Winning Back the Indians

Governor Calvert and our gentlemen showed themselves wise by not striving to dispute the falsehoods told by Captain Fleet and Master Claiborne. Instead of so doing, they continued the work which had been begun, as if there was nothing to cause alarm, and every now and then, when a single Indian came among us, most likely to spy out what we might be doing, he was treated with the greatest friendliness, being allowed to wander whithersoever he would.

It is true, however, that the fort was strengthened by the building of a blockhouse to be used in case of necessity; but other than that nothing of a warlike nature could be seen within our settlement.

In order to show that we were unconcerned as to whether or no the brown-skinned men visited us, Governor Calvert caused to be fitted out with goods for barter the small pinnace which had been hired from the people of Virginia, sending it up the bay and the rivers for the purpose of trading, giving to those who had furs for sale a better price than had been paid by Claiborne.

Although it was late in the season when our pinnace was sent out, she brought back within a month two hundred ninety-eight beaver skins, fifty-three muskrat hides, and seventeen other pelts.

It was not much, even as a beginning, for, so we learned from the savages, William Claiborne and Captain Fleet had in the meanwhile bought no less than three thousand beaver skins, which made our number seem exceeding trivial.

That which we did, however, served well Governor Calvert's purpose, since by keeping to ourselves, bargaining fairly with the Indians, and living up to the bargain that had been made with those of Yaocomico; the brown-skinned people came to understand that the men of Kent Island had spoken with a double tongue, meaning that they had said what was false, for within six weeks all the Indians who had abandoned us came back, showing quite as much friendliness as before.