I've been a fan of the Virginia Dare story for quite a while and was ecstatic when we stumbled onto Roanoke Island by chance.
The facts are interesting but tame:
She was the granddaughter of the founder of Roanoke.
She was the first English child to be born in America (1587).
Roanoke was part of the Virginia colony, and is in modern day North Carolina.
Roanoke disappeared without explanation.
But the myth is absolutely fascinating.
When the inhabitants of Roanoke disappeared, legend has it that they settled with the local natives. Virginia was fair and lovely and much admired, especially by one determined brave who tricked her into a boat and rowed her to the island of Roanoke, vowing to kill her if he could not have her. Trapped and distressed, she changed into a white doe as soon as she touched land and escaped. In the succeeding years, it became tradition for young indians to travel to the island in hopes of killing her. She evaded her fate until a certain hunter brought her down with a silver tipped arrow given to his father by Queen Elizabeth. He approached the animal and was appalled to hear her whisper her name before she died.
Pretty sweet. And a nice combo of European and American style. For a modern interpretation, read Neil Gaiman's 1604.
And I found it both unnerving and appropriate that all of the children I saw on our trip to the Outer Banks were exceptionally fair.
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