1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,606 This series presents information based in part on theory and conjecture. 2 00:00:15,606 --> 00:00:20,133 The producer's purpose is to suggest some possible explanations but not necessarily 3 00:00:20,133 --> 00:00:31,151 the only ones to the mysteries we will examine. 4 00:00:31,151 --> 00:00:35,158 116 people landed on an island off the coast of North Carolina. 5 00:00:35,158 --> 00:00:41,167 They established a foothold long before the Jamestown Colony was founded in Virginia, 6 00:00:41,167 --> 00:00:44,172 before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. 7 00:00:44,172 --> 00:00:49,180 But the fate of the Roanoke settlement remains a mystery. 8 00:00:49,180 --> 00:00:55,190 Is it possible for all these people, all these buildings, this entire community, 9 00:00:55,190 --> 00:01:06,208 to disappear without a trace? 10 00:01:06,208 --> 00:01:11,216 Great civilizations have flourished and then disappeared. 11 00:01:11,216 --> 00:01:19,229 The culture of Egypt testifies to man's skill in engineering. 12 00:01:19,229 --> 00:01:33,252 The ancient Greeks left us beauty, inform, and architecture. 13 00:01:33,252 --> 00:01:45,271 The Mayan pyramids paid tribute to a race that blossomed and then mysteriously disappeared. 14 00:01:45,271 --> 00:01:51,281 Modern archeologists have used the remains to decipher how these civilizations began. 15 00:01:51,281 --> 00:02:02,299 But there is an island off the Carolina coast that even today still hides the secret beginnings of America. 16 00:02:03,300 --> 00:02:08,309 The story begins in England, 1587. 17 00:02:08,309 --> 00:02:16,322 Elizabeth has been queen for almost a quarter of a century. 18 00:02:16,322 --> 00:02:22,331 Her favorite courtier is Sir Walter Rolly, a man of ambitious vision. 19 00:02:22,331 --> 00:02:26,338 Sir Walter implores Elizabeth to allow him a bold venture, 20 00:02:26,338 --> 00:02:33,349 establish a foothold in the new world which has until now been dominated by Spain. 21 00:02:33,349 --> 00:02:49,375 With her approval, he gathers 116 men, women, and children to brave an ocean crossing. 22 00:02:49,375 --> 00:03:07,404 A colony is established on Roanoke Island just off North Carolina. 23 00:03:07,404 --> 00:03:12,413 Barely are some of the first houses up when a problem becomes apparent. 24 00:03:12,413 --> 00:03:23,430 If the colony is to survive, more supplies are needed from England. 25 00:03:23,430 --> 00:03:30,442 On a clear day in August 1587, Governor John White bids goodbye to his beloved daughter Eleanor, 26 00:03:30,442 --> 00:03:37,453 to her husband Ananias Dare, and to his only grandchild Virginia Dare, nine days old, 27 00:03:37,453 --> 00:03:43,463 the first English child born in this new land. 28 00:03:43,463 --> 00:03:52,478 Every colonist is aware of the dangers of an Atlantic crossing for a man of White's age. 29 00:03:52,478 --> 00:04:05,499 Meanwhile, the governor hides his anxiety about this handful of people being virtually defenseless. 30 00:04:05,499 --> 00:04:12,510 They are extremely vulnerable. The threat of attack by unfriendly Indians who had already killed one of their people, 31 00:04:12,510 --> 00:04:16,516 the specter of a long, cold winter. 32 00:04:16,516 --> 00:04:29,538 Could the colonists plant enough food to ward off starvation? Will Governor White or anyone else ever see them again? 33 00:04:29,538 --> 00:04:38,552 When Governor White arrived in England, he rushed about London, frantically trying to line up the necessary supplies at a ship with a voyage back. 34 00:04:38,552 --> 00:04:47,567 He wanted to return to Roanoke as quickly as possible to ease the colonists' worry about being totally isolated. 35 00:04:47,567 --> 00:04:50,572 The governor's timing could not have been worse. 36 00:04:50,572 --> 00:05:05,596 England is gearing up for a war to the death with Spain, whose mighty armada is poised to strike. 37 00:05:05,596 --> 00:05:17,616 Sir Walter Rolly beseeches the Queen to send supplies, but she will not release a single ship. 38 00:05:17,616 --> 00:05:24,627 None of his pleading can force the Queen to change her mind. 39 00:05:24,627 --> 00:05:34,643 Spain's King Philip has assembled the greatest fleet the world had ever known, 137 ships with 30,000 men aboard. 