CHAPTER III.

COLONIZATION OF VIRGINIA. EARLY HISTORY OF

North and South Virginia.

JAMESTOWN.

London and Plymouth Companies.

We have hitherto traced navigators on voyages of discov. ery, and followed men of various nations in their attempts to form permanent settlements in America. But now the period had arrived when these efforts were to be crowned with success, and places of refuge for the oppressed were founded in the western world.

The attention of many persons of intelligence and rank had become directed to Virginia; and Gosnold, after soliciting the concurrence of his friends for the establishment of a colony, prevailed upon John Smith, an adventurer of remarkable genius and great perseverance, in company with others, to consent to encounter the perils of an expedition. King James I favored the design of enlarging his dominions, and when a company of men of business and men of rank applied to him, he promoted the noble work by readily issuing an ample patent. He divided into two districts that portion of North America extending from the 34th to the 45th degree of latitude. One of these he called South Virginia, the other North Virginia; and formed two companies for planting colonies within their limits. The southern district he granted to a company resident in London and its vicinity, called the London Company; the northern district, to a company of merchants and others in the west, styled the Plymouth Company. Each was to own the soil extending fifty miles north and south of its first settlement, so that neither company could establish a colony

Departure of emigrants for Virginia.

within one hundred miles of the other. The present States of Virginia and North Carolina were comprised within the limits of South Virginia; and North Virginia embraced the New England States. The land was to be held on the condition of homage to the crown, and a rent of one-fifth of the net produce of the gold and silver, and one-fifteenth of copper, from the mines to be discovered. The right of coining money was granted to the colonists. The superintendence of the whole colonial system was confided to a council in England, appointed by the king; the local administration of each colony was entrusted to a council residing within its limits, to be named by the council in England.

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Not an element of popular liberty was introduced into the form of government. Religion was specially to be established according to the doctrine and rites of the Church of England. Kindness to the savages was enjoined, with the use of all proper means for their conversion." Early in the winter, on the 19th of Twelfth month, (Dec.) 1606, forty-one years after the settlement of St. Augustine, the company of adventurers, consisting of 105 men, set sail for Virginia. Among them there were but twelve la1606 borers,-few mechanics, and no men with families. The instructions to the council, with the names of its members, had been concealed in a box, which was not to be opened until the arrival of the vessels in Virginia; consequently no competent authority existed to repress the disorders which arose during the voyage. Newport, who commanded the ships, being acquainted with the old passage, by the way of the Canaries and the West Indies, lost much time in taking this course. When approaching the coast a severe storm carried the fleet beyond the Island of Roanoke, the original place of destination, into Chesapeake Bay, more than four months after

Landing and organization.

Powhatan.

their departure from England. The head lands of the bay received the names of Cape Henry and Cape Charles, in honor of the sons of King James. The country within the capes appeared to the emigrants as delightful as any they had ever beheld. They soon entered the river, called by the natives Powhatan, to which they gave the name of James, from their sovereign. After a search of seventeen days, they selected a site for the infant settlement, about fifty miles above the mouth of the river, and conferred on it the name of Jamestown.* The emigrants landed on the 13th of Fifth month, (May,) 1607. The box containing the instructions of the council in England, and the names of the local council, kav- 1607 ing been opened, that body became duly organized, and chose Edward Wingfield for their president. They then, as they had power to do, excluded Captain Smith from their number, on a charge of sedition, his superior abilities having excited their jealousy. He was, however, soon restored, his peculiar talents being required to restrain the insubordination and vices of the colonists.

A few huts were immediately constructed, and a part of the men were soon employed in felling timber, and in providing freight for the ships, while Newport and Smith, with a small party, ascended the James river, and visited the native chief Powhatan, at his principal seat, a village of twelve wigwams, just below the present site of Richmond. The king received them in a friendly manner, but his subjects feared the intrusion of the English.

In the early part of the summer, Captain Newport sailed for England. It was then the English began to realize their situation; in the midst of a wilderness, inhabited only by

*The place is now cultivated as a farm, and the only remaining relic left to mark the site of Jamestown is the ruin of an old meeting-house.

Hardships and discouragements.

Captain Smith.

1607 savages, their number small, and without habits of industry. The provisions brought with them from England were either consumed, or had been spoiled in the long voyage; the heat of the summer they found difficult to support; and so disheartened were they, that very soon after the departure of the fleet, scarcely any of them were able to work. They took no care to provide for their future subsistence, and planted no crops. Famine and sickness ensued. Before fall, one half of their number perished, and among them, Bartholomew Gosnold, the projector of the enterprise, a member of the council, and whose salutary influence in preserving harmony there, was much missed.

The management of affairs was now confided to Smith, whose courage and cheerfulness once more animated the colonists. His talents and personal activity, which, in more pros. perous times, had been viewed with jealousy, now, in adversity, excited regard and deference. It required much skill and tact on his part, to defeat the conspiracies which were formed to abandon the country; the danger of which continued to be great until the approach of winter rendered the home navigation perilous, and the fear of famine was removed by provisions received from the Indians, and the abundance of game with which the forests abounded. To explore the country, frequent excursions were made into the interior. In one of these, the party was surprised by the Indians, and all but Smith put to death. His life was preserved through selfpossession. Showing them a pocket compass, he interested them in the explanation of its properties; and in endeavoring to give them some general ideas of the nature of the universe, and the form of the earth, he excited their admiration. They allowed him to send a letter to Jamestown. The effect of the little paper increased their astonishment. He was evidently

His return from captivity.

Passion for gold.

a being of a superior order, but they were at a loss whether to regard him as a friend, or to dread him as an enemy. He was conducted to Powhatan, who would have put him to death, but for the intercession of his daughter, Pocahontas, an interesting girl of about ten or twelve years of age.

The Indians now endeavored to secure the friendship of Smith, and gain his assistance in the destruction of the colony at Jamestown. By his wisdom and prudence, he succeeded in averting their design; when they allowed him to leave with mutual promises of friendship. Thus the captivity of Smith was the means of establishing a peaceful intercourse between the colony and the Indians, and was of other advantage, as he had made himself acquainted with the country, and had gained some knowledge of the language and manners of the natives.

On his return, Smith found the colony reduced to forty 1608 persons; most of whom were making preparations to leave the country. With great difficulty he induced them to relinquish their design. In the spring, Newport arrived at Jamestown, with 120 emigrants and a quantity of provisions. The hopes of the colonists revived, but the character of those who had now joined them was not such as to add much strength to the settlement, being chiefly" vagabond gentlemen and goldsmiths," who, instead of attending to the cultivation of the soil as a means of their subsistence, only fostered a passion for gold. They fancied they had discovered grains of this metal in a glittering earth found near Jamestown, and notwithstanding the remonstrances of Smith, the energies of the colonists were at once directed to collecting this worthless earth and sending it to England.

The consequences were soon severely felt, in famine and disease. In the hope of obtaining some relief by opening an