1 00:00:01,208 --> 00:00:03,750 {\an1}♪ 2 00:00:03,875 --> 00:00:07,958 {\an1}Tonight, one of America's oldest mysteries. 3 00:00:08,042 --> 00:00:11,292 {\an1}They're gone. The entire colony 4 00:00:11,375 --> 00:00:13,667 {\an1}is just gone. 5 00:00:13,750 --> 00:00:16,750 {\an1}A group of English settlers vanish without a trace, 6 00:00:16,875 --> 00:00:19,917 {\an1}leaving behind only cryptic clues. 7 00:00:20,042 --> 00:00:23,125 {\an1}The houses had been dismantled, taken down... 8 00:00:23,208 --> 00:00:26,333 {\an1}And the letters C-R-O carved into a tree. 9 00:00:26,417 --> 00:00:28,583 {\an1}Now, we'll reveal the top theories 10 00:00:28,708 --> 00:00:31,000 {\an1}behind their potential fate. 11 00:00:31,125 --> 00:00:32,708 {\an1}He admits that he had 12 00:00:32,833 --> 00:00:36,375 {\an1}a group of English colonists killed many years ago. 13 00:00:36,500 --> 00:00:38,917 {\an1}They could've perished on the small boat. 14 00:00:39,042 --> 00:00:41,000 {\an1}The colonists survive and they're in Georgia, 15 00:00:41,083 --> 00:00:42,583 {\an1}taken in by natives. 16 00:00:42,708 --> 00:00:45,833 {\an1}Can advanced technology finally provide answers? 17 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:47,500 {\an1}Something was covered up here. 18 00:00:47,583 --> 00:00:50,958 {\an1}A small detail that may be hiding a big secret. 19 00:00:51,083 --> 00:00:55,333 {\an1}What really happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke? 20 00:00:55,417 --> 00:00:57,292 {\an1}♪♪ 21 00:01:09,792 --> 00:01:12,667 {\an1}July 25th, 1587... 22 00:01:12,750 --> 00:01:16,333 {\an1}just off the coast of present-day North Carolina, 23 00:01:16,458 --> 00:01:17,750 {\an1}three ships 24 00:01:17,875 --> 00:01:19,750 {\an1}carrying English settlers 25 00:01:19,875 --> 00:01:22,333 {\an1}land on Roanoke Island. 26 00:01:22,458 --> 00:01:25,208 {\an1}About 115 men, women, and children, 27 00:01:25,333 --> 00:01:27,000 {\an1}along with John White, the governor, 28 00:01:27,083 --> 00:01:29,167 {\an1}arrived off the coast of North Carolina. 29 00:01:29,292 --> 00:01:30,833 {\an1}Their goal was to create 30 00:01:30,958 --> 00:01:32,958 {\an1}the first permanent English settlement 31 00:01:33,042 --> 00:01:34,750 {\an1}in the New World. 32 00:01:34,875 --> 00:01:37,083 {\an1}Two years earlier, the English sent 33 00:01:37,208 --> 00:01:38,917 {\an1}a group of mostly soldiers 34 00:01:39,042 --> 00:01:40,917 {\an1}to try and colonize Roanoke. 35 00:01:41,042 --> 00:01:42,792 {\an1}But it ends in disaster. 36 00:01:42,917 --> 00:01:44,792 {\an1}With severe food shortages, 37 00:01:44,875 --> 00:01:46,458 {\an1}attacks from the hostile 38 00:01:46,542 --> 00:01:48,208 {\an1}Native American population there, 39 00:01:48,375 --> 00:01:51,042 {\an1}many die, and they barely escape 40 00:01:51,167 --> 00:01:53,500 {\an1}just getting back to England. 41 00:01:53,583 --> 00:01:57,167 {\an1}Governor White is determined to do better this time, 42 00:01:57,250 --> 00:02:00,250 {\an1}and he has more than just his life on the line. 43 00:02:00,375 --> 00:02:02,833 {\an1}On this expedition was John White's 44 00:02:02,917 --> 00:02:05,208 {\an1}very pregnant daughter Eleanor 45 00:02:05,333 --> 00:02:07,500 {\an1}and her husband Ananias Dare, 46 00:02:07,667 --> 00:02:09,417 {\an1}among other colonists who are there who are 47 00:02:09,542 --> 00:02:11,458 {\an1}also ready to start their families and settle 48 00:02:11,542 --> 00:02:12,917 {\an1}in the New World. 49 00:02:13,042 --> 00:02:15,542 {\an1}On August 18th, 1587, 50 00:02:15,667 --> 00:02:16,917 {\an1}Eleanor Dare gives birth 51 00:02:17,042 --> 00:02:19,167 {\an1}to her daughter, Virginia. 52 00:02:19,250 --> 00:02:22,583 {\an1}The first English child born in North America. 53 00:02:22,708 --> 00:02:25,667 {\an1}Unfortunately, there's no time to celebrate, 54 00:02:25,792 --> 00:02:28,042 {\an1}because the colony is running dangerously low 55 00:02:28,208 --> 00:02:30,083 {\an1}on supplies. 56 00:02:30,208 --> 00:02:31,542 {\an1}You'd think they would've learned from their last 57 00:02:31,708 --> 00:02:34,250 {\an1}expedition, but as they start to take inventory, 58 00:02:34,375 --> 00:02:36,333 {\an1}they realize they're not gonna have enough provisions 59 00:02:36,417 --> 00:02:38,833 {\an1}- to last through the winter. - The plan had been: 60 00:02:38,958 --> 00:02:40,542 {\an1}start growing their own crops 61 00:02:40,708 --> 00:02:42,875 {\an1}and farming livestock, 62 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:44,875 {\an1}but there's just not enough time. 63 00:02:45,042 --> 00:02:47,125 {\an1}So, someone has to go back to England 64 00:02:47,250 --> 00:02:48,875 {\an1}and secure more provisions. 65 00:02:49,042 --> 00:02:51,167 {\an1}On August 27th, 66 00:02:51,292 --> 00:02:54,125 {\an1}barely a week after his granddaughter is born, 67 00:02:54,208 --> 00:02:56,208 {\an1}White volunteers to make 68 00:02:56,375 --> 00:02:58,375 {\an1}the transatlantic crossing himself. 69 00:02:59,750 --> 00:03:01,708 {\an1}It was quite a journey, took him two and a half months 70 00:03:01,833 --> 00:03:02,792 {\an1}to get back. 71 00:03:04,458 --> 00:03:06,958 {\an1}When they finally arrived back on English soil, 72 00:03:07,083 --> 00:03:08,833 {\an1}it was November. 73 00:03:08,958 --> 00:03:12,458 {\an1}Governor White quickly loads five ships with supplies. 74 00:03:12,583 --> 00:03:14,750 {\an1}They are pretty much ready to sail. 75 00:03:14,875 --> 00:03:16,500 {\an1}But the problem with this is, 76 00:03:16,625 --> 00:03:18,167 {\an1}there is a stay of all shipping 77 00:03:18,292 --> 00:03:20,500 {\an1}commanded by Queen Elizabeth I, 78 00:03:20,583 --> 00:03:22,958 {\an1}because the Spanish Armada are making 79 00:03:23,042 --> 00:03:25,125 {\an1}the most untimely arrival. 80 00:03:25,250 --> 00:03:28,208 {\an1}England is on the brink of war with Spain. 81 00:03:28,333 --> 00:03:30,167 {\an1}That means that Queen Elizabeth's hands 82 00:03:30,292 --> 00:03:32,833 {\an1}are tied and her money is more focused on war efforts 83 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,125 {\an1}than a failing colony. 84 00:03:35,250 --> 00:03:37,917 {\an1}White has no choice but to stay in England 85 00:03:38,042 --> 00:03:39,667 {\an1}indefinitely. 86 00:03:41,375 --> 00:03:43,625 {\an1}Meanwhile, at the colony, they expect White 87 00:03:43,708 --> 00:03:45,583 {\an1}to return in six months, and, of course, 88 00:03:45,708 --> 00:03:47,417 {\an1}they don't know about the war news, 89 00:03:47,542 --> 00:03:49,250 {\an1}but you can imagine their sinking feeling 90 00:03:49,375 --> 00:03:51,208 {\an1}as six months go by 91 00:03:51,333 --> 00:03:54,125 {\an1}and then a year and then two years. 92 00:03:54,250 --> 00:03:56,417 {\an1}Ultimately, it takes White three full years 93 00:03:56,542 --> 00:03:59,125 {\an1}to return to the coast of North Carolina. 94 00:03:59,208 --> 00:04:02,250 {\an1}When he does, it's August 18th, 1590, 95 00:04:02,375 --> 00:04:04,500 {\an1}the third birthday of his granddaughter, 96 00:04:04,667 --> 00:04:06,292 {\an1}Virginia Dare. 97 00:04:06,375 --> 00:04:09,667 {\an1}But Governor White doesn't return to his family. 98 00:04:09,792 --> 00:04:12,000 {\an1}He returns to a mystery. 99 00:04:12,083 --> 00:04:15,208 {\an1}They're gone. The entire colony 100 00:04:15,333 --> 00:04:17,582 {\an1}is just gone. 101 00:04:17,707 --> 00:04:20,375 {\an1}At some point in the previous three years, 102 00:04:20,500 --> 00:04:23,167 {\an1}everything and everyone 103 00:04:23,332 --> 00:04:25,125 {\an1}had just disappeared. 104 00:04:25,250 --> 00:04:26,582 {\an1}There's no evidence that there was 105 00:04:26,707 --> 00:04:28,625 {\an1}any kind of battle, there's no evidence 106 00:04:28,707 --> 00:04:30,500 {\an1}of bones or bodies 107 00:04:30,667 --> 00:04:32,667 {\an1}that might indicate an altercation 108 00:04:32,832 --> 00:04:36,042 {\an1}between the colonists and the indigenous people. 109 00:04:36,167 --> 00:04:39,375 {\an1}What's weird is that there's basically nothing left behind, 110 00:04:39,500 --> 00:04:41,707 {\an1}and the town isn't so much abandoned, 111 00:04:41,832 --> 00:04:44,125 {\an1}it's been dismantled. All of the buildings have 112 00:04:44,250 --> 00:04:45,542 {\an1}been carefully taken apart. 113 00:04:45,707 --> 00:04:47,957 {\an1}The tools, the boats, the provisions, 114 00:04:48,042 --> 00:04:49,457 {\an1}it's all been taken away. 115 00:04:49,582 --> 00:04:52,500 {\an1}The big mystery is where did they all go? 116 00:04:52,625 --> 00:04:56,957 {\an1}White and a few men spend hours searching the site. 117 00:04:57,042 --> 00:04:59,250 {\an1}They turn up only two clues. 118 00:04:59,375 --> 00:05:01,333 {\an1}Carved into a fencepost, 119 00:05:01,417 --> 00:05:04,208 {\an1}White and the English see this word, "Croatoan." 120 00:05:04,333 --> 00:05:06,083 {\an1}And then carved into a tree, 121 00:05:06,208 --> 00:05:09,167 {\an1}three letters, C-R-O. 122 00:05:09,292 --> 00:05:10,958 {\an1}When White sees the word "Croatoan," 123 00:05:11,042 --> 00:05:12,500 {\an1}he was actually quite jubilant. 124 00:05:12,583 --> 00:05:15,083 {\an1}He knows exactly where the colonists have gone. 125 00:05:15,208 --> 00:05:18,042 {\an1}The Croatoans are a tribe located 126 00:05:18,167 --> 00:05:19,832 {\an1}just directly south of Roanoke. 127 00:05:19,917 --> 00:05:22,207 {\an1}John White assumes this was a full-scale 128 00:05:22,332 --> 00:05:24,000 {\an1}relocation by the colonists 129 00:05:24,082 --> 00:05:25,832 {\an1}to live with the tribe. 130 00:05:28,625 --> 00:05:30,582 {\an1}Now, you might think, based on those carvings, 131 00:05:30,707 --> 00:05:32,500 {\an1}that there's another option. 