As late as 1691 the county court of Northumberland made public arrangements for an annual wolf-drive. The wolves were hunted on horseback with dogs, very much in the manner of fox-hunting. Early writers state that it was possible while going at full speed to run down a wolf.

The wolf-drive was somewhat like the old English "drift of the forest,"

where a ring of men and boys with guns surrounded a large tract of woods. The wolves scenting them would retreat to the center of the circle, where the hunters would close in on them. Many were killed in this way. "Wolf-driving" was considered great sport.

Wolf-Trap Light, in Chesapeake Bay, is said to have been named because ashore near there was a famous place for catching the last of the wolves.

_THE INDIANS AND ROBERT HEN_

In the year 1675, strange things were happening in the Northern Neck.

Thomas Matthews, a planter, whose "dwelling was in Northumberland, the lowest county on Potomack River," recorded these strange events--there "appear'd three prodigies in that country, which from attending disasters were look'd upon as ominous presages.

"The one was a large comet every evening for a week, or more at Southwest; thirty-five degrees high streaming like a horse taile westwards, until it reach'd (almost) the horizon, and setting toward the North-west.

"Another was, fflights of pigeons in breadth nigh a quarter of the mid-hemisphere, and of their length was no visible end; whose weights brake down the limbs of large trees whereon these rested at nights, of which the ffowlers shot abundance and eat 'em; this sight put the old planters under the more portentous apprehensions, because the like was seen, (as they said), in the year 1644 when th' Indians committed the last massacre, ...

"The third strange appearance was swarms of fflyes about an inch long, and big as the top of a man's little finger, rising out of spigot holes in the earth, which eat the new sprouted leaves from the tops of the trees without doing other harm, and in a month left us." (This insect was the seventeen-year locust.)

The events which followed these strange occurrences not only justified the apprehensions of the old planters but also changed the course of history in the New World.

Thomas Matthews, of Cherry Point in Northumberland, also had a plantation, servants and cattle in Stafford County. His over-seer there had bargained with an Englishman, Robert Hen, to come "thither" and be herdsman of the Stafford flocks.

Robert Hen arrived in due course of time and made his habitation on the Stafford plantation.

On a Sunday morning in the summer of 1675, people on their way to church found Hen lying across his threshold, and an Indian lying in the dooryard--"both chopt on their heads, arms and other parts, as if done with Indian hatchetts, th' Indian was dead, but Hen when asked who did that? answered Doegs, Doegs, and soon died, and then a boy who came out from under a bed where he had hid himself, told them, Indians had come at break of day and done those murders."

"Ffrom this Englishman's bloud," wrote Matthews, "did (by degrees) arise Bacon's rebellion."

Matthews continues: "Of this horrid action Coll: Mason who commanded the militia regiment of ffoot & Capt. Brent[6] the troop of horse in that county ... having speedy notice raised 30, or more men, & pursu'd those Indians 20 miles up & 4 miles over that river into Maryland, where landing at dawn of day, they found two small paths ... each leader with his party took a separate path and in less than a furlong either found a cabin, which they (silently) surrounded. Capt. Brent went to the Doegs cabin (as it proved to be) who speaking the Indian tongue called to have a council ... such being the usual manner with Indians ... the king came trembling forth, and would have fled, when Capt. Brent, catching hold of his twisted lock (which was all the hair he wore) told him he was come for the murder of Rob't Hen, the king pleaded ignorance and slipt loos, whom Brent shot dead with his pistoll, th' Indians shot two or three guns out of the cabin, th' English shot into it, th' Indians throng'd out at the door and fled, the English shot as many as they could so that they killed ten ... and brought away the kings son of about 8 years old ... the noise of the shooting awaken'd the Indians in the cabin, which Coll: Mason had encompassed, who likewise rush'd out and fled, of whom his company (supposing from that noise of shooting Brent's party to be engaged) shot fourteen before an Indian came, who with both hands shook him (friendly) by one arm saying Susquehanoughs netoughs, meaning Susquehanoughs friends and fled. Whereupon Col: Mason ran amongst his men crying out for the Lords sake shoot no more, these are our friends the Susquehanoughs."

[Footnote 6: This was the second Giles Brent, who was half-Indian.]

This attack upon the friendly Susquehannocks was a very unfortunate and costly mistake. The incensed Indians took to the warpath and murders were committed in both Virginia and Maryland. A body of Virginia militia under the command of Colonel John Washington, Colonel George Mason and Major Allerton, all of the Northern Neck, crossed the Potomac after the Indians.

This warfare ended, after much bloodshed, with Bacon in command. The allied Indians were defeated and the once friendly Susquehannocks were anihilated. And it was in this way, with an army at his command, that Bacon established his power and became strong enough to fight Governor Berkeley.

Thus it was, according to Thomas Matthews, that Bacon's Rebellion started with the murder of Robert Hen in the Northern Neck.

_THE ROYAL CAVALCADE_

When Robert Carter of Corotoman, Lancaster County, dressed on Sunday mornings he had a choice of several dress swords and of several belts to hold them--there was the silken belt, the buff, and the one of tan leather which was both "genteel and strong." His coat was of velvet with lace choker and cuffs, and his satin shorts were fastened at the knees with silver buckles to match those on his shoes.

If he looked in the mirror, as a servant adjusted his wig, he saw a strong man of medium height with a plump clean-shaven face and dark eyes that observed everything but saw no humour in anything.

