Commodities of the Countrey.
Besides those things which do serve to satisfie Hunger, or provoke it, the Land doth with great return produce Indigo, Ginger, Tobacco, Cotton, and other Commodities fit to send abroad and furnish foreign Markets; and when a little time shall have brought those kind of Plants to maturity, and given the Inhabitants leisure to furnish themselves with Conveniences for ordering those things aright, the Trials that they have already made of the Soil and its fitness for such Plantations, assure you, that besides Silk, enough to storeEurope, and a great many other considerable Commodities, they shall have as great plenty of good Wine and Oyl, as any part of the World.
The Mould is generally black, mellow, and upon handling feels soft, and (to use their Expression who have been there) soapy, and is generally all over the Countrey just like the fine Mould of our well order’d Gardens. Under this black Earth, which is of a good thickness in most places that they have try’d, there lies a Bed of Marle, and in some parts Clay.
Fish and Water-Fowl.
The Rivers are stor’d with plenty of excellent Fish of several sorts, which are taken with great ease in abundance, and are one great part of the Natives Provision, who are never like to want this Recruit, in a Countrey so abounding in large Rivers, there being in that one small Tract betweenPort RasalandCape Carteret, which are not one Degree distant, five or six great Navigable Rivers, that empty themselves into the Sea. These Rivers are also cover’d with Flocks of Ducks and Mallard, whereof millions are seen together, besides Cranes, Herons, Geese, Curlews, and other Water-Fowl, who are so easie to be kill’d, that onely rising at the discharge and noise of a Gun, they instantly light again in the same place, and presently offer a fresh Mark to the Fowler. At the Mouths of the Rivers, and along the Sea-Coast, are Beds of Oysters, which are of a longer Make than those inEurope, but very well tasted, wherein are often found good large Pearls, which though the unskilfulIndiansby washing the Oysters do commonly discolour, and spoil their lustre, yet ’tis not to be doubted, but if rightly order’d, there will be found many of value, and the Fishing for them turn to some account.
Besides the easie Provisions which the Rivers and Sea afford, their Woods are well stock’d with Deer, Rabbets, Hares, Turtle-Doves, Phesants, Partridges, and an infinite number of Wood-Pigeons and wild Turkies, which are the ordinary Dishes of theIndians, whose House-keeping depends on their Fishing and Hunting, and who have found it no ill way of Living in so fertile a Countrey, to trust themselves without any labor or forecast, to the Supplies which are there provided to their hands, without the continual trouble of Tillage and Husbandry. Besides, these Woods are fill’d with innumerable variety of smaller Birds, as different in their Notes as Kinds.
Temperature of the Climate.
The Temperature of this Province is agreeable to a Countrey, whose Position is on the warmer side of the temperateZone, but yet the Heat is not so sultry nor offensive, as in Places under the same Latitude in theOld World; to which moderation of Heat, as well as the healthiness of it, the vastAtlantickOcean, lying to the East and South of it, may perhaps not a little contribute, an instance whereof some thinkChinato be; to which deservedly admir’d CountreyCarolinaexactly answers in its Position and Latitude, the trending from North-East to South-West of its Coast, and the lowness of its Shore, and wants nothing but Inhabitants, tomake it equal, if not excell, in all conveniences of Life, as it doth in richness of Soil, that flourishing Empire. The healthiness of the Air is such, that it is not onely benign and favorable to the home-bredIndians, and Constitutions accustom’d to it, but theEnglish-men who first Planted onAshleyRiver, though for some other Conveniences they Planted on the side, or almost middle of a Morass, and were encompass’d with a salt Marsh, where the Air, pent up with Woods that surrounded them, had not that freedom it hath in open and cultivated Countreys, yet lost not in a whole years time, of a considerable number, any one Person, of any Disease to be imputed to the Countrey, those few that dy’d in that time sinking under lingring Distempers which they brought with them, and had almost worn them out before they came thither. TheBermudians(who being accustom’d to the pure Air of their own Island, cannot without hazard of their Lives put themselves into any other Place) assur’d of the healthiness of this Place, which is the next Land to them, and under the same Latitude, venture hither. And generally all theEnglishPlanting in theWest-Indies, are so taken with the Conveniences of this Countrey, which, as some of the most considerable of theEnglishin those Parts say of it, promises all that the Heart of Man can wish, that they send the overplus of their People hither; to which the Inhabitants ofBarbados, a skilful and wary sort of Planters, well knowing in all the parts of theWest-Indies, have been found to remove the Hands they could spare. As the Summer is not intolerably nor offensively hot, so the Winter is not troublesom nor pinching, but enough to correct the Humors of Mens Bodies, the better to strengthen them, and preserve their Healths, and so far to check the growth of Plants, that by this stop they may put out more regularly, and the Corn and other Fruits the better ripen together, and be ready seasonably at the Harvest, the want whereof in some Countreys hinders the beneficial Growth of several valuable Commodities, the continual Spring all the year long making that their Crops are never ready, their Trees being laden with green and ripe Fruit at the same time, which is to be seen in the Vines growing between theTropicks, where, though they bear excellent Grapes, yet they cannot make any Wine, whilest the mixture of ripe and sowre Grapes upon the same Branch, renders them unfit for the Press, which from Grapes so blended, though of a good kind, would squeeze out a very crude and useless Liquor. This also is the reason why many Parts where our Wheat will grow very well, do yet lose the benefit of it, whilest the several Ears ripening unequally, never make the Crop fit for the Sickle. But this Countrey hath Winter enough to remove that Inconvenience, and to put such a stop to the Rise of the Sap, and the Budding of Plants, as to make the several kinds of Fruits Bud and Blossom in their distinct Seasons, and keep even pace till they are fit to be gather’d.
