Life in Old Virginia - Chapters VI-XI



CHAPTER VI. CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH

Of the whole number who adventured among the first few colonists to 
Virginia, Captain John Smith appeared to be the one best fitted to the 
hardships and dangers which befell them during these first years of 
settlement. His past experience as a sailor, a soldier, and a traveler in 
foreign lands, and his undaunted courage and daring, and ready wit were 
the qualities of manhood most needed in the new world at that period.

The greater number of those who adventured during the first few years of 
the settlement were born and raised in the English cities or towns. They 
knew not how to accommodate themselves to the new and rough life incident 
to the pioneer in such an enterprise. They were ignorant of woodcraft, and 
could "neither fish nor cut bait," else they should not have starved in 
this region where the waters, and the forests teemed with great abundance 
of food.

On the voyage from England, Smith was accused of insubordination by 
Wingfield, who later was the first President of the colony. Smith was 
placed under guard for nearly six weeks. He was finally exonerated and 
released, and from that date until he left Virginia in October, 1609, he 
was the busiest and most useful of all the colonists in seeking and 
procuring food from the natives for the colony, and in exploring and 
discovering the country in accordance with instructions from the Company 
to find an outlet to the "East India Sea." He was the most central figure 
in all the important events which transpired in Virginia during his stay.

His history before and after coming to Virginia is interesting and 
exciting. He was born in Lincolnshire, England, in January, 1579, and was 
therefore little more than twenty-eight years of age when he reached 
Virginia. From early youth he was a soldier of fortune, and the most 
fortunate of men in being granted the assistance of the gentler sex 
whenever and wherever needed in his greatest perils. In one of his books 
descriptive of New England and Virginia which he dedicated to the Duchess 
of Richmond and Lenox, he pays the following beautiful compliment to the 
"Ladies."

"Yet my comfort is, that heretofore honorable and vertuous Ladies, and 
comparable but amongst themselves, have offered me rescue and protection 
in my greatest dangers; even in foreine parts. The beauteous Lady 
Tragabizanda, when I was a slave to the Turkes did all she could to secure 
me. When I overcame the Bashaw of Kalbrits in Tartaria, the Charitable 
Lady Caliamata supplyed me necessities. In the utmost of many extremities, 
that blessed Pokahontas, the great Dings daughter, of Virginia, oft saved 
my life. When I escaped the cruelties of Pirates and most furious storms, 
a long time alone in a small boat at sea., and was driven ashore in 
France, the good Lady Madam Chanoyes bountifully assisted me."

The most perilous of Captain John Smith's many voyages of discovery 
through Virginia occurred up the Chickahominy River. On December 10, 1607, 
Captain John Smith with a crew of nine men went up the Chickahominy River 
to discover a passage to the South Sea, and to obtain corn for the colony. 
The explorers proceeded in a barge about ten miles beyond Apocant, an 
Indian village on the Chickahominy, and finding the river impeded with 
fallen timber, they returned to Apocant where Smith left seven of the crew 
with instructions to remain on board the barge and be on guard against 
surprise by the Indians. He hired two Indian guides, and with two of his 
crew, Robinson and Emery, went about twenty miles farther up the river. 
Here he went ashore to shoot some game for food. He left the two whites 
and one Indian guide in the canoe, and took with him the other Indian 
guide. The crew of his barge at Apocant disobeyed his command and went 
ashore where one of them, George Cassen, was captured by Opechancanough, 
who with three hundred of his men was there on a hunting expedition. They 
learned from Cassen where Smith had gone, and then put him to death in a 
most cruel and barbarous manner, after which they went in pursuit of 
Smith. When Smith left the canoe, Emery and Robinson went ashore, built a 
fire and went to sleep. Here they were found by Opechancanough and shot to 
death with arrows. The Indians then followed Smith and his guide through 
the forest. When Smith discovered the Indians he "bound his Indian guide 
to his arm for a buckler and received their attack so smartly with his 
fire arms that he soon laid three dead upon the spot, and so wounded and 
galled divers others, that none of them cared to approach him" In 
attempting to return to his canoe "he suddenly slipped up to his middle 
into an oozy creek. Altho' he was thus hampered, yet none of them durst 
come near him, till, being almost dead with cold, he threw away his arms 
and surrendered. Then drawing him out, they carried him to the fire where 
his men were slain and carefully chafed his benumbed limbs. When Smith 
recovered from his chill he was conducted to Opechancanough to whom he 
presented a round ivory double compass dial, and explained its use. In 
this the Indians were much interested and they were much surprised to see 
the fly and needle in emotion, and yet they could not touch them because 
of the glass covering. Yet within an hour after, they tied him to a tree, 
and drew up in order to shoot him. But Opechancanough holding up the 
compass in his hand, they all laid down their arms."(*)

(* The story of Smith's adventure is graphically told by many of the early 
writers, amongst whom were Thomas Studley, the first Cape merchant of 
Virginia, and Stith, and Burke, the historians. They all agree as to the 
main facts, but Burke in his relation is the more florid in description of 
the several scenes in which Smith was the principal participant.)

Smith was led about by his captors throughout the several settlements 
between the James and Potomac rivers before being brought to Powhatan at 
Werowocomoco in Gloucester County.

Smith has narrated that he was carried "from place to place, and to 
Topahanocke, a kingdom upon another river (Rappahannock) northward; 
because the year before a ship had been in the river Pamunke (York), who 
having been kindly entertained by Powhatan their Emperor they returned 
thence and discovered the river of Topahanocke (Rappahannock) where being 
received with like kindness, yet he slew the king, and took of his people, 
and they supposed I were he, but the people (of Tappahannock) reported him 
a great (large) man that was Captain, and they using me kindly, the next 
day (Dec. 28, 1607) we departed" out of Tappahannock.

Thos. Studley, the first Cape Merchant of Virginia, who was at Jamestown 
when Smith returned wrote: "At last they brought him (Smith) to 
Werowocomoco where was Powhatan their Emperor. Here more than 200 of those 
grim Courtiers stood wondering at him, as he had been a monster; till 
Powhatan and his trayne had put themselves in their greatest traveries. 
Before a fire upon a seat like a bedstead, he sat covered with a great fur 
robe of Rarowoun (Raccoon) skinnes, and all the tayles hanging by. On 
either hand did sit a young wench of 16 or 18 years, and along on each 
side the house, two rowes of men, and behind them as many women, with 
their heads and shoulders painted red, and many of their heads bedecked 
with the white downe of Birds; but every one with something: and a great 
chayne of white beads about their necks. At his entrance before the Ding, 
all the people gave a great shout. The Queene of Appamattuck was appointed 
to bring him water to wash his hands, and another brought him a bunch of 
feathers, in stead of a Towell to dry them: having seated him after their 
best barbarous manner they could, a long consultation was held, but the 
conclusion was, two great stones were brought before Powhatan then as many 
as could, layd hands on him, dragged him to them, and thereon laid his 
head, and being ready with their clubs to beate out his braines, 
Pocahontas the Kings dearest daughter, when no intreaty could prevaile, 
got his head in her armes, and laid her ovine upon his to save him from 
death: Whereat the Emperour was contented he should live to make him 
hatchets, and her bells, beads, and copper; for they thought him as well 
of all occupations as themselves, for the King himselfe will make his 
ovine robes, shooes, bowes, arrowes, pots, plant, hunt, or doe anything so 
well as the rest."

Smith was released and sent to Jamestown with an escort of twelve guides 
to bring back a grindstone and two great guns (cannon) to Powhatan, in 
return for which he (Powhatan) promised Smith "the country of Capahowsick, 
& to love him as his own son, Nantaquasas."

Upon their return to Jamestown "the guides were kindly treated, and Smith 
showed Rawhunt, the favorite warrior of Powhatan two demiculverins (long 
slender cannon), and a grindstone, which he told him they were at liberty 
to take to their master. Having vainly attempted to lift the pieces, Smith 
discharged them, loaded with stone, against the branches of a tree hung 
with icicles. The Indians were so terrified at the report, and at the 
crash of the shattered and faking ice and branches, that they fled. But 
being assured of their safety, by the messengers despatched after them, 
they returned, and were sent back with various toys for Powhatan his wives 
and children."

After Smith's release, his rescuer, Pocahontas, continued to show her 
friendship for him. She was a frequent visitor to Jamestown, always 
bringing with her some substantial evidence of friendship. Studley said of 
her: "Ever once in three or foure dayes, Pocahontas, with her attendants 
brought him (Smith) so much provision that saved many of their lives, that 
els for all this had starved with hunger." Upon many occasions she gave 
Smith warnings of the hostile intents of her father Powhatan, towards the 
colony, thereby often saving it from destruction.

So long as Smith remained in Virginia, she continued her friendly visits, 
but upon learning of his departure she never again went there until as a 
prisoner in the hands of Argall, in 1612. When the latter was trading up 
the Potomac for corn, he learned from Japazaus, an Indian chief, that 
Pocahontas was visiting with his tribe. Argall persuaded this chief to 
entice her aboard the vessel. For this treachery he was rewarded by a 
copper kettle for himself and some toys for his wife who aided him. The 
object of her capture was to induce her father to make peace with the 
colony. She was carried to Jamestown where she was well treated by all. 
While there she renounced the idolatrous faith of her people, and was 
baptized into the Episcopal faith and named Rebecca. In 1613 she married 
John Rolfe, a colonist widower. They resided at Varina on the James 
fourteen or fifteen miles from Richmond City. Rolfe was the first to plant 
and cultivate tobacco for export. In 1616 in company with his wife, he 
sailed in Dale's ship to Plymouth, England, arriving there June 12.

During her visit to England, and especially in London, she was entertained 
by the King and Queen and the nobility, and much ceremonial attentions 
were paid her as the daughter of an Emperor, though an Indian.

