*

414 James I. Naval Expeditions, &c. of the English, Book

1606. Abilities, left the Administration of Af-fairs almost wholly to him.

The Ships After about five or six Weeks Staydispatched to before this their intended new Town,ng an . the Ships being dispatched,Captain New-port departed with them for England,about the Middle of June, leaving up-wards of a Hundred Men, settled in theForm of Government I have alreadymentioned. But when the Ships weregone, the fame Feuds and Disordershappen’d continually among them, tothe unspeakable Damage of the Planta-tion.

'tief 0n ^s et ~ tbe Midst of these Feuds, how-ever, they fell to Planting and Sowing,to Building and Fortifying; But aboveall they carried on a very advantageousTrade with the Indians. They might,nevertheless, have made much greaterGains of it, and managed it much more'to the Satisfaction of the Indians, as wellas to the greater Ease and Security ofthemselves, if they had been under anyJn advanta- Rule, or subject to anyMethod in Trade,

VaniJdM 6 anc * not lefc at Libert y to out-vy andout-bid one another. By this, theynot only lessened their own Profit, butcreated Jealousies and Disturbances a-mong the Indians, by letting one havea better Bargain than another. Forthey being unaccustomed to barter, suchof them as had been hardest dealt by,in their Commodities, thought them-selves cheated and abused. Thencethey conceived a Grudge against theEnglish in general, and made it a nation-al Quarrel; Which seems to have beenthe Original Cause of most of their sub-sequent Misfortunes by the Indians.

. These Indians proved much theof the indf- feme as they had been found to be in o-ther Places: Fair and friendly at first ;But treacherous and deceitful in the Se-quel. However, it was chiefly by theHelp of their Provisions, that the Eng-lish subsisted, till the Return of theirShips, the next Year; When two Ves-The Ships sels were sent thither,full freighted withFinland °. Men and Provisions, for the Supply of

0 the Plantation. One of them only ar-

rived directly; But the other, beingbeat off to the Caribbee-lHahds, did notarrive ’till the former was sail’d back a-gain for England.

Interruption But what gave the greatest Interrup-of their tion to their Trade, was an ObjectTrade-, which drew all their Eyes and Thoughtsentirely, not only from that, but evenfrom taking the necessary Care for theirPreservation, and for the Support of

ans.

their Lives, which was this: They 1606.found, in a Neck of Land, on the Backof James-T’own-Island, a frefli Streamof Water, springing from a small Bank,which wafli’d down with it a yellowSort of Dust-Isinglass, which beingcleansed by the fresh Streaming of theWater, lay shining in the Bottom ofthat limpid Element, and stirr’d up inthem an unseasonable and inordinateDesire after Riches: For they, taking 0 fa n imgi-all to be Gold that glistered, run into nary Gold-the utmost Distraction, neglecting both min€ > 1the necessary Defence of their Livesfrom the Indians, and the Support oftheir Bodies, by securing Provisions, ab-solutely relying, like 'Midas, upon theAlmighty Power of Gold, and thinkingthat where this was Plenty nothingcould be wanting. Nay they began tobe so infatuated with the Hopes ofMountains of Wealth, that they despis-ed the Mines of Peru and Mexico, inComparison of their own inestimableStream. They soon, however, grew i

sensible of their Error, and found, "thatif this gilded Dirt had been really Gold,it could then have been of no Advantage i

to them: For, by their Negligence, |

they were reduced to an exceeding Scar- j

city of Provisions, and that little they ;

had was lost by the Burning of their j

Town, while all Hands were employed \

upon this imaginary Golden Treasure ; :

So that they were obliged to live, for Whichsome Time, upon the wild Fruits 0 f hringsthe Earth, and upon _ Crabs, Muscles, j ; Vcofveni- \and such like, not having a Day’s Pro- ences. \vision before-hand. By this Neglect,likewise, they many of them became a t

Prey to the Cruelty of the Indians , andthe Rest durst not venture abroad; andso were forced to be content with whatsell just into their Mouths. i

In this miserable Plight they were, The Ships Cwhen the first of the two Ships arrived dispatched* 0 ■out of England, to their Assistance ;

But their Golden Dreams overcame alL !

Difficulties. They neither thought nor [

spoke of any Thing but Gold, and thatwas all the Loading that most of themwere willing to take Care for ; Accord- ;

ingly they put into this Ship all theyellow Dirt they had gathered, andwhat Skins and Furs they had barter’dfor, and, filling her up with Cedar, senther away. When the other Ship ar-rived, they stowed her likewise withthis imaginary Gold-Dust, designingnever to be poor again, and sill’d herup with Cedar and Clap-board.

Thes