HISTORIC ROANOKE ISLAND.
Site ol the First English Set
tlement in America, and
Birthplace of Vir
ginia Dare.
A Choice Spot Where Sportsmen ana
Fishermen are Welcomed and
Where the Supply of Game
Never Fails.
Roanoke Island, N.C., May 1.? i
On landing at the little wharf of
this small island in Albemarle
Sound a stranger can hardly
realize that an island so remote
and insignificant can fill so great
a space in American history.
"From New Yawk, Sah?" one
of the contented natives asked
me before I bad plodded far
through the sand: " then of co'se
you know all about Virginia
Dare?"
But can t he average New Yorker
be expected to know all about
Virginia Dare, or anything at all
about Koanoke Island? Only;
ten hours from New York as the
island is, or twelve at most, it is
to the majority of ns an unknown
4and; aland poor in everything
but fisheries, wild ducks, and his
torical associations.
The New Yorker who comes
here generally has a gun upon
his shoulder and a dog at his
heels, and is what the natives call
a "gentleman sportsman," which
means, as far as I have seen, that
the ducks and ijuails are nowhere
as safe as within the range of his
gun; for the gentleman sports
man, who comes here in Winter
is usually a good fellow, but a
poor marksman.
Coupled with its romantic his
tory and the deep mystery that
lianas over Itoanoke Island, the
small cheap houses of its fisher
men and the very small town are
disappointments to the visitor,
for the past completely over-1
shadows the present. There are'
no industries here but hunting
mid fishing and "guiding" visit
ing sportsmen, and the keeping
of one hotel, which is not on a!
large enough scale to make the
island known to the world as a
"sportsman's paradise."
There is some warrant here for
smoking a cigar while exploring,
for it was Itoanoke Island that
first gave tobacco to the civilized
world. The brand originally in
use here was doubt less l>et ter than
the kind now sold in the little
shops of the town, or the early
English settlers must have been
easily pleased.
Quiet fie this spot is, it is almost
within rifleshot of the roughest
part of our coast, and ship
wrecked people have often been 1
thankful to reach it. Cape Hat-]
terns is only a few miles away, ]
and a mile or two across the little
Roanoke Sound are "the banks,"
meaning the low sand bunksthat
parallel the Northern Carolina
coast, and shortly below here
Sroject eastward to form the
readed cape.
The first settlers who came here,
and the earliest English settlers
in America, came from England
in their own ships and landed as
readily on the white beach as the
steamboat's passengers now land
at the wharf.
l uc iicm iiiai oivuu uric vucu
Lave not grown into giant nines
and oaks, but have l?een cut down
for lumber or firewood, and their
places are taken by a growth of
scrub. The Indian wigwams have
E'ven place to scattered cabins,
ss romantic and scarcely more
comfortable.
THE HEROINE OE THE ISLAND.
Hare is so great a name here
that 1 began almost immediately
to inquire for some person who
bears it. but ineffectually. This
is in Dare County, and here was
born Virginia Dare, the first child
of Knglish parentage born in
America, if the histories tell us
truly. The Dare family, like many
other of the early families of Vir
ginia, have retired into oblivion.
This island was in Virginia when
Virginia Dare was born here, in
1587, but it has since been trans
ferred to North Carolina; audit
is as much out of the world and
the paths of commerce now as it
was then.
It is to Sir Walter Raleigh that
we owe the historical associa
tions of this land, and the only
relic of Raleigh to be found here
now is the ruin of old Fort Ral
eigh, surrounded still by a ditch
or moat. Though this fort was
built about 1585, its outlines
may still be traced, and the com-!
ers are marked with blocks of
granite.
"Reckon you've heard tell
about the Roanoke Island set
tlers, Mister?'' the native who
jKiinted out the old fort ueked.
" That there mound you're a set
tin' on was made long enough
afore Jamestown or Plymouth
or any of them old places was
heard on or thought on, for
Roanoke beats 'em all."
