Part 3

From this period till the year 1606 Virginia was left without an inhabitant, except its original savages. In the mean time, Sir Walter Raleigh, having incurred the displeasure of the king and the jealousy of the court, fell a sacrifice to the malice and power of his enemies. However, some merchants of London and Bristol kept trading to the western world, and bartered beads, knives, hatchets and coarse cloths for the skins and furs which the Indians brought them. The immense profits arising from this commerce encouraged them to enlarge it. For this purpose two companies were incorporated for trading to America and establishing settlements in it, the one was called the Virginia Company, the other the Plymouth Adventurers. King James granted them all the territory which lies between the 34th and 45th degrees of north latitude. The former of these corporations laid the foundation of James-Town in Virginia, which was the first British settlement in America which proved permanent and successful. So after Sir Walter Raleigh had projected and spent forty thousand pounds, in vain attempts to establish a colony in this quarter, this company reaped the first advantages of his enterprising spirit and great design.

However, for many years, finall and inconsiderable was the progress of this distant settlement. Their object was rather Indian trade than cultivation, till Lord Delawar was appointed governor of the colony. After his arrival in Virginia, he turned the attention of the settlers to industry and application. From the rivers which abounded with fish, and the woods with game, he taught them the arts of procuring a plentiful supply of provision. He showed them the profitability of chastising those Indian tribes who presumed to harass the colony, pointed out the methods of defence in the woods, and by his example inspired them with revolution and perseverance. At length, having by his zeal and indefatigable labours brought the colony to a growing and hopeful condition, at the risque of his own health, he appointed his son deputy-governor, and returned to England.

By this time several men of opulence and distinction in England had begun to form the most sanguine hopes with respect to this settlement, and united in a plan for carrying inhabitants to it. Sir Thomas Yates and Sir George Somers embarked with 500 men for Virginia: the latter being driven by a storm within sight of the island called Bermuda, formed a design of settling it. This embarkation proved a great acquisition to the colony in Virginia. On their arrival the colonists began to think themselves strong, and therefore, not content with the lands about James-Town, they forced their way up the large rivers, and made bold excursions into the country, in search of the most convenient and fertile spots of ground. The wisdom of their governor was no less conspicuous in the division of property, than in the distribution of justice. His tenderness and indulgences set the springs of industry in motion, which spread through the settlement, and excited a spirit of emulation with respect to the culture of lands. By degrees little spots were cleared and planted, which rewarded the diligent, and the country began to make some feeble advances towards improvement. In proportion as the colony multiplied, the inhabitants spread themselves through the country, yet abundance of land still remained for additional numbers, with which it might in time be augmented.

During the reign of the family of Stuart, a series of weak and oppressive measures, pursued in England, occasioned domestic troubles and discontent to the nation, and contributed greatly to promote American settlements. James the first, surrounded by a crowd of flatterers, began to entertain high ideas of his power and prerogative, to inculcate the extravagant doctrines of divine indefeasible right, passive obedience, and non-resistance, on a people whom he was ill qualified to govern, and who had conceived an irreconcilable aversion from such political principles. The consequence was, he lost by his weakness and pedantry the affections of the nation, yet his reign is memorable for giving rise to many foreign settlements. From him the East-India Company received a new patent, which encouraged the corporation to enlarge their stock, and to fit out a greater number of ships for that trade. In his reign Barbadoes was settled by an association of noblemen, of whom the Earl of Pembroke was the chief. And though it afterwards changed its master, and fell into the hands of the Earl of Carlisle, yet it prospered from its first population, and soon became a rich and flourishing island. St. Christophers may also date its origin from the close of this king's reign. The Plymouth Adventurers, who had carried a colony to New-England, at different times added numbers to it, and, notwithstanding every difficulty, it grew and prospered. Sir William Alexander received a grant of that territory now called Nova Scotia from the same king, but never made and serious attempts towards settling it.

