aass_5a^ BookJlk^ u .'•J 1.1 ,. CI r-ri ', -r) !y v^/-. / j:*f 7 ■t^/r-^Xt il* t^* IV- I HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. BY JOHN HOWARD HINTON, A.M. WITH ADDITIONS BY SAMUEL L. KNAPP, ESQ., AND JOHN OVERTON CHOULES, D.D. % lefo eVxim, BROUGHT DOWN TO THE PRESENT TIME. TO 'WHICH ABB ADDED BIOGRIPHIES OF TOE SIGMS OF THE DECLIRITION OF iDEPElElE. r ^ — BT W. A. CRAFTS. BOSTON: T\^^LK:ER A^lSTD VIRTUE. 1861. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by SAMUEL WALKER, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. ^ 9-^ // INDEX. Abeaham, battle of the heights of, 176. Adams, John, the father of the American navy ; report in the legislature of Mas- sachusetts, 230. Adams's administration, 315. Adams, John Quincy, his speech to La- foyette, and the general's answer, 361. Adams, Samuel, excluded from the general pardon, after the battle of Lexington, 224. Alabama, admitted into the Union, 3.33. Alexandi'ia, surrender of, 340 ; retroces- sion of, to Virginia, 514. America, supposed early discoveries of, 11 ; hostilities commenced in 1775, 223. Amistad, slaver, case of, 438. Andre, Major, execution of, 281. Andros, despotic rule of, 66. Antinomian dissensions, 52. Appalachian Indians, war with, 149. Aqua Nueva, battle of, 471. Arnold, Benedict, treachery of,2S0 ; memoir of, 280 ; his conduct in the campaign of 1777, 265. Atlantic telegraph, 644. Augustine, Fort, expedition against, 148. Baltimore, battle near, 340. Bankrupt law, 450. Baptists, persecution of, 60. Barbary powers, humbled by the energy of the American navy, 326. Barlow's voyage of discovery, 20. Baum's defeat and death, with a minute account of the battle, 258. Bellamont, Earl, appointed governor of New York, 123; his death, 124. Benton, Thomas H., review of the Dred Scott decision by, 699 ; death of, 702. Berlin decree, effect of, 229. Bermudas, the, sold, 30. Biddle, of the navy, 231. " Black Warrior" affair, 581. Boston, first church founded in, 48 ; fust General Court at, 48 ; proclamation of William and Mary at, 67 ; the peace of Rvswick proclaimed at 72 ; riots at, 77 ; tumults in, occasioned by the Stamp Act, 190 ; tumults in, 198 ; convention at, 199 ; arrival of troops at, 199 ; afiray be- tween the troops and populace in, 203 ; convention at, 219 ; attacked by General Howe, 236. Boundary, north-eastern, 440. Boundarj', north-western, 459. Braddock's defeat at Monongahela, 167. Brandywine, battle of, 255. British Parliament, proceedings of, 192. Buchanan, James, inauguration of, 703. Buena Vista, battle of, 471. Bunker Hill, battle of, 226 ; monument, 356. Burgoyne, General, surrenders to the Amer- icans, 263, 283. Burr, Colonel, conspiracy of, 329. Cabot, voyage of, 12. Calef, Robert, the fearless exposer of the delusion of witchcraft, 69. Calhoun, John C, death of, 518. California, mineral wealth of, 510 ; admitted as a state, 523. Cambridge, introduction of printmg at, 54. Camden, battle near, 277. Campaign of 1757, 169 ; of 1758, 171 ; of 1759, 173; of 1776, 245; of 1779, 273. Canada, French settlements in, 163 ; ex- pedition to, in 1775, 231 ; evacuated by the American troops, 237 ; campaign in, 335 ; revolutionary attempts in, 437 ; ac- tion of United States, 437. Canonicus, Indian chief, sold lands to Roger Williams, 105. Carolina, North and South, history of, 139 ; charter granted to Lord Clarendon, 140 ; settlement of emigrants from Barbadoes, 140 ; constitution, 141 ; Dutch colony transferred to, 143 ; sanguinary warfare in, 281 ; several forts surrendered, 283. Caroline, Fort, taken by the S])aniards, 16. Caroline, steamer, seizure of, by British officers, 437. Cartier, voyage of, 13 ; his second attempt at discovery, 13. Cai'ver, John, the first governor of Plymouth colony, 42. Census taken in 1801, 322. Cerro Gordo, battle of, 473. Champlain, Lake, naval engagementon,253. Chapultepec, battle of, 495. Charleston, settlement at, 47 ; defeat of the British at, 240; siege of, 1780, 276. Chatham, Earl of, honored and esteemed in America, 171. Chesapeake Bay, Captain Newport first lands in, 25 ; builds Jamestown. 25. Chesapeake, frigate, attack on the, 329. Ctiippewa, battle of, 339. Cholera, in the United States; its progress and fatality, 382. Churubusco, &c., battle of, 486. Clay, Henry, candidate for president, 454 ; death of, 548. Cochrane, Admiral, declaration of blockade by, 339. Colonial government as instituted by King James, 24. Compact of the New England pilgrims, 42. Compromise of 1850, 522, 528. Concord, battle of, 223. Confederation, system of, adopted, 270. Congress, Provincial, their proceedings the day after the battle of Lexington, 224. Connecticut, history of, 83 ; Dutch settle- ments, 83 ; emigration from Massachu- setts, 83 ; hostilities of the Indians, 84 ; constitution of, 87 ; union of the colo- nies, 87 ; patent granted by Charles II., 88 ; Indian hostilities on the river, 89 ; penal enactments, 92 ; infringements on civil and religious liberty, 96 ; constitu- tion modified, 97. Contreras, &c., battle of, 484. Convent, UrsuHne, at Charlestown, de- stroyed, 439. Cornwallis, Lord, surrenders with his army, 287. Crampton, J. F., British minister, dis- missed, 627. Creeks, treaty with the, 364. Cuba, diplomatic correspondence relative to, 558 ; letter of Edward Everett to Lord J. Russell, relative to, 571 ; move- ment for the acquisition of, 582. Culpepper's insurrection, 143. Dearborn, in the campaign of 1777, &c., 264. Declaration of independence, 242; of rights, 216 ; of war against Great Britain, 1812, 333. Delaware, cession of, to the U. States, 329. Delaware, Lord, arrival of, in Virginia, 29. Denmark, negotiations with, 598. Detroit, surrender of, 178, 337. Dieskau, Baron, defeat of 167 ; mortally wounded in Johnson's fight near Lake George, 169. Dissenters persecuted, 49, 148. INDEX. Doctrines of South Carolina in regard to the construction of the Constitution of the United States, 385. Dorr, Thomas W., rebellion in Rhode Island, 447. Du Quesne, Fort, capture of, 173. Dwight, Colonel, officer at the taking of Louisbourg, 76. Eaton, General, his exploits in Derne, at the head of a handful of troops, 328. Eutaw, battle of, 284. Exeter, founded by Wheelwright, 80. Exploring expedition, 440. Falmouth burnt, 1775, 231. Fillmore, Millard, biographical sketch of, 515 ; inauguration of, 520 ; administra- tion of, 524 ; first message of, 529. Fire, great, in New York, 439. Florida, taken possession of, 354 ; attempts of the Huguenots to colonize, 15 ; In- dians in, 432. France, secret negotiation of the states with, 268 ; recognizes the independence of the states, 269 ; sends a fleet to their succor, 272 ; the United States declare war against, 318; measures in relation to indemnity claim from, 433. Fremont, John C, in California, 469 ; nom- inated for the Presidency, 028. French and Indian wars from 1756-1763, 163 ; causes of the rupture, 165. French spoliations, 513-593. French troops arrive in the United States, 279. Frenchtown, massacre at, 335. Frontignac, Fort, capture of, 173. Fugitive slave law, 523, 528. Garrangula, chief of the Five Nations, his speech, 120. Geary, John W., governor of Kansas, 626. Georgia, history of, 155 ; Indian chiefs visit England, 156 ; its advantages, 156 ; Spanish expedition against, 158 ; intro- duction of slaves, 159 ; insurrection in 1749, 160 ; sui-render their charter, 162. Germantown, battle of, 256. Gilbert obtains a charter of land in Amer- ica from Queen Elizabeth, 18 ; his equip- ments, 19 ; arrives at Newfoundland, 19 ; sails for the Isle of Sable, 19 ; is lost, with liis crew, in a storm, 19. Gorham, Colonel, officer at the taking of Louisbourg, 76. Gosnold, voyage of discovery of, 23. Gospel, success of, among the Indians, 58. - Government of the province of Massachu- setts Bay, 42. Greene, General, his military services and character, 285. Grenville's voyage to Virginia, 21 ; his second voyage, 22. Greytown, Nicaragua, bombardment of, 590. Gridley, Colonel, engineer of the works on Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, 125. Hamilton, Alexander, a writer in the Fed- eralist, 300. Harrison, William H., inauguration of, 442 ; death of, 443. Hartford convention, proceedings, 396. Harvard College, 54. Hawkins's unsuccessful attempt to find a north-west passage, 18. Hayne, Colonel, senator in Congress, great speech of his on the doctrines of the convention of South Carolina, 385. Hendvick, Indian chief, distinguished for his wisdom, fidelity, and bravery, 165. Henry, the celebrated Patrick, speech of, 188. Heyn, Dutch admiral, scours the sea of the pirates on the coast of America, 112. Hoyt, General, his account fully given of the battles immediately preceding the surrender of Burgoyne and his army to the American forces, 264. Hudson's voyage in 1609, 111 Hulsemann, Webster's reply to, 538. Hungary, letter of Austrian minister rela- tive to American sympathy with, 537. Hutchinson, Anne, her religious opinions, her trial, admirable defence, exile, and fate, 38. Illinois, admitted into the Union, 353. Iowa, admitted as a state, 513. Indians, Eliot's efforts to convert the, 57 ; success of the gospel among, 58 ; wars of, 81 ; wars in 1790, 306 ; characteristics of, 311; then' customs, 313; religion, 314; wars, 314 J number of, in the states, 316. Jackson, President of the United States ; his inaugural speech, 386 ; his proclama- tion against the " ordinance " of South Carolina, 387 ; review of first adminis- tration of, 428 ; second administration of, 431 ; removal of the deposits from the bank of the United States, 431. Japan, difficulties with, 534 ; expedition to, 534, 588 ; treaty with, 590. Jay, John, one of the writers of the Fed- eralist, 300. Jefferson, his administration, 320 ; retires 330. Johnson's fight near Lake George, 168. Jones's, Sir William, ingenious fragment of Greek history alleged to br from Polybius, 291. Kansas Indians, treaty with the, 365. Kansas, bill to establish the territory of, 578, 579 ; emigration to, 579, 625 ; first governor of, 580 ; fraudulent election in, 594, 603, 624 ; disturbed state of, 595, 597,601,603, 624 ; change of governors, 596, 626 ; free state party in, 596 ; To- peka constitution framed, 597 ; state gov- ernment prospectively organized, 602 ; agitation of the country relative to af- fairs in, 605 ; speech of senator Sumner upon, 605-624 ; its consequences, 624. Kane, Dr., ai-ctic expedition, 598. Kidd, Captain, piracies of, 123. King, W. R., death of, 569. Know-Nothing party, 591. Kossuth, reception of, 545. Koszta, Martin, release of, 576. La Fayette arrives in America, 355 ; de- parture from AVashington city, 363. Laudonniere's expedition to Florida, 13 ; his fleet destroyed in a storm, 15. Leisler usurps the governorship of New York, 120 ; is executed, 121. Lexington, battle of, 223. Liberties, body of; synopsis, 55. Londonderry settled, 82. Long Island, the Americans defeated in, 246. Lopez, expedition of, against Cuba, 516. Los Angelos, capture of, 469. Louisbourg, expedition against, 75 ; taken, 76; second capture of, 171; taken by the forces from New England, 76. Louisiana, purchased from France, 323.; operations of the British in, .341. Lyman, General, second in command in Johnson's fight near Lake George, 168. Madison, one of the authors of the Fed- eraUst, 300; administration of, 331. Maine, submits to Massachusetts, 60 ; ad- mitted into the Union, 354. Manufactures, 159 ; state of, in 1789, 159 ; account of, 1810, 160; imposition of ad- ditional duties in 1816, 161 ; further in- crease in 1824, 161 ; proceedings in Congress, 1828, 162 ; general manufac- tures, 169 ; rise and progress in Amer- ica, 345. Maryland, history of, 136 ; granted by Charles U. to Lord Baltimore, 136; rapid progress of, 137 ; first assembly, 137 ; persecution of the Catholics and Quakers, 138; separated from Delawai-e, 139. INDEX. lU Massachusetts, history of, 39 ; early at- tempts at settlement, 40 ; immigration of Puritans, 41 ; progress of the col- ony, 46 ; Gorges appointed governor of New England, 46 ; extensive immi- gration, 47 ; disfranchisement of dis- senters, 49 ; fii'St representatives, 50 ; large accession to the colony, 52 ; An- tinomian dissenters, 52 ; printing in- troduced, 54 ; laws of, 55 ; required to deliver up their charter, 60 ; confederacy of the Indians, and commencement of hostilities, 64 : the colonists raise an army and disperse them, 65 ; hostilities of the French and Indians, 67 ; first paper money issued, 67 ; new charter granted, 67 ; the governor opposes the assembly, 73 ; defensive preparations of the colony against France, 75 ; disturbances arising from the currency question, 70 ; immi- gi'ation from Germany, 70 ; proceedings of the house of representatives in 1765, 189 ; in 1768, 196 ; provincial congress of, 219 ; insurrection in 1786, 302. Mexico, war with, 456, 461 ; battles of, 484-497 ; city of, taken, 498 ; treaty of peace with, 502 ; boundary between United States and, 580. Military stoi-es taken at sea by the Ameri- cans, 234. Minnesota, admission of, as a state, 645. Minuit, governor of New Netherlands, his embassy to the Plymouth colony, 1627, 113. Mississippi, admitted into the Union, 353. Missouri, admitted into the Union, 354. Missouri compromise, 528 ; repeal of 578. Molino del Key, battle of, 492. Monmouth, battle of, 271. Monroe, James, administration of, 349 ; death of, 430. Montcalm, his epitaph, 177. Monterey, capture of, 467. Montgomery, General, death of, 233. Montreal, expedition against, 122 ; cruel- ties of the French and Indians, 123 ; surrender of, 178, 232. Morgan, in the campaign of 1777, 264. Mormons, difficulty with, 439. Mugford, a naval hero of the revolution, 231. Native-American party, 449, 591. Navigation Act, English, 36 ; insurrection against, in Virginia, 37 ; in Massachu- setts, 64. Navy, an historical sketch of, 325. Nebraska, bill to organize the territory of, 578 ; governor of, 579. Newburg Letters, an insurrectionary movement in the army at the close of the revolutionary war ; Washington's address on the occasion, 295. New England, 333 ; state of, 55 ; union of the colonies, 55 ; commissioners ap- pointed by Charles II. to visit, 64 ; com- plaints against the colonists of, 66 ; ex- pedition of France against, 75. Newfoundland, taken possession of by Sir H. Gilbert, 19. New Hampshire, history of, 79 ; union with Massachusetts, 80 ; Indian wars, 81. New Haven, settled, 86. New Jersey, history of, 127 ; conquered by the Dutch, and surrendered to the English, 128 ; government of Andros, 128; his tjTannical proceedings, 128; ■ first assembly, 129 ; the proprietorship purchased by Penn, 129 ; character of, 129. New London, destruction of, 288. New Mexico, taking of, 469 ; applies for admission as a state, 517, 525. New Netherlands, granted by Charles II., 116. New Orleans, defence of, 341. Newport, 110. New York, history of, 111 ; granted to the Dutch West India company, 112; ex- tend their settlement, 112; the English and Dutch unite in a war against the Indians, 112; the English conquer the Dutch, 116; state of the colony, 118; English government instituted at, 118; taken by the Dutch, 119 ; restored by the treaty of peace, 119; expedition against the Five Nations, 119 ; added to the jurisdiction of New England, 120 ; efi"ects of the revolution of 1688 at, 120 ; contests between the governor and as- sembly, 125 ; various administrations, 126 ; state of, in the middle of the 17th century, 127 ; petitions of the assembly of, 186 ; convention of colonial dele- gates at, 189 ; the governor burnt in effigy, 191 ; abandoned in 1776, 250. Niagara, Fort, destruction of, 169 ; again taken, 174. Nicaragua expedition, 594. Nova Scotia, successful attack on, 166. Oregon, northern boundary of, 459. Osages, treaty with the, 365. Ostend conference, 583. Pakenham, General, death of, 342. Palo Alto, battle of, 462. Paris, peace of, 179. Patent Office, destruction of, 440. Peace, treaty of, in 1783, between the United States and Great Britain, 293 ; in 1815, 346. Penn, William, memoir of, 130. Pennsylvania, history of, 130 ; early set- tlement of the Swedes, 130 ; subjugated by the Dutch, 130 ; granted by Charles II. to William Penn, 131 ; origin of the name of, 131 ; government of, 131 ; penal code, 132 ; rapid extension of, 136 ; re- treat of the Americans from, 251 ; in- surrection in, 308. Pension, provided for certain officers of the revolutionary army, 380. Pepperell, Sir William, commander of the American troops at the taking of Louis- bourg, 1745, 76. Philadelphia, founded, 133 ; first general congress at, 215 ; taken possession of by the British, 256 ; Native American and Roman Catholic riot, 449. Philip, Indian insurrection under, 64 ; his death, 65. Phipps, his expedition against Canada, 67. Pierce, Franklin, inauguration of, 568. Pilgrims, their sufferings and character, 43. Pirates, encouragement given to, 144. Pitt, William, character of, 171. Plattsburg. the British defeated at, 340. Plymouth, fortified, 46 ; Dutch trade at, 47. Pocahontas, romantic story of, 26 ; Indian princess, the preserver of the infant col- ony of Virgina ; her life and character, 30. Polk, James K., election as President, 454. Poor, Gen., a pioneer in many battles, 265. Port Royal, taken by the English, in 1710, 73. Portsmouth, first assembly at, 81. Preble, gallant conduct of, in the war with the Barbary powers, 336. Prescott, hero of Bunker Hill, 226. Princeton, battle of, 254. Printing press, first, in America, 54. Privateering, negotiations concerning, 635 ; rules proposed at Paris, 636 ; Mr. Mar- cy's letter, 636. Proclamation from President Jackson, stat- ing his views of constitutional law, in opposition to the doctrines assumed by the convention of South Carolina, 398. Pulaski, death of, 274. Puritanism, sketch of. 40 ; persecuting tenet of, 49. Putnam, in the battle of Bunker Hill, 226. Quakers, conduct and sufi'ering of the, 61 ; public opinion against it, 62. Quebec, expedition against, 174 ; surren- ders, 178; act, 211 ; attack on, 233. Quinnipiack, purchased by Davenport, 86 iT rNTDEX. Reciprocity treaty, with Great Britain, 588. Reeder, governor of Kansas, appointment of, 580 ; removal, 596 ; his course, 601. Resaca de la Pahna, battle of, 463. Resolute, British bark, salvage and return of, 599. Revival of religion promoted by the visits of Whitefield and Wesley, 94. Revolution, American, 150. Rhode Island, history of, 105 ; government, 109; new charter, 109; college. 111. Ribault, his expedition to Florida, 15 ; is massacred, 16. Rice, introduction of, 147. Right of search, claimed by Great Britain, 329. Robinson and his church leave Leyden for America, 42 ; settle at Plymouth, 45. Rolfe's marriage with Pocahontas, 30. Rowley, settlement of, by Yorkshire cloth- iers, .34. Sackett's Harbor, unsuccessful attack on, 336. Salem founded, 47. Salisbirry, settlement at, 54. Saltillo, battle of, 471. Santa Fe, Gen. Kearney's expedition to, 468. Sai'atoga, encampment of Burgoyne at, 259. Saybrook, synod at, 91 ; form of church government, 92 ; descent of the British en, 339. Schenectady, destruction of, 121. Scott, Dred, ease stated, 645 ; opinion of Supreme Court on, 646-699 ; examina- tion of, by T. H. Benton, 699. Scott, General W., campaign in Mexico, 472 ; proclamation to the Mexicans, 477 ; nominated for the Presidency, 551 ; breveted lieutenant-general, 593. Shannon, Wilson, governor of Kansas, 596, 625. Shirley, General, operations of, 168. Slavery question, view of, 526 ; discussion of in the message of President Pierce, 629 ; review of, by T. H. Benton, 701. Smith, exertions of, in founding James- town, 26 ; is taken prisoner by the In- dians, 26 ; is released, and discovers the source of the Chesapeake, 26 ; made president of the colony, 27 ; returns to England, 28. Smithson, Samuel, bequest of, 439. " Soniers," U. S. brig, mutiny, 448. vSons of Liberty, association of, 191. Soto, expedition of, in 1539, 14. Soule, P., minister to Spain, his course, 582. Southern commercial convention, 591. Spain, treaty with, 309 ; difficulties with, 581. Stamp Act, 190 ; repeal of, 193. Sterrett, captured the first Tripolitan ship in the war with the Barbary powers, 328. Stillwater, actions near, 260. Stony Point, stormed by General Wash- ington, 275. Sumner, Charles, his speech in U. S. Senate, 1850, 605; assault upon, 624. Synod, called at Cambridge, Massachusetts, for the trial of Mrs. Hutchinson, 52. Tarleton, defeat of, at Cowpens, 282. Taylor, Zachary, campaign of, in the Mexi- can war, 463 ; inauguration of, 515 ; death of, $20. Tea sent to the United States, 208 ; de- stroyed at Boston and other places, 209. Texas, recognition of, 440 ; annexation of, 451,457. Ticonderoga, Fort, unsuccessful attack on, 172 ; taken by the English, 174. Tobacco, cultivated in Virginia, 32. Trenton, 403 ; battle of, 252. Trial of the witches in New England, 69. Tri])oli, bombarded by the fleet of the United States, 324. Trist, N. P., mission of, to Mexico, 475. Tucker and Talbot, naval heroes of the revolution, 231. Tyler, John, inaugurated, 443 ; administra- tion of. 445. Utah, organization of the territory of, 517. Van Buren, inaugurated, 435 ; address, 435. Vera Cruz and San Juan de Ulloa, surren- der of, 473. Verazzani, expedition of, 12. Vessels, number of, taken from the British during the revolutionary war, 230. Victoria City, taking of, 470. Virginia, history of, 20 ; partly colonized by Sir W. Raleigh, 22 ; permanent col- ony, 25 ; second charter of, 27 ; disas- trous state of the colony, 28 ; third char- I ter, 30 ; divided into proprietorships, 31 ; j tjTanny of Captain Argal, 32 ; Sir G. Yeardley appointed governor, 32 ; con- I vokes the eighteenth assembly, 32 ; cul- prits transported hither, 33 ; proceed- ings in England against the colony, 34 ; dependent on the crown, 34 ; state of, during the commonwealth, 35 ; Naviga- tion Act, 36 ; insurrection against it, 37 ; suppressed, 37 ; various governors, 38 ; resolutions of the House of Burgesses, 188 ; proceedings of the House of Bur- gesses, 208 ; convention and declaration, 212; descent of the British on, 274. War, with Indians under Tecumseh, 338 ; with Mexico, 456. Ward, Artemas, general and commander- in-chief of the provincial army, before the appointment of George Washington, 225. Warren, Joseph, who fell in the battle of Bunker Hill, his life and character, 226. Washington, city of, burned, 340. Washington, Fort, capture of, 351. Washington, General, early operations of, 166 ; his prudence in the command of the army, 237 ; bold operations of, and bat- tle of Trenton, 253 ; resigns his com- mand of the army, 297 ; his administra- tion, 301 ; his farewell address, 310 ; ITe retires to Mount Vernon, 315 ; his death, 319; memoii- of, 319; his literary ac- quirements. 