The old fort is inclosed by a
substantial rail fence, and in the
centre of the inclosure has been
placed a massive monument of
North Carolina and Virginia
granite, built by the Roanoke
Colony Memorial Association,
"commemorative of thetwocolo
nies associated with the aj>ot and
its history."
This association, which is in
corporated, is composed of many
prominent people of North Caro
lina and Virginia and a few of
New York and Philadelphia and
other cities, and its President is
Major Graham l)aves of New
Is-rne, N. C.
Rut neither this association
nor the Virginia Pare Society of
Raleigh can do more than guess
at the fate of Virginia Pare, the
great heroine of the island. She
disappeared ages ago, but how
and why is a mystery, and we
c an only know of her that if we
might see her now she would be J
a tottering crone of .'114 years,
instead of the laughing maiden
the mind pictures her.
The county still bears her
father's name, though her grand
father, who was the first whitej
Governor of this island, is almost;
forgotten, lie was John White
by nume, and white by nature.
Pare County, of which this
island is a part, adjoins Hyde
County on the mainland, and,
like Hyde, has no railroad. It is
intersected by Croatan Sound,
the narrow strip of water which
connects Albemarle with Pamlico
Sound, and makes this eastern
end of the county an island.
Manteo, the county seat, is on
the land, and here the Sheriff lives
and keeps watchful eye upon the
almost deserted county jail.
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY.
Queen Elizabeth had a hand in
making this page of American
history, for it was under her pat
ronage that Sir Walter Raleigh
founded the Roanoke Colony in
1584. That was long enough
before Jamestown or Plymouth
became familiar American names.
The first colonists became dis
satisfied and returned, but they
gave glowing accounts of the
beauty of the island and the
salubrity of its climate, so re
cruits were easily obtained for
the next venture, which was made
in 1587. In that year 150 Eng
lish colonists were sent over by
Raleigh to cultivate Roanoke
Island,and John White wastheir
Captain and the fiist Governor
of the island. White's daughter
was married to a man named
Dare, and after that man the
present county is named.
On this island of verdure and
fertility those venturesome Eng
lishmen found subsistence too
hard, though the waters are full
of fish and the air is alive with
wild birds, and they soon ran
short of supplies.
The previous colonists had
found an encampment of Indians
here; Indians who raised and
smoked tobacco and ra'sed and
ate potatoes, and the returning
colonists had carried home sam
ples of both, and through Ral-1
eigh's example the men of Eng-j
land had learned to smoke and
snuff tobacco. Rut the later ?
colonists, under White, found
that they must dig; and plant
before they could reap, and when
supplies tailed and they grew
hungry, White went back to Eng
land after more provisions. He
fore he started, his daughter pre
sented him with a grandchild, to
whom the name of Virginia was
given, and she was the Virginia
Dare we all know by name, and
the first child of English parent
age ever born on this continent.
Courts were hard to move in
those days, as they still are, and
White found no more shillings
rolling uphill in London than he
had seen oil Roanoke Island; so
thr?"e years passed, and w hen lie
returned to his adopted home
at the end of that time he was no
longer a Uovernor, for he had no
colony to govern. His colony
was gone, so completely wiped
out that not one person was left;1
and Virginia Dare was gone, too.
It has long been believed that
these earlv colonists starved to
death, although there were hos
tile Indians all about them; but
to come here and see the ground,
and the waters about theground,
is enough to convince any modern
American that starvation here
was impossible. Even now, after
three centuries of shooting and
fishing here, any New Yorker
would scoff at the idea of starva
tion, where wild birds are ready
to hand, oysters are on the bars,
the waters are alive with fish,
and the soil is ready to multiplv
whatever is planted in it.
(live any city man a gun and a
fish hook, and hecould not starve
on Roanoke Island if he tried. >
Scores of city men do come here
every Winter, and many of them
live on the produce of their guns
and fishing lines, because they
prefer to live in that way. The
accommodations of civilization
are to be had, but for a real out
ing there is more spirit in build
ing a shanty or renting one of
the shanties already built, and
living on wild ducks and fresh
fish.
