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swine. Yea and when Acosta in his first booke of the hystories of the Indies, auerreth, that though in the continent there were diuerse beasts, and cattell, yet in the Islands of Hispaniola, Jamaica, Marguarita, and Dominica, there was not one hoofe, it increaseth the wonder, how our people in the Bermudos found such abundance of Hogs, that for nine moneths space they plentifully sufficed: and yet the number seemed not much diminished. Again, as in the great famine of Israell, God commanded Elias to flie to the brooke Cedron, and there fed him by Rauens; so God prouided for our disconsolate people in the midst of the Sea by foules: but with an admirable difference: vnto Elias the Rauens brought meat, vnto our men the foules brought (themselves) for meate: for when they whisteled, or made any strange noyse, the foules would come and sit on their shoulders, they would suffer themselves to be taken and weighed by our men, who would make choise of the fattest and fairest, and let flie the leane and lightest. An accident, I take it, that cannot be paralleld by any Hystorie, except when God sent abundance of Quayles to feed his Israel in the barren wildernesse. Lastly they found the berries of Cedar, the Palmeto tree, the prickle peare, sufficient fish, plentie of Tortoises, and diuers other kinds, which sufficed to sustaine nature. They found diuersity of woods, which ministred materials for the building of two Pinaces, acoording to the direction of the three prouident Gouernours.

Consider all these things together. At the instant of neede, they descryed land, halfe an hower more, had buried their memorial in the Sea. If they had fel by night, what expectation of light, from an vninhabited desart? They fell betwixt a laberinth of rockes, which they conceiue are mouldred into the Sea, by thunder and lightning. This was not Ariadnes threed, but the direct line of Gods prouidence. If it had not beene so neere land, their companie or prouision had perished by water: if they had not found Hogs, and foule, and fish, they had perished by famine: if there had not beene fuell, they had perished by want of fire: if there had not beene timber they could not haue transported themselues to Virginia, but must haue beene forgotten foreuer. Nimium timet qui Deo non credit, he is too impiously fearefull, that will not trust in God so powerfull.

What is there in all this tragicall Comædie that should discourage vs with impossibilitie of the enterprise? when of all the Fleete, one onely Ship, by a secret leake was indangered, and yet in the gulfe of Despair, was so graciously preserued. Qua videtur pæna, est medicina, that which we accompt a punishment of euill, is but a medicine against euill.

After

After nine Moneths aboade in these Islands, on the 10th of May 1610. they imbarqued themselues in their two new built Pinaces, and after some eleuen daies saile, they arriued neere point Comfort vpon the coast of Virginia: where they had intelligence of so wofull miserie, as if God had onely preserued them, to communicate in an new extremitie.

From which calamitie, the other arguments of impossibilitie are framed; for if the Countrie bee barren, or the scituation contagious; as famine, and sicknesse, destroy our Nation : wee striue against the streame of reason, and make ourselues the subiects of scorne and derision. Therefore in this maine point of consequence, I will propound this plaine and simple methode; First to demonstrate that there is, and may be in Virginia a sufficient meanes (in all abundance) to sustaine the life of man; Next that the Climate is wholesome and temperate, agreeing with the constitutions of our men; Thirdly, that those extremities proceeded from accidentall and not inherent euils. Lastly, I will delineate the state of the Colony, as Sir Thomas Gates left it vnder the gouernment of the honorable L. Laware: whereby it shall appeare, that all difficulties are amended, and that the State of that Countrie is sufficiently mannaged.

Corne.

