' While within its bright'ning dimness,
With the misty halo 'round her,
Stood a beautiful white maiden"

Page 70

THE WHITE DOE

T H E WHITE DOE
THE FATE OF
VIRGINIA DARE
AN INDIAN

LEGEND

BY

SALLIE
SOUTHALL
COTTEN

printed for the author
BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA

Copyright, 1901
BY SALLIB SOOTHALL COTTKN

All rights

reserved

TO

The National Society
of

Colonial Dames of America
WHOSE PATRIOTIC WORK HAS STIMULATED
RESEARCH

INTO

AN

IMPORTANT

AND

INTERESTING PERIOD OF THE HISTORY OF

OUR BELOVED COUNTRY

FORGOTTEN FACTS AND FANCIES
OF AMERICAN HISTORY
S civilization advances there develops
in the heart of man a higher
appreciation of the past, and the
deeds of preceding generations
come to be viewed with a calm
criticism which denudes those
deeds of false splendor and in' creases the lustre of real accomplishment
Man cannot see into the future and
acquire the prescience of coming events which
would make him infallible, but he can remove the
veil from the past, contemplate the mistakes and
successes of those who have lived before him, and
who struggled with the same problems which now
confront him. The results of their efforts are recorded in history, and inspired by high ideals he can
study the past, and by feeding his lamp of wisdom
with the oil of their experiences he secures a
greater light to guide his own activities.
Man
remains a slave to Fate until Knowledge makes
him free, and while all true knowledge comes

FORGOTTEN FACTS AND FANCIES
from experience, it need not necessarily be personal
experience.
In studying the past, deeds come to be estimated
more with reference to their ultimate results and as
factors in universal progress, and less as personal
efforts; just as more and more the personal merges
into the universal in all lines of endeavor. Viewed
in this light of ultimate results an imperishable and
increased lustre envelops the name of Sir Walter
Raleigh as the pioneer and faithful promoter of
English colonization in America. The recognition
of his services by the people who reap the reward
of his labors has ever been too meagre. A portrait here and there, the name of the capital city in
a State, a mention among other explorers on a
tablet in the National Library, the name of a battleship, and a few pages in history, help to remind us
of his association with this nation. Perhaps a few
may recognize his personal colors—red and white—
in the binding in this book, and his Coat of Arms
in the heraldic device which ornaments the cover,
and which are mentioned " lest we forget'' one we
should honor.
The present and ever increasing greatness of
these United States is due to the efforts of this
remarkable man, who so wondrously combined in
ii

OF AMERICAN HISTORY
one personality the attributes of statesman, courtier,
soldier, scientist, poet, explorer, and martyr. Isabella of Spain offered her jewels to aid Columbus,
and the deed has been lauded and celebrated as of
international value, yet it contained no touch of
personal sacrifice. She was never deprived of her
jewels, and while her generous offer proved her
faith in the theories and ability of Columbus, it
brought to her no suffering. On the other hand,
the efforts of Sir Walter Raleigh were at his own
expense, and entailed financial disaster on him in
the end. That he sought to extend the power of
England must be admitted by those who correctly
estimate his character ; yet no one will deny that
he was the most important factor in the colonization
of America by the English. Spain, France, and
England contended long for supremacy in the New
World, but France failed to gain any permanent
power, and Spanish dominance, as illustrated in
South America and Mexico, was followed by slow
progress. It was the English race, led by Raleigh,
which has become the leading power and modern
strength of America. Colony after colony he sent
to the new land, and desisted not, even after the
death of his half-brother and coadjutor, Sir Humphrey Gilbert Disaster could not daunt so brave
iii

FORGOTTEN FACTS AND FANCIES
a spirit, and with unsurpassed enterprise and perseverance he continued to send expeditions year after
year to what is now the coast of North Carolina, but
which was then called Virginia, and recognized as
Raleigh's possessions. Much money was required,
and when his own fortune was exhausted he transferred to what is known as the London Company
his rights to the land, and by his advice they avoided
his mistakes and made the next settlement at Jamestown instead of Roanoak Island.
These facts have been temporarily obscured by
the moss of neglect, but they cannot be destroyed.
They will ever remain the foundation-stones of the
great structure known and respected among nations
as the United States of America, and were laid by
Sir Walter Raleigh at Roanoak Island, on the coast
of North Carolina, which was then called Virginia.
The intervening years have brought great results,
those early struggles have ripened into success and
greatness beyond Raleigh's most sanguine dreams.
A new race has arisen, yet bearing the characteristics of the race from which it sprung. Our English
ancestors, our heritage of English law and custom>
of religion and home life, of language and ideals,
all tempered by the development of new characteristics, bind us through him to England.
iv

OF AMERICAN HISTORY
Sir Walter Raleigh was not an ordinary man.
He was one of the most remarkable of a coterie of
remarkable men whom a remarkable queen (Elizabeth) gathered around her, and to whom she owed
much of the grandeur of her remarkable reign.
Elizabeth's greatest gift was a capacity for discerning and using great minds, and she had the good
fortune to find many around her at that period of
time. Raleigh won her favor, and received from
her many benefits, among which was the honor of
knighthood with its emoluments, which she conferred. In the end her favor cost him dear, because
his heart had the courage to be true to itself in love.
Elizabeth never forgave him for loving, marrying,
and being true until death to her maid of honor,
the beautiful Elizabeth Throckmorton. That vain
and jealous queen permitted no rivals, and she
wished to reign over the heart of this man, who,
handsome, brave, gallant, intelligent, and romantic,
made an ideal courtier. His life at court was brilliant but brief. Love anchored a soul attuned to
loftier deeds, and after his marriage his career as a
courtier was eclipsed by his later exploits as a statesman, warrior, explorer, and author. He planned
and participated in many expeditions which brought
benefit to his queen and added to his own fortune,

FORGOTTEN FACTS AND FANCIES
yet none of his expeditions have borne such an
ever-increasing harvest of results as those he sent to
America. He began that work in 1584, and continued to send expeditions in 1585-1586-1587, until
the invasion of England by the Spanish Armada
forced him to other activities, and even then he sent
two expeditions to the relief of the colonists, which,
because of the exigencies of war, failed to reach
America. In fact, the attitude of Spain towards
England at that time was the greatest obstacle which
militated against the success of his colonies. His
ships and his valor were necessary to suppress and
check the insolence and ambition of Spain, who designed to conquer England and become mistress of
the world. By his valor, loyalty, and wisdom Raleigh
was largely instrumental in bringing about the failure of those plans and in defeating the Spanish fleet,
which had been boastingly named The Invincible
Armada. Again his zeal and cool daring won for
England the great victory of Cadiz, which has
always ranked as the most remarkable achievement
in the annals of naval warfare. With only seven
ships he dashed in and destroyed a large Spanish
fleet (fifty-five ships) in its own harbor with a dexterity and valor not surpassed even by Dewey at
Manila nor by Schley at Santiago.
vi

OF AMERICAN HISTORY
Spain was always his foe because she feared him,
and it seems like the Nemesis of fate that three hundred years later the death-blow of Spain as a world
power was dealt in Manila Bay by the nation which
Raleigh strove so hard to plant, himself all unconscious of what the years were to bring. On that
famous morning when Dewey startled the world
and chastised Spain for her insolence arid cruelty,
the ship which fired the first shot in a battle destined to change the rating of two nations, the
ship which first replied to the fire of the Spanish
forts, as if answering the challenge of an old-time
foe,—that ship was the Raleigh, named in honor
of that great man by the nation he had fostered,
and in that battle Raleigh's foe was humbled,
Raleigh's fame perpetuated, and Raleigh's death
avenged.
After the death of Elizabeth the star of Raleigh
set. He whose most valiant work had been the
defense of England against the attacks of Spain was
falsely charged with treasonable negotiations with
Spain, and after a farce of a trial was thrown into
prison, where he remained more than twelve years.
The only mitigations of the horrors of prison life were
the presence of his devoted wife and his books. H e
had always been a student, and he spent the weary
vii

FORGOTTEN FACTS AND FANCIES
hours of his long confinement in that companionship
which is known only to those who really love books,
and to such minds they prove a panacea for sorrow
and injustice. During that imprisonment he wrote
his famous " History of the World," marking the
eventful epoch by writing a history of the Old World
at the same time that he was opening the gates of
the future by planting English colonies in the New
World. As soon as he was released from prison his
mind returned to schemes of exploration. H e made
a voyage to South America, where new disasters
befell him, and where his oldest son was killed.
Shattered by grief and misfortune he returned to
England, where his enemies had planned his certain
downfall. Again he was sent to prison, but not for
a long time, for soon his princely head paid the penalty which true greatness has too often paid to the
power of a weak king. As a subject he was loyal
and valiant, as a husband faithful and devoted, as a
father affectionate and inspiring, as a scholar distinguished in prose and poetry, as a soldier he won
fame and fortune, as a statesman he contributed to
the renown of his sovereign's realm, and as a man
he lived and died guided by the highest ideals.
This was the man who spent a fortune trying to
establish English colonies in North America, and
viii

OF AMERICAN HISTORY
who sent repeated expeditions to the island of
Roanoak, situated where the waters of the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds meet, on the coast of
North Carolina, but which was then called Virginia.
The island wears a cluster of historic jewels which
should endear it to all patriotic Anglo-Americans.
To them it should be the most sacred, the best
loved spot in all the United States. There the first
English settlements were made which led to English
supremacy in the New World. There the first home
altar was reared and the first child of English
parents in the United States was born and baptized.
There the blood of Englishmen first dyed the sod
of North America, and tHere the first attempts at
English agriculture were made. There was enacted
the tragedy of American colonization, the disappearance of Raleigh's Lost Colony, and there the
sacrament of baptism was first administered in the
United States. Roanoak Island is a beautiful place,
with fertile soil and wild luxuriance of vine-covered
forests which are enveloped in a deep solitude which
has become dignity. Restless waters ebb and flow
by its side, restless winds kiss its bare sand dunes,
a genial sun brings to maturity its wealth of tree
. and vine and shrub. Protected from the storms
which ravage the ocean beyond, it sleeps in quiet
ix

FORGOTTEN FACTS AND FANCIES
beauty, content with its heritage of fame as the first
home of the English race in America.
Its isolated position, its wild beauty, its tragic
associations, its dignified repose, all seem to have
set it aside from the rush of modern progress that it
might become a shrine for the homage of a patriotic
people.
The wonderful fertility of the soil of this island
seemed a marvel to the early explorers, all of whom
have testified to i t Ralph Lane, governor of the
colony of 1585, in writing to Raleigh of the island
and the surrounding country, declared it to be "the
goodliest soil under the cope of heaven, 0 and that
" being inhabited with English no realm in Christendom were comparable to it;" every word of which
is true now, provided that the English who inhabit
it follow the suggestions of nature and adopt horticulture as the developing means. The surrounding
country as well as Roanoak Island has a wealth of
climbing vines and clustering grapes which point
instinctively to grape culture. Amadas and Barlowe
(1584) wrote that they found the land "so full of
grapes as the very beating and surge of the sea overflowed them, of which we found such plenty, as well
there as in all places else, both on the sand and on
the green soil, on the hills as on the plains, as well
X

