The Land We Live In | Page 9

Marries the Indian Princess--A Key to
Early Colonial History--Women Imported to Virginia.
The lives of the hapless Huguenots who perished at the hands of
Menendez were, perhaps, not altogether wasted, for it is believed that a
refugee from the Port Royal colony, wrecked on the coast of England,
gave Queen Elizabeth interesting information about the temperate and
fruitful regions north of the Spanish territories and prepared her mind
to favor the projects of Sir Walter Raleigh. That bold and talented
adventurer, whose name will live forever in American annals, and
whose monument is North Carolina's beautiful State capital, is said in

the familiar story to have attracted the notice of Queen Elizabeth by
spreading his scarlet cloak over a miry place for the queen to walk upon.
He made rapid progress in the good graces of his sovereign, who was
quick to discern the men who could be useful to her and to her kingdom.
Sir Humphrey Gilbert, half brother to Sir Walter, had perished on an
expedition to found an English colony in America. A storm engulfed
his vessel, the Squirrel, and he went down with all his crew. Queen
Elizabeth graciously granted to Sir Walter a patent as lord proprietor of
the country from Delaware Bay to the mouth of the Santee River, and
substantially including the present States of Maryland, Virginia, North
Carolina and a large portion of South Carolina, with an indefinite
extension to the west.
Raleigh sent out an expedition of two ships under the command of
Philip Amidas and Arthur Barlow. They landed upon the coast of North
Carolina at mid-summer, in the year 1584. The scenery and climate
were charming, the natives hospitable and everything seemed to
promise well for future settlement. The adventurers reported to Raleigh,
who decided to plant a colony in the region visited by his vessels.
Queen Elizabeth herself is said to have given the name of Virginia to
her dominion, to commemorate her unmarried condition. Untaught by
the experience of American colonists from the days of Columbus, the
English settlers in North Carolina had the usual quarrel with the natives,
and were saved from the usual fate only by the timely arrival of Sir
Francis Drake on his return to England from a cruise against the
Spaniards. The colonists sought refuge on Drake's vessels and were
carried back to their native country.
Subsequent attempts of Sir Walter Raleigh to establish colonies in
North Carolina also failed, but these efforts were productive of at least
one important benefit in introducing to the attention of the English and
also of the Irish, the potato, which, although previously brought to
Ireland by a slave-trader named Hawkins, and to England by Sir
Francis Drake, attracted but little notice before it was imported by John
White, Raleigh's Governor of Roanoke. At Roanoke was born, August
18, 1587, the first white child of English parentage on the North
American continent, Virginia Dare, the daughter of William and

Eleanor Dare, and granddaughter of Governor White.
In the little wooden chapel, two or three weeks after the event, the
colonists assembled one bright day to attend the baptism and
christening of the little stranger. The font was the family's silver wash
ewer, and the sponsor was Governor White himself, the baby's
grandfather. Thereafter she was known as Virginia Dare, a sweet and
appropriate name for this pretty little wild flower that bloomed all
alone on that desolate coast. About the time that Virginia was cutting
her first teeth there came very distressing times to the colony. There
was great need of supplies, and it was determined to send to England
for them. Governor White went himself, and never saw his little
granddaughter again.
It was three years before the Governor returned to Roanoke Island. He
was kept in England by the Spanish invasion, and after the winds and
the waves had shattered the dreaded Armada, it was some time before
Raleigh could get together the men and supplies that were needed by
the far-off colony. At last the ship was ready and White took his
departure, but he had not sailed far when his vessel was overtaken by a
Spanish cruiser and captured. White himself escaped in a boat, and
after many days reached England again. Then he had to wait for
another ship, and the weary old man saw day after day go by before he
left the chalk cliffs of England behind him. After long, anxious months
he approached the new land. It was near sunset and he expected to see
the smoke rising from the chimneys and the settlers hurrying in from
the fields to eat their evening meal, or crowding down to greet the
long-looked for arrivals. But no such cheering sight met his gaze. There
stood the cabins, but they were deserted; not