To begin, with the staffe of bread. It is auowed vnto mee, in writing, in the words of the Author, that hath been there, as followeth. They use to put their wheat into the ground, fiue cornes in one spit of earth, and two beanes with them: which wheat cornes multiplying into diuers stalks, grow up twelue, or fourteene foote high: yeelding some foure, fiue, or six cares, on euery stalke; and in euery care, some fiue hundred, some six hundred, some seauen hundred cornes: the two beanes, runne vpon the stalkes of the wheat, as our garden pease vpon stickes, which multiplie to a wonderous increase. 1 cannot let slip a great secret, (saith the Author) whereof I will auouch no more, then with my hands aud eyes 1 haue handled and seene, and whereof to my great comfort, I have often tasted: The wheate beeing sowen thicke, some stalkes beare eares of corne, and some (like siences in trees) beare none: but in those barren stalkes, there is as much iuice as in some sugar cane, of so delicate a tast, as no fruit in England, is comparable to it; out of which Sir Ralph Lane conceived, that wee may extract sugar, in great quantity. But Sir Thomas Gates affirmeth that our men doe make cordiall drinke thereof, to their great comfort. Besides, the naturall Pease of the Countrie returne an increase innumerable, our garden fruits, both roots, hearbes, and flowers, doe spring vp speedily, all things committed to the earth, do multiply with an incredible vsurie.

Pease.
Fruits.

Hearbs.

The

Beasts.

The Beasts of the Countrie, as Deere, red, and fallow, do answere in multitude (people for people considered) to our proportion of Öxen, which appeareth by these. experiences. First the people of the Countrie are apparelled in the skinnes of these beasts; Next, hard by the fort, two hundred in one heard haue been vsually obserued: Further, our men haue seene 4000. of these skins pyled vp in one wardrobe of Powhaton; Lastly, infinite store haue been presented to Captaine Newport vpon sundry occurrents: such a plentie of Cattell, as all the Spaniards found not in the whole kingdome of Mexico, when all their presents were but hennes, and giny cocks, and the bread of Maize, and Cently.

There are Arocouns, and Apossouns, in shape like to pigges, shrowded in hollow roots of trees; There are Hares and Conies, and other beasts proper to the Countrie in plentifull manner.

Our transported Cattell, as Horses, Kine, Hogs, and Goats, do thriue most happily: which is confirmed by a double experiment; one, of Sir Ralph Lane, who brought Kine from the West Indian Island; the other of our Colony, who need take no other care of thein, but least they should straie too farre, or be stolne from them. The Turkyes of that Countrie are great, and fat, and exceeding in plentie. The riuers from August, or September, till February, are couered with flocks of WildWildfoule as swannes, geese, ducke, mallard, teal, foule. wigeons, hearons, bitters, curlewes, godwights, plouers,

snights, dottrels, cormerants, (to vse the words of Sir Thomas Gates) in such abundance as are not in all the world to be equalled.

The Fruits: as apples, running on the ground, in big- Fruits. nesse and shape of a small lemmon, in colour and tast like to a preserued Apricock: grapes and walnuts innumerable; the vines being as common as brambles, the walnut trees as the elmes in England. What should I speake of cucumbers, muske melons, pompions, potatoes, parsneps, carrets, turnups, which our gardens yeelded with little art and labour. God in this place is euer concurring with his gracious influence, if man strangle not his blessings, with carelesse negligence. It shall suffice to conclude in the words and phrase of that noble Gouernour, the Lo. Laware, as it is warranted to mee by the copie of his Letters sent to the Virginian Councell.

Howsoeuer, men haue belyed both it and themselues, heretofore, yet let no rumor of the Countrie (as if in the wombe thereof lay not these elementall seedes of plenty and increase) wave any mans faire purposes, or wrest them to a declyning and falling off from the businesse.

For

Tempe

For the healthinesse and temperatenesse of the Clyrature. mate, agreeing to our constitutions, much neede not be related, since in all the former written Treatises, it is expressly obserued.

No man ought to judge of any Countrie by the fennes and marshes (such as is the place where James towne standeth) except we will condemne all England, for the Wilds and Hundreds of Kent and Essex. In our particular, wee haue an infallible proofe of the temper of the Countrie: for of an hundred and odd, which were seated at the Falles, vnder the gouernment of Captaine Francis West, and of an hundred to the Sea-Ward on the South side of the riuer, (in the Countrie of the Nansamunds) vnder the charge of Captaine John Martin; of all these two hundred, there did not so much as one man miscarrie: when in James Towne, at the same time, and in the same moneths, 100. sickned, and halfe the number died.

