A young people's history of Virginia and Virginians ...

Front matter

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

HOUDON'S 8TATUB OF WASHINGTON. IN THK CAPITOL.

Table Of Contents

Chapter. Page.

I. Columbus— Effect of His Discoveries— John Cabot- Queen Elizabeth— Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Humphrey Gilbert — Their Voyages . 9

II. The Fate of Raleigh— The Virginia Company— The First

Chapter I

COLUMBUS — EFFECT OF HIS DISCOYEEIES — JOHN CABOT — QUEEN ELIZABETH- SIR WALTER RALEIGH AND SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT — THEIR VOYAGES.

Columbus. — Before the time of Columbus the continents of North America and South America were entirely unknown to the people of the Old World, who supposed that Europe, ^ ^ -7^^ ^. <fp }]

r n

COLUMBUS LANDING ON THE BAHAMAS.

Asia a nd Africa, and the islands lying near their coasts, were the whole earth. In 149 2 Columbus, by

sailing westward across the Atlantic Ocean, discovered first the Bahamas, and subsequently the West India Islands, and on his third voyage the South American continent.

Effect of His Discoveries. — These discoveries by Columbus quickened the spirit of adventure among the maritime nations of Europe, each desiring to share in the wealth, as well as the glory, to be had in those new-found lands.

The Spaniards and Portuguese. — Italy furnished some of the best sailors, but the most active and enterprising

History of Virginia and Virginians.

JOHN CABOT.

nations were the Spaniards and Portuguese, between whom the Pope of Rome assumed to divide the New World. The former made many voyages along the southern coast of North America and conquered Mexico and Peru, but other nations were by no means idle and paid little heed to the Pope's orders.

The English. — In 1497 John Cabot, a native of Italy, but at that time a merchant of Bristol, in England, and his son, Sebastian, under a patent from King Henry VII., made the first voyage attempted by the English and discovered the North American continent off the sterile coast of Labrador. Sailing for some distance along its shores, he took possession of the country in the name of the King of England. This was fourteen months before Columbus ever saw the continent of America, and two years before the ship of Amerigo Vespucci, from whom it took its name, left a European port. England's Claim. — English vessels would sometimes visit the fisheries which, within seven years after the discovery by Cabot, had been established on the coast of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland by the hardy mariners of Britainy and Normandy in France, but no effort was made to settle the country for nearly a hundred years; nevertheless, the discovery by Cabot gave England a claim to a large portion of the North American continent, which she afterwards successfully asserted.

Drake's Voyage Around the World. — In 1579 Sir Francis Drake, an Englishman, passed through the Straits of Magellan, explored the Pacific coast and returned to Europe by way of the Cape of Good Hope, making the second voyage around the world, the first having been made by Magellan, a Portuguese navigator, in the service of 1520.

Queen Elizabeth. — In the month of January, 1558,

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.

Spain, m

-tft more than sixty years after the first voyage of Cabot, the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII., was crowned Queen of England. She was then twentv-five years of age, and her coronation was the occasion of great rejoicing among the English people, who hoped for a new era of peace and prosperity at home under her reign, and in this they were not disappointed.

Her Character and Government. — The queen's early years had been passed in virtual captivity, and her youth clouded

•ii 1_ J. 1 1 1 QUEEN ELIZABETH.

With many sorrows, but she showed a kind and forgiving spirit towards those from whom she had received much unkindness, and she managed the business of her government with equal prudence and wisdom. She encouraged agriculture, trade and navigation, and so increased her navy that she has been called ''The Queen of the Northern Seas." Her wise government was respected at home and abroad, and about her throne were gathered a group of the most remarkable men who figure on the pages of England's history.

