Hysterical Journey to Historic Places

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DAY 23: MAY 14, 2013



I have arrived mostly intact at the Outer Banks Inn this evening after a drive of 319.3 that took most of all damn day. I left Oak Island after a totally mediocre breakfast at a little place the locals rave about called Russell’s. I reckon they have never had a good breakfast anywhere if they are fond of that place, or else the Russell Family owes money to everyone on the island. I missed a turn in Wilmington, NC and several miles later noticed that I was on the wrong highway. It took about an hour out of my life to find Jacksonville from Hwy 53. I got screwed up again in Jacksonville and drove completely around that whole place before getting back to Hwy 17 North again. Hwy 17 looks like the best route north through North Carolina, but it is slow going. Hwy 17 passes through a hundred or so small communities where the speed limit drops to 35 mph. The drive up here to Roanoke Island and the Outer Banks doesn’t look all that far but it took me a good 6 hours to get here. The Lost Colony at Roanoke Island is one of the most intriguing places in America. It was started by Sir Walter Raleigh, who really was not much more than a brigand. He wanted to start up military occupation of North Carolina to raid treasure laden Spanish shipping. America started up not as a refuge from religious persecution but as a criminal enterprise. In 1584 Raleigh came to Roanoke with two ships full adventurers to find a site for a fort situated for defense from the Spanish fleet. They found a spot they liked and made friends with the Algonquin but did not stay. Two of the Algonquin, a man named Manteo and another guy named Pachuco (sp?), went to visit England with their new friends. They returned next year with a group of soldiers to build the fort, but they were not farmers and nearly starved to death even with generous help from the Algonquin who sought to trade food for tools. In 1586 those guys had to be rescued from Roanoke by Sir Francis Drake and they went back to England, but not before violence had broken out with the friendly Algonquin. The English had run out of trade goods, and the Algonquin had run out of food to trade with, and the Algonquin began getting sick with white man’s diseases. In 1587 Raleigh wanted to set up a sustainable colony for his Spanish raiding fort. He sent a group that included 89 men, 17 women, and 11 children. As they were coming ashore one of the ships ran aground in shoal water and many of their supplies were lost; the Algonquin were no longer friendly to them. So the governor, a man named White, who came with them had to go back to England and arrange for more supplies. Just before he left for England his daughter, who was one of the 17 women gave birth to a little girl named Virginia Dare. She was the first child of European parentage born in North America. Back in England Governor White had difficulty raising funds for another expedition and it was three years before he could return. When he did everyone was gone from the fort. They disappeared without a trace. It seems likely that the Algonquin had driven them away and they perished in the wilderness. Little Virginia Dare might have become an Algonquin princess, but most likely she died of an illness during her first winter and lies in an unmarked grave near the fort. I will visit Kittyhawk, tomorrow. It is on the Outer Banks and is the site where a couple of bicycle mechanics from Dayton, OH proved that aviation was possible. Folks hereabouts are soundly convinced that Blackbeard, the pirate, went down fighting in these waters.

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Photos

LOST COLONY
This is the site of Raleigh's fort. The National Park Service archaeologists have probably reconstructed the earthworks.

WHAT'S FOR SUPPER
The grounds are swarming with these little creatures. They might be tasty in a stew with a little garlic, some onions and maybe some potatoes and carrots. Those poor devils in the Lost Colony did not have any of that stuff though, and the squirrels would be hard to catch. There would be a few acorns around to make pancakes from, but that trick would take a while to learn.