The Lost Colony of Roanoke

by Fullam, Brandon

  As soon as Newport arrived at Jamestown, Smith met with Chief Powhatan to arrange for the presentation of Newport’s gifts and the accompanying ceremony which was tantamount to a coronation. Smith was highly critical of the entire arrangement, and—in a sign that he, at least, had not forgotten about the Lost Colonists—wondered “How, or why, Captaine Newport obtained such a private commission as not to returne without a lumpe of gold, a certainty of the south sea or one of the lost company of Sir Walter Rawley I know not.”6 Smith was particularly annoyed with the never-ending talk about gold, especially coming from those who “would rather starve and rot with idlenes, then be perswaded to do anything for their owne reliefe without constraint.” At one point he remarked, “The worst mischiefe was our gilded refiners, with their golden promises, made all men their slaves with hope of recompense. There was no talke, no hope, no worke, but dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold….”7 The promise of gold was never realized, and, regarding the passage to the South Sea, Smith would later record Chief Powhatan as saying, “But for any salt water beyond the mountaines, the relations you have had from my people are false. Powhatans answer.”8

  In August Smith’s letter was submitted for publication in London and titled A True Relation, the first account of the new Virginia colony. Martin’s intriguing map, however, fell into the hands of the Spanish ambassador to England, Don Pedro de Zúñiga, who maintained an extensive spy network in England and apparently had a “confidential person” in the Virginia Council. Zúñiga had been warning King Philip III since January 1607, about the English plans to establish a colony in Virginia. Once the colony was settled in May, he persistently tried to encourage King Philip to “up-root” it. In one letter he urged the king to “command that such a bad project should be up-rooted now while it can be done so easily.” Again in December Zúñiga wrote, “Will your majesty give orders that measures be taken in time; because now it will be very easy, and quite difficult afterwards, when they have taken root, and if they are punished in the beginning, the result will be that no more will go there.”9

  The so-called Zúñiga Map was sent to King Philip, and it eventually made its way into the royal archives located in Simancas in the province of Valladolid, Spain. It remained there unnoticed until historian Alexander Brown (1843–1906) discovered it while in Spain researching for his book, Genesis of the United States, which was published in 1890. The most detailed and accurate feature of the Zúñiga Map is naturally the area surrounding Jamestown, including the James River, since this territory was the first to be explored by the English settlers. The map becomes increasingly unintelligible as the distance from Jamestown increases.

  All three of the Lost Colony notations are located on the most problematic part of the map, the area south of Jamestown, where the geography is vague and inaccurate. There is not even consensus among scholars, in fact, as to the identities of the rivers depicted there. The author’s close rendition of the southern quadrant of the Zúñiga Map, re-oriented on a north-south axis, is shown below. Included are the names of the more important locations (with their original spellings) as they appeared on the map, although as stated the overall geography depicted south of Jamestown is confusing and unreliable. The three names with the asterisks are directly associated with the Lost Colonists, and those three—indicated by the letters A, B, and C—were accompanied by handwritten notations on the original map which related to the colonists. The word “Warraskoyack” did not appear on the original Zúñiga Map, but has been added here for reference purposes because it is the name of the location associated with notation “C.” Those three notations are of particular importance, for they are the basis for the fascination with the Zúñiga Map on the following page, at least as it pertains to the Lost Colony.

  Author’s rendition of the portion of the Zúñiga Map containing the references to the Lost Colony. The * indicates direct association with the Lost Colonists; the A, B and C are explained in the text.

  The notation for “A,” which was written next to “Pakrakanick” on the original map, was “Here remayneth 4 men clothed that came from Roonock to Ocanahawan.”

  The notation for “B,” written next to “Pananiock” was, “Here the King of Paspahegh reported our men to be and wants to go.”

  The notation for “C,” written next to “Warraskoyack” was, “Here [the king of] Paspahegh and 2 of our own men landed to go to Pananiock.”

