Cate of the Lost Colony - Lisa Klein [98]
“This New World is nothing like what we expected. We cannot control the misfortunes that have occurred here,” I began. “Perhaps it is time for us to abandon our belief that we are superior in every regard, that we were meant to rule and not to submit.” My eyes were glistening with tears, and I could see nothing clearly save the truth I was trying to express. “Maybe nothing is more fitting than for us, newcomers in this land, to live in common with its native inhabitants. By fellowship we may end the strife between us, so all may prosper and none seek to destroy another. One day we may even restore the Eden we sought in coming here.”
I had never spoken out at such length, yet no one interrupted me. I paused to gather the threads of my thoughts to a conclusion. “So let us accept Manteo’s hospitality. Let us all go and remain together. It will not be the end of our troubles. It will be difficult for some of us to adapt. But it is our best hope.”
Our best hope. I blinked away tears until I could make out little Virginia sitting on one of the tables. I knew what Eleanor would choose, if only for the sake of her daughter. When she saw me looking at her, Virginia clambered down and toddled over to me. She gurgled with laughter as if it were a game to walk with no one holding her strings. I picked her up and said, “I have made my decision. We will go to Croatoan and make our future there.”
I closed my eyes and buried my face in Virginia’s hair. I heard the voices around me. Of course no one was surprised that Cate Archer would choose to live with the savages.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard Alice say, “My baby and I have no one but you and Virginia. Take us with you.”
Then Georgie’s aunt pushed back her stool from the foot of the table. “We will come, too,” she announced. “I won’t let the Indians kill Georgie like they did his father.”
Ambrose exploded, stamping his feet. “I won’t have any of it! I will stay here and live and die an Englishman.”
“Then you’ll do it alone,” said Betty sharply. “I nearly perished at the hand of an Englishman, but the Indians who were our enemies saved me. I would rather live among them than die among Christians, I swear to Jesus.”
Ambrose gasped as his wife stepped to my side and held on to my arm for dear life.
“Look at those shrews,” came a man’s scornful voice. “What’s wrong with you men, letting your wives rule you?”
“The women are right and you know it,” said Graham. “Face the truth. There is no relief on the way. We are too few to defend ourselves. I’m for casting our lot with Manteo. Let’s take what we need and leave here.”
Then Jones, the farmer, expressed his own doubts. “We can’t remake this island in the image of England. The soil is nothing but sand. I consent to leave also.”
In the end even Ambrose Vickers relented, for he had lost his wife once and could not bear to lose her again.
In the month between our decision and our departure, I had occasion to reflect on Manteo’s offer and to wonder about the wisdom of it. How could he be sure his people would welcome us? Would we not strain their own scarce resources? And could our planters expect any better success with the soil on Croatoan, an island similar to Roanoke, though larger? Was Manteo not concerned that our enemies might choose to attack us at Croatoan, thus endangering his people? Finally, I wondered if it was wise for us to abandon the fort. Though it had always struck me as insubstantial, it was better than nothing at all.
To prepare for our departure, I packed the contents of John White’s household in two trunks, choosing only the most useful and valuable items. I buried White’s papers in a locked trunk because I knew how much he valued them, but I put aside Harriot’s book of Algonkian and my own papers. Meanwhile the men pulled down several of the houses and stacked up the planks and hardware to take to Croatoan along with their tools. They gathered all the remaining weapons and armor and dismantled two guns from the fort. Ambrose finished building a shallop. As soon as the snow