The Lost Colony of Roanoke: Is "Croatoan" the key

The English Colony on Roanoke Island, better known as the Lost Colony of Roanoke, has become famous for how the colonist vanished without a trace. The colony was established by English settlers in 1587, and by 1590 they had all disappeared. Throughout the years, there have been many different theories of what happened to the colonists, but I believe the key to the mystery is a word located at the abandoned settlement.

The most mysterious part about the disappearance of the settlers is the word "Croatoan" located at the abandoned colony. This word has been connected with other strange occurrences throughout the centuries. The famous Edgar Allan Poe said "Croatoan" before he died. Why is this of any concern? Because on September 27, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe left Richmond, Virginia, and was heading to Philadelphia Pennsylvania to edit a collection of poems, but he never arrived. He was not heard or seen again until the night of October 3, 1849, in Baltimore, Maryland. When he was discovered, he was described as semi-conscious. Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7, 1849, and never regained enough consciousness to explain where he went or what happened to him during his disappearance. Poe Spent his final days wavering between fits of delirium and hallucinations, but he did murmur the word Croatoan before he died.

The word appears in another mysterious disappearance with the disappearance of Charles Earl Boles, better known as Black Bart, the notorious stagecoach robber. Boles had committed numerous robberies of Wells Fargo stagecoaches totaling close to 2 million dollars in today's money before being caught. Before Charles Boles's arrest, he had a house and a wife. Boles was sentenced to 6 years in prison but only served 4 years. When he was released from prison, the word "Croatoan" was discovered etched in his cell. After his release, he never returned home to his wife, and he was never seen or heard from again.

Another mysterious disappearance happened to Ambrose Bierce, an American author who disappeared in Chihuahua, Mexico, in 1913. His last known communication with the world was a letter to his friend Blanche Partington. In the letter, which was dated December 26, 1913, he wrote, "As to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination." Ambrose vanished and was never found. What was found was the word "Croatoan" etched in one of the bedposts in the last known hotel room Ambrose stayed.

The Carroll A. Deering was a merchant ship traveling from Newport News to deliver coal to Rio De Janeiro. The last known sighting of the vessel and crew happened on January 28, 1921, when the Cape Lookout lightship's keeper, Captain Jacobson, reported speaking to a tall thin man with a foreign accent through a megaphone. The man told Captain Jacobson the Carroll A. Deering had lost its anchors in a storm off Cape Fear and requested that Captian Jacobson notify G. G. Deering Company. Captain Jacobson noted the request in his logbook but also documented that he observed the crew "milling around" on the quarterdeck of the ship, an area where they were usually not allowed. On January 31, 1921, The Deering was sighted at Dawn by the Cost Guard. The vessel had run aground on the outer edge of the Diamond Shoals. This location was a notorious site for shipwrecks and was known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic." What was different with this shipwreck? The crew and their personal belongings were all gone, but both lifeboats remained. The mess hall appeared as if they were preparing to begin to eat a meal before everyone vanished. When the ship's logbook was checked, they discovered the last entry to be "Croatoan."