USA > Virginia > A history of Virginia : from its discovery and settlement by Europeans to the present time. Vol. I > Part 10
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a Smith, i. 216; Keith, 103; Hillard's Smith, ii. 313.
152
MELANCHOLY EVENT.
[CHAP. III.
Could his commanding spirit have been every where, much grief might have been saved to the settlers. During his absence, a melancholy event had resulted from the folly of one in whom he had felt some confidence. Matthew Scrivener had re- ceived letters from England, which encouraged him to hope that he might displace his friend in the presidency, and determined him to be " either Cæsar or nothing."ª In order to gain celebrity, he prepared for an excursion to Hog Island, which lies in the river, not far from Jamestown. Neither his own want of skill, the inclemency of the sea- son, nor the remonstrances of his companions, could deter him. He embarked in an open boat, with ten others, among whom we note the names of Waldo, a member of the Council, and of An- thony Gosnold, a brother of the great navigator. A cold and boisterous day greeted their departure, and, in the storm which followed, the overladen boat sank beneath the waters, and not one of her unhappy crew was ever recovered.b
The natives had long been satisfied of the weak- ness and incapacity generally prevailing among the settlers; butin proportion as they scorned the rest, did they esteem and fear the redoubtable Smith. The German traitors sought in vain for opportunities to destroy him; and so anxious was Powhatan on the subject, that he threatened several of his people with death if they did not cause that of his most
a These are the words of the writer, b Smith, i. 217; Stith, 93; Keith, 105.
in Smith, i. 217.
153
INDIAN POISONERS.
1609.]
formidable foe.ª But all their attempts were vain. Poison was resorted to, and the savages of Virginia proved themselves capable of all the deliberate ha- tred common in Eastern despotisms ; but they were not so skilful in chemistry as they were relentless in revenge. Smith was made sick for a time by their drugs, but took no farther notice of the at- tempt, than by having wholesome flagellation in- flicted upon the poisoners.b The president seemed to bear a charmed life. In one of his excursions, he was suddenly assailed by a chief of the Pasi- phays, a man of great strength and giant stature, who first tried to entice him into a snare, and then drew his bow upon him. When they grappled, neither was able to use his weapons; the Indian dragged his foe into the river, and a fearful strug- gle for life ensued. Smith seized his antagonist by the throat, and so firmly retained his grasp that the Indian sank beneath him, and suffered himself to be carried a prisoner to Jamestown. This Indian afterwards escaped; and when the president re- proached two of his tribe, whom he made prisoners, with the flight of their chief, one, in a strain of savage oratory, told him he should remember that " the fishes swim, the foules fly, and the very beasts strive to escape the snare and live."" From these and other arguments they drew an excuse for their chief, so stringent, that the president made peace
a Smith, i. 217; Hillard's Smith, c Smith, i. 225; Stith, 96; Keith, ii. 316; Stith, 93. 111.
b Smith, i. 219; Stith, 94.
154
CARBONIC ACID GAS.
[CHAP. III.
with the tribe, and they were afterwards his warm friends.
Thus the captain retained his influence with the natives. They began to regard his power with superstitious reverence, and accident confirmed their faith. A young Indian having been appre- hended for stealing a pistol, was confined in a guard-room until the weapon was returned. To contribute to his comfort during the cold night, fire and a supply of charcoal were sent in, together with his food. The unlettered savage knew little of carbonic acid gas, and for the sake of humanity it is to be hoped that his captors knew not much more. The fumes of the burning charcoal soon deprived the hapless prisoner of consciousness, and when a companion, who brought back the pistol, found him, he was stretched, as though lifeless, upon the ground. The others commenced a griev- ous lamentation. The president arrived, and im- mediately directed the strongest brandy and vine- gar to be applied, and used other remedies so successfully, that ere morning the patient was per- fectly restored.ª Nothing more was necessary to the reputation of Captain Smith among the savages; he might have been made a king or a god at his pleasure. He who could give life to the dead was worthy of the worship of mortals.
The natives now desired peace, and used all means to conciliate the settlers. . Stolen property was returned; arms were no longer snatched with
a, This account I find in a writer in Stith, 96; Keith, 113; Hillard's in Smith, i. 225, 226. It is repeated Smith, ii. 323.
1609.]