298. Webster's eulogy on Adams and Jefferson, 365 ; reply to Col. Hayne, 399 ; letter to governor of Texas, 520; reply to Mr, Hulsemann, 538 ; death of, 552. Wesley, John, visits Georgia, 156. Wessagusset, Weston's settlement at, 46. Whitefield, George, visits New England, 94 ; Georgia, 157 ; life of, 159. William and Mary College, Virginia, 39. William Henry, Fort, destruction of, 170. Williamsburg, meeting of delegates at, 213. WiUiams, Colonel, killed in Johnson's fight, 169. Williams, Roger, persecuted and banished from Massachusetts, 50 ; his character, 51 ; memoir of, 108. Wilmot proviso, 514. Wisconsin, admitted as a state, 514. ■Witchcraft, in New England, 68 ; trials and executions for, 69. Wolcott, major-general in war of 1745 ; at the taking of Louisbourg, 76. Wolfe, General, death of, 176. Wollaston, establishment of Mount, 46. Wompam, Indian money, how obtained, 112. WoodhuU, General, life, services, and trag- ical death of, 247. Yale College, founded, 90 ; general synod at, 90 ; expulsion of students from, 96. Yamassee war, 149. Yorktown, attacked and carried, 287. The history of the United States presents a marked contrast with that of the nations and countries of the old world. The latter, commencing in the shadowy traditions of re- mote ages, comes down from barbarism or semi-civilization, through the slow progress of many centuries. The former, commencing less than three centuries back, when the civilized world had just emerged from the " middle ages," and a new life was infused into its material, intellectual, and moral condition, comprises the period of man's greatest prog- ress in each of these conditions, and exhibits the wonderful growth of a nation planted on a new soil, and under the new influences of the modern ages. Previous to the settlement of the country by European colonists, the history of America, and especially of the part comprised within the limits of the United States, is a blank page, on which it is hardly possible to write even the most vague traditions. Within the tropics the inhabitants were more advanced towards civil- ization ; and ruins found in those regions, and extending more or less to the north, indicated, according to the views of some, a still greater degree of civilization, in some previous age, on the part of a people who had been forced to yield to the fiercer barbarism of the north. But all that is known of the previous history of these people is fi'om uncertain traditions, and the unreliable stories of the old Spanish writei's who came over with the early expe- ditions to Mexico. That any colony was established in this country by Northmen, or that the continent was discovered by them in the eleventh cen- tury, as is claimed by some Danish writers, is as uncertain as the traditions of the abo- rigines. It is said that thej not only explored the Atlantic coast from Labrador to Carolina, but that they made a settlement in the south- eastern part of New England, to which country they gave the name of Vinland ; and the mys- terious inscriptions on the "Dighton Eock," in Massachusetts, and even the old building at Newport, in Ehode Island, are considered by some as evidences of the presence and set- (5) 6 INTRODUCTION. tlement of these early explorers. The whole story, however, rests on narratives obscure in meaning, which recite the exploits of old vi- kings, the heroes and demigods of northern mythology, and the location of these exploits is mere conjecture. But if the supposition were ti*ue, the adventurers could have formed only a temporary lodgment, all tx'aces of which disappeared long before the actual set- tlement of the country, unless the inscriptions and structure alluded to are indeed the work of their hands. At the time of the establishment of settle- ments by the Europeans, the whole country was a vast wilderness, for the most part cov- ered with a dense forest, except where at the west it opened into the wide prairies, or still farther west, where the wild and desert plains extended to the mountain ranges, presenting the same appearance as now. This vast extent of country was held, though scarcely occupied, by the Indian tribes, who were scattered over it very sparsely, and ranged the interminable forests in pursuit of the game which was sufficiently abundant to supply their wants. The greater part of the aborigines, comprising the largest and most powerful tribes, were east of the Mississippi. The entire number of these has been esti- mated to be between two and three hundred thousand. This number, to occupy so large a territory, it will be seen, is very small, and the country may well be considered to have been an unpeopled wilderness. A brief glance at these Indian tribes, as they existed at the period of the settlement of the various parts of the country, and as they came in contact with the white man, may not be inappropri- ate in this place, before the reader enters upon the history of events with many of which they were connected. The various tribes so closely resembled each other in features, color, general appear- ance, and customs, that to the early settlers they seemed to be all of one family, notwith- standing there might have been some slight differences in the customs, dress, and minor characteristics of those living in different parts of the country. But the investigations of those who have made the aborigines a study have led to the grouping of the numerous tribes into eight great families, the whole or portions of each of which have been found east of the Mississippi. The Algonquin was the largest of these families, and embraced a great number of tribes, including most of those connected with the history of the early settlers. It occupied nearly half of the territory east of the Missis- sippi, and extended even north of the St. Law- rence, and in numbers it probably exceeded all the other families combined. Among the tribes of this family were the Abenakis, the Pautuckets, the Massachusetts, the Pokano- kets, the Narragansetts, the Pequots, and the Mohegans, of New England ; the Manhattans of New York ; the Lenni Lenape, or Dela- wares, the Susquehannas, and the Nanticokes of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland ; the Powhattans of Virginia, and the Pamlicos of South Carolina; and west of the Allegha- nies, the Ottawas, the Chippewas, the Miamis, the Illinois, and the Shawanoes. This list, however, comprises only a part of the tribes, many smaller ones being scattered about among the larger. The Lenni Lenape, or Delawares, were the central tribe of this widely-extended family, and their name, which signifies aborigines, is supposed to distinguish them as the parent stock of the Algonquins. The common characteristic which marked these various tribes as of one family, was their language, which was spoken, though in different dialects, by all. But though their relationship has thus been established by the researches of the civilized student, long after the glory of the race had departed, many of these tribes were frequently at war with each other, and seemed to have no ties of relation- ship whatever, but rather traditional causes INTRODUCTION. for hatred and hostility. Some of the smaller tribes in this way became extinct, or by their increasing weakness were at last absorbed into some more powerful tribes of their allies. The next most important family was the Iroquois, or Huron Iroquois, as they are some- times designated, who occupied the western part of New York and a portion of Canada north of Lakes Ontario and Erie. The Iro- quois proper were composed of five tribes, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas, who were united in a remarka- ble confederacy, and were called by the Eu- ropeans the Five Nations. The Hnrons and the Eries were the other principal tribes of the Huron Iroquois family. The Five Na- tions occupied the central and western part of New York. They were distinguished above many other tribes for their intelligence as well as warlike qualities. Their confederacy was maintained with the greatest care for many years, and this union gave them a strength exceeding that of any of the single tribes with whom they were from time to time at war. They had encroached upon the territory of the Lenni Lenape, and in a great measure subdued that tribe, which is supposed once to have been the most powerful of the Algonquin fixmily. They were surrounded by the Algonquin tribes, but they maintained their position and extended their possessions, until, in common with the whole Indian race, they were compelled to retreat before the white man. The Five Nations afterwards be- came the Six Nations, (by which name they are known in their later history,) by the mi- gration of a kindred tribe, the Tuscaroras, who had established themselves far to the south, in Carolina and Virginia. The Mobilian family, from the extent of territory occupied, is the next most important group of tribes. It extended over the south- em portion of the country, from Carolina to the Mississippi, including Florida and the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. In this family were 2 the Creeks, the most powerful of the southern tribes, who maintained a confederacy with neighboring tribes similar to that of the Iro- quois, and were thus more formidable not only to their native foes, but to the white man. The Seminoles, with whom the Creeks were allied, and with whom the last contest be- tween the Indian and the white race east of the Mississippi was maintained, also belonged to the Mobilian family. The other tribes were either small or came little in contact with the settlers. The three families above named occupied the greater part of the territoBy comprising the United States east of the Mississippi j but there were other tribes which have been as- signed to distinct flimilies. Among these were the Winnebagoes, who occupied lands -on the western shore of Lake Michigan, and who belonged to the Dahcotah ftimily. This fam- ily was, with the exception of the Winne- bagoes, and perhaps one or two other small tribes, composed of tribes living west of the Mississij^pi, and known in the more recent history of the western progress of civilization. The lowas, Osages, Kansas, and other tribes whose names are still familiar, belong to the Dahcotah family. The Catawbas and the Uchees, said to have been once powerful tribe.s, but never formida- ble since known to the whites, are also con- sidered distinct families, the language of the latter being extremely harsh and guttural. The Cherokees occupied the mountain ranges of the central part of the country, compris- ing portions of what is now the States of Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, and probably Virginia and North Carolina. They were origi- nally a hardy and formidable tribe, and have since become more civilized than other of the native tribes, while they have also shown a re- markable exception to the general rule, and have really flourished and increased in numbers under the influence of civilization. The Natchez, in- habiting a territory immediately east of the INTRODUCTION. Mississippi, are supposed to have migrated from Mexico after the conquest by Cortez. • The four last named tribes are sometimes grouped in the Moljilian family, and the divis- ion into more than four distinct families may be rather the result of too nice distinctions discovered or fancied in the rude language of these savages, than of real flifferences which ■would presuppose any different origin. The most marked distinction between the various tribes was, that some lived by the chase alone, while others lived not only by the chase, but by agriculture. The Mobilian family com- prised those who gave some attention to agri- culture ; and whether from living in a warm- er and more genial climate, or from other causes, as a different origin, they were not so rude as the hunters of the nortli. Still the Indians were every where much the same, with similar customs and institu- tions ; every where untamed savages, leading the life of hunters or warriors. In some re- spects their institutions were comparatively advanced, as in the government of their tribes, the association of tribes in a confederacy, and the recognition and maintenance of some sun- pie individual and social rights. To these institutions and to their tribes they always exhibited a devoted patriotism. But however their patriotism and bravery might suffice to cope with each other, they were no match, with their simplicity and ignorance of the useful arts, for the shrewdness, skill, and en- ergy of the whites. They found their lands invaded and stolen from them as often as fairly purchased, and in their intercourse with civilized man they have met with wrong and injury. Often they resisted, and have visited upon the whites a terrible vengeance for their wrongs. But their resources were feA\', their numbers diminished, arid they receded before the tide of civilization, until the vast territory occupied by the three great families, the Al- gonquin, Iroquois, and Mobilian, now scarcely contains a remnant of them aU. Such was the condition of the country — - a vast wilderness, inhabited by these various tribes of savages and the game upon which they subsisted, when a few European colonies were planted along the Atlantic coast. Hith- erto, ages had brought few changes, save those wrought by nature, throughout the whole continent; but the civilization thus planted needed only to be well established in order to effect a complete and wonderful change within the space of a few generations only. In about a century and a half from the successful planting of the colonies, after the vicissitudes which must necessarily attend their situation, they had become firmly established. Settlements had been pushed into the inte- ; rior along the rivers, and some bold pioneers had crossed the Alleghanies. But with the exception of a few trading posts and forts es- tablished by the French along the great lakes and on the great rivers of the west, the white population was confined to j;he Atlantic slope of the Alleghanies, and chiefly to places along the coast, or on the rivers. The population at this period (1760) was estimated at about one million seven hundred thousand. The chief towns, Boston and Philadelphia, had each about eighteen thousand inhabitants, and New York about twelve thousand. With the increase of population came an increase of wealth, and though the colonists were simple and frugal in their habits, yet the comforts and even the luxuries of life had taken the place of the want and suffering endured by the early settlers. The Indians had retreated be- fore the march of civilization, and were known and feared only on the frontier, which was practically much more distant than the far- thest settlement on our western frontier at the present time. The facilities for communica- tion between the colonies and the different settlements were yet very limited. Along the coast connnunication was had mostly by small vessels, and in the interior the traveller was obliged to resort to chance conveyance, or INTRODUCTION. more frequently accomplished liis journey on horseback. Between New York and Phila- delphia w ,gons were run once or twice a week, the journey being accomplished in two days, in 1766, which was thought to be a great achievement. The first stage coach was run between Boston and Providence in 1772, taking two da^^s for the journey. The printing press had at an early period been brought to America, but it had not been used without restrictions. The first newspa- per was published in 1704, and in 1750 there were only seven published in all the colonies. Just previous to the revolutionary struggle, however, the press became of more impor- tance, as well as more bold and free, and the newspapers increased, though few, if any, were issued more than once a week. Before this time few books had been published, and those were chiefly religious and historical treatises, or, as the struggle between the colonies and the mother country approached, political es- says. Industry and energy characterized the peo- ple, and whether in agriculttu-e, commerce, or manufactures, they achieved success, not- withstanding the discouragements and restric- tions which were imposed upon the two latter by the mother country — for England had become the possessor of all the territory which had at first been settled by various nations. Education in most of the colonies was en- couraged by the establishment of common schools and colleges, which flourished under the fostering care of the government. A sense of the strength and the importance of the colonies was prevalent among the people, and a common interest, as well as the ties of mutual trade and friendship, united them, and to some extent made them one nation. And thus were they able to go into that contest with the mother comitry which resulted in their independence. But it was not till after the revolutionary war and the repose which was necessary for a recovery from the effects of so exhausting a struggle, that the country made that rapid progress which has brought it to the impor- tant position which it now occupies in the civilized" world. From the time when the Union of the states was formed, and a per- manent common government established, the nation began really to grow, the resources of the countrj^ to be developed, and progress to be made in all that pertains to civilized life. The great and constant discoveries and im- provements made since that period in science and the arts have indeed opened a new era in the progress of the world ; but the free in- stitutions, and the intelligence and energy of the people, have here made available, and at the same time encouraged, such discoveries and improvements, and no other country has ever enjoyed such advantages and facilities for growth and advancement as the United States. Contrast the aspect and condition of the country as before described, as it was when the few weak colonies were first planted on tlie Atlantic coast, with its present state of national development and political importance. From those few scattered settlements of. two centuries and a half ago, and from the thir- teen colonies of less than one century ago, have grown thirty-two free and sovereign states, extending from the Atlantic to the Pa- cific Oceans, and from the great lakes of the north to the Gulf of Mexico, and forming, in their union under one federal government, one of the foremost nations of the world. From the few hundreds of the early settlers, from the two millions of colonists at the revolu- tionary period, the population of the country has grown to upwards of thirty millions. Its chief connuercial city numbers three quarters of a million of inhabitants, its second half a million, while numerous others, of a hundred thousand inhabitants and upwards, are grow- ino- up uot only on the Atlantic coast, but on the great rivers of the west and on the Pacific. In wealth, in strength, in all the resources 10 INTRODUCTION. ■which make a nation powerful, its progress lias more than kept pace with the population. Its commerce extends to every part of the world, and every sea is whitened by its sails. Its products of agriculture, manufactures, and mining are consumed by distant nations. Foi'- ests have fallen and cities grown up, the des- ert has been made to bloom, the watercourses are dotted with mills. Steamboats plough the waters of its great rivers for thousands of miles from the sea, and for thousands of miles, in continuous line, railroads are constructed, connecting the Atlantic seaboard with the distant frontiers, and soon to stretch across the continent to new states on the Pacific coast, while the electric telegraph is extended in every direction, transmitting intelligence from the most remote points, and bringing to- gether in instantaneous communication places divided by thousands of miles of distance. While the country has thus increased izi extent, population, and wealth, and the enter- prise and energy of its people have made free use of scientific discoveries and improve- ments in the useful arts to develop its re- sources, it has grown also in the less mate- rial characteristics of civilization. Education is cared for in every part of the country. Colleges and seminaries of learning are to be found in every state, and in many the free schools offer to all opportunities for educa- tion rarely enjoyed elsewhere, except by the wealthier classes of society. Libraries of great magnitude, many of them free to the public, have been established in the larger cities, while those of less importance, but highly useful in their sphere, are growing up in every large community, and institutions for the dif- fusion of knowledge are found in almost every village. Valuable collections of art are not uncommon, and museums of natural history are being formed, which will in time rival those of the old world. The press, the great engine of civilization, pours out innumerable books and periodicals for the use of a larger reading public than the world can elsewhere boast. Hundreds of daily and thousands of weekly newsjiapers are published, circulating widely among the people, and read by all.- Instead of the few hundred diminutive sheets that were worked off with much toil and care in the days of the revolution, the improved printing machine tui-ns off its hundred thou- sand copies of mammoth sheets daily, to be read by thrice that number of readers, in all parts of the country. All these and other blessings of advanced civilization are enjoyed and fostered under free institutions, the germs of which were planted by the Pilgrims and others of the early set- tlers, and which grew with slow but sure growth, and at last became firmly established bj^ the successful war of independence. And the United States stand among the foremost nations of the world as the Great Eepublic, an example alike of the success of self-govern- ment by the people, and of material and in- tellectual progress under free institutions. The storj;- of the change that has come over the aspect of this country, and its prog- ress from an unproductive solitude to a land teeaiiug with wealth, and an industrious, free, and highly civilized population, is one of great intrinsic interest, and to the American who sees and enjoys the blessings of the present it may well have surpassing attractions. Nor is it less a duty than a pleasure to become fiimiliar with the record of that past which has produced the rich fruits of the present, and offers instruction for the future. That record, it is believed, is faithflilly, fully, and attractively presented in the following pages; and whatever may be said of the later nar- rative of events which tread close upon the present, all that relates to the earlier period, down to the time of the present generation, is 'an impartial and reliable history. As such it is commended to the reader, with the as- surance that it will prove alike interesting and instructive. ^ J£ l'll K 1- ~ z:=r~^^ DISCOVERY AND COLONIZATION OF NORTH AMERICA. CHAPTER I. FROM THE DISCOVERIES OF THE CABOTS TO THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. The early history of most nations is of fabulous, or, at best, of doubtful character, and atibrds abun- dant opportunity for the exhibition of romantic con- jecture. It might, however, have been naturally ex- pected that no doubtful claims to the first visitation of a country so recently brought within the pale of history* as the American continent, should be found to exist; but this expectation is far from according with fact. Cambrian ambition, unsatisfied with claim- ing for her heroes the honour of being aboriginal Britons, would invest her sons also with the wreath of fame, as the discoverers of the western hemisphere. Dr. Powel (in his History of Wales) would have us believe that Madoc, son of Owen Gwyneth, prince of North Wales, reached the American shores in the year 1170 ; most probably, however, this worthy young prince did not extend his voyage of discovery beyond the coast of Spain, by no means an incon- siderable exploit for that age.* • " Madoc, another of Owen Gwpieth his sonnes, left the land in contention betwixt his brethren, and prepared certaine ships, ■with men and munition, and sought adventures by seas, sailing west, and leaving the coast of Ireland so farre north, that he came unto a land unknown, where he saw many strange things. This land must needs be some part of that countrey of which the Span- yards affirme themselves to be the first finders since Hanno's time. Whereupon it is manifest that that countrey was by Britaines dis- covered, long before Columbus led any Spaniards thither. Of the voyage and returne of this Madoc there be many fables fained, as the common people doe use in distance of place and length of time, rather to augment than to diminish : but sure it is, there he was. And after he had returned home, and declared the pleasant and Irultfull countreys that he had scene without inhabitants, and upon the contrary part, for what barren and wild ground his brethren Of a far more probable character, though by no means uncontested, are the assertions of the Nor- wegian historians, who claim for tiieir countrymen, confessedly the, most adventurous navigators ol' the northern waters of the Atlantic in the earlier ages, the discovery of this vast continent, in the year 1001, designated Vinland by Bioru, their chief, from the profusion of wild grape-vines he found luxuriating in the plains. The discussion of this point, as also the narrative of the Zeni, we shall leave to those whose labours are less required in the more important prac- tical researches which the nature of our undertaking especially embraces.f In entering the region of indisputable authenticity, England ranks scarcely second to Spain, in the merit and the success of naval enterprise. It is a cncum- stancc, however, too remarkable to be passed unno- ticed, that England, Spain, and France, all derived their transatlantic possessions from the science and energy of Italian navigators, although not a single colony was ever planted in the newly-discovered con- tinent by the inhabitants of Italy. Columbus, a Ge- noese, acquired for Spain a colonial dominion great and nephewcs did murther one another, he prepared a number of ships, and got with him such men and women as were desirous to live in quie"tnesse : and taking leave of his fiiends, tooke his jour- ney thitherward againe. Therefore it is to be supposed that he and his people inhabited part of those countreys : for it appeareth bv Francis Lopez de Gomara, that in Acur^aniil and other places tlie people honored the crosse. Whereby it may be gathered that Christians had bene there before the comming of the Span-yards. But because this people were not many, they followed the maners of the land which they came unto, and used the language they found there." — Hakluvfs Voyages, vol. iii. p. 1. t Those of our readers who are desirous of mdulgmg their curiosity on this subject, can refer to Murray's Historical Account of the Discoveries and Travels in North America, volume i. p. U to ae. (11) li HISTORY OF THE UiMTED STATES. enough to satiate the most craving ambition ; hut, reaping no personal advantage from his laliours, ex- <;e])ting an unprofitable fame, after having been ig- nominiously driven from the world he had made laiown to Europeans, he died in poverty and dis- grace.* Cabot, a Venetian, sailing in the service of England, conferred on that nation a claim, tlie mag- nitude and iniportance of which he never lived to comprehend. t Verazzani, a F'lorentine, explored America for the benefit of France ; but, sailing hither a second time, for tiie purpose of establishing a colony, he perished at sea.t Amerigo Vespucci gave his name to the ne\v world, and thus rendered his reputation as durable, probably, as the world itself, but without ac- quiring any advantage for his native country.§ From this slight digression we return to the disco- veries of Cabot. The exploits of Columbus having excited a great sensation among- the English mer- chants, and at the couit of Henry VH., the adven- turous spirit of John Cabot, heightened by the ardour of his son Sebastian, led him to propose to the king to undertake a voyage of discovery, with the two-fold object of becoming acquainted with new territories, and of realizing the long-desired object of a western passage to China and the Indies. A commission was accordingly granted, on the 5tli of March, to him and his three sons, giving them liberty to sail to all pai'ts of the cast, west, and north, imder the royal banners and ensigns, to discover countries of the heathen, unknown to Christians ; to set up the king's bajuiers there ; to occupy and possess, as his subjects, such places as they could subdue ; giving them the rule and jurisdiction of the same, to be holden on condition of paying to the king one fifth part of all their gains. By virtue of this commission a small fleet was equipped, partly at the king's expense, and partly at that of private individuals, in which the Cabots embarked, witli a company of three hundred mariners. Our knowledge of this voyage is collected from many detached and imperfect notices of it in diflerent authors, who, while they establish the general facts in the most unquestionable manner, differ in * Jrving's Life of Columbus. t Belknap's Biog. vol. i. p. 33. Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 295—300. t Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 6, et seq. § Bandini, Vita e Ijiltere d'Amerigo Vespucci. II " An e.xtract taken out of the map of Sebastian Cabot, cut by Clement Adams, concerning his discovery of the West Indies, which is to be seene in her Majesties prive gallerie at Westmin- .