USA > Virginia > A history of Virginia : from its discovery and settlement by Europeans to the present time. Vol. I > Part 15
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a Belknap's Am. Biog. ii. 182;
Robertson, i. 413.
b His opinion will be found in Smith, ii. 58, 59.
231
TREACHERY OF OPECANCANOUGH.
1622.]
savages,ª were alike disregarded. The colonists remained immersed in unruffled security.
In the mean time Opecancanough was preparing the actors in his infernal drama. Either in per- son, or by his emissaries, he visited all the tribes composing the confederacy over which Powhatan had held dominion. He roused them to revenge ; represented their wrongs; wrought their passions to intensity by mingled promises of blood and of rapine; pointed to the defenceless state of the colo- nists, and established a complete organization for the work of death. No people whom the world has ever seen can be compared with the aborigines of America, in skill to concert schemes of ingenious perfidy, and in the deep silence and caution with which they are accomplished. In the night, or the day, they move through the forest with a step more stealthy than that of the leopard, about to spring upon his victim. Large bodies pass from one point to another, and leave not a trace of their progress, or a sound by which their presence might be detected.b The savages of Virginia were now embodied for their fatal purpose, and awaited but the signal from their leader to fall upon the unsus- pecting colonists.
Opecancanough soon obtained a pretext for com- mencing hostilities. Among the Indians, was a noted young warrior, who had often distinguished
a Burk, i. 238; Stith, 209.
b Burk, i. 239 ; Robertson's Ame- rica, i. 157. Mr. Cooper's admira- ble novel, " The Last of the Mohi-
cans," may be read with advantage by any one who wishes to obtain a correct view of Indian character and habits.
232
JACK OF THE FEATHER.
[CHAP. IV.
himself in the wars of his tribe, and who united to the other traits of the savage, a passion for dress so extravagant, that he was known by the English under the title of Jack of the Feather. His Indian name was Nemattanow. He was greatly esteemed by his countrymen for the grace of his person, and the boldness of his spirit; and having escaped without a wound from the many skirmishes in which he had been engaged, he was regarded by the simple savages as invulnerable and immortal. This reputation he highly valued, and sedulously cherished; but it was soon to be put to the test. He often visited the settlements, and was so well known that his appearance created no suspicion. At length he came to the house of a colonist named Morgan, urged him to accompany him to Pamun- ky for purposes of traffic, and offered him immense gain. The unhappy Englishman consented; but on the way he was murdered by his treacherous companion, and his body was rifled of its clothing.a A few days afterwards, Nemattanow, wearing Mor- gan's hat, appeared on his grounds. Two strong young men, who had been employed by the colo- nist as labourers, immediately accused the Indian of having caused his death, and wished to carry him, for examination, before a justice of the peace. He resisted, and they instantly shot him down, and conveyed him, mortally wounded, towards the nearest magistrate. On the way, finding his strength fast failing, the ruling passion appeared strong in death. He implored them to bury his a Smith, ii. 66; Stith, 208; Burk, i. 236; Beverley, 41; Keith, 137.
233
MASSACRE.
1622.]
body where it should never be discovered, and not to reveal to his countrymen that he had really died. So strong in the bosom of man is the desire for immortal fame among his fellow-beings.a
There is reason to believe that Opecancanough secretly rejoiced at the death of this young warrior, whose influence had inspired him with jealousy ;b but he hesitated not to convert it to his own bloody purposes. He represented the case among the In- dians in false colours, and urged them, by their affection for the memory of their favourite, to avenge his death upon the colonists. A time was now se- lected, and the natives were secretly drawn together to effect their design.
On Friday, the 22d day of March, the tragedy began. So perfect was the confidence of the set- tlers, that they loaned the savages their boats to cross the rivers for their deadly purpose-many of them even came in to take the morning meal with the whites, and brought deer, turkeys, fish, and fruits, which they offered for sale in the usual manner. But at mid-day the scene of blood was opened. Instantly, and as if by magic, the savages appeared at every point, and fell upon their victims with the weapons which first presented themselves. Neither age nor sex was spared. The tender in- fant was snatched from the mother to be butchered before her eyes,-wives were left weltering in blood in the presence of their husbands,-men, helpless from age, or wholly without defence, were stricken down ere they could see the foe who assailed them.
a· Burk, i. 237, 238; Stith, 208; Keith, 137. b Burk, i. 237; Stith, 209.
234
MASSACRE.
[CHAP. IV.
