  9371 INGINA was the first chief known to the English settlers of Virginia. The voyagers, Amidas and Barlow, sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh, in the summer of 1584, landed upon the island of Wokoken, adjacent to Virginia. They saw several of the natives, and made them presents. Wingina was at this time confined in his cabin, from wounds received in battle, and did not see the English. He had not much faith in their good intentions, and would not trust them far. Soon after the return of Amidas and Barlow to England, Sir Richard Grenville intruded upon the territories of Wingina. It was he who committed the first outrage upon the natives, which excited their constant and deadly hostility. He made one short excursion into the country, during which, to revenge the loss of a silver cup, which had been stolen by an Indian, he burned a town. Grenville left one hundred and eight men to found a settlement on the island of Roanoke, and appointed Ralph Lane, governor. The English made several excursions into the country, in hopes of discovering mines of precious metal, of which the Indians, to delude them, spoke, and encouraged them to seek. Wingina bore the insults and provocations of the intruders, until the death of the old chief, Ensenore, his father. Under pretence of honoring his funeral, he assembled eighteen hundred of his warriors, with the intent, as the English say, of destroying them. The English were informed of the deadly design, by Skiko, the son of the chief Menatonon; and Governor Lane resolved to anticipate it. Upon a given signal, his men attacked the natives on the island where Wingina lived, having secured the canoes to prevent their escape. But five or six of the Indians were killed, and the rest escaped to the woods, where Lane knew it would be dangerous to follow them. This attack was the signal for the commencement of hostilities. The English were few in number, but their skill and bravery in war was well known to the red men, and they dreaded them, as if they had been superior in number. Lane aimed at securing the person of Wingina, and thus striking terror into his people; and accordingly watched every opportunity to gain information of his whereabouts. At length he ascertained that the chief had not been able to escape from the island, and that with a number of his chiefs and warriors, he was lurking in the forests of the island which was his capital. The English captain taking with him about one half of his men, placed them in ambush near the spot which Wingina frequented daily. It was the burial place of his father, and the chief, with a few companions, came there to give himself to weeping and mournful reflection. The English had little consideration for the place or the purpose of the chief’s visit. When they saw he was fairly within their power, they rushed from their concealment, and before the chief and his warriors could recover from their surprise and attempt to escape, shot them down. Lane then returned to the remainder of his men. The bodies of Wingina and his braves were found by his people, attracted to the spot by the report of the fire-arms; and for a time, it seemed as if the desire of revenge would induce them to follow the English and attack them. But the wiser portion of them, knowing the advantage which the English possessed in the use of fire-arms, restrained them. But Lane was not suffered to remain quiet in the enjoyment of his triumph. Conspiracies were detected in various quarters, and finally, the Indians compelled the whole English party to return to Europe. We cannot wonder at the rooted enmity to the whites which the Indians afterwards displayed. Not content with invading and taking possession of the country, the early visitors from England burned the towns and murdered the natives upon the slightest provocation. Early impressions are most lasting, and what could the English expect after giving the red men such an idea of their character? 0375m
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