The history of Virginia, from its earliest settlement to the present time

Front matter

THE

FROM ITS

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Chapter I

Early English explorers — John and Sebastian Cabot discover North America — Voyage of Sebastian Cabot — Voyage of Frobisher — Coligny founds a colony of Huguenots in Florida — The colonists massacred by the Spaniards — Retaliation of De Gourguis — First project of an English colony — Sir Walter Raleigh — Studies the art of war under Coligny — Returns to England — In favour with Queen Elizabeth — Obtains a patent to colonize America — Voyage of Sir Humphrey Gilbert— His shipwreck and loss at sea — Voyage of Amidas and Barlow — Description of the island of Wokokon in Florida — Kindness of the natives — Colony founded at Roanoke— Deserted — Voyage of Sir Richard GrenviUe — Second settlement of Roanoke — Mysterious disappearance of the colonists — Death of Raleigh — Voyage of Newport — Character of the immigrants — Captain John Smith — His romantic adventures in the old world Pwje 19

CHAPTER n.

Jamestown — Description of site selected for settlement — Gathering of the colonists — Charges preferred against Captain John Smith — His innocence substantiated — Wingfield fined — Exploration of James River — Village of Powhattan — Description of an Indian village — Its place of games — Its sacred lire — Sepulchre of the chiefs — Their idol Kiwasa — Construction of their wigwams — Internal arrangement — Regal state of Powhattan — His wives — Obedience of his subjects — His places of residence — Orapakes — Description of Powhattan's dwelling — Character of Powhattan 35

Chapter III

Description of the colonists — Gentlemen idlers — Noticeable men — Mr. Hunt — Mr. George Percy — Captain Bartholomew

Gosnold— His death — Portrait of Captain John Smith — Careless security of the colonists — Attacked by the Indians — Fort built and palisadoed — Newport leaves for England — Famine and sickness in the colony — Selfishness of Wingfield — Attempts to escape from the colony — Deposed — Sufferings of the settlers — Their providential deliverance — Energy of Smith — Explores the country for provisions — Conspiracy of Wingfield and Kendall — Death of Kendall — Abundance in the colony Page 46

Chapter IV

Smith's superior abilities create envy — He explores the Chickahominy River to its source — Three of his men slain by the Indians — Smith taken prisoner — Led in procession to Orapakes — Gratitude of a savage — Smith carried in triumph through various tribes — Reaches Pamunkey — Singular conjurations of the medicine-men — Is taken to Werowocomoco — Regal state of Powhattan — Smith sentenced to death — Rescued by Pocahontas — His release — Returns to Jamestown— Represses the malcontents — They plot his death — His summary proceedings 55

Chapter V

Arrival of the second supply — Newport opens a trade with Powhattan — Is outwitted by the emperor — Sagacity of Smith — Value of blue beads — Mania for gold-seeking in Virginia — Arrival of the Phoenix — Smith explores the Chesapeake — Returns to Jamestown — Sails, and completes his discoveries — Character of Smith — Elected governor of Virginia — Arrival of the third supply — Coronation of Powhattan— His regal intractability — Affairs at Jamestown — Energetic conduct of Smith — Powhattan attempts to starve out the colony — Expedition of Smith to Werowocomoco 66

Chapter VI

Smith sets out for Werowocomoco — Is visited by Powhattan \ — Smith's speech — Reply of Powhattan — Difficulties in the ) way of bartering for corn — Subtle conduct of the emperor \ — Smith and his companions surrounded by armed Indians ' — Rout of the latter — Supplies of corn obtained — Powhat- ; tan's treachery — Visit of Pocahontas — The project frus- 1 trated — Smith sails for Pamunkey — Is entertained by Ope- ' chancanough — Demands a supply of corn — Fearful situation of the whites — Smith takes Opechancanough prisoner j

— Surrender of his warriors — Their sudden friendship — The barges freighted with corn — Return to Jamestown Page 78

