contained ample authority for the defence of the new countries, the transport of settlers, and the exportation of provisions and commodities for their use.

Sir Walter selected for the command of his projected voyage two experienced officers-Captain Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlow-to whom he gave minute written instructions, and who sailed with two ships, well manned and provisioned, on the twenty-seventh of April, 1584. On the tenth of May they arrived at the Canaries; after which, keeping a southwesterly course, they made the West Indies; and, departing thence on the tenth of July, found themselves in shoalwater, discerning their approach to the lands by the delicious fragrance with which the air was loaded" as if," to use the words of their letter to Raleigh, "we had been in the midst of some delicate garden, abounding with all kinds of odoriferous flowers."

Arrived upon the coast, and sailing along upward of one hundred and twenty miles, they at length found a haven, and disembarked. Their first step was to take possession of the country in the name of the queen; after which they ascended a neighboring eminence, and discovered to their surprise that they had not landed on the continent, but on the island of Okakoke, which they found running parallel to nearly the whole coast of North Carolina. The valleys were finely wooded with cedars, around whose trunks wild vines hung in rich festoons; and the grape seemed so native to the soil, that the clusters covered the ground, and dipped into the sea. For two days no inhabitants were seen; but on the third a canoe with three men approached. One of them was easily prevailed on to come aboard, when the present of a shirt and some trinkets gained his confidence. On returning to his boat he began to fish, and having loaded it heavily, paddled back to the English, and, dividing his cargo into two parts, intimated that one was for the ship, and the other for the pinnace.

Next day they received a visit from some canoes, in which were forty or fifty men, among whom was Granganimeo, the king's brother. Having first rowed within a short distance, they landed on the beach; and the chief, attended by his suite, who were handsome and athletic persons, fearlessly approached opposite the ship. A long mat was spread for him, on which he sat down; and four men of his followers, apparently men of rank, squatted themselves on the corner. Signs were made for the English to come forward; and on doing so, Granganimeo desired them to sit down beside him, showing every token of joy and welcome, first striking his own head and breast, and afterward those of the strangers, as if to express that they were all brethren. Presents were exchanged; and such was the reverence with which these people treated their prince, that while he made a long harangue, they remained perfectly still, standing at a distance; even the four chiefs only venturing to communicate their feelings to each other in a low whisper. The gifts were received with delight; but on some trinkets being offered to the chiefs, Granganimeo quietly rose up, and, taking them away, put them into his own basket, intimating by signs that everything ought to be given to him, these men being no more than his servants-a proceeding to which they submitted without a murmur. A trade was soon opened, in which the strangers made good profit, by exchanging beads and other trifles for rich furs and skins. On exhibiting their wares, Granganimeo's eye fixed with delight upon a pewter dish, for which he conceived the strongest desire. It became his at the price of twenty skins; and, having pierced a hole in the rim, he hung it round his neck, making signs that it would serve as a breastplate to protect him against the arrows of his enemies.

It was now found that these people were engaged in hostilities with a neighboring nation, and that the absence of the king was occasioned by severe wounds lately received in battle, of which he lay sick at the chief town, six miles off. His brother, after a few days, again visited the English, attended by his wife and

children, coming aboard and partaking of a collation, which they seemed to enjoy. Their manners were remarkable for ease and civility. The lady was a handsome little woman, extremely bashful. She wore a leathern mantle, with the fur next her skin, and her hair, which was long and black, was confined in a band of white coral; strings of pearls, as large as peas, hung from her ears, reaching to her middle. Her children had ear-rings of the same precious material, while those of her attendants were of copper. Granganimeo was dressed much in the same fashion as his wife. On his head he wore a broad plate of metal; but, not being permitted to examine it, they were uncertain whether it was copper or gold.

A brisk trade now began with the natives; but no one was allowed to engage in it when the king's brother was present, except such chiefs as were distinguished by having plates of copper upon their heads. When this prince intended to visit the ship, he invariably intimated the number of boats which were to accompany him, by lighting on the shore an equal number of beacons. The navigators learned that about twenty years before their arrival, a vessel belonging to a Christian country had been wrecked on the coast, all hands on board perishing; out of the planks cast ashore, the people had drawn the nails and bolts, with which they had formed some edgetools, not having possessed any previous to this accident; but these were very rude, and their common instruments consisted of shells and sharp flints. Considering such imperfect means, their canoes were admirably made, and large enough to hold twenty men. When they wished to construct one, they either burned down a large tree, or selected such as had been blown down by the wind, and laying a coat of gum and resin on one side, set fire to it, by which it was hollowed out; after which they scraped and polished it with their shells; and if found too shallow, laid on more resin, and burnt it down to the required depth.

