THE MYSTERY OF ROANOKE ISLAND

Everyone loves a mystery. Books, stories, movies, and television programs involving mysteries are very popular. Fictional mysteries are fun to try to solve before the author finally reveals the secret. However, there are many real-life mysteries that have never been solved. One of them is the mystery of the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke.

The story begins in 1585. An English explorer named Sir Walter Raleigh wanted to start settlements in the New World for his glory and that of his queen, Elizabeth, I. Raleigh sent 108 men to settle on Roanoke Island, off the coast of Virginia. However, these men were soldiers and didn’t know how to farm. They quickly ran out of food. By 1586 the settlers were sick and starving.

One day some English ships anchored near the island. The captains of these ships agreed to take the settlers back to English. The settlers brought back with them Indian corn and potatoes, which were unknown in English. Sir Walter Raleigh planted the potatoes on his estate in Ireland. Later they became a chief source of food for the Irish people.

Raleigh was still determined to start a colony in Virginia. This time he decided to include farmers and families who could build things and survive in their settlement. In 1587 he sent 150 men, women, and children in three ships across the sea. Many had sold everything they owned in hopes of a better life in the New World. The ships were on their way to Chesapeake Bay, where it was thought a settlement could be more successful than on Roanoke Island. However, the ships’ captain stopped at Roanoke and refused to take his passengers any farther. They had no choice but to settle on the island.

They repaired the old fort and began to build cabins. But they soon realized they would need many more supplies than they had brought with them. It was decided that their leader and governor, John White, should go back to England for help and more provisions. A week before he sailed, White’s daughter gave birth to a baby girl—the first English child to be born in America. Her name was Virginia Dare. As conditions on the island were difficult, some of the settlers want to move to another place. Before Governor White left, he told them that if they left the island, they should carve on a tree the name of the place where they were going. If they had troubles, they should put a cross above the name.

Upon reaching England, White discovered that England was at war with Spain. Every ship in the country was needed. He and Sir Walter Raleigh tried in every way to send ships to the stranded little colony across the sea. But it was not to be. Three years passed before White was able to return to Roanoke Island.

In August of 1590, the governor stepped ashore at Roanoke. He walked to the settlement with fear in his heart. Upon reaching it, he found only deserted ruins. The cabins had been destroyed and the ground was overgrown with high grass and weeds. He found rusted pieces of metal and moldy books. It was obvious the colony had been abandoned for at least a year.

White was deeply troubled. But then, at the entrance of the settlement, he saw the word CROATOAN carved in a tree. There was no cross above the word. Croatoan was the name of a nearby island Inhabited by a friendly native tribe. White was confident the settlers would be found.

The ship’s captain agreed to sail to Croatoan the next morning. But during the night, there was a terrible storm. The ship lost all but one anchor. The captain was more concerned for his ship than for the colonists, so he sailed away from the storm. But the storm followed and blew them far into the Atlantic. The captain refused to go back, so White unhappily was taken back to England.

Although several search parties were eventually sent to Roanoke and Croatoan, not one clue to the fate of the settlers was ever found. Governor White would never know what happened to his daughter and grandchild, or all the others who had so bravely made the journey with him.

Ironically, the fate of Governor White also became a mystery. It is not known where or when he died. There is a record that in 1606 a man named John White died “in parts beyond the sea”. It seems very likely that White died still searching for the men and women he had left with a promise of help, but was unable to save.