Chapter VII

Return of Smith to Jamestown — Loss of Scrivener, Gosnoll, and others — Government of Smith — Activity of the colonists— Growing scarcity of food — Many settlers quartered around Jamestown — Insubordination — Firmness of Smith — Arrival of Captain Argall — The commissioners in England surrender their charter — A new commission granted — Lord Delaware appointed Governor-general of Virginia — Nine vessels sail from England for the colony — Parted in a storm — Uncertain fate of the flag ship — The others of the fleet arrive in Virginia — DiflBculties with Smith — His resolute conduct — Opens several new plantations — Powhattan settled — Terrible accident to Smith — His return to England — Statistics of the colony — Its prosperous condition 89

CHAPTER VIIL

Captain George Percy — His reasons for remaining in the colony — His ill-health — Factious spirit of the people — Indian hostilities— Massacre of Ratclifife and his men — West and thirty others turn pirates — Miserable condition of the colonists — Arrival of Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Sommers — The colony deserted — Arrival of Lord Delaware — His judicious measures — The colony begins to flourish — Delaware returns to England — Disappointment of the London Company— Sir Thomas Dale sent to Virginia — His arrival — Proclaims martial law — Sir Thomas Gates arrives at Jamestown— Assumes the government of the colony — A plantation opened at Henrico — Private property recognized in the colony — Beneficial results arising therefrom — New Bermudas settled — The third charter of the London Company — Change in the constitution — Money allowed to be raised by lottery for the benefit of the colony 100

Chapter IX

Administration of Sir Thomas Gates — Cautious forbearance of Powhattan — Treachery of Japazaws — Capture of Pocahontas— She is taken to Jamestown — A ransom demanded for her release — Powhattan sends back men and muskets — Sir Thomas Dale sent to enforce the remainder of the ransom — Reaches Werowocomoco — Is assaulted — Defeats the savages and burns the town — Parleys with the Indians — Returns to Jamestown — John Rolfe instructs Pocahontas in the Christian faith — She is baptized — Marriage of Pocahontas to Rolfe — Satisfaction of Powhattan — Its beneficial consequences — Dale treats with Powhattan for another daughter — His refusal — Rolfe and his wife sail for England — Pocahontas honourably received — Her deaih at Gravesend Page 110

Chapter X

Evils arising from the system of common labour — Right of private property — Conditions of tenure — Indentured servants— Bounty land — Dale embarks for England — Appointment of Yeardley — Cultivation of tobacco — Careless security of the colonists — The savages taught the use of fire-arms — Argall supersedes Yeardley — His character and arbitrary conduct — His removal from office — Yeardley reappointed — Second administration of Yeardley — The first general assembly convened at Jamestown — How composed — Energy of Sandys — Large numbers of immigrants sent to Virginia — Importation of females — Beneficial effect upon the colonists— Rapid increase of immigrants — Introduction of negro slavery — Resignation of Sandys — His successor nominated by King James — Spirited conduct of the London Company — Earl of Southampton elected treasurer — The first constitution of Virginia 121

CHAPTER XL

Sir Francis "Wyatt appointed governor — Arrives in Virginia — Scattered condition of the colonists — Their careless state of security — Death of Powhattan — Opechancanough suspected of treachery — His answer — Arranges a plan for the general massacre of the colonists — Nemattanow, or Jack of the Feather, murders one Morgan and robs him — Is shot down by two boys — His dying requests — Terrible massacre of the 2"2d of March — Most of the plantations abandoned — Sickness in the colony — War of extermination — Reception of the tidings in England — Assistance sent to the colonists — Smith tenders his services — Conduct of King James — Attempts to dictate to the company — Meets with a second rebuke— Resolves to annul the charter — Appoints commissioners to inquire into the affairs of the company — Resolves to reassume his conceded authority — His proposition rejected by the company — Commissioners sent to Virginia 133

