francis Drake, then at Hattorask, who had just returned from sacking Santo Do- mingo, Cartagena and St. Augustine. With a joyful heart, Lane hastened to the fleet "riding at his bad harbor"; and Drake proposed to leave him a sufficient supply of provisions and a small vessel that could pass the inlet and lie within the sound. But before the necessary arrangements were completed a terrific storm came up that lasted three days, and the vessel which was to have been left was blown to sea and did not return : and much damage was done to the other ships of the fleet, and many pinnaces and smaller boats were entirely lost. After the storm had abated, Drake offered to leave another vessel, but he then had none that could enter the harbor ; so the ship. if left, would have had to remain on the perilous coast. As an alternative propo- sition Drake offered to take the colonists aboard and trans- port them to England. After consideration, it was deemed best to accept this last offer, and the different companies into which the colony had been broken being again collected, they embarked on June 19th and safely reached Portsmouth on July 27th. Thus, after a nine months' residence, ended the first attempt to plant a colony on Roanoke Island.
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