In one morning, three hundred and forty-nine set- tlers were slain upon the several plantations.ª The murderers were lashed into frenzied excitement by their own passions; and, not content with the work of death, they mutilated the corpses in a manner so revolting, that the original recorders of this massacre shrink from the task of describing them !
No considerations of honour or of gratitude re- strained the hands of the savages. George Thorpe had been their friend, their benefactor, their steady advocate,-he had laboured alike for their tempo- ral good and their immortal interests. Yet they repaid him by imbruing their hands in his blood, and then cutting and disfiguring his lifeless corse with all the fury of impotent malice.' Six mem- bers of the Council were among the victims of this fatal day; and it would seem that nothing but a special intervention of the divine order of things saved the colony from total ruin.
Amid a scene of brutal murder, displaying the darkest passions that prevail in the human heart, it is grateful to be able to point with triumph to a victory achieved by Christianity alone; and if the Indians generally had been callous to all appeals from a higher authority than man, one of their number, at least, was destined to prove that his
a In Smith, ii. 67, 75, 76, the rected by Belknap, ii. 179, 180, who number is inaccurately summed up, properly extends and sums up the and stated at three hundred and original entries given in Smith, ii. forty-seven. The error is repeated - 75, 76.
by Stith, 211; Beverley, 39 ; Keith,
b Smith, ii. 68; Stith, 211; Bel-
138; Burk, i. 240, 241; Bancroft, knap, ii. 181.
i. 196; Grahame, i. 78. It is cor-
235
COURAGE AGAINST COWARDICE.
1622.]
race was not utterly abandoned to the dominion of evil. A young Indian convert, named Chanco, lived with Richard Pace, and was treated by him with all the tenderness of a son. The brother of this native slept with him the night before the mas- sacre, and urged him to kill his master, telling him that he intended that fate for his own. But the young Christian recoiled with horror from the pro- posal, and the next day informed Mr. Pace, who instantly despatched an express to Jamestown.a Thus the principal settlement was alarmed,-guns and swords were made ready, and the natives ven- tured not to make an assault.
It is remarkable that wherever resistance was made to these fiends it was entirely successful. Too cruel to be brave, they fled from the first vi- gorous onset ; and had the colonists received one hour's warning, no life would have been lost that was not dearly atoned for. An old soldier who had served under John Smith, although surround- ed by Indians and severely wounded, clove the skull of one assailant with a single stroke of an axe, and the rest instantly took to flight. A Mr. Baldwin, whose wife was lying before his eyes, profusely bleeding from many wounds, by one well-directed discharge, drove a crowd of murderers from his house. Several small parties of settlers obtained a few muskets from a ship that happened to be lying in the stream near their plantations,
a Smith, ii. 71; Stith, 212; Belknap, ii. 179; Grahame, i. 77, 78; Burk, i. 242; Marshall, 60; Robertson, 414; Bancroft, i. 196.
-
236
EFFECTS OF THE MASSACRE. [CHAP. IV.
and with these they routed the savages in every direction, and dispersed them in great alarm.ª
In reading these accounts, we know not whether to wonder more at the infernal skill of the natives in choosing the time and circumstances of their at- tack, or at the unparalleled confidence of the colo- nists while within reach of such a foe.
At the iron-works, which had been in successful operation at Falling Creek, the work of death was so complete, that of twenty-four occupants none escaped except a boy and girl, who concealed them- selves with much difficulty. The superintendent of these works had discovered a vein of lead ore, which was of great utility until the massacre; but afterwards it remained unknown until Col. Byrd of Virginia bribed an Indian to reveal the spot, by dropping his tomahawk upon the place.c
The immediate effects of this blow upon the colony were most disastrous. Horror and conster- nation pervaded every mind; nearly one-fourth of their whole number had, in a single hour, been stricken down. The rest were drawn hastily to- gether around Jamestown. Distant plantations were abandoned, and in a short time eighty settle- ments were reduced to six. Some few bold spirits (and among them a woman) refused to obey the
a An account of the massacre is given in Purchas, iv. 1788-1790. See Stith, 212, 213; Burk, i. 242, 243; Belknap, ii. 178; Holmes's Annals, i. 178, 179.
b Beverley, 43; Belknap, ii. 181.
c Beverley, 43. It is supposed iii. 521.
that this mine is still wrought with success. See Belknap, ii. 182. In 1840, more than eight hundred thousand pounds of lead were pro- duced in Virginia. Howe's Hist. Collec. 130; Murray's Encyc. Geog.