CONTENTS. IS

Chapter XII

Arrival of commissioners in Virginia — Feeling of the colonists — Proceedings of the commissioners — Pory suborns the clerk of the council — Punishment of the latter — The presence of the commissioners disregarded — Acts passed by the assembly— Taxation asserted to be dependent on representation — Regulations adopted to guard against surprise by the Indians— Charter of the London Company cancelled — Death of James I. — Great influx of immigrants — No towns in Virginia— Yeardley appointed governor — Lord Baltimore arrives in Virginia — Religious intolerance of the colonists — Baltimore returns to England — Obtains a patent for the province of Maryland — Yeardley succeeded by Sir John Harvey — Variance of opinions concerning the latter — He is deposed and sent to England — Is returned — Second Virginia massacre — Opechancanough taken prisoner — His death Page 146

CHAPTER XIIL

Berkeley sails for England — Treaty of peace with the Indians — Prosperity of Virginia — Her loyalty — Hospitality extended to fugitive Cavaliers — Charles II. proclaimed — Action of the English Parliament — Virginia acknowledges the commonwealth — Berkeley resigns — Richard Bennett elected governor — Indian incursion — Edward Diggs elected governor— Samuel Matthews chosen governor — His controversy with the burgesses — Declares the dissolution of the assembly— The assembly deposes the governor and councU — Re-elects Matthews — His submission — Richard Cromwell — Acknowledged protector of England — The Virginia assembly defines its privileges — Restoration of Charles 11. — Berkeley sails for England — The laws of Virginia revised... 157

CHAPTER XrV.

Jamestown in 1662 — Increase of nonconformists — Persecution of — Their migration from Virginia — Projected massacre — Its opportune discovery — The prosperity of the province checked by injurious English laws — Futile attempts of the assembly to remedy the evil — An exploring party cross the Blue Ridge — Growing difficulties — Change in the political condition of the Virginians — Statistics of the province in 1671— Oppressed situation of the poorer planters — Magnificent vagaries of Charles II. — Agents sent to England — Popular disturbances — Descent of the Seneca Indians upon the Susquehannas — Outrages committed on the frontiers by the latter — Six chiefs treacherously murdered — Sanguinary retaliation — Arming of the Virginians — Berkeley reprobates war — Nathaniel Bacon — His condition and character — Marches against the Indians Pvuge 167

CHAPTER XV.

Departure of Bacon — Berkeley commands him to return and disperse his followers — Bacon attacks an Indian fort and cari'ies it by storm — Is pursued by Berkeley — Disturbances in the lower counties — Dissolution of the old assembly — A new assembly called — Bacon elected a burgess — Is arrested by order of the governor — Temporary reconciliation — Bacon appointed commander-in-chief — Jealously of Berkeley — Refuses Bacon a commission — Five hundred men march into Jamestown — Berkeley submits — Retires to Gloucester county — Proclaims Bacon a rebel — Bacon issues writs for a convention of the people — Berkeley retreats to Accomac — Raises an army and sails for Jamestown — Bacon marches against him — The governor deserted by his troops — Triumphant progress of Bacon — His death — Violent proceedings of Berkeley — Thomas Hansford and others hanged — Death of Berkeley 179

CHAPTER XVI.

Jeffreys appointed governor — An attempt made to regulate the Indian traffic — Political restrictions again enforced — Chicheley deputy-governor — Arrival of Lord Culpepper — Appointed governor for life — His avaricious dispositon — Defrauds the troops — Returns to England — Administration of Chicheley — Impoverished condition of the province — Dis- <"ontent of the people — Return of Culpepper to Virginia — Compromises with the planters of the northern neck — Embarks for England — Lord Howard appointed governor — His meanness and avarice — Transportation of prisoners for political offences — Their reception in Virginia — Administration of Nicholson — Project for a college — A charter obtained— Andros appointed governor — His neatness and method — Is succeeded by Nicholson 191