132 00:05:32,582 --> 00:05:35,167 {\an1}That the colonists were attacked by the Croatoans. 133 00:05:35,332 --> 00:05:38,082 {\an1}But John White doesn't think so. 134 00:05:38,207 --> 00:05:39,917 {\an1}First of all, there's the careful 135 00:05:40,042 --> 00:05:42,042 {\an1}dismantling of the town, and you don't do that 136 00:05:42,207 --> 00:05:44,542 {\an1}if you're under attack, and secondly, 137 00:05:44,707 --> 00:05:47,000 {\an1}White and the colonists have a plan for what to do 138 00:05:47,082 --> 00:05:48,417 {\an1}if they are under attack. 139 00:05:48,542 --> 00:05:50,207 {\an1}Prior to leaving, John White gave 140 00:05:50,332 --> 00:05:52,500 {\an1}explicit instructions to the colony. 141 00:05:52,667 --> 00:05:55,417 {\an1}If they were in distress or if they were in danger, 142 00:05:55,542 --> 00:05:58,625 {\an1}to carve a Maltese cross on a tree. 143 00:05:58,707 --> 00:06:01,000 {\an1}But there's no Maltese cross. 144 00:06:01,125 --> 00:06:03,333 {\an1}White returns to his ships, 145 00:06:03,417 --> 00:06:06,333 {\an1}intending to sail south, to Croatoan. 146 00:06:06,417 --> 00:06:08,042 {\an1}White has come with two boats, 147 00:06:08,167 --> 00:06:09,833 {\an1}the Moonlight and the Hopewell. 148 00:06:09,917 --> 00:06:12,458 {\an1}But the crews are very antsy, and they don't wanna spend 149 00:06:12,542 --> 00:06:15,250 {\an1}any more time in this hostile territory than they have to. 150 00:06:15,375 --> 00:06:17,207 {\an1}Imagine it from their perspective. 151 00:06:17,332 --> 00:06:19,167 {\an1}These are people who'd signed up 152 00:06:19,292 --> 00:06:21,375 {\an1}on a resupply ship to come over to a place 153 00:06:21,542 --> 00:06:23,042 {\an1}that they thought was going to be safe. 154 00:06:23,207 --> 00:06:25,000 {\an1}These people had not been hired 155 00:06:25,125 --> 00:06:27,000 {\an1}to go in search of Lost Colonists 156 00:06:27,125 --> 00:06:29,667 {\an1}who, as far as they knew, might've been held captive, 157 00:06:29,750 --> 00:06:31,667 {\an1}might've been in the midst of a war, 158 00:06:31,832 --> 00:06:35,292 {\an1}so they had much less enthusiasm than John White. 159 00:06:35,375 --> 00:06:37,832 {\an1}At first, they're willing to give White 160 00:06:37,917 --> 00:06:39,500 {\an1}another day or two. 161 00:06:39,582 --> 00:06:41,332 {\an1}They plan to head to Croatoan 162 00:06:41,500 --> 00:06:44,250 {\an1}the next morning, August 19th. 163 00:06:44,375 --> 00:06:46,667 {\an1}But they run into problems. 164 00:06:46,792 --> 00:06:49,167 {\an1}The Hopewell's anchor cable breaks, 165 00:06:49,250 --> 00:06:50,832 {\an1}and there's no way that they can risk 166 00:06:50,917 --> 00:06:52,500 {\an1}going out into the treacherous waters 167 00:06:52,667 --> 00:06:55,332 {\an1}of the North Carolina inner banks. 168 00:06:55,457 --> 00:06:57,125 {\an1}The waters are very shallow. 169 00:06:57,207 --> 00:06:58,625 {\an1}The ship could be shipwrecked 170 00:06:58,707 --> 00:07:00,500 {\an1}and cause an extreme danger for the crew 171 00:07:00,667 --> 00:07:02,417 {\an1}and others on board the ship. 172 00:07:02,542 --> 00:07:04,292 {\an1}A desperate White appeals to the crew 173 00:07:04,375 --> 00:07:06,250 {\an1}of the Moonlight. 174 00:07:06,375 --> 00:07:08,167 {\an1}The crew of the second ship, the Moonlight, 175 00:07:08,250 --> 00:07:10,208 {\an1}are not willing to risk their lives 176 00:07:10,333 --> 00:07:12,667 {\an1}in order to find the Lost Colonists. 177 00:07:12,792 --> 00:07:15,333 {\an1}They don't have as much invested in this as John White does. 178 00:07:15,458 --> 00:07:17,167 {\an1}Certainly he's thinking of his family. 179 00:07:17,292 --> 00:07:19,875 {\an1}They're just thinking about making it back to England safely 180 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:22,125 {\an1}before the brutal Atlantic winter sets in. 181 00:07:23,417 --> 00:07:26,457 {\an1}So the Moonlight goes back to England, 182 00:07:26,582 --> 00:07:29,292 {\an1}but White is able to get a small team to agree 183 00:07:29,375 --> 00:07:30,832 {\an1}to repair the Hopewell, 184 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:32,375 {\an1}sail to the Caribbean 185 00:07:32,500 --> 00:07:34,375 {\an1}for the winter and then return 186 00:07:34,542 --> 00:07:36,542 {\an1}to North Carolina in the spring 187 00:07:36,667 --> 00:07:38,167 {\an1}to resume the search. 188 00:07:38,250 --> 00:07:39,957 {\an1}But it's as if this guy was cursed. 189 00:07:40,042 --> 00:07:43,082 {\an1}After White and the crew repair the Hopewell, 190 00:07:43,207 --> 00:07:45,000 {\an1}they set sail for the Caribbean, 191 00:07:45,125 --> 00:07:46,417 {\an1}but then a freak storm comes up, 192 00:07:46,542 --> 00:07:48,000 {\an1}they get blown way off course, 193 00:07:48,082 --> 00:07:50,167 {\an1}and they're forced to return to England. 194 00:07:52,542 --> 00:07:54,375 {\an1}White attempts to raise the funds 195 00:07:54,500 --> 00:07:57,167 {\an1}for another search and rescue mission but fails. 196 00:07:57,332 --> 00:08:00,500 {\an1}One can imagine how devastated John White must've felt. 197 00:08:00,583 --> 00:08:02,417 {\an1}He's so close to finding his family. 198 00:08:02,542 --> 00:08:04,333 {\an1}He's only 40 miles away, 199 00:08:04,417 --> 00:08:05,875 {\an1}but he can't make it to them, 200 00:08:06,042 --> 00:08:08,458 {\an1}and after three years, he passes away, 201 00:08:08,542 --> 00:08:11,167 {\an1}never to return, and never to know the fate 202 00:08:11,333 --> 00:08:13,500 {\an1}of what happened to the colony. 203 00:08:13,583 --> 00:08:16,542 {\an1}News of the Lost Colony spreads throughout Europe, 204 00:08:16,667 --> 00:08:19,707 {\an1}and while White is never able to find out what happened, 205 00:08:19,832 --> 00:08:22,167 {\an1}ships begin to visit the area again 206 00:08:22,332 --> 00:08:24,625 {\an1}some seven years after his death. 207 00:08:24,750 --> 00:08:26,750 {\an1}Occasionally, other European ships 208 00:08:26,875 --> 00:08:29,332 {\an1}visit the outer banks during the 1600s. 209 00:08:29,417 --> 00:08:31,500 {\an1}But once we reach the 1700s, 210 00:08:31,625 --> 00:08:33,750 {\an1}it's a pretty heavily-traveled area. 211 00:08:33,875 --> 00:08:38,500 {\an1}And no one ever actually sees the missing colonists. 212 00:08:38,625 --> 00:08:40,582 {\an1}But they do find evidence that perhaps 213 00:08:40,707 --> 00:08:42,457 {\an1}they have blended in with the local tribes, 214 00:08:42,582 --> 00:08:44,333 {\an1}just as White believed. 215 00:08:44,458 --> 00:08:46,625 {\an1}One expedition reports Native tribespeople 216 00:08:46,750 --> 00:08:48,417 {\an1}with European features. 217 00:08:48,542 --> 00:08:51,042 {\an1}Fair complexions, light-colored hair and eyes, 218 00:08:51,167 --> 00:08:54,375 {\an1}and some even claimed to have European relatives. 219 00:08:54,500 --> 00:08:58,250 {\an1}Additional proof can be found in architecture. 220 00:08:58,375 --> 00:09:01,583 {\an1}One expedition reports a Native village 221 00:09:01,708 --> 00:09:04,250 {\an1}with timber houses built in the English style. 222 00:09:04,375 --> 00:09:06,250 {\an1}It seems likely that these tribes had 223 00:09:06,375 --> 00:09:08,125 {\an1}English settlers living amongst them, 224 00:09:08,250 --> 00:09:11,583 {\an1}working together, inter- marrying, having offspring. 225 00:09:11,708 --> 00:09:14,583 {\an1}Now, all of this is hearsay, but it is potential evidence 226 00:09:14,708 --> 00:09:17,250 {\an1}that the Lost Colony moved in with the Croatoans. 227 00:09:17,375 --> 00:09:20,083 {\an1}The Croatoan Archaeological Society, 228 00:09:20,208 --> 00:09:22,542 {\an1}led by historian Scott Dawson, 229 00:09:22,667 --> 00:09:26,417 {\an1}has been excavating the area since 2009. 230 00:09:26,542 --> 00:09:28,417 {\an1}So, the archaeologists who have dug 231 00:09:28,542 --> 00:09:30,750 {\an1}on what is now Hatteras Island have found 232 00:09:30,875 --> 00:09:33,583 {\an1}fascinating artifacts that definitely are made 233 00:09:33,708 --> 00:09:35,708 {\an1}in the time of the Lost Colonists. 234 00:09:35,875 --> 00:09:37,917 {\an1}They found the hilt of a rapier that is 235 00:09:38,042 --> 00:09:40,625 {\an1}a kind of sword that was used during Elizabethan times. 236 00:09:41,917 --> 00:09:44,375 {\an1}They found fragments of pottery and dishes, 237 00:09:44,500 --> 00:09:47,000 {\an1}a copper ring, a brass gun, 238 00:09:47,083 --> 00:09:48,417 {\an1}and European coins. 239 00:09:48,542 --> 00:09:50,500 {\an1}But can we say that's absolute proof 240 00:09:50,667 --> 00:09:52,500 {\an1}that the colonists moved in 241 00:09:52,625 --> 00:09:54,542 {\an1}with the local indigenous people? 242 00:09:54,667 --> 00:09:58,500 {\an1}Genealogist Roberta Estes thinks it's possible 243 00:09:58,583 --> 00:10:00,667 {\an1}and is using cutting-edge technology 244 00:10:00,750 --> 00:10:02,292 {\an1}to try and prove it. 245 00:10:02,417 --> 00:10:04,083 {\an1}What she's doing is tracing 246 00:10:04,208 --> 00:10:05,750 {\an1}Y-chromosome DNA, 247 00:10:05,875 --> 00:10:08,167 {\an1}analyzing people in the area of Hatteras Island 248 00:10:08,292 --> 00:10:11,167 {\an1}who may have mixed Native / European ancestry. 249 00:10:11,250 --> 00:10:14,167 {\an1}And who share surnames with the Roanoke colonists. 250 00:10:14,250 --> 00:10:17,500 {\an1}Estes has turned up a number of intriguing candidates. 251 00:10:17,625 --> 00:10:19,750 {\an1}These people may just have the right background 252 00:10:19,875 --> 00:10:21,375 {\an1}to be descended from the Lost Colony, 253 00:10:21,500 --> 00:10:24,208 {\an1}living proof that the colonists survived 254 00:10:24,333 --> 00:10:25,667 {\an1}and mixed with the Croatoans. 