CHAPTER VI.
THE POPHAM COLONY.
The Southern Virginia Company, as stated in the preceding chapter, had already despatched colonists to the new world. There also was a movement for a like undertaking on the part of the Northern, or Plymouth company. Conferences were held by the members of the company with others interested in the expansion of England's territory and trade. With enthusiasm, the work of organizing the proposed colony was commenced. As this work, at least for the most part, was carried forward at Plymouth, Gorges, who was in command of the fort at that place, may be regarded as most conspicuous in this service, as well as in making preparations for the voyage. Difficulties were encountered as the work proceeded. A glimpse of these is afforded in a letter1 which the Mayor of Plymouth addressed May 10, 1606, to Lord Salisbury, King James' Secretary of State, suggesting some modification of the Charter. Sir John Popham, he wrote, had invited the co- operation of some of the prominent citizens of Plymouth; but some of the provisions of the Charter were objectionable, especially the provision that placed the direction of the affairs of the Colony in the control of a Council, the majority of whose members were "strangers to us and our proceedings". They accordingly asked the prime minister's protection and help. This complaint was not sent to Lord Salisbury without the knowledge of Sir Ferdinando Gorges; for on the same day, Gorges addressed a letter2 to the Prime Minister, explaining further the position taken by the men of Plymouth, who, he wrote, were at first well disposed and ready "to be large adventurers" but had now withdrawn their
Footnotes:
1. Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his Province of Maine, III, 122, 123.
2. Ib., III, 123-126.
p.64
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
CAPTAIN LOVE.
aid and refused to have anything to do with the work to be undertaken. Evidently, Gorges considered this a very undesirable situation, and he urged a change in the provisions of the Charter to which objection had been made, believing that in this way the interest of "many worthy and brave spirits" could be secured. The complaint of the Mayor of Plymouth and his associates was laid before Lord Salisbury by Captain Love, the bearer of the letter. No word concerning the result has been preserved, so far as is known. Such, however, was the success of the efforts of the Chief Justice in connection with the fitting out of the Popham colony, that harmony of action among those interested in the enterprise seems at length to have been reached.
SHIPS, "GIFT OF GOD" AND "THE MARY & JOHN"
THE SHIPS, "GIFT OF GOD"1 and the "MARY AND JOHN"2 - thetonnage of both unknown - were secured for transporting the colonists and their stores to the selected location of the colony.
Concerning the number of the colonists, and the manner in which they were obtained, there is little information. Gorges makes mention of "one hundred landsmen". Probably he does not include in this designation "divers gentlemen of note", who are said to have accompanied the expedition. Strachery says that the ship, "Gift of God" and the ship, the "Mary and John" carried "one hundred and twenty for planters". To this number, of course, must be added the the number of the crews of the two vessels in order to make up the full number of persons connect with the enterprise.
In providing the funds that were necessary for the purpose of fitting out and establishing the Colony, Sir John Popham doubtless had a prominent place. He not only made large contributions when calls for money came, but he interested many of his friends and acquaintances in the work to which, with so much enthusiasm, he had put his hands. In one way or another the funds
Footnotes.
1. In the Lambeth Palace manuscript the name of this vessel is the "Gift". The fuller title is given by Strachey, who calls the vessel a "fly boat", that is, a light draught vessel.
2. Gorges erroneously says there were "three sail of ships". Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his ship, Province of Maine, III, 13.
p.65
THE POPHAM COLONY.
were raised and the expedition was made ready. May 31, 1607, was the sailing day. The ships, Gift of God, and the Mary and John, the former commanded by George Popham1 and the latter by Ralegh Gilbert2 - lay in the old harbor of Plymouth, England, now known as Sutton's Pool, the same harbor from which the Mayflower sailed, thirteen years later. Gorges, doubtless, was present at the departure of the colonists. Doubtless, too, Sir John Popham was there, having laid aside his official robes and left London in order by his presence to give forceful expression to the hopes he entertained, both for himself and the nation, in establishing an English colony in northern Virgina. All Plymouth, too, was there, prominent merchants, military and other professional men, fishermen and seamen, all much interested in an enterprise that was designed to bring the old and new worlds into close and prosperous relations. As the ships, Gift of God and the Mary and John sailed out of the harbor, the vessels were saluted by the guns of the fort, while from the Hoe the heartfelt benedictions and best wishes of a great company followed the colonists until the vessels had disappeared upon the horizon. A brief account of the fortunes of the Popham colony appeared
Footnotes.
1. George Popham was the 2nd son of Edward Popham, and was a nephew of the Chief Justice. He was born about 1553-1555, and before his appointment in connection with the Popham colony he held the position of "his Majesty's customer of the Port of Bridgewater". His name appears in the Charter for the North and South Virginia colonies in 1606, and he was the first president of the colony in North Virginia.
2. Ralegh Gilbert, a son of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, and the nephew of Sir Walter Ralegh, was also mentioned in the Charter of 1606. While the date of his birth is unknown, it is supposed that when he joined the Popham colony, he was not far from 30 yrs. of age. Evidently he was lacking in the finer personal qualities of life and Gorges' portraiture of him (in a letter to Secretary Cecil, Baxter's Sir Ferdinando Gorges, III, 158) is not a favorable one. Concerning his administration of the affairs of the Colony after the death of President Popham, we have no information. As Thayer says, it "may have been vigilant and wholly satisfactory to the patrons", The Sagadahoc Colony, 32. He was made a member of the Council for New England in 1620.
p.66
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
Capt. John Smith's "General History of New England"
in 1614 in Purchas's Pilgrimes. This was followed in 1622 by a short statement in A Briefe Relation of the Discovery and Plantation of New England by the President and Council. In 1624, Captain John Smith included in his General History of New England, a brief record of the Popham enterprise. These were the principal sources of information concerning the Colony until 1849, when the Hakluyt Society published William Strachey's "Historie of Travaile into Virginia Brittania" written about 1616. Evidently the narrative was based upon sources not in the possession of the earlier writers, and Strachey's account of the experiences of the Popham colonists was the best available until 1875, when a manuscript, once in the possession of Sir Fernando Gorges, and containing a journal, written by one connected with the colony, was discovered in the Library of Lambeth Palace, London.1 It covers a period of about four months, that is, from the departure of the expedition from the Lizard, June 1, 1607, to September 26, 1607.
With this last date, the manuscript abruptly closes; but as Strachery, by many evidences which his narrative furnishes, is believed to have used this manuscript in preparing his account of the Popham Colony, his continuation of the story from September 26 is believed, for the same reason, to have been based upon that part of the Lambeth Palace manuscript, which in some way was afterward lost and is still lacking.
Although in the title of the manuscript the name of the author is not mentioned, indications in the narrative point almost unmistakably to the conclusion that the writer was James Davies, one of Gilbert's officers on the ship, Mary and John, and otherwise prominently connected with the colony.
The narrative of the voyage begins at "the Lizard"2 on the first of June, the day after the vessels sailed out of the harbor of Plymouth, England, fifty miles away. Thence both vessels, instead of taking the direct westerly course to the American coast, as did Gosnold
Footnotes.
1. This manuscript, known in the Lambeth Palace Library as Ms. No. 806, was discovered in 1876 by the Reverend Dr. B. F. De Costa of New York, and was first printed from the original manuscript in the Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society for May, 1880.
2. At the southwest extremity of the county of Cornwall, England.
p.67
THE POPHAM COLONY.
The ship, Mary and John.
and Pring, followed Waymouth's course in the ship, Archangel, and sailed southerly to the Azores islands, which were reached in twenty-four days. June 27, at the island of Flores, a landing was made fir wood and water. Continuing the voyage, Popham and Gilbert fell in with two Flemish vessels June 29th, and Captain Gilbert, as a token of friendly feeling, invited the Captain of one of the vessels to come aboard the ship Mary and John. The invitation was accepted, and the Flemish Captain was kindly received and hospitably entertained. On his departure, the guest cordially invited Gilbert and a few others on the Mary and John to accompany him to his ship, apparently moved thereto by the kindly reception he himself had received. To this "earnest entreaty", Gilbert and those with him yielded, but to their surprise, on reaching the Flemish vessel, they were treated as prisoners, some of the party being placed in the "bibows" (bildoes,) and others being subjected to "wild and shameful abuses". It happened, however, that in the crew of the Flemish vessel were English sailors, who, noticing this affront to their countrymen, found opportunity to make known to Gilbert their determination to stand by him and his companions. When the Flemish Captain discovered this evidence of a threatened uprising on the part of his own men, the situation was not pleasing to him. He accordingly hastened to release the prisoners, and returned them to their own ship to their "no small joy".1
THE SHIP, GIFT OF GOD, AND POPHAM.
