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Page 14
III
THE BIRTH OF VIRGINIA DARE[1]
(1587)
BY JOHN WHITE
The two and twentieth day of July we came safely to Cape Hatteras,
where our ship and pinnace anchored. The Governor went aboard the
pinnace accompanied by forty of his best men, intending to pass up to
Roanoke. He hoped to find those fifteen Englishmen whom Sir Richard
Grenville had left there the year before. With these he meant to have
a conference concerning the state of the country and the savages,
intending then to return to the fleet and pass along the coast to the
Bay of Chesapeake. Here we intended to make our settlement and fort
according to the charge given us among other directions in writing
under the hand of Sir Walter Raleigh. We passed to Roanoke and the
same night at sunset went ashore on the island, in the place where our
fifteen men were left. But we found none of them, nor any sign that
they had been there, saving only that we found the bones of one of
them, whom the savages had slain long before.
The Governor with several of his company walked the next day to the
north end of the island, where Master Ralph Lane, with his men the
year before, had built his fort with sundry dwelling houses. We hoped
to find some signs here, or some certain knowledge of our fifteen men.
When we came thither we found the fort razed, but all the houses
standing unhurt, saving that the lower rooms of them, and of the fort
also, were overgrown with melons of different sorts, and deer were in
rooms feeding on those melons. So we returned to our company without
the hope of ever seeing any of the fifteen men living.
The same day an order was given that every man should be employed in
remodelling those houses which we found standing, and in making more
cottages.
On the eighteenth a daughter was born in Roanoke to Eleanor, the
daughter of the Governor and the wife of Ananias Dare. This baby was
christened on the Sunday following, and because this child was the
first Christian born in Virginia she was named Virginia Dare.
By this time our shipmasters had unloaded the goods and victuals of
the planters and taken wood and fresh water, and were newly calking
and trimming their vessels for their return to England. The settlers
also prepared their letters and news to send back to England.
[1] Virginia Dare was the first child of English parentage born in
America. Her father was Ananias Dare. She was named Virginia after
the colony which had already received the name in compliment to
Queen Elizabeth.
BARTHOLOMEW GOSNOLD'S DISCOVERY OF CAPE COD[1]
(1602)
I
BY GABRIEL ARCHER, ONE OF HIS COMPANIONS
The said captain [Gosnold] did set sail from Falmouth the day and year
above written accompanied with thirty-two persons, whereof eight
mariners and sailors, twelve purposing upon the discovery to return
with the ship for England, the rest remain there for population. The
fourteenth of April following, we had sight of Saint Mary's, an island
of the Azores....
The fifteenth day of May we had again sight of the land, which made
ahead, being as we thought an island, by reason of a large sound that
appeared westward between it and the main, for coming to the west end
thereof, we did perceive a large opening, we called it Shoal Hope.
Near this cape we came to anchor in fifteen fathoms, where we took
great store of codfish, for which we altered the name, and called it
Cape Cod.[2] Here we saw sculls of herring, mackerel, and other small
fish, in great abundance. This is a low sandy shoal, but without
danger, also we came to anchor again in sixteen fathoms, fair by the
land in the latitude of 42 degrees. This cape is well near a mile
broad, and lieth north-east by east. The captain went here ashore and
found the ground to be full of pease, strawberries, whortleberries,
&c., as then unripe, the sand also by the shore somewhat deep, the
firewood there by us taken in was of cypress, birch, witch-hazel and
beech. A young Indian came here to the captain, armed with his bow and
arrows, and had certain plates of copper hanging at his ears; he
showed a willingness to help us in our occasions.
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