255 00:10:25,833 --> 00:10:27,667 {\an1}But the problem with this is 256 00:10:27,833 --> 00:10:29,583 {\an1}that an absolute match would 257 00:10:29,708 --> 00:10:31,667 {\an1}have to identify a matching family 258 00:10:31,750 --> 00:10:33,458 {\an1}back in England. 259 00:10:33,542 --> 00:10:35,042 {\an1}If Estes can find a match-- 260 00:10:35,167 --> 00:10:37,000 {\an1}a confirmed descendant of a Lost Colonist 261 00:10:37,125 --> 00:10:39,708 {\an1}and a Croatoan native, that'll be it. 262 00:10:39,833 --> 00:10:41,000 {\an1}It won't be the Lost Colony anymore. 263 00:10:41,125 --> 00:10:43,875 {\an1}But for now it remains just a theory. 264 00:10:46,792 --> 00:10:49,208 {\an1}When 115 colonists go missing 265 00:10:49,333 --> 00:10:52,042 {\an1}from Roanoke Island in 1590, 266 00:10:52,208 --> 00:10:54,208 {\an1}the English are eager to re-establish 267 00:10:54,375 --> 00:10:56,208 {\an1}a presence in the New World, 268 00:10:56,375 --> 00:10:59,875 {\an1}but it takes them nearly 20 years to try again. 269 00:11:00,042 --> 00:11:01,667 {\an1}In 1607, 270 00:11:01,750 --> 00:11:03,208 {\an1}England finally manages 271 00:11:03,375 --> 00:11:05,417 {\an1}to establish a settlement on the James River 272 00:11:05,542 --> 00:11:07,083 {\an1}in Virginia. 273 00:11:07,208 --> 00:11:08,500 {\an1}They call it Jamestown. 274 00:11:08,625 --> 00:11:10,500 {\an1}Like its predecessor, 275 00:11:10,625 --> 00:11:13,500 {\an1}Jamestown is also plagued by misfortune. 276 00:11:13,667 --> 00:11:16,417 {\an1}The English can't seem to catch a break. 277 00:11:16,542 --> 00:11:19,708 {\an1}Once again, they don't have enough to eat early on. 278 00:11:19,875 --> 00:11:23,750 {\an1}They arrive too late in the year to plant crops. 279 00:11:23,875 --> 00:11:25,708 {\an1}The English are starving. 280 00:11:25,875 --> 00:11:29,042 {\an1}Food shortages get worse and worse and worse. 281 00:11:29,167 --> 00:11:30,500 {\an1}The English resort 282 00:11:30,625 --> 00:11:32,208 {\an1}to some fairly... 283 00:11:32,333 --> 00:11:34,083 {\an1}terrible behavior. 284 00:11:34,208 --> 00:11:37,083 {\an1}First they slaughter and kill their own animals. 285 00:11:37,208 --> 00:11:39,708 {\an1}This is not a very good strategy for long term, 286 00:11:39,875 --> 00:11:41,958 {\an1}since they need those animals to survive. 287 00:11:42,042 --> 00:11:44,500 {\an1}And when those run out, they turn to eating 288 00:11:44,583 --> 00:11:46,708 {\an1}rats, mice, and snakes. 289 00:11:46,875 --> 00:11:48,833 {\an1}Then they boil and eat their shoe leather 290 00:11:48,917 --> 00:11:51,375 {\an1}for sustenance. There is even some evidence 291 00:11:51,500 --> 00:11:54,167 {\an1}they may have resorted to cannibalism to survive. 292 00:11:54,292 --> 00:11:55,875 {\an1}Within three years, 293 00:11:56,042 --> 00:11:59,958 {\an1}only 60 of the original 214 Jamestown settlers 294 00:12:00,083 --> 00:12:01,917 {\an1}are still alive, 295 00:12:02,042 --> 00:12:05,167 {\an1}including a well-known figure in American history, 296 00:12:05,292 --> 00:12:07,083 {\an1}Captain John Smith. 297 00:12:07,208 --> 00:12:09,292 {\an1}John Smith was such a fascinating guy. 298 00:12:09,417 --> 00:12:11,000 {\an1}He served as a mercenary, 299 00:12:11,125 --> 00:12:12,958 {\an1}he was captured by the Turks, 300 00:12:13,042 --> 00:12:14,917 {\an1}sold into slavery, and then eventually 301 00:12:15,042 --> 00:12:17,875 {\an1}made his way to England by way of Russia. 302 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:20,000 {\an1}Then he ends up in the New World 303 00:12:20,083 --> 00:12:23,500 {\an1}and becomes the leader of the new colony at Jamestown. 304 00:12:23,625 --> 00:12:26,875 {\an1}He is the first English explorer to map the Chesapeake Bay. 305 00:12:27,042 --> 00:12:29,000 {\an1}He then explores the coast of New England 306 00:12:29,167 --> 00:12:30,917 {\an1}and gives the region its name. 307 00:12:31,042 --> 00:12:33,833 {\an1}His books and maps aid English colonization efforts 308 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:35,958 {\an1}for decades to come. 309 00:12:36,083 --> 00:12:39,042 {\an1}While he's struggling to keep his colony afloat 310 00:12:39,208 --> 00:12:42,667 {\an1}in Virginia, he's also got a burning curiosity 311 00:12:42,792 --> 00:12:45,958 {\an1}to solve the mystery of the Roanoke colonists. 312 00:12:46,083 --> 00:12:49,500 {\an1}And it doesn't hurt that England's King James has 313 00:12:49,667 --> 00:12:52,417 {\an1}issued an order to launch an investigation. 314 00:12:52,542 --> 00:12:55,500 {\an1}Smith works with the Jamestown colony's secretary, 315 00:12:55,583 --> 00:12:57,333 {\an1}William Strachey. 316 00:12:57,417 --> 00:12:58,917 {\an1}In his journals, we can see 317 00:12:59,042 --> 00:13:01,000 {\an1}William Strachey's research into the case. 318 00:13:01,167 --> 00:13:04,167 {\an1}Operating on the assumption that Native American tribes 319 00:13:04,250 --> 00:13:06,500 {\an1}might be the only people left who know what happened, 320 00:13:06,625 --> 00:13:08,917 {\an1}Strachey dives deep into a nearby 321 00:13:09,042 --> 00:13:11,833 {\an1}local indigenous population called the Powhatan. 322 00:13:11,917 --> 00:13:15,875 {\an1}The Powhatan are led by a man named Wahunsenacawh, 323 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,292 {\an1}more commonly known as Chief Powhatan. 324 00:13:19,667 --> 00:13:21,625 {\an1}Chief Powhatan has 325 00:13:21,708 --> 00:13:24,208 {\an1}a love-hate relationship with the English. 326 00:13:24,375 --> 00:13:27,125 {\an1}On one hand, he views them as a threat 327 00:13:27,250 --> 00:13:30,375 {\an1}to his people and their way of life. 328 00:13:30,500 --> 00:13:31,667 {\an1}[gunshot] 329 00:13:31,750 --> 00:13:33,542 {\an1}But he also thinks 330 00:13:33,667 --> 00:13:35,750 {\an1}the English would be useful allies 331 00:13:35,875 --> 00:13:37,667 {\an1}in the ongoing conflict 332 00:13:37,833 --> 00:13:41,625 {\an1}between himself and the other tribes. 333 00:13:41,708 --> 00:13:43,667 {\an1}Today, Chief Powhatan is best remembered 334 00:13:43,792 --> 00:13:47,500 {\an1}as the father of Pocahontas. 335 00:13:47,625 --> 00:13:49,708 {\an1}As the legend goes, Powhatan's men 336 00:13:49,875 --> 00:13:52,667 {\an1}capture John Smith and order him put to death. 337 00:13:52,750 --> 00:13:55,000 {\an1}But the quite extraordinary thing 338 00:13:55,167 --> 00:13:56,875 {\an1}about Pocahontas was she does seem to have been 339 00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:58,333 {\an1}quite smitten with John Smith, 340 00:13:58,458 --> 00:14:00,625 {\an1}and she actually pleads with Powhatan 341 00:14:00,708 --> 00:14:02,542 {\an1}to spare his life. 342 00:14:02,667 --> 00:14:04,625 {\an1}And so consequently he did. 343 00:14:04,750 --> 00:14:08,542 {\an1}But Chief Powhatan may not have always been so lenient. 344 00:14:08,708 --> 00:14:11,792 {\an1}Because, according to Smith and Strachey's investigation, 345 00:14:11,875 --> 00:14:13,875 {\an1}he might be responsible 346 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:18,917 {\an1}for the destruction... of the Roanoke colony. 347 00:14:19,042 --> 00:14:21,667 {\an1}Chief Powhatan speaks to William Strachey, 348 00:14:21,750 --> 00:14:23,167 {\an1}and he admits that he had 349 00:14:23,292 --> 00:14:25,333 {\an1}a group of English colonists killed 350 00:14:25,417 --> 00:14:26,750 {\an1}many years ago. 351 00:14:26,875 --> 00:14:28,500 {\an1}According to him, 352 00:14:28,625 --> 00:14:31,542 {\an1}instead of migrating south to live with the Croatoan, 353 00:14:31,667 --> 00:14:33,667 {\an1}the Roanoke colonists head north, 354 00:14:33,792 --> 00:14:35,833 {\an1}and they stay with a different tribe 355 00:14:35,958 --> 00:14:37,750 {\an1}called the Chesapeake. 356 00:14:37,875 --> 00:14:39,667 {\an1}The Chesapeake are rivals with the Powhatan, 357 00:14:39,750 --> 00:14:41,167 {\an1}because they refuse to bend the knee 358 00:14:41,292 --> 00:14:42,500 {\an1}to Chief Powhatan's authority 359 00:14:42,625 --> 00:14:44,125 {\an1}and join the Confederation. 360 00:14:44,208 --> 00:14:46,333 {\an1}So, when he gets word that the colonists 361 00:14:46,417 --> 00:14:49,000 {\an1}are possibly allying with the Chesapeake, 362 00:14:49,083 --> 00:14:51,583 {\an1}he claims that this fulfills a prophecy he's received. 363 00:14:51,708 --> 00:14:55,042 {\an1}He's been warned that a great nation from the East 364 00:14:55,167 --> 00:14:58,000 {\an1}is coming to overthrow his empire. 365 00:14:58,125 --> 00:15:00,583 {\an1}Unless he kills them first. 366 00:15:00,708 --> 00:15:03,875 {\an1}So that's exactly what he does. 367 00:15:05,167 --> 00:15:07,792 {\an1}After John Smith hears Chief Powhatan's confession, 368 00:15:07,875 --> 00:15:10,458 {\an1}he digs deeper. 369 00:15:10,583 --> 00:15:12,375 {\an1}Smith asks Chief Powhatan 370 00:15:12,500 --> 00:15:14,833 {\an1}to prove his bold claim, to essentially, 371 00:15:14,958 --> 00:15:16,458 {\an1}"Show me where the bodies are." 372 00:15:16,583 --> 00:15:18,292 {\an1}But Chief Powhatan can't. 373 00:15:18,375 --> 00:15:20,333 {\an1}Powhatan couldn't show him where the bodies were. 374 00:15:20,500 --> 00:15:22,750 {\an1}But what he did do is show him items 375 00:15:22,875 --> 00:15:24,750 {\an1}from previous colonies. 376 00:15:24,875 --> 00:15:26,667 {\an1}And he showed them a mortar and pestle, 377 00:15:26,792 --> 00:15:28,208 {\an1}and a couple of other objects, 378 00:15:28,375 --> 00:15:30,667 {\an1}but again, these could not be confirmed 379 00:15:30,833 --> 00:15:33,083 {\an1}as coming directly from the Lost Colony. 