^.ter: — In the yere of our Lord, 1497, lohn Cabot, a Venetian, and his Sonne Sebastian, (tt-ilh an English fleet, set out from Brisloll.) discovered that land which no man before that time had attempted, on the 24th of June, about five of the clocke, early in the morning. This land he called Prima Vista, that is to say, first seene, because, as I suppose, it was that part whereof they had the first sight from Bea. That island which lieth out before the land, he called the many particular circumstances.! The most probable accouiu is, that Cabot sailed north-west a few weeks until his progress was arrested by floating ice-bergs, wlien he shaped his course to the south-west, and soon came in sight of a shore, named by him Prima Vista, and generally believed to be some part of La- brador, or Newfoundland. Thence he steered north- ward again, to the sixty-seventh degree of latitude, where he was obliged to turn back by the discontent of his crew. He sailed along the coast, in search of an outlet, as far as the neiglibourhood of the gulf of Me.Kico, wlien a mutitiy broke otU in the ship's com- pany, in consequence of which the faitlicr prosecu- tion of the voyage Vas abandoned. Cabot reached England with several savages and a valuable cargo, although some writers deny that he ever landed ; and it is certain, that he did not attempt any conquest or settlement in the countries which lie discovered. This voyage was not immediately followed by any important consequences ; but it is memorable as be- ing the fiirst that is certainly ascertained to have been effected to this continent, and as constituting the title by which tiie English claimed the territories that they subsequently acquired here. Through a singu- lar succession of causes, during more than sixty years from the time of this discovery of the northern division of the continent by the English, their mo- narchs gave but little attention to this country, which was destined to be annexed to their crown, and to be one principal source of British opulence and power, till, in I he march of events, it sliould rise into an in- dependent empire. This remarkable neglect is in some measure accounted for by the frugal maxims of Henry VH., and the unpropitious circumstances of the reign of Henry VHl., of Edward VI., and of the bigoted Mary ; reigns peculiarly adverse to the exten- sion of industry, trade, and navigation. While English enterprise lay dormant, both France and Spain were on the alert. The French flag had not yet, indeed, waved on the western shores of the Atlantic. A monarch of such spirit as Francis I., however, could not be content to see Charles, his Island of St. lohn, upon this occasion, as I ihinke, because it was discovered upon the day of lohn the Baptist. The inhabitants of this island use to weare beasts skinnes, and have them in as yreal estimation as we have our finest garments. In their warres they use bowes, arrowes, pikes, darts, woodden clubs, and slings. The soile is barren in some places, and yceldeth litle fruit, but it is full of white beares and stagges, farre greater than ours. It 5'ecldelh plenty of fish, and iliose very great, as seales, and those which commcmly we call salmons: there are soles al.so above a yard in length : but especially there is great abundance of thai .kinde of fish which the savages call baccalaos. In the same island al.so there breed hauks, but they are so Elacke that they are very like to ravens, as also their partridges and eagles, which arc ill like sorte blacke." — Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 6. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. i;5 rival, carrying" off all the brilliant prizes offered by the new world. He listened readily to the suggestion, that he too sliould send an expedition to the west, for the discovery of kingdonis and countries un- known ; and Juan Verazzano, a Florentine, who had distinguished himself by successful cruises against the Spaniards, was sent with a vessel, called the Dolphin, to the American coast. In this voyage he discovered, with a considerable degree of accuracy, the coast of Florida. The whole extent of his dis- covery was upwards of 700 leagues of the North American coast, which he named New France.* He made another voyage the next year ; but its records are equally brief and fatal : — Ramusio gives neither date, nor place, nor country ; but states, that having landed with some of his crew, Verazzano was seized by the savages, and Icilled and devoured in the pre- .sence of his companions on board, who sought in vain to give any assistance. Such was the fate of one of the most eminent navigators of that age, whom Forster ranks as the type of Cook, both as to his exploits durinof life, and the dreadful mode of his death. The gloomy impression produced by the tra- gic fate of V^erazzano, seems to have deterred others for some time from such enterprises ; and, for several succeeding years, neither the king nor the nation seem to have thought any more of America. After a lapse of ten years, on a representation made by Philip Chabot, admiral of France, of the advantages that would result from establishing a colony in a country from, wiiich Spain derived her greatest wealth, these enterprises were renewed, and Jacques Cartier, a bold seaman of St. Malo, who pro- posed another voyage, was readily supplied with two ships, under the direction of the Sieur de Melleraye, then vice-admiral of France. He set sail on the 20th of April, 1531, and on the lOth of May came in view of Cape Bonavista. As large masses of ice, however, were still floating about the coast, he deemed it wise to enter a harbour, which he called St. Catherine, and to remain there ten days. The sea then becoming favourable, he came out, and stood to the north, sailed almost round Newfoundland, and discovered the Baye des Chaleurs. and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Having sailed to the fifty-first degree of latitude, in the fruitless hope of passing to China, he returned, in April, to France, without making a settlement. A larger expedition was equipped the next spring, and they proceeded direct to Newfoundland. Disco- vering now the river of Canada, which graduailjr « Haklnyt, vol. iii. p. 295 — 300, where is Verazzano's own ac- count of his voyage, sent to Francis I. written in Dieppe the 8lh of July, 1524. See also Universal History, vol. xxxix. p. 406. obtained the name of St. Lawrence, he sailed up this noble stream three hundred leagues, to a great and swift fall ; formed aliances with the natives ; took pos- session of the territory ; built a fort ; and wintered in the country, which he called New France. In sail- ing up the St. Lawrence, he discovered Hazel or Fil- bert Island, Bacchus Island, since called the Isle of Orleans, and a river, which he called St. Croix, since called Jacques Cartier's River, where lie laid up his ships. From this river, before his final departure, partly by stratagem and partly by force, he carried ofl" Donnacona, the Indian king of the coimtry. lie, at this time visited Ilochelaga, a large Indian settle- ment, which he called Montreal, where the P'rrnch were well received : but they were soon infected with the scurvy, of which a considerable number died. The next spring, Cartier, taking v/itli liim Donna- cona, and several of the natives, returned with the remains of his crew to France, and expatiated to the king en the advantages that would probably' re- sult from a settlement in this country, principally liy means of the fur trade ; but the fallacious opinion, then prevalent among all the nations of Europe, that such countries only as produced gold and silver were worth the possession, had such influence on the French, that they slighted the salutary advice of Cartier, and deferred making any establishment in Canada. But, although this object was generally neglected, individuals entertained just sentiments of its importance, and among the most zealous for pro- secuting discoveries and attempting a settlement there, was John Francois de la Roche, loi-d of Ro- berval, a nobleman of Picardy. King Francis I., convinced at length of the expediency of the mea- sure, resolved to send Cartier, his pilot, again, with Roberval, to that country. He accordingly furnished Cartier with five vessels for the service, appointing him captain-general, and Roberval his lieutenant and governor in the countries of Canada and Hochelaga, When the fleet was ready for sea, Roberval was not prepared with his artillery, powder, and numitions ; but Cartier, having received letters from the king, requiring him to proceed immediately, sailed with five ships on the 23d of May, and after a very long and boisterous passage arrived at Newfoundland. Having waited here a while in vain for Roberval, he proceeded to Canada ; and on the 23d of August ar- rived at the haven of St. Croix. After an interview with the natives, Cartier sai.ed up the river, and pitched on a place about f( ur Forsier, Voy. p. 432—436. Belknap, Biog.' vol. i. p. 33. Har- ris's Voy. vol. i. p. 8i 0. Purchas, vol. i. p. 769. Chambers, vol. i. p. 512. 14 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. leagues above St. Croix, to lay up three of his ships for the v/iiiter ; the other two he sent to France, to inform the king of wliat they had done, and the dis- appointment of his expectations in the non-arrival of lloberval. At the new harbour there was a small river, and on the east side of its entrance, a high and steep cliff. On the top of this cliff he built a fort, and called it Charlesbourgh. Below, the ships were drawn up and fortified. After the fort was begun, Cartier went up the river with two boats furnished with men and provisions, with tfie intenliou of pro- ceeding to Hochelaga ; leaving Viscount Bcaupre to govern daring his absence. Having again explored the St. Lawrence, viewed the falls on that river, and had interviews with the natives, Cartier returned to the fort. Finding, on his return, that the Indians had discontinued their visits and tralHc, and shown signs of hostility ; that his provisions were spent, and that Roberval had not arrived, he prepared to return to France. Meanwhile, Roberval had been engaged in the prosecution of his design of reinforcing Car- tier, and carrying forward the projected settlement of Canada. Whatever had retarded his embarkation, he at length sailed from Rochelle with three ships and two hundred persons, and arrived at St. John's har- bour in Newfoundland ; and while there, Cartier and his company arrived at the same harbour from the St. Lawrence. He informed Roberval of his intended return to France ; yet commended the country of Canada as very rich and fruitful. Thousrh the vice- roy had brought a sufficient supply of men, military stores, and provisions, to dispel the fearful apprehen- sions of the adventurers, and had commanded Car- tier to remain with him ; yet Cartier, persisting in his purpose, eluded him in the night, and sailed for Bre- tagne. Roberval proceeded up the St. Lawrence, four leagues above the island of Orleans, where, find- ing a convenient harbour, he built a fort, and re- mained through the winter. In the following spring, he went higher up the river, and explored the coun- try ; but he appears soon after to have abandoned the enterprise. The colony was broken up ; and for half a century the French made no farther attempt to establish themselves in Canada. For the sake of continuity of narrative, in record- ing the attempts of France to colonize a portion of North America, we have been necessitated to deviate slightly from the direct order of chronological succes- sion. It was in the year 1528, that Pamphilo (^e Narvaez, having obtained from Charles V. of Spain, the indefinite grant of all the lands lying from the River of Palms to the Cape of Florida, with a com- mission to conquer and govern the provinces within I these limits, sailed in March from Cuba, with five ' ships, on board of which were four hundred foot and twenty horse, for the conquest of that country. Land- ing at Florida, he marched to Apalache, a village consisting of forty cottages, where he arrived on the 5th of June. Having lost many of his men by the natives, who harassed the troops on their march, and with whom they had one sharp engagement, he was obliged to direct his course toward the sea. Sailing to the westward, he was lost with many others, in a violent storm, about the middle of November ; and the enterprise was frustrated. Calamitous as was the issue of the expedition of Narvaez, it did not prevent, in that age of enterprise, captains of eminence from pursuing ardently the same course. Fernando de Soto, a native of Badajos, ori- ginally possessing only courage and his sword, had been one of the most distinguished companions of Pizarro, and a main instrument in annexing to Spain the golden regions of Peru : but in the conquest of Peru his part had been secondary — the first prize had been carried off by another ; and he now sought a country, the glory of conquering and the pride of ruling which should be wholly his ; and his wishes were fulfilled. He was created Adelantado of Flori- da, combining the offices of governor-general and commander-in-chief On the 18th of May, 1539, Soto sailed from Havannah, on the Florida expedition, with nine vessels, nine hundred men besides sailors, two hundred and thirteen horses, and a herd of swine. Arriving on the 30th of May at the bay of Espiritu Santo, on the western coast of Florida, he landed three hundred men, and pitched his camp ; but, about the break of day the next morning, they were attacked by a numerous body of natives, and obliged to retire.* Having marched several hundred miles, he passed through the Indian towns of Alibama, Talisee, and Tescalusa, to Mavila, a village enclosed with wooden walls, standing near the mouth of the Mobile. The inhabitants, disgusted with the stran- gers, and provoked by an outrage committed on one of their chiefs, brought on a severe conflict, in which two thousand of the natives and forty-eight Spaniards were slain. A considerable number of Spaniards died afterwards of their wounds, making their entire loss eighty-three ; they also lost forty-five horses. The village was burnt in the action. After this en- gagement, Soto retreated to the territory of Chica^a, where he remained until April of this year. His army, now resuming its march through the Indian territory, was reduced to about three hundred men • Herrera, d. 6. lib. 7. c. 9. Belknap, Biog. Art. Soto. BiMhoth I Americ. p. 37. Purchas, vol. v. p. 1529 — 1565. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 15 and forty horses. Soto, having appointed Lewis do Moscoso his successor in command, died at the con- fluence of the Guacoya and Mississippi. To prevent the Indians from obtaining a knowledge of his death, his body was put into an oak, hollowed for that pur- pose, and sunk in the river. Soto was only forty- two years of age, and had expended 100,000 ducats in this expedition. The small remains of his army, consisting of three hundred and eleVen men, arrived at Panuco on the 10th of September, 1543 ; and llie great expedition to Florida terminated only in the poverty and ruin of all who were concerned in it. We must now advert to some of the most interesting but lamentable events that the history of colonization affords, in which the deadly poison of religious bigot- ry was deeply intermingled with the hostility excited by commercial jealousy. — The decided indications of a violent spirit of persecution, ou the part of the Catholic priesthood of France, induced the brave Coligny to make an experiment, which might have issued in the provision of a safe retreat for a consi- derable portion of the oppressed Protestants. He formed a party of Huguenots, among whom were several of high respectability, who sailed under the command of Ribault, an officer of considerable spirit, with the intention of colonizing Florida. After a favourable voyage he arrived at the entrance of a river which he called May, from the month in which he reached the coast. He here erected a fort, and then, imprudently sailed for France, to bring out a re-enforcement. Albert, to whom he delrgated his authority during his absence, appears to have been both unworthy and incompetent for so important a situation. From his extreme severity and ill ma- nagement, the colonists formed an iuA'eterate hatred against him, which terminated in his death. In the excitement of internal dissensions, the settlers had paid little or no attention to the production of food ; and were compelled, after exhausting nearly all their stores, to make the desperate attempt of re-crossing the Atlantic with the small remainder of their provisions. Being detained by a calm, they had commenced preying upon one another, when they were providentially delivered from their unhappy condition by an English vessel, which conveyed them to their own country. During the abode of these unfortunate men in Florida, Coligny had been so deeply engaged in the dissension at home, which had ripened into an open Tupture and a civil war, that he was prevented from sending his intended re-enforcement ; but no sooner had peace been concluded, than he despatched a fresh expedition, under M. Ren6 Laudonniere, who 3 arrived in the river May, on the 2oth of June, I5fi4. After sailing northward about ten leagues, he returned to the May, and erected a fort, which, in honour of his sovereign, he styled Fort Caroline. He proved, how- ever, inadequate to the difficult task of presiding over a number of spirited young men, in a state of great excitement from the disappointment of their expecta- tions, which had dwelt upon the prospect of golden harvests and unbounded wealth. Plots were formed against his life, and he was on the point of leaving, with the remains of his colony, for Europe, when a new expedition, under the conunand of Kibault, entered the river. That officer superseded Laudon- niere, only, however, to experience still more melan- choly disasters. Scarcely a week had passed after his arrival, when eight Spanish ships were seen in the same river, where several of the largest French vessels were lying at anchor. As the Spanish fleet made towards them, the French cut their cables, and put out to sea. Although they were tired upon and pursued, they escaped ; but, finding that their ene- mies had landed on the shores of the river Dolphin, about eight leagues distant, they returned to the May. Ribault now called a council at Fort Caroline, which decided, that they ought to strengthen the fort with all possible diligence, and be prepared for the enemy. He was himself, however, of a different opinion. Apprehensive of the defection of the friendly and auxiliary natives, if they should discover that, at the first approach of the Spaniards, they should confine themselves to their camp and fortifications, he judged it best to proceed against the enemy at once, before they could collect their forces and construct a forti- fication in their vicinity. To strengthen this view, he produced a letter from Admiral Coligny, /:ontain- ina: these words : "While I was sealing- this letter, I received certain advice that Don Pedro Menendez is departing from Spain, to go to the coast of New France. See that you suffer him not to encroach upon you, and that you do not encroach upon him." It was, indeed, the fleet of Menendez, which had just arrived on the coast, and given the alarm. Philip II. had given him the command of a fleet and an army, with full power to drive the Huguenots out of Florida, and settle it with Catholics. Fixed in his purpose, Ribault instantly took all the best of his men at Fort Caroline, and set sail in pursuit of the Spanish fleet, leaving Laudonniere in charge of the fort, without any adequate means of defence. Most unfortunately he was overtaken by a tremen- dous storm, which destroyed all the vessels, the men only escaping. Menendez now began to consider what advantage 16 HISTORY OF TllF, UMTED STATES. he coultl take of tliis state of affairs. It appeared to him, that, by pushing across the country, he would have every chance of reaching the fort before cir- cumstances would admit of Ribault's return. He set forth immediately with five hundred of his best troops, and, after overcoming the formidable obsta- cles of swamps swelled by torrents of rain, on the evening of the fourth day arrived within view of the fort. At day-break, Menendez mounted the hill, and saw no appearance of any watch, and, before Lau- donniere could muster his little garrison, the Span- iards had rushed in and begun an indiscriminate massacre of men, women, and children. Laudon- niere, though worn down with sickness, escaped from the fort with about twenty others, who con- cealed themselves in the woods. In this extremity, six of them ventured to throw themselves on the mercy of the Spaniards ; but they were cruelly massacred in sight of their companions. Laudon- niere, seeing no way of escape but by getting over the marshes to the ships at the mouth of the river, led the way, and several of his men followed him through the swamp into the water. Unable to pro- ceed, he sent two of them, who could swim well, to the ships for help. At length he was carried on board a French shallop, which was in search of them, and, having picked up the remaining fugitives, who were concealed among the reeds, carried them to a little ship at the mouth of the river. In this tJiey undertook to reach their native country; on their voyage they encountered want, cold, hunger, and thirst, but they ultimately entered, in a miserable state, the port of Bristol, where they met a hos- pitable reception. A more tragic end awaited Ri- bault ; all his vessels were dashed to pieces (as we have before observed) in the tempest, which lasted some days. With great difficulty the crews suc- ceeded in reaching the shore, and directed their steps towards the fort. After a toilsome journey of nine days through a rugged country, what was their amazement and grief to find the fort in the hands of the inveterate enemies, alike of their enterprise and their faith ! Many of them were for enduring the worst extremity, rather than fall into the hands of the Spaniards ; but Ribault, judging their situation otherwise wholly desperate, determined to open a treaty with Menendez, who received them in the most courteous manner, and pledged himself, on the faith of a soldier and a gentleman, that they should be well treated, and sent back to their country. Upon this pledge, the French delivered up their arms ; but when they were all assembled on a plain in front of the castle, Menendez, with his sword, drew a line round them on the sand, and then ordered his troops to fall on, and make an indiscriminate massacre. The bodies were not only covered with repeated wounds, but cut in pieces, and treated with the most shocking indignities. A number of the mangled limbs of the victims were then suspended to a tree, to which was attached the following inscription : — " Not because they are Frenchmen, but because they are lieretics and enemies of God." When intelligence of this barbarous massacre reached France, it excited an almost universal feel- ing of grief and rage, and inspired a desire for ven- geance of corresponding intensity. Though Charles IX. was invoked in vain, by the prayers of fifteen hundred widows and orphans, to require of the Span- ish monarch that justice should be awarded against his murderous subjects, there was, in the nation itself, an energy which provided an avenger. Dominique de Gourffues determined to devote himself, his for- tune, and his whole being, to the achievement of some signal and terrible retribution. He found means to equip three small vessels, and to put on board of them eighty sailors, and one hundred and fifty troops. Having crossed the Atlantic, he sailed along the coast of Florida, and landed at a river about fifteen leagues distance from the May. The Spaniards, to the num- ber of four hundred, were well fortified, principally at the great fort, begun by the French, and afterwards repaired by themselves. Two leagues lower, towards the river's mouth, they had made two smaller forts, which were defended by a hundred and twenty sol- diers, well supplied with artillery and ammimition. Gourgues, though informed of their strength, pro- ceeded resolutely forward, and, with the assistance of the natives, made a vigorous and desperate assault. Of sixty Spaniards in the first fort, there escaped but fifteen ; and all in the second fort were slain. After a company of Spaniards, sallying out from the third fort, had been intercepted, and killed on the spot, this last fortress was easily taken. All the surviving Spaniards were led away prisoners, with the fifteen who escaped tVy3 massacre at the first fort ; and, after having been shown the injury that they had done to the French nation, were hung on the bows of the same trees on which the Frenchmen had boon previously suspended. Gourgues, in retaliation for the label Menendez had attached to the bodies of the FVench, placed over the corpses of the Spaniards the following declaration : — " I do not this as to Sjianiards nor as to mariners, but as to traitors, robbers, and murderers."* Having razed tlie three ♦ Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 356 — 360; and Charlevoix, Nouv, France, vol. i. p. 95— 106. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 17 forts, he hastened his preparation to return ; and on the 3d of May embarked all that was valuable in the forts and set sail for La Rochelle. In that Protestant capital he was received with the loudest acclamations. At Bordeaux these were reiterated, and he was advised to proceed to Paris, where, however, he met with a very different reception. Philip had already an embassy demanding his head, which Charles and Catherine were not disinclined to give, and had taken steps for bringing him to trial, but they found the measure so excessively unpopular, that they were obliged to allow him to retire into Normandy. Subsequently he regained royal favour, and found ample employment in the service of his country. Thus terminated the attempts of the French Pro- testants to colonize Florida. Had the efforts of Ribault or Laudonniere been supported by the government, France might have had vast colonial dependencies before Britain had established a single settlement in the New World, instead of inscribing on the pages of history a striking instance of the ruinous and enduring- effects of religfious hatred, alike on individual and national fortune. It has been observed, by one of the most eminent statesmen this or any other country ever produced — one who took a peculiar interest in the progress of the New World — that the present age bears in many points a striking resemblance to that of Queen Eliza- beth, and certainly in no respect are the periods more assimilated, than in the singular, and to many, the inexplicable combination of commercial activity and general distress. That poverty among the lower and middling ranks of society was one of the strongest motives to colonization in the days of Elizabeth, as well as our own, the records of history • Edward Haies, in his report of tlie voyage of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, has the following observations on the motives to colonize which then prevailed : — " If his motives be derived from a vertuous and heroycall minde, preferring chiefly the honour of God, com- passion of poore infidels captived by the devill, tyrannizing in most wonderfull and dreadfull maner over thc'.r bodies and soules, advancement of his honest and well disposed countreymen, willing to accompany him in such honourable actions, rdicfe of siindnj people vnthin this rcalme distressed : all these be honorable purposes, imitating the nature of the munificent God, wherwith he is well pleaded, who will assist such an actour beyond expectation of man. And tlte same, who feeleth this inclination in himselfe, by all like- lihood may hope, or rather confidently repose in the pre-ordinance of God, that in this last age of the world, or likely never, the time is compleat of receiving also these Gentiles into his mercy, and that God will raise him an instrument to etfect the same : it seem- ing probable, by event of precedent attempts made by the Span- yards and French sundry times, that the countreys lying nortli of Florida, God hath reserved the same to be reduced unto Christian civility by the English nation." — Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 144. Sir George Pcckain also bears testimony to the correctness of this opinion. " God," he says, " had provided the means of coloniza- tion ; for that, through his great mercy in preserving the people do not permit us to doubt ;* and if benefits accrue to the world, in the proportion in which the extent ot emigration now exceeds that of the period of our present researches, posterity will see reason to admire the dispensations of Providence, which, however unwelcome to the present, are so richly beneficial to the future ages. Before entering on the transactions which are so highly honourable to the reign of Elizabeth, it is our duty to record an event which almost may be said to couirterbalance, in its baneful results, all the advan- tages, either to the Old World or the New, that ren- der celebrated the era of the British Queen — the commencement of the slave trade. The first Eng- lishman w^ho brought this guilt upon himself and his country was Sir John Hawkins, who afterwards attained so much nautical celebrity, and was created an admiral, and treasurer of the British navy. A subscription was opened and speedily completed by Sir Lionel Ducket, Sir Thomas Lodge, Sir William Winter, and others, who plainly perceived the vast emolument that might be derived from such a traffic. By their assistance Hawkins was enabled to set sail for Africa in the year 1562, and, having reached Sierra Leone, he began his commerce with the negroes.t While he trafficked with them in the usual articles of barter, he took occasion to give them an inviting description of the country to which he was bound, contrasting the fertility of its soil and the enjoyments of its inhabitants with the barrenness of Africa and the poverty of the African tribes. The negroes were ensnared by his flattering promises, and three hundred of them, accepting his offer, consented to embark along with him for Hispaniola. On the night before their embarkation, they were attacked by a hostile tribe ; and Hawkins hastening for so many years from slaughter, plague, and pestilence, they were in such penury and want, that many would hazard their lives for a year's food and clothing, without wages ; and this armament might be most cheaply equipped." — Murray, vol. i. p. 191. t "With this companie he put off and departed I'rom the coast of England in the moneth of October, 1562, and in his course touched first at Teneriffe, where he received friendly entertainement ; from thence he passed to Sierra Leona, upon the coa.'st of Guinea, whicli place, by the people of the countrey, is called Tagarin, where he stayed some good time, and got into his possession, partly by the sworde, and partly by other meanes, to the number of three hun- dred negroes, at the least, besides other merchandises which that countrey yeeldeth. With this praye hee sayled over the ocean sea unto the island of Hispaniola, and arrived first at the port of Isa- bella, and there hee had reasonable utterance of his English com- modities, as also of some part of his negroes, trusting the Span- iards no further, then that by his owne strength he was able still to master them. From the port of Isabella he went to Puerto dc Plata, where he made like sales, standing alwaies upon his gua d ; from thence, also, hee sayled to iMonte Christi, another port on ilie north side of Hispaniola, and the last place of his touching, w^ ?re he had peaceable traflSque, and made vent of the whole numbs of his negroes."— Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 500. 18 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. with his crew to their assistance, repulsed the assail- ants, and carried a number of tliem as prisoners on board his vessels. The next day he set sail with his mixed carsro of human creatures, and, during the passage, treated the negroes who had voluntarily accompanied him in a different manner from his prisoners of war. On his arrival at Hispaniola, he disposed of the whole cargo to great advantage, and endeavoured to inculcate on the Spaniards who purchased the negroes, the same distinction in the treatment of them which he himself had observed. But the Spaniards, having given the same ratio for the one as for the other, considered them as slaves of the same condition, and treated them all alike.* The Spaniards have many cruelties to answer for, not only in their islands, but on the continent of South Ameri- ca. They never knew the true philosophy of self-interest in their treatment of tlieir slaves. Tliey never learned the maxim, that kindness is more effectual than severity in subduing ignorant and savage man. The Spaniards were, notwithstanding their love of enterprise and war, naturally an indolent race of people, and rejoiced in find- ing those who could take tlie labours of agriculture off their hands. Men, deceived, as most of those were who came with Hawkins, were not very docile ; and their masters found in their tempers excuse for rigid discipline. While the nefarious traffic of Sir John Hawkins was attended with the advantages of a profitable though iniquitous speculation, the meritorious exer- tions of others were fraught with destruction to themselves, and disappointment to the nation at large; affording a powerful lesson that the charac- ters of men are not to be estimated by their financial success, but by the honourable motives by which their conduct is actuated. The efforts which follow- ed those of the founder of the slave trade were dip cted to the discovery of a passage to India by the north of America ;t but, notwithstanding the iitirost exertions of the most eminent naval cha- racters, Frobisher, Davis, and Hudson, they proved • On another occasion Hawkins look advantage of a conflict betw ;en the hostile tribes. " In that present instant," says the narrntor, " there came to us a negro, sent from a king, oppressed Uy other kings, his neighbours, desiring our aide, willi promise that as many negros as by these warres might be obtained, as well of his part as of ours, should be at our pleasure ; whereupon, we concluded to give aide, and sent a hundred and twenty of our men, which, the 15th of Januarie, assaulted a towne of the negros of our allies' adversaries, which had in it eight thousand inhabitants, being very strongly impaled and fenced after their manner ; but it was so well defended, that our men prevailed not, but lost sixe men and f(/riie hurt, so thai our men sent forthwith to me for more oelpe, whereupon, considering that the good successe of this enter- prise might highly further the commodilie of our voyage, I went myselfe, and with the helpc of the king on our side, assaulted the lowne, both by land and sea, and very hardly with fire, (their houses being covered with dry palme leaves) obtained the lowne, entirely abortive, at least, as to the accomplishment of their immediate object. In the same year, however, in which Frobisher's third voyage terminated so unsuccessfully, Sir Wal- ter Raleigh, in conjunction with his half-brother and kindred t^pirit, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, projected the establishment of a colony in that quarter of America which the Cabots had visited in the reign of Henry VII. ; and a patent for this purpose was procured without dilticirlty in" favour of Gilbert, from Eliza- beth. As this is the first charter to a colony granted by the crown of England, the articles in it merit particular attention as they unfold the ideas of that age with respect to the nature of such settlements. Elizabeth authorizes him to discover and take pos- session of all remote and barbarous lands, unoccupied by any Christian prince or people ; invests in him the fall right of property in the soil of those coun- tries wherof he shall take possession ; empowers him, his heirs and assigns to dispose of whatever portion of tliose lands he shall judge meet, to per- sons settled there, in fee simple, according to the laws of England ; and ordains that all the lands granted to Gilbert shall hold of the crown of Eng- land by homage, on payment of the fifth part of the gold or silver ore found there. The charter also gave Gilbert, his heirs and assigns, full power to con- vict, punish, pardon, govern, and rule, by their good discretion and policy, as well in causes capital or crinrinal as civil, both marine and other, all persons who shall, from time to time, settle within the said countries ; and declared, that all Avho settled there should have and enjoy all the privileges of free deni- zens and natives of England, any law, custom, or usage to the contrary notwithstanding. And finally, it prohibited all persons from attempting to settle within two hundred leagues of any place which Sir Humphrey Gilbert, or his associates, shall have occu- pied during the space of six years.! Invested with these extraordinary powers, Gilbert H and put the inhabitants to flight, where we tooke two hundred and fifty jiersons, men, women, and children, and by our friend the king of our side, there were taken sixe hundred prisoners, whereof we hoped to have had our choice ; but the negro, in which nation is seldom or never found truth, meant nothing lesse, for that night he rcmooved his campe and prisoners, so that we were faine to content us with those few whicli we had gotten ourselves. Now had we obtained between four and five hundred negroes, wherwiih we thought it somewhat reasonable to seeke the coast of the West Indies, and there, for our negroes and our other merchandize, we hoped to obtaine, whereof to countervaile our charges with sosne gaines." — Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 522. t In the reign of Edward VI. it was also the general opiu vn that a passage to India might be found by coasting along the noi >h- ern shores of Europe; and, when in pursuit of this object. Sir Hugh Willoughby and his gallant crew were frozen to deatli. t Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 135. HISTORY OF THE UNITED.STATES. 19 began to collect associates, and to prepare I'or em- barkation. The first equipment, however, of Sir Humphrey, may be said to have failed, even before it set out. Being composed in a great measure of " voluntary men of diverse dispositions," there was a great falling off when it came to the point, and Sir Humphrey was at last obliged to set out with only a few of his own tried friends. He encountered the most adverse weather, and was necessitated to return, " with the loss of a tall ship, and, more to his grief, of a valiant gentleman. Miles Morgan." This was a severe blow, as Sir Humphrey had embarked a large portion of his property in this undertaking. However, his determination continued unshaken ; and by the aid of Sir George Peclvham, Sir Walter Raleigh, and other persons of distinction, he was enabled to equip another expedition, with which, in the year 1583, he again put to sea. On the 30th of July, Gilbert discovered land in about 51° of north latitude; but, finding nothing but bare rocks, he shaped his course to the south- ward, and on the 3d of August arrived at St. John's harbour, at Newfoundland. There were at that time in the harbour thirty.-si.K vessels, belonging to various nations, and they refused him entrance ; but, on sendins: his boat with the assurance that he had no ill design, and that he had a commission from (iueen Elizabeth, they submitted, and he sailed into the port. Having pitched his tent on shore in sight of all the shipping, and being attended by his own people, he summoned the merchants and masters of vessels to be present at the ceremony of his taking possession of the island. When assembled, his com- mission was read and interpreted to the foreigners. A turf and twig was then delivered to him ; and proclamation was immediately made, that, by virtue of his commission from the queen, he took possession of the harbour of St. John, and two hundred leagues every way around it, for the crown of England. He then, as the authorized governor, proposed and deli- vered three laws, to be in force immediately; by the first, public worship was established according to the church of England; bythesecond, the attemptingof any thing prejudicial to her "majesty's title was declared treason ; • Hakluyt has preserved a very masterly performance from the pen of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, entitled, " A Discourse to prove a Pa'jsage by the North-west, to the East Indies," &c. Although the recent expeditions, under Captains Ross and Parry, have fully de- monstrated that no passage, of an available nature at least, exists between America and the North Pole, it may be interesting to our readers lo form some idea of the reasons by which Sir Humphrey convinced himself, and endeavoured to persuade others, of the cer- tainly of a north-west passage ; we, therefore, extract the contents of this discourse : — " CiPiTOio I. To prove by autboritie a passage to be on the by tlie third, if any person should utter words to the dishonour of her majesty, he should lose his ears, and have his ship and goods confiscated. When the proclamation was finished, obedience was promised by tiie general voice, both of Englishmen and stran- ger:-.. Not far from the place of meeting, a pillar was afterwards erected, upon which were engraved the arms of England. For the better establishment of tins possession, several parcels of land were granted by Sir Humphrey, by which the occupants were gua- ranteed grounds convenient to dress and dry their fish, of which privilege they had often been debarred, by those who had previously entered the harbour. For these grounds they covenanted to pay a certain rent and service to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, his heirs or assigns, for ever, and to maintain possession of them, by themselves or assignees. This formal possession, in consequence of the discovery by the Cabots, is considered the foundation of the right and title of the crown of England to the territory of Newfoundland, and to the fishery on its banks. Gilbert, intending to bring the southern parts of the country within his patent, the term of which had now nearly expired, hastened to make farther discoveries before his return to England. He therefore embarked from St. John's harbour with his little fleet, and sailed for the Isle of Sable, by the way of Cape Breton^ After spending eight days in the navigation from Cape Race towards Cape Breton, the ship Admiral was cast away on some shoals before any discovery of land, and nearly one hundred persons perished ; among these was Stephen Parmenius Budeius, a learned Hungarian, who had accompanied the adventurers, to record their disco- veries and exploits. Two days after this disaster, no land yet appearing, the waters being shallow, the coast unknown, the navigation dangerous, and the provisions scanty, it was resolved to return to Eng- land. Changing their course accordingly, they passed in sight of Cape Race on the 2d of September ; but when they had sailed more than three hundred leagues on their way home, the frigate, commanded by Sir Humphrey Gilbert himself, foundered in a vio- lent storm at midnight, and every soul on board perished.* north side of America, to goe to Cataia, China, and tc the East India. Cap. II. To prove by reason a passage to be on the north side of America, to go to Cataia, Moluccae, &c. Cap. III. To prove by e.xperience of sundry men's travailes, the opening of lhi.-< north-west passage, whereby good hope reraaineth of the rest. Cap. IV. To prove by circum.stance, that the north-west passage hath bene sailed throughout. Cap. V. To prove that such Indians as have bene driven upon the coastes of Germanic came not thilher by the south-east and south-west, nor from any part of Afrike oi America. Cap. VI. To prove that the Indians aforenamed came not by the north-dast, and that there is no thorow passage nav igabie 20 HISTORY»OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER II. HISTORY OF VIRGINIA, FROM ITS SETTLEMENT TO THE FRENCH WAR OF 1756. Terrible as was the fate of Gilbert and his associates, the ardour of Raleigh was not daunted, nor his energies depressed. High in favour with Elizabeth, he found no difficulty in procuring a pa- lent similar to that which had been granted to his unfortunate brother. Prompt in the execution, as intrepid in the projection of his plans, he speedily equipped two small vessels, under Amadas and Bar- low, to obtain further information of the coasts, the soil, and the inhabitants of the regions he designed to colonize. Approaching America by the Gulf of Florida, they touched first at the island of Ocakoke, which runs parallel to the greater part of North Caro- lina, and then at Roanoke, near the mouth of Albe- marle Sound. In both they had some intercourse with the natives, whom they found to be savages, with all the characteristic qualities of uncivilized life — bravery, aversion to labour, hospitality, a pro- pensity to admire and a willingness to exchange their rude productions for English commodities, espe- cially for iron, or any of the useful metals of which they were destitute. After spending a few weeks in this traffic, and in, visitinir some parts of the adjacent continent, Amadas and Barlow returned to England, and gave a most fervid description of the country they had been sent to explore. Their own words, as contained in their report to Sir Walter Raleigh," will convey a better idea of the mode of narrative adopted, and the effect produced, than any language of ours. " The soile," say they, " is the most plen- tifull, sweete, fruitfull and wholsome of all the worlde ; there are above fourteene severall sweete smelling timber trees, and the most part of their un- derwoods are bayes and such like ; they have those okes that we have, but farre greater and better. Af- ter they had bene divers times aboord our shippes, myselfe, with seven more, went twentie mile into the river that runneth towarde the citie of Skicoak, which river they call Occam ; and the evening fol- lowing, we came to an island, which they call Rao- Ihat way. Cap. VII. To prove that these Indians came by the north-west, which indnceth a certain'ie of this passage by experi- ence. Cap. VIII. What several reasons were alleged before the queenes niajestie, and certain lords of her highnesse privie coun- cil, by M. Anih. lenkinson, a gentleman of great travailc and ex- perience, to prove this passage by the north-east, with my sever.ill answeres then alleaged to the same. Cap. IX. How that this pas- sage hy the north-west is more commodious for our traffilce, then the other by the north-east, if there be any such. Cap. X. What commodities would ensue, this passage being once discovered." — Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 11. noak, distant from the harbour by whicli we entered seven leagfues ; and at the north end thereof was a village of nine houses, built of cedar, and fortified round about with sharpe trees to keep out their ene- mies, and the entrance into it made like a turnepike, very artificially ; when we came towardes it, stand- ing neere unto the waters' side, the wife of Grans:a- nimo, the king's brother, came running out to meete us very cheerfully and friendly ; her husband was not then in the village ; some of her people shee commanded to drawe our boate on shore for the beating of the billoe, others she appointed to cary us on their backes to the dry ground, and others to bring our oares into the house for feare of stealing. When we were come into the utter roome, having five roomes in her house, she caused us to sit down by a great fire, and after tooke off" our clothes and washed them, and dried them againe ; some of the women plucked oflT our stockings, and waslied them, some waslied our feete in warm water, and she her- self tooke great paines to see all things ordered in the best manner she could, making great haste to dresse some meate for us to eate. After we had thus dryed ourselves, she brought us into the inner roome, where shee set on the boord standing along the house, some wheate like furmentie ; sodden venison and roasted ; fish, sodden, boyled and roasted ; me- lons, rawe and sodden ; rootes of divers kindes ; and divers fruites. Their drinke is commonly water, but while the grape lasteth, they drinke wine, and for want of caskes to keepe it, all the yere after they drink water, but it is sodden with ginger in it, and black sinamon, and sometimes sassaphras, and divers other wholesome and medicinable hearbes and trees. We were entertained with all love and kindnesse, and with as much bountie, after their maner, as they could possibly devise. We found the people most gentle, loving, and faithfull, voide of all guile and treason, and such as live after the maner of the golden age. The people onely care howe to defend themselves from the cold in their short winter, and. to feed themselves with such meat as the soile affbreth ; their meat is very well sodden, and they make broth very sweet and savorie ; their vessels are earthen Ahhough the lapse of time has evinced the futility of the specu- lation of Gilbert, the style of this treatise places this author on a level with the most distinguished writers of this age. In the Senate he was admired for his eloquence, not less than for his patriotism and integrity ; but the most interesting feature in his character was the strength of his piety. In the extremity of dan- ger at sea, he was observed sitting unmoved, with a bible in his hand, and heard to say, " Courage, my lads ! we are as near hea ven at sea as at land." • Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 248, 24B. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 21 pots, very large, white, and sweete ; their dishes are wooden platters of sweet timber. Within the place where they feede was their lodging, and within that their idoU, which they worship, of whom they speake incredible things. While we were at meate, there fame in at the gates two or three men with their bowes and arrowes from hunting, whom, when we espied, we beganne to looke one towardes another, and offered to reach our weapons ; but as soone as shee espied our mistrust, shee was very much mooved, and caused some of her men to runne out, and take away their bowes and arrowes and breake them, and withal), beate che poore fellowes out of the gate againe. When we departed in the evening, and would not tarry all night, she was very sory, and gave US into our boate our supper half dressed, pottes and all, and brought us to our boate side, in which we lay all night, removing the same a prettie dis- tance from the shoare ; shee perceiving our jelousie, was much grieved, and sent divers men and thirtie women to sit all night on the banke-side by us, and sent us into our boates five mattes, to cover us from the raine, using very many wordes to intreate us to rest in their houses ; but because we were fewe men, and if we had miscarried the voy^e had bene in very great danger, we durst not adventure any thing, although there was no cause of doubt, for a more kinde and loving people there cannot be found in the worlde, as far as we have hitherto had triall." Delighted with the prospect of possessing a terri- tory so far superior to any hitherto visited by her subjects, Elizabeth was pleased to honour both the newly discovered country and herself, by bestowing upon it the title of Virginia. These favourable circumstances not only encou- raged the enterprising spirit of Raleigh, but, by their effect on public opinion, assisted him in his arrange- ments to form a permanent settlement ; and he was soon enabled to despatch seven ships, under the com- mand of Sir Richard Grenville, one of the most valorous spirits of the age, with Ralph Lane, as governor of the colony, accompanied by Heriot, a mathematician of celebrity, and some other men of science. Sailing from Plymouth on the 9th of April, they proceeded to , Virgmia by the way of the West Indies, and, having narrowly escaped shipwreck at Cape Fear, anchored at Wocokon, on the 26th of • " Most thingrs they saw -with its, as mathematicalt instruments, sea-compasses, the vertue of the loadstone, perspective glasses, burning glasses, clocks to goe of themselves, booke.s, writing, guns, and such like, so far exceeded their capacities, that they thought they were rather the workes of gods then men, or at least the gods had taught us how to make them, which loved us so much belter than them ; and caused many of them to give credit to what we Bpake concerning our God. In all places where I came, I did my June. From this island Grenville went to the con- tinent, accompanied by several gentlemen, and disco- vered various Indian towns. He then proceeded to Cape Hatteras, where he Avas visited by Granganimo, the prince seen by Amadas and Barlow the preceding year ; and having viewed the island of Roanoke, he embarked for England, leaving one hundred and seven persons under the government of Mr. Lane, to form a plantation, and to commence the first English colony ever planted in America. The chief employ- ment of this party, during their year's residence in the New World, consisted in obtaining a more correct and extensive knowledge of the country ; a pursuit in which the persevering abilities of Heriot were ex- ercised with peculiar advantage.. His unremitting endeavours to instruct the savages, and diligent in- quiries into their habits and character, by adding to the stock of human knowledge, rendered the expedi- tion not wholly unproductive of benefit to mankind. He endeavoured to avail himself of the admiration expressed by the savages for the guns, the clock, the telescopes, and other implements that attested the superiority of the colonists, in order to lead their minds to the great source of all sense and science." But, unfortunately, the majority of the colonists were much less distinguished by piety or prudence, than by a vehement impatience to acquire svidden wealth: their first pursuit was gold ; and eagerly listening to the agreeable fictions of the natives, the adventurers consumed their time, and endured amazing hardships, in pursuit of a phantom, to the utter neglect of the means of providing for their future subsistence. The stock of provisions brought from England was ex- hausted ; and the colony, reduced* to the utmost dis- tress, was preparing to disperse into different districts of the country in quest of food, when Sir Francis Drake appeared with his fleet, returning from a suc- cessful expedition against the Spaniards in the West Indies. A scheme which he formed, of furnishing Lane and his associates with such supplies as might enable them to remain with comfort in their station, was disappointed by a sudden storm, in which the vessel he had destined for their service was dashed to pieces ; and as he could not supply them with another, at their joint request, as they were worn out with fatigue and famine, he carried them home to England.t best to make his immortall glory kno-n-ne ; and I told them, although the bible I shewed them contained all, yet of itselfe, it was not of anv such vertue as I thought they did conceive. Notwithsland-ug, many would be glad to touch it, to kisse, and embrace it, to hold it to their breasts and heads, and stroke all their body over with it."