Her Interest in Colonization. — Her reign is of peculiar interest to the student of Virginia history, because she it was who gave the first impetus and the greatest encouragement to those adventurous spirits who early turned the tide of emigration toward this State, which received its name in honor of the " Virgin Queen." Up to the date of Elizabeth's accession England had done but little in the way of discovery and had made no progress in the establishment of colonies. Spain and France had far surpassed her m these directions, and only a mischance prevented the establishment of a Spanish colony on James River, in which event the whole region would have owed allegiance to Spain instead of England, and our history and position to-day would be very different.*

*LucasDeAyllon, in 1526, began the settlement of San Miguel, it is said, on the very spot on which Jamestown was built. The death of DeAyllon, the rivalry and strife between his successors and sickness, so discouraged the colonists that the settlement was abandoned.

SIR WALTER RALEIGH.

Sir Walter Raleigh.— Among all the gallant band of knights and gentlemen who thronged the court of Elizabeth there was not one more attractive than Walter Raleigh. Handsome in person, his ready wit and his brave and resolute character soon won him the especial favor of the queen, who conferred upon him the honor of knighthood, and hence he is known in history as Sir Walter Raleigh.

His Introduction to the Queen. — j'/ There is a very pretty story told of his first introduction to Elizabeth, which illustrates his cleverness and the grace of his manners, which is worth remembering. At that time the streets of London were not what they are now, and it happened that one day as the queen was going with a gay company of knights and ladies to take her pleasure on the water, that she came to a muddy place which she could not pass without soiling her shoes. While she was hesitating what to do a young gentleman sprang forward and spread his cloak upon the ground, and the queen passed over it dryshod. Of course, she enquired the name of the gallant young cavalier, and learned it was Walter Raleigh. We are told that he ''spoiled a handsome cloak and gained many suits" at one and the same time, for, from that day, the queen showered favors upon him and would have made him one of her attendants.

First Expedition Under Gilbert. — But Raleigh's brave and adventurous spirit was not satisfied with the life of ease and idleness at court. His attention and interest had long been directed toward the western world, where, since Columbus's first voyage, in 1492, many new discoveries and settlements had been made. Together with his step-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, he besought the queen to give him the means to fit out an expedition which might claim for England a share in the ricli treasures to be found beyond the seas. She readily complied with his wishes and endorsed his plans, and in 1583 a fleet, under the command of Gilbert, set sail for the shores of America. Elizabeth sent him a jeweled anchor and a message of encouragement. He succeeded in reaching the island of Newfoundland, but his ships were soon afterwards scattered by a storm, compelling his return. His own vessel went down on the homeward voyage while he was endeavoring to cheer and encourage his people, reminding them that ''we are as near heaven at sea as on land," and bidding them ''be of good cheer."

Further Efforts. — Sir Walter was much grieved when he learned of the disaster, but he was not discouraged, and he immediately set about fitting out fresh ships for another effort. Indeed, most of his life was devoted to this object, and all of his private fortune was spent in attempts to establish English colonies in America. So many were his voyages, so tireless his efforts, and so unswerving his courage and devotion to this end, that he was called the "Shepherd of the Ocean."

Voyage of Amidas and Barlow. — It was in the summer of 1584 that two vessels, sent by him under the command of Captains Amidas and Barlow, reached the coast of what is now North Carolina. They were charmed with the beauty of the country, its magnificent forests, the luxuriance of its vegetation, and the abundance of its game. They were treated with kindness by the natives, who called their country Wingandacoa, or " Good Land," and returned to London filled with enthusiasm, and gave glowing accounts of the land and of its inhabitants. It was then that the name Virginia, or " Virgin Land," was bestowed upon the region they had visited, and for a long time this was the only designation by which America was known.