Nature, Constitutions, and Manners of the Inhabitants.
To this happy Climate the native Inhabitants are very well suited, a strong, lusty, and well shap’d People, who to their well knit and active Bodies, want not stout and vigorous Minds; they are a People of a good Understanding, well Humor’d, and generally so just and Honest, that they may seem to have no notice of, as their Language hath no word for, Dishonesty and Cheating; and the worst Name they have for ill Men is, that they are not good. They are a stout and valiant People, which appears in the constant Wars they are engag’d in, not out of covetousness, and a desire of usurping others Possessions, or to enrich themselves by the Spoils of their Neighbors, but upon a pitch of Honor, and for the glory of Victory, which is their greatest joy, there being no parts of their Lives wherein they enjoy so much satisfaction, and give themselves so wholly to Jollity, as in their Triumphs after Victory. Valor therefore is the Vertue they most esteem andreward, and he which hath behav’d himself well in the Wars, is suffer’d to wear the Badges of Honor, and is advanc’d beyond others with some Marks of his Courage; which amongst some is blacking the Skin below his Eyes with black Lead, in fashion something of an Half-Moon; which Mark of Courage is not suffer’d to be worn by any, but those who by some brave Action, as killing the Enemy’s Leader,&c.hath signaliz’d himself in their Encounters. They are faithful to their Promises, fair and candid in their Dealings, and so far from Dishonesty, that they want even the Seeds of it,viz.Forecast and Covetousness; and he will be very little apt to deceive you to Day, who troubles not himself much about to Morrow, and trusts for the Provisions of the Day to the Day it self; which proceeds not in them for want of Wit, but desire of Content and Quiet, or by the help of their natural Reason they enjoy that Happiness which the Philosophers could not by their Study and Reading attain to, whilest these Men cut off those Desires which Learning could never help the other to Govern; and which if once permitted to run out beyond the present, are capable of no Rest nor Bounds. In their Conversation they are courteous and civil, and in their Visits make Presents to one another; when they meet, their way of Salutation is stroaking on the Shoulders, and sucking in their Breath; and if he be a great Man whom they Salute, they stroak his Thighs too; as civil an Address, as those Patterns of good Breeding, the Hero’s, us’d to their Princes, who in their greatest Courtships, we are told, embrac’d their Knees: After their Salutation they sit down; and it is usual with them to sit still almost a quarter of an hour before they speak, which is not an effect of stupidity or sullenness, but the accustom’d Gravity of their Countrey; for they are in their Tempers a merry, frollick, gay People, and so given to Jollity, that they will Dance whole Nights together, the Women sitting by and Singing, whilest the Men Dance to their Ayrs, which though not like ours, are not harsh or unpleasing, but are something like the Tunes of theIrish: So that if we will not let our selves too fondly admire onely the Customs we have been bred up in, nor think Men are to be valu’d for making Legs after our Mode, or the Clothes they wear, which, the finer and gayer they are, always the more to be suspected of Luxury and Effeminateness; if we will allow but these Men to follow the Garbs of their own Countrey, and think them fine enough in a shape onely to hide their Nakedness before, or a Deer-skin hanging loosely on their Shoulders, and their Women not ill Dress’d in Garments of Moss, and Necklaces of Beads, whilest the Fashion of their Courts require no other Ornaments; if, I say, a long and pleasant Life, without Distemper or Care, be to be valu’d, without the incumbrance of unnecessary Trinkets; if Men are to be esteem’d for Valor, Honesty, Friendship, Humanity and good Nature, though Strangers to the ceremonious Troubles we are accustom’d to, the Natives ofCarolinawill as little, or perhaps less, deserve the Name ofMiserable, orSalvage, as those that give it them. ’Tis true, theFrenchandSpaniardswho have Planted amongst them, or with little Armies travell’d their Countrey, have been ill handled by them; but yet theIndiansnever did them any harm, or treated them otherwise than Friends, till thoseEuropeansby their breach of Faith and several Outrages, had provok’d their just Revenge; and they did nothing but what most virtuous and generous sort of Men are apt to do, to revenge those Affronts, which did not agree with their Tempers tamely to endure. That this did not proceed from treachery and inconstancy in their Natures, is apparent in the contrary Correspondence they have had with