The Boy's Hakluyt: English Voyages of Adventure and Discovery

by Edwin M. Bacon; Richard Hakluyt

On the voyage up the Chowan, Lane learned from a native monarch, “Menatonon,” king of the “province of Chawanook,” whom he had prisoner with him for two days, and described as, “for a savage, a very grave and wise man,” that by a canoe journey of three days, and overland four days to the northeast, he would come to a rich king’s country which lay upon the sea, whose place of greatest strength was an island in a deep bay. This pointed to Chesapeake Bay and Craney Island, in Hampton Roads, at the mouth of the Elizabeth River. Lane had early become satisfied that Roanoke Island, with its poor harbour and the dangerous coast, was not the fittest place for a settlement; and having Menatonon’s information he resolved “with himself” that, should the expected supplies from England come before the end of April, and with them more boats or more men to build boats in reasonable time, he would seek out this king’s stronghold; and if the country were as represented he would move the colony to that point. This project was thoroughly and judiciously planned, as appears in the outline of it that he gives in his report. He would have two expeditions starting from Roanoke Island. One should go out in a small bark and two pinnaces by sea northward to find the bay, sound the bar if there were any, and to ride in the bay about the island stronghold till the other should arrive. The other, led by himself, should comprise two hundred men, taking all the small boats he could have built, and should penetrate to the head of the “river of Chewanook” (the Chowan), and thence overland. He would have with him Indian guides whom Menatonon would provide: and that these guides would be selected from the best of Menatonon’s men he was assured, for he had cleverly retained the king’s “best beloved son,” "Skyko," as his prisoner or hostage. He would, too, have this young brave keep company with him “in a hand-locke with the rest, foote by foote all the voyage over-land.”

Thus, if he had been enabled to prosecute this venture to the finish Lane would have found Chesapeake Bay and Craney Island, and removing his colony thence, would have anticipated the settlement at Jamestown by about twenty years. But the relief from England did not come as expected, and in April Lane had a formidable Indian conspiracy against the life of the colony to meet.

King Wingina became an enemy of the colony and plotted to destroy it. His father, Ensenore, and his brother, Granganimeo, continued friendly, and stayed his hand for a while. But Granganimeo died not long after the arrival of the colony, and Ensenore died in April. Wingina, upon the death of Granganimeo, changed his name to “Pemisapan,” and Pemisapan he is afterward called in Lane’s report. The conspiracy was his conception, and was formed immediately upon Ensenore’s death. Wanchese, the companion of Manteo in the visit to England, was among the chief conspirators. But Manteo remained the Englishmen’s staunch and steadfast friend, and rendered them signal aid in times of their greatest perils.

Wingina’s cunning diplomacy was first exercised at the time of Lane’s ascension of the Moratoc (Roanoke) River. This exploration Lane deemed of large importance, the natives having reported “strange things” of the head of that river, and told of a wondrous mine thereabouts, producing a “marvellous mineral,” and a people skilled in refining ore. The river, they said, sprang in a violent stream out of a huge rock, which stood so near to the sea that in great storms the ocean’s waves were so beaten into the river that its fresh water for a certain space grew salt and brackish. In the opinion of Master Hariot, which Lane quoted, the head, from the savages’ description of the country, rose either “from the bay of Mexico or els from very neere unto the same, that openeth out into the South Sea [the Pacific].” The mine was of copper and famed for its richness among all the tribes of the region, those of the mainland as well as on the river’s banks. Such abundant store of the metal had the tribe dwelling nearest to it-the “Mangoaks”—that they beautified their houses with large plates of it. These stories moved Lane to a great effort to attain this promising point, for, as he observed, with a touch of humor or of pessimism, in the light of previous western enterprises of his countrymen, “the discovery of a good mine, or the passage to the South Sea, or some other way to it, and nothing els can bring this Countrey in request to be inhabited by our nation.”

Accordingly he planned his largest expedition to this end, comprising some forty men with two “double wherries.” The head of the river, he was told, was a thirty or forty days’ canoe voyage above the principal Indian town on its banks, which had the same name as it—Moratoc. Therefore he purposed to go up stream as far as the quantity of provisions he could carry would supply his company, and then obtain fresh provisions from the Moratocs or from the Mangoaks farther up. The expedition started out in March. They had proceeded only three days on their voyage from Menatonon’s dominions and had come to the Moratocs’ country, when they found that all the people had withdrawn and taken their whole stock of corn with them into the interior. Not a single savage could be seen in any of the towns or villages, nor a grain of corn be found. The voyagers were now a hundred and sixty miles from “home”—Roanoke Island—and with only two days’ victuals left. It was evident that they had been betrayed by some of their own Indians, and that the intent was to starve and so destroy them.