380 00:15:33,208 --> 00:15:36,875 {\an1}But when Smith sends back his report to King James, 381 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:39,500 {\an1}the evidence is enough to convince him 382 00:15:39,583 --> 00:15:40,917 {\an1}that this is what happened, 383 00:15:41,042 --> 00:15:42,708 {\an1}and if that's what the king believes, 384 00:15:42,875 --> 00:15:45,000 {\an1}then case closed, right? 385 00:15:45,167 --> 00:15:48,833 {\an1}The Powhatan theory becomes the official version of events 386 00:15:48,917 --> 00:15:51,500 {\an1}for the next 200-plus years, 387 00:15:51,625 --> 00:15:55,458 {\an1}but today's historians question its accuracy. 388 00:15:55,542 --> 00:15:58,542 {\an1}Some argue that the settlers that Chief Powhatan 389 00:15:58,708 --> 00:16:01,542 {\an1}boasts of killing aren't the Roanoke colonists at all. 390 00:16:01,667 --> 00:16:04,458 {\an1}Instead, he's referring to a different set of people, 391 00:16:04,542 --> 00:16:07,458 {\an1}and the confusion happens because of the language barrier. 392 00:16:07,542 --> 00:16:10,000 {\an1}Smith was specifically talking about the colony 393 00:16:10,083 --> 00:16:11,875 {\an1}of the 115... 394 00:16:12,042 --> 00:16:13,875 {\an1}the last Roanoke colony that was established. 395 00:16:14,042 --> 00:16:16,708 {\an1}But Powhatan could've easily been talking about 396 00:16:16,875 --> 00:16:18,083 {\an1}the previous colonies that had come 397 00:16:18,208 --> 00:16:19,875 {\an1}a couple of years earlier. 398 00:16:20,042 --> 00:16:23,292 {\an1}Remember, there was a 1584 expedition too. 399 00:16:23,375 --> 00:16:25,875 {\an1}Just male soldiers, 15 of whom 400 00:16:26,042 --> 00:16:28,292 {\an1}were left behind when that expedition failed, 401 00:16:28,417 --> 00:16:30,458 {\an1}and that might be who Powhatan killed. 402 00:16:30,542 --> 00:16:32,500 {\an1}It's certainly true that 403 00:16:32,583 --> 00:16:34,000 {\an1}a lot of blood was spilled 404 00:16:34,125 --> 00:16:36,375 {\an1}in this particular chapter of history, 405 00:16:36,542 --> 00:16:39,000 {\an1}both Native American and English. 406 00:16:39,167 --> 00:16:41,042 {\an1}But despite Chief Powhatan's account, 407 00:16:41,167 --> 00:16:43,208 {\an1}we still can't prove that any of it belonged 408 00:16:43,333 --> 00:16:45,250 {\an1}to the Roanoke colonists. 409 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:53,833 {\an1}North Carolina's island-dotted coast 410 00:16:53,958 --> 00:16:56,000 {\an1}is now an idyllic 411 00:16:56,125 --> 00:16:58,000 {\an1}and popular tourist destination. 412 00:16:58,083 --> 00:17:00,167 {\an1}But 400 years ago, 413 00:17:00,292 --> 00:17:01,958 {\an1}it was largely inhospitable, 414 00:17:02,042 --> 00:17:05,250 {\an1}as Roanoke's colonists discover. 415 00:17:07,708 --> 00:17:09,750 {\an1}When John White leaves in 1587, 416 00:17:09,875 --> 00:17:12,000 {\an1}conditions among the colony were dire. 417 00:17:12,125 --> 00:17:14,333 {\an1}Food was limited, and the farming was 418 00:17:14,458 --> 00:17:16,166 {\an1}not taking hold as they had hoped. 419 00:17:16,250 --> 00:17:18,000 {\an1}There was a famine going on. 420 00:17:18,166 --> 00:17:19,666 {\an1}There was clearly a great deal 421 00:17:19,750 --> 00:17:21,083 {\an1}of bad weather, and they're 422 00:17:21,208 --> 00:17:22,833 {\an1}struggling with skirmishes 423 00:17:22,958 --> 00:17:25,041 {\an1}with Native American Indians. 424 00:17:25,166 --> 00:17:26,875 {\an1}We know they're not there 425 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:29,292 {\an1}when White returns three years later. 426 00:17:29,417 --> 00:17:31,667 {\an1}So pretty much every theory about what happened to them 427 00:17:31,750 --> 00:17:34,833 {\an1}starts with a relocation; they have to go somewhere else. 428 00:17:34,917 --> 00:17:37,500 {\an1}But Roanoke is an island. 429 00:17:37,583 --> 00:17:38,917 {\an1}So, if they want to flee, 430 00:17:39,042 --> 00:17:41,125 {\an1}they'll have to cross a body of water. 431 00:17:41,208 --> 00:17:44,500 {\an1}Luckily, while they don't have enough food to eat, 432 00:17:44,583 --> 00:17:46,333 {\an1}they do have a boat. 433 00:17:46,500 --> 00:17:50,208 {\an1}The colonists originally arrive with three ships. 434 00:17:50,333 --> 00:17:52,958 {\an1}One returns to England immediately. 435 00:17:53,083 --> 00:17:55,042 {\an1}One is taken by John White, 436 00:17:55,167 --> 00:17:57,458 {\an1}and one still remains. 437 00:17:57,542 --> 00:18:00,125 {\an1}The boat they have left is called a pinnace, 438 00:18:00,250 --> 00:18:03,292 {\an1}which is a small, nimble, flat-bottomed boat, 439 00:18:03,375 --> 00:18:06,000 {\an1}mostly used for short trips and errands. 440 00:18:06,083 --> 00:18:08,500 {\an1}You use it when your main vessel is 441 00:18:08,667 --> 00:18:11,750 {\an1}too cumbersome, or the water's too shallow. 442 00:18:11,875 --> 00:18:14,375 {\an1}When White finally arrives in 1590, 443 00:18:14,500 --> 00:18:16,875 {\an1}in addition to finding the community dismantled, 444 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:18,833 {\an1}the pinnace is gone. 445 00:18:18,917 --> 00:18:21,042 {\an1}He presumably would've thought 446 00:18:21,167 --> 00:18:22,750 {\an1}the colonists had gotten on it 447 00:18:22,875 --> 00:18:24,250 {\an1}and went somewhere. 448 00:18:24,375 --> 00:18:26,500 {\an1}Where, he wouldn't've known. 449 00:18:26,625 --> 00:18:28,792 {\an1}The point of them having this boat is 450 00:18:28,875 --> 00:18:31,000 {\an1}for fishing or island-hopping. 451 00:18:31,083 --> 00:18:34,000 {\an1}Foraging or small-scale exploration. 452 00:18:34,083 --> 00:18:35,875 {\an1}It's not meant to be a long-haul ship. 453 00:18:36,042 --> 00:18:38,667 {\an1}But in a dire emergency, 454 00:18:38,792 --> 00:18:40,667 {\an1}with no other options, 455 00:18:40,792 --> 00:18:43,250 {\an1}this has to be their Plan A. 456 00:18:43,375 --> 00:18:46,167 {\an1}It's either get on the boat, or die. 457 00:18:46,292 --> 00:18:49,292 {\an1}And this is where the theorists really start speculating, 458 00:18:49,375 --> 00:18:52,458 {\an1}about where they may have gone on this small boat, 459 00:18:52,542 --> 00:18:53,917 {\an1}but this fails to take into account 460 00:18:54,042 --> 00:18:55,542 {\an1}one other possibility, 461 00:18:55,667 --> 00:18:57,333 {\an1}that I think is definitely an option, 462 00:18:57,417 --> 00:18:59,625 {\an1}that they could've perished on this small boat. 463 00:19:02,042 --> 00:19:03,958 {\an1}This is very noteworthy. 464 00:19:04,042 --> 00:19:06,667 {\an1}So far, throughout history, really, 465 00:19:06,833 --> 00:19:09,500 {\an1}all 400-plus years, 466 00:19:09,583 --> 00:19:12,000 {\an1}searching for the Lost Colonists 467 00:19:12,125 --> 00:19:16,167 {\an1}has been largely limited to land. 468 00:19:16,292 --> 00:19:19,042 {\an1}But I think it's just as likely 469 00:19:19,167 --> 00:19:21,125 {\an1}that the answers are in the water. 470 00:19:21,208 --> 00:19:23,167 {\an1}Unfortunately, this theory makes 471 00:19:23,292 --> 00:19:26,458 {\an1}finding evidence almost impossible. 472 00:19:26,542 --> 00:19:28,167 {\an1}First of all, you're not gonna see 473 00:19:28,250 --> 00:19:29,583 {\an1}any trace of what happened, 474 00:19:29,708 --> 00:19:32,500 {\an1}unless somebody's randomly diving 475 00:19:32,583 --> 00:19:35,292 {\an1}or scanning the bottom of some body of water, 476 00:19:35,375 --> 00:19:37,375 {\an1}and lucks into... 477 00:19:37,542 --> 00:19:39,250 {\an1}a one-in-a-billion discovery. 478 00:19:40,375 --> 00:19:42,167 {\an1}It's complicated to even know where to begin 479 00:19:42,333 --> 00:19:44,042 {\an1}to look for wreckage for the colonists. 480 00:19:44,208 --> 00:19:45,875 {\an1}We don't know where they left from. 481 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:47,583 {\an1}We don't know how far they sailed out. 482 00:19:47,708 --> 00:19:50,042 {\an1}We don't even know where they're going. 483 00:19:50,167 --> 00:19:51,917 {\an1}If the colonists had decided 484 00:19:52,042 --> 00:19:53,500 {\an1}that it was time to sail somewhere, 485 00:19:53,625 --> 00:19:55,708 {\an1}the most logical place to go would be-- 486 00:19:55,875 --> 00:19:57,833 {\an1}to sail back to England. 487 00:19:59,125 --> 00:20:01,208 {\an1}They could've taken a short trip 488 00:20:01,333 --> 00:20:03,333 {\an1}to some other spot in the New World, 489 00:20:03,458 --> 00:20:06,208 {\an1}but the New World isn't working out for them, 490 00:20:06,333 --> 00:20:09,750 {\an1}so they valiantly try to go home. 491 00:20:09,875 --> 00:20:11,000 {\an1}Think about it. 492 00:20:11,125 --> 00:20:13,333 {\an1}You are stranded with no food 493 00:20:13,417 --> 00:20:15,667 {\an1}and no hope in a violent, strange new land. 494 00:20:15,750 --> 00:20:17,333 {\an1}What do you do? 495 00:20:17,458 --> 00:20:19,417 {\an1}You try to make it back home, 496 00:20:19,542 --> 00:20:21,083 {\an1}to a place you're familiar with. 497 00:20:21,208 --> 00:20:24,125 {\an1}Even if it means risking death. 498 00:20:24,208 --> 00:20:27,083 {\an1}They had survived the crossing one way. 499 00:20:27,208 --> 00:20:29,292 {\an1}Maybe they had what it took 500 00:20:29,417 --> 00:20:31,542 {\an1}to make it the other way. 501 00:20:31,708 --> 00:20:35,792 {\an1}Another European colony also famously made the voyage home, 502 00:20:35,875 --> 00:20:38,000 {\an1}against even worse odds. 503 00:20:38,167 --> 00:20:39,833 {\an1}The Roanoke colonists 504 00:20:39,917 --> 00:20:42,667 {\an1}might've been aware of a very well-known story 505 00:20:42,750 --> 00:20:44,833 {\an1}published in Europe 25 years prior. 506 00:20:44,917 --> 00:20:47,833 {\an1}There was a group of marooned French colonists 507 00:20:47,958 --> 00:20:50,750 {\an1}that shares many similarities to the Roanoke adventure. 