theEnglishSetled amongst them, to whom they have been all along very kind, as they were at first very covetous of their Company; for after that some of their King’s Relation had been atBarbados, and had seen and admir’d the Temper, Fashions and Strength of theEnglishthere, and had been very civilly Treated in that Island, they were so well satisfi’d with them, that at the coming of theEnglishto Settle there, the several little Kingdoms strove with all the Arts and Arguments they could use, each of them to draw theEnglishto Plant in their Dominions, by commending the richness of their Soil, conveniency of their Rivers, the healthiness of their Countrey, the disparagement of their Neighbors, and whatever else they judg’d might allure theEnglishto their Neighborhood. Nor was this onely the first heat of Men fond of Novelties, and as soon weary of them again, but ever since theEnglishfirst Planted atAlbemarle Point, onAshleyRiver, they have continu’d to do them all manner of friendly Offices, ready on all occasions to supply them with any thing they have observ’d them to want, not making use of our Mens Necessities, as an opportunity to enhance the Price of their Commodities, a sort of fair Dealing we could scarce have promis’d them amongst civiliz’d, well bred, and religious Inhabitants of any part ofEurope; and though they are much frighted with our Guns, both small and great, yet like innocent and well-meaning People, they do not at all distrust our Power, but freely, without suspicion, trust themselves, both Men and Women, even their Kings themselves, in our Town, Lodging and Dancing there frequently whole Nights together, upon no other Pledges but the bare confidence of our mutual Friendship; nor do our Men use any greater caution in Conversing with them, stragling up and down, and travelling singly and unarm’d through their Woods for many Miles about, and are so far from receiving any injury or ill treatment from them, that on the contrary they are kindly us’d and Entertain’d, and guided by them in their Way whenever they desire it; and when any of our Men meet them in their Walks, theIndiansall stand still till they are gone by, civilly Saluting them as they pass. Nor doth this Assurance of theirs bound it self within their own Homes, they of their own accords venturing themselves aboard our Ships, have gone voluntarily with our Men toVirginiaandBarbados. Nor have theEnglishbeen wanting on their parts in any thing that may preserve this Amity, being very cautious of doing them any injury, bartering with them for those things they receive of them, and buying of them even the waste Land they make no use of.
Besides the simplicity of theIndiansDiet, it is very remarkable, that they have a general aversion to those two things which are most acceptable to our Palates, and without which few of us either eat or drink with any delight; for in their Meats they cannot endure the least mixture or rellish of Salt; and for their Drink, they utterly abominate all manner of strong Liquor; to the latter whereof, their large Growth and constant Health, is perhaps not a little owing.
Their manner of Government.
Every little Town is a distinct Principality, Govern’d by an Hereditary King, who in some places is not Son, but Sisters Son to the precedent King, the Succession of the Blood-Royal being continu’d by the safer side. The great Business of those Princes is to lead their Men out against their Enemies in War, or against the Beasts in Hunting; for unless it be to appoint them where to Hunt, or else to Consult about making some Attempt upon their Enemy, he hath but small trouble in the Government of his Subjects, who either through their own Honesty, or the few occasions they have for Controversies in theirextemporeway of Living, need few Laws, and little Severity to keep them in order; but yet they Govern their People without Contract, and fail not of a ready Obedience to their Commands; so that when some of them have bought things of such of theEnglish, who by the Orders made amongst our selves were not to Traffick with theIndians, they have, upon Complaint made to theirCasiques, been restor’d again, though in strict Rulesof Law they were neither bound by, nor oblig’d to take notice of the Rules which were made onely to Govern our own People, and had at just Prices bought what they carry’d away; such is the Honesty of Men, whose Principles not being corrupted with Learning and Distinction, are contented to follow the Dictates of right Reason, which Nature has sufficiently taught all Men for the well ordering of their Actions, and enjoyment and preservation of humane Society, who do not give themselves up to be amus’d and deceiv’d by insignificant Terms, and minding what is just and right, seek not Evasions in the Niceties and Fallacies of Words.