Meanwhile, Popham, in the ship, Gift of God, either had not seen, or failed to answer the signals of distress made by the Mary and John. His action is n ot explained in the narrative, which seems to imply unworthy conduct on his part in sailing away without an attempt at assistance.2 The two vessels thus fell apart, and did
Footnotes.
1 The narratives of the voyages of that day furnish abundant illustrations of the fact that such discourtesies at sea between representatives of rival nations were by no means uncommon.
2. Thayer (The Sagadahoc Colony, 39, note), says, Captain Popham may be fairly entitled to the benefit of the doubt if he saw or comprehended the signals". It is certainly in favor of this view that no added mention of the incident appears in the "Relation."
p.68
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
JULY 27TH - THE Nova Scotia Coast.
not again come together until their arrival on the American coast. When this affair with the Flemish ship occurred, the ship Mary and John was ten leagues southwest of Flores. Continuing the voyage to the American Coast, the vessel reached soundings on July 27th, in latitude 43 degrees, 1. and July 30, land was descried, evidently the Nova Scotia coast.
THE RIVER, PENOBSCOT, MAINE.
Gilbert anchored2 and landed, but his stay was brief, and he proceeded down the coast on his way to the appointed rendezvous. On August 5, land again was sighted. In the narrative there is an outline sketch of the view, that was obtained by the voyagers in thus approaching the coast - a view of the high mountains "in upon the main-land unto the river of Penobscot."
SHIP MARY & JOHN APPROACH COAST OF MAINE.
MATINICUS ISLANDS.
Such they knew them to be from the maps of Waymouth and Pring, in their possession. Both the sketch and the narrative make it evident that the ship, Mary and John, in now approaching the coast, must have been some distance southeast of the Matinicus Islands.
THE CAMDEN MOUNTAINS.
The mountains were the Camden mountains, noteworthy features of the coast to any mariner approaching the land at this point. Gilbert and his men now knew that the designated meeting-place of the vessels, in case of separation, was not far away.
THE SHIP MARY AND JOHN & MATINIICUS ISLANDS.
Proceeding in toward the coast, the ship, Mary & John, her entire ship's company alert with interest, came at length to the Matinicus islands easily recognizable from the narrative. A 2nd outline sketch of the mountains towards which the Mary and John was moving is here inserted in the Lambeth manuscript, showing the changed appearance of the mountains, as seen from this nearer point of approach. At these islands the vessel's course was made, "west and west by north" towartds three other islands, eight leagues from the islands before mentioned. Differences of
Near a part of Sable Island bank.
Footnotes.
1. Here, sounding, they had ground in 18 fathoms, and fished with such success that they caught about one hundred cod - "very great and large fish, bigger and larger fish than that which comes from the bank of Newfoundland. Here we might have laden our ship in lesst time than a month." Evidently they were on a portion of Sable Island bank.
2. The Relation also makes reference to the fish caught there; "We took great store of cod fishes, the biggest and largest that I ever saw or any man in our ship ever saw."
p.69
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE 1602-1658 BY HENRY S. BURRAGE.
THE SHIP MARY AND JOHN
opinion have found expression as to the three islands to which reference is thus made. The record is brief, and it is difficult to obtain from it that accurage information which a fuller statement would have supplied. But the general direction seems unmistakable. Following down the coast from Matinicus Islands, the course of the ship, Mary and John must have been in the direction of the St. George's Islands.1 A careful examination of the narrative in light of such facts as are now obtainable, warrants this statement. It was ten o'clock at night when an approach to these islands was made. "We bore in with one of them", is the record, and the inference is that other islands were near. In fact, in the clear light of the morning that followed, the voyagers on the Mary and John found themselves "environed" with islands, and the narrative adds "near thirty", which is evidently an estimate. The anchorage, therefore, was not at Monhegan, as some have maintained. The "Relation" excludes any such view. No mariner, anchored at Monhegan, would refer to his vessel as "environed" with "neara thirty islands". On the other hand, if the ship, Mary and John, guided by directions derived from the narratives of the voyages of Waymouth and Pring, anchored in what is now known as St. George's harbor, the mention of evnironing islands "near thirty" - is in harmony with easily recognized facts as to distance and direction.2
It should be added, furthermore, that the Relation makes the anchorage of the Mary and John, not far from the island on which Waymouth erected a cross as a token of English possession. The statement is,
"We here found a cross set up, the which we suppose was set up by George Wayman"." Rosier's Narrative of
Footnote.
1. No other view can be brought into harmony with the plain statement of the narrative.
2. See Thayer's Sagadahoc Colony, pp. 50-52 note, where the facts are presented with great clearness and force.
3. Their finding the cross, which they supposed was erected by George Waymouth two years before, is very significant. Captain Gilbert unquestionably had with him a copy of Rosier's Relation, and probably a copy of Waymouth's "geographical map". Hence his readiness in discovering the cross and his (footnotes continued end of p. 70 below).
p.70
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
Waymouth's voyage affords no foundation whatever for the supposition that the Cross, which Waymouth erected on an island on the coast of Maine, was erected on Monhegan. His brief visit to that island was from his anchorage north of it on his first approach to the coast, and was for the purpose of obtaining wood and water. On the following day, from that anchorage, he brought the Archangel "along to the other islands more adjoining to the main, and in the road directly with the mountains." he had seen on approaching the coast. The St. George's islands, extending in a line nearly north northeast and south southwest for about five miles, answer fully to this direction, as has already been stated. Gilbert and his men were not long in finding the cross that Waymouth erected on one of these islands, confirming the other facts in their possession, that the designated place of rendezvous had been reached.
Gilbert's first anchorage, which was made somewhat hastily under the circumstances, was not found to be satisfactory, and a better one was secured on the following day. While the necessary examination was in progress, and the ship Mary and John was "standing off a little", a sail was descried at sea, but "standing in towards this island", namely the island near which the ship Mary and John had been anchored. Gilbert at once sailed out to meet the stranger, and it was soon discovered that the new arrival, as was hoped for, was Gilbert's consort - the ship, The Gift of God. Evidently differences as to the cause of the separation were at once forgotten; and in the joy of thier "happy meeting" the two vessels sailed into the appointed haven and "there anchored both together."
The language of the book The Relation, is plain and there is no warrant whatever for the view maintained by some writers before the discovery of the Lambeth Palace manuscript, that this anchorage was at Monhegan. The island near which both vessels anchored was
Footnotes.(continued) identification of it as the one set up by Weymouth. He had brought the Mary and John into Pentecoat harbor. Thayer (Sagadahoc Colony, p.55) is evidently correct in his inference that Waymouth's cross was erected on the north end of Allen's island.
p.71
THE POPHAM COLONY.
no other than the island in the vicinity of which the ship, Mary and John anchored on her arrival on the coast; and this, as has already been shown, was not the island of Monhegan, but the one of the St. George's islands and probably the one on which Waymouth set up a Cross. If Monhegan had been the place of rendezvous, Popham would have sought an anchorage there. On the contrary, he was heading for islands farther in toward the main when the ship Gift of God was sighted from the deck of the ship, Mary and John, and thence was led by her into the island harbor, which, evidently, on the part of both captains, was the predetermined location for anchorage on reaching the American coast.
Maine Indian named "Skidwarres".
or, Skicowaros.
One of the five Indians captured by Waymouth was included in the company on board the ship, Mary and John. In the Lambeth Palace manuscript he is mentioned as "Skidwarres". Rosier, in his "Relation", calls him "Skicowaros". Probably he was one of the Indians assigned by Waymouth to Sir John Popham, and doubtless very much was expected from him in matters connected with the settlement of the colony, especially in the relation of the colonists to the Indians.
Very naturally Skidwarres, on reaching these familiar scenes, was anxious to be set on shore at once, in order to join his people from whom he had so long been separated. Just as anxious, apparently, was Gilbert, to further the wishes of Skidwarrres, and so, with the first opportunity, to place himself in friendly relations with the natives of the country. Accordingly, at midnight, following the arrival of the ship, Gift of God, Gilbert and some of his men, in one of the ships' boats, rowed westward1 past "Many gallant islands", and landed Skidwarres, by his direction, in a little cove on the mainland, on the east side of the Pemaquid peninsula, and evidently at what is now known as New Harbor.
Then, still guided by Skidwarres, they marched across the peninsula, a distance of "near three miles" to the Indian encampment.
SKIDWARRES WAS A PEMAQUID INDIAN.
Footnote
1. With the two vessels at anchor in St. George's harbor, the direction is clearly indicated. Skidwarres was a Pemaquid Indian. From the very place where he was captured two years before, he was now returned by Captain Gilbert and his men.
p.72
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
NAHANADA, CHIEF OF THE INDIANS.
The chief of the Indians was none other than Nahanada1, also one of Waymouth's captives, who had been returned by Hanham and Pring the year before; but though the Indians very naturally were inclined at first to hold themselves somewhat aloof, the assuring words addressed to them by Skidwarres and Nahanada, caused them to lay aside their fears, and assurances of mutual friendship followed. Gilbert and his men remained at the Indian village two hours, and then, accompanied by Skidwarres, they returned to their ships in Pentecost harbor.