During the succeeding reign several thousands emigrated to the western continent. Both the King and Queen were attached to the Popish religion, which vast multitudes of the nation abhorred. This served to alienate the people's affections not a little from the royal family; but the tyrannical and oppressive regulations established by the rulers of the church, doubled the distress of the people, and served to complete their disaffection to their native country. The Puritans, so called for their taking, or affecting to take, the pure and simple word of God for the rule of their faith and practice, regardless of ecclesiastical authority and institutions, were a numerous party in the nation. These people had begun their struggles for religious liberty, and as they afterwords occasioned such commotions in England, a general sketch of their character, and the rise and progress of their party, may not perhaps be unacceptable.

From the great aera of the Reformation the English nation had been distracted with religious disputes, and divided into contending parties. One part of the people adhered to the old superstitious system of the Romish church, and strictly observed all the absurd tenets and practices of that establishment. Another party, of which the church of England was composed, seceded several steps from popery, but maintained the hierarchy in its full power and authority. The third sect were Puritans, who had imbibed such high notions of civil and religious liberty, as struck at the foundation of both hierarchy and monarchy. On all occasions they discovered a strong tendency towards a republican form of government and an irreconcileable aversion towards the whole fabric of the Episcopalian church. This party, during the two preceding reigns being chiefly composed of the dregs of the people, were regarded as of little consequence, and treated with supercilious contempt by the administration. But in the reign of King Charles the first they had amazingly increased, and many men of opulence and distinction had joined them, from motives of discontent or ambition, or from a passion for singularity and popular applause. When the religious disputes became warm in the nation, the zeal of this party broke out, and burned with such amazing ardour that it levelled all distinctions. To increase the confusion, Archbishop Laud insisted on conformity, and persecuted all who refused obedience to his mandates with the utmost rigour. But persecution, for the most part, proves destructive to the cause it is intended to promote. The miseries the Puritans endured, and their firmness and perseverance in the midst of sufferings, contributed to give them that merit and importance in the eyes of the nation, which otherwise perhaps they had never attained. Their sober and rigid manner of life, the plainness of dress which they affected, and the strong tendency they shewed towards religion in all their words and actions, had great weight with the vulgar and credulous part, and induced them to entertain high notions of their sanctity, and to venerate them as the peculiar people of God. Their number increased and became formidable. Many men of rank, disgusted at the measures of court, and apprehensive that the liberties of the nation were in danger, turned zealous republicans, and seemed to aim at a total subversion of the constitution, both in church and state. The King, though a well-wisher to religion, hated the principles of the Puritans, and considered them as dangerous and deceitful. Those enthusiasts, on the other hand, were determined to endure the severest persecutions, rather than admit the common prayer, organs, and surplices into their worship, and conform to the popish ceremony of kneeling at the sacrament. In short, the dispute about trifling ceremonies became serious on both sides, and augured no good to the nation. Dr. Laud, observing not only the laity but the clergy also infected with puritanical principles, deprived many of their livings, merely for not conforming to all the ceremonies of the church. During these troubles many fled to New England; and others caused houses to be built and lands cleared for them, with a view of retiring there, should their contention for religious freedom in England prove unsuccessful. In vain did Dr. Laud obtain an order of court to put a stop to emigration. There was not a corner of the globe to which these people would not flee, rather than conform to ceremonies which they thought savoured of popery and idolatry, and endangered their salvation.

To these disturbances New-England owed its population. Enthusiasm has often stimulated men to bold and arduous undertakings, and animated them to perseverance amidst great difficulties. Of this truth the first emigrants to New-England afford us a striking example. They seemed to bid defiance to the hardships to which they were exposed, having what they valued most of any thing in the world, I mean, liberty of conscience. Amidst cold, hunger, toil, disease, and distress of every kind, they comforted themselves with the thoughts of being removed far out of the reach of tyrants, and triumphed in their deliverance from an idolatrous and wicked nation. Neither the hideous gloom of the thick forest, nor the ravages and depredations of savage neighbours, appeared to them so grievous and intolerable as conformity to the that of England, and an implicit obedience to civil authority.