CHAPTER XVIL

Administration of Nicholson — Williamsburg founded — Dissenters tolerated by statute — Enormous power of the governor — Modes of its restriction — Bold project of De Callier, Governor of Montreal — How defeated — English scheme of general defence for the colonies — Virginia refuses her quota — Nicholson's letter in consequence — Loses his popularity — Political discontent — Nicholson removed — The ofiSce of Governor of Virginia granted as a sinecure to the Earl of Orkney — Edward Nott appointed deputy-governor — Revised code of Virginia — Prominent provisions — Jennings president of the council — Succeeds Nott — Colonel Spotswood appointed deputy-governor — Crosses the Blue Ridge — Is knighted — Is succeeded by Hugh Drysdale — Death of Drysdale — Accession of Brigadier-general Gooch P(^g 201

CHAPTER XVIII.

The Eastern provinces — War of 1689 — French territorial claims — Movements of Count Frontenac — Cocheco burned by Castin — Pemaquid taken by the Penobscot Indians — Burning of Schenectady — Massacre at Salmon Falls — Capture of the Casco Bay settlement — First American Congress— Unsuccessful attempt upon Quebec — Acadie invaded by Sir William Phipps — Expedition of Church — Villebon recaptures Port Royal — York destroyed by the French — Wells successfully defended — Virginia votes five hundred pounds toward the defence of New York — Frontenac ravages the territory of the Five Nations — Success of D'lbberviUe — Church ravages the French settlements — Burning of HaverhiU and Andover — Peace of Ryswick — Plan of co-operation for the colonies — French construct a line of posts from Canada to Louisiana — Alarm of the English — Renewal of the war — French and Indian excesses — Surprise of Deerfield — Expedition against Acadie — Haverhill burned — Port Royal taken — Inglorious expedition of Sir Hoveden Walker 210

CHAPTER XIX.

Treaty of Utrecht — Population of the colonies — Absence of towns in Virginia — Crown Point taken possession of by the French — Communication between Canada and Louisiana — First newspaper in Virginia — War with Spain — Disastrous expedition to Carthagena — War with France — Capture of Louisburg— Treaty of Aix la Chapelle — Progress of Virginia— Religious intolerance — Capitol at Williamsburg burned — Close of Gooch's administration — Evidences of affectionate regard — Character of Gooch — Ohio Company — French claims — Opposite claims of the British — Brownsville founded — French posts established in the vicinity of the

Ohio— Orders from England — Dinwiddie appointed Governor of Virginia — His purchase of the Indians — Back settlements of Virginia threatened by the French — A messenger despatched by Dinwiddie to ascertain their intentions — Virginia instructed to build two forts on the Ohio — George Washington — His early life and character. Pwje 223

CHAPTER XX.

Mission of Washington to the Ohio — Reaches Will's Creek — Halts at the forks of the Ohio — Holds a conference with Indians at Logstown — Delivers his letters and credentials to the French commandant — His return — Is shot at by an Indian — His peril in crossing the Alleghany River — Arrives at Williamsburg — Increase of the provincial army — Washington appointed lieutenant-colonel — Marches to Will's Creek — The French drive off the troops at the forks of the Ohio, and build Fort Duquesne — Skirmish at Great Meadows— Death of Jumonville, and capture of his party — Fort Necessity erected — Invested by the French — The Virginians capitulate on terms — Washington resigns his commission and retires to private life — Arrival of General Braddock with troops from England — Is joined by Washington as a volunteer — March of the army — Crossing of the Alleghanies — Defeat of Braddock on the banks of the Monongahela — Death of Braddock — Heroism of the Virginia troops — Retreat of the army to Cumberland 237

CHAPTER XXI.

