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The Capital and the Bay: Narratives of Washington and the Chesapeake Bay Region, ca. 1600-1925
The Calvert parers, Vol. IIILETTER FROM LEONARD CALVERT TO SIR RICHARD LECHFORD DATED 30TH MAY, 1634.
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Kinde Partner
St. Cecilia-s day the 22th of November 1634 a small Gale of winde comeing gently from the Northeast, wee weighed from the cowes, about tenn in the morninge and sayled towards the needles, the south-west end of the Ile of Wight, betweene the two lands, about the same eueninge the winde leauinge vs wee ankered right against the Castle of Yarmouth. That night there rose so strong a winde, as forced a ffrench barke that rode by vs from her anker hold and comeinge fowle vpon our pinnace, turned her adrift likewise, wherevpon early in the morninge hauinge lost her ankor, shee set sayle, and turninge too and againe till shee spoake wth vs, shee streight made out to sea, and wee shortly after followed. With this winde we sayled 60 leagues cleare of the lande end of England, where the winde suddainly changed to the Northwest against vs, and blew soe strong and tempestuous, that our pinnace not able to indure it, bore vp before the winde, and returned into the Iland Scilly; whence not long after shee put forth to sea againe, and met vs at the Barbadoes, where we had put in though it were out of our due course, to furnish our selues wth seed corne, for our plantinge that yeare in Maryland, which wee had little hopes Virginia would afford vs, and therefore were vnwillinge to put ourselues to their mercy, for a Commodity which did so necessarily concerne our whole subsistance: At this Iland wee arrived January the third, and remained there till the 24th of the same moneth, and thence wee set sayle for St
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Christophers where we arrived the 29th of January, here we stayed some tenne dayes, to take in a new supply of water, and shift our ship for the second part of our voyage, which done we set sayle for Virginia, where we arriued the 27th of ffebruary, and staying there some 8 or 9 dayes to land some passengers, and to deliuer the kinges letters to Sr John Haruey, wee sayled for Maryland, the Countrey we so longe looked for, [in] which we made choyse of the most southerly riuer to set downe in, and (as I have found it) the fairest; beeinge 7 or 8 leagues broad at the mouth affordinge a deepe channell from side to side, the land beinge high and free from swampes and marshes; growne over wth large timber trees, and not choaked vp wth any vnder-shrubs, but so cleare as a coach may wthout hinderance passe all ouer the Countrie: At our first arriuall, the Indians being astonished at the sight of so great a Cannow (as they termed it) and at the number of people, they imagined those to bee, which were as it were heaped vpon the deckes, they raysed all the nations throughout the riuer, makeinge first from towne to towne, by which they made a generall alarm, as if they intended to summon all the Indians of America against vs, this happened more by the ill reporte our enemies of Virginia had prepossessed them wthall, of our cominge to their countrey wth intention to destroy them all, and take from them their countrey, then by any reall iniuries they had received from vs: wherevpon to settle some peace betwixt vs and them, and giue them more truely to vnderstand our good intentions toward them, and wthall to view all parts of this faire riuer, so to be able to make some good choise of a seat for our Colony, I sailed in our pinnace almost to the head of the said riuer, where the Emperour of all those pettie indian kinges, called the emperour of Pascatoway did reside; to whome after I had declared my good intentions in
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comeinge to those parts, I settled a firme peace wth him, and likewise obteined leaue from him, to make vse of what place I would chuse for myselfe and our company to sett downe in this done I returned to the place where I had left the great ship at anchour, viewinge many parts of the shoare on each side of the riuer by the way: In all wch tract I could not finde, what I most looked for, to wit some field cleered and left by the Indians, wherefore I went from the ship more towards the mouth of the said riuer, where (by direction of our Captaine Henry ffleet who was very well acquainted with all parts of the riuer, and of the Indians likewise) I found a most conuenient harbour, and pleasant Countrey lyinge on each side of it, wth many large fields of excellent land, cleared from all wood; on the east side of it we have seated ourselues, wthin one halfe mile of the riuer, wthin a pallizado of one hundred and twentie yarde square, wth fower flankes, we haue mounted one peece of ordnance, and placed six murderers in parts most convenient; a fortification (we thinke) sufficient to defend against any such weake enemies as we haue reason to expect here: whilest we were a doinge these thinges a shoare, our pinnace by our directions followed the trade of beauer, thorow all parts of the precincts of this pvince: But by reason of our so late arriuall here we came too late for the first part of the trade of this yeare: wch is the reason I haue sent home so few furrs, (they beinge all dealt for by those of Virginia before our comeinge:) the second part of our trade is now in hand, and is like to prove very beneficiall: The nation we trade wthall at this time ayeare, is called the Massawomeckes.