Her meeting again with Captain John Smith in England was romantic and 
affecting because she was led to believe he was long since dead. Upon 
their meeting she was so overcome with surprise that for a long while she 
could not find utterance for her feelings, but laid her head in her hands 
and wept. She then indignantly accused the English as "great liars," and 
told him she had heard he was dead. She was greatly surprised to learn 
that Smith was not as big a man in England as in Virginia.

Upon the eve of her return to Virginia, she was taken sick, and died, 
leaving one son, named Thomas Rolfe, who later came to Virginia. His 
descendants, many of whom distinguished themselves otherwise, proudly 
claim kinship to his mother, the "Queen of the Wild Woods of America."

Pocahontas was buried at St. George Parish, Gravesend, England, March 21, 
1616. Her husband, John Rolfe, again married. He was probably killed in 
the Indian massacre of 1622.

Captain John Smith subsequently made a voyage to New England, after which 
he was called "Admiral of New England." He died in England June 21, 1631, 
and was buried at St. Sepulchre Church, London. His whole life was full of 
adventure.



CHAPTER VII. THE PLACE OF SMITH'S RESCUE

In the previous chapter has been told the story of Smith's rescue by 
Pocahontas. This event occurred in Gloucester County, upon what is now 
known as "Rosewell" plantation, the former home of Governor John Page,(*) 
but now the residence of Judge Fielding L. Taylor.

(* Governor Page was born at Rosewell, Gloucester County, April 17, 1744. 
His great grandfather was an English merchant who emigrated to America and 
settled in Virginia. He was a member of the Colonial Council in the reign 
of William and Mary, was with Washington in his expedition against the 
French and Indians; was a member of the House of Burgesses, a delegate to 
the convention which framed the Virginia State Constitution, and a member 
of the Committee on public safety during the Revolutionary War. He raised 
a regiment of militia in his county, in the Revolutionary War, and was one 
of the first representatives in Congress from his state. In 1800, he was a 
presidential elector, and in 1802, he was the successor of James Monroe as 
Governor of Virginia. At the expiration of three years as governor, he was 
appointed by President Jefferson U. S. Commissioner of Loans for Virginia, 
which office he continued to hold until his death in Richmond City, 
October 11, 1808. He was a large land holder, a learned statesman and as 
admirable soldier.) 

At the date of Smith's capture, this land was one of the principal places 
of residence of the Indian Emperor Powhatan, and was called 
"Werowocomoco." Smith in his book says: "At Werowocomoco, on the north 
side of the river Pamaunkee (York) was his (Powhatan's) residence when I 
was delivered him prisoner, some 14 myles from James Towne, where for the 
most part he was resident." The York was then called Pamaunkee. The 
historian Stith describes its position as follows:

"Werowocomoco lay on the north side of York River, in Gloucester County, 
nearly opposite to the mouth of Queens Creek, about twenty-five miles 
below the fork of the river."The fork of the river referred to is now 
known as West Point where the Mattaponi and Pamunkey rivers join and form 
the York River.

Queens Creek is in York County on the south side of the York River. It 
empties into that river nearly opposite but above the mouth of Carters 
Creek, Gloucester County, upon this Carters creek is situated Rosewell 
mansion and lands. Until the marriage of one of the daughters of "King 
Carter" of Lancaster with one of the Page family, Carters Creek was called 
Rosewell Creek.

Werowocomoco, now "Rosewell," is situated upon one of the most lovely of 
nature's quiet beauty spots to be found in the whole of Tidewater 
Virginia. Rosewell lawn, and the mansion built upon it, have a most 
romantic connection with America's early history. The grounds of this lawn 
are connected with the birth and naming of Pocahontas, the rescue of 
Captain John Smith, and with later incidents of Smith's meeting with 
Powhatan, and with Captain Newport's endeavor to crown this great Indian 
as Emperor.

The mansion has interesting historical value as the home of Governor Page 
and as the place of frequent visits of Thomas Jefferson.

The lawn is a point of land jutting out into Garters Creek which winds 
around it and forms a little bay or bight upon its southern end. The 
surrounding lands, and the waters of Garters Creek mingle so harmoniously 
as to play hide and seek until they reach the inner shores of "Blundering 
Point," at the mouth of this creek, where they become entangled with the 
waters of "Cedar Bush Creek," and there the two streams noiselessly empty 
their clear waters into the beautiful and quiet York River, to flow on, 
and on until they reach the broad Chesapeake Bay, called by the Indians 
"Mother of the Waters," distant some fourteen or fifteen miles. Ships pass 
before the eye on these waters like phantom figures floating in the air. 
They come and go, and are seen, but no echo reaches these shores to 
disturb nature's repose.

There is a charm of quietude and rest pervading such places which pen 
cannot describe. Here are the homes of the wild mocking birds which, with 
their delightful chants, so pleasing to the ear, will lull to rest the 
weary when the task is done. The writer, during a visit there in August, 
1906, counted seven wild mocking birds at one place within a stone's throw 
of Rosewell house.

Rosewell mansion is substantially built of brick, three story and 
basement. The foundation walls are three and one-half feet thick. The 
reception hall is large, the ceilings lofty, and the whole mansion is 
indicative of refined taste and wealth. From the upper windows, a 
magnificent view is had of the surrounding level lands and the waters of 
the creeks and the York River.

During the life of Governor Page, Thomas Jefferson was a frequent and 
welcome visitor there. While on one of his visits he wrote the rough draft 
of the Declaration of Independence in what is now known as the "Blue
Room," situated on the northwest corner of the second story of this house.

In a small grove of trees within sight of the mansion is the family grave 
yard, containing several grave stones. Upon these stones are chiselled the 
figures representing "Grief," "Immortality," "Eternity," "Resignation," 
etc. Upon one of the stones is chiselled the coat of arms of the Page 
family and the following words:

"Here lyeth Interred the body of
Mary Page of Honble Matthew
Page Esq one of her Majesteyes Council
of this Collony of Virginia and Daughter
of John and Mary Man of this Colony
who departed this life ye 24th day of
March in ye year of our Lord 1707 in
ye Thirty sixth year of her age.

In the many written accounts of Smith's rescue, reference is always made 
to the "two great stories" on which his body was laid when Powhatan 
ordered his execution. At the foot of the lawn of Rosewell mansion; on its 
Western end are the "two great stones" upon which tradition says Captain 
John Smith's body was laid preparatory to his attempted execution. Both 
together would probably weigh nearly a ton. They lie upon the creek shore 
a few feet from the bank which formerly extended into the creek, but long 
since caved in and were washed away by the waters of the southerly gust 
tides which left these stones to be partly covered by the waters at high 
tides. They are the largest, and the only large stones known to be in this 
or the surrounding counties where clay, sand, gravel, and very small 
stones only are found.

On the west side of the lawn is a pretty cove known as "Rescue Cove." It 
is filled up so much by the debris washed during the centuries from its 
surrounding banks, that its bed is nearly on a level with the waters of 
Carters Creek, so that the tide does no longer flow, and ebb through it. 
It was doubtless a harbor for Powhatan's canoes. At the head of the cove, 
and upon a line with the mansion is a gushing spring of clear, pure water 
flowing down this cove until it empties into Carters Creek, a few hundred 
yards distant. Its flow is strong and at the rate of several hundred 
gallons an hour, indicating by its force that its origin is far distant in 
the higher lands, amid the hills and their hard rocky bottoms. On this 
lawn Pocahontas was born, and it is tradition that she was named after 
this spring. Her true name was "Matoaka" or "Matoax," the definition of 
which is "Bubbling Waters Between Two Hills," or "Bright Waters Between 
Two Hills." Pocahontas was the favorite child of Powhatan, and the Indians 
at first concealed from the whites the real name of Pocahontas, fearing 
that if they knew her true name they could do her some harm.(*)

(* They superstitiously believed that to tell or speak aloud one's own 
name gave to the enemy, or the evil spirit, a power over the speaker which 
could be used for purposes of sorcery, or witchcraft. Such was the reason 
that Pocahontas' true name, Matoaka, was concealed from the whites. "To 
whom does this gun belong," was asked an Indian squaw. "It belongs to
him," she replied. "And who is him," she was asked. "The man who sits 
there," said she pointing to her husband, whose name she would not call 
aloud fearing some harm might thus befall him.)

Where the banks of Rosewell lawn have broken down, and caved in by the 
action of the waters of the Creek, there is exhibited successive layers of 
ashes, charcoal, oyster, and clam shells, alternating with slight layers 
of earth between. These layers of shells and debris are several feet in 
depth, indicating that this place was an Indian settlement during very 
many years.

There are about two hundred acres in the Rosewell estate at present, 
though the lands belonging to this original estate extended to what is now 
known as the "Shelly" plantation, on the east side of Carters Creek, 
distant in an air line about three-quarters of a mile. At "Shelly " 
plantation are found the usual indications of an Indian settlementshell 
banks. This site was probably occupied by the "Werowance" or King of the 
tribe inhabiting that section of Gloucester County at the date of Smith's 
rescue.

Some writers have asserted that "Shelly" was the principal residence of 
Powhatan at the date of Smith's capture and rescue. They base their 
assertions mainly upon the fact that there are larger Indian shell banks 
at "Shelly" than at "Rosewell," and that it is within plain view of the 
waters of York River. The arguments set forth by these writers are 
conclusive evidence in favor of "Rosewell" being Powhatan's seating place 
instead of "Shelly." Powhatan was the Indian Emperor who ruled over more 
than thirty different tribes, extending from the "falls of the James
River," at Richmond City, to the "falls of the Potomac," above Georgetown, 
D. C., including the greater part of the Maryland shores of the Potomac. 
To maintain this control, he must have been always upon his guard against 
enemies within, as well as beyond his dominions. A man so shrewd as he, 
though a savage, would not select an exposed outpost for his seating, but 
instead would leave such a position to one of his subordinates, a 
Werowance, King, of the tribe inhabiting that section. The Indians living 
near the tidal waters always traveled in boats when going to war with one 
another. To reach Powhatan at "Rosewell," the enemy would first have to 
pass "Shelly" through a comparatively narrow creek, within sight of the 
occupants of "Shelly," and within bow shot of their arrows. Powhatan had 
several places of residence provided for him throughout his dominions. He 
spent but a part of the year at either of these places. "Shelly" being 
permanently occupied by the Werowance--King--and his tribe, accounts for 
the greater abundance of shells found there than at "Rosewell," which 
Powhatan occupied only at intervals. It was a more secure spot, with an 
easier outlet to the inner parts of the main lands; and the outlook from 
"Rosewell" lawn, of the waters leading from the York River, is 
sufficiently plain to admit a timely view of all comers through these 
waters. Such natural advantages could not be overlooked even by a savage 
Indian.