Indian incursions — Activity of Washington — Dinwiddie convenes the assembly — Increase of troops — Washington appointed commander-in-chief — Hastens to Winchester — Distressed condition of the settlers — His letter to the governor — His painful situation — Fort Loudoun commenced — England declares war against France — Arrival of the Earl of Loudoun — Success of the French under Montcalm — Conference at Philadelphia — Plan of the campaign — Failure of the expedition against Louisburg — Campaign of 1758 — Energetic measures of Pitt — Expedition ordered against Fort Duquesne — Advance of Colonel Bouquet — The Virginia troops concentrated at Fort Cumberland — A new road opened to Loyal Hanna — A detachment under Major Grant ordered to reconnoitre Fort Duquesne — Defeat of Grant — Arrival of General Forbes at Loyal Hanna — Council of war — Advance of the troops — The fort burned and deserted by the French — Fort Pitt erected on its site — Campaign of 175i>— Treaty of Fontainbleau 252

CHAPTER XXII.

English financial embarrassment — Proposition to tax the colonies— Passage of the stamp act — Its reception in America — Patrick Henry — His birth and education — Studies law — His first speech in the " parsons' cause" — Its effect upon his auditors — Elected a member of the assembly — OS'ers his celebrated resolutions — The effect of their adoption — Congress at Philadelphia — Solemn declaration of rights — Repeal of the stamp act — Townshend's new bill — Passed by the Imperial Parliament — Resistance of the Americans — Death of Fauquier — Session of 1768 — Resolutions of the assembly — Dissolved by the arrival of Lord Bottetourt as governor-in-ehief — Session of 1769 — Dissolution of the assembly— Non-importation agreement — Progress of resistance— Repeal of all duties except that on tea — Agitation still continues — Death of Lord Bottetourt — His character — The assembly order a statue to be erected to his memory... Po^c 267

CHAPTER XXIIL

Dunmore appointed governor — Arrival of Foy — Meeting of the assembly — Rebuke of Dunmore — His tart reply — Committee of correspondence organized — A continental Congress suggested — Journey of Dunmore to the Ohio — Appoints Conolly Indian agent — His designs unfolded — Troubles with Pennsylvania — Action of the Virginia council — Cargoes of tea sent to the colonies — Proceedings in consequence— Destruction of tea at Boston — Its port closed — Action of Vii'ginia — The continental Congress — Indian war on the frontier — An army raised — March of Dunmore — Colonel Lewis encamps at Point Pleasant — Battle of Point Pleasant — Suspicious conduct of Dunmore — Negotiations for peace — Speech of Logan — Approaching crisis — Battle of Lexington — Dunmore conveys the powder from the magazine at Williamsburg — Henry marches upon the capital — An assembly convened — Flight of Dunmore 280

CHAPTER XXrV.

Adjournment of the Virginia Assembly — Continental Congress — Washington appointed commander-in-chief — Battle of Bunker's Hill — Movements of Dunmore — Battle at Great Bridge — Norfolk evacuated — Bombarded and burned — Meeting of the assembly — New constitution adopted — Declaration of Independence — Retreat of Dunmore — War at the north — Disastrous expedition against Quebec — Retreat of Washington across the Jerseys — Battle of Trenton and

2*

Princeton — Campaign of 1777 — March of Burgoyne from Canada — Capture of Ticonderoga — Surrender of Burgoyne — Movements of Howe — Battles of Brandywine and Germantown — Washington retires to Valley Forge — Treaty of alliance with France — Howe evacuates Philadelphia — Clinton retreats across the Jerseys — Battle of Monmouth — Arrival of a French fleet off the capes — An attack upon Newport projected — Its failure — Invasion of the southern states — Virginia plundered by General Matthews Page 293

CHAPTER XXV.