ST. GEORGE'S ISLAND, WHERE THE CROSS STANDETH.
GIVING GOD OUR THANKS FOR OUR SAFE ARRIVAL.
The next day was Sunday. Concerning its religious observances by the colonists, the Relation contains this record: "Sunday, being the 9th of August, in the morning the most part of our whole company of both our ships landed on this island, the which we call St. George's Island, where the cross standeth, and there we heard a sermon delivered unto us by our preacher, giving God thanks for our safe arrival into the country and so returned aboard again."
THE PLACE OF THE 1ST RECORDED CHRISTIAN WORSHIP IN NEW ENGLAND.
The place of this first recorded observance of Christian worship in New England is here clearly indicated. It was on the island near which Waymouth anchored the ship, Archangel after leaving his anchorage north of Monhegan, and on which Waymouth's cross stood.
No appeal can be made to the fact that this island is called in the narrative, "St. George's Island" - the name given by Waymouth to Monhegan. Its mention here - the writer being familiar with Rosier's "Relation" - is evidence only to the well-known fact that thus early, the name St. George has been transferred from Monhegan to the island on which Waymouth's cross was erected and later was made to include the whole group of islands since known as the St. George's Islands.
The character of the service is also clearly indicated in the Relation. Though the words "sermon" and "preacher" are very suggestive of religious conditions in England at that time, and
Footnote
1. He was designated by Rosier Tahanedo, and was called by him, "a chief or Commander." Gorges mentions him under the name Dehamda, while in the Lambeth Palace manuscript, he is known as Dehanada.
p.73
THE POPHAM COLONY.
Popham, Chief Justice of England.
may have been due to the writer's habit of expression, it is probable that the preacher, Reverend Richard Seymour,1 was a clergyman of the Church of England. With such promoters as those most interested in the colony - Popham, Chief Justice of England, and Sir Ferdinando Gorges, an ardent royalist and churchman, it is not unlikely that English dissent would furnish religious leadership in the undertaking. If there were differences of religious belief among the colonists, these were laid aside; and devout hearts found abundant occasion in the experiences of the voyage for glad expression of thanksgiving and praise. It was certainly a most fitting service in connection with an enterprise that meant so much both for the old world and the new.
PEMAQUID POINT, MAINE.
On the following day, August 10th, both captains, Popham in his shallop with thirty men and Gilbert in his ship's boat with 20 men - taking with them Skidwarres, the Indian, passed round Pemaquid Point, evidently to avoid the march across the peninsula, and visited the Indians at the place where Gilbert had met them two days before. As at the previous interview, the establishment of but
Footnotes.
1. Concerning Reverend Richard Seymour, there is no information known to the writer, aside from his connection with the Popham Colony. Bishop Burgess (Popham Memorial, Maine Historical Society, 101-4) suggested that he was connected with the Popham, Gorges, Gilbert and Ralegh families, but the suggestion remains a suggestion only. A Richard Seymour matriculated at Brasonose College, Oxford, England in 1588-9, but a biographical sketch of this Oxonian makes it clear that he did not become a clergyman, and so was not the Richard Seymour of the Popham Colony.
2. In the King's instructions for the government of the colonies, occurred these words - which Popham evidently had not failed to notice: "We do specially ordain, charge and require the said President and Councils, and the Ministers of the said several colonies respectively, within their several limits and precincts, that they, with all diligence, care and respect, do provide that the true word and service of God and Christian faith be preached, planted and used, not only within every of the said several colonies and plantations, but also as much as they may amongst savage people which do or shall adjoin them, or border upon them, according to the doctrine, rites and religion now professed and established within our realm of England." Brown, Genesis of the United States, I, 67, 68.
p.74
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
apparently the memory of the natives, who were captured by Waymouth with Skidwarres and Nahanada and had not been returned, lingered in the hearts of the members of the tribe, and there was an evident lack of cordial feeling. The visitors spent the night by themselves on the other side of the Pemaquid River.
Better relations were not secured on the following day, and the visitors, leaving Skidwarres, who now expressed a determination to remain with his people, returned to their ships.
That night the vessels remained at the place of rendezvous. But the summer was reapidly passing, and the planting of the colony was now a matter of pressing interest and importance. Accordingly, on the following morning, Wednesday, August 12, anchors were weighed and both vessels, moving out from their island harbor into the open sea, were headed westward down the coast. Pring's explorations of the preceding year had called attention to the river Sagadahoc as a larger and more important river than that which Waymouth discovered in 1605, and therefore one upon which a more suitable location for the settlement of a colony could be found. It is a clear inference from the Relation that before the ship, the Gift of God and the ship, the Mary and John left England it had been decided that the colonists should proceed to the Sagadahoc, and to establish themselves there. In accordance with this decision, Popham and Gilbert now sailed westward, instead of moving in toward the mainland and the river of Waymouth's exploration.
THE ANCIENT SAGADAHOC.
In reaching the sea, the Kennebec River, the ancient Sagadahoc does not present an opening that is discoverable from vessels passing along the coast. Popham and Gilbert had been made acquainted with this fact, and careful directions for gaining an entrance to the river had been placed in their hands. Accordingly, when night drew on, in order not to pass too far to the westward and so "overshoot" the mouth of the river, both vessels struck their sails and thus remained from midnight until morning. With the break of day, they were about half a league south of the
p.75
THE POPHAM COLONY.
THE ISLAND OF SUTQUIN.
Sagadahock River.
"island of Sutquin".1 The writer of the "Relation" adds here, two rude but good drawings of Sequin as seen from different points; and in referring to the island he mentions the fact that the island is situated "right before the mouth of the river of Sagadahock".
Popham and Gilbert, therefore, had an excellent guide to the mouth of that river. But Gilbert, in the ship, Mary & John, not convinced that the island was "Sutquin", continued to stand to the westward in search of it. On the other hand, Popham, in the ship, Gift of God, sending his shallop landward from the island which he held to be the "Sutquin" of his directions, found the mouth of the Sagadahoc, and at the close of the day, brought his vessel safely into the river and anchored.
That night a heavy storm from the south broke upon the ship, the Mary and John, and with difficulty the vessel was rescued from many perils upon a lee shore; but at length, a refuge was found under the shelter of two islands.2 Here Gilbert remained until Saturday, August 15th, when the storm, having spent itself, he headed his vessel again for "Sutquin". On his return, however, by reason of an offshore wind, he was unable to bring the vessel into the river.
On the following day, Popham in his shallop came to the assistance of his consort, and before noon, the ship, Mary & John, found anchorage in the Sagadahoc, alongside the ship, the Gift of God.
The location of the colony was not the matter of first importance with the colonists, and on the following day, August 17, Popham, in his shallop, with thirty others and Gilbert in his ship's boat and eighteen others - fifty in all - proceeded up the river in
REV. M. C. O'BRIEN OF BANGOR, MAINE & ABNAKI LANGUAGE.
Footnotes.
1. This is the first mention of the island in the early narratives. Captain John Smith (1616) calls it Satguin. According to the late Reverend M. C. O'Brien of Bangor, Maine, a recognized authority in the Abnaki language, this Indian name of the island means "he vomits". Evidently, the Indians had long been familiar with the general conditions of the waters between Sequin and the mainland (of Maine).
2. The vessel, it seems, was not in the vicinity of Cape Small Point. Thayer (The Sagadahoc Colony, 62, note) says: "The outermost point, or true cape must be regarded as one of the islands, though it is now joined to the mainland by a low neck of sand. It is 400 or 600 yards in extent.
SEAL ISLAND.
Seal Island, 350 yards in length, lies northeast, nearer theland."
p.76
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
MERRYMEETING BAY.
THE KENNEBEC.
MOUTH OF THE RIVER OF SAGADAHOCK.
search of the most suitable place for the plantation. "We find this river", says the "Relation," "to be very pleasant with many goodly islands in it and to be both large and deep water having many branches in it; that which we took bendeth itself towards the northeast." From these words it may be inferred that, after reaching Merrymeeting Bay, the explorers passed into the Kennebec; but concerning the distance made in that part of the river, there is no statement, or any words even from which an inference can be drawn. It is evident, however, that in their search, the explorers found no place for a plantation preferable to that which was observable from the vessels in the river. Accordingly, after their return they "all went to the shore and there made choice of a place for our plantation, which is at the very mouth, or entry of the river of Sagadahock on the west side of the river, being almost an island of a good bigness."
THE SABINO PENINSULA.
ATKINS BAY.
The record affords no opportunity for doubt with reference to the place selected. It was at the mouth of the Sagadahoc, and on the west side of the river. The added statement, that the land selected for the plantation formed "almost an island of a good bigness", describes in general terms the Sabino peninsula, "a huge misshapen triangle" between Atkins Bay and the sea. Examination of this tract of land establishes its fitness for plantation purposes.1.
