David Stick - An Outer Banks Reader

1998 The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Set in Quadraat by Tseng Information Systems, Inc.

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
An Outer Banks reader / selected and edited by David Stick.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 978-0-8078-2420-7 (cloth: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8078-4726-8 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Outer Banks (N.C.) I. Stick, David, 1919
F262.096094 1998 97-40791
975.61dc21 CIP

cloth 06 05 04 03 02 6 5 4 3 2
paper 11 10 09 08 07 8 7 6 5 4

A complete list of the sources from which the pieces in this book are reprinted can be found on pages 299304.

THIS BOOK WAS DIGITALLY PRINTED.

Two decades after Amerigo Vespucci suggested that Columbus had found a New World, no one knew its true extent. So in January 1524, King Francis I of France sent the Florentine navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano west in search of a middle-latitude route to the Orient. Two months out, Verrazzano met an obstacle of new land that he reckoned almost larger than Asia. After exploring the vicinity of Cape Fear, he sailed south, then north, confident of finding some strait to get through to the Eastern Ocean. On the Feast of the Annunciation he anchored at a remarkable place: We called it Annunciata from the day of arrival, and found there an isthmus one mile wide and about two hundred miles long, in which we could see the eastern sea from the ship, halfway between west and north.... We sailed along this isthmus, hoping all the time to find some strait... where land might end to the north, and we could reach those blessed shores of Cathay. He hoped in vain. The supposed isthmus was part of the Outer Banks, evidently between capes Lookout and Hatteras; the sea, Pamlico Sound. Cartographers drew these features for years, however, inspiring sailors to seek a way to the Pacific through the imaginary Sea of Verrazzano. The following excerpt of Verrazzanos report to the king is the oldest known record of a meeting between Europeans and natives of the Outer Banks.

We... continued to follow the coast, which we found veered to the east. All along it we saw great fires because of the numerous inhabitants; we anchored off the shore, since there was no harbor, and because we needed water we sent the small boat ashore with XXV men. The sea along the coast was churned up by enormous waves because of the open beach, and so it was impossible to put anyone ashore without endangering the boat. We saw many people on the beach making various friendly signs, and beckoning us ashore; and there I saw a magnificent deed, as Your Majesty will hear. We sent one of our young sailors swimming ashore to take the people some trinkets, such as little bells, mirrors, and other trifles, and when he came within four fathoms of them, he threw them the goods and tried to turn back, but he was so tossed about by the waves that he was carried up onto the beach half dead. Seeing this, the native people immediately ran up; they took him by the head, the legs, and arms and carried him some distance away. Whereupon the youth, realizing he was being carried away like this, was seized with terror, and began to utter loud cries. They answered him in their language to show him he should not be afraid. Then they placed him on the ground in the sun, at the foot of a small hill, and made gestures of great admiration, looking at the whiteness of his flesh and examining him from head to foot. They took off his shirt and shoes and hose, leaving him naked, then made a huge fire next to him, placing him near the heat. When the sailors in the boat saw this, they were filled with terror, as always when something new occurs, and thought the people wanted to roast him for food. After remaining with them for a while, he regained his strength, and showed them by signs that he wanted to return to the ship. With the greatest kindness, they accompanied him to the sea, holding him close and embracing him; and then to reassure him, they withdrew to a high hill and stood watching him until he was in the boat.