874 A. E. Verrill — The Bermuda Islands. 



of Maie & arived in Virginia the 23rd of the same monethe and cominge to 

 Cape Henrie the Captaine theare tould vs of the ffarnen that was at James 

 Towne whereupon wee hastened vp there and found yt true ffor they had eaten 

 all the quick thinge that weare theare & some of them had eaten snakes or 

 adders. But by the industrie of our Governor in the Bermooda (Sir Thomas 

 Gates) thear was saued a litell meale : ffor our allowance would not extende to 

 aboue one pownde & a halfe ffor a man a weeke and this w th ffishe wee liued & 

 this allowance 9 monethes our Govern 1 ' Sir Thomas Gates did allowe them as 

 wee had with some Porke & recovered all savinge iij that did die & weare past 

 recou'ie before our cominge* Wee consulted together what course wear best to 

 bee taken ffor our meanes would not continue aboue 14 daies Wee thought 

 good to take into our iiij pinaces as much of the municon as wee could & tooke 

 in all the people & weare goinge downe the Biver but by the waie wee met w th 

 the Lorde Laware [Delaware] & Lord Governor which made our heartes verie 

 glad & wee p. sently returned vp to James towne & theare wee found noe sal- 

 uages for they weare affraid to come thither for they did not trade w th our men 

 these manie monethes The Trothe is they had nothing to trade withal but mul- 

 berries Nowe wee are in a good hope to plant & abide heere ffor heere is a 

 good course taken & a greater care than ever thear was I ame goeinge to the 

 Bermooda for ffishe & hogges with ij small Pinaces & ame in a good opinion to 

 bee back againe before the Indians doe gather their harvest The Bermooda is 

 the most plentifull place that ever I came to, for ffishe Hogges and ffowle. 

 Thus wishinge all healthe with the increase of honor doe humblie take my 

 leave ffrom Virginia the xx th of June 1610 



Yr honors to comand 



GEOEGE SOMEES. 

 ffrom James Towne in Virginia. 



" How great the exertions were by which Sir George Somers was 

 mainly instrumental in saving the lives of all his companions in ship- 

 wreck would never have been gathered from his own report, and we 

 must turn to their narratives to appreciate them rightly." — Lefroy. 

 (See extracts from Narrative of Strachy, pp. 537-545, above.) 



Punishment of Crimes (pp. JfJf.7, 550, 556, 560-64, 570). 



In order to illustrate more fully the ideas and customs of the early 

 settlers, a few additional records of trials and sentences for crimes 

 are here inserted. 



After the advent of Governor Butler, in 1610, courts and a local 

 legislative body were regularly established. Trials by jury had com- 

 menced at least as early as 1618, under Governor Tucker, but they 

 Avere neither regular in form nor strictly legal, for the English laws 

 should have fully applied here at that time. 



* A contemporary writer states that in four days more all would have died of 

 starvation. 