Lane's Colony. — In 1585, the year after the expedition under Amidas and Barlow, Raleigh sent out another, with a view of making a permanent settlement, under Ralph Lane, who was afterwards knighted by Queen Elizabeth, ks governor. Sir Richard Grenville, a brave sea captain, was placed in charge of the fleet, and landed the colony on Roanoke Island, in Albemarle Sound, on the North Carolina coast. Grenville did not remain long, but, leaving the settlement in the charge of Lane, he returned to England. There were no women with the party, and the men composing it set diligently to work to explore the mainland, and, like many who came after them, wasted much time in a vain search for gold. It was also generally believed that the western continent was very narrow, and they anxiously sought a way across it, in order to open up a new route to China and the East,

Search for the South Sea. — The Indians soon grew tired of their white visitors, and, being anxious to be rid of them, told Lane that the Roanoke River rose in the west so close to the sea-coast that its head-waters were salt; and he, believing the story, set out with most of his men to follow the stream to its source. Long before reaching it his provisions became exhausted, and only the courage of their leader stimulated his men to persevere. They had taken two dogs with them, and finally were reduced to eating these, boiling the flesh with sassafras leaves to season it. This was the last food obtainable, and when it was exhausted they were forced to turn their faces homeward. They reached Roanoke Island just in time to prevent the Indians from murdering the rest of their comrades.

Sir Francis Drake — Abandonment of the Colony. — About this time Sir Francis Drake, one of the most daring seamen of his day, who had returned from his voyage around the world only a few years before, came over from the West Indies to see how the colony fared. He found the colonists much disheartened, and furnished them with provisions and one or more ships to enable them to extend their discoveries, or, if necessary, to return to England. While he was still with them a violent storm arose, wrecked some of his ships and carried others out to sea. When the storm was over Drake devised plans for continuing the colony and for further discoveries; but the colonists, worn out and discouraged by their hardships, decided not to let escape them what might be a last opportunity of returning to England, and, embarking in one of Drake's vessels, they sailed for home with him. A few days after their departure a ship sent by Raleigh, laden with all the stores needed, arrived, but finding the settlement deserted, returned to England. About a fortnight later Sir Richard Grenville arrived with three well furnished ships, and, unwilling to lose possession, left fifteen men on the island to guard the rights of England.

Tobacco. — Sir Ralph Lane and his comrades were the first to introduce tobacco into England. They learned to smoke it from the Indians ; and it is said some of the first pipes used in England were made of walnut shells, with straws for stems.

Anecdote of Raleigh. — Sir Walter Raleigh adopted the practice, and many men and women of fashion followed his example. It is said that his servant, coming suddenly into the room where he was smoking one day, thought that he was on fire, and emptied a pitcher of ale over his head in an effort to extinguish the flames.

Second Settlement at Roanoke. — In 1587 Raleigh made another attempt to found a permanent settlement on Roanoke Island. This time he sent women and children as well as men, and they reached their destination in safety. They found the tenements deserted, the fort in ruins, the wild deer feeding on the rank vegetation of the gardens, while human bones scattered in the fields told that the men left by Grenville had fallen by the arrows and tomahawks of the Indians.

Virginia Dare. — The colony was in charge of John White, and soon after landing a female child was born, to whom was given the name of Virginia Dare. She was the first child of English parents born in America, and was a granddaughter of Governor White.

Disappearance of the Colony. — Soon after her birth her grandfather went to England for supplies for his people, but when he arrived there he found that country threatened by a Spanish invasion. Ships sent by Raleigh with supplies were captured or driven back, and when he returned, after an absence of three years, no trace of the colony could be found, except the word croatan carved on a tree. He had left behind him eighty-nine men, sev-

RUINS AT ROANOKE.

enteen women and eleven children, and not one of them was ever seen again. Their fate continues a mystery to this day. It was said that some of them afterwards found shelter among the Indians on the coast of North Carolina. This was never verified, and their story remains one of the saddest of the many tragedies of our history.

QUESTIONS.

1. What countries are called the Old World ?

2. How was the New World discovered ?

3. What was the effect of the discovery ?

4. What nations were most active ?

5. Tell of .John Cabot and his discoveries.

6. Who established fisheries ?

7. Where?

8. What country claimed a large portion of North America ?

9. Why ?

10. Who was Queen Elizabeth ?

11. Tell of her character and government.

12. What was she called ?

13. Why was Virginia so named ?

14. What nations had made most progress in establishing colonies ?

15. Who was Sir Walter Raleigh ?

16. Tell of his first meeting with the queen

17. Who was Sir Humphrey Gilbert ?

18. Tell of his voyage and fate.

19. How did this affect Raleigh ?

20- Whom did he send out, and when ?

