ll stream of water near Jamestown. Their
raging thirst for gold was re-excited by this incident. Smith, in his
History of Virginia, describing the frenzy of the moment, says, "there
was no thought, no discourse, no hope, and no work, but to dig gold,
wash gold, refine gold, and load gold. And, notwithstanding captain
Smith's warm and judicious representations how absurd it was to
neglect other things of immediate use and necessity, to load such a
drunken ship with gilded dust, yet was he overruled, and her returns
were made in a parcel of glittering dirt, which is to be found in
various parts of the country, and which they, very sanguinely,
concluded to be gold dust."

{1608}

The two vessels returned laden, one with this dirt, and the other with
cedar. This is the first remittance ever made from America by an
English colony.

The effects of this fatal delusion were soon felt, and the colony
again began to suffer that distress, from scarcity of food, which had
before brought it, more than once, to the brink of ruin.

[Sidenote: Smith explores the Chesapeake.]

The researches of the English settlers had not yet extended beyond the
country adjacent to James river. Smith had formed the bold design of
exploring the great bay of Chesapeake, examining the mighty rivers
which empty into it, opening an intercourse with the nations
inhabiting their borders, and acquiring a knowledge of the state of
their cultivation and population. Accompanied by Doctor Russel, he
engaged in this hardy enterprise in an open boat of about three tons
burthen, and with a crew of thirteen men. On the 2d of June, he
descended the river in company with the last of Newport's two vessels,
and, parting with her at the capes, began his survey at cape Charles.
With great fatigue and danger, he examined every river, inlet, and
bay, on both sides of the Chesapeake, as far as the mouth of the
Rappahannock. His provisions being exhausted, he returned, and arrived
at Jamestown on the 21st of July. He found the colony in the utmost
confusion and disorder. All those who came last with Newport were
sick; the danger of famine was imminent; and the clamour against the
president was loud, and universal. The seasonable arrival of Smith
restrained their fury. The accounts he gave of his discoveries, and
the hope he entertained that the waters of the Chesapeake communicated
with the south sea,[19] extended their views and revived their
spirits. They contented the