Return of John White

     John White finally returned to the settlement on August 18, 1590, his granddaughter Virginia

Dare’s third birthday. He found no trace of his wife, daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter or any other members of the colony. The people, houses and any other traces of the colony had vanished. The only remnants of the settlement were a few cannons, a chest and the fence that surrounded the perimeter. There was also no sign of distress or a struggle. The houses had all been dismantled which indicated they had not left in a hurry. White had instructed the family to leave some sort of a sign if they had to abandon the colony. A Maltese cross was supposed to be left if the colony had to leave quickly due to distress. One of the fence posts had the word CROATOAN carved on it. On a nearby tree the letters CRO were carved. There was no Maltese crosses left so White hoped that a nearby friendly tribe had taken in the colony and they were safe. White was never able to do a thorough search. Due to an oncoming storm his men refused to go any farther; the next day they left (Young, 2011).