Captain John Smith, after his rescue and release from Powhatan, made a 
bargain with this chief to have log cabins built for his use at selected 
places, notably at the place known at this day as "Powhatan," on the James 
River a couple of miles below Richmond City; another at Timberneck Creek, 
in Gloucester County, a few miles east of Rosewell (Werowoeomoco). The 
chimney to the cabin at Timberneck Creek was built of lumps of hardened 
clay and shells intermixed, resembling marl. This was standing until the 
Charleston (S. C.) earthquake in 1898, at which time it fell. Its ruins 
now lie in heaps on the ground upon which it formerly stood. The Dutchmen 
sent by Smith to do the work of building the cabins proved traitors to the 
colony, and entered into a conspiracy to betray it into the hands of 
Powhatan. They stole arms and ammunition from Jamestown for Powhatan's 
use. Their purposes were frustrated by Smith who failed to punish them 
fearing greater revenge. They were induced into this conspiracy upon 
viewing the power and plenty which the great chief possessed in comparison 
with the weakness and poverty of the Jamestown Colony. Smith had built for 
Opechancanough a log cabin with a door to which was a lock and key. The 
lock interested this Indian so much that he spent the greater part of a 
fortnight in locking and unlocking the door, going inside and locking 
himself in, and going outside and locking himself out. Fortunately, he did 
not have any "Virginia Apple Jack," and could therefore always find the 
key hole.



CHAPTER VIII. VIRGINIA FIRMLY PLANTED

In the fall of 1609 Smith was wounded by the explosion of a bag of 
gunpowder, and forced to return to London for medical treatment. George 
Percy was left in charge of the colony. Smith left in Virginia three ships 
and seven boats, a supply of commodities ready for trade with the Indians, 
a goodly supply of corn newly gathered, provisions in store for the 
colony, three hundred muskets with other arms and ammunition, nets for 
fishing, tools of all sorts for work, apparel to supply their wants, six 
mares and a horse, more than five hundred hogs, as many hens and chickens, 
and some sheep and goats.

Percy, after Smith's departure, was taken sick and unable to attend to his 
duties, and the colony was in such confusion that twenty or more men 
attempted the duties of president. The provisions were wasted, idleness 
and neglect followed, and so desperately poor and needy was the condition 
of the colony that within six months after Smith's departure, of the four 
hundred and ninety odd persons left there by Smith, not above sixty 
remained alive in May, 1610. This period is known in the history of the 
colony as "The Starving Time" So terrible was the time that some even ate 
the flesh of the dead.

On May 24, 1610 Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Somers reached the colony 
from the West Indies where they had been forced in their vessels by 
adverse winds and wrecked while on their voyage formerly to Virginia. 
Seeing the deplorable condition of the colony, they consented to embark 
upon their vessels all those who survived the famine, and determining to 
abandon the settlement and return to England, they started in their 
vessels down the James River to desert Virginia forever. When they reached 
Mulberry Point, a few miles above Newport News, they spied the long boat 
of Lord Delaware's fleet, and later his three ships which were loaded with 
provisions and other necessaries for the colony, on June 9, 1610. Lord 
Delaware persuaded the colonists to return to Jamestown, which they did, 
and began again their final settlement with many prayers of thanksgiving 
and much rejoicing for their rescue. Thus Virginia was saved.

At the present day, one would deem it incredible that sane men should 
starve to death in a section of Virginia which was then, and is yet, so 
bountifully supplied with nature's edible products. In the surrounding 
woodlands at that date, there was game of many species at all seasons of 
the year, and in great abundance. A short distance from Jamestown, down 
the James River, there was excessive abundance of fish, oysters, clams, 
crabs, and terrapin in the waters always within reach of the industrious, 
intelligent, and provident seeker.

Their failure to obtain sustenance from these numerous and ample stores of 
nature, is accounted for by Capt. John Smith in his letter to the 
Treasurer and Council, in London, in reply to their threat to desert the 
colony unless Newport's ships were returned loaded to pay the Company for 
their expense of the voyage, or unless important information relative to 
discovery of mines, or the discovery of a passage way to the South Sea, or 
some word of knowledge as to the lost colonies, should be sent to the 
London Company. Smith wrote the Company to send over emigrants who would 
be producers before they could expect much in return, and in terse 
sentences informed them of the helpless condition of those already seated 
in the colony. Said he, "Though there be fish in the sea, fowles in the 
ayre and Beasts in the moods their bounds are so large, they so wilde and 
we so weake and ignorant, we cannot much trouble them."

If laziness was one of the attributes of some of the gentlemen colonists, 
as charged by some writers, it should be recalled that the conditions 
under which the early colonists were governed in their labors were not 
such as to induce them to be diligently industrious. Under the rules and 
regulations prescribed by the London Company, no individual controlled the 
products of his own labors. They shared it as a community, in "Joint 
Stock." The Cape Merchant (Treasurer) had under his care and control the 
food and everything else which the whole colony produced, or which was 
sent them. The industrious and thrifty shared no better in the division of 
the commodities than the lazy and shiftless. Under this arrangement, the 
colony worked during the first five years.

"And wee doe hereby establish and ordaine, that the said colonies and 
plantations, and every person and persons of the same severally and 
respectively, shall within every of their several precincts, for the space 
of five years, next after their first landing upon the said coast of 
Virginia and America, trade together all in one stocke or divideably, but 
in two or three stocks at the most, and bring not only all the fruits of 
their labours there, but alsoe all such other goods and commodities which 
shall be brought out of England, or any other place into the same 
Colonies, into several magazines or store houses, for that purpose to be 
made, and erected there, and that in such order, manner and form, as the 
council of that collony, or the more part of them shall sett downe and 
direct."

A Cape Merchant chosen annually by the President and Council was "to take 
charge and managing of all such goods, wares, and commodities, which shall 
be brought into or taken out of the several magazines or storehouses."

"Those who paid their own passage to Virginia had always been as free as 
men serving in a joint stock are apt to be,"states a writer of these 
times. But those sent at the expense of the Company had to work out the 
debt by serving a term of years-they were known as indented servants. 
These terms began to expire after May, 1614, and lands were granted them.

In 1619, every man was free to pursue his own individual labors, and for 
this purpose certain portions of land were given, to the individual person 
for his own use, though a portion of his products were to be placed in the 
general store horse for emergencies. This was the first step towards 
individual liberty and property rights ever in America.

To avoid the burden of taxation for maintenance of officers of the 
government, a certain number of acres of land were assigned for their 
benefit to be worked by servants owing passage money, etc.

It appears that the colony was instructed by the London .Company 
sufficiently to meet any emergency. The former expeditions which the 
English made, through Sir Walter Raleigh's aid, to the North Carolina 
coast, were misled by the Indians into the belief that there was an open 
way to the Indies by water, and that the country was rich in minerals. 
Therefore one reads such instructions as the following:

"You must observe, if you can, whether the river on which you plant doth 
spring out of mountains, or out of lakes; if it be out of any lake, the 
passage to the other sea will be more easy, and is like enough that out of 
the same lake you shall find some spring which runs the contrary way to 
the East India Sea."

"The other forty men you may employ for 2 months in discovery of the river 
above you * * when they do espie any high lands or hills Capt. Gosnold may 
take 20 of the Company to cross over the lands and carrying a half dozen 
pickaxes to try if they can find any minerals."

"The other twenty may go on by river, and pitch up boughs upon the banks 
side by which the other boats shall follow by the same turnings"

"And when any of you shoots before them (the Indians) be ante that they be 
chosen out of your best marksmen."

"Above all things do not adventure the killing of any of your men, that 
the country people (natives) may know it."

"You should do well also not to let them see or know of your sick men."

To follow the Colonists as they advanced beyond the narrow confines of 
Jamestown would make a lengthy but most interesting story. While farming 
their new homes in the wilderness of America, they were forced to battle 
with the wily savage man, and drive before them the wild beasts of the 
forests, and to fell the giant timber which stood guard over the soil that 
was coveted for the harvests of corn, wheat, tobacco, and other bounteous 
products that later blessed the industry of the intrepid settler on some 
lonely but lovely point of Tidewater Virginia lands, overlooking the salt 
sea waters which bore him, or his forefathers to this "fair land of 
freedom." Picture generations of such men.

Little wonder then will be
That America is free.

The seat of government of the colony was removed from Jamestown to 
Williamsburg in 1698, and retained there until 1779, eighty-one years; 
making one hundred and twenty-seven years in all in which the capital city 
of the colony was situated within "The Peninsula Division" of tidewater.

Before the seat of government was removed from this peninsula, the colony 
had reached the condition of such great prosperity that princely 
entertainments, and generous "Virginia hospitality" became synonymous 
terms. Williamsburg is in James City County, seven miles inland from James 
River, in a north easterly direction from Jamestown. It is the oldest 
incorporated town in Virginia, and was first settled as a town in 1621. 
Its vicinity was first known as Middle Plantation.

During the ninety odd years in which the seat of government was maintained 
at Jamestown the colony had largely increased in population and extended 
its settlements from the Capes of the Chesapeake to the "falls of the 
James," on both sides of the river, and into the "Northern Neck," in all 
comprising twenty-three organized counties. During these years, the 
settlers had felled enough of the forest, and cleared sufficient lands to 
insure prosperity for the many. 