21. Where did they go and what report did they make ?

22. AVhen and by whom was a colony landed on Roanoke Island ?

23. Who was in charge of the settlement ?

24. What did they set out to search for ?

25. Tell the result.

26. Who paid a visit to the colony, and what was the consequence ?

27. Who introduced tobacco into England ?

28. What anecdote is told of Raleigh ?

29. When did Raleigh make another effort at settlement, and with what result ?

Chapter II

THE FATE OF RALEIGH — THE VIRGINIA COMPANY — THE FIRST CHARTER — EXPE- DITION UNDER NEWPORT — SETTLEMENT AT JAMESTOWN — CAPT. JOHN SMITH.

Colonization Abandoned. — After the sad disappearance of little Virginia Dare and her kinsfolk and friends, many years passed before another attempt was made to settle Virginia. Sir Walter Raleigh having fruitlessly expended £40,000, a large sum in those days, was too poor to fit out any more ships, and Queen Elizabeth was too busy with a war with Spain, then the richest and most powerful country in the world, to pay any attention to the matter.

Fate of Raleigh. — The favor of princes is proverbially fickle, and, though Sir Walter fought with great bravery and distinction in this war, he was afterward so unfortunate as to incur the displeasure of the queen and her successor, King James, and was thrown into prison, where he remained twelve years before he was released. The rest of his life is a sad record of disappointments and misfortunes which fell so heavily upon him that he never again was able to accomplish anything in the way of colonizing Virginia, although he made more than one effort to learn something of the fate of his Roanoke settlers, but in vain. But he never lost faith in the future of the colony, and while a prisoner in the Tower said to Gosnold, ^' I shall yet live to see Virginia a great nation^ In 1618 King James I., to please the King of Spain, ordered him to be beheaded, and he was executed in the Tower. When he ascended the scaffold he felt the edge of the axe, and said : " This is a sharp medicine, but it is a sure cure for all diseases."

Death of Elizabeth.— In 1603 Queen Elizabeth died, and her cousin, James VI., of Scotland, became King James I., of England.

The Virginia Company. — While Raleigh was a prisoner in the Tower of London, some of the men who had been associated with him in his former enterprises organized themselves into a Virginia Company. Among those especially interested in the project were Bartholomew Gosnold, a brave sea captain who had formerly made an unsuccessful attempt to colonize New England. Associated with him were Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Somers and several other well known gentlemen, among them Captain John Smith, an English soldier.

The First Charter. — King James gave the enterprise his endorsement and drew up a charter for the government of the colony. This was the first charter granted in America, and by its terms two colonies were to be established in Virginia, a northern and a southern. The boundaries of the southern colony were to extend four hundred miles along the coast, half that distance north of the mouth of James River, and the same distance south, and to extend inland from sea to sea. The chief authority in the government of the colony was the King of England. The king himself appointed a council of thirteen in London who were to control and direct its affairs. There was also to be a Virginia council to act under the Jjondon Company.

Its Provisions. — The terms of the charter were in the main wise. The right of trial by jury was guaranteed the colonies, and efforts were to be made to Christianize the Indians ; but what you should chiefly note is the evident determination of the king to control and dictate the policy of the colony in all respects. His endorsement and approval limited its every action.

Character of King James I. — James was neither a wise nor a liberal monarch, and he was prepared to enforce his authority on his subjects at home and abroad with all the strength of his narrow and bigoted nature. It was this same course which, persevered in by his successors, at last brought about the war of the Revolution. The Virginians were -loyal and devoted to the crown of England until its oppressions and tyrannies became unbearable, and finally drove them to revolt.

