1584 Ribault's 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 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 Spaniards 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.-Aquascogoc burned by Grenville.-Disembarkation at Hattorask.-Settlement 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 commercial dealings, Sir Walter now prepared a second expedition, which was to transport a hundred colonists for settlement 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, afterward famous as a bold and skilful navigator, Thomas Hariot, highly distinguished as a mathematician and scientist, and John White, whose maps and admirable sketches, made in Virginia, are still extant, and who was deeply interested 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 command 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 1585 June 25, 1585 caused delay, the fleet passed the Cape Fear on June 23d, and two days later came to anchor at Wokokon, now known The arrival, 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 11th, 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 expedition an Indian at Aquascogoc stole a silver cup from Sir Richard Grenville, and not restoring it, according to promise, 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. 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 accompanied 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 destroyed, displayed an unfriendly disposition toward them. Arriving at Hattorask, the settlers disembarked on Aug. 17,1585 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, The landing, LANE SETTLES ON ROANOKE ISLAND and their difficult intercourse with the untutored savages who gathered around them-with their strange color, manners, 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 constructed 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 explores on the Chowan River, and in that region they found an Indian sovereign, or Weroance, who ruled about eight hundred 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 account of the animals, the vegetables, the plants, and the trees 31 1585 1586 of 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 began 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 The spring Easter, the colonists had been improvident, and by spring had exhausted their stock, and the planting time of vegetables and corn had hardly come when they found themselves 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 Roanoke 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, subject 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 |