Answer: The section that highlights John White’s optimism about the fate of the colonists is B. “The Word ‘CROATOAN’ Was Graven On A Tree”.
This section is from John White’s journal of his 1590 voyage to find the lost colonists of Roanoke1. He wrote that when he arrived at the site of the colony, he found no trace of the settlers or their belongings, except for a single word carved into a wooden post: “CROATOAN”. This word was the name of an island south of Roanoke that was home to a friendly Native American tribe, the Croatians. White interpreted this as a sign that the colonists had moved to that island, and hoped to find them there. He wrote:
“The next morning our Captaine and his company prepared themselves to goe up to the place where they left our Colony in the yeere 1586. In the afternoone we came to an anker at Hatorask, where we saw a great smoke rise in the Ile Roanoak neere the place where I left our Colony in the yeere 1587. The next morning our Captaine and his company prepared themselves againe to goe up to Roanoak, but when we were entered into the harborough, we saw another great smoke rise in the place neere where the smoke was seene the day before: by which we were in good hope that some of our countreymen were there expecting our comming. Assoone as we were come to anker, our Captaine Simon Ferdinando and I, with nine others of our company went ashore, where we found a tree cut downe, upon which was very fairely carved these letters CRO: which letters presently we knew to signifie the place, where I should find the planters seated, according to a secret token agreed upon betweene them and me at my last departure from them, which was that they should not faile to write or carve on the trees or posts of the dores the name of the place where they should be seated; for at my comming away they were prepared to remove from Roanoak 50 miles into the maine. Therefore at my departure from them in Anno 1587 I willed them, that if they should happen to be distressed in any of those places, that then they should carve over the letters or name, a Crosse in this forme +, but we found no such signe of distresse. And having well considered of this, we passed towards the place where they were left in sundry houses, but we found the houses taken down, and the place very strongly enclosed with a high palisade of great trees, with cortices and flankers very fort-like, and one of the chief trees or postes at the right side of the entrance had the bark taken off, and 5 foote from the ground in fayre Capital letters was graven CROATOAN without any crosse or signe of distress; this done, it both grieved us and also gave us cause to rejoice…”
White’s optimism was based on his previous agreement with the colonists and his knowledge of their friendly relations with the Croatians. However, he was unable to reach Croatoan Island due to bad weather and lack of supplies. He never saw his family or the other settlers again. T