" We have no real estate agent
here," the people tell me; "but
there is plenty of land for sale,
and prices are not high." To
buy land would be pure extrava
gance for the visitor, where every
unoccupied spot is open to his
use, except town lots in Manteo,
or the 2f?(i acres of land belong
ing to the Memorial Association.
Ifut all the remainder of the
island is open to the visitor, who
can pitch his tent where he likes,
and oe sure of seclusion; and if
the one island is notenough,here
are small islands all about, to
the north and t he south, theeast,
and the west, and all open to ti e
visitor. Home of the small* r
islands belong to sporting clubs,
but the field of sport is so vast
that the clubs do not resent in
trusion. To employ a guide, as
most visiting sportsmen do, is to
secure a welcome to any of the
outlying islands.
Then there are "the banks,"
almost within a stone-throw,
which still further enlarge the
field. The banks are many miles
long, mere ridges of sand thrown
up by the stormy waves, from
ten to twenty feet above the sea
level, but likely to change their
height and form under every
severe gale.
The few people who live upon
the banks are locally called
"bankers," and like the Roanoke
Island people, they enjoy life in
their own way, and know little
about the outside world.
A BACK OF WILD PONIES.
The bankers have a strange ,
race of wild ponies, that are cele
brated through all this country
for their hardiness. A " banks j
pony" can be bought in any
Eastern North Carolina town for
from $10 to $15, and, as they
are used to roughing it on the j
sand banks, they involve little J
exjtense for shoeing or feeding.
The islanders tell me that when
a banks pony becomes thirsty j
he paws the sand till he makes a
hole deep enough to give him ,
moderately fresh water, and then
drinks; but if youtakehim home
and he is in the middle of your
garden when the thirst comes, he
make the same preparations.
The standard way of reaching j
Roanoke Island from the north
is by way of Norfolk, taking
thence the railway to Elizabeth
City, and there boarding the!
steamboat, the Neuse, which, I
steaming down the Pasquotank
River into Albemarle Sound,
touches at Roanoke Island at a
little before midnight, making
the actual traveling time from j
New York to this secluded spot)
scarcely more than eight or ten
hours. Rut a much more satis- j
factory and r.^ortsman-like way j
is to hire a small sailboat at
Elizabeth City, and use the boat
afterward for visiting the main
land, the banks, and the adjacent
islands.
Here the tired New YnrL-er pan
support himself indefinitely with
his gun and lines, and even in
midwinter can comfortably and
safely gc abroad every day.
Wild birds and fish are so plenti
ful that they pall upon the imagi
nation, and after a time upon
the appetite.
lie who would not "rough it'' i
and lead a real wild life while here
can find ample accommodation
with the natives; or he can take
quurters in the hotel, where no
gas or electric lights or car
whistles will remind him of home, j
If he would dip deeper into the j
tragic history of this historic
island, the Register of Dare Coun
ty. whose office is in Manteo, will
obligingly show him the deeds
which give title to the Memorial
Association's lands, and will give
much other entertaining informa
tion. But he cannot tell what
became of poor Virginia Dare, for
that to this day no man knows.
By her early taking off we are
spared any possibility of a
"Colonial Society of Descendants
of Virginia Dare," and Roanoke
Island is of more interest to us of
the present as a very choice fish
ing and shooting spot than ash
the birthplace of the first English ,
child in this hemisphere.
William Drvsiialk,
in New York Times. ,
Skin affections will readilv dis
appear bv using DeWitt's \Vitch |
Hazel Salve. Lookout for coun
terfeits. If you get DeWitt's you i
will get good results. It is the
quick and positive cure for piles.
Hare & Son, J. II. I^edbetter, i
Hood Bros. i
MERCILESS SLAUGHTER IN CHINA.
Missionaries Remain Calm and
Preach to the People Till the Ex
ecutioner Strikes ? Thirty-three
Protestants and Twelve Roman
Catholics Are Beheaded.