  The first observation to be made is that Smith’s influence on the production of the map was quite extensive. As mentioned, the original drawing illustrates his movements during his captivity in December and January. Moreover, most of the details in the map notations, in fact, were borrowed directly from passages in Smith’s A True Relation. This offers an advantage for research purposes, because the map was clearly intended to illustrate passages found in Smith’s text. Consequently, the confusing notations found on the Zúñiga Map can be compared with the information in A True Relation, upon which the map was based.

  Notation “A,” for example, is a summary of the two passages in Smith’s A True Relation, the first of which described the information he obtained during his captivity by Opechancanough in December of 1607: “What he [Opechancanough] knew of the Dominions he spared not to acquaint me with, as of certaine men cloathed at a place called Ocanahonan, cloathed like me.” Shortly thereafter in the text Smith related the information he received when Opechancanough delivered him to Chief Powhatan at Werawocomoco: “Many Kingdomes hee [Powhatan] described to me…. The people clothed at Ocanahowan, he alsoe confirmed.” However, the number of “men cloathed”—“four” on the Zúñiga Map—is not mentioned in A True Relation. Pakrakanick, too, while noted on the Zúñiga Map, is not mentioned in A True Relation.

  Notation “B” is a summary of the arrangement Smith and probably Captain Newport had made with the Paspahegh chief in January of 1608. As cited earlier in A True Relation, “We had agreed with the king of Paspahegh to conduct two of our men to a place called Panawicke, beyond Roanoke, where he reported many men to be apparelled.” There is a slight discrepancy, however, between this passage in A True Relation and the notation on the Zúñiga Map. The former names the place where the “apparelled” men were as “Panawicke,” but the latter refers to it as “Pananiock.” Panawicke/Pananiock, an important reference, will be addressed separately in a later chapter.

  Notation “C” simply identifies the starting point, Warraskoyack, for the planned expedition to Pananiock (or Panawicke). This trip, however, never took place, as is explained in A True Relation: “Wee landed him [the Paspahegh chief] at Warraskoyack, where playing the villaine, and deluding us for rewards, [he] returned within three or foure dayes after without going further.”10

  These 1608 references on the Zúñiga Map and in Smith’s True Relation were the first tantalizing allusions seeming to suggest that some of John White’s Lost Colonists were still alive at locations which have continued to defy accurate identification.

  14

  The “Men Cloathed” at Ocanahonan and Pakrakanick

  1607–1608

  The Second Institutionalized Assumption

  There are three locations on the Zúñiga Map with possible connections to the Lost Colonists: Ocanahowan/Ocanahonan; Pakrakanick; and Pananiock/Panawicke. Regarding the first two, Ocanahonan and Pakrakanick, the following would summarize what was understood about those locations and the existence of Lost Colonists in June 1608, when Smith’s letter and the map were sent to England: The “men cloathed,” presumably John White’s 1587 colonists, had traveled from Roanoke to a place called Ocanahonan, and then continued on to Pakrakanick some distance farther south.

  It will be useful to keep in mind that the source of all the information on the Zúñiga Map and in Smith’s A True Relation supposedly relating to the Lost Colony was the Powhatan Indians. It is certainly possible that the Powhatans had heard about clothed men who were rumored to be at distant places called Ocanahonan and Pakrakanick, well beyond
Powhatan territory. It is far less likely that they would have been able to identify them as English or as having dwelt originally at Roanoke, and it is virtually impossible to believe that they could have known them to be members of 1587 colony specifically. It is far more reasonable to infer that the latter conclusions—the clothed men were English, they originally came from Roanoke, and they were members of the 1587 colony—were simply assumptions made by Smith, who, as one of the Jamestown leaders, had been instructed to search out information about the missing colonists. Those conclusions will prove to be completely mistaken, and together they represent the second institutionalized assumption cited in the Preface.