237
1622.] STRATAGEM OF THE COLONISTS.
order, and remained on their country-seats, among their servants, mounting cannon at weak points, and preparing to meet the treacherous foe with becoming courage. But they were compelled by law to abandon their strongholds, and to unite their resources to the common fund. A terrible reaction in the feelings of the colonists immediately took place. They had trusted the natives and had been betrayed; they had given them arms only to be turned against their own lives; they had la- boured for their good, and had been rewarded by seeing their wives and children butchered before their eyes. Their purpose now seemed not one of revenge, but of extermination. They could no longer hold any terms with a people whose friend- ship was hypocrisy, whose promises were false- hood, whose very smiles were the precursors of bloodshed and death. They regarded them as they would have looked upon the hyena, or the poisonous reptile, with which no safety can be en- joyed, except in his destruction. A war ensued, in which the fiercest impulses that man can feel were called into being. No truce was ever de- clared. The Indians were shot down at any time, and in any place in which they showed themselves. When seedtime approached, hostilities declined from absolute necessity. The English resorted to a stratagem which cannot be justified. Offering peace to the savages, they seduced them from their places of concealment; but in the midst of their labour, they rushed upon them, cut down their corn, and put to death a large number, among
238
THE LONDON COMPANY.
[CHAP. IV.
whom were several of their greatest warriors and most skilful chieftains.ª So embittered and so deep was the feeling of hatred thus engendered between the races, that for many years it was trans- mitted from father to son. The colonists looked upon the Indians as their hereditary foes, and the unhappy natives never spoke of the "long knives" without fear and execration.
When intelligence of this massacre reached Eng- land, it excited profound sympathy in many bo- soms. Instead of suffering themselves to be dis- couraged, the London Company determined on renewed efforts for restoring the colony. Cap- tain John Smith offered his services to subdue the Indians, and openly proposed the policy of the Spaniards in South America and the Atlantic Isles as worthy of adoption. It is probable the brave Captain knew not all the cruelties of the people he presented as models; he had expe- rienced savage perfidy himself, and would natu- rally regard no measures as too severe in order to their conquest.b But his offer was finally declined. Some of the Company offered to permit him to go, provided he would bear his own expenses, and pay one half the pillage into their coffers ! It is needless to say, that this proposal was indignantly rejected.
a Stith, 303; Belknap, ii. 183; b See Smith's Project and Offer, Hist. ii. 79-81. See, also, pages 73, 74, and 90; Hillard's Smith, ii. Marshall, 60. Mr. Grahame, with much liberality, endeavours to de- fend the conduct of the colonists ; 385, 386 ; Burk, i. 248, 249. Com- but he is not successful. Colon. pare Stith, 233, with Bancroft, i. Hist. i. 79, in note. 198, in note.
239
THE LONDON COMPANY.
1622.]
King James, on hearing of the disaster, was wrought into wondrous rage against the Indians, and affection for the settlers. Forthwith, he loan ed the adventurers twenty barrels of powder, and sundry old swords and muskets from the Tower, which would have been useless in any hands, how- ever skilful. He promised to raise four hundred soldiers in England, for the special protection of the colony ; but this was never accomplished. His coward spirit delighted not in deeds of arms, or in preparation for the field of battle.ª
The zeal of the London Company, their exer- tions for the colony, and their heavy losses encoun- tered in its behalf, did not shield them from the tyranny of the King. Among the writers who have recorded the life of this body, we find few to approve its conduct, and many to load it with in- discriminate censure. We are told of all the evils attendant on the deeds of a commercial corpora- tion ; but these evils are not specified, or if specified, not proved.b It would be well to remember the difficulties that these adventurers had encountered and overcome. It is true the settlement had suf- fered from sickness, from famine, from savage war- fare and from internal dissension; but, whether its condition would have been better under any other
a Stith, 233; Belknap, ii. 185; system. Walter Scott's Hist. of Bancroft, i. 197. James was con- Scotland, vol. ii. 166, chap. xxxii. stitutionally timid. It has been b Grahame's Colon. Hist. i. 87, 88 ; Bancroft's U. S., i. 199 ; Robertson's Am. i. 417. All these writers con- demn the Company. supposed that the frightful murder witnessed by his mother, a short time before his birth, produced a permanent effect on his nervous
240
THE LONDON COMPANY.
