School History of North Carolina — Clair W. Hayes

" ...]Raleigh." The island is twelve miles long and about four broad, and is to this day fertile and pleasant as a place of residence. It then abounded in game, and countless and choice varieties of fish were to be caught in the sounds and sea at all seasons of the year. 5. Admiral Grenville was active during his stay at Roanoke in visiting many Indian towns and in exploring the many broad waters that are found connected with one another in that portion of North Carolina. On one of his expeditions he lost a silver cup, which was stolen from him during his stay at an Indian town. The passionate seaman, in a rage, demanded its return by the Indians, whom he charged with stealing it. They did not comply, and he, with great imprudence and injustice, burned the whole village and destroyed all the corn. 6. This was the first taste afforded the Indians of how harshly they might expect to be treated, and, though no war followed immediately, they neither forgot nor forgave Grenville's punishment, and many unexpected injuries were inflicted upon the poor settlers by the Indians on account of this rash and cruel act. 7. Governor Lane, after the admiral's departure, continued his explorations, in order to learn the geography and nature of the country. He ascended the Chowan River to near the mouth of the Nottoway and penetrated the interior as far as the Indian village of Chowanoke. Instead of clearing fields and making provisions for his people; he was laboriously searching for gold mines and jewels. He was told by the chief of the Chowanoke Indians, whom he held as prisoner for two days, that such things abounded along the upper reaches of Roanoke River (then called the "Moratock"), and that the headwaters of that stream extended to within an arrow's flight of a great ocean to the west, and along the banks of the ...]."