  It is obvious that the geography of the Zúñiga Map is woefully inaccurate and confusing, particularly south of Jamestown, and that has led to a variety of opinions about their possible locations. Looking at the illustration of the Zúñiga Map, it would appear that the first major waterway to the immediate south of the James River could be a poorly drawn continuum made up of Albemarle Sound, the Chowan, and the Roanoke Rivers, particularly since “Chawwano” is indicated as one of its branches. However, this is contradicted by another large river farther south labeled “Morattic” [Moratoc], which was what the Roanoke River was called at that time.

  It is evident that whoever drew the Zúñiga Map—and Smith too since he clearly had a hand in its production—knew little of the geography to the south. They also evidently did not have available to them a copy of the 1590 White/de Bry Map, which offered a distorted view of the Chesapeake Bay and its adjoining areas, but had fairly reliably portrayed what the Zúñiga Map did not, i.e., the tributary rivers of Albemarle and Pamlico sounds. It appears that most of what they did know was related to them by the Powhatan Indians, who themselves had only a limited knowledge of significant events and places beyond their own territorial boundaries.

  Historians have claimed an assortment of locations for Ocanahonan and Pakrakanick. Alexander Brown, the discoverer of the Zúñiga Map, concluded that Ocanahonan was on the upper Pamlico or Tar River and that Pakrakanick was “probably on the Neuse River, near Sampson County.”1 Stephen Weeks claimed that Pakrakanick was “on the upper waters of the Neuse” and that Ocanahonan was on the south side of the Roanoke River.2 Samuel A’Court Ashe placed Pakrakanick “on the Tar or upper Pamlico River” and Ocanahonan on the upper Chowan or Nottoway.3 Philip Barbour placed Ocanahonan “near the modern Virginia–North Carolina boundary, west of the Chowan River.”4 All of these locations, as varied as they may be, share one common thread. They all place Ocanahonan and Pakrakanick somewhere at or near the fall line separating the Carolina coastal plain and the Piedmont plateau.

  It is proposed here that Ocanahonan and Pakrakanick were located considerably farther west in present-day North Carolina than has previously been thought, and that this more westerly geographic location—a critical factor—will explain what the Powhatans were actually relating to Smith and Strachey, and at the same time will refute Strachey’s later claims about Lost Colony survivors. Ocanahonan, the evidence will show, was located far to the west of the fall line and well into the Carolina Piedmont. Pakrakanick was farther south from there.

  Evidence to support this conclusion can be found in several sources. In 1609 the Virginia Company provided information about the location of Ocanahonan and Pakrakanick in their instructions to Sir Thomas Gates, the newly appointed governor of Jamestown. Those instructions, though somewhat confusing, did clearly state that the first leg of the journey from Jamestown to Ocanahonan was to “goe by Indian guides from Jame’s forte to Winocke by water….”5 “Winocke” and its many spelling variations will help to identify the route to Ocanahonan. Some of the known variations of “Winocke” include Wyanoke, Wainock, Haynokes, Oenock, Anock, Aeno, Anone, Anoeg, Enoke, and Enoe.6

  The Winocke tribe, long extinct, dwelt in the Piedmont region of Virginia and North Carolina. The name first appears in the historical record as “Anone” in Smith’s A True Relation cited earlier: “After good deliberation, hee [Powhatan] began to describe mee the Countreys beyonde the Falles…. Beyond them he described people with short Coates, and Sleeves to the Elbowes, that passed that way in Shippes like ours…. The people cloathed at Ocanahonan he also confirmed, and the Southerly Countries also … he described a countrie called Anone, where they have abundance of Brasse, and houses walled as ours.”7

  Smith’s “Anone” is undoubtedly what Strachey would later call “Anoeg.” Strachey wrote that the Anoeg, “whose howses are built as ours,” dwelt to the southwest of Powhatan territory “ten daies distant from us….” Strachey also wrote about a servant of Powhatan with the interesting name of “Weinock”—itself a variation of “Winocke”—who often traveled to Anoeg, which “stands at the foote of the mountains,” and he “could repeat many words of their language.”8 By these accounts it seems clear that Anone/Anoeg was located well “beyonde the Falles” and “at the foote of the mountains,” which would be the Blue Ridge/Appalachian Mountains.

