2 and the next day the King went on hunting with two of our men, and the other a fishing and abroad as before, till our Shallop returned from James towne with the two Salvages sent home with Captaine Croshaw: by those the Governour sent to Madyson, that this King should send him twelve of his great men; word of this was sent to the King at another towne where he was, who not comming presently with the Messenger, Madyson conceited1 hee regarded not the message, and intended as he supposed the same treason. The next morning the King comming home, being sent for, he came to the Captaine and brought him a dish of their daintiest fruit; then the Captaine fained his returne to James towne, the King told him he might if he would, but desired not to leave him destitute of aid, having so many enemies about him; the Captaine told him he would leave a guard, but intreated his answer concerning the twelve great men for the Governour; the King replied, his enemies lay so about him he could not spare them; then the Captaine desired his sonne and one other; my sonne, said the King, is gone abroad about businesse, but the other you desire you shall have, and that other sits by him, but that man refused to goe, whereupon Madyson went forth and locked the doore, leaving the King, his sonne, and foure Salvages, and five English men in the strong house, and setting upon the towne with the rest of his men, slew thirty or forty men, women and children. The King demanding the cause, Poole told him the treason, crying out to intreat the Captaine cease from such cruelty: but having slaine and made flye all in the towne, hee returned, taxing the poore King of treason, who denied to the death not to know of any such matter, but said, This is some plot of them that told it, onely to kill mee for being your friend. Then Madyson willed him, to command none of his men should shoot at him as he went aboord, which he presently did, and it was performed: so Madyson departed, leading the King, his sonne, and two more to his ship, promising when all his men were shipped, he should 1 Concluded. 2 I.e., the king of the Potomacs. I.e., Captain Madison. 4 And he (the Indian) cried out. returne at libertie; notwithstanding he brought them to James towne, where they lay some daies, and after were sent home by Captaine Hamer, that tooke Corne for their ransome, and after set saile for New found Land. But, alas the cause of this was onely this They understood, nor knew what was amisse. Ever since the beginning of these Plantations, it hath beene supposed the King of Spaine would invade them, or our English Papists indevour to dissolve them. But neither all the Counsels of Spaine, nor Papists in the world could have devised a better course to bring them all to ruine, then thus to abuse their friends, nor could there ever have beene a better plot, to have overthrowne Opechankanough then Captaine Croshaws, had it beene fully managed with expedition. But it seemes God is angry to see Virginia made a stage where nothing but murder and indiscretion contends for victory. 1 Amongst the rest of the Plantations all this Summer little was done, but securing themselves and planting Tobacco, which passes there as current Silver, and by the oft turning and winding 1 it, some grow rich, but many poore: notwithstanding ten or twelve ships or more hath arrived there since the massacre, although it was Christmas ere any returned, and that returne greatly revived all mens longing expectation here in England: for they brought newes, that notwithstanding their extreme sicknesse many were recovered, and finding the Salvages did not much trouble them, except it were sometimes some disorderly straglers they cut off. To lull them the better in securitie, they sought no revenge till their Corne was ripe, then they drew together three hundred of the best Souldiers they could, that would leave their private businesse, and adventure themselves amongst the Salvages to surprise their Corne, under the conduct of Sir George Yearley, being imbarked in convenient shipping, and all things necessary for the enterprise; they went first to Nandsamund, where the people set fire on their owne houses, and spoiled what they could, and then fled 1I.e., handling. with what they could carry; so that the English did make no slaughter amongst them for revenge. Their Corne fields being newly gathered, they surprized all they found, burnt the houses remained unburnt, and so departed. Quartering about Kecoughtan, after the Watch was set, Samuell Collyer one of the most ancientest Planters, and very well acquainted with their language and habitation, humors and conditions, and Governor of a Towne, when the Watch was set, going the round, unfortunately by a Centinell that discharged his peece, was slaine. Thence they sailed to Pamaunke, the chiefe seat of Opechankanough, the contriver of the massacre: the Salvages seemed exceeding fearefull, promising to bring them Sara,' and the rest of the English yet living, with all the Armes, and what they had to restore, much desiring peace, and to give them any satisfaction they could. Many such devices they fained to procrastinate the time ten or twelve daies, till they had got away their Corne from all the other places up the River, but that where the English kept their quarter: at last, when they' saw all those promises