chap. III. of the ENGLISH 
Fort, for their ov/n Security, furnifliing them befides 
with all Neceffaries for two Years, and giving them the 
ftrongeft Affurances, that they fhould be conftantly and 
regularly fupplied. 
This fecond Colony had no better Fortune than the 
firft, for the Indians^ taking Advantage of the Smallnefs 
of their Number, and the DifEculties they had to ilruggle 
with, attacked, and cut them off ; fo that when Mr. John 
White came thither with three Ships and confiderable Sup- 
plies, on the 2 2d of June^ 1587? he found their Fort de- 
molifhed, fome Huts they had ere< 5 led near it deftroyed, 
and not far from them the Bones of a dead Man. In all 
thefe Revolutions Manteo^ the Indian^ remained firm to 
xdxt EngliJh Intereft, and it was from his Information that 
Mr. White learned what was become of this laft Colony. 
.The Misfortunes that had attended thefe two Settle- 
ments, would certainly have difcouraged a Man of lefs 
Gonftancy and Fortitude than Mr. White \ but he had a 
Commiffion to be Governor, and Sir Walter had ffrongly 
recommended ,to him the keeping Poffeffion of the Place. 
He therefore erected a new Habitation, and, chufing 
eleven of the moft capable Perfons that came along with 
him, conftituted ^a regular Society, to which he gave the 
Title of the Governor andCourt of AJfiftants of the City of Ra- 
leigh ///Virginia, hoping they might be able to retrieve the 
Credit of this Undertaking, and conduce to the Improve- 
ment of the Commerce and Navigation of his Country, 
and thereby anfwer the Expedtations of his honourable 
Patron, whofe Name he had given to his new Plantation. 
On the 1 3 th of Augufi Manteo^ the faithful Indian^ was 
chriftened, and created by the Governor Lord of Daffu- 
monpeak^ an Indian Nation fo called, as a Reward of his 
Fidelity and Service to Cut Englifh ; and on the i8th of 
the fame Month was born the firfl Child that was the Iffue 
of Clniifian Parents in that Place, being the Daughter of 
Mr. Ananias Dare : She was after the Name of the Country 
chriftened Virginia. Good Government and Induftry foon 
rendered Mr. White and his Men formidable to the Indians, 
who . courted their Friendftiip, and made Leagues with 
the Corporation, which they kept or broke as they 
thought themfelves too weak or too ftrong for the Englifh, 
who, as much as they feemed to thrive, underwent fo 
many Hardftiips for want of due Supplies from Europe, 
that nothing but the invincible Conftancy, which is the 
diftinguiftiing Characfter of. their Nation, could have fup- 
ported them in the'midft of fo much Mifery. 
Yet fo far were they from repenting of their Under- 
taking, or defiring to return, that they difputed for the 
Liberty of remaining at Roenocke, and obliged Mr. White 
their Governor to return for England, and follicit the 
Company to fend them Recruits of Men and Provifions. 
Mr. White undertook to negociate their Affairs ; and, 
leaving 1 50 Men in the Corporation, fet fail for England, 
where he arrived in Safety, and was two Years there be- 
fore he could obtain a Grant of the neceffary Supplies. 
At laft he had three Ships fitted out for him, with Pro- 
vifions and more Men for the Colony. And on the 1 5th 
of Augufi he arrived at Cape Hattaras ; and, landing on the 
Hand P^oenocke, found by Letters cut on Trees, in large 
Roman Characters, that the EnglijJo were removed, but 
he could not tell where. They faw the Letters C. R. O. 
on feveral Trees ; and, fearching farther, on one of thePa- 
lifadoes of the Fort which they had quitted, they found 
cut in large Capital Letters the Word Croat an, one of 
the Hands forming the South, about twenty Leagues 
fouthward of Roenocke. On this Advice, they embarked 
in queft of their Fellows at Croat an *, but they were fcarce 
all of them aboard, before a dreadful Storm arofe, which 
feparated the Ships one from another. , They loft their 
Anchors and Cables, and durft not venture in with the 
Shore, fo they all fhifted for themfelves, and, with va- 
rious Fortunes, arrived in England and Ireland. 