During this period, there came to the Southern Colonies, Maryland, 
Virginia, and the Carolinas, a class of men called "Cavaliers:" This 
appellation was given to the partisans of Charles I in his contest with 
parliament. The great exodus of Cavaliers to Virginia began in 1649, after 
the execution of Charles I. Then Governor Berkeley sent a message to 
England inviting the Royalists to the Colony, and in less than a year more 
than a thousand of them reached Virginia. They were a pleasure loving set 
of men. It is said they had a keen appreciation and liking for the 
luxuries and refined pleasures of the Old World.

It is estimated that from 1649 to 1670, the population of Virginia 
increased from 1,000 to 40,000 whites.



CHAPTER IX. OLD WILLIAMSBURG

In 1724, Reverend Hugh Jones, Chaplain to the Honorable Assembly of 
Virginia, wrote a description of Williamsburg, then the largest and best 
built town in the colony. His narrative indicates the great prosperity 
which the colony then enjoyed.

Said he: "When the state house and prison were burnt Gov. Nicholson 
removed the residence of the governor, with the meetings of the general 
courts and general assemblies to Middle Plantation, [?] miles from 
Jamestown, in a healthier and more convenient place, and freer from the 
annoyance of mosquities. Here he laid out the city of Williamsburg-in the 
form of a cipher, made of W and M on a ridge at the head springs of two 
great creeks " (King and Queen).

"The William and Mary College building is beautiful and commodious, being 
first modelled by Sir Christopher Wren, and since it was burnt down it has 
been rebuilt nicely contrived, altered and adorned by the ingenious 
direction of Gov. Spottswood. The royal foundation was granted and 
established by charter (1693), by King William and Queen Mary, and endowed 
by them with some thousand (20,000) acres of land, with duties upon furs 
and skins, and a penny a pound for all tobacco transported from Virginia 
and Maryland to the other plantations; to which have been made several 
other benefactions: There were donations made for the education of 
Indians, and to purchase negroes for the college use and service."

He describes the Capitol Building as "a noble, beautiful and commodious 
pile, as any of its kind. In it is the Secretary's office, with all the 
courts of law and justice, held in the same form and near the same manner, 
as in England. Here the governor and 12 counsellors sit as judges in the 
general courts, whither trials and causes are removed from monthly county 
courts. Here are also held the Oyer and Terminer Courts:"

"Here are also held Court martials, by judges appointed on purpose for the 
trial of pirates; likewise courts of admiralty for the trial of ships for 
illegal trade:"

The building is in the form of an H nearly; the secretary's office and the 
general court taking up one side below stairs; the middle being a handsome 
portico leading to the clerk of the Assembly, and the House of Burgesses 
on the other side; which last is not unlike the House of Commons. In each 
wing is a good stair case, one leading to the council chamber, where the 
governor and council sit in very great state, in imitation of the King and 
council, or the lord chancellor and House of Lords. Over the portico is a 
large room where conferences are held, and prayers are read by the 
chaplain to the general assembly; which office I have had the honor, for 
some years to perform. At one end of this is a lobby, and near it is the 
clerk of the councils office; and at the other end are several chambers 
for the committies of claims, privileges, and elections; and over all 
these are several good offices for the receiver general, for the auditor, 
and treasurer, &c., and upon the middle is raised a lofty cupola with a 
large clock."

"The whole surrounded with a neat area encompassed with a good wall, and 
near it is a strong sweet prison for criminals; and on the other side of 
the open court another for debtors, when any are removed from the other 
prisons in each county; but such prisoners are very rare; the creditors 
being there generally very merciful, and the laws so favorable for debtors 
that some esteem them too indulgent"

"The cause of my being so particular in describing the Capitol, is because 
it is the best and most commodious pile of its kind that I have seen or 
heard of. Because the State house, James Town, and the college have been 
burnt down, therefore is prohibited in the Capitol, the use of fire, 
candles, and tobacco.

"Parallel to the main street mentioned is a street on each side of it, but 
neither quite so long nor so broad; and at proper distances are small 
cross streets, for the convenience of communication. Near the middle 
stands the church, which is a strong piece of brick work in the form of a 
cross, nicely regular and convenient, and adorned as the best churches in 
London. This from the parish is called Bruton Church, where I had the 
favor of being lecturer. Near this is the large octagon tower, which is 
the magazine or repository of arms and ammunition, standing far from any 
house except James Town Court House, for the town is half in James Town 
county, and half in York county. Not far from hence is a large area for a 
market place; near which is a play house and a good bowling green.

"From the church runs a street northward called Palace street; at the 
other end of which stands the palace, or governor's house, a magnificent 
structure, built at the public expense, finished and beautified with 
gates, fence, gardens, walks, a fine canal, orchards, &c., with a good 
number of the best arms, nicely posited, by the ingenious contrivance of 
the most accomplished Col. Spotswood. This likewise has the ornamental 
addition of a good cupola or lantern, illuminating most of the town upon 
birth nights and ether nights of occasional rejoicings. These buildings 
here described are justly reputed the best in all English America, and are 
exceeded by few of their kind in England."

"At the Capitol, at public times, may be seen a great number of handsome, 
well dressed, compleat gentlemen; and at the governors house upon birth 
nights, and at balls and assemblies, I have seen as fine an appearance, as 
good diversion, and as splendid entertainments in Gov. Spotswoods time, as 
I have seen anywhere else.

"Williamsburg is now incorporated and made a, market town and governed by 
a mayor and alderman, and is well stocked with rich stores of all sorts of 
goods, and well furnished with the best of provisions and liquors. Here 
dwell several good families, and more reside here at their own houses in 
public times. They live in the same neat manner, dress after the same 
modes, and behave themselves exactly as the gentry in London; most 
families of any note having a coach, chariot, berlin, or chaise. The 
number of artificers here is daily augmented, as are the convenient 
ordinaries or inns, for the accommodation of strangers. The servants here, 
as in other parts of the country, are English, Scotch, Irish, or negroes."

"The town is regularly laid out in lots or square portions, sufficient for 
a house and garden, so that they don't build contiguous, whereby may be 
prevented the spreading of fire; and this also affords a free passage of 
air, which is very grateful in violent hot weather. Here, as in other 
parts, they build with brick, but most commonly with timber lined with 
ceiling, and cased with feather edged plank, painted with white lead and 
oil, covered with shingles of cedar, &., tarred over at first; with a 
passage generally through the middle of the house, for an air draught in 
summer. Thus their houses are lasting; dry and warm in winter, and cool in 
summer; especially if there be windows enough to draw the air. Thus they 
dwell comfortably, genteelly, pleasantly, and plentiful in this 
delightful, healthful, and, I hope, thriving city of Williamsburg."

Reverend Mr. Jones continued: "The habits, life, customs, &c., of the 
Virginians are much the same as about London. The Planters and even the 
negroes, generally talk good English, without idiom or tone, and can 
discourse handsomely on most common subjects. They are much civilized and 
wear the best cloaths, according to their stations; nay, sometimes too 
good for their circumstances, being for the generality comely, handsome 
persons, of good features, and fine complexions-if they take care-of good 
manners and address. The climate makes them bright, and of excellent 
sense, and sharp in trade; an idiot or deformed native being almost a 
miracle. They are more inclinable to read men by business and conversation 
than to dive into books, and are for the most part, only desirous of 
learning what is absolutely necessary, in the shortest and best method. As 
for education, several are sent to England for it, though the Virginians, 
being naturally of good parts, as I have already hinted, neither require 
as much learning as we do."

"The common planters leading easy lives, don't much admire manly exercise, 
except horse racing; nor diversion, except cock fighting, in which some 
greatly delight. This easy way of living, and the heat of the summer, 
makes some very lazy, who are then said to be climate struck. The saddle 
horses, though not very large, are handy, strong, and fleet, and will pace 
naturally and pleasantly at a prodigious rate. They are such lovers of 
riding that almost every ordinary person keeps a horse; and I have known 
some to spend the morning in ranging several miles in the woods to find 
and catch their horses, only to ride 2 or 3 miles to church, to the Court 
house, or to a horse race, where they generally appoint to meet upon 
business, and are more certain of finding those that they want to speak or 
deal with them than at their home."

"No people entertain their friends with better cheer and welcome, and 
strangers and travellers are here treated in the most free, plentiful and 
hospitable manner, so that a few inns or ordinaries on the road are 
sufficient."

Mr. Jones concluded: "If New England be called a receptacle of Dissenters 
and an Amsterdam of religion, Pennsylvania a nursery of Quakers, Maryland 
the retirement of Roman Catholics, North Carolina the refuge of runaways, 
and South Carolina the delight of Buccaneers and Pyrates, Virginia may be 
justly esteemed the happy home of the true Briton, and true Churchman for 
the most part, neither soaring too high, nor dropping too low."

"The first printing press erected in Virginia was in 1692, at 
Williamsburg, and the first Newspaper published in Virginia was the 
"Virginia Gazette," the first edition of which was issued at Williamsburg, 
August 6, 1736. It was a sheet12 inches by 6 inches, printed by Wm. Parks, 
price 15 shillings per annum. In 1671, Sir Wm. Berkeley had thanked God 
there were no free schools nor printing presses in Virginia and hoped 
there would be none for hundreds of years to come. The printing press came 
in twenty-one years, and there were schools also.

The first capitol building erected in Williamsburg was burned in 1746. The 
second one erected was burned in 1832. It was in this latter building that 
Patrick Henry made his first speech, in the House of Burgesses. 