The First Colonists.— On the 19th of December, 1606, three vessels, the Susan Constant, the God Speed, and the Discovery, under the control of the Virginia Company, and commanded by Captain Christopher Newport, set sail for America. The first of the three bore the little company which was to found the earliest permanent English settlement in the territory now known as the United States. The ships were very small, the largest being only one hundred tons burden and th,e smallest scarcely twenty. It was six weeks, owning to storms and contrary winds, ere they lost sight of the coast of England, and it was nearly four months before they landed in America.

A Long Voyage. — The sailors of that day were very ignorant and timid, and not many were brave enough to put to sea and sail directly across the Atlantic by a new and unknown route. They usually beat their way southward to the Canary Islands and thence to the West Indies, thus making their journey doubly long. April had come before they sighted the longed for shores and refreshed their weary eyes with the verdure and beauty of a Virginia landscape in the spring-time.

Driven Into the Chesapeake. — They had at first intended to settle upon that ill-fated Roanoke Island where their predecessors had perished, but a sudden storm arose and their frail vessels, helpless before it, w^ere driven into Chesapeake Bay, and to the headlands at its entrance they gave the names of the king's sons, calling them Cape Charles and Cape Henry. They discovered the mouth of a large river which they named in honor of King James, and the headland at its mouth they called Point Comfort, because it afforded a safe anchorage. Up this they sailed in search of a landing.

Landing at Jamestown. — On the 13th of May, 1607, they landed on a peninsula, about forty miles up the river. It is said they were influenced in their choice of this spot by the fact that the water was six fathoms deep and they could fasten their vessels to the trees on shore ; but, whatever the reason may have been, the selection was most unfortunate, for the spot though beautiful with forest trees, wild grapevines and blossoming shrubs and flowers, was low and unhealthy, and much of their subsequent suff'ering resulted from this cause.

The First Church. — Their first act on landing was to arrange for a place of worship. They stretched a sail from the boughs of two adjacent trees and made a sort of pulpit under it. Here they had religious services morning and evening. They felled trees and built themselves houses, and having named their settlement Jamestown, set to work to make themselves as comfortable as circumstances would permit.

Their Dangers. — There were two especial dangers which threatened the safety and prosperity of the colonists. One was the hostility of the Indians and the other was their own unfitness for the situation in which they found themselves.

Character of the Colonists. — In their ranks were men from every walk in life. There were knights and gentlemen, who thought that labor of any kind was a disgrace, and there were industrious craftsmen who desired to do their duty if they were properly directed. Some had come in search of treasure, some to convert the Indians, and some to conquer new territory for the king ; but all were unskilled in the work necessary to be done, and unprepared for the hardships to be endured. Industry, self-control, and consideration for the rights of others are virtues we should all strive to acquire and practice. These were lessons our colonists had yet to learn. But their greatest need was a competent leader, a man whom they could trust and respect, and him in time they found in Captain .John Smith.

Captain John Smith. — Smith's career, like that of many another English soldier of that day, had been full of adventure. He was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1580, was the son of a wealthy gentleman, and had received

CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH.

a good education. Being left an orphan at the age of fifteen, he was apprenticed to a merchant by his guardian, but becoming dissatisfied he ran away, and for two years his life was a series of romantic adventures in Europe, Asia, and Africa, where he fought under more than one flag and experienced both good and evil fortune. Among others to whom he offered his sword was Sigismund, Duke of Transylvania, then engaged in a fierce conflict with the Turks. After the fashion of the day. Smith dared his adversaries to single combat, and slew three Turkish soldiers who successively came out to break a lance with him. For this feat of valor he was knighted by Sigismund, who bestowed on him a crest bearing three Turks' heads.

His Imprisonment and Escape. — But his fortunes changed, and he was finally taken prisoner by his enemies, who put an iron collar about his neck and kept him at hard labor for many months. With characteristic daring he at length made his escape, and after many hardships reached England, where the wonders and riches of the New World were the all-absorbing topic of the day.

