ings that resembled typical English 

 homes — thatched-roof, half -timber or 

 log structures. 



The colonists brought tiles and 

 bricks, but these were usually reserved 

 for the governor's house or a church, 

 says William Powell, professor of 

 history at the University of North 

 Carolina at Chapel Hill. 



The colonists' lifestyle was probably 

 simple, as it had been in England. 

 Powell, who has done extensive 

 research in England on the families of 

 the Lost Colony, found that most of 

 the men were laborers — tilers, 

 bricklayers, farmers, cobblers. Powell 

 says that some of them may have been 

 graduates of Oxford and Cambridge 

 universities. 



The colonists ate and drank from 

 simple pottery and wore plain dresses 

 and breeches. They entertained them- 

 selves with activities typical of the day 

 such as dancing, bowling, playing 

 stringed and wind instruments and 

 children's games. 



To protect against possible Spanish 

 attack, the colonists had coats of mail, 

 guns, axes and a cannon, says Powell. 

 For sport, the English used their 

 weapons to hunt rabbits, birds and 

 deer. 



Fall and winter passed without word 

 of John White and the needed supplies. 

 At the time of White's return to 

 England in 1588, friction had inten- 



"My belief is that, for 

 the most part, the ma- 

 jority of the colonists 

 made good their orig- 

 inal desire or inten- 

 tion to go to the Ches- 

 apeake Bay." 



— Phil Evans 



sified with Spain. The Spanish king 

 was organizing his famous Armada for 

 a naval attack on England. Elizabeth 

 ordered all ships to remain in port for 

 her country's defense. But White told 

 Raleigh of his urgent need to return to 

 the colony, convincing him to secure 

 two small ships from Elizabeth — the 

 Brave and the Roe. 



But, White was not in command of 

 the ships and they engaged in 

 privateering on the way. The Brave 

 was defeated in an attempt to overtake 

 a French vessel, so both ships retreated 

 back to England. 



Raleigh had since turned his atten- 

 tions to South America, hoping it 

 would provide the wealth that 

 Roanoke Island had not, says Lytjen- 

 Collins. 



In 1590, a year-and-a-half after the 

 ruin of the Armada, White finally was 

 able to sail to North America on a trip 

 sponsored by merchants. On August 

 15, nearly three years after his depar- 

 ture, White set foot on the island 

 again. 



The next day, White's hopes were 

 raised when he spotted smoke. White 

 says the "smoake put us in good hope 

 that some of the Colony were there ex- 

 pecting my returne." But no one was 

 found. 



Soon afterward, White found the 

 letters CRO carved on a tree on a bank 

 at the north end of the island. He 



proceeded from there to the settlement 

 site — only to find it deserted and 

 "taken downe." But, White found 

 another clue left by the colonists — the 

 word CROATOAN carved on one of 

 the entrance posts to the palisaded 

 village. 



Before White left in 1587, he asked 

 the colonists to carve their destination 

 on a tree if they left the island. If they 

 had to leave because of an attack, they 

 were to add a Maltese cross. 



Thinking the colonists had retreated 

 to the village of the Croatans, White 

 and the mariners went back to their 

 boats with the intention of sailing to 

 Hatteras to look for them. But a storm 

 blew up and the captain insisted that 

 they go on to the Caribbean or back to 

 England. Having no choice, White 

 returned to England, never to see 

 Roanoke Island or his family again. 



Theories of the fate of Raleigh's 

 Lost Colony abound. But none can be 

 proved. The theory of Phil Evans, 

 historian and park ranger at Fort 

 Raleigh National Park in Manteo, is 

 typical of most. 



"My belief is that, for the most part, 

 the majority of the colonists made 

 good their original desire or intention 

 to go to the Chesapeake Bay." And, 

 "unfortunately, were just caught up in 

 the vastness of the wilderness and the 

 hardships that would come in living 

 stranded on a completely different 

 continent with a socially and 

 culturally different group of people." 



Powell says, "They may have gone 

 to Croatan before going to Virginia, or 

 maybe divided." There also is specula- 

 tion that the colonists traveling north 

 were killed by two bands of Indians. 



"I think archaeology will be the 

 answer," Powell says, adding that the 

 colonists were bound fo have taken 

 some metal or other objects on their 

 trek. 



The mystery surrounding the 

 colony's disappearance has whetted 

 the imagination and curiosity of many 

 people, but it wasn't until the late 

 1800s that any serious research was 

 done. About 50 years later, in 1941, 

 Congress granted the National Park 

 Service care of the fort. 



After World War II, National Park 

 Service archaeologist Jean Carl 

 Harrington undertook a thorough in- 

 vestigation of the area encompassing 

 the 1585 fort. His work resulted in the 

 reconstruction of the fort on what he 

 believes to be original site. And he 