[CHAP. IV.
form of government that James would have granted, remains to be proved. It is certain that the Com- pany expended more than one hundred thousand pounds, for which they received no adequate re- compense. It is certain, that, though clothed with absolute power, they freely granted to the colonists a representative government, which will for ever stand on record to vouch their generous spirit. It is certain they evinced steady interest in the affairs of the settlers, displaced wicked agents, removed grievances, and only ruled them with severity, when nothing else would have preserved them from destruction. Such were their good deeds ; and if they often erred, their faults were venial, and merited not the fate to which they were finally subjected.
But we need not look to the errors of the Lon- don Company for the cause of its ruin. The mo- tive of the King is much more obvious and much less defensible. With all the intensity proper to a monarch who claimed absolute power, he hated the semblance of liberty which appeared in the de- bates of the quarterly courts. The spirit of free inquiry was now rapidly gaining ground in Eng- land ; it had manifested itself in the House of Com- mons, in many forms ungrateful to his majesty ; but it chiefly pervaded the discussions of a body which he himself had called into being, and which now numbered more than a thousand adventurers. So open were the principles of freedom, declared and defended by the Company, that the Spanish ambassador, Gondomar, warned the King against
1
241
JAMES NOT OMNIPOTENT.
1622.]
their influence, and declared, that "The Virginia courts are but a seminary to a seditious Parlia- ment."ª A despicable faction, composed of mem- bers, few in number but active in intrigue, sought to paralyse the energies of the Company and to render it a mere tool to the King. At the head of this court party we find the dishonest Warwick, the rapacious Argal, the sordid Cranfield, and the reptile Butler; and others composed it, equally adverse to freedom and to the true interests of the colony. The vanity of James had already received two mortal strokes, for which he never forgave the predominant party in the corporation.
In 1620, Sir Edwin Sandys having resigned the office of treasurer, the King determined to in- terfere and procure the election of one of his own creatures for his successor. He knew well that under the charter he had no right to nominate, or even suggest the officer upon whose fidelity to their interests the Company were so dependent; yet in a most indelicate manner he sent in the names of four persons, Sir Thomas Smith, Sir Thomas Roe, Alderman Johnson, and Maurice Abbot, and declared his desire "out of his especial care and affection for the colony," that one of these should be made treasurer ; but the Company showed no disposition to submit to this outrage, and the King, finding them firm, became alarmed, and with very ill grace withdrew his nominees; the meet- - ing then immediately, by a unanimous vote, elected
a New Description of Virginia, in Mass. Hist. Collec. ix. 113; Bancroft's U. S., i. 200.
VOL. I.
16
242
NATHANIEL BUTLER.
[CHAP. IV.
the Earl of Southampton, a nobleman of great pub- lic spirit, and well known to be deeply imbued with the growing love of religious and civil free- dom.ª It might have been supposed that this re- buff would have been sufficient, and that the ner- vous monarch would not have renewed an attempt, the failure of which had so deeply mortified him. Yet, in 1622, we find him again sending the names of five strenuous courtiers to the quarterly session, and imploring them to elect one of them treasurer. Again they refused ; Southampton received a vote nearly unanimous; and James with difficulty re- tained his venom until a suitable opportunity should present itself for discharging it upon the hated corporation.b
He gradually threw off the mask and assumed an attitude of direct hostility. Upon some frivo- lous pretext, Sir Edwin Sandys was imprisoned ; but as he was an influential member of the House of Commons, the King found it necessary to explain his action to that jealous and formidable body. Charges against the Company were listened to with greedy ears; accusations were invented, and sus- picions of malfeasance were nursed into realities. (1623.) At this time, one Nathaniel Butler re- turned from the colony, and being introduced by the court faction to the King, he highly pleased and edified his majesty by publishing a tissue of enor- mous falsehoods under the title of " The Unmasked
a Stith, 178-181 ; Belknap, ii. 199, b Stith, 230, 231 ; Burk, i. 257.
in note; MSS. Records of London Company.
c Hume's England, iv. 279, chap. xlviii.
243
CHARTER THREATENED.
1622.]
Face of our Colony in Virginia, as it was in the win- ter 1622."ª In this ennobling production, he attacks with indiscriminate abuse the physical and social state of the colony, declaring that the climate was pestilential, the rivers were shallow, the soil was barren, the products were meagre, the houses were not fit for human beings, the people were seditious, the manufactories were neglected, the forts dismantled, and the whole settlement was in a miserable condition, "odious to themselves and contemptible to all the world."