And so it proved. This was Pemisapan’s scheme. Lane had been obliged to take Pemisapan into his confidence, because he depended upon him for a guide to the Mangoaks, and the wily savage had secretly given the tribes word of his coming, with the declaration that his real purpose was to kill them all off. On the other hand, he had told Lane that the tribes had such intention toward the English, plotting their destruction, and had repeatedly urged him to go against them. He had told of a general assembly by Manatonon at Chawanook of all his “Weroances” and allies to the number of three thousand bows, to go against the English at Roanoke Island; and had declared that the Mangoaks, who were able to bring as many more fighting men to the enterprise, were in the same confederacy. And true it was that at that time this assembly was held at Chawanook, and the confederacy was formed, but this, as Menatonon afterward confessed to Lane, was “altogether and wholly procured by Pemisapan himselfe.” He had fabricated the story of the Englishmen’s hostile intention in passing up the river, notwithstanding that they had entered into a league of amity with representatives of both the Moratocs and the Mangoaks, and they had heretofore dealt kindly with each other.

On the night of their arrival at the deserted villages, before placing his sentinels, Lane informed his company of the situation they were in, and of his belief that they had been betrayed and “drawen foorth upon a vaine hope to be in the ende starved,” and he left it to be determined by the majority whether they should venture the spending of all their victuals in further voyaging onward with the hope of better luck above, or return. That the matter might not be acted upon hastily, he advised them to reserve their decision till the next morning. At that time they resolved almost unanimously, “not three of the contrary opinion,” that, “while there was one-half pint of corn for a man, they should not leave the search of that river.” If the worst fell out they had two mastiffs with them, and they could make shift to live on a “pottage” of these dogs with sassafras leaves, for two days, which time, they then returning, would bring them down the current back to the entrance to the sound. They would patiently fast for two days, “rather than to draw back a foot till they had seen the Mangoaks either as friends or foes.”

So these plucky Englishmen kept on for two days more when their victuals were gone. Lying by the shore through the nights they saw nobody, but they perceived fires at intervals along the shore where they were to pass, and up into the country. On the afternoon of the second day they heard savages call from the shore, as they thought, “Manteo,” who was then in the boat with Lane. At this they were all glad, hoping for a friendly conference. Manteo was bidden to answer. He did so, and presently the savages began a song. This the Englishmen took as in token of his welcome by them. But Manteo seized his piece, telling Lane that they meant to fight. No sooner had his words been spoken and the “light horsemen” made ready to be put on shore, than a volley of arrows lighted amongst the company. None, however, was hurt. Immediately the other boat lay ready with her shot to scour a place for the “hand weepons” to land. A landing was quickly accomplished, although the shore was high and steep. Then the savages fled. They were followed for a while till they had “wooded themselves,” the pursuers knew not where. That night was spent at this point, on guard.

The next morning all agreed that further advancement was impossible, for there was no prospect of obtaining victuals. The worst had now fallen out, and the party were obliged to resort to their “dogges porredge.” So before sunrise they began their return voyage. By nightfall of the next day they were within a few miles of the river’s mouth. They had rowed in one day with the current as great a distance as they had made in four days up stream against the current. That night they lodged upon an island, where they had “nothing in the world to eat but pottage of sassafras leaves.” They had next day to pass the broad sound with empty stomachs. That day the wind blew so strong and the billows rose so high that the passage could not then be made without danger of sinking their boats. That evening was Easter eve, “which was fasted most truely.” Easter morning, however, opened calmly, so that they could proceed with safety. Late in the afternoon they arrived at Chypannum. The savages they had left here had all fled, but their weirs yielded them some fish, with which they thankfully broke their fast. The next morning they reached “home,” at Roanoke.

Their return astonished and dismayed Pemisapan and his allies. A “bruit” had been raised among the tribes that they had all been destroyed by the Chaonists and the Mangoaks, part of them slain and part starved. This had developed in Pemisapan and the hostile confederates a contempt for the English. Instead of a “reverent opinion” that had formerly been shown toward the Englishmen’s God, they had begun “flatly to say that our Lorde God was not God since he suffered us to sustaine much hunger and also to be killed.” Pemisapan had further planned to starve out the rest of the colonists at Roanoke Island, and had now made ready to put this plan into execution. He proposed to take his savages off and leave his ground in the island unsown. This done, the English could not have been preserved from starvation. For at that time they had no fish weirs of their own, nor men skilled in making them; neither had they a grain of corn for seed.