OF AMERICAN HISTORY
as on every little shrub as also climbing towards the
top of high cedars, that I think in all the world the
like abundance is not to be found/'
Surely no other such natural vineyard was ever
found outside the fabled Garden of the Gods!
Even in this generation an old resident of the
Banks, an ante-bellum pilot on these waters, has
testified that his grandfather could remember the
time " when if a vessel were stranded on any of the
beaches the crew could crawl to land on the grapevines hanging over where now there is only a dry
sand beach.*' Throughout the eastern part of that
State (North Carolina) the grape riots in natural
luxuriance and is luscious and fragrant.
Many
varieties remain wild, while others have been improved by cultivation.
The three finest native
American grapes, the Catawba, the Isabella, and the
Scuppernong, are all indigenous to the soil of North
Carolina. The Catawba, native to the banks of the
river Catawba, from which it takes its name, is still
found wild in North Carolina, while it has become
celebrated at the North as a table-grape, and in
Ohio as a wine-grape. In its adopted home it has
revolutionized land values because of the money
value of the product.
The Isabella grape, so
generally cultivated for table use, is thought to be a
xi

FORGOTTEN FACTS AND FANCIES
hybrid between the Burgundy and the native foxgrape of the Carolinas. The tradition runs that
the Burgundy was brought to South Carolina by the
Huguenots, and that cuttings from this hybrid were
brought to North Carolina and successfully propagated. Mrs. Isabella Gibbs, for whom this wellknown grape was named, carried a vine from North
Carolina to Long Island, where it attracted attention
because of its hardiness.
To the people of the South Atlantic coast the
Scuppernong is by far the most important of the
native grapes, for while it refuses to flourish away
from its native home, yet its great possibilities as a

wine-grape are beginning to be appreciated.

All

the early explorers gave it special mention. Hariot
in his famous Narrative wrote, "There are two kinds
of grapes that the soil does yield naturally, the one
is small and sour, of the ordinary bigness of ours in
England ; the other far greater and of himself luscious
sweet. When they are planted, and husbanded as
they ought, a principal commodity of wines by them
may be raised." (Hakluyt, 1586.) Lawson in his
history (1714) describes several varieties, and dwells
on the abundant supply of grapes and the great
tangles of green vines. He wrote of a native white
grape, which many in that day thought existed only
xii

Old " Mother" Scuppernong Vine.

OF AMERICAN HISTORY
in his imagination ; but it was a reality and was the
now well-known Scuppernong, whose fame history
and tradition both perpetuate, and whose real worth,
greater than its legendary fame, is now being recognized and appreciated. There are several varieties
of the Scuppernong, all luscious and yielding rich
juices, and when ripe they fill the air with a fragrance
unknown to any other grape.
The first Scuppernong vine known to history was
found on the mainland of the North Carolina coast
by Amadas and Barlowe on their first voyage (i 584).
Tradition relates thay they transplanted this vine to
Roanoak Island. . On this island there still flourishes
an old vine, which despite its gnarled body and
-evident age continues to bear fruit. It is claimed
that it is the same vine Amadas and Barlowe planted.
Some insist that it was planted by Sir Walter Raleigh
himself, but as that famous knight did not realize his
wish to visit his new possessions in North America,
the honor of having planted the vine must revert to
Amadas and Barlowe. It seems to be endowed
with perennial youth, and the harvest from its
branches is an annual certainty.
What the early explorers testified as to the abundant supply of grapes on the Carolina coast, and the
propitious conditions existing for the propagation of
xiii

FORGOTTEN FACTS AND FANCIES
the vine, is equally true to-day. The manifest destiny of North Carolina as the rival of Southern France
in the production of wines seems to be inevitable.
The marvel is how it has been so long delayed after
Harlot's special mention of such possibilities. Hariot
was a close observer with a practical mind, and the
presence of an indigenous supply of material to sustain an important industry suggested to him that the
people coming to this grape-laden land might establish such an industry to their advantage. The delay
of the development of grape-culture in its native
home can only be explained on the theory that when
nature boldly invites, man becomes shy. This indifference to grape-culture is peculiar to America, for
in Europe all the aristocracy who are land-owners,
where the climate makes it possible, are cultivators
of the grape, take great pride in their wines, boast
of their rare and fine vintages, and hold the making
of wine as one of the fine arts.
The original Scuppernong has white skin, white
pulp, white juice, and makes a white wine. Other
varieties have dark purple skins and yield a reddish
juice which makes a red wine. The dark varieties
are said to be seedlings from the original white variety, and tradition explains the metamorphosis in
this way.
xiv

>
3

I

>

OF AMERICAN HISTORY
In the magic spring made famous in the legend
of The White Doe, after the blood of Virginia Dare
had melted from the silver arrow into the water of
the spring, then the water disappeared.
As the
legend says :
1

' Dry became the magic fountain,
Leaving bare the silver arrow.''

Then while O-kis-ko looked on in wonderment he
saw
1

' a tiny shoot with leaflets
Pushing upward to the sunlight.''

Tradition says that this "tiny shoot with leaflets"
was a young seedling of the Scuppernong which had
sprouted in the edge of the water, and it was not
seen by O-kis-ko until all the water had disappeared.
Then he saw it and immediately associated its appearance with the magic arrow, and so left it " reaching upward to the sunlight" After many days he
returned to the spot—drawn by an irresistible longing, and covered the fatal arrow, which had brought
him so much woe, with earth and leaves to hide
it from his sight. The earth and leaves furnished
the necessary nourishment to the tiny vine, which
reached out with strength and vigor, and finding
friendly bushes upon which to climb, it soon made a
XV

FORGOTTEN FACTS AND FANCIES
sheltering bower above the spot where had bubbled
the magic spring. This tiny green bower became the
favorite retreat of O-kis-ko, where he would linger to
cherish thoughts of his lost love, Virginia Dare, and
marvel on the wonders of her death. Then it came
to pass that when fruit came upon this vine, l o ! it
was purple in hue instead of white like the other
grapes, and yielded a red juice. Full of superstition, and still credulous of marvels, O-kis-ko imagined the change to be due to the magic arrow buried
at its root. He gathered the grapes and pressed the
juice from them, and lo ! it was red—it was the semblance of blood, Virginia Dare' s blood, absorbed
from the water (in which it had melted from the
arrow) by the vine, and yet potent for good. Surely
it held some unseen power, for it combined in some
mystic way through the mysterious earth at his feet
all the power of the magic spring, the power of the
silver arrow, and the power of human blood consecrated through human love. He reverently drank
the juice of this new vine, believing that it would in
some way link him with the spirit of her he had
loved and lost Year after year he drank this juice
and fed his soul on thoughts of love, making unconsciously a sacrament, and finding happiness in the
thought that the blood of the maiden would feed his
xvi

A " Virginia Dare" Vineyard.

The Land-of-Wind-and-Water

OF AMERICAN HISTORY
spirit and lead him to her at last To become good
like her and to go to her became his highest hope.
Aspiration had been born in his soul, and quickened
by love it could not die, but led him blindly to strive
to reach her, and such striving is never in vain.
Another fact that should be enshrined in the
hearts and perpetuated in the memorials of the
nation, is that on Roanoak Island the first Christian
baptism in the United States was administered. By
order of Sir Walter Raleigh, Manteo, the friendly
Indian chief, was baptized soon after the arrival of
the colony under Governor White, and the following
Sunday Virginia Dare, the granddaughter of Governor White, was baptized, both events being officially
reported to Raleigh. In this day of religious freedom any enforced adoption of religious forms shocks
our pious instincts. Yet baptism has always been
considered necessary to salvation, and in the past
the zeal of Christians for the salvation of their fellowmen often assumed the form of mild force. We read
where the Spaniards, always religious fanatics, administered the Holy Sacrament to thousands in
Central America and Mexico at the point of the
sword; their zeal misleading them to force upon
those less enlightened than themselves the hope of
that heaven which they believed to be accessible
2

xvii

FORGOTTEN FACTS AND FANCIES
only through certain Christian rites. So to order
the baptism of an Indian chief seems a simple,
kindly thing, and most probably Manteo desired it
done. The only other Indian who received baptism
in those early settlements was Pocahontas, in 1614.
She was a captive at the time and held as a hostage
to induce Powhatan to comply with certain demands
of the colonists at JamestowTn.
Despite the fact that Virginia Dare was baptized
twenty-seven years earlier' than Pocahontas, yet it is
the Indian Princess who is figured in the painting
on the walls of the dome of the Capitol at Washington as receiving the first baptism in the colonies.
Buried in the annals of that time lies the fact that
twenty-seven years before any colonist even came
to Jamestown, Virginia Dare was born and baptized, as the sequence of Christian birth and as the
child of Christian parents. Virginia Dare was not a
myth. She was a living, breathing reality, a human
creature of good English descent, the granddaughter
of the governor of the colonies, the daughter of
the assistant governor, and a sharer in the mysterious fate of Raleigh's Lost Colony. The historical facts of her life and the legend of her fate and
death are contained in the pages of " T h e White
Doe."
xviii

OF AMERICAN HISTORY
Her baptism would not have been mentioned in
the records if it had not been official and proper.
In a new land, surrounded by dangers and difficulties, with strange environment to divert the mind
to other channels, it would have been easy and
natural for her baptism to have been delayed if not
altogether neglected amid the stress of events. Her
prompt baptism and the official report of the event
to Sir Walter Raleigh is convincing testimony to
the presence of a chaplain at Roanoak.
T H E FIRST BAPTISM IN T H E WILDS O F
AMERICA!
How naturally the scene rises before us. The
young mother, her heart thrilling with the mysteries
of love and life, and elated with the joy of motherhood, alert to the dangers of the new land, and suspicious of the strange people among whom her
blue-eyed treasure must live, yet yielding cheerfully
to the busy smiling English women who had crossed
the ocean with her, and now with womanly intuition
ministered to her needs. We can picture them
making tidy the confused household, and stilling the
cries of the infant as they prepare her to receive
the sign of the cross. We can almost picture them
deliberating over a choice from among their limited
xix

FORGOTTEN FACTS AND FANCIES
supply of vessels of one worthy to become the receptacle of the water to be used. It was on the
Sabbath-Day, and the dedication to God of the
wee creature who had so newly come among them
was a fitting observance of the day. The solemn
words of the ritual of the English Church, never
before spoken in that primeval forest, must have
awakened mysterious vibrations which linger yet
and give to Roanoak Island that atmosphere of
perpetual repose which envelops it. There must
have come to those who witnessed the scene that
holy Sabbath-Day, just as it comes now to those
who view it from afar, a deep realization that the
God of the English and the Great Spirit of the Indian are one and the same, then, now, and evermore. The One God to whom in baptism Virginia
Dare was brought and in whose name Manteo the
savage was signed with the cross and given the
promise of .salvation, and who remains the God of
the millions of English-speaking people who now
worship in the land which was then and there dedicated to the service of Christ.
The mist of oblivion fades before the light of
Truth, and Virginia Dare will be a shining jewel in
the Chaplet of Memories which some day Christian
America will place upon the tomb of the Past.
XX

