hundred and seventy-seven persons under John White was landed by Sir Walter Raleigh on this island. Here, the same year, was born Virginia Dare, granddaughter of John White and the first child of English parents born in America. Later, part of the colonists under White had to go back to England to seek further aid. By agreement, those left behind were to go over to the friendly Croatoan Indians if they needed succor. When Governor White returned many months later, he found the settlement deserted and carved upon a tree nearby the single word "Croatoan." This supposedly meant that the colonists had gone over to the Croatoans. For some unexplained reason, the party under White never went in search of their lost brethren. Not a word more has ever been heard of Virginia Dare and the others. A tradition says that they went over to the Croatoans and eventually became absorbed into that tribe.[54] Credence is given to this by the fact that there are many Croatoan Indians—now called Croatans—with light complexion and blue eyes. Recently a considerable body of mixed-blooded Indians in Robeson County, North Carolina, have laid claim to descent from this lost colony, and the State has officially recognized them under a separate name as the "Croatan Indians." Thus, all that is left of Virginia Dare and the Lost Colony is this tradition supported by the presence of Indians with fair skin and blue eyes, and the statute of North Carolina that the blood of these early settlers shall not be further adulterated, by miscegenation, with the blood of the Negro.