The King, pretending fully to believe these slan- ders, determined at once to wrest the government from the hands of the Company. (Oct. 8.) He coolly sent them a message, informing them that, having taken into his princely consideration the distressed state of the colony, he had resolved to change the mode of their charter. He intended to appoint a governor and twelve assistants, to reside in England, who were to fill their own vacancies with the concurrence of the king. This council was (the king concurring in like manner) to ap- point a governor and twelve assistants, to live in the colony, and act as a provincial council. He did not design to deprive the colonists of the franchises they now enjoyed, but wished them to be more im- mediately under his paternal care. As to the Com- pany, he asked them to decide, with all expedition, whether they would submit and surrender their charters ; for should they resist, he gave them the
a Stith gives the substance of this paper, 268-270; and Burk, i. 264-266.
244
WRIT OF QUO WARRANTO.
[CHAP. IV.
consoling assurance that he should proceed to crush them in the manner he might deem most expedient.a
When this order of council was announced, the Company were stricken dumb with astonishment. Unwilling, at first, to believe, they required that the paper should be deliberately read three several times, and when the last reading was over, for many minutes no man uttered one word. Profound silence reigned throughout the assembly. They could not bring their minds to receive the truth that the King contemplated an act of so gross injustice.b But when the fact was finally realized, they resolved to defend with courage their privileges and chartered rights. A puny faction voted for the surrender,. but one hundred and twelve members signified their resolve to defy the malice of the King.
His enmity did not long sleep. (Oct. 24.) To preserve the semblance of justice, he appointed com- missionerse to visit Virginia, and there to use their utmost industry in gathering subjects of complaint against the Company's management. They were to inspect plantations, forts, arms, boats, bridges, peo- ple, houses, savages; every thing in which they might detect malfeasance or abuse. (Nov. 10.) Seven- teen days after their departure a writ of " quo war- ranto" issued from the Court of King's Bench, and was served upon the deputy treasurer and several other members of the Company. This well known
a Stith, 293, 294; Burk, i. 269; wards governor, John Posy, Abra- Belknap, ii. 188; Robertson, i. 416; ham Pexly, Samuel Matthews, and Bancroft, i. 201, 202.
b Stith, 294; Burk, i. 269.
c These were John Harvey, after-
John Jefferson. Belknap, ii. 190; Stith, 297.
245
WRIT OF QUO WARRANTO.
1624.]
process subjects a corporation to a rigid judicial ordeal ; and it has as often been used as the instru- ment of rapine and violence, as of salutary correc- tion.ª Nicholas Farrar, the deputy treasurer, was imprisoned, the records and papers of the Company were seized, and the court party endeavoured by every dishonourable means to perplex and disable their companions. Notwithstanding all this, the majority preserved their magnanimous bearing, and prepared with coolness for the expected shock.
(1624.) Meanwhile the commissioners had ar- rived in Virginia, and forthwith entered upon their task. (Feb. 14.) About the same time a General Assembly convened at Jamestown, and though every effort had been made to keep secret the object for which the commissioners were sent, yet by some means it was discovered, and the as- sembly appointed John Pountis,' one of the Coun- cil, to go to England and plead the cause of the colony before his majesty. Their advocate died on the way, but the address of the Assembly was presented to the King. They earnestly protest against a return of the martial rule of Sir Thomas Smith, with its accompanying horrors of starvation and cannibalism. They completely refute the slan- derous charges of Nathaniel Butler, and implore the King to support them in their present labours, and, above all, to continue to them the blessing of
2 Blackstone's Com. by Chitty, i. See Company's Chief Root of Dif- 404, book i.
b Stith, 312." His name is given appendix.
by some, Porentis, Belknap, ii. 192.
ferences and Discontents, in Burk i.,
246
FIRST LAWS OF ASSEMBLY. [CHAP. IV.
the free government they now enjoyed. We find this paper signed by Sir Thomas Wyatt, the go- vernor, and by several members both of the Council and House of Burgesses.
The acts of this Assembly are memorable, both from their antiquity and their intrinsic excellence. They are the earliest upon the statute book of Virginia.ª After providing for the due worship of God, and the support of the ministry, according to the false principles of their age, they set forth a " petition of right," which may be considered one of the clauses of our Magna Charta. The governor is forbidden to lay any taxes or imposts upon the colonists or their property without the consent of the General Assembly ; neither can he withdraw the people from their private labours, except under special circumstances, and with strict impartiality.₺
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