  Strachey also wrote, “at Peccarecamek and Ochanahoen the people have howses built with stone walles, and one story above another.” That line is actually part of a larger passage describing the country far west of the fall line in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Here is the entire passage:

  From the falls [of the James] our men have heretofore marched (as the river led them) about forty or fifty miles … all along from the north, by a sowth-west lyne … are those mountains; from them fall certaine brooks, which after come to be the five principall navigable rivers [James, York, Rappahannock, Potomoc, and the Patuxent Rivers] … These waters wash from the rocks such glistening tinctures…. Sure it is that some minerals have ben there found…. This high land is, in all likelyhoods, a pleasant tract, and the mowld fruictfill, especially what may lye so-ward; where, at Peccarecamek and Ochanahoen, by relation of Machumps, the people have howses built with stone walles, and one story above another….9

  In this passage Strachey was accurately describing the Piedmont region of Virginia, which stretches westward “from the falls” (of the James River in this case) across the rolling terrain to the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. “Our men” traveled west from the falls to the foothills of the mountains, far enough to conclude that “the five principall navigable rivers” are formed from “certaine brooks” in those mountains. Strachey wrote that Ocanahonan and Pakrakanick “lye so-ward” from “this high land,” that is, somewhere southward from the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. This area is far west of the fall line and well into the Carolina Piedmont.

  John Lederer’s expeditions in 1669 and 1670 will confirm the location of Smith’s and Strachey’s Anone/Anoeg, and can provide additional clues to the approximate whereabouts of Ocanahonan. Lederer made three expeditions to the Appalachian Mountains and became the first known European to see beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains. During the second expedition, illustrated by Lederer’s dotted line on the map below, he visited the Indian town of “Oenock,” a known variation of “Anone/Anoeg” and “Winocke,” the location indicated in the Virginia Council’s instructions sixty years earlier as the first leg of the journey from Jamestown to Ocanahonan. The Indian village of Oenock is indicated on the Lederer map below at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, just south of the Virginia-Carolina border (north again is to the right).10

  Lederer’s second expedition southwest through the Piedmont to the Blue Ridge Mountains; Oenock and Akenatzy are indicated.

  Lederer’s previous stop had been at Akenatzy [Occaneechi]—also highlighted on the map—an Indian village in southern Virginia on an island at the junction of the Dan and Roanoke Rivers. The Indian Trading Path is sometimes called the “Occaneechi Path” after this small but important tribe, and was a 500 mile corridor of trails extending from present-day Petersburg, Virginia, to Augusta, Georgia. The Occaneechi acted as middlemen in trading arrangements with the interior tribes.11 Weinock, the previously mentioned servant of Powhatan who made freque
nt trips to Anoeg, would likely have used part of the Occaneechi Path.

  Lederer left Akenatzy on June 14, “pursuing a South-southwest course,” but although Oenock was “not in a direct line above thirty odde miles distant from Akenatzy, yet the Ways were such, and obliged me to go far about, that I reached not Oenock until the sixteenth.”12 Since the Occaneechi village at the junction of the Dan and Roanoke Rivers was perhaps ten miles north of the Carolina border, “Winock/Oenock” can be reliably located about twenty miles (as the crow flies) into North Carolina to the southwest of Akenatzy.

  From there to Ocanahonan, though, the Council’s instructions read only “From thence [Winock] to Manqueock.”13 By “Manqueock” the Council may have been referring to “Mongoack,” the tribe Ralph Lane heard about in 1585–86 and described as “another kinde of Sauages, dwelling more to the Westward of the said Riuer [Moratoc/Roanoke].”14 John White placed the Mongoack south or southwest of the Moratoc River, which would put them somewhere south (left) of Oenock on the Lederer Map.