It might reasonably have been expected, that those emigrants who made New-England their asylum from what they deemed civil tyranny and ecclesiastical persecution, would have guarded against every degree of oppression and persecution in that form of government they were about to establish among themselves. This, however, was far from being the case. Some of their first laws favour of a degree of persecution and intolerance unknown in the most despotic governments of Europe; and those who fled from persecution became the most bitter persecutors. Those who were found dancing or drunk were ordered to be publicly whipped, in order to deter others from such practices. The custom of wearing long hair was deemed immodest, impious and abominable. All who were guilty of swearing rashly, might purchase an exemption from punishment for a schilling; but those who should transgress the fourth commandment were to be condemned to banishment, and such as should worship images, to death. Children were to be punished with death, for cursing or striking their father or mother. Marriages were to be solemnized by magistrates; and all who denied the coercive authority of the magistrate in religious matters, or the validity of infant baptism, were to be banished. Blasphemy, perjury, adultery, and witchcraft, were all made capital offences. In short, we may challenge the annals of any nation to produce a code of laws more intolerant than that of the first settlers in New-England. Unlimited obedience was enjoined to the authority of the magistrate, by the same men who had refused such submission in England, and fled from their native country because it was demanded. Thus, however incredible it may appear, blind fanatics became public legislators, and those who were unable to endure tyranny in England, became the most insupportable tyrants in America.

This oppressive rigour of their first laws was soon heavily felt by many, but especially by that peaceable society of people called Quakers. Some of this sect, who had been banished on account of their religion, out of mere zeal for making proselytes, returned to the country. They were instantly seized by those oppressors, condemned and hanged, to prevent the clandestine incursions of others. Those who had the misfortune to be taken with convulsions, or any disorder to which vulgar ignorance was a stranger, were accused of witchcraft, and condemned to death. No age nor sex were secure from such suspicions, when ignorance, malice and phrenzy joined in framing accusations, and selecting victims at pleasure. Dreams, apparitions and tortures were all employed as evidences against persons accused, and served to increase the number of horrid executions. The clergy were often accused, and sometimes the judges themselves. The jails were filled with infants, old men and women, the people were distracted with gloomy apprehensions, and the country was stained with innocent blood. At last the popular phrenzy began to subside, and gave way to painful remorse. The eyes of the blinded fanatics were opened, so as to discern their guilt; and a general fast was appointed to implore the pardon and mercy of God for their enormous crimes and horrible delusions.

This colony, which was planted by oppression, in process of time owed its extension to the same cause, Dissenters, who all claim an equal right to liberty in religion, with respect to private judgment and opinion, were not likely to remain long in harmony and peace among themselves. Though they reprobated the doctrine of uniformity in England, yet they became the most bigoted sticklers for it in their new settlement. The tenets of others, who differed from their mode of worship, were condemned without scruple or hesitation, insomuch that the oppression from which they fled in Britain was like gentle toleration, when compared with that to which they subjected their fellow-refugees. Hence various sectaries arose in their settlement, who claimed the same right to dissent from them, which they formerly did from the church of England. But their claim was rejected, and of consequence a persecution for conscience sake commenced among that people, who had become separatists in defence of universal toleration. However, these sprigs, torn by violence from the old root, had the same resource left; they separated, and planted themselves in a new soil, and spread their branches over the country. Hence different governments took their origin, and different colonies were settled, by persons who were denied religious freedom, and the right of private judgment, in Massachuset's bay.

From the same source, I mean, a division in England, another colony of catholics took its rise. The king not only lost the affections of his Protestant subjects, but was also obliged to give the Roman catholics up to the rigour of those laws enacted against them in the preceding reigns. Lord Baltimore therefore resolved to leave England, and settle a colony on lands which had been granted to his father a few years before his death. This territory he called Maryland, in honour of the queen, who gave him all the assistance in her power towards forwarding the settlement.