William E. Curtis, io Chicago Record-Herald.
The last mail from China brings
a thrilling account of the murder
of the missionaries at Tai Yuan
Fu on the 9th of last July, which
was taken (town in writing bv
Dr. J. A. Creasy Smith from the
narrative of Young Cheng, a
member of the llaptist church,
who was an unwilling witness of
their martyrdom, Yung Cheng
is vouched for as a Christian of
excellent character and absolute
ly trust worthy. He says that
he was taking treatment in the
hospital on the Baptist Society's
premises at Tai Yuan Fu, when
on the 8th of July lie saw Itev.
Mr. I'igott, his wife and child,
John Robinson, Miss Duval and
two young women named At
water brought into the town.
The two gentlemen were hand
cuffed and escorted by a company
of soldiers and followed by im
mense throngg of natives. Where
ever they stopped to rest Mr.
Figott and Mr. Robinson preach
ed to the people, who gathered
around them and were very much
astonished, saying "You are
going to be killed for preaching,
and yet you continue to do so."
That night the party were placed
in prison with a number of other
missionaries and their wives and
children, including several Cath
olic priests. The next morning
they were all executed. ?
D Tlw. U 4-^ lw, "
i nc: hi nt tu Lit? icu until,
Yung Cheng says, "was Mr.
Farthing, a Baptist minister.
His wife clung to him, but he put
her aside gently, knelt down with
out saying a word and his head
was struck off by one blow of the
executioner's knife. He was quick
ly followed by Pastors Hoddle
and Beynon, and Drs. Lovitt and
Wilson, all of whom were behead
ed with one blow by the execu
tioner. Then the governor, Yu
Hsien, grew impatient and told
his bodyguard, all of whom car
ried big beheading knives with
long handles, to help kill the
ethers. Pastors Stokes, Simpson
and Whitehouse were next killed,
the last by one blow only, the
other two by several.
"When the men were finished
the ladies were taken. Mrs.
Farthing had hold of the hands
ot her children, who clung to her,
but the soldiers parted them and
with one blow beheaded their
mother. The executioner be
headed all the children and did it
skillfully, needing only one blow;
but the soldiers were clumsy, and
some of the ladiessuffered several
cuts before death.
"Mrs. Lovitt was wearing her
spectacles and held the hand of
her little boy, even when she was
killed. She spoke to the people,
saying as near as I remember:
'We all came to China to bring
you the good news of salvation
by Jesus Christ; we have done
you no harm, only good; why
do you treat us so?' A soldier
took off her s[>ectacles before be
heading her, which needed two
blows.
" When the Protestants were
all killed, the Roman Catholics
were led forward. The bishop,
an old man, with long white
beard, asked the governor, Yu
Hsien why he was doing this
wicked deed. I did not hear the
governor give him any answer,
but he drew his sword and cut
the bishop across the face one
heavy stroke; blood poured down
his white beard, and he was be
headed. The priests and nuns
quickly followed him in death.
"Then Pastor Pigott and his
party were led from the district
jail, which is close by. He was
still handcuffed and so was Mr.
Robinson. He preached to the
jieople till the very last, when he
was beheaded wit h one blow. Mr.
Hobinson suffered death very
calmly. Mrs. PigOtt held the
hand of her son, even when she
was beheaded, and he was killed
immediately after her. The lady
and two girls were killed also,
quickly.
"On that day forty-five foreign
people in all were beheaded,
thirty-three Protestants and
twelve Roman Catholics. The
bodies of all were left where they
Fell till next morning, as it was
evening liefore the work was fin
ished. Muring the night they
were stripped of the clothing and
other things, such as rings and
watches. Next day they were
removed to a place inside the
creat south gate, except some of
the heads, which were placed in
cages on the gates of the wall."
They that stand high have
many blasts to shake them.?
Shakespeare.
TWELFTH ANNUAL COMMENCE
MENT.
North Carolina College ol Agriculture
and Mechanic Arts, at Kaleigh.