_Smith's History of Virginia, p. II. t Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 255—280. 22 fflSTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CO Had the Virginia adventurers, however, remained but a httle time longer at their plantation, they would have received supplies from home ; for, a few days after their departure, a ship, sent by Sir Walter Ra- leigh to their relief, arrived at Hatteras, and made diligent search for them, but, not finding them, re- turned to England. Within a few days after this ship had left the coast, Sir Richard Grenville arrived at Virginia with three new vessels laden with provi- sions. Searching in vain for the colony that he planted, but yet unwilling to lose possession of the country, he left fifty* of his crew to keep possession of the island of Roanoke, and returned to England. This was, indeed, but an inauspicious ccJmmencement for English attempts at ti-ansatlantic colonization ; but, though its immediate results did not realize the high expectations which had been formed, its conse- quences were indirectly very beneficial. It gave Heriot opportunity to describe its soil, climate, pro- ductions, and the manners of its inhabitants, with a degree of accuracy which merits no inconsiderable praise, when compared with the childish and marvel- lous tales published by several of the early visitants of the New World. Another consequence of this abortive colomr fs important enough to entitle it to a place in hislo)/. Lane and his associates, by their constant iiitercdurse with the Indians, had acquired a relish for Vu^±l favourite enjoyment of smoking to- bacco ; to the use of which, the credulity of that people not only ascribed a thousand imaginary virtues, but their superstition considered" the plant itself as a gracious gift of the gods, for the solace of human kind, and the most acceptable offering which man can present to heaven.* They brought with them a spe- cimen of this new commodity to England, and taught their countiymen the method of using it ; which Raleigh and some young men of fashion fondly adopted. From its being deemed a fashionable ac- quirement, and from the favourable opinion of its salutary qualities entertained by several physicians, the practice of smoking spread rapidly among the English ; and by a singular caprice of the human species, no less inexplicable than unexampled, it has become almost as universal as the demands of those appetites originally implanted in our nature. Amidst all the discourasfing- circumstances with which the settlement of Virginia was attended, Ra- leigh still remained devotedly attached to the object ; and early in the year 1587, equipped another com- pany of adventurers, incorporated by the title of the Borough of Raleigh, in Virginia. John White was • Hakluyt says fifteen, but Smith fifty, which is the more pro- bable ntunber. constituted governor, in whom, with a council of twelve persons, the legislative power was vested. They were directed to plant at the bay of Chesapeake, and to erect a fort there. This expedition sailed from Plymouth on ths 8th of May, and about the 16th of July fell in with the Virginian coast. Arriving at Hatteras on the 22d of July, the governor, with a select party, proceeded to Roanoke, and landed at that part of the island where the men were left the year preceding ; but discovered no signs of them, excepting the bones 'of one man, who had been slain by the savages. The next day the governor and several of his company went to the north end of the island, where Lane had erected his fort, and had built several decent dwelling houses, hoping to obtain some intelligence of his fellow-countrymen ; biU, on com- ing to the place, and finding the fort razed, and all the houses, though standing unhurt, overgrown with weeds and vines, and deer feeding within them ; they returned, in despair of ever seeing the objects of their research alive. Orders were given the same day for the repair of the houses, and for the erection of new cottages ; and all the colony, consisting of one hun- dred and seventeen persons, soon after landed, and commenced a second plantation. In the month of August, Manteo, a friendly Indian, who had been to England, was baptized in Roanoke, according to a previous order of Sir Walter Raleigh ; and. in reward of his faithful service to the English, was called lord of Roanoke. About the same period, Mrs. Dare, daughter of the governor, and wife of one of the assistants, was delivered of a daughter in Roanoke, and baptized the next Lord's day by the name of Vir- ginia, being the first English child born in the coun- try. Before the close of the month of August, at the urgent solicitation of the whole colony, the governor sailed for England to procure supplies. Unfortu- nately, on his arrival, the nation was wholly engrossed by the expected invasion of the grand Spanish Ar- mada ; and Sir Richard Grenville, who was preparing to sail for Virginia, received notice that his services were wanted at home. Raleigh, however, contrived to send out White with two more vessels ; but they were attacked by a Spanish ship of war, and so severely shattered, that they were obliged to return. It was not till 1590 that another expedition reached Virginia, when they beheld a similarly dreadful scene to that which had been presented on the former oc- casion. The houses were demohshed, though still surrounded by a palisade ; and a great part of the stores was found buried in the earth ; but as no trace was ever found of this unfortunate colony, there is / HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 23 every reason to apprehend that the whole must have miserably perished.* Thus terminated the noble and persevering efforts of Raleigh in the western hemi- sphere ; in which he sent out in four years several expeditions, at a cost of £40,000, without any pro- fitable return. It cannot be a matter of surprise, therefore, that he should be induced to assign his right of property in that country, with all the privi- leges of his patent, to other hands, especially as he was engaged in several other projects wliich now -resented, to his imagination at least, a much more jromising appearance. Sir Thomas Smith, and a lompany of mercantile men, were invested with the patent ; but, finding it difficult, probably, to procure emigrants for a spot which had proved the grave of so many of their brave companions, they satisfied themselves with the traffic carried on by a few small barks, and made no attempt to take possession of the country. Thus, after a period of a hundred and six years from the time that Cabot discovered North America in the service of Henry VII., and of twenty years from the time that Raleigh planted the first colony, not a single Englishman remained in the New World ; and the colonization of America awaited the energy of a new impulse. In the last year of Elizabeth, the voyage of Bar- tholomew Gosnold tended to revive the spirit of emi- gration. He set sail in a small bark from Falmouth, with thirty-two persons, for the northern parts of Virginia, with the design of beginning a plantation. Instead of making the unnecessary circuit by the Canaries and West Indies, he steered, as steadily as the winds would permit, due west, and acquired the honour of being the first Englishman who came in a direct course to this part of America. t After a pas- sage of seven weeks, he descried the American coast; and sailing along the shore, arrived at a head land, in the latitude of 42°, where they came to anchor. Having taken a great number of cod at this place, they designated it Cape Cod. On the day following * Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 281—294. Murray, vol. i. p. 204. " And thus we left seeking our colony, that was never any of them found, nor seene to this day, 1622. And this was the conclusion of this plantation, after so much time, labour, and charge consumed; whereby we see, ' Not all at once, nor all alike, nor ever hath if beene. That God doth offer and confer his blessings upon men.' " Smith, p. 16. t Smith (Hist. Vir^. p. 16) says, " this course was shorter than heretofore by five hundred leagues." — Belknap, Biog. vol. i. p. 231 ; ii. 100. Robertson, b. 9. t " Point Care is supposed by Dr. Belknap to be Makbarre, or Sandy Point, forming the south-ea'Stern extremity of the county of Barnstable, in Massachusetts. Martha's Vineyard was not the is- land which now bears that name, but a small island, now called No-Man's Land. Dover Cli/f was Gay Bead. Gosnold's Hope they coasted the land southerly ; and, in attempting to double a point, came suddenly into shoal water, at a place they called Point Care. On the 24th they discovered an island, which they called Dover C'lifl"; and the next day came to anchor, a quarter of a mile from the shore, in a large bay they termed Gosnold's Hope. On the northern side of it was the main ; and on the southern, four leagues distant, was a large island, which, in honour of the queen, they deter- mined should bear the name of Elizabeth. Consult- ing together on a fit place for a plantation, they concluded to settle on the western part of this island. In it they found a small lake of fresh water, tv\'0 miles in circumference, in the centre of which was a rocky islet ; and here they began to erect a fort and storehouse. While the men were occupied in this work, Gosnold crossed the bay in his vessel, went on shore, trafficked amicably with the natives, and, having discovered the mouth of two rivers, returned to the island. t In nineteen days the fort and store- house were finished ; but discontents arising among those who were to have remained in the country, the design of a settlement was relinquished, § and the whole company returned to England.il However inconsiderable this voyage may appear, its results were by no means insignificant. It was now discovered that the aspect of America was very inviting far north of any portion the English had hitherto attempted to settle. The coast of a vast country, stretching through the most desirable cli- mates, lay before them. The richness of its virgin soil promised a certain recompense to their industry. In its interior provinces unexpected sources of wealth might open, and unknown objects of commerce might be found. Its distance from England was diminished almost a third by the new course which Gosnold had pointed out ; and plans for establishing colonies began to be formed in different parts of the kingdom. The accession of James to the English crown was also highly favourable to the colonization of America, and was Buzzard's Bay. The narrator in Purchas says, ' it is one of the stateliest sounds that ever I was in.' Elizabeth Island was the westernmost of the islands which now bear the name of Elizabeth Islands. One of the two rivers discovered by Gosnold, was that near which lay Hap's Hill ; and the other, that on the banks of which the town of New Bedford is now built." — Holmes's Annals of America, vol. i. p. 118. § " The I3th beganne some of our corapanie that before vowed to stay, to make revolt ; whereupon, the planters diminishing, all was given over."— Purchas. " In 1797, Dr. Belknap, with several other gentlemen, went to the spot which was selected by Gosnold's comjiany on Elizabeih Island, and had the supreme satisfaction to find the cellar of Gosnold's storehouse ; the stones of which were evidently taken from the neighbouring beach ; the rocks of the islet being less moveable, and lying in ledges."— Belknap. Biog, vol. ii. p. 115. II Smith's Hist. Virg. p. 16—18. 24 fflSTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. fatal to the illustrious projector of this design. Peace was immediately concluded with Spain ; and Eng- land, in the enjoyment of uninterrupted tranquillity, was enabled to direct to more bloodless pursuits the energies matured in a war which had strongly excited the spirit of the nation without impairing its strength. These projects were powerfully aided by the judi- cious counsel and zealous encouragement of Richard Hakluyt, prebendary of Westminster, a man of emi- nent attainments in naval and commercial knowledge, the patron and counsellor of many of the English expeditions of discovery, and the historian of their exploits. By his persuasion, two vessels were fitted out by the merchants of Bristol, to examine the dis- coveries of Gosnold, and ascertain the correctness of his statements. They returned with an ample con- firmation of his veracity. A similar expedition, equipp<^d and despatched by Lord Arundel, not only produced additional testimony to the same effect, but reported so many additional particulars in favour of the country, that all doubts were removed ; and an association sufficiently numerous, wealthy, and pow- erful, to attempt a settlement, being soon formed, a petition was presented to the king for the sanction of his authority to its being carried into efl'ect. Fond of directing the active genius of his English subjects towards occupations not repugnant to his own pacific maxims, Jam.es listened with a favoura- ble ear to the application. But as the extent as well as value of the American continent began now to be better known, a grant of the whole of such a vast region to any one body of men, however respectable, appeared to him an act of impolitic and profuse liberality. For this reason he divided that portion of North America, which stretches from tlin thirty- fourth to the fifty-fifth degree of latitude, into two districts nearly equal ; the one called the first or south colony of Virginia, the other, the second or north colony. He authorized Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Summers, Richard Hakluyt, and their associates, mostly resident in London, to settle any part of the former which they should choose, and vested in them a right of property to the land extend- ing along the coast fifty miles on each side of the place of their first habitation, and reaching into the interior country a hundred miles. The latter district he allotted, as the place of settlement to sundry knights, gentlemen, and merchants of Bristol, Ply- mouth, and other parts of the west of England, with a similar grant of territory. The supreme govern- ment of the colonies that were to be settled, was • Stith, Virg. Appendix, No. 1, and Hazard, Coll. vol.i. p. SO- BS, contain entire copies of this patent. vested in a council, resident in England, named by the king, with laws and ordinances given under his sign manual ; and the subordinate jurisdiction waa committed to a council, resident in America, which was also nominated by the king, and to act conform- ably to his instructions. The charter, while it thus restricted the emigrants in the important article of internal regulation, secured to them and their de- scendants all the rights of denizens, in the same manner as if they had remained or had been born in England ; and granted them the privilege of holding their lands in America by the freest and least bur- densome tenure. The king permitted whatever was necessary for the sustenance or commerce of the new colonies to be exported from England, during the space of seven years, without paying any duty ; and, as a farther incitement to industry, he granted them liberty of trade with other nations ; and appropriated the duty to be levied on foreign commodities, as a fund for the benefit of the colonies, for the period of twenty-one years. He also granted them liberty of coining for their own use, of repelling enemies, and of detaining ships that should trade there without their permission.* " In this singular charter," says Robertson, "the contents of which have been little attended to by the historians of America, some articles are as unfavourable to the rights of the colonists as others are to the interest of the parent state. By placing the legislative and executive powers in a council nominated by the crown, and guided by its instructions, every person settling in America seems to be bereaved of the noblest privilege of a free man ; by the unlimited permission of trade with foreigners, the parent state is deprived of that exclusive com- merce which has been deemed the chief advantage resulting from the establishment of colonies. But in the infancy of colonization, and without the guidance of observation or experience, the ideas of men, with respect to the mode of forming new settlements, were not fully unfolded or properly arranged. At a period when they could not foresee the future grandeur and importance of the communities which they were about to call into existence, they were ill qualified to concert the best plan for governing them. Besides, the English of that age, accustomed to the high pre- rogative and arbitrary rule of their monarchs, were not animated with such liberal sentiments, either concerning their own personal or political rights, as have become familiar in the more mature and im- proved state of their constitution ."T We may regard the colonies of North and South t History of America, b. ix. p. 290. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 25 Virginia, or Virginia and New England, as they were Bubsequently denominated, as forming, from this period, the subject of two distinct and continuous histories , that of the former, being earliest in point of time, will continue to occupy our attention during the remainder of this chapter. The proprietors of the royal patent lost no time in carrying their plans into effect. It cannot, however, be said, that they commenced their operations on a scale at all worthy of the magnitude of the under- taking, as their fleet consisted only of three ships, conveying one hundred emigrants ; and, although some persons of rank were among the number of proprietors, their pecuniary resources were but scanty. The charge of this embarkation was com- mitted to Christopher Newport, already famous for his skill in western navigation. He sailed from the Thames on the 20th of December, 1606, having, in a sealed box, the royal instructions, and the names of the intended colonial council, with orders not to break the seal till twenty-four hours after the expe- dition had effected a landing ; to which singular policy, may be attributed the dissensions which soon commenced among the leaders, and which continued to distract them during a voyage long and disas- trous.* Captain Newport had designed to land at Roanoke ; but fortunately, being driven by a storm to the northward, he stood into the spacious bay of Chesapeake, that grand reservoir into which are poured almost countless tributaries, which not only fertilize the country through which they flow, but open to it a commercial intercourse which can scarcely be said to be surpassed in any portion of the globe. The promontory on the south of the bay was named Cape Henry, in honour of the prince of Wales ; and that on the north. Cape Charles, after the then duke of York. At night the box, contain- ing the sealed instructions, was opened, in which Bartholomew Gosnold, John Smith, Edward Wing- field, Christopher Newport, John Ratcliffe, John Martin, and George Kendall, were constituted the council of government, with power to elect a presi- dent from among their number. The adventurers were employed in seeking a place for settlement until • Cha'.mers, Political Annals, b. i. c. 2. " Their animosities weie powerfully inflamed by an arrangement which, if it did nnt originate with the king, at least evinces a strong affinity to thai ostentatious mystery and driftless artifice which he affected as the peileclion of political dexterity." — Grahame, vol. i. p. 47. f " It would perhaps be difficult to find any individual who ex- peri ;nccd more gallant adventures and daring enterprises, of a higl ly romantic character, in various countries, than Captain Smith. His life, without any fictitious additions, might easily be taken for a mere romaace. He appears to have possessed many grcit qualities, and to have been deficient in nothing but that mean the thirteenth of May, when they took possession of a peninsula, on the north side of the river Powhatan, called by the emigrants James River, about forty miles from us mouth. To make room for their pro- jected town, they commenced clearing away the forest, which had for centuries afforded shelter and food to the natives. The members of the council, while they adhered to their orders in the choice of their president, on the most frivolous pretences ex- cluded from a seat among them, the individual, who was probably of all others the best fitted for the office, Captain Smith,t though nominated by the same in- strument from which they derived their authority. His superior talents, and the fame he had previously acquired in war, excited their envy, while possibly they induced him to assume, that a greater deference was due to his opinion than his coadjutors were willing to admit. At length, however, by the prudent exliortations of Mr. Hunt, their chaplain, the animo- sities which had arisen were composed. Smith was adtnitted into the council, and they all turned their undivided attention to the government of the colony. In honour of their monarch, they called the town, the erection of which they now commenced, James Town. Thus was formed the first permanent colony of the English in America. The vicinity of the settlement was a vast wilder- ness, though a luxuriant one, inhabited by a race of Indian savages, possessing both the virtues and the vices peculiar to their state. At first, they treated the colonists with kindness ; but misunderstandings, from various causes, ere long interrupted the peace, and annoyed the proceedings of the English. Nor was the hostility of the natives the only occasion of discomfort ; the extreme heat of the summer, and the intense cold of the succeeding winter, were alike fatal to the colonists. From May to September, fifty per- sons died, among whom was Bartholomew Gosnold, a member of the council! The storehouse at James Town accidentally taking fire, the town, thatched with reeds, burned with such violence, that the forti- fications, arms, apparel, bedding, and a great quantity of private goods and provision, were consumed. These distresses naturally led them to reflect upon cunning and sordid spirit, by the aid of which inferior men were able to thwart his views, and deprive him of those stations and re«'ards which his services amply merited. He was one of the earliest and most ardent of those who undertook the settlement of Virginia; his bravery and capacity more than once saved that in- fanl^colony from destruction, and kept the enterprise from being abandoned for several vears, though the absurdity of the schemes, and the profligacy, folly, and dishonesty of those who were to ex- ecute them, exposed the colony for many years to every caiamicy, and often brought it to the brink of ruin."— North American Re- view, vol. iv. p. 146. 