were but delusions, they seised on all the Corne there was, set fire on their houses: and in following the Salvages that fled before them, some few of those naked Devils had that spirit, they lay in ambuscado, and as our men marched discharged some shot out of English peeces, and hurt some of them flying at their pleasures where they listed, burning their empty houses before them as they went, to make themselves sport: so they escaped, and Sir George returned with Corne, where for our paines we had three bushels apeece, but we were enjoyned before we had it, to pay ten shillings the bushell for fraught and other charges. Thus by this meanes the Salvages are like as they report, to endure no small misery this Winter, and that some of our men are returned to their former Plantations. What other passages or impediments hapned in their proceedings, that they were not fully revenged of the Salvages Sara Boys, who had been made a captive. 2 I.e., the English. 2 before they returned, I know not;' nor could ever heare more, but that they supposed they slew two, and how it was impossible for any men to doe more then they did: yet worthy Ferdinando Courtus had scarce three hundred Spaniards to conquer the great Citie of Mexico, where thousands of Salvages dwelled in strong houses. But because they were a civilised people, had wealth, and those meere Barbarians3 as wilde as beasts have nothing; I intreat your patience to tell you my opinion: which if it be Gods pleasure I shall not live to put in practice, yet it may be hereafter usefull for some; but howsoever I hope not hurtfull to any, and this it is. Had these three hundred men beene at my disposing, I would have sent first one hundred to Captaine Rawley Chroshaw to Patawomek, with some small Ordnance for the Fort, the which but with daily exercising them, would have struck that love and admiration into the Patawomeks, and terror and amazement into his enemies, which are not farre off, and most seated upon the other side the River, they would willingly have beene friends, or have given any composition they could, before they would be tormented with such a visible feare. Now though they be generally perfidious, yet necessity constraines those to a kinde of constancy because of their enemies, and neither my selfe that first found them, Captaine Argall, Chroshaw, nor Hamar, never found themselves in fifteene yeares trials: nor is it likely now they would have so hostaged their men, suffer the building of a Fort, and their women and children amongst them, had they intended any villany; but suppose they had, who would have desired a better advantage then such an advertisement, to have prepared the Fort for such an assault, and surely it must be a poore Fort they could hurt, much more take, if there were but five men in it durst discharge a peece: Therefore a man not well knowing their conditions, may be as wel too jealous as too carelesse. Such another Lope Skonce would I have had at Onawmanient, and one hundred men more to have made 1 Again we have the marginal note, "The opinion of Captaine Smith." such another at Atquacke upon the River of Toppahanock,' which is not past thirteene miles distant from Onawmanient:" each of which twelve men would keepe, as well as twelve thousand, and spare all the rest to bee imploied as there should be occasion. And all this with these numbers might easily have beene done, if not by courtesie, yet by compulsion, especially at that time of September when all their fruits were ripe, their beasts fat, and infinite numbers of wilde Fowle began to repaire to every creeke, that men if they would doe any thing, could not want victuall. This done, there remained yet one hundred who should have done the like at Ozinieke,3 upon the River of Chickahamania, not past six miles from the chiefe habitations of Opechankanough. These small Forts had beene cause sufficient to cause all the Inhabitants of each of those Rivers to looke to themselves. Then having so many Ships, Barks, and Boats in Virginia as there was at that present, with what facility might you have landed two hundred and twentie men, if you had but onely five or six Boats in one night; forty to range the branch of Mattapanyent, fortie more that of Youghtanund, and fortie more to keepe their randivous at Pamaunke it selfe. All which places lie so neere, they might heare from each other within foure or five houres; and not any of those small parties, if there were any valour, discretion, or industry in them, but as sufficient as foure thousand, to force them all to contribution, or take or spoile all they had. For having thus so many convenient randevous to releeve each other, though all the whole Countries had beene our enemies, where could they rest, but in the depth of Winter we might burne all the houses upon all those Rivers in two or three 'An Indian district on the south side of the Potomac where the county of King George now is. The Chickahominy River, after emerging from the swamps around Richmond, flows parallel to the James until it reaches a station on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, known as Lanexa, the site of the Indian village of Ozinies or Ozinieke, from which it flows at nearly right angles to its former course eight miles to the James River. From Lanexa to the York the distance is not more than six miles. |