Clinton embarks for the south — Capture of Charleston — Gates appointed to command the southern continental army — His defeat at Camden — Leslie sent to Virginia — Greene supersedes Gates — Arnold in Virginia — La Fayette ordered to reinforce Steuben — General Phillips forms a junction with Arnold — Destruction of stores at Yorktown — Petersburg captured — Advance of Cornwallis — Battle of Cowpens — Retreat of Greene — Marches against Rawdon — Cornwallis reaches Petersburg — Expeditions of Simcoe andTarleton — March of Cornwallis to Portsmouth — Skirmish near Jamestown— The British army concentrated at York and Gloucester— Movements of the allied forces under Washington and Rochambeau — Arrival of the French fleet in the Chesapeake — Yorktown invested — Incidents of the siege — Capitulation of Cornwallis — Negotiations for peace 304

CHAPTER XXVL

Close of the war — Exhausted condition of the country — Cession of the public lands — Convention at Philadelphia — Adoption of the Federal Constitution — Opposition in Virginia— Origin of the Federalists and Republicans — Fears respecting the constitution — Repudiation of British claims — Opinion of Washington — Increasing prosperity of the Union — Difficulties with France — Alien and sedition laws — Madison's resolutions — Slavery — Fears of Virginia — Acts passed in relation to — Difficulties with England — English and French decrees — Commercial distress — Declaration of war — Patriotism of Virginia — Peace proclaimed — Revisions of the constitution— Servile insurrection — War with Mexico — Past condition of Virginia — Present prospects — System of internal improvement — Relation of Virginia to the states 318

HISTORY OF YIRGIIIA.

Chapter I

Early English explorers — John and Sebastian Cabot discover North America — Voyage of Sebastian Cabot — Voyage of Frobisher — Coligny founds a colony of Huguenots in Florida ' — The colonists massacred by the Spaniards — Retaliation of De Gourguis — First project of an English colony — Sir Walter Raleigh — Studies the art of war under Coligny — Returns to England — In favour with Queen Elizabeth — Obtains a patent to colonize America — Voyage of Sir Humphrey Gilbert — His shipwreck and loss at sea — Voyage of Amidas and Barlow — Description of the island of Wokokon in Florida — Kindness of the natives — Colony founded at Roanoke — Deserted — Voyage of Sir Richard Grenville — Second settlement of Roanoke— Mysterious disappearance of the colonists — Death of Raleigh — Voyage of Newport — Character of the immigrants — Captain John Smith — His romantic adventures in the old world.

No sooner was the great problem solved by Christopher Columbus, of immense and hitherto unknown regions beyond the Atlantic, than adventurers from the various maritime nations of Europe sought to profit by the discovery.

Among these, England, though not foremost in her explorations, was destined eventually to become the most distinguished.

On the 5th of March, 1496, John Cabot, a

Yenetian merchant, residing at Bristol in England, obtained from Henry YII. a patent, empowering him and his three sons to make discoveries in the eastern, western, and northern seas, and to take possession of all the countries thus newly found, in the name of the King of England, and under the protection of his banner. Under this commission, John and Sebastian Cabot embarked for the west, and on the 24th of June, 1497, discovered the continent of North America, in latitude bQ° north. This was some time before Columbus in his third voyage came in sight of the continent, and two years before Americus Vespucci sailed west of the Canaries.

It was from this expedition, by the Cabots, that England acquired the title to North America, which she afterward so successfully asserted.

In 1498, Sebastian Cabot ranged the same coast, from latitude 58° north to about 40° south, when finding himself growing short of provisions he returned to England.

Further maritime discoveries languished until 1576, when Martin Frobisher, under the patronage of the Earl of Warwick, fitted out a squadron for the purpose of attempting the discovery of a northwest passage to India. As he passed down the Thames, on the 8th of June, 1576, Queen Elizabeth waved her hand toward him in token of favour, and the admiral standing

1550.] HUGUENOT SETTLEMENTS. 21

on the deck of his flag-ship, responded to the courteous recognition of his sovereign.

The fleet of Frobisher consisted of three vessels, one of which was soon lost in a storm. The commander of the second ship, becoming alarmed, put back for England, leaving the gallant admiral to pursue his voyage alone.

After enduring the most terrible hardships, Frobisher reached the coast of Labrador, entered the bay now known by his name, took possession of the country in the name of his sovereign, and gathering some stones and rubbish from the shore, which were supposed to be impregnated with gold, returned in safety to England.