26 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. iheir situation ; and having become sensible of their injustice to Smitli, his personal talents and activity were, in their adversity, appealed to with that regard and deference which, in prosperous times, are yielded only to vested authority and official station. From some unaccountable jealousy on the part of the go- vernor, the fort had been left in an unprotected state, but, by the advice of Smith, it was now put into a state to defend them against the attacks of the Indians. To procure provisions and explore the country, he made frequent and distant excursions into the wilder- ness. In one of tliese, he seized an Indian idol, made with skins stuffed with moss, for the redemption of which as much corn was brought him as he required. Some tribes he gained by caresses and presents, and procured from them a supply of provisions ; others he attacked with open force, and defeating them on every occasion, whatever their superiority in numbers might be, compelled them to impart to him some por- tion of their winter stores. As the recompense of all his toils and dangers, he saw abundance and content- ment re-established in the colony, and hoped tliat he should be able to maintain them in that happy state, until the arrival of ships from England in the spring. But in the midst of his energetic measures, while exploring the source of the river Chickahominy, he was surprised and attacked by a party of Indians. He defended himself bravely until his companions were killed, when he took to flight ; but running in- cautiously, he sunk up to his shoulders in a swamp, and was taken prisoner. The exulting savages con- ducted him in triumph through several towns to Werowocomoco, where Powhatan, their king, resided in state, with a strong guard of Indians around him. When the prisoner entered the apartment of the sovereign, all the people gave a shout. The queen of Appamatuck was appointed to bring him water to wash his hands ; and another person brought a bunch of feathers, instead of a towel, to dry them. Having feasted him in their best manner, they held a Ion? consultation, at the conclusion of which, two great stones were brought before Powhatan. Smith had now reason to consider his career as drawing to a close ; by the united efforts of the attendants, he was forcibly dragged, his head laid upon one of the stones, and the mighty club up-raised, a few blows from • Smith's Hist. Virg. p. 49. t " So to lames Tomie with twelve guides Powhatan sent him. That night they quarter J in the woods, he still expecting (as he had done all this long time of his imprisonment) every hoiire to be put to one death or other, for all their feasting. But Almightie God (by his divine providence) had mollified xke hearts of those sterne barbarians with compassion. The next morning betimes they came to the fort, where Smith having used the salvages with what kindnesse he could, he showed Rawhunt, Powhatan's trusty ser- which were to terminate his existence. But a very unexpected interposition now took place. Pocahontas, the favourite daughter of Powhatan, was seized with emotions of tender pity, and ran up to her father, pathetically pleading for the hfe of the stranger. When all entreaties were lost on that stern and savage potentate, she hastened to Smith, snatched his head in her arms, and laid her own on his, declaring that the fiust blow must fall upon her. The heart even of a savage father was at last melted, and Pow- hatan granted to his favourite daughter the life oi Smith.*" It appears at first to have been the intention, of the savage monarch to have detained the captive, and employed him in manufacturing utensils and orna- ments for his majesty's use ; but from some' cause he speedily changed his mind, and in two days after his deliverance, sent him, to his high gratification, with a guard of twelve of his trusty followers, to James Town, upon condition that he should remit two culve- rins and a millstone as his ransom. t After an absence of seven weeks. Smith arrived barely m time to save the colony from being aban- doned. His associates, reduced to the number of thirty-eight, impatient of farther stay in a country where they had met with so many discouragements, were preparing to return to England ; and it was not without the utmost difficulty, and alternately employ- ing persuasion, remonstrance, and even violent inter- ference, that Smith prevailed with them to relinquish their design. Pocahontas, persevering in her gene- rous designs, continued to supply the colony with provisions till a vessel arrived from England with supplies. Having preserved the settlement during the winter by his active exertions and his careful management. Smith embraced the earliest opportunity, in the following manner, to explore the extensive and multifarious ramifications of the Chesapeake. In an open barge, with fourteen persons, and but a scanty stock of provisions, he traversed the whole of that vast extent of water from Cape Henry, where it meets the ocean, to the rii'er Susquehannah ; trading with some tribes of Indians, and fighting with others. He discovered and named many small islands, creeks, and inlets ; sailed up many of the great rivers ; and explored the inland parts of the countrj'. During vant, two demi-culverings and a mill-stone to carrj' Powhatan ; they found Ihem somewhat too heavie, but when they did see him discharge them, being loaded with stones, among the boughs Qf a great tree loaded with isickles, the yce and branches came so tum- bling downe, that the poore salvages ran away halfe aead with feare. But at last we regained some conference with them, and gave them such toyes, and sent to Powhatan, his women, and chil- dren, such presents as gave them in generail full content.". -Smith's Hist. Virg. p. 49 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 27 this enterpri-ie, the Susquehannah Indians Adsiu^d him, End made him presents. At this early period they tad hatcliets, and utensils of iron and brass, which, by their own account, originally came from the French of Canada. After sailing about three thou- sand miles, Smith returned to James Town. Having made careful observations during this excursion of discovery, he drew a map of Chesapeake Bay, with its tributary rivers, annexing to it a description of the countries, and of the nations inhabiting them, and sent it to the council in England.* The superior abilities of Smith had now been so manifestly subservient to the general welfare, that they had silenced, at least, the malignity of envy and faction, and although it waii comparatively a short period since he had been so unjustly calunmiated, and deprived of his seat at the council-board, inmie- diately after his return from his voyage, he was, by the election of the council and the request of the settlers, invested with the government, and received letters-patent to be president of the colony. The wisdom of his administration inspired confidence, its vigour commanded obedience, and the military exer- cises, which he obliged all to perform, struck the Indians with astonishment, and inspired them with aTre.t The colony continued to proceed, under the ad- ministration of President Smith, as favourably as the nature of its materials would permit. They were, indeed, by no means of the most desirable description, being chiefly " poor gentlemen, tradesmen, serving- men, libertines, and such like, ten times more fit to spoil a commonwealth than either to begin or main- lain one." As they went out usually ■with extrava- gant hopes of sudden and brilliant wealth, they paid little regard to any solid or substantial pursuit, and scorned even the slight labour which was necessary to draw subsistence from this fertile soil. The caprice and suspicion of the Indians also assailed him with numberless trials. Even Powhatan, not- withstanding the friendly ties that united him to his ancient guest, was induced, by the treacherous arti- fices of certain Dutchmen, who deserted to him from • This map was made with such admirable exactness, that it is the original from which all subsequent maps and descriptions of Virgfoia have been chiefly copied. In Purehas, and in some copies of Smith's History of Virginia, his own original map is still to be found, but it is rery rare. t " About this time there was a marriage betwiit lohn Laydon and Anne Burras, which was the first marriage we had in Virgi- nia." — Smith's Hist. Virg. p. 73. t Copies of this second charter, containing the names of the proprietors, are preserved in Stith, Virg. Appendix, No. ii. and in Haza d. Coll. i. 58 — 72. By this charter the company was made " nne Body or Commonalty perpetual," and incorporated by the aame of " The Treasurer and Company of Adveninrers and James Town, first to form a secret conspiracy, and then to excite and prepare open hostility against the colonists. Some of the fraudful designs of the royal savage were revealed by the unabated kindness of Pocahontas, others were detected by Captain Smith, and from them all he contrived to extricate the co- lony with honour and success, and yet with little and only defensive bloodshed. But Smith was not permitted to complete the work he had so honourably begun. His administration was unacceptable to the company in England, for the same reasons that ren- dered it beneficial to the settlers in America. The patentees, very little concerned about the establish- ment of a happy and respectable society, had eagerly counted on the accumulation of sudden wealth by the discovery of a shorter passage to the South Sea, or the acquisition of. territory replete with mines of the precious metals. In these hopes they had been hitherto disappointed ; and the state of affairs in the colony was far from betokening even the retribution of their heavy expenditure. The company of South Virginia, therefore, treated for, and obtained from king James a new charter with more ample privileges.* This measure added materially to the list of proprietors, among whom we find some of the most respectable and wealthy, not only of the commoners, but of the peers of the realm. The council of the new company appointed Lord Delaware governor of Yirginia for life ; Sir Thomas Gates, his lieutenant ; Sir George Soniers, admiral ; and Christopher Newport, vice-admiral ; and fitted out seven ships, attended by two small vessels, having on board fire hundred emigrants. Lord Delaware did not, however, accompany this expedition, not from any want of attachment to the cause, but from a desire to preside for a period over the council at home, and to make more efiicient arrangements for further reinforcements. The ship in which the three other oflicers? sailed, becoming separated from tho rest of the fleet in a violent storm, was wrecked on the Bermudas Islands, where all the company, con- sisting of one hundred and fifty persons, were provi- dentially saved. One small vessel was lost in the Planters of the City of London, for the First Colony in Virginia." Charter. To them were now granted in absolute properly, what seem formerly to have been conveyed only in trust, the lands e.t- tending from Cape Comfort along the sea coast southward, two hundred miles; from the same promontory two hundred miles northward ; and from the Atlantic westward to the South Sea ; and also all the islands Ij-ing within one hundred miles along the coast of both seas of the aforesaid precinct.— Chalmers. § Each of these had a commission ; and the first who should arrive, was authorized to recall the commission that had been granted for the government of the colony ; but " because they could not agree for place, it was concluded they should go all in one ship."— Smith's Hist Virg. p. 89. 2S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. sturin ; the other ships, much damaged and distressed, arri"ed aboi.i the middle of August at James river ; but so little were they expected, that when they were lirst descried at sea, they were mistaken for enemies ; and these apprehensions, which were dissipated by the nearer approach of the fleet, only gave place to mora substantial and more formidable evils, arising from the composition of the reinforcement which it brought to the colonial body.* A great proportion of these new emigrants consisted of profligate and licentious youths ; indigent gentlemen, too proud to beg, and too lazy to work ; idle retainers ; depend- ants too infamous to be decently protected at home, less fitted to found a commonwealth than to destroy one. In fact, the whole colony was speedily involved in distress and disorder by the anarchical state intro- duced by their pride and folly, while the Indian tribes were alienated and exasperated by their turbu- lence and injustice. A systematic design was now meditated against the whole colony by the sovereign of the country; but it was providentially discovered and frustrated. Pocahontas, the tutelary friend of Virginia, though but a child of thirteen years of age, went in a very dark and dreary night to .Tames Town, and, at the hazard of her life, disclosed to the president a plot of her father to kill him and all the English. This timely notice put the colony on its guard ; and some favourable occurrences soon after contributed still farther toward its preservation. An Indian, appa- rently dead through the effect of a charcoal fire in a close room, was, on the application of vinegar and aqua vitce by the president, reanimated. This sup- posed miracle, with an explosion of powder, which killed two or three Indians, and scorched and wound- ed others, excited such astonishment, mingled with such admiration of English power and art, that Powhatan and his people came to them with pre- sents of peace ; and the whole country, during the remainder of Smith's administration, was entirely free from molestation, and the colonists pursued ♦ Speaking of this company, Smith says, " To a thousand mis- ehiefes those lewd Captaines led this lewd company, wherein were many unruly gallants, packed thither by their friends to escape ill destinies, and those would dispose and determine of the govern- ment, sometimes to one, the next day to another; to-day the old commission must rule, to-morrow the new, the next day neither ; in lino, they would rule all, or ruine all : yet in charitie we must en- dure them thus to destroy us, or by correcting their follies, have brought the worlds censure upon us to be guiltie of their blouds. Happie had we beene had they never arrived, and we for ever ahandimed, as we were left to our fortunes ; for on eartK, for the number, was never more confusion, or misery, then their factions occasioned. " The president seeing the desire those braves had to rule ; see- ing how his authoritie so unexpectedly changed would willingly have left all, and have returned for England. Bat seeing there their plans of improvement, both in agricuhure and in some of the manufactures, with tolerable success. Unhappily, however, the president, while exerting himself with his usual energy in the concerns of the settlement, received a dangerous wound from the accidental explosion of a quantity of gunpowder. Completely disabled by this misfortune, and destitute of surgical aid, he was compelled to resign his com- mand, and take his departure (and it was a final one) for England. " It was natural," observes Grahame, " that he should abandon with regret the society he had so often preserved, the settlement he had con- ducted through difficulties as formidable as the in- fancy of Carthage or Rome had to encounter, and the scenes he had dignified by so much wisdom and virtue. But our sympathy with his regret is abated by the reflection, that a longer residence in the colo- ny would speedily have consigned him to very subordinate office, and might have deprived the world of that stock of valuable knowledge, and his own character of that accession of fame, which the publication of his travels has been the means of perpetuating ."t The departure of Smith was, as might have been anticipated, a most inauspicious circumstance for the colony. The Indians, finding that the person whose vigour they had so often felt no longer ruled the English settlers, generally revolted, and destroyed them wherever they were found. Captain RatcliflT, in a small ship, with thirty men, going to trade, and trusting himself indiscreetly to Powhatan, he and all his people, excepting two, were slain ; one boy was saved by the benevolent Pocahontas. The pro- visions of the colony being imprudently wasted, a dreadful famine ensued, and prevailed to such ex- tremity, that this period was many years distinguish- ed by the name of " the starving time." Of nearly five hundred persons left in the colony by the late president, sixty only remained at the expiration of six months. In this extremity, they received unex- pected relief from Sir Thomas Gates, and the compa- was rmall hope this new commission would arrive, longer he would not suffer those factious spirits to proceede. It would be too tedi- ous, too strange, and almost incredible, should I particularly relate the infinite dangers, plots, and practices, he daily escaped amongst this factious crew, the chiefe whereof he quickly layd by the heeles, till his leasure better served to doe them justice." — Smith's Hist. Virg. p. 90. * " The History of the Rise and Progress of the United States of North America, till the Revolution in 1688. By James Grahame, Esq. 2 vols. Svo." This work appears to have been the result of lengthened and extensive research, and we know not which most to commend, its general correctness, its vigorous and just con- ceptions, or its decided advocacy of Christian principles;— and we take the liberty of expressing our hope that the volumes con- taining the subsequent portions of the history will not be hmgei delayed. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. \ 29 ny wrecked the previous year at the Bermudas, who, having built two small vessels, were at length able to leave the Island, and reached Virginia on the 23d of May. Finding the small remains of the colony in a famishing condition, Sir Thomas Gates consulted with Sir George Somers, Captain Newport, and the gentlemen and council of the former government; and the conclusion was, that they would abandon the country. It was their intention to sail for New- foundland, where they expected to meet with many English ships, into which, it was hoped, they might disperse most of the company, and thus get back to England. On the 7th of June they all embarked in four small vessels, and about noon, fell down the river with the tide. The next morning ihey disco- vered a boat making toward them; and it proved to be the long-boat of Lord Delaware, who had just arrived at the mouth of the river, with three ships and a hundred and fifty men. Hearing at the fort of the company's intention to return to England, he had despatched an officer with letters to Sir Thomas Gates, informing him of his arrival. Gates instantly changed his purpose, and that night relanded all his men at James Town. On the 10th, Lord Delaware came up with his ships, bringing plentiful supplies to the colony, which he proceeded to resettle.* Having published his commission, which invested him with the sole command, he appointed a council of six persons to assist him in the administration. An essential change now took place in the form of the ancient Virginia constitution; for the original aristocracy was converted into a monarchical govern- ment, over whose deliberations the people had no control. Under the auspices of this intelligent and distinguished nobleman, the affairs of the colony were soon re-established. He allotted to every man his particular business ; — the French who had been imported for the purpose, he commanded to plant the vine ; the English, to labour in the woodlands ; and he appointed officers to see his orders obeyed. All patiently submitted to an authority, which expe- rience had taught them to be wise and necessary ; and peace, industry, and order, now succeeded tu- mult, idleness, and anarchy. Lord Delaware speedi- ly erected two more forts for the more effectual protection of the colony; the one he designated Fort Henry, the other Fort Charles. On the report of his deputy governors of the plenty they had • Smith, Virg. p. 106. Stith, p. 115. Beverly, p. 34, 35. Bel- knap, Biog. Art. Delaware. The narrator, in Purchas, gives this vivid description of the scene : — " The three and twentieth day of May we cast anchor before James Towne, where we landed, and onr much grieved governour first visiting the church, caused the bell to be rung, at which all such bs were aMe tr come forth of found in Bermudas, he despatched Sir George Somers to that island for provisions, accompanied by Captain Samuel Argal in another vessel. They sailed to- gether until, by contrary winds, they were driven towards Cape Cod; whence Argal, after attempting, pursuant to instructions, to reach Sagadahock, found his way back to Virginia. He was next sent for provisions to the Potomac, where he found Henry Spelman, an English youth, who had been preserved from the fury of Powhatan by Pocahontas ; and by his assistance procured a supply of corn. Somers, after struggling long with contrary winds, at length arrived safely at Bermudas, and began to execute the purpose of his voyage ; but, exhausted with fatigues, to which his advanced age was inadequate, he soon after expired. Previously to his death, he had charged his nephew, Matthew Somers, who commanded under him, to return with the provisions to Virginia ; but, instead of obeying the charge, he returned to Eng- land, carrying the body of his deceased uncle for interment in his native country. The health of Lord Delaware not permitting him to remain in his office of captain general of the Virginia colony, he departed for England, leaving above two hundred people in health and tranquillity. Not long after his departure, Sir Thomas Dale arri- ved at Virginia with three ships, three hundred emi- grants, and a supply of cattle, provisions, and other articles needful for the colony. In August, Sir Tho- mas Gates also arrived with six ships, two hundred and eighty men, and twenty women, a considerable quantity of cattle and hogs, military stores, and other necessaries; and assumed the government. Finding the people occupied with but little amuse- ments, and verging towards their former state ■ of penury, he directed their employment in necessary works. The colony now began to extend itself up James river, where several new settlements Avero effected, and a town built, enclosed with a pali- sade, which, in honour of prince Henry, was called Henrico. To avenge some injuries of the Appamatuck Indi- ans, Sir Thomas Dale assaulted and took their town, at the mouth of the river of that name, about five miles from Henrico. He kept possession of it, call- ing it New Bermudas, and annexed to its corporation many miles of champaign and woodland ground, in several hundreds. their houses, repayred to church, where our minister. Master Bucke, made a zealous and sorrowful! prayer, finding all things so contrary to our expectations, so full of misery and misgovernment. After service our governour caused mee to reade his commission, and Captaine Percie (then president) delivered up unto him his com- mission, the old patent, and the conncell scale." 30 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. In the following year, application was made to the king, by the patentees, for a new charter. The prin- cipal objects which they were desirous of obtaining, and in which they succeeded, were, their investiture with the islands situated within three hundred leagues of the coast ; the prolongation of the period of their exemption from the payment of duties on their ex- ports ; povFer to raise additional funds by lottery; and some fresh regulations in the internal manage- ment. The Bermudas, lying within the limits assigned by their new charter, were sold by the company to one hundred and twenty of its own members, who, in honour of Sir George Somers, named them the Somers Islands. To these islands they sent a colony of sixty persons, with Richard Moor as their govern- or. These colonists having landed in June on the • To give a detail of the history of this Indian princess seems scarcely compatible with a due regard to other departments of our woric ; and yet it is of too remarkable and interesting a character to be omitted. We therefore insert, as a note, Captain Smith's own account, in a narration made to the Glueen of James I. — ' Some ten yeeres agoe being in Virginia, and taken prisoner by ihe power of Powhatan, their chiefe king, I received from this great salvage exceeding great courtesie, especially from his sonne Nanlaquaus, the most manliest, comeliest, boldest spirit, I ever saw in a salvage, and his sister Pocahontas, the king's most deare and wel-beloved daughter, being but a childe of twelve or thirieene yeeres of age, whose compassionate pitifuU heart, of my desperate estate, gave me much cause to respect her : I being the first Chris- tian this proud king and his grim attendants ever saw : and thus inthralled in their barbarous power, I cannot say I felt the least occasion of want that was in the power of those my mortall foes to prevent, notwithstanding al their threats. After some six weeks fatting amongst those salvage courtiers, at the minute of my exe- cution, she hazarded the heating out of her owne braines to save mine, and not onely that, but so prevailed with her father, that I was safely conducted to lames Towne, where I found about eight and thirtie miserable poore and sicke creatures to keepe possession of all those large territories of Virginia. Such was the weaknesse of this poore commonwealth, as had the salvages not fed us, we directly had starved. "And this reliefe, most Gracious dueene, was commonly brought us by this Lady Pocahontas ; notwithstanding all these passages when incon'.tant fortune turned our peace to warre, this tender virgin would still not spare to dare to visit us, and by her our jarres have beene oft appeased, our wants still supplyed ; were it the policie of her father thus to imploy her, or Ihe ordinance of God thus to make her his instrument, or her extraordinarie affec- tion to our nation, I know not ; but of this I am sure, when her father with the utmost of his policie and power, sought to surprize mee, having but eighteene with me, the darke night could not af- fright her from comming through the irksome woods, and wilh watered eies gave me intelligence, with her best advice, to escape his furie, which had hee knowne, hee had surely slaine her. lames Towne, wilh her wild traine, she has freely frequented as licr falhers habitation ; and, during the time of two or three yeers, she ne.M, under God, was still the instrument to preserve this colonic from death, famine, and utter confusion, which, if in those times, had once beene dissolved, Virginia might have lyne as it was on our first arrivall to this day. Since then, this businesse having beene turned and varied by many accidents from that I iel'l it at, it is most certaine, after a long and troublesome warre after my departure, bclwixt her father and our colonic, all which liine she was not heard of; about two yeeres after shee herselfe wtis taken prisoner, being so detained neere two yeeres longer, the principal island, in August subscribed to articles of government ; and in the course of the year received an accession of thirty persons. The Virginia com- pany, at the same time, took possession of other small islands discovered by Gates and Somers, and prepared to send out a considerable reinforcement to James Town. The expense of these extraordi- nary efforts was defrayed by the profits of a lottery, which amounted nearly to £30,000. It was in the year following'the grant of the new charter, that the marriage of Pocahontas, the famed daughter of Powhatan, was celebrated ; an alliance wliich secured peace to Virginia many years. Hav- ing been carefully instructed in the Christian reli- gion, it was not long before she renoitnced the idolatry of her country, made profession of Christi- anity, and was baptized in the name of Rebecca.