From the establishment and progress of these foreign settlements, and the spirit of emigration which prevailed in England, discerning men early foreboded ill consequences to the mother country. They were no strangers to the troubles which the colonies of Greece and Rome occasioned those ancient republics. Such vast territories as America contained, opened a boundless field for the encouragement of emigration, and every addition which these colonies received from Britain was prejudicial to her interest, as it served to weaken her, in proportion as it strengthened them. The riches of every country unquestionably depend on the number of its industrious inhabitants. America could furnish employment for innumerable hands, and emigrations from the mother country would in process of time dry up the sources of her wealth and power. England, though populous, could spare none, without prejudice to herself, but such as had either no employment at home, or no inclination to labour: for all industrious men serve to enrich their country, and whatever they earn by their labour, be it more or less, so much doth the nation profit by them. It is true, a number of idle and indolent people, like voracious drones in the hive, are a burden to every community. Such indeed might be spared for the purpose of colonization, without any detriment to the parent state; but every diligent and honest labourer that emigrates from his native country, helps to depopulate, and of course to impoverish it.

Had England at that time been too populous for its extent, or incapable of employing and maintaining its inhabitants, in that case, her planting foreign colonies might have served the purpose of public utility, and given relief from domestic hardship, just as bees send off their young swarms without injuring the industrious hive. Britain, no doubt, might reap some advantages from her foreign plantations, especially such of them as are situated in a different climate, and produce such commodities as luxury obliged her to purchase from strangers; and while she maintained her supreme jurisdiction over them, she could bind them by laws to continue her customers for taking off her manufactures, and so extend her commerce and navigation. By such policy she might make the wealth of her laborious colonies center in herself, and add greatly to her opulence and power. In every other case, numerous and extensive foreign settlements must prove hurtful, if not troublesome and dangerous: for while they are draining her of her useful inhabitants, they are growing on her ruins; and if they turn not headstrong and ungovernable, they will at least oblige her to keep a much larger army and fleet than otherways she would have any occasion for, and double her expence for their protection.

From Charles the first Sir Robert Heath obtained a grant for an immense territory lying to the southward of Virginia, which is now divided into several distinct provinces, but made no settlement on it. Excepting a small garison the Spaniards supported at Augustine, this country remained a rude wilderness, the habitation of savages and wild beasts, till the restoration. Soon after that important event several leading men of the nation, actuated by a pious and laudable zeal for the propagation of the Gospel, associated, and formed a design of settling it at their own expence. To give an account of the rise and progress of this settlement, especially of that division now called SOUTH CAROLINA, shall be our business in the following pages of this history.

CHAP. II.

During the period of the usurpation in England, popular anarchy prevailed, and levelled all ranks and distinctions throughout the nation. The lineal heir of the crown being expelled, Oliver Cromwell, that ambitious and crafty leader of the people, seized the reins of government, and ruled England with a rod of iron for several years. The nobles bowed to a fanatic, and the republican part of the constitution preponderated to such a degree, that the other two became as nothing in the balance.

When the restoration took place, to the great joy and happiness of the nation, the nobles and royalists again stood forth, and assumed their former dignity and weight in the government of their country. Domestic peace being re-established on the solid foundation of regal and constitutional authority, England, amidst other national objects, turned her views toward the improvement of commerce, navigation, and her colonies.

Hitherto the extensive territory of North America had been divided into two districts, which were called South and North Virginia. All lands lying towards the river St. Lawrence, from the northern boundaries of the province now called Virginia, belonged to the northern, and all those to the southward, as far as the Gulf of Florida, to the southern district. And though the first European settlement in America was attempted in Florida by the French, yet they were compelled to relinquish that place; and the English, preferring what they esteemed a more favourable climate, had hitherto neglected it.

