Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 2.djvu/275

 Newport, who was in command of the fleet. The immediate care of these articles, however, fell upon the Cape Merchant. The first person to fill this position was Thomas Studley, who, upon the departure of the vessels which brought the voyagers to Jamestown Island, remained in charge of the storehouse, erected, in accord with an order in Council, by a party of men who had been specially detailed for the work. Studley perished in the course of the first summer following the foundation of the Colony, and was succeeded by Smith. In the interval preceding the arrival of the First Supply, an event which took place in the winter of 1607, the goods imported in the spring had almost entirely disappeared. The oil and vinegar, sack and aquavit&aelig;, had been consumed, with the exception of the few gallons reserved for religious services and for persons stricken with extreme illness. Many other commodities had been allowed by Wingfield, the President, to be dispersed in bartering with the Indians, or in making gifts to them. The First Supply reached Jamestown in January in the charge of Newport, and it consisted of a great variety of articles thought by the Company in England to be necessary for the protection or subsistence of the settlers. Included among the articles of food were biscuits, one of which was given to each workingman at breakfast. Newport had been at Jamestown only a few days when a fire, which had its origin in the cargo so recently brought over, broke out, and proved very destructive, more especially to the victuals and clothing of individual colonists. The serious