Just as clearly as the "Relation" establishes the general location of the Popham Colony on the west side of the river, so another discovery, since that of the Lambeth Palace manuscript, enables us to fix the precise location of the fortified settlement, which Popham and his associates made at the mouth of the Sagadahoc.2.
Footnotes.
1. For very full particulars concerning the location, and especially for mention of erroneous opinions held by early writers, see Thayer, Sagadahoc Colony, pp. 167-187.
2. Among the treasures secured for Brown's "Genesis of the United States, by Dr. Curry in the library at Simancas, Spain, was a copy of "The draught of St. George's Fort, erected by Captain George Popham, Esquire, on the entry of the famous river of Sagadahock in Virginia, taken out by John Hunt the VIII, of October in the year of our Lord 1607". When this plan was published in the "Genesis" (Houghton, Mifflin Company, Boston, 1890, I, 190) it was discovered that the generally accepted view as to the location of Popham's (see footnotes, p. 77)
p.77
THE POPHAM COLONY.
The choice of this precise location of the settlement was made on August 19th. "All went to the shore" for this purpose, and after the selection there was a religious service. To the colonists this meant much more than that held a few days before on one of the islands of St. George's harbor. Then, the service was one of thanksgiving for their safe arrival in the new world. Now, they were about to lay the foundation of civil government; and as their own hopes, and the hopes of those most deeply interested in the welfare of the colony, extended into an unknown future, their preacher, in the presence of all the colonists, implored the blessing of God on the great undertaking upon which they now formally entered.
"After the sermon", adds the "Relation," "our patent was read with the orders and laws therein precribed". The patent – if patent there was - must have been a copy of that granted to King James I, on April 10, 1606, providing for two colonies in America - designated as the first and second - the former known as the southern colony and the latter as the northern colony.1
The document is a lengthy one and its reading could have added little interest to the occasion, as its provisions were already known. In fact, an examination of the plan, and of the topographical features of the peninsula of Sabino, soon made it evident that the newly discovered plan could only be made to fit the plot of ground situated a few hundred yards west of the present Fort Popham. When laid down upon this plot the plan fitted the location as a glove fits a hand. At the Popham celebration held August 29, 1862, the Maine Historical Society provided a granite memorial of the Popham settlement for insertion in the wall of Fort Popham. As the construction of the fort was abandoned even before the close of the Civil War - so rapid was the advance in the requirement for offensive and defensive warfare in coast fortification - the proposed memorial block remained uncalled for in the grounds of the fort until the approach of the tercentenary of the Popham Colony in 1907, when the Society obtained permission from the War Department in Washington, to transfer the memorial to the rocky ledge, included is Popham's fort as indicated on the Simaucas plan.
The transfer was made and with a slight addition to the inscription, the location of Popham's fortified settlement was appropriately and accurately indicated.
Footnote.1. Brown, Genesis of the United State, I. 52-63.
NAMES OF POPHAM COLONY SETTLERS.
Gentlemen of Quality
Captain George Popham, President
Captain Raleigh Gilbert, Admiral
Captain Edward Harlow, Master/ordnance
Captain Robert Davis, Sargent-Major and Capt. of the ship, Mary & John
Captain Ellis Best, Marshal.
Captain James Davies, Capt. of the Fort.
Captain John Elliott, Capt. of ship, Gift of God.
Mr. Robert Seaman, Secretary.
Mr. Gome Carew, Chief Searcher of mines.
OTHER GENTLEMEN
John Havercome, Master of ship, Gift of God.
Richard Seymour, Chaplain.
Edward Popham, nephew of George Popham.
Master Turner, Physician
John Hunt, Draftsman
Christopher Fortescue, Ship Master.
Other Persons.
Master Patterson, (killed by the Indians?)
Master Digby, Shipwright.
Approximately one hundred colonists included:
Soldiers, as at Jamestown, soldiers probably formed the largest group.Craftsmen - texts and the Hunt map lists shipwrights, carpenters, a smith and a cooper. Farmers - The garden place on the Hunt map suggests at least some of with farming abilities. Traders - Probably not a separate occupational category but an activity shared by many.
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THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
patent the source of the "Orders and Laws" now read to the colonists, the writer doubtless had reference to the instructions of the King promulgated November 20, 1606.1 for the government of the colonies. These were prepared "for the good Order and Government of the two several Colonies and Plantations to be made by our loving subjects in the Country commonly called Virginia and America. A copy of these insructions was furnished to the heads of both colonies, southern and northern. The copy received by the Popham colonists has not been preserved.
Happily, however, the copy carried to Virginia by the Jamestown colonists has come down to us in full, with its provisions for orderly government, appointment of officers, administration of justice, trial by jury, punishment of offenders, etc., the foundation principles of the civil government which the colonists were to organize.
First of all, these instructions established in England a "King's council for Virginia", having full power to give directions for governing the colonists "as near to the common laws of England and the equity thereof as may be". This King's council was authorized to appoint for each colony a council and the council was made the governing body of the colony. The president of the colony, serving one year, was appointed by the colonial council from its own membership. His successor, in case of death, or absence, received appointment from the Council, and for any just cause, the council could remove the president from office. In cases of criminal offense, the president and council pronounced judgement. Provision was made for reprieve by the president and council, and for pardon, by the King. The president and council also had the power to hear and determine all civil causes. They could also, form time to time "make and ordain such constitutions, ordinances and officers for the better order, government and peace of the people", these always, however, to be "in substance consonent under the laws of England, or the equity thereof." Then follows these words:
Footnote. 1. Ib., I, 64-75
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THE POPHAM COLONY
"Furthermore, our will and pleasure is, and we do hereby determine and ordain, that every person and persons being our subjects of every, the said colonies and plantations, shall from time to time will entreat those savages in those parts, and use all good means to draw the savages and heathen people of the said several places, and of the territories and countries adjoining to the true service and knowledge of God, and that all just, kind and charitable courses shall be holden with them as shall conform themselves to any good & sociable traffic and dealing with the subjects of us, our heirs and successors, which shall be planted there, whereby they may be the sooner drawn to the true knowledge of God and the obedience of us, our heirs and successors, under such severe pains and punishments as shall be inflicted by the same several presidents and councils of the said several colonies, or the most part of them within their several limits and precincts, on such as shall offend therein, or do the contrary."
IN OTHER WORDS.
In other words, both the colonists and the Indians (natives) of the country, in their mutual relations, were to be under a reign of law that would aim to secure the rights and happiness of all. In the King's instructions with reference to the government of the two colonies, Virginia and Maine, the rights of the colonists, so far as personal liberty is concerned, received no recognition.
The officers were to be elected by the King's council and not by popular vote. Strachey, indeed, says that after the reading of the laws under which the Popham colonists were now placed, George Popham, gentleman, was nominated President.
Sworn Assistants.1
Captain Ralegh Gilbert
James Davies
Richard Seymour, preacher.
Captain Richard Davies
Captain Harlow.
Captain John Smith, however, puts the case very differently, when, in referring to the Popham Colony in his "General History of New England,2 he says;
SIR JOHN POPHAM
NORUMBEGA.
"That honorable patron of virtue, Sir John Popham, Lord Chief Justice of England, in the year, 1606, procured means and men to possess it (i.e. that part of America formerly called Norumbega,
Footnotes.
1. The Sagadahoc Colony, 67, note.
2. Richmond, Virginia, 1819, II, 173-4
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CAPTAIN GOME CAREW.
and sent Captain George Popham for President, Captain Rawleigh Gilbert for admiral; Edward Harlow, Master of Ordinance; Captain Robert Davis, sergeant major; Captain Ellis Best, as Marshall; Master Leaman, as secretary; Captain James Davis to be Captain of the fort - Master Gome Carew, as Chief Searcher."
The natural inference from these words is that the officers of the colony were appointed in England by Sir John Popham. But the name of the Chief Justice is not included in the list of members of the "King's Council of Virginia" which appears in the instructions for the government of the colonies. In that council, however, the Popham family was represented by Popham's son and and heir, Sir Francis Popham.
Captain Smith, making the above Record in 1624, probably was in error in implying that the officers of colony were appointed by Sir John Popham. The latter's enthusiastic exertions in financing the undertaking entitled him to honorable mention in any reference to the northern colony, but unquestionably there is no ground for the inference that the King's instructions were not strictly followed in the appointment of all the officers of the Popham Colony
SABINO HEAD.
On the following day, Thursday, August 20th, the whole company again landed and work at once was commenced on the Fort that was to inclose the colonist's settlement. It was a large earthwork, occupying the level plot of ground at the northern extremity of Sabino head.