PREFACE
A FAMILIAR knowledge of the history of one's
own country increases patriotism and stimulates
valor. For this reason the study of written records
called history should be supplemented by research
into myths, folk-lore, and legends.
While the
value of history lies ever in its truth, it must yet
bear the ideals of the people who participated in
the events narrated. Tradition was the mother
of all history, and was necessarily robed in the
superstitions of the era of which the tradition tells.
History writers, jealously guarding the truth, have
striven to banish all traditions which seemed colored
by fancy or even freighted with a moral lesson.
These exiled traditions, bearing the seed-germs of
truth, cannot die, but, like wandering spirits, float
down the centuries enveloped in the mists of superstition, until finally, embodied in romance or song,
they assume a permanent form called legend and
become the heritage of a people. Legends are
the satellites of history because they have their
5

6

PREFACE

origin in the same events, and the history of all
countries is interspersed with them.
The legend of The White Doe is probably the
oldest and possibly the least known of all the
legends which relate to the history of the United
States. It is a genuine American legend, and the
facts from which it had its origin form the first
chapter in the history of English colonization in
North America.
Those facts are found in the
repeated attempts of Sir Walter Raleigh to establish an English colony in the New World. The
Spaniards were in Florida, the French were in
Nova Scotia, but England had gained no possessions in North America when Raleigh began his
efforts. This fact assumes more importance when
we remember that civilization has made the greatest
progress in those parts of America where the
English became dominant
In South America,
dominated by the Spaniards, civilization has made
no strides, while in the United States a new nation
has arisen whose ultimate destiny none may limit
or foretell. As the gates of a new century open
and disclose almost unlimited fields for human
progress, this new nation, with an enthusiasm and
courage born of success, has taken her place to
lead in the eternal forward search for better op-

PREFACE

7

portunities and higher life for the human race.
All this grand destiny, all this ripening opportunity,
like a harvest from a few seeds, is traced back,
event after event, to the early struggles of those
who braved the dangers of sea and forest in the
attempts to colonize America.
Those pioneer
efforts, so generously promoted by Sir Walter
Raleigh, though only partially successful, were the
stepping-stones which later led to the better-known
settlement of Jamestown, in Virginia. A brief
resume of those stepping-stones will make them
familiar to all.
In 1584 Queen Elizabeth made a grant to
Raleigh for all the land from Nova Scotia to
Florida, which was called Virginia, in honor of the
Virgin Queen, as Elizabeth was called.
The first expedition sent out under this grant
was in the same year, 1584, and was entirely at
the expense of Sir Walter Raleigh, as were all of
the expeditions up to 1590. It was solely for the
purpose of exploration, and was under the command of Amadas and Barlowe, who, after coasting along the Atlantic shores, entered Pamlico
Sound and landed on the island of Roanoak,
on the coast of the present State of North Carolina.
They made the acquaintance of the tribes there

8

PREFACE

resident, explored the country on the coast, and
returned to England to bear enthusiastic testimony
to the delightsomeness of the country. They took
with them back to England two native Indian
chiefs, Manteo and Wanchese, who returned to
America on a subsequent voyage, as the official
records tell.
The following year, 1585, a colony of one
hundred and seven men landed on this same island
of Roanoak.
They came organized to occupy
and possess the land granted to Raleigh, and to
secure such benefits therefrom as in those days
were deemed valuable. They remained one year,
exploring the country and trying to establish relations with the Indians. They built houses, planted
crops, and looked forward to the arrival of more
men and food, which had been promised from
England.
But no ships came, provisions grew
scarce, and before the crops they had planted were
mature enough to harvest, Sir Francis Drake, the
great sea-rover of that day, appeared off the
island with a fleet of vessels.
Knowing the dangers of that coast, he did not
attempt to come to the island, but sent in to learn
of the welfare of the colony, and offered to supply
their immediate needs. They asked, among other

PREFACE

9

things, that their sick and weak men be taken back
to England, that food for those who remained be
given them, and for a vessel in which they might
return home if they so desired, all of which Drake
granted. But a dreadful storm arose, which lasted
three days and drove the promised vessel out to
sea> with a goodly number of the colonists and
the promised food on bbard. Seeing thus a part
of their number and their food gone, the remaining colonists became homesick and panic-stricken
and begged Drake to take them all to England,
which he did. Thus ended the first attempt at
English colonization in North America.
Fifteen days after their departure Sir Richard
Grenville arrived with three vessels, bringing the
promised supplies, but found the men gone.
Wishing to hold the country for England until
another colony could arrive, he left fifteen men
on the island with provisions for two years, and he
returned to England. Those fifteen men are supposed to have been murdered and captured by
the Indians, as the next colony found only some
bones, a ruined fort, and empty houses in which
deer were feeding.
The leaving of those fifteen men is considered
»the second attempt at colonization, and is recog-

10

PREFACE

nized as a failure. But all success is built only
by persistent repetition of effort, and so, in 1587,
another colony came from England to this same
island of Roanoak. Among those colonists were
seventeen women and nine children, thus proving
the intention of making permanent homes, and
the hope of establishing family ties which should
for all time unite England and North America.
A few days after the arrival of this colony at
Roanoak, Virginia Dare was born,—she being the
first child born of English parents on the soil of
North America,—and because she was the first
child born in Virginia she was called Virginia.
Her mother, Eleanor Dare, was the daughter of
John White, the governor of the colony, and the
wife of one of the assistant governors.
The Sunday following her birth she was baptized,
this being another fact of official record.
By Sir Walter Raleigh's command the rite of
baptism had been administered, a few days earlier,
to Manteo, an Indian chief, who had visited
England with a returning expedition, as previously
mentioned. This baptism of the adult Indian and
of the white infant were the first Christian sacraments administered in North America, and are
worthy of commemoration.

PREFACE

II

The colonists soon found that to make possible
and permanent their home in a new land many
things were needed more than they had provided.
So at their urgent request their leader, Governor
White, grandfather of Virginia Dare, consented
to return to England to secure the needed supplies, with which he was to return to them the
following year. When White reached England he
found war going on with Spain, and England
threatened with an invasion by the famous Spanish
Armada. His queen needed and demanded his
services, and not until 1590—three years later—did
he succeed in returning to America. When at last
he came the colonists had disappeared, and the
only clue to their fate was the word "Croatoan,"
which he found carved on a tree; it having been
agreed between them that if they changed their
place of abode in his absence they would carve
on a tree the name of the place to which they
had gone.
The arrival of those colonists, the birth and
baptism of Virginia Dare, the return of White to
England, the disappearance of the colony, and the
finding of the word Croatoan, these facts form
the record of that colony, the disappearance of
which is a mystery which history has not solved.

12

PREFACE

But tradition illumines many periods of the
past which history leaves in darkness, and tradition tells how this colony found among friendly
Indians a refuge from the dangers of Roanoak j
Island, and how this infant grew into fair maidenhood, and was changed by the sorcery of a rejected lover into a white doe, which roamed the
lonely island and bore a charmed life, and how
finally true love triumphed over magic and restored
her to human form,—only to result in the death
of the maiden from a silver arrow shot by a cruel
chieftain.
This tradition of a white doe and a silver
arrow has survived through three centuries, and
not only lingers where the events occurred, but
some portions of it are found wherever in our
land forests abound and deer abide. From Maine
to Florida lumbermen are everywhere familiar
with an old superstition that to see a white doe
is an evil omen. In some localities lumbermen
will quit work if a white deer is seen. That
such a creature as a white deer really exists is
demonstrated by their capture and exhibition in
menageries, and to-day the rude hunters of the
Alleghany Mountains believe that only a silver
arrow will kill a white deer.

PREFACE

13

The disappearance of this colony has been trulycalled " t h e tragedy of American colonization,"
and around it has hung a pathetic interest which
ever leads to renewed investigation, in the hope
of solving the mystery. From recent search into
the subject by students of history a chain of
evidence has been woven from which it has come
to be believed that the lost colony, hopeless of
succor from England, and deprived of all other
human associations, became a part of a tribe of
friendly Croatoan Indians, shared their wanderings, and intermarried with them, and that their
descendants are to be found to-day among the
Croatoan Indians of Robeson County, North
Carolina.
(Those who desire to investigate this supposed
solution of the mystery can easily secure the facts
and the conclusions formed by those who have
made a careful study of the subject.)
Of course, it can never be known certainly
whether Virginia Dare was or was not of that
number, but the full tradition of her life among
the Indians is embodied in the legend of The
White Doe.
Much has been written about the Indian princess Pocahontas, and much sentiment has clustered

i4

PREFACE

around her association with the Jamestown colony,
while few have given thought to the young English
girl whose birth, baptism, and mysterious disappearance link her forever with the earlier tragedies
of the same era of history. It seems a strange
coincidence that the Indian maiden Pocahontas,
friend and companion of the White Man, having
adopted his people as her own, should sleep in
death on English soil, while the English maiden,
Virginia Dare, friend and companion of the Red
Man, having adopted his people as her own, should
sleep in death on American soil,—the two maidens
thus exchanging nationality, and linking in life
and in death the two countries whose destinies
seem most naturally to intermingle.
The scattered fragments of this legend have
been carefully collected and woven into symmetry
for preservation. Notes from authentic sources
have been appended for the benefit of searchers
into the historical basis of the poem, which is
offered to the public with the hope that it may
increase interest in the early history of our home
land and strengthen the tie which binds England
and the United States.
SALLIE SOUTHALL COTTEN.

CONTENTS
PAGE.

FORGOTTEN FACTS AND FANCIES OF AMERICAN H I S TORY

i

PREFACE

5

PROLOGUE

19

T H E SEEDS OF TRUTH

.23

THE LEGEND OF THE WHITE DOE
I . — T H E REFUGEES

31

I I . — T H E PALE-FACE MAIDEN

42

III.—SAVAGE SORCERY

46

I V . — T H E COUNTER-CHARM

55

V . — T H E HUNT
VI.

63

- T H E SILVER ARROW

72

APPENDIX

81

IS

ILLUSTRATIONS
i

" While within its bright'ning
dimness.
With the misty halo Wound her,
Stood a beautiful white maiden* *

2

A Scuppernong

j

Old

4

Among the Scuppernongs.—A

5

A '' Virginia Dare''

6

4t

Mother"

The Arrival

J ,lThe

Fierce,

FRONTISPIECE

Vineyard, Roanoak Island
Scuppernong

x

Vine

xii

Modern Vineyard

xiv

Vineyard

of the Englishmen
Brawny

Red

xvi
in Virginia

Man is King

23 '
of the

Wold"

24

8

The Land-of

Wind-and-

Water

Q

32

Man-te-o, a Chiefe Lorde of Roanoak

34

10 "Then a New Canoe he fashioned"

j2

11

38

The Magician of Po-mou-ik
Frontispiece from an original drawing by May Louise
Barrett.
Maps and remaining illustrations reproduced from
Theodore de Bry's edition of "The True Pictures and
Fashions of the People in that Parte of America now
called Virginia," 1590.

