gold. All the available force was engaged in loading the ship with this worthless clay. The idea prevailed to such an extent that Smith says there was no talk, no hope, no work, but dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold. The cargo was at last completed, and Newport sailed for London. When the Phoenix, the vessel of Captain Nelson, was to be loaded, Smith, instead of permitting it to be freighted with "fools' gold," fitted her out with a cargo of cedar timber. This was the first valuable shipment made from Virginia to England.

Smith accompanied the Phoenix as far as the capes, taking fourteen men with him and two open boats, which were to be used in carrying out his long cherished design of exploring the Chesapeake. In this work nearly three months were consumed, and three thousand miles of coast and river were explored and accurately mapped. The map of the Chesapeake Bay made by Smith at this time is still preserved, and is a marvel of exactness. It is the original upon which all subsequent descriptions have been based.

VIRGINIA UNDER THE SECOND CHARTER.

It was on the 23d day of May, 1609, that King James revoked the first charter of the London Company, and at the same time granted a new one by which the government was completely changed. The new patent included all the country lying between the mouth of the Cape Fear river on the south and that of the Hudson on the north, the Atlantic on the east and an undefined boundary on the west. The company was permitted to choose its own councilors, and they in turn were to select the governor. Lord Delaware was chosen to this high position for life. The British government now began to dream of a flourishing empire in the west, which should be tributary to the parent one then rapidly rising to the first place among the nations of Europe, and accordingly surrounded Delaware with stately officers whose highsounding titles would indicate that they were the dignitaries of an opulent kingdom, instead of a half-starved colony on the distant shores of Virginia. Sir Thomas Gates was commissioned lieutenant-general; Sir George Somers, admiral; Christopher Newport, vice-admiral; Sir Thomas Dale, high marshal; Sir Fernando Wainman, master of cavalry, and a long list of others constituted the royal establishment. But the long array of titled nobility was not without its effect upon the future of Virginia. Five hundred emigrants were speedily collected, and in June a fleet of nine vessels sailed for Jamestown. The gentlemen composing the new government sailed in the Sea Vulture, the largest vessel in the fleet. When nearing the capes of Virginia a fearful storm was encountered. One small vessel was lost, and the Sea Vulture was

The other When the

driven far to sea, and finally stranded upon the rocks of the Bahamas, and did not reach Jamestown till April of the next year. vessels outrode the storm and reached their destination. news of the appearance of so large a fleet in the bay was received, it was thought to be a part of the Spanish navy, the object of which was the conquest of the colony. Everything was put in a state of defense against the supposed enemy. Smith had, in the meantime, by his kindness, won the good will of the Indians, and hundreds of them now responded to his call, and joined in defense against the supposed invasion. Fear was, however, soon changed to rejoicing; the supposed enemy proved to be friends. The emigrants having landed, elected Captain Francis West (the brother of Lord Delaware), temporary president, the council being all dead save Smith; but he obtaining the sympathy of the sailors, refused to surrender the government of the colony. For the sake of health, to avoid dissension between the old and newly arrived colonists, and for trading with the Indians, Smith decided to establish two new settlements, and accordingly selected a company of the best men, placed them under command of Francis West, and sent them to the falls of the James, there to erect cabins and establish a permanent settlement. He then placed another company under Martin and dispatched them to a place called Nansemond, with the same object in view. Martin exhibited his imbecility by making an attack upon the natives in his immediate vicinity, and then by his cowardice and carelessness permitted them to return, attack his position and kill and wound a number of his men. He then sent to Jamestown for reinforcements, and when they arrived, set a limit to his own management by leaving his men to their fate and going to Jamestown, where he remained cowering under Smith's denunciations of his perfidy and cowardice. The president not hearing of his colony at the falls, determined to pay it a visit; and upon his arrival found that West had selected, as the site of the projected town, a location subject to inundation and many other disadvantages. He offered to purchase from Powhatan the site upon which the city of Richmond now stands, but the restless adventurers, dreaming of rich gold fields further up the river, refused the offer, despising alike the president's kindness and authority. But Smith was born to rule. With five of his own men he rushed boldly into the midst of the mutineers, and arrested the ringleaders of the opposition, but a hundred infuriated men gathered around him and compelled him to release the prisoners. He escaped to the supply-ship which lay at the foot of the falls, and being supported by the sailors, he here spent nine days in making every effort to conciliate the turbulent spirits who were in a frenzy of excitement over the "guilded hopes of the South Sea mines," but all in vain. Discouraged and well-nigh exhausted, Smith set out on his return to Jamestown, but no sooner had he departed than the Indians attacked those left behind. Those of the terrified wretches who

