VOICE ONE:
In Fifteen-Eighty-Seven, more than one-hundred men, women andchildren sailed from Britain across the Atlantic Ocean. They arrivedat Roanoke Island off the coast of what is now North Carolina. Thisgroup established the first English settlement in America. However,within three years, the group disappeared without any signs. No oneknows what happened to them. I’m Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. The story of America’s Lost Colony is ourreport today on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
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VOICE ONE:
Britain’s first settlement of families in America was supposed tobe along the Chesapeake Bay. However, for unknown reasons, thecolonists settled on Roanoke Island instead of sailing farthernorth.
Roanoke is a low, narrow island that lies between NorthCarolina’s Outer Banks and the mainland. The Outer Banks are a groupof narrow islands along the North Carolina coast in the AtlanticOcean.
The land on Roanoke Island today appears much as it did when thecolonists arrived. The island has thick wetland areas, tall oaktrees and a lot of wild animals. Because of this, Roanoke was agood, welcoming place for the colonists to settle.
VOICE TWO:
Soon after the colonists arrived in Fifteen-Eighty-Seven,fighting broke out with nearby Native American Indians. John Whitehad led the British colonists to what was called the New World. Hesoon recognized that more supplies and arms were needed if thesettlers were to survive. So Governor White decided to return toEngland only a few months after the settlers had arrived.
Ten days before he sailed, Governor White’s daughter Eleanor Darehad a baby girl. Virginia Dare became the first English child bornin America. However, Governor White would never know hisgranddaughter. The last time he saw his family was just before hereturned to England.
VOICE ONE:
When he arrived back in England, Governor White found himselftrapped. Britain had declared war with Spain in Fifteen-Eighty, andall ships were sent to battle. Finally, in Fifteen-Ninety, GovernorWhite was able to return to Roanoke Island. However, instead offinding the small settlement busy and growing, he discovered it wasempty. The only evidence telling where the colonists could have gonewere the letters C-R-O written on a wooden stick at the entrance tothe colony.
Governor White thought the letters meant the colonists had goneto live with the Croatoan Indians south of Roanoke. He was ready toinvestigate, but was forced to return to England after a great stormdamaged some equipment on his ships. Governor White tried severalmore times to return to America, but was never successful. He diedmany years later, never knowing what happened to his family and thecolony.
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VOICE TWO:
Today, visitors to Roanoke Island can gain a good understandingof what life was like for the colonists. On the northern end of theisland is the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. This park wasdeveloped on the same land used by the colonists. In fact, there isa building in the middle of the park that is modeled after the smallmilitary structure built when the colonists first arrived.
This model fort is the only structure in the park built in theexact place as the first building. The model fort was built the sameway it was created when the first settlers arrived. The fort wasmainly a square building with pointed structures called bastions.Bastions are secure military positions used in fighting.
Researchers believe the homes of the colonists would have beenbuilt near the road leading from the entrance of the fort. Theresearchers also discovered many objects from the colonial period.They include iron farming equipment, an Indian smoking pipe, andmetal counters used for keeping financial records.
VOICE ONE:
Inside the visitor’s center at Fort Raleigh National HistoricSite is the Elizabethan Room. This room has wooden walls and a stonefireplace from a sixteenth-century British home. The ElizabethanRoom is similar to the kind of rooms found in the home of Sir WalterRaleigh. He was a wealthy British investor who financially supportedthe Roanoke colony.
Outside the visitor’s center are the Elizabethan Gardens. TheGarden Club of North Carolina created these gardens as a memorial tothe first colonists. They are also examples of the kind of gardenswealthy supporters of the colony enjoyed in Britain. People visitingthe Elizabethan Gardens can enter through a sixteenth-century gardenhouse. Beautiful paths lead visitors among the different flowers andplants that grow throughout the year.
During warm summer nights, visitors at Roanoke Island can see aplay called “The Lost Colony.” The Roanoke Island HistoricalAssociation has been performing this play sinceNineteen-Thirty-Seven. It includes music, dance and the mysteriousstory of the lost colonists. The show is performed in an outdoortheater near the Elizabethan Gardens. The Waterside Theater isAmerica’s first outdoor theater.
VOICE TWO:
Several kilometers south of Fort Raleigh National Historic Siteis Roanoke Island Festival Park. The park has stores, two theatersand an art center. There is also a camp area where visitors can seehow British soldiers lived during colonial times. The soldiers weresent to Roanoke Island several years before the colonists. They setup a military settlement that later failed. People visiting thisrecreated camp area can learn from historians how the soldiers madeweapons from wood and metal. They can also learn about the foodsoldiers ate, how they talked and the games they played.
VOICE ONE:
The most interesting part of Roanoke Island Festival Park is aship called the Elizabeth Two. This is a representation of asixteenth-century ship called the Elizabeth. The Elizabeth was oneof seven small ships used to transport the colonists to RoanokeIsland. The recreated Elizabeth Two is twenty-one meters long andfive meters wide. There is also a smaller, seven-meter long boatcalled the Silver Chalice. This represents the kind of boat thecolonists used to carry their supplies from the large ship to land.
Historians working on the boats tell stories about the long,difficult trip the colonists made from Britain to North Carolina.The Elizabeth Two is also a working ship. Two times a year a smallcrew sails it to other ports along the Atlantic coast.
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VOICE TWO:
The mystery of the Lost Colony has never been solved. Yet, overthe years, several theories developed to explain what happened tothe colonists. Some people believe the settlers did, in fact, go tolive among the Croatoan Indians. Others believe the colonistssettled with the Pembrook Indians in the southeast part of what isnow North Carolina. Several historians think that the settlementsplit into two groups after Governor White returned to England. Theysay the larger group traveled north to the Chesapeake Bay where thecolonists had first planned to settle.
VOICE ONE:
The most interesting theory about the Lost Colony developednearly seventy years ago. In Nineteen-Thirty-Seven, a rock wasdiscovered about ninety-six kilometers west of Roanoke Island. Itwas covered with writing that many people thought was a message fromEleanor Dare to her father. The message reportedly said that thecolonists fled Roanoke after an Indian attack.
During the next three years, nearly forty similar rocks werediscovered. When put together, they told a great story about how thecolonists traveled southeast, and how Eleanor Dare died inFifteen-Ninety-Nine. Many historians did not believe the story, butthe media did. In time, however, an investigative reporterdiscovered the whole story was false, a trick.
VOICE TWO:
Each year, historians, researchers, scientists and visitorstravel to Roanoke Island. They go with the hope of discovering newevidence about what happened to the Lost Colony. Yet, so far, no newsigns have been uncovered. The Lost Colony remains a mystery – muchlike the events that took place there more than four-hundred yearsago.
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VOICE ONE:
This program was written by Jill Moss. It was produced by CatyWeaver. This is Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember. Join us again for another report aboutlife in the United States on the VOA Special English program THIS ISAMERICA. Next week, we tell about Jamestown – the first successfulcolony in America.