A History of the Valley of Virginia by Samuel Kercheval (1833; 3rd ed. 1902)

xii

INTRODUCTION.

of the inhabitants of that place so many as may well be spared without too much weakening of the plantations, and to employ those men against the Indians, &c.-Idem, p. 140.

It was the opinion of the whole body of the assembly that we should go three several marches upon the Indians, at three several times of the year, viz: first in November, secondly in March, thirdly in July, &c.—Idem, p. 141.

In 1631-32, it is ordered that no person or persons shall dare to speak or to parley with any Indians, either in the woods or in any plantation, if he can possibly avoid it by any means, &c.—Idem, p. 67.

The author considers the foregoing extracts sufficient to enable the reader to form some opinion of the spirit and character of the early settlers of our State, particularly as it relates to their sufferings and difficulties with the Indian tribes. It is not deemed expedient or necessary to go into a detailed history of the first settlement of our country, as there are several general histories of Virginia now to be obtained, written by authors, whose abilities and means of information the author could not expect to equal.

The author will close this brief sketch of the first settlement of Virginia, with a few general remarks in relation to the first introduction of slavery. It appears from our early historians, that negroes were first introduced into our state from a Dutch ship in the year 1620. 0 woful day for our country ! To use the language of Mr. Snowden, this was an evil hour for our country—It truly brought new sins and new deaths to the new world. The present generation have abundant cause to deplore the unhallowed cupidity and want of all the finer feelings of our nature, manifested in this baleful and unrighteous traffic. It has entailed upon us a heavy calamity, which will perhaps require the wisdom of ages yet to come to remove. That it must and will be removed, there can be but little doubt. History furnishes no example of any part of the human race being kept in perpetual slavery. Whether the scheme of sending them to Africa will ultimately produce the desired effect, can only be tested by time: it is however most devoutly to be desired.

BACON'S REBELLION IN VIRGINIA IN 1675-76

The document which follows relates to one of the most singular events which ever occurred in Virginia, and its interest is a sufficient inducement for its insertion in this work. It was published in the Richmond Evangelical Magazine many years ago, but is now out of print. The editor of that work, (the late revered and highly esteemed Dr. Rice,) in introducing it into his pages, says: It was taken verbatim from a copy in the library now belonging to congress, but formerly the property of Mr. Jefferson. Who the author is we cannot discover. He was certainly a man of much cleverness, and wrote well. But our readers will judge for themselves. The name of