escaped fled to Smith, whose boat had grounded on an island above Jamestown. Here the disturbers were again arrested. The president returned to the falls, satisfied the demands of the savages, and left all again under the care of West, who listened to the deceitful statements of the prisoners and released them. Thus Smith again saw his authority set at defiance, and for the last time left the falls of the James. His work was nearly completed. On the journey down the river his powder flask exploded while he was sleeping and tore the flesh from his body in a frightful manner. Crazed with pain, he threw himself into the river to cool the burning sensation, and was nearly drowned before his companions could rescue him. Nearly one hundred miles lay between him and the only surgeon, Dr. Russell, in Virginia, and to him he must go before his wounds could be dressed. In this pitiable condition he arrived at Jamestown, where Ratcliffe and Archer were then on trial on a charge of treason, and, fearing his evidence, they hired an assassin to murder him; but when the fiend saw the pitiable condition of his intended victim, his heart failed him and he was unable to fire the fatal shot. The term of Smith having expired, Captain George Percy, a younger brother of the Earl of Northumberland, was elected president, and Smith, in September, 1609, sailed for England, never to return again to the scenes of his toils and sufferings. An eventful life was rapidly drawing to its close. "The Father of Virginia," the benefactor of his country and his race, he who had faithfully discharged every duty imposed upon him, was yet to feel the sting of base ingratitude. Those whose interests he had best served were the first to condemn his actions. Like Columbus, Boone, Robert Harris, and a host of others whose lives were to be known, their labors appreciated, and names honored by succeeding generations, his name has become the most celebrated that appears in the early history of America. Truly has it been said. that great men are never known by the generation in which they live.

THE STARVING TIME.

At the time Smith left Jamestown, there were four hundred and ninety-three persons in the colony, all well sheltered and supplied; but the master spirit was gone, and soon anarchy ruled supreme. Such was the inactivity, profligacy, recklessness and insubordination, that by the approach of early winter they were confronted with starvation. In addition, the Indians determined upon the utter extinction of the colony, and hung upon the outskirts of the settlements, burning houses and murdering all who were so unfortunate as to fall into their hands. Then a pestilence broke out, and the fatality was so great that by the return of the spring of 1610, there remained but sixty persons alive in

the colony, and they must have perished had not assistance reached them. But just as the last ray of hope was yielding to despair, Sir Thomas Gates and his crew, who had been wrecked in the West Indies, arrived at Jamestown; but what must have been their feelings, when, instead of finding the colony in a happy and prosperous condition, they met only a few famished wretches begging for bread! Gates supplied their wants from his store-ship and assumed the government.

JAMESTOWN ABANDONED.

The few survivors had, however, resolved to abandon Jamestown at the first opportunity, and thus forever bid adieu to a place which promised nothing but death. In vain did the governor remonstrate. Four pinnaces lay at anchor in the river. It was the intention to sail for Newfoundland, and there the remnant of the Virginia colony should remain among the fishermen until some vessel would carry them to England. Thus, the efforts of the London Company, as had those of Raleigh and Gosnold before, ended in failure. The colonists crowded on board the pinnaces, and on the 8th of June dropped down the river. But Lord Delaware was already within the bay, and ere the disheartened colonists had reached the mouth of the James, his ships hove in sight, bearing new emigrants, plentiful supplies, and a governor who gave a promise of better things. The hitherto discouraged but now rejoicing colonists were taken on board and all returned to the deserted village, where, before nightfall, all was happiness and contentment.

Lord Delaware's administration was characterized by justice and mildness; he endeared himself to the colonists and inspired them with hope, but he did not long remain; in the early autumn his health failed, and he delegated his authority to Percy-the same who had relieved Smithand sailed for England.

Sir Thomas Dale was already under sail to Virginia bearing a governor's commission, and upon his arrival he assumed the government and made martial law the basis of his administration. He was a soldier by profession, and had served with distinction in the Danish wars. Jamestown needed a strong government, and there was, therefore, very little complaint against his military rule. During his administration the population was augmented by the arrival of three hundred emigrants from England.

The last act of Governor Dale marks an era in the history of Virginia. This was nothing less than a division of property. Ever since the founding of the colony, all property had been held in common, after the manner of the primitive eastern nations; the colonists had worked together and the products of the harvest had been deposited in one common store-house, where all was under the control of the council. Gov