President Popham "set the first spit of ground". The rest followed, and "labored hard in the trenches about it". As within the inclosure necessary buildings were to be erected later for the use of the colonists, there was need of busy endeavor in order to complete the work before the winter opened.
On the next day, the colonists continued their work - some in the trenches and others in the woods, preparing fagots for use in the construction of the fort. Thus early, also, under the direction of the head carpenter, those who were familiar with shipbuilding repaired to the woods and commenced to cut timber for the construction of a small vessel, which would be needed by the colonists
Pg. 81
THE POPHAM COLONY.
on the return of the ship, Mary and John and the ship, Gift of God, to England before the close of the year.
THE KENNEBEC
PEJEPSCOT - THE ANDROSCOGGIN.
SASANOA, INDIAN CHIEF, KENNEBEC INDIANS.
On Saturday, August 22, President Popham proceeded in his shallop up the river as far as Merrymeeting Bay. From that large body of water, in his former exploration, he had entered the Kennebec river, and noted its characteristics and opportunities for trade with the Indians. This time he turned westward from this point, and entered the ancient Pejepscot, now the Androscoggin. Probably he proceeded as far as the Falls at Brunswick. There, or at some other part of the river, he held a parley with a body of Indians, who informed him that they had been at war with Sasanoa, the chief of the Kennebec Indians, and had slain his son. He learned that Skidwarres and Nahanada were in this fight.
Having completed his exploration, Popham returned with his party to the mouth of the river on the following day. With the new week that opened, the colonists continued the work upon which they had entered with so much energy and enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Captain Gilbert had in contemplation exploration to the westward after the re-of President Popham.
SHIP COVE.
But unfavorable weather, however, delayed him until Friday, August 28, when, in his ship's boat with fifteen others, he sailed out of the river and proceeded westward along the coast. Mention of "many gallant islands", evidently the islands of Casco and Gilbert, and his companions had before them, as in the afternoon, with a favoring breeze, they sailed past these many wooded islands. That night, the wind having now shifted and being strong against them, they anchored under a sheltering headland called Semeamis. Because of meager details in the 'Relation', the exact location of this headland cannot now be determined with certainty. Thayer, who has carefully sought for a location in the light of these scanty materials, expresses the opinion that it is to be found on some part of Cape Elizabeth, not far from Portland Head light, in what is known as Ship Cover.1
Footnote. 1. The Sagadahoc Colony, 69, note.
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Richmond's Island.
The next morning, Captain Gilbert, against a strong head-wind, continued his course along the coast. There was hard rowing in a rough sea, and progress was slow. At length as the day drew to a close, escaping the baffling billows that had assailed them so many hours, they came to anchor under an island "two leagues from the place" where they anchored the night before. The indications are clear that this island was no other than Richmond's Island.
Here Gilbert remained until midnight, and then, the wind having subsided, he and his companions left the island "in hope to have gotten the place we desired". But soon after the wind again swept down upon them - a strong wind from the southwest - and they were compelled to return to the anchorage they had just left. Concerning the desired place which Gilbert hoped to reach, there is no information. Something, evidently, he had learned from Pring, or earlier explorers, led him onward and the head-winds that beset him, and drove him back, brought disappointment.
CASCO BAY AGAIN.
SAGADAHOC.
The next day was Sunday, and the southwest wind being favorable for their return to the Sagadahoc, the baffled voyagers directed their boat thitherward. Again they entered Casco Bay, and again, the writer of the "Relation" extolled its "goodly islands.....so thick and near together that you cannot well discern to number them, yet may go in betwixt them in a good ship, for you shall have never have less water than eight fathoms.
These islands are all overgrown with woods very thick as oaks, walnut, pine trees & many other things growing as sarsaparilla, hazlenuts and whorts in abundance". The return journey was successfully made, and the mouth of the Sagadahoc was reached at the close of the day. It was a very favorable run from Richmond's Island.
Attention was now given not only to work on the fort, but also to the erection of a storehouse within the inclosure. Any relation with their Indian neighbors was a matter of very great interest. On the first day of September, a canoe was discovered approaching the fort, but its occupants, when at the shore, acted warily, not allowing more than a single colonist to come near at a
p.83
THE POPHAM COLONY.
time. The writer of the "Relation" makes mention of two "great kettles of brass" that he saw in the canoe, an evidence apparently of earlier trading relations with European fishing and trading vessels on the coast.
Nahanada and Skidwarres.
PEMAQUID
A few days later, September 5th, nine Indian canoes entered the river from the eastward. They contained about forty men, women & children, and among them were Nahanada and Skidwarres. All were kindly welcomed and entertained. The larger part of the visitors, after a while, withdrew to the opposite side of the river and made their camp there. But Skidwarres and another Indian remained with the colonists until night. Then, as both wished to join their own people, Captain Gilbert and two other officers conveyed them across the river and stayed that night with the Indians who were to depart in the morning. When, at that time, the Indians set out on their return to Pemaquid, Gilbert obtained from them a promise that on a certain day, agreed upon by both parties, they would accompany him to the place on the Penobscot River where the "bashabe", or the principle Chief of the region resided.
This promise evidently gave great satisfaction to the colonists, and strengthened the hope that thus early strong, friendly relations would be opened with one of the most powerful of the neighboring Indian tribes. Accordingly, three days later, Tuesday, Sept. 8th, Gilbert, accompanied by twenty-two others, started eastward, taking with them various kinds of merchandise for traffic with the Indians. But again the wind was contrary and in waiting for more favorable weather conditions, they delayed so long that they were not able to reach Pemaquid at the appointed time.
When they finally came to the place, the Indians, whom they were to meet, and who were to conduct them to the "bashabe", had left. They found "no living creature." They all were gone from thence."
This is a noteworthy record in the book, "Relation", inasmuch as it furnishes information with reference to conditions existing at Pemaquid at that time. Indians were its only inhabitants, and they had now left. If Gilbert and his men, in their
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THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
search for the Indians, found at Pemaquid any traces of other inhabitants or of an earlier European civilization 1, they failed to record the fact. Early references to Pemaquid make mention only of Indian occupation.
But Gilbert and his companions, disappointed in not finding the Indians, and especially Nahanada and Skidwarres, did not abandon the expedition, but sailing round Pemaquid Point, Gilbert directed his boat to the eastward in the hope of reaching, by water, the seat of the "bashabe" upon the Penobscot river. Three days were spent in this endeavor, but the river did not open to them in that time and their food supply not warranting a farther search, the explorers were at length compelled to turn about and make their way back to their companions at the mouth of the Sagadahoc.
Meanwhile the storehouse within the fort had been so far completed that September 7, the removal of supplies from the ship, Mary and John began. But work on the fort was not discontinued.
Footnote.
1. The "Commissioners in Charge of the remains of the Ancient Fortification at Pemaquid" in their report, dated Dec. 13, 1901, say (p.3): "The remants of a well populated and well-built town, with paved streets, now quite below the surface of the present cultivated soil - the date of which establishment has not yet been discovered - show that this was also in very early times occupied with intention of permanence." The reason for this non-discovery is found in the fact that research is made where nothing is to be found, if by "very early times" is meant some period prior to the Popham Colony. In connection with their report, the commissioners print a "Memorial" submitted by the Honorable R. K. Sewall, who refers to "marked remains and relics of Spanish occupation".
Members of the Popham Colony visited Pemaquid on four different occasions, but make no mention of indications of earlier "Spanish occupation" or any other occupation than Indians, nor did the Indians call their attention to "marked remains"; neither did such careful explorers as Pring, de Monts, Champlain, Captain John Smith and others make any mention of such remains. In connection with the construction of Fort William Henry (1692) a very substantial structure", i.e., "paved streets", i.e., good roadway approaches to the fort, were doubtless made, or in 1729, when upon the ruins of Fort Henry (destroyed in 1696) Fort Frederic was built. This last strong fortification was demolished in the American Revolution, in order that it might not become a British stronghold. With the utter overthrow of these Pemaquid fortifications, and "paved streets" made in connection with them, naturally disappeared.
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THE POPHAM COLONY.
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
The season, however, was advancing so rapidly that it seemed desirable to make a more extended exploration of the river before it should be closed in by ice. Accordingly, September 23, Gilbert and nineteen others started "for the head of the river of Sagadahock". For two days and a part of a third day, the course of the Kennebec was followed as far as the falls at Augusta. With come difficulty these were successfuly passed, and Gilbert and his companiions ascended the river about a league farther. But night coming on they landed and went into camp. The evening had not far advanced when their rest was disturbed by a call in broken English from some Indians on the opposite side of the river. A response was made, but the strangers soon withdrew and the night passed without added interruptiion. The use of broken English by these savages indicated an earlier contact with Englishmen in American waters. Possibly this was in the preceding year when Hanham and Pring were on the coast. It is perhaps more probable that the "broken English" of these Indians was the result of trading relations with English fishermen, whose vessels had visited American waters from the opening of the century, or at least shortly after its opening.