508 00:20:50,875 --> 00:20:53,750 {\an1}It's the kind of story that would've gone viral today, 509 00:20:53,875 --> 00:20:56,500 {\an1}but even back then, it managed to spread far and wide. 510 00:20:56,625 --> 00:20:59,542 {\an1}In 1562, the French set out 511 00:20:59,708 --> 00:21:02,083 {\an1}to establish the Charlesfort settlement, 512 00:21:02,208 --> 00:21:04,417 {\an1}in what would become South Carolina, 513 00:21:04,542 --> 00:21:06,458 {\an1}but by the following year, 514 00:21:06,542 --> 00:21:09,667 {\an1}these colonists also run out of supplies. 515 00:21:09,750 --> 00:21:12,958 {\an1}Their leader, Admiral Jean Ribault, 516 00:21:13,042 --> 00:21:14,917 {\an1}sails home for more provisions, 517 00:21:15,042 --> 00:21:17,375 {\an1}leaving two dozen people behind. 518 00:21:17,542 --> 00:21:20,958 {\an1}Unfortunately, upon returning to Europe, 519 00:21:21,042 --> 00:21:23,792 {\an1}Ribault is unexpectedly detained, 520 00:21:23,875 --> 00:21:27,000 {\an1}leaving the settlers to fend for themselves 521 00:21:27,083 --> 00:21:28,333 {\an1}in a strange land. 522 00:21:28,500 --> 00:21:31,417 {\an1}Just like Roanoke. 523 00:21:31,542 --> 00:21:34,750 {\an1}But unlike Roanoke, this colony has 524 00:21:34,875 --> 00:21:36,583 {\an1}a much bigger obstacle. 525 00:21:36,708 --> 00:21:39,208 {\an1}These French settlers don't have access to a boat. 526 00:21:39,333 --> 00:21:42,000 {\an1}So, in 1563, 527 00:21:42,125 --> 00:21:44,708 {\an1}the Frenchmen build their own boat. 528 00:21:44,875 --> 00:21:48,167 {\an1}And against all odds, logic, and reason, 529 00:21:48,250 --> 00:21:50,333 {\an1}they make it back to Europe. 530 00:21:50,458 --> 00:21:53,167 {\an1}Just barely, but they do make it. 531 00:21:53,292 --> 00:21:55,042 {\an1}The colonists are probably thinking, 532 00:21:55,167 --> 00:21:57,750 {\an1}"If the French can make it on a boat they built themselves, 533 00:21:57,875 --> 00:22:00,458 {\an1}then surely we can make it with a boat that we have on hand." 534 00:22:00,542 --> 00:22:04,042 {\an1}But the problem may lie in their numbers. 535 00:22:04,208 --> 00:22:06,083 {\an1}The population of the colony starts off 536 00:22:06,208 --> 00:22:08,042 {\an1}with just over 100 people. 537 00:22:08,167 --> 00:22:10,708 {\an1}And because the pinnace was so small, 538 00:22:10,833 --> 00:22:13,042 {\an1}it's unlikely that all the colonists 539 00:22:13,167 --> 00:22:14,833 {\an1}were onboard that ship. 540 00:22:14,917 --> 00:22:16,708 {\an1}But depending on when the colonists flee, 541 00:22:16,833 --> 00:22:19,208 {\an1}some months have passed without supplies. 542 00:22:19,375 --> 00:22:22,417 {\an1}Between starvation, disease, and native attacks, 543 00:22:22,542 --> 00:22:24,875 {\an1}there may be far less than 100 survivors 544 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:26,625 {\an1}to board the boat. 545 00:22:26,708 --> 00:22:29,667 {\an1}Capacity might not have been an issue. 546 00:22:29,750 --> 00:22:32,125 {\an1}But stability is. 547 00:22:32,250 --> 00:22:34,167 {\an1}For any crew crossing the Atlantic, 548 00:22:34,333 --> 00:22:35,708 {\an1}it was challenging at best. 549 00:22:35,875 --> 00:22:38,167 {\an1}These colonists didn't have instruments, 550 00:22:38,292 --> 00:22:40,292 {\an1}they were facing rough waters, 551 00:22:40,375 --> 00:22:42,792 {\an1}and they also were facing challenging weather. 552 00:22:42,917 --> 00:22:45,917 {\an1}In addition to that, this is not a seafaring boat, 553 00:22:46,042 --> 00:22:47,583 {\an1}this is a shoreline boat, 554 00:22:47,708 --> 00:22:50,208 {\an1}and with rough seas and the complications 555 00:22:50,333 --> 00:22:52,333 {\an1}of the water surrounding the outer banks, 556 00:22:52,458 --> 00:22:55,167 {\an1}it would've proved to be very difficult and very hard. 557 00:22:55,333 --> 00:22:56,958 {\an1}If they made it back, 558 00:22:57,042 --> 00:22:58,417 {\an1}surely they would've returned to their families. 559 00:22:58,542 --> 00:23:00,292 {\an1}There would've been some evidence, 560 00:23:00,417 --> 00:23:02,125 {\an1}but there's nothing to say that they made it home. 561 00:23:02,208 --> 00:23:04,500 {\an1}Could the remains of the Lost Colony be 562 00:23:04,625 --> 00:23:07,417 {\an1}buried underwater? 563 00:23:07,542 --> 00:23:11,292 {\an1}So far, no such shipwreck has been found. 564 00:23:11,375 --> 00:23:14,500 {\an1}But some researchers remain optimistic. 565 00:23:14,625 --> 00:23:16,500 {\an1}To date, scientists have only been able 566 00:23:16,583 --> 00:23:19,833 {\an1}to explore about 35% of the U.S. coastal sea floor. 567 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:21,708 {\an1}So there's a lot to go. 568 00:23:21,875 --> 00:23:25,333 {\an1}Maybe someday, with advances in technology, 569 00:23:25,417 --> 00:23:27,458 {\an1}we'll find the remains of the Lost Colonists 570 00:23:27,542 --> 00:23:29,625 {\an1}who make it off the island 571 00:23:29,708 --> 00:23:31,750 {\an1}but don't survive the journey home. 572 00:23:35,750 --> 00:23:37,667 {\an1}For centuries the search for the lost colony of Roanoke 573 00:23:37,833 --> 00:23:40,125 {\an1}turns up nothing but tantalizing clues 574 00:23:40,208 --> 00:23:42,167 {\an1}and dead ends. 575 00:23:42,292 --> 00:23:44,542 {\an1}Then, in the late 1930s, 576 00:23:44,667 --> 00:23:47,500 {\an1}a treasure trove of new evidence is unearthed, 577 00:23:47,625 --> 00:23:51,458 {\an1}and, if authentic, it could rewrite history. 578 00:23:51,583 --> 00:23:53,958 {\an1}By the 20th century, the leading theories 579 00:23:54,042 --> 00:23:56,667 {\an1}as to what happened to the colonists were that, 580 00:23:56,750 --> 00:23:59,958 {\an1}number one, they joined with the Croatoans to the south, 581 00:24:00,042 --> 00:24:02,333 {\an1}and number two, they had gone north to the Chesapeake, 582 00:24:02,458 --> 00:24:04,708 {\an1}where they were murdered by Powhatan's people. 583 00:24:04,875 --> 00:24:06,917 {\an1}Another possibility is quite simple. 584 00:24:07,042 --> 00:24:09,625 {\an1}That they tried to sail back to England. 585 00:24:09,708 --> 00:24:11,458 {\an1}There is just so little evidence. 586 00:24:11,583 --> 00:24:13,792 {\an1}There's almost nothing that has survived, 587 00:24:13,917 --> 00:24:16,792 {\an1}and we haven't even located the site of the colony. 588 00:24:16,875 --> 00:24:19,500 {\an1}Roanoke Island is about the size of Manhattan, 589 00:24:19,667 --> 00:24:21,417 {\an1}and we don't even know 590 00:24:21,542 --> 00:24:23,333 {\an1}where they lived on that island. 591 00:24:23,500 --> 00:24:25,292 {\an1}The primary surviving written source 592 00:24:25,375 --> 00:24:28,042 {\an1}for the bulk of the information that we have on the colony 593 00:24:28,167 --> 00:24:29,833 {\an1}is from John White's diary, 594 00:24:29,917 --> 00:24:32,417 {\an1}and, of course, he wasn't there for the disappearance. 595 00:24:33,375 --> 00:24:34,667 {\an1}But in 1937, 596 00:24:34,833 --> 00:24:37,000 {\an1}a new written account is found, 597 00:24:37,167 --> 00:24:39,333 {\an1}and it's a bombshell. 598 00:24:39,417 --> 00:24:42,167 {\an1}November of 1937, 599 00:24:42,250 --> 00:24:43,833 {\an1}near Edenton, North Carolina, 600 00:24:43,958 --> 00:24:47,042 {\an1}about 60 miles west of Roanoke Island, 601 00:24:47,208 --> 00:24:48,708 {\an1}a man named Louis Hammond 602 00:24:48,833 --> 00:24:50,833 {\an1}is hunting for hickory nuts 603 00:24:50,917 --> 00:24:54,458 {\an1}along the Chowan River, when he finds a large rock 604 00:24:54,542 --> 00:24:57,042 {\an1}that's covered in strange inscriptions 605 00:24:57,208 --> 00:24:59,542 {\an1}that appear to be Old English. 606 00:24:59,667 --> 00:25:02,667 {\an1}Hammond brings the rock to Emory University 607 00:25:02,792 --> 00:25:05,458 {\an1}in Atlanta to have a history professor 608 00:25:05,583 --> 00:25:07,333 {\an1}named Haywood J. Pearce 609 00:25:07,417 --> 00:25:09,000 {\an1}help him decipher what it says. 610 00:25:09,167 --> 00:25:10,500 {\an1}Pearce takes one look, 611 00:25:10,625 --> 00:25:12,500 {\an1}and he can't believe his eyes. 612 00:25:12,583 --> 00:25:15,417 {\an1}The carved stone purports to be a message 613 00:25:15,542 --> 00:25:19,208 {\an1}from Eleanor Dare, John White's daughter. 614 00:25:19,375 --> 00:25:21,500 {\an1}On one side of the stone, 615 00:25:21,583 --> 00:25:24,042 {\an1}Dare reports the sad fate of her husband, 616 00:25:24,208 --> 00:25:26,000 {\an1}Ananias Dare, 617 00:25:26,083 --> 00:25:28,458 {\an1}and their four-year-old daughter, Virginia. 618 00:25:28,542 --> 00:25:32,500 {\an1}They apparently both die in the year 1591. 619 00:25:32,583 --> 00:25:35,500 {\an1}Below that, Dare instructs whoever finds the stone 620 00:25:35,667 --> 00:25:37,792 {\an1}to bring it to Governor White. 621 00:25:37,917 --> 00:25:40,708 {\an1}She wants her father to know what happened to her family, 622 00:25:40,833 --> 00:25:42,542 {\an1}and making the stone carving 623 00:25:42,708 --> 00:25:44,667 {\an1}is the best way she knows how to do that. 624 00:25:44,750 --> 00:25:48,625 {\an1}On the reverse side, there's an even longer message. 625 00:25:48,750 --> 00:25:50,667 {\an1}Eleanor describes 626 00:25:50,750 --> 00:25:53,458 {\an1}the initial departure from Roanoke 627 00:25:53,583 --> 00:25:55,417 {\an1}and the route they've taken so far. 628 00:25:55,542 --> 00:25:57,833 {\an1}They travel west, about 50 miles, 629 00:25:57,958 --> 00:25:59,958 {\an1}and end up close to the spot 630 00:26:00,083 --> 00:26:01,208 {\an1}where the stone is found. 