ntly were of the older design and the charge had to be fired
by the application of a fuse; others had been fixed with the more
up-to-date firing mechanism attached to the gun. There were also
matchlocks, snaphaunce pieces, pistols, swords and hangers (cutlasses).
For the larger plantation there were small cannon, called murderers,
usually placed at the bow of a ship to prevent boarding, falconets and
petronels. The matches mentioned were the slow-burning fuses, kept by a
soldier in his bandoleer. Once ignited, these "matches" kept a
smouldering fire and could be used again and again. Pirates were
accustomed to stick them lighted in their beards and hair, not to give a
ferocious look, but for convenience.

Powder and lead also were on hand in many households, for life, on the
edge of a wilderness with stealthy Indians frequently lurking about, was
hazardous in the extreme. Men who worked in the fields took fowling
pieces with them and, at times, armed guards were stationed to be on the
lookout, and warn the workers in case of danger.

Among other possessions listed were the houses of the planters, their
boats--barks, shallops and skiffs being named--and, at George Sandys'
plantation across from Jamestown, a house for silkworms had been framed.
The prolific growth of mulberry trees, about the Indian settlements and
elsewhere, encouraged the English to conclude that Virginia was an ideal
location for development of the silk industry. Greatly encouraged from
England, the colonists made earnest efforts, throughout the seventeenth
century, to establish the culture and production of silk on a paying
basis. However, the lure of profit accruing from the easy tobacco crop,
plus the difficulty in obtaining for the Colony skilled silk workers,
resulted eventually in the abandonment of the undertaking.

ABUNDANT SUPPLIES FOR THE COLONISTS

Fearing that their right of assembly, instituted in 1619, would be
revoked, the colonists, following the abrogation of the charter of the
Virginia Company, opposed the decision of King Charles I, to take over
administration of affairs in Virginia, and sent a protest to England,
1625. Nevertheless, facing the inevitable, they acceded to the Royal
demands and surrendered the colony to the King. One of the immediate
effects of the change in control was a stimulus to trade. So abundant
were the supplies brought in by traders, now independent of the
requirements formerly placed by the Virginia Com