PROSPEROUS PERIOD. 155
open violence, or taken by fraud, and those Indians who were detected in theft were apprehended by Powhatan and sent for punishment to Jamestown.ª Thus the colonists became secure in their persons and property, and had the fairest opportunity for improvement in their general prospects. The pre- sident was untiring in energy, prudent in every undertaking; the arts were encouraged ; glass, tar, and soap-ashes were tried ; a well of excellent water was opened ; twenty houses were built ; the church was newly covered; nets and weirs were provided for fishing ; fowls were domesticated, and increased with astonishing rapidity ; Hog Island was peopled with its appropriate inhabitants.
Matters began to wear a bright appearance, and but two causes operated against their prosperity : the one was unavoidable, as it came in the form of innumerable rats, who destroyed vast quantities of their grain; the other was their own "insufferable sloth and unreasonable perverseness,"" which often bade defiance to every exertion of the president, and plunged them again in distress and famine. The river abounded in sturgeon, which were caught by the lazy settlers, and eaten, sometimes alone, some- times compounded with the esculent grasses of the soil around them. Rather than work, many were so mean in spirit as to permit themselves to be bil- letted upon the Indians, who fed their valueless bodies with great hospitality.c
a Hillard's Smith, in Sparks's Am. c Smith, i. 229; Stith, 99; Ban- croft's U. S., i. 151.
Biog., ii. 324.
b Stith, 98 ; Hillard's Smith, ii. 326.
2
156
A SEARCH FOR THE LOST.
[CHAP. III.
We can hardly attribute to the English council motives of pure philanthropy, for their desire to obtain some knowledge of the fate of Walter Ra- leigh's unhappy colony. It is more probable they were excited by the hope, that these men, by their communion with the natives, had secured some knowledge of the gold and silver mines supposed to be in the country, or, perchance, of that South Sea, which constantly rolled before the eyes of European fancy. But whatever may have been their motives, Smith did not neglect the duty im- posed upon him. He had despatched Michael Sicklemore, a hardy and gallant soldier, with a small party, to the Chowan River, to seek acquaint- ance with the natives, and make inquiries about the lost settlers. Sicklemore returned at this time, having zealously fulfilled his duties, explored the country, ascertained its resources, and conciliated the natives, but without having gathered even a savage rumour concerning the abandoned colony. He was equally unsuccessful in his search for silk- grass, which had been assigned as one of the ob- jects of his inquiries.ª
The treason of the Germans had now been fully developed. They were afraid to encounter the just indignation of the English settlers, and re- mained among the Indians in a state of mind and body sufficiently comfortless. Traitors themselves, they could hope for little countenance, even from the men to whom they had sold their honour. William Volday, a Swiss by birth, was employed
a Stith, 99; Smith, ii. 230; Hillard's Smith, ii. 328.
157
ARGAL'S ARRIVAL.
1609.]
by the president to offer pardon and safety to these misguided foreigners, with the hope of regaining them to the colony. But this messenger of peace, with doubly-refined treachery, united with the Dutchmen, and endeavoured to lead the Indians in a body against the unsuspecting settlement. When this plot was revealed at Jamestown, the utmost indignation prevailed, and a deliberate pro- posal was made to go to the native quarters and cut down these traitors in the very sight of Pow- hatan. This bold scheme was not accomplished ; but the Indian monarch, finding he could no longer hope for advantage from his allies, disclaimed their attempt, and ever afterwards regarded them with an evil eye.ª
And now an unexpected arrival took place. Cap- tain Samuel Argal entered the bay with a single ship, drawn by the hope of gain from the fishery of sturgeon and traffic with the colony. The laws indeed forbade the fishery, except to the settlers ; but Argal was a kinsman of Sir Thomas Smith, the Treasurer of the London Company, who con- nived at the expedition.b The colonists were well pleased with the wine and good provisions he brought, and the adventurer himself was not of a character to be deterred by mere legal obstacles. From him the Virginians obtained the first intelli- gence of proceedings in England which deeply
a Smith, i. 231; Stith, 100; Hil- knap, ii. 148, says, "a kinsman of lard, ii. 330.
Sir Thomas Dale;" but Stith is the b Stith, 100; Hillard, ii. 332; Bel- best guide,
158
THE GOLD OF VIRGINIA.
[CHAP. III.
affected their welfare, and to which we must now give due attention.