After the restoration, England began to recognize her claim to a large territory in the southern district. In the year 1662, Edward Earl of Clarendon, George Duke of Albemarle, William Lord Craven, John Lord Berkeley, Antony Lord Ashley, Sir George Carteret, Sir William Berkeley, and Sir John Colleton, being apprized of the excellent soil of this country, united and formed a project for planting a colony in it. Upon application to the crown for a charter, Charles granted them all the lands lying between the thirty-first and thirty-sixth degrees of north latitude. Two years afterwards he confirmed this grant, and by a second charter enlarged the boundaries of it, from the 29th degree of north latitude to 36 degrees 30 minutes, and from these points on the sea-coast westward in parallel lines to the Pacific ocean. Of this immense region the king constituted them absolute lords and proprietors, saving to himself, his heirs and successors the sovereign dominion of the country. At the same time he invested them with all the rights, jurisdiction, royalties, privileges and liberties within the bounds of their province, to hold, use and enjoy the same, in as ample a manner as the bishop of Durham did in that county palatine in England. This province they were to hold and possess of the king, his heirs and successors, as of his manor of East Greenwich in Kent, not in capite, or by knight's service, but in free and common soccage.

These absolute lords and proprietors were by their charter empowered to enact, and, under their seal, to publish any laws or constitutions they judged proper and necessary to the public state of the province, with the assent, advice and approbation of the freemen of the colony; to constitute counties, baronies and colonies within the province; to erect courts of judicature, and appoint civil judges, magistrates and officers; to erect forts, castles, cities and towns; to make war; to levy, muster and train men to the use of arms, and, in cases of necessity, to exercise the martial law; to confer titles of honour, only they must be different from those conferred on the people of England; to build harbours, make ports, and enjoy customs and subsidies, which they, with the consent of the freemen, should impose on goods loaded and unloaded; reserving the fourth part of the gold and silver ore found within the province to the crown. By the said charter the king granted them the patronage and avowson of all churches and chapels, to hold and exercise the same rights, powers and privileges as the bishop of Durham did in England: but as it might happen that several of the inhabitants could not in their private opinions conform to the exercise of religion, according to the liturgy and ceremonies of the church of England; the proprietors had power and authority granted them, to allow the inhabitants of the province both indulgences and dispensations, as they in their discretion should think proper and reasonable; and no person, to whom such liberty should be granted, was to be molested, punished, or called in question for any differences in speculative opinions with respect to religion; so that all persons, of what denomination soever, had liberty to enjoy their own judgments and consciences in religious concerns, provided they disturbed not the civil order and peace of the province. And as the assembly of freeholders could not be immediately called, the proprietors had power granted them to make such orders and ordinances as might be necessary to the government of the people and the preservation of peace, and as were not repugnant to the laws and statutes of England. Liberty was given to the king's liege subjects to transport themselves and families to settle the province, only they were to remain immediately subject to the crown of England, and to depend thereon for ever; and were not compellable to answer to any cause or suit in any other part of his majesty's dominions but in England and Wales.

Agreeable to the powers with which the proprietors were invested by their charter, they began to frame a system of laws for the government of their colony; in which arduous task they called in the great philosopher John Locke to their assistance. A model of government, consisting of no less than one hundred and twenty different articles, was framed by this learned man, which they agreed to establish, and to the careful observance of which, to bind themselves and their heirs for ever. But there is danger of error, where speculative men of one country attempt to sketch out a plan of government for another, in a different climate and situation. This legislator must be acknowledged to have possessed great abilities and merit; yet his fine-spun system proved in effect useless and impracticable. Several attempts were afterwards made to amend these fundamental constitutions, but all to little purpose; the inhabitants, sensible of their impropriety, and how little they were applicable to their circumstances, neither by themselves, nor by their representatives in assembly, ever gave their assent to them as a body of laws, and therefore they obtained not the force of fundamental and unalterable laws in the colony. What regulations the people found applicable and useful, they adopted at the request of their governors; but observed them on account of their own propriety and necessity, rather than as a system of laws imposed on them by British legislators.