17

PROLOGUE
IN the tomb of vanished ages sleep th* ungarnered truths
of Time,
Where the pall of silence covers deeds of honor and of
crime;
Deeds of sacrifice and danger, which the careless earth
forgets,
There, in ever-deep'ning shadows, lie embalmed in mute
regrets.
Would-be-gleaners of the Present vainly grope amid this
gloom ;
Flowers of Truth to be immortal must be gathered while
they bloom,
Else they pass into the Silence, man's neglect their only
blight,
And the Gleaner of the Ages stores them far from human
sight.
Yet a perfume, sweet and subtle, lingers where each
flower grew,
Rising from the shattered petals, bathed and freshened by
the dew;
And this perfume, in the twilight, forms a mist beneath
the skies,
Out of which, like airy phantoms, legends and traditions
rise;
For the Seeds of Truth are buried in a legend's inmost
heart,
To transplant them in the sunlight justifies the poet's art.
19

THE SEEDS OF TRUTH

\:l^-:r''.te?*2

.^^vy

T h e arrival of the Englishmen in Virginia

^ .

T H E SEEDS O F T R U T H
ROANOAK,

IS87

SHIMMERING waters, aweary of tossing,
Hopeful of rest, ripple on to the shore;
Dimpling with light, as they waver and quiver,
Echoing faintly the ocean's wild roar.
Locked in the arms of the tremulous waters
Nestles an island, with beauty abloom,
Where the warm kiss of an amorous summer
Fills all the air with a languid perfume.
Windward, the roar of the turbulent breakers
Warns of the dangers of rock and of reef;
Burdened with mem'ries of sorrowful shipwreck,
They break on the sands in torrents of grief.
Leeward, the forest, grown giant in greenness,
Shelters a land where a fervid sun shines ;
Wild with the beauty of riotous nature,
Thick with the tangles of fruit-laden vines.*
From fragrant clusters, grown purple with ripeness,
Rare, spicy odors float out to the sea,f
Where the gray gulls flit with restless endeavor,
Skimming the waves in their frolicsome glee.
* See Appendix, Note a.

f See Appendix, Note b.
23

24

THE SEEDS OF TRUTH

Out from the shore stalks the stately white
heron,
Seeking his food from the deep without fear,
Gracefully waving wide wings as he rises
When the canoe of the Indian draws near.
Through reedy brake and the tangled sea-grasses
Wander the stag and the timid-eyed d o e *
Down to the water's edge, watchful and wary
For arrows that fly from the red hunter's bow.
Fearless Red Hunter ! his birthright the forest,
Lithe as the antelope, joyous and free.
Trusting his bow for his food and his freedom,
Wresting a tribute from forest and sea,
No chilling forecast of doom in the future
Daunts his brave spirit, by freedom made bold.
Far o'er the wildwood he roams at his pleasure,
The fierce, brawny Red Man is king of the wold.
^c

ifc

Lo ! in the
Ships from
Laden with
ger,
Stalwart of

%

^

^<

sje

offing the white sails are gleaming,
afar to the land drawing nigh ;
men, strong and brave to meet danform, fair of skin, blue of eye.
* See Appendix, Note c.

T h e fierce, brawny R e d Man is king of the wold"

THE SEEDS OF TRUTH

25

Boldly they land where the white man is alien ;
Women are with them, with hearts true and brave ;
Sadly they stand where their countrymen perished,*
Seeking a home where they found but a grave.
Friendly red hunters greet them with kindness,
Tell the sad tale how their countrymen died,f
Beg for a token of friendship and safety, f
Promise in love and in peace to abide.
Manteo's heart glows with friendly remembrance,
He greets them as brothers and offers good
cheer;
No thrill of welcome is felt by Wanchese,J
His heart is bitter with malice and fear.
Envying men his superiors in wisdom,
Fearing a race his superiors in skill ;
Sullen and silent he watches the strangers,
Whom from the first he determines to kill.
Then the sign of the Cross, on the brow of the
Indian, §
Seals to the savage the promise of life ;
Sweet symbol of sacrifice, emblem of duty,
Standard of Peace, though borne amidst strife :
* See Appendix, Note d.
f See Appendix, Note e.

% Pronounced Wan-chess-e.
§ See Appendix, Note f.

26

THE SEEDS OF TRUTH

Draped with the sombre, stained banner of Conquest,
Dark with the guilt of man's murder and greed,
Yet bright with God's message of love and forgiveness
Unto a universe welded to creed.
Gently the morning breeze tosses the tree-tops,
Low ebbs the tide on the outlying sand;
When a tiny white babe opens eyes to the sunlight,*
Heaven's sweet pledge for the weal of the
land.
Babe of the Wilderness ! tenderly cherished !
Signed with the Gross on the next Sabbath
Day;
Brave English Mother ! through danger and sorrow,
For a nation of Christians thou leadest the way.
Back to the home-land, across the deep water,
Goes the wise leader, their needs to abate; f
Leaving with sorrow the babe and its mother
In a strange land as a hostage to Fate.
* See Appendix, Note g.

f See Appendix, Note h.

THE SEEDS OF TRUTH
Many long months pass in busy home-making,
Sweet English customs prevail on the isle;
Anxious eyes watch for the ship in the offing,
Saddened hearts droop, but the lips bravely smile.
Gone are the sweet dreamy days of the summer,
In from the ocean the winter winds shriek;
Dangers encompass and enemies threaten,
Mother and child other refuge must seek.
Mother and child, as in Bethlehem story,
Flee from the hate of their blood-thirsty foes •
Hopeless of help from their own land and people,
They seek friendly tribes to find rest from their
woes.
To the fair borders of Croatoan Island,
Over the night-covered waters they flee;
Seeking for safety with Manteo's people,
Leaving the word "Croatoan" on a tree.*
Name of the refuge in which they sought shelter,
Only the name of a tribe, nothing more; *
Sign whereby those who would seek them might
follow
To their new home on the Croatoan's shore.
* See Appendix, Note k.

28

THE SEEDS OF TRUTH

Why did they

leave the

rude fort

they

had

builded ?
Why did they seek far away a new home?
O innocent babe ! Roanoak's lost nestling !
How shall we learn where thy footsteps did roam ?
'Mid the rude tribes of the primeval forest,
Bearing the signet of Christ on thy brow,
Wert thou the teacher and guide of the savage?
Who, of thy mission, can aught tell us now ?
Through the dim ages comes only the perfume,
Left where the flowers of Truth fell to earth ;
With ne'er a gleaner to treasure the blossoms,
Save the sweet petals of baptism and birth.
Vainly we seek on Time's shore for thy footprints,
Hid in a mist of pathos is thy fate;
Yet of a life under savage enchantment
Quaint Indian legends do strangely relate.

THE LEGEND OF THE WHITE DOE

I
THE

REFUGEES

IN the Land-of-Wind-and-Water,
Loud the sea bemoaned its sameness;
Dashing shoreward with impatience
To explore the landward mysteries.
On the sand the waves spread boldly,
Vainly striving to reach higher;
Then abashed by vain ambition,
Glided to their ordained duty.
There the pine-tree, tall and stately,
Whispered low the ocean's murmur;
Strove to soothe the restless waters
With its lullaby of sighing.
There the tall and dank sea-grasses,
From the storm-tide gathered secrets
Of the caverns filled with treasures,
Milky pearls and tinted coral,
Stores of amber and of jacinth,
In the caves festooned with sea-weed,
Where the Sea-King held his revels
And the Naiads danced in beauty.
31

THE REFUGEES
In this Land-of-Wind-and-Water,
Dowered with the sunshine's splendor,
Juicy grapes grew in profusion,
Draping all the trees with greenness,
And the maize grew hard and yellow,
With the sunshine in its kernels.
Through the forest roamed the black bear,
And the red deer boldly herded ;
Through the air flew birds of flavor,
And the sea was full of fishes,
Till the Red Man knew no hunger,
And his wigwam hung with trophies.
There brave Man-te-o, the Faithful,
Ruled the Cro-a-to-ans with firmness,
Dwelt in peace beside the waters,
Smoked his pipe beneath the pine-tree,
Gazed with pride upon his bear-skins
Which hung ready for the winter.
Told his people all the marvels
Of the Land-of-the-Pale-Faces;
Of the ships with wings like sea-birds
Wherein he had crossed the water; *
Of the Pale-Face Weroanza f
* See Appendix, Note /.

f Queen Elizabeth.

THE REFUGEES

3

Whom he saw in her own country ;
Of her robes of silken texture,
Of her wisdom and her power;
Told them of her warlike people
And their ships which breathed the lightning.
How he pledged with them a friendship,
Hoping they would come to teach him
How to make his people mighty,
How to make them strong in battle
So the other tribes would fear them.
And the dream of future greatness
Filled the Cro-a-to-ans with courage;
And their hearts grew warm and friendly
To the race of white-faced strangers.
When bold white men came among them,
To the isle of Ro-a-no-ak,
Man-te-o, the friendly Weroance,
Faithful proved to all his pledges.
Smoked with them the pipe of friendship,
Took their God to be his Father;
Took upon his swarthy forehead
Their strange emblem of salvation,*
Emblem of the One Great Spirit,
Father of all tribes and nations.
* See Appendix, Note f.
3

THE REFUGEES
Man-te-o, the friend and brother,
Bade them fear the false Wan-ches-e,
And the Weroance Win-gin-a,
Whose hearts burned with bitter hatred
For the men they feared in combat,
For the strangers who defied them.
When the Pale-Face, weak and hungry,
Feeble from continued labor,
Shivered in the blasts of winter
Which blew cold across the water,
Then Wan-ches-e planned their ruin,
With Win-gin-a sought to slay them.
To the isle of Ro-a-no-ak,
Where the Pale-Face slept unguarded,
Sped the swift canoes of Red Men,
Gliding through the silent shadows.
As the sky grew red with dawning,*
While they dreamed of home and kindred,
Suddenly with whoop of murder
Wily Indians swarmed around them.
Skill of Pale-Face, craft of Red Man,
Met in fierce, determined battle ;
* See Appendix, Note m.

