B CHAPTER VII. GOVERNOR SAMUEL ARGALL. ALE having returned to Holland early in 1617, Argall was appointed to succeed in the administration of affairs in Virginia, and after the death of Pocahontas, the ship in which he sailed left the coast of England, and on the 15th of May anchored off Point Comfort in Virginia, with about one hundred persons. In a few days, after five weeks' passage, Captain Martin also arrived in a pinnace. In a letter from Jamestown, dated on the 9th of June, Argall wrote to the Company that he had sent Tomakin,1 whose wife was the sister of Pocahontas, to tell Opachankano of his arrival, and stated that since his return, this Indian "railed against England, English people, and particularly his best friend Sir Thomas Dale." In the same communication he mentioned that the Rev. Alexander Whitaker had been drowned, and requested Sir Dudley Digges to obtain from the Archbishop a permit for Mr. Wickham to administer the sacrament, as there was no other person. It is evident that the Company were willing to employ ministers not in orders, for in the following March Argall again "desires ordination for Mr. Wickham, and Mr. Macock a Cambridge scholar also a person to read to Mr. Wickham his eyes being weak." 1 Also spelled Tamocomo. In view of the languishing condition of the colony, in April, 1618, the Lord Delaware, the Governor General, was dispatched by the Company in the ship Neptune, with two hundred men and supplies. After his departure the George came in from Virginia with such complaints of the malfeasance of Argall that the Company forwarded to him the following: Letter of the Company to Deputy Governor Argall. Sr: Wee receaved your letters by the George directed to the right Honoble Lords, before the receipt whereof wee had finished ours w'ch wee purposed to have sent to you by this conueyance without expectinge the George's cominge, but by the unexpected contents of yours wee are driuen to lay aside our former and briefly to declare our minds in this wherein wee take no pleasure. "You know howe many wayes you have bin proceedinge chargeable to the Companie not of late onely, but formerly when you converted the fruits of their expence to yor owne benefitt without being called to an Account; they have also put honoble reputation upon yor person and presuminge of yor wisdome and discrecon they made you Gouernor to follow their Comission and Instruccons w'ch in the person and protestation of an honest gentleman you undertooke to doe. "And therefore it is verie strange to us to see you so change and differ from yor selfe w'ch by yor words and deeds, being the testimony of yor minde wee do sensibly see and feele and in perticuler you intimate first unto us, that you hold yourself disparaged in that we sent you our last l'res subscribed with so fewe hands, yt wee termed you but Deputy Governor, and that we should think our Cape CHARGES AGAINST ARGALL. 115 marchant a fitt man to deliver our l'res to your hands, you heape up also many unjust accusations against us and the Magazine, nourishinge thereby instead of pacifyinge ye malcontented humors of such as seek to bring all to confusion, and to overthrowe which is sealed upon wise and equall termes to be props of the Plantation there, and the life of the Aduenturers here, w'ch both undoubtedly must stand and fall together. But we shall easily put by all such yor weake imputacons when time shall serve to debate the particulers, and when we feare yor selfe will not be able to answeare yor owne Actions, yea yor owne l'res dated at James Towne in March 1617 shall justifie us in some of these particulars too change the magazine wherein you are contrarie to yor selfe. "Tobacco and sassafras onely for wise causes are restrained at reasonable rates to the magazine, and you beinge Gouernor restraine no man, but passengers and marriners bringe the greatest part of tobacco and all the sassafrass for themselves. "It is laid unto yor charge that you appropriate the Indian trade to yor selfe, you use our ffrigott that came from the Somer Ilands and the other with our men to trade for yo owne benefitt, you proclaime in the Colony that no man shall trade with the Indians, nor any buy any ffurs but yor selfe. It is also certified that you take the ancient Planters of the Colony w'ch ought to be free and likewise those from the comon garden to sett them upon yor owne imployments, and that you spend up our store corne to feede yor owne men as if ye Plantacon were onely intended to serve yor turne. "Wee cannot imagine why you should giue us warninge yt Opachankano, and the Natiues have given their coun try to Mr Rolfe's child and that they will reserve it from all others till he comes of yeares except as we suppose as some do here report it to be a deuise of yor owne to some especcial purpose for yor selfe, but whither yours or thers, wee shall little esteeme of any such consequence. "You say you have disposed of all our kine accordinge to our Comission. It seemeth you neuer looke upon our Instruments, wee gaue you no such Comission but the contrary in expresse words, as that you should preserue and nourish them to ye common use, only a few w'ch wee had disposed whereof we sent you the p'ticulers; wee thought it impossible when we made you Gouernor yt euer you should offer us this kinde of dealinge, not once to mean how many, to whome, nor for what consideration, but to do them all away of yor owne head, to take satisfaccon to yor selfe, wee must let you knowe wee allowe of no such sale, nor of the deliuery of any one cowe by you further than yor Instruments do expressly warrant. "But answerable to this and the rest you have also delt with us for the Hyds about w'ch it is well knowne yo selfe what trouble we had with the L. Admirall and Spanish Ambassadour, and how dearly they cost us, and we know how much it would haue imported us to haue had them gone by this shipp as well for the reputacon of our returne as alsoe for helpinge to defray the great chardge of the voyidge, notwithstanding they very fayrly demanded of you, it hath pleased you there to stay them in your owne Custody and to suffer this shipp to come home with other mens goods and not vouchsafing to mention the Hyds in your general letter but in this manner; That being made Admirall you know how to dispose of unlawfull purchase, and by this we must understand the Hyds to be yours as LETTER TO LORD DELAWARE. 117 for the debts and wages w'ch you say you have payde for us wee maruell you doe not send us a noate of the particulars, for to our knowledge we are not in yt kinde indebted to any man, if there be any such matter, or that you haue prouided any stuff for the Colledge as you writt yett you must not imagine that wee are so insencible of reason as to suffer either of those to bee a cloake for you to detayne our hyds or to convey away all our Catle and Corne, either you must think highly of yor selfe or very meanely of us, in yt being our substitute you will presume to offer us these wrongs, and to suppose you may doe what you list in such a publique cause without being called to accompt, we haue therefore determined of a course and wee haue written to the Lord Gouernour, w'ch we doubt not but his Lor'p will impart unto you and soe wee rest. "Your very louing freinds "London 22 August 1618. "Thomas Smith "Lionel Cranfield "John Dauer "John Wolstenholme "Robert Johnson." Unaware of the death of Delaware on the voyage, they also wrote to him the following: The Virginia Company to Lord Delaware. "Wee are now enforced to write unto your Lo'p of important matter of another nature which is touching Mr. Samuel Argall whom we made Governor in your Lord'ps absence. Wee make noe doubte but he has deliuered the Gouernment with an accompt of his doings into your Lo'ps |