As the proprietors were so fond of these constitutions, and expressed so much zeal for their establishment, it may not be improper to give a short and imperfect view of them, especially such as were allowed to take place in the government of the colony. The eldest of the eight proprietors was always to be Palatine, and at his decease was to be succeeded by the eldest of the seven survivors. This palatine was to sit as president of the palatine's court, of which he and three more of the proprietors made a quorum, and had the management and execution of all the powers of their charter. This palatine's court was to stand in room of the king, and give their assent or dissent to all laws made by the legislature of the colony. The palatine was to have power to nominate and appoint the governor, who, after obtaining the royal approbation, became his representative in Carolina. Each of the seven proprietors was to have the privilege of appointing a deputy to sit as his representative in parliament, and to act agreeable to his instructions. Besides a governor, two other branches, somewhat similar to the old Saxon constitution, were to be established, an upper and lower house of assembly; which three branches were to be called a Parliament, and to constitute the legislature of the country. The parliament was to be chosen every two years. No act of the legislature was to have any force unless ratified in open parliament during the same session, and even then to continue no longer in force than the next biennial parliament, unless in the mean time it be ratified by the hands and seals of the palatine and three proprietors. The upper house was to consist of the seven deputies, seven of the oldest landgraves and cassiques, and seven chosen by the assembly. As in the other provinces the lower house was to be composed of the representatives from the different counties and towns. Several officers were also to be appointed, such as an admiral, a secretary, a chief justice, a surveyor, a treasurer, a marshal, and register; and besides these, each county was to have a sheriff and four justices of the peace. Three classes of nobility were to be established, called Barons, Cassiques, and Landgraves; the first to possess twelve, the second twenty-four, and the third forty-eight thousand acres of land, and their possessions were to be unalienable. Military officers were also to be nominated, and all inhabitants from sixteen to sixty years of age, as in the times of feudal government, when summoned by the governor and grand council, were to appear under arms, and, in time of war, to take the field.

With respect to religion, three terms of communion were fixed: First, To believe that there is a God; Secondly, That he is to be worshipped; And, thirdly, That it is lawful and the duty of every man when called upon by those in authority, to bear witness to the truth. Without acknowledging which, no man was to be permitted to be a freeman, or to have any estate or habitation in Carolina. But persecution for observing different modes and ways of worship, was expressly forbid, and every man was to be left full liberty of conscience, and might worship God in that manner which he in his private judgment thought most conformable to the divine will and revealed word. This was the opinion of Mr. Locke with respect to religious matters. He chose the word of God for his rule of life, and was used to say, "That, at the day of judgment, it would not be asked whether he was a follower of Luther or Calvin; but whether he embraced the truth in the love of it."

Notwithstanding these preparations, several years elapsed before the proprietors of Carolina made any serious efforts towards its settlement. In 1667, they fitted out a ship, gave the command of it to Captain William Sayle, and sent him out to bring them some account of the coast. In his passage Captain Sayle was driven by a storm among the Bahama islands, which accident he improved to the purpose of acquiring some knowledge of them; particularly the island of Providence, which he judged might be of service to the intended settlement of Carolina; for, in case of an invasion from the Spaniards, this island, fortified, might be made to serve either as a check to the progress of their arms, or a useful retreat to unfortunate colonists. Leaving Providence, he sailed along the coast of Carolina, where he observed several large navigable rivers emptying themselves into the ocean, and a flat country covered with woods. He attempted to go ashore in his boat, but observing some savages on the banks of the rivers, he was obliged to drop his design; and, after having explored the coast and the mouth of the rivers, he took his departure and resumed to England.