Wirt relates an incident that occurred in this building when Washington 
was complimented for his gallantry by the speaker of the House of 
Burgesses: "After his glorious career in the French, and Indian Wars (he) 
was complimented by the Speaker, Mr. Robinson, for his gallantry; but in 
such glowing terms, that when he arose to express his acknowledgements for 
the honor, he blushed, and stammered, and trembled unable to give distinct 
utterances to a single syllable; when the Speaker observing his 
trepidation relieved him by a masterly stroke of address, saying with a 
conciliating smile. Sit down, Mr. Washington; your modesty is equal to 
your valor, end that surpasses the power of any language that I possess."



CHAPTER X. MARRYING IN OLD VIRGINIA

The first permanent settlement in Virginia was begun as a bachelor 
kingdom, without the sound of the gentle voice of woman, and the cooing 
notes of infants.

The conditions under which the colonists began to found a settlement in 
the new world precluded the introduction of womankind in the enterprise. 
And these conditions did not change until the date when lands were granted 
the colonist to cultivate, and to build upon, and to claim as his own 
individual property. Then it was that the bachelor housekeeper, when 
seated by his lonely fireside, discovered the need of a helpmeet to 
complete his happiness, and to render him content. He discovered that 
man's earthly paradise is only where woman dwells.

The first white women to reach the colony were Mrs. Thos. Forrest and her 
maid, Anne Burros. They came in 1608, and shortly thereafter Anne Burros 
was married to Thos. Layton, who came to Virginia in 1607. In 1609, their 
first child, named Virginia Layton, was born and baptized at Jamestown. 
Three other daughters-Alice, Katherine, and Mary-were born to this couple.

In 1632, the colony made a gift of five hundred acres of land to John 
Layton, situated in Elizabeth City County, in recognition officially of 
the birth of the first white child upon Virginia's soil.

The first marriage between the English and the Indian races was that of 
John Rolf'- and Pocahontas at Jamestown in 1618. 

Governor Yeardley soon after re aching Virginia, in 1619, proposed to the 
London Company to send one hundred boys and girls as servants and 
apprentices; he also advised that one hundred young maids be sent as wives 
for the inhabitants; that wives, children and families might render them 
less moveable, and fix and settle them together with their posterity in 
the soil. "He recommended that such of these maids as were married to the 
public farmers should be transported at the Company's expense; but if any 
were married to others, that those who took them to wife should repay the 
Company their charges of transportation. In consequence of this 
proposition, ninety maids were sent the following spring.

In 1621, sixty young and handsome maids were sent to Virginia. 
Recommendations and testimonials of their behavior accompanied each one so 
that the purchaser might be enabled to judge how to choose a wife. Boys 
were sent to be apprentices to those who married these maids.

It was stipulated that these maids should be married with their own 
consent to such freemen only as could support them handsomely. It was also 
stipulated that they were to be well used, and their marriage to servants 
was forbidden.

The Company granted the adventurers who subscribed to the coat of shipping 
the maids and boys, a ratable proportion of land, according to the number 
of maids sent. The lands were to be laid off together, and foraged into a 
town, to be called Maidstown.

The price of wives was filed at cue hundred pounds of tobacco, and 
afterwards advanced to one hundred and fifty pounds, and proportionately 
more if any of them should happen to die on the passage to Virginia. A 
debt for a wife was of higher dignity than that of other debts, and to be 
paid first. As an inducement to marriage, married men were preferred in 
the selection of officers for the colony. Contentment followed this 
introduction of wives to Virginia, and soon thereafter whole families, 
including wives, daughters, and sons came, and the necessity of shipping 
maids no longer existed, and the seeker for a wife no longer lugged his 
tobacco crop to the matrimonial market, but instead resorted to the custom 
of his forefathers, and planned a seige of old fashioned courtship to win 
his bride.

In old Virginia men and women married early in life. To the young man 
befell the task of the first introduction-getting acquainted. To the 
observer the trials of the young man in his courtship are always amusing, 
but in early days they attracted even more attention than today. Custom 
upon the part of man, and modesty upon the part of woman have settled upon 
man the duty of making the first overtures towards a courtship. The man 
must make the first formal call upon his intended bride, and to a young 
man it is a perplexing problem how to frame an excuse for making this 
first visit. During the time spent in solving this problem, he devotes 
many hours to the combing of his hair and to the neat arrangement of his 
garments, and the family looking glass is in great demand. He reaches the 
"moping stage," and becomes serious and thoughtful, and has "doubtful 
spells" like unto the sinner who is debating within himself, during a 
"powerful religious revival," whether he shall go to the "mourners'
bench," or hang back among the sinners and lose salvation.

Love finally surmounts all obstacles, and the young man after making a few 
calls, settles down to courtship in earnest.(*)

(* The following lines, though ludicrous, contain much truth:

(HIM
He dressed himself from top to toe.
He beat the latest fashion.
He gave his boots an extra glow,
His hat it glistened like the snow.
He sleeked his hair exactly so.
And all to indicate 'his passion'
He tried his whole three ties before
He kept the one that he wore.

(HER
All afternoon she laid abed
To make her features brighter.
She tried on every gown she had,
And rasped her nails until they bled,
A dozen times she fuzzed her head,
And put on stuff to make her whiter,
And fussed till she'd a cried, she said,
But that would make her eyes so red.

(THE TWO.
"They sat together in the dark 
Without a light, except their spark,
And neither could have told or guessed 
What way the t'other one was dressed."

("The following story illustrates how easily a man is perturbed in his 
courtship:

(There was an old sailor captain in one of the Northern Neck unties who 
was addicted to the habit of talking in his sleep. He had a pretty 
daughter who was courted by a timid young man. One moonlight night while 
the young couple were seated together in the parlor, and the young man was 
making progress Cards "popping the question" which was to settle his 
matrimonial fate, there suddenly rang out in loud, gruff tones from the 
adjoining room:

("You cussed land lubber, don't snub her so hard."

(The Young man Jumped up, grabbed his hat, and was upon the point of 
running out of the door when the daughter explained to him that her father 
was only dreaming he was getting his fastened to a wharf.)

Primitive man captured his bride and took her by force instead of 
persuasion. His "best man" then was the friend who aided him in the 
capture. The "honeymoon" was the hasty flight of the man and his captured 
bride. In Ireland, hatch makers "aided in forming matrimonial engagements, 
and in Virginia the old negro mammy house servant was often great aid to 
the young master or mistress during courtship."

In the years after the colony became prosperous, a wedding was a great 
social affair, whether celebrated in the "Great House" of the rich, on a 
big plantation by the river side, or in a log cabin in the Forest.(*)

(* The selection of the day for marriage was regarded as of some 
importance, preference being given to Wednesday.

(Monday for wealth,
Tuesday for health,
Wednesday the best day of all;
Thursday for crosses,
Friday for losses,
Saturday no luck at all.)

The weddings of the wealthy were occasions of stately etiquette, and much 
formal ceremony. Many of the middle classes were scholarly and refined in 
their manners, and their marriages were equally ceremonious with those of 
their more wealthy neighbors. The marriages in the "Forest" were 
celebrated with less formality, and greater liberties for fun making were 
allowable.

After the marriage ceremony and the wedding dinner, dancing followed. The 
figures of the dances in the Forest were three or four handed reels, or 
square sets and jigs. The commencement was always a square four, which was 
followed by what was called "jigging it off;" that is, two or four would 
single out for a jig and were followed by the remaining couple. The jigs 
were often accompanied with what was called "cutting out;" that is, when 
either of the parties became tired of the dance, on intimation the place 
was supplied by some one of the company without any interruption of the 
dance. In this way a dance was often continued so long as the fiddlers 
could play.(*)

(* "The fiddler tunes the strings with pick of thumb and scrape of bow;
Finds one string keyed a note too high, another keyed too low,
Then rosins up the light-drawn hairs, the young folks in a fret 
Until their ears are greeted with the warning words: 'All set.'

(When he hugs his fiddle to his cheek and scrapes the bow along,
In singing tones he gives the word and tells them:
Go it strong.' S'lute yo'r pardners! Let her go!
Balance all an' do-se-do!
Swing yo'r gals an' run away?
Right and left and gents sashay?
Gents to right an' swing or cheat! On to next gal an' repeat!
Balance next an' don't be shy!
Swing yo'r pard' an' swing her high! Bunch the gals an' circle 'round! 
Whack yo'r feet ontil they bound! Form a basket! Break away! Swing an' 
kiss an' all git gay! All men left an' balance all!

(Lift yo'r feet an' let 'em fall!
Swing yo'r o'p'sites! Swing a.-in!
Kiss the same gals if yo kin!
Back to pardners, do-se-do!
Ail line hands an' off yo' go!
Gents salute yo'r little sweets!
Hitch an' promenade to seats.
And tens the merry dance goes on till morning's struggling light. 
In lengthening streaks of gray breaks down the barriers of night.)

Among the old time tunes are "Money Musk," "I had a Dog and His Name Was 
Rover, When He Had Fleas He Had 'Em All Over," "Leather Breeches," "Won't 
You Come Out To-night," "The Devil's Dream," "Hop Light Ladies," 
"Mississippi Sawyer," "Old Zip Coon," "Arkansas Traveler," "Clear the 
Track," "Billie In The Low Ground," "Virginia Reel," "Irish Washwoman," 
"Come Haste To The Wedding." Any of these tunes when played by an old time 
Tidewater Virginia fiddler would cure a case of chronic rheumatism at 
least for the time being.

A marriage and dance in the Forest were sure to bring a large attendance, 
and if seats were scarce, which was often the case, every young man, when 
not engaged in the dance, was obliged to offer his lap as a seat for one 
of the girls; and the offer was sure to be accepted.

After the wedding, if not sooner, a house was built for the newly married 
couple, upon the lands of the bride's, or the bridegroom's parents, and 
when it was ready for occupancy, the friends and neighbors who assisted in 
the building were invited to the "house warming," which consisted of a 
dinner and dancing.

In days of slavery, the negro did not bother himself about a marriage 
license. He received the consent of his master to take a wife. In case of 
disagreement with his chosen spouse, he did not apply to divorce courts, 
but he simply said "Goodbye Liza Jane," and if his master was willing left 
his wife for good and all. The newspapers did not record the event; 
consequently, there were not so many public scandals as among the whites 
in many of the states at the present day.