631 00:26:01,375 --> 00:26:02,833 {\an1}Next, she writes that, 632 00:26:02,958 --> 00:26:04,625 {\an1}after a miserable period of illness, 633 00:26:04,708 --> 00:26:06,500 {\an1}starvation, and violent attacks 634 00:26:06,625 --> 00:26:09,000 {\an1}from local tribes, the population of the colony, 635 00:26:09,167 --> 00:26:11,708 {\an1}which starts off with just over 100 people, 636 00:26:11,833 --> 00:26:14,000 {\an1}dwindles down to just seven souls. 637 00:26:14,125 --> 00:26:16,833 {\an1}I've looked at this stone in great detail. 638 00:26:16,917 --> 00:26:18,500 {\an1}It makes for a great story, 639 00:26:18,625 --> 00:26:20,000 {\an1}it makes for a very plausible story. 640 00:26:20,125 --> 00:26:21,667 {\an1}The problem is, is there's no record 641 00:26:21,833 --> 00:26:23,333 {\an1}of where they went. 642 00:26:23,500 --> 00:26:25,958 {\an1}But she does provide a hint of a clue. 643 00:26:26,083 --> 00:26:29,417 {\an1}After the seven colonists bury the remains of their peers, 644 00:26:29,542 --> 00:26:31,667 {\an1}Dare writes that she's inscribed their names 645 00:26:31,792 --> 00:26:34,375 {\an1}on a grave marker somewhere, along with further details 646 00:26:34,542 --> 00:26:36,417 {\an1}of recent events. 647 00:26:36,542 --> 00:26:38,042 {\an1}In other words, there may be 648 00:26:38,208 --> 00:26:41,708 {\an1}a second hand-carved message with more answers. 649 00:26:41,875 --> 00:26:45,333 {\an1}After reviewing it, Haywood J. Pearce, 650 00:26:45,500 --> 00:26:47,625 {\an1}the history professor, knows exactly 651 00:26:47,708 --> 00:26:49,500 {\an1}how important this rock is, 652 00:26:49,625 --> 00:26:52,333 {\an1}so he buys it from Louis Hammond 653 00:26:52,458 --> 00:26:54,542 {\an1}and launches this obsessive search 654 00:26:54,708 --> 00:26:56,583 {\an1}for the second stone. 655 00:26:56,708 --> 00:26:58,917 {\an1}Pearce believes finding the second stone 656 00:26:59,042 --> 00:27:00,917 {\an1}will authenticate the first stone, 657 00:27:01,042 --> 00:27:03,333 {\an1}effectively solving the Roanoke mystery 658 00:27:03,417 --> 00:27:05,208 {\an1}and earning himself a permanent spot 659 00:27:05,375 --> 00:27:07,458 {\an1}in the history books as well. 660 00:27:07,542 --> 00:27:11,000 {\an1}Professor Pearce offers a $500 reward 661 00:27:11,125 --> 00:27:14,708 {\an1}to anyone who can find the second Dare stone. 662 00:27:14,833 --> 00:27:17,833 {\an1}By today's inflation, that's $10,000. 663 00:27:17,958 --> 00:27:19,542 {\an1}During that time, the country was still 664 00:27:19,708 --> 00:27:21,333 {\an1}in the Great Depression, 665 00:27:21,458 --> 00:27:23,375 {\an1}so we know the hunt was on. 666 00:27:23,542 --> 00:27:26,542 {\an1}Soon enough, Pearce's plan works. 667 00:27:26,708 --> 00:27:29,833 {\an1}The next stone is found by Bill Eberhardt, 668 00:27:29,958 --> 00:27:33,000 {\an1}a backwoodsman from northern Georgia. 669 00:27:33,083 --> 00:27:35,792 {\an1}He brings a 21-pound rock to Emory University 670 00:27:35,917 --> 00:27:38,500 {\an1}that he claim he found in South Carolina. 671 00:27:38,583 --> 00:27:40,333 {\an1}Sure enough, it has the names of the dead 672 00:27:40,417 --> 00:27:43,875 {\an1}that Eleanor Dare mentioned that she carved into it. 673 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,250 {\an1}But Eberhardt's find doesn't end there. 674 00:27:47,375 --> 00:27:49,917 {\an1}In total, within less than a year, 675 00:27:50,042 --> 00:27:52,292 {\an1}Eberhardt finds several dozen more stones. 676 00:27:52,375 --> 00:27:56,375 {\an1}Taken together, they finally paint a clear picture 677 00:27:56,542 --> 00:27:59,333 {\an1}of what happened to the Roanoke survivors. 678 00:27:59,500 --> 00:28:01,500 {\an1}It's an incredible tale. 679 00:28:01,583 --> 00:28:03,667 {\an1}They eventually make it to safety, 680 00:28:03,792 --> 00:28:06,708 {\an1}after a 500-mile journey... 681 00:28:06,833 --> 00:28:08,792 {\an1}...to Georgia. 682 00:28:11,042 --> 00:28:13,208 {\an1}Together, this evidence has become known 683 00:28:13,375 --> 00:28:15,375 {\an1}as the Dare Stones. 684 00:28:15,542 --> 00:28:17,167 {\an1}According to the Dare Stones, 685 00:28:17,292 --> 00:28:19,708 {\an1}the colonists survive and they're in Georgia, 686 00:28:19,833 --> 00:28:22,708 {\an1}taken in by natives, and Eleanor's husband passes away. 687 00:28:22,833 --> 00:28:25,667 {\an1}Eventually Eleanor Dare is married 688 00:28:25,792 --> 00:28:28,208 {\an1}to a Native American man in 1593. 689 00:28:28,333 --> 00:28:30,792 {\an1}Together, they have a daughter named Agnes, 690 00:28:30,917 --> 00:28:33,708 {\an1}and Eleanor dies in 1599. 691 00:28:33,875 --> 00:28:36,542 {\an1}After Eleanor's death, Griffen Jones 692 00:28:36,708 --> 00:28:40,000 {\an1}and Agnes Dare leave behind obituaries 693 00:28:40,125 --> 00:28:42,667 {\an1}for the other survivors as they die off, 694 00:28:42,833 --> 00:28:45,542 {\an1}but nobody knows what happens 695 00:28:45,708 --> 00:28:48,042 {\an1}to Agnes or Griffin. 696 00:28:48,167 --> 00:28:50,875 {\an1}And it's easy to say Professor Pearce was 697 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:52,833 {\an1}very excited about these findings. 698 00:28:52,917 --> 00:28:54,750 {\an1}He hosts a scientific conference 699 00:28:54,875 --> 00:28:58,167 {\an1}in October of 1940, inviting 34 academic experts 700 00:28:58,292 --> 00:29:00,042 {\an1}to examine the stones. 701 00:29:00,167 --> 00:29:02,667 {\an1}A panel of these experts issues a press release 702 00:29:02,792 --> 00:29:05,750 {\an1}supporting the stone's authenticity. 703 00:29:05,875 --> 00:29:08,708 {\an1}Pearce submits an article of his findings 704 00:29:08,875 --> 00:29:10,833 {\an1}to the Saturday Evening Post. 705 00:29:10,958 --> 00:29:14,250 {\an1}When the article comes out on April 26th, 1941, 706 00:29:14,375 --> 00:29:16,667 {\an1}it's quite shocking, but not for the reason 707 00:29:16,792 --> 00:29:19,500 {\an1}Pearce expected, because, according to the article, 708 00:29:19,625 --> 00:29:23,000 {\an1}the fact-checkers find all kinds of problems with the story. 709 00:29:23,125 --> 00:29:25,375 {\an1}The Dare Stones are a hoax. 710 00:29:26,875 --> 00:29:28,833 {\an1}After examining the stones, 711 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:31,792 {\an1}a linguist finds several flaws. 712 00:29:31,875 --> 00:29:33,875 {\an1}They used words which were 713 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:35,458 {\an1}not in the English language 714 00:29:35,583 --> 00:29:37,167 {\an1}at the time, like "trail" 715 00:29:37,250 --> 00:29:38,667 {\an1}and "reconnoiter." 716 00:29:38,792 --> 00:29:40,333 {\an1}One of these stones even purports to list 717 00:29:40,458 --> 00:29:42,875 {\an1}names of people, but those names don't appear 718 00:29:43,042 --> 00:29:44,833 {\an1}on the ship's manifest. 719 00:29:44,917 --> 00:29:46,875 {\an1}They seem to be just fabrications. 720 00:29:47,042 --> 00:29:49,000 {\an1}Then there's the handwriting. 721 00:29:49,083 --> 00:29:51,458 {\an1}The 47 stones found by Eberhardt 722 00:29:51,542 --> 00:29:53,792 {\an1}don't match the handwriting on the initial stone 723 00:29:53,875 --> 00:29:55,708 {\an1}found by Hammond. 724 00:29:55,875 --> 00:29:58,292 {\an1}And they're carved into a different kind of rock. 725 00:29:58,375 --> 00:30:01,042 {\an1}It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. 726 00:30:01,167 --> 00:30:03,875 {\an1}The timing of the 1937 find 727 00:30:04,042 --> 00:30:06,208 {\an1}is also suspicious. 728 00:30:06,375 --> 00:30:10,292 {\an1}In 1937, it's the 350-year anniversary 729 00:30:10,375 --> 00:30:12,708 {\an1}of the Lost Colony. There's a lot of fanfare 730 00:30:12,875 --> 00:30:15,417 {\an1}built up around this anniversary and the celebration. 731 00:30:15,542 --> 00:30:17,208 {\an1}It's also an interesting time because the country 732 00:30:17,375 --> 00:30:19,167 {\an1}is in the middle of the Great Depression, 733 00:30:19,250 --> 00:30:21,042 {\an1}so it's a wonderful way to lift the spirits 734 00:30:21,208 --> 00:30:23,375 {\an1}- of the population. - In modern terms, 735 00:30:23,542 --> 00:30:27,083 {\an1}Roanoke could be described as having a moment. 736 00:30:27,208 --> 00:30:30,375 {\an1}So, if somebody were trying to make money 737 00:30:30,542 --> 00:30:32,917 {\an1}off some bogus artifacts, 738 00:30:33,042 --> 00:30:35,375 {\an1}this would be the time. 739 00:30:35,500 --> 00:30:39,000 {\an1}Is it possible that Eberhardt faked the Dare Stones? 740 00:30:39,083 --> 00:30:41,792 {\an1}This never occurs to Haywood Pearce. 741 00:30:41,875 --> 00:30:44,125 {\an1}Eberhardt to him is just some manual laborer 742 00:30:44,250 --> 00:30:45,833 {\an1}with a third-grade education. 743 00:30:45,958 --> 00:30:47,542 {\an1}There's no way he could produce 744 00:30:47,708 --> 00:30:49,708 {\an1}such authentic forgeries. 745 00:30:49,833 --> 00:30:51,625 {\an1}Come to find out, Eberhardt has a history 746 00:30:51,708 --> 00:30:55,333 {\an1}of forging and selling fake Native American artifacts. 747 00:30:55,458 --> 00:30:57,833 {\an1}While the 47 Dare Stones 748 00:30:57,958 --> 00:30:59,750 {\an1}forged by Eberhardt 749 00:30:59,875 --> 00:31:01,792 {\an1}have been officially declared fraudulent, 750 00:31:01,875 --> 00:31:05,792 {\an1}some still believe the original is genuine. 751 00:31:05,917 --> 00:31:08,458 {\an1}There's still a chance that the original stone 752 00:31:08,542 --> 00:31:10,042 {\an1}brought in by Louis Hammond 753 00:31:10,208 --> 00:31:13,167 {\an1}could be the 400-year-old work of Eleanor Dare. 754 00:31:13,292 --> 00:31:15,250 {\an1}Then again, Hammond may have just been looking 755 00:31:15,375 --> 00:31:17,708 {\an1}to make a quick buck and earn 15 minutes of fame 756 00:31:17,875 --> 00:31:19,708 {\an1}through a scam of his own, 757 00:31:19,875 --> 00:31:21,792 {\an1}which Eberhardt then took to an extreme. 