Man^te-o, a chiefe lorde of Roanoak

THE REFUGEES
While within the Fort called Ralegh
Many arrows fell, like raindrops.
Arrows tipped with serpent's poison,
Arrows tipped with blazing rosin,
Winged with savage thirst for murder,
Aimed with cruel skill to torture.
Threatened by the blazing roof-tree
Then the Pale-Face crouched in terror;
Saw the folly of resistance,
Feared hi§ doom, and fled for safety.
Man-te-o, alert for danger,
From afar saw signs of conflict;
Saw the waves of smoke ascending
Heavenward, like prayers for rescue.
Swift, with boats and trusty warriors,
Crossed he then to Ro-a-no-ak;
Strong to help his Pale-Face brothers,
Faithful to his friendly pledges.
As the daylight slowly faded,
Hopeless of the bloody struggle,
Stealthily the Pale-Face warriors
Fled with Man-te-o's brave people.
Left they then the Fort called Ralegh,
Left the dead within its stockade ;

THE REFUGEES
Sought another island refuge,
Hoping there to rest in safety.
Man-te-o sought for the mother,*
She with babe there born and nurtured
'Neath the shadow of disaster,
In the Land-of-Wind-and-Water.
"Come," said he, " t h e darkness falleth,
All your people must flee henceward ;
Wan-ches-e will show no mercy,
You must not become his captive.
Take the papoose from thy bosom,
Call the white chief whom thou lovest,
Haste with me upon the flood-tide
To my wigwam on Wo-ko-kon."
Noiseless, she amid the conflict
Sought her heart's mate to flee with her;
Useless all the strife and courage,
Useless all the rude home-making ;
Shrine for worship, fort for safety,
Hope of future peace and plenty,
All were vain ; yet life we cherish,
Far above all boons we hold i t :
So she hastened on her mission
For the life of self and loved ones.
* Eleanor Dare.

THE REFUGEES

3

As they neared the island border,
Pale-Face husband, child, and mother,
Man-te-o in silence leading,
Every sense alive to danger,
Suddenly the Pale-Face father
Thought him of the parting caution
Given by their absent leader :
If they fled in search of safety
On a tree to leave a token,
Whereby he might surely find them,
In the land which gave them shelter,
When he came again to seek them.*
By his side a sturdy live-oak
Spread its green, protecting branches ;
Quick he strove to carve the token
Which should speak to all who followed.
C. R. O., in bold, plain letters *
Cut he in the tree's firm body,
When a random, poisoned arrow
Pierced his heart, and he fell lifeless.
With a smothered cry of horror,
In an agony of sorrow,
* See Appendix, Note k.

THE REFUGEES
She would fain have lingered near him,
But that Man-te-o urged onward.
If discovered, flight was futile,
Weakness now meant worse disaster;
She must save her helpless babyThough her heart be rent with anguish.
Frantic with love's desolation,
Strong with thoughts of home and father,
With a woman's wondrous calmness
When great peril calls for action,
Safe she placed the sleeping infant
'Cross the brawny arms of Man-te-o,
While with knife drawn from his girdle
Carved she on another live-oak
Plain, the one word " C R O A T O A N " *
As a sign to all her people.
Trusting all to savage friendship,
Cutting hope with every letter,
Praying God to guide her father
To the haven she was seeking.
Trust is woman's strongest bulwark,
All true manhood yields unto it.
* See Appendix, Note k.

THE REFUGEES
As her sad eyes turned upon him
Man-te-o was moved with pity
For the brave and tender woman,
Friendless in the land without him.
On the brow of Pale-Face baby
First he made the Holy Cross-Sign;
Then upon the sad-eyed mother
Traced the sign her people taught h i m ;
Then again the sacred symbol
Outlined on his own dark forehead;
And with open hand uplifted
Sealed his promise of protection ;
Linking thus his pledge of safety
With her faith in Unseen Power.
Mute with grief, she trusted in him ;
In his boat they crossed the water,
While the night fell like a mantle
Spread in mercy to help save them.
When in Cro-a-to-an they landed,
There they found the few survivors
Of that day of doom to many,
Glad once more to greet each other.
Man-te-o within his wigwam

THE REFUGEES
From the cold wind gave them shelter,
Shared with them his furry bear-skins,
Made them warm, and warmth gave coura
To meet life's relentless duties.
Then he summoned all the people,
Called the old men and the young men,
Bade the squaws to come and listen,
Showed the papoose to the women.
They gazed on its tender whiteness,
Stroked the mother's flaxen tresses ;
"'Tis a snow-papoose" they whispered,
" I t will melt when comes the summer."
Man-te-o said to the warriors :
" Y e all know these Pale-Face people
Whom Wan-ches-e sought to murder,
They have often made us welcome.
Brave their hearts, but few are living,
If left friendless these will perish;
We have store of corn and venison,
They are hungry, let us feed them ;
They have lightning for their arrows,
Let them teach us how to shoot it.
They with us shall search the forest,
And our game shall be abundant;

THE REFUGEES
Let them teach us their strange wisdom
And become with us one people."
And the old men, grave in counsel,
And the young men, mute with deference,
While the uppowoc* was burning,
Pondered on his words thus spoken,
And to Man-te-o gave answer:
"All your words are full of wisdom;
We will share with them our venison,
They shall be as our own people."
From the isle of Ro-a-no-ak
Thus the Pale-Face fled for succor,
Thus in Cro-a-to-an's fair borders
Found a home with friendly Red Men.
Nevermore to see white faces,
Nevermore to see their home-land,
Yet to all the future ages
Sending proof of honest daring;
Forging thus a link of effort
In the chain of human progress.
* Tobacco.

II
T H E PALE-FACE

MAIDEN

feels no throb of pity,
Makes no pause for human heartbreak;
Though with agony we quiver,
She gives forth no sign of feeling.
Waxed and waned the moon, in season,
Ebbed and flowed the tides obedient ;
Summers filled the land with plenty,
Winters chilled the summers' ardor.
No winged ships gleamed in the offing;
No Pale-Faces sought their kindred;
In the Land-of-Wind-and-Water
Roamed the Red Man unmolested.
NATURE

While the babe of Ro-a-no-ak
Grew in strength and wondrous beauty;
Like a flower of the wildwood,
Bloomed beside the Indian maidens.
And Wi-no-na Ska* they called her,
She of all the maidens fairest.
* Literally, "first-born white daughter."
42

THE PALE-FACE MAIDEN

4

In the tangles of her tresses
Sunbeams lingered, pale and yellow;
In her eyes the limpid blueness
Of the noonday sky was mirrored.
And the squaws of darksome features
Smiled upon her fair young beauty;
Felt their woman hearts within them
Warming to the Pale-Face maiden.
And the braves, who scorned all weakness,
Listened to her artless prattle,
While their savage natures softened,
Of the change themselves unconscious.

Like the light of summer morning
Beaming on a world in slumber
Was the face of young Wi-no-na
To the Cro-a-to-ans who loved her.
She, whose mind bore in its dawning
Impress of developed races,
To the rude, untutored savage
Seemed divinely Mowed with reason.
She, the heir of civilization,
They, the slaves of superstition,
Gave to her a silent rev'rence,
Growing better with such giving.

THE PALE-FACE MAIDEN
Oft she told them that the Cross-Sign,
Made by Man-te-o before them
When he talked to his own nation,
Was the symbol of a Spirit
Great, and good, and wise, and loving;
He who kept the maize-fields fruitful,
He who filled the sea with fishes,
He who made the sun to warm them
And sent game to feed His children.

If, when in their games or councils,
They grew quarrelsome and angry,
Suddenly among them standing
Was a maiden like the sunrise,
Making with her taper finger
This strange sign which they respected ;
And without a word of pleading
Strife and wrath would no more vex them.
While the influence of her presence
Lingered 'round them like enchantment.

Thus the babe of Ro-a-no-ak
Grew to be the joy and teacher
Of a tribe of native heathen

THE PALE-FACE MAIDEN
In the land which gave her shelter.
And the tide of her affections
Flowed to those who gave her friendship ;
Whom alone she knew as human,
Whom to her became as kindred.

#

Ill
SAVAGE SORCERY
MAN-TO-AC, the Mighty Father,
When he filled the earth with blessings,
Deep within the heart of Woman
Hid the burning Need-of-Loving;
Which through her should warm the ages
With a flame of mutual feeling,
Throbbing through her sons and daughters
With a force beyond their power.
And this law of human loving,
Changeless through unending changes,
Fills each living heart with yearning
For another heart to love it;
And against this ceaseless craving
Creed, nor clime, nor color standeth ;
Heart to heart all nature crieth
That the earth may thrill with gladness.
So the young braves of the nation,
Thrilled with love for fair Wi-no-na,
Made rude ornaments to please her,
46

SAVAGE SORCERY

47

Laid the red deer at her wigwam.
Brought her skins of furry rabbits
Soft and white as her own skin was ;
Robbed the black bear and the otter
That her bed might soft and warm be.
And the children of the forest
Were uplifted by such loving
Of a higher type of being,
Who yet throbbed with human instincts.
Brave O-kis-ko loved the maiden
With a love which made him noble ;
With the love that self-forgetting
Fills the soul with higher impulse.
As the sun with constant fervor,
Heat and light to earth bestowing,
Seeks for no return of blessing,
Feels no loss for all his giving,
So O-kis-ko loved Wi-no-na,
Gave her all his heart's rude homage,
Felt no loss for all his giving,
Loved her for the joy of loving.
Scorned he all fatigue and danger
Which would bring her food or pleasure ;
And each day brought proof of fealty,
For his deeds were more than language.

SAVAGE SORCERY
For her sake he tried to fasten
To his rude canoe white pinions
Like the winged ships of the white man,
That with her he might sail boldly
Out towards the rosy sunrise,
Seeking for her lost grandsire*
For whose coming her heart saddened.
Though his red companions mocked him,
His endeavor pleased the maiden,
And her eyes beamed kindly on him,
Though no passion stirred her pulses.
For sweet maiden hopes and fancies
Filled her life with happy dreaming
Ere her woman's heart awakened
To O-kis-ko's patient waiting.
Waiting for her eyes to brighten
'Neath the ardor of his glances;
Waiting for her soul to quicken
With the answer to his longing ;
Finding sweet content in silence,
Glad each day to see and serve her.
Now old Chi-co, the Magician,
Also loved the fair Wi-no-na,
* Governor White, of the lost colony.

SAVAGE SORCERY
All his youth to him returning
As he gazed upon her beauty.
In his wigwam pelt of gray wolf,
Antlers of the deer and bison,
Hung to prove his deeds of valor;
And he wooed the gentle maiden
With his cunning tales of prowess.
She would not rebuke his boasting,
Fearful lest her words offend him;
For her nature kind and loving
Could not scorn the vaunting Chi-co.
When he walked among the maidens,
Gay with paint and decked with feathers,
She would look on him with kindness
That the others might not scoff him;
She would smile upon his weakness,
Though she did not wish to wed him.
Chi-co's love was fierce as fire
Which from flame yields only ashes ;
Which gives not for joy of giving,
But demands unceasing tribute,
More and more to feed its craving.
He grew eager and impatient,
4

SAVAGE SORCERY
He would share with none her favor;
All for him her eyes must brighten,
Else his frown would blight her pleasure.
When the young men played or wrestled,
If O-kis-ko came out victor ;
Or returning with the hunters
He it was who bore the stag home ;
If with eyes abrim with pleasure
Sweet Wi-no-na smiled upon him,
Or with timid maiden shyness
Drooped her eyes beneath his glances,
Then old Chi-co's heart would wither
With the fire of jealous fury,
Till at length in bitter anger
He determined none should win her,
As from him she turned in coldness.
Wrapped in silence grim and sullen,
Much he wandered near the water;
With his soul he took dark counsel,
Seeking for devices cruel
For the torture of his rival
And destruction of the maiden.
Though he rarely used his power,
Chi-co was a great magician.

