which letters presently we knew to signifie the place where I should find the planters seated according to a secret token agreed upon betweene them & me at my last departure from them, which was, that in any ways they should not faile to carve on the trees or posts of the dores [of their houses] the name of the place where they should be seated: for at my coming away they were prepared to remove from Roanoak 50 miles into the main. Therefore at my departure from them in An 1587 I willed them, that if they should happen to be distressed in any of those places, that then they should carve over the letters or name a Crosse in this forme ☩, but we found no such signe of distresse.
"And having well considered of this, we passed toward the place where they were left in sundry houses, but we found the houses taken downe, and the place very strongly enclosed with a high palisado of great trees, with cortynes and flankers very Fort-like, and one of the chiefe trees or postes on the right side of the entrance had the barke taken off, and 5 foote from the ground in fayre Capitall letters were graven
CROATOAN
without any crosse or signe of distresse: this done we entred into the palisado, where we found many barres of Iron, too pigges of Lead, foure yron fowlers, Iron sacker-shotte, and such like heavie things, throwen here and there, almost overgrowen with grasse and weedes.
"From thence wee went along by the water side towards the pointe or Creeke to see if we could find any of their botes or Pinnisse, but we could perceive no signe of them, nor any of the last Falkons and small Ordinance which were left with them at my departure from them. At our returne from the Creeke, some of our Saylers meeting us, tolde us that they had found where divers chests had bene hidden and long sithence [since] digged up againe and broken up, and much of the goods in them spoyled and scattered about, but nothing left, of such things as the Savages knew any use of, undefaced.
THE LOST COLONY.
“Presently Captaine Cooke and I went to the place, which was in the ende of an olde trench, made two yeeres past by Captaine Amadas: wheere wee found five Chests, that had bene carefully hidden of the Planters, and of the same chests three were my owne, and about the place many of my things spoyled and broken, and my bookes torne from the covers, the frames of some of my pictures and Mappes rotten and spoyled with rayne, and my armour almost eaten through with rust; this could bee no other than the deede of the Savages our enemies at Dasamonguepeuk, who had watched the departure of our men to Croatoan [the island, not the main land so named, at Dasamonguepeuk, as on early maps]: and assoone as they were departed, digged up every place where they suspected anything to be buried: but although it much grieved me to see such spoyle of my goods, yet on the other side I greatly joyed that I had safely found a certaine token of their safe being at Croatoan, which is the place where Manteo was borne, and the Savages of the Iland our friends.”
With these findings, the day being near spent, the party returned to their boats and made off for the ships as fast as possible for a stormy night threatened. They reached the ships in the evening and got aboard with “much danger and labour,” for the storm had now fallen with high wind and a heavy sea.
The next morning the ships were made ready immediately to sail for the island of Croatoan, the wind being good for that place, all hands fully expecting to come upon the colony there. But in hoisting the admiral’s anchor the cable broke, and the anchor was lost: whereupon the ship was driven so fast shoreward that she was forced to let fall another anchor, and this “came so fast home” that she barely escaped running ashore by “Kendricks mounts.” She fortunately got clear again but not without some injury. She now had but one cable, and but one anchor left of her equipment of four. Meanwhile the weather was becoming “fouler and fouler.” Under these conditions, and in view of their diminishing stock of victuals, together with the loss of a cask of fresh water that they had been obliged to leave on shore, it was decided that the visit of Croatoan must be given up for this time, and that, instead, the ships must at once make for Saint John or some other island to the southward for fresh water and new supplies. It was further proposed that the ships should winter in the West Indies, with the hope of making “two riche voyages of one”: and Captain Cooke of the admiral, at White’s earnest plea, agreed that they should then return to “Virginia” and again seek the colony at Croatoan.