758 00:31:21,917 --> 00:31:25,958 {\an1}Either way, apart from the Dare Stones themselves, 759 00:31:26,042 --> 00:31:28,583 {\an1}there's no evidence that the Lost Colonists 760 00:31:28,708 --> 00:31:34,125 {\an1}ever ended up in Georgia. 761 00:31:34,208 --> 00:31:36,667 {\an1}Across four centuries the writings 762 00:31:36,750 --> 00:31:37,833 {\an1}of Governor John White are the only clue 763 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:39,708 {\an1}as to the final destination 764 00:31:39,833 --> 00:31:42,333 {\an1}of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. 765 00:31:42,458 --> 00:31:44,000 {\an1}John White leaves behind 766 00:31:44,167 --> 00:31:46,333 {\an1}a journal that's very extensive, 767 00:31:46,458 --> 00:31:48,625 {\an1}but just like the rest of us, he's in the dark 768 00:31:48,750 --> 00:31:51,667 {\an1}about what happened to the colonists after they leave. 769 00:31:51,792 --> 00:31:53,625 {\an1}Although he was governor of the colony, 770 00:31:53,708 --> 00:31:55,333 {\an1}he was first and foremost 771 00:31:55,417 --> 00:31:56,750 {\an1}a painter by trade, 772 00:31:56,875 --> 00:31:58,708 {\an1}and it's because of his drawings 773 00:31:58,875 --> 00:32:00,833 {\an1}and his incredible paintings that he produced 774 00:32:00,958 --> 00:32:03,000 {\an1}during his time on Roanoke Island, 775 00:32:03,083 --> 00:32:04,667 {\an1}that we know a great deal about 776 00:32:04,792 --> 00:32:06,292 {\an1}what life was like amongst 777 00:32:06,375 --> 00:32:08,958 {\an1}the Native American Indian population. 778 00:32:09,042 --> 00:32:11,208 {\an1}White also leaves behind 779 00:32:11,375 --> 00:32:13,667 {\an1}one other potential piece of evidence. 780 00:32:13,750 --> 00:32:16,000 {\an1}A hand-drawn map. 781 00:32:16,125 --> 00:32:18,125 {\an1}The Virginea Pars map is 782 00:32:18,208 --> 00:32:21,792 {\an1}arguably the finest piece of 16th-century 783 00:32:21,917 --> 00:32:25,083 {\an1}North American cartography there is. 784 00:32:25,208 --> 00:32:27,042 {\an1}There were three expeditions to Roanoke. 785 00:32:27,167 --> 00:32:30,667 {\an1}White made this map during the 1585-6 786 00:32:30,750 --> 00:32:32,333 {\an1}Sir Walter Raleigh expedition 787 00:32:32,500 --> 00:32:34,875 {\an1}a few years before the Lost Colonists. 788 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,208 {\an1}The map shows Roanoke Island, 789 00:32:37,375 --> 00:32:39,792 {\an1}the colonists' eventual landing spot 790 00:32:39,875 --> 00:32:42,542 {\an1}and its surrounding areas in great detail. 791 00:32:42,667 --> 00:32:44,333 {\an1}It's incredibly accurate. 792 00:32:44,458 --> 00:32:46,667 {\an1}You can still look at that map today, 793 00:32:46,792 --> 00:32:48,417 {\an1}over 400 years later, 794 00:32:48,542 --> 00:32:51,875 {\an1}and define all of the key estuaries, 795 00:32:52,042 --> 00:32:54,917 {\an1}the lakes, the islands, it's a remarkable map. 796 00:32:55,042 --> 00:32:57,833 {\an1}In 2012, a research group 797 00:32:57,958 --> 00:33:00,000 {\an1}called the First Colony Foundation 798 00:33:00,125 --> 00:33:03,083 {\an1}examines White's map for new clues. 799 00:33:03,208 --> 00:33:05,333 {\an1}The First Colony Foundation, they don't even start 800 00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:07,208 {\an1}by actually looking at the original. 801 00:33:07,333 --> 00:33:10,417 {\an1}They go over a high-quality reproduction of the map, 802 00:33:10,542 --> 00:33:12,667 {\an1}and something jumps out at them. 803 00:33:12,750 --> 00:33:14,083 {\an1}A small detail that 804 00:33:14,208 --> 00:33:16,000 {\an1}may be hiding a big secret. 805 00:33:16,125 --> 00:33:18,292 {\an1}They see a faint brown shadow, 806 00:33:18,417 --> 00:33:21,000 {\an1}which seems to have been overlooked. 807 00:33:21,167 --> 00:33:24,167 {\an1}This could just be a topographical outline, 808 00:33:24,292 --> 00:33:26,833 {\an1}but the team thinks it might instead be a patch. 809 00:33:26,958 --> 00:33:28,833 {\an1}Something was covered up here. 810 00:33:28,958 --> 00:33:30,750 {\an1}Maybe a spot where John White 811 00:33:30,875 --> 00:33:33,000 {\an1}accidentally spills a blob of paint, 812 00:33:33,167 --> 00:33:35,333 {\an1}makes an error, and it's just covered up 813 00:33:35,458 --> 00:33:38,917 {\an1}with a piece of parchment. Or maybe it's something more. 814 00:33:39,042 --> 00:33:41,208 {\an1}There's only one way to find out. 815 00:33:41,375 --> 00:33:44,250 {\an1}They notify the British Museum, 816 00:33:44,375 --> 00:33:47,917 {\an1}which takes the original copy of the Virginea Pars map 817 00:33:48,042 --> 00:33:49,750 {\an1}and scans it 818 00:33:49,875 --> 00:33:52,333 {\an1}using advanced imaging technology. 819 00:33:52,417 --> 00:33:55,000 {\an1}And sure enough, under the patch is not 820 00:33:55,083 --> 00:33:57,167 {\an1}an errant paint blob 821 00:33:57,292 --> 00:34:00,833 {\an1}but what appears to be a large X symbol. 822 00:34:00,958 --> 00:34:03,125 {\an1}On maps of the era, 823 00:34:03,208 --> 00:34:08,000 {\an1}an X is often used to mark the location of a fort. 824 00:34:08,125 --> 00:34:11,417 {\an1}The question is, what does this image of a fort mean? 825 00:34:11,542 --> 00:34:13,125 {\an1}Was it, in fact, something that was built 826 00:34:13,208 --> 00:34:14,917 {\an1}on a previous expedition? 827 00:34:15,042 --> 00:34:17,125 {\an1}Or maybe it was an idea 828 00:34:17,208 --> 00:34:19,125 {\an1}that simply never came to fruition. 829 00:34:19,208 --> 00:34:22,250 {\an1}- We don't know. - But obviously John White 830 00:34:22,375 --> 00:34:24,458 {\an1}knows about it, and, in theory, 831 00:34:24,542 --> 00:34:27,083 {\an1}when he comes back with his Roanoke colony, 832 00:34:27,208 --> 00:34:29,208 {\an1}as their governor, he might've told 833 00:34:29,333 --> 00:34:30,958 {\an1}the colonists about the fort. 834 00:34:31,042 --> 00:34:33,333 {\an1}Could this be where they head 835 00:34:33,417 --> 00:34:37,000 {\an1}when things turn ugly on Roanoke Island? 836 00:34:37,125 --> 00:34:40,667 {\an1}The X is about 50 miles west of Roanoke inland, 837 00:34:40,750 --> 00:34:43,333 {\an1}along the Albemarle Sound. 838 00:34:43,458 --> 00:34:45,292 {\an1}This goes right along with the passage 839 00:34:45,417 --> 00:34:47,333 {\an1}in John White's journal where he instructs the colonists 840 00:34:47,458 --> 00:34:50,125 {\an1}to go west, in case of an emergency. 841 00:34:50,250 --> 00:34:54,250 {\an1}Did the colonists follow White's instructions? 842 00:34:54,375 --> 00:34:57,083 {\an1}A team is quickly sent to excavate the area. 843 00:34:57,208 --> 00:34:59,917 {\an1}The dig site gets one of the coolest names 844 00:35:00,042 --> 00:35:01,958 {\an1}you'll ever find in archaeology. 845 00:35:02,083 --> 00:35:04,000 {\an1}They call it Site X. 846 00:35:04,125 --> 00:35:06,833 {\an1}A reference to the pop culture idea 847 00:35:06,917 --> 00:35:09,375 {\an1}of buried pirate treasure. 848 00:35:09,500 --> 00:35:12,792 {\an1}And it's not long before Site X unveils 849 00:35:12,875 --> 00:35:15,292 {\an1}a treasure trove of new clues. 850 00:35:15,417 --> 00:35:18,208 {\an1}There are pottery shards and pieces of weapons 851 00:35:18,333 --> 00:35:20,250 {\an1}dating back to the Tudor era, 852 00:35:20,375 --> 00:35:22,875 {\an1}the exact period when this mystery begins. 853 00:35:23,042 --> 00:35:25,458 {\an1}English artifacts from the period 854 00:35:25,583 --> 00:35:28,875 {\an1}of the Roanoke colonists definitely exist at this site. 855 00:35:29,042 --> 00:35:31,333 {\an1}The problem is, which English group 856 00:35:31,458 --> 00:35:33,458 {\an1}did these artifacts belong to? 857 00:35:33,583 --> 00:35:36,167 {\an1}They can't be dated precisely enough to tell. 858 00:35:36,292 --> 00:35:37,833 {\an1}They could be from the Lost Colony 859 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:39,833 {\an1}or the Walter Raleigh expedition 860 00:35:39,958 --> 00:35:42,042 {\an1}or various other smaller teams 861 00:35:42,167 --> 00:35:44,167 {\an1}that have visited the area before. 862 00:35:44,292 --> 00:35:46,667 {\an1}Archaeologists expand their search 863 00:35:46,833 --> 00:35:48,667 {\an1}to a second location nearby. 864 00:35:48,792 --> 00:35:50,542 {\an1}They name it Site Y. 865 00:35:50,708 --> 00:35:52,583 {\an1}At Site Y, there have also been finds 866 00:35:52,708 --> 00:35:55,292 {\an1}of European artifacts, but, again, the trouble is 867 00:35:55,417 --> 00:35:57,292 {\an1}trying to tell whether they belong 868 00:35:57,375 --> 00:36:00,250 {\an1}to the Lost Colonists or to later English settlers. 869 00:36:00,375 --> 00:36:02,792 {\an1}They're not yet definitive. 870 00:36:02,875 --> 00:36:04,708 {\an1}We need more evidence. 871 00:36:04,833 --> 00:36:07,417 {\an1}The First Colony Foundation continues their hunt 872 00:36:07,542 --> 00:36:10,083 {\an1}through annual digs, led by historians, 873 00:36:10,208 --> 00:36:12,167 {\an1}scientists, and archaeologists. 874 00:36:12,292 --> 00:36:14,792 {\an1}And whatever they find is fully analyzed 875 00:36:14,917 --> 00:36:18,125 {\an1}in a nearby laboratory. They're confident they know 876 00:36:18,208 --> 00:36:20,208 {\an1}where the Lost Colony of Roanoke ended up, 877 00:36:20,333 --> 00:36:22,917 {\an1}and it's right here. Now they just have to prove it 878 00:36:23,042 --> 00:36:26,208 {\an1}with that one elusive artifact that can establish the link. 879 00:36:26,333 --> 00:36:29,292 {\an1}We will know that we have a location for the Lost Colony 880 00:36:29,375 --> 00:36:32,750 {\an1}when we find something that is irrefutably 881 00:36:32,875 --> 00:36:35,875 {\an1}a personal effect of one of the Lost Colonists. 