The favorite house servants were frequent exceptions to these customs. 
These chosen favorites were married in the master's home with all the 
formality and pomp which their master and mistress delighted to extend. 
Such servants were well instructed beforehand in their several parts, and 
the ceremonies were therefore entirely devoid of absurdities, and as 
solemn and imposing as were the same rites when partaken by the whites. 
The young white members of the family took great delight in contributing 
their quota of instructions, and added such articles of apparel to the 
wardrobes of the bride and groom, as were necessary to "sot 'em off" in 
good style.

There was a certain social distinction between the "house servants," and 
the "cornfield niggers," as those who worked in the field on large 
plantations were styled among their own race. The manners of these two 
classes were very marked. The house servants generally partook more or 
less of the dignified manners of the white household, and in public places 
seldom engaged in boisterous and rough amusements so common with the 
"cornfield niggers," such as wrestling, kicking, loud singing, and jig 
dancing.



CHAPTER XI. THE GROWTH OF VIRGINIA IN COLONIAL DAYS

The story of the settlement of Jamestown in 1607 and of its suffering for 
three years until Lord Delaware came to the colony as Governor General, 
appointed by the London Company has already been told. For the next nine 
years the colony grew gradually under Sir Thomas Dale and Sir George 
Yeardley and other governors.

The year 1619 was the turning point in the history of Virginia. It marked 
the introduction of African slavery; the establishment of the first 
Legislative Assembly and of permanent home building by the importation of 
maidens to become the wives of the settlers. Its growth was now 
accentuated by the cultivation of tobacco for exportation the first 
tobacco having been shipped to England by John Rolfe in 1614. This one 
article of commerce was the means of bringing numbers of settlers to the 
colony. The rapid growth of the colony was checked by the Indian massacre 
of 1622, but under the wise hand of Sir George Yeardley, the Indians were 
driven into the interior, and soon the colony was again flourishing.

For the next eighteen years-from 1622 to 1640, Virginia had quite a number 
of governors; some of more or less merit, but among them of especial note 
was Dr. John Pott, supposed to have been a doctor of medicine, though 
others said that he was a doctor of letters, who, after his career as 
governor was convicted of cattle-stealing. He was succeeded by Sir John 
Harvey, who was the first governor to be deposed by the people of 
Virginia. The people regarded his administration as too harsh, and the 
Council met and removed him from office. This was just ten years after 
James I had issued his Quo Warranto proceedings, by which the charter of 
the London Company had been repealed, and Virginia had become a Royal 
Province. Hence the tendency of the Virginians to resist the royal 
representative was interpreted as an act against the king himself, so the 
then monarch, Charles I, very promptly reproved his subjects in Virginia, 
and reinstated Harvey as Governor. Finally, however, the king yielded, and 
removed Harvey and the trouble was at an end.

A few years later there came to Virginia a character destined to figure 
prominently in its history-no less a person than Sir William Berkeley, a 
gentleman of culture and scholarship; a play-wright and courtier; every 
inch a ruler, with many of the qualities essential to the make-up of a 
tyrant. Berkeley came at the time that England was about to engage in a 
civil war. It was the period when Parliament was making demands of the 
king on questions of taxation; demands which the king was slow to satisfy. 
The Civil War came on and the king's party was defeated, which resulted in 
a number of persons fleeing to Virginia so that the period from 1640 to 
1650 marked rapid growth in the colony and by the time that Oliver 
Cromwell became Lord Protector, there were some fifteen thousand people 
firmly planted on Virginia soil. After the establishment of the English 
Commonwealth a commission of three, containing two Virginians-Richard 
Bennett and William Claiborne-were appointed to demand the surrender of 
the Virginia colony to the Lord Protector. In 1652 they reached Jamestown, 
where Berkeley was in command. It seems that Berkeley wished to give 
battle to the commissioners of Cromwell, but that the Assembly which was 
then in session was opposed to such action, so that the final result was 
that an agreement was reached between the commissioners representing the 
Protector and the Assembly of Virginia, by which the Lord Protector and 
the Commonwealth of England were duly recognized, with the understanding 
that Virginia should enjoy free trade and that no impositions of taxes 
were to be permitted within the colony, save by the consent of the 
Assembly. This was a wonderful concession for so weak a colony to secure 
from the Mother Country at that day and time.

Berkeley quietly retired from the governor-ship to Green Spring, his 
plantation some six miles from Jamestown, and the Assembly immediately 
elected Richard Bennett, the Puritan, as Governor of Virginia. For seven 
years the colony was ruled by the Assembly and governors chosen by it, 
after which, on the restoration of Charles II to the throne of England, 
Sir William Berkeley resumed the reins of government, and Virginia again 
passed into the hands of the king. It now numbered some twenty odd 
thousand inhabitants.

From 1660 to 1676, Berkeley was the autocrat of Virginia. It was a period 
of rapid growth in population and in industries. Virginia soon had twenty 
counties, none of which were settled beyond the Tidewater region. The 
population by 1680 was forty thousand, of whom some two thousand were 
slaves and six thousand white indented servants. There were forty-eight 
parishes supplied with ministers of more or less learning. The Indians had 
gradually been driven back beyond the head of Tidewater, but they were 
giving trouble to the whites by harrassing the settlers on the frontier. 
The conflict between the Indians and the whites brought on Bacon's 
Rebellion, when young Nathaniel Bacon demanded of Berkeley a commission to 
go against the Indians and to exterminate them, or to drive them from the 
frontiers. Berkeley refused to grant the commission, for fear that the 
Virginians in arms would turn against him and his government, for he had 
forgotten that the people had any rights, and had kept the same Assembly 
in power for fifteen years; was enforcing obnoxious taxes, and in many 
ways proving himself a tyrant. He was finally forced to yield, and he 
granted Bacon his commission and called another Assembly, but the result 
of it all was a dispute between Berkeley and Bacon which resulted in 
Bacon's arrest, then his release and finally his flight from Jamestown and 
the raising of a force which marched against Berkeley. No serious battles 
ensued, but. Jamestown was taken and burned, after which Bacon proceeded 
to Gloucester County, where he was taken sick with a fever and died. 
Berkeley then regained control of the government, and put to death twenty-
three of Bacon's followers. Charles II was so disappointed with Berkeley 
that he finally removed him in 1677. We are told that the old Governor, on 
his return to England, died of a broken heart.

For the next thirty-five years the growth of the colony was steady from 
the head of Tidewater to the foot of the mountains. In this period the 
College of William and Mary was chartered in 1693 by William and Mary, the 
Sovereigns of England. This college soon came to be the institution from 
which many of the sons of prominent Virginia planters were soon to be 
graduated though numbers of them also went to England.

In 1710 came Spotswood as governor. At once he revived the iron industry 
of Virginia which had been first begun some ninety years before. He 
established an iron furnace at Germany, not far from the present city of 
Fredericksburg. Soon after that he began his famous expedition across the 
mountains. With some members of his staff he left Williamsburg and drove 
in his coach to Germanna. Here he left his coach and with other gentlemen 
who joined him, proceeded on horse along the Rappahannock River, and in 
thirty-six days from the time he left Williamsburg, he scaled the 
mountains near Swift Run Gap. The company descended the mountains on the 
west side and reached the Shenandoah River. Proceeding by the river, they 
found a place where it was fordable, crossed it, and there on the western 
bank, the governor formally took possession for King George I, of England. 
After eight weeks, he returned to Williamsburg, having traveled in all 
four hundred and forty miles.

It is hard for us to believe that less than two hundred yearn ago, when 
Spotswood entered the beautiful Valley of Virginia, it was the haunt of 
bears, wolves, panthers, wild cats and buffaloes. The Indians did not live 
there, but preserved it for their hunting grounds. Those who accompanied 
Spotswood on the famous expedition have been known in history as the 
Knights of the Golden Horseshoe. At that time in eastern Virginia, on 
account of the sandy soil, few horseshoes were used; but, when Spotswood 
and his expedition set out from Fredericksburg over the rocky, untraveled 
wilderness, it was found necessary that the horses should be shod. Upon 
the return from his journey, the governor presented "each of his 
companions with a golden horseshoe, . . . covered with valuable stones 
resembling heads of nails with the inscription on one side, Sic juvat 
transcendere montes!" The climbing of the mountains was regarded in those 
days as a dangerous and wonderful undertaking, and it was noised abroad 
throughout the colony.

In this expedition was an ensign in the British army, John Fontaine, who 
wrote an account of the trip. After telling of crossing the Shenandoah 
River, he said, "It is very deep. The main course of the water is north. 
It is four score yards wide in the narrowest part. We drank some health on 
the other side and returned, after which I went a swimming in it . . . . I 
got some grasshoppers and fish, and another and I, we catched a dish of 
fish, some perch, and a kind of fish they call drub. The others went a 
hunting and killed deer and turkeys . . . . I grayed my name on a tree by 
the river side, and the governor buried a bottle with a paper enclosed on 
which he writ that he took possession of this place in the name and for 
King George I. of England."