The soil of the country was rich, the air mild and salubrious, and they counted fourteen kinds of sweet-smelling trees, besides an underwood of laurel and box, with oaks whose girth was greater than those of England. The fruits were melons, walnuts, cucumbers, gourds, and esculent roots; and the woods were plentifully stocked with bucks, rabbits, and hares. After a short while, the adventurers, by invitation of the natives, explored the river, on whose banks was their principal town; but the distance to be travelled being twenty miles, they did not see the city. 'They reached, however, an island called Aonoak, where they found a village of nine houses, built of cedar, the residence of their friend Granganimeo, who was then absent. His wife, with whom they were already acquainted, received them with distinguished hospitality, running out to meet them, giving directions to her servants to pull their boats on shore, and to carry the white strangers on their backs to her own house, where she feasted them with fish and venison, and afterward set before them a desert of various kinds. These people were gentle and faithful, void of all deceit, and seemed to live after the manner of the golden age.

As the surf beat high on the landing they got wet, notwithstanding their mode of transport; but this inconvenience was soon remedied; a great fire being kindled, and their clothes washed and dried by the princess' women, while their feet were bathed in warm water. The natives expressed astonishment at the whiteness of their skins, and kindly patted them as they looked wonderingly at each other. During the feast, two men, armed with bows and arrows, suddenly entered the gate, when the visiters, in some alarm, took hold of their swords, which lay beside them, to the great annoyance of their hostess, who at once detected their mistrust. She despatched some of her attendants to drive the poor fellows out of the gate, and who, seizing their bows and arrows, broke them in an instant. These arrows were made of small canes, pointed with shell

or the sharp tooth of a fish. The swords, breastplates, and war-clubs, used by the natives, were formed of hardened wood; to the end of this last weapon, they fastened the horns of a stag or some other beast, and their wars were carried on with much cruelty and loss of life.

The name of the country where the English landed was called Wingandaeoa, and of the sovereign Wingina; but his kingdom was of moderate extent, and surrounded by states under independent princes, some of them in alliance and and others at war with him. Having examined as much of the interior as their time would permit, they sailed homeward, accompanied by two of the natives, named Wanchese and Manteo, and arrived in England in the middle of September.

Raleigh was highly delighted with this new discovery, establishing, in so satisfactory a manner, the results of his previous reasoning, and undertaken at his sole suggestion and expense. His royal mistress, too, was scarcely less gratified; she gave her countenance and support to the schemes for colonization, which he begun to urge at court, and issued her command, that the new country, so full of amenity and beauty, should, in allusion to her state of life, be called Virginia.

Not long after this, Raleigh received the honor of knighthood, a dignity bestowed by Elizabeth with singular frugality and discrimination, and, about the same period, the grant of a patent to license the vending of wines throughout the kingdom; a monopoly extremely lucrative in its returns, and which was probably bestowed by Elizabeth to enable him to carry on his great schemes for the improvement of navigation, and the settlement of a colony in Virginia.

Sir Walter now fitted out a new fleet for America, the command of which he gave to Sir Richard Grenville; the fleet consisted of seven vessels; part of these were fitted out at Sir Walter's expense, the remainder by his companions in the adventure; one of whom was Thomas Candish or Cavendish, afterward so eminent as a navigator, who now served under Grenville.

On the nineteenth of April the mariners reached the Canaries, from which they steered to Dominica in the West Indies, and landed at Puerto Rico, where they constructed a temporary fort. On the twenty-sixth of June, after some delays at Hispaniola and Florida, they proceeded to Wohoken in Virginia; and having sent notice of their arrival by Manteo, one of the two natives who had visited England, they were soon welcomed by their old friend Granganimeo, who displayed much satisfaction at their return. Mr. Ralph Lane, who had been invested with the dignity of chief-governor, now disembarked with one hundred and eight men, having as his deputy Philip Amadas, one of the original discoverers. Grenville does not appear to have been sufficiently impressed with the difficulties attending an infant colony in a new country; and, accordingly, after a short stay, during which was collected a valuable cargo of skins, furs, and pearls, he returned to England, carrying into Plymouth a Spanish prize, which he had captured on the homeward voyage, of three hundred tons burden, and richly laden.