Carolinagranted by Patent to several Noble Persons by His Majesty.
The same is to be said of the first Discovery of this Countrey, as hath been formerly said ofVirginiaandFlorida, of both which it partakes; but as to the present Interest and Propriety, theEnglish, besides allVirginiaintirely, have also so much ofFloridaas makes up this considerable Province ofCarolina, which soon after the happy Restauration of His present Majesty KingCharlesII. from whom it receives Denomination, was granted by Patent toEdwardEarl ofClarendon, L. Chancellor ofEngland,GeorgeDuke ofAlbemarle,WilliamEarl ofCraven,JohnLordBerkley,AnthonyLordAshley, SirGeorge Carteret, Vice-Chamberlain of His Majesty’s Houshold, SirWilliam Berkley, Knight and Baronet, and SirJohn Colleton, Knight and Baronet.
Their care for Setling and Improving of this Plantation.
The Lords-Proprietors of this Countrey, for the better Settlement of it according to their Patent granted unto them by His Majesty, and for the enlargement of the King’s Dominions in those parts ofAmerica, have been at great Charge to secure this so rich and advantageous a Countrey to the Crown ofEngland, to whom of ancient Right, by the Discovery of SirSebastian Cabottin the time ofHenrythe Seventh, it doth belong, and for its Situation, Fertility, Neighborhood to our other Plantations and several other Conveniences, of too valuable consideration to be negligently lost: By the Care therefore and Endeavors of those Great Men, it hath now two considerable Colonies Planted in it, the one ofAlbemarle, on the North side, bordering onVirginia, where are some hundreds ofEnglishFamilies remov’d thither fromNew England, and some of our other Plantations in theWest-Indies; and another towards the middle of the Countrey, atCharles-Town, orAshley-River, a Settlement so hopeful, for the healthiness of the Land, and convenience of access by a large deep Navigable River, and so promising in its very Infancy, that many of the rich Inhabitants ofBarbadosandBermudas, who are now crowded up in those flourishing Islands, and many in our otherAmericanPlantations, are turning their Eyes and Thoughts this way, and have already remov’d part of their Stock and Servants thither. Nor is it to be doubted, but that many, following the Example of those who went toAlbemarle, will be drawn to this better Plantation atAshley-River, fromNew-England, where the heat of their Zeal, and the coldness of the Air, doth not agree with every Man’s Constitution; and therefore it is to be thought, that many well temper’d Men, who are not much at ease under such Extreams, will be forward to remove hither.
Fair Terms propos’d to whomsoever shall remove thither.
The Lords-Proprietors, for the comfortable subsistence, and future enrichment of all those who shall this Year 1671. Transport themselves and Servants thither, allow every Man a hundred AcresperHead, for himself, his Wife, Children and Servants, he carries thither, to him and his Heirs for ever, paying onely one Peny an Acre, as a Chief-Rent; which Peny an Acre is not to be paid these nineteen years; and those Servants who go along thither with their Masters, shall each also have a hundred Acres upon the same Terms, when he is out of his Time. But though these Conditions are very advantageous, and the Countrey promises to the Planter Health, Plenty and Riches at a cheap Rate, yet there is one thing that makes this Plantation more valuable than all these, and that is the secure possession of all thesethings with as great certainty as the state of humane Affairs, and the transient things of this Life are capable of, in a well continu’d Form of Government, wherein it is made every Man’s Interest to preserve the Rights of his Neighbor with his own; and those who have the greatest Power, have it limited to the Service of the Countrey, the Good and Welfare whereof whilest they preserve and promote, they cannot miss of their own, the Lords Proprietors having no other aim, than to be the greatest Men in a Countrey where every one may be happy if it be not his own fault, it being almost as uncomfortable, and much more unsafe, to be Lord over, than Companion of a miserable, unhappy, and discontented Society of Men.
With this Design the Lords-Proprietors, who are at great Charge for carrying on this Plantation, have put the framing of a Government into the Hands of one, whose Parts and Experience in Affairs of State are universally agreed on, and who is by all Men allow’d to know what is convenient for the right ordering Men in Society, and setling a Government upon such Foundations, as may be equal, safe, and lasting; and to this hath a Soul large enough to wish well to Mankind, and to desire, that all the People where he hath to do might be happy. My LordAshleytherefore, by the consent of his Brethren, the rest of the Lords Proprietors, hath drawn up, to their general satisfaction, some fundamental Constitutions, which are since, by their joynt approbation, confirm’d to be the Model and Form of Government in the Province ofCarolina; the main Design and Ballance thereof (according to the best of my memory, having had a Copy thereof) in short is as followeth:
The Model drawn up by the LordAshleyfor the Government ofCarolina.