40 00:05:34,643 --> 00:05:41,655 He hopes to crush the English Navy. 41 00:05:41,655 --> 00:05:49,668 When the battle is joined in the English Channel, the unwieldy Spanish galleons are no match for the longer-range English ships, 42 00:05:49,668 --> 00:05:57,681 whose captains include such famous seamen as Drake, Hawkins, Rolly, and Frobisher. 43 00:05:57,681 --> 00:06:07,697 The Spanish armada is soundly beaten. The English don't lose a single ship. The Spanish more than 50. 44 00:06:07,697 --> 00:06:15,710 Britannia now truly rules the waves. 45 00:06:15,710 --> 00:06:31,736 Despite the victory, it is three years before Governor White can convince someone to take him back to Roanoke. 46 00:06:37,746 --> 00:06:55,775 John White is gravely concerned. Surely by now, someone from the colony should have sighted the ships or heard the signals. 47 00:06:55,775 --> 00:07:13,804 Cautiously, they approach the beach. 48 00:07:13,804 --> 00:07:21,817 After three long years and so many disappointments, White nervously awaits the realization of his dreams. 49 00:07:21,817 --> 00:07:34,838 But where are his people? 50 00:07:34,838 --> 00:07:47,859 Knowing the colonists would fear an attack by the Spaniards, White orders the piping of a familiar English tomb to reassure anyone hiding in the woods. 51 00:07:47,859 --> 00:07:57,875 The Spaniards are not afraid of the Spaniards. 52 00:07:57,875 --> 00:08:07,892 The Spaniards are afraid of the Spaniards. 53 00:08:07,892 --> 00:08:31,931 White pervades his thinking. 54 00:08:31,931 --> 00:08:47,957 The trail inland is familiar, but empty. 55 00:08:47,957 --> 00:08:56,971 As they move deeper into the woods, the landing party fears the possibility of an attack by Indians. 56 00:08:56,971 --> 00:09:16,002 Governor White remembers that although the Indians were at first peaceful, a killing had created tensions that could well have flared into violence after he left. 57 00:09:16,002 --> 00:09:33,030 The first sign of any habitation is not familiar to White. He finds a stockade. Presumably, it encloses the village. His hopes soar. 58 00:09:33,030 --> 00:09:57,069 But as he enters the gate, he is stunned. There is no sign of life. 59 00:09:57,069 --> 00:10:08,087 Eerie silence. The compound is overgrown. Nothing remains. Even the sturdy buildings are gone. 60 00:10:08,087 --> 00:10:14,096 If the Spaniards had burned the buildings, where are the charred remains? 61 00:10:14,096 --> 00:10:25,114 If the colonists had been ambushed, there should be bleached bones. Something to tell the tale. There is nothing. 62 00:10:45,147 --> 00:11:01,173 Finally, one sign. A carved word. Croatoan. Before the governor had sailed, everyone agreed that if the colonists were to move away, they would leave a clue. 63 00:11:01,173 --> 00:11:08,184 Did this word mean they had gone to nearby Croatoan Island? 64 00:11:08,184 --> 00:11:20,204 The search continues into the night. Three more letters, C-R-O, are found carved on a tree. But nothing to tell what happened. 65 00:11:20,204 --> 00:11:36,230 Determined to go to Croatoan Island the following day, they return to their ship. A terrible storm comes up, driving them so far out to sea, they are forced to turn back to England. 66 00:11:36,230 --> 00:11:48,249 Governor White's anguish is unbearable. He was so near to those he loved, but kept from them by a cruel sea. 67 00:11:48,249 --> 00:11:59,267 Governor White later dies and is buried in England without ever learning his family and friends will one day be known as the Lost Colony of Roanoke. 68 00:11:59,267 --> 00:12:10,285 What did happen to them? Did they go to Croatoan? In search of, explores the possible answers next. 69 00:12:10,285 --> 00:12:20,301 The single word Croatoan that Governor White found would seem to indicate that the Lost Colony attempted a move to the nearby island of that name. 70 00:12:20,301 --> 00:12:32,321 While the governor never lived to search there himself, others who did, in colonial as well as modern times, found no indication that the colonists had ever even been there. 71 00:12:32,321 --> 00:12:39,332 No buildings, no bricks, no tools, nothing. 72 00:12:39,332 --> 00:12:47,345 What happened to the Lost Colony? This has been a matter for speculation by laymen and historians ever since that time. 73 00:12:47,345 --> 00:12:55,358 Author historian David Stick, who lives on nearby Cape Hatteras, has spent years trying to solve the riddle. 