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

xxix

INTRODUCTION.

march'd away in a snow ancle deep, who are thought to have cast themselves into a branch of some river, rather than to be treated like Drum'ond.

Bacon's body was so made away, as his bones were never found to be exposed on a gibbet as was purpos'd, stones being laid on his coffin, supposed to be done by Laurence.

Near this time arrived a small fleet with a regiment from England S'r John Berry Admirall, Coll: Herbert Jefferies com'ander of the land forces and Collo: Morrison who had one year been a former Govern'r there, all three joined in a com'ission with or to S'r William Barclay, soon after when a generall court, and also an assembly were held, where some of our former assembly [with so many others] were put to death, diverse whereof were persons of honest reputation and handsome estates, as that the Assembly petitioned the Govern'r to spill no more bloud, and Mr. Presly at his coming home told me, he belived the Govern'r would have hang'd half the country, if they had let him alone, the first was Mr. Bland whose friends in England had procured his pardon to be sent over with the ffleet, which he pleaded at his tryall, was in the Govern'rs pocket [tho' whether 'twas so, or how it came there, I know not, yet did not hear 'twas openly contradicted] but he was answered by Collo: Morrison that he pleaded his pardon at swords point, which was look'd upon an odd sort of reply, and he was executed; [as was talked] by private instruction from England the Duke of York having sworn by god Bacon & Bland shoud dye.

The Govern'r went in the fleet to London [whether by com'and from his Majesty or spontaneous I did not hear] leaving Col. Jefferyes in his place, and by next shipping came back a person who waited on his hon'r in his voyage, and untill his death, from whom a report was whisper'd about that the king did say that old fool had hang'd more men in that naked country, than he had done for the murther of his father, whereof the Govern'r hearing dyed soon after without having seen his majesty; which shuts up this tragedy.

APPENDIX.

To avoid incumbering the body of the foregoing little discourse, I have not therein mentioned the received opinion in Virginia, which very much attributed the promoting these perturbac'ons on Mr. Laurence, & Mr. Bacon with his other adherents, were esteemed, as but wheels agitated by the weight of his former & present resentments, after their cholor was raised up to a very high pitch, at having been [so long & often] trifled with in their humble supplication to the Govern'r for his im'ediate taking in hand the most speedy meanes towards stopping the continued effusions of so much English bloud,