SAVAGE SORCERY
He knew all the spells of starlight
And the link 'tween moon and water ;
Knew the language of lost spirits
And the secret of their power;
Knew the magic words and symbols
Whereby man may conquer nature.
Long he plotted,—much he brooded,
While he gathered from the water
Mussel-pearls all streaked and pieded,*
All with rays like purple halos.
Such pearls are the souls of Naiads
Who have disobeyed the Sea-King,
And in mussel-shells are prisoned
For this taint of human frailty.
When by man released from durance
These souls, grateful for their freedom,
Are his slaves, and ever render
Good or evil at his bidding.
Chi-co steeped each one he gathered
In a bath of mystic brewing;
Told each purple, pieded pearl-drop
* See Appendix, Note n.

52

SAVAGE SORCERY
What the evil was he plotted.
Never once his purpose wavered,
Never once his fury lessened ;
Nursing vengeance as a guerdon
While the mussel-pearls he polished.
Then a new canoe he fashioned,
Safe, and strong, and deep he made it; *
And then sought to work his magic
On the innocent Wi-no-na ;
Asked the maiden to go with him
In his boat across the water.
"Come," said he, " t o Ro-a-no-ak,
Where the waves are white with blossoms,
Where the grapes hang ripe in clusters,
Come with me and drink their juices."
And the innocent Wi-no-na
Listened to his artful pleading;
Went with him in search of pleasure,
Glad to show him friendly feeling.
While with idle stroke they floated
To the fragrant lily-blossoms,
* See Appendix, Note o.

SAVAGE SORCERY

5

He a string of pearls gave to her,
Smooth and polished, pied and purple.
' Round her snowy neck she placed them
With no thought of harm or cunning;
And with simple, maiden speeches
Filled the time as they sped onward.
To each pearl had Chi-co chanted,
Each had bathed in mystic water,
Each held fast the same weird power,
Till the time grew ripe for evil.
On the waves they could not harm her,
There the Sea-King ruled them #ver ;
But when on the shore she landed
They would work their evil mission.
On the shore of Ro-a-no-ak
Chi-co sent his boat with vigor.
Lithe and happy she sprang shoreward,
When,—from where her foot first lightly
Pressed the sand with human imprint,—
On—away—towards the thicket,
Sprang a White Doe> fleet and graceful.
His revenge thus wrought in safety,
Drifting seaward Chi-co chanted :

SAVAGE SORCERY
" Go, White Doe, hide in the forest,
Feed upon the sweet wild-grasses ;
No winged arrow e'er shall harm you,
No Red Hunter e'er shall win you ;
Roam forever, fleet and fearless,
Living free and yet in fetters."
O fair maiden ! born and nurtured
'Neath the shadow of disaster !
Isle of Fate was Ro-a-no-ak,
In the Land-of-Wind-and-Water.
Nevermore to fill with gladness
The sad heart of stricken mother;
Nevermore to hear the wooing
Of the brave and true O-kis-ko.
Gone thy charm of youthful beauty,
Gone thy sway o'er savage natures ;
Doomed to flee before the hunter,
Doomed to roam the lonely island,
Doomed to bondage e'en in freedom.
Is the seal of doom eternal?
Hath the mussel-pearl all power?
Cannot love thy fetters loosen?

w

IV
THE

COUNTER-CHARM

MAN-TE-O and all his warriors

Long and far sought for Wi-no-na ;
Sought to find the sky-eyed maiden
Sent by Man-to-ac, the Mighty,
To the Cro-a-to-ans to bless them,
And to make them wise and happy.
As a being more than mortal,
As a deity they held her ;
And when no more seen among them
Lamentations filled the island.
Through Wo-ko-kon's sandy stretches,
Through the bog-lands of Po-mou-ik,
Even unto Das-a-mon-que-peu,
Hunted they the missing maiden ;
If perchance some other nation,
Envious of their peace and plenty,
Had the maiden boldly captured,
For themselves to win her power.
Louder grew their lamentations
When they found no trail to follow ;
55

56

THE COUNTER-CHARM
Wilder grew their threats of vengeance
'Gainst the tribe which held her captive.
While they wailed the Pale-Face Mother,
She who once was brave for love's sake,
Weak from hardships new and wearing,
Utterly bereft of kindred,
Her heart's comfort thus torn from her,
Died beneath her weight of sorrow.
And a pity, soft and human,
Though he knew no name to call it,
Thrilled the Red Man as he laid her
'Neath the forest leaves to slumber.
But the wary, wily Chi-co
Told his secret unto no one,
While he listened to the stories,
Strange and true, told by the hunters
Of a fleet and graceful White Doe
On the banks of Ro-a-no-ak.
And the hunters said, no arrow
Hewsoever aimed could reach h e r ;
Said the deer herd round her gathered,
And where e'er she led they followed.
The old women of the nation
Heard the tales about this White Doe.

THE COUNTER-CHARM

57

Children they of superstition,
With their faith firm in enchantment,
Linked the going of the maiden
With the coming of the White Doe.
They believed in magic powers,
They knew Chi-co's hopeless passion,
So they shook their heads and whispered,
Looked mysterious at each other,
" H o , " they whispered to each other,
"Chi-co is a great Magician,
Chi-co should go hunt this White D o e ;
He is not too old for loving;
Love keeps step with Youth and Courage;
Old age should not make him tremble.
Timid is a doe, and gentle
Like a maiden,—like Wi-no-na.
Oho ! Oho !" and they chuckled,
Casting dark looks at old Chi-co,
" H e , " said they, " h a s 'witched our maiden."
When O-kis-ko heard the whispers
Of the garrulous old women,
Glad belief he gave unto them
That the Doe on Ro-a-no-ak
Was in truth the Pale-Face Maiden
Wrung from him by cruel magic.

58

THE COUNTER-CHARM
He was not a gabbling boaster,
He could think and act in silence ;
And alone he roamed the island
Seeking this White Doe to capture,
So that he might tame and keep her
Near him to assuage his sorrow.
All in vain,—no hand could touch her.
All in vain,—no hunter won her.
Up the dunes of Ro-a-no-ak
Still she led the herd of wild deer.
Then O-kis-ko sought We-nau-don,
The Magician of Po-mou-ik.*
Gave him store of skins and wampum,
Promised all his greed demanded,
If he would restore the maiden,
Break the spell which held her spirit.
In his heart We-nau-don cherished
Hatred for his rival Chi-co
For some boyhood's cause of anger,
For defeat in public wrestling;
And because of this he welcomed
* See Appendix, Note s.

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1

THE COUNTER-CHARM
Now the time to vent his malice.
So he promised from enchantment
To release the captive maiden.
In the days of pristine nature,
In the dells of Ro-a-no-ak,
Bubbling from the earth's dark caverns,
Was a spring of magic water.
There the Naiads held their revels,
There in secret met their lovers;
And they laid a spell upon it
Which should make true lovers happy;
For to them true love was precious.

He who drank of it at midnight
When the Harvest Moon was brightest,
Using as a drinking-vessel
Skull-bowl of his greatest rival
Killed in open, honest combat,
And by summer sunshine whitened,
He gained youth perennial from it
And the heart he wished to love him.

He who bathed within its waters,
Having killed a dove while moaning,

6o

THE COUNTER-CHARM
And had killed no other creature
Since three crescent moons had rounded;
Vowing to be kind and helpful
To the sad and weary-hearted :
He received the magic power
To undo all spells of evil
Which divided faithful lovers.
In this spring had bathed We-nau-don,
And he held its secrets sacred ;
But a feeling ever moved him
To make glad the heavy-hearted.
So he showed unto O-kis-ko
Where to find the magic water;
With this counter-charm, Jhe told him
How to free the charmed Wi-no-na:
u

I n a shark's tooth, long and narrow
In a closely wrought triangle,
Set three mussel-pearls of purple,
Smooth and polished with much rubbing.
To an arrow of witch-hazel,
New, and fashioned very slender,
Set the shark's tooth, long and narrow,
With its pearl-inlaid triangle.
From the wing of living heron

THE COUNTER-CHARM

61

Pluck one feather, white and trusty;
With this feather wing the arrow,
That it swerve not as it flyeth.
Fashioned thus with care and caution,
Let no mortal eye gaze on it;
Tell no mortal of your purpose ;
Secretly at sunset place it
In the spring of magic water.
Let it rest there through three sunsets,
Then when sunrise gilds the tree-tops
Take it dripping from the water,
At the rising sun straight point it,
While three times these words repeating:
Mussel-pearl arrow, to her heart go ;
Loosen the fetters which bind the White Doe ;
Bring the lost maiden back to O-kis-ko.
With this arrow hunt the White Doe,
Have no timid fear of wounding;
When her heart it enters boldly
Chi-co's charm will melt before it."
Every word O-kis-ko heeded,
Hope, once dead, now cheered his spirit.
From the sea three pearls he gathered ;
From the thicket brought witch-hazel
For the making of the arrow;

62

THE COUNTER^CHARM
From the heron's wing a feather
Plucked to true its speed in flying.
Patiently he cut and labored,
As for love's sake man will labor ;
Shaped the arrow, new and slender,
Set the pearls into the shark's tooth,
Fastened firm the heron's feather,
With a faith which mastered reason.
In the magic spring he steeped it,
Watching lest some eye should see i t ;
Through three sunsets steeped and watched it;
Three times o'er the charm repeated
While the sunrise touched the tree-tops ;
Then prepared to test its power.

%

V
THE

HUNT

IN the Land-of-Wind-and-Water
Long the Summer-Glory lingered,
Loath to yield its ripened beauty
To the cold embrace of Winter.
And the greenness of the forest
Gave no sign of coming treason,
Till the White Frost without warning
Hung his banners from the tree-tops.
Then a blush of brilliant color
Decked each shrub with tinted beauty;
Gold, and brown, and scarlet mingled
Till no color seemed triumphant;
And the Summer doomed to exile
Fled before the chilling Autumn.
While the glow of colors deepened,
The proud Weroance Win-gin-a,
Chief of Das-a-mon-gue-pue land,
Made a feast for all his people ;
Called them forth with bow and arrow
To a test of skill and valor.
63

64

THE HUNT
He was weary of the mysteries
Whispered of the famous White Doe,
Whose strange courage feared no hunter,
For no arrow ever reached her.
" H a ! " said he, " a skilful hunter
Is not daunted by a white d o e ;
Craven hearts make trembling fingers,
Arrows fail when shot by cowards.
/ will shoot this doe so fearless,
Her white skin shall be my mantle,*
Her white meat shall serve for feasting,
And my braves shall cease from fearing.
From the fields the maize invites us,
Sturgeons have been fat and plenty.
We are weary of fish-eating,
We will feast on meat of white deer."
Messengers of invitation
Sent he to the other nations,
Saying, "Come and hunt the White Doe,
Bring your surest, fleetest arrows;
We will eat the meat of white deer,
We will drink the purple grape-juice,
Burn the uppowoc in pipe-bowls,
While we shame the trembling hunters."
* See Appendix, Note/.

