Captain Newport assigned a third of the settlers, or about thirty-five men, to husbandry. Nothing came from their labors. At one of their first attempts to plant corn, probably English grain, they were assaulted by a few venturesome Indians which so discouraged the settlers, that they made no further efforts to provide crops for food that season. One of the colonists complained about the difficulties of preparing land for corn. Another mentions that some made gardens. The growing season was too far spent when they finally settled at Jamestown to allow for clearing land for spring-seeded grains.
By mid-summer their food supply was becoming seriously depleted. Fortunately the Indians remained friendly. Captain John Smith informs us that in July:
It pleased God to move the Indians to bring us corn ere it was halfe ripe to refresh us and in September they "brought us great store both of corne and bread ready made."
They had four acres of ground prepared the following year which they seeded to "corn" (wheat, barley or peas). No details are given except that nothing came from their efforts. Two growing seasons had passed and not a bushel of grain had been produced for their sustenance.
Livestock
Greater success came from their attempts to raise animals than attended their efforts to grow crops. A few animals were brought in. Reverend W. Simmonds states that: "three sowes in eighteene moneths, increased sixty and odd piggs. And neere 500 chickens brought up themselves without having any meat given them."
More livestock was evidently brought in the two supplies which arrived in 1608 as it was reported, at the time Smith left the colony in the fall of 1609, that they had "six mares and a horse; five or sixe hundred swine; as many hennes and chickens; some goats some sheepe." Captain John Smith during his two years with the colony was remarkably successful in obtaining from the Indians several hundred bushels of corn and beans in exchange for English manufactured goods. The fertile bottom lands of the rivers north of the James yielded bountiful harvests for the Indians as they have since for Virginians. Glass beads and tinkling bells intrigued the natives. The white man's clothing was also a source of wonderment. It was Smith's contention that the white laborers should devote their time to getting out clapboards, pitch and soap-ashes to ship to England and depend on the Indians to keep the colony supplied with food. Smith was not a farmer. He little realized that the Indians' desire for trinkets would soon be satisfied. Then, too, public opinion in England, aroused by the Las Casas exposures of Spanish cruelties in the West Indies would not sanction forced enslavement of the natives. With the departure of Smith, in October, 1609, the lucrative Indian trade came to an end. No other member of the colony had the courage, for sometime, to visit the tribes along the York and Rappahannock rivers for the exchange of products.
First White Farmer in Virginia
The first experienced English farmer to come to the colony was William Spence, who arrived on the Phoenix, April 20, 1608. He was variously described as a laborer, gentleman, and ensign. Ralph Hamor certified to his character as "an honest, valiant, and industrious man." Spence survived the ordeals of the early years and was a member of the first House of Burgesses, in 1619. He probably lost his life in the Indian massacre of 1622. Five persons, names not given, were killed at that time on the Spence farm. Alexander Brown states that Ensign Spence is reported lost in 1623 but he may have been living in captivity.
It appears from this meager evidence that William Spence lived on his farm outside of the fortified area. If such were the case, he may have set a precedent that has had a pronounced influence on the development of this country. It was the belief of the authorities in the London Company that the colonists would all live in small communities for mutual protection and perform their tillage operations, if any, outside the settlement. These communities, sometimes under the name of "particular plantations" and sometimes "hundreds" were necessary in the early days. But from the beginning there were a few independent plantations, or farms, like that of William Spence. Mention has been made of the impossibility of a farm laborer in the Old Country ever attaining land ownership. But, here in America with its boundless acres, that great boon seemed within their reach. When allotments of land were finally made to individuals it was found advantageous for the owner to live on his farm, rather than to operate it from a remote village. Freedom, independence, and the importance of the individual, which are characteristics of the American farmers, came into existence.