In 1722 Spotswood retired from the governorship, and was succeeded by 
Drysdale, who later turned over the reins of governor to William Gooch, 
who was governor for thirteen years. During Gooch's administration, 
settlers came into the Valley of Virginia, and the northern Shenandoah 
Valley became a section of thrift and industry. Into it came Scotch, Irish 
and Germans. These people were granted religious toleration, and after a 
few years they pushed southward, even to the boundaries of North Carolina. 
Prominent among the settlers of the Valley was the Lewis family, composed 
of the sons of John Lewis-Thomas, William, Charles and Andrew. Charles 
Lewis was killed at the battle of Point Pleasants, in 1774. Thomas Lewis 
was a prominent member of the House of Burgesses in 1765, and voted for 
Henry's famous Stamp Act Resolution. His home was in that part of Augusta 
which was made into Rockingham County in 1773. William Lewis was a soldier 
in the Revolutionary War, at the time Tarlatan raided Charlottesville. On 
account of sickness, he was unable to go to the defence of his state, and 
the story is told that his wife prepared her three sons, of the ages 
thirteen, fifteen and seventeen to go in his stead, saying to them: "Go, 
my children, keep back the foot of the invader from the soil of Augusta or 
see my face no more." When this story was reported to Washington, he said, 
"Leave me but a banner to plant upon the mountains of Augusta, and I will 
rally around me the men who will lift our bleeding country from the dust 
and set her free." Andrew Lewis was a great Indian fighter, and to him 
more than anyone else is due the credit of having gradually driven the 
Indians westward across the Allegheny mountains and finally across the 
Ohio River, for it was he who met the Indians under Cornstalk at Point 
Pleasance in 1774 and inflicted upon them a defeat from which they never 
recovered.

The time from Bacon's Rebellion to the battle of Point Pleasants was in 
round numbers one hundred years. During this period the population of 
Virginia had increased more than five fold, and at least one-half of the 
population was west of the Tidewater Virginia line. The progress westward 
is indicated by the formation of the following counties:

(1) Brunswick County formed in 1720 from Surry and Isle of Wight, and 
named for the Duke of Brunswick.

(2) Goochland County formed in 1727 from Henrico, and named for Governor 
Gooch of Virginia.

(3) Prince William County formed in 1730 from Stafford and King George and 
named for Prince William, one of the sons of George I.

(4) Amelia County formed in 1734 from a part of Prince George, and named 
for Princess Amelia. It was the home of William B. Giles and Major Joseph 
Eggleston. A noted Negro preacher, by the name of Uncle Jack, who lived in 
Amelia, was a well known character in this county. Howe in his history 
says of Uncle Jack, "He was kidnapped, and brought from Africa at seven 
years of age, and landed at Osborne's on James River, from what it is 
supposed was the last slaveship which deposited its cargo in Virginia. 
Such was his worth of character, that, on the death of his master, several 
benevolent individuals, by their contributions purchased his freedom. One, 
who knew him well, said, 'I regard this old African as a burning light, 
raised up by Christian principles alone, to a degree of moral purity 
seldom equaled, and never exceeded in any country.'" The late Rev. Dr. 
Rice also remarked, "The old man's acquaintance with the scriptures is 
wonderful. Many of his interpretations of obscure passages of scripture 
are singularly just and striking. In many respects, indeed, he is the most 
remarkable man I ever knew.

"His views of the leading doctrines of Christianity were thorough and 
evangelical. His preaching abounded with quotations surprisingly minute, 
and his illustrations were vivid and correct. His knowledge of human 
nature was profound; and hence his extensive usefulness among the African 
population, as well as an extensive circle of whites. His language was 
pure English, without the vulgarities of the blacks. In his intercourse 
with all classes he was governed by Christian humility, and he abhorred 
cant and grimace. He uniformly opposed, both in public and private, 
everything like noise and disorder in the house of God. His colored 
audience were very prong to indulge themselves in this way. But, whenever 
they slid, he uniformly suspended the exercises until they became silent. 
On ore of these occasions, he rebuked leis hearers substantially as 
follows: 'You noisy Christians remind me of the little branches alter a 
heavy rain. They are soon full then noisy-and as soon empty. I had a great 
deal rather sea you like the broad, deep river, which is quiet because it 
is broad and deep.'

"Of this worthy and strong-minded old man, we take the liberty of annexing 
a few anecdotes, drawn from his memoir in the Watchman of the South. In 
speaking of the excitement and noise at a protracted meeting, he remarked, 
'I was reminded of what I have noticed in the woods: when the. wind blows 
hard, the dry leaves make a great deal more noise than the green ones.' 
When persons scoffed at his religion, his usual diffidence and reserve 
would give way to a firm and dignified defence, and most happily would he 
'answer a fool according to his folly.' A person addicted to horse-racing 
and card-playing stopped him one day on the road, and said: 'Old ruse, you 
Christians say a great deal about the way to heaven being very narrow'. 
Now, if ibis be so, a great many who profess to be traveling it will not 
find it half wide enough.' 'That's very true,' was the reply, 'of all who 
have merely a name to live, and all lime you.' 'Why refer to me?' asked 
the man; 'if the roach is wile enough for any, it is for me.' 'By no
means,' replied Uncle Jack; 'when you set out you will want to take along 
a card-table, and a race-horse or two. Now, there's no room along this way 
for such things, and what would you do, even in heaven, without there?' An 
individual accustomed to treat religion rather sportively, and who prided 
himself upon his morality, said to him, 'Old man. I am as good as I need 
be; I can't help thinking so, because God blesses me as much as he does 
you Christians, and I don't know what more I want than he gives me.' To 
this the old preacher replied, with great seriousness, 'Just so with the 
hogs. I have often loomed at then, rooting among the leaves in the woods, 
and finding just as many acorns as they needed; and yet I never saw one of 
them look up to the tree from whence the acorns fell.' In specking of the 
low state of religion, he said, 'there seems to he a great coldness and 
dead ness on the subject of religion everywhere; the fire has almost gone 
out, and nothing is left but a few smoking chumps, lying about in places.'

"The laws of Virginia prohibit religious as well as other assemblies of 
slaves, unless at least two white persons are present. Such, however, mss 
the universally acknowledged happy influence of Uncle Jack's meetings, 
that in his case it was not deemed necessary to enforce the law. On once 
occasion, some mischievous persons undertook to arrest and whip him and 
several of his hearers. After the arrest, one of the number thus accosted 
Uncle Jack: 'Well, old fellow, you are the ringleader of all these 
meetings, and we have been anxious to catch you; now, what have you got to 
say for yourself?' 'Nothing at all, master,' was the reply. 'What! nothing 
to say against being whipped! how is that?' 'I have been wondering for a 
long time,' said he, 'how it was that so good a man as the Apostle Paul 
should have been whipped three times for preaching the Gospel while such 
an unworthy man as I am should have been permitted to preach for twenty 
years, without ever getting a lick.' It is hardly necessary to add that 
these young men immediately released him."

(5) Orange County formed in 1731 from Spotsylvania and named after Orange 
in Holland. This county was the home of James Madison, Governor .Tanker 
Barbour, Judge Philip Pendleton Barbour, and the birth place of Zachariah 
Taylor and General Wingfield Scott. (6) Augusta County formed in 1738 from 
Orange and named in honor of Princess Augusta. Previously, all that part 
of Virginia lying west of the Blue Ridge was included in Orange; but in 
the fall session of this year it was divided into the counties of, 
Frederick and Augusta. Frederick county was bounded by the Potomac on the 
north, the Blue Ridge on the east, and a line to be run from the head 
spring of Hedgman to head spring of the Potomac, on the south and west; 
the remainder of Virginia, west of the Blue Ridge, to constitute Augusta. 
As the population increased, the limits of Augusta were reduced until it 
reached its ' present boundaries in 1790. It was in the limits of this 
county that John Lewis dwelt.

(7) Frederick County formed in 1738 from Orange and named in honor of 
Prince Frederick. In 1752 the town of Winchester was established by Act of 
Assembly. It was in this town that General Washington procured baggage 
horses, etc., in 1753 when on his misson to the French on the Ohio.

(8) Louisa County formed in 1742 from Hanover and named in honor of Queen 
Louisa.

(9) Albemarle County formed in 1744 from Goochland and named in honor of 
the Duke of Albemarle. It was the birth place of Thomas Jefferson, who 
always made his residence at Monticello, in this county. It was also the 
home of Meriwether Lewis, and the birth place of George Rogers Clark.

(10) Lunenburg County formed in 1746 from Brunswick and named after 
Lunenburg, Germany.

(11) Chesterfield County formed in 1748 from Henrico and named after Lord 
Chesterfield. It is the county in which John Randolph spent his boyhood 
days. At Falling Creek was the first iron furnace in America.

(12) Culpeper County formed in 1748 f rom Orange and named for Lord 
Culpeper, governor of Virginia. In 1749 Washington was appointed by the 
President and Masters of William and Mary College surveyor of this county. 
It was this county which sent out the famous Culpeper Minute men, in 1775, 
to join Patrick henry with a banner having upon it the words, "Culpeper 
Minute Men," and in the centre a rattlesnake coiled ready to strike with 
the words "Liberty" on one side and "Or Death" on the other, and beneath 
the snake the words "Don't Tread On Me."

(13) Cumberland County formed in 1748 from Goochland and named for the 
Duke of Cumberland.

(14) Dinwiddie County formed in 1752 from Prince George and named in honor 
of Governor Dinwiddie. Its main town Petersburg was named after Peter 
Jones who accompanied Col. William Byrd on his expedition to survey the 
dividing line between Virginia and North Carolina.

(15) Halifax County formed in 1752 from Lunenburg and named after Halifax 
in England.

(16) Bedford County formed in 1753 from Lunenburg -and named after Bedford 
in England. In this county are the celebrated Peaks of Otter.

(17) Prince Edward County formed in 1753 from Amelia and named after one 
of the sons of George II. In this county is Hampden Sidney College, which 
began as an academy before the Revolutionary days under the support of the 
Presbyterians of the south side of Virginia.

(18) Hampshire County formed in 1754 from Frederick and Augusta. It was 
the first county in that part of Virginia which is now included in West 
Virginia. It was named after Hampshire in England.

(19) Loudon County formed in 1757 from Fairfax and named in honor of the 
Earl of Loudon, at that time commander of the English forces in America.. 
In this county at Oakhill resided President Monroe.

(20) Fauquier County formed in 1759 from Prince 'William and named after 
Governor Fauquier. This county was the birth place of John Marshall.

(21) Amherst County formed in 1761 from Albemarle and named after Lord 
Amherst.