On the following morning, Saturday, September 26, four Indians appeared and made themselves known as the Indians who had called to them from the opposite side of the river the evening beford.
INDIAN, SEBANOA, LORD OF THE RIVER OF SAGADAHOCK.
Evidently they had received information of the progress of Gilbert and his men up the river, and wished to learn the significance of presence of the visitors. One of the four announced himself as "Sebanoa, Lord of the river of Sagadahock."
This detailed history closes here, in the manuscript "RELATION"
With this announcement, the manuscript "Relation" followed in this narrative thus far, abruptly closes at the bottom of a page.
There can be little, if any doubt whatever, that originally there were added pages which in some way became detached, and so were finally lost in the vicissitudes through which the manuscript passed before it found a safe resting place in the library of Lambeth Palace, England. The story of the Popham Colony that is found in
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THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
William Strachey's Historie of Travaile into Virginia, follows so closely the book, "Relation" to this point as to leave little doubt from the character of the rest of the story, that Strachey had all the missing pages of the manuscript before him, while writing his own narrative.
As there is reason to believe that the manuscript - doubtless prepared for the information of the patrons of the enterprise – was continued only to October 6, 1607, the probable date of the sailing of the Mary and John for England, the loss is not a great one, and happily is in part, at least, supplied by Strachey's narrative, supplemented from other sources than those available now.
TREACHEROUS ACTS OF DUPLICITY BY INDIAN, SEBANOA.
GILBERT.
Strachey's narrative continues the story of Gilbert's interview with Sebanoa, recording acts of duplicity and treachery on the part of the Kennebec Indians as well as the acts of kindness and good will. Gilbert seems to have conducted himself with tact and discretion under circumstances that were full of peril to himself and to his party. It was his declared purpose in the exploration to go "to the head of the river", but the rapids he had now reached made progress difficult. His experiences with the Indians, also, had been by no means what he desired. At all events he now abandoned further advance up the river and, having erected a Cross at the highest point he had reached, he set out on his return to the settlement. On the way down the river, search was made for the "river of some note called the Sasanoa", by which plainly was meant the tidal river that connects the Kennebec opposite the town of Bath, with the waters of Sheepscot Bay. Concerning this inland passage into the Sagadahoc, information doubtless had been received from Indians they had met in interviews already mentioned; but though Gilbert and his party looked for it carefully, a fog at length settled down upon them and they were obliged to make their way homeward as best they could.
They reached the Fort on September 29th. September 30th and October 1st and 2nd, all were busy about the fort. On the ship, Mary and John, as well, now nearly ready to sail on her return voyage to England, there were doubtless many evidences of preparations for the voyage. September 3, Skidwarres, crossing the river in a
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THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE - THE POPHAM COLONY.
INDIANS, NAHANADA, BROTHER OF BASHABLE.
canoe, brought a message to President Popham, saying that Nahanada, also Bashabe's brother, and other Indians, were on the opposite side of the river, and would visit the colonists on the following day.
INDIANS NAHANADA, HIS WIFE, SKIDWARRES AND INDIAN CHIEF, AMENQUIN.
This they did, two canoes conveying the party, which included Nahanada and his wife, Skidwarres, the bashabe's brother, and an Indian Chief called Amenquin.
Popham entertained his guests with kindness and generosity during two days, the last day being Sunday, on which "with great reverence and silence" the Indians attended the religious services of the colonists both morning and evening. With the exception of Amenquin, all the Indians departed on Monday, October 6, and on this date, the daily journal in Strachey's narrative ends. This abrupt suspension of the daily record of the Popham colony gives probability to the influence that it was brought to a close because of the sailing of the British ship, Mary and John, about this date; the journal having been kept apparently for the purpose of affording the patrons of the colony, in England, eagerly awaited information at the earliest possible opportunity. As the plan of Fort St. George, already mentioned, bears the inscription "taken out on the 8th of October, 1607", it is possible that in these few words is recorded the exact date on which the ship, Mary and John sailed out of the river, homeward bound.1
The Mary and John arrived in the harbor at Plymouth, England, on the first day of December. No one with a deeper personal interest welcomed the tidings the Mary and John brought from the colonists, than Sir Ferdinando Gorges.
THE JOURNAL WAS, "GREAT NEWS".
The Journal was placed in his hand, and added information with reverence to the colony was communicated by the officers of the vessel. It was "great news", and the commander of the Fort at Plymouth late that very night - evidently having spent the preceding hours in personal interviews with the returning voyages - hastened to make known to Secretary Cecil at Hatfield House the information he had received.2
Footnotes.
1. Thayer, Sagadahoc Colony, 192-196, was a valuable paper on the "Movements of the ships".
2. Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his Province of Maine, III, 154-157.
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THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
A FERTILE COUNTRY WITH GALLANT RIVERS.
The colonists, he wrote, had successfully established themselves in a fertile country, with gallant rivers, stately harbors and a people (Indians) tractable, if only they were discreetly dealty with. To be sure, the ship, Mary and John, had brought no such cargo as would satisfy the expectation of those who had furnished the funds for financing the undertaking, and this fact, he said, might be used to the disadvantage of the enterprise, but it should be remembered, he added, that the colonists during the two monts following their arrival at the mouth of the Sagadahoc had been busily engaged in establishing themselves in a secure position there. But this was not the whole story, and Gorges was compelled to add that already among the colonists there were discordant elements, occasioned by the "defect and want of understanding of some of those employed, to perform what they were directed unto, from whence there did not only proceed confusion, but, through pride and arrogancy, faction and private resolution, concerning which, he would inform his Lordship more fully at another time.
But though Gorges evidently was considerably discouraged on account of the reported condition of things among the colonists, he had no difficulty in finding excellent reasons why his associates in the enterprise should not steadfastly resolve to follow it up with energy and hopefulness. Such reasons he found in "the boldness of the coast, the easiness of navigation, the fertility of the soil, and the several sorts of commodities that they are assured the country to yield, namely, fish in the season in great plenty, all along the coast mastidge for ships, goodly oak trees and cedars with infinite other sorts of trees, rosin, hemp, grapes very fair and excellently good, whereof they have already made wine, much like the claret that comes out of France; rich furs, if they can keep the Frenchmen from the trade; and as for metals, they can say nothing, but they are confident there is in the country, if they had the means to seek for it, neither could they go so high as the alum mines are which the savages do assured them there is great plenty of". The manufacture of alum from pyritic shale was at that time exciting public interest not only in England but upon the
Pg. 89
THE POPHAM COLONY.
MAINE'S PYRITIC SHALE - ALUM.
SAGADAHOC.
-1607-
continent; and the fact that thus early the colonists satisfied themselves of the existence of deposits of pyritic shale in the Sagadahoc country was one expecially welcome to Gorges.1
Popham.
In a second letter to Cecil, dated December 3, 1607,2 Gorges gives fuller expression to the reports he had received with reference to the general confusion already existing among the colonists. President Popham, he described as "an honest man, but old and of an unwieldly body, and timorously fearful to offend or contest with others that will or do oppose him; but otherwise a discreet, careful man".
Gilbert.
Concerning Gilbert, the second in command, Gorges says he is described by those who returned in the ship, Mary and John, as "desirous of supremacy and rule, a loose life, prompt to sensuality, little zeal in religion, humorous, headstrong and of small judgement and experience, other ways he is valiant enough".
REVEREND ROBERT SEYMOUR.
Of the other officials, the preacher, Reverend Robert Seymour, was especially commended "for his pains in his place and his honest endeavors.
CAPTAIN ROBERT DAVIES & DR. TURNER.
Honorable mention is also made of Captain Robert Davies and Mr. Turner, the Company's physician. But of the colonists in general, little was said. Evidently they were regarded by Gorges as unfit for employment in such an undertaking. "childish factions" had already developed among them.
Naturally, Gorges was disturbed on account of this condition of things in the new colony; and he expresses to Cecil the wish that the King, "unto whom by right the conquest of kingdoms doth appertain", would take the matter into his own hands, and so not allow the project to fail. Delicacy did not allow Gorges to withhold the suggestion that in case this were done he would be "most happy to receive such employment" from the King as his highness shall deem him fitted, and he had no doubt that, with
Footnotes.
1. "Large deposits of pyritic shale, or more popularly alum stone, exist near the Sagadahoc. It occurs at the mouth of Sprague's river, near Small Point, in Georgetown; and an extensive belt of it extends through the towns of Lisbon and Litchfield. On Jewell's Island, alum has been successfully manufactured from pyritic shales within a recent period." Baxter, Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his Province of Maine, III, 156, note.
2. Ib., III, 158-160.
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THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
"very little changes", he would be able "to bring to pass infinite things".