The like experiment was long since in the regiment of Sir Raph Lane, where, in the space of one whole yeare, not two of one hundred perished. Adde vnto this the discourse of phi- losophie, when in that Countrie flesh will receiue salt, and continue vnputrified (which it will not in the West Indies) when the most delicate of all flowers, grow there as familiarly, as in the fields of Portingale, where the woods are replenished with more sweet barks, and odors, then they are in the plesantest places of Florida. How is it possible that such a virgin and temperat aire, should work such contrarie effects, but because our fort (that lyeth as a semy-Iland) is most part inuironed with an ebbing and flowing salt water, the owze of which sendeth forth an vnwholsome & contagious vapour? To close vp this part with Sir Thomas Gates his experiment: he professeth, that in a fortnights space he recouered the health of most of them by moderat labour, whose sicknesse was bred in them by intemperate idlenes.

If any man shall accuse these reports of partiall falshood, supposing them to be but Vtopian, and legendarie fables, because he cannot conceiue, that plentie and famine, a temperate climate, and distempered bodies, felicities, and iniseries can be reconciled together, let him now reade with judgement, but let him not judge before he hath read.

The ground of all those miseries, was the permissiue prouidence of God, who, in the fore-mentioned violent storme, seperated the head from the bodie, all the vitall powers of regiment being exiled with Sir Thomas Gates in those infortunate (yet fortunate) Ilands. The broken remainder of those supplies made a greater shipwrack in the coutinent of Virginia, by the

tempest

tempest of dissention: euery man ouervaluing his own worth, would be a Commander: euery man vnderprising an others value, denied to be commanded. The emulation of Cæsar and Pompey, watered the plains of Pharsaly with bloud, and distracted the sinewes of the Romane Monarchy. The dissentions of the three besieged Captains betraied the Citie of Hierusalem to Vespasian: how much more easily might ambitious discord teare in peeces an infant Colony, where no eminent and respected magistrats had authoritie to punish presumptuous disobedience. Tacitus hath obserued, that when Nero sent his old trained souldiers to Tarantum and Autium, (but without their Captains and Centurians) that they rather made a number, then a Colony: euery souldier secretly glided into some neighbour Prouince, and forsooke their appointed places: which hatched this consequent mischiefe; the Cities were vninhabited, and the emperour was frustrated: when therefore licence, sedition, and furie, are the fruits of a headie, daring, and vnruly multitude, it is no wonder that so many in our colony perished: it is a wonder, that all were not deuoured. Omnis inordinatus animus sibi ipsi fit pæna, euery inordinate soule becomes his owne punishment.

The next fountaine of woes was secure negligence, and improuidence, when euery man sharked for his present bootie, but was altogether carelesse of succeeding penurie. Now, I demand whether Sicilia, or Sardinia (sometimes the barnes of Rome) could hope for increase without manuring? A Colony is therefore denominated, because they should be Coloni, the tillers of the earth, and stewards of fertilitie: our mutinous loiterers would not sow with prouidence, and therefore they reaped the fruits of too deare-bought repentance. An incredible example of their idlenes, is the report of Sir Thomas Gates, who affirmeth, that after his first comming thither, he hath seen some of them eat their fish raw, rather than they would go a stones cast to fetch wood and dresse it. Dij laboribus omnia vendunt, God sels vs all things for our labour, when Adam himselfe might not liue in paridice without dressing the garden.

Vnto idlenesse, you may ioyne treasons, wrought by those vnhallowed creatures that forsooke the Colony, and exposed their desolate brethren to extreame miserie. You shall know that 28. or 30. of the companie, were appointed (in the Ship called the Swallow) to truck for Corne with the Indians, and hauing obtained a great quantitie by trading, the most seditious of them, conspired together, persuaded some, & enforced others, to this barbarous proiect. They stole away the Ship, they made a league amongst themselues to be professed pirates, with

dreames

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