882 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:39,667 {\an1}It has to be a necklace or a ring that might have 883 00:36:39,792 --> 00:36:43,000 {\an1}a name or note or something that positively identifies it 884 00:36:43,125 --> 00:36:44,833 {\an1}as a Lost Colonist's. 885 00:36:44,917 --> 00:36:47,042 {\an1}But until we find more evidence, 886 00:36:47,167 --> 00:36:49,458 {\an1}more hard evidence, we're essentially 887 00:36:49,583 --> 00:36:57,083 {\an1}looking for a needle in a haystack. 888 00:36:57,208 --> 00:36:58,750 {\an1}" CROATOAN." 889 00:36:58,875 --> 00:37:00,708 {\an1}A strange word found in a strange place, 890 00:37:00,833 --> 00:37:02,917 {\an1}carved into a tree near the abandoned 891 00:37:03,042 --> 00:37:05,917 {\an1}Roanoke colony in 1590. 892 00:37:06,042 --> 00:37:07,917 {\an1}But it may not be the only time 893 00:37:08,042 --> 00:37:10,333 {\an1}this word is tied to tragedy. 894 00:37:10,458 --> 00:37:13,042 {\an1}Believe it or not, there's a theory out there 895 00:37:13,167 --> 00:37:15,083 {\an1}that the word "Croatoan" turns up 896 00:37:15,208 --> 00:37:17,500 {\an1}in several desperate places in history. 897 00:37:17,583 --> 00:37:19,333 {\an1}Not just with the Lost Colony. 898 00:37:19,417 --> 00:37:21,333 {\an1}Not by a long shot. 899 00:37:21,500 --> 00:37:23,667 {\an1}The theory speculates that, when the colonists 900 00:37:23,792 --> 00:37:27,083 {\an1}carve that word, it's not a simple message 901 00:37:27,208 --> 00:37:29,875 {\an1}of their whereabouts; it's a cry of fear. 902 00:37:30,042 --> 00:37:31,500 {\an1}Because, in this case, 903 00:37:31,625 --> 00:37:34,292 {\an1}according to the theory, Croatoan doesn't mean 904 00:37:34,375 --> 00:37:36,208 {\an1}the friendly native tribe 905 00:37:36,333 --> 00:37:38,167 {\an1}or the name of an island. 906 00:37:38,292 --> 00:37:41,167 {\an1}It refers to some kind of supernatural force 907 00:37:41,333 --> 00:37:43,208 {\an1}that is out for blood. 908 00:37:45,375 --> 00:37:48,125 {\an1}John White assumes that the carvings "Croatoan" 909 00:37:48,208 --> 00:37:50,000 {\an1}and "C-R-O" means 910 00:37:50,083 --> 00:37:51,500 {\an1}"we've gone 40 miles south 911 00:37:51,583 --> 00:37:53,042 {\an1}to live with our indigenous friends." 912 00:37:53,208 --> 00:37:54,833 {\an1}He goes home devastated, 913 00:37:54,917 --> 00:37:57,417 {\an1}unable to find his daughter or granddaughter, 914 00:37:57,542 --> 00:37:59,375 {\an1}but we can assume that he has some degree of hope 915 00:37:59,500 --> 00:38:01,667 {\an1}that maybe they were able to survive 916 00:38:01,792 --> 00:38:05,833 {\an1}and perhaps even thrive with some help of the locals. 917 00:38:05,958 --> 00:38:09,000 {\an1}But John White might be very troubled to learn 918 00:38:09,167 --> 00:38:11,333 {\an1}what allegedly unfolds over the years, 919 00:38:11,458 --> 00:38:13,792 {\an1}because, according to some reports, 920 00:38:13,875 --> 00:38:17,042 {\an1}the next time "Croatoan" shows up in history, 921 00:38:17,167 --> 00:38:19,667 {\an1}it appears to be a dire warning. 922 00:38:19,792 --> 00:38:24,167 {\an1}The word seems to resurface in 1849. 923 00:38:24,292 --> 00:38:26,958 {\an1}Shortly before his death, the great author 924 00:38:27,083 --> 00:38:29,417 {\an1}Edgar Allan Poe goes missing. 925 00:38:29,542 --> 00:38:32,667 {\an1}He eventually shows up in a state of total delirium, 926 00:38:32,792 --> 00:38:35,167 {\an1}and what happened to Poe remains another great 927 00:38:35,292 --> 00:38:38,125 {\an1}historical mystery, but something at that time 928 00:38:38,208 --> 00:38:40,333 {\an1}causes him incredible distress 929 00:38:40,458 --> 00:38:42,542 {\an1}that may have even driven him mad 930 00:38:42,708 --> 00:38:44,750 {\an1}or may have contributed to his death. 931 00:38:44,875 --> 00:38:48,167 {\an1}Allegedly, one of the last coherent things he says 932 00:38:48,250 --> 00:38:50,042 {\an1}is the word "Croatoan." 933 00:38:50,167 --> 00:38:53,167 {\an1}There's another story about the word 934 00:38:53,250 --> 00:38:56,458 {\an1}tied to an alleged incident in 1888. 935 00:38:56,583 --> 00:38:59,958 {\an1}The old west outlaw Black Bart 936 00:39:00,083 --> 00:39:02,042 {\an1}is a notorious stagecoach robber, 937 00:39:02,208 --> 00:39:04,250 {\an1}and he's eventually brought to justice 938 00:39:04,375 --> 00:39:06,333 {\an1}and serves four years. 939 00:39:06,417 --> 00:39:08,500 {\an1}But before he gets out, 940 00:39:08,667 --> 00:39:11,083 {\an1}it's rumored that he carves the word "Croatoan" 941 00:39:11,208 --> 00:39:12,708 {\an1}into the wall of his cell, 942 00:39:12,833 --> 00:39:15,500 {\an1}and after his release in early 1888, 943 00:39:15,583 --> 00:39:18,500 {\an1}he's never seen or heard from again. 944 00:39:18,583 --> 00:39:20,417 {\an1}Is this word somehow killing people? 945 00:39:20,542 --> 00:39:22,167 {\an1}Making them disappear? 946 00:39:22,250 --> 00:39:24,042 {\an1}What's going on? 947 00:39:24,167 --> 00:39:26,792 {\an1}The parallels don't end there. 948 00:39:26,875 --> 00:39:30,417 {\an1}In 1921, a ship called the Carroll A. Deering 949 00:39:30,542 --> 00:39:32,292 {\an1}crashes off the coast of North Carolina. 950 00:39:32,417 --> 00:39:34,083 {\an1}The entire crew goes missing. 951 00:39:34,208 --> 00:39:36,917 {\an1}Not found dead. Just totally missing. 952 00:39:37,042 --> 00:39:38,750 {\an1}The ship was found abandoned, 953 00:39:38,875 --> 00:39:41,083 {\an1}and the word "Croatoan" was apparently 954 00:39:41,208 --> 00:39:42,667 {\an1}written in the logbook. 955 00:39:42,792 --> 00:39:46,208 {\an1}Ambrose Bierce is a famous horror author 956 00:39:46,375 --> 00:39:48,875 {\an1}who disappears in 1913 or 1914, 957 00:39:49,042 --> 00:39:50,750 {\an1}on his way to Mexico. 958 00:39:50,875 --> 00:39:53,583 {\an1}But one rumor has it that the last bed 959 00:39:53,708 --> 00:39:55,458 {\an1}he was known to have slept in 960 00:39:55,542 --> 00:39:57,083 {\an1}had the word "Croatoan" 961 00:39:57,208 --> 00:39:59,500 {\an1}carved into one of its posts. 962 00:39:59,583 --> 00:40:01,792 {\an1}And this is a doozy. 963 00:40:01,917 --> 00:40:03,167 {\an1}Amelia Earhart 964 00:40:03,250 --> 00:40:04,917 {\an1}famously disappears during 965 00:40:05,042 --> 00:40:07,250 {\an1}an ill-fated flight over the Pacific Ocean 966 00:40:07,375 --> 00:40:08,667 {\an1}in 1937. 967 00:40:08,750 --> 00:40:10,333 {\an1}But the Croatoan theorists 968 00:40:10,500 --> 00:40:11,833 {\an1}believe that she leaves behind 969 00:40:11,958 --> 00:40:13,833 {\an1}a journal with the word scribbled in it. 970 00:40:13,958 --> 00:40:16,833 {\an1}It's unclear how or when this rumor started, 971 00:40:16,917 --> 00:40:19,125 {\an1}but it continues to be widely reported. 972 00:40:19,208 --> 00:40:23,458 {\an1}could there be an ominous link between these incidents? 973 00:40:23,542 --> 00:40:26,292 {\an1}In the mythology of the colonists' 974 00:40:26,417 --> 00:40:28,000 {\an1}Native American neighbors, 975 00:40:28,125 --> 00:40:31,875 {\an1}"Croatoan" is the name of a vengeful spirit 976 00:40:32,042 --> 00:40:33,792 {\an1}that inhabits their island 977 00:40:33,917 --> 00:40:36,208 {\an1}and punishes those who displease him. 978 00:40:36,375 --> 00:40:38,167 {\an1}He can transform them 979 00:40:38,292 --> 00:40:41,042 {\an1}into animals, trees, or rocks, 980 00:40:41,167 --> 00:40:42,208 {\an1}or just kill them. 981 00:40:42,375 --> 00:40:44,125 {\an1}Is this what those other 982 00:40:44,208 --> 00:40:45,667 {\an1}historical references mean? 983 00:40:45,792 --> 00:40:47,917 {\an1}Is there some vengeful spirit 984 00:40:48,042 --> 00:40:50,417 {\an1}called Croatoan that has been out there 985 00:40:50,542 --> 00:40:52,583 {\an1}transforming and killing people 986 00:40:52,708 --> 00:40:54,375 {\an1}over these past 400 years? 987 00:40:54,542 --> 00:40:57,833 {\an1}Of course, the idea of an evil spirit 988 00:40:57,958 --> 00:41:00,208 {\an1}associated with the word "Croatoan," 989 00:41:00,333 --> 00:41:01,667 {\an1}causing all these problems, 990 00:41:01,792 --> 00:41:05,167 {\an1}is regrettably still a legend. 991 00:41:05,292 --> 00:41:08,417 {\an1}Besides, if the spirit did transform 992 00:41:08,542 --> 00:41:10,917 {\an1}the Lost Colonists, why did it then bother 993 00:41:11,042 --> 00:41:12,667 {\an1}to dismantle their houses? 994 00:41:12,750 --> 00:41:15,792 {\an1}Much more likely the colonists flee on their own. 995 00:41:15,917 --> 00:41:19,208 {\an1}But what happens to them next is still anyone's guess. 996 00:41:22,208 --> 00:41:23,542 {\an1}It's the oldest 997 00:41:23,667 --> 00:41:26,125 {\an1}missing persons case in America, 998 00:41:26,250 --> 00:41:27,375 {\an1}and yet today, 999 00:41:27,542 --> 00:41:28,917 {\an1}there are more people 1000 00:41:29,042 --> 00:41:30,458 {\an1}dedicated to solving it 1001 00:41:30,542 --> 00:41:32,167 {\an1}than ever before. 1002 00:41:32,250 --> 00:41:34,375 {\an1}They're searching land, sea, 1003 00:41:34,542 --> 00:41:36,000 {\an1}and even DNA 1004 00:41:36,125 --> 00:41:37,542 {\an1}to find the answer. 1005 00:41:37,708 --> 00:41:39,250 {\an1}Perhaps one day soon, 1006 00:41:39,375 --> 00:41:40,875 {\an1}the lost colony of Roanoke 1007 00:41:41,042 --> 00:41:43,083 {\an1}will finally be found. 1008 00:41:43,208 --> 00:41:44,542 {\an1}I'm Laurence Fishburne. 1009 00:41:44,708 --> 00:41:46,042 {\an1}Thank you for watching 1010 00:41:46,208 --> 00:41:49,083 {\an1}"History's Greatest Mysteries." 1011 00:41:49,208 --> 00:41:49,308 {\an1}♪♪ 1012 00:41:49,375 --> 00:41:51,500 {\an1}White's first mission is