In all probability Cecil laid before the King this discouraging report. We have no reason to believe, however, that it gave the easy-going monarch any part of that deep anxiety that disquieted his devoted servant in command of the fort at Plymouth; and Gorge's suggestion concerning the man for the hour evidently received no consideration whatever. But there was occasion for anxiety, as Gorges well knew. If, as he desired, government assistance in supporting the colony could not be obtained, there was no lack of whole-heartedness in his continued endeavors to render all possible aid with reference to English colonization in the new world.
Information concerning affairs at the mouth of the Sagadahoc after the departure of the ship, Mary and John, is derived for the most part from Strachey's narrative; but such information is exceedingly meagre. The colonists, he says, finished the fort and fortified it with twelve pieces of ordnance. They also built fifty houses within the inclosure, besides a church and a storehouse.
In this mention of the number of houses erected by the colonists there is evidently an error. No such number was required for present occupancy. Moreover, the plan of the fort found in the library at Simancas, which apparently was drawn with reference to completeness of design, shows not a third of the number of buildings mentioned by Strachey. To have completed, before winter set in, even the number indicated on the plan, would have required a force of workmen far beyond that which was at Popham's command. The most that was attempted, doubtless, was to provide for the colonists as comfortable quarters as the means at their disposal admitted.
Added information with reference to the colonists is furnished in a letter1 written by Gorges on February 7, 1608, to Secretary Cecil, informing him of the arrival of the ship, Gift of God, in the harbor of Plymouth. Probably the date of the letter is the date of the arrival of
Footnote. 1. Ib., III, 161-164.
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THE POPHAM COLONY.
ship, The Gift, as Gorges was not likely to lose any time in converying to the government this latest intelligence from the mouth of the Sagadahoc. First of all, he refers to the severity of the cold at Sagadahoc, by which the colonists had been sorely pinched, although it was probably not later than the middle of December when the ship, Gift's return-voyage was commenced and the winter then was only in its early stages. The health of the colonists, however, was good.
But the troubles among them which had appeared even before the departure of the ship, Mary and John, were still operative, and Gorges was compelled to report "idle proceedings" and the existence of "divisions", "factions", each "disgracing the other, even to the savages".1The picture was a dark one and might have been made even darker. Certainly Gorges could have found in the report, little encouragement, either to himself or Cecil, with reference to the success of an undertaking to which he had given his best endeavors.
In fact, his only hopes in connection with English colonixation upon American soil seemed now to hang upon the King, "the chief spring from of our happiness...who at the last must reap the benefit of all our travail, as of right it belongs unto him"; and so he urges upon the secretary careful consideration of the whole matter, adding his own public and private reasons in seeking to extend the glory of England beyond the sea - namely "the certainty of the commodities that may be had from so fertile a soil as that is, when it shall be peopled, as well for building of shipping, having all things rising in the place werewith to do it." This, also, would be for "the increase of the King's navy, the breeding of mariners, the employment of his people, filling the world with expectation and satisfying his subjects
Footnote.
1. Thayer (The Sagadahoc Colony, 205-211) has a very carefully prepared paper on the "Character of the Colonists". The review he presents is unfavorable. After quoting various writers he says (212): "In the dim reflected light of these few expressions, we get a blurred but not wholly misleading view of the colonists, as at least in part, a low class of men, of light weight in character by former practices, or by reaction from former pressure of severe administration of law, inclined to be lawless and emulous of base and wicked deeds."
Pg.92
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
with hopes, who now are sick in despair and in time will grow desperate through necessity." Moreover, to abandon American colonization would afford an opportunity for others to seize the prize, which England might have. "At this instant", adds Gorges, "the French are in hand with the natives to practice upon us, promising them, if they will put us out of the country, and not trade with none of ours, they will come unto them", etc. "The truth is", he adds, "this place is so stored with excellent harbors and so bold a coast, as it is able to invite any actively minded endeavor the possessing thereof, if it were only to keep it out of the hands of others". These words of Gorges indicate a strong and even statesmanlike group upon problems that had much to do with the future of the Island kingdom; and they admirably illustrate the prevalent thought and purpose of those best informed in England, not only then but in the generations that followed, until the inspiring dream of England's hold upon American soil had finally been realized.
Of course, in the present state of affairs at the mouth of the Sagadahoc, if anything was to be done by the government, it must be done quickly; and Gorges suggests to Cecil that the King furnish for the undertaking "one of his middle sort of ships, with a small pinnace, and withal to give his letters, and commission, to countenance and authorize the worthy enterpriser". This would put new life into the colony, and Gorges, ready to serve his sovereign and the country, declared his willingness to take command for the discovery of the whole American coast "from the first to the second colony".
FORTY-FIVE REMAINED AFTER GIFT OF GOD SAILED FOR ENGLAND.
In this letter to Cecil, Gorges makes no mention of the fact that a part of the colonists returned to England on the ship, the Gift of God. Purchas, however, in his Pilgrimes, published in 1614, says in his reference to the Popham colony that "forty-five remained there, after the departure of the ship Gift of God, and refers to a letter written by President Popham as his authority for the statement. Captain John Smith, in his General History of New England, published then years later (1624) says, "they were glad to send all but forty-five of
A photocopy of the letter to King James by Pesident Popham, December 13, 1607.
Pg.93
THE POPHAM COLONY.
their company back again". As none of the colonists returned in the ship, Mary and John, so far as is known, the reference must be to the colonists who returned in the ship, the Gift of God. Such a lessening of the number of the colonists before even a single winter had passed was the most discouraging fact which the arrival of the gift revealed to Gorges, and he had heart to make it known to Cecil in this first report of the arrival of the second vessel.1.
One added report from the colony is found in a letter to King James written by President Popham, December 13, 1607.2 Gorges makes no reference to it and of its existence there was no knowledge until it was discovered a little more than half a century ago by George Bancroft, the historian, while making some researches in the Records Office in London. The letter was written in Latin that cannot be called classic, and abounds in those flattering, adulatory words and phrases that were so pleasing to the heart of the King. Popham makes no mention of discouraging circumstances. He had no reference even to the winter cold that had chilled so thoroughly the interest of so many of the colonists. It is his "well-considered" opinion "that in these regions the glory of God may easily be evidenced", the empire enlarged, and its welfare speedily augmented. His report concerning the products of the country, however, is not so well considered; for he informs the King that "there are in these parts shagbarks, nutmegs and cinna, besides pine wood and brazilian cochineal and ambergris, with many other products, and these in the greatest abundance".
Allowance must be made for the exaggeration of enthusiasm, but evidently the president's nutmegs, cinnamon and Brazilian cochineal were the products of excited imaginations.
February 5, 1608, two days before Gorges wrote to Cecil concerning the arrival of the ship, the Gift of God, President Popham died. Gilbert and the remaining colonists doubtless gave him fitting
Footnotes.
1. There is a very full statement concerning the "Colonists Sent Back" in Thayer's Sagadahoc Colony, 197-199.
2. Thayer, The Sagadahoc Colony, pp. 116-119. The letter and a translation by Leonard Woods, D.D., President of Bowdoin College, were printed in 1857 in the Maine Historical Society's Collections, Series I, 5, 344-360.
Pg. 94
BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
burial within the enclosure of Fort St. George. Georges says, "he had long been an infirm man". High aims and purposes, however, still animated him. He was not one who whould turn back in any worthy enterprise. The opportunity for securing for his King and Country a stronghold upon the American continent, he clearly saw, and he embraced it with whatever of toil and hardship it might bring to him personally. We have no information concerning his last days. No other member of the Colony died from sickness that winter. In fact, the health of the colonists throughout that winter season was exceedingly good. In all probability on account of his extreme age, the leader of the enterprise was ill-prepared to endure the exposures to which an unusually severe winter subjected him and his followers.1 Whether, however, the end came suddenly, or after prolonged illness, Popham manfully fulfilled all the duties devolving upon him as the head of the colony, and worthily finished his course.
Gorges, writing many years afterward, paid beautiful tribute to Popham's steadfast loyalty to God and native land, in the words: "However heartened by hopes, willing he was to die in acting something that might be serviceable to God and honorable to his country."
Meanwhile Gorges, Sir Francis Popham and others, were busily employed in securing supplies and forwarding them to the colonists at the mouth of the Sagadahoc. Writing to Cecil March 20, 1608, Gorges said2 "As concerning our plantation, we have found the means to encourage ourselves anew, and have sent two ships from Topsham for the supplies of those that be there, with victuals and other necessaries, having set down the means how we shall be able, by May next, to send one more of two hundred tons".
Footnotes.
1. A bit of information concerning the hard experiences of the Popham colonists that winter is mentioned by Gorges in his "Briefe Narration", in the statement that during the winter the store house and most of their provisions were burned." Baxter, Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his Province of Maine, II, 15. In the "Relation", published in 1622 by the Council for New England, it is stated that "their lodgings" also were burnt.
