The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter. [volume] (Manteo, N.C.) 1959-1973, 1961-07-28
BY SAM J. Erwin JR.
to hold the land.

to hold the land.
With the assistance of some joint
Adventures, Raleigh sent his Sec
ond colony to Roanoke Island in
1887. This colony, which is known
to history as the Lost Colony, was
led by Governor John White and
consisted of 95 men, II women,
and 9 children. 1t found Fort Raj
eigh in ruins and no identifable
trace of the Is men left by Sir
Richard Granville. These colonists
rebuilt Fort Raleigh and repaired
the old dwellings and constructed
new ones. AS DR.. Hugh Letter in
forms us, "the best known incident
in the history of the colony was the
birth, on August 10, of Virginia
Dare, daughter of Ananias and FL
eanir White Dare, granddaughter
of Governor White, and the first
child of English parents born in
America"
After some time, Governor White
was compelled to return to England
for supplies. Before he left Roam
oke Island, he made an agreement
with the colonists, who were con-
templating removing from the is
land to the mainland, that they
would leave some indication of
their location in case of their re-
moval, and would "carve over the
letters or the name a cross" if
they suffered any distress in that
connection.
AS result of vicissitudes oc-
casioned by the threat which the
Spanish Armada presented to Eng
land, Governor White could not re-
turn to Roanoke Island until 1890.
At that time, he discovered to his
CONSERVATION that his colony had
vanished, leaving no indication of
it's fate except the cryptic word
"Croatan" carved on one tree, and
the mystifying letters zero" on
another. Neither tree bore the carv-
ing of a cross.
The Lost Colony thus vanished
forever from the pages of history,
but has ever since occupied prom
inent place in the speculations of
historians. Some historians surmise
that the members of the Lost Colo
ny were massacred by the Indians,
others that they were slaughtered
by the Spaniards, others that they
were absorbed by the Indians of
Robson County, North Carolina,
and others that they were lost at
sea in attempting to return to Eng
land.
A poet has addressed this inquiry
to history:
Speak History, who are life's
victors? Unroll thy long annals
and say,
Are they those whom the world
calls the victors, who won the
success of a day."
Judged by his contemporaries,
Sir Walter Raleigh was not one of
life's victors. He lost favor at the
English Court, became destitute of
worldly possessions, and suffered
beheading as criminal. Judged by
their contemporaries, the Lost Col
onists were not life's victors. They
vanished into the unknown.
/ am sure, however, that when its
long annals are unrolled, history
will number Sir Walter Raleigh
and the Lost Colonists among life's
victors. This is true because they
dreamed dream and had vision.
They saw America as a land destin-
ed to be peopled by men and wo-
men who spoke the language of
Shakespeare, who were governed
by the principles of the Common
Law of England, and who were de-
dicated to the proposition that
every person is entitled to be the
master of his own fate While Sir
Walter Raleigh was beheaded and
the Lost Colonists disappeared,
others were inspired by their
dream and their vision and brought
them to pass.
We are privileged to see and
hear on this occasion great SYM
phonic drama created out of the
history of Sir Walter Raleigh and
the Lost Colonists by one of Amer
ica's greatest playwrights, Paul
Green. AS the characters of the
drama pass to and fro upon the
stage of Waterside Theatre, we will
understand the dream and the WIS.,
ion of Sir Walter Raleigh and the
Lost Colonists and realize that here
on Roanoke Island is the spiritual
birthplace of America.