where he was to proceed from Bermuda. On his way to the Western Islands, he met with a Portuguese vessel, homeward-bound from Brazil, with a cargo of sugar. Having appropriated some of the laiding to his own use and, as Smith adds, "liked the sugar and passengers so well," he made her a prize, and having put a part of his crew on board, and taken the crew of the prize in his own ship, he proceeded on his voyage. Upon reflection, he found there would be some difficulty in excusing this piratical proceeding on his arrival at Bermuda, and, no doubt, disliking the idea of facing Governor Tucker, he decided on proceeding direct to the West Indies, to give himself time to consider what was the best course to pursue. On his arrival there, he encountered a French rover, who pretended to have a warm regard for him, and invited him with his officers to an entertainment. Suspecting nothing, he accepted the invitation, but no sooner had they been well seated at table, than they were all seized, and threatened with instant death unless they surrendered their prize. This, Powell was of course compelled to do, and he had the mortification to see the wily Frenchman sail away with the capture. Finding his provisions failing him, he put the Portuguese crew on shore, and sailed for Bermuda, where he managed to excuse himself to the governor.

The Proprietors having been informed that many whales where seen about the islands, during the months of January, February, and March, sent the

ship Neptune provided with everything requisite for capturing fish and making oil. This the Governor had already attempted without success, although the boats succeeded in killing several.

Powell again arrived in May, from the West Indies, with three prizes laden with meal, hides, and ammunition. Tucker received him kindly and treated him with great consideration, until he had the goods in his own possession, when he altered his manner, and reproaching the Captain with his piratical conduct, called him to account for his proceedings; the unlucky buccaneer was, in the end, glad to escape to England, leaving his prizes in the hands of the Governor. Information of this event had no sooner reached the Company than they ordered Tucker to surrender the goods and ships, which he was compelled to do.

A Court was called for the purpose of trying a man named Gabriel for concealing mutinous speeches made by two persons, Pollard and Rich. The offence consisted in the latter persons accusing the Governor of injustice and cruelty; preposterous as it may appear, the man was actually tried, condemned, and only reprieved when on the ladder, for the crime of neglecting to give information of the observations, when Pollard and Rich, who uttered the calumny, suffered a very brief imprisonment.*

Norwood's survey was now completed, and shares were assigned to each adventurer; † the land reserved

* Smith's History of Virginia, &c., vol. ii, p. 143.

† After laying out the stipulated number of shares of twenty-five acres each, there remained two hundred and seven acres of the finest land in the

D

as commons, to be disposed of for general purposes, consisted of the islands of St. George, St. David, Longbridge, Smiths, Coopers, and Nonsuch, together with a part of the main island. The remainder of the colony was divided into eight tribes, Bedford or Hamilton, Smith's, Cavendish or Devonshire, Pembroke, Paget's, Mansil's or Warwick, Southampton and Sand's.* Each tribe was again divided into fifty shares which were determined by lot to the Proprietors in England.†

The Diana arrived from the Company with a supply of stores and men, and after remaining a few weeks

colony, situated in the Parish or Tribe of Southampton; this was called by Norwood the overplus, and he was accused of partiality for Governor Tucker, who, shortly after the division and allotment, persuaded the people to build a fine house on this reserved land, which was no sooner finished than he took possession of it for his own use. At page 61 of his explanatory book, Norwood comments on the circumstance and explains it by saying that the Governor and Council were very anxious to forward the survey by the Magazine Ship, then about to sail for England, and he had only reached the Parish of Pembroke on his course upward. The islands were at that time chiefly overrun with rats, which destroyed the corn of the previous year, and the Governor and Council decided that it was necessary to plant the crop for the year in question on the Island of Somerset, as it was the only place of any size free from the dreaded vermin; they therefore ordered Mr. Norwood to abandon his survey in Pembroke and commence again at the extreme end of Somerset, in order that the fences might be put up at once, and each person know his boundary, to avoid the confusion and injury to the growing crop consequent on a survey after it was in progress; he remonstrated against this and pointed out the impropriety; but he was forced to obey, and after surveying and allotting Somerset he returned to his point in Pembroke, which left the overplus in the upper part of the Parish of Southampton, now included in Sandys.

* They were named in compliment to the Marquis of Hamilton, Sir Thomas Smith, the Earls of Devonshire, Pembroke, Warwick, and Southampton, Lord Paget and Sir Edwin Sands.

† Appendix, D.

returned to England with 30,000 pounds of tobacco, which gave great satisfaction to the Proprietors.

Many heavy complaints were forwarded by this ship against Governor Tucker, which were, however, overlooked by the Adventurers, who dispatched the Blessing with supplies and flattering letters. Notwithstanding this, the report of the passengers and private correspondence prepared him for a change, and having appointed Kendall his deputy he sailed for England. The stern measures enforced by Governor Tucker, particularly in causing the punishment of death to be inflicted for offences comparatively trifling, may have been the result of authority granted by the Crown by the advice of Sir Francis Bacon, who recommended that the Governor of the Virginia Plantations should be empowered to rule by martial law, a short code of which, founded on the practice of the Low Countries, the most rigid military school at that time in Europe, they sent out with him; or he may have found it necessary, as we have before said, to make severe examples in order to cause the colonists to respect his authority; certain it is that the islands materially improved during his vigorous administration of its affairs.

Kendall was disposed to be attentive to the duties of his office; but he wanted energy, and the Company took an early opportunity to inform him, by the SeaFlower, that Captain Nathaniel Butler was appointed to relieve him; this information was not very agreeable to the people, but they did not offer any resistance.

* Robertson's History of America, vol. ii, book ix, sec. xlii.

Governor Butler arrived on the 20th of October, 1619, with four ships and five hundred men, and Kendall, with the council and clergymen, repaired on board the Warwick to receive him. Two days after he landed, and having made a short speech to the assembled colonists assumed the command.

The two clergymen of the place were deeply imbued with Puritan principles and refused to subscribe to the Book of Common Prayer; this the Governor remedied by prevailing on them to adopt the Liturgy of Guernsey and Jersey, in which the objectionable portions were omitted; on the Easter-day following he caused the oldest of the two to commence its use in the church at St. George, and he, with his officers and council, received the sacrament.

It was Butler's desire to assimilate the government as nearly as possible to the mother country, and at the second assize held by him he carried his intention into effect. There were eighteen criminal cases—a large number when, from the closest computation, the population could not have exceeded one thousand. Some of the offenders were sentenced to be whipped, others to be branded in the hand, and two to be hanged-one of the last was reprieved, but his companion suffered the extreme penalty of the law. These judgments appear to have been authorized by the Order-book of the Company, already mentioned, which has unfortunately been lost; the regulations contained in it must have been most severe in their nature, as sentence of death was frequently pronounced for offences which would now be scarcely noticed.