The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-10-19
Nv w j. PPeIe


Island 20 invite the President to go
by way of Fort Raleigh" when ne
visited North Carolina. The commit
tee did not materialize; whether be-
cause they had learned Senator Sim
mons could not accompany them or
hecauSe their wires were down so
they could not make their final ar
engagements, it is not now necessary
to discuss; suffice it to say they were
not there. But not so with the Croa-
tan whom they intended TO file as an
eXh bit in. -their case. He came, and
with an address to the President in
his own hand writing duly signed by
him as a traditional descendant of
the lost colony Of John White" and
setting forth his title to the name
CrOatan and his rights to be consid-
cred descendant of the said colony.
The Croatan was duly announced in
two hours after | had reached my
hotel, The Raleigh but what to do
with Kim by myself ! was not at all
sure. / was of course, duly armed
with a letter of introduction from
Senator Simmons, but the letter men
toned a committee and only one lone
member of is was present and be not
haiing from Roanoke Island. / told
the CrOatan to wait in my room till
L went down to see what could be
done. He was not perturbed in the
least, though he had probably never
visited q town of more than twenty
five hundred Inhabitants in his life.
/ left him calmly contemplating the
top Of Washington from my window
and probably comparing it with the
low grounds of Robson county in
southeastern North Carolina.
AT breakfast ! tackled the PROPOSE
ton in front Of me; whether it would
do the cause OF the Roanoke Island
people any good TO have it presented
by such q committee. Senator Sim
mons had already warned me that get
ting the President to change his
route in his visit to North Carolina.
was a forlorn hope. But, he added
ignficantly-tha he saw no reason
why the President could not be in
duced to visit Roanoke Island in 1907
as part of his official visit to the
jamestown Exposition. However,
while these thoughts were passing
through my mind / saw at another
table Col. A. Il. Andrews and his wife
SO | submitted the matter to them.
They endorsed the attempt even with
a committee of one. | remembered
that the Colonel and 1 had not always
agreed about the way a railroad ought
to be run, there being some discrep-
Rncy in our laws about freight rates
and passenger fares, but in this at
tempt of mine to aggrandize our State
/ had his sympathy at once. In a
shot while he had hunted me up the
proprietor of the hotel and had added
his note of introduction to the Presi-
dents private secretary. Ny Croatan
was soon housed away within two
blocks of the hotel. and I took his ad-
dress and Mr.. Hamilton McMillan's
book about his tribe and sailed forth
towards the White House. 1t had
been exactly twenty years since I
visited it with Senator Vance to see
Mr.. Cleveland in behalf of the young
democracy in general and Mr. Ben
Lacy in particular. Ben was young
then. but he has since proven TO be
a better attorney for himself than I
was for him. The great Vance
frankly told NE that the place I was
sent TO solicit (the Raleigh POstOffice)
had been promised to another before
the election, that ne, Vance was a
party to the contract and that the
boys as he called us, ought to have
been so informed to keep us from
spending our money coming way up
to Washington.
A moment more and my vision of
the great commoner was brushed
away by the facts of real life about
me. l was ushered into the office of
the Presidents Private Secretary
who ats once asked me business
mans question, Where is your COM
mittee?" | had long ago heard that
truth was the best diplomacy so [ told
him they We're not in the city, and
that | did not believe they were
coming. He remarked that probably
international affairs might prevent the
President from seeing the committee.
even if they had come. and [ knew
that the President a95 very recently
addressed his identical note to the
beligerent powers. However, in taking
my leave | Ventured to remark that a
Cr0atan Indian. which the committee
intended to file as an exhibit had ar
rived and that | had in my pocket his
address to the President. After ex-
aiming this document and learning
something of the history of his tribe
the Private Secretary told me to call
again the next day and in the mean
time he took the address and Mr. Nc
Millan's book to the President
The next morning at the time APP
pointed, accompanied by the Croatan,
went to see the President ana
found to my surprise that he had read
both the address and the book and
was as ready as a Robson county
North Carolinian to discuss the Lost
Colony He was familiar with the
story as far as the historians had writ
ten it. but l do not think he had ever
heard our claim that the Croatan Ia
dams had been identified as the de-
scendants of that colony. The Presi- !
dent saw at q glance the significance
of the fact, if true. and, pro hac vice |
at least he was willing to give the !
old North State the benefit of the |
doubt Perhaps it will never be solv- |
ed nearer than it is now, but that |
does not lessen the interest nor take |
away the zest of investigations He |
appreciated the compliment implied in |
bringing the Indian to him and enab- !
ling him to invite the chief magis- |
trate of this great republic back 10 |
the spot which was the home of the |
Indians ancestors, the spot which is
also the birthplace of the nation. |
The little island lies asleep in all tho I
privacy and seclusion which should |
make it fitting birthplace for this
great nation or what it will shortly
be this great family of. nations
From the light house on Bodies
Island a few miles to the south Of
Roanoke is spread out one of the
most interesting panoramas on the
American coast The historic Island,
the banks where the first landing