1.Every County is to consist of forty square Plots, each containing twelve thousand Acres. Of these square Plots each of the Proprietors is to have one, which is to be call’d aSigniory. Eight of these square Plots are to be divided amongst the three Noble-men of that County,viz.aLandgrave, who is to have four of them; and twoCasiques, who are to have each of them two apiece; and these square Plots belonging to the Nobility, are to be call’dBaronies. The other twenty four square Plots, call’dColonies, are to be the Possession of the People: And this Method is to be observ’d in the Planting and Setting out of the whole Countrey; so that one Fifth of the Land is to be in the Proprietors, one Fifth in the Nobility, and three Fifths in the People.
2. TheSignoriesandBaronies, that is, the hereditary Lands belonging to the Proprietors and Nobility, are all entirely to descend to their Heirs, with the Dignity, without power of alienation, more than for three Lives, or one and twenty years, or two Thirds of theirSignioriesandBaronies, and the rest to beDemesne.
3. There will be also some Mannors in the Colonies, but none less than three thousand Acres in a Piece, which, like the rest of the Colony Lands, will be alienable, onely with this difference, that it cannot be parcell’d out, but if sold, it must be altogether.
4. There is to be a Biennial Parliament, consisting of the eight Proprietors, theLandgravesandCasiques, and one out of every Precinct, that is the six neighboring Colonies, for the People, chosen by the Freeholders; these are to sit and Vote altogether for the making of Laws, which shall be in force no longer than sixty years after their Enacting, the great mischief of most Governments, by which not onely the People are mightily entangled by multiplicity of Rules and Penalties, and thereby laid open to the Malice and Designs of troublesom Men and cunning Projectors; but, which is far worse, the whole frame of the Government in tract of time comes to be remov’d from its original Foundation, and thereby becomes more weak and tottering.
5. There are eight supream Courts for the dispatch of all publick Affairs; the first consists of thePalatine, who is the eldest of the Proprietors, and hath power to call Parliaments, and dispose of publick Offices. The other seven supream Courts are, 1. The chief Justices for the determining of Controversies ofMeumandTuum, and judging of Criminals. 2. The Chancellors, for passing of Charters, and managing the State Matters of the Province. 3. The High-Constables, for Military Affairs. 4. The Admirals, for Maritime Affairs. 5. The High-Stewards, for Trade. 6. The Treasurers, for the publick Stock; and 7. The Chamberlains, for Ceremonies, Fashions, Marriages, Burials,&c.These are the seven supream Courts, to whom lies the ultimate Appeal in all Causes belonging to them. Each of these Courts consists of one Proprietor, and six other Councellors, whereof two are chosen by the Nobility, and two by the People. All the number of these eight Courts joyn’d together make the Grand Council, which are in the nature of a Council of State, and are entrusted with the management of Affairs of greatest concernment. There is also in every County a Court, and in every Precinct another; from the Precinct Court there lies an Appeal to the County Court, and from the County Court to the Proprietors Court, to which the Matter in question belongs, and there is the last decision and determination thereof, without any farther Appeal. And to keep the People from the Charges and vexation of long Suits, to the enriching of Men cunning in Words, care is taken, that no Cause shall be Try’d more than once in any one Court, and that profess’d Pleaders for Money shall not be allow’d.
Liberty of Conscienceis here also allow’d in the greatest latitude, but yet so, that neither Atheists, or Men of no Religion, are permitted; Atheism, Irreligion, and vicious Lives being condemn’d, as disagreeable to humane Nature, inconsistent with Government and Societies, and destructive to all that is useful to, or becoming of Mankind; as on the other hand, rigorous Imposing of, and hot Contentions about the Ceremonies and Circumstances of Religion, is an occasion of perpetual Strife, Faction and Division, keeps Men from sedate and temperate Enquiries after Truth, eats out the great Cement of humane Conversation,Charity, and cannot be found in any one, who hath but modesty enough to think himself less than aPope, and short ofInfallibility.
There is also to be a Register of all Grants and Conveyances of Land, to prevent even the occasions of Controversies and Law-Suits.
There are several other less considerable Particulars in this Government, all contriv’d and design’d for the good and welfare of the People; all which are so well put together, and in such equal proportion ballance each other, that some judicious Men who have seen it, say, it is the best and fairest Frame, for the well-being of those who shall live under it, of any they have seen or read of.