Joins the Virginia Company. — Smith entered into the project of establishing settlements in Virginia with enthusiasm, and, as we have seen, was among the first colonists to sail thither. He was now twenty-five years old, a soldier of fortune, eager for new fields of enterprise and glory. The Virginia Company promised both, and he promptly enrolled himself among its members.

His Character. — But John Smith was not merely a soldier and a fighter. He was also a writer of force and power, and a born leader of men. With his undaunted courage he combined an earnest purpose and a ready wit, which stood him in good stead in many personal dangers, and the best faculties of his mind and heart were to be devoted to the service of his comrades, among whom he soon took prominence as a leader. He had received no official appointment as such. Indeed, the colonists themselves did not know who would be their governor until after their voyage was ended.

The Virginia Council. — The names of the Virginia Council were, by the king's orders, sealed up in a box, which was not to be opened until their destination was reached. The box was opened on April 26th, and the names were found to be those of Captains Gosnold and Newport, Wingfield, Smith, Ratcliffe, Martin and Kendall.

Wingfield Made President. — These seven were to elect one of their number an annual president, and on May 13th Wingfield was chosen to fill that office. A most unwise selection it proved to be. Wingfield was utterly unfit for the position to which he was called. He was indolent, selfish, and cowardly, and envious of Smith, whose ability he could not fail to recognize.

Smith's Energy. — The latter was not a man to sit idly by when there was so much to be done, and before long took the lead as the master spirit of the enterprise. But for his courage and devotion the little band might have gone the way of that other on Roanoke Island, whose fate remains a mystery for all time.

QUESTIONS.

1. "Why did not Ealeigh send out more colonists ? 3. What was his fate ?

3. Who succeeded Elizabeth ?

4. Name some of the members of the Virginia Company.

5. Who drew up its charter and what were its terms ?

6. What was the character of Kiug James?

7. How many vessels were sent and under whose command ?

8. When?

9. By what route did they sail ?

10. When did they come in sight of Virginia ?

11. Where and why?

12. Where and when did they land ?

13. What was their first care ?

14. What special dangers threatened them?

15. Of what classes were the colonists composed ?

16. What was their greatest need ?

17. Tell about Captain John Smith.

18. What was his character ?

19. Who composed the first Council ?

20. Who was chosen president and what were his qualifications ?

21. What is said of Smith ?

History of Virginia and Virginians.

Chapter III. The Indians

INDIAN WEAPONS.

The Indians. — The settlers at Jamestown, as did those at Roanoke and elsewhere in the New World, found the

country inhabited by a race very

^'M^ %M j^^ ^^f<<^ different

from any of , the people of the Old World. This race Columbus had called Indians, because he supposed the land he had discovered was a part of the East Indies, and by this name they have ever since been known.

The Origin of the Indians. — How they got here, or when, or w^hence they came, nobody ^ ^- f knows; their origin is, and probably forever If y will be, unknown, for they had no written his-

/ ^^ tory, and one of their

traditions taught thatthey had sprung from the earth. Some think they reached America from

Eastern Asia, crossing Behr- indian mound in west vieginia. ing Straits, where the distance between the continents is least; but, if so, it must have been many centuries before the coming of the white men; and the Indian mounds found in many parts of the country, out of which have been dug pottery, bricks, and many articles of f

V household use unknown to the Indians, show that a race far more advanced in the arts of civilized life had occupied this country hefore them.

The Virginia Indians. — The Indians found in Virginia by the English belonged to the Algonquin family, one of the three great families which occupied the vast country south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River; the others being the Iroquois, on the north, near the Great Lakes, whom the English called the Five Nations (and afterwards, when joined by the Tuscaroras from North Carolina, the Six Nations), and the Mobilians or Maskokis, near the Gulf of Mexico and on the lower Mississippi. These were scattered over the country at wide intervals and were not very numerous, it being now thought that the number east of the Mississippi did not exceed 200,000.