Maybe they were anxious to get to their destination.

Maybe
Name the looming war between England and Spain make them
decide not to make a stop.

The Lost Colony The three ships arrived at Roanoke Island, in the large area
of North American land that Queen Elizabeth had named
By Sharon Fabian Virginia. They found the fort and the houses built by the
first expedition, but the fifteen men left behind had either
Roanoke Island is a small left Roanoke or died. The new settlers repaired the houses
island off the coast of North and the fort, and they built new houses. John White, the
Carolina. There are two leader of the expedition, became the governor. He called
interesting stories about the his colony the Cittie of Raleigh.
island that date back to the
1500's. One story is English; it American Indians helped provide the settlers with food.
has been handed down in The Indians of Roanoke grew corn, squash, and other
American History books. The vegetables. They hunted deer and turkeys. They set traps
other story is Croatan; it has for fish. These provisions helped the settlers survive.
been handed down through the Nevertheless, the settlers did not always respect the Indians'
generations of Croatan oral way of life, and relations between the settlers and the
history. Indians were not always on friendly terms.

The first story begins in England, where in 1585, Sir Soon after their arrival, on August 18, the colonists had a
Walter Raleigh outfitted a ship and sent explorers to the reason to celebrate. John White's daughter, Eleanor, and her
New World to scout out the best place for a settlement. husband, Ananias, became the proud parents of a baby girl.
They returned with promising reports of a land rich in Their baby, named Virginia Dare, was the first English
natural resources. They left behind only 15 men to guard child born in the New World.
the fort that they had built on Roanoke Island.
Meanwhile, the settlers still needed more supplies, and
Their reports were enough to stir up more interest in Governor White returned with his ships to England to
settling a colony in America. Queen Elizabeth even gave resupply. Eleanor and Ananias with their baby Virginia,
Raleigh the charter to all of the land he could occupy there. and all of the other colonists, would be on their own, out of
Soon he was ready to send out a second expedition. This touch with their home country.
expedition of three sailing ships carried 107 settlers,
including men, women, and children. They planned to Before leaving, Governor White and the colonists planned
settle permanently in the New World and build the first that, if the colonists had to leave the Cittie of Raleigh for
British colony there. On May 8, 1587, they sailed from some reason, they would leave a message by carving a sign
Plymouth, England. As they approached North America, into a tree trunk. They would carve the name of the place
they sailed past Haiti, where ships had stopped in the past that they were moving to. If they were being forced to
for supplies, but they sailed on past without stocking up. move, or if they had been captured, they would also carve a
 The Lost Colony
Name
Questions
cross on the tree. 1. The Roanoke colonists were ______.
A. the first people in America
Upon Governor White's return to England, his ships B. the first Europeans in America
became involved in the war with Spain, and he could not C. the first permanent British settlers in America
return for several years. When he was finally able to return, D. all of the above
in 1590, the colonists were gone, every one of them. He
found the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree trunk. There 2. After John White returned to England, the colonists
was no cross carved into the trunk, so he had hopes that ______.
they had just moved to the nearby island occupied by the
Croatan Indians. However, the settlers were never found. A. were never heard from again by the British
Later colonists at Jamestown searched for the missing B. returned to England too
settlers but never found them either. C. were killed
D. made a temporary move to the island of the
For many years, the English story stopped there. Croatans

The second story, the one from the Croatan oral tradition, 3. The events described in this article occurred during
tells of English settlers from the doomed Roanoke colony the ______ century.
who were taken in by the Croatans. The English settlers A. 14th
became part of the Croatan tribe, which still exists today. B. 15th
C. 16th
Evidence seems to support the story. Croatans have spoken D. 21st
and written English since early times. Their appearance
includes European features like light eyes and light hair. 4. The ships carrying the settlers from Europe to the
Some Croatans have the same English surnames that the East Coast of North America would have sailed
original Roanoke colonists had. across the ______ Ocean.
A. Atlantic
Do these two stories fit together? The Croatan story seems B. Pacific
to pick up right where the English story left off. Some C. Indian
people are sure that the combined story is true; others are D. Arctic
not so sure. Archaeologists are still checking it out.
Name

5. The Roanoke settlement happened ______ the

Jamestown settlement.
A. concurrently with
B. at the same time as
C. after
D. before

6. By combining the English story and the Croatan

story, someone might infer that ______.
A. the settlers died of diseases
B. the settlers were murdered
C. the settlers returned to England on another ship
D. the settlers joined the Croatans

7. According to the article, John White was not able to

return to the Roanoke colony for many years because
of ______.
A. problems with his ships
B. lack of money
C. war between England and Spain
D. war with the Indians

8. Virginia Dare was ______.

A. one of the Roanoke colonists
B. one of the lost colonists
C. a baby
D. all of the above