74 00:12:55,358 --> 00:13:04,373 There have been many theories. One, probably the most prevalent one, is that they were attacked by the Spaniards. 75 00:13:04,373 --> 00:13:15,390 The Spaniards, having settled in the West Indies with a number of colonies there, are known to have kept a close watch on their Oli colonists and what they were doing, but they did not attack. 76 00:13:15,390 --> 00:13:19,397 This has been proved by a thorough examination of the Spanish archive. 77 00:13:19,397 --> 00:13:30,415 Another theory advanced by one of the leading historians of this area is that they built a vessel and sailed back toward England and were lost at sea. 78 00:13:30,415 --> 00:13:44,437 This also is highly improbable. The treacherous waters and the vicinity of Cape Hatteras, known as the graveyard of the Atlantic, are not the type of waters in which you would want to begin a trip. 79 00:13:44,437 --> 00:13:52,450 In a small vessel built by people who were not shipwrights, heading back across was no navigational equipment. 80 00:13:52,450 --> 00:14:02,467 Today, approximately 1,000 people live on Roanoke Island and the Lost Colony remains a controversial topic. 81 00:14:02,467 --> 00:14:12,483 The U.S. Park Service established a national historic site here and Ranger historian William Evans has definite opinions about the mystery. 82 00:14:12,483 --> 00:14:16,489 I'm sort of torn between two theories as to what happened to the Lost Colony. 83 00:14:16,489 --> 00:14:31,514 One, I think that they either went south and lived on the outer banks for the friendly Hatteras Indians, became intermingled and absorbed into that colony and disappeared with that group when it died of smallpox generally in the 1700s. 84 00:14:31,514 --> 00:14:44,535 The both of the colony moved north towards the Chesapeake Bay, began to live friendly with a small tribe of Chesapeake Indians, but were violently massacred along with those Indians just before the Jamestown Colony arrived in 1607. 85 00:14:48,541 --> 00:14:56,554 The theory that they lived with Indians is given credence by a story from the Journal of Captain John Smith of the later Jamestown Colony. 86 00:14:57,556 --> 00:15:05,569 They enjoyed good relations with the local Indians through the efforts of Captain Smith, who took the trouble to learn the Indians' language. 87 00:15:05,569 --> 00:15:21,595 On a visit to Chief Powhatan, the father of Pocahontas, Smith was told of white people traveling with friendly Indians who were caught in an inter-tribal war. 88 00:15:21,595 --> 00:15:28,606 All the whites were slaughtered, except for a group of seven, four men, two boys, and a young maiden. 89 00:15:35,618 --> 00:15:55,650 The seven whites managed to escape. 90 00:15:56,652 --> 00:16:13,680 These seven could have survived only by living among friendly Indians, and down through the years there have been Indians in North Carolina, some with blue eyes, who claimed to be descended from these first English settlers. 91 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:19,689 If they did, in fact, live among the Indians, how can we trace their movement? 92 00:16:20,691 --> 00:16:28,704 In 1937, a number of stones were found that led in a trail from eastern North Carolina to northern Georgia. 93 00:16:28,704 --> 00:16:36,717 These stones were supposedly carved by Eleanor Dare as notes back to her father if he should return to look for the colony. 94 00:16:36,717 --> 00:16:44,730 That told what had happened to the colony, that her husband Anna Nass Dare had been killed by the Indians along with her child, Virginia Dare. 95 00:16:44,730 --> 00:16:53,744 And that she was being carried to North Georgia as an Indian princess to be married or to be given in marriage to an Indian cheat. 96 00:16:55,748 --> 00:17:05,764 The musty basement of a small college for women may hold the long sought-after answer. Something has been stored here that has been all but forgotten. 97 00:17:06,766 --> 00:17:11,774 In search of cameras traveled to Gainesville, Georgia, to Bernal College. 98 00:17:12,775 --> 00:17:21,790 In 1937, a tourist in North Carolina uncovered a stone with words carved on it. He brought it to Bernal's history department. 99 00:17:22,792 --> 00:17:27,800 A $500 reward was advertised for anyone who found additional stones. 100 00:17:28,801 --> 00:17:35,813 The school was besieged with stones and ended up with 47. Most were obvious fakes. 