ed
these tales of marvel as readily as the most ignorant of his people. In
truth, he had much warrant for it in the experience of the Spaniards.
Taking a party of the colonists, he ascended the river in search of the
golden region. On and on they went, finding nothing but the unending
forest, hearing nothing but the cries of wild beasts and the Indian
war-cries, but drawn onward still by hope until their food ran out and
bitter famine assailed them. Then, after being forced to kill their
dogs for food, they came back again, much to the disappointment of the
Indians, who fancied they were well rid of their troublesome guests.

As the settlers were not to be disposed of by fairy-stories of cities of
gold, the natives now tried another plan. They resolved to plant no more
corn, so that the English must either go away or starve. Lane made
matters worse by a piece of foolish and useless cruelty. Wisdom should
have taught him to plant corn himself. But what he did was to invite the
Indians to a conference, and then to attack them, sword in hand, and
kill the chief, with many braves of the tribe. He might have expected
what followed. The furious natives at once cut off all supplies from the
colonists, and they would have died of hunger if Sir Francis Drake, in
one of his expeditions, had not just then appeared with a large fleet.

Here ended the first attempt to plant an English colony in America.
Drake, finding the people in a desperate state, took them in his ships
and sailed with them for England. Hardly had they gone before other
ships came and the missing colonists were sought for in vain. Then
fifteen men were left on the island to hold it for England, and the
ships returned.

In 1587 Raleigh's last colony reached Roanoke Island. This time he took
care to send farmers instead of gold-seekers, and sent with them a
supply of farming tools. But it was not encouraging when they looked
for the fifteen men left the year before to find only some of their
bones, while their fort was a ruin and their deserted dwellings
overgrown with vines. The Indians had taken revenge on their oppressors.
One event of interest took place before the ship returned, the birth of
the first English child born in America. In honor of the name which the
queen had given the land, this little waif was called Virginia Dare.

Now we come to the story of the mysterious fate of this second English
colony. When the ships which had borne it to Roanoke went