THE HUNT

65

But the Cro-a-to-ans kept silence,
Sent no answer to his greeting.
They believed the charmed White Doe
Was Wi-no-na Ska's pure spirit,
Who in freedom still was happy,
And they would not wound or harm her,
They would shoot no arrows at her,
Nor help feast upon her body.
Then O-kis-ko answered boldly ;
" I will go and hunt this White Doe,
I will shoot from my own ambush,
I will take my fleetest arrow."
And the men and women wondered,
For they knew his former loving.
But O-kis-ko kept his secret,
Showed no one his new-made arrow;
'Round his shoulders threw a mantle
Made of skins of many sea-gulls,
So that he could hide his arrow,
And no mortal eye could see it
Till he sent it on its mission
Winged with magic, fraught with mercy.
Thus he went to Ro-a-no-ak,
Love, and hope, and faith impelling,
5

66

THE HUNT
Conscious of his aim unerring,
Trusting in the arrow's power.
From Po-mou-ik came Wan-ches-e,
For the hunt and feast impatient,
Boasting of his skill and valor,
Saying in his loud vainglory :
" I will teach the braves to shoot deer,
Young men now are not great hunters,
Hearts like squaws they have within them,
Nothing fears them but a papoose/'
Wan-ches-e had crossed the water*
In the ships with wings like sea-birds,
And the Pale-Face Weroanza,
Whom he saw in her own country,
Him to please and show her friendship,
Gave an arrow-head of silver
To him as a mark of favor.
This he now brought proudly with him,
As of all his arrows fleetest;
Bearing in its lustrous metal,
As he thought, some gift of power
* See Appendix, Note /.

THE HUNT

67

From the mighty Weroanza
Which would bring success unto him ;
And the warriors all would praise him
As around the feast they gathered,
Saying as he walked among them :
"There is none like brave Wan-ches-e,
He can bend the bow with firmness,
He has arrow-points of silver,
And the White Doe falls before him."
And he polished well the arrow
Which he thought would bring him praises.
Where the deer were wont to wander
All the hunters took their stations,
While the stalkers sought the forest,
From its depths to start the deer-herd.
Near the shore Win-gin-a lingered
That he first might shoot his arrow,
And thus have the certain glory
Of the White Doe's death upon him.
By a pine-tree stood Wan-ches-e
With his silver arrow ready;
While O-kis-ko, unseen, waited
Near by in his chosen ambush,

68

THE HUNT
Where he oft had watched the White Doe,
Where he knew she always lingered.
Soon the stalkers with great shouting
Started up the frightened red deer;
On they came through brake and thicket,
In the front the White Doe leading,
With fleet foot and head uplifted,
Daring all the herd to follow.
Easy seemed the task of killing,
So Win-gin-a twanged his bow-string,
But his arrow fell beside her
As she sprang away from danger.
Through the tanglewood, still onward,
Head uplifted, her feet scorning
All the wealth of bright-hued foliage
Which lay scattered in her pathway.
Up the high sand-dunes she bounded,
In her wake.the whole herd followed,
While the arrows aimed from ambush
Fell around her ever harmless.
On she sped, towards the water,
Nostrils spread to sniff the sea-breeze;

THE HUNT

69

Through the air a whizzing arrow
Flew, but did not touch the White Doe ;
But a stag beside her bounding
Wounded fell among the bushes,
And the herd fled in confusion,
Waiting now not for the leader.
On again, with leaping footsteps,
Tossing head turned to the sea-shore ;
For one fatal minute standing
Where the White Man's Fort had once stood;
In her eyes came wistful gleamings
Like a lost hope's fleeting shadow.
While with graceful poise she lingered,
Swift, Wan-ches-e shot his arrow
Aimed with cruel thought to kill h e r ;
While from near and secret ambush,
With unerring aim, O-kis-ko
Forward sent his magic arrow,
Aimed with thought of love and mercy.
To her heart straight went both arrows,
And with leap of pain she bounded
From the earth, and then fell forward,
Prone, amidst the forest splendor.

THE HUNT
O-kis-ko, with fond heart swelling,
Wan-ches-e, with pride exultant,
To the Doe both sprang to claim it,
Each surprised to see the other.
Suddenly, within the forest,
Spread a gleaming mist around them,
Like a dense white fog in summer,
So they scarce could grope their pathway.
Slowly, as if warmed by sunbeams,
From one spot the soft mist melted,
While within its bright'ning dimness,
With the misty halo 'round her,
Stood a beautiful white maiden,—
Stood the gentle, lost Wi-no-na.
Through her heart two arrows crosswise
Pierced the flesh with cruel wounding ;
Downward flowed the crimson blood-tide,
Staining red the snow-white doe-skin
Which with grace her form enveloped,
While her arms with pleading gesture
To O-kis-ko were outstretching.
As they gazed upon the vision,
All their souls with wonder filling;

THE HUNT
While the white mist slowly melted,
Prostrate fell the wounded maiden.
Then revealed was all the myst'ry,
Then they saw what had befallen.
To her heart the magic arrow
First had pierced, and lo ! Wi-no-na
Once more breathed in form of maiden.
But while yet the charm was passing
Came the arrow of Wan-ches-e;
To her heart it pierced unerring,
Pierced the pearl-inlaid triangle,
Struck and broke the shark's tooth narrow,
Charm and counter-charm
undoing;
Leaving but a mortal maiden
Wounded past the hope of healing.
Woe to love, and hope, and magic !
Woe to hearts whom death divideth !
While upon her bleeding bosom
Fatal arrows made the Cross-Sign,
Wistful eyes she turned to Heaven ;
" O forget not your Wi-no-na,"
Whispered she unto O-kis-ko,
As her soul passed to the silence.

71

VI
T H E SILVER

ARROW

seized on the bold Wan-ches-e
When he saw the Pale-Face maiden
Standing where had poised the White Doe,
Where the White Man's Fort had once stood.
He knew naught of magic arrows,
FEAR

Nor O-kis-ko's secret mission;
He saw only his own arrow
Piercing through her tender bosom,
Never doubting but the wonder
Which his awe-struck eyes had witnessed
Had been wrought by his own arrow,
Silver arrow from a far land,
Fashioned by the skill of Pale-Face,
Gift of Pale-Face Weroanza
To a race she willed to conquer.
All his hatred of the Pale-Face,
Fed by fear and superstition,
To him made this sudden vision
Seem an omen of the future,
72

THE SILVER ARROW
When the Red Man, like the White Doe,
Should give place unto the Pale-Face,
And the Indian, like the white mist,
Fade from out his native forest.
All his courage seemed to weaken
With the dread of dark disaster ;
And with instincts strong for safety
Fled he from the place in terror.
Love hath not the fear of danger,
And O-kis-ko's faith in magic
Kept him brave to meet the changes
Which had each so quickly followed.
For he saw the human maiden
Where had stood the living White D o e ;
And he knew his hazel arrow,
Charmed with all We-nau-don's magic,
Had restored the lost Wi-no-na
To reward his patient loving.
But the conflict of two arrows,
Bringing death unto the maiden,
Was a deep and darksome myst'ry
Which his ignorance could not fathom.
All the cause of his undoing
Saw he in the silver arrow;

74

THE SILVER ARROW
So with true love's tireless effort,
Quick he strove to break its power.

From her heart he plucked the
Hastened to the magic water,
Hoping to destroy the evil
Which had stilled the maiden's
In the sparkling spring he laid
So no spot was left uncovered,
So the full charm of the water
Might act on the blood-stained

arrow,

pulses.
it

arrow.

As the blood-stains from it melted,
Blood of Pale-Face shed by Red Man,
Slowly, while he watched and waited,
All the sparkling water
vanished;
Dry became the magic fountain,
Leaving bare the silver arrow.

Was it thus the spell would weaken
Which had wrought his love such evil?
Would she be again awakened
When he sought her in the thicket ?
Must he shoot this arrow at her
To restore her throbbing pulses?

THE SILVER ARROW
Must he seek again We-nau-don
To make warm her icy beauty?
While he of himself sought guidance,
Sought to know the hidden meaning
Of the mysteries he witnessed;
Lo ! another mystic wonder
Met his eyes as he sat musing.
From the arrow made by Pale-Face,
As th' enchanted water left it,
Sprang a tiny shoot with leaflets
Pushing upward to the sunlight.
Did the arrow dry the fountain
With the blight of death it carried?
Or in going, had the water
Left a charm upon the arrow?
Did the heart-blood of the Pale-Face
From the arrow in the water
Cause the coming of the green shoot,
Which reached upward to the sunlight?
All O-kis-ko's love and courage
Could not give him greater knowledge.
Savage mind could not unravel
All the meaning of this marvel.

THE SILVER ARROW
Fear forbade him touch the arrow
Lest he should destroy the green shoot;
So he left the tender leaflets
Reaching upward to the sunlight,
Sought again the lifeless maiden
For whose love his soul had hungered;
Knelt beside her in the forest,
With the awe of death upon him,
Which in heathen as in Christian
Moves the human soul to worship.
All his faith in savage magic
Turned to frenzy at his failure ;
And the helplessness of mortals
Pressed upon him like a burden ;
While a mighty longing seized him
For a knowledge of the Unknown,
For a light to pierce the Silence
Into which none enter living.
And unconsciously his spirit
Rose in quest of Might Supernal,
Which should rule both dead and living,
Leaving naught to chance or magic ;
Which should seize the throbbing pulses
Ebbing from a dying mortal,
And create a higher being

THE SILVER ARROW
Free from thrall of earthly nature;
Almost grasping in his yearning
Knowledge of the God Eternal,
In whose hand the earth lies helpless,
In whose heart all souls find refuge.

But no light came to O-kis-ko ;
Still the burden pressed upon him,
And a pall of hopeless yearning
Wrapped his soul in voiceless sorrow
As he gazed upon the maiden
With death's mysteries enfolded.
Then he made upon her bosom
The strange Cross-Sign she had taught him ;
From his shoulders took the mantle
Made of skins of many sea-gulls,
Gently wrapped the maiden in it,
Heaped the tinted leaves about h e r ;
Leaving all his own life's brightness
With her where the shadows darkened.
*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Thus the ancient legend runneth, with its plaint
of hopeless doom,
Bearing in its heart the fragrance of the Truth's
enduring bloom,

78

THE SILVER ARROW

Standing in the light of knowledge, where developed ages meet,
W e can read the mystic omens which O-kis-ko's
eyes did greet
And to us they seem the symbols of what coming
ages brought,
Realization gives the answer, which in vain the
Savage sought
For we know the silver arrow, fatal to all
sorcery,
Was the gleaming light of Progress speeding
from across the sea,
Before which the Red Man vanished, shrinking
from its silvery light
As the magic waters yielded to the silver arrow's
blight
And the tiny shoot with leaflets, by the sunlight
warmed to life,
Was the Vine of Civilization in the wilderness
of strife;
With no friendly hand to tend it, yet it grew
midst slight and wrong,
Taking root in other places,*—growing green,
and broad, and strong,
* Jamestown and Plymouth Rock,

THE SILVER ARROW

79

Till its vigor knew no weakness, with its branches
flower-fraught,
Till a prosp'rous land it sheltered where th'
oppressed a! refuge sought,
Till its fruit made all who labored 'neath its
shade both bold and free,
Till a people dwelt beneath it strong to meet
their destiny.
Now beneath its spreading branches dwells a
nation brave and free,
Raising glad, triumphant paeans for the boon of
Liberty;
Holding fast the Holy Cross-Sign,—Heirs of Duty
and of Light,—
Still they speed the arrow, Progress, on its civilizing
flight;
Keeping bright the Fires of Freedom, where Man,
Brotherhood may know,
For God's breath upon the altar keeps the sacred
flame aglow.

