now afford to show liberality, for there were at this time two hundred horned cattle in Virginia and an equal number of goats. Swine roamed in herds in the woods, the property of any one who could capture them. Many hogs were owned by private persons, while others belonged to the public. The number of horses, mares, and colts was small;[1] some of those in the Colony had in the previous year been imported by Argoll, having been seized in the expedition against Canada.[2] The chickens had increased very much, and there were also many turkeys, pigeons, and peacocks.[3] The large number of live stock in Virginia during Dale’s administration was said to be one of the causes for the growth of population in later years, the regulation established with respect to an allowance of hogs, goats, and cows, to every immigrant who was accompanied by his family, being a strong inducement to remove thither, the reputation of which continued after Dale had left the Colony.[4]
At the time of Dale’s departure, the settlements in Virginia consisted of Henrico, Bermuda, West and Shirley Hundreds, Jamestown, Kecoughtan, and Dale’s Gift.
- ↑ Ralph Hamor’s True Discourse, p. 23.
- ↑ Molina to Gondomar, Spanish Archives, Brown’s Genesis of the United States, p. 742.
- ↑ Ralph Hamor’s True Discourse, p. 23; Company’s Letter, Nov. 26, 1621, to Governor and Council in Virginia, Neill’s Virginia Company of London, p. 270.
- ↑ Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 22. One of the provisions of the Martial Code enforced by Pale was to the following effect: “No man shall dare to kill or destroy any bull, cow, calfe, mare, horse, colt, goate, swine, cocke, henne, chicken, dogge, turkie or any tame Cattel or Poultry of what Condition soever; whether his owne or appertaining to another man, without leave from the Generall, upon paine of death in the Principall, and in the accessory, burning in the hand and losse of his eares, and unto the concealer of the same, foure and twenty houres whipping.” Lawes Divine, Morall and Martial, p. 15, Force’s Historical Tracts, vol. III.