2. Baxter, Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his Province of Maine, II, 16. 3. Ib., III, 165.
Pg. 95
THE POPHAM COLONY.
The two vessels thus despatched brought to the colonists the intelligence of the death of Sir John Popham in the preceding June. This was a loss as unexpected as it was severe. But the welcome arrival of these two ships with abundant supplies was ample testimony to the fact that the colonists still had in England ardent friends of the enterprise. In the reports that have come down to us concerning the arrival of these two vessels, there is no mention of any increase in the membership of the colony by recruits from England. Gorges refers to supplies only. Of course there was need of these; but it was not by any means the only need of the men, who, notwithstanding past discouragements, were loyally sustaining Sagadahoc interests; and it is impossible to think of any such gathering of supplies by Gorges and his associates that was not at the same time accompanied by the most earnest efforts to reinforce the little company of forty-five left with Popham and Gilbert on the departure fo the ship, Gift of God, in the middle of December. Such efforts, however, seem to have been unsuccessful.1
But the affairs of the colonists brightened with the arrival of the two vessels from England. The winter with its cold and its storms was behind them. Gilbert had succeeded George Popham as President of the colony. The Virginia had been launched and was ready for service. With the promise of a third vessel and added supplies soon to be on their way, the outlook for the future of the colony was certainly a more favorable one. Evidently neither on the part of the supporters in England, nor on the part of the leaders of the enterprise at Fort St. George, was the possible abandonment of the undertaking in any way under consideration.
Concerning the condition of affairs under the direction of Gilbert, we have no information whatever. All we know is that his
Footnote.
1 "No evidence whatever shows subsequent accessions to the depleted company....The several writers make references to a new supply furnished, necessaries to supply them, ships sent back with supplies....but there is joined no word respecting men also, whether laborers, mechanics, planters or persons for special duty." Thayer, Sagadahoc Colony, p.198.
p.96
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE. 1602-1658.
Death of Sir John Gilbert, July 5, 1608.
presidency was brought to an unexpected end by the tidings brought to the Sagadahoc by the third vessel despatched thither. When Gorges, March 20, wrote to Secretary Cecil concerning this third vessel, he thought it might be ready to sail in May, but for some reason unknown, there was a delay in the preparation for the voyage, and in all probability the vessel did not leave England until July. This is a well-founded inference from the fact that Sir John Gilbert, the elder brother of President Ralegh Gilbert, died July 5, 1608.1 The third vessel, bringing this intelligence to President Gilbert, could not have left England before that date.
THE COMPLETE ABANDONMENT OF ST. GEORGE.
Probably there was not much added delay in despatching the vessel, and if this was the fact the arrival of the vessel must be placed about the first of September, or a little later. President Gilbert was his brother's heir, and on account of the large personal interests involved in this fact, it became necessaary for him to make preparations for an early return to England. The situation was a peculiar one. Among the little company remaining there was no one who possessed the requisite qualifications for the successful administration of the affairs of the colony. To continue the enterprise, therefore, seemed out of the question. Accordingly, the complete abandonment of St. George and all for which it stood, followed, and preparations at once were made for dismantling the fort and removing the ordnance and stores to the vessels anchored near by. How much time was required in accomplish this transfer is not known. In all probability the embarkation of the colonists occurred as early as the close of September.
In the records that have come down to us concerning the return of the colonists, there is not a hint that the departure brought any sorrow or even disappointment to those who constituted the great body of Gilbert's Company. Their interest in the undertaking was of the slightest kind. In all probability, the experiences of a single winter at the mouth of the Sagadahoc made welcome to them the opportunity to return thus early to more desirable conditions of life in their native England. Far otherwise was it with
Footnote.
1. The Sagadahoc Colony, 195.
Pg. 97
THE POPHAM COLONY.
THREE VESSELS ARRIVE HOME AT PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND.
Gorges and other steadfast friends of English colonization in America, when about the close of November, or early in December, the three vessels arrived at Plymouth Harbor, and announced the abandonment of the colony.
This was chilling information, and years afterward, Gorges, in referring to its effect upon himself and other patrons of the undertaking, could only say, "all our former hopes were frozen to death."2
The collapse of the colony was complete. Strachey says: "all embarked, and set sail for England."3
Why was not the Popham Colony assigned to a more southerly location on the American coast, one in which the colonists would have avoided that severity of the winter season to which they were unaccustomed in their homes in England? Certainly it was not from any lack of knowledge concerning the unfavorable conditions in which they found themselves after the location of the colony.
Nor was it because of insufficient information with reference to the characterr of the country farther down the coast. There had been careful exploration of the territory to the southward as far nearly as Narragansett Bay (Rhode Island) Pring, whose explorations largely determined the location of the Popham colony, was familiar with the coast as far as Massachusetts bay. What advantage, then,
Footnotes.
1. The pinnace was one of the vessels of the fleet that sailed from England to the southern colony in 1609.
2. Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his ship, Province of Maine, II, 17.
3. The Sagadahoc Colony, 85, 86. Baxter's Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his Province of Maine, II, 17. In "A Description of New England, obtained in England by Mr. Henry F. Waters, and published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, January, 1885, we get a glimpse of the remains of Fort St. George at a little later period. The description is supposed to have been written about 1660 by Samuel Maverick, who came to this country in 1624, which is thought to be the approximate date of the visit. He says: "Three leagues distant from Damerell's Cove is Sagadahock at the mouth of the Kennebeck river, on which place the Lord Popham's people settled about fifty years since, but soon after deserted it and returned to England; I found roots and garden herbs and some old walls there, when I first went over, which showed it to be the place where they had been."
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THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
had the location at the mouth of the Sagadahoc over places in a more congenial climate?
Evidently one of the determining factors in its selection was the great value of the fisheries in the immediate vicinity of Fort St. George. The early explorers on the coast, in their printed reports, and much more by word of mouth, had called attention to the rich returns that these fisheries promised. English fishermen also were already acquainted to some extent with the fishing privileges in these waters. Those who were especially interested in the establishment of the colony were merchants of Plymouth and Bristol, long connected with fishing interests and attracted hither by the reports of the greater abundance of fish on the American coast. Certainly, these fishing grounds had a value that could not be overestimated. France was endeavoring to seize and hold these grounds, but England claimed them and their possession was deemed worthy of a supreme effort on the part of the English nation.
Another determining factor in the location of the Popham colony is to be found in the opportunity that the river Sagadahoc offered for profitable trade with the Indians, especially in valuable furs. There was no such opportunity farther down the coast.
From a commercial point of view, therefore, the location of the Popham Colony seems to have been amply justified.
Why then, did the colony fail? Primarily, the death of the Pophams, Sir John in England and Captain George, the president of the colony, at Fort St. George, was a heavy stroke, inasmuch as among the other colonists, no one could be found, who was capable of taking Gilbert's place. This statement however, reveals only partially the difficulties of the situation. Not only were the Popham colonists generally lacking in those sturdy qualities that such an enterprise demands, but if we may accept the testimony that is furnished by contemporary writers, the company comprised the vagrant and dissolute to such an extent that Gorges is
Pg. 99
THE POPHAM COLONY.
believed to have stated the fact midly when he wrote, that they were "not such as they ought". Indeed, as later he reflected upon the disastrous ending of the undertaking, he felt, and had reason for feeling, that if he and others interested in American colonization would achieve success in connection with their desires and endeavors, "there must go other manner of spirits" than were found so largely in the Sagadahoc colony.1
Footnote.
1. The tercentenary of the landing of the Popham colony was celebrated by the Maine Historical Society, August 29, 1907. It was one of the fairest and brightest of summer days. The site of Fort St. George was first visited. The literary exercises that followed were held in the Popham Beach village meetinghouse. Addresses were delivered by Honorable James P. Baxter, President of the Society, and Professor Henry L. Chapman of Bowdoin College. A poem, The Virginia of Sagadahoc, by Mr. Harry L. Koopman, Librarian of Brown University, was read by Reverend Dr. John Carroll Perkins of Portland, Maine. On the rocky eminence overlooking the site of Fort St. George, and a part of the fort enclosure, a memorial had been placed with this inscription:
THE FIRST ENGLISH COLONY
ON THE SHORES OF NEW ENGLAND
WAS FOUNDED HERE
AUGUST 29, N.S. 1607
UNDER GEORGE POPHAM
The Memorial was unveiled by Mrs. William Addison Houghton, President of the Maine Society of Colonial Dames, and Mr. Fritz H. Jordan, Governor of the Maine Society of Colonial Wars; and addresses were made by the Reverend Henry S. Burrage, D.D., and Mr. Fritz H. Jordan. Following the unveiling, the U. S. Revenue Cutter, at her anchorage north of the site of Fort St. George, fired a governor's salute in honor of George Popham, the first governor of the Popham Colony - who died at Fort St. George and was buried within the enclosure. |