* colonie by that meanes was relieved, peace concluded, and at last, rejecting her barbarous condition, was mariied to an English gen- tleman, wilh whom at this present she is in England ; Ihe first Chris- tian ever of that nation, the first Virginian ever spake English, or had a childe in marriage by an Englishman, a matter surely, if my meaning bee truly considered and well understood, worthy a princes understanding. " Being about this time preparing to set saile for New England, I could not stay to doe her that service I desired, and she well de- served ; but hearing shee was at Brenford with divers of my friends, I went to see her. After a modest salutation, without any word, she turned about, obscured her face, as not seeming well contented ; and in that humour her husband, with divers others, we all left her two or three houres, repenting myselfe to have writ she could speake English ; but not long after, she began to talke, and remem- bered mee well what courtesies she had done, saying, ' you did promise Powhatan what was yours should bee his, and he the Jike to you; you called him father, being in his land a stranger, and by the same reason so must I doe you ;' which, though I wcitld have excused, I durst not allow of that title, because she was a kings daughter; with a well set countenance, she said, 'Were you not afraid to come into my falhers counlrie, and caused feare in him and all his people, (but mee,) and feare you here I should call you father'? I tell 3'ou ^hen I will, and you shall call mee child, and so I will bee for ever and ever your countrieman. They did tell us alwaies you were dead, and I knew no other lill I came to Plimolh, yet Powhatan did command Vitamatomakkin to seeke you and know the truth, because your countriemen will lie much.' " The treasurer, councell, and companie, having well furnished Captaine Samuel Argall, the Lady Pocahonlas, alias Rebecca, with her husband and others, in the good ship called the George, it pleased God, al Gravesend, to lake this young l.ndy to his mercie, where she made not more sorrow for her unexpected death, than joy to Ihe beholders, to heare and see her make so religious and godly an end."— Smith's Hist. Virg. p. 121—123. As lliis eulogy of Pocahontas does not give us such a detail as the reader might wish lo have, the American editor adds the fol- lowing froin " Knapp's Female Biography." Pocahontas. In every age and nation, rare instances of genius and benevolence have been found ; but in the whole range of un- educated nations, no female can be produced that has superior claims to Pocahontas, Ihe Indian princess, daughter to the sachem of Virginia, Powhalan. This princess was born somewhere about 1594, according to Captain Smith's conjecture, for the savages have no methods of keeping an exact register of births, or deaths, and ihcir compulations by seasons or moons were seldom accur.nte. The first that was known of Pocahonlas was in the year 16 07, when that prince of chivalry, Captain John Smith, whose fame had filled the old world, came to this continent for adventures, HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 31 In some measure connected with this event, by the influence so powerful an alliance was calculated to have upon the minds of the natives in the vicinity, was the treaty which Sir Thomas Dale effected with the Chickahominy tribe of Indians, a bold and free people, who now voluntarily relinquished their name, for that of Tassantessus, or Englishmen ; and solemn- ly engaged to be faithful subjects to King James. During the interval of tranquillity procured by the alliance with Powhatan, an important change was no right made in the state of the colony. Hitlierto and in exploring the country about James's river, was taken pri- soner by some of the warriors of the tribes under Powhatan, and brought this powerful chief to be disposed of according to hiswill and decree. The fame and exploits of Smith had reached Pow- hatan. The prowess he had shown when taken was sufficient for their justification in taking him off; for he had been a wonder and terror to all his foes, Powhatan was as far an absolute despot as can e.\ist in a state of nature. But the chief did not decide alone upon Captain Smith's fate ; he called a council of his chiefs upon his case. In this convention the most wonderful stories of the while man's prowess, since he had been in this country, were told. Smith understood enough of the Indian language to comprehend the course of the debate, and made up his mind to die. Poca- hontas was a listener in the council. Heroism and beauty have always an effect on the female heart ; and even age and philoso- phy are not proof against these magicians. It was decided that he must die, as being too formidable a foe to suffer to escape. His death was to be by beating him on the head with clubs while he was in a recumbent posture, with a stone for a pillow. He was first boimd, and then thrown down, and the clubs were uplifted, when Pocahonlas, then a mere child, rushed forward and tlirew herself on the body of Smith, and protected his life at the risk of her own. The fierce savage hearts of the warriors were affected, and Smith was at once released and became an inmate, for a while, of the wigwam of Pou'hatan, and soon afterwards released, carry- ing with him a grateful sense of the services rendered him by this noble daughter of the forest. Sometime after this the Indians became alarmed, by witnessing the extraordinary feats of Smilli, and laid a plan to get him into their power, under the pretence of wishing an interview with him in their territory. But Pocahontas, knowing the designs of the warriors, left the wigwam after her father had gone to sleep, and ran more than nine miles through the woods to inform her friend Captain Sinith of the dangers that awaited him, either by stratagem or attack. For this service, Captain Smith offered her some trinkets ; but young as she was, and no doubt had a natural fondness for finery, which belongs to her age, sex, and nation, yet she refused to accept any thing, or stop to refresh herself, for fear of being discovered by her father, or his wives. She returned before any one awaked, and laid herself gently in her blanket near where her father slept. For several years she continued to assist the whites against her father's plots for their destruction. Although she was a great favourite with her father, he was so incensed against her for favour- ing the English, that he sent her to a chief of a neighbouring tribe ; or, perhaps, he feared that the other chiefs of his omi might, in Indian style, sacrifice her for want of patriotism. Such a sacrifice would not be a rare occurrence in Indian history. Here she remained for some time, when Captain Argall coming up the Potomac, and finding out that she was with Jopazaws, tempted the deceitful wretch to deliver her to him as a prisoner, for the bribe of a brass kettle, of which the chief had become enamoured, as the biggest trinket he had ever seen. Argall thought, by hav- ing her as a hostage, he should be able to bring Powhatan to terms of peace, but he refused to ransom her on the hard terms proposed by the colonists. He offered five hundred btishels of torn for her ransom, which was not accepted. She was well treated while a pri-soner, and Mr. Thomas Rolfe, a pious yotmg of private proverty in land had been established. The fields that were cleared had been cultivated by the joint labour of the colonists; their product was carried to the common storehouses, and distributed weekly to every family, according to its number and exigencies. However suitable such an arrangement might have been deemed for the commencement of a colony, experience proved that it was decidedly oppo- sed to its progress in a more advanced state. In order to remedy this. Sir Thomas Dale divided a considerable portion of the land into small lots, am' man, and a brave officer, undertook to teach her (he English lan- guage, as it was an object to have an influential interpreter omonj* them. From a knowledge of what she had done for his friend Smith, and from finding her intelligent, brave, and noble, he became attached to her, and offered her his hand. This was commrmicated to Powhatan, who gave his consent to the union, and she was married after the form of the church of England, in presence of her tmcle and two brothers. She was then but litile past seventeen years of age. Powhatan did not attend the mar riage, perhaps from a fear that some treachery might be in the business, but finding none, he extended the hand of friendship to his new allies as long as he lived. The colon}' was now relieved from war, and for a while seemed to flourish. Pocahonlas vvas a great favourite among the colonists, and her husband having business in England, it v/as thought best for her to make Ihe voyage with him. She took several Indians of bolh sexes with her, such a number as her brothers and uncle thought belonged to her lineal honours. In England she was bap- tized and called Rebecca. She was there a subject of great curi- osity, and was treated by all classes as a princess. She had made great progress in the English studies, and spoke the language with wonderful fluency. In London she was visited by Captain Smilh, whom she supposed to have been dead. When she first beheld him, she was overcome with emotion, and shrunk from him as from one from the grave, hiding her face with her hand. An exjilana- tion soon look place, and she again used the endearing aiiiiellaiion of father, in conversation with her old friend. The only solution of this deception is, that the colonists wished to bring about a match between lier and some one of their number, and feared, perhaps, that she cherished too fond a recollection of the gal- lant Smith, to think of tuiiting herself to another, while he was living. Captain Smith wrote a memorial to the queen in her behalf, setting forth in a free and noble m'nner the services of the Indian princess, rendered to himself and to the colony; and the queen became her personal friend. She only lived long enough in Eng- land to prove to them that genius and virtue are Uie productions of every age and clime. She died as she was about to embark for her native land, at Gravescnd, leaving an infant son. She was deeply lamented in England, and sincerely mourned in Virginia. The son she left, was educated by his uncle in England, and afterwards became a worthy and highly respectable character in Virginia, from whom has descended several distinguished families, now of that state. Several works of fiction have been founded on the incidents in the life of Pocahontas, but they have not been successful. The whole of her story surpasses all that fiction could create, and the embellishments were not wanted along side of the simple character of this child of nature. A thousand artificial flowers, in gilded vases, have not, to the true botanist, the beauty and perfume of the rose in the garden where it grew ; nor can the Geraldines and Cherubines, those monsters of loveliness in fiction, reach the unsophisticated elegance of character displayed in Poca- hontas. There is now a strong sympathy felt and acknowledged for the Indians. Books are written to defend them from many slanders which have been thrown upon them by former historians, and when this race has become nearly extinct, all will feel how greatly they have been injured. 32 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, granted one of these to each individual in full pro- perty. From the moment that industry had the certain prospect of a recompense, it advanced rapid- ly. The articles of primary necessity were cultivated with so much attention as secured the means of sub- sistence; and such schemes of improvement were formed as prepared the way for the introduction of opulence into the colony. The increased industry of the colonists was not long before it found a new and somewhat singular channel — the cultivation of tobacco ; indeed, so in- considerately and exclusively were their energies directed to that object at this time, that the most fatal consequences were rendered almost inevitable. The land which ought to have been reserved for raising provisions, and even the streets of James Town, were planted with tobacco. Various regulations were framet. 'o restrain this ill-directed activity ; but, from eagerness for present gain, the planters disregarded every admonition. Tobacco, however, had many trials to pass through before it reached its present established station. King James declared himself its open enemy, and drew against it his royal pen. In the work which he entitled " Counterblast to To- bacco," he poured the most bitter reproaches on this " vile and nauseous weed." He followed it up by a proclamation to restrain the disorderly trading in tobacco, as tending to a general and new corruption of both men's bodies and minds. Yet tobacco, like other proscribed objects, throve under persecution, and achieved a final triumph over all its enemies. The prosperity of the colony, in a financial point of view, may now be considered as rapidly advancing ; but its government was by no means in a satisfactory state. After the brief and somewhat lax administra- tion of Mr. Yeardley, the ofiice of presiding over the affairs of the colony devolved on Captain Argal. The severity of his measures occasioned a multipli- city of complaints, though some of them appear to have been for the general benefit. The representa- tions made by the colonists to the company in Lon- don, induced Lord Delaware, who ever took a lively interest in their welfare, to venture a second time to embark for America. He took with him two hun- dred passengers and abundant supplies. He was not, however, permitted to realize his benevolent pur- poses, but died on the voyage, in or near the bay which bears his name. His ship safely arrived at Virginia, and was soon after followed by another, with forty passengers. On the death of Lord Dela- ware, the administration of Argal, deputy governor of Virginia, became increasingly severe. Martial law, which had been proclaimed and executed during the former turbulent times, was now made the com- mon law of the land. He published several edicts of most absurd severity : as a specimen of his tyranny we quote his decree, " That every person should go to church on Sundays and holidays, or be kept con- fined the night succeeding the ofFence, and be a slave to the colony the following week ; for the second of- fence, a slave for a month ; and for the third, a year and a day." The tidings of the death of Lord Delaware were followed to England by increasing complaints of the odious and tyrannical proceedings of Argal ; and the company having conferred the office of captain-gene- ral on Mr. Yeardley, the new governor received the honour of knighthood, and proceeded to the scene of his administration. He arrived in April, and imme- diately proceeded, in a truly liberal spirit, to take measures for convoking a colonial assembly, which accordingly met at James Town, on the 19th of June. The people were now so increased in their numbers, and so dispersed in their settlements, that eleven corporations appeared by their representatives in this convention, where they exercised the noblest rights of freemen, the power of legislation. They sat in the same house with the governor and council, and acted as one body.* This was the first legisla- ture which ever assembled in the transatlantic states, and may be considered the progenitor of the most pure and effective system of representative govern- ment which the world has ever witnessed. The laws which they enacted were transmitted to Eng- land for the approbation of the treasurer and com- pany, who passed an ordinance by which they ap- proved and established this constitution of the Vir- ginian legislature, reserving to themselves the crea- tion of a council of state, which should assist the governor, and form a part of the colonial assembly. This period of the history of the colony is distin- guished by several other occurrences, the narration of which may be regarded as the history of the " home department " of the colony. We shall first notice the efforts which were made to introduce edu- cation, both among the natives and the settlers. King James having formerly issued his letters to the seve- ral bishops of the kingdom for collecting money to erect a college in Virginia for the education of In- dian children, nearly £1500 had been already paid towards this benevolent design. Henrico had been selected as a suitable place for the seminary, and the Virginia company granted 10,000 acres of land, to be laid off for the university of Henrico ; a donation • Stith, p. 160, 161. Smith's Hist. Virg. p. 126. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 33 which, while it embraced the original object, was in- tended also for the foundation of a seminary of learn- ins: for the En2:lish. Two other circumstances, of a different character to that which we have now re- corded, occurred about this time. The company were directed by James to transport to Virginia one hundred idle and dissolute persons, then in custody for various misdemeanors. They were distributed through the colony as servants to the planters. Much has been said on this subject by writers; but the influence of these outcasts was not of long continuance, for nearly the whole number of them died single. The stain upon the colony is unjustly continued by modern historians, who copy their predecessors without examining the sources of the information they retail. In this manner, error and prejudice are often perpetuated, and, when once fixed, however inconsistent with the whole current of events, if they have a slight foundation, gain strength by the lapse of years. In 1620, a Dutch man-of-war brought into James River twenty Africans, and landed them for sale. The scarcity of labourers made them acceptable to the planters. These were the first seen in North America. The other colonies soon followed the example. The race, prolific every where, soon multiplied in the colonies, and became new sources of wealth to their owners, greatly in- creasing the exports of the country. At this early period of colonial enterprise, it may readily be supposed that few females had ventured to cross the ocean. This was necessarily a great im- pediment to the prosperity of the colony, as it not only prevented the increase of the population, but prohibited the settlement being regarded as a perma- nent residence. Most of the adventurers sought only to amass wealth with all possible expedition, that they might return to their native country, where only the enjoyments of domestic life were attainable. It was therefore proposed by some intelligent mem- bers of the company in London to send out a num- ber of agreeable and virtuous young women, and no less than ninety were prevailed on, by the high pro- bability of forming respectable matrimonial engage- ments, to embark for Virginia. The speculation proved so acceptable to the planters, and so profitable to the company, that, in the following year, sixty more were sent over, and, like the former, were very speedily disposed of to the young planters as wives. » Stith, p. 166, 197. Robertson, book ix. Holmes's American Annals, vol. i. p. 165. Grahame's History, vol. i. p. 86. + " The two and twentieth of March, as also in the evening before, as at other times they came unarmed into our houses, with deere, turkies, fish, fruits, and other provisions to sell us, yea, in some places set downe at breakfast with our people, whom immedi- ately, with their own tooles, they slew most barbarously, not sparing either age or sex, man, woman, or childe, so sudden in their execu- The price was at first one hundred, and afterwards one hundred and fifty, pounds of tobacco, then valued at three shillings per pound ; and it was ordered, that debts contracted for wives should be paid in pre- ference to all others.* The full tide of prosperity was now enjoyed by the colony. Its numbers greatly increased, and its settlements became widely extended. At peace with the Indians, it reposed in perfect security, and realized the happiness its fortunate situation and favourable prospects aflbrded, without suspecting the sudden and terrible reverse of fortune it was doomed to experi- ence. Opechankanough, the successor of Powhatan, had adopted with ardour all the early enmity of his native tribe against the settlers ; and he formed one of those dreadful schemes, so frequent in Indian annals, of exterminating the whole race at one blow. Such was the fidelity of his people, and so deep the power of savage dissimulation, that this dire scheme was matured without the slightest intimation reach- ing the English, who neither attended to the move- ments of the Indians, nor suspected their machina- tions ; and though surrounded by a people whom they might have known from experience to be both artful and vindictive, they neglected those precautions for their own safety that were requisite in such cir- cumstances. All the tribes in the vicinity of the English settlements were successively gained, except those on the eastern shore, from whom, on account of their peculiar attachment to their new neighbours, every circumstance that might discover what they in- tended was carefully concealed. To each tribe its station was allotted, and the part it was to act pre- scribed. On the morning of the day consecrated to vengeance, each was at the place of rendezvous ap- pointed ; and at midday, the moment they had previ- ously fixed for this execrable deed, the Indians, raising a universal yell, rushed at once on the English in all their scattered settlements, butchering men, women, and children, with undistinguishing fury, and every aggravation of brutal outrage and savage cruelty. In one hour, three hundred and forty-seven persons were cut off, almost without knowing by whose hands they fell.t Indeed, the universal destruction of the colonists was prevented only by the consequences of an event, which perhaps appeared but of little im- tion that few or none discerned the weapon or blow that brought them to destruction ; in which manner also they slew many of our people at several! works in the fields, well knowmg in what places and quarters each of our men were, in regard of their famiharUie with us for the eflecting that great masterpiece of work, their conversion ; and by this means fell, that fatall morning, under the bloudy and barbarous hands of that perfidious and inhumane people, three hundred and forty-seven men, women, and children, most by 34 HISTOKV OF THE L.MTED STATES. portance in the colony at the time when it took place — the conversion of an Indian to the Christian faith. On the night before the massacre, this man was made privy to it by his own brotlier, bnt as soon as his brother left him he revealed the dreadful secret to an English gentleman in whose house he was re- siding, who immediately carried the tidings to James Town, and communicated them to some of the near- est settlers, scarcely in time to prevent the last hour of the perfidious truce from being the last hour of their lives.* The horrid spectacle before them roused the English from repose to vengeance; and peace was succeeded by a vindictive and exterminating war. The colonists were victorious, destroying many of their enemies, and obliging the remainder to retire far into the wilderness. But their own number melted away before the miseries of war ; their settle- ments were reduced from eighty to eight, and famine again visited them with its afflicting scourge. These calamities, and the dissensions which had agitated the company, having been represented to King James and his privy council as subjects of complaint, a commission was issued under the great seal, to in- quire into all matters respecting Virginia, from the beginning of its settlement. A writ of quo warranto was also issued by the court of king's bench against the company. The colony, however, had received infor- mation of the whole proceedings in England, and had already in its possession copies of several papers which had been exhibited against it. A general assembly was called, which met on the 14th of February, and drew up answers to the charges in a spirited and masterly style, appointing an agent to go to England to advocate its cause. The quo ■warranto was brought to trial in the court of king's bench, and, as was usually the case with the courts in this reign, judgment was given in favour of the kins:, and against the company; James, therefore, availed himself of the opportunity, vacated the char- ter, and dissolved a company which had consisted of gentlemen of noble and disinterested views, who expended more than 100,000/. of their own fortunes, and sent out more than nine thousand per- tlicir own weapons; and not being content with their lives, they fell ag-aine upon the dead bodies, making as well as they could a fresh murder, defacing, dragging, and mangling their dead car- kases into many peeces, and carrying some parts away in derision, with base and brutish triumph."