Thus after three years they had nothing of a material nature to show
for their efforts. Their most valuable achievement had been their
acquired knowledge of the Indians' methods of farming. To make a bad
situation worse the Indians began to make trouble. Lord De La Warr
speaks of their "late injuries and murthering of our men." It was not
until 1611 that real farming got under way at Jamestown. Then corn
planting and fence building began in earnest.
GOVERNOR DALE TAKES CHARGE
Sir Thomas Dale with "three ships, men, and cattell (100 kine, 200
swine)" arrived in Virginia May 10, 1611. Dale had seen military
service in the Old World and was a severe and strict disciplinarian.
The surviving colonists received a jolt in their manner of living.
From habits of indolence into which they had fallen, owing to the hot
climate and lack of food, after the departure of Captain John Smith,
they were with little ceremony put to work. "His first care therefore
was to imploy all hands in the setting of corne at the two forts at
Kecoughtan, Henry and Charles," wrote Ralph Hamor "and about the end
of May wee had an indifferent crop of good corne." This corn was
planted near what is now Hampton where Strachey says, "so much ground
is there cleared and open; enough with little labour alreddy prepared
to receive corne or make viniards of two or three thowsand acres."
With corn planting completed, two palisaded forts were built for the
protection of a few men left to care for the crops. They made another
planting across Chesapeake Bay on the Virginia Cape. They had learned
the hard way that clearing the heavily timbered land at Jamestown was
hopeless for immediate results. Dale then returned to Jamestown
"where the most companie were, and their daily and usual works,
bowling in the streets." This game was interrupted and the men put to
work felling timber, repairing their houses and providing pointed
pickets for fencing a new town, which Dale proposed to build, eighty
miles above Jamestown.
HENRICO SETTLED
In August, 1611, Sir Thomas Gates arrived with "six tall ships with
three hundred men, and one hundred kine and other cattel." Gates
thoroughly approved of Dale's plans and policies and let him select
about three hundred of the best workers in the colony to build at
Henrico, now Farrar's Island, at Dutch Gap.
Within ten or twelve daies he had invironed it with a pale, and
in honour of our noble Prince _Henry_, called it _Henrico_. The
next worke he did, was building at each corner of the towne a
high commanding watch-house, a church, and store-houses: which
finished, hee began to thinke upon convenient houses for
himselfe and men, which, with all possible speed hee could, he
effected to the great content of his companie, and all the
colonie.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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