What also gave a greater interruption to this trade, was an object that drew all their eyes and thoughts aside, even from taking the necessary care for their preservation, and for the support of their lives, which was this: They found in a neck of land, on the back of Jamestown island, a fresh stream of water springing out of a small bank, which washed down with it a yellow sort of dust isinglass, which being cleansed by the fresh streaming of the water, lay shining in the bottom of that limpid element, and stirred up in them an unseasonable and inordinate desire after riches; for they taking all to be gold that glittered, run into the utmost distraction, neglecting both the necessary defence of their lives from the Indians, and the support of their bodies by securing of provisions; absolutely relying, like Midas, upon the almighty power of gold, thinking that where this was in plenty, nothing could be wanting; but they soon grew sensible of their error, and found that if this gilded dirt had been real gold, it could have been of no advantage to them. For, by their negligence, they were reduced to an exceeding scarcity of provisions, and that little they had was lost by the burning of their town, while all hands were employed upon this imaginary golden treasure; so that they were forced to live for some time upon the wild fruits of the earth, and upon crabs, muscles, and such like, not having a day's provision before-hand; as some of the laziest Indians, who have no pleasure in exercise, and wont be at the pains to fish and hunt: And, indeed, not so well as they neither; for by this careless neglecting of their defence against the Indians, many of them were destroyed by that cruel people, and the rest durst not venture abroad, but were forced to be content with what fell just into their mouths.
§ 18. In this condition they were, when the first ship of the two before mentioned came to their assistance, but their golden dreams overcame all difficulties; they spoke not, nor thought of anything but gold, and that was all the lading that most of them were willing to take care for; accordingly they put into this ship all the yellow dirt they had gathered, and what skins and furs they had trucked for, and filling her up with cedar, sent her away.
After she was gone, the other ship arrived, which they stowed likewise with this supposed gold dust, designing never to be poor again; filling her up with cedar and clap-board.
Those two ships being thus dispatched, they made several discoveries in James river and up Chesapeake bay, by the undertaking and management of Captain John Smith; and the year 1608 was the first year in which they gathered Indian corn of their own planting.
While these discoveries were making by Captain Smith, matters run again into confusion in Jamestown, and several uneasy people, taking advantage of his absence, attempted to desert the settlement, and run away with the small vessel that was left to attend upon it; for Captain Smith was the only man among them that could manage the discoveries with success, and he was the only man, too, that could keep the settlement in order. Thus the English continued to give themselves as much perplexity by their own distraction as the Indians did by their watchfulness and resentments.
§ 19. Anno 1609, John Laydon and Anna Burrows were married together, the first Christian marriage in that part of the world; and the year following the plantation was increased to near five hundred men.
This year Jamestown sent out people, and made two other settlements; one at Nansemond in James river, above thirty miles below Jamestown, and the other at Powhatan, six miles below the falls of James river, (which last was bought of Powhatan for a certain quantity of copper,) each settlement consisting of about a hundred and twenty men. Some small time after another was made at Kiquotan by the mouth of James river.