(22) Buckingham County formed in 1761 from Albemarle and named after 
Buckingham in England. In this county lived the renowned soldier of the 
Revolution, Peter Francisco. Howe in his history says of him: "His origin 
was obscure. He supposed that he was a Portugese by birth, and that he was 
kidnapped when an infant and carried to Ireland. He had no recollection of 
his parents, and the first knowledge he preserved of himself was that he 
was in that country when a small boy. Hearing much of America and being of 
an adventurous tern, he indented himself to a sea captain for seven years, 
in payment for his passage. On his arrival he was sold to Anthony Winston, 
Esq., of this county, on whose estate he labored faithfully until the 
breaking out of the revolution. He was there at the age of sixteen, and 
partaking of the patriotic enthusiasm of the times, he asked and obtained 
permission of his owner to enlist in the army. At the storming of Stony 
Point he was the first soldier, after Major Gibbon, who entered the 
fortress, on which occasion he received a bayonet wound in the thigh. He 
was at Brandywine, Monmouth, and other battles at the north, and was 
transferred to the south under Greene, where he was engaged in the actions 
of the Cowpens, Camden, Guilford Court-house, etc. He was a very brave 
man, and possessed such confidence in his prowess as to be almost 
fearless. He used a sword having a blade five feet in length which he 
could wield like a feather, and every swordsman who came in contact with 
him, paid the forfeit of his life. His services were so distinguished that 
he would have been promoted to an office had he been enabled to write. His 
stature was six feet and an inch, and his weight 260 pounds. His 
complexion was dark and swarthy, features bold and manly, and his hands 
and feet uncommonly large. Such was his personal strength, that he could 
easily shoulder a cannon weighing 1,100 pounds; and our informant, a 
highly respectable gentleman now residing in this county; in a 
communication before us, says: 'He could take me in his right hand and 
pass over the room with me, and play my head against the ceiling, as 
though I had been a doll-baby. My weight was 195 pounds!' The following 
anecdote, illustrative of Francisco's valor, has often been published:

"'While the British army were spreading havoc and desolation all around 
them, by their plunderings and burnings in Virginia, in 1781, Francisco 
had been reconnoitering, and while stopping at the horse of a Mr. V______, 
then in Amelia, now Nottoway county, nine of Tarleton's cavalry came up, 
with three negroes, and told him he was their prisoner. Seeing he was 
overpowered by numbers, he made no resistance. Believing him to be very 
peaceable, they all went into the house, leaving him and the paymaster 
together. 'Give up instantly all that you possess of value,' said the 
latter, 'or prepare to die.' 'I have nothing to give up,' said Francisco, 
'so use your pleasure.' 'Deliver instantly,' rejoined the soldier, 'those 
massy silver buckles which you wear in your shoes.' 'They were a present 
from a valued friend,' replied Francisco, 'and it would grieve me to part 
with them. Give them into your hands I never will. You have the power; 
take them if you think fit.' The soldier put his sabre under his arm, and 
bent down to take them. Francisco, finding so favorable an opportunity to 
recover his liberty, stepped one pace in his rear, drew the sword with 
force from under his arm, and instantly gave him a blow across the skull. 
'My enemy,' observed Francisco, 'was brave, and though severely wounded, 
drew a pistol, and in the same moment that he pulled the trigger, I cut 
his hand nearly off. The bullet grazed my side. Ben V_____ (the man of the 
house) very ungenerously brought out a musket, and gave it to one of the 
British soldiers and told him to make use of that. He mounted the only 
horse they could get, and presented it at my breast. It missed fire. I 
rushed on the muzzle of the gun. A short struggle ensued. I disarmed and 
wounded him. Tarleton's troop of four hundred men were in sight. All was 
hurry and confusion, which I increased by repeatedly hallooing, as loud as 
I could, Come on my brave boys; now's your time; we will soon dispatch 
these few, and then attack the main body! The wounded man flew to the 
troop; the others were panic struck, and fled. I seized V and would have 
dispatched him, but the poor wretch begged for his life; he was not only 
an object of my contempt, but pity. The eight horses that were left 
behind, I gave him to conceal for me. Discovering Tarleton had dispatched 
ten more in pursuit of me, I made off. I evaded their vigilance. They 
stopped to refresh themselves. I, like an old fox, doubled and fell on 
their rear. I went the next day to V______ for my horses; he demanded two 
for his trouble and generous intentions. Finding my situation dangerous 
and surrounded by enemies where I ought to have found friends, I went off 
with my six horses. I intended to have avenged myself on V______ at a 
future day, but Providence ordained I should not be his executioner, for 
he broke his neck by a fall from one of the very horses."'

(23) Mecklenburg County formed in 1764 from Lunenburg and named after 
Mecklenburg in Germany. It was at Boydton that the Randolph Macon College 
was established in 1832.

(24) Pittsylvania County formed in 1767 from Halifax and named after 
William Pitt.

(25) Botetourt County formed in 1769 from Augusta and named after Governor 
Botetourt. It was in this part of Augusta county that Andrew Lewis had his 
home.

(26) Berkeley County formed in 1772 from Frederick and named after Lord 
Berkeley. It was the second county to be organized in what is now West 
Virginia. Many of the early settlers in this locality were Scotch 
Presbyterians. There were many Indian troubles in this locality in the 
early days. There is an interesting anecdote, related by Kercheval, in his 
account of Indian incursions and massacres in this region, of a young and 
beautiful girl, named Isabella Stockton, who was taken prisoner in the 
attack on Neally's Fort, and carried and sold to a Canadian in Canada. A 
young Frenchman, named Plate becoming enamored with her, made proposals of 
matrimony. This she declined unless her parents' consent could be obtained-
a strong proof of her filial affection and good sense. The Frenchman 
conducted her home, readily believing that his generous devotion and 
attachment to the daughter would win their consent. But the prejudices 
then existing against the French, made her parents and friends 
peremptorily reject his overtures. Isabella then agreed to elope with him, 
and mounting two of her father's horses, they fled, but were overtaken by 
her two brothers in pursuit, by whom she was forcibly torn from her lover 
and protector and carried back to tier parents, while the poor Frenchman 
was warned that his life should be the forfeit of any farther attempts.

(27) Shenandoah County formed in 1772 from Frederick, and first named 
Dunmore. In 1777, on account of the odium attached to the name of Lord 
Dunmore, it took the name of the river which flows through it. This county 
was settled chiefly by Germans from Pennsylvania, a hard working, 
industrious people. Howe narrates, "In the year 1758, a party of about 
fifty Indians and four Frenchmen penetrated into the Mill Creek 
neighborhood, about nine miles south of Woodstock and committed some 
murders, and carried off forty-eight prisoners. Among them was a young lad 
of the name of Fisher, about thirteen years of age.

"After six day's travel they reached their village west of the Allegheny 
mountains, where they held a council, and determined to sacrifice their 
helpless prisoner, Jacob Fisher. They first ordered him to collect a 
quantity of dry wood. The poor little fellow shuddered, burst into tears, 
and told his father they intended to burn him. His father replied, 'I hope 
not; and advised him to obey. When he had collected a sufficient quantity 
of wood to answer their purpose, they cleared and smoothed a ring around a 
sapling to which they tied him by one hand, and then formed a trail of 
wood around the tree, and set it on fire. The poor boy was then compelled 
to run round in this ring of fire until his rope wound him up to the 
sapling, and then back until he came in contact with the flame, while his 
infernal tormentors were drinking, singing and dancing around him, with 
'horrid joy: This was continued for several hours, during which time the 
savage men became beastly drunk, and as they fell prostrate to the ground, 
the squaws would keep up the fire. With long poles prepared for the 
purpose, they would pierce the body of their victim whenever he flagged, 
until the poor and helpless boy fell, and expired with the most 
excruciating torments, while his father and brothers, who were prisoners, 
were compelled to be witnesses of the heart-rending tragedy.

"In 1766, two men by the name of Sheetz and Taylor, had taken their wives 
and children in a wagon, and were on their way to the fort at Woodstock. 
At the Narrow Passage, three miles south of Woodstock five Indians 
attacked them. The two men were killed at the first onset, and the Indians 
rushed to seize the women and children. The women, instead of swooning at 
the sight of their bleeding, expiring husbands, seized their axes, and 
with Amazonian firmness and strength almost superhuman, defended 
themselves and children. One of the Indians had succeeded in getting hold 
of one of Mrs. Sheetz's children, and attempted to drag it out of the 
wagon; but with the quickness of lightning she caught her child in one 
hand and with the other made a blow at the head of the fellow, which 
caused him to quit his hold to save his life. Several of the Indians 
received pretty sore wounds in this desperate confict, and all at least 
ran off, leaving the two women with their children to pursue their way to 
the fort."

In Shenandoah County lived, at the opening of the Revolution, General 
Peter Muhlenburg. Of him Howe says: "Gen. Peter Muhlenburg vas a native of 
Pennsylvania, and by profession a clergyman of the Lutheran order. At the 
breaking out of the revolution, he was a young man about thirty years of 
age, and pastor of a Lutheran church at Woodstock. In 1776, he received 
the commission of colonel, and was requested to raise his regiment among 
the Germans of the valley. Having in his pulpit inculcated the principles 
of liberty, he found no difficulty in enlisting a regiment. He entered the 
pulpit with his sword and cockade, preached his farewell sermon, and the 
next day marched at the head of his regiment to join the army. His 
regiment was the Eighth Virginia, or as it was commonly called, the German 
regiment. This corps behaved with honor throughout the war. They were at 
Brandywine, Monmouth, and Germantown, and in the southern campaigns. In
1777, Mr. Muhlenburg was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. After 
the war he returned to Pennsylvania, and was appointed treasurer of that 
State, where he ended his days. In person Gen. Muhlenburg was tall and 
yell proportioned, and in his address, remarkably courteous. He was a fine 
disciplinarian, an excellent officer and esteemed and beloved by both 
officers and soldiers."