This' dreadful Blow proved the Ruin of the third 
Settlement, of which I do not find that the Company 
took any farther Care, or that any nev/ Attempt was 
made for preferving the Poffeffion of this Country to the 
Crown oi England, which had been fo highly magnified, 
and the Advantages thereof painted in fuch ftrong Colours 
at the Beginning. Some have attributed this to Sir Wal 
in AMERICA. j,o J 
ter Raleigh's Troubles ; but furely they were but indiff 
ferently acquainted with his Hiftory, fince it was during 
the latter Part of Queen Elizabeth' % Reign that he flood 
in the higheft Credit at Court, and was moft capable of 
procuring Favour from it. But that I may not leave this 
SubjeCl altogether dark and imperfeCl, I fball venture to 
fuggeft what appears to me to be the true Reafon why 
there was no more Care taken of fo promifirig a Scheme 
as this was of which we are writing. Sir Walter Raleigh.^ 
as very clearly appears from his manner of conducting it, 
had the public Service alone in View, which induc’d him 
to throw the Concerns of this Colony into the Hands of a 
Company, in which, no doubt, he thought he had pro- 
vided for them effeCtuallyj and therefore turned his own 
Thoughts and moft vigorous Endeavours to other Pur- 
pofes, in which he was fo entangled, that he found it im- 
poffible to difengage himfelf, when he faw their Negli- 
gence, and forefaw the Confequences of it, which were fa- 
tal to a Settlement that coft him fo much Pains, and of 
which he had once fo great Hopes. 
13. But neither the Bufmefs of Planting, nor the Pro- 
fits refulting from military Expeditions, could hinder fuch 
as were addicted to the Study of Maritime Affairs from 
wifhing to fee the new Paffage to the Indies fairly opened. 
And notwithftanding many Attempts had been made to 
very little Purpofe, yet no confiderable Mariner, no Man 
of Reputation for Cofmographical Learning, could propofe 
any reafonable Scheme for this Purpofe, but there were 
Merchants enough ready to lend their Affiftance, and to 
lay down whatever Money was requifite for carrying it 
into Execution. This Freedom and Readinefs of ventur- 
ing their private Fortunes for the Public Service, was cer- 
tainly very honourable and commendable, but they did 
ftill more, for they did not only profecute fuch Attempts 
like Merchants, but adhered to them with a philofophic 
Firmnefs ; fo that when a Man returned without Suc- 
cefs, anxl plainly fhewed that he had done his Duty, and 
that there were ftill Hopes, they encouraged, they re- 
warded, they fitted him out again and again : But this 
was an Age of public Spirit •, the People went eagerly 
into whatever great Miniflers propofed ; moft of thofe 
Minifters had only the Service of their Miftrefs at Heart; 
and the Queen herfelf was truly the Mother of her 
People. 
In fudi a Reign it was natural that Wonders fhould be 
done, and it happens very luckily for thofe who cele- 
brate thefe Wonders, that they are able to maintain all 
that they affert, by inconteftable Evidence ; an Inftance of 
which we fhall give in a fuccinCl Account of the Voyages 
of Capt. John Davis, for the Difeovery of the North- weft 
Paffage ; which, however, fliould not have been brought 
in here, but have been referred to another SeClion, if we had 
not found them neceffary to fheW the Limits of ourTifeove- 
ries in the northern Parts of America \ and having thus opened 
the true Defign of his Attempts, We fhall proceed to the 
Narrative of them, in fuch a Manner, as to render the 
Nature and Succefs of his Enterprizes, as clear as it is 
poffible. In order to this, it is requifite to obferve, that 
before his firft Voyage was undertaken, there Was a De- 
fign of attempting to difeover a North- v/eft Paffage 
formed by fome Traders of the Weft of England ; who, 
when they underftood that the like Projeft had been 
fet -on foot at London, propofed joining their Forces, 
which was accepted, and HAr. William Sander fon, AAti- 
chant of London, who was both a principal Man in the 
Undertaking, and a large Contributor towards the Ex- 
pence, recommended Capt. John Davis ^ as a proper Per-^ 
fon to have the Direflion of this Enterprize ; and he was 
accordingly appointed Commander of the Sun-Jhine of 
London, a Bark of 50 Tons, on board of which were 
three and twenty Perfons, and, in Conjunction with the 
Moon-Jhine, of Dartmouth^ a Veffel of thirty-five Tons, 
with nineteen Perfons on board, they failed from the 
laft mentioned Port on their Voyage for Difeovery- 
June 7, 1585. 
On the 14th of the fame Month they were forced into 
one of the Sylley, or, as it is now written, the Scilly 
IJlands, where being detained for a Fortnight, Capt. 
Davis fliewed his aClive and indefatigable Genius, by 
■ making 
