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    Weird Disappearances: Real Tales of Missing People
    Weird Disappearances: Real Tales of Missing People
    Weird Disappearances: Real Tales of Missing People
    Ebook100 pages1 hour

    Weird Disappearances: Real Tales of Missing People

    By Tom McCarthy

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    About this ebook

    When Virginia Dare was born in Roanoke Colony in 1587, her birth was probably heralded as a new beginning, not just for the tiny baby but for the entire colony. She was the first child of English parents to be born in what English settlers called the “New World.” But three years later, Virginia, her parents, and all other members of the Roanoke colony had disappeared. History is silent about their fate. The story of Virginia Dare and her fellow settlers is a famous one that is still studied and wondered about to this day.

    Weird Disappearances: Real Tales of Missing People, for readers ages 9 to 12, is a collection of five true tales that examine five moments in history when someone vanished without a trace. Chapters include Virginia Dare, Amelia Earhart, Solomon Northrop, Percy Fawcett, and Anastasia Romanov. These mysterious figures are discussed against the backdrop of historical circumstances, whether it be the carving out of a new world in an ancient culture, the upheaval of the Russian Revolution, or the blazing of a new trail high in the skies.

    Weird Disappearances is the fourth book in a new series called Mystery & Mayhem, which features true tales that whet kids’ appetites for history by engaging them in genres with proven track records—mystery and adventure. History is made of near misses, unexplained disappearances, unsolved mysteries, and bizarre events that are almost too weird to be true—almost! The Mystery & Mayhem series delves into these tidbits of history to provide kids with a jumping off point into a lifelong habit of appreciating history.

    Each of the five true tales told within Weird Disappearances is paired with a map, as well as fun facts about the setting, industry, and time period. A glossary and resources page provide the opportunity to practice using essential academic tools. These nonfiction narratives use clear, concise language with compelling plots that both avid and reluctant readers will be drawn to.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNomad Press
    Release dateMay 22, 2017
    ISBN9781619305281
    Weird Disappearances: Real Tales of Missing People

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      Book preview

      Weird Disappearances - Tom McCarthy

      One

      Virginia Dare

      For the English settlers in the colony of Roanoke, the birth of Virginia Dare was the beginning of a new era of health and wealth. Or so they hoped.

      But history isn’t always nice to new settlers.

      Virginia Dare was born in 1587, just two weeks after her parents, Eleanor and Ananias Dare, landed on an island in the New World. Roanoke Island lay between the coast of what is now North Carolina and a small group of outer islands. The Dare family and more than 120 other men, women, and children had sailed from England in search of a better life.

      Everyone was excited that a new baby had been born in the New World, but at the same time, they felt nervous. The place they now called home was not very welcoming. The forest was so thick that sunlight barely reached the moist, mossy ground. Supplies were scarce. People were scared.

      There is danger lurking out there, they thought.

      The colonists had survived a rough ocean voyage and two weeks of hard living on new land. Except, it wasn’t exactly new land. Another group of settlers had lived there two years before. Those settlers had left behind cabins and a crumbling fort. They hadn’t succeeded in establishing a colony. Where did they go? Why had their settlement failed?

      Here’s what happened. The English people in the earlier settlement did not appreciate that others already lived there. These other people had been living on that land comfortably, peacefully, and productively for many years.

      The Native Americans who lived there knew and loved the land and what it offered. At first, they welcomed these strange new English people, hoping they could all share in the abundance that surrounded them.

      The two groups traded goods. The English needed deer and bison skins, which the Native Americans gave them in exchange for knives, hatchets, and colorful glass beads. It seemed to be a good deal for both, each getting something they wanted but did not have.

      Soon enough, however, things began to get tense. Mistrust settled in. The English were unused to surviving off the land. They were running out of food. They were hungry.

      While trying to get more food, the English killed one of the Native Americans who had been helping them. And that was the end of the peaceful arrangement. The English had to get off the island quickly, before their hosts sought revenge. They left behind their houses and a small fort built from the strong pine trees of the lush forest.

      Now, two years later, a new group of settlers would try to succeed where the first had failed.

      A man named John White was the driving force behind this new settlement. He was a friend of the famous Sir Walter Raleigh, an English knight with big plans to expand English territories. Sir Walter was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth, who wanted more than anything to increase the size of her empire. The queen had the power and, more importantly, she had a lot of money.

      What she needed was people. She needed people who were brave enough and adventurous enough to want to pick up everything and move to a new land thousands of miles from home. Would you have volunteered?

      John White had visited Roanoke with the first group, but he had been lucky enough to leave before the troubles began. He had liked what he saw and was willing to try again.

      John White was a great talker. He could persuade a pig to take a bath! John White talked to anyone in England who would listen about the hope and dreams and comfort that were waiting for them in the New World. He probably didn’t mention much about what happened with the Native Americans. He painted a picture of the wealth and riches that were far beyond anything people had in London, where it was crowded and dirty.

      Whatever he said made Roanoke and the New World sound as if they were worth the risk of a long ocean voyage and uncertain early days.

      John White was so convincing that he even talked his daughter, Eleanor, and her husband, Ananias, into making the dangerous trip. John White’s stories of the beautiful land that lay ahead were so magical that Eleanor and Ananias left their two young children behind in England. Once they settled in the New World, they could send for the youngsters and they would all live happily together.

      They would never be reunited, though. People are still trying to figure out why, more than 400 years later.

      First, the trip across the Atlantic Ocean was difficult. More than 100 people were crammed onto a small ship that pitched and rolled and seemed to take forever to get anywhere. Their quarters were cramped and there never seemed to be enough fresh air down below.

      When John White’s new group finally arrived on shore and felt the steadiness of solid land after months of rolling and sliding on the boat, they felt more hopeful. But Roanoke Island was not London. The air was damp and sticky and hotter than anything they had ever felt before. Even breathing was different than it had been in London.

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