The London Company had been greatly disap- pointed in their hopes with regard to the colony. Gold and silver had flowed in continuous streams from the mines of South America to the coffers of Portugal and Spain, and English avarice demand- ed, why had not equal wealth been drawn from the bosom of the northern continent? Had their wisdom borne any proportion to their cupidity, the adventurers might have seen in the feeble set- tlements they were now establishing, the germ of lasting wealth and of happiness, which the richest minerals could not purchase; but their insatiate desires craved instant gratification, their hunger for riches called continually for sustenance, and they were at first better pleased with hopes of gold from a sand-bank, or of silver from shining dust on the shores of the Potomac,ª than with the most intelligent efforts for successful colonizing. It has been happy for Virginia that the gold she really possesses was not discovered in any quantity until long years of industry had established the tenants of her soil. Had the mines now open in the coun- ties of Orange, Culpeper, Louisa, Fauquier, Staf- ford, and Buckingham,' been even suspected to have existed in the days of the London corpora- tion, it is not probable that Thomas Jefferson would ever have written the charter of American freedom, or that Washington would have gained a ratifica- tion of that charter in the trenches of Yorktown.
a Smith, i. 178.
b Murray's Encyc. Geog., iii. 521.
1609.]
THE GOLD OF VIRGINIA. 159
The company had a strong desire for commercial advantage rather than for colonial extension. Two years had now passed away, and they found not one of their brilliant dreams realized. No gold had brought sudden wealth ; no precious wood had re- turned to repay the contributions of the mother- land; no boat had penetrated to the South Seas, to connect the riches of the Indies with the ports of Britain. Forests had been felled, vegetation had been encouraged, only to bring disease and death to the settlers; Indian hostilities had raged with few intermissions; discord had distracted the coun- sels, and indolence had paralysed the strength of the colonists. These evils were too apparent to be longer neglected, nor can we censure the council for desiring to find a remedy ; but we can note their blindness to their own faults, and their unworthy attack upon the only man who really merited praise at their hands.
Smith's administration had been firm and con- sistent. He had laboured ardently for the sub- stantial welfare of the settlers, knowing that in their permanent success alone must depend the final profit of the company. He saw at once that no precious metals would be found, to meet the im- portunate demands of England; but he knew that the country was rich, its soil was fertile, its forests were valuable, its natural products were abundant- and his expanded view enabled him to perceive that only perseverance was necessary to make Virginia invaluable to the country that gave her birth.
a See Hillard's Life of Smith ; Sparks's Am. Biog., ii. 345-352.
-
160
SECOND CHARTER OF JAMES. [CHAP. III.
The London council blamed him for his salutary rigour towards the Indians, attributed to him the dissensions caused by the vices of the men they had themselves sent to the colony, and finally de- termined to seek an entire change in the govern- ment heretofore existing in Virginia. They ac- cordingly applied to the King for a new charter, and on the 23d May he granted to them a patent, from which they promised themselves all manner of success.
We must now look to the terms of this second expression of royal wisdom, and see whether we can discover in it any thing favourable to the rights of the settlers themselves.ª He who shall hope that greater privileges were now granted to them, will be sadly disappointed.
The King erected a gigantic corporation, under the name and style of the Treasurer and Company for Virginia. It consisted of more than twenty peers of the realm, among whom we note the dis- tinguished names of Robert, Earl of Salisbury, Thomas, Earl of Suffolk, Henry, Earl of South- ampton, and of the Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells. It consisted further of nearly one hundred knights, among whom we find Sir George Moor, Sir Edwin Sandys, Sir Dudley Digges, Sir Herbert Crofte, and Sir Francis Bacon. Leaving the knighted ranks, the eye then glances along several massive pages of names, designating every class, from the stout English gentleman to the most humble trader
a This charter may be read in full in Stith's Appen, No. ii. 8-22, and in Hening's Stat. at Large, i. 80-98, in Hazard, i. 58-72.
1609.]
THE LONDON COMPANY. 161
who could invest money enough to become an ad- venturer. We then plunge into a sea of private cor- porations, as mercers, drapers, fishmongers, grocers, goldsmiths, skinners, salters, ironmongers, waxchan- dlers, butchers, saddlers, and barber chirurgeons : and in this we swim, until we begin to believe that London is about to pour out in full power its arti- san force upon the shores of the new world. All these are invested with regular corporate privileges, as the right to fill vacancies, to elect new members, to have a common seal, and perpetual succession.ª
Having called this unwieldy monster into being, the King proceeds to divest himself of the powers held by the crown under the first charter, and to vest them in the corporation.b A council was still to exist in England, to whom was committed abso- lute authority in governing the colony abroad. This council consisted of fifty-two persons, and was originally appointed by the King, but full power was given to the company to nominate, choose, displace, change, alter, and supply the members of this governing body, as a majority might see fit.e The council was invested with au- thority to appoint all officers necessary to the colo- ny ; and, instead of the former provincial establish- ment of a president and council, we find a governor provided, who, with his counsellors, is invested with terrific powers in administering the laws enacted by the council in England, or (such laws not hav-
a Charter, sec. iii., in Hening, i. 88. " Charter, sec. xi., in Hening, i.
b Bancroft's U. S., i. 152. 90. VOL. I. 11
1
162
THE LONDON COMPANY.