The first survey of their new country delighted the English; and the governor, in a letter to Hakluyt, who appears to have been his intimate friend, informs him that "they had discovered the mainland to be the goodliest soil under the cope of heaven; abounding with sweet trees, that bring sundry rich and pleasant gums; and, moreover, of huge and unknown greatness: well peopled and towned, though savagely, and the climate so wholesome, that they had not one person sick since their arrival."

Lane fixed his abode on the island of Roanoke, and thence extended his researches eighty miles southward to the city of Secotan. He also pushed one hundred and thirty miles north, to the country of the Chesepians, a temperate

and fertile region; and northwest to Chawanook, a large province, under a mon、 arch named Menatonon. These proceedings, however, were soon interrupted by the threatening aspect of affairs at headquarters. Even before the departure of Grenville for England, an accident occurred, in which the conduct of the settlers appeared rash and impolitic. A silver cup had been stolen, and a boat was despatched to Aquascogok to reclaim it. Alarmed at this visit, the savages fled into the woods, and the enraged crew demolished the city and destroyed the cornfields. A revenge so deep for so slight an injury incensed the natives; and although they artfully concealed their resentment, from that moment all cordiality between them and the strangers was at an end.

Not long after, Menatonon and his son Skyco were seized and put in irons; but the monarch was soon liberated, while the youth was retained as a hostage for his fidelity. To all appearance, this precaution had the desired effect. But the king, although an untaught savage, proved himself an adept in dissimulation. Working upon the avarice and credulity of the English, he enticed them into the interior of the country by a flattering report of its extraordinary richness and amenity. He asserted that they would arrive at a region where the robes of the sovereign and his courtiers were embroidered with pearl, and the beds and houses studded with the same precious material. Menatonon described also a remarkably rich mine, called by the natives chaumis temoatan, which was situated in the country of the Mangaoaks, and produced a mineral similar to copper, although softer and paler.

By these artful representations, Lane was persuaded to undertake an expedition by water, with two wherries and forty men. Instead, however, of the promised relays of provisions, they found the towns deserted, and the whole country laid waste. Their boats glided along silent and solitary banks; and after three days, during which they had not seen a human being, their last morsel of food was exhausted, and the governor, now aware of the treachery of Menatonon, proposed to return. His men, however, entreated him to proceed, still haunted by dreams of the inexhaustible riches of the Mangaoaks' country, and declaring they could not starve as long as they had two mastiffs, which they might kill, and make into soup. Overcome by such arguments, Lane continued the voyage; but for two days longer no living thing appeared. At night, indeed, lights were seen moving on the banks, demonstrating that their progress was not unknown, though the observers were invisible. At last, on the third day, a loud voice from the woods suddenly called out the name of Manteo, who was now with the expedition. As the voice was followed by a song, Lane imagined it a pacific salutation; but the Indian seized his gun, and had scarcely time to warn them that they were about to be attacked, when a volley of arrows was discharged into the boats. The travellers now landed and assaulted the sava ges, who fell back into the depths of the wood, and escaped with little injury; upon which it was resolved to return to the settlement. On their homeward bound voyage, which, owing to their descending with the current was performed with great rapidity, they had recourse to the mastiff broth, or, as the governor terms it, " dog's porridge," and arrived at Roanoke in time to defeat a formidable

conspiracy.

The author of the plot was Wingina, who, since the death of his brother Granganimeo, had taken the name of Pemisapan. His associates were Skyco and Menatonon; and these two chiefs, pretending friendship, but concealing under its mask the most deadly enmity, had organized the plan of a general massacre of the colony. The design, however, was betrayed to Lane by Skyco, who had become attached to the English; and, aware of the necessity of taking immediate measures before Pemisapan could muster his forces, the governor gave instructions to seize any canoes which might offer to depart from the island.