Sunday, May 2(5, 11 a. in.?
Baccalaureate Sermon in Eden
ton Street M. E. Church, by Rev.
J. J. Laffertv, 1). I)., Richmond,
if *
V a.
Monday, May 27, 8:30 p. m.?
Alumni Oration in Agricultural
Hall, by Edwin Speight Harden,
B. S., Class of '05.
Tuesday, May 28, 8:30 p. in.?
\unual Address in the Academy
of Music, bv Hon. Carroll It.
Wright, U. S. Commissioner of
Labor, Washington, D. C.
Wednesday, May 20.11 a. m.?
Commencement Exercises in the
Academy of M usic.
Orations by members of the
Graduating Class.
Annual Report.
Conferring of Begrees.
These exercises are public, and
a cordial invitation to attend
, them is hereby extended to all
persons who are interested in
technological and industrial edu
cation.
Geo. T. Winston,
President.
Wild Birds' Ways.
A Paris Hill correspondent of j
the Waterville (N. Y.) Tunes says J
he has received a letter from a
nature student stating that the
red-headed woodpecker has been
seen storing up in an old tree a;
quantity of acorns, which appears
like the forethought of laying j
up food. While it has that ap
pearance, still thenut itself is not
the food which this species eats.
The writer suggests it may be the
bird secures and stores the acorns
in order that when they decay he
may feed on the worm which
would naturally breed in the pro-;
cess?a longheaded proceeaure
certainly. It may be true, how
ever. I know of an instance
where a gray woodpecker in the
spring opened several holes with
his bill in the trunk of a inaple
tree, and when the sap had
trickled down the sideof the tree,
attracting the flies, he reveled in
the feast which they furnished
him.
Grantham, Austin & Co. have
a nobby line of Ties. The prettiest
you have st en.
Cost of a London Fog;.
A London fog is an expensive
j visitation. A day of it, counting
the day at eight hours, is estima
ted to cost anything from ?50,
1000 to ?100,000 in hard cash.
1 No small proportion of this goes
to the gas and electric light com
panies, which have to supply I
1 about a third more power than
usual. Hut there are also the
railways. Fog signalling is ex
pensive. At Ohampham Junc
tion alone ?50 has been spent by
a single railway company during
a day's fog in extra pay to the
layers. When the red light can
not be seen at a distance of a
hundred yards, the plate layers
become fog signallers, and for
this they are paid a shilling a
day in addition to their regular
wages and fourpence per hour
overtime, providing the over
time does not run into a second
shilling.?London Chronical.
y^k^ioiiiioddh^j
? V* WINE OF CARDUI <? I
II has bnmght pwnanent relief to a mil- H
? lion suffering women who were on their ?
? way to premature graves. Mrs. Mitchell |
? was fast declining m health, when Wine H
? of t'ardui performed a "wonderful cure" H
? in her care. She suffered with the ago- I
? nies of falling of tho womb, leucorrhcea H
? and profuse menstruation. The weekly I
? appearance of the mensesfor two months ?
? sapped her vitality until she w as a phys- I
? ical wreck. Hei nervous system gave |
? way. Then came the trial of Wine of |
? t'ardui and the cure. Mrs. Mitchell's I
? experience ought to commend Wine of ?
H t'ardui to suffering women in words of H
? burning eloquence.
IWIMECiRDDl
II is within the reach of all. Women who H ,
I try it are relieved. Ask your druggist H I
? for a fl bottle of Wine of Cardui, ana do W
jl not take a substitute if tendered you.
j Mrs. Willie Mitchell. PonthOaaton, N.C.: ?
| "Wine of Cardui and Thedford'a Black- ?
I taught have performed a miraculous cure ?
| !n ruj case. I had been a *rant sufferer M
| with falling of the womb snd leneorrhcea. 13
? andmr nienaea came every week for two
? months and were very painful. My bus- R i
| band Induced me to try Wine of Cardui M
? and Bl-*ck-Draught. an<1 now the leucnr- M '
? rh<ea hna disappeared, and I am restored t ? l)j
? perfect Health."