APPENDIX

NOTE a.—"We viewed the land about us, being where
we first landed very sandy and low towards the water side,
but so full of grapes as the very beating and surge of the
sea overflowed them, of which we found such plenty, as
well there as in all places else, both on the sand and on
the green soil, on the hills as in the plains, as well on
every little shrub, as also climbing towards the tops of
high cedars, that I think in all the world the like abundance is not to be found.''—First voyage of Amadas and
Barlowet 1584. From Hakluyt
NOTE b.—"The second of July we found shoal water,
where we smelled so sweet and so strong a smell as if we
had been in the midst of some delicate garden abounding
with all kinds of odoriferous flowers, by which we were
assured that the land could not be far distant/'—First
voyage of Amadas and Barlow e, 1584.
NOTE C.—"Deer, in some places there are great store:
near unto the seacoast they are of the ordinary bigness
of ours in England, and some less: but further up into
the country where there is better feed, they are greater."
—Harriot's Report,
6
Si

s-2

APPENDIX

NOTE d.—"The Governor (John White) with divers of
his company, walked to the north end of the island,
where Master Ralph Lane had his fort, with sundry
necessary and decent dwelling houses, made by his men
about it, the year*before, where we hoped to find some
signs, or certain knowledge of our fifteen men. When
we came thither we found the fort razed down, but all
the houses standing unhurt, saving that the neather rooms
of them, and also of the fort, were overgrown with melons
of divers sorts, and deer within them, feeding on those
melons; so we returned to our company, without hope
of ever seeing any of the fifteen alive."—Hakluyt.

NOTE <?.—"At our first landing they seemed as though
they would fight with us, but perceiving us begin to march
with our shot towards them, they turned their backs and
fled. Then Manteo, their countryman, called to them in
their own language, whom, as soon as they heard, they
returned, and threw away their bows and arrows, and
some of them came unto us embracing and entertaining
us friendly, desiring us not to gather or spoil any of their
corn, for that they had but little. We answered them
that neither their corn nor any other thing of theirs
should be diminished by any of us, and that our coming
was only to renew the old love, that was between us and
them at the first, and to live with them as brethren and
friends; which answer seemed to please them well, wherefore they requested us to walk up to their town, who there
feasted us after their manner, and desired us earnestly

APPENDIX

83

that there might be some token or badge given them of
us, whereby we might know them to be our friends/'
etc.
" A n d also we understood by them of Croatoan, how
that the fifteen Englishmen left at Roanoak the year
before, by Sir Richard Grenville, were suddenly set upon
by thirty of the men of Secota, Aquoscogoc, and Dasamonguepeuc, in manner following. They conveyed themselves secretly behind the trees, near the houses where
our men carelessly lived, and having perceived that of
those fifteen they could see but eleven only, two of those
savages appeared to the eleven Englishmen, calling to
them by friendly signs that but two of their chief men
should come unarmed to speak with those two savages,
who seemed also to be unarmed. Wherefore two of the
chiefest of our Englishmen went gladly to them ; but
whilst one of those savages traitorously embraced one
of our men, the other with his sword of wood, which
he had secretly hidden under his mantle, struck him on
the head and slew him, and presently the other eight and
twenty savages shewed themselves; the other Englishman
perceiving this, fled to his company, whom the savages
pursued with their bows and arrows so fast that the Englishmen were forced to take the house, wherein all their
victuals and weapons were; but the savages forthwith
set the same on fire, by means whereof our men were
forced to take up such weapons as came first to hand,
and without order to run forth among the savages, with
whom they skirmished above an hour. In this skirmish
another of our men was shot into the mouth with an arrow,

84

APPENDIX

where he died; and also one of the savages was shot into
the side by one of our men, with a wild fire arrow, whereof
he died presently. The place where they fought was of
great advantage to the savages, by means of the thick
trees, behind which the savages through their nimbleness
defended themselves, and so offended our men with their
arrows, that our men, being some of them hurt, retired
fighting to the water side where their boat lay, with which
they fled towards Hatorask. By that time they had rowed
but a quarter of a mile, they espied their four fellows
coming from a creek thereby, where they had been to
fetch oysters; these four they received into their boat,
leaving Roanoak, and landed on a little island on the
right hand of our entrance into the harbor of Hatorask,
where they remained awhile, but afterwards departed,
whither as yet we know not.'*—Hakluyt,

NOTE /.—"The
thirteenth of August, our savage,
Manteo, by the commandment of Sir Walter Raleigh,
was christened in Roanoak, and called Lord thereof, and
of Dasamonguepeuc, in reward of his faithful services."
—Hakluyt,

NOTE g.—"The
eighteenth, Eleanor, daughter to the
Governor, and wife to Ananias Dare, one of the assistants,
was delivered of a daughter, in Roanoak, and the same
was christened there the Sunday following, and because
this child was the first Christian born in Virginia, she was
named Virginia.'' —Hakluyt,

APPENDIX

85

NOTE h.—''The
twenty-second of August, the whole
company, both of the assistants and planters, came to
the Governor, and with one voice requested him to return
himself into England, for the better and sooner obtaining
of supplies and other necessaries for them ; but he refused
it, and alleged many sufficient causes why he would
not. . . . The next day, not only the assistants,
but divers others, as well women as men, began to
renew their requests to the Governor again, to take upon
him to return into England for the supplies and dispatch
of all such things as there were to be done. . . .
The Governor being at the last, through their extreme
entreating, constrained to return into England, having
then but half a day's respite to prepare himself for the
same, departed from Roanoak the seven and twentieth
of August in the morning, and the same day about midnight came aboard the Fly-boat who already had weighed
anchor, and rode without the bar, the admiral riding by
them, who but the same morning was newly come thither
again. The same day both the ships weighed anchor and
set sail for England."—Hakluyt.
NOTE k.—"Our boats and all things filled again, we
put off from Hatorask, being the number of nineteen
persons in both boats; but before we could get to the
place where our planters were left, it was so exceeding
dark, that we overshot the place a quarter of a mile,
where we espied towards the North end of the island the
light of a great fire through the woods to the which we
presently rowed: when we came right over against it we

86

APPENDIX

let fall our grapnel near the shore, and sounded with a
trumpet a call, and afterwards many familiar English
tunes of songs, and called to them friendly ; but we had
no answer, we therefore landed at daybreak, and coming
to the fire we found the grass and sundry rotten trees
burning about the place. From hence we went through
the woods to that part of the island directly over against
Dasamonguepeuc, and from thence we returned by the
water side round about the north point of the island,'
until we came to the place where I left our colony in the
year 1586. In all this way we saw in the sand the print
of the savages' feet of two or three sorts trodden in the
night; and as we entered up the sandy bank, upon a
tree, in the very brow thereof, were curiously carved these
fair Roman letters C. R. O., which letters presently we
knew to signify the place where I should find the planters
seated, according to a secret token agreed upon between
them and me at my last departure from them; which
was, that in any way they should not fail to write or
carve on the trees or posts of the doors the name of the
place where they should be seated; for at my coming
away they were prepared to remove from Roanoak fifty
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 cross f in
this form; but we found no such sign of distress. . . And having well considered of this, we passed towards
the place where they were left in sundry houses, but we
found the houses taken down, and the place very strongly

APPENDIX

87

enclosed with a high palisade of great trees, with curtains
and flankers, very fort-like, and one of the chief trees or
posts at the right side of the entrance had the bark taken
off, and five feet from the ground in fair capital letters
was graven CROATOAN without any cross or sign of
distress. . . .
I greatly joyed that I had safely found
a certain token of their safe being at Croatoan, which is
the place where Manteo was born, and the savages of
the island our friends.''—From Governor White's account
of his voyage in search of the colonists, after the defeat
of the Spanish Armada.
Hakluyt, VoL III.
NOTE / . — " W e brought home also two of the savages,
being lusty men, whose names were Wan-ches-e and
Man-te-o."—First voyage by Amadas and Barlowe.
NOTE m.—All authorities agree in the statement that
the favorite time among the Indians for an attack on an
enemy was at, or about, daybreak.
NOTE n.—" Into this river falls another great river called
Gipo in which there is found great store of mussels in which
there are pearls."—Voyage of Amadas and Barlowe.
" I n her ears she had bracelets of pearls, hanging down
to her middle, and these were of the bigness of good
pease."—Voyage of Amadas and Barlowe.
"Sometimes feeding on mussels, we found some pearle,
but it was our hap to meet with ragges, or of a pied colour;
not having yet discovered those places where we heard of
better and more plenty."—Harriot's Report.

ss

APPENDIX

NOTE O.—"The manner of making their boats in Virginia is very wonderful. For whereas they want instruments

of iron or others like unto ours, yet they know how to make
them as handsomely, to sail with where they list in their
rivers, and to fish withal, as ours. First they choose some
long and thick tree, according to the bigness of the boat
which they would frame, and make a fire on the ground
about the roots thereof, kindling the same by little and
little with dry moss of trees, and chips of wood that the
flame should not mount up too high, and burn too much
of the length of the tree. When it is almost burnt through,
and ready to fall they make a new fire which they suffer
to burn until the tree falls of its own accord.
Then
burning off the top and boughs of the tree in such wise
that the body of the same may retain his just length,
they raise it upon poles laid over cross wise upon forked
posts at such a reasonable height as they may handsomely
work upon it. Then take they off the bark with certain
shells; they reserve the innermost part of the bark for
the nethermost part of the boat. On the other side they
make a fire according to the length of the body of the
tree saving at both the ends. That which they think is
sufficiently burned, they quench and scrape away with
shells, and making a new fire they burn it again and so
they continue, sometimes burning and sometimes scraping
until the boat have sufficient bottoms."—Harriot*s Report,
NOTE p.—" They are a people clothed with loose mantles
made of deer skin, and aprons of the same round about
their middles."—Harriot's Report,

APPENDIX

89

NOTE S.—"They have commonly conjurers or jugglers,
which use strange gestures, and often contrary to nature
in their enchantments: For they be very familiar with
devils of whom they inquire what their enemies do, or
other such things."—Harriot's Report,