this nation cometh seuen, eight and tenne dayes journey from the Iland to vs; these are those, from whome Kircke had formerly all his trade of beauer; But since they haue found
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a trade with vs, they haue left of that other, by reason we are by halfe the way neerer to them, wee vnderstand for cetaine, by Indians lately come from the said nation, that they haue brought wth them vpwards of 2000 skins Our shares of those whatsoeuer it shall prove to bee, I will send home the next yeare: wee haue lost by our late comeinge 3000 skins, which others of Virginia haue traded for, but hereafter they shall come noe more here wherefore I make no doubt but next yeare, we shall driue a very great trade, if our supply of trucke faile not which we have sent for, the particulars whereof I haue herewith sent you, and the summe we haue all thought fitt to adventure is thirtie pounds? share, as by the note of particulars you may?ceive; it is double to that we adventured last yeare, because we finde by experience, that the quantity of trucke we brought ouer last is nothinge, in respect of what is here to be vented, and there is not anythinge doth more indanger the losse of commerce wth the Indians, then want of trucke to barter with them, wherefore I hope you will not grudge to put in your share though as yet you have not the full returne you expected from your last aduenture: what you finde short therein, you cannot count lost, for you haue so hopefull expectation of what is as good as present possession: The number of skins allreadie come in, is 298, the weight of them is 451l of beauer, our 3--30th shares in this amountes to 45l of beauer, out of wch there is deducted our share in such charges for the pinnace, and other things that we are interested in, whereof I haue sent you a note, that cometh to two pound fiue sixteenths of beauer, and in another bill to one pound fower shillinges six pence in money, the remainder of beauer, will be 43??11/15 conteined in 331/2 skins marked vpon the outward-most of the skins of the packe thus, what my share comes to, I desire
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wth G: up in a hhd Marked thus C: L:put you would giue me an account of, together with that of the sale of them the next yeare, and lay it out for me towards my share in the supply of trucke, and in what it cometh short of the summe requisite for that purpose, I desire to be answerable to you for it, the next yeare, if you will doe me the courtesie to lay it out for me, for my trust to what I should receiue from the trade of beauer this yeare made me, dispose of what money I haue for 3 yeares time wherefor I cannot readdily furnish my-selfe; I will proue honest to you, if you dare trust me for so much; if not, pray giue notice presently of to my brother Peasley who dwelleth in a part of Mr Gages new house in Lincolnes Inns fielde: right against the Cock-pit play-house, and he will doe what can be done suddainly for me. I haue in beauer, (wch came in lately since my comeinge wth my brothers ship from St maries from Maryland, to James riuer in Virginia) as much as will satisfie for the courtesy I desire of you, but I cannot send it now by reason the ship cannot stay till I send for it; the quantity of skins lately come in is 233 of beauer, 53 muskatt skins, 17 otter skins. In Indian coates one rich fox skins coat, fower loose fox skins and one coat of martin skins, this a small boat brought in, which wee had sent forth to gather what scatteringe skins were to be had among the Indians, thorow the baye in which voyage they that went tooke particular observation of all places they came to, and of all passages between them and the Indians, and gaue me a description of all in writinge, a coppy whereof I haue herewith sent you; and likewise a more exact iournall of all our voyage then I could finde time to deliuer vnto you in this letter, in respect of my much other businesse about the [letter torn] the ship homeward, and other affaires of the Colonie: This I haue sent you was writ by a most honest and discreet
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gentleman, wherefore you may be confident of the truth of it: when you deliuer vnto Mrs Constant Wells her 16th part of the beauer, pray giue her likewise these bills of Charges, and desire of her, her 16th part of the supply, all wch thinges I will acquaint her with. There is likewise a proportion of charges agreed vpon by the rest of the partners and myselfe for a supply of ropes and sailes for the pinnace, to the valew of twentie pounds against next yeare, whereof our shares cometh toe 50l shillings. This money we haue appointed Mr Low master of the Arke to receiue, and dispose for us in this manner. If you can doe me the courtesie to disburse my part for those other things, I desire you will doe the like for this; and I shall euer be readie to doe you what service here or elsewhere I shall be able and rest
Your affectionate ffriend and Seruant
Leonard Caluert
I pray remember my best respects to Sr George Kemp, and all my worthy ffriends in Graues=end lane
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