15. Soon the new-comers and some of the old settlers began to stroll about the country digging for gold. At the mouth of a small creek some glittering particles were found, and the whole settlement was thrown into excitement. Soon afterwards a company sailed up James River to find the Pacific Ocean! Fourteen weeks were consumed in this nonsense. Even the Indians ridiculed the madness of men who were wasting their chances for a crop of corn.
Chesapeake Bay Explored.
16. But Smith had formed the design of exploring Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Accompanied by Dr. Russell and thirteen others, he left Jamestown on the 2d day of June. He steered his barge by way of Hampton Roads as far as Smith's Island. Returning thence around Cape Charles, he continued northward as far as the river Wicomico, then crossed over to the Patuxent, and thence northward to the Patapsco. Then steering southward he had the good fortune to enter the mouth of the Potomac and continue the voyage as far as the falls at Georgetown. He then dropped down the river to the bay, and reached Jamestown on the 21st of July.
17. After three days a second voyage was begun. The expedition reached the head of the bay, and sailed far up the Susquehanna. On the return, Smith explored every sound and inlet of any note as far as the Rappahannock. This stream he ascended to the head of navigation, and then returned to Jamestown. He had been absent a little more than three months, and had explored the coast of the great bay for fully three thousand miles. Now he was come back to the colony with a Map of the Chesapeake, which he sent by Newport to England, and which is still preserved.
Smith Elected President.
18. Smith was now formally elected president. Soon there was a marked change for the better; gold-hunting ceased, and the rest of the year was noted as a time of prosperity. In the autumn Newport arrived with seventy additional immigrants. The health was so good that only seven deaths occurred between September and the following May. Every well man was obliged to work six hours a day. New houses were built, new fields fenced in; and through the winter the sound of ax and hammer gave token of a prosperous and growing village.
19. On the 23d day of May, 1609, King James granted to the London Company a new charter for the government of Virginia. The territory was extended from Cape Fear to Sandy Hook, and westward to the Pacific Ocean. The members of the Superior Council were now to be chosen by the stockholders of the company, vacancies were to be filled by the councilors, who were also to elect a governor. The new council was at once organized, and Lord De La Ware chosen governor for life. Five hundred emigrants were collected, and in June a fleet of nine vessels sailed for America. Lord Delaware did not himself accompany the expedition. In July the ships, then in the West Indies, were scattered by a storm. One vessel was wrecked, and another, having on board the commissioners of Delaware, was driven ashore on one of the Bermudas; the other seven ships came safely to Jamestown.
20. Captain Smith continued in authority under the old constitution; but the colony was in an uproar. The president was in daily peril of his life. He put some of the most rebellious brawlers in prison, and planned two new settlements—one, of a hundred and twenty men, at Nansemond; the other, of the same number, at the falls of the James. Both companies behaved badly. In a few days after their departure troubles arose with the Indians. While attempting to quell these difficulties, Smith was wounded, and fearing the imperfect medical treatment which the colony afforded, he decided to return to England. He accordingly delegated his authority to Sir George Percy, and about the middle of September, 1609, left the scene of his toils and sufferings, never to return.
The Starving Time.
21. A colony of four hundred and ninety persons remained at Jamestown. The settlement was soon brought face to face with starvation. The Indians became hostile; stragglers were murdered; houses were set on fire; disease returned to add to the desolation; and cold and hunger made the winter long remembered as The Starving Time. By the last of March only sixty persons were left alive.
22. Meanwhile, Sir Thomas Gates and his companions, who had been shipwrecked in the Bermudas, constructed two small vessels, and came to Virginia, where a few wan, half-starved wretches crawled out of their cabins to beg for bread! Whatever stores the commissioners had brought with them were distributed, and Gates assumed control of the government. But the colonists had now determined to abandon the place forever. In vain did the commissioners remonstrate. An agreement was made to sail for Newfoundland, and on the 8th of June the colonists, embarking in their four boats, dropped down the river, and Jamestown was abandoned.
23. Lord Delaware was already on his way to America. Before the escaping settlers had reached the sea, the ships of the governor came in sight with additional immigrants, plentiful supplies, and promise of better things. The colonists returned, and before nightfall the fires were again kindled at Jamestown. On the next day the governor caused his commission to be read, and entered upon the discharge of his duties. His amiability and virtue, and the wisdom of his administration, endeared him to all and inspired the colony with hope.
24. Lord Delaware was compelled, on account of ill-health, to return to England. His authority was delegated to Percy, the deputy of Captain Smith. The Superior Council had already dispatched new stores and more emigrants, under Sir Thomas Dale. When the vessel arrived at Jamestown, Percy was superseded by Dale, who adopted a system of martial law as the basis of his administration. In the latter part of August, Sir Thomas Gates arrived with six ships, three hundred additional immigrants, and a large quantity of stores.
The Land Divided.
25. Thus far the property of the settlers at Jamestown had been held in common. Now the right of holding private property was recognized. Governor Gates had the lands divided so that each settler should have three acres of his own; every family might cultivate a garden and plant an orchard, the fruits of which no one but the owner was allowed to gather. The benefits of this system of labor were at once apparent, and the laborers became cheerful and industrious.
CHAPTER X.
Charter Government.—(Continued.)
IN the year 1612 the London Company obtained from the king a third patent, by which the government was again changed. The Superior Council was abolished, and the stockholders were authorized to elect their own officers and to govern the colony on their own responsibility. The new patent was a great step toward a democratic form of government in Virginia.
2. In 1613 Captain Samuel Argall, on an expedition up the Potomac, learned that Pocahontas was residing in that neighborhood. He enticed the girl on board his vessel and carried her captive to Jamestown. It was decided that Powhatan should pay a heavy ransom for his daughter's liberation. The king refused, and ordered his tribes to prepare for war. Meanwhile, Pocahontas was converted to the Christian faith and became a member of the Episcopal Church.
Marriage of Pocahontas.
3. Soon afterwards John Rolfe, of the colony, sought the hand of the princess in marriage. Powhatan gave his consent, and the nuptials were celebrated in the spring of the next year. Three years later, Pocahontas, while visiting in England, fell sick and died. There was left of this marriage a son, who came to Jamestown, and to whom several families of Virginians still trace their origin. John Randolph of Roanoke was a descendant of Pocahontas.
Marriage of Pocahontas.
Expedition against Acadia.
4. Captain Argall was next sent with an armed vessel to the coast of Maine, to protect the English fishermen, and to destroy the colonies of France, if any should be found within the territory claimed by England. The French authorities of Acadia were building a village near the mouth of the Penobscot. The settlement was pillaged and the houses burned. The French colony at the mouth of the St. Croix was attacked, and the fort cannonaded