ir
outlay, and required President Smith to aid Newport to do three
things[3]--viz., crown Powhatan; discover a gold-mine and a passage to
the South Sea; and find Raleigh's lost colony. Smith tells us that he
was wholly opposed to all these projects, but submitted as best he
might.

The coronation of Powhatan was a formality borrowed from Sir Walter
Raleigh's peerage for Manteo, and duly took place at Werowocomoco.
Powhatan was presented with a basin, ewer, bed, bed-cover, and a
scarlet cloak, but showed great unwillingness to kneel to receive the
crown. At last three of the party, by bearing hard upon his shoulders,
got him to stoop a little, and while he was in that position they
clapped it upon his head. Powhatan innocently turned the whole
proceeding into ridicule by taking his old shoes and cloak of raccoon
skin and giving them to Newport.

To seek gold-mines and the South Sea, Newport, taking all the strong
and healthy men at the fort, visited the country of the Monacans
beyond the falls of the James. In this march they discovered the vein
of gold that runs through the present counties of Louisa, Goochland,
Fluvanna, and Buckingham; but as the ore was not easily extracted from
the quartz they returned to Jamestown tired and disheartened. The
search for Raleigh's lost colony was undertaken with much less
expense--several small parties were sent southward but learned nothing
important.

In December, 1608, Newport returned to England, taking with him a
cargo of pitch, tar, iron ore, and other articles provided at great
labor by the overworked colonists. Smith availed himself of the
opportunity to send by Newport an account of his summer explorations,
a map of Chesapeake Bay and tributary rivers, and a letter in answer
to the complaints signified to him in the instructions of the home
council. Smith's reply was querulous and insubordinate, and spiteful
enough against Ratcliffe, Archer, and Newport, but contained many
sound truths. He ridiculed the policy of the company, and told them
that "it were better to give L500 a ton for pitch, tar, and the like
in the settled countries of Russia, Sweden, and Denmark than send for
them hither till more necessary things be provided"; "for," said he,
"in overtaxing our weake and unskillful bodies, to satisfie this
desire of present profit, we can scarce ever recover ourselves from
one supply to another." Ratcliffe returned to England with Newport,
after whose departure Smith w