[CHAP. III.
ing been enacted) in case of necessity, he is autho- rized to consult his own discretion, even in cases criminal and capital.ª In cases of rebellion and mutiny, the governor is empowered to call to his aid the arm of martial law, with as full energy as it might be employed by lieutenants governing other dependencies of the English realm; and he is himself to judge of the emergency calling for this stern exercise of power.
We deem it not necessary to dwell further upon the provisions of this charter, as many of them are substantially the same with those previously ex- plained in speaking of the original patent. The ob- servant reader will note, with pain, that not one poli- tical right is granted to the colonists, or secured to their children. They are transferred, without cere- mony, from the grasp of a single hand to the busy manipulations of a thousand lawgivers, formed into a great commercial company, and wholly independent of the choice of the settlers. The power of the gover- nor was enormous, and after experience proved that it did not exist in theory alone. The colonists were indeed mocked with clauses securing to them the rights of Englishmen, and the enjoyment of the laws and policy of the mother country ;b but these sounding promises never had any practical opera- tion. And finally, with many pious wishes breath- ed for the conversion of the heathen, and against the bringing in of Romish superstitions, all intend-
a Charter, sec. xxiii .; Bancroft's xxiii. in Hening, i. 95,96; Grahame's U. S., i. 152.
b Charter, sec. xxii. and close of
Colon. Hist. i. 52.
163
LORD DELAWARE, GOVERNOR.
1609.]
ing to settle are required to take the oath of supre- macyª to the head of the church, in the person of a king, better fitted for the metaphysical debates of the learned host in Pandemonium,' than to give laws to the visible kingdom of Christ on earth.
Sir Thomas Smith was appointed treasurer. Of him we have heretofore spoken. He was first a merchant in London, amassed a large fortune, was made governor of the East India and Moscovy Company ; sent by James ambassador to Russia ; and was one of Walter Raleigh's assignees.º Much blame has been cast upon this gentleman for his administration of some of the affairs of Virginia, and for the careless manner in which he permitted his accounts to be kept; yet we must award him due praise for his zeal, and for the integrity which he uniformly exhibited.
The company immediately prepared for strenu- ous efforts. Thomas West, Lord Delaware, was elected governor and captain-general of the co- lony. This appointment was highly judicious, for it fell upon a man distinguished in birth, high- minded and generous in disposition, of command- ing talents, and of peculiar fitness for the duty of superintending an infant settlement.ª
a Charter, sec. xxix., in Hening, i.
* * 98; Grahame, i. 52; Marshall's Am. Colon. 41, 42.
b " Reason'd high
Of Providence, foreknowledge, will and fate,
Fixed fate, free will, foreknowledge abso- lute,
And found no end in wandering mazes lost.
*
Vain wisdom all, and false philosophy !" PARADISE LOST, Book ii.
" Belknap's Am. Biog., ii. 100; Hening, i. 90.
d New Life of Virginea, ii., in Force's Hist. Tracts, vol. i .; Bel- knap's Am. Biog., ii. 115; Hub- bard's note.
164
FURIOUS HURRICANE.
[CHAP. III.
Emigrants now offered themselves from every quarter and of every class. Nine vessels were equipped, and furnished with every thing neces- sary to safety during the voyage, and to the com- fort of the colonists on their arrival. They carried nearly five hundred settlers, besides their crews, and set forth under auspices so flattering as to attract to their enterprise the title of " the Virgine voyage."a Lord Delaware remained yet in Eng- land, intending to follow them in the course of a few months. Sir George Somers was appointed admiral of Virginia, Sir Thomas Gates lieutenant- general, and Christopher Newport commander of the fleet; but by a most unwise arrangement, these three officers all embarked in the same ship, being unable to determine among themselves the impor- tant question of priority.b
They sailed from Plymouth on the 2d day of June, and notwithstanding their express orders to proceed immediately westward, they went as far south as the twenty-sixth degree of latitude, and paid the penalty of their delay in disease and death among their crews. But a more imposing danger now assailed them. On the 24th July, a tremen- dous hurricane came on, attended with all the hor- rors of a tropical storm. The heavens became gra- dually darker, until they assumed a pitchy hue ;
a New Life of Virginea, 9, 10, in venture, the Diamond, the Falcon, Force's Hist. Tracts, vol. i.
b Smith, i. 234; Belknap, ii. 120; New Life of Virginea, 9. The names of the vessels were "the Sea-Ad-
the Blessing, the Unity, the Swal- low, the Lion, with a ketch and a pinnace." Belknap, ii. 120.