His report to his employers, as might naturally be expected, was favourable. He praised their possessions, and encouraged them to engage with vigour in the execution of their project. His observations respecting the Bahama islands induced them to apply to the king for a grant of them. Charles bestowed on them by patent all those islands lying between the 22d and 27th degrees of north latitude. Nothing then remained but to make preparations for sending a colony to Carolina. Two ships were procured, on board of which a number of adventurers embarked, with provisions, arms, and utensils requisite for building and cultivation. William Sayle, who had visited the country, was appointed the first governor of it, and received a commission, bearing date July 26, 1669. The expences of this first embarkation amounted to twelve thousand pounds, which vigorous effort was a proof that the proprietor entertained no small hopes with respect to their palatinate. The number of men, however, must have been inconsiderable, and no ways adequate to the undertaking, especially when we consider the multitude of savages that ranged through that extensive wilderness.

In what place Governor Sayle first landed is uncertain; but he was dissatisfied with his first situation, and, moving to the southward, took possession of a neck of land between Ashley and Cooper rivers. The earliest instructions we have seen upon record were directed to the governor and council of Ashley river, in which spot the first settlement was made that proved permanent and successful. This place, however, was more eligible for the convenience of navigation than for the richness of its soil. But to struggle amidst a complication of difficulties and dangers was the lot of such adventurers; to surmount which, at this early period, no small degree of fortitude, patience and perseverance must have been requisite.

New settlers in all countries and climates are subject to many hardships, especially such as are in low and indigent circumstances; but those of the first settlers of Carolina must have equalled, if not surpassed, every thing of the kind to which men in any age have been exposed. To fell the trees of the thick forest, and build habitations for themselves, would probably be their first employment, before they began to clear their spots of ground for raising the necessaries of life. In such a low country, and warm climate, even this task must have been a considerable burden. But Carolina, like other level countries overflowed with water, is productive of many disorders, such as putrid fevers, agues, dysenteries, and the like; and to fix habitations on such places where the exhalations from stagnated waters and marshy swamps poisoned the air, must have rendered them extremely unwholesome. During the summer months the climate is so sultry, that no European, without hazard, can endure the fatigues of labouring in the open air: for the most part, the weather during this season is very clear and serene, excepting when a thunder-storm happens, which cools the air, suddenly stops perspiration, and becomes exceedingly dangerous to labourers of little precaution. Besides, the violent heat continues through the night, and denies the weary workman the natural refreshment of sleep. The autumn introduces cool evenings and mornings, while the noon-day is intolerably warm; which change, together with the thick fogs that commonly fall at this season, rendered it the most unhealthy division of the year. In winter, though the degree of cold is not so great as in the more northern climates of America, yet it is severely felt by the human body, exhausted and relaxed with the summer heat; and when the wind shifts suddenly from any quarter to the north-west or north, it blows extremely sharp and piercing, brings along with it sometimes frost and snow, and renders the warmest clothing requisite. The spring is the most temperate and delightful season of the year: it begins early, and diffuses its enlivening influence over the fields and forests. Experience had not yet taught the young colonists the methods either of improving the advantages, or guarding against the disadvantages of the climate, and therefore it is no wonder that they found themselves involved at this period in a complication of hardships.

To enhance their distress, they were surrounded with tribes of warlike savages, who viewed them with a jealous eye, and were by no means pleased at the encroachments made on their natural possessions. The tribes called Stonoes and Westoes were particularly troublesome. The colonists, indeed, were furnished with arms and ammunition from the storehouse of the proprietors, yet as they lived in the midst of perpetual alarms, their condition must have been deplorable. Nor did the musket give those strangers to the woods such an advantage over the bow and arrow in the hands of the Indians, as some people may be apt to imagine. The savage, quick-sighted, and accustomed to perpetual watchfulness, springs from his den behind a bush, and surprizes his enemy with the pointed arrow before he is aware of danger. He ranges through the trackless forest like the beasts of prey, and safely sleeps under the same canopy with the wolf and bear. His vengeance is concealed, and sends the tidings in the fatal blow. The first settlers were obliged to stand in a continual posture of defence; and as they could not be supposed to understand the political methods of managing their barbarous neighbors, they must have been subjected to all the hardships arising from their ignorance and dangerous condition.