When Carter and his lady, equally as splendid, stepped outside their mansion, a coach was a-waiting them, with liveried servants to help them inside. The coach was a heavy, four-wheeled, enclosed vehicle with two seats facing each other, and it carried four or more passengers. Most likely it was painted in shades of yellow and green, or a subdued red, with the family crest or coat of arms painted on the doors.

[Illustration: _"King" Carter attends Christ Church._]

The six matched horses which drew the coach were being held in check by the driver and the outriders. A chaise may have been waiting behind the coach for the older daughters and guests. The sons of the house, if they were old enough, were mounted and attended by servants on horseback, one for each gentleman. Other mounted servants with led horses may have brought up the rear, but it is doubtful, as the distance to be traveled was only three miles.

There must have been a great rumbling of wheels, creaking of saddle leather and clatter of hoofs when the cavalcade swung onto the road which led from Corotoman to Christ Church. The master had built the road high, drained by deep ditches, and bordered on both sides by closely set cedars. It was like a long formal alley.

When the churchyard came into view people could be seen waiting there.

The procession came to a halt with noise and "a great to-do." The family alighted and the master led the way. At the church door he halted and drew a key from his vest pocket with which he unlocked the door. It was customary for gentlemen to remove their swords at the church door and place them in a rack provided for the purpose, but whether or not the head of the Carter family did so is not known.

The Carters entered the church and proceeded to their high boxed pews, where curtains on gilt rods screened them from the gaze of the congregation.

According to tradition, this bit of pageantry was put on by Robert (King) Carter every Sabbath, and the congregation, it was said, waited rain or shine in the churchyard until he came to unlock the door. If he chose to take a Sunday off, services were held in the churchyard, it was said.

Though it was the custom for the rector to sign the vestry minute book first and then the members in order of their rank, in Christ Church the Carters always signed first, tradition says.

King Carter was a vestryman at Christ Church. He wanted his children to belong to the Established Church--"As I am of the Church of England way so I desire they should be."

The first Christ Church had been built by John Carter, the immigrant, in 1669. The second Christ Church was built on the same site by King Carter in 1732.

_THE KING OF THE NORTHERN NECK_

Robert Carter was born to be a king among men. His fellow countrymen called him "King" and his real name was eventually forgotten. Like King Midas, everything that King Carter touched turned to gold, but in the case of the latter there was no magic in it--he planned it that way and worked to make his plans succeed.

Robert Carter was the second son of John, the immigrant and Indian fighter. His mother was Sarah Ludlow Carter, his father's fourth wife.

Robert Carter was born in 1663, at his father's plantation, Corotoman, in Lancaster County. The foundation had already been laid there for his future success. The immigrant Carter had done well. His plantation was orderly and successful and he had accumulated considerable wealth.

John Carter died when Robert was six years old, and the elder son inherited the bulk of the estate, as was the custom then according to the law of primogeniture and entail.

But John Carter did not forget Robert. He left instructions that his younger son should be well educated, specifying that "during his minority" he should have a man or youth servant bought for him. This servant was "not only to teach him his books ... but also to preserve him from harm and evil." He further specified that his son should learn both Latin and English. These instructions were followed and Robert's education was completed in England.

The elder brother soon died, without male heir, and the whole estate reverted to Robert. It was now up to him to carry on the family traditions.

Corotoman, a bee-hive of activity, was typical of the plantations of that day. It was like a village, which was dominated by the manor house.

There were the cottages of the white indentured servants, the slaves'

quarters, the barn and farm buildings, the spinning-house, the laundry-house, the milk-house. There were the shops of the artisans who manufactured and repaired the articles used on the plantation. There was a shop where boats were built. Corotoman had everything that it needed to make it a self-sustaining unit.

To the sloop-landing, near the mouth of Carter's Creek, ships came directly from foreign ports with cargoes of clothing, furniture and luxuries for the manor, and shoes and other necessities for the white serfs and negro slaves. These vessels went away loaded with tobacco and grain.

Robert Carter was aware of everything that went on at Corotoman and on his other plantations, not the smallest detail escaped him. He knew when a slave's shoes didn't fit, or when a servant's child needed medical attention. When his sons were in school in England he followed their progress by remote control and never let them forget that he was holding the purse-strings--"Mind your book," he wrote his son, Landon. He wanted them to have a classical education, a thorough understanding of Latin and English. He also wanted them to have religious training.

Robert Carter was a politician as well as a planter. He held every high office in the county and colony, and even acted as governor for more than a year.

But most of all, the land fascinated Robert Carter. He loved the rich virgin soil that would grow tobacco. It was the same thing as growing money. But in about three years time tobacco had worn out the soil and new fields must always be on tap in this tobacco game.

Carter's big opportunity came in 1702 when he was appointed as a land agent of the Northern Neck proprietary. He set up a land office at Corotoman and began to acquire lands for himself as well as for others.

He had accumulated 20,000 acres by 1711, at which time he lost the agency to Thomas Lee, of Westmoreland.

In 1719 Carter regained the agency and again became the representative of the Fairfax interests in the Northern Neck. In 1726 he took an even bolder step by leasing the entire Northern Neck from the proprietor for a fixed rental of 450 pounds a year. Now he had the income from the quit-rents for the entire region.