For centuries, the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island has been a controversial issue. Many theories exist to explain the disappearance of the colony. Some theories suggest that the settlers left the island to live with friendly neighboring Indians. Others suggest that a hurricane wiped out the colony or that a savage Indian tribe massacred them. The possibility of disease destroying them is also a debated topic. However, evidence indicates that the men and women left on Roanoke Island did not die from massacre, disease, or starvation, but went to live with the Croatoan Indians. In 1587, a group of men, women, and children led by Sir John White set sail for America and landed on an island in North Carolina called Roanoke (Shirley 36). However, the settlers arrived in North America at the wrong time of year. It was too late in the planting season to attempt to plant, cultivate, and harvest food, and the need for food was widespread in the colony (value 25). In the months following the colonists' landing, circumstances demanded that John White return to England to obtain more food and other much-needed supplies. The settlers were left to their own devices, and that was the last time John White saw the settlers. Three points in particular boldly highlight the orderly departure of the settlers to live with the Indians. First, the settlers had close relations with the Croatian Indians. This relationship resulted from John White's acquaintance with a scout named Manteo. One eminent historian says that Manteo and his tribe, the Croatoan tribe, were the only Indians who remained friendly to the settlers, and on the instructions of one of their chiefs, "the English named 'our savage Manteo' and declared him lord by R. ..... middle of paper ......P. “New Discoveries in the Lost Colony.” National park July/August. 1993: 38. Print. Norman, Charles. Discovery of America. New York: Crowell, 1968.Print.Payne, Patrick. “Roanoke: Genealogies, Family Trees, and Family History Records.” Payne's Rootsweb ancestry. NP, 2002. Web. October 15, 2011. Quinn, David Beers. Fix the fair for Roanoke. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina P, 1985. Print.Shirley, David. North Carolina. Tarrytown: Benchmark, 2001. Print.Stick, David. Roanoke Island: The Beginnings of English America. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1983. Print.NA “What Happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke?” Np, and Web. October 5, 2011 Worth, Richard. Life in the Thirteen Colonies: North Carolina. Canada: Scholastic, 2004. Print. Yolen, Jane and Elisabet Yolen Stemple. Roanoke: The Lost Colony. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2003. Print.