165
FURIOUS HURRICANE.
1609.]
the lightnings were incessant, and the thunder seemed to burst immediately above the tops of their masts; the wind blew with so much fury, that sails were torn from the yards, masts were carried away, and the sea, rolling in huge waves over their decks, swept off every thing that could be displaced, and entering the holds, it reduced many of their cargoes to ruin.ª In this awful tempest, the ships of the fleet were all separated, and the ketch, unable to weather the storm, foun- dered at sea, and all her crew were lost. Leaving the other ships for a season, we must now follow the Sea-Adventure, in which the three principal commanders had embarked together.
This stout vessel was heavily laden with provi- sions, and carried out also the commission for the new government in Virginia. Her safety was all- important, but it seemed impossible that she could survive. A leak admitted streams of water, and incessant pumping for three days and four nights could scarcely keep her afloat. During all this time, the venerable Somers kept the deck.b His gray locks streamed in the tempest and were satu- rated with rain, yet his self-possession never de- serted him. Even when his exhausted crew aban- doned all hope, and, staving the spirit casks, en-
a Purchas, iv. 1735, 1736. The
fearful scene. Smith, i. 235; Bel- account of this storm in Purchas, is knap, ii. 121. given by one who deals largely in b " At the time of his appointment extravagant rhetorical figures; but to be admiral of Virginia, he was his imagination was evidently heat- above sixty years of age." Belknap, ed to intensity by the recalling this ii. 117.
166
THE ENCHANTED ISLAND.
[CHAP. III.
deavoured to drown thought in intoxication, he re- tained his calmness, and was the first to discover land. The ship struck the ground about half a mile from the shore, and was thrown in such a position between two rocks, that all on board were easily saved.
The island on which they were wrecked was one of the well-known Bermuda group, lying in the Atlantic, about six hundred miles from the American coast.ª They have never been remark- able for fertility ; but their climate is charming. When approached from the seaboard, they present a most picturesque appearance ; and they have been invested with peculiar interest by the notice of an English poet, who once passed a season of his life within their rocky barrier.
The isle they first reached was uninhabited. It had previously been visited by Spaniards, and in 1591 an English ship had been cast away upon its coast, but now none of the human species were left. It was moreover supposed to be enchanted. Strange tales of demons and monsters of fantastic form had been received, and the English sailors were alive to all the superstitions of their class.b But they had no reason to complain of inhospitable
2 Murray's Encyc. Geog., iii. 296; Raynal's Indies, v. 65-68.
Bermuda, walled with rocks, who does not know ?
That happy island ! where huge lemons grow,
And orange trees, which golden fruit do bear,
Th' Hesperian garden boasts of none so fair ;
Where shining pearl, coral, and many a pound,
On the rich shore, of ambergris is found. WALLER. BATTLE OF THE SOMER ISLANDS. English Poets, viii. 47.
b Purchas, iv. 1737; Henry May's Nar., in Smith, ii. 117, and post, 121 ; Belknap, ii. 124; Jordan's News from Bermudas, 1613, in Belknap.
167
THE ENCHANTED ISLAND.
1610.]
treatment in this fairy land. The air was pure- the heavens were serene-the waters abounded with excellent fish-the beach was covered with turtle-birds of many kinds enlivened the forests- and the whole island swarmed with hogs, which were so numerous that very little labour sufficed to procure plenty.
Amid this profusion they remained nine months. The loveliness of nature had not subdued human passions. Somers was envied, and the commanders lived apart; yet the influence of the good admiral was exerted to have daily worship,-and on Sun- day, divine service was performed, and two sermons were preached by Mr. Bucke, their chaplain. In the brief space of this sojourn, one marriage was celebrated, two children were born and baptized, five persons died, of whom one was murdered,- and when they left the island the murderer escaped, and with another culprit remained, to be afterwards instrumental in a singular discovery.&
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