101 00:17:36,814 --> 00:17:41,822 A national magazine published a story claiming the stones were all fakes. 102 00:17:42,824 --> 00:17:48,834 Embarrassed, the college put the stones in a basement where they've been gathering dust for more than 40 years. 103 00:17:50,837 --> 00:17:57,848 The first stone may be authentic according to the present head of the history department, Dr. James Sutherland. 104 00:17:58,850 --> 00:18:06,863 The stone reports to tell the story of what happened to the lost colonists of Roanoke. 105 00:18:07,865 --> 00:18:12,873 And here you can see much better the wording on the stone. 106 00:18:13,874 --> 00:18:21,887 It says that Ananias Dare and Virginia went hence unto heaven 1591. Any Englishman show John White, Governor Virginia. 107 00:18:22,889 --> 00:18:37,913 17 months after the original find, a man from Atlanta, a stone mason and a stone hauler, found a series of stones near Greenville, South Carolina along the Saluda River. 108 00:18:38,915 --> 00:18:46,928 The fourth stone that he found is supposed to be the other stone mentioned on the reverse side of the original. 109 00:18:46,928 --> 00:18:59,949 This stone does contain the names of 17 dead, 15 on the back with Ananias and Virginia Dare on the front side making a total of 17. 110 00:19:00,951 --> 00:19:04,957 I believe that the stones that were later found were obviously fraudulent. 111 00:19:05,959 --> 00:19:08,964 The evidence seems to certainly support that belief. 112 00:19:09,965 --> 00:19:16,977 However, this original stone, to my knowledge, has never been directly disproved. 113 00:19:17,978 --> 00:19:25,991 The Smithsonian Institute examined this original stone and could not find anything fraudulent. 114 00:19:26,993 --> 00:19:31,000 Experts cannot agree on the authenticity of any of these other stones. 115 00:19:32,001 --> 00:19:40,014 It is intriguing to think that one of these stones could be, like the Rosetta Stone of Egypt, an important link, a key to our past. 116 00:19:47,026 --> 00:19:53,035 Today's Roanoke Island has its legend of the ghost of Virginia Dare, the grandchild of Governor White. 117 00:19:54,037 --> 00:20:02,050 Legend has it that beautiful Virginia was betrothed to a young Indian hunter, but she was also loved by a very jealous medicine man. 118 00:20:03,051 --> 00:20:07,058 To prevent her from marrying his rival, he changed her into a deer. 119 00:20:08,060 --> 00:20:14,069 Later, unaware of the change, her true love shot and killed the deer with an arrow. 120 00:20:15,071 --> 00:20:25,087 There are those who say the ghost of Virginia Dare, sometimes a deer and sometimes a young maiden, appears in these woods on moonlit nights, 121 00:20:26,089 --> 00:20:33,100 trying but unable to tell us the answer to the mystery of what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke. 122 00:20:34,102 --> 00:20:49,126 It would seem that a cruel fate was against the colony from the beginning, or at the very least, it suffered from a series of unfortunate coincidences. 123 00:20:51,129 --> 00:20:55,136 First, the lack of planning that did not properly supply them. 124 00:20:56,138 --> 00:21:04,151 Then, the stubborn queen who would not spare a single ship to help a tiny colony 3,000 miles away. 125 00:21:05,152 --> 00:21:14,167 Then, whatever event it was that caused the colonists to leave Roanoke, the storm that drove Governor White's ship away, 126 00:21:15,168 --> 00:21:18,173 and the probable slaughter of most of the remaining colonists. 127 00:21:19,175 --> 00:21:30,193 And finally, if at least some of the darestones are real, that none of them were found for 350 years. 128 00:21:31,194 --> 00:21:39,207 It would seem that fate definitely was against the unfortunate lost colony of Roanoke. 129 00:21:40,209 --> 00:21:54,232 Coming up next, 20th Century with Mike Wallace reports on the impact of DNA fingerprinting and brings you an exclusive interview with O.J. Simpson Trial Attorney Peter Neufeld. 130 00:21:55,233 --> 00:22:01,243 Then, weapons at war marches into the horror of the Western Front with the young Americans they called the Doughboys. 131 00:22:02,245 --> 00:22:10,258 And later tonight, Vanishing Act Week begins on History's Mysteries with an investigation into the disappearance of Teamster Kingpin Jimmy Hoffa, 132 00:22:11,259 --> 00:22:13,263 at 8 here on the History Channel where the past comes alive.