Sixteen years previous to this exploit of Frobisher's. Admiral Coligny, chief of the Huguenot party in France, made two several attempts to found a colony far to the southward, on a portion of that vast region which was then known to Spanish adventurers as Florida. The first attempt ended disastrously, through dissensions among the colonists themselves. The fate of the second colony was more awful still. Spain maintained her right to Florida, and despatched one Pedro Melendez, a man of brutal ferocity and infamous character, with a large military and naval force, to break up the Huguenot settlement, and hold possession of the country.

No sooner had Melendez reached the coast of Florida, than, sailing north, he discovered the

French fleet lying at anchor, and in answer to a demand made by the French commander of his name and objects, he replied :

" I am Melendez of Spain, sent hither with strict orders from the king, to gibbet and behead all Protestants in these regions. The Frenchman w^ho is a Catholic I will spare ; — every heretic shall die."

The French, unprepared for action, cut their cables and fled. Melendez then returned to the harbour of St. Augustine, and after taking possession of the whole continent in the name of Philip II., marched overland against the Huguenot colony on the St. John's.

Fearing no danger, the unfortunate colonists were surprised and massacred in cold blood ; men, women, and children, about two hundred in all ! Of those who escaped into the woods, a part surrendered to the Spaniards, and were immediately murdered. Others succeeded in taking refuge on board a French vessel remaining in the harbour. Others again, who had escaped shipwreck on the coast, were soon discovered. Wasted by fatigues at sea, and half famished for want of food, they were invited by Melendez to rely on his mercy. They accordingly surrendered ; and as they stepped on shore, their hands were tied before them, and they were thus driven to St. Augustine like sheep to a slaughter-house.

As they approached the fort, a signal was

1564.] THE HUGUENOTS AVENGED. 23

given, the trumpet was sounded, and the Spaniards fell upon them. With the exception of a few Catholics, all were massacred ; " not as Frenchmen, but as Lutherans."

About nine hundred, including those previously slain, were thus sacrificed on the altar of religious zeal.

The French government, itself perhaps even then meditating the terrible massacre of St. Bartholomew, heard of the outrage and listened to its horrid details with the most heartless indifference. Not even a protest was made. Retaliatory vengeance, however, fell upon the bloodthirsty Spaniards from a quarter whence it was perhaps the least expected.

Dominic de Gourguis, a native of Gascony, and a bold soldier, burning to avenge the blood of his slaughtered relatives, and soothe the cries of his persecuted brethren, fitted out three ships, manned by one hundred and fifty gallant men, and embarked for Florida. A favourable breeze soon wafted him thither ; he landed immediately, and surprised two Spanish forts near the mouth of the St. John's. As terror magnified his numbers, and courage and revenge nerved his arm, he was enabled to get possession of the principal fort, near the spot where his relatives and friends had been previously massacred. Too weak to maintain his position, he weighed anchor immediately for Europe, having first hanged all his prisoners upon the trees, and placed over them this inscriptioiJ :

« I do not this as unto Spaniards, but as unto traitors, robbers, and murderers."

It was to this region, so fearfully drenched "with European blood, that the attention of an English gentleman was subsequently attracted as a fitting place of settlement for the first English colony.

About the time that the daring exploit of De Gourguis was creating a sensation in Europe, a young English gentleman left the university of Oxford, and passing over into France, prosecuted his studies in the art of war under the veteran Coligny. Being made familiar with the story of Spanish cruelty from the lips of those whose relatives had been thus wantonly murdered, and excited to a thirst for similar adventure by their glowing descriptions of the wonderful natural beauty of the land which had been thus savagely desecrated, Sir Walter Raleigh returned at length to England, filled with great projects by which he might win renown to himself and glory to his country. His flattering and chivalrous gallantry in spreading his rich cloak before the feet of his sovereign, so that she might pass a muddy space unsoiled, his handsome person, and the varied charms of his conversation, very soon commended him to the favourable regard of the vainest but ablest of English queens. Any pro*