9] But the way to a successful settlement in America was
not entirely opened until eight years later, when the English fleet,
under Howard, Raleigh, and Essex, completed the destruction of the
Spanish power by another great naval victory won in the harbor of
Cadiz.

Amid all this excitement and danger Raleigh did not forget his colony
in Virginia. Twice he sent relief expeditions; but the first was
stopped because in the struggle with Spain all the ships were demanded
for government service; and the second was so badly damaged by the
Spanish cruisers that it could not continue its voyage. Raleigh had
spent L40,000 in his several efforts to colonize Virginia, and the
burden became too heavy for him to carry alone. As Hakluyt said, "It
required a prince's purse to have the action thoroughly followed out."
He therefore consented, in 1589, to assign a right to trade in
Virginia to Sir Thomas Smith, John White, Richard Hakluyt, and others,
reserving a fifth of all the gold and silver extracted, and they
raised means for White's last voyage to Virginia.[20]

It was not until March, 1591, that Governor White was able to put to
sea again. He reached Roanoke Island August 17, and, landing, visited
the point where he had placed the settlement. As he climbed the sandy
bank he noticed, carved upon a tree in Roman letters, "CRO," without a
cross, and White called to mind that three years before, when he left
for England, it had been agreed that if the settlers ever found it
necessary to remove from the island they were to leave behind them
some such inscription, and to add a cross if they left in danger or
distress. A little farther on stood the fort, and there White read on
one of the trees an inscription in large capital letters, "Croatoan."
This left no doubt that the colony had moved to the island of that
name south of Cape Hatteras and near Ocracoke Inlet. He wished the
ships to sail in that direction, but a storm arose, and the captains,
dreading the dangerous shoals of Pamlico Sound, put to sea and
returned to England without ever visiting Croatoan.[21] White never
came back to America, and his separation from the colony is heightened
in tragic effect by the loss of his daughter and granddaughter.

What became of the settlers at Roanoke has been a frequent subject of
speculation. When Jamestown was established, in 1607, the search for
them was renewed, but nothing definite could be learned. There is,
indeed, a story told b