In cases reuniting special T
, \ directions, a <1 drew. giving ^ -- -
JBS&v* 1 symptoms. "The Ladles' Ad- f
Bg M viaory Department." The i
( hstfeaaooga Medium* Co., y Vfo
r J < tiauanoogm, Tenn. # * " " '
The Eminent Kidney
and Bladder Specialist,
&
The Discoverer of Swamp-toot at Wort la
His Laboratory.
There is a disease prevailing in this,
country most dangerous because so decep
tive. Many sudden deaths are caused by*
it?heart disease, pneumonia, heart failure
or apoplexy are often the result of kidney
disease. If kidney trouble is allowed to ad
vance the kidney-poisoned blood will attack
the vital organs, or the kidneys themselves,
break down and waste away cell by cell
Then the richness of the blood?the albumen*
?leaks out and the sufferer has Bright's
Disease, the worst form of kidney trouble.
Dr. Kilmer's Swamp-Root the new dis
covery is the true specific for kidney, bladder
and urinary troubles. It has cured thousands
of apparently hopeless cases, after all other
efforts have failed. At druggists in fifty-cent
and dollar sizes. A sample bottle sent free
by mall, also a book telling about Swamp
Root and its wonderful cures. Address
Dr. Kilmer & Co., Binghamton, N. Y. and
mention this paper.
Tobacco Flues
Come and see me if you want the
best flues for the least money. 1
have them.
I have the Cotton King and Elmo
COOK STOVES,
(the world 8 best)
Fine Breech Loading
Shot Guns,
AM at factory prices
Come and see them if you
want to get the best goods
for the least money.
Respectfully,
S. B. JOHNSON,
Smithfield, N. C
Apr 3-4m
You NEED IT.
It is Good to have
on hand. X
A Bottle of T ? * A
Moziago's Liniment
Nerve and Bone
Made strictly by an old and reliable formula
Has been used for thirty-five years.
For Man and Beast.
You Get a Large Bottle for 50 cts.
MADE AND FOR SALE BY
J B /hOZINGO,
Smlthfleld, N. C.
For sale by Hood Bros., Smithfield; HaywocflSf
Price, Beulah township: Hare & Son, Selma..
N.C.; W. E. Smith, Micro, N. C.; O. F. Wood
ard, Princeton; Alex. Edgerton, Pinkney^
Pope Bros., near Kenly; J. H. Kains. Barley.
March 1??tf
MILLINERY, Etc,
I wish to say to my friends and!
customers that I have added to
my full line of General Merchan
dise a nice and up-to-date stock
of MILLINERY, thecheapest anti
prettiest ever brought to Four
Oaks. Ladies, Come to see me
and buy your
Spring and Summer Hals
from my Milliner, Miss Willie
Creech. I have also the latest
thing in the gilt and velvet belts.
Also the spikes for the belts My
goods are cheap and new stock _
Give me a trial.
A. Creech,
Apro-tf Four Oaks.
BUY THE!
SEWING MACHINE
Do not be deceived by those who ad
vertise a $60.(K) Sewing Machine for
$20.00. This kind of a machine can
be bought from us or any of our
dealers from $l.~>.00to $18.00.
WE MAKE A VARIETY.
THE NEW HOME IS THE BEST..
The Feed determines the strength or
weakness of Hewing Machines. The
Double Feed combined with other
strong points makes the Sew Home
the best Hewing Machine to buy.
Write lor CIRCULARS kSSs
we manufacture and prices Ik ,ore purchasing
THE NEW HOME SEWINC MACHINE CO.
OSANOC, MASS
?Union Hca. N. Y., Chicago, 111., Atlanta,
BL Ix>uIs,Mo., Dallas,Tex.,Han Krunolsoo, CsL
FOR SALE BY
J. 7V\. BE AT V,
8MITHFIELD, I. C.