— Smith's Hist. Virg. p. 145. • " The slaughter had beene universal, if God had not put it into the heart of an Indian, who, lying in the house of one Pace, was urged by another Indian, his brother, that lay with him the night before, to kill Pace, as he should doe Perry, which was his friend, being so commanded from their king, telling him also how the next flay the execution should be finished : Perry's Indian presently sons from the mother country, to plant the first English colony in America. It is trae that success, though considerable, had not equalled the expendi- ture, either of money or of human life. The annual exportation of commodities from Virginia to England did not exceed 20,000/. in value ; and, at the disso- lution of the company, scarcely two thousand per- sons survived. Kino- James now issued a new commission for the government of Virginia, continuing Sir Francis Wyat governor, with eleven assistants or counsellors. The governor and council were appointed during the king's pleasure ; and, in correspondence with the arbitrary tendencies of the father of Charles 1., no assembly was mentioned or allowed. Though the commons of England were submissive to the dictates of the crown, yet they showed some regard to the interest of Virginia, in petitioning the king that no tobacco should be imported but of the growth of the colonies.; and his majesty condescended to issue a new proclamation concerning tobacco, by which he restrained the culture of it to Virginia and the Somer Islands.t James I. died on the 8th of April, 1625 ; and the demise of the crown having annulled all former ap- pointments for Virginia, Charles I. reduced that colo- ny under the immediate direction of the crown, ap- pointing a governor and council, and ordering all patents and processes to issue in his own name. Hi.<; proclamation " for settling the plantation of Virginia," is dated the 18th of May. It partakes of all the self- sufficiency and tyrannical ideas of royal prerogative which so fatally distinguished that unfortunate mo- narch. "Our full resolution is," says Charles, "that there may be one uniforme course of government in and through the whole monarchic, that the govern- ment of the colony of Virginia shall ymmediately depend upon ourselfe, and not be commytted to anie company or corporation, to whom itt male be proper to trust matters of trade and commerce, but cannot be fitt or safe to communicate the ordering of state affairs, be they of never soe mean consequence." That his Majesty possessed no eminent capacity for "orderinsr state affairs," the issue of his reign afford arose and reveales it to Pace, that used him as his sonne; and thus them that escaped was saved by this one converted infidell ; and though three hundred and fortie-seven were slaine yet thou- sands of ours were by the meanes of this alone thus preserved, for which Gods name be praised for ever and ever. Pace, upon this, securing his house, before day, rowed to lames Townc, and told the governor of it, whereby they were prevented, and at such other plantations as possibly intelligence could be given." — 3id, p. 147. t Belknap, Biog. vol. ii. p. 85 — 98. Rymer's Foedera, vol. xvii. p. 618- HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 35 ample proof; and it was speedily evident to the Vir- ginians, whose commerce was injured by the re- straints, as their persons were enslaved by the prero- gatives of " ourselfe."* The first governor appointed by Charles to preside over the "state affairs" of Virginia was Sir George Yeardley ; but his early death prevented the evils of the despotic principles, of which he was the represen- tative, from being felt to their full extent. He was succeeded by one who was the very type of his royal master. Sir John Harvey. He exercised his authority with insolence, and even with cruelty ; and took pains to evince that the system of tyranny he was selected to conduct, was perfectly congenial with his disposition. Indeed, such was his excessive solici- tude to play the part of a tyrant in a bold style, that even Charles himself deemed it expedient at first to appear to check his career. Roused at length by reiterated provocation, the Virginians seized the per- son of Harvey, and sent him a prisoner to England, along with two deputies, charged to represent the grievances of the colony, and the misconduct of the governor. So far from redressing their wrongs, however, Charles regarded their conduct as little short of rebellion ; he refused even to hear a smgle charge against Harvey, and sent him back to Vir- ginia, with an ample renewal of the powers which he had so grossly abused, where he resumed and aggravated a tyrannical sway that has entailed infa- my on himself and disgrace on his sovereign. Had his government been continued much longer, it must have ended in the revolt or the ruin of the colony. But a great change was now at hand, which was to reward the patience of the Virginians with a blood- less redress of their grievances. After a long inter- mission, Charles was forced to contemplate the re- assembling of a parliament ; and, well aware of the ill humour which hi.s government at home had exci- ted, he had the strongest reason to dread that the displeasure of the commons would be inflamed by complaints of the despotic sway he had exercised over Virginia. There was yet time to soothe the irritation, and even to secure the adherence of a peo- ple, who, in spite of every wrong, retained a gene- rous attachment to .the prince whose sovereignty was felt still to unite them with the parent state. Harvey * ChalmRrs' Political Annals, p. 110 — 113. t " By ihese it was agreed, among other things, that the inha- bitants of the colony should remain in due obedience and subjection to the commonwealth of England ; should enjoy such freedom and privileges as belonged to the free-born people of England ; and that the former government, by commission and instruction, be null and void ; that the grand assembly should convene and trans- act the affairs of the colony ; but nothing was to be done contrary to the laws of the commonwealth; that they should have as free was therefore recalled, and the government of Vir- ginia committed to Sir William Berkeley, a person distinguished by every popular virtue in which Harvey was deficient. The new governor was instructed to restore the colonial assembly, and to invite it to enact a body of laws for the province. Thus, all at once, and when they least expected it, was restored to the colo- nists the system of freedom which they had originally derived from the Virginia Company ; universal joy and gratitude were excited throughout the colony; and the king, amidst the hostility that was gathering around him in every other quarter, was addressed in the language of affection and attachment by this peo- ple. Indeed, such was their gratitude to the king for this favoiir, that, during the civil wars, they were faithful to the royal cause, and continued so even after he was dethroned, and his son driven into exile. The parliament was irritated by this conduct of the Virginians, and it was not the mode of that age to wage a war of words alone. The efforts of a high spirited government in asserting its own dignity were prompt and vigorous. A powerful squadron, with a considerable body of land forces, was despatched to reduce the Virginians to obedience. Berkeley, obtain- ing the assistance of some Dutch vessels, witli more spirit than prudence, opposed this formidable arma- ment ; but, after making a gallant resistance, was obliged to yield. His bravery, though unsuccessful in its primary object, obtained the most favourable terms for the colony,t while he disdained to make any stipulations in his own favour, with those whose authority he disowned. Withdrawing to a retired situation, he lived beloved and respected by the peo- ple whom he had governed. The political state of the colony, from the time of this capitulation to the restoration of Charles II. has not, until lately, been perfectly understood. The early historians of Virginia have stated, that, during this period, the people of that colony were in entire subjection to the government of Cromwell ; and that the acts of parliament in relation to trade were there rigidly enforced, while they were relaxed in favour of the New England colonies. Recent researches, however, prove these statements to be incorrect.} Under the articles of capitulation, parliament and the trade as the people of England do enjoy, to all places and wilh all nations, according to the laws of that commonwealth, and enjoy all privileges, equal wilh any plantations in America; and likewise be free from all taxes, customs, and impositions whatsoever, and none to be imposed upon them, without the consent of the grand assembly."— Pitkin's Civil and Political History, vol. i. p. 74. t See Henning's Statutes at large. The publication of these statutes, comprising the whole from the commencement of the colony of Virginia, in thirteen or fourteen volumes, throws much 36 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. lord protector, left the inhabitants of the colony to govern themselves. The burgesses, or grand assem- bly, elected their governor and councillors, and all other officers, and the people enjoyed a free trade with all the world. The inhabitants, indeed, expected instructions and orders from England concerning the government, but none were sent during this whole period. The commissioners of parliament as- sumed the government for a short time, but in April, 1652, the grand assembly met, and, with the consent of the commissioners, proceeded to elect a governor and councillors. Richard Bennet, one of the com- missioners, was appointed governor, until the further pleasure of the commonwealth should be known. In 1G55, Edward Digges was chosen governor by the house of burgesses, and after him, in 1657, Samuel Matthews. After the resignation of Richard Crom- well, the house expressly declared, that the supreme power of government should reside in the assembly, and that all writs should issue in the name of the "grand assembly of Virginia," until such a command and commission come out of England, as should be by the assembly judged lawful. At the same session. Sir William Berkeley was appointed governor,* and, by a special act, was directed to call an assembly once in two years at least, and oftener if necessary. He was empowered to choose a secretary and council of state, with the approbation of the assembly, and restrained from dissolving the legislature, without the consent of a major part of the house. The colonists of Virginia, or a majority of them, were episcopalians, and attached to the church of England ; the religion of that church, indeed, was established by law in the colony ; and it is evident that they were strongly in favour of the royal cause. Their warm-hearted loyalty could not fail to be exhi- Hrating to the spirits of Charles II., during his ba- nishment. He transmitted from Breda a new com- mission to Sir William Berkeley, as governor of Virginia, declaring his intention of ruling and order- ing the colony according to the laws and statutes of England, which were to be established there. Thus, while that prince was not permitted to rule over a foot of ground in England, he exercised the royal jurisdiction over Virginia. On receiving the first account of the restoration, the joy and exultation of light oa the history of that colony, and does great credit to the industry and researches of the publisher, and lo the state, under whose patronage, it is understood, the publication was made. • Robertson, following Beverley and Chalmers, gives a differ- ent account of these transactions ; but he is incorrect, at least as to the government being appointed by Cromwell. " On the death of Matthews, the last governor named by Cromwell," observes Robertson, " the sentiments and inclination of the people, no longer onder the control of authority, burst out with violence. They the colony were universal and unbounded, though not of long continuance. It had been observed with concern, during tlie commonwealth, that the English merchants for seve- ral years past had usually freighted the Hollander's shipping for bringing home their own merchandise, because their freight was lower than that of the Eng- lish ships. For the same reason the Dutch ships were made use of for importing American products from the English colonies into England. The Eng- lish ships meanwhile lay rotting in the harbours ; and the English mariners, for want of employment, went into the service of the Hollanders. The govern- ment, therefore, not unnaturally, titrned its attention towards the most effectual mode of retaining the co- lonies in dependence on the parent state, and of secu- ring to it the benefits of their increasing commerce. With these views the parliament enacted, " That no merchandise, either of Asia, Africa, or America, in- cluding also the English plantations there, should be imported into England in any but English built ships and belonging either to English or English plantation subjects, navigated also by an English commander, and three fourths of the sailors to be Englishmen : excepting such merchandise as s'hould be imported directly from the original place of their growth or manufacture in Europe solely ; and that no fish should thenceforward be imported into England or Ireland, nor exported thence to foreign parts, nor even from one of their own home ports, but what should be caught by their own fishers only." The first house of commons after the restoration, instead of granting the colonies that relief which tliey ex pected from the restraints on their commerce imposed by Cromwell, not only adopted all their ideas con cerning this branch of legislation, but extended them further. Thus arose the navigation act, the most important and memorable of any in the statute-book with respect to the history of English commerce. By these several and successive regulations, the plan of securing to England a monopoly of the commerce with its colonies, and of shutting up every other channel into which it might be diverted, was per- fected, and reduced into complete system. On one side of the Atlantic these laws have been extolled as an extraordinary effort of political sagacity, and have forced Sir William Berkeley to quit his retirement ; they unani- mously elected him governor of the colony : and as he refused to act under a usurped authority, they boldly erected the royal standard, and acknowledging Charles II. to be their lawful sovereign, pro- claimed him with all his titles ; and the Virginians long boasted, that as they were the last of the king's subjects who renounced their allegiance, they were the first who returned to their duty." — Robertson's History of America, b. ix. Chalmers, p. 125. Be- verley, p. 55. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 37 been considered as the great charter of national com- merce, to which the parent state is indebted for its opulence and power ; on the other, they have been regarded as instruments of oppression, more charac- terized by ignorance of the true principles of political economy, than by legislative wisdom. At this mo- ment that branch of the colonial code which regu- lates, or rather restrains, the intercourse of the West India islands with the United States, forms the sub- ject of continued negotiation between the American and British governments.* This oppressive system excited great indignation in Virginia, where the extensive commerce and pre- eminent loyalty of the people rendered the pressure of the burden more severe, and the infliction of it more exasperating. No sooner was the navigation act knov/n in Virginia, and its effects experienced, than the colony warmly remonstrated against it as a grievance, and petitioned earnestly for relief, but without success ; so that the discontents, far from being abated by the lapse of time, were aggravated by the constant pressure of the commercial restric- tions. Various additional causes concurred to in- flame the angry feelings of the colonists ; a consider- able native population had now grown up in Virginia, whose dissatisfaction was not mitigated by the fond remembrance which emigrants retain for the parent state, which is also the land of their individual nati- vity ; and a complication of exasperating circum- stances brought the discontents of the colony to a crisis. The indignation of the people became gene- ral, and was worked up to such a pitch, that nothing was wanting to precipitate them into the most despe- rate acts, but some leader qualified to unite and to direct their operations. Such a leader they found in Nathaniel Bacon. He was a lawyer, educated in London, and was appointed a member of the council a short time after his emigration to Virginia. Young, bold, ambitious, with an engaging address, and com- manding eloquence, he harangued the colonists upon their grievances ; inflamed their resentment against their rulers ; declaimed particularly against the lan- * "Great Britain has, in her colonial regulations, deemed it ex- pedient, on the grovmd of political necessity, to overlook our just claims in measuring out general privileges to all nations. She might have had some excuse, barely plausible, however, for decli- ning to negotiate on this question in 1826 ; but she can now have no sound apology for persevering in the same course towards those who advocated the acceptance of her colonial commerce, on the terms proposed by the acts of Parliament in 1825. Should she continue to suffer her commercial interests to be controlled and sacrificed through a jealousy of us ; should her coimcils be too much influenced by the apprehension expressed by one of her late ministers, that ' in commerce, in navigation, in naval power, and maritime pretensions, the United States are her most formida- ble rival ;' she must pardon us for responding that sentiment, and guor with which the war, then existing with the In- dians, had been conducted ; and such was the effect of his representations, that he was elected general by the people. To give some colour of legitimacy to the authority he had acquired, and perhaps expecting to precipitate matters to the extremity which his in- terest required that they should speedily reach, he applied to the governor for an official confirmation of the popular election, and offered instantly to march against the common enemy. This Sir William Berkeley firmly refused, and issued a proclamation commanding the dispersion of the insurgents. Bacon had advanced too far to recede ; and he hastened, at the head of six hundred armed followers, to James Town, surrounded the house where the governor and council were assembled, and repeated his demand. Intimidated by the threats of the enraged multitude, the council hastily prepared a commission, and, by their entreaties, prevailed on the governor to sign it. Bacon and his troops then began their march against the Indians ; but no sooner were the council relieved from their fears, than they declared the commission void, and proclaimed Bacon a rebel. Enraged at this conduct, he instantly returned, with all his forces, to James Town. The aged governor, unsupported, and almost abandoned, fled precipitately to Accomack, on the eastern shore of the colony ; collecting those who were well affected towards his administration, he began to oppose the insurgents, and several skir- mishes were fought, with various success. A party of the insurgents burned James Town, laid waste those districts of the colony which adhered to the old ad- ministration, and confiscated the property of the loyalists. The governor, in retaliation, seized the estates of many of the insurgents, and executed seve- ral of their leaders. In the midst of these calamities, Bacon sickened and died. Destitute of a leader to conduct and animate them, their sanguine hopes of success subsided ; all began to desire an accommo- dation ; and after a brief negotiation with the go- vernor, they laid down their arms, on obtaining a promise of general pardon. for adopting the most efficient measures to countervail a spirit and policy so unfriendly to our navigation. If her peculiar conduct towards us should drive us to measures of specific retaliation — to a more extensive and effective interdiction of our intercourse with her colonies— she will have no just reason to complain, that we have not afforded her every opportunity to re-establish our inter- course on terms of the most general and friendly reciprocity. It will remain for Great Britain to determine, whether she will open the whole of her vast empire to our commerce on mutually ad- vantageous terms ; or whether, by persisting in excluding us from a part of her dominions, she will allow other nations to supersede her in the trade with North America." — Report of the Committee on the Commerce and Navigation of the United States, 1830, p. 47, 48. 38 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Thus terminated an insurrection, which, in the annals of Virginia, is distinguished by the name of Bacon's rebellion. During seven months this daring L-ader was master of the colony, M'hile the royal governor was shut up in a remote and ill-peopled corner of it. In addition to the cause already re- ferred to, the prejudicial influence of the navigation laws, this popular commotion was probably much influenced by the extremely low price of tobacco ; the splitting of the territory into proprietaries, con- trary to the original charters; the extravagant taxes to which the colonists were subjected ; and the inef- fective manner in which the governor and council had protected the inhabitants against the Indians. It is said to have injured the colony to an amount not less than 100,000Z. As soon as Berkeley found him- self reinstated in his office, he called together the re- presentatives of the people, that by their advice and authority public order might be re-established. Al- thougli this assembly met while the memory of reci- procal injuries was still recent, and when the passions excited by such a fierce contest could scarcely have subsided, its proceedings were conducted with a mo- deration seldom exercised by the successful party in a civil war. No man suffered capitally, and a small number only were subjected to fines. The council made, however, a somewhat singular exception to their charitable forbearance. While they spared the living, they wreaked their vengeance on the dead, and passed an act of attainder against Bacon long after he was beyond the reach of their enmity. On hearing of the disturbances in Virginia, Charles despatched, though with no great haste, a fleet with some troops for its pacification. These did not ar- rive, however, till they might well have been dis- pensed with. With them came Colonel Jefl!'reys, appointed to recall and replace Sir William Berkeley in the government of the colony. This brave and benevolent man did not long survive his dismissal, and may justly be said to have lived and died in the service of Virginia. The only event of importance during the adminis- tration of Colonel Jeffreys, was the conclusion of the Indian war, which, by the aid of the troops he brought with him, he speedily effected, and arranged a treaty which afforded universal satisfaction. On the death of Jeff"reys, the government devolved on Sir Henry Chicheley. During his presidency, the extensive and unjustifiable grants of the crown, which had- long been a most ruinous grievance, were recalled, and the colony enjoyed an interval of repose pre- vious to the arbitrary rule of Lord Culpepper, who had l)een sometime appointed by Charles, but, hap- pily for the colony, delayed the assumption of his office. In May, 1680, Lord Culpepper commenced his administration, in the true spirit of a representative of the then British monarch ; and, as a masterpiece of tyrannical legislation, he endeavoured to silence all complaints, both against his despotism and his plun- der, by creating a law which prohibited, under the severest penalties, all disrespectful allusions to his per- son, and all observations on his proceedings. A just discontent, thus denied its natural and legitimate mode of expression, broke forth as it should do, as much for the good of the oppressor as the oppressed, in a more substantial form ; and an insurrection en- sued, which would have been attended with very serious consequences, had not the prudence, kindness, and vigour of Sir Henry Chicheley been ready at hand. Having diffiised terror through the colony by his trials and executions. Lord Culpepper proceed- ed to England to report the success of his experi- ments on colonial government. His services do not appear to have been appreciated even by the kindred spirit of his royal master ; for, on his arrival, he was ordered into confinement for returning without leave ; and being brought to trial, he was found guilty, and deprived of his commission.* In the exercise of his royal pleasure, Charles select- ed, for the loyal colony of Virginia, a governor very little better than his predecessor. Lord Effingham, among other instructions equally illiberal, brought with him an order that no person should use a print- ing press in the colony on any pretence whatever !— ^ an example, by the way, which both our African and Indian colonial governments have frequently evinced a considerable inclination to imitate. Hav- ing thus set the press perfectly free from all its labours, he felt himself at ease in the pursuit of plans of ag- grandizement, which have frequently formed a most important branch of the science of colonial political economy ; and, in order to attach to plunder the sanction of a mock legality, he established a court of chancery, with suitable powers, appointing himself the judge! He institxUed fees worthy of so high an office, provided that nearly the whole should centre in himself, and even divided with the clerks of the ' court the emoluments which nominally appertained to them. Although the press was silenced, the governor could not prevent the assembly from delegating an agent to advocate their cause in England, and to urge his removal. But before Lord Effingham or • Chalmers, p. 340—346. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 39 his accuser coiild cross the Atlantic, the revolution of 1668 had happily occurred. Some of the requests forwarded by Colonel Ludwell were complied with, but William was either unable or unwilling to dis- place the officers appointed by the preceding go- vernment ; and Lord Effingham was continued till 1692, when he was replaced by Sir Edmund Andros, ■i/ho, as might have been anticipated from his pro- «edings in New England, was no less obnoxious to he colonists. It was during this year that William and Mary,